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RETRACTION: Thermoreversible Structurally Recoverable Dual‐Network Elastomer Hydrogel

Abstract“Thermoreversible Structurally Recoverable Dual‐Network Elastomer Hydrogel,” Macromolecular Materials and Engineering 305, no. 1 (2020): 1900633, https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.201900633.The above article, published online on 03 December 2019 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor‐in‐Chief, David Huesmann; and Wiley‐VCH GmbH. The retraction has been agreed after an investigation took place when the authors requested a correction to the article, admitting they‐had accidentally reused an image they previously published. Upon further review, the Editor‐In‐Chief saw that this reused image was‐also clearly manipulated by the authors to create Figure 7b by rotation plus the removal of cells from the original image seen both in Figure 7a and also in the previous journal article figure. Upon questioning, the authors acknowledged they‐had edited the previously published image. As a result, the figures, data, and conclusions are considered unreliable and therefore the article must be retracted.

Is ‘orthodox panentheism’ unorthodox? A response to James Dominic Rooney

Abstract James Dominic argues in response to a previous article by me that the view according to which God is the formal cause of creatures is unorthodox and ultimately incoherent. This is because it involves either making God a part of creatures, or dividing God into finite parts, both of which, he claims, lead to contradictions with traditional Christian claims. However, Rooney both misunderstands central parts of my presentation, and fails to make his case.

Benchmark dose modeling for epidemiological dose-response assessment using case-control studies.

Following a previous article that focused on integrating epidemiological data from prospective cohort studies into toxicological risk assessment, this paper shifts the focus to case-control studies. Specifically, it utilizes the odds ratio (OR) as the main epidemiological measure, aligning it with the benchmark dose (BMD) methodology as the standard dose-response modeling approach to determine chemical toxicity values for regulatory risk assessment. A standardized BMD analysis framework has been established for toxicological data, including input data requirements, dose-response models, definitions of benchmark response, and consideration of model uncertainty. This framework has been enhanced by recent methods capable of handling both cohort and case-control studies using summary data that have been adjusted for confounders. The present study aims to investigate and compare the "effective count" based BMD modeling approach, merged with an algorithm used for converting odds ratio to relative risk in cohort studies with partial data information (i.e., the Wang algorithm), with the adjusted OR-based BMD analysis approach. The goal is to develop an adequate BMD modeling framework that can be generalized for analyzing published case-control study data. As in the previous study, these methods were applied to a database examining the association between bladder and lung cancer and inorganic arsenic exposure. The results indicate that estimated BMDs and BMDLs are relatively consistent across both methods. However, modeling adjusted OR values as continuous data for BMD estimation aligns better with established practices in toxicological BMD analysis, making it a more generalizable approach.

Comparative transcriptomic analyses of diploid and tetraploid citrus reveal how ploidy level influences salt stress tolerance.

Citrus is an important fruit crop for human health. The sensitivity of citrus trees to a wide range of abiotic stresses is a major challenge for their overall growth and productivity. Among these abiotic stresses, salinity results in a significant loss of global citrus yield. In order to find straightforward and sustainable solutions for the future and to ensure citrus productivity, it is of paramount importance to decipher the mechanisms responsible for salinity stress tolerance. Thisstudy aimed to investigate how ploidy levels influence salt stress tolerance in citrus by comparing the transcriptomic responses of diploid and tetraploid genotypes. In a previous article we investigated the physiological and biochemical response of four genotypes with different ploidy levels: diploid trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata [L.] Raf.) (PO2x) and Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reshni Hort. Ex Tan.) (CL2x) and their respective tetraploids (PO4x, CL4x). In this study, we useda multifactorial gene selection and gene clustering approach to finely dissect the influence of ploidy level on the salt stress response of each genotype. Following transcriptome sequencing, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in response to salt stress in leaves and roots of the different citrus genotypes. Gene expression profiles and functional characterization of genes involved in the response to salt stress, as a function of ploidy level and the interaction between stress response and ploidy level, have enabled us to highlight the mechanisms involved in the varieties tested. Saltstress induced overexpression of carbohydrate biosynthesis and cell wall remodelling- related genes specifically in CL4x Ploidy level enhanced oxidative stress response in PO and ion management capacity in both genotypes. Results further highlighted that under stress conditions, only the CL4x genotype up- regulated genes involved in sugar biosynthesis, transport management, cell wall remodelling, hormone signalling, enzyme regulation and antioxidant metabolism. These findings provide crucial insights that could inform breeding strategies for developing salt-tolerant citrus varieties.

Differential Geometry Using Quaternions

This paper establishes the basis of the quaternionic differential geometry (HDG) initiated in a previous article. The usual concepts of curves and surfaces are generalized to quaternionic constraints, as well as the curvature and torsion concepts, differential forms, directional derivatives and the structural equations. The analogy between the quaternionic and the real geometries were obtained using a matrix representation of quaternions. The results evidences the quaternionic formalism as a suitable language to differential geometry that can be useful in various directions of future investigation.

Determining the Most Consensus-Based Assessment Method for Social Sustainability—Case Study of a Suburb of Karlstad, Sweden

An assessment method for sustainability was developed by the authors in a previous article. Many social sustainability assessment methods rely on assessors’ subjective judgments, which can be problematic. This study aims to examine the level of consensus different assessors can achieve using various assessment methods and to compare their results with an assessment made by one of the authors, to reduce subjectivity. A selective sample of engineering students from Karlstad University were surveyed to test and compare three as-assessment methods against the initial assessment. The three methods are: Woxnerud’s (the authors’) method, Jan Gehl’s twelve quality criteria, and a structured survey. Seven student groups conducted the first assessment, followed by 12 individual students who performed the second and third assessments. The objectives were to determine whether multiple assessors could reach a consensus using each method, identify which method yielded the most consensus and was most effectively implemented, and measure each method’s consonance rate in relation to Woxnerud’s initial assessment. The first method achieved a 75.0% assessor consensus and 98.4% consonance. The second method achieved a 67.0% assessor consensus and 75.0% consonance. The third method achieved a 50% assessor consensus and 91.0% consonance. This limited study suggests that a subjective method, such as an assessment method for social sustainability, can yield somewhat similar results, and in addition, Woxnerud’s method is more objectively applicable than the two other methods tested in this article.

Retracted] lncRNA TTN‑AS1 upregulates RUNX1 to enhance glioma progression via sponging miR‑27b‑3p.

Following the publication of the above paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that the immunohistochemical images shown in Fig. 7E were strikingly similar to data that had already been published in different form in a previous article in the journal PLoS One written by different authors at different research institutes. Owing to the fact that the abovementioned data had already apparently been published previously, the Editor of Oncology Reports has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Oncology Reports 44: 1064‑1074, 2020; DOI: 10.3892/or.2020.7684].

Pain in the epigastral area: current aspects of differential diagnosis

Epigastric pain can have a variety of etiologies, including not only diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT): gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatal hernia, gastritis and duodenitis, gastric and/or duodenal ulcers, polyps and stomach cancer, functional dyspepsia, but also other gastrointestinal diseases, somatic diseases of other organs and systems, vascular pathology, infections and invasions, medications and a number of other reasons. More than 10 years have passed since the publication of our previous article on the issues of differential diagnosis of pain in the stomach. In the Elibrary.ru information base, both in the period of time preceding the publication and to this day, we have not found similar publications. This explains its placement in full or in fragments on specialized gastroenterological sites and guidelines for differential diagnosis in gastroenterology. Over the past 10 years, new consensuses and clinical recommendations have been published on diseases and conditions associated with epigastric pain, and the number of publications on other diseases and conditions that were previously considered very rare, but which today must be taken into account when carrying out differential diagnosis, has increased. Several foreign publications on the problem in recent years were found in the PubMed electronic database. In this regard, we consider it appropriate to consider the current aspects of the differential diagnosis of epigastric pain from the perspective of today. The list of diseases and conditions presented in the review, in which epigastric pain occurs in the clinical picture, indicates that the differential diagnosis of this syndrome is an interdisciplinary problem and is of interest not only to the gastroenterologist and therapist, but also to doctors of other specialties.

$q$–de Rham complexes of higher level

In this article, we construct two kinds of de Rham–like complexes which compute the cohomology of complete crystals on the higher-level q -crystalline site, which was introduced in a previous article by the author. One complex is the q -analog of the higher de Rham complex constructed by Miyatani, and another complex is the q -analog of the jet complex constructed by Le Stum–Quirós. The complexes we construct can also be regarded as the higher-level analogs of the q –de Rham complex.

Filosofická víra pod kárným dohledem „orthodoxie“

Commentary on the previous article of Stanislav Sousedík.

Echoes of Speculation Underway in Relations Between the Occident and China

In a previous article I talked about speculative waves in sequence that have hit the global economy since the 2000s in a world struggling with deflation. Well, this wave of speculation has not stopped but today it seems to concern the transfer of industrial plants from the West to China. A process that was born with the good intentions of transferring industrial activities to developing countries with the dual objective. Give a boost to the economy in developing areas and at the same time reduce the management costs of large multinationals' plants. A process therefore that was born with a positive sign in the intent to help a coordinated development of the territories and a reduction in the costs of industrial products. Meanwhile, the objective of coordinating the development of the territories and continents has not been achieved and on the contrary the process has led to an almost exclusive delocalization of industrial production from the West to China. The excess of industrial localization has exacerbated the concentration of unassimilable waste with a worsening of the disease of the planet struggling with atmospheric overheating. The process, therefore, has been slowed down but not stopped for natural reasons. On the other hand, the acceleration of the development of the Chinese economy has also marked a halt coinciding with the spread of the global epidemic. After about fifty years of accelerated economic growth, the Chinese community has sensed the change in the country's economic prospects and has pulled the brakes on both consumption and investments, marking the end of the accelerated race on the road to development. The picture of the speculative evolution of industrial delocalization processes sees together the interest of mega companies in reducing management costs which is congenial to the increase in the financial values of companies that increase on the Western stock exchanges. In other words, delocalization helps reduce management costs and at the same time seems to support ultra increasing financial values. In short, it plays into the hands of speculation which is certainly not the interest of global social and economic development which instead requires coordination of the territories on the road to development. With the further dilemma that the fate of the global economy may be in the hands of the Boards of Directors of mega companies and not of states and communities.​

Doing with or doing to? A realist case study of factors affecting the implementation of guidance on child sexual exploitation in Wales

There is currently limited research which considers the implementation of new policies in child protection practice. In this article, we explore policy implementation in children’s social care using recent Welsh policy on Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) as a case study. We conducted a realist evaluation of the implementation of the new CSE guidance in a two-phased study. The development of an initial programme theory was done during phase 1 of the study and is discussed in a previous article. In this article we focus on the programme theory refinement, presenting our hypotheses and findings from semi-structured interviews, observation of practice and a Wales-wide survey, which illustrate how aspects of the context and the organisation have an impact on policy implementation. Our findings highlight the importance of clear implementation plans which engage key stakeholders and are appropriately resourced. We suggest recommendations for developing implementation plans, including appropriate training materials, access to formal and informal collaborative spaces for knowledge exchange, and the importance of a supportive organisational structure. These findings illustrate how child protection policies are implemented in practice by local authorities in Wales and shed light on how policies can be more effectively implemented in practice.

Cognitive function and electrode mapping’s role in cochlear implant performance

Cognitive function and electrode mapping’s role in cochlear implant performance Amit Walia, Matthew Shew and Craig A. Buchman from Washington University School of Medicine, detail the role of cognitive function and electrode mapping in cochlear implant performance. In a previous article, we explored various factors influencing cochlear implant (CI) performance, including demographic, audiologic, and surgical variables, as well as the importance of cochlear health, as measured by electrocochleography. Beyond cochlear health, cognitive function, device function and surgical variables all play a role in performance. This section highlights the impact of cognitive function and device mapping to further refine and optimize CI outcomes.

Vaccine hesitancy and the challenge of successful scientific communication

Vaccine hesitancy and the challenge of successful scientific communication Drawing on personal experiences and public discourse, Dr. Klaus Eyer, an Associate Professor at Aarhus University, explores the challenges of communicating about vaccine science to address vaccine hesitancy. Various hurdles need to be overcome by a vaccine to protect against a disease. It needs to be proven safe and effective in clinical studies. It also needs to be widely accepted and used by the public. This article examines the difficulties of communicating about vaccine science based on personal experiences and public discussions. My background is rooted in continental Europe, and my perspective may differ from those with other cultural or personal backgrounds. I have been actively involved in public outreach to promote vaccination, driven by my conviction in scientific evidence that shows current vaccines offer a net benefit to both individuals and communities, despite the challenges they present in terms of safety and efficacy in very rare cases, as I discussed in the previous article for this publication.(1) To offer a broader view, I’ve included insights from colleagues gathered through discussions in recent years, but we will still only be able to scratch the surface.

Minimizing Narcotic Use in Rhinoplasty: An Updated Narrative Review and Protocol

Opioids are commonly used to reduce pain after surgery; however, there are severe side effects and complications associated with opioid use, with addiction being of particular concern. Recent practice has shifted to reduce opioid consumption in surgery, although a specific protocol for rhinoplasty is still in progress. This paper aims to expand on the protocol previously established by the senior author based on updated evidence and details. This was accomplished by first high-lighting and summarizing analgesic agents with known opioid-reducing effects in the surgical field, with a particular focus on rhinoplasty, then compiling these analgesic options into a recommended protocol based on the most effective timing of administration (preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative). The senior author’s previous article on the subject was referenced to compile a list of analgesic agents of importance. Each analgesic agent was then searched in PubMed in conjunction with “rhinoplasty” or “opioid sparing” to find relevant primary sources and systematic reviews. The preferred analgesic agents included, as follows: preoperative, 1000 mg oral acetaminophen, 200 mg of oral celecoxib twice daily for 5 days, and 1200 mg oral gabapentin; intraoperative, 0.75 μg/kg of intravenous dexmedetomidine and 1–2 mg/kg injected lidocaine with additional 2–4 mg/kg per hour or 1.5 cc total bupivacaine nerve block injected along the infraorbital area bilaterally and in the subnasal region; and postoperatively, 5 mg oral acetaminophen and 400 mg of oral celecoxib. When choosing specific analgesic agents, considerations include potential side effects, contraindications, and the drug-specific mode of administration.

Tumor-on-chip platforms for breast cancer continuum concept modeling.

Our previous article entitled "Proteomics and its applications in breast cancer", proposed a Breast Cancer Continuum Concept (BCCC), including a Breast Cancer Cell Continuum Concept as well as a Breast Cancer Proteomic Continuum Concept. Breast cancer-on-chip (BCoC), breast cancer liquid biopsy-on-chip (BCLBoC), and breast cancer metastasis-on-chip (BCMoC) models successfully recapitulate and reproduce in vitro the principal mechanisms and events involved in BCCC. Thus, BCoC, BCLBoC, and BCMoC platforms allow for multiple cell lines co-cultivation to reproduce BC hallmark features, recapitulating cell proliferation, cell-to-cell communication, BC cell-stromal crosstalk and stromal activation, effects of local microenvironmental conditions on BC progression, invasion/epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)/migration, intravasation, dissemination through blood and lymphatic circulation, extravasation, distant tissues colonization, and immune escape of cancer cells. Moreover, tumor-on-chip platforms are used for studying the efficacy and toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs/nano-drugs or nutraceuticals. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarize and analyse the main bio-medical roles of on-chip platforms that can be used as powerful tools to study the metastatic cascade in BC. As future direction, integration of tumor-on-chip platforms and proteomics-based specific approaches can offer important cues about molecular profile of the metastatic cascade, alowing for novel biomarker discovery. Novel microfluidics-based platforms integrating specific proteomic landscape of human milk, urine, and saliva could be useful for early and non-invasive BC detection. Also, risk-on-chip models may improve BC risk assessment and prevention based on the identification of biomarkers of risk. Moreover, multi-organ-on-chip systems integrating patient-derived BC cells and patient-derived scaffolds have a great potential to study BC at integrative level, due to the systemic nature of BC, for personalized and precision medicine. We also emphasized the strengths and weaknesses of BCoC and BCMoC platforms.

Inflation hedging: a comparative wavelet quantile correlation analysis of real estate and alternative assets

PurposeConducting an analysis spanning from 2000 to 2023, this research evaluates the effectiveness of real estate assets in hedging against global and energy inflation, benchmarked against other compelling investment options such as oil, gold, silver and stocks.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs the wavelet quantile correlation (WQC) methodology. The latter sheds light on dynamic market interactions by scrutinising dependency structures across multiple time scales and also by capturing tail dependence. The adaptability of the wavelet transform, across a spectrum of frequencies, emerges as an indispensable tool for studying time series while also unravelling relationships among variables across diverse quantiles.FindingsThe findings reveal that the response to inflationary pressures is contingent upon the asset class, investment horizon and type of inflation under consideration. While precious metals demonstrate effectiveness over short-term horizons, French-listed real estate exhibits compelling inflation-hedging characteristics as the investment horizon extends. Oil emerges as an unequivocal hedge against both global and energy inflation.Practical implicationsTo counteract the effects of inflation, investors and households may feel compelled to refine their investment strategies, opting to bolster their portfolios with instruments proven to serve as reliable safeguards against inflation, as indicated by this study.Originality/valueIn conjunction with a surge in inflationary pressures, this study delves into the hedging capabilities of assets, exploring their efficacy not only across short- and long-term investment horizons but also within diverse scenarios characterized by fluctuating levels of global and energy-related inflation. To the best of our knowledge, no previous article employed the WQC technique to evaluate the inflation-hedging nexus.

Acoustic scattering by smooth and rough elastic cylinders insonified by directional sonars: Bistatic experiments.

Bistatic laboratory measurements are presented for acoustic scattering from both smooth and rough elastic cylinders insonified by directional spherical waves. A scattering model, accounting for incident directional spherical waves while assuming negligible end effects, was derived in a previous article [Mursaline, Stanton, Lavery, and Fischell, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 154, 307-322 (2023)] but only evaluated for monostatic scattering by smooth cylinders. The evaluation is extended here to bistatic geometries for both smooth and rough cylinders. The effect of axi-symmetric Gaussian roughness (axi-symmetric random variations in cylinder radius) on the cylinder on overall scattering levels and resonances is investigated. Particular emphasis is given to the influence of roughness on the excitation of axially propagating guided wave resonances associated with oblique incident angles. Bistatic laboratory observations presented herein further substantiate the effects on scattering due to the properties of the incident field from practical sonars, such as spherical spreading, as observed in the above-mentioned article. For smooth cylinders, axially propagating guided wave resonances are seen to become more prominent during bistatic in-plane scattering compared to bistatic orthogonal-plane scattering and previously published monostatic data. For rough cylinders, both overall scattering levels and resonances are found to be diminished compared to the smooth case.

Italian Search and Rescue Seaplanes From the 50s to the 70s: A Brave People and Mighty Aircraft Story

Following a previous article that described the early days of Italian air rescue and that reached up to the immediate postwar period (World War II), this article describes the search and rescue activity carried out by the Italian Grumman Albatross HU-16A from the postwar period until the end of the 70s.

Numerical analysis approach to twin primes conjecture

This paper provides a better approximation of the functions presented in the article “Numerical Analysis Approach to Twin Primes Conjecture” (see [3]). The new estimates highlight the approximations used in the previous article and the validity of Theorems 1 and 2 through the use of the false hypothesis based on the distribution of primes punctually following the Logarithmic Integral Li(x) (see [4] and [7], pp. 174–176) will be re-evaluated.