Special Relationship Research Articles

Japan’s relations with Myanmar: Subtle politics or just business?

The article examines Japan’s relations with Myanmar at the present stage with an emphasis on their features after the military coup in that country on February 1, 2021. Japan’s ties with the armed forces of Burma, which were created during the Second World War with Japanese assistance, have been preserved for many post-war decades and are still an important factor that predetermined Japan’s special relations with Myanmar. Currently, maintaining informal contacts with the Myanmar military allows Tokyo to claim the role of a “bridge” between Myanmar and Western countries and pursue its own “balanced course” in relation to this country in the face of a clash of geopolitical interests of the main international actors in Myanmar. This coup prompted Tokyo to distance itself somewhat from the ruling regime. However, at the same time, the Japanese Government is pursuing a very flexible policy aimed at preserving its political and economic positions in Myanmar. This is not hindered by the fact that Tokyo’s approaches to Myanmar often conflict with the positions of other Western countries and cause criticism from not only these countries and various international organizations, but also within Japan itself. A powerful pro-Myanmar lobby has been operating in Japan for many decades, personified by the Japan-Myanmar Association. Thanks to the actions of this lobby, as well as the so-called “special relationship” with Myanmar, Japan has become the world’s largest aid donor to this country and one of the leading foreign investors in its economy. Despite the fact that the majority of American and European companies curtailed their activities in Myanmar after the military coup, most Japanese firms, not wanting to lose profitable business, remained in the country, taking a wait-and-see attitude in the hope of the business environment improving. It can be assumed that the rich experience accumulated over many decades in the development of Japan’s relations with Burma/Myanmar, as well as continuing ties with the country’s military elite, will allow the Japanese government to adapt its political and economic ties to Myanmar under any regime in power in this country.

A wet bacterial cellulose film self-anchored by phosphotungstic acid: Flexible, quick-response and stable cycling performance for photochromic application

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has been recognized as an ideal supporter owning to its abundant hydroxyl groups on the surface. In this work, Keggin-type phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40, PWA) is self-anchored on the three-dimensional network of BC by a simple diffusion method at room-temperature. BC fibers can protect the well-dispersed PWA with high transparency, high mechanical strength, and high stability. When PWA/BC serves as a photochromic material, the coloration time and bleaching time are only 3 min and 30 min respectively. After 6 cycles, the photochromic ability of the PWA/BC composite film almost unchanged. At the same time, we convert the coloration and bleaching degree into quantitative data including a color difference calculation of ΔE2000 and the remaining degree of color (RC%). Within the BC system, PWA exhibits a special linear relationship between RC% and bleaching time (0–30 min). The processes of PWA/BC reduction (W6+→W5+) and oxidation (W5+→W6+) are analysed by photo-electrochromic, XPS and ESR characterizations. The revealed excellent photochromic properties of soft PWA/BC films highlight their potential as the photoresponsive materials.

АМЕРИКАНСЬКО-БРИТАНСЬКІ ВІДНОСИНИ В КОНТЕКСТІ ФОРМУВАННЯ МІЖДЕРЖАВНОГО ОБ’ЄДНАННЯ AUKUS

The article presents the results of a study of the genesis of US-British relations in the context of the historical and political peculiarities of the formation of the interstate association AUKUS. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the use of comparative analysis in the process of understanding the history of US-British relations during the presidencies of Presidents D. Trump and J. Biden as a prerequisite for the participation of both countries in the process of forming the AUKUS interstate association. Attention is focused on the commitment of the J. Biden administration to a multilateral approach to foreign policy, which required the search for updated mechanisms of cooperation with traditional partners, including the UK. The AUKUS project is seen as a mechanism for preserving the influence of the Anglo-Saxon world in the Indo-Pacific region in the context of the growing conflict with China. The author summarizes the considerations of the impact of AUKUS on Ukraine’s international position. The purpose of the research is to identify the causes, preconditions, content, and impact of the updated format of US-British relations on international relations on the example of the formation of the AUKUS interstate cooperation project in the context of current global and regional political processes. The research methodology included chronological, historical and political, historical and genetic, and comparative methods. This made it possible to study the development of interstate relations between the United States and the United Kingdom on the eve and at the stage of formation of the interstate association AUKUS, in which Australia also participated, to study the impact of current trends in international relations on the peculiarities of these states’ participation in AUKUS and to assess the significance of this innovative association in the world security system. Conclusions. It has been established that the commitment of the administration of US President J. Biden to a multilateral approach to foreign policy, unlike his predecessor D. Trump, has required the search for updated mechanisms of cooperation with traditional partners, among which the UK continues to occupy a leading position. The international project AUKUS proposed by the United States reflects an attempt to maintain influence in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of the growing conflict with China while maintaining the dominance of the Anglo-Saxon world as the core for a potentially broader unification of the region’s states. Conclusions. With the launch of the AUKUS project, the US-British “special relationship” has once again received an incentive to intensify. However, such an association has both a preventive function in terms of deterring military conflict in the region and the world, and the challenges of further intensifying the arms race and the opposite effect – increasing international tension. The interests of the main actors in the possible resolution of the military conflict in Ukraine have converged in the Indo-Pacific region. Therefore, Ukraine’s international prospects indirectly depend on the success of the AUKUS project as an element of international relations in the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.

The UK-US Special Relationship through the lens of strategic documents

The article is devoted to an analysis of the current British-American relations and their compliance with the previously established “special” status. The research subject is the current strategic documents of the countries – the UK Integrated Review Refresh 2023 and the US National Security Strategy 2022. A detailed study of the above documents allowed to identify the states’ strategic priorities, common interests, as well as the difference in positioning on the international scene and approaches to bilateral relations. Considering the need to compare the above declared strategies and practically implemented actions to get a complete view of the current UK-US relations, the author examines in detail the agreements reached between the states after the latest publication of the strategic documents, as well as the international agenda affecting bilateral relations. The methodological basis of the research is comparative analysis and content analysis. These methods, as well as systemic analysis enabled a comprehensive assessment of the current UK-US relations. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the article is the first to conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of the UK Integrated Review Refresh 2023 and the US National Security Strategy 2022. The research gained insight into bilateral relations status, as well as into the states’ strategic priorities, which may be useful for further research focusing on the UK and the US. The main conclusion of the study is that the “special relationship” continues to be important for both countries in promoting national interests. Although the term is not mentioned in considering strategic documents, the states’ common strategic priorities create the basis for further partnership. The strategic arrangements and the benefits that the UK and the US derive allow to the relationship remain “special”.

SEASONS, ALCHEMY AND ASTROLOGY WOVEN WITH GOLD AND SILK. TAPESTRIES FROM THE SERIES “FOUR SEASONS. GROTESQUES” IN THE HERMITAGE COLLECTION

The article is devoted to the study of the iconographic program of the series of five tapestries “Four Seasons. Grotesques”, woven, possibly, in Brussels in the 1540s after a carton by an unknown artist. The name of the author of the cartons is unknown, but it is generally accepted in literature that this artist was part of Raphael’s circle. His style is close to Perin del Vaga, or Giulio Romano. There is also still no information about who was the customer for this unusual tapestry series, which is dedicated to the Seasons, but consists of five tapestries. In addition to the extraordinary composition of the series, attention is drawn to the rich grotesque framing of the main subject, located in the center of each tapestry, in the central tondo. Upon thoughtful examination, the viewer notices that all the accompanying figures have their own history, have a special relationship with each other, connected with the main composition in the circle. The more an attentive and interested viewer looks at the numerous figures and details of the images on the huge wall hangings of the series, the more he understands that behind the understandable image of the Seasons there is something much more complex, some kind of deep content, accessible and intended for a few intellectuals who know the codes to this riddle. The basis of the iconographic program is one of the plots from the popular work of the late 15th century — “Hypnoerotomachy of Poliphilus”. However, the deep symbolism of the images goes beyond just a literary work and is associated with the alchemical model of the world, where the four seasons — the four elements — through transmutations and transformations, as a result of struggle and fusion, lead to the appearance of the highest, fifth element — ether, sunlight, which is symbolized by the sun god Apollo. A brief analysis of the iconographic scheme of the series of tapestries “Four Seasons. Grotesques” from the Hermitage collection was undertaken by us for the first time. There is no doubt that many details, allegories and allusions were left beyond the scope of this brief study. There is still much to understand about these undoubtedly outstanding works.

Cumans in the Hungarian Domestic Policy in the Second Half of the 13th Century

The article explores a range of issues related to the role of the Cuman population in the life of Hungarian society in the second half of the 13th century. Political crises arose against the background of the struggle between contenders for the throne. Gradually, special vassal-lord relationships were formed. Land allotments were granted to the feudal lords not in exchange for service but on account of their past services to the king. As wealth grew, so did the ambitions of the Hungarian barons. Bela IV planned to use the Cumans, who had resettled in the middle of the 13th century, in the fight against the local magnates. Gradually, the role of nomads in the royal court increased. The Cumans had become one of the key players in the domestic political arena of the country. During the civil war between Bela IV and Prince Istvan, the Cumans supported the king at the beginning of the conflict. During the reign of Laszlo IV, the Cuman aristocracy gained an advantage in terms of influence over the king. The king favored the Cumans, who also comprised his bodyguards. Local magnates, with the support of the papal legate in 1279, achieved the adoption of a law on the Cumans, which radically changed the way of life of the nomads. Because of this, the Cumans rebelled, and the king lost their traditional support. Later, representatives of the Cuman nobility became the main participants in the murder of Laszlo IV.

The presence of animals in hospital facilities: A preliminary study on the opinion of doctors, healthcare workers, and students in Sardinia.

Contact with pets within healthcare settings is considered worldwide an added value to assistance both in the case of animal-assisted interventions and also when pets are visiting hospitalized owners, due to the special emotional relationship between them and their pets. The goal of this work was to analyze local experiences on access of pets to healthcare facilities using a survey sent to doctors, veterinarians, and students in the region of Sardinia (Italy). The online survey consisted of 17 questions, with the objective to evaluate knowledge and interest of study participants on some aspects of human-animal interaction with particular reference to potential access of pets to hospitals facilities and nursing homes and to promote an initial social judgment in the medical and healthcare environment. A total of 2484 subjects were invited to participate to the survey through an email explaining the purpose of the study. Statistical analysis on the survey results was conducted by comparing the characteristics of respondents with their answers to animal-assisted-intervention-related questions. Results showed that over 70% of the participants owned an animal; almost 80% of responses showed that survey participants were in favor of animal presence in hospitals; furthermore, the responses showed how the concept of One Health seems not only scarcely established, but also barely known. The large majority of respondents (over 80%) positively responded on questions around the role of animals as co-therapists. On the one hand, this study showed lack of knowledge on the concept of One Health, whose essence is too often unknown and, on the other hand, it confirmed that women may be more inclined to show empathy and sensitivity toward animals. Regarding the profession, students seem more concerned about the introduction of animals into hospitals than healthcare workers.

Using the Colonizers’ Own Weapons: The Politics of Equality, Freedom, and Integration in Advocacy Against American Indian Termination

Beginning in the early 1950s, the United States Congress enacted a program of “termination” of American Indian tribes. By eliminating the special relationship between tribes and the federal government, termination aimed at the full assimilation of American Indians into U.S. society. Government proponents advocated for termination using the language of equal rights, freedom, and integration. Previous scholarship has shown that anti-termination advocates, by contrast, appealed to the internationalist Cold War language of development, self-governance, and global decolonization to resist termination. These same leaders also invoked the civil rights language of termination’s proponents, however. Their arguments illustrated how the federal government misconstrued and misapplied the concepts of equality and freedom in relation to federal Indian policy; in other words, they used the colonizers’ own weapons against them. Not only is this analysis an important missing piece in historical scholarship on anti-termination advocacy, but it also challenges the supposed opposition between tribal sovereignty and civil rights struggles and emphasizes the historical coexistence of multiple competing interpretations of American freedom and equality.

The Legal Protection Policy for Partnerships in Socially Just, Digital-Based Land Transportation Businesses

<p class="TableParagraph"><em>The development of legal relations between drivers and online land transportation service application providers is becoming increasingly massive, especially when technological developments and digitalization make it easier to utilize digital-based land transportation services. This research aims to analyze and determine legal prescriptions or solutions to the problem of legal gaps in special regulations that discuss and serve as guidelines in implementing partnership legal relations between online transportation drivers and online land transportation service application providers in terms of the aspect of social justice. This research is normative legal research by prioritizing conceptual and statutory approaches. The research results confirm that the social justice aspect of the partnership legal relationship between drivers and online land transportation service application providers has not actually been fulfilled, which is due to the absence of special regulations regarding partnership relationships that can guarantee legal certainty and protection for online transportation service drivers. Legal protection policies for partnership legal relationships between drivers and online land transportation service application providers can be implemented by establishing regulations regarding special partnership relationships between drivers and online land transportation service application providers to fill the existing legal gaps.</em></p>

한국 고전 서사문학에 나타난 책방형(冊房型) 인물의 존재 양상과 특징

The 'Magistrate's Private Secretary(冊房)' is a position that does not fall under the official control (官制), and is privately filled by a village official. There are also documents recorded under the names of Chaekgaek(冊客) and Chaeksil(冊室). During the Joseon Dynasty, Ajeon was divided into “Kyung-ahjeon,”a lower-level official of the central government office, and “Oe-aJeon,”a lower-level official of the local government office, with Oe-ahjeon further divided into 'Hyangri (鄕吏)' and 'Gari (假吏). He was asked to cover for those who had served as former positions for generations for the province, and those who came from other provinces temporarily held former positions. However, Gari, who came in as a local officer and served as a kind of secretary while working on documents and accounting, was the magistrate's private secretary.
 A character reaches its epitome in the social relationship of a specific era. The special social relationship that the magistrate's private secretary was "a being in a subtle position as a private staff of the leader without having a government organizational position in the public space of Dongheon" is the background for discussing the model of a "Magistrate's Private Secretary," which encompasses Moknangcheong, Cho Nangcheong, and Lee Nangcheong. Since the character of a magistrate's private secretary is inextricably related to the leader, the shape in classical narrative literature also varies as per the structure of the relationship with the leader. Accordingly, it can be classified into various types, which are as follows. First, he is the "Magistrate's Private Secretary" character who is completely subordinated to the leader in adherence to a thorough hierarchical relationship, and his actions and actions arising from his subordination become the subject of ridicule and satire in the work. Second, although in a top-down relationship, he is the "Magistrate's Private Secretary," who forms a public relationship in relation to bribery, and he is the subject of criticism in the work, with the leader painted as a corrupt official. Third, although he is basically in a top-down relationship, it is the "Magistrate's Private Secretary" character that is less subordinate than the first type, and also contributes to making the leader an object of caricature or criticism in the work. Fourth, he, as the "Magistrate's Private Secretary," is embodying his own personality, regardless of the leader’s existence.

Fish as fellow creatures—A matter of moral attention

AbstractUp against capacity‐based approaches to animal ethics, Cora Diamond has put the idea of animals as our fellow creatures. The aim of this article is to explore the implications of this concept for our treatment of fish. Fish have traditionally been placed at the borders or even outside of the moral community, although there is growing evidence that they have perceptual and social capacities comparable to animals that are considered morally significant. Given that a fellow creature's approach is not primarily concerned with capacities, fish may pose a challenge: Can fish be seen as our fellow creatures, and if so, on what grounds? In exploring these questions, we defend Diamond against Jeff McMahan's critique of her account and its implications that the fellow creature‐concept is reducible to either capacities or special relationships and leaves no room for argument‐based moral reform. We suggest that moral attention is key to grasping the moral significance of fish and discuss how scientific research can support such attention. In so doing, we demonstrate how Diamond's approach to animal ethics provides a viable alternative to the dominant animal ethics approaches. Finally, we indicate how this approach can be useful for discussions on industrial fish farming.

Genre uniqueness of the documentary novel: the case of Kharyskhal's "The Roads of Bygone Years"

The article deals with the genre features of the documentary novel "By the Roads of Bygone Years" ("Aaspytyt kem aartyktarynan", 2021) written by the Yakut writer V. Е. Vasiliev – Kharyskhal. He is the author of historical dramas, which are staged in the theaters of our republic. The writer has created dramas based on archival documents, which reflect the history of Yakut life in the early twentieth century. His work "By the Roads of Bygone Years" ("Aaspytyt kem aartyktarynan") is a novel by genre. It is also based on archive materials, memoirs and letters, and is truly documentary. At the same time, the work is characterized by a peculiar artistic form, which is expressed in a special lyrical narration of the author himself, as well as in the ways of revealing the image of the protagonist.The purpose of the research is to study the concept of the documentary novel and to identify its specific features. The article emphasizes that the documentary novel tells about little-known periods and events that are still mysteries. The writer uses personal experiences, including his own impressions and experiences, to create a more emotional connection with the topic and characters. This allows the reader to better understand the author's motivation and special relationship to the story being told.Thus, the study of the documentary novel and its genre features is of great relevance as it allows us to expand our understanding of art and literature. The documentary novel provides a unique opportunity to combine reality and fiction writing, which allows us to better understand and appreciate history, as well as develop our imagination and emotional perception of texts.

Title IX ruling offers valuable guidance for addressing off‐campus violence

There has been another installment in the long line of court cases examining whether colleges and universities are liable for off‐campus misconduct by students. Traditionally, these cases have involved tort/negligence claims and explored whether there is a special (legal) relationship between postsecondary institutions and their students. Such cases are finding new life in Title IX law, specifically deliberate indifference claims.

The discourse of the Anthropocene and posthumanism: Indigenous peoples and local communities

Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are characterised by their special relationships with their traditional lands and the natural world, which are essential to their physical and cultural survival, identity, knowledge, and spirituality. They are custodians of the land; however, often made invisible and voiceless in the face of irreversible destruction caused by human-induced planetary change. This Special Issue (SI) is inspired by the stories, worldviews, knowledge systems, and lived experiences of IPLCs worldwide. Based on the compounded impacts of global climate change and other human-induced crises on IPLCs’ ancestral lands, contributors to this SI recognise that the world has entered the Anthropocene – the epoch of human-induced planetary change. While human activities are considered geologically recent, they have profoundly impacted the planet. The contributors challenge the discourse of the Anthropocene, not only because it takes humanity as the prime reference point in understanding the world but also because of its reproduction of the onto-epistemological foundations of Eurocentric philosophy, which underpins colonialism and racial capitalism. This SI opens up space for historically marginalised IPLCs’ cosmologies, which embody their holistic, spiritually and physically interconnected, interdependent, and reciprocal relationships with land, the natural world, and non-human beings. It expands and pluralises the discourse of the Anthropocene through the concept of posthumanism to recognise alternative knowledge systems that decentre humanity’s dominant position in understanding the world. IPLCs’ onto-epistemologies align with posthuman or more-than-human ways of knowing, being, and doing, which embody their reciprocal relationships with land, non-human beings, and the natural world that are all deemed as living entities with agency. IPLCs’ voices urge us to relearn our ancestral ways of understanding and interacting with the world and reconnect to our holistic relationships with the planet Earth and its beings to ensure the continuity of nature and culture.

The discourse of the Anthropocene and posthumanism: Mining-induced loss of traditional land and the Mongolian nomadic herders

For over five millennia, Mongolia has been home to a remarkably resilient, land-connected, pastoral nomadic way of life and cultural heritage. Traditional local communities of Mongolian nomadic herders are custodians of the land. Since Mongolia’s transition to a democracy and neoliberal capitalist economy in the 1990s, an unprecedented mining boom has set in as large deposits of mineral resources were discovered. The mining boom and climate change impacts have put mounting pressure on herders’ ability to access their traditional land. Drawing on ethnographic research through storywork with Mongolian nomadic herders ( malchid) in their traditional land ( nutag) in the Gobi Desert region in Mongolia, this study aims to expand the discourse of the Anthropocene by engaging with the concept of posthumanism. We unpack the predominant discourse among Mongolian nomadic herders – loss of traditional land – induced by mining. In the Anthropocene – the epoch of human-induced planetary change – herders have become victims of both human-induced global environmental and climate change and the neoliberal capitalist extractive economy. Driven by mining-induced forced displacement from their traditional land and the natural resources on which they depend, herders are marginalised, resulting in the loss of their livelihood and severing of their special relationship and spiritual connection with their traditional land. We conclude that Mongolian nomadic herders’ voices urge us that it is crucial to expand and pluralise the discourse of the Anthropocene by relearning our ancestral ways of knowing, being and doing, and reconnecting to our holistic, spiritually and physically entwined, reciprocal and symbiotic relationship with land, non-human beings and the natural world that are all regarded as living and sentient entities with identity, agency and intentionality. Mongolian nomadic herders’ ancestral cosmology and onto-epistemology turn us to posthuman or more-than-human ways of understanding and interacting with the world, which decentre human exceptionalism and dominant position in the Anthropocene.

Gene co-regulation caused by the special positional relationship in the early stages of Drosophila embryos

The genetic regulation mechanism of early Drosophila embryo has been a research hotspot in the past few decades. Understanding the early genetic regulation mechanisms of Drosophila embryos plays an important role in understanding the growth and development of other animals. In previous studies, an important Transcription Activator, Zelda (Zld), was reported. Zld is a global activator of early embryonic transcription. During the early development of embryos, all animals undergo the material-to-zygotic Transition (MZT), where Zld plays an important role in degrading maternal mRNA and mediating the expression of over 120 zygotic genes. The absence or mutation of Zld will directly lead to the inability of the embryo to complete the MZT process and result in lethality. TAGteam is a special sequence upstream of many genes in Drosophila, and Zld plays a role as a binding protein of TAGteam. TAGteam is a highly conserved sequence that generally exists in the form of CAGGTAG. Mutations or lack of TAGteam often result in inability to bind to Zld, resulting in the inability of genes to be expressed normally. The two genes involved in this experiment, CG14014 (2L: 5549709.. 550835 [-]) and CG18269 (2L: 5551838.. 5552756 [+]), are two adjacent genes on the Drosophila chromosome. They are located on two different DNA strands and facing in opposite directions, while their current role is not yet clear. There are typical TAGteam sequences upstream of both genes. This article conducts experiments to verify the relationship between these two genes and the regulation of Zld protein, and explores the possibility of their co-regulation by designing experiments.

Were Relationships in the Workplace Changed? An Exploration of the Impacts of the Mandatory Work from Home Policy on Small and Medium-Sized Family Businesses in Switzerland

Small- and medium-sized family business competitiveness is built largely upon trusted relationships between owners, management, and employees. This paper questions whether the quality of such relationships were changed by the work from home policy (WFH) utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 This research analyses how mandatory WFH impacted interpersonal relationships between employees and supervisors in small and medium-sized family businesses (SMFB) by applying leader-member exchange theory (LMX). Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with owners or the executive management of Swiss SMFB. The study concludes that WFH affects the quality of the relationship between leaders and their employees. WFH is beneficial for the family business and its special relationships as long as all parties can count on well-established, trusted relationships and motivated and open-minded leaders who are capable of keeping the level of interpersonal communication with their employees well balanced. Where employees are struggling with WFH tasks while perceiving a denaturation of the leader-employee relationship a “call back to office” should be considered and indicates that effort is needed to improve the interpersonal relationship. A decent level of mutual trust between the parties helps firms to go through or overcome the down sides and turbulences under WFH and supports maintaining and enhancing leader-follower relationships during challenging times.

The Role of Firm Size as a Moderating Variable on Special Relationship Transactions, Modal Intensity, and Profitability Towards Effective Tax Rate

The purpose of this study is to examine the interactions between a number of variables that affect the effective corporate tax rate (ETR), including special transaction relationship—in this example, affiliate debt—modal intensity, and profitability—using the size of the company as a moderating variable. Panel data from 41 manufacturing businesses listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange for the years 2017 through 2021 was used to implement the strategy. Our findings demonstrate that the impact of special relationship transactions on effective tax rates is neither affected nor changed by corporation size. According to data processing findings, a company's size can both adversely reduce the impact of modal intensity on the effective tax rate and positively moderate the impact of modal intensification on the effective tax rate. These results, in our opinion, will be helpful to governments when deciding on fiscal policies as well as to businesses when deciding where to locate and make investments in these nations. This study, in our opinion, is a significant contribution to the literature since it takes into account new factors, including institutional and business-related factors, that were not jointly taken into account in other studies on the determinant effective tax rate.

Blood urea nitrogen has a nonlinear association with 3-month outcomes with acute ischemic stroke: A second analysis based on a prospective cohort study

BackgroundEvidence regarding the relationship between blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and 3-month outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients is still scarce. Therefore, the present study was preformed to explore the link between the BUN and 3-month poor outcomes in patients with AIS. MethodsA retrospective study of 1866 participants with AIS enrolled from January 2010 to December 2016 at a hospital in South Korea. Binary logistic regression, smooth curve fitting, and a set of sensitivity analyses were used to analyze the association between BUN and 3-month poor outcomes. ResultsAfter adjusting covariates, the results of the binary logistic regression model suggested that the relationship between the BUN and the risk of 3-month poor outcomes for AIS patients was not statistically significant. However, there was a special nonlinear relationship between them, and the inflection point of the BUN was 13mg/dl. On the left side of the inflection point, every unit increase in the BUN reduces the risk of 3-month poor outcomes by 14.1% (OR=0.859, 95%CI: 0.780-0.945, p = 0.0019). On the right side of the inflection point, the relationship is not statistically significant. ConclusionThere is a nonlinear relationship with saturation effect between BUN level and 3-month poor outcomes in AIS patients. Maintaining the BUN at around 13mg/dl can reduce the risk of 3-month poor outcome in AIS patients.

How can early COVID-19 vaccine campaigns in the US-affiliated Pacific Islands inform future vaccine efforts: a cross-sectional analysis

IntroductionThe US-affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) are six geographically isolated and culturally distinct Pacific Island jurisdictions with special relationships with the USA; the USAPI were included in the US COVID-19 vaccination...