bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Small businesses and government assistance during COVID-19: Evidence from the paycheck protection program in the U.S.
Authors: Wang Qingfang , Kang Wei
Published: April 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented losses for small businesses in cities across the globe. Policymakers have relied on a wide range of measures to support firms and sustain business continuity. However, significant concerns have been expressed about the degree of equity in the distribution and efficiency of government assistance during the pandemic disruption. Drawing on the case of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and its implementation in inland Southern California, this study examines the spatial distribution of PPP loans at the neighborhood level. Based on spatial regressions and in-depth interviews with small businesses, banks, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, the study finds that, in terms of their total number and value, the PPP loans have roughly succeeded in reaching their small business targets. However, communities with higher shares of pandemic-vulnerable businesses or higher levels of socioeconomic vulnerability are less likely to have received PPP loans. There have also been spatial spillover effects of community vulnerability when it comes to receiving PPP loans at the neighborhood level. The correlation between fewer PPP loans and community vulnerability also reflects both short-term needs and longstanding challenges facing entrepreneurship and business development in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Moreover, small business resilience and community resilience are inseparable, and thus government business assistance must be considered in the context of local communities.
Impact of Life Events on Incremental Travel Behavior Change
Authors: Ahmed Usman , Moeckel Rolf
Published: April 2023

Travel demand models regenerate the travel behavior of persons or households from scratch at every model run. However, the literature suggests that travel behavior remains relatively stable over time. Change in travel behavior is triggered by life events such as change in employment, household relocation, or birth of a child. The inability of existing travel demand models to represent habitual travel behavior and change in travel behavior of a person/household becuase of life events tends to exaggerate policy sensitivity and result in longer model run times to recreate travel behavior for every agent. In this study, we examined the travel behavior of persons between two consecutive years using a mobility panel survey from Germany. The travel behavior of persons with and without a life event is compared econometrically. Here, the travel behavior is measured as the number of weekly trips by activity type and mode and the impacts of six types of life events are studied. The results show that life events affect travel behavior, but the degree of impact varies by the type of life event, the trip purpose, and the mode. In some cases the impact is found to be negligible, but for many other cases the impact is profound. Moreover, general trends (not affected by life event) in travel behavior are also found. It is concluded that such dynamics in travel behavior should be represented by travel demand models for more sensible policy testing and computationally efficient travel demand models.
Why Has Labor Productivity Slowed Down in the Era of Financialization?: Insights from the Post-Keynesians for the European Union Countries
Authors: Barradas Ricardo
Published: April 2023

This article employs a panel data econometric approach in order to empirically ascertain the role of the phenomenon of financialization in the deceleration of labor productivity in the European Union countries from 1980 to 2019. During that time, the European Union countries suffered a huge structural transformation based on Reaganomics and Thatcherism and their financial systems have experienced strong liberalization and deregulation, which have contributed to poor evolution of labor productivity and have revived fears around a new “secular stagnation” in the era of financialization. Grounded in post-Keynesian literature, the slowdown of labor productivity in the majority of developed economies in the last decades cannot be separated from the phenomenon of financialization, which has occurred through four different channels, namely, weak economic performance, the decline in the labor income share, the increase in personal income inequality, and the strengthening of the degree of financialization and its corresponding harmful effects on innovation, research and development, technological progress, and productive investments performed by nonfinancial corporations. Our findings confirm that lagged labor productivity, economic performance, and labor income share have a positive impact on labor productivity in the European Union countries, while personal income inequality and the degree of financialization impact it negatively. Our findings also reveal that labor productivity in the European Union countries in the last decades would have grown more if there had been a stronger economic performance, a smaller decline (or even a rise) of the labor income share, a smaller increase (or even a decrease) of personal income inequality, and a weakening of the degree of financialization.

JEL Classification: C23, E12, E24, and E44
The Role of Unit and Interpersonal Support in Military Sexual Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
Authors: Webermann Aliya R. , Relyea Mark R. , Portnoy Galina A. , Martino Steve , Brandt Cynthia A. , Haskell Sally G.
Published: April 2023

Military sexual trauma (MST) is strongly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Among many potential factors explaining this association are unit and interpersonal support, which have been explored in few studies with veterans who have experienced MST. This project examines unit and interpersonal support as moderators and/or mediators of PTSD symptoms among post-9/11 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn veterans who experienced MST. MST, unit support, and interpersonal support variables were collected at Time 1 (T1; N = 1,150, 51.4% women), and PTSD symptoms 1 year later at Time 2 (T2; N = 825; 52.3% women). Given gender differences in endorsed MST, models with the full sample (men and women) and women only were examined, while controlling for covariates related to PTSD, and a path model was examined among women veterans. Mediation was supported in the full model and women-only models, with the combination of both mediators demonstrating the strongest mediation effects (full-model: β = .06, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.03, 0.10], p < .001; women-only model: β = .07, [0.03, 0.14], p = .002). Among the women-only model, MST was negatively associated with unit support (β = −.23, [−0.33, −0.13], p < .001) and interpersonal support (β = −.16, [−0.27, −0.06], p = .002) and both support types were negatively associated with PTSD symptoms (unit support: β = −.13, [−0.24, −0.03], p = .014; interpersonal support: β = −.25, [−0.35, −0.15], p < .001). Moderation was not supported in the full model nor in the women-only model. Experiencing MST is associated with receiving less unit and/or interpersonal support, which in turn is associated with greater PTSD symptoms. More work is needed to understand and improve the impact of unit and community responses to MST on service members who experience MST.
Food media in China’s convergence culture: A Bite of China and digital poaching
Authors: Qu Lina
Published: April 2023

Since its debut on China Central Television (CCTV), Shejian shang de Zhongguo (舌尖上的中国, known as ‘ A Bite of China’, hereinafter Shejian) has met with great fanfare, home and abroad, and become a celebrated geographical brand name of Chinese culinary culture. Shejian marks a distinctive attribute of China’s contemporary food media, which deploys glamourized food images, from ordinary staple food to lavish celebratory meals, to reify social prosperity and personal happiness. This article aims to demonstrate how despite its state-sponsored production and distribution, Shejian is more than an ideological artefact. The cultural phenomenon has thrived at the intersection of China’s media convergence and participatory culture. On the one side, Shejian’s unprecedented success and influence should be attributed to CCTV’s convergence strategies against the backdrop of media reforms. On the other, audience participation and re-creation on the Internet have invigorated the formation and spread of the Shejian phenomenon while problematizing the official interpretation and ideological construction of the documentary. Shejian’s savvy viewers and cynical imitators poach the florid documentary script to write their versions of reality, albeit disguised with profanity and laughter. How the widespread egao practices play with the establishment culture and how such online expressions are tolerated by the authorities shed new light on China’s Internet culture and censorship.
Characterization of erbium oxide doped HP-HVOF deposited carbide ceramic coating on martensitic steel
Authors: Vishnoi Mohit , Murtaza Qasim , Kumar Paras
Published: April 2023

Rare earth elements (REEs) are known as the “vitamin or nutrients” of metals. The addition of rare earth in a limited quantity can enhance the properties of materials. This article elucidates the effect of doping of rare earth oxide (0.9 wt.% Er2O3) on the mechanical and surface behavior of tungsten carbide (WC-10Co-4Cr) based coatings developed using high pressure high velocity oxygen fuel (HP-HVOF) thermal sprayed techniques on martensitic stainless steel (SS410). With the addition of rare earth oxides, the result shows that the hardness of the deposited coating (HV1261.17) is far higher than the substrate (HV193.47). The modulus of elasticity and flexural strength is enhanced for the coated sample as compared to the substrate. The porosity level of the coating is found to be less than 1% and the static water contact angle for coated surface (≈125.1°) shows the coated sample is hydrophobic in nature. The surface characterization was done using the scanning electron microscope attached with energy dispersive X-ray analysis which has identified the presence of various elements on the surface including rare earth. The surface of coated samples has various phases of rare earth oxides such as monoclinic and cubic rare earth oxides. Moreover, its compounds such as Co3W3C were confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements. After comparing previous literature with current results can conclude that the addition of rare earth oxides (0.9 wt.% Er2O3) on carbide coatings enhanced the various properties of materials.
Numerical analysis on the impact of axial grooves on vortex cooling behavior in gas turbine blade's leading edge
Authors: Mohammadi Mehran , Hosseinzadeh Khashayar , Ganji Davood Domiri
Published: April 2023

In this article, a novel design for the vortex chamber with the axial grooves used for cooling the turbine blades leading edge is presented. The vortex chamber has nine tangential inlets that make a vortex in the chamber and an axial groove located along with the chamber. In addition to enhance the flow turbulence, these grooves cause an increasing heat transfer by cutting the thermal boundary layer and reformation. For this purpose, a 3D model based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation was simulated in Ansys Fluent software. After comparing different turbulent models and experimental data, results showed Reynolds stress model (RSM) mode presents the best accuracy. Grooves with different sizes, positions, and numbers are used to investigate the vortex structure and the heat transfer mechanism. This study revealed that a chamber with grooves has a higher heat transfer in comparison with chambers without grooves. The best performance is achieved in a chamber with three grooves, where the average Nusselt number is increased by more than 4%. In this method, pressure difference between the inlet and outlet in the chamber with and without grooves are not very significant, and the highest friction factor happened in the case with three grooves.
Mechanical performance and microscopic characterization of additively manufactured functionally graded material (WPC/Ceramic-PLA) via fused deposition modelling
Authors: Subramaniyan Mohan Kumar , Veeman Dhinakaran , Gurusamy John Kennedy Surendhar , Panda Biranchi , Yang Chunhui
Published: April 2023

During fabrication of complex polymeric structure engineers need to compromise either accuracy or duration which hinders the production efficiency of the industries. Additive manufacturing is an evolving technology with great potential to achieve enhanced mechanical properties of materials over other manufacturing processes. Additive manufacturing effectively reduces lead time thus providing faster fabrication. A prevalent additive manufacturing method to fabricate polymeric structure is fused deposition modelling. Composite material generally possesses better mechanical properties than non-composite material. Polylactic acid is one of popular feedstocks used to fabricate components through fused deposition modelling. Functionally graded materials are structured to possess different mechanical properties towards a graded direction. Hence, this study aims to provide insight to the characteristics of the functionally graded materials structure fabricated with wood polymer composite and ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid. Mechanical tests such as tensile (smooth and V-notch), compression, flexural, impact, and hardness (Shore D hardness) are conducted for functionally graded materials structure and the extracted results are compared with the characteristics of wood polymer composite and ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid materials. The tensile strength of the functionally graded materials structure is found superior to weaker composites (wood polymer composite) and comparable to resilient materials (ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid). Microscopical examinations are carried out for the fabricated structure to ensure the quality. The fractured surfaces are examined using optical microscope to evaluate the mode of failures. The microscopic evaluation conducted for fabricated and fractured structure indicates robust bonding within and between (functionally graded materials interface) wood polymer composite and ceramic-reinforced polylactic acid structure.
Identifying typologies of synthetic energy justice: Eco-centric and anthropocentric perspectives
Authors: Seo Inseok , Lee Youhyun
Published: April 2023

Since the concept of energy justice emerged, studies have conceptually, but rarely empirically, explored energy justice. In addition, studies on energy justice have mainly focused on anthropocentric values toward energy justice. This study aims to categorize Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries’ energy justice using synthetic energy justice via two aspects: eco-centrism and anthropocentrism. Each aspect of energy justice is sub-divided into distributive, substantive, and procedural justices. Using a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis methodology via a statistical program, we suggest typologies of 35 OECD countries for each aspect. Eight types of energy justice for each aspect are extracted, and four types of synthetic energy justice groups are identified among OECD countries. Austria, Iceland, and Luxembourg show the best performance in synthetic energy justice, but do not reach a complete contestable status from an eco-centric perspective. This study provides practical policy implications for OECD countries to self-evaluate each country's macroscopic policy direction in the energy sector, and to ultimately pursue synthetic energy justice with a balanced perspective for our environment and us.
Connectedness and risk spillovers between crude oil and clean energy stock markets
Authors: Cevik Emre , Cevik Emrah I , Dibooglu Sel , Cergibozan Raif , Bugan Mehmet Fatih , Destek Mehmet Akif
Published: April 2023

This research investigates the relationship between clean energy stock and oil market returns utilizing Granger predictability in distribution and quantile impulse response analysis. We find that clean energy stock returns Granger predict oil price returns during “normal times” based on the distribution’s center, but not vice versa. During bullish market episodes, there is bidirectional Granger predictability between the returns of clean energy stocks and oil market returns. Nonetheless, we find that clean energy stock returns Granger predict oil returns in bearish markets without any evidence of the contrary. This indicates that oil returns cannot be used to hedge the downside risk associated with renewable energy company purchases. Quantile impulse responses for the relationship between clean energy stocks and the crude oil market reveal bidirectional and significant responses, where a negative shock during an extremely down market reveals a negative response in the other market and a positive shock during an extremely up market reveals a significant positive response. This shows that neither market can be utilized to offset risks in the other market.
Polymer/carbon nanotube nanocomposites as temperature sensing materials
Authors: Al Sawafi Suaad , Song Mo
Published: April 2023

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes and high-density polyethylene (MWCNTs/HDPE) nanocomposite sheets with (1.0, 0.5, and 0.1) wt.% MWCNT were successfully prepared by coating the MWCNTs on the surface of the matrix particles (HDPE). The sample resistivities of the nanocomposites were investigated in relation to the temperature influence. Several findings could be drawn from these experiments: For instance, among all of the prepared MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposite sheets with (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0) wt. % MWCNT, the electrical resistivity of the 1.0 wt. % MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposite was 33.18 kΩ.m, demonstrating the best electrical conductivity. The resistivities of 0.1 wt. % and 0.5 wt. % samples were found to be 2594 and 372.23 kΩ.m respectively. Also, the measurements of temperature versus electrical conductivity revealed that the rise in temperature causes the electrical resistivity for the MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposites to increase due to the expansion of the distances between the conductive nanofillers (CNT), i.e., the sample resistivity increased under heating due to the thermal expansion of the polymer matrix. For example, the initial electrical resistivity for the 1.0 wt. % MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposite sheet decreased from 36.25 kΩ.m to 33.18 kΩ.m after the heat treatment. Besides, heat treatment could effectively improve the reproducibility of the MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposites. The reproducibility of the 1.0 wt. % MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposite was better than that of the 0.5 wt. % MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposite.
Subjective Knowledge, Perceived Ability, Motivation, and Age: A Mediated Moderation Model of Antecedents of Stock Market Investors’ Information Search
Authors: Mitra Asim , Sur Soma
Published: April 2023

Information search is one of the major steps in the consumer purchase decision-making process and is also essential in making a sensible choice. Researchers have attempted in a variety of ways over the past few decades to explore consumers’ information search behaviour, largely for consumer goods. Today’s rapidly expanding financial services markets are also attracting researchers’ interest in investigating investors’ information search processes. Investors pursue information search activity to manage their expected return on their investment. The information search process helps them to create knowledge for better decision-making. Financial service providers are keen to understand investors’ information search process to establish client-centric advisory services. The present study focuses on exploring relationships among the antecedents of stock market investors’ pre-purchase information search behaviour. In a mediated moderation model, interrelationships between subjective knowledge perceived ability to search, and motivation to search were investigated. The role of investors’ age was also explored as a moderating variable.
Private football academies—friend or foe? An analysis of Norwegian media's framing of arguments about private football academies and the monopoly of organized sport
Authors: Skille Eivind Å. , Strittmatter Anna-Maria , Stenling Cecilia , Fahlén Josef
Published: April 2023

Private football academies challenge the monopoly of Norwegian voluntary and democratic sport. Using field theory and framing approach as analytical perspectives, this article presents a media analysis that reveals that, first, association football and private academies agree on the fact that Norwegian football is not good enough and must improve. Second, they disagree on whether to improve it within association football exclusively or supplemented by private actors that are inspired by the international football field. Third, there is a negative popular view of private academies as too expensive, unconcerned with children's best interests, in violation of Norwegian sport's regulations for children's sport, and—in sum—thus being accused of destroying ‘sport for all’. However, by employing the analytical concepts of habitus and fields, the article also shows how actors partake in several subfields—often on both sides of the private—association border.
Rags and Riches: The Effects of Social Class Diversity on Team Viability
Authors: Williamson Jason A. , Mohammed Susan , McKay Alexander S. , Angell Linda C.
Published: April 2023

Social class inequality is growing at a record pace. What happens when individuals from different social classes work on the same team? We examined the direct and moderating influences of social class as an underexplored form of diversity on team viability in 132 student project teams. Guided by an overarching framework from the team diversity literature, we explored perspective taking and conflict resolution norms as moderators that may safeguard against the negative effects of social class diversity on team viability. As predicted, teams with a mix of higher and lower social class members who were less able to see their teammates’ points of view or develop open conflict resolution norms reported less desire to work together in the future. Given these promising results and the ongoing importance of social class inequality in organizations, future research should continue to examine social class in a team context.
Biomarkers of Stress and Inflammation in Children
Authors: Davis Sara L. , Latimer Mary , Rice Marti
Published: April 2023

Background: Children are increasingly exposed to stressors that can affect their immune function. Given the possible negative effects of stress and inflammation on health, researchers need to use appropriate biomarkers to measure both the effects of stress and subsequent inflammatory responses. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to briefly review stress and inflammatory pathways, identify biomarkers used to measure chronic stress and chronic inflammation particularly in children in clinical and community settings, and to discuss methodological considerations when measuring stress and inflammation in children. Discussion: Biomarkers of chronic stress can be classified as central, meaning they are made in the brain, or peripheral, meaning they are made in the peripheral tissues in response to central signals. The peripheral biomarker, cortisol, is most frequently used in the community setting. In addition, indirect measures, such as oxytocin, may complement the assessment of stress. Common biomarkers of chronic inflammation in children are C-reactive protein (CRP), TNF-α, and IL-6. Similarly, indirect biomarkers of chronic inflammation, such as IL-2 and IL-1β, may also be considered. Conclusions: Various types of specimens can be used to measure these biomarkers of stress and inflammation including blood, saliva, urine, sweat, hair, nails, and tears. Each type of specimen has different requirements for collection, storage, and assay. Future research would benefit from standardized biomarker levels across age and development in children and incorporation of other biomarkers.
Mortality differences by race over 20 years in individuals with peripheral artery disease
Authors: Dicks Andrew B , Lakhter Vladimir , Elgendy Islam Y , Schainfeld Robert M , Mohapatra Abhisekh , Giri Jay , Weinberg Mitchell D , Weinberg Ido , Parmar Gaurav
Published: April 2023

Introduction:

Racial disparities exist in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), with Black individuals having worse PAD-specific outcomes. However, mortality risk in this population has been mixed. As such, we sought to evaluate all-cause mortality by race among individuals with PAD.

Methods:

We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Baseline data were obtained from 1999 to 2004. Patients with PAD were grouped according to self-reported race. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) by race. A separate analysis was performed to study the effect of burden of social determinants of health (SDoH) on all-cause mortality.

Results:

Of 647 individuals identified, 130 were Black and 323 were White. Black individuals had more premature PAD (30% vs 20%, p < 0.001) and a higher burden of SDoH compared to White individuals. Crude mortality rates were higher in Black individuals in the 40–49-year and 50–69-year age groups compared to White individuals (6.7% vs 6.1% and 8.8% vs 7.8%, respectively). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that Black individuals with both PAD and coronary artery disease (CAD) had a 30% higher hazard of death over 20 years compared to White individuals (HR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.0–2.1). The cumulative burden of SDoH marginally (10–20%) increased the risk of all-cause mortality.

Conclusions:

In a nationally representative sample, Black individuals with PAD and CAD had higher rates of mortality compared to their White counterparts. These findings add further proof to the ongoing racial disparities among Black individuals with PAD and highlight the necessity to identify ways to mitigate these differences.
What Do Professors Do? Posthumous Letter of Love to Ma
Authors: Seedat Mohamed
Published: April 2023

Assuming an autoethnographic orientation and a shifting performative lettering style, I write posthumously to my mother in response to her question, what do professors do? The letter is a reflexive contribution to contemporary decolonial debates about unrelenting forms of colonizing knowledge, ways of overturning exclusionary credentialing systems, and liberatory modes of knowledge creation. Engaging with the epistemology of the heart, I write to Ma about the fecundity of silence and being a stranger; the (re)making of critical compassionate space in academia; the tenuous movements between different epistemologies; the slipperiness of language and the ambiguities inherent to connecting diverse socio-epistemic worlds; as well as her legacy of socio-epistemic agency. Perhaps communities of insurgent scholars and activists and those who hold humanizing imaginaries in their bosoms may read my letter as an invitation to embrace the heart as the catalytic organ of, and for discernment, comprehension, contemplation, radical agency, and epistemic love.
Challenges to Lifestyle Medicine for Type 2 Diabetes in Iran: A Synoptic Review
Authors: Dehghani Firouzabadi Mohammad , Sheikhy Ali , Poopak Amirhossein , Esteghamati Alireza , Mechanick Jeffrey I. , Dehghani Firouzabadi Fatemeh
Published: April 2023

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major public health issue in Iran. The principal context for T2D management is the prevention of cardiovascular disease development and progression. These preventive strategies can be enhanced with routine implementation of comprehensive lifestyle modification, guideline-directed medical therapies, and creation of infrastructure that considers social determinants of health, ethnocultural variables, and financial challenges. In this synoptic review, scientific evidence sourced from Iran is analyzed to identify tactics to optimize the lifestyle medicine component of T2D care in Iran. Important evidence-based factors gleaned from the literature were curated into 9 categories: self-care, dietary adherence, mental health, self-comparison, transcultural adaptation, family support and community engagement, physical activity, the global pandemic, and service delivery. These categories were then assigned to 1 of 4 a priori aspects challenging diabetes care in Iran: behavioral factors, belief system, drivers, and implementation. By codifying discussion points and individual tactics, the improvement and optimization of T2D care in Iran can be facilitated. This reductionist model of approaching lifestyle medicine and complex chronic disease such as T2D can be applied to other ethnocultural populations.
Management of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in two Australian tertiary care maternity hospitals
Authors: Helou Amyna , Stewart Kay , George Johnson
Published: April 2023

Background

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are common obstetric medical problems. Compliance with clinical guidelines and evidence from major trials has the potential to translate to significantly improve maternal and perinatal outcomes. The aims of this study were to prospectively review management of HDP in an Australian cohort in the context of the Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australian and New Zealand (SOMANZ) guidelines and current evidence in published literature regarding management controversies.

Methods

The management of 100 pregnant women with HDP and prescription for antihypertensive medication at two tertiary obstetric centres was prospectively reviewed in 2013. Compliance with SOMANZ guidelines, uptake of findings from the HYPITAT trial and the Control of Hypertension In Pregnancy Study (CHIPS) trial were assessed.

Results

Sixty-eight women had chronic hypertension, while 32 had gestational hypertension. Management of HDP was mostly consistent with current SOMANZ guidelines and evidence from CHIPS and HYPITAT.

Conclusion

Clinicians were practising according to the current SOMANZ guidelines, indicating vigilance on behalf of the treating team.
Impact of death anxiety on mental health during COVID-19: The mediating role of the meaning in life
Authors: Jin Yuchang , Zeng Qiao , Cong Xianglong , An Junxiu , Zheng Peixuan
Published: April 2023

The aim of this article is to explore whether COVID-19 aroused an awareness of death, inflamed death anxiety, and affected mental health and to assess the degree that meaning in life played in the relationship between death anxiety and general mental health. A total of 197 participants were recruited using convenience sampling and were divided into an experimental group ( n = 100) and a control group ( n = 97). All participants completed the Death Anxiety Scale (DA), the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Death anxiety had a significant positive predictive effect on general mental health and meaning in life. When death anxiety and meaning in life were included in the regression equation, death anxiety still had a significant positive predictive effect on general mental health, and meaning in life had a significant positive predictive effect on general mental health. These results indicated that meaning in life played a partially mediating role in the influence of death anxiety on general mental health. In the COVID-19 context, death information was found to arouse awareness of death and death anxiety, which adversely affected mental health, and it was also confirmed that meaning in life played a partially mediating role between death anxiety and general mental health, which suggested that mental health problems could be alleviated in the future by helping people find meaning and value in their lives and cope more positively with death.
Growth mindset predicts teachers’ life satisfaction when they are challenged to innovate their teaching
Authors: Lee Sau-Lai , Chan Hiu-Sze , Tong Yuk-Yue , Chiu Chi-Yue
Published: April 2023

Teaching innovations can improve the quality of education and facilitate adaptation to environmental shifts caused by global shocks such as the COVID pandemic. However, the pressure to innovate and change may also cause erosion of teachers’ life satisfaction, especially when job resources are insufficient and support for the changes is inadequate, or when teachers lack confidence in mastering new teaching technology. In the present research, we showed that compared to those who did not, teachers who presented a growth mindset—the belief that one's abilities can grow by mobilizing effective effort—had a greater tendency to accept a new initiative in teaching and had higher life satisfaction, particularly when they perceived resources and support for the change were insufficient (Study 1). In addition, when schools needed to switch to online teaching because of school closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers who presented a growth mindset, compared to those who did not, felt more self-efficacious in mastering online teaching and had higher life satisfaction (Study 2). We discuss these findings in terms of their implications on the management of teacher well-being and teachers’ professional development during significant environmental shifts.
Competition and game-playing: The academic returns and mental health costs of private tutoring
Authors: Zhang Qian , Gao Yayi
Published: April 2023

Given the intense academic competition in China, we ask the question of whether the academic returns to private tutoring come at the expense of students’ mental health. This topic involves the investigation and analysis of the dual effect of private tutoring. By using China Education Panel Survey data for 2014 and 2015, this study consistently finds that although investing time in private tutoring can boost academic achievement, it has a significant negative impact on students’ mental health. With an increase in average time spent and proportional participation in tutoring at the class level, the positive effect of the time invested in after-school tutoring on academic performance continues to weaken while the negative impact on mental health is gradually enhanced for a given individual. The main triggers for the worsening of mental health are the weakening of the social comparison effect as well as the enhancement of the role stress effect and the sleep deprivation effect.
Hepatitis C Treatment in Persons Who Inject Drugs in a Medication Assisted Treatment Program: A Retrospective Review of an Integrated Model
Authors: Bobb Raymond , Malayala Srikrishna Varun , Ajayi Ebun , Wimbush Aliya , Bobb Alyssa
Published: April 2023

Background:

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common among persons who inject drugs (PWID), mostly due to needle sharing. The number of new cases in PWID are steadily increasing despite the availability of effective treatments. The objective of this model is to increase uptake and compliance with HCV treatment. We developed a model to treat HCV and opioid use disorder simultaneously in a methadone maintenance program.

Methods:

Patients were screened on site for HCV at admission and then annually. Once HCV was positive, the genotypes and fibrosis scores were identified. Patients were enrolled into the treatment program after obtaining written consent. Patients either self-administered the medications at home or utilized a directly observed treatment (DOT). The sustained virologic response (SVR) was tested at 12 weeks posttreatment. We conducted a retrospective review of patients who received treatment and reviewed the demographic data, co-infections, medication administration, and SVR results at the end of study period.

Results:

One hundred ninety patients were identified as Hepatitis C positive. 88.9% (169 patients) received HCV treatment during the study period. 62.7% (106 patients) were male and 37.3% were female (63 patients). 62.7% of them (106 patients) completed HCV treatment by the end of study period. Out of them, 96.2% (102 patients) achieved SVR. 68.9% (73 patients) utilized DOT for medication administration.

Conclusions:

Our model successfully treated HCV in our patient population, who are otherwise deprived of resources and access to health care. Replicating this model is a potential strategy to reduce the disease burden and break the transmission cycle of HCV.
“You Almost Feel Out of Touch [For Saying] … ‘Oh, and by the way, Stop Smoking.’” A Qualitative Exploration of Provider Perspectives About Discussing Tobacco and Cannabis Use With 18-24-Year-Old Young Adults With HIV
Authors: Hill Samantha V. , Palenski Paige , Crane Heidi M. , O’Cleirigh Conall , Matthews Lynn T. , Cropsey Karen
Published: April 2023

Background: Youth with HIV (YWH) aged 18–24 are overburdened by tobacco, with half also using cannabis recreationally. Increasing tobacco cessation necessitates exploring providers’ approaches to cessation. Methods: Grounded in social cognitive theory, we explored cognitive, socioenvironmental, and behavioral factors impacting providers’ approaches to tobacco use among recreational cannabis users. Virtual interviews were conducted among healthcare providers caring for YWH in Washington (legalized cannabis), Massachusetts (legalized cannabis), and Alabama (cannabis not legal). Interviews were transcribed and analyzed via deductive and exploratory, thematic approaches using NVivo 12 Plus. Results: Twelve providers participated; 80% were subspecialist physicians. All providers ( N = 12) reported discussing tobacco use; none reported discussing tobacco use in conjunction with cannabis use. Identified themes included competing demands including cannabis co-use, prioritization of social determinants of health, and need for youth-tailored tools. Conclusions: YWH disproportionately use tobacco and recreational cannabis. Optimizing clinical visits to identify opportunities to address tobacco is crucial.
Revolution, Change, and Democratic Transition in Egypt Since 2011: A Critical Political Economy Approach
Authors: Koussa Ziad
Published: April 2023

The causes, consequences, and trajectory of the 2011 uprising in Egypt have been and continue to be a subject of scholarly debate. This article is situated within this debate with a particular focus on the role of political economy factors in engendering democracy and democratic transition. The key research objectives are to address why the Egyptian people came together in 2011 in an unprecedented show of solidarity to overthrow the Hosni Mubarak regime, to evaluate the interpretive frames for this uprising from two overlapping but fundamentally opposed perspectives—liberal democracy and radical democracy; to assess the extent to which the adoption of neoliberalism, accompanied by poverty and inequality, played a role in fomenting the countermovement against the regime; and to identify the underlying structures and process that links the 2011 uprising to the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The article concludes that the imposition of a neoliberal regime of capital accumulation, with dispossession and upward wealth redistribution at its heart, created the conditions for the rise of radical democratic mass movements that overthrew both Mubarak and Mohammed Morsi. The article further underlines that the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi not only halted the democratic reforms demanded by the Egyptian people but continues, at a faster pace, to impose the same neoliberal economic restructuring that catalyzed the uprising in the first place.
Changes in Patient Perceptions of the Provider Most Involved in Care During COVID-19 and Corresponding Effects on Patient Trust
Authors: Ren Megan , Zhang Hui , Meltzer David , Arora Vineet M. , Prochaska Micah
Published: April 2023

During COVID-19 routine clinical operations were disrupted, including limits on the types of providers allowed to perform in-person care and frequency of times they could enter a patient's room. Whether these changes affected patients’ trust in the care they received during hospitalization is unknown. Hospitalized patients on the general medicine service were called after discharge and asked to identify who (attending, resident, etc.) was most involved in their inpatient care, and how much trust they had in the physician caring for them. During the pandemic patients were more likely to report attending physicians (29% to 34%) and nurses (30% to 35%), and less likely to report residents/interns (8.1% to 6.5%) or medical students (1.7% to 1.4%) as most involved in their care (chi-squared test, p = 0.04). Patients reporting their attending physician as most involved in their care were more likely to report trusting their doctor (chi-squared test, p < 0.01). As such, trends in medical education that limit trainees’ time in direct patient care may affect the development of clinical and interpersonal skills necessary to establish patient trust.
The shallow end: Understanding the prisoner experience in Iceland's open prisons
Authors: Pakes Francis
Published: April 2023

Prisoners often talk about their prison experience using spatial metaphors such as weight and depth. Imprisonment is frequently described as ‘deep’, with prisoners reporting feeling ‘submerged’ or ‘buried alive’. But what about its opposite? Can we consider a prison experience that not only lacks these experiential qualities but could in fact be felt and described as ‘shallow’? What characteristics would such a shallow prison experience have? In order to investigate this I spent time in Iceland's two open prisons. Both are very small with about 20 prisoners, run with few staff, set in rural, scenic settings and lack most of the features typically associated with imprisonment. In these prisons, I found that in essence, shallowness is both sensorily and interactively experienced. These shallow prisons allow for a range of sensory experiences of which prisoners are typically deprived, and for interactivity in the sense of the outside world permeating the prison in a range of ways. I, therefore, conclude that shallowness comes with its own positive characteristics so that it is more than the absence of depth. In addition, such arrangements are likely to reduce the pains associated with imprisonment considerably.
Trafficking of labor migrants and exposure to interpersonal violence: Evidence from India
Authors: Acharya Arun Kumar , Behera Sushree Subhalaxmi
Published: April 2023

The majority of studies on human trafficking focus on intimate partner violence and its consequences, particularly in the context of trafficking for sexual exploitation; very few have focused on the interpersonal violence faced by labor trafficking victims. The main objective of this study is to explore and analyze the prevalence in India of interpersonal violence against labor trafficking victims, including its causes and consequences. To this end, 25 labor trafficking victims were interviewed in areas of Odisha state that the government had declared to be “migration prone.” The interviews show that trafficked migrants were lured by dalals (brokers) with promises of employment and a better quality of life, but upon their arrival were forced to do “3-D jobs”: dirty, dangerous, and degrading. Findings revealed that, in addition to the harmful effects of the work, trafficked migrants experienced multiple forms of interpersonal violence, including verbal abuse, threats, mobbing, stalking, discrimination, physical violence, threats with weapons, and sexual violence, which co-occurred in diverse contexts at work and resulted in a wide range of physical health consequences, from head injuries to broken bones.
Cyanidin-3-glucoside inhibits ferroptosis in renal tubular cells after ischemia/reperfusion injury via the AMPK pathway
Authors: Du Yi-Wei , Li Xiao-Kang , Wang Ting-Ting , Zhou Lu , Li Hui-Rong , Feng Lan , Ma Heng , Liu Hong-Bao
Published: April 2023

Background

Ferroptosis, which is characterized by lipid peroxidation and iron accumulation, is closely associated with the pathogenesis of acute renal injury (AKI). Cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G), a typical flavonoid that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on ischemia‒reperfusion (I/R) injury, can induce AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. This study aimed to show that C3G exerts nephroprotective effects against I/R-AKI related ferroptosis by regulating the AMPK pathway.

Methods

Hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced HK-2 cells and I/R-AKI mice were treated with C3G with or without inhibiting AMPK. The level of intracellular free iron, the expression of the ferroptosis-related proteins acyl-CoA synthetase long chain family member 4 (ACSL4) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and the levels of the lipid peroxidation markers 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were examined.

Results

We observed the inhibitory effect of C3G on ferroptosis in vitro and in vivo, which was characterized by the reversion of excessive intracellular free iron accumulation, a decrease in 4-HNE, lipid ROS, MDA levels and ACSL4 expression, and an increase in GPX4 expression and glutathione (GSH) levels. Notably, the inhibition of AMPK by CC significantly abrogated the nephroprotective effect of C3G on I/R-AKI models in vivo and in vitro.

Conclusion

Our results provide new insight into the nephroprotective effect of C3G on acute I/R-AKI by inhibiting ferroptosis by activating the AMPK pathway.
Integrating on-farm and genomic information improves the predictive ability of milk infrared prediction of blood indicators of metabolic disorders in dairy cows
Authors: Mota Lucio F. M. , Giannuzzi Diana , Pegolo Sara , Trevisi Erminio , Ajmone-Marsan Paolo , Cecchinato Alessio
Published: April 2023

Background

Blood metabolic profiles can be used to assess metabolic disorders and to evaluate the health status of dairy cows. Given that these analyses are time-consuming, expensive, and stressful for the cows, there has been increased interest in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of milk samples as a rapid, cost-effective alternative for predicting metabolic disturbances. The integration of FTIR data with other layers of information such as genomic and on-farm data (days in milk (DIM) and parity) has been proposed to further enhance the predictive ability of statistical methods. Here, we developed a phenotype prediction approach for a panel of blood metabolites based on a combination of milk FTIR data, on-farm data, and genomic information recorded on 1150 Holstein cows, using BayesB and gradient boosting machine (GBM) models, with tenfold, batch-out and herd-out cross-validation (CV) scenarios.

Results

The predictive ability of these approaches was measured by the coefficient of determination (R2). The results show that, compared to the model that includes only FTIR data, integration of both on-farm (DIM and parity) and genomic information with FTIR data improves the R2for blood metabolites across the three CV scenarios, especially with the herd-out CV: R2values ranged from 5.9 to 17.8% for BayesB, from 8.2 to 16.9% for GBM with the tenfold random CV, from 3.8 to 13.5% for BayesB and from 8.6 to 17.5% for GBM with the batch-out CV, and from 8.4 to 23.0% for BayesB and from 8.1 to 23.8% for GBM with the herd-out CV. Overall, with the model that includes the three sources of data, GBM was more accurate than BayesB with accuracies across the CV scenarios increasing by 7.1% for energy-related metabolites, 10.7% for liver function/hepatic damage, 9.6% for oxidative stress, 6.1% for inflammation/innate immunity, and 11.4% for mineral indicators.

Conclusions

Our results show that, compared to using only milk FTIR data, a model integrating milk FTIR spectra with on-farm and genomic information improves the prediction of blood metabolic traits in Holstein cattle and that GBM is more accurate in predicting blood metabolites than BayesB, especially for the batch-out CV and herd-out CV scenarios.