bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Empirical research on high-growth entrepreneurship: a literature review and Latam research agenda
Authors: Diaz Tautiva Julian Andres
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Given the lack of theoretical and empirical research on high-growth entrepreneurs in developed and developing economies; this paper aims to answer, what are the main definitions and typologies used to explain the high-growth phenomenon? How could be described the high-growth entrepreneurs’ life cycle? And what are the main findings and limitations in the empirical research of high-growth entrepreneurship?

Design/methodology/approach

To advance the study of high-growth entrepreneurship and provide a means through which these advancements can contribute to the understanding of how this phenomenon is defined, the authors organize and review the extant literature based on the foundational definition of entrepreneurship, the typologies used to describe it and the phases of new venture process. The final sample of this methodology consisted of 54 empirical works that explored this issue from 2010 to 2020.

Findings

This research develops a roadmap on the current state of high-growth entrepreneurship and provides suggestions to guide future research in extending the understanding of this phenomenon.

Practical implications

The theoretical frameworks developed could be used for both policymakers and entrepreneurs to understand the variables that affect the entrepreneurial life cycle and how they could increase the likelihood of survival of new firms in developed and developing economies.

Originality/value

The research provides evidence about the definitions and entrepreneurial typologies used to describe the high-growth ventures, bridging unconnected theoretical frameworks and proposing an integrated view to exploring the phenomena in a new setting.
Ecological network assembly: How the regional metaweb influences local food webs
Authors: Saravia Leonardo A. , Marina Tomás I. , Kristensen Nadiah P. , De Troch Marleen , Momo Fernando R.
Published: December 2021

Local food webs result from a sequence of colonisations and extinctions by species from the regional pool or metaweb, that is, the assembly process. Assembly is theorised to be a selective process: whether or not certain species or network structures can persist is partly determined by local processes including habitat filtering and dynamical constraints. Consequently, local food web structure should reflect these processes.

The goal of this study was to test evidence for these selective processes by comparing the structural properties of real food webs to the expected distribution given the metaweb. We were particularly interested in ecological dynamics; if the network properties commonly associated with dynamical stability are indeed the result of stability constraints, then they should deviate from expectation in the direction predicted by theory.

To create a null expectation, we used the novel approach of randomly assembling model webs by drawing species and interactions from the empirical metaweb. The assembly model permitted colonisation and extinction, and required a consumer species to have at least one prey, but had no habitat type nor population dynamical constraints. Three datasets were used: (a) the marine Antarctic metaweb, with two local food webs; (b) the 50 lakes of the Adirondacks; and (c) the arthropod community from Florida Keys' classic defaunation experiment.

Contrary to our expectations, we found that there were almost no differences between empirical webs and those resulting from the null assembly model. Few empirical food webs showed significant differences with network properties, motif representations and topological roles. Network properties associated with stability did not deviate from expectation in the direction predicted by theory.

Our results suggest that—for the commonly used metrics we considered—local food web structure is not strongly influenced by dynamical nor habitat restrictions. Instead, the structure is inherited from the metaweb. This suggests that the network properties typically attributed as causes or consequences of ecological stability are instead a by‐product of the assembly process (i.e. spandrels), and may potentially be too coarse to detect the true signal of dynamical constraint.
An observational cohort study to determine the impact of research capacity building strategies implemented in an Australian metropolitan hospital occupational therapy department
Authors: Harper Kristie J. , Taylor Susan L. , Jepiuh Madelynn , Mino Pamela , Huynh Tran Alice , Tam Wai Yin , Harris Courtenay
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Research capacity building enhances the abilities of individuals and is critical within health systems for quality patient care and promotes a culture of excellence within the occupational therapy profession. A research capacity building toolkit was proposed identifying strategies to support allied health professionals to undertake research. This study evaluated participant‐reported outcomes of research capacity building toolkit implementation in an occupational therapy department.

Methods

An observational pre–post‐cohort study at a tertiary hospital with volunteer occupational therapists using the standardised Research Capacity in Context Tool (RCCT) and an author‐designed quality improvement (QI) survey was employed. The RCCT measures research capacity and culture at organisation, team and individual levels. Semi‐structured interviews were used to elicit reflections regarding participant experience.

Results

All levels of the toolkit were implemented successfully. The response rate was 59% (n = 36) at baseline and 49.1% (n = 26) at follow‐up. Eighty‐five percent of participants held direct clinical roles. Nine clinicians participated in the interviews. There were significant improvements in the estimate mean for the organisation (6.51 [2019] compared with 8.13 [2020], p = <0.001) and the team (5.52 [2019] compared with 7.15 [2020], p = 0.001). The individual level did not significantly change with an estimate mean of 4.20 in 2019 increasing slightly to 4.84 in 2020 (p = 0.128). This was supported by the QI survey where improvements were noted in the department but not at an individual level. The qualitative findings verified the components of the toolkit including ‘supporting clinicians in research’, ‘working together’, ‘valuing research for excellence’ and reflected the importance of ‘individual attributes’.

Conclusion

The toolkit supported the implementation of specific strategies to enhance research capacity and culture. Improvements within the organisation and team were evident; however, these were not seen at an individual level. Further research about the contribution of individual‐related factors and processes to the building of research capacity is required.
Race as technology and the carceral methodologies of molecular racialization
Authors: St Louis Brett
Published: December 2021

This article counters the view (albeit contested) of race as a natural empirical object with technology as a secondary, external entity applied to it. Instead, I posit race itself as a technology that is inherently discriminatory in motivation, design and function, as evident throughout its brutally effective history. Focusing on the post/genomic era, I consider contemporary forms of molecular racialization as the latest technological iteration of race as a disciplinary device. I characterize this biopolitical racial technology as operant through a carceral methodology in four stages: (a) the epistemological mutability of molecular racialization as reiterating the obscurantist claim of modern raciology to constitute a benign description of literal racial difference; (b) the ontological de‐individualization of certain racial others as aggregated risky populations and legitimate targets of repressive management; (c) a predictive empiricism whereby molecular race is seen as indicative of potential behaviours that sanctions oppressive state interventions against specific populations; (d) a normative bioethical dissembling whereby state agencies' exploitation of target molecular racialized populations' vulnerabilities result in the debarment of proper ethical consideration and the right to justice. Drawing largely on criminal justice and immigration control examples, the article asserts that the carceral methodologies of molecular racialization demonstrate race as a repressive technology designed to (re)produce subaltern racial populations and propagate racism.
The effects of seed detectability and seed traits on hoarding preference of two rodent species
Authors: WANG Minghui , YI Xianfeng
Published: December 2021

Seed traits play an important role in affecting seed preference and hoarding behaviors of small rodents. Despite greatly affected by seed traits, seed detectability of competitors represents pilfering risks and may also modify seed hoarding preference of animals. However, whether seed traits and seed detectability show consistent effects on seed hoarding preference of animals remain largely unknown. Here, we explored how seed traits and seed detectability correlate with seed hoarding preference of Leopoldamys edwardsi and Apodemus chevrieri in a subtropical forest. Despite the effects of seed coat thickness and caloric value on hoarding preference of L. edwardsi, we detected no significant effects of other seed traits on hording preference of the 2 rodent species. There was no correlation between larder‐hoarding preference and inter‐ or intra‐specific seed detectability of L. edwardsi; however, seed detectability of L. edwardsi was negatively correlated with its own scatter‐hoarding preference. Although scatter‐hoarding preference of A. chevrieri was not correlated with inter‐ and intra‐specific seed detectability, larder‐hoarding preference of A. chevrieri was positively correlated with intra‐specific seed detectability. Our study may provide evidence that intra‐specific seed detectability rather than seed traits and inter‐specific pilfering risks play an important role in modifying seed hoarding preference of rodents.
Effect of carbohydrate type on the structural and functional properties of Maillard‐reacted black bean protein
Authors: Han Lu , Zhou Shijiao , Zhang Xiaoying , Lu Keyang , Qi Baokun , Li Yang
Published: December 2021

Protein from black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has good solubility, emulsification, and antioxidant properties, with significant potential applications in the food industry. Maillard‐reaction‐mediated dry‐heat glycosylation is a relatively safe modification method to improve the functional properties of black bean protein (BBP). Here, Maillard‐reacted conjugates were prepared by applying 24‐h dry‐heating to induce a reaction between BBP and one of three carbohydrates (dextran, chitosan, and sodium alginate) at 70°C and 79% relative humidity. The resulting Maillard conjugates were designated as BBP–Dex, BBP–Ch, and BBP–SA, respectively. The formation of each Maillard conjugate was characterized by analyzing the grafting degree, free sulfhydryl (SH) groups content, and surface hydrophobicity, as well as the results of Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. The FTIR and fluorescence spectroscopy results provided information on the formation of the Maillard conjugates. The BBP–SA conjugate had a higher grafting degree and SH group content than the other two conjugates. The solubility, emulsifying properties, and antioxidant properties of the BBP were significantly improved after the Maillard reaction (p < 0.05). Moreover, the physicochemical and functional properties of the conjugates were superior to those of the BBP–carbohydrate mixtures, indicating that covalent interactions may be stronger than noncovalent interactions. This study provides theoretical guidance for future research on protein–carbohydrate conjugates.

Practical Application

This study has great potential applications in the development of new multi‐functional food ingredients and the realization of functional factor homeostasis, and provides scientific and theoretical bases for the application of protein–carbohydrate conjugate in the field of functional food.
Design and evaluation of an intelligent sorting system for bell pepper using deep convolutional neural networks
Authors: Mohi‐Alden Khaled , Omid Mahmoud , Soltani Firouz Mahmoud , Nasiri Amin
Published: December 2021

Homogeneity of appearance attributes of bell peppers is essential for consumers and food industries. This research aimed to develop an in‐line sorting system using a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) which is considered the state‐of‐the‐art in the field of machine vision‐based classifications, for grading bell peppers into five classes. According to export standards, the crop should be graded based on maturity stage and size. For that, the fully connected layer in the ResNet50 architecture of DCNN was replaced with a developed classifier block, including a global average‐pooling layer, dense layers, batch normalization, and dropout layer. The developed model was trained and evaluated through the five‐fold cross‐validation method. The required processing time to classify each sample in the proposed model was estimated as 4 ms which is fast enough for real‐time applications. Accordingly, the DCNN model was integrated with a machine vision‐based designed sorting machine. Then, the developed system was evaluated in the in‐line phase. The performance parameters in the in‐line phase include accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, F1‐score, and overall accuracies were 98.7%, 97%, 96.9%, 99%, 96.9%, and 96.9%, respectively. The total rate of sorting the bell pepper was also measured as approximately 3000 sample/h with one sorting line. The proposed sorting system demonstrates a very good capability that allows it to be used in industrial applications.

Practical Application

A developed intelligent model was integrated with a machine vision‐based designed sorting machine for bell peppers. The developed system can sort the crop according to export criteria with an accuracy of 96.9%. The proposed sorting system demonstrated a very good capability that allows it to be used in industrial applications.
Sweet cherry phenolics revealed to be promising agents in inhibiting P‐glycoprotein activity and increasing cellular viability under oxidative stress conditions: in vitro and in silico study
Authors: Gonçalves Ana C. , Rodrigues Márcio , Flores‐Félix José David , Campos Gonçalo , Nunes Ana R. , Ribeiro Alessandra Braga , Silva Luís R. , Alves Gilberto
Published: December 2021

This study aimed to explore the total phenolic and anthocyanin content (TPC and TAC, respectively), and the biological potential of Portuguese sweet cherry cultivars. The TPC and TAC values ranged between 72.9 and 493.6 gallic acid equivalents per 100 g fresh weight (fw), and from 1.0 to 179.1 cyanidin 3‐O‐rutinoside equivalents per 100 g fw, respectively. Cristalina total extract was the most effective in capturing DPPH reactive species, whereas the colored fraction and the total extract of Saco cultivar were the most efficient in scavenging ferric and peroxide species. Celeste total extract was the most effective in inhibiting α‐glucosidase enzyme. Phenolic‐rich extracts and standard phenolics also revealed ability to interfere with the P‐gp activity on MDCK‐II and MDCK‐MDR1 cells and to increase cellular viability under conditions of oxidative stress. Computational studies were performed to evaluate the interaction between phenolics and the P‐gp activity. This study revealed that cherry extracts and their phenolic compounds present notable biological properties, encouraging the development of cherry‐based dietary and medicinal supplements.

Practical Application

The interest in phenolic‐rich sources has increased significantly in recent years, given their capacity to prevent the development of chronic disorders, such as cancer. Recent evidence suggests that phenolic compounds can act as P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp) inhibitors, an important drug efflux transporter, preventing multidrug resistance, and thus, enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of some drugs in certain target cells. Our results indicate that enriched‐fractions from sweet cherries can effectively interfere with the P‐gp activity on MDCK‐II and MDCK‐MDR1 cells and protect against oxidative damage.
High GNG4 expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Zhou Bodong , Zhu Wenbo , Yuan Shuai , Wang Yifei , Zhang Qing , Zheng Hong , Zhu Lei , Xu Jie
Published: December 2021

Background

The purpose of this study was to explore the reason for guanine nucleotide binding‐protein gamma subunit‐4 (GNG4) overexpression and the relationship between GNG4 overexpression and the poor prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients.

Methods

The genes and phenotypes related to GNG4 expression in patients with lung adenocarcinoma were analyzed by bioinformatics. The phenotype indicated by bioinformatic analysis was confirmed by experiments.

Results

GNG4 expression is elevated in lung adenocarcinoma, and overexpressed GNG4 is related to the poor prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. The hypoxic microenvironment of lung adenocarcinoma can promote GNG4 expression and GNG4 promotes the migration and proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Conclusions

GNG4 expression in lung adenocarcinoma was significantly higher than in paired adjacent tissues. GNG4 overexpression is associated with a variety of malignant phenotypes of lung adenocarcinoma. Increased GNG4 expression is related to the hypoxic microenvironment in lung adenocarcinoma.
Have existing theories explained the accrual anomaly? An evaluation based on the decomposition method
Authors: Hu Zhi‐an , Huang Zhuo , Lin Dawei , Qiu Zhimin
Published: December 2021

Using the decomposition method proposed by Hou and Loh (2016), we evaluate whether the existing theories have explained the negative correlation between accruals and the cross‐section returns (the accrual anomaly). The results show that cash‐based operating profitability best explains the anomaly, with an explanatory power of about 94 percent. Among the three explanation groups, explanations about investment and cash flows explain efficiently, whereas the contributions of arbitrage costs and information asymmetry are quite limited. Together, our findings suggest that the existing theories, especially explanations about investment and cash flows, have explained most of the anomaly and the unexplained fraction is negligible.
Ontological (In)Security and Neoliberal Governmentality: Explaining Australia's China Emergency
Authors: Pan Chengxin , Hagström Linus
Published: December 2021

One of the mysteries in contemporary world politics is why in recent years Australia has been leading the world in its hawkish approach to China, its largest trading partner. More than most of its allies, the Australian government seems to regard the China emergency — fuelled by threat perceptions ranging from foreign influence operations to economic coercion — as more pressing than, say, climate change. This article extends and supplants existing explanations of this puzzle by providing a more theoretically oriented account. Situating Australia's China emergency in the context of its ontological (in)security, this article traces the rise of such insecurities and Australia's responses through the conceptual frameworks of state transformation and neoliberal governmentality, which together offer a more socially and historically grounded account of the dynamics of ontological (in)security. The article argues that the China emergency narrative, as a specific routinised form of neoliberal governmentality, both helps sustain Australia's dominant identity construction as a free, democratic, and resilient state, and provides a raison d'être for the national security state that has become part and parcel of the evolving techniques of neoliberal governmentality.
Pediatric Graves’ orbitopathy: a multicentre study
Authors: Ionescu Ioana C. , van Trotsenburg Paul A. S. , Paridaens Dion , Tanck Michael , Mooij Christiaan F. , Cagienard Eliane , Kalmann Rachel , Pakdel Farzad , van der Meeren Stijn , Saeed Peerooz
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) is a rare condition in children often considered to be a less severe condition than at an older age. The aim of our study was to analyse if there are any factors that distinguish paediatric from adult GO in order to provide guidelines for assessing and managing paediatric GO.

Methods

Study design is a multicentre retrospective observational case series; 115 paediatric patients diagnosed with GO who visited our university medical centres in the Netherlands and Iran between 2003 and 2019 were submitted for complete ophthalmological examinations, serological testing and/or orbital imaging. Main outcome measures focussed on the natural course and clinical picture as well as medical and surgical treatment in paediatric GO.

Results

Clinical findings included proptosis (n = 97; 84.3%), eyelid retraction (n = 77; 67%) and diplopia (n = 13; 11.3%). Ninety‐two patients (80%) presented with mild disease, 21 (18.3%) with moderate‐severe disease and two (1.7%) with severe GO. Five patients (4.3%) underwent intravenous glucocorticoids and 25 patients underwent orbital decompression surgery. Strabismus surgery due to primary involvement of extraocular muscles was performed in two patients (1.7%). Overall, rehabilitative surgical treatment was planned in 31 patients (26.9%) with inactive disease. Two patients experienced reactivation of the disease.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that paediatric and adult GO are considered two separate entities, they might be the same disease with two different clinical phenotypes. Paediatric GO population presents with a comparable clinical picture regarding both soft tissue involvement and proptosis, which may require surgical intervention. Proptosis was present in the majority of paediatric GO patients. Orbital decompression was performed in 21.7% of patients.
The adhesion to the Economy for the Common Good: Aligning organizations with values
Authors: Pereira Susana Alves , Zappalà Salvatore , dos Santos Nuno Rebelo , Pais Leonor
Published: December 2021

The Economy for the Common Good proposes a more ethical and sustainable society and organizations based on the common good concept. The study investigates entrepreneurs' reasons for joining the ECG movement and organizational changes introduced following the implementation of the ECG managerial system. Semistructured interviews were held with managers of nine Italian organizations belonging to the movement. Interviews were transcribed, and qualitative content analysis was performed using NVivo 12. Eleven nodes integrating 279 answer units were coded, addressing reasons for adhering, actions introduced, difficulties, overcoming strategies and enablers. The results suggest that ECG values and particularly Environmental Sustainability and Human Dignity are two main reasons to join the movement, that a Common Good Report is a valuable tool for the organizational analysis, that such analysis can be replicated with other ECG organizations, and that pursuing decent work conditions strengthens the adhesion to the ECG movement. The seven conceptual propositions highlight the congruence between the value structure of the organization and the values of the ECG, the congruence between the values held by proximal organizational stakeholders and the changes encouraged by ECG approach, and that rewards and recognition by the organizational stakeholders and society reinforce and maintain the adhesion path.
Large paracetamol overdose – Higher dose NAC is NOT required
Authors: Thanacoody H. K. Ruben
Published: December 2021

Paracetamol overdose is common in developed countries but less than 10% involve large ingestions exceeding 30 g or 500 mg/kg. High dose acetylcysteine (NAC) has been proposed in patients taking large paracetamol overdoses based on reports of hepatotoxicity despite early initiation of NAC treatment with the commonly used 300 mg/kg intravenous acetylcysteine regimen. The evidence from cohorts of patients treated with the standard NAC regimen after large paracetamol overdoses shows that it is effective in most patients. A small study in patients with paracetamol overdoses of 40 g or more and paracetamol concentrations above the 300 mg/L nomogram line showed that modification of the standard NAC regimen to provide a total of 400–500 mg/kg NAC over 21–22 h may reduce the risk of hepatotoxicity (peak ALT > 1000 IU/L) but the impact on development of hepatic failure, liver transplantation and mortality with this approach is presently unknown. Better risk stratification of patients taking paracetamol overdose may allow higher dose NAC and adjunctive treatments such as CYP2E1 inhibition and extracorporeal removal of paracetamol to be targeted to those patients at the highest risk of hepatotoxicity after a large paracetamol overdose.
Glass ceiling or murky waters: The gendered and racialized pathway to full professorship in Canada
Authors: Wijesingha Rochelle , Robson Karen
Published: December 2021

We examined the predictors of being in the rank of full professor using a sample of faculty representing English Canadian universities. We hypothesized that women have a lower likelihood of being a full professor, controlling for a range of characteristics, including length of service, discipline, number of publications and Tri‐Council grants. We also explored how race and immigrant status factored into the likelihood of being a full professor. Using a sample of associate and full professors, we found evidence of a strong negative effect of the probability of being a full professor for women, even after controlling for all variables in the model. We also found evidence of a glass ceiling, where a difference in the effect of years of service was found for men and women. Finally, racialized immigrant professors had a greater likelihood of being at the rank of full professor and racialized Canadian‐born professors had the least.
Structure‐based discovery of (S)‐2‐amino‐6‐(4‐fluorobenzyl)‐5,6,11,11a‐tetrahydro‐1H‐imidazo[1′,5′:1,6]pyrido[3,4‐b]indole‐1,3(2H)‐dione as low nanomolar, orally bioavailable autotaxin inhibitor
Authors: Roy Ashis , Sarkar Tonmoy , Datta Sebak , Maiti Arup , Chakrabarti Monali , Mondal Trisha , Mondal Chaitali , Banerjee Apurba , Roy Subhasis , Mukherjee Soumen , Muley Pragati , Chakraborty Sabyasachi , Banerjee Manish , Kundu Mrinalkanti , Roy Kuldeep K.
Published: December 2021

Inhibition of extracellular secreted enzyme autotaxin (ATX) represents an attractive strategy for the development of new therapeutics to treat various diseases and a few inhibitors entered in clinical trials. We herein describe structure‐based design, synthesis, and biological investigations revealing a potent and orally bioavailable ATX inhibitor 1. During the molecular docking and scoring studies within the ATX enzyme (PDB‐ID: 4ZGA), the S‐enantiomer (Gscore = −13.168 kcal/mol) of the bound ligand PAT‐494 scored better than its R‐enantiomer (Gscore = −9.562 kcal/mol) which corroborated with the reported observation and analysis of the results suggested the scope of manipulation of the hydantoin substructure in PAT‐494. Accordingly, the docking‐based screening of a focused library of 10 compounds resulted in compound 1 as a better candidate for pharmacological studies. Compound 1 was synthesized from L‐tryptophan and evaluated against ATX enzymatic activities with an IC50 of 7.6 and 24.6 nM in biochemical and functional assays, respectively. Further, ADME‐PK studies divulged compound 1 as non‐cytotoxic (19.02% cell growth inhibition at 20 μM in human embryonic kidney cells), metabolically stable against human liver microsomes (CLint = 15.6 μl/min/mg; T1/2 = 113.2 min) with solubility of 4.82 μM and orally bioavailable, demonstrating its potential to be used for in vivo experiments.
Thyroid function and risk of bloodstream infections: Results from the Norwegian prospective population‐based HUNT Study
Authors: Thorkildsen Marianne S. , Mohus Randi M. , Åsvold Bjørn O. , Skei Nina V. , Nilsen Tom I.L. , Solligård Erik , Damås Jan K. , Gustad Lise T.
Published: December 2021

Objective

Previous studies on thyroid function and risk of infection is conflicting and often stem from intensive care cohorts were nonthyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) may be present. The objective of this study was to identify the risk of bloodstream infections (BSI) and BSI‐related mortality with thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) levels within the reference range in a general population.

Design

Prospective follow‐up.

Participants

The HUNT2 (1995‐97) included 34,619 participants with information on TSH levels.

Measurements

Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) confirmed BSIs and BSI‐related mortality until 2011.

Results

During a median follow‐up of 14.5 years, 1179 experienced at least one episode of BSI and 208 died within 30 days after a BSI. TSH levels within the reference range of 0.5–4.5 mU/L were not associated with the risk of first‐time BSI, with an HR of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.90–1.04) per mU/L. Stratified by baseline age < or ≥65 years, TSH was inversely associated with the risk of BSI (HR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.78–1.00 per mU/L) in the youngest age group only. Persons with any baseline thyroid disease had a 30% risk and the hyperthyroid subgroup a 57%, and hypothyroidism a 20% increased risk of BSI. TSH levels were not clearly associated with BSI mortality, but the HRs were imprecise due to few BSI‐related deaths.

Conclusion

There was some evidence of a weak inverse association between TSH levels and the risk of BSI in persons below 65 years of age. The increased risk seen in persons with thyroid illness is probably explained by confounding by concurrent ill health.
Normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism: 99mTc SestaMibi SPECT/CT results compare with hypercalcemic hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Musumeci Martina , Pereira Lucía Valeria , San Miguel Lucas , Cianciarelli Constanza , Vazquez Eliana Cecilia , Mollerach Ana María , Arma Irene Josefa , Hume Isabel , Galich Ana María , Collaud Carlos
Published: December 2021

Context

Normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (nPHPT) is defined by an inappropriately increased serum PTH with normal serum calcium. Information about the diagnostic yield of parathyroid SPECT/CT scan and ultrasonography in nHPPT is limited and not conclusive.

Purpose

To evaluate the positivity rate of 99mTc‐Sestamibi SPECT/CT scan in nPHTP compared with classical hypercalcemic PHPT (cPHPT).

Materials and Methods

We retrospectively studied 125 patients with 99mTc‐Sestamibi SPECT/CT scans. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: cPHPT (n = 93) and nPHPT (n = 32).

Results

The detection rate of 99mTc‐Sestamibi SPECT/CT in cPHPT was 86,02% (80/93) and 59.37%, in nPHPT (19/32), p = .003. No significant differences were seen between the SPECT/CT scan and ultrasonography (p = .28) and the agreement was higher in cPHPT than in nPHPT, p = .03. Sensitivity of 99m Tc‐Sestamibi‐SPECT/CT was 98% on a per‐patient basis (PPV 96%) and 91% on a per‐lesion basis (PPV 88%). Glandular size was smaller in nPHPT (mean value 6.8 mm) and it was related only with PTH value.

Conclusion

Localization rate of parathyroid hyperfunctioning tissue with 99mTc‐Sestamibi SPECT/CT is lower in nPHPT and it is related to a smaller glandular size. However, our study suggests that the positivity rate and sensitivity are nonnegligible by adding SPECT/CT. The reduction in the detection rate in nPHPT could benefit techniques with higher resolution such as 18F‐Choline PET/CT when the clinical context justifies it.
Preconception thyroid‐stimulating hormone levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes
Authors: Li Min , He Yang , Mao Yanyan , Yang Liu , Chen Liang , Du Jing , Chen Qing , Zhu Qianxi , Liu Jun , Zhou Weijin
Published: December 2021

Objective

Evidence for the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction before conception and its pregnancy outcomes is inconsistent. Thus, we evaluated the relationship between preconception thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Methods

A total of 50,217 women without prior thyroid disease who became pregnant within 1 year after undertaking a routine TSH test in the Chongqing Municipality of China (2010–2016) were studied. Restricted cubic spline regression and logistic regression were used to estimate the association between preconception TSH levels and pregnancy outcomes. The main outcomes were individual and composite adverse pregnancy outcomes (CAPOs) comprising pregnancy loss, small for gestational age, large for gestational age, and preterm birth.

Results

Incidence of CAPO was 24.19%. Increased preconception TSH level was positively associated with CAPO (odds ratio [OR]/SD: 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–1.07) when TSH was ≥2.1 mIU/L, positively associated with pregnancy loss (OR/SD: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.12) when TSH was <2.1 mIU/L, negatively and positively associated with preterm delivery when TSH levels were <1.3 mIU/L (OR/SD: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.83–0.97) and >3.0 mIU/L (OR/SD: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.00–1.17), respectively. Women with subclinical hypothyroidism before conception were at a higher risk for CAPO (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.04–1.22), while those with subclinical hyperthyroidism had a higher risk of preterm delivery (aOR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.01–1.70).

Conclusions

Nonlinear associations were indicated between preconception TSH levels and pregnancy outcomes. Subclinical thyroid dysfunction before conception was associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Electroacupuncture ameliorates postoperative cognitive dysfunction and associated neuroinflammation via NLRP3 signal inhibition in aged mice
Authors: Sun Long , Yong Yue , Wei Pan , Wang Yongqiang , Li He , Zhou Yalan , Ruan Wenqing , Li Xing , Song Jiangang
Published: December 2021

Background

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is associated with worsened prognosis especially in aged population. Clinical and animal studies suggested that electroacupuncture (EA) could improve POCD. However, the underlying mechanisms especially EA’s regulatory role of inflammasomes remain unclear.

Methods

The model of POCD was established by partial hepatectomy surgery in 18‐month mice with or without postoperative EA treatment to the Baihui acupoint (GV20) for 7 days. Cognitive functions were assessed by Morris water maze test, and proinflammatory cytokines IL‐1β and IL‐6 and microglia activity were assayed by qPCR, ELISA, or immunohistochemistry. Tight junction proteins, NLRP3 inflammasome and downstream proteins, and NF‐κB pathway proteins were evaluated by western blotting.

Results

EA markedly preserved cognitive dysfunctions in POCD mice, associated with the inhibition of neuroinflammation as evidenced by reduced microglial activation and decreased IL‐1β and IL‐6 levels in brain tissue. EA also preserved hippocampal neurons and tight junction proteins ZO‐1 and claudin 5. Mechanistically, the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and NF‐κB was inhibited by EA, while NLRP3 activation abolished EA’s treatment effects on cognitive function.

Conclusion

EA alleviates POCD‐mediated cognitive dysfunction associated with ameliorated neuroinflammation. Mechanistically, EA’s treatment effects are dependent on NLRP3 inhibition.
Excess all‐cause and cause‐specific mortality for people with diabetes and end‐stage kidney disease
Authors: Morton Jedidiah I. , Sacre Julian W. , McDonald Stephen P. , Magliano Dianna J. , Shaw Jonathan E.
Published: December 2021

Aims

Excess mortality is high in the setting of diabetes and end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD), but the effects of ESKD beyond diabetes itself remains incompletely understood. We examined excess mortality in people with diabetes with versus without ESKD, and variation by age, sex and diabetes type.

Methods

This study included 63,599 people with type 1 (aged 20–69 years; 56% men) and 1,172,160 people with type 2 diabetes (aged 30+ years; 54% men), from the Australian National Diabetes Services Scheme. Initiation of renal replacement therapy and mortality outcomes were obtained via linkage to the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry and the National Death Index, respectively. Excess mortality was measured by calculating the mortality rate ratio (MRR) for people with versus without ESKD via indirect standardisation.

Results

A total of 9027 people developed ESKD during 8,601,522 person‐years of follow‐up. Among people with type 1 diabetes, the MRR was 34.9 (95%CI: 16.6–73.1) in men and 41.5 (20.8–83.1) in women aged 20–29 years and was 5.6 (4.5–7.0) and 7.4 (5.5–10.1) in men and women aged 60–69 years, respectively. In type 2 diabetes, MRRs were 16.6 (8.6–31.8) and 35.8 (17.0–75.2) at age 30–39 years and were 2.8 (2.6–3.1) and 3.6 (3.2–4.1) at age 80+ years in men and women, respectively. Excess cause‐specific mortality was highest for peripheral artery disease, cardiac arrest, and infections, and lowest for cancer.

Conclusions

Among people with diabetes, excess mortality in ESKD is much higher at younger ages and is higher for women compared with men.
Building for the Future, Together: A Model for Bringing Emerging Products to Market, Using Anticipatory Ethnography and Mixed Methods Research
Authors: HUTKA STEFANIE
Published: December 2021

Applied ethnography practitioners are often charged with learning from existing or potential customers, for a product that is either familiar to them or close in nature to what they have used before. There are particular challenges for emerging technologies, where the market is much less defined. Applied ethnography has the potential to help with predicting future market scenarios, honing the value proposition and product definition. Done well, these contributions help align siloed teams, resulting in better products being delivered to the right customers, faster. This case study will outline the approaches used across all product development stages for new creative design tools in the emerging field of immersive media – specifically, 3D and Augmented Reality. A collaboration model and best practices are offered, to guide practitioners to address both overt challenges (e.g., identifying which audiences to focus on), and hidden challenges (e.g., creating a human‐centered dialogue in an ambiguous, technology‐centered space).
Anticipating the Arrival of a Clean‐Sensitive Driving Future
Authors: CAMPBELL‐DOLLAGHAN ANNICKA , TSIMHONI OMER , GUNDLACH EDWARD , SHARROW‐BLAUM CAMILLE , DENNY ASHLYNN
Published: December 2021

A leading automaker needed to safely study the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic upon driver and passenger experience to effectively prioritize future in‐vehicle features related to cleanliness. In this case study, we'll share our approach and retrospective learnings on how to understand, contextualize, and anticipate the impact of major societal shifts as they happen.
Designing Virtual Primary Care: Desire or Dread? How Structural Forces Shape the Anticipation of Futures
Authors: MIKA MARIE , VENKATARAMANI ARVIND
Published: December 2021

The COVID‐19 pandemic changed many healthcare companies’ priorities and dramatically accelerated the drive towards increasingly virtual health care. Grand Rounds Health∗, a healthcare startup, decided the time is now to launch its virtual primary care offering. It was assumed that a rural, lower‐socioeconomic population would be more eager for, and best served by, virtual primary care, given their greater geographic distance from clinicians and other assumed access deficits. However, ethnographic research revealed that it was the urban, higher‐socioeconomic population who both reported far more favorable experiences with remote care and more eager anticipation of virtual primary care. This is partly due to different technological experiences and ecosystems, but more directly due to differing trust in and agency with institutionalized health care. Ultimately, this case study reminds researchers that our experiences are shaped and limited by our social positions, and that we cannot know if the framing of our inquiry is adequate.
The Future of Hygiene: Constructive Expansive Futures
Authors: KANORIA SIDHARTH , BERTI DIMITRI , KOBIERECKA CHRISTI
Published: December 2021

There has been significant interest in Futuring as a discipline after COVID‐19, as multiple industries are beginning to interrogate their post‐Covid future. Quantum Consumer Solutions and Unilever came together to interrogate the post‐COVID future of hygiene in Europe, to inform brand and product strategy for Unilever. This project took a culture‐first approach to futures, with a diverse and inter‐disciplinary team working together using an Agile approach. Using a mixed‐methods approach, the team used a combination of digital ethnography, speculative design and an Opportunity Spaces framework to distill the future of hygiene into ten Opportunity Spaces for Unilever. Readers can expect to learn more about why a culture‐first approach to futures is recommended, how speculative design could represent an ‘ethnography of the future’ and how a simultaneously analytical and creative approach to futuring could be translated into tangible business outcomes.
Building Target Worlds: Connecting Research, Futures Exploration and Worldbuilding
Authors: ROTHMÜLLER MARKUS
Published: December 2021

This paper introduces a framework called Target Worlds, with which I hope to offer an alternative to putting users, personas or target groups at the center of innovation. Instead I want to promote a more prudent approach that balances social, environmental, technological and financial sustainability in innovation. Target Worlds thereby tries to overcome issues of focus, scalability and responsibility in innovation by tackling the core of the problem: the targets of innovation work. The framework merges concepts of investigating ‘worlds’ today, identifying desirable futures for tomorrow and worldbuilding as a hands‐on approach resulting in target worlds as new point of departure for innovation teams. This paper serves as a recipe for building target worlds offering a step‐by‐step guide for innovators and anthropologists to follow.
Weaving Textile Futures: Indigenous Resistance and Intellectual Property
Authors: FLORES AMAPOLA RANGEL
Published: December 2021

Indigenous textiles are objects and material culture creations often exposed and subjected to plagiarism by international brands. The concept of intellectual property is not created for, or considering indigenous dynamics and social structures. This article argues, through the study of a Mixtec community in Oaxaca, Mexico, how new concepts should be outlined. Through the use of ethnography and the anticipation of plagiarism, a community requests the work of an anthropologist to backup their textile knowledge and allow for a precedent to be set where the particular know‐how is detailed as part of the Collective Intellectual Property of the community.
Cities as Anticipatory Systems: Analyzing “Weak Signals” to Explore beyond the Predictability of Their Future
Authors: MORALES NORA , GONZÁLEZ SALOMON
Published: December 2021

In the last decade, Future Studies have developed a very important corpus of theory and methods aimed to analyze the future of cities. Meanwhile the world is confronted with major challenges like climate change, global pandemics, migration, inequality and poverty, government agencies, professional urbanists, academia and other organizations, concerned with strategic planning, are looking for new ways to provide insight into how we approach unforeseeable challenges and integrate complexity and novelty for better futures.

In this paper we reviewed the notion of “weak signal” as a retrospective exploratory method to think of cities as anticipatory systems (Boer, Wiekens, and Damhof 2018) of future emerging problems.Using qualitative retrospective analysis and secondary research we focused on three urban innovations in transportation, workplaces and food domains at different cities to understand how to anticipate unforeseen scenarios and explore new ways of generating possible perspectives of the future.

Our findings showed that some urban innovations are preceded by a group of weak signals (usually low in visibility or too diffuse) that need to incorporate more robust signals in their own context but could be a starting point to identify people's underlying assumptions, to sketch collective scenarios and increase their capacity to think about the present in order to move toward a desired and possible future, concept that Miller (2011) describes as “Future Literacy”.
Come to Your Senses: Ethnography of the Everyday Futuring
Authors: JEVTIC JANA , PARK REBEKAH
Published: December 2021

Our practices of research, design, and strategy create landscapes of possibility. Anticipation, an approach that has informed much of the recent ethnographic work on the future, is shaped by how these symbolic and material landscapes, and the forms of agency they make possible, are distributed. This makes anticipation politically significant, prompting an empirical question of when and with respect to whose experience broader future visions occur. Seeking to bring attention to processes of future‐making that capture these disparities, we ground anticipation in lived experience. Drawing on two long‐term fieldworks, we recognize significant variability in how the future manifests in the course of practical and reflective engagements in everyday life. To explore these engagements, we turn to “future senses” of memory, foresight, voice, optimism, and yearning. We then demonstrate how “future senses” can be productively integrated within conversations about advancing not only more diverse future visions, but also more inclusive planning and strategy.
Intuition: Thinking Through Loopholes
Authors: REISS LAURA N. M.
Published: December 2021

Intuition, contrary to common sense, is not a natural gift. Intuition is born out of experience and it can be a valuable tool for researchers. But what has intuition to do with anticipation? To anticipate we usually rely on understanding current behavioral patterns and extrapolating them. Intuition is great at recognizing patterns and by trusting it more we can become even better researchers.

As with any other skill in order to follow our intuition, we need to practice, to be exposed to a lot of fieldwork, to listen to a lot of people, so that we can not only notice what stands out of the common but give the right value to it. When we learn to use our intuition as a research tool, anticipating becomes natural.

I will bring examples from a research project that aimed to explore the relationship of young women in Brazil with pregnancy and the most valuable insight in this project came from a girl who did not get pregnant.

I will also draw from the world of chess ‐ a game where anticipation is the key to define the next move.

Intuition can illuminate the atypical in order to understand the typical. And that's a powerful tool for any research.
Who Deserves to Be Observed? Wrestling with the Avant‐Garde
Authors: NARDI LETIZIA , BILLAUD LOLA
Published: December 2021

What happens when the “mildly militaristic jargon of marketing” (2004, Sunderland, Taylor, Denny) seeps into the dialectic process of structuring applied research and blurs the meaning of its stakes? This provokingly titled Pecha‐Kucha stems from our experience of recruitment conundrums, ones in which notions of “avant‐garde” were used in framing, shaping, or reorienting our approach towards the people we were supposed to observe, analyze and report on.

We resurface from these case studies and attempt to scratch the glossy coat that blankets these notions as we approach the range of theories that try to define who's “deserving” of observation. We point at their implications, revealing the power dynamics that they inevitably create, within and outside the field. Inspired by Escobar's call for non‐modern solutions to the stakes of the modern world (2017, Escobar) we reflect on how to make our epistemological choices count in the future shaping processes we find ourselves involved with.