bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Should More Patients with Kidney Failure Bring Treatment Home? What We Have Learned from COVID-19
Authors: Yu Xueqing , Jha Vivekanand , Nakamoto Hidetomo
Published: June 2022

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging healthcare systems worldwide and has placed hospitals and healthcare providers (HCPs) at the center of a global crisis. Disruptions to hospital priorities, and limitations placed on the mobility of societies, have contributed to changes in the way HCPs and patients view and access dialysis for kidney failure, including which dialysis modality is preferred. Summary: This article explores the dialysis experience within the COVID-19 pandemic environment in the Asia Pacific region and presents evidence that peritoneal dialysis (PD) provides benefits to patients, HCPs, and health systems. As the number of people infected with COVID-19 has increased, the advantages of PD as a dialysis modality for limiting the spread of COVID-19 infection has been recognized. Key Message: The utility of PD has been demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic; thus, ensuring that the usage of PD is maintained and increased in a post-pandemic future is key. Such a scenario could enhance our ability to care for patients without interruption in circumstances of unforeseen obstacles and supports the ability of healthcare systems and patients to overcome barriers to dialysis access.
Evaluation of Corneal and Retinal Toxicity in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Treated with Hydroxychloroquine
Authors: Qian Yiyong , Zhou Dan , Zhu Dan , Shi Tingli , Zou Jun , Ma Xiaoyun
Published: June 2022

Introduction: The study aimed to assess the ocular toxicity of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) by confocal microscopy, multifocal electroretinography (mfERG), and scanning laser polarimetry with variable corneal compensation (GDxVCC) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: A cross-sectional, comparative case series study was retrospectively conducted on 61 patients under HCQ treatment for RA without fundoscopic anomalies (group 1), 65 RA patients with no HCQ treatment (group 2), and 27 normal subjects (group 3). A comprehensive ophthalmological examination, including confocal microscopy, mfERG, and GDxVCC, was performed in the three groups. Results: In group 1, the duration of treatment ranged from 19 to 96 months (54.9 ± 15.2 months). The mean cumulative dose of HCQ was 446.1 ± 164.0 g (range 114–864 g). Confocal microscopy revealed hyper-reflective abnormal particles in 45 patients (73.8%) and beaded, tortuous fibers in 34 patients (55.7%) in group 1. No corneal change was observed in the other two groups. The mfERG responses in the 6 concentric rings (R1–R6) among the three groups differed except at R3 (all p < 0.05), and data from R1–R6 were not significantly different between groups 2 and 3. The retinal nerve fiber layer thicknesses were statistically thinner in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3 (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: Early signs of corneal and neural retina structure changes were detected in patients with RA treated with HCQ. Whether these findings should be a mark of drug recession still needs further study and more evidence.
Exposure to Air Pollution and Survival in Follow-Up after Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Chin Wei-Shan , Pan Shin-Chun , Huang Ching-Chun , Chen Pei-Jer , Guo Yue Leon
Published: June 2022

Introduction: Air pollutants are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter with an aerodiameter of 2.5 μm or lower (PM2.5) has been reported to be linked with increased mortality due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the effects of air pollutants other than PM2.5 on HCC-related mortality have not been fully investigated. Accordingly, we conducted this study to assess the effect of long-term exposure to air pollutants (PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) on HCC-related mortality. Method: In 2005, the Taiwan Liver Cancer Network (TLCN) was established by the National Research Program for Genomic Medicine to recruit liver cancer patients from 5 major medical centers in northern, central, and southern Taiwan. The TLCN had successfully recruited 9,344 patients by the end of 2018. In this study, we included 1,000 patients randomly sampled from the TLCN to assess the effect of exposure to air pollutants on HCC mortality after HCC diagnosis. Daily averages of PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations were retrieved from 77 air quality-monitoring stations and interpolated to the townships of patients’ residences by using the Kriging method. The effect of air pollutants on HCC survival was assessed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: A total of 940 patients were included in the analysis. After adjusting for potential confounders and mutually adjusting for co-pollutants, we observed that the hazards ratio (95% confidence interval) for HCC-related mortality for every 1-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration was 1.11 (1.08–1.14) and that for every 1-ppb increase in NO2 concentration was 1.08 (1.03–1.13). Conclusion: Our study suggests that long-term exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 was associated with decreased survival time in patients with HCC in Taiwan.
Multisensory Rather than Unisensory Representations Contribute to Statistical Context Learning in Tactile Search
Authors: Chen Siyi , Geyer Thomas , Zinchenko Artyom , Müller Hermann J. , Shi Zhuanghua
Published: June 2022

Using a combination of behavioral and EEG measures in a tactile odd-one-out search task with collocated visual items, we investigated the mechanisms underlying facilitation of search by repeated (vs. nonrepeated) spatial distractor–target configurations (“contextual cueing”) when either the tactile (same-modality) or the visual array (different-modality) context was predictive of the location of the tactile singleton target. Importantly, in both conditions, the stimulation was multisensory, consisting of tactile plus visual items, although the target was singled out in the tactile modality and so the visual items were task-irrelevant. We found that when the predictive context was tactile, facilitation of search RTs by repeated configurations was accompanied by, and correlated with, enhanced lateralized ERP markers of pre-attentive (N1, N2) and, respectively focal-attentional processing (contralateral delay activity) not only over central (“somatosensory”), but also posterior (“visual”) electrode sites, although the ERP effects were less marked over visual cortex. A similar pattern—of facilitated RTs and enhanced lateralized (N2 and contralateral delay activity) ERP components—was found when the predictive context was visual, although the ERP effects were less marked over somatosensory cortex. These findings indicate that both somatosensory and visual cortical regions contribute to the more efficient processing of the tactile target in repeated stimulus arrays, although their involvement is differentially weighted depending on the sensory modality that contains the predictive information.
Long-term Meditation Training Is Associated with Enhanced Subjective Attention and Stronger Posterior Cingulate–Rostrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Resting Connectivity
Authors: Kral Tammi R. A. , Lapate Regina C. , Imhoff-Smith Ted , Patsenko Elena , Grupe Daniel W. , Goldman Robin , Rosenkranz Melissa A. , Davidson Richard J.
Published: June 2022

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to increase resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which is thought to reflect improvements in shifting attention to the present moment. However, prior research in long-term meditation practitioners lacked quantitative measures of attention that would provide a more direct behavioral correlate and interpretational anchor for PCC–DLPFC connectivity and was inherently limited by small sample sizes. Moreover, whether mindfulness meditation primarily impacts brain function locally, or impacts the dynamics of large-scale brain networks, remained unclear. Here, we sought to replicate and extend prior findings of increased PCC–DLPFC rsFC in a sample of 40 long-term meditators (average practice = 3759 hr) who also completed a behavioral assay of attention. In addition, we tested a network-based framework of changes in interregional connectivity by examining network-level connectivity. We found that meditators had stronger PCC-rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) rsFC, lower connector hub strength across the default mode network, and better subjective attention, compared with 124 meditation-naive controls. Orienting attention positively correlated with PCC–RLPFC connectivity and negatively correlated with default mode network connector hub strength. These findings provide novel evidence that PCC–RLPFC rsFC may support attention orienting, consistent with a role for RLPFC in the attention shifting component of metacognitive awareness that is a core component of mindfulness meditation training. Our results further demonstrate that long-term mindfulness meditation may improve attention and strengthen the underlying brain networks.
Data-to-text Generation with Variational Sequential Planning
Authors: Puduppully Ratish , Fu Yao , Lapata Mirella
Published: June 2022

We consider the task of data-to-text generation, which aims to create textual output from non-linguistic input. We focus on generating long-form text, that is, documents with multiple paragraphs, and propose a neural model enhanced with a planning component responsible for organizing high-level information in a coherent and meaningful way. We infer latent plans sequentially with a structured variational model, while interleaving the steps of planning and generation. Text is generated by conditioning on previous variational decisions and previously generated text. Experiments on two data-to-text benchmarks (RotoWire and MLB) show that our model outperforms strong baselines and is sample-efficient in the face of limited training data (e.g., a few hundred instances).
Cool-Season Evaluation of FV3-LAM-Based CONUS-Scale Forecasts with Physics Configurations of Experimental RRFS Ensembles
Authors: Supinie Timothy A. , Park Jun , Snook Nathan , Hu Xiao-Ming , Brewster Keith A. , Xue Ming , Carley Jacob R.
Published: June 2022

To help inform physics configuration decisions and help design and optimize a multi-physics Rapid Refresh Forecasting System (RRFS) ensemble to be used operationally by the National Weather Service, five FV3-LAM-based convection allowing forecasts were run on 35 cases between October 2020 and March 2021. These forecasts used ∼3-km grid spacing on a CONUS domain with physics configurations including Thompson, NSSL, and Ferrier–Aligo microphysics schemes, Noah, RUC, and NoahMP land surface models, and MYNN-EDMF, K-EDMF, and TKE-EDMF PBL schemes. All forecasts were initialized from the 0000 UTC GFS analysis and run for 84 h. Also, a subset of 8 cases were run with 15 combinations of physics options, also including the Morrison–Gettelman microphysics and Shin–Hong PBL schemes, to help attribute behaviors to individual schemes and isolate the main contributors of forecast errors. Evaluations of both sets of forecasts find that the CONUS-wide 24-h precipitation > 1 mm is positively biased across all five forecasts. NSSL microphysics displays a low bias in QPF along the Gulf Coast. Analyses show that it produces smaller raindrops prone to evaporation. Additionally, TKE-EDMF PBL in combination with Thompson microphysics displays a positive bias in precipitation over the Great Lakes and in the ocean near Florida due to higher latent heat fluxes calculated over water. Furthermore, the K-EDMF PBL scheme produces temperature errors that result in a negative bias in snowfall over the southern Mountain West. Finally, recommendations for which physics schemes to use in future suites and the RRFS ensemble are discussed.
Double Markups, Information, and Vertical Mergers
Authors: Loertscher Simon , Marx Leslie M.
Published: June 2022

In vertical contracting models with complete information and linear prices, double markups that arise between independent firms provide an efficiency rationale for vertical mergers since these eliminate double markups (EDM). However, the double markups vanish even without vertical integration if the firms are allowed to use two-part tariffs. Hence, the efficiency rationale for vertical mergers in models of complete information requires restrictions on the contracts that firms can use. In a sense, with complete information, two-part tariffs are simply too powerful. If instead one allows incomplete information and removes the restriction on contract forms, then vertical mergers continue to have an effect that is analogous to EDM, but they also have the potential to affect the overall efficiency of the market to the detriment of society. Consequently, the social surplus effects of vertical integration depend on the underlying market structure, and vertical mergers are, in and of themselves, neither good nor bad. We illustrate through an example that with incomplete information, the private benefits from vertical integration tend to be excessive; that is, vertical mergers remain profitable even when they are socially harmful.
Roberto Roversi e il cinema: documentari, articoli e progetti
Authors: Vignati Rinaldo
Published: June 2022

L’articolo è uno studio sui lavori per il cinema (soggetti e sceneggiature) e sui testi di argomenti cinematografico del poeta Roberto Roversi. L’articolo esamina anzitutto i film realizzati: tre lungometraggi di finzione e vari documentari (diretti soprattutto da Carlo Di Carlo). Successivamente prende in considerazione gli articoli sul cinema che Roversi ha scritto per quotidiani e riviste. La terza sezione dell’articolo è dedicata a Il frate, progetto di sceneggiatura per un film su san Francesco che avrebbe dovuto essere diretto da Michelangelo Antonioni. Infine, grazie alle ricerche compiute in vari archivi (Centro sperimentale di cinematografia, Museo del cinema di Torino), vengono riportati alla luce diversi altri progetti di film a cui Roversi ha partecipato: in particolare risultano significativi I trenta passi di Angela, scritto assieme a Tonino Guerra, e Area di rigore, curioso soggetto di ambientazione calcistica. Roberto Roversi resta – a dispetto delle “formule sbrigative e liquidatorie” (Moliterni, 2008: 563) in cui viene spesso rinchiusa la sua opera – una figura complessa, non facilmente inquadrabile entro le abituali categorie critiche e quindi non studiata quanto meriterebbe. L'esame dei suoi lavori per il cinema evidenzia aspetti poco noti e conferma la complessità della sua personalità. Sebbene si tratti in prevalenza di lavori su commissione, dall’esame di questi testi emergono alcuni interessi tematici ricorrenti, a cominciare dalla sottolineatura dell’importanza della memoria, intesa non come ricordo statico ma come forza che si traduce in azione nel presente e in progetto rivolto al futuro. Nella trasformazione dei luoghi, e in particolare della città di Bologna, si può osservare come memoria del passato e progetto per il futuro interagiscono nel presente. Nei film a cui Roversi ha collaborato si avverte spesso lo sforzo di rappresentare gli esseri umani e i luoghi in costante “divenire”.
Occupations of Terminally Ill Chinese Older Adults and Their Caregivers in Singapore: A Qualitative Exploratory Study
Authors: Lim Geck Hoon , Yong Celine , Breen Lauren J. , Keesing Sharon , Buchanan Angus
Published: June 2022

Occupations are everyday activities people do that bring meaning and purpose to life and is culturally shaped. This research aimed to explore the occupations of Chinese older adults living with a terminal illness and their caregivers in Singapore. Using a qualitative exploratory approach, 16 care recipient-family caregiver dyads were recruited from a local hospice provider. Semi-structured interviews were carried out and reflexive thematic analysis was employed. Three themes and seven subthemes described the challenges and changes to daily life faced by care recipients and caregivers as they adjusted to living with the terminal condition. Findings suggest that in a family-centric society, the occupations of care recipients are greatly impacted by their families. It is imperative to engage with family members in goal setting and intervention plans to facilitate therapy gains and carry-over into real life. These results may be applicable to other family-centric societies, but further research is required.
Increased Cognitive Demands Affect Agility Performance in Female Athletes - Implications for Testing and Training of Agility in Team Ball Sports
Authors: Büchel Daniel , Gokeler Alli , Heuvelmans Pieter , Baumeister Jochen
Published: June 2022

Agility, a key component of team ball sports, describes an athlete´s ability to move fast in response to changing environments. While agility requires basic cognitive functions like processing speed, it also requires more complex cognitive processes like working memory and inhibition. Yet, most agility tests restrict an assessment of cognitive processes to simple reactive times that lack ecological validity. Our aim in this study was to assess agility performance by means of total time on two agility tests with matched motor demands but with both low and high cognitive demands. We tested 22 female team athletes on SpeedCourt, using a simple agility test (SAT) that measured only processing speed and a complex agility test (CAT) that required working memory and inhibition. We found excellent to good reliability for both our SAT (ICC = .79) and CAT (ICC =.70). Lower agility performance on the CAT was associated with increased agility total time and split times ( p < .05). These results demonstrated that agility performance depends on the complexity of cognitive demands. There may be interference-effects between motor and cognitive performances, reducing speed when environmental information becomes more complex. Future studies should consider agility training models that implement complex cognitive stimuli to challenge athletes according to competitive demands. This will also allow scientists and practitioners to tailor tests to talent identification, performance development and injury rehabilitation.
Impacts of Teaching Critical Race Theory and Applying Contact Theory Methods to Student’s Cross-Cultural Competency in Diversity Courses
Authors: Hart Julie Putnam , Kocher Austin C.
Published: June 2022

We examine the outcomes of three different teaching methods in courses where cultural competency is a course objective: (1) multiculturalism lecture only, (2) student research and reporting on other cultural groups plus multiculturalism lecture, and (3) cross-cultural conversation partners applying contact theory plus multiculturalism lecture. Lectures in courses 1 and 3 also include antiracist and critical race theories that directly challenge colorblind racism. The study measures both cultural competency and colorblind racism before and after courses over a semester on 181 students at a small midwestern university. Cross-cultural competency scores improved significantly in all three courses but were significantly higher in the course that included both content on critical race theory and contact theory methods. Colorblind racism fails to improve in courses without critical race theory. These findings have implications for improving cultural competency outcomes among undergraduates from a variety of majors.
Space and the Dynamic Between Openness and Closure: Open strategizing in the TV series Borgen
Authors: Holstein Jeannie , Rantakari Anniina
Published: June 2022

In this paper we examine how the use of space shapes the dynamic between openness and closure in open strategizing. To do this, we draw from research that has defined organizational space as a process that is both a social product and produces social relations. We analysed the use of space in open strategizing in the Danish TV series and political drama Borgen. In our analysis we focused on three building blocks of space: boundaries, distance and movement, that allowed us to elaborate how the dynamic between openness and closure is shaped. Drawing on our analysis, we revealed three spatial features – physical visibility, strategizing artefacts, discursive designation – that play a role in the dynamic between openness and closure in strategizing. We constructed a conceptual framework that shows how these spatial features, and their different combinations, are associated with pivots between openness and closure. Thus, our findings advance prior open strategy research by providing potential explanations of why openness turns to closure, despite the attempts to keep the strategizing process open. We argue that taking space seriously provides a more nuanced understanding to some of the contingencies and possibilities related to the dynamics of openness and closure in strategizing.
Capacitive resistive monopolar radiofrequency at 448 kHz plus exercising versus exercising alone for subacromial pain: A sham-controlled randomized clinical trial
Authors: Avendaño-Coy Juan , Aceituno-Gómez Javier , García-Durán Sandra , Arroyo-Fernández Rubén , Blázquez-Gamallo Raquel , García-Madero Venancio Miguel , Escribá-de-la -Fuente Sara Maruxa , Fernández-Pérez Cristina
Published: June 2022

Objective

To investigate the effectiveness of thermal and sub-thermal capacitive-resistive monopolar radiofrequency at 448 kHz plus exercising compared to sham radiofrequency plus exercising on pain, functionality, and quality of life in patients with subacromial pain.

Design

Randomized, controlled, parallel, double-blind, three-arm clinical trial.

Setting

Hospital and Primary Care.

Subjects

Eighty-one participants with subacromial pain in three intervention groups.

Interventions

Three interventions with capacitive-resistive radiofrequency (thermal, sub-thermal, and sham) over 9 sessions (3 per week) plus an exercising protocol identical for all groups over 15 sessions (5 per week).

Outcome measures

Visual analogue scale and pressure pain threshold for pain, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index and Quick-Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand for functionality, and quality of life via the European Quality of Life-Five Dimensions were assessed at baseline, immediately posttreatment, and 1 month and 3 months post-intervention.

Results

No between-group differences were found in the pain visual analogue scale (F = 1.0; P = 0.37), Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (F = 1.0; P = 0.36), European Quality of Life-Five Dimensions (F = 0.76; P = 0.47), and pressure pain (F = 0.14; P = 0.86) outcomes, with a statistical power < 0.30 for all comparisons. Between-group differences were found in the Quick-Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (F = 3.4; P < 0.038), with an improvement of −14.1 points (confidence interval at 95% (95% CI) −28.1 to −0.1) in the thermal versus the sham group at 1 month follow-up. The mobility dimension of European Quality of Life-Five Dimensions improved in a greater proportion of participants in the thermal group (22.2% thermal, 7.4% sub-thermal, and 0.0% sham; P = 0.02)

Conclusion

Adding thermal radiofrequency to exercising can further improve slightly functionality and mobility in people with subacromial pain in the short term, but not pain perception. Future studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to increase statistical power.
Female-specific neuroprotection after ischemic stroke by vitronectin-focal adhesion kinase inhibition
Authors: Jia Cuihong , Lovins Chiharu , Malone Hannah M , Keasey Matthew P , Hagg Theo
Published: June 2022

We found that blood vitronectin (VTN) leaks into the brain and exacerbates tissue loss after stroke by increasing pro-inflammatory IL-6 expression in female, but not male, mice. VTN signals through integrins and downstream focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Here, a two day systemic treatment with a small molecule FAK inhibitor starting 6 h after middle cerebral artery occlusion reduced ipsilateral brain injury size by ∼40–45% at 7 and 14 d, as well as inflammation and motor dysfunction in wild-type female, but not male, mice. FAK inhibition also reduced IL-6 expression in the injured female striatum at 24 h by 62%. Inducible selective gene deletion of FAK in astrocytes also reduced acute IL-6 expression by 72% only in females, and mitigated infarct size by ∼80% and inflammation at 14 d after stroke. Lastly, VTN−/− females had better outcomes, but FAK inhibitor treatment had no additional protective or anti-inflammatory effects. Altogether, this suggests that VTN is detrimental in females primarily through FAK and that FAK inhibition provides neuroprotection (cerebroprotection) by reducing VTN-induced IL-6 expression in astrocytes. Thus, VTN signaling can be targeted to mitigate harmful inflammation with relevance to treatments for women with ischemic stroke, who often have worse outcomes than men.
Criticism, Compassion, and Conspiracy Theories: A Thematic Analysis of What Twitter Users Are Saying About COVID-19 in Correctional Settings
Authors: Tadros Eman , Morgan Amy A. , Durante Katherine A.
Published: June 2022

We examined Twitter data using thematic analysis to understand public perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on incarcerated people and reactions to including incarcerated populations in the early phases of the vaccine rollout. Our findings from n = 513 Tweets yielded six themes: Twitter as usual, Advocacy, Deserve to suffer, Vaccine priority debate, Inadequate response, and Misinformation. Stigma-laden statements cut across themes, highlighting the role pathologizing beliefs play in forming opinions about incarcerated people in public health crises. Trust of government response and buy-in to public health communication are positively associated with adherence to guidelines. Although public health decisions are derived from logic and research, our findings indicate that public perception may be driven by personal morals and stigma associated with justice-involved individuals. We recommend that attention be turned toward effective policy messaging, and use of social media, to increase trust and decrease stigma that tends to dominate societal perception.
Scientism, Ethics and Evil: From Mens Rea to Cerebrum Reus
Authors: Palermo Mark T.
Published: June 2022

Can criminology thrive on quantitative studies alone? Can evil be operationalized? Quantitative work may have, for the time being, supplanted common sense, personal experience and resulting in an improbable “Periodic Table of humanity”. Has the construction of the psychopathic concept surpassed positivist “constitutional” formulations and translated into effective (re)habilitation of individuals lacking affiliative ethical behaviors? Or has it simply fueled a deterministic neo-Lombrosian truism: moral development has a brain. Has it helped so far? Has letting go of fundamental moral concepts, implicit in organized religion - but pervasive in most cultures irrespective of religious affiliation and devotion - in favor of causal explanations based solely on neuroimaging, personality inventories or structured emotional decoding tasks, made a difference in the life – or in the defense for that matter - of wrongdoers diagnosed as intrinsically evil?
Relationship between emotional words in electronic medical records and leave periods of users of a return-to-work program with depression
Authors: Kutsuna Ichiro , Hoshino Aiko , Morisugi Ami , Mori Yukari , Shirato Aki , Takeda Mirai , isaji Hikari , Suwa Mami
Published: June 2022

Introduction

We attempted to score data extracted from written medical records containing assessment results using natural language processing, and to clarify the relationship between duration of sick leave and the use of emotional words among return-to-work (RTW) program users on sick leave due to mental health problems.

Method

Participants were users of an RTW program. We extracted textual data from their electronic medical records, and gave all words a score based on the following two considerations: positivity score (the degree of positive emotion a word has) and emotion score with respect to seven emotions (sadness, anxiety, anger, disgust, trust, surprise, and joy), with the score for each emotion measured for each word. We analyzed relationships between duration of sick leave and each score.

Results

Forty-two users participated. The results showed that high positive scores (β = −0.42, p < 0.00) and high sadness scores (β = −0.60, p < 0.00) were related to a shorter duration of sick leave, and high anger score (β = 0.52, p < 0.00) was related to a longer duration of sick leave.

Conclusion

Professional assessments based on occupational therapy and natural language processing of medical records may predict the appropriate timing of RTW.
The proximity and dynamics of intercity technology transfers in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area: Evidence from patent transfer networks
Authors: Ma Haitao , Wei Yehua Dennis , Dai Liang , Xu Xuanfang
Published: June 2022

The patent transfer provides an important indication of technology flows and knowledge diffusion across space. Drawing on patent transfer data, we modeled intercity technology transfer networks in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area, a city region special for its “one country, two systems” structure, in the periods 2007–2011 and 2012–2016. We then explored the evolutionary characteristics of the networks and further examined the impact of, and interaction between, different forms of proximities in relation to technology transfer over time. Our results show that some kinds of proximities (institutional, cognitive, and social) are able to promote technology transfers, while others (geographical and cultural) do not exert significant impacts. Of the latter category, geographical proximity can, however, indirectly affect technology transfer by acting on the proximity of other dimensions (institutional, cognitive, and social). For instance, cognitive proximity can compensate for the lack of geographical proximity and social proximity frequently accompanies geographical proximity—and both relationships are reinforced over time. In contrast, the interrelatedness of geographical and institutional proximities have transformed from a relation of substitution to complementarity.
Effect of Altmetric score on manuscript citations: A randomized-controlled trial
Authors: Peres Mario FP , Braschinsky Mark , May Arne
Published: June 2022

Background

Alternative metrics to traditional, citation-based metrics are increasingly being used. These are complementary to traditional metrics, like downloads and citations, and give information on how often a given journal article is discussed and used in professional (reference managers) and social networks, such as mainstream media and Twitter. Altmetrics is used in most journals and is available in all indexed headache medicine journals. Whether Altmetrics have an input on traditional, citation-based metrics or whether it is a stand-alone metric system is not clear. Actively promoting a paper through media channels will probably increase the Altmetric score but the question arises whether this will also increase citations and downloads of this individual paper.

Methods

Focusing on this point we performed a randomized study in order to test the hypothesis that a promotion intervention would improve citations and other science metric scores. We selected 48 papers published in Cephalalgia from July 2019 to January 2020 and randomized them to either receive an active promotion through social media channels or not. The primary outcome used was the difference between mean article citations with versus without intervention 12 months after the intervention period.

Results

The results show that the alternative metrics significantly increased for those papers randomly selected to receive an intervention compared to those who did not. This effect was observed in the first 12 months, right after the boosting strategy was performed. The higher promoted paper diffusion in social media lead to a significantly higher number of citations and downloads.

Conclusion

Further promotion strategies should be studied in order to tailor the best cost-benefit intervention.
New Mobility-Assist E-Grocery Delivery Network: a Load-Dependent Two-Echelon Vehicle Routing Problem With Mixed Vehicles
Authors: Liu Dan , (Frank) Yang Hao , Mao Xinhua , Antonoglou Vasileia , Kaisar Evangelos I.
Published: June 2022

New forms of transport, such as autonomous delivery robots (ADRs), have attracted considerable attention in recent years for their potential use as green last-mile delivery alternatives because of their flexibility in some areas unreachable by van. However, their low efficiency, delivering a limited number of orders each trip, limits their application in the last mile. Also, the cost and emission impact of new forms of transport on the last-mile delivery network is still not clear. To address these issues, we developed a new two-echelon delivery system that combines traditional vans and ADRs, making use of their individual advantages to overcome their drawbacks and enhance efficiency in the deliveries. The objective of this study was to develop a new approach based on a metaheuristics methodology to minimize transport and emission costs through modeling and to solve the extension of two-echelon load-dependent vehicle routing problems with mixed vehicles (2E-LDVRP-MV). The complicated 2E-LDVRP-MV problem was formulated as a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model and solved efficiently with a cluster-based artificial immune algorithm (C-AIA) in which clustering was employed to allocate customers. We performed a set of numerical experiments with a solver and the proposed C-AIA heuristics. C-AIS highlights the operational implications of four parameters: ratios between load and the empty vehicle weight; vehicle types; emission levels; and customer densities. Our results provide a unique perspective on tactical planning for a sustainable urban logistics system, and this new two-echelon system could be applied in e-grocery last-mile delivery networks where vans and ADRs are combined.
Identification and Comparative Safety Analysis of Overtaking Patterns on Two-Lane Highways: A Simulator Study With Novice Drivers
Authors: Zhang Rui , Bao Qiong , Brijs Kris , Hermans Elke , Shen Yongjun
Published: June 2022

Overtaking on two-lane highways is one of the riskiest driving maneuvers. However, safety analysis technologies for overtaking patterns and trajectories require development. In this simulator study, 328 overtaking trajectories were collected from 52 novice drivers to analyze difference in overtaking safety performances on two-lane highways under different traffic conditions. Two analyses were conducted: Analysis I focused on structural trajectory differences and classified the trajectory sample into two patterns—“ladder” (LAT) and “triangle” (TRT). In Analysis II, a comparative safety evaluation method was established based on data envelopment analysis to compare overtaking pattern safety; a factor analysis of the safety performance was undertaken by means of ordinary regression models. We found that TRT had a lower spatial consumption and smoother trajectory than LAT, but drivers overtaking using TRT were exposed to higher risk than LAT. Certain environmental and human factors had an influence on the safety levels of the patterns: both deteriorated when drivers were surrounded by vehicles driving at higher speeds, and improved with longer passing sight distances. However, safety levels when overtaking trucks were significantly worse than overtaking cars in the LAT pattern—the opposite was found for TRT. Female drivers’ safety performance was superior in the LAT pattern; no significant gender difference were found with TRT. A longer following distance was found to ameliorate the safety of the TRT pattern, with no effect on LAT. These findings aid understanding of overtaking maneuvers on two-lane highways, and provide recommendations for advanced assistance driving and automatic driving systems.
Occupational exposure to pesticides in farmworkers and the oxidative markers
Authors: Samareh Ali , Asadikaram Gholamreza , MojtabaAbbasi-Jorjandi  , Abdollahdokht Danial , Abolhassani Moslem , Khanjani Narges , Nematollahi Mohammad H
Published: June 2022

Organophosphate (OPPs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are the two predominant forms of pesticides extensively used all around the world and are being reconsidered as environmental pollutants. The current study sought to assess the role of socioeconomic factors on the level of pesticides residues and the oxidative effects of exposure to OPPs and OCPs among the farmworkers of southeast Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 192 farmworkers and 74 non-farmworkers (controls) were involved. Gas chromatography (GC) was performed to measure the serum levels of organochlorine chemicals (2,4-DDT, 4,4-DDT, 2,4-DDE, 4,4-DDE, α-HCH, β-HCH, and γ-HCH). Furthermore, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, arylesterase activity of paraoxonase-1 (PON-1), and several oxidative stress (OS) markers were assessed. In addition, the impact of several parameters such as home to farm distance, education level, ventilation status, and personal protective equipment (PPE) on pesticide levels was analyzed. The levels of OCPs in the farmworkers were significantly higher than the control subjects. In addition, AChE activity, arylesterase activity of PON-1, and total antioxidant capacity in farmworkers were significantly less, and MDA levels were higher than the controls. Education level was associated with farmworkers’ protective behavior. The current findings suggested that some phased out OCPs can still be measured in human samples in the southeast of Iran. Furthermore, the current study demonstrated that exposure to OCPs and OPPs was accompanied by adverse consequences regarding OS parameters and subsequent health problems. In addition, the findings of the present study suggest that improving farmworkers’ education might be associated with reduced exposure to pesticides and less adverse health effects.
Lipoabdominoplasty: Comparing Ultrasound-Assisted and Power-Assisted Techniques
Authors: Troell Robert J.
Published: June 2022

Introduction: Optimizing the abdomen aesthetic appearance may combine liposculpture, abdominoplasty, and postsurgical noninvasive body sculpting. The abdominoplasty traditional technique highlights abdominal flap undermining. The Avelar or Saldana lipoabdominoplasty’s technique modifications use liposuction and the absence of undermining of the abdominal wall flap. This method maintains abdominal wall vascularization and lessens complications. Two commonly employed liposuction techniques are power-assisted and ultrasound-assisted liposuction. Combining power-assisted technology with the Separation, Aspiration, Fat Equalization (SAFE) liposuction process has improved aesthetic results and reduced complications. Separation, Aspiration, Fat Equalization liposuction process enrolls separation, aspiration, and fat equalization steps. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction advantages include high-definition body sculpting through maximum fat removal and skin tightening with less blood loss and viable fat for grafting. This clinical study evaluated a comprehensive surgical protocol for lipoabdominoplasty designed to minimize complications. In addition, the study assessed aesthetic outcome and complication differences comparing the use of ultrasound-assisted versus power-assisted liposuction. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study in a single surgeon’s private cosmetic practice in 2 practice locations in patients undergoing a modified lipoabdominoplasty technique over a 2-year period. Results: Modified lipoabdominoplasty combining power-assisted technology with SAFE liposuction (n = 30) compared to those using ultrasound-assisted liposuction (n = 20) revealed similar complication rates. Surgeon observation revealed better skin contour smoothness, more abdominal definition and skin tightening with less bruising when using ultrasound liposuction. The comprehensive surgical protocol designed to minimize perioperative complications was implemented on each patient and resulted in no medical errors and a low major and minor complication rate. Conclusions: The lipoabdominoplasty surgical protocol provides surgeon’s comprehensive preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative guidelines to minimize complications. Higher body mass index increased the complication rate. The aesthetic outcome using ultrasound-assisted liposuction appeared to yield better aesthetic sculpted appearance with less bruising compared to power-assisted technology.
Un protocole pour une enquête par questionnaire anonyme au sens du Règlement européen
Authors: Plessz Marie
Published: June 2022

L’entrée en vigueur du Règlement général sur la protection des données personnelles (RGPD) dans l’Union européenne en 2018 a conduit de nombreux sociologues à s’interroger sur la concordance entre leurs pratiques d’enquêtes et le cadre législatif. Enseigner comment faire une enquête par questionnaire implique de former les étudiants à ces aspects déontologiques et juridiques des pratiques d’enquête. Aussi je me suis faite accompagner par une juriste déléguée à la protection des données pour vérifier que l’enquête par questionnaire (10 minutes) que je faisais réaliser chaque année par mes étudiants de master était conforme à la législation. Ce travail a débouché sur le protocole pour une enquête anonyme (par téléphone et auto-administré sur internet) qui est reproduit ici. Il est précédé d’une mise en contexte sur la législation sur les données personnelles ; sur la façon dont se déroule l’enquête pour laquelle j’ai conçu ce protocole ; enfin sur le choix d’anonymiser complètement l’enquête.
Sensitivity Analysis: A Method to Promote Certainty and Transparency in Nursing and Health Research
Authors: Mowbray Fabrice I. , Manlongat Donna , Shukla Meghna
Published: June 2022

Nursing and health researchers may be presented with uncertainty regarding the utilization or legitimacy of methodological or analytic decisions. Sensitivity analyses are purposed to gain insight and certainty about the validity of research findings reported. Reporting guidelines and health research methodologists have emphasized the importance of utilizing and reporting sensitivity analyses in clinical research. However, sensitivity analyses are underreported in nursing and health research. The aim of this methodological overview is to provide an introduction to the purpose, conduct, interpretation, and reporting of sensitivity analyses, using a series of simulated and contemporary case examples.
Effects of dust on the performance of solar panels – a review update from 2015–2020
Authors: Saini Raj Kumar , Saini Devender Kumar , Gupta Rajeev , Verma Piush , Dwivedi RP , Kumar Ashwani , Chauhan Diksha , Kumar Sushil
Published: June 2022

Solar power plays a significant role in the contribution of energy worldwide. The performance of solar panels mainly depends upon geographical and environmental factors. Dust is an important well known ecological factor that significantly impacts the performance of solar panels in achieving the overall target of power production by renewable sources. Study about the performance of solar panels under the influence of dust particles becomes more effective when these are to be worked out in hot and dusty areas. The current goal of this review article is to provide the impact of dust particles on the performance of solar panels. To fulfil this goal, the researcher's contribution is updated in minor for 2015 to 2018 and signed for 2019 and 2020.The current authors of this review article also recommended the adoption of a modern cleaning technique for PV modules, which would save time because it could be operated away from the PV modules.
Research on the impact of financial development in different regions on the decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth
Authors: Huang Jiemin , Guo Liyiing
Published: June 2022

The decoupling of carbon emissions has also become the dependence of countries’ development. Finance plays an important role in decoupling economic development from carbon emissions. This paper explores the impact of financial development in different regions on the decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth, using the Tapio decoupling elastic model and the method of fully modified least squares (FMOLS) to study the impact of financial development on carbon emissions in six regional panels from 1995 to 2020: and Foreign direct investment (FDI), urbanization, population, and infrastructure as control variables. The results turn out that financial development will promote the decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth in the ECA region. For EAP, SSA, AC, SA, and MENA regions, financial development will promote the growth of carbon emissions, and due to the different economic development dynamics of different countries, the positive effects of financial development on carbon emissions are heterogeneous. The impact of FDI, urbanization, and infrastructure on carbon emissions varies from region to region. The population will promote the growth of carbon emissions, regardless of the region. In addition, the ECA region is the most countries that has achieved the strong decoupling and is the first to realize the transition from weak decoupling to strong decoupling. Therefore,the ECA, EAP and AC region should accelerate the construction of a green financial system to promote the decoupling of economic growth and carbon emissions. The SSA, SA and MENA region should speed up the transformation of economic development mode and move towards weak decoupling or even strong decoupling.
Acceptance of Accounting Software in Small Business and Entrepreneurial Prosperity in India
Authors: Banerjee Sudip , Saraswat Prashant
Published: June 2022

Today, the Indian economy is growing rapidly, which is possible because of the coexistence of large-scale industries and supportive auxiliaries of small-scale enterprises. Large-scale industries have sufficient infrastructure to maintain a robust accounting system. On the other hand, small enterprises or business entities perceptions and experience needed to know. Hence, the object of this study is to understand the acceptance of accounting software by small enterprises using the modern system of intelligent accounting. This study is based on the pilot survey of small business entities in Gwalior city. Survey data were analysed using the ANOVA and structural equation model. A sample of 60 respondents was taken, out of which 56 respondents are using accounting software on their business premises. Major contributing factors of selection were based on the respondents who are using accounting software.