bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teaching urban facility management, global citizenship and livability
Authors: Kuijlenburg Rachel
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the influence of facility design on urban quality of life from an educational perspective. The outcome of this paper is to determine the influence of facility management (FM) on the quality of life of citizens in the city of The Hague by actively using a facility design to positively influence the livability.

Design/methodology/approach

This current explorative study is a mix-method approach of qualitative and quantitative applied research based on observations, shadowing, interviewing, questionnaires, document analyzes, desk research including analyzing audio and video material. This applied research framework is based on the cycle for practice-oriented research and innovation by van der Donk and van Lanen (2016).

Findings

More than 2,000 bachelor FM students over the past 15 years have been dispatched into the city to conduct small-scale, applied research on urban facility management (UFM). It provided data on changing neighborhoods resulting in numerous small-scale improvements. Besides, a better understanding of UFM, it contributed to a better awareness on global citizenship.

Research limitations/implications

Besides a better understanding of UFM to improve livability in neighborhoods, it also contributed into a better awareness in teaching global citizenship.

Originality/value

This long-running study supports the upcoming field of UFM and the debate how FM should be made explicit in the neighborhood.
The impact of fire and rescue service first responders on participant behaviour during chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN)/Hazmat incidents
Authors: Long Francis , Bateman Georgia , Majumdar Arnab
Published: June 2020

Purpose

Decontamination following chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN)/Hazmat incidents is a critical activity carried out in order to mitigate and contain the risk posed by any hazardous materials involved. Human behaviour plays a crucial role in such incidents, as casualties will have little understanding of the situation they find themselves in, leading to uncertainty in what actions to take. This will result in very difficult circumstances within which first responders must operate. However, the importance of human behaviour appears to be a fundamental element being missed in the preparation, training and planning assumptions being made by emergency services and planners in preparation for these events.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper looks to understand the scope of this omission by reviewing relevant literature on the subject and engaging with Fire and Rescue Service personnel and managers in the UK. This study utilised semi-structured interviews with 10 Fire and Rescue Service Mass Decontamination Operatives, four Fire and Rescue Service Hazardous Material Advisers and three Fire and Rescue Service Strategic Officers participating. These interviews were then analysed using a thematic framework to identified key themes from the research which were then validated using two independent researchers to provide an inter-rater reliability measure. Finally, a follow-up validation questionnaire was also developed to test the validity of the themes identified and this was completed by another with 36 Fire and Rescue Service Mass Decontamination Operatives.

Findings

Both the literature review and interviews undertaken with emergency responders and mangers demonstrated the crucial importance of accounting for behavioural aspects in these situations especially in regards to the likely levels of compliance to be expected by responders and the potential problem of casualties not remaining at the scene of an incident to undergo decontamination.

Originality/value

This research identifies a number of key themes so far not recognized through any other research and in doing so offers insights into potential flaws in the UK Fire and Rescue Service response planning for CBRN/Hazmat incidents requiring mass decontamination. It is intended that this research will inform further study into the areas identified in order to ensure gaps in planning, training and strategies for mass decontamination operations can be more fully informed and if required allow for a more effective response.
Achieving loyalty for sharing economy platforms: an expectation–confirmation perspective
Authors: Jia Fu , Li Dun , Liu Guoquan , Sun Hui , Hernandez Jorge E.
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This study explores how sharing platforms achieve platform loyalty through various operation management strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study method has been conducted in two Chinese sharing economy industries: ride- and bike-sharing. Data were collected through 30 semi-structured interviews with managers from four platform companies (DiDi, Uber China, ofo and Mobike). Individual case studies were developed from the triangulation of all existing data. Concurrent with the development of these individual case studies was a cross-case analysis. Emerging patterns have been identified and compared to previous findings in the literature to build upon and modify the existing knowledge base and to formulate a series of propositions.

Findings

Platform asset characteristics and mergers and acquisitions affect supply network readiness and operational capacity, respectively, and this effect would consequently contribute to achieving platform loyalty through user satisfaction. Moreover, externality, as a moderator, may influence the strength of the relationship between satisfaction and platform loyalty.

Practical implications

The proposed theoretical model provides an overarching framework for sharing platform companies to design and operate their businesses while carefully examining the situations, contexts and actions of users and other stakeholders and choosing an appropriate strategic mechanism to drive platform growth.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to empirically explain how firms in a sharing economy sector could gain platform loyalty by adopting an expectation–confirmation theory perspective.
Validation issues of a performance management system for design: three case studies
Authors: Radici Fraga Paula Görgen , Bernardes Maurício Moreira e Silva , van der Linden Julio Carlos de Souza , Vieira Darli Rodrigues , Chain Milena Chang
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This study aimed to discuss issues related to the process for validating a performance management system for design (PMSD) in three product development companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The use of multifunctional groups becomes important because it favors viewing the organization as a whole, thereby reducing existing gaps between segments of the company. To support this study, focus group research was used.

Findings

Viewing design as a resource that contributes to increased competitiveness offers companies benefits, such as improved performance measurement. This measurement is based on indicators and, to be useful, an indicator system should stimulate the company's interest. In addition, the present study made it possible to conclude that the validation process is essential in preimplementation stages because validation allows the PMSD to be adapted to bring it closer to the reality of companies, thus increasing the chances of success during the implementation stage.

Originality/value

Validation of the metrics from the perspective of senior management enabled critical analyses of the applicability of the PMSD, as well as its suitability and approximation to the reality of businesses, by selecting the most relevant data.
Durability analysis of eggshell powder–flyash geopolymer composite subjected to wetting–drying cycles
Authors: Shekhawat Poonam , Sharma Gunwant , Singh Rao Martand
Published: June 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of various heat conditions on the durability of eggshell powder (ESP)–flyash (FA) geopolymer subjected to wetting–drying cycles.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, two waste materials, ESP and FA, which are destined for landfills, were used as precursors to produce geopolymers in a sustainable manner. The mixture of Na2SiO3and NaOH was used as a liquid alkaline activator in geopolymerization. The ESP and FA content were varied as 30, 50 and 70% and Na2SiO3/NaOH ratios were varied as 0.5, 1 and 2. Geopolymer samples were cured at three heat conditions: 25°C (ambient temperature), 50°C and 80°C for seven days prior to durability tests.

Findings

The results of this study revealed that the strength loss of the geopolymer decreases with an increase in curing temperature up to 50°C and then increases for higher temperature up to 80°C. Further, the strength loss of the geopolymer decreases with an increase in FA replacement and Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio. Geopolymer composites exhibited early strength development because of the inclusion of calcium-rich ESP. The weight loss of the ESP–FA geopolymer follows a similar pattern of strength loss. Geopolymer samples previously cured at optimum heat condition of 50°C for seven days exhibited higher durability.

Originality/value

The inclusion of calcium-rich ESP in FA-based geopolymer is novel research. As ESP–FA geopolymer composites show higher mechanical strength and higher durability compared to Indian standards, the potential use of this geopolymer can be in road subbases/subgrades.
University social responsibility as a driving force of change: students’ perceptions beyond the ivory tower
Authors: Coelho Marcia , Menezes Isabel
Published: June 2020

Purpose

In the context of increasingly diverse issues that affect global society, the social responsibility dimension in higher education institutions is being called to the forefront of change, both in the sense of rethinking their internal practices (e.g. promoting the access and progression of students from different cultural backgrounds) and in their interaction with the surrounding community (e.g. through the establishment of stronger partnerships). The USR activities and projects are considered driving forces of change for universities, but the potential that the involvement of students in this area can have, in their academic and professional capacities, is not yet sufficiently studied.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines how students from three European universities (Edinburgh, Porto and Kaunas) perceive the impact of their own involvement in the Erasmus + project ESSA – an experiential training in university social responsibility audit – through focus-group discussions.

Findings

This analysis pointed towards the role of USR projects as an opportunity for students to improve transversal competencies aligned with articulation between the three cornerstones of the university: teaching, research and third mission.

Research limitations/implications

The study rests on students' perceptions of personal change.

Practical implications

This research can help higher education institutions understand the potential of involving students in existing USR projects as a tool to promote their personal, academic and civic development.

Social implications

USR is a core mission of higher education institutions that is beneficial not only internally but also in what concerns interactions with the community and the potential for developing “public-minded alumni”.

Originality/value

This paper provides an insight into how students perceive the impact of their involvement in USR projects as unique learning spaces.
Theoretical and experimental studies on interfacial effects in cellulose nano crystal-shape memory polymer composites
Authors: Luo Hongsheng , Yao Yangrong , Zhou Huankai , Wu Shaoying , Yi Guobin , He Xuran , Yang Jiyuan , Jiang Yan , Li Zhengwen
Published: June 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the interfacial effect on mechanical properties of the cellulose nano crystal (CNC)–shape memory polymer (SMP) composites by using combination of the theoretical and experimental approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

SMP composites were fabricated by introducing CNCs into crystalline shape memory polyurethane. The morphological, thermal and mechanical properties were comprehensively investigated. Theoretical approach based upon the percolation model was used to simulate the storage modulus E’ variation of the composites in crystalline and amorphous states, respectively. The classic two-phase percolation model was used for the amorphous-state composites. Furthermore, a three-phase model consisting of interfacial regions was created for the crystalline-state composites.

Findings

The deviation of nano fillers mechanical reinforcements was disclosed as the composites triggered thermal transitions. Modified percolation theory involving the interfacial effects greatly enhanced the simulation accuracy.

Research limitations/implications

The study made the traditional percolating theory suitable for dynamic modulus and polymorphs polymers in terms of mechanics, which may extend the potential application.

Originality/value

The findings may greatly benefit the development of novel interfacial reinforcing theory and intelligent polymeric nanocomposites featuring polymorphs and dynamic properties.
Viable destination ecosystems: a perspective article
Authors: Ness Håvard
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a brief review of the literature on interorganizational relations in tourism over the past 75 years to understand the emerging focus on destination ecosystems. Based on these developments, the paper points to some issues that future research should consider.

Design/methodology/approach

This selective review provides building blocks for a contemporary view of destination ecosystems and the possibilities for promoting research on their viability.

Findings

The research on relationships between tourism firms considers co-operation as important and provides knowledge and theory that is complex addressing a vast range of foci. Future research should attempt to integrate emerging trends using meta-theory and possibly programmatic research.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is brief in reviewing past trends to identify a few core areas for future directions in destination research and suggesting how this might be undertaken. However, this short paper is not exhaustive.

Practical implications

This paper directs attention to core aspects of destination ecosystems that (destination) managers and public sector representatives should consider in their decision-making to improve viability.

Social implications

Social and environmental dimensions are explicitly addressed as important for destination ecosystem viability.

Originality/value

This paper points to some directions that future research and knowledge development should consider to develop conceptual and actionable knowledge further to promote viability in destination ecosystems.
The expanding role of deep roots during long‐term terrestrial ecosystem development
Authors: Newman Gregory S. , Coble Ashley A. , Haskins Kristin E. , Kowler Andrew L. , Hart Stephen C.
Published: June 2020

Models of ecosystem development and response to environmental variation must incorporate change in vertical soil space as well as over time. Insufficient measurement of subsurface soil properties represents a major observational bias in ecosystem studies.

We address these changes in horizontal (time) and vertical (soil profile) space along a three‐million‐year, semi‐arid, piñon‐juniper woodland substrate age gradient with characteristic progressive and retrogressive ecosystem development phases and a shift from nitrogen (N) and water to phosphorus (P) limitation. We present a novel pedological approach using isotopic tracers and biogeochemical analyses to address fine root distribution, depth of plant uptake and relative nutrient availabilities.

We show that (a) the quantity of fine roots remains constant with ecosystem development but their distribution in the soil profile becomes increasingly deeper and less concentrated in the surface soil; (b) mean depth of tree uptake becomes deeper with substrate age and follows the relative availability of P as P‐limitation develops and (c) soil P transformations in the oldest soil profiles resemble the theoretical changes with age to produce a depth gradient of relative N and P availability.

Synthesis. The expanding role of deep roots in this model system is tightly linked to phases of ecosystem development and relative nutrient availability. The inclusion of whole soil profiles is vital to investigating the intersections of biota, soil and geologic substrate and developing a more complete understanding of ecosystem structure and function.
Intrauterine versus external tocodynamometry in monitoring labour: a randomised controlled clinical trial
Authors: Hautakangas T , Uotila J , Huhtala H , Palomäki O
Published: June 2020

Objective

To investigate whether the use of intrauterine tocodynamometry versus external tocodynamometry (IT versus ET) during labour reduces operative deliveries and improves newborn outcome. As IT provides more accurate information on labour contractions, the hypothesis was that it may more appropriately guide oxytocin use than ET.

Design

Randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Two labour wards, in a university tertiary hospital and a central hospital.

Population

A total of 1504 parturients with singleton pregnancies, gestational age ≥37 weeks and fetus in cephalic position: 269 women with uterine scars, 889 nulliparas and 346 parous women with oxytocin augmentation.

Methods

Participants underwent IT (n = 736) or ET (n = 768) during the active first stage of labour.

Main outcome measures

Primary outcome: rate of operative deliveries. Secondary outcomes: duration of labour, amount of oxytocin given, adverse neonatal outcomes.

Results

Operative delivery rates were 26.9% (IT) and 25.9% (ET) (odds ratio 1.05, 95% CI 0.84–1.32, P = 0.663). The ET to IT conversion rate was 31%. We found no differences in secondary outcomes (IT versus ET). IT reduced oxytocin use during labours with signs of fetal distress, and trial of labour after caesarean section.

Conclusions

IT did not reduce the rate of operative deliveries, use of oxytocin, or adverse neonatal outcomes, and it did not shorten labour duration.

Tweetable abstract

IT (versus ET) reduced oxytocin use in high‐risk labours but did not influence operative delivery rate or adverse neonatal outcomes.
Emergency medicine's COVID future: Facing the triple challenge after flattening the curve
Authors: Staib Andrew , Small Niall
Published: June 2020

After successfully avoiding the situations experienced by some countries, Australasian EDs now face a future in which the ongoing threat of COVID‐19 is added to the traditional challenges in providing quality emergency care. The contribution of emergency medicine to the national containment strategy adds a new dimension to the demands placed on emergency medicine in Australia and similarly, to the elimination strategy employed in New Zealand. These demands will best be met by a considered, planned and resourced approach that will challenge traditional measures of ‘ED efficiency’.
The Impact of Back Benchers in the Creation of Social Reform: The Indefatigable and Honourable Exertions of Mr Gilbert*
Authors: Ryland‐Epton Louise
Published: June 2020

During the 18th century, back‐bench members of parliament played a critical role in creating social policy. This article provides a case study of the political campaigns of the Lichfield MP, Thomas Gilbert, and his attempts at a comprehensive reform of the poor law in 1765 and 1782. These individual endeavours were energetic, sophisticated, but unallied to a particular agenda or based on Gilbert's original perspectives. Instead, he harnessed the power of local interests and extra‐parliamentary forces, particularly magistrates, through the adept use of print culture in his later campaign to form social policy based on a broad political consensus. A skilled political operator, he used these same methods to help navigate his bills through parliament. To better fit the context, the campaigns were moulded around political expediency and influenced by the development of Gilbert's humanitarian reputation and the burgeoning of the press, parliamentary reporting, and political debate. The political environments of 1765 and 1782 were, therefore, different, and broader trends influenced the two campaigns. This article demonstrates the importance of the press to political campaigning and suggests that to be successful (in social policy at least) a would‐be reformer was required to engage with a developing participatory political culture. However, given Gilbert's approach, the importance of ideology as a basis for social reform in an 18th‐century context is questioned.
Parliament and the Press: Forging the United Nations in Wartime Britain, 1939–45
Authors: Holmila Antero
Published: June 2020

During the Second World War, not only the United States but also Great Britain played a leading role in planning and establishing the United Nations (UN) as a new international organisation to replace the League of Nations. While scholarship on post‐war planning is extensive, relatively little exists on how the planning process was discussed and depicted publicly in Britain. The purpose of this article is to fill such lacunae by examining the two most important domains for public discussion at the time, the press and parliament. It will argue, first, that the League of Nations’ experience – its inability to use collective force and its optimistically democratic structure – overwhelmingly shaped public discourse in reference to the UN. By referring to the past, the press and politicians alike in Britain were content to relinquish interwar ideas such as equal rights and equal representation for all nations. Second, apart from the lessons of history, the less democratic structure of the new world organisation was justified from the perspective of great power politics. The desire to make the grand alliance between Britain, the United States of America, and the USSR functional despite all mutual suspicions, directed the view of the UN, and typically overrode all other concerns relating to post‐war planning. Finally, throughout the wartime planning of the UN, public opinion, in so far as press and parliament were concerned, held fast to the idea that the British empire was not to be touched by the UN. In public, the establishment of the UN was hardly considered as a starting point for decolonisation. Instead, the UN was designed to become the post‐war embodiment of the grand alliance, a vehicle through which the victory over the Axis powers would be managed at the global level: such management did not envision the need to let empire go. Viewed this way, it also becomes clear that nationalism and internationalism were not mutually exclusive or binary visions, but coexisted and shifted in importance throughout the period examined.
Beneficial effects of lactitol on the composition of gut microbiota in constipated patients
Authors: Li Xiao Qing , Zhang Xu Min , Wu Xi , Lan Yu , Xu Le , Meng Xiang Chen , Li Jing Nan
Published: June 2020

Objective

To explore the changes in microbial composition and the corresponding impact after lactitol treatment in constipated patients.

Methods

Altogether 29 consecutive outpatients diagnosed with chronic constipation from three centers were recruited and stratified based on their history of diabetes mellitus. All patients were administered with oral lactitol for 2 weeks, and a symptoms diary of constipation was recorded. Fecal samples were collected before and after lactitol treatment, and were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect gut microbiota.

Results

Twenty patients with diabetes mellitus and nine without, all with chronic constipation, were enrolled in this study. After 2‐week administration of lactitol, their subscale scores and constipation symptoms significantly decreased (P < 0.05). An analysis of fecal flora using 16S rRNA sequencing found an increasing trend of abundance of Bifidobacterium in the post‐lactitol group (P = 0.08). Actinobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bifidobacteriales, Bifidobacteriaceae and Bifidobacterium were significantly more abundant after lactitol administration. Real‐time PCR showed significantly high DNA copy numbers of Bifidobacterium after lactitol treatment (1.39 × 1010 vs 2.74 × 109 copies/μL, P = 0.01). The results of 16S rRNA sequencing and real‐time PCR illustrated an increasing trend of Bifidobacterium in both patients with and without diabetes. In addition, Bifidobacterium was negatively correlated with constipation subscale scores.

Conclusions

Alterations in fecal flora composition after lactitol supplementation, especially in terms of an increasing trend of Bifidobacterium, alleviated constipation symptoms. Lactitol may be a promising prebiotic candidate for patients with constipation, regardless of diabetes mellitus.
Diving in uncharted waters: An updated genetics toolkit highlights the challenges of polyploidy in landscape genomics analyses
Authors: Ackiss Amanda S. , Balao Francisco
Published: June 2020

As molecular ecologists, we have by necessity become adept at working across computational platforms. A diverse community of scientists has developed a broad array of analytical resources spanning command line to graphical user interface across Linux, Mac, and Windows environments and a dizzying array of program‐specific input formats. In light of this, we often explore our data like free divers – filling our lungs with air and descending for a short period of time into one part of our data set before resurfacing, reformatting, and preparing for our next analysis. In this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, Meirmans (2020) presents an updated version of GenoDive, a program with a toolkit that provides users with the opportunity to stay a while and delve deeper into the diverse portfolio of information provided by a genomic data set. The comprehensive nature of GenoDive coupled with its unique capability to handle both diploid and polyploid data also provides an opportunity to reflect on the unevenness of resources available for the analysis of polyploid versus diploid data. Since new updates include the addition of plug‐ins for genotype‐environment association analyses, we limit the observations presented here to the common tools used for landscape genomics analyses.
Operating (for) legitimacy
Authors: CROWLEY‐MATOKA MEGAN
Published: June 2020

Back‐pain patients in the US may undergo multiple surgeries in search of relief, enduring a sometimes‐stunning repetition of procedures that can actually intensify and extend their pain. Such outcomes have now been rendered as an illness with its own diagnostic label: “failed back surgery syndrome.” Producing both pathology and profit, this surgical seriality reflects the ambivalence of pain (and its treatments) in the US and maps the mutual mediation of pharmaceutical and surgical therapeutic modes in contemporary biomedicine. For both patients and doctors, the surgicalization of back pain confirms that pain is real and serious, and also conforms to valued forms of (productive, nonnarcotized) life. It thus reflects and reinscribes situated social ideals of embodied and moral personhood in the contemporary US. [failed back surgery syndrome,surgical seriality,pain,medicalization,pharmaceuticalization,surgicalization,moral personhood, United States]
Differential effects of testosterone on circulating neutrophils, monocytes, and platelets in men: Findings from two trials
Authors: Gagliano‐Jucá Thiago , Pencina Karol M. , Guo Wen , Li Zhuoying , Huang Grace , Basaria Shehzad , Bhasin Shalender
Published: June 2020

Background

Testosterone treatment increases erythrocytes in men, but its effects on leukocyte and platelet counts are unknown and could affect its safety.

Objective

To determine whether testosterone affects circulating leukocytes and platelets in men.

Methods

Secondary analyses of two randomized testosterone trials were performed: the 5α‐reductase (5aR) and OPTIMEN trials. In 5aR trial, 102 healthy men, 21‐50 years (mean age 38), received a long‐acting GnRH agonist, and 50, 125, 300, or 600 mg/week testosterone enanthate (TE) plus placebo or 2.5 mg/day dutasteride for 20 weeks. In OPTIMEN, 78 functionally limited men, ≥65 years (mean age 72) with protein intake ≤ 0.83 g kg−1 day−1, were randomized to controlled diets with 0.8 g kg−1 day−1 protein or 1.3 g kg−1 day−1 protein plus placebo or TE (100 mg/week) for 6 months. Changes from baseline in total and differential leukocyte count, and platelet count were evaluated.

Results

In 5aR, testosterone administration was associated with increases in total leukocyte (estimated change from baseline 40, 490, 1230, and 1280 cells/µL, P < .001), neutrophil (65.1, 436.1, 1177.2, and 1192.2 cells/µL, P < .001), monocyte (−20.2, 24.5, 90.6, and 143.9 cells/µL, P < .001), platelet (−7.3, 8.4, 8.7, and 8.9 × 103 cells/µL, P = .033), and erythrocyte counts. Testosterone did not affect absolute lymphocyte count. Similar increase in total leukocyte count was observed with testosterone treatment in OPTIMEN (change 0.77 × 103 cells/µL, P vs placebo = 0.004).

Conclusions

Testosterone administration in men differentially increases neutrophil and monocyte counts. These findings, together with its erythropoietic effects, suggest that testosterone promotes the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors into the myeloid lineage. These findings have potential mechanistic, therapeutic, and safety implications.
Gastric volvulus and giant Bochdalek hernia in an adult patient that were safely repaired by endoscopic reduction and elective laparoscopic surgery
Authors: An Byonggu , Zen Yumi , Akabori Hiroya , Kitamura Naomi , Ohta Hiroyuki , Otsuki Akinori , Mizuta Hiroo , Tsujikawa Tomoyuki , Mekata Eiji
Published: June 2020

A Bochdalek hernia (BH) is a congenital abnormality with incomplete closure of the diaphragm. It is usually manifested in infants but rarely in adults. Here, we report an adult patient with gastric volvulus and giant BH that were safely repaired by endoscopic reduction and elective laparoscopic surgery, respectively. A 79‐year‐old woman presented with left upper abdominal pain but no history of trauma. CT revealed a giant BH with gastric volvulus. After emergency endoscopic reduction of the volvulus, elective laparoscopic repair of the BH was performed. The 8 × 8‐cm defect was repaired with interrupted nonabsorbable sutures and a mesh. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and no complications or recurrence were observed in the 6 months that followed.
Stronger reactivity to social gaze in virtual reality compared to a classical laboratory environment
Authors: Rubo Marius , Gamer Matthias
Published: June 2020

People show a robust tendency to gaze at other human beings when viewing images or videos, but were also found to relatively avoid gaze at others in several real‐world situations. This discrepancy, along with theoretical considerations, spawned doubts about the appropriateness of classical laboratory‐based experimental paradigms in social attention research. Several researchers instead suggested the use of immersive virtual scenarios in eliciting and measuring naturalistic attentional patterns, but the field, struggling with methodological challenges, still needs to establish the advantages of this approach. Here, we show using eye‐tracking in a complex social scenario displayed in virtual reality that participants show enhanced attention towards the face of an avatar at near distance and demonstrate an increased reactivity towards her social gaze as compared to participants who viewed the same scene on a computer monitor. The present study suggests that reactive virtual agents observed in immersive virtual reality can elicit natural modes of information processing and can help to conduct ecologically more valid experiments while maintaining high experimental control.
Quality of the analysis—A performance management system for the analytical stage of child‐protection investigations
Authors: Karlsson Henrik , Avby Gunilla , Svendsen Tore
Published: June 2020

This article presents a performance management system for reviewing the quality of written analyses in child‐protection investigations. The system, called quality of the analysis (QUAL), is based on the Swedish adaptation of the British Integrated Children's System and Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families called Children's Needs in Focus (BBIC). QUAL was applied to 280 child‐protection investigations to review the compliance with the BBIC standards. The investigations took place in 2011 and 2014. The results indicate improvements in various quality indicators, such as answers provided to all investigative questions, both risk and protective factors documented, and an assessment of the child's need for protection or support documented. However, in 40% of the investigations from 2014, the analytical stage was more a summary than an analysis. Many countries struggle to find and develop tools that can provide feasible systematic feedback on professional performance and support quality improvement in child‐protection work. We suggest that QUAL can be used as one method among others to develop and strengthen the analytical work in practice by visualizing and monitoring the written analysis. QUAL may function as a tool to stimulate professional development, facilitate organizational learning, and improve investigative work.
Recognition in the lives of unaccompanied children and youth: A review of the key European literature
Authors: Kauhanen Iida , Kaukko Mervi
Published: June 2020

This integrative literature review studies well‐being of unaccompanied asylum‐seeking children through the three modes of recognition—love, rights and solidarity—as conceptualized by Axel Honneth. The analysis shows that the children's basic needs, such as safety, shelter and nutrition, are mostly recognized; however, the systems responsible for the care of unaccompanied children seem to misidentify other essential needs, such as the need for stability, need for caring, family‐like relationships and the need to be heard and seen as unique persons. We suggest that more research is needed to explore how recognition is displayed in the range of institutional, social and cultural structures in which unaccompanied children live. Furthermore, we call for research on how recognition is experienced by the children and youth themselves. It is also argued that practitioners and policy‐makers in social work should be educated about the elements of recognition and that their practices and policies should prioritize the rights and needs of the child over questions of age or immigration status.
Comparison of heated humidified high flow nasal cannula and nasal continuous positive airway pressure after surfactant administration in preterm neonates with respiratory distress syndrome
Authors: Akbarian‐rad Zahra , Mohammadi Avishan , Khafri Soraya , Ahmadpour‐kacho Mousa , Zahed‐pasha Yadollah , Haghshenas‐Mojaveri Mohsen
Published: June 2020

Background and objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of humidified high‐flow nasal cannula (HHHFNC) therapy, and compare it with the effect of nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (NCPAP) in neonates with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

Method

In this clinical study, consecutively admitted 27‐32 weeks preterm infants with RDS who received surfactant through a brief intubation (INSURE method) were randomly assigned immediately after extubation to HHHFNC or NCPAP. Primary outcomes were oxygen saturation values and oxygen need at 6, 12 and 24 h after surfactant administration as well as duration of oxygen and respiratory support, need for intubation and mechanical ventilation and incidence of apnea. Secondary outcomes were duration of hospitalization and incidence of complications such as pneumothorax.

Results

Sixty‐four infants met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study, 32 per arm. Two cases in HHFNC group dropped due to congenital pneumonia/sepsis. No differences were seen between groups in primary and secondary outcomes except for arterial oxygen saturation values (SaO2) 24 h after surfactant administration that were significantly higher in the NCPAP group [95.97% ± 1.96% vs. 95.00% ± 1.80% (P = .04)] with similar oxygen needs. The treatment failure was observed in four (11.8%) infants of the NCPAP group compared to five (16.7%) cases of the HHHFNC group (P = .57).

Conclusion

Based on the results of the present study, the HHHFNC can be as effective as NCPAP to treat the neonates with RDS after surfactant administration.
Mutualism is not restricted to tree‐killing bark beetles and fungi: the ecological stoichiometry of secondary bark beetles, fungi, and a scavenger
Authors: Six Diana L. , Elser James J.
Published: June 2020

1. All bark beetles are in symbiosis with fungi. Although obligate mutualisms with fungi are common with tree‐killing bark beetles (primaries), fungi associated with non‐tree‐killing bark beetles (secondaries) are usually dismissed as commensals.

2. Using an ecological stoichiometric approach, we show secondaries are also involved in nutrition‐based mutualisms, some of which appear obligate, and that differences in symbiont provisioning efficiency have a potent effect on beetle carbon (C): nitrogen (N): phosphorus (P) ratios.

3. Some secondary beetles have high P contents and require efficient P provisioning via fungi, while others have low P contents that may allow them to exploit less efficient fungi or a broader range of species with variable efficiencies. A co‐occurring scavenger that feeds on nutrient‐poor bark beetle frass (excrement/boring residues) exhibited the lowest phosphorus content yet recorded for an invertebrate.

4. Our results generally support the growth‐rate hypothesis that posits differences in C:P and N:P ratios in consumers are due to differential allocation of P to P‐rich RNA to support growth. However, while the beetle species that accumulated the most biomass was considerably enriched in P and that with the least biomass was P‐poor, one beetle species that was P‐rich was also small possibly due to limitation by an element other than P.

5. Our results indicate that fungi are important to a broader range of bark beetles than previously recognised. Additional research is needed to describe how these various symbioses influence forest ecosystems via differential effects of fungi on host beetle fitness.
Noninvasive detection of focal seizures in ambulatory patients
Authors: Ryvlin Philippe , Cammoun Leila , Hubbard Ilona , Ravey France , Beniczky Sandor , Atienza David
Published: June 2020

Reliably detecting focal seizures without secondary generalization during daily life activities, chronically, using convenient portable or wearable devices, would offer patients with active epilepsy a number of potential benefits, such as providing more reliable seizure count to optimize treatment and seizure forecasting, and triggering alarms to promote safeguarding interventions. However, no generic solution is currently available to reach these objectives. A number of biosignals are sensitive to specific forms of focal seizures, in particular heart rate and its variability for seizures affecting the neurovegetative system, and accelerometry for those responsible for prominent motor activity. However, most studies demonstrate high rates of false detection or poor sensitivity, with only a minority of patients benefiting from acceptable levels of accuracy. To tackle this challenging issue, several lines of technological progress are envisioned, including multimodal biosensing with cross‐modal analytics, a combination of embedded and distributed self‐aware machine learning, and ultra–low‐power design to enable appropriate autonomy of such sophisticated portable solutions.
A fatigue damage accumulation model for reliability analysis of engine components under combined cycle loadings
Authors: Yue Peng , Ma Juan , Zhou Changhu , Jiang Hao , Wriggers Peter
Published: June 2020

Rotor components of an aircraft engine in service are usually subjected to combined high and low cycle fatigue (CCF) loadings. In this work, combining with the load spectrum of CCF, a modified damage accumulation model for CCF life prediction of turbine blades is first put forward to take into account the effects of load consequence and load interaction caused by high‐cycle fatigue (HCF) loads and low‐cycle fatigue (LCF) loads under CCF loading conditions. The predicted results demonstrate that the proposed model presents a higher prediction accuracy than Miner, Manson‐Halford model does. Moreover, to evaluate the fatigue reliability of rotor components, reliability model with the failure mode of CCF is proposed on the basis of the stress‐strength interference method when considering the strength degeneration, and its results show that the reliability model with CCF is more suitable for aero‐engine components than that with the failure mode of single fatigue.
Unnatural flooding alters the functional diversity of riparian vegetation of the Three Gorges Reservoir
Authors: Su Xiaolei , Bejarano María Dolores , Yi Xuemei , Lin Feng , Ayi Qiaoli , Zeng Bo
Published: June 2020

The response of riparian vegetation to flow regulation has been a research focus for decades. Several studies have shed light on the effects of flow stabilisation on riparian woody species, but other life forms exposed to intensified inundation have been overlooked. Furthermore, studies from a functional perspective are scarce.

We evaluated the functional response of riparian vegetation along the shores of the Three Gorges Reservoir on the Yangtze River in China to unnaturally long annual flooding (>7 months) after the first year of filling. We aimed to answer the following: (1) can we derive well‐defined flow‐response guilds from the riparian zones of the Yangtze River? and (2) which plant traits and guilds are favoured or disfavoured by the unnaturally long flooding environment?

Woody and herbaceous species were inventoried in 12 reaches along the shorelines of the Three Gorges Reservoir and another 12 reaches along the free‐flowing Yangtze River. We performed a cluster analysis to derive riparian guilds using abundance data (projective coverage) from 40 riparian plant species and 13 responsive traits. Structural composition and functional diversity of the unnaturally and naturally flooded riparian vegetation were compared.

Unnaturally long flooding substantially reduced species richness, but it did not change the riparian vegetation cover. This novel flooding reduced functional diversity, mostly owing to the loss of stress‐tolerant woody species and competitive perennial herbs. However, competitive annual herbs and flood‐tolerant riparian herbs, as the most abundant functional guilds, were favoured even under such long‐term hypoxic conditions.

These guilds under regulation revealed a high functional resilience to prolonged flooding along the upstream reaches of the Yangtze River. Flooding tolerance and the capacity to synchronise germination and growth with short‐exposure periods underlie the plant species changes. Our findings are useful for anticipating the effects of long‐lasting inundation on riparian areas triggered by flow regulation or warmer climates. The functional perspective lends confidence that our conclusions can be generalised to other geographical regions despite not sharing the same species pool. Finally, the plant species that showed a high flooding tolerance should be considered for the restoration of riparian areas affected by the Three Gorges Reservoir.
Caring during COVID‐19: A gendered analysis of Australian university responses to managing remote working and caring responsibilities
Authors: Nash Meredith , Churchill Brendan
Published: June 2020

COVID‐19 is dramatically reconfiguring paid work and care. Emerging evidence in the global media suggests that academic women with caring responsibilities are being disproportionately impacted. This article fills a key knowledge gap by examining how Australian universities are supporting academics to manage remote work and caring during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We conducted a desktop analysis of public information about remote working and care from 41 Australian universities and compared them to the world’s top ten ranked universities. Findings suggest that during the pandemic, the Australian higher education sector positions decisions about caring leave and participation in the paid labour force as ‘private’ matters in which employees (mainly women) design their own ‘solutions’ when compared with international institutional counterparts. We argue that COVID‐19 provides another context in which universities have evaded their responsibility to ensure women’s full participation in the labour force.
CASH‐FLOW TRANCHING AND THE MACROECONOMY
Authors: Amaral Pedro S. , Corbae Dean , Quintin Erwan
Published: June 2020

The volume of cash‐flow transformation activities has grown markedly over the past few decades. We develop a dynamic model that characterizes the effects of changes in the costs and benefits of security creation. Lower tranching costs and increases in foreign appetite for safe assets can both increase costly security creation with positive effects on GDP and have diverse macroeconomic implications. Whereas the former counterfactually increases yields, the latter lowers them and also raises rents associated with cash‐flow transformation. These two features, as well as other subsidiary implications of increased foreign demand, are consistent with recent U.S. data.
MONETARY POLICY, FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, AND REDISTRIBUTION
Authors: Loenser Christian , Schabert Andreas
Published: June 2020

This article examines how financial constraints affect redistribution via monetary policy. We explore a novel mechanism of monetary nonneutrality, which is based on debt limits imposed in nominal terms. Specifically, when debt is constrained by current income, monetary policy can alter the real terms of borrowing. Changes in inflation exert ambiguous effects, depending on the initial debt/wealth position and the willingness to borrow. We show analytically that borrowers can benefit from increased debt limits under lower inflation rates. This novel effect can dominate conventional debt deflation effects. We find that particularly less indebted borrowers as well as potential future borrowers gain and that aggregate welfare can be enhanced under a permanent reduction in inflation.