bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Very rare heat extremes: quantifying and understanding using ensemble re-initialization
Authors: Gessner Claudia , Fischer Erich M. , Beyerle Urs , Knutti Reto
Published: May 2021

Heat waves such as the one in Europe 2003 have severe consequences for the economy, society, and ecosystems. It is unclear whether temperatures could have exceeded these anomalies even without further climate change. Developing storylines and quantifying highest possible temperature levels is challenging given the lack of long homogeneous time series and methodological framework to assess them. Here, we address this challenge by analysing summer temperatures in a nearly 5000-year pre-industrial climate model simulation, performed with the Community Earth System Model CESM1. To assess how anomalous temperatures could get, we compare storylines, generated by three different methods: (1) a return-level estimate, deduced from a generalized extreme value distribution, (2) a regression model, based on dynamic and thermodynamic heat wave drivers, and (3) a novel ensemble boosting method, generating large samples of re-initialized extreme heat waves in the long climate simulation.

All methods provide consistent temperature estimates, suggesting that historical exceptional heat waves as in Chicago 1995, Europe 2003 and Russia 2010 could have been substantially exceeded even in the absence of further global warming. These estimated unseen heat waves are caused by the same drivers as moderate observed events, but with more anomalous patterns. Moreover, altered contributions of circulation and soil moisture to temperature anomalies include amplified feedbacks in the surface energy budget. The methodological framework of combining different storyline approaches of heat waves with magnitudes beyond the observational record may ultimately contribute to adaptation and to the stress testing of ecosystems or socio-economic systems to increase resilience to extreme climate stressors.
Super Residual Circulation: a new perspective on ocean vertical heat transport
Authors: Savita Abhishek , Zika Jan D. , Domingues Catia M. , Marsland Simon J. , Evans Gwyn Dafydd , Dias Fabio Boeira , Holmes Ryan M. , Hogg Andrew McC.
Published: May 2021

Ocean circulation and mixing regulate Earth’s climate by moving heat vertically within the ocean. We present a new formalism to diagnose the role of ocean circulation and diabatic processes in setting vertical heat transport in ocean models. In this formalism we use temperature tendencies, rather than explicit vertical velocities to diagnose circulation. Using quasi-steady state simulations from the Australian Community Climate and Earth-System Simulator Ocean Model (ACCESS-OM2), we diagnose a diathermal overturning circulation in temperature-depth space. Furthermore, projection of tendencies due to diabatic processes onto this coordinate permits us to represent these as apparent overturning circulations. Our framework permits us to extend the concept of Super-Residual Transport (SRT), which combines mean and eddy advection terms with subgridscale isopycnal mixing due to mesoscale eddies, but excludes small-scale three dimensional turbulent mixing effect, to construct a new overturning circulation – the ‘Super Residual Circulation’ (SRC).

We find that in the coarse resolution version of ACCESS-OM2 (nominally 1° horizontal resolution) the SRC is dominated by an ~11 Sv circulation which transports heat upward. The SRC’s upward heat transport is ~2 times larger in a finer horizontal resolution (0.1°) version of ACCESS, suggesting a differing balance of super-residual and parameterized small-scale processes may emerge as eddies are resolved. Our analysis adds new insight into super-residual processes, as the SRC elucidates the pathways in temperature and depth space along which watermass transformation occurs.
Irritability in developmental age: A narrative review of a dimension crossing paediatric psychopathology
Authors: Breda Maria , Ardizzone Ignazio
Published: May 2021

Objective:

Irritability is an important theme in paediatric psychiatry considering its high frequency in developmental age, its association with negative outcomes and consequently significant public health impact. Present as main or associated feature of several psychiatric diagnoses, irritability represents a challenge for clinicians who try to understand its origin and role in developmental psychopathology. In this review we try to: (1) get an overview of this dimension and its relationship with each of the main neuropsychiatric disorders in paediatric population and (2) provide a summary of currently available instruments to assess irritability in children and adolescents.

Method:

In this narrative review, an overview of irritability in children and adolescents is proposed focusing on selected literature.

Results:

Irritability as feature of many paediatric psychiatric conditions has been evaluated by many authors and included in classifications of paediatric psychiatric diseases. Framework of irritability evolved over time and dimension of irritability has been investigated using different tools and methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative. Metrics of irritability as clinical dimension are important in the diagnostic process of paediatric diseases.

Conclusion:

Investigating the presence of irritability in all children with related disorders is mandatory if we consider the risk for functional impairment and affective and behavioural disorders associated with high levels of irritability. Using rigid threshold in developmental age to differentiate physiological from pathological irritability could lead many children having subthreshold levels of irritability to receive no diagnosis and, consequently, no treatment where instead a dimensional approach to irritability could allow to identify prodromal phase and prevent the evolution towards clinical pathological expressions.
Polarised views about bipolar disorder(s): A critique of the 2020 College guidelines for mood disorders
Authors: Parker Gordon
Published: May 2021

The 2020 College guidelines for mood disorders banish bipolar II disorder – despite its formal status in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Classification of Diseases manuals for more than two decades – and argue that there is no need to partition bipolar disorder into separate sub-types. Their single-entity model is seemingly based on opinion rather than any support from referenced scientific studies. The author challenges the Committee’s model of there being only one bipolar disorder and argues that it presents several clinical management risks, particularly of ‘over-treatment’.
Technological Leadership and 5G Patent Portfolios: Guiding Strategic Policy and Licensing Decisions
Authors: Teece David J.
Published: May 2021

Whether it’s mobile phones or autonomous cars or telemedicine, a well-functioning robust 5G ecosystem will require licensing executives to have a deep understanding of the need for timely licensing to support technology development and adoption. It is important that the parties to patent licensing agreements understand that value doesn’t depend on the numerosity of patent portfolios, but on use value. The ecosystem is impaired when parties to licensing transactions are recalcitrant and advance bogus indicia of value. The 5G stakes are sufficiently high that top management oversight is likely required.
A Classical-Keynes Model of Money and Finance for Transiting Economies
Authors: Correa Romar
Published: May 2021

Marx stands for ‘classical’ and ‘Keynes’ is represented by the stock-flow-consistent framework of Godley–Cripps–Lavoie. Agriculture proxies for basics in the classical departmental schema and does not dissolve into manufacturing. We establish the primacy of commercial/central bank money in the production and circulation of basics. Financial institutions mediate between savers and investors in the production of capital goods. Finally, corporations can issue shares to underwrite their investment plans. Financialisation is captured by share buybacks.

JEL Codes: B52, E12
Antarctic sea ice detection using a shipborne GPS reflectometry setup
Authors: Zhang Yun , Ma Dehao , Meng Wanting , Xie Xiangfang , Yang Shuhu , Hang Sijia , Han Yanling , Hong Zhonghua
Published: May 2021

The feasibility of Antarctic sea ice detection based on shipborne global positioning system reflectometry (GPS-R) technology is shown in this paper. Because the permittivity of sea water is much higher than that of sea ice, the reflected left-handed circular polarized (LHCP) GPS signal (RL) reflection coefficient of sea water is markedly higher than that of sea ice. The polarization ratio of RL to the direct right-handed circular polarized (RHCP) GPS signal (DR) is used to distinguish between sea water and sea ice in this paper. The experiment was performed on the ship “XueLong” for approximately 9 days from December 2014 to January 2015 during the 31st Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 31). The sea ice concentration data with a 25 km × 25 km spatial resolution derived from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) are used for validation and some pictures of sea ice taken from “XueLong” are shown for comparison. The polarization ratios (RL/DR) are calculated, and the correlation coefficient between the polarization ratios (RL/DR) and the sea ice concentrations is −0.66.
You realise you are better when you want to live, want to go out, want to see people: Recovery as assemblage
Authors: Larsen Inger Beate , Friesinger Jan Georg , Strømland Monica , Topor Alain
Published: May 2021

Background:

The lack of social and material perspectives in descriptions of recovery processes is almost common in recovery research.

Aim:

Consequently, we investigated recovery stories and how people with mental health and/or addiction challenges included social and material aspects in these stories.

Method:

We conducted focus group and individual interviews. We investigated how the participants narrated their stories and how they assembled places and people in their recovery stories.

Results:

We found that narratives of recovery became assemblages where humans and their environments co-exist and are interdependent.

Conclusion:

As such, narratives about recovery are about everyday assemblages of well-being into which stories of insecurity are interwoven, without a start or stop point.
Pin loading effect on 3D spacer fabric-laminated composites produced vacuum infusion
Authors: Erdem Sumeyye , Kaman Mete O
Published: May 2021

In this study, pin-loading behavior of laminated composites reinforced with three-dimensional (3D) spacer fabric was investigated, experimentally. Failure loads and modes of 3D-woven glass fiber epoxy composites, which are mostly preferred in automotive, machinery, and building production, are determined and compared with the mechanical properties of two-dimensional (2D)-woven fabric-reinforced composite materials. For this purpose, 2D plane and 3D spacer fabric composite plates were produced using the vacuum infusion method. The effect of pin geometry on joint strength and failure mechanism of composite was determined by tensile tests using test apparatus of single and two serial pin joint. In addition, low velocity impact tests of 2D and 3D plates were performed to explain the failure behavior. For mono-layer 3D-woven fabrics, the existence of out-of-plane fiber increases failure strength up to 50% compared to 2D fabrics. On the other hand, the use of multi-layer 3D fabric does not affect changes-specific failure load according to 2D fabrics significantly. Increasing in the specific load is only 9% for two-layers 3D. This situation has also been observed in impact tests.
Failure analysis of 3D woven spacer sandwich composites with woven cross-links and face sheet thickening under compressive and flexural loading
Authors: Neje Ghanshyam , Behera Bijoya Kumar
Published: May 2021

The effect of face sheet thickening on the mechanical properties of sandwich structures reinforced with 3 D woven spacer fabrics having woven cross-links has been presented in this work. Spacer fabrics forming cells of rectangular (RECT), trapezoidal (TPZ) and triangular (TR) shapes were used as reinforcement of sandwich structures with non-thickened face sheets. While for thickened face sheet structures, additional layers of 2 D fabric were integrally woven with the top and bottom face sheets of spacer fabrics, having almost similar cell geometrical parameters as that of the former structures, in a single step of weaving. Composites manufactured from these structures were characterized for their out-of-plane compressive and flexural properties. The specific compressive load was observed to be lower for thickened face sheet structures. The flexural load was higher for thickened face sheet structures; but the specific bending load decreased for the same. Flexural stress was also found to decrease with thickening of the face sheets. The results obtained could be helpful in designing sandwich composites connected woven fabric cross-links with enhanced mechanical properties.
Simulation on the mechanical performance and fracture behavior of unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced composites
Authors: Ma Yan , Yokozeki Tomohiro , Ueda Masahito , Yang Yuqiu , Hamada Hiroyuki , Sugahara Toshi
Published: May 2021

Unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (CF/PA6) laminates after tensile tests exhibited two different types of fracture modes, namely, splitting and step-like. In this study, the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of the unidirectional CF/PA6 laminates were simulated and analyzed by using finite element simulation of a tensile test. The simulations considered the actual deformation and damage mechanism (matrix plastic deformation, stochastic fiber fracture, and interfacial debonding between the fiber and the matrix) experimentally observed in previous research. Results of the numerical simulations were in good with the experimental stress–strain curves. Moreover, the above-mentioned two types of fracture mode were well simulated by changing the interfacial properties. The simulated results showed that the unidirectional laminates with weak interface properties exhibit the splitting fracture mode. Meanwhile, the unidirectional laminates with strong interface properties show the step-like fracture behavior.
The Roar of the Crowd: How Interaction Ritual Chains Create Social Atmospheres
Authors: Hill Tim , Canniford Robin , Eckhardt Giana M.
Published: May 2021

Atmospheres are experiences of place involving transformations of consumers’ behaviors and emotions. Existing marketing research reveals how atmospheric stimuli, service performances, and ritual place-making enhance place experiences and create value for firms. Yet it remains unclear how shared experiences of atmosphere emerge and intensify among groups of people during collective live events. Accordingly, this article uses sociological interaction ritual theory to conceptualize “social atmospheres”: rapidly changing qualities of place created when a shared focus aligns consumers’ emotions and behavior, resulting in lively expressions of collective effervescence. With data from an ethnography of an English Premier League football stadium, the authors identify a four-stage process of creating atmospheres in interaction ritual chains. This framework goes beyond conventional retail and servicescape design by demonstrating that social atmospheres are mobile and cocreated between firms and consumers before, during, and after a main event. The study also reveals how interaction rituals can be disrupted and offers insight as to how firms can balance key tensions in creating social atmospheres as a means to enhance customer experiences, customer loyalty, and communal place attachments.
The Minimum Wage and Consumer Nutrition
Authors: Palazzolo Mike , Pattabhiramaiah Adithya
Published: May 2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that one in nine U.S. households is “food insecure”: unable to purchase sufficient, or healthy food. Public policy advocates and politicians have pointed to the prevailing federal minimum wage as a culprit, labeling it a “starvation wage.” This study examines whether and to what extent increases to the minimum wage have improved the quantity and nutritional quality of food purchased by minimum wage earners, and what implications these potential changes in consumer behavior have for marketers. The authors show that households likely to be earning the minimum wage increase their calories purchased in response to minimum wage increases, and that these gains are predominantly found among households purchasing the least amount of food prior to the minimum wage rising. Although the authors do not find evidence that the average household improves the nutritional content of calories purchased, they do find evidence that the least healthy households (as measured by past purchases) buy more healthy foods in response to rising minimum wages. Overall, the findings suggest that higher minimum wages may not only help households afford more calories but also encourage some households to purchase more healthy calories. In addition, the authors find an increased openness among minimum wage households to purchasing new grocery items. This openness to trying previously unpurchased products offers promotion and product line planning opportunities to manufacturers. It also offers retailers with a nutrition-friendly brand image an opportunity to nudge consumers toward purchasing more healthy foods.
Minimizing complications in a porcine survival craniotomy model
Authors: Kinaci Ahmet , Vaessen Koen , Redegeld Saskia , van der Zwan Albert , van Doormaal Tristan P.C.
Published: May 2021

A large craniotomy survival porcine model is useful for scientific research. The surgical approaches and complications of craniotomies in pigs have not been published before. This study describes how large craniotomies were performed in 46 pigs and how the risk of complications was minimized. The major complications were direct postoperative epidural hematomas ( n = 3) and sagittal sinus rupture ( n = 4). The measures taken to prevent postoperative epidural hematomas consisted of optimizing anesthesia, using bone wax to stop trabecular bleeding, increasing blood pressure before bone flap replacement, tranexamic acid administration, and postoperative recovery of the pigs in the prone position in a dedicated hammock. After these measures, no pig died from a postoperative epidural hematoma. Iatrogenic sagittal sinus rupture occurred in cases where the dura shifted into the craniotome during craniotomy. The dura was detached from the skull through drill holes with custom elevators before craniotomy to minimize the risk of a sagittal sinus rupture. In conclusion, pigs can undergo craniotomy and survive if the right measures are put in place.
Casper’s sign in the elderly
Authors: Byard Roger W
Published: May 2021

Casper’s sign refers to the absence of external signs of trauma despite severe and often lethal internal injuries. It occurs because the elasticity and resilience of the skin results in it deforming and moving rather than sustaining injuries from being tethered and relatively immobile. Given the known increase in skin and soft-tissue fragility in the elderly with a greater vulnerability for bruising and skin tears, a study was undertaken to determine whether Casper’s sign may be present or not in older populations. A review of autopsy files at Forensic Science SA over a 20-year period from January 2000 to December 2019 was performed in individuals ≥80 years of age where death involved blunt chest trauma, blunt abdominal trauma or multiple blunt-force injuries. Four cases were identified. All of the decedents were males aged 82–89 years ( Mage=86 years) with deaths associated with a fall ( n=1) and vehicle impacts ( n=3). Despite significant and often lethal internal chest/abdominal injuries, none of the cases had external injuries to their torsos. Thus, as Casper’s sign may be present at all ages, the absence of external injury in the elderly may be no reflection of the force of the impact or the degree of resultant skeletal and/or internal organ disruption. This may be pertinent in cases of elder abuse.
Ethical Discourse of Medical Students on the Phenomenon of Death: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Keleş Şükrü , Gül Şenay , Yıldız Abdullah , Karabulut Seyhan Demir , Eren Handan , İskender Mahinur Durmuş , Baykara Zehra Göçmen , Yalım Neyyire Yasemin
Published: May 2021

The aim of this study is to discover medical students’ ideas on the phenomenon of death; produce information on how these students interpret the value-related problems regarding death that they come across in different units of hospitals; and assess this data in ethical terms. This study included a qualitative research in which 12 focus group interviews were conducted with 92 fifth- and sixth-year medical students. Data obtained from interviews were assessed using a thematic content secondary analysis. The main themes were specified according to the medical students’ statements and were reviewed under the contexts of the “dying process”; “effects of death”; “attitude and behavior of health professionals”; “seeing a dead body/looking at a dead body”; “accepting death”; and “forms of expressions of death.” Medical students’ encounters with death in different units of hospitals leads them to question their values and familiarize themselves with the borders of their areas of profession.
Contesting Autocracy: Repression and Opposition Coordination in Venezuela
Authors: Jiménez Maryhen
Published: May 2021

Opposition coordination varies widely in electoral autocracies. Sometimes, opposition parties are highly coordinated and create alliances, present joint candidates or common policy platforms. Yet, at other times, oppositions choose to challenge incumbents individually. This article seeks to explain what drives opposition parties to coordinate in non-democratic regimes. It finds that opponents’ decision-making and strategy formation is influenced by the amount of repression they face from the incumbent regime. It argues that repression has a curvilinear relationship with opposition coordination. When repression is low and high, opposition coordination will be informal or clandestine. However, when repression is at intermediate levels, opposition parties will formally coordinate to dislodge authoritarian incumbents. This article illustrates this argument through an analysis of the Venezuelan opposition under Chavismo (1999–2018), combining 129 interviews with party elites, journalists, academics, and regime defectors, along with archival research at key historical moments.
Toward a Political Sociology of Dispossession: Explaining Opposition to Capital Projects in India
Authors: Levien Michael , Upadhyay Smriti
Published: May 2021

Land dispossession is a major source of protest in many countries. This article asks, How common are cases of mobilization against land dispossession relative to cases of nonmobilization? Why do we see protests against land dispossession for some projects and not others? These questions are taken up in the context of India, a major global hotspot for land dispossession protest. Using a database of all major capital projects in the country, the article looks at the effects of project characteristics and context on incidence of delays or cancellations due to land acquisition problems. The findings demonstrate that a project’s sector and subnational location affect the emergence of opposition to land dispossession. Further, differences in political competitiveness and agrarian social structure are significant factors driving subnational variation. By identifying important factors shaping opposition to land dispossession, the article aims to stimulate comparative research that can advance a political sociology of dispossession.
Missing link prediction and spurious link detection based on attractive force and community
Authors: Qu Hui , Chen Wei , Chi Kuo
Published: May 2021

With the rapid development of Internet and information technology, networks have become an important media of information diffusion in the global. In view of the increasing scale of network data, how to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the obtainable links from networks has been an urgent problem that needs to be solved. Different from most traditional link prediction methods only focus on the missing links, a novel link prediction approach is proposed in this paper to handle both the missing links and the spurious links in networks. At first, we define the attractive force for any pair of nodes to denote the strength of the relation between them. Then, all the nodes can be divided into some communities according to their degrees and the attractive force on them. Next, we define the connection probability for each pair of unconnected nodes to measure the possibility if they are connected, the missing links can be predicted by calculating and comparing the connection probabilities of all the pairs of unconnected nodes. Moreover, we define the break probability for each pair of connected nodes to measure the possibility if they are broken, the spurious links can also be detected by calculating and comparing the break probabilities of all the pairs of connected nodes. To verify the validity of the proposed approach, we conduct experiments on some real-world networks. The results show the proposed approach can achieve higher prediction accuracy and more stable performance compared with some existing methods.
Petrology and mineralogy of the Viñales meteorite, the latest fall in Cuba
Authors: Yin Feng , Dai Deqiu
Published: May 2021

The new Cuban chondrite, Viñales, fell on February first, 2019 at Pinar del Rio, northwest of Cuba (22°37′10″N, 83°44′34″W). A total of about 50–100 kg of the meteorite were collected and the masses of individual samples are in a range 2–1100 g. Two polished thin sections were studied by optical microscope, Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis in this study. The meteorite mainly consists of olivine (Fa24.6), low-Ca pyroxene (Fs20.5), and troilite and Fe-Ni metal, with minor amounts of feldspar (Ab82.4-84.7). Three poorly metamorphosed porphyritic olivine-pyroxene and barred olivine chondrules are observed. The homogeneous chemical compositions and petrographic textures indicate that Viñales is a L6 chondrite. The Viñales has fresh black fusion crust with layered structure, indicating it experienced a high temperature of ∼1650°C during atmospheric entry. Black shock melt veins with width of 100–600 μm are pervasive in the Viñales and olivine, bronzite, and metal phases are dominate minerals of the shock melt vein. The shock features of major silicate minerals suggest a shock stage S3, partly S4, and the shock pressure could be >10 GPa.
An enclave entrepôt: The informal migration industry and Johannesburg’s socio-spatial transformation
Authors: Zack Tanya , Landau Loren B
Published: May 2021

The spatial concentration of production in cities attracts international and domestic labour in ways that change the character and scale of urban space. Drawing on two decades of research on migration and informal trading in Johannesburg, South Africa, this article argues that the global trade in Chinese ‘fast fashion’ interacts with South Africa’s immigration policy, transportation networks, informal trade and established migration infrastructures to transform the city’s Park Station neighbourhood into an enclave entrepôt. Operated and supported by a network of informal logistics services that keep the enclave within but apart from the city, it is exquisitely tailored to cross-border shoppers. At the social and legal margins but at the city’s geographic core, it enables fluidity in an otherwise hostile space; it is at once highly visible and invisibilising. Formed in the shadows of formal institutions and law enforcement, this entrepôt is migrant-driven and serves the needs of people often seeking to remain invisible from the South African state and citizenry. As such, its services are adapted from the infrastructures that service legal and irregular migration in the subcontinent. Unlike ethnic enclaves or neighbourhoods that work as arrival zones, it provides the means to move ‘through’ rather than ‘into’ the city. The entrepôt is a form of migrant space-claiming by vulnerable and mobile people wishing to be in but not of the city. It acts as portal into, through and beyond national territory.
Prevalence, Co-Occurrence, and Correlates of Substance and Behavioral Addictions Among American Indian Adolescents in California
Authors: Sussman Steve , Unger Jennifer B. , Begay Cynthia , Moerner Lou , Soto Claradina
Published: May 2021

The present study investigated the prevalence and co-occurrence of addictions to tobacco, alcohol, other drugs, food/eating, the internet, texting, video games, shopping, love, sex, exercise, work, and gambling among American Indian (AI) youth in California. As with previous work in other cultural groups, the most prevalent addictions were love, internet, and exercise, though prevalence and co-occurrence of these addictions were relatively high among AI youth. A negative life events measure was associated with all the addictions, suggesting that life stressors are associated with high rates of multiple types of addictions among AI youth. There is a need for more research to better understand the relations of life stressors with multiple addictions among AI youth as well as how to remediate these behaviors.
Expanding Travel Constraint Negotiation Theory: An Exploration of Cognitive and Behavioral Constraint Negotiation Relationships
Authors: Karl Marion , Sie Lintje , Ritchie Brent W.
Published: May 2021

Travel participation and preferences are impacted by a range of constraints, which can be overcome using behavioral (i.e., actions) and cognitive (i.e., mental) constraint negotiation strategies. Given the limited focus on cognitive negotiation in tourism research, this study aims to expand travel constraint negotiation theory using a sequential mixed-methods approach. Qualitative interviews (n=27) with travelers affected by constraints were used to identify emergent themes of cognitive constraint negotiation. A quantitative survey (n=978) was conducted to empirically test hypothesized relationships between constraints and cognitive as well as behavioral negotiation strategies. Results showed cognitive constraint negotiation (1) involved either changes in perceptions of a constraint or travel aspirations, (2) was positively related to behavioral strategies, and (3) mediated the relationship between constraints and behavioral negotiation strategies. Consequently, cognitive constraint negotiation was found to play a more important role than suggested in past studies.
Prevalence of serological markers of hepatitis B in inflammatory bowel disease – Experience from a tertiary care centre in South India
Authors: Patil Amol Prabhakar , Simon Ebby George , Dutta Amit Kumar , Joseph Anjilivelil Joseph , Kurien Reuben Thomas , Chowdhury Sudipta Dhar
Published: May 2021

Inflammatory bowel disease patients are at risk of hepatitis B infection. Data on this prevalence from South Asia are limited. We conducted a prospective study comprising of 76 inflammatory bowel disease patients between October 2013 and August 2014. Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen in inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients were 2.6%, 2.4% and 3% respectively and that of markers of hepatitis B exposure (hepatitis B surface antigen /hepatitis B core antibody) were 11.8%, 14.3% and 9.1% respectively. Risk factors found significantly more common in those positive for viral markers compared to those negative were age, non-inflammatory bowel disease related surgery and hospital admission. Only 7(9.2%) had completed hepatitis B vaccination. There is a need to create awareness among physicians regarding the importance of hepatitis B screening and vaccination in inflammatory bowel disease patients.
Clinical profile, aetiology, short-term outcome and predictors of poor outcome of neonatal seizures among out-born neonates admitted to a neonatal unit in Paediatric emergency of a tertiary care hospital in North India: A prospective observational study
Authors: Garg Ashish , Suthar Renu , Sundaram Venkataseshan , Kumar Praveen , Angurana Suresh K
Published: May 2021

Neonatal seizures are common manifestations of several neurological or systemic disorders and associated with high morbidity, mortality and poor short- and long-term developmental outcomes. It is important to determine the aetiology and factors that determine the poor outcome, more so in a newly developed setting. The early detection of predictors of poor outcome will help in planning acute management, counselling, follow-up and rehabilitation services. In this prospective observational study, we looked at the clinical profile, aetiology, short-term outcomes and predictors of poor outcome of neonatal seizures among out-born neonates. The common causes were hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, sepsis and metabolic disturbances. One-third of neonates had poor outcome. Abnormal neurological and cardiorespiratory examination at admission; low oxygen saturation, glucose and pH; and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy-III were predictors of poor outcome.
A Survey of Blind Orientation and Mobility Specialists about the Accommodations and Teaching Strategies They Use When Providing Orientation and Mobility Services
Authors: Griffin-Shirley Nora , Bozeman Laura , Nguyen The , Othuon Vitalis , Page Anita , Hahm Juhyun , Hahm Juyoung , Lee Jaehoon
Published: May 2021

Introduction:

The purpose of the study was to survey orientation and mobility (O&M) instructors who are blind concerning the identification of accommodations, teaching techniques, and resources to teach students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision).

Methods:

The study utilized an online survey via Qualtrics (2019) with 27 closed- and open-ended items to identify accommodations, teaching techniques, and resources needed. The survey was e-mailed to membership and certification organizations requesting O&M instructors who are blind to participate for 12 weeks. The participants were 15 O&M specialists, mostly male and Caucasian. Survey data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results:

Forty percent of the participants reported that there were minimal standards that they had to demonstrate prior to their admittance into an O&M program. About one-fourth of the participants mentioned their program was modified because of their visual impairment. Eleven participants (73%) reported that their nonvisual instructional strategies and techniques were predominantly gained through their university programs or other visually impaired instructors (27%, n = 4).

Discussion:

Aspects of this study that are similar to the current literature are smaller faculty-to-student ratios for blindfold or simulation cane courses, accommodations used by participants, and suggestions for monitoring the safety of students. The results revealed the participants’ strong belief in the importance of immersion training, the use of the Structured Discovery Cane Travel (SDCT), nonvisual skills during O&M instruction, sleep shades, and students’ problem-solving abilities.

Implication for practitioners:

Although the participants had received SDCT immersion training, most personnel preparation programs approved by the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired do not use this method. For this reason, it is important for faculty to identify best teaching practices from among all programs and to integrate these practices into their curricula. Sharing best practices could strengthen all programs. Moreover, students with visual impairments should be taught early about self-advocacy and the ability to have helpful knowledge about one’s skills at a university and in the workplace.
Is Seeing Believing? A Longitudinal Study of Vividness of the Future and Its Effects on Academic Self-Efficacy and Success in College
Authors: McMichael Samantha L. , Bixter Michael T. , Okun Morris A. , Bunker Cameron J. , Graudejus Oliver , Grimm Kevin J. , Kwan Virginia S. Y.
Published: May 2021

This research followed students over their first 2 years of college. During this time, many students lose sight of their goals, leading to poor academic performance and leaving STEM and business majors. This research was the first to examine longitudinal changes in future vividness, how those changes impact academic success, and identify sex differences in those relationships. Students who started college with clear pictures of graduation and life after graduation, and those who gained clarity, were more likely to believe in their academic abilities, and, in turn, earn a higher cumulative GPA, and persist in STEM and business. Compared to men, women reported greater initial vividness in both domains. In vividness of graduation, women maintained their advantage with no sex differences in how vividness changed. However, men grew in vividness of life after graduation while women remained stagnant. These findings have implications for interventions to increase academic performance and persistence.
What’s It Like Inside the Hive? Managerial Discretion Drives TMT Gender Diversity of Women-Led Firms
Authors: Corwin Emily S. , Loncarich Holly , Ridge Jason W.
Published: May 2021

Do women promote other women? We investigate this question through the lens of gender role theory and managerial discretion. While the trickle-down effect suggests that women in positions of power are likely to promote other women, the queen bee phenomenon indicates that senior women distance themselves from other women. We argue these two conflicting perspectives have developed because (a) much of the literature has considered the influence of board gender representation on top management team (TMT) gender representation, ignoring the role of the CEO, and (b) an important tenet of the queen bee phenomenon has been overlooked in that women who perceive an ability to challenge traditional gender norms are less likely to engage in queen bee behavior. Thus, we suggest women CEOs, who are in a unique position of both importance and isolation, are less likely to promote other women to the TMT due to the gendered context in which they are employed, but as the CEO’s capacity to enact change (i.e., managerial discretion) increases, so too does their ability to challenge traditional gender norms. More specifically, we hypothesize and find that while the presence of women CEOs negatively relates to the proportion of women on the TMT, this relationship is weakened by CEO power, lack of board vigilance, and environmental munificence. Post hoc analyses demonstrated that while a trickle-down effect occurs from the board to the TMT, these mechanisms may not exist at the CEO-TMT interface, highlighting the importance of considering the role of CEO discretion in enhancing executive gender diversity.
Manager or Politician? Effects of CEO Pay on the Performance of State-Controlled Chinese Listed Firms
Authors: Hu Helen Wei , Xu Dean
Published: May 2021

We examine the effects of chief executive officer (CEO) pay on two performance outcomes for central government-controlled Chinese listed firms: financial performance (return on assets, which is associated with the interests of all shareholders) and political performance (job creation, which reflects a primary objective of the controlling owner, the state). We posit that China’s mixed economy places state-owned enterprise (SOE) executives on dual career tracks—business and politics—and their career interests are differentially aligned with the divergent interests of minority shareholders and the state, respectively, depending on the firm’s position in the corresponding enterprise group. Based on a sample of 2,145 firm-year observations from 230 state-controlled Chinese listed firms between 2004 and 2014, we find that higher CEO pay leads to a higher return on assets. This relationship is strengthened when there are more hierarchical layers above the focal firm in the business group, when there is more potential political competition from other group affiliates, and when there is a nonstate second-largest shareholder. Higher CEO pay also leads to greater job creation, but this relationship is weakened by political competition and nonstate second-largest shareholder.
Effectiveness of Comprehension Strategies Mobile App (COSMA) on Reading Comprehension Performances of Students With Learning Disabilities
Authors: Özbek Ahmet Bilal , Ergül Cevriye
Published: May 2021

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the Comprehension Strategies Mobile App (COSMA) on the reading comprehension performance of students with learning disabilities. Four students with learning disabilities (three boys, one girl) participated in the study. The experimental process of the study was carried out according to the multiple baseline across participants model of single-subject experimental designs. Reading comprehension performance of students was assessed with multiple-choice tests and retells. Students’ use of strategies was evaluated with on-task metacognitive interviews. Findings showed that COSMA has a positive impact on students’ reading comprehension performances. It was determined that the students’ motivation to use the mobile app was high, the opinions of families and teachers of the software were positive and they observed an increase in students’ reading skills. Findings are discussed further.
An unusual case of type IIIB endoleak after repeat thoracic endovascular aortic repair at acute-angled arch: A case of fabric tear by bare-metal stent
Authors: Nemoto Atsushi , Yoshitake Akihiro , Shimizu Hideyuki
Published: May 2021

We report a case of an unusual case of type IIIB endoleaks after repeat thoracic endovascular aortic repair that was not visualized on computed tomography, first diagnosed during open conversion surgery, and successfully treated. A 69-year-old man had undergone repeat thoracic endovascular aortic repair for an enlarged thoracic aortic aneurysm six months before. His repeat computed tomography showed an acutely enlarged aneurysm, which had expanded from 80 to 96 mm in diameter, without any endoleaks. A type IIIB endoleak resulted from a small tear in fabric caused by a bare-metal stent of the previous endograft. The tip of the bare-metal of smaller outer endograft had penetrated a fabric portion of the inner larger endograft. The aneurysmal sac pressure was 58/46 mmHg, compared with a systemic pressure of 79/35 mmHg. The endografts were explanted and replaced with a vascular graft.
Sharenting, parental mediation and privacy among Spanish children
Authors: Garmendia Maialen , Martínez Gemma , Garitaonandia Carmelo
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this article is to analyse sharenting, a relatively widespread practice among Spanish mothers and fathers that involves the publication of comments, images or videos of the lives of their children on social networks or blogs. Even when the actions of parents are well-intended, the information shared may not always set well with their children, and it could expose them to risks. Based on the results of a survey of 2900 Spanish schoolchildren (9–17 years old), their experiences of sharenting have been studied. Nearly one in five say that their parents have shared information about them online. This practice increases with age, affecting girls in particular. Approximately 12% of the children asked their parents to delete this shared information, and negative consequences resulting from this practice, whether direct or indirect, are not common (4%). The association between sharenting and the enabling and restrictive parental mediation strategies has also been analysed. The data show that parents who frequently mediate their children’s online activity share significantly less information. In any case, what stands out is the fact that parents post this information online, which indicates the need for parents to have a higher level of awareness about this issue.
The accuracy and precision of interface pressure measuring devices: A systematic review
Authors: Kokai Orsolya , Kilbreath Sharon L , McLaughlin Patrick , Dylke Elizabeth S
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Interface pressure measuring devices are used to assess the pressures exerted by compression. Their performance, however, has not been considered as a contributing factor to reported inconsistences in the application of compression. A systematic review was undertaken to investigate the performance of commercially available devices used to measure interface pressure.

Methods

Six databases were searched identifying 17 devices, grouped into five sensor categories.

Results

A range of methodologies assessed the devices’ accuracy and precision, including method of pressure application, device calibration and type of surface used. No sensor category outperformed the others, however some individual sensors showed higher accuracy and/or precision compared to others. Two major factors influenced the performance of a number of sensors: the amount of applied pressure and the calibration method used.

Conclusion

Inconsistences in the application of compression may reflect, in part, issues related to accuracy and precision of the devices used to assess compression.
‘Traversing difficult terrain’. Advance care planning in residential aged care through multidisciplinary case conferences: A qualitative interview study exploring the experiences of families, staff and health professionals
Authors: Rainsford Suzanne , Hall Dykgraaf Sally , Kasim Rosny , Phillips Christine , Glasgow Nicholas
Published: May 2021

Background:

Advance care planning improves the quality of end-of-life care for older persons in residential aged care; however, its uptake is low. Case conferencing facilitates advance care planning.

Aim:

To explore the experience of participating in advance care planning discussions facilitated through multidisciplinary case conferences from the perspectives of families, staff and health professionals.

Design:

A qualitative study (February–July 2019) using semi-structured interviews.

Setting:

Two residential aged care facilities in one Australian rural town.

Participants:

Fifteen informants [family ( n = 4), staff ( n = 5), health professionals ( n = 6)] who had participated in advance care planning discussions facilitated through multidisciplinary case conferences.

Results:

Advance care planning was like navigating an emotional landscape while facing the looming loss of a loved one. This emotional burden was exacerbated for substitute decision-makers, but made easier if the resident had capacity to be involved or had previously made their wishes clearly known. The ‘conversation’ was not a simple task, and required preparation time. Multidisciplinary case conferences facilitated informed decision-making and shared responsibility. Opportunity to consider all care options provided families with clarity, control and a sense of comfort. This enabled multiple stakeholders to bond and connect around the resident.

Conclusion:

While advance care planning is an important element of high quality care it involves significant emotional labour and burden for families, care staff and health professionals. It is not a simple administrative task to be completed, but a process that requires time and space for reflection and consensus-building to support well-considered decisions. Multidisciplinary case conferences support this process.