bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Building a Communication Model amongst the Blind: An Ethnographic Study in the Blind Rehabilitation Center ‘Wyata Guna’, Bandung, Indonesia
Authors: Kadri Kadri , Mulyana Deddy
Published: July 2020

The reality of blindness is a unique phenomenon rarely studied in the discipline of communication. It is consequential in the absence of a special communication model for the blind. This research reveals the phenomenon and constructs a communication model amongst the blind. The qualitative research with this ethnographic tradition was conducted at the Blind Rehabilitation Center (it will hereafter be abbreviated as BRC) Wyata Guna, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The results show that the blind people only rely on verbal or vocal communication and nonverbal communication in the form of touch, both in sending and in receiving messages to and from their other visually challenged. The blind’s touch communication is determined by three goals, i.e. touch for mobility, touch as a friendship expression and a romantic touch for those who are dating their fellows. This research results in the communication model that exists amongst the blind as an effort to fill the void of communication models that are dominated by models with the perspective of communication of physically normal people. The model shows the dynamic of communication amongst the blind by maximising their sense organs of hearing, touch, smell and taste.
Coronavirus and Quarantine: Catalysts of Domestic Violence
Authors: Bouillon-Minois Jean-Baptiste , Clinchamps Maëlys , Dutheil Frédéric
Published: July 2020

The pandemic of COVID-19 has resulted in quarantines imposed all around the world; these and other restrictions could produce an increase in domestic violence.
Association of interleukin-6 gene polymorphisms and glaucoma: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wu Chien-Liang , Yang Ya-Ting , Wang Yuan-Hung , Lin Tzu-Yu , Lin I-Chan , Sung Chih-Wei
Published: July 2020

Aim:

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the association between IL-6 gene polymorphisms ( rs1800795 and rs1524107) and glaucoma.

Methods:

A comprehensive search was performed to select eligible studies regarding IL-6 polymorphisms and glaucoma. The effect sizes in the fixed-effects model were calculated using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results:

Four eligible studies comprising 762 cases and 799 controls were selected for meta-analysis. Regarding the association between the IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphism and glaucoma, those who carried the G/G+G/C genotypes had a non-significant higher risk of glaucoma (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 0.76–2.19) in the dominant model. However, no obvious association (OR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.68–1.37) was found for the recessive model (G/G vs G/C+C/C). In the subgroup analysis stratified by ethnicity, no significant associations were observed in populations of Asian or European heritage. Significantly higher glaucoma risks of 15.9 and 99.0 were observed for the dominant (C/C+C/T vs T/T) and recessive (C/C vs C/T+T/T) models, respectively.

Conclusion:

No statistically significant glaucoma risks were observed for the rs1800795 except rs1524107 polymorphism of IL-6. Further studies with a larger sample size are required to validate the effects of IL-6 polymorphisms on glaucoma risk.
From the event to the everyday: distributor-driven film festivals
Authors: Richards Stuart , Carroll Harris Lauren
Published: July 2020

Film festival research is an important field within screen and cultural studies, with festivals mainly theorised as a cinephile phenomenon occurring in European/North American contexts. Though cinephilia is indeed a major aspect of film festivals, adopting cinephilia as a primary focus for festival research obscures, and cannot explain, other motivations for running festivals, as well as how festivals fit into other trends in the film industry and film culture today. As researchers and film critics working in Australia, we have observed trends in festival culture that do not fit the dominant cinephilic framework. Principal among these trends is the emergence of Palace Cinemas, an arthouse cinema chain, and Palace Films, its distribution arm, as the curator and presenter of its own chain of film festivals. This essay presents an interesting case study that considers Palace Cinemas in relation to dominant understandings of the film festival. These film festivals do not exclusively fit either of Mark Peranson’s ideal models of festivals – audiences festivals or business festivals – but rather between these two positions. These distributor-driven film festivals, such as those run by Palace, greatly diminish any association with festival time, defined by Janet Harbord as a key feature of festivals.
Industrial espionage revisited: Host country–foreign multinational corporation legal disputes and the postcolonial imagery
Authors: Lyan Irina , Frenkel Michal
Published: July 2020

In this article, we take a postcolonial management approach to exploring the lingering significance of postcolonial imagery in shaping legal disputes between host country and foreign multinational corporations. We apply a critical discourse analysis to the Korea versus Orbotech industrial espionage lawsuit, in which the Korean government accused a foreign multinational corporation of leaking its ‘national core technology’. Through this analysis we demonstrate how industrial espionage discourse was used to fight Korea’s negative reputation as a technological imitator, associate Korea with global technological leaders, and disassociate itself from other ‘imitators’. In response, Orbotech’s industrial espionage discourse has aimed to reproduce Korea’s imitator stigma. Our findings highlight the continual role of the imagined North/South and West/rest symbolic boundaries in constructing global business hierarchies even when the marginalized party—Korea—has already moved to the elite economies club. While international management studies rarely address industrial espionage beyond its technical meaning, we underline the embeddedness of industrial espionage as a discourse in maintaining and disrupting the geopolitical business landscape.
Performance analysis of thrust pad bearing using micro-rectangular pocket and bionic texture
Authors: Atwal JC , Pandey RK
Published: July 2020

This paper presents the performance behaviors of a hydrodynamic thrust bearing incorporating new pad surface designs involving microrectangular pocket and Labeo rohita fish scale texture. The bearing performance parameters have been numerically explored and analyzed using three different pad surface designs. The effects of texture parameters such as pocket/texture depth, extend of pocket, and fish texture spread in the circumferential and radial directions, the number of scale texture waves in circumferential and radial directions, have been investigated for improving the performance of the bearing. It has been found that the pad surface having microrectangular pocket and fish scale texture together yields substantial increase in minimum film thickness and reduction in friction coefficient as compared to the other pad designs.
Li–He’s modified homotopy perturbation method coupled with the energy method for the dropping shock response of a tangent nonlinear packaging system
Authors: Ji Qiu-Ping , Wang Jun , Lu Li-Xin , Ge Chang-Feng
Published: July 2020

This paper couples Li–He’s homotopy perturbation method with the energy method to obtain an approximate solution of a tangent nonlinear packaging system. A higher order homotopy equation is constructed by adopting the basic idea of the Li–He’s homotopy perturbation method. The energy method is used to improve the maximal displacement and the frequency of the system to an ever higher accuracy. Comparison with the numerical solution obtained by the Runge–Kutta method shows that the shock responses of the system solved by the new method are more effective with a relative error of 0.15%.
Infrastructure and inclusive growth in sub-Saharan Africa: An empirical analysis
Authors: Mutiiria Onesmus Mbaabu , Ju Qingjiang , Dumor Koffi
Published: July 2020

This study provides an empirical assessment of infrastructure and inclusive growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). An inclusive growth index has been constructed and then used to test the infrastructure–inclusive growth nexus. The study has also examined whether infrastructure has a distributive impact on income groups. The overall analysis employed panel data collected from 31 SSA countries over the period 2003–17. The study found a positive link between infrastructure and inclusive growth. These results were significant for energy, transport and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructures. It was also found that poorer people gain more benefits from the listed infrastructures than the rich, which shows that infrastructure plays an important role in the distribution of income. The overall results imply that infrastructure is vital in reducing income disparities and enhancing shared prosperity in SSA. Policies for increasing access and affordability of infrastructure services are highly recommended to promote inclusion.
Introducing 3D printing in your orthodontic practice
Authors: Cousley Richard RJ
Published: July 2020

Many orthodontists are aware of the potential applications of three-dimensional (3D) printing in orthodontics but are hesitant in introducing this technology into their clinical practice and workflow. Therefore, this article explains the hardware and software requirements, plus the workflow.
Use of touchscreen technology by 0–3-year-old children: Parents’ practices and perspectives in Norway, Portugal and Japan
Authors: Dardanou Maria , Unstad Torstein , Brito Rita , Dias Patricia , Fotakopoulou Olga , Sakata Yoko , O’Connor Jane
Published: July 2020

This paper discusses findings from online surveys completed by parents of 0–3-year-old children in Norway, Portugal and Japan concerning their young children’s use of touchscreen technology. The study investigated parental practices, views and perspectives related to children’s digital practices and explored these in relation to wider cultural discourses around early childhood in the participant countries. The study adopted Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to inform the questionnaire and interpretative data analysis of how parents’ views and experiences are influenced by a wide range of social, cultural and personal factors. The findings demonstrate some coherence between beliefs among parents regarding very young children’s use of touchscreen technologies and their place in the children’s home lives. Quantitative and qualitative results highlight that the respondents from all countries expressed the need for further guidance regarding technology use, and better communication with early education and care centres. The study findings are discussed in relation to the reported uses of touchscreen technologies in the three different cultural contexts, parents’ views on the benefits and/or disadvantages of children’s touchscreen technology use, and the potential influences of dominant cultural discourses on parents’ perceptions, views and practices.
Generalizing rate heterogeneity across sites in statistical phylogenetics
Authors: Heaps Sarah E , Nye Tom MW , Boys Richard J , Williams Tom A , Cherlin Svetlana , Embley T Martin
Published: July 2020

Phylogenetics uses alignments of molecular sequence data to learn about evolutionary trees relating species. Along branches, sequence evolution is modelled using a continuous-time Markov process characterized by an instantaneous rate matrix. Early models assumed the same rate matrix governed substitutions at all sites of the alignment, ignoring variation in evolutionary pressures. Substantial improvements in phylogenetic inference and model fit were achieved by augmenting these models with multiplicative random effects that describe the result of variation in selective constraints and allow sites to evolve at different rates which linearly scale a baseline rate matrix. Motivated by this pioneering work, we consider an extension using a quadratic, rather than linear, transformation. The resulting models allow for variation in the selective coefficients of different types of point mutation at a site in addition to variation in selective constraints.

We derive properties of the extended models. For certain non-stationary processes, the extension gives a model that allows variation in sequence composition, both across sites and taxa. We adopt a Bayesian approach, describe an MCMC algorithm for posterior inference and provide software. Our quadratic models are applied to alignments spanning the tree of life and compared with site-homogeneous and linear models.
Anyone Can Do YouTube, but Not Everyone Can Do Public Access: Urban Politics, Production Tools, and a Communications Infrastructure to Call Home
Authors: Dewey Matthew
Published: July 2020

Scholars have recognized how new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have reduced and transformed barriers to producing and circulating community-based media. Yet community media projects tend to apply these technologies within established communities whose histories have been shaped by broader socio-spatial factors. This article draws from critical geography and studies of technology and infrastructure to reconceptualize the problem of media accessibility. Rather than programs for addressing disparities in technology or training, community media projects would benefit from recognizing how significantly their media production activities rely on local communication infrastructures and a collective sense of home. This article uses a case study of public access television in San Francisco to demonstrate how cable and telecommunications policy, urban redevelopment, and community-based media groups co-constitutively determine a scale of political extensibility by providing broader access to decision-making arenas beyond local TV programming.
Study of free convective unsteady magnetohydrodynamic flow of Oldroyd-B fluid in the presence of chemical reaction
Authors: Ullah Saif , Akhtar Kareem , Khan Nadeem Alam , Mubarik Mehwish
Published: July 2020

This article is concerned with the study of free convective unsteady magnetohydrodynamic flow of the incompressible Oldroyd-B fluid along with chemical reaction. The fluid flows on a vertical plate that is impulsively brought in motion in the presence of a constant magnetic field which is applied transversely on the fluid. The structure has been modeled in the form of governing differential equations, which are then nondimensionalized and solved using a numerical technique, that is, Crank–Nicolson’s scheme to obtain solutions for velocity field, temperature distribution, and concentration profile. These solutions satisfy the governing equations as well as all initial and boundary conditions. The obtained solutions are new, and previous literature lacks such derivations. Some previous solutions can be recovered as limiting cases of our general solutions. The effects of thermophysical parameters, such as Reynolds number, Prandtl number, thermal Grashof number, modified Grashof number, Darcy number, Schmidt number, dissipation function, magnetic field, radiation–conduction, chemical reaction parameter, relaxation and retardation times on the velocity field, temperature, and concentration of fluid, are also examined and discussed graphically.
Suspending force modeling based on nonlinear acoustics and high-speed running experiments for an ultrasonic journal bearing
Authors: Li He , Wang Yu , Bai Deen , Lyu Fuyan , Gao Kuidong , Zeng Qingliang
Published: July 2020

As a kind of promising noncontact bearings, ultrasonic bearings actuated by smart materials such as lead zirconate titanate ceramics show a good application prospect in high-speed machines and precision-measuring devices. The suspending force is one of the most important parameters that play a dominated role on the bearing’s static and dynamic performance. A suspending force model based on acoustic radiation theory for cylindrical object near sound source is built to predict the radial carrying capacity of an ultrasonic bearing actuated by three piezoelectric transducers. To validate the model, an ultrasonic bearing prototype is developed and a testing system is established. For observing the bearing’s dynamic running performance at high speeds, the bearing’s running experiment is carried out and the rotor center’s trajectory data and frequency spectrum are acquired to analyze the bearing’s dynamic characteristics at high speeds. The suspending force model and running performance experiments will contribute to the design, detection, and test of this type of bearings.
Risk factors associated with 30-day hospital readmission after carotid endarterectomy
Authors: Braet Drew J , Smith Jamie B , Bath Jonathan , Kruse Robin L , Vogel Todd R
Published: July 2020

Objective

The current study evaluated all-cause 30-day readmissions after carotid endarterectomy.

Methods

Patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy were selected from the Cerner Health Facts® database using ICD-9-CM procedure codes from their index admission. Readmission within 30 days of discharge was determined. Chi-square analysis determined characteristics of the index admission (demographics, diagnoses, postoperative medications, and laboratory results) associated with readmission. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify characteristics independently associated with readmission.

Results

In total, 5257 patients undergoing elective carotid endarterectomy were identified. Readmission within 30 days was 3.1%. After multivariable adjustment, readmission was associated with end-stage renal disease (OR: 3.21, 95% CI: 1.01–10.2), hemorrhage or hematoma (OR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.15–4.77), procedural complications (OR: 3.07, 95% CI: 1.24–7.57), use of bronchodilators (OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.03–2.11), increased Charlson index scores (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08–1.38), and electrolyte abnormalities (hyponatremia < 135 mEq/L (OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.07–2.67) and hypokalemia less than 3.7 mEq/L (OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.03–4.98)).

Conclusions

Factors associated with readmission following carotid endarterectomy included younger age, increased comorbidity burden, end-stage renal disease, electrolyte disorders, the use of bronchodilators, and complications including bleeding (hemorrhage or hematoma). Of note, in this real-world study, only 40% of the patients received protamine, despite evidence-based literature demonstrating the reduced risk of bleeding complications. As healthcare moves towards quality of care-driven reimbursement, physician modifiable targets such as protamine utilization to reduce bleeding are greatly needed to reduce readmission, and failure to reduce preventable physician-driven complications after carotid interventions may be associated with decreased reimbursement.
Identity politics: Why African American women are missing in administrative leadership in public higher education
Authors: Townsend Crasha V
Published: July 2020

There is an exiguous representation of African American women in leadership positions at institutions of higher education. This study examines the experiences related to the retention of Black women administrators at Predominantly White Institutions through a qualitative phenomenological lens. This study explored the experiences of five African American women administrators at public institutions across the USA. The participants highlighted the impact of Black Tax, the presentation of their authentic selves, and the impact of microaggressions on their retention as administrators.
‘It all started here, and it all ends here too’: Homosexual criminalisation and the queer politics of apology
Authors: Redd Curtis , Russell Emma K
Published: July 2020

In recent years, we have witnessed a tide of government apologies for historic laws criminalising homosexuality. Complicating a conventional view of state apologies as a progressive effort to come to terms with past mistakes, queer theoretical frameworks help to elucidate the power effects and self-serving nature of the new politics of regret. We argue that through the discourse of gay apology, the state extolls pride in its present identity by expressing shame for its ‘homophobic past’. In doing so, it discounts the possibility that systemic homophobia persists in the present. Through a critical discourse analysis of the ‘world first’ gay apology from the parliament of the Australian state of Victoria in 2016, we identify five key themes: the inexplicability of the past, the individualisation of homophobia, the construction of a ‘post-homophobic’ society, the transformation of shame into state pride and subsuming the ‘unhappy queer’ through the expectation of forgiveness.
Humeral shaft fractures: how effective really is functional bracing?
Authors: Kocialkowski Cezary , Sheridan Barnaby
Published: July 2020

Background

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of functional bracing in the treatment of humeral shaft fractures and identify factors that increased the risk of delayed or non-union.

Methods

All patients with humeral shaft fractures treated at Musgrove Park Hospital between 2010 and 2017 were identified. Patient electronic records were reviewed to identify demographic data, as well as outcomes and complications following treatment. Radiographs were reviewed to identify fracture pattern and location as well as fracture displacement and angulation.

Results

In total, 65 patients were treated with functional bracing of which 22 patients (34%) had a delayed or non-union. Fracture displacement and angulation were significantly associated with delayed or non-union. In particular, patients with fractures displaced more than 30 mm or angulated more than 30° had a significantly higher risk of delayed or non-union. Fracture location or pattern was not significantly associated with delayed or non-union.

Conclusion

Functional bracing is an effective treatment modality for the majority of patients with humeral shaft fractures, but patients with markedly displaced or angulated fractures are at a higher risk of failure of conservative treatment and therefore early operative intervention should be considered.
Authoritarian Recall: Mexico’s Drug War and Subnational Patterns of Opposition to Democracy
Authors: Hiskey Jonathan , Malone Mary Fran T. , Diaz-Dominguez Alejandro
Published: July 2020

In times of crisis, citizens’ support for democracy can depend on how well they think their democracy can address that crisis compared to authoritarian alternatives. Mexico is in the midst of just such a crisis, as its war on drug trafficking organisations has brought an unprecedented rise in violence and, in some areas, posed a direct challenge to the state’s capacity to govern. At the same time, its subnational political landscape ranges from vibrant, multi-party states to those with continued connections to a dominant one-party past. We leverage these variations in subnational political context and levels of drug-related violence to examine how the subnational political context mediates the relationship between a crisis and support for non-democratic alternatives. When faced with a violent shock to the system, public attitudes towards democracy depend in part on one’s experiences with non-democratic alternatives and whether these authoritarian options appear to solve the crisis at hand more effectively.
Evaluation of a Novel Noninvasive Blood Glucose Monitor Based on Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascade Laser Technology and Photothermal Detection
Authors: Lubinski Thorsten , Plotka Bartosz , Janik Sergius , Canini Luca , Mäntele Werner
Published: July 2020

Background:

A prototype of a noninvasive glucometer combining skin excitation by a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser with photothermal detection was evaluated in glucose correlation tests including 100 volunteers (41 people with diabetes and 59 healthy people).

Methods:

Invasive reference measurements using a clinical glucometer and noninvasive measurements at a finger of the volunteer were simultaneously recorded in five-minute intervals starting from fasting glucose values for healthy subjects (low glucose values for diabetes patients) over a two-hour period. A glucose range from >50 to <350 mg/dL was covered. Machine learning algorithms were used to predict glucose values from the photothermal spectra. Data were analyzed for the average percent disagreement of the noninvasive measurements with the clinical reference measurement and visualized in consensus error grids.

Results:

98.8% (full data set) and 99.1% (improved algorithm) of glucose results were within Zones A and B of the grid, indicating the highest accuracy level. Less than 1% of the data were in Zone C, and none in Zone D or E. The mean and median percent differences between the invasive as a reference and the noninvasive method were 12.1% and 6.5%, respectively, for the full data set, and 11.3% and 6.4% with the improved algorithm.

Conclusions:

Our results demonstrate that noninvasive blood glucose analysis combining mid-infrared spectroscopy and photothermal detection is feasible and comparable in accuracy with minimally invasive glucometers and finger pricking devices which use test strips. As a next step, a handheld version of the present device for diabetes patients is being developed.
Patient and Provider Perspectives on a Novel Mobile Health Intervention for Low-Income Pregnant Women With Gestational or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Yee Lynn M. , Leziak Karolina , Jackson Jenise , Strohbach Angelina , Saber Rana , Niznik Charlotte M. , Simon Melissa A.
Published: July 2020

Background:

Management of diabetes mellitus (DM) during pregnancy is burdensome given the intensity of required patient engagement and skills, especially for women with greater social disadvantage. Mobile health (mHealth) technology is a promising avenue for DM health promotion, but few evidence-based mHealth tools exist for pregnancy. Thus, we designed a theory-driven mHealth tool called SweetMama, and planned a priori to gather usability and acceptability feedback from patients and providers to ensure a user-centered design.

Methods:

In this qualitative assessment, we solicited patient and provider feedback on this novel educational and motivational mobile application for low-income pregnant women with type 2 or gestational DM. Patients and providers participated in separate focus groups. Participants shared feedback regarding SweetMama’s visual appeal, architecture, and content. SweetMama modifications were made in an iterative manner. Transcripts were analyzed using the constant comparative technique.

Results:

Patient ( N = 16) and provider ( N = 29) feedback was organized as positive feedback, negative feedback, or additional desired features. Within each category, themes addressed SweetMama visual features, information, or functional features. The majority of negative feedback was addressed and multiple desired features were implemented via iterative application development, resulting in a user-friendly, efficient, and potentially impactful mHealth app designed to support the unique needs of this population.

Conclusions:

SweetMama users had largely positive feedback about the mHealth tool’s appeal, content, and functionality. Suggested improvements were incorporated in preparation for further evaluation steps, which include longitudinal usability testing, feasibility trials, and larger trials to determine the efficacy of SweetMama use for improving perinatal outcomes.
Decreased Physical Activity and Sleep, Not Sport Specialization, Predict Illness in Middle School Athletes
Authors: Watson Andrew , Post Eric , Biese Kevin , Kliethermes Stephanie , Brooks M. Alison , Bell David
Published: July 2020

Background:

The relationships between sport specialization, physical activity, sleep, and illness in younger athletes are unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the independent effects of sport specialization, sleep, and physical activity on illness in middle school athletes.

Hypothesis:

Decreased sleep, decreased physical activity, and higher levels of sport specialization will be associated with an increased risk of illness among middle school athletes.

Study Design:

Prospective cohort study.

Level of Evidence:

Level 4.

Methods:

Parents of middle school–aged children reported baseline sport specialization (low, moderate, or high) as well as sleep duration, physical activity, and illnesses every week throughout the academic year. A mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to assess the association between illness and specialization while accounting for sleep and physical activity for the prior week as fixed effects and each individual as a random effect.

Results:

A total of 233 children (mean age, 12.1 ± 1.2 years; 61% male) participated, of whom 41%, 25%, and 34% were categorized as low, moderate, and high specialization, respectively. The proportion of individuals who experienced illness did not differ by specialization level (low, 76%; moderate, 70%; high, 59%; P = 0.064). In the multivariable model, the odds of illness compared with the low specialization group was not significantly different for moderate (odds ratio [OR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.70-1.23; P = 0.61) or high specialization (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.56-1.03; P = 0.073). A decreased risk of illness was associated with greater prior week sleep (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.69-0.91; P < 0.001) and physical activity (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96; P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

Sport specialization is not associated with an increased risk of illness among middle school athletes, while increased sleep duration and physical activity appear to reduce the risk of illness.

Clinical Relevance:

Interventions to promote physical activity and improve sleep may reduce the risk of illness in early adolescent athletes.
Covid-19 and labour law in Belgium
Authors: Hendrickx Frank , Taes Simon , Wouters Mathias
Published: July 2020

As Belgium and its population were heavily hit by the coronavirus, the Government adopted specific measures to address the economy and the world of work. The initiatives were deployed during the crisis but have also been designed for the exit scenario. Various measures have a strong relation with labour law. In addition to health and safety obligations, as specified in the Belgian Well-being Act, the new measures also refer to teleworking, social distancing, and have relied on the Belgian system of temporary unemployment.
Covid-19 and labour law in Spain
Authors: Alhambra Manuel Antonio García-Muñoz
Published: July 2020

The Covid-19 crisis in Spain has led to the adoption of several pieces of legislation with labour law and social security content. The main priority of this fast-changing and frequently adapted legislation has been to avoid a sharp rise in unemployment. To do so, the legislator facilitated the use of the already existing procedures to temporarily suspend contracts ( Expedientes Temporales de Regulación de Empleo) and prohibited certain kinds of dismissals (those based on economic circumstances and force majeure). To further develop a social shield with the ambition to protect the most vulnerable workers and families several measures that can be classified as income support have been adopted.
‘Do not judge others, and you will not be judged’ – Fritz Bauer on the potential and responsibilities of human justice
Authors: Bárd Károly
Published: July 2020

This article, besides evoking the exceptional achievements of the legendary Hesse Chief Prosecutor Fritz Bauer and reminding us of his legacy, sets out to identify the interrelationships in his life’s work and also to reveal the tensions and contradictions between them, both ostensible and real. Besides identifying the interconnections between the different elements of Bauer’s overall project, I will show how, in his own perception, cracks began to show in all the components of his overarching program.
Allocation of teachers among public schools and minimization of cost: The case of public education in Sri Lanka
Authors: Herath Tikiri Nimal
Published: July 2020

Overall, in Sri Lankan public schools, the student–teacher ratio is very low. The number of teachers is considerably greater than the number of classes; sometimes the former is double or more than double the latter. In a school in which all the teachers are individually deployed in each class, many teachers have to remain idle. Thus, every day a certain number of teachers remain idle. This situation points to two issues. Firstly, in Sri Lankan public schools, resources are underutilized and hence costs are not minimized. Secondly, since there is an excess of teachers in schools, a formal and logical method is required to determine the optimal number of teachers. This article tries to develop a formula to determine the required number of teachers for a school, and thereby to find ways to minimize costs when employing teachers. Primary data on classes, teachers and subjects offered with respect to 40 public schools in the North Central Province were collected. When empirical data on the number of teachers in sampled schools were compared with calculated teacher requirements in terms of the developed formula, it was found that school authorities are underutilizing teachers. The article concludes that (a) based on the developed formula to determine the required number of teachers, many public schools have an excess of teachers and hence current transfer policy for school teachers is not logical, (b) teacher requirement can be decided according to the developed formula and (c) by adopting one teacher-two subjects-one school and one teacher-one subject-more schools models, government authorities can minimize costs further.
When Audiences Become Performers and Speech Becomes Music: New Tools to Analyze Speech, Song, and Participation in Chinese Crosstalk
Authors: Lawson Francesca R. Sborgi , Sims Joshua David , Lawson John Scott
Published: July 2020

As a presentational performance in which two actors perform a scripted dialogue that includes several short vocal selections, Chinese crosstalk features animated exchanges between the actors while also inviting enthusiastic involvement from the audience in the form of cheering applause. Inspired by research on the musicality of spoken bouts between same-sex friends (Hawkins, 2014; Robledo Del Canto et al., 2016; Cross et al., 2016) the present study focuses on two selections in a crosstalk performance—looking at not only the vocal interactions between the actors, but also those between the actors and the audience. Using ELAN, a tool for analysis of video and audio, Praat acoustic analysis software, and R statistical software, the study reveals (1) long durations of audience responses, signifying the seminal importance of the audience as a third performing agent in Chinese crosstalk, (2) significant portions of the performance that demonstrate rhythmic entrainment between performers and audience members, and (3) highly significant examples of approximate pitch matching between the ending sounds of utterances and the initial sounds of subsequent responses in the final selection of the performance.
Towards a Social Justice Disposition in Communication and Sport Scholarship
Authors: Jackson Daniel , Trevisan Filippo , Pullen Emma , Silk Michael
Published: July 2020

In this introduction to a special issue on sport communication and social justice, we offer some reflections on the state of the discipline as it relates to social justice. We bring attention to the role of sport communication scholars in the advancement of social justice goals and articulate a set of dispositions for researchers to bring to their practice, predicated on internalizing and centralizing morality, ethics, and the political. Identifying the epistemological (under)currents in the meaningful study of communication and sport, we offer a set of challenges for researchers in the contemporary critique of the communication industries based on “sensibilities” or dispositions of the research to those studied. We then introduce and frame the 13 articles that make up this double special issue of Communication & Sport. Collectively, these articles begin to demonstrate such dispositions in their interrogation of some of the most important and spectacularized acts of social justice campaigns and activism in recent decades alongside investigations of everyday forms of marginalization, resistance, and collective action that underpin social change—both progressive and regressive. We hope this special issue provides a vehicle for continued work in the area of sports communication and social justice.
Making a Medical School Class Whole: A Holistic Approach to Student Government
Authors: Soled Derek , Goel Shivangi
Published: July 2020

Student government has a unique role in medical schools, where it can function to strongly nurture the well-being of a class. Student body representatives have a better understanding of the interests of medical students and the adversity they face. Thus, the student government is in a prime position to make positive change in the lives of their classmates with help from the school administration. This article explores these ideas and is written from the perspective of the co-presidents of the student body at a northeast medical school.
Fluctuation-based clustering reveals phenotypes of patients with different asthma severity
Authors: Jochmann Anja , Artusio Luca , Sharifian Hoda , Jamalzadeh Angela , Fleming Louise J. , Bush Andrew , Frey Urs , Delgado-Eckert Edgar
Published: July 2020

Serial peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurements can identify phenotypes in severe adult asthma, enabling more targeted treatment. The feasibility of this approach in children has not been investigated.

Overall, 105 children (67% male, median age 12.4 years) with a range of asthma severities were recruited and followed up over a median of 92 days. PEF was measured twice daily. Fluctuation-based clustering (FBC) was used to identify clusters based on PEF fluctuations. The patients’ clinical characteristics were compared between clusters.

Three PEF clusters were identified in 44 children with sufficient measurements. Cluster 1 (27% of patients: n=12) had impaired spirometry (mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) 71% predicted), significantly higher exhaled nitric oxide (≥35 ppb) and uncontrolled asthma (asthma control test (ACT) score <20 of 25).

Cluster 2 (45%: n=20) had normal spirometry, the highest proportion of difficult asthma and significantly more patients on a high dose of inhaled corticosteroids (≥800 µg budesonide).

Cluster 3 (27%: n=12) had mean FEV192% predicted, the highest proportion of patients with no bronchodilator reversibility, a low ICS dose (≤400 µg budesonide), and controlled asthma (ACT scores ≥20 of 25).

Three clinically relevant paediatric asthma clusters were identified using FBC analysis on PEF measurements, which could improve telemonitoring diagnostics. The method remains robust even when 80% of measurements were removed. Further research will determine clinical applicability.
Quantity and quality of antigravity muscles in patients undergoing living-donor lobar lung transplantation: 1-year longitudinal analysis using chest computed tomography images
Authors: Oshima Yohei , Sato Susumu , Chen-Yoshikawa Toyofumi F. , Yoshioka Yuji , Shimamura Nana , Hamada Ryota , Nankaku Manabu , Tamaki Akira , Date Hiroshi , Matsuda Shuichi
Published: July 2020

Background

Skeletal muscle dysfunction is a common feature in patients with severe lung diseases. Although lung transplantation aims to save these patients, the surgical procedure and disuse may cause additional deterioration and prolonged functional disability. We investigated the postoperative course of antigravity muscle condition in terms of quantity and quality using chest computed tomography.

Methods

35 consecutive patients were investigated for 12 months after living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT). The erector spinae muscles (ESMs), which are antigravity muscles, were evaluated, and the cross-sectional area (ESMCSA) and mean attenuation (ESMCT) were analysed to determine the quantity and quality of ESMs. Functional capacity was evaluated by the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). Age-matched living donors with lower lobectomy were evaluated as controls.

Results

Recipient and donor ESMCSAvalues temporarily decreased at 3 months and recovered by 12 months post-operatively. The ESMCSAof recipients, but not that of donors, surpassed baseline values by 12 months post-operatively. Increased ESMCSA(ratio to baseline ≥1) may occur at 12 months in patients with a high baseline ESMCT. Although the recipient ESMCTmay continuously decrease for 12 months, the ESMCTis a major determinant, in addition to lung function, of the postoperative 6MWD at both 3 and 12 months.

Conclusion

The quantity of ESMs may increase within 12 months after LDLLT in recipients with better muscle quality at baseline. The quality of ESMs is also important for physical performance; therefore, further approaches to prevent deterioration in muscle quality are required.
Breathlessness and opioid prescribing in COPD in general practice: a cross-sectional, observational study
Authors: Currow David C. , Johnson Miriam J. , Pollack Allan , Ferreira Diana H. , Kochovska Slavica , Ekström Magnus , Harrison Christopher
Published: July 2020

Chronic breathlessness is a disabling syndrome, prevalent in people with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Regular, low-dose, oral sustained-release morphine is approved in Australia to reduce symptomatic chronic breathlessness. We aimed to determine the current prescribing patterns of opioids for chronic breathlessness in COPD in Australian general practice and to define any associated patient and practitioner characteristics.

Five years (2011 to 2016) of the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health database, an Australian national, continual, cross-sectional study of clinical care in general practice were used. The database included 100 consecutive clinical encounters from almost 1000 general practitioners annually (n=488 100 encounters). Descriptive analyses with subsequent regression models were generated.

Breathlessness as a patient-defined reason for encounter was identified in 621 of 4522 encounters where COPD was managed. Opioids were prescribed in 309 of 4522 encounters where COPD was managed (6.8%; (95% CI) 6.1–7.6), of which only 17 were prescribed for breathlessness, and the rest for other conditions almost entirely related to pain. Patient age (45–64 yearsversusage 80+ years, OR 1.68; 1.19–2.36), Commonwealth Concession Card holders (OR 1.70; 1.23–2.34) and socioeconomic disadvantage (OR 1.30; 1.01–1.68) were associated with increased likelihood of opioid prescription at COPD encounters. The rate of opioid prescriptions rose over the 5 years of study.

In primary care encounters for COPD, opioids were prescribed in 6.8% of cases, but almost never for breathlessness. These data create a baseline against which to compare changes in prescribing as the treatment of chronic breathlessness evolves.
DUGMO: tool for the detection of unknown genetically modified organisms with high-throughput sequencing data for pure bacterial samples
Authors: Hurel Julie , Schbath Sophie , Bougeard Stéphanie , Rolland Mathieu , Petrillo Mauro , Touzain Fabrice
Published: July 2020

Background

The European Community has adopted very restrictive policies regarding the dissemination and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In fact, a maximum threshold of 0.9% of contaminating GMOs is tolerated for a “GMO-free” label. In recent years, imports of undescribed GMOs have been detected. Their sequences are not described and therefore not detectable by conventional approaches, such as PCR.

Results

We developed DUGMO, a bioinformatics pipeline for the detection of genetically modified (GM) bacteria, including unknown GM bacteria, based on Illumina paired-end sequencing data. The method is currently focused on the detection of GM bacteria with – possibly partial – transgenes in pure bacterial samples. In the preliminary steps, coding sequences (CDSs) are aligned through two successive BLASTN against the host pangenome with relevant tuned parameters to discriminate CDSs belonging to the wild type genome (wgCDS) from potential GM coding sequences (pgmCDSs). Then, Bray-Curtis distances are calculated between the wgCDS and each pgmCDS, based on the difference of genomic vocabulary. Finally, two machine learning methods, namely the Random Forest and Generalized Linear Model, are carried out to target true GM CDS(s), based on six variables including Bray-Curtis distances and GC content. Tests carried out on a GM Bacillus subtilis showed 25 positive CDSs corresponding to the chloramphenicol resistance gene and CDSs of the inserted plasmids. On a wild type B. subtilis, no false positive sequences were detected.

Conclusion

DUGMO detects exogenous CDS, truncated, fused or highly mutated wild CDSs in high-throughput sequencing data, and was shown to be efficient at detecting GM sequences, but it might also be employed for the identification of recent horizontal gene transfers.
iPNHOT: a knowledge-based approach for identifying protein-nucleic acid interaction hot spots
Authors: Zhu Xiaolei , Liu Ling , He Jingjing , Fang Ting , Xiong Yi , Mitchell Julie C.
Published: July 2020

Background

The interaction between proteins and nucleic acids plays pivotal roles in various biological processes such as transcription, translation, and gene regulation. Hot spots are a small set of residues that contribute most to the binding affinity of a protein-nucleic acid interaction. Compared to the extensive studies of the hot spots on protein-protein interfaces, the hot spot residues within protein-nucleic acids interfaces remain less well-studied, in part because mutagenesis data for protein-nucleic acids interaction are not as abundant as that for protein-protein interactions.

Results

In this study, we built a new computational model, iPNHOT, to effectively predict hot spot residues on protein-nucleic acids interfaces. One training data set and an independent test set were collected from dbAMEPNI and some recent literature, respectively. To build our model, we generated 97 different sequential and structural features and used a two-step strategy to select the relevant features. The final model was built based only on 7 features using a support vector machine (SVM). The features include two unique features such as ∆SASsa1/2and esp3, which are newly proposed in this study. Based on the cross validation results, our model gave F1 score and AUROC as 0.725 and 0.807 on the subset collected from ProNIT, respectively, compared to 0.407 and 0.670 of mCSM-NA, a state-of-the art model to predict the thermodynamic effects of protein-nucleic acid interaction. The iPNHOT model was further tested on the independent test set, which showed that our model outperformed other methods.

Conclusion

In this study, by collecting data from a recently published database dbAMEPNI, we proposed a new model, iPNHOT, to predict hotspots on both protein-DNA and protein-RNA interfaces. The results show that our model outperforms the existing state-of-art models. Our model is available for users through a webserver:http://zhulab.ahu.edu.cn/iPNHOT/.