bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The formation of consumers' warmth and competence impressions of corporate brands: The role of corporate associations
Authors: Gidaković Petar , Zabkar Vesna
Published: March 2022

Despite a growing body of evidence showing how consumers' impressions of corporate brands' warmth and competence lead to managerially relevant outcomes, the cognitive processes by which consumers form such impressions remain poorly understood. This study draws on theories from the cognitive and social psychology fields to develop a conceptual model that explains the formation of differentiated (i.e., nonstereotypical) warmth and competence impressions based on specific dimensions of corporate associations. These impressions transform consumers' information about a company into trust. The conceptual model was tested in a randomized between‐subjects experiment that manipulated the different dimensions of corporate associations and established the causal and mediating relationships (Study 1). To increase the external validity of Study 2, the participants rated real companies using a survey. The implications of the findings for consumer impression formation theory are discussed, and managerial recommendations for both influencing warmth and competence impressions and fostering consumer trust are provided.
Trajectory clustering and query processing analysis framework for knowledge discovery in cloud environment
Authors: Shabu Selvin Shabu Lilly Pushpam Jany , Yadav Kusum , Kariri Elham , Gola Kamal Kumar , AnulHaq Mohd , Kumar Anil
Published: March 2022

In a cloud environment, resources should be acquired quickly and automatically released at runtime. Traditional trajectory data partitions, indexing and query processing techniques are extended, so that they can take advantage of the cloud of large clusters of highly parallel processing capabilities. There are ways with trajectory data in the cloud database query processing. The advanced sensing techniques available today caused the existence of many types of trajectory datasets whose study can form a strong basis for decision making regarding a data context. Trajectory data generally includes trajectory classification, trajectory clustering, and trajectory associations and so on. All these tools need trajectory similarity measures to get comparisons in trajectory data. Some of the popular existing methods of trajectory similarity include Euclidean distance, semantic distance and there near variants. Each variant of these techniques exhibits notable differences in measurement of similarity and computational difficulty. This paper targeted to deal with this situation with the goal of lower computational efforts in trajectory similarity computations. A two‐phase trajectory similarity measure is defined. The first phase does point level analysis of trajectory points representing all trajectories and the following phase use the analysis to find the similarities. Using a hybrid similarity framework, new means for trajectory clustering and trajectory query processing are developed. From trajectory analysis followed by trajectory clustering, evaluation of cluster quality and processing of trajectory query are undertaken in this paper in different ways from the existing methods. All the proposed developments are tested with trajectory datasets with multiple attributes and the results are more favour to proposed framework than the existing ones.
Cancer epigenetics: promises and pitfalls for cancer therapy
Authors: Skourti Eleni , Dhillon Paraminder
Published: March 2022

Over the past few decades, epigenetic regulators have emerged as major players in cellular processes that drive cancer initiation and progression, and subsequently modulate the responsiveness of cancers to therapeutic agents. This Special Issue of The FEBS Journal, Cancer Epigenetics, features an exciting collection of review articles that focus on the functions of a broad spectrum of epigenetic modulators in cancer. The diverse topics explored herein range from the roles of transposable elements and chromatin architecture in cancer and the most recent research advances on cancer‐associated histone variants (oncohistones), to the effects of altered epigenetics on transcription and advanced cancer cell phenotypes. Moreover, the prospective key function of cancer metabolism in linking epigenetics and transcriptional regulation, and the potential of epigenetics for targeted cancer therapeutics is discussed. We hope that this collection of articles will give readers an enlightening overview of the most recent advances in the fast‐moving field of cancer epigenetics.
Modeling Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) scope for growth on the Northeast U.S. Shelf
Authors: Zang Zhengchen , Ji Rubao , Hart Deborah R. , Chen Changsheng , Zhao Liuzhi , Davis Cabell S.
Published: March 2022

Atlantic sea scallops support one of the most valuable fisheries in the eastern United States. The scallop population is susceptible to climate‐related environmental stress. Assessing and projecting climate impacts rely on the fundamental understanding of scallop ecophysiology, including the influences of temperature and food supply on its energy balance and growth potential. In this study, we developed a scope for growth (SFG) model driven by high‐resolution hydrodynamic and biological models to assess the spatial and seasonal variability of scallop energy dynamics. The overall SFG on the Northeast U.S. Shelf is higher in May–June and lower in January–February, with substantial spatial heterogeneity. In the Mid‐Atlantic Bight (MAB), negative SFG occurs from July to October due to strong thermal stress. Particulate organic matter in detrital form is an important food source for scallops, with higher/lower contribution in the cold/warm seasons, respectively. Warming and food deficiency induce a noticeable contraction of suitable scallop habitats in the MAB, while their impacts on Georges Bank are insignificant. Known seasonal spawning patterns and observed growth rates in these regions match the patterns of SFG generated by the model. The sensitivity of SFG to the variations in food and temperature increases with scallop size. Large scallops are more likely to experience low or negative SFGs than smaller ones, implying that the habitats shrink as scallops grow older/bigger. This study provides key information about scallop growth potential and biogeography from the perspective of energy balance, thus helping the development of adaptive fisheries management strategies.
Dissolved nitrogen form mediates phycocyanin content in cyanobacteria
Authors: Gladfelter Matthew F. , Buley Riley P. , Belfiore Angelea P. , Fernandez‐Figueroa Edna G. , Gerovac Bridget L. , Baker Nicole D. , Wilson Alan E.
Published: March 2022

Chemically reduced nitrogen forms are increasing in aquatic systems and beginning to reach concentrations not previously measured. Despite this, little research has examined the potential of reduced nitrogen forms to encourage excess nitrogen storage and promote algal bloom longevity compared to oxidised forms.

A 2‐week field, pulse‐application experiment was carried out using 1,100‐L plastic limnocorrals to examine cyanobacterial community response to three nitrogen forms, including nitrate, ammonium, and urea (added as 600 µg N/L). Cell pigments and counts were used to calculate cell‐specific pigment concentrations, and cell‐associated microcystin concentrations were also measured to examine toxin response to a shift in nitrogen source.

Results showed that, upon nitrogen introduction, extracellular nitrogen quickly decreased in accordance with an increase in cellular phycocyanin 72 hr after fertilisation. Ammonium and urea treatments had more phycocyanin/cell than nitrate or control treatments at 72 hr. After 72 hr, phycocyanin content quickly decreased, consistent with the use of nitrogen from phycobiliproteins. Despite the decrease in light‐harvesting pigments, the total number of cyanobacterial cells increased in the ammonium and urea treatments after 2 weeks. Cyanobacterial particulate toxin (microcystin) quotas were not affected by nitrogen additions.

Results show that reduced nitrogen forms encourage greater nitrogen storage as pigments and increase bloom longevity compared to oxidised forms.

Findings support previous studies that suggest reduced nitrogen forms encourage greater cell density and algal bloom persistence. Results further point to excess nitrogen storage as another mechanism that allows cyanobacteria to dominate freshwater systems despite variable environmental conditions.
Oral Health and Nutritional Intake in Community‐Dwelling 90‐Year‐Old Japanese People: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Karawekpanyawong Raksanan , Nohno Kaname , Kubota Yu , Ogawa Hiroshi
Published: March 2022

Introduction

This study aimed to determine the relationship between dentition, mastication, salivation and nutritional intake in 90‐year‐old Japanese people.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study included 84 participants (39 men and 45 women) aged 90 years. We used questionnaires to collect demographic information, smoking status, nutritional intake and higher‐level functional capacity. Nutritional intake was assessed using the validated Brief‐Type Self‐Administered Diet History Questionnaire, and higher‐level functional capacity was assessed using the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG‐IC) questionnaire. Oral examinations, masticatory performance tests, stimulated salivary flow rate (SSF) tests, blood tests, blood pressure tests and body mass index (BMI) assessments were conducted. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed.

Results

Multivariable linear regression analyses adjusted for sex, education, TMIG‐IC and BMI ≤20 kg/m2 showed that participants with masticatory performance <173 mg/dL had lower intake of folic acid and vitamin A than those with masticatory performance ≥173 mg/dL. SSF was positively associated with intake of vitamin A. The number of teeth was positively associated with the intake of β‐carotene. With smaller effect sizes, masticatory performance, SSF and number of teeth were also associated with the intake of various micronutrients and carbohydrates.

Conclusion

Lower masticatory performance, lower SSF and fewer teeth were associated with a lower intake of several micronutrients, such as vitamin A, β‐carotene and folic acids, in Japanese individuals of advanced age. Oral health practitioners should pay careful attention to the nutritional intake of older people with poor mastication, dry mouth and severe tooth loss.
Effect of nitrogen topdressing on planting density response of grain yield in maize with different planting pattern cultivation
Authors: Liang Song , Yoshihira Taiki
Published: March 2022

We investigated the maize grain yield in response to nitrogen topdressing at different planting densities and planting patterns (twin row, TR; narrow row, NR; and conventional row, CR) over 3 years using early‐maturing cultivars. The P8025 grain yield was higher with a nitrogen topdressing of 6 g/m2 (N6) than without a nitrogen topdressing (N0) at all planting densities in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The difference between the nitrogen topdressing treatments was largest at a planting density close to 10 plants per square meter, which resulted in the highest grain yield in the N0 plot. The rank order for the grain yields among planting patterns was TR ≥ NR > CR in the three analyzed years. Changes in grain yield associated with planting densities followed significant negative quadratic regression curves for all planting patterns. In both the N0 and N6 plots, the grain yield response to planting density was more stable for TR cultivation than for CR and NR cultivation. The rank order for the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) among planting patterns was TR ≥ NR ≥ CR. The differences in the NUE among planting patterns were higher at higher planting densities. The high NUE observed for TR and NR cultivation was due to the high topdressed nitrogen absorption rate (Nab) at a planting density less than 8.9 plants per square meter as well as the efficiency of the grain yield increase resulting from absorbed nitrogen (Ngy) at a planting density greater than 10.3 plants per square meter. The higher NUE for TR cultivation than for NR cultivation at 12.1 plants per square meter was because of a difference in Ngy and was unrelated to Nab. These results suggest that the improvement of planting pattern (TR, NR) can enhance the effect of topdressed nitrogen on grain yield in maize due to the increase of Nab or Ngy according to the planting density.
BEYOND HISTORICISM AND UNIVERSALISM: EPIC, HISTORY, AND MEMORY
Authors: Tozzi Thompson Verónica
Published: March 2022

In The Concept of History, Dmitri Nikulin rehearses an alternative philosophy of history, thus accompanying a certain revival of interest in this discipline since the end of the twentieth century. Conceptualizing an alternative philosophy of history is of fundamental relevance in the context of the global problems that deepen every day in our contemporary world. Undoubtedly, philosophy must be attentive to the present demands and interests of representing the past, whether by the sectors of power or by various dissident collectives, for failing to reflexively address questions of substantive philosophy of history surely leaves room for the (unacknowledged) validity of the teleological‐universalist narrative. The historical trajectory delineated by the modern conception of history is centered on the uniqueness and unity of history and establishes a divide between historical and nonhistorical (or prehistoric) peoples. Nikulin, by contrast, seeks to produce a pluralistic conception of multiple histories, for which he elaborates a notion of “the historical” present in every time period and human culture (oral and written). A central distinction to be established from the beginning, according to Nikulin, is between “the historical” and “history.” The historical is nothing other than lists of names, things, actions, and facts to be preserved, and we can find these lists in any culture in any time and place. Such lists are governed by some organizing principle that determines what not to forget. Chapters 3 (“The Epic of History”), 4 (“The Homer Galaxy”), and 5 (“The Logos of History”) are, in my view, the most novel and stimulating parts of the book. There, “the historical” (those detailed and organized lists) comes with a narrative (fabula). The historical/fable dyad constitutes the structure of history, which is instantiated in multiple histories but which, in itself (as a structure), is not historical but invariant in each and every history. The seven chapters that make up The Concept of History run through various examples of reflections on and problems related to the subject in ancient history, a period in which Nikulin himself is a recognized specialist. The centrality of ancient Greek history in this study does not imply a commitment to the thesis that history emerged in Greek culture. According to Nikulin, where there are human beings, there is history.
HISTORY OF EMOTIONAL SUFFERING: FROM EMOTIONS TO NEEDS IN THE HISTORY OF EMOTIONS
Authors: RADENOVIC LJILJANA , AKKAD IL
Published: March 2022

Questions about the nature of emotions and the role of emotional expressions have been addressed frequently in the study of the history of emotions. However, the extent to which emotional suffering is present in the cultures and societies of the past is seldom queried. Our first goal is to identify criteria that historians of emotions can use to evaluate the emotional suffering of the people they study. We locate these criteria not in the theory of emotions, whether Norbert Elias's psychoanalytic theory or William M. Reddy's theory of emotives, but in the theory of basic, universal human needs proposed by Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci. Although we agree with most contemporary historians of emotions that emotions themselves can be understood only within the context of a particular culture, we propose that additional inquiry into basic needs and their satisfaction could help historians of emotions cast more light on the inner lives of the members of the societies they investigate. Our second goal is to apply these insights to the case of acedia, a peculiar psychological state experienced by the Desert Fathers. We examine what acedia was for the Desert Fathers by analyzing Evagrius's writings. Our goal here is to capture what historians of emotions regularly do; that is, we aim to reconstruct how monks of the fourth century felt, expressed, and thought about emotions from within their own monastic culture. In addition, we analyze acedia from the perspective of the theory of needs. In this way, we hope to show how the theory of needs can help historians in their endeavors to understand the past.
Heat capacity of complex aluminoborosilicate glasses
Authors: George Jaime L. , Sugawara Toru , Ohira Toshiaki , Kruger Albert A. , Vienna John D.
Published: March 2022

For nuclear waste vitrification in the Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford site, waste feed is charged into a continuously fed electric melter and the molten glass is poured into stainless steel containers to solidify. The heat from the molten glass must be removed from the facility within plant operating constraints, making knowledge of thermal properties of the waste glasses critical. The heat capacity of Hanford low‐activity waste glasses with systematic variations in composition were studied using complementary thermal analyses – power‐compensated differential scanning calorimetry (pcDSC) at 50–630°C, heat‐flux differential scanning calorimetry (hfDSC) at 200–800°C, and drop calorimetry at 600–1200°C. Variations of the heat capacity with composition have been observed around the transition temperature (Tg) and above, particularly when B2O3 and Al2O3 is varied. Above Tg, all glasses exhibit decreasing heat capacity with increasing temperature. A correlation was found between this curve and the fraction B[4]2O3 in glasses, suggesting boron coordination plays a role in this anomalous behavior. These measurements will be used as critical input to validate the heat balance calculations used for facility design and thus the overall operation of the WTP.
Social insurance reform and absenteeism in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Kieu‐Dung , Tran Van‐AnhThi , Nguyen Duc‐Thanh
Published: March 2022

There has been very little research into sickness absence in Vietnam. This article reveals how the labor market might adjust to more generous illness benefits offered by the Vietnam Social Insurance Law. In the study, we combined the difference‐in‐differences and matching techniques and used data from four waves of the Vietnam Labor Force Survey. The results indicate that the generosity of the benefits positively links to both the incidence and the duration of sick leave. The article also sheds light on the mechanism underlying the relationship by disaggregating the effects on gender, income, and job tenure groups. The results support current government efforts to enhance the public social insurance system.

Key Practitioner Message:•Sickness insurance affects sick leave incidence and duration;•Low‐income workers and female workers are sensitive to sickness benefits reform;•There is a link between job tenure and sick leave.
Frontline provision of integrated welfare and employment services: Organising for activation competency
Authors: Gjersøe Heidi Moen
Published: March 2022

Using the Norwegian case of an integrated welfare and employment service organisation, this study examined how organisational factors of this far‐reaching, street‐level agency have affected frontline workers’ opportunities to provide individualised services to users with complex needs. The article reports on two different policy and organisational settings: frontline workers as ‘generalists’ in a ‘national employment policy context’, and frontline workers as ‘specialists’ in a policy context that emphasises ‘empowering the local level’. Findings suggest that the generalists in the study did not experience an opportunity to utilise the flexibility available to them in selecting suitable measures, nor did they develop user‐specific knowledge. The article argues that caseworker specialisation can create more room for discretion and professional knowledge about users and which measures should be applied, thereby improving the opportunity to tailor services in a ‘one size fits all’ organisational context.
Social assistance dynamics in Norway revisited: A two‐decade prospective study of trajectories of young social assistance recipients
Authors: Lorentzen Thomas , Dahl Espen
Published: March 2022

This article revisits earlier research on social assistance (SA) dynamics by applying a holistic life‐course approach, made possible by sequence analysis. We followed the life‐course over 20 years of young recipients of SA in Norway. The data material was derived from administrative data collected and linked by Statistics Norway. The study population was first‐time SA recipients aged 18–24 years in 1995. In addition to SA, spells of social security, schooling, work and earnings were examined. We found that SA plays a minor role over time, but that social security receipt constitutes an important trajectory for more than a quarter of the SA population. Education and work with medium earnings make up distinctly different and rather successful trajectories for about half of the SA population. Gender and early school‐leaving matter for trajectory affiliation. Women’s trajectories are to a greater extent than men’s characterised by unstable employment and low‐paid work.
The pension system in Peru: Parallels and intersections
Authors: Cruz Saco María Amparo , Gil Mirian
Published: March 2022

In this article, we estimate the active and passive contributory pension coverage rates in Peru since the structural reform of social security in 1992. Further, we delineate a supply‐and‐demand model for the pension market. Using a diagram based on this model, we analyze the impact of re‐reforms that have increased the competitiveness of the pension system and in an effort to promote worker affiliation. Re‐reform has shifted the supply of pension services, but the demand for such services has remained constant at 28% of the labor force. Thus, coverage has not meaningfully increase. In the conclusion section of the article, we consider various policy interventions intended to increase demand, which might include instituting mandatory contributions for the self‐employed and/or increasing the proportion of registered employees. In addition, to mitigate income insecurity for older people, given the low active and passive coverage rates, we recommend that access to social pensions be increased.

Key Practitioner Message: •Estimation of the active and the passive pension coverage trajectories since the social security structural reform. •Delineation of a conceptual framework to describe the pension market using supply and demand functions. •Alternative interventions to increase coverage, that is, strengthening the competitiveness of the pension market, shifting the demand and universal social pensions.
A green social work perspective on social work during the time of COVID‐19
Authors: Dominelli Lena
Published: March 2022

COVID‐19 has challenged social workers to engage with health pandemics and provide essential services in conditions of uncertainty and high risk. They have safeguarded children, older adults and diverse adults in ‘at risk’ groups under tough conditions mediated by digital technologies, adhered to government injunctions, maintained social and physical distancing under lockdown and worked from home remotely. Social workers and social care workers have risen to the challenges, providing services with inadequate personal protective equipment and limited supervision and support. This article highlights the degraded physical environments, socio‐economic and political contexts that intensify precariousness and constraints that neoliberalism imposed on professional capacity before and during this health pandemic. It provides guidelines to protect practitioners and service users. It concludes that practitioners ought to understand zoonotic diseases, environmental concerns, acquire disaster expertise and training, widen their practice portfolio and value their contributions to this pandemic.

Key Practitioner Message: • Develop technological skills and innovate to support stressed individuals, safeguard children, adolescents and elders and deal with poverty and unemployment; • Use digital technologies involving peers to explore tricky situations, examine ethical dilemmas through scenario building exercises, and tips for self‐care; • Contribute to environmental protections that prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases like COVID‐19; • Seek supervision and support for disaster‐based training from your line manager.
Indian older adults and the ‘familialist’ state policies
Authors: Agrawal Anuja
Published: March 2022

This article is based on an analytic review of two major policy responses to the increasing demographic salience of older adults in India. Set against the backdrop of anti‐natal family policies in India, the review focuses on two policy measures: the discontinuation of the earlier pension scheme alongside the commencement of the National Pension Scheme in 2004 and the enactment of The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. The analysis of these policies reveals the Indian state's increasing reliance on multiple forms of familialism and is indicative of the direction of family policy making in India. This review also indicates a need for specifying and critically engaging with such forms of familialism within the broader rubric of emerging family policies in the Asian context.
Changing society, changing lives: Three decades of family change in China
Authors: Shen Ke , Cai Yong , Wang Feng , Hu Zhan
Published: March 2022

China has witnessed drastic family changes amidst demographic and socioeconomic transitions unprecedented in its history. Using data from three censuses and a national survey, this paper provided a descriptive documentation about the changing patterns in household size and structures from a synthetic life course perspective. By 2010, people below the age of 5 and in their late 20 s and early 60 s were more likely to live in three‐generation households than in nuclear households compared with their counterparts in 1982, likely due to needs of childcare. The rise in single‐generation households was most noticeable among those in the late 50 s and early 60 s, largely a result of young adults leaving for college or migrating away from home and a heightened aspiration for privacy of both generations. Based on these descriptive findings, future policy directions are discussed including policies to strengthen intergenerational solidarity, to support family caregivers, and to improve community‐based services.
Turbulent migrations in turbulent times. The case of the orbiters in Rome
Authors: Filippi Davide
Published: March 2022

Since 2015, when the so‐called migrant crisis exploded in Italy, Rome has become a transit crossroads for a huge number of people who arrived in Europe through the Mediterranean route (Lendaro et al. 2019). This phenomenon determined the development of a heterogeneous network of solidarity supporting migrants in transit (Giliberti & Potot 2021). Over the years, following the transformations of Italian and European policies for the management of migration processes, the solidarity networks have begun to meet other subjects in addition to migrants in transit: ‘orbiters’ around the city, awaiting access to international protection or recently expelled from the Italian reception system, forced to live in a state of stasis that allows them to be defined as ‘lifelong in‐betweener’ subjects and representing the concept of ‘turbulence migration’ (Papastergiadis 2000). This article focuses on the transformation of the solidarity practices and on the new mobility strategies acted by migrants, both linked with the social/juridical features of those we defined ‘orbiters’. From a methodological point of view, this paper is based on different moments of ethnographic observation in some key sites for solidarity to migrants in Rome.
Implications of frames of reference for strategic human resource management research: Opportunities and challenges
Authors: Jiang Kaifeng , Shi Wei , Wen Xin
Published: March 2022

Budd, Pohler, and Huang's (Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society 2022) proposed a theory of (mis)matched frames of reference to explain how managers’ and employees’ frames of reference regarding employment relationships may influence the use of human resource (HR) practices and help to explain the HR outcomes and conflicts observed in practice. We concur with Budd et al. that frames of reference provide a valuable and unique approach to studying employment relations and HR systems but have not received much attention. Therefore, we aim to extend their theory of (mis)matched frames of reference to strategic human resource management (HRM) research. We begin this commentary with a summary of their theoretical framework. We then introduce the background of strategic HRM and propose opportunities of applying frames of reference to advance strategic HRM research. Moreover, we discuss challenges of and considerations for using their framework in strategic HRM research.
Responsible innovation with digital platforms: Cases in India and Canada
Authors: Ahuja Suchit , Chan Yolande E. , Krishnamurthy Rashmi
Published: March 2022

Marginalized communities globally encounter grand challenges such as lack of access to education, healthcare, and sustained livelihoods. Several initiatives to address these complex, global problems have resulted in fragmented solutions. Recognizing this, there have been several calls for the study of responsible innovation (RI) to address grand challenges. Digital platforms such as AirBnB, Uber and so forth have now become commonplace and are known to generate economic value but also face criticism for being exploitative and exclusive. Only a handful of studies show how similar platforms can innovate responsibly to serve marginalized communities by generating simultaneous economic and social value. To address this gap, our study examines the cases of two platforms that orchestrated ecosystems consisting of individuals from marginalized communities, government agencies, and other entities to provide physical, digital and societal solutions based on principles of RI. We contribute to the RI and IS literatures to show how RI solutions can be fostered through digital platforms to address grand challenges. The article provides empirical evidence of all four dimensions of the RI framework—anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion, and responsiveness ‐ and their operationalization through digital platforms. This research lays the foundation for future studies at the intersection of RI and digital platforms literature. The study also provides practice insights on developing digital platform solutions for marginalized communities to address grand challenges and is useful to policymakers to formulate appropriate interventions. It pushes the theoretical and practice boundaries of our understanding of RI and digital platforms.
Endoscopic follow‐up of mucosal defect after hot versus cold snare polypectomy in animal model
Authors: Mi Biantao , Wang Huimin , Liu Chunliang , Wang Qi , Fu Xiaohong , Wang Zikai , Liu Fang , Li Wen
Published: March 2022

Background and Aim

Cold snare polypectomy (CSP) has received increasing attention in recent years, but few studies have assessed defect repair after polypectomy. Therefore, we compared the repair of mucosal defect after CSP and hot snare polypectomy (HSP) in a rabbit model.

Methods

Resection of normal colonic mucosa using both HSP and CSP were performed in 40 male New Zealand white rabbits by an experienced endoscopist. Follow‐up colonoscopy was performed after 7 and 15 days by another endoscopist. We assessed mucosal defect repair, status of healing, scar formation, and intraoperative or delayed complications (including perforation and bleeding).

Results

Eight animals died of intraoperative or delayed perforation; follow‐up colonoscopy was performed in 32 animals. On follow‐up colonoscopy at 7 days after operation, 78.1% cases in the CSP group showed healing of mucosal defect compared with none in the HSP group (P < 0.001); mucosal repair score in the CSP group was significantly higher than HSP group (P < 0.001). On follow‐up colonoscopy at 15 days, mucosal defect after CSP had completely healed in all cases (100%) versus 96.9% after HSP (P = 0.313). Among these healed defects, scar formation was observed in 2 of 32 cases in the CSP group compared with 19 of 31 in the HSP group (P < 0.001). Intraoperative perforation rate was significantly higher in the HSP group (15% vs 2.5%; P = 0.048).

Conclusions

Mucosal defect repair after CSP is quicker compared with HSP and is more likely to result in scarless healing. HSP is more likely to cause perforation in the thin colon walls.
The IMPACT Act of 2014: Standardizing patient assessment data to support care coordination, quality outcomes, and interoperability
Authors: McMullen Tara L. , Mandl Stella R. , Pratt Mary J. , Van Charlayne D. , Connor Beth A. , Levitt Alan F.
Published: March 2022

The Improving Medicare Post‐Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act) addressed the need for uniform, clinical, and demographic data in post‐acute care (PAC) settings. Structured, uniform data enables potential interoperable data exchange, quality comparisons across PAC provider types, and the capacity to explore a Medicare unified PAC payment system. Standardized patient assessment data elements were developed for clinical domains such as cognitive function and mental status, special services, treatments, and interventions, and medical conditions and comorbidities to create a common language that can be used to bolster a patient's needs and goals to improve clinical outcomes. Clinical care, decision making, and care planning were at the center of all decisions made to standardize specific data elements. In addition, all standardized data were mapped to nationally accepted vocabulary standards to support electronic health information exchange. The standardized patient assessment data elements present the foundation for uniform language across the PAC continuum to promote a greater quality of care for every patient.
Standardized assessment of medication reconciliation in post‐acute care
Authors: Fischer Shira H. , Shih Regina A. , McMullen Tara L. , Edelen Maria O. , Ahluwalia Sangeeta C. , Chen Emily K. , Dalton Sarah E. , Paddock Susan , Rodriguez Anthony , Saliba Debra , Mandl Stella , Mota Teresa ,   Advisory Group on Medication Reconciliation in PAC
Published: March 2022

Background

Medication reconciliation (MR) facilitates safety during transitions of care, which occur frequently across post‐acute care (PAC) settings. Under the intent of the IMPACT Act of 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contracted with the RAND Corporation to develop and test standardized assessment data elements (SADEs) that assess the MR process.

Methods

We employed an iterative process that incorporated stakeholder input and three rounds of testing to identify, refine, and evaluate MR SADEs.

Testing took place in 186 PAC sites (57 home health agencies, 28 inpatient rehabilitation facilities, 28 long‐term care hospitals, and 73 skilled nursing facilities). There were 2951 patients in the final test.

Novel MR SADEs, based on the Joint Commission's framework, were refined. The final SADEs assessed whether: patient was taking high‐risk medications; an indication was noted for each medication class; discrepancies were identified; patient or family/caregiver was involved in addressing discrepancies; discrepancies were communicated to physician (or designee) within 24 h; recommended physician actions regarding discrepancies were implemented within 24 h after physician response; and the reconciled list was communicated to patient, prescriber, and/or pharmacy. Two assessors per facility collected data for each patient. Analyses described completion time, data missingness, and interrater reliability, as well as feedback on assessor burden.

Results

Time to complete the MR SADEs was 3.2 min. Missing data were <5%. Interrater reliability was moderate to high (κ: 0.42 [whether a reconciled list was communicated to prescribers] to 0.89 [identifying patients taking hypoglycemics]). For identifying high‐risk medication classes, interrater reliability was high (κ: 0.72–0.89). There were minimal differences by setting.

Conclusions

This is the first set of MR SADEs that have been assessed across the PAC settings. Results demonstrate feasibility, based on missing data and completion time, and moderate to strong reliability, based on interrater comparisons, of assessing MR.
Electronic health record data may lead to underestimates of cannabis use—Especially among older populations
Authors: Palamar Joseph J. , Le Austin
Published: March 2022

This Editorial comments on the article by Javanbakht et al. in this issue.
Plasma α‐synuclein and phosphorylated tau 181 as a diagnostic biomarker panel for de novo Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Ren Jingru , Pan Chenxi , Wang Yajie , Xue Chen , Lin Huixia , Xu Jianxia , Wang Hui , Zhang Wenbin , Xu Pingyi , Chen Yong , Liu Weiguo
Published: March 2022

The use of a diagnostic panel comprising multiple biomarkers has the potential to accurately diagnose Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, a panel consisting solely of plasma biomarkers to diagnose PD is not available. This study aimed to examine the diagnostic ability of plasma biomarker panels for de novo PD using novel digital ultrasensitive immunoassay technology. We recruited 45 patients with de novo PD and 20 healthy controls (HCs). The concentrations of plasma α‐synuclein (α‐syn), amyloid β‐42 (Aβ42), Aβ40, phosphorylated tau 181 (p‐tau181), neurofilament light (NFL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were quantified using the ultrasensitive single molecule array (Simoa) platform. Patients with de novo PD had higher plasma levels of α‐syn and p‐tau181 than HCs, adjusting for age and sex. Plasma levels of α‐syn and p‐tau181 were positively correlated in de novo PD patients. Higher plasma α‐syn levels were significantly associated with worse Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part III motor scores, modified Hoehn and Yahr (H‐Y) stages, and increased risk of PD with mild cognitive impairment (PD‐MCI). Higher plasma p‐tau181 concentrations were linked to worse H‐Y stages. The diagnostic panel using plasma α‐syn and p‐tau181, combined with age and sex, showed good performance in discriminating de novo PD patients from HCs (area under the curve = 0.806). These findings suggest that plasma α‐syn and p‐tau181 together may be a promising diagnostic biomarker panel for de novo PD patients.

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Socioeconomic correlates of health outcomes and mental health disparity in a sample of cancer patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Zhang Amy Y. , Koroukian Siran , Owusu Cynthia , Moore Scott E. , Gairola Richa
Published: March 2022

Aims and objectives

To investigate socioeconomic, behavioural and healthcare delivery factors that are associated with health outcomes of cancer patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic, especially among underserved cancer patients.

Background

Cancer patients are at a higher risk of adverse physical and mental health outcomes during the pandemic than those without cancer.

Design

Cross‐sectional online survey. We followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guidelines in this study.

Methods

The sample comprised 322 individuals diagnosed with incident cancer between January 2019 and January 2020. Demographically, 64% were female, 49% had a college degree, 12% were African American, and 88% were White (77% of the Whites were from metropolitan and 23% from nonmetropolitan areas). Descriptive analysis and multivariable regression analyses of global health status, depression and irritability were performed.

Results

After adjusting for demographic variables and comorbidity, the feelings of loneliness, crowded living space, lower confidence in taking preventive measures and less satisfaction with telehealth visits were significantly associated with poorer global health, depression and irritability. Daily exercise was associated with better global health, and difficulty in getting medicine was associated with depression and irritability. Moreover, African Americans who felt lonely reported more depression and irritability and those who had less confidence in taking preventive measures reported more irritability than Whites. Respondents having low income and feeling lonely reported more depression than others.

Conclusions

In this study, socioeconomic factors (e.g. loneliness or crowded living conditions) were as important to health outcomes during the pandemic as behavioural (e.g. prevention and exercises) and quality‐of‐care factors (e.g. telehealth, access to medicine). Disparity was more pronounced in the mental health of African Americans and those with low incomes.

Relevance to clinical practice

Healthcare providers should promote social support and physical activity for improving health and reducing mental health disparities among cancer patients.
Pulsatile vessel at the posterior bladder wall: A new sonographic marker for placenta percreta
Authors: Al‐Khan Abdulla , Alshowaikh Khadija , Krishnamoorthy Kaila , Saber Shelley , Alvarez Manuel , Pappas Leigh , Mannion Ciaran , Kayaalp Emre , Francis Antonia , Alvarez‐Perez Jesus
Published: March 2022

Objective

We investigated using “pulsatile vessels at the posterior bladder wall” as a novel sonographic marker to demonstrate the severity of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS).

Methods

This observational case–control study of 30 pregnant women was performed at Hackensack Meridian Health's Center for Abnormal Placentation in 2020. The case group was made up of women with historically described sonographic signs of PAS and was compared against two control groups: (1) women with uncomplicated placenta previa and (2) women with no evidence of placenta previa sonographically. All patients were evaluated with Color Flow Doppler ultrasound to assess the presence of arterial vessels at the posterior bladder wall. The flow characteristics and resistance indices (RI) were noted in the presence of pulsatile vessels. All patients' placentation was clinically confirmed at delivery. Patients with clinical invasive placentation underwent histopathological diagnosis to confirm disease presence.

Results

Hundred percent of subjects in our series with suspected PAS exhibited pulsatile arterial vessels at the posterior bladder wall sonographically with a low RI of 0.38 ± 0.1 at an average of 24.6 ± 5.2 gestational weeks. Cases were histopathologically confirmed to have placenta percreta after delivery. Patients in either of the control groups did not display pulsatile vessels at the posterior bladder wall during antenatal sonographic evaluations and had no clinical evidence of PAS.

Conclusion

The presence of posterior urinary bladder wall pulsatile arterial vessels with low RI, in addition to traditional sonographic markers increases the suspicion of severe PAS. Thus, these findings allow for the greater opportunity for coordination of patient care prior to delivery.
Lessons of Resistance from Black Mothers to their Black Sons
Authors: Das Sohini , Pitts Jessica , Arevalo Kristina , Cox Blair , Blood Tessa , Hughes Diane , Coulanges Vallone , Keryc Caitlin , Rogers Onnie , Way Niobe
Published: March 2022

In negotiating the anti‐Black oppression, Black mothers communicate lessons of resistance in their racial socialization messages to their Black adolescent boys. We investigate whether distinct strategies of resistance for survival, characterized by individual‐focused immediate strategies of resistance, and resistance for liberation, strategies of resistance that disrupt systems of anti‐Black oppression rooted in furthering collective Black empowerment, are employed in Black mothers' messages to their sons. In this manuscript, we use longitudinal data of Black mothers’ of adolescent boys interviews (N = 31) across three time points (6th–11th grade). Our findings indicate the presence of various strategies of resistance for survival and resistance for liberation within Black mothers’ preparation for bias socialization.
Using Social Media to Promote School Nutrition Programs During the COVID‐19 Pandemic
Authors: Whitesell Anne , Fitch Hunter
Published: March 2022

BACKGROUND

Millions of school‐aged children receive free or reduced‐price lunches through the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National School Lunch Program; that service was disrupted when public schools closed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, this program received little attention on school districts' social media accounts.

METHODS

We collected Twitter data from 70 Ohio public school districts to construct a measure of attention paid toward school nutrition programs from 2008 to 2021. We also collected district‐level data to analyze the relationship between district characteristics and mentions of school nutrition programs.

RESULTS

We show that attention to school nutrition programs significantly increased during the pandemic. School districts with a greater student population density and greater geographic area were more likely to tweet about these programs.

CONCLUSIONS

School districts can, and should, use social media to inform residents about school nutrition programs and food security programs more generally. Social media provides a low‐cost way to lessen the administrative burden for families trying to access these programs.
Chloroplast phylogenomics of unicellular and colonial Volvocales provides perspectives on the evolution of morphological characters
Authors: Li Xi , Shi Xuan , Cheng Hong , Zhang Shi‐Yu , Yang Zhi‐Ping , Ma Xiao‐Ya , Zhong Bo‐Jian
Published: March 2022

Volvocales forms a species‐rich clade with wide morphological variety and is regarded as an ideal model for tracing the evolutionary transitions in multicellularity. The phylogenetic relationships among the colonial volvocine algae and its relatives are important for investigating the origin of multicellularity in the clade Reinhardtinia. Therefore, a robust phylogenetic framework of the unicellular and colonial volvocine algae with broad taxon and gene sampling is essential for illuminating the evolution of multicellularity. Recent chloroplast phylogenomic studies have uncovered five major orders in the Chlorophyceae, but the family‐level relationships within Sphaeropleales and Volvocales remain elusive due to the uncertain positions of some incertae sedis taxa. In this study, we contributed six newly sequenced chloroplast genomes in the Volvocales and analyzed a dataset with 91 chlorophycean taxa and 58 protein‐coding genes. Conflicting phylogenetic signals were detected among chloroplast genes that resulted in discordant tree topologies among different analyses. We compared the phylogenetic trees inferred from original nucleotide, RY‐coding, codon‐degenerate, and amino acid datasets, and improved the robustness of phylogenetic inference in the Chlorophyceae by reducing base compositional bias. Our analyses indicate that the unicellular Chlamydomonas and Vitreochlamys are close to or nested within the colonial taxa, and all the incertae sedis taxa are nested within the monophyletic Sphaeropleales s.l. We propose that the colonial taxa in the Reinhardtinia are paraphyletic and multicellularity evolved once in the volvocine green algae and might be lost in Chlamydomonas and Vitreochlamys.