bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The use of pre-operative virtual reality to reduce anxiety in women undergoing gynecological surgeries: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Chan Jason Ju In , Yeam Cheng Teng , Kee Hwei Min , Tan Chin Wen , Sultana Rehena , Sia Alex Tiong Heng , Sng Ban Leong
Published: October 2020

Background

Pre-operative anxiety is common and is associated with negative surgical outcomes. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising new technology that offers opportunities to modulate patient experience and cognition and has been shown to be associated with lower levels of anxiety. In this study, we investigated changes in pre-operative anxiety levels before and after using VR in patients undergoing minor gynecological surgery.

Methods

Patients who underwent elective minor gynecological surgeries in KK Women’s and Children’s hospital, Singapore were recruited. The VR intervention consisted of 10-min exposure via a headset loaded with sceneries, background meditation music and breathing exercises. For the primary outcome of pre-operative anxiety, patients were assessed at pre- and post-intervention using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Secondary outcomes of self-reported satisfaction scores and EuroQol 5-dimension 3-level (EQ-5D-3L) were also collected.

Results

Data analysis from 108 patients revealed that HADS anxiety scores were significantly reduced from 7.2 ± 3.3 pre-intervention to 4.6 ± 3.0 post-intervention (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, HADS depression scores were significantly reduced from 4.7 ± 3.3 pre-intervention to 2.9 ± 2.5 post-intervention (p < 0.0001). Eighty-two percent of the patients self-reported VR intervention as ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’. EQ-5D-3L showed significant changes in dimensions of ‘usual activities’ (p = 0.025), ‘pain/discomfort’ (p = 0.008) and ‘anxiety/ depression’ (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

For patients undergoing minor gynecological procedures, the VR intervention brought about a significant reduction in pre-operative anxiety. This finding may be clinically important to benefit patients with high pre-operative anxiety without the use of anxiolytics.

Trial registration

This study was registered onclinicaltrials.govregistry (NCT03685422) on 26 Sep 2018.
Self-management and HeAlth Promotion in Early-stage dementia with e-learning for carers (SHAPE): study protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial
Authors: Testad Ingelin , Clare Linda , Anstey Kaarin , Selbæk Geir , Bjørkløf Guro Hanevold , Henderson Catherine , Dalen Ingvild , Gjestsen Martha Therese , Rhodes Shelley , Røsvik Janne , Bollen Jessica , Amos Jessica , Kajander Martine Marie , Quinn Lynne , Knapp Martin
Published: October 2020

Background

With an increasing number of people with dementia worldwide and limited advancement in medical treatments, the call for new and cost-effective approaches is crucial. The utility of self-management has been proven in certain chronic conditions. However, very little work has been undertaken regarding self-management in people with dementia.

Methods

The SHAPE trial will include 372 people with mild to moderate dementia to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an educational programme combining approaches of self-management, health promotion, and e-learning for care partners. The study is a multi-site, single-randomised, controlled, single-blinded trial with parallel arms. The intervention arm is compared with treatment as usual. The intervention comprises a 10-week course delivered as group sessions for the participants with dementia. The sessions are designed to develop self-management skills and to provide information on the nature of the condition and the development of healthy behaviours in a supportive learning environment. An e-learning course will be provided for care partners which covers similar and complementary material to that discussed in the group sessions for the participant with dementia.

Discussion

This trial will explore the effect of the SHAPE group intervention on people with mild to moderate dementia in terms of self-efficacy and improvement in key health and mental health outcomes and cost-effectiveness, along with carer stress and knowledge of dementia.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04286139, registered prospectively February 26, 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04286139
The role of socio-demographic determinants in the geo-spatial distribution of newly diagnosed HIV infections in small areas of Catalonia (Spain)
Authors: Agustí Cristina , Font-Casaseca Núria , Belvis Francesc , Julià Mireia , Vives Núria , Montoliu Alexandra , Pericàs Juan M. , Casabona Jordi , Benach Joan
Published: October 2020

Background

Spatial visualization of HIV surveillance data could improve the planning of programs to address the HIV epidemic. The objectives of the study were to describe the characteristics and the spatial distribution of newly diagnosed HIV infection in Catalonia and to identify factors associated with HIV infection rates.

Methods

Surveillance data from the national registry were presented in the form of descriptive and ring maps and used to study the spatial distribution of new HIV diagnoses in Catalonia (2012–2016) and associated risk factors at the small area level (ABS, acronym for “basic health area” in Catalan). Incident cases were modeled using the following as predictors: type of municipality, prevalence of young men and migrant groups, GBMSM activity indicators, and other variables at the aggregated level.

Results

New HIV diagnoses are heterogeneously distributed across Catalonia. The predictors that proved to be significantly associated with a higher rate of new HIV diagnoses were ABS located in the city of Barcelona (IRR, 2.520;P < 0.001), a higher proportion of men aged 15–44 years (IRR, 1.193;P = 0.003), a higher proportion of GBMSM (IRR, 1.230;P = 0.030), a higher proportion of men from Western Europe (IRR, 1.281; P = 0.003), a higher proportion of men from Latin America (IRR, 1.260; P = 0.003), and a higher number of gay locations (IRR, 2.665;P < 0.001). No association was observed between the HIV diagnosis rate and economic deprivation.

Conclusions

Ring maps revealed substantial spatial associations for the rate of new HIV diagnoses. New HIV diagnoses are concentrated in ABS located in urban areas. Our results show that, in the case of HIV infection, the socioeconomic deprivation index on which the Catalan government bases its budget allocation policies among the ABS should not be the only criterion used.
Helping women transition out of sex work: study protocol of a mixed-methods process and outcome evaluation of a sex work exiting program
Authors: Shareck Martine , Buhariwala Pearl , Hassan Maha , O’Campo Patricia
Published: October 2020

Background

For women who want to, exiting sex work can be challenging. Numerous programs strive to help women wanting to exit sex work and secure alternative sources of income by providing targeted support at key moments during the transition, yet few of those initiatives are rigorously evaluated. In 2017 “Exit Doors Here”, a 9-month sex work exiting program based on the critical time intervention (CTI) approach, was developed to provide wrap-around support services (e.g., health, addiction, housing, education, and employment supports) to women wishing to transition towards exiting sex work.

Methods

We present the design of an evaluation study of Exit Doors Here which combines quantitative and qualitative methods to assess participant recruitment and retention into the program, program fidelity, and relationships with service providers (process evaluation), as well as progress made by participants in terms of strengthening their social support networks and moving closer to achieving their housing, pre-employment (i.e., educational, training and volunteering), and income-related goals, as well as their involvement in sex work (outcome evaluation). Each year for 4 years, between 25 and 30 Exit Doors Here clients will be invited to complete an interviewer-administered questionnaire at the beginning and after completing the program, and to share data from their CTI charts and related documentation. Once a year, program staff and peer workers will be interviewed, and service providers will be surveyed.

Discussion

Conducting a formative (process) evaluation will allow us to inform program implementation and improve program delivery early on for maximum benefit. The summative (outcome) evaluation will provide much needed evidence on the effectiveness of CTI in supporting a traditionally underserved population to achieve the housing, pre-employment and income-related goals they value, and their progress towards reducing their involvement in, and eventually exiting, sex work.
Relationship between serum B12 concentrations and mortality: experience in NHANES
Authors: Wolffenbuttel Bruce H. R. , Heiner-Fokkema M. Rebecca , Green Ralph , Gans Rijk O. B.
Published: October 2020

Background

There is conflicting evidence in the literature on the association between (elevated) serum B12 concentrations and subsequent disease or mortality. We evaluated in the NHANES general population the association of serum B12 concentrations as well as vitamin B12 supplement intake with all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer-related mortality, while taking into account demographic and lifestyle factors and significant other diseases which are known to be associated with poorer outcome.

Methods

The main outcomes of our study were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cancer-related mortality. Mortality status and cause of death were determined by NHANES-linked National Death Index public access files through December 31, 2015. The association of serum B12 concentrations and vitamin B12 supplement intake with mortality was assessed with Cox proportional hazard (PH) models, with adjustment for a number of relevant demographic and lifestyle factors and comorbidity.

Results

The final study population of 24,262 participants had a mean age of 48 (SD 19) years; 50.1% were males. The median follow-up duration was 109 months (range 1–201 months). On the census day of December 31, 2015, 3023 participants were determined as deceased (12.5%). The fully adjusted Cox PH model indicated that low serum B12 concentrations < 140 pmol/l were associated with a small increase in all-cause (hazard ratio, HR 1.39, 95% CI 1.08–1.78,p = 0.011) and cardiovascular (HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.08–2.47,p = 0.020) mortality. Similarly, high serum B12 concentrations > 700 pmol/l were associated with an increase in cardiovascular mortality only (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.01–2.06,p = 0.042). Participants with a diagnosis of hypertension, dyslipidemia, CVD, and cancer more frequently used vitamin B12-containing supplements than those without these diagnoses. We could not demonstrate an association between vitamin B12 supplement intake and mortality, when adjusted for comorbidity.

Conclusions

In the general population of NHANES, low serum B12 concentrations were associated with a moderate increase in all-cause mortality. There was a small but significant increase in cardiovascular mortality in the groups with low or high serum B12. High intake of vitamin B12 in the form of supplements was not associated with any adverse effect on mortality and therefore can be regarded as safe.
Translating evidence-based treatment for digital health delivery: a protocol for family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa using telemedicine
Authors: Hambleton A. , Le Grange D. , Miskovic-Wheatley J. , Touyz S. , Cunich M. , Maguire S.
Published: October 2020

Background

Family-based treatment (FBT) is an efficacious outpatient intervention for young people diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). To date, treatment to protocol has relied on standard face-to-face delivery. Face-to-face therapy is subject to geographic, temporal and human factors, rendering it particularly susceptible to inequities and disruption. This has resulted in poorer service provision for rural and regional families, and recently a significant challenge to providing face-to-face services during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The present study examines whether FBT for AN can be successfully translated to a digital delivery platform to address these access issues.

Method

Forty young people aged 12 to 18 years who meet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for AN, and live in a rural or regional setting, will along with their family be recruited to the study. Trained therapists will provide 18 sessions of FBT over 9 months via telemedicine to the home of the young person and their family. The analysis will examine treatment effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness.

Discussion

The study addresses the treatment needs of families not able to attend face-to-face clinical services for evidence-based treatment for eating disorders. This might be due to several barriers, including a lack of local services or long travel distances to services. There has been a recent and unprecedented demand for telemedicine to facilitate the continuity of care during COVID-19 despite geographical circumstances. If delivering treatment in this modality is clinically and economically effective and feasible, it will facilitate access to potentially lifesaving, evidence-based treatments for families formerly unable to access such care and provide evidence for the continuity of services when and where face-to-face treatment is not feasible.
Use of the patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS®) to assess late-onset Pompe disease severity
Authors: Harfouche Melodi , Kishnani Priya S. , Krusinska Eva , Gault Jamie , Sitaraman Sheela , Sowinski Amanda , Katz Irina , Austin Stephanie , Goldstein Margi , Mulberg Andrew E.
Published: October 2020

Background

Patient-Reported Outcomes provide an opportunity for patients to establish dialogue with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies about their health conditions without interpretation by a clinician or anyone else. However, Patient-Reported Outcomes that can be widely applicable for use in patient-focused drug development or clinical trial designs are not yet validated for all diseases. The aim of this study report was to provide supportive evidence of the construct and content validity of selected Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) questionnaires compared with other disease-relevant clinical outcome measures, including the 6-Minute Walk Distance, forced vital capacity, and Manual Muscle Test, in late-onset Pompe disease and to provide supportive evidence that the selected PROMIS measures are relevant and important to these patients.

Methods

Thirty patients with late-onset Pompe disease completed five PROMIS questionnaires that were chosen based on patient and provider feedback, along with discussion with key opinion leaders who are experts in Pompe disease. The Amicus Pompe Patient Advisory Board also provided patient experience feedback using the PROMIS questionnaires. Clinical outcome measures (6-Minute Walk Distance, forced vital capacity, and Manual Muscle Test) were collected at the Duke University Pompe Disease Clinical Research Program during a single visit.

Results

The Patient Advisory Board rated the questionnaires as representative of an unmet need. Correlation data demonstrated moderate to strong correlations of PROMIS questionnaires with the specified clinical outcome measures (6-Minute Walk Distance, forced vital capacity, and Manual Muscle Test). These data supported the construct and content validity of the PROMIS questionnaires because they confirmed the motor signs and symptoms of functional disability observed in patients with Pompe disease.

Conclusions

The correlations indicate that the clinical outcome measures assess important concepts related to patient-reported experiences. The Patient Advisory Board findings suggest that the selected PROMIS questionnaires are meaningful and address important concepts to patients with Pompe disease. The data were collected from a small number of patients at a single time point; further studies are needed with additional PROMIS questionnaires, which should include measures of motor function and health-related quality of life, in a larger number of patients followed up longitudinally.
Screening of additives to reduce grain damage risk on unhairing by proteinase K
Authors: Chen Mei , Jiang Mingfang , Li He , Cheng Haiming
Published: October 2020

Enzymatic unhairing is a cleaner strategy for leather-making. It is a potential alternative to the traditional hair-burning process. However, several shortcomings, such as uncontrolled enzymatic reaction, and risk of grain looseness and damage have restricted the broad application of enzymatic unhairing. In this work, metal ions and organic additives were screened for lessening the hydrolytic activity of proteinase K to collagen fiber. Then, the selected additives were applied to the enzymatic unhairing process for bovine hide. The results showed that a suitable concentration of metal ions (Cu (II), Fe (III) and Al (III)) and organic additives (salicylate, laurate, adipate, gallate and epicatechin (ECG)) could diminish approximately 35% of the hydrolytic activity of proteinase K to collagen fibers. Then, the additives were applied for the bovine hide enzymatic unhairing process. Hydroxyproline determination in the unhairing float shows that applying additives could reduce collagen hydrolysis. The morphology results showed that the grain damage could be significantly reduced with the addition of the screened additives in the proteinase K enzymatic unhairing system, whereas the addition of ECG and gallate significantly slowed down the unhairing speed. This outcome provides new potential to reduce the risk of grain damage in enzymatic unhairing process.

Graphical abstract
Automatic seismic facies interpretation using supervised deep learning
Authors: Zhang Haoran , Chen Tiansheng , Liu Yang , Zhang Yuxi , Liu Jiong
Published: October 2020

Seismic facies interpretation supports subsurface geologic environment analyses and reservoir predictions. Traditional interpretation methods require much manual work, and they heavily depend on the experience and expertise of the interpreters. We have developed advanced algorithms from supervised deep learning to perform automatic seismic facies interpretations. In deep learning, conventional convolutional neural networks (CNN) and encoder-decoder architectures are widely used for image classification and segmentation problems, respectively. Based on these two architectures, we build a 3D conventional CNN and a conventional encoder-decoder, and then we apply an enhanced encoder-decoder (DeepLabv3+) that integrates superior structures to our research. To train the networks, we develop an effective scheme to automatically and diversely augment data by using well-labeled 2D seismic sections in which facies are divided into nine classes. We perform experiments on the Netherlands F3 data set by training diverse samples and tuning parameters, implement the trained networks on the whole data volume, and then quantitatively evaluate the results. The testing results of the encoder-decoders are more accurate and efficient than those of the conventional CNN, as well as being more consistent with the geologic background. The mean intersection-over-union values for the encoder-decoders are 87.8% (conventional) and 92.4% (enhanced), respectively, whereas for the conventional CNN, the value is 67.8%. Besides, the prediction of one seismic section takes less than 1.0 s for the encoder-decoders, whereas it takes 4.0 min for the conventional CNN.
A linear algorithm for ambient seismic noise double beamforming without explicit crosscorrelations
Authors: Martin Eileen R.
Published: October 2020

Geoscientists and engineers are increasingly using denser arrays for continuous seismic monitoring, and they often turn to ambient seismic noise interferometry for low-cost near-surface imaging. Although ambient noise interferometry greatly reduces acquisition costs, the computational cost of pair-wise comparisons between all sensors can be prohibitively slow or expensive for applications in engineering and environmental geophysics. Double beamforming of noise correlation functions is a powerful technique to extract body waves from ambient noise, but it is typically performed via pair-wise comparisons between all sensors in two dense array patches (scaling as the product of the number of sensors in one patch with the number of sensors in the other patch). By rearranging the operations involved in the double beamforming transform, I have developed a new algorithm that scales as the sum of the number of sensors in two array patches. Compared to traditional double beamforming of noise correlation functions, the new method is more scalable, easily parallelized, and it does not require raw data to be exchanged between dense array patches.
Factors Associated With the Decline of C-Peptide in a Cohort of Young Children Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Steck Andrea K , Liu Xiang , Krischer Jeffrey P , Haller Michael J , Veijola Riitta , Lundgren Markus , Ahmed Simi , Akolkar Beena , Toppari Jorma , Hagopian William A , Rewers Marian J , Elding Larsson Helena
Published: October 2020

Context

Understanding factors involved in the rate of C-peptide decline is needed to tailor therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Objective

Evaluate factors associated with rate of C-peptide decline after a T1D diagnosis in young children.

Design

Observational study.

Setting

Academic centers.

Participants

A total of 57 participants from the Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study who were enrolled at 3 months of age and followed until T1D, and 56 age-matched children diagnosed with T1D in the community.

Intervention

A mixed meal tolerance test was used to measure the area under the curve (AUC) C-peptide at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postdiagnosis.

Outcome

Factors associated with rate of C-peptide decline during the first 2 years postdiagnosis were evaluated using mixed effects models, adjusting for age at diagnosis and baseline C-peptide.

Results

Adjusted slopes of AUC C-peptide decline did not differ between TEDDY subjects and community controls (P = 0.21), although the former had higher C-peptide baseline levels. In univariate analyses combining both groups (n = 113), younger age, higher weight and body mass index z-scores, female sex, an increased number increased number of islet autoantibodies, and IA-2A or ZnT8A positivity at baseline were associated with a higher rate of C-peptide loss. Younger age, female sex, and higher weight z-score remained significant in multivariate analysis (all P < 0.02). At 3 months after diagnosis, higher HbA1c became an additional independent factor associated with a higher rate of C-peptide decline (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

Younger age at diagnosis, female sex, higher weight z-score, and HbA1c were associated with a higher rate of C-peptide decline after T1D diagnosis in young children.
How Quarantine Attempts to Universalize the Black Condition
Authors: Bezio Kelly L.
Published: October 2020

This essay establishes similarities between control over Black bodies’ movement under chattel slavery and social distancing measures employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its primary concern is how protecting public health necessitates undesired movement on the part of marginalized, historically disenfranchised populations to secure supply chains and ensure access to basic goods, foodstuffs, and medicines for those sheltering at home. Structuring its claims within the critical race theories of Saidiya V. Hartman, Achille Mbembe, and Elizabeth Maddock Dillon, it draws attention to how an enslaved condition in which one lacked the right to choose to move or hold still is now being extended to a class of workers deemed essential.
Plague Time (Again)
Authors: Waterman Bryan
Published: October 2020

This essay probes literary representations of pandemic temporalities to argue that plague reshapes our sense and experience of time in specific ways: It opens contact with the epidemic past to restructure historical understanding and attendant forms of identity; it promotes utopian or cosmopolitan fantasies of shared vulnerability and future inoculation; it marks survivors with a kind of zombie consciousness in an unending, limitless present. Drawing on American works from Charles Brockden Brown’s Arthur Mervyn (1799–1800) to Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939) to Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (1992–95), this essay situates their discussions of plague time within broader traditions stretching from Thucydides to Daniel Defoe to Albert Camus.
Giving Up
Authors: Bérubé Michael
Published: October 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this essay examines a variety of visions of apocalypse and civilizational collapse, asking how we can imagine a world without us (as in Alan Weisman’s book of that title), or whether we will merely eke out a post–climate disaster existence like the one predicted in Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1974 novel The Dispossessed.
An Overstory for Our Time
Authors: Adams Rachel
Published: October 2020

Care is the intimate and necessary labor required to sustain those who are dependent, but it is also about acting in ways that sustain other species and the lives of strangers distant in time and space. The COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on the vulnerabilities and gaps in global care networks. It creates a crisis of care on multiple levels—the immediate, the dispersed, and the systemic—and it is exceedingly difficult to keep them all in focus. Although Richard Powers’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, The Overstory (2018), is not about illness or pandemic, it can illuminate varied scales of care at the level of form, by moving from individual stories that are the typical subject of literary realism to a grand vision of the webbed planetary systems—the environment, the internet, the global economy—in which they are enmeshed. This essay argues that, read through the lens of pandemic, the overstory of Powers’s novel is the networks of interdependency that have put the world in grave danger and that gesture to an uncertain future.
Dose-Finding Study of a CEA-Targeting Agent, SGM-101, for Intraoperative Fluorescence Imaging of Colorectal Cancer
Authors: de Valk Kim S. , Deken Marion M. , Schaap Dennis P. , Meijer Ruben P. , Boogerd Leonora S. , Hoogstins Charlotte E. , van der Valk Maxime J. , Kamerling Ingrid M. , Bhairosingh Shadhvi S. , Framery Bérénice , Hilling Denise E. , Peeters Koen C. , Holman Fabian A. , Kusters Miranda , Rutten Harm J. , Cailler Françoise , Burggraaf Jacobus , Vahrmeijer Alexander L.
Published: October 2020

Background

Carcinoembryonic antigen is overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC), making it an optimal target for fluorescence imaging. A phase I/II study was designed to determine the optimal imaging dose of SGM-101 for intraoperative fluorescence imaging of primary and recurrent CRC.

Methods

Patients were included and received a single dose of SGM-101 at least 24 h before surgery. Patients who received routine anticancer therapy (i.e., radiotherapy or chemotherapy) also were eligible. A dedicated near-infrared imaging system was used for real-time fluorescence imaging during surgery. Safety assessments were performed and SGM-101 efficacy was evaluated per dose level to determine the most optimal imaging dose.

Results

Thirty-seven patients with CRC were included in the analysis. Fluorescence was visible in all primary and recurrent tumors. In seven patients, no fluorescence was seen; all were confirmed as pathological complete responses after neoadjuvant therapy. Two tumors showed false-positive fluorescence. In the 37 patients, a total of 97 lesions were excised. The highest mean intraoperative tumor-to-background ratio (TBR) of 1.9 (p = 0.019) was seen in the 10-mg dose. This dose showed a sensitivity of 96%, specificity of 63%, and negative predictive value of 94%. Nine patients (24%) had a surgical plan alteration based on fluorescence, with additional malignant lesions detected in six patients.

Conclusions

The optimal imaging dose was established at 10 mg 4 days before surgery. The results accentuate the potential of SGM-101 and designated a promising base for the multinational phase III study, which enrolled the first patients in June 2019.
Postmodernism versus state during pandemic period. The case of Poland
Authors: Jakimowicz-Pisarska Iwona
Published: October 2020

The last few months because of COVID-19 pandemic we were able to observe the new challenge for nation states, state’s structures and their leaders. Moreover, in the whole world, governments still have to reorganise the states’ functioning and adapt new tools and solutions to unknown conditions. As usually, unpredictable issues push the states to modernisation and enquire searching more and more convenient transformation of the state’s structure. What is more, this dynamic challenge, which creates an unavoidable situation, betray the weakest and the strongest faces of each state in the world. This text is focused on the European experiences and pays the readers’ attention on the examples of European state’s reactions in the face of pandemics. The aim of the author is to show the issues which appeared visibly and undoubtedly in European states’ functioning on the example of particular decisions and actions taken the last few weeks.
Policy Measures for the Diaspora during the COVID-19 Crisis: The Case of Cyprus
Authors: Konstantinidou Angeliki , Vintila Daniela
Published: October 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge for policy-makers worldwide. The coronavirus outbreak has rapidly put into question states’ preparedness for crisis management, while also raising particular concerns on how national governments assist their citizens abroad in situation of distress. This Policy Brief tackles the issue of governmental responsiveness to the diaspora in a context of pandemic alert. In doing so, we focus on the case of Cyprus, one of the EU Member States with the largest share of citizens residing abroad. Drawing on official documents publicly released by different Cypriot authorities, we map the different initiatives adopted by the Cypriot Government in the attempt to assist its diaspora during the pandemic. Our analysis shows that, in line with its traditional approach towards non-residents citizens, Cyprus has adopted a rather pro-active stance vis-à-vis its population abroad. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, several initiatives have been put forward by ministerial actors, often via inter-institutional cooperation, aiming to mobilise resources that could meet diaspora’ needs. However, the Government’s engagement with the diaspora during this crisis has remained rather selective. Most policy measures primarily aimed to provide support to Cypriots in specific (mainly European) destination countries, while also targeting particularly vulnerable groups of individuals stuck abroad during the pandemic.
Ethical Decision Making in Emergent Emergencies under a Veil of Ignorance
Authors: Papanikolaou Vaia , Roussakis Yiannis , Tzionas Panagiotis
Published: October 2020

In this paper we initially propose a scheme for the determination of threats due to the Covid19 pandemic, followed by appropriate response measures. In order to devise successful response actions, one should pay extreme care in identifying the actual threats posed and, as a matter of fact, prioritize them with respect to their severity on human life, societal risks, democratic operation of the institutions and the state and irreversible environmental impact.But would everyone be benefited the same by these response measures? There lies the danger to be unfair of even ignoring socially disadvantaged groups and, thus, increasing social inequality gaps. And the new equilibrium attained runs the danger of being less stable than the old one, exhibiting degraded emergent behavior and capabilities for self-organization. In this case we would have achieved exactly the opposite of what we wished for, a system of lower resilience to perturbations.Thus, we argue that the ethical element is the predominant factor that should determine all types of feedback responses and actions taken by decision-makers in all political, social, economic and environmental aspects during the process of returning to normality.Towards this purpose, a method of determining the morality of response measures is required. A variation of the ‘Veil of Ignorance’ provides such a method, as introduced in this paper. It asks the decision-makers to make choices about social or moral issues related to the feedback responses to the pandemic and assumes that they have enough information to know the consequences of their possible decisions for everyone but would not know which person they will be themselves, in the new equilibrium. We believe that the proposed ethical framework will result to just and fair to all response measures.
Τhe impact of Covid-19 on Better Regulation agenda
Authors: Karkatsoulis Panagiotis
Published: October 2020

The outbreak of the Covid-19 has had a negative impact on Governance systems. According to the recent literature, the pandemic should be understood as one more step towards Autocracy. Governance systems have reacted to the coronavirus pandemic through a series of decisions, which suffer both in terms of their issuing significant faults as far as it concerns both their process of issuing and their content. The vast majority of the commented decisions are violating the legality principle and have been issued on a “state of emergency” basis.In fact, what has been happening during the pandemic, is a systematic cancellation of the Better Regulation Agenda. Recent surveys have shown that the poorest the quality of Governance, the heaviest (negative) impact of the coronavirus on regulatory policies. In Greece there was an intensification of corporatistic regulation and decisions during the crisis. Covid-19 has functioned as an alibi: Many agencies and public organizations followed an extralegal procedure, when it came to the recruitment of personnel as well as public procurement. What does change during a crisis like the pandemic, is the people’s attitude towards government, which offers an opportunity to push some reforms forward. But as long as the governance system remains unchanged those reforms are bound to fade out soon after the crisis is over.
The World Defense Expenditure 2019 and trends in the Covid19 era
Authors: Zanidis Themistoklis
Published: October 2020

This paper focuses on the recent publication of the SIPRI Institute on global defense spending for 2019. The latter is on the rise for 5th consecutive year, climbing to the highest point since 1988, the Cold War era. This fact has multiple interpretations. The most important construe apropos the geopolitical competition, from hegemonic competition between the United States and China to regional ones, can constitute perils to international security with unpredictable and catastrophic consequences for global peace, economy and trade. The recent crisis over the Covid-19 pandemic has expanded the breach between the West and China, raising skepticism or even suspicious on both sides. Relations between the two powers, the United States and China, have deteriorated, threatening global stability while states are unable to find a commonplace for a successful and definitive fight against the pandemic.The unstable geopolitical environment has experienced the burden of the pandemic crisis due to Covid-19. The restrictive measures taken by governments to intercept the pandemic may be the reasoning for restraining defense spending world widely. This prospect can be a future reality if we take into account the cost caused to national and global economy by the protracted lockdown. Therefore, governments may be compelled to increase spending on the welfare state (health infrastructure, support for the lower classes, support for sectors of the economy most affected by the pandemic such as transportation and tourism) by cutting the defense budget. The latter consists a critical indicator of national sovereignty and its fully understandable the fact that is exceptionally difficult for states to make unforced military budget cuts. However, because of the recent extremely critical situations experienced by humanity as a whole, governments should consider limiting their defense spending, which will be monitored closely by the United Nations for a limited time and focus on dealing with the economic and social effects of the lockdown.
Tourism in the post Covid-19 era: An opportunity for expansion of the tourism season; The case of Crete
Authors: Kyriakakis Alkiviadis , Tzirakis Dimitrios
Published: October 2020

Tourism worldwide has been affected by Covid-19 and many tourism destinations have been hit hard. The effects of the virus on the tourism sector will be long-lasting and economic losses inevitable. Nonetheless, there is a strong positive correlation between tourism and economic growth. As a result of this, the tourism season expansion can, under specific circumstances, lead to greater economic growth. Global crises can help countries that effectively deal with them, to evolve and effectively expand their seasonality, along with specific measures taken by the local governments to restore tourism and even more to expand it (Beirman, 2003).For Greece, and Crete in particular, that heavily depends on its tourism sector, the economic losses are expected to be devastating. However, based on the development of Covid-19, so far, Greece is presented with a unique opportunity to improve its comparative position and prolong the duration of its tourism season.Crete is the ideal holiday destination to take advantage of the current situation, in order to prolong its season. Crete is an island with a very diverse landscape and a mild climate, all year round. The region of Crete, over the course of the past decade, has put significant effort in promoting its own brand and has already succeeded in extending the islands tourism season by at least one more month, with season starting mid-March and ending early November (Enterprise Greece, 2018). Moreover, in low season, there have been attempts by local Tour Operators and there has been a small but steady flow of Tourists, even in the extremely low season, between November and February. Of course, all initiatives taken by the locals, are important but are not sufficient. Coordinated support is needed by the government and the prefecture of Crete to boost the island and create a viable extent tourism season.
Performance of molecular methods for the detection of Salmonella in human stool specimens
Authors: Chirambo Angeziwa Chunga , Nyirenda Tonney S. , Jambo Ndaru , Msefula Chisomo , Kamng'ona Arox , Molina Sandra , Mandala Wilson L. , Heyderman Robert S. , Iturizza-Gomara Miren , Henrion Marc Y.R. , Gordon Melita A.
Published: October 2020

Background: The relationship between asymptomatic Salmonella exposure within the gastrointestinal tract and Salmonella bacteraemia is poorly understood, in part due to the low sensitivity of stool culture, and the lack of validated molecular diagnostic tests for the detection of Salmonella in stool. The study aimed to determine a reliable molecular diagnostic test for Salmonella in stool specimens.

Methods: We optimized an in-house monoplex real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of Salmonella TTR and InvA genes in stool by including a selenite broth pre-culture step for Salmonella before DNA extraction, and validated their specificity against other local common pathogens. Then we assessed their performance  against a well-validated multiplex PCR targeting the same TTR and InvA genes, and against stool culture using clinical stool specimens collected from a cohort of 50 asymptomatic healthy Malawian children that were sampled at 1-month intervals over a period of 12 months. We employed a latent Markov model to estimate the specificities and sensitivities of PCR methods.

Results: TTR and InvA primers were both able to detect all the different Salmonella serovars tested, and had superior limits of detection if DNA was extracted after selenite pre-culture. TTR sensitivity and specificity for monoplex-PCR were (99.53%, 95.46%) and for multiplex-PCR (90.30%, 99.30%) respectively. InvA specificity and specificity for using monoplex-PCR was (95.06%, 90.31%) and multiplex-PCRs (89.41%, 98.00%) respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for standard stool culture were 62.88% and 99.99% respectively. Culture showed the highest PPV (99.73%) and mono-TTR had the highest NPV (99.67%).

Conclusion: Test methods demonstrated high concordance although stool culture and monoplexed TTR primers had superior specificity and sensitivity respectively. The use of selenite pre-enrichment step increased Salmonella detection rate. Taken together, molecular detection methods used here could be used to reveal the true extent of both asymptomatic and symptomatic Salmonella exposure events.
Variability as a leading principle of designing of individual trajectories of professional growth of teachers of college
Authors: Uzunova Galina
Published: October 2020

The necessity of using a variational approach when designing an individual trajectory of professional growth for college teachers is substantiated, which involves taking into account the level and characteristics of their professional and personal development. The article presents the results of an empirical study, the purpose of which was to identify the types of individual trajectories of professional growth of college teachers. The study involved 214 teachers with a teaching experience of 3 to 38 years. The study was carried out using two specially selected reliable and valid methods: a diagnostic technique for the level of partial readiness for professional and pedagogical self-development (Fetiskin N.P., Kozlov V.V., Manuylov G.M.) and a methodology for studying professional motivation developed by K. Zamfir and modified A. Rean. The main research methods are comparative (calculation of the χ2 test and Student t-test) and correlation (calculation of the Spearman correlation coefficient) analyzes. As a result of the study, it was proved that the professional and personal development of college teachers is characterized by its diversity and variability, associated primarily with the motives of their professional activity and with the level of formation of their readiness for self-development and self-education. A typology of individual trajectories of the professional growth of college teachers has been developed, which determines its main directions and content and includes adaptive, activating, stimulating and correcting types of individual trajectories. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that it is necessary, possible and advisable to use the variability principle when designing individual trajectories for college teachers' professional growth, which allows us to achieve our goals in practice and thereby contribute to the realization of the idea of continuing pedagogical education of pedagogical workers of modern educational organizations of secondary vocational education.
Situational training center as an educational environment for the training of competent management personnel
Authors: Khodyakova Nataliya , Mitin Aleksandr
Published: October 2020

The article handles from the standpoint of the situational-environmental approach to the design of educational systems, the substantive and procedural aspects of organizing the activities of educational situational centers, intended for the formation and development of the competencies of management personnel. The educational situational center is interpreted as an educational environment saturated with modern software and hardware, interacting with which the student acquires or improves the experience of making managerial decisions in non-standard and difficult situations, thereby increasing the level of his professional competence. Significant factors of the educational environment of the educational situational center include: conditions that stimulate the development of the reflective and creative experience of managerial specialists; conditions that provide opportunities for students to manifest subjective activity and independence; meaningful conditions that provide a meaning-generating, socio-cultural context of professional activity; conditions for comprehensive (physical, psychological, informational and cultural) safety of students. Each of these groups is assigned the risks of maladjustment of students in the educational environment, which are subject to pedagogical adjustment or dosage, depending on the level of formation of professional and personal experience of management specialists. On the basis of the presented results, conclusions were made regarding the didactic and methodological specifics of teaching in educational situational centers, the peculiarities of the implementation of educational and pedagogical activities in them.
“What’s in a Name?”
Authors: Benea Diana
Published: October 2020

The present article sets out to analyze the emergence and institutionalization of American Studies as an academic discipline in Romania, with a focus on the specific contexts and factors that influenced this process, and the ways in which its practitioners defined, constructed, and focused their endeavors. Taking the University of Bucharest as a case study and adding insights from other Romanian universities, the paper seeks to give an account of: 1) the ways in which the several decades-long tradition of teaching American literature in the Communist period (sporadically until the 1960s, but ever more substantially in the following decades) prepared the ground for the institutionalization of American Studies programs; 2) the “conditions of possibility” that enabled this institutionalization after the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989, with an emphasis on the restructuring of the Romanian higher education system, on the one hand, and the specific renegotiations of the field of American Studies, on the other; 3) American Studies curriculum development and its impact on Romanian academia as an example of curricular reform in the spirit of interdisciplinarity; 4) the situated contributions that Romanian Americanists have made to international scholarship in American Studies by bringing new research agendas to the fore.
Where Power Meets Knowledge
Authors: Dembicz Katarzyna
Published: October 2020

The new Law on Higher Education and Science, referred to as the “Constitution for Science” or the “Law 2.0,” has thoroughly reshaped research activities and academic education in Poland, and Latin American Studies—which gained a well-established position since the transformation of the 1980s and 1990s—is no exception. However, it would appear that the introduced changes may have a negative, rather than positive impact. The following article sets out to outline the current situation of Latin American Studies in Poland in the context of the relations between science and politics under the circumstances of the new legislation.
Does Firm Investment Respond to Peers’ Investment?
Authors: Bustamante M. Cecilia , Frésard Laurent
Published: October 2020

We study whether, how, and why the investment of a firm depends on the investment of other firms in the same product market. Using an instrumental variable based on the presence of local knowledge externalities, we find a sizeable complementarity of investment among product market peers, holding across a large majority of sectors. Peer effects are stronger in concentrated markets, featuring more heterogeneous firms, and for smaller firms with less precise information. Our findings are consistent with a model in which managers are imperfectly informed about fundamentals and use peers’ investments as a source of information. Product market peer effects in investment could amplify shocks in production networks.

This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance.