bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Asymmetric information and opportunism in insider share-pledging
Authors: Puleo Michael R. , Kozlowski Steven E.
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Amid growing attention from investors, regulators and advisory firms in recent years, this study assesses whether managers exploit private information to time share-pledge transactions and extract personal benefits while avoiding unintended market scrutiny.

Design/methodology/approach

We use hand-collected pledging data for a random sample of S&P 1500 firms to examine whether private information influences insider share-pledging activity using Heckman selection and two-part hurdle models of the pledge decision. We also conduct an event study analysis of announcement returns to measure market reactions to pledging news and determine whether share-pledge disclosures affect investor risk assessments.

Findings

Consistent with insiders timing pledges prior to anticipated performance declines, both the likelihood and level of pledging increase significantly with negative earnings surprises. New share-pledges precede significant decreases in abnormal returns, and public announcement of new pledging corresponds with significant negative cumulative abnormal returns. The evidence suggests that insiders exploit private information to time pledges, and that investors update risk assessments and value estimates based on information conveyed by these transactions.

Practical implications

Our findings hold important implications for governance and regulation of pledged shares, indicating that permissive reporting requirements in the US facilitate informed pledging and may undermine incentive alignment between managers and shareholders. The analysis promotes transaction-specific disclosures and transparent corporate policies for insider share-pledging.

Originality/value

Ours is among the first empirical analyses of share-pledging in US firms and the first to examine the role of private information in pledging decisions. We offer novel evidence on the opportunistic use of pledged shares and provide insight to predictors of share-pledging behavior.
The effect of manufacturing defects on the high-cycle fatigue of electron-beam-welded Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy: experimental and numerical analysis
Authors: Rubino Felice , Canale Giacomo , Sathujoda Prabhakar
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Electron-beam welding has been widely used in industry to join different titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) components. During welding production defects, such as porosity, lack of penetration or thinning are often observed. High-cycle fatigue (HCF) tests have been performed on welded specimens to understand the effect of weld defects on fatigue capabilities. The fatigue life of different types of “defective” welds has been compared against a non-welded reference specimen.

Design/methodology/approach

The results of the experimental campaign have been correlated with finite elements models.

Findings

It is concluded the geometry produced by the weld process, e.g. toe radius and under-bead shape, and the related stress raisers play a relevant role on fatigue capabilities of welds. This conclusion is valid only for a Ti-6Al-4V T-joint weld and only for flaw initiation. Knock down in materials properties has not been considered.

Originality/value

There is a lack of HCF fatigue data for welds of this geometry and material in the open literature. The paper is of relevance for industrial application and practical interest, although a lot more validation tests are required to draw a final conclusion.
The creation of a market – LP South America (A)
Authors: Overby Jeffrey W.
Published: April 2021

Theoretical basis

One of the major issues present in this case is whether there is significant industry pressure to internationalize. Yip’s (1989) global strategy drivers are a helpful approach for examining this issue. This case also applies two important marketing concepts – the product life cycle and diffusion of innovation theory – and how differences across international markets impact these concepts. Finally, there are significant cultural issues at play in this case as well. Theoretical models of national culture, such as Hofstede, Hall and others, can be used to examine cultural influences on an industry that is not often associated with culture.

Research methodology

The case is based upon a combination of secondary research and primary research. The lead researcher and a team of graduate students conducted interviews with Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) executives in the USA and Chile in 2017.

Case overview/synopsis

This three-part case examines the internationalization of LP into South America. Case A begins in 1999 as LP attempts to decide whether to take its oriented strand board product international. The reader is asked to consider where LP should go in South America. Case B examines the factors LP used to decide to enter Chile and then outlines the key decisions that led to its impressive growth between 2000 and 2015. Case C begins in 2015 as LP now considers whether to expand its markets into Argentina or Colombia.

Complexity academic level

Given the complexity of issues raised in the case and the need to narrow these issues down to an implementable decision, this case is most appropriate later in the schedule of a graduate or executive-level business course in international business or international marketing.
The influence of cost of quality on the performance of food manufacturing companies: an empirical study
Authors: Ghunaim Niveen Mohammed , Jaaron Ayham A.M.
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Due to the ever-increasing competitive and complex business environments, food manufacturing companies have to maintain high-quality products while simultaneously minimizing customers' costs. Cost of quality (COQ) plays a crucial role in enhancing companies' efficiency and reducing expenditures that can contribute to companies' competitive performance. This paper investigates the underlying relationship between the level of COQ practices adoption (prevention, appraisal, internal and external failure costs) and organizational performance in Palestinian food manufacturing companies (PFMCs).

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research methodology using a structured questionnaire collected data from 119 PFMCs. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze collected data.

Findings

Results indicated that COQ adoption has a significant positive effect on the organizational performance of PFMCs. Besides, prevention, external and internal failure costs were all associated with a positive impact on organizational performance of PFMCs, whereas appraisal cost did not affect organizational performance.

Originality/value

This study is considered one of the first studies to investigate COQ practices' effect on organizational performance in food manufacturing companies in a developing country context. Thus, it adds significant value to the literature responding to calls to tackle competitiveness issues in current complex business environments.
COVID‐19 and food prices in sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Agyei Samuel Kwaku , Isshaq Zangina , Frimpong Siaw , Adam Anokye Mohammed , Bossman Ahmed , Asiamah Oliver
Published: April 2021

This study investigated the impact of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outbreak on prices of maize, sorghum, imported rice and local rice in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). We estimated dynamic panel data models with controls for macroeconomic setting using general method of moments estimation. The study found that the COVID‐19 outbreak led to increases in food prices of the sampled countries. Restrictions on movements or lockdowns in the wake of COVID‐19 was associated with an increase in the price of maize only. We also found that exchange rate, inflation and crude oil prices exerted a detrimental effect on food prices. We recommend that governments of SSA countries invest in infrastructure that improves efficiencies in the food supply chain during pandemics. Providing adequate support to industries in the value chain will also improve food availability and food price stability post‐COVID‐19.
Pragmatic Terrorism: Challenging Common Assumptions
Authors: Pollichieni Luciano
Published: April 2021

Both books successfully deconstruct common assumptions on modern terrorist groups. They show precisely how the support and adherence to such organisations cannot be explained only by the adherence to a Salafi‐jihadi ideology by their members and they demonstrate the reasons behind the rise of jihadi proto‐states, which are based on very pragmatic reasons.
Using the Rank Equity Index to measure emergency medicine faculty rank progression
Authors: Hobgood Cherri , Fassiotto Magali
Published: April 2021

Background

Faculty diversity is a high‐priority goal for academic emergency medicine (EM). Most administrators currently monitor faculty diversity using aggregate data, which may obscure underrepresentation by rank. We apply the Rank Equity Index (REI) to EM faculty data to assess rank progression.

Methods

We calculated the REI (% faculty cohort higher rank/% faculty cohort lower rank) for EM faculty. We performed REI analyses by faculty gender (women, men) and race/ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian). We compared professor/assistant professor, professor/associate professor, and associate professor/assistant professor to establish rank parity for gender and race/ethnicity. Parity is an REI of 1.0.

Results

REI analysis by gender demonstrates that women faculty did not achieve parity at any rank comparison in any study year. REI analysis by race/ethnicity demonstrates that all faculty of color are below parity at the assistant to associate professor promotion. Latinx faculty are at parity for associate professor to professor, but Asian and Black faculty do not achieve parity in any comparison. Intersecting gender and race/ethnicity in the REI analysis demonstrates that Asian women have the lowest REIs among all faculty ranks and races/ethnicities. Men of all races/ethnicities achieved parity in two of three rank comparisons, except for Black men, who did not achieve parity in any comparison.

Conclusions

REI analysis demonstrates EM women faculty and faculty of color are not achieving rank parity and are disadvantaged at the first tier of promotion. A preliminary longitudinal trend analysis suggests little progress. Asian women and Black men experience the most rank inequity. REI analysis identifies a need for focused faculty development to enhance our most vulnerable faculty's rank progression, suggesting that targeted recruitment and retention efforts of women faculty of all races/ethnicities and faculty of color, in particular, will improve diversity at every tier of faculty rank.
Evaluating four motivation‐phase intervention components for use with primary care patients unwilling to quit smoking: a randomized factorial experiment
Authors: Cook Jessica W. , Baker Timothy B. , Fiore Michael C. , Collins Linda M. , Piper Megan E. , Schlam Tanya R. , Bolt Daniel M. , Smith Stevens S. , Zwaga Deejay , Jorenby Douglas E. , Mermelstein Robin
Published: April 2021

Aims

To assess the effectiveness of intervention components designed to increase quit attempts and promote abstinence in patients initially unwilling to quit smoking.

Design

A four‐factor, randomized factorial experiment.

Setting

Sixteen primary care clinics in southern Wisconsin.

Participants

A total of 577 adults who smoke (60% women, 80% White) recruited during primary care visits who were currently willing to reduce their smoking but unwilling to try to quit.

Interventions

Four factors contrasted intervention components administered over a 1‐year period: (i) nicotine mini‐lozenge versus none; (ii) reduction counseling versus none; (iii) behavioral activation (BA) counseling versus none; and (iv) motivational 5Rs counseling versus none. Participants could request cessation treatment at any time.

Measurements

The primary outcome was 7‐day point‐prevalence abstinence at 52 weeks post enrollment; secondary outcomes were point‐prevalence abstinence at 26 weeks and making a quit attempt by weeks 26 and 52.

Findings

No abstinence main effects were found but a mini‐lozenge × reduction counseling × BA interaction was found at 52 weeks; P = 0.03. Unpacking this interaction showed that the mini‐lozenge alone produced the highest abstinence rate (16.7%); combining it with reduction counseling produced an especially low abstinence rate (4.1%). Reduction counseling decreased the likelihood of making a quit attempt by 52 weeks relative to no reduction counseling (P = 0.01).

Conclusions

Nicotine mini‐lozenges may increase smoking abstinence in people initially unwilling to quit smoking, but their effectiveness declines when used with smoking reduction counseling or other behavioral interventions. Reduction counseling decreases the likelihood of making a quit attempt in people initially unwilling to quit smoking.
Antidepressant dispensing before, during, and after pregnancy in New Zealand, 2005‒2014
Authors: Donald Sarah , Sharples Katrina , Barson Dave , Horsburgh Simon , Parkin Lianne
Published: April 2021

Background

Depression during pregnancy is associated with a number of negative impacts on maternal and infant health, therefore good control of depression in pregnant women is crucial. There is a lack of population‐level information about patterns of antidepressant use during pregnancy in New Zealand.

Aim

To describe antidepressant dispensing patterns before, during, and after pregnancy in New Zealand, 2005–2014.

Materials and Methods

Antidepressant dispensing records from 270 days prior to pregnancy through to 360 days after pregnancy end were linked with 805 990 pregnancies in the New Zealand Pregnancy Cohort. Proportions (and 95% confidence intervals) with at least one dispensing were calculated for the periods before, during, and after pregnancy and compared over time and by maternal characteristics.

Results

Dispensing during the first trimester was lower than in the pre‐pregnancy and post‐pregnancy periods, and dropped further in later trimesters. The proportion of pregnancies during which an antidepressant was dispensed rose from 3.1 to 4.9% over the study years. Around 80% of those with a dispensing received a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Dispensing before, during, and after pregnancy varied by ethnicity, age, smoking status, and body mass index. Among women taking an antidepressant before pregnancy, younger women and those of Māori, Pacific, or Asian ethnicity were less likely to continue therapy during pregnancy.

Conclusions

This study has established a baseline for antidepressant use around pregnancy in New Zealand, documented increasing use over time, and demonstrated that known ethnic differences in antidepressant use are also evident in the pregnant population.
Haemostatic indexes for predicting intestinal necrosis in children with intussusception
Authors: Huang Hui‐Ya , Lin Xiao‐Kun , Guo Shi‐Kun , Bao Xiao‐Zhou , Lin Zheng‐Xiu , Li Zhong‐Rong , Huang Xiao‐Zhong
Published: April 2021

Background

To determine risk factors for intestinal necrosis in intussusception cases among children with failed non‐surgical reduction for intussusception.

Methods

Totally, 540 hospitalized individuals with unsuccessful air‐enema reduction in our hospital between November 2010 and November 2020 were assessed in this retrospective study. The 540 intussusception cases were divided into the intestinal necrosis and non‐intestinal necrosis groups. Haemostatic parameters, demographic and clinical features were assessed. Predictors of intestinal necrosis were examined by univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses.

Results

Of the 540 patients included, 113 showed intestinal necrosis. This intestinal necrosis group had a longer duration of symptom or length of illness, younger ages, higher platelet counts, fibrinogen amounts and d‐dimer levels (all P = 0.000) compared with the non‐intestinal necrosis group. Multivariable analysis revealed that duration of symptom (odds ratio (OR) 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16–1.23, P = 0.000), fibrinogen (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.10–1.31, P = 0.010) and d‐dimer (OR 2.07; 95% CI 1.91–2.28, P = 0.000) independently predicted intestinal necrosis in individuals undergoing surgical reduction for intussusception. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that d‐dimer amounts had the largest area under the curve for predicting intestinal necrosis.

Conclusion

On admission, long duration of symptom, high fibrinogen and d‐dimer levels are critical risk factors for intestinal necrosis development in children with unsuccessful non‐surgical reduction. d‐Dimer levels have the best predictive value for intestinal necrosis.
Optimal pathological response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for muscle‐invasive bladder cancer: results from a global, multicentre collaboration
Authors: Ravi Praful , Pond Gregory R. , Diamantopoulos Leonidas N. , Su Christopher , Alva Ajjai , Jain Rohit K. , Skelton William P. , Gupta Sumati , Tward Jonathan D. , Olson Kathleen M. , Singh Parminder , Grunewald Camilla M. , Niegisch Guenter , Lee Jae‐Lyun , Gallina Andrea , Bandini Marco , Necchi Andrea , Mossanen Matthew , McGregor Bradley A. , Curran Catherine , Grivas Petros , Sonpavde Guru P.
Published: April 2021

Objectives

To evaluate outcomes of patients achieving a post‐treatment pathological stage of <ypT2N0 at radical cystectomy (RC) following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) to identify an optimal definition of pathological response.

Patients and Methods

Patients from 10 international centres who underwent NAC for cT2–4aN0–1 MIBC and achieved <ypT2N0 disease at RC were included. The primary outcome was time to recurrence, either local or distant. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to evaluate associations between clinicopathological variables and outcomes.

Results

A total of 625 patients were included. The median age was 66 years and 80% were male. Gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC, 56%) and methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin (MVAC)/dose‐dense (dd)MVAC (32%) were the most common NAC regimens. ypT0, pure ypTis, ypTa ±ypTis and ypT1 ± ypTis were attained in 58.1%, 20.0%, 7.6% and 14.2% of patients, respectively. The cumulative incidence of recurrence at 5 years was 9%, 16%, 29% and 30%, respectively. Pathological stage was prognostic for recurrence, with ypTa ± Tis (hazard ratio [HR] 3.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40–7.30) and ypT1 ± Tis disease (HR 4.03, 95% CI 2.13–7.63) associated with a significantly higher recurrence risk. Pure ypTis (HR 1.66, 95% CI 0.82–3.38) and the type of NAC regimen (ddMVAC: HR 1.59, 95% CI 0.55–4.56; MVAC: HR 1.18, 9%% CI 0.25–5.54; reference: GC) were not associated with recurrence.

Conclusion

We propose that optimal pathological response after NAC be defined as attainment of ypT0N0/ypTisN0 at RC. Patients with ypTaN0 or ypT1N0 disease (with or without Tis) at RC displayed a significantly higher risk of recurrence and may be candidates for trials investigating adjuvant therapy.
Anti‐stress effects of combined block of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus
Authors: Ding Hui , Cui Su‐Ying , Cui Xiang‐Yu , Liu Yu‐Tong , Hu Xiao , Zhao Hui‐Ling , Qin Yu , Kurban Nurhumar , Zhang Yong‐He
Published: April 2021

Background and Purpose

Mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs), glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (PVN) are involved in the response to stress. The present study investigated the role of GRs and MRs in the PVN in regulating depressive and anxiety‐like behaviours.

Experimental Approach

To model chronic stress, rats were exposed to corticosterone treatment via drinking water for 21 days, and GR antagonist RU486 and MR antagonist spironolactone, alone and combined, were directly injected in the PVN daily for the last 7 days of corticosterone treatment. Behavioural tests were run on days 22 and 23. Depressive‐ and anxiety‐like behaviours were evaluated in forced swim test, sucrose preference test, novelty‐suppressed feeding test and social interaction test. The expression of GRs, MRs and CRF were detected by western blot.

Key Results

Rats exposed to corticosterone exhibited depressive‐ and anxiety‐like behaviours. The expression of GRs and MRs decreased, and CRF levels increased in the PVN. The intra‐PVN administration of RU486 increased the levels of GRs and CRF without influencing depressive‐ or anxiety‐like behaviours. The spironolactone‐treated group exhibited an increase in MRs without influencing GRs and CRF in the PVN and improved anxiety‐like behaviours. Interestingly, the intra‐PVN administration of RU486 and spironolactone combined restored expression of GRs, MRs and CRF and improved depressive‐ and anxiety‐like behaviours.

Conclusion and Implications

In this rat model of stress, the simultaneous restoration of GRs, MRs and CRF in the PVN might play an important role in the treatment of depression and anxiety.
Human perturbations reduce dung beetle diversity and dung removal ecosystem function
Authors: Noriega Jorge Ari , March‐Salas Martí , Castillo Stephanie , García‐Q Héctor , Hortal Joaquín , Santos Ana M. C.
Published: April 2021

Biodiversity drives ecological functioning, ultimately providing ecosystem services. Ecosystem processes are favored by greater functional diversity, particularly when groups of functionally different species interact synergistically. Many of such functions are performed by insects, among which dung beetles stand out for their important role in dung decomposition. However, anthropogenic disturbances are negatively affecting their ecological dynamics and ecosystem services. We conducted a manipulative field study to evaluate the effect of human disturbance on dung beetle diversity (abundance, species richness, and functional group richness) and dung removal rates, comparing perturbed and conserved forests in three regions of Colombia (Caribbean, Andes, and Amazon). We also assess the relationship between dung beetle diversity and dung removal rates. Dung beetle diversity was assessed using pitfall traps, and specimens were measured and assigned to functional groups according to body size and dung relocation strategy. We used exclusion control units and experimental units to assess dung degradation with and without dung beetle activity and evaluate differences in removal rates between two dung removal strategies: paracoprids and telecoprids. Dung removal rates, abundance, and functional group richness were lower in perturbed forests compared to conserved forests. Dung removal increased with abundance, species richness, and functional group richness. Moreover, dung removal performed by telecoprids increased with species richness of telecoprids and paracoprids. Our results evidence a negative effect of human perturbation on dung beetle richness, abundance, and dung removal rates, and also that dung beetle diversity and functional group richness enhance dung removal rates.

Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.
Vulvar apocrine hidradenocarcinoma arising in a hidradenoma papilliferum—A case report
Authors: Kim Grace Y. , Solanki Malvika H. , Guo Ruifeng
Published: April 2021

Hidradenoma papilliferum (HP) is a benign adnexal neoplasm of the vulva that typically presents as a unilateral, flesh‐colored papule in the labium majus in middle‐aged Caucasian women. It is considered to be a close counterpart of the intraductal papilloma of the breast. Malignant transformation is rare with few reports in the literature. We present a case of vulvar mammary‐type apocrine hidradenocarcinoma arising in an HP.
Effect of exenatide twice daily and dapagliflozin, alone and in combination, on markers of kidney function in obese patients with type 2 diabetes: A prespecified secondary analysis of a randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: van Ruiten Charlotte C. , van der Aart‐van der Beek Annemarie B , IJzerman Richard G. , Nieuwdorp Max , Hoogenberg Klaas , van Raalte Daniël H , Heerspink Hiddo J. L.
Published: April 2021

Aims

To evaluate the effects of separate and combined use of the sodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2 (SGLT2) inhibitor dapagliflozin and the glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist (GLP‐1RA) exenatide on measures of kidney function.

Methods

In this prespecified secondary analysis of the DECREASE trial, we enrolled 66 obese patients with type 2 diabetes in a 16‐week randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled clinical trial to investigate the effects of dapagliflozin and exenatide twice daily, alone or in combination, versus placebo on 24‐hour urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (UACR), creatinine and cystatin C‐estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and kidney injury molecule‐1:creatinine ratio (KIM‐1:Cr).

Results

At week 16, the mean UACR change from baseline was −39.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] −58.6, −11.9; P = 0.001) in the combined exenatide‐dapagliflozin group, −18.1% (95% CI −43.1, 18.0; P = 0.278) in the dapagliflozin group, −15.6% (95% CI −41.4, 21.6; P = 0.357) in the exenatide group and − 11.0% (95% CI −39.8, 31.5; P = 0.552) in the placebo group. Compared to placebo, UACR difference at week 16 in the exenatide‐dapagliflozin group was −32.2% (95% CI −60.7, 16.9; P = 0.159). Effects were similar in 37 participants who were using angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers at baseline. Compared to placebo, in the exenatide‐dapagliflozin group, an acute dip in estimated GFR was observed with creatinine‐estimated GFR (−4.0 mL/min/1.73 m2 [95% CI −9.3, 1.2]; P = 0.129) and cystatin C‐estimated GFR (−10.4 mL/min/1.73 m2 [95% CI −14.9, −5.8]; P < 0.001). The mean KIM‐1:Cr difference in the combined treatment arm versus placebo was −43.8% (95% CI −73.5, 18.9; P = 0.129).

Conclusion

This prespecified secondary analysis suggests that combined therapy with exenatide and dapagliflozin may have synergistic effects on markers of kidney function compared to either therapy alone or placebo in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.
The diagnostic yield of transthoracic echocardiography in the intensive care unit: A retrospective observational analysis
Authors: O'Riordan Fiona , Carton Meghan , Coughlan JJ , Fahy Arabella , Donnelly Maria , Moore David
Published: April 2021

Background

Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is a commonly requested ICU investigation. Despite this, limited data exist regarding the diagnostic yield of unselected TTEs in a heterogenous ICU population.

Methods

A retrospective, cross‐sectional, single‐center study was performed. All ICU patients admitted from January 2018 to February 2019 were included.

Aims

The primary aim was to define the indications for, and diagnostic yield of, TTEs performed in the ICU. We also investigated the association between major abnormalities identified on TTE and mortality.

Results

There were 358 patients admitted to the ICU during the study period. Of these patients, 115 (32%) had a TTE performed during their ICU stay. The primary indication was to assess left ventricular function. Just under two‐thirds of TTEs (65%) were normal or had minor abnormalities. Compared to the rest of the ICU population in our study (including both patients without a TTE performed and patients with a normal TTE), patients with an abnormal TTE had higher ICU (35.9% vs 21.3%, Odds Ratio [OR], 2.06; 95% CI, 1.02–4.19, P = .04) and in‐hospital (43.6% vs 30.3%, OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.33–5.25, P = .01) mortality.

Conclusions

A formal TTE was performed in one‐third of patients during their ICU admission. Major abnormalities were identified in over one‐third of these TTEs. ICU and in‐hospital mortality were higher in patients with an abnormal TTE.
The Royal Prayerbook’s blood‐staunching charms and early Insular scribal communities
Authors: Kesling Emily
Published: April 2021

The Royal Prayerbook contains a variety of entries aimed at staunching a flow of blood, three of which are related by a shared poetic motif. An examination of the elements in these texts suggests that all three are a meditation on a scene from the gospels, the healing of the woman with the issue of blood. This article argues these texts were compiled in a learned milieu, probably within a female or double monastic house; from an Insular centre, they moved to the Continent, perhaps as a consequence of the involvement of women in the mission movement.
The Effect of Item Preknowledge on Response Time: Analysis of Two Datasets Using the Multiple‐Group Lognormal Response Time Model with a Gating Mechanism
Authors: Zopluoglu Cengiz , Kasli Murat , Toton Sarah L.
Published: April 2021

Response time information has recently attracted significant attention in the literature as it may provide meaningful information about item preknowledge. The methods that use response time information to identify examinees with potential item preknowledge make an implicit assumption that the examinees with item preknowledge differ in their response time patterns when compared to examinees without item preknowledge. This study uses a multiple‐group extension of van der Linden's Lognormal Response Time Model with a gated mechanism to quantify the differences in latent speed between examinees with and without item preknowledge when responding to compromised and uncompromised items. Our findings indicate that there may be a wide range for potential effect of item preknowledge on response time. The effect of item preknowledge on response times is likely to be contextual and depends on many factors such as characteristics of test‐takers, the nature of item preknowledge, and item characteristics. We recommend that researchers systematically quantify the effect sizes in their studies, and if possible, manipulate the effect size for a wide range while studying the effectiveness of already existing or new methods to detect examinees with item preknowledge through simulation.
Intense winter grazing impairs subsequent Italian ryegrass re‐establishment in soybean‐pasture rotations
Authors: de Albuquerque Nunes Pedro Arthur , Andrés Laca Emilio , Robinson Kunrath Taise , de Souza Filho William , Posselt Martins Amanda , de Faccio Carvalho Paulo César
Published: April 2021

We evaluated Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) establishment in a factorial of grazing intensity (intense, moderate, moderate‐light, light, and no grazing, with target average sward heights of 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm in the grazed plots) and additional seeding (self‐seeding with or without additional seeding) in an integrated soybean‐beef cattle system in southern Brazil. Grazing treatments were imposed in winter (June–July) and followed by a direct‐seeded soybean crop (November). The establishment was quantified prior to the stocking periods in 2017 and 2018, corresponding to self‐seeding from 2016 and 2017. Intense grazing impaired ryegrass re‐establishment, resulting in larger individual plants (0.54 vs. 0.15 g dry matter plant−1) but lower population density (57 vs. 1,355 plants m−2) than in the other treatments. Additional broadcast ryegrass seeding did not fully compensate for the reduced natural reseeding in this treatment. The addition of seeds under intense grazing increased plant population density to values comparable to moderate grazing intensities but reduced individual plant mass, limiting herbage mass attained by the end of the pasture establishment phase. Contrastingly, the various combinations of individual plant mass and population density were sufficient to maintain herbage masses in moderate to light grazing intensities that were comparable to that in the ungrazed treatment, regardless of seed addition (63 vs. 180 g DM m−2 for intense grazing vs. the average of other treatments over the whole establishment phase). Moderate grazing, e.g., target sward heights of 20 cm or greater, is necessary to achieve a system that can sustain itself without seed addition.
Magic, Genderfluidity, and queer Vikings, ca. 750‐1050
Authors: Bell Jacob
Published: April 2021

From the Nazi Reich to the deadly storming of the U.S. Capital building on January 6, 2021, symbols of pre‐Christian Norse religious practices, especially magic, have come to represent androcentricity, authoritarianism, and White nationalism. This modern misrepresentation contrasts how the Norse people themselves potentially saw these same signs and images: as subversive, subaltern, and queer. Rather than the austere and distorted image left to us by monastic chroniclers of later centuries, recent historical, archaeological, and literary studies have taken into consideration new evidence that suggests magic was a vibrant and interwoven part of everyday life for the Norse people in the Viking Age. New methodological approaches and material discoveries have enabled scholars to re‐evaluate the socio‐sexual systems of Viking‐Age Scandinavia and theorize about the potential for ungendered, transgendered, and gender‐fluid readings of how individuals subverted these regimes through sorcery. This article surveys this recent turn in Old Norse studies and explores the possibilities for such scholarship to revolutionize how we think of the Vikings' place in the circum‐polar history of Shamanism, gender‐bending, and queer magic.
Physical activity participation, flourishing and academic engagement in adolescents with obesity
Authors: McCoy Stephanie M. , Rupp Kristie
Published: April 2021

Background

Adolescents with obesity are less likely to flourish and be academically engaged in comparison to their healthy weight peers. However, it is unknown how participation in physical activity influences flourishing and academic engagement in adolescents with obesity. The current study examined engagement in varying levels of physical activity and the likelihood of flourishing and academic engagement in adolescents with obesity.

Methods

Analyses included 26 764 adolescents, ages 10–17 years, from the parent‐reported, combined 2016–2017 National Survey of Children's Health. Participants were grouped by physical activity levels (none, low, moderate, daily). Outcome variables included flourishing (finishing tasks, staying calm when faced with a challenge and showing interest in new things) and academic engagement (completing all required homework and caring about doing well in school). Logistic regression models, adjusted for age, sex, race, household income, highest level of education in the household, behavioural conduct problems and depression assessed the likelihood of each outcome comparing physical activity levels among adolescents with obesity.

Results

Adolescents with obesity who participated in any amount of physical activity (low, moderate and daily) or sports had significantly greater likelihood of flourishing and academic engagement compared those that did not engage in any physical activity (p's < 0.05).

Conclusions

Participation in even low amounts of physical activity or participation in sports increases the likelihood of flourishing and academic engagement in adolescents with obesity, which expands on previous findings that adolescents with obesity are less likely to flourish and be academically engaged in comparison to their healthy weight peers.
Partial neighborhood local searches
Authors: Tari Sara , Basseur Matthieu , Goëffon Adrien
Published: April 2021

In this work, we study partial neighborhood local search (PNLS) techniques, which consist of adaptive walks where moves are chosen in a random subset of the current solution neighborhood. PNLSs balance between intensification and diversification is mainly determined by its single parameter λ designing the subset size. We analyze and discuss three PNLSs variants, using the abstraction of several combinatorial optimization problems into fitness landscapes: NK landscapes, Unconstrained Binary Quadratic Programming, Flow‐shop scheduling, and Quadratic Assignment. Our empirical study first analyses the structure of these landscapes through indicators. Then, we perform a parameter study of PNLSs for two computational budgets to study the impact of the sample size on the balance between intensification and diversification on different landscapes. Moreover, these experiments allow us to set an appropriate parameter value to compare the ability of PNLSs to reach good‐quality solutions accurately. Finally, we compare PNLS variants with two classical metaheuristics, identifying links between landscape characteristics and algorithms behavior.
Temperature effects on local structure, phase transformation, and mechanical properties of calcium silicate hydrates
Authors: Im Sumin , Jee Hyeonseok , Suh Heongwon , Kanematsu Manabu , Morooka Satoshi , Taku Koyama , Yuhei Nishio , Machida Akihiko , Kim Jihoon , Bae Sungchul
Published: April 2021

This study aims to elucidate the effect of heating on the local atomic arrangements, structure, phase transformation, and mechanical properties of synthesized calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H). The alteration in the atomic arrangement of the synthesized C–S–H (Ca/Si =0.8) and the formation of crystalline phases that occurred in three distinct transformation stages of dehydration (105°C–200°C), decomposition (300°C–600°C), and recrystallization (700°C–1000°C) were investigated via powder X‐ray diffraction,29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Further, the deformation of the local atomic bonding environment and variations in mechanical properties during the three stages were assessed via pair distribution function analysis based on in‐situ total X‐ray scattering. The results revealed that the C–S–H paste before heating exhibited a lower elastic modulus in real space than that in the reciprocal space in the initial loading stage because water molecules acted as a lubricant in the interlayer. At the dehydration stage, the strain as a function of external loading exhibited irregular deformation owing to the formation of additional pores induced by the evaporation of free moisture. At the decomposition stage, the structural deformation of the maind‐spacing (d ≈ 3.0 Å) was similar to that of the real space before the propagation of microcracks. At the recrystallization stage, the elastic modulus increased to 48 GPa owing to the thermal phase transformation of C–S–H to crystalline β‐wollastonite. The results provide direct experimental evidence of the microstructural and nanostructural deformation behavior of C–S–H pastes after exposure to high temperature under external loading.
Relational Power, Brokers and Influence: A Study on the Controversial Issue of Fracking in the European Union
Authors: Bocse Alexandra‐Maria
Published: April 2021

The article studies non‐state actors working in coalitions trying to influence the position of the European Parliament on fracking and shows that businesses can prevail in this arena. It explores the relationship between the inclusion of brokers in coalitions and the coalitions' ability to impact energy and environmental policy. Existing literatures focus on issue salience or attributional power to explain the success of non‐state actors in impacting policy developments. This paper shows that we need to take account of relational power (particularly the power that entities possess as policy subsystem brokers) to explain business influence. The study draws on a wide range of interviews with policy elites conducted during a six‐month fieldwork in Brussels. It uses an innovative combination of thematic analysis of interviews and social networks analysis to explain the success of business interests in influencing the EU policy on fracking.
How did the mental health symptoms of children and adolescents change over early lockdown during the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK?
Authors: Waite Polly , Pearcey Samantha , Shum Adrienne , Raw Jasmine A. L. , Patalay Praveetha , Creswell Cathy
Published: April 2021

Background

The COVID‐19 pandemic has caused extensive disruption to the lives of children and young people. Understanding the psychological effects on children and young people, in the context of known risk factors is crucial to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. This study set out to explore how mental health symptoms in children and adolescents changed over a month of full lockdown in the United Kingdom in response to the pandemic.

Methods

UK‐based parents and carers (n = 2673) of school‐aged children and young people aged between 4 and 16 years completed an online survey about their child's mental health at two time points between March and May 2020, during early lockdown. The survey examined changes in emotional symptoms, conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention.

Results

The findings highlighted particular deteriorations in mental health symptoms among preadolescent children, which translated to a 10% increase in those meeting possible/probable caseness criteria for emotional symptoms, a 20% increase in hyperactivity/inattention, and a 35% increase in conduct problems. In contrast, changes among adolescents were smaller (4% and 8% increase for hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problems, respectively) with a small reduction in emotional symptoms (reflecting a 3% reduction in caseness). Overall, there were few differences in change in symptoms or caseness over time according to demographic characteristics, but children and young people in low income households and those with special educational needs and/or neurodevelopmental disorders exhibited elevated symptoms (and caseness) at both time points.

Conclusions

The findings highlight important areas of concern in terms of the potential impact of the first national lockdown on children and young people's adjustment. Developing an understanding of who has been most severely affected by the pandemic, and in what ways, is crucial in order to target effective support where it is most needed.
Tracking Retail Investor Activity
Authors: BOEHMER EKKEHART , JONES CHARLES M. , ZHANG XIAOYAN , ZHANG XINRAN
Published: April 2021

We provide an easy method to identify marketable retail purchases and sales using recent, publicly available U.S. equity transactions data. Individual stocks with net buying by retail investors outperform stocks with negative imbalances by approximately 10 bps over the following week. Less than half of the predictive power of marketable retail order imbalance is attributable to order flow persistence, while the rest cannot be explained by contrarian trading (proxy for liquidity provision) or public news sentiment. There is suggestive, but only suggestive, evidence that retail marketable orders might contain firm‐level information that is not yet incorporated into prices.
Patient, staff empowerment and hand hygiene bundle improved and sustained hand hygiene in hospital wards
Authors: Chong Chia Yin , Catahan Marionette A , Lim Siok Hong , Jais Thuraiya , Kaur Gian , Yin Shanqing , de Korne Dirk , Thoon Koh Cheng , Ng Kee Chong
Published: April 2021

Aim

We piloted a hand hygiene (HH) project in a ward, focusing on World Health Organization moments 1 and 4. Our aim was to design highly reliable interventions to achieve >90% compliance.

Methods

Baseline HH compliance was 57 and 67% for moments 1, 4, respectively, in 2015. After the pilot ward showed sustained improvement, we launched the ‘HH bundle’ throughout the hospital. This included: (i) appointment of HH champions; (ii) verbal/visual bedside reminders; (iii) patient empowerment; (iv) hand moisturisers; (v) tagging near‐empty handrub (HR) bottles. Other hospital‐wide initiatives included: (vi) Smartphone application for auditing; (vii) ‘Speak up for Patient Safety’ Campaign in 2017 for staff empowerment; (viii) making HH a key performance indicator.

Results

Overall HH compliance increased from a baseline median of 79.6–92.6% in end‐2019. Moments 1 and 4 improved from 71 to 92.7% and from 77.6 to 93.2%, respectively. Combined HR and hand wash consumption increased from a baseline median of 82.6 ml/patient day (PD) to 109.2 mL/PD. Health‐care‐associated rotavirus infections decreased from a baseline median of 4.5 per 10 000 PDs to 1.5 per 10 000 PDs over time.

Conclusions

The ‘HH Bundle’ of appointing HH champions, active reminders and feedback, patient education and empowerment, availability of hand moisturisers, tagging near‐empty hand rub bottles together with hospital‐wide initiatives including financial incentives and the ‘Speak Up for Patient Safety’ campaign successfully improved the overall HH compliance to >90%. These interventions were highly reliable, sustained over 4 years and also reduced health‐care‐associated rotavirus infection rates.
Null‐model analysis and changes in species interactions in biocrusts along a successional gradient in the Tengger Desert, northern China
Authors: Sun Jingyao , Li Xinrong , Jia Rongliang , Chen Ning , Zhang Tian
Published: April 2021

Aims

In arid regions, the succession of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) usually accompanies substantial turnover of community composition. How interspecific interactions among biocrust‐forming mosses, lichens, algae and cyanobacteria change along the successional gradient is largely unknown. According to the stress gradient hypothesis (SGH), the frequency or intensity of facilitative and competitive interactions within the community will vary along an environmental stress gradient, with an increasing role of competition relative to facilitation under more benign environmental conditions. In the process of biocrust succession, decreasing soil stress also occurs because of slow soil amelioration, which meets the assumption of the SGH. Therefore, we hypothesize that the changes in facilitative and competitive interactions within biocrust communities will follow the prediction of the SGH and that the nature of biocrust interactions will also change.

Location

Sand‐binding vegetation belts for the Baotou–Lanzhou railway at the southeast fringe of the Tengger Desert in the Shapotou region of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, western China.

Methods

We conducted a field evaluation at five adjacent sand‐binding vegetation belts built in chronosequence to study the successional gradient. Small‐scale patterns of co‐occurrence and null models were used to evaluate the community‐level interspecific interactions among the biocrust‐forming mosses, lichens, algae and cyanobacteria. In addition, an accessory method of species‐pair co‐occurrence based on null models was also applied to potentially identify the nature of the interspecific interactions within the biocrusts and for the causal investigation of these patterns.

Results

A strong spatial segregation of co‐occurrence patterns occurred between cyanobacteria and algae and species of mosses and lichens at early succession, and occurred among species of mosses and lichens at late succession, while the weak spatial aggregation between lichen species only occurred at middle succession.

Conclusions

Negative interspecific interactions were prevalent within biocrusts throughout succession. The co‐occurrence patterns at both the community and species‐pair levels are consistent, supporting the unimodal version of the SGH that species interactions shift toward competition under extremely stressed conditions. Given the lack of research on interspecific interactions in biocrusts, our study is important for obtaining a deeper understanding of biocrust succession.