bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Awareness of Foodborne Pathogens among Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Authors: AL-Mohaithef Mohammed
Published: May 2021

Food poisoning associated with microbial pathogens causes millions of foodborne disease cases in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Awareness about foodborne pathogens may play a positive role in the reduction of foodborne illnesses. The present cross-sectional study investigates awareness about five major microbial pathogens (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus, Listeria, and Escherichia coli) among university students (

n
=
399

) from four major cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Multiple logistic regression models were used to predict the determinants of inadequate knowledge. Of the 399 study participants, only 34.5% of students knew the above-mentioned foodborne pathogens. Awareness varied by pathogen, and the variations appeared to be related to age, sex, education, and field of study. In comparison to students in health sciences, students in computer sciences were found to be less knowledgeable about foodborne pathogens (OR: 2.85; 95% CI: 1.36-5.99). Our findings suggest that awareness about microbial pathogens is low among students and is associated with their field of study. Effective education programs about foodborne hazards could help improve students’ awareness of microbial pathogens.
Induction of Somatic Embryogenesis and Organogenesis in Zimbabwean Sweet Potato (cv Brondal)
Authors: Masekesa Rose T. , Gasura Edmore , Kujeke Gaudencia T. , Ngadze Elizabeth , Chidzwondo Farisai
Published: May 2021

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) and organogenesis are crucial in the development of disease free plants and genetic engineering. An investigation was conducted on the ability of treatments containing a combination of 2,4-D and Kinetin to induce either SE or organogenesis from cultured sweet potato cv Brondal leaves. Ten treatments were evaluated and each treatment had an exclusive combination of 2,4-D (at 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 or 1 mg/L) to kinetin (at either 0.1 or 0.5 mg/L). Callus initiation occurred earlier in treatments containing higher hormonal concentrations. The 2,4-D to Kinetin ratio had a highly significant (

p
=
0.001

) effect on callus growth and proliferation. Increasing 2,4-D to Kinetin ratio promoted profuse explant callusing while increasing Kinetin to 2,4-D ratio suppressed callusing but encouraged organogenesis, in particular shoot production (treatment containing 0.05 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.5 mg/L Kinetin). Embryogenic calli were formed seven weeks after leaf culture in the treatment containing 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.1 mg/L Kinetin. The embryogenic calli that developed from this treatment emerged from previously nonembryogenic calli. Plantlets produced via the SE pathway proved to be weak and unviable and died within four weeks of germination. In contrast, plantlets produced under organogenesis were strong, grew vigorously, and could be subcultured several times. This disparity may be accounted for by the fact that the cv Brondal embryos that developed under SE were not exposed to an embryo maturation staged before plantlet germination was initiated. The maturation stage would have assisted embryos to reach physiological maturity and a desired level of desiccation, both being critical elements in embryo to plantlet conversion. In this experiment, cv Brondal regeneration from leaf explants was successfully achieved via organogenesis using 0.05 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.5 mg/L Kinetin, and tentative steps towards development of SE based regeneration protocol were established using 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.1 mg/L Kinetin.
Productivity of Selected Cabbage Varieties under Varying Drip Irrigation Schedules in Humic Nitisols of Embu County, Kenya
Authors: Onkoba Stephen O. , Onyari Charles N. , Gichimu Bernard M.
Published: May 2021

Use of controlled irrigation in vegetable production is considered a viable option for optimizing input use and productivity. This study aimed at assessing the effects of different drip irrigation schedules on productivity and profitability of three cabbage varieties grown in humic nitisols of Embu County. The study was laid out in a split plot design arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The drip irrigation schedules were allocated the main plots and crop varieties allocated the subplot treatments. Cabbage test varieties investigated were Riana F1 (V1), Gloria F1 (V2), and Triperio F1 (V3). Irrigation schedule one (S1) involved application of irrigation water twice a week, S2 once a week, and S3 once every two weeks. Soil water content was determined before irrigation and then replenished to field capacity using a known volume of water. The data were subjected to Analysis of Variance using SAS version 9.4. Mean separation was done using Fisher’s least significant difference at 95% level of confidence. The findings revealed that the yields and net revenue obtained from different cabbage varieties were not significantly different. However, the cabbage yields and subsequent revenue increased as irrigation frequency increased. The study recommends adoption of irrigation schedule S1 whose productivity remained high despite the high cost of production.
O regime jurídico nos hospitais
Authors: Bodra Maria Eugênia Ferraz do Amaral
Published: May 2021

"O regime jurídico nos hospitais", Vidal Serrano Jr. e Juliana Cardoso Ribeiro Bastos, coordenadores. Editora Verbatim, 2019
Optimal Quantification of Functional Mitral Regurgitation: Comparison of Volumetric and Proximal Isovelocity Surface Area Methods to Predict Outcome
Authors: Igata Sachiyo , Cotter Bruno R. , Hang Calvin T. , Morikawa Nagisa , Strachan Monet , Raisinghani Ajit , Blanchard Daniel G. , DeMaria Anthony N.
Published: May 2021

Background

Effective orifice area (EOA) ≥0.2 cm
2
or regurgitant volume (Rvol) ≥30 mL predicts prognostic significance in functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). Both volumetric and proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) methods enable calculation of these metrics. To determine their clinical value, we compared EOA and Rvol derived by volumetric and PISA quantitation upon outcome of patients with FMR.

Methods and Results

We examined the outcome of patients with left ventricular ejection fraction <35% and moderate to severe FMR. All had a complete echocardiogram including EOA and Rvol by both standard PISA and volumetric quantitation using total stroke volume calculated by left ventricular end‐diastolic volume×left ventricular ejection fraction and forward flow by Doppler method: EOA=Rvol/mitral regurgitation velocity time integral. Primary outcome was all‐cause mortality or heart transplantation. We examined 177 patients: mean left ventricular ejection fraction 25.2% and 34.5% with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Echo measurements were greater by PISA than volumetric quantitation: EOA (0.18 versus 0.11 cm
2
), Rvol (24.7 versus 16.9 mL), and regurgitant fraction (61 versus 37 %) respectively (all
P
value <0.001). During 3.6±2.3 years’ follow‐up, patients with EOA ≥0.2 cm
2
or Rvol ≥30 mL had a worse outcome than those with EOA <0.2 cm
2
or Rvol <30 mL only by volumetric (log rank
P
=0.003 and 0.004) but not PISA quantitation (log rank
P
=0.984 and 0.544), respectively.

Conclusions

Volumetric and PISA methods yield different measurements of EOA and Rvol in FMR; volumetric values exhibit greater prognostic significance. The echo method of quantifying FMR may affect the management of this disorder.
Acute Hospital Mortality of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With Cancer From Registry Data
Authors: Okushi Yuichiro , Kusunose Kenya , Okayama Yoshihiro , Zheng Robert , Nakai Michikazu , Sumita Yoko , Ise Takayuki , Tobiume Takeshi , Yamaguchi Koji , Yagi Shusuke , Fukuda Daiju , Yamada Hirotsugu , Soeki Takeshi , Wakatsuki Tetsuzo , Sata Masataka
Published: May 2021

Background

The prognosis of patients with cancer‐venous thromboembolism (VTE) is not well known because of a lack of registry data. Moreover, there is also no knowledge on how specific types are related to prognosis. We sought to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with cancer‐associated VTE, compared with a matched cohort without cancer using real‐world registry data of VTE.

Methods and Results

This study was based on the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in the JROAD‐DPC (Japanese Registry of All Cardiac and Vascular Diseases and the Diagnosis Procedure Combination). Of 5 106 151 total patients included in JROAD‐DPC, we identified 49 580 patients who were first hospitalized with VTE from April 2012 to March 2017. Propensity score was estimated with a logistic regression model, with cancer as the dependent variable and 18 clinically relevant covariates. After propensity matching, there were 25 148 patients with VTE with or without cancer. On propensity score‐matched analysis with 25 148 patients with VTE, patients with cancer had higher total in‐hospital mortality within 7 days (1.3% versus 1.1%, odds ratio [OR], 1.66; 95% CI, 1.31–2.11;
P
<0.0001), 14 days (2.5% versus 1.5%, OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.72–2.49;
P
<0.0001), and 30 days (4.8% versus 2.0%, OR, 2.85; 95% CI, 2.45–3.31;
P
<0.0001). On analysis for each type of cancer, in‐hospital mortality in 11 types of cancer was significantly high, especially pancreas (OR, 12.96; 95% CI, 6.41–26.20), biliary tract (OR, 8.67; 95% CI, 3.00–25.03), and liver (OR, 7.31; 95% CI, 3.05–17.50).

Conclusions

Patients with cancer had a higher in‐hospital acute mortality for VTE than those without cancer, especially in pancreatic, biliary tract, and liver cancers.
Contributions of Costimulatory Molecule CD137 in Endothelial Cells
Authors: Yuan Wei , Xu Chong , Li Bo , Xia Hao , Pan Yingjie , Zhong Wei , Xu Liangjie , Chen Rui , Wang Bin
Published: May 2021

CD137 (4‐1BB, tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily 9) is a surface glycoprotein of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family that can be induced on a variety of immunocytes and nonimmune cells, including endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. The importance of CD137 in immune response has been well recognized; however, the precise biological effects and underlying mechanisms of CD137 in endothelial cells are unclear. A single layer of cells called the endothelium constitutes the innermost layer of blood vessels including larger arteries, veins, the capillaries, and the lymphatic vessels. It not only acts as an important functional interface, but also participates in local inflammatory response. This review covers recent findings to illuminate the role of CD137 in endothelial cells in different pathophysiologic settings.
Aristotle on Substance as Primary in Time
Authors: Sattler Wolfgang
Published: May 2021

In a notoriously obscure passage in Metaphysics 7.1 Aristotle claims that substance is primary in time. The only concrete literal interpretation suggested so far of this controversial claim is in terms of existing before and after in time. I argue that this interpretation faces serious problems. I then present a novel literal interpretation, in terms of being an appropriate subject of temporal predications, that is immune to these problems and strongly supported by philosophical and contextual considerations.
Good Baby, Good Life
Authors: Wang Ruijing
Published: May 2021

This article explores the question of ‘a good life’ through a daily-life perspective. It focuses on a case regarding the abolition of infanticide, through which the relations and interactions between the socialist state and ethnic minorities of southwest China are examined. By elaborating how an Akha custom (infanticide) that guarantees communal goodness/purity was abolished, the research reveals three competing or collaborating notions of ‘good life’, where the Akha’s cosmological ‘good life’ is partly reformed to obey state law and to meet its members’ personal desires. This is an unusual case in that the ethnic cultural authorities from a small, politically marginalised, frontier-dwelling and egalitarian group in southwest China do not ‘resist’ or ‘collaborate with’ the state in the expected way. Instead, they draw on state power to oppose their own customs. With such a unique case, the research helps to diversify our understandings of state–society relations in southwest China.
Liberty of Entering in International Agreements and Compliance of International Obligations
Authors: Tino Elisa
Published: May 2021

In August 2019 South Africa withdrew its signature from the Protocol on sadc Tribunal signed in 2014 by 9 sadc Member States. This decision was adopted in compliance with the judgment of the South African High Court as confirmed by the Constitutional Court which ruled that the participation of the President in the decision to suspend the sadc Tribunal, as well as his signature of the 2014 Protocol were unconstitutional, unlawful and irrational. These rulings are particularly ground-breaking in light of the conclusions they reached and raised some interesting implications under international law.
Migrant Smuggling in Africa: Challenges Yet to Be Overcome
Authors: d’Orsi Cristiano
Published: May 2021

This paper focuses on the plight of smuggling of migrants in Africa. Migrant smuggling has been documented along at least five major and several smaller routes in Africa. In my study, I investigate whether current legislation and policies are effective in curbing the practice of smuggling in Africa. To evaluate the success rate of these measures, I am comparing figures over recent years to establish whether there has been a decrease in the number of migrants smuggled throughout the various regions of the continent. In my work, I argue that migration can be better managed but it cannot be stopped. In this framework, in Africa, the current migration policies and cooperation efforts intended to eradicate the practice of smuggling of migrants have given mixed results.
Protecting Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Africa: The Land Rights of Abuja Peoples of Nigeria and Ogiek Peoples of Kenya in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Barnabas Sylvanus Gbendazhi
Published: May 2021

This paper examines the treatment of customary land rights of indigenous peoples by State law in Nigeria and Kenya. Nigeria is chosen as a case study and Kenya has on-going legal reforms in relation to customary land rights. Both Kenya and Nigeria have plural legal systems. The objective is to demonstrate how Kenya has responded to the challenges of protecting customary land rights and how other African States, like Nigeria, should respond to similar challenges.
Architecture of Denial: Imperial Violence, the Construction of Law and Historical Knowledge during the Mau Mau Uprising, 1952–1960
Authors: Appiah Juliana , Yeboah Roland Mireku , Asah-Asante Akosua
Published: May 2021

In 2013, the UK government settled a class action suit, which alleged that the British Colonial Government had subjected Kenyans to detainment, ill treatment and torture during the 1952–1960 ‘Kenya Emergency’. During the trial proceedings, the efforts of three expert historical witnesses for the prosecution – Caroline Elkins, David Anderson and Huw Bennett – led to the discovery of a cache of over 8,000 historical files from 36 former British colonies. The material contained within these documents suggested not only that Britain was aware of pervasive human rights abuses occurring throughout Kenya during the Emergency, but that the use of such violence was in fact endorsed and systematically regulated at the highest levels of the colonial administration. Drawing on Foucault’s conception of historical archives as ‘systems of discursivity’, and making use of the testimonies of the three experts, this article explores how the British Colonial Administration was able to dominate the discursive space surrounding Kenyan law and Mau Mau identity, allowing it both to justify the implementation of systemic violence throughout the Emergency, and to evade legal responsibility for these abuses at the time, and for decades afterward.
Religion, Law, and Politics in Ghana: Duabɔ (Imprecation) as Spiritual Justice in the Public Sphere
Authors: Tweneboah Seth
Published: May 2021

This paper examines the reasons for and consequences of the resort to traditional spiritual justice in spite of increasing awareness of state civil law structures. The paper helps us theorise on how economic disputes resulting from lack of effective legal enforcement yields itself easily to the deployment of spiritual justice. The significance of this study is that it contributes perspectives into issues of law and political modernisation and their interrelationships with religious imaginations. It departs from previous accounts that focus on the pervasiveness of religion in the contemporary Ghanaian public sphere. Instead, the current study devotes attention to the conditions that occasion the deployment of religion in the public domain.
The Influence of Religion, Spirituality, and Purpose in Life for Resilience among Trans and Gender Diverse Individuals
Authors: Bowling Jessamyn , Mbugua Anne , Piperato Sarah
Published: May 2021

Religion, spirituality, and purpose in life have benefits for mental and physical health, yet religious environments can be stigmatizing for trans and gender diverse (TGD) individuals. This study aimed to examine the influences of religion, spirituality and purpose in life for resilience among TGD individuals. This study included photo-elicited interviews (35 longitudinal interviews, 21 individuals) and surveys (n=108). Religious affiliation was significantly associated with increased levels of social support but was not significantly associated with other variables. Strategies found in themes from the qualitative analysis foster resilience strategies, including spirituality to overcome challenges, purpose in life, and social support. Yet strategies in the themes also utilize resilience strategies, including discrimination, strategies in response to discrimination, social support, and identity negotiation. As participants did make sense of religion and spirituality in how they conceived of their resilience, findings may inform therapeutic interventions and pastoral approaches.
Chinese Universities Mobilise FDI and DDI for the City’s Innovativeness in the ICT Sector
Authors: Malik Tariq H. , Kabiraj Sajal , Huo Chunhui
Published: May 2021

We explored whether university populations (intensity) moderate the link between FDI (foreign direct investment) or DDI (domestic direct investment) and the city’s innovativeness in the ICT sector. With the moderating role of universities between resources and the city’s development level, we relied on institutional theory. Institutional theory combines the technical and symbolic concepts (network structure) of the university. With panel data based on 5166 observations from 287 Chinese cities over 18 years (1999 to 2016), we used the maximum likelihood method to test hypotheses for direct and indirect effects. The direct effect of baseline hypotheses represents the FDI and DDI; university intensity has a moderating effect. In the former case, the FDI and DDI positively correlate with the city’s innovativeness in China’s ICT sector. In the latter case, the population of universities in the city positively moderates the relation between these resources and the city’s development level. These findings contributed to the literature at three levels. First, the study contributes to ICT development and the city’s innovativeness in the research context. Second, the study contributes to university intensity as a resource mobilizer in institutional theory, emphasising that interinstitutional interaction supports resource flow for better performance in certain geographical locations. Third, the study contributes to policy- and practice-related issues related to city development, the smart environment, and ICT development as an enabling infrastructure.
The Avant-Garde Monument
Authors: Bru Sascha
Published: May 2021

This article homes in on monuments designed by proponents of the historical or classic avant-gardes. After the First World War, monuments by, among others, Kurt Schwitters and Johannes Baader, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, Vladimir Tatlin and El Lissitzky, Man Ray and Salvador Dalí, began to articulate a new function for the genre of the monument: no longer was it to commemorate the past, but to memorialize the present and time to come. This new architecture of memory also led to an expansion of the genre, which in the hands of avant-gardists further came to include temporary pavilions. Paying attention to theoretical writings on the monument, among others, by László Moholy-Nagy, Siegfried Giedion and Robert Smithson, the article concludes by referencing more recent experimentation in monument design by artists such as Flavin, Oldenburg and Hirschhorn, arguing that a comprehensive history of the avant-garde monument is long overdue.
How Legacies of Geopolitical Trauma Shape Popular Nationalism Today
Authors: Soehl Thomas , Karim Sakeef M.
Published: May 2021

Geopolitical competition and conflict play a central role in canonical accounts of the emergence of nation-states and national identities. Yet work in this tradition has paid little attention to variation in everyday, popular understandings of nationhood. We propose a macro-historical argument to explain cross-national variation in the types of popular nationalism expressed at the individual level. Our analysis builds on recent advances on the measurement of popular nationalism and a recently introduced geopolitical threat scale (Hiers, Soehl, and Wimmer 2017). With the use of latent class analysis and a series of regression models, we show that a turbulent geopolitical past decreases the prevalence of liberal nationalism (pride in institutions, inclusive boundaries) while increasing the prevalence of restrictive nationalism (less pride in institutions, exclusive boundaries) across 43 countries around the world. Additional analyses suggest the long-term development of institutions is a key mediating variable: states with a less traumatic geopolitical history tend to have more established liberal democratic institutions, which in turn foster liberal forms of popular nationalism.
Analysis of Droplet Splatter Patterns During Coblation Tonsil Surgery in the Covid-19 Pandemic
Authors: Khong Grace C. , Bhat Jaya , Sharma Ravi S. , Leong Samuel C.
Published: May 2021

Objectives:

To assess droplet splatter around the surgical field and surgeon during simulated Coblation tonsil surgery to better inform on mitigation strategies and evaluate choice of personal protective equipment.

Methods:

This was an observational study performed using a life-size head model to simulate tonsil surgery and fluorescein-soaked strawberries to mimic tonsils. The Coblation wand was activated over the strawberries for 5 minutes. This was repeated 5 times with 2 surgeons (totalling 10 data sets). The presence of droplet around the surgical field and anatomical subsites on the surgeon was assessed in binary fashion: present or not present. The results were collated as frequency of droplet detection and illustrated as a heatmap; 0 = white, 1-2 = yellow, 3-4 = orange, and 5 = red.

Results:

Fluorescein droplets were detected in all 4 quadrants of the surgical field. The frequency of splatter was greatest in the upper (nearest to surgeon) and lower quadrants. There were detectable splatter droplets on the surgeon; most frequently occurring on the hands followed by the forearm. Droplets were also detected on the visor, neck, and chest albeit less frequently. However, none were detected on the upper arms.

Conclusion:

Droplet splatter can be detected in the immediate surgical field as well as on the surgeon. Although wearing a face visor does not prevent splatter on the surgical mask or around the eyes, it should be considered when undertaking tonsil surgery as well as a properly fitted goggle.

Level of evidence:

5
Moving Beyond Sisyphus: Pursuing Sustainable Development in a Business-as-Usual World
Authors: Easter Sarah , Ceulemans Kim , Lynn Monty L.
Published: May 2021

How do actors cope when their repeated efforts to bring change seem futile? In this qualitative study, we consider sustainable development initiatives within a U.S. higher education institution where repeated efforts by actors led to nominal change. We focus on understanding how actors sought to enact sustainable development initiatives in the face of an unresponsive context, that is, in a context characterized by pressures to maintain the status quo. We show how actors’ attempts to embed sustainable development practices into the university represent a dynamic process, characterized by periods of persistence and suspension. Our theorizing reveals that actors used three coping mechanisms to maintain focus on their sustainability goals: community building, resourcefulness, and vision. By emphasizing these dimensions of their initiatives, actors’ emotional response is focused on encouragement and hope to persist in a context that is largely unresponsive to sustainable development. Our study contributes to the sustainability literature by explicating how actors develop resilience in their efforts to pursue sustainable development in unresponsive contexts.
Death and Dying in Long-Term Care Facilities: The Perception of Occupational Therapists
Authors: Figueiredo Carolina de S. , Ferreira Efigênia F. , Assis Marcella G.
Published: May 2021

End-of-life care in long-term care facilities for older adults requires numerous skills. However, many professionals, including occupational therapists, feel unprepared to deal with death and dyingand have difficulties to attend to the real needs of the older adults and their families.This is a qualitative study anchored in phenomenologywhich had the objective to understand the perception of occupational therapists regarding death and dying inlong-term care facilities. Data were collected through focus groups and analyzed by thematic content analysis. A total of 12 occupational therapists participated in this study, and two themeswere generated: “The Experience of Death and Dying” and “The Occupational Therapist’s approach in Facing Death and Dying”. These results may contribute to improvingthe care provided to older adults in the process of death and dying.
How Informational Constraints for Decision-Making on Passing, Dribbling and Shooting Change With the Manipulation of Small-Sided Games Changes in Futsal
Authors: Pizarro David , Práxedes Alba , Travassos Bruno , Gonçalves Bruno , Moreno Alberto
Published: May 2021

In this study, we explored how manipulating floaters’ positions in small-sided futsal games (SSGs) promote changes in the informational constraints that support decision-making (DM) for passing, dribbling and shooting tactics. We made changes in four experimental 3 vs 3 small-sided game conditions with 30 male futsal players (U19 age category): (a) Floaters Off (FO), (b) Final Line Floaters (FLF), (c) Lateral Floaters own field sideline (LFofsl) and (d) Lateral Floaters full field sideline (LFffsl). We assessed players’ activity with WIMU PRO™ software during the SSGs, using the Game Performance Evaluation Tool (GPET) to analyze a total of 1,635 decisions. DM for dribbling was generally based on the interpersonal distance between the ball carrier and direct opponent, considering the defensive team length and the offensive team area. Shooting decisions were constrained, by certain attacking-defending teams’ spatial-temporal relations with regard to playing space and team balance as affected by manipulating floaters’ positions. The coaches’ decisions to change the floaters’ positions during SSGs may change informational variables sustaining the dribbling decision, but no changes in SSG variables affected passing DM.
The story of two historical textile fragments: Technical analysis and reconstruction of the lost textile pattern
Authors: Kodrič Kesovia Mateo M , Penava Željko , Jemo Danijela
Published: May 2021

Cultural heritage textile artifacts that have been preserved only in their smaller fragmented remains represent a very interesting and complex matter, very rarely analyzed and studied individually as a separate entity. This case study covers multidisciplinary research conducted on two 18th century silk fragments with a seemingly identical pattern. Demonstrating the possibilities and challenges which arise when analyzing and interpreting incomplete cultural heritage textile materials, this study can serve as a stimulus for creating a large-scale database of historical fabrics which would allow comparison based on their differences or common characteristics. By applying only non-destructive and micro-analytical methods it has been determined that the fragments were made of the same material and using the same manufacturing techniques. It has been proven that fragments were not part of the same historical fabric, but most likely originated from different parts of the same liturgical vestment. The reverse engineering process applied to preserved fragments has resulted in a detailed technical documentation and a complete reconstruction of the lost original pattern.
Incubators, accelerators and urban economic development
Authors: Madaleno Margarida , Nathan Max , Overman Henry , Waights Sevrin
Published: May 2021

We combine theory and evidence on incubator and accelerator programmes and their effects on urban economic development. These structured co-working programmes have grown rapidly. However, a rich descriptive literature reveals little about their impact on participants or surrounding urban areas. We situate programmes in a conceptual framework of co-location tools, theorise objectives and benefits and report findings from systematic, OECD-wide reviews of the evaluation literature. These evaluations provide evidence that accelerators and incubators raise participant employment, with accelerators also aiding access to finance. Ecosystem features such as university involvement and urban economic conditions also influence programme outcomes. However, evaluation evidence is less clear on detailed intervention design. We consider wider lessons and lay out an agenda for future research.
Reclaiming Hong Kong through neighbourhood-making: A study of the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement
Authors: Li Yao-Tai , Whitworth Katherine
Published: May 2021

Set in the context of the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) protest movement in Hong Kong, this study focuses on selected material and social appropriations of space including community-focused events held in shopping malls, the establishment of networks connecting consumers to suppliers with like-minded political values, and human chains. Drawing on popular concepts such as scale, network and place-frames found in the literature on contentious politics, we argue that the place-making practices observed during the period of study became claim-making practices that effectively framed movement aims and projected movement claims beyond the neighbourhood scale into a dynamic contestation at the city and national scales. Adopting key elements of neighbourhood as defined by Jenks and Dempsey, we highlight that the socio-spatial practices of the Anti-ELAB protests not only re-cast city spaces into neighbourhood spaces but also redefined traditional understandings of neighbourhood as a socio-spatial construct. We argue that during the Anti-ELAB movement an ‘ideological neighbourhood’ emerged in which spatial relationality is not borne out through physical proximity. Instead, connections between functional and social units were established through ideological affinity. These new connections and the replication of neighbourhood-based practices reinforced the construction of a socially and politically distinct Hong Kong identity. We extend the literatures on contentious politics and urban sociology by showing that the ideology and the imaginaries of movement participants can become spatially manifest and thus defensible in the physical world through new territorialities such as the neighbourhood.
Recommendations for Increasing Physician Provision of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: Implications for Medical Student Training
Authors: Cooper Robert L. , Juarez Paul D. , Morris Matthew C. , Ramesh Aramandla , Edgerton Ryan , Brown Lauren L. , Mena Leandro , MacMaster Samuel A. , Collins Shavonne , Juarez Patricia Matthews- , Tabatabai Mohammad , Brown Katherine Y. , Paul Michael J. , Im Wansoo , Arcury Thomas A. , Shinn Marybeth
Published: May 2021

There is growing evidence that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prevents HIV acquisition. However, in the United States, approximately only 4% of people who could benefit from PrEP are currently receiving it, and it is estimated only 1 in 5 physicians has ever prescribed PrEP. We conducted a scoping review to gain an understanding of physician-identified barriers to PrEP provision. Four overarching barriers presented in the literature: Purview Paradox, Patient Financial Constraints, Risk Compensation, and Concern for ART Resistance. Considering the physician-identified barriers, we make recommendations for how physicians and students may work to increase PrEP knowledge and competence along each stage of the PrEP cascade. We recommend adopting HIV risk assessment as a standard of care, improving physician ability to identify PrEP candidates, improving physician interest and ability in encouraging PrEP uptake, and increasing utilization of continuous care management to ensure retention and adherence to PrEP.
Workplace disability and job satisfaction in Britain: A co-worker test?
Authors: Haile Getinet Astatike
Published: May 2021

The article examines the link between workplace disability (WD) and workplace job satisfaction (JS) using data from WERS2011. Controlling for a rich set of workplace characteristics including organisational culture, the study finds a significant negative relationship between JS and the share of disabled respondents within workplaces. Notably, Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR)-based analysis distinguishing between disabled and non-disabled respondents reveals that the negative relationship found is specific to non-disabled respondents. Moreover, disability equality policies are found to be significantly positively related with disabled respondents’ JS while they are negatively related with the JS of their non-disabled counterparts. The article ponders if there is a co-worker aspect to the WD–JS link and whether HR policies may need to take heed of co-worker dynamics in this respect.
Is Measurement Noninvariance a Threat to Inferences Drawn from Randomized Control Trials? Evidence From Empirical and Simulation Studies
Authors: Soland James
Published: May 2021

Randomized control trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard when evaluating the impact of psychological interventions, educational programs, and other treatments on outcomes of interest. However, few studies consider whether forms of measurement bias like noninvariance might impact estimated treatment effects from RCTs. Such bias may be more likely to occur when survey scales are utilized in studies and evaluations in ways not supported by validation evidence, which occurs in practice. This study consists of simulation and empirical studies examining whether measurement noninvariance impacts treatment effects from RCTs. Simulation study results demonstrate that bias in treatment effect estimates is mild when the noninvariance occurs between subgroups (e.g., male and female participants), but can be quite substantial when being assigned to control or treatment induces the noninvariance. Results from the empirical study show that surveys used in two federally funded evaluations of educational programs were noninvariant across student age groups.
Between tradition and modernity: Emotional changes and expressions of Chinese society
Authors: Jingting Zhang , Chao Jia
Published: May 2021

This article attempts to use emotion as the core concept to explore the historical pedigree of China. Chinese culture has always attached great importance to emotion. Traditional Chinese rule was highly dependent on notions of human kindness and compassion. Since the encounter with the Western world, the Chinese revolution gave birth to a unique emotional mode, and this had a great impact on the Chinese society. Contemporary China bid farewell to the revolution and started its market-oriented reforms. An emotional mode of consumerism has become the dominant one. Based on Raymond Williams’s theory of structure of feeling, this article divides the emotional patterns in Chinese history into the traditional structure of feeling, the revolutionary structure of feeling and the consumerist structure of feeling. This does not mean a simplified analysis of history and its complex emotional patterns, but an attempt to explore the complex interaction and social consequences of these models.
Do Personal Stories Make Patient Decision Aids More Effective? An Update from the International Patient Decision Aids Standards
Authors: Shaffer Victoria A. , Brodney Suzanne , Gavaruzzi Teresa , Zisman-Ilani Yaara , Munro Sarah , Smith Sian K. , Thomas Elizabeth , Valentine Katherine D. , Bekker Hilary L.
Published: May 2021

Background

This article evaluates the evidence for the inclusion of patient narratives in patient decision aids (PtDAs). We define patient narratives as stories, testimonials, or anecdotes that provide illustrative examples of the experiences of others that are relevant to the decision at hand.

Method

To evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of narratives in PtDAs, we conducted a narrative scoping review of the literature from January 2013 through June 2019 to identify relevant literature published since the last International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) update in 2013. We considered research articles that examined the impact of narratives on relevant outcomes or described relevant theoretical mechanisms.

Results

The majority of the empirical work on narratives did not measure concepts that are typically found in the PtDA literature (e.g., decisional conflict). Yet, a few themes emerged from our review that can be applied to the PtDA context, including the impact of narratives on relevant outcomes (knowledge, behavior change, and psychological constructs), as well as several theoretical mechanisms about how and why narratives work that can be applied to the PtDA context.

Conclusion

Based on this evidence update, we suggest that there may be situations when narratives could enhance the effectiveness of PtDAs. The recent theoretical work on narratives has underscored the fact that narratives are a multifaceted construct and should no longer be considered a binary option (include narratives or not). However, the bottom line is that the evidence does not support a recommendation for narratives to be a necessary component of PtDAs.
Partial Personalization of Medical Treatment Decisions: Adverse Effects and Possible Solutions
Authors: Weyant Christopher , Brandeau Margaret L.
Published: May 2021

Background

Personalizing medical treatment decisions based on patient-specific risks and/or preferences can improve health outcomes. Decision makers frequently select treatments based on partial personalization (e.g., personalization based on risks but not preferences or vice versa) due to a lack of data about patient-specific risks and preferences. However, partially personalizing treatment decisions based on a subset of patient risks and/or preferences can result in worse population-level health outcomes than no personalization and can increase the variance of population-level health outcomes.

Methods

We develop a new method for partially personalizing treatment decisions that avoids these problems. Using a case study of antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia, as well as 4 additional illustrative examples, we demonstrate the adverse effects and our method for avoiding them.

Results

For the schizophrenia treatment case study, using a previously proposed modeling approach for personalizing treatment decisions and using only a subset of patient preferences regarding treatment efficacy and side effects, mean population-level health outcomes decreased by 0.04 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs; 95% credible interval [crI]: 0.02–0.06) per patient compared with no personalization. Using our new method and considering the same subset of patient preferences, mean population-level health outcomes increased by 0.01 QALYs (95% crI: 0.00–0.03) per patient as compared with no personalization, and the variance decreased.

Limitations

We assumed a linear and additive utility function.

Conclusions

Selecting personalized treatments for patients should be done in a way that does not decrease expected population-level health outcomes and does not increase their variance, thereby resulting in worse risk-adjusted, population-level health outcomes compared with treatment selection with no personalization. Our method can be used to ensure this, thereby helping patients realize the benefits of treatment personalization without the potential harms.
Transrectal ultrasound features and biopsy outcomes of transition PI-RADS 5
Authors: Chung Jae Hoon , Park Byung Kwan
Published: May 2021

Background

Transition Prostate Imaging and Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 5 is easily detected owing to typical magnetic resonance imaging features. However, it is unclear as to how transition PI-RADS 5 appears on transrectal ultrasound (TRUS).

Purpose

To assess TRUS features of transition PI-RADS 5 and outcomes of TRUS-guided target biopsy.

Material and Methods

Between March 2014 and November 2018, 186 male patients underwent TRUS-guided biopsy of PI-RADS 5. Of them, 82 and 104were transition and peripheral PI-RADS 5, respectively. Transition and peripheral PI-RADS 5 were compared according to echogenicity (hyperechoic or hypoechoic) and hypoechoic rim (present or absent). Each tumor was targeted with TRUS based on TRUS features. Significant (Gleason score ≥7) and insignificant (Gleason score 6) cancer detection rates (CDRs) were compared between transition and peripheral PI-RADS 5. Standard reference was biopsy examination. Fisher’s exact test was used for statistical analysis.

Results

Transition PI-RADS 5 was hyperechoic in 89.0% (73/82) and had a hypoechoic rim in 97.6% (80/82), whereas peripheral PI-RADS 5 was hypoechoic in 99.0% (103/104) and had a hypoechoic rim in 26.9% (28/104) (both, P<0.0001). The significant CDRs of transition and peripheral PI-RADS 5 were 56.1% (46/82) and 65.4% (68/104), respectively ( P=0.2263). However, the insignificant CDRs of these categories were 22.0% (18/82) and 8.7% (9/104), respectively ( P=0.0123).

Conclusion

Transition PI-RADS 5 tends to have hyperechoic echogenicity and a hypoechoic rim. These findings help to target the transition PI-RADS 5 using TRUS. However, transition PI-RADS 5 is confirmed more frequently as insignificant cancer than peripheral PI-RADS 5.
Identification of adipose tissue-related predictors of the reduction in cardiovascular risk induced by metabolic surgery
Authors: Melchor-López Alberto , Suárez-Cuenca Juan Antonio , Banderas-Lares Diana Zaineff , Peña-Sosa Gustavo De la , Salamanca-García Moisés , Vera-Gómez Eduardo , Hernández-Patricio Alejandro , Gutiérrez-Buendía Juan Ariel , Zamora-Alemán Carlos Ramiro , Alcaráz-Estrada Sofía Lizeth , Ortiz-Fernández Moisés , Montoya-Ramírez Jesús , Gaytán-Fuentes Omar Felipe , Pérez-Cabeza de Vaca Rebeca , Escamilla-Tilch Mónica , Pineda-Juárez Juan Antonio , Téllez-González Mario Antonio , Mondragón-Terán Paul , Rodríguez-Arellano Martha Eunice , Contreras-Ramos Alejandra , García Silvia , Hernández-Muñoz Rolando Efraín
Published: May 2021

Objectives

We aimed to determine whether parameters associated with adipose tissue (adipocyte density and the circulating concentrations of markers of adipose tissue pathology) predict cardiovascular risk (CVR) modification after metabolic surgery (MS).

Methods

We performed a case–control study of patients with morbid obesity who were candidates for MS. CVR was defined using flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), which were measured during the 9 months following MS. Subgroups of CVR reduction were defined using the following cut-offs: CIMT 10% and/or a two-fold increase in FMD.

Results

We studied 40 patients with morbid obesity (mean age 44.5 years, 75% women, mean body mass index 46.4 kg/m2) and high prevalences of the metabolically unhealthy obesity phenotype, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. A significant reduction in CVR was associated with lower vascular endothelial growth factor-A concentration (6.20 vs. 1.59 pg/mL, respectively), low adipocyte density in visceral adipose tissue (100 vs. 80 cells/field), low infiltration with CD68+ cells (18 vs. 8 cells/field) and higher concentrations of lipid peroxidation markers and malondialdehyde (313.7 vs. 405.7 ng/mL).

Conclusion

The characteristics of adipose tissue and the circulating concentrations of markers of adipose pathology might represent useful predictors of the reduction in CVR following MS. Clinical trial registration number: NCT0356198 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov )
Clinical significance of extra-thyroid 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake before initial radioiodine therapy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma
Authors: Long Bin , Yao Li-Fang , Chen Shou-Cong , Shui Jin , Ye Xue-Mei , Yi He-Qing , Lou Cen
Published: May 2021

Objective

To analyse the clinical characteristics of extra-thyroid 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake in order to explore the effect of the phenomenon on radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) and its clinical significance.

Methods

This study retrospectively selected patients with DTC and extra-thyroid 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake. The clinical features, location, location count and extra-thyroid 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake distribution were analysed, combined with the uptake rate, stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) level, post-therapy whole-body scan and curative effect.

Results

A total of 38 patients were enrolled in the study and 65 extra-thyroid 99mTc-pertechnetate foci were detected. Thirty-four patients showed abnormal 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake in the lymph nodes (26 of 38; 68.4%), lungs (four of 38; 10.5%) and bones (four of 38; 10.5%). The corresponding uptake rates were 0.2%, 0.2% and 0.8%, respectively. The uptake rate and sTg were significantly positively correlated ( r = 0.36). 131I uptake was found in 36 patients at the 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake site. The number of iodine uptake foci was significantly higher than that of 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake foci. The sTg value and pathological staging significantly differed between the excellent and nonexcellent response groups (Z = –2.947 and Z = –2.348, respectively).

Conclusion

Extra-thyroid 99mTc-pertechnetate uptake mostly indicated metastases with specific clinical features, which may have prognostic value for the judgment of iodine uptake function and the RAI therapy plan.
Effect of differential hypoxia-related gene expression on glioblastoma
Authors: Lin Chao-Qun , Chen Lu-Kui
Published: May 2021

Objective

Glioblastoma (GB) is a refractory malignancy with a high rate of recurrence and treatment resistance. Hypoxia-related genes are promising prognostic indicators for GB, so we herein developed a reliable hypoxia-related gene risk scoring model to predict the prognosis of patients with GB.

Method

Gene expression profiles and corresponding clinicopathological features of patients with GB were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; n = 160) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) GSE7696 (n = 80) databases. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses of differentially expressed hypoxia-related genes were performed using R 3.5.1 software.

Result

Fourteen prognosis-related genes were identified and used to construct a risk signature. Patients with high-risk scores had significantly lower overall survival (OS) than those with low-risk scores. The median risk score was used as a critical value and for OS prediction in an independent external verification GSE7696 cohort. Risk score was not significantly affected by clinical-related factors. We also developed a prediction nomogram based on the TCGA training set to predict survival rates, and included six independent prognostic parameters in the TCGA prediction model.

Conclusion

We determined a reliable hypoxia-related gene risk scoring model for predicting the prognosis of patients with GB.