bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Frequency and Symptomatology of Hiccups in Patients With Cancer: Using an On-Line Medical Community to Better Understand the Patient Experience
Authors: Ehret Christopher , Young Colleen , Ellefson Christine J. , Aase Lee A. , Jatoi Aminah
Published: April 2021

Background:

Cancer patients are at risk for hiccups, but the incidence and impact on quality of life are unclear.

Methods:

A survey (modified from the Functional Living Index with the inclusion of qualitative elements) was developed and launched on an 80,000-member medical social media platform, Mayo Clinic Connect https://connect.mayoclinic.org/ .

Results:

Among 213 respondents, 34 (16%; 95% CI: 11, 22%) reported “yes” that they had experienced hiccups with cancer therapy. Of those patients who reported hiccups, only 12 (35%) were men, and most were older than 50 years of age. Over 25% noted that hiccups occurred frequently around the time of cancer therapy; 30% described that hiccups interfered with their leisure or recreational activities; and over 15% described hiccups interfered with their ability to enjoy a meal. A few patients seemed to express frustration with hiccups with comments such as, “Totally uncontrollable,” “It’s extremely pain[ful] with throat cancer,” and “Once I had them bad. Almost choked.”

Conclusion:

Hiccups occur in16% of patients who are receiving cancer therapy and, by our estimates and extrapolation, appear highly problematic in approximately 5%.
Oral Health in Adult Patients Receiving Palliative Care: A Mixed Method Study
Authors: Chen Xi , D’Souza Violet , Thomsen Timothy A , Gilbertson-White Stephanie , Madiloggovit Jirakate , Pendleton Chandler , Munjal Arshi , Xianjin Xie
Published: April 2021

Background:

Oral disease is highly prevalent in persons receiving palliative care (PRPC). Yet, little is known about how PRPC perceive their oral health status and related treatment needs.

Methods:

This mixed-method study included 49 English-speaking PRPC (age≥18) recruited from the University of Iowa Palliative Care Clinic. Participants first completed a structured review of oral symptoms, followed by an oral exam. A nested sample of 11 participants also completed a semi-structured, in-depth interview querying their perceived oral health concerns and related treatment needs. Quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed and integrated for interpretation.

Results:

Participants averaged 58.4 years. Nearly 70% had terminal cancer and 25% had advanced organ failure. Eighty-six percent of participants reported at least one oral symptom, including dry mouth (83.7%), a pain-related symptom (40.8%), or oral function difficulties (51.0%). Among the 31 dentate participants, 52% had untreated decayed/broken teeth and 33.3% had oral soft tissue lesions. Ill-fitting dentures and denture sores were common among denture users. About 40% of participants reported compromised health and/or quality of life due to oral conditions; however, the perceived impacts were modest. With the exception of painful conditions, oral treatment was not a priority for most of the participants.

Conclusion:

Oral disease was highly prevalent in PRPC, yet its overall impact was modest. In the absence of painful symptoms, most participants reported limited desire to seek treatment for oral health conditions. However, given the serious impacts of untreated oral diseases, oral healthcare decision should not be based solely on self-reported symptoms or distress.
The Throat Pack Debate: A Review of Current Practice in UK and Ireland Cleft Centers
Authors: Curran Terry-Ann , Narayan Nitisha , Fenner Lynn , Thornburn Guy , Swan Marc C. , Fallico Nefer
Published: April 2021

Introduction:

The use of throat packs during oropharyngeal surgery has long been a topic of debate among cleft surgeons. The advantage of inserting an absorbent tulle within the pharynx must be weighed against the risk of unintended retention postoperatively. Despite safety check mechanisms in place, retention may occur with potentially life-threatening consequences. We present a comprehensive review of throat pack use in all cleft units within the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Methods:

All 20 cleft surgery units in the United Kingdom and Ireland were surveyed on their use of throat packs in children aged 6 months to 2 years undergoing elective cleft palate surgery.

Results:

The response rate to the survey was 100%. Seventy-five percent of units currently use throat packs; in 40%, they are used in addition to cuffed endotracheal tubes (ETTs). Inclusion of the throat pack in the surgical swab count was perceived as the safest mechanism employed to avoid retention. 26.1% of respondents were aware of at least 1 incident of pack retention in their unit.

Discussion/Conclusion:

The reported UK and Irish experience demonstrates that three-quarters of units routinely use packs. Notably, a quarter of respondents to the survey have experience of an incident of throat pack retention. Nevertheless, the majority of respondents considered the perceived risk of retaining a pack to be low. The growing use of microcuffed ETTs in UK cleft units paired with a low incidence of perioperative complications when a throat pack is not introduced might prompt cleft surgeons to review routine pharyngeal packing.
Preparing Paraprofessionals to Become Teachers: A Study Examining the Effect of Catalytic Interventions
Authors: Johnson Tonya , Lehner Edward
Published: April 2021

New York State, in all of its regions, has a growing number of diverse public-school students, including many immigrant groups, accounting for a significant change in the ethnic and racial demographics of the state’s student population. Despite the rapidly changing student population, the teaching force nonetheless remains disproportionately White and populated primarily by women. A growing body of research suggests that the ranks of paraprofessionals, many of whom are already working in schools, may be the ideal population from which to develop a more fully diversified teaching candidate pool. Informed by a theoretical lens of social reproduction and drawing from an expansive data set, this research surveys the unique barriers that paraprofessionals face in accessing information about licensure and navigating local and state requirements. Specifically, the current work examines the needs of candidates at an urban community college and presents findings from a pilot support program designed to increase paraprofessional credentialing leading to teaching licensure. The findings of this work highlight not only the need for teacher and paraprofessional preparation programs to alter recruiting and skill-acquisition practices but also the need for continued research to better understand how to support multiethnic, multilingual, and multiracial teacher candidates.
Adapting discrete goods supply chains to support mass customisation of pharmaceutical products
Authors: Siiskonen Maria , Mortensen Niels Henrik , Malmqvist Johan , Folestad Staffan
Published: April 2021

Emerging research within the field of personalised medicines has aimed to enhance patient treatment through the use of pharmaceutical products that are customised to the individual needs and preferences of the patient. The currently dominant production platforms of pharmaceutical products, however, regard a mass production paradigm and are thus unfeasible for the production and provision of personalised medicines. The production platforms are not designed or are intended for a customisation context. Operating such a context with the current supply chain entails challenges such as increasing costs, time to patient and efforts in quality assurance activities. To address these challenges, this paper presents four reconfigured pharmaceutical supply chain designs. A qualitative operational performance assessment elicits the strengths and weaknesses of the respective supply chain design operating in a customisation context. The results suggest that a later point of variegation, that is, the point in the supply chain where the final customisation is achieved, can relieve the operational effort of the stakeholders in the supply chain while providing the benefits of personalised medicines, that is, an enhanced treatment outcome of the patient. A trade-off remains, however, between the supply chain’s decreased operational effort and degree of necessary reconfigurations, such as introducing new functions to stakeholder operation, reallocating activities to other stakeholders or educating stakeholders.
Talonavicular Joint-Sparing 3D Printed Navicular Replacement for Osteonecrosis of the Navicular
Authors: Adams Samuel B. , Danilkowicz Richard M.
Published: April 2021

Pathology of the navicular can be a difficult entity to treat, particularly when the injury has progressed to osteonecrosis. While various nonoperative and operative modalities have been described, the emerging field of additive manufacturing has become a potential solution to this difficult problem in certain scenarios. While these implants have largely been used for fusion in the past, the concept of joint sparing with 3D printed implants is also emerging, and this case highlights a patient treated with a talonavicular joint-sparing, patient-specific 3D printed total navicular replacement.
Exploratory Factor Analyses of the French WISC-V (WISC-VFR) for Five Age Groups: Analyses Based on the Standardization Sample
Authors: Lecerf Thierry , Canivez Gary L.
Published: April 2021

This study investigated the factor structure of the French Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth Edition with five standardization sample age groups (6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-16 years) using hierarchical exploratory factor analysis followed by Schmid–Leiman procedure. The primary research questions included (a) how many French Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth Edition factors should be extracted and retained in each age subgroup, (b) how are subtests associated with the latent factors, (c) was there evidence for the publisher’s claim of five first-order factors and separate Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning factors, (d) what proportion of variance was due to general intelligence versus the first-order group ability factors following a Schmid–Leiman procedure, and (e) do results support the age differentiation hypothesis? Results suggested that four factors might be sufficient for all five age groups and results did not support the distinction between Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning factors. While the general factor accounted for the largest portions of variance, the four first-order factors accounted for small unique portions of variance. Results did not support the age differentiation hypothesis because the number of factors remained the same across age groups, and there was no change in the percentage of variance accounted for by the general factor across age groups.
Stability and Change in Relations Between Personality Traits and the Interpersonal Problems Circumplex During Cognitive Therapy for Recurrent Depression
Authors: Vittengl Jeffrey R. , Clark Lee Anna , Thase Michael E. , Jarrett Robin B.
Published: April 2021

Both personality impairment and maladaptive-range traits are necessary for diagnosis in the alternative model of personality disorder. We clarified personality impairment-trait connections using measures of the interpersonal problems circumplex and personality traits among adult outpatients ( N = 351) with major depressive disorder receiving cognitive therapy (CT). The trait scales’ circumplex projections were summarized by elevation (correlations with general interpersonal problems), amplitude (specific relations to the circumplex dimensions of dominance and affiliation), and angle (predominant orientation in the two-dimensional circumplex). Most trait scales showed hypothesized circumplex relations, including substantive elevation (e.g., negative temperament, mistrust), amplitude (e.g., aggression, detachment), and expected angles (e.g., positive temperament and manipulativeness oriented toward overly nurturant/intrusive or domineering/vindictive problems, respectively), that were stable across time during CT. These results revealed meaningful and consistent impairment-trait connections, even during CT when mean depressive affect decreased substantially.
Long-Term Effect of Receiving a Family Strengths-Oriented Intervention on Family Cancer Caregiver Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Symptoms: A Longitudinal Quasi-Experimental Study
Authors: Petursdottir Asta B. , Rayens Mary Kay , Sigurdardottir Valgerdur , Svavarsdottir Erla Kolbrun
Published: April 2021

The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the long-term effects of providing a therapeutic conversation intervention, based on Family Systems Nursing, to family caregivers of a close relative with advanced cancer over the period before and during bereavement. To prevent adverse outcomes, caregivers need ongoing support that begins pre-loss and extends into the post-loss period. This study employed a one-group pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design. Twenty-four caregivers participated in two intervention trials conducted over a 42-month period, receiving two intervention sessions pre-loss (Trial 1) and one intervention session post-loss (Trial 2). Significant decreases in anxiety and stress were noted over the three post-loss assessments. The final post-loss stress outcome was significantly lower than the first pre-loss score. For the depression score, there was not a significant change over time within the pre- or post-loss period. The findings provide evidence of decreasing anxiety and stress following the implementation of an extended family nursing intervention for bereaved family caregivers.
Hygro-thermo-mechanical vibration of two vertically aligned single-walled boron nitride nanotubes conveying fluid
Authors: Zarabimanesh Yalda , Roodgar Saffari Pouyan , Roudgar Saffari Peyman , Refahati Nima
Published: April 2021

The nonlocal strain gradient theory, when combined with the first-order shear deformation theory, provides many capabilities in size-dependent structures. The aim of the present study is evaluation of the free vibration behavior of two vertically aligned fluid-conveying single-walled boron nitride nanotubes in hygrothermal environments considering slip boundary condition based on Knudsen number. These two adjacent nanotubes are coupled in the context of linear deformation through van der Waals interaction according to Lennard–Jones potential function. Actually, the contribution of the present work, compared with those previously reported, is investigating the simultaneous effect of hygrothermal loading and slip boundary condition on the dynamic behavior of two vertically aligned fluid-conveying single-walled boron nitride nanotubes. As an additional step to achieve a more accurate model of low-scale structures, both hardening and softening effects of materials are taken as important variables in the nonlocal strain gradient approach. To derive the motion equations and associated boundary conditions, Hamilton’s variational principle is used. The equations are then solved with the aid of differential quadrature method. Numerical studies are also performed to depict the effects of a number of parameters such as boundary conditions, size scale, aspect ratio, inter-tube distance, and temperature alteration on the variations of dimensionless eigenfrequency and critical flow velocity.
A study to assess the impact of pharmaceutical care services to cancer patients in a tertiary care hospital
Authors: Karthikeyan Kavya , Sunil Vinayak B , Alex Soumya M , CS Madhu
Published: April 2021

Introduction

Clinical pharmacist can enthusiastically involve in oncology department through utilizing the skills and knowledge to support wide variety of functions in patient care. The impact of pharmaceutical care services in oncology department were analysed through various approaches including the analysis of knowledge level of patients towards the disease and its management through patient counselling, monitoring of performance status, observing of ADR and drug safety. Incidence of cancer was scrutinized during the study. Methodology: A Prospective interventional study was conducted from November 2019 to March 2020 with the support of institutional ethical approval at oncology department of Lourdes hospital, Ernakulam. 133 patients were included with all type of cancer. Data collected through Performa with KAP questionnaire and direct interview was conducted. Statistical significance was evaluated through p value of <0.001 Result: 123 patients were completed both questionnaire. Among this 69.91% were females and most of the patients belonged to 50 – 65yeras age group and carcinoma was frequently reported type. End of the study showed significant change in the knowledge level of patients after interaction with the clinical pharmacist. 26 ADRs were reported including solitary and multiple ADRs. Recommendations associated with drug reconstitution, administration were frequently given to the nurses. Most of the interventions to improve therapeutic outcome of the patients were accepted by the oncologist.

Conclusion

Clinical pharmacist can actively participate in all aspects of the oncology department in association with physician and other health care providers to improve the therapeutic outcome and quality of life of patients.
Why Men (Don’t) Buy Sex: Purity Moralization and Perceived Harm as Constraints on Prostitution Offending
Authors: Silver Jason R. , Pickett Justin T. , Barnes J. C. , Bontrager Stephanie R. , Roe-Sepowitz Dominique E.
Published: April 2021

This study explores the moralization of purity and perceptions of harm as constraints on sex buying among men. Purchasing sex has long been considered an offense against public morality. While personal morality provides a powerful constraint on offending, and people may vary in the extent to which they experience moral intuitions about bodily and spiritual purity, research has so far neglected the role of purity moralization in understanding sex buying behavior. We hypothesize specifically that moral intuitions about purity constrain sex buying by leading people to perceive it as inherently wrong and by eliciting perceptions that sex buying is harmful to prostitutes. We test these hypotheses in a nationally representative survey of U.S. men ( N = 2,525). Results indicate that purity moralization is associated with reduced sex buying, and that this relationship is mediated fully by perceptions of sex buying as harming prostitutes.
Amtrak Rail Trespasser Analysis using a GIS Space-Time Approach
Authors: Oswald Beiler Michelle R. , Filion Evan
Published: April 2021

This research explores Amtrak trespass incident data from 2011 to 2019 using a GIS spatiotemporal process. The objective is to evaluate incident characteristics based on space, time, incident factors, and statistical significance. Incidents were first analyzed at the megaregional level, revealing Northern and Southern California as the highest trespassing risk in the country, followed by the Northeast and Great Lakes megaregions. A new standardized point density approach was applied to reveal incident clusters representing high-risk localities. Then, the optimized and emerging hot spot methods were applied to the top four megaregions. The results showed four Amtrak corridors as hot spots, including three along coastal California railways and the Philadelphia region. Trends for incident report factors were analyzed (e.g., pre-crash activity, time of day, location of impact). “Walking” prior to impact, occurrence in the “afternoon,” and crash location “on the tracks” were found to be the most prominent incident characteristics for those factors.
Bilateral acute retinal necrosis during treatment with alemtuzumab for multiple sclerosis
Authors: Menean Matteo , Marchese Alessandro , Bordato Alessandro , Battista Marco , Bandello Francesco , Modorati Giulio , Miserocchi Elisabetta
Published: April 2021

Introduction:

Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody used as a treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It decreases T cell count leading to significant immunosuppression, with increased risk of systemic and ocular infections. Herein, we report a unique case of bilateral acute retinal necrosis (ARN) caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in a patient affected by MS under treatment with alemtuzumab.

Case description:

A 36-year-old man with a relapsing-remitting MS under treatment with alemtuzumab developed bilateral visual loss. Anterior segment examination displayed granulomatous keratic precipitates and 3+ cells in the anterior chamber, while fundoscopy showed bilateral 1+ vitritis and peripheral retinal necrosis, complicated by retinal detachment in the left eye. The high viral load for VZV in aqueous humor samples had a univocal interpretation for viral reactivation. In addition to systemic therapy with acyclovir, the patient was treated with bilateral intravitreal injections of foscarnet and underwent pars-plana vitrectomy and silicone oil tamponade for retinal detachment in the left eye.

Conclusion:

This report shows a unique case of bilateral ARN caused by VZV associated with alemtuzumab. Any visual loss in MS patients under biologic therapy should not be underestimated, performing an accurate differential diagnosis with optic neuritis.
Do party system parameters explain differences in legislative organization? Fragmentation, polarization, and the density of regulation in European parliaments, 1945–2009
Authors: Sieberer Ulrich , Höhmann Daniel
Published: April 2021

The article studies whether the party system characteristics fragmentation and ideological polarization increase the density of institutional regulation in parliaments. It introduces a comprehensive time-series-cross-sectional dataset of standing orders in 15 Western European parliaments that allows studying how densely various fields of legislative activity such as lawmaking, controlling the government, and creating publicity were regulated over a period of more than 60 years. Descriptively, the data show increased regulation in all areas but also some variation between countries. Dynamic panel regression analyses for non-stationary time series find no systematic effect of fragmentation or polarization on the density of regulation indicating that large parts of legislative organization change for reasons unrelated to party system dynamics. We identify changes in the environment of legislatures such as increasing complexity and professionalization of politics, technological change, and Europeanization as potential drivers of such Pareto-efficient reforms.
Will your majesty marry me? The effect of royal weddings on the tourism industry
Authors: Raad James , Sharma Abhinav , Nicolau Juan L
Published: April 2021

This article fills a void in the literature by investigating the impacts of royal weddings—arguably the grandest and the most iconic of public ceremonies involving royals—on destination-level brands. The direct and short-term effects of royal families and indeed the direct effect of seminal events involving the royals on destination-level accommodations and tourism service providers are more somewhat obvious. However, the more intriguing question and the one which we are more concerned with is: do royal weddings leave a more enduring legacy on the local tourism industry? The engagement announcement and the wedding date produce significant positive increases in the valuation of the home country’s tourism firms. Important managerial implications are derived in line with the long-term impact of unique events on tourism firms’ performance and the transference of brand knowledge from the destination to the companies is effective.
Asset-light strategies and stock market reactions to COVID-19’s pandemic announcement: The case of hospitality firms
Authors: Poretti Cédric , Heo Cindy Yoonjoung
Published: April 2021

This research note investigates the stock market reactions of international hospitality firms to COVID-19’s pandemic announcement by the World Health Organization. In line with the behavioral finance literature, the findings indicate that, in the short term, investors overestimated the risks underlying asset-heavy firms because of information uncertainty. Firms pursuing an asset-light (AL) strategy are associated to significantly less negative cumulative abnormal returns in the 4 days following the announcement, especially firms following an AL strategy that reduces significantly the operating leverage. However, this difference vanishes after 5 trading days, meaning that investors revised their expectations. This research note suggests that the cost structure of AL firms matters in reducing information uncertainty and sheds light on the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on the hospitality industry. It also provides useful information to board members, financial analysts, and companies’ top managers when evaluating whether and how to pursue an AL strategy, and the potential consequences of it.
Photographable femininities in women’s magazines and on Instagram
Authors: Caldeira Sofia P. , Van Bauwel Sofie , De Ridder Sander
Published: April 2021

This article explores the intertextual relationship between women’s glossy fashion magazines and Instagram. As the boundaries between the two formats are becoming increasingly porous – with visual conventions and discourses flowing bi-directionally between women’s magazines and Instagram – this article questions how they mutually reshape each other and the representations of femininities they carry. It explores the tensions emerging from these media’s distinctive ethos of gendered representation, and it questions how the politics of gender representation can be negotiated through aesthetic practices. This research empirically grounds these discussions in a multi-sited qualitative textual analysis, comprised of both a sample of 18 issues of three glossy women’s magazines’ titles (Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Vogue) and a sample of 77 randomly selected female ‘ordinary’ Instagram users (i.e. not celebrities or Insta-famous users), aged 18–35. Both Instagram and women’s magazines link gendered beauty to aesthetic values and the ability to look good in photographs, thus incentivising the pursuit of Instagrammable aesthetics. However, both formats can also highlight the everyday political potential of aestheticised representations. Relying on user-generated representations, Instagram has the potential to showcase a wider diversity of femininities, which can help to broaden the scope of who can be deemed photographable – an idea echoed by women’s magazines’ adoption of a popular feminist tone. These celebrations of diversity, reminiscent of strategies of visibility politics, and politicised discourses become materialised through aesthetic practices both within Instagram and women’s magazines. Yet, despite the emphasis on a social media-inspired feminist and political tone, political engagements on these media can also become enmeshed with postfeminist sensibilities, thus conflating fashion, beauty, and empowerment. This article explores how the on-going changes in these multi-layered and intertextual representational practices echo broader cultural and political transformations in contemporary visual cultures.
It’s their fault: Partisan attribution bias and its association with voting intentions
Authors: Zell Ethan , Stockus Christopher A. , Bernstein Michael J.
Published: April 2021

This research examined how people explain major outcomes of political consequence (e.g., economic growth, rising inequality). We argue that people attribute positive outcomes more and negative outcomes less to their own political party than to an opposing party. We conducted two studies, one before the 2016 U.S. presidential election ( N = 244) and another before the 2020 election ( N = 249 registered voters), that examined attributions across a wide array of outcomes. As predicted, a robust partisan attribution bias emerged in both studies. Although the bias was largely equivalent among Democrats and Republicans, it was magnified among those with more extreme political ideology. Further, the bias predicted unique variance in voting intentions and significantly mediated the link between political ideology and voting. In sum, these data suggest that partisan allegiances systemically bias attributions in a group-favoring direction. We discuss implications of these findings for emerging research on political social cognition.
The moral and political economy of suicide prevention
Authors: Fitzpatrick Scott J
Published: April 2021

Suicide prevention occurs within a web of social, moral, and political relations that are acknowledged, yet rarely made explicit. In this work, I analyse these interrelations using concepts of moral and political economy to demonstrate how moral norms and values interconnect with political and economic systems to inform the way suicide prevention is structured, legitimated, and enacted. Suicide prevention is replete with ideologies of individualism, risk, and economic rationalism that translate into a specific set of social practices. These bring a number of ethical, procedural, and distributive considerations to the fore. Closer attention to these issues is needed to reflect the moral and political contexts in which decision-making about suicide prevention occurs, and the implications of these decisions for policy, practice, and for those whose lives they impact.
Post-nationalism, sovereignty and the state
Authors: Wickham Gary
Published: April 2021

The term ‘post-national formations’ is a product of some of the recent work of Jürgen Habermas. In using this term, Habermas highlights what he regards as a laudatory trend in social and political research. This is the trend away from an intense focus on the role of nation-states – a role he believes to be unconducive to progressive politics – and towards a focus on the role of new configurations – a role he believes to be much more conducive to this type of politics. ‘Post-national formations’, then, is the term Habermas uses to describe new non-state configurations he has identified. He is confident these configurations will eventually break free of the supposed yoke of the nation-state and usher in a new era of progressivism. This article is not concerned with the post-national formations literature per se. Rather, it is concerned with this literature’s failure to take into account the full history of both the nation-state and the notion of sovereignty that helps the nation-state to function. In pursuing this concern, the article draws material from various sources to offer a short historical defence of the sovereign state.
Special issue introduction: Post-national formations and cosmopolitanism
Authors: Fozdar Farida , Woodward Ian
Published: April 2021

In the last quarter of the 20th century the study of globalisation was refined in many ways and especially in the direction of conceptualising the connections, entanglements and interdependencies of the global. An array of terms arose to capture these complexities, many containing the suggestion of superseding the nation. The terms ‘post-national’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ are two fields that have come to signify thispossibility. Our contributors engage with the idea of the post-national in a variety of manifestations, focusing on addressing fundamental questions related to the extent and durability of post-national expressions. This collection of articles trace contemporary theoretical debates, and provide empirical material in a variety of contexts using multiple approaches. Collectively, they affirm the relevance of the category of the post-national, and related cosmopolitan outlooks, while charting the mixed, ambivalent, and sometimes reactionary responses to it.
‘The sequential organisation of gossip talk’
Authors: Aslan Tugba
Published: April 2021

Gossip, in its most general sense, means talking about absent third parties with regards to their strengths and weaknesses in an evaluative or informative tone. It is a common phenomenon and has been investigated from different perspectives of research such as human sciences, behavioural psychology, anthropology and so forth. Although it is a prevalent research topic amongst researchers of various disciplines, the sequential organisation of gossip talk still keeps its authenticity in terms of real-life talk-in-action research. This study aims to provide a micro-analysis of the sequential organisation of gossip talk adopting an emic perspective. The data set consists of a collection of 90 hours of audio data collected from a retirement home in Turkey. The data are analysed using Conversation Analysis. The results of the micro-analysis of authentic gossip talk points to a systematicity in gossip talk sequences in terms of initiation, response and closing.
Defining and conceptualizing news literacy
Authors: Tully Melissa , Maksl Adam , Ashley Seth , Vraga Emily K , Craft Stephanie
Published: April 2021

Interest in news literacy inside and outside the academy has grown alongside related concerns about the quality of news and information available. Attempts to fully define, explicate and operationalize news literacy, however, are scattered. Drawing on literature across journalism and mass communication, we propose a definition of news literacy that combines knowledge of news production, distribution and consumption with skills that help audiences assert control over their relationship with news. We propose that knowledge and skills should be conceptualized across five domains: context, creation, content, circulation and consumption. This explication offers a clear, concise and cohesive path for research about news literacy, especially empirical testing to evaluate news literacy and its effectiveness in contributing to relevant behaviours. This framework also offers a consistent, yet flexible, approach to measuring news literacy across diverse contexts.
How they got to Sesame Street: Children’s Television Workshop’s appropriation of advertising tactics for effective childhood literacy education
Authors: Holiday Steven
Published: April 2021

One of the staple components of Sesame Street over the last 50 years is the short, animated segments that periodically interrupt the narratives and focus on brief educational and literacy concepts. Histories of the show have recognized these segments and referred to them as commercials, but to date, literature lacks a comprehensive examination of the managerial forces involved in planning and producing these commercial segments to identify the depth of understanding Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) possessed as they created this material. Even more intriguing, contemporary literature has identified conceptual overlaps between the components of successfully persuasive children’s advertisements and successful strategies for teaching early childhood literacy. This study uses a historical analysis and primary evidence, from corporate and executives’ personal archives, to identify and chronicle how CTW married literacy education and advertising to effectively “sell” literacy to child viewers of Sesame Street. This study also identifies important implications and opportunities for research and the future promotion and presentation of educational concepts in contemporary digital media settings.
Chinese outbound tourists as international consumer in Northern Thailand—A dynamic mobility perspective
Authors: Zhu Jin-Sheng (Jason) , Airey David , Siriphon Aranya
Published: April 2021

This article examines the mindsets of independent Chinese tourists in the context of the emerging dynamic mobility perspective. It investigates Chinese tourists’ travel impulses, cross-border flows, quality-of-life perceptions, and the meaning of living a mobile lifestyle. Through face-to-face interviews and drawing on narrative descriptions in social media and newsletters, the article draws findings relating to travel motivations, the reconstruction of self, the quality-of-life mindsets, free-itinerary tour mode, and the influences of modern technology. The article aims at addressing the current development trends of Chinese outbound tourists, providing an understanding of the complex characteristics and the gradual release of Chinese outbound tourists’ cross-border mobility freedom.
Immersive imaginative hedonism: Daydreaming as experiential ‘consumption’
Authors: Heath Teresa , Nixon Elizabeth
Published: April 2021

Imaginative pleasure through daydreaming has been theorized to be important in understanding the experience of desire and as a factor in escalating consumption. However, there is a risk this underplays the range of potentially immersive and intense experiences of daydreaming, prior to and independent of the purchase or use of marketplace commodities. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant diaries and projective techniques, this study brings empirical data to extant conceptual work on the consumer imagination to examine the variety of consequences of elaborate daydreaming for commodity acquisition. We suggest that it need not necessarily perpetuate or expand ‘actual’ consumption but may instead engender a longer, more reflective, pleasurable and meaningful experience from which purchase or acquisition may never materialize. Our study challenges accepted theories that associate daydreaming with consumerism or see it as an inevitable precursor to consumer disappointment, while shining a more positive light on the role of fantasizing in shaping consumers’ decisions.
Exploring gender disparities in the prosecution of theft cases: Propensity score matching on data from German court files
Authors: Leuschner Fredericke
Published: April 2021

This article engages in the discussion about gender disparities in prosecutorial decision-making. Appling propensity score matching after multiple imputation on data drawn from case files, the article examines differences in the prosecutorial treatment of male and female defendants in cases of minor theft in Germany. The matched data reveal significant differences between genders in the prosecutorial conclusion of proceedings: whereas dismissals because of other imposed sentences are more frequently imposed on male defendants, disposals with penalty fees are more common for female defendants. Hence, contrary to existing literature, the present study reveals harsher prosecutorial treatment of women because they have to pay penalty fees more frequently. The findings are contextualized with the focal concern hypothesis, which suggests that stereotypes influence decision-making in criminal proceedings. Together with the determination that women are more likely to pay fines or penalty fees completely and on time, this leads to the assumption that efficiency considerations by prosecutors influence their decision and make the imposition of penalty fees more attractive from an economic point of few.
Influence of puberty on retinal microcirculation in children with type 1 diabetes without retinopathy using optical coherence tomography angiography
Authors: Wysocka-Mincewicz Marta , Gołębiewska Joanna , Baszyńska-Wilk Marta , Olechowski Andrzej , Byczyńska Aleksandra , Szalecki Mieczysław
Published: April 2021

Background:

This study aimed to assess the influence of pubertal status on the results of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods:

We enrolled 167 consecutive children with T1D. Retinal superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) vessel density data underwent analysis. We divided the study population into three subgroups depending on the pubertal status.

Results:

Analysis of the prepubertal and pubertal subgroups revealed statistically significant differences in foveal thickness (FT) (p < 0.05) and foveal SCP (p < 0.02). Analyzing subgroups of the prepubertal and postpubertal children, we observed statistically significant differences in FT (p < 0.03), whole SCP (p < 0.02), and foveal SCP (p < 0.02). Comparison of the pubertal and postpubertal subjects revealed differences in parafoveal DCP (p < 0.003). In the groups matched depending on diabetes duration, we observed differences between prepubertal, pubertal, and postpubertal children in FT, PFT, and parafoveal SCP and DCP.

Conclusion:

Our data suggest that in a cohort of pubertal children with a short duration of diabetes, alterations in retinal vessel density occur early and progress during puberty.
Overcoming Barriers to Walk With Ease Implementation in Community Organizations
Authors: Vilen Leigha H. , Altpeter Mary , Callahan Leigh F.
Published: April 2021

Introduction

The Arthritis Foundation’s Walk With Ease (WWE) program has been shown to reduce arthritis symptoms and increase physical performance for up to 1 year. However, research on community-based WWE implementation is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine early implementation at community organizations that received 1-year WWE implementation grants from the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance.

Method

Program managers at five Osteoarthritis Action Alliance grantee organizations participated in 45-minute telephone interviews. Interviewees represented organizations with the highest WWE enrollment at 6 months ( n = 3, >30% of goal enrollment) and no enrollment at 6 months ( n = 2). The Planning for Sustainability framework guided qualitative analysis of factors affecting early implementation.

Results

All grantees were confident in WWE’s evidence base, thought it a beneficial supplement to other programming, stressed the importance of senior leadership support for WWE, and engaged community partners for marketing support and as walking sites. Implementation experiences unique to low enrollment grantees were (1) recent major structural changes within their organization, (2) difficulties in communicating logistics internally, and (3) difficulties in balancing WWE with other responsibilities. All organizations experienced barriers that required altering their original implementation plans; however, practical solutions like adapting the program to improve flexibility, training organizational staff as leaders, and utilizing community partnerships served to address multiple barriers simultaneously.

Discussion

Building organizational capacity by overcoming early barriers is a key element of early implementation. Our findings offer concrete solutions to early WWE implementation barriers and suggest the need for further research on adaptations to improve WWE’s flexibility in community organizations.
Quantitative multiplexed strategies for human Lyme disease serological testing
Authors: Chou Eunice , Minor Armond , Cady Nathaniel C
Published: April 2021

Lyme disease, which is primarily caused by infection with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi in the United States or other Borrelia species internationally, presents an ongoing challenge for diagnostics. Serological testing is the primary means of diagnosis but testing approaches differ widely, with varying degrees of sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, there is currently no reliable test to determine disease resolution following treatment. A distinct challenge in Lyme disease diagnostics is the variable patterns of human immune response to a plurality of antigens presented by Borrelia spp. during the infection. Thus, multiplexed testing approaches that capture these patterns and detect serological response against multiple antigens may be the key to prompt, accurate Lyme disease diagnosis. In this review, current state-of-the-art multiplexed diagnostic approaches are presented and compared with respect to their diagnostic accuracy and their potential for monitoring response to treatment.
Sickle cell vaso-occlusion: The dialectic between red cells and white cells
Authors: Conran Nicola , Embury Stephen H
Published: April 2021

The pathophysiology of sickle cell anemia, a hereditary hemoglobinopathy, has fascinated clinicians and scientists alike since its description over 100 years ago. A single gene mutation in the HBB gene results in the production of abnormal hemoglobin (Hb) S, whose polymerization when deoxygenated alters the physiochemical properties of red blood cells, in turn triggering pan-cellular activation and pathological mechanisms that include hemolysis, vaso-occlusion, and ischemia-reperfusion to result in the varied and severe complications of the disease. Now widely regarded as an inflammatory disease, in recent years attention has included the role of leukocytes in vaso-occlusive processes in view of the part that these cells play in innate immune processes, their inherent ability to adhere to the endothelium when activated, and their sheer physical and potentially obstructive size. Here, we consider the role of sickle red blood cell populations in elucidating the importance of adhesion vis-a-vis polymerization in vaso-occlusion, review the direct adhesion of sickle red cells to the endothelium in vaso-occlusive processes, and discuss how red cell- and leukocyte-centered mechanisms are not mutually exclusive. Given the initial clinical success of crizanlizumab, a specific anti-P selectin therapy, we suggest that it is appropriate to take a holistic approach to understanding and exploring the complexity of vaso-occlusive mechanisms and the adhesive roles of the varied cell types, including endothelial cells, platelets, leukocytes, and red blood cells.
Identification of cucumber leaf diseases using deep learning and small sample size for agricultural Internet of Things
Authors: Zhang Jingyao , Rao Yuan , Man Chao , Jiang Zhaohui , Li Shaowen
Published: April 2021

Due to the complex environments in real fields, it is challenging to conduct identification modeling and diagnosis of plant leaf diseases by directly utilizing in-situ images from the system of agricultural Internet of things. To overcome this shortcoming, one approach, based on small sample size and deep convolutional neural network, was proposed for conducting the recognition of cucumber leaf diseases under field conditions. One two-stage segmentation method was presented to acquire the lesion images by extracting the disease spots from cucumber leaves. Subsequently, after implementing rotation and translation, the lesion images were fed into the activation reconstruction generative adversarial networks for data augmentation to generate new training samples. Finally, to improve the identification accuracy of cucumber leaf diseases, we proposed dilated and inception convolutional neural network that was trained using the generated training samples. Experimental results showed that the proposed approach achieved the average identification accuracy of 96.11% and 90.67% when implemented on the data sets of lesion and raw field diseased leaf images with three different diseases of anthracnose, downy mildew, and powdery mildew, significantly outperforming those existing counterparts, indicating that it offered good potential of serving field application of agricultural Internet of things.
Potential Risk and Safety Measures in Laparoscopy in COVID-19 Positive Patients
Authors: Tummers Fokkedien HMP , Draaisma Werner A , Demirkiran Ahmet , Brouwer Tammo A , Lagerveld Brunolf W , van Schrojenstein Lantman Esther S , Spijkers Klaartje , Coppus Sjors FPJ , Jansen Frank Willem
Published: April 2021

Background. During the COVID-19 pandemic the question arises if laparoscopy, as an aerosol forming procedure, poses a potential risk for viral transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to healthcare workers. Methods. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase and MEDLINE. Articles reporting information regarding COVID-19 or other relevant viruses and laparoscopy, surgical smoke, aerosols and viral transmission were included. Results. Although aerosols produced during laparoscopy do not originate from the respiratory tract, the main transmission route of SARS-CoV-2, research did show SARS-CoV-2 to be present in other body fluids. The transmission risk via this route is however considered very low. As previous research showed potential viral transmission during laparoscopy for viruses that spread through contaminated body fluids, there might be a potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during laparoscopy, albeit considered very small. Conclusion. Due to the small risk compared to widely known benefits of laparoscopy, there is no reason to replace laparoscopy by laparotomy due to COVID-19 infection. To avoid the potential small risk of viral transmission, additional safety measures are advised.