bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identités globales et religion à l’ère digitale : vers les Global Identity Studies
Authors: Liogier Raphaël
Published: November 2020

Identity is inseparable from the religious conceived as an irreducible human imaginary infrastructure. The global deployment of digital living spaces connected via the internet, because it transforms identity, also transforms the form (orthopraxy) and the substance of the religious (orthodoxy). This digitalization of sociality is manifested by the existence of a new layer of identity stemming from deterritorialised spaces of desire (socio-digital networks) which, by interacting with other territorialised layers (national, regional, etc.), give rise to Global Identities. Religious identities in the digital age are caught up in this process. This is evidenced by the digital development of new spiritualities, or the socialization trough socio-digital networks of the new Islamic terrorists, the jihadists 2.0. Relying mainly on my work on identity mutations in globalization, religious in particular, this article aims to defend the productivity of the concept of Global Identities and the scientific approach of Global Identity Studies.
Composite phase change materials improve the photo-thermal effects of cotton fabrics
Authors: Zhang Wei , Hao Shang , Weng Jiali , Zhang Yibo , Yao Jiming , Wei Sainan
Published: November 2020

We report on the impregnation-based preparation of composite phase change materials (CPCMs) with thermal storage properties, using paraffin wax and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). We coated the CPCMs on the fabric by scraper coating, then evaluated their shape stability, latent heat, thermal conductivity, thermal storage stability and photo-thermal effects. Results show that CPCMs with 10% acid-oxidized MWCNTs introduce only a small phase leakage when heated at 50℃ for 900 s; their latent heat energy reduces by 16.5%, while their thermal conductivity increases by 131.9% compared to pure paraffin. When exposed to sunlight at an ambient temperature of 12.5℃, the cotton fabrics coated with CPCMs record a 12.8℃ higher surface temperature than the pristine fabric, while their heat dissipation is delayed by 120–180 s. The fabric surface temperature increases to twice the ambient temperature during daytime. Overall, these findings indicate that the coated fabric has excellent thermal stability, affirming its potential as photo-thermal functional material.
Political Theory and Political Action: A Guide Through the Archives
Authors: Nichanian Daniel , Ploof Rebecca Aili
Published: November 2020

Why do we characterize some human actions as political? Political theorists have traditionally argued either that violence is constitutive of political action or that violence must recede for politics to start. Beyond such binaristic thinking, however, the archives of Political Theory provide original paths through which to reenliven this debate.
Contesting Mexico’s Necropolitics: Necrogovernance and Subversive Necropower in Two Cases
Authors: Ohlson Olof
Published: November 2020

Mexico’s contentious necropolitics see different stakeholders involved in political struggles for control over the dead. The families of victims of state and corporate violence protest state necrogovernance and corporate necropower, the power to dictate the circumstances of citizens’ and workers’ lives and deaths. Two case studies show how the state and corporations deploy the criminal technique of disappearing bodies as a means of social control and rendering workers expendable and sometimes killable. Social movements counter this with a determined struggle to restore a sense of worth to the victims of violence through public mourning. Their repertoire of collective action has created a subversive necropower that challenges both necrogovernance and corporate necropower.

La contenciosa necropolítica de México involucra a distintos grupos de interés que participan en la contienda política por el control de los muertos. Las familias de las víctimas de la violencia de Estado y corporativa protestan contra la necrogobernanza estatal y la necropotencia corporativa, y du poder de dictaminar las circunstancias de vida y muerte de los ciudadanos y trabajadores. Dos estudios de caso muestran cómo el Estado y las corporaciones despliegan la técnica criminal de desaparecer los cuerpos como un medio de control social que hace a los trabajadores prescindibles y a veces matables. Los movimientos sociales responden con una lucha decidida por restaurar un sentido de valor para las víctimas de la violencia a través del duelo público. Su repertorio de acción colectiva ha creado una necropotencia subversiva que desafía tanto a la necrogobernanza como a la necropotencia corporativa.
International Development Volunteering as Transformational Feminist Practice for Gender Equality
Authors: Tiessen Rebecca , Rao Sheila , Lough Benjamin J.
Published: November 2020

International and transnational commitments to gender equality require strategies that tackle root causes and prevailing attitudes that perpetuate disparities. In this article, we examine the role and impact of international development volunteers (IDV) as development actors who are well-placed for feminist transformational change, as they work in transnational spaces to influence, support, or reinforce changes in attitudes and behaviors towards gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). This qualitative study analyses data collected from 45 interviews in three countries (Malawi, Kenya and Uganda) to document partner organization perspectives on relational dynamics emerging from interactions with IDVs. Partner organization staff highlighted several notable positive and negative contributions to GEWE outcomes arising from day-to-day interactions with IDVs. These interactions shaped their understandings of GEWE, enhanced confidence for GEWE programming, and provided exposure to role models who can shape alternative attitudes and behaviors to gender equality. While the study revealed varying degrees of challenges and benefits for partner organizations working with volunteers specifically on gender equality, partner organization staff highlighted contributions made by IDVs to transnational spatial relations, as well as the transformational interactions that shaped these relations. Insights provided by partner country staff members offer subaltern perspectives and rich insights into the contributions of IDVs in gender equality programming and shed new light on the challenges and opportunities for fostering transnational feminist spaces of knowledge sharing, relationship building, and alternative practices.
Comparison of a perfusion simulator to a clinical operating room: evaluation of eye tracking data and subjective perception. A pilot study
Authors: Pawelke Cynthia , Merkle Frank , Kurtovic Dino , Gierig Sina , Müller-Plath Gisela
Published: November 2020

Background:

With the aim of evaluating the perfusion simulator at the German Heart Center Berlin, similarity between simulation and clinical operation room (OR) was investigated regarding subjective perception and eye movement.

Methods:

Eight perfusionists performed an operation on the heart-lung machine (HLM) wearing eye tracking glasses, each in real OR and simulator. The three most important phases for perfusionists (going on bypass, cardioplegia administration and coming off bypass) were considered. Additional to eye tracking data as objective measure, questionnaires were completed, and interviews conducted afterwards.

Results:

The structure of simulator and real OR is perceived as basically the same. Yet there are differences in the HLM-models used and the temporal sequence. Different perception of both situations is reported in interviews and reflected in significant differences in the rating scales (NASA-TLX) on three of six subscales. In eye tracking data, certain AOIs could be identified for the individual phases, both in OR and simulator—an indication of fundamental similarity. However, differences regarding the proportions of the individual AOIs, especially in the first and third phase, are leading to the assumption that the simulator, and especially the simulation process, is only valid to a limited extent regarding subjective perception and eye tracking data.

Conclusion:

The use of the simulator for (advanced) training is accepted and explicitly requested by perfusionists. Yet further research is needed to identify the decisive factors (like simulation duration or additional tasks) for a valid execution in the simulator. Furthermore, a larger sample size should be regarded to allow statistical analysis.
Combination effects of a fatty diet and exercise on the depressive state and cardioprotection in apolipoprotein E knockout mice with a change in RCAN1 expression
Authors: Shuo Wang , Li Haicong , Muneko Nishijo , Yoshikazu Nishino , Kato Nobuo , Kasamaki Yuji , Ueda Tadashi , Kanda Tsugiyasu
Published: November 2020

Objective

Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) controls plasticity of the nervous system and depressive conditions by regulating brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and plays a crucial role in neural and cardiac pathways. The apolipoprotein E gene ( ApoE) is a robust risk factor for progression of Alzheimer’s disease. A fatty diet is considered detrimental for metabolic disorders, such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

Methods

We examined the neuronal and cardiac protective roles of RCAN1 in ApoE−/− mice that were fed a high- or low-fat diet with and without voluntary movement for 3 months. Organ weights, laboratory data, histology, RNA expression, and behavior were examined.

Results

A high-fat diet with exercise improved depressive function, as examined by the forced swimming test, and RCAN1 mRNA expression was induced in the hippocampus. A low-fat diet with exercise resulted in a reduced body weight, higher heart weight/body weight ratio, and lower circulating triglyceride levels compared with a low-fat diet without exercise. RCAN1 mRNA expression was increased in cardiomyocytes in ApoE−/− mice.

Conclusions

The combination of a high-fat diet and exercise might reduce depressive function, whereas a low-fat diet with exercise leads to cardioprotection. Induction of RCAN1 expression might affect neuroplasticity and cardiac function.
Meta-analysis of postoperative antithrombotic therapy after left atrial appendage occlusion
Authors: Li Shu-yue , Wang Juan , Hui Xiang , Zhu Huai-jun , Wang Bao-yan , Xu Hang
Published: November 2020

Objective

This meta-analysis explored the safety and effectiveness of different anticoagulant regimens after left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO).

Methods

Databases, such as PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, were searched to identify eligible studies according to the inclusion criteria. The incidences of events, including device-related thrombus (DRT) formation, stroke, systemic thromboembolism, bleeding, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality, were analyzed using R version 3.2.3.

Results

The screening retrieved 32 studies, including 36 study groups and 4,474 patients. The incidence of outcomes after LAAO was calculated via meta-analysis. In the subgroup analysis, the rates of DRT formation, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality were significantly different among different antithrombotic methods. Single antiplatelet therapy was associated with the highest rate of adverse events, followed by dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) and new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) carried lower rates of adverse events.

Conclusions

Anticoagulant therapy had better safety and efficacy than antiplatelet therapy. Thus, for patients with nonabsolute anticoagulant contraindications, anticoagulant therapy rather than DAPT should be actively selected. NOACs displayed potential for further development, and these treatments might represent alternatives to VKAs in the future.
Effect of nicorandil treatment adjunctive to percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhou Jin , Xu Jing , Cheng Aijuan , Li Peng , Chen Bingwei , Sun Shan
Published: November 2020

Objective

There is controversy whether nicorandil treatment has cardioprotective effects in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy of nicorandil on functional and clinical outcomes after PCI.

Methods

Systematic databases were searched to retrieve studies that compared the effect of nicorandil with a control group in patients with AMI who underwent PCI. Outcomes related to coronary blood flow, and functional and clinical outcomes were extracted and a meta-analysis was performed. Trial sequential analysis was conducted to estimate the required sample size for statistical power.

Results

Twenty-four trials involving 2965 patients with AMI were enrolled. Pooled results showed that nicorandil treatment significantly suppressed the incidence of no-reflow phenomenon and reperfusion arrhythmia after reperfusion, improved the left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular end-systolic volume index, and reduced major adverse cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death. Trial sequential analysis confirmed the effect of nicorandil in reducing the incidence of no-reflow phenomenon and follow-up major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with AMI after PCI.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that nicorandil treatment adjunctive to reperfusion therapy improves myocardial reperfusion, cardiac function, and clinical outcomes in patients with AMI.
The microRNA-152/human leukocyte antigen-G axis affects proliferation and immune escape of non-small cell lung cancer cells
Authors: Fu Jun , Mao Jun , Wang Chun
Published: November 2020

Objective

To investigate the role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA-G) on proliferation, invasion, and immune escape in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

The relationship between HLA-G and overall survival (OS) of NSCLC patients was analyzed using the KMPlot database. The expression of micro (mi)R-152 or HLA-G was modulated by transfecting synthetic oligonucleotides, and the impact of the miR-152/HLA-G axis on proliferation, invasion, colony formation in soft agar, and tolerance to natural killer (NK) cell cytolysis was measured.

Results

Bioinformatics analysis showed that high HLA-G expression was correlated with poor OS in NSCLC patients. The tolerance of NSCLC cells to NK cytotoxicity was negatively correlated with HLA-G and positively correlated with miR-152 expression. Over-expressing miR-152 inhibited HLA-G expression in A549 cells and attenuated cell proliferation, migration, colony formation ability, and tolerance to NK cells. However, blocking HLA-G expression by small interfering RNA did not affect migration or colony formation, but only proliferation and tolerance to NK cells in vitro and in vivo. Blocking Ig-like transcript 2 on the surface of NK cells increased their killing effect in the presence of high HLA-G expression.

Conclusions

miR-152/HLA-G axis plays an oncogenic role in NSCLC by affecting cell proliferation and immune escape.
Thônis-Héracléion : Mémoire et Reflets de L’Histoire Saïte
Authors: Goddio Franck , von Bomhard Anne-Sophie , Grataloup Catherine
Published: November 2020

Thonis-Heracleion and Saïs, located close to each other geographically, have shared a common history over several centuries. Numerous bronze objects dating from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty were brought to light in the northernmost waterway leading from the Canopic mouth east to west across Thonis-Heracleion. Among these artefacts are four bronze plaques engraved with the names of kings, one displaying an unknown Horus name in the frame of a serekh. Attempts to identify this king led to the establishment of a list of the rulers to whom this name might be attributed in view of the historical data and the archaeological results obtained on site.

Thônis-Héracléion et Saïs, proches l’une de l’autre d’un point de vue géographique, ont eu, pendant quelques siècles, une histoire commune. Plusieurs objets de bronze datant de la vingt-sixième dynastie ont été mis au jour le long de la voie d’eau transversale la plus septentrionale de Thônis-Héracléion qui menait d’est en ouest vers la ville à partir de l’embouchure Canopique. Parmi les artefacts, quatre sont des plaques de bronze gravées de noms royaux, et l’une d’elles donne, dans le cadre d’un serekh, un nom d’Horus inconnu. Les tentatives d’identification de ce roi amènent à dresser la liste des souverains auxquels ce nom pourrait être attribué, compte tenu des données historiques et des résultats archéologiques obtenus sur le site.
From Thebes to Piramesse — and Back: On the Text History of Supplementary Chapter 166 of the Book of the Dead
Authors: Willems Harco
Published: November 2020

The colophon of BD supplementary chapter 166 states that the text had been found at the neck of Ramses II’s mummy. Dahms, Pehal, and Willems had argued in JEA 100 (2014) that the original document had not formed part of the original tomb equipment of Ramses II, but had been added in the course of the Twenty-First Dynasty after the tomb robberies in the Valley of the Kings. In 2016, J. Quack raised fundamental criticism against this interpretation, arguing that the text dates to the early Ramesside Period and had probably been applied in Piramesse to the mummy of Ramses II. The present article offers a critical reassessment of Quack’s paper. The linguistic register of funerary texts, the development of the negative aorist, and contextual indications strengthen the idea that the text was written in Thebes in the Twenty-First Dynasty in the social context of the Amun priesthood.
Chronic Pseudoparalysis Needs to Be Distinguished From Pseudoparesis: A Structural and Biomechanical Analysis
Authors: Ernstbrunner Lukas , El Nashar Rany , Favre Philippe , Bouaicha Samy , Wieser Karl , Gerber Christian
Published: November 2020

Background:

Chronic pseudoparalysis is generally defined as the inability to actively elevate the arm above 90° with free passive range of motion and no neurological deficits. It has been suggested that this arbitrary cutoff needs to be refined.

Purpose:

To analyze whether there are structural and biomechanical differences in patients with chronic pseudoparalysis and those with chronic pseudoparesis.

Study Design:

Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

In this retrospective study, 50 patients with chronic massive rotator cuff tears (mRCTs; ≥2 tendons) and free passive and active scapular plane abduction <90° were divided into 2 groups: pseudoparalysis group (n = 24; active scapular plane abduction, <45°) and pseudoparesis group (n = 26; active scapular plane abduction, >45° and <90°). Radiographic measurements included the critical shoulder angle, acromiohumeral distance, posterior acromial tilt, anterior and posterior acromial coverages, and posterior acromial height on outlet views. Measurements on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) included fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff muscles, anterior (subscapularis) and posterior (infraspinatus/teres minor) tear extensions, and global (anterior + posterior) tear extension in the parasagittal plane. A published musculoskeletal model was used to simulate the effect of different mRCTs on the muscle force required for scapular plane abduction.

Results:

Plain radiographs revealed no differences between patients with chronic pseudoparalysis and those with pseudoparesis. MRI assessment showed significant differences between patients with chronic pseudoparalysis and those with pseudoparesis with respect to fatty infiltration of the subscapularis (2.9 vs 1.6; P < .001) and infraspinatus (3.6 vs 3.0; P < .001) muscles, and anterior (−23° vs 4°; P < .001), posterior (−23° vs −14°; P = .034), and global rotator cuff (225° vs 190°; P < .001) tear extensions. The anterior tear extension in patients with chronic pseudoparalysis always involved more than 50% of the subscapularis, which was associated with an odds ratio of 5 for inability to actively abduct more than 45°. The biomechanical model was unable to find a combination of muscles that could balance the arm in space when the tear extended beyond the supraspinatus and the cranial subscapularis.

Conclusion:

This study confirms that chronic pseudoparalysis and pseudoparesis are associated with different structural lesions. In the setting of a chronic mRCT, involvement of more than 50% of the subscapularis tendon with fatty infiltration of stage 3 is associated with pseudoparalysis of active scapular plane abduction <45°. The key function of the subscapularis was confirmed in the biomechanical model.
War, Heroes and Sacrifice: Masking Neoliberal Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Lohmeyer Ben A , Taylor Nik
Published: November 2020

The precarity and violation that has resulted from decades of neoliberal reforms have been made clear in the global COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in terms of access to healthcare and financial inequality. However, ideological discourses of individual heroics have been rapidly deployed, to patch up the damage done to neoliberal rhetoric. In this paper, we argue a critical sociological lens reveals something important about this violence of neoliberalism at this moment during the crisis. Analysing media articles that have considerable reach, availability and shareability, we interrogate the rhetorical framing of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and uncover three significant themes: ‘celebrating “our” heroes’, ‘personal sacrifice’ and ‘the heroes of war’. We argue that the emerging field of the sociology of violence provides the means to expose the violence of neoliberalism in the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as identify the discursive apparatus that obscure the violation of neoliberalism more generally.
Stress analysis of smart composite plate structures
Authors: Chanda Aniket , Chandel Utkarsh , Sahoo Rosalin , Grover Neeraj
Published: November 2020

In the present study, the electro-mechanical responses of smart laminated composite plates with piezoelectric materials are derived using a two-dimensional (2 D) displacement-based non-polynomial higher-order shear deformation theory. The kinematics of the mathematical model incorporates the deformation of laminates which account for the effects of transverse shear deformation and a non-linear variation of the in-plane displacements using inverse sine hyperbolic function of the thickness coordinate. The equilibrium equations are obtained using the minimization of energy principle known as the principle of minimum potential energy (PMPE) which is also based on a variational approach and the solutions are obtained using Navier’s solution technique for diaphragm supported smart laminated composite plates. The responses obtained in the form of deflection and stresses are compared with three dimensional (3 D) solutions and also with different polynomial and non-polynomial based higher-order theories in the literature. The transverse shear stresses are obtained using 3 D equilibrium equations of elasticity to enhance the accuracy of the present results. Various examples are numerically solved to establish the efficiency of the present model.
Stability of an exponentially tapered asymmetric sandwich beam placing on a variable Pasternak Foundation with variable temperature gradient
Authors: Pradhan Madhusmita , Dash Pusparaj , Nayak Dipesh Kumar
Published: November 2020

The stability investigation of an exponentially tapered sandwich beam, asymmetric in nature placed upon a Pasternak foundation with variable behavior acted upon by a periodic longitudinal load with variable temperature grade with clamped-pinned condition provided at the ends is analyzed in this article. By using Hamilton’s energy method, a complete solution for the mathematical modeling of the system is obtained. The equations of motion along with the related boundary conditions are obtained in non-dimensional form. A group of Hill’s equations are found by generalized Galerkin’s method. Different parameters have significant influence on both the static buckling loads as well as the zones of instability. These effects of these parameters are examined and are presented in a graphical manner. The outcomes resulted due to uniform and variable temperature grade are compared.
Applying SLICC and ACR/EULAR systemic lupus erythematosus classification criteria in a cohort of patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease
Authors: Drehmel Kyle R , Erickson Alan R , England Bryant R , Michaud Kaleb D , Sayles Harlan R , Hearth-Holmes Michelene P
Published: November 2020

Background/objective

New classification criteria for SLE have recently been developed. How these criteria affect the classification of patients with the SLE-mimicking condition UCTD is poorly understood. This study investigated the reclassification of UCTD patients using newly derived SLE criteria.

Methods

Patients with UCTD were identified within a single academic medical center using ICD9/10 codes. Medical record review was performed to confirm UCTD diagnosis and identify disease features present at diagnosis. The SLICC and ACR/EULAR criteria were applied, after which we compared the proportion of patients reclassified as SLE and determined which disease features were associated with reclassification.

Results

A total of 129 patients were included in the study. When applying the SLICC and ACR/EULAR criteria, 18 (14.0%) and 26 patients (20.2%) were reclassified as SLE. Comparison with McNemar’s test trended toward statistical significance (p = 0.057). Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.62 (p < 0.001), indicating substantial agreement between these criteria. Disease features associated with reclassification as SLE were renal involvement, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, anti- dsDNA antibody, hypocomplementemia, non-scarring alopecia (SLICC), and arthritis (ACR/EULAR).

Conclusions

Both the SLICC and ACR/EULAR criteria exhibit increased SLE classification. These newer classification criteria could be used to increase the number of SLE patients in future clinical studies.
Impact of Trade Restrictions in European and Sub-Saharan Regions
Authors: Edeme Richardson Kojo , Aduku Ebikabowei Biedomo , Nwokoye Ebele Stella , Nkalu Nelson Chigozie
Published: November 2020

This article investigates the impact of trade restrictions in European and sub-Saharan regions. The study employed annual time series for the period from 1980 to 2019. Based on augmented Philip curve framework, it was found that for the European Union, the trade-off is 4.31 per cent, while it is 2.66 per cent for the sub-Saharan African region. This suggests that the negative effect of globalisation due to trade restrictions is more in developed regions than in developing regions of the world. The implication of the finding is that whether in developed or developing countries, a trade-off exists between globalisation and restricted trade. This has significant bilateral and multilateral trade policy relevance.
Developing Academics’ Capacity for Internationalizing the Curriculum: A Collaborative Autoethnography of a Cross-Institutional Project
Authors: Zou Tracy X. P. , Law Lisa Y. N. , Chu Beatrice C. B. , Lin Vienne , Ko Tiffany , Lai Nicole K. Y.
Published: November 2020

Developing academics’ capacity for internationalizing the curriculum (IoC) is essential but challenging. There is a lack of understanding of how the IoC framework can be implemented in reality and of how educational developers can facilitate the process. This collaborative autoethnography explores the cultivation over 3 years of a community of practice for developing academics’ IoC capacity facilitated by six educational developers in three universities in Hong Kong. The findings reveal a complex balancing act among various forces in the areas of domain, community, practice, power, identity, and broader context, the last three of which are insufficiently addressed in the literature. This article adds value by illustrating how IoC theories and communities of practice interact with multiple forces in the environment and our own agency, and are negotiated within a particular context.
Parents’ Experiences of Having a Young Child With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in China
Authors: Liu Qian , Petrini Marcia A. , Luo Dan , Yang Bing Xiang , Yang Jiong , Haase Joan E.
Published: November 2020

Background:

Understanding parents’ experiences is a prerequisite to developing interventions that are sensitive to needs of children and families. In China, little is known about parental experiences of having a young child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This phenomenological study aimed to describe parental experiences of having a young child with ALL in China.

Method:

Ten parents, recruited in central China using purposive sampling, participated in face-to-face, in-depth interviews using Haase’s adaptation of Colaizzi’s phenomenological method.

Results:

Five theme categories were identified: (a) The Cancer Diagnosis as a Terrible Disaster—The Sky is Falling, (b) Fighting the Beast, (c) Putting on a Happy Face and Other Coping Strategies, (d) Diagnosis Disclosure: If We Tell and How to Tell, and (e) Hope-Filled Expectations: Returning to Normal Life.

Conclusion:

Parents put their child’s health as their top priority. They strive to manage uncertainty about prognosis and cope with enormous pressures caused by children’s suffering, financial burden, and stigma. Parents also express their resilience and hope throughout their child’s cancer journey. Support services to strengthen specific families’ protective factors (i.e., family/community support, hope, and positive coping) are needed to foster resilience and quality of life. Health care professionals should systematically assess parents’ needs, provide validated education materials, and implement tailored interventions across the cancer continuum. Public education and advocacy about cancer is also necessary to decrease cancer-related stigma, and provide financial aid and health care resources in pediatric oncology.
Generic Self-Reported Questionnaires Measuring Self-Management: A Scoping Review
Authors: Hudon Émilie , Hudon Catherine , Lambert Mireille , Bisson Mathieu , Chouinard Maud-Christine
Published: November 2020

This study aimed to (1) identify generic questionnaires that measure self-management in people with chronic conditions, (2) describe their characteristics, (3) describe their development and theoretical foundations, and (4) identify categories of self-management strategies they assessed. This scoping review was based on the methodological framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley and completed by Levac et al. A thematic analysis was used to examine self-management strategies assessed by the questionnaires published between 1976 and 2019. A total of 21 articles on 10 generic, self-reported questionnaires were identified. The questionnaires were developed using various theoretical foundations. The Patient Assessment of Self-Management Tasks and Partners in Health scale questionnaires possessed characteristics that made them suitable for use in clinical and research settings and for evaluating all categories of self-management strategies. This study provides clinicians and researchers with an overview of generic, self-reported questionnaires and highlights some of their practical characteristics.
The Newsworthiness of Mass Public Shootings: What Factors Impact the Extent of Coverage?
Authors: Fox James Alan , Gerdes Madison , Duwe Grant , Rocque Michael
Published: November 2020

This study examined the characteristics of mass public shootings from 2000 through 2019 that impacted the extent of news coverage. A negative binomial regression predicting AP story counts indicated substantially greater coverage of shootings with a high number of casualties; that target government facilities, schools, or houses of worship; that are perpetrated by younger assailants, particularly with indications of mental illness; that involve terrorism or hate-motivation; that end in the assailant’s arrest rather than death; and, to a lesser extent, that include larger shares of victims who are White, women, children, and strangers. Overall, the disproportionate coverage contributes to distorted perceptions of risk and reinforces inaccurate stereotypes about these crimes.
MRI of the optic nerve sheath and globe in cats with and without presumed intracranial hypertension
Authors: Lodzinska Joanna , Munro Elizabeth , Shaw Darren J , Suñol Anna
Published: November 2020

Objectives

The study aimed to: (1) test MRI repeatability of measurements of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), optic nerve diameter (OND) and eye globe transverse diameter (ETD); (2) investigate the associations between the OND, ONSD and ETD; (3) assess whether these measurements are affected by age or body weight; and (4) test the association between ONSD, OND, ETD and ONSD:ETD ratio with presumed intracranial pressure (ICP) status.

Methods

This was a retrospective and blinded study where patients were allocated to presumed normal or intracranial hypertension groups based on MRI findings. The ONSD and ETD were measured and recorded. Interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to investigate interobserver agreement. Data were analysed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, two-sample t-test and general linear model ANOVA.

Results

Seventy-seven cats were included, 62 with presumed normal ICP and 15 with presumed intracranial hypertension. The ICC showed moderate-to-good reliability for all measurements. Positive correlations were identified for: (1) ETD and weight; (2) ONSD and age; (3) OND and age; (4) ONSD and ETD; (5) ONSD:ETD ratio and presumed ICP status; and (6) ONSD and presumed ICP status. No difference was detected between the presumed normal and intracranial hypertension groups and ONSD, as well as ONSD:ETD ratio and presumed ICP status when patient age was considered.

Conclusions and relevance

The measurement of the ONSD and the ONSD:ETD ratio on T2-weighted MRI might not be reliable as non-invasive tests for diagnosing intracranial hypertension in cats.
What Drive Trade Costs? South Asia and Beyond
Authors: Kumari Mamta , Bharti Nalin
Published: November 2020

Higher trade costs in developing countries have received enormous attention during the recent past. In this context, it is imperative to revisit the factors contributing to such higher trade costs. This article attempts to explore the major determinants of trade costs conceptually and empirically. Further, the study endeavours to solve the puzzle of higher trade costs in the South Asian perspective. Using panel data of 93 countries from 2007 to 2015, the study tends to uncover major determinants of trade costs between South Asian countries and their two proximate regional blocks, namely Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In estimating the model, the study prefers to use fixed-effect estimation technique, owing to the results of statistical tests carried out to choose the most appropriate model for the estimation. The findings of the study reveal that trade facilitation, political corruption and financial development affect intra-regional trade costs of South Asia significantly. Trade facilitation influences trade costs between South Asia and ASEAN. Moreover, trade facilitation and financial development affect trade costs between South Asia and APEC. The diagnoses of South Asian intra and inter-regional trade costs can push forward ongoing efforts at unlocking the potential of regional integration as well as global integration of the region.
Indoor bacterial pollution, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and associated risk factors of bacterial isolates among residences of Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Belay Gizeaddis , Gelaw Baye , Tigabu Abiye , Raju R. P.
Published: November 2020

Background

In Ethiopia, there is not enough information about indoor air bacterial pollution. Therefore, this study aimed to determine bacterial indoor air pollution and its associated risk factors among residences of Gondar town.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey of indoor air pollution was conducted on 259 selected houses from February to May 2019. Sociodemographic and housing characteristics were collected using a questionnaire and checklist. Passive settle plate method using blood culture media was employed to collect samples and identification of isolates done by both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Results

A total of 259 houses were investigated, and 13 different types of bacterial species were isolated. Of these, Bacillus species 259 (100%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species 101 (34.4%), Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella species, Citrobacter diversus, Escherichia coli, and Pantoea species were isolates. Tetracycline and cotrimoxazole were ineffective, but ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone were efficient antibiotics. Educational status, presence of domestic animals within the house, and integrated toilets were significantly associated with indoor bacterial pollution ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Indoor air pollution was higher in this study than international quantification limit (5 colony-forming unit/4 h) of clean rooms. So, periodic surveillance of indoor air quality and assessing risk factors should be addressed to assess the burden and intervene accordingly.
A snap of your true self: How self-presentation and temporal affordance influence self-concept on social media
Authors: Choi Sukyoung , Williams Dmitri , Kim Hyeok
Published: November 2020

This study examined how self-presentation on social media influences the way people view themselves. It also examined whether that varies with sites using two temporal features: posts which have a short life (ephemeral) and those which live indefinitely (permanent). Drawing on both the notion of public commitment and self-symbolizing, our experiment provided a critical test of two rival theory-driven hypotheses—one suggesting a greater internalization of presented self on permanent rather than ephemeral social media and the other suggesting the opposite pattern. Supporting the self-symbolizing perspective, those who publicly presented themselves on ephemeral social media internalized their portrayed personality. Also, such a difference in internalization between the two conditions was triggered by an introverted self-presentation. Results suggest that ephemerality enhances self-symbolizing efforts and the subsequent internalization by affording nonstrategic self-presentation and reducing impression management concerns. Implications for understanding self-concept change in social media contexts are discussed.
Examining the Quality of Individualized Education Program (IEP) Goals for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Authors: Goodwin Katherine , Farquharson Kelly , Yeager Pelatti Christina , Schneider-Cline Whitney , Harvey Judy , Bush Erin
Published: November 2020

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the quality of Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals for students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using an empirically based rating instrument. One hundred twenty-five IEP goals for 49 students with TBI were coded using the Revised IEP/IFSP Goals and Objective Rating Instrument (R-GORI; Notari). Using this dichotomous measure, we analyzed the quality of IEP goals across six areas: observability, measurability, functionality, generalizability, application in daily tasks, and clarity of goals. On average, students had three IEP goals (range: 1–8). The average goal quality score was 3.74 (range: 1–6). While most of the goals were measurable, only a few contained details about how the goals could be generalized beyond the specific educational or therapeutic environment. These findings highlight variability in the quality of IEP goals, which may have implications to the therapeutic environment and child outcomes.
Working together to survive and thrive: The struggle for Black lives past and present
Authors: Ruffin Herbert G
Published: November 2020

This article examines Black leadership through the generations as a multifaceted struggle for Black lives led by ordinary Black people working together to end anti-Black violence and systemic racism for the affirmation of their humanity. At the center of this examination is the latest phase in a long struggle for Black lives, which has been branded as a Black Lives Matter movement. This new movement for social justice developed from past struggles and during the aftermath of the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin, 2014 Ferguson uprising, and 2020 George Floyd uprising. For the author, this new struggle is Black Americans most recent “walk of life” that stretches back to the movements for self-determination, anti-enslavement, and civil rights during the American Revolutionary period (1764–1789). Central to this new struggle is the blending of nonviolent direct action tactics with the use of digital technology and the inclusion of people who previously functioned on the margins of the civil rights agenda. This struggle is addressed, first through an exploration of where Black-led community organizations have been since Trayvon’s death, and second, by examining what is currently being done during the aftermath of the death of Breonna Taylor up to mid-September 2020.
Beyond diversity, inclusion, and belonging
Authors: Adejumo Vincent
Published: November 2020

Diversity, inclusion, and belonging have a symbiotic but a complicated relationship in America. The foundation of this complication is due in part to the social order in which whites are the dominant group in every major sector of society while nonwhites, particularly African Americans, are at the bottom. This social order is also mirrored in organizational structures in which whites, in positions of leadership, project their culture of dominance within the organization. This has a profound effect on nonwhites, especially upon African Americans within the structure, who may feel that they must be inauthentic while associated with the organization and/or entity to survive. This study explores these dynamics by critically interrogating how leadership plays a role not only in organizations and institutions, but also in politics, activism, and society at large. What is gleaned from this analysis is that diversity, inclusion, and belonging will not require an undertaking of special programs and initiatives if white people and organizations transform their ideology on the function of nonwhites, in particular in the context of this study of African Americans, in society at large as well as within organizations.
The “Total Continuous War” and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Neoliberal Governmentality, Disposable Bodies and Protected Lives
Authors: Dias Bárbara L. C. V. , Deluchey Jean-François Y.
Published: November 2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we very often heard the expression “We are at war,” but the warlike tactics that appeared more visibly during the pandemic have been long before used and deployed against the most precarious bodies among us (Butler). In fact, the “danger” constituted by the narrative of fighting the pandemic served in imposing security apparatus and exceptional measures, as well as deepening the “structural reforms” that neoliberal governments consider as their sole task to carry out (Federici). Thus, the rhetorical resource of the pandemic danger gave legitimacy to the expansion of warlike strategies with the complacency of the whole population. In the present paper, drawing on an analysis of what we consider to be the main neoliberal governmental strategies in the way of dealing with the pandemic, we question the logic of a “total continuous war” (Foucault), carried out in particular through different bodies hierarchization and the designs of post-pandemic societies. This reflection has been developed in three steps: first, we question what is this war that the COVID-19 pandemic made more visible. In a second part, we observe government tactics and its relation with the rhetoric of war, which allows neoliberal governments to expose differently the human bodies (Agamben). Finally, we examine the relation between bio-necro-policies and the urgency of promoting a total continuous war that opposes disposable bodies to lives that neoliberal governments seek to protect.
The Effect of Private Customer-Manager Social Engagement Upon Online Booking Behavior
Authors: Han Saram , Anderson Christopher K.
Published: November 2020

Owing to the impact of third-party commissions upon hotel profitability, many hotel brands have actively engaged in book direct campaigns, but to date, no large-scale longitudinal effort has been conducted to systematically evaluate direct booking behavior (i.e., direct versus online travel agency [OTA]). In this study, we use three years of transactional data from a large hotel brand to evaluate booking channel choices. To address the dynamic nature of the longitudinal individual-level data, we use a hidden Markov model (HMM), allowing us to evaluate both short- and long-term effects. Using the HMM, we evaluate the latent loyalty status of customers through their observed online booking channel behavior (i.e., direct versus OTA). As a result, we find that customer–manager engagement through guest satisfaction surveys (and managerial responses to those surveys) has a long-term effect on consumer propensities to book direct, gradually increasing customer loyalty to the brand. Specifically, we find that positive customer feedback signals a greater willingness to book direct in subsequent purchases. Moreover, managerial responses to the satisfied customer result in greater tendency to remain loyal and book direct. Second, the membership program tier of the customer has a significant short-term effect on the consumer’s propensity to book direct. Low-loyalty customers’ direct booking tendency increases as soon as they join the membership program. These findings not only illustrate the impact of membership status upon channel choice but also indicate the effect of the customer’s voice and the resulting managerial response upon booking behaviors over time.
Hopes and fears before opioid tapering: a quantitative and qualitative study of patients with chronic pain and long-term opioids
Authors: Quinlan Jane , Willson Heather , Grange Katheryn
Published: November 2020

Background:

It is clear that the risks of opioids in chronic pain outweigh the benefits, creating a drive for clinicians to support patients taper and stop long-term opioids. However, it is not known how patients who have been taking these medicines for months or years feel about reducing them. Using quantitative and qualitative data, this study describes the psychological complexity of these patients and examines their hopes and fears before opioid reduction.

Methods:

Sixty patients attending the opioid clinic completed psychological and pain questionnaires, providing quantitative data, just before they commenced opioid tapering. They scored the severity of opioid side effects and completed a free text framework to express their beliefs about stopping or continuing opioids. A phenomenological approach was used to identify common qualitative themes.

Results:

Most patients were taking opioid doses above the UK recommended maximum dose and reported severe pain with high pain interference. Over 80% of patients described significant depression and 60% significant anxiety. Negative themes around stopping opioids were more common than positive ones, with 63% patients fearing increased pain. A quarter of patients referred to addiction and 16% feared withdrawal. Five patients hoped for a better quality of life; seven feared a worse one. Opioid side effects were common and severe.

Conclusion:

Patients with chronic pain taking long-term opioids demonstrate high psychological distress and low self-efficacy. Their concerns around opioid tapering relate to pain, quality of life and withdrawal. Identifying and addressing patients’ individual concerns should increase the likelihood of successful opioid tapering.