bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Uso da termografia como método de avaliação na medicina física e de reabilitação: revisão de literatura
Authors: Alfieri Fábio Marcon , Santos Artur Cesar Aquino dos , Battistella Linamara Rizzo
Published: June 2022

Por indicar a temperatura corporal, a avaliação termográfica pode servir como indicativo de alteração fisiológica em algumas condições clínicas nas quais a reabilitação se faz necessária. Objetivo: Conhecer a quantidade de publicações sobre o uso da termografia como instrumento de avaliação de desfecho de pesquisa clínica em estudos de reabilitação. Método: Foi feita uma busca na base de dados PubMed. Como descritor foi utilizado somente o MeSH term Thermography e escolhidos os artigos que reportavam pesquisa clínica. Resultados: De 6957 artigos encontrados, 316 eram Clinical trials, destes, 304 foram excluídos por não atenderem os critérios de inclusão, permanecendo assim 12 estudos. Estes foram classificados segundo a escala de JADAD. Apenas três estudos foram considerados com boa qualidade metodológica. Nos estudos incluídos, as condições clínicas avaliadas foram: dor muscular tardia, lombalgia, artrite reumatoide, síndrome da dor complexa regional, dor miofascial, osteoartrite, Fenômeno de Raynaud's, e tendinites. Diversos recursos terapêuticos foram utilizados, sendo o laser usado em 5 estudos. Apenas um estudo não conseguiu identificar mudanças após os procedimentos de reabilitação quando usada a termografia como avaliação. Conclusão: Essa revisão mostrou que poucos estudos e com baixa qualidade metodológica usaram a termografia como método de avaliação em programas de reabilitação.
Avaliação podobarométrica nas amputações do médio e antepé
Authors: Chamlian Therezinha Rosane , Nery Caio , Réssio Cibele , Masiero Danilo
Published: June 2022

Os autores estudaram a marcha de 14 pacientes com amputações unilaterais parciais do pé, Chopart e transmetatarsiana, através do podobarômetro F-Scan®, para determinar a duração do passo, a distribuição do pico de pressão máxima, o impulso vertical, a velocidade e a trajetória do baricentro (COP), nas situações: sem calçado, com palmilha plana e com prótese de Chopart. A análise dos resultados demonstrou que o tempo total do passo do lado amputado, nos dois grupos, é menor do que o dos pés não-amputados, nas três situações. A utilização de palmilhas não produz alterações e o uso de próteses aumenta significantemente o tempo de duração do passo, em ambos os pés. Os picos de pressão máxima nos pés amputados são superiores aos dos pés não-amputados, nos dois grupos de pacientes, nas três situações estudadas. O uso de palmilhas e próteses reduz significantemente os níveis de pressão máxima, em ambos os pés, sendo a intensidade dessa redução proporcional à rigidez imposta pelo equipamento utilizado. A localização dos picos de pressão máxima pode ser modificada na dependência do tipo de órtese ou prótese utilizada, em ambos os pés. O impulso vertical do solo é menor no lado amputado nos dois grupos; no entanto, é constantemente maior na amputação do tipo Chopart que na transmetatarsiana. A velocidade de deslocamento do baricentro no retropé dos pacientes amputados, nos dois grupos, é menor do que a observada nos pés não-amputados, e não varia com a utilização das órteses e próteses estudadas.Os pés não-amputados dos pacientes dos dois grupos apresentam alterações funcionais importantes manifestadas por desvios das velocidades do baricentro no retro, médio e antepé.
Perforated Appendicitis With Migrated Inguinal Mesh Involvement
Authors: Monreal Alberto J. , Profeta Bernadette , Bloom Scott W. , Eubanks Steve
Published: June 2022

Mesh-plug hernioplasty has been recognized as a safe and effective surgical repair for primary inguinal hernias and is a common procedure in the United States. Critics of the mesh-plug system describe erosion, migration, and chronic pain as reasons not to employ mesh plugs in primary hernia repair. To our knowledge, mesh graft infection associated with perforated acute appendicitis has been documented only once before in the surgical literature, highlighting an exceedingly rare but possible complication. We report the therapeutic management of a 50-year-old male with perforated appendicitis associated with a mesh‐plug from previous open herniorrhaphy requiring mesh explantation and small bowel resection.
Calcium and Phosphate Solubility Curve Equation for Determining Precipitation Limits in Compounding Parenteral Nutrition
Authors: Anderson Collin , Eggert Larry , Fitzgerald Kristie , Jackson Daniel , Farr Fred
Published: June 2022

Clinicians have published research and reports on calcium and phosphate solubility within parenteral nutrition (PN) for over 40 years. Foundational empirical laboratory investigation in the 1980s motivated by the prevalence of neonatal rickets and osteomalacia in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) population led to precipitation curves that have guided PN prescribing and compounding. Over subsequent decades, numerous publications have expanded the knowledge of factors influencing calcium and phosphate solubility in formulating optimal and safe PN admixtures. Failure to adhere to known principles has led to serious injury and death. Known solubility curves are derived from empiric analysis of a finite number of conditions and concentrations, whereas custom PN orders vary widely and rarely match the admixture composition in the data set used to derive the published precipitation curves. Various commercial platforms have been developed to aid the pharmacist in assessing the potential for precipitation when evaluating a PN order. Some applications plot the calcium and phosphate concentrations of the prescribed PN against known published graphs most similar to the order, allowing the pharmacist to judge the risk of precipitation. Other approaches use intellectually protected trade secret algorithms to determine calcium and phosphate solubility across a continuum of conditions. This publication reports equations that have been used successfully for over 2 decades in our regional network of NICUs and shared with others to determine safe prescribing limits for calcium and phosphate concentrations using an electronic PN prescribing program.
Burnout syndrome (BOS) among resident doctors in an Egyptian tertiary care university hospital: Prevalence and determinants during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Fadle Amr A. , Khalifa Ahmed A , Mahran Dalia G. , Khidr Shimaa Sayed , Said Hatem G , Farouk Osama
Published: June 2022

Objectives:

The current study aimed to detect the BOS prevalence and determinants among residents working during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in an Egyptian tertiary university referral hospital.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study evaluating the working period from June to November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic second wave, through a five sections questionnaire evaluating: 1 − sociodemographic characteristics, 2 − job characteristics, 3 − negative thoughts related to their job, 4 − resident’s health problems, and 5 − evaluating BOS through Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scale (including emotional exhaustion [EE], depersonalization [DP], and personal accomplishment [PA] as subscales).

Results:

We included 230 residents with a median age of 27 years. The median MBI sub-scales (IQ Range) values were 30.0 (20, 39), 21.0 (15, 30), and 29.5 (22, 36) for EE, DP, and PA, respectively. About 51.0% and 83.0% of the residents were high in EE and DP, while 8.7% were low in PA. The median EE and DP were higher in younger age (⩽27 years; p = .002 and .024), males ( p = .001 and <.001), working >90 hours weekly ( p = .016 and <.001), exposure to harassment ( p < .001), and having COVID-19 infection ( p = .002 and .001). Residents working in surgical departments reported higher DP scores than those in non-surgical departments ( p = .03). There was a mild positive correlation between working hours per week and the total scores in EE and DP, r = .24 ( p < .001) and r = .23 ( p = .001) respectively, while it was found to have a negative correlation with the PA ( r = −.133 and p = .044).

Conclusions:

The BOS is evident and considerably high among the residents working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Younger age, males, working in surgical departments, and those who got COVID-19 infection were most vulnerable.
Murder-suicides in Milan: case history from 1990 to 2018. Criminological and medico-legal considerations
Authors: Travaini Guido , Caruso Palmina , Cornelli Roberto , Merzagora Isabella , Margherita Manuela , Battistini Alessio
Published: June 2022

This study reviews autopsies performed by the Legal Medicine department of the University of Milan from 1990 to 2018. In particular, the characteristics of the perpetrator, the victim and the type of existing relationship, the means used, and the place and time of the crime. A retrospective analysis was conducted, extracting data from the Milan Institute of Legal Medicine database, selecting cases of murder-suicide from the archive between 1990 and 2018 (a total of 75 cases with 84 murder victims). Available data was processed statistically. Univariate and bivariate analysis techniques were mainly used. Significance tests (Chi-square) and correlation studies (Pearson's R) were also conducted, the results of which were then examined and discussed in light of legal, medical and criminological expertise.

In almost all cases, suicide followed immediately after the murder, at home and in the context of an emotional relationship. The murderer and person committing suicide is almost always male and the victim female. A firearm was the most common weapon in cases of both murder and suicide.

The results indicate that the issue of gender is relevant in murder-suicides as indicated by international and national literature on homicides. Furthermore, the use of firearms endorses the importance of limiting their availability through more restrictive laws.
An Investigation of the Relationship Between Compassion Fatigue and Moral Sensitivity of Intensive Care Nurses
Authors: İlter Sümeyra Mihrap , Ovayolu Özlem , Serçe Sibel , Ovayolu Nimet
Published: June 2022

Objective: The study aimed to examine the relationship between compassion fatigue and moral sensitivity of intensive care nurses. Method: Permission was obtained from the ethics committee, institution, and nurses prior to the study. The population of the study consisted of all nurses working in a university hospital, and the sample consisted of 144 intensive care nurses who agreed to participate in the study. The data were collected through the Questionnaire, the Compassion Fatigue Scale, and the Moral Sensitivity Scale. The total score of the compassion fatigue scale ranges between 24 and 120, and a high score indicates a “high level of compassion”. The total score of the moral sensitivity scale, on the other hand, varies between 30-210, and as the score increases, moral sensitivity decreases. The obtained data were evaluated with Student t, One-Way Anova, Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney U, and correlation analysis. Results: It was found that 55.6% of the nurses had a bachelor’s degree, 44.4% had been working in the intensive care unit for 4-6 years, 39.6% had professional ethical dilemmas, and 44.6% of those who had ethical dilemmas could not solve this problem. Compassion fatigue and moral sensitivity scale mean scores were found to be 83.3 ± 6.7 and 125.4 ± 7.2, respectively, and there was a positive correlation between compassion fatigue and moral sensitivity mean scores ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: The mean score of the compassion fatigue and moral sensitivity scale of intensive care nurses was at a “moderate” level, and there was a positive correlation between the nurses' moral sensitivity scale and compassion fatigue scale scores. In line with these results, it can be suggested that the compassion fatigue and moral sensitivities of nurses especially those working in intensive care be evaluated in terms of resolving the ethical dilemmas they may experience in patient care, and these nurses be supported on these matters.
Migration and ‘Intimate Citizenship’: The ‘Small Voice’ of Ansari Begum
Authors: Kannabiran Kalpana , Tella Ramya K.
Published: June 2022

The Partition of 1947 saw approximately 8 million Hindus and Sikhs leave Pakistan to settle in India and 6–7 million Muslims leave India to settle in Pakistan between 1947 and 1951. This article attempts to discuss one such ‘small voice’, a female Tamil Muslim voice, that of Ansari Begum, in Madras, as it surfaces through the ‘lines of the law’—bureaucratic and juridical—that inscribe frontiers. The idea of citizenship, it is argued, is more than the definition of a relationship between the individual and the state—it is a relationship of intimate belonging that is ‘multi-layered’, spatially and culturally shaped and is both abstract and specific.
Book review: Vinod Kapri, 1232 km: The Long Journey Home
Authors: Kumar Ashwani
Published: June 2022

Vinod Kapri, 1232 km: The Long Journey Home. HarperCollins, India, 2021, 232 pp, ₹399, ISBN13: 9789354226519 (Paperback).
Book review: Praveen Kumar Jha, Coolie Lines
Authors: Saloni
Published: June 2022

Praveen Kumar Jha, Coolie Lines. (Hindi) Vani Prakashan, 2019, 286 pp., ₹410, ISBN: 978-93-88684-04-0 (Hardcover)
Navigating Hyper- Precarity: Im(mobilities) during the Covid Pandemic in India
Authors: Deshingkar Priya
Published: June 2022

The hyper-precarity, enforced immobility and invisibility of India’s migrant workforce have been starkly in focus since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. The papers in this special issue explore migrants’ lived experiences of mobility and immobility during the Covid pandemic. They provide granular accounts of the translocal and temporal strategies of migrants as they navigate state controls, citizenship rights, patriarchal norms and barriers to accessing welfare schemes. The case studies empirically delve into the gendered subjectivities of exclusion and power and how these vary by caste and ethnicity. They provide unique insights into what it means to migrate, live and work in today’s India, where neoliberal values have undermined labour rights and protection. At the same time, migrants stories of everyday struggles and socialities reveal how they have created spaces of hope, aspiration and resistance.
Gender Disparities in Active Duty Air Force Parents’ Childcare Access: Pre-Pandemic Costs, Utilization, and Career Impacts
Authors: King Erika L. , Myint Hla , Gardner Tawney R. , Mitchell Morgan R. , Beitz Kristin A.
Published: June 2022

Past reports indicate that enduring Department of Defense (DoD) childcare shortfalls may disproportionately affect women, but details regarding gender effects are unknown. This exploratory study sought to uncover the military childcare system’s pre-pandemic state by analyzing two Air Force (AF) survey datasets—the 2017 AF Community Feedback Tool and 2020 AF Childcare Survey—to examine gender gaps in active duty AF parents’ childcare access, cost and utilization, and perceptions of childcare impacts on career progression and retention. Results reveal that women—particularly those in the lowest ranks with less time on station—report more difficulties accessing childcare than male counterparts. Furthermore, fathers paid nothing for childcare and relied on spouses for childcare at higher rates, while mothers paid for care, relied on DoD childcare programs, were on DoD waitlists, reported childcare-related career impacts, and reported childcare affected their retention decisions at higher rates. Policy recommendations to improve childcare across the force are discussed.
Fostering Public Sector Employees’ Innovative Behavior: The Roles of Servant Leadership, Public Service Motivation, and Learning Goal Orientation
Authors: Nguyen Nhung Thi Hong , Nguyen Diep , Vo Nguyen , Tuan Luu Trong
Published: June 2022

Although public employees’ innovative behavior is essential for ongoing improvement of public services and thereby development of public organizations, limited research has examined this topic—especially in transition countries. Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study theorizes that servant leadership fosters public sector employees’ innovative behavior through the sequential mediation roles of public service motivation and learning goal orientation. Results from structural equation modelling with multi-source data from Vietnam’s public sector employee and manager surveys support the hypothesized model. Our study sheds light on the drivers of public employees’ innovative behavior in a less researched context.
Association of Visual Impairment with Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Rajeshkannan S.  , Yenuganti Vishnu Vardhan , Solomon Maria Annita Tellcott , Rajsri T. R.  , Janana Priya G.
Published: June 2022

Background:

Worldwide, there is an increase in the incidence of suicide each year. Suicide attempts are estimated to be more frequent than actual suicide mortality. One potential contributor to suicide risk is the presence of sensory impairments (visual or hearing impairments). The present review aimed to assess the direction and strength of the association between visual impairment (VI) and the risk of suicidal behavior.

Methods:

A systematic search was carried out on the literature published up to July 2021 in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov. The association between VI and suicidal ideation/attempt was summarized by pooled odds ratio with 95% CI.

Results:

Six studies with a sample size of 1,64,752 were included in the final quantitative synthesis. The pooled odds ratios (95% CI) for suicidal ideation and attempt among persons with VI were 1.53 (1.30–1.79) and 4.55 (2.39–8.67), respectively. On subgroup analysis, the odds of suicidal ideation were higher in persons with additional sensory impairment, 2.07 (1.21–3.53), than in the group with VI only, 1.63 (95% 1.34–1.98).

Conclusion:

This study found a significant association between suicidal behavior and VI, more so in persons with dual impairment. Structured assessment for psychological health and appropriate management should be an integral part of managing people with visual and other sensory impairments, to prevent this serious adverse consequence.
Teaching social policy as if students matter: Decolonizing the curriculum and perpetuating epistemic injustice
Authors: Seckinelgin Hakan
Published: June 2022

Calls for the decolonization of education at all levels of education in the UK have gained new momentum since the murder of George Floyd on 25 May 2020 in Minneapolis and the subsequent Black Lives Matter demonstrations throughout the US and the UK. In this article I focus on the reactions to demands for the decolonization of the curriculum in my own department, Social Policy, at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). I argue that understanding the reactions of academic staff to student demands is informative about the nature of the problem. The article provides a contribution to discussions on decolonization on two fronts: (a) it highlights the internal dynamics of engagement with student demands in the context of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and (b) the academic responses to students’ demands reveal an underlying mechanism that reproduces the status quo in the teaching of Social Policy.
Silence of the wealthy: How the wealthiest 0.1% avoid the media and resort to hidden strategies of advocacy
Authors: Kantola Anu , Vesa Juho
Published: June 2022

As the wealthiest groups have emerged as increasingly significant in societies, this article explores society's wealth elites from the vantage point of media and communication studies. Bridging the literature on policy advocacy and mediatisation, the article examines the hidden and public advocacy strategies of the wealthy. Drawing from 90 interviews with the wealthiest 0.1% in Finland, this study shows the wealthy's highly strategic stance towards the media and journalism. Most of all, they prefer to avoid the media and journalism, while actively using hidden advocacy strategies and being confident in their ability to wield political influence. As a consequence, the wealth elites may remain hidden from the public eye, making them ‘shadow elites’, whose power and scrutinisation pose a challenge to society and journalists as well. The findings support the view that paradoxically, one reaction to mediatisation – the media's heightened powers – is the deliberate avoidance of it.
Significance of mammalian N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT): A 60-year-old debate
Authors: Jiménez Javier Hidalgo , Bouso José Carlos
Published: June 2022

N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a potent psychedelic naturally produced by many plants and animals, including humans. Whether or not DMT is significant to mammalian physiology, especially within the central nervous system, is a debate that started in the early 1960s and continues to this day. This review integrates historical and recent literature to clarify this issue, giving special attention to the most controversial subjects of DMT’s biosynthesis, its storage in synaptic vesicles and the activation receptors like sigma-1. Less discussed topics, like DMT’s metabolic regulation or the biased activation of serotonin receptors, are highlighted. We conclude that most of the arguments dismissing endogenous DMT’s relevance are based on obsolete data or misleading assumptions. Data strongly suggest that DMT can be relevant as a neurotransmitter, neuromodulator, hormone and immunomodulator, as well as being important to pregnancy and development. Key experiments are addressed to definitely prove what specific roles DMT plays in mammalian physiology.
Prescribing clozapine in the UK: Quality improvement issues identified by clinical audit
Authors: Barnes Thomas RE , MacCabe James H , Kane John M , Delgado Oriana , Khan Mareeha , Paton Carol
Published: June 2022

Introduction:

The Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health initiated a quality improvement (QI) programme on clozapine use in UK mental health services.

Methods:

Clinical audits conducted in 2019 and 2021.

Results:

Sixty-three participating NHS Trusts/healthcare organisations in 2019, and 61 in 2021, submitted treatment data for 6948 and 8155 patients, respectively. In both audits, high-dose and/or combined antipsychotic medications had been prescribed immediately before initiating clozapine in over a quarter of patients recently started on clozapine. In patients who were tobacco smokers and recently discharged from a smoke-free ward, the impact of the potential change in smoking status had been considered in the care plans of just under one-third in 2019 and just over a half in 2021. For community patients, their Summary Care Records (SCRs) included their clozapine prescriptions in 58% of cases in 2019 and 72% in 2021.

Conclusions:

Three QI issues were identified. (1) Antipsychotic regimens with limited evidence for efficacy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia were prescribed for over a quarter of cases before starting clozapine. Use of such strategies may delay clozapine treatment, potentially reducing the likelihood of a therapeutic response. (2) While anticipation of the consequences of a change in smoking status on plasma clozapine concentration following discharge from hospital showed improvement over time, even in 2021 it was not evident for nearly a half of relevant cases. (3) While inclusion of clozapine in the SCR also improved over time, even in 2021 it was missing for more than a quarter of community patients.
Effects of acute lysergic acid diethylamide on intermittent ethanol and sucrose drinking and intracranial self-stimulation in C57BL/6 mice
Authors: Elsilä Lauri V , Harkki Juliana , Enberg Emma , Martti Alvar , Linden Anni-Maija , Korpi Esa R
Published: June 2022

Background:

Psychedelics, like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), are again being studied as potential therapies for many neuropsychiatric disorders, including addictions. At the same time, the acute effects of psychedelics on rewarding behaviours have been scarcely studied.

Aims:

The current study aimed to clarify if LSD decreases binge-like ethanol drinking in mice, and whether the observed acute effects on ethanol consumption are generalizable to a natural reinforcer, sucrose, and if the effects resulted from aversive or reward-attenuating effects caused by LSD.

Methods:

The effects of acute LSD were examined using 2-bottle choice intermittent ethanol (20%) and sucrose drinking (10%), discrete-trial current-intensity threshold method of intracranial self-stimulation and short-term feeding behaviour assay in C57BL/6 male mice.

Results:

The results showed that acute 0.1 mg/kg, but not 0.05 mg/kg, dose (i.p.) of LSD reduced 2-h intermittent ethanol drinking transiently without any prolonged effects. No effects were seen in intermittent 2-h sucrose drinking. The tested LSD doses had neither effect on the intracranial self-stimulation current-intensity thresholds, nor did LSD affect the threshold-lowering, or rewarding, effects of simultaneous amphetamine treatment. Furthermore, LSD had small, acute diminishing effects on 2-h food and water intake.

Conclusions:

Based on these results, LSD decreases binge-like ethanol drinking in mice, but only acutely. This effect is not likely to stem from reward-attenuating effects but could be in part due to reduced consummatory behaviour.
Global locational inequality: Assessing unequal exchange effects
Authors: Ricci Andrea
Published: June 2022

Growth in international trade between countries at different levels of development is one of the main drivers of economic globalization. This phenomenon relates to the new international division of labour in which an Emerging Periphery, hosting the offshoring and outsourcing of world manufacturing, stands between a developed Center and a still backward, Poor Periphery. Following the analysis of the relative and absolute indices of global locational inequality, the effect of the unequal exchange on world income distribution in the last 25 years is investigated. A new methodology based on real currency misalignments and value-added trade is presented, which accounts also for international value transfers within global value chains. The counterfactual test shows that trade value transfers represent a significant source of revenue for the Center diverted from the Peripheries. Unequal exchange widens the opportunity gap between citizens of rich and poor countries through an increase in global locational inequality. Redefining post-pandemic international economic rules should therefore recognize the effect of unequal exchange on global inequality.
The origins of modern urban climate science: reflections on ‘A numerical model of the urban heat island’
Authors: Mills Gerald , Stewart Iain D , Niyogi Dev
Published: June 2022

Modern urban climatology is a part of boundary-layer climatology with a focus on the urban effects on the atmosphere. The best known of these effects is the urban heat island (UHI), which has been a subject of study for more than 200 years and may be categorised into air, surface and substrate types. Progress on this topic has occurred in various phases associated with theoretical developments, improvements in technology (instruments and computing) and study design, to isolate the causative drivers. The history of the field can be categorised into response-based (descriptive) and process-based (analytic) periods associated with hypothesis generation and testing, respectively. Myrup’s paper on simulating the UHI, published in 1969, is at the forefront of this shift in approach and is the first application of numerical modelling to the topic. Its computational methods place the UHI within the context of the surface energy budget and the exchanges of energy, urban characteristics, and the substrate as well as overlying air. The paper is a classic that had considerable impact on the approach that geographical climatology took to examining the UHI; however, it is not without its limitations Careful reading of Myrup's work provides insights into how the field has evolved in the last 50 years. In particular the recurring issues associated with conceputalising the urban thermal effect and challenge of comparing models results with field observations. Remarkably, key urban climate questions on how to cool cities, how to plan cities for future climate, and the factors that impact UHI are still being studied, albeit with more sophisticated models. A numerical model of the urban heat island is part of a rich literature on the UHI that illustrates the development of the urban climate science that deserves to be read and cited.
Nonlinear hedge fund index clones?
Authors: Walden Mikhail , Lajbcygier Paul
Published: June 2022

Cloning hedge fund indexes circumvents the many challenges associated with direct hedge fund investment. Theoretically, hedge fund indexes could have nonlinear exposures to the economic risk factors that drive their returns and may require nonlinear clones. By using flexible statistical models, we enable the choice between linear and nonlinear clones. We demonstrate that for certain hedge fund styles, nonlinear index clones are crucial for high fidelity replication. Nonlinear clones both facilitate economic insights to cloning and enhance the best linear clones.

JEL classification: G10, G23, C15
A novel 8-genome instability-associated lncRNAs signature predicting prognosis and drug sensitivity in gastric cancer
Authors: Yi Changhong , Zhang Xiulan , Chen Xia , Huang Birun , Song Jing , Ma Minghui , Yuan Xiaolu , Zhang Chaohao
Published: June 2022

Background

Genome instability lncRNA (GILnc) is prevalently related with gastric cancer (GC) pathophysiology. However, the study on the relationship GILnc and prognosis and drug sensitivity of GC remains scarce.

Method

We extracted expression data of 375 GC patients from TCGA cohort and 205 GC patients from GSE26942 cohort. Then, lncRNA was separated from expression data, and systematically characterized the 8 marker lncRNAs using the LASSO method. Next, we constructed a GILnc model (GILnc score) to quantify the GILnc index of each GC patient. Finally, we analyzed the relationship between GILnc score and clinical traits including survival outcomes, TP53, and drug sensitivity of GC.

Results

Based on a computational frame, 205 GILncs in GC has been identified. Then, a 8 GILncs was successfully established to predict overall survival in GC patients based on LASSO analysis, divided GC samples into high GILnc score and low GILnc score groups with significantly different outcome and was validated in multiple independent patient cohorts. Furthermore, GILnc model is better than the prediction performance of two recently published lncRNA signatures, and the high GILnc score group was more sensitive to mitomycin. Besides, the GILnc score has greater prognostic significance than TP53 mutation status alone and is capable of identifying intermediate subtype group existing with partial TP53 functionality in TP53 wild-type patients. Finally, GILnc signature as verified in GSE26942.

Conclusion

We applied bioinformatics approaches to suggest that a 8 GILnc signature could serve as prognostic biomarkers, and provide a novel direction to explore the pathogenesis of GC.
Evaluating the Potential Socioeconomic Impact of a Proposed Sugarcane Factory on the Village of Mueang Phia, Thailand
Authors: Ishii-Adajar Hideo
Published: June 2022

Thailand is the world’s second largest exporter of sugar, and under the 10-Year Cane and Sugar Strategy (2015–2024), the Thai government has granted an expansion of 13 new sugarcane factories. While most research focuses on the environmental consequences of sugarcane production, this paper examines the potential socioeconomic impact of a proposed sugarcane factory on a nearby (base) village by comparing it to a similar (treatment) village within the same region near an existing sugarcane factory. We find that treatment villagers have higher household income mainly due to their sugarcane-based village economy. They also disclose better perceived environmental quality while results for perceived health status are mixed. Yet, base villagers report higher perceived quality of life, likely due to factors beyond the socioeconomic conditions investigated in this study. Thus, the presence of a sugarcane factory, while socioeconomically favorable, may compromise other aspects of village life that contribute to its overall quality.
When State Violence Comes Home: From Criminal Legal System Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in a Time of Mass Incarceration
Authors: McKay Tasseli
Published: June 2022

Exceptionally high rates of partner violence perpetration are evident among men returning from prison. Two bodies of scholarship, one on family stress and another on exposure to state violence, each suggest that criminal legal system exposure could promote partner violence perpetration via changes in men’s behavioral health and interpersonal approach and in couples’ conflict dynamics. Such relationships have not been tested in quantitative research. Structural equation models were fitted to longitudinal, couples-based survey data from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering. Participants included men returning from a state prison term in five U.S. states ( N = 1112) and their committed intimate or co-parenting partners ( N = 1112). Models tested hypothesized pathways from three dimensions of criminal legal system exposure to later partner violence perpetration. In fitted models, men’s childhood criminal legal system exposure predicts their post-prison partner violence perpetration via adult post-traumatic stress symptoms, reactivity, avoidance, and dysfunctional couple conflict dynamics. Men’s cumulative criminal legal system exposure in adulthood predicts their post-prison partner violence perpetration via addiction and dysfunctional couple conflict. These initial results suggest that mass-scale incarceration could worsen partner violence via men’s psychological and interpersonal adaptations to criminal legal system contact, particularly when such contact is sustained or occurs at a developmentally significant period in the life course.
A review of joining techniques for thermoplastic composite materials
Authors: Siddique Amna , Iqbal Zohaib , Nawab Yasir , Shaker Khubab
Published: June 2022

Composite materials have found widespread applications in the automotive, aerospace, and building industries. Several components are joined together for these applications, by some temporary or permanent bonding approach. The increased use of different materials and their combinations such as composites makes the whole joining process something to be thoroughly considered before continuing. Several aspects need to be studied before spending significant time and financial resources. Considering these challenges in this paper we have provided a review of the investigations that have been made on fiber-reinforced composite joints. The level of development in various types of joints and joining techniques such as mechanical bonding, adhesive bonding, and fusion bonding along with their advantages and disadvantages is given. Several parameters affecting the performance of composite joints such as joint configuration, material selection and properties, geometric parameters, dominating failure modes, and environmental factors are described briefly. To verify the performance of composite joints, guidance on joint testing is given (both destructive and non-destructive).
Influence of scanning strategies on microstructure, residual stress, and corrosion behavior of 17-4 PH stainless steel fabricated by selective laser melting
Authors: Kartikeya Sarma I. , Selvaraj N. , Kumar Adepu
Published: June 2022

In the present study, the effect of hexagonal (inside out and outside in), rectangular (horizontal, vertical, alternate, and both), and strip (horizontal, vertical, alternate, and both) scan strategies on the microstructure, residual stresses, and the corrosion behavior of 17-4 PH stainless steel samples fabricated by selective laser melting were investigated. The results indicate that through hexagonal inside-out scanning strategy, the sample density and hardness are double than that of wrought and cast alloys. Microstructure consists of small and large molten pools on the side and front surface of each sample generated using a different scan strategy. Austenite phase and ferrite peak at the highest intensity were observed by X-ray diffraction for hexagonal inside-out sample. Electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) orientation maps showed a high-density of ɣ-austenite phase (43%) in the finer grain size area of the hexagonal inside-out scan strategy sample. Low residual stresses and high corrosion resistance (<0.5 mpy) were obtained for the hexagonal inside-out scan strategy sample compared to other two strategies because of lower defects, lower thermal gradient, and smaller scan tracks.
The effectiveness and safety of acupuncture/electroacupuncture for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Pei Li-Xia , Yi Yue , Guo Jing , Chen Lu , Zhou Jin-Yong , Wu Xiao-Liang , Sun Jian-Hua , Chen Hao
Published: June 2022

Objective:

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a dose-limiting adverse eﬀect of anticancer agents with virtually no effective treatment. Safe and effective therapies are needed urgently. Acupuncture shows therapeutic possibilities in this regard but needs to be further evaluated.

Methods:

A systematic search was conducted in seven databases from their inception to April 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on acupuncture/electroacupuncture (EA) for the treatment of CIPN were included. Revman 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis if there was no significant heterogeneity. Otherwise, qualitative analysis was utilized.

Results:

Nine studies involving 582 patients were included in this review. Most of the studies exhibited unclear risk of bias because some details were not mentioned. As the clinical heterogeneity was significant, qualitative analysis was performed to describe nerve conduction velocity, effective rate for motor neuropathy, pain scores, quality of life and adverse events. Meta-analysis was performed on four studies to analyze the effective rate for sensory neuropathy due to inconspicuous heterogeneity. The results indicated that acupuncture may generate a better effect on sensory neuropathy than vitamin B (risk ratio = 1.60, 95% confidence interval = 1.31–1.95, I2 = 0%, p < 0.00001). The efficacy of EA plus glutathione (GSH) appeared to be better than that of GSH alone in alleviating sensory neurotoxicity and in improving nerve conduction velocity. Acupuncture plus methylcobalamin showed more favorable effects than methylcobalamin alone in relieving neuralgia, restoring nerve conduction velocity and improving quality of life. In terms of pain relief and improved CIPN-specific quality of life, acupuncture plus standard care was better than standard care alone. In terms of pain relief, EA was more effective than usual care.

Conclusion:

Acupuncture may be effective and safe in the treatment of CIPN according to the analyzed studies. However, more studies with higher methodological quality are warranted in order to be able to draw firmer conclusions. Future rigorous RCTs will be necessary to confirm the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for CIPN.
Britain and the Protection of the Gulf During the Second World War: The Ad hoc Defence of a Peripheral Theatre
Authors: Rossiter Ash , Yates Athol
Published: June 2022

The Gulf, a little-studied theatre of the Second World War, grew in importance to the area's leading power, Britain, as well as the Allies, as war progressed. All three Axis powers at one time or another tested Britain's ability to discharge its defence obligations, which included the protection of tiny Arab shaikhdoms and guarding nearby waters. With Britain's strategic imperatives lying elsewhere, British officials on the spot received scant resources to enact a scheme of defence for the Gulf and instead largely relied on makeshift measures. This article provides the first account of Britain's ad hoc defence arrangements in the region, and, in doing so, offers a window into the organisational, manpower and materiel attention major powers with overseas possessions give peripheral theatres.
Corporate Governance, Shareholders’ Dividend and Cost-efficiency: Moderating Role of Directors’ Ancestry and Directors’ Education
Authors: Mohy-ud-din Kamran , Raza Syed Ali
Published: June 2022

Debates around sound corporate governance in the corporate world have a legal obligation to work on shareholders’ dividend and cost-efficiency. The purpose of this study is to investigate the board size with interaction effect of boards’ ancestry on shareholders’ dividend. Furthermore, the study explores the interaction effect of educational diversity with board size on cost-efficiency. Data analysed in the current study were obtained from the financial reports of 77 firms listed in Karachi stock exchange from 2012 to 2019. A panel regression model based on fixed and random effects was employed on gathered data. Moreover, the moderating effect of board’s ancestry and directors’ education is investigated through hierarchical regression. Our findings contribute to the previous literature by investigating the impact of corporate governance on shareholder’s wealth and cost-efficiency. In addition, the moderating effect of directors’ ancestry and education is also examined. The results show that board size has a significant impact on the investor’s wealth and cost-efficiency. The interaction effect supports the idea that directors’ ancestry in board size enhances shareholders’ dividend. Moreover, the board of directors’ education also moderates cost-efficiency of firms. The results suggest that the corporate sector of Pakistan must promote the directors’ ancestry in developing shareholders’ interest. The policymakers must focus on the directors’ education to enhance cost-efficiency of a firm to take care of the ultimate consumer.
Momentum lost or creating new constellations? Insights from an exercise-at-work project during the COVID-19 pandemic – a mixed methods approach
Authors: Overbye Marie , Wagner Ulrik
Published: June 2022

Exercise-at-work programmes have been identified as venues to decrease inequalities in physical activity and exercise between socioeconomic groups and to improve employees' health and wellbeing. Drawing on a multiple institutional logics perspective and adopting a mixed-methods approach, this paper investigates how employees, exercise-ambassadors and managers at five Danish workplaces experience Covid-19 induced changes to a 1-year exercise-at-work project, and how these changes impacted upon the workplace. Our results suggest that Covid-19 and the altered format of exercise and delivery polarized employees' opportunities for exercise at work. However, the generally positive experiences of exercise-at-work activities and their influence on social environment and collaboration (identified prior to Covid-19 lockdown) remained among those employees who continued with activities. Self-organized adaptions and models of employee exercise which emerged suggest that community logic endured despite the crisis. We show how Covid-19 induced organizational changes led to interplays between institutional logics, with family and state logics becoming more prominent. Specifically, the exercise-at-work programme changed from an aligned model, with complementary logics and minimal conflict, to a model where logics of profession and corporation became dominant at the expense of community logic (exercise-ambassadors activities), but constrained by a state and a family logic.
Perceptions of Experiential Learning and Racial Bias Following International Study Abroad in East Africa: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Hughes Micah S. , Popoola Victor O.
Published: June 2022

This study explored the racial bias perceptions of study abroad alumni following international learning experiences in East Africa. Ninety-seven participants, who completed a semester-long study abroad between Fall 2016 – Spring 2019, were recruited into the study. Open-ended survey questions evaluated perceptions of racial bias, racial prejudice, and racial identity development. Six themes emerged, following thematic analysis: (1) integration of race-conscious curriculum and experiential learning, (2) mutuality in local relationships, (3) immersive experiences with rural host families, (4) U.S. faculty in the study abroad context, (5) exposure to implications of racism in a field study, and (6) student reflections of racial majority/minority dynamics. Student perceptions of how and why study abroad experiences influenced implicit racial bias, racial colorblindness, critical consciousness, and racial identity development could inform higher education curricula. Implications for future study abroad practice include empowerment of students of color, opportunities for anti-racism learning, and the relevance of race-conscious curricula in study abroad programs.
Confidence Is Key: Collective Efficacy, Team Processes, and Team Effectiveness
Authors: Elms Alexandria K. , Gill Harjinder , Gonzalez-Morales Maria Gloria
Published: June 2022

We investigated collective efficacy as a key predictor of team effectiveness (i.e., satisfaction and performance) and examined three behavioral team process dimensions (i.e., transition, action, and interpersonal processes) as novel mediators. Based on survey data from 160 project teams, we found a positive linear relation between collective efficacy and team effectiveness. In addition, we found that a higher frequency of action and interpersonal processes partially explains the positive benefits of collective efficacy on team effectiveness. Our study has unique practical and theoretical implications as it provides empirical evidence for distinct mechanisms of the collective efficacy-team effectiveness relation.
The Costs, Quality, and Scalability of Blended Learning in Postgraduate Management Education
Authors: Soncin Mara , Agasisti Tommaso , Frattini Federico , Patrucco Andrea , Pero Margherita
Published: June 2022

With its combination of online and face-to-face interaction, blended learning is increasingly being employed in postgraduate education. To date, most empirical research on the topic has focused on the design and relative effectiveness of online versus in-person learning. Meanwhile, any exploration of the costs of its delivery has often been neglected. In this study, we propose a framework to assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of alternative designs of blended postgraduate programs, and then empirically apply it to an innovative blended Master of Business Administration (MBA) course as compared with similar MBAs taught at the same institution, with the differences lying in their proportions of online content and the intensity of their use. We applied the Community of Inquiry framework to show that the program with the most intensive use of online learning is also the most effective in terms of student cognitive gain. However, it is not the most cost-effective when compared to other, less online-intensive alternatives. We also found that this result depends on the scalability constraints imposed by the design of the programs. The implications of the scalability versus the quality versus the costs of blended education are then discussed.