bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Major Reservoir for Heparin-Releasable TFPIα (Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor α) Is Extracellular Matrix
Authors: Peterson Julie A. , Maroney Susan A. , Martinez Nicholas D. , Mast Alan E.
Published: April 2021

Objective:

Human endothelial cells produce 2 alternatively spliced TFPI (tissue factor pathway inhibitor) isoforms that maintain anticoagulant properties of the vasculature. TFPIβ is glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchored on the cell surface. TFPIα has a basic C terminus sharing homology with VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) and is a heparin-releasable protein, suggesting it binds glycosaminoglycans on the endothelium surface. However, this is unclear because TFPIα is not on the surface of cultured endothelial cells. This study identifies the source of heparin-releasable TFPIα.

Approach and Results:

ELISA assays localized heparin-releasable TFPIα to the extracellular matrix (ECM) of Ea.hy926 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Immunofluorescence microscopy for TFPIα showed punctate intracytoplasmic staining and ECM staining beneath individual cells. Flow cytometry identified TFPIβ but not TFPIα on the cell surface. TFPIα localization to ECM was confirmed with ELISA and immunohistochemistry studies of umbilical cord veins. The TFPIα C terminus interacted with Ea.hy926 ECM glycosaminoglycans, and a homologous VEGF peptide competed for this binding, suggesting these interactions modulate VEGF responses. Immobilized TFPIα C-terminal peptide bound to several ECM proteoglycans in Ea.hy926 conditioned media. Immunofluorescence studies of human kidney colocalized TFPIα with 4 of these proteoglycans surrounding the microvasculature: glypican-1, syndecan-4, thrombospondin, and laminin-5. The absence of TFPIα on the surface of endothelial cells and its co-localization with specific ECM proteins suggests TFPIα binds to unique proteoglycan structures.

Conclusions:

ECM contained the primary vascular pool of heparin-releasable TFPIα. By localizing to ECM, TFPIα is positioned to inhibit the procoagulant activity of tissue factor surrounding the vasculature.
Social Cognitive Dysfunction Following Pediatric Arterial Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Ryan Nicholas P. , Greenham Mardee , Gordon Anne L. , Ditchfield Michael , Coleman Lee , Cooper Anna , Crowe Louise , Hunt Rod W. , Monagle Paul , Mackay Mark T. , Anderson Vicki
Published: April 2021

Background and Purpose:

Childhood and adolescence coincide with rapid maturation of distributed brain networks supporting social cognition; however, little is known about the impact of early ischemic brain insult on the acquisition of these skills. This study aimed to examine the influence of arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) on facial emotion recognition and theory of mind (ToM) abilities of children and adolescents initially recruited to a single-center, prospective longitudinal study of recovery following AIS.

Methods:

The study involved 67 participants, including 30 children with AIS (mean time since stroke=5 years) and 37 age-matched typically developing controls who were assessed on measures of cognitive ToM, facial emotion recognition, and affective ToM. Acute clinical magnetic resonance imaging, including diffusion-weighted imaging sequences, were used to evaluate prospective structure-function relationships between acute lesion characteristics (size, location, and arterial territories affected) and long-term social cognitive abilities.

Results:

Relative to age-matched typically developing controls, children with AIS showed significantly worse performance on measures of basic facial emotion processing, cognitive ToM, and affective ToM. In univariate models, poorer ToM was associated with larger infarcts, combined cortical-subcortical pathology, and involvement of multiple arterial territories. In multivariate analyses, larger lesions and multiterritory infants were predictive of ToM processing but not facial emotion recognition. Poorer cognitive ToM predicted less frequent prosocial behavior and increased peer problems.

Conclusions:

Social cognitive skills appear vulnerable to disruption from early ischemic brain insult. In the first study to examine social cognition in a prospective cohort of children with AIS, our findings suggest that acute magnetic resonance imaging-based lesion characteristics may have predictive value for long-term social cognitive outcomes and may assist to identify children at elevated risk for social cognitive dysfunction.
LOJİSTİK VE FAALİYETLERİ KONUSUNDA YAPILAN LİSANSÜSTÜ TEZLERİN İÇERİK ANALİZİ
Authors: AYDIN Hatice , RAMAZAN Sezer , ALTINOK Hayrullah
Published: April 2021

Bu çalışmanın amacı, lojistik alanındaki yüksek lisans/doktora tezlerinin daha çok hangi temaları ele aldığını ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaçla temalar, hem lojistik olarak genel manada hem de faaliyetleri olarak daha detaylı olarak değerlendirilecektir. Araştırmanın evreni, lojistik alanında 2020 yılında yazılmış olan yüksek lisans/doktora tezleridir. Toplamda 204 tez için değerlendirme kriterleri oluşturulmuş, 127 tez sosyal bilimler alanı dışında olduğundan ve 5 tanesinin anahtar kelime dizininin olmamasından dolayı değerlendirmeye alınmamıştır. Belirlenen kriterlere uyan 55 tane yüksek lisans ve 17 tane doktora tezi değerlendirilmiştir. Verilerin incelenmesinde içerik analizi tekniği kullanılmış ve MAXQDA 2020 paket programından yararlanılmıştır. Tezler, lojistik teması ile genel ve lojistik faaliyetleri kapsamında ise özel olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Lojistik genel teması kapsamındaki tezlerin genellikle sürdürülebilirlik, performans ve sektörel konularda olduğu ve lojistik faaliyetleri kapsamındaki tezlerin ise ulaştırma, depolama ve stok yönetimi konularında olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Yüksek lisans tezlerinin stok yönetim faaliyetlerini de ele aldığı görülmektedir.
New species and new distributional records of Elanela Rolston, 1980 (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)
Authors: DE BARROS LURDIANA DAYSE , BARÃO KIM RIBEIRO , GRAZIA JOCELIA
Published: April 2021

Two new species are described, Elanela colombiana sp. nov. from Colombia, with disk of scutellum callused, ivory and abdominal sternite VIII immaculate medially, and Elanela ecuatoriana sp. nov., from Ecuador, distinguished by legs with black spots and the dorsal rim and ventral rim of pygophore with a medial process. Illustrations of habitus and genitalia of each species are provided and the distributional map was updated to include the new species and a new record of E. jordi. Additionally, the identification key to the species of Elanela is updated to include the new species.
Macaronesian Muscidae (Diptera). II. The genus Limnophora Robineau-Desvoidy with description of a new Canarian endemic species
Authors: MICHELSEN VERNER
Published: April 2021

The Macaronesian species of the muscid genus Limnophora are reviewed with special emphasis on the fauna of the western Canary Islands. The genus is represented by 14 species in the Macaronesian archipelagos, with 10 species in the Canary Islands, 4 species in the Cape Verde Islands, and 3 species in Madeira. Limnophora obsignatula sp. nov. is endemic to the western Canary Islands, where it replaces the widespread continental L. obsignata (Rondani). It is further shown that L. paneliusi Emden, a species so far considered endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, is widespread in the Canary Islands. Two species, L. obsignata (Rondani) and L. tigrina Am Stein, are removed from the list of Canarian Muscidae as based on misidentifications of other species with a mesonotal “Anthomyia-pattern”. Limnophora (Calliophrys) riparia capoverdica Emden, a taxon described from the Cape Verde Islands, is synonymized with L. riparia (Fallén), syn. nov. Distribution data and illustrated diagnoses are given for each species. The species account is finalized with an identification key to males and females. An assessment of the ovipositor as a characters source in phylogeny and species recognition is made for 12 species of Limnophora. Finally, it is pointed out that several species are acutely threatened due to habitat disturbance.
A composite risk model predicts disease progression in early stages of COVID-19: A propensity score-matched cohort study
Authors: Xu Jianjun , Gao Yang , Hu Shaobo , Li Suzhen , Wang Weimin , Wu Yuzhe , Su Zhe , Zhou Xing , Cheng Xiang , Zheng Qichang
Published: April 2021

Background

Recently, studies on COVID-19 have focused on the epidemiology of the disease and clinical characteristics of patients, as well as on the risk factors associated with mortality during hospitalization in critical COVID-19 cases. However, few research has been performed on the prediction of disease progression in particular group of patients in the early stages of COVID-19.

Methods

The study included 338 patients with COVID-19 treated at two hospitals in Wuhan, China, from December 2019 to March 2020. Predictors of the progression of COVID-19 from mild to severe stages were selected by the logistic regression analysis.

Results

COVID-19 progression to severe and critical stages was confirmed in 78 (23.1%) patients. The average value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was higher in patients in the disease progression group than in the improvement group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that elevated NLR, LDH and IL-10 were independent predictors of disease progression. The optimal cut-off value of NLR was 3.75. The values of the area under the curve, reflecting the accuracy of predicting COVID-19 progression by NLR was 0.739 (95%CI: 0.605–0.804). The risk model based on NLR, LDH and IL-10 had the highest area under the ROC curve.

Conclusions

The performed analysis demonstrates that high concentrations of NLR, LDH and IL-10 were independent risk factors for predicting disease progression in patients at the early stage of COVID-19. The risk model combined with NLR, LDH and IL-10 improved the accuracy of the prediction of disease progression in patients in the early stages of COVID-19.
Canadian and American Religion Redux: Revisiting America’s Religious Exceptionalism and Persistence Compared to Canada
Authors: Hay Alastair
Published: April 2021

Two core lines of argument presently define our understanding of why Christianity’s historical influence continues to persist in the lives of Americans to a degree not observed in Canada (despite the recent loss of religious affiliation in both countries). These are: 1) changes in the functional dominance of social systems (i.e. shifts to the welfare state in Canada) and 2) important foundational, cultural differences between Canada and America. Using a historiographic approach (coupled with quantitative research conducted in Canada and the US), this article argues that one less well-recognized factor also deserves our attention: Charles Taylor’s observation that American religious culture was primed for the Age of Authenticity. In this article I argue that Taylor was probably right. Over and above the well-established individualistic character of the religious lives of Americans is a related, but important, additional effect—the sanctioning of the ‘this-worldly’ potential of the individual life from within its religious institutions. It is this aspect of America’s religious exceptionalism, I argue, that has also helped to render the religious lives of Americans less vulnerable to – but not immune from – the watershed effects of the sixties compared to Christianity in Canada.
Visions of Heaven and Hell: A Monastic Literature
Authors: Gardiner Eileen
Published: April 2021

Medieval otherworld visions comprise a monastic genre: monks almost universally recur as either visionaries, vision scribes or both. With this in mind, the intention of this article is to interrogate the authorial and narrative intent of these monastic visions to determine whether the audience originally addressed and the concerns expressed could be located exclusively within the monastic enclosure. After examining 36 monastic visions dating from the late 6th to the early 13th century, ranging geographically from Ireland to Italy, it emerges that while many visions specifically addressed monks, nuns, abbots and abbesses about their actions in this life and destinies in the next, many also focused on life outside the monastery.
Intra-household Bargaining, Son Preference and the Status of Women in India
Authors: Alakshendra Abhinav , Li Dong
Published: April 2021

Son preference prevails among Indian families. We test the hypothesis that women who bear sons experience an elevated status within the household, which translates into their increased role in decision-making. Using data from the Indian Human Development Survey, we find that women who have given birth to at least one son show greater participation in the household’s financial decisions as well as other decisions on a regular basis. After analysing 13 decision variables, we find that women who have given birth to at least one son enjoy higher overall bargaining power in the household. For example, in decisions concerning what to spend money on, having a son is equivalent to 6 years of formal education. We also show that the presence of a senior member in the household, however, often reduces the women’s household bargaining strength.

JEL Classification Codes: J11, J12, J13, D190
Variable step control to improve scanning speed of gene sequencing stage
Authors: Zhou Xiaohua , Zheng Jianbin , Wang Xiaoming , Niu Wenda , Guo Tongjian
Published: April 2021

High-speed scanning is a huge challenge to the motion control of step-scanning gene sequencing stage. The stage should achieve high-precision position stability with minimal settling time for each step. The existing step-scanning scheme usually bases on fixed-step motion control, which has limited means to reduce the time cost of approaching the desired position and keeping high-precision position stability. In this work, we focus on shortening the settling time of stepping motion and propose a novel variable step control method to increase the scanning speed of gene sequencing stage. Specifically, the variable step control stabilizes the stage at any position in a steady-state interval rather than the desired position on each step, so that reduces the settling time. The resulting step-length error is compensated in the next acceleration and deceleration process of stepping to avoid the accumulation of errors. We explicitly described the working process of the step-scanning gene sequencer and designed the PID control structure used in the variable step control for the gene sequencing stage. The simulation was performed to check the performance and stability of the variable step control. Under the conditions of the variable step control where the IMA6000 gene sequencer prototype was evaluated extensively. The experimental results show that the real gene sequencer can step 1.54 mm in 50 ms period, and maintain a high-precision stable state less than 30 nm standard deviation in the following 10 ms period. The proposed method performs well on the gene sequencing stage.
Health Systems and Services During COVID-19: Lessons and Evidence From Previous Crises: A Rapid Scoping Review to Inform the United Nations Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery
Authors: Baral Prativa
Published: April 2021

This rapid scoping review has informed the development of the November 2020 United Nations Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery, by providing a synthesis of available evidence on the impact of pandemics and epidemics on (1) essential services and (2) health systems preparedness and strengthening. Emerging findings point to existing disparities in health systems and services being further exacerbated, with marginalized populations and low- and middle-income countries burdened disproportionately. More broadly, there is a need to further understand short- and long-term impacts of bypassed essential services, quality assurance of services, the role of primary health care in the frontline, and the need for additional mechanisms for effective vaccine messaging and uptake during epidemics. The review also highlights how trust—of institutions, of science, and between communities and health systems—remains central to a successful pandemic response. Finally, previous crises had repeatedly foreshadowed the inability of health systems to handle upcoming pandemics, yet the reactive nature of policies and practices compounded by lack of resources, infrastructure, and political will have resulted in the current failed response to COVID-19. There is therefore an urgent need for investments in implementation science and for strategies to bridge this persistent research–practice gap.
African migrants and stress coping strategies in Australia: Implications for social work
Authors: Ikafa Irene , Hack-Polay Dieu , Walker Janet , Mahmoud Ali B
Published: April 2021

This research investigates resettlement stress among African migrants in Australia and how migrants manage stress. The research used 30 semi-structured interviews with African migrants in Western Australia. Participants used various strategies, including reliance on family as a community and on God – usually constructed by alliance rather than kinship – to manage stress. The article’s key contribution highlights the multilayered approach for social work to integration strategies for migrants. The study identifies three significant issues emerging: the importance of ‘families’ as community networks, the experience of discrimination and the significance of faith in God as crucial migrant support factors.
‘Winning Back Control’: Migration, Borders and Visions of Political Community
Authors: Schmidtke Oliver
Published: April 2021

This article focuses on the governance of migration and borders as key issues of Brexit in a dual sense: as a contested political issue centrally fueling the Brexit debates and as an area of policy formation. First, the article addresses how Brexit has changed free movement as a key principle of the European integration project and transformed cross-border mobility between the European Union (EU) and the UK in a post-Brexit European border regime. Second, it discusses how the politicization of migration during the Brexit campaign has accentuated competing visions of political community. With a view to the effects of Brexit on the governance of migration and borders in Europe, the article demonstrates how the Brexit debates have emphasized the prominence of exclusionary nationalism, while they have simultaneously created new opportunities for the EU to launch a major reform of its migration and asylum policies.
Comparing the Effects of Immersed Versus Land-Based High-Intensity Interval Cycling on Energy Intake, Appetite Sensations and Perceived Exertion Among Healthy Men
Authors: Metz Lore , Isacco Laurie , Miguet Maud , Genin Pauline , Thivel David , Duclos Martine
Published: April 2021

Immersed exercise has been shown to induce higher energy expenditure and no difference or increase in food intake compared with similar exercise on land. In this study, we compared the effects of acute high-intensity cycling performed on land versus when immersed on subsequent energy intake (EI), appetite sensations and perceived exertion (RPE) in healthy men. Ten participants in a postprandial condition completed three experimental visits in a randomized order: a control condition (CONT); a high-intensity interval cycling exercise performed on land (HIIE-L) and the same exercise while immersed in water (HIIE-A) with a similar targeted heart rate. We observed no difference in energy and macronutrient intake and in area under the curve (AUC) for appetite sensations between sessions. The RPE at the end of HIIE-L was negatively correlated with EI (r=–0.67; p < 0.05), AUC for hunger (r=–0.86, p < 0.01), desire to eat (r=–0.78, p < 0.05) and prospective food consumption (r=–0.86, p < 0.01). Conversely, the RPE at the end of HIIE-L was positively correlated with AUC for fullness (r = 0.76 , p < 0.05). No such correlations were observed for HIIE-A. The present study was the first to observe that immersion did not influence EI after HIIE cycling, but immersion blunted the relationship between session RPE and subsequent energy intake and appetite sensations relative to HIIE on land.
An online survey and review about the awareness, coping style, and exercise behavior during the “COVID-19 pandemic situation” by implementing the cloud-based medical treatment technology system in China among the public
Authors: Ma Caihua , Ma Lingxin , Helwan Abdulkader , Ma’aitah Mohammad Khaleel Sallam , Jami Sayed Abdulla , Mobarak Siam Al , Das Niranta Kumar , Haque Md Ariful
Published: April 2021

To examine basic COVID-19 knowledge, coping style and exercise behavior among the public including government-provided medical cloud system treatment app based on the internet during the outbreak. Besides, to provide references for developing targeted strategies and measures on prevention and control of COVID-19. We conducted an online survey from 11th to 15th March 2020 via WeChat App using a designed questionnaire. As well as aim to diagnose COVID-19 earlier and to improve its treatment by applying medical technology, the “COVID-19 Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Assistant Program (nCapp)” based on the Internet of Things. Valid information was collected from 1893 responders (47.07% males and 52.93% females aged 18–80 years, with a mean age of 31.05 ± 9.86) in 20 provincial-level regions across China. From the responders, 92.90% and 34.81% were scaled pass and good and above scores for the knowledge about the novel coronavirus epidemic. 38.44% were scaled poor scores and only 5.40% were scaled good and above scores for appropriate behavior coping with the pandemic. Among the responders, 52.14% reported having active physical exercise in various places during the previous 1 week. For all the responders, appropriate behavior coping correlated positively with physical exercise ( p < 0.05); the daily consumed time for getting the epidemic-related information correlated positively with the score for cognition on the epidemic’s prevention measures ( r = 0.111, p < 0.01) and on general knowledge about the epidemic ( r = 0.087, p < 0.01). Targeted and multiple measures for guidance on the control of COVID-19 among the public should be promoted to improve the cognition on basic knowledge, behaviors and treatment.
Evaluation of physiological and psychophysical strain of security guards wearing stab-resistant body armor under a simulated patrol condition
Authors: Yang Jie , An Qiqi , Wei Yuchen , Yuan Mengqi
Published: April 2021

This study aimed to determine the effects of stab-resistant body armor (SRBA) on the physiological and psychophysical strain of security guards. Ten volunteers performed a 50-min treadmill walk at 7.0 km/h in a climate chamber where the ambient temperature and relative humidity were controlled to 40 °C and 40%, respectively. All the participants performed the walk under two experimental conditions: wearing a uniform without (CON) and with armor (SRBA). Several physiological responses (core temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, and oxygen consumption) and psychophysical parameters (thermal sensation vote, thermal comfort vote, ratings of perceived exertion, and clothing and skin wetness) were recorded during the trials. Furthermore, the sweat loss, body heat storage, and physiological strain index (PSI) were calculated based on the measurements. The results indicated no significant difference between the SRBA and CON groups in terms of core temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, oxygen consumption, body heat storage, or PSI over time. However, a significant difference ( p < 0.05) between the two trials was observed in terms of scapula skin temperature (40 and 45 min) and body temperature (0 and 45 min). Moreover, the SRBA (3.5 kg and 17% body area coverage) caused an 11% increase in sweat loss, but a 27% reduction in sweating efficiency. Although the armor caused slight discomfort, wetness, and exertion, no significant difference between the two trials was observed in terms of the psychophysical responses. Therefore, the SRBA imposed negligible physiological and psychophysical strain during the 50-min walk in this case.
On the Legacy of the Land: Ideology Criticism of Walter Brueggemann and John Steinbeck
Authors: Koci Katerina
Published: April 2021

This article addresses the sensitive, religious-political issue of the promised land. It discusses this issue from the perspective of the criticism of the promised land in the works of Walter Brueggemann in comparison to his artistic source of influence, John Steinbeck. After the systematic analysis of Brueggemann’s criticism of land ideology throughout his work, I elaborate on Steinbeck’s critical attitude to this topic which I offer as Steinbeck’s own alternative criticism. On top of the affirmation that “Steinbeck may have put the issue of the land most eloquently,” as suggested by Brueggemann himself, I propose that Steinbeck (unlike Brueggemann) does not fall into the trap of producing an inverted ideology and offers a balanced and timeless criticism of the promised land issue.
Integration of mental health comorbidity in medical specialty programs in 20 countries
Authors: Heinze Gerhard , Sartorius Norman , Guizar Sanchez Diana Patricia , Bernard-Fuentes Napoleón , Cawthorpe David , Cimino Larry , Cohen Dan , Lecic-Tosevski Dusica , Filipcic Igor , Lloyd Cathy , Mohan Isaac , Ndetei David , Poyurovsky Michael , Rabbani Golam , Starostina Elena , Yifeng Wei , EstefaníaLimon Limón
Published: April 2021

Methods

A systematic analysis was performed of the medical specialization academic programs of 20 different countries to establish which medical specialties take into account mental health issues in the specialty curricular design and which mental health content these programs address. The criteria that were explored in the educational programs include: 1) name of the medical specialties that take into account mental health content in curriculum design, 2) name of the mental health issues addressed by these programs. After independent review and data extraction, paired investigators compared the findings and reached consensus on all discrepancies before the final presentation of the data. Descriptive statistics evaluated the frequency of the data presented.

Results

Internal medicine, family medicine, neurology, pediatrics and geriatrics were the specialties that included mental health topics in their programs. In four countries: Bangladesh, Serbia, the Netherlands and France, 50%of all graduate specialty training programs include mental health content. In ten countries: Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Belgium, India, Russia, Canada, Israel and Spain, between 20% and 49% of all graduate specialty training programs include mental health content. In six countries - Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Kenya, and the United States-less than 20% of all graduate specialty training programs include mental health content.

Discussion

The proposal that we have made in this article should be taken into account by decision-makers, in order to complement the different postgraduate training programs with mental health issues that are frequently present with other physical symptoms. It is not our intention that the different specialists know how to treat psychiatric comorbidities, but rather pay attention to their existence and implications in the diagnosis, evolution and prognosis of many other diseases. The current fragmentation of medicine into ever finer specialties makes the management of comorbidity ever more difficult: a reorientation of post- graduate training might improve the situation.
Casual Condomless Sex, Range of Pornography Exposure, and Perceived Pornography Realism
Authors: Wright Paul J. , Herbenick Debby , Paul Bryant
Published: April 2021

Pornography consumption is becoming more prevalent and may be a source of sexual learning for some users. Because popular male-female pornography rarely includes condoms, communication researchers have hypothesized that pornography use increases the likelihood of condomless sex in mixed sex encounters. A recent meta-analysis supported this prediction, but was unable to report on psychological moderators of the association due to a dearth of contingency-oriented research. The present study reports findings on U.S. adults’ exposure to pornography, perceptions of pornography’s realism, and casual condomless sex. Despite theory positing that realism perceptions moderate the relationship between sexual media use and sexual behavior, very few studies have tested pornography exposure x perceived realism interactions in general, and no previous inquiry appears to have tested this interaction in the context of pornography exposure and condom use. Results indicated that a higher range of exposure was associated with a higher likelihood of condomless sex when perceptions of pornography’s realism were high. Conversely, when perceptions of pornography’s realism were low, range of exposure was unrelated to the likelihood of condomless sex. These results were not moderated by age or gender. These findings are part of a growing literature suggesting the importance of media literacy education directed specifically at pornography.
Conflictual Accountability: Behavioral Responses to Conflictual Accountability of Agencies
Authors: Schillemans Thomas , Overman Sjors , Fawcett Paul , Flinders Matthew , Fredriksson Magnus , Laegreid Per , Maggetti Martino , Papadopoulos Yannis , Rubecksen Kristin , Rykkja Lise H. , Salomonsen Heidi H. , Smullen Amanda , Verhoest Koen , Wood Matthew
Published: April 2021

In contemporary public governance, leaders of public organizations are faced with multiple, and oftentimes conflictual, accountability claims. Drawing upon a survey of CEO’s of agencies in seven countries, we explore whether and how conflictual accountability regimes relate to strategic behaviors by agency-CEO’s and their political principals. The presence of conflictual accountability is experienced as a major challenge and is associated with important behavioral responses by those CEO’s. This article demonstrates empirically how conflictual accountability is related to (a) controlling behaviors by principals, (b) constituency building behaviors by agencies, and (c) a general pattern of intensified contacts and information processing by both parties.
Competition and Collaboration in the Nonprofit Sector: Identifying the Potential for Cognitive Dissonance
Authors: Curley Cali , Levine Daniel Jamie , Walk Marlene , Harrison Nicky
Published: April 2021

Nonprofits compete with collaborators and collaborate with competitors regularly. Collaboration, a long-standing normatively preferred strategy for nonprofits, is utilized as modus operandi without thought to the potential unintended consequences. While competition is a dirty word for nonprofits, it is a necessary but undesirable reality and should not be avoided without consideration to the potential benefits. Nonprofit leaders may not be willing to explicitly acknowledge the use of competition as an operational strategy, which makes room for cognitive dissonance to impact the study of nonprofits. This piece identifies impacts of cognitive dissonance offering direction for future research exploring the interactive nature of competing with collaborators.
The moderating effect of the perception of cyber violence on the influence of exposure to violent online media on cyber offending in Korean adolescents
Authors: Bae Sung-Man
Published: April 2021

The aim of this study was to verify the moderating effect of the relationship between exposure to violent online media and cyber offending in adolescents. The study utilized information from the 2019 cyber violence survey; data from 3,202 adolescents (mean age = 16.56, SD = 1.71; boys = 1,800, girls = 1,402) were used for the final analysis. The moderating effect was analyzed using PROCESS Macro 3.4 (model 1), and the main results revealed that exposure to violent online media had a positive effect on cyber offending, while the perception of cyber violence had a negative influence on cyber offending. Specifically, the effect of exposure to violent online media on cyber offending was moderated by the perception of cyber violence. As a result of simple regression to verify the conditional effect according to the level of perception of cyber violence, cyber violence increased as exposure to violent online media increased in all level perceptions of violence (−1SD, M, +1SD). This study implies the need for education to raise awareness that cyber violence is dangerous and illegal along with supervision from parents and schools to reduce exposure to risky online media in order to prevent adolescents’ cyber violence.
Nodular Fasciitis in the Cavity of Auricular Concha: A Case Report
Authors: Liu Xiaojun , Li Xiaoyan
Published: April 2021

Nodular fasciitis (NF) has a low incidence, many classification subtypes and large histological variations. We describe a 17-month-old child who presented with a mass in the right cavity of auricular concha that was successfully cured by 2 procedures. In pediatric patients with fibroproliferative lesions, the possibility of NF should be excluded to avoid misdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Perceived Physical Vulnerability Promotes Prosocial Behavior
Authors: Motsenok Marina , Kogut Tehila , Ritov Ilana
Published: April 2021

Our research examines the association between perceived physical vulnerability and prosocial behavior. Studies 1 to 4 establish a positive association between individuals’ vulnerability and their prosociality. To increase generality, these studies looked at different behaviors (volunteering vs. monetary donations), various physical harms (e.g., war vs. illness), and different samples (students vs. MTurk workers). Study 4 also provides initial evidence of a partial mediating effect of closeness on the observed association. In Study 5, perceived vulnerability is experimentally manipulated, demonstrating a causal link between vulnerability and willingness to donate. Study 6 further demonstrates that closeness partially mediates the association between vulnerability and donation, while ruling out an alternative explanation of the effect—such as that vulnerable people donate in expectation of future reciprocity. Together, our research demonstrates a consistent positive association between perceived physical vulnerability and prosociality. This effect appears small when considering daily threats and stronger when vulnerability becomes more salient.
Bridges or Barriers? The Relationship between Immigrants’ Early Labor Market Adversities and Long-term Earnings
Authors: Zhang Tingting , Banerjee Rupa
Published: April 2021

Using data from the Extended Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC-IMDB), this article investigates the association between early adverse labor market experiences in the host country and immigrants’ long-term earnings. We use Growth Curve Modeling (GCM) to estimate how months of joblessness, part-time status, and occupational mismatch during the first four years in Canada relate to immigrant men’s and women’s earnings trajectories over the following 10 years. Part-time employment, we find, is negatively associated with long-term earnings trajectories for both male and female immigrants, and male immigrants who are occupationally mismatched in the medium term also face a long-term wage penalty. Months of joblessness early on, however, is associated with relatively less wage disadvantage in later years. Since immigrants’ early difficulties are associated with long-term economic scarring, it is imperative to introduce early interventions to promote rapid assimilation.
Food cue images and subjective appetitive responses in obese children
Authors: Lizia M Shiny , Hemamalini A J , Ravichandran Latha
Published: April 2021

Background:

Food decision-making is based on various intrinsic and extrinsic factors of an individual. Food preferences and food cue sensitivity influence energy intake, which in turn affects body weight.

Aim:

The present study assessed the subjective appetite of obese children in response to food cue images.

Methods:

A total of 70 obese children (37 boys and 33 girls) of the age group 7–10 years were recruited for the study; 34 images of food items grouped under ten food blocks were used as cues to study the self-reported hunger, appetite and satiety sensations among the participants. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure participant responses for each food block.

Results:

The mean (standard deviation (SD)) body mass index-for-age ‘Z’ scores (BAZ) of the participants was found to be 2.15 (0.36). The subjective appetitive responses assessed using VAS showed that the hunger ratings of participants were found to be higher in response to images of cereals and cereal products (92.86%), and sweets (97.14%); satiety ratings of the participants were observed to be higher for milk and milk products (87.14%); cereals and savoury foods (78.57%); and higher appetite ratings of participants were recorded for sweets (97.14%) and cereals (92.86%).

Conclusion:

Sophisticated neuroimaging techniques are well established in measuring appetite, but our study focused on the subjective analysis of appetite using cost-effective tools such as food cue images and visual analogue scales to further expand the research platform in appetite regulation and obesity.
Symbiosis and the Humanitarian Marketplace: The Changing Political Economy of ‘Mutual Benefit’
Authors: Palacios Carlos
Published: April 2021

This article develops a diagnostic lens to make sense of the still baffling development of a ‘humanitarian marketplace’. Ambivalently hybrid initiatives such as volunteer tourism, corporate social responsibility or even fair trade do not strictly obey a distributive logic of market exchange, social reciprocity or philanthropic giving. They engender a type of ‘economy’ that must be apprehended in its own terms. The article argues that the large-scale collaborative effects of such a dispersed market can be theorized without resorting to the classical biopolitical move of simplified agency/holistic reification. The argument proceeds counterintuitively, by appropriating the notion of symbiosis as redefined by contemporary biology, contending through historical contextualization and conceptual work that nature itself offers the best example to grasp spontaneous collaboration among unrelated human beings as a non-automatically balanced and intrinsically political affair that calls for critical management through an ex post facto interventionist policy of selective cultivation.
The Alt-Right: Neoliberalism, Libertarianism and the Fascist Temptation
Authors: Cooper Melinda
Published: April 2021

There is by now broad consensus in the critical literature that neoliberalism and social conservatism have frequently coexisted in practice. Yet the alt-right fits none of the previously identified alliances: this is not the neoliberal neoconservatism of the Reagan and Bush years, nor the neoliberal communitarianism of the Third Way, nor even a form of neoliberal authoritarianism. Instead, the alt-right claims intellectual descent from economic libertarianism, on the one hand, and paleo- (as opposed to neo-) conservatism on the other. This paper traces the contours of this ‘paleolibertarian’ alliance, first by following the volatile political trajectory of Murray Rothbard, the foremost philosopher of American libertarianism, and, second, by uncovering precedents in the longer history of the American far right. It will be argued that paleoconservatism makes for a uniquely powerful ally because it offers a workable response to libertarianism’s intrinsic contradictions.
Justice capital: A model for reconciling structural and agentic determinants of desistance
Authors: Best David , Hamilton Sharynne , Hall Lauren , Bartels Lorana
Published: April 2021

The emerging literature on desistance (and recovery from addictions) has focused on key life-course transitions that can be characterised as the need for jobs (meaningful activities), friends (transitioning to pro-social) and houses (a home free from threat). The term ‘recovery capital’ is used to characterise personal, social and community resources an individual can draw upon to support their recovery, partly bridging agentic (personal) and structural (community) factors. The development of the concept of ‘justice capital’ furthers this reconciliation, by focusing on resources an individual can access and the resources that an institution can provide. We build on this by outlining the concept of institutional justice capital (IJC) to examine the role of criminal justice institutions in supporting or suppressing justice capital, particularly for marginalised groups. We use a case study approach, drawing on recent studies in prisons in Australia and the United Kingdom to develop a model of justice capital at an institutional level and discuss how this can shape reform of prisons and can be matched to the needs of offenders. The paper concludes with a discussion of future directions in implementing an IJC model, to deliver a strengths-based approach to promoting desistance and creating a metric for assessing the rehabilitative activities of institutions.
Breathing-based leg exercises during hemodialysis improve quality of life: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Huang Hsin-Yi , Hung Kuo-Sheng , Yeh Mei-Ling , Chou Hsiu-Ling , Yeh Albert Lou , Liao Tzu-Yi
Published: April 2021

Objective:

To evaluate the effect of a 12-week breathing-based leg exercises program on quality of life under stabilizing heart rate variability and reducing fatigue in regular hemodialysis patients.

Design:

Randomized controlled trial.

Setting:

A 94-bed hemodialysis department at a medical center in northern Taiwan.

Participants:

Eighty-six patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis were recruited and randomly assigned to the ExBr or control groups.

Interventions:

The breathing-based leg exercises program comprised abdominal breathing and low-intensity leg exercise, including leg lifts, quadriceps femoris contraction and knee flexion, and lasted for 15 minutes at one time, three times a week for 12 weeks.

Main measure:

Data was collected by using the World Health Organization quality of life assessment-brief, physiological signal recorder for heart rate variability and hemodialysis-related fatigue scale at baseline and on Week 4, Week 8, and Week 12.

Results:

Average (standard deviation) age was 53.70 (10.04) years in the ExBr group and 61.19 (10.19) years in the control group. The linear mixed model with adjusted age, creatinine, heart rate variability and fatigue revealed that the ExBr group had significantly higher quality of life than did the control group ( P = 0.01), especially on Week 12 ( P = 0.04). Fatigue was significantly correlated with quality of life ( P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

This study supported the benefits of the continued breathing-based leg exercises during hemodialysis for at least 12 weeks, which improved the quality of life of patients with end-stage renal disease and did not affect the stability of their vital signs.
Analysis of common causes of liver damage among children 12 years and younger in Weifang
Authors: Meng Qinghong , Li Na , Yuan Lianmei , Gao Xiaona
Published: April 2021

Aims

To explore the causes of liver damage among children 12 years and younger in Weifang and to provide a theoretical basis for early diagnosis of liver damage in children.

Methods

Retrospective study of clinical data from pediatric patients (age ≤12 years) with liver damage in diagnosed at Weifang People's Hospital from June 2010 to May 2020.

Results

A total of 2632 children (1572 boys, 1060 girls) aged ≤12 years were diagnosed with liver damage including infectious liver damage (2100 cases), non-infectious liver damage (446 cases) and liver damage of unknown etiology (86 cases). The most common causes of infectious liver damage were viral infection (1515 cases), Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection (343 cases), and bacterial infection (197 cases). The most common causes of viral liver damage were Epstein–Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and enterovirus. The most common causes of non-infectious liver damage were drug-induced liver damage, Kawasaki disease, and genetic metabolic diseases. There were 31 cases of severe liver damage.

Conclusion

There were many causes of liver damage among children in Weifang. Infections, and especially viral infections such as Epstein–Barr virus, were the most common causes of liver damage. Severe liver damage was primarily caused by drugs or poisons.
Intrathecal dexmedetomidine improves epidural labor analgesia effects: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Li Gehui , Wang Hao , Qi Xiaofei , Huang Xiaolei , Li Yuantao
Published: April 2021

Objective

α2‑agonists and opioids have been used as intrathecal adjuvants to local anesthetics for several years, but the effect of intrathecal dexmedetomidine (Dex) or sufentanil combined with epidural ropivacaine in labor analgesia is not fully understood.

Methods

A total of 108 parturient women receiving combined spinal-epidural labor analgesia were randomly divided into three groups. Group C received l mL saline (0.9%) intrathecally, Group D received 5 µg Dex intrathecally, and Group S received 5 µg sufentanil intrathecally. All parturient women then received 0.1% epidural ropivacaine and 0.2 µg/mL sufentanil for patient-controlled epidural analgesia with standard settings. The visual analog scale score, onset time, duration of intrathecal injection, local anesthetic requirements, and side effects were recorded.

Results

The labor analgesia effects in Groups D and S were better than those in Group C. Groups D and S displayed significantly shorter onset times, longer durations of intrathecal injection, and reduced local anesthetic requirements compared with Group C. The incidence of shivering and pruritus in Group D was lower than that in Group S.

Conclusion

Intrathecal administration of 5 µg Dex could improve epidural labor analgesia effects. This randomized controlled clinical trial was registered with the Chinese Clinical Registry Center (ChiCTR-1800014943, http://www.chictr.org.cn/ ).
Hobbes in the Anthropocene: Reconsidering the State of Nature in Its Relevance for Governing
Authors: Lakitsch Maximilian
Published: April 2021

The theoretical work of Thomas Hobbes marks the dawn of political modernity and thus also the beginning of modern reasoning about governing. In his Leviathan, Hobbes creates the modern space of the political through the exclusion of the world’s social and natural abundance. This crossroads of political thinking might not least be of relevance for the Anthropocene. After all, affirming the Anthropocene returns mankind to a cosmos of infinite human–nature interrelationships, which strongly resembles Hobbes’s conceptual depiction of the premodern state of nature and its incomprehensible, contingent, and precarious world, a world that Hobbes had intended to ban for good. In this context, this article reconsiders the state of nature’s internal dynamics in its relevance for governing in the Anthropocene—at the expense of the normative claims of modernist governing. After all, embracing the complex ontologies of the Anthropocene and the state of nature disperses agency among the human and nonhuman world, which questions the idea of ethical and political accountability. Without such a reference, governing runs the risk of becoming arbitrary and thereby another shallow projection of modernist conceptions. This article develops an interpretation of political subjectivity as a reference for governing, deriving from the materialistic world of the Hobbesian state of nature. On this foundation, the article elaborates on how this reading of subjectivity reconfigures the conception of political space and how this shift affects the scope of governing.