bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of HRM in the innovation of performance measurement and management systems: a multiple case study in SMEs
Authors: Sardi Alberto , Sorano Enrico , Garengo Patrizia , Ferraris Alberto
Published: June 2020

Purpose

Literature identifies the key relevance of human resource management (HRM) in the creation of an organisational performance measurement and management system, while, in practice, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to prioritise financial and operational aspects. This study aims to identify the main characteristics that typify an advanced performance measurement and management system in SMEs, according to the literature dedicated to performance measurement and HRM.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a multiple-case study methodology, the research deeply investigates four European SMEs. Empirical data were collected through interviews, company documents and direct observations. Then, within- and cross-case analysis were implemented to analyse the data.

Findings

In designing organisational performance measurement and management systems in SMEs, HRM emerges as essential in supporting the enhancement of the maturity of performance measurement and the improvement of performance management. Through a framework based on the relevant literature, this research identifies three conceptual propositions that highlight the main characteristics that typify advanced performance measurement and management systems in SMEs.

Research limitations/implications

The research identifies a conceptual framework suitable to investigate empirically the role of HRM in developing performance measurement and management systems at SMEs, and it lays the foundation for future broader empirical studies in this field.

Originality/value

This paper underlines HRM as an important driver in the creation of organisational performance measurement and management systems. Moreover, it suggests some key characteristics that such a system should develop to be effective in the target enterprises.
Overcoming the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment and feedback
Authors: Boyle Brendan , Mitchell Rebecca , McDonnell Anthony , Sharma Narender , Biswas Kumar , Nicholas Stephen
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This paper explores the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment criteria and feedback with a view to aiding student learning. The paper untangles three guiding principles as mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of assessment and feedback through overcoming the inherent challenges which stem from tacit judgement during assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper applies a realistic evaluation methodology, with a framework for assessment and feedback consisting of three principles – Means, Opportunity and Motivation (MOM). Through in-depth interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate management students the paper identifies how and when the means, opportunity and motivation principles impact student learning through assessment and the utility of the feedback received on their learning.

Findings

The findings in the paper illustrate that students do not always understand the feedback they receive on their learning because they do not fully understand the criteria to which it refers due to the tacit dimensions of assessment. The findings substantiate the proposition that effective assessment processes must ensure that students have the means, opportunity and motivation to use feedback and to understand the criteria, a central component of which is understanding tacit dimensions of assessment.

Practical implications

The paper deciphers three practical implications for instructors related to (1) teaching, (2) course and program design and (3) the nature of the feedback instructors should provide.

Originality/value

While prior scholarship has flagged the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment and feedback, this paper identifies when and how the means, opportunity and motivation principles are manifested in the process of making the tacit components of assessment codified and actionable, a critical process in developing expert learners.
Passion meets procrastination: comparative study of negative sales associate behaviours
Authors: Jones Robert Paul
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This study explores procrastination, a negative work behaviour, and its unlikely source, job passion. A dualistic conceptualization of job passion is explored in retail sales associate samples from the United States and China. The study tests relationships between harmonious job passion (HJP) and obsessive job passion (OJP) and the contingent effects of job satisfaction and salary level on their relationship to procrastination.

Design/methodology/approach

Data came from an online survey issued in the United States and China. The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear regression.

Findings

The analyses provide mixed findings. HJP is negatively associated with procrastination in both countries, while OJP's positive relationship is mixed. A post-hoc analysis testing the three-way interaction effect of OJP, job satisfaction and salary level on procrastination reveals a positive relationship to OJP in both countries.

Research limitations/implications

The study demonstrates that job passion can have both positive (HJP) and negative (OJP) work behaviour outcomes.

Practical implications

Brick-and-mortar retailers facing a saturated and highly competitive environment need HJP employees to drive superior customer service. This study demonstrates that employees with OJP may engage in negative behaviours which could further impair retail performance. Expanding empowerment and flexibility may heighten HJP and minimize OJP.

Originality/value

This study explores the dualistic conceptualization of job passion in a retail environment using cross-cultural samples.
Incoming and outgoing academic mobility in Russia and abroad: main trends, administrative challenges
Authors: Rostovskaya Tamara K. , Skorobogatova Vera I. , Pismennaya Elena E. , Bezverbny Vadim A.
Published: June 2020

Purpose

The goal of research consists in identifying trends in academic mobility in Russia and abroad, primarily that of academic staff; contributing suggestions on improving the management of academic mobility processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses methods of observation, comparative analysis, as well as statistical method and generalization method supported by the facts. A comparative analysis of statistical data is made; these data were taken from the publicly available reliable sources of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Human Resource Development Department of the Asia–Pacific and others.

Findings

It was found that the level of academic mobility rises with the rising level of education. The overall mobility of tertiary students – in particular, students and postgraduate students, is growing throughout the world. Mobile postgraduate students demonstrate better research results during training. Even short-term academic internships for postgraduate students contribute to the successful implementation of research projects at their host university and the spread of new knowledge in general. In general, academic mobility contributes to the accumulation of human and cultural scientific capital that makes a connection between research communities in different countries. Based on the research findings, it was found that no statistics are collected on the foreign academic mobility of postgraduate students and young researchers in Russia. Based on the analysis, it may be deduced that the scope of academic mobility is extremely small. European countries are the main countries of prevailing academic mobility.

Originality/value

Given the importance of participation in foreign academic mobility for the development of the competitiveness of national science in Russia, it appears that there is a need to monitor the foreign academic mobility of Russian postgraduate students and young researchers. The monitoring of foreign academic mobility of Russian postgraduate students and young researchers is a systematic observation of the status and conditions of training highly qualified personnel in Russian educational establishments and scientific organizations, providing educational authorities of Russia with up-to-date information on the status of outgoing academic mobility necessary for analyzing and forecasting the development of the national education system and national labor market.
Sociodemographic management indicators of the state of the economy (a case study of Russian statistics)
Authors: Volkov Yuriy G. , Lukichev Pavel N. , Khunagov Rashid D. , Kartashevich Ekaterina V. , Meskhi Beburi B.
Published: June 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to relate the pattern of economic growth with demographic data based on the natural population changes.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodological foundation of this research consists in the structural and functional approach to the comprehension of the social system, methods of mathematical simulation of the dynamics of expansion and extension of the ecological niche of population and methodologies that are currently used for calculation of gross domestic product (GDP).

Findings

The research finding consists in the development of the theory of social evolution in the form of horizontal and vertical social differentiation, which is conditional upon the growing production of the excess product, which leads to the simulation of relation between the natural population changes and the production of GDP, expanding the boundaries of the ecological niche.

Research limitations/implications

The relevance of the problem under study is driven by the need for theoretic interpretation of interrelation between the pattern of economic growth and demographic data based on the natural population changes.

Originality/value

The research leads us to the conclusion that there is a functional (for closed societies) and correlative (for open societies) relationship between the GDP growth and natural population changes with the property that the positive or negative population growth depends on the quantity of the total consumed costs (TCC) and its critical values.
A comparison of the cognitive actions of designers in geometry-based and parametric design environments
Authors: Tünger Çetin , Pektaş Şule Taşlı
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to compare designers’ cognitive behaviors in geometry-based modeling environments (GMEs) and parametric design environments (PDEs).

Design/methodology/approach

This study used Rhinoceros as the geometric and Grasshopper as the parametric design tool in an experimental setting. Designers’ cognitive behaviors were investigated by using the retrospective protocol analysis method with a content-oriented approach.

Findings

The results indicated that the participants performed more cognitive actions per minute in the PDE because of the extra algorithmic space that such environments include. On the other hand, the students viewed their designs more and focused more on product–user relation in the geometric modeling environment. While the students followed a top-down process and produced less number of topologically different design alternatives with the parametric design tool, they had more goal setting activities and higher number of alternative designs in the geometric modeling environment.

Originality/value

This study indicates that cognitive behaviors of designers in GMEs and PDEs differ significantly and these differences entail further attention from researchers and educators.
Sucralose causes non‐selective CD4 and CD8 lymphotoxicity via probable regulation of the MAPK8/APTX/EID1 genes: An in vitro/in silico study
Authors: Pasqualli Thaís , E Chaves Pamella Eduardha , da Veiga Pereira Lavínia , Adílio Serpa Élvio , de Oliveira Luís Flávio Souza , Machado Michel Mansur
Published: June 2020

One of the most widely used sweeteners in the world is sucralose. With sweetening power 600 times greater than sucrose, its use grows among those who seek to cut calories. Research shows that when heated, sucralose generates toxic products that attack the organism and interact with DNA. Our objective was to test this sweetener under unheated conditions and at average concentrations of consumption, evaluating parameters of cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and immunotoxicity. For this purpose, we made use of lymphocyte cultures and the analysis of their CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ subpopulations. In a complementary way, the mechanism of action is proposed here by computational methods. Our results showed that sucralose reduces non‐selectively the total lymphocytes due to falls in the levels of the CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+CD8+ subpopulations. We observed an increase in the level of DNA damage and a gradual incidence of structural changes in the lymphocyte chromosomal sets. It was possible to propose that sucralose modulates the gene expression, interfering especially with the MAPK8, APTX, and EID1 genes. This article presents the results of an evidence‐based approach to the safety of human health in the use of sucralose. Finally, this study points out that sucralose has cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic effects in the concentrations and conditions tested in human lymphocyte cell culture.
Urban Ecological Enclosures: Conservation Planning, Peri‐urban Displacement, and Local State Formations in China
Authors: Rodenbiker Jesse
Published: June 2020

Across contemporary China, city governments are unevenly territorializing peri‐urban villagers’ land and housing by creating new urban ecological conservation sites. I analyze this emerging form of what I call ‘ecological territorialization’ through three interrelated spatial practices: comprehensive urban–rural planning, peri‐urban ‘ecological migration’, and the distribution of institutional responsibility for conservation site financing, construction and management. Detailing this triad of territorializing practices renews attention to the relationship between conservation classifications that justify state intervention, uneven displacements of people from rural land and housing, and site‐specific capitalizations that collectively consolidate urban government control over rural spaces. These practices emerge stochastically as state, private, and semi‐state institutions capitalize on conservation projects in the context of legally and constitutionally underdefined land use rights and ecological land designations. In the current post‐socialist moment of urban ‘greening’, these practices are key to producing frontiers of land‐based accumulation and extending local state control across the peri‐urban fringe. Urban ecological enclosures not only remake city‐level state power but also shape rural people's relationships to land, labor and housing.
Food safety in the classroom: Using the Delphi technique to evaluate researcher‐developed food safety curriculum aligned to state academic standards
Authors: Barrett Tressie E. , Feng Yaohua , Wang Hui‐Hui
Published: June 2020

High school students’ prevalence as food‐service industry employees and their lack of food safety knowledge make them prime candidates for food safety education. The researchers developed a food‐safety‐focused curriculum for high school students aligned with Indiana Academic Standards for Agriculture, Advanced Life Science: Food. The curriculum was designed to provide students with fundamental food safety concepts through experiential learning and incorporation of science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics (STEAM) activities in the context of different careers related to agriculture, especially in food science. This study uses the Delphi technique to evaluate the food safety curriculum, including the identification of barriers to incorporating the curriculum into classrooms. The Delphi technique uses an expert panel to generate consensus related to a topic. A panel of experts in the field of education evaluated the curriculum through three rounds of surveys containing questions related to six curriculum assessment topics. Experts rated the degree to which they agreed with statements about the curriculum using a 5‐point Likert scale and multiple‐choice questions. At the conclusion of the study, the cost to purchase materials for cooking labs was the only identified barrier to curriculum incorporation (62.5%). Experts agreed that the curriculum addressed academic standards (100%), was engaging for students (100.0%), was easy for teachers to use (89.5%), and successfully incorporated STEAM (100.0%), experiential learning (89.5%), and career‐education (78.9%). This study highlights the feasibility of providing food safety education to high school students in less traditional disciplines while promoting career development through the incorporation of experiential learning, STEAM, and career‐education components.
Disagreement in FST estimators: A case study from sex chromosomes
Authors: Gammerdinger William J. , Toups Melissa A. , Vicoso Beatriz
Published: June 2020

Sewall Wright developed FST for describing population differentiation and it has since been extended to many novel applications, including the detection of homomorphic sex chromosomes. However, there has been confusion regarding the expected estimate of FST for a fixed difference between the X‐ and Y‐chromosome when comparing males and females. Here, we attempt to resolve this confusion by contrasting two common FST estimators and explain why they yield different estimates when applied to the case of sex chromosomes. We show that this difference is true for many allele frequencies, but the situation characterized by fixed differences between the X‐ and Y‐chromosome is among the most extreme. To avoid additional confusion, we recommend that all authors using FST clearly state which estimator of FST their work uses.
Clinical evaluation of the effectiveness of fusion‐induced asymmetric transcription assay‐based reverse transcription droplet digital PCR for ALK detection in formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded samples from lung cancer
Authors: Liu Yuanyuan , Wu Shafei , Shi Xiaohua , Lu Linping , Zhu Lingxiang , Guo Yong , Zhang Li , Zeng Xuan
Published: June 2020

Background

Accurate detection of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement is the prerequisite for anti‐ALK therapy for the patient with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Fusion‐induced asymmetric transcription assay (FIATA)‐based reverse transcription droplet digital PCR (RT‐ddPCR) was developed and performed for ALK status survey in NSCLC samples.

Methods

A total of 269 cases of formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) specimens from NSCLC, in which ALK status was confirmed by both fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), were analyzed by FIATA‐based RT‐ddPCR.

Results

In the ALK‐positive group, the 3′ ALK transcript copies range was 336.6–107 955.4, and the R3 [(the ratio of the 3′ ALK transcript copy numbers to the internal reference gene transcript copy numbers) × 100] was 17.23–672.77. In the ALK‐negative group, the 3′ ALK transcript copies range was 3.7–1370.6, and the R3 range was 0.10–15.57. The lowest R3 level in the ALK‐positive group was significantly higher than the highest R3 level in the ALK‐negative group. A positive correlation between the proportion of cancer cells in the tissue section and ALK RNA expression level (R3) was found (P < 0.05). There was no relationship between the percentage of FISH positive cells or FISH positive signal patterns and R3 level of the ALK gene. Compared with FISH and IHC, the clinical sensitivity and specificity of FIATA‐based RT‐ddPCR for ALK detection were 100%, respectively.

Conclusions

An absolute quantitative FIATA‐based RT‐ddPCR was developed and validated for ALK fusion detection in NSCLC. This method can rapidly, accurately, and objectively classify ALK types and help with individual therapy.
Evolutionary stakeholder theory in action: Adaptation of public utility regulation in the post‐OPEC world
Authors: McDermott Karl A.
Published: June 2020

This article extends the Humean example of evolutionary stakeholder theory introduced in Kline and McDermott (2019). In that article, it was established that the Cost of Service Regulation (COSR) rules created by regulatory commissions, courts, and legislation was an example of evolutionary stakeholder theory. Ultimately, the Supreme Court decision in the Hope Natural Gas case established that it was not the method, but the result reach that was important. If the result reach balanced the interests of stakeholders then the outcome was just and reasonable. Kline and McDermott (2019) also established that the COSR process was rather robust in terms of stakeholder participation. The purpose of this article is to extend the analysis to examine one of the most turbulent periods in COSR's history: the Post‐OPEC oil crisis of the 1970s–1980s. The effects of this period called into question the efficacy of the COSR process and led, as evolutionary stakeholder theory predicts, to a series of engagements by stakeholders to modify the rules of the process to achieve a better balance in the publics' interest. While adjudicatory in nature, the COSR process enabled cooperative solutions to redress the imbalances created by the OPEC oil shocks, improvements in information gathering, processing and decision‐making were all products of the evolutionary stakeholder process that regulators engaged in with stakeholders.
COVID‐19 in context: Why do people die in emergencies? It’s probably not because of collective psychology
Authors: Drury John , Reicher Stephen , Stott Clifford
Published: June 2020

Notions of psychological frailty have been at the forefront of debates around the public response to the COVID‐19 pandemic. In particular, there is the argument that collective selfishness, thoughtless behaviour, and over‐reaction would make the effects of COVID‐19 much worse. The same kinds of claims have been made in relation to other kinds of emergencies, such as fires, earthquakes, and sinking ships. We argue that in these cases as well as in the case of the COVID‐19 pandemic, other factors are better explanations for fatalities – namely under‐reaction to threat, systemic or structural factors, and mismanagement. Psychologizing disasters serves to distract from the real causes and thus from who might be held responsible. Far from being the problem, collective behaviour in emergencies – including the solidarity and cooperation so commonly witnessed among survivors – is the solution, one that should be harnessed more effectively in policy and practice.
Transient stimulation of TRPV4‐expressing keratinocytes promotes hair follicle regeneration in mice
Authors: Yang Pu , Lu Ping , Luo Jialie , Du Lixia , Feng Jing , Cai Tao , Yuan Yi , Cheng Hunter , Hu Hongzhen
Published: June 2020

Background and Purpose

Hair follicle telogen to anagen transition results in a break in cellular quiescence of the hair follicle stem cells, which subsequently promotes hair follicle regeneration. Many critical molecules and signalling pathways are involved in hair follicle cycle progression. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) is a polymodal sensory transducer that regulates various cutaneous functions under both normal and disease conditions. However, the role of TRPV4 in hair follicle regeneration in vivo remains incompletely understood.

Experimental Approach

Using adult C57BL/6J mice, keratinocyte (K14Cre; Trpv4f/f) and macrophage (Cx3cr1Cre; Trpv4f/f) Trpv4 conditional knockout (cKO) mice, Trpv4−/− mice, we investigated the effect of a single intradermal injection of GSK1016790A, a potent and selective small molecule TRPV4 activator, on hair follicle regeneration. Chemical cues and signal molecules involved in hair follicle cycle progression were measured by immunofluorescence staining, quantitative RT‐PCR and western blotting.

Key Results

Here, we show that a single intradermal injection of GSK1016790A is sufficient to induce telogen to anagen transition and hair follicle regeneration in mice by increasing the expression of the anagen‐promoting growth factors and down‐regulating the expression of growth factors that inhibit anagen. The action of GSK1016790A relies largely on the function of TRPV4 in skin and involves activation of downstream ERK signalling.

Conclusion and Implications

Our results suggest that transient chemical activation of TRPV4 in the skin induces hair follicle regeneration in mice, which might provide an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of hair loss and alopecia.
An anti‐siglec‐8 antibody depletes sputum eosinophils from asthmatic subjects and inhibits lung mast cells
Authors: Kerr Sheena C. , Gonzalez Jeanmarie R. , Schanin Julia , Peters Michael C. , Lambrecht Bart N. , Brock Emily C. , Charbit Annabelle , Ansel K. M. , Youngblood Bradford A. , Fahy John V.
Published: June 2020

Background

Sialic acid‐binding immunoglobulin‐like lectin (Siglec)‐8 is expressed on mast cells and eosinophils, but information about Siglec‐8 expression and function in the lung is limited. A humanized antibody, AK002, targeting Siglec‐8 is undergoing development for treatment of diseases associated with mast cell and eosinophil‐driven inflammation.

Objective

To characterize Siglec‐8 expression in the airway in asthma and determine whether antibodies that target Siglec‐8 (S8mAbs) can decrease airway eosinophils in asthma or inhibit lung mast cell activation.

Methods

Gene expression profiling and flow cytometry were used to characterize Siglec‐8 expression in sputum cells from stable asthma. An antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay was used to determine whether an S8mAb can decrease eosinophils in sputum from asthma patients ex vivo. A mast cell activation assay was used to determine whether an S8mAb can inhibit mast cell activation in human lung tissue ex vivo.

Results

Gene expression for Siglec‐8 is increased in sputum cells in asthma and correlates with gene expression for eosinophils and mast cells. Gene expression for Siglec‐8 is inversely and significantly correlated with measures of airflow obstruction in asthma patients. Siglec‐8 is prominently expressed on the surface of eosinophils and mast cells in sputum. S8mAbs decrease eosinophils in sputum from patients with asthma and inhibit FcεR1‐activated mast cells in lung tissues.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

Siglec‐8 is highly expressed on eosinophils and mast cells in asthmatic sputum and targeting Siglec‐8 with an antibody is a plausible strategy to decrease sputum eosinophils and inhibit lung mast cells in asthma.
Alpha‐gal syndrome: An emerging cause of food and drug allergy
Authors: Rutkowski Krzyszof , Wagner Annette , Rutkowski Ryszard , Sowa Paweł , Pancewicz Sławomir , Moniuszko‐Malinowska Anna
Published: June 2020

Alpha‐gal syndrome (AGS) describes a wide spectrum of hypersensitivity reactions mediated by specific IgE to the α‐gal epitope (galactose‐α‐1,3‐galactose) ubiquitously expressed on glycolipids/glycoproteins of most mammals. This fascinating new entity has completely changed the paradigms of allergy as allergic response is directed against an oligosaccharide and the reactions can be both immediate and delayed. They appear to be stimulated only by tick bites which induce production of α‐gal specific IgE antibodies that lead to (at times fatal) hypersensitivity response. AGS is completely different to previously described anaphylaxis to tick saliva. It provides unique insight into the interplay between different arms of the immune system and the role of ectoparasites in the development of anaphylaxis to food and medication in patients at risk of tick bites including travellers. This review summarises recent advances in our understanding of its clinical presentation, pathomechanism and role of various tick species in the development of AGS.
Cytopathology smears from autopsies: A viable storage method for molecular analysis
Authors: Hoelz Lucas , Mesgary Arya , Achar Eduardo , Gimenez Marcela , Saieg Mauro
Published: June 2020

Introduction

Cytology appears to be a viable option to histological samples for proper storage and maintenance of autopsy material for DNA extraction and analysis. In the present study, we tested the feasibility of using archived air‐dried smears produced at the time of the autopsy for simple molecular analysis, comparing quantity and quality of the DNA extracted from the smears to that of correspondent histological specimens.

Methods

Air‐dried cytological smears were obtained from scrapings of exactly the same areas collected for histological study. DNA was extracted using a commercially available protocol from all samples, with calculation of purity ratio and overall concentration. The integrity of the extracted DNA was also verified through conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results

Five cases of lung tumours (2 small cell carcinomas and 3 adenocarcinomas) were collected. Percentage of tumour cells and necrosis ranged from 30% to 90% and from 10% to 40%, respectively, in the cytological preparations, and from 50% to 90% and from 10% to 80%, respectively, in the histological preparations. Purity ratio (260/280) had a median of 1.87 in cytology vs 1.94 in histology. Mean DNA concentration among the cytological preparations was 2653 ng/mL (range 1684‐3980 ng/mL) vs 757.2 ng/mL among the histological preparations (range 456‐1829 ng/mL. DNA from all five cases of cytology was successfully amplified by conventional PCR, in contrast to none from the histology specimens.

Conclusions

Archived air‐dried smears scraped from tumoural lesions in autopsies have proven to yield a good concentration of quality DNA for conventional PCR, with better results than formalin‐fixed paraffin embedded material.
Machine learning for monitoring and evaluating physical activity in cerebral palsy
Authors: Bertoncelli Carlo M , Solla Federico
Published: June 2020

This commentary is on the original article by Goodlich et al. on pages 1054–1060 of this issue.
Embodiment and the Risk of Reading
Authors: Öhman Anders
Published: June 2020

In this article, Anders Öhman discusses Gert J. J. Biesta's concept of the risk of education and what it could mean for the study of literature in the classroom. The article's point of departure is Bakhtin's theory of the utterance. The utterance, for Bakhtin, has to be embodied, that is, it has to be governed by a purpose: it must be uttered by someone, or at least the reader or listener must imagine that it is uttered by someone that speaks with an intent. A grammatical sentence that is not an utterance has no author and no direction or intention; it is therefore abstract and belongs to no one. Reading on the Internet, or digital reading, often consists of short passages or text fragments for which it is difficult to identify an author. These fragments are not embodied and thus the reader does not feel addressed by the text. Although Biesta does not reckon with Bakhtin's theory, his critique of “strong education” provides an analysis that runs along similar lines. According to Biesta, the notion of strong education and what he calls the “language of learning” regard knowledge as free of values thus rendering it abstract. In bringing together Bakhtin's and Biesta's analyses, Öhman concludes that in order for knowledge to elicit valuation, it must first become embodied; this process, in turn, is important to creating the conditions necessary for a dialogue to occur between the content of teaching and the students.
(Re)thinking Religious Studies
Authors: Enstedt Daniel
Published: June 2020

The world religions paradigm (WRP), often regarded as hegemonic in research and education in religious studies, has long been criticized for being modeled on predominantly Protestant, Christian, and Western ideas about religion, and thus running the risk of reductionism and of a failure to recognize expressions of religion that do not fit this framework. Despite this, it is difficult to get rid of the prevailing WRP, especially in education. In addition, nonconfessional, nonreligious, secular education in religion may be biased by norms and values that assume that religion as such is outdated and irrational. The seemingly neutral, nonreligious, or agnostic position that is present in religious studies at the higher education level can then be seen as aligned with an institutional, not necessarily personal, secular bias that rules out religion from the very outset. Consequently, higher level education about religion runs the risk of presenting religion in terms of flawed stereotypes. In this article, Daniel Enstedt addresses these two interrelated and subject‐specific problems by examining them through the lens of Gert J. J. Biesta's educational philosophy, and in particular in relation to his discussion about the three domains of education: qualification, socialization, and subjectification.
Species co‐occurrences in ectoparasite infracommunities: Accounting for confounding factors associated with space, time, and host community composition
Authors: Krasnov Boris R. , Stanko Michal , Lareschi Marcela , Khokhlova Irina S.
Published: June 2020

1. We explored patterns of co‐occurrence of ectoparasite species on individual hosts from Central Europe (Slovakia) and South America (Argentina) within and between higher taxa while controlling for confounding factors associated with variation between host individuals and host species, as well as spatial and temporal variation. We used a recently developed statistical approach, the hierarchical modelling of species communities.

2. Although the probability of pairwise associations of the majority of species in both regions did not differ from random, all significant species associations in Slovakia were positive, whereas the only three significant species associations in Argentina were negative. On average, associations between ectoparasite species belonging to different higher taxa were positive in Slovakia and negative in Argentina.

3. At the host species level, both positive and negative associations between species were detected in all higher taxa. This was also true for ectoparasite co‐occurrences in the same site, habitat, or year; although the number of co‐occurring species pairs with high posterior probability was much greater in Slovakia than in Argentina.

4. We conclude that consideration of species co‐occurrences across the entire multi‐host assemblage and control for confounding spatial and temporal factors provided important insights into parasite community structure.
How climate change affects the occurrence of a second generation in the univoltine Pyrrhocoris apterus (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae)
Authors: Honek Alois , Martinkova Zdenka , Pekár Stano
Published: June 2020

1. Understanding the conditions that allow for the occurrence of an additional generation in populations that are usually univoltine is important under the present climate warming. In temperate areas, a second generation is enabled through the emergence of a time window that opens when first‐generation individuals are ready to reproduce and closes when second‐generation individuals cannot complete development before the onset of winter.

2. The conditions that limit the width of this window were studied in Pyrrhocoris apterus (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae), a ground‐inhabiting heteropteran overwintering in facultative adult diapause, whose populations in Central Europe have typically been univoltine until the 1980s.

3. The frequency of females of the first generation that started to lay eggs decreased from 70% in June to zero in early August, but oviposition of these females continued until the end of August. Using thermal constants for egg–adult development and temperature data, this study found that the development of most second‐generation individuals could only be completed before the start of winter if hastened through behavioural thermoregulation.

4. Consequences of temperature increase on the width of the thermal window were calculated. Increasing temperature causes the time window to open earlier and close later by accelerating maturation of first‐generation females and improving conditions for maturing of the second‐generation individuals in late summer and autumn.

5. Climate warming will create conditions that facilitate the occurrence of a second generation in a year in typically univoltine populations of this species.
Lifestyle habits and academy performance amongst forcibly displaced students: A cross‐sectional survey in a school of dentistry
Authors: Ardila Carlos M. , Gómez‐Restrepo Ángela‐María
Published: June 2020

Introduction

There is no recognised investigation examining the influence of some lifestyle comportments on academic performance (AP) in forcibly displaced students in higher education. Thus, the frequency of physical inactivity (PI), insufficient sleep (IS), alcohol consumption (AC), drug consumption (DC) and cigarette smoking (CS) and the independent and combined consequences of these habits on AP in forcibly displaced dental students were investigated.

Materials and Methods

A sample of 185 students was studied (thirty‐seven forcibly displaced and 148 non‐displaced students). This cross‐sectional study used an institutional administrative database that included students' demographic features and lifestyle behaviours. Multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the independent and combined effects of lifestyle behaviours on AP.

Results

PI, IS, AC, DC and CS were observed in 51%, 43%, 83%, 27% and 16% of forcibly displaced students, respectively. Compared with non‐displaced students, forcibly displaced students presented higher frequencies for all of these behaviours (P < .05), lower AP (P < .0001) and lower socio‐economic status (P = .003). Unadjusted regression models showed independent and significant associations between forcibly displaced students and PI (P = .01), IS (P = .01), AC (P = .01), DC (P < .0001), CS (P = .02) and low AP (P = .006). The multivariate model for AP and forcibly displaced students increased odds by 4.6 times (1.5‐11; 95% CI). Moreover, the lifestyle comportments studied were also statistically significant, showing combined effects. The variables of gender and age were not statistically significant in the adjusted model.

Conclusions

This research observed high frequencies of the behaviours analysed in forcibly displaced students. Furthermore, independent and combined effects of them on AP were detected.
COVID‐19 is a challenge for dental education—A commentary
Authors: Bennardo Francesco , Buffone Caterina , Fortunato Leonzio , Giudice Amerigo
Published: June 2020

The COVID‐19, which appeared to originate in China in December 2019, has spread worldwide pandemically. In this commentary, authors described this new challenge for dental education using the recent literature and experience gained in the Italian University of Catanzaro.
Regional outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in hospitalised patients with haematological malignancy
Authors: Booth Stephen , Willan John , Wong Henna , Khan Dalia , Farnell Rachel , Hunter Alicia , Eyre Toby , Katz Harley , Dungarwalla Moez , Chen Lucia , Browning Joe , Polzella Paolo , Gray Nicola , Neelakantan Pratap , Dhillon Elissa K. , Dutton David , Sternberg Alex , Prideaux Steven , Collins Graham P. , Peniket Andy
Published: June 2020

Objectives

We sought to characterise the outcomes of patients with haematological malignancy and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection in hospital in our regional network of 7 hospitals.

Methods

Consecutive hospitalised patients with haematological malignancy and SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were identified from 01/03/2020 to 06/05/2020. Outcomes were categorised as death, resolved or ongoing. The primary outcome was preliminary case fatality rate (pCFR), defined as the number of cases resulting in death as a proportion of all diagnosed cases. Analysis was primarily descriptive.

Results

66 Patients were included, overall pCFR was 51.5%. Patients ≥ 70 years accounted for the majority of hospitalised cases (42, 63%) and fatalities (25, 74%). Mortality was similar between females (52%) and males (51%). Immunosuppressive or cytotoxic treatment within 3 months of the diagnosis of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection was associated with a significantly higher pCFR of 70%, compared with 28% in those not on active treatment (P = .0013, 2 proportions z test).

Conclusions

Mortality rates in patients with haematological malignancy and SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in hospital are high supporting measures to minimise the risk of infection in this population.
Acute symptomatic seizures secondary to autoimmune encephalitis and autoimmune‐associated epilepsy: Conceptual definitions
Authors: Steriade Claude , Britton Jeffrey , Dale Russell C. , Gadoth Avi , Irani Sarosh R. , Linnoila Jenny , McKeon Andrew , Shao Xiao‐Qiu , Venegas Viviana , Bien Christian G.
Published: June 2020

Seizures are a well‐recognized and often prominent manifestation of autoimmune encephalitic syndromes. Progress in detection of pathogenic neural autoantibodies has led to increased awareness of autoimmune causes of seizures. Clinical studies of patients with these autoantibodies have improved our understanding of the seizure characteristics, treatments, and seizure prognosis in these disorders. The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Autoimmunity and Inflammation Taskforce proposes conceptual definitions for two main diagnostic entities: (a) acute symptomatic seizures secondary to autoimmune encephalitis, and (b) autoimmune‐associated epilepsy, the latter of which suggests an enduring predisposition to seizures. Such a distinction is relevant when discussing the pathophysiology, treatment, prognosis, and social consequences of these disorders. We discuss the role of biomarkers in the application of these conceptual definitions and illustrate their use in patients cared for by members of the task force.
Renal dysplasia, ectopic ureter, septic ureterectasia and cryptorchidism in an 11‐month‐old Cob colt presenting with ascending pyoureter and pyocystis
Authors: Gough S. L. , Fraser B. S. L. , Rendle D. I. , Dixon J. J.
Published: June 2020

An 11‐month‐old entire male Cob colt was presented for unilateral cryptorchid castration and intermittent purulent urethral discharge. Cystoscopy, trans‐cutaneous and trans‐rectal abdominal ultrasonography and contrast enhanced computed tomography examinations confirmed unilateral cryptorchidism, ipsilateral renal dysplasia and pyoureter with dilatation and ectopia. While nephrectomy may be a viable treatment approach for some cases of unilateral renal dysplasia, surgical intervention was not attempted in this case owing to financial constraints and the yearling was subjected to euthanasia. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of a case of complex congenital urogenital malformation including ipsilateral renal dysplasia, pyoureter with dilatation and ectopia and cryptorchidism, a finding which has been reported more commonly in human males.
Using games for language learning in the age of social distancing
Authors: Dubreil Sébastien
Published: June 2020

Since the COVID‐19 pandemic has led to nation‐wide school closures, the transition to remote teaching has caused profound disruption to classroom instruction. In this article, I share the impact that this forced transition has had on the redesign of the second half of a French course entitled “Gaming culture and culture of games,” to meet the pedagogical challenge posed by the pandemic, retain the integrity of the course, and provide useful tools to mitigate the circumstances. In particular, I examine how the situation was an opportunity to combine language and culture pedagogy with game design to enable students to think critically about the course content and contribute meaningful solutions to learning languages in the age of social distancing.
Deconstructing Earth’s oldest ichnofossil record from the Pilbara Craton, West Australia: Implications for seeking life in the Archean subseafloor
Authors: McLoughlin Nicola , Wacey David , Phunguphungu Siyolise , Saunders Martin , Grosch Eugene G.
Published: June 2020

Microtextures of titanite (CaTiSiO5) in exceptionally preserved Archean pillow lavas have been proposed as the earliest examples of microbial ichnofossils. An origin from microbial tunneling of seafloor volcanic glass that is subsequently chloritized and the tunnels infilled by titanite has been argued to record the activities of subseafloor microbes. We investigate the evidence in pillow lavas of the 3.35 Ga Euro Basalt from the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, to evaluate the biogenicity of the microtextures. We employ a combination of light microscopy and chlorite mineral chemical analysis by EPMA (electron probe micro‐analysis) to document the environment of formation and analyze their ultrastructure using FIB‐TEM (focussed ion beam combined with transmission electron microscopy) to investigate their mode of growth. Petrographic study of the original and re‐collected material identified an expanded range of titanite morphotypes along with early anatase growth forming chains and aggregates of coalesced crystallites in a sub‐greenschist facies assemblage. High‐sensitivity mapping of FIB lamellae cut across the microtextures confirm that they are discontinuous chains of coalesced crystallites that are highly variable in cross section and contain abundant chlorite inclusions, excluding an origin from the mineralization of previously hollow microtunnels. Comparison of chlorite mineral compositions to DSDP/IODP data reveals that the Euro Basalt chlorites are similar to recent seafloor chlorites. We advance an abiotic origin for the Euro Basalt microtextures formed by spontaneous nucleation and growth of titanite and/anatase during seafloor‐hydrothermal metamorphism. Our findings reveal that the Euro Basalt microtextures are not comparable to microbial ichnofossils from the recent oceanic crust, and we question the evidence for life in these Archean lavas. The metamorphic reactions that give rise to the growth of the Euro Basalt microtextures could be commonplace in Archean pillow lavas and need to be excluded when seeking traces of life in the subseafloor on the early Earth.
Treatment of histoid leprosy: a lack of consensus
Authors: Bartos Gregory , Sheuring Ryan , Combs Angela , Rivlin Daniel
Published: June 2020

Histoid leprosy is a rare variant of leprosy with a unique clinical presentation and bacilli rich histology. These patients are large reservoirs for disease and vectors for spread, making prompt diagnosis and treatment crucial. To date, no consensus on treatment and duration exists. This paper aims to investigate the efficacy, safety, and duration of varying treatment regimens in patients with histoid leprosy. A systematic PubMed review of all articles published before January 2020 containing the key words histoid leprosy. All patients included must have completed their prescribed treatments with comment on outcomes and treatment duration. The review generated 165 articles containing 62 cases that met inclusion criteria. A majority of cases reported excellent clinical outcomes with limited adverse events. Regimens included variations of rifampicin, dapsone, clofazimine, minocycline, ofloxacin, and sulforthormadine with most treatment duration lasting 12 or 24 months. Existing literature is limited to case reports or case series and may be subject to publication bias of successful cases. Many reports lack quantifiable data regarding outcomes and rely on clinical judgment. Continued observation for complete clearance or relapse was limited. The findings demonstrate that multibacillary‐multidrug therapy is an efficacious and safe treatment for histoid leprosy. No significant differences were observed between 12 and 24 months of treatment. There remains no consensus on treatment duration for histoid leprosy.