bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi-actor approaches to implement cooperative strategies and value chains based on sustainability
Authors: Contini Caterina , Marotta Giuseppe , Torquati Biancamaria
Published: January 2020

This special issue ofAgricultural and Food Economicsconsists of four articles that were part of the scientific programme of the First SIDEA-SIEA Joint Conference, held in Bisceglie in September 2017. The conference afforded agricultural economists the opportunity to reflect on cooperative strategies to promote competitiveness of the agri-food supply chain, with a focus on environmental quality and social sustainability.

The selected articles address these themes from different perspectives: those of firms, of consumers, and of policy makers, stressing that sustainability calls for the active participation of all of the actors. The case studies presented propose an effective interpretation of the strategies for value creation with respect to the challenges of climate change, food waste management, the development of marginal rural areas, and that of the fish sector.
PI3K inhibitors in thrombosis and cardiovascular disease
Authors: Durrant Tom N. , Hers Ingeborg
Published: January 2020

Phosphoinositide 3‐kinases (PI3Ks) are lipid kinases that regulate important intracellular signalling and vesicle trafficking events via the generation of 3‐phosphoinositides. Comprising eight core isoforms across three classes, the PI3K family displays broad expression and function throughout mammalian tissues, and the (patho)physiological roles of these enzymes in the cardiovascular system present the PI3Ks as potential therapeutic targets in settings such as thrombosis, atherosclerosis and heart failure. This review will discuss the PI3K enzymes and their roles in cardiovascular physiology and disease, with a particular focus on platelet function and thrombosis. The current progress and future potential of targeting the PI3K enzymes for therapeutic benefit in cardiovascular disease will be considered, while the challenges of developing drugs against these master cellular regulators will be discussed.
Incidence and risk factors of tuberculosis among the elderly population in China: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Cheng Jun , Sun Yan-Ni , Zhang Can-You , Yu Yan-Ling , Tang Li-Hong , Peng Hong , Peng Ying , Yao Yu-Xia , Hou Shuang-Yi , Li Jian-Wei , Zhao Jin-Ming , Xia Lan , Xu Lin , Xia Yin-Yin , Zhao Fei , Wang Li-Xia , Zhang Hui
Published: January 2020

Background

China is facing challenges of the shifting presentation of tuberculosis (TB) from younger to elderly due to an ageing population, longer life expectancy and reactivation disease. However, the burden of elderly TB and influence factors are not yet clear. To fill the gap, we generated a cohort study to measure the magnitude of TB incidence and associated factors among the elderly population aged 65 years and above in China.

Methods

In this cohort established in 2013 through a prevalence survey conducted in selected sites, a total of 34 076 elderlies without TB were enrolled into two-year follow-up. We used both active and passive case findings to find out all TB patients among them. The person-year (PY) incidence rates for both bacteriologically positive TB and active TB were calculated. Cox proportional regression model was performed to test effect of risk factors, and the population attributable fraction (PAF) of each risk factor contributing to incident TB among elderlies was calculated.

Results

Over the two-year follow-up period, a total of 215 incident active TB were identified, 62 of which were bacteriologically positive. The incidence rates for active TB and bacteriologically positive TB were 481.8 per 100 000 PY (95% CI: 417.4–546.2 per 100 000 PY) and 138.9 per 100 000 PY (95% CI: 104.4–173.5 per 100 000 PY), respectively. Incident cases detected by active case finding were significantly higher (P < 0.001). Male, non-Han nationality, previously treated TB, ex/current smoker and body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 presented as independent predictors for developing TB disease. For developing bacteriologically positive TB, the biggest contribution was from self-reported ex or current smoker (18.06%). And, for developing active TB, the biggest contribution was from non-Han nationality (35.40%), followed by male (26.80%) and age at 75 years and above (10.85%).

Conclusions

Ageing population in China had a high TB incidence rate and risk to develop TB disease, implying that National TB Program (NTP) needs to prioritize for elderly. Active case finding should be applied capture more active TB cases among this particular population, especially for male, non-Han nationality, and those with identified risk factors.
Emerging pharmacological tools to control hydrogen sulfide signaling in critical illness
Authors: Marutani Eizo , Ichinose Fumito
Published: January 2020

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has long been known as a toxic environmental hazard. Discovery of physiological roles of H2S as a neurotransmitter by Kimura and colleagues triggered an intensive research in the biological roles of H2S in the past decades. Manipulation of H2S levels by inhibiting H2S synthesis or administration of H2S-releasing molecules revealed beneficial as well as harmful effects of H2S. As a result, it is now established that H2S levels are tightly controlled and too much or too little H2S levels cause harm. Nonetheless, translation of sulfide-based therapy to clinical practice has been stymied due to the very low therapeutic index of sulfide and the incomplete understanding of endogenous sulfide metabolism. One potential strategy to circumvent this problem is to use a safe and stable sulfide metabolite that may mediate effects of H2S. Alternatively, endogenous sulfide levels may be controlled using specific sulfide scavengers. In this review article, the role of endogenous H2S production and catabolism will be briefly reviewed followed by an introduction of thiosulfate and H2S scavengers as novel pharmacological tools to control H2S-dependent signaling.
Role of phototherapy, BAX gene expression in hyperbilirubinemia development in full-term neonates
Authors: Afifi Mohamed farouk , Abdel Mohsen Abdel Hakeem , Abdel Naeem Emad , Abdel razic Marwa Ibrahem
Published: January 2020

Background

Phototherapy is the main therapeutic interference for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia used to escape an exchange transfusion and to decrease the risk of bilirubin-induced encephalopathy (kernikterus). Phototherapy has an oxidative effect on cell components and cell membranes by enhancing peroxidation of lipid and damage to DNA. Many genes function as apoptosis regulatory genes. Examples of these genes involve the BCL2 gene as an anti-apoptotic oncogene, and the BAX gene which is a promoter of apoptosis.

We aimed to evaluate the effect of phototherapy on expression of BAX and Bcl2 genes in hyperbilirubinemic full-term neonates.

Eighteen full-term neonates with indirect hyperbilirubinemia who received phototherapy for 24 h were enrolled as a study group and nine apparently healthy full-term neonates with a normal serum bilirubin level were included as a control group. Assessment of the anti-apoptotic effect(s) of BCL2 and the pro-apoptotic effect(s) of (Bax) genes was achieved by quantitative assay of their products (BCL2 and BAX proteins) by ELISA assay after phototherapy.

Results

Significant decrease in the bcl2 (p < 0.001) and increase in Bax protein (p < 0.001) serum levels after phototherapy in hyperbilirubinemic full-term neonates.

Conclusion

Hyperbilirubinemia has no apoptotic influence, while phototherapy induces apoptosis in the peripheral blood of hyperbilirubinemic full-term infants.
Fostering Equitable Outcomes in Introductory Biology Courses through Use of a Dual Domain Pedagogy
Authors: Bauer Angela C. , Coffield Vernon M. , Crater Dinene , Lyda Todd , Segarra Verónica A. , Suh Kevin , Vigueira Cynthia C. , Vigueira Patrick A.
Published: January 2020

Recent studies demonstrate that significant learning gains can be achieved when instructors take intentional steps to address the affective components of learning. While such efforts enhance the outcomes of all students, they are particularly beneficial for students from underrepresented groups and can reduce performance gaps. In the present study, we examined whether intentional efforts to address the affective domain of learning (through growth mindset messaging) can synergize with best practices for addressing the cognitive domain (via active-learning strategies) to enhance academic outcomes in biology courses. We compared the impact of this two-pronged approach (known as dual domain pedagogy, or DDP) with that of two other pedagogies (lecture only or active learning only). Our results demonstrate that DDP is a powerful tool for narrowing performance gaps. DDP, but not active learning, eliminated the performance gap observed between Black and white students in response to lecture. While a significant gap between white and Latin@ students was observed in response to active learning (but not lecture), this gap was reduced by DDP. These findings demonstrate that DDP is an effective approach for promoting a more equitable classroom and can foster learning outcomes that supersede those conferred by active learning alone.
Knowledge or Abilities? How Undergraduates Define Intelligence
Authors: Limeri Lisa B. , Choe Jun , Harper Hannah G. , Martin Hannah R. , Benton Annaleigh , Dolan Erin L.
Published: January 2020

Whether students view intelligence as a fixed or malleable trait (i.e., their “mindset”) has significant implications for their responses to failure and academic outcomes. Despite a long history of research on mindset and its growing popularity, recent meta-analyses suggest that mindset does a poor job of predicting academic outcomes for undergraduate populations. Here, we present evidence that these mixed results could be due to ambiguous language on the mindset scale. Specifically, the term “intelligence” is a referent in every item of the mindset scale but is never defined, which could result in differing interpretations and measurement error. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory, qualitative study to characterize how undergraduate students define intelligence and how their definitions may influence how they respond to the mindset scale. We uncovered two distinct ways that undergraduates define intelligence: knowledge and abilities (e.g., ability to learn, solve problems). Additionally, we found that students’ definitions of intelligence can vary across contexts. Finally, we present evidence that students who define intelligence differently also interpret and respond to the items on the mindset scale differently. We discuss implications of these results for the use and interpretation of the mindset scale with undergraduate students.
Nutritional ketosis as an intervention to relieve astrogliosis: Possible therapeutic applications in the treatment of neurodegenerative and neuroprogressive disorders
Authors: Morris Gerwyn , Maes Michael , Berk Michael , Carvalho André F. , Puri Basant K.
Published: January 2020

Nutritional ketosis, induced via either the classical ketogenic diet or the use of emulsified medium-chain triglycerides, is an established treatment for pharmaceutical resistant epilepsy in children and more recently in adults. In addition, the use of oral ketogenic compounds, fractionated coconut oil, very low carbohydrate intake, or ketone monoester supplementation has been reported to be potentially helpful in mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autistic spectrum disorder. In these and other neurodegenerative and neuroprogressive disorders, there are detrimental effects of oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation on neuronal function. However, they also adversely impact on neurone–glia interactions, disrupting the role of microglia and astrocytes in central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis. Astrocytes are the main site of CNS fatty acid oxidation; the resulting ketone bodies constitute an important source of oxidative fuel for neurones in an environment of glucose restriction. Importantly, the lactate shuttle between astrocytes and neurones is dependent on glycogenolysis and glycolysis, resulting from the fact that the astrocytic filopodia responsible for lactate release are too narrow to accommodate mitochondria. The entry into the CNS of ketone bodies and fatty acids, as a result of nutritional ketosis, has effects on the astrocytic glutamate–glutamine cycle, glutamate synthase activity, and on the function of vesicular glutamate transporters, EAAT, Na+, K+-ATPase, Kir4.1, aquaporin-4, Cx34 and KATPchannels, as well as on astrogliosis. These mechanisms are detailed and it is suggested that they would tend to mitigate the changes seen in many neurodegenerative and neuroprogressive disorders. Hence, it is hypothesized that nutritional ketosis may have therapeutic applications in such disorders.
Predictors of stigma in a sample of mental health professionals: Network and moderator analysis on gender, years of experience, personality traits, and levels of burnout
Authors: Solmi Marco , Granziol Umberto , Danieli Andrea , Frasson Alberto , Meneghetti Leonardo , Ferranti Roberta , Zordan Maria , Salvetti Beatrice , Conca Andreas , Salcuni Silvia , Zaninotto Leonardo
Published: January 2020

Background.

Stigma is one of the most important barriers to help-seeking and to personal recovery for people suffering from mental disorders. Stigmatizing attitudes are present among mental health professionals with negative effects on the quality of health care.

Methods.

Network and moderator analysis were used to identify what path determines stigma, considering demographic and professional variables, personality traits, and burnout dimensions in a sample of mental health professionals (n = 318) from six Community Mental Health Services. The survey included the Attribution Questionnaire-9, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory.

Results.

The personality trait of openness to new experiences resulted to determine lower levels of stigma. Burnout (personal accomplishment) interacted with emotional stability in predicting stigma, and specifically, for subjects with lower emotional stability lower levels of personal accomplishment were associated with higher levels of stigma.

Conclusions.

Some personality traits may be accompanied by better empathic and communication skills, and may have a protective role against stigma. Moreover, burnout can increase stigma, in particular in subjects with specific personality traits. Assessing personality and burnout levels could help in identifying mental health professionals at higher risk of developing stigma. Future studies should determine whether targeted interventions in mental health professionals at risk of developing stigma may be effective in stigma prevention.
Body shape in inpatients with severe anorexia nervosa
Authors: Marzola Enrica , Panero Matteo , Cavallo Fabio , Delsedime Nadia , Abbate-Daga Giovanni
Published: January 2020

Background.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe mental disorder. Body shape disturbances are key in the development and maintenance of AN. Only few data are available on inpatients with life-threatening AN. Therefore, we aimed to investigate if body shape difficulties—with a focus on both body checking and avoidance—could improve during hospitalization in both subtypes of AN and to ascertain eventual associations between body shape concerns upon admission and clinical outcome.

Methods.

Upon hospital admission and end of treatment (EOT), 139 inpatients with AN completed Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ), and Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ) in addition to measures of eating and general psychopathology.

Results.

Patients with severe AN reported improved BSQ and BIAQ scores at EOT while BCQ did not significantly change. Diagnostic subtypes differed only in baseline BSQ scores and had an impact on the improvement in BSQ at EOT. Baseline BCQ was associated with patients’ clinical improvement at EOT, even after controlling for age, duration of illness, Body Mass Index, depression, and anxiety scores.

Conclusions.

Data on body shape concerns and their trajectory during hospitalization for severe AN are lacking; our findings provide support to the effectiveness of hospitalization in improving body shape concerns and body avoidance, but not body checking. Also, baseline body shape concerns (especially body checking) impacted on clinical improvement. Future research is needed to identify treatments that could further improve the therapeutic approach to severe patients of AN in the acute setting.
Giant Inflatable Colon Model Enhances Lebanese Community Knowledge and Intention for Colorectal Cancer Screening
Authors: Baassiri Amro , El-Harakeh Mohammad , Itani Abdulrahman , Nassar Farah J. , Safi Remi , Dassouki Zeina , Romani Maya , Zgheib Nathalie , Nasr Rihab
Published: January 2020

PURPOSE

To assess the knowledge and intention for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening within the Lebanese community before and after a guided tour through an inflatable colon model.

METHODS

The Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in collaboration with AMALOUNA educational nongovernmental organization launched awareness campaigns during which a walk-through inflatable colon was displayed. Pre- and post-surveys related to the age of screening, risk factors, symptoms, and CRC prevention were collected anonymously before and after touring the inflatable colon to assess the effectiveness of this educational tool.

RESULTS

Compiled data collected from 782 participants revealed that older age and higher education were predictors of favorable CRC screening knowledge and behaviors before entering the inflatable colon. Interestingly, touring the inflatable colon model significantly improved participants’ awareness and knowledge about CRC. Most importantly, it increased their willingness for screening and social engagement and comfort discussing and promoting CRC screening.

CONCLUSION

Overall, these results indicate that the interactive colon is an effective educational tool that can make a positive impact by improving the community CRC awareness and interest in CRC screening. They also highlight the importance of such educational efforts conducted in the community to create more awareness about CRC and emphasize the importance of its prevention.
Knowing Limits: Adrienne Rich in Rhyme
Authors: Gargaillo Florian
Published: January 2020

Adrienne Rich’s early poems have long been criticized for their apparent stylistic conservatism. Reconsidering Rich’s first two volumes, this essay aims to offer a new understanding of their place in her poetic development as a whole. Far from traditional forms functioning for her as mere inhibitions, stylistic constraints provided Rich with patterns she could play with and against. In turn, formal rules allowed her to think critically about different social and political limits. This article hopes to encourage a more nuanced appreciation of Rich’s formalist period, highlight its continuities with her later work, and complicate the terms though which understandings of her first poems have been oversimplified—deemed narrowly “conservative” as opposed to “radical.”
Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ decreases with age and correlates with the decline in muscle function in Drosophila
Authors: Delrio-Lorenzo Alba , Rojo-Ruiz Jonathan , Alonso María Teresa , García-Sancho Javier
Published: January 2020

Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass and strength associated with age, has been linked to impairment of the cytosolic Ca2+ peak that triggers muscle contraction, but mechanistic details remain unknown. Here we explore the hypothesis that a reduction in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]SR) is at the origin of this loss of Ca2+ homeostasis. We engineered Drosophila melanogaster to express the Ca2+ indicator GAP3 targeted to muscle SR, and we developed a new method to calibrate the signal into [Ca2+]SR in vivo. [Ca2+]SR fell with age from ∼600 µM to 50 µM in close correlation with muscle function, which declined monotonically when [Ca2+]SR was <400 µM. [Ca2+]SR results from the pump-leak steady state at the SR membrane. However, changes in expression of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) pump and of the ryanodine receptor leak were too modest to explain the large changes seen in [Ca2+]SR. Instead, these changes are compatible with increased leakiness through the ryanodine receptor as the main determinant of the [Ca2+]SR decline in aging muscle. In contrast, there were no changes in endoplasmic reticulum [Ca2+] with age in brain neurons.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Acute Physical Activity and Cognitive Performance Among Elementary Schoolchildren
Authors: Beddoes Zack , Castelli Darla M. , Barcelona Jeanne M.
Published: January 2020

OBJECTIVE

As part of a larger project, the purpose of this study was to compare the physical activity (PA) intensity and cognitive effects of a single session of acute PA among elementary schoolchildren.

METHODS

Participants included 465 school-aged children (47% female, aged 7.9 ± 2.2 y) from 40 classrooms. Classes were randomized to treatment (high-intensity PA; n = 22) and control groups (low-intensity PA; n = 18). Children wore accelerometers during participation in PA in the classroom. Confirming fidelity of the treatment, children in the high-PA group (i.e., dance, running in place) accumulated (mean = 347.94; SD = 185.63) steps with a total of 38% of the time spent in moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). A randomized cluster design using pre/postassessments was used to measure cognitive performance in children. Cognitive tasks included (a) timed mathematics test, (b) Trail Making Test, and (c) a visual memory task.

RESULTS

Despite PA significantly differed between the high- and low-PA groups in steps (P < 0.001) and time in moderate to vigorous PA (P < 0.001), there were no observable significant differences in cognitive performance between the high- and low-PA groups for any of the cognitive tasks.

CONCLUSION

The volume of PA, and both duration and intensity were not high enough to produce an immediate cognitive response in children. Future research could explore the impact of task-relevant PA on cognitive function in children within the classroom, and the effect of high-intensity, short-duration PA over time.
Strategyproof Choice of Social Acts
Authors: Bahel Eric , Sprumont Yves
Published: January 2020

We model uncertain social prospects as acts mapping states of nature to (social ) outcomes. A social choice function (or SCF ) assigns an act to each profile of subjective expected utility preferences over acts. An SCF is strategyproof if no agent ever has an incentive to misrepresent her beliefs about the states of nature or her valuation of the outcomes. It is unanimous if it picks the feasible act that all agents find best whenever such an act exists. We offer a characterization of the class of strategyproof and unanimous SCFs in two settings. In the setting where all acts are feasible, the chosen act must yield the favorite outcome of some ( possibly different) agent in every state of nature. The set of states in which an agent’s favorite outcome is selected may vary with the reported belief profile; it is the union of all states assigned to her by a collection of constant, bilaterally dictatorial, or bilaterally consensual assignment rules. In a setting where each state of nature defines a possibly different subset of available outcomes, bilaterally dictatorial or consensual rules can only be used to assign control rights over states characterized by identical sets of available outcomes. (JEL D71, D81, R53)
The Dynamics of Motivated Beliefs
Authors: Zimmermann Florian
Published: January 2020

A key question in the literature on motivated reasoning and self-deception is how motivated beliefs are sustained in the presence of feedback. In this paper, we explore dynamic motivated belief patterns after feedback. We establish that positive feedback has a persistent effect on beliefs. Negative feedback, instead, influences beliefs in the short run, but this effect fades over time. We investigate the mechanisms of this dynamic pattern, and provide evidence for an asymmetry in the recall of feedback. Finally, we establish that, in line with theoretical accounts, incentives for belief accuracy mitigate the role of motivated reasoning. (JEL C91, D83, D91)
Bargaining and News
Authors: Daley Brendan , Green Brett
Published: January 2020

We study a bargaining model in which a buyer makes frequent offers to a privately informed seller, while gradually learning about the seller’s type from “news.” We show that the buyer’s ability to leverage this information to extract more surplus from the seller is remarkably limited. In fact, the buyer gains nothing from the ability to negotiate a better price despite the fact that a negotiation must take place in equilibrium. During the negotiation, the buyer engages in a form of costly “experimentation” by making offers that are sure to earn her negative payoffs if accepted, but speed up learning and improve her continuation payoff if rejected. We investigate the effects of market power by comparing our results to a setting with competitive buyers. Both efficiency and the seller’s payoff can decrease by introducing competition among buyers. (JEL C78, D82, D83)
Outsourcing Education: Experimental Evidence from Liberia
Authors: Romero Mauricio , Sandefur Justin , Sandholtz Wayne Aaron
Published: January 2020

In 2016, the Liberian government delegated management of 93 randomly selected public schools to private providers. Providers received US$50 per pupil, on top of US$50 per pupil annual expenditure in control schools. After one academic year, students in outsourced schools scored 0.18 σ higher in English and mathematics. We do not find heterogeneity in learning gains or enrollment by student characteristics, but there is significant heterogeneity across providers. While outsourcing appears to be a cost-effective way to use new resources to improve test scores, some providers engaged in unforeseen and potentially harmful behavior, complicating any assessment of welfare gains. (JEL H41, I21, I28, O15)
Loss in the Time of Cholera: Long-Run Impact of a Disease Epidemic on the Urban Landscape
Authors: Ambrus Attila , Field Erica , Gonzalez Robert
Published: January 2020

How do geographically concentrated income shocks influence the long-run spatial distribution of poverty within a city? We examine the impact on housing prices of a cholera epidemic in one neighborhood of nineteenth century London. Ten years after the epidemic, housing prices are significantly lower just inside the catchment area of the water pump that transmitted the disease. Moreover, differences in housing prices persist over the following 160 years. We make sense of these patterns by building a model of a rental market with frictions in which poor tenants exert a negative externality on their neighbors. This showcases how a locally concentrated income shock can persistently change the tenant composition of a block. (JEL D62, O18, R21, R31)
Do Credit Market Shocks Affect the Real Economy? Quasi-experimental Evidence from the Great Recession and “Normal” Economic Times
Authors: Greenstone Michael , Mas Alexandre , Nguyen Hoai-Luu
Published: January 2020

Using comprehensive data on bank lending and establishment-level outcomes from 1997–2010, this paper finds that small business lending is an unimportant determinant of small business and overall economic activity. A shift-share style research design is implemented to predict county-level lending shocks using variation in preexisting bank market shares and bank supply shifts. Counties with negative predicted lending shocks experienced declines in small business loan originations, indicating that it is costly to switch lenders. However, small business loan originations have an economically insignificant and generally statistically insignificant impact on both small firm and overall employment during the Great Recession and normal times. (JEL E32, E44, E52, G21, G32, L25)
Federal Coal Program Reform, the Clean Power Plan, and the Interaction of Upstream and Downstream Climate Policies
Authors: Gerarden Todd D. , Reeder W. Spencer , Stock James H.
Published: January 2020

Can supply-side environmental policies that limit the extraction of fossil fuels reduce CO2 emissions? This paper studies interactions between a specific supply-side policy—a carbon surcharge on federal coal royalties—and regulation of emissions from the power sector under the Clean Air Act. Estimates from a detailed dynamic model of the power sector suggest that, absent new downstream regulation, a royalty surcharge equal to the social cost of carbon would generate three-quarters of the emissions reductions originally projected for the Clean Power Plan (CPP), with an average abatement cost roughly equal to the social cost of carbon. Were the CPP in place, the royalty surcharge would reduce emissions by reducing leakage and causing the CPP to be nonbinding in some scenarios. (JEL Q35, Q38, Q48, Q54, Q58)
Advertising and Environmental Stewardship: Evidence from the BP Oil Spill
Authors: Barrage Lint , Chyn Eric , Hastings Justine
Published: January 2020

This paper explores whether private markets can incentivize environmental stewardship. We examine the consumer response to the 2010 BP oil spill and test how BP’s investment in the 2000–2008 “Beyond Petroleum” green advertising campaign affected this response. We find evidence consistent with consumer punishment: BP station margins and volumes declined by 2.9 cents per gallon and 4.2 percent, respectively, in the month after the spill. However, pre-spill advertising significantly dampened the price response, and may have reduced brand switching by BP stations. These results indicate that firms may have incentives to engage in green advertising without investments in environmental stewardship. (JEL D12, D83, G31, L71, M37, Q53, Q56)
The Marginal Cost of Traffic Congestion and Road Pricing: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Beijing
Authors: Yang Jun , Purevjav Avralt-Od , Li Shanjun
Published: January 2020

Severe traffic congestion is ubiquitous in large urban centers. This paper provides the first causal estimate of the relationship between traffic density and speed and optimal congestion charges using real-time fine-scale traffic data in Beijing. The identification relies on plausibly exogenous variation in traffic density induced by Beijing’s driving restriction policy. Optimal congestion charges range from 5 to 39 cents per km depending on time and location. Road pricing would increase traffic speed by 11 percent within the city center and lead to an annual welfare gain of ¥1.5 billion from reduced congestion and revenue of ¥10.5 billion. (JEL H23, O18, P25, R41, R48)
FLASH and minibeams in radiation therapy: the effect of microstructures on time and space and their potential application to protontherapy
Authors: Mazal Alejandro , Prezado Yolanda , Ares Carme , de Marzi Ludovic , Patriarca Annalisa , Miralbell Raymond , Favaudon Vincent
Published: January 2020

After years of lethargy, studies on two non-conventional microstructures in time and space of the beams used in radiation therapy are enjoying a huge revival. The first effect called “FLASH” is based on very high dose-rate irradiation (pulse amplitude ≥106 Gy/s), short beam-on times (≤100 ms) and large single doses (≥10 Gy) as experimental parameters established so far to give biological and potential clinical effects. The second effect relies on the use of arrays of minibeams (e.g., 0.5–1 mm, spaced 1–3.5 mm). Both approaches have been shown to protect healthy tissues as an endpoint that must be clearly specified and could be combined with each other (e.g., minibeams under FLASH conditions). FLASH depends on the presence of oxygen and could proceed from the chemistry of peroxyradicals and a reduced incidence on DNA and membrane damage. Minibeams action could be based on abscopal effects, cell signalling and/or migration of cells between “valleys and hills” present in the non-uniform irradiation field as well as faster repair of vascular damage. Both effects are expected to maintain intact the tumour control probability and might even preserve antitumoural immunological reactions. FLASH in vivo experiments involving Zebrafish, mice, pig and cats have been done with electron beams, while minibeams are an intermediate approach between X-GRID and synchrotron X-ray microbeams radiation. Both have an excellent rationale to converge and be applied with proton beams, combining focusing properties and high dose rates in the beam path of pencil beams, and the inherent advantage of a controlled limited range. A first treatment with electron FLASH (cutaneous lymphoma) has recently been achieved, but clinical trials have neither been presented for FLASH with protons, nor under the minibeam conditions. Better understanding of physical, chemical and biological mechanisms of both effects is essential to optimize the technical developments and devise clinical trials.
Matéria negra na rampa despojada: notas sobre um caso de violência racial
Authors: Gayão Nicolau
Published: January 2020

Partindo das obras de Denise Ferreira da Silva e Frantz Fanon, um episódiode violência racial é investigado enquanto um momento de atuação e reprodução do aparato racial/colonial, entendido como a estrutura de morte que sustenta as formas políticas (estatais) e econômicas (capitalistas) que governam o mundo contemporâneo. Um confronto entre dois meninos negros e quatro policiais é apreendido como uma demandapor uma crítica radical e uma política escatológica contra tais formas de poder.
Possibilidades para o pensar científico do desaparecimento, resenha ao livro Desapariciones. Usos locales, circulaciones globales
Authors: BRAVO LUIS EDNA MALLELY
Published: January 2020

“Desapariciones. Usos locales, circulaciones globales”, coletânea editada pelo sociologo Gabriel Gatti, proporciona diversas análises críticas dos alcances e limitações do desaparecimento como categoria, na sua exportação regional e temporal do seu ponto de origem: a Argentina ditatorial; assim como dos usos que ela tem no entendimento dos cenários contemporâneos de violência e exclusão de países em (suposta) democracia que colocam novos desaparecidos no foco do estudo, as pessoas descartáveis, os corpos susceptíveis de ser arrancados da cidadania. Texto de leitura imprescindível que convida-nos a aprofundar nas particularidades do desaparecimento, da mão de recursos diversos como o estudo da imagem, a espacialidade, os lugares e objetos de memória, ou o lugar político das mulheres que procuram os desaparecidos.
"Estado de exceção como estado de normalidade?": Considerações sobre a ditadura constitucional de Cândido Mota Filho
Authors: Oliveira de Mello Gabriel Felipe
Published: January 2020

Este artigo analisa o conceito de exceção e a defesa da chamada ditadura constitucional presente no livro O poder executivo e as ditaduras constitucionais, do jurista paulista Cândido Mota Filho (1897-1977). A década de 1930 foi o período auge do pensamento antiliberal, com a emergência de governos autoritários e de ditaduras como o exemplo do nazi-fascismo. O caso do Brasil não foi diferente. O aparecimento de movimentos críticos do liberalismo, e até mesmo de cunho antiliberal e autoritário, culminaram na implantação do Estado Novo em 1937. Dito isto, primeiramente o artigo realiza uma discussão de cunho teórico sobre o conceito de exceção e no segundo momento realiza a discussão da categoria de ditadura constitucional.
El vaciamiento que antecede la renovación. Reflexiones a partir del proyecto del distrito gubernamental en el sur de la ciudad de Buenos Aires
Authors: Gonzalez Redondo Carolina María
Published: January 2020

Este artículo reflexiona sobre el proceso de legitimación previo al despliegue de políticas de reno­vación urbana en el sur de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Para ello, analiza el proceso de vaciamiento simbólico y material de un predio del barrio Barracas, en el que se proyectaba la construcción del distrito gubernamental, un desarrollo inmobiliario en el que se instalarían oficinas del gobierno local, junto con emprendimientos comerciales. En este sentido, este artículo dialoga con otros trabajos que estudian la producción de vacíos urbanos como parte de las dinámicas capitalistas de producción de ciudad, analizando especialmente cómo este se produce discursivamente y cómo la noción de renovación urbana emerge como su par asociado, su respuesta necesaria e indiscutible.
Congestión urbana en Santiago de Cali, un estudio de caso de política pública
Authors: Vergara Varela Rafael , Arias Calderón Jorge Enrique , Rodríguez Vasquez María Eugenia
Published: January 2020

El artículo busca analizar y estudiar el problema de congestión en la ciudad de Cali. Para tal fin, se expone un análisis transdisciplinar del desarrollo histórico de la urbe en un contexto de larga duración y luego los planes de ordenamiento del siglo xxi. Finalmente, se presenta el pro­blema actual del tráfico vehicular. En este contexto histórico, los planes, programas y proyectos urbanos han intentado, en el marco de políticas públicas territoriales, definir un modelo de ciudad. Empero, la evidencia muestra que para Cali no hay ningún tipo de articulación entre las políticas territoriales del siglo xx y la forma en que se concibe la urbe en siglo xxi. Por ello, en relación a esta discontinuidad del desarrollo territorial sobresalta el caos de la congestión vehicular que se traduce a su vez en serios problemas de ingobernabilidad institucional como plantea el presente estudio.
Paying to Program? Engineering Brand and High-Tech Wages
Authors: Tambe Prasanna , Ye Xuan , Cappelli Peter
Published: January 2020

We test the hypothesis that information technology (IT) workers accept a compensating differential to work with emerging IT systems and that employers that invest in these systems can, in turn, capture greater value from the wages they pay. We show that much of the utility IT workers derive from these systems is from skills acquired on the job. This is principally true for younger workers at employers where skill development is encouraged, and the effects are stronger in thicker markets where workers with newer skills have more outside options. An analysis of the text in online employer reviews supports the notion that IT workers value access to interesting IT systems above most other employer attributes. These findings are important because (1) they provide evidence of how worker preferences can influence corporate IT investment decisions, (2) they shed light on factors influencing IT skill development, and (3) they point to a potentially important explanation for returns from IT investments.

This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems.
Short-Term Investors, Long-Term Investments, and Firm Value: Evidence from Russell 2000 Index Inclusions
Authors: Cremers Martijn , Pareek Ankur , Sautner Zacharias
Published: January 2020

We document that an increase in short-horizon investors is associated with cuts to long-term investment and increased short-term earnings. This leads to temporary boosts in equity valuations that reverse over time. To estimate these effects, we use difference-in-differences regressions around firms’ additions to the Russell 2000, comparing firms with large and small increases in short-term ownership. We proxy for the presence of short-term investors using ownership by transient institutions. Our results suggest that short-term pressures by investors can lead to myopic firm behavior.

This paper was accepted by Shiva Rajgopal, accounting.
Establishing surgical indications for hamstring lengthening and femoral derotational osteotomy in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy
Authors: McCarthy James , Wade Shrader M. , Graham Kerr , Veerkamp Matthew , Brower Laura , Chambers Hank , Davids Jon R. , Kay Robert M. , Narayanan Unni , Novacheck Tom F. , Pierz Kristan , Rhodes Jason , Rutz Erich , Shilt Jeffery , Shore Benjamin J. , Theologis Tim , Van Campenhout Anja
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Surgical procedures, such as medial hamstring lengthening (MHL) and femoral derotational osteotomy (FDO), can improve the gait of children with cerebral palsy (CP); however, substantial variation exists in the factors that influence the decision to perform surgery. The purpose of this study was to use expert surgeon opinion through a Delphi technique to establish consensus for indications in ambulatory children with CP.

Methods

A 15-member panel, all established experts with at least nine years’ experience in the surgical management of children with CP, was created (mean of 20.81 years’ experience). All panel members also had expertise of the use of movement analysis for the assessment of gait disorders in children with CP. The group initially focused on two of the most commonly performed procedures, MHL and FDO, in an attempt to gain consensus (> 80%). This was obtained through a standardized, iterative Delphi process.

Results

For MHL, a total of 59 questions were surveyed: 41 indication questions and 18 outcome questions, for which there was consensus on ten indication questions and seven outcomes. For FDO, a total of 55 questions were surveyed: 43 indication questions and 12 outcome questions, for which there was consensus on 29 indication questions and eight outcomes.

Conclusion

This study is the first to use an expert panel to identify best-practice indications for common surgical procedures of children with CP. The results from this study will allow for more informed evaluation of practice and form the basis for future improvement efforts to standardize surgical recommendations internationally.

Level of Evidence

Level IV
Perineural invasion in intramedullary spinal cord metastasis
Authors: Jayakumar N , Ismail H , Athar S , Ashwood N
Published: January 2020

A woman in her late sixties was referred to the orthopaedic clinic with progressive lower limb weakness and gait disturbance. She was known to have breast cancer with pre-existing infiltrative disease in the left brachial plexus. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine revealed an intramedullary spinal cord metastasis in the lower cervical cord at C6–C7. She underwent surgical excision but died within six weeks of surgery.

This rare case of an intramedullary spinal cord metastasis highlights the extremely poor prognosis in this condition as well as the possibility of perineural invasion into the spinal cord from the brachial plexus lesion. A detailed discussion of the literature on intramedullary spinal cord metastases is also presented.
Customer responses to employee deviance: A conservation of resources perspective
Authors: Boukis Achilleas , Yalkin Cagri
Published: January 2020

This study aspires to examine how customers respond to two forms of frontline employee deviance (i. e., customer-oriented deviance, COD, and customeroriented misbehaviour, COM) during a specific service exchange. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, COD and COM are viewed
as resources and demands of customer performance during their exchanges with employees. Five customer responses are examined, namely encounter satisfaction, and employee-oriented citizenship behaviour, customer dysfunctional intentions, customer citizenship behaviour towards the organisation,
and brand advocacy. To gain insights into these issues, an experimental design is adopted, which manipulates the two forms of deviance along with two boundary conditions: the extent to which the problem the customer faces is severe (i. e., problem severity); and whether the outcome of the
exchange with the employee is successful (i. e., exchange outcome). This study contributes to deviant employee literature by illustrating how different forms of deviance shape exchange-specific responses and reciprocal customer intentions directed at the organisation and the employee.
Customer engagement behaviour on social media platforms: A systematic literature review
Authors: Ajiboye Tolu , Harvey John , Resnick Sheilagh
Published: January 2020

Customer engagement behaviours (CEB) on social media have the potential to strengthen relationships between firms and customers. However, there have been no systematic attempts to review the antecedents of CEB on social media despite wide recognition of its importance. Using a systematic
literature review method, we provide an in-depth analysis of the extant empirical literature on CEB in relation to social media platforms. Results indicate that there are five key antecedent causes and these are identified in the literature as: (1) social links; (2) ownership-value; (3) search
for information; (4) involvement; and (5) functionality. These represent the key antecedents of engagement for firms using social media. Our review is the first to bring together an in-depth secondary data analysis of the antecedents of CEB in social media platforms. We subsequently identify
three epistemological tensions within the corpus, and suggest directions for future research in order to advance the understanding of CEB in relation to social media.
Two-axis dielectric laser acceleration using two orthogonal laser pulses in a dual-grating base structure
Authors: Shojaie Ehsan , Madanipour Khosro , Bahrampour Alireza
Published: January 2020

In this paper, two-axis dielectric laser acceleration is proposed by introducing a dual-grating base laser accelerator structure excited with two orthogonal propagating ultrashort laser pulses. A 2D periodic structure is designed that provides phase synchronicity between the relativistic particle beam and orthogonal propagating laser pulses. In this way, the particle beam can gain energy from both laser pulses simultaneously. It is numerically demonstrated that utilizing this method increases both the acceleration gradient and acceleration factor up to 90% in comparison with dual-grating dielectric laser acceleration. Also, deflecting force elimination, particle beam quality, and bunch acceleration efficiency can be improved using this method.
Network slicing architecture for SDM and analog-radio-over-fiber-based 5G fronthaul networks
Authors: Brenes Juan , Lagkas Thomas D. , Klonidis Dimitrios , Muñoz Raul , Rommel Simon , Landi Giada , Tafur Monroy Idelfonso , Grivas Evangelos , Pikasis Evangelos , Bernini Giacomo , Fabrega Josep M. , Vilalta Ricard
Published: January 2020

The blueSPACE project focuses on the study of innovative technologies to overcome the limitations of current fronthaul networks. The key technology proposed is space-division multiplexing, which makes it possible to increase the capacity available in conventional single-mode fibers, effectively encompassing this capacity to the forecasted bandwidth demands imposed by 5G mobile communications. In this paper, we present the innovative optical fronthaul infrastructure proposed in the project and the tailored extensions to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute network function virtualization management and orchestration architecture for this enhanced infrastructure together with practical implementation considerations.