bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Voluntary disclosure of environmental performance after regulatory change
Authors: Shima Kim , Fung Scott
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to use recent US legislative activity surrounding changes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Clean Air Act in 2010, which changes the practice of environmental policy of a firm, and the unique setting of Utility industry to examine the relationship between a firm’s voluntary accounting disclosure and environmental performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study features hand-collected data of environmental disclosure and examines its relation with environmental performance. To address the endogeneity problem, a difference-in-differences test with propensity score matching is performed to study the impact of policy change on environmental disclosure.

Findings

The findings of this study show that measures of environmental performance have a significant and positive association with a firm’s voluntary disclosure. The results from difference-in-differences test show that adjustments in environmental performance after regulatory change have a causal and positive effect on a firm’s voluntary disclosure.

Research limitations/implications

The findings support theories of signaling and voluntary disclosure that better-performing firms provide more information disclosure of their environmental performance.

Practical implications

The findings show real adjustments in firm environmental performance and consistent voluntary disclosure around the enactment of environmental legislation, which may have important implications for environmental rule making bodies and management about the effectiveness of their regulations.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to examine the causal relationship between environmental performance and disclosure within the context of recent changes in US environmental regulation. This study also provides the Utility industry experiment with difference-in-differences test to tackle endogeneity in the relation between performance and disclosure.
A narrative on integrating research and theory into undergraduate accounting curriculum
Authors: Baker Ron , Wick Sara
Published: April 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to describe an effort to integrate accounting research and theory into an undergraduate accounting education program through the development and delivery of a fourth-year course. Informing ideas for the course design and content are discussed, and feedback from the students and instructor is provided.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper takes the form of a commentary and offers the authors’ opinion based on the experience of designing and teaching the course. An in-class survey was conducted in three separate offerings of the course.

Findings

Student response to the course and material was more positive than anticipated, indicating that undergraduate accounting students are receptive to learning about research and theory, even when it is not required for entrance into a professional certification program. Also, many students often went above and beyond the course requirements in the work they submitted. This indicates that there is an appetite for engaging with material that presents accounting as a social phenomenon rather than solely as a technical activity.

Research limitations/implications

While the data were collected over multiple years, the survey was conducted at a single university. These findings have implications for the design of undergraduate accounting education programs and, potentially, for addressing the gap between accounting research and practice.

Originality/value

This review contributes to the discourse on integrating research into undergraduate accounting education as recommended by the AAA Pathways Commission. It describes one method of doing so and identifies the literature that informed the approach taken. This paper also contributes to the accounting education literature by providing evidence of student reaction to a course that uses research and theory as a subject matter rather than a pedagogical tool. This evidence may also inform the teaching –research nexus discourse.
Influence of multiple slips and chemical reaction on radiative MHD Williamson nanofluid flow in porous medium
Authors: Acharya Nilankush , Das Kalidas , Kundu Prabir Kumar
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the influence of multiple slips on MHD Williamson nanofluid flow embedded in porous medium towards a linearly stretching sheet that has been investigated numerically. The whole analysis has been carried out considering the presence of nth-order chemical reaction between base fluid and nanoparticles.

Design/methodology/approach

A similarity transformation technique has been adopted to convert non-linear governing partial differential equations into ordinary ones and then they are solved by using both the RK-4 method and Laplace transform homotopy perturbation method. The consequences of multiple slip parameters on dimensionless velocity, temperature and concentration and heat and mass transfer rates have been demonstrated using tabular and graphical outline.

Findings

The investigation explores that the Nusselt number reduces for escalating behaviour of velocity slip and thermal slip parameter. Fluid’s temperature rises in the presence of generative reaction parameter.

Originality/value

A fine conformity of the current results has been achieved after comparing with previous literature studies. Considering destructive chemical reaction, reduced Nusselt number is found to decrease, but reverse consequence has been noticed in the case of generative chemical reaction. Mass transport diminishes when the order of chemical reaction amplifies for both destructive and generative reactions.
Scoping review: Interventions that promote functional performance for adolescents and adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Waldman‐Levi Amiya , Golisz Kathleen , Swierat Richard P. , Toglia Joan
Published: April 2019

Introduction

Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) experience broad impairments that affect their functional performance and consequently result in the need for supervision and assistance on a daily basis. The literature contains effectiveness studies of functional interventions provided to adolescents and adults with IDD. However, existing differences in participant characteristics, study design, and type of functional intervention limit the ability to derive clinical evidence‐based decisions. This scoping review sought to explore the breadth and depth of evidence related to interventions designed to promote everyday performance of adolescents and adults with IDD.

Methods

We conducted an electronic and hand search that yielded 1568 papers, after an extensive selection process reduced to a sample of 24 studies.

Results

A three‐step extraction process of the 24 studies revealed 16 studies used functional training and technology‐based approaches to teach individuals with IDD functional skills. Seven studies used functional training without a technology component, and two studies used functional training while comparing technology‐based to non‐technology based approaches. Overall, it appeared that functional training with the use of technology, especially Video Modelling (VM) and Prompting, were the most frequently and effectively used interventions to promote everyday performance. Gaps in research include limited studies on middle and older aged adults with moderate to severe IDD, minimal use of self‐chosen goals or activities and use of technology as a continuous support.

Conclusion

Our findings show a lack of studies for individuals age 30 and above with severe IDD. Additionally, this scoping review highlight that everyday functional performance of adolescents and adults with IDD can be enhanced with the usage of technology based functional interventions utilising VM and prompting methods.
Interaction between crop insurance and technology adoption decisions: The case of wheat farmers in Chile
Authors: Salazar César , Jaime Marcela , Pinto Cristián , Acuña Andrés
Published: April 2019

This paper examines relationships between crop insurance and input technology decisions among Chilean wheat farmers. Using nationwide farm‐level data, a bivariate probit model is estimated. We investigate the extent to which the adoption of production input technologies is associated with farmers’ participation in the insurance program. We find that relationships between insurance and technology decisions are significant only for family farmers. In particular, there is a negative relationship between participation in the insurance program and the adoption of modern irrigation. Interpretations based on the role of input technologies on insurance adoption and adverse selection behaviours are discussed.
Integrating genetic mutations and expression profiles for survival prediction of lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Song Yueqiang , Chen Donglai , Zhang Xi , Luo Yuping , Li Siguang
Published: April 2019

Background

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a set of heterogeneous diseases with distinct genetic and transcriptomic characteristics. Since the introduction of the 2011 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society histologic classification, increasing evidence has provided insights into genomic mutations and rearrangements among individual histologic subtypes of LUAD. However, how genotypic and phenotypic features of LUAD are interconnected is not well understood.

Methods

We obtained the genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical data sets of 488 LUAD patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Advanced statistical models were used to disentangle the interactions between genetic mutations and expression profiles, and to assess the alterations and changes in expression of each histologic subtype. The prognostic impacts of genetic mutations, expression profiles, and clinicopathological features were integrated to predict the outcomes of LUAD patients.

Results

From our data, one or more genetic mutations correlate with expression levels of 6054/18175 (33.3%) genes and explain 8–40% of observed variability in LUAD. The genetic mutations and expression profiles varied remarkably among the histologic subtypes of LUAD, which helped to explain the different prognostic impact based on subtype classification. Genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical data were all shown to have utility for predicting overall and recurrence‐free survival, with the largest contribution from the transcriptome.

Conclusion

Our prediction model integrating genetic mutations, expression profiles, and clinicopathological features exhibited superior accuracy over the current tumor node metastasis staging system to prognosticate outcomes of patients with LUAD (overall survival 67% vs. 55%, recurrence‐free survival 57% vs. 49%; P < 0.01).
When and how does a single ventricular premature beat initiate and terminate supraventricular tachycardia?
Authors: Cunha Guerra Magno , Lokhandwala Yash , Oyarzun Rodulfo , Vyas Aniruddha , Soares Correa Frederico , Cruz Filho Fernando Eugenio , J.Wellens Hein , Back Sternick Eduardo
Published: April 2019

Background

The differential diagnosis of a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is accomplished using a number of pacing maneuvers. The incidence and mechanism of a single ventricular premature beat (VPB) on initiation and termination of tachycardia were evaluated during programmed electrical stimulation (PES) of the heart in patients with the two most common regular SVTs: atrioventricular re‐entrant tachycardia (AVNRT) and orthodromic atrioventricular tachycardia (AVRT).

Methods

Three hundred and thirty‐seven consecutive patients aged above 18 years with an inducible sustained AVNRT or AVRT were prospectively enrolled. Patients with more than one tachyarrhythmia mechanism were excluded. Two hundred and seventeen patients (64.4%) had typical slow/fast AVNRT and 120 (35.6%) had an orthodromic AVRT using a rapidly conducting accessory pathway for V‐A conduction. In this cross‐sectional study, we specifically report the analysis of tachycardia induction and termination by a single VPB.

Results

Tachycardia induction with a single VPB during sinus rhythm was seen in 7 of 120 AVRT and in only one of the 217 patients with AVNRT, (5.8% vs. 0.3%, p < 0.05). When a single VPB was delivered during basic ventricular pacing these values were 28% versus 4%, respectively, (p < 0.001). Termination of tachycardia by a single VPB was observed in nine (4.1%) patients with AVNRT and in 57 (47.5%) with AVRT (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Initiation of SVT by a single VPB during sinus rhythm was uncommon and favored AVRT. Termination of SVT by a single VPB was commonly seen in AVRT but rarely in AVNRT. These findings can be of help when interpreting a noninvasive arrhythmia event recording.
Performance assessment to investigate the domain specificity of instructional skills among pre‐service and in‐service teachers of mathematics and economics
Authors: Jeschke Colin , Kuhn Christiane , Lindmeier Anke , Zlatkin‐Troitschanskaia Olga , Saas Hannes , Heinze Aiso
Published: April 2019

Background

Key elements of instructional quality include the teacher's ability to immediately react in domain‐specific classroom situations. Such skills – defined as action‐related skills – can only be validly assessed using authentic representations of real‐life teaching practice. However, research has not yet explained how teachers apply domain‐specific knowledge for teaching and to what extent action‐related skills are transferable from one domain to another.

Aims

Our study aims to examine (1) the relationship between action‐related skills, content knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge, and (2) the domain specificity of action‐related skills of (prospective) teachers in the two domains of mathematics and economics.

Sample(s)

We examined German pre‐service and in‐service teachers of mathematics (N = 239) and economics (N = 321), including n = 96 (prospective) teachers who teach both subjects.

Methods

Action‐related skills in mathematics and economics were measured using video‐based performance assessments. Content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge were assessed using established paper–pencil tests. Correlation analyses, linear regressions, and a path model were applied.

Results

In mathematics and economics, we find a similar pattern of moderate correlations between action‐related skills, content knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge. Moreover, a significant correlation between action‐related skills in mathematics and economics can be explained almost entirely by underlying relations between content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in both domains.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that action‐related skills empirically differ from domain‐specific knowledge and should be considered as domain‐specific constructs. This indicates that teacher education should not only focus on domain‐specific teacher knowledge, but may also provide learning opportunities for action‐related skills in each domain.
Asset bubbles, labour market frictions and R&D‐based growth
Authors: Hashimoto Ken‐ichi , Im Ryonghun
Published: April 2019

Employing an overlapping generations model of R&D‐based growth with labour market frictions, this paper examines how employment changes induced by labour market frictions influence asset bubbles and long‐run economic growth. Asset bubbles can (cannot) exist when the employment rate is high (low), which leads to higher (lower) economic growth through labour market efficiency. We also explore the steady state and transitional dynamics of bubbles, economic growth and employment. Furthermore, we show that policy or parameter changes with a negative influence on the labour market can lead to a bubble burst.
Predictors of dental care utilization in north‐central Appalachia in the USA
Authors: Chen Mengxia , Wright Casey D. , Tokede Oluwabunmi , Yansane Alfa , Montasem Alexander , Kalenderian Elsbeth , Beaty Terri H. , Feingold Eleanor , Shaffer John R. , Crout Richard J. , Neiswanger Katherine , Weyant Robert J. , Marazita Mary L. , McNeil Daniel W.
Published: April 2019

Objectives

Dental utilization is an important determinant of oral health and well‐being. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential associations between a variety of biopsychosocial factors and dental utilization in north‐central Appalachia, USA, a region where oral health disparities are profound.

Methods

This study used household‐based data from the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia (COHRA1) study in north‐central Appalachia, including 449 families with 868 adults. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) approach was used to determine the best‐fitting predictor model for dental utilization among adult family members.

Results

On average across West Virginia and Pennsylvania, having dental insurance was associated with greater dental utilization over a 3‐year time period (OR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.54, 3.14). When stratified by state, the association held for only West Virginia (OR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.54, 3.79) and was nonsignificant for Pennsylvania residents (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 0.80, 2.79). Individuals from Pennsylvania were more likely to utilize dental care and participants from West Virginia less so (2.31, 95% CI = 1.57, 3.40). Females from Pennsylvania were more likely than males to regularly seek dental care (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.00, 2.05), and a higher income was associated with greater frequency of regular dental visits (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.09, 1.34) in West Virginia. Individuals from Pennsylvania who scored higher on the Physiological Arousal subscale of the Dental Fear Survey were more likely to attend routine care visits (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.35). Across both states, more fatalistic beliefs related to oral health care also predicted less routine care (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.81, 0.94), and more investment in or more positive attitudes towards one's oral health also was associated with higher utilization (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.23).

Conclusions

Overall, the findings of this study suggest state residency, sex, insurance, income, fatalistic beliefs, health values, and aspects of dental care‐related anxiety and fear predicted dental care utilization in north‐central Appalachia. These findings reinforce the need to address insurance and other economic factors affecting utilization and to consider how individual‐level fatalistic beliefs and oral health values may affect utilization of routine oral health care.
Emerging viruses and current strategies for vaccine intervention
Authors: Afrough B , Dowall S , Hewson R
Published: April 2019

During the past decade several notable viruses have suddenly emerged from obscurity or anonymity to become serious global health threats, provoking concern regarding their sustained epidemic transmission in immunologically naive human populations. With each new threat comes the call for rapid vaccine development. Indeed, vaccines are considered a critical component of disease prevention for emerging viral infections because, in many cases, other medical options are limited or non-existent, or that infections result in such a rapid clinical deterioration that the effectiveness of therapeutics is limited. While classic approaches to vaccine development are still amenable to emerging viruses, the application of molecular techniques in virology has profoundly influenced our understanding of virus biology, and vaccination methods based on replicating, attenuated and non-replicating virus vector approaches have become useful vaccine platforms. Together with a growing understanding of viral disease emergence, a range of vaccine strategies and international commitment to underpin development, vaccine intervention for new and emerging viruses may become a possibility.
Risk of incident circulatory disease in patients treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma with no history of cardiovascular disease
Authors: Toulis Konstantinos A. , Viola David , Gkoutos George , Keerthy Deepiksana , Boelaert Kristien , Nirantharakumar Krishnarajah
Published: April 2019

Context

The incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is increasing, yet the prognosis is favourable and long‐term survival is expected. Exogenous TSH suppression has been used for many years to prevent DTC recurrence and may be associated with increased risks of circulatory diseases.

Design

Risks of circulatory disease in patients treated for DTC were compared to randomly matched patients without DTC (controls) up to a 1:5 ratio using age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and smoking as the matching parameters in a population‐based, open cohort study using The Health Improvement Network.

Patients

A total of 3009 patients treated for DTC with no pre‐existing cardiovascular disease were identified and matched to 11 303 controls, followed up to median of 5 years.

Results

A total of 1259 incident circulatory events were recorded during the observation period. No difference in the risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) (adjusted hazards ratio [aHR]: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.80‐1.36) or heart failure (HF) (aHR: 1.27, 95% CI: 0.89‐1.81) was detected. The risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke was significantly higher in patients with DTC (aHR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.36‐2.15 and aHR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.05‐1.72, respectively). In a sensitivity analysis limited to newly diagnosed patients with DTC, only the risk of AF was consistently elevated (aHR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.33‐2.60).

Conclusions

The increased risk of AF in patients who have undergone treatment for DTC but without pre‐existing CVD may warrant periodic screening for this arrhythmia. Whereas no evidence of increased risk of IHD or HF was observed, the increased risk of stroke/TIA warrants further investigation.
Trends in phenotype in the English paediatric neurofibromatosis type 2 cohort stratified by genetic severity
Authors: Halliday Dorothy , Emmanouil Beatrice , Vassallo Grace , Lascelles Karine , Nicholson James , Chandratre Saleel , Anand Geetha , Wasik Martin , Pretorius Pieter , Evans D. Gareth , Parry Allyson ,   On behalf of the English NF2 research group
Published: April 2019

Childhood onset neurofibromatosis type 2 can be severe and genotype dependent. We present a retrospective phenotypic analysis of all ascertained children in England <age 18 (N = 87; male 61%). Mean age at last review was 13.9 years with mean follow‐up 6.5 years. Patients were stratified using a validated score (1A/1B:no NF2 pathogenic_variant in blood; 2A/2B:mild/moderate NF2 constitutional or mosaic pathogenic_variant in blood; 3: constitutional truncating exon 2‐13 pathogenic_variant. A total of 91% patients had a constitutional NF2 pathogenic_variant (44% de novo). Mean age at first manifestation was 4.3 and 8.8 years in groups 3 and 2A, respectively. Bilateral vestibular schwannoma, intracranial meningioma and spinal schwannoma occurred in 77%, 52% and 65% of group 3 patients, respectively, and 58%, 26% and 33% in 2A. A total of 43% group 3 and 18% 2A had severe unilateral visual loss (logmar >1.0). Focal cortical dysplasia occurred in 26% group 3 and 4% 2A. A total of 48% of group 3 underwent ≥1 major intervention (intracranial/spinal surgery/Bevacizumab/radiotherapy) compared to 35% of 2A; with 23% group 3 undergoing spinal surgery (schwannoma/ependymoma/meningioma resection) compared to 4% of 2A. Mean age starting Bevacizumab was 12.7 in group 3 and 14.9 years in 2A. In conclusion, group 3 phenotype manifests earlier with greater tumour load, poorer visual outcomes and more intervention.
Mandibular implant‐supported overdentures in (frail) elderly: A prospective study with 20‐year follow‐up
Authors: Bakker Mieke H. , Vissink Arjan , Meijer Henny J. A. , Raghoebar Gerry M. , Visser Anita
Published: April 2019

Purpose

To prospectively assess long‐term (20 year) clinical, radiographic, and patient‐reported outcomes of an elderly population provided with mandibular implant‐supported overdentures.

Materials and Methods

A total of 53 elderly (aged ≥60 years at the time of treatment) were provided with two endosseous implants supporting a mandibular overdenture and a conventional maxillary denture. Outcome parameters—including implant loss, plaque index, gingival index, bleeding index, presence of calculus, probing depth, and satisfaction with implant‐supported overdenture—were scored 1, 5, 10, and 20 years after prosthetic treatment. Radiographic analysis was performed to assess peri‐implant bone changes. At the 20‐year evaluation, frailty (Groningen Frailty Index) and quality of life (EuroQol 5D) were additionally assessed.

Results

A total of 15 patients completed the 20‐year follow‐up. The 20‐year implant survival rate was 92.5%. Plaque index, bleeding index, and probing depth increased slightly over time, while gingival index and presence of calculus remained unchanged. Radiographic analysis revealed minor marginal bone loss during the first 10 years and no further loss thereafter. Participants were very satisfied with their prosthesis and reported a good quality of life. At the 20‐year evaluation, 64.3% of the patients were classified as frail.

Conclusions

The long‐term survival of implants supporting a mandibular overdenture is high. Although most elderly in the study became frail over time, peri‐implant health and marginal bone level remained at a satisfactory level.
Validation of a new measure of quality of life in obesity trials: Impact of Weight on Quality of Life‐Lite Clinical Trials Version
Authors: Kolotkin Ronette L. , Williams Valerie S. L. , Ervin Claire M. , Williams Nicole , Meincke Henrik H. , Qin Shanshan , von Huth Smith Lisa , Fehnel Sheri E.
Published: April 2019

The Impact of Weight on Quality of Life‐Lite (IWQOL‐Lite) is widely used in evaluations of weight‐loss interventions, including pharmaceutical trials. Because this measure was developed using input from individuals undergoing intensive residential treatment, the IWQOL‐Lite may include concepts not relevant to clinical trial populations and may be missing concepts that are relevant to these populations. An alternative version, the IWQOL‐Lite Clinical Trials Version (IWQOL‐Lite‐CT), was developed and validated according to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) guidance on patient‐reported outcomes. Psychometric analyses were conducted to validate the IWQOL‐Lite‐CT using data from two randomized trials (NCT02453711 and NCT02906930) that included individuals with overweight/obesity, with and without type 2 diabetes. Additional measures included the SF‐36, global items, weight and body mass index. The IWQOL‐Lite‐CT is a 20‐item measure with two primary domains (Physical [seven items] and Psychosocial [13 items]). A five‐item Physical Function composite and Total score were also supported. Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients exceeded 0.77 at each time point; patterns of construct validity correlations were consistent with hypotheses; and scores demonstrated treatment benefit. The IWQOL‐Lite‐CT is appropriate for assessing weight‐related physical and psychosocial functioning in populations commonly targeted for obesity clinical trials. Qualification from the FDA is being sought for use of the IWQOL‐Lite‐CT in clinical trials to support product approval and labelling claims.
Evaluation of an early‐stage innovation for full‐thickness excision of benign colonic polyps using the IDEAL framework
Authors: Currie A. C. , Blazeby J. M. , Suzuki N. , Thomas‐Gibson S. , Reeves B. , Morton D. , Kennedy R. H.
Published: April 2019

Aims

Colectomy is the current approach for patients with endoscopically unresectable benign polyps but risks considerable morbidity. Full‐thickness laparoendoscopic excision (FLEX) is a novel procedure, specifically developed to treat endoscopically unresectable benign colonic polyps, which could reduce the treatment burden of the current approach and improve outcomes. However, traditional evaluations of surgical innovations lack methodological rigour. This study reports the development and feasibility of the FLEX procedure in selected patients.

Method

A prospective development study using the Idea, Development, Evaluation, Assessment, Long‐term study (IDEAL) framework was undertaken, by one surgeon, of the FLEX procedure in selected patients with endoscopically unresectable benign colonic polyps. Three‐dimensional (3D)‐CT colonography reconstructions were used preoperatively to rehearse patient‐specific, critical manoeuvres. Targetted, full‐thickness excision was performed: after marking the margin of the caecal polyp using circumferential endoscopic argon plasma coagulation, transmural endoscopic sutures were used to evert the bowel and resection was undertaken by laparoscopic linear stapling. Feasibility outcomes (establishing ‘local success’) included evidence of complete polyp resection without adverse events (especially safe closure of the excision site).

Results

Ten patients [median (interquartile range) age: 74 (59‐78) years] with polyp median diameters of 35 (30–41) mm, were referred for and consented to receive the FLEX procedure. During the same time frame, no patient underwent colectomy for benign polyps. One further patient received FLEX for local excision of a presumed malignant polyp because severe comorbidity prohibited standard procedures. The FLEX procedure was successfully performed locally, with complete resection of the polyp and safe closure of the excision site, in eight patients. Three noncompleted procedures were converted to laparoscopic segmental colectomy under the same anaesthetic because of endoscopic inaccessibility (two patients) and transcolonic suture failure (one patient).

Conclusions

The FLEX procedure is still under development. Early data demonstrate that it is safe for excision of selected benign polyps. Modifications to transcolonic suture delivery are now required and there is a need for wider adoption before more definitive evaluation can be performed.
Selective use of cystogram following segmental bowel resection in patients with enterovesical fistula
Authors: de Groof E. J. , Bruggeman A. E. , Buskens C. J. , Tanis P. J. , Bemelman W. A.
Published: April 2019

Aim

Patients undergoing resectional surgery for enterovesical fistulas generally have an indwelling urinary catheter postoperatively to prevent a recurrent fistula. The aim of this study was to assess the role of a cystogram as part of the postoperative follow‐up of such surgery, when it should be performed and for how long the bladder should be drained after surgery.

Method

A retrospective single‐centre study of all patients undergoing ileocaecal or sigmoid resection for surgery for enterovesical fistula with the primary end‐point of recurrent urinary fistula.

Results

Between 1994 and 2015, 46 patients (23 male; mean age 55.4 ± 18.3 years) underwent surgery [23 (50%) for diverticular disease, 16 (34.8%) for Crohn's disease, five (10.9%) for malignancy and two (4.3%) for previous radiotherapy]. Closure of the bladder fistula was by simple suture in 21 (46%) patients and with an omental pedicle in 16 (36%). Overall median duration of urinary drainage was 10.5 [interquartile range (IQR): 7.3–14.0] days. A postoperative cystogram was performed in 26 (57%) patients after a median of 10.0 (IQR: 8.0–13.0) days. This demonstrated persistent leakage in three patients, of whom two had undergone surgical closure of the bladder. This group required prolonged drainage (7, 19 and 40 days). One patient who had undergone surgery following radiotherapy for urothelial cancer developed a recurrent malignant fistula at 9 months, even though the postoperative cystogram had been negative.

Conclusion

This study suggests that a routine postoperative cystogram after surgery for enterovesical fistula may not be necessary for all patients if the bladder is drained for 1–2 weeks after bowel resection.
Crowdsourcing a Current Events Exhibition on Community Activism Against DAPL
Authors: Kieffer C. L. , Romanek Devorah
Published: April 2019

Today's museum ethics encourages us to create exhibits that are socially relevant in a timely manner. For some museums this is difficult to do under financial restraints. This article discusses the issues of an unscheduled exhibit on the Dakota Access Pipeline at a state museum (Museum of Indian Arts & Culture) and a university museum (the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology) and how both institutions worked to overcome these issues, with an eye towards how to implement future ‘current events’ exhibitions. How these institutions successfully executed the crowdsourcing of current events exhibit content and dealt with issues that arose during the design and planning phase of the exhibitions are also discussed. Ultimately this crowdsourcing via social media approach can be used for addressing larger ethical and political issues that many museums want to include into their exhibits in a timely manner.
Drug survival and reasons for drug discontinuation in palmoplantar pustulosis: a retrospective multicenter study
Authors: Kromer Christian , Wilsmann‐Theis Dagmar , Gerdes Sascha , Philipp Sandra , Schaarschmidt Marthe‐Lisa , Schmieder Astrid , Dakna Mohammed , Arnold Tobias , Peitsch Wiebke Katharina , Mössner Rotraut
Published: April 2019

Background

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease‐related to psoriasis. Its treatment is challenging, and little is known about the sustainability of different medications. The aim of this study was to analyze drug survival rates and drug discontinuation in the treatment of PPP under real‐world conditions.

Patients and Methods

Patients with PPP treated in the dermatology departments of five German university medical centers between 01/2005 and 08/2017 were included in our retrospective study. Drug survival of systemic therapies was assessed with Kaplan‐Meier analysis and multivariate regression.

Results

Overall, 347 patients with 935 treatment courses were identified. Within the group of non‐biologic systemic agents, apremilast showed the highest median drug survival (15 months), followed by cyclosporine (12 months), the combination of acitretin and topical PUVA (9 months), MTX (8 months), acitretin monotherapy (6 months), alitretinoin (5 months), and fumaric acid esters (3 months). Among biologicals, the highest maintenance rate was detected for certolizumab pegol (restricted mean: 47.4 months), followed by infliximab (median: 26 months), golimumab (22 months), ustekinumab (21 months), adalimumab (18 months), secukinumab (9 months), and etanercept (8 months).

Conclusions

Biologicals and apremilast may serve as second‐line options for treatment of PPP and should be further evaluated.
Vitamin D status during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A longitudinal study in a multiracial cohort
Authors: Xia Jin , Song Yiqing , Rawal Shristi , Wu Jing , Hinkle Stefanie N. , Tsai Michael Y. , Zhang Cuilin
Published: April 2019

Aim

To prospectively and longitudinally investigate vitamin D status during early to mid‐pregnancy in relation to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk.

Methods

In a nested case‐control study of 107 GDM cases and 214 controls within the Fetal Growth Studies‐Singleton Cohort, plasma levels of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3 (25(OH)D) and vitamin D binding protein were measured at gestational weeks 10 to 14, 15 to 26, 23 to 31, and 33 to 39; we further calculated total, free, and bioavailable 25(OH)D. Conditional logistic regression models and linear mixed‐effects models were used.

Results

We observed a threshold effect for the relation of vitamin D biomarkers with GDM risk. Vitamin D deficiency (<50 nmol/L) at 10 to 14 gestational weeks was associated with a 2.82‐fold increased risk for GDM [odds ratio (OR) = 2.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15‐6.93]. Women with persistent vitamin D deficiency at 10 to 14 and 15 to 26 weeks of gestation had a 4.46‐fold elevated risk for GDM compared with women persistently non‐deficient (OR = 4.46, 95% CI: 1.15‐17.3).

Conclusions

Maternal vitamin D deficiency as early as the first trimester of pregnancy was associated with an elevated risk of GDM. The association was stronger for women who were persistently deficient through the second trimester. Assessment of vitamin D status in early pregnancy may be clinically important and valuable for improving risk stratification and developing effective interventions for the primary prevention of GDM.
Metabolomics reveals tepotinib‐related mitochondrial dysfunction in MET‐activating mutations‐driven models
Authors: Poliaková Michaela , Felser Andrea , Pierzchala Katarzyna , Nuoffer Jean‐Marc , Aebersold Daniel Matthias , Zimmer Yitzhak , Zamboni Nicola , Medová Michaela
Published: April 2019

Genetic aberrations in the hepatocyte growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase MET induce oncogenic addiction in various types of human cancers, advocating MET as a viable anticancer target. Here, we report that MET signaling plays an important role in conferring a unique metabolic phenotype to cellular models expressing MET‐activating mutated variants that are either sensitive or resistant toward MET small molecule inhibitors. MET phosphorylation downregulated by the specific MET inhibitor tepotinib resulted in markedly decreased viability and increased apoptosis in tepotinib‐sensitive cells. Moreover, prior to the induction of MET inhibition‐dependent cell death, tepotinib also led to an altered metabolic signature, characterized by a prominent reduction of metabolite ions related to amino sugar metabolism, gluconeogenesis, glycine and serine metabolism, and of numerous TCA cycle‐related metabolites such as succinate, malate, and citrate. Functionally, a decrease in oxygen consumption rate, a reduced citrate synthase activity, a drop in membrane potential, and an associated misbalanced mitochondrial function were observed exclusively in MET inhibitor‐sensitive cells. These data imply that interference with metabolic state can be considered an early indicator of efficient MET inhibition and particular changes reported here could be explored in the future as markers of efficacy of anti‐MET therapies.
Sentimental mutual fund flows
Authors: Jiang George J. , Yüksel H. Zafer
Published: April 2019

We show that many stylized empirical patterns for mutual fund flows are driven by investor sentiment. Specifically, when sentiment is high, investors exhibit a stronger tendency of chasing past fund performance; fund flows are less sensitive to fund expenses; and investors are attracted more to funds with sheer visibility. Moreover, the well‐documented positive relation between fund flows and future fund performance is significant only during high sentiment periods and is mainly driven by expected component of fund flows. Finally, we show that mutual fund investors exhibit a significantly negative timing ability at the individual fund level when sentiment is high.
Is unwilling volunteering protective for functional decline? The interactive effects of volunteer willingness and engagement on health in a 3‐year longitudinal study of Japanese older adults
Authors: Nonaka Kumiko , Fujiwara Yoshinori , Watanabe Shuichiro , Ishizaki Tatsuro , Iwasa Hajime , Amano Hidenori , Yoshida Yuko , Kobayashi Erika , Sakurai Ryota , Suzuki Hiroyuki , Kumagai Shu , Shinkai Shoji , Suzuki Takao
Published: April 2019

Aim

The present study explored the interactive effects of willingness to volunteer and actual volunteer engagement on the maintenance of functional health among older Japanese adults, using data from a 3‐year longitudinal study.

Methods

We used data from the 3‐year longitudinal Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Study on Aging (1997). We examined 676 older adults aged >65 years from the rural Nangai District who were independent in their basic activities of daily living (BADL). A follow‐up study was carried out in 2000. We categorized participants into four groups: “willing volunteers,” “unwilling volunteers,” “willing non‐volunteers” and “unwilling non‐volunteers.” Logistic regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the interactive effects of willingness to volunteer and actual engagement in volunteering at baseline on BADL decline over a 3‐year period.

Results

During the follow‐up period, 6.6% of willing volunteers, 17.4% of unwilling volunteers, 16.3% of willing non‐volunteers and 21.0% of unwilling non‐volunteers experienced a decline in BADL. Unwilling volunteers (odds ratio [OR] 2.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29–6.43) and both non‐volunteer groups (willing: OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.28–5.72; unwilling: OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.32–4.64) had significantly higher odds of BADL decline than did willing volunteers. When unwilling non‐volunteer was set as the reference, the OR of unwilling volunteers became 1.16 (95% CI 0.55–2.49), suggesting that unwilling volunteers had a similar odds of BADL decline as non‐volunteers.

Conclusion

Volunteer activity is effective for preventing BADL decline only for those who willingly engage. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 673–678.
Standard and water rehabilitation: An analysis of over 14 years' experience in patients with haemophilia or other clotting factor disorders after orthopaedic surgery
Authors: Passeri E.V. , Martinelli Marco , Gatteri Vincenzo , Pivetti Stefania , Passeri Chiara , Cigolini Luisa , Chiari Sonia , Zenorini Andrea , Gaffurini Paolo , Bernardi Stefano , Poli Ilaria , Bissolotti Luciano
Published: April 2019

Introduction

In people with haemophilia (PWH) with severe arthropathy, total joint replacement (TJR) can be undertaken if conservative management fails. Post‐operative rehabilitation treatment is an important part of the comprehensive management of patients undergoing TJR.

Aim

To compare post‐operative standard rehabilitation (SR) and SR plus water rehabilitation (WR) in PWH undergoing TJR.

Methods

PWH who were admitted to our centre between June 2003 and December 2016 for rehabilitation after TJR were included in the study. Rehabilitation included SR (ie, manual and mechanical mobilization, scar tissue massage, light muscle strengthening exercises and walking training with and without crutches) with or without WR. WR exercises with floats of different size and volume were performed when possible. Range of motion (ROM), muscle strength, pain level, perceived health status and length of hospital stay were analysed retrospectively.

Results

A total of 184 patients (233 rehabilitation programmes were enrolled in the study, corresponding to 160 after total knee replacement [TKR], 37 after total ankle replacement [TAR] and 36 after total hip replacement [THR]). Fifty‐eight (25%) patients were treated with WR in addition to SR (32 for TKR, 19 for TAR and 7 for THR) with an average of 5.7 hours of WR. Muscle strength, pain and perceived health status improved significantly after rehabilitation.

Conclusion

This non‐randomized study seems to indicate that WR plus SR improves muscle strength, pain and perceived health status more than SR alone in PWH undergoing TJR. It would be necessary, however, to carry out randomized comparative studies to confirm these provisional conclusions.
Race and environmental history
Authors: Mizelle Richard M.
Published: April 2019

Africans and African Americans have always expressed an environmental consciousness rooted in their specific historical experience in North America. Their relationship to the nonhuman world is reflected through desires for leisure in natural spaces, demand of land ownership, and unique experiences of labor, disasters, and connecting to the land in both urban and southern spaces. Beginning in the 1970s, historians began thinking more critically about the relationship between humans and the nonhuman world in the creation of a new field known as environmental history. The connection of race and environmental history is more recent, yet represents a now burgeoning field of research for scholars throughout the world. This article in particular highlights the interplay of African American and environmental history during mostly the 20th century.
Beyond impairment: Recent histories of early American disability
Authors: Daen Laurel
Published: April 2019

Research on physical and intellectual incapacity in early America (defined in this essay as North America and the Caribbean before 1820) dates at least to the 1930s, but only in the past decade or so have historians focused on disability, spawning the burgeoning subfield of early American disability history. Inspired by disability rights activism and the discipline of disability studies, scholars in the field approach disability as a historically variable and ever‐nuanced category akin to gender, race, and class. Departing from earlier scholarship that viewed impairment as a health condition best resolved by social welfare and medicine, recent works meld analysis of the concept of disability and its influence on structures of power with a commitment to recovering the lives and experiences of impaired people. This essay examines two areas of new research in the field of early American disability history: (a) disability in law and government and (b) disability and slavery. The essay also discusses recent works that have pushed the theoretical bounds of the field, using analytical strategies that blend past and present, foreground language, and question the concept of disability itself.
DIMENSIONALITY AND DISAGREEMENT: ASYMPTOTIC BELIEF DIVERGENCE IN RESPONSE TO COMMON INFORMATION
Authors: Loh Isaac , Phelan Gregory
Published: April 2019

We provide a model of boundedly rational, multidimensional learning and characterize when beliefs will converge to the truth. Agents maintain beliefs as marginal probabilities instead of joint probabilities, and agents' information is of lower dimension than the model. As a result, for some observations, agents may face an identification problem affecting the role of data in inference. Beliefs converge to the truth when these observations are rare, but beliefs diverge when observations presenting an identification problem are frequent. Robustly, two agents with differing priors who observe identical, unambiguous information may disagree forever, with stronger disagreement the more information received.
FOOD TRADE AND BIODIVERSITY EFFECTS
Authors: Bellora Cecilia , Bourgeon Jean‐Marc
Published: April 2019

Pests create biodiversity effects that increase food production risks and decrease productivity when agricultural production is specialized. Pesticides contain these effects, but damage the environment and human health. When opening to trade, governments are tempted to restrict pesticide use because, with more food being imported, less pesticide is needed for domestic consumption. However, pesticide restrictions hinder the competitiveness of their agricultural sector on international markets. We show that restrictions on pesticides are more stringent under free trade than under autarky, which reduces the gains from trade, and that trade increases food price volatility.
Decreasing overt discrimination increases covert discrimination: Adverse effects of equal opportunities policies
Authors: Lennartz Christopher , Proost Karin , Brebels Lieven
Published: April 2019

Building on the moral licensing literature, this paper examines whether highlighting the successful implementation of an equal opportunities policy in a company leads to covert forms of discrimination in hiring decisions (i.e., expressing a preference for a white candidate over an equally qualified black/Moroccan candidate in an ambiguous context). Furthermore, moral self‐image is indirectly tested as a possible underlying mechanism. Two scenario studies first revealed that covert discrimination is more likely after highlighting a successful implementation of an equal opportunities policy in the company (study 1) and that elevated levels of moral self‐image are related to covert discrimination (study 2). Subsequently, a field study revealed that the presence of successful equal opportunities policies positively related to employees’ moral self‐image (study 3).