bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do international classes pay off? A cost-benefit analysis of the internationalisation of higher education in Flanders
Authors: De Witte Kristof , Soncin Mara
Published: August 2021

Internationalisation is a major trend in higher education worldwide. Yet, little evidence is given on the net impact of international students on national economies. This study addresses this gap by estimating the benefits against the costs driven by international students in Belgium and its Flemish region in particular. Using a unique combination of various sources of micro-data, the results show net positive benefits that exceed costs by a factor ranging between 2.4 (lower bound) and 3.1 (upper bound) times. The results vary highly with the level of education, as the ratio is the lowest for doctoral students (1.2–1.6) and highest for master students (5.1–6.3). The effect is mainly driven by a high stay rate of international students, who are likely to work in the country after graduation. When considering indirect effects, our results show that there are no significant peer effects due to the presence of international students in the classroom.
Design studio practice in the context of architectural education: a narrative literature review
Authors: Hettithanthri Upeksha , Hansen Preben
Published: August 2021

This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge on the conventional design studio context. This is a narrative literature review based on articles published within the last ten years, while 60 articles were selected for the literature review following a rigorous filtration process. The final articles were selected by applying inclusion and exclusion criteria to the initially selected articles. This review has synthesized the current knowledge on design studio contexts and will review the conventional design studio context, design studio practices that take place within design studios and use of digital tools. The main aim of this study is to broaden the understanding of design studio contexts and to comprehend the types of design studio contexts available in architectural studies. Furthermore, it discusses the digital tools used in design studio practices in the last 10 years. A thematic analysis was conducted in reviewing the articles. It is to be noted that no research has been carried out except one on generating design studio context outside the conventional design studio set-up. This study aims to identify the potential research possibilities of context generated design studios to engage in design studies.
AI, Explainability and Public Reason: The Argument from the Limitations of the Human Mind
Authors: Maclure Jocelyn
Published: August 2021

Machine learning-based AI algorithms lack transparency. In this article, I offer an interpretation of AI’s explainability problem and highlight its ethical saliency. I try to make the case for the legal enforcement of a strong explainability requirement: human organizations which decide to automate decision-making should be legally obliged to demonstrate the capacity to explain and justify the algorithmic decisions that have an impact on the wellbeing, rights, and opportunities of those affected by the decisions. This legal duty can be derived from the demands of Rawlsian public reason. In the second part of the paper, I try to show that the argument from the limitations of human cognition fails to get AI off the hook of public reason. Against a growing trend in AI ethics, my main argument is that the analogy between human minds and artificial neural networks fails because it suffers from an atomistic bias which makes it blind to the social and institutional dimension of human reasoning processes. I suggest that developing interpretive AI algorithms is not the only possible answer to the explainability problem; social and institutional answers are also available and in many cases more trustworthy than techno-scientific ones.
Dual-stage and dual-deficit? Word recognition processes during text reading across the reading fluency continuum
Authors: Hautala Jarkko , Hawelka Stefan , Aro Mikko
Published: August 2021

Central questions in the study of visual word recognition and developmental dyslexia are whether early lexical activation precedes and supports decoding (a dual-stage view) or not (dual-route view), and the locus of deficits in dysfluent reading. The dual-route view predicts early word frequency and length interaction, whereas the dual-stage view predicts word frequency effect to precede the interaction effect. These predictions were tested on eye movements data collected from (n = 152) children aged 9–10 among whom reading dysfluency was overrepresented. In line with the dual-stage view, the results revealed an early word frequency effect in first fixation duration followed by robust word length effect in refixation probability and an interaction of word frequency and word length in summed refixation duration. This progression was advanced in fluent reading to be observable already in first fixation duration. Poor reading fluency was mostly explained by inflated first fixation durations, and to stronger word frequency and length effects in summed refixation duration. This pattern of results suggests deficits in early letter encoding and slowness in serial grapheme-phoneme conversion. In contrast to the widely held belief, the holistic orthographic processing of words seemed to be intact.
Reflex theory, cautionary tale: misleading simplicity in early neuroscience
Authors: Chirimuuta M.
Published: August 2021

This paper takes an integrated history and philosophy of science approach to the topic of "simplicity out of complexity". The reflex theory was a framework within early twentieth century psychology and neuroscience which aimed to decompose complex behaviours and neural responses into simple reflexes. It was controversial in its time, and did not live up to its own theoretical and empirical ambitions. Examination of this episode poses important questions about the limitations of simplifying strategies, and the relationship between simplification and the engineering approach to biology.
True lies and Moorean redundancy
Authors: Wiegmann Alex , Viebahn Emanuel
Published: August 2021

According to the subjective view of lying, speakers can lie by asserting a true proposition, as long as they believe this proposition to be false. This view contrasts with the objective view, according to which lying requires the actual falsity of the proposition asserted. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to pairs of assertions that differ only in intuitively redundant content and to show that such pairs of assertions are a reason to favour the subjective view of lying over the objective one.
Individual-level loss aversion in riskless and risky choices
Authors: Gächter Simon , Johnson Eric J. , Herrmann Andreas
Published: August 2021

Loss aversion can occur in riskless and risky choices. We present novel evidence on both in a non-student sample (660 randomly selected customers of a car manufacturer). We measure loss aversion in riskless choice in endowment effect experiments within and between subjects and find similar levels of average loss aversion in both. The subjects of the within study also participate in a simple lottery choice task which arguably measures loss aversion in risky choices. We find substantial heterogeneity in both measures of loss aversion. Loss aversion in riskless choice and loss aversion in risky choice are strongly positively correlated, but on average riskless loss aversion is higher than risky loss aversion. We find that in both choice tasks, loss aversion increases in age, income, and wealth, and decreases in education. Our results provide novel supportive input to the debate about the reality of loss aversion.
Evaluating the Design and Repeatability of a Novel Device to Measure Friction of Mechanical Surrogate Skins in Contact with Cotton Textiles
Authors: Temel Mevra , Lloyd Alex B. , Johnson Andrew A.
Published: August 2021

The ability to measure the level of friction between the human skin and a given textile is critical across fashion and textiles sectors, not least for the development of sporting and protective clothing. A portable custom-made device capable of measuring friction during the skin-textile interaction across often difficult or impossible to investigate body regions with objective repeatability has been established. The friction between a pre-shrunk 100% cotton textile and a quantity of four control surfaces (transparent and patterned polycarbonate plastic, and silicon and lorica surrogate skin) was measured three times per day across five consecutive days. The results clearly demonstrated that the novel friction test device had an excellent repeatability of 0.94 and 0.93 intraclass corelation coefficient for static and dynamic friction coefficient measurement, respectively. The silicon surrogate skin control surface produced the highest friction coefficient, while the pattered polycarbonate plate demonstrated the lowest friction coefficient, suggesting that the physical features of the control surface material influenced the recorded coefficient of friction. It was also revealed that the relationship between the static and dynamic friction coefficient is dependent on the surface material.
Einflüsse der Coronapandemie auf gesundheitsbezogene Verhaltensweisen und Belastungen von Studierenden
Authors: Ehrentreich Saskia , Metzner Linda , Deraneck Sandra , Blavutskaya Zlata , Tschupke Sandra , Hasseler Martina
Published: August 2021

Hintergrund

Studierende bilden die größte Gruppe an Hochschulen, somit ist ein studentisches Gesundheitsmanagement unerlässlich. Diese Gruppe zählt zwar aufgrund ihres Alters zu einer eher gesunden Bevölkerungsgruppe, dennoch sind auch Studierende gesundheitlichen Belastungen ausgesetzt. Daher sind die Auswirkungen der Coronapandemie auf die Studierenden von allgemeinem Interesse.

Fragestellung

Der Artikel befasst sich mit der Frage, wie die Rahmenbedingungen der Coronapandemie gesundheitsbezogene Verhaltensweisen und Belastungen der Studierenden an der Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften beeinflussen.

Material und Methoden

Auf Grundlage einer Literaturrecherche wurde ein Fragebogen zu den Themenbereichen Bewegung, Ernährung, wahrgenommenes Stresserleben und Suchtmittelkonsum erstellt. Die Stichprobe der Onlinebefragung umfasst 1281 Studierende. Die Ergebnisse wurden über Microsoft Excel ausgewertet.

Ergebnisse

Infolge der Coronapandemie bewegen sich Studierende in ihrem Alltag weniger, müssen aufgrund der gesetzlichen Regelungen ihre Mahlzeitenplanung neu organisieren und sind, z. B. durch veränderte Prüfungsleistungen oder den Verlust des Nebenjobs, einem höheren Stresslevel ausgesetzt. Der Suchtmittelkonsum bleibt dabei nahezu unverändert.

Schlussfolgerung

Die Coronapandemie bewirkt sowohl positive als auch negative Veränderungen der gesundheitlichen Verhaltensweisen und Belastungen bei Studierenden. Dennoch sind weitere Untersuchungen erforderlich, um die Auswirkungen der Pandemie auf die Studierenden umfassender in den Blick zu nehmen.
Investigating how cancer-related symptoms influence work outcomes among cancer survivors: a systematic review
Authors: Tan Chia Jie , Yip Samantha Yin Ching , Chan Raymond Javan , Chew Lita , Chan Alexandre
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate how different cancer-related symptoms influence work outcomes among cancer survivors.

Methods

A literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus to identify studies published between 1st January 1999 and 30th October 2020 that investigated the impact of specific cancer-related symptoms on work outcomes among cancer survivors who have completed primary antineoplastic treatment. Study findings were extracted and grouped by symptoms and work outcomes, allowing comparison of associations between these outcomes.

Results

Seventy-three articles representing 68 studies were eligible for inclusion. From these studies, 27 cancer-related symptoms, 9 work outcomes, and 68 unique associations between specific symptoms and work outcomes were identified. Work status (return to work and employment rates) was most commonly studied, and symptom burden was mainly measured from the patient’s perspective. Higher symptom burden was generally associated with trends of poorer work outcomes. Significant associations were reported in most studies evaluating body image issues and work status, oral dysfunction and work status, fatigue and work ability, and depression and work ability.

Conclusion

Several cancer-related symptoms were consistently associated with inferior work outcomes among cancer survivors. Body image issues and oral dysfunction were shown to be associated with poorer employment rates, while fatigue and depression were linked to lower levels of work performance.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Failure to return to work and decreased productivity post-cancer treatment can have negative consequences for cancer survivors and society at large. Findings from this review will guide the development of work rehabilitation programs for cancer survivors.

Protocol registration

PROSPERO identifier CRD42020187754
Challenges for integrated pest management of Dasineura brassicae in oilseed rape
Authors: Hausmann Johannes
Published: August 2021

The use of insecticides in flowering oilseed rape (Brassica napusL.)against pest insects such as the brassica pod midge (Dasineura brassicaeW.) often conflicts with the protection of pollinating and beneficial insects.Dasineura brassicaeis a major pest insect in European oilseed rape production. However, a comprehensive and sustainable pest control strategy within the framework of integrated pest management (IPM) does not exist, and little research on the insect has been published during the past two decades. This paper reviews the existing knowledge aboutD. brassicaealong its life cycle and is intended to form the basis for further research activities on pod-damaging pest insects in oilseed rape. Important knowledge gaps are identified, regarding the significance of natural enemies, diapause induction, and predictions on damage potential, based on initial pest insect population. The short lifespan of the adults is particularly challenging in praxis. The implementation of IPM forD. brassicaeis discussed on the basis of the four IPM steps (set an economic threshold, establish pest monitoring, preventive measures, and direct control measures) and remaining hurdles, as well as potential solutions for a better IPM, are identified. ForD. brassicae, there is no science-based economic threshold and no applicable monitoring methods for farmers, which hinders a field-specific damage forecast and the precise timing of insecticide applications. Research into improved monitoring (e.g. selective attractants, real-time monitoring using remote-sensing technologies) appears to be a promising step towards an integrated pest management ofD. brassicae.
European Green Deal – the way to Circular Public Procurement
Authors: Tátrai Tünde , Diófási-Kovács Orsolya
Published: August 2021

The aim of this paper is to link the concept of green public procurement (GPP) to the nowadays popular circular economy (CE) concept by exploring the possibilities of circular public procurement. The legal framework will be specified at all stages of the suggested procurement cycle (preparation, tendering, execution, monitoring) and the connected instruments that support GPP will be summarized. In the research, ecolabelling and life-cycle costing will be highlighted as tools leading to Circular Public Procurement (CPP), drawing attention to the importance of ensuring competition and cooperation with market actors using these tools.
Carbonatites and Alkaline Igneous Rocks in Post-Collisional Settings: Storehouses of Rare Earth Elements
Authors: Goodenough Kathryn M. , Deady Eimear A. , Beard Charles D. , Broom-Fendley Sam , Elliott Holly A. L. , van den Berg Frederick , Öztürk Hüseyin
Published: August 2021

The rare earth elements (REE) are critical raw materials for much of modern technology, particularly renewable energy infrastructure and electric vehicles that are vital for the energy transition. Many of the world’s largest REE deposits occur in alkaline rocks and carbonatites, which are found in intracontinental, rift-related settings, and also in syn- to post-collisional settings. Post-collisional settings host significant REE deposits, such as those of the Mianning-Dechang belt in China. This paper reviews REE mineralization in syn- to post-collisional alkaline-carbonatite complexes worldwide, in order to demonstrate some of the key physical and chemical features of these deposits. We use three examples, in Scotland, Namibia, and Turkey, to illustrate the structure of these systems. We review published geochemical data and use these to build up a broad model for the REE mineral system in post-collisional alkaline-carbonatite complexes. It is evident that immiscibility of carbonate-rich magmas and fluids plays an important part in generating mineralization in these settings, with REE, Ba and F partitioning into the carbonate-rich phase. The most significant REE mineralization in post-collisional alkaline-carbonatite complexes occurs in shallow-level, carbothermal or carbonatite intrusions, but deeper carbonatite bodies and associated alteration zones may also have REE enrichment.
Chatbot Interaction with Artificial Intelligence: human data augmentation with T5 and language transformer ensemble for text classification
Authors: Bird Jordan J. , Ekárt Anikó , Faria Diego R.
Published: August 2021

In this work we present the Chatbot Interaction with Artificial Intelligence (CI-AI) framework as an approach to the training of a transformer based chatbot-like architecture for task classification with a focus on natural human interaction with a machine as opposed to interfaces, code, or formal commands. The intelligent system augments human-sourced data via artificial paraphrasing in order to generate a large set of training data for further classical, attention, and language transformation-based learning approaches for Natural Language Processing (NLP). Human beings are asked to paraphrase commands and questions for task identification for further execution of algorithms as skills. The commands and questions are split into training and validation sets. A total of 483 responses were recorded. Secondly, the training set is paraphrased by the T5 model in order to augment it with further data. Seven state-of-the-art transformer-based text classification algorithms (BERT, DistilBERT, RoBERTa, DistilRoBERTa, XLM, XLM-RoBERTa, and XLNet) are benchmarked for both sets after fine-tuning on the training data for two epochs. We find that all models are improved when training data is augmented by the T5 model, with an average increase of classification accuracy by 4.01%. The best result was the RoBERTa model trained on T5 augmented data which achieved 98.96% classification accuracy. Finally, we found that an ensemble of the five best-performing transformer models via Logistic Regression of output label predictions led to an accuracy of 99.59% on the dataset of human responses. A highly-performing model allows the intelligent system to interpret human commands at the social-interaction level through a chatbot-like interface (e.g. “Robot, can we have a conversation?”) and allows for better accessibility to AI by non-technical users.
A Person-Centered Approach in Investigating a Mindfulness-Based Program for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Ridderinkhof Anna , Elmose Mette , de Bruin Esther I. , Blom René , Salem-Guirgis Sandra , Weiss Jonathan A. , van der Meer Paulien , Singh Nirbhay N. , Bögels Susan M.
Published: August 2021

Objectives

Adolescents with autism often experience comorbid internalizing disorders such as anxiety disorders or depression but the available evidence-based treatments to support the mental health of adolescents with autism are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate if and how MYmind, a mindfulness-based program (MBP) for youth with autism, could benefit adolescents with comorbid internalizing disorder(s).

Methods

A person-centered approach with a multiple baseline design was used to investigate the effects of MYmind. Five adolescents with autism and an internalizing disorder took part in the 9-week MYmind program. The adolescents and their parents completed a daily questionnaire on their personal goals during a baseline phase, the intervention, a 2-month follow-up phase, and a 1-year follow-up phase. We analyzed the effects on their personal goals using visual inspection and statistical analysis for single-case designs. Also, we investigated potential processes of change by analyzing how changes were related over time.

Results

Findings indicated that most, but not all, adolescents benefitted from the MBP. Four out of five adolescents showed medium-sized improvement in some of their personal goals. However, one adolescent reported a deterioration during the intervention and 2-month follow-up phase. Decreased worry preceded behavioral improvements in two adolescents, whereas other potential mechanisms of change showed inconclusive results.

Conclusion

The findings indicated that most of the adolescents with autism and a comorbid internalizing disorder partially benefitted from the MBP.
Psychometric Testing of the German Versions of Three Implementation Outcome Measures
Authors: Kien Christina , Griebler Ursula , Schultes Marie-Therese , Thaler Kylie J. , Stamm Tanja
Published: August 2021

Internationally comparable assessments of implementation outcomes are a prerequisite for the accurate and useful exchange of implementation science results. We translated the English versions of the acceptability of intervention measure (AIM), the intervention appropriateness measure (IAM), and the feasibility of intervention measure (FIM) into German following recent guidelines. We tested the structural validity, the internal consistency (Cronbach’s α), and the construct validity (known-groups validity) in a hypothetical situation study of secondary school teachers (n1 = 142) and the structural validity and the internal consistency in a pilot field study of primary school teachers participating in a school health promotion project (n2 = 61). The hypothesized three-factor solution (acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility) revealed the best model fit in the hypothetical situation study (CFI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.08). The second study tended to support these results (CFI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.05) only when the error terms of two items from different constructs were allowed to correlate with each other (“seems like a good match” [IAM] and “seems possible” [FIM]). Furthermore, the intercorrelations between the three factors were higher in the pilot field study than in the hypothetical vignette study (0.71–0.86 vs. 0.06–0.35). The instruments’ internal consistency proved to be high in both studies (Cronbach’s α: 0.91–0.97). We gathered positive evidence for the known-groups validity, as participants who received different stimuli before answering the instruments rated them statistically significantly different. Our study showed that the German versions of the instruments could successfully be applied in health promotion research. We suggest using the four items per instrument rather than an abbreviated version and discuss recommendations for the instruments’ application.
School Strike 4 Climate: the intersection of education for sustainable development, education for global citizenship and the Australian Curriculum
Authors: Menzie-Ballantyne Karena , Ham Miriam
Published: August 2021

In June 2020, an Australian Curriculum (AC) review was announced, particularly regarding content crowding in primary years, flexibility and deep understanding of core concepts. The language of the announcement highlighted again the ‘competing-priorities’ discourse that suggests a disjuncture between focusing on fundamental knowledge and skills of literacy and numeracy and providing opportunities to develop broader conceptual understandings and skills inherent in the pedagogies of education for global citizenship (EGC) and education for sustainable development (ESD). By contrast, the School Strike 4 Climate rallies exemplified students’ integration of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes from a variety of disciplines and broader learning experiences embedded within the AC with the cross-curriculum priorities, particularly sustainability, and the general capabilities. This article claims that the School Strike 4 Climate rallies highlight the interconnection between EGC and ESD and the AC. It will argue that the inquiry-based, pedagogical approaches of EGC and ESD are powerful integrators offering teachers the opportunity to take cross-disciplinary approaches to planning, connecting multiple learning areas from the AC with real-world projects and issues. It is suggested that, far from crowding the curriculum, such integration frees up space and offers opportunities for the deep conceptual understanding the curriculum review seeks.
Transpiration through hydrogels
Authors: Etzold Merlin A. , Linden P.F. , Worster M. Grae
Published: August 2021

We present experiments and theory relating to transpiration through unrestrained hydrogel beads in contact with a water reservoir below and air above. Experimentally, we find that saturated hydrogel beads shrink until a steady state is reached in which water flows continuously through the beads. The size of the bead in steady state is sensitive to the evaporation rate, which depends on the relative humidity and speed of the surrounding air, and to the pressure head imposed by the fluid reservoir. Specifically, the bead size decreases with increasing pressure head or evaporation rate. Our one-dimensional model proposes that transport in the hydrogel is driven by gradients in osmotic pressure, caused by gradients in polymer concentration in the hydrogel that correspond to gradients in swelling. If the evaporation rate or the pressure head changes, the adjustment of this gradient requires the bead to change shape and size. Smaller beads have larger gradients of osmotic pressure, which drive higher transpiration rates and can draw water against larger pressure heads.
Paradoxical predictions of swirling jets
Authors: Dubovskaya A.V. , Benilov E.S.
Published: August 2021

This paper examines the shape of a steady jet with a swirling component, ejected from a circular orifice at an angle to the horizontal. Assuming the Froude number to be large, we derive a set of asymptotic equations for a slender jet. In the inviscid limit, the solutions of the set predict that, if the swirling velocity of the flow exceeds a certain threshold, the jet bends against gravity and rises until the initial supply of the liquid's kinetic energy is used up. This effect is due to the fact that the contributions of the swirl and streamwise velocities to the centrifugal force are of opposite signs, with their sum to be balanced by gravity. As a result, swirl- and streamwise-dominated jets bend in opposite directions. Downward-bending jets also exhibit counter-intuitive behaviour. If the swirling velocity is strong enough (but is still below the above threshold), the streamwise velocity on the jet's axis may decrease with the distance from the orifice, despite the acceleration due to gravity. Eventually, a stagnation point emerges due to this effect, arguably destabilising the jet. Also paradoxically, viscosity-dominated jets can reach higher (if they bend upwards) and farther (in all cases) than their inviscid counterparts, due to the fact that viscosity suppresses formation of stagnation points.
From dreams to reality: a phenomenological study of the psychological contracts of ex-military personnel in the Australian Defence Force
Authors: Naweed Anjum , Hodgkinson Luke , Matthews Raymond W.
Published: August 2021

Current recruitment and retention issues within the armed forces draw links with breach of the psychological contract – the dynamics of the employee–employer relationship. Compared with civilian contexts, a military position is unique, however, there is a dearth of conceptual investigation regarding the lived experiences of military personnel, particularly with respect to how such contracts form. This paper combined a phenomenological approach with the critical decision method to investigate the lived experiences informing contract formation and contract trajectory of ex-military personnel. Lived experiences pointed to the formulation of ‘fuzzy’ contracts, impressions from defence force recruitment, specific tipping points around organisational commitment, and large differences between the fidelity of the idealised and actualised self/job. Seven superordinate themes are elicited that trace the formation and trajectory of the contract. A schematised account of findings is developed to provide avenues to investigate how beliefs form in a military contract context and their outcomes.
The joint association of serum vitamin D status and cardiorespiratory fitness with obesity and metabolic syndrome in Tehranian adults
Authors: Farazi Mena , Jayedi Ahmad , Dehghani Firouzabadi Fatemeh , Noruzi Zahra , Moosavi Hanieh , Djafarian Kurosh , Shab-Bidar Sakineh
Published: August 2021

We aimed to assess the individual and joint association of serum vitamin D and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetSyn). In this cross-sectional study 270 adults with an age range of 18 years and older were recruited from health centers from five districts in Tehran, Iran. CRF was assessed with Bruce protocol. MetSyn was defined based on International Diabetes Federation 2009. The odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) of obesity and MetSyn across tertiles of serum vitamin D and CRF were estimated with control for confounders. The results indicated that neither 25(OH)D nor 1,25(OH)D was associated with obesity and MetSyn. There was a strong inverse association between CRF and general (P-trend < 0.001) and abdominal adiposity (P-trend: 0.001). The joint association of vitamin D and CRF indicated that the inverse association of CRF with obesity was stronger in those with high serum vitamin D than those with low serum vitamin D and this joint association remained after considering age and diet quality. There was a significant inverse association for those with low serum 25(OH)D and high CRF (OR: 0.12, 95 % CI: 0.04–0.81; P = 0.02) compared to those with low serum 25(OH)D and low CRF in the crude model. Also, the OR of general obesity was 0.17 (95 % CI: 0.02–0.79; P = 0.03) for those with high CRF and low serum 1,25(OH)D compare with the reference group. Our findings indicated a strong inverse association between CRF and obesity, especially in those with high serum vitamin D.
The relationship between Dietary Inflammatory Index and disease severity and inflammatory status: a case–control study of COVID-19 patients
Authors: Moludi Jalal , Qaisar Shaimaa A. , Alizadeh Mohammad , Jafari Vayghan Hamed , Naemi Mohammad , Rahimi Akram , Mousavi Rihaneh
Published: August 2021

Numerous studies have revealed strong relationships between COVID-19 and inflammation. However, the imminent link between diet-related inflammation and the COVID-19 risk has not been addressed before. So, we explored the capability of the Energy-Adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII) to predict the inflammatory markers, incidence and severity of COVID-19. We conducted a case-control study consisting of 120 adults; they had been admitted for COVID-19 at hospital during June and July, 2020. The E-DII score was calculated based on the dietary intake, which was evaluated by a 138-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Serum levels of inflammatory markers including the Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and White blood cells (WBCs) differential were measured. Severity of disease was assessed by chest radiology criteria. Patients with the maximum pro-inflammatory energy adjusted E-DII score had 7·26 times greater odds of developing COVID-19, as compared to those in tertiles 1 (E-DII T3v. E-DII T1: OR = 7·26; 95 % CI 2·64 to 9·94, P < 0·001). Also, a positive association between E-DII and C-reactive protein (CRP) was observed (BE-DII = 1·37, 95 % CI 0·72, 2·02), such that with each unit increase in E-E-DII, the CRP levels were increased by 1·37 units. Furthermore, a significant association was found between E-DII and the severity of disease (BE-DII = 0·03, 95 % CI 0·01, 0·06. 0·024). Patients consuming a diet with a higher pro-inflammatory potential were at a greater risk of COVID-19 occurrence; also, the severity of disease was elevated with a high score inflammatory diet.
The Oxford Agoraphobic Avoidance Scale
Authors: Lambe Sinead , Bird Jessica C. , Loe Bao Sheng , Rosebrock Laina , Kabir Thomas , Petit Ariane , Mulhall Sophie , Jenner Lucy , Aynsworth Charlotte , Murphy Elizabeth , Jones Julia , Powling Rosie , Chapman Kate , Dudley Robert , Morrison Anthony , Regan Eileen O. , Yu Ly-Mee , Clark David , Waite Felicity , Freeman Daniel
Published: August 2021

Background

Agoraphobic avoidance of everyday situations is a common feature in many mental health disorders. Avoidance can be due to a variety of fears, including concerns about negative social evaluation, panicking, and harm from others. The result is inactivity and isolation. Behavioural avoidance tasks (BATs) provide an objective assessment of avoidance and in situ anxiety but are challenging to administer and lack standardisation. Our aim was to draw on the principles of BATs to develop a self-report measure of agoraphobia symptoms.

Method

The scale was developed with 194 patients with agoraphobia in the context of psychosis, 427 individuals in the general population with high levels of agoraphobia, and 1094 individuals with low levels of agoraphobia. Factor analysis, item response theory, and receiver operating characteristic analyses were used. Validity was assessed against a BAT, actigraphy data, and an existing agoraphobia measure. Test–retest reliability was assessed with 264 participants.

Results

An eight-item questionnaire with avoidance and distress response scales was developed. The avoidance and distress scales each had an excellent model fit and reliably assessed agoraphobic symptoms across the severity spectrum. All items were highly discriminative (avoidance: a = 1.24–5.43; distress: a = 1.60–5.48), indicating that small increases in agoraphobic symptoms led to a high probability of item endorsement. The scale demonstrated good internal reliability, test–retest reliability, and validity.

Conclusions

The Oxford Agoraphobic Avoidance Scale has excellent psychometric properties. Clinical cut-offs and score ranges are provided. This precise assessment tool may help focus attention on the clinically important problem of agoraphobic avoidance.
Notes From the Field (From the Desk): To Hold
Authors: Gotman Kélina
Published: August 2021

The last seminar of my “Introduction to Literary Theories” course in the fall semester of 2020 involved really difficult material on gender and race; it was exposing; none of the students had their cameras on. I was nearly in tears. Kept composure. We had been navigating well through the semester, with this and the other first-year module on poetry—subjects adjacent to theatre as a result of my situation within a department of English literature. This semester, I've been more bold, gently asking students to turn cameras on; I remember, though, always, Owen Parry's articulation of audience participation at the start of a Zoom event for the Welsh National Theatre. Some people hang back; some people are highly present (front-row types—I was always one of those); but all of this is good.1 I've been relaxing my need to “see” everyone out there. As a committed lecturer—a relapsed performer who has found solace in lecture stages—I'm always keen to read the room, normally; to see body posture, faces, engagement or puzzlement, and to respond to this; everything nonverbal that goes on. I was devastated, unsurprised, at the end of a conversation with a colleague on the development of what may become a major “Creative Hub,” to hear that our lecture halls might be replaced with sort of multifunction rooms, as if movable chairs meant we could suddenly be free. I think not enough is understood of the theatre of a lecture hall—the theatricality, the performativity, of what goes on—ways this is live, deeply so; ways students are not “passive” at all listening. That we don't need to go to “participatory art” in order to find ourselves within an ethical, social, committed space together; everything of that sort is lost with screens, or nearly. The sentiment of speaking out into a void.
Diary of Inhaminga
Authors: Martens Fathers J. , Verdaasdonk A. , van Rijen J. , van Kampen A. , Tielema J.
Published: August 2021

Portugal s occupation of Africa began with violence, it was maintained by violence, and after five hundred years it is coming to an end through violence.

The story of Inhaminga, the bloody events of resistance and reprisal in the war in Mozambique, is the last chapter of the longest and most use/ess colonial ordeal in Africa's history. It is one more measurement of the lives which were lost, the bodies which were sold, and the destruction which was wrought in the course of Portugal's pursuit of gain and imperial dignity in Guinea, Angola, Mozambique.

The diary by five Dutch missionaries stands with the anguished letters of Afonso, sixteenth century African king of the Congo, with the letters of condemnation written by Jesuit and Dominican missionaries, with the reports of occasional Portuguese governors and administrators, with the speeches of the humanitarian prime minister Si da Bandeira, with the accounts of British consuls, with the exposes of Casement, Nevinson, Cadbury, Ross, and in our time, with the works of Davidson and those of African poets and patriots, Neto, Andrade, and dos Santos.

There is nothing in what has been written in protest—and little that has been written in praise—of the Portuguese occupation of Africa which even at the end can give any sense or dignity to an absurd colonial adventure, a violent misappropriation of Africa and Africans.

And it is this force of violence—turned against the Portuguese army and colonial administration—which has led to Lisbon s sudden and frantic attempts to disengage. In these accounts of the last days of empire one distinction stands out from the protest of other times. As much as the story of Portuguese atrocities, this is the story of African resistance to those atrocities and the rule which created them. The Diary of Inhaminga is an extraordinary document in its simplicity of emotion and detail. It is worthy of the resistance it recounts.
Negritude: Some Dissident Voices
Authors: Ischinger Barbara
Published: August 2021

Only eight years ago Janheinz Jahn stated in Neo-African Literature that the critics of nigritude were all writing in English—not in French. Jahn was referring to writers like Ezekiel Mphahlele, Gerald Moore and Wole Soyinka, whose criticism he regarded as “based on an inadequate translation.” 2 The most important movement in the literary evolution in French-speaking Africa had, according to Jahn, only been criticized out of ignorance and misunderstanding. Today, criticism of Negritude has become a major issue in those French-speaking countries which were among its strongest supporters originally. It should be mentioned, however, that certain French African writers—among them Ferdinand Oyono and Ousmane Sembene—have opposed Negritude since the 1950s.
Law of What Order?
Authors: Lukele Andrew
Published: August 2021

A recent book by Anthony S. Mathews bears the sort of impressive title which will no doubt attract a much wider readership than the limited audience of legal and constitutional law specialists which the author in his preface appoints for the work. Law, Order and Liberty in South Africa (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1972) will excite the interest of many people both in and outside South Africa who have come to associate law and order in that country not with liberty and freedom but with the very processes and mechanisms of its denial. The reader's hope will be for insight into how law and order in South Africa—up to now an implement of repression and an aid to the securing of privilege for a racial minority—might be employed for the reversal of present conditions. Those less optimistic would be content with an analysis of the place and role of law in a society characterized by racial discrimination. The expectations of most readers will remain unfulfilled.
Reflections on U.S. Policy towards Namibia
Authors: Butcher Gofer Teal
Published: August 2021

United States policy towards Namibia is the one shining oasis in the veritable desert known as United States policy towards southern Africa—an area of foreign policy where a mirage of official words has tended either to obfuscate United States government actions supporting the minority government or to obscure the real significance of such actions.
African Attitudes Toward America
Authors: Anise Ladun
Published: August 2021

“What do you think of America?” No visitor to the United States can escape this question. From the moment he debarks, the foreigner is confronted by a question that will follow him throughout his stay in the U.S. At first he seems bewildered. But he soon gathers from the questioner’s tone that he is expected to respond favorably. “Great! I like it very much,” he answers. Indeed America is great, but the perplexed visitor has had no time to make even the most superficial observation of his own.
Africanism
Authors: Njaka Mazi E. N.
Published: August 2021

To write about a culture and its relevance of thought using techniques and methodology invented in another culture can be deceptive. Every culture has its raison d’etre. The ideology of a society moulds its culture as well as the values of that society. Those members of a society who have been indoctrinated and miseducated in another cultural setting simply do not qualify to use the techniques they have learned in formulating a framework for the constructs and principles of the culture in which they were born. They do not have sufficient knowledge of their parent culture, thus their analysis can be misleading and full of disturbed facts and findings. However, they can attempt to rediscover their culture and ascertain the salutary effect that certain of its characteristics or modes of thought might have when applied or adapted to another culture.
United States - African Relations
Authors: Segal Aaron
Published: August 2021

African-American relations at present are characterized by a situation in which the United States government and United States investors take more resources out of Africa than they put in. There is a negative balance of payments in the flow of aid, trade, and other resources. Consequently, Africans are disappointed in America and have little faith in the ability of this Western power to make even a modest contribution to the resolution of African problems by African means.
The OAU and the Mozambique Revolution
Authors: Dunn D. Elwood
Published: August 2021

One of the strongest impulses that led to the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 was the desire of free Africa to hasten independence in colonized Africa. When the leaders of independent Africa convened to inaugurate the first international regional organization of its kind in Africa, there seemed total agreement on the principle of self-determination. What Kwame Nkrumah had proclaimed six years earlier upon Ghana's accession to independence was echoed in the keynote address of the Ethiopian Emperor: “Our liberty is meaningless unless all Africans are free. Our brothers in the Rhodesias … Mozambique … cry out in anguish for our support and assistance.”
General Amin and the Indian Exodus from Uganda
Authors: Patel Hasu H.
Published: August 2021

During the first week in August 1972 General Idi Amin Dada, President of the Second Republic of Uganda, announced the mass expulsion of Asians over a period not to exceed three months. Thus began the final chapter in the story of the Indian presence in Uganda. General Amin had once again made newspaper headlines all over the world. While press coverage had not been favorable to the General, it became particularly scathing in October when he expressed his views on Hitler and the Jews. What began as consternation quickly turned into intense vitriol against Amin, and newspapers throughout the world reflected this change. With the exception of a few papers in West, East, and Central Africa, however, most of the African press did not comment on the General's pronouncements. Black African leaders — with the notable exception of President Kaunda of Zambia and President Nyerere of Tanzania — adopted a curious attitude of non-interference.
Legitimization of National Liberation: The United Nations and Southern Africa
Authors: El-Ayouty Yassin
Published: August 2021

In a general sense, legitimization by the United Nations of African wars of national liberation means the recognition by various UN bodies that the struggle against colonialism and apartheid in southern Africa is a legitimate endeavour as far as the purposes and the principles of the UN Charter and other UN declarations are concerned. This international recognition of the African liberation movements is expressed through the offer of international aid and through the invitation of these movements to take part in deliberations at the conferences sponsored by UN agencies. The process of UN legitimization of the African struggle for freedom has been tangibly in the making since December 1960, when the world organization adopted General Assembly Resolution 1514 [XV] - the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries (or the declaration on decolonization).
The American Response to the Nigerian Conflict, 1968
Authors: Melbourne Roy M.
Published: August 2021

When the American electorate opted for withdrawal from Vietnam in 1968, the United States crossed an international policy watershed whose dimensions have not yet been fully assessed. The outlines of this policy have since been given the rubric of the Nixon Doctrine. In 1968, however, a substantial number of American citizens (including many vociferous critics of our presence in Vietnam) failed to grasp the significance of the change in Administration thinking as they energetically and often from the purest of motives sought American intervention through humanitarian actions in the Nigerian civil war. To point out to these Americans the contradictions in their behavior only served to irritate them. Other important segments of the public had long held a distorted image of American actions abroad. They continued to view America as the conscience of the world, exercising a kind of police power where such power might be safely exercised.
Somalia in 1975: Some Notes and Impressions
Authors: Davidson Basil
Published: August 2021

Early this year I spent some time in Somalia with the purpose of looking for material that could contribute to a history of political ideas in twentieth century Africa; and, as it fortunately happened, I found much more than I had expected. If I was surprised at this it may have been partly because Somalia, at least in recent years, appears to have become somewhat neglected by Western scholarship. Some preliminary notes and impressions may therefore be of interest.
Africa and the Middle Eastern Crisis
Authors: El-Khawas Mohamed A.
Published: August 2021

Nineteen fifty-five marked a turning point in Africa’s involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Prior to that year, the views of the few independent African nations had been completely overshadowed by cold war politics. The Bandung Conference, however, symbolized the emergence of a Third World approach to international problems, and African views on the Arab-Israeli conflict became increasingly important. With the winds of change blowing across the African continent, the two major contenders in the Middle Eastern crisis—Egypt and Israel—began to concentrate on wooing African support for their own positions.