bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coparenting relationship quality and breastfeeding duration for dual earner new parents
Authors: Yan Jia (Julia) , Berrigan Miranda N. , Wang Jingyi , Kamp Dush Claire M. , Schoppe-Sullivan Sarah J
Published: January 2023

We tested the prospective associations between coparenting relationship quality and breastfeeding duration among 164 dual-earner, cisgender, heterosexual couples identifying as mothers and fathers at the transition to parenthood. We hypothesized that mothers who perceived higher quality (more supportive and less undermining) coparenting relationships would breastfeed for a longer duration. At 3 months after childbirth, mothers reported their perceptions of coparenting relationship quality using the Coparenting Relationship Scale. Mothers reported their breastfeeding behaviors at four time points—when their infant was 3, 6, 9 months and 12–36 months old. Survival analysis revealed that higher quality coparenting relationships were associated with longer breastfeeding duration. This association was only observed among families of girls. This study highlights the interactive role of coparenting relationship quality and infant sex as proximal contexts that may shape breastfeeding practices.
Yearning for Popularity: How are Popularity Goals and Self-Perceived Popularity Related to Aggression and Victimization?
Authors: Seo Sunmi , Yang Joo Young , McDonald Kristina L.
Published: January 2023

Many adolescents want to be popular. Popularity goals are associated with adolescents’ relational and overt aggression and aggression has been linked to greater risk for victimization. The current study sought to examine if popularity goals may be linked to victimization through associations with aggression and if self-perceived popularity and gender may moderate these relationships. Participants were 292 adolescents (60.3% girls; 44.5% seventh graders, 55.5% eighth graders; 79.5% White/Caucasian) from the Southern United States. Results indicated that relational aggression accounted for the association between popularity goals and victimization and that self-perceived popularity strengthened this indirect effect for girls but not for boys. Overt aggression also partially explained the relation of popularity goals with victimization similarly for boys and girls. The findings suggest that motivations for popularity and self-perceived popularity are important to understanding variation in adolescent aggression and victimization.
Association Between Patient Race and Ethnicity and Outcomes With COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis From a Large Mid-Atlantic Health System
Authors: Rao Anirudh , Alnababteh Muhtadi H. , Avila-Quintero Victor J. , Flores Jose M. , Laing Nina E. , Boyd David A. , Yu Jennifer , Ahmed Naheed , Groninger Hunter , Zaaqoq Akram M.
Published: January 2023

Background

Members of racial and ethnic minority groups have been disproportionately impacted by coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19). The objective of the study is to describe associations between race and ethnicity on clinical outcomes such as need for mechanical ventilation and mortality.

Methods

Retrospective cohort study of patients with severe COVID-19 infection admitted within a large, not-for-profit healthcare system in the mid-Atlantic region between March and July, 2020. Patient demographic data and clinical outcomes were abstracted from the electronic health record. Logistic regressions were performed to estimate associations between race and ethnicity and the clinical outcomes.

Results

The study population (N  =  2931) was stratified into 1 of 3 subgroups: non-Hispanic White (n  =  466), non-Hispanic Black (n  =  1611), and Hispanic (n  =  654). The average age of White, Black, and Hispanic patients was 69  ±  17.06, 64  ±  15.9, and 50  ±  15.53 years old, respectively ( P < .001). Compared to White patients, Black and Hispanic patients were at increased odds of needing mechanical ventilation due to COVID-19 pneumonia (odds ratio [OR] Black  =  1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI]  =  1.04 to 1.75, P < .05; OR Hispanic  =  1.43, 95% CI  =  1.06 to 1.93, P < .05). When compared to White patients, Hispanic patients were at decreased odds of death (OR  =  0.45, 95% CI  =  0.32 to 0.63, P < .001). However, when adjusting for age, there were no statistically significant differences in the odds of death between these groups (adjusted OR [aOR] Black  =  1.05, 95% CI  =  0.80 to 1.38, P  =  .71; aOR Hispanic  =  1.10, 95% CI  =  0.76 to 1.60, P  =  .62).

Conclusion

Our analysis demonstrated that Hispanic patients were more likely require mechanical ventilation but had lower mortality when compared to White patients, with lower average age likely mediating this association. These findings emphasize the importance of outreach efforts to communities of color to increase prevention measures and vaccination uptake to reduce infection with COVID-19.
Chimpanzee and Human Risk Preferences Show Key Similarities
Authors: Haux Lou M. , Engelmann Jan M. , Arslan Ruben C. , Hertwig Ralph , Herrmann Esther
Published: January 2023

Risk preference impacts how people make key life decisions related to health, wealth, and well-being. Systematic variations in risk-taking behavior can be the result of differences in fitness expectations, as predicted by life-history theory. Yet the evolutionary roots of human risk-taking behavior remain poorly understood. Here, we studied risk preferences of chimpanzees (86 Pan troglodytes; 47 females; age = 2–40 years) using a multimethod approach that combined observer ratings with behavioral choice experiments. We found that chimpanzees’ willingness to take risks shared structural similarities with that of humans. First, chimpanzees’ risk preference manifested as a traitlike preference that was consistent across domains and measurements. Second, chimpanzees were ambiguity averse. Third, males were more risk prone than females. Fourth, the appetite for risk showed an inverted-U-shaped relation to age and peaked in young adulthood. Our findings suggest that key dimensions of risk preference appear to emerge independently of the influence of human cultural evolution.
A novel efficient probabilistic prediction approach for train-induced ground vibrations based on transfer learning
Authors: Liang Ruihua , Liu Weifeng , Li Chunyang , Li Wanbo , Wu Zongzhen
Published: January 2023

To deal with the issues of high computational cost and prediction uncertainty of numerical models in train-induced ground-borne vibration prediction, a prediction method based on transfer learning is proposed in this study. In this method, the vehicle–track-coupled analytical model and three-dimensional finite element model are first used to calculate the train-induced ground vibration under various condition variables, and these data were used as training samples to pre-train the deep neural network models. Numerous train-induced ground vibration experiments were then conducted along the metro lines in Beijing, and those measured vibration data were used to fine-tune the pre-trained deep neural network model with the transfer learning strategy. A random variable obeying a Gaussian distribution is assumed over the predicted vibration acceleration levels to model the randomness of train-induced vibration, and the parameters of this distribution were determined by the statistical results of vibration monitoring data in the metro tunnels. The fully trained model could complete the prediction of train-induced ground vibration in seconds. Finally, a case study was carried out, by comparing the probabilistic prediction results with the statistical results of the field measurements, and the feasibility and the improvement of the proposed method were demonstrated.
Adjusting to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States: The impact of disruptions on habits and changes in health behaviors
Authors: Andrade Fernanda C , Hoyle Rick H , Burnell Kaitlyn
Published: January 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a naturalistic test of whether pandemic-related disruptions weaken habits and undermine behavior stability. We hypothesized that better capacity to effortfully guide behavior (self-regulation) would buffer this effect and be associated with behavior stability and development of new habits to accomplish daily behaviors. A cross-sectional study of 416 MTurk workers recruited in April 2020 ( Mage = 34.60, SD = 11.51) indicated that pandemic-related disruptions generally exceeded people’s capacity to effortfully modify their behavior. Self-regulation related to the development of new habits and to lower likelihood that work productivity decreased. Self-regulation also protected against the effect of disruption on the likelihood that substance use increased. Besides these associations, self-regulation was largely unrelated to health-related behaviors and, in some instances, associated with poorer outcomes. These findings underscore the need to appreciate the impact of contextual disruptions in interpreting and promoting change in health-related behaviors.
A meta-analysis of trends in general, sexual, and violent recidivism among youth with histories of sex offending
Authors: Lussier Patrick , McCuish Evan , Chouinard Thivierge Stéphanie , Frechette Julien
Published: January 2023

Recent research suggests that sexual recidivism rates have been declining, which contrasts with observations regarding general recidivism rates as well as perceptions of sexual reoffending risk. If sexual recidivism rates are in decline, it raises fundamental policy questions about the youth justice system’s tendency to operate on the assumption that juvenile sexual offending is a risk marker for sexual reoffending in adulthood. A systematic review and a quantitative meta-analysis were conducted to determine the general, violent, and sexual recidivism rates of adolescent perpetrators of sexual offenses with data stemming from studies published worldwide between 1940 and 2019. A total of 158 empirical studies including 30,396 adolescent perpetrators of sexual offenses were retrieved to examine estimates of general, violent, and sexual recidivism. The study findings highlight that the risk of general recidivism (weighted pooled mean = .44) is substantially higher than violent (weighted pooled mean = .18) and sexual recidivism (weighted pooled mean = .08). The study did not observe convincing evidence that sexual recidivism rates for adolescent perpetrators are declining, but rather that these rates have been consistently low over the years. There was strong evidence that multiple study characteristics moderate the recidivism rates observed. Given the low weighted pooled sexual recidivism rate reported in the study, the use of adult-like strategies to increase public safety and prevent sexual recidivism seems misguided, not only because sexual recidivism is unlikely, but also because such strategies are not developed to address general criminogenic needs that may explain general recidivism rates observed.
Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt in Liver Transplant Recipients: Outcomes in Six Adult Patients
Authors: Masek Jan , Fejfar Tomas , Frankova Sona , Husova Libuse , Krajina Antonin , Renc Ondrej , Chovanec Vendelin , Raupach Jan
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is regularly used in treatment of clinically significant portal hypertension. Liver transplant recipients are, however, rarely indicated for the procedure. The study retrospectively examines the results of TIPS placement in 6 patients after OLT.

Methods

4 males and 2 females (aged 36 to 62 years), treated with TIPS between 2007 a 2018, were included in the study. 5 patients had previously undergone liver transplantation for liver graft cirrhosis, 1 patient for Budd-Chiari syndrome. The piggyback caval reconstruction technique was selected in 4/6 cases. PH developed after OLT due to the recurrence of underlying liver condition and sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in half of the cases, respectively. Indications for TIPS were refractory ascites in 4 cases and variceal bleeding in 2 cases.

Results

Standard TIPS technique was used and technical success was achieved in all cases with a procedure-related complication in 1 patient. One patient died shortly after TIPS placement. The remaining patients all reported regression of clinically significant PH. Late complications appeared in 2 patients. Liver retransplantation after TIPS creation was performed in 1 case. Median TIPS patency was 55 months. 2/6 patient continue to thrive with a patent shunt.

Conclusions

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in OLT recipients is technically feasible. Favorable clinical outcomes were reported particularly in patients treated for sinusoidal obstruction syndrome who were indicated to TIPS for refractory ascites.
Reflections From Implementing a Virtual Social Innovation Lab
Authors: Li Belinda , Soma Tammara , Springle Nadia , Shulman Tamara
Published: January 2023

Qualitative research methods had to quickly adapt to using online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic to limit in-person interactions. Online platforms have been used extensively for interviews and focus groups, but workshops with larger groups requiring more complex interactions have not been widely implemented. This paper presents a case study of a fully virtual social innovation lab on bioplastics packaging, which was adapted from a series of in-person workshops. A positive outcome of the online setting was diversifying the types of participants who could participate. Highly interactive activities such as icebreakers, networking, bricolage, and prototyping were particularly challenging to shift from in-person to online using traditional web conferencing platforms like Zoom. Creative use of online tools, such as Gather.Town and Kahoot!, helped unlock more innovative thinking by employing novel techniques such as gamification. However, challenges such as adapting facilitation for an online environment and exclusion of groups that do not have consistent access to internet and/or computers still need to be addressed. The reflections and lessons learned from this paper can help researchers adapt qualitative methods to virtual environments.
Design hygrothermally functional wooden insulation systems: A parametric study for mixed climate
Authors: Zhao Mosha , Künzel Hartwig M. , Mehra Schew-Ram
Published: January 2023

According to existing measurements and simulation results, the indoor thermal comfort in traditional wooden buildings (still remaining in a large amount) in the Chinese Hot-Summer-Cold-Winter zone is very poor in winter. However, few studies can be found regarding the energy retrofitting of their wooden enclosures, which is increasingly regarded as essential for improving indoor thermal comfort and maintaining built heritage. Therefore, this study demonstrates a method based on parametric study applying the widely validated WUFI®Plus software to help design hygrothermally functional insulation systems for this area. The parametric study was conducted on the example of traditional exterior wooden walls in Tongren in southern China. Five parameters were investigated, including internal and external insulation systems, vapor-open (mineral wool) and vapor-tight (XPS) insulation materials, a U-value of 0.8 W/(m2K) as well as a lower U-value of 0.24 W/(m2K) for the insulated walls, different capabilities and positions of an additional vapor control layer, as well as different cooling/dehumidification conditions in the warm period of a year. It has been found in this study that, if possible, a lower U-value than the current Chinese design standard for energy efficiency of buildings (0.8 W/(m2K) should be preferred for energy retrofitting. This can limit the yearly duration of a high internal surface relative humidity over 80% shorter than 30 days without any dehumidification devices. Besides, this study provides some feasible wall configurations with instructions on their limitations to guide future work regarding the design of insulated building components and the operation of renovated traditional wooden buildings.
The impact of cross-country skiers’ tucking position on ski-camber profile, apparent contact area and load partitioning
Authors: Kalliorinne Kalle , Hindér Gustav , Sandberg Joakim , Larsson Roland , Holmberg Hans-Christer , Almqvist Andreas
Published: January 2023

In cross-country skiing races, the difference between the fastest and the second fastest time can be minuscule. As in all endurance sports, cross-country skiing requires the use of energy to overcome resistive forces, in this case primarily aerodynamic drag and friction between the skis and snow. Even a slight reduction in either of these can determine the outcome of a race. The geometry of the ski exerts a profound influence on the friction between the skis and snow. As a result of the flexible modern cross-country skis, the camber profile and gliding properties to be influenced by the skiers’ position. Here, based on the location of the normal force corresponding to the plantar pressure, we characterize the ski camber while performing three variations of the downhill tucking position. We found that when gliding on a classic ski, the risk of contact between the kick wax and snow can be reduced by tucking in a leaning backwards position (i.e. by moving the skier’s center of mass backwards). With the tucking position, the percentage of the skier’s body weight that is distributed onto the friction interface at the rear of the skis varies between 63.5% in Gear 7 (leaning forward) on a skating ski and 93.0% in Gear 7 (leaning backwards) on a classic ski.
Fast treatment of anterior shoulder dislocations with two sedation-free methods: The Davos self-reduction method and Arlt method
Authors: Widmer Lukas Werner , Lerch Till Dominic , Genthner Anna , Pozzi Lara , Geiger James , Frei Hans-Curd
Published: January 2023

Background

Various reduction techniques exist to treat traumatic shoulder dislocation, but best management remains unclear.

Aims

To investigate the reduction rate of traumatic anteroinferior shoulder dislocations using two sedation-free techniques and success rates of subgroups.

Methods

A single-center study was performed analysing shoulder dislocations in a two-year period. Adult patients with anteroinferior shoulder dislocation were included. Two sedation-free reduction techniques were used: the Davos self-reduction technique and the Arlt-chair technique. Two attempts were performed before sedation. All patients gave informed consent to study participation.

Results

The investigated 106 patients (106 shoulder dislocations) had a mean age of 48 ± 18 years (74% male patients). The majority occurred during winter sports (76%). The overall success rate for both sedation-free reduction techniques was 82% (87 reduced shoulders, two attempts). A significantly increased success rate was found in patients without greater tuberosity fracture (86% without vs. 68% with fracture, p = 0.002) and for patients with repeated dislocation (93% vs. 80% for primary dislocation, p = 0.004). Time for reduction was 5 minutes (Davos technique) and 1 minute (Arlt-chair-technique). Associated injuries were mostly Hill Sachs lesions (78%). There was no major complication and no new-onset sensory deficit.

Conclusion

Davos and Arlt reduction techniques allowed sedation-free and fast treatment for anteroinferior shoulder dislocation during winter sports.
A balanced view of impossible aesthetics: An empirical investigation of how impossibility relates to our enjoyment of magic tricks
Authors: Bagienski Steven E , Kuhn Gustav
Published: January 2023

The performance art of magic allows us to experience the impossible, and this study used a balancing magic trick to investigate the relationship between participants’ enjoyment and perceived impossibility. Participants watched a live performance of a magic trick in which the magician balanced objects in progressively more impossible configurations. At seven different time points observers rated their enjoyment, and the extent to which they believed what they saw was impossible. Regression analysis revealed that participants’ enjoyment of the magical effect relates to their perceived impossibility of the magic trick, and this relationship was independent of how much they enjoyed magic in general. Moreover, a one-way within-subjects analysis of variance showed that participants enjoyed the performance More as the trick became more impossible. However, once the magical effect was anticipated, enjoyment began to plateau while perceived impossibility continued to increase. These results are discussed in the context of people's aesthetic appreciation of magic and current arts appreciation models.
Telemedicine as bridge to the offline world for person affected with problematic internet use or internet use disorder and concerned significant others
Authors: Bottel Laura , te Wildt Bert Theodor , Brand Matthias , Pape Magdalena , Herpertz Stephan , Dieris-Hirche Jan
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Internet use disorder is a disorder of the digital age and presents a growing problem worldwide . It appears that due to structural and personal barriers, many persons affected (PA) and Concerned Significant Others (CSO) do not reach the health care system so far and thus a chronification of the pathology can proceed.

Methods

A telemedicine counseling service for PA and CSO of PA unwilling to enter treatment with two webcam-based sessions of 60 minutes for each group was created with the aim of reaching out to PA and CSO to provide a low-threshold support and refer the participants to the local health care system. Motivational interviewing for PA and CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training) for CSO were used as methods. Participants answered questions about their Internet use and sociodemographic data and six months after participation, participants were asked via email if they entered the local health care system. CSO answered the questions for themselves and in a third-party rating for PA unwilling to enter treatment.

Results

107 PA (34 years ( SD = 13.64), 86% male) and 38 CSO (53 years ( SD = 6.11), 28.9% male) participated in the two telemedicine sessions. After participation, 43.9% of the PA and 42.1% of the CSO reached the health care system. When there was consistency between the location of telemedicine consultation and treatment locally, over 90% of participants arrived (PA: 92.3%, CSO: 100%).

Conclusion

The results from this study reveal that telemedicine services could be a promising approach to address PA and CSO and build a bridge to the local health care system. Future studies should verify if these results can be replicated in randomized controlled trials.
Impact of a digital health literacy intervention and risk predictors for multimorbidity among poor women of reproductive years: Results of a randomized-controlled trial
Authors: Jafree Sara Rizvi , Muzammil Anam , Burhan Syeda Khadija , Bukhari Nadia , Fischer Florian
Published: January 2023

Objective

The objective of this study was to deliver an intervention to improve health awareness for infection prevention, hygiene, and sanitation to assess its impact. Furthermore, it aimed to identify the risk of multimorbidity in women of reproductive years from low socio-economic background.

Methods

A randomized control trial was conducted in Pakistan among women aged 15–45 years. Overall, 820 women participated in the baseline survey; 388 women were part of the control group and 360 of the intervention group. A digital health literacy intervention was delivered by 91 trained community health workers. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression.

Results

About 35.9% of women suffered from multimorbidity. The intervention group showed higher odds of confidence in managing health with respect to skill and technique acquisition (AOR = 2.21; 95% CI 1.01–4.84), self-monitoring and insight (AOR = 2.97; 95% CI 1.29–6.80) as well as sanitation and hygiene (AOR = 1.42; 95% CI 1.07–1.93). Two primary outcomes related to hand hygiene and protective behavior against infection did not show any significant improvement. The secondary outcomes of the study related to impact on overall health-related quality of life, social integration and support, and emotional well-being also did not show any significant improvement.

Conclusions

Digital health literacy interventions and multimorbidity management for women of reproductive years at the primary level are a way forward to alleviate communicable and non-communicable disease burden in developing countries like Pakistan. These efforts are also critical to improve maternal and child health in developing regions.
Distance and Transportation Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Rural Community
Authors: Lee Katharine M. N. , Hunleth Jean , Rolf Liz , Maki Julia , Lewis-Thames Marquita , Oestmann Kevin , James Aimee S.
Published: January 2023

Rural residents in underserved areas face many barriers to health services, including colonoscopies for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, but rural healthcare providers may assist patients navigating these challenges due to familiarity with local contexts. In 2017 to 2018, we interviewed clinical practitioners and staff (n = 40) at 13 primary care and gastroenterology locations across rural Southern Illinois. We used a semi-structured interview guide that addressed system, provider, and patient levels including domains related to barriers, facilitators, and needs for intervention. This article focuses on 3 main elements related to distance and transportation that emerged from inductive coding. First, providers described long distance travel for care as normalized but not necessarily preferable. Second, they identified and described distance-related challenges specific to CRC screening, and third, providers discussed strategies, mostly related to transportation, they use to navigate those challenges. Finally, they suggested a variety of broader solutions to reduce distance and transportation barriers to screening. Overall, distance to care remains a challenge to increasing CRC screening and contributes to disparities in rural communities. To increase early detection and reduce rural cancer disparities, efforts to increase screening and follow-up must address ways to help patients and providers navigate this distance within their local communities and contexts.
Middle Aged Men in Lycra and the Performative Irony of Watching Tour de France
Authors: Wagner Ulrik , Frydendal Stine , Hybholt Maria
Published: January 2023

Middle Aged Man in Lycra (MAMIL) is a cultural phenomenon associated with a gendered and conspicuous practice that can be inclusive by attracting individuals not previously engaged in physical activities as well as exclusive due to its gender and socio-economic conformity. Inspired by the works of Linda Hutcheon and Judith Butler, we argue that the MAMIL is an ironic figure constituting a complex and multifaceted character deeply embedded in a particular cultural context. By analyzing a TV advertising spot for Tour de France 2021 which embraces the MAMIL, the purpose of this study is to illustrate how ironic communication is productive as it leads to multiple performativities of irony. We identify four performativities in the spot which are: Irony as a way to cope with an aging male body; Irony as a way to identify with competitive elite sportsmen; (Self-) irony as enabling an exclusive male community and masculinity through humor; and Irony as legitimizing mass media consumption of cycling. We argue that the irony reaches beyond a mere humorous stance and serves a legitimizing and preservative function of road cycling as a male-dominated terrain.
Incommensurability Between “Filial Daughter” and “All-Capable Princess”: Discursive Legitimation in Chinese Media Coverage of Quan Hongchan and Gu Eileen
Authors: Yang Xinying
Published: January 2023

This study investigated how Chinese media employed discursive legitimation strategies to incorporate the atypical identities of Quan Hongchan and Gu Eileen into the party-state’s cultural and emotional governance. A critical discourse analysis revealed that multifaceted tensions were (re)produced in media constructions of these two remarkable sporting heroines. By portraying Quan as an exemplar of “socialist filial daughter,” Chinese media hoped to mobilize underclass youth to make strong commitment to nation building. These discursive efforts nevertheless made Quan’s self-empowerment cruelly optimistic insofar as the intersection of her bodily vulnerability, excessive social expectations, and state patriarchal paternalism was concerned. In contrast, Chinese media portrayed Gu as a “neoliberal all-capable princess with Chinese characteristics” to alleviate social discontent regarding the upper class’s unlimited transnational mobility and capital accumulation. Anti-Occidentalist discourses were intertwined with Western-imported self-entrepreneurship in Gu’s case, reflecting the party-state’s anxiety and desire to nurture cosmopolitan subjects. The parallel inclusion of Quan’s and Gu’s ostensibly incommensurable upbringings into the “sporting superpower” narratives, in turn, demonstrated the significance of discursive legitimation for Chinese media to construct “ideologically correct” sporting hero(in)es in the global neoliberal era.
A hybrid modeling approach considering spatial heterogeneity and nonlinearity to discover the transition rules of urban cellular automata models
Authors: Zeng Haoran , Zhang Bin , Wang Haijun
Published: January 2023

Urban sprawl is a typical geographic dynamic process with spatial heterogeneity and nonlinearity. However, current studies usually focus on only one of them to extract urban sprawl mechanisms and build cellular automata (CA) models. In the current work, the urban CA transition rules are derived by a geographically weighted artificial neural network (GWANN), which can discover the driving mechanism of urban sprawl by considering both spatial heterogeneity and nonlinearity. Taking the urban sprawl of Wuhan and Beijing during 2000–2020 as examples, the advantages of GWANN in deriving transition rules are investigated by comparing it with logistic regression (LR), geographically weighted logistic regression (GWLR), and artificial neural network (ANN). Furthermore, the simulation performance of CA models based on LR, GWLR, ANN, and GWANN is compared and analyzed from the aspects of global and regional simulation accuracy and the morphology of simulated urban patches. The results show that GWANN has better fitting and simulation performance, indicating the validity and necessity of coupling spatial heterogeneity and nonlinearity to establish transition rules. This study is a novel exploration that contributes to deriving CA transition rules through a hybrid modeling approach that couples statistical models with learning models.
Midterm Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of the Calcaneal Z-Osteotomy for the Correction of Cavovarus Foot
Authors: Chen Jie , Ramanathan Deepak , Sharma Akhil , Adams Samuel B. , DeOrio James K.
Published: January 2023

Background:

The Malerba calcaneal Z-osteotomy is an operative procedure to treat the hindfoot varus component of adult cavovarus deformity. Basic science studies support the corrective ability of this osteotomy. However, there have been no published midterm clinical and radiographic results. The purpose of this article is to describe the radiographic and clinical improvement in a series of patients treated with this osteotomy.

Methods:

A retrospective chart review identified 14 feet in 12 patients from January 2013 to August 2018 who met minimal follow-up criteria. Preoperative visual analog scale (VAS) scores, Foot Function Index (FFI) scores, and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores were compared with postoperative scores. Preoperative Meary angle, calcaneal pitch, and hindfoot alignment were also compared with postoperative measurements. Complications and radiographic union were recorded.

Results:

At a mean of 80 months, VAS, FFI, and AOFAS scores improved from 7.86 to 1.64, 57.78% to 18.11%, and 39.57 to 80.71, respectively (all P < .001). At a mean of 15 months, Meary angle, calcaneal pitch, and hindfoot alignment improved from 11.14 to 6.64 degrees ( P < .001), 30.93 to 27.43 degrees ( P = .005), and 19.83 degrees varus to 8.50 degrees varus ( P < .001). There was 1 nonunion and 1 postoperative sural nerve neuralgia, but both patients ultimately did well clinically. There were no instances of postoperative tarsal tunnel syndrome. All patients stated that they would have the procedure done again.

Conclusion:

The calcaneal Z-osteotomy is an effective method to treat adult hindfoot cavovarus deformity. All patients had good clinical outcomes with minimal complications.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, case series.
Industry 4.0 and the Changing Employment Relations: A Case of the Indian Information Technology Industry
Authors: Pillai Rohini , Paul Bino
Published: January 2023

This article aims to explore the dynamics of employment relations (ER) in the Indian information technology (IT) industry in the context of an ongoing technological revolution. The study utilises the grounded theory approach to draw insights from 32 professionals including project/product managers, senior management representatives and employees from junior to mid-career level currently working in the IT industry. Findings indicate that the following four forces drive the ER in the Indian IT industry: (1) labour laws, (2) compensation and HR, (3) unions and organisations, and (4) health and workplace security. Labour laws need to be updated to suit the requirements of knowledge-based professions. Compensation and HR management styles vary widely due to the disparity and heterogeneity of work. There is scope for a non-politicised union in the industry. The health and security of IT professionals need attention. Findings suggest the changing concepts of workspaces in IT, dilution of HR in IT due to increased outsourcing and the rise of independent workers in future. This article makes theoretical and conceptual contributions to the ER literature. It captures the driving forces of ER in the Indian IT industry. The article also contributes to decent work, convergence–divergence paradigm and outsourcing in Human Resource Management.
Employee Relations: Shifting Sands!
Authors: Ram Radha Ganesh
Published: January 2023

Employee relations (ER) is under the spotlight again! One of the dynamic concepts in the management literature, its definition has followed organisations’ evolution, nature of work, the role of employees and their relationship with their companies. The uncertain business landscape has created myriad factors like talent shortage, technological advancements, demand for new skills and multigenerational workforce, as a result, organisations are witnessing a tectonic shift in their employment model, thus, persuading them to revisit their employee value proposition and philosophy in managing ER. Using a case study as a reference point, the article highlights that ER is assuming a new mould and big shift—from a transactional approach to job and job roles to a rounded view on employee’s overall development and growth in the organisation, which includes consideration, importance of relationship and humaneness.
Towards a Model of Contractualisation of Labour in India: Testing the Effect of Unionisation of Regular Workers and the Wage Gap
Authors: Sarkar Santanu
Published: January 2023

When manufacturing firms employed labour on a low-wage contract in big numbers during the post-reform in India, the demand for cheap contract labourers increased and contract labourers were prepared to work for lower wages as they were not unionised and could not bargain for higher wages. So, have regular workers tried to organise their contractual counterparts so that latter could negotiate higher wages? By helping contract labourers, have regular workers lost the premium wages that they were able to negotiate? In this article, I used wages of regular workers and contract labourers and the wage gap between the two groups to come up with a framework for understanding why contract labourers continued to help firms in India’s manufacturing sector as well by not moving the elasticity of labour demand and demand of substitution of labour upward concerning all other inputs to the production during the post-liberalisation era. I posit four different scenarios to speculate how improved labour flexibility made one of the two sections of workers prosper at the cost of the other section’s hardships.
Employee Relations in India: Current Context and Emerging Paradigm
Authors: Mehrotra Rajen
Published: January 2023

Employee relations (ER) in India are impacted by seven relevant labour laws. These seven along with twenty-two other labour laws have been subsumed into four Labour Codes passed by the Parliament in 2019 and 2020. Once the Labour Codes are made operational, they will certainly impact ER in the country. Employee relations are enterprise specific; however, seven issues likely to emerge because of the changes are highlighted. The Labour Codes offer benefits, as well as deprive certain advantages to both the employers and the trade unions. Managements and trade unions must learn to develop amicable solutions to their ER problems through social dialogue.
“We Operate as an Organ”: Parent Experiences of Having a Child With Type 1 Diabetes in a Rural Area
Authors: Lewis Laura Foran , Brower Paige MacDonald , Narkewicz Sarah
Published: January 2023

Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of parents of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) who are living in rural areas. Individuals living in rural areas face barriers to accessing health care that lead to significant health disparities with increased morbidity and mortality. There is a need to understand the unique experiences of those living in rural communities to support their health needs.

Methods:

In this qualitative study, a convenience sample of 11 parents of children who were diagnosed with T1DM in the last 10 years living in Vermont were recruited through connections with local health professionals and family support networks and interviewed about their experiences. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s 6-step approach to reflexive thematic analysis.

Results:

Five themes were identified to capture the experience of parenting a child with T1DM in a rural community, including enduring emotional traumas, living life on call, adapting to everyday challenges, lacking a safety net for support, and finding a rhythm.

Conclusions:

Although findings echo many themes found in previous studies on experiences of parents of children with T1DM, participants also identified unique barriers such as physical distance from formal and informal support systems, unreliable and/or insufficient technological resources, and lack of understanding of T1DM by their communities, including among child care and schools. Diabetes care and education specialists working with families living in rural areas must explore ways to educate key supports to these families to minimize isolation, stigma, and burnout among parents.
Proteome alterations in erythrocytes with PIEZO1 gain-of-function mutations
Authors: Andolfo Immacolata , Monaco Vittoria , Cozzolino Flora , Rosato Barbara Eleni , Marra Roberta , Cerbone Vincenza , Pinto Valeria Maria , Forni Gian Luca , Unal Sule , Iolascon Achille , Monti Maria , Russo Roberta
Published: January 2023

Gain-of-function mutations in PIEZO1 cause dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis (DHS) or hereditary xerocytosis, an autosomal dominant hemolytic anemia characterized by high reticulocyte count, a tendency to macrocytosis, and mild jaundice, as well as by other variably penetrant clinical features, such as perinatal edema, severe thromboembolic complications after splenectomy, and hepatic iron overload. PIEZO1 mutations in DHS lead to slowed inactivation kinetics of the ion channel and/or facilitation of channel opening in response to physiological stimuli.

To characterize the alterations of red blood cell proteome in patients with mutated PIEZO1, we used a differential approach to compare the proteome of patients with DHS (16 patients from 13 unrelated ancestries) vs healthy individuals. We identified new components in the regulation of the complex landscape of erythrocytes ion and volume balance mediated by PIEZO1. Specifically, the main impaired processes in patients with DHS were ion homeostasis, transmembrane transport, regulation of vesicle-mediated transport, and the proteasomal catabolic process. Functional assays demonstrated coexpression of PIEZO1 and band 3 when PIEZO1 was activated. Moreover, the alteration of the vesicle-mediated transport was functionally demonstrated by an increased vesiculation rate in patients with DHS compared with healthy controls. This finding also provides an explanation of the pathogenetic mechanism underlying the increased thrombotic rate observed in these patients.

Finally, the newly identified proteins, involved in the intracellular signaling pathways altered by PIEZO1 mutations, could be used in the future as potential druggable targets in DHS.
Sphenopalatine ganglion volumetry in episodic cluster headache: from symptom laterality to cranial autonomic symptoms
Authors: Wu Jr-Wei , Chen Shu-Ting , Wang Yen-Feng , Lai Kuan-Lin , Chen Ting-Yi , Chen Shih-Pin , Chen Wei-Ta , Wang Shuu-Jiun
Published: January 2023

Background

Sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is a peripheral structure that plays an important role in cluster headache (CH). Hence, a reliable method to measure the volume of SPG is crucial for studying the peripheral mechanism of CH. Additionally, the association between the clinical profiles and the morphology of the SPG in CH remains undetermined. This study aims to use the manual measurement of SPG volume to investigate its associations with CH, including headache laterality, cranial autonomic symptoms (CASs), presence of restlessness or agitation, and other clinical profiles.

Methods

We prospectively recruited consecutive CH patients at a tertiary medical center between April 2020 and April 2022. A total of eighty side-locked, in-bout, episodic CH patients and 40 non-headache healthy controls received 1.5 T brain MRI focusing on structural neuroimaging of the SPG. The manual measurement process for SPG was under axial and sagittal FIESTA imaging, with reference T2 weight images (sagittal and axial) for localization. The inter-observer agreement of the SPG volume (both sides of the SPG from CH patients and controls) between the two observers was calculated. In CH patients, clinical profiles and the number of CASs (range 0–5) were recorded to analyze their association with SPG volume.

Results

The inter-observer agreement between the two raters was excellent for the new SPG volumetry method at 0.88 (95% CI: 0.84–0.90, p < 0.001). The mean [SD] SPG volume was larger in CH patients than in non-headache controls (35.89 [12.94] vs. 26.13 [8.62] μL, p < 0.001). In CH patients, the SPG volume was larger on the pain side than on the non-pain side (38.87 [14.71] vs. 32.91 [12.70] μL, p < 0.001). The number of CASs was positively moderately correlated with the pain-side SPG volume (Pearson r = 0.320, p = 0.004) but not the non-pain side SPG volume (Pearson r = 0.207, p = 0.066).

Conclusions

This proof-of-concept study successfully measured the SPG volume and demonstrated its associations with symptomatology in patients with episodic CH. The direct measurement of SPG provide insights into studies on peripheral mechanism of CH.
Comprehensive analysis of cuproptosis-related lncRNAs in immune infiltration and prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Liu Chunhua , Wu Simin , Lai Liying , Liu Jinyu , Guo Zhaofu , Ye Zegen , Chen Xiang
Published: January 2023

Background

Being among the most common malignancies worldwide, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounting for the third cause of cancer mortality. The regulation of cell death is the most crucial step in tumor progression and has become a crucial target for nearly all therapeutic options. Cuproptosis, a copper-induced cell death, was recently reported in Science. However, its primary function in carcinogenesis is still unclear.

Methods

Cuproptosis-related lncRNAs significantly associated with overall survival (OS) were screened by stepwise univariate Cox regression. The signature of cuproptosis-related lncRNAs for HCC prognosis was constructed by the LASSO algorithm and multivariate Cox regression. Further Kaplan–Meier analysis, proportional hazards model, and ROC analysis were performed. Functional annotation was performed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The relationship between prognostic cuproptosis-related lncRNAs and HCC prognosis was further explored by GEPIA(http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/) online analysis tool. Finally, we used the ESTIMATE and XCELL algorithms to estimate stromal and immune cells in tumor tissue and cast each sample to infer the underlying mechanism of cuproptosis-related lncRNAs in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of HCC patients.

Results

Four cuproptosis-related lncRNAs were used to construct a prognostic lncRNA signature, which was an independent factor in predicting OS in HCC patients. Kaplan–Meier curves showed significant differences in survival rates between risk subgroups (p = 0.002). At the same time, we found that the expression levels of most immune checkpoint genes increased with increasing risk scores. Tumorigenesis and immunological-related pathways were primarily enhanced in the high-risk group, as determined by GSEA. The results of drug sensitivity analysis showed that compared with patients in the high-risk group, the IC50 values of erlotinib and lapatinib were lower in patients in the low-risk group, while the opposite was true for sunitinib, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, and imatinib. We also found that elevated AL133243.2 expression was significantly associated with worse OS and disease-free survival (DFS), more advanced T stage and higher tumor grade, and reduced immune cell infiltration, suggesting that HCC patients with low AL133243.2 expression in tumor tissues may have a better response to immunotherapy.

Conclusion

Collectively, the cuproptosis-associated lncRNA signature can serve as an independent predictor to guide individual treatment strategies. Furthermore, AL133243.2 is a promising marker for predicting immunotherapy response in HCC patients. This data may facilitate further exploration of more effective immunotherapy strategies for HCC.