bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural and functional conservation of the programmed −1 ribosomal frameshift signal of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Kelly Jamie A. , Olson Alexandra N. , Neupane Krishna , Munshi Sneha , Emeterio Josue San , Pollack Lois , Woodside Michael T. , Dinman Jonathan D.
Published: March 2020

17 years after the SARS-CoV epidemic, the world is facing the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. Given the most optimistic projections estimating that it will take over a year to develop a vaccine, the best short-term strategy may lie in identifying virus-specific targets for small molecule interventions. All coronaviruses utilize a molecular mechanism called −1 PRF to control the relative expression of their proteins. Prior analyses of SARS-CoV revealed that it employs a structurally unique three-stemmed mRNA pseudoknot to stimulate high rates of −1 PRF, and that it also harbors a −1 PRF attenuation element. Altering −1 PRF activity negatively impacts virus replication, suggesting that this molecular mechanism may be therapeutically targeted. Here we present a comparative analysis of the original SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 frameshift signals. Structural and functional analyses revealed that both elements promote similar rates of −1 PRF and that silent coding mutations in the slippery sites and in all three stems of the pseudoknot strongly ablated −1 PRF activity. The upstream attenuator hairpin activity has also been functionally retained. Small-angle x-ray scattering indicated that the pseudoknots in SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 had the same conformation. Finally, a small molecule previously shown to bind the SARS-CoV pseudoknot and inhibit −1 PRF was similarly effective against −1 PRF in SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that such frameshift inhibitors may provide promising lead compounds to counter the current pandemic.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of predictive symptoms and comorbidities for severe COVID-19 infection
Authors: Jain V , Yuan J-M
Published: March 2020

Background/introduction

COVID-19, a novel coronavirus outbreak starting in China, is now a rapidly developing public health emergency of international concern. The clinical spectrum of COVID-19 disease is varied, and identifying factors associated with severe disease has been described as an urgent research priority. It has been noted that elderly patients with pre-existing comorbidities are more vulnerable to more severe disease. However, the specific symptoms and comorbidities that most strongly predict disease severity are unclear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify the symptoms and comorbidities predictive of COVID-19 severity.

Method

This study was prospectively registered on PROSPERO. A literature search was performed in three databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and Global Health) for studies indexed up to 5thMarch 2020. Two reviewers independently screened the literature and both also completed data extraction. Quality appraisal of studies was performed using the STROBE checklist. Random effects meta-analysis was performed for selected symptoms and comorbidities to identify those most associated with severe COVID-19 infection or ICU admission.

Results

Of the 2259 studies identified, 42 were selected after title and abstract analysis, and 7 studies (including 1813 COVID-19 patients) were chosen for inclusion. The ICU group were older (62.4 years) compared to the non-ICU group (46 years), with a significantly higher proportion of males (67.2% vs. 57.1%, p=0.04). Dyspnoea was the only significant symptom predictive for both severe disease (pOR 3.70, 95% CI 1.83 – 7.46) and ICU admission (pOR 6.55, 95% CI 4.28– 10.0). Notwithstanding the low prevalence of COPD in severe disease and ICU-admitted groups (4.5% and 9.7%, respectively), COPD was the most strongly predictive comorbidity for both severe disease (pOR 6.42, 95% CI 2.44 – 16.9) and ICU admission (pOR 17.8, 95% CI 6.56 – 48.2). Cardiovascular disease and hypertension were also strongly predictive for both severe disease and ICU admission. Those with CVD and hypertension were 4.4 (95% CI 2.64 – 7.47) and 3.7 (95% CI 2.22 – 5.99) times more likely to have an ICU admission respectively, compared to patients without the comorbidity.

Conclusions

Dyspnoea was the only symptom strongly predictive for both severe disease and ICU admission, and could be useful in guiding clinical management decisions early in the course of illness. When looking at ICU-admitted patients, who represent the more severe end of the spectrum of clinical severity, COPD patients are particularly vulnerable, and those with cardiovascular disease and hypertension are also at a high-risk of severe illness. To aid clinical assessment, risk stratification, efficient resource allocation, and targeted public health interventions, future research must aim to further define those at high-risk of severe illness with COVID-19.
Impact of a reminder/extinction procedure on threat-conditioned pupil size and skin conductance responses
Authors: Zimmermann Josua , Bach Dominik R.
Published: March 2020

A reminder can render consolidated memory labile and susceptible to amnesic agents during a reconsolidation window. For the case of threat memory (also termed fear memory), it has been suggested that extinction training during this reconsolidation window has the same disruptive impact. This procedure could provide a powerful therapeutic principle for treatment of unwanted aversive memories. However, human research yielded contradictory results. Notably, all published positive replications quantified threat memory by conditioned skin conductance responses (SCR). Yet, other studies measuring SCR and/or fear-potentiated startle failed to observe an effect of a reminder/extinction procedure on the return of fear. Here we sought to shed light on this discrepancy by using a different autonomic response, namely, conditioned pupil dilation, in addition to SCR, in a replication of the original human study. N = 71 humans underwent a 3-d threat conditioning, reminder/extinction, and reinstatement, procedure with 2 CS+, of which one was reminded. Participants successfully learned the threat association on day 1, extinguished conditioned responding on day 2, and showed reinstatement on day 3. However, there was no difference in conditioned responding between the reminded and the nonreminded CS, neither in pupil size nor SCR. Thus, we found no evidence that a reminder trial before extinction prevents the return of threat-conditioned responding.
Postsynaptic effects of Aplysia cysteine-rich neurotrophic factor in the induction of activity-dependent long-term facilitation in Aplysia californica
Authors: Alexandrescu Anamaria , Carew Thomas J.
Published: March 2020

The spatial and temporal coordination of growth factor signaling is critical for both presynaptic and postsynaptic plasticity underlying long-term memory formation. We investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of Aplysia cysteine-rich neurotrophic factor (ApCRNF) signaling during the induction of activity-dependent long-term facilitation (AD-LTF) at sensory-to-motor neuron synapses that mediate defensive reflexes in Aplysia. We found that ApCRNF signaling is required for the induction of AD-LTF, and for training-induced early protein kinase activation and late forms of gene expression, exclusively in postsynaptic neurons. These results support the view that ApCRNF is critically involved in AD-LTF at least in part through postsynaptic mechanisms.
Structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Amadou Akilou , Aronda Tchamsé
Published: March 2020

Purpose

Recent works on the structural transformation of developing countries usually include only a few countries because of the availability of data. Beyond the resulting lack of representativeness, these works also hit a strong disparity between the labour reallocation patterns of sub-regions. This paper devoted to sub-Saharan Africa, evaluates the performance of sub-Saharan Africa, as a whole, in structural transformation using a more exhaustive database and highlights key disparities that exist between the performances of sub-Saharan African sub-regions.

Design/methodology/approach

With a database covering 43 sub-Saharan African countries classified into 4 sub-regions, the paper uses the shift-share method over the period 1991–2012 with sub-periods of 1991–2000 and 2000–2012.

Findings

Results show that labour reallocation in sub-Saharan Africa occurred, though weakly, towards more productive activities over the period 1991–2012. Results also show a significant disparity between sub-regions' labour reallocation pattern. While East Africa has experienced a labour reallocation towards more productive activities, West Africa has seen a labour reallocation towards activities experiencing an increase in productivity. Central Africa and Southern Africa experienced a labour reallocation towards less productive activities, and these activities know, moreover, a decrease of productivity.

Practical implications

Findings suggest that any political strategy purposing to coordinate structural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa will result in a failure if countries' peculiarities are not taken into account.

Originality/value

This paper offers a representative picture of sub-Saharan Africa's structural transformation and illustrates disparities between its sub-regions' performances.
The public value of child-friendly space
Authors: Pitsikali Alkistis , Parnell Rosie , McIntyre Lesley
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The playground is a commonly advised means to integrate children into the public realm of “child-friendly cities”, yet research has tended not to examine it in relation to adjacent public space. This paper aims to understand the extent to which the playground – a socio-spatial phenomenon – facilitates children's integration into the public realm, enabling critical examination of the “child-friendly space” concept.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnographic study was carried out across three sites in Athens, Greece, where typical neighbourhood playgrounds replicate features common across the global north. Methods combined observation (167 h; morning, afternoon, evening), visual-mapping and 61 semi-structured interviews with 112 playground users (including adults and children from the playgrounds and surroundings). Rigorous qualitative thematic analysis, involving an iterative post-coding process, allowed identification of spatial patterns and emergent themes.

Findings

Findings reveal perceptions surrounding the protective and age-specific aspects of child-friendly design, limit the playgrounds' public value. However, a paradox emerges whereby the playgrounds' adjacency to public spaces designed without child-friendly principles affords children's engagement with the public realm.

Research limitations/implications

Reconceptualisation of the “child-friendly playground” is proposed, embracing interdependence with the public realm – highly significant for child-friendly urban design theory and practice globally. Researchers are encouraged to compare findings in other geographical contexts.

Originality/value

This original finding is enabled by the novel approach to studying the playground in relation to adjacent public realm. The study also offers the first empirical examination of child-friendly city principles – participation in social life and urban play – in a Greek context, addressing a geographical gap in literature on children's everyday spaces.
Innovation and entrepreneurship as drivers of economic development
Authors: Medeiros Vitor , Marques Carla , Galvão Anderson Rei , Braga Vitor
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The aim of this study is to explore which factors of entrepreneurship and innovation influence economic development under the quadruple helix model, contrasting Southern and Northern Europe.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, secondary data are collected from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor databases, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and Global Competitiveness Index, for four countries in the North and four Southern European countries, for the period from 2007 to 2015. Data was analyzed with SPSS 22.0 software and subjected to several multivariate statistical tests.

Findings

The results show a statistically significant difference in the variables of the four quadruple helix model dimensions. This means that Northern European countries (Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) display better results on innovation and entrepreneurship than Southern European countries (Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal). The results also showed that per capita gross domestic expenditure on R&D is positively related to government and university dimensions, with significant differences between Southern and Northern European countries.

Originality/value

It is hoped that this study will contribute to new evidence on the factors of innovation and entrepreneurship that are decisive for economic development. To the traditional quadruple helix model, control variables were added to meet the endogenous characteristics of the countries.
Does facility management affect perception of building quality?
Authors: Zalejska-Jonsson Agnieszka
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the strategy, selection and perception of facility management (FM) services and the effect it may have on perceived building quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected through a survey distributed to board members of cooperatives for newly constructed buildings in Sweden. Responses from 394 cooperative boards were included in the data set and analysed. The difference in cooperative choice of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services was examined with non-parametrical Kruskal–Wallis tests and the effect of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services on perceived building quality was examined with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

Findings

The results suggest information asymmetry and indicate urgent need for an objective accreditation system for FM services, which will inform and assist housing owners in the FM selection process. The study validates the hypothesis that facilities management strategies applied by housing cooperatives have a significant effect on perception of building quality.

Practical implications

The findings will assist developers, facility and property managers to understand the needs and services valued by the housing cooperative. The findings highlight the information asymmetry, restricted techniques and weak signalling methods among FM services, and advocates promoting an objective accreditation system for FM services.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the discussion on the concept of building quality and the results presented provide a better understanding of facilities management strategy on perception of building quality.
Lean facilities management: preliminary findings from Singapore’s international schools
Authors: Gao Shang , Sui Pheng Low , Tay Wanying
Published: March 2020

Purpose

Lean has been adopted in various industries (i.e. construction, health care and service) over the years; the level of lean adoption in facility management is relatively unknown. The purpose of this study is to analyze the 14 lean management principles (LMPs) and seek to develop an understanding as to whether LMPs, which are most commonly used by the manufacturing companies, are relevant to the facility personnel’s scope of work. The research scope focuses on international schools located in Singapore.

Design/methodology/approach

For the purpose of this study, a conceptual framework that focuses on connecting the 14 lean production principles to facility management has been developed. Questionnaire survey and interviews were used. A total of 30 facilities professionals from eight international schools participated in the survey. Six interviews were followed up to gain deeper insights into the extent of lean importance and implementation in the work of facility personnel in a school environment.

Findings

The survey findings revealed that P8 “use of reliable technology”, P9 and P10 relating to leadership and people development, P12 “go and see for yourself” and P14 “continuous improvement” are generally perceived more important than the other LMPs and are also well implemented. On the contrary, P3 “use the ‘pull’ system” is considered the least important principle. The interview findings also offer insights into modifications of some LMPs for the facilities management (FM) sector.

Research limitations/implications

There are several limitations affecting this study. First, the research sample size was small. Only 30 respondents participated in this study. Second, as this study is one of the first to explore the applicability of lean in FM, there is no consensus on how to define lean, which means that the LMPs could be interpreted in many ways.

Originality/value

The adoption of lean in FM can potentially optimize the value of the school organization. It is recommended that more research be conducted, resulting in a more holistic and representative study of the applicability of lean FM.
Evaluation of the adaptive reuse potential of historic buildings and proposition of preventive-protective measures
Authors: Sharifi Ali Asghar , Farahinia Amir Hossein
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This study aims to render a pattern for heritage restoration in the context of reusing historic buildings, to assist the authorities with decision-making process on the most appropriate time during the building’s life cycle. Here, the adaptive reuse potential (ARP) model is used to find the most appropriate time for adaptive reuse and calculating the useful life as well as the potentiality of the Amir Nezam House so a viable solution can be put forward.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, a quantitative and qualitative method is adopted to evaluate the useful life and potentiality of the Amir Nezam House of Tabriz to determine the most appropriate time for next intervention.

Findings

Results show that the potential (ARP score) of the Amir Nezam House is increasing, the value of which will be greater than 50 percent by the next few years. Evaluations show that the most appropriate time for further intervention is the year 2035.

Originality/value

The significance of this research lies within the objective of proposing a preventive and protective schedule for historic buildings before they reach their life expectancy with an emphasis on environmental, economic, social and functional sustainability as well as environmental impacts. ARP model has been applied to implement this concept in the Amir Nezam House, Tabriz, Iran.
Fabric defect detection method based on cascaded low-rank decomposition
Authors: Li Chunlei , Liu Chaodie , Liu Zhoufeng , Yang Ruimin , Huang Yun
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the design of automated fabric defect detection based on cascaded low-rank decomposition and to maintain high quality control in textile manufacturing.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposed a fabric defect detection algorithm based on cascaded low-rank decomposition. First, the constructed Gabor feature matrix is divided into a low-rank matrix and sparse matrix using low-rank decomposition technique, and the sparse matrix is used as priori matrix where higher values indicate a higher probability of abnormality. Second, we conducted the second low-rank decomposition for the constructed texton feature matrix under the guidance of the priori matrix. Finally, an improved adaptive threshold segmentation algorithm was adopted to segment the saliency map generated by the final sparse matrix to locate the defect regions.

Findings

The proposed method was evaluated on the public fabric image databases. By comparing with the ground-truth, the average detection rate of 98.26% was obtained and is superior to the state-of-the-art.

Originality/value

The cascaded low-rank decomposition was first proposed and applied into the fabric defect detection. The quantitative value shows the effectiveness of the detection method. Hence, the proposed method can be used for accurate defect detection and automated analysis system.
Interactive Network Branding: demonstrating the importance of firm representatives for small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets
Authors: Koporcic Nikolina
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore Interactive Network Branding (INB) in an emerging market (EM) context while focusing on the importance of firm representatives for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The INB corresponds to the process of interpersonal interaction which results in corporate identity and reputation creation that SMEs ultimately use to influence their network positions.

Design/methodology/approach

This single case study presents four Croatian SMEs embedded in a business network. A research model of INB serves as an analytical tool for analyzing the phenomenon in its context. The key unit of analysis is an SME represented by its manager(s).

Findings

Contrary to large multinational firms that have financial capabilities for branding departments and recruitment of brand managers, SMEs in EMs tend to focus more on creating long-term relationships with their fundamental business partners. Through INB and interactions between firm representatives, corporate branding becomes an inherent part of networking. Thus, the study acknowledges the importance of INB, being implemented through firm representatives, as it plays a crucial role in the survival and success of SMEs in the EM context.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the chosen research approach and the focus on the Croatian EM, the findings might lack generalizability. Hence, further research is necessary to examine the applicability of INB in different empirical contexts.

Practical implications

This paper provides implications for practitioners coping with networking and branding processes of SMEs that are operating in fast-changing EMs.

Originality/value

This study provides a deeper understanding of INB while focusing on the importance of firm representatives and their interactions that have an influence on the networking and branding processes of all the parties involved.
“Don't ever change”? Cultural heritage and social development in “timeless” Luang Prabang
Authors: Wilcox Phill
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This paper considers discourses of preservation in a UNESCO World Heritage Site in a context of a country that pursues an ambitious agenda of development. It argues for a lived contradiction between Luang Prabang, marketed as a timeless, beautiful city of heritage and the rest of Laos, a desperately poor country in dire need of urgent development. It argues that this paradox is enacted by locals and visitors in Luang Prabang.

Design/methodology/approach

Researched through fifteen months ethnography in and around the heritage zone of central Luang Prabang, data collection included participant observation and around a dozen interviews with local residents (both domestic and international).

Findings

This research demonstrates that because the heritage centre of Luang Prabang cannot develop in the same way as the rest of Laos in view of the focus on preservation, its heritage zone will further become an island of idealised past as the country develops fast around it.

Research limitations/implications

This raises important questions about agendas of preservation and development, how these intersect and conflict. This is particularly relevant in countries that are subject to fast track development, including from China.

Originality/value

The paper is an updated attempt to consider heritage in Luang Prabang, particularly in an emergent context.
The effects of media reputation on third-party funding of Swiss universities
Authors: Vogler Daniel
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This study analyzed the effects of the visibility and evaluation of universities in news media coverage on the development of their private and public third-party funds.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the concept ofmedia reputationto investigate the effects of news media coverage on the outcome of funding decisions by firm managers and scientific experts. Extensive news media data from 2011 to 2017, collected with manual content analysis, were combined with economic data on Swiss universities.

Findings

The results show that a more positive evaluation in the news media leads to the positive development of private, but not public, third-party funding. Surprisingly, visibility in the news media has a negative effect on private third-party funding.

Research limitations/implications

The effects of media reputation are dependent on the stakeholders under review. However, this study's design does not yield evidence on direct causal effects. Further studies could, therefore, use surveys to analyze the decision-making processes of individuals regarding their relative dependency on news media consumption.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates that positive evaluation in the news media represents an asset for universities when striving for more private third-party funding. Public relations (PR) activities aimed at the news media, therefore, can help universities attract additional funding.

Social implications

The paper shows that in a digitized media environment, the news media still represent an important source for information about scientific organizations.

Originality/value

The study was the first to analyze the effects of media reputation on the third-party funding of universities.
Fully online principal preparation: prevalence, institutional characteristics, geography
Authors: Perrone Frank , Rice Mary F. , Anderson Erin A. , Budhwani Sajjid
Published: March 2020

Purpose

Principal preparation program pedagogy and course delivery are critical to principal candidates' preparedness to lead. Research around online program delivery, however, is relatively sparse. This study examined the extent to which university-based educational leadership programs offered fully online (FOL) pathways to the principalship, as well as program geographic locations and institutional characteristics most associated with FOL offerings.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through website reviews and coding checks, and then merged with national postsecondary data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, classification tree analysis, and geographic information system (GIS) mapping.

Findings

Roughly 43 percent of all reviewed programs offered an FOL pathway to licensure, which suggests substantial growth in FOL offerings over the last 10 years. While a number of factors were deemed important, geographic characteristics were most associated with FOL status. GIS mapping further illustrated findings with a visual landscape of program FOL offerings.

Research limitations/implications

This study considered only programs for which degrees or certificates could be earned without ever visiting campus in-person for classes. Hybrid programs were excluded from the analysis.

Practical implications

Findings make a clear call for more research into online principal preparation program design and course delivery.

Originality/value

This study provides the first overview of fully online university-based principal preparation programs in the United States while also offering a previously unavailable landscape of all programs specifically leading to licensure. It is also the only higher education study to map or investigate factors associated with FOL offerings and raises questions about prior FOL higher education research.
Halal certification process for fisheries products in Maldives
Authors: Muneeza Aishath , Mustapha Zakariya
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine existing Halal certification regime in Maldives and address impediments therein that challenge and inhibit the growth of the country’s Halal industry in relation to fisheries products.

Design/methodology/approach

This is qualitative research based on first-hand experiences of the authors in the Halal certification process in the Maldives. Doctrinal methodology is used in the analysis of primary sources of data, including Maldivian laws and Halal certification regulations to identify issues of practical relevance. This is complemented with content analysis of secondary data sourced from journal articles, books, reports and online databases that were examined in identifying hindrances and loopholes in the Halal certification process.

Findings

Fish is generally Halal, but processed fisheries products cannot be so deemed when certain additives and enhancers are constituents therein. At the moment, Maldives Halal certification pertains only to fisheries products. Against this backdrop, this research identifies knowledge gap, legal and governance constraints pertaining to capacity as impediments towards the Halal certification of such products in the Maldives. Such concerns hinder the Maldives from tapping the socio-economic benefits of the Halal certification of its fisheries products to the desired level in the development of its Halal industry.

Research limitations/implications

This is pioneer research with reference to the Maldives. Absence of researches on the subject brings about scantily available secondary data in the area. Moreover, no empirical data were involved in conducting the research.

Practical implications

As the only products subject of Halal certification process, this research offers an insight into the regulations underpinning Halal certification of fisheries products and related impediments thereto in developing the Maldivian Halal industry generally. Identifying and understanding the impediments to Halal certification process would facilitate their elimination and promote Halal certified fisheries products.

Originality/value

This research highlights and evaluates the Halal certification regime in the Maldives and provides a starting point for further research thereon. The research contributes towards making robust and standard Halal certification criterion and paves the way forward for developing the Halal industry in the Maldives.
Linking supervisor support to innovation implementation behavior via commitment
Authors: Yang Weiguo , Hao Qi , Song Hongfeng
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived supervisor support (PSS) affects employees' innovation implementation behavior (IIB), the psychological mechanisms of this relationship, and the role of perceived coworker support (PCS).

Design/methodology/approach

Using a three-phase survey, data were collected from 307 employees of a state-owned coal company located in the central region of China. The study tests the hypotheses by using hierarchical regression analyses. The mediating effects and the moderated mediating effects are further examined by using bias-corrected bootstrapping methods.

Findings

Affective commitment (AC) fully mediates the positive relationship between PSS and IIB, and this mediating effect can be moderated by PCS.

Practical implications

Companies should foster supportive supervisors and colleagues by investing in appropriate training programs. In addition, managers should emphasize the psychological changes of employees and provide more supportive feelings for them.

Originality/value

The study explicitly tests the entire causal chain implied by organizational support theory in predicting IIB. It specifies the different role of two similar support constructs (i.e. supervisor support and coworker support) in affecting employees' attitudes and behaviors.
Prospects of ocean-based renewable energy for West Africa’s sustainable energy future
Authors: Adesanya Ayokunle , Misra Sanjay , Maskeliunas Rytis , Damasevicius Robertas
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The limited supply of fossil fuels, constant rise in the demand of energy and the importance of reducing greenhouse emissions have brought the adoption of renewable energy sources for generation of electrical power. One of these sources that has the potential to supply the world’s energy needs is the ocean. Currently, ocean in West African region is mostly utilized for the extraction of oil and gas from the continental shelf. However, this resource is depleting, and the adaptation of ocean energy could be of major importance. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the possibilities of ocean-based renewable energy (OBRE) and analyze the economic impact of adapting an ocean energy using a thermal gradient (OTEC) approach for energy generation.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is conducted from the perspective of cost, energy security and environmental protection.

Findings

This study shows that adapting ocean energy in the West Africa region can significantly produce the energy needed to match the rising energy demands for sustainable development of Nigeria. Although the transition toward using OBRE will incur high capital cost at the initial stage, eventually, it will lead to a cost-effective generation, transmission, environmental improvement and stable energy supply to match demand when compared with the conventional mode of generation in West Africa.

Practical implications

This study will be helpful in determining the feasibility, performance, issues and environmental effects related to the generation and transmission of OBRE in the West Africa region.

Originality/value

The study will contribute toward analysis of the opportunities for adopting renewable energy sources and increasing energy sustainability for the West Africa coast regions.
Case of cutaneous botryomycosis in an 8‐year‐old immunocompetent boy with a review of the published work
Authors: Shimagaki Haruna , Yuki Akihiko , Kimura Kiyoto , Yuki Daisuke , Fujikawa Hiroki , Shimizu Naoya , Abe Riichiro
Published: March 2020

Botryomycosis is a rare chronic suppurative granulomatous infection caused by several genera of non‐filamentous bacteria. The clinical and histopathological findings are similar to those of mycetoma caused by true fungi or aerobic actinomycetes. Botryomycosis is divided into cutaneous and visceral disease, with the cutaneous form being more common. Histopathology shows granules of etiologic bacteria called “sulfur granules”. Botryomycosis occurs more commonly among immunocompromised patients, although some cases have also been reported in immunocompetent patients. We report the case of an 8‐year‐old immunocompetent boy who visited our hospital with a 4‐mm diameter subcutaneous tumor with mild tenderness on his right heel for several months. We surgically removed the tumor with an initial diagnosis of epidermal cyst. Histopathology showed sulfur granules surrounded by an eosinophilic matrix, indicating the Splendore–Hoeppli phenomenon. The granules consisted of Gram‐positive cocci, leading to a diagnosis of botryomycosis. The patient was successfully treated by excision and oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (240 mg b.i.d.) for 2 weeks as adjuvant therapy. No recurrence was noted following treatment. The subcutaneous tumor in this case was smaller than the typical in botryomycosis infections. We reviewed the infection duration and tumor size in reported cases of botryomycosis in immunocompetent patients. Small tumor size may suggest that the case is in an early stage; therefore, it is important to remove and investigate these lesions proactively.
Trauma and resistance: ‘hang time’ and other innovative responses to oppression, violence and suffering
Authors: Reynolds Vikki
Published: March 2020

This article presents alternative ways to respond to events understood as ‘traumatic’ in most psychological contexts. It questions the medicalisation and individualisation of persons’ resistance against harms, especially violence and structural oppressions, as criteria of mental illness and trauma. I present activist‐informed approaches to suffering and oppression that are centred on witnessing acts of resistance. This work comes from my ethical stance for justice‐doing and responding to colonisation with accountability as a white settler practitioner. Witnessing requires that we situate personal suffering in its sociopolitical context and resist the individualisation and medicalisation of suffering. Activist practices of witnessing include the duty of the witness to work to change the social contexts of oppression, addressing power both personally and structurally, and working towards co‐creating a just society.

Practitioner points

Resistance to suffering and oppression is always present as persons always act to guard their dignity and move towards safety

Justice‐doing and a decolonising stance for the work is required to resist psychology’s neutrality and objectivity that obscure contexts of structural oppression

A witnessing stance from direct action activism is useful in making space for resistance

The practitioner’s responsibility is to move beyond witnessing to create social change and address contexts of injustice and limited life choices that are the frame for suffering
Understanding self‐construction of health among the slum dwellers of India: a culture‐centred approach
Authors: Das Moumita , Angeli Federica , van Schayck Onno C. P.
Published: March 2020

Disembarking from a traditional approach of narrow hazardous environmental and structural conditions in understanding urban slums’ health problems and moving towards a new notion of what constitutes health for slum dwellers will open a new avenue to recognise whether and how health is being prioritised in disadvantaged settings. Drawing on in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with a total of 67 men and 68 women from Kolkata slums and 62 men and 48 women from Bangalore slums, this study explored how knowledge, social realities, material and symbolic drivers of a place interweave in shaping slum‐dwellers’ patterned way of understanding health, and the ways health and illnesses are managed. The current study adds to the growing evidence that ordinary members of the urban slums can articulate critical linkages between their everyday sociocultural realities and health conditions, which can support the design and delivery of interventions to promote wellbeing. The concept of health is not confined to an abstract idea but manifested in slum‐dwellers’ sporadic practices of preventive and curative care as well as everyday living arrangements, where a complex arrangement of physical, psychological, financial, sociocultural and environmental dimensions condition their body and wellbeing.
Magnetic resonance imaging of cervical ligamentous anatomy and traumatic ligamentous injuries
Authors: Mantripragada Sravanthi , Kannivelu Anbalagan , Peh Wilfred CG
Published: March 2020

Cervical spine trauma accounts for majority of spinal injuries, and approximately one‐third involve the craniocervical junction (CCJ). Due to its high sensitivity, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become the standard tool for imaging suspected ligamentous injuries in an unstable spine and in patients with neurological deficits having a normal CT. The ligamentous anatomy of the CCJ is complex, and thorough knowledge is a prerequisite for accurate interpretation of the MRI findings. This pictorial essay aims to familiarise radiologists with the ligamentous anatomy, mechanisms of injury and MRI appearances of injuries in the cervical spine, with emphasis on the CCJ.
Characterizing Alcohol‐Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and the Spectrum of Outcomes
Authors: Coles Claire D. , Kalberg Wendy , Kable Julie A. , Tabachnick Barbara , May Philip A. , Chambers Christina D.
Published: March 2020

Background

The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are conceptualized as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) as the most severe. Many find it more difficult to characterize behavioral and cognitive effects of exposure on the central nervous system when physical signs are not present. In the current study, an operational definition of alcohol‐related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) was examined to determine its usefulness in discrimination of children classified as ARND based on behavior (ARND/B) and cognition (ARND/C) from children in 4 contrast groups: (i) children exposed to study‐defined “risky drinking”; (ii) children with any reported PAE; (iii) children classified as “Higher Risk” for developmental problems; and (iv) children classified as “Lower Risk.”

Methods

A total of 1,842 children seen as part of a surveillance study (J Am Med Assoc, 319, 2018, 474) were evaluated for alcohol exposure and physical characteristics of FAS, and completed neurodevelopmental testing. Ninety‐one were identified as either ARND/B or ARND/C and contrasted with other groups to further identify distinguishing patterns. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) was used to examine the accuracy of classification and to identify factors contributing to such classification.

Results

Children described as ARND/C were distinct from other groups based on cognition and behavior as well as demographic factors (e.g., age, race, SES), child characteristics (e.g., gestational age; sex), and other drug exposures, while those described as ARND/B differed only on behavior and other drug exposures. MLR models successfully discriminated ARND groups from children in other groups with accuracy ranging from 79% (Higher Risk) to 86.7% (Low Risk).

Conclusions

ARND has been a subject of debate. This analysis suggests the effects of alcohol on behavior and cognition even in the absence of the characteristic facial features and growth deficiency that can be identified. The results also indicate that it may be possible to distinguish such children from those in other high‐risk groups.
Long‐term outcomes of mitral valve endocarditis: improved survival through collaborative management
Authors: Yaftian Nima , Buratto Edward , Ye Xin Tao , Wilson Andrew , Darby Jonathan , Newcomb Andrew
Published: March 2020

Background

Infective endocarditis (IE) of the mitral valve is an illness associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We describe the long‐term outcomes of mitral valve endocarditis at a single centre.

Methods

All patients who presented with IE to the study institution between 2000 and 2015 were included. Data were obtained by retrospective review of the medical records.

Results

There were 163 patients who presented with mitral valve IE. Mean age was 58 ± 16.8 years. A history of intravenous drug use was present in 18% (30/163) of patients. The most common infective agents were Staphylococcus aureus in 42% (69/163) (7% (5/69) were methicillin resistant), Streptococcus viridans species in 15% (25/163) and Enterococcus faecalis in 10% (17/163). Surgery was performed in 29% (47/163) of patients. Hospital mortality was 23% (38/163). Survival was 71% (95% confidence interval (CI) 63.1–77.6%) at 1 year, 56% (95% CI 46.0–64.9%) at 5 years and 44% (95% CI 36.4–59.7%) at 10 years follow‐up. There was no survival difference between medical and surgical management (P = 0.55). On multivariate Cox regression analysis, need for renal replacement therapy (P = 0.003) and increasing age (P = 0.014) were found to be risk factors while infectious diseases consult during index admission (P = 0.007) was found to be protective.

Conclusion

Mitral valve endocarditis is associated with survival of <50% at 10 years follow‐up. Surgical and medical management were associated with similar outcomes. Increasing age and need for renal replacement therapy were associated with mortality, and infectious diseases consultation was associated with improved survival.
Chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell therapies: Optimising the dose
Authors: Dasyam Nathaniel , George Philip , Weinkove Robert
Published: March 2020

Lymphocytes such as T‐cells can be genetically transduced to express a synthetic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that re‐directs their cytotoxic activity against a tumour‐expressed antigen of choice. Autologous (patient‐derived) CAR T‐cells have been licensed to treat certain relapsed and refractory B‐cell malignancies, and numerous CAR T‐cell products are in clinical development. As living gene‐modified cells, CAR T‐cells exhibit unique pharmacokinetics, typically proliferating within the recipient during the first 14 days after administration before contracting in number, and sometimes exhibiting long‐term persistence. The relationship between CAR T‐cell dose and exposure is highly variable, and may be influenced by CAR design, patient immune function at the time of T‐cell harvest, phenotype of the CAR T‐cell product, disease burden, lymphodepleting chemotherapy and subsequent immunomodulatory therapies. Recommended CAR T‐cell doses are typically established for a specific product and indication, although for some products, stratification of dose based on disease burden may mitigate toxicity while maintaining efficacy. Re‐evaluation of CAR T‐cell dosing may be necessary following changes to the lymphodepleting regimen, for different disease indications, and following significant manufacturing changes, if product comparability cannot be demonstrated. Dose escalation trials have typically employed 3 + 3 designs, although this approach has limitations, and alternative phase I trial designs may facilitate the identification of CAR T‐cell doses that strike an optimal balance of safety, efficacy and manufacturing feasibility.
Micro‐RNAs in the aqueous humour of patients with diabetic macular oedema
Authors: Cho Heeyoon , Hwang Mina , Hong Eun H. , Yu Hyoseon , Park Hyun‐Hee , Koh Seong‐Ho , Shin Yong U.
Published: March 2020

Importance

Micro‐RNAs (miRNAs) have been studied as new biomarkers or mediators in various diseases, but the value of aqueous humour (AH) miRNAs in diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is still not known.

Background

To compare AH miRNAs and related cytokine expression in DMO patients and healthy controls.

Design

Prospective cross‐sectional study.

Participants

Twenty naïve DMO patients and 13 control subjects, who were scheduled for intravitreal injection and cataract surgery, respectively.

Methods

AH samples were collected at the beginning of each procedure and analysed using a miRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array composed of 84 miRNAs, reverse transcripase‐quantitative PCR (qPCR) for verifying selected differentially expressed miRNAs, and a cytokine assay, the results of which were compared with bioinformatics conducted to find out genes associated with DMO‐related miRNAs.

Main Outcomes Measures

AH expression of miRNAs and cytokines and the bioinformatics results.

Results

Five miRNAs (hsa‐miR‐185‐5p, hsa‐miR‐17‐5p, hsa‐miR‐20a‐5p, hsa‐miR‐15b‐5p and hsa‐miR‐15a‐5p) showing a fold change greater than −50 in log2 values in the miRNA PCR array were selected, all significantly down‐regulated in the DMO group compared to the control group (P < .05), and showed a direct relationship with tumour necrosis factor, nuclear factor kappa B subunit 1 and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) in bioinformatics analysis, all of which were related to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In the cytokine assay, the aqueous concentrations of VEGF, placental growth factor, IL‐6 and IL‐8 were significantly higher in the DMO group compared to the control group.

Conclusions and Relevance

This study is the first to perform miRNA profiling of the AH of DMO patients. We identified differentially expressed miRNAs in DMO AH, which may be used as potential biomarkers or novel therapeutic targets for DMO.