bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does Green Financing Develop a Cleaner Environment for Environmental Sustainability: Empirical Insights From Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economies
Authors: Fu Weiwei , Irfan Muhammad
Published: June 2022

One of the most frequently used terms in climate change discussions is environmental sustainability. With economic growth and foreign direct investment as moderator factors, this study investigates the influence of green finance and financial development on environmental sustainability and growth in ASEAN economies from 2012 to 2019. ADF and Phillip-Peron (PP) unit root tests, fully modified least square (FMOLS), were employed for long-run empirical estimates. A substantial body of evidence supports the study’s findings using VECM technology. Green financing was negatively associated with CO2 emissions. However, environmental sustainability in ASEAN is favorably associated with green financing. It is also worth noting that green financing promotes environmental sustainability at the expenditure of economic growth. Financial development, foreign direct investment, R&D investment, and green technology foster economic expansion at the price of environmental sustainability. There are still many fences to green finance that need to be addressed, including pricing CO2 emissions and reforming inefficient nonrenewable fossil fuel subsidies. Local governments play a vital role in eliminating these barriers and addressing disincentives. It is recommended that policymakers push the financial sector to adopt a green finance strategy to further the goals of long-term sustainable development. Industry must integrate multiple objectives, such as inclusive growth and environmental protection and productivity, through an even broader range of legislative frameworks ideal for decoupling growth from social and ecological unsustainability, at the heart of the green manufacturing process.
The Need for Sustainability, Equity, and International Exchange: Perspectives of Early Career Environmental Psychologists on the Future of Conferences
Authors: Köhler Jana K. , Kreil Agnes S. , Wenger Ariane , Darmandieu Aurore , Graves Catherine , Haugestad Christian A. P. , Holzen Veronique , Keller Ellis , Lloyd Sam , Marczak Michalina , Međugorac Vanja , Rosa Claudio D.
Published: June 2022

At the 2019 and 2021 International Conference on Environmental Psychology, discussions were held on the future of conferences in light of the enormous greenhouse gas emissions and inequities associated with conference travel. In this manuscript, we provide an early career researcher (ECR) perspective on this discussion. We argue that travel-intensive conference practices damage both the environment and our credibility as a discipline, conflict with the intrinsic values and motivations of our discipline, and are inequitable. As such, they must change. This change can be achieved by moving toward virtual and hybrid conferences, which can reduce researchers’ carbon footprints and promote equity, if employed carefully and with informal exchange as a priority. By acting collectively and with the support of institutional change, we can adapt conference travel norms in our field. To investigate whether our arguments correspond to views in the wider community of ECRs within environmental psychology, we conducted a community case study. By leveraging our professional networks and directly contacting researchers in countries underrepresented in those networks, we recruited 117 ECRs in 32 countries for an online survey in February 2022. The surveyed ECRs supported a change in conference travel practices, including flying less, and perceived the number of researchers wanting to reduce their travel emissions to be growing. Thirteen percent of respondents had even considered leaving academia due to travel requirements. Concerning alternative conference formats, a mixed picture emerged. Overall, participants had slightly negative evaluations of virtual conferences, but expected them to improve within the next 5 years. However, ECRs with health issues, facing visa challenges, on low funding, living in remote areas, with caretaking obligations or facing travel restrictions due to COVID-19 expected a switch toward virtual or hybrid conferences to positively affect their groups. Participants were divided about their ability to build professional relationships in virtual settings, but believed that maintaining relationships virtually is possible. We conclude by arguing that the concerns of ECRs in environmental psychology about current and alternative conference practices must be taken seriously. We call on our community to work on collective solutions and less travel-intensive conference designs using participatory methods.
Monitoring or Colluding? Institutional Investors' Heterogeneity and Environmental Information Disclosure Behavior
Authors: Li Zhengguang , Zhang Tinghai , Zhao Xibo , Zhu Yicheng
Published: June 2022

High-quality environmental information disclosure is not only an effective way for the firm to fulfill its environmental responsibility and promote green development, but also an important governance mechanism to reduce the degree of information asymmetry between the firm's management and shareholders and alleviate the agency conflict. As an important shareholder of a firm, there are two different hypotheses about the influence of institutional investors on firm decision-making and behavior: monitor and collusion. Institutional investors are not homogeneous, and there are significant differences in the impact of different types of institutional investors on firm decision-making and behavior. We divide institutional investors into the stable institutional investors and the unstable institutional investors, using the data of listed firms in China's A-share heavy pollution industry between 2008 and 2020, and this study explores the effect of institutional investors' heterogeneity on environmental information disclosure behavior from the perspective of environmental information disclosure quality. Empirical evidence shows that institutional investors as a whole have a positively significant impact on environmental information disclosure quality. Further analysis shows that the stable institutional investors have positive impact on environmental information disclosure quality compared with the unstable institutional investors. After a series of robustness tests, the conclusion is still valid. The results of this paper show that institutional investors, especially the stable institutional investors, can effectively reduce the degree of information asymmetry, alleviate the agency conflict of the firm, play an active role in corporate governance, strengthen the main responsibility of firm ecological environment protection, and promote the green development of firm. The conclusion of this paper has important reference significance for the regulators to formulate policies to improve environmental information disclosure quality and promote green development according to the heterogeneity of institutional investors.
COVID-19 and Quitting Jobs
Authors: Demirkaya Harun , Aslan Mustafa , Güngör Habibe , Durmaz Vildan , Rodoplu Şahin Didem
Published: June 2022

Despite substantial studies on COVID-19 and the problems employees face, the association between COVID-19 and resigning jobs has not caught the interest of researchers. Millions have already resigned from their employment, and more are expected to resign. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the demographics of employees, the course of COVID-19, perceived effect of COVID-19 on life (PEoC), fear, entrapment feeling, depression, and quitting the job during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was designed, and a convenient sampling method was adopted. Data were collected via an online questionnaire and analyzed by using SPSS version 26. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to reveal the relationship. Coefficients and significance values were used to interpret the results. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA are used to determine the difference across the groups. The correlation between depression and work location is statistically significant. The PEoC increases fear, internal and external entrapment, and depression. Despite the statistically significant correlations between quitting jobs and the education level, internal and external entrapment, PEoC, fear, and depression for employees who have COVID-19 history, quitting the job was found to be affected only by COVID-19 history, internal entrapment feeling, and education level. This study has shown that quitting the job is associated with PEoC, depression, and internal and external entrapments. The correlation between quitting jobs and other conditions differs depending on the COVID-19 history of the employee. Furthermore, quitting the job is being affected by the coronavirus history, the internal entrapment, and education level.
Augmented Reality Marketing: A Systematic Literature Review and an Agenda for Future Inquiry
Authors: Du Zhao , Liu Jun , Wang Tianjiao
Published: June 2022

Augmented reality (AR) is a potentially disruptive technology that enriches the consumer experience and transforms marketing. With the surging popularity of AR in marketing practice, academic efforts to investigate its effects on consumer experience, response, and behavior have increased significantly. To obtain an integrated and comprehensive view of the front-line in AR marketing research and identify the gaps for future research, we analyze the existing AR marketing literature through a systematic literature review. Using 99 journal articles selected from the Web of Science core collections, this research sheds light on the general characteristics such as publication year, publication outlet, research design, and research method. Moreover, this research also gains insight into the AR marketing relevant factors such as application area, application context, AR type, and theoretical lenses. The findings of the analyses reveal the state-of-the-art of scholarly publications on AR marketing research. First, the number of journal articles on AR marketing increased rapidly in the past few years, and the journals that published articles on AR marketing cover a wide range of disciplines. Second, the empirical studies in most literature adopted the quantitative research design and used survey or experiment methods. Third, the studies in more than half of the journal articles used mobile AR applications in various online contexts. Fourth, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework are the two most widely used theoretical lenses used in the literature. After that, the major application areas of AR in marketing are retail, tourism, and advertising. To identify the focal themes discussed in the three application areas, this research summarizes the studies by the outcome variables. Specifically, the outcome variables have five categories: technology-related, product-related, brand-related, tourist destination-related, and advertisement-related. Finally, this research proposes the agenda for future academic efforts in AR marketing.
Implementation of Knowledge Management in Higher Education: A Comparative Study of Private and Government Universities in India and Abroad
Authors: Galgotia Dhruv , Lakshmi Nirupa
Published: June 2022

All academic institution contributes to the corpus of knowledge in some way. To keep expanding, the resulting information and data must be collected in a single area and shared throughout society. Knowledge developed in academic institutions is not adequately preserved or gathered, according to research. It has also been observed that the majority of the content or knowledge developed in academic institutes is unknown to the general public and is categorized as a literature review, which may be useful if proper coding is kept in the organization. The purposeful integration of humans, processes, and technology dedicated to developing, capturing, and executing an organization’s creative infrastructure is known as a Knowledge Management (KM) method. Knowledge Management supports educational institutes in refining their capability to acquire and share information and knowledge, applying it to problem resolution and promoting research and continuous development. This paper advocates a holistic strategy for finding, analyzing, recording, retrieving, and distributing the whole of an administration’s data properties. Databases, records, procedures, regulations and hitherto un-captured knowledge and talent in ordinary employees are samples of these properties. Higher education institutions can use KM as a tried and true approach to dealing with their problems. KM aids in the motivation of research as well as the promotion of partnerships and innovations in the future.
Psychological Support for Family Caregivers of Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis at the Time of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Pilot Study Using a Telemedicine Approach
Authors: Sharbafshaaer Minoo , Buonanno Daniela , Passaniti Carla , De Stefano Manuela , Esposito Sabrina , Canale Fabrizio , D’Alvano Giulia , Silvestro Marcello , Russo Antonio , Tedeschi Gioacchino , Siciliano Mattia , Trojsi Francesca
Published: June 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic confined most of the population to homes worldwide, and then, a lot of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) centers moved to telemedicine services to continue to assist both patients with ALS and their caregivers. This pilot, randomized, controlled study aimed to explore the potential role of psychological support interventions for family caregivers of patients with ALS through resilience-oriented sessions of group therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 12 caregivers agreed to be remotely monitored by our center since March 2020 and underwent scales for global burden (i.e., Caregiver Burden Inventory, CBI), resilience (i.e., Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC), and perceived stress (i.e., Perceived Stress Scale, PSS) at two-time points (i.e., at pre-treatment assessment and after 9 months or at post-treatment assessment). They were randomized into two groups: the former group underwent resilience-oriented sessions of group therapy two times a month for 3 months, while the latter one was only remotely monitored. No significant differences were found in CBI, CD-RISC, and PSS during the 9-month observation period in the treated group compared with the control group, suggesting a trend toward stability of caregiver burden together with resilience and perceived stress scores in all the subjects monitored. The lack of differences in caregivers’ burden, resilience, and perceived stress scores by comparing the two groups monitored during 9 months could be due to the co-occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the stressful events related to caring for patients with ALS that might have hindered the detection of significant benefits from short-lasting psychological support.
Effect of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Function of Alzheimer's Disease Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Liu Wei , Zhang Jia , Wang Yanyan , Li Junfeng , Chang Jindong , Jia Qingyin
Published: June 2022

This review aims to systematically review the effects of physical exercise on the cognitive performance of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its mechanisms of action. Databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched until December 2021. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the effect of an exercise intervention (compared with no exercise) on patients with AD. The measures included cognitive function [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease assessment scale-cognitive (ADAS-Cog), Montreal cognitive assessment scale (MoCA) and Executive Function (EF)]. The methodological quality of the included literature was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. Twenty-two studies (n = 1647, mean age: 77.1 ± 6.3 years) were included in the systematic review, sixteen of which were included in the meta-analysis. A systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that physical exercise positively affects cognitive performance in older patients with AD. However, the positive effects of the intervention should be interpreted with caution considering the differences in methodological quality, type, frequency, and duration of exercise in the included studies. Future studies should consider the design rigor and specification of RCT protocols.
Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Approaches to Raise Awareness About Antimicrobial Resistance in Farmers and Veterinarians of India
Authors: Sharma Garima , Mutua Florence , Deka Ram Pratim , Shome Rajeshwari , Bandyopadhyay Samiran , Shome Bibek Ranjan , Kumar Naresh Goyal , Grace Delia , Dey Tushar Kumar , Lindahl Johanna
Published: June 2022

Background

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health threat. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the animal health sector contributes to increasing rates of AMR and studies involving dairy farmers in India have found knowledge levels regarding antibiotics and AMR to be very low. The purpose of this study was to assess different methods to raise awareness and knowledge about AMR and antibiotic use among dairy farmers, paravets (veterinary assistants), and veterinarians.

Materials and Methods

The study was conducted in September-December of 2018 in some parts of Haryana, Assam, Karnataka, and West Bengal. It had two parts: an intervention meeting (September–October 2018) which consisted of focus group discussions (FGD) with farmers, key informant interviews (KII) with veterinary professionals along with distribution of information packages, and then a follow-up survey (November–December 2018). The villages were randomly allocated to either one of the four intervention approaches (1-FGD/KII and information package on AMR; 2-FGD/KI and information on animal health; 3- FGD/KII and information package on animal health plus information on AMR; or 4- only the FGD/KII). A follow-up survey was done to assess the effect of interventions.

Results

In total, 274 dairy farmers and 51 veterinary professionals (21 veterinarians and 30 paravets) participated in the follow-up survey. Many of the farmers and veterinary professionals who participated in the follow-up survey had been part of the intervention meetings. The average knowledge score of farmers was 7.8. It was found that the knowledge score was higher amongst farmers who had participated in the intervention meetings (p < 0.05), had received intervention approach 2 (p = 0.03) or approach 3 (p = 0.01), and amongst female farmers (p = 0.03) compared to male. The veterinary professionals had good knowledge but lacked interest in training the farmers about antimicrobial resistance.

Conclusion

Our research demonstrated that a higher percentage of farmers and veterinary professionals who attended the intervention meeting had improved knowledge. Dairy farmers should be regularly educated on antibiotic usage and how to avoid misusing them. Also, veterinary experts should be provided with tools and strategies to educate farmers on the use of antimicrobials.
Retrospective OSL Dosimetry With Common Pharmaceuticals and Food Supplements
Authors: Ekendahl Daniela , Reimitz Dan
Published: June 2022

Several common pharmaceuticals such as ibuprofen, paracetamol, aspirin, oral contraceptives, drugs for the prevention of motion sickness and food supplements such as table vitamins and minerals have been studied for the purposes of retrospective dosimetry using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The essence is that the tablets with these drug substances contain additive crystalline materials which, after irradiation and stimulation, may exhibit luminescence. For most of the pharmaceuticals and food supplements, a radiation-induced dose-dependent OSL signal was detected. Subsequently, basic dosimetric characteristics of the materials were studied, specifically sensitivity changes during repeated OSL readings, dose response, zero-dose, minimum detectable dose (MDD) and fading. The most radiation sensitive materials were food supplements with Mg providing zero-dose and MDD values at the level of several mGy. For Mg supplements, considerable sensitivity changes in OSL signal were observed. Despite this, they could be corrected using a Single-Aliquot Regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. The OSL signals of the other materials were relatively weak but they were well reproducible and exhibited linear dose response. The MDD values were variable among the materials and ranged from 0.1 to several Gy. However, for some of the pharmaceuticals, a very high and variable zero-dose of more than 3 Gy was observed that would rule out the possibility of dose reconstruction for triage purposes. The OSL signal exhibited a significant fading rate for most of the materials. The measurements for dose reconstruction should be performed as soon as possible after irradiation, i.e. within a maximum of a few days.
Automatic Artifact Detection Algorithm in Fetal MRI
Authors: Lim Adam , Lo Justin , Wagner Matthias W. , Ertl-Wagner Birgit , Sussman Dafna
Published: June 2022

Fetal MR imaging is subject to artifacts including motion, chemical shift, and radiofrequency artifacts. Currently, such artifacts are detected by the MRI operator, a process which is subjective, time consuming, and prone to errors. We propose a novel algorithm, RISE-Net, that can consistently, automatically, and objectively detect artifacts in 3D fetal MRI. It makes use of a CNN ensemble approach where the first CNN aims to identify and classify any artifacts in the image, and the second CNN uses regression to determine the severity of the detected artifacts. The main mechanism in RISE-Net is the stacked Residual, Inception, Squeeze and Excitation (RISE) blocks. This classification network achieved an accuracy of 90.34% and a F1 score of 90.39% and outperformed other state-of-the-art architectures, such as VGG-16, Inception, ResNet-50, ReNet-Inception, SE-ResNet, and SE-Inception. The severity regression network had an MSE of 0.083 across all classes. The presented algorithm facilitates rapid and accurate fetal MRI quality assurance that can be implemented into clinical use.
ICT Enabled Disease Diagnosis, Treatment and Management—A Holistic Cost-Effective Approach Through Data Management and Analysis in UAE and India
Authors: Kumar M V Manoj , Patil Jagadish , Shastry K. Aditya , Darshan Shiva , Sastry Nanda Kumar Bidare , Moonesar Immanuel Azaad , Atalla Shadi , Almuraqab Nasser , Rao Ananth
Published: June 2022

This concept paper addresses specific challenges identified in the UN 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as well as the National Health Policy of India (NHP-India) and the Ministry of Health Policy of UAE (MHP-UAE). This policy calls for a digital health technology ecosystem. SDG Goal 1 and its related objectives are conceptualized which serves as the foundation for Virtual Consultations, Tele-pharmacy, Virtual Storage, and Virtual Community (VCom). SDG Goals 2 and 3 are conceptualized as Data Management & Analytical (DMA) Architecture. Individual researchers and health care professionals in India and the UAE can use DMA to uncover and harness PHC and POC data into practical insights. In addition, the DMA would provide a set of core tools for cross-network initiatives, allowing researchers and other users to compare their data with DMA data. In rural, urban, and remote populations of the UAE and India, the concept augments the PHC system with ICT-based interventions. The ICT-based interventions may improve patient health outcomes. The open and flexible design allows users to access various digital materials. Extendable data/metadata format, scalable architecture for petabyte-scale federated discovery. The modular DMA is designed using existing technology and resources. Public health functions include population health assessment, policy development, and monitoring policy implementation. PHC and POC periodically conduct syndromic surveillance to identify population risk patterns. In addition, the PHC and POC deploy medical and non-medical preventive measures to prevent disease outbreaks. To assess the impact of social and economic factors on health, epidemiologists must first understand diseases. Improved health due to compliance with holistic disease treatment plans and access to scientific health information.
Influence of Oral Microbiota on the Presence of IgA Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies in Gingival Crevicular Fluid
Authors: de Smit Menke J. , Rahajoe Poerwati Soetji , Raveling-Eelsing Elisabeth , Lisotto Paola , Harmsen Hermie J. M. , Kertia Nyoman , Vissink Arjan , Westra Johanna
Published: June 2022

Introduction

The relation between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis (PD) has been investigated ever since the discovery of the citrullinating enzyme peptidyl arginine deaminase presents in the oral bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis. Recently, we demonstrated the presence of RA autoantibodies, especially of IgA anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA), in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of Indonesian patients with and without RA or PD which might indicate the local formation of RA antibodies in the periodontium.

Aim

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the subgingival microbiome is related to the presence of IgA ACPA in the GCF of healthy individuals with or without PD.

Patients and Methods

Healthy individuals with a known periodontal status and high IgA ACPA (>0.1 U/ml) in GCF (n = 27) were selected and matched for age, gender, periodontal status, and smoking status with 27 healthy individuals without IgA ACPA in their GCF. Taxonomic profiling of the subgingival microbiome was based on bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Downstream analyses were performed to assess compositional differences between healthy subjects with or without IgA ACPA in GCF and with or without PD.

Results

Between groups with or without PD, or with or without IgA ACPA in GCF, no differences in alpha diversity were seen. Beta diversity was different between groups with or without PD (p < 0.0001), and a trend was seen in subjects with PD between subjects with or without IgA ACPA in GCF (p = 0.084). Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) revealed no significant differences in the total population between subjects with IgA ACPA compared to subjects without IgA ACPA in GCF. Although Porphyromonas was not identified by LEfSe, its relative abundance was significantly higher in healthy individuals with high IgA ACPA in GCF compared to individuals without IgA ACPA in GCF (p = 0.0363). Zooming in on the subgroup with PD, LEfSe revealed that species Neisseriaceae, Tannerella, and Haemophilus were more abundant in the subjects with IgA ACPA in GCF compared to subjects without IgA ACPA in GCF.

Conclusion

Periodontitis and certain taxa, including Porphyromonas, seem to be associated with the local presence of ACPA in the periodontium.
Effects of a Berry Polyphenolic Fraction on the Pathogenic Properties of Porphyromonas gingivalis
Authors: Vaillancourt Katy , Ben Lagha Amel , Grenier Daniel
Published: June 2022

Porphyromonas gingivalis expresses a broad array of virulence factors that enable it to play a central role in the etiopathogenesis of periodontitis. The objective of the present study was to assess the effects of a berry polyphenolic fraction (Orophenol®) composed of extracts from cranberry, wild blueberry, and strawberry on the main pathogenic determinants of P. gingivalis. Orophenol® attenuated the growth of P. gingivalis and decreased its hemolytic activity, its adherence to a basement membrane matrix model, and its proteinase activities. The berry polyphenolic fraction also impaired the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by oral keratinocytes stimulated with P. gingivalis. Lastly, using an in vitro model of oral keratinocyte barrier, the fraction exerted a protective effect against the damages mediated by P. gingivalis. In conclusion, the berry polyphenolic fraction investigated in the present study attenuated several pathogenic properties of P. gingivalis. Although future clinical investigations are required, our study provided evidence that the polyphenols contained in this fraction may represent bioactive molecules of high interest for the prevention and/or treatment of periodontal disease.
Estimating Lake Water Volume With Regression and Machine Learning Methods
Authors: Delaney Chelsea , Li Xiang , Holmberg Kerry , Wilson Bruce , Heathcote Adam , Nieber John
Published: June 2022

The volume of a lake is a crucial component in understanding environmental and hydrologic processes. The State of Minnesota (USA) has tens of thousands of lakes, but only a small fraction has readily available bathymetric information. In this paper we develop and test methods for predicting water volume in the lake-rich region of Central Minnesota. We used three different published regression models for predicting lake volume using available data. The first model utilized lake surface area as the sole independent variable. The second model utilized lake surface area but also included an additional independent variable, the average change in land surface area in a designated buffer area surrounding a lake. The third model also utilized lake surface area but assumed the land surface to be a self-affine surface, thus allowing the surface area-lake volume relationship to be governed by a scale defined by the Hurst coefficient. These models all utilized bathymetric data available for 816 lakes across the region of study. The models explained over 80% of the variation in lake volumes. The sum difference between the total predicted lake volume and known volumes were <2%. We applied these models to predicting lake volumes using available independent variables for over 40,000 lakes within the study region. The total lake volumes for the methods ranged from 1,180,000- and 1,200,000-hectare meters. We also investigated machine learning models for estimating the individual lake volumes and found they achieved comparable and slightly better predictive performance than from the three regression analysis methods. A 15-year time series of satellite data for the study region was used to develop a time series of lake surface areas and those were used, with the first regression model, to calculate individual lake volumes and temporal variation in the total lake volume of the study region. The time series of lake volumes quantified the effect on water volume of a dry period that occurred from 2011 to 2012. These models are important both for estimating lake volume, but also provide critical information for scaling up different ecosystem processes that are sensitive to lake bathymetry.
Response to Water Scarcity: Gender Analysis of the Motivation Factors Toward Water Conservation Behavior in the Workplace
Authors: Palamuleni Lobina Gertrude , Plessis Yvonne du , Bakuwa Rhoda Cynthia
Published: June 2022

Provision and availability of water continue to be a major socio-economic challenge in many countries. The problem is prevalent particularly in arid and semi-arid regions which are affected by droughts and wide climate variability, combined with high population growth and economic development. Shortages and compromised water availability are causes of concern to food security (agricultural sector), performance of businesses, and economic growth among others. The study adopted a quantitative research approach and was underpinned by a positivist research paradigm. Data were collected from 72 managers at North West University—Mahikeng (NWU-Mahikeng), South Africa using an online self-administered survey questionnaire. This study evaluates the factors related to predictors of water-conservation motivation behavior at work. The study used the Chi-square statistics (Phi and Cramer's V-tests) to test the relationship between Manager's gender and motivation predictors of water conservation at work. Findings from the statistical results showed that the Phi and Cramer's V-test gave a P-value < 0.05 (P < 0.05), which shows that within the sample of managers, there is significant relationship between Manager's gender and the motivation to conserve water. These results highlight that gender orientation affects one's response to water scarcity and motivation for conservation. The variations underscored gender as an important component of sustainable development goals which must be included when implementing policies and programs to promote water conservation consciousness and efficient water use at work.
The Impact of Perceived Discrimination on Cultural Identification, Psychological Stress, Emotion Regulation and Aggressive Tendencies in Individuals With Turkish Migration Background in Germany
Authors: Dingoyan Demet , Metzner Franka , Kongur Akin , Arslan Örsan , Pust Gesa Elena Albertine , Weierstall-Pust Roland
Published: June 2022

The following study considers correlates of the identification with the origin and host culture of German individuals with a Turkish migrant background. It examines how these two factors mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination, emotion regulation or psychological stress, and aggressive tendencies as the major dependent variable. For this purpose, the data of 229 people with Turkish migration background living in Germany was collected through an online survey. Findings depict that the identification with the Turkish (origin) and German (host) culture mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and emotion regulation. The relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological stress is mediated by the identification with the German culture. The analysis shows that perceived discrimination is associated with a reduced identification with the German culture and with a high identification with the Turkish culture. Emotion regulation abilities are negatively related to perceived discrimination and identification with the Turkish culture. In contrary, the psychological stress level is positively related to perceived discrimination. The preparedness for aggressive behavior is also associated positively by psychological stress and negatively by emotion regulation abilities. The results are discussed against the background of the specific migration history and living conditions of Turkish immigrants in Germany.
Kelvin-Helmholtz Vortices as an Interplay of Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling
Authors: Hwang K.-J. , Weygand J. M. , Sibeck D. G. , Burch J. L. , Goldstein M. L. , Escoubet C. P. , Choi E. , Dokgo K. , Giles B. L. , Pollock C. J. , Gershman D. J. , Russell C. T. , Strangeway R. J. , Torbert R. B.
Published: June 2022

The solar wind-magnetosphere interaction drives diverse physical processes on the flanks of Earth’s magnetopause, and in turn these processes couple to the ionosphere. We investigate simultaneous multipoint in-situ spacecraft and ground-based measurements to determine the role of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at the Earth’s magnetopause and the low-latitude boundary layer in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling process. Nonlinear Kelvin-Helmholtz waves develop into flow vortices that twist and/or shear flux tube magnetic fields, thereby generating localized field-aligned currents. Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices on the dusk (dawn) flanks of the magnetosphere generate clockwise (counter-clockwise) rotations and upward (downward) field-aligned currents inside the flux tubes, consistent with the region-1 field-aligned current. We present in-situ MMS and Cluster spacecraft observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices at the magnetopause that map to the poleward edge of the auroral regions. The FAST spacecraft and the ground-based magnetometers from which spherical elementary currents (acting as a proxy for vertical currents) can be calculated observe corresponding field-aligned current signatures. This study demonstrates the role played by the Kelvin-Helmholtz waves in linking magnetopause boundary fluctuations to ionospheric phenomena.
Solar Wind Turbulence Outlined Through Magnetic Islands and Nonlinear Waves
Authors: Sharma R. P. , Gaur Nidhi , Sharma Swati , Mishra M. K.
Published: June 2022

Various space missions and observations over the past decades have provided unexampled details about the nature of solar wind, the acceleration mechanism, and different nonlinear phenomena responsible for energy transfer and turbulence in the interplanetary space. This review focuses on the role of Alfvénic fluctuations—both kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW) and dispersive Alfvén wave (DAW)—in driving solar wind turbulence and magnetic reconnection at 1 AU. The process of filamentation has been studied through a nonlinear coupling system of KAW/IAW (ion acoustic wave) and relatively high-frequency pump KAW (HKAW, i.e., frequency less than ion cyclotron frequency) in the presence of LKAW (low-frequency KAW, i.e., frequency very much less then ion cyclotron frequency) perturbation by formulating their dynamical equations in the presence of ponderomotive force and using the numerical results for the same. A simplified model is presented to have a deeper insight into the evolution pattern using the results of simulation. The formation of coherent structures and current sheets using a numerical and semi-analytical approach is elaborated near the magnetic reconnection sites. In addition to this, the relevance of the generated turbulence is also depicted through the energy spectrum by examining the spectral index which is noticeable in determining the energy cascade down to smaller scales.
Physiological and Perceptual Responses to Single-player vs. Multiplayer Exergaming
Authors: Soria Campo Aarón , Wang Alf Inge , Moholdt Trine , Berg Jonathan
Published: June 2022

Rationale

Since many modern exergames include a multiplayer component, this study aimed to compare the physiological and perceptual responses between playing a cycling exergame alone or with others.

Methods

In this randomized crossover study, 15 healthy individuals aged between 10 and 30 years completed a single-player and a multiplayer exergaming session. The main outcomes were exercise intensity, measured as oxygen uptake (V°O2) and heart rate (HR), and perceived enjoyment, pleasure, and exertion.

Results

Peak HR was significantly higher during multiplayer (172 ± 23 beats per minute [bpm]) vs. single-player exergaming (159 ± 27 bpm) with a mean difference of 13 bpm (95% CI: 2 to 24, p = 0.02). Peak V°O2 was 33.6 ± 9.5 mL·kg−1·min−1 and 30.4 ± 9.1 mL·kg−1·min−1 during multiplayer and single-player exergaming, respectively with no statistically significant difference between conditions (3.2, 95% CI: −0.2–6.6 mL·kg−1·min−1, p = 0.06). Average HR, average V°O2 and perceptual responses did not differ between single- and multiplayer exergaming.

Conclusion

Other than inducing a higher HR, multiplayer exergaming showed no significant benefits on exercise intensity or perceptual responses over single-player exergaming. However, the higher peak HR and a tendency of higher peak V°O2 intensity during multiplayer exergaming imply that multiplayer exergaming may offer some advantages over single-player exergaming that could impact the potential health benefits of exergaming.
The Impact of Dehulling and Germination on the Physiochemical, Protein Solubility and Water and Oil Holding Capacities of Yellow Eye Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Protein Concentrates
Authors: Viana Lauren , English Marcia
Published: June 2022

Pulse varieties including Yellow Eye (YE) beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are a rich source of protein (~26.5%) that can be utilized to create value-added protein concentrates. Pre-treatments including dehulling and germination have been shown to be effective at improving the nutritional and functional properties of extracted protein concentrates. However, the composition and functionality of these protein concentrates can vary depending on the pre-treatments and the method of extraction used (salt vs. alkaline). Furthermore, little is known about the impact of combining these different processing methods on the properties of YE bean protein concentrates. The objective of this study was to evaluate how germination and dehulling pre-treatments individually and when combined influence protein extraction efficiency, physiochemical properties (surface hydrophobicity and intrinsic fluorescence), and the functionality (solubility, oil and water holding capacities) of salt and alkaline extracted protein concentrates. Compared to the salt extracted concentrates, the alkaline protein concentrates exhibited higher protein recovery yields (16–23% vs. 43–56%) respectively. Conversely, the salt extracted protein concentrates exhibited superior functional properties as observed by improved water holding capacities and less variation in their solubilities at different pH values (4 to 10). When the pre-treatments were combined, the salt extracted concentrates exhibited improved extraction efficiencies and improved hydrophobicity and intrinsic fluorescence, whereas the opposite trend was observed in the alkaline protein concentrates. These observations were attributed to differences in the protein content and composition of the salt vs. alkaline protein concentrates. Overall, these findings suggest that dehulling and germination are potential processing methods that may be used to improve the physiochemical characteristics of salt extracted protein concentrates from yellow eye beans. Future research may investigate the potential application of these ingredients in different food formulations.
Single-Center Retrospective Analysis of Risk Factors for Hydrocephalus After Lateral Ventricular Tumor Resection
Authors: Zhang Chengda , Ge Lingli , Li Zhengwei , Zhang Tingbao , Chen Jincao
Published: June 2022

Objective

There is no general consensus on the placement of preoperative and intraoperative external ventricular drainage (EVD) in patients with lateral ventricular tumors (LVTs). The aim of this study was to identify the predictors of postoperative acute and persistent hydrocephalus need for postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage and guide the management of postoperative EVD in patients with LVTs.

Methods

We performed a single-institution, retrospective analysis of patients who underwent resection of LVTs in our Department between January 2011 and March 2021. Patients were divided between one group that required CSF drainage and another group without the need for CSF drainage. We analyzed the two groups by univariate and multivariate analyses to identify the predictors of the requirement for postoperative CSF drainage due to symptomatic intracranial hypertension caused by hydrocephalus.

Results

A total of 97 patients met the inclusion criteria, of which 31 patients received preoperative or intraoperative EVD. Ten patients without prophylactic EVD received postoperative EVD for postoperative acute hydrocephalus. Eleven patients received postoperative ventriculoperitoneal(VP) shunt subsequently. Logistic regression analysis showed that tumor invasion of the anterior ventricle (OR = 7.66), transependymal edema (OR = 8.76), and a large volume of postoperative intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) (OR = 6.51) were independent risk factors for postoperative acute hydrocephalus. Perilesional edema (OR = 33.95) was an independent risk factor for postoperative VP shunt due to persistent hydrocephalus.

Conclusion

Postoperative hydrocephalus is a common complication in patients with LVTs. These findings might help to determine whether to conduct earlier interventions.
Rethinking the Management of Optic Pathway Gliomas: A Single Center Experience
Authors: Del Baldo Giada , Cacchione Antonella , Dell’Anna Vito Andrea , Merli Pietro , Colafati Giovanna Stefania , Marrazzo Antonio , Rossi Sabrina , Giovannoni Isabella , Barresi Sabina , Deodati Annalisa , Valente Paola , Ferretti Elisabetta , Capece Mara , Mastronuzzi Angela , Carai Andrea
Published: June 2022

Background

Optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) are rare neoplasms in children with an unpredictable clinical course. Approximately 15% of OPGs occur in patients affected by neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1): the clinical course of these cases is more indolently than sporadic ones, and NF1 patients less frequently require treatment including surgery. Instead, over 90% of sporadic OPGs require one or more therapeutic approaches. The management of OPG is controversial. They are also characterized by a high risk of morbidity including hypothalamic damage, endocrine deficits, visual deficit and/or neurological impairment.

Materials and Methods

In this paper, we evaluated visual and endocrinological outcomes of a population of OPG followed at our center from 2013 to 2021, with a particular emphasis on the role of surgery.

Results

Twenty-six patients were included in this study (mean age of 40.7 months). Tumor location on imaging was described by the Dodge classification. Five cases had NF 1. Thirteen cases received biopsy and 13 were partially resected. Histopathology revealed 19 cases of pilocytic astrocytomas, 2 pilomyxoid astrocytoma and 5 ganglioglioma. All the patients required a post-surgical adjuvant treatment according to current indications for low-grade gliomas. Molecular studies (BRAF status and mTOR/pmTOR pathway) have been performed in 24/26 patients, following for the use of target therapy in 11 of these patients. In our study we found that patients underwent biopsy have a better visual and endocrinological outcomes rather than patients with a tumor debulking. The five-year overall survival rate is 98% with a mean follow-up of 60 months.

Conclusions

Many children with OPGs survive with a residual tumor. They suffer from chronic diseases such as endocrine dysfunction, visual disturbance, motor deficits and poor quality of life. All patients need comprehensive diagnostic work-up including neuroimaging, clinical evaluations and neuropathology approach; at the same time, they need therapeutic decisions and concepts for the choice of timing and type of neurosurgical intervention, chemotherapy and target therapy as well as surveillance and rehabilitation to maximize survival and overall functional outcomes. Our study showed that minimal invasive surgery with the purpose of molecular characterization of the tumor is desirable to reduce morbidity correlate to surgery.