bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Single-nucleus RNA-seq and FISH reveal coordinated transcriptional activity in mammalian myofibers
Authors: Santos Matthieu Dos , Backer Stéphanie , Saintpierre Benjamin , Relaix Frederic , Sotiropoulos Athanassia , Maire Pascal
Published: April 2020

Skeletal muscle fibers are large syncytia but it is currently unknown whether gene expression is coordinately regulated in their numerous nuclei. By snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq, we showed that slow, fast, myotendinous and neuromuscular junction myonuclei each have different transcriptional programs, associated with distinct chromatin states and combinations of transcription factors. In adult mice, identified myofiber types predominantly express either a slow or one of the three fast isoforms of Myosin heavy chain (MYH) proteins, while a small number of hybrid fibers can express more than one MYH. By snRNA-seq and FISH, we showed that the majority of myonuclei within a myofiber are synchronized, coordinately expressing only one fastMyhisoform with a preferential panel of muscle-specific genes. Importantly, this coordination of expression occurs early during post-natal development and depends on innervation. These findings highlight a unique mechanism of coordination of gene expression in a syncytium.
Studies in alkaptonuria reveal new roles beyond drug clearance for phase I and II biotransformations in tyrosine metabolism
Authors: Norman Brendan P , Davison Andrew S , Hughes Juliette H , Sutherland Hazel , Wilson Peter J , Berry Neil G , Hughes Andrew T , Milan Anna M , Jarvis Jonathan C , Roberts Norman B , Ranganath Lakshminarayan R , Bou-Gharios George , Gallagher James A
Published: April 2020

Background and Purpose

alkaptonuria (AKU) is an inherited disorder of tyrosine metabolism caused by lack of the enzyme homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HGD). The primary biochemical consequence of HGD-deficiency is increased circulating homogentisic acid (HGA), which is central to AKU disease pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate the wider metabolic consequences of targetedHgddisruption.

Experimental Approach

the first metabolomic analysis of theHgd−/−AKU mouse model was performed. Urinary metabolites altered inHgd−/−were further validated by showing that the HGA-lowering drug nitisinone reversed their direction of alteration in AKU

Key Results

comparison ofHgd−/−(AKU) versusHgd+/−(heterozygous control) urine revealed increases in HGA and a group of 8 previously unreported HGA-derived transformation products from phase I and II metabolism. HGA biotransformation products HGA-sulfate, HGA-glucuronide, HGA-hydrate and hydroxymethyl-HGA were also decreased in urine from both mice and patients with AKU on the HGA-lowering agent nitisinone.Hgdknockout also revealed a host of previously unrecognised associations between tyrosine, purine and TCA cycle metabolic pathways.

Conclusion and Implications

AKU is rare, but our findings further what is currently understood about tyrosine metabolism more generally, and show for the first time that phase I and II detoxification is recruited to prevent accumulation of endogenously-produced metabolites in inborn errors of metabolism. The data highlight the misconception that phase I and II metabolic biotransformations are reserved solely for drug clearance; these are ancient mechanisms, which represent new potential treatment targets in inherited metabolic diseases.

Abstract Figure

Bullet point summary

What is already known

Increased circulating homogentisic acid is central to disease pathology in the inherited metabolic disease alkaptonuria

TheHgdknockout mouse, created in our laboratory, accurately models human alkaptonuria

What this study adds

Phase I and II biotransformations are recruited in alkaptonuria for detoxification of homogentisic acid

These data challenge misconceptions that phase I and II metabolism is solely for drug clearance

Clinical significance

Phase I and II metabolic processes represent new treatment targets in inherited metabolic diseases

The molecular pathology of AKU extends much further than the known alteration to tyrosine metabolism
Versatile compact heater design forin situnano-tomography by transmission X-ray microscopy
Authors: Antonelli Stephen , Ronne Arthur , Han Insung , Ge Mingyuan , Layne Bobby , Shahani Ashwin J. , Iwamatsu Kazuhiro , Wishart James F. , Hulbert Steven L. , Lee Wah-Keat , Chen-Wiegart Yu-chen Karen , Xiao Xianghui
Published: April 2020

A versatile, compact heater designed at National Synchrotron Light Source-II forin situX-ray nano-imaging in a full-field transmission X-ray microscope is presented. Heater design for nano-imaging is challenging, combining tight spatial constraints with stringent design requirements for the temperature range and stability. Finite-element modeling and analytical calculations were used to determine the heater design parameters. Performance tests demonstrated reliable and stable performance, including maintaining the exterior casing close to room temperature while the heater is operating at above 1100°C, a homogenous heating zone and small temperature fluctuations. Two scientific experiments are presented to demonstrate the heater capabilities: (i)in situ3D nano-tomography including a study of metal dealloying in a liquid molten salt extreme environment, and (ii) a study of pore formation in icosahedral quasicrystals. The progression of structural changes in both studies were clearly resolved in 3D, showing that the new heater enables powerful capabilities to directly visualize and quantify 3D morphological evolution of materials under real conditions by X-ray nano-imaging at elevated temperature during synthesis, fabrication and operation processes. This heater design concept can be applied to other applications where a precise, compact heater design is required.
Curriculum development in health and the built environment: creating a multidisciplinary platform to enhance knowledge and engagement
Authors: Gharipour Mohammad , Trout Amber L.
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Our lived experiences are complex, dynamic and increasingly connected locally and globally through virtual realities that call for an evolution and responsiveness from the field of architecture education. To ensure future built environments are designed to nurture healing and health, this paper aims to address a critical need in architecture education to integrate knowledge of health and social-behavioral disciplines in students' course work. The authors will outline the process of preparing a new multidisciplinary course on health and the built environment (HBE) at the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University in Baltimore, USA, as an effort to challenge the barriers of discipline-specific pathways to learning in the field of architecture.

Design/methodology/approach

The central question is how to develop an active learning pedagogy to foster a multidisciplinary learning environment focused on the “practice” (how to) of human-design-oriented approaches to improve the capability of built and natural environments to promote health and healing. The course intentionally centered on the real-life experiences of students to ground their new understanding of health and well-being fields. The course proposal went through an extensive peer-review process of reviewers from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and other departments at Morgan State University to ensure a balance between health- and architecture-specific curricula with a transdisciplinary approach to understanding complex health issues.

Findings

This paper shows the effectiveness of tools and techniques applied in the course to challenge architectural students to integrate various health and behavior perspectives in their designs and to apply health and healing principals to their current and future design projects.

Originality/value

While there are courses in American universities that offer a traditional introduction to health concerns related to the built environment, there is limited focus on the perspective of the design field approach to improve health and healing outcomes.
High-performance combined ring oscillators
Authors: Soltani Masoud , Khatib Farzan , Seyyed Mahdavi Chabok Seyyed Javad
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a more robust ring oscillator. Less sensitivity to power supply variations is a target. This is important since low-quality ring oscillators could be exploited in numerous systems to reduce die costs.

Design/methodology/approach

The method in this work is large signal analysis. Delay time as the large signal parameter is calculated symbolically to explore dependency on a power supply voltage. Then simulations are performed to make a comparison. In this work, mathematical justifications are verified via HSPICE circuit simulator outputs, while 0.18 µm TSMC CMOS technology is exploited.

Findings

At least two combined configurations are presented with higher robustness. These circuits are more appropriate in noisy conditions. Both theoretical calculations and simulation results verify less sensitive oscillation against supply voltage ripples and temperature variations.

Originality/value

Introducing a band-switched inverter in combined configurations is contribution. In this way, three structures are presented which both show higher stability in oscillation frequency. The band switched delay time calculations are quite new and also the validity of the symbolical delay time approach is verified by circuit simulations.
Design of a miniaturized tri-band bandstop filter using spur microstrip lines and via-hole grounding
Authors: Ganesan Revathi , Sankararajan Radha
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a miniaturized tri-band bandstop filter that finds application in a modern dense communication system where size and multi-band plays a vital role.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors propose a miniaturized tri-band microstrip bandstop filter which combines the conventional bandstop filter and spur microstrip line structures such that this design achieves tri-band operation at 1.8 GHz and 3 GHz. The overall length of the microstrip filter is found to reduce from 126 to 45 mm because of introduction of spur lines and via-hole grounding. The addition of spur lines replaces two resonators, introduces two additional resonant frequencies and enhances the −6 dB bandwidth of the center frequency by 14 %.The addition of via-holes in each resonator reduces its length into half of its original length, thereby reducing filter size.

Findings

Resonance occurs at three different frequencies 1.8, 2.4 and 3 GHz. The filter size reduces from 126 to 45 mm, and the −6 dB rejection bandwidth of center frequency improves by 14 %.

Originality/value

The overall filter size is reduced by 65% and it resonates at three different frequencies 1.8, 2.4 and 3 GHz with an improved bandwidth of 10 % around the center frequency.
An efficient Bayesian network for differential diagnosis using experts' knowledge
Authors: Ershadi Mohammad Mahdi , Seifi Abbas
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This study aims to differential diagnosis of some diseases using classification methods to support effective medical treatment. For this purpose, different classification methods based on data, experts’ knowledge and both are considered in some cases. Besides, feature reduction and some clustering methods are used to improve their performance.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the performances of classification methods are evaluated for differential diagnosis of different diseases. Then, experts' knowledge is utilized to modify the Bayesian networks' structures. Analyses of the results show that using experts' knowledge is more effective than other algorithms for increasing the accuracy of Bayesian network classification. A total of ten different diseases are used for testing, taken from the Machine Learning Repository datasets of the University of California at Irvine (UCI).

Findings

The proposed method improves both the computation time and accuracy of the classification methods used in this paper. Bayesian networks based on experts' knowledge achieve a maximum average accuracy of 87 percent, with a minimum standard deviation average of 0.04 over the sample datasets among all classification methods.

Practical implications

The proposed methodology can be applied to perform disease differential diagnosis analysis.

Originality/value

This study presents the usefulness of experts' knowledge in the diagnosis while proposing an adopted improvement method for classifications. Besides, the Bayesian network based on experts' knowledge is useful for different diseases neglected by previous papers.
Mentors' approach to practicum mentoring in the Spanish and Thai contexts: a two-cohort comparison using the Mentoring Profile Inventory
Authors: Mena Juanjo , Faikhamta Chatree , Clarke Anthony
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to better understand the work of mentors or cooperating teachers (CTs) in Spain and Thailand, by comparing how mentors in both contexts conceive of their work in teacher education.

Design/methodology/approach

A comparative study based on a crossnational research (CNR) approach was used. An internationally validated instrument, the Mentoring Profile Inventory (MPI), was given to 171 Spanish and 170 Thai CTs, and an analysis usingttests and constant comparative methods was conducted.

Findings

The main results indicate that the Spanish cohort reported being significantly more challenged than their Thai counterparts in working with preservice teachers (PSTs). Both groups indicated a similar degree of motivation. The comparative analysis revealed that the Thai CTs emphasized the importance of ethics in teaching and being a role model for PSTs, whereas the Spanish CTs emphasized the need for strong interpersonal relationships as being central to successful mentoring.

Research limitations/implications

Understanding mentors' challenges and motivations can form the basis for reflecting upon the essential components of teacher preparation in both contexts. Furthermore, comparative cross-context analyses, as demonstrated in this paper, are vital for the identification of important differences that might otherwise remain invisible or unrecognized from a single-context perspective.

Originality/value

The study is original in its focus in that it offers insights that help better understand attitudes and performance within and across contexts – in this case, a European and an Asian country – using a common metric, the MPI. This study serves as an exemplar for other comparison studies for countries of mentors.
Inventory financing a risk-averse newsvendor with strategic default
Authors: Li Tianyun , Fang Weiguo , Dash Wu Desheng , Zhang Baofeng
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The paper aims to explore the optimal strategies of inventory financing when the risk-averse retailer has different objectives, in the presence of multi-risk, i.e. demand risk, non-operational risk and retailer's strategic default risk.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops an inventory financing model consisting of a bank and a risk-averse retailer with strategic default. This paper considers two scenarios, i.e. the capital-constrained retailer cares about its profit or firm value. In the first scenario, the bank acts as a Stackelberg leader determining its interest rate, and the retailer acts as a follower determining its pledged quantity. In the second one, the bank capital market is perfectly competitive. Lagrange multiplier method is adopted to solve the optimization.

Findings

The optimal strategies in inventory financing scheme in two scenarios are derived. Only when the initial stock is relatively high, the retailer pledges part of the initial stock. Retailer's risk aversion reduces its pledged quantity and performance. The strategic default reduces its profit. When it is relatively high, the bank refuses to offer the loan.

Practical implications

Analytical inventory and financing strategies are specified to help retailers and banks to better understand the interaction of finance and operations management and to better respond to multi-risk.

Originality/value

New results and managerial insights are derived by incorporating partially endogenous strategic default and risk aversion into inventory financing, which enriches the interfaces of operations management and finance.
Improving mobile health apps usage: a quantitative study on mPower data of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Li Jiexun , Chang Xiaohui
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The emergence of mobile health (mHealth) products has created a capability of monitoring and managing the health of patients with chronic diseases. These mHealth technologies would not be beneficial unless they are adopted and used by their target users. This study identifies key factors affecting the usage of mHealth apps based on user usage data collected from an mHealth app.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a dataset collected from an mHealth app named mPower, developed for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), this paper investigated the effects of disease diagnosis, disease progression and mHealth app difficulty level on app usage, while controlling for user information. App usage is measured by five different activity counts of the app.

Findings

The results across five measures of mHealth app usage vary slightly. On average, previous professional diagnosis and high user performance scores encourage user participation and engagement, while disease progression hinders app usage.

Research limitations/implications

The findings potentially provide insights into better design and promotion of mHealth products and improve the capability of health management of patients with chronic diseases.

Originality/value

Studies on the mHealth app usage are critical but sparse because large-scale and reliable mHealth app usage data are limited. Unlike earlier works based solely on survey data, this research used a large user usage data collected from an mHealth app to study key factors affecting app usage. The methods presented in this study can serve as a pioneering work for the design and promotion of mHealth technologies.
Building the capacity for student leadership in high school: a review of organizational mechanisms from the field of student voice
Authors: Lyons Lindsay , Brasof Marc
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the organizational mechanisms by which schools can increase opportunities for student leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the student voice literature conducted in high schools was used to identify organizational mechanisms for enhancing student leadership.

Findings

Five leadership-fostering organizational mechanisms were identified: consistency, research, group makeup, governance structure and recognition.

Originality/value

This paper examines the existing body of student voice research to identify organizational mechanisms for fostering student leadership in schools. Researchers can use this to operationalize student leadership mechanisms and study their impact. Practitioners can implement these mechanisms in schools to support youth leadership development.
An exploration into key roles in making project-based learning happen
Authors: Pan Gary , Seow Poh-Sun , Shankararaman Venky , Koh Kevin
Published: April 2020

Purpose

One of the main obstacles facing project-based learning (PBL) adoption relates to a lack of understanding by teachers and students in the roles they are required to play in the learning process. This study aims to address this obstacle, so as to better promote regular adoption of PBL pedagogy in educational institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The strategy was to undertake an in-depth case study of PBL courses taught in UNI-X’s undergraduate curriculum. The case study approach is particularly appropriate for this exploratory study because it allows to capture the organizational dynamics of the phenomenon better and also its ability to explain the phenomenon based on interpretation of data.

Findings

This paper presents an empirical study on the role perspective of PBL in a collaborative project environment. By drawing upon a case study of UNI-X, the authors argue that a teacher plays the roles of a designer, champion, facilitator and manager in a PBL course. To ensure that learning is effective, students should play the roles of a self-directed learner and a warrior when completing their projects. It is clear that role ambiguity and role conflict could occur in PBL courses and might even impact the effectiveness of student learning.

Originality/value

For researchers, this paper contributes to the PBL literature by introducing a role perspective of PBL. This study identifies a list of roles a teacher and a student could potentially play in a PBL setting. Such understanding could serve as a reminder for a teacher and a student for the roles they need to play in achieving learning outcomes of a PBL course.
Natural disasters and MNC sub-national investments in China
Authors: Oh Chang Hoon , Oetzel Jennifer , Rivera Jorge , Lien Donald
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how foreign firms consider natural disaster risk in subsequent investment decisions in a host country and whether different location portfolios can serve to mitigate investment risk.

Design/methodology/approach

The author sample includes data on 437 Fortune Global 500 firms and their initial entry into Chinese provinces between 1955 and 2008.

Findings

Using a fixed effects logit model of discrete time event history analysis, results show that geographic proximity to same multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries and different MNC subsidiaries from the same home country mitigates the negative effect of natural disasters on MNC entry into an affected province, while geographic proximity to other MNC subsidiaries from different home countries does not.

Originality/value

The knowledge needed to respond to severe disasters appears to be highly context-specific and shared only between firms with a high degree of commonality and trust.
Optimization of process parameters on drilling of natural fibres reinforced in epoxy resin matrices using Taguchi–Grey relational analysis
Authors: K M Alagappan , S Vijayaraghavan , M P Jenarthanan , R Giridharan
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the ideal process parameters to be set for the drilling of hybrid fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) (kenaf and banana) composite using High-Speed Steel drill bits (5, 10, 15 mm) coated with tungsten carbide by means of statistical reproduction of the delamination factor and machining force using Taguchi–Grey Relational Analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The contemplated process parameters are Feed, Speed and Drill Diameter. The trials were carried out by taking advantage of the L-27 factorial design by Taguchi. Three factors, the three level Taguchi Orthogonal Array design in Grey Relational Analysis was used to carry out the trial study. Video Measuring System was used to identify the damage around the drill region. “Minitab 18” was used to examine the data collected by taking advantage of the various statistical and graphical tools available. Examination of variance is used to legitimize the model in identifying the most notable parameter.

Findings

The optimised set of input parameters were found out successfully which are as follows: Feed Rate: 450 mm/min, Cutting Speed: 3,000 rpm and Drill Diameter of 5 mm. When these values are fed in as input the optimised output is being obtained. From ANOVA analysis, it is apparent that the Speed (contribution of 92.6%) is the most influencing parameter on the delamination factor and machining force of the FRP material.

Originality/value

Optimization of process parameters on drilling of natural fibres reinforced in epoxy resin matrices using Taguchi–Grey Relational Analysis has not been previously explored.
Effects of heat and mass transfer on the peristaltic motion of Sutterby fluid in an inclined channel
Authors: Atlas Faseeha , Javed Maryiam , Imran Naveed
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the peristaltic mechanism of Sutterby fluid in a symmetric channel with mass and heat transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

Mass and heat transfer are investigated in the assumption of Reynolds number and the long wavelength. The velocity, temperature and concentration terms for small values of Sutterby fluid parameter are achieved.

Findings

Graphical results have been introduced for various important parameters. The effects of emerging key parameters are also highlighted.

Originality/value

Sutterby fluid model is one that represents the high polymer aqueous solutions. It is now strongly believed that any diseased part of the body would be cured better when exposed to magnetic force when compared with a drug. Peristalsis with mass and heat transfer occurs in treatment to destroy the unwanted tissues, hemodialysis and oxygenation process, etc.
How to value a real estate company? Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (ALEX)
Authors: Zeng Bei , Johannesen Andreas , Fang Xin
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This study aims to provide students an opportunity to analyze the financial performance of a publicly listed real estate company and estimate its instinct value by applying appropriate financial models and approaches.

Theoretical basis

Three major valuation models/approaches generated by financial theory and practice to estimate the intrinsic value of a security: discounting cash-flows valuation (DCF and NPV) – valuation through adjusted net asset and liquidation value (NAV) – relative valuation through price and value multiples (valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis). Wholly owned subsidiaries versus and joint venture ones.

Research methodology

Analyze financial information of all segments in a multiple-business firm, and apply suitable financial models and approaches among net asset value model (NAV), discounted cash flow (DCF) or net present value (NPV) model, valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis to estimate the intrinsic value of the whole firm.

Case overview/synopsis

This decision-based case allows students to explore the business valuation process for a public listed real estate company, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE: ALEX). Based on financial statements analysis and forward-looking financial expectation on ALEX, this case elevates students' understanding and practice of valuating this multiple-business firms by applying appropriate financial models and approaches among NAV, DCF or NPV, valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis and enable students to make their investment decisions of buying, holding or selling the company’s stocks.

Complexity academic level

This case is most appropriate for graduate courses such as corporate finance, investments, personal finance, real estate finance and financial markets and institutes.
Educational transition outcomes of children and adolescents with clinically relevant emotional or behavioural disorders: results of a systematic review
Authors: Metzner Franka , Wichmann Michelle Lok‐Yan , Mays Daniel
Published: April 2020

Educational transitions are associated with significant changes. If students cannot overcome these challenges, their well‐being and motivation may be impaired. Students with clinically relevant emotional or behavioural disorders (EBDs) are at risk for negative transitional experiences. We conducted a systematic review summarising transitional outcomes of students with EBDs. After an electronic search in eight scientific databases, 4,930 publications were screened against six inclusion criteria. Two coders assessed the eligibility of 181 full‐texts. We included k = 22 studies published in English or German (1988–2017). Students with autism (k = 15) and transitions out of school (k = 13) were examined most frequently. Well‐being, achievements, social participation, support and expectations were observed. Poor well‐being and social difficulties were prevalent, but often adjusted over time. The results are limited by the inclusion criteria and search procedures. Nevertheless, the review closes a research gap and has implications for the implementation of interventions and a supportive transition environment for students with clinically relevant EBDs. Further research on individual changes and supportive approaches during transitions is needed.
Mindfulness and the ‘psychological imagination’
Authors: Nehring Daniel , Frawley Ashley
Published: April 2020

We analyse the rise of ‘mindfulness’ in English language media discourses and contextualise it in terms of its expression of a persistent underlying ‘psychological imagination’ in contemporary thinking about social problems. An inversion of C. Wright Mills’ much‐cited sociological imagination, the psychological imagination draws on medical‐scientific authority to treat social problems as private concerns rooted in individual biology, mentality and behaviour. We analyse the roles which academic claims‐making, commercial interests and mass mediatisation have played in the rise of mindfulness from the late 1970s onwards. We first map the translation of mindfulness from Buddhist philosophy into Western psychotherapy and popular psychology before considering its emergence and expression in the public sphere of news media claims‐making. We argue that where the sociological imagination ‘promised’ above all the treatment of private troubles as public issues and insights into the ‘human variety’ produced by myriad ways of living, the psychological imagination promises the isolation of public issues as private concerns rooted in individual biology, mentality and behaviour. The psychological imagination permeates the expression of mindfulness as a solution to social ills and symbolises the comparative decline of assumptions implicit in Mills’ 20th century rousing call to social scientists.
Crossing the buffer: ontological anxiety among US evangelicals and an anthropological theory of mind
Authors: Brahinsky Joshua
Published: April 2020

Scholars describe the dominant model of mind in the United States as secular: bounded, private, supernaturally inert, and the locus for self and identity. I argue that US charismatic evangelicals live with the secular sense of a seemingly immutable boundary between the immaterial mind‐self and the material world – what Charles Taylor might call ‘boundedness’ – but at the same time, their commitment to supernatural connection means they imagine the mind‐world boundary as porous under certain circumstances: a brittle, fragile buffer between the natural and the supernatural. To allow this porosity, charismatics develop strategies for crossing the buffer, which include spoken prayer, powerful emotions, playful modes of pretend, and bodily rupture or ‘breaking in’. These strategies provide evidence that the supernatural is real. Yet practitioners remain anxious about the relationship between these supernatural experiences and the scepticism around them. This ‘ontological anxiety’ becomes visible in three ways. First, charismatics cultivate intense bodily sensations that demonstrate the reality of God. Second, they describe their experience with a ‘common‐sense realism’. Finally, charismatics are disturbed by the incoherence between their evangelical and secular impulses around the possibility of mental action.
Empirical examination of the role of fintech in monetary policy
Authors: Mumtaz Muhammad Z. , Smith Zachary A.
Published: April 2020

Over the past decade, technological innovations have changed the dynamics of the financial system. As a result, firms have used cellular phones, the Internet, and digital currencies to facilitate exchanges and operate their businesses. This course of action affects the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. The goal of the present study is to examine the role that fintech plays in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. First, we analyse the income velocity and the money multiplier during pre‐fintech and post‐fintech periods. The results confirm that there is no change in income velocity and the money multiplier during these periods. Second, we develop the money demand function to examine the effect of monetary policy and demonstrate that low monetary policy rates lead to an increase in money demand. When we introduce fintech components to examine their impact on money demand, we find that mobile and Internet technologies and all digital currencies considered in this study are robust predictors of money demand. Third, we analyse the product market equation and report that after the initiation of fintech, monetary policy has a significant effect. To examine the cost function, we incorporate fintech components and identify that cellular phones, Internet technology, Litecoin, and Ethereum are the determinants of the output gap. Finally, we examine the drivers of fintech and determine that the real interest rate, GDP, inflation, the financial development index, and stock market indices are significant determinants of fintech.
The ‘Holy Days’ of Queen Elizabeth I
Authors: MEARS NATALIE , WILLIAMSON PHILIP
Published: April 2020

The annual celebrations of the accession day and birthday of Queen Elizabeth I are a familiar subject in studies of her reign, yet their beginnings, status and purpose have remained uncertain. By examining revisions of the calendar of the Church of England published in the Book of Common Prayer from early in the reign, this article establishes the dates of the first recognition of these public anniversaries. It questions the weight that has been attached to the evidence for these occasions provided in churchwardens’ accounts, and challenges the conventional interpretations that accession day began and spread as wholly spontaneous, local and popular festivities, and expressed a straightforward patriotic ‘cult’ of the queen. While agreeing that they were not holidays, and explaining that they were not strictly ‘holy days’, it is argued that the two anniversaries began as and continued to be religious occasions, and that their origins are best understood in terms of the religious politics of the Elizabethan state. As other scholars have shown by careful exegesis of sermons addressed to the queen, ‘godly’ clergy persistently urged her to undertake further protestant reformation and firmer anti‐Catholic measures. With the anniversaries and in the forms of prayer for accession day, archbishops and bishops provided opportunities and texts both to sustain loyalty to the actual queen and to stimulate hopes of an ideal queen who would more completely fulfil their understanding of her providential role.
The effect of various pH values on foaming properties of whey protein preparations
Authors: Nastaj Maciej , Sołowiej Bartosz G
Published: April 2020

The influence of pH on foaming of whey protein isolates (WPI) and concentrates (WPC 80 and WPC 65) dispersions was investigated due to the lack of studies on the whipping process on the protein aggregation in prefoam solutions, resulting foams and drainage serum. The WPI foams were superior compared to WPC ones. pH values of 5.0 and 9.0 were optimal for the foaming of all preparations, while pH 3.0 caused a deterioration of their foamability. For the WPI foams, a correlation was found between the yield stress and phase angle. pH 9.0 promoted the protein aggregation, especially in the prefoam WPI solutions.
Distinct HLA and non‐HLA associations in different subtypes of ANCA‐associated vasculitides in North India
Authors: Singh Jagdeep , Sharma Aman , Rani Lekha , Kaur Navchetan , Anand Shashi , Saikia Biman , Jha Saket , Nada Ritambhra , Minz Ranjana Walker
Published: April 2020

Aim

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody‐associated vasculitis (AAV) is an autoimmune disease characterized by necrotizing small vessel vasculitis that can affect various organs and present multiple symptoms. Susceptibility to AAV is multifactorial and most likely caused by an amalgamation of genetic and environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to explore the distribution of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐DRB1/DQB1, protein tyrosine phosphatase non‐receptor type 22 (PTPN22) and cytotoxic T‐Lymphocyte‐associated protein 4 (CTLA‐4) polymorphisms in North Indian AAV patients and their associations with clinical and pathological characteristics associated with the disease.

Methods

A total of 150 AAV patients and 150 healthy controls were recruited. The clinical classification showed 128 as granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and 21 as microscopic polyangiitis. Only 1 case of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis was encountered, which was excluded from analysis. HLA‐DRB1/DQB1 alleles were determined by polymerase chain reaction‐sequence‐specific primer (PCR‐SSP) method and single nucleotide variant genotyping for CTLA‐4 and PTPN22 was done by simple probe‐based SNP arrays.

Results

A significant predispositional association of DRB1*03 and DQB1*02 alleles, were confirmed in proteinase 3 (PR3)‐AAV patients, whereas DRB1*10, DRB1*14 and DQB1*05 were protective alleles in AAV, PR3‐AAV and GPA patients. GG genotype of CTLA‐4 + 49A/G was increased in patients as compared to controls and showed an association with AAV, PR3‐AAV and GPA patients.

Conclusion

The study indicated strong genetic associations were linked with PR3 antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody specificity and it appears that PR3‐AAV and MPO‐AAV have distinct genetic backgrounds.
Exposure to surgery is associated with better long‐term outcomes in patients admitted to Swedish intensive care units
Authors: Jawad Monir , Baigi Amir , Chew Michelle
Published: April 2020

Background

Long‐term outcomes of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) after surgery are unknown. We investigated the long‐term effects of surgical exposure prior to ICU admission.

Methods

Registry‐based cohort study. The adjusted effect of surgical exposure for mortality was examined using Cox regression. Secondary analysis with conditional logistic regression in a case‐control subpopulation matched for age, gender, and Simplified Acute Physiology Score III (SAPS3) was also conducted.

Results

72 242 adult patients (56.9% males, median age 66 years [IQR 50‐76]), admitted to Swedish ICUs in 3‐year (2012‐2014) were followed for a median of 2026 days (IQR 1745‐2293). Cardiovascular diseases (17.5%), respiratory diseases (15.8%), trauma (11.2%), and infections (11.4%) were the leading causes for ICU admission. Mortality at longest follow‐up was 49.4%. Age; SAPS3; admissions due to malignancies, respiratory, cardiovascular and renal diseases; and transfer to another ICU were associated with increased mortality. Surgical exposure prior to ICU admission (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.90; 95% CI 0.87‐0.94; P < .001), admissions from the operation theatre (aHR 0.94; CI 0.90‐0.99; P = .022) or post‐anaesthesia care unit (aHR 0.92; CI 0.87‐0.97; P = .003) were associated with decreased mortality. Conditional logistic regression confirmed the association between surgical exposure and decreased mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.82; CI 0.75‐0.91; P < .001).

Conclusions

Long‐term ICU mortality was associated with known risk factors such as age and SAPS3. Transfer to other ICUs also appeared to be a risk factor and requires further investigation. Prior surgical exposure was associated with better outcomes, a noteworthy observation given limited ICU admissions after surgery in Sweden.
Barriers and aids to routine neuromuscular monitoring and consistent reversal practice—A qualitative study
Authors: Thomsen Jakob L. D. , Marty Adrian P. , Wakatsuki Shin , Macario Alex , Tanaka Pedro , Gätke Mona R. , Østergaard Doris
Published: April 2020

Background

Neuromuscular monitoring is recommended whenever a neuromuscular blocking agent is administered, but surveys have demonstrated inconsistent monitoring practices. Using qualitative methods, we aimed to explore barriers and aids to routine neuromuscular monitoring and consistent reversal practice.

Methods

Focus group interviews were conducted to obtain insights into the thoughts and attitudes of individual anaesthetists, as well as the influence of colleagues and department culture. Interviews were conducted at five Danish and one US hospital. Data were analysed using template analysis.

Results

Danish anaesthetists used objective neuromuscular monitoring when administering a non‐depolarizing relaxant, but had challenges with calibrating the monitor and sometimes interpreting measurements. Residents from the US institution used subjective neuromuscular monitoring, objective neuromuscular monitoring was generally not available and most had not used it. Danish anaesthetists used neuromuscular monitoring to assess readiness for extubation, whereas US residents used subjective neuromuscular monitoring, clinical tests like 5‐second head lift and ventilatory parameters. The residents described a lack of consensus between senior anaesthesiologists in reversal practice and monitoring use. Barriers to consistent and correct neuromuscular monitoring identified included unreliable equipment, time pressure, need for training, misconceptions about pharmacokinetics of neuromuscular blocking agents and residual block, lack of standards and guidelines and departmental culture.

Conclusion

Using qualitative methods, we found that though Danish anaesthetists generally apply objective neuromuscular monitoring routinely and residents at the US institution often apply subjective neuromuscular monitoring, barriers to consistent and correct use still exist.
Homelessness and the Universal Family in China
Authors: He Huili , Su Zhihao , Zhao Jianjun , Pang Yihui , Wang Zhihe
Published: April 2020

Depending on how one defines homelessness, China has either a very tiny homeless population or an extremely large one. Compared to other countries, there very few vagrants: people living on the streets of China's cities without means of support. But if one counts the people who migrated to cities without a legal permit (hukou), work as day laborers without job security or a company dormitory, and live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on the edge of cities, there are nearly 300 million homeless. Free market fundamentalism is responsible for the emergence of this sort of homelessness in China. We review China's recent new policies to tackle homelessness and offer suggestions based on the traditional Chinese wisdom, which includes the concept of the universal family (family ‐ tian xia). Homelessness in China must be addressed as a cultural problem caused by the breakdown of ancient methods of social integration. Treating it merely as a housing deficit will fail.
Predictors of successful ring pessary use in women with pelvic organ prolapse
Authors: Turel Fatakia Friyan , Pixton Sarah , Caudwell Hall Jessica , Dietz Hans Peter
Published: April 2020

Background

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common chronic health issue. Pessary rings are used for conservative management. To date, there is little evidence on objective anatomical findings as predictors of successful ring pessary management.

Aim

To determine any association between history, clinical and four‐dimensional translabial ultrasound (TLUS)/pelvic floor ultrasound examination and pessary success.

Materials and Methods

From November 2013 to November 1015, all new patients presenting with symptomatic prolapse to a tertiary urogynaecological unit underwent an assessment including interview, clinical examination, that is, International Continence Society POPQ (pelvic organ prolapse quantification) and TLUS. Women with symptomatic prolapse were offered conservative management with a ring pessary. Those who agreed had a ring inserted that day. Successful trial of pessary use was defined as continued use for at least three months. Retrospective analysis of imaging data was performed blinded to other data. Statistical analysis was performed to assess the relationship between history, examination and imaging and pessary success.

Results

Of 525 patients seen during the inclusion period, 177 had symptomatic prolapse. One hundred and twenty‐eight were offered a pessary, 89 accepted. Five had incomplete data, leaving 84. Forty‐ Two (50%) were still using the pessary at a three‐month follow‐up. Predictors associated with failure included being pre‐menopausal (P = 0.031), a previous hysterectomy (P = 0.051), increasing genital hiatus and perineal body (Gh + Pb) (P = 0.013), posterior compartment prolapse (P = 0.027) and a larger hiatal area on Valsalva on TLUS (P = 0.049). Pre‐menopausal status (P = 0.003), increasing Gh + Pb (P = 0.011) and previous hysterectomy (P = 0.001) remained significant on multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

A history of previous hysterectomy is a predictor of pessary failure as are Gh+Pb on Valsalva and premenopausal status.
Exploiting nonsystematic covariate monitoring to broaden the scope of evidence about the causal effects of adaptive treatment strategies
Authors: Kreif Noémi , Sofrygin Oleg , Schmittdiel Julie A. , Adams Alyce S. , Grant Richard W. , Zhu Zheng , van der Laan Mark J. , Neugebauer Romain
Published: April 2020

In studies based on electronic health records (EHR), the frequency of covariate monitoring can vary by covariate type, across patients, and over time, which can limit the generalizability of inferences about the effects of adaptive treatment strategies. In addition, monitoring is a health intervention in itself with costs and benefits, and stakeholders may be interested in the effect of monitoring when adopting adaptive treatment strategies. This paper demonstrates how to exploit nonsystematic covariate monitoring in EHR‐based studies to both improve the generalizability of causal inferences and to evaluate the health impact of monitoring when evaluating adaptive treatment strategies. Using a real world, EHR‐based, comparative effectiveness research (CER) study of patients with type II diabetes mellitus, we illustrate how the evaluation of joint dynamic treatment and static monitoring interventions can improve CER evidence and describe two alternate estimation approaches based on inverse probability weighting (IPW). First, we demonstrate the poor performance of the standard estimator of the effects of joint treatment‐monitoring interventions, due to a large decrease in data support and concerns over finite‐sample bias from near‐violations of the positivity assumption (PA) for the monitoring process. Second, we detail an alternate IPW estimator using a no direct effect assumption. We demonstrate that this estimator can improve efficiency but at the potential cost of increase in bias from violations of the PA for the treatment process.
Public transit and air pollution: Evidence from Canadian transit strikes
Authors: Rivers Nicholas , Saberian Soodeh , Schaufele Brandon
Published: April 2020

Little is known about the causal impacts of public transit on local air pollution. Exploiting variation in transit availability resulting from transit strikes in 18 Canadian cities between 1974 and 2011, this study identifies the short‐run effect of public transit on air pollution. Our findings indicate that transit leads to a 3.5 part per billion increase in nitrogen oxides while having no statistically significant effect on carbon monoxide or PM2.5. Estimates are robust to a series of specification tests and magnitudes are consistent with a calibrated simulation model. Overall, the results suggest that expanding the current configuration of public transit in North American cities is unlikely to yield improvements in local air quality.