bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Objective and Subjective Outcomes in Patients with Hearing Aids: A Cross-Sectional, Comparative, Associational Study
Authors: Wang Xunyi , Zheng Yun , Li Gang , Lu Jingzhe , Yin Yan
Published: July 2021

Introduction: Outcome assessment for hearing aids (HAs) is an essential part of HA fitting and validation. There is no consensus about the best or standard approach for evaluating HA outcomes. And, the relationship between objective and subjective measures is ambiguous. This study aimed to determine the outcomes after HA fitting, explore correlations between subjective benefit and acoustic gain improvement as well as objective audiologic tests, and investigate several variables that may improve patients’ perceived benefits. Methods: Eighty adults with bilateral symmetrical hearing loss using HAs for at least 1 month were included in this study. All subjects completed the pure tone average (PTA) threshold and word recognition score (WRS) tests in unaided and aided conditions. We also administered the Chinese version of International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA), to measure participants’ subjective benefits. Objective HA benefit (acoustic gain improvement) was defined as the difference in thresholds or scores between aided and unaided conditions indicated with ΔPTA and ΔWRS. Thus, patients’ baseline hearing levels were taken into account. Correlations were assessed among objective audiologic tests (PTA and WRS), acoustic gain improvement (ΔPTA and ΔWRS), multiple potential factors, and IOI-HA overall scores. Results: PTA decreased significantly, but WRS did not increase when aided listening was compared to unaided listening. Negative correlations between PTAs and IOI-HA scores were significant but weak (r = −0.370 and r = −0.393, all p < 0.05). Significant weak positive correlations were found between WRSs and IOI-HA (r = 0.386 and r = 0.309, all p < 0.05). However, there was no correlation among ΔPTA, ΔWRS, and IOI-HA (r = 0.056 and r = −0.086, all p > 0.05). Moreover, 2 nonaudiological factors (age and daily use time) were significantly correlated with IOI-HA (r = −0.269 and r = 0.242, all p < 0.05). Conclusions: Correlations among objective audiologic tests, acoustic gain, and subjective patient-reported outcomes were weak or absent. Subjective questionnaires and objective tests do not reflect the same hearing capability. Therefore, it is advisable to evaluate both objective and subjective outcomes when analyzing HA benefits on a regular basis and pay equal attention to nonaudiological and audiological factors.
Predição de tendências em séries financeiras utilizando metaclassificadores
Authors: Assis Carlos Alberto Silva de , Carrano Eduardo Gontijo , Pereira Adriano Cesar Machado
Published: July 2021

Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um metaclassificador baseado em métodos de inteligência computacional para prever tendências em séries temporais financeiras. O kernel do metaclassificador foi baseado na ferramenta (Weka). Sete classificadores foram combinados para realizar a metaclassificação. Testes foram realizados com nove ativos da Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo. Os resultados iniciais foram promissores, com boa acurácia na classificação e ganhos de até 100% do valor de capital inicialmente investido no período de um ano.
Regime de metas de inflação do Brasil: a influência das expectativas inflacionárias
Authors: Reis Ermeson Henrique Silva dos , Ferreira Júinor Reynaldo Rubem , Silva Ariane Danielle Baraúna da
Published: July 2021

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo identificar a influência das flutuações nas expectativas de inflação sobre o Regime de Metas de inflação (RMI), em especial sobre o Índice de Preços ao Consumidor Amplo (IPCA) no Brasil. Destarte, foi possível observar que a expectativa de inflação impacta de maneira positiva a inflação brasileira desde o primeiro mês. No mais, a formação da expectativa futura de inflação é influenciada por um conjunto de variáveis que impactam a inflação de maneiras diferentes tanto em magnitude quando em tempo de duração.
Unemployment rate and wage growth in Brazil: evidence from a Markov-switching model
Authors: Nobrega Wellington Charles Lacerda , Besarria Cássio da Nóbrega , De Oliveira Felipe Araújo
Published: July 2021

This paper has the purpose to investigate the relationship between unemployment rate and wage growth for the Brazilian economy from 2000to 2016, by means of a Markov-switching regression model. The empirical approach is based on the New-Keynesian Phillips Curve developed by Galí (2011). The estimation results suggest the existence of two well definedregimes, one characterized by the non-validation of the Phillips Curve, while in the other the trade-off between unemployment and wageinflation is validated, with the economic cycle being a key factor in regime switching.
Demanda individual de alimentos e estado nutricional infantil: uma análise da influência do Programa Bolsa Família
Authors: Silva Maria Micheliana da Costa
Published: July 2021

Este estudo analisou o efeito do Programa Bolsa Família (PBF) sobre o estado nutricional e aquisição individual de alimentos, para crianças em situação de pobreza. Para tanto, com os dados da POF/IBGE, estimou-se um modelo que identifica a aquisição individual de calorias, por meio da aquisição agregada domiciliar, seguido pela estimação de uma função de produção de saúde infantil, por regressões quantílicas, que verifica o efeito de um conjunto de variáveis, incluindo a aquisição calórica e a participação no PBF, sobre a distribuição do indicador de estado nutricional utilizado (IMC), e por fim, um sistema de demanda para alimentação infantil, que permitiu a obtenção de variações nas quantidades de alimentos alocadas para crianças, dada a participação no programa. De forma geral, a análise proposta foi importante para entender como intervenções políticas específicas podem contribuir para incentivar hábitos saudáveis, dando atenção aos seus impactos sobre indivíduos vulneráveis.
Os ensinos público e privado no Brasil e a incidência de sobre-educação no mercado de trabalho
Authors: Reis Mauricio Cortez
Published: July 2021

A baixa qualidade da educação costuma ser apontada como um dos fatores responsáveis pela incidência de sobre-educação, pois trabalhadores com determinado nível educacional não estariam capacitados para exercer as atividades compatíveis com os anos de estudo que completaram. O objetivo desse artigo é investigar a relação entre a rede de ensino e a probabilidade de sobre-educação no Brasil, explorando as diferenças de qualidade entre instituições públicas e privadas. De acordo com os resultados, entre os indivíduos com ensino médio, os egressos de escolas públicas tem maior probabilidade de serem sobre-educados, enquanto para o ensino superior é verificado o contrário.
Predição de sinistros agrícolas: uma abordagem comparativa utilizando aprendizagem de máquina
Authors: Mota Arthur Lula , Miquelluti Daniel Lima , Ozaki Vitor Augusto
Published: July 2021

O seguro agrícola tem ganho maior atenção no Brasil desde o início da década passada, com a implementação do Programa de Subvenção ao Prêmio do Seguro Rural. O presente estudo testou o desempenho de algoritmos de Machine Learning para as seguradoras anteciparem a ocorrência de sinistro, elaborando previsões por meio de dados de apólices e bases de dados climáticas entre os anos de 2006 e 2017. Foram testados os algoritmos Random Forest, Support Vector Machine e k-Nearest Neighbours. O segundo mostrou melhor performance preditiva de sinistros. No entanto, todos os métodos apresentaram baixa capacidade preditiva para a ocorrência de sinistros.
Controle social da administração pública por agentes privados: avaliando o impacto dos observatórios sociais nas despesas dos municípios do Paraná
Authors: Banhos Marllon da Silva , Seixas Renato Nunes de Lima
Published: July 2021

Este artigo tem como objetivo avaliar a eficácia da iniciativa privada no controle da administração pública. Estimamos o impacto da introdução dos Observatórios Sociais (OS) em diversas categorias de gastos públicos municipais no estado do Paraná. Utilizando informações do período 2002-2017, os resultados mostram economias em despesas com material de consumo e serviços contratados de pessoas jurídicas de até 0,5% do PIB municipal, que tendem a serem maiores com o tempo de atuação. Concluímos que iniciativas de controle social independentes do poder público podem ser efetivas no controle da administração pública.
Housing and sanitation-related diseases
Authors: Nishimura Fabio Nobuo
Published: July 2021

Housing and health-related issues are typical concerns of developing countries since their consequences usually lead to deadly diseases. Hence, in order to improve the assertiveness of public policies, minimize the divergence between actions proposed by different studies and contribute to mitigate those issues, this paper seeks to understand the relative impacts of the proposed policies as well as their efficiency. Thus, this paper evaluates the Brazilian Rental Housing Program (RHP) using a regression discontinuity design (RDD) model, a strategy that is strengthened by the performance of robustness tests. As a result, we verified that RHP was able to reduce deaths from sanitation-related diseases by up to 11% and that this effect increases over time.
Efeito da corrupção sobre a eficiência institucional dos países
Authors: Rodrigues Loredany Consule Crespo , Gomes Adriano Provezano , Teixeira Evandro Camargos
Published: July 2021

O objetivo desse estudo é analisar o efeito da corrupção sobre a eficiência das instituições. Para tal, inicialmente, calculou-se o índice de eficiência institucional por meio da análise envoltória de dados. Por meio das referidas medidas, verificou-se que os países institucionalmente eficientes são os menos corruptos e a corrupção impacta negativamente a eficiência das instituições. Sendo assim, considerando a relevância das instituições para o crescimento e desenvolvimento dos países, ressalta-se a importância da formulação de políticas públicas que combatam a corrupção, pois, dessa forma, as instituições se tornarão mais eficientes e os países economicamente mais prósperos.
O efeito da concorrência de importações chinesas na saúde dos trabalhadores brasileiros
Authors: Cechin Alícia , Charris Carlos Andres , Silva Fernanda Aparecida , Cardoso Leonardo Chaves Borges
Published: July 2021

Este estudo buscou verificar qual o efeito do aumento da concorrênciade importações chinesas nos acidentes e doenças do trabalho no Brasil no período de 2000 a 2016. Para isso, utilizou-se o método de variável instrumental, bem como um conjunto de efeitos fixos e variáveis de controle para captar o efeito de interesse. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que o aumento da concorrência de importações chinesas aumentou os acidentes e doenças do trabalho no Brasil em 2000-2016. Além disso, setores com menor número de empregados apresentam um maior efeito da concorrência de importações chinesas nos acidentes e doenças no trabalho.
Adesão, permanência e dificuldades encontradas por mulheres, da cidade de Limoeiro do Norte no futsal: um estudo de caso
Authors: Nascimento Valderlene Costa do , Leite Marcelo Alencar
Published: July 2021

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo investigar os motivos que levaram mulheres da cidade de Limoeiro do Norte a buscarem a prática do futsal e sua permanência nessa prática. A amostra foi composta por nove mulheres de um time de futsal da cidade de Limoeiro do Norte que possuem idade entre 18 e 46 anos. Para a coleta de dados utilizamos uma entrevista semiestruturada e o Participation Motivation Questionnair (PMQ) criado por Gil, Gross e Huddleston (1983), traduzido e adaptado para o português por Guedes e Silvério Netto (2013) que traz como itens fatores intrínsecos e extrínsecos a serem escolhidos em uma escala de 1 a 5 como “Nada importante” e “Muito importante”, respectivamente. Os dados foram analisados por categorização como sugere o autor do PMQ e a entrevista foi também categorizada. Os resultados mostram que as atletas tinham como motivos predominante de adesão ao futsal as categorias Competição, Competência técnica, Aptidão física que reúnem itens como vencer desafios, melhorar habilidades técnicas, manter a forma física e algumas das atletas sofreram influência dos familiares para essa adesão. Como motivos para permanência as atletas elencaram a busca por uma melhor qualidade de vida e amor ao esporte em questão, mesmo diante de dificuldades que também são apontadas, como falta de tempo devido a dupla jornada de trabalho que a maioria das entrevistadas possui, além do reconhecimento, valorização, comprometimento de parte das atletas e ainda da gestão atual que pouco apoia o futsal feminino na cidade. Concluindo é possível afirmar que as atletas são motivadas principalmente por fatores externos, mas persistem por fatores internos, que levam a satisfação pessoal e que as dificuldades precisam do apoio de todos para serem superadas, pois estão além das quadras a maioria das dificuldades apontadas.
Cerebrovascular Events in Patients With Centrifugal-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Propensity Score–Matched Analysis From the Intermacs Registry
Authors: Cho Sung-Min , Mehaffey J. Hunter , Meyers Susan L. , Cantor Ryan S. , Starling Randall C. , Kirklin James K. , Jacobs Jeffrey P. , Kern John , Uchino Ken , Yarboro Leora T.
Published: July 2021

Background:

Ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accidents remain common among patients with centrifugal-flow left ventricular assist devices, despite improvements in survival and device longevity. We compared the incidence of neurologic adverse events (NAEs) associated with 2 contemporary centrifugal-flow left ventricular assist devices: the Abbott HeartMate3 (HM3) and the Medtronic HeartWare HVAD (HVAD).

Methods:

Using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (Intermacs), we collected data on adult patients who received a centrifugal-flow left ventricular assist device as a primary isolated implant between January 1, 2017, and September 30, 2019. Major NAEs were defined as transient ischemic attack, ischemic cerebrovascular accident, or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident. The association of HVAD with risk of NAE in the first year after implant was evaluated using propensity score matching to balance for preimplant risk factors. After matching, freedom from first major NAE in the HM3 and HVAD cohorts was compared with Kaplan-Meier curves. A secondary analysis using multivariable multiphase hazard models was used to identify predictors of NAE, which uses a data-driven parametric fit of the early declining and constant phase hazards and the associations of risk factor with either phase.

Results:

Of 6205 included patients, 3129 (50.4%) received the HM3 and 3076 (49.6%) received the HVAD. Median follow-up was 9 and 12 months (HM3 and HVAD, respectively). Patients receiving HVAD had more major NAEs (16.4% versus 6.4%,
P
<0.001) as well as each subtype (transient ischemic attack: 3.3% versus 1.0%,
P
<0.001; ischemic cerebrovascular accident: 7.7% versus 3.4%,
P
<0.001; hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident: 7.2% versus 2.0%,
P
<0.001) than did patients receiving HM3. A propensity-matched cohort balanced for preimplant risk factors showed that HVAD was associated with higher probabilities of major NAEs (% freedom from NAE 82% versus 92%,
P
<0.001). Device type was not significantly associated with NAEs in the early hazard phase, but HVAD was associated with higher incidence of major NAEs during the constant hazard phase (hazard ratio, 5.71 [CI, 3.90–8.36]).

Conclusions:

HM3 is associated with lower hazard of major NAEs than is HVAD beyond the early postimplantation period and during the constant hazard phase. Defining the explanation for this observation will inform device selection for individual patients.
Introduction: Aspiration Burnout
Authors: Lee Pamela M.
Published: July 2021

This introduction to the special thematic cluster on burnout describes how the notion has informed cultures of contemporary work during the pandemic and the ways in which the concept of burnout reproduces the intertwined interests of labor and self-management under conditions of neoliberalism. The essay sketches a brief genealogy of the term, starting with the formulation of neurasthenia that preceded it and proceeding to its first citation within medical literature by Herbert J. Freudenberger and then to its philosophical uptake in the writing of Byung-Chul Han. In addressing burnout's relationship to recent art, criticism, and histories of media, the introduction stresses its unequal impacts across disparate populations relative to class, race, and gender.
Female social structure influences, and is influenced by, male introduction and integration success among captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)
Authors: Balasubramaniam Krishna N. , Beisner Brianne A. , McCowan Brenda , Bloomsmith Mollie A.
Published: July 2021

Animal social structure is influenced by multiple socioecological factors. Of these, the links between changes to group demography through the arrival of new individuals and residents’ social structure remain unclear. Across seven groups of captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), we examine how male introductions may be influenced by, and in-turn influence, aspects of female social structure. GLMMs revealed that males integrated more successfully into groups in which females showed more ‘despotic’ social structures, i.e., higher aggression rates, steeper dominance hierarchies, and greater rank-skew in allogrooming network connectedness. Yet during periods that followed males’ social integration, females increased their social tolerance (decreased aggression and shallower hierarchies) and group cohesivity (less clustered allogrooming networks), but retained their tendencies to groom dominants. Our findings, independent of group size and matrilineal relatedness, help better understand how dispersal/immigration may influence social structure, and how assessing changes to social structure may inform macaque welfare and management.
Celestial Sex
Authors: Schubert Anselm , Stayer James
Published: July 2021

This paper explores the origins of the Anabaptist doctrine of the “celestial flesh,” which conceived Christ as generated purely out of the substance of the Godhead and thus possessing an entirely “celestial body.” It argues that the origins of this doctrine lie in late medieval alchemical tracts adapted in Paracelsus’s Liber de Sancta Trinitate of 1524, according to which God has a body of heavenly flesh out of which he brings forth a heavenly woman. Through their sexually conceived union the eternal son is begotten and born with a celestial body.
Spiritualism and Rationalism in Early Modern Europe
Authors: Waite Gary K.
Published: July 2021

Despite his reputation as a narcissistic Anabaptist messiah, after 1544 David Joris became an influential spiritualist who abandoned claims of a unique possession of the Holy Spirit and promoted the Spirit as active within the mind of all believers, just as he had already internalized demons and angels to the inner person. He only fully elaborated his mature pneumatology in the 1550s, and since none of those writings were printed in his lifetime, outside of correspondence and conversation it became known only when printers produced these late works starting in the 1580s. In the Dutch Republic, where spiritualism flowed freely, Joris’s creative approach to the Spirit helped shape discourse on religion and philosophy among nonconformists such as the Doopsgezinden (baptism-minded people, i.e., Mennonites) and Collegiants. These in turn contributed to the conversations of early Enlightenment philosophers, such as Descartes and Spinoza.
Theodora Wilkin’s Wandering Soul
Authors: Miller William Cook
Published: July 2021

Sometime in the early eighteenth century, an Anglo-Dutch woman named Theodora Wilkin began translating into English an important Mennonite devotional work, Jan Philipsz Schabaelje’s Wandelende Ziele met Adam, Noach, en Simon Cleophas. Her translation (or, better, adaptation) survives in a manuscript of about one thousand pages. Wilkin’s text sheds considerable light on the state of intellectual history and literary adaptation in the early eighteenth century. Specifically, Theodora Wilkin’s Wandering Soul foregrounds three concerns. 1) It demonstrates the centrality of women to providential history. 2) It reconciles biblical wisdom and natural philosophical knowledge. 3) It closely considers the Ancients, both insofar as they reflected divine truth and promulgated idolatry.
From “the Radical Reformation” to “the Radical Enlightenment”?
Authors: Driedger Michael , Waite Gary K. , Quatrini Francesco , Schroeder Nina
Published: July 2021

This Special Issue arises from a symposium held at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in July 2019. That symposium was part of the “Amsterdamnified” research program funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2015–2022). In this essay, the editors introduce the scope and themes of the Special Issue, provide a brief historical overview of some key aspects of sixteenth-century Protestant spiritualism, outline a series of historiographical questions that are important for this subject’s past and ongoing study, and highlight how the essays that follow relate to these questions and to one another.
Bridging the Climate and Maritime Legal Regimes: The imo’s 2018 Climate Strategy as an Erga Omnes Obligation
Authors: Kerr Baine P.
Published: July 2021

Scholarship and practice before the European Court of Justice indicate that international organizations can unilaterally bind themselves under international law. This article evaluates whether the International Maritime Organization did so with its 2018 ‘Strategy’ to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. After first identifying the source of the imo’s mandate to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from shipping and its treaty obligations to do so, it finds that the imo has the institutional competence to unilaterally bind itself with respect to its function and purpose of regulating vessel-source pollution. It further finds that the imo imposed on itself an erga omnes obligation to mitigate climate change in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s global warming limitation goals. The article reflects on the implications of these findings for climate law and international law generally.
EU Climate Policy under the Paris Agreement
Authors: Schwarte Christoph
Published: July 2021

The European Union has long sought to play a leadership role in the international response to climate change. As part of the “European Green Deal”, it announced new wide-ranging plans to step up its ambition, and in December 2020 updated its mitigation target under the Paris Agreement to an at-least 55 per cent reduction by 2030 compared to the 1990 level. In this article, I provide a legal analysis of the new EU climate change policy as outlined in the European Commission’s Stepping Up Europe’s 2030 Climate Ambition (September 2020) in light of the Paris Agreement itself and other norms of international environmental law. I find that the European Union provides a degree of leadership in the implementation of the Paris Agreement, but that there are also areas of concern, in particular the missing notification of member states’ individual emission levels as part of a joint ndc under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement.
The New German Coal Laws: A Difficult Balancing Act
Authors: Raitbaur Louisa
Published: July 2021

The German government adopted a coal exit law in 2020. The law enshrines a coal exit pathway through to 2038 and provides for significant compensation for coal companies. An accompanying structural-support law is to create new prospects for coal regions and workers. The development of the laws involved participation by the public, experts, interest groups, and the German states. Concerns about just transition and climate justice played an important role. The final laws were nevertheless met with a significant degree of dissatisfaction from stakeholders across the political spectrum, science, industry, and ngo s. Flaws in the participation process and deviation from expert recommendations have been raised as criticisms. The climate ambition, economic rationale, and social-justice effects of the laws have been contested. Repeal of the laws in any substantive way nevertheless seems unlikely.
Metacognition and Crossmodal Correspondences Between Auditory Attributes and Saltiness in a Large Sample Study
Authors: Wang Qian Janice , Keller Steve , Spence Charles
Published: July 2021

Mounting evidence demonstrates that people make surprisingly consistent associations between auditory attributes and a number of the commonly-agreed basic tastes. However, the sonic representation of (association with) saltiness has remained rather elusive. In the present study, a crowd-sourced online study ( participants) was conducted to determine the acoustical/musical attributes that best match saltiness, as well as participants’ confidence levels in their choices. Based on previous literature on crossmodal correspondences involving saltiness, thirteen attributes were selected to cover a variety of temporal, tactile, and emotional associations. The results revealed that saltiness was associated most strongly with a long decay time, high auditory roughness, and a regular rhythm. In terms of emotional associations, saltiness was matched with negative valence, high arousal, and minor mode. Moreover, significantly higher average confidence ratings were observed for those saltiness-matching choices for which there was majority agreement, suggesting that individuals were more confident about their own judgments when it matched with the group response, therefore providing support for the so-called ‘consensuality principle’. Taken together, these results help to uncover the complex interplay of mechanisms behind seemingly surprising crossmodal correspondences between sound attributes and taste.
Exploring Reference Frame Integration Using Response Demands in a Tactile Temporal-Order Judgement Task
Authors: Unwalla Kaian , Goldreich Daniel , Shore David I.
Published: July 2021

Exploring the world through touch requires the integration of internal (e.g., anatomical) and external (e.g., spatial) reference frames — you only know what you touch when you know where your hands are in space. The deficit observed in tactile temporal-order judgements when the hands are crossed over the midline provides one tool to explore this integration. We used foot pedals and required participants to focus on either the hand that was stimulated first (an anatomical bias condition) or the location of the hand that was stimulated first (a spatiotopic bias condition). Spatiotopic-based responses produce a larger crossed-hands deficit, presumably by focusing observers on the external reference frame. In contrast, anatomical-based responses focus the observer on the internal reference frame and produce a smaller deficit. This manipulation thus provides evidence that observers can change the relative weight given to each reference frame. We quantify this effect using a probabilistic model that produces a population estimate of the relative weight given to each reference frame. We show that a spatiotopic bias can result in either a larger external weight (Experiment 1) or a smaller internal weight (Experiment 2) and provide an explanation of when each one would occur.
The Social Functionality of Multiple Religious Belonging in Modern China
Authors: Chu Calida
Published: July 2021

Multiple religious belonging refers to the idea that individuals can belong to more than one religious tradition. This article aims to explore the concept of multiple religious belonging in modern China, focusing on its pattern as well as the social functionality that gives rise to such a pattern. The methodology is developed using structural functionalism as formulated by, in particular, Emile Durkheim, who investigated how different institutions, practices, and customs come to exist because of their contribution to the reproduction and integration of society. This article studies the social functions of multiple religious belonging in three social units, from small to large: family, community, and the state. It explains how multiple religious belonging functions in modern China and thus consolidates each member’s identity within the social units.
Avicenna on Animal Goods
Authors: Somma (بِثَنِي سومّا) Bethany
Published: July 2021

Investigating historical sources for positions on animals and animal ethics within philosophy of the Islamic world is a profound challenge, given the quantity and diversity of possible source texts. This article argues that Ibn Sīnā’s (Avicenna, d. 428/1037) philosophy provides a hitherto unappreciated account of animal well-being. By tracing his conception of providence to that of essences, and by highlighting the role of psychological powers in ensuring the attainment of essential goods, this article argues that Avicenna can account both for essential goods and interests proper to individual species and for the capacity of animals to attain these goods and interests. This account rests on Avicenna’s rich teleology, which includes the role of the lawgiver as the upholder of justice within human society. In the end, human goods and animal goods are articulated with the same overarching account, which human beings are called to know.
Polanyi and the Peasant Question in China: State, Peasant, and Land Relations in China, 1949–Present
Authors: Chuang Julia , Yasuda John
Published: July 2021

This article applies Karl Polanyi’s concept of a double movement to the trajectory of rural state policies in China since 1949. It argues that Chinese socialism created a contradictory social contract that has fueled an ongoing struggle between state and peasantry over the surplus generated from rural land. This struggle has shaped a historical oscillation between state policies that facilitate extraction of agricultural surpluses and policies that introduce social protections in the form of household farming and revitalized collective ownership. Based on secondary sources, this article compares the arc of rural policies during the Mao era and in the transition to and during the current state capitalist period. Then, based on original interview-based and ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in rural Sichuan Province, it analyzes the current introduction of urban and agrarian capital into the rural economy, revealing dynamics of a current countermovement from state-led extraction to compromise.
Beyond Knowledge Capitalism’s Happy Labour Subject
Authors: Gray Breda
Published: July 2021

This article unravels the workings of happiness as integral to knowledge capitalism’s ‘emotionality of rule’ from the perspectives of two cohorts of ‘knowledge workers’: digital creatives and academics. It analyses the ways in which the study participants make work a site of personal fulfilment and happiness as they strive to become ‘happy’ labour subjects. Despite their different worklife trajectories, both cohorts appeal to the promise of happy entrepreneurial productivism. This promise attaches workers to the privileges of knowledge work in ways that downplay its costs. However, the dominance of knowledge capitalism’s happy labour subject is challenged by the backgrounded significance of work’s social benefits in their accounts. As such, this article argues that the individualised depoliticisation of contemporary ‘knowledge work’ can be challenged by re-valorising work’s social contributions.
Private ordering of public processes: How contracts structure participatory processes in urban development in Amsterdam and Hamburg
Authors: Stapper Everardus Wilhelmus (Michiel)
Published: July 2021

The use of contracts to achieve public goals has been gaining traction since the 1980s. In this article, I investigate the implications of the increased use of private law instruments for participatory democracy. This study starts with problematising the notion of contracts and proposes a conceptual model to study contractual relations in participatory processes. Next, through a detailed description of two case studies in Amsterdam and Hamburg, I show the consequences of contractual governance for participatory democracy in urban development. Namely, the interests of commercial parties and government agencies are incorporated in contracts, whereas the interests of residents are incorporated in non-legal agreements.

This has four implications for our understanding of participatory democracy and urban politics. First, the arena of public decision making has shifted from public meetings to contractual negotiations. Second, contracts are not set in stone. Mobilisation by residents can influence, adjust and politicise agreements. However, third, residents need to be able to mobilise and negotiate. This creates new boundaries between residents who are able to make deals and those who are excluded. Lastly, investigating how contracts transform urban politics should take a broad view on how contractual relations are formed and focus on both non-legal and contractual agreements.
Housing wealth, mortgages and Australians’ labour force participation in later life
Authors: Ong Rachel , Wood Gavin A , Cigdem Melek
Published: July 2021

In the life cycle model of consumption and saving, homeownership is an important vehicle for horizontal redistribution. Households accumulate wealth in owner-occupied housing during working lives before benefiting from imputed rent streams in retirement. But in some countries housing wealth’s welfare role has broadened as owners increasingly use flexible mortgages to smooth consumption during working lives. One consequence is higher outstanding mortgages later in life, a burden exacerbated by high real house prices that compel home buyers to demand mortgages that are a growing multiple of their incomes. We investigate whether these developments are prompting longer working lives, an idea that is especially relevant in countries offering relatively low government pensions. Australia is one such country. We use the 2001–2017 panels of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey to estimate hazard models of exits from the Australian labour force as workers approach pensionable age. We find that those with high outstanding mortgage debts are more likely to postpone retirement, as are those with relatively low amounts of private pension wealth. These results are stronger in urban housing markets, and especially among males.
Comparative clinical efficacy of novel bidirectional cannula in cardiac surgery via peripheral cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Gunaydin Serdar , Babaroglu Seyhan , Budak Ali Baran , Sayin Bige , Cayhan Velihan , Ozisik Kanat
Published: July 2021

Objectives:

The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the novel bidirectional cannula that ensures stable distal perfusion compared to conventional cannula in patients undergoing femoral arterial cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods:

During a 1-year period, 64 patients undergoing surgery via peripheral cannulation were prospectively randomized to receive 19 F bidirectional (Biflow™, LivaNova, Italy) or 19 F conventional (HLS Peripheral cannula, Getinge Group™, Germany) cannula with 6 F downstream line (Bicakcilar™, Turkey) for femoral artery cannulation. The primary outcome included the efficacy (adequacy of antegrade/retrograde comparative flow via cannula measured by doppler ultrasonography) and the secondary outcome was the safety (early/late complications and adverse events).

Results:

Percent flow (distal/proximal) after cannulation measured by doppler ultrasonography was significantly better in study group (33.1 ± 5 ml/min) versus downstream cannula (16.1 ± 4, p = 0.012). SpO2 measured by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) also demonstrated significantly better saturation in distal calf of the cannulated leg in bidirectional cannula group (67.5% ± 10% vs 52.5 ± 8, p = 0.04). The incidence of serious adverse events was seroma on femoral region (one patient), superficial wound infection (one patient), pseudo-hematoma (two patients) in bidirectional cannula group and in-hospital femoral embolectomy/artery repair (two patients), superficial wound infection (three patients), cannulation site hematoma (three patients) in conventional cannula group.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates that in patients undergoing femoral arterial cannulation for CPB during cardiac surgery, the use of a novel bidirectional cannula is safe and easy to insert and provides stable distal perfusion of the cannulated limb.
Mice lacking melatonin MT2 receptors exhibit attentional deficits, anxiety and enhanced social interaction
Authors: Thomson David M , Mitchell Emma J , Openshaw Rebecca L , Pratt Judith A , Morris Brian J
Published: July 2021

Background:

Aside from regulating circadian rhythms, melatonin also affects cognitive processes, such as alertness, and modulates the brain circuitry underlying psychiatric diseases, such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, via mechanisms that are not fully clear. In particular, while melatonin MT1 receptors are thought primarily to mediate the circadian effects of the hormone, the contribution of the MT2 receptor to melatonin actions remains enigmatic.

Aims:

To characterise the contribution of MT2 receptors to melatonin’s effects on cognition and anxiety/sociability.

Methods:

Mice with a genetic deletion of the MT2 receptor, encoded by the Mtnr1b gene, were compared with wild-type littermates for performance in a translational touchscreen version of the continuous performance task (CPT) to assess attentional processes and then monitored over 3 days in an ethological home-cage surveillance system.

Results:

Mtnr1b knockout (KO) mice were able to perform at relatively normal levels in the CPT. However, they showed consistent evidence of more liberal/risky responding strategies relative to control mice, with increases in hit rates and false alarm rates, which were maintained even when the cognitive demands of the task were increased. Assessment in the home-cage monitoring system revealed that female Mtnr1b KO mice have increased anxiety levels, whereas male Mtnr1b KO mice show increased sociability.

Conclusions:

The results confirm that the MT2 receptor plays a role in cognition and also modulates anxiety and social interactions. These data provide new insights into the functions of endogenous melatonin and will inform future drug development strategies focussed on the MT2 receptor.
Aero-structural design and optimization of 50 MW wind turbine with over 250-m blades
Authors: Yao Shulong , Chetan Mayank , Griffith D Todd , Escalera Mendoza Alejandra S , Selig Michael S , Martin Dana , Kianbakht Sepideh , Johnson Kathryn , Loth Eric
Published: July 2021

The quest for reduced levelized cost of energy has driven significant growth in wind turbine size; however, larger rotors face significant technical and logistical challenges. The largest published rotor design is 25 MW, and here we consider an even larger 50 MW design with blade length over 250 m. This paper shows that a 50 MW design is indeed possible from a detailed engineering perspective and presents a series of aero-structural blade designs, and critical assessment of technology pathways and challenges for extreme-scale rotors. The 50 MW rotor design begins with Monte Carlo simulations focused on optimizing carbon spar cap and root design. A baseline design resulted in a 250-m blade with mass of 502 tonnes. Subsequently, an aero-structural design and optimization were performed to reduce the blade mass/cost with more than 25% mass reduction and 30% cost reduction by determining optimal blade chord and airfoil thickness for best aero-structural performance.
High prevalence of hepatitis E among regular hemodialysis patients in South of Iran
Authors: Ouji Mahbube , Taherkhani Reza , Farshadpour Fatemeh
Published: July 2021

Objective:

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the prevalent nosocomially transmitted agents among patients on maintenance hemodialysis due to parenteral transmission of HEV and immunocompromised condition of chronic hemodialysis patients. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate prevalence, risk factors, and genotypic pattern of HEV infection among hemodialysis patients in South of Iran.

Methods:

All patients on maintenance hemodialysis attending the hemodialysis centers of Bushehr, Borazjan, and Genaveh cities for regular hemodialysis were enrolled in this study. Serum samples were tested for the presence of anti-HEV antibodies using ELISA kit. The serum samples were further tested for detection of HEV RNA using nested RT-PCR.

Results:

Of 226 hemodialysis patients, 155 patients (68.6%, 95% CI: 62.3%–74.3%) were positive for anti-HEV IgG antibody, of which 33 patients (14.6%, 95% CI: 10.6%–19.8%) had anti-HEV IgM antibody. The prevalence of anti-HEV IgG and anti-IgM antibodies in non-hemodialysis controls were 65.1% and 9.6%, respectively. Although the hemodialysis patients had higher prevalence of HEV than the controls, the difference was not significant. All samples were negative for HEV RNA. HEV seroprevalence among hemodialysis patients was not significantly associated with place of residency, ethnicity, level of education, gender distribution, hemodialysis duration, and levels of liver enzymes. HEV seropositive patients had significantly higher mean age compared to seronegative patients.

Conclusion:

This study reports the highest seroprevalence of HEV among hemodialysis patients in Iran. Inapparent HEV infection in the dialysis setting calls for regular screening of hemodialysis patients regardless of the hemodialysis duration, clinical symptoms, and liver function parameters.
Burnout of Special Educators Serving Students With Emotional-Behavioral Disorders: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Brunsting Nelson C. , Bettini Elizabeth , Rock Marcia L. , Royer David James , Common Eric A. , Lane Kathleen Lynne , Xie Fei , Chen Aiai , Zeng Fanyi
Published: July 2021

We examined changes in burnout across three timepoints in one school year, in a sample ( N = 230) of special educators serving students with emotional-behavioral disorders, in 15 school districts selected through stratified random sampling at the national level. Emotional exhaustion decreased at each timepoint in the school year and personal accomplishment increased from fall to spring. Latent growth curve modeling did not produce latent trajectories of burnout among teachers; however, cross-lagged panel structure equation modeling revealed that emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment had both direct and indirect effects on depersonalization. Differences in burnout were significant by race/ethnicity but not by gender. Participants reported higher emotional exhaustion, lower depersonalization, and higher personal accomplishment than a national sample. We provide implications for researchers and practitioners.
Power and Adult Support in Student Voice Efforts for Policy Change
Authors: Holquist Samantha E. , Walls Jeff
Published: July 2021

This study examines the role of adult facilitators in supporting student voice efforts for educational policy change. Using case study and Accidental Ethnography data, we explore the actions that adult facilitators take to support student voice efforts in policy spaces. Our findings include that adults (1) intentionally shift power to students, (2) help students understand the power of their voice, and (3) help students to resist and overcome tokenization. We discuss our findings in the context of power and helping historically unpowerful groups exercise policy voice.
Reducing costs and improving care after hospitalization: Economic evaluation of a novel transitional care clinic
Authors: Murrow Jonathan R , Rabeeah Zahraa , Osei Kofi , Apaloo Catherine
Published: July 2021

Transitional care management (TCM) is a novel strategy for reducing costs and improving clinical outcomes after hospitalization but remains under-utilized. An economic analysis was performed on a hospital-based transition of care clinic (TCC) open to all patients regardless of payor status. TCC reduced re-hospitalization and emergency department (ED) utilization at six-month follow up. A cost-consequence analysis based on real world data found the TCC intervention to be cost effective relative to usual care. Hospital managers should consider adoption of TCC to improve patient care and reduce costs.
A comparative study of 3D printing and heat-compressing methods for manufacturing the thermoplastic composite bone fixation plate: Design, characterization, and in vitro biomechanical experimentation
Authors: Kabiri Ali , Liaghat Gholamhossein , Alavi Fatemeh , Ansari Mehdi , Hedayati Seyyed Kaveh
Published: July 2021

Metallic bone fixations, due to their high rigidity, can cause long-term complications. To alleviate metallic biomaterials’ drawbacks, in this research new Glass Fiber/Polypropylene (GF/PP) composite internal fixations were developed, and an investigation of their mechanical behavior was performed through in vitro biomechanical experiments. Short randomly oriented, long unidirectional prepreg, and long unidirectional fiber yarn were considered as reinforcements, and the effects on their mechanical properties of different manufacturing processes, that is, 3D printing and heat-compressing, were investigated. The constructed fixation plates were tested in the transversely fractured diaphysis of bovine tibia under axial compression loading. The overall stiffness and the Von Mises strain field of the fixation plates were obtained within stable and unstable fracture conditions. The samples were loaded until failure to determine their failure loads, strains, and mechanisms. Based on the results, the GF/PP composite fixation plates can provide adequate interfragmentary movement to amplify bone ossification, so they can provide proper support for bone healing. Moreover, their potential for stress shielding reduction and their load-bearing capacity suggest their merits in replacing traditional metallic plates.
Do Banking and Financial Services Sectors Show Herding Behaviour in Indian Stock Market Amid COVID-19 Pandemic? Insights from Quantile Regression Approach
Authors: Mishra P. K. , Mishra S. K.
Published: July 2021

In India, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic-induced country-wide regulatory lockdown and consequential supply-chain disruptions and market instability have all posed serious challenges before the regulators and policymakers. Amid the pandemic, the stock market showed return volatilities primarily due to the unexpected investors’ behaviour. One of the behavioural biases is herding, which has the power to wreck the market equilibrium and shatter the market efficiency. Given that the pandemic has generated unprecedented spirals of uncertainties across the globe, thereby creating interruptions in the pattern of stock market investment decisions, this study examined the herding behaviour of 54 stocks of banking and financial services sectors listed in the national stock exchange. In the quantile regression framework, the study provides evidence of the presence of herding for public sector banking and financial services under the bull market conditions during the pandemic in the 90th quantile of the return distribution. This finding has implications for the mispricing of financial assets in these sectors. So, the study suggests removing information asymmetry among the market participants and devising policy initiatives for ensuring market stability.