bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Turkish Validation of the Rapid Interactive Screening Test for Autism in Toddlers
Authors: Kadak Muhammed Tayyib , Serdengeçti Nihal , Seçen Yazıcı Meryem , Sandıkçı Tuncay , Aydın Aybike , Koyuncu Zehra , Meral Yavuz , Haşimoğlu Abas , Çalışkan Yasin , Bayraktar Gizem , Can Öztürk Elif , Gökler Mehmet Enes , Choueiri Roula , Tarakçıoğlu Mahmut Cem
Published: December 2023

This study aims to investigate the validation of the Rapid Interactive Screening Test for Autism in Toddlers (RITA-T) in Turkish toddlers between 18 and 36 months of age. Children aged 18–36 months were referred to the department of child psychiatry for concerns of autism spectrum disorder, language disorder, developmental delay, and typically developing children were enrolled. A total of 81 toddlers participating in the study received clinical interviews according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. They received the translated RIT-T from reliably trained and blinded providers. Parents completed the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers form. A cut-off score was calculated based on the sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values of the RITA-T total score that best differentiates autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. For all participants, the RITA-T total score correlated with the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers ( r = 0.715) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale total score ( r = 0.825). Using a cut-off score of ⩾17, the RITA-T had a sensitivity of .90 and a specificity of .927 for identifying autism spectrum disorder risk. The area under the curve was .977. Our findings demonstrate that the RITA-T is effective in Turkish toddlers for the early identification of autism spectrum disorder, early intervention settings, and allowing access to treatment.

Lay abstract

It is important to diagnose autism spectrum disorder at an early age and to start an early intervention program without delay. In this study, we aimed to validate the Rapid Interactive Screening Test for Autism in Toddlers (RITA-T) in a group of Turkish children and found that the RITA-T which has been shown to be a valid and reliable screening test for 18- to 36-month-old children in studies conducted in different countries, is also valid in Turkish children. Similar to previous studies, our results showed that the RITA-T has good sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing children with autism spectrum disorder. We think that our study will contribute to the timely initiation of early intervention programs for many children with autism by enabling a valid test to be used in screening programs.
Wave energy converter efficiency based on wave transmission and relative capture width performance
Authors: Türker Umut , Boulanoire Souhail
Published: December 2023

A series of quantitative analyses were performed to identify the wave properties and potential, by means of records collected from an offshore buoy in North-West Ireland. Based on the data collected, a series of quantitative analyses was conducted to determine the dominant wind directions and wave properties on an annual basis. In addition, the wave power is computed based on relevant wave heights and periods, and the Pierson-Moskowitz spectral model was used to generate the maximum wave energy spectra for each year. The results show that waves with wave powers of around 100 kW/m were mostly approaching eastward at a rather narrow frequency. In order to compare the relative capture width and the power absorption capacity of three floating structures, the Wave Dragon, Board Net Breakwater, and Cylindrical Floating Breakwater are analyzed. Also outlined is the impact of the transmission coefficient on the effectiveness of wave energy converters (WEC) throughout the energy harvesting process. This was accomplished by fusing information from three distinct field investigations and experimental research with four different wave transmission coefficient models. The results show that as the wave steepness increases, the transmission coefficient decreases and the hydrodynamic performance of wave energy converters increases. Also, it is found that the hydrodynamic efficiency of wave energy converters is higher in summer than in winter, and the Wave Dragon is the most efficient wave energy converter in regard to relative capture width and power absorption.
“Let’s Make the Womb Safe Again”: Ethnographic Explorations of White Evangelical Women’s Language of Reproductive Injustice
Authors: Burdick Micki
Published: December 2023

Like broader conservative movements, the pro-life movement in the United States has a fraught history regarding its alignment with White supremacy. Yet, the whiteness of the pro-life movement is often hidden behind the discourses of colorblind racism through the U.S. cultural moment. To uncover and deconstruct this supposed “anti-racist” discourse, I study Evangelical women and their roles in the pro-life/anti-choice movement to explore their consequences on the narratives of abortion and reproductive health care from the 1970s to present. I conduct interviews and participant observation with self-described Evangelical pro-life women through ethnographic opportunities and events. In this study, I explore the intersectional issues of reproductive injustices through fieldwork and interviews with anti-choice women. These interviews and ethnographic data focus on a particular group of anti-choice organizers who prepare and oversee the logistics of this movement: pro-life women. How does it come to be that conservative women control the narratives of reproductive health care? How can ethnographic methods be utilized to unveil new information and knowledge surrounding the barriers to reproductive health care by the pro-life movement? I analyze this qualitative data to understand how the rhetoric of the pro-life/anti-choice movement invades the language of reproductive health in the United States and how a reproductive justice framework can begin to deconstruct this problematic flow.
Lessons on Keeping Spry
Authors: Hill Dominique C.
Published: December 2023

Initially presented at the 2023 International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, this essay is a dedication to Tami Spry. Drawing on memory, personal encounters, and Spry’s scholarship, I share two lessons sprouted from our co-presence to each other and commitment to auto/ethnography. Ultimately, this essay honors Spry for her work, spirit, and steward on being responsible to hearts and humanity.
Sunflowers, hidden disabilities and power inequities in higher education: Some critical considerations and implications for disability-inclusive education policy reforms
Authors: Liasidou Anastasia , Liasidou Sotiroula
Published: December 2023

The article discusses recent Higher Education (HE) initiatives to introduce the Sunflower Scheme, which enables students with hidden disabilities to ‘discreetly’ indicate the existence of a disability to access support. A significant problem related to persons with hidden disabilities lies in their frequent reluctance to disclose their disabilities because of discriminatory attitudes that arise not only due to the dominance of arbitrary fabrications of ‘normalcy’ – aligned with elitist and human capital HE discourses – but also due to the lack of recognition of the existence of hidden disabilities. Even though the Scheme has been touted as a method that recognises hidden disabilities in HE, it, nevertheless, reinforces discourses of ‘misrecognition’ that create power inequities and project subordinated identities. The article argues that introducing the Scheme in HE constitutes another manifestation of disability-related initiatives that reinforce individual pathology and paternalistic discourses of dependency. The article contributes to a policy dialogue on the need to introduce alternative forms of provision to foster disability-inclusive practices in HE and makes a case to empirically capture the ‘lived experience’ of the Scheme in the context of Disability Equality policies in HE.
The Importance of Leadership and a Global Human Resource Perspective: The Case of Executive Management During a Hotel Merger
Authors: Storey James , Brown Eric
Published: December 2023

This case study highlights the importance of leadership employed by executive management during the merger of Oyster Rock Resorts and the Point Breeze Hotel. The study investigates the global perspectives and analytical detail required for a successful merger that benefits all stakeholders primarily from a human resources perspective. Illumination of prevailing human resource related merger issues and analysis of specific operational challenges expose students to many problem-solving situations that parallel current human resource conditions in the hospitality industry.
A multimodal grammar of artificial intelligence: Measuring the gains and losses in generative AI
Authors: Cope Bill , Kalantzis Mary
Published: December 2023

This paper analyzes the scope of Artificial Intelligence (AI) from the perspective of a multimodal grammar. Its focal point is Generative AI, a technology that puts so-called Large Language Models to work. The first part of the paper analyzes Generative AI, based as it is on the statistical probability of one token (a word or part of a word) following another. If the relation of tokens is meaningful, this is circumstantial and no more, because its mechanisms of statistical analysis eschew any theory of meaning. This is the case not only for the written text that Generative AI leverages, but by extension image and multimodal forms of meaning that it can generate. The AI can only work with non-textual forms of meaning after applying language labels, and to that extent is captive not only to the limits of probabilistic statistics but the limits of written language as well. While acknowledging gains arising from the brute statistical power of Generative AI, in its second part the paper goes on to map what is lost in its statistical and text-bound approaches to multimodal meaning-making. Our measure of these gains and losses is guided by the concept of grammar, defined here as a theory of the elemental patterns of meaning in the world—not just written text and speech, but also image, space, object, body, and sound. Ironically, a good deal of what is lost by Generative AI is computable. The third and final part of the paper briefly discusses educational applications of Generative AI. Given both its power and intrinsic limitations, we have been experimenting with the application of Generative AI in educational settings and the ways it might be put to pedagogical use. How does a grammatical analysis help us to identify the scope of worthwhile application? Finally, if more of human experience is computable than can be captured in text-bound AI, how might it be possible at the level of code to create a synthesis in which grammatical and multimodal approaches complement Generative AI?
Prediction Rules Identify Which Young Adults Have Higher Rates of Heavy Episodic Drinking After Exposure to 12-Week Text Message Interventions
Authors: Chung Tammy , Suffoletto Brian , Feldstein Ewing Sarah W. , Bhurosy Trishnee , Jiang Yanping , Valera Pamela
Published: December 2023

Background:

An alcohol text message intervention recently demonstrated effects in reducing heavy episodic drinking (HED) days at the three month follow-up in young adults with a history of hazardous drinking. An important next step in understanding intervention effects involves identifying baseline participant characteristics that predict who will benefit from intervention exposure to support clinical decision-making and guide further intervention development. To identify baseline characteristics that predict HED, this exploratory study used a prediction rule ensemble (PRE). Compared to more complex decision-tree methods (e.g., random forest), PREs have comparable performance, while generating simpler rules that can directly identify subgroups that do or do not respond to intervention.

Methods:

This secondary analysis examined data from 916 young adults who reported HED (68.5% female, mean age = 22.1, SD = 2.1), were enrolled in an alcohol text message randomized clinical trial and who completed baseline assessment and the three month follow-up. A PRE with ten fold cross-validation, which included 21 baseline variables representing sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., sex, age, race, ethnicity, college enrollment), alcohol consumption (frequency of alcohol consumption, quantity consumed on a typical drinking day, frequency of HED), impulsivity subscales (i.e., negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, sensation seeking), readiness to change, perceived peer drinking and HED-related consequences, and intervention status were used to predict HED at the three month follow-up.

Results:

The PRE identified 12 rules that predicted HED at three months ( R2 = 0.23) using 7 baseline features. Only two cases (0.2%) were not classified by the 12 rules. The most important features for predicting three month HED included baseline alcohol consumption, negative urgency score, and perceived peer drinking.

Conclusions:

The rules provide interpretable decision-making tools that predict who has higher alcohol consumption following exposure to alcohol text message interventions using baseline participant characteristics (prior to intervention), which highlight the importance of interventions related to negative urgency and peer alcohol use.
Differences in Normative Beliefs and Tobacco Product Use by Age Among Adults Who Smoke: Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Nationally Representative Sample
Authors: Rubenstein Dana , Carroll Dana M. , Denlinger-Apte Rachel L. , Cornacchione Ross Jennifer , McClernon F. Joseph
Published: December 2023

Background:

The prevalence of combusted cigarette (CC) smoking among older adults is stagnant, with 0 declines attributable to e-cigarette (EC) use. Given that normative beliefs are associated with quitting and switching to ECs, we assessed cross-sectional associations between age, CC, and EC descriptive and injunctive norms and potential interactions with tobacco use behavior.

Methods:

Data are from people with current, established (≥100 lifetime CCs) CC use (n = 8072) at Wave 5 (2018-2019) of the adult Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. We used adjusted multivariable logistic regressions to model social norms as a function of age (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, ≥65 years). We also dichotomized age (≥55 vs 18-54) to investigate interactions between age and social norms on past 12-month CC quit attempts and past-month EC use.

Results:

Older age was positively associated with pro- and anti-CC norms and anti-EC norms. Significant interactive effects revealed that being advised to quit smoking by a healthcare provider was more strongly associated with CC quit attempts among adults ≥55 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] [95% CI]: 2.12 [1.66, 2.71]) than adults <55 years (aOR: 1.63 [1.34, 2.00]). Reporting people close to you use ECs was also more strongly associated with EC use among adults ≥55 years (aOR: 4.37 [3.35, 5.69]) than among adults <55 years (aOR: 3.43 [2.89, 4.08]).

Conclusions:

This study identified modifiable risk factors for tobacco use that may be particularly beneficial for older adults. Behavioral and communication interventions that target normative beliefs may maximize smoking cessation, or harm reduction when cessation is not possible.
Predictors and Correlates of Positive Urine Drug Screening in a Retrospective Cohort Analysis of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatients Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Lynch Sean , Becker Timothy , Shanker Parul , Martin Dalton , Staudenmaier Paige , Leong Alicia , Rice Timothy
Published: December 2023

Background and Objectives:

Youth substance use is associated with significant psychological, neurological, and medical complications. Risk factors for substance use among children and adolescents in the general population include peer and/or parental substance use, certain psychiatric illnesses (eg, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, depression), and history of maltreatment. Co-occurring substance use and psychiatric illness have been associated with increased suicidality, but few prior studies have characterized substance use among child/adolescent inpatients. As such, it remains unclear how substance use contributing to acute psychiatric presentations has changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

This is a retrospective cohort study of 816 unique child/adolescent psychiatry inpatients with urine drug screening (UDS) results from a diverse urban setting. Charts of patients hospitalized between June 1, 2018 and November 30, 2021 were reviewed for sociodemographic characteristics, indication for admission, psychiatric history, hospital course, treatment plan, and discharge diagnosis. Differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, such as age, race, and diagnoses, between patients with and without positive UDS were explored throughout various periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive and comparative statistics were performed, as well as a logistic regression model to identify the predictors of positive UDS.

Results:

Of the study sample, 18% had a positive UDS. Older age, diagnosis of impulsive or behavioral disorder, and a history of violence were found to be predictors of positive UDS. Asian/South Asian or Hispanic/LatinX race and history of a developmental or intellectual disability were found to be negative predictors. The frequency of positive UDS in this population did not change based on COVID-19.

Discussion and Conclusions:

Multiple factors may predispose children and adolescents to substance use. Though no impact of COVID-19 was found in this sample, longer-term studies are needed.

Scientific Significance:

This study identifies independent predictors of active substance use in the child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient population.
A Virtual Reality 360 Video to Introduce Second-Year Student Pharmacists to Sterile Compounding Prior to Course Activity
Authors: Contaifer Silas , Exum Barbara J. , Wijesinghe Dayanjan , Caldas Lauren M.
Published: December 2023

Background: Virtual reality (VR) has not been used in pharmacy education when teaching sterile compounding. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the development of a VR 360 video for second-year student pharmacists. The secondary objective was to assess the VR experience, specifically on participants’ knowledge and performance in sterile compounding, as well as the VR video demands and efforts. Methods: This cross-sectional, open-label randomized study developed a VR 360 video introducing sterile compounding, created with Insta360 Pro and GoPro cameras. The video creation required two individuals to record and one individual to edit for approximately 12 hours of creation time. Participants’ knowledge and performance were assessed through ten knowledge questions and the class activity rubric. The NASA Task Load Index (TLX) measured the VR experience demands and efforts for the VR sterile compounding introduction. Results: Of the 98 second-year student pharmacists, 19 consented to the study with 7 in the VR group and 12 controls. Student knowledge increased from 6.33 (0.8) to 8 (1.2) for the VR group and 7 (0.7) to 8 (0.7) for the control group. Performance for the classroom activity was 23.71 (0.3) for the VR group and 22.96 (0.9) for the control group. The NASA TLX values demonstrated positive findings for the VR experience. Conclusion: With the limited study enrollment, comparative analysis between standard materials and the VR 360 video could not be determined. This article describes the creation of a VR sterile compounding 360 video with excerpts included. Future studies to compare traditional materials to VR will be completed in the future.
Hybridity and the Unifying Space of Painting: Larry Abramson in Conversation with Theolonius Marx
Authors: Abramson Larry
Published: December 2023

While the drive toward homogeneous and pure visual languages was at the foundation of early twentieth-century utopian modernist art systems, the Dadaist and Surrealist reaction to this utopianism took the form of extreme and often violent hybridity. Marcel Duchamp's 1913 “readymade” of a bicycle wheel placed atop a kitchen stool is a paradigmatic manifestation of the linguistic hybridity characteristic of post-utopian twentieth-century art. In the 1920s Francis Picabia made paintings constructed of separate and discrete layers of images, which, when viewed together, produced an unsettling visual “monster.” Picabia's practice of superimposition was a significant forerunner of prevailing contemporary practices in postmodern painting.

In his essay “Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,” philosopher Fredric Jameson (1991) identifies pastiche as one of the main characteristics of cultural production in the age of postmodernism. Pastiche is defined as a work of art consisting of motifs borrowed from one or more sources, an incongruous hodgepodge of materials, forms, and images. In this age of pastiche, what are the options open to artists—to endlessly quote, imitate, or parody existing images and styles, or to construct a new and significant system of meaning?

To discuss the centrality of the principle of hybridity in postmodern art—and in my own artistic practice of the past fifty years—I summoned Theolonius Marx, a fiction of my imagination who helped me handle the dilemmas of conceptual art in the 1970s. In this “conversation,” Theolonius and I ponder how hybridity has placed a challenge to utopian modernist concepts, and what the conditions are for it to thrive today as a relevant and sustainable medium.
Necrosensor: a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor for visualizing necrosis in Drosophila
Authors: Nishida Hiroshi , Albero Antonio Bolea , Onoue Kenta , Ikegawa Yuko , Sulekh Shivakshi , Sakizli Ugurcan , Minami Yasuhiro , Yonemura Shigenobu , Wang Yu-Chiun , Yoo Sa Kan
Published: December 2023

Historically, necrosis has been considered a passive process, which is induced by extreme stress or damage. However, recent findings of necroptosis, a programmed form of necrosis, shed a new light on necrosis. It has been challenging to detect necrosis reliably in vivo, partly due to the lack of genetically encoded sensors to detect necrosis. This is in stark contrast with the availability of many genetically encoded biosensors for apoptosis. Here we developed Necrosensor, a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor that detects necrosis in Drosophila, by utilizing HMGB1, which is released from the nucleus as a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP). We demonstrate that Necrosensor is able to detect necrosis induced by various stresses in multiple tissues in both live and fixed conditions. Necrosensor also detects physiological necrosis that occurs during spermatogenesis in the testis. Using Necrosensor, we discovered previously unidentified, physiological necrosis of hemocyte progenitors in the hematopoietic lymph gland of developing larvae. This work provides a new transgenic system that enables in vivo detection of necrosis in real time without any intervention.
Avian extraembryonic membranes respond to yolk corticosterone early in development
Authors: Harders Emily P. , Agustin Mitch , Paitz Ryan T.
Published: December 2023

During times of maternal stress, developing embryos can be exposed to elevated levels of glucocorticoids, which can affect development and permanently alter offspring phenotype. In placental species, the placenta mediates fetal exposure to maternal glucocorticoids via metabolism, yet the placenta itself responds to glucocorticoids to regulate offspring growth and development. In oviparous species, maternal glucocorticoids can be deposited into the egg yolk and are metabolized early in development. This metabolism is mediated by the extraembryonic membranes, but it is unknown if the extraembryonic membranes also respond to maternal glucocorticoids in a way comparable to the placenta. In this study, we quantified the expression of acyl-CoA thioesterase 13 (Acot13) as an initial marker of the membrane's response to corticosterone in chicken (Gallus gallus) eggs. Acot13 regulates fatty acid processing in the embryo, to potentially regulate resource availability during development. We addressed the following questions using Acot13 expression: 1) Do the extraembryonic membranes respond to yolk corticosterone early in development? 2) Is the response to corticosterone dependent on the dose of corticosterone? 3) What is the duration of the response to corticosterone? 4) Does a metabolite of corticosterone (5β-corticosterone) elicit the same response as corticosterone? We found that corticosterone significantly induces the expression of Acot13 on day four of development and that expression of Acot13 increases with the dose of corticosterone. Further, we found expression of Acot13 is significantly elevated by corticosterone on days four and six of development compared to oil treated eggs, but not on days eight and ten. Although this response is transient, it occurs during a critical period of development and could initiate a cascade of events that ultimately alter offspring phenotype. Finally, we found that 5β-corticosterone does not increase the expression of Acot13, indicating that metabolism inactivates corticosterone. Ultimately, this study provides insight into the mechanisms underlying how maternally deposited glucocorticoids can affect embryonic development.
Effects of temperature on metabolic rate during metamorphosis in the alfalfa leafcutting bee
Authors: Earls Kayla N. , Campbell Jacob B. , Rinehart Joseph P. , Greenlee Kendra J.
Published: December 2023

Spring conditions, especially in temperate regions, may fluctuate abruptly and drastically. Environmental variability can expose organisms to temperatures outside of their optimal thermal ranges. For ectotherms, sudden changes in temperature may cause short- and long-term physiological effects, including changes in respiration, morphology, and reproduction. Exposure to variable temperatures during active development, which is likely to occur for insects developing in spring, can cause detrimental effects. Using the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata, we aimed to determine if oxygen consumption could be measured using a new system and to test the hypothesis that female and male M. rotundata have a thermal performance curve with a wide optimal range. Oxygen consumption of M. rotundata pupae was measured across a large range of temperatures (6–48°C) using an optical oxygen sensor in a closed respirometry system. Absolute and mass-specific metabolic rates were calculated and compared between bees that were extracted from their brood cells and those remaining in the brood cell to determine whether pupae could be accurately measured inside their brood cells. The metabolic response to temperature was non-linear, which is an assumption of a thermal performance curve; however, the predicted negative slope at higher temperatures was not observed. Despite sexual dimorphism in body mass, sex differences only occurred in mass-specific metabolic rates. Higher metabolic rates in males may be attributed to faster development times, which could explain why there were no differences in absolute metabolic rate measurements. Understanding the physiological and ecological effects of thermal environmental variability on M. rotundata will help to better predict their response to climate change.
Homeownership and Portfolio Choice over the Generations
Authors: Paz-Pardo Gonzalo
Published: December 2023

Earnings are riskier and more unequal for households born in the 1960s and 1980s than for those born in the 1940s. Despite improvements in financial conditions, younger generations are less likely to be living in their own homes than older generations at the same age. By using a life cycle model with housing and portfolio choice that includes flexible earnings risk and aggregate asset price risk, I show that changes in earnings dynamics account for a large part of the reduction in homeownership across generations. Lower-income households find it harder to buy housing and, as a result, accumulate less wealth. (JEL D15, G51, J31, R21, R31)
Immigrant Communities and Knowledge Spillovers: Danish Americans and the Development of the Dairy Industry in the United States
Authors: Boberg-Fazlić Nina , Sharp Paul
Published: December 2023

Despite the growing literature on the impact of immigration, little is known about the role existing migrant settlements can play for knowledge transmission and the location of industry. We present a case that can illustrate this important mechanism and hypothesize that nineteenth-century Danish American communities helped spread knowledge on modern dairying to rural America. From around 1880 Denmark developed rapidly, and by 1890 it was a world-leading dairy producer. Using a difference-in-differences strategy and data taken from the US census and Danish emigration archives, we find that counties with more Danes in 1880 subsequently both specialized in dairying and used more modern practices. (JEL J15, J61, L66, N31, N51, O33, Q12)
A Congestion Theory of Unemployment Fluctuations
Authors: Mercan Yusuf , Schoefer Benjamin , Sedláček Petr
Published: December 2023

We propose a theory of unemployment fluctuations in which new hires and incumbent workers are imperfect substitutes. Hence, attempts to hire away the unemployed during recessions diminish the marginal product of new hires, discouraging job creation. This single feature achieves a tenfold increase in the volatility of hiring in an otherwise standard search model, produces a realistic Beveridge curve despite countercyclical separations, and explains 30–40 percent of US unemployment fluctuations. Additionally, it explains the excess procyclicality of new hires’ wages, the cyclical labor wedge, countercyclical earnings losses from job displacement, and the limited steady-state effects of unemployment insurance. (JEL E24, E32, J22, J23, J31, J63)
Firms’ Precautionary Savings and Employment during a Credit Crisis
Authors: Melcangi Davide
Published: December 2023

Can the macroeconomic effects of credit supply shocks be large even when a small share of firms is credit constrained? I use UK firm-level accounting data to discipline a heterogeneous-firm model where the interaction between real and financial frictions induces precautionary cash holdings. In the data, firms increased their cash ratios during the Great Recession, and cash-intensive firms displayed higher employment growth. A tightening of firms’ credit conditions generates the same dynamics in the model. Unconstrained firms preemptively respond to credit supply shocks; this precautionary channel, when appropriately quantified, crucially matters for the aggregate dynamics and firm-level patterns. (JEL D22, E24, E32, E44, G32)
Adverse Selection Dynamics in Privately Produced Safe Debt Markets
Authors: Foley-Fisher Nathan , Gorton Gary , Verani Stéphane
Published: December 2023

Privately produced safe debt is designed so that there is no adverse selection in trade. But in some macro states—here, the onset of the pandemic—it becomes profitable for some agents to produce private information, and then agents face adverse selection when they trade the debt (i.e., it becomes information sensitive). We empirically study these adverse selection dynamics in a very important asset class, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), which finance loans to below-investment-grade firms. We decompose the bid-ask spreads on the AAA bonds of CLOs into a component reflecting dealer bank balance sheet costs and the adverse selection component. (JEL D22, D82, E44, G12, G14, G32)
Assessing the Stabilizing Effects of Unemployment Benefit Extensions
Authors: Gorn Alexey , Trigari Antonella
Published: December 2023

We study the stabilizing role of benefit extensions. We develop a tractable quantitative model with heterogeneous agents, search frictions, and nominal rigidities. The model allows for a stabilizing aggregate demand channel and a destabilizing labor market channel. We characterize each channel analytically and find that aggregate demand effects quantitatively prevail in the United States. When feeding in estimated shocks, the model tracks unemployment in the two most recent downturns. We find that extensions lowered unemployment by a maximum of 0.36 pp in the Great Recession, while the joint stabilizing effect of extensions and benefit compensation peaked at 1.12 pp in the pandemic. (JEL E24, E32, E43, E52, J64, J65)
A novel questionnaire to perform teletriage of dental emergencies in children: A before-and-after study nested within a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Dornellas Ana Paula , Marques João Vitor , Aníbal Oliveira dos Santos Isabelle , Ramos Marcelo , Mulder Júlia , Haddad Ana Estela
Published: December 2023

Background: This will be a before-and-after study nested within a randomized clinical trial. Its objective will be to analyze the effectiveness of a teleconsultation and validate a questionnaire for performing teletriage in dental urgency/emergency situations in children aged 3 to 13, whose parents will have signed a free and informed consent form, and who have had full access to the internet.

Methods: The Questionnaire for Teletriage of Emergencies and Urgencies in Pediatric Dentistry (QuesT-Odontoped)—will be validated by applying it to 140 randomized child parents/guardians. After validation, another 260 children seeking emergency dental care in the municipality of Carangola, Minas Gerais, Brazil, will receive a remote consultation, be randomized, and then allocated into two groups: G1, teleconsultation, and G2, teleconsultation and face-to-face consultation (immediately after the former) with a blinded evaluator, involving anamnesis and conventional clinical examination. The G2 sample will be used in the before-after study. Both groups will be followed-up for 7 and 14 days using pain and quality-of-life scales, applied at baseline and after each follow-up period. Clinical follow-up will be carried out after 12 and 24 months to assess the outcome of the tooth that had been indicated for treatment in the teletriage. The Mann-Whitney test will be used to assess pain; Student's t test or the Mann-Whitney test will be used to assess quality of life and the number of missing teeth after 24 months; and Poisson's regression analysis will be used to assess the influence of other variables. The significance level will be set at 5%.

Conclusions: In conclusion, this study expects to confirm the hypothesis that remote urgency consultation (teletriage), through a validated questionnaire, will be able to define the planning of the clinical situation, reducing the chance of displacements and progression of infection, helping to eliminate patient pain and discomfort.
Effect of feed enriched with fermented coconut water products on growth and carcass composition of gurami sago (Osphronemus goramy Lacepède, 1801) juvenile.
Authors: Undefined Azrita , Syandri Hafrijal , Aryani Netti , Mardiah Ainul , Suharman Indra
Published: December 2023

Background Giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy Lacepede, 1801) is a popular freshwater species in Indonesia, but there is limited information on feed used for its cultivation. Therefore, this study aims to determine effect of feed enriched with fermented coconut water and palm sap sugar solution on growth, feed efficiency, and carcass composition of juvenile sago gurami. Methods A total of 2 litres coconut water and 1litres palm sap sugar solution (10%) were formulated. Each formulated product was then mixed with 6 g Aspergillus niger (P1), 6 g Rhizopus oligosporus (P2), and 6 g Saccharomyces cerevisiae (P3) to obtain the supplements. Subsequently, supplementation was carried out on commercial feed at a dose of 300 ml/kg of feed. Samples supplemented with P1, P2, and P3 were designated P1, P2, and P3 diets, while feed added to freshwater was considered P4 (placebo). Gurami sago juvenile (initial weight 50±2.5 g and length 13.2±0.4 cm) were then placed in triplicate nets (2×1×1 m) in a freshwater concrete pond with a stocking density of 30 fish/net. Results The different products formulations had a significant effect (p<0.05) on growth performance. The weight gain in P1, P2, P3, and P4 diets were 167.24%, 193.99%, 134,22%, and 115.98%, respectively. For feed conversion efficiency, the values obtained were 0.65, 0.73, 0.65, and 0.64 in P1, P2, P3, and P4, respectively. Furthermore, supplementing commercial feed with varying products formulation had a significant impact (p<0.05) on the fatty acid composition and carcass body of gurami sago. Lipid content in fish carcass fed P1, P2, P3, and P4 were 2.90%, 4.42%, 2.98%, and 2.76%, respectively. Conclusion Based on the results, P2 contained a higher concentration of fatty acids compared to other diets, leading to increased body weight, feed efficiency, and carcass fatty acid composition in sago gurami reared in freshwater concrete ponds.
The characteristics of elderly suicidal attempters in the emergency department in Korea: a retrospective study
Authors: Jang Ji-Seon , Seo Wan-Seok , Koo Bon-Hoon , Kim Hey-Geum , Yun Seok-Ho , Jo So-Hey , Bai Dae-Seok , Kim Young-Gyo , Cheon Eun-Jin
Published: December 2023

Background: Although Korea ranks first in the suicide rate of elderly individuals, there is limited research on those who attempt suicide, with preventive measures largely based on population-based studies. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of elderly individuals who attempted suicide with those of younger adults who visited the emergency department after suicide attempts and identified the factors associated with lethality in the former group. Methods: Individuals who visited the emergency department after a suicide attempt from April 1, 2017, to January 31, 2020, were included. Participants were classified into two groups according to age (elderly, ≥65 years; adult, 18–64 years). Among the 779 adult patients, 123 were elderly. We conducted a chi-square test to compare the demographic and clinical features between these groups and a logistic regression analysis to identify the risk factors for lethality in the elderly group. Results: Most elderly participants were men, with no prior psychiatric history or suicide attempts, and had a higher prevalence of underlying medical conditions and attributed their attempts to physical illnesses. Being sober and planning suicide occurred more frequently in this group. In the elderly group, factors that increased the mortality rate were biological male sex (p<0.05), being accompanied by family members (p<0.05), and poisoning as a suicide method (p<0.01). Conclusion: Suicide attempts in elderly individuals have different characteristics from those in younger adults and are associated with physical illness. Suicides in the former group are unpredictable, deliberate, and fatal. Therefore, tailored prevention and intervention strategies addressing the characteristics of those who are elderly and attempt suicide are required.
Rescue Operations During Incidents Involving Alternatively Powered Vehicles. Hydrogen Propulsion
Authors: Jan Kielin  , Jacek Zboina  , Grzegorz Bugaj  , Jacek Zalech  , Damian Bąk
Published: December 2023

Aim: This article presents key information and conclusions about hydrogen-powered motor vehicles, as well as technological equipment and technical infrastructure enabling the work of hydrogen fuel cells in the context of their fire safety, particularly the conduct of rescue operations. The authors’ main areas of consideration are the challenges for emergency services and the possible risks associated with the development and increasingly widespread and varied use of these technologies. Introduction: We are currently in the midst of the biggest energy crisis since the end of World War II. Therefore, the world’s leading economies are taking steps to intensify the production of alternative fuels – including hydrogen – and thus reduce the extraction of fossil fuels. One area of consideration and challenge related to increased extraction, processing and use of hydrogen is safety, particularly fire safety. In this regard, a major challenge is the knowledge, skills, equipment and facilities for rescue operations. Methodology: Based on a review and analysis of literature on the subject and available research results, key information, conclusions and recommendations directed to emergency services conducting operations during accidents and fires involving fuel cells were developed. Taken into account are the specific properties of hydrogen and the need to store it under high pressure. The article reviews the current state of knowledge regarding hazards and how to deal with them when conducting rescue operations during incidents involving hydrogen-powered vehicles. Conclusions: The development of this and other technologies, as well as the use of new alternative fuels, along with the increase in the number of vehicles powered in this way, will undoubtedly result in numerous and varied challenges for fire protection in the near future, including the need for rescue operations. These changes require systemic preparation and improvement of both the knowledge, skills of the rescuers and their equipment. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to work on the preparation/adaptation of appropriate education, training and professional development programs and teaching materials. It is necessary also to clarify the technical requirements for equipment for storing and supplying hydrogen to vehicles for example passenger vehicles and technical equipment in plants such as forklifts or generators for providing electricity in emergency situations. Work on these regulations is currently underway. Keywords: hydrogen drives, fire safety, rescue operations, rescue card
Audio-Video Analysis Method of Public Speaking Videos to Detect Deepfake Threat
Authors: Robert Wolański  , Karol Jędrasiak
Published: December 2023

Aim: The purpose of the article is to present the hypothesis that the use of discrepancies in audiovisual materials can significantly increase the effectiveness of detecting various types of deepfake and related threats. In order to verify this hypothesis, the authors proposed a new method that reveals inconsistencies in both multiple modalities simultaneously and within individual modalities separately, enabling them to effectively distinguish between authentic and altered public speaking videos. Project and methods: The proposed approach is to integrate audio and visual signals in a so-called fine-grained manner, and then carry out binary classification processes based on calculated adjustments to the classification results of each modality. The method has been tested using various network architectures, in particular Capsule networks – for deep anomaly detection and Swin Transformer – for image classification. Pre-processing included frame extraction and face detection using the MTCNN algorithm, as well as conversion of audio to mel spectrograms to better reflect human auditory perception. The proposed technique was tested on multimodal deepfake datasets, namely FakeAVCeleb and TMC, along with a custom dataset containing 4,700 recordings. The method has shown high performance in identifying deepfake threats in various test scenarios. Results: The method proposed by the authors achieved better AUC and accuracy compared to other reference methods, confirming its effectiveness in the analysis of multimodal artefacts. The test results confirm that it is effective in detecting modified videos in a variety of test scenarios which can be considered an advance over existing deepfake detection techniques. The results highlight the adaptability of the method in various architectures of feature extraction networks. Conclusions: The presented method of audiovisual deepfake detection uses fine inconsistencies of multimodal features to distinguish whether the material is authentic or synthetic. It is distinguished by its ability to point out inconsistencies in different types of deepfakes and, within each individual modality, can effectively distinguish authentic content from manipulated counterparts. The adaptability has been confirmed by the successful application of the method in various feature extraction network architectures. Moreover, its effectiveness has been proven in rigorous tests on two different audiovisual deepfake datasets. Keywords: analysis of audio-video stream, detection of deepfake threats, analysis of public speeches
Reducing Mercury Emissions from Small-Scale Coal-Fired Boilers Used in Residential Heating
Authors: Sławomir Stelmach  , Katarzyna Matuszek  , Piotr Hrycko  , Paweł Wolny  , Jiří Horák  , Lenka Kuboňová
Published: December 2023

Aim: The aim of the research was to demonstrate that the use of low-emission carbon fuels (obtained using the initial thermal conversion of coal feedstock) in residential heating also makes it possible to reduce mercury emissions from small-scale coal-fired boilers. Project and methods: The publication presents the results of mercury emission tests conducted using five different small-scale coal-fired boilers and five different coal fuels. The research was carried out under laboratory conditions, but also using heating devices of residential users. They covered a wide range of operational parameters, both energy and emission. The flux of coal fuels burned ranged from 2 to 12.2 kg/h, with an equally wide range of boiler efficiencies obtained – 67.6–88.5%. Results: The test results presented in the article show that the amount of emissions of pollutants limited by the criteria of the PN-EN 303-5+A1:2023-05 standard and the ecodesign, namely carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, dust and organic substances, depends mainly on the design and operating conditions of the device in which the specific solid fuel is burned. There is a group of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere, for which the amount of emissions depends primarily on the quality of the fuel burned. These pollutants include sulphur oxides and mercury, whose emissions depend primarily on the combustible sulphur and mercury content of the fuel being burned. Conclusions: Experimental studies were carried out to verify what portion of Hg contained in coal during its combustion in domestic boilers with manual and automatic fuel feeding remains bound in bottom ash, and what is emitted into the atmosphere. The content of Hg in bottom ash, regardless of the boiler and fuel used, was at a similar low level, reaching a maximum of about 6% of Hg initially contained in the fuel. As studies have shown, more than 94% of mercury contained in coal fuels burned in small-scale coal-fired boilers is emitted into the atmosphere, contributing significantly to the deterioration of the environment. Replacing traditional coal with low-emission carbon fuels (e.g., such as BC fuel) would significantly reduce mercury emissions from small-scale coalfired boilers, by up to 90% compared to current emissions. Setting a legal requirement for the permissible level of mercury content in coal fuels used in domestic boilers, for example, at a maximum value of 0.05 mg/kg, would reduce mercury emissions from these devices by at least half. Keywords: mercury emission, small-scale coal-fired boilers, low-emission carbon fuel