bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Total factor productivity of the non-life insurers in India: Malmquist index with a new decomposition
Authors: Ilyas Ashiq Mohd , Rajasekaran S.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to measure the change and the sources of change in total factor productivity (TFP) of the Indian non-life insurance sector over the period 2005–2016.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs the bootstrapped Malmquist index (MI) to assess the changes in the TFP and adopts a decomposition approach proposed by Balk and Zofío (2018). Moreover, it utilises truncated regression to identify the determinants of the TFP. In addition, it employs Wilcoxon-W test and t-test to scrutinise the difference between the state-owned and the private insurers in terms of variations in TFP and its various components.

Findings

The results divulge a miniature improvement in TFP of the insurance sector, which is primarily attributable to the improvement in scale efficiency (economies of scale). The results also reveal that there are no significant TFP differences across the ownership. However, private insurers have better scale efficiency and lower input-mix efficiency than state-owned insurers. In addition, the results unveil that size, diversification and reinsurance have a negative impact on the TFP, while age has a positive impact on it.

Practical implications

The results may help the policymakers to frame new consolidation policies. Moreover, the findings may guide the decision-makers of the Indian non-life insurance companies to abate inefficiency and improve TFP.

Originality/value

This study estimates bias-corrected changes in TFP and efficiency in the non-life insurance sector. Moreover, it adopts an elaborated decomposition of the MI to identify the true sources of change in the TFP.
Factors influencing ethical judgements of accounting practitioners: some Malaysian evidence
Authors: Mohd Ghazali Nazli Anum
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which demographic factors and corporate ethical value impact on ethical decisions of Malaysian accounting practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was carried out to elicit opinions from accounting practitioners on corporate ethical values and ethical judgements. Regression analysis was performed on 201 completed and useable questionnaires.

Findings

The regression analysis shows that corporate ethical value is a significant factor determining ethical judgements. Age is also a significant factor, with older accounting practitioners being stricter in their ethical stance. To a lesser extent, gender is also significant, with females exhibiting higher ethical judgements than males.

Research limitations/implications

The regression model reports an adjusted R-squared of 19.2%, which suggests further work in this area is necessary to identify other determinants for (un)ethical judgements. A qualitative approach such as interviewing corporate players may shed light on other possible factors.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that regulatory efforts have contributed towards a more ethically imbued corporate environment. The Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (2012), which recommends corporations to have formalized ethical standards and women on corporate boards, appears to have positive influence on creating a more ethical working climate. In addition, the enactment of the Minimum Retirement Age Act (2012) also proves relevant in further promoting ethical judgements.

Originality/value

The study highlights the applicability of the theory of moral development to an Asian developing country, and that gender, age and corporate ethical values are complementary in influencing ethical judgements of accounting practitioners in Malaysia.
Engaging general practitioners in pay-for-performance scheme design
Authors: Smith Verna
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Policymakers implementing pay-for-performance schemes within general practice should seek to design schemes which work with rather than against the professional values and goals of general practitioners. In this way, schemes are more likely to enhance the practitioners' engagement. The purpose of this paper is to show how this was done in two case studies of pay-for-performance design and present the lessons from this study for policymakers.

Design/methodology/approach

A Most Similar Systems collective case study of the design of two pay-for-performance schemes for general practitioners, the United Kingdom's Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and the New Zealand’s Performance Management Programme (PMP) was undertaken, involving 26 semi-structured interviews with policymakers, documentary and literature analysis.

Findings

Innovation in processes was found in both case studies which facilitated engagement by general practitioners in the formulation and implementation of these schemes. These were careful selection of highly skilled design teams, use of principle-based negotiation techniques and academic mediation of indicator selection. In addition, in England the majority of members in the combined QOF design team were general practitioners. The evidence from these two case studies reinforces approaches to scheme design which seek to harness rather than challenge medical professional values and which maximise the participation of general practitioners in the design process. Achieving funder/practitioner collaboration should be a key goal in the policymaking process.

Practical implications

Pay-for-performance scheme designers can improve their ability to engage general practitioners in scheme design and scheme uptake by adopting approaches which actively engage general practitioners as designers and users of such schemes.

Originality/value

This study compares two contemporaneous processes of pay-for-performance scheme design and implementation in similar systems of general practice funding and delivery at the national level, offering a rare quasi-experimental opportunity for learning lessons from comparative analysis.
Entrepreneurial exit by acquisition: the impact of heterogeneity in products and technology portfolio and marketing capabilities
Authors: Bobelyn Annelies , Claryse Bart , Wright Mike
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to study the effect of two important marketing decisions on the extent of value capturing by the firm owners. First, it addresses the debate whether acquirers of young technology-based firms value targets that span multiple technology and market categories indicating multiples options for growth or prefer more narrowly defined targets with a clear product and market focus. Second, it investigates to what extent the use of alliances for marketing purposes contributes to value capturing and how they moderate the effect of diversification of technology and marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

To estimate the acquisition price, a linear regression model is used, including a Heckman correction controlling for the likelihood of being acquired. The hypotheses are tested in a sample of British venture capital backed firms.

Findings

Firms that convey focus in their marketing activities (either because they focus on a few market categories or because they rely on downstream alliance to market their inventions) receive higher valuations at acquisition than those that diversify. Further, also the size of the product portfolio is negatively correlated to the acquisition price. Finally, the results reveal that firms with a broad patent portfolio can reduce the negative effects on firm value by engaging in less downstream alliances.

Originality/value

This paper advances existing research on exit strategies for entrepreneurial firms by considering factors explaining acquisition prices, instead of acquisition probabilities. Further, it adds the categorization research by demonstrating how acquirers respond to complex combinations of technology and market categories.
Perceptions of HR: an analysis of millennial and postmillennial insights
Authors: Paukert Sarah M. , Guay Russell P. , Kim You Jin
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of the human resources (HR) function from millennials and postmillennials who are either just finishing college or already in the early stages of their careers. Previous works have often revealed negative stereotypes toward HR, and this study serves to discover whether these perceptions are changing. Further, the study aims to address the origins of and reasoning behind these new perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-study survey research design using a sample of 106 college of business students (Study 1) and an additional sample of 135 former business students who have graduated since 2011 (Study 2) is used.

Findings

The results demonstrate that perceptions of HR are changing and quite positive, with the majority of these perceptions originating from personal experiences. In fact, the vast majority of respondents not only felt positive about HR but also like and trust their HR representatives.

Originality/value

Results also suggest that there may be a disconnect between perceptions of the HR function and its actual purpose, suggesting that HR professionals need to better educate others about their important role as a strategic business partner.
Heterogeneity in the co‐occurrence of depression and anxiety symptoms among youth survivors: A longitudinal study using latent profile analysis
Authors: Wang Yue , Ge Fenfen , Zhang Jun , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2021

Aim

Depression and anxiety are both common psychological outcomes triggered via trauma‐related experience. The current study aimed to identify the prevalence of depression and anxiety among youth survivors, explore the heterogeneity patterns of depression and anxiety symptoms in the chronic phase, and integrate early available information to predict patterns.

Methods

The study is a longitudinal study conducted at 2 weeks and 12 months after the Lushan earthquake. Finally, 1725 children and adolescents' survivors who accomplished both two‐time stages assessments were included. The heterogeneous patterns of depression and anxiety symptoms assessed by latent profile analysis (LPA) were used to predict heterogeneity patterns of depression and anxiety symptoms by early attained variables.

Results

A three‐class solution characterized mild depression/mild anxiety (64.3%), moderate depression/moderate anxiety (25.9%), and high depression/high anxiety (9.8%) parallel patterns was the most suitable model in our research. Demographic characteristics, earthquake‐related exposures, sleep, and somatic symptoms were variables that can be used to predict the parallel profiles.

Conclusions

Detection of heterogeneity patterns, especially for youth survivors at high risk, based on the self‐reported measurement attained at the early stage, is feasible. Our study may promote operational strategies by enabling targeted intervention.
Association of wound genesis on varying aspects of health‐related quality of life in patients with different types of chronic wounds: Results of a cross‐sectional multicentre study
Authors: Reinboldt‐Jockenhöfer Finja , Babadagi Zeynep , Hoppe Heinz‐Dieter , Risse Alexander , Rammos Christos , Cyrek Anna , Blome Christine , Benson Sven , Dissemond Joachim
Published: January 2021

Patients with chronic wounds are significantly impaired in their health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). The validated Wound‐QoL questionnaire allows assessing the impact of chronic wounds on different aspects of HRQoL including physical, psychological, and everyday life‐related impairments. The aim of our study was to investigate associations of these HRQoL dimensions with age, sex, and particularly wound genesis. In this retrospective, cross‐sectional, multicentre study, Wound‐QoL questionnaires from clinical routine of patients with venous leg ulcers, arterial leg ulcers, mixed leg ulcers, and diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) were evaluated. Effects of wound genesis, sex, and age were assessed with analysis of variance as well as correlation and multiple linear regression analyses. The completed questionnaires of 381 patients (f = 152/m = 229; mean age 68.9) were included. The wound genesis groups showed significantly different distributions of age and sex. We also found significant differences between those groups in everyday life‐related QoL, with the greatest impairments in patients with DFU. Physical QoL scores showed significant differences between men and women depending on diagnosis group: in patients with venous leg ulcers, women had greater impairment of physical QoL than men. Independent of the underlying diagnosis, women had significantly higher scores in the psychological subscale as well as in the Wound‐QoL sum scale. Within the subgroup of arterial leg ulcer patients, overall HRQoL sum score was significantly worse in older patients. Regression analyses supported negative effects of DFU diagnosis and female sex on HRQoL. Our data offer evidence that HRQoL shows clinically relevant differences between patients with chronic wounds of different genesis. Moreover, our data revealed that HRQoL is associated with age and sex, which should be considered when treating the patient groups. In order to be able to capture these important aspects and to offer individualised and patient‐oriented treatments, the Wound‐QoL should be implemented as a quick and uncomplicated standard instrument in daily routine. Patients with chronic wounds are significantly impaired in their health‐related quality of life. Validated Wound‐QoL questionnaire is a quick and easy‐to‐use instrument for daily practice. Wound‐related quality of life shows clinically relevant differences between patients with chronic wounds of different genesis. Wound‐related quality of life is associated with age and sex, which should be considered when treating these patient groups. Health‐related quality of life should be regularly objectified in all patients with chronic wounds with a validated measuring instrument.
In situ localization of diacylglycerol lipase α and β producing an endocannabinoid 2‐arachidonoylglycerol and of cannabinoid receptor 1 in the primary oocytes of postnatal mice
Authors: Kamnate Anussara , Sirisin Juthathip , Polsan Yada , Chomphoo Surang , Watanabe Masahiko , Kondo Hisatake , Hipkaeo Wiphawi
Published: January 2021

In order to understand the mechanism of the endocannabinoid (eCB) signal, which has so far been shown to work in oocyte genesis and maturation, it is critical to clarify detailed localization of the eCB synthesizing enzyme molecules as well as receptors for eCBs in oocytes in the ovary in situ. For this purpose, diacylglycerol lipase (DGL) α and β are involved in the synthesis of an eCB 2‐arachidonoylglycerol (2‐AG). DGLα/β and the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) for 2‐AG were shown to be localized to the primary oocytes of postnatal mice using immuno‐light and electron microscopy. It was found that two types of localization existed: first, immunoreactivities for DGLα and β were weakly detected throughout the ooplasm in light microscopy for which the intracellular membranes of vesicles forming tiny scattered aggregates were responsible. Secondly, DGLβ‐immunoreactivity was distinctly confined to the nuage of Balbiani bodies and small nuage‐derivative structures; both amorphous materials and membranes of vesicles were responsible for their localization. On the other hand, the weak immunoreactivity for CB1 was localized in a pattern similar to the first one for DGLs, but not found in a pattern for the Balbiani nuage. Two routes of functional exertion of 2‐AG synthesized by DGLs were suggested from the two types of localization: one was that the eCB synthesized at all the sites of DGLs is released from the oocytes and exerts paracrine or autocrine effects on adjacent intra‐ovarian cells as well as the oocytes themselves. The other was that the eCB synthesized within the nuage was involved in the modulation of the posttranscriptional processing of oocytes. Owing to the failure in the detection of CB1 in the Balbiani nuage, however, the validity of the latter possibility remains to be elucidated.
Relationship between temporal changes of endometrial blood flow impedance during natural and hormone replacement cycles and prediction of pregnancy during vitrified‐warmed embryo transfer
Authors: Ota Kuniaki , Shiraishi Satoru , Takahashi Toshifumi
Published: January 2021

Aim

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the temporal changes in endometrial blood flow impedance during natural and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) cycles and clinical outcomes of vitrified‐warmed embryo transfer (ET).

Methods

This retrospective observational cohort study included 60 women, 28 with natural, and 32 with HRT cycles, who underwent vitrified‐warmed ET. Uterine radial artery resistance index (RA‐RI) was measured during the natural and HRT cycles at the following time points: early follicular phase, day of the human chorionic gonadotropin injection during a natural cycle or day of progesterone administration during an HRT cycle, and day of ET.

Results

The clinical pregnancy rates of the natural and HRT cycles were 32.1% and 34.4%, respectively. The RA‐RI at the early follicular phase was significantly lower in the pregnant group than in the nonpregnant group with natural but not HRT cycles (p = 0.04). The odds ratio for pregnancy was 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52–0.95) when the RA‐RI value at the early follicular phase was increased by 0.01 in the natural cycle. With the natural cycle, the area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curves for the RA‐RI at the early follicular phase with a threshold of 0.68 was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.57–0.93), and the positive and negative predictive values were 0.53 (95% CI, 0.37–0.59) and 0.92 (0.74–0.99), respectively.

Conclusion

RA‐RI at the early follicular phase might be an effective and useful tool for deciding between natural or HRT cycles for vitrified‐warmed ET.
Spreadsheet Iteration of Reversionary Leasehold Rental Growth Rate Within The Framework of Explicit DCF Appraisals
Authors: Ataguba Joseph Obaje
Published: January 2021

Income growth rates are required to justify decisions and strategies for property investments. Although existing studies addressed this phenomenon in freehold investments, a relative question regarding the determination of rental growth rates of leasehold investment properties valued part-way through rent review periods has not been addressed before now. This study examined the spreadsheet-assisted scenario analysis tools and techniques that are required for the determination of rental growth rates of leasehold investment properties valued part-way through rent review periods. A precursor to the scenario analysis was the development of a hybrid leasehold DCF valuation model arising from the equation of the formula for reversionary leasehold equivalent yield valuation to the formula for reversionary leasehold growth explicit DCF valuation model; thereby culminating into the identification of four unknown variables comprising the all risks yield and the implied growth rates of leasehold cash inflows and cash outflows which were subsequently derived using the solver tool of Excel®. From a total of eleven scenarios generated, the 9th successive scenario produced optimal results indicating zero slack between iterated and calculated values for the growth rates of leasehold cash inflows and cash outflows respectively. With recourse to the hybrid leasehold DCF valuation model, the spreadsheet-assisted scenario was found to produce mathematically valid growth rates that justify the valuation of leasehold investment properties part-way through rent review periods. The value of this research is the analytical tools and rigour it avails investors seeking income returns and growth from reversionary leasehold property as an instance of terminable investments.
Surface polarity dependence of thermionic emission and conversion characteristics of n-type GaN cathodes
Authors: Kimura Shigeya , Yoshida Hisashi , Miyazaki Hisao , Fujimoto Takuya , Ogino Akihisa
Published: January 2021

We observed the polarity-dependent thermionic emission (TE) and conversion characteristics of n-type GaN-based cathodes with Cs adsorbed on their surfaces. TE current from the surface of an n-GaN sample with N-polarity was 0.18 mA at an applied anode voltage of 30 V at 500 °C. This TE current was markedly higher than that of a sample with Ga-polarity, which had a corresponding TE current of 0.063 mA. We consider the N-polarity with spontaneous polarization to be the cause of the increase in electron density at the Cs/n-GaN interface. TE current was also detected from both samples with Ga- and N-polarity even when the applied anode voltage was 0 V or lower, indicating the presence of thermionic conversion characteristics. From the viewpoint of a thermionic converter, the electromotive force for TE was 0.12 V higher when using the N-polarity n-GaN cathode compared with the Ga-polarity cathode. The short-circuit currents at 500 °C were 4.8 and 0.97 μA for the sample with N-polarity and the one with Ga-polarity, respectively.
Acoustic time-dependent energy and instantaneous power from planar radiators via a generalized radiation impulse response approach
Authors: Stepanishen Peter R.
Published: January 2021

The radiation impulse response, which is the temporal Fourier transform of the radiation impedance, provides the basis for a convolution approach to evaluate the time-dependent force, instantaneous power, and energy transfer into the fluid resulting from a separable space-time normal velocity of a fluid loaded surface. After a brief review of the radiation impulse response approach to address such problems for planar radiators, several specific examples for planar radiators are addressed. General results for the temporal evolution of the energy from a baffled planar source of arbitrary shape with a specified space-time separable normal velocity distribution are developed. The case of a circular piston in an infinite rigid plane is then addressed to illustrate the time-dependent force, instantaneous power, and energy transfer into the fluid for pulsed velocity excitations. In particular, the energy exchange between the incompressible near field and the acoustic far field is addressed for the pulsed excitations.
The
Campylobacter jejuni
chemoreceptor Tlp10 has a bimodal ligand-binding domain and specificity for multiple classes of chemoeffectors
Authors: Elgamoudi Bassam A. , Andrianova Ekaterina P. , Shewell Lucy K. , Day Christopher J. , King Rebecca M. , Taha  , Rahman Hossinur , Hartley-Tassell Lauren E. , Zhulin Igor B. , Korolik Victoria
Published: January 2021

Two ligand-binding sites in a chemoreceptor enable a human bacterial pathogen to adapt to hosts.
Supplemental Material: Carbon isotope and sequence stratigraphy of the upper Isachsen Formation on Axel Heiberg Island (Nunavut, Canada): High Arctic expression of oceanic anoxic event 1a in a deltaic environment
Authors: Dummann W. , al. et
Published: January 2021

Geochemical data and the age models presented in this study.
Sacral plexus disorder caused by a wooden toothpick in the rectum
Authors: Endo Takuro , Sugawara Taku , Higashiyama Naoki
Published: January 2021

A 67-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of pain in his right buttock and lower limb. MRI depicted right L5/S1 lateral recess stenosis requiring surgical treatment; however, preoperative CT showed an approximately 7 cm long, thin, rod-shaped structure in the rectum, which was ultimately determined to be an accidentally ingested toothpick. It was removed surgically 6 days after diagnosis, because right leg pain worsened rapidly. The pain disappeared thereafter, and the symptoms have not recurred since. The pain might have been localised to the right buttock and posterior thigh in the early stages because the fine tip of the toothpick was positioned to the right of the anterior ramus of the S2 spinal nerve. Although sacral plexus disorder caused by a rectal foreign body is extremely rare, physicians should be mindful to avoid misdiagnosis.
The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection
Authors: Pley Caitlin M , McNaughton Anna L , Matthews Philippa C , Lourenço José
Published: January 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has resulted in a myriad of interventions with the urgent aim of reducing the public health impact of this virus. However, a wealth of evidence both from high-income and low-income countries is accruing on the broader consequences of such interventions on economic and public health inequalities, as well as on pre-existing programmes targeting endemic pathogens. We provide an overview of the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on hepatitis B virus (HBV) programmes globally, focusing on the possible consequences for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Ongoing disruptions to infrastructure, supply chains, services and interventions for HBV are likely to contribute disproportionately to the short-term incidence of chronic hepatitis B, providing a long-term source of onward transmission to future generations that threatens progress towards the 2030 elimination goals.
Impact of supervised beego, a traditional Chinese water-only fasting, on thrombosis and haemostasis
Authors: Fang Yixuan , Gu Yue , Zhao Chen , Lv Yaqi , Qian Jiawei , Zhu Lingjiang , Yuan Na , Zhang Suping , Wang Li , Li Mengli , Zhang Qing , Xu Li , Wei Wen , Li Lei , Ji Li , Gao Xueqin , Zhang Jingyi , Shen Yueping , Chen Zixing , Wang Guanghui , Dai Kesheng , Wang Jianrong
Published: January 2021

Beego is a traditional Chinese complete water-only fasting practice initially developed for spiritual purposes, later extending to physical fitness purposes. Beego notably includes a psychological induction component that includes meditation and abdominal breathing, light body exercise and ends with a specific gradual refeeding program before returning to a normal diet. Beego has regained its popularity in recent decades in China as a strategy for helping people in subhealthy conditions or with metabolic syndrome, but we are unaware of any studies examining the biological effects of this practice. To address this, we here performed a longitudinal study of beego comprising fasting (7 and 14 day cohorts) and a 7-day programmed refeeding phase. In addition to detecting improvements in cardiovascular physiology and selective reduction of blood pressure in hypertensive subjects, we observed that beego decreased blood triacylglycerol (TG) selectively in TG-high subjects and increased cholesterol in all subjects during fasting; however, the cholesterol levels were normalised after completion of the refeeding program. Strikingly, beego reduced platelet formation, activation, aggregation and degranulation, resulting in an alleviated thrombosis risk, yet maintained haemostasis by sustaining levels of coagulation factors and other haemostatic proteins. Mechanistically, we speculate that downregulation of G6B and MYL9 may influence the observed beego-mediated reduction in platelets. Fundamentally, our study supports that supervised beego reduces thrombosis risk without compromising haemostasis capacity. Moreover, our results support that beego under medical supervision can be implemented as non-invasive intervention for reducing thrombosis risk, and suggest several lines of intriguing inquiry for future studies about this fasting practice (http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx, number, ChiCTR1900027451).
Examining the effects of pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain on allergic disease development in offspring: a protocol for a population-based study using health administrative databases in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Srugo Sebastian A , Gaudet Laura , Corsi Daniel , Fakhraei Romina , Guo Yanfang , Fell Deshayne B
Published: January 2021

Introduction

Over the last 20 years, excess maternal pre-pregnancy weight (overweight and obesity) and gestational weight gain have become the most common morbidities in pregnancy. These morbidities may pose a threat to fetal immunological development through associated metabolic dysfunction and inflammation and, as such, may partly explain the concurrent rise of paediatric allergic disease. We will examine the effect of maternal pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain during pregnancy on the incidence of allergic diseases among offspring in Canada’s most populous province.

Methods and analysis

We will conduct a retrospective, population-based cohort study of all singleton live births to residents of Ontario, Canada in 2012–2013 and 2013–2014. The study population will be defined using maternal-newborn records from the provincial birth registry, which captures information on maternal pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain. The cohort will be linked with provincial health administrative databases, allowing for follow-up of neonates through early childhood until 2019 (5–7 years of age). Allergic disease development (asthma, rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and anaphylaxis) will be ascertained using diagnostic codes from healthcare encounters. Potential confounders have been identified a priori through a directed acyclic graph. Cox proportional hazards regression models will be employed to assess the associations between maternal pre-pregnancy weight, gestational weight gain and incident paediatric allergic disease. Several preplanned sensitivity analyses will be conducted, including a probabilistic bias analysis of outcome misclassification.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Board of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the ICES Privacy Office. Findings will be disseminated in scientific conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.
Randomised, cross-over trial on the effect of isotonic and isometric exercise on pain and strength in proximal hamstring tendinopathy: trial protocol
Authors: Rich Aidan , Cook Jilliane Leigh , Hahne Andrew John , Rio Ebonie Kendra , Ford Jon
Published: January 2021

Background

Proximal hamstring tendinopathy (PHT) is a condition that occurs at all ages and levels of sporting participation. Presenting as localised lower buttock pain with tasks such as squatting and sitting, it can cause disability with sport, work and other activities of daily living. Recent research has investigated the effect of isometric exercise on pain and strength with a range of tendinopathies but there are no published studies on PHT. This protocol paper details a study investigating the effectiveness of isometric compared with isotonic exercise on pain and strength in people with PHT.

Methods/Design

The study is a prospective, cross-over randomised controlled trial (RCT). Twenty participants with PHT, recruited from the local community and sporting clubs will be recruited for the study. Participants will receive one session of isotonic hamstring strength exercises and one session of isometric hamstring exercise, with random allocation to the order of intervention.

Primary outcomes will be hamstring strength measured with a dynamometer and pain with a functional task, assessed immediately following and 45 min after intervention. A secondary outcome will be pain with sitting assessed 24 hours after intervention.

The effect of isotonic versus isometric exercise on hamstring pain and strength will be determined using a repeated measures linear mixed model. Further analyses will determine the proportion of patients with clinically important pain and strength improvements, using relative risks, χ2testing and number needed to treat.

Discussion

This RCT protocol will investigate the effect of isometric compared with isotonic exercise for PHT.
Riemann–Hilbert problems of a nonlocal reverse-time six-component AKNS system of fourth order and its exact soliton solutions
Authors: Adjiri Alle , Ahmed Ahmed M. G. , Ma Wen-Xiu
Published: January 2021

We investigate the solvability of an integrable nonlinear nonlocal reverse-time six-component fourth-order AKNS system generated from a reduced coupled AKNS hierarchy under a reverse-time reduction. Riemann–Hilbert problems will be formulated by using the associated matrix spectral problems, and exact soliton solutions will be derived from the reflectionless case corresponding to an identity jump matrix.
Strategy Logic with Imperfect Information
Authors: Berthon Raphaël , Maubert Bastien , Murano Aniello , Rubin Sasha , Vardi Moshe Y.
Published: January 2021

We introduce an extension of Strategy Logic for the imperfect-information setting, called SL
ii
and study its model-checking problem. As this logic naturally captures multi-player games with imperfect information, this problem is undecidable; but we introduce a syntactical class of “hierarchical instances” for which, intuitively, as one goes down the syntactic tree of the formula, strategy quantifications are concerned with finer observations of the model, and we prove that model-checking SL
ii
restricted to hierarchical instances is decidable. This result, because it allows for complex patterns of existential and universal quantification on strategies, greatly generalises the decidability of distributed synthesis for systems with hierarchical information. It allows us to easily derive new decidability results concerning strategic problems under imperfect information such as the existence of Nash equilibria or rational synthesis.

To establish this result, we go through an intermediary, “low-level” logic much more adapted to automata techniques. QCTL
*
is an extension of CTL
*
with second-order quantification over atomic propositions that has been used to study strategic logics with perfect information. We extend it to the imperfect information setting by parameterising second-order quantifiers with observations. The simple syntax of the resulting logic, QCTL
*
ii
, allows us to provide a conceptually neat reduction of SL
ii
to QCTL
*
ii
that separates concerns, allowing one to forget about strategies and players and focus solely on second-order quantification. While the model-checking problem of QCTL
*
ii
is, in general, undecidable, we identify a syntactic fragment of hierarchical formulas and prove, using an automata-theoretic approach, that it is decidable.
The Situated, Relational, and Evolving Nature of Epilepsy Diagnosis
Authors: Marathe Megh , Toyama Kentaro
Published: January 2021

An understanding of medical diagnosis as it is practiced is essential for those seeking to support it using intelligent systems. Through the case of epilepsy, we show that diagnosis is a situated, relational, and evolving process that accounts for information well beyond the patient's physiology, even for physiological phenomena like seizures. Through observations and interviews with neurologists, we show that the meaning of brainwaves and other physiological data depends upon a range of patient-specific and contextual factors, such as age, comorbidities, and mealtimes. Further, we show that diagnosis is partly determined by social factors such as the activities of caregivers and other clinicians, and environmental factors such as faulty electrical wiring. Additionally, diagnostic classifications can evolve in response to new information: events that were once considered seizures can be reinterpreted as clinically irrelevant and vice versa. We contribute a broader sociotechnical perspective to literature on intelligent decision making in healthcare and discuss implications for the design of decision support systems that can better support the work of medical diagnosis.
Agency and Extraction in Emerging Industrial Drone Applications
Authors: Hanrahan Benjamin V. , Maitland Carleen , Brown Timothy , Chen Anita , Kagame Fraterne , Birir Beatrice
Published: January 2021

Rapidly diffusing 'industry 4.0' technologies stand to impact a broad range of stakeholders. Prior to implementation, forward looking formative analyses can identify systems and policy designs to promote equitable benefit. We investigate this potential through an analysis of stakeholders to a potential drone implementation on a small commercial farm in Rwanda. Translating stakeholders' imaginaries within a post-colonial frame, we identify hopes and concerns related to agency and influenced by global and local systems of power. The findings highlight constraints that recommend system designs promoting local agency and control and policies designed to balance local data management against potentially 'extractive' multinational data transfer processes.
Data Integration as Coordination
Authors: Neang Andrew B. , Sutherland Will , Beach Michael W. , Lee Charlotte P.
Published: January 2021

Recent CSCW research on the collaborative design and development of research infrastructures for the natural sciences has increasingly focused on the challenges of open data sharing. This qualitative study describes and analyzes how multidisciplinary, geographically distributed ocean scientists are integrating highly diverse data as part of an effort to develop a new research infrastructure to advance science. This paper identifies different kinds of coordination that are necessary to align processes of data collection, production, and analysis. Some of the hard work to integrate data is undertaken before data integration can even become a technical problem. After data integration becomes a technical problem, social and organizational means continue to be critical for resolving differences in assumptions, methods, practices, and priorities. This work calls attention to the diversity of coordinative, social, and organizational practices and concerns that are needed to integrate data and also how, in highly innovative work, the process of integrating data also helps to define scientific problem spaces themselves.
Online Community-based Design of Free and Open Source Software for Transgender Voice Training
Authors: Ahmed Alex A. , Kok Bryan , Howard Coranna , Still Klew
Published: January 2021

This paper describes Project Spectra, a collective of open source developers that aims to build free and open source voice training technology for transgender people. We demonstrate how a design prioritizing the agency of trans users was made possible through sustained community collaboration. Using an autoethnographic approach, we discuss our community-based design process, which was documented with memos, online meetings and text conversations, sketches, and other data sources. We illustrate how we articulated our values as a group: deciding our programming framework (including a Statement of Principles), elaborating our "Experience Goals" (the feelings we wanted our design to elicit), and determining the features we wanted to implement in our app. We conclude with a reflection on the benefits and challenges of conducting community-based design research through an open-source organizational model.
Understanding and Predicting the Burst of Burnout via Social Media
Authors: Wu Jue , Ma Junyi , Wang Yasha , Wang Jiangtao
Published: January 2021

Job burnout is a special type of work-related stress that is prevalent in our modern society, and constant burnout is extremely harmful for people's physical health and emotional wellbeing. Traditional studies for burnout mainly rely on surveys/questionnaires, which have revealed several interesting findings but are of high cost and very time consuming. With the prevalence of social networking applications, we aim to re-investigate the burnout phenomenon in a novel perspective. In this paper, we collected a dataset consisting of 1532 burnout Weibo users with their postings. Based on the previous literature, we propose a number of hypotheses about what might be the burst signal of the burnout from the perspective of language, time and interaction. Furthermore, extensive correlation analysis is conducted to investigate if these hypotheses are supported, which leads to a number of interesting findings. Finally, we develop machine learning models to predict the burst of burnout based on extracted features and achieve a relatively high accuracy, which reveals potential implications in early-stage intervention.
Data Migrations
Authors: Alvarado Garcia Adriana , Britton Matthew J. , Doshi Dhairya Manish , De Choudhury Munmun , Le Dantec Christopher A.
Published: January 2021

Social media platforms offer a rich repository of crowdsourced information that has the potential to monitor human rights violations. The challenge is to quantify, interpret, and situate such unstructured data streams in the broader context, which remains under-investigated in existing CSCW research. Addressing these challenges demands computational solutions to extract large volumes of data in conjunction with human intervention to transition the data streams into the offline context to render them usable and actionable. Following an iterative human-in-the-loop computational approach, we explore whether citizen reports of abductions concentrated on Facebook groups can be useful to complete official records on the ongoing crisis of disappearances in Mexico. We conceptualize three key practices of the process of transitioning the data from online to offline, followed by seven qualitative characteristics of the data streams that contribute to each stage of the process. Our research contributes with an initial understanding of the challenges and opportunities of migrating the local knowledge from online communities to be used as evidence by organizations seeking to address institutional failures.
Entering Doors, Evading Traps
Authors: Pinter Anthony T. , Scheuerman Morgan Klaus , Brubaker Jed R.
Published: January 2021

Coming out and being visible online can offer transgender and/or non-binary people benefits not found elsewhere. However, it also can expose them to negative reactions and bad experiences. Through an analysis of 15 semi-structured interviews, we investigate the experiences of transgender and/or non-binary people coming out across social media sites (SMSs). We found that participants employed strategies around disclosure and visibility to limit the consequences of coming out and to access support. Using trans theory on visibility, we discuss how online spaces present metaphorical "doors" to resources, support, and recognition---but can also be "traps" for those that do not meet the expectations of the space. We discuss how visibility empowered participants to create "trapdoors" to new spaces within SMSs where they could create positive outcomes for themselves and their communities. We close with considerations for designers as they create online spaces, and present a broader call to action for the HCI community around designing online spaces.
ProtoTeams
Authors: Umbelino Gustavo , Yarmand Matin , Blake Samuel , Ta Vivian , Luo Amy , Dow Steven P.
Published: January 2021

Team dating, or small-group interactions, can expose people to diverse perspectives and inform the potential for longer-term collaboration. However, rapidly configuring groups and facilitating interactions among strangers can be difficult, especially in co-located settings. We present ProtoTeams, a system that leverages personal mobile devices to support rapid group formation, to facilitate group activities, and to collect data about the potential for future collaboration. We report on a field study where 406 students in eight different project-based classes used ProtoTeams to interact with classmates through multiple rounds of brief discussion activities before selecting teammates for a term project. We found that the system enables groups to form in about one minute, allows for meaningful interactions with a diverse range of peers, and can significantly influence subsequent teammate selection. We discuss design implications and challenges for in-person team dating in classrooms and other contexts.
Human-Machine Cooperative Video Anomaly Detection
Authors: Yang Fan , Yu Zhiwen , Chen Liming , Gu Jiaxi , Li Qingyang , Guo Bin
Published: January 2021

It is still a challenge to detect anomalous events in video sequences in the field of computer vision due to heavy object occlusions, varying crowded densities and complex situations. To address this, we propose a novel human-machine cooperative approach which uses human feedback on anomaly confirmation to inform and enhance video anomaly detection. Specifically, we analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of sequential frames of a video from the appearance and motion perspective from which spatial and temporal features are identified and extracted. We then develop a convolutional autoencoder neural network to compute an abnormal score based on reconstruction errors. In this process, a group of experts will provide human feedback to a certain proportion of classified frames to be incorporated into the model, and also the final judgment for the event anomalies for training and classification. The proposed approach is evaluated on 3 publicly available surveillance datasets, showing improved accuracy and competitive performance (93.7% AUC) with respect to the best performance (90.6% AUC) of the state-of-the-art approaches. The approach has not been previously seen to the best of our knowledge.
Recent Advances in Geochemical Paleo-Oxybarometers
Authors: Kendall Brian
Published: January 2021

Knowledge of how and why oxygenic photosynthesis, eukaryotes, metazoans, and humans evolved on Earth is important to the search for complex life outside our Solar System. Hence, one grand challenge for modern geoscience research is to reconstruct the story of how Earth's environment and life coevolved through time. A critical part of the effort to understand Earth's story is the use of geochemical signatures from the rock record—paleo-oxybarometers—to constrain atmosphere and ocean O2levels and their spatiotemporal variations. Recent advances in analytical methods and improved knowledge of elemental and isotopic (bio)geochemical cycles have fostered development and refinement of many paleo-oxybarometers. Each offers its unique perspective and challenges toward obtaining robust (semi)quantitative O2estimates. Overall, these paleo-oxybarometers have provided critical new insights but have also spurred new debates about Earth's oxygenation and its impact on biological evolution (and vice versa). Integrated approaches with multiple paleo-oxybarometers are now more critical than ever. ▪  Paleo-oxybarometers estimate atmosphere or ocean O2levels, providing insight on how Earth's environment and life coevolved over time. ▪  Recent conceptual, analytical, and modeling advances, aided by studies on modern environments, have improved quantitative O2estimates. ▪  Atmosphere and ocean paleo-oxybarometers reveal a complex history of dynamic O2fluctuations since oxygenic photosynthesis evolved. ▪  Further improvements in the accuracy and robustness of atmosphere-ocean O2estimates will require more integrated approaches.
Opportunities and Challenges for the Introduction of New Food Proteins
Authors: Williams Richard A.
Published: January 2021

New forms of protein are being developed at a rapid rate as older forms of protein, particularly meat and poultry, are coming under attack for nutritional, environmental, food safety, and animal welfare issues. To date, the FDA and USDA have split oversight of the new technologies that include genetic engineering and precision fermentation. Because these new products address the problems associated with traditional proteins, consumer demand appears to be overcoming fundamental fears associated with innovative foods. Currently, agencies are struggling with naming issues for the new proteins and, in some cases, possibly being forced to use costly and lengthy premarket approvals. Because of the complexity of new production methods, the speed of development, and the potential benefits, a new system of regulation may be necessary. It would consist of one of the existing agencies becoming a super regulator overseeing private companies that specialize and compete with each other and are regulated quickly and competently.