bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Melanogenesis Markers Expression in Premature Graying of Hair: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: PSS Ranugha , Madhunapantula Subbarao V. , Betkerur Jayadev B. , Bovilla Venugopal R. , Shastry Veeranna
Published: October 2021

Background: Studies on mice and aging human hair follicles provide compelling evidence that graying of hair results from premature differentiation of melanocyte stem cells in the niche/bulge. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze whether differentiation of melanocyte stem cells is responsible for premature graying of hair (PGH). Methods: Twenty-five patients with PGH (n = 25) attending the dermatology department were recruited. Five unpigmented and 5 pigmented hairs were obtained per patient by separating individual follicles after 1 mm punch biopsies. The hairs were dissected at a distance of 2 mm from the bulb to separate the stem cells (upper segment – US) from the melanocytes (lower segment – LS). RNA was extracted from hair follicle US and LS, and expression of GP100, tyrosinase (TYR), and tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TYRP1) genes was quantified using Qiagen one-step RT-PCR kit. Results: We found melanogenesis gene expression in both temporary (US) and permanent (LS) segments of unpigmented and pigmented hair follicles. When compared between the US and LS of white hair, the expression of TYR and GP100 was much higher in US than LS, suggestive of melanogenesis in the bulge. Similarly, when compared between white and black US, the expression of all 3 genes was higher in white US than black US, although not statistically significant. Limitations: Low samples size and lack of data pertaining to the expression of genes at protein level are the limitations of current study. Conclusion: Even though this pilot study data yielded key information about the expression of GP100, TYR, and TYRP-1 at the mRNA level, further studies quantifying the expression of these genes at protein level are needed to provide additional clues to further address the results in detail.
A prediction model for benefitting e-commerce through usage of regional data: A new framework
Authors: Singhal Shefali , Tanwar Poonam
Published: October 2021

Today during ‘Covid-20’, people are more inclined towards online shopping. In general practice, analysis of browsing history and customer’s micro behaviour against online shopping habits have been used for future suggestions. Due to this, the predictions made were suffereing from over-similarity problem and the user was unable to find any novelty in the recommended items. Observing these issues, e-shopping quality can be enhanced by adding a factor other than similarity. The current research suggests and advertise those products which belongs to a person’s region. For this research work the data has been collected on the basis of area-wise, like, country-based seggregation. Here the considered dataset belongs to country, ‘India’, its culture, its handicraft and its citizens. Datasets and their combinations based on multiple attributes are input for the proposed predictive system. In this paper, existing data is also considered for collecting customers demographic details which is further mapped with the area-wise dataset. Also, a framework has been proposed which uses database and user query as input for its predictive system in order to generate default suggestions for the user other than the submitted query also.
SAFEA application design on determining the optimal order quantity of chicken eggs based on fuzzy logic
Authors: Santosa Sesar Husen , Hidayat Agung Prayudha , Siskandar Ridwan
Published: October 2021

The availability of stock in the chicken egg supply chain is influenced by the ability of egg Agents to determine the optimal orders to suppliers. The optimal number of orders is very important to manage for the Bogor City Egg Agent Indonesia because the stock capacity reaches 340 crates. The optimal number of orders for eggs at the Egg Agent is influenced by input variables, namely final stock (crate), selling price (crate), and consumer demand (crate) so that the inventory is under control. The three input variables have fuzzy values that must be processed using fuzzy logic to get the optimal number of orders to suppliers so that the egg stock in the warehouse is well maintained. The optimal order model for eggs in the smart application for egg agent (SAFEA) was developed using a fuzzy logic approach with the triangular and trapezoidal membership function. Based on the optimal order model in the SAFEA application, the optimal order to the supplier is 100-104 crates per day.
Flesh fly (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): male terminalia, diversity and expanded geographical distribution from India
Authors: Kanholi Sreejith  , Shuvra Kanti Sinha  , Santanu Mahato  , Edamana Pushpalatha
Published: October 2021

Despite its veterinary, medical and forensic importance, the biodiversity of sarcophagid flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) has remained poorly investigated in India. We have performed a survey of Sarcophagidae species in connection with a study conducted on Diptera, which exposed the flesh fly diversity in and around the campus of the University of Calicut, Kerala, India. The survey was conducted using traps baited with decomposing fish and chicken liver and by the sweeping method. Eleven species were collected, including four species recorded from this state for the first time, one of which is new to the Indian mainland and the second record after Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve. Male terminalia of Sinonipponia bengalensis, Parasarcophaga choudhuryi, Boettcherisca karnyi, and Boettcherisca nathani are illustrated. This result expands the knowledge on the geographical distribution and habitat occupancy of sarcophagid species as well as their forensic relevance and provides a background for future systematic investigations.
New distribution records of Begonia L., B. murina Craib and B. poilanei Kiew (Begoniaceae: Cucurbitales) for Laos
Authors: Phonepaseuth Phongphayboun , Souladeth Phetlasy , Lanorsavanh Soulivanh , Tagane Shuichiro , Vongthavone Thyraphon , Souvannakhoummane Keooudone
Published: October 2021

Begonia murina Craib from central and B. poilanei Kiew from southern of Laos, are newly recorded in Laos. Based on Lao materials, detailed description, photographs, and notes on habitat, ecology, & taxonomic discussion of these two species compared with the Chinese, Thai, & Vietnamese types are provided.
Diversity of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) and the impact of pruning in Indian sandalwood plantations from Karnataka, India
Authors: S. Padma  , R. Sundararaj
Published: October 2021

Indian sandalwood Santalum album L. plantations in Karnataka were surveyed to study the diversity and abundance of spider fauna. A total of 1,244 individuals belonging to 56 spider species in 40 genera under 14 families were recorded in the sandalwood plantations. Among the spider families recorded, Araneidae was the most dominant with 15 species in nine genera followed by Salticidae with 13 species in 10 genera, Thomisidae with seven species in four genera, Oxyopidae with four species in three genera, Uloboridae with four species in a genus, and Theridiidae by three species each under three genera. Lycosidae and Sparassidae are represented by two species under two genera each. The families Cheiracanthiidae, Clubionidae, Hersiliidae, Philodromidae, and Pholcidae are represented by a species each. The pruning of sandalwood revealed a significant negative effect on the occurrence and distribution of spiders.
Therapeutic Exon Skipping Through a CRISPR-Guided Cytidine Deaminase Rescues Dystrophic Cardiomyopathy in Vivo
Authors: Li Jia , Wang Kaiying , Zhang Yuchen , Qi Tuan , Yuan Juanjuan , Zhang Lei , Qiu Han , Wang Jinxi , Yang Huang-Tian , Dai Yi , Song Yan , Chang Xing
Published: October 2021

Background:

Loss of dystrophin protein causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), characterized by progressive degeneration of cardiac and skeletal muscles, and mortality in adolescence or young adulthood. Although cardiac failure has risen as the leading cause of mortality in patients with DMD, effective therapeutic interventions remain underdeveloped, in part, because of the lack of a suitable preclinical model.

Methods:

We analyzed a novel murine model of DMD created by introducing a 4-bp deletion into exon 4, one of the exons encoding the actin-binding domain 1 of dystrophin (referred to as
Dmd
E4*
mice). Echocardiography, microcomputed tomography, muscle force measurement, and histological analysis were performed to determine cardiac and skeletal muscle defects in these mice. Using this model, we examined the feasibility of using a cytidine base editor to install exon skipping and rescue dystrophic cardiomyopathy in vivo. AAV9-based CRISPR/Cas9-AID (eTAM) together with AAV9-sgRNA was injected into neonatal
Dmd
E4*
mice, which were analyzed 2 or 12 months after treatment to evaluate the extent of exon skipping, dystrophin restoration, and phenotypic improvements of cardiac and skeletal muscles.

Results:

Dmd
E4*
mice recapitulated many aspects of human DMD, including shortened life span (by ≈50%), progressive cardiomyopathy, kyphosis, profound loss of muscle strength, and myocyte degeneration. A single-dose administration of AAV9-eTAM instituted >50% targeted exon skipping in the
Dmd
transcripts and restored up to 90% dystrophin in the heart. As a result, early ventricular remodeling was prevented and cardiac and skeletal muscle functions were improved, leading to an increased life span of the
Dmd
E4*
mice. Despite gradual decline of AAV vector and base editor expression, dystrophin restoration and pathophysiological rescue of muscular dystrophy were long lasted for at least 1 year.

Conclusions:

Our study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy to institute exon skipping through an enhanced TAM (eTAM) for therapeutic application(s).
Global Religious History as a Rhizome: Colonial Panics and Political Islam in German East Africa
Authors: Haustein Jörg
Published: October 2021

A Global History of Religion aims to trace connections, controversies, and contingencies in the emergence of “religion” as a global category. Its main intention is to de-center European epistemologies of religion by drawing out a more intricate global and plural genealogy. This is a very complex endeavour, however, especially when one leaves the realm of academic debate and considers the quotidian understandings of “religion” emerging in colonial encounters. Here one is often confronted by vast entanglements of practices, perceptions and politics, which need a historical methodology that foregrounds the plurality, complexity and historicity of all religious epistemes. Drawing on Deleuze’ and Guattari’s philosophical figure of the rhizome, this article sketches such an approach in a conversation between theory and historiographical practice, as it maps out a particular episode in the construction of “political Islam” in German East Africa.
Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: New short-winged Agraeciini from Australia (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini)
Authors: RENTZ DCF , SU YOU NING , UESHIMA NORIHIRO
Published: October 2021

Descriptions of seven new, short-winged Australian Agraeciine genera are presented with details of distribution, calling songs and karyotypes of several species. Photographs of the habitats of most species are included. A key to the known brachypterous and micropterous Australia agraeciines is presented. A new subtribe Australiagraeciina Rentz, Su, Ueshima is described to include species with small size of adults, macropterous males, apterous females and males with the stridulatory file positioned on a raised swelling. Included in the new subtribe are the following: Australiagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. with the species A. spina Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species); A. minuta Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. helleri Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. torndirrupa Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. tagera Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. gladiator Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. curvata Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. Ganiagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; G. karwinia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species). Gwynnagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; G. viridis Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species).; G. perplexa Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; G. marandoo Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. Latitatagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; L. kalamaya Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species); L. vulgivaga Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. The following are placed in the subtribe Agraeciina Redtenbacher 1891: Cooloolagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; C. wallum Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species); C. gubbi Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. Kokominiagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; K. dicra Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species). Timbarragraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; T. samneilli Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species). A key to the Australiagraecia species is included.
Disorder Oriented Policing: A Revealing Case Study of a Special Differential Response Unit in the Houston Police Department
Authors: Zhang Yan , Zhao Solomon (Jihong)
Published: October 2021

Proactive policing has been a preferred approach among American law enforcement agencies for decades. While most of the systematic studies done in this area focus on the effect of proactive policing programs, limited research has analyzed factors that cause police departments to adopt a particular style of proactive policing. Using propositions primarily derived from social disorganization and broken windows theories and path analysis, this study examines the characteristics and associates of everyday activities of the Differential Response Team (DRT)—a proactive policing team—in Houston, Texas. Our findings suggest that DRT activities are driven mostly by neighborhood characteristics and the occurrence of reported serious crimes. The most significant predictor of DRT activities is violent crime rate of a neighborhood.
Impact of the South Asian Adolescent Diabetes Awareness Program (SAADAP) on diabetes knowledge, risk perception and health behaviour
Authors: Banerjee Ananya Tina , Mahajan Anisha , Mathur-Balendra Avantika , Qureshi Nazima , Teekah Marlon , Yogaratnam Shindujan , Prabhakar Priya , Ahmed Sabeeha , Shah Baiju R , Velummailum Russanthy , Price Jennifer AD , de Souza Russell J , Bajaj Harpreet S
Published: October 2021

Objective:

Evidence suggests the increased prevalence of diabetes among South Asian (SA) adolescents is due to their genetic risk profile. The South Asian Adolescent Diabetes Awareness Program (SAADAP) is a pilot intervention for SA youth in Canada with a family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We sought to investigate changes in (1) diabetes knowledge and associated risk factors, (2) risk perception and (3) health behaviours among adolescents participating in SAADAP.

Design:

One-group pre-test, post-test design informed by a commitment to community-based participatory research (CBPR).

Setting:

Sixty-eight adolescents aged 13–17 years with a family history of T2DM participated in SAADAP in a clinical-community setting in Canada.

Method:

Pre–post questionnaires were administered to evaluate diabetes knowledge and associated risk factors, risk perceptions and health behaviours. Analyses were restricted to 49 participants who attended at least four diabetes education sessions.

Results:

The mean age of adolescents was 14.5 years, and 57.1% self-identified as girls. The difference in knowledge about the definition, symptoms and complications of T2DM from baseline to post-intervention was 3.32 out of 21 ( p < .001) among SA youth. There was significant increase in learning about diabetes risk factors ( p < .001) from baseline to post-intervention. Almost 60% of participants exhibited no change in their risk perception after intervention. Approximately two-thirds of the participants self-reported positive changes in health behaviours after completing the programme.

Conclusion:

SAADAP showed promising outcomes in raising knowledge and improving health behaviours in SA adolescents with a family history of diabetes. Larger controlled trials with longer follow-up are recommended to support and expand on the current findings.
Democracies or Authoritarians? Regime Differences in the Efficacy of Handling Covid-19 in 158 Countries
Authors: Laishram Chinglen , Kumar Pawan
Published: October 2021

A new genre of contestation is seen in the discourse of democracy and governance worldwide concerning efficacy in combating the Covid-19 pandemic, that is, which regime is handling the pandemic better—authoritarian or democratic? As a response to this debate, premised on the practicality that differences in total confirmed cases and deaths reflect the raw quantity of government’s ability to control and handle an infectious disease, we examined differences in the reported number of total confirmed cases and deaths across the categories of political regimes. We used regime classification from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democratic Index—full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid and authoritarian regime. The country-wise reported number of Covid-19 confirmed cases and deaths were extracted from World Health Organization’s 6th Weekly Epidemiological Report. The results spotlight that if the democratic countries are inevitably more susceptible to pandemics, then we need to cautiously reassess the notion of public health and pandemics in the context of political regimes.
The practice of motivated reasoning: observing knowledge use in real-world policy processes
Authors: Dorren Lars , Böhme Mirijam
Published: October 2021

Motivated reasoning theory is a psychological theory that reads that policymakers interpret evidence in ways that fit their preferences rather than assessing it neutrally. The theory is increasingly used to explain policy processes as part of a behavioural approach to public administration, but it has limitations. As psychological research relies on experiments, the question remains what role motivated reasoning plays in real-world policy processes. Based on ethnographic observations collected during the planning phase of a large infrastructure project, this study confirms that motivated reasoning explains how people interpret information. However, it also shows that peoples’ context has a great impact on their reasoning. Ultimately, we suggest that a focus on time and real-world context is essential in understanding processes of reasoning, for which methodological diversification is needed.

Points for practitioners People are inclined to interpret information in light of existing attitudes, rather than approach it neutrally. They read it in such a way that it confirms their attitudes, or are critical of it when it does not. Conflicts caused by differentiating views can be better understood by looking at the attitudes that inform these views. Discussions that might seem aimless at first might have secondary functions such as building trust amongst participants.
#RealBleachers: Black Women’s Knowledge of Skin Whitening Risks
Authors: Ashley Rokeshia Renné
Published: October 2021

Skin whitening, or also referred to as bleaching or lightening, is a skin regiment that works to reduce pigmentation in the skin, to commonly treat skin issues like discoloration, acne scars, hyperpigmentation, age spots, or whiten naturally dark skin. The purpose of this study was to understand Black women’s knowledge and how they communicate about health impacts of skin whitening, providing insight into users’ health literacy of skin whitening products and use, based on levels of knowledge of ingredients in products. An autoethnographic approach, triangulated with in-depth interviews, and field and participant observations, reveal what Black women know about, and how Black women use skin whitening products; how Black women conceptualize the risks relative to the knowledge of products content and potential impacts, and strategies of communication that could enhance health literacy.
The wavenumber imaging of fiber waviness in hybrid glass–carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite plates
Authors: Zhang Haiyan , Ren Yan , Song Jiaxin , Zhu Qi , Ma Xuefen
Published: October 2021

Out-of-plane waviness is one of the most common defects which degenerates the strength, stiffness, and fatigue life of hybrid glass–carbon fiber–reinforced polymer composites (FRPs). An accurate and high-speed non-destructive testing method is highly desired for large composite structures in industries. Ultrasonic phased array is a great candidate for such application. This paper applies the wavenumber algorithm to image the waviness in hybrid FRP plates which are a multi-layered medium. The central frequency of 5 MHZ is chosen in order to maximize the ply resonance. Transducers are migrated virtually to each interface between glass and carbon plies in order to overcome the difficulty of wave propagation analysis in such multi-layered system. The wavenumber algorithm demonstrates a better computational performance compared to that of the traditional total focusing method (TFM) in time domain up to 6 times. The glass ply depth and waviness angle can be more accurately presented with relative errors less than 1.5% and 14.8%, respectively. In addition, the resin-rich defect characterization is also achievable with a maximum error of 14.4%.
An Initial Study of the Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics of Black Students School Identified as Emotionally Disturbed
Authors: Lambert Matthew C. , Katsiyannis Antonis , Epstein Michael H. , Cullinan Douglas
Published: October 2021

For years, the research and policy focus on Black students with emotional disturbance (ED) has been on racial disproportionality. The disproportionality issue has sparked professional debate and raised major questions about racial bias, cultural fairness, appropriateness of assessment instruments, the adequacy of special education programs, poverty, exposure to risk factors, and research approaches. Unfortunately, minimal progress has been made on understanding the overrepresentation of Black students in ED programs. The purpose of the present study was to initiate research on the emotional and behavioral functioning of Black students with ED, by comparing the teacher-completed ratings from the Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance for Black students with ED ( n = 139), Black students without ED ( n = 421), White students with ED ( n = 271), and White students without ED ( n = 1,218). The results demonstrated that (a) Black students with ED were judged to demonstrate significantly higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems than their Black and White peers without ED, and (b) Black students with ED differed minimally from White students with ED. Research limitations, directions for future research, and implications for assessment and service delivery are discussed.
Probationary services in a pandemic. Results from an empirical study in Austria
Authors: Stempkowski Monika , Grafl Christian
Published: October 2021

In March 2020 the first lockdown due to COVID-19 was imposed in Austria, forcing NEUSTART, the organisation providing probationary services, to adapt the way of interacting with their clients. An online survey was conducted examining how these changes affected the everyday work of the probation officers. Results indicated that they managed to stay in contact with their clients, although difficulties could be observed concerning specific groups. Further questions concerned areas such as domestic violence, strains due to the restrictions experienced as well as coping strategies used by the clients. Concerning the well-being of the probation officers, differences were found between residents of urban and rural areas respectively as well as between people living with or without children. The lack of personal contact with clients and colleagues proved to be the most important source of discomfort, while at the same time working from home entailed certain advantages.
The Talmudic way of thinking cannot suddenly have disappeared from us. Death instinct, anti-Semitism and Jewish traditions in the foundation matrix of group analysis
Authors: Weimer Martin
Published: October 2021

One hundred years after the publication of Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Freud, 1920), anti-Semitism is understood as the realization of the (self-)destructive force in its group form of the anti-group (Nitsun, 1996). Foulkes’ secrecy about the impacts of the German National Socialism(NS)-anti-group in his life (unlike Freud and Elias), as well as the libidinal idealization of the group, can be understood as a post-traumatic defence. But, as Nitsun (1996) has demonstrated, the creative potential of the anti-group can help to develop the group if it is analysed by the group, and can also be demonstrated by this example: the analysis of the traumatic effects of the NS-annihilation-anti-Semitism on the history of group analysis may reveal its hidden prophetic and rabbinical traditions in its foundation matrix. In this respect we can think of every group analytical session as a sign that Auschwitz did not win.
Domesticating Danger: Coping Codes and Symbolic Security amid Violent Organized Crime in Mexico
Authors: Villarreal Ana
Published: October 2021

Sociologists have long debated how labels are deployed to construct and exaggerate social threats but have yet to consider their use to cope with danger. I draw on qualitative fieldwork conducted in the midst of a gruesome turf war in Monterrey, Mexico, to conceptualize coping codes. These defensive labels emerge in everyday conversation and allow its users to allude to threatening actors without being explicit—in this case, violent organized crime labeled malitos, or little evil guys. They emerge from below and in relation to top-bottom labeling processes they can both challenge and reproduce. Coping codes provide symbolic security by minimizing danger, although at a cost when also used to draw symbolic boundaries between the living and the dead “accused of being into something.” The case calls for further research on coping codes in dangerous contexts, particularly at the onset of unsettled times when people tend to minimize rupture.
A perfect match? The dampening effect of interethnic marriage on armed conflict in Africa
Authors: Demarest Leila , Haer Roos
Published: October 2021

How does interethnic marriage influence the occurrence of ethnic violence in sub-Saharan Africa? Previous studies on the relationship between intergroup contact and conflict onset have produced mixed findings. Some scholars have argued that this might be due to the way interethnic contact is measured. Building on insights of social psychology, this study examines the influence of interethnic marriage as the ultimate form of positive intergroup contact. In doing so, we combine information of the Demographic and Health Surveys with event data on ethnic conflict. Our analysis shows that areas with higher levels of exogamy significantly experience less ethnic conflict.
The Cognitive-Affective-Motivation Model of Learning (CAMML): Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Authors: McGrew Kevin S.
Published: October 2021

The Cognitive-Affective-Motivation Model of Learning (CAMML) is a proposed framework for integrating contemporary motivation, affective (Big 5 personality) and cognitive (CHC theory) constructs in the practice of school psychologists (SPs). The central tenet of this article is that SPs need to integrate motivation alongside affective and cognitive constructs vis-à-vis an updated trilogy-of-the-mind (cognitive, conative, affective) model of intellectual functioning. CAMML builds on Richard Snow’s seminal research on academic aptitudes—which are not synonymous with cognitive abilities. Learning aptitude complexes are academic domain-specific cognitive abilities and personal investment mechanisms (motivation and self-regulation) that collectively produce a student’s readiness to learn in a specific domain. CAMML incorporates the “crossing the Rubicon” commitment pathway model of motivated self-regulated learning. It is recommended SPs take a fresh look at motivation theory, constructs, and research, embedded in the CAMML aptitude framework, by going back-to-the-future guided by the wisdom of giants from the field of cognition, intelligence, and educational psychology.
Visit restrictions highlight crucial role of family members in long-term care: The British Columbia experience
Authors: Mackenzie Isobel
Published: October 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has created much-needed attention on long-term care in Canada. Public exposure of life in long-term care has generated tremendous public support for improvements that to a large extent focus on staffing and ageing infrastructure. However, the impact of visit restrictions on long-term care residents during the pandemic highlights the need for changes to how long-term care has traditionally viewed the role and value of family members. The Office of the Seniors Advocate of British Columbia published a report Staying Apart to Stay Safe that highlighted the impact of visit restrictions from the perspective of over 13,000 residents and family members directly affected. The results provide compelling evidence of the need for health leaders to re-evaluate current practice and embrace a more holistic role for family members of residents in long-term care.
Family Firms, Family Boundary Organizations, and the Family-Related Organizational Ecosystem
Authors: De Massis Alfredo , Kotlar Josip , Manelli Luca
Published: October 2021

While entrepreneurial families often expand their activity over multiple businesses and patrimonial assets, this complexity is rarely addressed in mainstream family business research, where the predominant focus is on the family business or, at best, on the family controlling the operational business. We advance a more holistic understanding of entrepreneurial families that contemplates the variety of assets they create or acquire over time that jointly generate financial and socioemotional wealth for the family, and call for attention to the variety of organizations that entrepreneurial families establish to preserve, manage, and/or administer such assets. We theorize that each of these organizations can be devised as a family boundary organization (FBO), which operates at the interface of the entrepreneurial family and other systems, and such FBOs form a family-related organizational ecosystem. We propose a new framework that extends the scope of research beyond the family business and focuses more directly on entrepreneurial families and on the boundaries between the entrepreneurial family, its multiple assets, and the FBOs in the family-related organizational ecosystem. This framework paves the ground to extend the three-circle model, broadening the scope of family business research to consider a wider range of organizations besides the family firm, such as family foundations, family business foundations, family offices, family holdings, family academies, and family museums. Drawing on the organizational boundaries literature, we integrate organizational boundaries in the theory of the family firm and propose a research agenda to examine the entrepreneurial family and its assets in a broader way.
Attitude control of the low earth orbit CubeSat using a moving mass actuator
Authors: Lu Zhengliang , Hu Yuandong , Liao Wenhe , Zhang Xiang
Published: October 2021

This paper investigates an attitude control method for the CubeSat using a moving mass actuator to solve the problem of the strong aerodynamic disturbance in low Earth orbit. The rotational and translational equations are derived for the CubeSat with three moving masses, and their dynamic effects are analyzed. A magnetorquer is used to prevent the underactuation of the attitude control system. The movement of moving masses is slowed down by using a discrete double-loop Proportion Integral Differential control method, thereby reducing the fast time-varying additional disturbance. A nonlinear observer is used for the precise estimation of the slow time-varying disturbance. Notably, the ideal attitude control torque is allocated to two actuators by using the proposed control allocation algorithm. Numerical simulation indicates that the attitude convergence accuracy is up to ±0.1° despite the uncertain dynamics, unknown disturbances, and dynamic effects. The results verify the feasibility of the proposed control method.
A multi-objective approach to optimize the weight and stress of the locking plates using finite element modeling
Authors: Rafiei Soroush , Nourani Amir , Chizari Mahmoud
Published: October 2021

This paper aims to identify an optimum bone fracture stabilizer. For this purpose, three design variables including the ratio of the screw diameter to the plate width at three levels, the ratio of the plate thickness to the plate width at three levels, and the diameter of the bone at two levels were selected for analysis. Eighteen 3D verified finite element models were developed to examine the effects of these parameters on the weight, maximum displacement and maximum von Mises stress of the fixation structure. Considering the relations between the inputs and outputs using multivariate regression, a genetic algorithm was used to find the optimal choices. Results showed that the diameter of the bone and the amount of load applied on it did not have a significant effect on the normalized stresses on the structures. Furthermore, in all ratio of the plate thickness to the plate width, as the ratio of the screw diameter to the plate width increased, the amount of stress on the structure decreased. But, by further increasing the ratio of the screw diameter to the plate width, the amount of stress on the structure increased. On the other hand, by increasing the value of the ratio of the plate thickness to the plate width, the maximum amount of stress on the structure decreased. Finally, optimal solutions in terms of the weight and the maximum amount of stress on the structure were presented.
Study on audiometer calibration at the extended high-frequency range 8–16 kHz
Authors: El-Basheer Tarek M.
Published: October 2021

Audiometry is a branch of acoustical measurements that concentrated on testing the devices related to hearing and used in medical part such as audiometer. It is substantial to calibrate the audiometer to assure the measurement traceability and to safe human health. So, it is considered as a major claim. The importance of calibration comes from the request for advanced instrument to test accurately the hearing loss for human, especially for those people who might be at risk due to noise. The conventional audiometry covered from 125 to 8 kHz, while the extended high-frequency (EHF) audiometry above 8 up to 20 kHz, the last-mentioned type may be useful in early diagnosis of hearing loss. The audiometer calibration performed using ear simulator, standard or working microphone, sound level meter, and frequency analyzer according to IEC60645-1. The physical parameters such as sound pressure level, frequency and distortion may be affected by environmental conditions such as temperature change. The gained results observed that the measured value of all the tests performed was affected by temperature variation. There were deviations observed from each performed test’s nominal values in the calibration process as the temperature varies from 16 to 40°C. So, this is a detailed study for the significance, method, and uncertainty estimation for audiometer calibration covering the EHF ranges within the temperature from 16 to 40°C.
The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Reputation: A Study on Top 100 Companies Operating in India
Authors: Baruah Loopamudra , Panda N. M.
Published: October 2021

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance is judged against the disclosure made by the companies in their Sustainability Reports or Business Responsibility Reports. CSR theoretically as argued in the literature enhances company credibility and in turn, influences the perception of the stakeholders in improving Corporate Reputation (CR). This article examines this claim by empirically investigating the top 100 companies’ CSR disclosure and their reputational score. The analysis renders a finding which is contradictory to the common belief that CSR significantly impacts reputation building.
The Future Potential and Prospects of SAARC Regional Grouping: A Study
Authors: Raghurampatruni Radha , Senthil M. , Gayathri N.
Published: October 2021

The renewed and reinvigorated engagement of India with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) over the past few years has been one of the significant factors leading to the gradual and irreversible transition of the regional organisation from a declaratory phase to one of implementation (Bhagwati, 2008). The new growth momentum in the South Asian region and its increasing openness encourages a fresh look at the economic integration of the region. In this context, the study examines the opportunities and commodity potential of trade between India and the SAARC countries by adopting a variety of trade indices of export intensity index and import intensity index along with Gini coefficient. The authors further study the commodity trade potential between India and the SAARC countries by adopting the revealed comparative advantage index and revealed import dependency index. The study concludes an increasing export intensity and import intensity of trade between India and the other SAARC member countries. Finally, the values of Gravity coefficient and commodity analysis find a high trade potential between them and the untapped trade and investment scenario that could be tapped by strengthening the regional block of SAARC.
Quantification of normetanephrine in canine urine using ELISA: evaluation of factors affecting results
Authors: Höglund Katja , Palmqvist Hanna , Ringmark Sara , Svensson Anna
Published: October 2021

Catecholamine release increases in dogs with pheochromocytomas and in situations of stress. Although plasma catecholamines degrade rapidly, their metabolites, normetanephrine (NME) and metanephrine (ME), are stable in acidified urine. Our aim was to verify a human urine ELISA kit for the quantification of NME and ME in canine urine and to determine the effects on metabolite stability of sampling time (morning or midday) and day (ordinary or day spent in a clinic). We analyzed 179 urine samples from 17 healthy dogs. For NME, the mean intra-assay CV was 6.0% for all samples and 4.3% for the canine control; inter-assay CVs were 3.3, 3.8, and 12% for high and low concentration human urine positive controls supplied in the ELISA kit and a positive canine control, respectively; spike-recovery was 90–101%. For ME, mean intra-assay CV was 6.5% for samples and 9.0% for the canine control; inter-assay CVs were 12.7, 7.2, and 22.5% for high and low concentration human urine positive controls supplied in the ELISA kit and a positive canine control, respectively; spike-recovery was 85–89%. Dilution recovery was unsatisfactory for both metabolites. Based on our verification results, NME was selected for remaining analyses. We found no effect on NME concentrations of acidification or room temperature storage for up to 24 h. The NME:creatinine ratio was higher after the first of 3 clinic days compared to the same morning (111.2 ± 5.5 vs. 82.9 ± 5.3; p < 0.0001), but not on the other days. NME verification results were generally superior to ME. Dilution studies were unsatisfactory for both metabolites. Given that NME was stable without acidification at room temperature, urine samples can be collected at home. The clinic environment can cause higher NME:creatinine ratios, especially in unaccustomed dogs.
Identification of a canine coronavirus in Australian racing Greyhounds
Authors: Smith Craig S. , Lenz Martin F. , Caldwell Karen , Oakey Jane
Published: October 2021

Coronavirus infection can cause a range of syndromes, which in dogs can include mild-to-severe enteritis that generally resolves rapidly. Fatalities can occur from coinfection with other pathogens, including canine parvovirus. Between late December 2019 and April 2020, canine coronavirus (CCoV) was detected in Australian racing Greyhounds that displayed signs of gastrointestinal disease. The CCoV was genotyped using high-throughput sequencing, recovering 98.3% of a type IIb CCoV, generally thought to cause a mild but highly contagious enteric disease. The Australian CCoV was almost identical (99.9%, whole-genome sequence) to another CCoV associated with an outbreak of severe vomiting in dogs in the United Kingdom at the same time (December 2019–March 2020).
Effects of Global Budget Payments on Vulnerable Medicare Subpopulations in Maryland
Authors: Masters Samuel H. , Rutledge Regina I. , Morrison Marisa , Beil Heather A. , Haber Susan G.
Published: October 2021

There is little evidence regarding population equity in alternative payment models (APMs). We aimed to determine whether one such APM, the Maryland All-Payer Model (MDAPM), had differential effects on subpopulations of vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. We utilized Medicare fee-for-service claims for beneficiaries living in Maryland and 48 comparison hospital market areas between 2011 and 2018. We used doubly robust difference-in-difference-in-differences regression models to estimate the differential effects of MDAPM on Medicare beneficiaries by dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid, disability as original reason for Medicare entitlement, presence of multiple chronic conditions (MCC), race, and rural residency status. Dual, disabled, and beneficiaries with MCC had greater reductions in expenditures and utilization than their counterparts. Hospitals may have prioritized high-cost, high-need patients as they changed their care delivery practices. The percentage of hospital discharges with 14-day follow-up was significantly lower for disadvantaged subpopulations, including duals, disabled, and non-White.
Bringing a Culturally Sustaining Lens to Reading Intervention
Authors: Wissman Kelly K.
Published: October 2021

This study explores the possibilities and tensions that emerged when a literacy specialist brought a culturally sustaining lens to her work in a reading intervention setting with five emergent bilinguals. Utilizing a case study methodology, the study draws on data from class transcripts, interviews, student writing and artwork, and fieldnotes collected over 2 years. During data analysis, three themes, “get proximate,” “get connected,” and “get moving,” were constructed. Findings illustrate the complex relationship between practices designed to bring students’ linguistic and cultural resources into the classroom (“get proximate” and “get connected”) within a context designed to facilitate measurable growth in students’ reading skills ("get moving"). Findings contain seeds for further exploration related to engaging students’ languages and lived experiences to build foundational skills. The study suggests that more cohesive incorporation of culturally sustaining practices would require a (re)consideration of monolingualism and narrow definitions of literacy within interventions and assessments.
Righting the Literacy Teacher Education Debt: A Matter of Justice
Authors: Souto-Manning Mariana
Published: October 2021

The literacies of Black and other communities of Color have long been narrated pathologically in literacy teacher education. Literacy teacher educators have been complicit in upholding linguistic injustice and enacting linguistic violence in and through their practices, devaluing the practices, marginalizing the experiences, and interrogating the humanity of Black and other teachers of Color. In this article, extending Ladson-Billings's concept of the education debt, I assess the literacy teacher education debt, unveiling how white English and whiteness in general have been (over)valued and positioned as currency in literacy teacher education. After (re)examining and (re)assessing offenses and harms inflicted by literacy teacher education across historical, economic, sociopolitical, and moral realms, composing the literacy teacher education debt, I take a restorative justice approach and offer an invitation to right literacy teacher education by addressing obligations and committing to healing as a matter of justice.
Clinician Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing e-Health Technology in Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment Facilities
Authors: Fleddermann Kathryn , Molfenter Todd , Jacobson Nora , Horst Julie , Roosa Mathew R , Boss Deanne , Ross J Charles , Preuss Eric , Gustafson David H
Published: October 2021

Background:

Substance use disorders (SUDs) in the United States cause many preventable deaths each year. Finding effective ways to manage SUDs is vital to improving outcomes for individuals seeking treatment. This has increased interest in using e-health technologies in behavioral healthcare settings. This research is part of a larger study evaluating the efficacy of the NIATx coaching intervention for implementing RISE Iowa, an e-health patient recovery app, in SUD treatment organizations and seeks to examine clinician perspectives of the barriers and facilitators to its implementation.

Method:

Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 clinicians from 9 different intervention sites involved in the study.

Results:

Major barriers to implementing e-health technology include inability to access the technology, lack of time for both patients and clinicians, and a perceived lack of patient motivation to make changes. Facilitators to implementation include collaboration with other staff using e-health technology and integrating technology use into typical workflows.

Conclusions:

Implementation of e-health technology in SUD treatment will require integrating the technology into clinical workflows and improving patient access to the technology.
EFL listening, pronunciation, and teachers’ accents in the present era: An investigation into pre- and in-service teachers’ cognition
Authors: Tsang Art
Published: October 2021

The recent decades have seen enthusiastic calls for reconceptualizing English as a foreign language (EFL) education, taking into account the current socio-lingual status of English and how it is used genuinely for communication interculturally and internationally. However, a wide gap still exists between promulgation such as intelligibility over nativelikeness in pronunciation instruction and realities in the EFL classroom. The study investigated pre- and in-service teachers’ cognition about accents and the incorporation of different accents in their classrooms. One hundred and sixty-six EFL teachers (89 pre-service and 77 in-service) from Hong Kong and Guangdong (a province in China) completed a questionnaire. Contrary to expectations, the teachers’ overall attitude was neutral rather than positive towards General American (GA) / Received Pronunciation (RP)1 associated with EFL teachers’ accents and EFL education. Only two thirds of the teachers were certain about which accents to use and to teach in listening and pronunciation lessons (i.e. as many as one third were uncertain). Also, the participants were neutral about incorporating non-GA/RP accents into EFL lessons, with around one third objecting to doing so. Although no differences were found between pre- and in-service teachers’ cognition, additional analysis revealed that teachers’ individual background variables, namely teaching experience, self-rated language proficiency, and knowledge of sound systems (IPA for English; pinyin for Mandarin), have significant correlations with their cognition.