bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multigenerational Social Mobility: A Demographic Approach
Authors: Song Xi
Published: December 2020

Most social mobility studies take a two-generation perspective, in which intergenerational relationships are represented by the association between parents’ and offspring’s socioeconomic status. This approach, although widely adopted in the literature, has serious limitations when more than two generations of families are considered. In particular, it ignores the role of families’ demographic behaviors in moderating mobility outcomes and the joint role of mobility and demography in shaping long-run family and population processes. This article provides a demographic approach to the study of multigenerational social mobility, incorporating demographic mechanisms of births, deaths, and mating into statistical models of social mobility. Compared with previous mobility models for estimating the probability of offspring’s mobility conditional on parent’s social class, the proposed joint demography-mobility model treats the number of offspring in various social classes as the outcome of interest. This new approach shows the extent to which demographic processes may amplify or dampen the effects of family socioeconomic positions because of the direction and strength of the interaction between mobility and differentials in demographic behaviors. The author illustrates various demographic methods for studying multigenerational mobility with empirical examples using the IPUMS linked historical U.S. census representative samples (1850–1930), the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1968–2015), and simulation data that show other possible scenarios resulting from demography-mobility interactions.
Including Multiculturalism, Social Justice, and Peace within the Integration of Psychology and Theology: Barriers and a Call to Action
Authors: McConnell John M. , Bacote Vincent , Davis Edward B. , Brown Eric M. , Fort Christin J. , Liu Tao , Worthington Everett L. , Hook Joshua N. , Davis Don E.
Published: December 2020

Multiculturalism, social justice, and peace are important aspects of the Christian faith. However, scholars in the literature seeking to integrate psychology and Christian theology have underrepresented them. In this present article, we review barriers to including them in our psychology–theology integration literature. Thereafter, we provide a trinitarian theology of multiculturalism, social justice, and peace with a hope that theological knowledge will help Christian psychologists begin to overcome barriers and to move this body of literature forward. We also offer implications for scholarship/research, education/training, and clinical work.
Communal Responses to Structural Violence and Dispossession in Cherán, Mexico
Authors: Gasparello Giovanna
Published: December 2020

Mexico is currently subject to generalized violence due to conflicts between drug cartels, the state, and resource-extraction companies jostling for territorial and economic control. In 2011 and in this context, the inhabitants of the indigenous municipality of Cherán confronted the criminal organization responsible for kidnappings, extortion, and illegal logging in their communal territory. Study of this conflict and the communal responses generated in the peace process reveals that the violence was founded on social inequality and was both cause and effect of the indigenous population’s material and cultural dispossession. The peace formation process involved the valorization of a collective and territorially rooted identity, the strengthening of security and justice practices based on the authority of assemblies, and an incipient interest in the construction of economic alternatives for the local population.

Actualmente, México vive una situación de violencia generalizada debido a los conflictos entre los cárteles de droga, el Estado y las empresas de extracción de recursos que luchan por el control territorial y económico. En 2011 y en este contexto, los habitantes del municipio indígena de Cherán se enfrentaron a una organización criminal responsable de secuestros, extorsiones y tala ilegal en su territorio comunal. El estudio de este conflicto y las respuestas comunitarias generadas en el proceso de paz revela que la violencia se fundó sobre la desigualdad social y fue tanto causa como efecto del despojo material y cultural de la población indígena. El proceso de paz implicó la valorización de una identidad colectiva y territorialmente arraigada, el fortalecimiento de las prácticas de seguridad y justicia basadas en la autoridad de las asambleas, y un interés incipiente en la construcción de alternativas económicas para la población local.
Neoliberalism in the Grey Area: Community Defense, the State, and Organized Crime in Guerrero and Michoacán
Authors: Fuentes Díaz Antonio , Fini Daniele
Published: December 2020

The various experiments in community defense of organized groups in Guerrero and Michoacán, Mexico, to confront the insecurity produced by organized crime are occurring in a social setting in which legality and illegality are blurred—a grey area— as a function of regional economic reconfigurations that have fostered violence. The state uneasily tolerates the emergence of armed defense groups in the region by attempting to subject them to the model of citizen participation in security matters. Understanding these groups calls for supplementing current views about their various forms, which focus on their legality/illegality, with an emphasis on the relationship between them and the society and its dominant actors.

Los diversos experimentos en defensa comunitaria de grupos organizados en Guerrero y Michoacán, México, para enfrentar la inseguridad producida por el crimen organizado ocurren en un entorno social, un área gris en la que la legalidad y la ilegalidad se difuminan en función de las reconfiguraciones económicas regionales que han fomentado la violencia. El Estado tolera con incertidumbre el surgimiento de grupos de defensa armados en la región al tratar de someterlos a un modelo de participación ciudadana en asuntos de seguridad. Para entender a estos grupos es necesario complementar los puntos de vista actuales sobre las diversas formas que toman, centrados en su legalidad o ilegalidad, con un énfasis en la relación entre ellos y la sociedad con sus actores dominantes.
A new approach for security of wireless sensor networks based on anti-synchronization of the fractional-order hyper-chaotic system
Authors: Kaheni Hamid Reza , Yaghoobi Mahdi
Published: December 2020

Chaotic systems have wide applications in secure communication engineering and cryptography. In this paper, improved nonlinear predictive control with whale algorithm for anti-synchronization of a fractional-order economic hyper-chaotic system is used for increasing the security of wireless sensor networks and preventing intrusion. By chaotic masking method and the T-S fuzzy model, the message signal is encoded at the wireless sensor side and it is placed along the transmitter route. In the central station, the message signal is decoded using the T-S fuzzy model and the predictive control by anti-synchronizing the fractional-order hyper-chaotic slave system. To reduce the effect of disturbances, a sign function of error is added to the predictive control. Finally, simulation results indicate the proper performance of the proposed nonlinear predictive control for anti-synchronizing the fractional-order hyper-chaotic systems in secure communications.
Nonlinear vector model control of underactuated air cushion vehicle based on parameter reduction algorithm
Authors: Gao Shuang , Xue Jingjing
Published: December 2020

Due to the serious drift phenomenon of underactuated air cushion vehicle, the actual trajectory is determined by the total speed and course angle. In this paper, the course angle and total speed model are derived from the general four degrees of freedom air cushion vehicle model and named nonlinear vector model. Nonlinear vector model can be used to directly design the course and total speed controllers for underactuated air cushion vehicle. Adaptive radial basis function neural network is introduced to deal with the strong nonlinearity and uncertainty of air cushion vehicle’s complex dynamics. However, the adaptive weights to be calculated and updated may be too many in each sampling period. For the relief of the burden caused by the online computing, parameter reduction algorithm is designed in this paper. It gives us a power to choose the number of online update parameters freely. Then the new trajectory tracking control method with independent total speed and course controller is designed based on nonlinear vector model and parameter reduction algorithm. The designed controller ensures that the tracking errors are uniformly ultimately bounded. Also, only a few weights need to be updated online. The effectiveness and superiority of the designed controller is verified by simulation results.
A switch-source cell-based cascaded multilevel inverter topology with minimum number of power electronics components
Authors: Seifi Ali , Hosseinpour Majid , Dejamkhooy Abdolmajid
Published: December 2020

Multilevel inverters are a new generation of DC–AC converters at medium and high voltage and power levels. In this paper, a new single-phase cascaded multilevel inverter is presented. For this purpose, a new basic cell is presented at first. Then, the new multilevel inverter structure is yielded by series connection of these cells. The proposed new cell is only capable of generating positive voltage levels, and therefore, to produce zero and negative voltage levels, the proposed structure is constructed based on H-bridge module. In order to reduce the maximum blocking voltage especially on H-bridge switches, the cascaded connection of the proposed converter is investigated. A comprehensive comparison is carried out between the proposed multilevel inverter with the classical and recently introduced structures in terms of the number of switching devices, the number of drivers, the total blocking voltage of the switches as well as the loss and efficiency. The accuracy of the proposed inverter’s performance is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink in symmetric and asymmetric topologies for a 17-level and 23-level output voltage respectively, and then evaluated by the laboratory prototype.
Numerical and experimental study of effect of paraffin phase change heat storage capsules on the thermal performance of the solar pond
Authors: Wang Hua , Xiaomeng Ma , Liugang Zhang , Zhang Xinmin , Mei Yanyang , Zhang Anchao
Published: December 2020

In this paper, the effect of adding the composite PCM (Phase Change Material) heat storage capsules to the heat storage layer of the salt gradient solar pond on the thermal performance of the solar pond was studied numerically and experimentally. Based on the program-controlled temperature simulation of the solar pond experimental platform, the effect of adding the composite PCM (48–50°C and 58–60°C melting point paraffin) heat storage capsules on the solar pond temperature and stability was studied, and a numerical simulation model was established to be compared by the experimental results. The results showed that the experimental temperature was consistent with the simulation results; the solar pond with PCM capsules had a smaller temperature change range than the conventional solar pond during the phase change process, but it did not have such effect in the non-phase transition process; in terms of flow, the addition of the PCM phase change units could reduce the flow rate of the heat storage zone, and the PCM with a larger latent heat had a more obvious suppression effect on the flow. Therefore, within a certain temperature range, adding PCM units to the solar pond had a positive effect on maintaining the stable temperature and stability of solar pond.
Effectiveness of energy conservation awareness package on energy conservation behaviors of off-campus students in Nigerian universities
Authors: Ogbuanya Theresa Chinyere , Nungse Nuhu Iliya
Published: December 2020

Poor energy conservation behaviors among off-campus students are a form of irrational behavior that often results in erratic power supply within the students' village. The present study, therefore, explored the effectiveness of energy conservation awareness package (ECAP) on energy conservation behaviors of off-campus students residing within students' villages of Nigerian Universities. A pretest-posttest experimental and waitlist control group which involved 328 participants were quantitatively assessed. Findings of the posttest depict that poor energy conservation behavior of off-campus students momentously weaken compared to a waitlist control group. This is evident where the mean difference of 33.35 on level of engaging in energy conservation behavior for students exposed to ECAP is greater than 1.20 for those not exposed to the therapy. Also, 27.97 mean difference on likelihood of engaging in energy conservation behavior is greater than 0.54 for those not exposed to the therapy. In extension, results of 2 and 4-months follow-up appraisal proved that the momentous decline in negative energy conservation behavior of ECAP participants was upheld. By implication, when off-campus students subscribe to the use of energy-saving bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs and switching off the unnecessary lightings among others as evident in this study would go a long way in conserving energy.
Perceptions of Assistive Technology by Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments in Jordan
Authors: Al-Zboon Eman
Published: December 2020

Introduction:

Ethical practices and technology are current trends in education for individuals with disabilities. This study investigates the perceptions of assistive technology expressed by teachers of students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision) in Jordan.

Methods:

The research involved 20 teachers. Data were collected via semistructured interviews and analysis carried out via the constant-comparative method.

Results:

The results highlight the challenges that teachers perceive in using assistive technology with their students, particularly regarding computer use, the willingness of a child to use a particular device, the lack of such technologies in schools and in the home, and a lack of training in the home. The results highlight perceived external barriers to the effective use of assistive technology, including those related to finance, training, societal attitudes, and family support. It appears that assistive technology can also have negative effects, which can be considered an ethical issue, since such technologies can expose students with visual impairments to negative community attitudes, addiction, bullying, abuse, and extremism.

Discussion:

Teachers highlight the issues they experience in using assistive technology with students with visual impairments in Jordan, which can be explained by the contextual conditions in the country.

Implications for practitioners:

Decision-makers in the field of visual impairment need to consider these issues through providing professional development, addressing financial barriers, and conducting awareness programs for students regarding the effective use of assistive technology.
Politics, Personality, and Impulsivity Can Color People’s Perceptions of—and Responses to—Hurricane Threats of Varying Severity
Authors: Losee Joy E. , Smith Colin Tucker , Webster Gregory D.
Published: December 2020

Theory and research suggest that objective features of a threatening situation and individual differences influence threat responses. We examine three ways individual traits may relate to a threat response: (a) directly and independent of objective threat features, (b) indirectly through relationships with threat perception, or (c) as moderators of the relationship between objective threat features and responses. Using integrative data analysis (IDA), we aggregated data across three studies examining hurricane preparation intentions. Analysis supported two of the potential pathways. Supporting the first path, both openness and extraversion had direct, positive relationships with preparation likelihood. Supporting the second path, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and social conservatism positively related to preparation likelihood through a positive relationship with threat perception, whereas impulsivity and sensation-seeking negatively related to preparation likelihood through a negative relationship with threat perception. This work shows the pivotal role individual differences play regarding responses to uncertain threats.
Freedom of Expression Challenged: Scientists’ Perspectives on Hidden Forms of Suppression and Self-censorship
Authors: Väliverronen Esa , Saikkonen Sampsa
Published: December 2020

The media have become an important arena where struggles over the symbolic legitimacy of expert authority take place and where scientific experts increasingly have to compete for public recognition. The rise of authoritarian and populist leaders in many countries and the growing importance of social media have fueled criticism against scientific institutions and individual researchers. This paper discusses the new hidden forms of suppression and self-censorship regarding scientists’ roles as public experts. It is based on two web surveys conducted among Finnish researchers in 2015 and 2017. We focus on answers to the open-ended questions in these surveys, where respondents reflect upon issues of freedom of expression and the feedback they receive in public arenas. Building on previous research on suppression, “research silencing,” and the “chilling effect,” we discuss the connection between freedom of expression and freedom of inquiry. We make a distinction between four forms of suppression: political and economic control, organizational control, control between rival academics, and control from publics. Moreover, we make explicit and discuss the means, motives, and practices of suppression within each of these four forms.
Wild, Native, or Pure: Trout as Genetic Bodies
Authors: Havlick David G. , Biermann Christine
Published: December 2020

Advances in genetics and genomics have raised new questions in trout restoration and management, specifically about species identity and purity, which fish to value, and where these fish belong. This paper examines how this molecular turn in fisheries management is influencing wild and native trout policy in Colorado. Examples from two small Colorado watersheds, Bear Creek and Sand Creek, illustrate how framing trout as genetic bodies can guide managers to care for or kill trout populations in the interest of rectifying decades of genetic disruption caused by human activity. While trout management has typically relied on human intervention, the turn to genetic science is prompting new classifications of lineage and taxa, altering long-standing conservation priorities, and reorienting the manipulation of biological processes such as reproduction and dispersal. As a result, other social and ecological factors may be pushed to the margins of management decisions. These changes warrant greater conversation about the consequences of molecular analyses and the values embedded in trout science and conservation more broadly.
Trust Does Beget Trustworthiness and Also Begets Trust in Others
Authors: Cohen Marc A. , Isaac Mathew S.
Published: December 2020

Social scientists widely believe that trust begets trustworthiness, meaning that persons reward actions that they view as expressing trust. But evidence from the trust game (also known as the investment game)—introduced by Berg, Dickhaut, and McCabe and frequently used to test this relationship—is surprisingly inconclusive. The present article therefore reexamines this hypothesis (Experiment 1), using the trust game but incorporating mediation analysis and distinguishing between trust and distrust effects. The trust game has been used to study the effects of trust within a relationship: when A trusts B, does this affect B’s behavior toward A? This research (in Experiment 2) extends the question: when A trusts B, is B more likely to trust another player C in a second (unrelated) game? If so, then trust relationships have a transitive structure. Taken together, findings from these experiments show that trust begets trustworthiness and also trust in others.
Adorno and climate science denial: Lies that sound like truth
Authors: Johnson Harriet
Published: December 2020

Climate science denial is serious. It facilitates political procrastination and brings us ever closer to a world beset by growing food insecurity, heatwaves, floods, storms, fires and extensive losses to biodiversity. Numerous studies have unmasked the private agendas and corporate links behind organized denial, yet the question of how deniers find traction with democratic publics has received comparatively little attention. Empirical surveys demonstrate a connection between people who are susceptible to the contrarian voices of denial and those inclined towards right-wing authoritarianism. In this essay, I bring Adorno’s mid-20th-century studies of right-wing authoritarian tendencies in American democracy to bear upon climate science denial. Adorno directs us away from a sole focus on how deniers manufacture doubt so as to give the impression that the science is not settled. He examines the ways that agitators not only spread misinformation but also foster emotional connections with people who seem to want to be conned. I locate organized denial within a strain of cultural life that Adorno describes as unserious. In late 1940s America, Adorno discerned a new shape of political subjectivity, which has become highly resonant today: a formally free individual who takes pleasure in lies that sound like truth.
Parent‐Reported Outcome Questionnaire for Swallowing Dysfunction in Healthy Infants and Toddlers: Construction and Content Validation
Authors: Baqays Abdulsalam , Johannsen Wendy , Rashid Marghalara , Jaffal Hussein , Hicks Anne , Jeffery Caroline , Seikaly Hadi , El‐Hakim Hamdy
Published: December 2020

Objectives

There is limited epidemiological information on swallowing dysfunction (SwD) in otherwise healthy infants and toddlers (OHITs). Cost, invasiveness, expertise, and resources constrain the repeatability and utility of instrumental diagnostic tests. A parent‐reported outcomes (PRO) tool has the potential to mitigate these disadvantages. Hence, we set out to develop and validate a novel PRO tool to assess SwD in OHITs.

Study Design

A mixed‐method study.

Setting

Tertiary pediatric center.

Methods

We recruited parents of OHITs with SwD and excluded those with a confounding diagnosis (syndromes or neurological impairment). Interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed to extract the relevant domains and items. A similar analytical method was performed on the reports from a systematic review and literature search. Four verification sessions of parents and experts were conducted to maintain rigor. A panel of experts assessed and established the content validity of the items using a modified Delphi technique.

Results

We achieved information saturation after interviewing 10 parents and generated 7 domains with 72 items. Over the course of 3 rounds of modified Delphi content validation, the domains were reduced to 3 (swallowing, breathing, and illness) containing 21 items; a content validity index of 82.1% was achieved.

Conclusion

We validated the content of a new PRO instrument to assess SwD in OHITs. The instrument is composed of 3 primary domains representing 21 items. This tool has the potential to screen for swallowing dysfunction and can assess management outcomes specifically for this population at a community level.
Effects of Fractional CO2 Laser Treatment on Subglottic Scar in a Rabbit Model
Authors: Marvin Kastley , Schwartz Isaac , Utz Edward , Wilson Justin , Johnson Christopher , Gaudreau Philip
Published: December 2020

Objective

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of fractional CO2 laser on subglottic scar.

Study Design

Randomized controlled animal study.

Setting

Academic medical center.

Methods

Subglottic scar was induced in 12 New Zealand white rabbits via an endoscopic brush technique. This was followed by an open airway surgery that included vertical division of the cricoid and proximal trachea. Eight rabbits underwent fractional CO2 laser treatment of the scar via a Lumenis Ultrapulse Deep FX handpiece. Four rabbits underwent the open surgical approach without laser treatment. Bronchoscopy was performed at weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8. The animals were euthanized and laryngotracheal complexes harvested 12 weeks postsurgery. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the collagen composition of treated and untreated scars.

Results

All 12 subjects survived to the study endpoint with no significant respiratory complications, despite 10 of 12 developing some degree of lateral tracheal narrowing. The median ratio of type I collagen to type III collagen in the laser group (1.57) was significantly more favorable than that of the untreated group (2.84; P =. 03).

Conclusion

Treatment with fractional CO2 laser appears to have similar effects on subglottic scars as with cutaneous scars, improving the ratio of type I to type III collagen. Additionally, we developed an open airway approach in the rabbit model to deliver fractional CO2 laser treatment to the subglottis without introducing respiratory complications or compromising survival.
Lobular capillary hemangioma of the trachea – A rare cause of stridor in elderly: A case report with review of literature
Authors: Maturu Venkata Nagarjuna , Vaddepally Chetan Rao , Narahari Narendra Kumar , Pulikanti Bhulaxmi , Sethi Shweta
Published: December 2020

Lobular capillary hemangioma is a rare benign lesion found within the tracheobronchial tree. Patients usually present with recurrent hemoptysis, chronic cough, and rarely, with airway obstruction. We present a case of tracheal lobular capillary hemangioma in a 70-year-old man who presented with stridor and chronic cough. Bronchoscopy showed a 2-cm polypoidal lesion below the vocal cords, which was resected with an electrocautery snare using a rigid bronchoscope. Clinicians should be aware of this entity as one of the differentials for stridor. Bronchoscopic excision of the tumor is feasible and is a minimally invasive therapeutic option for management of these tumors.
A methodological evaluation of the published consensus statements, recommendations and guidelines about surgical management in the course of coronavirus disease pandemic
Authors: Bertolaccini Luca , Iacono Giorgio Lo , Mazzella Antonio , Prisciandaro Elena , Sedda Giulia , Spaggiari Lorenzo
Published: December 2020

Background

A project to benchmark the consensus statements, guidelines, and recommendations on surgical management in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic was developed to assess the methodology used. Standard and practical approaches for COVID-19 management in surgical patients to date are not accessible, despite the magnitude of the pandemic. A plethora of consensus statements, guidelines, and recommendations on surgical management in the course of COVID-19 epidemic have been rapidly published in the last three months.

Methods

Each manuscript was scored on a seven-point scale in the different items and domains with the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II.

Results

Nine guidelines that met the inclusion criteria were assessed. Transnational cooperation produced only one guideline. Multivariable analysis showed that improved scores of stakeholders’ involvement were related to internationally developed guidelines. Clarity of presentation was related to the contribution of scientific societies due to greater rigor of development. The rigor of development produced guidelines with a high overall value. Higher healthcare expenses did not produce superior guidelines.

Conclusions

Evaluated by the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II, the methodological characteristic of consensus statements, guidelines, and recommendations on surgical management during COVID-19 pandemic was relatively low. International development should be recommended as a model for the development of best methodological quality guidelines.
Ranking Art: Paradigmatic Worldviews in the Quantification and Evaluation of Contemporary Art
Authors: Buckermann Paul
Published: December 2020

While numerous studies have shown diverse effects of rankings, rather little is known about their production. This article contributes to a broader understanding of rankings in society, and does so by focusing on underlying worldviews. I argue that the existence of a ranking and its concrete methodology can be explained by the producer’s paradigmatic assumptions about a world-to-be-ranked. Referring to the sociology of knowledge and studies on commensuration, comparisons, quantification and valuation, I provide a general heuristic to analyze this relation between underlying worldviews and observational regimes through which order is constructed systematically. Presenting empirical results on a ranking for the most famous artists in the world, I show how the review device’s initial problem and its construction of order derive from consistent assumptions about contemporary art, its symbolic structures and its social embeddedness. These findings have implications for both research on rankings and sociology of the arts.
Dyadic trust as a mediator in the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and relationship distress in community couples
Authors: Barden Eileen P. , Wang Binghuang A. , Sternberg Julia A. , Poole Leanna Z. , Balderrama-Durbin Christina M.
Published: December 2020

Background:

Trust is an important component in romantic relationships. However, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can alter an individual’s appraisal of others resulting in difficulties with interpersonal trust. Indeed, prior literature has established associations between PTSS and trust, and relations between trust and relationship distress. Even so, there is a dearth of research examining the association between PTSS and trust specifically within ones’ romantic relationship as well as how dyadic trust may help explain the relation between PTSS and overall relationship distress.

Method:

This study examined a sample of 57 opposite-sex adult community couples where at least one partner had a lifetime history of trauma-exposure. Mediated actor-partner interdependence modeling (APIMeM) examined the intraindividual and interpersonal pathways in the association between PTSS and relationship distress as well as potential sex differences.

Results:

Findings demonstrated actor and partner effects between dyadic trust and relationship distress; however, males’ dyadic trust was only marginally associated with their female partners’ relationship distress. Sex differences were demonstrated in the relation between PTSS and dyadic trust whereby females’ dyadic trust was related to their own and their partners’ PTSS. There was a partner effect between females’ PTSS on their male partners’ relationship distress but not from males’ PTSS to females’ relationship distress. Finally, females’ dyadic trust was supported as a full mediator between PTSS and relationship distress for all pathways in the model.

Conclusion:

There is a unique effect of females’ dyadic trust on the relation of PTSS and relationship distress. Future directions and clinical implications are discussed.
The contract-type choice for short-term software development outsourcing: The role of behaviour-based formal control
Authors: Gaebert Cornelia , Kautz Karlheinz
Published: December 2020

With this article, we contribute to the recent debate regarding the role of transaction cost economics in IT outsourcing and software development outsourcing research. Our focus is on the contract-type choice for short-term software development outsourcing. For this purpose, we critically examine transaction cost economics and the extant IT outsourcing/software development outsourcing literature and propose a framework which classifies software development outsourcing transactions according to transaction frequency and transaction investment characteristics. The framework identifies short-term software development outsourcing as an occasional, idiosyncratic transaction. Based on this groundwork, we clarify the concept of short-term contract and put forward that such a transaction is governed by a short-term contract. Following transaction cost economics and control theory, our resulting theoretical considerations infer that for short-term software development outsourcing, the vendor’s high human asset specificity and the resulting behaviour-based outcome control, the monitoring of the developer staff, are the triggers for contract-type decisions. Accordingly, staff monitoring by the client should result in Time & Material contracts, whereas staff monitoring by the vendor should result in Fixed Price contracts. We develop corresponding hypotheses which we test with 468 specific contract records for short-term software development outsourcing. The results confirm the transaction cost economics–based recommendations for contract-type choice. We therefore conclude that the advice of the transaction cost economics to use certain governance structures according to transaction attributes is also applicable to IT outsourcing/software development outsourcing transactions. We suggest further exploration of specific contract records to substantiate our results.
Implementation dynamics of local economic development: Comparative empirical experiences from Ghana’s local governance system
Authors: Agbevade Akpeko
Published: December 2020

There has been an age old assertion that once public policies are formulated, the policies will automatically be implemented to achieve their stated objectives. To unravel this, the article through comparative empirical analysis discussed the dynamics that influenced local economic development implementation in Ghana. It emerged that four key dynamics: politics, leadership commitment and will, land tenure system and administrative, institutional and procedural mechanisms differently shaped local economic development implementation in the three local government units. Whereas these factors promoted local economic development implementation in some of the assemblies, it hindered its successful implementation in others. The findings of this article are of significance to local economic development and local governance practitioners and politicians as they strife to implement local economic development policies.
Effects of repeated adolescent exposure to cannabis smoke on cognitive outcomes in adulthood
Authors: Hernandez Caesar M , Orsini Caitlin A , Blaes Shelby L , Bizon Jennifer L , Febo Marcelo , Bruijnzeel Adriaan W , Setlow Barry
Published: December 2020

Background:

Cannabis (marijuana) is the most widely used illicit drug in the USA, and consumption among adolescents is rising. Some animal studies show that adolescent exposure to delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol or synthetic cannabinoid receptor 1 agonists causes alterations in affect and cognition that can persist into adulthood. It is less clear, however, whether similar alterations result from exposure to cannabis via smoke inhalation, which remains the most frequent route of administration in humans.

Aims:

To begin to address these questions, a rat model was used to determine how cannabis smoke exposure during adolescence affects behavioral and cognitive outcomes in adulthood.

Methods:

Adolescent male Long-Evans rats were assigned to clean air, placebo smoke, or cannabis smoke groups. Clean air or smoke exposure sessions were conducted daily during adolescence (from P29–P49 days of age ) for a total of 21 days, and behavioral testing began on P70.

Results:

Compared to clean air and placebo smoke conditions, cannabis smoke significantly attenuated the normal developmental increase in body weight, but had no effects on several measures of either affect/motivation (open field activity, elevated plus maze, instrumental responding under a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement) or cognition (set shifting, reversal learning, intertemporal choice). Surprisingly, however, in comparison to clean air controls rats exposed to either cannabis or placebo smoke in adolescence exhibited enhanced performance on a delayed response working memory task.

Conclusions:

These findings are consistent with a growing body of evidence for limited long-term adverse cognitive and affective consequences of adolescent exposure to relatively low levels of cannabinoids.
Nitric oxide-mediated defensive and antinociceptive responses organised at the anterior hypothalamus of mice are modulated by glutamatergic inputs from area 24b of the cingulate cortex
Authors: Falconi-Sobrinho Luiz Luciano , dos Anjos-Garcia Tayllon , Coimbra Norberto Cysne
Published: December 2020

Background:

Previous studies suggested that Cg1 area of the cingulate cortex of rats controls glutamate-mediated fear-induced defensive behaviour and antinociception organised at the posterior hypothalamus. In turn, microinjection of the nitric oxide donor SIN-1 into the anterior hypothalamus of mice produced defensive behaviours and fear-induced antinociception. However, it remains unknown whether Cg1 also modulates the latter mechanisms in mice.

Aims:

The present study examined the influence of Cg1 on SIN1-evoked fear-induced defensive behaviour and antinociception organised at the anterior hypothalamus of mice.

Methods:

The fear-like behavioural and antinociceptive responses to the microinjection of SIN-1 (300 nmol) into the anterior hypothalamus were evaluated after the microinjection of either N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor agonist (0.1, 1 and 10 nmol) or physiological saline into the cingulate cortex of C57BL/6 male mice. In addition, neurotracing and immunohistochemistry were used to characterise Cg1-anterior hypothalamus glutamatergic pathways.

Results:

The data showed that activation of Cg1 N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors increased escape while reducing freezing and antinociceptive responses to SIN-1 microinjections into the anterior hypothalamus. Anterograde neural tract tracer co-localised with VGLUT2-labelled fibres suggests these responses are mediated by glutamatergic synapses at the anterior hypothalamus.

Conclusions:

In contrast with previous studies showing that Cg1 facilitates both escape and antinociception to chemical stimulation of the posterior hypothalamus in rats, the present data suggest that Cg1 facilitates escape while inhibiting defensive antinociception produced by the microinjection of SIN-1 in the anterior hypothalamus of mice. Accordingly, Cg1 may have opposite effects on antinociceptive responses organised in the anterior and posterior hypothalamus of mice and rats, respectively.
Distribution of pressure on the breast in mammography using flexible and rigid compression plates: implications on patient handling
Authors: Dustler Magnus , Förnvik Daniel , Timberg Pontus , Zackrisson Sophia , Muller Serge
Published: December 2020

Background

Breast compression in mammography is important but is a source of discomfort and has been linked to screening non-attendance. Reducing compression has little effect on breast thickness, and likely little effect on image quality, due to force being absorbed in the stiff juxta thoracic area instead of in the central breast.

Purpose

To investigate whether a flexible compression plate can redistribute force to the central breast and whether this affects perceived pain.

Material and Methods

Twenty-eight women recalled from mammography screening were compressed with flexible and rigid plates while retaining force and positioning, 15 in the craniocaudal (CC) view and 13 in the mediolateral oblique (MLO) view. Pressure distribution was continuously measured using pressure sensors.

Results

The flexible plate showed greater mean breast pressure in both views: 2.8 versus 2.3 kPa for CC (confidence interval [CI] = 0.2–0.8) and 1.0 versus 0.5 kPa for MLO (CI = 0.2–0.6). The percentage of applied force distributed to the breast was significantly higher with the flexible plate, both on CC (36% vs. 22%, CI = 1–11) and MLO (30% vs. 14%, CI = 4–13).

Conclusion

The flexible plate redistributes pressure to the central breast, achieving a better compression, particularly in the MLO view, though much applied force is still applied to the juxta thoracic region.
Expression patterns and prognostic values of the cyclin-dependent kinase 1 and cyclin A2 gene cluster in pancreatic adenocarcinoma
Authors: Jiang Peng , Zhang Ming , Gui Liangliang , Zhang Kai
Published: December 2020

Objective

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is one of the most lethal malignant tumors worldwide. Various studies based on cell lines, preclinical mouse models, and human tissue samples have shown that cell cycle-associated proteins are involved in the tumorigenesis and progression of PAAD.

Methods

Herein, we analyzed the relationships between CDK1 and CCNA2 gene expression and prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer, using information from the Oncomine, cBioportal, Kaplan–Meier Plotter, and GEPIA databases.

Results

Expression levels of CDK1 and CCNA2 were significantly higher in PAAD compared with control tissues, and were associated with more advanced tumor stage. Survival analyses using the Kaplan–Meier Plotter database further confirmed that increased expression levels of CDK1 and CCNA2 were associated with a poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that CDK1 and CCNA2 may be potential therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers in patients with PAAD.
Risk factors for residual dizziness in patients successfully treated for unilateral benign posterior semicircular canal paroxysmal positional vertigo
Authors: Jiang Xiuwen , He Lina , Gai Yinzhe , Jia Chengfang , Li Wenya , Hu Sunhong , Tang Jianguo , Cao Liping
Published: December 2020

Objective

The risk factors for residual dizziness (RD) after successful treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) are poorly characterized. We determined the risk factors for RD in patients with benign unilateral posterior semicircular canal paroxysmal positional vertigo (pc-BPPV) after successful treatment.

Methods

We conducted a prospective study of patients diagnosed with unilateral pc-BPPV between March 2015 and January 2017. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy X-ray bone mineral densitometry. Participants underwent bithermal caloric testing (C-test) using videonystagmography and a canalith repositioning procedure (CRP). The occurrence of RD was the primary outcome. The participants underwent follow-up 1 week, 1 month, and 1 year after successful CRP, consisting of outpatient visits, questionnaires, and telephone interviews.

Results

We assessed 115 participants with unilateral pc-BPPV (31 men and 84 women) who were 53.2 ± 8.8 years old. RD occurred in 60 (52.2%) participants. The participants who experienced RD were older, had vertigo for longer before treatment, and were more likely to show a positive C-test and significant BMD loss.

Conclusions

We found that a significant reduction in BMD (T-score  < −1 standard deviation), a positive C-test, and older age are independently associated with RD in patients with pc-BPPV after successful CRP.
Successful treatment of advanced ovarian cancer with anlotinib: a case report
Authors: Zhang Ping , Ma Liangliang , Wang Xiaojie , Zhang Ruijie , Dong Yuting
Published: December 2020

Ovarian cancer remains the most lethal gynecological malignant tumor, with relapse occurring in approximately 70% of advanced cases. Anlotinib is an oral small-molecule multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that can resist neoangiogenesis and inhibit tumor growth. Previous research demonstrated clinical antitumor activity of anlotinib in various cancers. We report the case of an elderly woman with advanced ovarian cancer who received anlotinib after failure of multiple-line chemotherapy. A partial response was observed after six cycles of anlotinib monotherapy, with a reduction in the size of the metastases and significantly decreased serum CA125 levels from 1832.7 U/mL to 118.7 U/mL. She continued to take anlotinib, with a progression-free survival time of more than 4 months. Only mild hypertension was observed during the treatment. Anlotinib monotherapy may be a novel therapeutic option for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
Risk factors for tumor recurrence in patients with pT3N0M0 thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after esophagectomy
Authors: Feng Wei , Qi Zhan , Qiu Rong , Li Zhen-Sheng , Dong Shi-Lei , Li Yue-Kao , Hu Yuan-Ping , He Ming , Wang Yu-Xiang
Published: December 2020

Objective

To analyze the factors contributing to recurrence in patients with pT3N0M0 thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods

Patients with pT3N0M0 thoracic ESCC who underwent esophagectomy from January 2008 to December 2012 were included retrospectively. The last date of follow-up was 1 December 2016. Multivariate proportional hazard Cox models were used to identify factors associated with total (i.e., any) recurrence (TR), locoregional recurrence (LR), and distant metastasis (DM).

Results

A total of 692 patients were included. The median follow-up was 53 months (range: 3–107). The 3- and 5-year TR, LR, and DM rates were 35.8% and 41.0%, 28.7% and 32.1%, and 16.8% and 21.1%, respectively. The Cox analyses showed that the tumor location, number of dissected lymph nodes, and postoperative therapies were significantly associated with LR. The subgroup analysis showed that postoperative therapies could significantly decrease LR in the mediastinum but not in the neck and upper abdomen regions.

Conclusions

The recurrence rate of pT3N0M0 thoracic ESCC patients was high, especially for LR in the mediastinum. Postoperative therapies can significantly reduce the incidence of mediastinal recurrence.
Infant domestic adoptions followed up to adulthood: considerations with reference to British birth cohort data
Authors: Rushton Alan , Maughan Barbara , Grant Margaret , Sehmi Rukmen
Published: December 2020

Studies of adult outcomes of infant domestic adoptions are considered: the range of psychological and behavioural outcomes recorded, the current state of knowledge summarised and the importance of the chosen comparison groups discussed. The social context of infant adoptions is described. Findings from our follow-ups of British infant adoptions in the post-World War 11 period are then briefly reported and set alongside the previous studies. In these follow-ups, infant adopted children were tracked up to mid-life and compared with others born in similar circumstances and with those raised in two-parent families. We summarise findings on the long-term influence of factors in the prenatal period and in the adoptive home environment. We discuss how rearing in adoptive homes may provide protective effects in relation to internalising problems, but may not be as protective in relation to externalising outcomes. Implications for adoption policy and practice are drawn out.
Poynting effects in pantographic metamaterial captured via multiscale DVC
Authors: Auger Patrick , Lavigne Thomas , Smaniotto Benjamin , Spagnuolo Mario , dell’Isola Francesco , Hild François
Published: December 2020

Metamaterials are often studied for their peculiar mechanical properties. However, few 4D studies were conducted on 3D printed pantographs. This study aims at analyzing an in situ torsion test in a lab tomograph. The acquired scans were used to measure displacement fields via digital volume correlation. The final goal was to analyze the deformation mechanisms of an Inconel pantograph and to rationalize potential Poynting effects.