bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Legal personality in Aotearoa New Zealand: an example of integrated thinking on sustainable development
Authors: Barrett Mereana , Watene Krushil , McNicholas Patty
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to set the scene for an emerging conversation on the Rights of Nature as articulated by a philosophy of law called Earth Jurisprudence, which privileges the whole Earth community over the profit-driven structures of the existing legal and economic systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a wide range of thought from literature relating to philosophy, humanities, environmental economics, sustainable development, indigenous rights and legal theory to show how Earth Jurisprudence resonates with two recent treaties of Waitangi settlements in Aotearoa New Zealand that recognise the Rights of Nature.

Findings

Indigenous philosophies have become highly relevant to sustainable and equitable development. They have provided an increasingly prominent approach in advancing social, economic, environmental and cultural development around the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Maori philosophies ground the naming of the Te Urewera National Park and the Whanganui River as legal entities with rights.

Practical implications

Recognition of the Rights of Nature in Aotearoa New Zealand necessitates a radical re-thinking by accounting researchers, practitioners and educators towards a more ecocentric view of the environment, given the transformation of environmental law and our responsibilities towards sustainable development.

Originality/value

This relates to the application of Earth Jurisprudence legal theory as an alternative approach towards thinking about integrated reporting and sustainable development.
Social and motor skills of children and youth with autism from the perspectives of caregivers
Authors: Redquest Brianne , Bryden Pamela , Fletcher Paula
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study aims to explore social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of their caregivers. Social and motor deficits among people with autism are well documented. There is support to suggest a reciprocal relationship between social and motor deficits among people with autism, in that social deficits can act as a barrier to motor skill development and motor deficits can act as a barrier to social skill development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study explored social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of eight caregivers of children with autism.

Findings

Many salient findings emerged from the interviews conducted with caregivers, particularly concerning the social and motor development of their children. The relationships between their children’s social and motor deficits were also highlighted.

Research limitations/implications

It is important that health-care professionals educate parents about the consequences of motor impairments or delays and their associations with the development of social skills. As such, routine motor skill monitoring and assessments by caregivers and health-care professionals should be encouraged.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate motor and social deficits of children with autism from the caregivers’ perspectives.
Optimization algorithms for construction site layout planning: a systematic literature review
Authors: Xu Maozeng , Mei Zhongya , Luo Siyu , Tan Yi
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze and provide insight on the algorithms for the optimization of construction site layout planning (CSLP). It resolves problems, such as the selection of suitable algorithms, considering the optimality, optimization objectives and representation of layout solutions. The approaches for the better utilization of optimization algorithms are also presented.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the above, existing records (results = 200) were selected from three databases: Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Scopus. By implementing a systematic protocol, the articles related to the optimization algorithms for the CLSP (results = 75) were identified. Moreover, various related themes were collated and analyzed according to a coding structure.

Findings

The results indicate the consistent and increasing interest on the optimization algorithms for the CLSP, revealing that the trend in shifting to smart approaches in the construction industry is significant. Moreover, the interest in metaheuristic algorithms is dominant because 65.3% of the selected articles focus on these algorithms. The optimality, optimization objectives and solution representations are also important in algorithm selection. With the employment of other algorithms, self-developed applications and commercial software, optimization algorithms can be better utilized for solving CSLP problems. The findings also identify the gaps and directions for future research.

Research limitations/implications

The selection of articles in this review does not consider the industrial perspective and practical applications of commercial software. Further comparative analyses of major algorithms are necessary because this review only focuses on algorithm types.

Originality/value

This paper presents a comprehensive systematic review of articles published in the recent decade. It significantly contributes to the demonstration of the status and selection of CLSP algorithms and the benefit of using these algorithms. It also identifies the research gaps in knowledge and reveals potential improvements for future research.
BIM-based performance monitoring for smart building management
Authors: Edirisinghe Ruwini , Woo Jin
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Effective use of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) data – quantitative physical measurements and qualitative occupants’ perceptions are limited due to practical challenges and research gaps. Although building information modelling (BIM) has enabled a paradigm shift in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, its use in facility management (FM) is still infancy. Limited research has used building performance data to enable changes to BIM models for the benefit of FM. This paper aims to propose the innovative process to collect and contextualize two fragmented types of POE data sets by filling methodological gap in POE research. Moreover, it presents innovative modelling techniques to facilitate BIM as a more effective platform to visualize such currently fragmented data sets in real-time while enabling a decision-making model to benefit facility managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a process of capturing cloud-based POE data, both wireless sensor network-based physical measurement data and mobile app-based occupant perception data. Real-time capture and visualization of such building performance data was demonstrated through a pilot data collection. Subsequently, the innovative visualization of the cloud connected data is supported by a prototype game engine-based BIM model.

Findings

Cloud-based POE data, both quantitative physical measurements and qualitative occupants’ reported perceptions, can be effectively used in FM practice with the use of innovative data capture and visualization techniques in a beneficial manner for facility operation and management decisions. This paper also demonstrates the ability of BIM to serve as a “single source of truth” to support post-construction building performance data.

Originality/value

While addressing a number of research gaps, the paper provides a holistic approach to BIM-based performance monitoring for smart FM to achieve the ultimate vision of BIM enabled FM. The innovative system is expected to provide a powerful and practical tool for data collection, analysis and visualization for intelligent facility management decision making. This paper contributes to fill an important research and practice gap in the area of next generation smart building management practices.
MHD flow and heat transfer of hybrid nanofluid over a permeable moving surface in the presence of thermal radiation
Authors: Zainal Nurul Amira , Nazar Roslinda , Naganthran Kohilavani , Pop Ioan
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a hybrid nanofluid (Cu-Al2O3/water) in the presence of magnetohydrodynamics and thermal radiation over a permeable moving surface.

Design/methodology/approach

By choosing appropriate similarity variables, the partial differential equations are transformed into a system of linear equations which are solved by using the boundary value problem solver (bvp4c) in MATLAB. The implementation of stability analysis verifies the achievable result of the first solution which is considered stable while the second solution is unstable.

Findings

The findings revealed that the presence of a magnetic field and suction slows down the fluid motion because of the synchronism of the magnetic and electric field occurred from the formation of the Lorentz force. Also, the enhancement of the thermal radiation parameter escalates the heat transfer rate of the current study.

Originality/value

The present study is addressing the problem of MHD flow and heat transfer analysis of a hybrid nanofluid towards a permeable moving surface, with the consideration of the thermal radiation effect. The authors show that in both cases of assisting and opposing flow, there exist dual solutions within a specific range of the moving parameters. A stability analysis approved that only one of the solutions are physically relevant.
Investor protection and market reaction to unusual market activity replies
Authors: Lye Chun-Teck , Ng Tuan-Hock , Lim Kwee-Pheng , Gan Chin-Yee
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study uses the unique setting of unusual market activity (UMA) replies to examine the market reaction and the effects of disclosure and investor protection amid information uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1527 hand-collected UMA replies from the interlinked stock exchanges of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore for the period of 2015–2017 were analysed using event study and Heckman two-step methods with market and matched control firm benchmarks.

Findings

The overall results support the uncertain information hypothesis. The UMA replies with new information were also found to reduce information uncertainty, but not information asymmetry, and they are complementary to investor protection in enhancing abnormal returns. The overall finding suggests that the UMA public query system can be an effective market intervention mechanism in improving information certainty and efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides insight on the effects of news replies and investor protection on abnormal returns, and support for the uncertain information hypothesis. The finding is useful to policymakers and stock exchanges as they seek to understand how to alleviate investors' anxiety and to create an informationally efficient market. Nevertheless, this study is limited by the extensiveness of the hand-collected UMA replies and also the potential issue of simultaneity-induced endogeneity.

Originality/value

This study uses UMA replies and cross-country data taking into account the effects of market surroundings such as information uncertainty and the level of investor protection on market reaction.
Design principles for transforming making programs into online settings at public libraries
Authors: Kim Soo Hyeon , Choi Gi Woong , Jung Yong Ju
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate design principles for transforming existing making communities of practice within public libraries into online knowledge-building communities to support youths, families with young children and adult members’ making and tinkering during COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

Building upon C4P and connected learning framework, the authors analyze existing literature and practitioner reports on informal learning projects related to making and STEM learning, family learning and online learning as well as emergent cases of innovative approaches in response to COVID-19 from public libraries, informal learning institutions and community groups.

Findings

The authors suggest 11 design principles around five areas: program design, facilitation, tools and materials, process documentation and sharing and feedback.

Originality/value

This work contributes to the information and learning sciences concerned with community engagement and knowledge creation by suggesting a design model to transform and sustain existing making communities of practice within public libraries into online knowledge-building communities during COVID-19.
Auditor's report, auditor's size and value relevance of accounting information
Authors: Abdollahi Ahmad , Rezaei Pitenoei Yasser , Safari Gerayli Mehdi
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The present study sets out to examine the effect of auditor's report and audit firm size on the value relevance of accounting information of the companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the years 2008–2017.

Design/methodology/approach

The study includes a sample of 1,530 firm-year observations drawn from the listed companies, and the research hypotheses were analyzed using multivariate regression model based on panel data.

Findings

The findings reveal that auditor's report and audit firm size are positively and significantly correlated with two indicators of the value relevance of accounting information including value relevance of earnings and book value per share. Also our results exhibit robustness to the alternative measure of auditor's attributes.

Research limitations/implications

As far as we know, this is the first study to analyze the association between auditor's attributes and value relevance of accounting information in emerging capital markets, thereby generating certain implications for investors, managers, capital market policy makers and audit profession regulators in general and those in emerging markets in particular.

Practical implications

Our findings have implications for policy makers, regulators, managers and investors. Our evidence on the positive association between auditor's size and value relevance of accounting information should help policy makers and regulators which they improve value relevance of accounting information and financial reporting by integrating small audit firms and setting up larger audit firms.

Originality/value

A rise in the value relevance of accounting information deserves further attention while drawing investment, selling the stocks of existing firms and increasing investor's decision-making ability. The way how auditor's attributes can promote the value relevance of accounting information is still open to new research.
Quantifying SWOT analysis for cloud adoption using FAHP-DEMATEL approach: evidence from the manufacturing sector
Authors: Sharma Mahak , Sehrawat Rajat
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study aims to identify the critical factors (barriers and drivers) influencing the adoption of cloud computing (ACC) in the manufacturing sector in India.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a mixed methodology approach is used. Interviews are conducted to investigate factors (drivers and barriers) influencing the ACC, which are further categorized as controllable determinants (weaknesses and strengths) and uncontrollable determinants (threats and opportunities) using a SWOT analysis. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) has been utilized to highlight the most critical drivers as well as barriers. Finally, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) has been used to find the cause-effect relationships among factors and their influence on the decision of adoption.

Findings

The manufacturing sector is in the digital and value change transformation phase with Industry 4.0, that is, the next industrial revolution. The 24 critical factors influencing ACC are subdivided into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The FAHP analysis ranked time to market, competitive advantage, business agility, data confidentiality and lack of government policy standards as the most critical factors. The cause-effect relationships highlight that time to market is the most significant causal factor, and resistance to technology is the least significant effect factor. The results of the study elucidate that the strengths of ACC are appreciably more than its weaknesses.

Research limitations/implications

This study couples the technology acceptance model (TAM) with technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and adds an economic perspective to examine the significant influences of ACC in the Indian manufacturing sector. Further, it contributes to the knowledge of ACC in general and provides valuable insights into interrelationships among factors influencing the decision and strategies of adoption in particular.

Originality/value

This is the first scholarly work in the Indian manufacturing sector that uses the analysis from SWOT and FAHP approach as a base for identifying cause-effect relationships between the critical factors influencing ACC. Further, based on the extant literature and analysis of this work, an adoption framework has been proposed that justifies that ACC is not just a technological challenge but is also an environmental, economic and organizational challenge that includes organizational issues, costs and need for adequate government policies.
Predicting maintenance work hours in maintenance planning
Authors: Khalid Waqas , Albrechtsen Simon Holst , Sigsgaard Kristoffer Vandrup , Mortensen Niels Henrik , Hansen Kasper Barslund , Soleymani Iman
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Current industry practices illustrate there is no standard method to estimate the number of hours worked on maintenance activities; instead, industry experts use experience to guess maintenance work hours. There is also a gap in the research literature on maintenance work hour estimation. This paper investigates the use of machine-learning algorithms to predict maintenance work hours and proposes a method that utilizes historical preventive maintenance order data to predict maintenance work hours.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the design research methodology utilizing a case study to validate the proposed method.

Findings

The case study analysis confirms that the proposed method is applicable and has the potential to significantly improve work hour prediction accuracy, especially for medium- and long-term work orders. Moreover, the study finds that this method is more accurate and more efficient than conducting estimations based on experience.

Practical implications

The study has major implications for industrial applications. Maintenance-intensive industries such as oil and gas and chemical industries spend a huge portion of their operational expenditures (OPEX) on maintenance. This research will enable them to accurately predict work hour requirements that will help them to avoid unwanted downtime and costs and improve production planning and scheduling.

Originality/value

The proposed method provides new insights into maintenance theory and possesses a huge potential to improve the current maintenance planning practices in the industry.
Negotiating gatekeepers and positionality in building trust for accessing the urban poor in the Global South
Authors: Lata Lutfun Nahar
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This paper explores the importance of building trust and rapport with participants using gatekeepers and insider-outsider dynamics in accessing vulnerable research participants in the Global South.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws data from a qualitative case study conducted in Sattola slum in Dhaka.

Findings

Findings suggest that access to participants can be gained through building rapport and trust with participants. A trusting relationship further helps the researcher to explore the processes of social exclusion experienced by the participants.

Originality/value

Few studies is published on female researchers building trust with vulnerable research participants negotiating gatekeepers and their subjectivity in the field. The paper contributes original insights into this from fieldwork carried out by a middle-class female researcher in Dhaka. It raises important issues in securing the trust of participants when they are part of disadvantaged, exploited or generally vulnerable populations.
Mapping of scientific production on design thinking as a tool for entrepreneurship education: a bibliometric study of a decade
Authors: Johann Denise Adriana , Nunes Andrieli de Fátima Paz , Santos Geovane Barbosa dos , Silva Deoclécio Junior Cardoso da , Bresciani Sirlene Aparecida Takeda , Lopes Luis Felipe Dias
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Design thinking (DT) is still a relatively new methodology in the context of entrepreneurial education, which presents itself as an important tool for the development of entrepreneurial skills when inserted into the educational system. This research aimed to analyze studies about DT related to the entrepreneurial mindset in international journals over a period of ten years (2009–2019). Entrepreneurial education has been a constant in academic debates as well as practices and methodologies to apply this education, and such context has moved educational institutions to adopt practices and initiatives focused on the theme.

Design/methodology/approach

The tool used in the present study was the bibliometric database of the Web of Science through the words “Design Thinking” (DT) and “Entrepreneurial Education”. The research is characterized as descriptive and quantitative, and 146 publications were investigated in the period from 2009 to 2019, in the respective database.

Findings

The study also highlighted the new generation of young students forcing a change in education with an approach centered on the individual. Speech does not prevail in the teachers but in the students, and the teacher educator starts to collaborate for this new educational demand with didactics relevant to the world in this way preparing these young people and delivering society to critical, proactive and participatory individuals.

Originality/value

In the course of the study, we observed practices and examples of schools and universities that have adapted ways to allow new interactions in the school environment by promoting and encouraging innovative education.
The cyclic lipopeptides suppress the motility of Vibrio alginolyticus via targeting the Na+‐driven flagellar motor component MotX
Authors: Liu Rui , Zheng Rikuan , Liu Ge , Sun Chaomin
Published: July 2020

In our previous study, we found that pumilacidin‐like cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs) derived from marine bacterium Bacillus sp. strain 176 significantly suppressed the mobile capability and virulence of Vibrio alginolyticus. Here, to further disclose the mechanism of CLPs inhibiting the motility of V. alginolyticus, we first applied transcriptomic analysis to V. alginolyticus treated with or without CLPs. The transcriptomic results showed that the expression of several important components of the Na+‐driven flagellar motor closely related to bacterial motility were markedly suppressed, suggesting that the structure and function of Na+‐driven flagellar motor might be disabled by CLPs. The transcriptomic data were further analysed by the protein–protein interaction network, and the results supported that MotX, one of the essential components of Na+‐driven flagellar motor was most likely the action target of CLPs. In combination of gene knockout, electrophoretic mobility shift assay and immunoblotting techniques, CLPs were demonstrated to affect the rotation of flagella of Vibrio alginolyticus via direct interacting with the Na+‐driven flagellar motor component MotX, which eventually inhibited the bacterial motility. Interestingly, homologues of MotX were found broadly distributed and highly conserved in different pathogenic species, which extends the application range of CLPs as an antibacterial drug targeting bacterial motility in many pathogens.
A brief guide for the measurement and interpretation of microbial functional diversity
Authors: Johnson David R. , Pomati Francesco
Published: July 2020

The importance of functional diversity for the functioning and behaviour of microbial communities is clear, yet the widespread incorporation of functional diversity measurements into environmental microbiology study designs remains surprisingly limited. This may, at least to some extent, be a consequence of the unique conceptual and methodological challenges to measuring functional diversity in microbial communities. To facilitate the increased incorporation of functional diversity measurements into environmental microbiology study designs, we review here the process and some key caveats for measuring functional diversity and provide specific examples. We highlight three main decision points and provide guidance to making these decisions based on the underlying mechanisms for how functional diversity relates to an ecosystem process or property of interest. We discuss the selection of an appropriate type of functional trait, selection of the specificity at which functional diversity will be measured, and selection of an appropriate metric for estimating functional diversity from quantitative measures of those traits. We further discuss decisions regarding the use of one‐ or multi‐dimensional measures of functional diversity and how advances in the field of trait‐based community ecology could be applied or adapted to address questions in environmental microbiology.
Simulation‐based enhancement of learning: The case of food safety
Authors: Datta Ashim K. , Ukidwe Mayuri S. , Way David G.
Published: July 2020

Importance of online learning has become more critical with the advent of a global pandemic. Effective online learning requires design characteristics that support learning that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries. The example of educational delivery of food safety encompasses multiple disciplines to prepare students for real‐world situations, practical problem‐solving, and to be “future proof” as food safety becomes more quantitative. This study explicates how six simulation‐based learning modules were evaluated, two each in microbiological growth/inactivation, food process dynamics with microbiological growth/inactivation, and risk assessment. Each group of three modules was targeted to the students in undergraduate food science and engineering programs. Altogether, the 6 modules were implemented and assessed in 17 courses at 14 universities over 5 years. The effectiveness of the module‐based approach was sustained across subject matter (microbiology, process, and risk), disciplines (food science and engineering), and their implementations. Students’ and instructors’ survey responses indicated the modules’ value in real‐world and practical problem‐solving ability. Instructors were also motivated to implement the modules as they saw the potential for improvement in student understanding, how modules reinforced course learning outcomes, the quality of support provided with modules, and their ability to replace existing course assessment without adding work for the instructor or the students. This self‐learning, module‐based approach to introduce interdisciplinary content employed has proven successful. The template for making these modules is described in sufficient detail so future modules can be built for a wide variety of subject matter beyond food safety.
Association of Emergency Department Opioid Administration With Ongoing Opioid Use: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Patients With Back Pain
Authors: Heard Kennon , Ledbetter Caroline M. , Hoppe Jason A.
Published: July 2020

Objectives

Opioids are commonly administered in the emergency department (ED) and prescribed for the treatment of back pain. It is important to understand the unintended consequences of this approach to inform treatment decisions and the consideration of alternative treatments. Recent evidence has shown that ED opioid prescriptions are associated with future opioid use. The objective of this study was to measure the association of opioid administration in the ED to patients treated for back pain with future opioid use.

Methods

This is a retrospective study of opioid‐naïve adults discharged from the ED with a diagnosis of back pain. Patients were stratified by opioid therapy (none, ED administration only, prescription only, or ED administration + prescription). Relative risks of ongoing opioid use (filling >90‐day supply in 180 days following ED visit as documented in the prescription drug monitoring program) were calculated for each opioid‐therapy group and compared to the no‐opioid group.

Results

We identified 24,487 opioid naïve back pain patients. The median age was 38 years, 55% were female, and 56% were non‐Hispanic white. A total of 41% received no opioid, 10% were only administered an opioid in the ED, 18% only received a prescription, and 31% received an opioid in the ED + prescription. The adjusted relative risks of ongoing use compared to the no opioid group were as follows: ED only 1.9, prescription only 2.1, and ED + prescription 2.3. The increased risk persisted for other definitions of ongoing use and after adjustment for baseline pain scores.

Conclusions

For opioid‐naïve patients with back pain, both administration of an opioid in the ED and opioid prescriptions are associated with a doubling of the risk of ongoing opioid use compared to patients not treated with opioids. This supports the consideration of minimizing exposure to opioids while treating back pain in the ED.
Does the renal portal valve exist in a raptor species? A study aimed at further evaluating the mechanism of toxicity of diclofenac in vultures
Authors: Havenga Lauren , Naidoo Vinny , Wolter Kerri , Duncan Neil , Groenewald Hermanus B.
Published: July 2020

Diclofenac has been responsible for the deaths of millions of vultures on the Asian subcontinent. While the pathology of toxicity is well described, the mechanism of toxicity remains elusive. However, it was postulated that toxicity could be related to the unique avian renal vascular structure known as the renal portal valve and that that diclofenac altered valve functionality with subsequent renal ischaemia. While plausible, the valva renalis portalis has only been described in a small number of other bird species such as the chicken (Gallus domesticus), the domestic duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) and ostrich (Struthio camelus) but not a raptor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the renal anatomy and related vasculature of the Cape griffon vulture (Gyps coprotheres) (CGV), a species sensitive to the toxic effects of diclofenac, using gross anatomy, histology and vascular casting. The vasculature of the vulture was found to be almost identical to that of the domestic chicken with the valva renalis portalis present in the v. iliaca externa between the v. renalis renalis cranialis and the v. renalis caudalus. The valve was ring‐shaped with finger‐like processes and histologically was composed of smooth muscle. The valve was also well vascularized and was associated with a nerve plexus. Based on the findings of this study, the proposed mechanism of toxicity is anatomically possible.
Treatment outcomes in older adults with hoarding disorder: The impact of self‐control, boredom and social support
Authors: Weiss Emily R. , Landers Alyssa , Todman McWelling , Roane David M.
Published: July 2020

Objectives

Hoarding disorder in older adults often develops in the context of co‐occurring psychosocial maladies, and treatment response tends to be suboptimal. This preliminary investigation explored several ageing‐related factors and their relationship to hoarding symptom severity (HSS), and examined treatment response to 15 sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with in‐home support.

Methods

Twenty‐nine participants (Mage = 67) completed self‐report questionnaires measuring HSS, self‐control, indecisiveness, depression, loneliness, social support and boredom, before (T1) and after (T2) treatment.

Results

At T1, HSS was associated marginally with loneliness and significantly with all other variables, except social support. At T2, HSS and depression decreased significantly and only boredom and self‐control remained associated with HSS. Attrition rates were high, and those with low social support were more likely to discontinue treatment prematurely.

Conclusions

Increasing social support may improve treatment retention, and pre‐emptively reducing sources of boredom and increasing self‐control during treatment might improve outcomes for older adults with hoarding disorder.
Treading carefully through tomatoes: Embodying a gentle methodological approach
Authors: Pottinger Laura
Published: July 2020

Though feminist scholars have long advocated reflexivity in geographical research, the multifaceted practices of care that gently shape (and take shape within) fieldwork encounters are often tidied out of academic accounts. By foregrounding moments of embodied gentleness in research into human–plant relationships, this paper asks what a gentle methodological approach might look, and importantly, feel like. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork exploring gardeners' everyday activities and activisms with seeds and plants, I examine moments that are quiet, slow, tender, and unobtrusive to examine how research might be rendered gently. Building on feminist scholarship on bodies, slowness, and reciprocity, I argue gentleness is a necessary, if under‐acknowledged, dimension of interpersonal and more‐than‐human encounters. It requires embodied reflexivity and an active sensitivity to entanglements of care, emotion, and multisensoriality. Gentleness can be implicit, purposeful, or tactical, and it entails complexities and contradictions that must be unpicked. A gentle methodological approach can, however, hold particular utility for exposing and theorising under‐acknowledged forms of care‐full political and environmental action, which though light‐touch are nonetheless significant.
Compensation and reparations for victims and bystanders of the U.S. Public Health Service research studies in Tuskegee and Guatemala: Who do we owe what?
Authors: Reverby Susan M.
Published: July 2020

Using the infamous research studies in Tuskegee and Guatemala, the article examines the difference between victims and bystanders. The victims can include families, sexual partners, and children not just the participants. There are also the bystanders in the populations who are affected, even vaguely, decades after the initial studies took place. Differing reparations for victims and bystanders through lawsuits and historical acknowledgments has to be part of broader discussions of historical justice, and the weighing of the impact of racism and imperial research endeavors.
A systematic review of minor phytocannabinoids with promising neuroprotective potential
Authors: Stone Nicole L. , Murphy Alexandra J. , England Timothy J. , O'Sullivan Saoirse E.
Published: July 2020

Embase and PubMed were systematically searched for articles addressing the neuroprotective properties of phytocannabinoids, apart from cannabidiol and Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol, including Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabivarin, cannabidiolic acid, cannabidivarin, cannabichromene, cannabichromenic acid, cannabichromevarin, cannabigerol, cannabigerolic acid, cannabigerivarin, cannabigerovarinic acid, cannabichromevarinic acid, cannabidivarinic acid, and cannabinol. Out of 2,341 studies, 31 articles met inclusion criteria. Cannabigerol (range 5 to 20 mg·kg−1) and cannabidivarin (range 0.2 to 400 mg·kg−1) displayed efficacy in models of Huntington's disease and epilepsy. Cannabichromene (10–75 mg·kg−1), Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (20 mg·kg−1), and tetrahydrocannabivarin (range 0.025–2.5 mg·kg−1) showed promise in models of seizure and hypomobility, Huntington's and Parkinson's disease. Limited mechanistic data showed cannabigerol, its derivatives VCE.003 and VCE.003.2, and Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinolic acid mediated some of their effects through PPAR‐γ, but no other receptors were probed. Further studies with these phytocannabinoids, and their combinations, are warranted across a range of neurodegenerative disorders.
Three years of growth hormone treatment in young adults with Prader‐Willi Syndrome previously treated with growth hormone in childhood: Effects on glucose homeostasis and metabolic syndrome
Authors: Damen Layla , Grootjen Lionne N. , Donze Stephany H. , Juriaans Alicia F. , de Graaff Laura C. G. , van der Velden Janielle A.E.M. , Hokken‐Koelega Anita C. S.
Published: July 2020

Context

Growth hormone (GH) has been approved for children with Prader‐Willi syndrome (PWS) and significantly improves body composition in adults with PWS. Adults with PWS are predisposed to develop impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2). Continuation of GH maintains body composition, but GH is known to induce insulin resistance, which might affect glucose homeostasis. Studies on long‐term effects of GH treatment in adults are very limited.

Objective

To investigate effects of 3 years of GH treatment on glucose homeostasis and prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in adults with PWS.

Design

Open‐label, prospective study.

Patients

43 young adults with PWS.

Setting

Dutch PWS Reference Center.

Main outcome measures

Glucose and insulin during oral glucose tolerance test.

Results

Estimated mean (95% CI) fasting glucose and insulin levels remained stable during 3 years of GH treatment. Glucose being 4.6 (4.4‐4.8) mmol/l at start and 4.7 (4.6‐4.9) mmol/l after 3 years (P = .07); insulin being 59.5 (45.2‐75.8) pmol/l and 56.7 (45.2‐69.6) pmol/l resp. (P = .72). Sex, ethnicity and fat mass percentage were significantly associated with fasting glucose levels, while IGF‐I or GH‐dose were not. Blood pressure, lipids and prevalence of MS remained stable during 3 years of GH. IGT prevalence was variable over time, six patients had IGT at start and eleven after 3 years of GH. One patient developed DMT2. However, prevalence of IGT or DMT2 was not significantly higher after 3 years than at study start.

Conclusions

Three years of GH treatment in adults with PWS does not impair glucose homeostasis and does not lead to an increased prevalence of DMT2.
Burnout and secondary trauma among forensic interviewers
Authors: Starcher Destinee , Stolzenberg Stacia N.
Published: July 2020

Child Advocacy Centers provide a child‐friendly environment for the forensic interview and subsequent investigation of child victimization cases. However, very little research has examined the effects of burnout, secondary trauma and organizational stressors on forensic interviewers. The present study examined the following research questions. To what extent do forensic interviewers experience burnout and secondary trauma associated with their profession? How do organizational stressors increase these outcomes among interviewers? Data were collected by conducting an online survey of interviewers working at Child Advocacy Centers across the United States. Results indicate burnout and secondary trauma among interviewers in this sample. Decreased job support, increased funding constraints and heavy agency caseloads all result in burnout and secondary trauma. Policy recommendations include continued training and mental health services for interviewers. Future researchers should conduct qualitative interviews and examine how other factors, such as forensic interviewing protocols, influence interviewers' job experience and mental health.
Construction workersʼ skin disorders in the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases 2005‐2016
Authors: Aalto‐Korte Kristiina , Koskela Kirsi , Pesonen Maria
Published: July 2020

Background

Construction workers are a known risk group for occupational skin disease (OSD).

Objectives

To study diagnoses and causes of OSD in construction workers in the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD) 2005–2016.

Materials And Methods

We searched the FROD for dermatological cases in (a) construction‐related occupations defined by the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO‐08) and (b) in the industrial branch of construction defined by the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2).

Results

The two searches yielded the same number of cases, 329, although they were not identical subgroups. The number of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) cases was 235 (71%) in construction‐related occupations and 228 (69%) in the industrial branch of construction. In the latter analysis, synthetic resin systems caused 66% of ACD cases and 46% of all OSDs, epoxy compounds being the leading cause (122 cases; 54% of ACD cases; 37% of all OSDs). Metals were the second most common group of causes of ACD with 31 cases (chrome 22 cases; cobalt 8 cases). Isothiazolinones caused ACD in 21 cases, many of whom were painters.

Conclusions

ACD dominated the OSDs of construction workers and epoxy products were by far the leading cause comprising 37% of all OSDs. Chrome and isothiazolinones were also prominent causes of ACD.
Exosomes released from educated mesenchymal stem cells accelerate cutaneous wound healing via promoting angiogenesis
Authors: Qiu Xinyu , Liu Jin , Zheng Chenxi , Su Yuting , Bao Lili , Zhu Bin , Liu Siying , Wang Lulu , Wang Xiao , Wang Yirong , Zhao Wanmin , Zhou Jun , Deng Zhihong , Liu Shiyu , Jin Yan
Published: July 2020

Objectives

Skin serves as the major interface between the external environment and body which is liable to many kinds of injuries. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has been widely used and became a promising strategy. Pre‐treatment with chemical agents, hypoxia or gene modifications can partially protect MSCs against injury, and the pre‐treated MSCs show the improved differentiation, homing capacity, survival and paracrine effects regard to attenuating injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the exosomes from the educated MSCs contribute to accelerate wound healing process.

Materials and methods

We extracted the exosomes from the two educated MSCs and utilized them in the cutaneous wound healing model. The pro‐angiogenetic effect of exosomes on endothelial cells was also investigated.

Results

We firstly found that MSCs pre‐treated by exosomes from neonatal serum significantly improved their biological functions and the effect of therapy. Moreover, we extracted the exosomes from the educated MSCs and utilized them to treat the cutaneous wound model directly. We found that the released exosomes from MSCs which educated by neonatal serum before had the more outstanding performance in therapeutic effect. Mechanistically, we revealed that the recipient endothelial cells (ECs) were targeted and the exosomes promoted their functions to enhance angiogenesis via regulating AKT/eNOS pathway.

Conclusions

Our findings unravelled the positive effect of the upgraded exosomes from the educated MSCs as a promising cell‐free therapeutic strategy for cutaneous wound healing.
The discovery of dystrophin, the protein product of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene
Authors: Hoffman Eric P.
Published: July 2020

Duchenne muscular dystrophy was a well‐established medical and genetic enigma by the 1970s. Why was the new mutation rate so high in all world populations? Why were affected boys doing well in early childhood, but then showed relentless progression of muscle wasting? What was wrong with the muscle? The identification of the first fragments of DMD gene cDNA in 1986, prediction of the entire 3685 amino acid protein sequence, and production of antibodies to dystrophin, both in 1987, provided key tools to understand DMD genetics and molecular pathology. The identification of dystrophin nucleated extensive research on myofiber membrane cytoskeleton, membrane repair, muscle regeneration, and failure of regeneration. This in turn led to molecular therapeutics based on understanding of dystrophin structure and function. This historical perspective describes the events surrounding the initial identification of the dystrophin protein.
Treatment and outcomes for indigenous and non‐indigenous lung cancer patients in the Top End of the Northern Territory
Authors: Basnayake Thilini L. , Valery Patricia C. , Carson Philip , De Ieso Paolo B.
Published: July 2020

Background

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer‐related mortality for both Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Australians, and the death rate of lung cancer in Indigenous Australians is increasing.

Aims

To provide a comprehensive description of patterns of lung cancer presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes in Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Australians in the Top End of the Northern Territory.

Methods

Retrospective cohort study of adult patients with a new diagnosis of lung cancer in the Top End between January 2010 and December 2014. Unadjusted survival probabilities by indigenous status were calculated. The primary end‐point was all‐cause mortality.

Results

Despite receiving similar diagnostic procedures and treatment, Indigenous Australians with lung cancer have poorer 1‐ and 5‐year survival (25.0% and 9.4% respectively), when compared to non‐Indigenous Australians included in the study (42.0% and 16.2% respectively). Indigenous lung cancer patients were more likely to be female (51.6% of indigenous patients were female, compared to 30.5% non‐indigenous), be current smokers (61.3% vs 36.9%), have more comorbidities (73.6% vs 52.7%, 24.2% vs 5.3% and 30.8% vs 14.2% for respiratory disease, renal insufficiency and diabetes mellitus respectively), and live in more socio‐economically disadvantaged (66.7% vs 14.2%) and very remote areas (66.1% vs 6.8%). They were also more likely to die at home, compared to their non‐indigenous counterparts (64.3% vs 26.7%).

Conclusions

Indigenous patients from the Top End diagnosed with lung cancer were more likely to have poorer survival outcomes when compared to non‐indigenous people. Potential reasons for the discrepancy in survival need to be addressed urgently.
Excellent outcomes of transformed lymphomas in the rituximab era without autologous stem cell transplantation: an Australian single‐centre experience
Authors: Tedjaseputra Aditya , Gilbertson Michael , Low Michael , Fedele Pasquale L. , Kumar Beena , Simpson Ian , Grigoriadis George , Shortt Jake , Opat Stephen , Gregory Gareth P.
Published: July 2020

Background

Histologic transformation (HT) is an important event with adverse prognosis in the natural history of indolent lymphomas. There are minimal data on HT in the Australian setting.

Aims

To characterise patients with biopsy‐proven HT and their outcomes identified at a tertiary Australian Hospital.

Methods

All patients with biopsy‐proven HT during a 15‐year period (2002–2017) were included. Clinico‐pathological data were systematically collected from review of patient records. Survival estimates were assessed using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log‐rank test. Associations between variables and clinical outcomes were evaluated using Cox's proportional hazards model.

Results

A cohort of 45 patients was identified with a median age of 66 years and the majority (59%) having high‐risk disease (Revised‐International Prognostic Index score ≥3). R‐CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone) induction was used in 69%, with an overall response rate of 82% (complete response (CR), 75%). Sixty‐one percent of these induction responders received consolidation, with autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) performed in only 17% and rituximab maintenance given to 31%. With a median follow up of 47 months (range: 4–136), the 5‐year overall survival (OS) was 69% (95% CI: 52%, 81%). Chemotherapy‐naivety at HT was associated with a superior rate of CR (84% vs 54%, P = 0.057) and 5‐year OS (82% vs 46%, P = 0.012). Rituximab maintenance was associated with a durable progression‐free survival in induction responders.

Conclusions

Excellent OS was observed in this modern cohort of patients treated with rituximab‐containing induction and low rate of consolidation by ASCT, particularly in those who were chemotherapy‐naïve at HT.