bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimating the extra costs of disability in European countries: Implications for poverty measurement and disability-related decommodification
Authors: Morris Zachary A , Zaidi Asghar
Published: January 2020

It is widely accepted that people with disabilities incur additional expenditures on transport, heating, equipment and other items. In this article, we estimate the magnitude of these extra costs of living for adults with disabilities aged 50–65 across 15 countries of Europe using the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data. Drawing on the standard of living approach of Zaidi and Burchardt, we compare the incomes required by households with and without adults with disabilities to obtain an equivalent standard of living. We advance upon this research by drawing on the cross-nationally harmonized data of adults aged 50+ from the SHARE. The results suggest that there are substantial extra costs of disability in these countries: around 44 percent of income for a household with an adult reporting a work-related disability and somewhat less than 30 percent of income for a household with an adult who receives disability benefits. Applying an equivalization scale based on these figures increases the overall poverty incidence rate, especially for households with disabled adult members. These findings thus have implications for analysing the entitlement and benefit levels for disability support programmes and for devising accurate poverty estimates concerning persons with disabilities.
Identification and characterization of differentially expressed lncRNA in 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced cleft palate
Authors: Gao L-Y , Hao X-L , Zhang L , Wan T , Liu J-Y , Cao J
Published: January 2020

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and also a strong teratogen for cleft palate (CP). But up to now, the underlying molecular mechanisms of TCDD-induced CP are largely unknown. More recently, accumulating evidences are revealing important roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in all kinds of diseases including CP. However, the role and molecular mechanism of lncRNAs in TCDD-induced CP are still largely unexplored. Thus, identification of differentially expressed lncRNA (DEL) might help figuring out the mechanism of CP induced by TCDD. In this study, a CP offspring model of C57BL/6 female mice was generated by TCDD (64 µg/kg body weight) induce on embryo day 10 (E10). The incidence rate of CP was 100% in the TCDD group (105) after cervical dislocation on E16. Then, the high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was established to search a comprehensive profile of the lncRNAs. In addition, a coexpression network of lncRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) was performed to discern potential mechanism. The result showed that 26,246 novel lncRNAs and 9635 known lncRNAs were screened out, and 413 lncRNA transcripts and 65 mRNA transcripts were identified as being significantly different between the CP group and control group. Notably, we found that there are seven lncRNAs that can target Smad1 and Smad5, which are key molecules of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway, which suggested that they may be concerned with BMP signaling in TCDD-induced CP. In addition, some lncRNAs targeted the important molecules of Hippo and Wnt signaling pathways. These results suggested that characteristic lncRNA alterations may play a critical role in TCDD-induced CP, which provided a theoretical basis for further research.
Research as a military mascot: Political ethnography and counterinsurgency in southern Thailand
Authors: Streicher Ruth
Published: January 2020

The term ‘political ethnography’ has been used to describe a recent trend whereby political scientists, including scholars of security studies and international relations, increasingly deploy fieldwork to explore a variety of political arenas. This article challenges a one-dimensional understanding of political ethnography that sidelines the politics activated in an ethnographic research process and instead calls for political ethnographers to self-reflectively analyse their own positionality in terms of imperial complicity. It discusses experiences of researching counterinsurgency practices in southern Thailand and outlines different dimensions through which counterinsurgents positioned the author as a ‘military mascot’. These include assumptions about the Western and Christian identity of the researcher as well as ideas about the author’s ability to produce objective ‘facts’ in reporting a presumably peaceful military mission. The article concludes by reflecting on the problematic alliance between political science and imperial military projects of counterinsurgency, arguing that the lack of discussion about this affinity constitutes one of the conditions that facilitate the ‘mascotting’ of political ethnographers with military interlocutors.
Confused About Theoretical Sampling? Engaging Theoretical Sampling in Diverse Grounded Theory Studies
Authors: Conlon Catherine , Timonen Virpi , Elliott-O’Dare Catherine , O’Keeffe Sorcha , Foley Geraldine
Published: January 2020

Theoretical sampling is a key procedure for theory building in the grounded theory method. Confusion about how to employ theoretical sampling in grounded theory can exist among researchers who use or who want to use the grounded theory method. We illustrate how we employed theoretical sampling in diverse grounded theory studies and answer key questions about theoretical sampling in grounded theory. We show how theoretical sampling functions in grounded theory and how it differs from sampling for data generation alone. We demonstrate how induction, retroduction, and abduction operate in grounded theory and how memoing drives theoretical sampling in the pursuit of theory. We explicate how theoretical sampling can contextualize data to build concepts and theory. Finally, we show how theoretical sampling in grounded theory operates in secondary analysis to derive theory that goes beyond the original purpose of data collection.
Alexis Retractor: Institutional Experience of Its Applications in Head and Neck Surgery and Review of the Literature
Authors: Lee Jasmine , Yu Jason W. , Lee Z-Hye , Levine Jamie P. , Jacobson Adam S.
Published: January 2020

Background:

The Alexis retractor is a device that provides simultaneous radial retraction and wound protection during surgical procedures. Although typically used in abdominal and pelvic surgeries, there has been increased development of novel operative techniques utilizing the Alexis retractors in head and neck surgeries.

Methods:

We describe 2 cases of utilizing the Alexis retractor to attain transoral exposure in the setting of free flap reconstruction of intraoral defects.

Results:

In both cases, the Alexis retractor provided improved retraction, decreasing the number of instruments required for adequate exposure. Additionally, the polyurethane sheath component acted as a protective membrane over the lips and mucosa.

Conclusions:

The Alexis retractor can be a powerful retraction tool for certain surgical procedures involving the head and neck regions.
An Appraisal of School Nurse Health Services and Programs in North Carolina Public Schools, 2006–2016
Authors: Best Nakia C. , Nichols Ann O. , Oppewal Sonda , Pierre-Louis Bosny , Waller Anna E. , Zomorodi Meg , Travers Debbie
Published: January 2020

School nurses are instrumental in delivering health services to children in schools. This study addresses the gap in school nurse health services data, examining patterns in health services and programs provided by school nurses between 2006 and 2016 for students in North Carolina public schools. This study focused on services and programs related to asthma and diabetes, two health conditions that affect millions of children in the United States. Over 1.46 million children attend North Carolina public schools. In 2006, the average school nurse-to-student ratio was 1:1,340. By 2016, the average school nurse-to-student ratio decreased to 1:1,086, a 19% improvement. Over the 10-year study time period, there were statistically significant increases in the rate of occurrence of all health conditions that students received health services for ( p < .001), asthma ( p < .001), type I diabetes ( p = .0003), orders for all health-care procedures ( p = .01), all school nurse–led health counseling ( p = .004), and diabetes health counseling ( p < .01).
Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratios Predict All-Cause Mortality in Acute Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: Phan Trung , Brailovsky Yevgeniy , Fareed Jawed , Hoppensteadt Debra , Iqbal Omer , Darki Amir
Published: January 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) to predict all-cause mortality in patients presenting with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Three hundred consecutive patients with acute PE between March 2016 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. We identified 191 patients who met the study inclusion criteria. Twenty-eight patients died during the study period. There was a significant difference in PLR, but not NLR, between patients with low risk, submassive, and massive risk PE ( P = .02 and P = .58, respectively, by the Kruskal-Wallis test). Elevated NLR and PLR were associated with all-cause mortality ( P < .01 and P < .01, respectively). Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio of 5.46 was associated with all-cause mortality with sensitivity of 75.0% and specificity of 66.9% (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.692 [95% confidence interval, CI]: 0.568-0.816); P < .01). Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio of 256.6 was associated with all-cause mortality with sensitivity of 53.6% and specificity of 82.2% (AUC: 0.693 [95% CI: 0.580-0.805]; P < .01). Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and PLR are simple biomarkers that are readily available from routine laboratory values and may be useful components of PE risk prediction models.
PostSV: A Post–Processing Approach for Filtering Structural Variations
Authors: Alzaid Eman , Allali Achraf El
Published: January 2020

Genomic structural variations are significant causes of genome diversity and complex diseases. With advances in sequencing technologies, many algorithms have been designed to identify structural differences using next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. Due to repetitions in the human genome and the short reads produced by NGS, the discovery of structural variants (SVs) by state-of-the-art SV callers is not always accurate. To improve performance, multiple SV callers are often used to detect variants. However, most SV callers suffer from high false-positive rates, which diminishes the overall performance, especially in low-coverage genomes. In this article, we propose a post-processing classification–based algorithm that can be used to filter structural variation predictions produced by SV callers. Novel features are defined from putative SV predictions using reads at the local regions around the breakpoints. Several classifiers are employed to classify the candidate predictions and remove false positives. We test our classifier models on simulated and real genomes and show that the proposed approach improves the performance of state-of-the-art algorithms.
Ongoing microstructural changes in the cervical cord underpin disability progression in early primary progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Cortese Rosa , Tur Carmen , Prados Ferran , Schneider Torben , Kanber Baris , Moccia Marcello , Wheeler-Kingshott Claudia AM Gandini , Thompson Alan J , Barkhof Frederik , Ciccarelli Olga
Published: January 2020

Background:

Pathology in the spinal cord of patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) contributes to disability progression. We previously reported abnormal Q-space imaging (QSI)-derived indices in the spinal cord at baseline in patients with early PPMS, suggesting early neurodegeneration.

Objective:

The aim was to investigate whether changes in spinal cord QSI over 3 years in the same cohort are associated with disability progression and if baseline QSI metrics predict clinical outcome.

Methods:

Twenty-three PPMS patients and 23 healthy controls recruited at baseline were invited for follow-up cervical cord 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical assessment after 1 year and 3 years. Cord cross-sectional area (CSA) and QSI measures were obtained, together with standard brain MRI measures. Mixed-effect models assessed MRI changes over time and their association with clinical changes. Linear regression identified baseline MRI indices associated with disability at 3 years.

Results:

Over time, patients deteriorated clinically and showed an increase in cord QSI indices of perpendicular diffusivity that was associated with disability worsening, independently of the decrease in CSA. Higher perpendicular diffusivity and lower CSA at baseline predicted worse disability at 3 years.

Conclusion:

Increasing spinal cord perpendicular diffusivity may indicate ongoing neurodegeneration, which underpins disability progression in PPMS, independently of the development of spinal cord atrophy.
Designing, implementing and evaluating an educational intervention targeting weight bias and fat stereotyping
Authors: Werkhoven Thea
Published: January 2020

Weight bias directed at individuals at a higher weight leaves them feeling victimised and judged. When possessed by health professionals, stigmatising attitudes may compromise professionalism and quality of care or education provided. An intervention study was conducted in the higher education setting ( n = 124), through tailored course design and delivery. The intervention was embedded into a health elective that pre-service health professionals were enrolled in. Attitudes to weight and knowledge of nutrition were targeted simultaneously. Surveys conducted pre- and post-intervention revealed moderate success in achieving study aims of improving nutrition knowledge and decreasing bias. Focus group analyses supported the quantitative findings.
Patient safety in medical residency training: Balancing bravery and checklists
Authors: Bressers Guusje , Wallenburg Iris , Stalmeijer Renée , oude Egbrink Mirjam , Lombarts Kiki
Published: January 2020

Distributing responsibility for patient safety between individual professionals and organisational systems is a pressing issue in contemporary healthcare. This article draws on Habermas’ distinction between ‘lifeworld’ and ‘system’ to explore patient-safety culture in medical residency training. Sociological accounts of medical training have indicated that applying systemic solutions in patient-safety training and practice may conflict with residents’ needs. Residents would navigate safety systems to get their work done and safeguard learning opportunities, acting ‘in between’ the system and traditional processes of socialisation and learning on the job. Our ethnographic study reveals how residents seek to connect system and professional-based learning, and do them together in situated manners that evolve in the course of medical training. We reveal three themes that closely align with the residents’ developmental process of maturing during training and on the job to become ‘real’ physicians: (1) coming to grips with the job; (2) working around safety procedures; and (3) moving on to independence. A more explicit focus on learning to deal with uncertainty may enable residents to become more skilled in balancing safety systems.
Influences of childhood family factors on depressive symptoms in adolescence and early adulthood: A Danish longitudinal study
Authors: Poulsen Per Hoegh , Biering Karin , Winding Trine Nøhr , Aagaard Nohr Ellen , Andersen Johan Hviid
Published: January 2020

Aims: The study examined the timing of family socio-economic factors during early (aged 0–8 years) and late (aged 9–14 years) childhood, as well as psychosocial variables in relation to depressive symptoms at the ages of 15, 18 and 21. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 3014 young people from western Denmark. Exposure variables were equivalised household income (income), mother’s educational level and mother’s labour market participation (LMP), derived from registers and self-reported variables family functioning, subjective social status and negative life events. The outcome variable was depressive symptoms. Associations were analysed using logistic regression, adjusted for other exposure variables and sex. Results: In early childhood, mother’s low LMP was associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms at the age of 15, whereas mother’s low educational level and lower income was associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms at the age of 21. In late childhood, lower income, mother’s low educational level and mother’s low LMP was associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms at the ages of 15 and 21. Poorer family functioning was associated with depressive symptoms at the age of 15–21, with estimates ranging from 1.8 to 2.6. Reporting two or more negative life events were associated with depressive symptoms at the ages of 15 and 18. Conclusions: Timing of low income, mother’s low educational level and mother’s low LMP during childhood in relation to future depressive symptoms in the offspring appears to be of some importance in this Danish youth cohort. Family functioning and negative life events were the most stable risk factors for depressive symptoms. Results should, however, be interpreted with caution due to the risk of reverse causality.
The contribution of physical working conditions to sickness absence of varying length among employees with and without common mental disorders
Authors: Halonen Jaana I. , Lallukka Tea , Kujanpää Tero , Lahti Jouni , Kanerva Noora , Pietiläinen Olli , Rahkonen Ossi , Lahelma Eero , Mänty Minna
Published: January 2020

Aims: The aim was to examine whether the contribution of physical work exposures to the risk of sickness absence (SA) is different between those with and without common mental disorders (CMD). Methods: We used questionnaire data on four work exposures and CMD from 6159 participants of the Helsinki Health Study cohort with 12,458 observations from three surveys (2000–2002, 2007 and 2012). We formed combination exposures for the work exposures (hazardous exposures, physical workload, computer and shift work) with CMD. Associations with SA of different length were examined with negative binomial regression models. Results: We observed stronger associations for CMD with SA than for the individual work exposures. The strength of the associations for hazardous exposures and physical workload increased with length of SA, especially when the participant also had CMD. The strongest associations for the combined exposures were observed for SA ⩾15 days, the rate ratios being 2.63 (95% CI 2.27–3.05) among those with hazardous exposure and CMD, and 3.37 (95% CI 2.93−3.88) among those with heavy physical workload and CMD. Conclusions: Employees with hazardous exposures or physical workload combined with CMD were at the highest risk of SA compared with those without these exposures or with only one exposure.
‘We see more because we are not there’: Sourcing norms and routines in covering Iran and North Korea
Authors: Seo Soomin
Published: January 2020

Based on interviews and newsroom visits, this study explores an epistemological hierarchy of sources and sourcing channels that differs substantially from the norms of more traditional forms of journalism. Two niche outlets covering North Korea and Iran are chosen for analysis. Because these countries are notoriously hostile to foreign correspondents, trustworthy news is often difficult to come by. Journalists working for these new outlets prefer digital platforms to firsthand observation, arguing the former are more capable of fending off misinformation prevalent “on the ground.” Also, there is extensive global collaboration that takes advantage of distance and time differences in order to produce more credible news about Iran and North Korea. Without having to worry about getting their access revoked, journalists can focus on issues that they consider important. Findings are consistent with what journalists have long known: It can be advantageous to see things with the added perspective of distance.
The beauty of abstraction in mathematics
Authors: Lingefjärd Thomas , Hatami Russell
Published: January 2020

This is an article about abstraction, generalization, and the beauty of mathematics. We claim that abstraction and generalization in of itself may very well be a beauty of the human mind. The fact that we humans continue to explore and expand mathematics is truly beautiful and remarkable. Many years ago, our ancestors understood that seven stones, seven fish, and seven trees represent in some sense one entity, in this case all united by the number seven. That in itself is an abstraction. We will discuss abstraction and the different beautiful properties of mathematics in relation to some examples, where we describe the connection between algebra and geometry. Modern technological tools enable and encourage us to perform mathematical investigations of a kind that was once considered difficult.
Evaluating the Feasibility of Implementing an HIV Prevention Intervention for Incarcerated African American Men: Lessons Learned From a Pilot Study
Authors: Mahaffey Carlos C. , Stevens-Watkins Danelle , Burlew A. Kathleen , Moody Myles D. , Wheeler Paris B. , Thrasher Shawndaya
Published: January 2020

This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of implementing an evidence-based, culturally adapted HIV intervention with substance-using African American men in a prison setting. We recruited 60, soon-to-be released African American male prisoners from a larger study ( N = 211) to be randomly selected for participation in the group-based HIV intervention, Real Men Are Safe–Culturally Adapted (REMAS-CA). Participants who were not selected for participation in the intervention received standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV prevention counseling education, provided during participant assessment in the larger study. Nearly all of the participants who were selected to participate (87%) completed the REMAS-CA intervention. To examine feasibility, data were collected about any revisions made to the HIV intervention components for the prison setting, time needed to implement the program in full, details of implementing the intervention to ensure participation and maintain retention, and participant perception of the intervention. Revisions to the intervention included reducing the number of sessions from five to three, modifying the protocol language based on the setting, and removing six activities deemed inappropriate and/or unallowable by the prison officials. The cultural considerations and intervention, overall, were well received by the participants. However, several revisions made specific to the prison and its administration could affect the potential effectiveness of the intervention. Future research is needed to determine the effectiveness of REMAS-CA among this community.
Design and fabrication of lab-scale wet-laid equipment to develop wet-laid nonwoven for the application of absorbent core of disposable nursing pad
Authors: Aswini M
Published: January 2020

This article deals with a newly developed lab-scale equipment fabricated to produce a wet-laid nonwoven, for the application of absorbent core of the disposable nursing pad. This equipment was designed based on the principle of filtration and thickening of fiber, such that it operates without electrical energy and less water consumption. Fully bleached pine fiber (Softwood kraft pulp) pretreated with 15% NaOH w/v was used as the raw material. Wet-laid nonwoven fabric of 200 g/m2, 300 g/m2, and 400 g/m2 mass per unit area were produced and tested for tensile strength and elongation were found to confirm the integrity of the nonwoven. Nonwoven fabric air permeability decreased with increasing mass per unit area and amount 38.08 ± 1.57 cm3/s/cm2, 29.75 ±0.49 cm3/s/cm2, 22.86 ± 0.88 cm3/s/cm2. The mean pore size was 36.42 µm, 33.66 µm, and 32.37 µm and the total absorption capacity was 20.57 ± 1.3 g/g, 30.05 ± 2.1 g/g, and 36.02 ± 0.88 g/g, respectively. SEM image shows random arrangement and interlacement of fibers and the nonwoven produced was found to be smooth, soft, and flexible using tissue softness analyser. Thus, the designed wet-laid equipment can be used to produce cost-effective wet-laid nonwovens and it is an eco-friendly setup regarding water recycling and the produced nonwoven samples are suitable for the absorbent core of the disposable nursing pad.
Circular RNA cir-ITCH Promotes Osteosarcoma Migration and Invasion through cir-ITCH/miR-7/EGFR Pathway
Authors: Li Hongbo , Lan Min , Liao Xingen , Tang Zhiming , Yang Chunli
Published: January 2020

Recent studies have suggested that circular RNAs play an important role in the progression of various cancers. We aimed to investigate the possible role of cir-ITCH in osteosarcoma. In this study, we performed experiments with the human osteoblast cell line hFOB1.19 and several osteosarcoma cancer cell lines and the results showed that the expression of cir-ITCH in osteosarcoma cancer cell lines was significantly upregulated compared to that in the human osteoblast cell line. In addition, the results showed that cir-ITCH could promote the migration, invasion, and growth of osteosarcoma cells. Further mechanistic studies revealed that cir-ITCH could enhance epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression by reducing the level of miR-7. Increased EGFR phosphorylation was found to be concomitant with high expression of EGFR. We determined that cir-ITCH-mediated increase in the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells was dependent on EGFR phosphorylation. In conclusion, our research uncovered an important role of the cir-ITCH/miR-7/EGFR pathway in the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells and suggested that cir-ITCH may be a prognostic marker and a promising therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.
Using Behavioral Theory to Enhance Occupational Safety and Health: Applications to Health Care Workers
Authors: Guerin Rebecca J. , Sleet David A.
Published: January 2020

Work-related morbidity and mortality are persistent public health problems across all US industrial sectors, including health care. People employed in health care and social services are at high risk for experiencing injuries and illnesses related to their work. Social and behavioral science theories can be useful tools for designing interventions to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses and can provide a roadmap for investigating the multilevel factors that may hinder or promote worker safety and health. Specifically, individual-level behavioral change theories can be useful in evaluating the proximal, person-related antecedents (such as perceived behavioral control) that influence work safety outcomes. This article (1) provides a brief overview of widely used, individual-level behavior change theories and examples of their application to occupational safety and health (OSH)–related interventions that involve the health care community; (2) introduces an integrated theory of behavior change and its application to promoting the OSH of health care workers; and (3) discusses opportunities for application of individual-level behavior change theory to OSH research and practice activities involving health care workers. The use of behavioral science to consider the role of individual behaviors in promoting health and preventing disease and injury provides a necessary complement to structural approaches to protecting workers in the health care industry.
Unpacking the effects of culture on school leadership and teacher learning in China
Authors: Shengnan Liu , Hallinger Philip
Published: January 2020

Teacher professional learning plays a critical role in education reform by enabling teachers to refine their professional skills and keep up with changing content knowledge, pedagogy, and trends in schooling. This study examines how and under what conditions principal instructional leadership contributes to teachers’ professional learning in mainland China. Data collected from 1194 teachers in 64 primary and middle schools in mainland China were analyzed using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping tests. The research tested a moderated mediation model of instructional leadership effects on teacher professional learning in which teacher self-efficacy was included as the mediator and power distance orientation of teachers as the moderator. The results reaffirmed the partial mediation model, finding significant direct and indirect effects of principal instructional leadership on teacher professional learning. Further model testing found that the individual power distance orientation of teachers acted as a significant moderator of principal instructional leadership effects on both teacher self-efficacy and professional learning. When teachers perceived lower power distance in relations with their principals, the effects of principal instructional leadership were stronger than for counterparts who perceived high power distance. Implications for understanding the contextualized nature of school leadership during an era of cultural change are discussed.
Responsibility to Protect goes to China: An interpretivist analysis of how China’s coexistence policy made it a Responsibility to Protect insider
Authors: Odgaard Liselotte
Published: January 2020

The article offers an interpretivist analysis of China’s coexistence approach to developing the Responsibility to Protect norm concerning atrocity crimes against civilians. The English school’s concept of great power legitimacy through coexistence is a central characteristic of its international society description of the international realm. The article uses an interpretivist approach to show how China’s coexistence foreign policy tradition was challenged by the liberal internationalist agenda of a Responsibility to Protect norm on atrocity crimes against civilians. The emergence of an alternative Chinese Responsibility to Protect concept coupling a state-centric and a people-centric approach with its focus on political and economic capacity-building of existing domestic institutions allowed China to position itself as a legitimate lifeline of liberal international institutions. The article shows how an illiberal state can become a prominent upholder of central institutions of the post-World War II liberal international order.
Why do intuitions differ? Explaining how individual and scenario features influence disgust and moral judgements on GMOs
Authors: Liu Yusi , Gao Fangfang , Zhu Yijia
Published: January 2020

Moral psychology holds that negative judgements on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are likely to be intuitive reactions driven by trait disgust without deliberation, which brings difficulty to genetic science communication. Based on two interrelated experiments examining the processes and conditions of individual and scenario features influencing disgust and moral judgement about GMOs, this study aims to identify the different routes through which disgust influences moral judgement about GMOs in the physical and social dimensions. We found that the process of elicited state disgust influencing moral judgement on GMOs is regulated by pathogen disgust sensitivity and moral disgust sensitivity. The difference in opposition to GMOs brought by preferences for precepts implied in moral theories is evidently subject to the joint effect of the disgust elicitation type and emotion reappraisal (ER). This study clarifies the relationship between disgust for GMOs and moral judgement. It also confirms the effectiveness of ER in promoting the transition of moral judgement on GMOs from intuitive reaction to deliberation, thus offering benefits for science communicators targeting audiences who differ in their preferences for precepts implied in moral theories and trait disgust.
The evolution of online discussions about GMOs in China over the past decade: Changes, causes and characteristics
Authors: Li Yang , Luo Chen , Chen Anfan
Published: January 2020

This paper uses word frequency statistics and semantic network analysis to analyse text related to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in microblog in China. We discuss the structure of the main discourses and changes in them over the past decade, explore the reasons for those changes and provide possible references that may be useful when related problems or situations occur in future. We have found that conspiracy theories permeated online discussions and that netizens’ emotions had a nationalist tendency. The GMO issue was highly socialized. Participants in online discussions were from different backgrounds, and the topics went far beyond GMO technology. The public tended to trust the government, rather than experts, while opinion leaders also played a role in guiding public opinion. The keywords in this discussion have gradually changed in recent years from clustering around ‘harmful’ to clustering around ‘scientific’, and new participation models brought about by new media have provided new reference paths for problem solving.
A Model for Developing Comprehensive Initiatives to Improve the Health of the Worksite: The WorkWell KS Strategic Framework
Authors: Ablah Elizabeth , Wilcox Elizabeth A. , Umansky Emily , Honn Allison , O’Malley Ed , Usher Jeff
Published: January 2020

Background: Worksite wellness programs that target individual employees, rather than worksites, have demonstrated limited long-term success. The purpose of this overview was to describe the theoretical basis for implementing an effective worksite wellness initiative, WorkWell Kansas (WorkWell KS). WorkWell KS is not a traditional worksite wellness initiative, as its goal is to create healthy worksites, rather than target workers. Methods: The WorkWell KS Strategic Framework is based on academic research that identified successful worksite wellness elements that produce sustainably healthy worksites. The curricula were built around the 3-4-80: three modifiable behaviors (tobacco use, poor access to nutritious foods and beverages, and physical inactivity) contribute to at least four chronic diseases (heart disease, type II diabetes, lung disease, and some cancers), which in turn contribute to approximately 80% of the premature deaths in the United States. Findings: To properly address these modifiable behaviors, the WorkWell KS Strategic Framework was developed to guide worksites to first build a solid worksite wellness foundation, which consists of five elements: the wellness committee, exercising leadership, communications, incentives, and data. Once built, worksites are then encouraged to employ a socio-ecological approach to developing a comprehensive, multi-strategy (information, program, benefit design, policy, and environment) intervention, focusing on one health behavior at a time. Conclusions/Application to Practice: The goal of WorkWell KS was to create healthy worksites, which creates environments for employees to practice these healthy behaviors. Worksite wellness committees, occupational health professionals, and others interested in altering health behaviors at worksites have an opportunity to reframe their approach using this framework.
The Comorbidity of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Depression: Associations with Working Conditions Among Hospital Nurses
Authors: Zhang Yuan , ElGhaziri Mazen , Nasuti Sarah , Duffy Jeanne F.
Published: January 2020

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the leading cause of pain and disability among nurses and are frequently accompanied by depression. However, the association between the comorbidity of MSDs and depression and working conditions has not been studied, which was the aim of this study. Methods: In 2015, all nurses ( n = 1,102) employed at a community hospital in the Northeast United States were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. A survey was distributed in which participants were asked to report on MSDs, depressive symptoms, as well as subjective working conditions assessed including physical demands, psychological demands, decision authority, social support, and work–family conflict. Findings: 397 nurses responded (36%), and the prevalence of the comorbidity of MSDs and depression was 14.5%. Poisson regression (PR) models suggested that work–family conflict was associated with increased risk of the comorbidity (PR = 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.33–3.58), as was 8-hour night shift (PR = 2.77; 95% CI = [1.22, 6.31]) or 12-hour day shift (PR = 2.20; 95% CI = [1.07, 4.50]). Other working conditions were not directly associated with the comorbidity. Conclusions/Application to Practice: The comorbidity of MSDs and depression is prevalent among hospital nurses, and work–family conflict and working night shift or longer shifts were significantly associated with this. Effective workplace programs are needed to address nurses’ working conditions to reduce their work–family conflict, thereby improving their musculoskeletal and mental health.
Rhetoric, Materiality, and the Disruption of Meaning: The Stadium as a Place of Protest
Authors: Cavaiani Anthony C.
Published: January 2020

Recently, athlete protests about social injustice have garnered much attention from fans and the media. An element frequently overlooked is the role of place in sports protests. Stadiums are iconic markers of identity for communities and play a significant role in the media’s representation of sports games. Informed by Endres and Senda-Cook’s research about place-in-protest, I argue how the Botham Jean and O’Shae Terry protests outside AT&T Stadium in Dallas functioned as place-as-rhetoric to build on the intended purpose of the stadium while temporarily reconstructing its meaning. This material enactment is achieved by the stadium serving as a performative space that authorizes new meaning onto the stadium and surrounding space while heralding it as a champion marker of social justice. I position my analysis within a framework that understands how sports stadiums deploy material rhetoric in ways that produce embodied rhetoric and ephemeral rhetoric that legitimize the Jean and Terry protests as social justice protests. I argue that the stadium functions as place-in-rhetoric to capitalize on its mobilization of fandom in order to amplify social justice messages to a wider audience.
Instruction Quality or Working Condition? The Effects of Part-Time Faculty on Student Academic Outcomes in Community College Introductory Courses
Authors: Ran Florence Xiaotao , Sanders Jasmine
Published: January 2020

More than half of community college courses are taught by part-time faculty. Drawing on data from six community colleges, this study estimates the effects of part-time faculty versus full-time faculty on students’ current and subsequent course outcomes in developmental and gateway courses, using course fixed effects and propensity score matching to minimize bias arising from student self-sorting across and within courses. We find that part-time faculty have negative effects on student subsequent enrollments. These negative effects are driven by results in math courses. We also find that course schedules could explain substantial proportions of the estimated negative effects, while faculty individual characteristics could not. Survey results on faculty professional experiences suggest that part-time faculty had less institutional knowledge regarding both academic and nonacademic services. We infer that inferior working conditions for part-time faculty, rather than inferior instructional practices, contribute to the negative effects we observed on students’ subsequent course enrollment.
Cold Application on Bruising at the Subcutaneous Heparin Injection Site: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Amaniyan Sara , Ghobadi Akram , Vaismoradi Mojtaba
Published: January 2020

Despite the documented clinical efficacy, the injection of subcutaneous heparin can be associated with adverse drug reactions including bruising at the injection site. This study sought to systematically assess current evidence regarding the effect of cold application as a fundamental nursing intervention on the occurrence and size of bruising at the injection site in patients receiving subcutaneous heparin. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies was performed. Web of Knowledge, PubMed (including MEDLINE), Scopus, Embase, Cochrane library, gray literature, and cross‐referencing from reference lists were searched from 2000 to 2019. Quality of selected studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias appraisal tool for randomized controlled trials and the JBI MASTARI appraisal tool for quasi-experimental studies. The search yielded 3,220 articles, but consideration of inclusion criteria led to final selection of 9 articles. The meta-analysis showed that cold application significantly reduced the relative occurrence of bruising at the subcutaneous heparin injection site by 40% (relative risk, 0.60; 95% confidence interval [0.39, 0.91]) and reduced the bruising size (standardized mean difference, −2.78; 95% confidence interval [−4.34, −1.22]). Cold application as a fundamental nursing intervention can be an effective intervention to prevent adverse drug reactions at the injection site in terms of the occurrence and size of bruising in patients receiving subcutaneous heparin.
Gender, nature and nation: Resource nationalism on primary sector reality TV
Authors: Clark Kendal , Hawkins Roberta , Silver Jennifer J
Published: January 2020

A number of media companies in the United States broadcast reality TV series that chronicle lives, conflicts and economic highs and lows in the primary sector of the economy. This is curious from a cultural standpoint because employment in the primary sector has plateaued, and, in many regions, is in active decline. This paper examines primary sector reality TV series about fishing, logging and mining televised to audiences in the United States by broadcast networks Discovery and National Geographic. Using discourse and visual analysis, we deconstruct prominent nature–society representations in a sample of 100 episodes systematically selected from 15 different series. Three points emerge from the data and are generalizable across the series. First, nearly all characters are male, and storylines suggest that successful men are competitive, strong and brave. Second, hegemonic masculinity is made legible in contrast to a feminized nature that is almost always suggested to be acting against male protagonists. Third, US symbolism is common, and Americans are presented as ideally skilled and situated to exploit natural resources within and beyond domestic borders. Overall, the series mediate a highly gendered nature–society relation that weaves together hegemonic masculinity and resource nationalism. We conclude that viewers – many of whom will have little personal experience of primary sector work – are invited to relate with concern for the ‘real-life’ characters and with anxiety for the future of a specific identity and associated set of labour and consumption practices.
Fabrication of High-Quality and Strain-Relaxed GeSn Microdisks by Integrating Selective Epitaxial Growth and Selective Wet Etching Methods
Authors: Zhu Guangjian , Liu Tao , Zhong Zhenyang , Yang Xinju , Wang Liming , Jiang Zuimin
Published: January 2020

GeSn is a promising material for the fabrication of on-chip photonic and nanoelectronic devices. Processing techniques dedicated to GeSn have thus been developed, including epitaxy, annealing, ion implantation, and etching. In this work, suspended, strain-relaxed, and high-quality GeSn microdisks are realized by a new approach without any etching to GeSn alloy. The GeSn alloy was grown on pre-patterned Ge (001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy at low temperatures. The transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to determine the microstructures of the GeSn samples. The microdisks with different diameters of Ge pedestals were fabricated by controlling the selective wet etching time, and micro-Raman results show that the microdisks with different dimensions of the remaining Ge pedestals have different extents of strain relaxation. The compressive strain of microdisks is almost completely relaxed under suitable conditions. The semiconductor processing technology presented in this work can be an alternative method to fabricate innovative GeSn and other materials based micro/nano-structures for a range of Si-compatible photonics, 3D-MOSFETs, and microelectromechanical device applications.
Comparison of CRISPR-Cas9/Cas12a Ribonucleoprotein Complexes for Genome Editing Efficiency in the Rice Phytoene Desaturase (OsPDS) Gene
Authors: Banakar Raviraj , Schubert Mollie , Collingwood Michael , Vakulskas Christopher , Eggenberger Alan L. , Wang Kan
Published: January 2020

Background

Delivery of CRISPR reagents into cells as ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes enables transient editing, and avoids CRISPR reagent integration in the genomes. Another technical advantage is that RNP delivery can bypass the need of cloning and vector construction steps. In this work we compared efficacies and types of edits for three Cas9 (WT Cas9 nuclease, HiFi Cas9 nuclease, Cas9 D10A nickase) and two Cas12a nucleases (AsCas12a and LbCas12a), using the rice phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene as a target site.

Findings

Delivery of two Cas9 nucleases (WT Cas9, and HiFi Cas9) and one Cas12a nuclease (LbCas12a) resulted in targeted mutagenesis of the PDS gene. LbCas12a had a higher editing efficiency than that of WT Cas9 and HiFi Cas9. Editing by Cas9 enzymes resulted in indels (1–2 bp) or larger deletions between 20-bp to 30-bp, which included the loss of the PAM site; whereas LbCas12a editing resulted in deletions ranging between 2 bp to 20 bp without the loss of the PAM site.

Conclusions

In this work, when a single target site of the rice gene OsPDS was evaluated, the LbCas12a RNP complex achieved a higher targeted mutagenesis frequency than the AsCas12a or Cas9 RNPs.
A potential new mechanism for pregnancy loss: considering the role of LINE-1 retrotransposons in early spontaneous miscarriage
Authors: Lou Chao , Goodier John L. , Qiang Rong
Published: January 2020

LINE1 retrotransposons are mobile DNA elements that copy and paste themselves into new sites in the genome. To ensure their evolutionary success, heritable new LINE-1 insertions accumulate in cells that can transmit genetic information to the next generation (i.e., germ cells and embryonic stem cells). It is our hypothesis that LINE1 retrotransposons, insertional mutagens that affect expression of genes, may be causal agents of early miscarriage in humans. The cell has evolved various defenses restricting retrotransposition-caused mutation, but these are occasionally relaxed in certain somatic cell types, including those of the early embryo. We predict that reduced suppression of L1s in germ cells or early-stage embryos may lead to excessive genome mutation by retrotransposon insertion, or to the induction of an inflammatory response or apoptosis due to increased expression of L1-derived nucleic acids and proteins, and so disrupt gene function important for embryogenesis. If correct, a novel threat to normal human development is revealed, and reverse transcriptase therapy could be one future strategy for controlling this cause of embryonic damage in patients with recurrent miscarriages.