bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are Australian regulatory codes adequate in scope to protect youth from alcohol advertising?
Authors: Jongenelis Michelle I. , Pierce Hannah , Keric Danica , Stafford Julia , Jongenelis Gregory , Pettigrew Simone
Published: August 2020

Issue addressed

Exposure to alcohol advertising has been found to be associated with more positive attitudes toward alcohol and heavier drinking among youth. Appropriate regulation of alcohol advertising is thus crucial for reducing use among members of this population group. To assist policy makers in their alcohol control efforts, this study explored the scope of Australian alcohol advertising codes and the extent to which they address issues relating to youth exposure.

Methods

Two researchers assessed 628 unique alcohol advertisements against youth‐related provisions of the Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) Code and Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC). A third researcher resolved discrepancies. The ads sampled were those that had been the subject of formal complaints to the AARB.

Results

Most (94%) ads were assessed as violating at least one of the AARB Code provisions relating to youth, while 36% were found to violate at least one of the ABAC youth provisions. The most frequently violated AARB Code provision related to placement, with 88% of ads located in places or broadcast at times where young people were likely to be exposed. The most frequently violated ABAC provision related to appeal to minors (33%).

Conclusions

Results indicate that self‐regulation is an ineffective means of protecting youth from alcohol advertising, with the ABAC failing to capture many ads featuring content that appeals to youth.

So What?

Greater efforts are required to protect youth from alcohol advertising. Findings from the present study reinforce calls for mandatory, evidence‐based regulation that is administered independently of the alcohol industry.

An analysis of 628 unique alcohol advertisements found that the vast majority were in violation of the AARB Code's youth‐related provisions whereas substantially fewer were in violation of the ABAC, supporting arguments that self‐regulation is an ineffective means of protecting youth from alcohol advertising.
Impact of COVID‐19 on access to healthcare in low‐ and middle‐income countries: Current evidence and future recommendations
Authors: Okereke Melody , Ukor Nelson Ashinedu , Adebisi Yusuff Adebayo , Ogunkola Isaac Olushola , Favour Iyagbaye Eseosa , Adiela Owhor Greatman , Lucero‐Prisno Don Eliseo
Published: August 2020

The COVID‐19 pandemic continues to be a major public health threat globally and low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) are not an exception. The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic is far‐reaching on many areas including but not limited to global health security, economic and healthcare delivery with a potential impact on access to healthcare in LMICs. We evaluate the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on access to healthcare in LMICs, as well as plausible strategies that can be put in place to ensure that the delivery of healthcare is not halted. In order to mitigate the devastating effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the already weak health systems in LMICs, it is much necessary to reinforce and scale up interventions and proactive measures that will ensure that access to healthcare is not disrupted even in course of the pandemic.
Energising courts to continue breaking new ground in insolvency and restructuring cases
Authors: Wessels Bob
Published: August 2020

The role of judges in restructuring and insolvency proceedings has been of particular interest to the EU legislator in recent years. It is in matters of insolvency and restructuring that a court and its judges have to fulfil a set of five criteria: (a) a general understanding of business management (so as not to assume managerial tasks), (b) understanding what is needed to effectively enforce the rights of both secured and unsecured creditors outside of insolvency proceedings (as, for instance, a stay may influence pre‐insolvency enforcement rights), (c), preferably, be a specialist in commercial matters, (d) be impartial and independent, and (e) where practical, have specialised insolvency expertise. Where businesses are operating across borders, the latter criterion includes cross‐border knowhow.During the 20th century, several steps have been developed with the aim of improving the environment within which these criteria can be met. Courts themselves may wish to improve their level of quality and effectiveness. In this contribution, several examples are discussed that have been put in place or will emerge soon that can enhance the court's professional standing and its performance, in (international) insolvency and restructuring, as a “good” judge. These developments may assist Member States in improving their judicial frameworks, as well as (associations of) members of courts or judicial and administrative authorities dealing with procedures concerning insolvency and restructuring in developing the necessary expertise for their responsibilities as formulated in the EU Preventive Restructuring Directive. Moreover, the duty of cross‐border cooperation between courts in EU law underpins the discussion and the importance of cooperation as is underscored by the adoption of this Directive.
Clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of therapy‐related hematological disorders in women with epithelial ovarian cancer treated with chemotherapy and poly‐ADP‐ribose polymerase inhibitors: A single‐center experience
Authors: Todisco Elisabetta , Gigli Federica , Mantiero Mara , Sammassimo Simona , Pastano Rocco , Ronchini Chiara , Parma Gabriella , Lapresa Maria Teresa , Iori Anna Paola , Bertolini Francesco , Corsini Chiara , Gregato Giuliana , Poletti Claudia , Colombo Nicoletta , Tarella Corrado
Published: August 2020

We investigated the occurrence and management of therapy‐related hematological disorders (tr‐HDs) in women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) exposed to poly‐ADP‐ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi), after previous chemotherapy. We analyzed 130 consecutive EOC patients treated with PARPi at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan. In line with the literature, overall survival of the entire population was 37% at 5.5 years (89% were advanced stages). Cell blood counts were collected prior to start PARPi, at each new cycle and at monthly intervals. Patients displaying persistent and/or marked hematological abnormalities underwent bone marrow evaluation, with cytogenetic and molecular analysis. Nine patients (6,9%) developed tr‐HDs, after a median 22.8 months of PARPi exposure. Two patients died early and could not be treated. Two patients have no indication for active treatment and are presently under close hematological monitoring. Five patients underwent chemotherapy followed, in three cases, by allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation: three patients are in complete remission of their hematological and gynecological malignancies at 13, 19, and 25 months; the remaining two patients died due to progression of their hematological disease. We show the potential risk of hematological disorders in EOC patients treated with chemotherapy and prolonged PARPi therapy. In our series, tr‐HDs incidence was higher compared to recent reports in large series. Our observations suggest careful monitoring in order to conclusively define, on large series and prolonged follow‐up, the actual risk of tr‐HDs in patients under PARPi. Notably, prompt diagnosis of hematological abnormalities and appropriate management allow achievement of remission from severe hematological complications, at least in most patients.
Association between breast cancer risk and disease aggressiveness: Characterizing underlying gene expression patterns
Authors: Ugalde‐Morales Emilio , Grassmann Felix , Humphreys Keith , Li Jingmei , Eriksson Mikael , Tobin Nicholas P. , Borg Åke , Vallon‐Christersson Johan , Hall Per , Czene Kamila
Published: August 2020

The association between breast cancer risk defined by the Tyrer‐Cuzick score (TC) and disease prognosis is not well established. Here, we investigated the relationship between 5‐year TC and disease aggressiveness and then characterized underlying molecular processes. In a case‐only study (n = 2474), we studied the association of TC with molecular subtypes and tumor characteristics. In a subset of patients (n = 672), we correlated gene expression to TC and computed a low‐risk TC gene expression (TC‐Gx) profile, that is, a profile expected to be negatively associated with risk, which we used to test for association with disease aggressiveness. We performed enrichment analysis to pinpoint molecular processes likely to be altered in low‐risk tumors. A higher TC was found to be inversely associated with more aggressive surrogate molecular subtypes and tumor characteristics (P < .05) including Ki‐67 proliferation status (P < 5 × 10−07). Our low‐risk TC‐Gx, based on the weighted sum of 37 expression values of genes strongly correlated with TC, was associated with basal‐like (P < 5 × 10−13), HER2‐enriched subtype (P < 5 × 10−07) and worse 10‐year breast cancer‐specific survival (log‐rank P < 5 × 10−04). Associations between low‐risk TC‐Gx and more aggressive molecular subtypes were replicated in an independent cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas database (n = 975). Gene expression that correlated with low TC was enriched in proliferation and oncogenic signaling pathways (FDR < 0.05). Moreover, higher proliferation was a key factor explaining the association with worse survival. Women who developed breast cancer despite having a low risk were diagnosed with more aggressive tumors and had a worse prognosis, most likely driven by increased proliferation. Our findings imply the need to establish risk factors associated with more aggressive breast cancer subtypes.
Aspects of financial development and manufacturing and services growth: Which matter?
Authors: Daway‐Ducanes Sarah Lynne Salvador , Gochoco‐Bautista Maria Socorro
Published: August 2020

Financial development (FD) is multi‐faceted and it is not always clear how best to characterize the type or aspect of FD that matters for growth outcomes. Using two‐step system generalized method of moments on the IMF FD indices and a panel dataset of 108 countries spanning seven, 5‐year period averages from 1987 to 2016, this article finds that certain aspects of FD matter more than others in developing economies: financial market (FM) depth, efficiency and access matter for services growth, while both FM and financial institution (FI) depth and FM access matter for manufacturing growth, highlighting the existing complementarities between certain aspects of FI‐ and FM‐based systems that are conducive to growth. These results suggest the importance of developing and strengthening domestic institutions and implementing policies that would be conducive to the faster integration of new technologies towards the better intermediation and use of financial capital for growth and development objectives, without destabilizing the financial sector.
A heterogeneous ensemble credit scoring model based on adaptive classifier selection: An application on imbalanced data
Authors: Zhang Tong , Chi Guotai
Published: August 2020

In the domain of credit scoring, the number of bad clients is far less than that of good ones. So imbalanced data classification is a realisitc and critical issue in the credit scoring process. In this study, a novel heterogeneous ensemble credit scoring model is proposed for the problem of imbalanced data classification. This proposed model is on basis of five standard classifiers, namely LSVM, KNN, MDA, DT, LR, and adaptively selects the base classifiers with highest AUC according to the data distribution, then integrates all base classifiers to obtain a prediction. Finally, by using five comprehensive performance measures and four classical credit datasets, we find that the proposed model is better than other baseline models. This novel model can be applied to actual credit scoring and assist financial institutions in credit risk management.
Bank connections and small business performance: Evidence from Canadian survey data
Authors: Gill Amarjit , Wilson Craig
Published: August 2020

We investigate how, as a form of social capital, connections between small business owners and their bankers affect the performance of small businesses in Canada through influencing capital structure efficiency. Owners of private Canadian small businesses were asked about their perceptions regarding bank connections, capital structure efficiency, and the performance of their small businesses. Using principal component analysis, we find that bank connections help small business owners improve capital structure efficiency. Connections are also associated with lower interest rates; however, we find that they improve performance primarily through their improvement of capital structure efficiency rather than reduced interest rates. These findings may prove practically useful for business owners, bankers, and other stakeholders by illustrating how effective policies that help link small business owners with bankers can improve firm performance through access to capital and professional advice.
Determinants of non‐performing loans, firm's corporate governance and macroeconomic factors
Authors: Lee Joe‐Ming , Chen Ku‐Hsieh , Chang I‐Chia , Chen Chih‐Chun
Published: August 2020

According to this paper results show that share collateralization by directors of firms with bank's non‐performing loan has a significant positive relationship. On the other hand, the related party transaction of firm and bank's non‐performing loans has a significant positive relationship, indicating that bad corporate governance is an important warning for the firm or the bank. Financial intermediaries of bank in particular have special attributes that intensify standard corporate governance problems. Moreover, Banks only pay attention to the surface of the financial policy capacity, will become an obstacle to observe the perpetrators of sustainable business. It is inevitable that the bank's NPL ratio is affected by macroeconomic factors is very significant.
The most consistent and reliable predictors of corporate financial choices in Pakistan: New evidence usingBICestimation
Authors: Shahzad Umeair , Luo Fukai , Liu Jing , Faisal Mahmood , Ullah Hafeez
Published: August 2020

The current literature contradicts over the basic predictors of corporate financial choices in Pakistan. This study reports profitability (−ve), liquidity (−ve), industry leverage (+ve), cash holding (−ve), tangibility (+ve), and size (+ve) as reliable predictors explaining book leverage. The study mainly applies Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC) to control predictors' overfitting issues. Evaluated with the United State and other countries, we report the diversity of capital structure decisions in Pakistani listed firms. This study finds the reliability of some residuals on reinforcement with the core predictors' regression model but they do not meet the standard as a core determinant. Our predictors are reliable to explain the capital structure of sample firms across their level of size, growth, maturity, and ownership concentration. We expect that our six basic predictors will contribute to the prospective study on corporate financial choices in Pakistan.
Sustaining Economic Growth in COMESA: Challenges and Prospects
Authors: Adika Gameli
Published: August 2020

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) achieved an average growth rate of 5.1% between 2005 and 2014. However, economic growth in the region plunged from 6.5% recorded in 2014 down to 6.0% in 2015 and reduced drastically to 3.5% in 2016. This study employs the generalized two‐stage least square instrumental variables regression to examine growth catalysts and the challenges and prospects of sustaining economic growth. The empirical results suggest that external resources significantly promote economic growth and pose a significant threat to growth sustainability, given the uncertainty and globally declining trend in external resource inflows to Africa. Furthermore, the domestic savings rate was found to contribute significantly to economic growth, indicating that the sustainability of economic growth will require a deliberate effort to mobilize domestic resources. Finally, the study established that, while participation in the COMESA trading bloc by member‐countries does not significantly impact the region, the joint participation of some COMESA members in both COMESA and Southern African Development Community (SADC) trading blocs has a detrimental effect on economic growth in the region.
Modelling cryptocurrencyhigh–lowprices using fractional cointegratingVAR
Authors: Yaya OlaOluwa S. , Vo Xuan Vinh , Ogbonna Ahamuefula E. , Adewuyi Adeolu O.
Published: August 2020

This paper empirically provides support for fractional cointegration of high and low cryptocurrency price series, using particularly, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple; synchronized at different high time frequencies. The difference of high and low price gives the price range, and the range‐based estimator of volatility is more efficient than the return‐based estimator of realized volatility. A more general fractional cointegration technique applied is the Fractional Cointegrating Vector Autoregressive framework. The results show that high and low cryptocurrency prices are actually cointegrated in both stationary and non‐stationary levels; that is, the range of high–low price. It is therefore quite interesting to note that the fractional cointegration approach presents a lower measure of the persistence for the range compared to the fractional integration approach, and the results are insensitive to different time frequencies. The main finding in this work serves as an alternative volatility estimation method in cryptocurrency and other assets' price modelling and forecasting.
Predicting the volatility of crude oil futures: The roles of leverage effects and structural changes
Authors: Gong Xu , Lin Boqiang
Published: August 2020

This paper investigates whether leverage effects and structural changes have positive effects on the volatility prediction of crude oil futures. On the basis of existing HAR models, this paper proposes three classes of new HAR models by considering leverage effects, structural changes, or both. The in‐sample and out‐of‐sample results show that leverage effects and structural changes contain significant information for predicting oil volatility. In most cases, structural changes have more in‐sample and out‐of‐sample incremental information than leverage effect, whereas leverage effects have more out‐of‐sample information for predicting 1‐day volatility. In addition, HAR models with leverage effects and structural changes have better in‐sample and out‐of‐sample performances than the corresponding other three classes of HAR models. The above results mean that leverage effects and structural changes should be considered while modelling and forecasting oil volatility.
FDI inflows and economic growth in Arab region: The institutional quality channel
Authors: Aziz Omar G.
Published: August 2020

This study empirically investigates the possible role of institutional quality in absorbing foreign direct investment (FDI) flows' spillovers for growth in a group of Arab countries. The analysis is performed by employing system GMM estimation in panel data comprising 11 Arab countries over the period 1988–2012. It develops overall indexes of doing business and economic freedom indicators using the principal components analysis (PCA) as weights. The study finds that the quality of institutions plays an important role in enhancing economic growth via indirect impact by absorbing spillovers of FDI inflows. On the one hand, the study reveals that greater macroeconomic stability and financial development have a positive influence on growth. The results of this study have several implications for policy makers.
Islamic portfolio optimization under systemic risk: Vine Copula‐CoVaR based model
Authors: Braiek Sana , Bedoui Rihab , Belkacem Lotfi
Published: August 2020

We propose a new methodology based on CoVaR to optimize Islamic portfolio. First, we generate the return distribution using the ARMA‐FIAPARCH and ARMA‐FIGARCH model. Then, we transform the standardized residuals onto copula scale using the empirical cumulative distribution function. Thereafter, using the best vine‐copula fits, we computed downside and upside risk. We obtained CoVaR of the market (sectors), conditional on the VaR for sectors (market) returns. We find the optimized portfolio wt through mean‐CoVaR optimization. The empirical results of Islamic industry show that the optimal allocation is influenced by the existence of systemic risk. Thus, when comparing the mean‐CoVaR model with the mean–Variance model we find that mean‐CoVaR more performant in optimization. The minimum risk portfolio allocation is influenced by the existence of systemic risk, the interdependence structure between sectors and the optimization model. Our findings offer a better understanding of the allocation during the crisis period which is very valuable for the international investors, multinational corporations and portfolio managers.
Hedging capabilities of Bitcoin for Asian currencies
Authors: Kinkyo Takuji
Published: August 2020

This study investigates whether Bitcoin (BTC) can provide a hedge against the fiat currencies in Asia over various investment horizons. We focus on Asia because it is one of the fastest‐growing regions worldwide, where cryptocurrencies are actively traded. A wavelet transform technique is combined with a multivariate factor stochastic volatility (SV) model to examine the dynamic correlation properties and risk reduction effectiveness of BTC in both the time and frequency domains. We use gold and oil as benchmarks and compared their results with those of BTC. The estimated correlations indicate that the Asian currencies tend to be negatively correlated with BTC; therefore, the latter could provide a hedge against the former over the medium (8–32 days) and long (32–64 days) terms. By contrast, Asian currencies tend to be positively correlated with oil and gold for the same horizons. We also analyze the downside risk reduction effectiveness of BTC for the portfolio of Asian currencies and find that BTC provides better risk reduction than oil and gold, particularly over the medium and long terms. This study makes significant contributions to the literature by demonstrating that the correlation properties and risk reduction effectiveness of BTC differ depending on the investment horizons. We believe our findings using the wavelet‐based SV model can help heterogeneous investors detect portfolio risks and thus, identify optimal hedging strategies over various investment horizons.
Postpartum metabolic syndrome and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein after gestational hypertension and pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Osoti Alfred O. , Page Stephanie T. , Richardson Barbra A. , Guthrie Brandon L. , Kinuthia John , Polyak Stephen J. , Farquhar Carey
Published: August 2020

Objective

To evaluate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hsCRP), a biomarker of chronic inflammation and an independent predictor for cardiovascular disease overall and in subgroups of women with/without pre‐eclampsia and gestational hypertension (GHT).

Methods

A prospective cohort study was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya. Women with pre‐eclampsia or GHT and normotensive women within 12 weeks postpartum underwent physical, anthropometric, fasting lipid profile, plasma glucose, and hsCRP measurements at 6 months postpartum. A generalized linear regression model with Poisson distribution adjusted for body mass index and age was used to estimate the association between elevated hsCRP and MetS overall and stratified by pre‐eclampsia or GHT.

Results

In the 171 women included in the study, risk of elevated hsCRP (>3 mg/L) was greater among women with compared to those without MetS (adjusted relative risk [ARR] 1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–2.73, P=0.03) and was statistically significantly higher in the hypertensive (ARR 2.16 95% CI 1.01–4.62, P=0.04) but not in the normotensive (ARR 1.46, 95% CI 0.93–2.28) group.

Conclusion

Increased risk of elevated hsCRP postpartum can guide longitudinal mechanistic and intervention studies to reduce postpartum cardiovascular morbidity in women with MetS, especially after pre‐eclampsia or GHT.
Masked acute rejection of the graft kidney under the recovery of native kidneys in a patient who underwent simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation
Authors: Hattahara Kodai , Sawada Atsuro , Sakai Kaoru , Teramoto Yuki , Nakamoto Yuji , Okajima Hideaki , Yamasaki Toshinari , Inoue Takahiro , Ogawa Osamu , Kobayashi Takashi
Published: August 2020

Introduction

Simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation is a life‐saving procedure for patients with liver failure and irreversible renal dysfunction. However, some studies have reported the recovery of native renal function after simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation.

Case presentation

A 33‐year‐old woman initially underwent living‐donor liver transplantation for liver failure. When graft liver failure developed, she also sustained acute renal failure and required continuous hemodiafiltration for 6 weeks. Simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation from a brain‐dead donor recovered her liver and renal function. A 1‐year protocol graft kidney biopsy revealed acute cellular rejection despite stable serum creatinine levels. Renal scintigraphy showed functional native kidneys masking acute rejection of the graft kidney. The rejection was improved by pulse steroid therapy.

Conclusion

Acute rejection of the graft kidney may silently progress due to recovery of the native kidney function after simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation. Renal scintigraphy and graft kidney biopsy should be considered even if blood tests indicate stable total renal function.
Immediate ileal ureter replacement for ureteral avulsion during ureterescopy
Authors: Ragonese Mauro , Foschi Nazario , Pinto Francesco , Di Gianfrancesco Luca , Bassi Pierfrancesco , Racioppi Marco
Published: August 2020

Introduction

Complete ureteral avulsion represents a rare and fearsome complication of ureteroscopy, reported in less than 1% of cases. In literature there are few reports and different options are presented for its treatment. We present a case of a ureteral avulsion managed with ileal ureter replacement.

Case presentation

A 67‐year‐old man with a left proximal ureter stone was treated at our department with ureteroscopy. During retrieval of the instrument a complete ureteral avulsion was discovered, with a so‐called “scabbard lesion”. We decided to proceed with immediate laparotomy and we performed a ileal ureter replacement.

Conclusion

Ureteral avulsion is a rare complication but must be known as a possible complication in high volume center. There is no standard definition regarding its treatment, and in our experience immediate treatment with ileal ureter replacement proved to be safe and effective without any changes in renal function.
Dual‐pathway DenseNets with fully lateral connections for multimodal brain tumor segmentation
Authors: Hu Jingyu , Gu Xiaojing , Gu Xingsheng
Published: August 2020

Multimodal medical image data provide different structured and functional information, which helps segment brain tumor and gets a reliable and accurate diagnosis. Segmenting brain tumors in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a challenging task because brain tumors can be at any location with changeable shape and size. Existing deep neural networks for brain tumor segmentation use few connections to fuse multilevel information. To make use of multilevel information from multimodal MRIs, we propose dual‐pathway DenseNets with fully lateral connections (DP‐DenseNets), a three‐dimensional (3D) fully convolutional neural network that uses dense connectivity to construct dual‐pathway architecture to multimodal brain tumor segmentation problem. Each two similar imaging modalities have a pathway, for one thing, the bottom‐up pathway with dense connectivity is developed for extracting features; another, the top‐down pathway concatenates the features of the bottom‐up pathway in all layers. Dual pathways with different loss functions and fully lateral connectivity from the bottom‐up pathway to the top‐down pathway provide an abundant combination of different levels of features. Comparing to these fusion schemes such as input‐level fusion and later‐level fusion, this architecture leverages semantics from low to high levels, which is provided by fully lateral connectivity. Our model is evaluated on the dataset from Brain Tumor Segmentation Challenge 2017 (BRATS 2017), and the experiments show that our method achieves better performance than other 3D networks.
What we know and don't know about the socioeconomic impacts of mobile money in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review
Authors: Nan Wenxiu (Vince) , Zhu Xiaolin (Christina) , Lynne Markus M.
Published: August 2020

Mobile money has been viewed as transformative in developing countries, because it provides basic financial services via mobile phones to people who lack easy access to formal financial services such as bank accounts. Given its accessibility, security, and affordability, mobile money has been increasingly touted as a promising digital solution for socioeconomic development in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Despite its potentially disruptive impacts, research on this innovation remains fragmentary. To take stock of what is known and to advance future research, a systematic review was conducted of 82 empirical academic studies on the socioeconomic impacts of mobile money in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Results show that mobile money, when widely used in Sub‐Saharan African countries, has enabled a wide range of socioeconomic benefits at multiple levels including household welfare, business benefits, community development, financial development, and country well‐being. In addition, the systematic review reveals multifaceted research biases and gaps in the literature and accordingly suggests promising directions for future research.
Influence of Changes in Soft Tissue Composition on Changes in Bone Strength in Peripubertal Girls: The STAR Longitudinal Study
Authors: Bland Victoria L , Bea Jennifer W , Blew Robert M , Roe Denise J , Lee Vinson R , Funk Janet L , Going Scott B
Published: August 2020

Obesity and osteoporosis remain two major public health concerns. Soft tissue composition and bone are interrelated; however, it is still not well understood how changes in adiposity during adolescence affect bone development. The aim of this study was to assess how changes in DXA-derived total body lean mass (TBLM) and total body fat mass (TBFM) associate with 2-year changes in bone outcomes at the 20% femur, 66% tibia, 66% radius, and 4% tibia, as measured by pQCT, during the years surrounding the onset of menarche in a cohort of 9- to 12-year-old (baseline) adolescent girls (70% Hispanic). From baseline to 2-year follow-up, girls showed statistically significant increases in all bone outcomes, except radial endosteal circumference. In separate linear regression models, change in TBLM and change in TBFM were both positively associated with 2-year changes in bone outcomes at all measured bone sites, after controlling for relevant covariates. However, when change in TBLM and change in TBFM were included in the same model, change in TBLM was the predominant predictor of bone outcomes, explaining 4% to 14% of the variance in bone strength outcomes. Change in TBFM remained a positive predictor of tibia polar strength strain index (SSIp) (2% variance explained). A significant interaction between change in TBFM and menarcheal status was identified at the radius for SSIp and indicated that greater gains in TBFM were beneficial for SSIp in girls that were premenarcheal at baseline but detrimental for girls who were postmenarcheal at baseline. The overall findings suggest that changes in TBLM during the peripubertal years have a greater influence on bone outcomes than changes in TBFM. While gains in TBFM might benefit the weight bearing 66% tibia, greater gains in TBFM may be detrimental to bone development at the non-weight bearing 66% radius after the onset of menarche. © 2020 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).
Mandatory CSR disclosure and firm investment behavior: Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment in China
Authors: Makosa Lewis , Yang Jinkun , Sitsha Lovemore , Jachi Moses
Published: August 2020

In this article, we examine the effect of mandatory disclosure of corporate social responsibility on firm's investment behavior. Our analysis exploits China's 2008 mandatory requirement that firms disclose their corporate social responsibility activities. Using difference‐in‐difference design, the study finds that firms that were made to report their corporate social responsibility experience a decrease in the level of investment, but the firm investment efficiency improved, especially on alleviating over‐investments. These findings suggest that mandatory CSR disclosure alters firm investment behavior and the implementation of such a disclosure requirement may need the government support.
Slow Accumulation and Elimination of Diazepam and Its Active Metabolite With Extended Treatment in the Elderly
Authors: Greenblatt David J. , Harmatz Jerold S. , Zhang Qingchen , Chen Yuxi , Shader Richard I.
Published: August 2020

Age‐related changes in disposition of diazepam and its principal active metabolite, desmethyldiazepam (DMDZ), during and after extended dosage with diazepam were studied in healthy volunteers. Eight elderly subjects (ages 61‐78 years) and 7 young subjects (21‐33 years) received 2.5 mg of diazepam twice daily for 15 days. Predose (trough) concentrations of diazepam and DMDZ were measured during the 15 days of dosing, and in the postdosage washout period. Kinetic properties were determined by nonlinear regression using a sequential drug‐to‐metabolite pharmacokinetic model. Steady‐state plasma concentrations of diazepam and DMDZ were 30% to 35% higher in elderly subjects compared to young volunteers, and steady‐state clearances correspondingly lower, though differences did not reach significance. Large and significant differences were found between young and elderly groups in mean half‐life of diazepam (31 vs 86 hours; P < .005) and DMDZ (40 vs 80 hours; P < .02). Half‐life values from the multiple‐dose study were closely correlated with values from previous single‐dose studies of diazepam (R2 = 0.85) and DMDZ (R2 = 0.94) in the same subjects. With extended dosing of diazepam in the elderly, slow accumulation and delayed washout of diazepam and DMDZ is probable. After discontinuation, withdrawal or rebound effects are reduced in likelihood, but delayed recovery from sedative effects is possible due to slow elimination of active compounds. Safe treatment of elderly patients with diazepam is supported by understanding of age‐related changes in pharmacologic and pharmacokinetic properties.
Resurgence and downshifts in alternative reinforcement rate
Authors: Shahan Timothy A. , Browning Kaitlyn O. , Nist Anthony N. , Sutton Gabrielle M.
Published: August 2020

Resurgence refers to an increase in a previously suppressed target behavior with a relative worsening of conditions for a more recently reinforced alternative behavior. This experiment examined the relation between resurgence and the magnitude of a reduction in the rate of reinforcement for the alternative behavior. Groups of both male and female rats initially pressed a target lever for food on a variable‐interval (VI) 30‐s schedule. In a second phase, responding to the target lever was extinguished for all groups and pressing an alternative lever was reinforced on a VI 10‐s schedule. Next, the rate of reinforcement for alternative behavior was reduced differentially across groups by arranging extinction, VI 80‐s, VI 40‐s, VI 20‐s, or continued VI 10‐s reinforcement. Target responding increased as an exponential function of the magnitude of the reduction in alternative reinforcement rates. With the exception that males appeared to show higher rates of target responding in baseline and higher rates of alternative responding in other phases, the overall pattern of responding across phases was not meaningfully different between sexes. The pattern of both target and alternative response rates across sessions and phases was well described quantitatively by the Resurgence as Choice in Context model.
Assessing and mapping urban soils as geochemical barriers for contamination by heavy metal(loid)s in Moscow megapolis
Authors: Romzaykina Olga N. , Vasenev Viacheslav I. , Paltseva Anna , Kuzyakov Yakov V. , Neaman Alexander , Dovletyarova Elvira A.
Published: August 2020

Urbanization is responsible for some negative environmental consequences, including soil contamination by heavy metal(loid)s (HMs). At the same time, urban soils can buffer HMs and perform as geochemical barriers. For the case of Moscow city, the soil contamination by multiple HMs as well as soil buffer capacity was analyzed, mapped, and considered to assess urban soils as geochemical barriers. Comparison with the health standards indicated contamination by different HMs in 30–60% of the observations, and Zn and Cd were the most widely spread contaminants. “Hotspots” of contamination were shown in the central and eastern districts of Moscow with the most intensive traffic and congregation of industries. New spatial patterns were shown for soil performance as geochemical barriers to multiple HM contamination. High buffer capacity of loamy and slightly alkaline soils in the city center with high contamination level resulted in a better performance of soil geochemical barriers compared with some green zones and natural areas where low buffer capacity of loamy sandy and slightly acid soils were not enough to resist even relatively low contamination. The capacity of urban soil to perform a geochemical barrier for contamination by HMs is an important ecosystem service. Spatially explicit information on this ecosystem service can be highly relevant to assess environmental and health risks of urban soil contamination and to support decision making in urban planning and sustainable development.
Synthesis of aza‐diarylmethines via 1,6‐conjugate addition/aromatization of para‐quinone methides and isatin catalyzed by Et3N
Authors: Ren Hong‐Xia , Zhang Ying , Wang Hui‐Ling
Published: August 2020

A highly efficient 1,6‐conjugate addition/aromatization of para‐quinone methides and isatin catalyzed by Et3Nhas been developed for the synthesis of aza‐diarylmethinesin excellent yields (up to 99%). A series of aza‐diarylmethines were obtained and scale‐up experiment was conducted with excellent results demonstrating the potential applications of this protocol.
The Role of Latter‐day Saint Charities Towards the Establishment of Needed National Neonatal Resuscitation Programmes in Resource Poor Countries
Authors: Merrill Ray M. , Frutos Aaron M. , Lyon Joseph L. , Clark Robert B.
Published: August 2020

In 2016, Latter‐day Saint Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints, sponsored instructor–training courses in 29 countries for neonatal resuscitation, training 3806 instructors. This study describes by country the type of professionals trained (27.7 per cent were doctors, 32.7 per cent were nurses and 19.6 per cent were midwives), the resuscitation equipment provided (bag and mask, bulb syringe and stethoscope), the number of deliveries and resuscitations performed and the extent that trainees train others. Overall, the per cent of deliveries requiring resuscitation was 8.2 per cent. On average, over 20 health care workers were trained within 6 months by each professional initially trained by Latter‐day Saint Charities. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Vascular ring anomaly in a patient with phosphomannomutase 2 deficiency: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Qian Zhen , Van den Eynde Jef , Heymans Stephane , Mertens Luc , Morava Eva
Published: August 2020

Background

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of metabolic disorders well known to be associated with developmental delay and central nervous system anomalies. The most common CDG is caused by pathogenic variants in the phosphomannomutase 2 gene (PMM2), which impairs one of the first steps of N‐glycosylation and affects multiple organ systems. Cardiac involvement can include pericardial effusion, cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmia, while an association with cardiovascular congenital anomalies is not well studied.

Case summary

We report a 6‐year‐old individual who initially presented with inverted nipples, developmental delay, and failure to thrive at 3 months of age. At 4 months, due to feeding problems, swallowing exam and echocardiography were performed which revealed a vascular ring anomaly based on a right aortic arch and aberrant left subclavian artery. Subsequent whole exome gene sequencing revealed two pathogenic PMM2‐CDG variants (E139K/R141H) and no known pathogenic mutations related to congenital heart defect (CHD).

Discussion

This is the first report of vascular ring anomaly in a patient with PMM2‐CDG. We conducted a literature review of PMM2‐CDG patients with reported CHD. Of the 14 patients with PMM2‐CDG and cardiac malformation, the most common CHD's were tetralogy of Fallot, patent ductus arteriosus, and truncus arteriosus. The potential important link between CDG and CHD is stressed and discussed. Furthermore, the importance of multidisciplinary care for CDG patients including early referral to pediatric cardiologists is highlighted.
Recommendations for Imaging Patients With Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (CIEDs)
Authors: Vigen Karl K. , Reeder Scott B. , Hood Maureen N. , Steckner Michael , Leiner Tim , Dombroski David A. , Gulani Vikas ,   ISMRM Safety Committee
Published: August 2020

Historically, the presence of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), including pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), was widely considered an absolute contraindication to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The recent development of CIEDs with MR Conditional labeling, as well as encouraging results from retrospective studies and a prospective trial on the safety of MRI performed in patients with CIEDs without MR Conditional labeling, have led to a reevaluation of this practice. The purpose of this report is to provide a concise summary of recent developments, including practical guidelines that an institution could adopt for radiologists who choose to image patients with CIEDs that do not have MR Conditional labeling. This report was written on behalf of and approved by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Safety Committee.

Level of Evidence

3.

Technical Efficacy Stage

1.
Near‐Silent and Distortion‐Free Diffusion MRI in Pediatric Musculoskeletal Disorders: Comparison With Echo Planar Imaging Diffusion
Authors: Sandberg Jesse K. , Young Victoria A. , Syed Ali B. , Yuan Jianmin , Hu Yuxin , Sandino Christopher , Menini Anne , Hargreaves Brian , Vasanawala Shreyas
Published: August 2020

Background

Diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) is common for evaluating pediatric musculoskeletal lesions, but suffers from geometric distortion and intense acoustic noise.

Purpose

To investigate the performance of a near‐silent and distortion‐free DWI sequence (DW‐SD) relative to standard echo‐planar DWI (DW‐EPI) in pediatric extremity MRI.

Study Type

Prospective validation study.

Subjects

Thirty‐nine children referred for extremity MRI.

Field Strength/Sequence

DW‐EPI and DW‐SD, based on a rotating ultrafast sequence modified with sinusoidal diffusion preparation gradients, at 3T.

Assessment

DW‐SD image quality (Sanat) was assessed from 0 (nondiagnostic) to 5 (outstanding) and comparative image quality (Scomp) (from –2 = DW‐EPI more delineated to +2 = DW‐SD more delineated, 0 = same). ADC measured by DW‐SD and DW‐EPI were compared in bone marrow, muscle, and lesions.

Statistical Tests

Wilcoxon rank‐sum test and confidence interval of proportions (CIOP) were calculated for Scomp, Student's t‐test, coefficient of variation (COV), and Bland–Altman analysis for ADC values, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for interreader agreement.

Results

DW‐SD and DW‐EPI ADC values for bone marrow, muscle, and lesions were not significantly different (P = 0.3, P = 0.2, and P = 0.27, respectively) and had an overall ADC COV of 14.8% (95% confidence interval: 12.3%, 16.9%) and no significant proportional bias on Bland–Altman analysis. Sanat CIOP was rated diagnostic or better (score of 3, 4, or 5) in 72–98% of cases for bone marrow, muscle, and soft tissues. DW‐SD was equivalent to or preferred over DW‐EPI in muscles and soft tissues, with CIOP 86–93% and 93%, respectively. Lesions were equally visualized on DW‐SD and DW‐EPI in 40–51%, with DW‐SD preferred in 44–56% of cases. DW‐SD was rated significantly better than DW‐EPI across all comparative variables that included bone marrow, muscle, soft tissue, cartilage, and lesions (P < 0.05). Readers had moderate to near‐perfect (ICC range = 0.45–0.85).

Data Conclusion

DW‐SD of the extremities provided similar ADC values and improved image quality compared with conventional DW‐EPI.

Level of Evidence 2

Technical Efficacy Stage 2

J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2021;53:504–513.
A review of the barriers to using Patient‐Reported Outcomes (PROs) and Patient‐Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in routine cancer care
Authors: Nguyen Hanh , Butow Phyllis , Dhillon Haryana , Sundaresan Puma
Published: August 2020

Introduction

Patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) are direct reports from patients about the status of their health condition without amendment or interpretation by others. Patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) are the tools used to measure PROs; they are usually validated questionnaires patients complete by self‐assessing their health status. Whilst the benefits of using PROs and PROMs to guide real‐time patient care are well established, they have not been adopted by many oncology institutions worldwide. This literature review aimed to examine the barriers associated with using PROs and PROMs in routine oncology care.

Methods

A literature search was conducted across EMBASE, Medline and CINAHL databases. Studies detailing barriers to routine PRO use for real‐time patient care were included; those focusing on PRO collection in the research setting were excluded.

Results

Of 1165 records captured, 14 studies informed this review. At the patient level, patient time, incapacity and difficulty using electronic devices to complete PROMs were prominent barriers. At the health professional level, major barriers included health professionals’ lack of time and knowledge to meaningfully interpret and integrate PRO data into their clinical practice and the inability for PRO data to be acted upon. Prominent barriers at the service level included difficulties integrating PROs and PROMs into clinical workflows and inadequate information technology (IT) infrastructures for easy PRO collection.

Conclusion

This review has outlined potential barriers to routine PRO use in the oncology setting. Such barriers should be considered when implementing PROs into routine clinical practice.