bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A new species of Synalpheus Spence Bate, 1888 (Caridea: Alpheidae) from Aldabra
Authors: ASHRAFI HOSSEIN
Published: December 2024

The material used in the present study was collected by the crew of Cousteau’s vessel Calypso during the 1954 expedition to Aldabra, Seychelles. Synalpheus calypso sp. nov. is one of the few species in the Indo-West Pacific with a minor cheliped dactylus furnished with densely arranged tufts of distally-curved setae (known as gambarelloides setae). Amongst all these sponge-dweller species, the new species appears to be morphologically closest to S. spongicola Banner & Banner, 1981. Yet, S. calypso sp. nov. can be distinguished from the latter by the shape of the superior tooth of the basicerite, the dorsodistal tooth of the major cheliped merus, the shape of the posteroventral angle of the first pleuron in males, and the position of the dorsal spiniform setae on the telson. Other features differentiating the new species from the remaining Indo-West Pacific species with such a minor cheliped, include a subacute rostrum and orbital teeth reaching to the distal third and midlength of the first antennular article, respectively; a stylocerite overreaching the first antennular article; a well-developed scaphocerite blade; a major cheliped palm with a prominent up-turned dorsodistal tooth; and a complete uropodal diaeresis.
Impact of Gastrointestinal Bleeding on Prognosis and Associated Risk Factors in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Bai Shuchen , Sun Yefei , Xu Hao
Published: December 2024

Background

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are common mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract. The impact of gastrointestinal bleeding on the prognosis of GISTs remains controversial. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic significance of gastrointestinal bleeding in GIST patients and analyze associated risk factors.

Methods

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant studies published up until December 31, 2023. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to estimate the relationship between gastrointestinal bleeding and prognosis. Subgroup analyses were performed based on bleeding location and other risk factors.

Results

Twelve studies involving 3475 patients were included. Gastrointestinal bleeding significantly affected the prognosis of GIST patients, including recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.57, 95% CI: 0.98-2.52, P < .01) and overall survival (OS) (HR = 3.04, 95% CI: 1.33-6.97, P < .01). Patients with gastric GIST bleeding had significantly worse prognoses (HR = 4.37, 95% CI: 2.36-8.11, P < .01), while small intestinal bleeding showed no significant difference. The bleeding risk was lower in the small intestine compared to the stomach (HR = .63, 95% CI: 0.48-0.83, P < .01). Age under 65, male gender, tumor size ≥5 cm, and mitotic index ≥5 HPF were identified as high-risk factors for GIST bleeding.

Conclusions

Gastrointestinal bleeding significantly impacts the prognosis of GIST patients, particularly in those with gastric bleeding.
Managing Sustainability Alliances: A Goal-Directed Framework
Authors: Johansson Elizaveta , Frishammar Johan , Brattström Anna
Published: December 2024

To address climate change, firms are increasingly forming sustainability alliances. Pursuing sustainability via such alliances is challenging as it means working with multifaceted and not necessarily compatible goals. Moreover, it often requires collaboration among heterogeneous partners outside traditional industrial contexts as well as dealing with wicked problems. This article presents a multiple-case study of eight sustainability alliances in Sweden, identifying managerial challenges and solutions over three phases where such alliances unfold. It offers a framework, tailored to each phase, to help companies fulfill their goals by proactively addressing the challenges posed by the pursuit of sustainability through alliances.
Radicalization Pathways to Terrorist Mass Casualty Violence Across Ideological Motivations: An Examination of Learning and Control Perspectives
Authors: Fisher Daren , McCann Wesley S.
Published: December 2024

Terrorist lethality has emerged as a key metric for evaluating counterterrorism success. Recent research, however, questions whether terrorist mass casualty events (TMCEs) are consistent with existing theories of terrorism and across heterogeneous terrorist ideological motivations. This study examines previously understudied control and learning theories and their impact on the likelihood of TMCEs from 1983 to 2020. Leveraging the Profiles on Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset, this study examines the causal conditions associated with TMCEs using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Across the three ideological motivations examined, too many unique pathways to TMCEs emerged to suggest support for either theoretical perspective. Further, some conditions, including education, were both risk and protective factors suggesting important unexplained heterogeneity.
Traumatic Stress Exposure as a Predictor of Dual Systems Model Development: Examining Deviant Peer Association as a Social Mediating Mechanism
Authors: Wojciechowski Thomas W.
Published: December 2024

Traumatic stress exposure has been identified as a robust risk factor for atypical cognitive development in childhood. While most research focuses on neurological mechanisms underpinning these relationships, peer influences may also provide a social mechanism. The present study examined deviant peer association as a mediator in this regard within the context of the dual systems model in childhood and adolescence. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development data were analyzed. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze direct and indirect effects of interest. Findings indicated that traumatic stress exposure predicted diminished impulse control, but did not predict sensation-seeking. Deviant peer association significantly mediated the relationship between traumatic stress exposure and impulse control, accounting for about 25% of this relationship. Implications are discussed.
Does Inflation-targeting Policies Worsen Income Inequality in its Trading Partner?
Authors: Ganguly Shrimoyee , Acharyya Rajat
Published: December 2024

Interest rate hike as an instrument for inflation-targeting has been adopted quite aggressively in recent times by the Fed Bank of the United States, which has some far-reaching implications for emerging market economies like India. In such a context, this article explores implications of interest rate hike by a large foreign country for wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers in a domestic economy. We focus on the supply side channel: hike in foreign interest rate affecting wage inequality through its impact on domestic investment, capital formation and consequent changes in the composition of aggregate output. We show that the wage inequality worsens if capital-cost share in a composite traded good is larger than the capital-cost share in a skill-based export-good Z. Domestic policies such as credit expansion by changing the cash-reserve ratio and increase in money supply help mitigate this worsening wage-inequality effect of interest hike abroad. This issue assumes relevance because of rising concerns among the major central banks the world over about the income distributional impacts of monetary policies, whereas most of the recent income inequality trends seem to have been contributed largely by rising skill premiums.

JEL Codes: E52, F41, F11, E24
International Fragmentation, Skill Formation and Emigration: A General Equilibrium Approach
Authors: Basak Subhasree , Gupta Kausik
Published: December 2024

This article departs from only conventional trade in final goods and focuses on the incentive that induces the producers of final goods to import raw materials from abroad instead of using domestically produced intermediate goods. The article then explores the plausible impact of skill formation and emigration of both unskilled and skilled labour on the incentive for fragmentation. The results suggest that a drive towards skill formation expands the zone of international fragmentation. Again, emigration of either type of labour usually reduces the incentive to fragment the production process. The effect on the overall volume of imports depends on the degree of complementarity between factors of production like skilled labour and foreign capital. Not only does the article capture the trade-off between emigration and skill formation and their opposite impact on the zone of fragmentation, but it also captures the linkage between the emigration of unskilled workers and their skill formation by introducing the concept of ‘unskilled-pushed skilled emigration’.

JEL Classification: F11, F12, F16, F22
Brakes and leverages for reducing the environmental impact of laboratory animal facilities: A case study at the Institut Pasteur
Authors: Berard Marion , da Conceiçao Hélène , Bedu Sébastien , Mocho Jean-Philippe
Published: December 2024

The Institut Pasteur has set the ambition to encourage all staff to get involved in sustainable development across all departments on campus. The animal facility staff joined the efforts of the sustainable development department to analyse current and future processes and identify potential solutions and related brakes and leverages for the reduction of the animal facilities’ environmental impact. The first step was to collect the managers’ experience on the local initiatives. Then, the managers attended a workshop to share information on networks and initiatives relevant to the topic and community, and to discuss the use of consumables, including personal protective equipment, single use plastics, bedding, feed, water, chemicals, and waste management. On the topics of interest, local initiatives were specifically detailed to assess their eventual implementation in all the institute’s animal facilities, and tasks were set to pursue the managers’ efforts in the longer term. A scenario was used to teach how to compare the carbon footprints of washing and disinfection equipment and process and to decide on the design of an animal facility. Finally, a summary is drawn of the brakes and leverages for the reduction of the environmental impact of the institute’s animal facilities.
Competition Among Pharmacies as a Determinant of Drug Expenditures
Authors: Peng Zixuan , Laporte Audrey , Wei Xiaolin , Coyte Peter C.
Published: December 2024

This study explored and compared the associations between pharmacy competition and drug expenditures by individuals with influenza. This study used a dataset consisting of 6 694 534 individuals who purchased drugs for influenza at pharmacies from 2015 to 2019 in China. Patients’ annual average influenza-specific drug expenditures per visit at pharmacies was the outcome variable of interest. Pharmacy competition was measured using the Herfindahl-Hirschman index. A 3-way fixed-effects model combined with a lagged identification strategy was constructed to estimate the association between pharmacy competition and drug expenditures. When the radius of the market was set to 1, 5, and 10 km, for each 10% increase in the degree of total competition in the market, an individual’s annual average influenza-specific drug expenditures per visit fell by 0.65%, 2.21%, and 5.20%, respectively. With a more detailed understanding of the underlying mechanism through which pharmacy competition affects the behaviors of health care providers, competition can be considered as a potential tool to assist decision makers in the design of policies to curtail the growth in drug expenditures.
The richness of the stimulus: Constructional variation and development in child-directed speech
Authors: Bunzeck Bastian , Diessel Holger
Published: December 2024

In a seminal study, Cameron-Faulkner et al. made two important observations about utterance-level constructions in English child-directed speech (CDS). First, they observed that canonical in/transitive sentences are surprisingly infrequent in child-direct speech (given that SVO word order is often thought to play a key role in the acquisition of English syntax). Second, they found that many CDS constructions are introduced by a lexical frame (such as Let’s. . ., There is . . ., or What do you . . .?). Using a much larger and more diverse dataset than Cameron-Faulkner et al., this study shows that CDS constructions vary with two important factors: (1) the interactive situation and (2) children’s age. While canonical in/transitive sentences are not particularly frequent in free toy play sessions, they are predominant in other social situations (e.g. during mealtimes and shared book reading sessions) and they increase in frequency as children get older. Furthermore, our data show that the different CDS constructions occur with different types of frames that vary in length and structure. Many CDS constructions include a short lexical frame consisting of one or two words, but questions are often introduced by extensive frames formed from a small set of lexical items that follow a power-law distribution. Considering these findings, we argue that the lexical and structural properties of CDS constructions are likely to facilitate the acquisition of English grammar and, in particular, the acquisition of questions.
Workers’ resistance to managerial silencing: A comparative study of temporary agency and platform workers’ voice in a developing context
Authors: Oyetunde Kabiru , Prouska Rea , Mckearney Aidan
Published: December 2024

Research has overlooked management’s role in silencing workers, particularly in the context of physically and digitally mediated work. Given the rise of such work, it is imperative to study how workers experience and respond to managerial silencing. Based on 49 in-depth worker interviews in Nigeria, this study identifies key factors contributing to managerial silencing, including how external environmental perceptions and a lack of individual agency amplify this phenomenon. Platform workers employ collective organising and social media to voice their concerns, while agency workers rely on non-confrontational mechanisms and peer support. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Organizational restructuring, precarious employment and work intensification: Women managers’ experience of work under neoliberalism
Authors: Farrell Catherine , Hassard John , Morris Jonathan
Published: December 2024

In recent decades there has been a perceptible rise in employment precarity across professions, industries, institutions and economies, including for managerial grades. In this article the authors contend that this emanates from an implicit neoliberal governance agenda promoting deepening career uncertainty amidst transformative digital innovation and radical corporate restructuring. Among the effects of such changes have been managers experiencing longer working hours, greater work intensification and worsening work–life balance. The authors argue such effects have been particularly acute for women and notably under the institutional (economic, political and social) constraints of the coronavirus pandemic. Presenting quasi-longitudinal information from three qualitative studies (based on data collected variously in Japan, the UK and USA in 2002–2006, 2015–2019 and 2020–2021) the article considers not only women managers’ experiences of work since the millennium, but also their occupational prospects for the future. The authors conclude that under neoliberalism the enduring interaction of organizational restructuring, precarious employment and work intensification will continue to affect adversely the equilibrium between women managers’ personal lives and their professional work, given many confront increasing demands of corporate availability and work-related connectivity whilst simultaneously dealing with significant parenting and care responsibilities.
Trends and Challenges of the Modern Pathology Laboratory for Biopharmaceutical Research Excellence
Authors: Sisó Sílvia , Kavirayani Anoop Murthy , Couto Suzana , Stierstorfer Birgit , Mohanan Sunish , Morel Caroline , Marella Mathiew , Bangari Dinesh S. , Clark Elizabeth , Schwartz Annette , Carreira Vinicius
Published: December 2024

Pathology, a fundamental discipline that bridges basic scientific discovery to the clinic, is integral to successful drug development. Intrinsically multimodal and multidimensional, anatomic pathology continues to be empowered by advancements in molecular and digital technologies enabling the spatial tissue detection of biomolecules such as genes, transcripts, and proteins. Over the past two decades, breakthroughs in spatial molecular biology technologies and advancements in automation and digitization of laboratory processes have enabled the implementation of higher throughput assays and the generation of extensive molecular data sets from tissue sections in biopharmaceutical research and development research units. It is our goal to provide readers with some rationale, advice, and ideas to help establish a modern molecular pathology laboratory to meet the emerging needs of biopharmaceutical research. This manuscript provides (1) a high-level overview of the current state and future vision for excellence in research pathology practice and (2) shared perspectives on how to optimally leverage the expertise of discovery, toxicologic, and translational pathologists to provide effective spatial, molecular, and digital pathology data to support modern drug discovery. It captures insights from the experiences, challenges, and solutions from pathology laboratories of various biopharmaceutical organizations, including their approaches to troubleshooting and adopting new technologies.
Indus Waters Treaty Negotiations: Geopolitics, Disputes and Cooperation
Authors: Ranjan Amit
Published: December 2024

The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 has been seen as an example of a successful transboundary water-sharing treaty between two hostile countries. The IWT withstood many tests, including wars (1965, 1971 and 1999), military tensions and regular verbal spats between India and Pakistan, whose leaders faced tough questions on engaging in the IWT negotiations and signing the treaty. However, recent changes in bilateral relations and especially the accelerating impact of climate change have meant that the IWT is feeling further heat. The article re-examines details of the political history of the water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan to show how and why, after drawn-out negotiations, India and Pakistan finally agreed to sign the World Bank-mediated IWT in 1960. The article then discusses specifically that because a major share of the common waters passes through the conflict-sensitive region of Jammu and Kashmir, this has continued to contribute to fresh manifestations of water-related disputes and cooperation between India and Pakistan.
Technoliberalism and the Network Social
Authors: Terranova Tiziana
Published: December 2024

This article explores the role played by a reconfigured version of the modern social in the genesis of contemporary digital computational technological systems. It argues that the latter are not generically shaped by social forces (as in the notion of the sociotechnical), nor do they simply shape them (as in technological determinism), but that there is an ongoing process of mutual constitution and entanglement of the social and the technological – producing new modes of the social that can be described as ‘technosocial’. While there are different types of technosocial in circulation (including those enacted by the state), this article focuses on one particular inflection – that is, the network social – which it sees as implicated in the formation of a variation of liberalism as a political rationality that it calls technoliberalism.
Ensuring inclusive banking: Addressing mandatory signature challenges for visually challenged bank customers
Authors: Thakkar Hiteshkumar , A Marisport , Saha Nakul
Published: December 2024

Accessibility to banking services remains a significant problem for visually challenged bank customers (VCC). Despite Reserve Bank of India regulatory initiatives to encourage financial inclusion, conventional paper-based documents and signatures pose substantial challenges for those with visual disabilities. This study addresses critical challenges, such as inaccessible papers, readability issues, lack of support, privacy concerns, and complex signing requirements, based on field experiences and stakeholder comments. Innovative digital technology and alternative techniques, such as digital signatures, digital fingerprints, and thumbprint signatures, have emerged as promising options for improving accessibility and security in banking activities. This article analyses demographic data from visually challenged bank customers, emphasising their qualifications and banking preferences, such as primary and secondary banking services. By looking into the viewpoints of both visually challenged persons and bankers, this study intends to give suitable practical solutions to mandatory signature in banking services for the VCC and ensure regulatory reforms and better procedures to provide equal banking experiences for all, regardless of visual capacity.
Dynamic automated assessment of functionally limited temporomandibular disorders using motion analysis
Authors: Wu Ruibin , Jiang Yuzhen , Zhu Yinghui , Wang Wei , Huang Peizhu , Dong Xiaoqing , Suhail Shaikh Muhammad
Published: December 2024

Objective

This study investigated a method for assessing movement patterns in patients with functionally limited temporomandibular disorders using minimal equipment. The aim was to enable clinicians to better understand temporomandibular joint function, support treatment decision-making, and provide data for documenting disease progression.

Methods

This retrospective, observational study included 45 patients with functionally limited temporomandibular disorders (Group A) and 40 healthy volunteers (Group B). Video data of temporomandibular joint movements were recorded. Measurements, including maximum mouth opening distance, maximum offset distance, maximum offset angle, direction of offset, and fluctuation graphs of offset angle and distance, were obtained using manual methods and an automatic measurement program. The results were statistically analyzed.

Results

Statistically significant differences were observed between patients and the control group in the manually measured mouth opening distance and offset distance, as well as in the automatically measured offset distance and offset angle.

Conclusion

Automated testing methods can effectively assess the motor function of functionally limited temporomandibular joints, providing more objective, data-driven, and graphical testing indexes. Further research is warranted to explore their practical significance.
“Gotta report ‘em all”: How international news diversity impacts public knowledge, perceptions of foreign nations and nationals and fear-based xenophobia
Authors: Tran Huu Dat , Diep Pham Phuong Uyen
Published: December 2024

We examine how American media’s coverage of international news influences public opinion. Results from 500 survey responses (N = 500) support agenda-setting effects, positing that positive perceptions of international news coverage led to positive views of both foreign nations and nationals. Public knowledge and interest, furthermore, shape public opinion. The influence, nevertheless, is different across four groups of countries (i.e., most- vs. least-covered and Global North vs. Global South countries).
Cytotoxicity and viability evaluation of collagen isolated from Rohu fish (Labeo rohita) skin waste
Authors: Majeed Massarat , Rather Mushtaq Ahmad
Published: December 2024

In the pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors, collagen is widely used as a biomaterial to create hydrogels, wound dressings, bioactive nano/microfibers, and controlled drug delivery systems. Aquatic collagen has been shown to increase biological activity and decrease the potential for genetic disease transmission. Nowadays, the complete use of natural resources has become more critical due to sustainable socioeconomic and environmental principles. As a result, fish collagen derived from fish byproducts (including scales, bones, fins, and skin) has become a competitive substitute. This study looks at the extraction of collagen from the skin of Rohu carp ( Labeo rohita) and assesses its cytotoxicity and cell viability on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells. Our attempts to extract type I collagen with >99% purity were effective, as demonstrated by FTIR, UV-Vis, and SDS-PAGE studies. Trypan blue staining and MTT tests were employed to assess the collagen’s cytotoxicity and cell viability, respectively.
An innovative vortex generator for promoting subsonic and sonic jet mixing
Authors: Richards S B Jabez , Thanigaiarasu S , Rajendran Parvathy , Rathakrishnan Ethirajan
Published: December 2024

Mixing promoting capability of a pair of tabs with truncated projections located asymmetrically on a rectangular stem fixed diametrically opposite at the exit of a circular nozzle has been investigated experimentally for the Mach numbers of 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0. The centerline pressure decay of the sonic jet at under-expanded conditions corresponding to nozzle pressure ratios (NPR) 2, and 3 was also considered in this study. It is found that the mixing promoting small-scale vortices shed by the tabs appreciably promotes the jet mixing at all Mach numbers. The highest mixing promotion is for the correctly expanded sonic jet, leading to a core length reduction of about 87%. In contrast, for Mach 0.8 and 0.6 jets, the core length reduction achieved is about 85% and 77%, respectively. The favourable pressure gradient at the nozzle exit is found to be of no effect on the mixing promotion caused by the tabs. At NPRs 2 and 3, the core length reduction induced by the tabs is only 85% and 88%, comparable to that at correctly expanded sonic state. The shadowgraph images of the under-expanded sonic jet show that the shock waves in the jet core become weaker due to the enhanced mixing caused by the tabs. Also, the tabs weaken the Mach disc formed in the core of a highly under-expanded sonic jet operating at NPR 4.
Thermofluid process simulation of wet biomass and ammonia co-firing in an industrial watertube boiler
Authors: Laubscher Ryno , Rousseau Pieter , Malan Leon , De Villiers Etienne
Published: December 2024

Co-firing of ammonia with low-carbon biomass fuels can promote cleaner energy by employing a carbon-free alternative in tandem with traditional fuels. However, doing this in a boiler specifically designed for solid fuel with high moisture content could pose challenges. In the present work, an integrated thermofluid network model of a whole boiler firing sugarcane bagasse is developed and applied to investigate the effect of co-firing ammonia on the thermal performance. The results show that the primary impacts are an increase in the adiabatic flame temperature and a reduction in total flue gas flow rates. This is due to the higher HHV of ammonia compared to biomass, along with lower excess air ratios. At a blending ratio of 0.5 kg NH3/kg biomass, there is a 58% reduction in CO2 mass flow rate in the flue gas. The impact on furnace exit gas temperature, spray water flow rates and intermediate header temperatures are small, and the economizer does not run the risk of acid corrosion. It also shows that ammonia co-firing could potentially be used to stabilize boiler efficiency and reduce the sensitivity of the temperature control system when a batch of high moisture fuel is introduced. Therefore, for this boiler the co-firing of ammonia with wet biomass has a beneficial effect on both boiler operation and environmental impact.
Essential Unity of Jainism and Sustainability: A Holistic Philosophy to Humanistic and Ecological Crisis
Authors: Rajan
Published: December 2024

The conventional concept of sustainability is commonly limited to the realm of diplomacy, emphasizing the need to protect the environment while also addressing human needs and desires. However, upon closer examination, this definition and practice reveals a deeply ingrained anthropocentric perspective in which human beings occupy the dominant position within the value systems. This perspective raises the crucial question of whether it provides a comprehensive, unbiased and cohesive framework for understanding and practicing sustainability and demanding justice. Following this issue, when we investigate into the predominant anthropocentric viewpoints on sustainability through the holistic lens of ancient Indian philosophical traditions such as Vedanta, Buddhism and Jainism, we encounter challenges in adequately addressing fundamental questions concerning nature, preservation, justice and human well-being. In this article, we focus on Jainism, one of these ancient Indian schools of thought, which offers a distinctive and holistic philosophy for understanding sustainable thinking and practice. To restate, it not only encourages care and reverence for the natural world but also strives to rectify existing injustices, whether humanistic or ecological. With this, we aim to convey that Jainism’s unique philosophy offers a holistic framework for sustainability.
Does the Level of the Conus Medullaris Affect CSF Leak Incidence During Spinal Surgery?
Authors: Kennedy Ronan , Ali Aiden , Hughes Simon , Hassan Faizul , Botchu Rajesh
Published: December 2024

Background and Aims:

This study examines whether the level of the conus medullaris affects the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks in spinal surgery.

Material and Methods:

Retrospective analysis was performed on 55 patients who had suffered from CSF leaks post-operatively. The data was stratified by spinal pathology, age, and sex using patient records and MRI scans/reports.

Results:

The results show that more patients with a CSF leak had surgery for disc pathologies as opposed to spinal stenosis. Additionally, patients with spinal stenosis were generally older, and there were more women in the CSF leak cohort. Notably, patients with disc pathologies had a higher conus level than those with spinal stenosis, with no CSF leaks occurring in patients with low-lying conus levels at or below L3.

Conclusion:

We did not find any correlation between level of conus and CSF leaks.
Structural Transformation and Inequality in India: A Decomposition Analysis of Trends in Regional Inequality in Post-reform Period
Authors: Devi Rinku , Sharma Hemlata
Published: December 2024

India has undergone a rapid sectoral shift from an agrarian to a predominantly service economy in the post-reform period. The objective of this article is to understand and assess the impact of this shift on the inter-state income distribution during the period from 1993–94 to 2019–20. We have shown how inequality decomposition by income source can be used to disaggregate the inequality trend into its various contributory influences. Our results assist in understanding the role of sectors and sub-sectors in terms of their contribution to inter-state inequality. Our results show that the tertiary and secondary sectors are largely responsible for the growth in inequality, which was partially offset by the primary sector. The evidence at the sub-sectoral level is along the same lines, with manufacturing and an overwhelming number of tertiary sub-sectors contributing to the growth in inequality, while agriculture and allied activities playing a role in keeping a check on it.
Considerations on the stability of IgG antibody in clinical specimens
Authors: Yen Lu , Henao-Díaz Alexandra , Zimmerman Jeffrey , Giménez-Lirola Luis
Published: December 2024

The 1890s marked a significant milestone with the introduction of antibody-based agglutination and precipitation assays, revolutionizing the detection of bacterial pathogens in both animals and humans. This era also witnessed pivotal contributions to our understanding of humoral immunity, as researchers elucidated the structure and functions of antibody molecules, laying the groundwork for diagnostic applications. Among antibody isotypes, IgG is of paramount importance in diagnostic investigations given its definitive indication of infection or vaccination, coupled with its widespread presence and detectability across various specimen types, such as serum, colostrum, milk, oral fluids, urine, feces, and tissue exudate. Despite their resilience, immunoglobulins are susceptible to structural alterations induced by physicochemical and enzymatic processes, which can compromise the reliability of their detection. Here we review comprehensively the historical milestones, underlying mechanisms, and influencing factors (e.g., temperature, pH, storage) that shape the structural integrity and stability of IgG antibodies in aqueous solutions and various clinical specimens.
Health Disparities in Hospice-Home Health Transitions in Hispanic Older Adults With Co-occurring Dementia and Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Bigger Sharon E. , Grubbs Kathy Howard , Cao Yan , Towsley Gail L.
Published: December 2024

Purpose

In the US, nearly one-third of skilled home health (HH) patients and nearly one-half of hospice patients live with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Hispanic older adults are more likely to live with ADRD than white non-Hispanic older adults. Persons with ADRD, compared to their counterparts without ADRD, have a prolonged trajectory of decline and experience multiple care transitions between health care settings, bringing risks for poor outcomes. Little is known about patients transitioning between skilled HH and hospice. We aimed to determine if there were demographic and/or diagnostic variables associated with the frequency of transitions between skilled HH and hospice.

Design

In a cross-sectional study, we used Medicare claims data from 2020 and descriptive statistics including Chi-Square to determine demographic and diagnostic differences in frequency of care transitions between skilled HH and hospice for older adults with ADRD.

Findings

In N = 272,323 hospice episodes, Hispanic older adult beneficiaries with ADRD and co-occurring cardiovascular disease (CVD) had significantly higher rates of care transitions from hospice to skilled HH ( P = 0.037) than other racial and ethnic groups with both diagnoses.

Conclusions

Our findings provide evidence of disparities in care transitions from hospice to skilled HH for Hispanic older adults living with ADRD and CVD. Multiple factors may impact this result: Hospice low quality scores, insufficient advance care planning and understanding of hospice philosophy, and policies affecting eligibility. Implications include policy change and greater coordination of care for older adults with co-occurring ADRD and CVD, with attention to health equity.
Analysis of job stress, depression, and mindfulness among Korean physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Lee Jinwon , Lee Kyung-Sun , Lee Jong-Hyun , Hwang Jaejin , Park Du-Jin
Published: December 2024

Background

Although there are studies on preventing of COVID-19 infection for physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic, few studies have analyzed the job stress, depression, and mindfulness among physical therapists.

Objective

This study aimed to analyze workplace mental health such as personal characteristics, mindfulness, depression, and job stress, among physical therapists in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A survey was conducted among 280 physical therapists in Korea from December 2021 to January 2022 to collect demographic information and data on job stress, depression, and mindfulness. Frequency analysis, chi-square test, cross-tabulation, correlation analysis, and analysis of variance were conducted.

Results

The participants exhibited a high-stress index regardless of the type of medical institution, age, and education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Job stress showed significant differences by marriage, education, work department, and depression. It was positively correlated with depression ( r = 0.527, p < 0.001) and was higher among musculoskeletal physical therapists ( F = 3.710, p < 0.01). Depression differed significantly by work period, job stress, and mindfulness. Although mindfulness differed significantly only by depression, it was negatively correlated with stress ( r = −0.440, p < 0.001) and depression ( r = −0.525, p < 0.001) and was higher among participants with graduate than undergraduate degrees ( F = 3.751, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The participants suffered from psychological instability and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, musculoskeletal physical therapists who mainly performed manual therapy exhibited higher job stress indexes compared to other divisions.
Limit values for the web instrument Need for Recovery based on health over two years and corresponding psychosocial working environment
Authors: Wentz Kerstin AH , Hagberg Mats
Published: December 2024

Background

The magnitude of fatigue or need for recovery (NFR) from work shifts could be used as a tool for health surveillance and for monitoring rehabilitation.

Objective

To develop a model to calculate the healthy limit value for NFR based on health over two years in a cohort of workers and from there healthy limit values for the psychosocial work environment. The model is to be used in a web instrument.

Methods

Based on survey data from 1289 engineers, carpenters, nurses and home care employees, NFR was calibrated against six Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II) health scales. Regression models explored the correspondence between NFR at baseline and regularity in function impact on health over two years. Thereafter, the limit values for the psychosocial work environment were examined. Successive calculations concerned sensitivity and specificity of these limit values.

Results

The baseline NFR value that predicted a set minimum level of regularity of impact on health from each health scale two years later (p < 0.001), formed a mean minimum of regularity NFR score of = 9.02. The limit healthy NFR value was set below this value to 9/33 points. Sensitivity regarding the limit healthy NFR value concerning prediction of an unhealthy NFR was 85%. Specificity regarding healthy cases was 74%. Healthy limit values for the psychosocial work environment concerned first of all work process resources and then work demands.

Conclusions

A Need for Recovery limit value could be based on the frequency of the fatigue reaction and function impact on health (frequency).
Exploring relationship between quality of life, life habits and occupational stress Brazilian public prosecutors: A cluster analysis approach
Authors: Oliveira Sandra F , Fernandes Ana Paula , Souza Antonina H , Dutra Fabiana CMS
Published: December 2024

Background

The quality of life (QoL) of Prosecutors can be impacted by their own work.

Objective

To examine the relationship between sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, and QoL in public prosecutors (PP).

Methods

Information on life habits, sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment abbreviated version (WHOQOL-bref), and Job Stress Scale (JSS) of 355 Brazilian PP were collected by email survey. The cluster analysis used the Gower method to form groups with similar characteristics. Chi-squared, Fisher's exact, and Kruskal-Wallis tests verified differences in clusters. A multiple linear regression identified predictors of QoL in clusters.

Results

The analysis founded 3 distinct groups. In the cluster with highest QoL, the variables explained 48.3% of the total variance ( F(4, 91) = 21.235; p < 0.000; R2 = 0.483). Length of employment βsc = 0.288; t = 3.770; p < 0.000), sedentary lifestyle ( βsc = −0.274; t = −3.494; p < 0.001), sleep quality ( βsc = 0.402; t = 5.212; p < 0.001), and social support ( βsc = 0.296; t = 3.772; p < 0.001) were QoL predictors. In the cluster with worst QoL, sleep quality ( βsc = 0.307; t = 3.798; p < 0.001), social support ( βsc = 0.452; t = 5.140; p < 0.001), and occupational stress ( βsc = −0.210; t = −2.481; p < 0.05) were QoL predictors and explained 54.4% of total QoL variance ( F(3, 79) = 31.364; p < 0.001; R2 = 0.544). In the intermediate QoL cluster, religiosity ( βsc = 0.161; t = 2.144; p < 0.05), sleep quality ( βsc = 0.419; t = 5.541; p < 0.001), social support ( βsc = 0.214; t = 2.743; p < 0.05), and occupational stress ( βsc = −0.218; t = −2.727; p < 0.05) contributed for the model, explaining 45.2% of total QoL variance ( F(5, 104) = 17.173; p < 0.001; R2 = 0.452).

Conclusion

The QoL of Brazilian PP is related with their life habits, social support at work, and occupational stress, showing the need of Occupational Health Service (OHS) support to ensure individual and organizational strategies to promote better QoL in PP.
How to enhance employee engagement in the AI era: An fsQCA-based study
Authors: Luo Fan , Chen Lu
Published: December 2024

Background

The ongoing fourth industrial revolution, characterized by the integration of intelligent machines, presents a transformative shift in the nature of work. Unlike past industrial revolutions that reshaped job dynamics, the current reliance on intelligent machines introduces new complexities. It is challenging to determine whether the adoption of intelligent machines fosters active engagement or diminishes motivation of employees.

Objective

This paper explores how the adoption of intelligent machines affects employee work engagement. We aim to identify the key combinations of factors influencing work engagement amidst technological integration by utilizing a supportive ecosystem perspective.

Methods

We employed fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to examine the interplay of seven factors: challenge stressors, leadership empowerment behavior, technology dependence, relationship dependence, emotional dependence, benefit dependence, and growth need strength. This approach addresses the limitations of previous research by considering the interdependencies and non-linear relationships among these factors.

Results

Our study reveals diverse configurations that influence work engagement. The fsQCA analysis uncovers multiple pathways through which the identified factors interact to impact work engagement, providing a nuanced understanding of the conditions that foster employee engagement in the era of AI.

Conclusions

Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature by elucidating multiple configurations that influence work engagement, highlighting the importance of a supportive ecosystem perspective in understanding employee behavior in technologically advanced workplaces. The findings also offer empirical insights to guide managerial interventions aimed at fostering employee engagement in the AI era.
Research on the micro-mechanism of family-friendly policy on work-family balance: The role of policy empowerment and attribution
Authors: Lyu Xiaojun
Published: December 2024

Background:

Family-friendly policy is an important tool to alleviate work-family conflict, however, less is known about the micro-mechanism of policy enabling process.

Objective:

This study examines the underlying dynamic of family-friendly policy on work-family conflict by considering the mediator role of boundary/time management efficacy and the moderating role of policy attribution on family-friendly policy empowerment.

Methods:

To reduce the common method bias, the study adopted a three-stage data collection method. In the first stage of the study, 800 questionnaires were distributed and 703 valid questionnaires were collected. In the second stage, 703 valid samples in the sample bank were questioned, and 635 valid questionnaires were collected. Then 635 valid samples were sent the third stage questionnaire, 321 valid questionnaires were recovered, and 303 samples were successfully matched in three stages. Each stage of data collection lasted for one week and was separated by three months.

Results:

(1) a sense of efficacy, as a given manifestation of policy empowerment, mediates family-friendly policy and work-family conflict. (2) policy attribution moderated the empowerment level of family-friendly policies. Specifically, the schedule/boundary management efficacy will be improved significantly by a family-friendly policy when attributing policy to employes’ well-being, compared with the group that attributed the policy to the benefit of the organization.

Conclusions:

This study reveals the psychological process and mechanism underlying the role of family-friendly policies in balancing work-family relationships. It demonstrates the importance of integrating the instrumental and value rationality of policies so that policy formulation and implementation can optimize resource allocation while also meeting the urgent needs of the different stakeholder groups.
Anxiety sensitivity, perceived stress, personality traits and premenstrual syndrome in young adult women healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Gümüşsoy Süreyya , Keskin Gülseren , Yıldırım Gül Özlem
Published: December 2024

Background

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder affecting women of reproductive age. The severity and persistence of PMS may cause deterioration of physical, social and psychological balance and affect relationships and performance in the workplace.

Objective

The majority of those working in health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic were women therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the differences and relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS), perceived stress, personality traits with and without the presence of PMS in young adult women healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Methods

This study consisted of 1008 participants. The following data were collected: PMS, AS Index-3, Perceived Stress Scale, Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, sociodemographic data, and menstruation characteristics.

Results

Women with PMS had higher AS (27.64 ± 15.55 vs. 16.51 ± 11.20) and perceived stress (23.52 ± 6.67 vs. 19.16 ± 5.24) levels than women without PMS. The mean neuroticism (4.20 ± 1.72 vs. 3.19 ± 1.81) and psychoticism (1.74 ± 1.06 vs. 1.51 ± 1.24) scores were higher and the mean extraversion score (3.87 ± 1.73 vs. 3.98 ± 1.77) was lower in women with PMS than in those without PMS. PMSS exhibited a statistically significant, moderate, positive correlation with the ASI-3 (r = .414, p < .001) and PSS (r = .487, p < .001) scores. Furthermore, PMSS exhibited a weak positive correlation with the neuroticism (r = .236, p < .001) and psychoticism (r = .219, p < .001) subscales and a moderate negative correlation with the extraversion (r = −.560, p = .015) subscale. As the PMSS score increased, the ASI, PSS, neuroticism, and psychoticism scores increased. However, the extraversion score decreased

Conclusions

Young adult women will benefit from psychotherapeutic and educational interventions to manage PMS, which will minimize the number of physical and psychological issues they experience.