bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Developing Cricothyroidotomy Skills Using a Biomaterial-Covered Model
Authors: Ozkaya Senuren Cigdem , Yaylaci Serpil , Kayayurt Kamil , Aldinc Hasan , Gun Cem , Şimşek Perihan , Tatli Ozgur , Turkmen Suha
Published: August 2020

Introduction

Cricothyroidotomy is an advanced and life-saving technique, but it is also a rare and a difficult procedure. The purpose of the present study was to produce a low-cost simulation model with realistic anatomic features to investigate its effectiveness in developing cricothyroidotomy skills.

Methods

This study was performed at a university simulation center with 57 second-year student paramedics and a cricothyroidotomy simulation model. Total scores were assessed using a checklist. This consisted of 13 steps and was scored as misapplication/omission=0, correct performance and timing with hesitation=1, and correct performance and timing without hesitation=2. One of these steps, local anesthesia of the area if time is available, was not performed owing to time limitations. The highest possible score was 24. Data are presented as mean±SD with range, as appropriate. Normal distribution was evaluated using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Student t test, and Mann-Whitney U test, and correlation analysis was used for statistical analysis.

Results

Students completed the cricothyroidotomy procedure steps in 116±46 (55–238) s. At performance assessment, the score achieved was 12±5 (2–24). The highest total score of 24 was achieved by 3 students (5%). Total scores exhibited negative and significant correlation with procedure time (r=−0.403, P=0.002).

Conclusions

The model developed in this study is an inexpensive and effective method that can be used in cricothyroidotomy training for student paramedics. We think that repeating the cricothyroidotomy procedure on the model will increase success levels.
Crime and Punishment in Anglo-Saxon England
Authors: Rabin Andrew
Published: August 2020

Arguably, more legal texts survive from pre-Conquest England than from any other early medieval European community. The corpus includes roughly seventy royal law-codes, to which can be added well over a thousand charters, writs, and wills, as well as numerous political tracts, formularies, rituals, and homilies derived from legal sources. These texts offer valuable insight into early English concepts of royal authority and political identity. They reveal both the capacities and limits of the king's regulatory power, and in so doing, provide crucial evidence for the process by which disparate kingdoms gradually merged to become a unified English state. More broadly, pre-Norman legal texts shed light on the various ways in which cultural norms were established, enforced, and, in many cases, challenged. And perhaps most importantly, they provide unparalleled insight into the experiences of Anglo-Saxon England's diverse inhabitants, both those who enforced the law and those subject to it.
A Council Circle at Etzanoa? Multi-sensor Drone Survey at an Ancestral Wichita Settlement in Southeastern Kansas
Authors: Casana Jesse , Laugier Elise Jakoby , Hill Austin Chad , Blakeslee Donald
Published: August 2020

This article presents results of a multi-sensor drone survey at an ancestral Wichita archaeological site in southeastern Kansas, originally recorded in the 1930s and believed by some scholars to be the location of historical “Etzanoa,” a major settlement reportedly encountered by Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate in 1601. We used high-resolution, drone-acquired thermal and multispectral (color and near-infrared) imagery, alongside publicly available lidar data and satellite imagery, to prospect for archaeological features across a relatively undisturbed 18 ha area of the site. Results reveal a feature that is best interpreted as the remains of a large, circular earthwork, similar to so-called council circles documented at five other contemporary sites of the Great Bend aspect cultural assemblage. We also located several features that may be remains of house basins, the size and configuration of which conform with historical evidence. These findings point to major investment in the construction of large-scale ritual, elite, or defensive structures, lending support to the interpretation of the cluster of Great Bend aspect sites in the lower Walnut River as a single, sprawling population center, as well as demonstrating the potential for thermal and multispectral surveys to reveal archaeological landscape features in the Great Plains and beyond.
The Social Significance of Mimbres Painted Pottery in the U.S. Southwest
Authors: Hegmon Michelle , Russell Will G. , Baller Kendall , Peeples Matthew A. , Striker Sarah
Published: August 2020

Mimbres painted pottery from the U.S. Southwest is renowned for its spectacular designs. Literature on style and identity suggests three concepts helpful for understanding its social significance: boundaries, multiple dimensions of variation, and historical context. This article investigates these concepts by synthesizing past studies with new analyses. The distribution of Mimbres pottery is strongly bounded, demonstrated with data from the cyberSW project. Variation in designs is multidimensional: (1) individual artists created distinctive styles; (2) specific designs are distributed homogeneously across the region, a conclusion demonstrated in part with new analyses of the geometric designs; and (3) pan-regionally, the designs’ content, regular structure, and appearance on multiple media suggest they were meaning-charged. Considering these findings in their historical context provides insights into the pottery's social significance and elaboration: population growth in the resource-rich Mimbres region engendered land tenure systems, marked in part by burials that included pottery. The pottery came to convey the message “I belong here” from two perspectives. By adopting the pottery, people, including migrants, signaled their acceptance of established ways of life in the region, and their access to the pottery indicated their acceptance in the social milieu.
The aerodynamic optimisation of a low-Reynolds paper plane with adjoint method
Authors: Zhang Y. , Zhang X. , Chen G.
Published: August 2020

The aerodynamic performance of a deployable and low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is investigated and improved in present work. The parameters of configuration, such as airfoil and winglet, are determined via an optimising process based on a discrete adjoint method. The optimised target is locked on an increasing lift-to-drag ratio with a limited variation of pitching moments. The separation that will lead to a stall is delayed after optimisation. Up to 128 design variables are used by the optimised solver to give enough flexibility of the geometrical transformation. As much as 20% enhancement of lift-to-drag ratio is gained at the cruise angle-of-attack, that is, a significant improvement in the lift-to-drag ratio adhering to the preferred configuration is obtained with increasing lift and decreasing drag coefficients, essentially entailing an improved aerodynamic performance.
Identifying the most important predictors of support for climate policy in the United States
Authors: GOLDBERG MATTHEW H. , GUSTAFSON ABEL , BALLEW MATTHEW T. , ROSENTHAL SETH A. , LEISEROWITZ ANTHONY
Published: August 2020

Reducing global warming will require enacting strong climate policies, which is unlikely to happen without public support. While prior research has identified varied predictors of climate change policy support, it is unclear which predictors are strongest for the American electorate as a whole, and which predictors are strongest for Democrats and Republicans. In a nationally representative sample of registered voters (n = 2063), we use relative weight analysis to identify the strongest predictors of public climate policy support. We find that, among registered voters in the USA, the five most important predictors of climate policy support are: worry about global warming; risk perceptions; certainty that global warming is happening; belief that global warming is human-caused; and general affect toward global warming. Collectively, these five variables account for 51% of the variance in policy support. Results split by political party indicate that pro-climate injunctive norms and global warming risk perceptions are the variables that differ most between Republicans and Democrats, accounting for significantly more variance in policy support among Republicans. These findings can inform policymakers and advocates seeking to build public support for climate action.
An examination of the ethical dilemmas of school counsellors: opinions and solution recommendations
Authors: Camadan Fatih , Topsakal Cem , Sadıkoğlu İnci
Published: August 2020

Ethical dilemmas are concerning for school counsellors in Turkey. This article presents findings of a qualitative study exploring the views and suggestions of 16 school counsellors in Rize, Turkey. Content analysis was performed on the data obtained from interviews with the participants. The results of the study showed that the school counsellors had the most knowledge about the competency principle of school counselling codes of ethics. The study also showed that regarding legal aspects of school counselling, the participating counsellors had the most knowledge about professional duties and responsibilities, yet they considered themselves inadequate in terms of both professional ethics and legal aspects of counselling. It was concluded that the school counsellors were confronted with ethical dilemmas mostly in cases of confidentiality, and it was understood that the counsellors mostly chose to do research to overcome these dilemmas.
COVID-19: the older adult and the importance of vitamin D sufficiency
Authors: O'Shea Paula M. , Griffin Tomás P. , Brennan Michelle , Mulkerrin Eamon C.
Published: August 2020

In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, the novel coronavirus ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome 2’ (SARS-CoV-2) was discovered as the cause of a pneumonia-like illness and subsequently named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 spread and is now a global pandemic. With few exceptions, countries in the Northern hemisphere have higher mortality rates from COVID-19. This may be due to an increased prevalence of older people in Northern Europe at higher risk of having cardio-pulmonary and metabolic comorbidities as well as hypovitaminosis D. With increasing age, immunosenescence and ‘inflammaging’ lead to impaired and maladaptive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infections, contributing to the enhanced prevalence of severe COVID-19 in older patients. The association of ageing with increased vitamin D deficiency, which is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and disease and worse prognosis in COVID-19 infection, is discussed. Considerable experimental evidence demonstrates the immuno-modulatory properties of vitamin D, in particular, its role in regulating and suppressing the inflammatory cytokine response to viral respiratory infections links the importance of vitamin D sufficiency as a potential protective factor in COVID-19. There is an urgent need for prospective randomised studies to examine whether hypovitaminosis D correlates with severity of COVID-19 disease and the actual benefit of repletion. Moreover, given what has been described as a ‘pandemic of vitamin D deficiency’, especially in Europe, and in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 contagion, the authors support the call for public health doctors and physicians, with support from Governments, to prioritise and strengthen recommendations on vitamin D intake and supplementation.
Paleodemographic Simulations at Xcambó, Yucatan: Early and Late Classic Population Dynamics in the Northern Maya Territories
Authors: Ortega-Muñoz Allan , Tiesler Vera , Sierra-Sosa Thelma , Cucina Andrea
Published: August 2020

Paleodemographic simulations are rare in the Maya region, because generally the skeletal collections do not represent well the ancient living population, are poorly preserved, and lead to flawed age-at-death estimations. The skeletal collection of Xcambó, however, is suitable for paleodemographic analysis and is large enough to enable comparison of paleodemographic trends between the Early (AD 250–550) and Late Classic (AD 550–750) periods. Three demographic simulations were generated; two relied on growth rates calculated from the site's previous archaeodemographic data, and a third simulation was based on a stationary scenario by applying Weiss's (1973) and Séguy and Buchet's (2013) models. All simulations indicate that Xcambó’s Late Classic population was growing faster than its Early Classic peers, with higher rates of survivorship and more severe mortality rates. We argue that the differences are more likely due to shifts in lifestyle and wealth than to environmental changes, as is confirmed by other bioarchaeological and skeletal indicators.
The Pull of the Recent revisited: negligible species-level effect in a regional marine fossil record
Authors: Womack Tom M. , Crampton James S. , Hannah Michael J.
Published: August 2020

Quantifying true patterns of biodiversity change over the Cenozoic has major implications for all of biology and paleontology but is still a source of significant debate. The problem centers on the magnitude and nature of several well-known sampling effects and analytical biases in the fossil record, including the Pull of the Recent. We test the effect of the Pull of the Recent at both generic and species levels on the exemplary New Zealand Cenozoic marine mollusk fossil record. We examine several biological traits of species to determine whether particular attributes of taxa control their likely presence or absence in the youngest fossil record (<2.4 Ma). We demonstrate that, for a tectonically active region, the Pull of the Recent does not exert a strong effect on apparent diversity patterns of genera and species over the Cenozoic at temporal scales typically used in global and regional biodiversity analyses. This result agrees with previous studies quantifying the effect of the Pull of the Recent in the marine and terrestrial realms at the genus level. The effect of the Pull of the Recent, although small, is greatest for the youngest fossil record (<2.4 Ma), particularly for species. This increase cannot easily be explained by effects related to shell mineralogical composition, size, habitat, taxonomic class, or lithification. The small effect that the Pull of the Recent exerts on the New Zealand molluscan fossil record implies that the apparent rise in regional marine diversity during the Cenozoic represents a true biological signal and/or reflects other confounding effects not considered here.
MWA tied-array processing III: Microsecond time resolution via a polyphase synthesis filter
Authors: McSweeney S. J. , Ord S. M. , Kaur D. , Bhat N. D. R. , Meyers B. W. , Tremblay S. E. , Jones J. , Crosse B. , Smith K. R.
Published: August 2020

A new high time resolution observing mode for the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is described, enabling full polarimetric observations with up to$30.72\,$MHz of bandwidth and a time resolution of${\sim}$$0.8\,\upmu$s. This mode makes use of a polyphase synthesis filter to ‘undo’ the polyphase analysis filter stage of the standard MWA’s Voltage Capture System observing mode. Sources of potential error in the reconstruction of the high time resolution data are identified and quantified, with the$S/N$loss induced by the back-to-back system not exceeding$-0.65\,$dB for typical noise-dominated samples. The system is further verified by observing three pulsars with known structure on microsecond timescales.
EQUAL TREATMENT OF PARTIES IN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION
Authors: Bantekas Ilias
Published: August 2020

Although fair trial guarantees have always been recognised as constituting an integral aspect of international arbitral proceedings, this has largely been viewed through the lens of civil procedure rather than as a matter of public law and human rights. This state of affairs has further been compounded by the confidential nature of arbitration and the relative scarcity of set aside (annulment) proceedings before the courts of the seat of arbitration on the grounds of unequal treatment, and before human rights bodies such as the European Court of Human Rights. Moreover, it has always been difficult to reconcile contractual freedom and the advantages offered by arbitration with equal treatment and fair trial claims. This article demonstrates the existence of a set of general principles concerning the meaning and content of equal treatment, which are consistent with its commercial (and civil procedure) and human rights dimensions. The basis of this conclusion is Article 18 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, as consistently interpreted and adapted by local laws and judgments, arbitral statutes and determinations by the European Court of Human Rights.
DNA sequencing demonstrates the importance of jellyfish in life cycles of lepocreadiid trematodes
Authors: Browne J.G. , Pitt K.A. , Cribb T.H.
Published: August 2020

Sequence data were combined with morphological analyses to identify two lepocreadiid trematode species from jellyfishes and fishes. Three species of jellyfish were captured within Port Phillip Bay, Australia, and three species of fish that feed on jellyfish were obtained from Moreton Bay (Queensland) and Port Phillip Bay and Portland (Victoria). The digeneans were distributed throughout most parts of the jellyfish. Opechona cf. kahawai Bray & Cribb, 2003 parasitized the scyphozoan jellyfish Aequorea eurodina and the scombrid fish Scomber australasicus. Cephalolepidapedon warehou Bray & Cribb, 2003 parasitized the scyphozoans Pseudorhiza haeckeli and Cyanea annaskala, and the centrolophid fishes Seriolella brama and Seriolella punctata. Intensities ranged from four to 96 in the jellyfish, and one to 30 in the fish. For both trematode species, internal transcribed spacer 2 of ribosomal DNA sequences from mature adults in the fishes matched those from metacercariae from the jellyfish. This is the first record of larval stages of C. warehou and O. cf. kahawai, and the first use of DNA sequencing to identify digenean trematode metacercariae from jellyfish. Three new host records are reported for C. warehou and two for O. cf. kahawai.
COVID-19 pandemic: study on simple, easy, and practical relaxation techniques while wearing medical protective equipment
Authors: Zhang Huiqin , Li Aimin , Zhu Boheng , Niu Yanyan , Ruan Zheng , Liu Lihong , Gao Xiaoling , Wang Kun , Yin Lu , Peng Mao , Xue Qing , Leng Haixia , Min Baoquan , Tian Qing , Wang Chunxue , Yang Yuan , Zhu Zhou , Si Tianmei , Li Wei , Shangguan Fangfang , Hong Xia , Chang Hong , Song Haiqing , Li Dongning , Jia Longbin , Dong Huiqing , Wang Yuping , Cosci Fiammetta , Wang Hongxing
Published: August 2020

Background

No studies have reported on how to relieve distress or relax in medical health workers while wearing medical protective equipment in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aimed to establish which relaxation technique, among six, is the most feasible in first-line medical health workers wearing medical protective equipment.

Methods

This was a two-step study collecting data with online surveys. Step 1: 15 first-line medical health workers were trained to use six different relaxation techniques and reported the two most feasible techniques while wearing medical protective equipment. Step 2: the most two feasible relaxation techniques revealed by step 1 were quantitatively tested in a sample of 65 medical health workers in terms of efficacy, no space limitation, no time limitation, no body position requirement, no environment limitation to be done, easiness to learn, simplicity, convenience, practicality, and acceptance.

Results

Kegel exercise and autogenic relaxation were the most feasible techniques according to step 1. In step 2, Kegel exercise outperformed autogenic relaxation on all the 10 dimensions among the 65 participants while wearing medical protective equipment (efficacy: 24 v. 15, no space limitation: 30 v. 4, no time limitation: 31 v. 4, no body position requirement: 26 v. 4, no environment limitation: 30 v. 11, easiness to learn: 28 v. 5, simplicity: 29 v. 7, convenience: 29 v. 4, practicality: 30 v. 14, acceptance: 32 v. 6).

Conclusion

Kegel exercise seems a promising self-relaxation technique for first-line medical health workers while wearing medical protective equipment among COVID-19 pandemic.
Re-examining Roman Death Pollution
Authors: Emmerson Allison L. C.
Published: August 2020

The idea that the dead were polluting — that is, that corpses posed a danger of making the living unclean, offensive both to their own communities and to the gods — has long occupied a fundamental position in Roman funerary studies. Nevertheless, what that pollution comprised, as well as how it affected living society, remain subject to debate. This article aims to clarify the issue by re-examining the evidence for Roman attitudes towards the dead. Focusing on the city of Rome itself, I conclude that we have little reason to reconstruct a fear of death pollution prior to Late Antiquity; in fact, the term itself has been detrimental to current understandings. No surviving text from the late republican or early imperial periods indicates that corpses were objects of metaphysical fear, and rather than polluted, mourners are better conceived as obligated, bound by a variable combination of emotions and conventions to behave in certain, if certainly changeable, ways following a death.
Weeping Qingdao Tears Abroad: Locating Chinese Publics in Colonial Malaya, circa 1919
Authors: Leow Rachel
Published: August 2020

This article suggests that conditions of coloniality produce a sui generis public sphere, one which contains multiple, plurilingual collective audiences, rather than a single “bourgeois public sphere” (Habermas), or a single “imagined community” (Anderson). By way of illustration, it locates diasporic Chinese publics in the colonial public sphere of British Malaya, and argues for a more analytically differentiated understanding of their constituent collectivities, or what it refers to as “we” publics. It analyses a Chinese-language newspaper, theYik Khuan Poh, elaborating the different “we” publics convened within its pages, and emphasising the regional and translocal geographies of collective belonging that exist within the “transnational we,” which models of diaspora tend to overdetermine. In situating theYik Khuan Pohin its temporal and spatial contexts in the early twentieth century, this article also raises questions about the character of colonial public spheres in an era of significant globality.
A CLASS OF SMALL DEVIATION THEOREMS FOR FUNCTIONALS OF RANDOM FIELDS ON A TREE WITH UNIFORMLY BOUNDED DEGREE IN RANDOM ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Shi Zhiyan , Ding Chengjun
Published: August 2020

In this paper, we mainly study a class of small deviation theorems for Markov chains indexed by an infinite tree with uniformly bounded degree in Markovian environment. Firstly, we give the definition of Markov chains indexed by a tree with uniformly bounded degree in random environment. Then, we introduce the some lemmas which are the basis of the results. Finally, a class of small deviation theorems for functionals of random fields on a tree with uniformly bounded degree in Markovian environment is established.
Using playback to estimate the distribution and density of the world’s smallest flightless bird, the Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi
Authors: DILLEY BEN J. , SWAIN GEORGE , REPETTO JULIAN , RYAN PETER G.
Published: August 2020

The Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi, the world’s smallest extant flightless bird, is endemic to Inaccessible Island, a 14-km2 uninhabited island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, central South Atlantic Ocean. Rail populations are notoriously hard to survey and the rugged topography of Inaccessible Island makes a survey particularly challenging. Fortunately, Inaccessible Island Rails are very vocal, because their secretive behaviour means birds are hard to observe in the dense vegetation. We assessed the distribution of rails across Inaccessible Island using playbacks at 350 point-count sites in October–November 2018. Rail calls were heard at 98% of sites and we estimate the rail population to be in the order of 10,300 birds (95% CI 9,100–12,200), based on estimated rail densities in the six main habitats. Historic population estimates were reasonably crude and thus not suitable for inferring population trends, but the population appears to be stable and we recommend the species’ status remains as ‘Vulnerable’. The accidental introduction of alien mammals poses the greatest threat to the survival of the Inaccessible Island Rail and the removal of house mouse Mus musculus and ship rat Rattus rattus from neighbouring Tristan da Cunha Island would greatly reduce the risk of such a catastrophe.
Validation of the Guilt associated with Self-Perception as a Burden Scale (G-SPBS)
Authors: Pedroso-Chaparro María del Sequeros , Cabrera Isabel , Márquez-González María , Olmos Ricardo , Romero-Moreno Rosa , Vara-García Carlos , Gallego-Alberto Laura , Barrera-Caballero Samara , Losada-Baltar Andrés
Published: August 2020

Background:

One of the main health-related worries for older adults is becoming dependent. Even healthy older adults may worry about becoming dependent, generating guilt feelings due to the anticipation of future needs that others must solve. The guilt associated with self-perception as a burden has not been studied in older adults, and there is no instrument available to measure these feelings.

Aims:

To adapt the Self-Perceived Burden Scale (SPBS; Cousineau et al., 2003) for the assessment of feelings of guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden for the family in older adults without explicit functional or cognitive impairment.

Method:

Participants were 298 older adults living independently in the community. Participants completed the assessment protocol, which included measures of guilt associated with self-perception as a burden, depressive and anxious symptomatology, self-perceived burden, and sociodemographic information.

Results:

Results from exploratory, parallel and confirmatory factor analyses suggest that the scale, named Guilt associated with Self-Perception as a Burden Scale (G-SPBS), has a unidimensional structure, explaining 57.04% of the variance of guilt. Good reliability was found (Cronbach’s alpha = .94). The results revealed significant (p < .01) positive associations with depressive and anxious symptomatology.

Discussion:

These findings suggest that the G-SPBS shows good psychometric properties which endorse its use with healthy community older adults. Also, guilt associated with perceiving oneself as a burden seems to be a relevant variable that can contribute to improving our understanding of psychological distress in older adults.
Address by the President of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Dr John Taylor
Authors: Taylor John
Published: August 2020

The President (Dr J. Taylor, F.F.A.): Good evening from Edinburgh. Today marks the first-ever presidential address of the merged Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) to take place outside of London.
TIMING AND SIGNALS OF MONETARY REGIME SWITCHING
Authors: Soques Daniel
Published: August 2020

This study investigates if the reaction function of the Federal Reserve switches between two distinct policy rules. Using a time-varying transition probability framework, we also determine if forward-looking macroeconomic or financial covariates signal an impending monetary regime switch. We find that US monetary policy is best described by a Markov-switching model with two regime processes, one of which controls for heteroskedasticity in the shocks to the policy rule. We find that the Fed switches between an aggressive regime with a relatively high weight on inflation and a dovish regime that is less responsive to inflationary pressures. We find that an increase in private forecasters’ expectations of an impending recession signals a switch from the more aggressive policy regime to the less aggressive regime. A recovery in equity returns signals a return back to the more aggressive regime.
Perceptions and determinants of healthy eating for people with HIV in the Dominican Republic who experience food insecurity
Authors: Wallace Deshira D , Payán Denise D , Then-Paulino Amarilis , Armenta Gabriela , Fulcar María Altagracia , Acevedo Ramón , Derose Kathryn P
Published: August 2020

Objective:

The current study aimed to understand how moderate and severe food-insecure people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Dominican Republic perceive a healthy diet and explore facilitators and barriers to engaging in healthy dietary behaviours as a means of HIV self-management.

Design:

We conducted semi-structured interviews with PLHIV. We generated codes on food insecurity among PLHIV and used content analysis to organise codes for constant comparison between and within participants.

Setting:

Two urban HIV clinics in the Dominican Republic.

Participants:

Thirty-two PLHIV participated in the interviews.

Results:

Factors that contributed to dietary behaviours include individual factors, such as knowledge of nutrition, views and attitudes on healthy dietary behaviours, beliefs about dietary needs for PLHIV and diet functionality. Interpersonal factors, including assistance from family and peers in providing food or funds, were deemed critical along with community and organisational factors, such as food assistance from HIV clinics, accessibility to a variety of food store types and the availability of diverse food options at food stores. Policy-level factors that influenced dietary behaviours were contingent on respondents’ participation in the labour market (i.e. whether they were employed) and consistent access to government assistance. Food insecurity influenced these factors through unpredictability and a lack of control.

Conclusions:

PLHIV who experience food insecurity face various barriers to engaging in healthy dietary behaviours. Their diets are influenced at multiple levels of influence ranging from individual to structural, requiring multi-level interventions that can address these factors concurrently.
The role of improved social support for healthy eating in a lifestyle intervention: Texercise Select
Authors: Yoshikawa Aya , Smith Matthew Lee , Lee Shinduk , Towne Samuel D , Ory Marcia G
Published: August 2020

Objective:

We examined the measurement and mediating role of social support in dietary intake among participants in Texercise Select, an intervention for improving lifestyle behaviours.

Design:

Quasi-experimental study. Participants reported their dietary intake, level of social support measured by the new Social Support for Healthy Eating scale, sociodemographics and disease profile. We conducted exploratory factor analysis for scale evaluation and structural equation modelling for mediation analysis to test if changes in dietary-specific social support mediate the relationship between the intervention and changes in dietary intake.

Setting:

Texas.

Participants:

Community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults completed a self-reported survey at baseline and 3-month follow-up (intervention group n 211, comparison group n 175).

Results:

The majority of the sample was aged ≥70 years (mean 74·30, sd 8·54), female (82·1 %) and had at least two chronic conditions (63·5 %). The acceptable levels of reliability and validity of the dietary-specific social support scale were confirmed. Compared with the comparison group, the intervention group reported improved intake of fruit/vegetables and water, and improved dietary-specific social support. Improved dietary-specific social support mediated the association between intervention and change in fruit/vegetable intake, controlling for sociodemographics, number of chronic conditions and geographic residence. About 12 % of intervention effect was mediated by social support.

Conclusions:

The current study confirms positive intervention effects on healthy eating, and highlights social support relating to dietary behaviours that may be helpful for healthy eating. Future research should investigate additional social support for developing healthy eating behavioural skills.
Patients’ experiences of family members’ reactions to diagnosis of breast cancer and support in the management of breast cancer in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Adejoh Samuel Ojima , Olorunlana Adetayo , Adejayan Adeola
Published: August 2020

Objective

The objectives of this study are to describe patients’ experiences of family members’ reactions to diagnosis of breast cancer and investigate the role of family support in the management of breast cancer.

Method

The study used the descriptive qualitative method in data collection and analysis. Fifteen participants, who were undergoing either radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment at a private hospital, consented and participated in the study. Data were content analyzed under two specific themes on family members’ reactions and family support received.

Findings

The findings show that some participants reported negative reactions of some family members, and this affected them negatively. While some participants received support from their families, others did not.

Significance of findings

The findings of our study show the critical role of family support in the management of breast cancer; therefore, family members should be encouraged to give breast cancer patient the necessary support to help them manage their sick role behavior since their illness has no cure.
Development and psychometric validation of a comprehensive end-of-life care competence scale: A study based on three-year surveys of health and social care professionals in Hong Kong
Authors: Xiu Daiming , Chow Amy Y.M. , Chan Iris K.N.
Published: August 2020

Objective

This study aimed to develop an assessment tool measuring comprehensive interdisciplinary competence in end-of-life care (EoLC) and investigate its content, construct validity, reliability, and their correlates.

Method

Items of the Comprehensive End-of-Life Care Competence Scale (CECCS) were developed according to a comprehensive core competence framework in EoLC and refined by a multi-disciplinary panel of experts. The psychometric properties were further tested through region-wide surveys of self-administered questionnaires completed by health and social care professionals in Hong Kong.

Results

Participants comprised social workers, nurses, physicians, and allied health care professionals (445 participants in 2016, 410 in 2017, and 523 in 2018). Factor analysis validated the construct of the questionnaire which encompassed 26 items describing EoLC core competences in seven domains with satisfactory internal reliability (confirmatory factor analysis: χ2/df = 3.12, GFI = 0.85, TLI = 0.93, CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.07; Cronbach's alphas ranged from 0.89 to 0.97): overarching value & knowledge, communication skills, symptom management, psychosocial and community care, end-of-life decision-making, bereavement care, and self-care. Higher perceived levels in these competences were correlated with a higher level of job meaningfulness and satisfaction (r ranged from 0.17 to 0.39, p < 0.01) and correlated with lower perceived stress (r ranged from –0.11 to –0.28, p < 0.05). Regression analysis found that age and work involvement in EoLC were positively associated with the perceived competences in all domains; professionals working in hospices reported higher levels of competence than workers in other settings; social workers showed lower perceived competences in symptom management, but higher levels in bereavement care than other health care professionals.

Significance of results

The validity and internal reliability of CECCS were demonstrated. The levels of perceived competences working in EoLC were significantly associated with professionals’ job-related well-being. Practically, there is still room for improvement in comprehensive competences among health and social care workers in Hong Kong.
How Affective Polarization Shapes Americans’ Political Beliefs: A Study of Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Druckman James N. , Klar Samara , Krupnikov Yanna , Levendusky Matthew , Ryan John Barry
Published: August 2020

Affective polarization – partisans’ dislike and distrust of those from the other party – has reached historically high levels in the United States. While numerous studies estimate its effect on apolitical outcomes (e.g., dating and economic transactions), we know much less about its effects on political beliefs. We argue that those who exhibit high levels of affective polarization politicize ostensibly apolitical issues and actors. An experiment focused on responses to COVID-19 that relies on pre-pandemic, exogenous measures of affective polarization supports our expectations. Partisans who harbor high levels of animus towards the other party do not differentiate the “United States’” response to COVID-19 from that of the Trump administration. Less affectively polarized partisans, in contrast, do not politicize evaluations of the country’s response. Our results provide evidence of how affective polarization, apart from partisanship itself, shapes substantive beliefs. Affective polarization has political consequences and political beliefs stem, in part, from partisan animus.
Comparison of GOLD Nighttime Measurements With Total Electron Content: Preliminary Results
Authors: Cai Xuguang , Burns Alan G. , Wang Wenbin , Coster Anthea , Qian Liying , Liu Jing , Solomon Stanley C. , Eastes Richard W. , Daniell Robert E. , McClintock William E.
Published: August 2020

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Global‐scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) has been imaging the thermosphere and ionosphere since October 2018. It provides continuous measurements over a large area from its geostationary orbit. The unambiguous two‐dimensional (2‐D) maps of OI 135.6 nm radiance retrieved from GOLD after sunset are compared with the total electron content (TEC) maps measured by GPS receivers in the American sector. The OI 135.6 nm radiance observed by GOLD is an indicator of the peak electron density of the ionosphere F2 region, while the TEC is the total electron density in the column. Our comparisons show that the two data sets match each other very well in the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) morphology and its seasonal variability. Equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) are evident in GOLD nighttime OI 135.6 radiance. Corresponding depletions are shown in TEC maps, but without GOLD data as a reference, it is difficult to discern that the depletions are EPBs. In addition, both GOLD 135.6 radiance and TEC maps observed third peaks of electron density poleward of the southern EIA crests. Furthermore, both show that the ionosphere after sunset is quite dynamic and has strong day‐to‐day variability. In all, the GOLD and TEC have valuable synergy to allow us to gain a better understanding of the equatorial ionosphere.
Tectonics of the Dead Sea Fault Driving the July 2018 Seismic Swarm in the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret), Israel
Authors: Haddad Antoine , Alcanie Marion , Zahradník Jiří , Lazar Michael , Antunes Verónica , Gasperini Luca , Polonia Alina , Mazzini Adriano , Lupi Matteo
Published: August 2020

Northern Israel was struck during July 2018 by a ML4.4 earthquake followed by a seismic sequence that lasted about 30 days. This seismic sequence occurred in the center of a temporary seismic network deployed around the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). The network was installed to investigate the regional kinematics of the Dead Sea Fault, which is a major transform fault running N‐S for more than 1,000 km. The data allowed us to develop a local velocity model for the Sea of Galilee. We relocated more than 600 earthquakes and calculated 27 focal mechanisms pointing out a complex kinematic setting, possibly controlled by fluids at depth. The seismic sequence developed along a NNW‐striking direction and it is bounded to the east by the N‐striking Dead Sea fault. Hypocenter depths range between 6 and 13 km. Directions of the principal stress tensors suggest a transtentional deformation, in agreement with the overall kinematics of the region.

We analyze and discuss our data set to investigate mechanisms that potentially triggered the observed seismic swarm, including exacerbated ground water pumping proposed by previous authors. We suggest that the seismic sequence is driven by the dissipation of the elastic load that accumulated in this region.
Biogeochemical Controls of Particulate Phosphorus Distribution Across the Oligotrophic Subtropical Pacific Ocean
Authors: Hashihama Fuminori , Saito Hiroaki , Shiozaki Takuhei , Ehama Makoto , Suwa Shuhei , Sugiyama Takanori , Kato Haruka , Kanda Jota , Sato Mitsuhide , Kodama Taketoshi , Yamaguchi Tamaha , Horii Sachiko , Tanita Iwao , Takino Shota , Takahashi Kazutaka , Ogawa Hiroshi , Boyd Philip W. , Furuya Ken
Published: August 2020

We investigated basin‐wide distributions of total particulate phosphorus (TPP) and associated biogeochemical parameters in the euphotic zone (EZ) of the subtropical North and South Pacific Ocean. TPP is primarily composed of living microorganisms, and its distribution is likely controlled by nitrogen (N) supply in typical N‐limited Pacific waters as well as phosphorus (P) supply in P‐limited western North Pacific. TPP concentrations showed a vertically uniform distribution (approximately 15 nM) within the EZ at most stations, but at several northern North Pacific stations, TPP peaks (>20 nM) were observed in the lower EZ where nitrate and nitrite concentrations were high. Relationships between TPP and biogeochemical parameters indicate that a possible factor controlling TPP in the upper EZ was dinitrogen fixation and that in the lower EZ was shoaling of the nitracline. Geographical distribution of TPP was relatively uniform compared to that of phosphate, which varied from <10 nM in the western North Pacific to >100 nM in the eastern North and South Pacific. The western North Pacific was a domain characterized by lower dissolved organic P (DOP) concentrations, higher alkaline phosphatase activities, and higher particulate polyphosphate (PpolyP):TPP ratios compared to other domains. These characteristics indicated that active DOP utilization and PpolyP accumulation could play important roles in the maintenance of TPP stocks as alternatives to phosphate utilization in this distinctive domain. Our results demonstrated that TPP distributions were vertically and geographically uniform across the subtropical Pacific Ocean, concealing that TPP stocks were likely underpinned by a range of nutrient supply mechanisms.
Structural Control, Evolution, and Accumulation Rates of Massive Sulfides in the TAG Hydrothermal Field
Authors: Graber Sebastian , Petersen Sven , Yeo Isobel , Szitkar Florent , Klischies Meike , Jamieson John , Hannington Mark , Rothenbeck Marcel , Wenzlaff Emanuel , Augustin Nico , Stobbs Iain
Published: August 2020

The Trans‐Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) hydrothermal field on the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge is one of the best‐studied hydrothermal systems to date. However, high‐resolution bathymetric data obtained in 2016 by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) reveal new information about the distribution of active and inactive hydrothermal deposits, and their relation to structural features. The discovery of previously undocumented inactive vent sites contributes to a better understanding of the accumulation rates and the resource potential of seafloor massive sulfide deposits at slow‐spreading ridges. The interpretation of ship‐based and high‐resolution AUV‐based data sets allowed for the determination of the main tectonic stress regimes that have a first‐order control on the location and distribution of past and present hydrothermal activity. The data reveal the importance of cross‐cutting lineament populations and temporal variations in the prevalent stress regime. A dozen sulfide mounds contribute to a substantial accumulation of hydrothermal material (~29 Mt). The accumulation rate of ~1,500 t/yr is comparable to those of other modern seafloor vent fields. However, our observations suggest that the TAG segment is different from many other slow‐spreading ridge segments in its tectonic complexity, which confines sulfide formation into a relatively small area and is responsible for the longevity of the hydrothermal system and substantial mineral accumulation. The inactive and weakly active mounds contain almost 10 times the amount of material as the active high‐temperature mound, providing an important indication of the global resource potential for inactive seafloor massive sulfide deposits.
The Spatiotemporal Evolution of Granular Microslip Precursors to Laboratory Earthquakes
Authors: Trugman Daniel T. , McBrearty Ian W. , Bolton David C. , Guyer Robert A. , Marone Chris , Johnson Paul A.
Published: August 2020

Laboratory earthquake experiments provide important observational constraints for our understanding of earthquake physics. Here we leverage continuous waveform data from a network of piezoceramic sensors to study the spatial and temporal evolution of microslip activity during a shear experiment with synthetic fault gouge. We combine machine learning techniques with ray theoretical seismology to detect, associate, and locate tens of thousands of microslip events within the gouge layer. Microslip activity is concentrated near the center of the system but is highly variable in space and time. While microslip activity rate increases as failure approaches, the spatiotemporal evolution can differ substantially between stick‐slip cycles. These results illustrate that even within a single, well‐constrained laboratory experiment, the dynamics of earthquake nucleation can be highly complex.
MMS Observation of Secondary Magnetic Reconnection Beside Ion‐Scale Flux Rope at the Magnetopause
Authors: Dong X.‐C. , Dunlop M. W. , Wang T.‐Y. , Trattner K. J. , Russell C. T. , Giles B.
Published: August 2020

Using high‐resolution data from Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we report an in situ observation of a secondary reconnection electron diffusion region (EDR) beside the leading edge of an ion‐scale flux rope at the magnetopause. This reconnection EDR is characterized by strong electron current and electron jet reversal, a normal Hall electric field, unmagnetized electrons with nongyrotropic distributions, a large parallel electric field, and strong energy dissipation. The ion‐scale flux rope beside the EDR consists of a force‐free structure with diameter of only ~3 ion inertial lengths. Our observation of secondary reconnection beside the flux rope gives further evidence that flux ropes can be created and evolved in the reconnection exhaust region.