bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accountability in waqf institutions: a meta-narrative review
Authors: Ainol-Basirah A.W. , Siti-Nabiha A.K.
Published: August 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to systematically review studies of waqf accountability to conceptualise accountability in this unique setting.

Design/methodology/approach

This review followed the realist and meta-narrative evidence syntheses guidelines for meta-narrative review and used systematic searching for studies related to accountability in waqf institutions, based on the two main social sciences databases (Scopus and Web of Science). Thematic analysis was used to assess patterns regarding how researchers approached the concept of accountability in their studies, along with the context, the theories and the methods they used.

Findings

The number of research papers investigating the issue of waqf institutions’ accountability was severely limited in comparison to the growing literature on waqf institutions themselves. Existing research varies, with accountability practices understood through accounting, reporting and management perspectives, holistic accountability and studying various aspects antecedent to the achievement of accountability, such as governance, performance measurement and intellectual capital.

Originality/value

This study was conducted to fill the gap regarding a systematic review placing specific focus on accountability in the waqf institutional setting. The narrative from the review and suggestions for future research are provided to strengthen understanding of the current state of knowledge on accountability and direction, to enhance its usefulness in both theoretical building and practical improvement.
Impact of visibility on indoor retail store rent
Authors: Gamal Ahmad , Romadhon Muhammad Joko
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The aim of this research is to provide a new understanding of the concept of visibility in the realm of property research. Further, this study could propose a more accurate way of calculating retail unit rental price based on visibility. An accurate visibility quantification can influence rent negotiations between shopping mall management and potential tenants. This study can also assist shopping center management, shop owners and architects to have a better mechanism for determining the visibility value and the effect on the retail unit rental price.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses data from 153 indoor retail stores in Jakarta and a sequential-transformative mixed method to answer an important question for modern retail management: How much would indoor store visibility affect rent? The authors developed a method to accurately measure an indoor retail store's object-based isovist – a visual field in which a number of observers can view the particular indoor store.

Findings

The study found that on average, each additional square meter person of visibility increases indoor retail rent price as much as IDR 40.74/sq m/month (USD 0.0027). Since visibility value is a variable with the greatest inter-store variation in this data set, the rent price difference between two stores with maximum and minimum visibility can reach IDR 100,904.62/sq m/month (USD 6.90). This finding is not just statistically but also financially significant since indoor inter-store retail rent price variation that can be directly attributed to visibility is about 38.4% of the average rent price in this data set.

Practical implications

Along with the rapid growth of e-commerce, numerous commercial properties are struggling to provide customers with a positive and distinct experience. Improving visibility can be a key spatial factor that will help shopping center designers, owners and management. The authors’ research can help shopping mall managers determine each store's optimum rent based on its visibility when negotiating with potential tenants.

Originality/value

The aim of this research is to provide a new understanding of the concept of appearance in the realm of property research. Further, this study could propose a more accurate way of calculating retail unit rental price according to the concept of visibility.
Modeling SEBM process of tantalum lattices
Authors: Yue Mingkai , Li Meie , An Ning , Yang Kun , Wang Jian , Zhou Jinxiong
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Selective electron beam melting (SEBM) is one of the popular powder-bed additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. The purpose of this paper is to develop a simulation strategy for SEBM process to get data which are vital for realistic failure prediction and process parameters control for real complex components.

Design/methodology/approach

Focusing on the SEBM process of tantalum, this paper presents a three-dimensional thermo-mechanical modeling strategy based on ABAQUS and its subroutines. The simulation strategy used in this paper is developed for SEBM process of pure tantalum but could be extended to other AM fabrication technologies and other metals without difficulties.

Findings

The simulation of multi-track multi-layer SEBM process of tantalum was carried out to predict the temperature field, the molten pool evolution and the residual stress distribution. The key information such as inter-track molten pool overlapping ratio and inter-layer refusion state can be extracted from the obtained molten pool morphologies, which are vital for realistic failure prediction and process parameters control for real components. The authors finally demonstrate the capability of the strategy used by simulating a 2 mm × 2 mm × 10 mm lattice structure with total 200 layers.

Originality/value

The simulation of multi-track multi-layer SEBM process of tantalum was carried out. The key information such as inter-track molten pool overlapping ratio and inter-layer refusion state can be extracted. The authors finally demonstrate the capability of the strategy used by simulating a lattice structure. Not only temperature distribution but also stress evolution are captured. Our simulation strategy is developed for the SEBM process of pure tantalum, but it could be extended to other AM fabrication technologies and other metals without difficulties.
Barcoding High Resolution Melting (Bar‐HRM) enables the discrimination between toxic plants and edible vegetables prior to consumption and after digestion
Authors: Anthoons Bastien , Lagiotis Georgios , Drouzas Andreas D. , de Boer Hugo , Madesis Panagiotis
Published: July 2022

The consumption of poisonous plants can lead to serious health problems or even casualties due to various factors, including easy access to poisonous plants due to their common distribution, co‐occurrence and resemblance with edible plants, and the lack of regulation in the food product supply chain. Clinical diagnosis of intoxications usually relies on the availability of the plant consumed by the patient and on the morphology of the plant parts found in the patient's stomach. Therefore, given the fragmented nature of ingested plant material, species identification may face serious difficulties, can be inaccurate, and time‐consuming. This highlights the need for rapid and reliable tools to identify toxic species. In the present study, we developed an ITS2‐high‐resolution melting (HRM) assay for: (1) the discrimination of common toxic plants and their edible lookalikes, and (2) the detection of toxic plants in digested samples. More specifically, we designed species‐specific ITS2 primers for the authentication of poisonous species in simulated mixtures and verified them with Bar‐HRM. Moreover, the developed HRM‐based molecular tool was capable of quantifying the toxic species Datura stramonium in simulated mixtures with the edible Amaranthus retroflexus down to at least 0.5% v/v. This study shows that species‐specific ITS2 primers can amplify the DNA from fragmented and/or artificially digested samples and that Bar‐HRM is capable of detecting poisonous plant species in digested samples even after 4 h. The developed Bar‐HRM protocol has important implications for application in medicine, forensics, and the agricultural industry, either to accurately detect the cause of plant intoxications or as a tool for quality control in the supply chain.

Practical Application

In this work, we established a high‐resolution melting DNA‐based protocol capable of discriminating between phenotypically similar common toxic and edible plant species in mixtures, even at very low quantities. This technology also proved efficient in detecting the toxic species in mixtures digested in artificial gastric acid, as it would be the case after accidental ingestion. This work is expected to have important implications for application in medicine, forensics, and the agricultural industry, either for identifying the cause of plant intoxications or as a tool for quality control in different steps of the supply chain.
Effects of cutting and drying method (vacuum freezing, catalytic infrared, and hot air drying) on rehydration kinetics and physicochemical characteristics of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)
Authors: Sun Qiaolan , Chen Li , Zhou Cunshan , Okonkwo Clinton Emeka , Tang Yuxin
Published: July 2022

The purpose of this study was to discuss the effects of cutting methods (transverse cutting [TC] and longitudinal cutting [LC]) and drying methods (vacuum freeze‐drying [FD], hot air drying [HD], catalytic infrared drying [CID]) on rehydration kinetics and physical and chemical characteristics of rehydrated ginger. The research results showed that the rehydration rate and equilibrium moisture content increased with an increase in temperature. LC samples had a higher rehydration rate, while TC samples showed higher equilibrium moisture. Peleg model can fit the rehydration curve of the sample well. The highest coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.99, while the sum of squares error and lowest chi‐square (χ2) was close to zero. Compared with fresh samples, the rehydrated ginger slices had lower gingerol content, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and higher antioxidant activity. The different cutting methods had no significant effect on the physical and chemical properties of rehydrated ginger. In conclusion, TC‐CID rehydrated products have better retention of gingerol, TPC, TFC, and antioxidant properties, which was similar to the principal component analysis.

Practical Application

The results of this study show that transverse cutting combined with catalytic infrared drying is a unique processing technology. Due to the short xylem of transverse cutting ginger, the xylem diameter can be restored during rehydration, the balanced water content was high, and the quality of dried ginger can be restored to the greatest extent. This makes food processors competitive in the operation process and provides better services to consumers.
Defining fine‐scaled population structure among continuously distributed populations
Authors: O'Donnell Michael S. , Edmunds David R. , Aldridge Cameron L. , Heinrichs Julie A. , Monroe Adrian P. , Coates Peter S. , Prochazka Brian G. , Hanser Steve E. , Wiechman Lief A.
Published: August 2022

Understanding wildlife population structure and connectivity can help managers identify conservation strategies, as structure can facilitate the study of population changes and habitat connectivity can provide information on dispersal and biodiversity. To facilitate the use of wildlife monitoring data for improved adaptive management, we developed a novel approach to define hierarchical tiers (multiple scales) of population structure.

We defined population structure by combining graph theory with biological inference about dispersal capability (based on movement, gene flow, and habitat condition) and functional processes affecting movement (e.g. habitat selection across scales of landscape preferences). First, we developed least‐cost paths between high fidelity sites (habitat patches) using a cost surface, informed from functional processes of habitat characteristics to account for resistance of inter‐patch movements. Second, we combined the paths into a multi‐path graph construct. Third, we used information on potential connectivity (dispersal distances) and functional connectivity (permeability of fragmented landscapes based on selection preferences) to decompose the graph into hierarchical tiers of connected subpopulations, denoting the degree that dispersal affected population structure.

As a case study, we applied our approach across the greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) range, a species of conservation concern in western United States. We described the relative importance of local populations and where to potentially avoid landscape disturbances that may negatively affect population connectivity using centrality measures supported by graph theory, and we demonstrated close alignment of the resulting population structure with population densities.

This method can be adapted for other species with site fidelity and used as a management tool to evaluate population trends and responses to landscape changes across different temporal and spatial scales.
p38α‐MAPK‐deficient myeloid cells ameliorate symptoms and pathology of APP‐transgenic Alzheimer's disease mice
Authors: Luo Qinghua , Schnöder Laura , Hao Wenlin , Litzenburger Kathrin , Decker Yann , Tomic Inge , Menger Michael D. , Liu Yang , Fassbender Klaus
Published: August 2022

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, is pathologically characterized by extracellular deposition of amyloid‐β peptides (Aβ) and microglia‐dominated inflammatory activation in the brain. p38α‐MAPK is activated in both neurons and microglia. How p38α‐MAPK in microglia contributes to AD pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we conditionally knocked out p38α‐MAPK in all myeloid cells or specifically in microglia of APP‐transgenic mice, and examined animals for AD‐associated pathologies (i.e., cognitive deficits, Aβ pathology, and neuroinflammation) and individual microglia for their inflammatory activation and Aβ internalization at different disease stages (e.g., at 4 and 9 months of age). Our experiments showed that p38α‐MAPK‐deficient myeloid cells were more effective than p38α‐MAPK‐deficient microglia in reducing cerebral Aβ and neuronal impairment in APP‐transgenic mice. Deficiency of p38α‐MAPK in myeloid cells inhibited inflammatory activation of individual microglia at 4 months but enhanced it at 9 months. Inflammatory activation promoted microglial internalization of Aβ. Interestingly, p38α‐MAPK‐deficient myeloid cells reduced IL‐17a‐expressing CD4‐positive lymphocytes in 9 but not 4‐month‐old APP‐transgenic mice. By cross‐breeding APP‐transgenic mice with Il‐17a‐knockout mice, we observed that IL‐17a deficiency potentially activated microglia and reduced Aβ deposition in the brain as shown in 9‐month‐old myeloid p38α‐MAPK‐deficient AD mice. Thus, p38α‐MAPK deficiency in all myeloid cells, but not only in microglia, prevents AD progression. IL‐17a‐expressing lymphocytes may partially mediate the pathogenic role of p38α‐MAPK in peripheral myeloid cells. Our study supports p38α‐MAPK as a therapeutic target for AD patients.
Residuals from two‐step research designs
Authors: Jackson Andrew B.
Published: August 2022

A number of studies have begun to question the appropriateness of the widespread and pervasive usage of regressions in two‐step research designs in the accounting literature to obtain variables. The use of residuals from a first‐step model as a dependent variable in a second step has been used in contexts such as earnings management and unexpected audit fees. In this paper, I provide a discussion of the issues within the use of residuals from a first‐step model in a second step. Taking the case of discretionary accruals models, I demonstrate some of the model specification issues explicitly and implicitly considered within these criticisms. I then add a discussion over some concerns regarding the economic interpretation in the use of first‐step residuals.
Screening for adverse childhood experiences in antenatal care settings: A scoping review
Authors: Tran Nam , Callaway Leonie , Shen Sitong , Biswas Tuhin , Scott James G. , Boyle Fran , Mamun Abdullah
Published: August 2022

Background

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with many health problems in women during pregnancy, including depression/anxiety, gestational diabetes and adverse birth outcomes. However, unlike other health risk factors, screening for ACEs has not been widely implemented in antenatal care settings.

Aims

The aim of the scoping review was to explore the challenges in screening for ACEs in antenatal care settings and to provide the lessons learnt and evidence that guide the practice of ACE screening for both healthcare providers and pregnant women.

Methods

A five‐stage process for conducting the scoping review was utilised. Searches of four key databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL and SCOPUS) and reference lists from relevant studies were conducted.

Results

Seven publications met the inclusion criteria. Challenges identified for healthcare providers in screening for ACEs include lack of knowledge and confidence in ACE tool and shortage of time and resources to undertake screening. Impediments for pregnant women include concerns about privacy. However, there were examples of effective practice for ACE screening in antenatal care settings that could apply widely.

Conclusion

Addressing impediments to ACE screening is critical in implementing trauma‐informed practices that can identify women at risk of adverse health outcomes during pregnancy. A study on screening for ACEs in antenatal care in both public and private settings is needed to examine its feasibility and acceptability in the Australian context before being included in the National Perinatal Data Collection.
Financial Disclosure Management by Charitable Organisations: A Conceptual and Operational Framework
Authors: Cyr Dominic , Landry Suzanne , Fortin Anne
Published: July 2022

We present a conceptual and operational framework for analysing financial disclosure management by charitable organisations. We paint an overall picture of the issue and apply various theories to explain this management practice. The framework lists the many motivations and contextual factors that impel managers of charitable organisations to manage financial information and explains how they weight and prioritise items in light of considerations such as incentive bonuses, social performance, resource dependence and monitoring mechanisms. The framework also sums up the strategies and techniques that undergird financial disclosure management and describes the monitoring mechanisms that mitigate this opportunistic practice and its consequences. The paper concludes by presenting several research avenues.
A history of collective resilience and collective victimhood: Two sides of the same coin that explain Black Americans' present‐day responses to oppression
Authors: Selvanathan Hema Preya , Jetten Jolanda , Umeh Alexis
Published: July 2022

Collective victimhood and collective resilience are two sides of the same coin. However, most literature to date has focused on the experiences and consequences of collective victimhood. In the present research, we focused on the experiences of Black Americans, a group that has a legacy of victimizationandresilience. As a part of Black Americans' collective memory, we explored the nature of historical collective resilience and examined its role in explaining collective responses to present‐day oppression, over and above any effect of historical collective victimhood. When they were asked to reflect on their group's history, across Studies 1 (N = 272) and 2 (N = 294), we found that Black Americans generated narratives of collective resilience. In both studies, we also found evidence that perceived historical collective resilience was linked to a greater sense of collective continuity, which, in turn, explained greater support for the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement. Our findings underscore the importance of considering narratives of resilience in a group's history and point to the way such collective resilience narratives can serve as a resource for the group in the present.
Leveraging Analysis History for Improved In Situ Visualization Recommendation
Authors: Epperson Will , Jung‐Lin Lee Doris , Wang Leijie , Agarwal Kunal , Parameswaran Aditya G. , Moritz Dominik , Perer Adam
Published: July 2022

Existing visualization recommendation systems commonly rely on a single snapshot of a dataset to suggest visualizations to users. However, exploratory data analysis involves a series of related interactions with a dataset over time rather than one‐off analytical steps. We present Solas, a tool that tracks the history of a user's data analysis, models their interest in each column, and uses this information to provide visualization recommendations, all within the user's native analytical environment. Recommending with analysis history improves visualizations in three primary ways: task‐specific visualizations use the provenance of data to provide sensible encodings for common analysis functions, aggregated history is used to rank visualizations by our model of a user's interest in each column, and column data types are inferred based on applied operations. We present a usage scenario and a user evaluation demonstrating how leveraging analysis history improves in situ visualization recommendations on real‐world analysis tasks.
Visual Parameter Selection for Spatial Blind Source Separation
Authors: Piccolotto N. , Bögl M. , Muehlmann C. , Nordhausen K. , Filzmoser P. , Miksch S.
Published: July 2022

Analysis of spatial multivariate data, i.e., measurements at irregularly‐spaced locations, is a challenging topic in visualization and statistics alike. Such data are inteGral to many domains, e.g., indicators of valuable minerals are measured for mine prospecting. Popular analysis methods, like PCA, often by design do not account for the spatial nature of the data. Thus they, together with their spatial variants, must be employed very carefully. Clearly, it is preferable to use methods that were specifically designed for such data, like spatial blind source separation (SBSS). However, SBSS requires two tuning parameters, which are themselves complex spatial objects. Setting these parameters involves navigating two large and interdependent parameter spaces, while also taking into account prior knowledge of the physical reality represented by the data. To support analysts in this process, we developed a visual analytics prototype. We evaluated it with experts in visualization, SBSS, and geochemistry. Our evaluations show that our interactive prototype allows to define complex and realistic parameter settings efficiently, which was so far impractical. Settings identified by a non‐expert led to remarkable and surprising insights for a domain expert. Therefore, this paper presents important first steps to enable the use of a promising analysis method for spatial multivariate data.
Where did my Lines go? Visualizing Missing Data in Parallel Coordinates
Authors: Bäuerle A. , van Onzenoodt C. , der Kinderen S. , Westberg J. Johansson , Jönsson D. , Ropinski T.
Published: July 2022

We evaluate visualization concepts to represent missing values in parallel coordinates. We focus on the trade‐off between the ability to perceive missing values and the concept's impact on common tasks. For this purpose, we identified three missing value representation concepts: removing line segments where values are missing, adding a separate, horizontal axis onto which missing values are projected, and using imputed values as a replacement for missing values. For the missing values axis and imputed values concepts, we additionally add downplay and highlight variations. We performed a crowd‐sourced, quantitative user study with 732 participants comparing the concepts and their variations using five real‐world datasets. Based on our findings, we provide suggestions regarding which visual encoding to employ depending on the task at focus.
Exploring Effects of Ecological Visual Analytics Interfaces on Experts' and Novices' Decision‐Making Processes: A Case Study in Air Traffic Control
Authors: Zohrevandi E. , Westin C. A. L. , Vrotsou K. , Lundberg J.
Published: July 2022

Operational demands in safety‐critical systems impose a risk of failure to the operators especially during urgent situations. Operators of safety‐critical systems learn to make decisions effectively throughout extensive training programs and many years of experience. In the domain of air traffic control, expensive training with high dropout rates calls for research to enhance novices' ability to detect and resolve conflicts in the airspace. While previous researchers have mostly focused on redesigning training instructions and programs, the current paper explores possible benefits of novel visual representations to improve novices' understanding of the situations as well as their decision‐making process. We conduct an experimental evaluation study testing two ecological visual analytics interfaces, developed in a previous study, as support systems to facilitate novice decision‐making. The main contribution of this paper is threefold. First, we describe the application of an ecological interface design approach to the development of two visual analytics interfaces. Second, we perform a human‐in‐the‐loop experiment with forty‐five novices within a simplified air traffic control simulation environment. Third, by performing an expert‐novice comparison we investigate the extent to which effects of the proposed interfaces can be attributed to the subjects' expertise. The results show that the proposed ecological visual analytics interfaces improved novices' understanding of the information about conflicts as well as their problem‐solving performance. Further, the results show that the beneficial effects of the proposed interfaces were more attributable to the visual representations than the users' expertise.
Soluble lectin‐like oxidized low‐density Lipoproteinreceptor‐1 and recurrent stroke: A nested case–control study
Authors: Wang Anxin , Tian Xue , Xu Jie , Li Hao , Xu Qin , Chen Pan , Meng Xia , Wang Yongjun
Published: August 2022

Main problem

The prognostic value of soluble lectin‐like oxidized low‐density lipoproteinreceptor‐1 (sLOX‐1) for stroke was unclearly. This study aimed to investigate the association between sLOX‐1 and recurrent stroke in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA).

Methods

Data were obtained from the Third China National Stroke Registry. Eligible cases consisted of 400 patients who developed recurrent stroke within 1‐year follow‐up, 800 controls were selected using age‐ and sex‐matched with a 1:2 case–control ratio. Conditional logistic regressions were used to evaluate the association between sLOX‐1 and recurrent stroke.

Results

Among 1200 patients included in this study, the median (interquartile range) of sLOX‐1 was 247.12 (132.81–413.58) ng/L. After adjustment for conventional confounding factors, the odds ratio with 95% confidence interval in the highest tertile versus the lowest tertile was 2.23 (1.61–3.08) for recurrent stroke, 2.31 (1.64–3.24) for ischemic stroke, 2.30 (1.66–3.19) for combined vascular events within 1‐year follow‐up. Furthermore, the addition of sLOX‐1 to a conventional risk model had an incremental effect on predictive value for recurrent stroke (C‐statistics 0.76, p < 0.0001; integrated discrimination improvement 13.38%, p < 0.0001; net reclassification improvement 55.39%, p < 0.0001). Similar results were observed when the timepoint was set up as 3 months. Subgroup analysis showed the association between higher sLOX‐1 and recurrent stroke was more pronounced in patients with a history of stroke (p for interaction = 0.0062).

Conclusions

sLOX‐1 was positively associated with the risk of recurrent stroke, which may be a candidate biomarker to improve risk stratification of recurrent stroke.
A disaster's disparate impacts: analysing perceived stress and personal resilience across gender and race
Authors: Cannon Clare E.B. , Ferreira Regardt , Buttell Fred
Published: July 2022

This research sought to identify differences in perceived stress and personal resilience across gender, race, and different types of stressors (such as rent or mortgage stress) among a sample of United States residents experiencing the COVID‐19 pandemic. It used a cross‐sectional, convenience sampling design for primary survey data collected over 10 weeks starting in April 2020 (n=374). Independent t‐tests and binary logistic regression were performed to determine statistically significant differences between gender and race for perceived stress and personal resilience and to pinpoint key contributing factors. Results indicate women exhibited higher levels of stress, with non‐IPV (intimate partner violence) reporting women evidencing higher levels of resilience than IPV reporting women. Racial minority women were more likely to experience nutritional stress, whereas White women were more likely to worry about rent or mortgage stress. These findings provide insight into disparate impacts across vulnerable populations at the start of a crisis with implications for improving pre‐ and post‐disaster interventions.
Technical analysis: Novel insights on contrarian trading
Authors: Eugster Patrick , Uhl Matthias W.
Published: August 2022

We analyze the predictive power of technical analysis with a novel data set based on news sentiment that allows to systematically examine a set of technical analysis indicators over an extensive time period. We do not find much statistically significant relationships with the examined indicators and future asset returns, and we almost do not find any alphas in trading strategies based on technical analysis sentiment. We find evidence for a contrarian‐based hypothesis: past market returns and technical analysis sentiment are able to predict future technical analysis sentiment with a negative relationship.
Genipin treatment of equine palatal dysfunction: A preliminary study of safety and efficacy
Authors: Dillon Hugh Mathew , O'Brien Etienne John Ogilvy , Feeney Cormac
Published: July 2022

Background

Palatal dysfunction is a common cause of poor performance in racehorses. Although conservative management resolves just over 60% of cases, there is a requirement for further intervention in the residual 40% of cases that do not respond. It is proposed that a palatal stiffening technique that is simple to perform, safe, minimally invasive and enables a rapid return to exercise would be an acceptable first intervention. Genipin is a self‐polymerising molecule that bonds to collagen matrices increasing tissue strength, stiffness and resilience. A previous study demonstrated that implanted genipin increased palatal strength and its resistance to deformation and potentially was effective in decreasing likelihood of palatal dysfunction in horses.

Objectives

The objective of the study was to appraise the safety and feasibility of implanting genipin oligomers into the equine soft palate and to report on racehorse trainers' subjective assessment of its usefulness in management of palatal dysfunction.

Study design

Prospective, non‐randomised, pilot study.

Methods

Fifty Thoroughbred racehorses diagnosed with palatal dysfunction were implanted transendoscopically with genipin. The horses were monitored for adverse reactions during hospitalisation. A standard questionnaire provided to the horses' trainers was used to record additional adverse reactions and satisfaction with the animals' subsequent performance. Post‐treatment dynamic endoscopy was performed in a subgroup of animals.

Results

One horse developed adverse clinical signs of pyrexia and reduced appetite, which responded to treatment. Post‐procedural endoscopic examination revealed mild palatal abnormalities in 6 of 50 horses that showed no clinical signs. One horse had mild generalised oedema, four with mild focal swelling and one with a superficial mucosal ulceration at a single site of implantation of the soft palate. Following treatment, 76% of horses were reported to show clinical improvement by their trainers with 24% reported not to show improvement.

Main limitations

The study was not controlled, and outcome measures were mainly subjective.

Conclusions

The procedure was well tolerated, safe, minimally invasive and enabled a rapid return to exercise. Trainer reported improvement was comparable to previously reported palatoplasty procedures.
Optimising the benefit–cost ratio of fishing grounds for a multi‐species fishery in the waters of northern Taiwan
Authors: Chiu Ching‐Chun , Kuo Ting‐Chun , Chang Ke‐Yang
Published: August 2022

For multi‐species fisheries, identifying the distribution of different species could help fishers prioritise fishing grounds and avoid catching unwanted species. In this study, we identified the most cost‐beneficial fishing grounds by considering four major taxa caught in the torchlight fishery of Taiwan. We used logbook data of 56 vessels during 2009–2020 to predict the distribution for each taxon using maximum entropy models. We determined optimal fishing areas by considering overlap among taxa, each taxon's economic value and traveling costs. Sea surface height was a critical factor in determining occurrence for all taxa. Fishing at these optimal areas varied across vessel sizes. Small vessels could not access the most profitable areas because of mobility constraints and larger vessels fished in areas with relatively lower benefit‐per‐cost. Our findings could help fishers enhance their spatial selectivity, given increasing catch restrictions on some species in the fishery.
Exotic fishes that are phylogenetically close but functionally distant to native fishes are more likely to establish
Authors: Xu Meng , Li Shao‐peng , Dick Jaimie T. A. , Gu Dangen , Fang Miao , Yang Yexin , Hu Yinchang , Mu Xidong
Published: July 2022

Since Darwin's time, degree of ecological similarity between exotic and native species has been assumed to affect the establishment success or failure of exotic species. However, a direct test of the effect of exotic–native similarity on establishment of exotics is scarce because of the difficulty in recognizing failures of species to establish in the field. Here, using a database on the establishment success and failure of exotic fish species introduced into 673 freshwater lakes, we evaluate the effect of similarity on the establishment of exotic fishes by combining phylogenetic and functional information. We illustrate that, relative to other biotic and abiotic factors, exotic–native phylogenetic and functional similarities were the most important correlates of exotic fish establishment. While phylogenetic similarity between exotic and resident fish species promoted successful establishment, functional similarity led to failure of exotics to become established. Those exotic species phylogenetically close to, but functionally distant from, native fishes were most likely to establish successfully. Our findings provide a perspective to reconcile Darwin's naturalization conundrum and suggest that, while phylogenetic relatedness allows exotic fish species to pre‐adapt better to novel environments, they need to possess distinct functional traits to reduce competition with resident native fish species.
Validation of the pedHALshort and HALshort in Dutch children and adults with haemophilia
Authors: Kuijlaars Isolde A. R. , van der Net Janjaap , van Vulpen Lize F. D. , Driessens Mariette H. E. , Schols Saskia E. M. , Tan Melanie , Gouw Samantha C. , Fischer Kathelijn
Published: July 2022

Introduction

The Haemophilia Activities List (HAL) and paediatric HAL assess self‐reported limitations in various daily activities. To reduce patient burden, shorter versions of the pedHAL (22 items) and HAL (18 items) have been developed.

Aim

This study aimed to determine the agreement between the pedHAL/HALfull and pedHAL/HALshort and construct validity and internal consistency of the pedHAL/HALshort in persons with haemophilia (PWH).

Methods

A cross‐sectional secondary analysis of the Hemophilia in the Netherlands‐6 national survey was performed. Adult and paediatric PWH completed the original pedHAL/HALfull, from which pedHAL/HALshort were derived. Score differences between the original and short versions were calculated. Construct validity was studied by testing hypotheses regarding the relationship of the pedHAL/HALshort with the pedHAL/HALfull, Haemophilia & Exercise Project Test‐Questionnaire (HEP‐Test‐Q), Canadian Haemophilia Outcomes‐Kids’ Life Assessment Tool (CHO‐KLAT) and RAND 36‐item Health Survey (RAND‐36) (convergent/discriminant validity) as well as its ability to discriminate between subgroups (known‐group validity). Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's α.

Results

We included 113 children (median 10y [range 4–17], 53% severe haemophilia) and 691 adults (median 51y [range 18–88], 35% severe). Scores of the pedHAL/HALfull and pedHAL/HALshort were similar with high correlations (>0.9). Construct validity was confirmed for the pedHAL/HALshort. The HALshort was able to discriminate between different disease severities and ages. Cronbach's α of the pedHAL/HALshort was 0.95–0.97.

Conclusion

This study confirmed the agreement between the pedHAL/HALfull and the pedHAL/HALshort and the construct validity of the pedHAL/HALshort. The next step is to study construct validity of the pedHAL/HALshort when administered as short forms.
Development and spread of health literacy eLearning: A partnership across Scotland and England
Authors: Carlyle Ruth , Thain Annette , James Sally
Published: July 2022

With international health challenges, there are opportunities for collaboration between nations on health issues, including developing and sharing resources for teaching and learning. This article outlines collaboration across Scotland and England to develop a core resource for eLearning on health literacy. It describes the development of the resource with case studies of the implementation in Scotland and England, demonstrating the balance between shared development and tailored implementation. The eLearning was developed to increase awareness of NHS workforce and community partners, supplemented by training for NHS librarians and public health specialists to enable them to provide more tailored training on health literacy techniques.
Plenty of rooftops with few neighbours occupied by young breeding Yellow‐legged Gulls (Larus michahellis): Does this occur at the expense of their health condition?
Authors: Pais De Faria Joana , Paiva Vitor H. , Veríssimo Sara N. , Lopes Catarina S. , Soares Rita , Oliveira João , dos Santos Ivo , Norte Ana C. , Ramos Jaime A.
Published: July 2022

Gulls, as largely flexible opportunistic individuals, have been increasingly breeding in many cities around the world, but it is still unclear whether urban habitats are of equal or higher quality than traditional natural habitats or represent an ecological trap with immediate reproductive benefits but longer‐term detrimental consequences to health. Here we present a study of breeding parameters (nest density, egg dimensions, clutch size, hatching success and adult body condition) and physiological parameters (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, haemoglobin concentration and measurements of oxidative stress) as indicators of the general health condition of Yellow‐legged Gull Larus michahellis adults and chicks from natural and urban colonies. Yellow‐legged Gulls in the largest urban area (Porto) laid smaller eggs and clutches, showed a significantly lower occurrence of inflammatory processes in chicks, and showed a slower early chick growth than in the natural colony of Deserta. This suggests that urban gulls might be facing important trade‐offs between the advantages of breeding in lower density urban colonies, with fewer intraspecific interactions and a lower disease transmission probability, and the disadvantages of having an anthropogenic diet usually lower in nutritional value.
Fear of progression in patients with mild or common type COVID‐19
Authors: Ding Shu , Dong Liang , Chen Lei , Gao Fengli
Published: July 2022

Aim

To investigate the current condition and degree of fear of disease progression and associated factors in patients with mild or common type COVID‐19.

Background

At the end of 2019, COVID‐19 spread from Wuhan in Hubei Province throughout China. Confirmed cases and deaths have since been reported in many countries around the world. However, fear of progression in these patients has been poorly explored.

Methods

During February 2020, we recruited 114 patients with mild or common type COVID‐19 admitted to a Fangcang shelter hospital. We assessed patients' degree of fear using the simplified Fear of Progression Questionnaire (Chinese version). Multiple regression analysis was applied to explore potential factors.

Results

The fear of disease progression scores of patients with mild or common COVID‐19 was at the low‐to‐moderate level. Current unemployment, disease duration of 28 days or more and not having a spouse diagnosed with COVID‐19 were factors potentially associated with fear of progression.

Conclusion

With a high prevalence of fear of disease progression in patients with COVID‐19, the risk of psychological effects from the pandemic is significant and fear of progression is one of the manifestations. The need for psychological support services for patients should be included in all pandemic and disaster planning.
Association of cooking fuel with incident hypertension among adults in China: A population‐based cohort study
Authors: Peng Yue , Wang Yu , Wu Fei , Chen Yongjie
Published: July 2022

With an increasing prevalence of hypertension, indoor air‐pollution factors began to attract extensive attention. However, the association of cooking fuel with the incidence of hypertension was inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of household air‐pollution caused by cooking fuel with the incidence of hypertension. Data were derived from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Participants aged 18 years or older were eligible. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the information on the type of cooking fuel, including electricity, natural gas, coal, and wood/charcoal. Participants with a systemic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg or /and a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg without use of anti‐hypertensive medications, or participants with an SBP/DBP < 140/90 mmHg but having hypertensive history or currently being taking anti‐hypertensive medication were identified as hypertension. Multilevel Cox regressions were employed to examine the association of cooking fuel with incident hypertension. Compared to participants using electricity, participants using wood/charcoal had a higher incidence of hypertension (HR: 1.581; 95% CI: 1.373‐1.821; and P < .001), which was independent of sex and living areas. Furthermore, this significant association was observed only in the participants aged 18–39 years (HR: 1.443; 95% CI: 1.131‐1.840; and P = .003). Compared to participants using non‐polluting energy, participants using solid fuel were more likely to develop hypertension (HR: 1.309; 95% CI: 1.191‐1.439; and P < .001). In conclusion, household air‐pollution was associated with the incidence of hypertension among Chinese adults. Using wood/charcoal or solid fuel in youth was associated with a higher incidence of hypertension later in life.
A low‐cost storage for horticulture commodities for enhancing farmer's income: An overview on evaporative cooling
Authors: Patel Deep P. , Jain Sanjay Kumar , Lakhawat Shreedhar Singh , Wadhawan Nikita
Published: July 2022

India is one of the leading countries in the production of horticultural produces. Still, the lack of scientific knowledge, infrastructure, and nonexistence of proper storage facilities forces the farmers to sell their produce in the nearby market immediately after harvest. Although refrigeration and cold storage facilities are developing now to store the horticultural produce, they are not only energy‐intensive but also require huge investment. The majority of farmers cannot afford these facilities even on a rental basis for their harvest. The metabolism of fresh horticultural commodities continues even after the harvest and the rate of deterioration rises because their maturation, senescence, and unfavorable atmospheric factors predominate, especially in tropical countries. A low‐cost, energy‐efficient, environmentally benign and made from the locally available material evaporative cooling chamber (ECC) may resolve some of these issues of on‐farm storage. It is an efficient and cost‐effective way to reduce the temperature and increase relative humidity inside the chamber. A lot of evaporative cooling structures were developed, but still, this simple technology did not make a dent in the production catchment rural areas. In this article, an attempt is made to review the basic principle, methods, factors that influence storage conditions of perishables, design consideration of different evaporative cooling systems, major limitations, challenges, and constraints of its low adoption. The recent developments for modifications and improvement in existing ECCs using the latest technological interventions with the help of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things and their cost analysis are also highlighted.

Practical Applications

Adoption of a low‐cost and environmentally friendly evaporative cooling system for on‐farm storage made from locally available materials will reduce postharvest losses and improve the economic status of farmers.
Life‐cycle energy and environmental emissions of cargo ships
Authors: Zhang Yiqi , Chang Yuan , Wang Changbo , Fung Jimmy C. H. , Lau Alexis K. H.
Published: July 2022

Maritime shipping is under increasing pressure to alleviate its environmental impact. To this end, life‐cycle footprint accounting provides a foundation for taking targeted measures in the green transition of shipping. This study used the process‐based hybrid life‐cycle inventory (LCI) modeling approach to estimate the “cradle‐to‐propeller” footprint of ships, including primary energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and sulfur dioxide emissions. We used the input–output LCI model to calculate the embodied energy and emissions associated with the material and fuel use of ship manufacturing. We used a bottom‐up emission model and global marine traffic data to estimate the operational footprint of different types of ships. Based on 382 cargo ships (including bulk carriers, container ships, and general cargo ships) constructed in mainland China between 2011 and 2015, we estimated that the embodied footprint accounted for <10% of the cradle‐to‐propeller footprint under the pre‐2019 policy scenario. In terms of life‐cycle energy intensity (MJ/nm/1000 deadweight tonnage [DWT]), the large bulk carrier (>100,000 DWT) establishes the lowest value (46), followed by the small (0–100,000 DWT) bulk carrier (96), the large container ship (133), the small container ship (196), and the small general cargo (238). The bulk carrier was identified as the most energy efficient among the three ship types, and ships with larger capacities (i.e., DWT) had higher energy efficiencies than ships with lower capacities. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of the life‐cycle footprints of cargo ships, thus enabling better evidence‐based policymaking to transition the global marine‐shipping industry to a future of greener energy.