bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring institutional transformation: a multifaceted assessment of a new faculty development program
Authors: Favre David E. , Bach Dorothe , Wheeler Lindsay B.
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This study aims to understand the extent to which a faculty development program that includes a week-long course design experience followed by sustained support changes new faculty's perceptions, beliefs and teaching practices. The authors employed the teacher professional knowledge and skill (TPK&S) framework and characteristics of effective educational development interventions to drive the program development, implementation and assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilized a mixed methods approach. Data sources include pre-/mid-/post-program responses to a validated survey, pre-/post-program course syllabi analyzed using a validated rubric and pre-/post-classroom observations collected using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) instrument.

Findings

Findings indicate transformative effects for participants' beliefs about their teaching and changes to their instructional practices. Significant and practical effects were observed across different portions of the program for increases in participants' self-efficacy, endorsement of a conceptual change approach toward teaching and perceptions of institutional support. Participants produced more learning-focused syllabi and many moved toward more student-centered instructional approaches in their teaching practices.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the voluntary nature of the new faculty development program, this study may have been limited by participant self-selection bias and differential sample sizes for the study's individual measures. Future research should consider designs which maximize faculty participation in measurement across all data sources.

Originality/value

This study addresses shortcomings in prior studies which utilized limited data sources to measure intervention impact and answers the call for more rigorous research to obtain a more complete picture of instructional development in higher education.
E-book or print book: parents' current view in Hong Kong
Authors: Sung Yan Yu Cora , Chiu Dickson K.W.
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the perception and preference of parents for their children using mobile devices to read. The pros and cons of electronic books and print books are examined from the parents' perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 parents in Hong Kong, who have children in primary and secondary schools. Their opinions were summarized into common themes to explore their choice of books for children in terms of format and content.

Findings

The findings indicated that most parents and schools still prefer print books unless required by schools. However, the e-book has played an essential role under the current COVID-19 pandemic and digital literacy development.

Originality/value

Scant studies focus on parents' views on their choice of book formats for children, especially for East Asian metropolises. The findings are useful for schools, teachers and publishers to explore publication and collection, as well as market development in digital reading resources.
Diversity management and postmergers and acquisitions performance
Authors: Jeong Nara
Published: April 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of diversity management on postmergers and acquisitions (M&A) performance. Building on prior literature, it investigates whether a firm ability to harmonize people with different backgrounds and to deal with uncertainty and dynamics in the diverse work environment will affect post-M&A performance either directly or through its interactions with acquirer-target characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used panel regression analysis on a sample of 218 M&As conducted by listed large US firms across industries.

Findings

Results show that the diversity management of an acquiring firm positively influences post-M&A performance. This paper also finds support for diversity management having a more significant moderating role where merged firms have a bigger size difference and higher industry relatedness.

Originality/value

The primary contribution of this study is in testing and finding evidence to support the claim that diversity management is a useful factor in predicting post-M&A performance. The success of post-M&A integration should be considered alongside the extent of firm capabilities to manage internal diversity.
Perceived organizational politics and quitting plans: an examination of the buffering roles of relational and organizational resources
Authors: De Clercq Dirk , Pereira Renato
Published: April 2021

Purpose

The goal of this research is to examine the link between employees' beliefs that organizational decision-making processes are guided by self-serving behaviors and their own turnover intentions, as well as how this link may be buffered by four distinct resources, two that speak to the nature of peer exchanges (knowledge sharing and relationship informality) and two that capture critical aspects of the organizational environment (change climate and forgiveness climate).

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative survey data were collected among 208 employees who work in the oil and gas sector in Mozambique.

Findings

The results indicate that employees' beliefs about dysfunctional political games stimulate their plans to quit. Yet this translation is less likely to occur to the extent that their peer relationships are marked by frequent and informal exchanges and that organizational leaders embrace change and forgiveness.

Practical implications

For organizations, these findings offer pertinent insights into different circumstances in which decision-related frustrations are less likely to escalate into quitting plans. In particular, such escalation can be avoided to the extent that employees feel supported by the frequency and informal nature of their communication with colleagues, as well as the extent to which organizational leaders encourage change and practice forgiveness.

Originality/value

This study adds to extant research by explicating four unexplored buffers that diminish the risk that frustrations with politicized decision-making translate into enhanced turnover intentions.
Linguistic information distortion on investment decision-making in the crowdfunding market
Authors: Wang Wei , Xu Yuting , Wu Yenchun Jim , Goh Mark
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Information distortion affects the perception of quality, which, in turn, influences investment decisions and determines the pledge results of fundraising. This study combines signalling theory with persuasion theory to empirically study the effects of linguistic information distortion from fraudulent cues on a crowdfunding campaign's fundraising outcomes using text analytics, with implications for entrepreneurs, platforms and investors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study empirically analyzes 328,974 crowdfunding projects from the Kickstarter platform. Information distortion is detected using four indicators, based on text mining analytics. An econometric model is built to estimate the impact of information distortion, while the predictive power of the information distortion is detected through machine learning.

Findings

The results inform that distortion in the blurb, detailed description and reward statement dampen a campaign's success, but embellishing the entrepreneur's biography enhances the success of financing. Furthermore, information distortion exhibits a significant inverted U-shaped influence. The effect of the interaction terms suggests that campaigns with high pledge goals are more sensitive to information distortion, and that native-speaking entrepreneurs are adept at applying linguistic skills to promote the campaign.

Originality/value

This study provides a linguistic method to detect the influence of information distortion on crowdfunding campaigns. Further, the study offers some practical suggestions for entrepreneurs on how to generate attractive narratives, and contributes to the investor's decision-making and informs the platform's promotion strategy.
A bibliometric review on institutional investor: current status, development and future directions
Authors: Ding Lili , Zhao Zhongchao , Wang Lei
Published: April 2021

Purpose

In order to further understand the research status and prospect, the purpose of this paper is to adopt a novel method in the research field of institutional investor to depict the knowledge structure and the evolution path over the past three decades.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the 4,194 records retrieved from Web of Science, Citespace combined with VOSviewer are employed to perform visualized analysis.

Findings

The results reveal that the number of published articles of research on institutional investor has an exponential growth. Although the United States is the most significant contributor with more publications compared with other countries, Malaysia and Nigeria show higher centrality in the research network worldwide. Furthermore, “shareholder activism”, “corporate governance”, “global convergence”, “corporate reporting regulation” and “individual investor” are the largest five knowledge clusters. “Media coverage”, “corporate social responsibility” and “stock price crash risk” are the latest three knowledge clusters. Moreover, “governance worldwide”, “institutional character”, “dynamic information environment”, “investment patterns” and “sustainable development” are the potential extended research fields in the future.

Originality/value

This research helps the scholars and participants to capture the knowledge structure of research on institutional investors and to develop a reference to future opportunities.
Social entrepreneurship and social change: a practice-based study in non-governmental organizations
Authors: Cavalcanti Maria Fernanda Rios
Published: April 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how social entrepreneurship (SE) practices give rise to social change in the context of urban Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on a broader inductive, ethnographic and iterative practice-based study conducted in three Brazilian non-governmental organizations.

Findings

Social change is established through intertwined practices that involve active interplay of ambivalent positive and negative feelings associated with the social mission pursued by the social enterprise; flat organizational structures that encourage participation and taking of ownership among all stakeholders; and focused organizational objectives (social purposes).

Research limitations/implications

The paper presents an analytical framework composed of five propositions that may be used in future research aimed at maturing and refining the understanding of SE. The study also provides a methodological contribution for future studies of new phenomenon and young fields of research that often must rely on inductive methodologies, by demonstrating how an iterative thematic analysis can be used in practice-based studies.

Practical implications

This paper has practical implications directly connected to its social implications, because understanding how social change is achieved may enhance the effectiveness of SE practitioners in bringing desired changes about. Furthermore, the discussion also provided insights for practitioners to reflect upon the paradoxical nature of practices aimed at social change.

Originality/value

The study suggests a set of propositions and an original definition of SE that mitigates conceptual inconsistencies found in literature drawing on empirical data and by incorporating the political lens found in practice theory.
Sport and social entrepreneurship in Germany: exploring athlete perspectives on an emerging field
Authors: Moustakas Louis , Kalina Lisa
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Athletes are increasingly perceived as important drivers of entrepreneurship and social change. As a result, increasing research and activity has attempted to engage athletes in both entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. Against this backdrop, the authors aim to provide insights on how high-level athletes in Germany understand entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship and their perceptions of (social) entrepreneurship as a potential career pathway.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was designed for athletes to assess their social entrepreneurship-related skills and attitudes. This survey is based on Capella Peris et al. (2020) who developed and validated a social entrepreneurship questionnaire for use in the physical education sector. To deepen the authors’ understanding of the initial survey results, a structured focus group was conducted with an additional set of five high-level German athletes.

Findings

Both the survey results and the focus group indicate that athletes have reservations about starting businesses or social enterprises, and that formal support on the topic is limited.

Research limitations/implications

This paper suggests numerous possible avenues for future research, both related to athletes and sport social entrepreneurship more generally. The authors also suggest that athlete career programmes need to provide more support for athletes who wish to venture in entrepreneurial activities.

Originality/value

This study answers numerous calls within sport entrepreneurship literature to further integrate athletes into research in the area.
Investigating student–university identification
Authors: Dajani Dima , Yaseen Saad , Abu Baker Dina
Published: April 2021

Purpose

The present research builds upon the social identity theory and Balajiet al.’s (2016) research model to investigate student–university identification. The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of university identification, namely, university brand knowledge, university brand personality and university identity. Furthermore, consequences of university identification, such as advocacy intentions, suggestion for improvements, university affiliation and strength of attachment, are examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research design was used, collecting data from students in private and government universities in Jordan. Structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 2.0 is employed to test the proposed research hypotheses.

Findings

The results revealed that all the antecedents and consequences suggested in the research model have positive significant relationships with university identification in the Jordanian higher education sector.

Originality/value

University identification has been less precisely conceptualized and empirically tested in the higher education context in developing countries. The results improve our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of university identification for students in higher education. In addition, the constructs of university identification and strength of attachment are incorporated in the research conceptual model and have not been tested before.
Food security in Sudan: the case of Kassala state
Authors: Mohamed Nour Samia Satti Osman , Abdalla Eltayeb Mohamedain
Published: April 2021

Purpose

Different from the previous studies in the Sudanese literature, this study aims to examine the incidence and of food security, the variation in households' food insecurity between localities and the adaptation and survival strategy in Kassala State as a case study of Eastern Sudan.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the measurement of Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and uses new primary data from a Food Security Household Survey in Kassala State (2019) and uses the descriptive analysis to discuss the measurement of HFIAS, the incidence of food security, the variation in households' food insecurity between localities and the adaptation and survival strategy in Kassala State.

Findings

The authors find that the majority of household (77%) are food-insecure of various degrees, with 32.9% being severely food-insecure, while some households are food-secure (23%). The authors find support for their hypothesis that there will be variation in households' food insecurity between localities that most probably relate to variation in the distribution of monthly income between localities. In particular, the authors find that most households in rural areas are severely food-insecure.

Originality/value

This paper provides a significant contribution to the Sudanese and international literature because it discusses the incidence of food insecurity in Sudan. Different from the two other accompanying papers that focused on the determinants of food security in Kassala State using the measurement of HFIAS and determinants of production of food and consumption of food in Kassala State, this paper focuses on the incidence of food security in Kassala State using the measurement of HFIAS.
Sex differences in the foraging behavior of a generalist hawkmoth
Authors: Smith Gordon P. , Davidowitz Goggy , Alarcón Ruben , Papaj Daniel R. , Bronstein Judith L.
Published: April 2021

Within‐species variation in pollinator behavior is widely observed, but its causes have been minimally investigated. Pollinator sex is associated with large differences in behavior that may lead to predictable differences in flower foraging, but this expectation has not been explicitly tested. We investigate sex‐associated differences in nectar‐foraging behavior of the hawkmoth Hyles lineata, using pollen on the proboscis as a proxy for flower visitation. We tested two predictions emerging from the literature: (1) the sexes differ in the flower species they visit, (2) females are more specialized in flower choice. We also examined potential drivers underlying these predictions by performing field and laboratory experiments to test whether males (3) switch among flower species more frequently, or (4) fly farther and therefore encounter more species than females. Consistent with prediction (1), pollen load composition differed between the sexes, indicative of visitation differences. Contrary to prediction (2), females consistently carried more species‐rich pollen loads than males. (3) Both sexes switched between flower species at similar rates, suggesting that differences in floral fidelity are unlikely to explain why females are less specialized than males. (4) Males flew longer distances than females; coupled with larger between‐site differences in pollen composition for females, this result suggests that sex differences in mobility influence foraging, and that females may forage more frequently and in smaller areas than males. Together, our results demonstrate that sex‐associated foraging differences can be large and consistent over time, and highlight the importance of sex as a driver of variation in pollinator behavior.
An Empirical Analysis of International Migrant Business Ownership and Employment in Regional Australia*
Authors: Hogan Owen , Kortt Michael A. , Dollery Brian
Published: April 2021

A broad consensus exists that Australian economic activity is too heavily concentrated in capital cities, and regional employment creation should be encouraged. Given the magnitude of international migration to Australia, it is important to determine the impact of migration on regional development by investigating business ownership and job creation by international migrants in regional areas. This paper examines the probability that regional migrant business owners are employers – and thereby employment generators – using a multivariate logit model. We find that migrant business owners with staff are more likely to be male, married and live in regional NSW, metropolitan Victoria and regional and metropolitan Queensland.
Cannabis Regulatory Confusion and Its Impact on Consumer Adoption
Authors: Geiger‐Oneto Stephanie , Sprague Robert
Published: April 2021

The regulation of cannabis in the United States is inconsistent and contradictory, to put it mildly. While marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substance Act—in the same category as heroin and morphine, with accompanying criminal penalties up to and including life imprisonment for its production, distribution, and possession—as of the end of 2020, eleven states and the District of Columbia had legalized recreational marijuana use and thirty‐six states and the District of Columbia had decriminalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Despite the trend toward legalization, however, marijuana is a stigmatized product. Stigmatized products are those toward which a significant portion of consumers hold negative attitudes and beliefs, whereas the concept of legitimacy is defined as a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions. This article addresses how current legislation and regulations influence consumer perceptions of a product category, and how conflicting regulations (or the lack of regulations) influence the adoption of a stigmatized product such as cannabis (i.e., marijuana and cannabidiol products)
Taxing Cannabis on the Reservation
Authors: Cowan Mark J.
Published: April 2021

American Indian tribes that enter the cannabis industry confront a multisovereign tax system that lacks certainty and horizontal equity. The complex interaction of state legalization and taxation of cannabis, federal tax law, the status of tribes as both governments and business enterprises, and the legal and tax landscape in Indian country can give tribes tax advantages and disadvantages compared to off‐reservation cannabis dispensaries. This article analyzes these tax issues, examines them in the context of prior challenges posed by Indian gaming, and suggests reforms that address the tax inequities that can result from cannabis sales on Indian reservations.
Aligning National Bank Priorities with the Public Interest: National Benefit Banks and a New Stakeholder Approach
Authors: Jones Lindsay Sain
Published: April 2021

Banks have particular characteristics that set them apart from other business entities, including being more highly leveraged, benefiting from government safety nets, and generating massive negative externalities when they fail. These attributes mean that in addition to shareholder interests, bank directors should be allowed to carefully consider the interests of nonshareholders, such as creditors, taxpayers, and the overall economy, when making decisions. While directors of banks in states that have enacted constituency statutes may be allowed to consider nonshareholder interests, no federal act expressly allows directors of federally chartered banks to consider such interests. Moreover, to date, thirty‐seven states have enacted legislation to allow for the formation of public benefit corporations that require directors to consider the interests of nonshareholders. No federal law provides a clear path for federally chartered banks to do this. This article proposes dual federal legislation that would (1) enable directors of all federally chartered banks to expressly consider nonshareholder constituents when making decisions and (2) allow for the formation of national benefit banks that would require directors to consider nonshareholder interests in their decision‐making.
Accuracy of standard magnetic resonance imaging sequences for meniscal and chondral lesions versus knee arthroscopy. A prospective case‐controlled study of 719 cases
Authors: Porter Mark , Shadbolt Bruce
Published: April 2021

Background

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used for diagnosis and as a research tool, but its accuracy is questionable. The goal of this study was to compare the accuracy of knee MRI with clinical assessment for diagnosing meniscal tears, and to determine the accuracy of MRI for grading chondral lesions, relative to arthroscopy.

Methods

Physically active patients presenting with mechanical symptoms warranting a knee arthroscopy and satisfying the inclusion criteria, had both a knee arthroscopy and MRI performed. Arthroscopic findings were compared with those of MRI, using the International Chondral Research Society grading for chondral damage, and the presence or absence of a meniscal tear.

Results

A total of 719 patients were recruited over a period of 6.5 years, average age 52 years (standard deviation, SD 5.2), male:female = 493:226. Kappa scores with standard errors (SE) for agreement between MRI and knee arthroscopy were 0.41 (SE 0.1) for medial meniscal tears, and 0.44 (SE 0.1) for lateral meniscal tears. For the grade of chondral damage, the Kappa scores with SE values were 0.09 (0.1), 0.17 (0.1), and 0.22 (0.07) for anterior, medial and lateral compartments, respectively. Using areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves, we found clinical assessment was more accurate than MRI for diagnosis of lateral meniscal tears (P < 0.001), and of similar accuracy for the diagnosis of medial meniscal tears (P = 0.12).

Conclusions

MRI has relatively poor correlation with arthroscopic findings for grading the chondral damage and was less accurate than clinical assessment for the diagnosis of lateral meniscal tears.
Clinical features, diagnosis and therapy of familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
Authors: Janka Gritta E. , Aricò Maurizio
Published: April 2021

Familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) is an inherited immune deficiency with defective cytotoxicity of natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. A highly stimulated, but ineffective immune response leads to severe hyperinflammation. Clinical and laboratory features are characteristic, but unspecific; thus awareness of FHL is important for early diagnosis. FHL is rapidly fatal without treatment. Standard‐of‐care therapy is etoposide and corticosteroids, followed by haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Conclusion

FHL has become a curable disease with present treatment. Additional cytokine‐directed therapy still has to prove its value. Earlier HSCT and less toxic conditioning regimens will lead to improved cure rates.
Initiative climate, psychological safety and knowledge sharing as predictors of team creativity: A multilevel study of research and development project teams
Authors: Liu Yuwen , Keller Robert T. , Bartlett Kenneth R.
Published: April 2021

This paper examines from a multilevel perspective the contributions of initiative climate, psychological safety and knowledge sharing to team creativity in research and development (R&D) project teams. We propose and test an organizational learning contingency model of creativity, reflecting on how initiative climate interacts with employees' psychological safety in influencing knowledge sharing and teams' creative performance, by collecting data from 352 employees comprising 88 R&D teams in Taiwan at two time points and from two sources, team members and team leaders. Results indicated that knowledge sharing acts as a mediator in the relationship between initiative climate and team creativity. Results also supported the cross‐level moderation effect of initiative climate on the relationship between psychological safety and knowledge sharing behaviour. We also made the interesting but unhypothesized findings that tenure differentiation and education diversity both negatively influenced team creativity and go on to discuss both theoretical and practical implications of our research.
A Rapid, End‐to‐end, Generative Model for Gaseous Phenomena from Limited Views
Authors: Qiu Sheng , Li Chen , Wang Changbo , Qin Hong
Published: April 2021

Despite the rapid development and proliferation of computer graphics hardware devices for scene capture in the most recent decade, the high‐resolution 3D/4D acquisition of gaseous scenes (e.g., smokes) in real time remains technically challenging in graphics research nowadays. In this paper, we explore a hybrid approach to simultaneously taking advantage of both the model‐centric method and the data‐driven method. Specifically, this paper develops a novel conditional generative model to rapidly reconstruct the temporal density and velocity fields of gaseous phenomena based on the sequence of two projection views. With the data‐driven method, we can achieve the strong coupling of density update and the estimation of flow motion, as a result, we can greatly improve the reconstruction performance for smoke scenes. First, we employ a conditional generative network to generate the initial density field from input projection views and estimate the flow motion based on the adjacent frames. Second, we utilize the differentiable advection layer and design a velocity estimation network with the long‐term mechanism to help achieve the end‐to‐end training and more stable graphics effects. Third, we can re‐simulate the input scene with flexible coupling effects based on the estimated velocity field subject to artists' guidance or user interaction. Moreover, our generative model could accommodate single projection view as input. In practice, more input projection views are enabling and facilitating the high‐fidelity reconstruction with more realistic and finer details. We have conducted extensive experiments to confirm the effectiveness, efficiency, and robustness of our new method compared with the previous state‐of‐the‐art techniques.
Primary cutaneous malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor: Case of a rare tumor with review of the literature
Authors: Cole Daniel W. , Menge Tyler D. , Renati Sruthi , Bresler Scott C. , Patel Rajiv M. , Fullen Douglas R. , Hamp Leela M.
Published: April 2021

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are mesenchymal neoplasms with characteristic epithelioid or spindled cytomorphology that typically grow around blood vessels. These tumors are phenotypically and immunohistochemically distinct, expressing markers of both melanocytic and smooth muscle differentiation. Herein, we describe a case of histopathologically malignant cutaneous PEComa without metastatic spread, with review of the pertinent literature. Telescoping punch biopsy demonstrated an epithelioid neoplasm with marked atypia, hypercellularity, and increased mitotic activity. Immunohistochemical stains for HMB‐45, NK1‐C3, PGP9.5, MiTF, CD10, and CD68 were positive within tumor cells. In addition, there was diffuse expression of caldesmon and focal cytoplasmic staining for smooth muscle actin on the excision specimen. The patient underwent treatment with surgical excision with adjuvant radiation and surveillance computed tomography (CT). The patient remains free of recurrence or metastatic disease after 10 months of follow‐up. To our knowledge, this is only the third reported case of a malignant cutaneous PEComa reported in the literature to date.
Disarranged neuroplastin environment upon aging and chronic stress recovery in female Sprague Dawley rats
Authors: Balog Marta , Blažetić Senka , Ivić Vedrana , Labak Irena , Krajnik Bartosz , Marin Raquel , Canerina‐Amaro Ana , de Pablo Daniel Pereda , Bardak Ana , Gaspar Robert , Szűcs Kálmán Ferenc , Vari Sandor G. , Heffer Marija
Published: April 2021

Chronic stress produces long‐term metabolic changes throughout the superfamily of nuclear receptors, potentially causing various pathologies. Sex hormones modulate the stress response and generate a sex‐specific age‐dependent metabolic imprint, especially distinct in the reproductive senescence of females. We monitored chronic stress recovery in two age groups of female Sprague Dawley rats to determine whether stress and/or aging structurally changed the glycolipid microenvironment, a milieu playing an important role in cognitive functions. Old females experienced memory impairment even at basal conditions, which was additionally amplified by stress. On the other hand, the memory of young females was not disrupted. Stress recovery was followed by a microglial decrease and an increase in astrocyte count in the hippocampal immune system. Since dysfunction of the brain immune system could contribute to disturbed synaptogenesis, we analyzed neuroplastin expression and the lipid environment. Neuroplastin microenvironments were explored by analyzing immunofluorescent stainings using a newly developed Python script method. Stress reorganized glycolipid microenvironment in the Cornu Ammonis 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) hippocampal regions of old females but in a very different fashion, thus affecting neuroplasticity. The postulation of four possible neuroplastin environments pointed to the GD1a ganglioside enrichment during reproductive senescence of stressed females, as well as its high dispersion in both regions and to GD1a and GM1 loss in the CA1 region. A specific lipid environment might influence neuroplastin functionality and underlie synaptic dysfunction triggered by a combination of aging and chronic stress.
Foundation of damage tolerance principles in‐service for the RRJ‐95 aircraft structural components
Authors: Shanyavskiy Andrey A. , Soldatenkov Aleksey P. , Toushentsov Alexandr A.
Published: April 2021

Fatigue cracks initiated from holes in several zones and structural components of the RRJ‐95 aircraft frames were investigated. Using the method of quantitative fractography, the crack growth duration in the wing panels during full‐scale bench tests and in the brackets of the in‐service airframe was estimated by measuring the spacing of meso‐beach‐marks (MBM) and fatigue striations. The applied program of bench test consisted of blocks of variable loads that were equivalent to the wing loading in flight and reproducing schematized flight‐cycle. It was shown that the duration of fatigue crack propagation in several structural components of the RRJ‐95 aircraft frames was approximately the same as for the crack nucleation duration. The total lifetime is sufficiently long for cracks in the structural components to be detected and reliably monitored with a large operating time interval between adjacent inspections.
Gender equality and the feminized public sector in the affective struggles over the Finnish Competitiveness Pact
Authors: Kylä‐Laaso Miikaeli , Koskinen Sandberg Paula , Hokkanen Julius
Published: April 2021

Collective bargaining has been under great pressure in Finland and Europe, including demands for increased wage competitiveness and reductions in public sector spending. This article showcases how relatively gender‐equal states with strong corporatist traditions, such as Finland, may align with neoliberal austerity policies that have gendered implications, even when gender equality becomes a prominent issue in a policy debate. This article analyzes the case of the Competitiveness Pact, a recent policy reform to lower labor costs initiated by the Finnish government and negotiated with labor market parties. This analysis combines affect theory and a policy‐constructivist approach to analyze the positions and documents produced by the government and labor market parties during the Competitiveness Pact negotiations. We identify problem representations regarding national competitiveness and suggest that the problem representations constructed anticipatory regimes that focused on potential future threats and crises, especially those related to the public sector, which was portrayed as a source of potential crisis and a threat to the masculine export sector. The article shows how neoliberal economic and governmental policies exacerbate gender inequality in the labor market with the consent of trade unions.
Modeling of Covid‐19 trade measures on essential products: a multiproduct, multicountry spatial price equilibrium framework
Authors: Nagurney Anna , Salarpour Mojtaba , Dong June
Published: April 2021

In this paper, we develop a unified variational inequality framework in the context of spatial price network equilibrium problems that handles multiple products with multiple demand and supply markets in multiple countries as well as multiple transportation routes. The model incorporates a plethora of distinct trade measures, which is particularly important in the pandemic, as PPEs and other essential products are in high demand, but short in supply globally. In the model, product flows as well as prices at the supply markets and the demand markets in different countries are variables that allows us to seamlessly introduce various trade measures, including tariffs, quotas, as well as price floors and ceilings. Qualitative properties are analyzed. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the impacts of the trade measures on equilibrium product path and link flows, and on prices, and demand and supply quantities. Given the relevance of the trade measures in the world today and discussions concerning the impacts, the framework constructed in this paper is especially timely.
Protective role of mindfulness, self‐compassion and psychological flexibility on the burnout subtypes among psychology and nursing undergraduate students
Authors: Martínez‐Rubio David , Martínez‐Brotons Cristina , Monreal‐Bartolomé Alicia , Barceló‐Soler Alberto , Campos Daniel , Pérez‐Aranda Adrián , Colomer‐Carbonell Ariadna , Cervera‐Torres Sergio , Solé Silvia , Moreno Yolanda , Montero‐Marín Jesús
Published: April 2021

Aims

To explore the relationship between mindfulness, self‐compassion and psychological flexibility, and the burnout subtypes in university students of the Psychology and Nursing degrees, and to analyse possible risk factors for developing burnout among socio‐demographic and studies‐related characteristics.

Design

Cross‐sectional study conducted on a sample of 644 undergraduate students of Nursing and Psychology from two Spanish universities.

Methods

The study was conducted between December 2015 and May 2016. Bivariate Pearson's correlations were computed to analyse the association between mindfulness facets, self‐compassion and psychological flexibility, and levels of burnout. Multivariate linear regression models and bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions were also computed.

Results

The three subtypes of burnout presented significant correlations with psychological flexibility, self‐compassion and some mindfulness facets. Psychological flexibility, self‐compassion and the mindfulness facets of observing and acting with awareness were significantly associated to burnout. Among the risk factors, ‘year of study’ was the only variable to show significantly higher risk for every burnout subtype.

Conclusion

The significant associations found between mindfulness, self‐compassion, psychological flexibility and burnout levels underline the need of including these variables as therapeutic targets when addressing the burnout syndrome in university students.

Impact.

Undergraduate students, especially those of health sciences, often experience burnout. This study delves into the protective role of some psychological variables: mindfulness, self‐compassion and psychological flexibility. These should be considered as potentially protective skills for developing burnout, and therefore, undergraduate students could be trained on these abilities to face their studies and their future profession to prevent experiencing burnout syndrome.
Distance education amid a pandemic: Which psycho‐demographic variables affect students in higher education?
Authors: Göksu İdris , Ergün Naif , Özkan Zafer , Sakız Halis
Published: April 2021

The Covid‐19 pandemic has led to a rapid transition from face‐to‐face to distance learning. The problems caused by this rapid transition are combined with the negative psychological outcomes of the pandemic, leading to numerous problems and difficulties in the teaching and learning processes. The recentness of these issues and developments requires detailed investigation as to how they affect distance learning. This study aims to investigate the role of psycho‐demographic variables in the motivation and attendance of higher education students in distance education within the context of the Covid‐19 pandemic. In this descriptive study, we collected data from 1494 Turkish university students via an online survey. Quantitative data were analysed using correlation analysis, t test, one‐way ANOVA, multiple linear regression analysis, and structural equation modelling. Stress, anxiety, depression and intolerance of uncertainty were correlated negatively with distance learning motivation and frequency of distance learning attendance. While students who attended distance learning only synchronously joined the courses more frequently, the motivation of those who joined the courses sometimes synchronously and sometimes asynchronously was higher. The strength of the relationships between intolerance of uncertainty and distance learning motivation was significantly increased via anxiety and depression. Findings highlight the need for analysis of psycho‐demographic variables while designing and implementing distance education programmes. Psychological variables including stress, anxiety and depression are related to motivation and attendance during distance education. While using both synchronous and asynchronous distance learning enhances motivation, synchronous learning increases attendance.
Accuracy of three tools for malnutrition diagnosis in hospitalised patients: Comparison to subjective global assessment
Authors: Burgel Camila Ferri , Eckert Igor da Conceição , Brito Julia Epping , Rodrigues Fernanda Winterscheidt , Silva Flávia Moraes
Published: April 2021

Background

Malnutrition is prevalent in hospital, and the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) has been widely used for its identification. However, in the last decade, new tools were proposed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics–American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (AND‐ASPEN), European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM). The diagnostic test accuracy of these tools has been scarcely investigated. Thus, we aimed to compare the accuracy of AND‐ASPEN, ESPEN and GLIM for malnutrition diagnosis in hospitalised patients.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study was conducted with hospitalised patients aged ≥ 18 years from a five‐unit complex hospital. Malnutrition was diagnosed within 48 h of admission using SGA, AND‐ASPEN, ESPEN and GLIM. The accuracy of these tools was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve, considering SGA as reference, which was compared by the DeLong test.

Results

Six hundred patients (55.7 ± 14.8 years, 51.3% male) were evaluated. AND‐ASPEN [AUROC 0.846; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.810–0.883] and GLIM presented a satisfactory accuracy (AUROC 0.842; 95% CI, 0.807–0.877), whereas ESPEN had a substantially lower accuracy (AUROC, 0.572; 95% CI, 0.522–0.622). The AUROC of AND‐ASPEN and GLIM were not different from each other (p = 0.785) and both had significantly higher accuracy than ESPEN (p < 0.001). AND‐ASPEN and GLIM presented sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value > 80%, whereas ESPEN sensitivity was < 20%.

Conclusions

AND‐ASPEN and GLIM were accurate methods for diagnosing malnutrition and could be applied in hospitalised patients. By contrast, the ESPEN criteria had unsatisfactory accuracy.
Role of serotonin in body weight, insulin secretion and glycaemic control
Authors: Georgescu Teodora , Lyons David , Heisler Lora K.
Published: April 2021

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are key healthcare challenges of the 21st century. Subsequent to its discovery in 1948, serotonin (5‐hydroxytryptamine; 5‐HT) has emerged as a principal modulator of energy homeostasis and body weight, prompting it to be a target of weight loss medications (eg, fenfluramine, D‐fenfluramine, fenfluramine‐phentermine and sibutramine). The potential risk of off‐target effects led to these medications being withdrawn from clinical use and spurred drug discovery into 5‐HT receptor selective ligands. The serotonin 2C receptor (5‐HT2CR) is the primary receptor through which 5‐HT impacts feeding and body weight and 5‐HT2CR agonist lorcaserin was released for obesity treatment in 2012. Obese patients with type 2 diabetes prescribed medications that produce weight loss commonly observe improvements in type 2 diabetes. However, recent research has provided compelling evidence that 5‐HT2CR agonists produce effects on blood glucose and insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss. As such, neuroactive 5‐HT2CR agonists are a potential new category of type 2 diabetes medications. 5‐HT is also expressed within pancreatic β cells, is co‐released with insulin and may have a role in modulating insulin secretion. This review highlights the latest advances in the function of 5‐HT in body weight, insulin release and glycaemic control.
Relationship between magnetic resonance imaging‐based classification of adenomyosis and disease severity
Authors: Kobayashi Hiroshi , Matsubara Sho , Imanaka Shogo
Published: April 2021

Aims

The purpose of this study is to first investigate the correlation between image features and histological findings and the clinical severity of adenomyosis; second, search for imaging features to assess the type and locoregional extension of the disease; and finally, discuss the notation of image‐based classification.

Methods

This paper combines a review of the literature on adenomyosis with a series of cases who underwent surgery at Nara Medical University Hospital.

Results

Currently, there has been a lack of clear, clinically relevant, and internationally acceptable definition and histological classification due to its diverse phenotype. A number of researchers have attempted to standardize the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of adenomyosis. Some researchers have begun studies that relate the subtype classification using MRI to disease severity. There is evidence suggesting that diffuse adenomyosis and intrinsic adenomyosis are correlated with menstrual bleeding, while extrinsic adenomyosis and coexistence of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) are related to pelvic pain. MRI‐based classifications that are simple for use in the clinical setting are beginning to be proposed. However, the reliability and validity of these classifications have not yet been verified. A simplified notation is required to discuss the association between the classification and severity of adenomyosis. We introduce case reports using the notation of four items necessary for classification of adenomyosis.

Conclusion

There is an urgent need to determine the definitions of terms used in subtype classification and to create and validate a globally unified notation that can predict the severity of adenomyosis symptoms.