bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overcentralization in Economic Administration
Authors: Kornai János , Knapp John
Published: July 2023

Overcentralization in Economic Administration: A Critical Analysis Based on Experience in Hungarian Light Industry provides an overview of the criticisms of socialist central planning. It elaborates on the economic organization of centrally planned economies. The economic changes of 1968 had been primarily influenced by the Hungarian reform process. The book also identifies several systematic failures of the centrally planned economy, which resulted in weak economic performance and eventual disintegration of the economy. Due to the presented argument for radical changes, Overcentralization in Economic Administration became an essential reading material for people interested in the economics of transition in Eastern Europe.
Epilogue
Authors: Heaney Christopher
Published: July 2023

This conclusion to Empires of the Dead explores the material, intellectual, and cultural legacy of five hundred years of Andean ancestors’ transformation into imperial subjects of scientific study and collection. Using the example of Juanita, a frozen capacocha, it shows how the circuits of claiming the Andean dead remain in place today, populating Peruvian and foreign museums with “Inca mummies” and “ancient Peruvian” skulls whose display is largely supported by the Peruvian state. Yet it also shows how people of Andean descent continue to use grave-opening, scholarship, and museums to argue for national Peruvian belonging in ways sometimes obverse to foreign museums’ understanding of Indigeneity and de-colonization. It concludes by showing how Andean ancestors continue to shape the affects, subjectivities, and knowledge of the living, and how contemplated repatriations of Andean human remains—from the United States to Peru, in particular—might reinforce the importance of Indigenous healing, Andean ancestors, and Peruvian museums as a whole.
Neoclassicism Meets 1940s Pan Americanism
Authors: Quevedo Marysol
Published: July 2023

This chapter explores the activities of the Grupo de Renovación Musical (GRM) during the 1940s by laying out the political and economic contexts of 1940s Pan Americanism. It delves into the group’s aesthetic preoccupations and their efforts to reconcile neoclassical approaches with nationalist aesthetics, and their activities within the GRM as a process of maturation. A brief examination of La música en Cuba, the first book to present a chronological history of Cuban music written in 1946 by Alejo Carpentier, follows. This chapter includes musical analysis of two works, Argeliers León’s Sonatas a la Virgen del Cobre and Harold Gramatges’s Sernata, as prime examples of the group’s compositional output. During the 1940s group members shaped the Cuban classical music scene by cultivating a series of overlapping networks that allowed them to gain access to and control of resources through which they promoted their artistic agendas. Little by little they accrued the cultural capital that would make them the leaders of the Cuban music scene through the 1950s and into the first decades after the 1959 Revolution. This network consisted of local musicians; international composers and performers; other local artists that included painters, sculptors, dancers, poets, novelists, and film makers; and government institutions and the individuals who led them. It was in this decade, the 1940s, that the paths chosen, alliances forged, and aesthetic preferences explored and cemented would determine the future of the Cuban classical music composition tradition, a tradition that bears their legacy to this day.
Institutionalization and Fissures in the Cuban Classical Music Landscape
Authors: Quevedo Marysol
Published: July 2023

This chapter focuses on several musical events in the 1970s that reflects artists’ struggles to adapt to the shifting political and cultural landscape in Cuba. It opens with a discussion of Roberto Valera’s Devenir and Harold Gramatges’s La muerte del guerrillero, both premiered by the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba in 1970. Increasing political and economic pressures—on Havana from Moscow and, consequently, from Havana to all intranational cultural institutions—placed multiple and sometimes competing demands on artists. There was also a proliferation of festivals, encuentros, and jornadas intended to celebrate regional and international musical cooperation, much like the political and economic agreements forged by the Cuban state with other socialist nations. Some institutions jumped on the opportunity to cultivate foreign ties, as demonstrated in 1972 at the Casa de las Américas’s Encuentro de Música Latinoamericana, while some individuals continued to experiment through works for piano, exemplified in this chapter through analyses of Leo Brouwer’s Sonata pian e forte and Harold Gramatges’s Móvil I. Most notably, the decade began with a five-year period of artistic censorship and persecution known as the quinquenio gris (the five-year grey period), which affected all areas of cultural production in Cuba through increased centralization, institutionalization, and, according to some critics, even sovietization. However, in the second half of the decade a process of rectification on the part of a new Ministry of Culture and increased dissemination of new music by Cuban composers through an LP series by the EGREM titled Contemporáneos.
Methodological Updates in Personality Assessment for High-Stakes Use
Authors: Meade Adam W. , Priest Luke I.
Published: July 2023

Personality assessments are commonly used in high-stakes settings such as job applicant screening. This is largely because personality has been shown to predict individual and organizational outcomes such as job performance, job satisfaction, and turnover. Additionally, personality assessments rarely show adverse impact across racial groups and demonstrate incremental validity over and above predictors such as cognitive ability tests. Recently, research and practice surrounding personality assessment has accelerated with respect to both information technology and psychometric theory. This chapter reviews several advancements associated with forced-choice measures as well as rapid response measurement (RRM). With RRM, personality adjectives are presented one at a time and a dichotomous response is given. Response time is recorded and faster responses are given more weight than slower responses. Reliable and valid RRM requires only 10 to 20 seconds per trait and has been empirically shown to be more faking resistant than some alternative methods.
Advances in Cognitive Ability Assessment in the Mitigation of Group Differences
Authors: Scherbaum Charles A. , Goldstein Harold W. , Yusko Kenneth P. , Larson Elliott , Kato Annie , Patel Kajal , Cheban Yuliya
Published: July 2023

Cognitive abilities are critical individual differences that have only grown in importance in the modern workplace. Despite changes in the modern workplace and societal dissatisfaction with cognitive ability assessment, very little has changed over the past century in how industrial-organizational (IO) psychology conceptualizes and measures cognitive abilities. Other fields (e.g., clinical and cognitive psychology, developmental and educational research, neurosciences) have made considerable progress in understanding cognitive ability constructs, their role in the modern world, and how they can be measured. The goal of this chapter is to highlight modern and innovative theorizing about and measurement of cognitive abilities from other fields that have the potential to help move the IO field forward. Furthermore, the chapter showcases the emerging work in IO that is demonstrating the value of adopting modern thinking and approaches for tackling the so-called validity/diversity dilemma, including a case example of the National Football League’s predraft assessment.
Data Privacy Implications of Assessment Technology
Authors: Andresen Katheryn A.
Published: July 2023

This chapter provides a brief overview of the complexity of data types and the development of data regulations that govern both data privacy and data security. In particular, the obligations for such data regulations are discussed, as well as how such obligations are implicated or complicated by the type of assessment technology used. Various risk mitigation steps to avoid liability under such regulations are also noted and include, for example, security measures, encryption, backup and disaster recovery practices, contract terms, cyber liability insurance, and limitations on who has access to regulated data and how much data is shared. While this field is complex and continuously changing, the chapter identifies certain standards and best practices that should be considered to mitigate risks and assist in compliance with the data regulations.
Maximizing the Effectiveness of Assessment-Rich Leadership Development Programs
Authors: Stawiski Sarah , McCauley Cynthia D.
Published: July 2023

Assessment-rich leadership development programs embed an in-depth assessment and feedback experience within traditional elements of leadership programs. This chapter describes assessment-rich development programs in practice by highlighting assessment methods used to increase awareness of inner self, visible self, and social self. It includes a case example of one of the Center for Creative Leadership’s long-standing development programs, the Leading for Organizational Impact (LOI) program. Further, it outlines the programmatic design elements, individual leader factors, and organizational factors that can improve the impact of an assessment-rich development experience. Finally, the chapter provides insights about future directions and emerging issues that will continue to shape research and innovation in these types of development interventions.
Connecting People and Opportunities With Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Gibby Robert E. , Ducey Adam J.
Published: July 2023

Over the last decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has entered the world of work in many ways, including how we identify, engage, and connect people at key moments across their career. While much attention has focused on the development of solutions to help organizations source and recruit talent, AI has potential to be leveraged much more broadly as a talent management tool to provide decision support to candidates, recruiters, interviewers, managers, human resource business partners, and others. This chapter provides a brief overview of use cases across the career journey (e.g., hiring, onboarding, team assignment, mobility) where AI has the potential to add value to current practice. Several of these use cases will be further expanded in subsequent chapters.
Optimizing the Value of Assessments Through Myth Busting and Stakeholder Communications
Authors: Seaton Gina , Church Allan H.
Published: July 2023

Talent management practitioners must overcome a variety of challenges when communicating the value of assessments to organizations and the public. Many of these challenges stem from myths and misinformation around assessments and recent advancements in assessment, which for the average consumer or even practitioner, can be difficult to navigate. This chapter highlights some of the most common myths and misinformation propagated around the use of assessments in organizations, offering insight into what scientific research says (and doesn’t say). This chapter also examines key concerns of using assessments from the perspective of different stakeholder groups, offering strategies for navigating discussions and overcoming resistance to their use.
The Struggle Continues
Authors: Chafe William H.
Published: July 2023

This chapter explains how the struggle continues, even if the legislative victories of 1964 and 1965 signified a positive end to the struggle for legal racial equality. It highlights the importance of reducing the economic inequality that sustains and reinforces racism. Most Black Americans understood that racism was fundamental to the country’s social and economic structure. Even though blatant physical examples of racial prejudice might be illegal, equality would need more than the enactment of new laws to eliminate a system of racial prejudice embedded in the economic structure and the soctal institutions of America. The chapter mentions how the murders of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others highlighted the systemic nature of America’s race problem.
Regular and Reinterpreted Meter
Authors: Murphy Nancy
Published: July 2023

In this chapter I explore the expressive use of Regular and Reinterpreted Meter in singer-songwriter music. Joni Mitchell’s “Little Green” shows the possibilities for text expression in Regular Meter, with important words in the lyrics aligning with metric accents. After this one example of metric regularity, this chapter focuses on Reinterpreted Meter in which beats are added (offering time for reflection) or omitted (forcing the narrative forward) to an otherwise regular metric context. Throughout the chapter, examples from Mitchell, Simon, and Stevens demonstrate how Reinterpreted Meter can highlight important moments in a song’s narrative and signal a broadly flexible, self-expressive performance practice.
Self-Expressive Innovations: Lost Meter
Authors: Murphy Nancy
Published: July 2023

This chapter investigates a more extreme scenario than metrical reinterpretation in which the loosening of metric cues results in Lost Meter. I explore three examples from the singer-songwriter repertoire—Bob Dylan’s “Only a Pawn in Their Game,” Cat Stevens’s “Time,” and Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”— to show how metric loss can occur after passages of Regular Meter. I examine technical timing details are examined through the lens of flexible meter, determining the metric cues in initial regularity, and exploring the processes by which meter becomes lost through a rhetorical loosening of those cues. I then illustrate how meter is regularized and restored when stresses and durations organize again into metric regularity. In these songs, Lost Meter occurs as seemingly improvised, rhapsodic, unpredictable, and intentionally disruptive self-expressive timings.
What Happens Next to Self-Expressive Flexible Meter?
Authors: Murphy Nancy
Published: July 2023

This chapter synthesizes the importance of flexible meter as self-expression in singer-songwriter music in the 1960s and 1970s. After 1972, the five artists in this study add ensembles to their performances and generally do not include the more extreme timings of flexible meter. Yet there are some exceptions. Sainte-Marie’s 2017 recording of her 1966 song “My Country ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying” demonstrates how flexible meter can be revived for self-expression in performances beyond 1972. This activist song shows the expressive impact of extreme timing flexibility and reinforces the critical import of flexible meter as a self-expressive rhetoric in singer-songwriter music.
Introduction
Authors: Lim Désirée
Published: July 2023

This chapter opens with an examination of the difficulties of immigration, with the primary observation that immigration is typically much more burdensome and fraught for low-skilled migrants than highly skilled migrants. From there, it introduces the key idea that skill-selective immigration policies are unjust because they are socially subordinating to low-skilled migrants, even if they are commonly regarded as neutral or desirable. It goes on to provide theoretical background to the concept of social equality and the different forms it can take. After that, it explains the motivations for the book and outlines the chapters to follow.
Local Cosmopolitans
Authors: Orsini Francesca
Published: July 2023

What does it mean to be a cosmopolitan in a small, provincial town or court? This chapter examines poetic education and poetic practices in the production and reproduction of social and cultural distinction for local elites in the qasbas and mud forts of Awadh, whether in Persian or in the cosmopolitan vernacular of Brajbhasha. Several authors indicate that their education was multilingual, but the chapter argues that, in order to display mastery over the poetic codes of the different languages, these local cosmopolitans kept these languages and poetic codes quite separate, unlike the Sants. Being a local cosmopolitan also involved inscribing one’s family, small town, or patron within cosmopolitan codes and maps. The chapter ends by arguing that the boom of Urdu poetry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which made the regional kingdom of Awadh and its capital, Lucknow, an Urdu cultural center, has obliterated memories of the older Persian-Brajbhasha elite poetic culture.
Sharing Nuclear Secrets
Authors: Baylis John , Eames Anthony
Published: July 2023

The existential nature of nuclear weapons and the extreme devastation that they can cause make dependence on other nuclear powers and the exchange of nuclear secrets difficult to achieve and maintain. In this sense nuclear weapons can cause tensions and mistrust between allies. Sharing Nuclear Secrets looks at the nuclear relationship between Britain and the United States and argues that the relationship is much less straightforward than it is often portrayed. The study highlights the remarkable degree of trust between Prime Ministers and Presidents who have directed nuclear policy, and particularly between the two nuclear scientific communities, which has helped to institutionalize a set of formal and informal cooperative arrangements that have stood the test of time from the wartime period, through the Cold War and the post-Cold War eras. It also considers the periods of mistrust and ambiguity in the relationship, when both countries have pursued independent nuclear policies or have attempted to use areas of nuclear cooperation to enhance their own security interests. The study develops the idea of ‘ambiguous trust’ which adds to the emerging literature on ‘Trust in IR’.
Screening for the social determinants of health: Referring patients to community-based services
Authors: Mullen Leigh G. , Oermann Marilyn H. , Cockroft Marianne C. , Sharpe Leslie M. , Davison Jean A.
Published: July 2023

Background:

Screening patients for the social determinants of health (SDOH) allows clinicians to identify those needs and tailor referral efforts. Due to constraints on clinic time and monetary resources, a simple screening tool incorporated into existing clinic workflow increases its usefulness and impact.

Local problem:

Our free, nurse-led, mobile health clinic (MHC) needed an enhanced process or tool for screening patients for SDOH. The purpose of this quality-improvement project was to screen adult patients in the MHC for SDOH needs and to increase volunteer staff perceptions of their knowledge and confidence in referring patients to relevant community-based services.

Methods:

A screening process and tool was developed using guidelines from the Health Leads to identify patients' SDOH needs and related requests for assistance. The tool was introduced to and tested among volunteer staff through pretest/posttest surveys.

Interventions:

Patients who visited the clinic were screened for the SDOH within the project period, and volunteer staff were surveyed about their perceptions of the screening tool.

Results:

Sixty-four patients were screened for SDOH needs. Twenty-three percent reported food insecurity, 27% housing insecurity, 14% difficulty obtaining utilities, and 17% difficulty obtaining transportation; 28% requested assistance with their reported SDOH needs. Seventeen percent of patients reported two or more SDOH needs. At posttest, 100% of volunteer staff (N = 9) indicated satisfaction with the SDOH screening questions, reported feeling knowledgeable about resources to use for patient referrals, and were confident in referring patients to needed resources.

Conclusion:

The screening tool aptly guided practice and was evaluated as “easy to use” for clinic patients and volunteer staff.
Artificial intelligence and new business models in agriculture: a structured literature review and future research agenda
Authors: Cavazza Alberto , Dal Mas Francesca , Paoloni Paola , Manzo Martina
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a growing technology impacting several business fields. The agricultural sector is facing several challenges, which may be supported by the use of such a new advanced technology. The aim of the paper is to map the state-of-the-art of AI applications in agriculture, their advantages, barriers, implications and the ability to lead to new business models, depicting a future research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured literature review has been conducted, and 37 contributions have been analyzed and coded using a detailed research framework.

Findings

Findings underline the multiple uses and advantages of AI in agriculture and the potential impacts for farmers and entrepreneurs, even from a sustainability perspective. Several applications and algorithms are being developed and tested, but many barriers arise, starting from the lack of understanding by farmers and the need for global investments. A collaboration between scholars and practitioners is advocated to share best practices and lead to practical solutions and policies. The promising topic of new business models is still under-investigated and deserves more attention from scholars and practitioners.

Originality/value

The paper reports the state-of-the-art of AI in agriculture and its impact on the development of new business models. Several new research avenues have been identified.
The impact of corporate ownership structure on corporate risk disclosure: evidence from an emerging economy
Authors: Alshirah Malek , Alshira’h Ahmad
Published: July 2023

Purpose

The aim of this study is to measure the risk disclosure level and to determine the relationship between ownership structure dimensions (institutional ownership, foreign ownership and family ownership) and corporate risk disclosure in Jordan.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a sample of 94 Jordanian listed firms from the Amman Stock Exchange for the period from 2014 to 2017. This study measured risk disclosure using the number of risk-related sentences in the annual report, while random effects regression was used for hypotheses testing.

Findings

The results revealed that family ownership has a negative effect on risk disclosure practices, but institutional ownership, foreign ownership, firm size and leverage have no significant effect on the risk disclosure level.

Practical implications

The finding of this study is more likely be useful for many concerned parties, researchers, authorities, investors and financial analysts alike in understanding the current practices of the risk disclosure in Jordan, thus helping them in reconsidering and reviewing the accounting standards and improving the credibility and transparency of the financial reports in the Jordanian capital market.

Originality/value

This study offers novel evidence detailing the impact of ownership structure toward corporate risk disclosure, its implementation in emerging markets following the minimal amount of scholarly efforts on the topic. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first examination of the impact of ownership structure on corporate risk disclosure. Thus, this study has important implications for the decisions of executives, policymakers, shareholders and lenders, as it enables them to better understand the linkage between ownership structure on corporate risk disclosure.
Hustle and influence: the dynamics of illicit small business and political connections
Authors: Al Sayah Maher , Salloum Charbel , Jarrar Hajer , Salloum Laura , Verdie Jean-François
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to explore the political dimension of social network theory and assess how these connections motivate entrepreneurial activity and enhance postentry stages. The authors take an individualistic approach to the topic of institutional deterioration by uncovering the potential opportunities it can create, as entrepreneurship often arises when a market opportunity is perceived.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a quantitative approach, using a self-selection sampling method to target private entities that own electric generators (also known as “illicit SMEs”) who are providing electricity services to the community despite the deterioration of the public energy sector in Lebanon. Data was collected through a survey administered electronically to 230 illicit SMEs, using a judgmental sampling method to ensure representation from all Lebanese governorates. The collected data was analyzed using ordinal least squares regression models.

Findings

The findings indicate a significant relationship between institutional deterioration and the reinvestment rate of entrepreneurs, with the moderating effect of political connections suggesting that the impact of institutional deterioration is dependent on the strength of an entrepreneur’s political connections.

Practical implications

The research findings demonstrate the significant influence of social ties and political connections on entrepreneurial activities, particularly in the context of SMEs that are providing services “illegally”. These results shed light on the importance of considering the role of social and political factors in the success and sustainability of entrepreneurial ventures operating in challenging environments.

Originality/value

Entrepreneurial studies typically focus on free market platforms and supply-demand associations, assuming perfect government conditions. However, this study differs from previous research by highlighting the positive impact of social ties on entrepreneurial market access within a socially linked environment. The findings suggest the importance of considering social connections in entrepreneurial studies, particularly in challenging economic and political contexts.
Driving sustainable growth: exploring the link between financial innovation, green finance and sustainability performance: banking evidence
Authors: Hussain Shahid , Rasheed Abdul , Rehman Saad ur
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This research paper aims to explore the link between financial innovation (FINV), green finance (GRF) and sustainability performance (SUSP) with the overarching objective of driving sustainable growth. The purpose is to understand how the integration of FINV and GRF can contribute to improved SUSP for businesses and organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a survey-based approach, synthesizing existing scholarly works, empirical studies and industry reports. It examines the theoretical foundations and empirical evidence to understand the relationship between FINV, GRF and SUSP.

Findings

The findings highlight a positive relationship between GRF and SUSP. GRF acts as a catalyst for FINV by providing the necessary financial resources and incentives for organizations to invest in sustainable technologies and practices. It enables businesses to enhance their SUSP by adopting environmentally friendly processes, reducing carbon emissions and promoting resource efficiency. The integration of FINV and GRF fosters sustainable growth by aligning economic, environmental and social objectives.

Originality/value

This research paper contributes to the existing literature by offering a comprehensive examination of the link between FINV, GRF and SUSP. It consolidates and synthesizes previous studies, providing a holistic view of the topic. The paper also presents practical implications for businesses and policymakers, emphasizing the need for strategic integration of GRF and FINV to drive sustainable growth. The identification of future research directions adds originality to the study, guiding scholars and practitioners toward areas of further investigation.
Intraspecific scaling and early life history determine the cost of free‐flight in a large beetle (Batocera rufomaculata)
Authors: Urca Tomer , Levin Eran , Gefen Eran , Ribak Gal
Published: July 2023

The scaling of the energetic cost of locomotion with body mass is well documented at the interspecific level. However, methodological restrictions limit our understanding of the scaling of flight metabolic rate (MR) in free‐flying insects. This is particularly true at the intraspecific level, where variation in body mass and flight energetics may have direct consequences for the fitness of an individual. We applied a 13C stable isotope method to investigate the scaling of MR with body mass during free‐flight in the beetle Batocera rufomaculata. This species exhibits large intraspecific variation in adult body mass as a consequence of the environmental conditions during larval growth. We show that the flight‐MR scales with body mass to the power of 0.57, with smaller conspecifics possessing up to 2.3 fold higher mass‐specific flight MR than larger ones. Whereas the scaling exponent of free‐flight MR was found to be like that determined for tethered‐flight, the energy expenditure during free‐flight was more than 2.7 fold higher than for tethered‐flight. The metabolic cost of flight should therefore be studied under free‐flight conditions, a requirement now enabled by the 13C technique described herein for insect flight.
Applications of fluorescent protein tagging in structural studies of membrane proteins
Authors: Kermani Ali A.
Published: July 2023

Generating active, pure, and monodisperse protein remains a major bottleneck for structural studies using X‐ray crystallography and cryo‐electron microscopy (cryo‐EM). The current methodology heavily relies on overexpressing the recombinant protein fused with a histidine tag in conventional expression systems and evaluating the quality and stability of purified protein using size exclusion chromatography (SEC). This requires a large amount of protein and can be highly laborious and time consuming. Therefore, this approach is not suitable for high‐throughput screening and low‐expressing macromolecules, particularly eukaryotic membrane proteins. Using fluorescent proteins fused to the target protein (applicable to both soluble and membrane proteins) enables rapid and efficient screening of expression level and monodispersity of tens of unpurified constructs using fluorescence‐based size exclusion chromatography (FSEC). Moreover, FSEC proves valuable for screening multiple detergents to identify the most stabilizing agent in the case of membrane proteins. Additionally, FSEC can facilitate nanodisc reconstitution by determining the optimal ratio of membrane scaffold protein (MSP), lipids, and target protein. The distinct advantages offered by FSEC indicate that fluorescent proteins can serve as a viable alternative to commonly used affinity tags for both characterization and purification purposes. In this review, I will summarize the advantages of this technique using examples from my own work. It should be noted that this article is not intended to provide an exhaustive review of all available literature, but rather to offer representative examples of FSEC applications.
Audit market concentration, legal regime, and audit fees: An international investigation
Authors: Lee Eugenia Y. , Choi Jong‐Hag , Kim Eunhee , Sunwoo Hee‐Yeon
Published: July 2023

Despite regulators' on‐going concerns on the high concentration of the current audit market, the effects of concentration on auditors' behavior is still debated. We provide an answer to this unresolved issue by considering the role of legal regime in shaping auditors' pricing strategy in a concentrated market. Using data from 33 countries, we find no significant association between audit market concentration and audit fees in the pooled international sample. However, a country's legal regime changes this association dramatically: the association is significantly positive in countries with a weak legal regime but becomes weaker and eventually turns negative as countries' legal regime becomes stronger. Our study highlights the importance of country‐level institutions in determining how market structure affects market participants' behavior.
The EU's Combating Antisemitism Policy: Agenda Setting and the Making of a ‘European Polity’
Authors: Dudek Carolyn M.
Published: July 2023

Antisemitism was on the rise after 9/11, yet, until 2015, there was weak policy to address it at the national and EU levels. The following examines why and how antisemitism policy emerged on the EU agenda culminating in the creation of the 2021 comprehensive strategy to combat antisemitism. Utilizing punctuated equilibrium theory, crisification literature and literature on Commission entrepreneurship, the article explores why, although other violent attacks had occurred against Jews, it would take the double attacks in 2015 to bring attention to antisemitism within the Commission. Leadership at the EU level, NGOs working with EU institutions, a working definition of antisemitism, along with pre‐existent EU legal bases in antidiscrimination law, would help promote antisemitism policy to the EU level. The EU's adoption of antisemitism policy demonstrates both Commission agenda setting and prioritizing antisemitism due to its threat to EU fundamental ideals, thus promoting a ‘European polity’ based on values.
Attitude or skills? Cultural competence development within an Aotearoa New Zealand bicultural framework
Authors: Ide Yayoi , Beddoe Liz
Published: July 2023

INTRODUCTION: Cultural competence is one of the most widely used approaches to cross- cultural practice among health and social care professions, including social work. Following the professional code of ethics, social workers must be competent in working with people across cultures. As a result, social work education has sought to teach students to prepare them to become culturally competent. The popular cultural competence model which includes the three components of awareness, knowledge, and skills is often used to measure students’ capability to work in cross-cultural situations. The model has an underlying premise that competency can be achieved through education and training. However, there is insufficient evidence that the three components (or each component in isolation) will improve students’ and practitioners’ competence.
METHODS: This article reports on a qualitative study. Qualitative research offers versatile methods of exploring the three components through gathering information about research participants’ educational learning experiences and analysing their application of its into practice.
FINDINGS: This study found that cultural competence is about enhancing the capability of practitioners to negotiate with differences in practice. Aotearoa New Zealand content on biculturalism in social work education has played a pivotal role in valuing cultural differences to foster. Cultural safety calls forth recognition of others and being more other-oriented, encompassing cultural humility. A receptive attitude toward difference is a by-product of cross- cultural skills for practice.
IMPLICATIONS: The study result strengthens support for the integration of cultural safety and cultural humility in teaching and learning cultural competence in social work education.
Supplemental Material: Sound velocity of eclogite at high pressures and implications for detecting eclogitization in subduction zones
Authors: Zhang Rui , Wang Duojun , et al.
Published: July 2023

Supplemental Text S1–S2, Tables S1–S6, and Figures S1–S4.
Targeting Methionine Addiction of Cancer Cells with Methioninase
Authors: Pokrovsky Vadim S. , Abo Qoura Louay , Demidova Elena A. , Han Qinghong , Hoffman Robert M.
Published: July 2023

All types of cancer cells are addicted to methionine, which is known as the Hoffman effect. Restricting methionine inhibits the growth and proliferation of all tested types of cancer cells, leaving normal cells unaffected. Targeting methionine addiction with methioninase (METase), either alone or in combination with common cancer chemotherapy drugs, has been shown as an effective and safe therapy in various types of cancer cells and animal cancer models. About six years ago, recombinant METase (rMETase) was found to be able to be taken orally as a supplement, resulting in anecdotal positive results in patients with advanced cancer. Currently, there are 8 published clinical studies on METase, including two from the 1990s and six more recent ones. This review focuses on the results of clinical studies on METase-mediated methionine restriction, in particular, on the dosage of oral rMETase taken alone as a supplement or in combination with common chemotherapeutic agents in patients with advanced cancer.
Hydrogenation of CO2 over Biochar-Supported Catalysts
Authors: Svidersky S. A. , Dement’eva O. S. , Ivantsov M. I. , Grabchak A. A. , Kulikova M. V. , Maximov A. L.
Published: July 2023

The study investigates hydrogenation of CO2 over mono- and bimetallic catalysts supported on biochar. In this reaction, bimetallic iron–cobalt catalysts were shown to surpass monometallic iron and cobalt catalysts in terms of catalytic performance. The optimal combination of performance parameters was reached at an iron to cobalt ratio of 3 : 1. The composition and genesis of the active phase in the bimetallic Fe–Co catalyst were identified, and the CO2 hydrogenation mechanism was suggested for an iron-dominated bimetallic catalyst. Using biochar as a support was found to provide an active phase composition favorable for CO2 hydrogenation.
MDRD is the eGFR equation most strongly associated with 4-year mortality among patients with diabetes in Colombia
Authors: Mendivil Carlos O , Gnecco-González Sofía , Herrera-Parra Lina J , Hernández Vargas Juliana A , Ramírez-García Nathaly , Acuña-Merchán Lizbeth
Published: July 2023

Introduction

We compared the association of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimated with the Cockcroft-Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study (MDRD), Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI), or the new CKD-EPI without race (CKD-EPI-NR) equations, with 4-year all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes.

Research design and methods

We analyzed a nationwide, centralized database of all adults diagnosed with diabetes assisted by the Colombian Health System between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2019. Plasma creatinine was used to calculate baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and classify each patient in a chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage, by each of the four equations. We used multivariate logistic regression to compare the association between CKD stage and mortality, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses to assess the overall association of eGFR by each equation and mortality.

Results

The study included 758,219 patients (58% female, 7.2% black race, mean age 62.3, Glycated hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] 7.4%). There were 35,296 deaths over the study follow-up. Considering eGFR by each equation as a continuous variable, the odds of death decreased by 1.1%–1.5% for each additional mL/min. Compared with CKD stage 1 of each equation, being placed in CKD stages 3a, 3b, or 4 by MDRD or CKD-EPI-NR was associated with greater odds of death than being categorized in the same stages by CKD-EPI. Among patients of black race, the adjusted OR of mortality for CKD stage 4 relative to stage 1 was 4.63 (95% CI 3.39 to 6.35) for MDRD, 3.66 (2.85 to 4.69) for CKD-EPI-NR, 3.01 (2.38 to 3.81) for CKD-EPI, and 2.82 (2.29 to 3.49) for Cockcroft-Gault. The area under the ROC curve to discriminate by survival status was greatest for MDRD, followed by CKD-EPI-NR, CKD-EPI, and Cockcroft-Gault, in that order (p<0.001 for all differences).

Conclusions

Compared with other eGFR equations, MDRD showed the strongest association with all-cause mortality in a sample of Latin-American patients with diabetes. This difference was most pronounced among patients of black race.
Higher risk of future events, mortality and greater healthcare use among patients with increasingly recurrent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events in Taiwan: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Hsu Chia-Yun , Chen Wen-Jone , Lin Hung-Ju , Chen Ho-Min , Yang Yea-Harn , Chen Wei-Ju , Chen Chieh-Min , Hsiao Fei-Yuan
Published: July 2023

Objectives

To describe the occurrence of recurrent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events within 3 years after a new-onset event, the associated disease burden and statin prescribing in patients with ASCVD in Taiwan.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

This was a retrospective cohort study using Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database.

Participants

In total, 111 399, 133 538 and 21 572 patients who were hospitalised with diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (CBVD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD), respectively, between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2014.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

For each index and recurrent event, patients were observed for 12 months after admission to quantify risks of mortality, recurrent events, statin treatment and healthcare use.

Results

We identified 97 321, 120 914 and 14 794 patients with new-onset CHD, CBVD and PAD, respectively. The proportions of developing first, second and third recurrent events were 22.5%, 25.6% and 30.9% for CHD; 20.9%, 26.2% and 32.4% for CBVD and 40.2%, 41.4% and 43.6% for PAD, respectively. Most patients had the same type of ASCVD for their recurrent events as their new-onset event. The mortality rates increased with each recurrent event (p<0.05 for all three ASCVD groups). The rates of hospital readmission and emergency room (ER) visit increased with increasing recurrent events. For example, in the CHD group, the 1-year readmission rates following the index, first and second recurrent events were 43.1%, 47.6% and 55.3%, respectively, and the proportions of visiting ER were 46.4%, 51.9% and 57.8%, respectively. Statin prescribing was suboptimal at time of index event and recurrent events.

Conclusion

Recurrent ASCVD events were associated with a higher risk of recurrent event and mortality and greater healthcare use. However, statin prescriptions at index event and after each recurrent event were suboptimal.
Impact of armed conflict on health professionals’ education and training in Syria: a systematic review
Authors: Bdaiwi Yamama , Sabouni Ammar , Patel Preeti , Ekzayez Abdulkarim , Alchalati Safwan , Abdrabbuh Omer , Abbara Aula , Glogowska Margaret
Published: July 2023

Objectives

To provide an overview of the holistic impact of the armed conflict on medical education and health professionals’ training (MEHPT) in Syria.

Setting

Syria is a country which underwent an armed conflict for 10 years and suffered from the weaponisation of health.

Methods

A mixed-methods systematic review including quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods and textual literature between 2011 and 2021 including papers on the Syrian MEHPT undergraduate and postgraduate education and training personnel (including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals). The electronic search was conducted in October 2018 in Embase, Global Health, Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL and grey literature. And an update to the search was conducted in August 2021 in PubMed, Google Scholar and Trip database.

Outcomes

The impact of conflict on the MEHPT system, personnel, experiences, challenges and channels of support.

Results

Of the 5710 citations screened, 70 met the inclusion criteria (34 quantitative, 3 qualitative, 1 mixed-method, and 32 reports and opinion papers). The two major cross-cutting themes were attacks on MEHPT and innovations (present in 41% and 44% of the papers, respectively), followed by challenges facing the MEHPT sector and attitudes and knowledge of trainees and students, and lastly health system and policy issues, and narrating experiences.

Conclusion

Conflict in Syria has politicised all aspects of MEHPT. Influenced by political control, the MEHPT system has been divided into two distinguished geopolitical contexts; government-controlled areas (GCAs) and non-GCAs (NGCAs), each having its characteristics and level of war impact. International and regional academic institutes collaboration and coordination efforts are needed to formulate educational platforms using innovative approaches (such as online/blended/store-and-forward/peer-training/online tutoring) to strengthen and build the capacity of the health workforce in conflict-affected areas.
Are trajectories of depressive symptoms during the first half of drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis treatment associated with loss to follow-up? A secondary analysis of longitudinal data
Authors: Ruiz-Grosso Paulo , Loret de Mola Christian , Otero Larissa , Ugarte-Gil Cesar
Published: July 2023

Objective

The objective of this study was to identify trajectories of depressive symptoms (DSs) during the first half of drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) treatment and examine their association with loss to follow-up (LTFU) in the second half.

Design

This study involved a secondary analysis of longitudinal data to identify potential trajectories of DS and their relationship with LTFU.

Setting

The study was conducted in first and second-level health centres located in San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima, Peru.

Participants

Anonymised data from 265 individuals, including monthly measures of DSs from diagnosis to the completion of treatment, initiation of treatment for multidrug resistant TB, LTFU or death, were collected.

Results

Three trajectories were identified: ‘declining’, ‘growth’ and ‘high’. These trajectories were observed in 182 (68.7%), 53 (20%) and 30 (11.3%) of the 265 individuals, respectively, during the first half of PTB treatment. Compared with those with a ‘declining’ trajectory, individuals with a ‘growth’ trajectory had a higher likelihood of experiencing LTFU during the second half of PTB treatment, after controlling for sociodemographic factors and at least weekly alcohol use (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.09 to 13.97, p=0.036).

Conclusions

The findings suggest that a trajectory of increasing DSs during the first half of PTB treatment is associated with a higher risk of LTFU during the second half.