bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Equatorial Pacific Cold Tongue Bias in CESM1 and Its Influence on ENSO Forecasts
Authors: Wu Xian , Okumura Yuko M. , DiNezio Pedro N. , Yeager Stephen G. , Deser Clara
Published: February 2022

The mean-state bias and the associated forecast errors of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are investigated in a suite of 2-yr-lead retrospective forecasts conducted with the Community Earth System Model, version 1, for 1954–2015. The equatorial Pacific cold tongue in the forecasts is too strong and extends excessively westward due to a combination of the model’s inherent climatological bias, initialization imbalance, and errors in initial ocean data. The forecasts show a stronger cold tongue bias in the first year than that inherent to the model due to the imbalance between initial subsurface oceanic states and model dynamics. The cold tongue bias affects not only the pattern and amplitude but also the duration of ENSO in the forecasts by altering ocean–atmosphere feedbacks. The predicted sea surface temperature anomalies related to ENSO extend to the far western equatorial Pacific during boreal summer when the cold tongue bias is strong, and the predicted ENSO anomalies are too weak in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific. The forecast errors of pattern and amplitude subsequently lead to errors in ENSO phase transition by affecting the amplitude of the negative thermocline feedback in the equatorial Pacific and tropical interbasin adjustments during the mature phase of ENSO. These ENSO forecast errors further degrade the predictions of wintertime atmospheric teleconnections, land surface air temperature, and rainfall anomalies over the Northern Hemisphere. These mean-state and ENSO forecast biases are more pronounced in forecasts initialized in boreal spring–summer than other seasons due to the seasonal intensification of the Bjerknes feedback.
Perioperative Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Is Associated With Decreased Postoperative Complications in Decompensated Cirrhotics Undergoing Abdominal Surgery
Authors: Aryan Mahmoud , McPhail James , Ravi Sujan , Harris Patrick , Allamneni Chaitanya , Shoreibah Mohamed
Published: February 2022

Background

Operative risk in patients with cirrhosis is related to the severity of liver disease and nature of procedure. Pre and postoperative portal decompression via transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) are logical approaches to facilitate surgery and improve postoperative outcomes. We compared postoperative outcomes of decompensated cirrhotics undergoing abdominal surgery either with or without perioperative TIPS placement.

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of 41 decompensated cirrhotic patients who had abdominal surgery from 2010-2019 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Patients were stratified based on having received either perioperative TIPS or no TIPS. Demographics, laboratory data, perioperative TIPS status and postoperative complications were compared between the 2 groups using Fisher exact test and Student 2 sample t-test.

Results

Group 1 consisted of 28 patients who had TIPS procedure, with 21 being preoperative and 7 being postoperative. Group 2 had 13 patients who had abdominal surgery without TIPS. When compared to those with perioperative TIPS, patients without TIPS had a significantly increased incidence of postoperative ascites (33% vs 77%, P = .0026), infection (18% vs 54%, P = .028), and acute kidney injury (AKI) (14% vs 46%, P = .0485). Additionally, postoperative Model of End Stage Liver Disease Sodium score was significantly higher in patients without TIPS (22 ± 4.74) when compared to those who had TIPS (17.14 ± 5.48) ( P = .009).

Discussion

Perioperative TIPS placement in decompensated cirrhotics was associated with decreased postoperative ascites, infection, and AKI when compared to those without TIPS. Further studies are needed to validate our findings.
Characteristic Spectral Features of Terra Preta (TP) in the 5–15 Terahertz Range
Authors: Lepodise Lucia M. , Lewis Roger A. , Constable Evan , Pogson Elise , Joseph Stephen D. , Horvat Josip
Published: February 2022

Terra preta is a fertile anthropogenic soil found in the Amazon basin. One of the most significant differences between the terra preta and surrounding soils is that terra preta is rich in aromatic carbons. Previous infrared investigations of terra preta were reported at energies above 1000 cm−1 where many other forms of carbon also have absorption lines. No measurements have been reported below 800 cm−1, where many absorptions associated with aromatic carbons occur in the absence of aliphatic carbon lines. We employ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy between 150 cm−1 and 500 cm−1. A comparison was made between the spectra of terra preta, several pure aromatic compounds, organic fertilizers developed to replicate terra preta and several Australian soils, some of which containing char from bushfires. The spectra in the 150–500 cm−1 range were very similar between terra preta and the organic fertilizers, while they were very different for the natural soils. These findings indicate that the content of aromatic carbons in terra preta and organic fertilizers is different than in natural soils containing the bushfire chars, but also soils produced entirely by bacterial and fungal activities. This point to the importance of the preparation conditions of the biochars, which are essential ingredients of terra preta and organic fertilizers used in this study.
Party Literature Work, Ideology, and the Central Party Literature Office of the Communist Party of China
Authors: Bing Ngeow Chow
Published: February 2022

This article reviews the origins, development and current trends of what is known as ‘party literature work’ and the principal organisation that carries out this work—the Central Party Literature Office (CPLO). Party literature work plays a crucial role for each generation of Chinese communist leadership to assert its ideological ‘line’ and build its canon. It is an integral part of the ideological apparatus of the Communist Party of China. Under Xi Jinping, CPLO was merged into a new organisation, but party literature work remains and continues to play a key role, supporting his ideological line.
Vanguard to Periphery: The CPC’s Changing Narrative on the Labour Question
Authors: Krishnan Anand Parappadi
Published: February 2022

With the ideological undergirding of Marxism–Leninism, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has claimed representation of peasants and workers in its vanguard role in actualising the socialist revolution. However, as China has developed economically over the past four decades, there has been an erosion in the status of workers and peasants as legitimate stakeholders in governance and ruling practices. This article attempts to map how labour, once a critical component of the CPC’s political–ideological invocation, has become peripheral as China transitioned to a market economy with an emphasis on economic rationale for growth and reforms. It examines the changing contours of the CPC’s discourse and practice over the past 100 years on the labour question, sandwiched as it is between the need for continued economic growth as a legitimating tool and the continued reiteration of being representative of the working class.
Marxism, Anti-Japanese Resistance and Birth of the People’s Republic of China
Authors: Adlakha Hemant
Published: February 2022

Rana Mitter, China’s Good War: How World War II Is Shaping a New Nationalism (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020), 336 pp., ₹2,220, ISBN: 9780674984264 (Hardcover).

Rana Mitter, China’s War with Japan 1937–1945: The Struggle for Survival (London: Allen Lane, 2013), xxii+458 pp. £25.00 (cloth), £14.99 (eBook).

Rana Mitter, The Manchurian Myth: Nationalism, Resistance, and Collaboration in Modern China (California University Press, Hardcover 2000), 308 pages, $68.95 £54.00, ISBN 9780520221116.
Inculcating Scientific Temper Amongst First Responders to Crime
Authors: Kaur Jasjeet , Sodhi G.S.
Published: February 2022

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights directs the member nations to create such conditions under which the ideals of free human beings, enjoying civil and political freedom from fear and want, can be achieved. The Constitution of India, through its various Articles, strives to ensure security and safety of citizens in accordance with the principles of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, crime is a violation of these principles. In a country like India, where a large section of population is uneducated, social set-up is heterogeneous, public–police relations are not very cordial, poverty is rampant and unemployment widespread, it is not surprising that crime rate is increasing exponentially. In a majority of serious crime cases, hi-tech measures are being adopted by perpetrators. However, the police personnel who visits the scene of crime as the first responder may not be holding an academic degree in science and technology. Yet the decisions of the first officer bear a strong influence on the eventual outcome of the criminal investigation. It is, therefore, pertinent that they must receive training and guidance to inculcate the spirit of scientific temperament in decision-making.
New Evidence on Teacher Pay
Authors: Regmi Krishna
Published: February 2022

Prior research has shown that teachers receive lower pay compared to people with the same educational level who work in other occupations. This article challenges that literature and shows that by applying novel statistical approaches, the pay differentials are reduced, and even become pay premiums. In particular, these approaches provide unifying estimates that turn an earnings penalty between female teachers and non-teachers of approximately 10%—based on a standard approach in the literature—into an earnings premium of 5 to 10%. Likewise, estimates based on these approaches erase up to two-thirds of the earnings gap between male teachers and non-teachers. Moreover, going beyond the traditional focus on the mean, the author decomposes the pay gap across the entire earnings distribution. Estimates show that although teachers have a substantial earnings premium at the bottom of the distribution, they have a large earnings penalty at the top.
Motivation, social work and immigration: Job satisfaction according to a qualitative and quantitative evaluation
Authors: Godás Otero Agustín , Quiroga-Carrillo Anaïs , Míguez-Salina Gabriela , Núñez-García Jesica
Published: February 2022

This research is aimed at examining the motivational elements that the social worker specialised in immigration considers as determinants of their job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. An instrument was designed and validated to collect these perceptions in quantitative and qualitative terms, among a sample composed of 100 social services professionals from 43 localities in Galicia, Spain. The findings report that, while labour satisfaction is associated with intrinsic aspects of their job (such as personal self-fulfilment and constant contact with clients), the main sources of dissatisfaction relate to organisational and extrinsic work aspects (like workload, lack of support or excess of bureaucracy).
Robust iterative learning control design based on iterative integral sliding mode for nonlinear systems with unrepeatable disturbance
Authors: Zhang Xiaoyu
Published: February 2022

For the repetitive tracking control tasks, the unrepeatable disturbance is an obstruction to learning control schemes. This paper discussed the robust iterative learning control (RILC) design based on the sliding mode control (SMC) technique for a class of nonlinear systems with unrepeatable disturbances. In order to make the tracking error converge to zero in the iteration domain under the sliding mode and eliminate the reaching phase of the SMC, an iterative integral sliding mode (IISM) surface design was proposed. The IISM leads to linear tracking error dynamics in the iteration domain, which guarantees the convergence if the sliding mode parameters meet the given condition. After that, the iterative learning control (ILC) based on the IISM was designed, which drove the sliding mode variable of the closed-loop system to reach the origin with iterations from the initial time instant, despite the effect of the unrepeatable disturbances. The robustness to the unrepeatable disturbance and the fast convergence were achieved. Finally, the proposed IISM method was applied to a one-link robotic manipulator, and the simulation results validated the performance of the proposed control design.
Sociotropic and Personal Threats and Authoritarian Reactions During COVID-19
Authors: Arikan Gizem
Published: February 2022

The authoritarianism literature is divided over whether perceived threats to normative social order (sociotropic threats) or threats to the individual’s well-being (personal threats) activate authoritarian predispositions. In addition, while some approaches claim that perceived threats primarily trigger those high in authoritarianism, others claim that those who are low in authoritarianism are more sensitive to threats. Given the centrality of authoritarianism and threat on support for extraordinary policies in the context of COVID-19, this article sought to test to what extent different types of threats moderated the effect of authoritarianism on support for tough law and order policies and harsh punishments to contain the spread of coronavirus. Data from two preregistered survey experiments indicates that those high in authoritarianism were more willing to support tough law and order policies when primed with sociotropic threats while those low in authoritarianism became more willing to support such policies when primed with personal threats.
A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess the Frequency of Restraint, and Knowledge and Attitudes of the Caregivers of Patients Toward Restraint in a General Hospital Psychiatry Setting from South India
Authors: Kuppili Pooja Patnaik , Vengadavaradan Ashvini , Bharadwaj Balaji
Published: February 2022

Background

There is limited Indian data on the epidemiology of hospital-based restraint practices and the knowledge and attitude of caregivers toward restraint. Therefore, this study aimed to report the frequency and pattern of restraints in a general hospital psychiatry setting and assess the knowledge and attitude about restraint practices among caregivers of patients.

Methods

We calculated the frequency of restraints (physical and chemical) over one year. The knowledge and attitude toward restraint were assessed in 75 caregivers each of patients from inpatient and outpatient settings, using a questionnaire designed by the authors and pretested in a pilot study.

Results

The frequency of any form of restraint was 19%. The frequency of chemical and physical restraints was 19% and 0.5%, respectively. Less than 20% of caregivers in both groups reported that restraint was either stigmatizing (5.33% inpatient caregivers vs. 12% outpatient caregivers), cruel (8% inpatient caregivers vs. 15.33% outpatient caregivers), or a measure of punishment (9% inpatient caregivers vs. 16% outpatient caregivers). No significant difference was found between knowledge and attitude about restraint between caregivers of outpatients and inpatients, except for a significantly greater number of caregivers of outpatients reporting that the restraint practices in the hospital were similar to those adopted by faith healers or religious/spiritual centers.

Conclusion

The frequency of either physical or chemical restraint was less compared to the existing international and Indian data. In addition, most caregivers of patients of both outpatients and inpatients did not report a negative attitude toward restraints.
Shrinking cities in China: Evidence from the latest two population censuses 2010–2020
Authors: Meng Xiangfeng , Long Ying
Published: February 2022

As the world's largest developing country, most Chinese cities are experiencing both population shrinkage and spatial expansion in the context of rapid urbanisation. To address the negative impacts of urban shrinkage in a targeted manner, it is necessary to accurately identify shrinking cities in China. In this study, we utilise the sixth and latest seventh population census data to identify and map shrinking cities in China that are experiencing population loss between 2010 and 2020. As a result, we identified 1507 shrinking districts and counties (52% of all 2896 districts and counties in China), with a total area of 4.4 million km2, covering almost 46% of China's territory. In addition, we further found that from 2010 to 2020, there are 266 shrinking cities in China, an increase of 86 (12%) compared with 2000–2010. This indicates that the situation of shrinking cities in China has become more critical. From the perspective of spatial distribution, Chinese shrinking cities are clustered, mainly in the northeast and central regions. We also plot the proportion of shrinkage in a deformed form to reveal which prefecture-level cities are losing population from 2010 to 2020. Our findings provide policymakers and urban planners with a reference and warning that measures should be taken to adjust the growth-oriented planning paradigm to reverse the negative impact of population loss on urban development.
Diet Improvements in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in the Mobility and Vitality Lifestyle Program
Authors: Cheng Jessica , Burke Lora E. , Venditti Elizabeth M. , Sereika Susan M. , Glynn Nancy W. , Albert Steven M. , Newman Anne B.
Published: February 2022

This analysis examined whether a community-based intervention produced measurable improvements in dietary habits. MOVE UP combined translational, evidence-based weight management and healthy aging interventions using a non-randomized design. This 13-month intervention included 32 group sessions, explicit calorie and physical activity goals, self-monitoring, and nutrition education. Participants were ( N = 297) older adults (mean = 68.0 years) with overweight and obesity. Diet was measured using Rate Your Plate (RYP)-Heart. Changes in scores from baseline to 5, 9, and 13 months were assessed using mixed models. MOVE UP successfully shifted eating patterns from baseline (mean = 50.9) to 5 months (mean = 55.1) ( p < .0001) adjusted for age, sex, and race. Improvements persisted through 9 (mean = 54.7) and 13 months (mean = 55.0) ( p < .0001). Although participants were not prescribed a specific diet, RYP-Heart indicated positive dietary shifts. Community-implemented behavioral weight loss interventions may assess the modifiability of dietary habits with a simple, easy-to-administer tool.
Impact of Job Insecurity on Work–Life Balance during COVID-19 in India
Authors: Begum Asma , Shafaghi Mathew , Adeel Ayesha
Published: February 2022

The ongoing health crisis has impacted businesses worldwide, drastically reducing production, consumption and distribution of goods and services, leading to an economic downturn. An increasing unemployment rate has led to a surge in the sense of job insecurity among employees. Lack of job security has a direct impact on an employee’s health and work–life balance. This article focusses on the relationship between and impact of job insecurity on work–life balance, that is, to understand the impact of perceived job insecurity on working hours, employee’s health and reduced family time. Using a self-completed questionnaire, data was collected from 413 employees from different sectors like construction, banks, hospitals, hotels, schools, FMCG, telecommunication, etc., in India, which assisted in testing five hypotheses. The study found a positive relationship between job insecurity and health issues and work–life conflict. Additionally, job insecurity was negatively linked with job performance. Regression analysis showed mediating effects of work demand, work time, family time and family demand on the relationship of job insecurity with health issues, job performance and work–life conflict. However, the article also discusses various effective mechanisms to reduce job insecurity and ways to curb its negative impacts on various organizational and personal outcomes.
Cytomorphological Analysis and Interpretation of Nitric Oxide-Mediated Neurotoxicity in Sleep-Deprived Mice Model
Authors: Chittora Reena , Jain Ayushi , Shukla Sunil Dutt , Bhatnagar Maheep
Published: February 2022

Background:

Sleep deprivation (SD) is a biological stress condition for the brain, and the pathogenesis of SD is closely related to elevated oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, a major cause of neurodegeneration. This oxidative stress-mediated cell death is attributed to rise in calcium ion influx which further excites or alters the neurotransmitters level by activating neuronal nitric oxide (NO) synthase (nNOS) release of NO in mouse SD model. This study indicates that the nitrergic neurons are possible therapeutic targets for the amelioration of SD-induced cognitive dysfunction and behavioral alterations.

Purpose:

SD is considered as a risk factor for various neurodegenerative diseases. SD leads to biochemical, behavioral, and neurochemical alterations in animals. This study was designed to explore the possible involvement of a nitrergic neuron system in six days SD-induced morphological and neurodegenerative changes in mice.

Methods:

Using nNOS immunohistochemistry, we have investigated the effects of SD on nNOS positive neurons. Immunohistochemical study for the distribution of nNOS positive neuronal cell bodies was carried out in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex (PFC), and amygdaloid nuclei of mice brain.

Results:

Sleep-deprived animals showed a significantly increased number of nNOS positive neurons and altered neuronal cytomorphology as compared with the control group.

Conclusion:

These results indicate that total SD may induce morphological changes in nNOS positive neurons in the brain, thus increasing NO synthesis, which is implicated in SD-induced neuronal cell death.
Effects of Prolonged Intermittent Fasting Model on Energy Metabolism and Mitochondrial Functions in Neurons
Authors: Pak Meltem , Bozkurt Süleyman , Pınarbaşı Arzu , Öz Arslan Devrim , Aksungar Fehime Benli
Published: February 2022

Background:

Calorie restriction (CR) during daily nutrition has been shown to affect the prognosis of many chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and aging. As an alternative nutrition model, prolonged intermittent fasting (PF) in humans is defined by the absence of food for more than 12 h. In our previous human studies, CR and PF models were compared and it was concluded that the two models might have differences in signal transduction mechanisms. We have investigated the effects of these models on neurons at the molecular level in this study.

Methods:

Neurons (SH-SY5Y) were incubated with normal medium (N), calorie-restricted medium (CR), fasting medium (PF), and glucose-free medium (G0) for 16 h. Simultaneously, ketone (beta-hydroxybutyrate; bOHB) was added to other experiment flasks containing the same media. Concentrations of lactate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), bOHB, and glucose were measured to demonstrate the changes in the energy metabolism together with the mitochondrial functions of cells. Citrate synthase activity and flow cytometric mitochondrial functions were investigated.

Results:

At the end of incubations, lactate and LDH levels were decreased and mitochondrial activity was increased in all ketone-added groups (P < .01) regardless of the glucose concentration in the environment. In the fasting model, these differences were more prominent.

Conclusion:

Our results demonstrated that neurons use ketones regardless of the amount of glucose, and bOHB-treated cells had positive changes in mitochondrial function. We conclude that the presence of bOHB might reverse neuron damage and that exogenous ketone treatment may be beneficial in the treatment of neurological diseases in the future.
Women’s Workforce in Assam: Insights on Composition and Determinants from PLFS Data
Authors: Roy Paramita , Barua Anshuman
Published: February 2022

This article attempts to analyse the composition and determinants of workforce participation among the females in Assam, a relatively less researched part of India. Unit-level data has been extracted from Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2018–2019, and a binary logistic regression model has been used to identify some of the socio-economic and demographic factors that influence the odds of Assamese females being a part of the workforce in both the rural and the urban sectors along with the extent of their influence. The results show that age, educational qualification, marital status and social group have significant impact on workforce participation. The majority of Assamese women in the rural areas are found to be engaged in the growing of tea, while in the urban areas, they are primarily employed in the education sector. Moreover, though a bulk of the women workforce in Assam are engaged in regular wage/salaried forms of employment, more than one-third of them do not receive any social security benefit.
War Related Psycho-Social Problems and Mitigating Strategies: A Time of Crisis, A Time to Act
Authors: Shimelash Yasegnal Awgchew
Published: February 2022

Psycho-social problems are recognized as the most profound challenges among war affected population. People experiencing poor psychological health suffer substantial distress and may be more vulnerable to violence, suicidal act, and poor physical health and harmful health practices such as substance abuse. Civilian exposure to war can involve numerous traumatic experiences including feelings of insecurity, witnessing extreme violence, separation from family, and incarceration. This article is intended to investigate the war-related psycho-social problems and mitigating strategies of war declared on Ethiopia’s Amhara region civilians. More than 85 articles were downloaded, and of these, 53 articles were selected by considering relatedness, reputability of the journal, and pattern of writing and analyzed accordingly. The findings showed that displacement, lack of basic needs for survival, social disruption, exposure to violence, depression, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, substance use and abuse, and behavioral disturbances are psycho-social problems manifested among people affected by war. Psycho-social support systems such as psychiatric support, counseling, training, advocacy, practical support, community education, community mobilization, forming task forces, identification of vulnerable groups, and developing psycho-social support pyramid are the mitigating strategies of war-related psycho-social problems.
Releasing the Caged Phoenix: COVID-19 and the Rare Opportunity Afforded to Ontario's Teachers
Authors: Whitley Jaime , Smale William T.
Published: February 2022

This paper addresses perceptions of how Ontario's response to the COVID-19 pandemica has changed the role of teachers. It explores the opportunity for Ontario's teachers to reframe their approach to curricula and pedagogy through their own personal leadership and to use the current pandemic landscape as a gateway rather than a barrier to growth. It chronicles the first wave of the pandemic response in Ontario's education sector, reveals windows of opportunity that have existed and continue to exist within current education policy, and explores scholarly work in the areas of currere, lived curriculum, localized curricula, and leadership in the spirit of learning and living.
Which University Students are Falling Behind? Evidence from Bangladesh
Authors: Murshed Rubaiya , Naher Firdousi
Published: February 2022

Retention, or readmission as it is commonly known in the case of the University of Dhaka—the largest public university in Bangladesh—has gradually been becoming more of an important educational issue as Bangladesh moves toward her development goals and the education system struggles to keep up. This study is an institutional departmental case study that focuses on the readmission of students at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka. The article asks, what are the determinants of readmission? We use a probit model analysis to explore the factors that may be associated with students’ probability of attaining or seeking readmission. We find that students who are active members in Department clubs are less likely while students who opt for job/tuition/internship while studying and those who are involved in student politics are more likely to pursue readmission.
Still Muted: The Limited Participatory Democracy of Zoom Public Meetings
Authors: Einstein Katherine Levine , Glick David , Godinez Puig Luisa , Palmer Maxwell
Published: February 2022

Recent research has demonstrated that participants in public meetings are unrepresentative of their broader communities. Some suggest that reducing barriers to meeting attendance can improve participation, while others believe doing so will produce minimal changes. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted public meetings online, potentially reducing the time costs associated with participating. We match participants at online public meetings with administrative data to learn whether: (1) online participants are representative of their broader communities and (2) representativeness improves relative to in-person meetings. We find that participants in online forums are quite similar to those in in-person ones. They are similarly unrepresentative of residents in their broader communities and similarly overwhelmingly opposed to the construction of new housing. These results suggest important limitations to public meeting reform. Future research should continue to unpack whether reforms might prove more effective at redressing inequalities in an improved economic and public health context.
Does the ACA Medicaid Expansion Affect Hospitals’ Financial Performance?
Authors: Zhang Pengju , Zhu Ling
Published: February 2022

This paper examines the effects of states’ Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on hospitals’ financial performance in the United States. Extending previous studies that primarily focus on the immediate short-term impact of the ACA's Medicaid expansion, we investigate if the fiscal effects persist over a longer-term and if the fiscal effects vary across different hospitals. Using panel data on hospitals from 2011 to 2018, we find that hospitals’ financial performance, as gauged either by Medicaid net revenue and uncompensated care cost or by multiple profitability measures, improves in Medicaid expansion states, and the positive effects continue over time. In addition, there are significant heterogeneities in the fiscal effects across different hospitals. Hospitals’ profitability improves the most in the public sector, rural areas, and less wealthy counties.
Alexithymic and autistic traits in children and adolescents: A systematic review of the current state of knowledge
Authors: Vaiouli Potheini , Luminet Olivier , Panayiotou Georgia
Published: February 2022

Research evidence suggests that heterogeneity in emotion processing difficulties in autistic individuals may reflect co-occurring alexithymia. Elevated levels of alexithymia is a robust finding in the adult autistic population but there is a relative poverty regarding the corresponding research in younger populations. The aim of this review is to investigate associations between autism and alexithymia in children and adolescents, so that we can better understand the nature and impact of alexithymia in autistic individuals early on in their lives. Online scientific databases were systematically reviewed for studies on autistic children and adolescents and co-occurring alexithymia. A total of eight studies were identified. Evidence indicated that alexithymia prevalence in autistic individuals is higher compared to their typically developing peers and is closely related to the emotional and social deficits involved in autism but not to the associated cognitive deficits. Main concerns associated with these results are related to the alexithymia assessment measures implemented in each study, their limitations, and potential effects on the validity of findings. This review sheds light on the topic of alexithymia in children and adolescents and underscores the difficulties in conducting this research, while providing insights for research with autistic children and adolescents.

Lay abstract

In this study, we aim to explore the ability of autistic children to process emotions and respond to a range of feelings in relation to a triad of difficulties known as alexithymia, namely children’s difficulties to recognize, describe, and distinguish emotions. Alexithymia is common in autistic adults but we know very little about children. To understand this condition better, within a large group of studies, first we study the extent to which alexithymia difficulties are present in autistic children. In reviewing the literature, we also present the assessment measures implemented in each study, their limitations, and potential effects on our understanding of findings. This knowledge will help us understand the extent to which alexithymia is present in autistic children and how it may be related to their emotional difficulties. Also, it will allow us to further detect challenges early on in children’s lives so that we recommend interventions that teach autistic children how to recognize, describe, and distinguish emotions in themselves and in others. Such interventions may include family members of autistic children to assist interactions with their child. Supporting children from an early age will help them develop skills that will ready them for school and life and it will enhance their ability to build supportive relationships and meet their fullest potential.
Becoming whānau: Māori and Pākehā working together on the Indigenous-led campaign, #ProtectIhumātao
Authors: Hancock Frances , Newton Pania
Published: February 2022

This paper explores how the Indigenous-led, community-supported campaign # ProtectIhumātao became a site for decolonisation work that nourished productive bicultural relations. For six years, we worked together, alongside others, to stop a transnational corporation building houses on culturally significant, but contested, whenua (land) at Ihumātao, Auckland. Pania draws strength from her Indigenous Māori whakapapa (ancestral relations), and Frances from being a New Zealander of Irish descent. Committing ourselves to the campaign kaupapa (values, principles and plans), we embraced different roles: Pania as a kaitiaki or land protector and Frances as a hoa tū tata or close friend, standing by, ready to assist. Along the way, we became our own whānau (extended family); a kaupapa-based whānau (people mobilised for a shared purpose). Here, we share knowledge from our campaign experiences to explore what becoming whānau means to us in relation to Ihumātao. Thinking and writing at the interface of Māori and Pākehā ways of knowing, we interact with ideas from Māori philosophy and Indigenous–Settler relations. Through telling our stories, we illuminate relational qualities that made our different roles and evolving relationship possible, and glean insights to inform ongoing Indigenous-led, decolonising practices at Ihumātao, and elsewhere.
A Preliminary Investigation Into the Role of Planning in Early Writing Development
Authors: Agha Amna A. , Truckenmiller Adrea J. , Fine Jodene G. , Perreault Megan
Published: February 2022

The development of written expression includes transcription, text generation, and executive functions (including planning) interacting within working memory. However, executive functions are not formally measured in school-based written expression tasks, although there is an opportunity for examining students’ advance planning—a key manifestation of executive functions. We explore the influence of advance planning on Grade 2 written expression using curriculum-based measurement in written expression (CBM-WE) probes with a convenience sample of 126 students in six U.S. classrooms. Controlling for transcription, which is typically the primary focus of instruction in early elementary grades, we found that a score on advance planning explained additional significant variance in writing quantity and accuracy. Results support that planning may be an additional score to add to the use of CBM-WE. Implications for assessment and further research on the early development of planning and executive functions related to written expression are explored.
Radio on demand: New habits of consuming radio content
Authors: Laor Tal
Published: February 2022

This research is an investigation into changes in the radio listening habits of consumers who use on-demand radio. Findings indicate high daily listening rates to online on-demand radiophonic content as listeners are not dependent on schedules. Listeners proactively use the options offered by on-demand radio to satisfy listeners’ diverse needs, in line with the uses and gratifications theory. The diversity of online radio offerings encourages frequent consumption of more varied content. Findings indicate that radio’s entry into the new medium offers interactivity, demassification and asynchroneity, expands its distribution and helps it maintain its role as a relevant medium of influence.
Anatomical shoulder replacements in young patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Davies A , Lloyd T , Sabharwal S , Liddle AD , Reilly P
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Increasing numbers of young patients receive shoulder replacements. Greater information on outcomes is needed to inform implant choice. The aim of this study was to investigate the survivorship and clinical effectiveness of hemiarthroplasty and anatomical total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) in patients younger than 65 years.

Method

A systematic review was performed of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and National Joint Registry reports. The primary outcomes were implant survival and change in perioperative shoulder scores.

Results

Meta-analysis of implant survivorship was performed of six studies reporting on 416 patients. Implant survival was 86.1% (72.1,100) at 10 years for hemiarthroplasty and 82.3% (64.6,100) for TSA. 20 year survival was 80.0% for hemiarthroplasty (72.5,87.4) and 75.0% (56.9,93.1) for TSA. Ten studies were included in the meta-analysis of shoulder scores, multiple instruments were used. The standardised mean difference between pre-operative and post-operative shoulder scores was 2.15 (1.95, 2.35) for TSA at 4.2–4.9 years, and 2.72 (1.98,3.47) for hemiarthroplasty at 3.8–6 years.

Conclusion

Over 80% of shoulder replacements last more than 10 years, and 75% last more than 20 years. Significant improvements in shoulder scores are shown at all time points.
A mobile app for home-based exercise in spinal cord injured persons: Proposal and pilot study
Authors: Bizzarini Emiliana , Chittaro Luca , Frezza Mauro , Polo Marika , Malisan Cristina , Menosso Rachele , Zampa Agostino
Published: February 2022

Background and Objective

To preserve cardiovascular health in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), it is important to promote physical activity programs adapted to them. Home-based exercise programs allow patients to perform clinician-prescribed physical activity without going to a hospital. However, they make it difficult for the clinician to guide and monitor the patient. To face this issue, this paper proposes a novel smartphone-based mobile application (Fisiofriend), and evaluates its feasibility with a pilot study in a real clinical intervention.

Methods

Fourteen SCI male subjects were involved in a 6-weeks home-based intervention, based on upper limbs exercises: 7 subjects (APP group) used Fisiofriend, and 7 subjects used traditional pictorial instructions on paper (PAPER group). At the beginning (t1) and end (t2) of the study period, we measured: (i) biceps and triceps brachii strength and endurance parameters with an isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex System 4), (ii) O2 maximal consumption with a crank ergometer stress test (VO2000, Medgraphics). Moreover, we collected subjective data about subjects’ perception of the support (app or paper) in the home-based program.

Results

Physiological results were encouraging for both groups. Questionnaire data suggests a possible advantage of the app in terms of pleasantness, engagement and perception of positive effects. Practical clinical experience with the subjects and their informal reports highlighted which features of the app could be of particular benefit in real interventions, as we discuss in the paper.

Conclusions

The study showed the feasibility of using a mobile app in home-based exercise programs involving SCI patients. We discuss implications of introducing such kind of apps into clinical practice.
Retirement Center Worker Sleep Health Assessment During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Hittle Beverly M. , Norrell Ruth M. , Omololu Shammah O. , Gresham-Ulrich Megan
Published: February 2022

Background:

Sleep health disturbances can increase risks for workplace injury, error, and poor worker health. Essential workers have reported sleep disturbances since the COVID-19 pandemic onset, which may jeopardize their health and safety. The aims of this project were to assess sleep health among Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) workers, examine potential differences between worker types, and describe the self-perceived impact of COVID-19 on workers’ workload and sleep.

Methods:

Through an academic–practice partnership, this needs assessment used a cross-sectional design that collected self-report data during fall 2020 from CCRC workers. Guided by the Workplace Health Model, survey questions included work characteristics, sleep health, and COVID-19 impact on sleep and workload.

Findings:

Ninety-four respondents completed the survey across multiple departments. Respondents ( n = 34, 36.2%) reported sleeping below recommended hours on workdays. The majority scored above the population mean on Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement (PROMIS) measures of sleep disturbance ( n = 52, 55.3%), sleep-related impairment ( n = 49, 52.1%), and fatigue ( n = 49, 52.1%). Differences in workday total sleep time and fatigue were noted among shift workers versus nonshift workers, with shift workers reporting less sleep and more fatigue. Shorter sleep duration was noted among respondents working shifts 10 or more hours compared with those working 8 hours. Pandemic-related workload increase was reported by 22.3% ( n = 21) of respondents, with 17% ( n = 16) noting more than one type of workload change. Since COVID-19 onset, 36.2% ( n = 34) reported no sleep changes and 35.1% ( n = 33) reported sleeping less. A medium, positive relationship was found between increased changes in work due to COVID-19 and increased difficulties sleeping ( r = .41, n = 73, p = .000).

Conclusion/Application to Practice:

Proper sleep health is essential to workplace safety and worker health. By assessing sleep health during a crisis, occupational health nurses can identify opportunities to support worker health and safety, through sleep education, monitoring for sleepiness and fatigue, ensuring countermeasures are available (e.g., caffeine), and assessing for opportunities to change organizational policies.
Using Occupational Histories to Assess Heat Exposure in Undocumented Workers Receiving Emergent Renal Dialysis in Georgia
Authors: Smith Daniel J. , Mac Valerie , Thompson Lisa M. , Plantinga Laura , Kasper Lauren , Hertzberg Vicki S.
Published: February 2022

Background:

Immigrants often work in jobs that are known as dirty, demanding, and dangerous. Globally, the agricultural occupations have been associated with the emergence of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) primarily in outdoor worker populations. The disease has also been reported in immigrants in the United States who work in agricultural occupations, but little research has been done outside of agricultural workers to determine whether immigrants who work other occupations are at risk for developing CKDu.

Methods:

This study assessed the self-reported occupational histories of undocumented immigrants receiving frequent, emergent-only dialysis in Atlanta, GA. We assessed demographics, employment status, and work history, using the Grady Dialysis Questionnaire and the Occupational/Environmental Health History Form.

Results:

Fifty undocumented immigrants receiving frequent, emergent-only hemodialysis were recruited for this study. The average age was 49.5 years ( SD ± 11.5), and the majority (52%) were female and originated from Mexico (66%). A majority (74%) reported having worked in the past 5 years and 28% reported currently working. A total of 68 unique jobs were reported. In decreasing order of frequency, our sample worked in occupations with documented renal toxicant exposures, such as applying pesticides in landscaping, heat exposure in agriculture, construction, landscaping, and dry cleaning, and lead paint fumes in construction.

Discussion:

Occupational histories provide a greater understanding of the exposures and working conditions of those receiving frequent, emergent-only hemodialysis. This exploratory study suggests that further research is needed to investigate and assess whether renal toxicants are associated with occupations with high numbers of undocumented workers.

Application to Practice:

A detailed and thorough occupational history should be conducted from those receiving frequent, emergent-only hemodialysis. Developing continuing education for nursing and medical staff in dialysis centers on taking an occupational history, mandatory State reporting requirements, and hazard communication training for workers should be considered. Collaborations between occupational health professionals, public health authorities, employers, dialysis providers, and clinicians who see undocumented workers is required to understand and develop appropriate prevention measures for this population.
Artificial Intelligence in Business Communication: The Changing Landscape of Research and Teaching
Authors: Getchell Kristen M. , Carradini Stephen , Cardon Peter W. , Fleischmann Carolin , Ma Haibing , Aritz Jolanta , Stapp James
Published: February 2022

The rapid, widespread implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in workplaces has implications for business communication. In this article, the authors describe current capabilities, challenges, and concepts related to the adoption and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in business communication. Understanding the abilities and inabilities of AI technologies is critical to using these technologies ethically. The authors offer a proposed research agenda for researchers in business communication concerning topics of implementation, lexicography and grammar, collaboration, design, trust, bias, managerial concerns, tool assessment, and demographics. The authors conclude with some ideas regarding how to teach about AI in the business communication classroom.
Translating Intent: Developments and Challenges in Translating Dalit Literature
Authors: Gurjar Kunwar Nitin Pratap
Published: February 2022

There have been many studies on locating the developments and challenges encountered in the translation of Dalit literature and the numerous impacts introduced by translators, editors and publishers. But hardly any attempt has been made to understand how Dalit writers themselves understand the process of translation. This is important because they often work very closely with these agents, and yet their opinions seem to get lost in the nitty-gritties of translation studies. It is perhaps for this reason alone that Limbale’s response to his translator evinces out this need when he says ‘You are worrying about my books and I am worrying about my movement’. It seems that Dalit writers have a distinct understanding of the role and process of translation which needs a necessary extrapolation. This essay then makes an attempt to suggest a theoretical framework which Dalit writers seem to have in mind when they advocate a need for a ‘socially committed translator’. The expression ‘Socially or politically committed translator’ itself needs to be explained as Dalit writers and their translators continue to use this expression, but the expression itself remains relatively untouched. This article will therefore address these two important issues to contribute some insights into this field.