bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Readiness to Practice Regarding Disaster Medicine and Preparedness Among University Health Students
Authors: Al-Ziftawi Nour Hisham , Elamin Fatima Mohamed , Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Izham 
Published: March 2020

ABSTRACTObjectives:The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge (K), attitude (A), and readiness to practice (rP) levels regarding disaster medicine and preparedness among health profession students at Qatar University.Methods:A survey-based study was carried out to assess medical, pharmacy, and health sciences students’ KArP levels using pretested and validated questionnaire. Student’s t-test, analysis of variance, correlation, and linear regression were used with an alpha level of 0.05.Results:The difference in the mean KArP level between genders was not significant (P > 0.05). Students from the College of Health Sciences had significantly higher KArP levels than those from the College of Pharmacy (101.5 vs 90.0; P = 0.033). Overall, Qatari students had better knowledge, attitude, and readiness to practice scores and total KArP scores than non-Qatari students. Moreover, students who were born in Qatar also had better knowledge, attitude, and readiness to practice scores and total KArP scores than students who were born outside Qatar. Significant direct moderate correlations were found among the 3 KArP parameters (P < 0.001). Knowledge and attitudes were indicated to be significant predictors of readiness to practice (P < 0.001).Conclusions:Students from the health colleges at Qatar University have moderate disaster medicine preparedness
Regulating Fintech in the EU: the Case for a Guided Sandbox
Authors: RINGE Wolf-Georg , RUOF Christopher 
Published: March 2020

New financial technology holds the promise of innovation and competition, challenging established products and services and frequently improving market processes. However, regulation of these new services faces a double challenge: to keep pace with innovation and facilitate new market entries while at the same time understanding and managing the regulatory risks that are involved.At this stage, the existing EU regulatory framework is of little help: the bulk of the present body of financial regulation stems from a different time, with different regulatory problems in mind. EU regulation is also very slow to change and to adapt. Therefore, this paper proposes a regulatory “sandbox” – an experimentation space – as a step towards a regulatory environment where such new business models can thrive. A sandbox would allow market participants to test fintech services in the real market, with real consumers, but under the close scrutiny of the supervisor. The benefit of such an approach is that it fuels the development of new business practices and reduces the “time to market” cycle of financial innovation, while simultaneously safeguarding consumer protection. At the same time, a sandbox allows for mutual learning in a technical field which is sometimes poorly understood, both for firms and for the regulator. This would help to reduce the prevalent regulatory uncertainty for all market participants.In the particular EU legal framework with various layers of legal instruments, the implementation of such a sandbox is not straightforward. In this paper, we propose a “guided sandbox”, operated by the EU Member States, but with endorsement, support, and monitoring by EU institutions. This innovative approach would be somewhat uncharted territory for the EU, and thereby also contribute to the future development of EU financial market governance as a whole.
Construals of iconicity: experimental approaches to form–meaning resemblances in language
Authors: DINGEMANSE MARK , PERLMAN MARCUS , PERNISS PAMELA 
Published: March 2020

abstractWhile speculations on form–meaning resemblances in language go back millennia, the experimental study of iconicity is only about a century old. Here we take stock of experimental work on iconicity and present a double special issue with a diverse set of new contributions. We contextualise the work by introducing a typology of approaches to iconicity in language. Some approaches construe iconicity as a discrete property that is either present or absent; others treat it as involving semiotic relationships that come in kinds; and yet others see it as a gradient substance that comes in degrees. We show the benefits and limitations that come with each of these construals and stress the importance of developing accounts that can fluently switch between them. With operationalisations of iconicity that are well defined yet flexible enough to deal with differences in tasks, modalities, and levels of analysis, experimental research on iconicity is well equipped to contribute to a comprehensive science of language.
Biomarkers of fitness and welfare in dairy cattle: healthy productivity
Authors: Zachut Maya , Šperanda Marcela , de Almeida André M. , Gabai Gianfranco , Mobasheri Ali , Hernández-Castellano Lorenzo E. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMilk production intensification has led to several unwanted aspects, such as sustainability issues and environmental pollution. Among these, increased milk outputs that have been achieved over the last 70 years have led to several health and pathophysiological conditions in high yielding dairy animals, including metabolic diseases that were uncommon in the past. Increased occurrence of diverse metabolic diseases in cattle and other domestic animals is a key feature of domestication that not only affects the animals' health and productivity, but also may have important and adverse health impacts on human consumers through the elevated use of drugs and antibiotics. These aspects will influence economical and ethical aspects in the near future. Therefore, finding and establishing proper biomarkers for early detection of metabolic diseases is of great interest. In the present review, recent work on the discovery of fitness, stress and welfare biomarkers in dairy cows is presented, focusing in particular on possible biomarkers of energy balance and oxidative stress in plasma and milk, and biomarkers of production-related diseases and decreased fertility.
Coblation versus cold dissection in paediatric tonsillectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Ahmad M U , Wardak A N , Hampton T , Siddiqui M R S , Street I 
Published: March 2020

AbstractBackgroundCold dissection is the most commonly used tonsillectomy technique, with low post-operative haemorrhage rates. Coblation is an alternative technique that may cause less pain, but could have higher post-operative haemorrhage rates.ObjectiveThis study evaluated the peri-operative outcomes in paediatric tonsillectomy patients by comparing coblation and cold dissection techniques.MethodsA systematic review was conducted of all comparative studies of paediatric coblation and cold dissection tonsillectomy, up to December 2018. Any studies with adults were excluded. Outcomes such as pain, operative time, and intra-operative, primary and secondary haemorrhages were recorded.ResultsSeven studies contributed to the summative outcome. Coblation tonsillectomy appeared to result in less pain, less intra-operative blood loss (p < 0.01) and a shorter operative time (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the two groups for post-operative haemorrhage (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe coblation tonsillectomy technique may offer better peri-operative outcomes when compared to cold dissection, and should therefore be offered in paediatric cases, before cold dissection tonsillectomy.
Rough-toothed dolphins (Cetartiodactyla: Delphinidae) habitat use in coastal urban waters of the South-western Atlantic
Authors: Lodi Liliane , Maricato Guilherme 
Published: March 2020

AbstractRough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) are regularly present in continental shelf areas of the South-western Atlantic. However, there is little information on the natural history and ecology of these delphinids. This study evaluated the occurrence, habitat use and individual movements of the species in coastal waters off Rio de Janeiro, south-eastern Brazil. Data were obtained from boat surveys between August 2011 and May 2018, during which rough-toothed dolphins were sighted in 21 distinct events, predominantly in autumn and winter. The mean group size was 29 individuals. Rough-toothed dolphins were usually recorded 130 to 2300 m from the coast, between 7.6 and 28 m depths. In total, 115 individuals were catalogued through dorsal fin marks and 61 (53%) were resighted between one (47.5%) and four (9.8%) occasions. The interval between resightings ranged from seven to 2087 days (mean = 268). Agglomerative hierarchical clustering indicated 30 individuals (49.2%) in low degree, 12 (19.7%) in medium degree and 19 (31.1%) in high degree of site fidelity. Dolphins showed a higher frequency of low degree of habitat use, despite the presence of multiyear recaptures, which may be related to the prevalence of dolphin occurrence in autumn and winter, a large home range and/or the abundance and distribution of food resources. Dedicated surveys and regional collaboration are needed to evaluate the home range and population status of this species for their effective conservation. Our findings enhanced knowledge of this little studied species facing increasing anthropogenic threats in coastal waters off Rio de Janeiro.
‘Acting upon our Religion’: Muslim women's movements and the remodelling of Islamic practice in India
Authors: JONES JUSTIN 
Published: March 2020

AbstractIn the last 15 years, India has witnessed the expression of a variety of new non-conformist religious practices performed by Muslim women. A range of vibrant campaigns has been pioneered by Muslim women's associations, asserting women's claims to hold and lead congregational prayers, enter and manage mosques, visit shrines, officiate Muslim marriages, and issueshari‘ah-based legal decisions. This article explores the twin questions of why these experimental remodellings of women's Islamic observance and leadership have been so pronounced in the Indian context compared with much of the Islamic world, and furthermore, why Muslim women's rights activists have put such confessional matters at the centre of their work. Exploring a series of specific female-led assertions of religious agency centring upon mosques,shari‘ahcouncils, and a Sufi shrine, the article argues that India's variant of ‘secularism’, which has normalized the state's non-intervention in religious institutions and laws, has given women the freedom to embark upon overhauls of Islamic conventions denied to their counterparts elsewhere. Simultaneously, this same framework for handling religious questions has historically given intra-community and clerical voices particular influence in regulating Muslim community affairs and family laws, compelling activists to seek women's empowerment in individual and local community contexts to further their objectives, including through the assertion of experimental forms of religious conduct.
Experimentally induced and real-world anxiety have no demonstrable effect on goal-directed behaviour
Authors: Gillan C. M. , Vaghi M. M. , Hezemans F. H. , van Ghesel Grothe S. , Dafflon J. , Brühl A. B. , Savulich G. , Robbins T. W. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractBackgroundGoal-directed control guides optimal decision-making and it is an important cognitive faculty that protects against developing habits. Previous studies have found some evidence of goal-directed deficits when healthy individuals are stressed, and in psychiatric conditions characterised by compulsive behaviours and anxiety. Here, we tested if goal-directed control is affected by state anxiety, which might explain the former results.MethodsWe carried out a causal test of this hypothesis in two experiments (between-subject N = 88; within-subject N = 50) that used the inhalation of hypercapnic gas (7.5% CO2) to induce an acute state of anxiety in healthy volunteers. In a third experiment (N = 1413), we used a correlational design to test if real-life anxiety-provoking events (panic attacks, stressful events) are associated with impaired goal-directed control.ResultsIn the former two causal experiments, we induced a profoundly anxious state, both physiologically and psychologically, but this did not affect goal-directed performance. In the third, correlational, study, we found no evidence for an association between goal-directed control, panic attacks or stressful life eventsover and above variance accounted for by trait differences in compulsivity.ConclusionsIn sum, three complementary experiments found no evidence that anxiety impairs goal-directed control in human subjects.
Motor abnormalities and basal ganglia in first-episode psychosis (FEP)
Authors: Cuesta Manuel J. , Lecumberri Pablo , Moreno-Izco Lucia , López-Ilundain Jose M. , Ribeiro María , Cabada Teresa , Lorente-Omeñaca Ruth , de Erausquin Gabriel , García-Martí Gracian , Sanjuan Julio , Sánchez-Torres Ana M. , Gómez Marisol , Peralta Victor 
Published: March 2020

AbstractBackgroundMotor abnormalities (MAs) are the primary manifestations of schizophrenia. However, the extent to which MAs are related to alterations of subcortical structures remains understudied.MethodsWe aimed to investigate the associations of MAs and basal ganglia abnormalities in first-episode psychosis (FEP) and healthy controls. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 48 right-handed FEP and 23 age-, gender-, handedness-, and educational attainment-matched controls, to obtain basal ganglia shape analysis, diffusion tensor imaging techniques (fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity), and relaxometry (R2*) to estimate iron load. A comprehensive motor battery was applied including the assessment of parkinsonism, catatonic signs, and neurological soft signs (NSS). A fully automated model-based segmentation algorithm on 1.5T MRI anatomical images and accurate corregistration of diffusion and T2* volumes and R2* was used.ResultsFEP patients showed significant local atrophic changes in left globus pallidus nucleus regarding controls. Hypertrophic changes in left-side caudate were associated with higher scores in sensory integration, and in right accumbens with tremor subscale. FEP patients showed lower fractional anisotropy measures than controls but no significant differences regarding mean diffusivity and iron load of basal ganglia. However, iron load in left basal ganglia and right accumbens correlated significantly with higher extrapyramidal and motor coordination signs in FEP patients.ConclusionsTaken together, iron load in left basal ganglia may have a role in the emergence of extrapyramidal signs and NSS of FEP patients and in consequence in the pathophysiology of psychosis.
Retirement timing in Italy: rising age and the advantages of a stable working career
Authors: Trentini Marco 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThis article looks at how retirement timing is changing in Italy. A first aim is descriptive and it is to identify recent trends in retirement age, following the pension reform. Then the focus is on factors which may favour or hinder the extension of the working career of older workers. They are studied by looking at the reasons for retirement, introducing the distinction between voluntary and involuntary retirement, and some predictors of retirement. Some of them relate to the work history of individuals, in particular the stability/instability of careers due to episodes of unemployment. The level of education and gender, two variables that may affect the employability of older workers, have also been considered. The study is based on a longitudinal analysis (Kaplan–Meier survival estimates of transition to retirement and binomial logit discrete-time model for the analysis of retirement predictors) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Job Episodes Panel data. They refer to a sample of 1,999 individuals born between 1911 and 1959. Although the various pension reforms initiated in Italy in the 1990s have not yet been fully implemented, retirement age is rising, even in the case of involuntary retirement. Regarding work history, the advantages of a working career with a small number of unemployment episodes emerge from the study.
Junks to Mare Clausum: China-Maluku Connections in the Spice Wars, 1607–1622
Authors: Xu Guanmian 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMuch more globally entangled than many global historians used to think, the so-called Spice Wars were not only a story of European expansion and Southeast Asian interaction, but had an inextricable northern link leading all the way to China. From the capture of a Chinese junk serving the Spaniards in Ternate by Cornelis Matelief in 1607, to the completion of the first manuscript of the incense compendium (Xiangsheng) by Zhou Jiazhou in Jiangnan in 1618, and eventually to the proposal of the strange monopoly policy by Jan Pieterszoon Coen to the Heeren XVII (Gentlemen Seventeen) in the Dutch Republic in 1622, these seemingly irrelevant events are in fact the fragments of an untold global history of cloves which was not westward bound to the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, and Europe, but northward linked with the East Asian world via the Manila route.
Angiotensin II for the treatment of distributive shock in the intensive care unit: A US cost-effectiveness analysis
Authors: Busse Laurence W. , Nicholson Gina , Nordyke Robert J. , Lee Cho-Han , Zeng Feng , Albertson Timothy E. 
Published: March 2020

BackgroundPatients with distributive shock who are unresponsive to traditional vasopressors are commonly considered to have severe distributive shock and are at high mortality risk. Here, we assess the cost-effectiveness of adding angiotensin II to the standard of care (SOC) for severe distributive shock in the US critical care setting from a US payer perspective.MethodsShort-term mortality outcomes were based on 28-day survival rates from the ATHOS-3 study. Long-term outcomes were extrapolated to lifetime survival using individually estimated life expectancies for survivors. Resource use and adverse event costs were drawn from the published literature. Health outcomes evaluated were lives saved, life-years gained, and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained using utility estimates for the US adult population weighted for sepsis mortality. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses assessed uncertainty around results. We analyzed patients with severe distributive shock from the ATHOS-3 clinical trial.ResultsThe addition of angiotensin II to the SOC saved .08 lives at Day 28 compared to SOC alone. The cost per life saved was estimated to be $108,884. The addition of angiotensin II to the SOC was projected to result in a gain of .96 life-years and .66 QALYs. This resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $12,843 per QALY. The probability of angiotensin II being cost-effective at a threshold of $50,000 per QALY was 86 percent.ConclusionsFor treatment of severe distributive shock, angiotensin II is cost-effective at acceptable thresholds.
Enteric pathogens associated with gastroenteritis among children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Oppong T. B. , Yang H. , Amponsem-Boateng C. , Kyere E. K. D , Abdulai T. , Duan G. , Opolot G. 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Gastroenteritis remains a serious health condition among children under 5 years especially in Africa. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the aetiologic pathogens of gastroenteritis in the region. We did a systematic search for articles with original data on the aetiology of gastroenteritis and acute diarrhoea among children younger than 5 years. Pooled results were extracted and analysed in STATA version 12.0 using random-effects for statistical test for homogeneity following the guidelines provided in the Cochrane Collaboration and Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Overall, viruses accounted for 50.2% of the cases followed by bacteria with 31.6% of the cases. Parasites accounted for 12.1% of the case. Rotavirus was the most common cause of acute diarrhoea in all regions resulting in 29.2% of the cases followed by E. coli (15.6%) of diarrhoeal cases and Adenovirus (10.8%). The most prevalent parasite detected was Giardia lamblia (7.3%). Acute diarrhoea remains rampant with Rotavirus still being the major pathogen responsible for the disease in children less than 5 years old despite the introduction of vaccine. It is recommended that the vaccine should be promoted much more widely in the region.
Early-life programming of adipose tissue
Authors: Moreno-Mendez Ericka , Quintero-Fabian Saray , Fernandez-Mejia Cristina , Lazo-de-la-Vega-Monroy Maria-Luisa 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWorldwide obesity is increasing at an alarming rate in children and adolescents, with the consequent emergence of co-morbidities. Moreover, the maternal environment during pregnancy plays an important role in obesity, contributing to transgenerational transmission of the same and metabolic dysfunction. White adipose tissue represents a prime target of metabolic programming induced by maternal milieu. In this article, we review adipose tissue physiology and development, as well as maternal influences during the perinatal period that may lead to obesity in early postnatal life and adulthood. First, we describe the adipose tissue cell composition, distribution and hormonal action, together with the evidence of hormonal factors participating in fetal/postnatal programming. Subsequently, we describe the critical periods of adipose tissue development and the relationship of gestational and early postnatal life with healthy fetal adipose tissue expansion. Furthermore, we discuss the evidence showing that adipose tissue is an important target for nutritional, hormonal and epigenetic signals to modulate fetal growth. Finally, we describe nutritional, hormonal, epigenetic and microbiome changes observed in maternal obesity, and whether their disruption alters fetal growth and adiposity. The presented evidence supports the developmental origins of health and disease concept, which proposes that the homeostatic system is affected during gestational and postnatal development, impeding the ability to regulate body weight after birth, thereby resulting in adult obesity. Consequently, we anticipate that promoting a healthy early-life programming of adipose tissue and increasing the knowledge of the mechanisms by which maternal factors affect the health of future generations may offer novel strategies for explaining and addressing worldwide health problems such as obesity.
The association between toddlerhood empathy deficits and antisocial personality disorder symptoms and psychopathy in adulthood
Authors: Rhee Soo Hyun , Woodward Kerri , Corley Robin P. , du Pont Alta , Friedman Naomi P. , Hewitt John K. , Hink Laura K. , Robinson JoAnn , Zahn-Waxler Carolyn 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe present study examined empathy deficits in toddlerhood (age 14 to 36 months) as predictors of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) symptoms and psychopathy measured by the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995) in adulthood (age 23 years) in 956 individuals from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study. Consistent with the hypothesis that antisocial behavior is associated with “active” rather than “passive” empathy deficits, early disregard for others, not lack of concern for others, predicted later ASPD symptoms. Early disregard for others was also significantly associated with factor 1 of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, which includes items assessing interpersonal and affective deficits, but not with factor 2, which includes items assessing impulsivity and poor behavioral control. The association between early disregard for others and psychopathy factor 2 was near zero after controlling for the shared variance between psychopathy factors 1 and 2. These results suggest that there is a propensity toward adulthood ASPD symptoms and psychopathy factor 1 that can be assessed early in development, which may help identify individuals most at risk for stable antisocial outcomes.