bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Management practices and the financial performance of farms
Authors: Vanhuyse Fedra , Bailey Alison , Tranter Richard 
Published: January 2021

PurposeFarm businesses in England are under pressure to intensify production sustainably while managing costs and meeting market demands. Commodity prices and support from Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments are important determinants of profitability. With the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU), revised policy will see farming more exposed to fluctuating commodity prices and financial support from Government more focused on encouraging environmental land management. The research reported here, investigated whether business management practices of farmers influences financial performance, and how policy could be tailored to better meet the needs of farm businesses.Design/methodology/approachRegression models were estimated for 862 Cereals, Dairy and Livestock farms in England using official data for 2011–2012, in order to assess whether different farm characteristics, business management practices (identified from a systematic review of 102 studies), knowledge acquisition indicators and manager experience had an effect on four different financial performance ratios. The financial performance of the top 25% of the sample was also compared to the bottom 25% in terms of use of business management practices.FindingsThe results show that business planning and benchmarking had a positive, statistically significant, effect on financial performance, as do business size and knowledge acquisition, albeit to a lesser extent.Originality/valueThe research reported here is the most extensive examination, to date, of the impact of management practices on the financial performance of farms. Thus, it sends strong policy recommendations.
Beliefs and perceptions about breast cancer among the people living in rural and less privileged areas in Sindh, Pakistan
Authors: Agha Nadia , Rind Rahim Dad 
Published: January 2021

PurposeGlobally, women suffer from a lack of knowledge about breast cancer (BC), its symptoms and treatment. The purpose of this paper is to examine how people living in rural and less developed areas in Pakistan perceive BC. The study investigates the level of knowledge about BC in rural communities and analyses how the prevalent perceptions and beliefs impact women's lives and delay the diagnosis.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on 42 in-depth interviews with the women who have undergone BC treatment during the past five years. The participants were interviewed were the residents of the northern Sindh, southern Pakistan.FindingsFindings show that BC was perceived as a contagious disease transmitted through touching or being physically close to the patient. Some women were abandoned by their husbands because of this perception. Faith in fatalism and the perception that BC is an incurable disease were common in communities with low socio-economic status. This is likely to affect the prevention and early detection of BC.Originality/valueThe study shows a strong co-relation of awareness with the prevalent perceptions regarding BC. Therefore, we recommend promoting health literacy and introducing culturally specific interventions in remote communities to enhance their understanding of the available treatment and help remove misconceptions about BC.
Traditional-bank customers' digital-only bank resistance: evidence from South Africa
Authors: Nel Jacques , Boshoff Christo 
Published: January 2021

PurposeDigital-only banks are emerging as challenger banks to the traditional-bank business model in South Africa. However, traditional-bank customers could resist the use of digital-only banks, theoretically due to their satisfaction with the status quo. Consequently, inertia arising from bias to traditional banks based on status quo satisfaction could engender their resistance to become customers of digital-only banks. The objective of the study, therefore, is to investigate how traditional-bank customers' inertia influences digital-only bank resistance.Design/methodology/approachBased on a literature review, digital-only bank adoption barriers and cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs were identified as mediators of the influence of inertia on digital-only bank resistance. To test the mediation model empirically, data was collected from 610 traditional-bank-only customers.FindingsThe five adoption barriers fully mediate the influence of inertia on cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs. The five barriers in serial with cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs partially mediate the influence of traditional-bank customers' inertia on digital-only bank resistance. Cognitive-based initial distrusting belief is an essential factor in the mechanism underlying the influence of traditional-bank customers' inertia on digital-only bank resistance.Originality/valueDigital-only banks are relatively new. Research is therefore lacking in consumer behavior explaining the use of digital-only banks by traditional-bank customers in the South African context. A further novelty of the study is the empirical assessment of mechanisms that explain the influence of inertia on cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs, and the influence of inertia on resistance behavior.
University students' interaction, Internet self-efficacy, self-regulation and satisfaction with online education during pandemic crises of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
Authors: Hamdan Khaldoun Mohammad , Al-Bashaireh Ahmad M. , Zahran Zainab , Al-Daghestani Amal , AL-Habashneh Samira , Shaheen Abeer M. 
Published: January 2021

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate Jordanian university students' interaction, Internet self-efficacy, self-regulation and satisfaction regarding online education during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA correlational cross-sectional design was utilized using convenience sampling to include 702 undergraduate students from Jordanian universities using an online self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, T-tests, one-way ANOVA and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe mean score of students' satisfaction was low (m = 45.14, SD = 25.62). Regarding student's interaction, learner-instructor interaction had the highest total mean score (m = 58.53, SD = 24.51), followed by learner-learner interaction (m = 47.50, SD = 22.64). Learner-content interaction had the lowest total mean score (m = 45.80, SD = 24.60). Significant differences in students' satisfaction were identified according to the level of education, university type and marital status. Significant predictors of students' satisfaction with online education were self-regulated learning, Internet self-efficacy, learner-content interaction, learner-learner interaction and the number of e-learning theoretical courses.Originality/valueOnline education is not well-established in developing countries. This study contributed to the limited knowledge of university students’ preparedness and satisfaction with online education during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic.
Antibody‐mediated neutralization of IL11 signalling reduces ERK activation and cardiac fibrosis in a mouse model of severe pressure overload
Authors: Lim Wei‐Wen , Corden Ben , Ye Lei , Viswanathan Sivakumar , Widjaja Anissa A. , Xie Chen , Su Liping , Tee Nicole G. Z. , Schafer Sebastian , Cook Stuart A. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractInterleukin‐11 (IL11) is important for fibroblast‐to‐myofibroblast transformations. Here, we examined the signalling and phenotypic effects of inhibiting IL11 signalling using neutralizing antibodies against IL11 or its cognate receptor (IL11RA) in a mouse model of acute and severe pressure overload. C57BL/6J mice underwent ascending aortic constriction (AAC) surgery and were randomized to anti‐IL11, anti‐IL11RA, or isotype control antibodies (20 mg/kg, bi‐weekly for 2 weeks). AAC surgery induced the expression of IL11, IL11RA and extracellular matrix (ECM) genes that was associated with cardiac hypertrophy and aortic remodelling. Inhibition of IL11 signalling reduced AAC‐induced cardiac fibrosis and ECM gene expression as well as ERK1/2 phosphorylation but had no effect on cardiac hypertrophy. STAT3 was phosphorylated in the hearts of AAC‐treated mice but this was unrelated to IL11 activity, which we confirmed in mouse cardiac fibroblasts in vitro. These data highlight that blocking IL11 signalling reduces cardiac fibrosis due to severe pressure overload and suggests ERK, but not STAT3, activity as the relevant underlying signalling pathway.
A Comprehensive insight into the effect of chromium supplementation on oxidative stress indices in diabetes mellitus: A systematic review
Authors: Kooshki Fateme , Tutunchi Helda , Vajdi Mahdi , Karimi Arash , Niazkar Hamid Reza , Shoorei Hamed , Pourghassem Gargari Bahram 
Published: January 2021

AbstractDiabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder defined as an increase in blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia) and insufficient production or action of insulin produced by the pancreas. Chronic hyperglycaemia leads to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and oxidative stress, which consequently results in insulin resistance, beta cell degeneration, dyslipidaemia, and glucose intolerance in diabetic patients. Chromium has an essential role in the metabolism of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates through increasing insulin efficiency. This systematic review aimed to evaluate chromium supplementation's potential roles in oxidative stress indices in diabetes mellitus. A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Cochrane, and Science Direct databases until November 2020. All clinical trials and animal studies that assessed chromium's effect on oxidative stress indices in diabetes mellitus and were published in English‐language journals were included. Finally, only 33 out of 633 articles met the required criteria for further analysis. Among 33 papers, 25 studies were performed on animals, and eight investigations were conducted on humans. Twenty‐eight studies of chromium supplementation lead to reducing oxidative stress indices. Also, 23 studies showed that chromium supplementation markedly increased antioxidant enzymes' activity and improved levels of antioxidant indices. In conclusion, chromium supplementation decreased oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus. However, further clinical trials are suggested in a bid to determine the exact mechanisms.
Exposure to particulate matter 2.5 and cigarette smoke induces the synthesis of lipid droplets by glycerol kinase 5
Authors: Yan Mengnan , Wu Yuanyuan , Peng Wenjun , Fu Cuiping , Giunta Sergio , Chang Meijia , Zhang Ge , Dou Maosen , Xia Shijin , Li Huayin , Zhou Jian , Shen Yao 
Published: January 2021

AbstractParticulate matter (PM2.5) and cigarette smoke exposure are leading factors contributing to various diseases, especially respiratory diseases. The purpose of this research was to study the effects of PM2.5 and cigarette smoke on glycerol kinase 5 (GK5) expression and the possible mechanisms by which GK5 participates in lipid droplet (LD) synthesis in alveolar epithelial A549 cells. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and western blotting have been used for the detection of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression respectively. GK5 overexpressing cells were established by lentivirus transfection, whereby lentiviral vectors deliver the gene into chromosomes, allowing stable expression. Affymetrix microarray analysis, a widely used tool for measuring genome‐wide gene expression, has been used to explore differential gene expression profiles. A549 cells stimulated with PM2.5 and cigarette smoke extract (CSE) showed elevated GK5 expression in a dose‐dependent manner. Transmission electron microscopy and oil red O staining were used to observe LDs in cells. Further, GK5 overexpressing cells showed increased LDs and upregulation of genes and proteins related to lipogenesis and lipid transportation. Affymetrix microarray analysis revealed that GK5 overexpression resulted in the differential expression of more than 109 genes, which were mainly involved in the regulation of cell death, cell survival, cellular movement and migration, and those involved in cellular growth and proliferation pathways. Overall, this study demonstrates that GK5 is upregulated during PM2.5 and cigarette smoke exposure and induces LD synthesis.
Medicare Advantage for Most
Authors: KINGSDALE JON 
Published: January 2021

Policy Points
Fixing the ACA requires real cost containment in addition to better subsidies.
Private Medicare (Medicare Advantage) plans are uniquely empowered to control costs and deliver good care.
Medicare Advantage plans should serve as the public option on the ACA Marketplace.
Medicare Advantage plans can also be deployed to voluntarily raise minimum employer‐sponsored benefits and contain their costs.
‘Uncircumcised boys’ and ‘girl Spartans’: Youth, Gender and Generation in Colonial Insurgencies and Counterinsurgency, c. 1954–59
Authors: Hynd Stacey 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBoth male and female youth were significant actors in anti‐colonial insurgencies, but their involvement has been neglected in existing historiographies due to the marginalisation of youth voices in colonial archives. This article analyses the causes of youth insurgency and colonial counterinsurgency responses in two British colonies, Kenya and Cyprus, in 1954‐59, providing a gendered and relational study of youth as cohort, as liberation generation, as life stage and as kinship position. It argues that a ‘gen[d]erational’ lens is necessary to properly understand how age and gender intersected to shape boys' and girls’ experiences of youth insurgency, and how colonial states punished and tried to ‘rehabilitate’ such rebellious youths. This article argues that colonial responses to youth in insurgency were implicitly shaped by colonial understandings of gender and generation as well as by race and ethnicity, but that counterinsurgency policies failed to effectively integrate gendered and generational perspectives sufficiently into either their security, peno‐legal or welfare and developmental responses. The only successful ‘rehabilitation’ programmes focused on male youth, and combined colonial and local understandings of age and gender to provided pathways towards the forms of adulthood desired by youth, rather than just treating them as unthinking, impressionable or irrecoverable children.
Opioid use in older adults and Medicare Part D
Authors: Sabety Adrienne H. , Sherry Tisamarie B. , Maestas Nicole 
Published: January 2021

AbstractObjectiveTo determine whether the introduction of prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D increased opioid prescriptions, patient care‐seeking for pain, and pain diagnoses among elderly Medicare‐eligible adults.Study SettingOffice visits by adults aged 18 years or older from the 2000‐2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (12 375 207 253 office visits), and respondents from the 2000‐2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (4 023 418 681 individuals).Study DesignWe compared care‐seeking for pain, provider‐assigned pain diagnoses, and opioid prescriptions before and after the Medicare eligibility age of 65, and before and after Part D's implementation using a regression discontinuity, difference‐in‐differences design. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race, and year.Principal FindingsPatient care‐seeking for pain increased by 11.4 office visits per 100 people (95% confidence interval 2.0‐20.8), or 29%, in response to the implementation of Part D. Opioid prescriptions and diagnoses of pain‐related conditions did not change significantly, but the financing of opioid prescriptions shifted from private to public payers at age 65.ConclusionsThe introduction of Medicare Part D was not associated with increased opioid use among older adults. Rather, opioid use among the elderly has been driven by high levels of opioid use among commercially insured adults who subsequently age into Medicare. Our findings raise the question of whether more judicious prescribing to younger adults coupled with concerted efforts to deprescribe opioids when appropriate may prevent problematic opioid use among the elderly.
How far will minimally invasive thoracic surgery go? Uniportal video‐assisted thoracoscopic lingulectomy with 1 cm incision complicated by a mediastinal lingual artery: A case report
Authors: Zhang Xining , Lin Gang , Li Jian 
Published: January 2021

AbstractHere, we present the case of a 36‐year‐old female patient who was found to have a ground‐glass nodule (GGN) in the left lingual segment on chest computed tomography (CT) and who successfully underwent lingulectomy via 1 cm incision uniportal video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). This is a technically safe and feasible procedure in selected patients and produces better cosmetic results than traditional thoracoscopic surgery.
Agronomic and physiological responses of potato subjected to soil compaction and/or drying
Authors: Huntenburg Katharina , Dodd Ian C. , Stalham Mark 
Published: January 2021

AbstractCompact and dry soils impede root growth and restrict plant water availability, respectively, potentially causing leaf water deficit. Although both stresses likely co‐occur in the field and limit yield, little is known about their combined impact on plant growth and physiology over a whole season, especially in a tuberous crop like potato. Field‐grown potato (Solanum tuberosum L. var. 'Maris Piper') was exposed to factorial combination of deficit irrigation (watering when soil moisture deficit reached 60 vs. 25 mm) and soil compaction (compacted with heavy machinery vs. uncompacted), with plant growth and leaf physiology measured weekly. Shoot growth was restricted by adverse soil conditions, while leaf water status, photosynthesis rates and leaf abscisic acid (ABA) levels did not vary significantly between treatments. Across all treatments, final yield was linearly correlated (R2 = 0.71) to mid‐season shoot biomass. Compared to well‐watered plants growing in loose soil, soil compaction, deficit irrigation and their combination decreased final tuber yield similarly, by 23%–34%. Surprisingly, tuber size distribution was more dependent on irrigation management than on soil strength. Plants exposed to deficit irrigation produced more, smaller potatoes than their respective control. Thus, low soil water availability and/or compact soil caused these field‐grown potatoes to restrict shoot growth rather than limit leaf gas exchange. Further research is needed to understand the role of hormonal signalling in regulating tuber growth when plants are exposed to compact and dry soils.
Cannabidiol as a treatment for craving and relapse in individuals with cocaine use disorder: a randomized placebo‐controlled trial
Authors: Mongeau‐Pérusse Violaine , Brissette Suzanne , Bruneau Julie , Conrod Patricia , Dubreucq Simon , Gazil Guillaume , Stip Emmanuel , Jutras‐Aswad Didier 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACTBackground and AimsCocaine use disorder (CUD) is a significant public health concern for which no efficacious pharmacological interventions are available. Cannabidiol (CBD) has attracted considerable interest as a promising treatment for addiction. This study tested CBD efficacy for reducing craving and preventing relapse in people with CUD.DesignSingle‐site double‐blind randomized controlled superiority trial comparing CBD with placebo.Setting and ParticipantsCentre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Canada. Seventy‐eight adults (14 women) with moderate to severe CUD participated.InterventionParticipants were randomly assigned (1 : 1) by stratified blocks to daily 800 mg CBD (n = 40) or placebo (n = 38). They first underwent an inpatient detoxification phase lasting 10 days. Those who completed this phase entered a 12‐week outpatient follow‐up.MeasurementsPrimary outcomes were drug–cue‐induced craving during detoxication and time‐to‐cocaine relapse during subsequent outpatient treatment.FindingsDuring drug–cue exposure, craving scores [mean ± standard deviation (SD)] increased from baseline by 4.69 (2.89) versus 3.21 (2.78) points, respectively, in CBD (n = 36) and placebo (n = 28) participants [confidence interval (CI) = −0.33 to 3.04; P = 0.069; Bayes factor = 0.498]. All but three participants relapsed to cocaine by week 12 with similar risk for CBD (n = 34) and placebo (n = 27) participants (hazard ratio = 1.20, CI = 0.65–2.20, P = 0.51; Bayes factor = 0.152). CBD treatment was well tolerated and associated mainly with diarrhoea.ConclusionsCBD did not reduce cocaine craving or relapse among people being treated for CUD.
Exploring the relative importance of factors that influence the job retention of social care staff working in intellectual disability services
Authors: Murray George C. , McKenzie Karen , Metcalfe Dale , Whelan Kathryn , Murray Aja L. 
Published: January 2021

Accessible summary

We wanted to find out what would help care staff to stay in their jobs.
The most important thing for them was getting on well with the person they supported.
The next most important thing was their pay.
These results can be used to find ways to help staff stay in their jobs.
This is important to make sure that people with a learning disability get good support.

AbstractBackgroundHigh staff turnover presents a challenge to the provision of good quality community‐based support to people with an intellectual disability. While recent research has identified factors that are thought to be important for staff retention, their relative importance to social care staff is unknown. The aim of this study was to address this gap.Methods205 social care staff who worked in intellectual disability services completed an online questionnaire that asked them to: rank factors that had been previously identified as influencing staff retention in order of importance; identify the extent to which their most important factor was met by their organisation (fulfilment score); and rate their recent job‐seeking intentions.FindingsThe most important factor overall was the relationship of the staff member with the person they supported. This was also identified as the most important factor by the most participants, followed by pay. All of the factors, with the exception of “benefits” (such as pensions), were rated by at least one person as the most important factor. A significant negative relationship was found between fulfilment score and job‐seeking score; that is, the lower the former, the more the person agreed that they had been seeking a new job.ConclusionThe results suggest that interventions to improve staff retention should take account of differences in staff views about which work‐related factors are most important to them; use multi‐component approaches where possible; prioritise staff pay; and help ensure that staff relationships with those they support are positive and fulfilling.