bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chronic urticaria and thyroid autoimmunity: a meta-analysis of case–control studies
Authors: Tienforti D. , Di Giulio F. , Spagnolo L. , Castellini C. , Totaro M. , Muselli M. , Francavilla S. , Baroni M. G. , Barbonetti A. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Purpose
Autoimmunity has been implicated in some patients with idiopathic chronic urticaria (CU). Because of the frequency of autoimmune thyroid diseases, their association with CU deserves special attention. We tested both the existence and the extent of an association between thyroid autoimmunity and CU.

Methods
A thorough search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases was performed. Studies reporting the positivity rate for anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAbs) in people with (cases) and without CU (controls) were included. Quality of the studies was assessed by the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed by Cochrane Q and I2 tests, and the odds ratio (OR) for TPOAbs positivity was combined using random-effects models.

Results
Nineteen studies provided information about TPOAbs positivity on 14,351 patients with CU and 12,404 controls. The pooled estimate indicated a more than fivefold increased risk of exhibiting TPOAbs positivity in the group with CU (pooled OR 5.18, 95% CI 3.27, 8.22; P < 0.00001). Correction for publication bias had a negligible effect on the overall estimate (pooled adjusted OR: 4.42, 95% CI 2.84, 6.87, P < 0.0001). Between‑study heterogeneity was established (I2 = 62%, Pfor heterogeneity = 0.0002) and when, according to meta‑regression models, a sensitivity analysis was restricted to the 16 studies with the highest quality scores, the OR for TPOAbs positivity rose to 6.72 (95% CI 4.56, 9.89; P < 0.00001) with no significant heterogeneity (I2 = 31%, Pfor heterogeneity = 0.11).

Conclusions
Patients with CU have a five-to-nearly sevenfold higher risk of displaying TPOAbs positivity. All patients with CU may well be offered a screening for thyroid autoimmunity.
Two-factor-based RSA key generation from fingerprint biometrics and password for secure communication
Authors: Suresh K. , Pal Rajarshi , Balasundaram S. R. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn an asymmetric-key cryptosystem, the secure storage of private keys is a challenging task. This paper proposes a novel approach for generating the same public and private key pair on a need basis. Hence, the need for secure storage of the private key is done away with. The proposed approach for generating the key pair is based on two factors: fingerprint biometrics and password. A stable binary string is generated from the distances among pairs of minutiae points in a fingerprint using a gray code-based method. Experiments show that gray code representation significantly reduces the number of inconsistencies between the generated bit strings from two instances of the same fingerprint as against the binary code representation. Hence, the Reed–Solomon error correction code successfully corrects errors due to variations in multiple instances of the same fingerprint to induce stability in the generated string. Hash of the stable string generated from the fingerprint and the string generated from hashed password are XORed to derive a stable seed value. The proposed approach uses this seed value to generate two large prime numbers. These prime numbers are used to generate the public and private key pair using the RSA key generation method. This seed value ensures the generation of the same key pair every time. The experimental results show that the proposed approach can ensure a stable generation of the key. It is not required to store either the fingerprint template or the password. Moreover, the generated private key is also not stored. It can be regenerated on a need basis.
The Evolving Security Landscape: Citizens’ Perceptions of Feminism as an Emerging Security Threat
Authors: Olsson Gardell Eva-Karin , Wagnsson Charlotte , Wallenius Claes 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn this article we explore how Swedish citizens perceive security threats, and how threat perceptions overlap with ideology, trust and demographics. The results show that concerns over security threats are foremost connected to an authoritarian outlook. In addition, four typical groups of security orientations were identified. On the one end of the spectrum, we found one group with anti-immigrant, anti-feminist and anti-egalitarian opinions and low confidence in media and institutions. At the other end, we identified a group dominated by women with university degrees, who believe in egalitarian tolerance and display trust in societal institutions. Even though the findings are in line with previous research on the radical right globally, we were intrigued by the existence of a clearly defined group of respondents that oppose feminism to the extent that it is even seen as a security threat. This is particularly striking given that Sweden is thought of as one of the most equal countries in the world, with a government pursuing a feminist foreign policy.
Biochar for removal of dyes in contaminated water: an overview
Authors: Praveen Saravanan , Jegan Josephraj , Bhagavathi Pushpa Thillainayagam , Gokulan Ravindiran , Bulgariu Laura 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn recent years, numerous investigations have explored the use of biochar for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants in single component systems. Biochar is a carbonaceous material produced from waste biomass, mainly by thermochemical conversion methods. This material was used as a biosorbent in various removal processes of pollutants, and its efficiency was strongly influenced by the characteristics of the biomass feedstock. This review integrates the recent works of literature to understand the biosorption behaviour of dyes onto biochar-based biosorbents. The factors influencing the biosorption process and the mechanisms describing the biosorption behaviours of the biochar have been broadly reviewed. Furthermore, the biosorption models can be used to comprehend the competence of the biochar as biosorbent for dye removal techniques.
Graphical Abstract
How new sustainability typologies will reshape traditional approaches to loyalty
Authors: Richardson Neil 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe benefits of segmentation and loyalty programmes are well established however Business-As-Usual (BAU) models, whether online or traditional, only focus on customers' contributions to the 'bottom line'. Sustainable Development (SD) is inextricably linked to consumers and whilst some studies allude to 'green' segmentation, there are no loyalty ladders or frameworks predicated on Elkington's Triple Bottom Line (TBL). This study aligns with those who think the TBL should be the thread that runs through sustainability research. It looks beyond the question of why firms adopt sustainability and instead consider how they do so by investigating the changes needed for loyalty models and frameworks. The paper is positioned in the overlap between the SD and marketing domains. It facilitates conceptualisation by addressing some of the terminological confusion inherent in sustainability studies. It provides a working definition of SD and a rationale for (and definition of) the preferred term Sustainable Marketing (SM). Assuming marketers want to work in a more sustainable fashion, they need to adapt existing models or adopt new versions. With adaptation representing a smaller change to marketers' modus operandi, it is deemed more likely to be adopted than a radical change. This is conceptualised using two schools of thought, namely the Developmental and Critical schools. This study is positioned in the critical school as it posits that the traditional models are no longer fit for purpose and need adapting or replacing. This approach provides better understanding of why sustainability models (or frameworks) are needed and the need to shape practice, thus going beyond academic theory. Then the paper is in two main sections; first it critiques the BAU building blocks needed for loyalty ladders, namely a marketing orientation and segmentation frameworks. This paper advocates improving loyalty by adopting sustainable building blocks. Hence the second section uses existing adaptations, namely a sustainable market orientation, a sustainable stakeholder typology and a TBL-based segmentation framework (APPROVES), to create a new TBL-based SM loyalty ladder. This will provide a platform for discussion and future research.
Influence of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations on cluster events among patients and staff in a tertiary-care hospital in Germany
Authors: Eisenmann Michael , Rauschenberger Vera , Knies Kerstin , Schwarzmann Gerhard , Vogel Ulrich , Krone Manuel 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
In total, 20 severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) clusters were analyzed in a tertiary-care hospital from the beginning of the pandemic until July 2021. After the second pandemic wave, the number of clusters decreased with increasing vaccination rates and community infections increased again. These findings should motivate healthcare workers to participate in SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaigns.
Seasonal evolution of granular and columnar sea ice pore microstructure and pore network connectivity
Authors: Oggier Marc , Eicken Hajo 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Sea-ice pore microstructure constrains ice transport properties, affecting fluid flow relevant to oil-in-ice transport and biogeochemical processes. Motivated by a lack of pore microstructural data, in particular for granular ice and across the seasonal cycle, throat size, tortuosity, connectivity, and other microstructural variables were derived from X-ray computed tomography for brine-filled pores in seasonal landfast ice off northern Alaska. Data were obtained for granular and columnar ice during the ice growth, transition, and melt season. While granular ice exhibits a more heterogeneous pore space than columnar ice, pore and throat size distributions are comparable. The greater tortuosity of pores in granular (1.2 < τg < 1.7) compared to columnar ice (1.0 < τc < 1.1) compounded with a less interconnected pore space translates into lower permeability for granular ice during the growth season for a given porosity. The microstructural data explain findings of granular ice hindering vertical oil-in-ice transport during ice growth and transition stage. With granular ice more frequent in the changing Arctic, data from studies such as this are needed to inform improved modeling of porosity-permeability relationships.
How Many Latours Is Too Many? Measuring Brand Name Congestion in Bordeaux Wine
Authors: Buccafusco Christopher , Masur Jonathan S. , Whalen Ryan 
Published: February 2022

AbstractFirms rely on brand names to market goods to consumers, and consumers rely on brand names to locate goods that satisfy their preferences. If multiple firms are using the same or similar names, consumers may be confused about which product to buy, and firms may not obtain the benefits of their investments in quality. Recently, both firms and scholars in a number of industries have expressed concern about brand name congestion—too many firms clustering around too few terms. This paper applies computational linguistic analysis to chateau names in the Bordeaux wine region to study the degree of brand congestion within a mature, traditional, and high-value market. We find that Bordeaux producers have highly similar names to one another, far more than in comparable wine regions such as California and Alsace. More than a quarter of all Bordeaux producers have a name that is identical or nearly so to at least one other producer, and many terms are claimed by dozens of different producers. Interestingly, however, we find that the most famous and renowned producers have names that tend to be more distinctive than their less famous brethren. (JEL Classifications: C88, D83, L66, O34)
It takes guts to be a rebel!
Authors: Zheng Xia , Lang Annie , Almond Anthony , Yan Harry Yaojun 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThis study tests two sets of competing hypotheses about the relationship between trait reactivity to positive and negative stimuli (i.e., motivational reactivity), moral stances on social principles (i.e., social morality), and political ideology. Theclassic viewcontends that a specific political ideology or social morality results from a specific motivational reactivity pattern, whereas thedynamic coordination accountsuggests that trait motivational reactivity modulates an individual’s political ideology and social morality as a result of the majority political beliefs in their immediate social context. A survey using subjects recruited from a liberal-leaning social context was conducted to test these hypotheses. Results support the dynamic coordination account. Reactivity to negativity (indexed by defensive system activation scores) is associated with the adoption of the dominant social morality and political ideology. Reactivity to positivity (indexed by appetitive system activation scores) is associated with the adoption of nondominant social moral and political stances.
India’s Farmers’ Protest: An Inclusive Vision of Indian Democracy
Authors: BEHL NATASHA 
Published: February 2022

India, the world’s largest democracy, has been experiencing a democratic decline. Since coming to power in 2014 and winning reelection in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party have become increasingly illiberal and authoritarian. The rule of law has deteriorated, rights and liberties have been curtailed, and scholars and the media have been silenced. If electoral constraint, constitutional design, judicial independence, and a free press haven’t slowed India’s march toward illiberalism, what can? In November 2020, India’s farmers began a highly organized protest against the government. In this research note, I ask, how has this protest protected Indian democracy from further degradation, and has it radically altered India’s political future? I argue that the farmers’ protest provides an alternative vision of democracy, one rooted in radical egalitarianism. Protesting farmers have actualized the spirit of dissent enshrined in the Indian constitution by holding the current government accountable to it.
Laryngeal dysplasia: a 10-year review of rates of progression to invasive carcinoma and treatment-specific outcomes in a regional ENT department in Northern Ireland
Authors: Donaldson G , McCadden L , Napier S , Tan T J 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBackgroundLaryngeal dysplasia represents a complex pre-malignant condition characterised by a spectrum of mucosal changes, with a reported malignant transformation rate from dysplasia to invasive carcinoma of 14.0 per cent.ObjectiveTo identify whether increasing glottic dysplasia severity is associated with higher local malignant transformation rates or adverse clinical outcomes.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study identified 125 patients with any histopathological grade of glottic dysplasia over a 10-year period who were followed up for a standardised 10-year period.ResultsThe malignant transformation rate was 21.8 per cent over 10 years, demonstrating a statistically significant greater risk with increasing dysplasia severity. The mean time to transformation was 52 months, with time to transformation statistically associated with increasing dysplasia severity. Rapid progression to carcinoma within 12 months occurred in 40 per cent of cases, and 58 per cent of subsequently diagnosed laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas were tumour stage T1.ConclusionLaryngeal dysplasia carries a significant malignant potential, appearing greatest within 12 months of diagnosis and with increasing severity of dysplasia.
Placement agencies for care-domestic labour: Everyday mediation, regimes of punishment, civilizing missions, and training in globalized India
Authors: Grover Shalini 
Published: February 2022

AbstractSurvey data on Indian labour points to a rapid expansion of the care-domestic economy, currently the main employment avenue for urban women. Hitherto, studies on domestic service portray the unequal class structures of master–servant relationships and the escalating phenomenon of live-out and part-time hired help. This article shifts the focus to under-researched, yet increasingly visible, placement agencies, which regulate care-domestic markets and provide diverse services, from specialized ‘patient care’ to the training of subaltern communities. The article discusses how these service providers denote prominent shifts in skill sets, intra-household care arrangements, forms of medical assistance, and new (and old) mechanisms of authority. The ethnography expands our knowledge of everyday mediations around hiring and training between agencies, employers, and care-domestic workers in New Delhi. The article puts forward innovative conceptualizations of service provider approaches through juxtaposing the informal practices of local (or Indian) agencies with formalized and ‘civilizing’ agendas developed by Euro-American intermediaries. The formal–informal dichotomized framework of service provider relationships adds to critical scholarship that contrived dualisms which need historical scaffolding and nuanced engagement. I argue that, while informal and formal approaches appear markedly different for the care-domestic economy, they also overlap. Significantly, both approaches are unjustly weighted against the workers who lack the potential to democratize labour relations. Local agencies reinforce exploitative care-domestic relationships, while Euro-American intermediaries, who espouse modern values, formalization, and civilizing experiments, promulgate punitive regimes and stigmatized futures for their Indian subjects.
Undesirable and unreturnable individuals: Rethinking the International Criminal Court’s human rights obligations towards detained witnesses
Authors: Pulvirenti Rossella 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn March 2011, three defence witnesses, who were in detention in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were transferred to The Hague to testify before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the trial against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. Once the witnesses had testified, they were returned to the DRC, even though they feared for their lives, and had lodged an asylum request with the Dutch authorities.This article argues that the ICC is bound by the principle of non-refoulement: a prohibition on returning or extraditing an individual to a country where there is a real risk, or substantial grounds, they might be subjected to torture or other human rights violations. Like other individuals, ICC witnesses should enjoy protection from refoulement. This conclusion is based on analysis of the relationship between the ICC and international human rights law through two different approaches. The ICC, as an international organization, is obliged to respect the principle of non-refoulement but additional obligations stem from the Rome Statute. Article 21(3) obligates the ICC to interpret and apply the law governing protective measures in conformity with ‘internationally recognized’ human rights. In concluding that the ICC has not fully acknowledged the extent of witnesses’ rights, this article proposes strengthening the role of the witness protection programme to address the evident deficiencies in the ICC’s current practice.
An atypical cause of chest pain
Authors: Erdogan Emrah , Kilic Yakup 
Published: February 2022

AbstractCongenital coronary artery anomalies are of major significance in clinical cardiology and cardiac surgery due to their association with myocardial ischaemia and sudden death. Having a multidisciplinary approach in managing complex congenital conditions and including patients in the management decisions is essential for good doctor–patient relationship. Here within, we describe a complex coronary artery fistula leading to myocardial steal.
Assessing the educational needs of physicians in the management of patients with Tourette syndrome: results of a United States survey on practicing clinicians and caregivers
Authors: Stacy Sylvie , Salinas Gregory D. , Belcher Emily , Wilhelm Amanda , Alexander Jessica K. , Mattingly Gregory W. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractObjectiveTo better understand current practices of U.S.-based physicians in the management of Tourette syndrome (TS) and identify gaps that may be addressed by future education.MethodsTwo survey instruments were developed to gather data on management of TS and perceptions from physicians and caregivers of children with TS. The clinician survey was developed in consultation with a TS physician expert and utilized clinical vignettes to assess and quantify practice patterns. The caregiver survey was adapted from the clinician survey and other published studies and gathered details on diagnosis, treatment, and perceptions regarding management.ResultsData included responses from 138 neurologists (including 57 pediatric neurologists), 162 psychiatrists (including 42 pediatric psychiatrists), and 67 caregivers. Most (65%) pediatric neurologists rely solely on clinical findings to make a diagnosis, whereas the majority of other specialists utilize additional testing (eg, neuroimaging, lab testing, and genetics). Most psychiatrists (96%) utilize standardized criteria to make a diagnosis, whereas 22% of neurologists do not. Many physicians (44% of psychiatrists and 20% of neurologists) use pharmacotherapy to treat a patient with “slightly bothersome” tics and no functional impairment, whereas caregivers favored behavioral therapy. Most (76%) caregivers preferred to make the final treatment decision, whereas 80% of physicians preferred equal or physician-directed decision-making.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into practice patterns and perceptions of U.S.-based neurologists and psychiatrists in managing TS. Results highlight the potential value of physician education, including diagnostic approach, tic management and monitoring, involvement of caregivers in decision-making, and updates on TS management.
Dementia and primary care teams: obstacles to the implementation of Portugal’s Dementia Strategy
Authors: Balsinha Conceição , Iliffe Steve , Dias Sónia , Freitas Alexandre , Barreiros Filipa F. , Gonçalves-Pereira Manuel 
Published: February 2022

Abstract

Background:
Portugal has a Dementia Strategy that endorses care coordination in the community, but the strategy is not implemented despite there being a network of multidisciplinary primary care clinics that could support it. Recent research into barriers to dementia management in primary care has focused essentially on general practitioners’ (GPs) factors and perspectives. A comprehensive triangulated view on the barriers to dementia management emphasising teamwork is missing.

Aim:
To explore the barriers to the implementation of the Portuguese Dementia Strategy by primary care teams, from the perspectives of service users and professionals.

Methods:
Purposive sampling was used to recruit 10 GPs, 8 practice nurses, 4 social workers, 8 people with dementia and 10 family carers from 6 practices in different social contexts within the Lisbon metropolitan area. The analytical framework combined codes derived from the transcripts with codes from the available literature. Themes focused on the access to professionals/community services, care coordination within healthcare teams, and between health and community services.

Findings:
Several system barriers were identified (undefined roles/coordination within teams, time constraints, insufficient signposting to community services) along with individual barriers (limited competence in dementia, unrecognised autonomy, limited views on social health and quality of life (QoL)), hindering users access to dementia services.

Conclusion:
Enhanced competence in dementia, and nurse-led systematic care of people with dementia and their carers, are necessary. They can be effective in improving the QoL in dementia, but only if associated with better community support.