Consecutive Decades Research Articles

Analysing Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Urban Sprawl, Evolving Pattern of Urban Landscape and Driving Forces of Urban Growth: A Case of Varanasi Planning Region, India

Urban sprawl is at the centre of contemporary urban debates and is very often criticised for its negative social and environmental externalities. Building on geo-spatial methodology and field observations, this study sets out to develop a holistic approach to understanding urban sprawl through a particular focus on a rapidly growing metropolitan urban agglomeration of northern India, that is, Varanasi. Following an analysis of principal urban growth modes through landscape expansion index and changing patterns of urban landscape through landscape metrics, this research refers to a geo-spatially grounded logistic regression model in order to shed light on the dynamic impact of multiple growth factors on the trajectory of urban sprawl in the study area. Moreover, in order to address the evolving nature of urban sprawl in Varanasi and its immediate surroundings this study focuses on a temporal span of 20 years, encompassing two consecutive decades of the 21st century (2001–2011 and 2011–2021). The research concludes by paving a platform for an amalgamation of the findings from different geo-spatial metrics as well as by corroborating the principal findings with the propositions of a number of contemporary hypotheses concerning the spatial growth of urbanised territories.

Age-related decline in thickness and surface area in the cortical surface and hippocampus: lifespan trajectories and decade-by-decade analyses.

Previous studies on age-related changes in cortical and hippocampal morphology were not designed or able to reveal the complex spatial patterns of changes across the lifespan. To this end, the current study examined these changes in a decade-by-decade manner by comparing consecutive age decades at the vertex-wise level. Additionally, the lifespan trajectories of cortical/hippocampal mean thickness and total surface area were modeled and plotted out to provide an overview of their age-related changes. Using two lifespan datasets (Ntotal = 1378; 18 ≤ age ≤ 100), vertex-wise thickness and surface area measurements were extracted from the cortical and unfolded hippocampal surfaces and analyzed using whole-brain/hippocampus vertex-wise analyses. Lifespan trajectories of cortical/hippocampal mean thickness and total surface area were modeled with generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape. These models revealed fairly linear declines in both cortical measures and inverted U-shaped trajectories for both hippocampal measures. Across the different age decades, the sizes and locations of cortical thinning clusters were highly variable across the age decades. No significant clusters of cortical surface area changes were observed across the age decades. Significant clusters of hippocampal surface area and thickness reduction were not observed until the 70s. Generally, the agreement between datasets on the hippocampal findings was much higher than those of the cortical surface. These findings revealed important nuances in the age-related changes of cortical and hippocampal morphology and cautioned against using lifespan trajectories to infer decade-by-decade changes in the cortical surface and the hippocampus.

Towards food security: Exploring the spatio-temporal dynamics of soybean in India

India is the world’s largest edible oil importer, and soybean oil accounts for a major portion of those imports, with implications for the Indian economy. Despite being the 4th largest globally in terms of harvested soybean area and 5th largest in terms of production, India is still heavily dependent on imports to meet the vegetable oil requirement for its population. It is therefore imperative to understand the dynamics and trends in India’s soybean production to help the country achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils. This study provides the first spatially explicit analysis of soybean in India, using long-term spatial and temporal statistics at national and subnational levels, using spatial and temporal statistical analysis models to examine the historical trends and its future prospects. Our analysis details the overall soybean expansion across the country and the increase in production but we also note that the annual growth rate has declined in each consecutive decade even though the area continues to expand. The average national yield has been stagnant at around 1 T/Ha but for some of the low-producing districts, a higher yield of more than 3 T/ha is reported. For most major producing districts, soybean yields are below 1.5 T/Ha. The state of Madhya Pradesh which was the major soybean producer is now matched by the state of Maharashtra in terms of production, however, Madhya Pradesh still has the largest area under soybean. We analyzed soybean hotspot expansion in India and found that the mean center of the soybean area and production has shifted approximately 93 km towards the south and 24 km to the west as the crop is rapidly being adopted in the southern and western parts of India expanding the hotspot in these parts. District-level analysis showed that the total number of districts constituting hotspots of soybean cultivation in India has increased from 29 to 42 in three decades. Furthermore, analysis of soybean oil and meal consumption with respect to the national population, import, export, domestic production, GDP per capita, and price of soybean oil and meal suggests that soybean oil and meal are highly correlated with GDP per capita and population, indicating that consumption of soybean oil and meal is likely to increase as GDP per capita increases, and future demand is expected to rise with the anticipated growth in the Indian population. Increased soybean production can play a significant role in increasing national food security for India and reducing dependence on foreign oil imports and also help the economy with soy meal exports. Understanding the spatiotemporal variability in area and yield will help target interventions to increase production. Given the overall low yields with high variability in production, particularly in recent years primarily due to successive extreme rains and droughts in major producing districts and the overall need to increase production to meet the country’s demand, there is a pressing need for government policies and research aimed at narrowing the yield gap and developing soybean varieties that are more productive and resilient to climate change.

Human capital for the green economy

This study aims to assess the market availability of human capital for the needs of the green economy under the conditions of the changing labour market in Poland. It is a theoretical and analytical study based on desk research and critical analysis of available factual information. Based on an analysis of quantitative data describing the age structure and education of Poles from the perspective of three consecutive decades, a growing labour supply deficit was found. It also points to a possible shortage of competencies needed to green the economy. It was emphasised that, in view of the low effectiveness of the state's prevention policy aimed at preventing the growing demographic crisis, it would be necessary to supplement the shortage of workers from external resources, that is, labour migration. However, this may also be difficult because the labour markets in other European countries become increasingly competitive. Recommended solutions to foster labour market sustainability for the green economy may be to delay the exit of employees from the labour market, boost female economic activity, and make the education system more efficient.

Age-Related Changes in Total Corneal Astigmatism in Eyes With High Myopia.

The purpose of this study was to compare age-related changes in corneal astigmatism in eyes with and without high myopia. Eight-hundred eyes with high myopia (axial length ≥26.0 mm) and 800 eyes without high myopia (200 eyes each from patients in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and ≥70s) underwent videokeratographic examination. The amounts of vertical/horizontal (Rx) and oblique astigmatism (Ry) components, irregular astigmatism, and corneal shape were compared between eyes with and without high myopia and among age categories. In both groups, the mean Rx significantly changed to more positive with age ( P < 0.001), whereas the Ry did not change significantly. The Rx was significantly more negative in the high myopia group than in the control group in all age categories ( P ≤ 0.003), whereas the Ry did not differ significantly. The mean changes in the Rx and Ry during each 2 consecutive decades did not differ significantly between groups. The asymmetry and higher-order irregularity components increased with age ( P ≤ 0.001) but did not differ significantly between groups, except for the higher-order irregularity in patients in their 60s ( P = 0.018). In the averaged map, the corneal shape changed from with-the-rule to against-the-rule astigmatism with age in both groups, but the changes occurred later in the high myopia group. Age-related changes from with-the-rule to against-the-rule astigmatism occurred later in eyes with high myopia compared with eyes without high myopia in middle or older aged patients, but this change in each age decade was comparable between eyes with and without high myopia.

Erasing “Knowable Communities”: From Saturday Night and Sunday Morning to Brassed Off

The paper discusses cinematic representations of working class communities in British cinema from the pre-war documentary movement to (post-)Thatcher feature films chronicling the decline of traditional industries. A particular focus is given to contrasting Karel Reisz’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Mark Herman’s Brassed Off. The former title serves as a model example of British New Wave cinema, marking the “discovery” of the working class with its “knowable communities” that revealed them to the general public. The latter film provides an apt illustration of the impact and consequences of Thatcherism on the very same communities. The paper elaborates on selected narrative and visual motifs, investigating the ways in which British filmmakers have striven to depict social changes in British society over the consecutive decades.

Optimizing soil erosion estimates of RUSLE model by analyzing land use/cover dynamics in upper Awash River Basin, Central Ethiopia

The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) is the most widely used erosion model for decision making on conservation priority. However, interpreting estimates of the mean annual soil loss alone could not accurately depict the spatial variation of soil erosion severity due to its inherent mathematical errors. This study aims to optimize the model’s outputs through detailed analysis of land use/cover dynamics in Upper Awash River Basin, central Ethiopia (7815.1 km2). The analysis include annual rate of change, net gain or loss, and conversion pathways. Results of the estimated mean annual soil loss in the basin varies between 4.1 t/ha/y and 5.1 t/ha/y during three consecutive decades (1990-2000, 2000-2010, and 2010-2020). The cultivated land cover exhibits slight erosion severity (< 5 t/ha/y), while contributing up to 59% the total annual soil loss (3198.8 Mt/ha). Although the net loss of cultivated land cover outweighing the gain during these decades, it progressively encroaches forests (142.2 km2), shrubs (780.8 km2), and grasslands (274.5 km2). Such net loss of protective land covers will inevitably increase the soil erosion risk. Findings from the study would be useful, enabling conservation practitioners to understand the overall severity of soil erosion and make informed decisions.

The colonial gap: An analysis of income distribution in the Port of Dakar, 1911–1940

ABSTRACT This study presents new empirical evidence on the structure of income of African workers in the Port of Dakar between 1911 and 1940. It provides a systematic series of public wages earned by the African and European workforce in a colonial seaport. This series includes income structure by skill tier of public employees and labourers employed at the port. Did wage structure evolve according to relative increases in human capital accumulation in this major colonial seaport? In this investigation, I use data collected from the annual budgets of the port to seek explanations for the structural differences in income in three consecutive decades between 1911 and 1940. I found that the skill premium between highly skilled and unskilled African workers was 3.8 on average during the period analysed. Moreover, the skill premium between mid-skilled and unskilled workers is estimated to be 2.7. Furthermore, top and senior European staff (less than 10% of the staff) accounted for 36% of the overall income. I provide quantitative evidence on how colonial allowances were the key element that contributed to the increasing income gap between European and African workers in similar job categories.

Impact of state indifference on ethnolinguistic vitality

This paper reports on ethnolinguistic vitality and the impact of state indifference on it among Baltis of Kargil in Ladakh division of former Jammu and Kashmir (J&amp;K) state in India. The Baltis of Kargil have registered a negative population growth over last three consecutive decades in official records even when the population of district Kargil and former J&amp;K state has been increasing substantially during the period. From 48,498 individuals in 1981, the group has been reduced to 13,774 individuals in 2011. Surprisingly the Purigpa, another ethnic group in Kargil closely related to the Baltis, have registered a substantial decadal growth rate of 114% from 2001 to 2011. Using the cultural autonomy model of ethnolinguistic vitality, the study found the group to be moderately strong in collective group identity and strong in social proximity, however a weak institutional control and a very weak ideological legitimacy reflected in a huge decrease in population of the group in official records is indicative of state indifference, which has weakened the vitality of the group.

Four decades of regional wet deposition, local bulk deposition, and stream-water chemistry show the influence of nearby land use on forested streams in Central Appalachia

Hydrologic monitoring began on two headwater streams (<1 km2) on the University of Kentucky's Robinson Forest in 1971. We evaluated stream-water (1974–2013) and bulk-deposition (wet + dust) (1984–2013) chemistry in the context of regional wet-deposition patterns that showed decreases in both sulfate and nitrate concentrations as well as proximal surface-mine expansion. Decadal time steps (1974–83, 1984–93, 1994–2003, 2004–2013) were used to quantify change. Comparison of the first two decades showed similarly decreased sulfate (minimum flow-adjusted annual-mean concentration of ≈13.5 mg/L in 1982 to 8.8 mg/L in 1992) and increased pH (6.6–6.8) in both streams, reflecting contemporaneous changes in both bulk and wet deposition. In contrast, concentrations of nitrate (0.14 to >0.25 mg/L) and base cations increased between these two decades, coinciding with expansion of surface mining between 1985 and 1995. In 2004, stream-water pH (6.7 in 2004), sulfate (9.2 mg/L), and nitrate (>0.11 mg/L) were similar to 1982, despite wet-deposition concentrations being lower. Base-cation concentrations were higher in the stream adjacent to ongoing surface mining relative to the stream situated near the middle of the experimental forest. However, pH decreased to approximately 5.7 by 2013 for both streams, which, combined with a shift in dominant cations from calcium to magnesium and potassium, indicates that the soil-buffering capacity of this landscape has been exceeded. Ratios of bulk deposition and stream-water concentrations indicate enrichment of sulfate (1.7–25.2) and cations (0.5–64.8), but not nitrogen (0.1–5.6), indicating that the Forest is not nitrogen saturated and that ongoing changes in water-quality are sulfate driven. When concentrations were adjusted to account for changes in streamflow (climate) over the 4 decades, external influences (land management/regulation) explained most change. The amount and direction of change differed among constituents, both between consecutive decades and between the first and last decades, reflecting the influence of localized surface mining even as regional wet deposition continued to improve due to the Clean Air Act. The implication is that localized stressors have the potential to out-pace the benefits of national environmental policies for communities that depend on local water-resources in similar environments.

Empirical Analysis of The Impact of Industrial Convergence on The Regional Economy of The Yangtze River Delta

Regional integration is an important measure to promote the development of China’s regional economy. Analyzing regional economies through statistical methods and studying the causes of regional economic differences can provide effective analysis and scientific advice on the economic development problems of each region, which is conducive to a more accurate understanding of China’s regional economic development and the promotion of the healthy development of each region. Based on a statistical perspective, this paper analyses industrial convergence in the context of regional integration in the Yangtze River Delta region and clarifies the current situation of industrial convergence in the Yangtze River Delta region. Then, using data from four provinces and cities in Anhui, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang for three consecutive decades from 1992 to 2021, a fixed-effects panel data regression model is established.t

Enhanced Transcriptional Strength of HIV-1 Subtype C Minimizes Gene Expression Noise and Confers Stability to the Viral Latent State.

Stochastic fluctuations in gene expression emanating from the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR), amplified by the Tat positive feedback circuit, determine the choice between viral infection fates: active transcription (ON) or transcriptional silence (OFF). The emergence of several transcription factor binding site (TFBS) variant strains in HIV-1 subtype C (HIV-1C), especially those containing the duplication of the NF-κB motif, mandates the evaluation of the effect of enhanced transcriptional strength on gene expression noise and its influence on viral fate selection switch. Using a panel of subgenomic LTR-variant strains containing different copy numbers of the NF-κB motif (ranging from 0 to 4), we used flow cytometry, mRNA quantification, and pharmacological perturbations to demonstrate an inverse correlation between promoter strength and gene expression noise in Jurkat T cells and primary CD4+ T cells. The inverse correlation is consistent in clonal cell populations at constant intracellular concentrations of Tat and when NF-κB levels were regulated pharmacologically. Further, we show that strong LTRs containing at least two copies of the NF-κB motif in the enhancer establish a more stable latent state and demonstrate more rapid latency reversal than weak LTRs containing fewer motifs. We also demonstrate a cooperative binding of NF-κB to the motif cluster in HIV-1C LTRs containing two, three, or four NF-κB motifs (Hill coefficient [H] = 2.61, 3.56, and 3.75, respectively). The present work alludes to a possible evolution of the HIV-1C LTR toward gaining transcriptional strength associated with attenuated gene expression noise with implications for viral latency. IMPORTANCE Over the past two consecutive decades, HIV-1 subtype C (HIV-1C) has been undergoing directional evolution toward augmenting the transcriptional strength of the long terminal repeat (LTR) by adding more copies of the existing transcription factor binding site (TFBS) by sequence duplication. Additionally, the duplicated elements are genetically diverse, suggesting broader-range signal receptivity by variant LTRs. The HIV-1 promoter is inherently noisy, and the stochastic fluctuations in gene expression of variant LTRs may influence the active transcription (ON)/transcriptional silence (OFF) latency decisions. The evolving NF-κB motif variations of HIV-1C offer a powerful opportunity to examine how the transcriptional strength of the LTR might influence gene expression noise. Our work here shows that the augmented transcriptional strength of the HIV-1C LTR leads to concomitantly reduced gene expression noise, consequently leading to stabler latency maintenance and rapid latency reversal. The present work offers a novel lead toward appreciating the molecular mechanisms governing HIV-1 latency.

Long-Term Nitrogen and Phosphorus Outflow from an Instream Constructed Wetland under Precipitation Variability

In many agricultural watersheds, surface runoff often causes unwanted nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses from croplands into stream networks. When this phenomenon is pronounced, it significantly changes N and P concentrations in streams affecting aquatic ecosystems. To protect stream water quality, the installation of instream-constructed wetlands (ICWs) for treating runoff water is often reported as a low-cost alternative to conventional water treatment systems. Indeed, ICWs have the capacity to collect and temporarily retain nutrients transported from agricultural landscapes and then slowly release them into downstream networks. However, the long-term hydrologic behavior of ICWs relative to N and P outflow control is still insufficiently reported. Especially in the context of climate change, it is relevant to investigate the effect of precipitation variability on ICWs N and P outflow. This study uses the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model to approximate the long-term hydrologic behavior of an experimental ICW installed in a small agricultural watershed. The model was set assuming a continuous corn and soybean rotation on croplands, then a multidecadal (period 2001–2020) simulation was used to evaluate the implication of precipitation variability on total nitrogen (TN), nitrate-N (NO3-N), total P (TP), and dissolved P (DP) outflows. Results show meaningful changes in the precipitation pattern with contrasting effects on N and P outflows. While analyses show significant trends in the maximum monthly precipitation, nutrient outflows during two consecutive decades, 2001–2010 and 2011–2020, show increases of 46% for TN, and 82% for TP. At the watershed scale, month-to- month TN and TP outflows range from 24 to 810 kg N and 26 to 1358 kg P during 2011–2020, compared with 42 to 398 kg N and 40 to 566 kg P during 2001–2010. The increase in nutrient outflow is particularly pronounced for TP and DP which show significant trends and high correlations (r &gt; 0.70) with maximum monthly precipitation. An exception is nitrate-N outflow, which counts on average for less than 5% of TN outflow but appears more affected by the timing of N fertilization in the watershed.

The low risk for early renal damage during lithium treatment has not changed over time.

Modern lithium management guidelines were introduced to improve the renal prognosis of lithium patients. To examine whether prospects for severe renal impairment (defined as chronic kidney disease at least stage 4 (CKD4)), in long-term lithium patients, have changed over time after the introduction of lithium monitoring guidelines. The time to and hazard for CKD4 were compared between three patient cohorts who started long-term lithium in three consecutive decades: 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The follow-up time was 10 years after completion of 1-year treatment. The data were collected from Sahlgrenska University Hospital's laboratory database. In all, 2169 patients were included: 623 in Cohort 1 (started lithium during 1980s), 874 in Cohort 2 (1990s) and 672 in Cohort 3 (2000s). Compliance with lithium monitoring guidelines improved, and mean serum lithium decreased, through the cohorts. In all, 22 patients developed CKD4 during follow-up. The time to CKD4 was the same in all three cohorts (overall: 10.96 years, 95% confidence interval: 10.94-11 years). Age and serum creatinine concentration at start were significant risk factors, while sex had no prognostic value. After adjusting for the significant covariates, there was no statistically significant difference in the hazard for CKD4 between the three cohorts. The risk for severe renal damage during the first decade of long-term lithium is low, but has not changed over time. Our data suggest that improved compliance with lithium guidelines is not reflected in less risk for severe renal damage.

Changing nature of Land surface temperature and transformation of vegetation cover and water bodies in the 2nd largest urban agglomeration of West Bengal, Eastern India

Land surface temperature (LST), vegetation and water are very crucial for maintaining a healthy urban ecosystem. Asansol is one of the fast growing urban industrial agglomerations of West Bengal in Eastern India. In the last few decades the city has experienced a rapid urban industrial expansion along with the population growth which is associated with the continuous increase of LST. Considering this the present study has been designed to explain the nature of LST changes and transformation of land cover over the last thirty years utilizing the Landsat imageries in GIS platforms. In this study changing nature of land surface temperature, vegetation cover and surface water bodies and their interrelationship over the last thirty years have been analysed. Landsat 5TM images of May and October for the year 1990, 2000 and 2010 and Landsat 8 OLI images of May and October for 2020 have been utilized in GIS platform. LST and different indices NDVI, MNDWI and NDBI have been extracted for analyzing the nature of change along with image classification. The results of the study depict that LST is increasing continuously. In the first decade (1990–2000) LST increased at 0.24 °C/year followed by an increasing rate of 0.33 °C/year in the second decade (2000–2010) and 0.37 °C/year in the last decade (2010–2020). Same trend is also perceived for built up area, where it increased at 0.96 km2/year, 1.71 km2/year, and 2.49 km2/year in corresponding decades. On the other hand, the vegetation cover is continuously decreasing (1.59 km2/year, 0.75 km2/year and 0.49 km2/year in consecutive decades) as well as the surface water bodies (0.62 km2/year in, 0.41 km2/year, and 0.25 km2/year in corresponding three decades) over the last thirty years. Correlation and regression analysis of land surface temperature and various indices shows positive relation between LST and NDBI, negative relation between LST and MNDWI, and also between LST and NDVI. Urban-industrial expansion is the important factor for increasing temperature and transforming vegetation and surface water bodies.

Characterisation of rainfall events in northern Tunisia using self-organising maps

Study regionThe study is carried out for northern Tunisia. Study focusPrecipitations are often analysed via intensity or accumulation for a specified timescale (e.g., annual, seasonal, etc). We propose in this study to analyse regional rainfall variability by adopting a variable time step through the rain event concept. This event-based approach, ensures the integration of information related to rain intermittency, which is one of the fundamental properties of precipitations. This study focuses essentially on wet spells characteristics derived from the aggregation of daily winter dataset over a 50 years period (1960–2009). The multivariate analysis, based on the combination of two clustering approaches, i.e., self-organizing map and hierarchical clustering, allows the identification of different rainfall regimes. This study helps to understand rainfall variability patterns and to address rainfall regionalization and water use management issues. New hydrological insights for the regionThe winter precipitations of northern Tunisia are classified into 4 typical situations: Extremely dry seasons with a few short and weak rainfall events, dry seasons, with high frequency of weak events, intermediate seasons with medium amount of rain and intermittent events and rainiest seasons with long and intense events. The regionalization yields two geographical regions: northern sector characterized by rainy seasons, whereas the stations of the southern sector are mostly dry. The temporal variability analysis shows that the dry season classes dominate extending over three consecutive decades from 1970 to 2000.

Tracking of lung function from 10 to 35 years after being born extremely preterm or with extremely low birth weight

BackgroundLifelong pulmonary consequences of being born extremely preterm or with extremely low birth weight remain unknown. We aimed to describe lung function trajectories from 10 to 35 years of age...

‘Demokracja’ w świetle badań ankietowych ASA i sondaży opinii społecznej CBOS

The purpose of this article is to outline the understanding of the term "democracy" by Polish student youth in the light of the ASA survey ("axiological dictionary questionnaire") conducted in Lublin from 1990 to the present period, in order also in the light of the CBOS survey from 2000, and to define the place of "democratic values" in the system of values of Polish society on the basis of CBOS reports from the years 2005-2019. The ASA "cognitive" questionnaire, containing an open-ended question, confirmed that the features co-creating the "semantic centre" of the Polish notion of "democracy" over the consecutive decades invariably included "freedom" and "equality" and their various dimensions. The CBOS poll, which asked a closed question and indicated those features of 'democracy' which are at-tributed to it mainly "in theoretical considerations" and in journalism, revealed that adult Poles considered 'equality before the law' to be the most important feature of democracy, followed by such features as: 'protection of personal freedom of citizens', 'selection of the best people to govern the country', 'provision of equal educational opportunities for chil-dren from all families', etc. "Democratic values" were among the sixteen values important for Polish society. They occupied an important – albeit not the most important – place in this system.

Strategies for enhancing the functionality of hospital management boards in central hospitals: Evidence of a developing economy

Zimbabwe’s public hospitals have been in a declining mode for three consecutive decades marred by economic hardships rooted in the deteriorating governance structures and systems at a provincial and national level. The decline is purported to weaken the strategies that enhance the functionality of board management (Gilson &amp; Agyepong, 2018). Efforts by the government to introduce effective strategies to revamp and enhance the functionality of public hospital boards have been in vain (Moyo, 2016; Sikipa, Osifo-Dawodu, Kokwaro, &amp; Rice, 2019). The aim of the study is to explore strategies for enhancing the functionality of hospital management boards (HMBs) in central hospitals of Zimbabwe using a survey in order to improve performance, and service delivery overall. The study employed a qualitative research design gathering data by interviewing 12 respondents as the sample for the study selected from a target population of 66 hospital chief executive officers (CEOs) and board chairs. The 12 respondents were selected using the purposive sampling technique based on experience and knowledge as the inclusion and exclusion criteria of participants. The study revealed 6 critical strategies as gaps that hospitals need to enhance to improve on performance. These include networking, monitoring and evaluation, revenue generation, public-private partnerships (PPPs), HMB operational plan, and transparency in the selection and appointment of board members. The gaps identified required policy review to strengthen the appointment and performance of HMBs.

P157 EFFECTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS IN HERNIA FIELD

AimThe increase in the number of publications in the hernia field has been higher than the most of our areas of surgery. COVID-19 pandemics has affected many elective surgical procedures like hernia repairs. We assumed that the declines in case volumes might cause some falls in related publications, and searched the literature in order to find the number of herniology publications before and during the pandemic.Material and MethodsA systematic PUBMED search was done for three consecutive decades “1991-2000”, “2001-2010” and “2011-2020” by using the key words “inguinal and hernia”, “umbilical and hernia”, “incisional and hernia”, “mesh and hernia”, “laparoscopic and hernia”, “robotic and hernia”, and “experimental and hernia”. Later, a comparison of years 2019 and 202o was done.ResultsAlthough increases were detected for all searches with the key words, the largest rise was seen in publications related to “robotic and hernia”. Some undulations were recorded during the years, but the number of publications showed obvious increases decade by decade. A very small decrease was found in the number of publications for “experimental and hernia” only, however all other searches presented increases during the first year of the pandemic, 2020 in comparison with 2019.ConclusionsThe increases in the number of publications in hernia field continued during the last decade. COVID-19 pandemic did not cause a decrease in these publications the first year. We assume that year 2021 can be a more correct criteria in order to observe the potentially negative effect of the pandemic.