Unexpected Factor Research Articles

Efficient Communication in the Period of Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)

Abstract In contemporary and interconnected society, public health risks can expand rapidly, at a great distance from the starting point. Information flows on the same principle, influencing the perception and automatically the actions of the population. The attention of the authorities is directed towards the communication field in order to ensure the access of the population to authorized sources of information and its persuasion in the adoption of prevention measures against Covid virus infection. Infodemic 19-Covid runs daily in parallel with the worst public health crisis of this century. Unregulated platforms have become digital megaphones that infect viral health through misinformation and manipulation, threatening the accuracy of online content. Internationally, the fight against this phenomenon has been implemented by the authorities. Effective communication is the key to possible control and resolution. The appearance of the disruptive, unexpected factor also brings challenges in terms of communication attitude to achieve the proposed objectives. Chaotics communication is the proposal of research as an emergency communication alternative.

Внешнеторговые связи Европейского союза: накануне новых испытаний

 In the article, the author analyzes the most relevant changes that have emerged over the past five years in the dynamics and structure of foreign trade relations of the European Union (the EU), which retains the position of the largest collective entity in the modern system of international commodity trade. Attention is drawn to the fact that the achievement of such a result was quite possible against the background of increasing negative trends in world trade. Among them, the expansion of the «turbulence» zone, the application of sanctions and protectionist measures, and the spread of trade conflicts among participants in international trade in goods are particularly highlighted. An important role in increasing the overall tension in the world economy was also played by the manifestation of a new viral infection from the beginning of 2020, which acted as an unexpected global factor («black Swan»), which significantly influenced the approach of the next global cyclical crisis, which was intended by experts in 2019. Therefore, even a preliminary assessment of the current situation requires a more detailed analysis. The author provides exclusive statistical materials, numerous calculation data introduced into the domestic scientific circulation often for the first time.

Young People's Perspectives and Understanding of the Suicide Story in 13 Reasons Why.

Background: The Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why (13RW) focusing on the suicide of an adolescent girl became a global phenomenon. It was accompanied by intense public debate about the risks of exposing youth to fictional portrayals of adolescent suicide. Aims: To explore adolescents' subjective perspectives and understanding of 13RW focusing on the portrayal of adolescent suicide. Method: We applied a thematic analysis to qualitative data from interviews with 25 New Zealand adolescents eliciting views on the show's portrayal of adolescent suicide. Results: Four themes were developed from the analysis: entertaining but not realistic; the unexpected shock factor; jumbled messages; and superficial conversations. Conclusion: This study contributes a youth perspective which has been missing from the debate on 13RW. This research highlights the way that youth, when given the opportunity, articulated a nuanced understanding of the representation of adolescent suicide in 13RW, viewing it as entertainment rather than a realistic depiction that added little in terms of suicide awareness and generated minimal opportunities for in-depth discussion.

Functional limitations and worrying to lose employment among individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities during COVID-19: A hierarchical logistic regression model

BACKGROUND: As an unexpected environmental factor causing significant economic, financial, and health challenges for everyone, it is no wonder that COVID-19 presents significant employment-related worries for people with chronic health conditions and disabilities. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore whether higher levels of functional limitations are associated with worry about job loss for individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. METHODS: Data for this study were collected to understand the effects of COVID-19 on individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. A total of 219 employed participants were extracted from a total of 269 individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. The mean age among participants was 37.83 (SD = 10.97). RESULTS: Our hierarchical logistic regression analysis revealed that (a) demographic variables were not associated with worry about job loss in the first block, (b) perceived COVID-19 stress (AOR = 2.90, p < 0.001) was correlated with worry about job loss in the second block, and (c) functional limitations (AOR = 1.06, p < 0.001) were positively correlated with worry about job loss in the third block. Overall, the entire model containing all predictor variables in three blocks explained 23% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in worry about job loss. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to the disability and vocational rehabilitation literature by examining the relationship between functional limitations and worry to lose jobs in people with disabilities.

Tuning the optical clarity of glass fiber‐reinforced polycarbonates by reactive blending with alternatives from biorenewable isosorbide

ABSTRACTOptically transparent and mechanically strong glass fiber (GF)‐reinforced polycarbonate (PC) composites were fabricated via reacting with biorenewable isosorbide (ISB) moiety. While direct copolymerization of ISB and bisphenol A (BPA) by melt transesterification with diphenyl carbonate remained difficult due to the large discrepancy of reactivity and low thermal stability of ISB, we demonstrated in this work that ISB and BPA copolycarbonates with high molecular weight, low discoloration, and excellent optical transparency can be fabricated at 250 °C within 2.5 min by reactive blending of commercially available ISB‐based PC and BPA‐PC. A systematic study of synthesis, thermal degradation, and reactive blending of ISB‐containing PCs was performed to distinguish the reactivity between ISB and BPA, elucidate the effect of catalyst on chain scission, and testify the reaction mechanism of the unexpected asymmetrical inner–inner carbonate exchange. We clarified that the hydroxyl group on BPA exhibited a low reactivity and Lewis acid‐catalytic transesterification played a key role in preventing from the chain scission during the asymmetrical inner–inner exchange. Another unexpected factor that effectively suppressed the further chain scission was the miscibility of the ISB‐based PC with BPA‐PC once each chain on average was carbonate exchanged with its counterpart to form a “biblock” PC. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1670–1681

A Novel Traffic Flow prediction model based on the Improved Extreme Learning Machine

The changes of urban traffic flow is affected by many factors, and during predicting the traffic flow, it should consider each factor. The paper considers the characteristic between time and traffic flow, and introduces the time factor as a separated input parameter. Besides, some unexpected situations have large impacts on the predicting results, so, the unexpected factor is introduced as an improved factor to the input samples. Based on these, a novel prediction model is proposed, called at-ELM, which determines the hidden node number by using PCA, and reduces the impacts of the hidden node numbers on the predicting results. After performance tests and analysis, the novel model is a little improved in prediction accuracy and completely acceptable.

1735-P: Oral Exposure to Air Pollutants Mediates Diabetes via Innate Immunity

Background: Besides classical risk factors such as sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet, air pollution has emerged as an unexpected risk factor for type 2 diabetes. However, the causal mechanism remains poorly understood. Air pollution particles are known to reach the gastrointestinal tract by mucociliary clearance. Underlining the clinical relevance of oral exposure, air pollution has been associated with a variety of gastrointestinal diseases. Therefore, we aim to study the effects of oral air pollution exposure on glucose metabolism and a potential immune-mediated mechanism. Research Design and Method: Male C57B6/N, Rag2-/- and CCR2-/- mice or mice on a diet supplemented with a Csfr1-inhibitor were exposed to diesel exhaust particles (DEP; 12µg 5 days/week) or PBS by gavage for up to 6 months. Glycemia, tissue inflammation and immune cells were assessed. Results: Mice orally treated with DEP developed impaired glucose tolerance with reduced insulin secretion, while insulin resistance, systemic, adipose tissue and liver inflammation were not induced. This effect was independent of the adaptive immunity as Rag2-/- mice, which are devoid of B and T cells, also became glucose intolerant. In contrast, glucose intolerance did not develop in CCR2-/- mice and mice treated with a Csfr1-inhibitor. Supporting a causative role of intestinal macrophages in air pollution-induced diabetes, wild type mice exposed to oral DEP had reduced anti-inflammatory, resident macrophages in the lamina propria of the gut. Conclusion: Oral exposure to air pollutants results in impaired glucose tolerance, which is mediated by innate immunity as we found a loss of anti-inflammatory, resident macrophages in the gut. Moreover, mice devoid of macrophages are protected from air pollution-induced diabetes. Our findings provide a new understanding how environmental pollutants affect metabolic health, which is crucial for preventing the worldwide disease burden of air pollution-induced diabetes. Disclosure A.J.T. Bosch: None. T.V. Rohm: None. S. AlAsfoor: None. Z. Baumann: None. C. Cavelti-Weder: None.

How Dihalogens Catalyze Michael Addition Reactions.

We have quantum chemically analyzed the catalytic effect of dihalogen molecules (X2=F2, Cl2, Br2, and I2) on the aza‐Michael addition of pyrrolidine and methyl acrylate using relativistic density functional theory and coupled‐cluster theory. Our state‐of‐the‐art computations reveal that activation barriers systematically decrease as one goes to heavier dihalogens, from 9.4 kcal mol−1 for F2 to 5.7 kcal mol−1 for I2. Activation strain and bonding analyses identify an unexpected physical factor that controls the computed reactivity trends, namely, Pauli repulsion between the nucleophile and Michael acceptor. Thus, dihalogens do not accelerate Michael additions by the commonly accepted mechanism of an enhanced donor–acceptor [HOMO(nucleophile)–LUMO(Michael acceptor)] interaction, but instead through a diminished Pauli repulsion between the lone‐pair of the nucleophile and the Michael acceptor's π‐electron system.

Are Risk Factor Disclosures Still Relevant? Evidence from Market Reactions to Risk Factor Disclosures Before and After the Financial Crisis

ABSTRACTThe SEC's Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative (December 2013) highlights a difference between accounting regulators and academics in their perceptions of Item 1A risk factor disclosure effectiveness. Because most academic evidence relies on pre‐financial crisis data, we compare changes in risk factor disclosure informativeness before and after the crisis as a possible explanation for this disconnect. We further explore this discrepancy by considering (i) three classes of market participants, (ii) new, discontinued, and repeated disclosures, and (iii) nonmarket outcomes. Our results confirm previous findings but indicate that those results no longer hold in the subsequent period. Specifically, we find that although equity, option, and bond markets react to unexpected risk factor disclosures in the period leading up to the financial crisis (2006–2008), the market reactions decline significantly in the post‐crisis period (2009–2014). Perhaps surprisingly, the documented changes in informativeness are not driven by disclosures repeated from one year to the next but instead result from new disclosures initiated in the current year and, in the option and debt markets, also from disclosures discontinued from the previous year. Finally, using the Altman Z‐score as an objective bankruptcy risk measure, we find that the association between risk factor disclosures and companies’ future bankruptcy risk declines significantly in the post financial crisis period. Taken together, these findings contribute to the current disclosure effectiveness debate by highlighting that risk factor disclosures, which were informative in the preceding period, become less reflective of the underlying economic risks and thus less informative to investors in the post‐crisis period.La déclaration des facteurs de risque est‐elle toujours pertinente ? Données tirées des réactions du marché à la déclaration des facteurs de risque avant et après la crise financière

Small Forensic “Smart-Law-Scripts” the First Step for Intelligent Justice Punishment in Law Enforcement, Economic Crime and Alternative Sentences

In our research we introduce “the forensic smart contract” as a punishment alternative for tiny law violations. After studied the legislation boundaries and legal power transfer example for out of court applications, we evaluated three Blockchain applications covering three various cases in smart contracting. A smart-Law-script to eliminate illegal cellphone car use, with best punishment an Irrevocable prepayment in digi-money for a car phone kit. Then a “Lawscript” resolving the double taxation problem in international tax conventions. Finally a Court launches a community sentence through a “Rehabilitation Law sentence script”. After mass adoption of our methodologies we faced an unexpected globalization peace factor in Blockchain and much wide adoption of CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency).

The Factor Structure of the CA-MIR as Evaluated Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

Introduction: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the factor structure of the CArtes- Modèles Individuels de Relations (CA-MIR), a self-report questionnaire designed to tap into the relational strategies of adults that was developed by a French-speaking research group coordinated by Blaise Pierrehumbert. The CA-MIR's particular merit lies in the richness and complexity of the theoretical model underpinning it. However, to date, this model has only been partially reproduced in studies using exploratory analysis and has never been tested via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).Objective and Method: We thus conducted CFA on data collected from a sample of 979 subjects, recruited using a snowball sampling method during the spring and fall of 2005. To assess if some item multidimensionality was present, we estimated both the independent clusters model (ICM-CFA) and a model in which some zero loading restrictions were removed.Results: The results supported the originally proposed structure of the CA-MIR; the large majority of items were good indicators of the expected latent dimensions and only few items showed relevant secondary loadings or loaded in an unexpected factor. The instrument adequately differentiates the three attachment styles, taking into account both past and present experiences of attachment relationships, and providing a rich and complex assessment of multiple features of attachment. In terms of internal consistency, alpha values were satisfactory and comparable to those found in the original Swiss validation study.Conclusions: Our results are of key importance for both research and clinical work, given the lack of valid and easy-to-administer tools for evaluating adult attachment.

PO-0662: Target therapy and hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy: an unexpected protective factor

PO-0662: Target therapy and hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy: an unexpected protective factor

Two comparable earthquakes produced greatly different coseismic landslides: The 2015 Gorkha, Nepal and 2008 Wenchuan, China events

The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal and the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China occurred at the south and southeast margins of the Tibetan Plateau, respectively. Both earthquakes had similar magnitudes of Mw 7.8 and 7.9, caused catastrophic loss of life and damage to property, and generated tens of thousands of landslides. Comparisons of pre- and post-quake satellite images supported by field investigations show that the Gorkha Earthquake triggered at least 2 064 large landslides (defined as covering an area ≥10 000 m2) over a ∼35 600 km2 region with a volume of (444–584)×106 (average 509×106) m3 and total area of 44.78×106 m2. In contrast, the Wenchuan Earthquake triggered 25 580 large landslides over a region of ∼44 000 km2 with a volume of (7 128–9 479)×106 (average 8 219×106) m3 and a total area of about 670.65×106 m2. Several controlling factors including topographic relief, slope steepness, and regional peak ground acceleration (PGA) were investigated to try to explain the great differences between the number, volume and area of the coseismic landslides associated with the two similar earthquakes. We found that the differences primarily arose from an unexpected factor, the dip angle of the seismogenic fault. This discovery should aid understanding the failure mechanisms of quake-triggered landslides, and suggests that more factors should be taken into consideration in estimating coseismic landslide volumes from earthquake magnitudes.

Kcne2 deletion causes early-onset nonalcoholic fatty liver disease via iron deficiency anemia.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasing health problem worldwide, with genetic, epigenetic, and environmental components. Here, we describe the first example of NAFLD caused by genetic disruption of a mammalian potassium channel subunit. Mice with germline deletion of the KCNE2 potassium channel β subunit exhibited NAFLD as early as postnatal day 7. Using mouse genetics, histology, liver damage assays and transcriptomics we discovered that iron deficiency arising from KCNE2-dependent achlorhydria is a major factor in early-onset NAFLD in Kcne2─/─ mice, while two other KCNE2-dependent defects did not initiate NAFLD. The findings uncover a novel genetic basis for NAFLD and an unexpected potential factor in human KCNE2-associated cardiovascular pathologies, including atherosclerosis.

Thermal transport in Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films

The stability of kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) under a range of compositions leads to the formation of a number of stable defects that appear to be necessary for high efficiency photovoltaic applications. In this work, the impact of the presence of these defects on the thermal conductivity of CZTS thin films has been explored. Thermal conductivities of CZTS thin films, prepared by pulsed laser deposition with differing compositions, were measured from 80 K to room temperature using the 3ω-method. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity indicates that the phonon mean free path is limited by strain field induced point defect scattering from sulfur vacancies in sulfur deficient thin films. The sulfurization of these films in a 10% N2 + H2S ambient at 500 °C increased the sulfur content of the films, reducing the concentration of sulfur vacancies, and produced a negligible change in grain size with an unexpected factor of 5 increase in phonon boundary scattering. This, along with anisotropies in the x-ray diffraction peak profiles of the sulfurized films, suggests that the phonon mean free path in sulfurized films is limited by the presence of cation exchange induced stacking faults. The resulting room temperature thermal conductivities for sulfurized and sulfur deficient thin films were found to be 4.0 W/m K and 0.9 W/m K, respectively.

An unexpected stabilization factor during destabilization of a Janus emulsion

An aqueous Janus emulsion of a vegetable/silicone oil combination, stabilized by Tween 80, showed an unexpected stability of the Janus topology per se during several weeks of creaming. This result indicated thermodynamics as a stabilizing factor and the free interfacial energy was calculated for a model Janus drop. The results illustrated the expected fact that the coalescence of two Janus drops to form a larger drop of the same configuration is thermodynamically favored. Conversely, the process, forming two single oil drops actually would necessitate an increase of the free energy. The free energy difference between the two cases was several orders of magnitude greater than that for kT, illustrating the importance of thermodynamics for the process.

ATM: An unexpected tumor-promoting factor in HER2-expressing tumors

ABSTRACTATM kinase is a gatekeeper of genome stability. However, its role in several other signaling pathways suggests that it might not always act as a tumor suppressor. Here, we discuss recent data that unveil a function of ATM as a tumor promoter in HER2-positive breast cancer.

G539(P) Trainee-led quality improvement in enhancing service in community paediatrics

Context We planned to address two key areas of service provision in our secondary level hospital. Firstly, in keeping with many Community Paediatric Departments, our hospital has experienced an increase in the number and complexity of referrals. As a result many families had long waits for consultations. Secondly in our trust safeguarding work had historically represented a large proportion of the acute workload. Problem and Assessment 1. Child Development Centre (CDC) appointments Long waiting lists for medical appointments were negatively affecting patient care. The department was not compliant with the NICE guidance on the timeframe for assessment of children with possible social communication disorders. Patient satisfaction surveys had also identified this as an area of concern for families. 2. Child Protection Assessments Vulnerable children competed with acute admissions for assessments and were often seen out of hours, when Consultant medical staff were not on site. Social Care had highlighted concerns about long and unpredictable waits for assessments. Intervention Firstly, trainees in consultation with their consultant supervisors developed a flexible clinical arrangement to target service provision and meet community competencies in the CDC setting. Trainees were expected to complete six CDC clinics during their six month rotation, which were tailored to the trainee’s acute rota. Secondly, a daily child protection medical clinic was implemented and delivered by trainees under consultant supervision. Monthly safeguarding peer review meetings were initiated in line with Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health guidance to provide support and facilitate training in this area. Strategy for change To instigate and review the response to change, the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle was used. An initial multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meeting was used to formalise plans and disseminate information, with three monthly MDT feedback meetings planned. Measurement of improvement During the initial six month period, review of waiting lists has shown that trainee delivered CDC clinics have resulted in a reduction of waiting lists by 56 patients (the equivalent of 0.4 PA Consultant time). Urgent new patient appointments have fallen from 12 to 0, although routine new patient appointments have increased from 45 to 68. Feedback from the MDT is largely positive. Review of child protection referrals has shown that following the instigation of child protection medical clinics the number of assessments occurring out of hours has fallen to 19% compared to 44% previously. 81% of children are now seen at a prearranged time, without delay, compared to approximately 23% previously. Trainees report feeling more supported in carrying out safeguarding work. A repeat CDC patient satisfaction survey and a planned audit of the child protection clinics will provide further feedback on the success of these interventions, which will lead to further action (PDSA). Effects of changes Developing a flexible approach to encompass trainees’ acute commitments, has required meticulous planning. Room availability was an unexpected factor needing close consideration in the plans. Involvement of trainees has required support and supervision both from Consultants, and the wider MDT, thus requiring some changes to their previous practice. Lessons learnt Managing a change in service provision requires consideration of many different priorities. When trainees take a key role, it ensures the changes work at their level. Message for others Working within the European Working Time Directive and today’s financial constraints, a flexible approach to service provision is necessary. This initiative has highlighted that direct trainee involvement in the design of service delivery can result in significant changes that benefit patients, trusts and trainees alike. Moreover this venture has enhanced community training, as well as providing trainees with valuable experience in management of change.

Predictors of postconcussion syndrome after sports-related concussion in young athletes: a matched case-control study.

OBJECT Sport-related concussion (SRC) is a major public health problem. Approximately 90% of SRCs in high school athletes are transient; symptoms recover to baseline within 1 week. However, a small percentage of patients remain symptomatic several months after injury, with a condition known as postconcussion syndrome (PCS). The authors aimed to identify risk factors for PCS development in a cohort of exclusively young athletes (9-18 years of age) who sustained SRCs while playing a sport. METHODS The authors conducted a retrospective case-control study by using the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Clinic database. They identified 40 patients with PCS and matched them by age at injury and sex to SRC control patients (1 PCS to 2 control). PCS patients were those experiencing persistent symptoms at 3 months after an SRC. Control patients were those with documented resolution of symptoms within 3 weeks of an SRC. Data were collected in 4 categories: 1) demographic variables; 2) key medical, psychiatric, and family history; 3) acute-phase postinjury symptoms (at 0-24 hours); and 4) subacute-phase postinjury features (at 0-3 weeks). The chi-square Fisher exact test was used to assess categorical variables, and the Mann-Whitney U-test was used to evaluate continuous variables. Forward stepwise regression models (Pin = 0.05, Pout = 0.10) were used to identify variables associated with PCS. RESULTS PCS patients were more likely than control patients to have a concussion history (p = 0.010), premorbid mood disorders (p = 0.002), other psychiatric illness (p = 0.039), or significant life stressors (p = 0.036). Other factors that increased the likelihood of PCS development were a family history of mood disorders, other psychiatric illness, and migraine. Development of PCS was not predicted by race, insurance status, body mass index, sport, helmet use, medication use, and type of symptom endorsement. A final logistic regression analysis of candidate variables showed PCS to be predicted by a history of concussion (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.8, p = 0.016), preinjury mood disorders (OR 17.9, 95% CI 2.9-113.0, p = 0.002), family history of mood disorders (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.1-8.5, p = 0.026), and delayed symptom onset (OR 20.7, 95% CI 3.2-132.0, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In this age- and sex-matched case-control study of risk factors for PCS among youth with SRC, risk for development of PCS was higher in those with a personal and/or family history of mood disorders, other psychiatric illness, and migraine. These findings highlight the unique nature of SRC in youth. For this population, providers must recognize the value of establishing the baseline health and psychiatric status of children and their primary caregivers with regard to symptom reporting and recovery expectations. In addition, delayed symptom onset was an unexpected but strong risk factor for PCS in this cohort. Delayed symptoms could potentially result in late removal from play, rest, and care by qualified health care professionals. Taken together, these results may help practitioners identify young athletes with concussion who are at a greater danger for PCS and inform larger prospective studies for validation of risk factors from this cohort.

Placental Microbiome and Its Role in Preterm Birth.

Despite the well-known fact that the placenta has long-term effects on maternal and fetal health, the placenta remains a poorly understood and understudied organ. Not only is the placenta a site of exchange of nutrients and blood and gases between the fetal and maternal systems, but it also performs critical metabolic functions for supporting fetal development and maintaining maternal-fetal tolerance. It is also abundantly clear that impairment of placental function leads to severe pregnancy complications, including preterm birth (PTB), a significant cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Understanding the causes of PTB and other adverse outcomes is clearly essential for the development of effective methods of prevention and treatment. We focus our review of one major known cause of PTB, namely, infection. We also introduce a new and somewhat unexpected factor(s) that may well affect PTB and every aspect of placental biology and function: the placental microbiome. We discuss the implications of the placenta housing a microbial biomass for PTB and the effect of maternal microbiomes at various niches for fetal colonization and health outcomes. We suggest that the placenta is an integral part of the pipeline for microbe-powered driver of fetal destiny.