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Are socially responsible exchange-traded funds paying off in performance?
No full textThis study examines the Socially Responsible (SR) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by comparing their risk-adjusted performance with a matched group of conventional ETFs in the U.S. equity market. In contrast to prior studies that focus on actively managed mutual funds, we find that the risk-adjusted returns of SR ETFs are significantly lower than those of conventional ETFs during the 2005–2020 period. Such underperformance is only observed in non-crisis periods but not in economic crisis periods (i.e., the 2020 pandemic recession and 2008 financial turmoil). We attribute the observed underperformance of SR ETFs during the non-crisis periods to their limited diversification of unsystematic risks resulting from various negative or positive screens employed in the funds. We also find that net fund flows of the SR ETFs are less sensitive to past negative performance than are conventional fund flows. Collectively, our findings suggest that, instead of seeking wealth maximization, socially conscious investors may choose SR ETFs to gain non-economic utility
Online media literacy intervention in Indonesia reduces misinformation sharing intention
Get PDFMedia literacy is widely viewed as an important tool in the fight against the spread of misinformation online. However, efforts to boost media literacy have primarily focused on Western-media and Western-oriented social media platforms, which are substantively different from the media and platforms used widely in the Global South. In the present work, we focus on the media ecosystem of Indonesia and report the results of an online media literacy intervention consisting of short-videos that were targeted specifically to social media users in Indonesia (N= 656). We found that participants in our media literacy intervention were 64% more likely to reduce their sharing intentions of false headlines than our control group (p \u3c 0.001). Our novel media literacy intervention shows promise as a useful tool to reduce misinformation in Southeast Asia
Investigating and acquiring motor expertise using virtual reality
No full textAfter just months of simulated training, on January 19, 2019 a 23-year-old E-sports pro-gamer, Enzo Bonito, took to the racetrack and beat Lucas di Grassi, a Formula E and ex-Formula 1 driver with decades of real-world racing experience. This event raised the possibility that practicing in virtual reality can be surprisingly effective for acquiring motor expertise in real-world tasks. Here, we evaluate the potential of virtual reality to serve as a space for training to expert levels in highly complex real-world tasks in time windows much shorter than those required in the real world and at much lower financial cost without the hazards of the real world. We also discuss how VR can also serve as an experimental platform for exploring the science of expertise more generally
Health inequalities in older age: The role of socioeconomic resources and social networks in context
No full textHealthy ageing and a high wellbeing in old age not only crucial for individuals but also for societies as a whole, especially in times of demographic ageing. In this chapter, we assess the social gradient in old age health from a sociological perspective. We describe the state of knowledge concerning health inequalities in the second half of life within a theoretical and empirical perspective, and focus on methodological challenges in comparative research on ageing. We first present an overview of general theoretical assumptions about the links between social and health inequality as well as different mechanisms and pathways linking socioeconomic resources to older age health. Next we give special attention to the role of the role of social networks and family relationships for (differences in the) wellbeing of older men and women and different socioeconomic groups. We close with critical remarks about methodological limitations and open questions for future research
Cardiac Asystole at Birth Re-Visited: Effects of Acute Hypovolemic Shock
Get PDFBirths involving shoulder dystocia or tight nuchal cords can deteriorate rapidly. The fetus may have had a reassuring tracing just before birth yet may be born without any heartbeat (asystole). Since the publication of our first article on cardiac asystole with two cases, five similar cases have been published. We suggest that these infants shift blood to the placenta due to the tight squeeze of the birth canal during the second stage which compresses the cord. The squeeze transfers blood to the placenta via the firm-walled arteries but prevents blood returning to the infant via the soft-walled umbilical vein. These infants may then be born severely hypovolemic resulting in asystole secondary to the loss of blood. Immediate cord clamping (ICC) prevents the newborn’s access to this blood after birth. Even if the infant is resuscitated, loss of this large amount of blood volume may initiate an inflammatory response that can enhance neuropathologic processes including seizures, hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and death. We present the role of the autonomic nervous system in the development of asystole and suggest an alternative algorithm to address the need to provide these infants intact cord resuscitation. Leaving the cord intact (allowing for return of the umbilical cord circulation) for several minutes after birth may allow most of the sequestered blood to return to the infant. Umbilical cord milking may return enough of the blood volume to restart the heart but there are likely reparative functions that are carried out by the placenta during the continued neonatal–placental circulation allowed by an intact cord
Roles and activities of nurses in cancer prevention and early detection in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review
Get PDFObjective: Nurses play a crucial role in cancer control. Prior reviews presented the effectiveness of nursing interventions such as tobacco cessation counseling and cervical cancer screening but did not focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This scoping review addresses a gap in the literature by describing the roles and activities of nurses in cancer prevention and early detection in LMICs.
Methods: Following Arksey and O\u27Malley\u27s scoping review framework, we searched seven databases using subject headings and keywords from 1990 to January 2021 and updated in April 2022. The reference lists of relevant studies were also searched. Two reviewers independently screened the relevance of studies through Rayyan, assessed full text articles, and extracted data using a Google Form. Conflicts were resolved by a third reviewer.
Results: A total of 180 studies were included, representing all six World Health Organization regions and 48 LMICs. The largest number of studies were from the African region (n = 72), the Americas (n = 49), and South-East Asia region (n = 29). The main nursing roles featured were patient/community education (n = 113), history taking and cancer risk assessment (n = 63), performing screening exams (n = 136), care coordination (n = 57), and training other healthcare professionals (n = 9).
Conclusions: This scoping review provides a comprehensive picture of nurses’ role in cancer prevention and early detection in LMICs, across all six World Health Organization regions. Additional cancer workforce data sources at the country level are needed to fully understand the activities of nurses in cancer prevention. Future research is also needed to measure the impact of nursing educational and other interventions in both primary and secondary cancer prevention
Patterns of patient-reported symptoms and association with sociodemographic and systemic sclerosis disease characteristics: a scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) Cohort cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground Systemic sclerosis is a heterogenous disease in which little is known about patterns of patient-reported symptom clusters. We aimed to identify classes of individuals with similar anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and pain symptoms and to evaluate associated sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics.
Methods This multi-centre cross-sectional study used baseline data from Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network Cohort participants enrolled from 2014 to 2020. Eligible participants completed the PROMIS-29 v2.0 measure. Latent profile analysis was used to identify homogeneous classes of participants based on patterns of anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and pain scores. Sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics were compared across classes.
Findings Among 2212 participants, we identified five classes, including four classes with “Low” (565 participants, 26%), “Normal” (651 participants, 29%), “High” (569 participants, 26%), or “Very High” (193 participants, 9%) symptom levels across all symptoms. Participants in a fifth class, “High Fatigue/Sleep/Pain and Low Anxiety/Depression” (234 participants, 11%) had similar levels of fatigue, sleep disturbance, and pain as in the “High” class but low anxiety and depression symptoms. There were significant and substantive trends in sociodemographic characteristics (age, education, race or ethnicity, marital or partner status) and increasing disease severity (diffuse disease, tendon friction rubs, joint contractures, gastrointestinal symptoms) across severity-based classes. Disease severity and sociodemographic characteristics of “High Fatigue/Sleep/Pain and Low Anxiety/Depression” class participants were similar to the “High” severity class.
Interpretation Most people with systemic sclerosis can be classified by levels of patient-reported symptoms, which are consistent across symptoms and highly associated with sociodemographic and disease-related variables, except for one group which reports low mental health symptoms despite high levels of other symptoms and substantial disease burden. Studies are needed to better understand resilience in systemic sclerosis and to identify and facilitate implementation of cognitive and behavioural strategies to improve coping and overall quality of life
Geography, not lifestyle, explains the population structure of free-living and host-associated deep-sea hydrothermal vent snail symbionts
Get PDFBackground: Marine symbioses are predominantly established through horizontal acquisition of microbial symbionts from the environment. However, genetic and functional comparisons of free-living populations of symbionts to their host-associated counterparts are sparse. Here, we assembled the first genomes of the chemoautotrophic gammaproteobacterial symbionts affiliated with the deep-sea snail Alviniconcha hessleri from two separate hydrothermal vent fields of the Mariana Back-Arc Basin. We used phylogenomic and population genomic methods to assess sequence and gene content variation between free-living and host-associated symbionts.
Results: Our phylogenomic analyses show that the free-living and host-associated symbionts of A. hessleri from both vent fields are populations of monophyletic strains from a single species. Furthermore, genetic structure and gene content analyses indicate that these symbiont populations are differentiated by vent field rather than by lifestyle.
Conclusion: Together, this work suggests that, despite the potential influence of host-mediated acquisition and release processes on horizontally transmitted symbionts, geographic isolation and/or adaptation to local habitat conditions are important determinants of symbiont population structure and intra-host composition
Lithium Tetrafluoroborate-Based Ester Electrolyte Formulations to Improve the Operating Temperature Range in NCM 622 || Graphite Li-Ion Batteries
No full textThe use of alternative lithium salts, lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4), lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate, and lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), in the ester/fluoroethylene carbonate electrolyte results in improved low-temperature performance at -20 °C compared to LiPF6 in a carbonate-based electrolyte, but the room-temperature performance of the ester-based formulation has significant capacity fade due to the instability of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Incorporation of electrolyte additives, lithium bis(oxalato)borate, lithium difluorophosphate, and lithium bis(trimethylsilyl) phosphate (LiTMSP), into lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4) ester-based electrolytes (methyl acetate/fluoroethylene carbonate-MA/FEC) has been investigated in graphite//LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cells to improve room-temperature cycling stability without diminishing low-temperature rate performance. The LiBF4-based ester electrolyte containing 1% LiTMSP delivers the highest reversible capacity at low temperature (-20 °C), while the room-temperature performance is significantly improved compared to that of the base ester-based electrolyte (LiBF4-MA) and almost comparable to that of the standard carbonate-based electrolyte. The improved electrochemical performance for 1% LiTMSP at -20 °C is due to the lower charge transfer resistance as supported by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and improved room-temperature performance can be ascribed to the generation of a stable phosphate-rich SEI on the graphite surface as revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Formation of undulating seafloor bedforms during the Minoan eruption and their implications for eruption dynamics and slope stability at Santorini
Get PDFThe Minoan eruption of Santorini is one of the largest Holocene volcanic events and produced several cubic kilometers of pyroclastic flows emplaced on the submerged flanks of the volcano. Marine geophysical surveys reveal a multitude of undulating seafloor bedforms (USBs) around Santorini. While similar structures are known from other volcanoes worldwide, Santorini offers the unique opportunity to relate USB formation with volcanic processes during one of the best-studied volcanic eruptions worldwide. In this study, we combine high-resolution seismic reflection data with multibeam echosounder bathymetry to reveal the internal architecture of USBs around Santorini and to relate their morphological characteristics to formational processes. The USBs around Santorini were formed during the Minoan eruption and represent the seafloor expression of mass transport deposits. Three types of deposits differ in composition or origin. (1) Depositional USBs, which can only be found to the north of the island, where Minoan eruption ignimbrites reach their maximum thickness and the undulating topography is the result of thrusting within the deposit. (2) USBs related to slope failures of volcaniclastics from the entire Thera Pyroclastic Formation, which can be found east, south, and west of the island. (3) USBs associated with deep-seated deformation, which occurs on the southwestern flank along an area affected by rift tectonics and extends to a depth of more than 200 m below the seafloor. In cases (2) and (3), the USBs are formed upslope by block rotation and downslope by thrusting. Our study indicates that these processes may have contributed to the generation of the devastating Minoan tsunami. Since Santorini is located in one of the most tectonically active regions in the Mediterranean, capable of producing earthquakes with magnitude M7+, our study has important implications for hazard assessment. A strong earthquake located close to the island may have the potential to reactivate slope instabilities posing a previously undetected but potentially significant tsunami hazard