Hypoxia Conditioning for High-Altitude Pre-acclimatization

Purpose Main purposes of pre-acclimatization by hypoxia conditioning (HC) are the prevention of high-altitude illnesses and maintenance of aerobic exercise performance. However, robust evidence for those effects or evidence-based guidelines for exposure strategies, including recommendations to ensure safety, are largely lacking. Therefore, we summarize the current knowledge on the physiology of acclimatization to hypoxia and HC with the aim to derive implications for pre-acclimatization strategies before going on high-altitude treks and expeditions. Methods Based on the literature search and personal experience, core studies and important observations have been selected in order to present a balanced view on the current knowledge of high-altitude illnesses and the acclimatization process, specifically focusing on pre-acclimatization strategies by HC. Results and Conclusions It may be concluded that in certain cases even short periods (e.g., 7 h) of pre-acclimatization by HC are effective, but longer periods (e.g., > 60 h) are needed to elicit more robust effects. About 300 h of HC (intermittently applied) may be the optimal preparation for extreme altitude sojourns, although every additional hour spent in hypoxia may confer further benefits. The inclusion of hypobaric exposures (i.e., real altitude) in pre-acclimatization protocols could further increase their efficacy. The level of simulated altitude is progressively increased or individually adjusted ideally. HC should not be terminated earlier than 1–2 weeks before altitude sojourn. Medical monitoring of the pre-acclimatization program is strongly recommended.

Gender, Socioeconomic Status, Cultural Differences, Education, Family Size and Procrastination: A Sociodemographic Meta-Analysis

Procrastination describes a ubiquitous scenario in which individuals voluntarily postpone scheduled activities at the expense of adverse consequences. Steel (2007) pioneered a meta-analysis to explicitly reveal the nature of procrastination and sparked intensive research on its demographic characteristics. However, conflicting and heterogeneous findings reported in the existing literature make it difficult to draw reliable conclusions. In addition, there is still room to further investigate on more sociodemographic features that include socioeconomic status, cultural differences and procrastination education. To this end, we performed quantitative sociodemographic meta-analyses (k = 193, total n = 106,764) to fill this gap. It was found that the general tendency and academic procrastination tendency of males were stronger than females (r = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02–0.05). No significant effects of differences in socioeconomic status (i.e., poor or rich), multiculturalism (i.e., Han nation or minorities), nationality (i.e., China or other countries), family size (i.e., one child or > 1 child), and educational background (i.e., science or arts/literature) were found to affect procrastination tendencies. Furthermore, it was noteworthy that the gender differences in procrastination tendencies were prominently moderated by measurements, which has a greater effect on the Aitken Procrastination Inventory (API) (r = 0.035, 95% CI: −0.01–0.08) than on the General Procrastination Scale (GPS) (r = 0.018, 95% CI: −0.01–0.05). In conclusion, this study provides robust evidence that males tended to procrastinate more than females in general and academic profiles, and further indicates that procrastination tendencies do not vary based on sociodemographic situations, including socioeconomic status, multiculturalism, nationality, family size, and educational background.

Improving Communication in Children With ASD

Raising a child with ASD is generally considered a challenging experience for families due to the pervasive difficulties in communication, social skills, and other adaptive behaviors encountered in these children. The family system restructures and adapts to accommodate the needs of the child with ASD. In this chapter, the author highlights the importance of communication skills for the development of children with ASD and summarizes the evidence-based individual interventions for improving them. Although there is robust evidence for the family's beneficial contribution to developing adaptive communication skills in children with ASD, there is still room for uplifting the existing programs in terms of accessibility, efficacy, and culture-based elements. In the final part of the chapter, the author provides recommendations for designing future family interventions addressed to communication skills in children with ASD and argues that culture-specific and systemic factors (such as support policies for children with disabilities) enhance program success.

Expert consensus statement on diagnosis and management of sensitive skin in current clinical practice

<p class="abstract">Sensitive skin is a very commonly seen entity in current dermatological practice that has a significant impact on quality of life. The pathophysiology, classification, diagnosis, and treatment of sensitive skin have evolved over the years, with new studies trying to bring about new robust evidence about the same. The current consensus aims at providing a comprehensive overview on evidence and experience-based approaches for sensitive skin. A total of 35 experts in the field of clinical dermatology participated in expert group meetings organized via teleconference webinar. Current evidence elaborating various aspects like classification, diagnosis, and management of sensitive skin along with clinical experience of experts were discussed in detail. The prerequisites for selecting suitable products, importance of cosmeceuticals as adjunctive therapy and the need for avoiding triggering factors in individuals with sensitive skin as well as associated dermatological disorders were also described. In addition to medical history, physical examination and routine investigations, a draft checklist and its clinical relevance in accurately diagnosing sensitive skin were emphasized upon by the experts. The overall management encompasses avoidance of individual trigger factors, thorough topical therapy using mild, non-irritating ingredients along with adjunctive therapies like moisturizers, sunscreens, and cleansers. The “two-week” strategy was described to be a useful approach for treating sensitive skin. This review article provides a consensus clinical viewpoint of expert dermatologists for effective evaluation, differential diagnosis and appropriate pharmacological as well as non-pharmacological management of sensitive skin in Indian subjects.</p>

A review of the rational and current evidence on colchicine for COVID-19

: The current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected about 247 million individuals around the world. Despite the extensive research efforts, there are currently few therapeutic options that offer direct clinical benefits for COVID-19 patients. Despite the advances in our understanding of COVID-19, the mortality rates remain significantly high owing to the high viral transmission in several countries and the rise of various mutations in the SARS-CoV-2. One of the currently available and widely used drugs that combine both anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory actions is colchicine, which has been proposed as a possible treatment option for COVID-19. Colchicine still did not get much attention from the medical and scientific communities despite its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory mechanisms of action and its positive preliminary data from early trials. This literature review article provides the scientific rationale for repurposing colchicine as a potential therapeutic of COVID-19. Further, we summarize its mechanisms of action and possible roles in COVID-19 patients. Finally, we supplement this review with a summary of the doses, side effects, and the early efficacy data from clinical trials to date. Despite the early promising findings from multiple observational and clinical trials about the potential of Colchicine in COVID-19, data from the RECOVERY trial, the largest COVID-19 RCT in the world, showed no evidence of clinical benefits in mortality, hospital stays, or disease progression (n=11340 patients). However, multiple other smaller clinical trials showed significant clinical benefits. We conclude that while current evidence does not support the use of colchicine for treating COVID-19, the present body of evidence is heterogeneous and inconclusive. The drug cannot be used in clinical practice or abandoned from clinical research without additional large RCTs providing more robust evidence. At the present, the drug should not be used except for investigational purposes.

Information transmission between bitcoin derivatives and spot markets: high-frequency causality analysis with Fourier approximation

This paper examines information transmission between Bitcoin derivatives and spot exchanges using 15-minutes interval data over May 2016 - September 2020. We employ a novel econometric framework with Fourier approximation, taking structural shifts in causal linkages, on the prices, returns, and volatilities of BitMEX, the derivatives market, and five other major spot exchanges, Coinbase, Bitstamp, Kraken, CEX.io, and Poloniex. Overall, the results provide robust evidence of information flow between the derivatives and spot exchanges, implying the markets react to new information simultaneously. The results are of importance for investors conducting portfolio allocation exercises and risk management strategies.

Significant cross-species gene flow detected in the Tamias quadrivittatus group of North American chipmunks

In the past two decades genomic data have been widely used to detect historical gene flow between species in a variety of plants and animals. The Tamias quadrivittatus group of North America chipmunks, which originated through a series of rapid speciation events, are known to undergo massive amounts of mitochondrial introgression. Yet in a recent analysis of targeted nuclear loci from the group, no evidence for cross-species introgression was detected, indicating widespread cytonuclear discordance. The study used heuristic methods that analyze summaries of the multilocus sequence data to detect gene flow, which may suffer from low power. Here we use the full likelihood method implemented in the Bayesian program BPP to reanalyze these data. We take a stepwise approach to constructing an introgression model by adding introgression events onto a well-supported binary species tree. The analysis detected robust evidence for multiple ancient introgression events affecting the nuclear genome, with introgression probabilities reaching 65%. We estimate population parameters and highlight the fact that species divergence times may be seriously underestimated if ancient cross-species gene flow is ignored in the analysis. Our analyses highlight the importance of using adequate statistical methods to reach reliable biological conclusions concerning cross-species gene flow.

Accounting for intangible assets – insights from meta-analysis of R&D research

PurposeThe knowledge- and Internet-based economy demands a reexamination of the accounting treatment for intangibles and a thorough understanding of the empirical evidence on this topic.Design/methodology/approachThe study reviews the literature on research and development (R&D), a specific internally developed intangible asset, using meta-analysis techniques that allow to highlight the areas of consensus and disagreement in quantitative empirical results. The literature the authors review addresses four main research questions on (1) the determinants of the decision to capitalize R&D, (2) stock market-based outcomes of capitalizing R&D, (3) firm-based outcomes related to expensing R&D and (4) stock market-based outcomes of expensing R&D.FindingsThe authors find higher value relevance of capitalized compared with expensed R&D. There is, however, little robust evidence on the determinants of the capitalization decision and the characteristics of capitalizers.Originality/valueThe authors conclude by highlighting future research that can allow accounting academics to contribute to standard setting.

Within-race variations in sentencing outcomes: Nationality and punishment among Asians in United States federal courts

There is robust evidence that Asians are not treated differently from Whites and receive greater leniency than Blacks and Hispanics in criminal punishment. Some research findings even suggest that Asians receive the most favorable sentencing outcomes among all racial/ethnic groups. This line of research, however, has not paid attention to Asian nationality groups. Particularly, it is unclear whether there is within-race variation among offenders from different Asian countries. Using the data compiled by the United States Sentencing Commission to examine whether and how an Asian's nationality affects criminal punishment, this study focuses on sentences imposed on offenders who are Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean, Pakistani, and Vietnamese nationals. Results from logistic, ordinary least squares, and Tobit regression analyses indicate that with legal and extralegal factors held constant, Asians of different nationalities face varying odds of incarceration or downward departures, and they receive dissimilar sentence lengths.