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Purpose: The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a summary of Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science (MPEES)-related activities in 2021. Manuscripts submitted: In 2021 original submissions (i.e., not counting revised manuscripts) increased by [approximately]20% as compared to 2020. Fifty-eight countries were represented across the 464 original manuscripts submitted to MPEES in 2021. MPEES continues to welcome high-quality submissions from around the world in 2022. Manuscripts submitted by section: The seven sections of MPEES are: (1) exercise science, (2) physical activity, (3) physical education pedagogy, (4) psychology, (5) research methodology and statistics, (6) sport management and administration, and (7) tutorial and teacher's toolbox. More than three-fourths of the manuscripts submitted to MPEES in 2021 were submitted to one of three sections: exercise science or physical activity or research methodology and statistics. MPEES continues to welcome high-quality submissions within each of the seven sections that comprise the journal in 2022. Review process: Each of the original manuscripts submitted to MPEES in 2021 had received an initial decision by April 4, 2022 (i.e., 464 of the 464 manuscripts received). When an immediate decision (e.g., desk-rejection) was rendered by the editor-in-chief it always (i.e., for 369 of 369 manuscripts) occurred within 10 days of receiving the manuscript. When a manuscript was assigned to a section editor by the editor-in-chief it typically (i.e., for 91 of 95 manuscripts) received an initial decision within 90 days of receiving the manuscript. Twenty-four countries were represented across reviewers for the original manuscripts sent out for external review by MPEES in 2021. We gratefully acknowledge, and list in the Appendix, the many scholars (N = 151) from around the world who served as a reviewer for MPEES in 2021. Manuscripts published: Volume 25 (i.e., the volume published in 2021) of MPEES published a total of 37 manuscripts. More than two-thirds of the published manuscripts were submitted to one of two sections: exercise science or research methodology and statistics. MPEES continues to strive for publishing high-quality manuscripts within each of the seven sections that comprise the journal in 2022. Fourteen countries were represented across the manuscripts published in Volume 25 of MPEES. MPEES continues to strive for publishing high-quality manuscripts written by one or more authors from around the world in 2022. Impact factor: The 2020 impact factor for MPEES was 2.30 representing an increase of [approximately]31% compared to 2019 when the journal's impact factor was 1.75. The value of the 2020 impact factor placed MPEES in the second quartile (i.e., ranked #131 out of 265 journals) within the Education & Educational Research category of Clarivate Analytics. The 2021 impact factor for MPEES is expected to be released in [approximately]June 2022.

The International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) was established in 1994 by the International Statistical Institute and operates under the auspices of the International Association for Statistical Education. Today, the ISLP has 134 country coordinators spread across all continents of the world. The aim of this article is to describe and assess the activities of those country coordinators and discuss their contribution to advancing statistical literacy and that of ISLP. Some strategic issues for the ISLP executive are discussed, in particular, given the recent success of the ISLP in Latin America, and how this might inform future developments of the International Statistical Literacy Project.

The purpose of this annual report is to provide a summary of measurement in physical education and exercise science-related activities in 2017. A recent trend for an annual increase in manuscript submissions to measurement in physical education and exercise science continued in 2017. Twenty-nine countries were represented (i.e., corresponding author) with the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Spain, and Australia collectively accounting for slightly more than two-thirds of the submissions. Measurement in physical education and exercise science continues to welcome high-quality submissions from around the world in 2018. More than three-quarters of the manuscripts that were submitted to measurement in physical education and exercise science in 2017 were submitted to the exercise science section or the physical activity section or the research methodology and statistics section. Measurement in physical education and exercise science continues to welcome high-quality submissions within each of the seven sections that comprise the journal in 2018. We also gratefully acknowledge the many scholars from around the world who served as a reviewer for measurement in physical education and exercise science in 2017. Twenty-two countries were represented with the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany collectively accounting for more than 85% of the total number of reviewers. Measurement in physical education and exercise science continues to welcome high-quality manuscript reviews from around the world in 2018. Volume 21 (i.e., the volume published in 2017) of measurement in physical education and exercise science published a total of 26 manuscripts. More than three-quarters of the published manuscripts were submitted to the research methodology and statistics section or the physical education pedagogy section or the exercise science section or the physical activity section. Twelve countries were represented with the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia collectively accounting for approximately three-fourths of the publications. Measurement in physical education and exercise science continues to strive for publishing high-quality manuscripts from around the world in 2018.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the state of undergraduate business statistics education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and assess its alignment with the best practices in equipping business graduates with the knowledge and skills demanded by the labor market. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of 108 instructors from 80 business schools in 17 MENA countries was conducted to gauge information on the delivery of business statistics courses. The survey results were bench marked to a proposed framework for best practices in business statistics education. Findings: The gap analysis identified deficiencies in the delivery of business statistics education in the region as compared to international best practices. This study revealed a need to revise statistics education as part of a comprehensive reform of business education with the aim to meet international quality standards in business education. Research limitations/implications The study relied on the self-reported responses of business statistics instructors in MENA. One hundred eight questionnaires were completed, corresponding to a response rate of 40 per cent. Moreover, the study did not measure the effectiveness of teaching and learning in business statistics courses. Practical implications: Recommendations from the study are intended to guide business statistics instructors in improving the quality of business statistics education through adopting more effective ways to enhance student learning experience and graduate employability. Originality/value: This study is the first of its kind to investigate and assess the business statistics education in the MENA region.

The area of statistics is one in which teachers may be encouraged to make important links to other curriculum areas and social issues. Statistical literacy is a key component of being numerate and living as an informed citizen. The teaching of statistics provides an opportunity to inform and educate students about social issues and moral behaviour, as well as reinforcing the links between mathematics and other areas of study. The "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics" (ACM) (ACARA, 2013b) states "Mathematics is composed of multiple but interrelated and interdependent concepts and systems which students apply beyond the mathematics classroom" (p. 1). In no other area is this so pronounced as in the Statistics and Probability Strand. When designing a fourth year pre-service teacher unit on teaching Statistics and Probability, while still covering all of the big ideas of statistics and probability, it was decided to make the cross-curricular and social issues a focus of the unit. In this way it was hoped to model an approach that the students could use in their future classrooms. Many of the tasks used were derived from Maths300 (Williams & Lovitt, 2010) and "Digging Into Australian Data With TinkerPlots" (Watson et al., 2011). Both of these resources made use of software that enabled probability simulations and used dynamic data analysis tools which allowed the reinforcement of the fundamental connections between statistics and probability while encouraging informal statistical inference (Flavel, 2013; Konold & Kazak, 2008; Konold & Miller, 2004). A selection of the tasks used within the unit, which translate directly into a secondary school classroom, are described in this article.

Objectives: South Asia (SA) and Southeast Asia (SEA) are geographically close; however, discrepancies in oral cancer (OC) epidemiology exist between the two regions. Socioeconomic disparities may influence the OC burden. The aim of this study was to assess the epidemiology of OC and its relationship with the Inequality Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) and its components in SA and SEA. Methods: Cancer data for this ecological study was obtained from GLOBOCAN 2020, while the IHDI was obtained from the Human Development Report 2020. Based on data availability, 14 SA and SEA countries were chosen. Poisson log‐weighted regression models were employed to examine IHDI and its components in relation to incidence and mortality. Univariate linear regression models were utilized to determine the association between the mortality‐to‐incidence ratio (MIR) and the IHDI. Results: Mortality and MIR of OC were negatively correlated with all sub‐indices of the IHDI, including education, health and income. However, incidence and mortality of OC were influenced by region and sex. Conclusions: Higher IHDI countries tended to have lower MIR. SA and males showed higher incidence and mortality. Reducing intra‐country inequalities in development may be a pragmatic approach to enhancing the OC burden and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A burgeoning demographic literature documents the exceedingly high rates at which contemporary cohorts of women across the Global South experience the death of their children—even amid historic declines in child mortality. Yet, the patterning of maternal bereavement remains underinvestigated, as does the extent to which it replicates across generations of the same family. To that end, we ask: Are the surviving daughters of bereaved mothers more likely to eventually experience maternal bereavement? How does the intergenerational clustering of maternal bereavement vary across countries and cohorts? To answer these questions, we make use of Demographic and Health Survey Program data from 50 low- and middle-income countries, encompassing data on 1.05 million women and their mothers spanning three decadal birth cohorts. Descriptive results demonstrate that maternal bereavement is increasingly patterned intergenerationally across cohorts, with most women experiencing the same fate as their mothers. Multivariable hazard models further show that, on average, women whose mothers were maternally bereaved have significantly increased odds of losing a child themselves. In most countries, the association is stable across cohorts; however, in select countries, the risk associated with having a bereaved mother is shrinking among more recent birth cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Anaplastic glioma is a highly aggressive brain tumor that often occurs in young adults. There is a lack of data from India on anaplastic gliomas. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic factors of anaplastic glioma and correlate them with the outcome. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective observational study of 57 patients with anaplastic glioma treated from 1996 to 2015 in a cancer institute in Chennai. We captured data from the cancer institute's hospital-based electronic health record tumor registry and correlated factors including age, sex, histology, site of disease, type of surgery, adjuvant treatment, and radiation treatment technique with outcome. For the calculation of progression-free survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS), we used Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. Result: This analysis included fifty-seven patients, with a median follow-up of 34 months. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 28 and 41 months, respectively. On univariate analysis, factors associated with improved survival include Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma histology (HR-0.43, CI-0.22-0.80, P=0.006), Frontal lobe location (HR-1.96, CI-1.07-3.58, P=0.025) Gross total resection (HR-1.94, CI-1.03-3.64, P=0.034), and addition of Temozolamide (HR-2.09, CI-1.14-3.84, P=0.014). On multivariate analysis Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma histology, (HR-0.49, CI-0.25-0.95, P=0.037), Frontal lobe (HR-2.14, CI-1.12-4.07, P=0.021), Gross total resection (HR-2.89, CI-1.47-5.69, P=0.002) and addition of Temozolamide (HR-2.02, CI-1.07-3.81, P=0.029) remained significant factors for improved OS. Conclusion: Among the various clinical and treatment-related prognostic factors, our study revealed that anaplastic oligodendroglioma histology, frontal lobe location, gross total resection, and addition of temozolomide chemotherapy to radiation showed improved outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable information on dietary trends is essential. We compared individual-level dietary estimates for total energy, carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake over time with national supply data from the Global Expanded Nutrient Supply Model (186 paired estimates from 1961 to 2011, 18 countries). We hypothesized that supply data would overestimate individual measures and that the two measures would be weakly correlated. Individual- and supply-level estimates were compared using Spearman correlation coefficients and linear mixed-effect models were used to estimate the differences between measures. Overall, the correlations between individual- and supply-level measures were moderate for energy (r s = 0.34) and carbohydrate (r s = 0.39), strong for fat (r s = 0.85), and protein (r s = 0.69). Trends in total energy measured by individual-level surveys and total energy supply were positively correlated in 38.9% of countries, whereas trends in macronutrients aligned between estimates in most countries. Supply-level dietary data overestimated individual-level intakes, especially in higher income countries in Europe and in the United States. In the United States, supply-level data exceeded individual-level estimates by 26.3% to 29.9% for energy, carbohydrate, and fat, whereas protein estimates were similar between measures. In Europe, supply-level estimates overestimated individual-level intake by 19.9% for energy, 17.0% for carbohydrate, 13.7% for fat, and 7.7% for protein, whereas estimates for energy and macronutrients were similar in Asia. In Asia and lower income countries, our findings generally support the use of supply-level data in the absence of individual-level data, though this finding may be related to smaller sample size and differences in underlying national statistics that inform supply data. This article compares individual-level diet measures of energy, carbohydrate, fat, and protein to national supply-level data in 18 countries. Time trends in macronutrient intake and, to a lesser degree, total energy, align between individual and supply data. Supply data overestimated individual intakes, especially in the United States and higher income countries. Supply data may be an appropriate alternative in Asia and in lower income settings that lack individual data. Abbreviation: 95% CI, 95% confidence interval. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about survival outcomes after traumatic cardiac arrest in Asia, or the association of Utstein factors with survival after traumatic cardiac arrests. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of traumatic cardiac arrests in Asia, and analyze Utstein factors associated with survival. Traumatic cardiac arrest patients from 13 countries in the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study registry from 2009 to 2018 were analyzed. Multilevel logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with the primary outcomes of survival to hospital discharge and favorable neurological outcome (Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) 1-2), and the secondary outcome of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). There were 207,455 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases, of which 13,631 (6.6%) were trauma patients aged 18 years and above with resuscitation attempted and who had survival outcomes reported. The median age was 57 years (interquartile range 39–73), 23.0% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), 1750 (12.8%) had ROSC, 461 (3.4%) survived to discharge, and 131 (1.0%) had CPC 1-2. Factors associated with higher rates of survival to discharge and favorable neurological outcome were arrests witnessed by emergency medical services or private ambulances (survival to discharge adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.99–4.38; CPC 1-2 aOR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.25–5.27), bystander CPR (survival to discharge aOR = 2.16; 95% CI 1.71–2.72; CPC 1-2 aOR = 4.98, 95% CI = 3.27–7.57), and initial shockable rhythm (survival to discharge aOR = 12.00; 95% CI = 6.80–21.17; CPC 1-2 aOR = 33.28, 95% CI = 11.39–97.23) or initial pulseless electrical activity (survival to discharge aOR = 3.98; 95% CI = 2.99–5.30; CPC 1-2 aOR = 5.67, 95% CI = 3.05–10.53) relative to asystole. In traumatic cardiac arrest, early aggressive resuscitation may not be futile and bystander CPR may improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable Development Goal 3 focuses on reducing HIV/AIDS spread, for which disseminating correct information on the disease is required. This study investigated factors associated with HIV/AIDS knowledge among women in several Asian LMICs. Global Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey-6 (MICS-6) for Bangladesh, Lao, Mongolia and Nepal were assessed. Bivariate analysis and generalised linear regression models were fitted. Overall, 60% of the respondents were aware or heard of the existence of HIV/AIDS, with 63.2% having transmission knowledge and 80.4% misconception knowledge. Results revealed that several demographic factors such as wealth index, education and access to information had a significant association with HIV/AIDS knowledge. Mongolia and Nepal have formal programmes in place that may provide policy and implementation advantages compared to Bangladesh and Lao. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forefoot is the foot part most affected by ill-fitting shoes. Footwear fitting considers the measurements of length, width, and arch length. Toe shape has not yet been used in sizing feet and fitting shoes. This study aims to investigate the variation in toe shape, as measured by the hallux valgus angle. An automatic and reproducible hallux valgus angle measuring method using 3D foot scans with no palpation markers is proposed and applied to about half a million samples collected across North America, Europe, and Asia. The measuring method is robust and can detect the medial contour along the proximal phalanx even in extreme cases. The hallux valgus angle has a normal distribution with long tails on both sides in the general population. Large dispersions of HVA values were observed for both genders and in all three geographical regions. Practitioner summary: The hallux valgus angle has a broad distribution in the general population. Females have larger hallux valgus angles than males, and people from Asia have larger hallux valgus angles than people from North America and Europe. Shoe toe boxes should be designed to fit the actual shapes of shoppers' toes. The proposed method for measuring HVA opens a new opportunity to study the causal relationship between shoe wearing habits and HVA on a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaemia is a global public health problem affecting 800 million women and children globally. Anaemia is associated with perinatal mortality, child morbidity and mortality, mental development, immune competence, susceptibility to lead poisoning and performance at work. The objective of this article is to identify whether antenatal care-seeking was associated with the uptake of iron supplementation among pregnant women, adjusting for a range of covariates. This article used data from the cross-sectional recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 12 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America & the Caribbean regions. The individual- level data from 273,144 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) were analysed from multi-country DHS. Multiple Logistic regression analyses were conducted using Predictive Analytics Software for Windows (PASW), Release 18.0. Receiving at least four antenatal care visits was significantly associated with the consumption of 90 or more iron-containing supplements in 12 low and middle income countries across three regions after adjusting for different household and respondent characteristics, while mass media exposure was found to be a significant predictor in India and Indonesia. Antenatal care seems to be the most important predictor of adherence to iron intake in the selected countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant amount of literature exists on the lasting effects of interparental abuse on children's psychological health as adults. However, evidence on how children's childhood experience of interparental violence shapes their attitude toward partner violence in adult intimate relationships is limited. Given the existing evidence that women's acceptance of partner violence as a social norm increases the risk of partner violence, we analyzed the effect of girls' witnessing interparental abuse (where a father is a perpetrator) on their attitude toward partner violence in their intimate relationships as adults. We used data from the Demographic and Health Surveys for 31 low and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa. Aggregating information about women's attitudes toward partner violence into a binary "intimate partner violence acceptance" variable, we found that a woman who witnessed her father beat her mother was 1.62 times more likely to justify partner violence than a woman who did not experience such interparental abuse (adjusted odds ratio [ AOR ] = 1.62, 95% CI [1.57, 1.66], p <.001). Additionally, using individual components of acceptance as response variables, we found that a woman who witnessed interparental abuse was significantly more likely to justify partner violence if she went out without telling her husband (OR = 1.49, 95% CI [1.45, 1.54], p <.001), neglected children (OR = 1.53, 95% CI [1.49, 1.58], p <.001), argued with the husband (OR = 1.49, 95% CI [1.45, 1.53], p <.001), refused sex with the husband (OR = 1.35, 95% CI [1.31, 1.39], p <.001), or burned food (OR = 1.36, 95% CI [1.31, 1.41], p <.001). This study highlights the need to put in place children-specific social policies to limit the intergenerational transmission of the adverse effects of intimate partner violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine and compare decision‐making preferences on end‐of‐life care for older people in Japan, the Hong Kong SAR and South Korea. Background: Cultural values and beliefs influence decision‐making on end‐of‐life care. Design: A cross‐sectional design was adopted. Methods: Community‐dwelling people aged ≥65 with additional requirements were recruited in 2016–2017 in the three regions. Their decision‐making preferences on end‐of‐life care were assessed using Pang et al.'s questionnaire. These preferences and their sociodemographic and personal experience variables were compared and analysed using univariate and multiple logistic regressions. The STROBE checklist was followed. Results: This study involved 415 participants. In all three regions, the most preferred decision maker and person with whom to discuss end‐of‐life care issues was a family member. Participants in the Hong Kong SAR were less likely to select a family member as their preferred decision maker than those in Japan (adjusted odds ratio = 0.129). Koreans were less likely to discuss end‐of‐life care issues with medical professionals than people in Japan (adjusted odds ratio = 0.278). More than 70% of the participants in each region indicated that they would not prefer to leave an advance directive to decide their end‐of‐life care. Conclusion: Older Asians prefer to make their own decisions after consulting others. Family members play an important role in helping older people plan their preferred end‐of‐life care arrangements, even acting as decision makers when older people become incapable of deciding for themselves. Relevance to clinical practice: Sufficient information should be provided to older people and their families for the older people to determine their preferred care. Helping families to understand and support the planned care and advance directives is a strategy for maximising family compliance with the care. Continuous efforts should be made to promote advance care planning and advance directives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to increase understanding of the relationship between heavy episodic drinking (HED) and fathers' involvement in parenting in five countries. The potential moderating effect of fathers' experiences of childhood trauma is also studied, controlling for the possible confounding of the effect of HED by father's attitudes toward gender equality, father's age and father's education. Method: United Nations Multi‐Country Study on Men and Violence (UNMCS) survey data from 4562 fathers aged 18–49 years from Cambodia, China, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Sri Lanka were used to assess the relationship between fathering involvement (e.g., helping children with their homework) and self‐reported HED of 6+ drinks in one occasion vs. non‐HED and abstaining. Moderating effects of a 13‐item fathers' childhood trauma (FCT) scale were tested and analyses were adjusted for gender‐inequitable attitudes using the Gender‐Equitable Men scale score. Bivariate and adjusted individual participant meta‐analyses were used to determine effect estimates for each site and across all sites. Results: Fathers' HED was associated with less positive parental involvement after adjusting for gender‐equitable attitudes, FCT, age and education. No overall interaction between HED and FCT was identified. Gender equitable attitudes were associated with fathering involvement in some countries but not overall (p = 0.07). Conclusions: Heavy episodic drinking was associated with reduced positive fathering involvement. These findings suggest that interventions to increase fathers' involvement in parenting should include targeting reductions in fathers' HED. Structural barriers to fathers' involvement should be considered alongside HED in future studies of fathers' engagement with their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IMbrave150 has established the superiority of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab over sorafenib in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We generated a prospectively maintained database including patients treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab for unresectable HCC across Europe, Asia and USA. Clinico-pathologic characteristics were assessed for their prognostic influence on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in univariable and multivariate analyses. Overall response rate by RECIST v1.1 and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) per CTCAE v.5.0 were reported. Out of 433 patients, 296 Child-Pugh A and ECOG performance status01 patients received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in first line and were included. Patients were mostly male (82.7%), cirrhotic (75%) with history of viral hepatitis (65.9%). Overall, 68.9% had Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer C-stage HCC with portal vein tumour thrombosis (PVTT, 35%) and extrahepatic spread (EHS, 51.7%). After a median follow-up of 10.0 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 9.4–10.4), median OS and PFS were 15.7 (95% CI: 14.5-NE) and 6.9 months (95% CI: 6.1–8.3), respectively. In the response-evaluable patients (n = 273), overall response rate was 30.8%. Overall, 221 patients (74.6%) developed TRAEs, with 70 (23.6%) reporting grade 3 or higher TRAEs; 25 (8.4%) patients had bleeding events. OS was independently associated with baseline Albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade and PVTT. Shorter PFS was associated with AFP≥ 400 ng/ml, worse ALBI and presence of EHS. This global observational study confirms the reproducible safety and efficacy of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in routine clinical practice. Within Child-Pugh-A criteria, the presence of PVTT and higher ALBI grade identify patients with poorer survival. • Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (A + B) is the standard of care for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. • We report data from a large cohort of patients treated with A + B in real-life. • Effectiveness and safety of the combination is reproducible in daily practice. • Liver function and macro-vascular invasion is with overall survival. • Radiological response predicts better outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observational studies have revealed phenotypic associations between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and many biomarkers. However, causality between these conditions in East Asians is unclear. We leveraged genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics on T2D (n  = 77,418 cases; n  = 356,122 controls) from the Asian Genetic Epidemiology Network (sample recruited during 2001–2011) and GWAS summary statistics on 42 biomarkers (n  = 12,303–143,658) from BioBank Japan (sample recruited during 2003–2008) to investigate causal relationships between T2D and biomarkers. Applications of Mendelian randomization approaches consistently revealed genetically instrumented associations of T2D with increased serum potassium levels (liability-scale β = 0.04–0.10; P  = 6.41 × 10−17–9.85 × 10−5) and decreased serum chloride levels (liability-scale β = −0.16 to −0.06; P  = 5.22 × 10−27–3.14 × 10−5), whereas these 2 biomarkers showed no causal effects on T2D. Heritability Estimation Using Summary Statistics (ρ-HESS) and summary-data–based Mendelian randomization highlighted 27 genomic regions and 3 genes (α-1,3-mannosyl-glycoprotein 2-β- N -acetylglucosaminyltransferase (MGAT1), transducing-like enhancer (TLE) family member 1, transcriptional corepressor (TLE1), and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR)) that interactively associated with the shared genetics underlying T2D and the 2 biomarkers. Thus, T2D may causally affect serum potassium and chloride levels among East Asians. In contrast, the relationships of potassium and chloride with T2D are not causal, suggesting the importance of monitoring electrolyte disorders for T2D patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to understand the trends regarding the use of artificial intelligence in dentistry through a bibliometric review. The authors performed a literature search on Web of Science. They collected the following data: articles—number and density of citations, year, key words, language, document type, study design, and theme (main objective, diagnostic method, and specialties); journals—impact factor; authors—country, continent, and institution. The authors used Visualization of Similarities Viewer software (Leiden University) to analyze the data and Spearman test for correlation analysis. After selection, 1,478 articles were included. The number of citations ranged from 0 through 327. The articles were published from 1984 through 2024. Most articles were characterized as proof of concept (979). Definition and classification of structures and diseases was the most common theme (550 articles). There was an emphasis on radiology (333 articles) and radiographic-based diagnostic methods (715 articles). China was the country with the most articles (251), and Asia was the continent with the most articles (871). The Charité–University of Medicine Berlin was the institution with the most articles (42), and the author with the most articles was Schwendicke (53). Artificial intelligence is an important clinical tool to facilitate diagnosis and provide automation in various processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the knowledge of, participation in, attitudes towards, and experiences with "doing the month" (DTM), a traditional Chinese and Vietnamese postpartum practice, at a federally qualified health center that serves predominantly Asian immigrants. DTM practices revolve around the balance between yin and yang and include practices such as the mother remaining on bed rest for as long as possible, restricting diet to certain foods, and avoiding visitors and social activities. A cross-sectional survey in Chinese, Vietnamese, and English was developed to determine the prevalence of women who have heard of and participated in DTM. 154 respondents participated. The mean age of respondents was 40.1 years. Without prompting of what DTM was, 58 (37.7%) responded that they had heard of DTM. After an explanatory paragraph, this increased to 117 (76.6%) participants. Out of 107 patients who have children, 65 (60.7%) "did the month" after giving birth. Participation rates were highest for women who identified as Chinese or Vietnamese. Likert-type scale questions showed that respondents believed DTM was stressful but enjoyable and helpful for recovery from childbirth. In conclusion, DTM is a common practice that health providers should be aware of. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity (PA) can help individuals maintain physical function and independence. The association between PA and functional limitations (FL) has not been explored in the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) population. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between PA and FL among NHPI adults (age ≥ 45 years) living in the United States. Cross-sectional data from the 2014 NHPI-National Health Interview Survey (N = 628) was used to create three constructs of FL based on responses from the Functioning and Disability Survey Module: needing equipment/assistance, having difficulty walking, and having difficulty with performing self-care and other fine motor activities. We used 2-stage least squares regression to examine the relationship between PA and FL of NHPI adults while accounting for the potential endogeneity of PA to FL. Compared to NHPI adults who met the guideline for recommended levels of aerobic and strengthening PA, those who met only the strengthening guideline experienced less difficulty in two FL constructs (use of medical equipment/assistance and difficulty walking). Those who met the aerobic guideline reported even less difficulties in all three FL constructs. NHPI adults who met both the aerobic and strengthening guidelines experienced the least difficulties in all three FL constructs compared to those who met neither PA guidelines. PA is associated with function in this adult NHPI population. Aerobic guidelines alone may be more beneficial than meeting the strengthening guideline alone; however, meeting both the aerobic and strengthening guidelines is most protective against FL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the levels and trajectories of physical rehabilitation needs across five resource-poor world regions, against global and key country-specific benchmarks. This comparative, secondary cross-region analysis uses data from the Global Burden of Diseases study 2017 [1990–2017], specifically varied metrics of the Years Lived with Disability (YLD) measure from the health conditions likely benefiting from physical rehabilitation. All the resource-poor world regions had significant increases (p < 0.01) in the absolute, relative, and percentage of physical rehabilitation needs [1990–2017]. Nonetheless, The Asia-Pacific region stood out with the greatest YLD Rates (i.e., per population size) in 2017, the greatest growth in YLD Rates since 1990 (38%), and an exponential growth in the rehabilitation-sensitive YLD Rates. The Asia-Pacific region also had the greatest portion of their YLDs coming from rehabilitation-sensitive conditions (72% in 2017), closely followed by the Latin America & Caribbean (67%). Nonetheless, in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, we observed the greatest percent increases in the portion of physical rehabilitation needs among all YLDs, out of lower initial values. An overall growth but differential patterns were observed in the evolution of physical rehabilitation needs across the resource-poor world regions. Asia-Pacific and Latin America & Caribbean regions had over than two-thirds of their non-fatal health loss arising from conditions sensitive to physical rehabilitation, and important growths in rehabilitation need indicators have been observed also for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The scale-up and strengthening of rehabilitation services and resources should be informed by needs-based data. The needs-based data from this study can inform trans-national developments and the planning of rehabilitation resources, inclusively at the world-region level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how managers' fairness perceptions of performance evaluation systems differ across countries and relate to their job satisfaction. Lack-of-group bias and transparency were the constructs used to assess fairness perceptions. The data sample consisted of 903 Asian managers from the subsidiaries of a leading multinational corporation ( MNC) strategically expanding its retail markets in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand. Results showed that the fairness perceptions of lack-of-group bias and transparency concerning the common performance evaluation system varied within these Asian countries. Furthermore, those fairness perceptions were significantly related to job satisfaction among Asian managers overall, as well as in each of the five geographical subgroups with the exception of Hong Kong, where the perception of a lack-of-group bias was only marginally related to job satisfaction. These findings offer theoretical implications regarding organizational justice, cross-national management, and performance evaluation, as well as practical implications for leveraging organizational justice perceptions of performance evaluation systems for the effectiveness of MNCs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent evidence has found widespread reports of women experiencing cultural malpractice during childbirth in Asia and sub-Saharan African countries. Despite an endeavor made to drop maternal and neonatal mortality, Ethiopia remains amongst the highest mortality rate. Thus, strengthening antenatal care (ANC) follow-up is the midst of cultural malpractice reduction during childbirth. This study was aimed to assess the magnitude of cultural malpractice and associated factors during childbirth and postpartum among women who gave birth within one year in Gozamen district, Ethiopia.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 1st to December 30th, 2019. A two-stage sampling technique was used to get a total of 600 women who gave birth within the last one year. Data were collected by using a semi-structured and pretested questionnaire. Then, data were entered into Epi info version 7.0 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Both bivariate analysis and a multivariable logistic regression model were fitted. The level of significance was declared based on the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) and a p-value of ≤0.05.Result: The Overall magnitude of cultural malpractices during childbirth and postpartum was found to be 31.2% (95%CI: 27.8, 34.7). Out of 600 women, 203(33.9%) were delivered at home, 67(11.2%) practiced abdominal massage, 31(16.6%) avoided colostrum, 24(12.8%) practiced pre-lacteal feeding and 138 (23%) washed their baby before 24 h after delivery. Mothers who have antenatal follow-up (AOR=0.52 95%CI 0.28, 0.94), married marital relation (AOR=0.24, 95%CI:0.07, 0.89), being farmer husband occupation (AOR=6.25 (95%CI: 1.22, 30.30), parity ≥5 (AOR=5, 95%CI: 2.44, 9.52), had significant association with cultural malpractice during childbirth and postpartum.Conclusions: This study showed there is an improvement in the magnitude of cultural malpractices during childbirth and postpartum, but still it's high as compared to the country's maternal health service utilization aim. A well-enforced health education program by well-trained healthcare personnel besides sufficient number of ANC visits are needed to overcome these cultural practices. Further, intervention modalities health education communication outreach programs would be very important to reduce the prevalence of cultural malpractices in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Married immigrant women experience cultural conflicts due to different values, and customs. This study examined the factors associated with the acculturation and acculturative stress of Asian immigrant women in South Korea. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed. A total of 142 participants were recruited from Incheon Multicultural Centers in 2016 using a convenience sampling method. Acculturation and acculturative stress were measured by Suinn–Lew Self-Identity Acculturation Scale and Social Attitudinal Familial Environment. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. Results: Time since immigration was negatively associated with the level of acculturation, while alcohol consumption (p <.050). Some demographic variables (age, religion, anxiety, and time since immigration) were associated with acculturative stress (p <.050). Discussion: These findings can help health care providers to increase their awareness and be more sensitive when providing services to these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzalutamide combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) significantly prolonged metastasis-free survival and overall survival (OS) versus ADT alone in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) with rapidly rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The objective of this post hoc analysis of the PROSPER trial is to evaluate OS benefit and safety of enzalutamide in patients across age and regional subgroups. Eligible men with nmCRPC, PSA doubling time ≤10 months and PSA ≥2 ng/mL with continued ADT use were randomised 2:1 to enzalutamide 160 mg or placebo. OS and safety were examined by age (<70 vs ≥70 years) and region (North America, Europe, Asia or the rest of the world). The impact of prior and subsequent therapy was also examined. In total, 1401 men were enrolled (median age, 74 years). Enzalutamide plus ADT reduced the risk of death, independent of age or region. Multivariate analyses identified Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) status (P < 0.0001), log (PSA; P = 0.0002) and subsequent therapy (P < 0.0001) as statistically significant factors impacting OS. Safety was consistent across age and regional subgroups. Any grade treatment-emergent adverse events were similar across age groups, were more common in the placebo group and had regional variation. In men with nmCRPC and rapidly rising PSA, the benefit and safety of enzalutamide were consistent across age and regional subgroups. Variables impacting OS included ECOG status, log (PSA) and subsequent therapy. NCT02003924. [Display omitted] • Enzalutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy reduced the risk of death in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. • Overall survival with enzalutamide was similar across age and geographical regions. • Three factors were identified that improved overall survival. • The safety of enzalutamide was similar across age but varied with geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health care workers (HCW) are especially vulnerable to developing mental health problems in pandemic situations. The impact may be much devastating in developing countries due to fragmented health care system. Our study aims to explore the underlying burden of depression and its related factors among health care workers in South Asian countries. Data was collected through an online survey. A total of 476 health care workers including doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff participated from Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka. A validated WHO Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used to screen for Depression. A 25.7% prevalence of depression was reported among health care workers. Almost 70% of them were either not satisfied or partially satisfied with the provided personal protective equipment. On multivariable analysis, females gender (aOR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.11 – 2.90), fear of unprotection (aOR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.11 – 2.90), confirmed COVID-19 case in workplace (aOR=1.98, 95% CI= 1.18 - 3.33) and family (aOR=2.98, 95% CI: 1.02 – 8.70) were found to be independent predictors of depression among healthcare workers. Depression among HCW in South-Asian countries is quite alarming. This may jeopardize attention to other non-COVID health problems which are still on a priority in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is the most commonly reported disease in children. This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of mortality from ARI and its relationship with the Human Development Index (HDI) in children under the age of 5 years. Subjects and methods: The study data included the HDI, neonatal mortality rates, and the mortality of children under the age of 5 years due to ARIs retrieved from the World Bank. In this study, the bivariate correlation method was employed and a significance level of less than 0.05 was considered. Results: The mortality of children under the age of 5 years (r = − 0.784, p < 0.0001) and neonatal death (r = − 0.792, p < 0.0001) induced by ARIs was negatively correlated with the HDI. There was also a significant negative correlation between neonatal death caused by ARIs and gross national income (GNI) per capita per 1000 lives (r = − 0.453, p < 0.001), mean years of schooling (r = − 0.645, p < 0.001), life expectancy at birth (r = − 0.801, p < 0.001), and expected years of schooling (r = − 0.736, p < 0.001). A negative and significant correlation was also observed between the ARI-induced mortality of children under the age of 5 years and GNI per capita per 1000 lives (r = − 0.469, p < 0.001), mean years of schooling (r = − 0.619, p < 0.001), life expectancy at birth (r = − 0.771, p < 0.001), and expected years of schooling (r = − 0.756, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The components of the HDI are directly related to ARI deaths. Therefore, a careful analysis of these indicators in countries with a low HDI can be effective in promoting health and reducing ARI-related mortality in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dispersal processes of anatomically modern humans in Asia during the late Middle to early Upper Paleolithic periods have been a focus of intensive research in recent years through interdisciplinary approaches including genetic, paleoanthropological, and archeological studies. However, sparse datasets, often only available from limited time-space contexts have not produced a satisfactory picture of the vast geographic extension of this continent. This study investigated how the chrono-spatial patterning of lithic technological records, which are widely available across Asia, might contribute to our better understanding of the population dynamics in this period. The study is based on a large database (PaleoAsiaDB) recently developed by the authors to accommodate the relevant datasets, including geographical coordinates of each site and available radiometric dates, for the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods in Asia. Each of the 895 lithic assemblages was characterized in terms of the presence/absence of 24 lithic modes/submodes that were adapted from the work of John Shea to fit our research objective. The dataset was analyzed using exploratory statistical methods, including principal component analysis. The results revealed marked spatiotemporal patterns in technological variability from the late Middle to early Upper Paleolithic periods. Some can be interpreted as a result of modern human dispersal, whereas others are better explained from ecological and other perspectives rather than authorships. Although this study has obvious limitations due to its reliance on the information sourced from the literature, it provides a global synthesis of lithic variability in the crucial period of the dispersals of modern humans on a continental scale for the first time. The results serve as a guide to be tested with evidence from other research strategies, such as genetics and fossil studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Childhood cancers are a significant cause of child deaths worldwide. This study examines the burden of 33 childhood cancers in 183 countries. Methods: The estimates of age‐, sex‐ and country‐wise incidence and deaths due to 33 childhood cancers (below the age 15) for 183 countries were retrieved from GLOBOCAN 2018. The socioeconomic status of a country was measured by human development index (HDI). Results: Globally, an estimated 200 166 cases and 74 956 deaths were attributed to childhood cancers in 2018. The age‐standardised incidence rate (ASIR) was 103 per million, whereas the age‐standardised mortality rate (ASMR) stood at 38 per million. ASIR was highest in high‐income regions (e.g. North America: 182 per million); ASMR, however, was elevated in low‐ and medium‐income countries (e.g. south‐east Asia: 62 per million; North Africa: 51 per million). Leukaemia and brain cancers were dominant cancer groups accounting for 45% of cases and 57% of deaths. The ASIRs exhibited a positive gradient with HDI (R2=0.46). Conclusion: The high burden of childhood cancers (>80% of total incidence) in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) calls for increased cancer awareness, improvement in oncologic infrastructure, international collaborations and twinning programmes, equitable access to multi‐modal treatment and financial coverage of treatment expenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Descriptive norms – conceptualized as the tendency for individuals to initiate given behaviours because significant others are engaged – have been considered helpful in increasing the uptake of physical activity. Yet, the literature pays little attention to the attainment of descriptive norms among the populations with inadequate levels of physical activity such as racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants. Using a representative survey from New York City, this study aimed to address this void. We found at the bivariate level that immigrants and racial/ethnic minorities (i.e., Black, Hispanic, and Asian) had lower levels of descriptive norms than their native-born and White counterparts. Importantly, such disparities were completely attenuated once socioeconomic status was controlled for, except for Asian Americans. Based on these findings, we provided some policy implications. First, intervention programs may need to prioritize the integration of minority populations. Second, there is the urgent need to create avenues for the social mixing of immigrants and racial/ethnic minorities, which may provide them opportunities to interact and network with those who actively engage in physical activity. Finally, it is important to reduce socioeconomic disparities between foreign-born and native-born populations as well as racial/ethnic minorities and their white counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural collectivism, a core feature of honor cultures, is associated with the acceptance of aggression if it is used in the name of so-called "honor." Currently overlooked in the research literature, this study explored perceptions of antigay "honor" abuse in collectivist-orientated honor cultures, where homosexuality, in particular, is considered to be dishonorable. To conduct exploratory and comparative analysis, this study recruited 922 students in four Asian countries (India, Iran, Malaysia, and Pakistan), as well as Asian British and White British students in England. All participants read a brief vignette depicting a man whose relatives verbally abuse him and threaten him with life-threatening violence, after suspecting that he is gay and has joined an online dating website to meet men. Participants then completed a short questionnaire that assessed the extent to which they thought the man's actions had damaged his family's honor and their approval of the antigay "honor" abuse depicted in the scenario. Broadly in line with predictions, data analyses revealed attitudes more supportive of antigay "honor" abuse in all five collectivist-orientated populations than the sample of individualistic-orientated counterparts in England. Notably, however, a series of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) demonstrated that these results varied depending on country of residence, gender, religious denomination, educational status, and age. The findings show that individual and demographic differences influence perceptions toward homophobic "honor" abuse in collectivist cultures. These differences are useful indices of the psychosocial factors that underpin hostile attitudes toward gay males in cultures where homosexuality is denounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for evidence‐based practice, but their development and implementation is resource intensive. We aimed to describe modern RCTs in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer and identify predictors of successful accrual and publication. Materials and Methods: ClinicalTrials.gov was queried for phase III GI cancer RCTs opened between 2010 and 2019 and divided into two cohorts: past and recruiting. Past trials were analyzed for predictors of successful accrual and the subset with ≥3 years follow‐up were analyzed for predictors of publication. Univariate and multivariable (MVA) logistic regression were used to identify covariates associated with complete accrual and publication status. Results: A total of 533 GI RCTs were opened from 2010 to 2019, 244 of which are still recruiting. In the "past" trials cohort (235/533) MVA, Asian continent of enrollment was a predictor for successful accrual, whereas trials with prolonged enrollment (duration longer than median of 960 days) trended to failed accrual. Predictors for publication on MVA included international enrollment and accrual completion. Sponsorship was not associated with accrual or publication. Notably, 33% of past trials remain unpublished, and 60% of trials that were closed early remain unpublished. Conclusion: Accrual rate and the primary continent of enrollment drive both trial completion and publication in GI oncology. Accrual must be streamlined to enhance the impact of RCTs on clinical management. A large portion of trials remain unpublished, underscoring the need to encourage dissemination of all trials to, at a minimum, inform future trial design. Implications for Practice: Two‐thirds of gastrointestinal (GI) oncology phase III randomized controlled trials successfully accrue; however, one third of these trials are unpublished and more than half of trials that close early are unpublished. The strongest predictors for publication are successful accrual and international collaborations. Initiatives to optimize the trial enrollment process need to be explored to maximize the potential for trials to engender progress in clinical practice. Moreover, this study identified a significant publication bias in the realm of GI oncology, and the field should promote reporting of all trials in order to better inform future trial questions and design. Considering the prevalence and aggressiveness of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, it is important to evaluate the current landscape of GI clinical trials on a broad scale to provide a better understanding of current gaps and to identify predictors for successful accrual and publication. This article assesses the situation to identify predictors of successful accrual to and publication of GI clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the effects of 10-h northbound air travel across l time zone on sleep quantity, together with subjective jet lag and wellness ratings, in 16 male professional Australian football (soccer) players. Player wellness was measured throughout the week before (home training week) and the week of (away travel week) travel from Australia to Japan for a preseason tour. Sleep quantity and subjective jet lag were measured 2 d before (Pre 1 and 2), the day of, and for 5 d alter travel (Post 1-5). Sleep duration was significantly reduced during the night before travel (Pre 1: 4.9 [4.2-5.6] h) and night of competition (Post 2; 4.2 [3.7-4.7] h) compared with every other night (P< .01, d> 0.90). Moreover, compared with the day before travel, subjective jet lag was significantly greater for the 5 d after travel (P < .05, d > 0.90), and player wellness was significantly lower 1 d post-match (Post 3) than at all other time points (P < .05, d > 0.90). Results from the current study suggest that sleep disruption, as a result of an early travel departure time (8 PM) and evening match (7:30 PM), and fatigue induced by competition had a greater effect on wellness ratings than long-haul air travel with a minimal time-zone change. Furthermore, subjective jet lag may have been misinterpreted as fatigue from sleep disruption and competition, especially by the less experienced players. Therefore, northbound air travel across 1 time zone from Australia to Asia appears to have negligible effects on player preparedness for subsequent training and competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) for South Asian immigrants is prevalent and has many unique sociodemographic and cultural factors associated with it. Current screening instruments do not address the unique cultural factors associated with IPV in this population. The South Asian Violence Screen (SAVS) is a 14-item screening tool for IPV designed based on the specific demographic and cultural issues affecting South Asian immigrant women in the United States. The tool was validated using the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA), a well-established survey instrument for detecting IPV. The participants in the study included 116 South Asian immigrant women, who were recruited from a medical clinic and two community centers in Chicago, IL. With a prevalence of 23.3% of women reporting physical abuse and 28.4% reporting nonphysical abuse, the negative predictive value of the SAVS compared with the ISA was 0.99 and 0.97 for physical abuse and nonphysical abuse, respectively. When compared with the ISA-physical, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.96 and 0.87, respectively, and when compared with the ISA-nonphysical, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.94 and 0.92, respectively. This study demonstrates that the SAVS is an effective and efficient screening tool in the South Asian immigrant population in Chicago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has explored victim blaming in the context of hate, often depicting hate crime victims as relatively passive recipients of harassment and violence. In reality, victims often do engage with their perpetrators, and the present research explored the effect that victim behavior might have on observer reactions to Islamophobic hate crimes. Participants completed a measure of Islamophobia and read a scenario in which a White man verbally harassed a victim in the park before physically assaulting him. We manipulated both the victim's identity (White or South Asian Muslim) and the victim's response to the perpetrator's verbal harassment (the victim either ignored the offensive comments, verbally reacted to them, or became physically confrontational). When the victim was portrayed as passive and nonresponding, the South Asian Muslim victim attracted lower victim blame, higher perpetrator blame, and increased certainty that the offense was a hate crime. As the victim's behavior became more aggressive, victim blaming increased and perpetrator blaming decreased, but only for the South Asian Muslim victim. It appeared that observers scrutinized the behavior of the South Asian Muslim victim in a way they did not for the White victim, such that sympathy toward the Muslim hate crime victim was tied to his "good behavior." We propose that observers hold expectations of the model hate crime victim, one who is a racialized, religious, or sexual minority who accepts harassment passively and with good behavior; deviation from this script results in a loss of sympathy and an increase in victim blaming. Finally, those higher in Islamophobia displayed reduced perpetrator blame, guilt, and sentences but greater victim blame when the crime targeted a South Asian Muslim as opposed to White victim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistence of schizophrenia in human populations at a high prevalence and with a large heritability estimate despite reduced fertility and increased mortality rate is a Darwinian paradox. This may be likely if the genomic components that predispose to schizophrenia are also advantageous for the acquisition of important human traits, such as language and cognition. Accordingly, an emerging group of genomic markers of recent evolution in humans, namely human accelerated regions (HARs), since our divergence from chimpanzees, are gaining importance for neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia. We hypothesize that variants within HARs may affect the expression of genes under their control, thus contributing to disease etiology. A total of 49 HAR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were prioritized from the complete repertoire of HARs (n = 2737) based on their functional relevance and prevalence in the South Asian population. Test of association using 2 independent schizophrenia case-control cohorts of north Indian ethnicity (discovery: n = 930; replication: n = 1104) revealed 3 SNPs (rs3800926, rs3801844, and rs764453) from chromosome 7 and rs77047799 from chromosome 3 to be significantly associated (combined analysis: Bonferroni corrected P <.002–.000004). Of note, these SNPs were found to alter the expression of neurodevelopmental genes such as SLC25A13 , MAD1L1 , and ULK4 ; a few from the HOX gene family; and a few genes that are implicated in mitochondrial function. These SNPs may most likely alter binding sites of transcription factors, including TFCP2, MAFK, SREBF2, E2F1, and/or methylation signatures around these genes. These findings reiterate a neurodevelopmental basis of schizophrenia and also open up a promising avenue to investigate HAR-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in schizophrenia etiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we performed an inter-laboratory collaborative ring trial to develop and validate specific TaqMan real-time PCR assays for goat-, horse-, and donkey-derived material in meat products. The performances of these assays in different environments and situations were comprehensively evaluated. This ring trial involved the participation of 12 laboratories in Europe and Asia. The results from the participating laboratories were analyzed to determine the specificity, accuracy, false positive rate, limit of detection ( LOD ), and probability of detection (POD ) of the developed assays. Statistical analysis showed that the false positive and negative rates were zero, the LOD was five copies/ reaction, and the laboratory standard deviation ( rr L) was 0. 30 for all three assays. Thus, the results demonstrate that the developed methods are robust and suitable for the detection and identification of goat-, horse-, and donkey-derived materials in meat products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted an epidemiological study to identify the demographics and pre-operative characteristics of patients undergoing primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in a multi-ethnic Asian population. A retrospective study was performed on 696 patients who registered in our ACL reconstruction registry from January 2013 to August 2016. Important inter-ethnic differences were found. Indian patients were significantly older compared to Malay and Chinese patients. Malay and Indian patients were more likely to be male, overweight, and obese compared to Chinese patients. Soccer was the predominant sport involved, although ethnic predominance in specific sports exists. Novel findings from this study include increased prevalence of concomitant chondral injuries in the Chinese population compared to Malays and Indians, and significantly higher rates of concomitant intra-articular injuries in soccer and basketball compared to netball. Identification of these high-risk subgroups would serve useful in guiding the formulation of prevention strategies within our multi-ethnic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the relationship among social and demographic factors and a new case of spreading coronavirus in 24 countries over 88-day period from Jan 31, 2020 to April 27, 2020. This study collected second data from World Health Organisation (WHO)'s and World Bank's database, applied Co-integration test and Causality test for a panel data set. The research provides crucial finding: there is causality between new cases of spreading coronavirus and time to close school too late. Moreover, Asian region, where the studied countries are being increases, new case of spreading coronavirus decrease. Furthermore, classification of income of the research countries is statistically insignificant to new case equivalent to absent association between the changes in the new case of spreading coronavirus and classification of income of the research countries. The spreading COVID-19 can happen everywhere from high income, middle income to low-income countries. Another finding is that late closing school will enhance spreading COVID-19 goes more than one thousand cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this work is to study the response of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of landscapes in the lower Tigris basin to current global and regional climate variability presented, respectively, by the global circulation indices and monthly temperatures and precipitation extracted from five observational/reanalysis datasets. The second task is to find the dataset that best reflects the regional vegetation and climate conditions. Comparison of the Köppen–Trewartha bioclimatic landscapes with the positions of botanical districts, land-cover types, and streamflow estimates led to the conclusion that only two datasets correctly describe regional climatic zones. Therefore, searching for the NDVI response to regional climate variability requires the use of normalized analogs of temperatures and precipitations, as well as the Spearman rank correlation. We found that March/April NDVI, as proxies of the maximum biological productivity of the regional landscapes, are strongly correlated with October–March precipitation derived from three datasets and January–March temperatures derived from one dataset. We discovered the significant impact of autumn–winter El Niño–Southern Oscillation and winter Indian Oceanic dipole states on regional weather (e.g., all five recent severe droughts occurred during strong La Niña events). However, the strength of this impact on the vegetation was clearly linked to the zonal landscape type. By selecting pairs of the temperature/precipitation time series that best correlated with NDVI at a given landscape, we have built a synthetic climate dataset. The landscape approach presented in this work can be used to validate the viability of any dataset when assessing the impacts of climate change and variability on weather-dependent components of Earth's surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To describe and compare the levels of pain severity and pain interference, pain catastrophizing, and associated factors between elderly Koreans living in South Korea and Korean Americans living in the United States with chronic pain. Methods: An exploratory, comparative design was used for this study. A total of 270 individuals (138 Koreans living in South Korea and 132 Korean Americans living in the United States), aged more than 65 years, with self‐reported chronic pain, and defined as at least 3 months of persistent musculoskeletal pain, is included. Outcome variables were pain severity, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing. Multivariate linear regression was conducted to examine factors associated with the outcome variables. Results: In multivariate analysis, Korean Americans had higher levels of pain severity and pain catastrophizing than Koreans. Depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and health‐related quality of life were significant factors for pain severity, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing for both groups. Among those factors, health‐related quality of life was the most significant factor for predicting pain severity and pain interference, whereas depressive symptoms were the most significant factor for predicting pain catastrophizing for both groups. Conclusions: Intra‐ethnic differences in pain severity and pain catastrophizing were found between elderly Koreans living in South Korea and Korean Americans living in the United States. Clinical Relevance: Because unfamiliar sociocultural and environmental factors may influence the pain responses, cultural differences and language barriers should be taken into account in pain research and management strategies for Asian immigrants in the United States. Psychological factors, including depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and health‐related quality of life, should also be considered in chronic pain management for both elderly Koreans and Korean Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reduced hemoglobin concentration has an adverse impact on the ischemic penumbra in patients with ischemic stroke as it causes reduced oxygen delivery to neuronal tissue and predisposes to infarct expansion. There is a paucity of data on the impact of anemia on early functional outcomes. Aims: To determine the association of anemia on early functional outcomes in a cohort of patients with ischemic stroke. Methods: This prospective study was conducted among 190 participants with acute ischemic stroke presenting to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Data were collected on socio-demographic determinants, clinical presentation, co-morbidities, subtype of stroke, and stroke severity (NIHSS score). Early functional outcomes were assessed by the Modified-Rankin-Score (mRS) and Barthel index (BI) within 48 h of the onset. Anemia was defined as Hb <13 g/dl in males and <12 g/dl in females. Results: The mean age of the population was 62.4 years (SD = 11.8). Most participants (75.8%) were males. Anemia was noted in 56.4% of the total study population (59.0% males; 56.5% females) with a mean Hb of 11.7 g/dl. A total of 20% of patients had moderate to severe stroke severity as defined by an NIHSS of ≥16. Functional status assessment revealed that 67.9% had mRS <3 and 85.8% had BI <75. Furthermore, 85.8% had a composite MRS <3 and/or BI 75. Univariate analysis revealed that anemia was significantly associated with "moderate-severe" functional disability. On logistic regression analyses, this retained significance when the functional disability was assessed by mRS >3 (adjusted OR = 2.36; 95% CI = 1.1–5.1). Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curves indicated a Hb% of 10.65 g/dl as the cut-off that would predict stroke-related disability assessed by mRS >3 [sensitivity = 86.7%; specificity = 34.2%; and AUC = 0.659 (P < 0.0001)]. Conclusions: Anemia is an independent determinant of poor functional disability in early acute ischemic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Romosozumab, a sclerostin antibody, exerts dual effect to increase bone formation and decrease bone resorption. Among high-risk postmenopausal East Asian women, romosozumab followed by alendronate was associated with lower incidences of fractures vs alendronate alone. Romosozumab demonstrates potential to address an unmet need in osteoporosis management in Asia. Introduction: Romosozumab, a sclerostin antibody, exerts dual effect to increase bone formation and decrease bone resorption. The global ARCH study demonstrated superiority of romosozumab followed by alendronate in reducing fracture risk in high-risk postmenopausal osteoporotic women vs alendronate alone. We report outcomes among ARCH East Asian patients. Methods: In ARCH, 4093 postmenopausal osteoporotic women with fragility fracture were randomized 1:1 to monthly romosozumab 210 mg or weekly alendronate 70 mg for 12 months, both followed by open-label alendronate. Primary endpoints were incidence of new vertebral fracture (VF) at 24 months and clinical fracture at primary analysis (confirmed fractures in ≥ 330 patients and all patients had opportunity to attend month 24 visit). This post hoc analysis was not powered to detect fracture-rate differences. Results: This analysis included 275 patients from Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan. Romosozumab followed by alendronate reduced risk of new VFs at 24 months by 60% (P = 0.11) and clinical fractures at primary analysis by 44% (P = 0.15) vs alendronate alone. Romosozumab followed by alendronate significantly increased mean bone mineral density at 24 months from baseline by a further 9.0%, 3.3%, and 3.0% at the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck vs alendronate alone. Adverse event (AE) rates, including positively adjudicated serious cardiovascular AEs (1.6% vs 1.4% at 12 months for romosozumab vs alendronate), were similar across treatment groups. Conclusions: Consistent with the global analysis, romosozumab followed by alendronate was associated with lower incidences of new vertebral, clinical, non-vertebral, and hip fractures vs alendronate alone among East Asian patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on an experiment in 28 pediatric hospitals across 14 African and Asian cities. The aim was to examine the effect of a customized spiritually sensitive intervention (SSI) on mitigating depressive symptoms among hospitalized children with congenital heart diseases (CHD). Results showed that post-SSI, 1,139 treatment group children were less depressed vis-à-vis the control group. The SSI was more effective for children from African cities, boys, middle class, Christians and Buddhists, those undergoing medical care for ventricular septal defects, children who stayed in the hospital for 2 to 3 weeks and who regularly self-practiced the lessons after hospital discharge. The SSI could be effectively used for holistic pediatric nursing and health care across contexts with CHD affected children, with some culture-specific variations for greater impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Retrospective exploratory analyses of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) seeking to identify treatment effect heterogeneity (TEH) are prone to bias and false positives. Yet the desire to learn all we can from exhaustive data measurements on trial participants motivates the inclusion of such analyses within RCTs. Moreover, widespread advances in machine learning (ML) methods hold potential to utilise such data to identify subjects exhibiting heterogeneous treatment response.Methods: We present a novel analysis strategy for detecting TEH in randomised data using ML methods, whilst ensuring proper control of the false positive discovery rate. Our approach uses random data partitioning with statistical or ML-based prediction on held-out data. This method can test for both crossover TEH (switch in optimal treatment) and non-crossover TEH (systematic variation in benefit across patients). The former is done via a two-sample hypothesis test measuring overall predictive performance. The latter is done via 'stacking' the ML predictors alongside a classical statistical model to formally test the added benefit of the ML algorithm. An adaptation of recent statistical theory allows for the construction of a valid aggregate p value. This testing strategy is independent of the choice of ML method.Results: We demonstrate our approach with a re-analysis of the SEAQUAMAT trial, which compared quinine to artesunate for the treatment of severe malaria in Asian adults. We find no evidence for any subgroup who would benefit from a change in treatment from the current standard of care, artesunate, but strong evidence for significant TEH within the artesunate treatment group. In particular, we find that artesunate provides a differential benefit to patients with high numbers of circulating ring stage parasites.Conclusions: ML analysis plans using computational notebooks (documents linked to a programming language that capture the model parameter settings, data processing choices, and evaluation criteria) along with version control can improve the robustness and transparency of RCT exploratory analyses. A data-partitioning algorithm allows researchers to apply the latest ML techniques safe in the knowledge that any declared associations are statistically significant at a user-defined level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine subjective depressive symptoms associated with physical pain symptoms (PPSs) in Asian patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Design and methods: Four PPSs, including headache, chest pain, low back pain, and muscle pain, and subjective depressive symptoms were assessed using the Symptom Checklist‐90‐Revised. Findings: Out of 528 participants, 390 (73.9%) had at least one PPS. After adjusting for sex, depression severity, disability, fatigue, physical health status, and mental health status, PPSs were found to be associated with crying easily, blaming oneself, feeling lonely, feeling blue, and worrying too much. Practical implications: Almost three‐quarters of Asian patients with MDD experience PPSs. PPSs are associated with some subjective feelings of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this research, an meta-analysis was performed for assessment of the associations between O6-methyguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter hypermethylation possessing low-grade intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), cervical cancer (CC), and clinicopathological characters of CC. Methods: Literature selection were conducted through searching PubMed, Web of science, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases (up to November 2018). An assessment of associations between MGMT methylation and LSIL, HSIL, CC risk and clinicopathological characteristics was performed through pooled odds ratios (ORs) with relevant 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analyses, meta-regressions and Galbraith plots were conducted to conduct an exploration on the possible sources of heterogeneity. The genome-wide DNA methylation array studies were extracted from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases for validation of these outcomes. Results: In this meta-analysis of 25 published articles, MGMT hypermethylation gradually elevated the rates among control group (12.16%), LSIL (20.92%), HSIL (36.33%) and CC (41.50%) specimens. MGMT promoter methylation was significant associated with the increased risk of LSIL by 1.74-fold (P<0.001), HSIL by 3.71-fold (P<0.001) and CC by 7.08-fold (P<0.001) compared with control. A significant association between MGMT promoter methylation with FIGO stage was also found (OR = 2.81, 95% CI: 1.79–4.41, p<0.001). The results of GEO datasets showed that 5 CpG sites in MGMT with a great diagnostic value for the screening of cervical cancer. Conclusion: The meta-analysis indicated the association between MGMT promoter hypermethylation and squamous intraepithelial lesion and cervical cancer. MGMT methylation detection might have a potential value to be an epigenetic marker for the clinical diagnosis of cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]