Conflicts of interest in nutritional sciences: The forgotten bias in meta-analysis

Awareness of conflicts of interest(COI) in medicine began in the 1980 s. More recently, the problem has gained notoriety in nutritional sciences. COI with industry could bias study conclusions in the context of research activities and scientific publications on nutritional sciences. The issue of COI in nutritional sciences deserves more attention and requires careful analyses as biased information can negatively impact the development of dietary guidelines and, ultimately, population health. Decision-making is generally based on available, published evidence, but when the results are ambivalent, it is easier to opt for the status quo and ask for more studies. Readers might wonder if research is subsidized by industry as a counterbalancing strategy based on levels of evidence-only to slow down eminent positions and/or legislation on the food sector? How can this problem be overcome without producing paranoia and Mc Carthyism while trying to be as methodological as possible?

Understanding the pathogenesis of hip fracture in the elderly, osteoporotic theory is not reflected in the outcome of prevention programmes

Hip fractures are an acute and worsening public health problem. They mainly affect elderly people, a population group that is highly vulnerable to disease and accidents, and to falls in particular. Although it has been suggested that osteoporosis is the cause of hip fractures, they mainly occur after a fall has been suffered. The underlying causes of a fall are not related to osteoporosis, although pharmaceutical companies have coined the term "osteoporotic fracture" for hip fractures in the elderly. Drug treatments for osteoporosis have not diminished the frequency of these injuries, nor have they prevented the occurrence of a subsequent fracture. Since pharmaceutical interests require osteoporosis to be considered a disease, rather than a normal condition of senescence, they go further by assuming that treatment for osteoporosis is essential, and that this policy will diminish the incidence of hip fractures. On the other hand, the origin and treatment of conditions that may be conducive to provoking falls are very difficult to elucidate. In this paper, we consider some of the medical and social problems that arise in this area, as well as conflicts of interest regarding the aetiopathogenesis and prevention of hip fracture, and propose a new paradigm for the prevention of falls.

Analysis on Development Pathway of Farmer Organization under the Background of Rural Revitalization

The development of farmer organization will play an important role in rural revitalization. Basic pathways of farmer organization development are excavating common interest,playing the role of farmer elite,cultivating modern farmers and increasing government support. But due to the influences of rural culture tradition and current management system,there exists certain difficulty to meet these conditions to different extents,which decides that benign development of farmer organization will be a long persistence process.

A study on the dilemmas of resource utilization and tourism in Africa

This paper explores,explains and discusses issues around the dilemma between local conservation of natural resources(often,endangered species and habitats)and tourism needs in Africa.Often and in constitutional terms,local people have a right to exploit and use resources endowed in their local area.However,tourists often are interested in viewing the vegetation and animal resources undisturbed.Inevitably,there is an undeclared animosity of values and interests between local communities and tourists and state agencies.As a result,the dilemma is thus of governance.The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the governance dilemma of resource utilization and tourism in Africa in a bid to create an informed stewardship framework for sustainability.This is achieved by way of case studies and narratives from Africa.As such,this paper will be a review literature on how different communities perceive tourism and derive livelihoods from their immediate environment.It also explains how the external factors influence local needs and interests.A more sustainable and operational framework that reduces friction among stakeholders is suggested.

Retrospect on the Thought of Clean Government in History and Today -- Based on the Doctrine of Evil Human Nature of Syun Zih

In recent years,with the accelerating development of the socialist market economy and the process of globalization,corruption has appeared and become more and more serious,causing serious harm to the interests of the state and people,so the construction of a clean and honest government draws people’s attention.The doctrine of evil human nature of Syun Zih explained profound theories concerning the nature of human beings and the view of interest with simple language,from which the origin of the construction of a clean and honest government could be found.As a result,we can have a right starting point,representing the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of people in the long-term exploration.The doctrine of evil human nature of Syun Zih plays an irreplaceable role in the correct understanding and analysis of the construction of a clean and honest government and the construction of the incorrupt government culture.

The Ethics of Therapy Selection in Dermatology

Off-label use of medication is common in many areas of medicine and particularly in dermatology. Off-label use of medication, whether by prescription or use of samples, creates special ethical issues that include informed consent, patient autonomy and the fundamental adage “first, do no harm”. The choice of medication is also influenced by the patient and appropriate use ultimately depends on a thorough discussion of the risks and benefits as well as a mutually agreed treatment plan.

Interest Coordination Mechanism of Green Open Space Development in International Metropolises:Experience from New York City

The development of green open spaces is the key component for cities built for the people and a major initiative to enhance the core competitiveness of Chinese cities.This paper summarizes the research on green open spaces in international metropolitan cities,focusing on public participation,funding mix,and governmental actions.It focuses on the alignment of interests between public,private,and community sectors in New York City's green open space development in a series of case studies.It draws lessons from New York's experience and applies them to Chinese cities and proposes that:private non-government organizations should be introduced to improve the mechanism of major development and governance;real estate development incentives should be optimized to guide the private capital to provide public welfare;and policy innovation in land and property development is imperative in fiscal health and sustainability.

Research of Conflict Situation Management in Medical Organizations

Introduction: Conflicts are as natural a phenomenon in society as the seasons. It is difficult for a person to avoid them, but he can choose to take part in them or not. In any organization, including medical, this is a normal phenomenon inherent in the work of the workforce. The objective of the study was conflicts in the field of healthcare in the system “medical personnel of a healthcare institution, patients and relatives of patients”. Materials and Methods: The study of conflict in the team was conducted by medical and sociological methods using an anonymous questionnaire developed by us. Results: A study was conducted aimed at identifying the socio-psychological causes of conflicts and methods for their resolution in the organization of health care using the example of medical personnel. Conclusions: Conflict is an integral part of the functioning of any organization. The study confirmed the hypothesis that the conflict management process will be more effective when changing organizational processes as a whole.

Variability in conflict of interest disclosures by physicians presenting trauma research

AIM To quantify the variability of financial disclosures by authors presenting orthopaedic trauma research. METHODS Self-reported authorship disclosure information published for the 2012 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons(AAOS) and Orthopaedic Trauma Association(OTA) meetings was compiled from meeting programs. Both the AAOS and OTA required global disclosures for participants. Data collected included:(1) total number of presenters;(2) number of presenters with financial disclosures;(3) number of disclosures per author;(4) total number of companies supporting each author; and(5) specific type of disclosure. Disclosures made by authors presenting at more than one meeting were then compared for discrepancies.RESULTS Of the 5002 and 1168 authors presenting at the AAOS and OTA annual meetings, respectively, 1649(33%) and 246(21.9%) reported a financial disclosure(P < 0.0001). At the AAOS conference, the mean number of disclosures among presenters with disclosures was 4.01 with a range from 1 to 44. The majority of authors with disclosures reported three or more disclosures(n = 876, 53.1%). The most common cited disclosurewas as a paid consultant(51.5%) followed by research support(43.0%) and paid speaker(34.8%). Among the 256 physicians with financial disclosures presenting at the OTA conference, the mean number of disclosures was 4.03 with a range from 1 to 22. Similar to the AAOS conference, the majority of authors with any disclosures at the OTA conference reported three or more disclosures(n = 140, 54.7%). Most authors with a disclosure had three or more disclosures and the most common type of disclosure was paid consulting. At the OTA conference, the most commonly cited form of disclosure was paid consultant(54.3%) followed by research support(46.1%) and paid speaker(42.6%). Of the 346 researchers who presented at both meetings, 112(32.4%) authors were found to have at least one disclosure discrepancy. Among authors with a discrepancy, 36(32.1%) had three or more discrepancies. CONCLUSION There were variability and inconsistencies in financial disclosures by researchers presenting orthopaedic trauma research. Improved transparency of conflict of interest disclosures is warranted among trauma researchers presenting at national meetings.

Migrant Workers' Lack of Cultural Rights and Interests and Government Safeguard Measures

This paper analyses the status quo of migrant workers' lack of cultural rights and interests as follows:the holistic cultural life of migrant workers is scant and monotonous;the cultural facilities provided by the majority of enterprises are critically short;the cultural life of migrant workers has the characteristic of closeness to some extent;the holistic cultural consuming capacity of migrant workers is very low,and they are not satisfied with their own cultural life.This paper puts forward the measures that the government should adopt to make up for the lack of migrant workers' cultural rights and interests as follows:first,it should eliminate discrimination in terms of system,and incorporate migrant workers' cultural rights and interests into the building scope of urban public culture;second,it should establish a variety of free public culture facilities,to adapt to the needs of migrant workers;third,it should formulate various kinds of laws and regulations,to effectively safeguard migrant workers' cultural rights and interests.

Use of non-timber forest products from invasive alien Prosopis species(mesquite) and native trees in South Africa: implications for management

Background: Prosopis species have been introduced to many areas outside their native range to provide benefits to local communities. Several Prosopis species and their hybrids(hereafter "mesquite") have, however, become naturalised and invasive and now generate substantial costs. Management options are limited because of the complex conflicts of interest regarding benefits and costs. Management policies and strategies must take account of such conflicts, but further insights are needed on the dimensions of uses and impacts before such information can be usefully applied. Current policy in South Africa allows for the growth and use of mesquite in one province,but not in others where its control is mandatory. We report on a study to quantify the direct use and perceptions of non-timber forest products(NTFPs) from mesquite and native trees in South Africa.Methods: Semi-structures household interviews were conducted with various stakeholder groups to identify what tree products are used, to ascertain amounts used as well as to gauge perceptions of natural resource use between different tree species and use over time.Results: The direct household use value of native trees was higher than that of mesquite, and local stakeholders attached greater value to products from native trees than from mesquite. Therefore, native trees are and will still be preferentially harvested, and mesquite is unlikely to offer protection to native species by providing an alternative source of products. Mesquite pods do, however, provide valuable additional resources(fodder and medicinal products). The use of both native trees and mesquite is decreasing as the incomes of poorer households rise and as alternative energy sources become available. The benefits and reliance on mesquite are not as high as previously assumed and the impacts from mesquite invasions create large problems for local communities.Conclusion: This study provides further evidence that the impacts of mesquite exceed the benefits, lending support for a policy to reduce negative impacts.

Diagnostic and clinical significance of antigen-specific pancreatic antibodies in inflammatory bowel diseases: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Non-invasive criteria are needed for Crohn’s disease(CD)diagnosis,with several biomarkers being tested.Results of individual diagnostic test accuracy studies assessing the diagnostic value of pancreatic autoantibodies-to-glycoprotein-2(anti-GP2)tests for the diagnosis of CD appear promising.AIM To systematically review and meta-analyze evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of anti-GP2 tests in patients with suspected/confirmed CD.METHODS An electronic search was conducted on PubMed,Cochrane-CENTRAL and grey literature(CRD42019125947).The structured research question in PICPTR format was“Population”including patients with symptoms akin to CD,the“Index test”being anti-GP2 testing,the“Comparator”involved standard CD diagnosis,the“Purpose of test”being diagnostic,“Target disorder”was CD,and the“Reference standard”included standard clinical,radiological,endoscopical,and histological CD diagnostic criteria.Quality was assessed with the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool and hierarchical models were employed to synthesize the data.RESULTS Out of 722 studies retrieved,15 were meta-analyzed.Thirteen studies had industry-related conflicts-of-interest,and most included healthy donors as controls(spectrum bias).For the combination of IgA and/or IgG anti-GP2 test,the summary sensitivity was 20%(95%confidence interval:10%-29%)at a median specificity of 97%.If the test was applied in 10000 suspected patients,9669 would be true negatives and in 26,the diagnosis would be missed.In this hypothetical cohort,the anti-GP2 would fail to produce a diagnosis for 81.3%of the positive cases.Low summary points of sensitivity and high specificity were estimated for the IgG or IgA anti-GP2 test.Analogous results were observed when the analyses were restricted using specific cut-offs,or when ulcerative colitis patients were used as comparators.CONCLUSION Anti-GP2 tests demonstrate low sensitivity and high specificity.These results indicate that caution is required before relying on its diagnostic value.Additionally,the need for improving the methodology of diagnostic test accuracy studies is evident.

Establishing a Social Governance Model Based on Collaboration,Participation,and Common Interests:Value,Structure and Roadmap

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC)put forward the proposal of establishing a social governance model based on collaboration,participation,and common interests,with the aim of developing new approaches to social governance and further modernizing China’s social system and capacity for governance.As a structuralized social relation addressing diversified governance bodies,the model has consolidated the social governance innovations achieved since the 18th CPC National Congress.Focusing on three dimensions—"value,""structure"and"roadmap,"this paper tries to interpret the value connotations and defining features behind the model and explores its development roadmap.Such a social governance model is a response to political,social and public value appeals,and an adjustment to the order of governance bodies,resource allocations and the benefit distribution structure.Its construction is a systematic and long-term project,which should aim continuously at satisfying people’s ever-higher needs,perfecting laws and regulations,cultivating a pool of specialized organizations and talents,exerting the technology advantages of the Internet in governance,and promoting socialization,legalization,specialization and intellectualization in social development.

Selection and Optimization of Path Responding to Unexpected Environmental Incidents in China

By analyzing disposal status of unexpected environmental incidents by government,public and enterprise,and combining the characteristics of unexpected environmental incidents,specific measures of responding to unexpected environmental incidents are proposed from the aspects of perfecting guarantee system of emergency nomocracy,enhancing information disclosure,encouraging public participation,enhancing the construction of emergency response capability,and enhancing post-event management,to improve the ability of defending environmental risk.

Status analysis and control measures of the debt risk in Chinese local government:based on the study of the relationship among“power,responsibility and interests”

From the view of current condition and developing trend of the debt scale in Chinese local government,if it could not be controlled by an effective way,the debt crisis will explode in the near future.According to the regional distribution in our country,except for Beijing,Shanghai,Tianjin and Hainan,the debt risk mainly concentrates in the western region.In a further step,it can be seen that this risk of debt is resulted by the imbalanced relationship among“power,responsibility and interests”which contains none-accordance of debt power(such as debt financing power),confusion of debt responsibility(such as debt management responsibility)and distortion of debt interests(such as the private benefit and the public interests).If we want to correct this problem,the keynote is to prevent the local government’s debt to be used by the purpose of reaching the private interests.Actually,it should play a role that the local debt financing takes to the“faithful”service for the social interests.For realizing this purpose,it should keep eyes on the relationship among“power,responsibility and interests”,which is the most important factor as for setting up the control system of debt risk about our local governments.Particularly,it includes the following aspects.First of all,it should find the right time to empower the local government with the debt power.Secondly,on the basis of both positive and negative sides,it should design a system to restrict the debt responsibility in the local government,in order to solve the problems such as new debt,invalid debt and overdue debt expansion.Thirdly,it should propose the guidance mechanism to realize the convergence from the private benefit to the social interests on the local debt.

Theory and Countermeasures on Stakeholder Governance in Redevelopment of Urban Villages

While urban villages are combinations of interests of different stakeholders,the redevelopment of urban villages is the benefit rearrangement among these stakeholders,whose target is to create values for all stakeholders and the society effectively.The principle of urban village redevelopment is to meet the multiple requirements of all stakeholders and balance the benefits of the dynamic environment.This paper discusses the utilization of theory of stakeholder governance amid urban village redevelopment.It proposes a "four in one" benefit coordination mechanism from the view of city planning.Some valuable policy suggestions on that are also put forward at last.

The mystery of zombie enterprises——‘‘stiff but deathless”

Drawing on social exchange theory,this study uses data on China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2016 to examine why zombie enterprises are‘‘stiff but deathless."We?nd that these enterprises are able to‘‘linger breathlessly"due to government support in the form of increased subsidies and bank loans.The government is more inclined to grant subsidies to zombie companies that assume greater policy burdens,speci?cally those offering more jobs.Furthermore,an enterprise’s property rights do not in?uence the level of‘‘blood transfusions"received,and government assistance fails to bolster operating effciency or value.This phenomenon is further explored in the context of the incentives local government offcials have to maintain employment stability.Our conclusions highlight the necessity and urgency of cleaning up zombie enterprises.

Weighing the Public Interest in the Disclosure of Government Information

Disclosure of government information involves the interests of the applicant, third parties and the public. Both systems for assessment of the public interest and the lessening importance of the applicant＇s qualifications make public interest the principal driver for disclosure of information. Exemptions to disclosure contain an implicit public interest. In conflicts between opposing interests over disclosure and non-disclosure, public interest is the key to balancing interests. Public interests supporting disclosure are related to such values as the right to know, democracy and public participation, whereas the interests supporting non-disclosure tend to be implicit in the exemptions to disclosure. Multiple interest entities and the two-sidedness of public interest increase the complexity of weighing the interests involved. Full and comprehensive analysis of interests and the exclusion of unrelated considerations are the premise for assessment of interests. Prioritizing the public interest and prioritizing openness are institutional values of the laws on disclosure of information and the fundamental principle for assessing interests.

The effect of affiliated analysts on stock recommendations: Evidence from share pledges in China

We use the share pledge context in China to examine how affiliated analysts whose securities companies are pledgees of share pledge firms issue stock recommendations on these listed firms.We find that their recommendations are more optimistic than those of non-affiliated analysts,and they are more likely to issue Buy and Add recommendations,suggesting that they issue optimistic rating reports for share pledge firms due to their conflicts of interest.We also find a dynamic adjustment in the stock recommendation behavior of these analysts,and their probability after issuing optimistic stock recommendations is significantly reduced before and after the years that the affiliation relationship between them and share pledge firms both began and ended.These affiliated analysts continue to issue optimistic stock recommendations after visiting the share pledge firms if they work in the same location as the firms,or if they are star analysts among New Fortune’s‘‘top five analysts,"and when the information transparency of the share pledge firms is higher.In addition,the optimistic stock recommendation behavior of affiliated analysts is more significant in our sample of firms with high share pledge ratios and downward stock price pressure.The earnings forecast quality of affiliated analysts is also found to be lower,and they are less inclined to downgrade stock recommendations for these share pledge firms.Buy recommendations issued by both nonaffiliated and affiliated analysts can bring cumulative excess returns in the short event window,but those issued by affiliated analysts are significantly negative in the long-term event window,and significantly lower than those issued by non-affiliated analysts.Overall,our study shows that affiliated analysts issue optimistic rating reports on share pledge firms due to conflicts of interest,which leads to decision-making bias in investors and thus decreases the stock price crash risk of the firms.Our findings further reveal the economic consequences of share pledging and extend our understanding of the behavior of analysts in a conflict of interest situation from the share pledge perspective.

咸海变迁——危机和现状

咸海曾是世界第4大湖。20世纪60年代开始,由于农业灌溉需求,咸海流域各地区大量从阿姆河和锡尔河调水,从而导致咸海快速缩小、水面降低、水质恶化。到21世纪初,湖面已缩减到原来的1/8,干涸的湖底成为盐碱度很高的盐漠,生物物种大量减少,生态环境恶化造成生态危机。中亚国家独立后,阿姆河与锡尔河上下游地区由于缺水产生了矛盾,进而严重影响了国家之间的关系。虽进行了多次协商,但最终中亚国家未能对咸海水资源危机提出一致的解决方案。随后,哈萨克斯坦独自开展针对咸海的保护措施,挽救了咸海北部的部分水体;乌兹别克斯坦近年来也开始在咸海危机治理方面采取积极态度。目前,学术界主流意见是,咸海危机是人为的,不宜将其与全球气候变化相联系。咸海危机由于治理和地下水的补给有所缓和,虽不会像预测中的那样完全消失,但最终能够恢复到什么程度还有很大的不确定性。本文通过对咸海危机的历史、现状和前景做了较完整的论述,以期为我国西北干旱环境治理提供科学参考。