bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanical behavior of glass fiber-reinforced hollow glass particles filled epoxy composites under thermal loading
Authors: Paramasivam Anandakumar , Kanny Krishnan , Turup Pandurangan Mohan , Ramachandran Velmurugan
Published: May 2024

The use of hollow glass particle-filled fiber-reinforced composites for aircraft applications requires proper understanding of their behavior under in-service temperature conditions in order to exploit their usage in the exterior parts of aircraft and other space vehicles. In this study, the glass fiber reinforced composites containing 0–30 vol% of glass microspheres were subjected to testing for monotonic tensile and flexural loading from room temperature to the test temperature (40°C – 120°C). The evolution of microscopic damage under different temperatures was elucidated by digital image correlation (DIC) strain fields. The strain fields revealed a transition from homogeneous to non-homogeneous pattern as the temperature increases due to softening of the matrix. As the glass microsphere contents in the matrix increased, the tensile and flexural properties of the composites decreased, and their reduction was highest for the specimen containing a 30 vol% microsphere by volume. The tensile properties are slightly decreased by increasing the temperature. The tensile specimens tested at room temperature exhibited limited delamination and fiber pullout, while extensive delamination and fiber splitting occurred in the specimens tested at 120°C. The flexural results of the glass fiber reinforced composite specimens exposed at 120°C demonstrated a considerable decrease in flexural strength compared with room temperature for 0 vol%, 10 vol%, 20 vol% and 30 vol% glass microsphere volume fraction. Finally, the Weibull parametric investigation was performed to model the degradation of modulus for various GMS contents with temperature variations.
New Psychometric Evidence of the Grief Impairment Scale (GIS) in People Who Have Experienced the Death of a Loved One From a Network Psychometric Approach in Two Latin American Countries
Authors: Caycho-Rodríguez Tomás , Travezaño-Cabrera Aaron , Ventura-León José , Vilca Lindsey W. , Baños-Chaparro Jonatan , Yupanqui-Lorenzo Daniel E. , Valencia Pablo D. , Torales Julio , Carbajal-León Carlos , Lobos-Rivera Marlon Elías , Reyes-Bossio Mario , Barrios Iván , Jaimes-Alvarez Freddy , Lee Sherman A.
Published: May 2024

This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Grief Impairment Scale (GIS) using a network psychometric model. A total of 1048 individuals from Peru and El Salvador participated. A network psychometric model was used to determine internal structure, reliability, and cross-country invariance. The results indicate that the GIS items were grouped into a single network structure through Exploratory Graph Analysis. Reliability was estimated by structural consistency, and it was found that when replicating the network structure within an empirical dimension, a single network structure was consistently obtained, and all items remained stable. Furthermore, the network structure was invariant, thus functioning similarly across the different country groups. In conclusion, the GIS presented solid psychometric evidence of validity based on its internal structure, reliability, and cross-country invariance. Therefore, the GIS is a psychometrically sound measure of functional impairment symptoms due to grief for Peruvian and Salvadoran individuals.
The Military Academy as a Civilizing Institution: A Historical Sociology of the Academization of Officer Education in Sweden
Authors: Larsson Sebastian
Published: May 2024

Throughout history, military officers’ standing in society has been maintained through the establishment and reforming of military academies. Gradually infusing officer education with academic standards and scholarly ideals has helped secure the corps’ status as a legitimate profession. Drawing on Norbert Elias and Pierre Bourdieu, this article explores the “academization” of officer education in Sweden over 200 years. It finds that academization processes have been prominent in the military officer field, first, during 19th-century struggles to establish a state-organized educational system and war science discipline for the emerging profession, and second, during post-Cold War struggles to reinstate the military’s legitimacy and status by integrating officer education in the university sector. It argues that academic capital has been drawn on instrumentally in the officer field, as a means to endow the corps with a wider credibility and, more broadly, justify the existence of violent professions in peaceful societies.
Women’s engagement with the Syrian opposition: Pathways, perspectives, and participation
Authors: Szekely Ora
Published: May 2024

In its early months, the Syrian uprising included a diverse array of participants, including many from communities that the regime had previously assumed to be loyal, whether because of their sectarian identity, where they lived, or family ties to the military. The experiences of women from these communities can shed light on important aspects of the Syrian uprising, and test some of our key assumptions about women’s participation in contentious politics and the gendered aspects of political violence. Based on interviews, this article engages with the work on gender and conflict in examining family connections and political grievances that drew many women to the opposition, the specifically gendered risks that they faced, and the advantages that some women felt their gender and sectarian identities gave them as organizers and activists.
Microstructural analysis of cold-drawn medium-carbon low-alloy martensite: effect of deformation and tempering temperature
Authors: Marinelli María C. , Carazo Fernando D. , Aranda Virginia H. , Bolmaro Raúl
Published: May 2024

Microstructure of cold-drawn (≈ 0.9 effective deformation) medium-carbon steel containing Cr and Mo, was investigated in samples tempered at 923 K (tempering at high temperature [HTT]) and 723 K (tempering at intermediate temperature [ITT]) using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and microhardness. The study revealed distinct features in lath martensite. HTT samples showed reduced dislocation density and larger precipitates compared to ITT samples. After cold drawing, ITT samples exhibited lamellar dislocation cells and cell blocks, while HTT specimens primarily showed cell block structures. Analysis of precipitates revealed changes in orientation after drawing, as well as alterations in both inter- and intragranular precipitate density. ITT samples also displayed higher post-tempering hardness. This analysis provides quantitative insights into the microstructural evolution and mechanical behaviour after tempering and cold-drawing, which can help optimise processes for achieving ultrafine-grained structures.
Detection and quantitation of venous leg edema with the edema ruler and ultrasound
Authors: Calzon Maysen E. , Blebea John , Pittman Christopher
Published: May 2024

Objective: Lower extremity edema is characteristic of C3 chronic venous disease. We developed a new clinical and duplex ultrasound (DUS) methodology for the detection and quantification of leg edema and prospectively evaluated its usefulness. Methods: Forty-seven venous patients (94 legs) were evaluated for ankle edema using an Edema RulerTM and DUS using a modified Suehiro grading scale. Results: Interobserver reliability for the use of the Edema RulerTM was 0.985 ( p < .001) and 0.883 ( p < .001) for the Modified Suehiro Grade. The Edema RulerTM had stronger significant correlations with Edema rVCSS (0.842; p < .001) compared to DUS: (0.474; p < .001) with Edema rVCSS. There were significant differences between the edema pitting depth in CEAP classification of C1 and C2 compared to C3, C4a, and C4c. DUS analysis only had significant differences between CEAP classification C2 and C4a. Conclusions: The Edema RulerTM provides a quantitative measurement of lower extremity edema with high reliability which can be easily integrated into clinical practice. While both methods had good inter-observer reliability, the Edema RulerTM had stronger correlations to Edema rVCSS and showed significant differences in pitting depths between lower CEAP scores (C1-2) compared to higher CEAP scores (C3-4c).
How are the UK Core Cities responding to retail-related challenges in city centres?
Authors: Shahab Sina , Webb Brian
Published: May 2024

City centres and their retail spaces have faced major challenges in recent years, including the rise of e-commerce and out-of-town retail, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current cost-of-living crisis. These challenges, along with other changes to the retail sector, have led to high retail vacancy rates, reduced footfall, and a decline in department stores, particularly in UK city centres that have struggled in recent years to attract sufficient visitors to remain economically viable. Many cities in the UK have prepared strategic plans to respond to the recent challenges of retail spaces of city centres. This paper aims to explore how the UK Core Cities have dealt with these challenges at a strategic level. Through analysing their strategic plans, this paper investigates whether they have acknowledged the major challenges in the retail sector, whilst classifying the strategies that they have adopted to deal with these challenges. The results show that the studied cities have acknowledged the major changes to the retail sector and have adopted various strategies to address retail-related challenges. These strategies can be classified into three categories of temporary interventions, economic and financial interventions, and planning and design interventions. While there are considerable similarities among the adopted strategies, some cities have developed more comprehensive and innovative strategies, particularly in relation to planning and design interventions.
Comparison of clinical effects of coronary artery bypass grafting between left anterior small thoracotomy approach and lower-end sternal splitting approach
Authors: Jinghui Li , Yin Yang , Xiaokaitijiang Muhetaer , Yipeng Tang , Lianqun Wang , Yunpeng Bai , Zhejun Zhang , Nan Jiang , Qiang Wang , Qingliang Chen , Dong Xu , Dongyan Yang , Zhigang Guo , Feng Zhao
Published: May 2024

Objective

To compare the clinical effects of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between the left anterior small thoracotomy (LAST) and lower-end sternal splitting (LESS) approaches for coronary artery disease.

Methods

In total, 110 patients who underwent LAST from October 2015 to December 2020 in Tianjin Chest Hospital were selected as the observation group. Patients who underwent the LESS approach during the same period were analyzed. The propensity score was calculated by a logistic regression model, and nearest-neighbor matching was used for 1:1 matching.

Results

The length of hospital stay and ventilator support time were significantly shorter in the LAST than LESS group. The target vessels in the obtuse marginal branch and posterior left ventricular artery branch grafts were significantly more numerous in the LAST than LESS group, but those in the right coronary artery graft were significantly less numerous in the LAST group.

Conclusions

CABG using either the LAST or LESS approach is safe and effective, especially in low-risk patients. The LAST approach can achieve complete revascularization for multivessel lesions and has the advantages of less trauma and an aesthetic outcome. However, it requires a certain learning curve to master the surgical techniques and has specific surgical indications.
Preoperative diagnosis of frailty
Authors: Hernández-Aguiar Yanira , Becerra-Bolaños Ángel , Rodríguez-Pérez Aurelio
Published: May 2024

The aging world population obliges physicians to establish measures to optimize and estimate the outcomes of increasingly frail patients. Thus, in the last few years there has been an increase in the application of frailty indices. Multiple scales have emerged that can be applied in the perioperative setting. Each one has demonstrated some utility, either by way of establishing postoperative prognosis or as a method for the clinical optimization of patient care. Anaesthesiologists are offered a wide choice of scales, the characteristics and appropriate management of which they are often unaware. This narrative review aims to clarify the concept of frailty, describe its importance in the perioperative setting and evaluate the different scales that are most applicable to the perioperative setting. It will also establish paths for the future optimization of patient care.
Effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiation on anorectal function assessed with anorectal manometry: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Milito Pamela , Piozzi Guglielmo Niccolò , Hussain Mohammad Iqbal , Dragani Tommaso A. , Sorrentino Luca , Cosimelli Maurizio , Guaglio Marcello , Battaglia Luigi
Published: May 2024

Aim:

Improvement in oncological survival for rectal cancer increases attention to anorectal dysfunction. Diagnostic questionnaires can evaluate quality of life but are subjective and dependent on patients’ compliance. Anorectal manometry can objectively assess the continence mechanism and identify functional sphincter weakness and rectal compliance. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is presumed to affect anorectal function. We aim to assess anorectal function in rectal cancer patients who undergo total mesorectal excision, with or without neoadjuvant chemoradiation, using anorectal manometry measurements.

Method:

MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies comparing perioperative anorectal manometry between neoadjuvant chemoradiation and upfront surgery for rectal cancers. Primary outcomes were resting pressure, squeeze pressure, sensory threshold volume and maximal tolerable volume.

Results:

Eight studies were included in the systematic review, of which seven were included for metanalysis. 155 patients (45.3%) had neoadjuvant chemoradiation before definitive surgery, and 187 (54.6%) underwent upfront surgery. Most patients were male (238 vs. 118). The standardized mean difference of mean resting pressure, mean and maximum squeeze pressure, maximum resting pressure, sensory threshold volume, and maximal tolerable volume favored the upfront surgery group but without statistical significance.

Conclusion:

Currently available evidence on anorectal manometry protocols failed to show any statistically significant differences in functional outcomes between neoadjuvant chemoradiation and upfront surgery. Further large-scale prospective studies with standardized neoadjuvant chemoradiation and anorectal manometry protocols are needed to validate these findings.
Population curation: The construction of mutual obligation between individual and state in Danish precision medicine
Authors: Gjødsbøl Iben M , Knox Jeanette Bresson Ladegaard , Skovgaard Lea , Svendsen Mette N
Published: May 2024

How do precision medicine initiatives (re)organize relations between individuals and populations? In this article, we investigate how the curation of national genomic populations enacts communities and, in so doing, constructs mutual obligation between individuals and the state. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Danish National Genome Center (DNGC), we show how members of advisory bodies negotiated the inclusion criteria for two different genomic populations: a patient genome population and an envisioned ‘Danish’ reference genome population. The patient genome population was curated through a politics of inclusion, of as many genomes as possible, whereas the reference genome was to be curated through a politics of exclusion, to include only the genomes of ‘ethnic’ Danes. These two data populations configure differently the community of ‘Danish patients’ who might benefit from precision medicine, and thereby prescribe different moral continuities between person, state, and territory. We argue that the DNGC’s patient genome population reinforces reciprocal relations of obligations and responsibility between the Danish welfare state and all individuals, while the proposed Danish reference genome population privileges the state’s commitment to individuals with biographical-territorial belonging to the nation-state. Drawing on scholarship on social and health citizenship, as well as data solidarity in the Nordics, the discussion shows how population curation in national precision medicine initiatives might both construct and stratify political obligation. Whereas STS scholarship has previously deconstructed the concept of ‘population’, in the context of the troubling and violent effects of the management of human populations, we point to the importance of population curation as a vehicle for making the individual legible as part of a community to which the state is responsible and for which it is committed to care.
(Un)wanted bodies and the internationalisation of higher education
Authors: Waters Johanna L , Adriansen Hanne Kirstine , Madsen Lene Møller , Saarinen Taina
Published: May 2024

In this paper, we foreground the bodies of students and academics in studies of the internationalisation of higher education (IHE) and consider how internationalisation processes are shaped by embodiment and the geographies of (em)placement. Over the past 20 years, IHE has been extensively discussed within academic and policy circles. Such accounts have often been dominated by macro-level concerns. Within these discourses, the international mobility of students and academics have been a central focus. Although scholars within the social sciences are increasingly attentive to the social, cultural, and political dimensions of IHE, there has been little explicit discussion of bodies and the ways in which international mobilities are corporeal, involving in place/out of placeness and the politics and policies governing embodied (im)mobilities. This paper has two main objectives mapping on to two substantive sections. The first is to highlight the importance of the body within recent geographical scholarship and to juxtapose this with a notable absence within IHE research. The second is to consider where the body is present (explicitly or otherwise) in the bountiful literature on IHE and to draw out the meanings of this, arguing that paying attention to bodies exposes the (re)production of exclusionary hierarchies. The paper contributes to a growing corpus of work on the body within geography and extends critical geographies of the internationalisation of higher education.
Numerical investigation on effect of leading-edge deformation to alleviate dynamic stall of pitching airfoil in unsteady flow
Authors: Shojae Fardin J , Karimian S M H
Published: May 2024

Dynamic stall is a serious phenomenon that restricts aeronautical vehicles’ maneuverability. It happens on the blades as their angle of attack increase, especially on the blade of wind turbines. In this paper, two airfoils are investigated in actual conditions. To alleviate dynamic stall the geometries of the airfoils are modified by drooping and rounded leading-edge tip method and also combination of both. To study the effect of the modifications, the unsteady flow fields around the pitching airfoils, numerically simulated using URANS. Results illustrates, in addition to alleviate dynamic stall, the methods enhance aerodynamic characteristics by reducing drag force and preventing sudden jump of lift force, especially at the maximum angle of attack. Finally, a detailed investigation is conducted on the flow behavior around the airfoil to discover the supporting physics behind the improvements made by the present methods. Which revealed that these two passive methods, aim to prevent the formation of leading-edge vortex on the airfoil which finally delays the dynamic stall.
Wind farm power curve characterization under different atmospheric stability regimes
Authors: Gonzalez Joaquin , de Almeida Everton , Gutiérrez Alejandro
Published: May 2024

Wind farm power curves are particularly relevant in different applications. A better understanding of wind farm power curves under different atmospheric regimes is sought. In the present work, the atmospheric stability regime was identified by the vertical gradient of the potential temperature. Vertical profile of the wind velocity presented a clearly different pattern during the stable and unstable regimes. Analysis was performed considering 5 years of data from three wind farms, each corresponding to different mesoscale wind. Power curves are presented as a function of atmospheric stability. For each wind farm, we utilized wind velocity and temperature data measurements of a correspondent near the tower location. Clearly different patterns of wind farm power curves were observed as a function of the stability regime, with clear differences in the dependence of mesoscale wind regimes. For the same mean velocity, wind power production is greater for higher values of turbulence intensity TI.
Acceleration of Superpave Mix Design: Solving Multi-Objective Optimization Problems Using Machine Learning and the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II
Authors: Liu Jian , Liu Fangyu , Wang Linbing
Published: May 2024

The traditional asphalt mix design requires the preparation of many samples to test, which consumes much time and labor. Moreover, selecting aggregate gradation and asphalt content based on individual experience until a mixture’s properties meet a specification is a trial-and-error procedure. To accelerate the current design process and broaden the search range of the design space, this study proposed a fast and cost-saving Superpave volumetric mix design framework to automatically determine the asphalt mix proportion using the prediction ability of machine learning (ML) and Pareto optimal solutions of multi-objective optimization (MOO) problems generated by the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II. Two goals were pursued in the MOO problems, namely material cost and whether the air void (AV) is close to 4%. To transform the Superpave volumetric mix design process into MOO problems, maximum theoretical specific gravity (Gmm) and AV prediction models were developed. To do so, a comprehensive traditional hot mix asphalt design dataset was collected from the literature. With the inputs of binder performance grading, asphalt content, aggregate gradation and density, and compaction work, seven ML models were trained based on the dataset. The results show that gradient boosting and extreme gradient boosting performed the best at predicting the Gmm and AV, with coefficients of determination of 0.93 and 0.86, respectively. The proposed design process was implemented in an actual project and quickly yielded the optimum designs for designing 12.5- and 19-mm nominal maximum aggregate size mixtures. Furthermore, the volumetric properties of these designs closely matched the laboratory-measured values.
Exploring Potential Critical Content of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles for Transportation Engineering Courses: A National Survey
Authors: Hossain Md Mahmud , Zhou Huaguo , Turochy Rod
Published: May 2024

As technology advances, there is a growing demand for understanding the fundamental concepts of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and their relative impact on different aspects of transportation engineering. Various transportation courses are regularly offered in civil engineering programs, including but not limited to an introduction to transportation engineering, transportation planning/modeling, highway design, transportation safety, traffic engineering, traffic simulation, and intelligent transportation systems. Instructors often face challenges in identifying critical CAV topics for these courses, making it necessary to explore critical course content related to CAVs. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify critical CAV topics for different transportation engineering courses and (2) to emphasize upcoming CAV topics crucial for a successful transition into the CAV system. To achieve these objectives, a national survey was conducted among transportation educators and practitioners. The survey was distributed with the assistance of Transportation Research Board Standing Committees to ensure broad participation. Among the 48 respondents from 33 states, faculty members who had already integrated CAV topics into their courses and practitioners were prioritized while estimating the weighted average of each topic. The findings of this research can serve as valuable resources for redesigning transportation engineering courses by incorporating CAVs. The identified high-priority CAV topics can play a crucial role in raising awareness among undergraduate and graduate students about the diversity of transportation engineering and motivating them to explore emerging CAV technologies and opportunities within the field.
Design and Crash Testing of a Surface-Mounted Median Guardrail System
Authors: Sheikh Nauman M. , Bligh Roger P.
Published: May 2024

This paper presents the development and crash testing of a new surface-mounted median guardrail for use on concrete pavements or bridge decks. The research team developed several preliminary design concepts of the median guardrail. Of these, one was selected for further development through component-level testing, simulation analysis, and full-scale crash testing. The researchers constructed a test installation of the new surface-mounted median guardrail and performed Manual for Roadside Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 testing, which involves performing Test 3-10 with a small passenger car and Test 3-11 with a pickup truck. In both tests, the surface-mounted median guardrail successfully contained and redirected the vehicle. The guardrail design passed the MASH evaluation criteria for both tests. The new surface-mounted median guardrail is ready for implementation by user agencies. It could be a good alternative to the much heavier concrete median barriers on bridges where reducing bridge loads is an important consideration and there is room to allow some deflection of the guardrail. Furthermore, because of a lack of median guardrails for use on concrete pavements, the new surface-mounted median guardrail could be a good cost-effective alternative to concrete median barriers placed on concrete pavements.
A High Grade of Postoperative Knee Laxity Is Associated With an Increased Hazard of Revision Surgery: A Cohort Study of 4697 Patients With Primary ACL Reconstruction
Authors: Cristiani Riccardo , Forssblad Magnus , Helito Camilo P. , Edman Gunnar , Eriksson Karl , Stålman Anders
Published: May 2024

Background:

There is still debate regarding the association between arthrometric knee laxity measurements and subjective knee outcome and revision surgery after primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).

Purpose:

To assess whether arthrometric knee laxity (measured with the KT-1000 arthrometer) 6 months after primary ACLR was associated with the 1-, 2-, and 5-year subjective knee outcomes or revision ACLR at a 5-year follow-up.

Study Design:

Cohort study, Level of evidence 3.

Methods:

Patients who underwent primary ACLR with a hamstring tendon autograft at the authors’ institution between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2017, with no concomitant ligamentous injuries, were identified. Anterior knee laxity (KT-1000 arthrometer, 134 N) was assessed 6 months postoperatively. The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was collected preoperatively and 1, 2, and 5 years postoperatively. Patients who underwent revision ACLR at any institution in the country within 5 years of primary surgery were identified through the Swedish National Knee Ligament Registry.

Results:

A total of 4697 patients (54.3% male) with available KT-1000 arthrometer measurements were included (normal: side-to-side [STS] ≤2 mm, 3015 [64.2%]; nearly normal: STS 3-5 mm, 1446 [30.8%]; abnormal: STS >5 mm, 236 [5.0%]). The only significant difference in subjective knee outcome between the groups was for the KOOS Symptoms subscale at the 1-year follow-up (STS ≤2 mm, 79.9 ± 16.2; STS 3-5 mm, 82.5 ± 14.8; STS >5 mm, 85.1 ± 14.2; P < .001). No other significant differences between the groups were found preoperatively or at 1, 2, or 5 years postoperatively for any of the KOOS subscales. The hazard for revision ACLR within 5 years of the primary surgery was significantly higher for the groups with an STS of 3 to 5 mm (6.6%; 95/1446) (hazard ratio [HR], 1.42; 95% CI, 1.07-1.87; P = .01) and an STS >5 mm (11.4%; 27/236) (HR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.69-4.03; P < .001) compared with the group with an STS ≤2 mm (3.8%; 116/3015).

Conclusion:

A high grade of postoperative knee laxity (STS 3-5 mm and STS >5 mm) 6 months after primary ACLR was associated with an increased hazard of revision ACLR within 5 years, but it was not associated with an inferior subjective knee outcome.
‘The coldest of all cold monsters’: Friedrich Nietzsche as a constitutional theorist
Authors: Minkkinen Panu
Published: May 2024

This article asks whether we can identify a vitalistic undertow in Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy that would make sense for contemporary political and constitutional theory as well. The arguments are presented by contrasting Nietzsche’s philosophy with the social theory of Herbert Spencer. After an introduction, the first main part discusses Spencer and his so-called ‘organic analogy’ in which he draws parallels between natural organisms and the body politic. Spencer’s social theory is a paradigmatic example of vitalism and organic state theory and, as a counterpoint, can help tease out Nietzsche’s vitalism as well. The article then examines Nietzsche’s admittedly fragmentary encounters with Spencer and his flirtations with vitalism and organic state theory. In the conclusions, the reconstructed narrative about Nietzsche’s vitalism is linked with Nietzsche’s main philosophical works in the hope of provisionally extracting a Nietzschean ‘constitutional theory’ from his notion of will to power.
The logic of ‘home care time’
Authors: Jönson Håkan , Möllergren Glenn , Harnett Tove
Published: May 2024

The study investigates temporal aspects of home care in Sweden, as experienced and interpreted by older care users. Data consists of 34 interviews with 36 care users and 15 participant observations during home visits by care staff. By focusing on care users’ recalibration of time and events, the analysis identifies a form of interpreted experience – here termed ‘home care time’ – that comprises two governing sublogics – care users’ understanding of themselves as part of the home care organisation, and care users’ empathetic understanding for care staff – where each sublogic evolved from several approaches where care users expressed time empathy, tried to increase time efficiency, or adapted to other care users. Some care users described attempts to take control and influence temporal aspects. Such attempts resulted in adjustments to services at the individual care user's request, but they were also associated with the risk of conflict between care users and care workers. The study addresses the gap in the literature, which mostly studies and theorises care from a care provider perspective. The logic of home care time identified in the study can explain why older people may say they are satisfied with services though poorly performed due to time shortages. This explanation is a corrective to stereotypes that portray older care users as docile and grateful.
Managerial Proactiveness, Frugal Innovation and Firm Performance
Authors: Dost Mir , Umrani Waheed Ali
Published: May 2024

Firms use frugal innovations—affordable, functional and long-lasting solutions—to address issues in developing markets. These innovations aid businesses in providing valuable customer services, opening new markets and achieving sustainable goals that add value and stimulate the economy. However, our understanding of the link between frugal innovation and business performance is limited. To address this issue, the authors used a resource-based view and stakeholder theories to investigate the link between frugal innovation and firm financial and environmental performance and the moderating role of managerial proactiveness. The study analysed data from 580 CEOs in emerging markets, and the findings revealed that frugal innovation significantly enhances a firm’s financial and environmental performance. Managerial proactiveness also moderates the impact of frugal innovation on financial and environmental performance. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical and managerial implications, highlighting the importance of frugal innovation and the role of managerial proactiveness in driving firm performance.
Innovative Pathways to Social Transformation: Disruptive Maintenance Through Social Impact Start-ups in Kerala
Authors: Raqib Mohammed , Khandekar Aalok
Published: May 2024

This article describes an emergent innovation ecosystem in the southern Indian state of Kerala. In contrast to a dominant national imagination of start-ups in India as spaces for the development of novel products with high economic potential, we suggest that start-ups in Kerala exhibit a tendency towards ‘social innovation’, that is, start-ups that are strongly oriented by the goal of addressing particular societal needs in addition to being successful on the market. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with start-up founders and other related stakeholders, as well as media and documentary analysis, we highlight in this essay key characteristics of social innovation in Kerala, including their reliance on tech-fix approaches. We also highlight the central role of the Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM), a state-sponsored nodal agency, as a crucial enabler and shaper of the state’s innovation ecosystem. We further suggest that even as this innovation ecosystem is able to address important societal concerns, it nonetheless bypasses underlying social structures that produce them in the first place. Building on the work of sociologist Cornelius Schubert, we argue that it is analytically productive to interpret social innovation in Kerala as an instance of ‘disruptive maintenance’.
Book review: Anugyan Nag and Spandan Bhattacharya, Tollygunge to Tollywood: The Bengali Film Industry Reimagined
Authors: Pal Soumik
Published: May 2024

Anugyan Nag and Spandan Bhattacharya, Tollygunge to Tollywood: The Bengali Film Industry Reimagined (Hyderabad: Orient BlackSwan, 2021), 214 pp. ₹760, ISBN 978-93-5442-034-4(Paperback).
Understanding Refugees Health Experiences in Host Countries: Three Theoretical Perspectives
Authors: Gepshtein Yana D. , Lee Jung-Ah , Bounds Dawn T. , Burton Candace W.
Published: May 2024

Healthcare providers working with forcefully displaced populations often have limited knowledge and skills regarding the care of this population. The reasons are twofold. First, most of the research on refugee health does not consider refugees’ adaptive skills, diversity of experiences, and daily life context. Second, healthcare providers’ knowledge of how the sociopolitical environment shapes health research and practice in the context of refugee care is often limited. This work aims to specify gaps in refugee healthcare and research by applying a relational approach to three theoretical frameworks. The relational approach supports a pragmatic, in-depth understanding of healthcare practices by shifting the focus of the inquiry from description of social structures toward exploration of processes and relations that propagate and sustain such structures. The focus is on the threefold interaction between refugees, healthcare providers, and healthcare institutions. The three theoretical frameworks are as follows: First, using concepts from the Theory of Practice by Bourdieu, we examine how gaps in care can result from a mismatch between the dispositions and skills that refugees develop through life experience and the cultural–professional practices of healthcare providers in host countries. Second, the Cultural Determinants of Help Seeking by Saint Arnault is applied to posit that gaps in care can result from differences in the meanings that healthcare providers and refugees assign to their interactions. Finally, we use the concept of Othering as described in nursing by Canales to explain how power dynamics inherent in the interaction between refugees and healthcare systems can affect refugee healthcare and research. This relational approach helps to elucidate some of the culture-bound mechanisms of health maintenance and help-seeking and brings attention to the sociopolitical context that shapes the way we care to refugees.
Exploring Potential Ethnic Bias Among MMPI-3 Scales in Assessing Personality Psychopathology
Authors: Shumaker Nicole , Long Tessa , Torres Andy , Mercado Alfonso , Marek Ryan J. , Anderson Jaime L.
Published: May 2024

This study examined statistical bias in the measurement of personality psychopathology in the Latinx population using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3). Data were extracted from two studies that yielded a composite data set of 103 White individuals and 250 Latinx individuals. All participants were administered the MMPI-2-Restructured Form-Extended Battery (MMPI-2-RF-EX) or MMPI-3 and the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 Short Form (PID-5-SF). First, we conducted correlation analyses between theoretically overlapping scales of the PID-5-SF and the MMPI-3 among White and Latinx individuals. The majority of theoretically associated scales were found to be at least moderately associated in the total sample. In addition, Steiger’s z-tests indicated that correlations were similar in magnitude across the White and Latinx ethnic groups. Hierarchical regression subsequently determined the presence of slope and/or intercept bias. Only one analysis (the MMPI-3 Anger Proneness prediction of PID-5-SF Negative Affectivity) indicated statistically significant intercept bias. No evidence of slope bias was found. In other words, these analyses indicated that the vast majority of the relationships between MMPI-3 scales and associated personality psychopathology constructs (as measured by the PID-5-SF) remained consistent across both ethnic groups. Overall, the results supported the appropriate cross-cultural use of the MMPI-3 to assess personality psychopathology.
Enhancement of three isolation optimizations by more reliable estimation of seismic action predominant period
Authors: Morales César A
Published: May 2024

As a large base displacement level is the main drawback of the generally very successful seismic isolation technique, latest optimization procedures for the subsystem at base are focused on the control of that displacement. One family of procedures is based on the existence of one predominant frequency in earthquake excitation, which is evident only if the spectral analysis is performed considering displacement as the input, rather than the common ground acceleration. Nevertheless, recent results, besides corroborating the existence of one predominant period, have produced an improvement in the computation of this single spectral parameter. In this paper, this more reliable seismic predominant frequency is employed in previously successful methodologies to control isolator displacement. The hypothesis is that an enhanced model of the input will result in an improved structural response, which again, it is further reduced base displacements.
Around the World in an Insta(Group): The Potentialities of an Arts-based Online Method
Authors: Fuller Danielle , Rehberg Sedo DeNel
Published: May 2024

This article outlines an innovative method involving an Instagram private chat group with participants from around the world. We illustrate how qualitative methods and arts-based methods in an asynchronous online environment can be useful across disciplines. We analyze the experience of running a two-month-long discussion about reading bestselling fiction with an international group of 16 Gen Z readers to foreground key potentialities of the method. We argue that the flexibility, co-production, and transnational critique aspects in the research process allow researchers to employ a feminist research methodology leading to rich experiences for both the participants and the researcher(s).
Interactions Between Serotonin Transporter Gene and Adverse Childhood Experience in a Generalized Additive Model: A Pilot Study
Authors: Niitsu Kosuke , Lee Chiyoung , Rice Michael J.
Published: May 2024

BACKGROUND:

While most people experience potentially traumatic events (PTEs), including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the stress reactions to PTEs on mental health outcomes are highly heterogeneous. Resilience is influenced by a complex biopsychosocial ecological system, including gene serotonin transporter-linked promoter region or 5-HTTLPR /rs25531 by ACEs interactions.

AIMS:

This pilot study investigated the gene-by-environment interactions on mental health outcomes in adults enrolled in a health care profession program using a generalized additive model (GAM).

METHODS:

Seventy health care college students (mean age = 27.4 years, 67.1% women) participated in this cross-sectional study. Saliva samples were collected from students to analyze 5-HTTLPR/rs25531. Participants completed the ACE Questionnaire and the Mental Health Inventory. GAMs with different interaction terms were built adjusting for age, gender, and race. The value of the effective degree of freedom (EDF) quantifies the curvature of the relationship.

RESULTS:

Among participants with the long allele of 5-HTTLPR/rs25531, a linear pattern was found between the total ACE score and mental health outcomes (EDF = 1). Conversely, among participants with the short allele, EDF was approximately 2, indicating a curved association suggesting that mental health worsens in individuals exposed to up to four types of ACEs.

CONCLUSIONS:

The impact of up to four ACEs on mental health was stronger among individuals with the short allele of 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 than those with the long allele. Although this study does not claim to provide a definite approach to analyzing gene-by-environment interactions, we offer a different perspective to explore the relationship.
Are We Using Ezetimibe As Much As We Should?
Authors: Manolis Antonis A , Manolis Theodora A , Mikhailidis Dimitri P , Manolis Antonis S
Published: May 2024

Lipid-lowering therapies, particularly non-statin regimens, are underutilized as ~2/3 of patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) are not optimally managed, and do not attain target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations, despite statin treatment. Statins have been the mainstay of hypolipidemic therapies; however, they are plagued by adverse effects, which have partly hindered their more widespread use. Ezetimibe is often the first added mode of treatment to attain LDL-C goals as it is efficacious and also allows the use of a smaller dose of statin, while the need for more expensive therapies is obviated. We herein provide a comprehensive review of the effects of ezetimibe in lipid lowering and reducing CV events and improving outcomes. Of the hypolipidemic therapies, oral ezetimibe, in contrast to newer agents, is the most convenient and/or affordable regimen to be utilized as mono- or combined therapy supported by data from CV outcomes studies attesting to its efficacy in reducing CVD risk and events. When combined with a statin, the statin dose could be lower, thus curtailing side-effects, while the hypolipidemic effect is enhanced (by ~20%) as the percentage of patients with target level LDL-C (<70 mg/dL) is higher with combined treatment versus a high-intensity statin. Ezetimibe could also serve as an alternative treatment in cases of statin intolerance. In conclusion, ezetimibe has an excellent safety/tolerability profile; it is the first added treatment to a statin that can attain LDL-C targets. In the combined therapy, the hypolipidemic effect is enhanced while the dose of statin could be lower, thus limiting the occurrence of side-effects. Ezetimibe could also serve as an alternative mode of treatment in cases of statin intolerance.
A Review for Prioritizing Microplastic Regulation and Research: An Integral Approach
Authors: Arredondo-Navarro Andrea , Dronjak Lara , Rovira Solano Joaquim , Navarro-Amador Ricardo , Martinez-Tavera Estefania , Flores-Cervantes Deborah Xanat
Published: May 2024

Microplastics (MPs) are a growing threat to aquatic ecosystems, yet research and regulations often treat all plastics as one homogenous group. This overlooks critical distinctions, leading to regulatory gaps and inconsistent research that hinders risk assessment and environmental modeling. This review proposes a prioritized list of plastic and MP types based on available data. Factors like usage, waste generation, existing regulations, toxicity (including additives and monomers), ease of identification, and degradation mechanisms are considered. We identified polyester, polyamide, acrylic fibers (PES/PA/PAN), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene (PS) as top priorities. The extensive use and short lifespans of single-use PP, PE, and PET products lead to significant waste generation. Except for PE, all prioritized polymers have potentially toxic additives or monomers. PET and PVC pose isolation and identification challenges, while PVC, PET, and PA readily fragment into MPs. Among MP forms, fibers are a top concern due to high production volumes, potential for containing toxic additives, and difficulty in identification. Spherical MPs, primarily originating from direct production, warrant focus for regulatory efforts. Based on the analysis of the available data, we propose recommendations to develop stronger and more relevant regulations and key research opportunity areas to advance our understanding of MPs in the environment. By prioritizing specific plastic types and MP forms, we can achieve greater efficiency in addressing the growing problem of plastic pollution.
PFAS Research in Nigeria: Where Are We?
Authors: Aborode Abdullahi Tunde , Oladoye Peter Olusakin , Ogunleye Seto Charles , Awoyemi Raymond Femi , Ajagbe Abayomi Oyeyemi , Ajibade Samuel Babatunde , Adesola Ridwan Olamilekan
Published: May 2024

The persistence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment and their possible negative health impacts have attracted global attention. In Nigeria, there have been instances of PFAS contamination in many environmental areas, such as water sources. This paper raised concerns regarding limited research of PFAS in Nigeria, potential human exposure, and environmental consequences in Nigeria. This paper examines the present status of PFAS research in Nigeria, the sources from which contamination occurs, the environmental effects, and the implications for human health. This underscores the holes in understanding and areas of focus for study, underscoring the necessity for thorough evaluations of potential risks and regulatory actions to reduce exposure to PFAS and protect public health and the environment in Nigeria.