bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construction of real-time deviation electric quantity control model for regional electricity spot market
Authors: Zhu Dongge , Ma Rui , Xia Xuwei , Zhang Shuang , Liu Jia
Published: July 2022

Aiming at the problems of poor control accuracy and long time consuming in traditional deviation electric quantity control methods, a real-time deviation electric quantity control model design for regional electricity spot market is proposed. Through the base electric quantity, generation side electric quantity and consumption side electric quantity, the electricity market assessment and settlement results are obtained. The Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the generation of user-side load scenarios and the corresponding scenario probability, set electric quantity assessment and settlement constraints, verify the actual total electric quantity consumption of all users in the current month, the actual total interactive electric quantity and the actual total exchange market electricity, and obtain the actual total base electric quantity of the current month. Calculate the difference between the actual electric quantity and the planned electric quantity, determine the allowable range of real-time control deviation electric quantity, and use the rolling compensation method to control the electric quantity consumption side. The experimental results show that the proposed model has an error of only 1% for real-time deviation electric quantity control in the regional electricity spot market, and the control time is short.
Can ENGLAND'S National Health System Reforms Overcome the Neoliberal Legacy?
Authors: Bayliss Kate
Published: July 2022

England’s National Health Service (NHS) is in the process of major reform as old institutional structures based around an internal “market” are being replaced with integrated care systems. The changes represent a significant shift in ethos away from commercialisation to collaboration between health providers. But the way that these policies unfold will depend on the context within which they are implemented, and three decades of neoliberal reforms have left their mark on the structure of the health system. This paper shows how a powerful, politically-connected financialised private sector has evolved alongside a weakened public system, depleted further by the pandemic. While the share of overall public health spending reaching the private sector has not increased greatly over the past decade, private financial investors are strongly embedded in some segments of health delivery, particularly mental health services where shareholder returns are boosted by financial engineering. The boundaries between private and public are increasingly blurred with the NHS treating private patients and self-payment for health services is increasingly normalised. Rather than traditional privatisation, the health system is facing a more subtle and pernicious erosion of public services across different dimensions which seems likely to continue despite the new reforms.
Working for peace: Conflict and social work practice in the divided Cyprus
Authors: Ioakimidis Vasilios , Neocleous Gregory , Zachariades Agamemnonas , Serin Hanife , Erzeybek Buse , Ozada Ayse
Published: July 2022

This article focuses on social work professionals from both sides of divided Cyprus. Cyprus presents a very interesting, yet under-explored, case study as it remains an island de facto divided. The division has resulted in the physical and political separation of the two most populous ethnic communities (Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots) for over 50 years. This article offers an exploration of the views of social workers on both sides. Through a quantitative approach, participants in the study were able to express their thoughts and beliefs on the ‘other’ and on social work in a post-conflict environment.
Federalism and the Governance of Contested Capital Cities: Comparing Addis Ababa and Brussels
Authors: Gemechu Milkessa Midega
Published: July 2022

Federal principles do not encourage the dominance of a single locus of power. This is regarded as one of the federal glues that maintain a healthy equilibrium in a federation. By focusing on Brussels and Addis Ababa—the capitals of Belgium and European Union, and Ethiopia and African Union, respectively—this article examines the governances of contested federal capital cities that transcend national politics. The article uses “contested conditions”—historical and contemporary intranational and supranational rivalries and cooperation—to argue that rather than diffusing powers to promote alternative capitals, federalism appears to have enhanced competition over the existing “primate” capital cities.
The Global Need for Easy and Valid Assessment Tools for Orofacial Pain
Authors: Lobbezoo F. , Aarab G. , Kapos F.P. , Dayo A.F. , Huang Z. , Koutris M. , Peres M.A. , Thymi M. , Häggman-Henrikson B.
Published: July 2022

The World Health Organization recently adopted a historic resolution (WHA74.5) on the urgent need for global oral health improvement. This resolution is particularly relevant in the perspective of the high prevalence of untreated oral diseases. However, one important aspect has been mentioned only in passing, namely that poor oral health often leads to orofacial pain, which is the most common reason for emergency dental visits worldwide. Therefore, an evidence-based decision-making process on oral health should include data related to orofacial pain complaints. To that end, the availability of reliable and valid assessment tools of orofacial pain and related treatment outcomes is essential. INfORM (International Network for Orofacial Pain and Related Disorders Methodology) of the International Association for Dental Research has been one of the driving forces behind the development and implementation of comprehensive sets of tools for such assessments. However, as a prerequisite for the desired global implementation, reliable and valid tools that are also brief, easy to translate, and culturally adaptable need to be further developed and tested. Some of the groundwork to facilitate this process has already been carried out. In addition, a working group within INfORM has developed a short clinical assessment tool for orofacial pain diagnostics that is near completion and will soon be ready for dissemination. Ultimately, reliable and valid orofacial pain assessment is a necessary step toward the development and implementation of appropriate “best buy” interventions that address this major driver of need for oral health care worldwide.
Introducing a new dataset on Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO)
Authors: Tominaga Yasutaka , Lee Chia-yi , Lyu Mengting
Published: July 2022

This article introduces a new dataset, Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO), which details every terrorist organization designated or sanctioned by two IGOs and 148 state governments, as well as the timing of each designation. The DTO includes 281 terrorist groups that have been officially designated by at least one IGO or state government as well as 223 other active terrorist groups that have never been designated. The DTO has a dyadic structure that offers information on both the designating country and the designated group, such as the base location and past activities. We present some trends and patterns of terrorist designation over time and across countries and apply the DTO to analyze the impact of terrorist designation on groups’ attacks. Our preliminary findings show that terrorist designation is negatively associated with terrorist attacks, although the effect only appears in an earlier period.
Range in the Use and Realization of BIN in African American English
Authors: Green Lisa , Yu Kristine M. , Neal Anissa , Whitmal Ayana , Powe Tamira , Özyıldız Deniz
Published: July 2022

This paper jointly considers syntactic, semantic, and phonological/phonetic factors in approaching an understanding of BIN, a remote past marker in African American English that has been described as “stressed.” It brings together data from the Corpus of Regional African American Language (CORAAL) and a production study in a small African American English-speaking community in southwest Louisiana to investigate the use and phonetic realization of BIN constructions. Only 20 instances of BIN constructions were found in CORAAL. This sparsity was not simply due to a dearth of semantic contexts for BIN in the interviews, since 122 instances of semantically equivalent been + temporal adverbial variants were also found. These results raise questions about the extent to which BIN constructions and been + temporal adverbial variants are used in different pragmatic and discourse contexts as well as in different speech styles. The production study elicited BIN and past participle been constructions in controlled syntactic and semantic environments. The phonetic realization of BIN was found to be distributed over the entire utterance rather than localized to BIN. BIN utterances were distinguished from past participle been utterances by having higher ratios of fundamental frequency (F0), intensity, and duration in BIN/ been relative to preceding and following material in the utterance. In both studies, BIN utterances were generally realized with a high F0 peak on BIN and a reduced F0 range in the post- BIN region, with variability in the presence and kinds of F0 movements utterance-initially and utterance-finally, as well as in F0 downtrends in the post- BIN region.
Cultural Models of Contention: How Do the Public Interpret the Repertoire of Contention?
Authors: Gøtzsche-Astrup Johan , Gøtzsche-Astrup Oluf
Published: July 2022

The literature on contention tends to conflate contentious actions and audience’s interpretation of those actions. This is problematic because interpretation is central to how contention unfolds and brings about social change. We theorise that interpretation is patterned by one or more cultural models of contention. These provide background assumptions about what actions count as political and what actions are legitimate. We show the fruitfulness of our approach in two survey studies of 1429 US citizens. It allows us to explore patterns in how the US public interpret contention. Furthermore, we investigate how interpretation varies across political and apolitical contexts, finding little variation between these. Finally, we study heterogeneity in how the public interpret contention, finding variation between individuals but also shared patterns. The article contributes to the literature on contention by providing a theoretical framework to study the public’s interpretation of contention and a fine-grained empirical analysis of this interpretation.
Novel antimicrobial finishing of organic cotton fabrics using nano-emulsions derived from Karanja and Gokhru plants
Authors: Venkatraman Prabhuraj D. , Sayed Usha , Parte Sneha , Korgaonkar Swati
Published: July 2022

Plant-based antimicrobial finishing of textiles is comparable in efficacy, can replace synthetic antimicrobial agents, and is environmentally safe and effective. However, developing durable antimicrobial finishes on cotton-based textiles is a challenge. This research reports the development and characterization of nano-emulsions obtained from Karanja [ Milletia pinnata] and Gokhru [ Pedalium murex Linn] plants. The nano-emulsions were produced using Milletia pinnata, coconut oil, and curry leaves (nano-emulsion 1) and Pedalium murex, coconut oil, and curry leaves (nano-emulsion 2). The nano-emulsions were characterized for their thermal stability, particle size, pH, and percentage add-on. Two different oils, with surfactant (polysorbate) ratios [1:1 and 1:2], were finished on organic cotton fabrics using a batch process. Scanning electron microscopy images were evaluated to determine the surface morphology of the finished fabrics, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry images of nano-emulsions were studied to determine the specific chemical constituents of nano-emulsions 1 and 2. The finished fabrics were evaluated for their antimicrobial resistance using various gram-positive bacteria [ Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis], which are found on human skin and cause nosocomial infections, gram-negative bacteria [ Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae], which cause urinary tract infections, and fungi [ Aspergillus niger]. The antimicrobial resistance was in the range of 98.62–99.87%, even after 10 washes, indicating that the finishes were effective and durable. The finished and unfinished fabrics were also evaluated for their performance properties, tensile strength, and moisture vapor transmission rate, and the results indicated good durability and comfort characteristics. Our findings highlight the potential of plant-based antimicrobial agents for durable finishing of cotton textiles with antimicrobial properties, thus preventing the spread of infections.
Block pattern design system using 3D zoning method on digital environment for fitted garment
Authors: Kulińska Maria , Abtew Mulat A , Bruniaux Pascal , Zeng Xianyi
Published: July 2022

The 2D pattern-making methods which are entirely based on body measurements are widely used and practiced to design garments in today’s digital environment. Such a method is highly criticized due to a lack of consideration for the body's different morphological and anthropometric data. However, such a method would be effective with many precise and repetitive adjustments and with the help of manual expert know-how. For the last few decades, designers have also used a garment designing technique that is carried out directly on a physical mannequin or fashion model, called the draping technique. The current study is devising and implementing a digital garment design technique in the 3D pattern-making process to create and fit the human body morphology in a 3D digital environment. This technique is based on the analysis of 2D pattern-making methods used by model makers. It also highlights the morphological contour and anthropometric links that have been used to develop a similar method in a 3D environment. However, the proposed methods are performed directly on the 3D wearer's morphology as in the manual 3D draping techniques, which avoids morphological interpretation errors. Such a process helps to control the fit of the 3D garment by determining the ease allowance. Besides, the methods integrated a 3D zoning technique to improve the 3D modelling and to ensure the best possible drape and analysis between the garment and the wearer's body. Further work is required to validate the block pattern for general application based on various parameters including fabric, garment style, body position, etc.
Classifying fabric defects with evolving Inception v3 by improved L2,1-norm regularized extreme learning machine
Authors: Zhou Zhiyu , Yang Xingfan , Ji Jiangfei , Wang Yaming , Zhu Zefei
Published: July 2022

To improve efficiency and classification accuracy, and overcome the issue of poor generalization performance of traditional fabric defect classification methods, we present a new fabric defect classification algorithm with evolving Inception v3 by improved L2,1-norm regularized extreme learning machine. Herein, first, the features of fabric images are extracted using Inception v3, which reduces the amount of computation and improves the accuracy of feature extraction. Second, an L2,1-norm regularization extreme learning machine algorithm based on multi-verse optimizer–Henry gas solubility optimization, called MHL21-RELM, is proposed. The proposed algorithm solves the problems of the low classification accuracy of the traditional ELM and prevents the algorithm from easily falling into the local optimal solution. Next, instead of SoftMax, MHL21-RELM is used as the classification network layer of Inception V3, and a new fabric defect classification algorithm named Inv3-MHL21-RELM is proposed to enhance the fabric defect classification performance. Finally, the performance of our algorithm is verified by experiments on different fabric defect datasets. The proposed method achieves 97.29% classification accuracy with the Textile Texture Database; it achieves a 6–30% improvement in classification accuracy compared with other traditional fabric defect classification methods, thus effectively improving the classification accuracy of fabric defects. In addition, this method achieves good classification results with different types of fabric defect datasets, thereby showing strong generalization.
Effect of pH on the physicochemical properties of 2-dimethylaminoethyl starch and its desizability
Authors: Zhang Xun , Bismark Sarkodie , Zhu Zhifeng
Published: July 2022

Tertiary amine groups can exhibit and lose cationic properties at different pH levels, and this group can be introduced to starch chains to satisfy the demand for sizing and desizing. However, the effect of pH on tertiary amine groups in toughening starch film and improving adhesion is still unclear. Therefore, 2-dimethylaminoethyl starch (DMAES) was prepared via tertiary aminated starch with 2-dimethylaminoethyl chloride hydrochloride. The influences of pH on the mechanical properties of DMAES films and the adhesion to cotton fiber were investigated. In addition, the desizability and biodegradability of DMAES were measured. It was found that introducing the group of 2-dimethylaminoethyl could toughen the starch film and increase the adhesion to cotton fiber. DMAES has a higher zeta potential and the adhesion to cotton fibers in acidic conditions than in alkaline conditions. In addition, it is easy to remove the DMAES from the yarns and obtain higher desizing efficiency with alkali desizing. Tertiary amination of starch with the 2-dimethylaminoethyl group was a good way for starch to improve adhesion and obtain a higher desizing efficiency.
Consuming ‘authenticity’? Reinterpreting the ‘new middle class’ in China through the lens of retailing changes
Authors: Cao Liu
Published: July 2022

If gentrification is occurring globally, we must understand the uneven intervention of globalisation in the production of a (global) gentrifier class. This paper adopts a comparative perspective to investigate the ‘new middle class’ within China’s urban context. Through the critical examination of subtle retailing changes, it discusses how recent place-making strategies have fabricated the aura of ‘authenticity’ built upon the history of traditional residential neighbourhoods, attracting gentrifiers, whose consumption practices have transformed the retail space of a gentrified historic neighbourhood. Using Nanjing as a case study by employing qualitative research methods, this study shows that the Chinese new middle classes have yearned for modern and elitist lifestyles, with a preference for consuming Western-style goods to manifest their distinctive tastes and social status. This paper’s research findings propose the concept of Xiaozi consumption, a specific term that challenges Western-developed concepts of ‘consuming authenticity’ by highlighting the planetary indigeneity of gentrification in the Global South.
Latinx Adolescent Perspectives on the Effects of United States Immigration Policy on Wellbeing
Authors: Raymond-Flesch Marissa , Comfort Megan , Auerswald Colette L. , McGlone Linda , Chavez Marisol , Comas Sophia , Browne Erica N. , Minnis Alexandra M.
Published: July 2022

In a prospective cohort study of Latinx adolescents living in an agricultural county in California, we examined perceptions of federal immigration policy and its effects on community and individual wellbeing. From May to December 2017, 565 youth responded to an open-ended item integrated into ongoing surveys. Median age was 14 (range 13–16 years), 53% female, and 94% Latinx. About 12% were immigrants, 71% children of immigrant parents, and 52% had a parent employed in farm work. Most (78%) indicated they directly experienced or observed effects of current federal immigration policies. Adolescents described anti-immigrant sentiment as heightening discrimination, isolation, fear, and mental health changes. They also perceived constraints on future educational and employment opportunities. These findings suggest that the federal immigration policy environment can negatively impact the wellbeing of youth in Latinx communities and that immigration policy should be considered a social determinant of health.
Exploring Associations of Positive Relationships and Adolescent Well-Being Across Cultures
Authors: Chue Kah Loong , Yeo Amelia
Published: July 2022

A recurrent dimension occurring in wellbeing models pertains to positive relationships of individuals. Yet there is little information elucidating the link between positive relationships and subjective wellbeing in different cultures. Thus, the aims of this paper were (1) to examine whether there is an association between positive relationships and adolescent wellbeing across several culturally distinct countries and (2) explore whether the association between positive relationships and adolescent wellbeing differed for these countries along the cultural dimensions of individualism/collectivism and indulgence/restraint. Well-being measures were obtained from the large-scale assessment PISA 2018 and cultural dimensions indices were obtained. The results provide compelling evidence that positive relationships are positively associated with both affective and eudemonic wellbeing. Furthermore, there may be a greater association between positive relationships and positive affect in collectivist-indulgent countries than in collectivistic restraint countries. The study furthers our understanding of adolescent wellbeing across different cultural dimensions.
Assessing the Impact of the Great Recession on the Transition to Adulthood
Authors: Hong Guanglei , Chung Ha-Joon
Published: July 2022

The impact of a major historical event on child and youth development has been of great interest in the study of the life course. This study is focused on assessing the causal effect of the Great Recession on youth disconnection from school and work. Building on the insights offered by the age-period-cohort research, econometric methods, and developmental psychology, we innovatively develop a causal inference strategy that takes advantage of the multiple successive birth cohorts in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997. The causal effect of the Great Recession is defined in terms of counterfactual developmental trajectories and can be identified under the assumption of short-term stable differences between the birth cohorts in the absence of the Great Recession. A meta-analysis aggregates the estimated effects over six between-cohort comparisons. Furthermore, we conduct a sensitivity analysis to assess the potential consequences if the identification assumption is violated. The findings contribute new evidence on how precipitous and pervasive economic hardship may disrupt youth development by gender and class of origin.
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae infection presenting as endocarditis and liver abscess
Authors: Hamide Abdoul , Mahapatra Rima , Noronha Adrian Keith , Kandan Balamurugesan , Shankar Chaitra , Veeraraghavan Balaji
Published: July 2022

Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae infection, reported commonly from South-east Asia, is predominantly community-acquired and affects young healthy adults. Although abscesses of liver, brain and muscles, endophthalmitis or osteomyelitis have been reported, Infective endocarditis is a rare manifestation. This report illustrates a patient with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus who presented with clinical features of liver abscess with an incidental finding of infective endocarditis. Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae, which was isolated from blood culture of the patient carried the plasmid borne key virulence markers- rmpA and rmpA2 with enterobactin ( entB), type 3 fimbriae ( mrkD) and was of K1 type and ST3321, an uncommon clone of Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae. Transthoracic Echocardiography showed multiple mobile vegetations attached to mitral valve and posterior wall of left ventricle. With appropriate antibiotics blood cultures turned sterile, liver abscess and cardiac vegetations reduced in size. Mitral Valve replacement surgery was proposed. He declined treatment and succumbed to the infection subsequently.
Cutaneous and ocular manifestations in Indian children with neurocutaneous syndromes: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Mukherjee Swetlana , Gunasekaran Pradeep Kumar , Saini Lokesh , Saini Arushi Gahlot , De Dipankar , Malhi Prahbhjot
Published: July 2022

The phenotypical profile of cutaneous and ocular manifestations in neurocutaneous syndromes is inconstant. We made a cross-sectional study over 18 months of children with neurocutaneous syndromes aged between 1–15 years. A varied presentation was found. Attention to both the typical but also the rare atypical presentations enhances an early identification of the disorder and therefore opportune management.
Fault monitoring of batch process based on multi-stage optimization regularized neighborhood preserving embedding algorithm
Authors: Zhao Xiaoqiang , Liu Kai , Hui Yonyong
Published: July 2022

Batch process is an important type of industrial production process, and the process mechanism is complex. It is difficult to accurately describe the dynamic changes of the production process of multi-stage time-varying batch process. In addition, the data of batch process contain not only global information but also local information. The traditional neighborhood preserving embedded algorithm is used to maintain the local geometric structure of data while ignoring the global information, and the extracted latent variables cannot fully characterize batch process. Therefore, we propose a multi-stage optimization regularized neighborhood preserving embedding (ORNPE) algorithm. First, the multiple process stages are separated by affinity propagation (AP) algorithm. Second, based on maintaining local information of neighborhood preserving embedding algorithm, slow feature analysis algorithm is used to extract dynamic time-varying global information. Then, cross-entropy is used to optimize the global information, and the extraction ability of the global information is improved. Finally, a monitoring index based on support vector data description is constructed to eliminate adverse effects of non-Gaussian data for monitoring performance. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed algorithm based on monitoring strategy are illustrated by the penicillin fermentation process and a semiconductor industry process.
From green to turquoise: Exploring age and socioeconomic status in the acquisition of color terms
Authors: Scott Molly E. , Kanero Junko , Saji Noburo , Chen Yu , Imai Mutsumi , Golinkoff Roberta M. , Hirsh-Pasek Kathy
Published: July 2022

Previous research demonstrates that children delineate more nuanced color boundaries with increased exposure to their native language. As socioeconomic status (SES) is known to correlate with differences in the amount of language input children receive, this study attempts to extend previous research by asking how both age (age 3 vs 5) and SES (under-resourced vs advantaged) might impact color name acquisition of preschool children. The results confirm the findings of previous research, showing that older children labeled the color continuum more accurately than did younger participants. In addition, we found that while SES did not make a difference in how children labeled the continuum using basic color terms (e.g. blue), basic color terms with achromatic modifiers (e.g. light blue), and compound terms (e.g. blueish-green), 5-year-olds from more advantaged economic environments used significantly more non-basic color terms (e.g. turquoise) compared to their counterparts from under-resourced environments. We suggest that, as children hear more non-basic terms, these world-to-word mappings become solidified, and exposure to such labels may contribute to the timing of when children can map those terms to the color continuum.
Action Observation and Motor Imagery administered the day before surgery enhance functional recovery in patients after total hip arthroplasty: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Temporiti Federico , Ruspi Alessandra , De Leo Davide , Ugolini Alberto , Grappiolo Guido , Avanzini Pietro , Rizzolatti Giacomo , Gatti Roberto
Published: July 2022

Objective

To investigate the effects of Action Observation and Motor Imagery administered the day before surgery on functional recovery in patients after total hip arthroplasty.

Design

Randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Milan, Italy

Participants

Eighty inpatients with end-stage hip osteoarthritis undergoing total hip arthroplasty.

Interventions

All patients followed a standardized postoperative rehabilitation program. Experimental group (AO + MI) performed two 12-minute Action Observation and Motor Imagery sessions on the preoperative day, whereas control group underwent usual care consisting of education without any additional preoperative activity.

Outcome measures

A blinded physiotherapist assessed participants for functional mobility (Timed Up and Go – TUG) (primary outcome), maximum walking speed (10-Meter Walk Test – 10MWT), pain (Numeric Pain Rating Scale – NPRS) and fear of movement (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia – TSK) the day before and at four days after surgery.

Results

No between-group differences were found at baseline. Although TUG and 10MWT worsened in both groups ( p < 0.001), better TUG was found for AO + MI group at four days (mean difference −5.8 s, 95% confidence interval from −11.3 to −0.3 s, p = 0.039). NPRS ( p < 0.001) and TSK ( p = 0.036 for AO + MI group, p = 0.003 for control group) improved after surgery without between-group differences.

Conclusions

Patients undergoing Action Observation and Motor Imagery on the day before surgery showed less functional decline than control group in the first days after total hip arthroplasty. This intervention may contribute to a safer discharge with higher functional abilities in patients hospitalized for total hip arthroplasty.
Financial discipline through inter-sectoral mergers and acquisitions: Exploring the convergence of Global Production Networks and the Global Financial Network
Authors: Keenan Liam , Monteath Timothy , Wójcik Dariusz
Published: July 2022

Financial discipline and financialization are transforming Global Production Networks through growing pressures related to shareholder value, short-termism and new financial products and services. However, little focus has been devoted to exploring whether these processes are accelerating rates of sectoral convergence. As financialization creates new challenges and opportunities for non-financial firms, are we seeing greater levels of convergence between the financial and other sectors? If so, which sectors, in which countries and why? We explore these questions by analysing the structure and geographies of inter-sectoral mergers and acquisitions in and out of the financial sector. Drawing from a sample of 25,079 deals between 2001 and 2020, we reveal which sectors are buying and being bought by financial firms, the geographies of this process, trends over time and the key factors driving inter-sectoral activity. Analysed through the Global Production Networks 2.0 framework, and contributing to debates around financial discipline, our findings uncover the growing convergence of finance with other sectors through an increasing share of inward (non-financial firms acquiring financial firms) and outward (financial firms acquiring non-financial firms) merger and acquisition deals. However, far from homogenous, this process of convergence is shown to be temporally, sectorally and spatially uneven. This allows us to make two novel contributions. First, we provide fresh insights into the role of financial discipline in reconfiguring Global Production Networks at country-level. Second, we advance contemporary debates on convergence by revealing how, where and why the boundaries between the financial and other sectors are becoming increasingly blurred.
Research on the stability analysis of milling of thin-walled parts based on the dynamic characteristics
Authors: Liu Yang , Zhao Chencheng , Cui NingYuan , Yan Xinxin , Chen YunGao , Liang HaiYing , Cai XiaoYu , Shan Yue , Bao KuiYuan
Published: July 2022

Chatter in thin-walled parts is easy to occur in the process of machining, so the analysis of the stability of thin-walled parts has always been a research hotspot. In this paper, considering the influence of cutter eccentricity on milling force first, the coefficients of milling force were able to be identified by combining the milling force model with genetic algorithm. The results show that this method can obtain the milling force coefficients only by one experiment, and the accuracy is higher. Then the tool point Frequency Response Function (FRF) for a given combination can be calculated by using the Receptance coupling substructure analysis (RCSA) method that uses Timoshenko beam theory. Finally, the milling system can be divided into three types by aspect ratio. That is, when aspect ratio is less than 0.03, the system is considered to be a rigid tool-flexible workpiece system, but aspect ratio is between 0.03 and 0.2, the system is considered to be a flexible tool-flexible system, then aspect ratio is greater than 0.2, the system is considered to be a flexible cutter-rigid workpiece system.
Health assessment of wind turbine bearings progressive degradation based on unsupervised machine learning
Authors: Maatallah Hamida , Ouni Kais
Published: July 2022

High-speed shaft bearing (HSSB) failures are exorbitant since they lead electrical energy generation to halt suddenly. In order to identify the health condition of the wind turbine and preserve the sustainability of energy production, a nonlinear vibration-based monitoring technique based on kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) has been developed. After extracting degradation characteristics from the time, frequency, and time-frequency domains. The most sensitive features are then fused using KPCA to capture the monitored bearing’s operating conditions; this method demonstrated its efficiency in dealing with the nonlinearity of the system. To detect flaws in HSSB and assess whether it is healthy, degraded, or broken, [Formula: see text], and SPE charts have been used. Real run-to-failure data from a wind turbine HSSB is used to validate the proposed technique. The suggested strategy caught the nonlinear relationship in the process variables more successfully than existing techniques, including linear PCA, and demonstrated enhanced process monitoring performance.
Sexual well-being and fertility in male renal transplant recipients: A study in a tertiary care centre
Authors: Mondal Soumya , Sinha Roy Partha Pratim , Pal Dilip Kumar
Published: July 2022

Introduction:

Sexual dysfunction is a common problem among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The uraemia, comorbid conditions, hormonal disturbances, autonomic neuropathy, side effects of medication and psycho-social factors contribute to sexual dysfunction. These factors also affect fertility of CKD patients. It starts early in CKD and gradually deteriorates with time. Renal transplant corrects most of the issues and leads to improvement of sexual function which ultimately leads to improved fertility outcomes.

Methods:

It was a cross sectional study performed in a single institution including 135 male renal transplant recipients. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the socio-economic status, fertility and developmental condition of the off-springs. The International index of erectile dysfunction (IIEF) was used for assessment of sexual well-being of the patient. The data were statistically analysed by SPSS 25.0 version.

Results:

The mean age at transplant was 40.9 ± 9.9 years and the duration of haemodialysis received 13.6 ± 7.43 months. Among 135 recipients 63 (46.67%) desired but only 49 were successful to father a child. Upper middle class being the largest group to receive renal transplant also had the highest fertility rate in our study. The children born had no development anomaly. Sexual function improved in 85 patients, worsened in 15 and remain unchanged among 35 patients after renal transplant. Overall there was significant improvement in all five parameters of IIEF.

Conclusion:

Renal transplant corrects most of the metabolic abnormality as well gives a psychological boost to the CKD patients. These lead to improvement of sexual functions which in turn improves the fertility in renal transplant recipients. But the overall fertility rate among the male renal transplant recipients was comparable to the general population.
Rethinking early Soviet nationality policies within the poststructuralist context: Marxist legacy, Soviet nation-building, and contingency
Authors: Dinç Deniz
Published: July 2022

Early Soviet nationality policies determined the framework of the ethnicity regime of the Soviet state and largely continued within the same context until the collapse of the Soviet state. While reevaluating early nationality policies, this study argues that structural analysis is not sufficient to understand the social reality of the nationality policies in the Soviet context. Hence, there is an urgent need to add the conditional, unclear and unpredictable aspects to the structural analysis of Soviet nationality policies. By analyzing through the amorphous nationality legacy of the classical Marxist thought, which highly affected the contingent Bolshevik nationality policy orientation, this study shares the concept of Soviet nation-building against the conventional Cold War approach. While analyzing the foundational dynamics of the early Soviet nationality policies, this study attempts to further improve structural analysis through poststructuralist intervention taking into account contingent case study examples.
Sector arc routing-based spatial decision support system for waste collection in Brazil
Authors: Negreiros Gomes Marcos José , Palhano Augusto Wagner de Castro , Reis Eduardo César Rodrigues
Published: July 2022

We present a sector arc routing problem-based spatial decision support system technology to develop tactical and operational plans and manage solid waste collection activities including household refuse collection and human and mechanical street sweeping. The proposed technology can also manage solid waste services through optimization (minimizing sector costs, distances and resources). The proposed technology is called optimized planning and integrated logistics management. It can be directly applied to Brazilian municipalities as it contains its major natural features. The system uses advanced technics from sector arc routing and sector scheduling, fleet and staff scheduling and daily plan management using mobile smartphone apps. The technology also allows for waste system inspections that are transparent to all participants in real time. We present the results of cases evaluated in the field for residential refuse collection and human and mechanical street sweeping in two Brazilian cities (Campo Grande and São Paulo). The plan implementations achieved from 12 to 28% actual fixed and variable cost savings for sectors (vehicles and workers) and routes (time and distances) for residential refuse collection and from 7 to 42% savings for human and mechanical street sweeping for the companies.
90-day Case-Fatality in Critically ill Patients with Chronic Liver Disease Influenced by Presence of Portal Hypertension, Results from a Multicentre Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: White Kyle , Tabah Alexis , Ramanan Mahesh , Shekar Kiran , Edwards Felicity , Laupland Kevin B.
Published: July 2022

Background

Critical illness in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) is increasing in occurrence, and by virtue of its adverse effect on prognosis, its presence may influence the decision to offer admission to intensive care units (ICU). Our objective was to examine the determinants and outcome of patients with CLD admitted to ICU.

Methods

A retrospective cohort of patients admitted to four adult ICUs in Queensland, Australia from 2017 to 2019. Patients with mild or moderate-severe CLD were defined by the absence and presence of portal hypertension, respectively, and were was determined using granular ICU and state-wide administrative databases. The primary outcome was 90-day all cause case-fatality.

Results

We included 3836 patients in the analysis, of which, 60 (2%) had mild liver disease and 132 (3%) had moderate-severe liver disease . Patients with CLD had higher incidence of other co-morbidities with the median adjusted-Charlson co-morbidity index (CCI) was 1 (interquartile range; IQR 0-3) for no CLD, 2 (IQR 1.5-4) for mild CLD, and 3 (IQR 2-5) for moderate-severe CLD. Case-fatality rates at 90 days was 17% for no CLD, 25% for mild CLD, and 41% for moderate-severe CLD. Among those with mild and moderate-severe CLD, an increased co-morbidity burden as measured by an adjusted CCI score of low (0-3), medium (4-5), high (6-7) and very high (>7) resulted in increasing case-fatality rates of 24–40%, 11–28.5%, 33–62%, and 50% respectively. Moderate-severe CLD, but not mild CLD, was independently associated with increased case-fatality at 90 days (Odds Ratio 1.58; 95% confidence interval 1.01-2.48; p = 0.004) after adjusting for medical co-morbidities and severity of illness using logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions

Although patients with moderate-severe CLD have an increased risk for 90-day case-fatality, patients with mild CLD are not at higher risk for death following ICU admission.
Can Tax Increment Financing Benefit U.S. Rust Belt Communities?
Authors: Dzigbede Komla D. , Pathak Rahul
Published: July 2022

Place-based economic policies and value-capture instruments are resurging in many American communities looking for alternative ways to fund infrastructure projects and support local economic revival. Using principal component methods, the authors construct an index for identifying distressed neighborhoods to enable the targeting of place-based policies involving tax increment financing (TIF). In addition, the authors use the Monte Carlo method to simulate the impact of a TIF intervention on employment and property values in neighborhoods. The analysis focuses on Broome County in upstate New York, a region that witnessed massive deindustrialization as manufacturing firms moved to other states and overseas. The authors find that a significant fraction of neighborhoods in the study area would qualify for TIF-type policies that would lead to significant improvements in property values and, likely, modest employment effects.
Reverse-adjustment algorithm of tooth surface precision control design for spiral bevel gears
Authors: Chen Peng , Wang San-Min , Li Yi-Zhi , Li Fei , He Qian-Jin , Zou Hao-Ran
Published: July 2022

As aerospace requirements for low noise and high strength spiral bevel gear transmission continue to increase, tooth surface precise control is becoming increasingly important in design and manufacture. The previous design depended significantly on ease off the tooth surface and using the tooth surface optimization approach. It’s a parameter design technique that goes from the design tooth surface to the target tooth surface without accounting for the reaction of the tooth surface to machine tool machining errors. This study proposes a new algorithm for reverse adjustment of tooth face accuracy control. A mathematical model of the tooth face is initially built using the local synthesis method to replicate the genuine machining process. Second, the machine setup settings are chosen as multi-objective optimization parameters, and the reverse adjustment model is constructed to investigate the machine’s machining error on the tooth surface, as well as the reverse adjustment model’s effects on contact and robustness characteristics. Finally, numerical calculations and comparisons with the findings of existing design approaches are used to verify the validity and effectiveness of the reverse adjustment algorithm in the design of tooth surface accuracy control of curved bevel gears.
Experimental investigation on the mechanical square clinching process for joining Al5052 sheets
Authors: Gao Xiaolei , Chen Chao , Ren Xiaoqiang , Peng Hao
Published: July 2022

Clinching technology has been extensively applied as a green and clean joining method, which has the benefits of less energy consumption, no pollution and no noise. However, a single joint produced by round tools cannot withstand the torsion force. In order to solve this problem, a square clinching technology was proposed and investigated in this paper. The main geometric parameters, failure mode, static strength, and energy absorption of the square clinched joint were studied. The fracture characteristics of square clinched joints under different mechanical experiments were studied by a scanning electron microscope. The strength tests of Al5052 clinched joints under various forming forces were carried out. The results showed that the neck fracture mode was the only failure mode observed during the failure process. The microscopic morphology of the joint fracture shows typical ductile fracture characteristics. It turned out that the square clinching process can effectively join aluminum alloy sheets.
An efficiency and quality based automatic drilling-riveting system for aero-structures assembly
Authors: Jin Jie , Tian Wei , Hu Junshan , Ge Chaoting , Qian Xiaoshuo , Liao Wenhe
Published: July 2022

Considering the constantly increasing demand for aircraft products, the development of automatic drilling-riveting machine tool systems is discussed in this paper. A structural conceptual design method considering both efficiency and quality is proposed. Particularly, a drilling-riveting machine tool system including single-column machine tool, light-weight end-effector, and assisting fixture system is built. The positioning error coordinates variation model is analyzed, and the ranges of reasonable processing parameters are determined. An experiment is conducted on the developed system to show satisfactory drilling-riveting quality and efficiency: compared with the position error of other similar systems, the position error with 0.082 mm is reduced by 41.42%, and the accuracy of aperture reaches H8, the rivets head height error ≤0.8 mm, and drilling and riveting efficiency can reach 6/min and 8/min.
Feasibility study on the use of recycled materials for prototyping purposes: A comparative study based on the tensile strength
Authors: López Víctor M , Carou Diego , Cruz S Fabio A
Published: July 2022

3D printing is considered a disruptive technology and it continues to expand the design space boundaries for prototypes and final products. Sustainability is one of the major objectives for manufacturing, and the use of recycled materials is becoming a relevant sustainability strategy, particularly for improving material resource efficiency. This paper evaluates the suitability of substituting virgin polylactic acid (PLA) for recycled PLA. It describes an experimental plan divided into three phases to evaluate the specimens’ tensile strength. The results showed that recycled PLA could be used thanks to a similar tensile strength, even though this is slightly lower than that of the virgin material. In addition, the infill density and the orientation parameters played a major role in the response. As the infill density approaches 100%, both the maximum load and tensile strength increase sharply. However, when using an infill density of 40%, on average, the specimen resists 58.07% of the maximum load. In addition, because of the anisotropy, the horizontal orientation allowed attaining a higher tensile strength while the vertical orientation provided a lower value. These are relevant insights for prescriptions of the 3D-printing parameters guaranteeing minimum tensile strength in prototyping.