bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design and quantitative evaluation of ‘Aerosol Bio-Containment Device (ABCD)’ for reducing aerosol exposure during infectious aerosol-generating events
Authors: Waring Michael S. , Lo L. James , Kohanski Michael A. , Kahle Elizabeth , Marcus Ian M. , Smith Heather , Spiller Kara L. , Walker Sharon L.
Published: January 2023

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic renewed interest in infectious aerosols and reducing risk of airborne respiratory pathogen transmission, prompting development of devices to protect healthcare workers during airway procedures. However, there are no standard methods for assessing the efficacy of particle containment with these protective devices. We designed and built an aerosol bio-containment device (ABCD) to contain and remove aerosol via an external suction system and tested the aerosol containment of the device in an environmental chamber using a novel, quantitative assessment method. The ABCD exhibited a strong ability to control aerosol exposure in experimental and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulated scenarios with appropriate suction use and maintenance of device seals. Using a log-risk-reduction framework, we assessed device containment efficacy and showed that, when combined with other protective equipment, the ABCD can significantly reduce airborne clinical exposure. We propose this type of quantitative analysis serves as a basis for rating efficacy of aerosol protective enclosures.
Investigating the influence of drone flight on the stability of cancer medicines
Authors: Zhu Wanqing , Oakey Andy , Royall Paul G. , Waters Tim P. , Cherrett Tom , Theobald Katherine , Bester Ans-Mari , Lucas Robert
Published: January 2023

Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) are being used in the treatment of both malignant and non-malignant diseases and whilst highly effective, certain products have very short expiry times. Clinical deterioration and supply chain disruption can often lead to wastage and there is a need to reduce this by improving efficiency in logistics practices between manufacturing sites and administration locations. This study aimed to investigate the influence of drone flight on the stability of cancer medicines. Clinically expired, premanufactured monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were investigated, contained inside instrumented Versapaks, and flown in a Skylift (Mugin) V50 vertical take-off and landing drone through seven phases of flight, (take-off, hover, transition, cruise, transition, hover, and landing). Storage specifications (2–8°C) were met, and any vibrations emanating from the drone and transmitted through the packaging during flight were monitored using accelerometers. Vibration occurred largely above 44 Hz which was consistent with rotor speeds during operation and was significantly greater in amplitude during transition than in forward flight or in hover. Bench experiments validated assurance practices, exploring the edge-of-quality failure by applying extremes of rotational vibration to the mAbs. Aggregation and fragmentation represented a loss of quality in the mAbs and would pose a risk to patient safety. No significant difference was identified in the aggregation and fragmentation of all flown mAbs samples, indicating structural integrity. Flown mAbs in their infusion bags had similar particle sizes compared to controls, (Bevacizumab 11.8±0.17 nm vs. 11.6±0.05 nm, Trastuzumab 11.2±0.05 nm vs. 11.3±0.13 nm, Rituximab 11.4±0.27 nm vs. 11.5±0.05 nm) and aggregate content (Bevacizumab 1.25±0.03% vs 1.32±0.02% p = 0.11, Trastuzumab 0.15±0.06% vs. 0.16±0.06% p = 0.75, Rituximab 0.11±0.02% vs. 0.11±0.01% p = 0.73). The quality of the three mAbs was assured, suggesting that the V50 drone did not induce sufficient levels of vibration to adversely affect their quality.
Compliance in recreational fisheries: Case study of two blue swimmer crab fisheries
Authors: Lindley Jade , Quinn Liam
Published: January 2023

Comparing two Australian regions, Western Australia (WA) and South Australia (SA), this research investigates official noncompliance datasets of recreational blue swimmer crab (Portunus armatus) fishing between 2009 and 2019. These recreational fisheries in both jurisdictions are license-free and therefore participating fisher information is limited. Analyses provide a glimpse at the (noncompliant) fisher population profiles against the application of management strategies. The data provide (1) an evidence-base to optimize regulatory strategies by balancing education and enforcement activities with recreational fisher enjoyment. The results of this research enable application within and beyond these fisheries and jurisdictions; and (2) drawing from the criminology discipline, deterrence theory offers insight to enhance compliance tools. Further, it shows the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to assessing compliance and identifies some practical approaches to data collection that can be readily undertaken to assist with more detailed analysis and enhance compliance strategies.
The need for blood transfusion therapy is associated with increased mortality in children with traumatic brain injury
Authors: Chegondi Madhuradhar , Hernandez Rivera Jose F. , Alkhoury Fuad , Totapally Balagangadhar R.
Published: January 2023

Objective

Blood transfusion therapy (BTT) is widely used in trauma patients. However, the adverse effects of BTT in pediatric trauma patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were poorly studied. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of BTT on mortality in children with severe TBI.

Methods

In this retrospective cohort analysis, we analyzed 2012 and 2016 Kids’ Inpatient Databases and used a weighted sample to obtain national outcome estimates. We included children aged 1 month to 21 years with TBI who were mechanically ventilated, considered severe TBI; we then compared the demographics, comorbidities, and mortality rates of those patients who had undergone BTT to those who did not. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-squared test and regression models. In addition, in a correlative propensity score matched analysis, cases (BTT) were matched 1:1 with controls (non-BTT) based on age, gender, hospital region, income quartiles, race, and All Patients Refined Diagnosis Related Groups (APRDRG) severity of illness scores to minimize the effect of confounding variables between the groups.

Results

Out of 87,980 children with a diagnosis of TBI, 17,199 (19.5%) with severe TBI were included in the analysis. BTT was documented in 3184 (18.5%) children. Among BTT group, the mortality was higher compared to non-BTT group [31.6% (29.7–33.5%) vs. 14.4 (13.7–15.1%), (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.9–2.6; p<0.05)]. In the BTT group, infants and adolescents, white race, APRDRG severity of illness, cardiac arrest, platelet, and coagulation factor transfusions were associated with higher mortality. In a propensity-matched analysis, BTT associated with a higher risk of mortality (32.1% [30.1–34.2] vs. 17.4% [15.8–19.1], p<0.05; OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.9–2.6).

Conclusion

In children with severe TBI, blood transfusion therapy is associated with higher mortality.
The relationship between glycated hemoglobin level and the stage of periodontitis in individuals without diabetes
Authors: Banjar Arwa , Alyafi Rusha , AlGhamdi Ali , Assaggaf Mohammad , Almarghlani Ammar , Hassan Shaymaa , Mealey Brian
Published: January 2023

Glycemic control appears to have a significant impact on the relationship between periodontitis and diabetes. The current study aimed to investigate the association between the stage of periodontitis and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in patients considered to be normoglycemic. A total of 135 patients (100 females and 35 males) with no history of diabetes were included in the study. The mean age of the participants was 38.4 years old. All patients underwent a full-mouth periodontal examination. Periodontal diagnosis was determined according to the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal Disease. The glycemic state of the patients was assessed using a chair-side HbA1c analyzer. Ninety patients were diagnosed with periodontitis. Higher average HbA1c levels were associated with the different stages of periodontitis (p<0.01). Most of the non-periodontitis patients were in the non-diabetes group (67%), while most of the periodontitis patients were in the undiagnosed pre-diabetes group (47% of the stages I and II group, and 44% of the stages III and IV groups) (p<0.001). Periodontitis was found to be significantly associated with elevated glycated hemoglobin levels in patients not previously diagnosed with diabetes, and the elevation in HbA1c levels was more evident in patients with stage III and IV periodontitis.
The study of GSDMB in pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris
Authors: Ji Xiaojuan , Chen Huaqing , Xie Ling , Chen Shiqi , Huang Shan , Tan Qi , Yang Huifang , Yang Tao , Ye Xiaoying , Zeng Zhaolin , Wan Chunlei , Li Longnian
Published: January 2023

Background

Gasdermin (GSDM) B is a member of the GSDM family, which is a protein that may be involved in the cell pyroptosis process and is associated with inflammatory diseases.

Objective

To explore the correlation between GSDMB and psoriasis vulgaris.

Methods

Skin lesions from 33 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 69 normal controls were collected. ELISA and Western blot were adopted to detect proteins. The HaCaT cell line was transfected with 3 sets of interfering sequence siRNA, and the mRNA and protein levels before and after the transfection were measured by qPCR and Western blot respectively, so as to establish a cell model with lowGSDMBgene expression; the MTT method was used to detect cells viability, flow cytometry to detect cell apoptosis.

Results

The level of GSDMB protein in the skin lesions of patients with psoriasis vulgaris was lower than that in normal skin tissues (P< 0.05). The mRNA and protein expression levels of the target gene in the siRNA-GSDMB-3 group were lower than those in the control group (P< 0.05). The proliferation of HaCaT cells was decreased by MTT method and flow cytometry, and the apoptosis rate was increased (P< 0.05).

Conclusion

The expression level of GSDMB in psoriasis vulgaris lesion tissue is lower than that of normal skin tissue. The down-regulation ofGSDMBexpression can inhibit cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis. GSDMB may play a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis by affecting the differentiation of keratinocytes and the function of T cells.
Community pharmacists’ response to complaints of gastroesophageal reflux: A simulated patient study in the Northern United Arab Emirates
Authors: Boura Fatima , Al-Tabakha Moawia M. , Hassan Nageeb , Darwich Mohamad
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Patients frequently use gastric acid-reducing agents (ARAs) to treat symptoms affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, the risk for drug–drug interactions (DDI) is a serious concern. This potentially makes the community pharmacist (CP) act as a primary intervention by providing the appropriate counseling and dispensing practice.

Objective

To evaluate CPs’ counseling and dispensing practices regarding complaints of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), including recommending an appropriate course of action to prevent possible DDIs.

Materials and methods

A simulated patient (SP) methodology was used in this study. The community pharmacies in Ajman and Sharjah were visited by SP who’s responsible for acting as a patient, and by an observer who’s responsible for focusing on the interaction between the SP and the CPs without engagement. Data were recorded using a preprepared data collection form. Performance feedback was sent to the CPs after concluding all visits. Counseling and dispensing scores were classified based on the total scores to poor, inadequate, and complete. Appropriateness of the pharmacist’s decision was defined as dispensing antacid and advising of separating doses apart in time.

Results

A total of 150 community pharmacies was included in the data analysis. The findings of the current study demonstrated poor counseling and dispensing for the vast majority of the participants (81.3% and 67.3% of respondents, respectively). Only 4% of the CPs advised the SP to have a time interval between antacid and cefuroxime axetil. A significant difference in counseling scores was found between pharmacies located in Ajman and Sharjah (p = 0.01). Also, there was a significant difference in dispensing scores between independent and chain pharmacies (p = 0.003).

Conclusions

The findings revealed inadequate counseling and dispensing practice by CPs. This study highlighted the need for continuous professional training programs to endow the CPs with the knowledge necessary for improving the CPs’ counseling and dispensing practices.
Development and validation of Tagalog versions of the Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 (DAST-20) and Stimulant Relapse Risk Scale (SRRS) for drug users in the Philippines
Authors: Harada Takayuki , Nomura Kazutaka , Baba Toshiaki , Shirasaka Tomohiro , Takano Ayumi , Kanamori Shogo
Published: January 2023

Methamphetamine use is becoming a major social issue in the Philippines, and this has been attracting international interest. Understanding the characteristics of drug users and the severity of their drug use is an urgent requirement for promoting effective treatment and support; however, in the Philippines, a lack of screening and assessment tools with confirmed reliability and validity is a major obstacle in this regard. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop Tagalog versions of the Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 (DAST-20), a drug-abuse screening tool used worldwide, and the Stimulant Relapse Risk Scale (SRRS), a tool for quantitatively evaluating relapse among stimulant users, and to confirm their validity and reliability. Participants were 305 patients admitted to the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (TRC) operated by the Philippines Department of Health for treatment for methamphetamine use. Sufficient internal consistency for the DAST-20 was confirmed, with a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.81. Concerning validity, receiver-operating-characteristic analysis, featuring diagnoses from independent doctors, returned an acceptable area-under-curve value of 0.62. Sufficient internal consistency was also confirmed for the SRRS, with a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.89. Correlation analysis of subjective drug craving (measured using a visual analog scale) and the SRRS revealed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.19, p < 0.001), confirming a certain level of validity. The Tagalog versions of the DAST-20 and SRRS developed in this study were confirmed to be reliable and valid. These scales could be effective for use in clinical settings and for research purposes.
Validity and reliability of an unstable board for dynamic balance assessment in young adults
Authors: Rizzato Alex , Gobbi Erica , Paoli Antonio , Marcolin Giuseppe
Published: January 2023

Scientific literature is giving greater importance to dynamic balance in fall prevention. Recently, the validity and reliability of the most employed functional tests for dynamic balance assessment has been investigated. Although these functional tests are practical and require minimal equipment, they are inherently subjective, as most do not use instrumented measurement data in the scoring process. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of an instrumented unstable board for dynamic balance objective assessment in young adults through double-leg standing trials. A test-retest design was outlined with the unstable board positioned over a force platform to collect objective Center of Pressure (CoP) related and kinematic parameters. Fifteen young adults participated in two evaluation sessions (7-day apart) that comprised ten trials per two dynamic conditions (anterior-posterior and medio-lateral oscillations) aiming to maintain the board parallel to the ground. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was employed to assess the validity of the kinematic parameters with those derived from the CoP. The test-retest reliability was investigated through Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), Standard Error of the measurement, Minimal Detectable Change, and Bland-Altman plots. Statistically significant correlations between the CoP and kinematic parameters were found, with r values ranging from 0.66 to 0.95. Good to excellent intrasession (0.89≤ICCs≤0.95) and intersession (0.66≤ICCs≤0.95) ICCs were found for the kinematics parameters. The Bland-Altman plots showed no significant systematic bias. The kinematics parameters derived from the unstable board resulted valid and reliable. The small size of the board makes it a suitable tool for the on-site dynamic balance assessment and a complement of computerized dynamic posturography.
Prostatic urinary tract visualization with super-resolution deep learning models
Authors: Yoshimura Takaaki , Nishioka Kentaro , Hashimoto Takayuki , Mori Takashi , Kogame Shoki , Seki Kazuya , Sugimori Hiroyuki , Yamashina Hiroko , Nomura Yusuke , Kato Fumi , Kudo Kohsuke , Shimizu Shinichi , Aoyama Hidefumi
Published: January 2023

In urethra-sparing radiation therapy, prostatic urinary tract visualization is important in decreasing the urinary side effect. A methodology has been developed to visualize the prostatic urinary tract using post-urination magnetic resonance imaging (PU-MRI) without a urethral catheter. This study investigated whether the combination of PU-MRI and super-resolution (SR) deep learning models improves the visibility of the prostatic urinary tract. We enrolled 30 patients who had previously undergone real-time-image-gated spot scanning proton therapy by insertion of fiducial markers. PU-MRI was performed using a non-contrast high-resolution two-dimensional T2-weighted turbo spin-echo imaging sequence. Four different SR deep learning models were used: the enhanced deep SR network (EDSR), widely activated SR network (WDSR), SR generative adversarial network (SRGAN), and residual dense network (RDN). The complex wavelet structural similarity index measure (CW-SSIM) was used to quantitatively assess the performance of the proposed SR images compared to PU-MRI. Two radiation oncologists used a 1-to-5 scale to subjectively evaluate the visibility of the prostatic urinary tract. Cohen’s weighted kappa (k) was used as a measure of agreement of inter-operator reliability. The mean CW-SSIM in EDSR, WDSR, SRGAN, and RDN was 99.86%, 99.89%, 99.30%, and 99.67%, respectively. The mean prostatic urinary tract visibility scores of the radiation oncologists were 3.70 and 3.53 for PU-MRI (k = 0.93), 3.67 and 2.70 for EDSR (k = 0.89), 3.70 and 2.73 for WDSR (k = 0.88), 3.67 and 2.73 for SRGAN (k = 0.88), and 4.37 and 3.73 for RDN (k = 0.93), respectively. The results suggest that SR images using RDN are similar to the original images, and the SR deep learning models subjectively improve the visibility of the prostatic urinary tract.
Deep learning prediction of pathological complete response, residual cancer burden, and progression-free survival in breast cancer patients
Authors: Dammu Hongyi , Ren Thomas , Duong Tim Q.
Published: January 2023

The goal of this study was to employ novel deep-learning convolutional-neural-network (CNN) to predict pathological complete response (PCR), residual cancer burden (RCB), and progression-free survival (PFS) in breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy using longitudinal multiparametric MRI, demographics, and molecular subtypes as inputs. In the I-SPY-1 TRIAL, 155 patients with stage 2 or 3 breast cancer with breast tumors underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The inputs were dynamic-contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI, and T2- weighted MRI as three-dimensional whole-images without the tumor segmentation, as well as molecular subtypes and demographics. The outcomes were PCR, RCB, and PFS. Three (“Integrated”, “Stack” and “Concatenation”) CNN were evaluated using receiver-operating characteristics and mean absolute errors. The Integrated approach outperformed the “Stack” or “Concatenation” CNN. Inclusion of both MRI and non-MRI data outperformed either alone. The combined pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy data outperformed either alone. Using the best model and data combination, PCR prediction yielded an accuracy of 0.81±0.03 and AUC of 0.83±0.03; RCB prediction yielded an accuracy of 0.80±0.02 and Cohen’s κ of 0.73±0.03; PFS prediction yielded a mean absolute error of 24.6±0.7 months (survival ranged from 6.6 to 127.5 months). Deep learning using longitudinal multiparametric MRI, demographics, and molecular subtypes accurately predicts PCR, RCB, and PFS in breast cancer patients. This approach may prove useful for treatment selection, planning, execution, and mid-treatment adjustment.
Evaluation of allelopathic effects of Parthenium hysterophorus L. methanolic extracts on some selected plants and weeds
Authors: Bashar H. M. Khairul , Juraimi Abdul Shukor , Ahmad-Hamdani Muhammad Saiful , Uddin Md. Kamal , Asib Norhayu , Anwar Md. Parvez , Rahaman Ferdoushi , Haque Mohammad Amdadul , Hossain Akbar
Published: January 2023

Herbicides made from natural molecules are cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic chemical herbicides for controlling weeds in the crop field. In this context, an investigation was carried out to ascertain the allelopathic potential of Parthenium hysterophorus L. as well as to identify its phenolic components which are responsible for the allelopathic effect. During the observation, the rate of germination and seedlings’ growth of Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc, Raphanus sativus (L.) Domin, Cucurbita maxima Duchesne., Cucumis sativus L., Solanum lycopersicum L., Capsicum frutescens L., Zea mays L., Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench, Daucus carota L., Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop and Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn were investigated by using methanol extracts, isolated from leaf, stem and flower of P. hysterophorus. Six concentrations (i.e., 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 g L-1) of methanol extracts were isolated from P. hysterophorus leaf, stem and flower were compared to the control (distilled water). It was also observed that the concentration of methanol extracts (isolated from P. hysterophorus leaf, stem, and flower) while increased, the rate of seed germination and seedling growth of both selected crops and weeds decreased drastically, indicating that these methanol extracts have allelopathic potential. The allelopathic potential of P. hysterophorus leaf extraction (811) was found higher than the extraction of the stem (1554) and flower (1109), which is confirmed by EC50 values. The principal component analysis (PCA) was also used to re-validate the allelopathic potentiality of these methanol extracts and confirmed that Raphanus sativus, Solanum lycopersicum, Capsicum frutescens, Abelmoschus esculentus, Daucus carota, Digitaria sanguinalis, and Eleusine indica were highly susceptible to allelochemicals of P. hysterophorus. Besides these, the LC-MS analysis also revealed that the P. hysterophorus leaf extract contained 7 phenolic compounds which were responsible for the inhibition of tested crops and weeds through allelopathic effect. The results of the current study revealed that the leaf of P. hysterophorus is a major source of allelopathic potential on crops and weeds and which could be used as a valuable natural herbicide in the future for the sustainability of crop production through controlling weeds.
An exploratory study of functional brain activation underlying response inhibition in major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder
Authors: Cane Cody , Carcone Dean , Gardhouse Katherine , Lee Andy C. H. , Ruocco Anthony C.
Published: January 2023

Cognitive control is associated with impulsive and harmful behaviours, such as substance abuse and suicidal behaviours, as well as major depressive disorder (MDD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). The association between MDD and BPD is partially explained by shared pathological personality traits, which may be underpinned by aspects of cognitive control, such as response inhibition. The neural basis of response inhibition in MDD and BPD is not fully understood and could illuminate factors that differentiate between the disorders and that underlie individual differences in cross-cutting pathological traits. In this study, we sought to explore the neural correlates of response inhibition in MDD and BPD, as well as the pathological personality trait domains contained in the ICD-11 personality disorder model. We measured functional brain activity underlying response inhibition on a Go/No-Go task using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 55 female participants recruited into three groups: MDD without comorbid BPD (n = 16), MDD and comorbid BPD (n = 18), and controls with neither disorder (n = 21). Whereas response-inhibition-related activation was observed bilaterally in frontoparietal cognitive control regions across groups, there were no group differences in activation or significant associations between activation in regions-of-interest and pathological personality traits. The findings highlight potential shared neurobiological substrates across diagnoses and suggest that the associations between individual differences in neural activation and pathological personality traits may be small in magnitude. Sufficiently powered studies are needed to elucidate the associations between the functional neural correlates of response inhibition and pathological personality trait domains.
COIMBRA, o ressurgimento da Cidade em 1537
Authors: Alarcão Jorge de
Published: January 2023

﻿No ano de 1537, D. João III transferiu a Universidade de Lisboa para Coimbra, não sem protestos dos mestres que nela ensinavam.
Coimbra teve um antes e um depois dessa data: a instalação da Universidade trouxe um ressurgimento da cidade, com transformações urbanísticas, demográficas, sociais, económicas e culturais relevantes.
Em verdade, esse ressurgimento havia começado com D. Manuel e teve continuidade depois de 1537. Aberta a rua da Sofia, começaram a construir-se honradas casas, do lado ocidental, em 1538; e, do lado oriental, edificaram-se vários colégios universitários a partir da década de 1540. Na Alta, as obras do Colégio de Jesus tiveram início em 1547; as do Colégio de S. Jerónimo, em 1565; as do Colégio das Artes, em 1568.
A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Output from Indian Institutes of Management
Authors: Singh Prashasti , Nandy Abhirup , Singh Vivek Kumar
Published: January 2023

Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are among the most prestigious business schools in India, mainly offering postgraduate, doctoral and executive education programmes in the fields of Management and Business Education. They also contribute significantly to research in the area. This article attempts to analyse the bibliometric patterns in research output of IIMs. The data for research publications indexed in Scopus during 2010-19 is downloaded and analysed to identify important patterns and trends of research output, citations, international collaboration, open access, gender distribution and social media visibility. The results are also compared with three top internationally renowned business schools (Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management and NUS Business School). Results indicate that the older IIMs like Ahmedabad and Bangalore are placed at the top in terms of publication counts and citations. Newer IIMs like Rohtak and Raipur are found to be doing well in publications as compared to other IIMs of their generation. IIM Udaipur has more than 40 % of its research output internationally collaborated and also highest citations per paper value amongst all the IIMs. However, when the IIMs are compared with three well-known international schools (two of which have mentored the initial two IIMs), there appears a large gap in several indicators, such as h-index. The paper, thus, indicates that IIMs need to improve their research output and quality to be at par with the top business schools of the world. Research themes like ‘sustainability’, ‘emerging markets’ and ‘supply chain management’ are the most prominent thematic areas observed in the research output from IIMs, which indicates that IIMs are working on research topics of contemporary relevance.
Continuous Professional Development Research in the Library and Information Science
Authors: Rehman Ikhlaq ur , Wani Javaid Ahmad , Ganaie Shabir Ahmad
Published: January 2023

This study aims to examine the availability of literature on “Continuous Professional Development” (CPD) related to the Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals from 2002 to 2021 in the Web of Science (WoS) database. A comprehensive search strategy coupled with filters was devised to extract relevant data from the database. It led to the retrieval of 345 documents. This was followed by “abstract screening analysis” to achieve the highest level of desired “content relevancy”. Finally, 268 documents were selected and saved in the marked list for further analysis. Data analysis and network visualisation were performed using the R bibliometric package and VOSviewer respectively. The study analysed various parameters such as: publication and citation trends; prolific authors, sources and countries; highly cited articles and nature of authorship and collaboration pattern; the most frequently used keywords; and the citation analysis pattern of authors, articles and sources.
Performance Assessment of Malaysian Fossil Fuel Power Plants: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach
Authors: Abdul Rahman Ahmad Shafiq , Ali Sharifah Aishah Syed , Isa Mohd Rizal , Ali Fazilatulaili , Kamaruddin Diyana , Baharuddin Muhammad Hakiki
Published: January 2023

This paper investigated the performance of Malaysian power plants from the year 2015 to 2017 using Malmquist Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index, which is based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This approach offers substantial advantages as compared to other existing methods as it can measure productivity changes over time for a variety of inputs and outputs. Moreover, it comprises two primary components: the technical efficiency change and the technological change indexes that provide clearer insight into the factors that are responsible for shifts in total factor productivity. This study uses a single input, installed generation capacity (MW), and two outputs, average thermal efficiency (%) and average equivalent availability factor (%). These output-input data included ten main power plants: TNB Natural Gas, SESB Natural Gas, SESB Diesel, SEB Natural Gas, SEB Coal, SEB Diesel, IPP Semenanjung Natural Gas, IPP Semenanjung Coal, IPP Sabah Natural Gas, and IPP Sabah Diesel. The results have two significant implications for fossil fuel power plants in Malaysia. First, technological change was the primary factor in boosting the TFP performance of the fossil fuel power plants in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the decline in TFP performance in Malaysian fossil fuel power plants may be attributed, in part, to a lack of innovation in technical components as the results found that the average technical efficiency changes in 2015 – 2016 were at 146% and then dropped significantly to 2% in 2016 – 2017. Second, the average scale efficiency changes rose dramatically from -53% to 3% providing a significant contribution to the improvement of technical efficiency changes. The fossil fuel power plants become efficient as the power plants’ size increases. This indicates that the size of a power plant positively impacts the performance of the TFP.
MRS Functions and the Pareto Interval in Public Good Provision
Authors: Kleinberg Norman L. , Ma Barry K.
Published: January 2023

The Lindahl-Samuelson condition is adapted to derive the range, or interval, of the efficient/Pareto levels of a public good. The size and bounds of the interval are shown to be dependent on the curvature of the marginal rate of substitution functions and the degree of heterogeneity of preferences. A policy implication is that unlike Nash or private provision, the relationship between the efficient level of a public good and income inequality can be ambiguous.
Molten salt corrosion of candidate materials in LiCl–KCl eutectic for pyrochemical reprocessing applications: a review
Authors: Chowdari Jagadeeswara Rao , Ningshen Sublime
Published: January 2023

High temperature molten salt corrosion is of utmost importance for selecting and qualifying structural materials for critical applications. Pyrochemical reprocessing of spent metallic fuels of the future fast breeder reactors in India is widely considered. One of the main processes of pyrochemical reprocessing is electrorefining. Electrorefining is generally conducted in LiCl–KCl molten salt at 500–600 °C under an inert atmosphere. Research groups worldwide are involved in developing corrosion resistant materials and investigating the corrosion behaviour of various structural materials for LiCl–KCl applications under different environments. A wide variety of materials, including metals, alloys, intermetallics, single crystals, glass and ceramics, have been investigated in molten LiCl–KCl salt. This review focuses mainly on the corrosion assessment of materials for LiCl–KCl application; a complete literature review with emphasis on the corrosion issues of materials is provided. This paper reviews the corrosion issues of metals and alloys in molten salts and the selection criteria of corrosion-resistant materials for molten salts. Understanding the molten salt corrosion mechanisms and future research scope are also discussed.
Effect of Zr-doped CaCu3Ti3.95Zr0.05O12 ceramic on the microstructure, dielectric properties, and electric field distribution of the LDPE composites
Authors: Gao Liang , Zhang Jiaqi , Cui Yang , Wang Xuan
Published: January 2023

In this article, CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) and Zr-doped CaCu3Ti3.95Zr0.05O12 (CCTZO) particles were fabricated by the sol–gel combustion method, and then, CCTO/LDPE and CCTZO/LDPE composite films were prepared by the melt-blending and hot briquetting. The microstructures and dielectric properties of fillers and LDPE composites were investigated in detail. Results showed the lattice expansion of CCTZO caused by Zr doping reduced grain size, increased size uniformity, and remarkably reduced dielectric loss and conductivity. Compared with CCTO, small-size CCTZO enhanced dielectric constant of LDPE by 88.5% (∼3.45) due to enhanced interfacial polarization included by ultrahigh interfacial area (∼3.0 × 105 m2), remaining a lower loss tangent (0.013) and conductivity (2.42 × 10−13 S·cm−1) for the 10 vol% CCTZO/LDPE composite. Furthermore, finite element simulation proofed small-size and uniform CCTZO particles played a prominent role in homogenize electric field distribution in LDPE composite, which was beneficial for the use of these composites in the high voltage power cable field.
Dissenting with conviction: boosting in challenging the majority opinion
Authors: Boginskaya Olga
Published: January 2023

This article explores the role of metadiscourse in the realization of judges’ persuasive strategies in challenging the reasoning of the majority opinion. In particular, the article describes how dissenting judges exploit the boosting features to produce convincing arguments and control the power relationship with an audience. The findings are based on a linguistic analysis of 27 judicial dissents by judges of the Russian Constitutional Court. As regards the choice of boosting devices to be searched in the corpus, the present work adopts Hyland et al.’s (2021) taxonomy of boosters. The study shows that Russian judges make extensive use of boosters to show disagreement and challenge the majority opinion. The results have implications for our understanding of judicial dissenting as a legal genre which has been understudied in the literature, and for teaching legal writing to law students. I suggest that judge’s competence in presenting arguments includes a developed knowledge of metadiscourse.
High-precision intermode beating electro-optic distance measurement for mitigation of atmospheric delays
Authors: Ray Pabitro , Salido-Monzú David , Wieser Andreas
Published: January 2023

High-precision electro-optic distance measurement (EDM) is essential for deformation monitoring. Although sub-ppm instrumental accuracy is already feasible with state-of-the-art commercial technology, the practically attainable accuracy on distances over more than a few hundred meters is limited by uncertainties in estimating the integral refractive index along the propagation path, which often results in measurement errors of several ppm. This paper presents a new instrumental basis for high-accuracy multispectral EDM using an optical supercontinuum to enable dispersion-based inline refractivity compensation. Initial experiments performed on two spectrally filtered bands of 590 and 890 nm from the supercontinuum show measurement precision better than 0.05 mm over 50 m for an acquisition time of around 3 ms on the individual bands. This represents a comparable performance to our previously reported results on 5 cm by over a range of 3 orders of magnitude longer, which can still be improved by increasing the acquisition time. The preliminary results indicate a relative accuracy of about 0.1 mm at 50 m on each wavelength. Improvement is possible by calibration and by implementing a self-reference scheme that mitigates slow drifts caused by power-to-phase coupling. The results reported herein thus indicate that the presented approach can be further developed for achieving sub-ppm accuracy of refractivity compensated distance measurements on practically useful ranges and under outdoor conditions.
New records of the rare bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta Thomas, 1912 (Didelphimorphia), in Brazil, with notes on the species’ diet
Authors: Mercês Michelle Pinto , Alves-Silva Kleiton Rodolfo , Cavalcante Cleto Silva , Pavan Silvia E.
Published: January 2023

The rare bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta, is known from only 12 records in Brazil, four of which from the state of Pará. Here, we provide two new records from western Pará, and the first observations of the species in the Tapajós-Xingu interfluve. In one case, the feeding behavior of the species was also recorded.
Effect of the substrate surface and coating powder hardness on the formation of a cold sprayed composite layer
Authors: Kahraman Ayça Demirer , Kahraman Fatih , Çulha Osman , Yağcı Tuğçe
Published: January 2023

In this study, the powder hardness and substrate surface hardness on the coating formation in the cold spray process was investigated. The AA6082 aluminum alloy hardened by the shot-peening process was used as the base material. Two different metallic powders and a ceramic particle powder were used as powder materials with different hardness. Thus, the powder particles from different materials were sprayed onto the surface under the same spraying process conditions. In order to obtain a workpiece surface with different hardness values, shot-peening treatment was applied to the substrate material at different treatment times. According to the microstructural examination, the harder metallic coating powder has accumulated more and the lower hardness metallic coating powder has accumulated less when the substrate material hardness increases. Al2O3 particles in the layer formed were distributed close to homogeneous. Furthermore, the size of Al2O3 particles near the contact surface has become much finer especially in the long-term shot peened samples due to their higher hardness. From the indentation experiments, the elastic behavior and recovery amount of the composite coating layer increased due to the increase of the substrate surface hardness, and the stress distributions were performed less after the load was removed.
Donor Advised Funds & Delay: An Intergenerational Justice Solution?
Authors: Murray Ian
Published: January 2023

Much writing on Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) relates to whether they ‘unduly’ delay the direct application of donated funds to achieve public benefit. However, the discussion rarely touches on a normative basis for determining what is ‘undue’ or that can be used to shape potential reforms, which are typically framed with reference to a private foundation payout rate or time limit for expending contributions. Research on charity accumulation conducted across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, suggests that the normative principle of intergenerational justice is helpful for grounding such discussions (Murray, I. 2021.Charity Law and Accumulation: Maintaining an Intergenerational Balance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). This article considers intergenerational justice in the context of DAFs and considers whether the principle can be implemented in ways that support DAF sponsor independence and flexibility. One way that this could be achieved is by imposing (or enforcing existing) procedural obligations on decision-makers to give genuine consideration to intergenerational justice when making decisions about how much to spend and retain.
Incidence matrices and line graphs of mixed graphs
Authors: Abudayah Mohammad , Alomari Omar , Sander Torsten
Published: January 2023

In the theory of line graphs of undirected graphs, there exists an important theorem linking the incidence matrix of the root graph to the adjacency matrix of its line graph. For directed or mixed graphs, however, there exists no analogous result. The goal of this article is to present aligned definitions of the adjacency matrix, the incidence matrix, and line graph of a mixed graph such that the mentioned theorem is valid for mixed graphs.
Cationic distributions and dielectric properties of magnesium ferrites fabricated by sol-gel route and photocatalytic activity evaluation
Authors: Ata Sadia , Bano Sara , Bibi Ismat , Alwadai Norah , Mohsin Ijaz ul , Al Huwayz Maryam , Iqbal Munawar , Nazir Arif
Published: January 2023

Sol-gel auto combustion method was adopted to fabricate magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4) nanoparticles. The structural and morphological properties was studied by XRD, FTIR, and SEM analysis. The average particle sizes of MgFe2O4 was in the range of 35–55 nm. The octahedral & Tetrahedral bond lengths, R
AE (tetrahedral edge length), R
BE (shared octahedral edge length) and R
BEU (individual octahedral edge length), cationic radii (tetra and octa-sites) were also determined. The magnetic strength also showed direct reliance on bond angle and indirect to bond length. Hoping length L
a and L
b and bond angles are also measured. The frequency dependent conductivity and dielectric properties of MgFe2O4 were investigated by Impedance analyzer. The photocatalytic activity (PCA) is appraised against MB (methylene blue) dye and MgFe2O4 calcined at 800 °C showed promising degradation (78%) under visible light irradiation. The findings revealed that MgFe2O4 is can harvest the solar light, which could be employed for the remediation of wastewater contains textile dyes.
Is the Record Power Profile Repeatable? A Practical Analysis and Interpretation in Professional Cyclists
Authors: Muriel Xabier , Hernández-Belmonte Alejandro , Mateo-March Manuel , Valenzuela Pedro L. , Zabala Mikel , Barranco-Gil David , Lucia Alejandro , Pallares Jesús G.
Published: January 2023

Muriel, X, Hernández-Belmonte, A, Mateo-March, M, Valenzuela, PL, Zabala, M, Barranco-Gil, D, Lucia, A, and Pallares, JG. Is the record power profile repeatable? A practical analysis and interpretation in professional cyclists. J Strength Cond Res 37(5): 1131–1134, 2023—This study assessed the repeatability of the Record Power Profile (RPP, i.e., the highest power output that a cyclist can attain for different effort durations under field-based conditions). We registered the RPP of 12 professional cyclists (age 32 ± 5 years) for efforts lasting between 30 seconds and 60 minutes during 3 periods of a season, each of 23-day duration: preparation (including training data only), specific (training and competition data), and competition (competition data only) periods. Repeatability was assessed using the highest 2 (RPP2), 3 (RPP3), and 5 (RPP5) values of mean maximum power obtained by the cyclists for each effort duration in each of the 3 periods. Smaller standard errors of measurement (SEM) were found as the competitive period approached, especially for short-duration efforts (i.e., 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes, where SEM ranged from 4.3 to 12.5%, 4.1–8.5%, and 2.6–7.0% in the preparation, specific, and competition periods, respectively). However, similar SEM values were found in the 3 periods for RPP2, RPP3, or RPP5. In conclusion, the RPP appears as a repeatable parameter for monitoring field-based performance within the different phases of the season in professional cyclists.
Pattern of Driver-Like Input onto Neurons of the Mouse Ventral Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
Authors: Govindaiah Gubbi , Fox Michael A. , Guido William
Published: January 2023

The ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN) is a retinorecipient region of thalamus that contributes to a number of complex visual behaviors. Retinal axons that target vLGN terminate exclusively in the external subdivision (vLGNe), which is also transcriptionally and cytoarchitectonically distinct from the internal subdivision (vLGNi). While recent studies shed light on the cell types and efferent projections of vLGNe and vLGNi, we have a crude understanding of the source and nature of the excitatory inputs driving postsynaptic activity in these regions. Here, we address this by conductingin vitrowhole-cell recordings in acutely prepared thalamic slices and using electrical and optical stimulation techniques to examine the postsynaptic excitatory activity evoked by the activation of retinal or cortical layer V input onto neurons in vLGNe and vLGNi. Activation of retinal afferents by electrical stimulation of optic tract or optical stimulation of retinal terminals resulted in robust driver-like excitatory activity in vLGNe. Optical activation of corticothalamic terminals from layer V resulted in similar driver-like activity in both vLGNe and vLGNi. Using a dual-color optogenetic approach, we found that many vLGNe neurons received convergent input from these two sources. Both individual pathways displayed similar driver-like properties, with corticothalamic stimulation leading to a stronger form of synaptic depression than retinogeniculate stimulation. We found no evidence of convergence in vLGNi, with neurons only responding to corticothalamic stimulation. These data provide insight into the influence of excitatory inputs to vLGN and reveal that only neurons in vLGNe receive convergent input from both sources.