bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical Predictors and Prognosis of Recurrent IgA Nephropathy in the Kidney Allograft
Authors: Kavanagh Catherine R. , Zanoni Francesca , Leal Rita , Jain Namrata G. , Stack Megan Nicole , Vasilescu Elena-Rodica , Serban Geo , Shaut Carley , Kamal Jeanne , Kudose Satoru , Martinho António , Alves Rui , Santoriello Dominick , Canetta Pietro A. , Cohen David , Radhakrishnan Jai , Appel Gerald B. , Stokes Michael B. , Markowitz Glen S. , D’Agati Vivette D. , Kiryluk Krzysztof , Andeen Nicole K. , Batal Ibrahim
Published: September 2021

Introduction: Although IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common recurrent glomerulonephritis encountered in the kidney allograft, the clinical and immunogenetic characteristics remain poorly understood. We sought to study determinants and prognosis of recurrent IgAN with special focus on human leukocyte antigens (HLAs). Materials and Methods: Between 2005 and 2019, we identified 282 transplanted patients with failure secondary to IgAN from 2 North American and 1 European Medical Centers, including 80 with recurrent IgAN and 202 without recurrence. The prevalence of HLAs was compared to external healthy controls of European ancestry (n = 15,740). Graft survival was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test. Cox proportional hazards were used for multivariable analyses. Results: Compared to external controls of European ancestry, kidney transplant recipients of European ancestry with kidney failure secondary to IgAN had higher frequency of HLA-DQ5 (42% vs. 30%, OR = 1.68, p = 0.002) and lower frequency of HLA-DR15 (15% vs. 28%, OR = 0.46, p < 0.001) and HLA-DQ6 (32% vs. 45%, OR = 0.59, p = 0.003); however, the frequency of these HLAs were similar in recurrent versus nonrecurring IgAN. Younger recipient age at transplantation was an independent predictor of recurrence. HLA matching was an independent predictor for recurrent IgAN only in recipients of living-related but not deceased or living-unrelated transplants. Recurrent IgAN was an independent predictor of allograft failure, along with acute rejection. In patients with recurrent IgAN, serum creatinine at biopsy, degree of proteinuria, and concurrent acute rejection were associated with inferior allograft survival. Conclusion: Recurrent IgAN negatively affects allograft survival. Younger recipient age at transplantation is an independent predictor of recurrent IgAN, while the presence of HLAs associated with IgAN in the native kidney and HLA matching in recipients of deceased or living-unrelated transplants are not.
Traduzindo e Retraduzindo Mundos Textuais em The Handmaid's Tale
Authors: Carneiro Raphael Marco Oliveira , Novodvorski Ariel
Published: September 2021

Em vista da escassez de estudos interlinguísticos sobre a construção de mundos textuais, este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as representações mentais projetadas por elementos lexicogramaticais em um excerto do romance The Handmaid’s Tale e nos fragmentos correspondes de duas traduções brasileiras. Com base em uma abordagem teórico-metodológica que integra Estilística, Estudos da Tradução e Teoria de Mundos Textuais, conclui-se que a tradução pode exercer efeitos na construção de mundos textuais por meio de escolhas tradutórias. Escolhas em relação ao aspecto verbal, processos verbais, aos objetos do mundo textual, à modalidade epistêmica podem impactar o modo como os textos são cognitivamente processados pelo leitor.
Surgery Is Underused in Elderly Patients With Left‐Sided Infective Endocarditis: A Nationwide Registry Study
Authors: Ragnarsson Sigurdur , Salto‐Alejandre Sonsoles , Ström Axel , Olaison Lars , Rasmussen Magnus
Published: September 2021

Background

Infective endocarditis is associated with higher mortality in elderly patients, but the role of surgery in this group has not been fully evaluated. The aim of this study was to assess outcomes of left‐sided infective endocarditis in elderly patients and to determine the influence of surgery on mortality in the elderly.

Methods and Results

A nationwide retrospective study was performed of 2186 patients with left‐sided infective endocarditis recorded in the SRIE (Swedish Registry of Infective Endocarditis), divided into patients aged <65 years (n=864), 65 to 79 years (n=806), and ≥80 years (n=516). Survival analysis was performed using the Swedish National Population Registry, and propensity score matching was applied to assess the effect of surgery on survival among patients of all ages. The rate of surgery decreased with increasing age, from 46% in the <65 group to 6% in the ≥80 group. In‐hospital mortality was 3 times higher in the ≥80 group compared with the <65 group (23% versus 7%) and almost twice that of the 65 to 79 group (12%). In propensity‐matched groups, the mortality rate was significantly lower between the ages of 55 and 82 years in patients who underwent surgery compared with patients who did not undergo surgery. Surgery was also associated with better long‐term survival in matched patients who were ≥75 years (hazard ratio, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.24–0.54 [
P
<0.001]).

Conclusions

The proportion of elderly patients with infective endocarditis who underwent surgery was low compared with that of younger patients. Surgery was associated with lower mortality irrespective of age. In matched elderly patients, long‐term mortality was higher in patients who did not undergo surgery, suggesting that surgery is underused in elderly patients.
Singapore Neonatal Resuscitation Guidelines 2021
Authors: Biswas A , Ho SKY , Yip WY , Kader KBA , Kong JY , Ee KTT , Baral VR , Chinnadurai A , Quek BH , Yeo CL
Published: September 2021

Neonatal resuscitation is a coordinated, team-based series of timed sequential steps that focuses on a transitional physiology to improve perinatal and neonatal outcomes. The practice of neonatal resuscitation has evolved over time and continues to be shaped by emerging evidence as well as key opinions. We present the revised Neonatal Resuscitation Guidelines for Singapore 2021. The recommendations from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Neonatal Task Force Consensus on Science and Treatment Recommendations (2020) and guidelines from the American Heart Association and European Resuscitation Council were compared with existing guidelines. The recommendations of the Neonatal Subgroup of the Singapore Resuscitation and First Aid Council were derived after the work group discussed and appraised the current available evidence and their applicability to local clinical practice.
Problems and Processes of Restricting Navigation in Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas
Authors: Kim So Yeon
Published: September 2021

Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) are a form of marine conservation measure established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to protect the marine environment against damage caused by navigation. The politicisation of the PSSA designation process and the shortcomings of the 2015 IMO Revised Guidelines for the Identification and Designation of PSSAs have been inimical to improving the PSSA regime. This article first examines the law and practice of PSSAs and discusses the shortcomings of the 2005 Guidelines. It then explores how politicisation outside and inside the IMO has aggravated the institutional weaknesses of the PSSA regime in three aspects: the relationships between Associated Protective Measures (APMs) and existing navigational measures; the links between the ecosystems and PSSAs; and the lack of stringent APMs.
The Role of Performance Measurement in University–Industry Collaboration Projects as a Part of Managing Triple Helix Operations
Authors: Rantala Tero , Ukko Juhani , Saunila Minna
Published: September 2021

As part of contemporary Triple Helix operations, universities are more and more frequently asked to collaborate with other social actors to generate knowledge that supports their innovation and development activities and to foster economic growth. In addition to research and education tasks, universities are developing formal and informal collaborations with industrial organizations to fulfill the third mission of societal effectiveness and to receive funding from research grants. These university-industry research and development projects, at the societal level and from the viewpoints of policymakers and financiers, aim to create economic growth and to support the innovation and learning capabilities of the organizations, among other benefits. One key challenge to managing these collaborative activities between universities and other societal organizations is related to measuring and evaluating them. Therefore, this study focuses on supporting the future development of evaluation and performance measurement for the operational-level activities of university–industry–government relationships. The study explores the performance measurement practices currently used by universities and financiers and intends to increase the understanding of both current performance measurement practices and the challenges regarding university–industry (UI) collaboration projects. The empirical data for this study were gathered from UI research projects in Finland. As part of the management of university–industry–government relations and Triple Helix operations, the results of this study reveal some challenges in the evaluation and measurement of the collaborative projects in the three phases explored: before the project, during the project, and after the project. The study’s results indicate that UI collaboration projects’ performance evaluation practices are based mainly on the tasks promised in the projects’ applications. Furthermore, measurements are mainly used for external-reporting purposes. To support the future development of the evaluation and performance measurement of university–industry–government relations, some propositions for overcoming these challenges are presented, and the potential implications of the findings for scholars, university members, financier representatives, and policy makers are discussed.
Relationship between Wood Traits and Sound Frequency at Different Pitch Levels of Talking Drums (Gangan) Manufactured from Aningeria robusta Wood
Authors: Olaoye K.O. , Oluwadare A.O.
Published: September 2021

Wood is a unique material for making musical instruments and is used to make West African talking drums, whose pitch can be regulated depending upon how the player strikes the head of drum and changes its tension. Additionally, talking drum manufacturers have certain wood preferences, and in the absence of preferred species, they use supposedly unsuitable woods. Therefore, there is a need to examine wood traits in relation to the pitch of a talking drum. This study was designed to determine the existing relationship between selected wood traits and the frequency of talking drums made from A. robusta wood. Three A. robusta trees were obtained from Onigambari Forest Reserve. From each tree, three bolts of 50 cm in length were obtained from the base, middle, and top of the tree to determine selected properties (moisture content (MC), wood basic density (WBD), modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), and manufacturing of talking drums). A spectrum analyzer was used to analyze the sound frequency of the talking drums at three pitch levels (high, medium, low). A completely randomized block design was used and the data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and correlation analyses at α
0.05. Sound frequency was not significant along sampling height, but was significant at pitch levels. Additionally, the correlation analysis between wood traits and sound frequency was not significant. Thus, wood cannot be recommended for talking drums’ optimal acoustic performance based on wood traits alone.
Alik Rasnitsyn, nearly 70 years together and apart
Authors: PONOMARENKO ALEXANDR G.
Published: September 2021

Of course, I have known for a long time that one has to call him by his full name, Alexandr Pavlovich, yet for me and a great many other people he remains Alik—despite the fact that I have never heard of anyone having ever questioned his scientific or moral authority. The following text is not a portrait or even a biography of A.P. Rasnitsyn, but merely what I have managed to put together from my recollections in defiance of my dementia. I am stuck in the country and cannot check basic facts about Alik, so, if I have forgotten or mixed up something, please forgive me.
Discovery of a new genus and species of Dryinidae (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea) from Kachin (Myanmar) amber: Rasnitsynum burmense gen. et sp. nov.
Authors: OLMI MASSIMO , GUGLIELMINO ADALGISA , PARISE GIANLUCA , CAPRADOSSI LEONARDO , PERKOVSKY EVGENY E.
Published: September 2021

Dryinidae (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea) are parasitoids, and often also predators, of leafhoppers, planthoppers and treehoppers (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha) (Guglielmino et al., 2013; Olmi et al., 2020b). Fossils of Dryinidae are known both as inclusions in amber and as compression fossils (Perkovsky et al., 2019; Olmi et al., 2010, 2020b; Martynova et al., 2020). Among the amber deposits, those situated in Myanmar are the richest. Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from Kachin State is known in fact to include Dryinidae belonging to the following subfamilies and genera: Anteoninae: Burmanteon Engel, 2003 (one species); Burmadryininae: Burmadryinus Olmi, Xu & Guglielmino, 2014 (one species); Dryininae: Dryinus Latreille, 1804 (12 species) (Martynova et al., 2020); Hybristodryinus Engel, 2005 (17 species) (Perkovsky et al., 2019; Tribull et al., 2020; Olmi et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021); Pseudodryinus Olmi, 1991 (one species); Palaeoanteoninae: Palaeoanteon Olmi, 2000 (one species) (Perkovsky et al., 2020a); Raptodryininae: Raptodryinus Olmi, Perkovsky, Martynova, Contarini, Bückle, Guglielmino, 2020 (one species).
Frailty as a Predictor of Adverse Outcomes After Peripheral Vascular Surgery in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease
Authors: Schweitzer Christina D. , Anagnostakos John P. , Nagarsheth Khanjan H.
Published: September 2021

Background

Frailty and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are each independently associated with adverse outcomes in patients who undergo lower extremity vascular bypass operations (LEOs). It is not known whether frailty imparts additional risk to patients with ESRD having LEO.

Methods

The study was a retrospective cohort study of 29 203 patients without ESRD and 1718 with ESRD who had LEO surgery between the years 2014 and 2018 extracted from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Preoperative frailty was assessed using a simplified frailty index based on a history of diabetes, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, and functional status. Adverse outcomes measured were 30-day mortality, surgical complications, reoperation, length of stay, readmission, discharge destination, and any (“composite”) adverse outcome. Odds ratios (ORs) for adverse outcomes were calculated with logistic regression.

Results

Among patients with ESRD, the OR for having the composite adverse outcome was greater for frailty than for any of the other preoperative risk factors studied (OR 2.191, CI 1.569-3.061, P < .001). Adverse outcomes occurred in 84.3% of frail patients with ESRD, but in only 39.6% of the non-frail patients without ESRD.

Conclusions

Frailty imparts additional risk for adverse outcomes to patients with ESRD undergoing LEO.
Correlates of anxiety and depression in a community cohort of people who smoke methamphetamine
Authors: Duncan Zoe , Kippen Rebecca , Sutton Keith , Ward Bernadette , Agius Paul A , Quinn Brendan , Dietze Paul
Published: September 2021

Objective:

Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health disorders experienced by Australians. These disorders are commonly found in people who use methamphetamine; however, much of this research has involved participants recruited from treatment settings who inject methamphetamine. We therefore explored (1) the prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety and depression in a community-recruited cohort who smoked methamphetamine and (2) examined potential factors associated with moderate to severe anxiety or depression in this cohort.

Method:

Data were derived from baseline surveys of 725 participants of the prospective ‘VMAX’ study, recruited from metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas of Victoria, Australia, via snowball and respondent-driven sampling. Anxiety and depression were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 instruments. Independent associations between moderate to severe scores on these measures and demographic, socio-economic, substance use and other health and social characteristics were examined using multivariable logistic regression.

Results:

More than half (60%) of the participants were classified as experiencing moderate to severe anxiety and/or depression. In the multivariable models, having poor/very poor self-rated health, methamphetamine dependence and being unemployed were associated with higher odds of experiencing both moderate to severe depression and moderate to severe anxiety. Living in a large rural town, identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and smoking methamphetamine were associated with lower odds of experiencing moderate to severe depression. Being female was associated with higher odds of experiencing moderate to severe anxiety.

Conclusion:

The high rates of anxiety and/or depression found in the VMAX cohort were associated with demographic, socio-economic, substance use and other health and social factors. The prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety is a novel finding that warrants further study. Further work is needed to determine how anxiety and depression change over time among people who smoke methamphetamine, to help identify key intervention points.
Comparison of Display Modality and Human-in-the-Loop Presence for On-Orbit Inspection of Spacecraft
Authors: Weiss Hannah , Liu Andrew , Byon Amos , Blossom Jonathan , Stirling Leia
Published: September 2021

Objective

To investigate the impact of interface display modalities and human-in-the-loop presence on the awareness, workload, performance, and user strategies of humans interacting with teleoperated robotic systems while conducting inspection tasks onboard spacecraft.

Background

Due to recent advancements in robotic technology, free-flying teleoperated robot inspectors are a viable alternative to extravehicular activity inspection operations. Teleoperation depends on the user’s situation awareness; consequently, a key to successful operations is practical bi-directional communication between human and robot agents.

Method

Participants ( n = 19) performed telerobotic inspection of a virtual spacecraft during two degrees of temporal communication, a Synchronous Inspection task and an Asynchronous Inspection task. Participants executed the two tasks while using three distinct visual displays (2D, 3D, AR) and accompanying control systems.

Results

Anomaly detection performance was better during Synchronous Inspection than the Asynchronous Inspection of previously captured imagery. Users’ detection accuracy reduced when given interactive exocentric 3D viewpoints to accompany the egocentric robot view. The results provide evidence that 3D projections, either demonstrated on a 2D interface or augmented reality hologram, do not affect the mean clearance violation time (local guidance performance), even though the subjects perceived a benefit.

Conclusion

In the current implementation, the addition of augmented reality to a classical egocentric robot view for exterior inspection of spacecraft is unnecessary, as its margin of performance enhancement is limited in comparison.

Application

Results are presented to inform future human–robot interfaces to support crew autonomy for deep space missions.
Protecting others, compassion, and sacrifice: The toll of disaster policing on law enforcement officers in the United States
Authors: Pollock Liz Davenport , Augusto Daniel
Published: September 2021

This study used a qualitative grounded theory approach to explore disaster experiences of law enforcement officers (LEO)s ( n = 56), in two high disaster areas of the United States. Respondents indicated that disasters cause increased stress on LEOs from fatigue, extended shifts, changing duties, increased workload, work–family role conflict, and new operational expectations and challenges within the agency during disasters. Family safety was also identified as a critical stressor and pre-occupation for LEOs during disaster policing, as well as an enhanced reliance on critical thinking as an adaptive response to untrained for challenges that are unique to disasters.
Speech production accuracy of children with auditory brainstem implants: A comparison with peers with cochlear implants and typical hearing using Levenshtein Distance
Authors: Faes Jolien , Gillis Joris , Gillis Steven
Published: September 2021

Auditory brainstem implantation (ABI) is a recent innovation in pediatric hearing restoration in children with a sensorineural hearing impairment. Only limited information is available on the spontaneous speech development of severe-to-profound congenitally hearing-impaired children who received an ABI. The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinally the accuracy of ABI children’s word productions in spontaneous speech in comparison to the accuracy of children who received a cochlear implant and children with normal hearing. The data of this study consist of recordings of the spontaneous speech of the first three Dutch-speaking children living in Belgium who received an ABI. The children’s utterances were phonemically transcribed and for each word, the distance between the child’s production and the standard adult phonemic transcription was computed using the Levenshtein Distance as a metric. The same procedure was applied to the longitudinal data of the children with CI and the normally hearing children. The main result was that the Levenshtein Distance decreased in the three children with ABI but it remained significantly higher than that of children with typical hearing and cochlear implants matched on chronological age, hearing age, and lexicon size. In other words, the phonemic accuracy increased in the children with ABI but stayed well below that of children without hearing loss and children with cochlear implants. Moreover, the analyses revealed considerable individual variation between the children with ABI.
Quantitative differentiation of tendon and ligament using magnetic resonance imaging ultrashort echo time T2* mapping of normal knee joint
Authors: Okuda Miho , Kobayashi Satoshi , Toyooka Kazu , Yoshimizu Rikuto , Nakase Junsuke , Hayashi Hiroyuki , Ueda Yu , Gabata Toshifumi
Published: September 2021

Background

Ligaments and tendons are difficult to differentiate on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Ligaments and tendons are different histologically, and tendon graft ligamentization is known to occur after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

Purpose

To quantify and differentiate the ultrashort echo time T2* (UTE-T2*) values of normal knee ligaments and tendons using a 1.5-T MRI scanner.

Material and Methods

The right knees of 12 healthy volunteers (6 men, 6 women; mean age = 30.8 ± 9.6 years) were scanned using a UTE-T2* sequence and the UTE-T2* values of the proximal, middle, and distal portions of the ACL, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and patellar tendon (PT) were evaluated. Two doctors manually drew the regions of interest four times and intra- and inter-observer reliability were evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients.

Results

The UTE-T2* values of ACL at the proximal, middle, distal, and mean were 12.0 ± 2.3, 11.3 ± 2.3, 12.3 ± 2.6, and 11.9 ± 2.4 ms, respectively. The UTE-T2* values of the PCL at each site were 6.9 ± 1.5, 9.0 ± 1.8, 8.8 ± 2.4, and 8.3 ± 2.1 ms, respectively. The UTE-T2* values of the PT at each site were 7.1 ± 1.7, 4.3 ± 1.7, 4.3 ± 1.8, and 5.2 ± 2.1 ms, respectively. Both intra- and inter-observer reliability showed high agreement rates. There were significant differences among the ACL mean, PCL mean, and PT mean, with a P value <0.01 in all cases.

Conclusion

This study confirms that UTE-T2* mapping can quantify the ACL, PCL, and PT, and tendons and ligaments can be differentiated using the UTE-T2* values in normal volunteer knee joints.
Clinical assessment of nutritional status using the modified quantified subjective global assessment and anthropometric and biochemical parameters in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Macao
Authors: Peng Hongquan , Aoieong Chiwa , Tou Tou , Tsai Tsungyang , Wu Jianxun
Published: September 2021

Objective

Malnutrition is widespread among patients undergoing hemodialysis and is linked to high morbidity and mortality rates. We evaluated the nutritional status and malnutrition markers in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Macao.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 360 patients in a hemodialysis center. The modified quantitative subjective global assessment (MQSGA), anthropometric indices and related biochemical test data were used to evaluate nutritional status.

Results

The sample's mean age was 63.47 ± 13.95 years. There were 210 well-nourished (58.3%), 139 mild-to-moderately malnourished (38.6%) and 11 severely malnourished (3.1%) patients. Older patients had a higher incidence of severe malnutrition, but there were no significant differences between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Mid-arm circumference (MAC); mid-arm muscle circumference; body mass index; triceps skin fold thickness; serum albumin, creatinine and urea; and hemoglobin were all valid for assessing nutritional status. MAC and the serum albumin and creatinine concentrations significantly negatively correlated with MQSGA.

Conclusions

Malnutrition is commonplace in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Macao, but their nutritional status is not affected by diabetes. Serum creatinine, serum albumin and MAC, and especially pre-dialysis creatinine concentration, represent effective, readily available, and easily remembered screening measures of nutritional status for patients undergoing maintenance dialysis.
Developing Mix Proportions for Class C Fly Ash-Based Alkali-Activated 3D-Printed Concrete Mixtures
Authors: Abudawaba Fareh , Gomaa Eslam , Gheni Ahmed , ElGawady Mohamed
Published: September 2021

This study investigated the use of class C fly ash (FA) as a precursor for alkali-activated mortar (AAM) for 3D-printed concrete (3DPC). AAMs with different water-to-FA (W/FA), alkaline activator-to-FA (Alk/FA), and sodium silicate-to-sodium hydroxide (SS/SH) ratios were examined to develop mixtures that can be tailored for different structural applications of 3DPC. The fresh properties, including extrudability and buildability, were evaluated through the open time (OT) and immediate deformation tests, respectively. Different cycle times (CTs) were applied to achieve a strain limit state necessary to maintain the printed shape. The strength of AAMs in different directions at different CTs was examined. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was carried out on AAM specimens having different CTs for a better understanding of the bond area. OTs ranging from 2.5 min to 31 min and axial strains ranging from 0.17% to 11.2% were achieved depending on the proportions of the AAMs and CT, which offers flexibility in optimizing the speed of printing and strength of concrete for different projects. The 3DPC specimens displayed anisotropic behavior compared with full-height specimens, where the compressive strength of full-height specimens was higher by 0.2% to 18% and 0.9% to 28% than 3DPC specimens when tested parallel and normal to the printing directions, respectively. SEM images and line scan indicated an approximately even intensity of the element concentration at the interfacial zones of AAMs having short CTs, which explained the relatively high compressive strength of those specimens. For AAMs having long CTs, there was a significant change in the intensity of the element concentration at the interfacial bond zone, and voids were observed resulting in low compressive strength of those specimens.
Modeling Departure Time Choice of Car Commuters in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Authors: Zannat Khatun , Choudhury Charisma Farheen , Hess Stephane
Published: September 2021

Dhaka, one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world, faces severe traffic congestion leading to a loss of 3.2 million business hours per day. While peak-spreading policies hold the promise to reduce the traffic congestion levels, the absence of comprehensive data sources makes it extremely challenging to develop econometric models of departure time choices for Dhaka. This motivates this paper, which develops advanced discrete choice models of departure time choice of car commuters using secondary data sources and quantifies how level-of-service attributes (e.g., travel time), socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., type of job, income, etc.), and situational constraints (e.g., schedule delay) affect their choices. The trip diary data of commuters making home-to-work and work-to-home trips by personal car/ride-hailing services (957 and 934 respectively) have been used in this regard. Given the discrepancy between the stated travel times and those extracted using the Google Directions API, a sub-model is developed first to derive more reliable estimates of travel time throughout the day. A mixed multinomial logit model and a simple multinomial logit model are developed for outbound and return trip, respectively, to capture the heterogeneity associated with different departure time choice of car commuters. Estimation results indicate that the choices are significantly affected by travel time, schedule delay, and socio-demographic factors. The influence of type of job on preferred departure time (PDT) has been estimated using two different distributions of PDT for office employees and self-employed people (Johnson’s SB distribution and truncated normal respectively). The proposed framework could be useful in other developing countries with similar data issues.
Modeling Freight Vehicle Type Choice using Machine Learning and Discrete Choice Methods
Authors: Ahmed Usman , Roorda Matthew J.
Published: September 2021

The choice of vehicle type is one of the important logistics decisions made by firms. The complex nature of the choice process is because of the involvement of multiple agents. This study employs a random forest machine learning algorithm to represent these complex interactions with limited information about shipment transportation. The data are from Commercial Travel Surveys with information about outbound shipment transportation. This study models the choice among four road transport vehicle types: pickup/cube van, single-unit truck, tractor trailer, and passenger car. The characteristics of firms and shipments are used as explanatory variables. SHAP-based variable importance is calculated to interpret the importance of each variable, and shows that employment and weight are the most important variables in determining the choice of vehicle type. The random forest model is also compared with the multinomial and mixed logit models. The model prediction results on the validation data are compared. The results show that random forest model outperforms both the multinomial and mixed logit model with an overall increase in accuracy of about 7.8% and 9.6%, respectively.
Case Study of Building Information Modeling Implementation in Infrastructure Projects
Authors: Guo Xingzhou , Tian Chi , Chen Yunfeng , Zhang Jiansong
Published: September 2021

Building information modeling (BIM) has been advocated as a potential solution to many challenges of asset management, such as missing data, incompatible software, and unclear business process. However, its current implementation in infrastructure projects has only accounted for technology application and digital information delivery without considering system compatibility or information need. More significantly, BIM implementation requires compatible development of various aspects of a business, a gap in which can lead to different implementation levels or even project failure. Limited research is available on the key factors and challenges of BIM implementation in infrastructure projects. Therefore, this study aims to present a case study with particular emphasis on interviews with key stakeholders to explore the main challenges and solutions of BIM implementation. It starts with the development of interview questionnaires based on literature review and feedback from a research team composed of key stakeholders. Interviews were conducted with 37 professionals from stakeholders of the owner, designers, contractors, and software vendors. Four main factors and challenges, along with potential solutions, were identified from content analysis of the interviews: (i) isolation of project phases (process factor), (ii) incompatibility of project technologies and interfaces (technology factor), (iii) unclear definition of requirements and responsibilities of project stakeholders (people factor), and (iv) imperfect information collection and sharing (information factor). The four factors dictate “when,”“how,” and “what” information should be collected and communicated by “whom,” which are mutually interdependent, and focusing on limited factors instead of all four can compromise the successful implementation of BIM.
Initial Long-Term Scenarios for COVID-19’s Impact on Aviation and Implications for Climate Policy
Authors: Dray Lynnette , Schäfer Andreas W.
Published: September 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on aviation in 2020, and the industry’s future is uncertain. In this paper, we consider scenarios for recovery and ongoing demand, and discuss the implications of these scenarios for aviation emissions-related policy, including the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Using the Aviation Integrated Model (AIM2015), a global aviation systems model, we project how long-term demand, fleet, and emissions projections might change. Depending on recovery scenario, we project cumulative aviation fuel use to 2050 might be up to 9% below that in scenarios not including the pandemic. The majority of this difference arises from reductions in relative global income levels. Around 40% of modeled scenarios project no offset requirement in either the CORSIA pilot or first phases; however, because of its more stringent emissions baseline (based on reductions from year 2004–2006 CO2, rather than constant year-2019 CO2), the EU ETS is likely to be less affected. However, if no new policies are applied and technology developments follow historical trends, year-2050 global net aviation CO2 is still likely to be well above industry goals, including the goal of carbon-neutral growth from 2019, even when the demand effects of the pandemic are accounted for.
Recovering the Association Between Unlinked Fare Machines and Stations Using Automated Fare Collection Data in Metro Systems
Authors: Zhang Pengfei , Ma Zhenliang , Weng Xiaoxiong , Koutsopoulos Haris N.
Published: September 2021

Data quality is the foundation of data-driven applications in transportation. Data problems such as missing and invalid data could sharply reduce the performance of the methods used in these applications. Although there exist plenty of studies related to data quality issues, they only focus on missing or invalid data caused by infrastructure failures (e.g., loop detector malfunction). In general, there is a lack of attention to data quality issues from insufficient data management. This paper proposes a tensor decomposition based framework to tackle a specific missing data problem which occurs when the machine-station dictionary of an automated fare collection system database is incomplete. In such cases, there is a large amount of loss of origin/destination information as the affected machines are not linked to any station. Consequently, all associated transactions may miss the origin/destination information. The proposed framework recovers the dictionary by capturing features of the passenger flow passing through the unlinked fare machine. Evaluation results show that the proposed approach could recover the missing data with high accuracy even when several fare machines are not linked to a station. The framework could also support other beneficial applications.
National Emotions and Heroism in King Vajiravudh's Anti-Chinese Propaganda Writing
Authors: Wongsurawat Wasana
Published: September 2021

The royalist nationalist propaganda writings of King Vajiravudh Rama VI—acclaimed author of the infamous Jews of the Orient, published originally in Thai since 1914—represent some of the finest examples of Anti-Chinese propaganda penned by major nationalist leaders of Thailand in the 20th century. Vajiravudh was a prolific author who produced more than a thousand fictional and non-fictional pieces within his lifetime literary oeuvre. A significant portion of these works was intended as political propaganda, many of which could be justifiably categorized as anti-Chinese pieces.

As much of Vajiravudh's writings also serve as the core texts in much of Thailand's nationalist propaganda campaigns through much of the early-20th century, it has also come to define the problematic relationship between the Thai conservative ruling class and their ethnic Chinese financial patrons. This makes for very complex national emotions—despise of ethnic Chinese capitalists while venerating royalist conservative political leaders, most of whom, in fact, are of Chinese descent. This also unavoidably bleeds into the realm of everyday social values and relations between ethnic Chinese and non-Chinese commoners in Thai society, their own interpretation of nationalist propaganda, and their own adapted emotions toward each other. This article provides a textual and historical analysis of such writings.
Emotional clashes and female public nudity in Thailand
Authors: Thaweesit Suchada
Published: September 2021

This article revisits cultural controversies over female public nudity in Thai society. It uses Songkran's topless dancing in 2011 and a bare-breast painting performance on the ‘Thailand's Got Talent Show’ in 2012 to explore cultural and emotional clashes in Thailand's 21st century. It shows that these two cases of public female nudity drew deep and divergent emotional responses from different groups in Thai society. These cases clearly revealed a clash in viewpoints with regard to Thai notions of feminine respectability associated with national identity and women's sexual expression. On the one hand, the controversies prompted moral panic and backlashes against women's sexual rebelliousness. On the other hand, they set off counter-backlashes against hegemonic discourse that tends to normalise oppressive sexual culture, nationalism and totalitarianism.
Death in the Peripheries: Planning for Minority Ethnic Groups beyond “the City”
Authors: Beebeejaun Yasminah , McClymont Katie , Maddrell Avril , Mathijssen Brenda , McNally Danny
Published: September 2021

“Deathscapes” constitute a growing field of research, yet the topic remains widely neglected within urban planning. In this paper, we examine the adequacy of existing provision for death, remembrance, and the disposal of body remains for ethnic minority groups living in four British towns: Huddersfield, Newport, Northampton, and Swindon. We show how the needs of ethnic minority groups are routinely peripheralized through a lack of acknowledgment of diverse cultural and religious needs. The paper argues that the failure of contemporary planning policy and practice to address the intersections between death and ethnicity has contributed to ongoing forms of exclusion from the British society.
The promise of transformed long-term care homes: Evidence from the pandemic
Authors: Power G. Allen , Carson Jennifer
Published: September 2021

A combination of factors during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to a disproportionately high mortality rate among residents of long-term care homes in Canada and around the globe. Retrospectively, some of these factors could have been avoided or minimized. Many infection control approaches recommended by public health experts and regulators, while well intended to keep people safe from disease exposure, threatened other vital aspects of health and well-being. Furthermore, focusing narrowly on infection control practices does not address long-standing operational and infrastructural factors that contributed significantly to the pandemic toll. In this article, we review traditional (ie. institutional) long-term care practices that were associated with increased risk during the pandemic and highlight one transformational model (the Green House Project) that worked well to protect the lives and livelihood of people within congregate care settings. Drawing on this evidence, we identify specific strategies for necessary and overdue improvements in long-term care homes.
Piperacillin–Tazobactam-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia: A Case Report
Authors: Kiliaki Shangwe
Published: September 2021

Drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia is an isolated thrombocytopenia caused by accelerated platelet destruction from drug-dependent, platelet-reactive antibodies. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is the most common drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia. Common implicated antibiotics for drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia include ceftriaxone, trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, and penicillin. The platelet nadir can be less than 20 × 10 (9)/L and typically occurs within 1 to 2 weeks of exposure to the inciting drug. Although rare, drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia can be fatal. Diagnosis is made by excluding other causes of thrombocytopenia. Laboratory testing for drug-dependent antiplatelet antibodies is often helpful but not required. Thrombocytopenia typically improves within 1 to 2 days of drug discontinuation and platelet count returns to normal within a week. Identifying and discontinuing the implicated medication is key to prevention of serious complications. A patient case of drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia is described after initiation of empiric piperacillin–tazobactam for refractory right foot cellulitis in the setting of right fourth toe diabetic ulcer.
Curriculum development in the higher education literature: A synthesis focusing on construction management programmes
Authors: Posillico John J , Edwards David J , Roberts Chris , Shelbourn Mark
Published: September 2021

This research first contextualises curriculum development in higher education institutions (HEIs) before focusing specifically on construction management programmes in order to engender wider polemic discourse and new insights into current provisions. The overarching epistemology adopts both interpretivist and pragmatist philosophical stances, couched within inductive reasoning, to critically analyse extant literature as a secondary data source, with each publication representing a unit of analysis. Thematic groupings of research activity are then clustered and interconnections between researchers and research themes are identified using bibliometrics. The findings illustrate that while curriculum development in HEIs has received increasing scrutiny and attention, there is a notable lack of connectivity among the studies conducted. This lack of a cohesive body of knowledge is exacerbated by the prevailing academic notion of ‘individualism and self’ vis-a-vis the ‘collective team’. This leads to an emergent working hypothesis, namely, that bespoke curriculum development occurs within an ‘every person for themselves’ mentality. Cumulatively, these issues reported upon serve to illustrate a fundamental absence of a clear agenda for curriculum development in construction management programmes. In turn, this finding underscores the urgent need for a more prominent collaborative and global community of practice to optimise future educational provisions.
Preparing Indonesian civil engineering graduates for the world of work
Authors: Fitriani Heni , Ajayi Saheed
Published: September 2021

This study investigates numerous competencies expected from civil engineering graduates based on employers’ perspectives in Indonesia to provide an understanding of employers’ requirements related to knowledge, skills and personal traits. Using the employers of civil engineering graduates as the study population, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted for data collection and analysis, following an exploratory sequential mixed method design. The results, developed from a factor analysis, show that the underlying skills, knowledge and general traits that can give competitive advantages for graduates include 10 elements. The most significant components consist of interpersonal management skills, personality traits and entrepreneurial and business skills. As the first two factors, categorised as soft skills associated with traits and character, were the most important, the implication is that employers tend to prioritise building strong characters, even when recruiting or selecting employees with limited technical skills normally obtained during university studies. Other competencies expected of Indonesian civil engineering graduates discussed in the article include digital skills, as well as core knowledge of civil engineering, such as design and geotechnics skills. The findings will benefit universities seeking to enhance their graduates’ employability as well as students who are hoping to be ahead of the game. The article also provides insights for civil engineering employers who may want to understand the key skills and competencies in demand by other employers of civil engineering graduates in Indonesia.
The effects of the inclusion of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives into the main chains of the polyurethane urea exposed to UV radiation
Authors: Oprea Stefan , Potolinca Violeta Otilia
Published: September 2021

Linear polyurethane urea containing 1,2,4-triazole segments was obtained by polyaddition of the 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole (DATA) to urethane prepolymer. Also, three crosslinked polymers with different crosslinkers (2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine (TAP), glycerin (Gly), castor oil (CO)) were synthesized. Thermogravimetric analysis, of the obtained polymers, indicated good thermal stability up to 310°C. The polyurethane urea chemical structure was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of these polymers, measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), were found in the range of −52°C to −56°C. These values were not significantly influenced by the structure of the hard domain and the intermolecular interactions. The tensile testing showed that the inclusion of 1,2,4-triazole in polyurethane structure substantially improves the tensile strength up to 58 MPa. The obtained polyurethane urea presents surface slight hydrophobic and low interfacial tension. The positive effect of the 1,2,4-triazole segment from the polymer main chain in the UV aging process of these polymer materials has been studied. After exposure to UV radiation, few changes were observed in the molecular structure, in the surface morphology and the mechanical properties.