bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Amiodarone-Induced Anaphylaxis
Authors: Tang Michelle , Nunna Nitya , Zhong Qing
Published: August 2024

Background: Amiodarone-induced anaphylaxis is seldom reported. The mechanism of this anaphylaxis is unknown. Methods: A literature search was carried out with keywords “Amiodarone” and “Anaphylaxis” and “polysorbate 80” or “hypotension.” A search using “amiodarone” in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 1969 to 2024 was also conducted. Results: There are a total of 10 cases of amiodarone-induced anaphylaxis in the literature. Six patients were male. Ages ranged from 15 to 86 years old. Nine cases were triggered by intravenous injection (IV) and one by oral administration. Eight patients did not have previous exposure to amiodarone. The trigger times for IV amiodarone were immediate to 90 minutes. All nine cases of IV amiodarone resulted in hypotension (90%), with an immeasurable blood pressure (70%). Presentations included bronchospasm or a skin rash (60%), angioedema (40%), and unconsciousness (20%). Only one patient had a history of allergy to penicillin and sulfonamide. An amiodarone skin test was positive on one patient. Increased blood tryptase (4 cases), positive basophil activation test to amiodarone (2 cases), increased eosinophil count (1 case), and increased serum IgE (1 case) were reported. Amiodarone was terminated in 80% of the patients. Epinephrine, norepinephrine, antihistamine-1, or steroids were used to rescue patients. Four patients were intubated. All patients fully recovered. In the FAERS database, 89 cases of amiodarone-associated anaphylaxis were reported, resulting in 14 deaths. Conclusions: Solvent polysorbate 80, amiodarone, and iodide may contribute to amiodarone-induced anaphylaxis. Prompt treatment is the key to saving patients.
Navigating Local: Emergent Roles of Navigators in Community-Driven Care Systems
Authors: Miles Joshua-Paul
Published: August 2024

As disparities in access to social services continue, nonprofit practitioners are reimagining mechanisms to support service provision through systems of care. Systems of care are interorganizational referral networks that assemble a cross-section of nonprofits to coordinate care. Care systems use human navigators to support clients connecting to services. Through semi-structured interviews with a community-driven care system in Chicago and a grounded approach, this work posits that human navigators embody two novel roles distinct from other care contexts: community resource advocate and consensus builder. Based on ecological systems theory, these roles emphasize connectivity and advocacy to increase access and use of services created through interpersonal and interorganizational relationships. This work highlights the transformative influence of human navigators in care systems, demonstrating how community resource advocates and consensus builders enhance care access and interorganizational response, creating more equitable service delivery. This work offers a typology for role design for local service delivery.
Miliary Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in a patient living with HIV
Authors: Kıymaz Yasemin Çakır , Büyüktuna Seyit Ali
Published: August 2024

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is one of the leading opportunistic infections seen in people living with HIV. Bilateral infiltrations characterize PJP and miliary involvement is very rare. In this article, we report a 32-year-old person living with HIV who was followed up with a diagnosis of miliary PJP. Our patient was admitted to the hospital with complaints of cough, sputum, and weight loss. Initially, miliary tuberculosis was considered due to the presence of miliary involvement on chest radiography, but the diagnosis was made with P. jirovecii PCR positivity. This article aims to report a case of miliary PJP, a rare clinical form of PJP.
Delegitimating a contested cultural practice “guanxixue” in a Chinese official newspaper
Authors: Jingtian Sydney Wang
Published: August 2024

Strategies of (de)legitimation have been widely studied. However, the focus of the studies has been on analyzing the (de)legitimation of specific acts or events that occur within particular settings. The delegitimation of a contested cultural practice, which is widely performed in a diversified range of contexts, could be more challenging and revealing. It offers a site to compare strategies of delegitimation adopted in changing contexts and multifaceted representations of the cultural practice. The article primarily examines the delegitimation of “guanxixue,” a Chinese practice that refers to the use, development, and maintenance of social connections through activities like gift exchange, banqueting, and giving face for instrumental purposes. Data were extracted from 82 news reports published in People’s Daily, a Chinese official newspaper. Drawing on the frameworks of legitimation proposed by Rojo and Van Dijk and Van Leeuwen, the article analyzes nuanced strategies of delegitimation at discursive, metadiscursive, and social levels. While news reports on various themes employ distinct metadiscursive strategies of delegitimization, they collectively endorse a partisan representation of guanxi practice that obscures the role ordinary people play and constructs positive identities of Chinese government officials. The findings demonstrate the usefulness of having a layered analytical framework to examine the delegitimation of cultural practices constantly under hot debate.
Linking ethical leadership to nurses’ internal whistleblowing through psychological safety
Authors: El-Gazar Heba Emad , Baghdadi Nadiah A , Abdelaliem Sally Mohammed Farghaly , Zoromba Mohamed Ali
Published: August 2024

Background: Cultivating internal whistleblowing among nurses is of paramount importance to nurse leaders. Yet, the literature on how nurse leaders can foster this phenomenon among nurses is limited. Additionally, the underlying mechanisms linking leadership behaviors to internal whistleblowing intentions remain underexplored.

Aim: This study aimed to examine how ethical leadership is linked to internal whistleblowing intentions among nurses through the mediating effect of psychological safety.

Research design: A multicenter cross-sectional research design was used for this study.

Participants and research context: This study involved 201 nurses working in three tertiary governmental hospitals across three cities in Egypt. Data were collected between October and December 2023, using an introductory information form, the Ethical Leadership Scale, the Psychological Safety Scale, and the Internal Whistleblowing Intentions Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate study hypotheses.

Ethical consideration: Research Ethics Committee of Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University, Egypt approved the study (reference number: NUR (6/8/2023)(28)), and each participant signed the informed consent form before participation in the study.

Results: Ethical leadership was positively linked to nurses’ psychological safety and internal whistleblowing intentions. Psychological safety mediated the link between ethical leadership and nurses’ internal whistleblowing intentions.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that nurse leaders can foster nurses’ intentions to blow the whistle internally by adopting ethical leadership behaviors and enhancing psychological safety among nurses.
Cut-off Value of Anthropometric Indices for the Prediction of Pulmonary Function and Risk Factors Among the Chiru Tribe of Manipur
Authors: Thanglen Hosea , Zimik Urapam , Thanglen Ramthar
Published: August 2024

Obesity is becoming a well-known health parameter that is associated with a wide range of health issues, including respiratory diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD), coronary artery disease (CAD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, etc. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the anthropometric indices’ cut-off points (BMI, WC, WHR, and WHtR) for predicting lung impairment and identifying associated risk factors among Chiru adults in Manipur. The sample consisted of 416 individuals (209 males and 207 females) aged 20–79 years from four villages in the hill districts of Manipur. Descriptive means, binary logistic regression, and ROC curves were used for statistical analysis. The analysis revealed that WHR had the highest AUC (male: 0.676; female: 0.601). Overweight and obesity (OR = 1.71, p < .05), WC (OR = 2.78, p < .05), WHR (OR = 2.61, p < .000), and WHtR (OR = 2.35, p < .01) were significantly associated with lung impairment in males only. However, age was a significant risk factor in both sexes (male: OR = 42.51, p < .001; female: OR = 18.82, p < .001). Furthermore, physical activity (OR = 0.61, p < .05) and smoking (OR = 1.72, p < .05) significantly impacted lung impairment in males, while no statistical significance was found in females. The study concludes that anthropometric indices can predict lung impairment development, and age, physical activity, and smoking significantly influence lung impairment.
Monetary Policy Reaction to COVID-19 and Their Economic Impact in Central America and the Dominican Republic
Authors: Cabrera Jesús Antonio López , Mata Enrique González , Wu Juan Quiñonez
Published: August 2024

This study aims to recognize and succinctly evaluate the monetary policy implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in the immediate recovery period, and their economic impact in Central America and the Dominican Republic (CARD). To this end, the study carries out a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the monetary policy implemented to reduce the negative economic impact on CARD, during the period 2020–2022. VAR and panel econometric techniques were used for the analysis. The results show that even though the central banks of CARD countries did indeed seek to stimulate economic activity, the effects on aggregate economic activity are very small. Other types of policies, such as fiscal, financial, and regulatory policies, may have contributed to reducing to a greater extent the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic activity.

JEL Codes: E52, G01, C54
The Levator Veli Palatini: Are all Segments Created Equal?
Authors: Perry Jamie L. , Snodgrass Taylor D. , Gilbert Imani R. , Williams Jessica L. , Singh Davinder J. , Sitzman Thomas J.
Published: August 2024

Introduction

The levator veli palatini (LVP) muscle has two segments with distinct roles in velopharyngeal function. Previous research suggests longer extravelar segments with shorter intravelar segments may lead to a more advantageous mechanism for velopharyngeal closure. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the distribution of the LVP intravelar and extravelar segments differs between children with cleft palate with and without VPI and controls.

Methods

The study included 97 children: 37 with cleft palate +/- lip with VPI, 37 controls, and 19 with cleft palate with normal resonance. Measures included mean LVP length, mean extravelar LVP length, and intravelar LVP length.

Results

Overall mean LVP length was similar ( P = .267) between controls and children with cleft palate (with and without VPI). However, there was a significant difference ( P < .001) between group for both intravelar and extravelar LVP lengths: the intravelar segment was significantly longer in those with VPI compared to controls and children with cleft palate and normal resonance; and the extravelar segment was significantly shorter in those with VPI compared to controls and children with cleft palate and normal resonance.

Conclusions

Results from this study demonstrate a significant difference between the distribution of the functional segments of the LVP among children with VPI, with a more disadvantageous distribution of the muscle segments among those with VPI.
Accuracy of Cranial Shape Measurements Using Smartphones: A Prospective Study
Authors: Kocabalkanli Can , Fenton Regina , Gaetani Susan , Aalamifar Fereshteh , Linguraru Marius George , Seifabadi Reza
Published: August 2024

Objective

Prospectively validate the accuracy of smartphone-based digital cranial measurements for the diagnosis and treatment of deformational plagiocephaly and/or brachycephaly (DPB), compared with calipers used in the standard of care.

Design/Methods

Bird's-eye-view head photos were captured via smartphone, and their heads were measured with hand calipers by an expert user. CI/CVAI/CVA were calculated from photos and caliper measurements, and from 3D photogrammetry of the head as ground truth. Digital and caliper measurements were compared against 3D-based ground truth using mean absolute error, Spearman correlation coefficient, and Bland-Altman method. Statistical significance between methods was assessed using Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test.

Participants

71 infants aged 2–11 months (20 female, 51 male) with DPB

Results

The mean absolute errors for CI, CVAI, CVA were 1.63 ± 1.44, 1.45 ± 1.29, 2.38 ± 1.86 mm for smartphone, and 2.60 ± 1.96, 1.43 ± 1.22, 2.04 ± 1.81 mm for calipers, respectively. The correlation coefficients for CI, CVAI, CVA between smartphone and ground truth were 0.90, 0.94, 0.80 (p < 0.001), and 0.87, 0.93, 0.84 (p < 0.001) between calipers and ground truth, respectively. Bland-Altman results were (0.08, [−4.18, 4.34]), (−0.05, [−3.85, 3.76]), (−0.82, [−6.52, 4.87]) for smartphone, and (1.41, [−4.34, 7.15]), (0.28, [−3.37, 3.94]), (0.16, [−5.18, 5.49]) for caliper measurements respectively. Digital and caliper measurements were similar (p = 0.12) except for CI, where digital measurements were more accurate (p = 0.04).

Conclusion

Smartphone-based cranial measurements have very high correlation with 3D-based ground truth, and they are comparable or superior to caliper measurements. Digital measurements can be performed in pediatric offices or from home to help with the early detection and treatment of DPB.
The Effect of Barrel-Stave Osteotomy Length in Sagittal Strip Craniectomy
Authors: Harrison Lucas M. , Prezelski Kayla , Hallac Rami R. , Sanati-Mehrizy Paymon
Published: August 2024

Objective

In managing sagittal craniosynostosis, strip craniectomy of the affected suture is commonly paired with barrel-stave osteotomies to allow for additional cranial remodeling. However, the effect of these osteotomies is not well-established. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the length of barrel-stave osteotomies on outcomes in patients with sagittal craniosynostosis.

Design

A retrospective review of operative records and pre-operative and one-year post-operative three-dimensional images.

Setting

Tertiary care pediatric institution.

Patients

Forty-five patients with sagittal craniosynostosis

Interventions

Sagittal strip craniectomy and either long, medium, or short barrel-stave osteotomy lengths followed by helmet therapy

Main Outcome Measures

Operative and three-dimensional craniometric outcomes.

Results

Operative time, estimated blood loss, and hospital length of stay were significantly decreased in the short group ( P = .003; 0.002; 0.027). The cranial index was normalized in all groups, but the long group was significantly lower ( P = .007; 0.025). Head circumference was similar between groups. All indexes were within the normal percentiles in all groups. The medium group had a significantly decreased scaphocephalic index ( P = .031; .035). The short group had significantly greater occipital bulleting than the medium group ( P = .001). The long group had significantly greater narrowing than the short group ( P = .036).

Conclusions

Strip craniectomy with the addition of long, medium, or short barrel staves all resulted in clinically successful outcomes. Our findings suggest that increased barrel-stave osteotomy length may not be necessary for a successful outcome while avoiding more extensive dissection, potential risk, increased operative time, and hospital length of stay.
A Novel Affective Design Tool: Task Emotion Analysis (TEA)
Authors: Jeon Myounghoon , Ban Gayoung , Choe Mungyeong , Bond Yeana Lee
Published: August 2024

As research interests have been increased on emotions and affect in Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), extensive research has been conducted on developing emotion detection technologies. However, little research has been conducted on the necessary former steps–for example, identifying what emotions are involved in specific use cases and how those emotions need to be treated. The present paper introduces a novel affective design tool, “Task Emotion Analysis (TEA)” following the traditional Human Factors method, Task Analysis. TEA involves basic task analysis but provides (1) what types of emotions are induced from or engaged with each task, (2) why they are induced, and (3) how they can be mitigated through interactions with technologies. Sample TEA results are provided to demonstrate its effectiveness. We hope that TEA can provide a legitimate method for the design of empathic interfaces and contribute to conducting deeper emotion analysis in Human Factors and HCI research.
Assessing the Individual Experience of Comfort
Authors: Smith Missie , Madinei Saman
Published: August 2024

Comfort is a widely used, but rarely defined, concept, often measured by simply asking people how comfortable a specific product or device is. However, early in the product life cycle, the device being developed may not be available for testing, parts of it may not be completely functional, or it may substantially change between iterations. The goal of this work was to develop a durable method for identifying potential sources of discomfort that would be appropriate for use early in the product life cycle. It needed to be flexible enough to use for different products at different points in the product life cycle, and without directly comparing to existing products. We developed a comfort framework which identifies potential sources of comfort and discomfort and applied the framework to develop a reusable questionnaire for a single product type (wrist-worn devices).
Evaluating Active Learning Strategies for Automated Classification of Patient Safety Event Reports in Hospitals
Authors: Islam Shehnaz , Alfred Myrtede , Wilson Dulaney , Cohen Eldan
Published: August 2024

Patient safety event (PSE) reports, which document incidents that compromise patient safety, are fundamental for improving healthcare quality. Accurate classification of these reports is crucial for analyzing trends, guiding interventions, and supporting organizational learning. However, this process is labor-intensive due to the high volume and complex taxonomy of reports. Previous work has shown that machine learning (ML) can automate PSE report classification; however, its success depends on large manually-labeled datasets. This study leverages Active Learning (AL) strategies with human expertise to streamline PSE-report labeling. We utilize pool-based AL sampling to selectively query reports for human annotation, developing a robust dataset for training ML classifiers. Our experiments demonstrate that AL significantly outperforms random sampling in accuracy across various text representations, reducing the need for labeled samples by 24% to 69%. Based on these findings, we suggest that incorporating AL strategies into PSE-report labeling can effectively reduce manual workload while maintaining high classification accuracy.
A Formative Usability Study Evaluating a Decision Aid for Caregivers of Incapacitated Patients
Authors: Matin Shababa , Puzio Thaddeus J. , Blakely Martin L. , Kortum Philip
Published: August 2024

Families making medical decisions for an incapacitated loved one need to process medical information for various care pathways while balancing different perspectives and experiencing distress. A decision aid tool to help family members make medical decisions on the patient’s behalf should be easy to use and not create additional burdens. A formative usability study with high, medium, and low verbosity versions of an initial decision aid was conducted with university students before clinical testing. The results showed no significant differences in usability metrics between different verbosity levels, but the qualitative findings indicated areas of improvement in the organization of information that could lead to improved usability of the decision aid. While the findings are limited due to the study being void of some of the burdens families face in true clinical situations, the study allowed us to identify numerous usability issues before testing with target users.
Joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Mission Collaboration with Autonomous Pilots
Authors: Agbeyibor Richard , Ruia Vedant , Kolb Jack , Feigh Karen M.
Published: August 2024

This study explores human-autonomy collaboration between a future autonomous pilot and a human crew member pursuing a joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission. We introduce a novel open-sourced autonomous ISR interaction domain simulating real-world scenarios. As aviation increasingly integrates autonomy, our focus lies in understanding how various autonomous capabilities and interface features affect trust, perception, and user interactions. Conducting an exploratory study with 27 participants in a flight simulator, we examine the impact of various autonomy modes on human-autonomy interaction. Through demographic analysis, interface usage, and qualitative responses, we explore the impact of experience, expertise, and authority on collaboration dynamics.
Understanding Reliance Decisions in Automated Vehicles Using Random Forest Analysis
Authors: Ma Xingjian , Xiao Xizi , Mehta Ranjana , McDonald Anthony D.
Published: August 2024

Driver reliance on automated vehicles (AV) is a critical component of safety particularly during high-risk traffic scenarios. Factors that influence reliance, including trust, situation awareness, fatigue, and demographics, have been independently explored; however, few analyses have investigated predicting AV reliance and compared factors comprehensively. The goals of this study were to develop a random forest (RF) model to predict reliance and to analyze the importance of factors for reliance decisions. We leveraged data from a driving simulation study where participants encountered four traffic events including responding to an illegal vehicle crossing, managing construction zones, stopping at a vandalized stop sign, and a pedestrian detection task. The dataset included reliance decisions and subjective assessments of dispositional trust, situational trust, fatigue, and workload. An RF model fit to the dataset using cross validation achieved an average AUC of 0.81 and accuracy of 0.77 and situational trust emerged as the most influential predictor.
Stochastic mesoscale mechanical modeling of metallic foams
Authors: Seif Mujan N , Puppo Jake , Zlatinov Metodi , Schaffarzick Denver , Martin Alexandre , Beck Matthew J
Published: August 2024

Investigating the mechanical properties of complex, porous microstructures by assessing model representative volumes is an established method of determining materials properties across a range of length scales. An understanding of how behavior evolves with length scale is essential for evaluating the material’s suitability for certain applications where the interaction volume is so small that the mechanical response originates from individual features rather than a set of features. Here, we apply the Kentucky Random Structure Toolkit (KRaSTk) to metallic foams, which are crucial to many emerging applications, among them shielding against hypervelocity impacts caused by micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD). The variability of properties at feature-scale and mesoscale lengths originating from the inherently random microstructure makes developing predictive models challenging. It also hinders the optimization of components fabricated with such foams, an especially serious problem for spacecraft design where the benefit–cost–mass optimization is overshadowed by the catastrophic results of component failure. To address this problem, we compute the critical transition between the feature-scale, where mechanical properties are determined by individual features, and the mesoscale, where behavior is determined by ensembles of features. At the mesoscale, we compute distributions of properties—with respect to both expectation value and standard variability—that are consistent and predictable. A universal transition is found to occur when the side length of a cubic sample volume is ~10× greater than the characteristic length. Comparing KRaSTk-computed converged stiffness distributions with experimental measurements of a commercial metallic foam found an excellent agreement for both expectation value and standard variability at all reduced densities. Lastly, we observe that the diameter of a representative MMOD strike is ~30× shorter than the feature-scale to mesoscale transition for the foam at any reduced density, strongly implying that individual features will determine response to hypervelocity impacts, rather than bulk, or even mesoscale, structure.
‘Through guilt and resilience, we author ourselves’: a collaborative autoethnography of Vietnamese PhD student mothers / ‘A través de la culpa y la resiliencia, nos escribimos a nosotras mismas’: una autoetnografía de madres doctorandas vietnamitas
Authors: Phan Anh Ngoc Quynh , Pham Hoa Minh , Ngo Ha Ngan , Dinh Hang
Published: August 2024

In this article, we employed collaborative autoethnography to explore the experiences of ourselves as four Vietnamese PhD student mothers who crossed national borders in pursuit of further education and encountered multiple challenges along the way. Based on Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism, we unpacked our experiences by presenting ongoing dialogues that influenced thoughts about our doctoral studies and mothering practices. On the one hand, we recounted our experiences of mother guilt, life–work balance and escalating tensions in the academic journeys and our constant struggle to conform to the moral norms bound by the political and cultural ideologies prescribed to Vietnamese women. At the same time, we displayed our resilience through our self-dialogues, which helped us counter the social norms to author our voices.
The effect of breast cancer awareness interventions on young women aged 18–50 years: A systematic review
Authors: Plunkett Caitríona , Pilkington Melissa , Keenan Joseph
Published: August 2024

A scarcity of research has examined the effect of breast cancer awareness (BCA) interventions among young women (18–50 years). This overlooks important differences that may affect BCA levels such as education preferences within this younger cohort. Younger women are more likely than older women to present with aggressive subtypes of breast cancer if they develop the disease, and at a more advanced stage translating into poorer survival. It is therefore worthy to investigate which interventions have a significantly positive effect on BCA within this cohort. Five studies were deemed eligible for review. Despite differing intervention methods, theoretical applications and awareness targets, positive outcomes were reported across all designs. However, the evidence is weak in investigating the effectiveness of BCA interventions on this cohort and is considered as inconclusive with such a small number of available studies to review, highlighting a need for further research in this area.
University closures can reduce the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses-2 transmission via close contact amongst Chinese students by over 60%
Authors: Miao Doudou , Zhu Min , Xu Zhikang , King Marco-Felipe , Zhang Nan
Published: August 2024

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese universities implemented many interventions against SAR-CoV-2 transmission. Close contact is thought to be a major transmission route. However, the effect of university closure-related interventions on infection risk amongst students is still poorly understood. In July 2022, we conducted an online survey of 2,400 university students in Beijing and Shanghai. Combined with real human behaviours, we evaluated the infection risk via close contact during both periods of university closures and non-closures. During the non-closure period, undergraduate and postgraduate students spent the longest close contact time in classrooms and graduate student offices, averaging 1.9 h and 2.2 h, respectively. During university closures, students spent the longest close contact time in residences (dormitories and homes), reaching up to 2.8 h. Catering places and residences were the two main indoor environments for viral exposure via close contact. Viral exposure did not differ significantly by education background or gender ( p > 0.05) but did by intervention levels in university or community ( p < 0.05). The infection risk decreased by 30.0% for resident students and 63.6% for non-resident students during university closures. The findings could provide scientific support for intervention policy-making during public health emergencies such as COVID-19 pandemic.
Remarks on symmetric anharmonic oscillator
Authors: Jarrar Rabab , Suat Erturk Vedat , Asad Jihad
Published: August 2024

In this study, we analyze a symmetrical anharmonic oscillator that differs from a basic harmonic oscillator by including additional terms in the potential energy function. This oscillator’s nonlinear characteristics are important in many physics fields, allowing for modeling of complex systems. We begin by creating the Lagrangian and obtaining the equation of motion through the Euler–Lagrange equation. Both the multi-step differential transforms method (Ms-DTM) and the Runge–Kutta 4th-order (RK4) method are employed to solve this equation, providing both analytical and numerical solutions. By examining these solutions, we confirm our findings and enhance our comprehension of the oscillator’s behavior, which can be applied to more intricate nonlinear systems.
When public preschool teachers’ classroom time is left behind
Authors: Sherfinski Melissa , Woodrum Hilary
Published: August 2024

This qualitative research study explores how US preschool teachers experience time as they grapple with linear “time for learning” policy initiatives. “Time for learning” positions children's learning as a function of the time children are engaged with learning tasks relative to the time needed for producing effective and efficient learners. This phenomenon is part of the global expansion of early childhood connected to biopolitics in which children's bodies are measured as subjects of governance and childhood becomes a temporal construct centered on society's aspirations and anxieties around children as its future citizens and economic contributors. Using van Manen's approach to interpretive phenomenology with 22 US preschool teachers who provided interviews on their experiences with reforms designed to expand their opportunities to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of learning for children with marginalized identities by providing them more time within the school day (expanding from half day to full day, or 4 days per week to 5), we found several themes: teachers’ loss of professional self, teachers’ loss of authentic self, and teachers disordering and distending “time for learning.” The findings suggest that preschool teachers in the study “played” with time in ways that spoke back to policy constraints yet also paid a price mentally due to efficiency/effectiveness expectations of the reform contexts. The discussion centers on preschool teachers’ experiences in light of older research on teachers’ consciousness and suggests that veteran preschool teachers are positioned uniquely in the struggle to resist the temporal elements of biopolitics and neoliberal reform.
Accuracy of full arch scans using the iTero Element 2® intra-oral scanner: A clinical study
Authors: Abu Arqub Sarah , Hariharan Amirtha , Banankhah Sina , Da Cunha Godoy Lucas , Liu Perian , Kuo Chia-Ling , Uribe Flavio
Published: August 2024

Objective:

To investigate the accuracy of full arch scans taken using the iTero Element 2® under clinical settings.

Design:

Prospective clinical study.

Methods:

A customised upper removable appliance (URA) with four spheres (A–D) was fabricated from a maxillary arch iTero® scan for a 24-year-old patient. Six linear values were measured on the URA using a high-accuracy coordinate measuring machine. A total of 60 intra-oral iTero® scans were taken by two operators (HA and AS) with the test URA inserted to the participant’s maxillary dentition at T1 and T2. Geomagic Control X software was used to measure the six linear distances between the reference spheres (1–4) in all scans. Comparisons between distances on full arch scans to true distances on the URA were made to evaluate accuracy.

Results:

The median distance to the prepared bench top URA mean was significantly away from zero for each operator and timepoint across all measurements except AD versus 14 and BD versus 24. Statistically significant, although clinically non-significant, differences in median linear distances in relation to the prepared benchtop URA were observed between evaluators in segments AB versus 12 (operator 1 −0.021 mm vs. operator 2 −0.06 mm) and AC vs. 13 (operator 1 −0.044 mm vs. operator 2 −0.167 mm) at T1.

Conclusion:

The accuracy of scanners is defined as the trueness and precision of the captured scans to the dental arches. The accuracy of iTero Element 2® is acceptable for diagnosis and treatment planning in orthodontics. Length and location of the scanned segment and scanning sequence ‘protocol’ affect accuracy.
‘Universalism’
Authors: Geuss Raymond
Published: August 2024

This essay falls into two parts. In the first the author tries to sketch some reasons for adopting an essayistic, rather than a monographic, approach to social phenomena. If one believes that society strongly privileges a certain relatively uniform set of terms, concepts, and theories, tacitly claiming universal status for them, then a sharply focused study of individual, seemingly marginal, phenomena will escape this imposed homogeneity than more general theoretic accounts will. The second part begins by distinguishing three senses of ‘universalism’. In the first sense, and approach is universal if it claims to be applicable to everything. An example would be the ‘economic’ approach to human behaviour. In a second sense, one can claim that a theory has universal application and is also uniquely correct –it is not simply one way to approach everything, but it is the only right way. The third sense is one associated with Kantian transcendentalism, which is a claim not just about the correctness of a given view, but its necessity, a necessity that is rooted in some invariant feature which structures all our knowledge. This essay claims that a confusion of the first and third of the three senses of ‘universalism’ has had very deleterious consequences for human thought and action.
The impact of studying abroad in a socioeconomically different country on work related values: Evidence from cypriot workers who were educated in the UK
Authors: Epaminonda Epaminondas
Published: August 2024

This paper analyses changes in work related values in individuals that studied in a country that is relatively more economically developed, more individualistic, less uncertainty avoiding and with a lower power distance score compared to their home country. This is done by comparing the responses of Cypriot workers who studied in the UK with other Cypriots that did not study abroad on a work values questionnaire and by interviewing workers who studied in the UK. Results suggest that workers who studied abroad consider intrinsic job characteristics such as challenging work, freedom to adopt own approach to the job and training opportunities as more important than locally trained employees whereas locally trained employees consider extrinsic characteristics such as pay, security and fringe benefits as more significant. The process of change in the workers who studied abroad seems to involve primarily dissonance and internal accountability. The main theoretical contribution of this research is the proposition that educational experiences abroad in a country with different socioeconomic characteristics compared to the home country can influence work related values and that this change takes place through a process of observing values differences and adjusting one’s values. Practical implications include that organizations are likely to become more diverse in terms of employees’ values because of education of employees in different cultural contexts and that this may have significant effects on management.
Reliability-based metrics for structural health monitoring information quality assessment
Authors: Zorzi Stefano , Broccardo Marco , Tonelli Daniel , Zonta Daniele
Published: August 2024

One of the primary challenges in civil engineering today is the safety assessment and management of existing infrastructures. In this context, structural health monitoring (SHM) plays a fundamental role in data acquisition and assessment of the safety of a given infrastructure. SHM data are instrumental for quantifying uncertainties, informing structural models, and updating structural reliability over time. In principle, an SHM system should provide the best information possible for assessing and updating structural reliability. Since infrastructure management resources are inevitably limited, SHM information quality assessment becomes a key issue. Several metrics are available in the scientific literature to measure the SHM information quality. Most of these are based on the accuracy of SHM information or the impact of monitoring on decision-making. This article introduces novel information quality metrics that quantify how SHM affects the structural reliability assessment. First, we state a comprehensive framework based on Bayesian networks for structural reliability updating. Based on this, we define a metric based on the measurement resolution concept. Next, according to structural reliability theory, we present an importance measure of the SHM observations. Finally, we propose two explanatory case studies.
A fiber optic laser-ultrasonic transmitter based on collapsed photonic crystal fiber for ultrasonic testing
Authors: Luo Wei , Zou Dujian , Liu Tiejun , Gao Shuang
Published: August 2024

Ultrasonic testing technology is widely used for its exceptional accuracy and resolution. Commercial ultrasonic testing systems basically use piezoelectric transducers as ultrasonic excitation elements. However, the performance of piezoelectric transducers is not stable enough in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. Therefore, a fiber optic laser-ultrasonic transmitter based on collapsed photonic crystal fiber (CPCF) was proposed. The CPCF guides the laser in the core into the photoacoustic material and realizes the ultrasonic excitation on the side wall of the fiber based on the optical-thermal-acoustic energy conversion. Finite element analysis and experimental research on the photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-CPCF-PCF microstructure show that controlling the CPCF length precisely enables quantitative modulation of the optical coupling coefficient, reflecting the optical energy in photoacoustic energy conversion. Three PCF-CPCF-PCF microstructures with different optical coupling coefficients were fusion spliced onto an optical fiber, and three-point ultrasonic excitation was successfully achieved on aluminum plates. The peak-to-peak values are all around 1.5 V, indicating that the energy of ultrasonic waves is balanced, which helps realize the baseline-free and standardized application of transmitters. Furthermore, the detection effect of ultrasonic waves generated by the transmitter on the thickness and defects of the plate was studied. By analyzing the ultrasonic echoes in the aluminum and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer plates, the corresponding wave speeds were calculated to be 6030.52 and 2522.34 m/s, similar to the longitudinal wave speeds in the corresponding materials. The indicators of ultrasonic waves in the time domain and frequency domain are sensitive to the thickness and defects of the plate. The amplitude and time-of-flight of the ultrasonic wave change monotonically with increasing damage severity. This study elucidates the principle of the fiber optic ultrasonic transmitter and demonstrates its capability of quasi-distributed ultrasonic excitation. Furthermore, the feasibility of non-destructive testing based on this transmitter was also verified.
Looking beyond duty hours: Offering a balanced quantitative-qualitative approach to resident burnout
Authors: Ng Isaac KS , Tham Sarah ZL , Chong Kar Mun , Teo Desmond B
Published: August 2024

Burnout, stress and overwork are highly prevalent amongst junior training physicians worldwide, which explains the widespread phenomenon of physicians leaving the field and organised protests/strikes for better working conditions. Back in 2003, the mandatory duty hour restriction was a landmark intervention rolled out by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education that formally mandated limiting working hours of trainee residents to no more than 80 h per week, and not exceeding 24-h shifts with 6 added hours for education and handover. Nonetheless, 20 years later, this measure continues to be subject to multiple debates on its purported efficacy in achieving its intended objectives and fails to adequately prevent physician burnout and exodus. In our view, the current duty hour restriction model is, in and of itself, inadequate for combating burnout amongst medical residents for several reasons, including insignificant reduction in duty hours with suboptimal adherence/reporting, failure to account for off-site clinical and non-clinical duties, as well as nature of clinical work which typically involves high work intensity in less-than-optimal/unconducive work environments and significant psychoemotional stress. In this article, we offer our perspectives on pursuing a balanced approach towards both meaningful quantitative reduction in working hours as well as practical qualitative improvement in nature of clinical and non-clinical work that could collectively address resident burnout and improve work and training outcomes.
More Candidates and Fewer Voters: How an Abundance of Choice Demobilizes the Electorate
Authors: Goidel Spencer
Published: August 2024

Voters, like consumers, experience choice overload when presented with too many similar options. The literature on consumer behavior finds overwhelmed consumers often opt out of making a decision altogether. Yet, how large candidate fields affect American voter behavior remains unexplored. I use an aggregate-level analysis leveraging exogenous changes to Louisiana’s electoral institutions and an individual-level analysis to investigate the effect of varying quantities of choice on ballot rolloff in U.S. House elections. Ballot rolloff is the phenomenon where voters turn out to vote, yet abstain in a given election. I find that an electoral institution that incentivizes candidate entry causes 5.7–7.1 percent more ballot rolloff, and also that individuals are more likely to rolloff when there are more candidates running in their House election. Louisiana is simply the best case to explore a phenomenon that is likely occurring in party primaries throughout the U.S.—choice overload at the ballot box.
Music Therapy and Music Intervention for NSCLC Patients Undergoing PET with Fear of Cancer Recurrence
Authors: Du Yi-jie , Guan Yi-hui , Thome Kevin T. , Dong Jing-cheng
Published: August 2024

Background: Cancer and psychiatric symptoms are associated. Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is the most common psychological problem for cancer survivors. Pharmacological interventions can help, but also have major drawbacks. Music therapy and music interventions have been shown to be a safe and practical complementary treatment. Objective: This randomized, controlled trial aimed to investigate the effects of music therapy and music intervention in attenuating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients’ anxiety related to FCR. Methods: NSCLC patients with FCR were randomly allocated to a music therapy and intervention group (G1) and Control group (G2). Patients’ anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores and heart rates. Primary outcome measure were PET scans. Secondary measures were salivary cortisol, salivary α-amylase levels and heart rate. Findings: Patients in G1 showed higher glucose metabolism of 18F-FDG in the superior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate, superior temporal gyrus, and parahippocampal gyrus, compared to those in G2 (all P < .001). Heart rates and salivary α-amylase area under the curve (AUC) and relative variation (VAR) in G1 were significantly lower than those in G2 (all P < .05). State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores and cortisol AUC in G1 were significantly lower than those in G2 (all P < .05). Conclusions: Music therapy and interventions can reduce anxiety and endocrinological responses and change glucose metabolism of 18F-FDG in fear-related brain regions.

Trial registration: Registered retrospectively, ISRCTN Registry, www.isrctn.com, ISRCTN23276302

Clinical Implications: Cancer treatment centers and physical examination centers should consider providing music therapy and intervention to the appropriate patients as a routine component of a comprehensive clinical care during medical examinations.
Addressing Polypharmacy: Developing Public-Facing Resources Through Storytelling-Based Co-Design
Authors: Thomson Alison , Fudge Nina , Van Blarikom Esca , Swinglehurst Deborah
Published: August 2024

Background: Tackling problematic polypharmacy is a global health safety priority and is likely to require a multifaceted approach. UK health policy hinges around the potential of medication reviews, but deprescribing in medication reviews is uncommon and evidence on how to harness their potential is sparse. Methods: Storytelling Group, a design-led methodology, was used to invite experts-by-experience (‘story-creators’) to re-imagine the medication review. We facilitated three 2-h workshops with seven story-creators, aged 65+ with experience of polypharmacy and an interest in identifying ways of safely reducing medications. Participants collaboratively built fictive scenarios, creating characters, chronology, contexts and plots, identifying touchpoints and incorporating personal experience. Provocative prompts (‘What ifs?’) aided story development. Results: Participants created five rich fictional narratives, featuring protagonists affected by polypharmacy and medication reviews involving new and different professionals, roles and contexts. Storytelling Group enabled experts-by-experience to use their knowledge of current medication review practices as their motivation to inspire novel imagined arrangements. This speculative exercise, deliberately crafted to distance participants from current realities, enabled them to share insights and propose new possibilities to address polypharmacy. The process revealed a range of tacit assumptions regarding the roles of healthcare professionals, patients, medications, the health system, and their inter-relationships. Only two of the five narratives they co-constructed involved deprescribing, neither in conventional clinical settings. We then curated a prototype collection of seven fictional short stories (‘Let’s Talk Differently About Medicines’) which we refined through user-experience testing. Conclusions: Our study is an empirical exploration of a design-led methodology which may be adapted for application in healthcare improvement when the phenomenon being addressed is sufficiently complex as to escape easy articulation or resolution.