bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Re-emergence of Fascism and Its Impact on European Democracies in the Immediate Postwar Period
Authors: Martini Andrea
Published: December 2022

After the end of Second World War, fascist movements re-emerged in many areas of Europe. This forced governments to consider counter-measures from the early days of the Cold War, when communism was seen as the main threat. Nevertheless, even studies produced in recent decades aimed at exploring the immediate postwar history of Europe using a more accurate and comprehensive approach than in the past have failed to pay sufficient attention to this issue. In response, this article aims to place new emphasis on the re-emergence of fascism by comparing the behaviour of the Labour governments of postwar Britain with the attitude of the various Italian executives of the first legislature, characterized by Christian Democracy majorities. Through this comparison, the article will demonstrate how this re-emergence represented a comprehensive challenge to the process of defining a new democratic culture, since it raised questions about the right way to tackle extreme political movements while also preserving essential pillars of democracy, such as freedom of expression and assembly. The comparison also explores how governments attempted to confront this issue with solutions that also had the potential of undermining the communist threat, in a moment when governments believed that democracy was in need of protection.
Novel materials for low-risk category personal protective clothing for industrial workwear used in hot workplace environments: improved thermal and moisture management attributes
Authors: Watson Chris , Troynikov Olga , Wardiningsih Wiah , Nawaz Nazia
Published: December 2022

Personal protective clothing (PPC) is required in a variety of sectors and is important from both a safety and a thermal management standpoint. Materials used in PPC play a key role in protection. Extensive research has been conducted on the risk variables that lead to thermal load and the corresponding functional properties of PPC, particularly in high-risk categories. In contrast, despite the fact that employees who wear this type of PPC constitute a major fraction of the industrial workforce, relatively little study has been undertaken on PPC materials in low-risk categories and their thermal management properties. For this study, four new PPC materials were specifically engineered to have improved thermal attributes and were compared with four existing PPC materials of equivalent protection levels, as well as four summer-season civilian materials, to determine the most suitable materials for use in hot outdoor environments. We investigated and compared the thermal management properties of these novel materials, including liquid moisture transfer, thermal and water vapor resistance, and air permeability, to those of current materials used in low-risk PPC as well as civilian materials. The results demonstrated that the new PPC materials had improved thermal and vapor resistance; superior liquid moisture transfer properties; higher air permeability; and were lower in mass and thickness than the existing PPC materials. Furthermore, the new materials compared favorably with the civilian materials in a number of these attributes. The new materials should be included in low-risk PPC designed for use in hot outdoor conditions.
A new approach for measuring the air gap between diaper and baby skin
Authors: Wu Daiwei , Wang Yunyi
Published: December 2022

The air gap between baby skin and top sheet of disposable diapers is the main place where baby’s metabolic heat, perspiration, and moisture produced by evaporation of urine stay and transfer. Heat and moisture transfer underneath a diaper are greatly affected by the shape and size of the air gap, therefore, it is of significant importance to explore the air gap between diaper and baby skin for comfort and skin health of babies. Currently, it is still a big problem to accurately measure and characterize the air gap of diaper for scholars. In this article, a new approach to measure the air gap, combining three-dimensional scanning, liquid silicone rubber filling, and image processing methods, was proposed to obtain the shape and size of the air gap between diaper and baby skin by region, for quantitative research on heat and moisture transfer mechanism of diapers. In addition, several indicators, including air volume, air gap thickness, and contact area, as well as clothing area factor of the diaper, were chosen to quantify the air gap size and distributions. After verification of accuracy and repeatability, this new approach can effectively measure the size of the air gap underneath the diaper, and provide a feasible way for exploration on quantitative relationship between thermal and moisture comfort of diapers and their structural design, fit, and diapering habits. Furthermore, diaper designers and baby caregivers can obtain guidelines of diaper structural design, wearing and change to improve the microclimate in the diaper for baby comfort and skin health.
Study of the surface properties of polypropylene by enzyme treatment
Authors: Jia Weini , Yao Yiqing , Guo Jianmin , Zhang Xiaoli , Liang Zhijie
Published: December 2022

Surface modification of polypropylene is performed in this work by enzyme-catalyzed post-processing strategy. The polyDOPA was synthesized by in-situ polymerization in the present of laccase and deposited on the polypropylene surface. The effect of various process variables namely processing step, pH, time, and temperature is studied at various levels. The results show that one-bath and one-step method is the optimal mode. Various functional groups incorporated to the polymer surface are confirmed by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effect of process variables on surface morphology of polymers is evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, revealing that the surface of the polypropylene is covered with thin burrs, and these are regarded as polyDOPA adhered after treatment. Furthermore, the electrostatic charge decay time and contact angle as well as capillary wetting measurements of the modified polypropylene are 0.61 s and 75.33°, respectively, indicating its fine anti-static electricity and better wettability. Besides, this material shows dark gray colors and exhibits excellent ultraviolet-resistance performance. Interestingly, the modification process nearly has no influences on the mechanical property.
The Power Implications of the Shift to Customer Reviews: A field perspective on jobbing platforms operating in France
Authors: Barbe Anne-Sophie , Gond Jean-Pascal , Hussler Caroline
Published: December 2022

Customer reviews are a new type of third-party evaluation that has transformed how power operates over evaluated producers, and in so doing has attracted scholarly attention. However, this literature rarely addresses the power relationships operating between platforms collecting and aggregating these reviews. We address this blind spot by relying on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of fields, which we use to highlight that the reaction of producers to traditional third-party evaluations depend on, and reproduce, the domination of an evaluation intermediary over its competitors. Our qualitative study of the field of jobbing platforms in France reveals that producers react to customer reviews only on platforms accumulating relatively better stocks of reviews, in a self-reinforcing manner. Managers of platforms with smaller stocks of reviews resist by sheltering jobbers from reviews. Our study re-introduces field-level power dynamics between platforms to research exploring the forms of power that operate on producers subjected to reviews. It adds to studies of evaluation intermediaries by specifying that the accumulation of reviews underpins the power relationships between intermediaries in the customer review era and by identifying sheltering as a new form of resistance. Finally, it updates Bourdieu’s theory for the digital age by explaining that individuals’ accumulation of capital online relates to inter-organisational power dynamics.
Use of del Nido cardioplegia in acute coronary syndrome cases with decreased ejection fraction
Authors: Sanetra Krzysztof , Gerber Witold , Domaradzki Wojciech , Mazur Marta , Synak Magdalena , Kubaszewska Marta , Kaźmierczak Paweł , Buszman Piotr P , Bochenek Andrzej
Published: December 2022

Background

There has been increasing interest in using del Nido cardioplegia in adult cardiac surgery. However, there is limited evidence for its efficacy in patients with acute coronary syndrome and reduced ejection fraction.

Methods

This study examined patients with decreased ejection fraction (EF < 40%) who were hospitalized due to acute coronary syndrome and received either del Nido (DN) or cold blood cardioplegia (CB). The patients were matched based on age, gender, myocardial infarction at baseline, and number of conducted surgical procedures. An analysis was conducted on postoperative biomarker release (high-sensitivity troponin T and isoenzyme creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB)), changes in myocardial contractility and perioperative outcomes.

Results

62 pairs of patients with similar baseline characteristics were selected. 51.6% of pairs underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, while 48.4% underwent a complex procedure. Postoperative troponin values did not differ significantly at 12 h (median (IQR): 606.7 (381.4–974.8) pg/mL vs. 552 (231.8–1579.5) pg/mL; p = 0.913), nor did CK-MB (median (IQR): 24.3 (12.6–45.5) ng/mL vs. 23.7 (12.3–49.8) ng/mL; p = 0.972). The postoperative EF was similar between groups (median (IQR): 30% (30–35%) vs. 34% (30–38%); p = 0.323). No difference in perioperative mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, or composite endpoint was noted. In a multivariate analysis, the cardioplegia protocol did not affect biomarker release or changes in ejection fraction. The first stage of acute kidney injury was more frequent in the CB group (28.5% vs. 9.7%, p = 0.033).

Conclusions

Both del Nido and cold blood cardioplegia provide adequate cardioprotection in patients with acute coronary syndrome with decreased ejection fraction.
An Evaluation of Reputation Using Online Auction Data for a Group of American Watercolorists
Authors: Zickar Michael John , Stevenor Brent
Published: December 2022

To understand the relation between artistic reputation and sales prices from popular online auction sites, we analyzed over 3,000 online auction sales of 87 American artists who had expertise in watercolor using the websites eBay, LiveAuctioneers, and EBTH. Traditional indexes of reputation were measured by museum placements, as well as archival holdings, and book references and we also included the number of Instagram mentions. We used hierarchical linear modeling to investigate the relation of reputation with average prices as well as price trends over time, controlling for individual painting characteristics such as size and medium. All of our artistic reputation indicators, including number of Instagram hashtag references, were positively related to the average sales price per artist. Our results extend the literature on the role of artistic reputation to account for social media via Instagram, as well as provide one of the first empirical investigations of popular online art auctions.
Effect of Pictorial Depth Cues on Illusory Spatial Depth of the Lin Family Garden
Authors: Tai Nan-Ching
Published: December 2022

The methods of creating three-dimensional depth in two-dimensional paintings in the West and the East are quite different. Chinese paintings use layers of pictorial cues of relative size to create a sense of depth, while Western paintings utilize a linear perspective to integrate size related pictorial cues. The Chinese Scholar's Garden is known for its sense of endless spatial experience and illusory scene depth. This study examined how the pictorial space composed in Chinese landscape paintings was realized in the Chinese Scholar's Garden. The Lin Family Garden was selected for its adoption of the architectural style of the Chinese Scholar's Garden, and perceptual studies were conducted. The results confirmed that the uncommon reductions of the architectural elements observed in the garden can be an intentional effort to implement the pictorial depth cue of relative size utilized in Chinese landscape paintings to enrich the spatial depth of the garden scenes.
Evaluating Contraflow High-Occupancy Vehicle Lane Designs for Mitigating High-Occupancy Vehicle Lane Performance Degradation
Authors: Wei Zhensong , Hao Peng , Barth Matthew , Boriboonsomsin Kanok
Published: December 2022

High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane performance degradation has become more prevalent in many regions because of the growing travel demand and the increasing number of HOV lane-eligible vehicles. Conventional capacity expansion strategies, such as adding a second HOV lane, can be a promising solution. However, they can be difficult in areas where there is little room left to add new travel lanes in both directions. In that case, adding a contraflow HOV lane could be a good compromise, especially if the peak travel demands in the HOV lanes are tidal. In this work, we study the impact of adding a contraflow HOV lane on a section of the I-215 freeway, which connects two major cities in Riverside County, California. Two alternative designs, “full contraflow” and “partial contraflow” HOV lanes, are evaluated in the traffic microsimulation environment. The evaluation results show that in the case of the full contraflow HOV lane design, the average delay during peak hours in the southbound direction of the freeway would be reduced by 76% compared with the scenario with no additional HOV lane. The implementation of the full contraflow HOV lane to supplement the existing HOV lanes would also increase the average speed in the currently degraded HOV lane from 37.8 to 55.0 mph, which is significantly above 45 mph, the speed threshold for HOV lane performance degradation.
Development of Toll Equivalency Factors for FASTag Lanes Under Mixed Traffic Conditions
Authors: Bari Chintaman , Chandra Satish , Dhamaniya Ashish
Published: December 2022

The traffic conditions in India consist of a high degree of heterogeneity in vehicle categories plying on the highways without any lane-following behavior. A similar behavior is observed at the toll plazas where a dedicated lane assigned to a vehicle class is encroached by the vehicles of other categories, causing a mixed nature of the traffic in the same lane. In the present study, service headway is taken as the measure of effectiveness for studying the effect of mixed traffic conditions on traffic operations at electronic toll collection system (ETC) lanes, which are called FASTag lanes in India. Service headway is composed of processing time and the clearance time of the vehicle. Videographic data were collected at three different toll plazas located on National Highways in India to capture the variability in traffic and human behavior. The results showed that the service headway for a vehicle varies between 1.56 s and 34.40 s. The service headway-based toll equivalency factors (HTEF) are developed for converting the mixed traffic flow into a homogeneous equivalent for FASTag lanes. The results showed that the HTEF varies from 1.01 to 2.61. The results are validated spatially with data taken from a different site, and no significant difference was found between both the converted and equivalent data. Field engineers can use the developed HTEFs to estimate the traffic flow in equivalent terms based on the traffic composition. Further, the present study results can also be used to study the capacity and level of service (LOS) of FASTag lanes.
Return to Sports After Closed Reduction of Acute Traumatic Posterior Sternoclavicular Joint Dislocations: A Systematic Review
Authors: Damschen Jordan , Nowak Matthew , Murphy Alexandria , Park Seungkyu , Li Xinning , Galvin Joseph
Published: December 2022

Background:

Acute traumatic posterior sternoclavicular (SC) joint dislocation is a serious injury given its potential to cause cardiovascular and airway compromise that typically will require emergent closed reduction. There are limited data on the rate of return to sports (RTS) after this injury pattern when treated in a closed fashion.

Purpose:

To systematically review the literature and evaluate (1) the rate of RTS after closed reduction of posterior SC dislocation and (2) the timeline for RTS after closed reduction of posterior SC dislocation.

Study Design:

Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

A systematic review was performed using the PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Elsevier databases with the search term “sternoclavicular dislocation.” Inclusion criteria were publications reporting successful closed reduction of posterior SC joint dislocation and containing data relevant to the study objectives. Exclusion criteria were cases with unsuccessful closed reduction, open surgical reduction, concomitant fracture, epiphyseal disruption, superior or anterior dislocation, subluxation injury, treatment without reduction, and atraumatic or congenital origins.

Results:

Sixteen studies and an additional forthcoming case at the authors’ institution were identified to have documented RTS with a total of 31 patients. Of these patients, 23 (74%) in the cohort had full RTS. Eight of the 16 studies plus the additional case reported a timeline for RTS. The mean time to RTS was 3.1 months (range, 1-6 months). Of the 8 patients who did not return to preinjury sports or activity, 12.9% (4/31) reported restrictions with sports or activity, 6.5% (2/31) changed to a sport with less contact, 3.2% (1/31) experienced symptomatic recurrence requiring surgical stabilization, and 3.2% (1/31) quit the sport.

Conclusion:

Closed reduction of acute traumatic posterior SC joint dislocations provides high RTS rates with low rates of secondary surgical stabilization. The mean time to RTS at the preinjury activity level was 3.1 months.
Evidence-Based Design Process for Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Interventions: A Case Study of the Advancing Local Dairy Development Programme in Nigeria
Authors: Ojo Ayodeji , Adeyemi Olutayo , Kayode Fisayomi , Oyebamiji Olumide , Onabolu Adeyinka , Grema Audu , MacNaughtan Kristen , Ajieroh Victor
Published: December 2022

Background:

Nigeria is a significant contributor to the global burden of chronic undernutrition in children under 5 years of age. The undernutrition challenge constrains the productivity of rural households. This study was carried out among beneficiaries of the productivity-enhancing Nigerian Dairy Development Programme (NDDP) to guide incorporation of nutrition into the successor program—Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria (ALDDN). Therefore, this study contributes to the literature about operationalizing nutrition-sensitive agricultural frameworks.

Objective:

The study sought to determine potential entry points for improving the nutrition of smallholder dairy farmers (≤ 5 milk cows) with a focus on food system entry points.

Methods:

Primary data were collected from 514 smallholder dairy households in Oyo and Kano states of Nigeria. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative data collected included minimum dietary diversity for women, nutrition status, and socioeconomic characteristics of households. Qualitative data included information about sources of food, markets, and other food system characteristics. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistical tools and correlation analysis, while common themes were identified from qualitative data.

Conclusions:

The study showcased men’s important role in food purchase and consumption, particularly in Kano. Increasing opportunities and the ability of women to use nutrition education appeared necessary for translating knowledge into improved practices. The own consumption (i.e., the portion of the milk kept for households’ consumption as well as diversification of foods produced for consumption); income; women’s empowerment; and environmental sanitation pathways seemed to be the most feasible pathways for improving nutrition within the context of the study population.
Ideology of Athletic Merit: Transmission of Privilege in College Athlete Admissions
Authors: Hextrum Kirsten
Published: December 2022

Researchers critique athletic admissions, claiming that lower academic standards for athletes lead to disengagement, retention issues, and mission-drift. Yet few studies scrutinize the athletic standards utilized. Despite the concentration of Black men in football and basketball, overall, white and middle-class athletes receive the greatest admission advantages suggesting athletic merit aligns with privilege. Drawing on 47 life-history interviews with Division I college athletes from one elite university, I apply Althusserian ideology to examine how exceptionally admitted participants interpret and (re)enact their advantages. Narratives revealed the institutional conditions, rituals, and practices that link athleticism to college access. Across three themes—access, ascendance, and admission—I consider how athletes are interpellated into meritorious recipients of preferential treatment, obscuring the structural alignments undergirding university access.
Families and Financial Support: Comparing Black and Asian American College Students
Authors: Wiggins Yolanda , Harrington Blair , Gerstel Naomi
Published: December 2022

Although many recognize that families shape the likelihood of getting into college, few examine variation in families’ involvement during college or its implications for sustaining inequalities. Using interviews with 51 Black and 61 Asian American college students, our analysis reveals that class and race jointly shape students’ perceptions of the financial assistance that they receive from and give to family—whether in the short term (during college) or their plans for the long term (post-college). Advantaged students across race receive more and provide less assistance than disadvantaged students. Both disadvantaged Black and Asian American students share future intentions of support, but only disadvantaged Black students give their families money during college. Race and class affect students’ framing of family and designation of the particular family members (whether parents, siblings, extended kin, or fictive kin) included in these exchanges. Lastly, we analyze the ways these different forms of assistance shape students’ college struggles; Black students experience the most strain due to their working and giving back during college. Drawing on and developing theories addressing the models and practices of familial diversity, this paper shows how class and race intersect to shape family assistance and its consequences for the persistence of inequality.
Does Job Insecurity Motivate Protest Participation? A Multilevel Analysis of Working-Age People from 18 Developed Countries
Authors: Azedi Arman
Published: December 2022

In recent decades, social scientists have devoted increased attention to job insecurity, a highly prominent stressor for workers today. Although social movements literature has examined other economic threats as mobilizing agents, the potential for job insecurity to stoke protest participation remains unknown. To investigate this issue, I analyze survey data gathered by the European Social Survey ( n = 35,891) via face-to-face interviews. Hierarchical logistic regressions reveal job insecurity is significantly associated with participation in protests and is more important for protest than any other individual economic indicator, such as poor income, unemployment, and negative perceptions of the wider economy. Its effect is modest compared with biographical and political factors, such as education and antigovernment beliefs. The mobilizing effect of job insecurity is more pronounced when combined with contextual factors that exacerbate insecurity, namely, working in unstable service and private sector jobs, or living in countries with poor social safety nets.
Psychometric Properties of a Preschool Language, Literacy, and Behavior Screener
Authors: Seven Yagmur , Dedrick Robert F. , Madsen Keri M. , Spencer Trina D. , Kelley Elizabeth , Goldstein Howard
Published: December 2022

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Preschool Language, Literacy, and Behavior Screener (PLLB-S). We examined and tested the factor structure of the PLLB-S using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. We further conducted internal consistency, concurrent validity, and predictive validity analyses and evaluated teacher satisfaction using PLLB-S. Our factor analyses resulted in 22 items distributed among three subscales with high internal consistency: Oral language, emergent literacy, and behavior skills. The PLLB-S and its subscales correlated moderately to strongly with standardized measures. The emergent literacy of the PLLB-S was the only subscale that significantly predicted children’s later vocabulary knowledge. Preschool teachers reported high satisfaction with the content and purpose of the questionnaire. We concluded that this tool with sound psychometric properties can potentially help increase the feasibility and efficiency of implementing standardized assessments in MTSS frameworks in preschool classrooms.
Improving the U.S. Workforce System by Transforming its Performance Measurement System into an Intelligent Information System
Authors: Eberts Randall W.
Published: December 2022

A smart public workforce system requires customized tools to help customers navigate through the complexities of finding a job or finding qualified workers. It also requires that information flow in both directions—from customers to the workforce system and vice versa. This commentary shows some early attempts at constructing algorithms to develop tools and proposes research that is necessary for future refinements. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the federal program that provides most funds and guidance for the nation's public workforce system, offers some direction for states to follow in constructing various aspects of these tools. The early attempts include a pilot for Georgia, called Frontline Decision Support System (FDSS), and the Value-Added Performance Improvement System (VAPIS) for the state of Michigan. Future research must answer questions such as the efficacy of AI over regression, and how does one go about evaluating such tools.
Many Roads Lead to Rome: Differential Learning Processes for the Same Perceptual Improvement
Authors: Du Yangyang , Zhang Gongliang , Li Wu , Zhang En
Published: December 2022

Repeatedly exercising a perceptual ability usually leads to improvement, yet it is unclear whether the mechanisms supporting the same perceptual learning could be flexibly adjusted according to the training settings. Here, we trained adult observers in an orientation-discrimination task at either a single (focused) retinal location or multiple (distributed) retinal locations. We examined the observers’ discriminability ( N = 52) and bias ( N = 20) in orientation perception at the trained and untrained locations. The focused and distributed training enhanced orientation discriminability by the same amount and induced a bias in perceived orientation at the trained locations. Nevertheless, the distributed training promoted location generalization of both practice effects, whereas the focused training resulted in specificity. The two training tactics also differed in long-term retention of the training effects. Our results suggest that, depending on the training settings of the same task, the same discrimination learning could differentially engage location-specific and location-invariant representations of the learned stimulus feature.
Effect of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate: Triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate ratio on functional properties of Bis-GMA hybrid composites
Authors: Ooi Ing Hong , Chuah Michelle Poh May , Siew Kar Hui , Tong Zoe Geng Mei , Kamarul Ariffin Nurul Jannah
Published: December 2022

This study aimed to investigate the effect of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate:triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TFEMA: TEGDMA) ratio on various functional properties of Bis-GMA/TFEMA:TEGDMA/UDMA composites. The experimental composites were loaded with 70% (weight% of total monomer) fillers consisting of silanised fumed silica, zirconia, and strontium fluoride. The light-cured composites were analysed for degree of conversion by FTIR-ATR technique, volumetric shrinkage in according to the Archimedes' principle, and fluoride ion release and recharge capacity by ion selective electrode. Water sorption, water solubility, and flexural strength were determined in accordance with ISO 4049 standard. Results showed that the degree of conversion, fluoride release and recharge capacity, water sorption, water solubility increased, and polymerization shrinkage decreased, with increasing TFEMA:TEGDMA ratio. Besides, twofold increase in flexural strength was observed for composite with the highest TFEMA content.
Absence, Agency and Empire: Desertion from the French Army During the First World War
Authors: Eldridge Claire
Published: December 2022

An estimated 66,678 men deserted from the French Army between 1914 and 1918. Using conseil de guerre (military tribunal) evidence, including interviews with captured deserters, this article shifts the scholarly focus on desertion from quantitative to qualitative data. This methodological move centres the experiences and voices of individual, often marginalised soldiers and demonstrates how desertion enabled otherwise constrained combatants to exercise agency, both when deserting and during the military justice process. Focusing on colonial citizens and subjects mobilised from North Africa, the article draws empire into scholarly conversations surrounding military justice to enhance understanding of France's multi-ethnic army and the specific imperial dimensions of desertion during the First World War.
Social Trust Towards Risk in International Business: A Cross-Country Analysis
Authors: Thanetsunthorn Namporn , Wuthisatian Rattaphon
Published: December 2022

There is a growing body of research on social trust in the literature in business and economics. This study adopts the conceptual and empirical relationship between trust behaviour and risk-taking propensity, and further extends the frontier of research on social trust by examining whether social trust can influence country risk in international business settings. Using a panel data set consisting of developing and developed countries over the period 1995–2019, the study performs a battery of empirical tests, and finds robust evidence that developing countries with a higher level of social trust appear to display a greater degree of financial uncertainty. The findings are consistent with recent experimental studies documenting a significant positive association between trust and risk-taking behaviour. The study provides new insights into the role of social trust in country risk assessment, and offers meaningful implications for international business.
Understanding the IOT Adoption for Home Automation in the Perspective of UTAUT2
Authors: Iqbal Javed , Idrees Muhammad
Published: December 2022

This study aims to understand the reasons of IOT adoption for home automation while expanding the ambit of UTAUT2 to a new market (Pakistan) with new technology (IOT) by incorporating novel variables of IOTA (cryptocurrency) concatenation with IOT & challenges to deeply understand the reasons behind IOT adoption. The author collected 400 plus responses using purposive sampling from all provinces of Pakistan. The obtained data was analyzed using Smart PLS. The study revealed that performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, challenges in IOT adoption, IOTA concatenation with IOT, price value and social influence are key drivers of adoption while Effort expectancy & hedonic motivation are less influential in the adoption process. Such understanding is pivotal for companies dealing in IOT products as it explicitly elucidates the reasons for the adoption of IOT for home automation and hence helps the firms to work meticulously on the major drives of adoption. The study is significant as it expands the scope of UTAUT2 to a new market (Pakistan) with new technology (IOT) incorporating novel variables (IOTA concatenation & challenges), leading to greater automation & enhancing the predictive power of the UTAUT2 propounded by Venkatesh et al. (2012) .
Indian Experience of Managing Impossible Trinity, Growth and Possible Tradeoff Between FDI and FIIs: Nature of Capital Inflows Matter
Authors: Padhi Satya Prasad
Published: December 2022

The current focus emphasizes the difficult choices faced by Indian management of the impossible trinity to manage import-led growth. The management highlights two mechanisms by which FDI (foreign direct investment) flows are easily substituted for short-run FII (foreign institutional investment) flows. First, GDP and its growth in an open economy framework and the associated international trade participation can clarify this substitution prospect. Specifically, this study develops reasoning whereby imports under the trilemma management can give some decisive advantage to FII at the cost of FDI to manage Indian import-led growth. Second, it underlines how the related policies, especially the sterilization interventions, constrain the interactions of higher domestic investments (domestic savings), spillover impacts of imports of intermediate and capital goods, and specialized FDI. If so, the Indian economy’s import-led growth can indicate FII and FDI tradeoffs. The study uses the ARDL regression method. The results show that the Indian policy-led macro environment can limit the scope of specialized FDI that aims to induce advanced domestic investment, exports, and FDI interactions. India’s focus on import-led growth thereby underpins how FII substitutes FDI.

JEL Classification F21, F3, F4, O11, O14
The Association of Glucose Variability and Dementia Incidence in Latinx Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Cuevas Heather , Muñoz Elizabeth , Nagireddy Divya , Kim Jeeyeon , Ganucheau Grace , Alomoush Fathia
Published: December 2022

Latinx adults with both cognitive dysfunction and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are significantly more likely than Latinx adults with diabetes alone to have complications such as cardiovascular disease. Glucose variability may be a risk for dementia, but the course of glucose variability in the time before a dementia diagnosis for Latinx adults with T2DM has not been examined. We used a 10-year retrospective cohort of medical records of Latinx patients with T2DM who had at least one use of a continuous glucose monitor. The objective was to examine how glucose variability was associated with future dementia diagnoses. A total of 116 charts were included. Mean of daily differences and mean amplitude of glycemic excursions were more strongly associated with dementia diagnoses than other variability indices ( p < .01). Understanding the relationships between cognitive function, glucose variability, and barriers to health care can translate into improved interventions to enhance diabetes care.
Could HPV Type 33 Be More Risky Than We Thought?
Authors: Purut Yunus Emre , Uçkan Kazım
Published: December 2022

Objective: The distribution of human papilloma virus (HPV) genotypes varies by country and region. HPV is the most important risk factor for cervical cancer and HPV 16/18 is the most common genotype. Other high risk HPVs (hrHPVs) other than HPV 16 and 18 contribute significantly to invasive disease. In this study, we aimed to reveal the frequency of association of HPV 16, 18 and other high-risk-HPV types with CIN 2 + (CIN 2 and above) cervical lesions in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and to support the literature especially on the management of high-risk-HPV types other than 16 and 18. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study, which was conducted on 264 patients and 202 patients after the exclusion criteria, was conducted in the gynecology oncology outpatient clinic of the tertiary care hospital between March 2020 and May 2022. HPV 16, HPV 18 and other high-risk-HPV types with negative cytology between the ages of 25-65 were compared by taking a biopsy accompanied by colposcopy performed by the same gynecologist. As a result of colposcopy, CIN2 + patients who underwent excisional procedure were distributed according to HPV type. During this procedure, the patients who were positive for more than one HPV type were considered positive for the group with all subtypes (For example, if the patient was type 31 and 33 positive, they were included in both the 31 and 33 positive groups). The genotype distribution in the high-risk-HPV group was examined. Results: Colposcopy results showed HPV 16 positivity in 43.3%, HPV 33 positivity in 30% and HPV 18 positivity in 10% of the patients with CIN2 + and above lesions. It was observed that the incidence of CIN2 + lesions in the patients with HPV 33 positive was higher than the incidence of a lower-grade lesion (such as CIN1, chronic cervicitis) (p < 0.05). While HPV 33 (r = 0.290, p < 0.000) results were positively correlated with CIN2 + and above lesions, there was a negative correlation with HPV 45 (r = - 0.172, p < 0.015) results (p < 0.05). It was observed that HPV 33 and HPV 45 positivity was a statistically significant variable in predicting the probability of CIN2 + lesions in colposcopy results. It was determined that a HPV 33 positive patient increased the probability of having a CIN2 + lesion by 4.999 times (p < 0.000). Conclusion: In the literature, the role of high-risk -HPV types other than HPV 16 and HPV 18 with negative cytology in the women at risk of cervical preinvasive lesions has still not been fully determined. According to the results of the stuy, especially in women infected with high-risk -HPV types other than HPV 16/18, the relationship between HPV 33 type and CIN 2 + lesions was found to be high, and it was seen that colposcopic biopsy should be performed immediately instead of follow-up after 1 year.
Healing the Digital Divide With Digital Inclusion: Enabling Human Capabilities
Authors: Fisk Raymond P. , Gallan Andrew S. , Joubert Alison M. , Beekhuyzen Jenine , Cheung Lilliemay , Russell-Bennett Rebekah
Published: December 2022

The “digital divide” refers to societal-level inequalities of digital access, capabilities, and outcomes. To explore how the digital divide affects customers experiencing vulnerability, service interactions in essential service settings (health care, education, and social services) were empirically investigated and practices service system members might adopt to address vulnerability were identified. This research upframes the pillars of service inclusion framework to define human capabilities that result from service inclusion practices. Three research topics were addressed: how the digital divide affects vulnerability (RQ1), how the digital divide can be addressed through service inclusion practices (RQ2), and how service inclusion practices enable human capabilities for digital inclusion (RQ3). The findings illuminate: (1) how service employees can engage in service inclusion practices to address the digital divide (by letting go of rules and perspectives, sharing control, providing services beyond job scope, and facilitating social connections), and (2) how these service inclusion practices build human capabilities for digital inclusion (by building basic skills and capabilities for meaningful outcomes through role modeling, coaching, customer-to-customer mentoring, and expanding networks). Contributions include conceptual models of service inclusion practices and fostering digital inclusion that specify a new meso level service organization pathway for healing the digital divide.
An improved two-steps method for secondary in-the-bag intraocular lens implantation in aphakia eye
Authors: Li Xiaomeng , Luo Dawei , Gu Chufeng , Lhamo Thashi , Draga Deji , Zheng Zhi , Qiu Qinghua
Published: December 2022

Purpose

To describe an improved technique for secondary IOL implantation in constricted capsular bag in aphakic eyes.

Setting

This study was designed and carried out in the department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital (Shanghai First People's Hospital).

Design

This is a retrospective study which evaluate the post-operative effect of the two-steps secondary IOL implantation.

Method

21 eyes of 21 patients who underwent primary cataract surgery from June 2020 to September 2020 were enrolled. Two-steps IOL implantation was performed. Patients were followed up with ophthalmic examinations.

Results

Of all 21 eyes, the capsular bags were reopened and the IOL were implanted into the bag. During follow-up, the mean age was 62.3 ± 7.3 (range, 44–81) years and mean interval between the primary surgery and secondary IOL implantation was 23.5 ± 9.6 (range, 4.1–78.3) weeks. A marked improvement of postoperative mean BCVA was noticed (pre 20/84 Snellen, 0.62 ± 0.26 logMAR equivalent, and post 20/44 Snellen, 0.34 ± 0.33 logMAR equivalent; p = 0.001). The mean SE also improved from + 10.32 ± 5.05D at baseline to −2.68 ± 1.36D at the last follow-up time ( p < 0.001). The mean IOP showed no significant difference (pre 17.62 ± 4.66 mmHg, post16.84 ± 4.73 mmHg; p = 0.6860) and the corneal endothelial cell density decreased about 11.04 ± 10.84% (from 2483 ± 218.43 cells/mm2 to 2190 ± 361.36 cells/mm2 p = 0.0029)

Conclusion

The two-steps capsular bag reopening method can be achieved in majority of cases with stable IOL position and better visual outcome.
Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Paraspeckles Expression in Osteosarcoma Tissues
Authors: Rothzerg Emel , Feng Wenyu , Song Dezhi , Li Hengyuan , Wei Qingjun , Fox Archa , Wood David , Xu Jiake , Liu Yun
Published: December 2022

Nuclear paraspeckles are subnuclear bodies contracted by nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) long non-coding RNA, localised in the interchromatin space of mammalian cell nuclei. Paraspeckles have been critically involved in tumour progression, metastasis and chemoresistance. To this date, there are limited findings to suggest that paraspeckles, NEAT1 and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) directly or indirectly play roles in osteosarcoma progression. Herein, we analysed NEAT1, paraspeckle proteins (SFPQ, PSPC1 and NONO) and hnRNP members (HNRNPK, HNRNPM, HNRNPR and HNRNPD) gene expression in 6 osteosarcoma tumour tissues using the single-cell RNA-sequencing method. The normalised data highlighted that the paraspeckles transcripts were highly abundant in osteoblastic OS cells, except NEAT1, which was highly expressed in myeloid cell 1 and 2 subpopulations.
Journalistic knowledge production during a social crisis: How journalists claimed professional authority during the Chilean social uprising
Authors: Orchard Ximena , Fergnani Mario
Published: December 2022

In this paper we problematize protest coverage as an epistemological challenge for journalists, based on the case of the 2019 social uprising in Chile, in which the authority of professional journalists as narrators of events was questioned by audiences. The study aims at identifying the main dimensions of news production that become altered in an extended social crisis, as well as the main repertoires of practice and justifications deployed from the journalistic field to face them. The paper is based on the analysis of episodic narrative interviews ( n = 32), with journalists who participated in the coverage of the uprising in different capacities, in TV, radio, print and digital only media outlets. In our findings, we identify disruptions of epistemic consequence for news production during the coverage of the protests and riots, such as safety issues, and the relationship of journalists with space, time and the evidence recognized as appropriate for journalistic content, an issue that became particularly problematic around episodes of violence. We then identify four epistemic modes (approaches to knowledge-production) activated during the protests: detached narrator, conflict deflector, conflict mediator and involved narrator. These modes reveal differentiated responses to protest coverage inside professional journalism, which are in turn based on complementary claims of legitimacy for journalistic practice.
Damage detection for structural health monitoring using ultra-sensitive flexible piezoelectret sensors
Authors: Wang Guocheng , Qiu Wenying , Liu Ying , Bai Yunfei , Cao Chengran , Tang Fei , Wang Xiaohao , Zhang Min
Published: December 2022

Damage detection is of great importance for structural construction management and safety. In this study, an ultra-sensitive flexible piezoelectret sensor for damage monitoring in structural health monitoring (SHM) is designed and fabricated, based on excellent electromechanical properties and piezoelectric response characteristics of electret films. The charge stability of the piezoelectret sensor was demonstrated by continuous potential measurement experiments. The experimentally measured piezoelectret coefficient is 6610 pC/N, which is about 10 times that of ordinary piezoelectric ceramics and proves the high sensitivity of piezoelectret. A series of comparative experiments on the piezoelectret sensor and piezoelectric ceramics demonstrate the high performance of the former. According to the damage detection test results, the damage index of cement mortar specimens was obtained. The linear relationship between the damage index and the crack widths proves the excellent performance of the piezoelectret sensor. A piezoelectret array is also used to detect cracks in cement mortar specimens, and can roughly estimate the depth of the fracture based on the damage index (DI) value of the sensing array.
Leakage aperture identification of natural gas pipeline based on compressed acquisition and DSAE
Authors: Sun Jiedi , Liu Zhao , Wen Jiangtao , Qiao Yanlei
Published: December 2022

Traditional gas pipeline leak detection methods usually face challenges in that there are redundant data collected on account of the time-domain sampling theory and the valuable leakage information is hidden in the complex vibration signals. This paper put forward an intelligent aperture identification method for natural gas pipeline leakage. This method integrated the compression of monitoring data based on compressed sensing (CS) transformation and automatic feature extraction and identification based on deep neural networks, namely, denoising sparse autoencoder (DSAE). The compressed acquisition can greatly reduce the volume to be processed and effectively extract the aperture information. DSAE combined the merits of sparse auto-encoder (SAE), denoising coding and dropout to achieve robust feature extraction and aperture classification. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and good performance, and the proposed method can realize faster and more accurate identification of different leak sizes compared with the traditional methods.
Preparing educational leaders through action research
Authors: Alpert Shannon , Dean Michael , Ewell William
Published: December 2022

This article explores the development, structure, and continuous improvement model of an Action Research education doctorate program research methodology course sequence. The aim of the study is to articulate a rigorous Action Research methodology course sequence and the collaborative faculty process utilized to create and continuously improve upon the research curriculum. The doctoral program under study utilizes a qualitative-dominant Action Research methodology as its signature pedagogy, integrating cycles of research into coursework before students implement and evaluate their action steps. To ensure students receive a thorough understanding of Action Research methodology, the program requires a four-research course sequence. These courses have been designed with a scaffolded approach that progressively reinforces and extends Action Research methods in ways that promote change agency, inclusivity, and social justice. This research course sequence is designed to build a rigorous foundation for students to conduct high quality Action Research that impacts their professional practice and academic scholarship and leads to transformative learning experiences for students, faculty, organizations, and communities.