bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ex-Convicts in an Official Role of Peer-Supporters: Toward Convict Therapy
Authors: Elisha Ety
Published: March 2023

The present paper focuses on the strengths-based role of the wounded healer, as exemplified by current or released incarcerated people who desist from crime and recover through professional practice of peer support, in the community or in prison. The paper has two purposes. One is to review criminological approaches and models related to peer-based rehabilitation and to encompass them under a single term proposed here— Convict Therapy. The second is to review research on peer support programs currently implemented in in various countries, in a bid to discern their hallmarks and strengths. This to enrich and promote the discourse, research, and practice of this evolving field, and to offer new research directions for examining the effectiveness of peer support in the long run, for the aid providers, the recipients, and the community.
Developing Safety Performance Functions and Crash Modification Factors for Urban Roundabouts in Heterogeneous Non-Lane-Based Traffic Conditions
Authors: Vinayaraj V S , Perumal Vedagiri
Published: March 2023

This study aims to develop safety performance functions (SPFs) and crash modification factors (CMFs) for the safety assessment of roundabouts as a whole and their components, especially at entry, exit, and circulating lanes. This study uses historical crash data collected over five years (2015–2019) from 21 roundabouts (78 approaches) situated in some of the major cities in India. SPF and CMF models were developed using negative binomial and cross-sectional approaches. Results show that the percentage of motorized two-wheelers, average daily traffic, central island diameter, entry angle, weaving width, departure width, number of lanes at approach, exit angle, exit width, posted speed limit, weaving length, circulating roadway width, road surface condition, number of circulatory lanes, central island height, and number of legs contribute to the crash occurrence in the roundabout vicinity. In addition to this, circulating roadway width, average daily traffic, and posted speed limit are the most influencing risk factors across the entire roundabout vicinity. Furthermore, an interesting fact is that, given the asymmetrical impact of geometric and traffic factors, the overall crash rate varies across roundabout segments. The findings of this study may be useful for updating the current design guidelines for roundabouts, considering the safety perceptive. Besides, the proposed SPF and CMF tools could be used to investigate the likelihood of crashes at roundabouts. Moreover, this model would help safety experts to implement adequate safety treatment in the vicinity of roundabouts under heterogenous non-lane-based traffic conditions.
School of influence: Human rights challenges in US foreign military training
Authors: Machain Carla Martinez
Published: March 2023

Can military training decrease human rights violations by security forces? The case of foreign military training is a complicated one because often the aim of the training itself is to address human rights violations. In this paper I explore whether US military training is effective in promoting respect for human rights in the recipient country. States that receive human rights-focused military training and education only see an improvement in respect for human rights by members of security forces in very limited cases. I use global data as well as newly-coded data from a Latin America sample to evaluate this proposal empirically.
Experimental-theoretical comparative analysis of PLA-based 3D lattice
Authors: Singh Narinder , Gurminder singh  , Farina Ilenia , Colangelo Francesco
Published: March 2023

Lattice materials are one of the most desirable and widely used materials due to the characteristics derived from their geometrical formation as opposed to their chemical composition. In this article, a lattice material has been designed and printed using polymer filament wire made of polylactic acid (PLA) and fused deposition modelling (FDM), followed by mechanical testing. In addition, tensile testing of the PLA printed samples has also been carried out to ascertain the tensile properties of the material in use, and the material has shown 38–40 MPa tensile strength with a Young’s modulus value of 1538 ± 120 MPa. The lattice was designed using 3D CAD software, and numerical results were obtained using the Autodesk Inventor simulation module. In addition to the experimental test, theoretical tests were also conducted, and the results were compared to the experimental results. With this methodology, the lattice material failure process can be comprehended. Along with the lattices, the PLA tensile test samples were also prepared and tested to check the feasibility of the PLA being used and ascertain the properties. In addition, it has been observed that after a specific load and deformation, the material’s resistance increases due to its increased density and repeated cell interference. The major purpose of the study is to explore the aspects and feasibility of the PLA printed lattice material with complex shapes and explore the application potential of such shapes.
Performance study of spiral Darrieus water rotor with V-shaped blades
Authors: Mosbahi Mabrouk , Derbel Mouna , Hannachi Marwa , Mosbahi Bouzid , Driss Zied , Aricò Costanza , Tucciarelli Tullio
Published: March 2023

Because of the excessive consumption of fossil fuels, the world has begun suffering from the depleting of those sources and wide environmental problems. Hydraulic energy, considered as unlimited and non-detrimental, has become the best refuge to supply world demand while protecting the planet. Above all vertical axis water turbine, for their low cost and independency on water direction, Darrieus turbine takes the advantage to be more suitable for some implementation. Thus, various studies have been carried out to improve its efficiency. This study emphasizes on the effect of the blade chord ratio on a spiral Darrieus water rotor performance which has not been two much explored. An experimental static and dynamic tests realized in an irrigation canal were performed with a 3D printed spiral Darrieus rotor. With the intention of the performances betterment, four spiral Darrieus rotors having a chord ratio equal to 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1, respectively, were tested through numerical simulations using the ANSYS FLUENT 17.0 software. Based on the numerical study, it is provided that the rotor with chord ratio of 0.5 was the optimum. In fact, it gives maximum power coefficient of 0.188 at a tip speed ratio equal to 0.71. The obtained findings present an interesting data that could provide the hydrodynamic characteristics of the water flow for the engineers and designers to improve the performance of the spiral Darrieus rotor.
Dynamic performance analysis based on the mechatronic system of power transmission line inspection robot with dual-arm
Authors: Li Xiaopeng , Fan Xing , Shang Dongyang , Peng Jianwen
Published: March 2023

Dynamic performance of the power transmission line inspection robots (PTLIRs) is of great importance, which would heavily affect the stability of the robot during obstacle avoidance. In this paper, a detailed dynamic performance analysis method of PTLIR is presented by considering the effect on the mechatronic system caused by obstacle avoidance. First, the dynamic modeling of the robot and control system model of the revolute joint are given based on the mechatronic modeling. Then, dynamic characteristics of mechanical subsystem are analyzed by studying the change of the inertia matrix during obstacle avoidance. Next, to analyze the control subsystem performance, three kinds of pole assignment methods which used to tune the controller parameter are compared. Finally, a series of numerical simulations are performed, which prove the time-varying characteristic of load inertia during obstacle avoidance has a great influence on the dynamic performance of the robot, moreover, the changes of natural angular frequency and damping coefficient parameters could be used to evaluate dynamic performance. The main results of the paper can provide an effective tool to analysis dynamic performance of the PTLIR, which is meaningful to improve inspection stability.
A novel approach to develop and characterize bi-directional aluminum-copper functionally graded material
Authors: Boggarapu Vasavi , RamaSreekanth PS , Peddakondigalla Venkateswara Babu , Mallampati Somaiah Chowdary , Kanakam Rakesh , Ojha Shakuntla , Gujjala Jayachandra , Valasingam Suresh Babu , Gujjala Raghavendra
Published: March 2023

A substantial increase in research activity on functionally graded materials (FGMs) was foreseen in the past few decades owing to their high strength and stiffness, design flexibility, and multi-functional features. However, the majority of the literature was confined to uni-directional (1D) gradation in material constituents. As a result, their usage was limited to a few advanced applications such as aircraft frames and shuttles, propulsion systems, and machine elements wherein the temperature is distributed along two or more directions. Thus, there is a demand for FGM that shows property variations in bi (2D) or tri (3D) directions. The present research work is an attempt made to design and develop bi-directional functionally graded material (2D FGM) with aluminum (Al) and copper particles. A 2D FGM sample in the form of a rectangular slab having material variation along x and y directions was produced through powder metallurgy using a 3D-printed cuboid. Variations in microstructure and hardness confirm the material gradation in two directions. Change in erosion wear at different locations was also observed on the sample. Furthermore, worn-out surfaces using scanning electron micrographs revealed a ductile fracture.
Inclusion as Assimilation, Integration, or Co-optation? A Post-Structural Analysis of Inclusion as Produced Through Mental Health Research on Peer Support
Authors: Sinclair Aimee , Gillieatt Sue , Fernandes Christina , Mahboub Lyn
Published: March 2023

In the last 20 years, research on the inclusion of peer support within mental health settings has burgeoned, paralleling the broad adoption of service user inclusion within policy as a moral imperative and universally beneficial. Despite the seemingly progressive impetus behind inclusion, increasingly peer support workers talk of exhaustion working within mental health systems, the slow rate of change to oppressive values and practices, and ongoing experiences of workplace exclusion. Such experiences suggest differences in the way in which inclusion is produced across different stakeholder groups and contexts. In this article, we adopt Bacchi’s ‘what’s the problem represented to be?’ approach to identify how mental health research, often understood as an a-political activity, produces versions of inclusion. We argue current research predominantly produces inclusion as ‘assimilation’ and ‘integration’. We use critical inclusion, mental health, and survivor scholarship to evaluate the effects these productions have for peer support and peer support workers, finding that both problematise peer support workers and those seeking support. We consider possibilities for more liberatory productions of inclusion, building on the notion of inclusion as ‘co-optation’. Our analysis points to the need for researchers to engage with an uncomfortable reflexivity to enable more emancipatory possibilities regarding inclusion and peer support.
Femoral head size and surgical approach affect dislocation and overall revision rates in total hip arthroplasty: up to 9-year follow-up data of 269,280 procedures in the Dutch Arthroplasty Register (LROI)
Authors: van Steenbergen Liza N , de Reus Ilse MA , Hannink Gerjon , Vehmeijer Stephan BW , Schreurs Berend W , Zijlstra Wierd P
Published: March 2023

Background:

Femoral head size and surgical approach might affect the revision rate for dislocation and for any other reason after total hip arthroplasty (THA). We penetrated this question based on registry data with up to 9-year follow-up.

Methods:

269,280 primary THAs documented in the Dutch Arthroplasty Registry (LROI) between 2007 and 2019 were included. Revision rates were calculated by competing risk analyses. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression ratios (HR) were used for comparison.

Results:

Revisions for dislocation were rare. They were more frequent after posterolateral (1.4% [95% CI, 1.3–1.5]), compared to straight lateral (0.6% [95% CI, 0.5–0.7]), anterolateral (0.6% [95% CI, 0.5–0.7]) and anterior (0.4% [95% CI, 0.3–0.5]) approach. Larger femoral head size decreased the dislocation revision risk: 1.4% [95% CI, 1.3–1.5) for 22–28-mm heads; 0.9% (95% CI, 0.8–1.0) for 32-mm heads; 0.6% (95% CI, 0.6–0.7) for 36-mm heads. For the anterior approach, the HR for both revision for dislocation (0.3, 95% CI, 0.3–0.4) and any other reason (0.8, 95% CI, 0.8–0.9) were lowest compared to other approaches including posterolateral (HR 1). Revision risk for any other reason was highest with anterolateral (HR 1.3 (95% CI, 1.2–1.4)) and straight lateral approach (1.1 [95% CI, 1.0–1.2]).

Conclusions:

The anterior approach might reduce revision rates for both dislocation and all cause revision. Posterolateral approach is associated with a higher risk of dislocation revision but has a lower risk of any other revision. Increasing femoral head size up to 36 mm reduces revision for dislocation and improves overall revision rates for all approaches.
Political Misuse of Hagia Sophia as the Lost Object of the Istanbul Conquest
Authors: GÜR Berin F.
Published: March 2023

For Islamist-nationalist circles in Turkey, Istanbul’s conquest in 1453 is a significant triumph inherited from the Ottoman Empire that denotes the Turkish nation’s founding moment. In this article, the Islamist-nationalist rhetoric of Istanbul’s conquest is read through melancholy as a politically manipulated project, which fixes the conquest in (spatial) images of its own “mourning” and produces “lost objects” to use as a tool of political propaganda. What are the melancholy, or lost, objects of the Islamist-nationalist rhetoric of conquest? Architecture, as the bearer of clues to the search for the conquest rhetoric’s lost objects, becomes the article’s subject. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, whose status as a prayer space (mosque) and secular space (museum) has been the central issue of controversies, is brought forward as the lost object of the conquest rhetoric. The political misuse of the building as the lost mosque by Islamist-nationalist circles is the main focus.
The Concept of Tent as a Temporary Architecture in the Millennium Era
Authors: Trisno Rudy , Husin Denny , Lianto Fermanto , Hartoyo Christiana Erika
Published: March 2023

The phenomenon of temporary architecture in contemporary urban and rural areas occurs due to permanent space limitations in accommodating dynamic environments. One of the temporary architectures that offer high flexibility is the tent. Despite often being underestimated or not entirely accepted as architecture, its adaptability has opened up opportunities for a new idea of elasticity and plasticity in this contemporary era. This research searches to question the stagnant paradigm by reinvestigating its temporal character. History- and theory-based bibliography methods are used to stimulate the informal meaning of the tent. The result is the concept actualization of contemporary tent architecture. The findings are a different perspective of nomadism, the tent’s simple concept, and a multi-dimensional tent’s scale. The novelty of the research is the new meaning of tents as a type of contemporary informal architecture.
Machinic agency and datafication: Labour and value after anthropocentrism
Authors: Markelj Jernej , Bueno Claudio Celis
Published: March 2023

In this article, we reassess Marxist notions of labour and value for our datafied societies, where data is allegedly becoming one of the dominant sources of economic value. Our contention is that the existing accounts of value, which assume that value is produced exclusively by human labour, are unable to fully account for the processes of exploitation that take place in our digital platform dominated economy. We begin addressing these shortcomings by critiquing the anthropocentric notion of agency that informs the Marxist account of labour. This notion of agency locates productive activity exclusively in human intentionality. After offering an overview of anthropocentric concepts of labour that still dominate (post-)Marxist theories today, we draw on the work of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to develop a post-anthropocentric account of agency that we term machinic agency. Machinic agency sees activity as a matter of connectivity between different human and nonhuman actors (technologies, organisms, minerals etc.), which productively combine and amplify their capacities to act. These affective connections precede and shape, but often also completely bypass, human consciousness. We make a case for the concept of machinic agency by comparing it with Actor-Network Theory (ANT), an established theory that conceptualises agency as arising from compositions of both human and nonhuman elements. Our contention is that, unlike ANT, machinic agency is able to collapse both, the distinction between human and nonhuman, and that between mechanism and vitalism. We conclude by suggesting that machinic agency allows us to demonstrate that data capitalism exploits and appropriates not only the surplus value produced by conscious human effort, but also the co-production of affective, technological, and ecological aspects of our existence.
The capitalization of crime in the city of real estate
Authors: Maoz Eilat , Gutman Meirav Aharon
Published: March 2023

This article explores how the relationship between crime and property values is reshaped by the transformation of houses into investible assets. Departing from neoclassical economics of crime, we introduce the notion of “capitalization of crime” to illustrate how crime is utilized to generate forward-looking financial expectations and shape housing markets in gentrifying neighborhoods. The study, based in Haifa, Israel, combines quantitative and qualitative data to demonstrate how investors and renters each play a role in constructing the value of crime by capitalizing crime in opposite directions. First, using a geographic information system to map crime alongside real-estate prices, we show that the effect of crime on property values is offset by prospects of future gentrification, thereby contributing to housing speculation. Second, using digital ethnography, we show how renters use “crime” to dampen investor expectations, reduce rents, and delay their displacement. Thus, our study adds to the established body of critical criminology, which examines the manipulation of crime for economic and political gains. It further contributes to emergent debates in urban criminology by explicating how the financialization of rental housing is remaking urban politics of crime and criminalization.
Dirty money and financial inequality in North Philadelphia
Authors: Smith Jackson
Published: March 2023

Between 1984 and 2016, Philadelphia prosecutors seized over US$86 million dollars, most of it in the form of cash taken from Black and Latinx Philadelphians. These seizures of dirty money were realized through civil forfeiture, which has the unique capacity to enrich municipal law enforcement agencies while dispossessing alleged participants in the drug trade. As a civil intervention into the illicit narcotics trade, cash forfeiture is characteristic of the carceral state's increasing use of non-criminal sanctions. In this essay I argue that Philadelphia police and prosecutors mobilize cash forfeiture to assert social control over the interfaces between licit and illicit economies in Philadelphia's poorest and most racially segregated neighborhoods. Drawing from historical accounts of the racial capitalist state's disciplinary oversight of the monetary system, I show how cash forfeiture operates through a racializing framework of socio-moral remediation that reproduces the harms associated with longstanding financial inequality in these neighborhoods.
Investigating and comparing the mechanical behavior of multicellular structures made with PLA and ABS under lateral loading
Authors: Le DucHieu , Doan ThanhSon , Do KimHoang , Dang VanThanh , Tu Pham Hoang , Tran TrongNhan
Published: March 2023

In this research, multicellular structures using two materials acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and Polylactic Acid in various geometries were investigated. At the beginning of this research, samples with a thickness of 1 mm were made using 3D printers. These samples were subjected to quasi-static loading and force-displacement curves were extracted for them. Subsequently, LS-DYNA finite element software was used to simulate the structures under quasi-static loading and the tested samples in the experimental mode were simulated. After comparing the experimental and numerical results and ensuring the correctness of the simulations, different states were simulated and a total of 6 experimental samples and 30 numerical samples were examined. The results obtained in this research showed that with the increase in the number of cells, the amount of specific energy absorption of the samples increased. It was also found that in the samples with square cores, the number of cores in each row and column corresponds to the number of force peaks and the number of peaks increases with the increase of cores.
Parallel convolutional neural network toward high efficiency and robust structural damage identification
Authors: Ye Xijun , Cao Yongjie , Liu Airong , Wang Xinwei , Zhao Yinghao , Hu Nan
Published: March 2023

Artificial intelligence has been implemented recently for processing and analyzing monitored data for damage detection and identification in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM). Existing machine learning methods such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs) usually rely on inputs from a single domain (time or frequency), which may only provide partial information for damage identification. To address this issue, this work proposes a parallel convolutional neural network (P-CNN) that extracts multidimensional features assisted by a computer vision technique. The proposed network comprises a one-dimensional (1D) CNN branch, a two-dimensional (2D) CNN branch, and several fully connected layers. The efficiency and robustness of the proposed network were validated by a public experimental dataset. Our results show that (1) the features extracted by the P-CNN were separated more easily compared with those by 1D-CNN or 2D-CNN; (2) when detecting structural damages, the accuracy of the P-CNN is above 99.4%; (3) the P-CNN exhibits a robust performance when subjected to a high (5 dB) signal-to-noise ratio of the original data; and (4) when compared with traditionally used methods such as GoogLenet and Resnet, the P-CNN outperforms on many aspects of damage identification. We envision that the proposed P-CNN can be integrated into advanced SHM systems with high fidelity and intelligence.
Forward-propagation-free focusing MUSIC algorithm for Lamb waves
Authors: Lang Yanfeng , Yang Zhibo , Kong Detong , Zhang Wei , Chen Xuefeng
Published: March 2023

The multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm is originally used for direction of arrival estimation and frequency identification. MUSIC-like algorithms have gained their popularity in structural health monitoring (SHM) owing to their super-resolution characteristic and the virtue of baseline independence. MUSIC essentially is a searching algorithm to find the best phase difference matching between the eigenvector from signal subspace and the presupposed steering vector. However, in the guided-wave-based SHM (in plate-like structure, the guided wave is Lamb wave), the dispersion effect will definitely lead to phase distortion. Therefore, Xu et al. presented a focusing MUSIC algorithm where the time reversal technique is adopted to eliminate the dispersion in the way of back propagation. Seeing that the phase difference information, which is necessary for MUSIC, disappears after back propagation, the damage scattered wave packet, obtained by window truncation, is forward propagated again at the constant group velocity to recover the time of flight information. Nevertheless, the forward propagation process is superfluous from the view of phase matching. In the presented forward-propagation-free focusing MUSIC (FPF-F MUSIC) algorithm (the simplified version of Xu’s work), by revising the steering vector in the form of phase coincidence, the matching relation for MUSIC is modified from phase difference matching to phase alignment matching, so that the forward propagation and the steering vector traversal setting for every inspection point are all omitted. The damage localization performance of FPF-F MUSIC is verified on the aluminum plate with double through-hole and surface defects under uniform linear and circular arrays.
Structural performance and damage prediction using a novel digital cloning technique
Authors: Rabiepour Mohammad , Zhou Cong , Geoffrey Chase James
Published: March 2023

This paper presents a novel, mechanics-based framework to create digital twins for earthquake-affected pinched structures, like reinforced concrete framed buildings. It uses robust and accurate structural health monitoring (SHM) results delivered by the hysteresis loop analysis method as an input to create digital twin models to predict nonlinear dynamic responses of previously damaged structures under potential future seismic events. Method validation is implemented using unique real-world data from the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) building in Wellington, New Zealand, which experienced severe structural damage due to three earthquakes (Events 1, 2, and 3) between 2013 and 2016.Results show the digital twin derived from the SHM results of Event 1 can predict the inter-story displacement of the BNZ building for Events 2 and 3 with average correlation coefficients of ∼0.95 and ∼0.97 between predicted and measured responses, respectively. Moreover, the maximum difference between the measured and predicted peak values of inter-story displacements was 13 mm, a negligible difference in inter-story drift ratio (IDR). These results were accurate and consistent for all stories. Finally, the accuracy of this framework in capturing IDR values makes it a promising tool for assessing potential future structural collapse risk and its consequent financial risks using well-known incremental dynamic analysis methods.
Political Parties and Interest Incorporation: A New Typology of Intra-Party Groups
Authors: Dilling Matthias
Published: March 2023

Linking society and politics has been one of political parties’ key functions in democracies around the world. Groups within political parties, like factions, auxiliary organisations and territorial party branches, have been important for parties to build such linkages because they help incorporate voters’, members’ and elites’ interests. However, although intra-party groups have figured prominently in many studies, scholars often encountered difficulties when seeking to distinguish between them. Missing conceptual clarity is consequential because it has made communicating results across studies difficult and thus posed an obstacle to accumulating knowledge. This review brings together the literature on factionalism and party organisation to enhance conceptual clarity. Groups’ organisational pervasiveness and flexibility allow distinguishing between factions, camps, auxiliary organisations and party branches. The article ends with suggestions for how to put the typology to work.
COVID-19 and Caregiver Risk Factors for Child Maltreatment: The Pandemic in Review
Authors: Garner Jamani B. , Self-Brown Shannon , Emery Vanessa , Wootten Kit , Tiwari Ashwini
Published: March 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has fostered an environment for increased risk of child maltreatment (CM) as families experience increased psychosocial and financial burdens and spend unprecedented amounts of time together in the home. This narrative review aimed to summarize empirical findings on existing or new pandemic-related risk factors among caregivers. A combination of search terms related to CM and COVID-19 were used to identify articles published within five databases between February 2020 and July 2022. Literature searches produced 113 articles, of which 26 published across 12 countries met inclusion criteria. Four previously well-established risk factors for CM perpetration continued to persist during the pandemic, including stress, parental mental health, financial concerns, and parental substance use. Of note, inconsistent definitions and measures were used to capture these risk factors. Several additional emerging and understudied risk factors were also identified among limited articles, such as food insecurity and parental education. Findings emphasize the ongoing need for evidence-based interventions to address CM risk during the pandemic, including parent training programs. However, consolidated measures and consistent conceptualization of risk factors are needed to advance the study of CM. Going forward, practitioners and researchers should (a) strengthen the identification process for families at greatest risk for CM, and particularly those vulnerable to pandemic-related stressors; and (b) augment delivery of CM prevention strategies and evidence-based programs to fit the pandemic context.
Institutional Volume and Initial Results for Endovascular Treatment for Chronic Occlusive Lower-Extremity Artery Disease: A Report From the Japanese Nationwide Registry
Authors: Tokuda Takahiro , Takahara Mitsuyoshi , Iida Osamu , Kohsaka Shun , Soga Yoshimitsu , Oba Yasuhiro , Hirano Keisuke , Shinke Toshiro , Amano Tetsuya , Ikari Yuji
Published: March 2023

Purpose:

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) remains as a major target for endovascular treatment (EVT) in improving symptomatic lower-extremity artery disease (LEAD). However, despite the technical demand and learning curve for the procedure, volume-outcome relationship of EVT targeted for CTO in symptomatic LEAD remains unclear.

Materials and Methods:

Data were obtained from a nationwide registry for EVT procedures limited to the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics between January 2018 and December 2020 from 660 cardiovascular centers in Japan. In total, 96 099 patients underwent EVT for symptomatic LEAD, and 41 900 (43.6%) underwent CTO-targeted EVTs during the study period. Institutional volume was classified into quartiles. The association of institutional volumes with short-term outcomes was explored using the generalized linear mixed model using a logit link function, in which, interinstitution variability was used as a random effect.

Results:

The median institutional volume for all EVT cases per quartile was 29, 68, 125, and 299 cases/year for the first, second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively. With each model analysis, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for technical success were significantly lower in patients who underwent EVT in institutions within the first quartile (<52 cases/year) than in the other quartiles ( P < .01, respectively). On the contrary, the adjusted ORs for procedural complications were significantly higher in the first and second quartiles than in the third and fourth quartiles ( P < .01, respectively).

Conclusion:

In contemporary Japanese EVT practice, a higher institutional volume but not operator volume was associated with a higher technical success rate and a lower procedural complication rate in patients with symptomatic LEAD involving CTO lesions.

Clinical Impact

EVT for CTO lesions is still challenging for clinicians because of difficulties of wire/devise crossing or high procedural complications rate. Our study demonstrated that a higher institutional volume but not operator volume was associated with a higher technical success rate and a lower procedural complication rate in patients with symptomatic LEAD involving CTO lesions. In contemporary Japanese practice, a higher institutional experience has better impacts on short-term clinical outcomes. Future research should determine the relationship between institutional volume and long-term clinical outcomes.
Cystic Adventitial Disease of the Common Femoral Vein Presenting with Lower Limb Swelling: A Case Report
Authors: Liu Yang , Wang Qiqi , He Chunshui
Published: March 2023

Cystic adventitial disease (CAD) is a rare vascular disorder predominantly seen in adults without cardiovascular risk factors. We report a case of CAD involving the common femoral vein in a 38-year-old female presented with right lower extremity swelling that was initially misdiagnosed as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). A computed tomography revealed a cystic structure that compressed the right common femoral vein with resultant severe stenosis of the vascular lumen. Complete evacuation of the cyst with excision of the cyst wall was performed, and the patient remained symptom-free at 3 year follow-up. This case highlighted that the rare venous CAD should be incorporated in the differential diagnosis of unilateral lower extremity swelling suspicious for a DVT. Complete evacuation and surgical excision of the cyst often conferred favorable clinical outcome.
Age-Dependent Relationships Between Disease Risk and Testosterone Levels: Relevance to COVID-19 Disease
Authors: Muehlenbein Michael , Gassen Jeffrey , Nowak Tomasz , Henderson Alexandria , Morris Brooke , Weaver Sally , Baker Erich
Published: March 2023

Testosterone levels in men appear to be prognostic of a number of disease outcomes, including severe COVID-19 disease. Testosterone levels naturally decline with age and are lower in individuals with a number of comorbidities and chronic conditions. Low testosterone may therefore be both a cause and a consequence of illness, including COVID-19 disease. The present project examines whether preexisting conditions for severe COVID-19 disease were themselves related to serum-free testosterone levels in men who had not been infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. A clinical risk score for severe COVID-19 disease was computed based on the results of previously published meta-analyses and cohort studies, and relationships between this score and testosterone levels were tested in 142 men ages 19 to 82 years. Greater burden of preexisting conditions for severe COVID-19 disease was related to lower testosterone levels among men younger than 40 years of age. In older men, the decrease in testosterone that accompanies aging attenuated the effect of the clinical risk score on free testosterone levels. Given that older age itself is a predictor of COVID-19 disease severity, these results together suggest that the presence of preexisting conditions may confound the relationship between testosterone levels and COVID-19 disease outcomes in men. Future research examining relationships among testosterone and outcomes related to infectious and chronic diseases should consider potential confounds, such as the role of preexisting conditions.
A systematic review of the germicidal effectiveness of ultraviolet disinfection across high-touch surfaces in the immediate patient environment
Authors: Resendiz Marisol , Blanchard Dawn , West Gordon F
Published: March 2023

Background

There is not yet a consensus regarding the in-use effectiveness of ultraviolet irradiation (UV-C) as a supplementary tool for terminal room disinfection.

Aims and Objectives

To summarize and evaluate literature detailing the germicidal effectiveness of UV-C disinfection on high-touch surfaces in the patient environment.

Methods

A literature search was carried out utilizing PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if intervention included UV-C after standard room disinfection in hospital rooms evaluated microbiologically by surface type.

Findings/Results

Twelve records met our criteria for inclusion. Studies predominantly focused on terminal disinfection of patient rooms, including five reports carried out in isolation rooms and three studies including operating room (OR) surfaces. Bedrails, remote controls, phones, tray tables, assist rails, floors, and toilets were the most commonly reported surfaces. Across study designs, surfaces, and room types, flat surfaces tended to showcase UV-C effectiveness best, particularly isolation room floors. In contrast, handheld surfaces (i.e., bed controls and assist bars) tended to show reduced efficacies (81–93%). In the OR, complex surfaces similarly demonstrated reduced UV-C effectiveness. Bathroom surfaces demonstrated 83% UV-C effectiveness overall, with surface characteristics uniquely impacted depending on the room type. Isolation room studies tended to include effectiveness comparison with standard treatment, reporting UV-C superiority most of the time.

Discussion

This review highlights the enhanced effectiveness of UV-C surface disinfection over standard protocols across various study designs and surfaces. However, surface and room characteristics do appear to play a role in the level of bacterial reduction.
Far-right foreign fighters and Ukraine: A blind spot for the European Union?
Authors: Kaunert Christian , MacKenzie Alex , Léonard Sarah
Published: March 2023

Despite the decline of Daesh in the Middle East, the issue of foreign fighters remains relevant to the EU. There is now another major conflict on the EU’s doorstep that has also been drawing in significant numbers of foreign fighters for a few years, namely the Russo-Ukrainian War. This article investigates the phenomenon of far-right foreign fighters travelling from Europe to Ukraine. It makes three main inter-related arguments. First, although far-right extremists travelling to Ukraine constitute only a very small proportion of all the individuals joining the conflict and have turned up in smaller numbers than what had generally been predicted, they represent a security risk to the EU and its Member States for a range of reasons. Second, despite these concerns, it is important not to exaggerate the scale of the presence of far-right foreign fighters in Ukraine, notably because this may play into the hands of the Russian authorities that have described the invasion of Ukraine as a ‘denazification’ mission. Third, whilst fully keeping the previous point in mind, it would nevertheless be in the interest of the EU and its Member States to place the issue of far-right foreign fighters travelling to Ukraine on the policy agenda, even if their number is relatively small. This is particularly important considering the rise of right-wing political violence, the potential for transnationalisation, the current strength of societal discontent in some European states, and the mainstreaming of previously fringe beliefs. A more coordinated approach towards dissuading those at risk of travelling to Ukraine could be developed, alongside preparing for the eventual return of those who have already travelled to the region.
Fact signalling and fact nostalgia in the data-driven society
Authors: Hong Sun-ha
Published: March 2023

Post-truth tells the story of a public descending into unreason, aided and abetted by platforms and other data-driven systems. But this apparent collapse of epistemic consensus is, I argue, also dominated by loud and aggressive commitment to the idea of facts and Reason – a site where an imagined modern past is being pillaged for vestigial legitimacy. This article identifies two common practices of such reappropriation and mythologisation. (1) Fact signalling involves performative invocations of facts and Reason, which are then weaponised to discredit communicative rivals and establish affective solidarity. This is often closely tied to (2) fact nostalgia: the cultivation of an imagined past when ‘facts were facts’ and we, the good liberal subjects, could recognise facts when we saw them. Both tendencies are underwritten by a myth of connection: the still enduring narrative that maximising the circulation of information regardless of provenance or meaning will eventually yield a more rational public – even as data-driven systems tend to undermine the very conditions for such a public. Drawing on examples from YouTube-amplified ‘alternative influencers’ in the American right, and the normative discourses around fact-checking practices, I argue that this continued reliance on the vestigial authority of the modern past is a pernicious obstacle in normative debates around data-driven publics, keeping us stuck on the same dead-end scripts of heroically suspicious individuals and ignorant, irrational masses.
The protest voting behaviour among local voters in the 2020 Surakarta mayoral election
Authors: Subekti Dimas , Sutan Arissy Jorgy , Nurmandi Achmad , Mutiarin Dyah , Al-Hamdi Ridho
Published: March 2023

This research explores the protest voting phenomenon in the Surakarta, Indonesia, mayoral election in response to political oligarchy. It uses a qualitative method, and the data analysis uses NVivo 12 Plus software. The findings reveal that the protest voting movement in the Surakarta mayoral election occurred as an effort to resist political parties. The protest vote made ballots invalid, showing no trust in candidates. Political parties practiced oligarchy by jointly endorsing the president's active son as a candidate. The parties had no initiative in bringing up alternative candidates due to the pragmatism of powers. Then, this political oligarchy became headline news. This research implies that public trust in political parties as instruments of democracy has increasingly degraded due to the parties’ pragmatic behavior. Moreover, voters have understood that oligarchic practices must be resisted in order to select ideal leaders.
The Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Health Seeking Behaviors of Adults Living With Chronic Conditions: A View Through the Health Belief Model
Authors: Abraham Susanna Aba , Agyare Dorcas Frempomaa , Yeboa Naomi Kyeremaa , Owusu-Sarpong Akosua Agyeiwaa , Banulanzeki Edward Ssemwanga , Doku David Teye , Obiri-Yeboah Dorcas
Published: March 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in disruption in every facet of life including health service delivery. This has threatened the attainment of global targets to improve health and wellbeing of all persons. In particular, for persons living with chronic diseases, who require consistent monitoring by health professionals and medication to enhance their health, understanding how the pandemic has disruption their access to health care delivery is critical for interventions aimed at improving health service delivery for all as well as preparedness for future pandemic. This study applied the constructs of the Health Belief Model, to explore the influences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health seeking behaviors of persons living with chronic diseases. The design was exploratory descriptive. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data among persons living with chronic diseases in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. Thematic analysis, both inductive and deductive, was conducted to unearth the findings. Awareness of increased susceptibility and risk of a more severe episode if they contracted COVID-19 as a result of the existing chronic diseases was identified. Lack of access to health professionals during the peak of the pandemic as well as the fear of contracting the virus while accessing their regular chronic disease clinic was the main barriers identified. Information in the media served as cues to action for adopting preventive health strategies. Behavior modifications; dietary and lifestyle, self-medication and adoption of COVID-19 related precautions were practiced. Susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 contributed to missed adherence to treatment appointment. The health belief model was a useful framework in exploring the health seeking behavior of the adults living with chronic conditions during the COVID-19 in this study setting. Intensifying targeted education for persons living with chronic diseases will contribute to the adoption of positive health seeking behaviors during future pandemic.
Main Operating Room Versus Field Sterility in Hand Surgery: A Review of the Evidence
Authors: Silver Natan , Lalonde Donald H.
Published: March 2023

Introduction: Many of the guidelines that are generally accepted as main operating room best practices are not evidence based. They are based on the concept that if some sterility is good, more must be better. They are not derived from evidence-based sterility. Evidence-based sterility is the study of which of our various sterility practices increase or decrease our infection rates, as opposed to guidelines based on how many bacteria are in the operating room. Methods: This article adds the most important evidence we could find that is not included in the first paper on evidence-based sterility in hand surgery published in 2019. In this review, we also balance the evidence with common sense opinion. Results: The 21st century has seen a rapid rise in the number and reports of hand surgery procedures performed with field sterility outside the main operating room. There is now an abundance of good evidence to support that the rate of infection is not higher when many hand operations are performed with field sterility in minor procedure rooms. Conclusion: Moving hand surgery out of the main operating room to minor procedure rooms should be supported by healthcare providers. The higher cost, increased solid waste, and inconvenience of main operating room surgery are not justifiable for many procedures because it does not reduce the risk of postoperative infection.
Sex, Racial and Ethnic Differences in Barrett’s Esophagus and Epidemiology of Esophageal Cancer
Authors: Salami Aitua C. , Rao Madhuri V.
Published: March 2023

Sex, racial, and ethnic disparities in the incidence and prevalence of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma are well studied. Despite advances in surveillance techniques and multimodality treatment, disparities exist in outcomes with not all populations benefiting proportionately. A deeper understanding of the cause and nature of these disparities could help guide meaningful action toward mitigating these differences. This review focuses on the sex, racial and ethnic differences in the incidence, prevalence and outcomes of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma, and delves into the literature on potential causes for the variation in presentation and outcomes.
Complaints about Violations of Voluntary and Pharmaceutical Industry-Run Medicine Promotion Codes in Canada
Authors: Lexchin Joel
Published: March 2023

Although regulation of pharmaceutical promotion in Canada is covered under the Food & Drugs Act and Regulations, in practice it is regulated by two codes, one a code administered by the Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board and a second one controlled by Innovative Medicines Canada, the lobby organization for the large majority of the Canadian and foreign-owned pharmaceutical companies operating in Canada. This study examines complaints about code violations between 2012 and 2021 and puts those complaints and their outcomes into the context of the stringency of the codes, their governance, monitoring, penalties for violations, and compliance by companies. It combines the findings from this analysis with international experience with industry-run codes and concludes that overall, the Canadian codes are ineffective in controlling promotion. Finally, it offers recommendations for how regulation can be improved and how doctors’ reliance on information from pharmaceutical companies can be reduced.