bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Artificial Microvesicles: New Perspective on Healing Tendon Wounds
Authors: Zakirova Elena , Aimaletdinov Alexander , Mansurova Milana , Titova Angelina , Kurilov Igor , Rutland Catrin Sian , Malanyeva Albina , Rizvanov Albert
Published: September 2022

Tendons have a limited capacity to repair both naturally and following clinical interventions. Damaged tissue often presents with structural and functional differences, adversely affecting animal performance, mobility, health, and welfare. Advances in cell therapies have started to overcome some of these issues, however complications such as the formation of ectopic bone remain a complication of this technique. Regenerative medicine is therefore looking toward future therapies such as the introduction of microvesicles (MVs) derived from stem cells (SCs). The aim of the present study was to assess the characteristics of artificially derived MVs, from equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), when delivered to rat tendon cells in vitro and damaged tendons in vivo. The initial stages of extracting MVs from equine MSCs and identifying and characterizing the cultured tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSCs) from rat Achilles tendons were undertaken successfully. The horse MSCs and the rat tendon cells were both capable of differentiating in 3 directions: adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic pathways. The artificially derived equine MVs successfully fused with the TSC membranes, and no cytotoxic or cytostimulating effects were observed. In addition, co-cultivation of TSCs with MVs led to stimulation of cell proliferation and migration, and cytokine VEGF and fractalkine expression levels were significantly increased. These experiments are the first to show that artificially derived MVs exhibited regeneration-stimulating effects in vitro, and that fusion of cytoplasmic membranes from diploid cell lines originating from different species was possible. The experiment in vivo demonstrated the influence of MVs on synthesis of collagen I and III types in damaged tendons of rats. Explorations in vivo showed accelerated regeneration of injured tendons after introduction of the MVs into damaged areas. The results from the studies performed indicated obvious positive modifying effects following the administration of MVs. This represents the initial successful step required prior to translating this regenerative medicine technique into clinical trials, such as for tendon repair in injured horses.
Role of the ABO Blood Groups as a Risk Factor for Retinal Vein Occlusion
Authors: Posch-Pertl Laura , List Wolfgang , Michelitsch Monja , Pinter-Hausberger Silke , Posch Florian , Innauer Felix , Renner Wilfried , Weger Martin
Published: September 2022

Introduction: A recent study suggested that non-O blood groups had an increased risk for the presence of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). In this study, we investigated (i) an association between blood group and the presence of RVO and (ii) whether this association correlated to other RVO risk factors. Methods: We included 485 RVO patients and 295 control subjects who were recruited in this case-control study. We determined ABO genotypes rs8176719 as a marker for the O allele and rs8176746 for the B allele by polymerase chain reaction. Results: We did not find an association between ABO blood group and the presence of RVO. In detail, the proportion of ABO blood groups was similar among RVO patients and control subjects (p = 0.527). In a logistic regression, non-O blood group was associated with 1.06-fold higher odds of being a RVO patient (95% CI: 0.78–1.45, p = 0.693), and this lack of association prevailed upon multivariable adjustment for age, gender, history of stroke and venous thromboembolism, and co-medication with lipid-lowering agents. Discussion: Although non-O blood groups are a known risk factor for thrombotic and cardiovascular disease, they do not seem to be a major risk factor for the development of RVO.
Relaciones intra e intergeneracionales de jóvenes en movimiento con familias migrantes (Argentina)
Authors: Maggi María Florencia , Hendel Verónica
Published: September 2022

(analítico)El trabajo se centra en cómo las movilidades territoriales de jóvenes escolarizados/as con familias migrantes inciden sobre las relaciones intra e intergeneracionales. Para ello trabajamos desde un abordaje etnográfico con jóvenes en espacios escolares de Argentina. Damos cuenta de que desde la perspectiva juvenil, el proyecto migratorio familiar suele ser motivo de tensiones intergeneracionales, principalmente en las formas en las cuales estos/as reconstruyen sus tránsitos escolares. Por otra parte, las experiencias de múltiples territorios aparecen en la reconstrucción de las trayectorias socioeducativas asociadas tanto a situaciones en las cuales se han sentido discriminados o estigmatizados por sus pares como a oportunidades de desarrollar nuevas amistades. En estos contextos, observamos que la experiencia de “sentirse otro/a” puede tornarse en un “nosotros/as” donde se elaboran y negocian los sentidos de la amistad.
Palabras clave: Migración; relación padres-hijos; relaciones entre pares; joven.
Emojilogía: propuesta metodológica para la transformación escolar desde y con el estudiantado
Authors: Yañez-Urbin Cristopher , Figueroa Ignacio , Fica Esteban
Published: September 2022

(analítico)Este artículo sistematiza una propuesta metodológica denominada emojilogía, la cual se enfoca en el desarrollo de procesos de investigación- acción participativa con y desde el estudiantado. En primer lugar, se aborda la «caja de herramientas» teórico-epistemológica que permite repensar al colectivo estudiantil como agentes sociales válidos para gatillar procesos de transformación escolar. Luego, se profundiza sobre el procedimiento que involucra la propuesta, dando cuenta de la preparación grupal para iniciar el trabajo, la co-construcción de consignas de exploración, la producción de narrativas desde el uso de emojis y la consolidación de espacios de diálogo con el resto de la comunidad educativa. Se concluyen los beneficios y limitaciones de la metodología, vinculados al rol del conflicto como un medio para gatillar transformaciones, pero también como barrera por la generación de resistencias institucionales.
Palabras clave:  Educación inclusiva; investigación participativa; cambio social; estudiante.
Medios escolares como procesos significativos en instituciones educativas de Medellín y Montería
Authors: Ceballos-Sepúlveda Juan Carlos , Vélez-Carvajal Julian David
Published: September 2022

(analítico)El estudio aborda aspectos diferenciadores en la producción de medios escolares que trascienden la visión divulgativa y tradicional de estas experiencias. La indagación se adelantó en instituciones educativas del Valle de Aburrá (Antioquia) y Montería (Córdoba). Desde el punto de vista teórico, se asumen los medios escolares en el campo de la comunicación/educación. La investigación cualitativa se basó en testimonios y reflexiones de estudiantes consultados mediante grupos focales. Los resultados se estructuraron a partir de dos categorías emergentes: temas propios y atribución de sentido. El hallazgo principal indica que los medios escolares se constituyen en un espacio y un proceso que hacen posible la discusión, la deliberación y el establecimiento de acuerdos para la producción, construcción de significados y circulación de contenidos relacionados con el contexto de los estudiantes.
Palabras clave:  Medios escolares; medios de comunicación; proceso educativo; comunicación; comunicación y educación.
Persistencia académica en estudiantes universitarios: ¿cómo se manifiesta la autoeficacia emocional?
Authors: Hernández-Vargas Breiner , García-Castro Ligia Inés
Published: September 2022

(analítico)Los índices de deserción presentes en la educación superior ameritan el desarrollo de acciones que posibiliten la transformación de tal realidad; por lo que comprender cómo se manifiesta la autoeficacia emocional en estudiantes que persisten en su formación universitaria constituye un punto de partida para lograr tal propósito. En ese sentido, se realizó un estudio cualitativo, de corte fenomenológico-hermenéutico, en el cual participaron siete estudiantes universitarios deSanta Marta, Colombia, seleccionados de manera intencional, a quienes se les realizó una entrevista semiestructurada y cuyos datos fueron analizados mediante el análisis temático. Los resultados indican que la autoeficacia emocional se manifiesta en los estudiantes que persisten en su formación universitaria a través de cinco formas o mecanismos: la autodeterminación, la autoconfianza, el optimismo, la autoafirmación y la perseverancia.
Palabras clave: Estudiante universitario; educación superior; autoeficacia emocional.
Two new species of deep water south Brazilian turriforms (Neogastropoda, Conoidea, Turridae and Cochlespiridae)
Authors: Simone Luiz Ricardo Lopes de , Tarasconi José Carlos
Published: September 2022

Two deep water new species of turriforms are described from south Brazilian coast. One of them is the turrid Polystira tupan sp. nov., one of the largest species of the genus (~80 mm), with proper sculpture, shallow anal notch, collected off Santa Catarina, 350 m. The other is a cochlespirid that has been confused with Cochlespira elegans, a north Atlantic species; as it has different sculpture, shape, peripheric spines, etc., a new species, Cochlespira notomaris sp. nov., is introduced, occurring so far from off Santa Catarina to Rio Grande do Sul, 200‑1,000 m. For comparative purposes, the holotype of C. elegans is also illustrated.
Local farmers’ attitudes towards artificial wildlife bridges in a fragmented agroforestry environment
Authors: Nekaris K.A.I. , Hedger Katherine , Hathaway Amanda , Adinda Esther , Ahmad Nabil , Balestri Michela , Imron Muhammad Ali , Manson Sophie , Nijman Vincent , Campera Marco
Published: September 2022

Fragmentation of tropical forests has severe consequences for global biodiversity. The island of Java, Indonesia has a long history of deforestation and outside the protected area system, the island contains a patchwork of small forest fragments among expanding agricultural land, human settlements, and infrastructure. The arboreal Javan slow loris’ (Nycticebus javanicus) remaining habitat largely occurs in these anthropogenic landscapes. Arboreal canopy bridges have proven to be a successful conservation intervention for Javan slow lorises but must be built on the private land of farmers. Here, we describe the process of collaborating with local farmers to construct and maintain canopy bridges over their farms to aid in connecting habitat for Javan slow lorises. We held non-structured conversations with ten farmers to understand their perceptions of the bridges. We found an overall positive attitude towards slow lorises, as well as acknowledgement of the economic importance of the bridges. Farmers also recommended improvements, including ensuring equity of the bridges in the community and increased financial commitment from the conservation project. There is growing appreciation amongst conservationists that trust and collaboration with local communities are essential for carrying out successful initiatives. We recommend regular discussions with community members in similar interventions to ensure the long-term trust and involvement of local people.
Hesperis burdurensis (Brassicaceae), a new species from Southwest Anatolia
Authors: ÇETİN ÖZLEM
Published: September 2022

A new species, Hesperis burdurensis (Brassicaceae), from southwest Anatolia is described and illustrated. The species is similar to Hesperis tosyaensis and H. pisidica but distinguished from these species by its leaf shape, petal size, and trichome features. Herein, an identification key with a description of the new species is provided. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations of pollen grains and trichome types are presented. Comments on the habitat, ecology, phenology, distribution, and conservation status of the new species are also provided.
Myrcia garuvana (Myrtaceae) a new species from Santa Catarina, Brazil
Authors: VIEIRA FÁBIO C.S. , SOBRAL MARCOS , MAZINE FIORELLA F. , LONGEN FÁBIO
Published: September 2022

N/A
Taxonomic revision of Augochloropsis (Glyptochlora) Moure, a rare bee subgenus from the Amazon Basin (Hymenoptera: Halictinae)
Authors: CELIS CINDY JULIETH , MELO GABRIEL A. R.
Published: September 2022

We revise the bee subgenus Augochloropsis (Glyptochlora) and recognize four species in the group. Three new species are described, Augochloropsis peruviana n. sp., Augochloropsis ticuna n. sp. and Augochloropsis atrocyanea n. sp. and the type species, Augochloropsis ornata (Smith, 1879), is re-described. The descriptions were based on females collected in the Amazon Basin forests from Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. The disjunct distribution exhibited by A. (Glyptochlora) with respect its nearest phylogenetic group Augochloropsis (Glyptobasia), with species only present in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, is discussed in light of current knowledge about other taxa with similar distribution pattern. This is new evidence for an already well-established pattern of disjunct distributions of some bee taxa between these two biomes. An identification key for the species and a distribution map are also provided.
Three new species of Trachyphloeosoma Wollaston (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) from southeast Asia with the first record of the tribe Trachyphloeini from the Philippines
Authors: BOROVEC ROMAN , ANDERSON ROBERT
Published: September 2022

Three species of the genus Trachyphloeosoma Wollaston are described, illustrated and compared with related species: T. ales spec. n. from Taiwan, T. david spec. n. from China, Fujian province and T. philippinense spec. n. from the Philippines.
Intervening Troubled Marketplace of Ideas: How to Redeem Trust in Media and Social Institutions From Pseudo-Information
Authors: Gil de Zúñiga Homero , Kim Jeong-Nam
Published: September 2022

Today’s public sphere is largely shaped by a dynamic digital public space where lay people conform a commodified marketplace of ideas. Individuals trade, create, and generate information, as well as consume others’ content, whereby information as public space commodity splits between this type of content and that provided by the media, and governmental institutions. This paper first explains how and why our current digital media context opens the door to pseudo-information (i.e., misinformation, disinformation, etc.). Furthermore, the paper introduces several concrete empirical efforts in the literature within a unique volume that attempt to provide specific and pragmatic steps to tackle pseudo-information, reducing the potential harm for established democracies that today’s digital environment may elicit by fueling an ill-informed society.
Bion at the Crossroads: A Contrarian Reading of “on Arrogance”
Authors: Hecht Jamey
Published: September 2022

In “On Arrogance,” Wilfred Bion made a remarkable claim: “the analyst who is treating an apparently neurotic patient must regard a negative therapeutic response together with the appearance of scattered, unrelated references to curiosity, arrogance, and stupidity as evidence that he is in the presence of a psychological catastrophe with which he will have to deal.” However Bion came to believe this, he sought grounds for it in a reading of Oedipus that seriously distorts that tragedy. Since the clinical outcome in “On Arrogance” appears to be impasse, perhaps even iatrogenic injury, the text’s value is perhaps best consolidated by historicizing its construction through a psychoanalytic lens. Thus, while “On Arrogance” has been canonized as prescriptive for the treatment of difficult patients, it can instead be read as the illuminating trace of a grievously difficult intrapsychic struggle, a personal reckoning that resulted in Bion’s 1958 return to the battlefield at Amiens where he had “died” in the hell of combat forty years earlier. “On Arrogance” thus reflects a prodigious episode of sublimation that proved essential to Bion’s lifelong development as a psychoanalytic writer and thinker.
Impact of Reference Mismatch on Procedure Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Phan Quang Tan , Nguyen Hieu Lan , Lee Wang Soo , Won Ho Youn , Cho Iksung , Shin Seung Yong , Hong Joon Hwa , Lee Jin Bae , Kim Sang Wook
Published: September 2022

A significant mismatch between proximal and distal reference lumen diameters of the target lesion may pose challenges during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and therefore influence the outcomes. We investigated total 1706 lesions underwent IVUS guided percutaneous coronary intervention, that were divided into 2 groups, including 411 lesions in Mismatch group and 1295 lesions in Non-Mismatch group. After propensity score matching, 397 lesions in each group were selected for final data set. The analysis showed that Mismatch group PCI required more frequently use of post-stenting optimization (79.6% vs 53.9%, P < .001) using higher max pressure (19.5 ± 3.9 vs 16.7 ± 3.7 atm, P < .001). Besides, Mismatch group also encountered more PCI major complications (7.8% vs 4.0%, P = .024) and lower procedure success rate (91.4% vs 95.5%, P = .022). On final angiogram, Mismatch group had smaller minimum lumen diameter (2.62 ± .45 vs 2.90 ± .57 mm, P < .001) and lower angiographic success rate (93.2% vs 96.7%, P = .023). On final IVUS, Mismatch group had higher rate of incomplete stent apposition and stent edge dissection (6.3% vs 3.0%, P = .029 and 2.5% vs .5%, P = .021, respectively). In conclusion, reference mismatch posed significant challenging during PCI that led to unfavorable procedural outcomes. These impacts may translate into long-term clinical implications that need to be addressed in future studies.
Influence of Rigid/Ritualistic Behavioral Profiles of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder on Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Readiness for Supported Employment
Authors: Nah Yong-Hwee , Neo Hui-Min
Published: September 2022

This study examined the effects of rigid/ritualistic behaviors on special education teachers’ perception of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their readiness for supported employment using vignettes featuring students with varying rigid/ritualistic behavioral profiles in vocational activity settings. Using a mixed-method design, the authors randomly assigned the sample of 111 teachers to one of three conditions, where they were told that the student has (a) a major negative reaction, (b) some negative reaction, or (c) no negative reaction. The teachers then rated whether the students would be ready for supported employment. Results indicated that teachers perceived students with major negative reaction to be less ready for supported employment and that the student’s age influenced their perception. Teachers’ qualitative feedback was also obtained. Implications are discussed.
Not Just Slash: Transformation of Aesthetic Relations and Feminist Utopian Narratives in Chinese Gender-Switching Videos
Authors: Yang Zheng
Published: September 2022

In 2020, Yiwen Wang published an article about gender-switching videos, a Chinese gender subculture in the digital media environment. Different from Wang, who identified gender-switching videos as an example of the slash (especially boys’ love) subgenre, through a more comprehensive investigation of this subgenre this study found that gender-switching videos—which can be divided into two categories of complete and selective—involve homoerotic (including both boys’ love and girls’ love), heteroerotic and queer narratives. This article starts by demonstrating the multi-gender/sexual orientation narrative in gender-switching videos, and further analyses their social and cultural functions as a gender subculture in reconstructing gendered relationships in traditional Chinese aesthetics and narratives. The theory of feminist utopian narratives is further introduced to better understand how Chinese women intervene in the grand historical narrative as an important force to influence the development of history and story plots via fiction content creation in the digital media environment.
Inexperienced Component Auditors and the Internal Information Asymmetry of Multinational Corporations
Authors: Adams Tom , Zhou Ying
Published: September 2022

With the global expansion of business operations, many U.S. corporations now operate internationally. While these multinational corporations (MNCs) rely on information about their operations to allocate resources, this information is likely dispersed within the firm, leading to internal information asymmetry between top executives and divisional managers. Meanwhile, audits of these geographically dispersed MNCs are challenging, and parts of these audits are sometimes outsourced to local foreign auditors who have no experience serving as opinion-issuing auditors for U.S. issuers (“inexperienced component auditors”). In this article, we examine whether involving such inexperienced component auditors is associated with MNCs’ internal information environment. We find that, relative to a matched control sample, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issuers with the participation of inexperienced component auditors have higher internal information asymmetry and lower internal capital allocation efficiency. Our results suggest that audit quality matters not only to a firm’s external financial statement users but also to its internal users.
Why a user prefers an artwork: A deep attention model for artwork recommendation
Authors: Tian Zhiqiang , Liu Yezheng , Sun Jianshan , Zhang Xue , Jiang Yuanchun
Published: September 2022

The combination of art market and emerging e-commerce has brought new trade opportunities and has achieved continuous growth in recent years. More and more people, especially young people, are keen to browse art information and buy artwork on the Internet. Therefore, designing an effective method of recommending artworks may not only effectively enhance the user experience in the art market but also benefit the greater transaction growth. The artwork recommendation task in e-commerce has not received much attention. Previous research works often regard the artworks as ordinary pictures and do not take into account the particularity of the artwork. To solve this problem, we modelled the aesthetic features into artwork recommendation and used the attention mechanism to learn user preferences for various features. We proposed a DAAR (Deep Attention Artwork Recommendation) model and used the attention mechanism to model the user’s preference weights for different features (including content features, aesthetic features and authors). To verify the validity of the proposed model, we collected data and conducted experiments on a real artwork community website. The experimental results show that the proposed DAAR model was better than the current state-of-the-art recommendation methods.
Understanding the Evolution of Environment, Social and Governance Research: Novel Implications From Bibliometric and Network Analysis
Authors: Singh Amit Kumar , Zhang Yifang , Anu
Published: September 2022

Given the scarcity of comprehensive review studies in the literature, this bibliometric analysis thrives on taking a scientific approach to delivering quantitative and qualitative information on the ever-evolving field of ESG. Utilizing the performance analysis and science mapping techniques which includes citation analysis, co-word analysis, the study reports a holistic overview of 693 (ESG) papers from 1991 to 2020. The paper aims to provide a unified perspective on the evolution and further identify future research directions in this field. The findings point to the most important countries, authors, studies, and top journals in this field. Results show that published articles on ESG gained momentum after 2006; however, an exponential rise is being observed in the past 5 years, with research focusing on sustainable finance, sustainable development, ESG, and CSR with themes extending to risk management, stakeholder engagement, and portfolio construction, among others. Furthermore, the research identifies how the practice of ESG reporting affects many variables such as financial performance, social performance, environmental performance, and sustainability score. The findings also indicate that the field of ESG is still evolving, with numerous unexplored themes. The work is novel and relevant on the pretext that it uses the Scopus and Web of Science databases for bibliometric mapping, whereas previous studies have used the Scopus database but have lacked a robust methodology, so the findings of this study provided strong support for identifying emerging paradigms in the ESG literature.
Perceptual confidence of visual stimulus features is associated with duration perception
Authors: Liu Bing-Hui , Mao Li-Hua , Zhou Bin
Published: September 2022

It has been shown that the perceived duration of an object in the subsecond range is closely associated with its nontemporal perceptual properties, the mechanism under which remains unclear. Previous studies have revealed a modulatory effect of early visual feature processing on the apparent duration. Here, we further examined the relationship between perceptual confidence and subjective time by asking participants to simultaneously perform temporal and nontemporal perceptual judgments. The results revealed a significant effect on confidence levels. When participants’ confidence in judging the coherent motion direction or relative dot numerosity increases, their perceived duration of the stimulus also appears longer. These results are discussed in the context of perceptual evidence accumulation and evaluation for the decision-making of perceptual properties. They suggest a profound contribution of object processing to the computation of subjective time and provide further insights into the mechanism of event timing.
Stability and performance analysis of hybrid braceless semisubmersible platform installed in real seas
Authors: Dey Swarnadip , Banik Atul K
Published: September 2022

The possibility of combining Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) and Wave Energy Converters (WEC) on one single platform is proposed here. To understand how the presence of two flap type WEC influences the platforms’ stabilities and subsequently turbine’s performances, an extensive study is carried out in real seas under two imperative states of turbine viz. operational & survival state. Accordingly, an integrated aero-hydro-elastic numerical model is developed with the help of multiple software, and finally coupled dynamic analysis is carried out in Orcaflex. After performing the analysis, it shows that wave and wind have synchronizing effects on the system’s stability and subsequently decide the turbine’s power. It is observed that the presence of WEC exhibits lesser platform responses with more turbine power from the base platform. Finally, the size and layout of the flap type WEC along with the flexibility of the supporting arm are compared and recommended the suitable.
Assessment of the effects of sodium nitrate (NaNO3) on the reproductive system, liver, pancreas, and kidney of male rats
Authors: SV Rajini , B Chaithra , Basavaiah Shiva
Published: September 2022

Nitrate (NO3) toxicity is a serious global issue that results in impairment of physiological systems of our body. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of different concentration of NaNO3 (10, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw) on the male reproductive system, liver, kidney and pancreas. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into five groups of five animals each ( n = 5). The first group served as controls. The second, third, fourth and fifth groups of rat were orally intubated with 10, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw of NaNO3 for 52 days. After the treatment period, the rats were sacrificed and NO3 induced alterations on selected organs were assessed. There was a dose dependent decrease in sperm motility, serum concentration of testosterone, body weight and organ weight, and increase in abnormal sperm morphology in the NaNO3 treated groups compared with the controls. Further, histological analysis confirmed that NO3 induced toxicity. Shrunken seminiferous tubules and loss of spermatids in testes, shrinkage of acinar cells of the pancreas, sinusoidal congestion and necrosis in the liver, atrophy of glomeruli and congestion of renal tubules of the kidney were the histological alterations observed in rats treated with100 and 500 mg/kg NaNO3. However, 100% mortality was observed in rats treated with 1000 mg/kg NaNO3. The present study clearly demonstrated the toxic effects of NaNO3 on both the reproductive system and other organs of the body. The study might inform human studies; where in the chances of male infertility may be more a problem for individuals in areas with NO3‐rich ground water.
Design optimization of door sealing for the sound transmission performance
Authors: Saf Orçun , Erol Haluk , Kutlu Ali Erkin
Published: September 2022

Noise isolation properties of the closure systems are important factors for the acoustic performance of vehicles. This study explains sound transmission through a door sealing system, and numerical methods analyze all acoustic responses’ parameters. A specific design of experiments (DoE) analysis is carried out to reveal the effects of each material along with the predefined geometric entities and their dimensions. Viscoelastic material parameters are included with full factorial designs for a particular geometry. Material optimization is implemented with the Taguchi method by incorporating noise factors. Optimization of the geometric entities is studied, and the best section shapes for acoustic performance are obtained. A robust optimization study is conducted by considering the uncontrollable noise factors. Consequently, the door closing efforts compromise the acoustic design to present an overall method with design constraints.
Observer-based event-triggered sliding mode control of the discrete-time singular networked systems
Authors: Xu Qiyi , Qi Wenhai , Zhang Yijun , Gao Lijun
Published: September 2022

This article is concerned with the [Formula: see text] observer-based sliding mode control via event-triggered strategy for the discrete-time singular networked systems. To improve network communication efficiency, an event-triggered strategy is introduced. Under the premise of considering the design convenience of the sliding mode surface for discrete-time singular networked systems, the observer is constructed to estimate the states of the system. From the event-triggered strategy–based observer and the sliding mode control technology, the augmented closed-loop discrete-time singular networked system is obtained. Then, new sufficient admissible criteria of discrete-time singular networked systems are derived, satisfying a given [Formula: see text] performance level. The synchronous design method of the event-triggered strategy observer gain and sliding mode control one is provided as solvable linear matrix inequalities. The sliding mode control law is designed to obtain better sliding mode accessibility and less chattering. Finally, two examples are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Determinants of Enrolment of Girl Children in Primary Education in Rural India: A Region-based Analysi
Authors: Biswas Puja , Kundu Amit
Published: September 2022

This paper investigates the factors which can influence overall enrolment and girls’ enrolment in primary education in rural India. Based on the 2011 Census, 352 rural people-dominated districts of 16 major states of India are identified. Due to sociocultural differences among rural Indian people, the states are divided into four regions based on their geographical locations. Initially, after constructing School Grant Coverage Index through principal component analysis and with the help of the General Entropy Measure of Inequality, it is observed that the coverage of grants in public primary schools has enhanced and inequality in terms of receiving government grants has decreased over time in rural India. Results based on the static panel regression model depict that midday meal and teaching–learning material grants influence overall enrolment only in the Northern and Eastern regions of rural India. Similarly, midday meals, school development grants and father’s education influence girl’s enrolment in Eastern, Western and Northern regions but failed to influence in Southern regions of India. The availability of female teachers positively influences girls’ enrolment in primary school attainment in Eastern, Western and Southern regions of India. We have also found that parents are more interested to admit their girl child to public primary schools in rural areas.
Impact of a Multicomponent Educational Intervention on Community Pharmacy–Based Naloxone Services Implementation: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Hohmann Lindsey A. , Fox Brent I. , Garza Kimberly B. , Wang Chih-Hsuan , Correia Christopher , Curran Geoffrey M. , Westrick Salisa C.
Published: September 2022

Background:

Despite US naloxone access laws, community pharmacists lack training and confidence in providing naloxone.

Objective:

To assess the impact of the Empowering Community Pharmacists program on pharmacists’ knowledge, perceived barriers, attitudes, confidence, and intentions regarding naloxone services implementation, as well as naloxone prescriptions dispensed.

Methods:

A 3-month pragmatic randomized controlled trial was conducted from December 2018 to March 2019. Alabama community pharmacists were recruited by mail, email, phone, and fax and randomized to intervention (monthly resources/reminders + educational webinar) or control (monthly reminders only). Outcome measures were assessed via online surveys at baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2), and 3 months post-intervention (T3), including naloxone knowledge (%correct); perceived barriers, attitudes, confidence, and intention regarding naloxone services implementation (7-point Likert-type scale; 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree); and number of naloxone prescriptions dispensed. Mean differences between control and intervention from T1 to T3 were assessed using 2-way mixed analysis of variance and adjusted analyses were conducted using generalized estimating equations with negative binomial distribution to assess associations between variables.

Results:

Of 55 participants (n = 27 intervention, n = 28 control), most were female (80.3%), white (80.6%), in independently owned pharmacies (39.1%). Increases in mean [SD] confidence (5.52 [1.03]-6.16 [0.74], P < 0.0005) and intention (5.35 [1.51]-6.10 [0.96], P = 0.023) occurred from pre- to post-program within the intervention group and were statistically significant compared with control (confidence P = 0.016, intention P = 0.014). Confidence (exp(β) = 1.46, P = 0.031) and perceived barriers (exp(β) = 0.75, P = 0.022) were associated with number of naloxone prescriptions dispensed.

Conclusion and Relevance:

The Empowering Community Pharmacists program improved community pharmacists’ confidence and intention regarding naloxone services implementation. Other states can adapt program elements according to their laws.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT05093309
Improved Pain and Function After TTC Fusion With a Custom Cage
Authors: Raikin Steven M. , Moncman Tara Gaston , Raikin Jared
Published: September 2022

Background:

Three-dimensional custom cages can be used to treat complex ankle and hindfoot pathology and bone loss with potentially better patient satisfaction and higher fusion rates than tibiotalocalcaneal (TTC) fusion alone or in combination with bulk femoral head allograft. Yet there is limited literature to support this procedure. The purpose of this study is to objectively quantify the clinical and radiologic outcomes of patients undergoing patient-specific 3D-printed custom cage implantation to fill large defects around the ankle joint region as part of a limb-salvaging TTC fusion.

Methods:

This is a retrospective review of 21 patients (mean age 59.3 years) who underwent custom cage implantation with a TTC retrograde fusion nail by a single surgeon for massive bone loss of the ankle and hindfoot. Patient charts were reviewed for pain and functional outcomes, complications, and various demographics, including number of previous surgeries to the ipsilateral ankle. Mean follow-up was 32 months. All 21 patients had preoperative and postoperative pain and function scores available for analysis.

Results:

A total of 20 (95.2%) of the 21 patients had their cage in situ at final follow-up. Overall, with the numbers available, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) activities of daily living subscale, and the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) mental and physical health scores significantly improved from preoperative to final follow-up. However, when compared to the overall US population of age-matched 55- to 64-year-old individuals, patients still remained relatively disabled. There were 2 failures, one of which required amputation and the other was treated nonoperatively with bracing.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, in this relatively small, single-surgeon series, we found that 3D-printed custom cage technology offered a viable option for complex TTC fusion procedures performed in the presence of significant bone loss, with good fusion rates, however relatively modest improvement in functional outcomes.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, retrospective case series.
Association of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width-Albumin Ratio for Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients with Mortality: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Li Dan , Ruan Zhishen , Wu Bo
Published: September 2022

Background

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) was a risk factor for poor prognosis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Recent reports suggested that combining RDW with other laboratory metrics could provide a better prediction. This retrospective study aimed to investigate whether the RDW-albumin ratio (RAR) may be associated with mortality after an AMI.

Methods

This cohort study was conducted among adults (over 16 years old) with AMI in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Database III V1.4 (MIMIC-III). The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, and the secondary outcome was 1-year and 3-year mortality. Cox hazard regression model and Kaplan–Meier survival curves were constructed to estimate the effect of biomarkers on mortality. We used three models to adjust for potential bias. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) were analyzed for the excellent performance of RAR on prognosis.

Results

A total of 826 patients were eventually enrolled in our study. In multivariate analysis, RAR was found to be associated with 30-day mortality (Model 3: HR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.09-1.39, P < .001). In addition, Subgroup analysis showed that the effect of RAR was higher in female patients than in male patients ( P for interaction = .026). Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that patients in the lower RAR quartile tended to have higher survival rates in the short and long term. AMI patients with RAR ≥ 4 had a 122% increase in 3-year mortality. Results of ROC and AUC showed that the prognostic performance of RAR for mortality was the best (30-day mortality: 0.703; 1-year mortality: 0.729; 3-year mortality: 0.737).

Conclusions

RAR is a simple and stable predictor of prognosis in AMI patients. Our results support RAR = 4.0 as a criterion for prognostic risk stratification of AMI patients.
Six-degrees-of-freedom dynamic load identification of compressors for refrigeration system based on rigid body dynamics
Authors: Long Danfeng , Zhong Min , Si Weizheng , Guo Weike , Zhang Liang
Published: September 2022

Dynamic load of compressors is of great concern to designers of refrigeration products since pipes and sheet metals are easy to be excited, leading to noise or fatigue failure. The excitation is impossible to measure directly and difficult to calculate according to generation mechanism; thus, dynamic load identification which skips the mechanism is a more practicable way. However, the reported approaches have the problems of inaccuracy and clumsy. Therefore, an easy-to-implement approach is proposed, in which the accelerations and the frequency response functions from test are transformed to an arbitrarily given point based on rigid body dynamics, and then the equivalent six-degrees of freedom dynamic load of this point is calculated. This approach is validated using a motor with eccentric mass, whose centrifugal force is identified with the proposed approach and also calculated in analytical way. Comparison indicates that the error is within 5% except for the rotational speeds close to natural frequencies. Curve fitting or interpolation is recommended to correct the data in order to reduce the influence of natural frequencies. Cases studies with a rotary compressor and a scroll compressor respectively are presented. For the rotary compressor, the force magnitudes in X and Y directions are almost the same and pretty close to their quadratic polynomial fitting curves with zero intercept respectively, conforming to the characteristics of centrifugal force; the RZ component is larger than the RX and RY components as expected, but the latter two are not negligible; and there is a step change at 45 rps due to the removal of torque compensation. For the scroll compressor, the force magnitudes in X and Y directions are different, but very close to their quadratic polynomial fitting curves, respectively; the Z component has a jump in high-speed range; and there is no significant difference of dynamic force in the cooling and the heating modes.
Effect of telemonitoring and telerehabilitation on physical activity, exercise capacity, health-related quality of life and healthcare use in patients with chronic lung diseases or COVID-19: A scoping review
Authors: Sanchez-Ramirez Diana C , Pol Margriet , Loewen Hal , Choukou Mohamed-Amine
Published: September 2022

Background

Telemonitoring and telerehabilitation can support home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) and benefit patients with lung diseases or COVID-19. This study aimed to (1) identify which telemonitoring and telerehabilitation interventions (e.g. videoconferencing) are used to provide telehealth care for people with chronic respiratory conditions or COVID-19, and (2) provide an overview of the effects of telemonitoring and telerehabilitation on exercise capacity, physical activity, health-related QoL (HRQoL), and healthcare use in patients with lung diseases or COVID-19.

Methods

A search was performed in the electronic databases of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cinahl through 15 June 2021. Subject heading and keywords were used to reflect the concepts of telemonitoring, telerehabilitation, chronic lung diseases, and COVID-19. Studies that explored the effect of a telerehabilitation and/or telemonitoring intervention, in patients with a chronic lung disease such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), or COVID-19, and reported the effect of the intervention in one or more of our outcomes of interest were included. Excluding criteria included evaluation of new technological components, teleconsultation or one-time patient assessment.

Results

This scoping review included 44 publications reporting the effect of telemonitoring (25 studies), telerehabilitation (8 studies) or both (11 studies) on patients with COPD (35 studies), asthma (5 studies), COPD and asthma (1 study), and COVID-19 (2 studies). Patients who received telemonitoring and/or telerehabilitation had improvements in exercise capacity in 9 out of 11 (82%) articles, better HRQoL in 21 out of 25 (84%), and fewer health care use in 3 out of 3 (100%) articles compared to pre-intervention. Compared to controls, no statistically significant differences were found in the intervention groups’ exercise capacity in 5 out 6 (83%) articles, physical activity in 3 out of 3 (100%) articles, HRQoL in 21 out of 25 (84%) articles, and healthcare use in 15 out of 20 (75%) articles. The main limitation of the study was the high variability between the characteristics of the studies, such as the number and age of the patients, the outcome measures, the duration of the intervention, the technological components involved, and the additional elements included in the interventions that may influence the generalization of the results.

Conclusion

Telemonitoring and telerehabilitation interventions had a positive effect on patient outcomes and appeared to be as effective as standard care. Therefore, they are promising alternatives to support remote home-based rehabilitation in patients with chronic lung diseases or COVID-19.
Evaluation of direction judgements based on turn signal guide lamp and behavioural responses
Authors: Pak H , Kang H , Song D-W , Lee J-H , Park H , Lee C-S
Published: September 2022

Traffic crashes frequently occur at intersections because drivers or pedestrians cannot properly anticipate the direction towards which other vehicles are turning. A turn signal guide lamp was developed to improve the observer’s direction judgement of turn signals, and experiments were conducted to test the effect of the guide lamp based on behavioural responses. Our experimental results demonstrated that the turning direction judgement response time was reduced when both the turn signal indicators and turn signal guide lamps were used together compared with the case when only the turn signal indicators were used. Supplementary eye-tracking data also demonstrated that the gaze point frequently stayed on the light patterns on the ground marked by the turn signal guide lamps. Additional glare evaluation using the de Boer scale showed no significant difference between the turn signal indicator with a guide lamp and the turn signal indicator alone on dry or wet road surfaces. Therefore, it is expected that the newly developed turn signal guide lamp will increase the observer’s performance of direction judgement on the turn signalling function without causing an additional glare when the observer knows the function of the guide lamp.
Teacher Participation in Continuing Professional Development: A Theoretical Framework
Authors: Njenga Moses
Published: September 2022

Given its importance and value in ensuring quality education, the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of teachers draws significant attention from researchers. Research has thus focused on teachers’ CPD practices and the factors influencing those practices. However, a broad theoretical framework that relates teacher CPD participation factors to teacher characteristics and explains their interaction and the resultant CPD practices is yet to be developed. To address this gap, this article reviews literature on teacher CPD and synthesizes an empirically testable theoretical framework. The article begins by adopting a wide definition of teacher CPD as all learning that teachers undertake to improve their professional competencies, and proceeds to identify the essential aspects of teacher CPD and the factors that influence teachers’ participation in CPD. An analysis of the literature leads to the conclusion that teacher CPD is a context bound and goal-oriented learning activity, characterized by multiple aims, content, learning methods. By viewing teachers as adult learners and rational choice takers, principles of Adult Education Theory and propositions of the Rational Choice Theory are then used to explain the interaction of the factors and observed CPD practices. The article concludes by presenting several hypotheses and methodological implications arising from the framework.