bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimizing EV Charging Infrastructure: A Data-Driven Approach to Predicting Power Demand and Analyzing Geographic Disparities
Authors: Arun Archita
Published: January 2025

This paper presents a data-driven approach to optimizing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure using a stacked ensemble learning model, which predicts power demand (kWh) per session to address challenges like long wait times, geographic disparities, and uneven resource allocation. Leveraging data from 85 EV drivers across 105 charging stations, the study identifies critical factors influencing station performance, such as session duration, time of day, and regional demand. Extensive preprocessing steps, including cyclical encoding of time-related variables, one-hot encoding of categorical features, and standardization of numerical variables, ensured the dataset was properly prepared for machine learning analysis. The stacked ensemble model combines Random Forest, XGBoost, and Neural Network models, effectively capturing both linear and non-linear relationships in the data. The results highlight significant urban-rural disparities in charging infrastructure. Urban stations exhibit higher and more consistent demand, whereas rural areas show sporadic and limited usage, underscoring the need for targeted infrastructure investment in underserved regions. Temporal patterns further reveal peak charging demand during business hours at workplace stations, emphasizing the potential for dynamic optimization of station placement and operational capacity based on usage trends. The model achieved a low Mean Squared Error (MSE) on training data (0.1577 kWh), but a higher MSE on test data (1.7875 kWh) indicates overfitting, suggesting the need for further refinement. Despite this limitation, the model offers valuable insights into optimizing EV charging networks, enabling policymakers and developers to improve infrastructure planning and reduce geographic inequities. Future work will focus on expanding the dataset to include residential and public charging scenarios, incorporating additional variables like weather and traffic patterns, and refining model architecture to improve generalization. This study contributes to building equitable and efficient EV charging networks, supporting the growing adoption of sustainable transportation.
Interculturalism in Moroccan Institutions: The Case of Secondary Education in the French Language
Authors: Daoudi Safaa , Adlouni Wafaa
Published: January 2025

Didactics and language pedagogy place great importance on integrating the intercultural dimension into language teaching. This concern is also present in the Moroccan education system, which has undertaken a reform aimed, among other things, at developing intercultural competence. However, despite these ambitions, a survey conducted among French as a Foreign Language (FLE) teachers in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, specifically in the Skhirat-Témara prefecture, revealed that most of these teachers do not have a clear understanding of the concepts of cultural and intercultural competences, even though the FLE teaching programs explicitly aim to develop these competences. Given these findings, this article questions how to teach the French cultural dimension and what resources could be made available to FLE teachers. The underlying hypothesis is that these resources will help preserve the cultural aspect of language teaching, thereby preventing it from being deprived of its essential cultural content that complements it. Consequently, they will enable learners to communicate correctly in FLE. Ultimately, this study raises the question of how to manage the intercultural aspect that emerges from the encounter between the local culture of learners and the foreign culture in the FLE classroom, drawing on research conducted in the didactics of languages and cultures. In this perspective, our study is divided into two parts: the first part highlights the main incompatibilities and contradictions we have just mentioned, while the second part proposes some didactic approaches aimed at mitigating these problems.
Enhancing Students’ Conceptual Understanding and Problem-Solving Skills in Learning Trigonometry Through Contextual-Based Mathematical Modeling Instruction
Authors: Fererde Amare , Mihrka Adamu , Ayele Mulugeta , Arara Alemayehu
Published: January 2025

Trigonometry is a crucial topic in high school mathematics that significantly influences students' understanding and problem-solving skills. However, many students face challenges in this area after traditional instructional approaches. By employing a context-based mathematical modeling instructional approach, educators can make trigonometry lessons more meaningful and relevant to students' lives, effectively connecting the academic content to their real-world experiences and contexts. This study aimed to investigate the impact of context-based mathematical modeling instructional approach on secondary school students’ conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills in trigonometry. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent pretest, posttest control group design involving 97 Grade 10 students from two separate schools in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia was employed. The students’ conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills were assessed before and after the intervention using a trigonometric concept test and problem-solving tasks developed by the researchers and field experts. The collected data were analyzed using independent, paired sample t-tests and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The findings indicated that the treatment group, which participated in the context-based mathematical modeling instructional approach, showed significant improvements in understanding and solving real-life trigonometric concepts and problems compared to the control group. This contextualized approach, supported by effective teacher training and the strategic use of readily available materials significantly enhanced students' conceptual understanding of trigonometry, problem-solving skills, and their ability to apply these concepts to real-world situations. These results suggest that accessible resources, combined with effective instructional delivery, are essential factors in improving mathematics learning outcomes.
Gender Difference in Risky Sexual Behavior and Its Determinants Among Ethiopian Youth: Evidence from the 2016 Edhs
Authors: Tafess Tibeb , Negera Tefera
Published: January 2025

Risky sexual behavior is defined as multiple sexual partners in a lifetime plus sex without a condom. Gender and risky sexual behavior have an intriguing relationship. This study conducted aims to identify the gender difference and determinants of risky sexual behavior among youth. With a sample of 7490, males and females aged 15-29 drawn from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). The study was conducted based on socio-demography characteristics, youth individual characteristics, and Knowledge of HIV/AIDS data obtained from the Ethiopian demographic health survey (EDHS) 2016 by extracting male and female data. Univariate was used to display the data using tables compared between males and females. The binary logistic regression model was developed to identify the predictors of risky sexual behavior. Study shows 964 (37%) of males and 739 (15%) of females were engaged in risky sexual behavior. About 22.7% (1703) of the youth were risky at the national level. Bivariate analysis shows that males are 3.38 times more likely to engage in risky sexual practices compared to females (p<=0.001) respectively. In comparison to rural, the likelihood of risky sexual practices among males and females were significantly increase by 48.1% and 41.5% living in urban areas correspondingly (p < 0.01). Females aged 20-24 and 25-29 are more likely to be risky compared to those aged 15-19 (p<0.001). Significant gender differences in risky sexual behavior were observed with a higher risk in male respondents compared to females. The explanatory variables marital status, residence, region, and alcohol intake were a significant variation of males and females' risky sexual behaviors. Specific Strategies and approaches should develop to reduce risky sexual practices and improve reproductive health outcomes.
Performance Evaluation of Malt Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.) Varieties for Yield and Quality Attributes in East Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region
Authors: Bitew Jember , Workie Alehegn
Published: January 2025

Background: The production and productivity of Malt Barley is still low and area coverage has not been expanded due to lack of improved malt barley varieties. Hence Identification of adaptable quality malt barley varieties for specific environments is critical to enhance productivity. Objective: To evaluate and identify well adapted malt barley varieties for the study area. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at Debre-Markos Agricultural Research Center and Sinan district from 2019 and 2020 main cropping season. Fifteen Malt barley varieties were evaluated using a randomized complete block design with three replications at plot sizes of 2m width and 2.5m length. Results: The analysis of variance results showed that there were significant differences (p<0.001 among tested varieties. Varieties IBON174/03 (3125.00 kg h-1) and HB1964 (2929.17 kg h-1) scored maximum grain yield at DebreMarkos and IBON174/03 and M-21 scored maximum grain yield at Sinan district; The combined analysis of variance result showed that highly significant difference at P< 0.001. IBON174/03 (2736.08 kg h-1), HB 1964 (2362.08 kg h-1), and M-21 (2301.28 kg h-1) varieties were the first three best performing varieties with an average grain yield greater than the grand mean. The analysis of variance for quality traits revealed that there is significant variation among tested varieties for all traits. Varieties M-21(11.32%), EH1847 (10.65%), IBON174/03(9.96%), and HB1964 (9.77%) scored the acceptable range of kernel protein content. Conclusion: The three varieties; IBON174/03, M-21, and HB1964 were relatively high yielder and fulfilled the acceptable range of standards set by the National Standard Authority for kernel protein content of malting barley. Therefore; these varieties are recommended for production in the East Gojjam zone and similar agro-ecologies. Further studies are required for malting quality parameters on malt barley varieties across locations.
Incel Beliefs and Support for Political Violence Among U.S. Males: The Mediating Effects of Masculinity Stress, Aggression, Outgroup Hate, and Illiberalism
Authors: Piazza James A.
Published: January 2025

This study examines whether male subjects who agree with core beliefs of the extremist “incel” movement are more supportive of political violence, and why this may be the case. It employs an original public opinion survey using a representative sample of 900 American males and finds that subjects who hold incel beliefs are 124% more supportive of political violence as an abstract behavior and are 45% more supportive of political violence when it is put into a specific context. Furthermore, using serial mediation analysis, it determines that incel beliefs are linked to support for political violence through masculine gender role stress and aggression as well as though outgroup hate and illiberal attitudes.
The Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Access to Toilet Facilities in South Africa: The Case of eThekwini Municipality and the City of Cape Town
Authors: Duba Vuyolethu , Nsengiyumva Philomene
Published: January 2025

The current study examines the relationship between the demographic and the socioeconomic characteristics of household heads and their access to toilet facilities in eThekwini Municipality and the City of Cape Town, South Africa. Utilizing data from the 2019 General Household Survey, we employed chi-square statistics and logistic regression analysis to explore the connections between dependent and independent variables and to highlight factors that contribute to access to toilet facilities. The findings reveal a significant correlation between gender, population group, age, education, and economic status with access to toilet facilities in both eThekwini Municipality and the City of Cape Town. Furthermore, the results underscore the disparities in access to improved toilet facilities influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors. These findings pose the need to address and alleviate the imbalances in access to essential services such as toilet amenities. Targeted interventions by local governments to provide improved toilet facilities for all could significantly enhance public health and restore dignity to residents in these metropolitan areas, and the country as a whole.
Clinical Feasibility of 3-D Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Imaging for Targeted Prostate Biopsy Guidance
Authors: Chan Derek Y. , Moavenzadeh Spencer R. , Wightman Wren E. , Palmeri Mark L. , Polascik Thomas J. , Nightingale Kathryn R.
Published: January 2025

We have developed a 3-D acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) prostate imaging system to identify regions suspicious for cancer and guide a targeted prostate biopsy in a single visit. The system uses a side-fire transrectal probe and an automated rotation stage to acquire ARFI and B-mode image volumes, combined with 3-D visualization and targeting software to enable biopsy target identification and guide a transperineal (TP) biopsy. The system was tested in the first clinical trial of its kind, with subjects serially undergoing ARFI-guided targeted TP biopsy, multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI)-ultrasound fusion TP biopsy, and systematic sampling TP biopsy. The findings indicate that the ARFI system is feasible for guiding a targeted biopsy. For lower-grade cancer (grade groups [GG] 1–2), ARFI underperformed mpMRI and systematic sampling, detecting cancer in 54% of GG 2 subjects. However, ARFI performance improved with increasing cancer grade; for higher-grade cancer (GG 3–5), ARFI performed comparably to the other biopsy approaches, and detected cancer in all GG 4 and 5 subjects. The findings also suggest the benefit of using 2-D ARFI imaging to confirm target location during live B-mode imaging, which could improve existing ultrasonic fusion biopsy workflows. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT04607135.
A Fast Nonparametric Sampling Method for Time to Event in Individual-Level Simulation Models
Authors: Garibay-Treviño David U. , Jalal Hawre , Alarid-Escudero Fernando
Published: January 2025

Purpose. Individual-level simulation models often require sampling times to events; however, efficient parametric distributions for many processes may often not exist. For example, time to death from life tables cannot be accurately sampled from existing parametric distributions. We propose an efficient nonparametric method to sample times to events that does not require any parametric assumption on the hazards. Methods. We developed a nonparametric sampling (NPS) approach that simultaneously draws multiple time-to-event samples from a categorical distribution. This approach can be applied to univariate and multivariate processes. We discretize the entire period into equal-length time intervals and then derived the interval-specific probabilities. The times to events can then be used directly in individual-level simulation models. We compared the accuracy of our approach in sampling time-to-events from common parametric distributions, including exponential, gamma, and Gompertz. In addition, we evaluated the method’s performance in sampling age to death from US life tables and sampling times to events from parametric baseline hazards with time-dependent covariates. Results. The NPS method estimated similar expected times to events from 1 million draws for the 3 parametric distributions, 100,000 draws for the homogenous cohort, 200,000 draws from the heterogeneous cohort, and 1 million draws for the parametric distributions with time-varying covariates, all in less than 1 second. Conclusion. Our method produces accurate and computationally efficient samples for time to events from hazards without requiring parametric assumptions.

Highlights

The nonparametric sampling method is generic and can sample times to an event from any discrete (or discretizable) hazard without requiring any parametric assumption. The method is showcased with 5 commonly used distributions in discrete-event simulation models. The method produced very similar expected times to events, as well as their probability distribution, compared with analytical results. We provide a multivariate categorical sampling function for R and Python programming languages to sample times to events from processes with different hazards simultaneously.
A cost analysis of the anaesthetic management of patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a tertiary referral hospital in Queensland, Australia
Authors: Hodge Anthony T , Tognolini Angela R , Martin Elizabeth K , Eley Victoria A
Published: January 2025

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Australia resulted in significant additional infection control precautions for consumers and the health workforce. Prior to widespread vaccine availability, substantial changes were made to the operating theatre management of patients presenting for surgery with suspected or diagnosed COVID-19. This study aimed to calculate the actual costs of operating theatre care for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Data were prospectively collected for all patients presenting for surgery with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Information collected included patient characteristics, surgical and anaesthesia details, equipment, theatre utilisation, staffing and cleaning. The associated variable costs and usual costs of care were calculated according to the Australian National Efficient Price. We compared estimated usual costs with those estimated for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Twenty-four patients with suspected COVID-19 infection underwent surgery between May 2020 and February 2021. Cost analysis revealed a mean (standard deviation (SD), range) increase in costs of providing perioperative care for COVID-19 suspect patients of A$2252 (A$2570, A$315.85–10,398); that is, a mean of 207.5% more than usual care costs. This was primarily due to the increased number of staff and time required to complete these cases with appropriate infection control.
Inside Out
Authors: Schwirck Samantha
Published: January 2025

Maintaining views—and possibilities—for employees from the outer edges to the inner core of BCG's new Los Angeles office
Chicago Style
Authors: Nale Katie
Published: January 2025

Steps away from an iconic ballpark, a lighting control system saves the day for a restaurant filled with custom fixtures
SSL
Authors: Kinzey Bruce
Published: January 2025

Light at Night A collaborative approach helps balance dark-sky considerations with safe and responsible design
Lessons in the Classroom
Authors: Davis Bob , Safranek Sarah
Published: January 2025

Tunable light could potentially improve student learning, increase teacher satisfaction and trim energy use. A recent pilot project explored these benefits
Cleaning out the Clutter
Authors: Tarricone Paul
Published: January 2025

Removing books from a library-yes, you read that right-created a better learning experience at a university in Canada
Kinetic Elegance
Authors: Nale Katie
Published: January 2025

Bold lighting moments create an energetic, get refined space for a multi-generational workplace
What's the Word on the Street?
Authors: Tarricone Paul
Published: January 2025

It's ‘smart cities,’ as sensor-equipped streetlights offer the proverbial mother lode of data
SSL
Authors: Taylor Ruth
Published: January 2025

The Rigors of Testing An unfiltered look at connected parking lot lighting systems
Luminaires and the Sound of Silence
Authors: Zylstra Dirk , Renaud Francois
Published: January 2025

The design of the modern office has created unintended consequences for acoustic control. Lighting can help fix that
Safety
Authors: Plank Jerry
Published: January 2025

NEC Updates Change is inevitable … are you ready?
Fairytale Ending
Authors: Schwirck Samantha
Published: January 2025

With new illumination, the restored Belvedere Castle becomes a nighttime attraction in Central Park
SSL
Authors: Kinzey Bruce , Tuenge Jason
Published: January 2025

Can LED Lighting Improve Roadway Safety? A study of 60 townships may offer answers
Standards
Authors: Liebel Brian
Published: January 2025

The Quality Quandary (Redux) Flipping the script to focus on end-user outcomes
Safety
Authors: Plank Jerry
Published: January 2025

Assessing Horticultural Lighting Optical radiation should be chief among concerns
Safety
Authors: Plank Jerry
Published: January 2025

The Weakest Link Problems with the supply chain impact replacement components
Evaluation of a Depression Screening Program in Pediatric Orthopaedic Sports Clinics: Identifying At-Risk Adolescents
Authors: Colon-Morillo Reinaldo E. , Kartalias Katina , Bryan Tracey P. , Edmonds Eric W.
Published: January 2025

Background:

Mental health is a contributing factor to the overall well-being of patients, and the 2-question Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) and 9-question Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) are reliable in-clinic tools to assess depression and self-harm. The prevalence of adolescents with depression symptoms within a pediatric orthopaedic sports clinic has not been assessed.

Hypothesis:

That rates of depression and risk of self-harm would vary based on presenting pathology among adolescents sustaining a sports-related injury.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A query of the institutional electronic medical record was performed to identify all patients aged 12 to 21 years who were administered the PHQ-2 or PHQ-9 over a 2.3-year period within pediatric orthopaedic sports clinics. The rate of a positive screen prompting administration of PHQ-9 (PHQ-2 score ≥3), rate of depression risk (PHQ-9 score ≥10), and rate of patients indicating self-harm (affirmative score on question 9) were evaluated. Patients were placed into 4 broad diagnostic categories: knee instability, knee other, shoulder pathology, or other sports-related injuries. Multivariate binary logistic regression was performed to identify available patient and diagnosis predictors of self-harm risk.

Results:

A total of 3298 patients were screened in pediatric orthopaedic sports clinics from 2018 to 2021. The overall positive screen rate (PHQ-2) was 4.2% (n = 138), the depression risk rate (PHQ-9) was 1.9% (n = 63), and the self-harm rate was 0.9% (n = 29). Self-harm showed a significant difference, with shoulder and knee instability having the highest rate. Black/African American race (OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.3-11; P = .02), female sex (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.3-6.9; P = .01), public/government insurance (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.03-4.8; P = .041), shoulder pathology (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.3-9.4; P = .016), and knee instability diagnosis (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.2-6.5; P = .02) were associated with an increased risk of self-harm.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrated a 2% rate of depression risk and a 1% rate of self-harm risk in adolescents treated within pediatric orthopaedic sports clinics. Race, sex, and public/government insurance were found to be predictive factors. Knowledge of risk factors can help increase awareness and recognition of potential mental health conditions that may need to be addressed during treatment for adolescents with sports-related injuries. The authors recommend that adolescents >12 years of age complete this quick assessment at the start of their orthopaedic sports clinic encounter.
Effect of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction on Reading Comprehension and Self-Determination Skills of Students With Learning Disabilities
Authors: Söğüt Deniz Ayşegül , Melekoğlu Macid Ayhan
Published: January 2025

Reading interventions focusing on self-determination can effectively improve the academic performance of students with learning disabilities (LD). This study investigated the effects of a multicomponent reading comprehension strategy intervention, which is based on the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI), on the use of strategies, reading comprehension levels, SDLMI knowledge, and self-determination skills of students with LD. This empirical study was designed quantitatively using a pretest–posttest control group design, and 42 Turkish students with LD were included. The students were randomly assigned to two study groups and one control group. The results showed that all scores of the group that received the multicomponent reading comprehension strategy intervention based on the SDLMI were significantly higher than those of the other groups in the posttest. The findings showed that integrating SDLMI into a reading comprehension intervention increased its impact. Educators should combine instruction for self-determination and academic skills to improve academic outcomes.
Is it all in the eye of the beholder? Examining the affective consequences of direct and indirect measures of counterdispositional extraversion
Authors: Kuijpers Evy , Wille Bart , Vossen Juul , Hofmans Joeri
Published: January 2025

Although a majority of studies show that acting in a more extraverted way is beneficial for one’s well-being, there are also indications that acting counterdispositionally is emotionally draining. In the current study, we try to explain these discrepancies by comparing indirect measures of counterdispositional extraversion (one relative to the trait level and one relative to the average state level) and we introduce a novel direct measure that taps into perceived counterdispositional extraversion. By using Multilevel Polynomial Regression and Response Surface Analysis in a large ESM dataset ( N = 187 individuals and N = 17,547 repeated observations), we found that for both direct and indirect measures of counterdispositional extraversion, higher state levels of extraversion related to higher levels of positive affect (PA), and this effect appears to be stronger for individuals high on average state and trait extraversion. Findings for negative affect (NA) were less consistent, with perceived deviations from one’s typical behavior relating to higher levels of NA. Altogether, our findings show that acting in a more extraverted way is better for increasing PA, on the understanding that subjective experiences of atypical behavior can be experienced as harmful.
Bioinspired curved blade for darrieus vertical axis wind turbine: A novel conceptual design and experimental investigation
Authors: Prakash Punit , Laws Praveen , Mishra Nishant , Mitra Santanu
Published: January 2025

The present study proposes a novel bio-inspired blade design to improve the efficiency of a VAWT model. The design model features a curved blade that sweeps backward, same characteristics as the Bottlenose Dolphin’s flippers. The proposed model would enhances aerodynamic flow over the system and improves torque. The modified shape can cause the fluid flow to converge towards the middle of the blade due to the pressure difference caused by the modified blade profile. Three modified shapes have been studied experimentally to observe the effect of swept curved design with a forward sweep of 0.2 c, 0.6 c, and 1.0 c for these augmented models. A wind-driven performance analysis mode is performed in a subsonic wind tunnel. A maximum of 15.7% increment in torque is observed for the model having a sweep of 1.0 c, and a maximum of 15% Coefficient of performance ( C P) is observed by Model D at tip speed ratio ( TSR, λ) = 1.8. An increment of 12% is observed in C P between the conventional and the modified model.
Care and justice reasoning in nurses’ everyday ethics
Authors: Juujärvi Soile , Tetri Birgitta
Published: January 2025

Background: The ethics of care and justice represent two modes of moral reasoning that nurses use in solving real-life ethical dilemmas. Research aim: The present study investigated what types of dilemmas nurses encounter in everyday work and to what extent they use care versus justice reasoning to solve them. Research design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Participants reported a real-life ethical dilemma and its resolution through an online survey. Open-ended data were analysed with an adjusted taxonomy of real-life moral dilemmas and moral orientations. Quantified data were analysed with statistical methods (χ2-test, analysis of variance). Participants and research context: Participants were 334 registered nurses and 177 practical nurses from four health and social care organisations in Finland. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Findings: Nurses reported six types of ethical dilemmas. Nurses used more care reasoning on the needs of others and conflicting demands dilemmas than on applying rules, social pressure and reacting to transgression dilemmas. Applying rules and needs of others dilemmas were the most common types of ethical dilemmas in both occupations. Practical nurses reported more non-ethical dilemmas than registered nurses did. Discussion: Ethical dilemmas of nurses are diverse, and the use of care and justice reasoning is differentiated according to the type of dilemma. Care reasoning dominates nurses’ ethical decision-making when responding to the needs of patients. Nurses use justice reasoning when they apply regimens, rules and procedures. In everyday ethics, care and justice reasoning complement each other. Conclusions: Highly regulated healthcare environments prefer rule-oriented justice reasoning that may supersede care reasoning in addressing patients’ situations. Focus on technical-professional expertise may further hamper nurses’ ethical decision-making. Nursing education and management should encourage nurses to use ethical concepts and values in their work.
Groupthink in the Board of Family Firms: The Case of Institutional Investment
Authors: Haider Zulfiquer Ali , J. Cumming Douglas , Wu Zhenyu
Published: January 2025

This study explores groupthink on the boards of family firms. We conjecture that institutional investors, in the face of principal–principal agency issues, are discouraged by groupthink and consequently invest less in family firms. Appropriate corporate governance in the form of greater board diversity, lower director tenure, busier boards, more financial disclosure, and bigger shareholder voice should help in alleviating these institutional investor concerns. We examine a sample of firms from the S&P 500 and find evidence consistent with these propositions. Also, we provide evidence that board generational heterogeneity in family firms exacerbates groupthink.
Tumor Mutation Signature Reveals the Risk Factors of Lung Adenocarcinoma with EGFR or KRAS Mutation
Authors: Wang Jialiang , Guo Chang , Wang Jiexiao , Zhang Xiaopeng , Qi Jian , Huang Xiang , Hu Zongtao , Wang Hongzhi , Hong Bo
Published: January 2025

Introduction

EGFR and KRAS mutations are frequently detected in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Tumor mutational signature (TMS) determination is an approach to identify somatic mutational patterns associated with pathogenic factors. In this study, through the analysis of TMS, the underlying pathogenic factors of LUAD with EGFR and KRAS mutations were traced.

Methods

This was a retrospective study. TMS of LUAD with KRAS and EGFR mutations from the TCGA, OncoSG, and MSK datasets was determined by two bioinformatics tools, namely the “MutationalPatterns” and “FitMS” packages. Elevated microsatellite alterations at selected tetranucleotide repeats (EMAST) of LUAD clinical specimens was analyzed using capillary electrophoresis.

Results

In LUAD with KRAS mutations, TMS analysis indicated that the smoking-related SBS4 signature was enriched. For LUAD with EGFR L858R mutation, the smoking-related SBS4 signature was enriched in the Western population from the TCGA database; however, the smoking-related SBS4 signature was not obvious in Asian LUAD patients. LUAD with EGFR exon19 deletion (19Del) exhibited stronger SBS15 signature, which was related to defective DNA mismatch repair. Capillary electrophoresis analysis showed that an EMAST locus was frequently instable in LUAD with EGFR 19Del. Different from the Western population, Asian LUAD patients with EGFR mutations exhibited the enrichment of SBS1, SBS2, and SBS13 signatures, which were associated with the endogenous mutation process of cytidine deamination.

Conclusions

TMS analysis reveals that smoking is associated with LUAD with KRAS mutations. Defective DNA mismatch repair and endogenous cytidine deamination are associated with LUAD with EGFR mutations, especially for the EGFR 19Del. The endogenous mutational process is stronger in Asian LUAD patients than Western LUAD patients.
The Emotional Burden of Studying White Emotionalities: My Kuwento, My Testimony
Authors: Matias Cheryl E.
Published: January 2025

Part of me-search, per Gardner’s article, is acknowledging oneself in research. Although novel, researchers are taught to silence their passions, hoping that leads to objectivity. However, is objectivity attainable? As qualitative inquiry is NOT JUST A QUALITATIVE STUDY but instead ethnically necessary to advance social justice and human rights. Employing kuwentos as method, I begin with me in my own research: how I researched White emotionalities, its reception, and the emotional toll. Hopefully, this is a testimony of never removing ourselves from research.
Operationalizing In-session Treatment Engagement Strategies and Behaviors for Adolescents With ADHD and Their Parents
Authors: Sibley Margaret H. , Rodriguez Lourdes M. , Lopez Melissa , Brochu Erika M. , Bracho Fabiana V. , Ortiz Mercedes , Hashimoto Jasmine
Published: January 2025

Objective:

Many treatment engagement challenges are documented for adolescents with ADHD. Across contexts, helping professionals (i.e., therapists, prescribers, educators, coaches) might benefit from an engagement strategy toolbox to facilitate work with adolescents with ADHD and their families.

Method:

The current study describes the development and psychometric testing of the ADHD Engagement Process Code (AEPC), a measure that operationalizes engagement strategies in the context of a blended behavioral/motivational interviewing treatment for adolescent ADHD (Supporting Teens’ Autonomy Daily; STAND). The AEPC also operationalizes in-session parent and adolescent engagement-related behaviors. Behavior counts and global codes were coded for 840 audio-recorded STAND sessions delivered by 21 therapists to 121 adolescents. Subsets of tapes were double coded using the AEPC’s parent, adolescent, and therapist coding systems to assess kappa for line-by-line verbalizations and intraclass correlations for session-level behavior counts and global scores. Construct validity was assessed. We explored low frequency and low variability codes and examined correlations between codes.

Results:

AEPC codes possessed good to excellent inter-rater reliability and strong discriminant validity. Three low frequency codes and one low variability global were identified indicating opportunities for AEPC refinement.

Conclusions:

The AEPC is publicly available ( https://osf.io/kshfy/ ) and offers a library of adolescent-specific codes for those interested in measuring provider, parent, or adolescent engagement behaviors in relevant populations or contexts.
Parents’ Experiences of Raising 7- to 11-Year-Old Children With ADHD and Perception of a Proposed Parenting Program: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Brown Louise E. , Tallon Mary , Kendall Garth , Boyes Mark , Myers Bronwyn
Published: January 2025

Objective:

To examine the experiences of Australian parents raising primary school-aged children with ADHD and gather feedback on a proposed ADHD parenting program.

Methods:

Reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews undertaken with 11 Australian parents of 7- to 11-year-old children with ADHD. Interviews were conducted over Webex, audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed in NVivo Ltd. software.

Results:

We identified four themes: (1) “I love my child but their ADHD traits are challenging,” (2) “Compliance, control, and completion,” (3) “It’s hard, burdensome, and exhausting and I can feel like I’m alone,” and (4) “What a welcome relief.”

Conclusion:

Parents report that although raising neurotypical children is difficult, the presence of childhood ADHD increases the emotional and support burden placed on them. Parents were also very interested in and supportive of the proposed ADHD parenting program. The program aims to enhance parents’ understanding of the neurocognitive implications of ADHD and to foster secure parent-child attachment, attuned parental responsiveness, and age-appropriate development of traits that promote well-being, adaption and recovery in people with ADHD.)
The role of security measures: Addressing geopolitical risk in Indian hospitality investments
Authors: Das Debojyoti , Dharmani Pranav , Dutta Anupam , Basu Sankarshan
Published: January 2025

This study examines the impact of geopolitical risk (GPR) on corporate investments within the Indian hospitality sector. The findings indicate a significant negative relationship between GPR and corporate investment levels. Notably, even financially stable firms cannot completely offset the detrimental effects of GPR. Additionally, investment reductions during periods of heightened GPR are found to be more substantial than the increases observed during periods of reduced GPR. However, the strategic implementation of security measures can substantially mitigate the challenges associated with GPR. These insights offer valuable guidance to regulators and business leaders in emerging markets when making informed investment decisions.
Sine cosine optimization and balloon effect for adaptive load frequency control in microgrids with consirning of controlled loads
Authors: Hassan Ahmed Tawfik , Rashwan Asmaa Fawzy , Mosa Mohamed Roshdi , Mohamed Tarek Hassan , Mikhaylov Alexey , Hemeida Ashraf , Karpyn Zuleima
Published: January 2025

It is important to put in place a reliable, effective, and flexible load frequency controller in order to guarantee stability in the microgrids (µGs). This paper presents an adaptive load frequency control (LFC) for an isolated µG with electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pump water heater (HPWH) systems. This adaptive control utilizes the balloon effect (BE) identification technique along with the sine cosine optimization (SCO) algorithm. The control system formulates the LFC process into an optimization problem that accommodates various random circumstances during control. With its unique use of the SCO + BE approach for adaptive LFC application, the recommended control technique produces a highly effective response. The efficacy of the suggested adaptive controller is evaluated *under conditions with a changing load of 17 MW and uncertainties in system parameters. A MATLAB Simulink-based digital testing environment is used to validate the results. According to the simulation results, the proposed adaptive controller effectively stabilizes the frequency and power in an islanded µG. A comparative study is conducted between the suggested control method and other strategies (e.g., Jaya-based adaptive controller and conventional integral controller) to gauge its effectiveness. Additionally, the positive impact of controlled loads, such as EVs and HPWHs, on system stability is demonstrated.
“Aren’t we all journalists?” Citizen journalism, disinformation and the weaponization of social media in conflict torn Mali
Authors: de Bruijn Mirjam , Mutsvairo Bruce , Bruls Luca , Cissé Modibo Galy , Langguth Johannes , Orgeret Kristin Skare , Badji Samba Dialimpa , Moges Mulatu Alemayehu , Schroeder Daniel Thilo
Published: January 2025

The study combines domain expertise and computational community detection to uncover what role citizen journalists and social media platforms play in mediating the dynamics of conflict in Mali. Under conditions of the growing conflict in Mali, citizen journalists are opening Twitter (rebranded as X) accounts to stay updated and tweet about the ongoing socio-political tensions, chronicling life in a conflict-ravaged context. This article conceptualizes the rapid reliance on Twitter among citizen journalists consisting of bloggers, activists, government officials and NGO’s as a form of networked conflict and networked journalism. Networked journalism emerges as professional journalists adopt tools and techniques used by nonprofessionals (and vice versa) to gather and disseminate information while networked conflict involves the consequential and intricate relationship between social media and conflict in the Sahel region of Africa. Our findings show that Twitter is a source of action that promotes and mediates conflict, which exposes users to conflict-related content. The findings also show that what accounts for citizen journalism in a conflict setting is vague as those with access to Twitter and as such, the presumed ability to influence the narrative, unequivocally consider themselves citizen journalists.
The importance of wine connoisseurs in marketing wine tourism and experiences
Authors: LaPan Chantell , Byrd Erick T , Boles James , Pugh Harrison B , Canziani Bonnie
Published: January 2025

This note reports on benefits sought by wine tourists. The authors examined the relationship between wine tourists’ levels of wine knowledge and the benefits they receive by participating in wine tourism. Findings from this study indicate that wine tourists possessing greater wine knowledge (i.e., wine connoisseurs) have increased sensitivity to wine tourism attributes/benefits in general and express a higher psychological involvement in the entire wine tourism experience. Furthermore, compared to consumers with less wine knowledge, connoisseurs are significantly more likely to tour wineries due to hedonic benefits. Managerially, to entertain wine experts appropriately, wine tourism destinations should focus on providing hedonic experiences and experiences meant to increase visitors’ wine-related knowledge.
Efficient generation of realistic guided wave signals for reliability estimation
Authors: Xu Panpan , Jones Robin , Sarris Georgios , Huthwaite Peter
Published: January 2025

Across nondestructive testing and structural health monitoring (SHM), accurate knowledge of the systems’ reliability for detecting defects, such as probability of detection (POD) analysis is essential to enabling widespread adoption. Traditionally, this relies on access to extensive experimental data to cover all critical areas of the parametric space, which becomes expensive, and heavily undermines the benefit such systems bring. In response to these challenges, reliability estimation based on numerical simulation emerges as a practical solution, offering enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Nevertheless, precise reliability estimation demands that the simulated data faithfully represents the real-world performance. In this context, a numerical framework tailored to generate realistic signals for reliability estimation purposes is presented here, focusing on the application of guided wave SHM for pipe monitoring. It specifically incorporates key characteristics of real signals: random noise and coherent noise caused by the imbalance in transducer performance within guided wave monitoring systems. The effectiveness of our proposed methodology is demonstrated through a comprehensive comparative analysis between simulation-generated signals and experimental signals both individually and statistically. Furthermore, to assess the reliability of a guided wave system in terms of the inspection range for pipe monitoring, a series of POD analyses using simulation-generated data were conducted. The comparison of POD curves derived from ideal and realistic simulation data underscores the necessity of considering coherent noise for accurate POD curve calculations. Moreover, the POD analysis based on realistic simulation-generated data provides a quantitative estimation of the inspection range with more details compared to the current industry practice. Our presented framework offers a pioneering approach to generate realistic guided wave signals, thereby facilitating the practical assessment of the reliability of guided wave monitoring systems. This advancement also has the potential to effectively address challenges related to data scarcity in broader applications requiring high-fidelity data, such as the training of machine learning models for damage identification from complex signals for all aspects of ultrasonic inspections with both guided and bulk waves.
From the Ground Up: Building and Implementing a Successful CHW/Promotor(a) Program for Cancer Screening, Training, Education, and Prevention
Authors: Brandford Arica , Sanchez Marivel , Pitones Patricia , Bolin Jane
Published: January 2025

In this practice note, we examine the implementation and impact of the Texas Cancer Screening, Training, Education, and Prevention (C-STEP) program, which aims to reduce cancer disparities in medically underserved and rural areas. The program utilizes community health workers (CHWs) or promotor(a)s to provide outreach, education, and early detection services for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancers. C-STEP employs a multidisciplinary approach, partnering with the Center for Community Health Development National Community Health Worker Training Center to certify CHWs in cancer prevention and detection. The program establishes community and clinical partnerships to promote cancer screening uptake in priority populations. Key outcomes include training over 33 CHWs, establishing more than 1500 partnerships, providing cancer education to over 30,000 individuals, conducting over 8300 screening exams and 600 diagnostic procedures, and diagnosing 69 cancers. Successes encompass increased screening rates, community engagement, and partnership development. Challenges involve financial inequities, technology literacy, role complexity, and outreach difficulties. Lessons learned highlight the need for proactive planning, diverse recruitment, and consistent communication with partners. Our findings suggest that integrating CHWs into cancer screening programs effectively increases awareness and screening rates, particularly among low-income populations. Future implications suggest the importance of strategic planning, systematic training, and creative partnership approaches to recognize CHWs as vital health care team members. The findings highlight the potential of community-based interventions in addressing cancer disparities and improving health outcomes practices in rural and underserved areas.