bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dermatological Diseases in Palliative Care Patients in a University Hospital: A Prospective Study
Authors: Pala Erdal , Tasar Pınar Tosun , Soguksu Ahmet Onur , Karasahin Omer , Sevinc Can
Published: August 2022

Objective

Patients receiving palliative care are more prone to dermatological disease. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of dermatological diseases and associated factors in patients receiving palliative care support.

Methods

This prospective observational study included inpatients in the palliative care unit of our university hospital in Erzurum/TURKEY. The patients were evaluated by the same dermatologist within the first 48 h of admission and 3 days a week during follow-up. Demographic data, reasons for admission to the palliative care unit, and skin lesions at the time of admission and during follow-up were recorded.

Results

The median age of the 259 patients included in the study was 77.0 years (min- max, 19-108) and 54.4% were women. Dermatological disease was detected in 246 patients (96.1%) at admission to the palliative care unit and in 185 patients (71.4%) patients during follow-up. The most common dermatological disease at admission was dry skin (n  =  175, 67.6%), which was also the most common cause of pruritis (n  =  29, 11.2%). The most common skin infection was dermatophytosis (n  =  57, 22.0%) and the most common type of dermatitis was contact dermatitis (n  =  17, 6.6%). Nearly all tumors were benign (n  =  32, 12.4%) and most chronic wounds were pressure ulcers (n  =  96, 37.1%). During hospital follow-up, the most frequent dermatitis was contact dermatitis (n  =  44, 17.0%), the most frequent skin infection was candidiasis (n  =  25, 9.7%), the most common chronic wound was pressure ulcers (n  =  25, 9.7%), the most common dermatological disease was urticaria (n  =  14, 5.4%), and all cases of pruritus were associated with dry skin (n  =  8, 3.1%).

Conclusions

The frequency of dermatological findings is high among patients receiving palliative care. Therefore, dermatologists should be included in multidisciplinary palliative care teams and evaluate palliative care patients early and regularly.
Evaluation of the Differences in the MRI Findings Related to Primary and Secondary Adhesive Capsulitis
Authors: Gürbüz Ahmet Faruk , Keven Ayşe , Emir Yetim Emel , Elasan Sadi , Karaali Kamil
Published: August 2022

Purpose: The aim of this study is to describe the radiological findings of adhesive capsulitis due to different etiological factors and reveal that different clues due to different etiological causes should be considered in the diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis. Methods: The study group comprised 24 primary and 22 supraspinatus tendon rupture-related adhesive capsulitis patients with 24 individuals without adhesive capsulitis and with normal shoulder magnetic resonance imaging. Independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance tests were used to compare the measurements between the groups. Paired sample t-test and Cohen’s kappa statistic were used to determine inter-observer reliability. The chi-squared test was used to determine the relationships between groups and categorical variables. Study participants were evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Quantitative measurements included the thickness of the humeral and glenoid segment of the joint capsule and the thickness of the anterior joint capsule and the fluid depth within the biceps tendon sheath. The qualitative assessments included the detection of any signal abnormality at the rotator interval, the grading of the humeral and glenoid segment of the joint capsule, and the detection of any signal abnormality in respect of the anterior joint capsule. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the groups of patients with primary adhesive capsulitis and with supraspinatus tear-related adhesive capsulitis in terms of the thickness of the humeral segment of the joint capsule at the axillary recess level (AUC = .729) ( P: .006). Furthermore, setting the cutoff value for the thickness of the humeral segment of the capsule to 4.6 mm allowed the differentiation of primary adhesive capsulitis and supraspinatus tear-related adhesive capsulitis with a sensitivity of 70.8% and a specificity of 87.3%. Conclusion: In conclusion, the humeral segment of the joint capsule thickness at the axillary recess was found to be affected by different degrees depending on whether it is a primary or supraspinatus tear-related adhesive capsulitis.
Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Pulmonary Hypertension Patients Undergoing Emergent Endotracheal Intubation
Authors: Hong Andrew W. , Toppen William , Lee Joyce , Wilhalme Holly , Saggar Rajan , Barjaktarevic Igor Z.
Published: August 2022

Background: Emergent endotracheal intubations (ETI) in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients are associated with increased mortality. Post-intubation interventions that could increase survivability in this population have not been explored. We evaluate early clinical characteristics and complications following emergent endotracheal intubation and seek predictors of adverse outcomes during this post-intubation period. Methods: Retrospective cohort analysis of adult patients with groups 1 and 3 PH who underwent emergent intubation between 2005-2021 in medical and liver transplant ICUs at a tertiary medical center. PH patients were compared to non-PH patients, matched by Charlson Comorbidity Index. Primary outcomes were 24-h post-intubation and inpatient mortalities. Various 24-h post-intubation secondary outcomes were compared between PH and control cohorts. Results: We identified 48 PH and 110 non-PH patients. Pulmonary hypertension was not associated with increased 24-h mortality (OR 1.32, 95%CI 0.35-4.94, P = .18), but was associated with inpatient mortality (OR 4.03, 95%CI 1.29-12.5, P = .016) after intubation. Within 24 h post-intubation, PH patients experienced more frequent acute kidney injury (43.5% vs. 19.8%, P = .006) and required higher norepinephrine dosing equivalents (6.90 [0.13-10.6] mcg/kg/min, vs. 0.20 [0.10-2.03] mcg/kg/min, P = .037). Additionally, the median P/F ratio (PaO2/FiO2) was lower in PH patients (96.3 [58.9-201] vs. 233 [146-346] in non-PH, P = .001). Finally, a post-intubation increase in PaCO2 was associated with mortality in the PH cohort (post-intubation change in PaCO2 +5.14 ± 16.1 in non-survivors vs. −18.7 ± 28.0 in survivors, P = .007). Conclusions: Pulmonary hypertension was associated with worse outcomes after emergent endotracheal intubation than similar patients without PH. More importantly, our data suggest that the first 24 hours following intubation in the PH group represent a particularly vulnerable period that may determine long-term outcomes. Early post-intubation interventions may be key to improving survival in this population.
Effects of Ketamine Infusion on Breathing and Encephalography in Spontaneously Breathing ICU Patients
Authors: Suleiman Aiman , Santer Peter , Munoz-Acuna Ronny , Hammer Maximilian , Schaefer Maximilian S. , Wachtendorf Luca J. , Rumyantsev Sandra , Berra Lorenzo , Chamadia Shubham , Johnson-Akeju Oluwaseun , Baedorf-Kassis Elias N. , Eikermann Matthias
Published: August 2022

Background

Preclinical studies suggest that ketamine stimulates breathing. We investigated whether adding a ketamine infusion at low and high doses to propofol sedation improves inspiratory flow and enhances sedation in spontaneously breathing critically ill patients.

Methods

In this prospective interventional study, twelve intubated, spontaneously breathing patients received ketamine infusions at 5 mcg/kg/min, followed by 10 mcg/kg/min for 1 h each. Airway flow, pressure, and esophageal pressure were recorded during a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) at baseline, and during the SBT conducted at the end of each ketamine infusion regimen. SBT consisted of one-minute breathing with zero end-expiratory pressure and no pressure support. Changes in inspiratory flow at the pre-specified time points were assessed as the primary outcome. Ketamine-induced change in beta-gamma electroencephalogram power was the key secondary endpoint. We also analyzed changes in other ventilatory parameters respiratory timing, and resistive and elastic inspiratory work of breathing.

Results

Ketamine infusion of 5 and 10 mcg/kg/min increased inspiratory flow (median, IQR) from 0.36 (0.29-0.46) L/s at baseline to 0.47 (0.32-0.57) L/s and 0.44 (0.33-0.58) L/s, respectively ( p = .013). Resistive work of breathing decreased from 0.4 (0.1-0.6) J/l at baseline to 0.2 (0.1-0.3) J/l after ketamine 10 mcg/kg/min ( p = .042), while elastic work of breathing remained unchanged. Electroencephalogram beta-gamma power (19-44 Hz) increased compared to baseline ( p < .01).

Conclusions

In intubated, spontaneously breathing patients receiving a constant rate of propofol, ketamine increased inspiratory flow, reduced inspiratory work of breathing, and was associated with an “activated” electroencephalographic pattern. These characteristics might facilitate weaning from mechanical ventilation.
Performance analysis of geometrically optimized PaT at turbine mode: A perspective of entropy production evaluation
Authors: Wang Zilu , Luo Wei , Zhang Bowen , Ntiri Asomani Stephen , Xu Jian , Luo Zhaohui , Wang Longyan
Published: August 2022

In the field of hydroelectric power, Pump as Turbine (PaT) is an important tool to achieve recycling the redundant kinetic energy in small stream/rivers. However, due to the contradiction between the reverse fluid flow working at turbine mode and the designed flow passage of pump geometry, the internal hydraulic loss in PaT is excessive. As a result, it renders the PaT performance extremely low affecting its wide applications with the demand of high efficiency operation. Therefore, this paper aims to optimize the geometric parameters of the impeller in PaT turbine mode under three different typical flow conditions (i.e. rated, best efficiency, and overload working conditions). After the geometric optimization, the internal energy losses among the flow passages are analyzed by using the entropy production method. The results show that the impeller passage exhibits obviously higher entropy loss in comparison to the volute and the outlet pipe. Inside the impeller, the blade leading and trailing edges on both suction and pressure sides are the locations where the majority of the impeller energy losses occur, and the high entropy area is concentrated at the impeller inlet area. Moreover, The energy loss gradually decreases from blade leading edge (BLE) to blade trailing edge (BTE), and the entropy production decreases from the blade pressure side (PS) to the blade suction side (SS) due to the large mixing flow loss from PS to SS. It is concluded that the entropy production analysis is effective in explaining the PaT power losses caused by the geometric mismatch of different components including inlet, impeller, and outlet, providing the reference value for the geometric optimization of other turbine machinery.
Polynomial-based model for estimating instantaneous fuel consumption
Authors: Chen Long , Hu Minghui , Wang Dongyang , Wang Haisong , Li Wanhong , Qin Datong
Published: August 2022

The current steady-state fuel consumption models are not optimal due to their large estimation error, complex structure, excess model coefficients, and relatively low predicting accuracy of fuel consumption. Based on experimental data of a passenger car’s fuel consumption, this study analyzes advantages and disadvantages of existing models, proposes a unified expression of the transient variable polynomial fuel-consumption model, introduces the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) for model selection, and establishes an instantaneous fuel-consumption model with simple structure and high accuracy. The simulation results show that, compared with the BIT-TFCM models, the root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the proposed model are 6.27% and 6.43% smaller, respectively, on average. The proposed model has the advantages of simple structure, high precision, less influence from working conditions, stable performance, and easy prediction of the fuel consumption of future working conditions, hence providing a foundation for economic path planning.
The Distribution of Lifestyle Risk Factors Among Patients with Stroke in the Indian Setting: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Varkey Biji P. , Joseph Jaison , Varghese Abin , Sharma Suresh K. , Mathews Elezebeth , Dhandapani Manju , Narasimha Venkata Lakshmi , Kuttan Radha , Shah Saleena , Dabla Surekha , Dhandapani Sivashanmugam
Published: August 2022

Background

The burden of stroke is increasing in India, but there is limited understanding of the distribution of reported risk factors in the Indian setting. It is vital to generate robust data on these modifiable risk factors to scale up appropriate strategies for the prevention of cerebrovascular diseases in this setting.

The objective of this study is to estimate the overall proportion of life style risk factors of patients with stroke in the Indian setting. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar and relevant studies published till February 2022 were included. The risk of bias assessment was considered for the study selection criterion in the meta-analysis. The publication bias was evaluated by funnel plots and Egger’s test. We identified 61 studies in the systematic review and after quality assessment, 36 studies were included for meta-analysis. Random effect model was used due to the significant inconsistency among the included studies (I2 > 97%). The mean age of the participants was 53.84±9.3 years and patients with stroke were predominantly males (64%). Hypertension (56.69%; 95% CI: - 48.45 – 64.58), obesity (36.61%; 95% CI: - 19.31 – 58.23), dyslipidemia (30.6%; 95% CI: - 22 – 40.81) and diabetes mellitus (23.8%; 95% CI: - 18.79 – 29.83) are the leading intermediate conditions associated with stroke. The Physical inactivity - 29.9% (95% CI: - 22.9 – 37.1), history of tobacco use (28.59 %; 95% CI: - 22.22 – 32.94) and alcohol use (28.15 %; 95% CI: - 20.49 – 37.33) were reported as the behavioral risk factors for stroke in this setting.

Key Messages

The current meta-analysis provides robust estimates of the life style related risk-factor of stroke in India based on the observational studies conducted from 1994 to 2019. Estimating the pooled analysis of stroke risk factors is crucial to predict the imposed burden of the illness and ascertain the treatment and prevention strategies for controlling the modifiable risk factors in this setting.
Vehicle Stops and Group Position: How Missouri Agencies Use Place and Race to Explain Disparities
Authors: Craig Miltonette O. , Reid Jonathan C. , Kramer Kelsey L.
Published: August 2022

Missouri has been a part of the national discussion on racial profiling for several years—most recently with the NAACP’s issuance of a statewide travel advisory warning Black motorists of high disproportionality in vehicle stops. In their annual reports of stop data, agencies can submit a response to explain their numerical data. This study inductively analyzes the content of these written responses ( N = 806), which were submitted between 2001 and 2019. Findings indicate that agency responses contain rationales in accordance with a sense of group position, with explanations for stops, searches, and arrests of motorists of color framed in terms of outsiders as a problematic influx upon insider spaces. The responses also show that the explanations are more about policing place than a legitimate effort at maintaining safety of the jurisdiction. The results of this study have several important implications for research, theory, and policy.
Cognitive Autonomy for Students With Learning Disabilities
Authors: Deniz Fatmana Kara
Published: August 2022

Students with learning disabilities (LD) often leave school without the necessary cognitive autonomy skills to independently navigate adulthood and meet the life challenges of the 21st century. Acquiring and maintaining cognitive autonomy skills (i.e., decision-making, voicing an opinion, evaluating the consequences of decisions, self-assessing abilities, weighing others’ influence in the decision-making process) is necessary for all students as they move through school, but particularly for those with LD. Cognitive autonomy is a component of self-determination and is crucial as educators prepare children/youth with LD for postsecondary education, postsecondary employment opportunities, and positive adult life outcomes. This article discusses the significance of cognitive autonomy for children/youth with LD.
Reentry Barriers for Incarcerated Girls With Undiagnosed Disabilities in Costa Rica
Authors: de Mezerville-López Claire M. , Ochoa Theresa A. , Ovares-Fernández Yanúa , Ureña-Salazar Viria
Published: August 2022

This article describes the process of reentry for adolescent girls and young women who experienced incarceration as adolescents in Costa Rica. The needs of adolescent girls and young women with undiagnosed and psychosocial disabilities are explored, considering existing scholarship and research gaps from Costa Rica’s legislation and policies. Literature on reentry developed in the United States were used, given that there is limited scholarship conducted in Costa Rica about girls in custody. The institutional dynamics related to reentry will be presented and illustrated through specific examples, with a focus on the opportunities and barriers adolescent girls face to create a life plan after incarceration. Reentry barriers for incarcerated youth with disabilities are described in Costa Rica’s institutional context, along with the social and employability needs for young women, with a focus on disabilities as an unexplored issue in Costa Rica’s judicial system.
Theoretical study of P1 wave passing through a double-layer wave impeding block in the unsaturated soil
Authors: Ma Qiang , Shu Jinhui
Published: August 2022

Based on the propagation theory of elastic waves in unsaturated porous medium and single-phase elastic medium, the calculation model of a double-layer wave impeding block (WIB) as vibration isolation barrier in unsaturated soil foundation is established. The analytical solution of the transmission/reflection amplitude ratio of P1 wave passing through a double-layer WIB in unsaturated soil foundation are derived by Helmholtz vector decomposition theorem. The influences of physical and mechanical parameters such as saturation, wave impedance ratio, density, and shear modulus on the vibration isolation effect of the double-layer WIB when P1 wave passing through the double-layer WIB in the unsaturated soil foundation are analyzed by parametric studies. The results show that the saturation has a small effect on the transmission/reflection coefficients of P1 and S waves and a significant effect on the transmission/reflection coefficients of P2 and P3 waves. The wave impedance ratio and the shear modulus and density of the double-layer WIB have a significant effect on the transmission/reflection coefficients. The optimal shear modulus and wave impedance ratio of the double-layer WIB can be selected to obtain the best vibration isolation effect, which provides theoretical guidance for the application of the double-layer WIB in the field of unsaturated ground vibration control.
Smartphone-based application and nurses’ interventions for symptoms monitoring in patients treated with oral anticancer agents: A 1-year follow-up in a tertiary cancer center
Authors: Porcher Laura , Perron Valérie , Blanc Julie , Kaderbhai Courèche-Guillaume , Tharin Zoé , Schmitt Antonin , Gallet Matthieu
Published: August 2022

Aim

The increasing use of oral anticancer agents over the past years has necessitated changes in monitoring toxicities to ensure patients’ adherence and tolerance at home. The aim of this study was to describe nurses’ interventions and medical changes after alerts triggered by a web-based platform designed to support the management of oral anticancer agents-related toxicities.

Methods

This retrospective study included patients undergoing oral anticancer agents in a cancer center from September 2018 to September 2019 (excluding hormonal therapy). In this cancer center, the standard of care included symptoms’ collections for 1 month thanks to a web platform based on patient-reported outcomes. Patients had to fill a weekly questionnaire (Q1 to Q4). The web-based platform triggered orange alerts when patients reported moderate symptoms and red alerts when severe toxicities were declared. The rate of orange and red alerts, the rate of patients with medical changes consecutively to an orange or a red alert, and the different types of nurses’ interventions and medical changes were assessed.

Results

A total of 524 patients were extracted but the final number of 436 patients were included in this study and 1488 questionnaires were filled in. More than 90% of patients declared that they took their medication as prescribed. Up to 60% of patients recorded all grade symptoms, including 8% of patients who recorded Grades 3–4 symptoms during the month, mostly anorexia, fatigue, and diarrhea. The web platform system triggered 700 orange and 212 red alerts: 305/700 (44%) of orange alerts resulted in nurses’ interventions, most frequently phone counseling (78%), and 65/212 (31%) of red alerts resulted in medical changes, most frequent treatment interruptions (48%).

Conclusion

Implementing an e-health (electronic-health) system can be helpful for monitoring symptoms in patients under oral anticancer agents, enhancing that this organization should be a standard of care in every cancer centers.
Evaluating aggressiveness of end-of-life care in patients with advanced cancer: A retrospective single-center analysis
Authors: Iglesias-Santamaría Araceli
Published: August 2022

Introduction

Overuse of anti-cancer therapy near end of life is an important quality-of-care issue. An aggressive approach to treatment can have negative effects on the quality of life and cost of hospital-based resources. The objective of this study was to measure indicators of potential aggressiveness of end-of-life care in a cohort of adult patients with advanced solid tumor. The secondary objective was to analyze the association between clinicopathological variables and indicators of aggressiveness.

Methods

Retrospective data analysis was performed on adult patients with solid tumors who received palliative chemotherapy for advanced cancer and died in our hospital between 2017 and 2019. Indicators of aggressiveness of end of life care included chemotherapy use in the last days of life, emergency room visits and hospitalizations (including intensive care unit admissions) in this period, and referral to a palliative care unit before death. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the variables that independently predicted the use of palliative chemotherapy near end of life.

Results

Of the 571 patients included, 128 (22.4%) received chemotherapy within the last 2 weeks of life and 102 (17.8%) start a new chemotherapy regimen 30 days before death. During the last month of life, 168 patients (32.9%) visited emergency room more than once and 117 (20.5%) were hospitalized more than once. A total of 294 patients (51.5%) died in the acute care unit and 285 (49.9%) were referred to the palliative care unit. 24 of them (8.4%) died within 72h after referral.

Conclusions

The percentage of patients receiving chemotherapy near the end of life as well as the rate of emergency room visits and hospitalizations during this period are much higher than the value of the quality standard established in the literature. According to these indicators, cancer patient care at end of life can be considered overly aggressive. Optimization of palliative care at end of life is necessary.
Nivolumab–ipilimumab combination therapy-induced seronegative encephalitis; rapid response to steroid plus intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment
Authors: Bir Yucel Kadriye , Sutcuoglu Osman , Yazıcı Ozan , Yıldız Yeşim , Şenol Esin , Uner Aytug
Published: August 2022

Introduction

The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) against malignant melanoma and numerously solid tumors has been demonstrated in several clinical studies. The incidence of immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) has increased after the rapidly expanding indications and clinical applications of ICIs. We present a case of nivolumab and ipilimumab-induced encephalitis with rapidly worsening consciousness and full recovery following ICIs suspension and high-dose steroid coupled with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).

Case Report

A 67-year-old woman was diagnosed with stage 4 BRAF wild malignant melanoma with metastasis to the axillary and mediastinal lymph nodes. Beyond progression with dacarbazine, ipilimumab and nivolumab combination were administered at the second-line treatment of metastatic setting. A week after the first cycle patient was reported to have a fever of more than 38°C. Subacute cognitive impairment including mild changes in behavior was reported on the third day of fever. She suddenly developed confusion, dysarthria, and motor dysfunction a few days later. Due to the altered mental status accompanied by fever, lumbar puncture was performed with a pre-diagnosis of encephalitis, meningitis, and leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.

Management & Outcome

After excluding viral and autoimmune encephalitis, high-dose methylprednisolone was administered in addition to IVIG for 5 days with the diagnosis of immunotherapy-related encephalitis according to the recommendations for the management of irAEs. On the second day of the treatment patient's neurological status improved gradually.

Discussion

Being aware of symptoms of serious neurological irAEs associated with ICIs can prevent complications and improve survival.
Visible-Light-Driven g-C3N4/TiO2 Based Heterojunction Nanocomposites for Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes in Wastewater: A Review
Authors: Sewnet Agidew , Abebe Mulualem , Asaithambi Perumal , Alemayehu Esayas
Published: August 2022

Water pollution by organic contaminants is one of the most severe issues confronting the world today as a result of the rapid increase of industrialization, urbanization, human population growth, and advances in agricultural technologies. Several attempts have been made to address global water pollution issues by utilizing conventional wastewater treatment technologies. However, conventional wastewater treatment methods have several limitations such as low efficiency, high operation costs, generation of secondary waste, require additional chemicals as oxidants and extra energy. Therefore, Heterogeneous photocatalysis has gained a lot of attention in the degradation of persistent organic pollutants because it combines high efficiency, environmental friendliness, cheap cost, and safety. Subsequently, the designing of novel nanocomposite photocatalysts with strong visible light-harvesting ability, efficient charge separation and transportation, and superb stability is imminently desired for wastewater treatment. Recently, the notion of combining g-C3N4 with TiO2 to design high photocatalytic performance heterojunction photoactive nanocomposites for organic pollutant degradation has received a lot of attention. Meanwhile, the construction of g-C3N4/TiO2-based heterojunction nanocomposites may enhance the ability of harvesting visible light, boost charge separation and transfer efficiency, and robust photocatalytic activity. Firstly, this review concisely explained the main sources of water pollution, as well as potential treatment approaches and the fundamental mechanism of heterogeneous photocatalysis. Subsequently, the details of properties, synthesis techniques, photoactivity modification strategies, and photocatalytic applications of g-C3N4, TiO2, and g-C3N4/TiO2 heterojunction photocatalysts are presented. Following that, the recent advances aimed at improving the photocatalytic performance of various types of visible-light-driven g-C3N4/TiO2 heterojunction photocatalysts for organic pollutant degradation in wastewater are presented in detail. Finally, some concluding remarks and perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for constructing different types of g-C3N4/TiO2-based heterostructured photocatalysts are presented.
Self-made material in physical education: Teacher perceptions of the use of an emerging pedagogical model before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Méndez-Giménez Antonio , Carriedo Alejandro , Fernandez-Rio Javier , Cecchini José-Antonio
Published: August 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic changes in education, which had to adapt to changing scenarios (online, face-to-face, hybrid teaching). Within physical education (PE), strategies such as ‘do not use or share equipment’ were proposed to avoid infections. These strategies fit with an emerging pedagogical model called the Self-made Material Model (SMM), which involves students creating their own PE equipment. The objectives of the present study were: (a) to analyse PE teachers’ beliefs about the use of self-made material in their classes, (b) to evaluate teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the use of self-made material in PE lessons during the pandemic and (c) to examine gender/age differences. A quantitative, snowball research design was followed. The Self-made Material Questionnaire ( Méndez-Giménez and Fernández-Río, 2011 ) comprising two scales (41 items) was adapted: Teachers’ beliefs about the use of self-made material scale and Teachers’ perceptions of the impact of self-made material usage during the pandemic scale. In total, 1093 in-service teachers (443 women, 40.5%; M = 41.39, SD = 9.54) from 13 Ibero-American countries participated. Descriptive statistics were calculated, Student’s T test was conducted for comparisons by gender and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run for comparisons by age ranges. Overall, the scores were high, emphasising the potential to promote recycling and students’ creativity and respect for the material. Women scored higher in items such as promoting interdisciplinarity, equality, attention to disability and education in values. In total, 833 (76.21%) teachers used self-made material during the pandemic and reported high levels of satisfaction, expectations of use, usefulness and profitability. No gender differences were found. In the COVID-19 era, the SMM is playing a relevant role as a meaningful framework and a helpful teaching methodology in different educational scenarios.
Alchemizing social theory, remarks on Colonialism and Modern Social Theory
Authors: Brown Karida L
Published: August 2022

This review of Bhambra and Holmwood’s Colonialism and Modern Social Theory engages Chapter Six of the text, “Du Bois: Addressing the Colour Line,” as a site to contemplate broader questions about the cost of the pervasive historical erasure of the realities of colonialism and racism from the classical sociological cannon. Beyond historical description, the author thinks with the text to imagine a usable sociology toward the aim of alchemy and repair. Specifically, the author addresses the role “the classics” might play in teaching sociology in this context of such intentional redress.
Temperature compensation to guided wave-based monitoring of bolt loosening using an attention-based multi-task network
Authors: Du Fei , Wu Shiwei , Xing Sisi , Xu Chao , Su Zhongqing
Published: August 2022

Online monitoring of bolt torque is critical to ensure the safe operation of bolted structures. Guided waves have been intensively explored for bolt loosening monitoring. Nevertheless, guided waves are excessively sensitive to fluctuation of ambient temperature. As a result of the complexity of wave transmitting across a bolted joint, it is highly challenging to compensate for the effect of temperature. To this end, an attention-based multi-task network is developed towards accurate detection of bolt loosening in multi-bolt connections over a wide range of temperature variation. By integrating improved attention gate modules in a modified U-Net architecture, an attention U-Net is configured for temperature compensation. A two-layer convolutional subnetwork is connected in series behind the attention U-Net to identify bolt loosening. Experimental validation is carried out on a bolt jointed lap plate simulating a real aircraft structure. The results have proved that the developed multi-task network achieves temperature compensation and accurate bolt loosening identification. To further understand the multi-task network, the Integrated Gradients method and a simplified structure of the bolt lap plate are used to interpret the developed network. It is proved that the A0 mode is sensitive to bolt loosening, while the S0 mode is not.
Displacement response estimation of a cable-stayed bridge subjected to various loading conditions with one-dimensional residual convolutional autoencoder method
Authors: Lei Xiaoming , Siringoringo Dionysius M , Sun Zhen , Fujino Yozo
Published: August 2022

Displacement is an essential indicator of the functioning and safety of long-span cable-supported bridges under operational conditions. However, displacement estimation is challenging as these bridges are simultaneously subjected to various loading conditions such as temperature, wind, and vehicles. This article investigates an approach for estimating bridge displacement responses under multiple loads using a residual autoencoder model. Monitoring data of a cable-stayed bridge are collected to validate the proposed approach, including comprehensive measurements of the various loads and the displacement responses. Characteristics of temperature, wind, and vehicle loads are taken as the input, and the displacement responses at the mid-span of the main girder and top of the two pylons are taken as the output. The results showed the effectiveness of the proposed approach with an accuracy higher than 95%, which clearly outperformed other models such as long short-term memory networks in accuracy and efficiency. The effects of different types of loads are also investigated, and the wind load is found to be the most influential. Furthermore, multistep ahead prediction is carried out using the proposed approach, and good accuracy is achieved even 5 min ahead. The proposed approach can shed light on early warning of the malfunction of the bridge.
Simulation evaluation of knitted mesh structure using morphological operations
Authors: Li Xinxin , Tian Meiling , He Jinyu , Di Jiaqi , Zhang Aijun , Qin Xiaohong
Published: August 2022

High-quality simulation of fabric structural features is significant for realizing the morphological prediction of nonuniform mesh structures and building numerical simulation of physical properties. For lace textiles which have hundreds and thousands of variable meshes, an objective and unified standard to evaluate structural deformation is quite challenging. It needs to comprehensively and quantitatively conclude a result, instead of visual and subjective judgment. Therefore, this paper proposed an image-based method to mathematically solve accuracy by comparing morphological features from both simulation result and real fabric photograph. Jacquardtronic lace textiles were fabricated as experimental samples. Based on morphological expansion and corrosion algorithms, non-characteristic lapping details were eroded from binary images with only featured single-pixel contours of irregular meshes. Shape descriptor of each featured image was represented by a moment vector of seven Hu invariant moments. Then the morphological vectors of both simulated and real fabric images were substituted into a defined equation of similarity measurement. This image-based evaluation model effectively avoids defects of subjective visual observation and geometric measurement methods.
A Rubric to Assess the Design and Intervention Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials in Health and Wellness Coaching
Authors: Harenberg Sebastian , Sforzo Gary A. , Edman Joel
Published: August 2022

Objective

To collect health and wellness coaching (HWC) literature related to treatment of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) for systematic assessment using a novel rubric.

Data Source

Pubmed, CINAHL, and PsychInfo

Study Inclusion and Exclusion

Given 282 articles retrieved, only randomized and controlled trials meeting a HWC criteria-based definition were included; studies with intervention <4 months or <4 sessions were excluded.

Data Extraction

Rubric assessment required details of two theoretical frameworks (i.e., study design and HWC intervention design) be extracted from each included paper.

Data Synthesis

Data were derived from a 28-item rubric querying items such as sampling characteristics, statistical methods, coach characteristics, HWC strategy, and intervention fidelity.

Results

29 articles were reviewed. Inter-rater rubric scoring yielded high intraclass correlation (r = .85). Rubric assessment of HWC literature resulted in moderate scores (56.7%), with study design scoring higher than intervention design; within intervention design, T2D studies scored higher than obesity.

Conclusions

A novel research design rubric is presented and successfully applied to assess HWC research related to treatment of obesity and T2D. Most studies reported beneficial clinical findings; however, rubric results revealed moderate scores for study and intervention design. Implications for future HWC research are discussed.
Why and When Beliefs Change
Authors: Sharot Tali , Rollwage Max , Sunstein Cass R. , Fleming Stephen M.
Published: August 2022

Why people do or do not change their beliefs has been a long-standing puzzle. Sometimes people hold onto false beliefs despite ample contradictory evidence; sometimes they change their beliefs without sufficient reason. Here, we propose that the utility of a belief is derived from the potential outcomes associated with holding it. Outcomes can be internal (e.g., positive/negative feelings) or external (e.g., material gain/loss), and only some are dependent on belief accuracy. Belief change can then be understood as an economic transaction in which the multidimensional utility of the old belief is compared against that of the new belief. Change will occur when potential outcomes alter across attributes, for example because of changing environments or when certain outcomes are made more or less salient.
Perioperative group and save testing are not routinely indicated for emergency laparoscopic appendicectomy and laparoscopic hernia repairs: A North West London retrospective study
Authors: Al-Musawi Jasim , Reece Ieuan , Chen Jun Yu , Britton Clemency , Shakweh Ealaff , Vutipongsatorn Kritchai , Ng Yin Ling Clarissa , Kotecha Shreeya , Lawler Michael , Daga Garima , Zafar Noman
Published: August 2022

Introduction:

Two valid group and saves are commonly required for patients undergoing laparoscopic appendicectomy and laparoscopic hernia repairs preoperatively; however, perioperative blood transfusions are seldom required. This is financially burdensome and frequently leads to delays in theatre lists. We performed a retrospective analysis to investigate blood transfusions performed perioperatively and within 28 days of these procedures.

Method:

We used our electronic records to collect data of all laparoscopic appendectomies and laparoscopic hernia repairs between March 2017 and March 2021. Patients of any age undergoing these operations were included. Patients requiring concomitant intra-abdominal surgery or who had incomplete medical records were excluded.

Results:

A total of 1891 patients were included, of which 1462 (77.3%) had a laparoscopic appendicectomy versus 429 (22.7%) who had a laparoscopic hernia repair. In all, 3507 group and saves were taken costing £47,398.50. One patient (0.068%) required emergency blood transfusion (4 units of red cells) secondary to major haemorrhage.

Conclusion:

Our findings demonstrate that the incidence of perioperative blood transfusions for laparoscopic appendicectomy and laparoscopic hernia repairs is low, challenging the indication for routine preoperative group and saves.
Immunomodulatory treatment of interstitial lung disease
Authors: van den Bosch Laura , Luppi Fabrizio , Ferrara Giovanni , Mura Marco
Published: August 2022

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) other than idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have an array of immunomodulatory treatment options compared with IPF, due to their inflammatory component. However, there is a relative paucity of guidance on the management of this heterogeneous group of diseases. In ILDs other than IPF, immunosuppression is the cornerstone of therapy, with varying levels of evidence for different immunomodulatory agents and for each specific ILD. Classification of ILDs is important for guiding treatment decisions. Immunomodulatory agents mainly include corticosteroids, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), azathioprine, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide and rituximab. In this review, the available evidence for single agents in the most common ILDs is first discussed. We then reviewed practical therapeutic approaches in connective tissue disease–related ILD and interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features, scleroderma-related ILD, vasculitis and dermatomyositis with hypoxemic respiratory failure, idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis sarcoidosis, fibrosing organizing pneumonia and eosinophilic pneumonia. The treatment of acute exacerbations of ILD is also discussed. Therapy augmentation in ILD is dictated by the recognition of progression of disease. Criteria for the evaluation of progression of disease are then discussed. Finally, specific protocol and measures to increase patients’ safety are reviewed as well, including general monitoring and serologic surveillance, Pneumocystis jirovecii prophylaxis, patients’ education, genetic testing for azathioprine, MMF serum levels and cyclophosphamide administration protocols. Immunomodulatory therapies are largely successful in the management of ILDs and can be safely managed with the application of specific protocols, precautions and monitoring.
Cefepime-Induced Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus in a Pediatric Patient with Normal Renal Function
Authors: Nguyen Clever , Clegg Taylor , Kumar Ashutosh , Paudel Sita
Published: August 2022

Introduction: Cefepime, a fourth-generation cephalosporin, is known to risk the induction of neurotoxic impairment from confusion to nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE). Neurotoxic effects of cefepime are most commonly evident in the setting of impaired renal function in adults; however, are rarely present in those with normal renal excretion function or in the pediatric population. Case: We present a case of a 16-year-old female with a complicated past medical history but no accounts of impaired renal function yet, after starting cefepime, presented with encephalopathy, intermittent stimulus-induced posturing, and was found to have NCSE. Discontinuation of cefepime and administration of additional antiepileptics provided significant improvement in EEG and allowed the patient to return to baseline within two days. Conclusion: Cefepime-induced nonconvulsive status epilepticus should be considered in any patient with or without impaired renal function that shows acute changes in mental status, and/or reduced consciousness, after initiating cefepime treatment.
Full-Thickness Macular Hole Due to Choroidal Neovascularization in the Setting of Pathologic Myopia
Authors: Pereira Austin , Ballios Brian G. , Sarraf David , Yan Peng
Published: August 2022

Purpose: To present a case of myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) leading to a full-thickness macular hole (MH) in a patient with macular schisis. Methods: A single case was evaluated. Results: A 65-year-old woman presented with myopic staphyloma and foveoschisis in both eyes. One month after the baseline presentation for myopic macular schisis, the patient presented with a paracentral scotoma in the left eye. Examination showed a submacular hemorrhage in the left eye. Optical coherence tomography of the left eye showed subretinal fluid and subretinal hyperreflective material in the fovea, suggestive of exudative myopia, and a small full-thickness MH (diameter 86 µm). After anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections, the CNV showed interval improvement; however, a larger full-thickness MH (diameter 287 µm) developed in the left eye. Conclusions: A full-thickness MH developed secondary to CNV, leading to foveal dehiscence in an eye with baseline macular schisis.
Obliqueness as a feminist mode of analysing waterscapes: Learning to think with overflows
Authors: Leonardelli Irene , Kemerink-Seyoum Jeltsje , Zwarteveen Margreet
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we propose obliqueness as a feminist mode to analyse waterscapes, intersecting feminist political ecology with post-human feminist scholarship. Obliqueness means cultivating attentiveness to those things and events that at first sight appear inconsequential because they do not fit with official plans or predominant (power) structures. Through a methodological focus on the continuous making-of such structures – on acts of tinkering with institutions, ideas and technologies – obliqueness notices not just how structures are reproduced, but also helps draw attention to inconsistencies, divergences and transgressions – what we call overflows. Hence, our oblique analysis of a waterscape of a village in Maharashtra, India revealed overflows to two kinds of structuring: one stemming from the infrastructural lay-out of an irrigation system, and one stemming from intersecting hierarchical relations of caste and gender. These overflows point to possibilities for being and relating beyond those that can be contained in already identified social or planned material structures. In this way, an oblique analysis expands the theoretical and political space to co-enact more equitable human-water relations in Maharashtra, and elsewhere.
High Correlations Among Worldwide Prevalences of Dementias, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Motor Neuron Diseases Indicate Common Causative Factors
Authors: James Lisa M , Georgopoulos Apostolos P
Published: August 2022

Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and motor neuron diseases cause significant disability and mortality worldwide. Although the etiology of these diseases is unknown, highly correlated disease prevalences would indicate the involvement of common etiologic factors. Here we used published epidemiological data in 195 countries worldwide to investigate the possible intercorrelations among the prevalences of these diseases. All analyses were carried out using nonparametric statistics on rank-transformed data to assure the robustness of the results. We found that all 6 pairwise correlations among the prevalences of the 4 diseases were very high (>.9, P < .001). A factor analysis (FA) yielded only a single component which comprised all 4 disease prevalences and explained 96.3% of the variance. These findings indicate common etiologic factor(s). Next, we quantified the contribution of 3 country-specific factors (population size, life expectancy, latitude) to the common grouping of prevalences by estimating the reduction in total FA variance explained when the effect of these factors was eliminated by using the prevalence residuals from a linear regression where theses factor were covariates. FA of these residuals yielded again only a single component comprising all 4 diseases which explained 71.5% of the variance, indicating that the combined contribution of population size, life expectancy and latitude accounted for 96.3% − 71.5% = 24.8% of the FA variance explained. The fact that the 3 country-specific factors above accounted for only 24.8% of the FA variance explained by the original (ranked) disease prevalences, in the presence still of a single grouping factor, strongly indicates the operation of other unknown factors jointly contributing to the pathogenesis of the 4 diseases. We discuss various possible factors involved, with an emphasis on biologic pathogens (viruses, bacteria) which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of these diseases in previous studies.