bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Cast, Wrought, and LPBF Processed IN718 Concerning Crack Growth Threshold and Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior
Authors: Brune Timo , Kraemer Karl Michael , Kontermann Christian , Oechsner Matthias
Published: September 2022

This study focuses on the influence of microstructure and ductility on the short crack behavior and the fatigue crack growth (FCG) threshold. For this, an additively manufactured batch of the nickel-based alloy IN718, made via Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process, is compared to both conventionally wrought and cast IN718 material. An initial characterization revealed significant differences in grain structure, from regular fine grained wrought material to large grains of several millimeters in diameter in the cast variant and a chessboard-like grain structure typical for LPBF. The ductility parameters of IN718-LPBF and wrought IN718 are comparable at room temperature, but at 650 °C the LPBF-variant shows macroscopic brittle fracture. The fatigue crack behavior both in the short and long crack regime is investigated in air at 650 °C. To produce minimal crack growth increments of about 1 μm, a compressive precracking and subsequent threshold test procedure with stepwise load increase has been adapted for high temperature testing. To assess the short crack behavior, cyclic R-curves have been generated taking the influence of three different stress ratios (R = −1, 0, and 0.5) into account. As expected, increasing crack closure mechanisms at higher stress ratios lead to higher stress intensity amplitudes ΔKI necessary to initiate crack growth. The crack growth resistance of the LPBF-processed variant is higher compared to wrought IN718. In the long crack regime, the wrought alloy yields higher crack growth rates compared to LPBF and cast IN718. An expected R-ratio dependency is observed for all material states.
Design of an Additively Manufactured Recuperator With 800 °C Inlet Temperature for sCO2 Power Cycle Application
Authors: Marshall Michael , Akbari Meysam , Zhao Ji-Cheng , Hoopes Kevin
Published: September 2022

Recuperators with design temperatures at and above 800 °C can further increase the thermal efficiency of supercritical CO2 power cycles by enabling higher turbine exhaust temperatures. Mar-M247 is a well-suited nickel-based superalloy for high temperature service due to its high creep strength that prevents excessive material thickness being required for pressure containment. Additive manufacturing using a high-speed laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED) process presents a promising solution, with build trials demonstrating the ability to produce nonconventional flow channels for enhanced heat transfer. A design process is presented that includes aerothermal and mechanical evaluation to maximize performance within the constraints of the manufacturing process. A 2-D heat transfer network and pressure drop code allows prediction of flow distribution and its effect on overall thermal performance. Established literature correlations, along with CFD simulation, inform the prediction of heat transfer coefficients and friction factors for the flowpaths and enhancement features in the heat exchanger core. Mechanical evaluation using finite element analysis (FEA) modeling with the intent of the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) Section VIII, Div. 2 assesses the operational safety of the design. The detailed design features annular finned passages that take advantage of helical flow paths to distribute the flow from separated headers to shared heat transfer surfaces. Performance predictions for the recuperator at a 50 kW scale provide insights into the feasibility of the additively manufactured (AM) process to produce recuperators on a commercial scale that extend existing operating envelopes.
Numerical Investigation of Rich-Lean Staging in a SGT-750 Scaled Dry Low Emission Burner With Partially Decomposed Ammonia
Authors: Indlekofer Thomas , Wiseman Samuel , Nogenmyr Karl-Johan , Larfeldt Jenny , Gruber Andrea
Published: September 2022

Ammonia is emerging as a very convenient hydrogen- and energy-carrier in the context of present efforts to curb carbon emissions from the power-generation and transport sectors. As opposed to hydrogen, the properties of ammonia make it significantly simpler to transport and store. Early exploratory work on the combustion of pure ammonia in laboratory-scale gas turbine combustors revealed that the adoption of a longitudinal rich-lean staging strategy in the operation of the device is a convenient approach to minimize NOx and N2O emissions from fuel-bound nitrogen oxidation. Moreover, recent experimental evidence acquired at SINTEF confirms that the low-emission performance achieved with rich-lean staging also applies to the combustion of partially decomposed ammonia. In this paper, we report a comprehensive numerical modeling study that exploits large eddy simulation (LES) in conjunction with detailed chemical kinetics and a chemical reactors network (CRN) model to assess a rich-lean staging strategy applied to the combustion of partially decomposed ammonia in the Siemens Energy fourth-generation dry low emission (DLE) burner. Data analysis performed from both numerical modeling approaches, LES and CRN, confirm that the rich-lean staging strategy tested in the present study indeed results in significantly lower emissions compared to the conventional operational profile of the burner. Furthermore, reaction pathways analysis performed on the CRN data reveals important details that characterize the different evolution of nitrogen species between the nonstaged and staged operation of the burner, ultimately leading to the observed difference in NOx and N2O emissions
Techno-Economic Comparison of Supercritical CO2, Steam, and Organic Rankine Cycles for Waste Heat Recovery Applications
Authors: Baglietto Giovanni , Maccarini Simone , Traverso Alberto , Bruttini Paolo
Published: September 2022

Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) is taking a growing interest in both industry and academic communities as a promising technology capable of high efficiency, flexibility, and competitive capital costs. Many possible applications are studied in the energy field, from nuclear power plants to concentrating solar power and waste heat recovery (WHR). To evaluate the competitiveness of sCO2 cycles relative to other competing technologies, mainly steam and organic fluid Rankine cycles (ORC), a specific techno-economic analysis is needed to fairly compare the different technologies for each application, in order to find the most appropriate market position of the innovative sCO2 plants, compared to the existing steam and ORC solutions. In the present study, techno-economic analysis and optimization have been conducted focusing on WHR applications, for different sizes and cycle parameters operating conditions using an in-house simulation tool. The analyzed cycles were first optimized by aiming at maximizing the net electrical power and then aiming at minimizing the specific capital cost. As a result, compared to traditional plants, we obtained that in the first case, the more complex sCO2 cycle configuration shows competitive performance, while in the second case, the simpler sCO2 cycle configuration has a lower specific cost for the same electrical power produced (with a difference of approximately −130 €/kW compared to the steam cycle). In general, while traditional technologies confirmed a good tradeoff between performance and cost, supercritical CO2 cycles show attractive characteristics for applications requiring simplicity and compactness, guaranteeing in the meantime other technical advantages such as water-free operation.
Scalability Testing Approach for Internet of Things for Manufacturing SQL and NoSQL Database Latency and Throughput
Authors: Gamero David , Dugenske Andrew , Saldana Christopher , Kurfess Thomas , Fu Katherine
Published: September 2022

The proliferation of low-cost sensors and industrial data solutions has continued to push the frontier of manufacturing technology. Machine learning and other advanced statistical techniques stand to provide tremendous advantages in production capabilities, optimization, monitoring, and efficiency. The tremendous volume of data gathered continues to grow, and the methods for storing the data are critical underpinnings for advancing manufacturing technology. This work aims to investigate the ramifications and design tradeoffs within a decoupled architecture of two prominent database management systems (DBMS): sql and NoSQL. A representative comparison is carried out with Amazon Web Services (AWS) DynamoDB and AWS Aurora MySQL. The technologies and accompanying design constraints are investigated, and a side-by-side comparison is carried out through high-fidelity industrial data simulated load tests using metrics from a major US manufacturer. The results support the use of simulated client load testing for comparing the latency of database management systems as a system scales up from the prototype stage into production. As a result of complex query support, MySQL is favored for higher-order insights, while NoSQL can reduce system latency for known access patterns at the expense of integrated query flexibility. By reviewing this work, a manufacturer can observe that the use of high-fidelity load testing can reveal tradeoffs in IoTfM write/ingestion performance in terms of latency that are not observable through prototype-scale testing of commercially available cloud DB solutions.
Decentralized and Centralized Planning for Multi-Robot Additive Manufacturing
Authors: Poudel Laxmi , Elagandula Saivipulteja , Zhou Wenchao , Sha Zhenghui
Published: September 2022

In this paper, we present a decentralized approach based on a simple set of rules to schedule multi-robot cooperative additive manufacturing (AM). The results obtained using the decentralized approach are compared with those obtained from an optimization-based method, representing the class of centralized approaches for manufacturing scheduling. Two simulated case studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of both approaches in total makespan. In the first case, four rectangular bars of different dimensions from small to large are printed. Each bar is first divided into small subtasks (called chunks), and four robots are then assigned to cooperatively print the resulting chunks. The second case study focuses on testing geometric complexity, where four robots are used to print a mask stencil (an inverse stencil, not face covering). The result shows that the centralized approach provides a better solution (shorter makespan) compared to the decentralized approach for small-scale problems (i.e., a few robots and chunks). However, the gap between the solutions shrinks while the scale increases, and the decentralized approach outperforms the centralized approach for large-scale problems. Additionally, the runtime for the centralized approach increased by 39-fold for the extra-large problem (600 chunks and four robots) compared to the small-scale problem (20 chunks and four robots). In contrast, the runtime for the decentralized approach was not affected by the scale of the problem. Finally, a Monte-Carlo analysis was performed to evaluate the robustness of the centralized approach against uncertainties in AM. The result shows that the variations in the printing time of different robots can lead to a significant discrepancy between the generated plan and the actual implementation, thereby causing collisions between robots that should have not happened if there were no uncertainties. On the other hand, the decentralized approach is more robust because a collision-free schedule is generated in real-time.
Characterizing Flow Instabilities During Transient Events in the Turbine Rim Seal Cavity
Authors: Rozman Maria , DeShong Eric T. , Thole Karen A. , Berdanier Reid A. , Robak Christopher
Published: September 2022

Gas turbine engine design requires considerations not only for long-term steady operation but also for critical transient events. Aircraft engines undergo significant stress during takeoff and landing, while power generation turbines must be flexible for hot restarts as renewable energy sources come online and offline. During these transient cycles, engines sustain wear and degradation that can lead to a reduction in the lifespan of their components and more frequent, costly maintenance. Cooling flows are often used to mitigate these effects, but can lead to complex and problematic flow interactions. This study uses high-frequency response pressure probes and heat flux gauges in the rim seal cavity of a one-stage research turbine to characterize the properties of large-scale flow structures during transient operation. A continuous-duration turbine testing facility provides the ability to assess the importance of these transients by first reaching steady-state operation before imposing transient behaviors. Although previous studies have conducted similar measurements for steady purge flows and wheel speeds, varying these parameters to simulate transient effects revealed several unique phenomena not identifiable with discrete steady measurements. The measurement approach connects the varied transient parameter to the behavior of the flow structures to enable a better understanding of the type of instability observed and the root cause of its formation. In particular, a relationship between instability cell formation and rim sealing effectiveness was identified using experimental data and was supported through computational simulations.
Scalable and High-Performance Core-Shell Microparticle Embedded Polymer Coating for Thermal-Controllable Passive Radiative Cooling
Authors: Chen Siru , Pan Aiqiang , Lin Kaixin , Lee Hau Him , Ho Tsz Chung , Tso Chi Yan
Published: September 2022

Air conditioning systems consume a significant amount of energy used in buildings while the refrigerants used in air conditioners leads to ozone layer depletion, causing global warming. Recently, to mitigate this issue, passive radiative cooling has attracted great interest. By reflecting the solar irradiance and selectively emitting mid-infrared thermal radiation, net cooling can be realized by passive radiative cooling without any power input. However, practically, a cooling effect is not desired all year round. To solve this problem, in this study, we propose a thermal-controllable passive radiative cooling coating (TPRCC) consisting of a hierarchically porous structured polymer embedded with thermochromic core-shell microparticles, which can automatically regulate the solar reflectivity by the ambient temperature. This study aims to develop a simple method to fabricate the proposed TPRCC with several common colors (i.e. grey, green, yellow, and red) as well as to investigate its cooling power modulation ability numerically. Based on the results of the study, among those colors, the green-TPRCC achieves the best radiative cooling and cooling power modulation ability, which shows the adjustable solar reflectivity between 68.64% to 92.60% under medium concentrations of thermochromic dyes with estimated 265 W/m2 cooling power modulation ability. Overall, the proposed TPRCC shows tremendous potential to be applied on exterior walls of smart-green buildings, and thus save a large amount of energy consumed by air conditioning systems thanks to its functionality and adjustable appearance.
Emissions Abatement of Pepper Roasting Utilizing a Concentrating Solar Tower Thermal Heat Source
Authors: Armijo Kenneth M. , Overacker Aaron , Mendoza Hector , Madden Dimitri , Ray Daniel , Garcia-Maldonado Luis , Armijo Kenneth I. , Montoya Randolph
Published: September 2022

Research is presented for carbon emissions abatement utilizing concentrating solar power (CSP) heating for culinary industrial process heat applications of roasting peppers. For this investigation the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) performed high-intensity flux profile heating, as high as approximately 12.2 W/cm2 roasting peppers near 615°C. This work also explores the suitability of culinary roasting as applied to different forms of CSP heating as well as techno-economic costs. Traditionally, chile pepper roasting has used propane gas source heating to achieve similar temperatures and food roasting profiles in batch style processing. Here, the investigators roasted peppers on the top level of the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) solar tower for multiple roasting trials, with and without water. For comparison, the team also performed roasting from a traditional propane gas heating source, monitoring the volume of propane being consumed over time to assess carbon emissions that were abated using CSP. Results found that roasting peppers with CSP facilitated approximately 26 MJ of energy that abated approximately 0.122 kg CO2/kg chile for a 10 kg bag. The team also determined that pre-wetting the peppers before roasting both under propane and CSP heat sources increased the roast time by approximately 3 minutes to achieve the same qualitative optimal roast state compared to dry peppers.
Probabilistic Modeling of Climate Change Impacts on Renewable Energy and Storage Requirements For NM’s Energy Transition Act
Authors: Ho Clifford K. , Roesler Erika L. , Nguyen Tu , Ellison James
Published: September 2022

This paper provides a study of the potential impacts of climate change on intermittent renewable energy resources, battery storage, and resource adequacy in Public Service Company of New Mexico’s Integrated Resource Plan for 2020–2040. Climate change models and available data were first evaluated to determine uncertainty and potential changes in solar irradiance, temperature, and wind speed in NM in the coming decades. These changes were then implemented in solar and wind energy models to determine impacts on renewable energy resources in NM. Results for the extreme climate-change scenario show that the projected wind power may decrease by ∼13% due to projected decreases in wind speed. Projected solar power may decrease by ∼4% due to decreases in irradiance and increases in temperature in NM. Uncertainty in these climate-induced changes in wind and solar resources was accommodated in probabilistic models assuming uniform distributions in the annual reductions in solar and wind resources. Uncertainty in battery storage performance was also evaluated based on increased temperature, capacity fade, and degradation in round-trip efficiency. The hourly energy balance was determined throughout the year given uncertainties in the renewable energy resources and energy storage. The loss of load expectation (LOLE) was evaluated for the 2040 No New Combustion portfolio and found to increase from 0 days/year to a median value of ∼2 days/year due to potential reductions in renewable energy resources and battery storage performance and capacity. A rank-regression analyses revealed that battery round-trip efficiency was the most significant parameter that impacted LOLE, followed by solar resource, wind resource, and battery fade. An increase in battery storage capacity to ∼30,000 MWh from a baseline value of ∼14,000 MWh was required to reduce the median value of LOLE to ∼0.2 days/year with consideration of potential climate impacts and battery degradation.
A Scalable Compact Additively-Manufactured Molten-Salt to Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Heat Exchanger for Solar Thermal Application
Authors: Tano Ines-Noelly , Rasouli Erfan , Ziev Tracey , Seo Junwon , Lamprinakos Nicholas , Vaishnav Parth , Rollett Anthony , Wu Ziheng , Narayanan Vinod
Published: September 2022

An additively-manufactured molten salt (MS) to supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) compact primary heat exchanger (PHE) for solar thermal power generation is presented in this paper. The PHE is designed to handle temperatures up to 720 °C on the MS side and an internal pressure of 200 bar on the sCO2 side. Within the core of the PHE, MS flows through a three-dimensional periodic lattice network, while sCO2 flows within pin arrays. The PHE design includes integrated sCO2 headers located within the MS flow, allowing for a counter flow design of the PHE. The dimensions of the internal features of the core section are determined through finite element simulations and the headers are configured in a way that optimizes the flow distribution in each sCO2 plate and minimizes obstruction of the MS side. The overall design of the heat exchanger allows AM scalability both horizontally and vertically due to an integrated header architecture. Details of structural and thermofluidic design are presented.

An experimentally-validated, correlation-based sectional PHE core model is developed to study the impact of flow and geometrical parameters on the PHE performance, with varied parameters including the mass flow rate of sCO2 and MS sides, the channels width, and the PHE overall height, width, and length. The model results show that a heat exchanger with a power density of 18.6 MW/m3 (including sCO2 header volume) and effectiveness of 0.88 can be designed achievable at a Cr ratio of 0.8.
Design of a Combined PID Controller to Regulate the Temperature Inside a High-Temperature Tubular Solar Reactor
Authors: AlSahlani Assaad , Randhir Kelvin , Hayes Michael , Schimmels Philipp , Ozalp Nesrin , Klausner James
Published: September 2022

Solar fuels are proven to be promising candidates for thermochemical energy storage. However, the transient nature of solar radiation is an obstacle to maintaining a stable operational temperature inside a solar reactor. To overcome this challenge, the temperature of a solar reactor can be regulated by controlling the incoming solar radiation or the feedstock flowrate inside the reactor. In this work, a combined Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller is implemented to regulate the temperature inside a high-temperature tubular solar reactor with counter-current flowing gas/particles. The control model incorporates two systems to regulate incoming solar radiation and gas flow simultaneously. The design of the controller is based on a reduced-order numerical model of a high-temperature tubular solar reactor that is vertically oriented with an upward gas flow and downward particle flow. The reactor receives heat circumferentially through its wall over a finite segment of its length. Formulation of the heat transfer model is presented by applying the energy balance for the reactor tube and considering heat and mass transfer inside. A set of governing differential equations are solved numerically by using finite volume method to obtain reactor wall, particles, and gas temperatures along the reactor length with various boundary conditions. Simulation results are used to tune the PID controller parameters by utilizing the Ziegler-Nichols tuning method. Both the simulation results and the controller performance are visualized on the LabVIEW platform. The controller is challenged to track different temperature setpoints with different scenarios of transient solar radiation. Results shows that the combined PID controller is successful in maintaining a stable temperature inside the reactor by regulating the incoming solar radiation and the flowrate via small steady state error and reasonable settling time.
Distributed Energy Systems Design Optimization Based on Life Cycle Environmental and Economic Impacts
Authors: Maharjan Krisha , Zhang Jian , Cho Heejin , Chen Yang
Published: September 2022

Nowadays, carbon neutrality becomes a long-term goal for many countries all over the world. In order to reach the final goal, carbon neutral, it requires people to reduce the fossil fuel energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission. Distributed energy systems (DES) have received an increasing attention from the researchers and governments. However, despite the previous DES studies on various distributed energy resources and systems from different aspects, the integration and design optimization issues have not been investigated sufficiently. In this paper, a multi-objective optimization in terms of life cycle environmental and economic impacts is proposed to obtain an optimal design of distributed energy systems for different building types in various climate regions. Several typical distributed energy technologies are considered in this paper including combined heat and power system (CHP), solar photovoltaic (PV), solar thermal collector (STC), wind turbine (WT), as well as battery energy storage (BES) and thermal energy storage (TES). The building types under investigation are hospital, large office, and large hotel. The proposed multi-objective optimization is applied to determine the best combination of distributed energy technologies as well as the system size for different locations building types. Results show that the proposed optimization method can be applied to obtain an optimal design of distributed energy systems for different building types in different climate zones and reach a balance between the life cycle environmental and economic impacts.
Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Thermoacoustic Engine
Authors: Ali Ussama , Al Masalmeh Yara , Abedrabbo Sufian , Islam Md , Janajreh Isam
Published: September 2022

Thermoacoustic engines (TAEs) are devices that convert thermal energy input to sound energy output which can be used to drive different mechanisms. TAEs are a promising technology since they are environmentally friendly and require low maintenance and costs. The main component of the TAE device is the stack which is a solid porous material that allows heat transfer between the fluid and stack plates. Thermoacoustic engines take heat from a hot reservoir and converts some of the heat energy inside the stack to sound energy while dumping the excess to the heat sink. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the stack length and position using the experimental apparatus as well as the numerical modelling. Experimentations are conducted alongside the numerical analysis. The numerical model is governed by the non-isothermal conjugated heat flow of the unsteady Navier-stokes equations. Pressure and velocity are monitored at different locations along the resonator. Experiments conducted showed that the stack position and length have an influence on the efficiency of the TAE. For both lengths tested, the efficiency increased as the center position of the stack moved further away from the pressure anti-node, however this was not observed in the numerical analysis, as the maximum output was obtained with stack placed at 0.3L from the closed end of the tube. Moreover, the longer stack of 9cm gave a better performance than the shorter stack of 4.5cm.
Guide to XPS data analysis: Applying appropriate constraints to synthetic peaks in XPS peak fitting
Authors: Major George H. , Fernandez Vincent , Fairley Neal , Smith Emily F. , Linford Matthew R.
Published: September 2022

Peak fitting of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data is the primary method for identifying and quantifying the chemical states of the atoms near the surface of a sample. Peak fitting is typically based on the minimization of a figure-of-merit, such as the residual standard deviation (RSD). Here, we show that optimal XPS peak fitting is obtained when the peak shape (the synthetic mathematical function that represents the chemical states of the material) best matches the physics and chemistry of the underlying data. However, because this ideal peak shape is often unknown, constraints on the components of a fit are usually necessary to obtain good fits to data. These constraints may include fixing the relative full width at half maxima (peak widths), area ratios, and/or the relative positions of fit components. As shown in multiple examples, while unconstrained, less-than-optimal peak shapes may produce lower RSDs, they often lead to incorrect results. Thus, the “suboptimal” results (somewhat higher RSDs) that are obtained when constraints are applied to less-than-perfect peak shapes are often preferable because they prevent a fit from yielding unphysical or unchemical results. XPS peak fitting is best performed when all the information available about a sample is used, including its expected chemical and physical composition, information from other XPS narrow and survey scans from the same material, and information from other analytical techniques.
Fabrication of microstructures on curved hydrogel substrates
Authors: Chen M. , Ding X. , Que L. , Liang X.
Published: September 2022

Emerging wearable devices are very attractive and promising in biomedical and healthcare fields because of their biocompatibility for monitoring in situ biomarker-associated signals and external stimulus. Many such devices or systems demand microscale sensors fabricated on curved and flexible hydrogel substrates. However, fabrication of microstructures on such substrates is still challenging because the traditional planar lithography process is not compatible with curved, flexible, and hydrated substrates. Here, we present a shadow-mask-assisted deposition process capable of directly generating metallic microstructures on the curved hydrogel substrate, specifically the contact lens, one of the most popular hydrogel substrates for wearable biomedical applications. In this process, the curved hydrogel substrate is temporarily flattened on a planar surface and metal features are deposited on this substrate through a shadow mask. To achieve a high patterning fidelity, we have experimentally and theoretically investigated various types of distortion due to wrinkles on 3D-printed sample holders, geometric distortion of the substrate due to the flattening process, and volume change of the hydrogel material during the dehydration and hydration processes of the contact lens. Using this method, we have demonstrated fabrication of various titanium pattern arrays on contact lenses with high fidelity and yield.
Investigating Strategies Used to Foster Quality Participation in Recreational Sport Programs for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Perceived Importance
Authors: Streatch Emma , Bruno Natasha , Latimer-Cheung Amy E.
Published: September 2022

Quality experiences in sport programming for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can promote physical and psychosocial benefits and long-term quality participation (QP). Unfortunately, children with ASD often experience sport participation barriers and, consequently, participate less in sport compared with children without disabilities. This study investigated QP priorities and strategies that could foster QP for children with ASD. Caregivers (n = 13), volunteers (n = 26), and staff (n = 14) involved in sport programming for children with ASD rated experiential elements of QP using the Measure of Experiential Aspects of Participation. In addition , a two-round Delphi survey with staff (Round 1: n = 11; Round 2: n = 13) generated 22 strategies for promoting QP—each rated highly with regard to importance (5.69–6.85 on a 7-point scale). Strategies were substantiated with published research evidence. Findings informed the development of a QP tool designed to help instructors implement identified strategies in hopes of improving sport experiences for children with ASD.
The Importance of an Organization’s Reputation: Application of the Rasch Model to the Organizational Reputation Questionnaire for Sports Fans
Authors: Lee Seomgyun , Kim Kyungun Ryan , Kang Minsoo
Published: September 2022

Crises are unavoidable in the sport world, and their relationship with reputation is inextricable. Protecting its reputation is a top priority for a sport organization in a crisis; thus, developing a valid and reliable instrument should be a precedent. In this study, Rasch analysis was applied to evaluate a 10-item Organizational Reputation Scale (ORP), extensively used in general and sport communication research, but whose development was made under classical test theory. This traditional method has several limitations (i.e., item and sample dependencies, nonaddictive features of ordinal data, and item category functioning). The main purposes of the study were to calibrate ORP items and evaluate their category functions. A total of 373 sport fans responded to the ORP on a 5-point Likert scale. Several analytic steps were applied to provide psychometric properties of each item in the ORP. The findings provided evidence that supports the unidimensional structure of the ORP with eight items. All items and a person’s ability exhibited satisfactory levels of variability along the continuum. The 5-category rating scale in Likert format functioned properly. As a better alternative to classical test theory, Rasch analysis provided information about the practicality of each ORP item in measuring individuals’ perceptual level of an organization’s reputation within a sport setting. Our study proposed some insights for enhancing each item’s quality and encouraging future scholars to make informed decisions when using the ORP.
Recasting the whale’s wonderful net
Authors: Williams Terrie M.
Published: September 2022

Modification of cerebral vasculature helps to cushion the brains of whales and dolphins against injury
In Science Journals
Authors: Smith H. Jesse , Szuromi Phil , Jiang Di , Stern Peter , Aldenderfer Mark , VanHook Annalisa M. , Hines Pamela J. , Lopez Bianca , Alderton Gemma , Ray L. Bryan , Stajic Jelena , Nusinovich Yevgeniya , Vignieri Sacha , Goldberger Joshua , Erkes Dan A. , Hallberg Dorothy L.
Published: September 2022

Highlights from the
Science
family of journals
Rover builds Mars rock cache for return plan
Authors: Hand Eric
Published: September 2022

Researchers plan to study organic-rich rocks in terrestrial labs, looking for past life
Genome Sequence of Influenza B Epidemic Strain B/Almaty/8/2018
Authors: Kydyrmanov Aidyn , Karamendin Kobey , Klivleyeva Nailya , Sabyrzhan Temirlan , Suleimen Bibiazhar , Ismailov Eldar , Glebova Tatyana
Published: September 2022

An influenza virus strain, B/Almaty/8/2018, was isolated in Almaty (in southeastern Kazakhstan) during a human population surveillance study in 2018. Here, we present the nearly complete genome sequence of this epidemic strain, compared to the Yamagata-like and Victoria-like variants of the influenza B virus.
Draft Genome Sequences of Pseudomonas sp. Strains MWU13-2100 and MWU13-2105 Isolated from Wild Cranberry Bog Soil in the Cape Cod National Seashore
Authors: Mayer Brian , Soby Scott
Published: September 2022

Pseudomonas
sp. strains MWU13-2100 and MWU13-2105 were isolated from a wild cranberry bog with Pipestone loamy coarse sand soil in Truro, Massachusetts, and taxonomically assigned based on whole-genome sequences. The draft genomes are most closely related to
P. batumici
(41.4% and 41.8% dDDH
d4
), but with only 50.8 dDDH
d4
to each other.
Intestinal Dysbiosis and Risk of Posttransplant Clostridioides difficile Infection in a Longitudinal Cohort of Liver Transplant Recipients
Authors: Gomez-Simmonds Angela , Annavajhala Medini K. , Nunez Maria Patricia , Macesic Nenad , Park Heekuk , Uhlemann Anne-Catrin
Published: September 2022

Liver transplant (LT) recipients have high rates of
Clostridioides difficile
infection (CDI), which has been associated with poor outcomes, including graft-related complications and mortality, in prior studies. Susceptibility to CDI is known to increase following perturbations in intestinal commensal bacteria that enable germination of
C. difficile
spores and bacterial overgrowth.
Background Filtering of Clinical Metagenomic Sequencing with a Library Concentration-Normalized Model
Authors: Du Juan , Zhang Jingjia , Zhang Dong , Zhou Yiwen , Wu Pengfei , Ding Wenchao , Wang Jun , Ouyang Chuan , Yang Qiwen
Published: September 2022

Most of the existing methods to remove wet-lab contamination rely on large-scale observational microbiome studies and may not be applicable to clinical mNGS testing in individual cases. In clinical settings, only a handful of samples might be sequenced in a run.
US–Indian Relations: Formation of an Alliance or a Temporary Partnership?
Authors: Davydov A. A. , Kupriyanov A. V.
Published: September 2022

This article analyzes bilateral relations between India and the United States in the context of a new round of confrontational bipolarity between Washington and Beijing. The analysis of the historical dynamics of relations between the United States and India demonstrate that the US policy towards New Delhi has always been of an opportunistic nature and depended primarily on the events in southern Asia and the Indian Ocean, and on the dynamics of US relations with key Asian powers—the Soviet Union and China. India has never had an independent value for the United States. The existence of common values has always been used by both parties only to justify the next rapprochement between them and has always been determined by purely pragmatic considerations. At the same time, maintaining close relations with the United States is a strategic necessity for India, since the development of the Indian economy and the ability of New Delhi to balance between great powers depend on them. The authors come to the conclusion that today the imperatives of Washington and New Delhi have not changed significantly; therefore, there is no need to talk about a deep transformation of American–Indian relations.
Laparoscopic myomectomy to facilitate laparoscopic resection of a bleeding interstitial ectopic pregnancy
Authors: McDougall Anna Alexandra , Rouabhi Schahrazed , Magama Zwelihe , Odejinmi Funlayo
Published: September 2022

Interstitial pregnancies present a diagnostic and management challenge and are associated with significant bleeding risk. We present a case of an interstitial ectopic pregnancy where there was a diagnostic delay due to the presence of uterine fibroids and where a laparoscopic myomectomy was required in order to perform laparoscopic resection of the ruptured interstitial pregnancy.

This case demonstrates the possibilities at laparoscopy for ectopic pregnancy, highlights the benefit of a structured ‘buddy’ system between gynaecology surgeons and brings attention to the paucity of literature on the unique management challenges of ectopic pregnancy in the presence of leiomyoma.
Meniscal procedures are not increased with delayed ACL reconstruction and rehabilitation: results from a randomised controlled trial
Authors: van der Graaff Sabine J A , Reijman Max , van Es Eline M , Bierma-Zeinstra Sita M A , Verhaar Jan A N , Meuffels Duncan E
Published: September 2022

Objective

To assess whether initial non-operative treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures with optional delayed ACL reconstruction leads to more meniscal procedures compared with early ACL reconstruction during the 2-year follow-up.

Methods

We compared the number of meniscal procedures of 167 patients with an ACL rupture, who either received early ACL reconstruction (n=85) or rehabilitation therapy plus optional delayed ACL reconstruction (n=82), participating in the Conservative vs Operative Methods for Patients with ACL Rupture Evaluation trial. Patients were aged 18 to 65 years (mean 31.3, SD 10.5), 60% male sex (n=100). We evaluated the presence and location of meniscal tears by baseline MRI. We analysed and compared how many patients per randomisation group had a meniscal procedure during follow-up in the ACL injured knee, adjusted for sex, body mass index, age group and orthopaedic surgeon.

Results

At baseline, 41% of the entire study population (69/167 patients) had a meniscal tear on MRI. During the 2-year follow-up, 25 patients randomised to early ACL reconstruction (29%, 25/85 patients) had a meniscal procedure, compared with 17 patients randomised to rehabilitation plus optional delayed reconstruction (21%, 17/82 patients) (risk ratio 0.67 with 95% CI 0.40 to 1.12, p=0.12). Of these patients who received early ACL reconstruction (n=82) and patients that received delayed ACL reconstruction (n=41), 5% of the patients had an additional isolated meniscal procedure after ACL reconstruction. In patients who received no ACL reconstruction (n=41), 10% (n=4) had an isolated surgical procedure for a meniscal tear during the 2-year follow-up period.

Conclusion

Initial non-surgical treatment of ACL ruptures followed by optional delayed ACL reconstruction does not lead to a higher number of meniscal procedures compared with early ACL reconstruction over a 2-year follow-up period.

Trial registration number

NL 2618.
Exercise-induced hypoalgesia after aerobic versus neck-specific exercise in people with acute/subacute whiplash-associated disorders: protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Anarte-Lazo Ernesto , Bernal-Utrera Carlos , Lopez-Amor Mario , Porras-Valencia Eugenia , Ruy-Diaz-Rojas Francisco Javier , Falla Deborah , Rodriguez-Blanco Cleofas
Published: September 2022

Introduction

A disturbance in exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) has been observed in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). Yet, no studies have examined whether EIH occurs in people with acute/subacute WAD. This study will determine whether EIH occurs immediately after and 24 hours after aerobic exercise (AE) and neck-specific exercise (NSE) in people with acute/subacute WAD.

Methods and analysis

A randomised controlled trial has been designed and is reported in line with the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials. EIH will be assessed immediately after and 24 hours after AE, NSE and a control intervention (randomly allocated). As dependent variables of the study, we will measure pressure pain thresholds measured over the region of the spinous process of C2 and C5, the muscle belly of the tibialis anterior and over the three main peripheral nerve trunks, Neck Pain Intensity, Neck-Disability Index, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Tampa Scale Kinesiophobia-11, self-reported Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs Scale.

Ethics approval and dissemination

Ethical approval has been granted by the Ethics Committee from University Rey Juan Carlos (Madrid, Spain; reference number 0707202116721). The results of this study will be disseminated through presentations at scientific conferences and publication in scientific journals.

Trial registration number

RBR-9tqr2jt,https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/observador/submissao/sumario/11551.
Impact of influenza vaccination on GP-diagnosed COVID-19 and all-cause mortality: a Dutch cohort study
Authors: van Laak Arjan , Verhees Ruud , Knottnerus J André , Hooiveld Mariëtte , Winkens Bjorn , Dinant Geert-Jan
Published: September 2022

Objectives

As clinical presentation and complications of both viruses overlap, it was hypothesised that influenza vaccination was associated with lower general practitioner (GP)-diagnosed COVID-19 rates and lower all-cause mortality rates.

Study design

From a primary care population-based cohort in the Netherlands, GP-diagnosed COVID-19 (between 10 March and 22 November 2020) and all-cause mortality events (between 30 December 2019 and 22 November 2020) were recorded. 223 580 persons were included, representing the influenza vaccination 2019 target group (all aged ≥60 years, and those <60 years with a medical indication). Proportional hazards regression analyses evaluated associations between influenza vaccination in 2019 and two outcomes: GP-diagnosed COVID-19 and all-cause mortality. Covariables were sex, age, comorbidities and number of acute respiratory infection primary care consultations in 2019.

Results

A slightly positive association (HR 1.15; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.22) was found between influenza vaccination in 2019 and GP-diagnosed COVID-19, after adjusting for covariables. A slightly protective effect for all-cause mortality rates (HR 0.90; 95% CI 0.83 to 0.97) was found for influenza vaccination, after adjusting for covariables. A subgroup analysis among GP-diagnosed COVID-19 cases showed no significant association between influenza vaccination in 2019 and all-cause mortality.

Conclusions

Our hypothesis of a possibly negative association between influenza vaccination in 2019 and GP-diagnosed COVID-19 was not confirmed as we found a slightly positive association. A slightly protective effect on all-cause mortality was found after influenza vaccination, possibly by a wider, overall protective effect on health. Future research designs should include test-confirmed COVID-19 cases and controls, adjustments for behavioural, socioeconomic and ethnic factors and validated cause-specific mortality cases.
Scoping review protocol to map the use of text-based two-way communication between patients and healthcare professionals after hospital discharge and identify facilitators and barriers to implementation
Authors: Jensen Lili Worre Høpfner , Ghaffari Arash , Dinesen Birthe Irene , Rahbek Ole , Kold Søren
Published: September 2022

Introduction

After discharge, patients face multiple risks where timely communication with healthcare professionals is required. eHealth has proposed new possibilities for asynchronous text-based two-way communication between patients and healthcare professionals during this time, and studies show positive effects on clinical outcomes, care coordination and patient satisfaction. However, there are challenges to the adoption of text-based two-way communication, potentially undermining the positive effects in clinical practice. Knowledge of these factors may inform future research and implementations. No reviews have provided an overview of the use of text-based two-way communication after discharge and the identified facilitators and barriers. Therefore, the objective of this scoping review is to systematically identify and map available research that assess the use of text-based two-way communication between patients and healthcare professionals after hospital discharge, including facilitators and barriers to implementation.

Methods and analysis

We will include all studies describing the use of text-based two-way communication between patients and healthcare professionals after discharge from hospital. A preliminary search of PubMed (PubMed.gov), EMBASE (Elsevier), CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (Ovid), Cochrane Library (Wiley), Web of Science (Clarivate) and Scopus (Elsevier) was undertaken on 9 November 2021. The search will be updated for the full scoping review, and reference lists of relevant papers reviewed. Two reviewers will independently screen the literature for inclusion. Data will be extracted and charted in accordance with a data extraction form developed from the research questions and inspired by Consolidated Framework Implementation Research. Findings will be presented in tabular format and a descriptive summary, and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist.

Ethics and dissemination

This scoping review will not require ethics approval. The dissemination strategy involves peer review publication and presentation at conferences.