bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A comparative study on the influence of fiber enzymatic treatment in thermal, morphological and mechanical properties of PBS matrix reinforced with different date palm fibers: Under accelerated UV radiation exposure
Authors: Chaari Rania , Khlif Mohamed , Bradai Chedly , Lacoste Catherine , Dony Philippe
Published: December 2023

The use of natural fiber-reinforced polymer materials has become increasingly common in various applications. However, the performance and durability of these composites in outdoor applications are not fully understood. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of an artificial ultraviolet radiation on the degradation behavior of composites based on a Poly Butylene Succinate (PBS) matrix. The reinforcement materials used in this research were the trunk and palm fibers obtained from date palm trees. Specifically, the effect of modifying the fiber surface with an enzymatic treatment on the interfacial adhesion fiber/matrix as well as on the rate of deterioration of the resulted composites, under accelerated aging, was assessed. Changes in the composite’s thermal stability, surface morphology and mechanical properties were determined after aging. A sharp transition in the behavior of the PBS matrix was observed after UV exposure, shifting from slight ductility following 100 h to brittleness after 700 h. The aging process resulted in a decrease in the thermal stability of all composites. However, the composites containing treated fibers exhibited better thermal stability compared to those with untreated fibers. Additionally, the use of enzyme-treated fibers in the composites promoted greater stability in the mechanical properties even after aging. The reinforcement of the composites with palm fibers yielded better interfacial adhesion compared to the use of trunk fibers, and resulted in better retention in the tensile strength property after aging. The enzymatic treatment facilitated stronger physical attachment between the fibers and the matrix, preventing any fiber or interface degradation.
Conceptual alignment for simulation interoperability: lessons learned from 30 years of interoperability research
Authors: Tolk Andreas
Published: December 2023

This position paper provides first, a literature survey of selected domains with significant contributions to simulation interoperability research, such as defense and healthcare simulation, including insights from academia and research organizations. Next, four main interoperability methods are reviewed, i.e., messages-oriented methods, use of information exchange models and common object models, and reference modeling, including ontological means. This review leads to the observation that successful approaches do not only rely on technical solutions but are also using conceptual alignment of the underlying models as well. The Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model is revisited to consider how it contributed—and still contributes today—to reach meaningful interoperability between model-based solutions. Its descriptive and prescriptive use is discussed, and it is applied to the four methods to show its practical applicability.
Book review: A. Kolbel, J. Pfaff-Czarnecka and S. Thieme (Eds), Universities as Transformative Social Spaces: Mobilities and Mobilizations from South Asian Perspectives
Authors: Mohanty Tanaya
Published: December 2023

A. Kolbel, J. Pfaff-Czarnecka and S. Thieme (Eds), Universities as Transformative Social Spaces: Mobilities and Mobilizations from South Asian Perspectives (Oxford University Press, 2022), 330pp., ₹1695. ISBN: 9780192865571
Super-hydrophilic modification of polyester fabrics based on titanium dioxide/gelatin
Authors: Lu Jiajia , Feng Jundan , Wang Huiyi , Li Rong , Lu Yuzheng , Liu Shuiping , Cavaco-Paulo Artur , Fu Jiajia
Published: December 2023

The comfort of polyester (polyethylene terephthalate or PET)as well as its reusability is greatly affected by its hydrophobicity. To improve the hydrophilicity of PET, titanium dioxide (TiO2) and gelatin were proposed to treat polyester by surface coating in this study. TiO2 and gelatin were selected because of their excellent ecological performance and wide usage. PET fabric had a super-hydrophilic surface and satisfied mechanical properties after various modifications. The synchronous treatment produced a significant effect. The fabric was coated with a dispersion of 4 g/l TiO2 and 5 g/l gelatin by the two-dip and two-rolling process. The static water contact angle of TiO2/gelatin-coated PET fabric reached 0° within 45 s. The results indicated that the PET fabric coated with TiO2/gelatin exhibited remarkable super-hydrophilicity and excellent resistance to wear and washing. Furthermore, the altered fabric underwent evaluation to assess its tensile fracture properties, air permeability, and crease recovery, which influenced its wearability and comfort. These performances demonstrate the potential application of TiO2/gelatin-coated PET fabric in textiles and apparel.
Artificial neural network for tilt compensation in yaw estimation
Authors: Halitim Ali Mounir , Bouhedda Mounir , Tchoketch-Kebir Sofiane , Rebouh Samia
Published: December 2023

Low-cost inertial measurement units (IMUs) are commonly used to determine the orientation of objects, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and smartphones. They calculate yaw by measuring Earth’s magnetic field’s horizontal components. However, in the presence of tilt (pitch or roll), a tilt-compensation operation is necessary. This is usually done by projecting measurements onto a horizontal plane. This method has limitations, particularly for large tilt angles and when the IMU is pointing toward the east or west directions. In this paper, we expose the shortcomings of this conventional approach and propose a novel machine learning–based solution employing an artificial neural network (ANN). This method eliminates the need to determine tilt angles and uses accelerometer and magnetometer measurements as its inputs. The dataset for training and testing the ANN was collected based on a 3D nonmagnetic scaled platform, using a low-cost IMU and a Raspberry Pi platform. On one hand, our method outperforms the conventional tilt-compensation technique and other complementary filters (Madgwick and Mahony) in terms of accuracy, as evidenced by the root mean square error (RMSE = 1.95°). However, this superiority comes at the expense of a more complex system that consumes more processing time.
The Humor Advantage: Humorous Bragging Benefits Job Candidates and Entrepreneurs
Authors: Pai Jieun , Chou Eileen Y. , Halevy Nir
Published: December 2023

From job candidates to entrepreneurs, people often face an inherent tension between the need to share personal accomplishments and the need to avoid appearing arrogant. We propose that humorbragging—incorporating self-enhancing humor into self-promoting communications—can signal warmth and competence simultaneously, leading to instrumental benefits. Four studies explored humorbragging as a potential solution to the self-promotion paradox. Study 1 demonstrated that a humorbragging (vs. self-promoting) resume attracted more hiring interest from recruiters. Study 2 showed that perceived warmth and competence mediate the positive effect of humorbragging on hiring intentions. Study 3 found that humorbragging entrepreneurs achieved greater success securing funding compared to entrepreneurs who used other kinds of humor. Finally, Studies 4a to 4c established that the positive effect of humorbragging on hiring intentions is unique to self-enhancing humor. Overall, the current research establishes the instrumental benefits of humorbragging and explains why and when it functions as an effective impression management strategy.
The geopolitics of disease prevention: Military analogies against COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and beyond
Authors: Li Eva Cheuk-Yin , Lee Po-Han
Published: December 2023

Military metaphors have been used intensively and excessively against the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide since its outbreak in 2020. In this article, we consider “war” and “military” analogies as keywords to approach the pandemic culture by examining the use of war metaphors at the time of COVID-19 and its relationship with selective “war” memories in the first year of the global outbreak of the pandemic. Specifically, we underpin the heterogeneity of such use of metaphors and their relationships with geopolitics, collective memory, and nationalism. We examine the contexts in which these war frames against COVID-19 were articulated and their affective and discursive implications to geopolitics outside of a Western-centric context through two case studies in East Asia – Hong Kong’s bottom-up military analogies in the post-Anti-ELAB era and Taiwan’s biopolitical nationalism against China. Our discussion underscores the significance of contexts in considering the purpose and impact of military metaphors against COVID-19, and also other diseases and even disasters of all kinds in the future, by highlighting the geopolitical trajectories outside of North America and Europe, where regional war memories and military tensions are referenced to inform local definitions of security, safety, and securitization practices.
Associations Between Ultra-processed Food Consumption and Cardiometabolic Health Among Older US Adults: Comparing Older Asian Americans to Older Adults From Other Major Race-Ethnic Groups
Authors: Elfassy Tali , Juul Filippa , Mesa Robert A. , Palaniappan Latha , Srinivasan Malathi , Yi Stella S.
Published: December 2023

Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001–2018; N = 19,602), this study examined whether ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is associated with cardiometabolic health (obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes), among White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans (AA) US adults 50 or older. Diet was assessed using 24 hour dietary recall. NOVA dietary classification system was used to calculate the percentage of caloric intake derived from UPFs. Cardiometabolic information was assessed through physical examination, blood tests, and self-reported medication information. A median of 54% (IQR: 40%, 68%) of caloric intake was attributed to UPFs and was lowest for AAs (34%, IQR: 20%, 49%) and highest for White adults (56%; IQR: 42, 69%). In multivariable adjusted models, UPF consumption was associated with greater odds of obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes. UPF consumption is associated with poor cardiometabolic health among all US older adults. For AAs, UPFs may be particularly obesogenic.
Illiberal polity as the retribution of post-imperial nation-building: The case of Turkey
Authors: Aktar Cengiz
Published: December 2023

Turkey, in direct lineage of the Ottoman Empire, experimented a particularly violent nation-building out of the imperial ashes. Non-Muslims corresponding to one fifth of its population have been annihilated for the creation of a homogeneous nation State. These crimes have never been accounted for, giving way to a culture of impunity, self-righteousness, contempt for the rule of law and justice which, over years, pushed the polity towards an illiberal if not totalitarian essence and praxis , domestically against its own constituency and externally against neighbours through an extensive neo-imperial drive. Paradoxically, such an outcome seems to constitute a belated retribution for the unaccounted crimes.
The deepest foundation of our democratic crisis
Authors: Mansbridge Jane
Published: December 2023

The deepest foundation of our democratic crisis is our increasing human interdependence. That interdependence creates increasing needs for ‘free-use goods’: goods that, once produced, anyone can use without paying (other names: “public goods,” “non-excludable goods”). Such goods produce the classic “free-rider” problems to which the most efficient solution in societies of strangers is usually government provision through taxes or regulation, both of which depend on a combination of voluntarism (based on duty and solidarity) and legitimate coercion. More interdependence creates more free-rider problems, which require more government intervention/coercion. Our eighteenth-century democratic mechanisms were not designed to legitimate the amount of state coercion we now need. To bolster legitimacy, we need to embrace the logic of free-use goods and replace one-way with recursive representation, the principle of distinction with more descriptive representation, corruption with clean institutions, and legislative-centric democracy with a full representative system approach, all drawing on our collective intelligence.
Parental Accuracy of Reporting Child Sleep Duration: Examining Sleep and Childhood Obesity in Midwestern Latinx Youth
Authors: Christensen Joshua T. , Taylor Zoe E. , Jones Blake L.
Published: December 2023

This study examined the relationship between the accuracy of parental reporting of children’s sleep duration compared to objectively measured child sleep and tested whether any discrepancies were related to childhood obesity prevalence in a sample of Latinx families ( N = 119). A paired sample t-test revealed that parents significantly overestimated their child’s sleep duration by 1.33 hours, t(86) = 6.69, p < .001. Using a one-way ANOVA, no significant differences were found in children’s BMI percentile when grouped by the parent’s accuracy of their child’s sleep duration F(3, 83) = .76, p = .52. A potential, although non-significant, trend regarding parent accuracy and child BMI may merit further examination. Future research should seek to determine if the discrepancy in parent reported child sleep duration is indeed linked with increased child BMI and if this knowledge could be used in targeted intervention efforts to reduce childhood obesity.
A Comparative Analysis of Maternal Nutrition Decision-Making Autonomy During Pregnancy—An Application of the Food Choice Process Model in Burkina Faso and Madagascar
Authors: Ngoutane Raphia M. , Murray-Kolb Laura E. , Zoma Ramakwende , Ouédraogo Césaire T. , van Zutphen Kesso Gabrielle , Bruning Rachel , Razakandrainy Andry , Ransom Elizabeth , Dalmiya Nita , Kraemer Klaus , Kodish Stephen R.
Published: December 2023

Background:

Adequate nutrition has been cited as one of the most critical components for optimal health outcomes during pregnancy. Women in Burkina Faso and Madagascar experience high rates of undernutrition due to lack of knowledge, finances, cultural norms, and autonomy. Therefore, this study aimed (1) to describe typical maternal diets during pregnancy in Burkina Faso and Madagascar, (2) to understand the multilevel factors that influence women’s nutrition decision-making, and (3) to explore the extent to which women have nutrition decision-making autonomy during pregnancy.

Methods:

This study was conducted between October 2020 and February 2021 in Burkina Faso and Madagascar. Semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, and free lists were conducted among women of reproductive age and pregnant and lactating women. Textual data from interviews were recorded and translated verbatim from local languages into French. The Food Choice Process Model guided textual content analysis using Dedoose software. Free list data were analyzed using cultural domain analysis approaches.

Results:

In Burkina Faso and Madagascar, women primarily consumed staple foods such as rice and tô during pregnancy. Participants cited eating fruits and vegetables when available, while the animal source foods were rarely consumed. Across both contexts, nutrition during pregnancy was influenced by factors that impact food choices, such as social factors, resources, ideals, and personal factors. While women and men in Madagascar had more shared decision-making on critical domains such as finances, men were the primary decision-makers in most areas of inquiry (eg, finances) in Burkina Faso.

Conclusions:

The lack of adequate diverse diet consumed during pregnancy is primarily due to important factors including social factors and resources. Understanding the ability for women to consume optimal diets during pregnancy is needed to target behavioral change in maternal nutrition programming.
Experimental investigation on impact and after-impact compression (AIC) behavior of foam core composite panels
Authors: Caliskan Umut , Lekesizcan Emre
Published: December 2023

This study investigates the impact and after-impact compression behavior of sandwich structures with carbon fiber composite face-sheets consisting of various polymeric core structures. In particular, the performance of polypropylene foam core with closed cell structure, which is new to engineering applications, against other polymeric core structures was investigated. Sandwich panels were subjected to three different impact energies and after-impact compression tests were conducted on each sample to reveal their damage tolerances and load-carrying capabilities. In-situ acoustic measurements were made to fully understand the damage and evolution mechanisms in the after-impact compression tests. Honeycomb polypropylene (PP) foam, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam were used as core materials. As a result of the tests, it was obtained which damage types occurred at which force levels. PP core panels exhibited different impact behavior compared to conventional sandwich core structures and were successful in preventing damage to the face sheets.
Leisure Participation for Mental Health Promotion in Later Life: A Six-Year Longitudinal Study
Authors: Yen Hsin-Yen , Lin Gong-Hong , Huang Hao-Yun
Published: December 2023

Engaging in leisure activities is essential for mental health in older adults. This longitudinal study ( n = 1,101, mean age = 69.20 ± 6.23 years at baseline) examined the associations between leisure participation and mental health over 6 years in three waves: 2016, 2018, and 2020. Pearson’s correlation analyses and generalized estimating equations were performed for data analyses. The frequency of participation in physical and social activities was significantly positively associated with happiness, life satisfaction, and self-rated health, and significantly negatively associated with depression. Passive activities were significantly positively associated with happiness, life satisfaction, and self-rated health but not with depression. The time effect had no significant association with any mental health outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of leisure activities in promoting mental health among older adults. Policy makers should encourage older adults to engage in physical and social leisure activities.
A Visual Aid Tool for Detection of Pancreatic Tumour-Vessel Contact on Staging CT: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Policelli Robert , Dammak Salma , Ward Aaron D. , Kassam Zahra , Johnson Carol , Ramsewak Darryl , Syed Zafir , Siddiqi Lubna , Siddique Naman , Kim Dongkeun , Marshall Harry
Published: December 2023

Purpose: In pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the difficult distinction between normal and affected pancreas on CT studies may lead to discordance between the pre-surgical assessment of vessel involvement and intraoperative findings. We hypothesize that a visual aid tool could improve the performance of radiology residents when detecting vascular invasion in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients. Methods: This study consisted of 94 pancreatic adenocarcinoma patient CTs. The visual aid compared the estimated body fat density of each patient with the densities surrounding the superior mesenteric artery and mapped them onto the CT scan. Four radiology residents annotated the locations of perceived vascular invasion on each scan with the visual aid overlaid on alternating scans. Using 3 expert radiologists as the reference standard, we quantified the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to determine the performance of the tool. We then used sensitivity, specificity, balanced accuracy ((sensitivity + specificity)/2), and spatial metrics to determine the performance of the residents with and without the tool. Results: The mean area under the curve was 0.80. Radiology residents’ sensitivity/specificity/balanced accuracy for predicting vascular invasion were 50%/85%/68% without the tool and 81%/79%/80% with it compared to expert radiologists, and 58%/85%/72% without the tool and 78%/77%/77% with it compared to the surgical pathology. The tool was not found to impact the spatial metrics calculated on the resident annotations of vascular invasion. Conclusion: The improvements provided by the visual aid were predominantly reflected by increased sensitivity and accuracy, indicating the potential of this tool as a learning aid for trainees.
Mechanical behavior of PVDF membrane based on the uni-/bi-axial loading experiments
Authors: Ping Liu , Bai-Jian Tang , WenRui Li , Ngamkhanong Chayut
Published: December 2023

Recently, composite PVDF membranes with good performance have triggered enormous interest because of their great potential application. However, the uncertainty of mechanical properties limits their application. Herein, this paper reveals the elastic modulus properties of the loading angle between warp and tensile direction using the uni-axial tensile test of SH-1050P membrane textile. In addition, the bi-axial tensile test with different loading ratios was implemented. Both uni-axial and bi-axial ductile load-displacement/stress-strain curves are featured. It is the first to establish a relationship between the elastic modulus and the loading angle using a theoretical method based on the assumption that there is no slippage and crease between yarns and matric. Furthermore, simulations with different textile parameters were carried out to verify the theoretical results. The key finding is that the elastic modulus under uni-axial load can be divided into two stages, which are elasticity and plasticity. Both of which are proportional to the sine function applied to two times the loading angle. The Poisson’s ratio of SH-1050P textile can be considered as a fixed value of 0.11. This conclusion can be extended to similar textiles. The outcome of this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the PVDF memrane’s mechanical behavior and presents a novel insight into its response to different loading conditions.
Author gender and text characteristics in contemporary Swedish fiction
Authors: Dahllöf Mats
Published: December 2023

The present study addresses the question of to what extent and how authors’ gender is reflected in the textual properties of bestselling fiction in Swedish during the period 2015–2020. The empirical material was a corpus of 235 female-authored books and 214 male-authored works. The analysis of the texts departed from text property measures targeting grammatical and lexical aspects of language use. Differences between the genders were analysed using the probability of superiority measure in combination with a threshold criterion. The results suggest that authors of bestselling fiction in the Swedish book market to a high degree engage in forms of gender performance when they compose their texts. The differences could in most cases be interpreted as conforming to patterns that have previously been reported for other languages and categories of language use. The gender performance to a large extent agreed with traditional stereotypes about the interests of women and men. There were also differences in grammar-related stylistic preferences. Among the female themes, positive emotion and social interaction were prominent. The male examples include weapons and animosity, as well as numerical quantification. A more grammar-related tendency is that male authors tend to package a larger fraction of their text into noun phrases.
Dr Hunter’s Plague: Gender, Race and Photography in British India
Authors: Arnold David
Published: December 2023

From politicians to physicians, the opening years of India’s plague epidemic (1896–1900) have conventionally been treated as a male-dominated sphere of activity. This article argues for the centrality of female actors—as doctors, nurses and ‘ward ayahs’—and across the social spectrum from dalits to Europeans. Photography demonstrates the prominence and diversity of women’s plague roles; it helps to complicate a text-based narrative of plague at the intersection of gender, race, class and colonialism. Images augment and not merely document. The value of combining visual and textual sources is underscored by focusing on a single institution, the General Plague Hospital in Poona (Pune) and on a woman doctor, Marion Hunter, whose photographic presence and whose views in and after India highlight the tensions and contradictions of a gendered as well as racialised imperial presence.
Safety Assessment of Hops as Used in Cosmetics
Authors: Becker Lillian , Boyer Ivan , Bergfeld Wilma F. , Belsito Donald V. , Hill Ronald A. , Klaassen Curtis D. , Liebler Daniel C. , Marks James G. , Shank Ronald C. , Slaga Thomas J. , Snyder Paul W. , Fiume Monice , Heldreth Bart
Published: December 2023

The Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety (Panel) assessed the safety of Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract (reported functions include antimicrobial agent and hair conditioning agent) and Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Oil (reported function is fragrance). The Panel reviewed the relevant data related to these ingredients. Because final product formulations may contain multiple botanicals, each containing the same constituents of concern, formulators are advised to be aware of these constituents and to avoid reaching levels that may be hazardous to consumers. For these ingredients, the Panel was concerned about the presence of 8-prenylnaringenin, β-myrcene, and quercetin in cosmetics, which could result in estrogenic effects, dermal irritation, and genotoxicity, respectively. Industry should use current good manufacturing practices to limit impurities and constituents of concern. The Panel concluded that Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract and Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Oil are safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration when formulated to be non-sensitizing.
‘Party position, electoral incentives, and attention to European Union issues in the 2019 European Parliament election’
Authors: Font Nuria
Published: December 2023

Under what conditions do Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) give attention to EU issues in European Parliament (EP) election campaigns? This study examines how party positioning on European integration and individual electoral incentives affected MEPs’ attention to EU issues in the 2019 EP election campaign. Based on data collected from Twitter, the findings show that pro-EU parties and individual vote-seeking incentives increased attention to EU issues. More specifically, they show that MEPs from pro-EU mainstream parties had incentives to debate about EU issues, especially when they competed for votes. The findings help to unfold the interplay between party-level and legislator-level factors and its effects on attention to EU issues and aim to contribute to research on EU issue salience and EP election campaigns.
Navigating the boundaries between evaluators and similar applied professionals
Authors: Linnell Dana Jayne , Montrosse-Moorhead Bianca
Published: December 2023

This article is part of a larger project to examine who calls themselves an evaluator and why, as well as how evaluators differ from non-evaluators. For the present article, 40 professionals doing applied work (e.g. evaluators, researchers) participated in an hour-long semi-structured interview, which involved questions about their journey into the field, applied practice, and professional identity. Research questions were: what does the journey into the field look like for evaluators and similar professionals, and how do they describe the similarities and differences between evaluators and other similar professionals? Results showed evaluators and non-evaluators have unique journeys into the field. Furthermore, evaluators and other similar professionals describe the similarities and differences similarly, yet there are also some misconceptions similar professionals have regarding evaluators and evaluation. This article contributes to the larger conversation on the professionalization of evaluation by helping understand the jurisdictional boundaries between evaluation and other related fields.
What works in democracy support? How to fill evidence and usability gaps through evaluation
Authors: Leininger Julia , Schiller Armin von
Published: December 2023

The evidence generated and used in development cooperation has changed remarkably over the last decades. When it comes to the field of democracy support, these developments have been less significant. Routinised, evidence-based programming is far from a reality here. Compared to other fields, the goals of the interventions and assumed theories of change remain underspecified. Under these circumstances, evaluating and learning is difficult, and as a result, evidence gaps remain large and the translation of evidence into action often unsuccessful. This is particularly dramatic at a time when this field is regaining attention amid global autocratisation trends. In this article, we analyse the specific barriers and challenges democracy support faces to generate and use evidence. Furthermore, we identify evidence gaps and propose impact-oriented accompanying research as an evaluation approach that can make a significant contribution towards advancing the evidence agenda in this field.
Correlation of thermal environments with the bacterial concentration in bedrooms with intermittent and continuous heating modes
Authors: Shen Bingyang , Liu Meng , Liu Lumeng , Liu Huan
Published: December 2023

Bacteria in built environments are profoundly affected by indoor thermal conditions. In China, continuous and intermittent heating modes give rise to distinct thermal environments in winter. However, the quantitative relationships between bacterial concentration and thermal conditions in the context of heating modes remain unclear. To this end, we recorded the temperature and relative humidity (RH) in 15 intermittently and 15 continuously heated residences in 27 cities across China and obtained the bacterial concentrations via the quantitative polymerase chain reaction technology. For the intermittently heated residences whose temperatures were lower than 18°C, the bacterial concentration negatively correlated with RH while the correlation was positive for those with T > 18°C. For the continuously heated residences, a quadratic correlation was found between temperature and the bacterial concentration which was highest at 23°C. For lower bacterial risk, we suggest that (1) RH in the intermittent heating region should be in the range of 40%–60% and (2) temperature in the continuous heating region should not exceed 22°C. The bacteria-adjusted thermal zones for intermittent and continuous heating are 66% and 77% of the original thermal comfort zone, respectively. Our study provides insights into the set-points of indoor thermal environments based on the microbial perspective.
What connects positivism and interpretivism in cross-cultural management studies: Genealogy as a method for re-ordering disciplinary knowledge
Authors: Mahadevan Jasmin
Published: December 2023

Cross-cultural management (CCM) studies is the discipline that investigates the interrelations between culture, management and organization, and ensuing implications. Like all disciplines, it is built upon certain presumed ‘disciplinary truths’, such as paradigmatic delineations, and assumptions of how culture should be studied differently within different paradigms. Such presumed truths easily become ‘trends’, potentially even disciplinary closures. In this article, I show how the concept of genealogy (Foucault), can help challenge prevalent ideas of how the disciplinary knowledge of CCM studies is ordered, in particular the idea that positivism and interpretivism are opposing CCM paradigms which study culture in distinct ways. It then becomes apparent how positivism and interpretivism, as selectively understood and delineated by CCM studies, are characterized by a shared focus on stable and immaterial selected aspects of culture and, consequently, suffer from the same limitations. Genealogy thus ‘un-fixes’ disciplinary knowledge and, via widening the scope of the analysis, enables CCM scholars to make choices beyond presently taken-for-granted disciplinary delineations.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus disease burden in high health expenditure countries between 1990 and 2019
Authors: Edwards Michael , Kudzinskas Aurimas , Alazawi Andrew , Hughes Will , Goodall Richard , Harbinson Eleanor , Salciccioli Justin , Marshall Dominic , Shalhoub Joseph
Published: December 2023

Objective

This observational study assesses trends in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) disease burden across the 19 countries of the European Union (EU) 15+ between 1990 and 2019.

Methods

The Global Burden of Disease Study database was used to gather T1DM age-standardised incidence (ASIR), prevalence (ASPR), mortality (ASMR), and disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) rates per 100,000 for each EU15+ country (1990 – 2019). Joinpoint regression analysis was used to describe the trends.

Results

From 1990 to 2019, T1DM ASIRs and ASPRs increased globally except for females in Finland (−2.9% and −9.4%), the largest increase in ASPR for males and females was observed in France (+144.4% and +137.5% respectively). All had reductions in ASMRs for males and females, with the largest observed in Spain (−56.7% and −79.0% respectively). Trends in DALYs were variable across countries, with increases in DALYs noted in 14/19 for males, and 9/19 for females. Denmark, Finland, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden had a reduction in DALYs for both males and females.

Conclusions

Mortality from T1DM is reducing across EU15+ countries, despite concomitant increases in incidence and prevalence rates. Trends in DALYs are variable across countries, reflecting differential trends in the disease burden across countries with similarly high health expenditure.
Risk factors and clinical characteristics of breathlessness in Australian adults: Data from the BOLD Australia study
Authors: Zhou Yijun , Ampon Maria R , Abramson Michael J , James Alan L , Maguire Graeme P , Wood-Baker Richard , Johns David P , Marks Guy B , Reddel Helen K , Toelle Brett G
Published: December 2023

Background

Breathlessness is a common symptom related to a significant health burden. However, the association of breathlessness with clinical characteristics, especially objective pulmonary test results is scarce. We aimed to identify the characteristics independently associated with breathlessness in Australian adults.

Method

The analysis used data from BOLD Australia, a cross-sectional study that included randomly selected adults aged ≥40 years from six sites in Australia. Clinical characteristics and spirometry results were compared for breathlessness (modified Medical Research Council [mMRC] grade ≥2).

Results

Among all respondents ( n = 3321), 252 participants (7.6%) reported breathlessness. The main univariate associations were obesity, chronic respiratory diseases, heart diseases and being Indigenous Australians (odds ratios [ORs] = 2.78, 5.20, 3.77 and 4.38, respectively). Participants with breathlessness had lower pre-and post-bronchodilator lung function than those without. Impaired spirometry results including FVC or FEV1 below 80% predicted, or FEV1/FVC < LLN were independently associated with breathlessness (adjusted ORs = 2.66, 2.94 and 2.34, respectively).

Conclusions

Breathlessness is common among Australian adults and is independently associated with obesity, chronic respiratory diseases, heart diseases, being Indigenous Australians, and impaired spirometry. Multi-disciplinary assessment and comprehensive investigation is needed in clinical practice to address the many factors associated with breathlessness in the population.
The nurse manager support process in the work–family conflict of clinical nurses: a qualitative study
Authors: Baljani Esfandyar , Rezaee Moradali Monireh , Hajiabadi Negar Ranjbar
Published: December 2023

Background:

Nurses are exposed to work–family conflict because of the high expectations associated with the workplace and family demands. Nurse managers’ support for work–family conflict requires theoretical principles.

Aims:

The current study explores managers’ experiences of work–life conflict and how they manage this.

Methods:

Grounded theory is used to explain the theoretical principles of nursing managers’ support to clinical nurses. Participants included 20 managers and 2 clinical nurses working in one hospital. The data collection method used unstructured interviews. Sampling was first purposive and then theoretical, and data analysis was carried out using Corbin and Strauss’s approach.

Results:

Participants’ primary concern was the threat to their organisational position, and they used a functional-exchangeable conservation strategy to consolidate their own positions. The strategy resulted in the consolidation of managers’ and nurses’ positions. Two factors were identified as influencing nurse managers’ strategies, namely ‘the sense of insecurity in the functional position’ with a deterrent effect, and ‘cooperative atmosphere’ as a facilitator with a positive effect.

Conclusion:

The most important supportive strategy used by nurse managers in the work–family conflict of clinical nurses was based on ‘functional-exchangeable conservation’ between themselves and the nursing staff. Functional- exchangeable protection is a type of protection of human resources by the manager. In this exchange, to solve the conflict between work and family for the nurse, the nursing manager wants to maintain their managerial position by solving the nurse’s problem. Both of them benefit from this exchange. The theory of functional-exchangeable protection may provide the necessary background for the development of a prescriptive theory to minimise nurses’ worries about family matters. Flexible work schedules may help nurses resolve work-family conflict and so provide better care and reduce work errors. The concept of functional-exchangeable protection and its subclasses may be helpful in preparing policies to support clinical nurses through implementing flexible work schedules, increasing nurses’ motivation and fulfilling the family role of nurses.
Maximalist Shoes: Separating Science From Hype
Authors: Haghverdian Justin C. , Hsu Andrew R.
Published: December 2023

One of the most discussed but misunderstood topics in foot and ankle is shoe wear choices and the purported benefits of each type of shoe versus their actual scientific advantages. All foot and ankle care providers should be familiar with the various shoe wear types available to patients to improve their overall foot health. Recently, mainstream popularity and media coverage of maximalist shoes has created increased interest in the science and potential clinical benefits of maximalist shoes. The purpose of this review is to present the current biomechanical evidence of maximalist shoes and to help inform the foot and ankle community of their potential therapeutic applications.

Levels of Evidence: Level V
Target motion misjudgments reflect a misperception of the background; revealed using continuous psychophysics
Authors: Falconbridge Michael , Stamps Robert L. , Edwards Mark , Badcock David R.
Published: December 2023

Determining the velocities of target objects as we navigate complex environments is made more difficult by the fact that our own motion adds systematic motion signals to the visual scene. The flow-parsing hypothesis asserts that the background motion is subtracted from visual scenes in such cases as a way for the visual system to determine target motions relative to the scene. Here, we address the question of why backgrounds are only partially subtracted in lab settings. At the same time, we probe a much-neglected aspect of scene perception in flow-parsing studies, that is, the perception of the background itself. Here, we present results from three experienced psychophysical participants and one inexperienced participant who took part in three continuous psychophysics experiments. We show that, when the background optic flow pattern is composed of local elements whose motions are congruent with the global optic flow pattern, the incompleteness of the background subtraction can be entirely accounted for by a misperception of the background. When the local velocities comprising the background are randomly dispersed around the average global velocity, an additional factor is needed to explain the subtraction incompleteness. We show that a model where background perception is a result of the brain attempting to infer scene motion due to self-motion can account for these results.
Continuous psychophysics for two-variable experiments; A new “Bayesian participant” approach
Authors: Falconbridge Michael , Stamps Robert L. , Edwards Mark , Badcock David R.
Published: December 2023

Interest in continuous psychophysical approaches as a means of collecting data quickly under natural conditions is growing. Such approaches require stimuli to be changed randomly on a continuous basis so that participants can not guess future stimulus states. Participants are generally tasked with responding continuously using a continuum of response options. These features introduce variability in the data that is not present in traditional trial-based experiments. Given the unique weaknesses and strengths of continuous psychophysical approaches, we propose that they are well suited to quickly mapping out relationships between above-threshold stimulus variables such as the perceived direction of a moving target as a function of the direction of the background against which the target is moving. We show that modelling the participant in such a two-variable experiment using a novel “Bayesian Participant” model facilitates the conversion of the noisy continuous data into a less-noisy form that resembles data from an equivalent trial-based experiment. We also show that adaptation can result from longer-than-usual stimulus exposure times during continuous experiments, even to features that the participant is not aware of. Methods for mitigating the effects of adaptation are discussed.
Haloperidol-induced sudden cardiac arrest in a recently detected HIV and hepatitis C patient: A unique case report
Authors: Tamang Kaushal , KC Brihaspati , Kuikel Sandip , Thapa Sital
Published: December 2023

We herein described a case of a 45-year-old male recently detected with HIV and Hepatitis C who presented with signs of sepsis, developed delirium, and received haloperidol. Surprisingly, 10 min after intravenous administration, the patient developed Torsades de pointes and required immediate resuscitation. The report discusses the limited instances of cardiac arrest linked to haloperidol use, despite its generally perceived safety. The patient had no apparent risk factors, emphasizing the need for increased caution when administering haloperidol, particularly in critically ill patients with HIV and Hepatitis C.
Global China and everyday mediation in the Global South: Selling Chinese fashion in Mozambique via WhatsApp
Authors: von Pezold Johanna
Published: December 2023

Combining online and offline data collection during six months of ethnographic fieldwork in Southern Mozambique in early 2021, this paper explores how media and its everyday use in the Global South are impacting on, and are in turn being transformed by China. It specifically looks into the creative and personalised ways in which Chinese-made garments are sold and promoted in Mozambique via the messenger service WhatsApp. Examining how Mozambican and West African traders use WhatsApp groups and status updates to mediate the fashionability of these Chinese goods, this paper shows that the consequences of Chinese interactions with the Global South on the global media landscape transcend the mere spread of Chinese hardware and software. Going beyond dominant, state-centred narratives of Chinese influence abroad, this paper demonstrates the key role of individuals and their agency in shaping the digital impact of Global China. By doing so, it also highlights the importance of analysing media practices in their specific local contexts.
Biomechanical Comparison of the Simple Suture Technique, Meniscal Matrix-Assisted Repair, and a Novel Meniscus Cap Suture Technique for Complex Meniscal Repair
Authors: Ciemniewska-Gorzela Kinga , Górecki Jan , Wojtkowiak Dominik , Henklewski Radomir , Żak-Pałczynska Katarzyna , Murray James , Talaśka Krzysztof
Published: December 2023

Background:

Meniscal repair is the gold standard for simple morphology tears. However, when the morphology and chronicity of the tear are less favorable, the success of the standard techniques is reduced.

Purpose/Hypothesis:

To compare meniscal repair augmented by a new bioresorbable implant (Meniscus Cap) versus a traditional simple suture technique and the currently available augmented repair collagen matrix meniscus wrapping technique. It was hypothesized that the Meniscus Cap suture technique would increase ultimate failure load and less displacement during cyclic loading.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

A total of 80 fresh porcine menisci were harvested. Complex tears were created in 60 menisci, and 20 intact menisci were tested as the control group. Repairs were performed on the 60 meniscal tears using 1 of the 3 techniques (20 menisci each): an inside-out H-suture group (SS), the collagen matrix wrapping technique (CMW), and the Meniscus Cap bioresorbable implant group (CM). The menisci were subjected to 500 loading cycles from 4 to 20 N at a frequency of 1 Hz, and the total displacement was recorded. Then, the specimens underwent load to failure testing at a rate of 3.15 mm/s, and the failure mode was noted.

Results:

After 500 cycles of cyclic loading, there were no significant differences in displacement between the controls and CM group (0.524 vs 0.448 mm; P = .95). The displacement after the CM was significantly smaller compared with the CMW and the SS (0.448 vs 1.077 mm [ P = .0009] and 0.448 vs 0.848 mm [ P = .04], respectively). The ultimate load to failure was significantly greater for the controls and the CM group compared with the SS and CMW groups (controls, 1278.7 N and CM, 628.5 N vs CMW, 380.1 N and SS, 345.1 N; P < .05). The failure mode was suture breakage (suture failure) for all repairs.

Conclusion:

In a porcine specimen meniscal repair model, the biomechanical properties of a novel Meniscus Cap repair technique were superior to that of the simple suture and CMW techniques.

Clinical Relevance:

The results suggest that the Meniscal Cap repair technique may provide sufficient primary stability of the meniscal fixation even in the cases of complex meniscal tears.