bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Finite Interface Element for Modeling Inclusion‐Matrix Interaction in Magneto‐Active Elastomers
Authors: Klausler Will , Kaliske Michael
Published: December 2024

Magneto‐active elastomers (MAEs) are an emerging smart composite material consisting of a compliant elastomer matrix filled with stiff, magnetizable inclusions. Meso‐scale models, which treat the matrix and inclusions as discrete, are currently formulated with the assumption of perfect bonding at the interface. We apply a model for cohesive damage at the material interface and introduce a treatment for the transmission of the magnetic field in the gap. Examples demonstrate the concept and the difference in structural response between samples treated with the conventional and presented approaches.
How the Content of Interprofessional Safety Management Education Can Be Structured Through the Perception of Nursing Home Practitioners: A Mixed Methods Design
Authors: Hong You Jung , Kim Dayeong , Chang Sung Ok
Published: December 2024

Aim

This study aimed to assess perceptions of safety management, with a particular focus on interprofessional influences, to determine priorities for safety management training needs and to explore target areas for strengthening the capacity of nursing home practitioners.

Design

A mixed methods design was used.

Methods

A qualitative‐driven mixed methods design was employed in two phases. In Phase 1, as a core component for integrating supplementary components, an inductive content analysis was performed to investigate perceptions of safety management and specific aspects of care related to it through semi‐structured interviews with nursing home practitioners. In Phase 2, a descriptive survey was conducted using items derived from the interviews conducted in the initial stage. The aim was to explore the educational needs of practitioners concerning safety management elements practised in nursing homes.

Results

In the study, through qualitative interviews, practitioners' perceptions of interprofessional safety management were derived into 5 themes and 22 subthemes. Based on this, the results of a descriptive survey derived priorities through a paired t‐test, importance‐performance analysis, Borich's needs assessment model and the Locus for Focus model for safety management items performed by nursing home practitioners. Results from both phases of the study showed that practitioners recognise the importance of sharing the causes of safety accidents and that there is a high need for training on falls, dehydration, and hypoglycaemia management.

Patient or Public Contribution

Nurses, care workers, physical therapists, and social workers employed in nursing homes took part in this study by participating in interviews and surveys.
The Landscape of Pediatric Procedural Sedation in the United Kingdom and Irish Emergency Departments; an International Survey Study
Authors: Hall Dani , Moriarty Tadgh , Roland Damian , O'Sullivan Ronan , Blackburn Carol , Hartshorn Stuart , Messahel Shrouk , Lyttle Mark D. ,   PERUKI
Published: December 2024

Approximately 250 000 children undergo pediatric procedural sedation (PPS) in Emergency Departments (ED) in the United Kingdom and Ireland annually. PPS practice in our setting has not been described as fully as other high‐income countries. We aimed to evaluate PPS in EDs in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An online survey was distributed through Paediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland (PERUKI), in June 2020. One respondent per ED completed the survey, including questions on agents, fasting, training, and governance. Of 72 PERUKI sites, 61 (85%) responded, of which PPS was performed in 50 (82%). Internal training packages existed in under half (22/50, 44.0%). Most had a guideline (43/50; 86.0%) and documentation proforma (39/50; 78.0%). Audit databases existed in 24/50 (48.0%). Intravenous ketamine was the most common agent (43/50; 86%), followed by variable concentration nitrous oxide (13/50; 26%). Fasting practices varied widely across sites and agents. We have demonstrated widespread PPS use, but non‐standardized practice. This leads to potential issues of risk and variability across agents, highlighting a need for a sedation package in the United Kingdom and Ireland to standardize practice and data collection. We propose development of a prospective ED sedation registry in the United Kingdom and Ireland to facilitate data collection to support research within this area.
A Novel Schiff Base Epoxy: Synthesis, Degradability, and Application as a MultiPurpose Modifier for DGEBA/DDM
Authors: Gao Chenchen , Xing An , He Zhiqi , Yuan Peichen , Qiao Yajing , Li Xiaoyu
Published: December 2024

Simultaneously increasing mechanical strength, toughness, thermal stability, and flame retardancy of epoxy thermoset without compromising transparency is appealing but challenging. To address that goal, a Schiff base epoxy VDEP is developed. The neat VDEP‐cured product, VDEP100wt%, not only shows comparable mechanical strength to conventional epoxy thermoset but also can be degraded in 10% H2SO4/THF/H2O solution in 24 h, showing great degradability under mild conditions. More importantly, proper addition of VDEP simultaneously increases the tensile strength, impact strength, T
g, T
d5%, char residue, and UV shielding of cured epoxies while providing self‐extinguishing ability. All of those enhancements are achieved without deteriorating transparency. When 15 wt% of VDEP is added, the tensile strength reaches 91.07 MPa, with a 36.7% increase; the impact strength reaches 40.73 kJ m−2, with a 33.8% increase. The enhancement in mechanical strength is due to the reinforcing effect of intermolecular interaction and compacted network caused by free volume reduction. The higher toughness results from greater mobility of chain segments, reduced crosslinking density and energy dissipative intermolecular interaction. The rigid two benzene‐conjugated Schiff base structure and abundant hydrogen bonding contribute to higher T
g. Therefore, this work provides a degradable Schiff base epoxy and high‐performance thermoset based on it.
Short‐Term Effectiveness of a Stepped‐Care Model to Address Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Patients With Early‐Stage Melanoma
Authors: Thompson Jake R. , Gomes Lisa , Kouvelis Grace , Smith Andrea L. , Lo Serigne N. , Kasparian Nadine A. , Saw Robyn P. M. , Dieng Mbathio , Seaman Linda , Martin Linda K. , Guitera Pascale , Milne Donna , Schmid Helen , Cust Anne E. , Bartula Iris
Published: December 2024

Objective

To investigate the effectiveness of the Melanoma Care Programme when implemented into routine clinical practice coupled with fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) screening and a stepped‐care model of intervention delivery.

Methods

Using a Type‐I hybrid effectiveness‐implementation design, individuals with stage 0‐II melanoma and a Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory FCR severity score of ≥ 13 were offered the Melanoma Care Programme. The programme included a psychoeducational booklet and 3 to 5 psychotherapeutic telehealth sessions with a clinical psychologist, timed around routine dermatological appointments. Multivariable linear mixed modelling was used to analyse the effect of the intervention at 1‐week post‐intervention on patient‐reported outcomes, including FCR severity (primary outcome), symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, melanoma‐related knowledge, and health‐related quality of life.

Results

One hundred and twelve participants completed the intervention from 146 participants screened for FCR. Adjusted multivariable linear mixed modelling demonstrated that participants who received the intervention reported a reduced FCR severity at 1‐week post‐intervention (mean change: −3.81 [95% CI: −4.67, −2.95], p < 0.001) compared to baseline. Participants also reported improvements in melanoma‐related knowledge (mean change: 0.64 [95% CI: 0.13, 1.15], p = 0.014), depressive symptoms (mean change: −1.41 [95% CI: −1.92, −0.90], p < 0.001), anxiety (mean change: −1.05 [95% CI: −1.48, −0.61], p < 0.001), stress (mean change: −1.58 [95% CI: −2.22, −0.93], p < 0.001), and health‐related quality of life (mean change: 4.05 [95% CI: 2.84, 5.26], p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The Melanoma Care Programme maintained effectiveness when implemented into routine clinical practice with the addition of FCR screening and a stepped care model of delivery.

Trial Registration

This study is registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ACTRN12621000145808)
Identification of Gene‐Therapy Responsive Blood Biomarkers in mdx Mouse Model
Authors: Johansson Camilla , Boehler Jessica F. , Brown Kristy J. , Koeks Zaïda , Schrama Esther J. , van de Velde Nienke , Verschuuren Jan J. G. M. , Niks Erik H. , Spitali Pietro , Al‐Khalili Szigyarto Cristina
Published: December 2024

Introduction

Identifying serum biomarkers that reflect the restoration of dystrophin in skeletal muscle is important for evaluating the effect of dystrophin‐restoring therapies in preclinical and clinical trials. Many potential blood biomarkers have been identified in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients, which change with disease progression or respond to pharmacological treatment. In this study, it was suggested that a panel of such blood biomarker candidates could be used to monitor dystrophin rescue in mdx mice treated with microdystrophin based therapies.

Methods

Plasma samples from mdx mice treated with the microdystrophin therapy SGT‐001 were analysed with an antibody suspension bead array consisting of 87 antibodies. The array targets 83 unique proteins previously identified as biomarker candidates for DMD. Each sample was assayed at two different plasma dilutions to cover a broader concentration range. Protein concentrations estimated as Median fluorescent intensities (MFI) were correlated to dystrophin expression in muscle tissue, as measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Thirteen of the targets were selected and analysed in a DMD and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) longitudinal natural history cohort using a suspension bead array.

Results

Ten proteins were found to be significantly elevated in untreated mdx mice compared with C57 wild‐type mice and to correlate with dystrophin expression (Spearman's correlation, FDR < 0.05) upon gene transfer in mdx mice. Translatability of these biomarkers from animal models to patients was evaluated by exploring abundance trajectories over time in both DMD and BMD patients and association with dystrophin expression in BMD patients. Consistent with the observations in mouse, six of these biomarker candidates were more abundant in DMD patients compared with controls, and six were also differentially abundant between BMD and DMD patients. Among them, serum titin was shown to be associated with dystrophin expression in BMD patients, having a steeper decline over time in patients with low dystrophin expression in tibialis anterior compared with patients with high expression. Myosine light chain 3 had a steeper decline with time in DMD patients compared with BMD patients.

Conclusions

The 10 biomarker candidates identified in mouse plasma are related to muscle contraction, glycolysis, microtubule formation and protein degradation. Human titin and myosine light chain 3 were the most interesting candidates as explorative biomarkers to monitor microdystrophin expression in gene therapies. If confirmed, these biomarkers could be used to detect restoration of dystrophin expression per se, monitor changes in dystrophin expression over time and potentially confirm disease phenotype changes from severe to mild disease forms.
Organic Manganese Halides with Near‐Unity Quantum Efficiency for High‐Resolution and Flexible X‐Ray Detection and Imaging
Authors: Fan Jiali , Tong Hua , Zhou Zhennan , Lv Yi , Li Haibo , Liu Wei , Ouyang Gangfeng
Published: December 2024

In this paper, two new organic manganese halides (pe‐ted)2MnX4 (pe‐ted+ = ethylphenyltriethylenediamine cation, X = Cl, Br) are synthesized, exhibiting green luminescence with near‐unity photoluminescence quantum efficiency. (pe‐ted)2MnBr4 shows good linear response to X‐ray dose rate, with a high light yield of ≈62 000 photons MeV−1 and low detection limit of 1.376 µGy s−1. Flexible scintillator film is prepared by blending with polydimethylsiloxane for high‐resolution imaging, with a low detection limit (5.173 µGy s−1), an excellent X‐ray imaging spatial resolution (18.0 lp mm−1) and an impressive X‐ray irradiation switching stability (3.6 mGy s−1). WLED of high color rendering index has also been fabricated. These findings represent an example of shapeable X‐ray scintillators, providing new possibilities for curved and 3D X‐ray imaging.
Efficient Storage of Sodium Based on MnSe@MoS2 Heterostructure With “Stress–Strain Transfer” Mechanism for Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Xu Ruixiang , Wang Liying , Yang Xijia , Li Xuesong , Jiang Yi , Lü Wei
Published: December 2024

2D layered embedding materials have shown promising applications in rapidly rechargeable sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs). However, the most commonly used embedding structures are susceptible to damage and collapse with increasing cycles, which in turn leads to a degradation of the overall performance of the batteries. In order to address this issue, a “stress‐strain transition” mechanism is proposed to form a heterostructure by introducing pyramid‐like MnSe into the MoS2 lattice to reduce the irreversible reconstruction under deep discharge. Density functional theory and Finite element method simulation reveal that the strong orbital coupling of Mn–Mo at the heterogeneous interface provides a guarantee for the directional migration of ions, alleviates the lattice expansion caused by embedding strain, and avoids irreversible structural changes during battery operation. The capacity measured at 0.1C is 612 mAh g−1, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction. The experimental results demonstrate that the capacity is maintained at 80.3% of the initial value after 3500 cycles. This work demonstrates a strategy of addressing the structural collapse of 2D layered materials and paves the way for the commercialization of SIBs.
Numerical Simulation for the Hard‐Tooth Surface Heat Treatment Process of 20CrMnTi Steel Spiral Bevel Gear Based on Multifield Coupling Model
Authors: Liu Ganhua , Yu Fuchao , Chen Shaodong , Wen Yuqin
Published: December 2024

To obtain ideal fatigue resistance, low‐carbon steel spiral bevel gears for axles generally undergo continuous carburizing‐quenching‐tempering heat treatment (hereinafter referred to as hard‐tooth surface heat treatment). Herein, on the basis of multifield coupling effects, a multifield coupling model of hard‐tooth surface heat treatment is established. The model considers the latent heat generated via phase transformation and the influence of surface carbon concentration on the temperature at which martensitic transformation commences (Ms). A numerical simulation and experimental verification are conducted on the hard‐tooth surface heat treatment process for the 20CrMnTi steel spiral bevel gear. Results show that the maximum relative errors in carbon concentration, hardness, retained austenite content, and residual stress between the predicted and measured values are 4.8, 4.3, 4.6, and 7.6%, respectively. In addition, the article investigates the microstructure and stress evolution patterns of the spiral bevel gear during quenching. The results reveal that Ms decreases with increasing carbon concentration on the gear surface, resulting in the martensite transformation on the surface lagging significantly behind that at the core. The proposed model provides a reference for developing a formulating strategy for a realistic hard‐tooth surface heat treatment process of spiral bevel gear.
Fragility analysis of a triangular free‐form reinforced concrete shell
Authors: Garcia Maya Sian Caycedo , Siqueira Gustavo Henrique , Vieira Junior Luiz Carlos Marcos , Cárdenas Diego Rafael Joya , Vizotto Isaias
Published: December 2024

Considering the importance of deepening the knowledge of the structural behavior of free‐form shell structures with a triangular plan, this work presents the results of research on the analysis of seismic vulnerability, verified through linear time‐history analysis (NLTHA), generating fragility curves through PSDM models. The analyzes carried out are based on uncertainties regarding both the mechanical properties of the materials and the geometric characteristics of the structures, as well as the action of seismic events. Real accelerograms, compatible with the elastic response spectra for Lisbon and Ouren, Portugal given by the EC8 standard, are used to consider seismic events. In the analyses, fundamental factors are considered, such as the accumulation of damage and the degradation in the resistance of materials. The structure presents highly ductile behavior in the face of seismic loads, attributed to its rigidity, geometry, lightness, and modal behavior, with participation in the horizontal components of the mass in the first five vibration modes greater than 80% and with minimal influence of the vertical component, characteristics inherent to this type of structure. However, it should be noted that the area close to the support, in the same direction as the ground acceleration, is the most vulnerable. This occurs due to the plastic yielding of the concrete during the earthquake, which promotes the appearance of cracks and compression damage. This is verified for the structure when subjected to earthquakes with PGA in the horizontal direction between 0.01 and 0.8 g. The probability of considerable damage increases with seismic events having PGA greater than 0.6 g, which, in turn, can compromise the stability of the structure. It is, therefore, of great importance to study the seismic behavior of shell structures, especially free‐form shells, considering the variability and uncertainties related to the structural stress arising from the seismic demand.
Evaluation of the Accuracy of FreeStyle Libre 2 for Glucose Monitoring in White New Zealand Rabbits
Authors: Choi Minseok , Chae Yeon , Park Jayeon , Lee Yelim , Park Kyung‐Mee , Jeong Dong‐Hyuk , Kang Byeong‐Teck , Yun Taesik , Kim Hakhyun
Published: December 2024

Background

Studies are currently being conducted on rabbits requiring serial glucose monitoring. The FreeStyle Libre 2 (FSL2), a serial glucose monitoring device, has been validated in humans, dogs and cats, but not in rabbits.

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the FSL2 in rabbits.

Methods

Six healthy rabbits were used in this study. Interstitial glucose (IG) was measured using the FSL2, and blood glucose (BG) was measured using a portable blood glucose meter (PBGM); their results were compared with those from a clinical chemistry analyser. For the first 3 h, IG and BG were measured at 1‐h intervals. Subsequently, they were measured every 8 h over a 48‐h period. Regular insulin 0.2 U/kg was then administered to the rabbits, and IG and BG were measured every 15 min over a 90‐min period.

Results

Before insulin treatment, no measurements fell within the hypoglycaemic range (BG < 100 mg/dL). In the euglycaemic range (BG ≥ 100 mg/dL), the PBGM and FSL2 showed 85.7% and 23.8% accuracies, respectively. After insulin treatment, the PBGM showed 95.5% and 81.3% accuracies in the hypoglycaemic and euglycaemic ranges, respectively. The FSL2 showed 68.1% and 37.5% accuracies in the hypoglycaemic and euglycaemic ranges, respectively. Parkes consensus error grid analysis showed that the PBGM and FSL2 had 100% agreement for Zones A (no effect on clinical action) and B (altered clinical action unlikely to affect outcome) in rabbits with and without insulin treatment.

Conclusions

There was limited agreement between the FSL2 and reference standard BG measurements. However, the FSL2 allows clinically acceptable identification of hypoglycaemic states in rabbits.
Dynamic changes and prognosis value of plasma syndecan‐1 and different microcirculatory parameters in sepsis: A prospective observational study
Authors: Qian Xiayan , Lui Ka Yin , Hu Xiaoguang , Li Shuhe , Song Xiaodong , Lin Changcheng , Liang Yujun , Guan Xiangdong , Cai Changjie
Published: December 2024

Background

Glycocalyx degradation is implicated in endothelial damage and microcirculatory dysfunction in sepsis, whereas the effectiveness of plasma syndecan‐1 levels and sublingual microcirculatory parameters in evaluating sepsis's prognosis has not yet been determined. This study aims to track their dynamic changes and investigate the prognostic utility of these indexes in sepsis.

Methods

In this prospective study conducted at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‐sen University, blood samples were collected from adult surgical septic patients within 2 days after intensive care unit admission measuring plasma syndecan‐1 concentrations. Relevant sublingual microcirculatory parameters were also obtained simultaneously. Additionally, capillary refill time and serum lactate levels were recorded. The primary outcome was 30‐day mortality.

Results

Of the 74 patients enrolled, the 30‐day mortality rate was 35.1%. Significantly, higher syndecan‐1 levels were observed in nonsurvivors at baseline, day 1, and day 2 (62.43 [37.37 and 103.16] vs. 97.24 [52.95 and 186.40] ng/mL and p = 0.035; 62.22 [41.50 and 87.52] vs. 96.71 [60.82 and 176.00] ng/mL and p = 0.009; and 56.03 [39.16 and 94.48] vs. 87.69 [72.52 and 159.70] ng/mL and p = 0.005, respectively). High syndecan‐1 levels (≥121 ng/mL) were associated with lower survival rates (p = 0.001) and an increase exceeding 8 ng/mL within 2 days indicated a higher mortality risk (p = 0.0075). Syndecan‐1 levels displayed satisfactory prognostic capability (AUC: 0.7056), whereas combining syndecan‐1 and blood lactate demonstrated the highest predictive ability for 30‐day survival (AUC: 0.7726).

Conclusions

Plasma syndecan‐1 levels effectively predict sepsis prognosis, with higher baseline levels or increasing trends indicating worse outcomes. Combining syndecan‐1 with blood lactate enhances predictive accuracy for 30‐day mortality in sepsis.

Trial Registration

This study registered in China on December 31, 2021 at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100055066).
“Let Me Tell You How I See It…”: White Women, Race, and Welfare on Two Birmingham Council Estates in the 1980s
Authors: White Jessica
Published: December 2024

Based on 48 interviews carried out between 1983 and 1984 with White working-class women in two housing estates in Birmingham, this chapter demonstrates how these women deployed their personal experiences of welfare as the grounds for their expertise, which was used to make claims about their rights to welfare provisions, legitimate their racist beliefs, and posit new ways of “doing welfare”. I argue that White women’s experiential expertise culminated in a cultural script within which the right to “fare well” was mediated through notions of race and racial difference. In voicing their shared experiences of living in competition with their neighbours of colour, these women constructed a “community of experience”, which was defined as being both “White” and British, and having exclusive, and deserving, access to the British welfare state.
Student Voices, Expertise, and Welfare Within British Universities in the Mid-Twentieth-Century
Authors: Crook Sarah
Published: December 2024

The contemporary student is extensively surveyed about their experiences of university provision and their opinions about the extent to which their institutions attend to their health and welfare. This chapter looks to some of the ways that students articulated their views of university health and welfare provision in the middle decades of the twentieth century. It argues that the National Union of Students (NUS) played a crucial role in ascertaining how institutions could help students to “fare well”, and through its emphasis on its leaders’ temporal proximity to student life it emphasised experiential authority. It also argues that the growth of sociological surveys of students’ experience of welfare and health facilities in the 1960s and 1970s helped to legitimise and embed ideas about the experiential knowledge held across the student body.
Placing Experiential Expertise: The 1981 New Cross Massacre Campaign
Authors: Andrews Aaron
Published: December 2024

On the morning of Sunday 18 January 1981, a fire broke out at a house in New Cross, London, injuring many, and killing thirteen young Black men, women, and children. In 1983, a fourteenth name was added to the toll. The New Cross massacre, named by activists, quickly became the focal point of a campaign for truth and justice which saw up to 20,000 march across London on the Black People’s Day of Action, and which later extended to the courts. Records of the New Cross Massacre Action Committee, an umbrella organisation, were preserved and curated in an archive at the George Padmore Institute. Using the GPI archive alongside additional archival collections, contemporary newspaper reporting, and cultural artefacts, this chapter examines how bereaved families, survivors, British Black Power activists, and community organisers mobilised experiential expertise to challenge the legal and scientific expertise deployed by state institutions. In doing so, it focuses on three spaces in which experiential expertise was operationalised to improve the welfare of Black Britons: street, courts, and archive. The chapter also reflects on the positionality and ethics of academics researching traumatic experiences of minoritised and marginalised communities when academics themselves do not share those experiences.
“Low Risk Doesn’t Mean No Risk”: The Making of Lesbian Safer-Sex and the Creation of New (S)experts in the Late Twentieth Century
Authors: Elizabeth Hannah J.
Published: December 2024

This chapter explores the creation and dissemination of lesbian safer-sex as an idea and set of practices between 1980 and 2000 in Britain. The chapter considers how lesbian safer-sex was defined, discussed, and practiced by drawing on textual sources which disseminated and contested new knowledge about sex and risk to women who had sex with women in Britain during the AIDS crisis. It is argued that lesbian safer-sex constituted a set of practices and knowledges designed by queer women responding directly to perceived risks by drawing on personal experiences, a variety of expertise, and the transatlantic exchange of queer health advice. The chapter interrogates  who these “experts” were, where their expertise came from, how they defined safer-sex, and how these definitions were adapted and resisted across the late twentieth century, resulting in plurality and ambivalence which persists to this day. In doing so, the chapter tracks the emergence of the dental dam as both an object and signifier of lesbian safer-sex as a set of practices, and a site of expertise which transgressed borders, national, personal, and political.
Childminders and the Limits of Mothering as Experiential Expertise, England c. 1948–2000
Authors: Davis Angela
Published: December 2024

This chapter will explore how childminders were seen as experts in the care of young children. Focusing on three key pieces of legislation—the Nurseries and Child-Minders Regulation Act (1948), the Health Service and Public Health Act (1968) and the Children Act (1989)—it will trace the ways in which their experiential expertise was constructed and the limits of their characterisation as experts. The portrayal of childminders also reveals wider concerns about gender, class and race as they often intersected in the figure of the childminder and her clients. The chapter will therefore explore whether the experiential expertise of all childminders (and the mothers who employed them) was viewed equally. Recent research has explored how the growing number of working married women encouraged debate over how their employment and domestic responsibilities should best be combined. Yet childminders have rarely been written about within historical scholarship. Based on an analysis of parliamentary papers, medical and sociological literature and press reports, this article will therefore add to existing scholarship by focusing on childminders themselves and exploring the notion of childminders’ status as experts in the care of young children.
“Daddy Knows Best”: Professionalism, Paternalism and the State in Mid-Twentieth-Century British Child Diswelfare Experiences
Authors: Lambert Michael
Published: December 2024

This chapter argues that disclosures made during successive inquiries into historical child and family abuse challenge existing understanding of state power in mid-twentieth-century Britain. By foregrounding lived experience and surfacing omission and commission by officials, inquiries have exposed the limits of technocratic expertise and narratives of professional authority. Yet such narratives remain foundational to social policy teleology and historical social work identity associated with the inexorable rise of the social democratic welfare state; they become increasingly seductive under the shadow of their neoliberal decline. Such actions constitute a diswelfare; what Richard Titmuss terms social losses against aggregate welfare gains. This diswelfare is compounded by the voices of those affected, children, being disregarded by the perpetrator: the state. The child welfare state had little consideration for what Robert Pinker considers to be their subjective state of welfare. Barbara Wootton succinctly captured the gendered infantilising logic of this paternal power within prevailing social service logics: “Be quiet dear, daddy knows best”. Ultimately, the chapter shows that lived experiences of welfare state failure requires historians to foreground the coercive power of the state, rather than the redistribution of welfare, in our understanding of the mid-twentieth-century British child welfare state.
Fire, Fairs, and Dragonflies: The Writings of Gifted Children and Age-Bound Expertise
Authors: Crane Jennifer
Published: December 2024

This chapter uses children’s writings to argue that age must be considered as a hugely limiting modifier of experiential expertise; of how it was lived and felt, and how it could be used. Despite substantive policy and media interest in gifted children in the mid-to-late twentieth century, gifted children’s testimonies were typically published only when conforming to specific visions of the appropriate precocious child. Nonetheless, the chapter also argues, gifted young people did exert expertise within voluntary spaces that were meaningful to them. Many young people enjoyed participating in these spaces, despite their limited influence. Others used these spaces to experiment with lively written critique of adult authority. Linking to this collection’s central framing, then, this chapter shows that young people labelled “gifted” were able to “fare well” within a broader “state of welfare”, even if their specific needs were not always catered for in the institutions of the “welfare state”. Yet the chapter shows, also, that the holding of experiential expertise did not guarantee that children could “fare well”; many found this expertise a burden, rejected it, or sought to offer themselves “self-care” while negotiating their distinct new identity as “gifted”.
Claiming and Curating Experiential Expertise at the Children’s Telephone Helpline, Childline UK, 1986–2006
Authors: Colpus Eve
Published: December 2024

This chapter considers the experiential expertise of children and young people through a case study of the children’s telephone helpline, ChildLine UK. ChildLine was launched in 1986 as the first nationwide telephone helpline for “children in trouble or danger”. Initially offering a service to listen to children’s needs and problems, it developed as a lobbying body for policy change around children’s welfare. Reading organisational literature alongside evidence of ChildLine’s reception amongst policy-makers, practitioners, and children, the chapter offers an innovative methodological approach to examine the communication and translation of experiential expertise about children’s wellbeing. It looks both at the representation of children as experiential experts by ChildLine, exploring the presentational strategies used within organisational publications to harness young people’s experiential expertise, and how the helpline claimed professional expertise in children’s wellbeing. This work was not achieved without resistance, however, and the final section of the chapter discusses evidence of children cutting across the organisation’s goals to represent children’s experience and experiential expertise. Children’s subversive acts, it is argued, show young people engaging with the helpline in order to articulate alternative ideas about the usefulness of the service within their own logics of fairness and wellbeing, which might be different to ChildLine’s.
Surgical Trauma Comparison of Inframammary Fold versus Endoscopic Transaxillary Approaches in Breast Augmentation: A 7-Year Cohort Study
Authors: Chen Zhaoyu , Qiu Zhao , Tong Jing , Yang Jie , Luo Chao , Jiang Wenbin , Wang Rongrong , Sun Jiaming
Published: December 2024

Background

This retrospective cohort study aimed to assess differences in surgical trauma between the inframammary fold approach and endoscopic transaxillary approach in breast augmentation surgery.

Methods

One hundred and ninety-four patients who underwent breast augmentation using either an inframammary fold or endoscopic transaxillary approach were enrolled. All procedures were primary and bilateral cases. Patients’ demographics and indicators, such as operation duration, postoperative volume of drainage, drainage duration, length of hospital stay, and postoperative pain scores, were observed and analyzed.

Results

One hundred and five patients underwent inframammary fold incisions, while the remaining 89 received transaxillary incisions. The operation duration was significantly shorter in the inframammary fold group than in the transaxillary group, while the VAS scores were significantly lower (p < 0.001). Similarly, differences in the age and fertility status between the two groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were noted in the scores of the remaining indicators (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

This research demonstrated that while patients in the endoscopic transaxillary group were typically younger, which is commonly hypothesized to result in superior results, the inframammary fold approach may offer a surgical option with reduced trauma and pain and concomitantly greater convenience and efficiency, yielding high satisfaction levels among Chinese women.

Level of Evidence III

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266
Recent Strategies of Oxygen Carrier Design in Chemical Looping Processes for Inherent CO2 Capture and Utilization
Authors: Kim Yikyeom , Kim Hyeon Seok , Kim Hyunjung , Ha Jeongin , Kang Dohyung , Lee Jae W.
Published: December 2024

Chemical looping processes are considered a promising pathway for the efficient production of various fuels and chemicals. Temporally or spatially separated reduction and oxidation reaction in chemical looping can offer various advantages such as enhancing energy efficiency, surpassing equilibrium limitations, and eliminating the need for separation. However, the efficiency of the chemical looping process highly depends on the performance of the oxygen carrier. Higher gas conversion can increase separation efficiency and higher solid conversion can reduce the amount of cycled oxygen carrier. The performance indicators are highly related to the thermodynamic properties of the oxygen carriers and their redox kinetics. This review introduces some key articles and recent achievements for the enhancement of such properties. The different research strategies are discussed for enhancing the performance of stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric oxygen carriers. Through the rational design of oxygen carrier material, an energy-efficient chemical looping process is possible.
Translational research in the generation of therapeutic medicine for wound healing: a review
Authors: Kumar Ravi , Kumar Vivek , Mohan Aditi , Gupta Garima , Kashyap Vineeta
Published: December 2024

Chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and pressure sores, are among the most difficult to manage. Despite advancements in medical science, key clinical issues remain unresolved, particularly in addressing these persistent and complex wounds. Chronic wounds fail to follow the typical stages of healing due to impaired activation of various biological pathways. These conditions underscore the urgent need for more effective therapeutic options, as current treatments often fall short in promoting complete healing. The human wound healing process is a complex biological phenomenon involving the simultaneous activation of multiple molecular and cellular pathways. We systematically inspected databases for studies evaluating role of different growth factors, stem cell therapies and regenerative or wound healing medicine in wound healing and tissue regeneration. Regenerative medicine has focused on wound healing because of the accessibility, structure, and regenerative potential of the skin during the healing process. Furthermore, in order to acquire successful market access and widespread adoption, the effectiveness of new technologies should be evaluated based on their outcomes and the economic impact on healthcare. To fully harness the potential of regenerative medicine and wound healing therapies, it is essential to conduct rigorous studies that establish the safety and efficacy of new treatments for specific patient populations. This review explores these challenges and emphasizes how regenerative medicine, with its focus on utilizing biological mechanisms to repair damaged tissues, presents a promising path forward. By examining the roles of various growth factors, stem cell therapies, and emerging regenerative treatments, the review delves into their impact on wound healing and tissue regeneration. Moreover, it highlights key molecular pathways and therapeutic targets that could be leveraged to improve outcomes, potentially overcoming the limitations of existing approaches.

Graphical Abstract
An in-vogue plant, Peronema canescens Jack: traditional uses and scientific evidence of its bioactivities
Authors: Shalihin Muhammad Irhash , Khatib Alfi , Yusnaidar Yusnaidar , Tarigan Indra Lasmana , Latief Madyawati
Published: December 2024

Peronema canescens Jack (sungkai) has been utilized to treat numerous medical conditions in the traditional healing practices of people in Sumatra and Borneo for generations. The diverse secondary metabolites in the plant give preliminary scientific evidence of the validity of its traditional uses and further studies have confirmed its various bioactivities. The plant’s pharmacological properties have been studied occasionally before 2020, leading to its antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and antioxidant activity discoveries. In 2020, sungkai was rumored to be able to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which made it gain popularity that changed the history of its pharmacological studies dramatically. Since then, research on sungkai has been pursued exponentially in more diversified and specialized bioactivities. Recent studies over the past three years revealed that the plant further has anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antidiabetic activities. Reports continue to emerge suggesting the presence of other sungkai’s bioactivities. A comprehensive review was presented covering the topic, starting from the discussion of traditional uses of sungkai to its bioactivity studies. The review is integrated with the key events of its bioactivity studies development in history and its link to the current studies. Most recent scientific evidence of sungkai bioactivities is discussed and critically analyzed to give insight into its future development direction. Additionally, the attempt to develop numerous derivative products from sungkai is also briefly introduced. Scientific studies evince that sungkai is a promising plant as a source of bioactive compounds that could be developed for modern medicine.
ON ULTRAPRODUCTS, THE SPECTRAL THEOREM AND RIGGED HILBERT SPACES
Authors: HIRVONEN ÅSA , HYTTINEN TAPANI
Published: December 2024

We start by showing how to approximate unitary and bounded self-adjoint operators by operators in finite dimensional spaces. Using ultraproducts we give a precise meaning for the approximation. In this process we see how the spectral measure is obtained as an ultralimit of counting measures that arise naturally from the finite dimensional approximations. Then we see how generalized distributions can be interpreted in the ultraproduct. Finally we study how one can calculate kernels of operators K by calculating them in the finite dimensional approximations and how one needs to interpret Dirac deltas in the ultraproduct in order to get the kernels as propagators

$\langle x_{1}|K|x_{0}\rangle $

.
‘So, what’s wrong with colonialism?’ – Understanding colonialism’s political, territorial and epistemic injustice
Authors: Saeed Raza
Published: December 2024

An (ongoing) interrogation of colonial wrongdoing is important for debates on decolonisation, restorative justice, racial and gender equality and global political and socio-economic equality. This article presents a theoretical study of colonialism’s legal-political injustices and aims to (re)turn the discussion on colonialism to the field’s most powerful insight, i.e. that of of epistemic violence and injustice. This article also suggests that the reach of this historical injustice went much further than the politics of autonomy, usurpation of territorial rights, political disenfranchisement and resource appropriation. To address the question of colonialism’s distinctiveness as a political mission, which has been discussed in recent debates within analytic philosophy, it argues that colonialism’s epistemic injustice, which denied the very existence and the traditions of the colonised, is the foundational and distinctive feature of colonialism as a political system and which drives its continued impact to this day.
Groundwater Responses to Deluge and Drought in the Fraser Valley, Pacific Northwest
Authors: Nott A. H. , Allen D. M. , Hahm W. J.
Published: December 2024

Groundwater level variations represent signals of superimposed physical processes, with memory. Groundwater level records are used to understand how aquifer systems respond to natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Here we analyze groundwater levels across the South Coast of British Columbia (BC) in the Pacific Northwest with the objective of determining groundwater responses to atmospheric rivers (ARs) and drought. An AR catalog was derived and used to associate precipitation amounts to AR occurrence. Droughts were quantified using dry day metrics, in conjunction with the standardized precipitation index. Historically (1980–2023), from September to January, approximately 40% of total precipitation was contributed by ARs. From April to September, more than 50% of days received no precipitation, with typically 26 consecutive dry days. We used the autocorrelation structure of groundwater levels, commonly used to characterize aquifer memory, to identify two distinct clusters of observation well responses. Cluster 1 wells respond to recharge from local precipitation, primarily rainfall, and respond rapidly to both ARs during winter recharge and significant rainfall deficits during summer. Cluster 2 wells are driven by local precipitation but are influenced by the Fraser River's large summer freshet which briefly recharges the aquifers, thereby delaying drought propagation. The results suggest that groundwater memory encapsulates multiple hydrogeological factors, including boundary conditions, influencing the response outcome to extreme events.
Mobile Bay Has More Branching Brooks Than Shown on Federal Maps
Authors: DeGraff Mark
Published: December 2024

A more accurate charting of the full extent of stream networks will help land managers better protect U.S. creeks and rivers.
Woody Cover Fuels Large Wildfire Risk in the Eastern US
Authors: Ivey Michaella A. , Wonkka Carissa L. , Weidig Noah C. , Donovan Victoria M.
Published: December 2024

Large wildfires are increasing in the eastern United States; however, what factors are heightening large wildfire risk remains unclear. Increases in fuel loads from woody encroachment and canopy infilling have been associated with increasing wildfire risk in other US regions. Understanding if and where woody cover increases wildfire risk can help direct proactive fuels management. We characterize multi‐scale changes in woody cover through time and assess the relationship between woody cover and large wildfire (>200 ha) occurrence in the eastern US between 1990 and 2020. We found a 37% increase in woody cover across the eastern US, with increases occurring in every ecoregion. The odds of large wildfire increased as woody cover increased in most central and southern ecoregions, where large wildfires were typically more likely in areas with high woody cover (70%–100% cover). Our findings suggest fuels management will be an important tool for reducing large wildfire risk.
Early–middle Permian Mediterranean gorgonopsian suggests an equatorial origin of therapsids
Authors: Matamales-Andreu Rafel , Kammerer Christian F. , Angielczyk Kenneth D. , Simões Tiago R. , Mujal Eudald , Galobart Àngel , Fortuny Josep
Published: December 2024

Therapsids were a dominant component of middle–late Permian terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, eventually giving rise to mammals during the early Mesozoic. However, little is currently known about the time and place of origin of Therapsida. Here we describe a definitive therapsid from the lower–?middle Permian palaeotropics, a partial skeleton of a gorgonopsian from the island of Mallorca, western Mediterranean. This specimen represents, to our knowledge, the oldest gorgonopsian record worldwide, and possibly the oldest known therapsid. Using emerging relaxed clock models, we provide a quantitative timeline for the origin and early diversification of therapsids, indicating a long ghost lineage leading to the evolutionary radiation of all major therapsid clades within less than 10 Myr, in the aftermath of Olson’s Extinction. Our findings place this unambiguous early therapsid in an ancient summer wet biome of equatorial Pangaea, thus suggesting that the group originated in tropical rather than temperate regions.
The role of oxidants in the activation of methane to methanol over a Ni–Mo/Al2O3 catalyst
Authors: Viswanadham Balaga , Dasireddy Venkata D. B. C. , Likozar Blaz , Valand Jignesh
Published: December 2024

Evaluation of different oxidant species in the partial CH4 oxidation to methanol using a commercially available Ni–Mo/Al2O3 catalyst.
Schedule optimization for chemical library synthesis
Authors: Ai Qianxiang , Meng Fanwang , Wang Runzhong , Klein J. Cullen , Godfrey Alexander G. , Coley Connor W.
Published: December 2024

Synthetic routes of a chemical library, represented by a reaction network, are used to create an operation network including constraints and precedence relations. The scheduler proposed uses the operation network to produce an optimal schedule.
Probing ionic conductivity and electric field screening in perovskite solar cells: a novel exploration through ion drift currents
Authors: Diethelm Matthias , Lukas Tino , Smith Joel , Dasgupta Akash , Caprioglio Pietro , Futscher Moritz , Hany Roland , Snaith Henry J.
Published: December 2024

This study introduces a new method to analyse mobile ion-related processes in metal halide perovskite devices, which reveals how ion conductivity determines electric field screening and provides new insights into the mixed ionic–electronic behaviour.