bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of the Home Hospice Nursing Care Scale to Support End-of-Life Patients With Cancer and Evaluation of its Reliability and Validity
Authors: Yoshioka Saori , Murakami Shigemi , Oshita Reiko
Published: January 2025

This study aimed to develop the “Home Hospice Nursing Care Scale” to assess the care provided by visiting nurses to patients with end-stage cancer and evaluate its reliability and validity. A draft of the scale was created based on a descriptive survey conducted among oncology nurse specialists and certified oncology nurses working as home-visit nurses. A questionnaire survey was administered to 1,770 home-visit nurses working at 296 functionally strengthening home-visit nursing establishments. A total of 436 valid responses were obtained (valid response rate: 24.6%). Exploratory factor analysis identified 5 factors comprising 40 items: care that supports the values of the patient and their family members, partnership involving the patient and their family members to maintain home care, care that allows for living with loved ones until end of life, care that supports the daily lives of family caregivers, and care that reconciles the feelings of those involved. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the goodness-of-fit indices of the model were as follows: GFI = 0.846, AGFI = 0.828, CFI = 0.915, and RMSEA = 0.050. Cronbach’s α coefficients ranged from 0.77 to 0.93. Criterion-related validity was verified by the Healthcare Professionals’ Attitudes towards Terminal Home Care Scale and Difficulties with Home Palliative Cancer Care Scale. The reliability and validity of the scale was verified, which demonstrates its utility. Future challenges include analyzing factors related to home hospice nursing care and developing an educational program based on the future study. Key words: home hospice, end-of-life, cancer, nursing, scale development, reliability, validity.
Concepts of Suffering at the End of Life Amongst Emergency, Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine Physicians in Malaysia
Authors: Sinnathamby Annushkha , Ong Yun Ting , Lim Shu Xian , Hiew Aaron Wi Han , Ng Sing Yee , Chee Joyce Huimin , Tan Mark Kiak Min , Abdul Hamid Nur Amira Binte , Ong Simon Yew Kuang , Krishna Lalit Kumar Radha
Published: January 2025

Background

Palliative Care, Geriatrics and Emergency physicians are exposed to death, terminally ill patients and distress of patients and their families. As physicians bear witness to patients’ suffering, they are vulnerable to the costs of caring—the emotional distress associated with providing compassionate and empathetic care to patients. If left unattended, this may culminate in burnout and compromise professional identity. This study aims to provide a better understanding of suffering across various practice settings and specialties to guide the design of support frameworks for physicians and their patients.

Methods

From August 2023 to September 2024, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen Palliative Care, 12 Geriatrics and 13 Emergency physicians from various hospitals in Malaysia. Interview transcripts were analyzed using both inductive and deductive qualitative analyses.

Results

Data analysis revealed three key domains: (1) living and dying well, (2) definition of suffering, and (3) impact of patient suffering on physicians.

Conclusion

Physicians’ concepts of a good life and death frame their notions of suffering beyond the antithesis of a good life. Suffering is found to be distress at a loss of control, independence and dignity, alongside the presence of physical, emotional and existential distress. Witnessing patient suffering predisposes to physician suffering as they question their goals and roles in patient care. Our findings underscore the need for host organizations, hospitals and clinical departments to invest more in the care of their physicians. We believe these findings ought to be applicable to many resource-limited nations and other health care professionals beyond Malaysian shores.
Two-Year Progressive Cranial Changes Following the Melbourne Technique for Sagittal Craniosynostosis
Authors: Harrison Lucas M. , Prezelski Kayla , Hallac Rami R. , Kane Alex A. , Sanati-Mehrizy Paymon
Published: January 2025

Objective

The Melbourne technique for total cranial vault remodeling aims to address all aspects of scaphocephaly in sagittal craniosynostosis. These features include anterior–posterior excessive length, anteriorly displaced vertex position, frontal bossing, vertex narrowing, and occipital bulleting. This study aimed to determine the progressive cranial changes that occur following the Melbourne technique for sagittal craniosynostosis.

Design

Retrospective review of 3-dimensional images collected preoperatively and postoperatively at 3 weeks, 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years.

Setting

Tertiary care pediatric institution.

Participants

Twenty-five patients with sagittal craniosynostosis.

Interventions

The Melbourne technique for total cranial vault remodeling.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Head circumference, cephalic index, frontal bossing index, occipital bulleting index, vertex narrowing index, and vertex-nasion-opisthocranion (VNO) angle were evaluated.

Results

The cephalic index significantly increased postoperatively ( P = .04) with a subsequent relapse at 3 months followed by progressively increased growth. The frontal bossing index significantly decreased postoperatively ( P = .02) with a progressive decrease. The occipital bullet index had a relative decline postoperatively with relapse at 3 months, followed by a progressive decrease. The vertex narrowing index significantly decreased postoperatively ( P < .001), with a plateau and slight relapse. The VNO angle showed a relative decline over time with a significant decrease by 1 year of age ( P = .002).

Conclusions

The Melbourne technique improved the cephalic index, frontal bossing, vertex narrowing, occipital bulleting, and vertex positioning at 2 years of age. Cephalic index and occipital bulleting showed slight relapse at 3 months, followed by progressive improvement over time.
EXPRESS: Corporate Sociopolitical Activism and Language Strategies for Mitigating Animosity in a Host Country
Authors: Gong Yongzhi , Tang Xiaofei , Chang En-Chung , Wan Fang
Published: January 2025

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly engaging in corporate sociopolitical activism (CSA) on geopolitical disputes, which may elicit animosity among misaligned consumers in a host country. Building on signaling theory, the authors suggest MNCs using language strategies to mitigate consumer animosity. Across four experimental studies, the authors demonstrate that in the context of CSA, MNCs using rationalized (vs. evasive) language can mitigate host-country consumer animosity, as consumers perceive MNCs to be more authentic. However, the mitigating effect of rationalized (vs. evasive) language is significant only when MNCs respond quickly. The framework and findings contribute to the literature on CSA and provide practical implications for corporations using language to manage CSA.
But Is That Mediator Really the Cause? An Experiment Manipulating Persuasion Knowledge as a Mediator for How Adaptive Frames Create Positive Responses to Climate Change News
Authors: Coleman Renita , Thorson Esther , Chen Weiyue
Published: January 2025

Most mediation studies do not provide evidence that mediators are causal, only correlational. This is one of the first in the field to use concurrent double randomization to test causality of a mediator. Previous research showed adaptive frames that do not trigger skeptics’ anti-climate change schemas improve responses to stories and identified the activation of persuasion knowledge as the mediator. In this experiment, persuasion knowledge activation is causal for two of three outcomes, but only correlational for a third. We also report an inconsistent mediation effect, whereby persuasion knowledge activation has a positive direct effect but a negative indirect effect.
Emerging Debates About Breakthrough Science: Understanding the Interplay of Values and Cognition in Shaping Attitudes on Human Brain Organoids
Authors: Villanueva Isabel I. , Eom Dayeon , Cate Ashley R. , Krause Nicole M. , Scheufele Dietram A. , Brossard Dominique
Published: January 2025

Human brain organoids (HBOs) hold the potential for major medical breakthroughs but raise ethical considerations that could intensify public scrutiny and regulatory challenges. This study explores the underlying value and cognitive pathways shaping public opinion of HBOs. Findings reveal political ideology correlates to moral opposition to HBOs, regardless of information intake. Religiosity predicts moral opposition, while deference to science correlates with support for HBOs. Moreover, risk-benefit perceptions shape public attitudes, but this relationship is moderated by deference to science. These findings lead to a better understanding of public opinion dynamics early in the issue attention cycle for emerging wicked science.
A review of condition monitoring in Francis turbines for predictive maintenance
Authors: Karna Aaditya , Chitrakar Sailesh , Neopane Hari Prasad , Dahlhaug Ole Gunnar
Published: January 2025

Hydropower is one of the important sources of clean energy, where the use of the Francis turbine is the most than any other turbine. During off-design operations, turbines undergo significant fatigue loading, pressure pulsations, and vibration, which can be detrimental to the plant if operated for a long period of time. This paper aims to provide a general overview of (PdM) predictive maintenance in the context of Francis turbines showing how different parameters like strain, vibration, pressure, and acoustic emission can be measured in real-time to understand the condition of Francis turbines. Since every fault occurring in a Francis turbine has its own characteristic signature, it can be detected and diagnosed before any mishap occurs. Any deviation in the monitored signal from the reference dataset could be an indicator of fault. Appropriate filters are used to remove any noise or disturbances in the signal coming from sensors. Preprocessed signals are observed in time, frequency, or time–frequency domain for the analysis. Machine-learning has also been applied in several studies for the predictive maintenance. Although predictive maintenance can be an effective method to optimize the cost of operation and maintenance of power plants, only a few cases of its application can be found in hydropower. Moreover, there are very few reviews available on the condition monitoring of Francis turbine. This study presents a comprehensive description on various aspects of the condition monitoring, with strong emphasis on the application of online condition monitoring.
Internet Freedom and Social Media’s Political Consequences: Political Nationalism and Authoritarian Orientation Among Six Asian Societies
Authors: Wu-Ouyang Biying , Hu Yang
Published: January 2025

While extensive research has explored social media’s political effects, less attention has been paid to its impact on authoritarian orientation, a crucial form of political attitude. The rapid evolution of social media has brought internet freedom concerns—including access barriers, content restrictions, and violations of user rights—into prominent focus. However, research examining how these aspects of internet freedom interact with social media’s political influence remains limited. The study addresses this gap by analyzing representative samples from six Asian societies (Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia; N = 5,115) through multilevel modeling. Using multilevel moderated mediation analyses, we demonstrate that social media has democratizing effects that are mediated by political nationalism and moderated by internet freedom. The study extends the debate on the political effects of social media to non-Western contexts, presenting an overall positive outlook on social media’s democratic effects in East Asian societies, while detailing how these effects are conditioned by the dual impacts of internet freedom in terms of content and user rights.
The impact of different cooking temperatures on the quality and moisture distribution of beef
Authors: Liu Jing , Gu Qichen , Huang Mingming , Guo Zonglin , Zuo Huixin , Mao Yanwei , Zhang Yimin , Zhu Lixian
Published: January 2025

The objective of this study was to investigate the water-holding capacity (WHC) and quality changes of beef during heating at specific temperatures (including 40 °C, 60 °C, 80 °C, and 100 °C), as well as the degradation of proteins and the distribution of water within the muscle at different heating temperatures. The experiment utilized the sirloin section from eight crossbred cattle of Luxi Yellow Cattle and Simmental breeds, with four sampling sessions, two cattle per session. Each cattle were divided into 30 beef sirloin samples, each weighing 150 ± 10 g, and each session was completed within 3 days with the following tests. Measurements included cooking loss and dimensional shrinkage, as well as quality indicators such as pH value, meat color ( L*, a*, b*, and ΔE values representing lightness, red-green chroma, yellow-blue chroma, and color difference, respectively), and texture. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and low-field nuclear resonance (LF-NMR) techniques were employed to assess protein degradation and water distribution in the beef. The results indicated that the increase in cooking loss and dimensional changes during heating may be associated with a reduction in nonflowing water. Moreover, the temperature range of 60°C to 80 °C is critical for these changes; within this range, myoglobin begins to degrade, and the values of L*, a*, b* as well as ΔE reach their peaks, thereby enhancing the chewiness and elasticity of the beef. Therefore, the changes in beef quality and water distribution at different temperatures are influenced by three states: the degree of muscle fiber contraction, the state of protein degradation, and the capacity for water migration. This finding provides a theoretical basis for improving beef processing quality and refining meat production processes.
Achieving cup target as per spinopelvic assessment is associated with improved THA outcome: a prospective, multicentre study
Authors: Verhaegen Jeroen C. F. , Innmann Moritz , Vorimore Camille , Merle Christian , Grammatopoulos George
Published: January 2025

Background:

Different methods can help to optimise sagittal cup orientation in total hip arthroplasty (THA) based on individual spinopelvic characteristics. This study aimed to: (1) assess how often combined sagittal index (CSI) and hip-spine-classification targets were achieved post THA; (2) compare anteversion/inclination between cups in-/outside optimal CSI zone; and (3) determine association with outcome.

Methods:

This is a multicentre, prospective, case-cohort study of 435 primary THA for osteoarthritis (53% females; age: 65 ± 12 years; follow-up: 2.4 ± 0.6 years) (58% lateral, 29% anterior, 13% posterior approach). No robotics or dual-mobility were used. Patients underwent spinopelvic radiographs to measure parameters including lumbar lordosis (LL), sacral slope (SS), pelvic tilt (PT), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic femoral angle (PFA), and ante-inclination (AI) on lateral spinopelvic radiographs. Unbalanced spine was defined as PI - LL ⩾ 10° (PI: pelvic incidence; LL: lumbar lordosis), stiffness as ∆LL < 20°. Optimal cup orientation was based on CSI targets: 205–245° for balanced spine ( n = 327), or 215–235° for unbalanced spine ( n = 108), hip-spine classification targets (±5°), and conventional inclination/anteversion (40/20° ± 10°) target. Patient-reported outcome was measured using Oxford Hip Score (OHS).

Results:

CSI targets were achieved in 60% ( n = 261/435), whilst 44% had cup position within hip-spine classification targets ( n = 125/284). Anteversion was higher among cups within CSI targets (26° ± 8° vs. 22° ± 10°; p < 0.001). Overall dislocation rate was 0.9% ( n = 4/435), without difference whether CSI targets were achieved (0.4% vs. 1.7%; p = 0.178). Postoperative OHS was better among those within CSI targets (42 ± 8 vs. 40 ± 9; p = 0.003) or within hip-spine-classification targets ( p = 0.028), but not according to conventional orientation ( p = 0.384).

Conclusions:

Awareness of adverse spinopelvic characteristics and using sagittal characteristics (especially CSI) can help surgeons to achieve optimal cup orientation, improving outcome and reducing dislocation risk post-THA.
The Association Between Occupational Smoke Exposures and the Prevalence of Eye and Respiratory Health Conditions Among Commercial Fish Smokers in Abuesi, Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Self-Reported Study
Authors: Owusu Charity , Ofori Albert , Adusei-Mensah Frank , Abraham Carl Halladay , Kyei Samuel , Quansah Reginald , Essumang David Kofi
Published: January 2025

Biomass smoke exposure represents a critical health concern, especially for those in occupational settings such as fish smoking. While substantial research has addressed indoor air pollution from domestic cooking, the specific risks faced by fish smokers have received insufficient attention. This study sheds light on the alarming relationship between smoke exposure and health issues among commercial fish smokers in Abuesi, Ghana. Through a comprehensive cross-sectional analysis involving 302 participants, we utilized structured questionnaires and expert eye assessments to gather vital data. Our statistical evaluation, including descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and chi-square tests, revealed a troubling prevalence of respiratory symptoms such as cough, asthma, and breathlessness, all significantly linked to prolonged smoke exposure. Eye health findings were equally concerning, with distant vision impairment affecting 26.37%, eye discomfort reported at 53.02%, and notable rates of cataracts (28.6%) and refractive errors (17.9%). For those suffering from breathlessness, asthma, and pneumonia, the data indicated that longer exposure durations correlated with more severe health outcomes. Specifically, subjects without breathlessness had an average smoking duration of 14.84 years (SD = 12.29) compared to just 10.26 years (SD = 11.15) for those with the symptom—a statistically significant P-value of .014. Asthma and pneumonia exhibited similar trends, highlighting a distressing reality: shorter smoking histories align with more severe health conditions, suggesting that such symptoms might drive smokers to abandon their practices prematurely. Given the serious health risks tied to traditional fish smoking practices, this study strongly advocates for the implementation of improved smoking technologies, better ventilation systems, and comprehensive health education initiatives. These measures are essential to safeguard the health of those involved in this vital industry and reduce exposure to hazardous smoke.
Taking freedom back from the ‘Performative University’ special issue revisited: A dead end or a pathway to taking freedom forward?
Authors: Jones David Raymond
Published: January 2025

In the summer of 2020, I led a guest editorial for a special issue on the ‘Performative University’, within the context of the Covid pandemic. The articles reflected on the state of our universities, which we framed as ‘Targets’ and ‘Terror’. The emergent response from academics at the time was more around indignation, along with a large dose of complicit resignation and some micro resistance. It certainly did not represent a form of individual and collective agency, which impacted on institutional and structural contestation of the performative practice of universities. This article will follow up on the special issue in a post-pandemic world, to explore what has happened to this academic response. Ensuing articles have illustrated a particular collective, caring form of critical scholarship, paving a path for ‘taking freedom back’. Moreover, what has emerged is the significance of pre-public processual and spatial turn of building a connected, political capital across institutions, disciplines, career stages and nations to then ‘take freedom forward’ in engaging other more intractable, non-academic actors within a public space. This offers some tempered hope in actively changing institutional practice, presenting us with a fundamental challenge to the bounded, managed and measured Performative University?
What’s next? (Un)learning nothingness and non-events in management education
Authors: de Vaujany François-Xavier
Published: January 2025

Most management and organization theories focus on the full existence and finitude of things. They deal with fullness and the full happening of things. Both organizing and managing mean fully producing something, doing something, or giving value to something. A good manager should follow what is happening and, even better, make things fully happen. But in everyday life, our managerial capitalism makes the world more and more impatient, problematic and incomplete, full of more and more holes, interruptions and voids that permeate experience. This is true emotionally (as frustration), narratively (as cliffhangers and suspense) and materially (as creative destruction scars our earth). In this essay for ML’s 55th anniversary, I argue for a process-oriented perspective on managerial emptiness and incompleteness based on three core interwoven negative processes–representation, narration and materialization. I explain how each of these processes contributes to a nexus of incompleting events at the heart of managerial processes. Paradoxically, I also suggest that different kinds of emptiness and incompleteness might be part of a more resonant experience of the world. Embracing patience, waiting, deep letting go, and the nuanced exploration of non-events within events could foster what Whitehead called a ‘culture of possibilities’. This perspective on possibilities – considering what might have been and what might yet be – could lead to a more harmonious relationship with nature. Finally, I encourage business schools and the corporate world to (un)learn nothingness and non-events in the context of the negative ontology discussed here.
Formative, not extractive: How critically reflexive research makes a difference
Authors: Hibbert Paul
Published: January 2025

What if the most important route for scholarly impact was not what we write, but instead who we are and what we do? And what if our being and doing are both shaped by our learning and formation as researchers? In this article, I explore how critical researchers, committed to reflexive practice in their work, can have significant scope for personal impact through three routes. The first route is through the work of education, which impacts directly on current and future practitioners. The second route goes by way a transformational approach to the work of reviewing and editing, which has widespread impact on the field. The third route is connected to taking on leadership roles, which allows reflexive researchers to show how their practice can inform and shape leader work in positive ways. Going further, I propose that personally relevant reflexive research provides the best formation for such routes to impact and highlight potential directions for such projects.
Irreverent and indisciplined: Outranking management learning amid planetary ruination
Authors: Vijay Devi , Nair Vivek G , Gupta Priyanshu
Published: January 2025

What is the role of management education amid ruination on a planetary scale? Quite significant, given that dominant forms of management learning fuel capitalism’s imperialist tendencies, with disproportionate consequences in the Global South. How, then, may we reflect on our positionality as educators at management institutions in India? We review how contemporary management education is infused with a desire for globally ranked excellence, even as it seeks “Indianness” as a form of recognition on the world stage. We focus on how this ranking fetish leaves academic debris in the form of predatory research practices, mimetic imperialist knowledge, socio-political irrelevance, and academic precarities. We consider the possibilities of being epistemically irreverent and indisciplined.
Caring states? Bureaucratic care, moral ideals and emotional dilemmas in British asylum and policing
Authors: Aliverti Ana Julia , Tawfic Simon
Published: January 2025

This article explores everyday discourses of care among public protection police officers and asylum-screening officers in Britain. Contemporary policy rhetoric of vulnerability and care commits these bureaucracies to relieve human suffering. Through ethnographic observations and interviews, this article reveals the conflicting and profoundly moral meanings that these officials attach to care, which they claim as a central inspiration and ideal of their labour. Officers invoke ideals of empathy, personalization and moral responsibility to navigate their roles – an attempt to redress what they characterize as a failing system and articulate their own aspirations about the state. Yet the gatekeeping and exclusion characteristic of bureaucracy undermines such ideals, bringing officials to confront the impossibility of their aspirations. Examining the moral tensions that ensue enables a reappraisal of dominant analyses of state power. Casting care as neither a unitary governmental logic nor a vehicle to legitimize punishment, this article redresses criminology's neglect of the ‘benevolent’ side of the state and illustrates the state's fragmented character.
Impact of TMDI on pounding mitigation of insufficiently separated buildings exposed to earthquakes with varying frequencies
Authors: Abd-Elhamed Ayman , Mahmoud Sayed , Sherif Alaa , Amin Haytham Essam
Published: January 2025

Sever damages or even total collapses were recorded due to collisions between insufficiently separated neighboring structures exposed to seismic forces. This research article aims to examine the effectiveness of Tuned Mass Damper-Inerter (TMDI) systems in mitigating seismic pounding between insufficiently separated buildings subjected to earthquakes of varying frequencies as low, medium, and high. The effectiveness of TMDI is examined for pounding mitigation of neighboring buildings through different scenarios, involving uncontrolled adjacent buildings, attaching one building with a TMDI system, and both of the adjacent buildings are controlled by TDMI. The governing equations of motion for the considered scenarios of adjacent buildings modelled as single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems to seismic force are formulated. The nonlinear viscoelastic model is incorporated to simulate the generated forces during collisions under earthquake motions scaled to have the same peak ground acceleration (PGA) level. The TMDI’s optimal design parameters are determined by solving a constrained optimization problem employing an evolutionary algorithm to minimize the displacement response. The obtained numerical results clearly indicate that, TMDI is an effective mechanism in controlling the induced displacements and mitigating the pounding forces between insufficiently separated buildings subjected to earthquake motions of different frequency contents. Further, TMDI is substantially effective in minimizing the Interaction when both buildings are equipped with the system. In addition, the frequency content of the applied earthquake records is an important parameter in dictating the response reduction.
“When pigs fly”: Resources swapping, affordable marketing, and the transformation of Douyin from short video sharing to online shopping
Authors: Wang Shuaishuai
Published: January 2025

With 600 million daily users in 2020, Douyin faced monetization challenges after increased advertising led to a decline in user engagement. The app pivoted successfully to “shoppable videos” and livestream shopping by operating as a retail infrastructure. This article analyzes this transformation, arguing that Douyin strategically limits data availability, creating an artificial scarcity for capturing advertising and infrastructural rents. This approach is sustained by Douyin’s carefully crafted vision for career and business success derived from data’s speculative value. The app established reciprocal relationships with music creators and later video creators and sellers through reward programs, contractual deals, and online workshops. However, success often remains unattainable due to the uneven growth between continuous influx of creators/sellers and stalled user growth. This disparity allows Douyin to incorporate paid traffic into its business model, perpetuating data’s manufactured scarcity and obscuring exploitative practices by making paid traffic an essential component for success.
Firsthand practice: Resolving structure and change in Japanese regional cuisine
Authors: Laurent Christopher
Published: January 2025

Cooking and eating are dynamic practices whose study is well suited to resolve the paradox of continuity and innovation. Culinary practices of the past must constantly evolve to remain relevant, while new ways of cooking and eating must inscribe themselves within the continuity of local habits to be widely accepted. In this article, I examine how residents of a tucked-away region in Japan negotiate the tension between tradition and novelty in their cuisine. In an area with few economic opportunities, this distinction affects the value of food. However, economic opportunity is not the only driver behind regional cuisine. Residents of this region draw on embodied dispositions to guide their culinary practices. More broadly, the body provides a privileged site to examine how structure and change can coexist with few contradictions.
A kernelized deep regression method to simultaneously predict and normalize displacement responses of long-span bridges via limited synthetic aperture radar images
Authors: Entezami Alireza , Behkamal Bahareh , De Michele Carlo , Mariani Stefano
Published: January 2025

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images retrieved by spaceborne remote sensing have recently gained significant attention as an affordable and effective solution to provide structural responses in terms of displacements from field measurements. Notwithstanding, this process may lead to partial/scattered information due to the limitations of SAR images. Furthermore, the effects of unmeasured environmental and/or operational conditions on structural responses and sensitivity of SAR-extracted displacements of full-scale structures like long-span bridges to these conditions still stand as major challenges. In this work, an innovative machine learning-aided methodology is put forward for handling these issues. The proposed methodology simultaneously predicts and normalizes displacement data within a two-stage kernelized deep regression (KDR) framework. The first stage involves kernelized regressor modeling and selection, exploiting Gaussian process regression and support vector regression. The second stage is based on deep regressor modeling via a long-short-term-memory neural network. The proposed methodology is shown to display high accuracy in prediction limited displacement data independent of unmeasured environmental/operational data. To concretely assess the performance of the proposed methodology, displacement responses from two long-span bridges and seasonal temperature records are considered. Results show that the approach is superior to available state-of-the-art techniques.
Addressing Period Poverty: Evaluating a Free Period Product Program in a University Setting
Authors: Morley Megan , Cava Isabel , Glass Novalee , Salwitz Elizabeth , Hughes-Wegner Alexandra T. , DeMaria Andrea L.
Published: January 2025

Period poverty, characterized by inadequate access to menstrual health resources and education, detrimentally affects school attendance, academic performance, and individual health. Recent studies have revealed nearly one-fifth of college-enrolled women experienced period poverty in the past year, highlighting the urgency of addressing this issue. Through our study at Purdue University, we evaluated the effectiveness of a free pad and tampon program aimed at reducing period poverty. Findings from our survey, which included responses from 766 university student participants, revealed many utilized the program due to not having products with them (43.2%). In contrast, others cited early or late periods (33.4%) and financial constraints (5.2%) as reasons for usage. In addition, 81.7% of respondents reported they were aware of the program’s existence, indicating a need for more tailored promotional efforts to reach the entire student body. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the program’s impact and provide actionable recommendations for improving accessibility and addressing the diverse needs of menstruating individuals within the university community. Leveraging these findings, university administrators can play a vital role in advancing menstrual equity initiatives and fostering supportive environments for all menstruators on campus.
Correlating interface pressure with strain-induced electrical resistance changes of smart knitted compression stockings
Authors: Saeed Muhammad Hammad , Abbas Adeel , Ashraf Waqas , Ahmad Hafiz Shehbaz , Hussain Muzzamal , Awais Habib
Published: January 2025

Flexible strain sensors in textiles are attractive for sensing human body posture changes. Knitted compression garments used in various medical applications can be a suitable choice for such smart applications. However, compression stockings haven’t been scientifically described for such applications. In this study, smart knitted stockings have been engineered using plain, honeycomb, and birdeye structures. Acrylic, lycra, and conductive polyamide coated with silver colloidal particles were used to architect sensors. The stockings were employed to develop a correlation between strain-indued electrical resistance variations with interface pressure between clothing and wearer’s body. Moreover, thermo-physiological comfort and serviceability characterization were carried out to ensure the comfortable wearing of stockings. Decreasing the percentage of Lycra and increasing the percentage of conductive yarn increased the electrical resistance variations with changing body circumference. Increasing the circumference of the fabric increased the pressure exertion phenomenon causing an increase in electrical resistance owing to the yarns being apart from each other. The comfortability of stockings had a parabolic trend, decreasing yarn accumulation enhanced the comfort i.e., air permeability was enhanced due to tuck stitch porosities in honeycomb structures.
Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery (HALS) as an Alternative to Unplanned Laparoscopic Conversion to Open Surgery (LCOS) in Colectomies for Acute Diverticulitis
Authors: Ghodasara Satyam K. , Elsawwah Jana K. , Hyon Stephanie S. , Flanagan Joseph S. , Stopper Patricia B. , Rolandelli Rolando H. , Nemeth Zoltan H.
Published: January 2025

Background

In difficult colorectal cases, surgeons may opt for a hand-assisted laparoscopic (HALS) colectomy or attempt a laparoscopic surgery that may require an unplanned conversion to open (LCOS). We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of these 2 types of surgeries.

Methods

Colectomies for acute diverticulitis with a HALS or LCOS surgery were selected from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) 2022 Targeted Colectomy Database. After confirming a difference in propensity scores between the cohorts, they were matched using propensity score matching (PSM) based on preoperative factors. RStudio was utilized for filtering and performing the PSM, while Minitab was used for statistical analysis.

Results

We identified 804 HALS colectomies and 284 LCOS colectomies. After PSM, both cohorts contained 284 patients. Absolute standardized mean errors for all matched factors were less than 0.1, confirming well-balanced cohorts. Following PSM, preoperative and perioperative factors were similar between both colectomy groups. Postoperatively, HALS surgeries had a shorter average length of stay (7.67 ± 0.38 vs 10.57 ± 0.41, P < 0.001) as well as lower rates of ileus (13.73% vs 22.54%, P = 0.007) and superficial surgical site infection (2.11% vs 5.28%, P = 0.045).

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first national database study comparing HALS and LCOS colectomies. After accounting for confounding variables, our PSM analysis showed the benefits of HALS colectomies for acute diverticulitis. Future studies may use single-center data containing risk adjustment profiles to create an even more uniform comparison.
Characteristics, Motivations, and Preferences of Healthy Volunteers in Phase I Clinical Trials in Sweden
Authors: Rein-Hedin Erik , Schultzberg Mårten , Sjöberg Folke , Huss Fredrik
Published: January 2025

This study examined the characteristics, experiences, motivations, and preferences of healthy volunteers participating in Phase I clinical trials in Sweden. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted among 135 healthy volunteers who had participated in at least one Phase I clinical trial from 2021 to 2024. Volunteers considered trial personnel, financial compensation, and regulatory review and approval as highly important factors in their decision to participate. Willingness to participate varied depending on trial characteristics, with greater reluctance for trials involving discomfort or perceived higher risks. Experiences, motivations, and preferences were comparable irrespective of age, gender, occupation, or income. Participants had disproportionately low incomes but reported financial satisfaction comparable to the general population. Unlike findings in other regions, there was no overrepresentation of migrants or the unemployed. Insights from this study can help guide trial design considerations to facilitate equitable recruitment and reduce the burden of participation.
Lack of Follow-Up in a Food-Insecure Population
Authors: Domangue Emma E. , Dubuisson Emily , Davis Greggory , Ardoin Tiffany
Published: January 2025

Literature regarding attendance in elective health programs, like the Geaux Get Healthy Clinical Program at Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL), is scarce. This study aimed to investigate reasons for the non-enrollment of eligible, food-insecure individuals from Baton Rouge in the Geaux Get Healthy Clinical Program at Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL), which is a clinic-based community program addressing food insecurity. A prospective qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured phone interviews with 19 participants screened for food insecurity within the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS) but who did not enroll in the program. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Demographic data were extracted from the Epic database and statistically analyzed. The participants, primarily African-American females, cited a lack of awareness as the main reason for non-enrollment. Other barriers included embarrassment, transportation difficulties, and competing priorities. This study highlights the importance of addressing barriers to participation in community health programs like Geaux Get Healthy. Enhancing awareness and mitigating obstacles can improve program enrollment and ensure better use of resources to positively impact the health outcomes of food-insecure populations.
Body mass index is similar to alternative anthropometric indices in evaluating plasma lipids as proxy for cardiovascular disease in women with previous hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Klepp Kristina , Staff Anne Cathrine , Sugulle Meryam , Moe Kjartan
Published: January 2025

Background:

Women with previous hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Overweight is a modifiable risk factor for both conditions. Anthropometric indices such as waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, estimated total body fat, a body shape index, waist-to-hip-to-height ratio, and index of central obesity improve estimation of cardiovascular death risk in the general population as compared to body mass index (BMI).

Objectives:

We aimed to assess whether alternative body mass composition indices associate more strongly with postpartum blood lipid levels, as a proxy for CVD risk, than BMI. We also aimed to investigate whether associations differ between women with previous normotensive or hypertensive index pregnancies.

Design:

In this cross-sectional study, we examined 296 women 1 or 3 years after an index pregnancy that was normotensive ( n = 116) or complicated by a hypertensive pregnancy disorder, including preeclampsia ( n = 133) or gestational hypertension ( n = 47).

Methods:

Uni- and multivariable regression analyses, adjusted for age and smoking, were conducted to evaluate associations between postpartum body mass composition indices and blood lipids. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

Median BMI and overweight rates were higher in women with previous HDP than in controls (23.9 kg/m2 versus 22.8 kg/m2 and 44.4% versus 30.2%, both p ⩽ 0.03). No body mass composition indices in any pregnancy complication group showed stronger associations with adverse lipid levels than BMI. However, women with previous HDP more often displayed significant associations between adverse body mass composition indices and adverse lipid levels, compared with controls.

Conclusion:

Alternative anthropometric measurements are not better suited to evaluate circulating lipids as proxy for CVD risk after HDP, compared to BMI. We hence recommend using BMI in CVD risk assessment after HDP due to its current widespread use and feasibility.
Breast health knowledge and awareness among stakeholders in women's rugby
Authors: Bibby K , Kenny IC , Cahalan R , Guilfoyle L , Comyns TM
Published: January 2025

This study interviewed stakeholders involved with women's Rugby in Ireland consisting of male and female coaches (n = 5), physiotherapists (n = 3), strength and conditioning coaches (n = 3) and female players (n = 3) on their knowledge and awareness of breast health issues. The findings indicate overall limited breast health knowledge and awareness amongst interviewees. Breast health issues can have potential future health complications such as fat necrosis or tissue scaring. The primary barrier to reporting breast health issues ascertained was due to the sensitive nature of the topic. The results further highlighted a lack of reporting pathways and treatment options for breast health problems among support staff overall. Additionally, this study indicates that current breast protective measures were not evidence-based, requiring further research. The findings underscored the need for targeted education, preferably by a female educator, on breast health issues for female players, coaches, and support staff, and tailored to stakeholder preferences to improve efficacy.
The learning situations and factors related to the development of expert Brazilian Judo coaches
Authors: Perondi Darlan , Galatti Larissa Rafaela , Detanico Daniele , Caldeira Mesquita Paulo Henrique , Franchini Emerson , Albuquerque Maicon Rodrigues
Published: January 2025

The coach plays a fundamental role in high-performance sports, particularly in relation to the development of athletes and the achievement of successful outcomes. Brazil holds significant relevance in international judo, considering the results obtained in international competitions and the Olympic Games. Understanding the development of expert coaches can contribute to the development of new coaches. The present study aimed to investigate the development of expert Brazilian judo coaches. A qualitative, retrospective case study was conducted using a semi-structured interview research design. Seven expert Brazilian judo coaches were interviewed for this study. The results revealed that several factors are related to the development of expert coaches, such as personal characteristics, formal learning situations, nonformal learning situations, informal learning situations, and support from family and friends. Among the findings, informal learning situations stand out, characterized by the highest number of learning instances, alongside the proficiency in English, and the importance of family and friends. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the development of expert Brazilian judo coaches is a complex process involving the combination of various interrelated factors.
Multi-level risk classification of distributed embedded software failures for autonomous systems
Authors: Gomola Alojz , Kristensen Susanna Dybwad , Utne Ingrid Bouwer
Published: January 2025

With increasing autonomy in systems, the role of software becomes more prominent as it overtakes human operator functions. The software in autonomy differs from automation with respect to functionality, implementation, and complexity, and software failures contribute to system and operational risk. Such failures, however, are often not sufficiently catered for in current risk assessments and mitigation processes, as they are challenging to identify and quantify, in particular, in the early conceptual design phase. Software reliability is not the same as software safety, as the latter encompasses the context and use of the software, as well as interactions and potential cascading failures to hardware, humans, and the environment. It is also difficult to investigate cascading effects on the system that may follow from software failures. The objective of this paper is to propose a novel classification taxonomy to support a more thorough identification of software failures for systems with different degrees of autonomy, as well as for software implementation techniques. The risk from software is interwoven into the design, development, validation, and verification processes, impacting safe operation. The proposed taxonomy can be used iteratively from the early design phase as the detailed design concepts evolve. The level of abstraction for system and software functions decreases with the design and development process. The validation and verification processes must ensure the software’s safety and reliability on different system abstraction levels. The software taxonomy in this paper includes relevant causes, consequences, and process relationships, and has been created based on existing industry classifications, research, and system models. A case study applying the taxonomy to navigation and collision avoidance functions on the subsystem level of a Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS) is performed. Software properties extracted from existing systems and knowledge are transformed into a functional model. Each software failure is then described in the context of the system level valid for the design, development, validation, and verification processes for MASS. The overall outcome of the paper may contribute to the safer design of systems through enhanced identification of potential hazards and software failures, leading to improved risk assessments and, as such, a better basis for defining more efficient safety requirements for autonomous systems from the early system development. Even though the paper exemplifies the taxonomy and classification by focusing on MASS, the work has relevance to other types of software-intensive systems.