bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mediators of Improvement in TAVR Outcomes Over Time: Insights From the STS-ACC TVT Registry
Authors: Arnold Suzanne V. , Manandhar Pratik , Vemulapalli Sreekanth , Vekstein Andrew M. , Kosinski Andrzej S. , Carroll John D. , Thourani Vinod H. , Mack Michael J. , Cohen David J.
Published: June 2023

BACKGROUND:

Over the past decade, there has been substantial improvement in outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Many patient and procedural factors have also changed over that time, making it challenging to untangle the drivers of those improvements.

METHODS:

Among patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement from 2012 to 2018 within the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapies Registry, we examined the relative contribution of changes in patient factors, device modifications, improving experience/skill, and advances in periprocedural care to the observed improvement in outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Mediator clusters included demographics, noncardiovascular comorbidities, cardiovascular comorbidities, device-related factors, and nondevice-related procedural factors. Using logistic regression, we serially adjusted for the mediator clusters to examine the contribution of each to the observed improvement in outcomes over time.

RESULTS:

Among 161 196 patients treated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement at 596 sites, outcomes improved steadily from 2012 to 2018, including 30-day mortality (6.7% to 2.4%), 30-day composite adverse events (25.3% to 10.5%), and 1-year mortality (19.9% to 10.1%; all
P
<0.001). In sequential models, the unadjusted odds ratio for 30-day mortality was 0.82 per year (95% CI, 0.80–0.84), which was progressively attenuated with addition of each covariate cluster. Most of the improvement was explained by device factors and nondevice procedural factors. Results were similar for 30-day composite adverse events, although the observed temporal improvement was not fully explained by measured factors, suggesting improved technical skill as an additional mediator. In contrast to 30-day outcomes, each cluster of patient and procedural factors contributed similarly to the temporal improvement in 1-year mortality, indicating a greater impact of patient factors on longer-term outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS:

While US patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement have become younger, healthier, and lower risk over time, the most important factors contributing to improvements in short-term outcomes relate to advances in device technology and procedural factors, whereas changing patient characteristics had a greater impact on improvement in 1-year outcomes.
How Social Connection and Engagement Relate to Functional Limitations and Depressive Symptoms Outcomes After Stroke
Authors: Elayoubi Joanne , Haley William E. , Nelson Monica E. , Hueluer Gizem
Published: June 2023

BACKGROUND:

Stroke commonly leads to disability and depression. Social connection and engagement can be protective against functional decline and depression in the general population. We investigated the effects of social connection and engagement on trajectories of function and depressive symptoms in stroke.

METHODS:

This is a longitudinal study, which included 898 participants with incident stroke from the HRS study (Health and Retirement Study) between 1998 and 2012. Multilevel modeling was used to examine associations of social connection and engagement with changes in functional limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and depressive symptoms over time. Models controlled for age, gender, education, and race/ethnicity. Moderation analyses examined whether high social connection and engagement reduced depressive symptoms for survivors with high IADL impairment.

RESULTS:

Social connection and engagement were generally associated with fewer IADL limitations and depressive symptoms at the time of stroke and after stroke. For example, participants who felt lonely and did not provide help to others before stroke had more IADL limitations. Prestroke volunteering was associated with less increase in IADL limitations with stroke and increase in having friends and providing help to others compared with one’s prestroke status were associated with fewer IADL limitations after stroke. For depressive symptoms, participants who felt lonely and did not have a friend or partner before stroke had more depressive symptoms, and participants who had children residing nearby before stroke showed less increase in depressive symptoms. Moderation effects were not found for social connection and engagement on high IADL impairment and depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS:

Findings suggest that social connection and engagement may reduce the negative physical and psychological outcomes of stroke, both at baseline and after stroke. Efforts to enhance social engagement and diminish loneliness may both enhance population well-being and enhance resilience and recovery from stroke and other illnesses.
Modeling the Effect of Psycho-Socio-Economic Consequences of COVID-19 on Life Satisfaction: The Role of Deviation from a Balanced Time Perspective
Authors: Fedáková Denisa , Adamkovič Matúš , Loziak Alexander , Kačmár Pavol
Published: June 2023

This paper aims to study the role of deviation from a balanced time perspective in the broader context of COVID-19-related variables. We examined a structural model that depicted how the difficulty with adhering to COVID-19 restrictions and their psycho-socio-economic consequences were related to life satisfaction in a sample of 1,423 participants. The results suggest that the difficulty with adhering to the anti-pandemic measures was associated with increased loneliness, decreased contentment with the authorities’ management of the pandemic situation and a worsened personal economic situation. These factors were related to higher levels of COVID-19-related stress and anxiety and lower levels of life satisfaction. Importantly, deviation from the balanced time perspective was one of the strongest predictors of overall life satisfaction within the model.
The Bosnian War and Refugee Policy: Crisis Management and Migration Control
Authors: Lecadet Clara
Published: June 2023

Based on research in the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) archives in Geneva, this article aims to reflect, through an examination of UNHCR’s huge operation during the Bosnian war, on the major role played by the crisis paradigm in conflict management and related population movements, and on the construction and conceptualization over time of long-term forms of migration management. It analyses how the notion of “preventive protection” which emerges in the early 1990s illustrates a shift in the asylum regime, which concerns altogether the categories of its beneficiaries, the spaces, and the very nature of its application. The focus on humanitarian operations taking place as close as possible to the areas from which refugees are coming is at the origin of new patterns of emergency management which intend to contain and eventually hinder massive refugee flows and migration. This new approach of refugees flow was experimented during the Bosnian war; the UNHCR reflected on this experience and its learnings to build up long-term strategies for managing migration in a context of increased States’ hostility to the permanent welcoming of refugees. The continuity between wartime and peacetime for experimenting and enforcing new modes of migration management is emphasized, in order to show that the importance of the crisis paradigm symbolized by open conflicts and wars is thereafter used as a tool to manage migration flows in ordinary times.
Preparation and properties of double percolated co-continuous PC/PET/MWCNT/GNP engineering polymer blend nanocomposites
Authors: Zallaghi Maryam , Azizi Hamed
Published: June 2023

This study reports on the preparation and characterization of nanocomposites based on polycarbonate (PC)/poly ethylene terephthalate (PET) blend containing low amounts of hybrid of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) and graphene nanoplates (GNPs) by melt mixing. To use double percolation mechanism, at first a co-continuous polymer blend was prepared and the influence of nanofiller content on morphology, electrical conductivity, rheological and mechanical properties of co-continuous PC/PET blend was investigated. Blend containing 60 wt. % PET showed co-continuous morphology as observed by scanning electron microscopy and it was found that co-continuity remained unchanged by the addition of nanofillers. The direct current (DC) electrical conductivity results showed a low electrical percolation threshold around 0.5 phr. The results obtained from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed an increase in thermal stability and crystallinity of nanocomposites. By increasing nanofiller amount, the storage modulus, loss modulus, and complex viscosity of samples increased as an indication of the strong network formation between nanofillers and polymer chains. The rheological percolation threshold was also found in the range of 2.5–3.5 phr of nanofillers. The tensile measurements results showed that the addition PC to PET increases the tensile strength of PET.
A call for a reinvigorated protestant theology of nature
Authors: Biddle Mark E.
Published: June 2023

One can easily argue that Protestant attitudes toward a doctrine of the created order have permitted, if not exacerbated or even promoted, the environmental abuses that have produced the current climate that threatens human existence. An essential starting point for believers, individually and as members of the body of Christ, will be the recovery or construction of a sound theology of creation rooted in biblical tradition. This essay examines the deficit in Protestant thought in this critical realm by first tracing the history of Protestant attitudes toward creation as expressed specifically in a distrust of so-called “natural law”/revelation/theology (how we got here) and then by examining contemporary Protestant thinking (where we are), before outlining a modest proposal for correcting the deficit (where we can go).
Animal lessons: Understanding the gift of creatureliness in the company of all creatures
Authors: Skeen Judy
Published: June 2023

This article sets in context the contemporary conversation about humans relating to non-human animals and the larger ecosphere they inhabit. It explores the foundation for how humanity got to the current crises of human and environmental dis-ease as well as the debate over the role of people of faith, specifically Christians in the West, in the world as they experience it now. A survey of biblical material presents what might have been overlooked in the potential for learning from animals. The article explores new possibilities for experiential and intellectual learning from animals, attempting to glean avenues for human spiritual growth and sustainable life for all creatures.
A word from . . . Wendell Griffen: What will expositors do about this Jesus?
Authors: Griffen Wendell
Published: June 2023

Relief from the vast debt due to racial injustice associated with slavery requires prophetic intervention and interactions concerning reparations such as Jesus took with Zacchaeus. Those interventions and interactions require that prophetic people reject “rich ruler” religon, and not view the beneficiaries of the racial injustices associated with slavery as moral monsters incapable of repentance. The issue is whether followers of Jesus trust God to do through us concerning reparations for racial injustice what God did through Jesus with Zacchaeus.
The eschatological transfer of work in the Spirit: Further remarks
Authors: Weir Stuart C.
Published: June 2023

Eschatologies of work, even in the micro field of the theology of work, are in a minority. How human work has any relation to the coming new creation takes some careful theologizing. This article seeks to correct one of my own theological decisions from my main contribution to the field thus far, The Good Work of Non-Christians, Empowerment, and the New Creation. The scholastic move to designate grace in human beings according to their faith status in Christ is typical of the Western Christian tradition. Commensurate with this tradition, a previous argument for a pneumatology of work with a strong eschatological trajectory followed the Western tradition’s splicing of grace in two. This article heeds aspects of the Eastern Sergius Bulgakov’s critique of such a separation of grace and finds common ground in his universal pneumatology with its connectivity to “the final age.” Even with clear eschatological points of departure from Bulgakov, his account of human synergy with God is fertile ground for the eschatology of work.
Fear of Death in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Authors: Holmes Christopher T.
Published: June 2023

The fear of death is a topic frequently discussed in ancient sources, especially among moral philosophers. The mention of humanity’s enslavement to the fear of death in Heb 2:15 should be understood within this larger cultural and philosophical conversation. This article provides an overview of this larger discussion to understand better the reference to the fear of death in Hebrews. Along with this survey, the exemplary nature of Jesus’s death in Hebrews is decisive for understanding the fear of death in Hebrews.
Comprehensive Evaluation of the Behavioral Insights Group Rotterdam
Authors: Dewies Malte , Merkelbach Inge , Edelenbos Jurian , Rohde Kirsten I. M. , Denktaş Semiha
Published: June 2023

Behavioral insights teams (BITs) employ behavioral experts and policy professionals to collaboratively improve public policy. Most evaluations of BITs focus on the interventions that BITs develop, but not the functioning of BITs. Here, we report the first comprehensive evaluation of a BIT, the Behavioral Insights Group Rotterdam. We investigate how its resources were used, for what activities, with what outputs, and to which effects. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we derive nine propositions to describe and improve the integration of behavioral insights into public policy and administration.
HDL anti-inflammatory function is impaired and associated with high SAA1 and low APOA4 levels in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Authors: Azúa-López Zaida Ruiz de , Pezzotti M Rosa , González-Díaz Ángela , Meilhac Olivier , Ureña Juan , Amaya-Villar Rosario , Castellano Antonio , Varela Lourdes M
Published: June 2023

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a devastating disease with high morbidity and mortality rates. Within 24 hours after aSAH, monocytes are recruited and enter the subarachnoid space, where they mature into macrophages, increasing the inflammatory response and contributing, along with other factors, to delayed neurological dysfunction and poor outcomes. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are lipid-protein complexes that exert anti-inflammatory effects but under pathological conditions undergo structural alterations that have been associated with loss of functionality. Plasma HDL were isolated from patients with aSAH and analyzed for their anti-inflammatory activity and protein composition. HDL isolated from patients lost the ability to prevent VCAM-1 expression in endothelial cells (HUVEC) and subsequent adhesion of THP-1 monocytes to the endothelium. Proteomic analysis showed that HDL particles from patients had an altered composition compared to those of healthy subjects. We confirmed by western blot that low levels of apolipoprotein A4 (APOA4) and high of serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) in HDL were associated with the lack of anti-inflammatory function observed in aSAH. Our results indicate that the study of HDL in the pathophysiology of aSAH is needed, and functional HDL supplementation could be considered a novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of the inflammatory response after aSAH.
Composable energy policies for reactive motion generation and reinforcement learning
Authors: Urain Julen , Li Anqi , Liu Puze , D’Eramo Carlo , Peters Jan
Published: June 2023

In this work, we introduce composable energy policies (CEP), a novel framework for multi-objective motion generation. We frame the problem of composing multiple policy components from a probabilistic view. We consider a set of stochastic policies represented in arbitrary task spaces, where each policy represents a distribution of the actions to solve a particular task. Then, we aim to find the action in the configuration space that optimally satisfies all the policy components. The presented framework allows the fusion of motion generators from different sources: optimal control, data-driven policies, motion planning, and handcrafted policies. Classically, the problem of multi-objective motion generation is solved by the composition of a set of deterministic policies, rather than stochastic policies. However, there are common situations where different policy components have conflicting behaviors, leading to oscillations or the robot getting stuck in an undesirable state. While our approach is not directly able to solve the conflicting policies problem, we claim that modeling each policy as a stochastic policy allows more expressive representations for each component in contrast with the classical reactive motion generation approaches. In some tasks, such as reaching a target in a cluttered environment, we show experimentally that CEP additional expressivity allows us to model policies that reduce these conflicting behaviors. A field that benefits from these reactive motion generators is the one of robot reinforcement learning. Integrating these policy architectures with reinforcement learning allows us to include a set of inductive biases in the learning problem. These inductive biases guide the reinforcement learning agent towards informative regions or improve collision safety while exploring. In our work, we show how to integrate our proposed reactive motion generator as a structured policy for reinforcement learning. Combining the reinforcement learning agent exploration with the prior-based CEP, we can improve the learning performance and explore safer.
Evaluating the Market Accessibility of Inland Waterway Ports Using the State of Mississippi as a Case Study
Authors: Zhang Yuanyuan , Raber George , Tripathi Amit , Puryear Steve
Published: June 2023

Inland waterway transportation is an essential part of the waterborne transportation system that supports the Blue Economy of the U.S.A. The utilization of inland waterway ports determines the realization of the full potential of the Blue Economy system. Using data from the state of Mississippi as an example, this paper applied a modified gravity-based accessibility measure to assess the ease with which each Mississippi inland waterway port was able to reach port-related markets in Mississippi and its four neighboring states. The accessibility indices were based on highway-only and highway–railway networks, and they were analyzed to examine the advantage of using an intermodal network as opposed to a single-mode network. In addition, the ease with which each port was able to reach markets both in Mississippi and in several neighboring states was investigated to examine the impact of enlarging the market area on the competitiveness of a port in relation to its accessibility. Understanding the ease with which a port can reach markets compared with other ports can help the port authority or local agency to use its accessibility as a competitive advantage in the local, regional, or national economy and identify improvements or niche markets.
Timing of Transport of Patients with COVID-19
Authors: Hayes Jane M. , Richards Jeremy B. , Frakes Michael A. , Cocchi Michael N. , Cohen Ari , Cohen Jason E. , Dargin James , Friedman Franklin D. , Wilcox Susan R.
Published: June 2023

Rationale

The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of mortality or ECMO cannulation for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 transferred from sending hospitals to receiving tertiary care centers as a function of the duration of time at the sending hospital.

Objective

To determine outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19 who were transferred to tertiary or quarternary care medical centers.

Materials and Methods

Retrospective cohort study of critical care transports of patients to one of seven consortium tertiary care centers from March 1, 2020, through September 4, 2020. Age 14 years and older with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 transported from a sending hospital to a receiving tertiary care center by the critical care transport organization.

Results

Patients transported with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to tertiary care centers had a mortality rate of 38.0%. Neither the number of days admitted, nor the number of days intubated at the sending hospital correlated with mortality (correlation coefficient 0.051 and −0.007, respectively). Similarly, neither the number of days admitted, nor number of days intubated at the sending hospital correlated with ECMO cannulation (correlation coefficient 0.008 and −0.036, respectively).

Conclusion

It may be reasonable to transfer a critically ill COVID-19 patient to a tertiary care center even if they have been admitted at the sending hospital for several days.
“If I Don’t Do It, No One Else Will” Narratives on the Well-Being of Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Daughters
Authors: Bah Fatoumata , Kagotho Njeri
Published: June 2023

Immigrant well-being sits at the intersections of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender. Cumulative migration stressors, poverty, and socio-cultural factors have made female immigrants of sub-Saharan African descent especially susceptible to poor psychological outcomes. Furthermore, family characteristics including birth order, family size, and interpersonal relationships are known correlates of physical and mental health functioning. And yet, African immigrants are often aggregated into larger groups, effectively masking the groups’ unique historical and cultural characteristics. This phenomenological study examined how the identity of “daughter,” birth order, and transnational experiences inform the well-being of young African women. Participants ( N = 11) who self-identified as cis-gender females were invited for two cycles of in-depth interviews. These young women contextualize their identities around family and familial obligations. They struggle with the contradictions of the parent–child relationship and credit parenting strategies they sometimes view as problematic with their career and academic drive. Feelings of being overwhelmed by familial and social expectations are countered by excitement around their emerging liberated identities. These findings point to the need for inclusive spaces which consider the multiple identities they embody.
Examination of compressive and flexural behaviors of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene filled with hemp fiber particles
Authors: Ozenc Osman , Dundar Mehmet Akif , Sahin Davut Erdem
Published: June 2023

Effects of the addition of hemp fiber particles on the compressive and flexural behaviors of an industrially important amorphous thermoplastic, Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS), were investigated for the first time in this study. Particles with a size of 67–500 μm were first extracted from 10% NaOH alkaline-treated hemp fibers, and then incorporated into ABS at three various weight ratios (1wt%, 5wt% and 10wt%). Compression and three-point bending tests results revealed that both the compressive and flexural modulus of ABS increase with increasing particle content, but its compressive post-yield and flexural strengths decrease as enhancing particle content. The test results also showed that increasing particle content results in a significant improvement in the compressive modulus of ABS, but a slight enhancement in its flexural modulus. The notch-impact test results revealed that the impact strength of ABS is adversely affected by the incorporation of hemp fiber particles. The FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) analysis results indicated that mechanical bonding is formed between matrix and natural particles rather than chemical bonding. The SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) results put forth that the observed decrease in both the compressive post-yield and flexural strength is mainly due to the lack of strong mechanical bonding between ABS and particles. The three-point bending test data of the materials were satisfactorily reproduced using the linear Drucker-Prager material model in Abaqus engineering software.
Early Origins of Frailty: Do Later-Life Social Relationships Alter Trajectories of Decline?
Authors: Williams-Farrelly Monica M. , Ferraro Kenneth F.
Published: June 2023

Objectives: Social relationships are widely regarded as salubrious, but do they mediate the influence of childhood experiences on frailty in later life? Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, we assess the influence of childhood experiences and adult relationships on frailty trajectories. Methods: We analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the influence of six domains of childhood experiences and social relationships on frailty trajectories over 8 years. Mediation analyses were completed with structural equation models. Results: Risky adolescent behavior, chronic disease, and impairments during childhood are associated directly with higher risk of initial frailty, but not over time. More social roles and higher social support mediate the relationship between childhood experiences and frailty, and the effect of more social roles continues over time. Discussion: This study provides compelling evidence that supportive social relationships mediate the risk and severity of frailty in later life associated with noxious childhood experiences.
Overestimation of Balance Ability Among Older Adults at Risk for Falls
Authors: Ickert Edmund C. , Hughes Tiffany , Berg-Carramusa Cara A. , Dudash Shannon , Kerns Lucy
Published: June 2023

Objective: This study examined alignment of subjective balance confidence with Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries (STEADI) fall risk. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of 155 community-dwelling adults (60 + y/o) from 2016 to 2018 who completed a STEADI fall assessment. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square analysis, and biserial point correlations were applied. Results: Adults who overestimate balance confidence, 55.6% ( n = 50) reported a fall in the past year, 62.2% ( n = 56) were worried about falling, 48.9% ( n = 44) felt unsteady when standing/walking, and 70.0% ( n = 63) had a score of ≥4 on the Stay Independent Questionnaire (SIQ). Physical performance for these adults were mean TUG score 10.9s (SD = 3.4), mean 30 second chair stands 10.8 (SD = 3.5), and mean 4-stage balance score 3.1 (SD = .76). Discussion: Older adults are more likely to overestimate their subjective balance confidence. Individuals are equally likely to have reported a fall in the past year if they were “at fall risk,” regardless of their subjective balance confidence.
Convergence and accuracy problems of the conventional TCA model – Critical analysis and novel solution for crowned spur gears
Authors: Temirkhan Maksat , Amrin Andas , Spitas Vasilios , Spitas Christos
Published: June 2023

In this work the quasi-static model of the three-dimensional geometrical non-conjugate contact problem for two [Formula: see text] surfaces is studied. The set of contact equations is formulated by using a new parameterisation that enables to reduce the conventional system of five nonlinear equations with five unknown position and contact parameters to just two nonlinear equations with two changeable parameters. The novel model is computationally efficient and demonstrates increased accuracy and stability of the numerical solution, compared to the conventional model described by Litvin, which suffers from convergence problems and requires a high computational effort. The new model is implemented to spur gear with crowned tooth surfaces to parametrically estimate the susceptibility to diverse misalignments of the contact pressure, transmission error and path of contact.
Dynamic positioning for semi-submersible platform using stable fuzzy model predictive control
Authors: Wan Min , Du Jiadai , Yi Hao
Published: June 2023

More and more semi-submersible platforms are being employed in the deep-sea industry as a result of the offshore oil and gas industry’s rapid growth, which also raises the bar for the positioning capabilities of semi-submersible platforms’ positioning systems. Model predictive control is frequently used in dynamic positioning control because it is effective at addressing a variety of limitations. Yet, there are still issues to be resolved regarding how to enhance model predictive control’s robustness under various working settings and how to offer workable solutions for model predictive control under stable conditions. The approach of stable fuzzy model predictive control for the dynamic placement of a semi-submersible platform is suggested in this research based on this. This method increases the tracking accuracy and tracking speed of dynamic positioning by incorporating the T-S fuzzy algorithm into model predictive control and allowing the coefficients in the weight matrix of the objective function to be modified adaptively. In addition, the solution is limited to the feasible domain by the addition of the control Lyapunov function, ensuring the stability and efficiency of the entire control procedure. A semi-submersible platform’s fixed-point control and trajectory tracking can be accomplished using the proposed technique, which has better trajectory tracking effects than the conventional model predictive control, according to comprehensive simulation findings.
Participatory management effects on nurses’ organizational support and moral distress
Authors: Hasanzadeh Moghadam Mahdieh , Heshmati Nabavi Fatemeh , Heydarian Miri Hamid , Saleh Moghadam Amir Reza , Mirhosseini Seyedmohammad
Published: June 2023

Research question/aim/objectives

Providing care for hospitalized children causes moral distress to nurses. Employee participation in discovering and solving the everyday problems of the workplace is one of the ways to hear the voices of nurses. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of participatory management programs on perceived organizational support and moral distress in pediatric nurses.

Research design

A quasi-experimental study.

Participants and research context

The present study was conducted on 114 pediatric nurses in Iran. Data were collected using the Perceived Organizational Support Scale and the Moral Distress Scale of nurses. The intervention included implementing a participatory management program in three treatment departments that were randomly selected and it lasted 4 months. Participatory management was at the level of problem-solving with a focus on investigating, solving, and correcting issues and problems of work shifts and departments concerning the physical environment, equipment of the department, improvement of work processes, and team cooperation. In the control group, ordinary organizational approaches to problem-solving were used.

Ethical considerations

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad School of Nursing and Midwifery. Informed consent was obtained from the study participants.

Findings/results

Based on the results, both groups were homogenous before the intervention in terms of moral distress and perceived organizational support. The results showed that the moral distress mean scores in the intervention group decreased from 1.45 (0.52) to 1.03 (0.37) after the intervention. Also, the score of the perceived organizational support was 2.12 (1.2) increased after the intervention to 2.68 (1.10) in the intervention group.

Conclusions

It was found that the participation of nurses in the problem-solving process to solve daily workplace issues can be effective in increasing their perceived organizational support and reducing their moral distress.
Rethinking Mutual Aid Through the Lens of Social Reproduction: How Platform Drivers Ride Out Work and Life in Bengaluru, India
Authors: Medappa Kaveri
Published: June 2023

This paper presents an ethnographic account of the support and mutual aid mechanisms evolved by members of an app-based cab drivers union in Karnataka during the recurrent ‘waves’ of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also describes the app-based-driver-led infrastructures of support that were in place during ‘normal’ times, even before the pandemic. The paper deploys ethnographic methods and a feminist political economy lens to analyse the workings of platform capital and its processes of value extraction. While previous scholarship has presented platform workers’ everyday acts of mutual support as ‘resilience’ or as indicative of the ‘embeddedness’ of labour, this paper adopts an analytical lens drawing from Marxist and socialist feminist scholarship on social reproduction. I draw attention to the ‘productive’ work that everyday practices of support and mutual aid do for ‘technology platforms’ like Uber and Ola, and illustrate the mutual dependence and relation between the (capitalistically) ‘productive’ sphere and the reproductive sphere of life-making, and the heightened crisis of the latter engendered by newer modes of production. This paper reveals the gamut of unpaid and invisible labours which workers expend on an everyday basis and from which platform businesses extract value. It contributes to emergent scholarship on platform work and social reproduction feminism by pointing to spaces outside the home and institutions other than the family in providing reproductive labour that is generative of value for (platform) capital.
Assessing Shared Trauma Among Master of Social Work Students: A Validation Study
Authors: Henshaw Lisa A. , Flaherty Hanni B. , Auerbach Charles , Beckerman Nancy L.
Published: June 2023

Purpose: This study reports on the validation of the COVID-19 Quality of Professional Practice Survey (C19QPPS) among Master of Social Work (MSW) students in field training. Method: The C19QPPS measures the unique construct of shared trauma among social work practitioners related to COVID-19 but has yet to be validated with any population. To determine validity, data were collected from 145 graduate students and a model-generating form of structural equation modeling was employed. Results: The priori theory of three shared traumatic stress factors, Technique, Growth, and Trauma were confirmed. The best-fitting model consisted of three factors with acceptable fit statistics (χ2  =  66.45, p  =  .00; RMSEA  =  0.07, 90% CI [0.04, 0.10]; CFI  =  0.95; TLI  =  0.93). Discussion: Results validated the C19QPPS for evaluating MSW students’ shared trauma related to COVID-19. The findings support utilizing the C19QPPS to evaluate shared trauma among professional social workers.
On motivating irruptions: the need for a multilevel approach at the interface between life and mind
Authors: Cea Ignacio
Published: June 2023

In a recent remarkable article, Froese (2023) presents his Irruption Theory to explain how motivations can make a behavioral difference in motivated activity. In this opinion article, we review the main tenets of Froese’s theory, and highlight its difficulty in overcoming the randomness challenge it supposedly solves, that is, the issue of how adaptive behavior can arise in the face of material underdetermination. To advance our understanding of motivated behavior in line with Froese’s approach, we recommend that future work should endorse a multilevel pluralistic approach to causation and explanation in which motivations could genuinely play an irreducible role. Additionally, in line with the life-mind continuity thesis, we suggest that the best place to look for the interplay between motivations and nonmotivational physical, biological, and dynamical factors, may be at the level of the continuous feeling of being an embodied, living organism.
Latency Antibiotics in Preterm Prelabor Rupture of Membranes: A Comparison of Azithromycin Regimens
Authors: Day Kimberly N. , Vircks Julie A. , Henricks Christine E. , Reaves Kaci M. , Holmes Ashley K. , Florio Karen L.
Published: June 2023

Background:

Treatment with antibiotics at the time of preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) has been shown to prolong pregnancy. Due to the recurrent shortage of erythromycin, azithromycin has been substituted in the traditional regimen; however, there are little data on optimal dosing.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in latency from onset of PPROM to delivery in patients who received a single dose of azithromycin compared with a 5-day course.

Methods:

This was a single-center, multisite, retrospective, IRB approved analysis of patients admitted with a diagnosis of PPROM. Patients were included if rupture occurred between 22 0/7 and 33 6/7 weeks of gestation and received either a single dose or a 5-day course of azithromycin along with a beta lactam.

Results:

A total of 376 patients were reviewed with 296 patients included in the final analysis. There was no statistical difference in the primary outcome of latency days in patients who received the 5-day versus the single-dose course (4 vs 5 days, P = 0.641). There was a significantly higher rate of histologic chorioamnionitis in the single-dose course of azithromycin (46.4% vs 62.6%, P = 0.006).

Conclusions and Relevance:

There was no difference in latency for patients who received a 5-day course of azithromycin versus a single dose for the treatment of PPROM. A higher rate of histologic chorioamnionitis was observed in those who received the single-day course. Prospective follow-up studies are needed to confirm these findings.
How Inspiring! The Impact of Repurposed Design on Customer Inspiration and Repurchase Intention
Authors: Wu Laurie , Fan Alei , Wang Peihao
Published: June 2023

The uprise of responsible consumption is provoking hospitality and tourism businesses to adopt responsible practices such as repurposed servicescape design. Against this practical background, the current research examines the effects of repurposed design (vs. no repurposed design) on customer inspiration and repurchase intention. Study 1 shows that, when applied to the functional (not aesthetic) aspect of the servicescape, repurposed design (vs. no repurposed design) will render significantly higher levels of customer inspiration and repurchase intention toward the business. Study 2 results indicate that the functional servicescape bounded effect of repurposed design (vs. no repurposed design) applies only when the design source was supplier (not employee). Moderated mediation analysis further demonstrates that such conditional effects of repurposed design (vs. no repurposed design) are driven by the psychological mechanism via substantive CSR engagement attribution. Findings from this pioneering research provide important theoretical and practical contributions for CSR, sustainability, and responsible consumption.
A quantitative simulation and verification of the sustainable and low-carbon development efficiency curves for Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration
Authors: Zeng Peng , Huang Jingqiu , Tang Tingting , Huang Wanhua , Lin Jiantao
Published: June 2023

The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration (BTHUA) has experienced ecological and environmental issues due to its rapid development and expansion, including air and water pollution. Examining inter-regional plans for sustainable and low-carbon sustainable development is crucial and practical for achieving ecological balance among regions and fostering the BTHUA’s commitment to collaborative innovation. This study applies the three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to 13 cities in the BTHUA between 2007 and 2020 to compute the sustainable and low-carbon development efficiency (SLE) and index, and then constructs a fundamental model of urban agglomeration growth. In this study, MATLAB software was used to predict the general evolution trend and development curve for the BTHUA’s low-carbon and green economy development. The results of the study indicate (1) the efficiency of sustainable and low-carbon development in the BTHUA has a wave-like ascending tendency, generating an overall development pattern that is centred on core cities and eventually descends toward the periphery. (2) In recent years, coordination between sustainable and low-carbon development indices and development levels within BTHUA has largely improved; however, a changing nonlinear relationship exists between the sustainable and low-carbon efficiency index and development levels. (3) The BTHUA’s sustainable and low-carbon development curve displays a tendency that is consistent with the function model’s anticipated evolution trend.
Development of hybrid composite with natural fillers for mechanical property and machinability study
Authors: S P Jani , A Sujin Jose , C Rajaganapathy , M Adam Khan
Published: June 2023

The urge to build a more environmentally friendly future has motivated researchers to examine composites outside of synthetic fiber and continue to consider natural fibre polymer composite. This present research, the hybrid bio composite was developed by bio fillers and natural fibres. The preliminary investigation was done to examine the possibility of using natural fillers (palm and coconut shell) in natural fibre (hemp and basalt) reinforced polymer (NFRP) composite for manufacturing application. In that way initially mechanical (tensile and flexural) properties testing were done on four different combinations of NFRP by using palm and coconut shell particles, to their influence on mechanical properties (tensile stress 278 MPa and flexural stress 330 MPa). It was found that 5% wt. palm + coco shell fillers combination hybrid composite presented good results in mechanical properties. Then 5% wt. palm + coco fillers was added in the matrix phase of NFRP composite was developed and study the machinability properties by using Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM). NFRP machining in the relationships of material removal rate (MRR), kerf angle and surface roughness has been experimentally examined for various process parameters (nozzle pressure, distance stand and transverse speed). The research values for quality properties (MRR, Kt and Ra) were analysis-based on the trimming factors by developing the Taguchi method. The influence of optimized input process parameters on quality features were examined by utilizing experiential models. From this study, it is noticeable that, filler material in natural fiber composites reduces the kerf angle and the low and very high traverse speed leads the wide disparity in kerf inclination. For obtaining the good surface roughness and material removal rate medium traverse speed and medium stand of distance is the significant parameter respectively and moreover impact of jet pressure on surface finish is 3 times lower than the impact supplied to the surface finish by traverse speed
Research of composite resistance and design of the test matrix of low-speed impacts
Authors: Qiu Ju
Published: June 2023

In this paper, low-velocity impact resistance for composite laminates is introduced. The resistance function for the parameters of low-velocity impact performs 2-order Taylor’s series expansion. The orthogonal design and Latin hypercube design are presented and their strongpoint and shortcoming are also indicated. The low-velocity impact simulation model of the composite plate is established. The computed results are compared with the existing standard test from ASTM D7136M-05 and the simulation parameters of the model are modified. By calculating and analyzing typical honeycomb sandwich models with different configurations, the damage-area resistance is extracted from the results. The discrete and abstract variables are treated as continuous integer variables to fit the resistance formula of the composite material. Response surface approximation is used to form a hyper surface formula for parameters. The sensitivity analysis of it reveals that the two most influential factors, related to the resistance definition, which is convenient for the subsequent structural design of the composites. In contrast to the previously defined Taylor’s series expansion, the initial coefficients of the resistance formula are obtained. The resistance hyper surface function obtained from the simulation data is used to design the 7-point low-speed impact tests using Latin hypercube design, which employed to verify and validate the simulations, for purposes of saving on the cost of testing and improving the accuracy of analysis.
The Feasibility of Web-Based Working Memory Training in Patients With Cancer Attending Inpatient Rehabilitation
Authors: Engan Harald , Skanke Frode , Dahl Vegar , Eimhjellen Ryen Eli Astrid , Lindgren Kersti , Aasvik Julie , Sandmæl Jon Arne
Published: June 2023

Introduction:

Cognitive complaints are common late effects in patients with cancer, and no standard treatment exists. Recent studies with several patient populations have indicated that there is potential to improve working memory (WM) via web-based WM training. However, the feasibility of including web-based WM training as part of inpatient cancer rehabilitation, in combination with unprompted home-based training, has not been studied. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of including web-based WM training (using Cogmed QM) during inpatient rehabilitation and its subsequent unprompted completion in a home-based setting.

Methods:

Patients with cancer who self-reported cognitive complaints were instructed to complete 25 Cogmed QM sessions during their 3-week inpatient multidisciplinary cancer rehabilitation and subsequently at home after discharge from rehabilitation. The feasibility was determined by assessing the study recruitment, adherence to the WM training, improvements in training tasks (compliance measure) and patient experiences by individual interviews.

Results:

Twenty-nine (27 women) of 32 eligible patients (89.6%) started WM training, 1 declined participation and 2 patients withdrew before WM training started. Twenty-six of 29 (89.6%) participants adhered to the intervention during rehabilitation, while 19 of 29 (65.5%) also adhered to the subsequent unprompted home-based intervention. All participants who completed the Cogmed QM sessions demonstrated improvements in the training tasks, as defined by the Cogmed Improvement Index (MD = 24.05, SD = 9.38, range 2-44, P < .011). Interview data suggested that practical limitations, including a lack of time, technical difficulties, difficulties finding a suitable disturbance-free environment and low motivation were barriers to completing the training at home.

Conclusion:

The findings show that it is feasible to include web-based WM training during inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation for adult patients with cancer with cognitive complaints. However, patient adherence to unprompted web-based WM training after discharge from rehabilitation was not optimal. Thus, future studies should consider the barriers to adherence and the need for supervision and social support to reinforce home-based training.