bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Model for projecting the generation of used disposable diapers in the era of depopulation and aging in Japan
Authors: Kawai Kosuke , Oshita Kazuyuki , Kusube Takasei
Published: December 2022

Japan has entered a period of depopulation and aging ahead of any other country. One concern in an aging population is increases in the generation of used disposable diapers. The use of disposable diapers, which are largely composed of plastic, can be an important issue as we work towards building a carbon-free society and break away from using fossil-derived plastics. This study aimed to develop a model to project the future generation of used disposable diapers in each municipality in Japan through 2045 and to identify the effects on municipal solid waste (MSW) management. We revealed the per capita generation of used disposable diapers, distinguishing disposable diaper products, urine and faeces in an online survey of 2000 respondents. The generation of used disposable diapers was estimated to increase in general, but the amount was projected to decrease in rural areas where the population of elderly people would decline. The proportion of used disposable diapers in combustible waste was projected to increase by 2045 in almost all municipalities of Mie Prefecture. Based on the scenario in which disposable diaper products would become lighter in the future because of technical improvements, we concluded that the impact of the decrease in the lower heating value (LHV) of used disposable diapers on the incineration process cannot be ignored in the future.
Effect of increased temperature and leachate recirculation on biogas production and settlement of municipal solid waste
Authors: Mousavi M Sina , Eun Jongwan
Published: December 2022

This study evaluated the effects of increased temperature and leachate recirculation on volatile solids (VS), biogas, hydrogen sulphide (H2S) leachate quality (pH and chemical oxygen demand) and the settlement of municipal solid waste (MSW). Three large-scale tests were conducted with no leachate recirculation at 21°C, weekly leachate recirculation at 20°C and weekly leachate recirculation at 50°C. Leachate recirculation and increased temperature accelerated biodegradation and pushed forward the onset time (from 27 to 8 days). The increase of biodegradation activity was reflected in the change of biogas production, VS and settlement. Compressibility index [Formula: see text], increased from 0.71 and 0.77 at 21°C to 0.83 when the temperature was 50°C. In addition, leachate recirculation and high temperature reduced H2S concentration levels by inhibiting the growth of sulphate-reducing bacteria and leachate recirculation lowered H2S production by dissolving the high H2S presence. The results showed that MSW can have significantly changed mechanical and biochemical behaviour under different temperatures and saturations. The results help understand the processes in landfills for more effective short-term and long-term design and management.
Does Multicomponent Physical Exercise Training Work for Dementia? Exploring the Effects on Cognition, Neuropsychiatric Symptoms, and Quality of Life
Authors: Borges-Machado Flávia , Teixeira Laetitia , Carvalho Joana , Ribeiro Oscar
Published: December 2022

Objective

To explore the effects of a multicomponent training (MT) physical exercise intervention in the cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life of older adults with major neurocognitive disorder (NCD).

Methods

Quasi-experimental controlled trial. Thirty-six individuals (25 female) were equally distributed to an exercise group (aged 74.33 ± 5.87 years) or a control group (aged 81.83 ± 6.18 years). The Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive (ADAS-Cog), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and the Quality of Life – Alzheimer’s Disease (QoL-AD) tests were performed before and after the intervention.

Results

There was no clear interaction effect factor of intervention on ADAS-Cog (B = 1.33, 95% CI: -2.61 – 5.28, P = .513), NPI (B = −8.35, 95% CI: −18.48 – 1.72, P = .115), and QoL-AD (B = 2.87, 95% CI: .01 – 5.73, P = .058).

Conclusions

The 6-month MT physical exercise intervention did not present evidence of slowing down cognitive decline neither improving neuropsychiatric symptomatology, and quality of life of older adults with major NCD. Future studies with larger samples are needed to better understand the impact of physical exercise interventions using MT methodology on specific cognitive abilities, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life domains.
Structure of Local Political Power and Family Firms’ Concentration of Wealth
Authors: He Xuan , Zhang Yingyu , Xiao Weicheng
Published: December 2022

Wealth concentration is a common problem worldwide, and research reveals that wealth is most concentrated in family firm holdings. We examined the influence of local political structure on the concentration of family firm wealth and found that (a) changes in de jure political power (provincial party secretary turnover) temporarily inhibit family firm wealth concentration, (b) local de facto power offers strong countervailing protection against this effect, and (c) there is a U-shaped relationship between the tenure of the provincial party secretary and wealth concentration. This investigation deepens our understanding of the relationship between family firm political connections and wealth concentration.
Coordinated traction control of on-demand four-wheel-drive vehicles under complex start-up situation
Authors: Huang Changyao , Zhang Zhihuang , Xue Zhongjin , Wang Xiangyu , Li Liang
Published: December 2022

The traction control system (TCS) allows for better power performance and stability of the vehicle. On-demand four-wheel-drive (OD4WD) vehicles are expected to start up in complex situations such as only one wheel landing on the high friction road surface. Therefore, the TCS applied in OD4WD vehicles requires coordinated control of the engine, brake, and transfer case. If the controller is not well designed, the performance of the vehicle would decrease and the components may be damaged. Aiming to deal with the traction control problem of OD4WD vehicles, a coordinated controller is proposed in this paper. First, the models of the main components of the OD4WD vehicle are analyzed. Then, the coordinated controller is designed based on the active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC), the fuzzy controller, and the sliding-mode controller. The estimation and calculation methods of the necessary information are also designed. After that, vehicle experiments of the start-up process are carried out in typical situations to validate the effectiveness of the controller. Results show that the coordinated controller ensures power performance and improves the stability of the vehicle.
Mechanism research and structure optimization of brake noise based on contact overlap degree
Authors: Pan Gongyu , Luo Xu
Published: December 2022

Brake noise can endanger the psychological and physiological health of passengers, as well as cause noise pollution. Therefore, it is important to suppress the noise from the design stage of the braking system. Based on the establishment of a complex modal finite element model of the brake and verification of the validity of the model through bench test, the mechanism of “contact overlap degree” is proposed, that is, the influence of the brake disc-block friction contact overlap degree on the brake noise. In order to better simulate the real situation during brake friction contact, a face-spring distributed contact model of the brake is developed and the key influencing factors of contact overlap degree are selected. Based on the asymmetry and unevenness of contact overlap degree distribution, the structural optimization schemes of brake backplane and friction lining are proposed respectively, and the complex modal analysis is re-performed. The analysis results show that the noise incidence is reduced after structural optimization, which verifies the effectiveness of the above two structural optimization schemes in reducing brake noise.
Nonlinear H∞ path following control for autonomous ground vehicles via neural network and policy iteration algorithm
Authors: Xue Zhongjin , Cheng Shuo , Li Liang , Zhong Zhihua
Published: December 2022

This paper addresses the crucial issues of autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs), that is, smooth and accurate path following, especially when input constraints and external disturbances exist. A nonlinear H∞ control scheme is proposed based on the neural network (NN) and policy iteration (PI) algorithm. Firstly, a nonlinear system model for path following of AGVs is constructed, which takes vehicular nonlinear cornering behavior into account. Then, a nonlinear H∞ controller is designed based on the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) equation. Wherein, the established NN is leveraged to approximate the HJI equation’s performance function, and the PI algorithm is developed to learn the solution to the HJI equation. Finally, the convergence and closed-loop stability of the proposed strategy are demonstrated. Simulation results show that the proposed controller can significantly improve the response speed, driving smoothness and accuracy of path following in high-speed driving condition with strong robustness against external disturbances.
Secondary flows and losses in radial turbine volutes
Authors: Li Chao , Chen Hua , Wang Yu , Li Xiangjun , Xing Hui , Wu Guitao
Published: December 2022

Secondary flows had been found in radial turbine volutes in the past, but the flow mechanisms governing their existence are far from clear. This paper describes an analytic and numerical work on the mechanism of the secondary flows, and the effects of volute shape, A/R distribution, and turbine speed on the development and associated losses of the secondary flows in the turbine volutes. The results show that the centrifugal and viscous forces acting on the wall boundary-layer, as well as the diffusion of radial flow in volute’s cross-sections, are the main generating mechanism of secondary flows, but they are worked against by volute discharging. Compared with the rectangular and trapezoidal shape volutes, the circular volute generates stronger secondary flows, resulting in no hydrodynamic benefit over the other two volutes. By using the dissipation function to separate the secondary flow loss from the total loss in the three volutes, it shows for the first time that although the loss from secondary flows alone is small, the flows can push the main flows toward volute side walls thereby increase wall friction loss. Three twin-entry volutes with different aspect ratios of their cross-sections are also studied. The offset of the cross-section center to volute exit affects volute discharging and the aspect ratio impacts on the radial flow in sidewall boundary layers, they therefore influence the secondary flows in the volutes. The slope of A/R curves is found to correlate well to the strength of the secondary flows in the volutes, and the reason behind is explained. Turbine speed’s influence on the secondary flows is largely through flow compressibility, and if the speed change reduces turbine inlet Mach number, it will increase discharge flow angle at the volute exit, and so too the strength of the secondary flows, but the changes will be small.
A generalization of moderated statistics to data adaptive semiparametric estimation in high-dimensional biology
Authors: Hejazi Nima S , Boileau Philippe , van der Laan Mark J , Hubbard Alan E
Published: December 2022

The widespread availability of high-dimensional biological data has made the simultaneous screening of many biological characteristics a central problem in computational and high-dimensional biology. As the dimensionality of datasets continues to grow, so too does the complexity of identifying biomarkers linked to exposure patterns. The statistical analysis of such data often relies upon parametric modeling assumptions motivated by convenience, inviting opportunities for model misspecification. While estimation frameworks incorporating flexible, data adaptive regression strategies can mitigate this, their standard variance estimators are often unstable in high-dimensional settings, resulting in inflated Type-I error even after standard multiple testing corrections. We adapt a shrinkage approach compatible with parametric modeling strategies to semiparametric variance estimators of a family of efficient, asymptotically linear estimators of causal effects, defined by counterfactual exposure contrasts. Augmenting the inferential stability of these estimators in high-dimensional settings yields a data adaptive approach for robustly uncovering stable causal associations, even when sample sizes are limited. Our generalized variance estimator is evaluated against appropriate alternatives in numerical experiments, and an open source R/Bioconductor package, biotmle, is introduced. The proposal is demonstrated in an analysis of high-dimensional DNA methylation data from an observational study on the epigenetic effects of tobacco smoking.
MicroRNA Expression in the Infarcted Heart Following Neonatal Cardiovascular Progenitor Cell Transplantation in a Sheep Model of Stem Cell–Based Repair
Authors: Lopez Larry V. , Camberos Victor , Bailey Leonard L. , Hasaniya Nahidh , Ramos Christopher , Hughes Lorelei , Knox Cole , Kearns-Jonker Mary K.
Published: December 2022

Myocardial infarctions affect approximately 735,000 people annually in the United States and have a substantial impact on quality of life. Neonates have an enhanced capability of repairing cardiovascular damage, while adults do not. The mechanistic basis for this age-dependent difference in regenerative capacity remains unknown. Recent studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a significant role in regulating the regenerative ability of cardiovascular cells. This report defines the alterations in miRNA expression within the cardiovascular repair zone of infarcted sheep hearts following intracardiac injection of neonatal islet-1+ cardiovascular progenitor cells. Sheep were infarcted via left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. After 3 to 4 weeks of infarction, sheep neonatal islet-1+ cardiovascular progenitor cells were injected into the infarcted area for repair. Cell-treated sheep were euthanized 2 months following cell injection, and their hearts were harvested for the analysis of miRNA and gene expression within the cardiovascular repair zone. Ten miRNAs were differentially regulated in vivo, including miR-99, miR-100, miR-302a, miR-208a, miR-665, miR-1, miR-499a, miR-34a, miR-133a, and miR-199a. These miRNAs promote stemness, cell division, and survival. Several signaling pathways are regulated by these miRNAs, including Hippo, Wnt, and Erythroblastic Leukemia Viral Oncogene B (ERBB). Transcripts encoding Wnt, ERBB, and Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) were elevated in vivo in the infarct repair zone. Wnt5a signaling and ERBB/NRG1 transcripts contribute to activation of Yes-Associated Protein 1. MiRNAs that impact proliferation, cell survival, and signaling pathways that promote regeneration were induced during cardiovascular repair in the sheep model. This information can be used to design new approaches for the optimization of miRNA-based treatments for the heart.
Assessing the Effect of Mohalla Clinics on Healthcare System in Delhi: Evidence from a Primary Study in West District
Authors: Yamini  , Bodkhe Naresh
Published: December 2022

This research article is based on a field study conducted in the West district of Delhi during November 2021–December 2021. With the introduction of Mohalla Clinics in Delhi, the supply side of the healthcare system has been affected as those seeking primary healthcare have more choices of public health facilities. This could further affect the utilisation of other government health facilities such as government dispensaries and hospitals. Analysing these effects could be crucial for handling existing bottlenecks of the system such as overcrowding of public hospitals, poor quality of care delivered at public health facilities, etc. This study was intended to uncover the healthcare-seeking pattern of the localities in West Delhi and compare the findings between localities with Mohalla Clinics in proximity and localities without Mohalla Clinics. We also present a comparison of the utilised health facilities on three parameters of accessibility—availability, affordability and acceptability. The sampling of the primary survey was conducted by geographical mapping of health facilities using Qgis software. We find that while Mohalla Clinics are preferred over dispensaries, the choice over government hospitals is seen only in areas where the distance to Mohalla Clinics is lesser vis-a-vis hospitals. It was also seen that the clinics seem to have eased down the barriers to healthcare for females much more than for males. The clinics have fared well in terms of affordability and acceptability but more clinics should be built to scale the effects.
An Evaluation of the Competences and Attitudes of the Providers of an Evidence-Based Family Prevention Program
Authors: Sánchez-Prieto Lidia , Orte Socias Carmen , Pascual Barrio Belén
Published: December 2022

Evidence-based family prevention programs have become more prevalent in recent years due to their effectiveness. However, they also pose a number of challenges, such as controlling for possible biases associated with the profile of the program provider. This study assesses whether the professionals in charge of implementing the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) have adequate competences, and whether significant groupings can be identified according to their competences and attitudes to evidence-based practice. It analyses what training and occupational factors might influence their competence levels and attitudes. Through a cross-sectional study, an evaluation was made of the professionals in charge of giving the SFP ( n = 177; 84.2% females; mean age: 38 years). They were found to have sufficient levels of suitable competences, particularly in terms of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environment-related skills. From a K-means cluster analysis, significant groupings were identified, based on the professionals’ competences and attitudes to evidence-based practice. When the professionals in Cluster 2 (a higher level of competences and receptive attitudes) were compared with the other clusters, significant differences in two variables were found: (a) the receipt of prior training in the SFP and (b) specialization in family interventions. This finding is important because once the competences had been evaluated to control for possible biases, higher competence levels were shown to influence the program’s effectiveness. For this reason, it is important to identify possible factors that might foster better proficiency in the said skills. This could serve as a guideline for public health services, social agents, and institutions, offering them guidance on the type of competences and level of skills required by the professionals in charge of giving the program.
Living in the Shadow of Deportation: How Immigration Enforcement Forestalls Political Assimilation
Authors: Roman Marcel F.
Published: December 2022

Prior research demonstrates that acculturated co-ethnics of immigrant groups adopt restrictive immigration policy preferences akin to that of host country dominant groups. However, acculturated U.S. Latinxs still maintain relatively open immigration policy preferences despite their distance from the canonical immigrant archetype (e.g., Spanish-speaking, immigrant). To answer the puzzle, I draw on sociological perspectives and theorize that the increased societal integration of undocumented immigrants in tandem with an expanding interior immigration enforcement apparatus generates rebuff against Anglo political norms among acculturated Latinxs. Using 6 national Latinx surveys, I corroborate my theory and find perceptibly threatening immigration enforcement contexts forestall the adoption of restrictive immigration policy preferences via acculturation. Absent deportation threat, acculturated Latinxs adopt immigration preferences similar to white Anglos. I also replicate these findings for attitudinal dimensions outside immigration policy preferences. This paper suggests political assimilation is not preordained among acculturated immigrant co-ethnics in light of an unreceptive host society.
Adaptive inverse optimal backstepping control strategy for longitudinal vibration of high-speed elevator system based on fuzzy observer
Authors: Qiu Tian , Zhang Ruijun , Li Li , He Qin , Liu Lixin
Published: December 2022

To effectively suppress the longitudinal vibration of the car under the conditions of high-speed operation and emergency braking, and improve the ride comfort of the car system, this paper proposes an adaptive fuzzy inverse optimal output feedback control strategy. Firstly, the dynamic model of the high-speed elevator system is established and the nonlinear dynamic model is approximated by the fuzzy logic system, and the auxiliary system model is established. Fuzzy state observer is designed to estimate the unmeasurable state. Furthermore, an adaptive inverse optimal output feedback controller based on fuzzy observer is designed by using adaptive backstepping technology and inverse optimal control principle. The stability analysis shows that the proposed adaptive fuzzy inverse optimal output feedback control strategy not only ensures the stability of the car attitude of high-speed elevator but also realizes the inverse optimization of the target cost function. Finally, the acceleration time–frequency response analysis of the two typical stages of high-speed elevator uniform running and emergency braking is carried out, and the numerical results are compared with the linear quadratic controller optimized by stepping quantum genetic algorithm (GA-LQR) and controller based on the state-dependent Ricatti equation (SDRE). The analysis verifies the effectiveness of the controller.
Tamoxifen induced hands deformities
Authors: Bendarkawi Yasmine , Cherif Chefchaouni Ali , Lkhoyaali Sihame , Bechar Hafsa , Boudina Yassine , Abercha Youssef , Belahcen Mohammed Jaouad , Rahali Younes
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Tamoxifen is widely used for the treatment of hormone-responsive breast cancer. In this article, we report a case of a patient who developed hand deformities following long-term administration of tamoxifen.

Case report

A 57-year-old woman, followed for invasive ductal carcinoma of the left breast under tamoxifen for 7 years, presenting joint pain with deformities in her fingers.

Management & outcome

Following the appearance of the adverse effect, tamoxifen was stopped. A series of biologic and radiologic analysis were performed in order to explain the appearance of this event. A substitution treatment was discussed and a rheumatologist's opinion was requested.

Discussion

Tamoxifen appears to be associated with the development of inflammatory osteoarthritis resembling rheumatoid arthritis. Possible mechanisms of such an effect are discussed.
A review of medical devices used for safe chemotherapy applications: Focus on ONCOERA® IV GROUP products
Authors: Tekin Kemal , Karadoğan Muhammed , Kismet Kemal
Published: December 2022

Objective

The healthcare workers and the workers in the manufacturing industry of chemotherapy drugs are exposed to the “hazardous” effects of these drugs during production, transportation, distribution, administration, and disposal. In order to be protected from these harmful effects, personal protective equipment and medical devices providing safe applications are used. The aim of the present article is to review of medical devices used for safe chemotherapy applications in line with the information obtained from the literature.

Data sources

The international and national reliable sources, were used in the literature review for data analysis by using the keywords including chemotherapy, chemotherapy drugs, antineoplastic drugs, cytotoxic drugs, hazardous drugs, exposure to chemotherapy drugs, side effects of chemotherapy drugs, closed-system drug transfer devices, healthcare staff, needle-free devices, needle-free connectors, surface contamination, and phthalates.

Data summary

In order to minimize cytotoxic drug exposure, international standards were developed in the mid-1980s stating that all cytotoxic drugs should be prepared preferably in a ventilated biological safety cabinet, nurses dealing with the use of these drugs should use appropriate personal protective equipment, and in case of cytotoxic drug spillage, predefined cleaning and decontamination protocols should be followed. Although the risk of acute and long-term toxic effects in healthcare workers has decreased in recent years with these applications in the preparation and administration of cancer drugs, measurable contamination occurs in the workplace. A large number of medical devices have been developed for minimizing this type of contamination with chemotherapy drugs. In this article, these medical devices have been reviewed in detail under subtitles of closed system transfer devices, needle-free devices, and valve technology.

Conclusions

Until the results of the evaluations to be made in new studies prove the opposite, the use of these devices with additional protection measures taken, especially during the application of dangerous drugs, is of great importance in terms of patient and employee safety.
Hockey Dads, Party Boys, and Devoted Players? Digital Representations of Men and Masculinities amongst Norwegian and Swedish Ice Hockey Players
Authors: Tjønndal Anne , Wågan Frida Austmo , Alsarve Daniel
Published: December 2022

Men’s elite ice hockey is one of the most commercialised, popular, and patriarchal sports in the global North. With reference to the scarce corpus of ice hockey research from non-American countries, in this article we examine the online portrayals of men who play professional ice hockey in two clubs in Norway and Sweden. We pose two research questions and theoretically informed hypothetical assumptions associated with them that we evaluate with the overall aim of broadening the empirical scope of critical studies on men and masculinities in ice hockey. Using a quantitative content analysis, we compare and cross-analyse the online representations of men and masculinities by investigating the Instagram posts of 21 players from Frölunda HC and Vålerenga Hockey. The results demonstrate the importance of a situational and contextual understanding of hegemonic masculinity and broaden the scope of the “ice hockey playing man” that is often perceived as a narrow stereotype.
Dazed and Confused: Difficulties for Law Enforcement During Oregon’s Transition to a Legal Marijuana Market
Authors: Henning Kris , Matsuda Mauri , Stewart Greg
Published: December 2022

As more states legalize recreational cannabis, questions remain about the impact of this transition for police who continue to be responsible for enforcing laws governing illicit production and distribution of the drug, use of the substance in prohibited settings, and possession by juveniles. Legalization may also lead to additional responsibilities, including policing homegrown cannabis and licensed businesses involved in cultivating, processing, and selling the drug. Documenting the experience of law enforcement officers in states that have already transitioned to a legal market may provide important insights into the implementation of cannabis policies in other jurisdictions. The present study surveyed 301 law enforcement officers in Oregon three years after the state legalized recreational marijuana. Results indicate that officers perceive increases in many marijuana-related problems following legalization and most officers report that the state’s revised statutes are confusing and difficult to enforce. Implications for public policy are discussed.
The Practice of Post-vaccination COVID-19 Prevention Strategy Among Healthcare Professionals in Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Engdaw Garedew Tadege , Worede Eshetu Abera , Destaw Bitew Bikes
Published: December 2022

Background:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory illness first discovered and identified in China. Countries are taking precautions to prevent COVID-19 in accordance with WHO guidelines.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to assess the practice of the COVID-19 prevention strategy post-vaccination and associated factors among health care professionals in Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia, in 2021.

Methods:

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar. Data were entered into Epi-Info software, version 7.1, and exported to SPSS, version 23, for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. The crude odds ratio (COR) and the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI were calculated to determine the coefficient of the COVID-19 prevention strategy.

Results:

In this study, 68.7% (95% CI: 63.7, 73.8) of health care professionals had good practice of the COVID-19 prevention strategy post-vaccination. Sex (AOR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.08, 2.89), marital status (AOR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.09, 2.93), and good attitude toward vaccination (AOR: 3.24; 95% CI: 2.13, 5.48) were significantly associated with the practice of COVID-19 prevention strategies post vaccination.

Conclusions:

The practices of COVID-19 preventive strategies post-vaccination were good among healthcare professionals. Good attitude toward vaccination, sex (male), marital status (married) were factors determining the occurrences of COVID-19 preventive strategies post-vaccination.
Reification of infant-directed speech? Exploring assumptions shaping infant-directed speech research
Authors: Weinstein Netanel , Baldwin Dare
Published: December 2022

The seemingly ubiquitous tendency of caregivers to speak to infants in special ways has captivated the interest of scholars across diverse disciplines for over a century. As a result, this phenomenon has been characterized in quite different ways. Here, we highlight the shift from early definitions of “baby-talk” which implied that the nature of speech directed towards infants would vary in different sociolinguistic contexts, to later terms such as “motherese” or “infant-directed speech” (IDS) which came to refer to a specific set of features, some of which were argued to represent a universal, optimal and culturally invariant form of speech. These divergent conceptualizations of IDS thus reflect broader disciplinary tensions pertaining to the role allotted to cultural processes in psychological research. We hope to contribute to this literature by pointing to the complexity associated with identifying discrete categories of speech (i.e., baby-talk and motherese/IDS) within a complex multi-dimensional sociolinguistic landscape. We also highlight ways in which a lack of attention to the cultural context of infant-caregiver interactions may have led to biased characterizations of IDS. Furthermore, these biases may implicitly penetrate the nature of empirical work on IDS as well. We end with a series of suggestions for future directions.
Traumatic injury patterns in humans from large feline predators: A systematic review and descriptive analysis
Authors: Kirtland Jack , Tremoleda Jordi L. , Trivedy Chetan
Published: December 2022

Background

Traumatic attacks from large feline predators cause a small yet significant burden of disease in rural populations, are increasing in frequency, cause complex injuries and worsen human–wildlife conflicts. Data on the traumatic injury pattern found in victims of these animals is sparse, and this study aimed to collate and synthesise patterns of injury to inform the care and management of these patients.

Methods

A multi-ethnographic literature search (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other sources) was performed on 12/1/21 to capture all available data describing anatomical injury and the mechanism of injury sustained by humans from attacks by lions, leopards and tigers. Quality and bias assessment was performed using the Joanna Briggs Critical Evaluation tools.

Results

Of 5110 studies identified, 42 were included in this review totalling 84 individual patient cases. A total of 85% of fatal injuries were due to exsanguination combined with neuroaxis injury of the neck. All wounds were susceptible to tissue loss, infection and long-term neuro-vascular complications. Leopards injured anterior-midline structures of the neck more often than did lions and tigers, while the latter caused high-energy fractures. Time lag to treatment for survivors of wild attacks extended to multiple days, and occult injury was common.

Conclusion

In addition to the primary finding of complex neck injury, this study generated specific patterns of injury seen from the included species and highlighted occult injury and healthcare disparity as challenges in providing patient care.
Combination of modified Lindstedt-Poincare and homotopy perturbation methods
Authors: Alam M S , Sharif Nazmul , Molla Md Helal Uddin
Published: December 2022

Some strongly nonlinear oscillators have been investigated with the help of combined modified Lindstedt–Poincare and homotopy perturbation methods. The solutions are more accurate than those obtained by the modified Lindstedt–Poincare method. Moreover, the determination of solutions is simpler than usual homotopy perturbation methods. Some similarities and dissimilarities between the present method and other existing methods have also been discussed.
A field theory approach to international journalism: The case of Indian journalists in the middle east
Authors: Paul Subin
Published: December 2022

Interest in Bourdieu’s field theory has been steadily growing within the field of journalism studies. Today the application of this theory is not limited to the Global North; journalism studies scholars employ it—rather unreservedly—to study news practices even in the Global South. This leads to the fundamental question whether “Western” media theories have universal relevance. Contributing to this longstanding debate, this article demonstrates one possible way in which journalism studies scholars can “provincialize” or translate Western theories for contexts outside the occidental world: by opening them up to critical ideas from and interdisciplinary scholarship on the Global South. The article operationalizes this approach by using field theory to analyze non-Western journalism cultures. It examines the range of negotiations that Indian journalists in the Middle East undertake to produce vernacular news, revealing the need to not only interrogate conventional media practices but also scholarly lenses that often guide our understanding of mediated processes.
Study on observation method of injection pressure curve in high pressure common rail system
Authors: Ma Fukang , Li Liangyu , Pu Yu
Published: December 2022

The performance of the diesel engine was determined by the injection pressure of the high pressure common rail system. The observation method of the injection pressure curve was of great value in evaluating the operating conditions of the diesel engine. However, the observation method could make it impossible to directly observe the injection pressure data on a high pressure common rail system in operation. In this paper, common rail pressure signals and control pulse widths, which were easy to collect, were used as the basis for proposing a GRU (Gated Recurrent Unit) based model for the observation of injection pressure curves of high pressure common rail system in order to solve the above problem. The accuracy and precision of the model was verified by the experiments and compared with commonly used simulation models. From the results, it was concluded that the overall accuracy of the injection pressure curve observation was similar to that of the simulation model, but the accuracy was higher around the peak of the injection pressure, as well as the equipment requirement was low and the calculation speed was fast. The mean EMD of the curvilinear observation model of injection pressure of high pressure common rail system is similar to that of the 1D simulation model, with 37.88 and 33.62 respectively. The overall difference in injection pressure between the two models is similar with 53.62 and 54.23 MPa respectively. On the same computing platform, the average computation time of the test set containing five states is 0.0113 s, and the simulation time of each running state is 12951.6 s using AMESim software.
Bridge vehicle-induced effect influence line characteristic function based on monitoring big data: definition and identification
Authors: Dan Danhui , Kong Zhaowen
Published: December 2022

In this paper, an extended influence line parameter under the action of statistical steady-state traffic flow loads is defined, which is called the vehicle-induced effect influence line characteristic function (ILF). It is theoretically proved that this function can characterize the static characteristics of bridge structures, and can also be used to track and monitor the evolution of static characteristics of bridge structures throughout their service periods. On this basis, this paper presents a set of methods to identify this function from monitoring big data, mainly based on extracting the static effect of a single vehicle on the structure, including methods such as empirical mode decomposition (EMD), spectrum analysis, and mode reorganization. The set of methods only requires monitoring structural effects, without the need for traffic load information, which greatly reduces the requirements for the monitoring system, with simple implementation and high operability. Through the application of the monitoring data of the actual bridge, the results show that the recognition effect of the vehicle-induced strain influence line characteristic function ([Formula: see text]) by the proposed method is in line with the theoretical expectation, and it is suitable for the actual complex and changeable monitoring environment with good robustness. The identification technology of ILF proposed in this paper can be further used to study a new index system to characterize the static characteristics of the structure, thus opening up a new methodological field for the intelligent perception and diagnosis of the structure under the condition of monitoring big data.
Evaluation of molecular transport mechanism and interfacial interactions in doped ferrite rubber composites
Authors: S Hema , Nair Aravind , Sambhudevan Sreedha
Published: December 2022

Nickel ferrites (NIFs) come under the class of soft ferrites or transformer ferrites, which are highly demanding in the electronics industry and possess usual low conductivity and ferromagnetic properties, which results in decreased eddy current losses, good electrochemical stability, catalytic action, and abundance in nature. We discuss the synthesis, characterization, and impact of synthesized NIF fillers on the mechanical and solvent transport characteristics of rubber composites. Doped ferrite composites made of natural rubber and nitrile rubber were cured at various temperatures, and the solvent swelling properties of composites containing differently doped NIFs were examined in aromatic solvents like toluene. Properties of both rubber composites were examined, including their morphology, solvent uptake, diffusion coefficient, transport mechanism, and thermal stability. Natural rubber composites found to have better swelling properties than that of nitrile rubber composites. The solvent uptake was reduced with increase in filler loading also, the increase in sorption temperature increases the swelling rate in both systems. Theoretical calculations and modelling clearly state that the diffusion mechanism is due to the polymer swelling as well as polymer relaxation.
Mass Gathering Sport Events and the Spread of Viral Respiratory Infection: Japanese Professional Baseball and Influenza
Authors: Funahashi Hiroaki , Cardazzi Alexander , Watanabe Nicholas Masafumi
Published: December 2022

Using weekly-level influenza case data from all 47 prefectures in Japan alongside data from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league from 1999 to 2018, we examine the effect of hosting games on local influenza transmission. The results highlight that during the flu season, for every NPB game held at its home ballpark, there is an average increase of 0.18 cases per sentinel medical institution (SMI) between that week and the following week. The effects are robust to different specifications and placebo tests. This translates to about a 0.1% increase in the number of cases during the overlap of NPB and flu seasons.
The effect of inorganic antimicrobial agents on PET filament properties
Authors: Wu Chang-Mou , Chu Tien-Lai
Published: December 2022

In this study, a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) antimicrobial masterbatch containing silver, zinc, and copper antimicrobial agents was added to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and spun into an antimicrobial partially oriented yarn which was then texturized into a draw-textured yarn (DTY). Filtration pressure rise and spinning tests indicated that the silver antimicrobial masterbatch had the best long-term spinnability. In addition, the strength and elongation of the antimicrobial DTY were reported to match practical standards, indicating that PET containing a silver antimicrobial agent can contribute to a smooth spinning process. In an antibacterial test of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria before and after finishing, only the silver fabric maintained over 99.99% antibacterial effectiveness. Thereafter, the silver textile was tested for strains of influenza A virus H1N1 and H3N2 to evaluate its antiviral activity before and after dyeing; the textile containing 2% silver antimicrobial agent exhibited optimal antiviral effectiveness. In conclusion, the silver-containing fabrics exhibited long-lasting antibacterial and antiviral effects.
Synergistic Effect of HAD-B1 and Afatinib Against Gefitinib Resistance of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Song Si Yeon , Park Ji Hye , Park So-Jung , Kang In-Cheol , Yoo Hwa-Seung
Published: December 2022

In epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), acquired resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) leads to disease progression. Strategies to overcome the resistance are required in treatment for advanced lung cancer. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effect of afatinib and HangAmDan-B1 (HAD-B1) co-administration in gefitinib-resistant NSCLC using HCC827-GR, NSCLC cell line with gefitinib resistance, and the HCC827-GR cell implanted mouse model. HAD-B1 consists of 4 herbs, Panax notoginseng Radix, Cordyceps militaris, Panax ginseng C. A. Mey, and Boswellia carteri Birdwood, and has been reported to be effective in patients with advanced lung cancer in clinical practice. Our findings demonstrated that HAD-B1 combined with afatinib markedly inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis compared to afatinib monotherapy and HAD-B1 monotherapy. Inhibition of HCC827-GR cell proliferation by HAD-B1 occurred through MET amplification and reduced phosphorylation, and the synergistic effect of afatinib and HAD-B1 induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in HCC827-GR cells via the downregulation of ERK and mTOR signaling pathways. In hematology and biochemistry tests, HAD-B1 alleviated the toxicity of tumor. In conclusion, HAD-B1 combined with afatinib would be a promising therapeutic strategy for NSCLC with EGFR-TKI resistance.
Initial PROMIS Scores Correlate With Operative and Nonoperative Management of Lateral Epicondylitis
Authors: Qiu Bowen , Sholtis Connor , Ketonis Constantinos
Published: December 2022

Background:

Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a common source of elbow pain. Treatment options include physical therapy (PT), corticosteroid injection, or surgery, but the efficacy of each remains unclear. In this study, we compare Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scores between patients treated both operatively and nonoperatively for LE.

Methods:

Patients presenting to a tertiary academic medical center from February 2015 to December 2018 with a diagnosis of LE were identified. Those with initial and follow-up PROMIS physical function (PF), pain interference (PI), and Depression scores were included and stratified according to treatment. Single-factor analysis of variance testing was used to compare PROMIS scores between intervention types.

Results:

In all, 982 patients were initially identified with the diagnosis of LE and documented PROMIS scores. Initial treatment consisted of 266 patients receiving formal PT, 238 patients receiving injections, 20 patients undergoing surgery, and 296 patients receiving no formal treatment. At final follow-up, 235 (44.8%) patients had been treated with isolated PT, 237 (45.1%) with injections, and 52 (9.9%) with surgery. Patients who underwent formal PT had the highest initial PF scores when compared with all other interventions. Patients who underwent operative management had higher initial PI scores than those who pursued nonoperative management.

Conclusions:

Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System PF and PI may be useful for determining which treatment course patients suffering from LE are likely to pursue. Pain as a limiting factor in daily living may be a better indication for operative management as opposed to physical metrics.
A Comparison of the Rates of Postoperative Infection Following Distal Radius Fixation Between Pediatric and Young Adult Populations: An Analysis of 32 368 Patients
Authors: Albright J. Alex , Meghani Ozair , Rebello Elliott , Karim Omar , Testa Edward J. , Daniels Alan H. , Cruz Aristides I.
Published: December 2022

Background:

Infection following surgical fixation of a distal radius fracture can markedly compromise a patient’s functional outcome. This study aimed to compare infection rates in pediatric (5-14 years) and adolescent (15-17 years) patients undergoing fixation of a distal radius fracture to a cohort of young adult (18-30 years) patients.

Methods:

A matched retrospective study was performed using PearlDiver to determine the rates of postoperative infection following distal radius fixation. χ2 and logistic regression were used to assess differences in rates, while linear regression was used to analyze rates of infection over time.

Results:

In 32 368 patients, young adults experienced postoperative infection at a significantly increased rate (odds ratio [OR] = 1.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45-2.27). This trend was consistent among the male (OR = 1.96; 1.49-2.57) and female (OR = 2.11, 1.37-3.27) cohorts. In the multivariate model, the adult cohort remained at increased risk (OR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.04-1.89), with open fracture (OR = 4.99; 3.55-6.87), smoking (OR = 1.76; 1.22-2.48), hypertension (OR = 1.69; 1.20-2.33), and obesity (OR = 1.37; 1.02, 1.80) identified as other significant risk factors. There was no significant change in the rate of postoperative infections over the 11-year study period.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrated that although surgical site infections following distal radius fixation are low in patients aged 30 years or younger (0.97%), young adults develop infections at a significantly increased rate. This is important for surgeons to recognize when counseling patients on the risks of surgical fixation.