bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intravenous Thrombolysis Is Associated With Better Outcomes in Large‐Vessel Occlusion Requiring Endovascular Therapy
Authors: Isenberg Derek L , Herres Joseph , Brandler Ethan S. , Zhao Huaqing , Kraus Chadd K. , Ackerman Daniel , Sigal Adam , Kuc Alexander , Nomura Jason T. , Cooney Derek R. , Mullen Michael T. , Shahan Judy B. , Murphy Kathleen A. , Deaner Traci , Wojcik Susan , Gentile Nina T.
Published: July 2023

Background

Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and endovascular therapy (EVT) are both important treatments for large‐vessel occlusion stroke. However, it is still unclear how the timing of IVT, EVT, and the need for transfer of a patient to an endovascular stroke center for EVT affect outcomes. In this investigation, we study the interaction between IVT, rapidity to EVT, and need for transfer among patients with large‐vessel occlusion stroke.

Methods

This investigation is an analysis of the OPUS‐REACH (Optimizing the Use Prehospital Stroke Systems of Care–Reacting to Changing Paradigms) registry of patients with large‐vessel occlusion stroke from 9 endovascular centers in the United States. Using the database, we extracted baseline characteristics of patients, whether the patient received IVT, and time intervals in the patients’ care. Patient demographics and characteristics were compared between 2 groups using the χ
2
test for categorical variables and 2‐sample
t
‐tests or Wilcoxon rank‐sum tests for continuous variables. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine the adjusted associations of the variables with 90‐day dichotomized modified Rankin Scale outcome.

Results

A total of 1171 patients were included in the final analysis, and 38.9% had good functional outcome at 90 days. Male sex and lower initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score were nonmodifiable factors associated with good clinical outcomes. We saw no differences in outcome whether a patient underwent primary or secondary transport. On multiple variable analysis, the receipt of IVT was the only modifiable factor associated with good outcomes. We found no overall effect of time from last known well to EVT on 90‐day outcomes unless the patient received IVT.

Conclusions

In this investigation, receipt of IVT was independently associated with improved outcomes at 90 days with an odds ratio of 1.51. Neither shorter time from last known well to EVT nor direct transport to an endovascular stroke center versus transfer to an endovascular stroke center was associated with improved outcomes. We therefore conclude that prehospital algorithms must account for the timely administration of IVT over time to EVT.
Punishment before Trial: The Case for Reforming Pretrial Detention in Nigeria
Authors: Arinze-Onyia Chuka
Published: July 2023

In decent society, before a person is punished, they must have committed a crime. The laws of democratic countries prohibit punishment before trial. In Nigeria, that prohibition is contained in the constitution which grants everyone accused of crime, the right to a fair trial and the right to be presumed innocent until otherwise is proven. This paper tries to show that despite these constitutional protections given to all persons in Nigeria, pretrial detainees who are merely accused of crimes suffer extremely punitive conditions before they are subjected to a trial. This paper demonstrates the failure of the Nigerian pretrial detention system to protect the dignity of pretrial detainees whose guilt has not been proved before a court. At the end, this paper draws ideas from Ghana and United States of America, of reforms that could help Nigeria fix its broken pretrial detention system.
Right to Development Governance: A Policy Proposition for the Kingdom of Lesotho
Authors: Ngang Carol Chi , Shale Itumeleng , Yuni Denis Nfor , Tsoeu-Ntokoane Seroala
Published: July 2023

In this article, we advance a right to development governance policy proposition for the Kingdom of Lesotho. Contrary to the grim realities that portray Lesotho as landlocked and least developed, the country presents enormous potential, which with the correct policy choices, can radically transform the development landscape across the country. To harness Lesotho’s multiple development futures with strategic foresight entails blending futures analysis with scenario development modelling, absent which is bound to produce ambiguities in policy formulation. From a blend of perspectives in law, economics and political science, we inquire whether an alternative model could produce transformative development deliverables in Lesotho. Drawing from the modelling of three development scenarios, we argue in favour of the right to development governance model, which we find more pragmatic, with the potential to respond to Lesotho’s situational realities.
Aubrieta amasya (Brassicaceae, Cruciferae), a new species from northern Turkey
Authors: TUNÇKOL BILGE , AL-SHEHBAZ IHSAN A.
Published: July 2023

N/A
On the Observed Wind-Driven Circulation Response in Small Semienclosed Bays
Authors: Cáceres-Euse Alejandro , Morales-Márquez Veronica , Molcard Anne
Published: July 2023

This study analyzes horizontal and vertical wind-driven circulation responses in small semienclosed bays, the associated offshore dynamic conditions, and the relative importance of each term in the momentum balance equations using a multiplatform observational system. The observational platform consists of three ADCPs and a land-based radar monitoring the velocity field within the bay and in the contiguous offshore area. The wind-driven patterns in the bay can switch from a barotropic cyclonic or anticyclonic circulation to a two-layer baroclinic mode response as a function of the wind regime (its direction and magnitude). For the baroclinic mode, the vertical location of the inflection point in the velocity profile can vary according to the proximity of the boundary current to the entrance of the bay. The influence of offshore combined meteorological and marine conditions on the inner-bay dynamics is evidenced under moderate to strong wind conditions and is almost nonexistent under negligible wind. The momentum balance analysis as well as the nondimensional numbers evidence the impact of wind stress, coastline shape, stratification, and the nonlinear advective terms. Advection can be at the same order of magnitude as pressure gradient, Coriolis, or wind stress terms and can be greater than the bottom stress terms. The nonlinear terms in the momentum equations are frequently neglected when analyzing wind-driven circulation by means of in situ data or analytical models.
The Trauma Activation Review Committee: Response to Undertriage During a Period of Rapid Growth at a Level II Trauma Center
Authors: Briese Amanda , Register Lindsey , DeWees Terri , Carballo Christopher Joseph , Gratton Austin , Acquista Elizabeth , Powers William F. , Novosel Timothy J. , Hope William W. , Yon James R.
Published: July 2023

Trauma triage criteria are constantly being refined for improved identification of severely injured patients. When errors occur, they should be tracked, and triage criteria adjusted to minimize these events. Two time periods of trauma registry data at a single rural level II trauma center were retrospectively compared to evaluate demographics, injuries, and outcomes to identify triage errors. In 300 activated trauma patients during 2011, overtriage was 23% and undertriage was 3.7%. In 1035 activated trauma patients during 2019, overtriage was 20.5% and undertriage was 2.2%. Mortality decreased over time overall. In 2019, Trauma I patients were older, spent more time on the ventilator, and in the ICU (all P < .001). Trauma II patients were also older, had lower ISS, hospital days, and ventilator days (all P < .001). During rapid growth, evaluation of overtriage and undertriage can provide useful feedback for hospital staff to refine triage choices and improve patient outcomes.
Scaling Up Sustainability From an Operational Capability to a Dynamic Capability: The Case of Royal Bank of Scotland
Authors: Stoyanova Veselina , Stoyanov Stoyan P.
Published: July 2023

This article reports on a case-based, longitudinal study of the micro-foundations of business sustainability development in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the turbulent years between 2002 and 2012. The study proposes an emerging 3-i process model, mapping the role of bounded, shared, and embedded intentionality; operational, functional, and strategic integration; and constraining, accelerating, and stabilizing institutionality as they relate to the micro-foundations underpinning the development of corporate sustainability from an operational capability to as a dynamic capability as it evolved across multiple levels of context and over time. The research extends extant literature exploring transformations toward sustainability as part of the strategic change process, the micro-foundations of capabilities as well as discussions on sustainability and temporality.
Can People With Higher Versus Lower Scores on Impression Management or Self-Monitoring Be Identified Through Different Traces Under Faking?
Authors: Röhner Jessica , Thoss Philipp , Uziel Liad
Published: July 2023

According to faking models, personality variables and faking are related. Most prominently, people’s tendency to try to make an appropriate impression (impression management; IM) and their tendency to adjust the impression they make (self-monitoring; SM) have been suggested to be associated with faking. Nevertheless, empirical findings connecting these personality variables to faking have been contradictory, partly because different studies have given individuals different tests to fake and different faking directions (to fake low vs. high scores). Importantly, whereas past research has focused on faking by examining test scores, recent advances have suggested that the faking process could be better understood by analyzing individuals’ responses at the item level (response pattern). Using machine learning (elastic net and random forest regression), we reanalyzed a data set ( N = 260) to investigate whether individuals’ faked response patterns on extraversion (features; i.e., input variables) could reveal their IM and SM scores. We found that individuals had similar response patterns when they faked, irrespective of their IM scores (excluding the faking of high scores when random forest regression was used). Elastic net and random forest regression converged in revealing that individuals higher on SM differed from individuals lower on SM in how they faked. Thus, response patterns were able to reveal individuals’ SM, but not IM. Feature importance analyses showed that whereas some items were faked differently by individuals with higher versus lower SM scores, others were faked similarly. Our results imply that analyses of response patterns offer valuable new insights into the faking process.
Development and Initial Validation of the Positive and Negative Co-Rumination Scale
Authors: Yang Hongfei , Huang Chenzhi , Maccann Carolyn , He Yujin , Jiang Haixia , Yu Guoqing
Published: July 2023

This article presents two studies with data from 750 college students (58.67% females, Mage = 20.79 years) and 1035 school students (52.1% girls, Mage = 14.44 years) respectively, describing the development and initial validation of the Positive and Negative Co-Rumination Scale (PANCRS). The PANCRS consists of 32 items with 3 second-order factors: Positive Co-Rumination consisting of 3 first-order factors (i.e., Affirmation, Problem-Solving and Enhancing Friendship), Negative Co-Rumination consisting of 4 first-order factors (i.e., Worry About Evaluation, Inhibiting Happiness, Worry About Impact and Slack) and Frequency consisting of 2 first-order factors (i.e., Frequencies of Co-Rumination on Positive and Negative Events). Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the measure’s 9 first-order and 3 second-order factors structure. Moreover, correlation analyses provided first evidence for the subscales’ differential validity: (1) Positive Co-Rumination showed positive correlations with positive indicators of psychological adjustment (i.e., friendship quality and life satisfaction) and negative correlations with negative indicators of psychological adjustment (i.e., anxiety and depression); (2) Negative Co-Rumination showed non-significant or negative correlations with positive indicators of psychological adjustment and positive correlations with negative indicators of psychological adjustment; (3) Frequency showed positive correlations with both positive and negative indicators of psychological adjustment. In addition, all PANCRS scores showed satisfactory composite reliability (omegas) and temporal stability (test-retest). Overall the findings suggest that the PANCRS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess positive and negative aspects of Co-rumination.
The pattern of socio-economic segregation between schools in England 1989 to 2021: The pupil premium, Universal Credit, and Covid-19 eras
Authors: Gorard Stephen
Published: July 2023

This paper presents an analysis of the extent to which poor pupils in England are clustered in schools with others like them. It is based on a segregation index of pupils eligible for free school meals for every year for which official national data is available. The trend over time has been published before up to 2019, and this paper extends the analysis to 2021, covering both the Covid-19 era so far and the beginning of transitional arrangements for Universal Credit, which have led to a substantial increase in the number of pupils eligible for free school meals. Results show that the segregation of poor pupils between secondary schools has continued to decline annually – a decline that started with the onset of Pupil Premium funding. This decline in segregation has not occurred for other possible indicators of disadvantage, such as pupils having a special educational need or disability, which are not addressed by Pupil Premium funding. Clustering disadvantaged pupils together in parts of a national school system has been linked to worse pupil outcomes overall, lower aspirations, less ethnic cohesion, and reduced trust in society by students. So, this ongoing reduction is encouraging, and is likely to lead to a lower poverty attainment gap in academic outcomes. However, the reduction in 2020 and 2021 is “false” to some extent, based mostly on a sudden increase in the number of pupils officially classed as poor, rather than an improvement in their distribution or evenness. It is, therefore, important to retain Pupil Premium funding or something like it for the time being to see what happens to the attainment gap. And the apparent success of this funding scheme could have implications for school systems worldwide that value fairness in the provision of national opportunities for education.
Systematically Planning Supports to Promote Access to and Meaningful Participation in General Education Settings for Students With IDD
Authors: Carpenter Megan E. , Walker Virginia L. , Fredrick Darcy , Edyburn Dave L.
Published: July 2023

Research supports the benefits of inclusive education for all students, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Additionally, educators are supportive of the idea of including students with IDD in general education classrooms. However, they report many barriers to doing so, including a lack of a systematic process to plan for successful inclusive experiences. In this article, we present a systematic process for identifying and arranging supports for successful inclusive educational experiences for students with IDD.
Community Colleges as Racialized Organizations: Outlining Opportunities for Equity
Authors: McCambly Heather N. , Aguilar-Smith Stephanie , Felix Eric R. , Hu Xiaodan , Baber Lorenzo DuBois
Published: July 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to use Victor Ray’s theory of racialized organizations (TRO), and multiple applied exemplars, as a framework and call to action for community college researchers and policymakers. In doing so, we provide a meso-level analytic view on how and why the most accessible postsecondary pathway for minoritized students is also the most chronically under-resourced sector of higher education in the United States. Argument: Understanding community colleges as a type of racialized organization opposes traditional meritocratic perspectives that view these institutions as culturally neutral spaces, guided by open access and unrestricted credential choice. Decades of research suggest that egalitarian principles attached to community colleges do not necessarily translate into equitable student experiences and outcomes. Responses to these inequitable outcomes, however, primarily assign blame to individual dispositions. Without deep consideration of contextual conditions that shape organizational policies and practices, outcome disparities are viewed as a condition of cultural deficits rather than structured impotence. Conclusions: This paper advances our collective attunement, as community college scholars, to organizational arrangements that perpetuate and weaken white supremacy. In short, we use a racialized organizational lens to think in new ways about how community colleges, as an institutional type, are often as marginalized as the students they serve.
Exploring interdisciplinarity of science projects based on the text mining
Authors: Xue Zhang , Zhiqiang Zhang , Zhengyin Hu
Published: July 2023

Interdisciplinary research has gradually become one of the main driving forces to promote original innovation of scientific research, and how to measure the interdisciplinarity of science project is becoming an important topic in the science foundation managements. Existing researches mainly using methods, such as academic degree or institutional discipline or discipline category mapping of journals, to measure the interdisciplinarity. This study proposes an approach to mine and capture the different or complementary characteristics of interdisciplinarity of projects by combining text mining and machine learning methods. First, we construct the classification system and extract a raw paper and its discipline matrix according to the discipline category of journals where the references were published in. Second, we cut the matrix to summarise the distribution of key disciplines in each paper and extract the text features in the abstract and title to form a training set. Finally, we compare and analyse the classification effects of Naive Bayesian Model, Support Vector Machine and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model. Then, the model evaluation indicators show that the best classification effect was achieved by the BERT model. Therefore, the deep pre-trained linguistic model BERT is chosen to predict the discipline distribution of each project. In addition, the different aspects of interdisciplinarity are measured using network coherence and discipline diversity indicators. Besides, experts are invited to evaluate and interpret the results. This proposed approach could be applied to deeply understand the discipline integration from a new perspective.
Development of the American Sign Language Fingerspelling and Numbers Comprehension Test (ASL FaN-CT)
Authors: Occhino Corrine , Lidster Ryan , Geer Leah C. , Listman Jason , Hauser Peter C.
Published: July 2023

We describe the development and initial validation of the “ASL Fingerspelling and Number Comprehension Test” (ASL FaN-CT), a test of recognition proficiency for fingerspelled words in American Sign Language (ASL). Despite the relative frequency of fingerspelling in ASL discourse, learners commonly struggle to produce and perceive fingerspelling more than they do other facets of ASL. However, assessments of fingerspelling knowledge are highly underrepresented in the testing literature for signed languages. After first describing the construct, we describe test development, piloting, revisions, and evaluate the strength of the test’s validity argument vis-à-vis its intended interpretation and use as a screening instrument for current and future employees. The results of a pilot on 79 ASL learners provide strong evidence that the revised test is performing as intended and can be used to make accurate decisions about ASL learners’ proficiency in fingerspelling recognition. We conclude by describing the item properties observed in our current test, and our plans for continued validation and analysis with respect to a battery of tests of ASL proficiency currently in development.
Does technology affect human development? Examining some important moderating factors
Authors: Nguea Stéphane Mbiankeu
Published: July 2023

Nowadays ICTs are fully integrated with human life. This may be why there is an increasing interest in understanding the role that ICTs development plays in societal transformations, especially in response to the challenges posed by human development in Africa. However, not much is known about the channels through which ICTs are likely to affect human development, allowing us to investigate other transmission channels of the ICTs-Human development nexus. For this purpose, we used data collected in the 2000–2017 period for 27 African countries and employed the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) for empirical estimations. Our findings indicate that ICTs, captured by mobile phone and internet penetration rates, significantly improve human development. The study also found that trade openness, financial development, electricity consumption and democracy are the main channels through which ICTs positively improve human development. In light of these empirical findings, we suggest fresh insights that can convince policymakers to care so much about trade openness, financial development, electricity consumption and democracy if ICTs are to be used as economic tools for human development improvement.
Estimating the Irreducible Uncertainty in Visual Diagnosis: Statistical Modeling of Skill Using Response Models
Authors: Pusic Martin V. , Rapkiewicz Amy , Raykov Tenko , Melamed Jonathan
Published: July 2023

Background

For the representative problem of prostate cancer grading, we sought to simultaneously model both the continuous nature of the case spectrum and the decision thresholds of individual pathologists, allowing quantitative comparison of how they handle cases at the borderline between diagnostic categories.

Methods

Experts and pathology residents each rated a standardized set of prostate cancer histopathological images on the International Society of Urological Pathologists (ISUP) scale used in clinical practice. They diagnosed 50 histologic cases with a range of malignancy, including intermediate cases in which clear distinction was difficult. We report a statistical model showing the degree to which each individual participant can separate the cases along the latent decision spectrum.

Results

The slides were rated by 36 physicians in total: 23 ISUP pathologists and 13 residents. As anticipated, the cases showed a full continuous range of diagnostic severity. Cases ranged along a logit scale consistent with the consensus rating (Consensus ISUP 1: mean −0.93 [95% confidence interval {CI} −1.10 to −0.78], ISUP 2: −0.19 logits [−0.27 to −0.12]; ISUP 3: 0.56 logits [0.06–1.06]; ISUP 4 1.24 logits [1.10–1.38]; ISUP 5: 1.92 [1.80–2.04]). The best raters were able to meaningfully discriminate between all 5 ISUP categories, showing intercategory thresholds that were quantifiably precise and meaningful.

Conclusions

We present a method that allows simultaneous quantification of both the confusability of a particular case and the skill with which raters can distinguish the cases.

Implications

The technique generalizes beyond the current example to other clinical situations in which a diagnostician must impose an ordinal rating on a biological spectrum.

Highlights

Question: How can we quantify skill in visual diagnosis for cases that sit at the border between 2 ordinal categories—cases that are inherently difficult to diagnose? Findings: In this analysis of pathologists and residents rating prostate biopsy specimens, decision-aligned response models are calculated that show how pathologists would be likely to classify any given case on the diagnostic spectrum. Decision thresholds are shown to vary in their location and precision. Significance: Improving on traditional measures such as kappa and receiver-operating characteristic curves, this specialization of item response models allows better individual feedback to both trainees and pathologists, including better quantification of acceptable decision variation.
Strive for rewards or keep them accountable? Motivating employees’ effort and performance
Authors: Rixom Brett A , Rixom Jessica M
Published: July 2023

Organizations often turn to extrinsic motivators to improve employee effort and performance, with mixed results. In this research, performance-based benefits and accountability are explored to assess whether they differentially affect where effort is exerted and how they influence overall performance. The study proposes that effort can be divided into two components—strategic effort and execution effort—and that each component will influence overall performance differently. The study uses a scenario-based experiment involving a complex and unfamiliar task. The results indicate that workers motivated by performance-based benefits increase the use of strategic effort, which improves performance through the identification of critical problems, and they develop a better overall strategy relative to workers who are held accountable. The study also indicates that while accountability increased the use of execution effort, the additional effort did not improve performance in the complex task setting. The study highlights the importance of aligning an extrinsic motivator to the type of effort desired for a particular task.
New Times or new circuits: recovering Sivanandan’s political economy
Authors: Narayan John
Published: July 2023

In 1990, A. Sivanandan published an essay subtitled ‘The hokum of New Times’, which took aim at Stuart Hall and Martin Jacques’ theorisation of Thatcherism and the neoliberal revolution. Central to this criticism was Sivanandan’s decade-long tracing of the ‘new circuits of imperialism’ that had been engendered by a new global division of labour and hierarchies of production, technological change and the domestic fall-out of such processes in forms of British state racism and racialised forms of exploitation. Although Hall’s work has diffused into the field of international political economy, Sivanandan’s take has largely been neglected. This article, developed from a presentation at the ‘New Circuits of Anti-racism Conference’, King’s College, London, October 2022, will briefly return to the Hall and Sivanandan debate to help foreground Sivanandan’s international political economy and also highlight how it took racism and imperialism to be integral to the neoliberal order in Britain and beyond. It will show how Sivanandan’s anti-racist and anti-imperial international political economy can help us to frame and understand the current crisis of neoliberalism from the vantage points of ‘over here, and over there’, and how thinking with and through international political economy must be at the heart of contemporary anti-racism’s address of the current crisis of capital.
Effect of Vehicle Speed and Weight on Raveling of Chip Seal Constructed Using Mineral and Tire Derived Aggregate
Authors: Pourhassan Alireza , Gheni Ahmed A. , ElGawady Mohamed
Published: July 2023

The characteristics of the load applied by traffic, namely, vehicle speed and load magnitude, play a critical role in the raveling performance of chip seal pavement, which is often overlooked in literature. Furthermore, a sustainable chip seal constructed out of tire derived aggregate (TDA) has been recently introduced. Unlike mineral aggregate, rubber is a time-dependent material, and its properties are greatly influenced by the magnitude and rate of loading. Introducing TDA in chip seal has increased the significance and need to investigate the effects of vehicle speed and load on chip seal. This study investigated the raveling performance of different chip seal specimens constructed out of mineral and TDA, as well as a hybrid tire derived–mineral aggregate, under various loading speeds and magnitudes using a small-wheel traffic simulation device. The findings revealed that both load and speed significantly affect the texture loss of conventional and TDA chip seals, but in opposite ways. Conventional chip seals experienced increased texture loss with higher load and speed, while TDA chip seals showed a decrease. The use of TDA as an aggregate in chip seal resulted in a 23% reduction in macrotexture loss under increased load and a 56% reduction in macrotexture loss under increased speed compared with conventional chip seal. This improved performance is attributed to the dynamic properties of TDA, such as internal hysteresis, time-dependent behavior, and load transmissibility.
Anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 recovered health care workers: One year follow-up study
Authors: Ahmad Ashfaq , Haq Mohsina , Rehman Asif , Haq Najib Ul
Published: July 2023

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the magnitude and durability of the anti-nucleocapsid-IgG antibody titer in healthcare workers previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 for a period of 12 months.

Methods: This study examined blood samples for SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG collected periodically from 120 healthcare workers previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 (confirmed by RT-PCR) and followed longitudinally up to 12 months from their enrolment into the study.

Results: The median anti-N-IgG antibody level identified at 3 months was 23.7 CO-index (IQR: 9.13–50.27) and increased to 32.9 CO-index (IQR: 11.8–84.4) at 6 months. At 9 months, the median anti-N-IgG antibody level started to wane in the subsequent time and was dropped to 14 CO-index (IQR: 3.4–37.6) and declined further to 9.8 CO-index at 12 months (IQR: 2.8–9.8). When classified by age groups, the only statistically significant difference in anti-N-IgG between the two age groups (≤30 years and >30 years) was identified at 12 month time point (median difference 8.06, p = 0.035). Spearman correlation coefficient was negatively associated between anti-N-IgG and time interval ( r = −0.255, p = 0.000) but was not statistically significant with age of a patient ( p > 0.05).

Conclusions: In conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels started declining after 6 months but remained detectable in the majority of patients up to 12 months.
Caregiving During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Factors Associated With Feelings of Caregiver Preparedness
Authors: Turner Rachael L. , Reese-Melancon Celinda , Harrington Erin E. , Andreo Micaela
Published: July 2023

Examination of caregiver preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic can inform efforts to support caregivers in future times of global crisis. Informal caregivers of adults with dementia or severe disabilities ( n = 72, M age = 62.82 years, 90.28% female) were recruited through Adult Day Centers across the United States. Caregivers responding to an online survey regarding their experiences and preparedness reported an increase in burden, stress, and time spent caregiving since the onset of the pandemic. Caregivers reported feeling prepared for typical caregiving responsibilities but felt less prepared for someone else to assume the role of primary caregiver. Multiple regression modeling indicated that resilience accounted for significant variance in primary caregiver preparedness, over and above burden, but only caregiver age accounted for significant variability in a component representing feeling prepared to delegate caregiving to another person. These findings have implications for research and applied efforts to promote caregiver well-being and preparedness.
The Topoi of Small Business Entrepreneurship
Authors: DeJeu Emily Barrow
Published: July 2023

Despite students’ growing interest in entrepreneurship education (EE), the small body of research exploring rhetorical strategies for proposing new business ventures has focused only on the argument strategies that startup entrepreneurs use when delivering oral pitches to investors. This study, by contrast, explores the topoi, or lines of argument, that small business entrepreneurs use in written business plans created for bank lenders. Small business entrepreneurs use nine topoi in order to accomplish two rhetorical goals: justifying their ventures, via the creation of stability-focused value propositions, and establishing their entrepreneurial credibility. Ultimately, I argue that small business entrepreneurs use these topoi to frame their ventures as low-risk and stable, which contrasts with startup entrepreneurs’ arguments that their ventures are innovative and disruptive. In addition to learning strategies for highlighting innovation and disruption, EE students would likely benefit from learning rhetorical strategies for minimizing risk and emphasizing stability.
Optimization of electrospun chitosan/polyethylene oxide hybrid nanofibril composite via response surface methodology
Authors: Abdelhady Saleh S , EL-Desouky AR , Kassab AMF , Barakat Waleed , Zoalfakar Said H
Published: July 2023

The present study is an attempt to optimize the electrospinning parameters to fabricate chitosan/polyethylene oxide hybrid nanofiber composite with minimum diameter and coefficient of variation (homogeneity) by using response surface methodology (RSM). Based on central composite design (CCD), four factors (the chitosan/PEO ratio, the applied voltage, the needle-to-collector distance, and the spinning angle) was applied to evaluate the individual and combined effects of the parameters on the average diameter of nanofibers. Chitosan (CH) was blended with Polyethylene oxide (PEO) at weight ratios of 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, and 5:1. As the composition ratio of chitosan was reduced, the viscosity of the chitosan/PEO blend solution also dropped. The RSM model identified the following conditions as necessary to produce the desired and most uniform CS/PEO fiber diameter: a CS/PEO blend ratio of 2:1 (w/w), a voltage of 25 kV, a distance of 20 cm, and a spinning angle of 45°. The average nanofiber diameter and homogeneity under these conditions were calculated to be 73 nm and 20.5%, respectively, compared to the predicted values of 71 nm and 15.58%, respectively.
Investigation of aerodynamic and aeroacoustic behavior of bio-inspired airfoils with numerical and experimental methods
Authors: Güzey Kaan , Aylı Ulku Ece , Kocak Eyup , Aradag Selin
Published: July 2023

This article presents numerical and experimental studies on the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of the NACA0012 profile with owl-inspired leading-edge serrations for aeroacoustic control. The leading-edge serrations under investigation are in a sinusoidal profile with two main design parameters of wavelength and amplitude. The noise-suppressing ability of sinusoidal serrations is a function of several parameters such as amplitude, wavelength, inflow speed, angle of attack, which are examined in this study. Amplitude (A) and wavelength (λ) of the serration are varied between 1.25 and 2.5, 20 < λ < 60, respectively. The corresponding Reynolds numbers are between 1 and 3 × 105. The angle of attack for each configuration is changed between 4° and 16°. Forty different configurations are tested. According to the results, owl-inspired leading-edge serrations can be used as aeroacoustic control add-ons in blade designs for wind turbines, aircraft, and fluid machinery. Results show that the narrower and sharper serrations have a better noise reduction effect. Overall sound pressure level (SPL) reduces up to 20% for the configuration with the largest amplitude and smaller wavelength. The results also showed that serration amplitude had a distinct effect on aeroacoustic performance, whereas wavelength is a function of amplitude. At the smaller angle of attack values, AOA < 8°, the lift and drag coefficients are almost the same for both clean and wavy profiles. On the other hand, typically for angle of attack values more than 12° (after stall), when the angle of attack is increased, serration adversely affects aerodynamic performance.
Electrodermal signal analysis using continuous wavelet transform as a tool for quantification of sweat gland activity in diabetic kidney disease
Authors: Singaram Sudha , Ramakrishnan Kalpana , Periyasamy Soundararajan
Published: July 2023

Sympathetic innervation of the sweat gland (SG) manifests itself electrically as electrodermal activity (EDA), which can be utilized to measure sudomotor function. Since SG exhibits similarities in structure and function with kidneys, quantification of SG activity is attempted through EDA signals. A methodology is developed with electrical stimulation, sampling frequency and signal processing algorithm. One hundred twenty volunteers participated in this study belonging to controls, diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, and diabetic neuropathy. The magnitude and time duration of stimuli is arrived by trial and error in such a way it does not influence controls but triggers SG activity in other Groups. This methodology leads to a distinct EDA signal pattern with changes in frequency and amplitude. The continuous wavelet transform depicts a scalogram to retrieve this information. Further, to distinguish between Groups, time average spectrums are plotted and mean relative energy (MRE) is computed. Results demonstrate high energy value in controls, and it gradually decreases in other Groups indicating a decline in SG activity on diabetes prognosis. The correlation for the acquired results was determined to be 0.99 when compared to the standard lab procedure. Furthermore, Cohen’s d value, which is less than 0.25 for all Groups indicating the minimal effect size. Hence the obtained result is validated and statistically analyzed for individual variations. Thus this has the potential to get transformed into a device and could prevent diabetic kidney disease.
Time and social change in non-western societies: The 1979 Iranian revolution as case study
Authors: Poornik Hassan
Published: July 2023

This article aims to propose an explanatory model for social changes in terms of the temporal aspects of society. It begins with a theory of modern society (theory of social acceleration) and discusses why the explanations of social change and stability in non-western societies are required from a time perspective. It uses Iranian society as a case study, arguing that the processes of modernization may shape differently depending on certain social, cultural, and religious relations. In this light, it identifies the main features of the cycle of acceleration formed in Iranian society to answer the question of why the cycle of acceleration could not establish a self-propelling acceleratory formation. To explain the revolution of 1979, this article proposes a modified model of self-interpretation.
Facts do not speak for themselves: Community norms, dialog, and evidentiary practices in discussions of COVID-19 on Reddit
Authors: Felton Mark , Middaugh Ellen , Fan Henry
Published: July 2023

The present study sought to explore the distinct discourse norms and evidentiary practices in discussions of COVID-19 in four subcommunities on Reddit. Qualitative analysis found that communities differed in the degree to which they reinforce and augment Reddit’s platform-wide norms for dialog and evidence use. One of the three communities (r/AskTrumpSupporters) differed from the rest by establishing discourse norms for turn-taking between politically opposed users and structuring dialog around authentic questions aimed at understanding alternative points of view. Quantitative analyses revealed that this community significantly differed from the other communities in the proportion of dialogic exchanges and in the use of evidentiary practices (sourcing, source evaluation, and interpretation of evidence). Excerpts of dialog from this community are used to illustrate findings. We conclude with implications for educators interested in preparing youth to critically engage with scientific information they encounter in public discourse.
Vaccine Hesitancy in India: Facilitators and Inhibitors
Authors: Parveen Heena , Nasir Shagufta , Shahnawaz Md Ghazi , Husain Fatema , Baig Juweria , Shankar Anand
Published: July 2023

COVID-19 is yet not completely over; however, many people are hesitant to take COVID-19 vaccines despite their availability. Vaccine hesitancy is a major roadblock to attaining normalcy and controlling the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The present research used a multitheoretical framework (Health Belief Model, 3Cs framework, fatalism, and religious fatalism) to comprehend the complexity of vaccine hesitancy. Thus, the present study aimed at exploring vaccine hesitancy in India by using key components of the Health Belief Model, 3Cs framework, fatalism, religious fatalism, and some demographics as predictors. Data were collected electronically with the help of Google Forms from 639 Indian adults following snowballing and convenience sampling techniques with standardized measures (albeit some modifications to suit the context of the study). Descriptive analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were run in SPSS (V-22) to analyze the data. Results revealed that participants of the present study scored relatively high on vaccine hesitancy. Muslims as compared with Hindus and vaccination status emerged as significant predictors of vaccine hesitancy out of the demographic factors. Fear of COVID-19, vaccine convenience, and religious fatalism also significantly predicted vaccine hesitancy. Thus, a comprehensive approach is needed to strategically use these predictors to control vaccine hesitancy.
It Never Ends: Vulnerable Consumers’ Experiences of Persistent Liminality and Resource (Mis)Integration
Authors: O’Loughlin Deirdre , Gummerus Johanna , Kelleher Carol
Published: July 2023

Transformative Service Research (TSR) highlights the fundamental importance of resource integration for consumer well-being. However, recent research suggests that resource integration can be problematic and imperfect, particularly for vulnerable consumers with complex and ongoing resource requirements. Such vulnerable consumers may face transition challenges and end up in an uncertain “in-between” experience of liminality, where the linkage to resource integration remains under-researched. In response to recent service prioritization challenges, we explore how vulnerable actors experience liminality and resource integration in service systems. The vulnerable actors highlighted in this study are parents in families of children with life-long conditions (e.g., autism spectrum disorder/ASD and Down syndrome). We reveal a new form of liminality as a persistent, relational phenomenon that interdependent vulnerable actors with ongoing complex resource needs collectively experienced within service systems. Further, we identify the dynamics of persistent liminality as Precipitating, Subsisting, and Resisting. Finally, in line with TSR, we shed light on the resource constraints that decrease the well-being of vulnerable consumers. We also identify implications for theory, practice, and future research.
Keep it #Unreal: Exploring Instagram Users’ Engagement With Virtual Influencers in Tourism Contexts
Authors: Xie-Carson Li , Benckendorff Pierre , Hughes Karen
Published: July 2023

As an emerging category of non-human influencers, virtual influencers (VIs) have received increasing attention on social media. While VIs generate high user engagement, the underlying factors that drive social media engagement are poorly understood. Informed by communication theory, this study aims to explore Instagram users’ perceptions of VIs and the key source and content factors that prompt user engagement in tourism contexts. An initial netnographic observation of Instagram posts was followed by five online focus group interviews using a photo elicitation technique. The results indicated that Instagram users had mixed feelings towards VIs; however, most were receptive to VI marketing provided that ethical concerns had been addressed. Key source and content factors that stimulate user engagement with VIs are integrated into a proposed framework. The findings will assist tourism practitioners and content creators to design VI marketing campaigns that incorporate and leverage important influencer and post-related features.
The Role of Sex and Gender in Dermatology - From Pathogenesis to Clinical Implications
Authors: Lagacé François , D’Aguanno Kathleen , Prosty Connor , Laverde-Saad Alexandra , Cattelan Leila , Ouchene Lydia , Oliel Sarah , Genest Genevieve , Doiron Philip , Richer Vincent , Jfri Abdulhadi , O’Brien Elizabeth , Lefrançois Philippe , Powell Mathieu , Moreau Linda , Litvinov Ivan V. , Muntyanu Anastasiya , Netchiporouk Elena
Published: July 2023

Background

Sex and gender have increasingly been recognized as significant risk factors for many diseases, including dermatological conditions. Historically, sex and gender have often been grouped together as a single risk factor in the scientific literature. However, both may have a distinct impact on disease incidence, prevalence, clinical presentation, severity, therapeutic response, and associated psychological distress.

Objectives and project description

The mechanisms that underlie differences in skin diseases between males, females, men, and women remain largely unknown. The specific objectives of this review paper are: To highlight the biological differences between males and females (sex), as well as the sociocultural differences between men and women (gender) and how they impact the integumentary system. To perform a literature review to identify important sex- and gender-related epidemiological and clinical differences for various skin conditions belonging to a range of disease categories and to discuss possible biological and sociocultural factors that could explain the observed differences. To discuss dermatological skin conditions and gender-affirming treatments within the transgender community, a population of individuals who have a gender identity which is different than the gender identity they were assigned at birth.

Future impact

With the rising number of individuals that identify as non-binary or transgender within our increasingly diverse communities, it is imperative to recognize gender identity, gender, and sex as distinct entities. By doing so, clinicians will be able to better risk-stratify their patients and select treatments that are most aligned with their values. To our knowledge, very few studies have separated sex and gender as two distinct risk factors within the dermatology literature. Our article also has the potential to help guide future prevention strategies that are patient-tailored rather than using a universal approach.