bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Duty Cycle Scheduling in Wireless Sensor Networks Using an Exploratory Strategy-Directed MADDPG Algorithm
Authors: Wu Liangshun , Liu Peilin , Qu Junsuo , Zhang Cong , Zhang Bin
Published: March 2024

This paper presents an in-depth study of the application of Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (MADDPG) algorithms with an exploratory strategy for duty cycle scheduling (DCS) in the wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The focus is on optimizing the performance of sensor nodes in terms of energy efficiency and event detection rates under varying environmental conditions. Through a series of simulations, we investigate the impact of key parameters such as the sensor specificity constant α and the Poisson rate of events on the learning and operational efficacy of sensor nodes. Our results demonstrate that the MADDPG algorithm with an exploratory strategy outperforms traditional reinforcement learning algorithms, particularly in environments characterized by high event rates and the need for precise energy management. The exploratory strategy enables a more effective balance between exploration and exploitation, leading to improved policy learning and adaptation in dynamic and uncertain environments. Furthermore, we explore the sensitivity of different algorithms to the tuning of the sensor specificity constant α, revealing that lower values generally yield better performance by reducing energy consumption without significantly compromising event detection. The study also examines the algorithms' robustness against the variability introduced by different event Poisson rates, emphasizing the importance of algorithm selection and parameter tuning in practical WSN applications. The insights gained from this research provide valuable guidelines for the deployment of sensor networks in real-world scenarios, where the trade-off between energy consumption and event detection is critical. Our findings suggest that the integration of exploratory strategies in MADDPG algorithms can significantly enhance the performance and reliability of sensor nodes in WSNs.
Seasons, Sharks, and Local Control of the Surfing Commons: New Evidence from the Surf Gangs of California
Authors: Mixon Franklin G. , Cebula Richard J.
Published: March 2024

This study extends prior research on the relationship between surf break quality and the degree of localism exhibited by surf gangs in at least three ways. First, it adopts Surfline.com’s latest data on California’s surf breaks in order to re-examine whether or not the level of localism displayed by California’s surf gangs is a positive function of the quality and crowdedness of surf breaks. Second, it is the first to explore the relationship between surf break seasonality, measured as the number of months each year that weather and climatic conditions allow a surf break to be accessed, and the degree of localism displayed by surf gangs in the area. Third, it explores how the presence of sharks impacts the degree of localism displayed by surf gangs. Econometric results support the expected positive individual relationships between surf break quality and congestion and the degree of localism at surf breaks. However, no evidence of a relationship between surf break seasonality and surf break localism is reported, whereas that between the presence of sharks at a surf break and surf gang activity is unexpectedly positive. The former of these two findings likely result from relatively low variability in the seasonality data, whereas the latter likely stems from collinearity between the presence of natural hazards (e.g., rocks and reef) that increase the quality of both surf breaks and habitats for sharks’ prey.
The Interplay Between Spectrometer Development and Professional Spectroscopic Societies
Authors: Crocombe Richard A.
Published: March 2024

The post-World War II availability of commercial spectrometers spurred the development of professional spectroscopic societies: The Infrared and Raman Discussion Group in the UK, the Coblentz Society, and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy in the USA. There was a desire to ensure that customers understood the instrumentation and techniques, became part of a community, and had access to the latest subject matter knowledge. With the advent of low-cost routine instruments, and portable instruments in the field, professional societies have a distinct role to play in education and training, especially as libraries deaccession (withdraw) even comparatively recent books on practical spectroscopy.
A nutrition education service learning programme: Development, implementation and impact on participants
Authors: Choice Erin , Rinsem Victoria , Downey Rebecca
Published: March 2024

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of university students who served as outside facilitators for evidence-based nutrition education for elementary-age children.

Design:

Qualitative case study.

Methods:

Thirteen undergraduate university students facilitated four nutrition education sessions for elementary-age students in an after-school programme using the Choice, Control, Change model as part of service learning curriculum. University students completed pre- and post-participation surveys. Elementary-age participants completed surveys after each session.

Results:

University students saw the benefit of this type of experiential learning with the following themes: knowledge application, learning about diverse perspectives and having a positive impact. Before the first nutrition education session, the university students felt excited, nervous and/or enthusiastic, and during and immediately after the sessions reported they felt confident. Participant engagement was low/mixed and classroom management was challenging, which may be linked to the university students’ perceptions that they were underprepared to work in a distracting social environment, and with behaviour typical to elementary-age children. The education session recipients reported they gained knowledge about healthy behaviours and believed that eating healthy foods is important.

Conclusion:

There are gaps in nutrition education programme theory and implementation by outside facilitators. These findings are relevant to those who provide health education services for surrounding communities. This study provides information about implementation barriers when outside facilitators lead nutrition education, alongside recommendations to improve these types of programmes in the future.
Trust with increasing and decreasing reliability
Authors: Rittenberg Benjamin S. P. , Holland Christopher W. , Barnhart Grace E. , Gaudreau Sierra M. , Neyedli Heather F.
Published: March 2024

Objective

The primary purpose was to determine how trust changes over time when automation reliability increases or decreases. A secondary purpose was to determine how task-specific self-confidence is associated with trust and reliability level.

Background

Both overtrust and undertrust can be detrimental to system performance; therefore, the temporal dynamics of trust with changing reliability level need to be explored.

Method

Two experiments used a dominant-color identification task, where automation provided a recommendation to users, with the reliability of the recommendation changing over 300 trials. In Experiment 1, two groups of participants interacted with the system: one group started with a 50% reliable system which increased to 100%, while the other used a system that decreased from 100% to 50%. Experiment 2 included a group where automation reliability increased from 70% to 100%.

Results

Trust was initially high in the decreasing group and then declined as reliability level decreased; however, trust also declined in the 50% increasing reliability group. Furthermore, when user self-confidence increased, automation reliability had a greater influence on trust. In Experiment 2, the 70% increasing reliability group showed increased trust in the system.

Conclusion

Trust does not always track the reliability of automated systems; in particular, it is difficult for trust to recover once the user has interacted with a low reliability system.

Applications

This study provides initial evidence into the dynamics of trust for automation that gets better over time suggesting that users should only start interacting with automation when it is sufficiently reliable.
Trouble with the Bottle Beverage Containers and the Widening Waste Crisis in Socialist Hungary
Authors: Pál Viktor
Published: March 2024

Recent studies have explored the history of consumerism in communist Eastern Europe, suggesting that socialist consumption followed its own rhythm and logic. However, when it comes to waste-making and recycling existing literature focuses on post-industrial waste practices of the Soviet bloc, paying little attention to post-consumer waste. However, socialist societies did not follow the West's example and refrained from introducing single-use materials, such as disposable beverage containers. Could this also mean that socialists did a better job to deal with their own post-consumer waste than the West? The current scientific knowledge does not answer that question. To cover that gap in the research, this article situates socialist beverage containers and especially recyclable soft drink bottles made of glass in a wider discourse about the meaning of waste, discards, recycling, and material culture in socialism, particularly in Hungary. It suggests that the socialist waste dilemma was unique to Eastern European economies because of its social, ideological, and cultural layers, of which the scientific community has limited understanding. It proposes that despite different ideological foundations, the socialists battled with similar waste problems than in the West, however systematic differences were large enough to produce less post-consumer waste and recycle that waste more efficiently compared to the West.
Racializing Motherhood and Maternity Care in News Representations of Breastfeeding
Authors: Carter Shannon K. , Bansal Sanya
Published: March 2024

Racial inequalities in breastfeeding have been a U.S. national concern, prompting health science research and public discourse. Social science research reveals structural causes, including racism in labor conditions, maternity care practices, and lactation support. Yet research shows that popular and health science discourses disproportionately focus on individual and community factors, blaming Black women and communities for unequal breastfeeding rates. This study examines how scientific reports are communicated to the public through a critical analysis of 104 U.S. news articles reporting research on racial disparities in breastfeeding. Findings show that articles acknowledge unequal treatment within maternity care but justify it by presenting Black patients as overburdening the maternity care systems they use due to low socioeconomic status, welfare dependency, poor family support, and poor health. Through these representations, articles co-construct racialized motherhood and maternity care systems in ways that hide manifestations of obstetric racism and combat social support for systemic change.
“Trying to Find North”: Fathers Voice the Nature of Their Bereavement
Authors: Denhup Christine
Published: March 2024

Fathers’ lived experience of bereavement is not well understood. This article presents findings from a Heidegerrian phenomenological study, which aimed to describe fathers’ bereavement. Fathers’ bereavement is a life-long journey along which a father navigates through devastating and traumatic loss with great strength; has profound grief that mirrors the profound love he has for his child; chooses to live life with intention and engages in meaningful activities that create purpose aimed at honoring his child, continuing his child’s legacy, and using his own suffering for the good of others; is anchored by a continuing bond of love that fuels an ongoing relationship with his child; and needs a supportive community to sustain him as he travels down the healing road where it is possible to find faith, hope, and love while being forever transformed by loss. Findings amplify fathers’ voice so nurses gain a deeper understanding of their experience.
Practice of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness and Its Associated Factors:A Health Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study Design
Authors: Feyisa Balcha Wondu , Mulat Awoke Amlaku , Tagele Assefa , Geremew Elias , Giza Tigist , Aragaw Betelhem , Daniel Nigist
Published: March 2024

Time of labor or time of emergency is not the time to decide what to do, instead it is time to seek care from skilled health care providers. Birth preparedness and complication readiness is the process of planning for a normal birth and anticipating the action needed in case of an emergency, which helps to minimize obstetric complications. Even though birth preparedness and complication readiness reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality, the practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness is still low in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness and its associated factors among pregnant women who attended antenatal care in the public health facilities of Debre Tabor town, northwest, Ethiopia. A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from August 1/2022 to September 15/2022 among 397 pregnant mothers. The study was collected using a systematic random sampling technique and the collected data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to estimate the crude and adjusted odds ratio and considered significant at a confidence interval of 95% and a P-value of less than .05. The proportion of birth preparedness and complication readiness practice was found to be 32.2%. Having formal education, primigravida, starting antenatal care contact in the first trimester of pregnancy, having knowledge of danger signs of labor and delivery, and birth preparedness and complication readiness were significantly associated with the practice of preparedness and complication readiness. In this study area, the practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness was low. Therefore, it is important to strengthen counseling on the advantage of starting antenatal care contact early and creating awareness of birth preparedness and complication readiness.
Investigation of Factors Related to Stillbirth
Authors: Torkashvand Moradabadi Mohammad , Ardian Nahid , Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad Seyed Saeed , Farajkhoda Tahmineh , Yoshani Nooshin , Afshani Seyed Alireza , Paliwal Deepak
Published: March 2024

The stillbirth rate is among the most important indicators of access to and quality of care during pregnancy. This study investigated the factors related to the stillbirth rate in the Yazd province, Iran. The current research is descriptive and cross-sectional and the results of Shahdieh city cohort study which was conducted on 4756 women were used. Data related to the history of stillbirth, demographic characteristics, fertility history and, various female diseases were extracted from the results of the cohort study. The result shows that 7.2% of studied women had a history of stillbirth. Among the multiple variables, predictor variables including education level, marriage age, age of the first conception, number of children, consanguineous marriage, Employment status, and diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and history of depression had a significant relationship with a history of stillbirth ( P ≤ .05). The stillbirth rate in Shahedieh is high compared to the global stillbirth Rate, but it is comparable with the stillbirth Rate in Yazd province. Although Yazd province, as one of the industrial hubs of Iran, has relatively acceptable indicators of income, employment, and medical and health facilities and welfare compared to other provinces, this study showed that factors such as diabetes, hypertension, low level of women’s education, consanguineous marriage, and women’s employment status and social welfare can affect Stillbirth Rate.
The impacts of intellectual capital, market size, and intellectual property factors in geothermal power exploration
Authors: Alsaleh Mohd , Abdul-Rahim A.S.
Published: March 2024

There are many advantages of geothermal energy, as an environmentally friendly resource; however, for these benefits of geothermal power to be fully maximized, there are some problems that need to be addressed. The primary objective of this research was to examine the influence of intellectual property (IP) rights and economic growth on the geothermal energy output among the 27 European countries within the time frame 1990 to 2021. This study adopts auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL). The findings show that a significant increase in the geothermal energy industry sustainability can occur in EU14 emerged economies using IP rights than in EU13 emerging economies. The major contributions of the research are that among additional factors, intellectual capital, market size, intuitional quality, and economic growth contribute more positively to geothermal energy sustainability in EU14 emerged economies than in EU13 emerging economies. Results from the analysis show geothermal power sustainability among the 27 European countries could be boosted significantly by adequately putting in place the determining factors of IP as this will foster the attainment of aims behind the energy union by the year 2030. This will no doubt be of help in curbing climate change and environmental pollution in society. The projected calculations were validated through the three estimators adopted for this study, that is, the pooled mean group, mean group, and dynamic fixed effect. The policy implication pointed out by this study the European nations in this study need to make IP indicators to be more effective as this helps in achieving societal and environmental goals. Moreover, the authorities in charge of lawmaking in European countries should focus more on IP areas to ensure the sustainability of geothermal energy generation. Also, authorities in charge of policymaking in the European nations should foster commixture strategies that are sustainable in enhancing IP breakdown as this will assist in fostering geothermal power exploration, thereby reducing the need for fossil fuels which will also carbon dioxide emission in the years to come.
Voltage stability improvement and power losses reduction through multiple grid contingency supports
Authors: Badrudeen Tayo Uthman , Ariyo Funso K. , Nwulu Nnamdi
Published: March 2024

A stable power system is a desirable state for the optimal performance and delivery of electricity to the end-users. This study evaluates the effectiveness of grid contingency support devices in power system stability enhancement. The new voltage stability pointer (NVSP) was employed to optimally infer the flexible alternating current transmission systems devices through N − 1 contingency ranking. In this research, the static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) was considered as a grid support device. The effectiveness of this technique was validated in R2018a MATLAB with the IEEE 30-bus system using different combinable contingency cases to ascertain the critical lines and vulnerable buses to outages. Based on the results obtained through the NVSP, buses 30, 26, and 29 were cited as STATCOM candidate buses for overall optimal grid performance. The results obtained from the simulation revealed that the total real power loss was reduced by 90.21%. Similarly, the voltage magnitude of the buses was significantly improved to a minimum of 1.00 p.u. after placement of STATCOMs. Further investigation on single STATCOM placement in the IEEE 30-bus system revealed that the highest level of voltage improvement, minimum level of voltage deviation and maximum active power loss reduction was achieved when the STATCOM was placed at bus 30. The overall assessment of the proposed technique yielded better results compared with other methods on the same test system.
Guide for Combining Primary Tumors for Statistical Analysis in Rodent Carcinogenicity Studies
Authors: Keenan Charlotte , Al-Haddawi Muthafar , Bienvenu Jean-Guy , Bradley Alys Elizabeth , Brown Paul , Chen Hepei , Colman Karyn , Elwell Michael , Gatto Nicholas , Goodman Dawn , Jacob Binod , Lanning Lynda , McKinney LuAnn , Muhlbradt Erin , Perry Rick , Piaia Alessandro , Potenta Daniel , Regan Karen S. , Sefing Benjamin , Thibodeau Michael , Tibbs-Slone Erin , Woicke Jochen , Zwickl Craig M.
Published: March 2024

The Tumor Combination Guide was created at the request of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a Working Group of biopharmaceutical experts from international societies of toxicologic pathology, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and members of the Standard for Exchange of Nonclinical Data (SEND) initiative, to assist pharmacology/toxicology reviewers and biostatisticians in statistical analysis of nonclinical tumor data. The guide will also be useful to study and peer review pathologists in interpreting the tumor data. This guide provides a higher-level hierarchy of tumor types or categories correlating the tumor names from the International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria (INHAND) publications with those available in the NEOPLASM controlled terminology (CT) code list in SEND. The version of CT used in a study should be referenced in the nonclinical study data reviewer’s guide (SDRG) (section 3.1) of electronic submissions to the FDA. The tumor combination guide instructions and examples are in a tabular format to make informed decisions for combining tumor data for statistical analysis. The strategy for combining tumor types for statistical analysis is based on scientific criteria gleaned from the current scientific literature; as SEND and INHAND terminology and information evolve, this guide will be updated.
Creep mechanisms and cavitation of AA5052 at intermediate stress and temperature region
Authors: Abedi Fatemeh , Serajzadeh S.
Published: March 2024

Creep mechanism and cavitation of AA5052 were studied employing creep experiments at 200–350°C and stresses 15–70 MPa. The microstructural observations were then performed to assess grain growth and formation of cavities. The apparent activation energy was defined in a range of 154–166 kJ/mole. It was found that at higher normalised stress region ([Formula: see text]), the stress exponent was about 7 and at lower stresses it decreased to about 5. Microstructural instability, that is, grain growth, was detected during creep at a temperature of 300°C or higher. This phenomenon affected the strain rate and the governing mechanisms. Microstructure of the sample tested at 300°C revealed that the coalescence of cavities could occur at creep strains higher than 6.5%.
Querying feminicide data in Mexico
Authors: Mobayed Vega Saide , Gargiulo Maria
Published: March 2024

The full extent of feminicide in Mexico remains unknown. When available, data on the gender-related killing of women and girls are often incomplete, inaccurate, or inexplicable. In this article, a sociologist (Saide) and a statistician (Maria) query feminicide data in Mexico. Drawing on Timnit Gebru et al.’s ‘datasheets for datasets’ and Sarah Holland et al.’s ‘data nutrition label’ frameworks, we zoom in on the two primary governmental sources measuring feminicide in the country, the mortality records processed by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI) and the alleged feminicide investigation files published by the Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública (SESNSP). In the discussion, we shed light on two noteworthy remarks. First, the discordance between INEGI and SESNSP data, whereby we outline four crucial variations: naming, underreporting, comparability, and availability. Second, the shortcomings of these data sources in measuring feminicide as we understand it sociologically. In other words, neither explicitly gauge the ‘gender-related’ motivation underlying the crime. Instead, what data from INEGI and SESNSP currently provide us with are discordant approximations of the phenomenon, aligning with what Sandra Walklate and Kate Fitz-Gibbon define as ‘thin’ feminicide counts. This contribution seeks to act as a guide to better understand feminicide data in Mexico, to enhance effective communication between data creators and users concerned with data-making practices, and to ignite the querying of data engaging with social justice and accountability against feminicide and beyond.
Subcutaneous sodium valproate in palliative care: A systematic review
Authors: Tan Sheryn , Ng Jeng Swen , Tang Charis , Stretton Brandon , Kovoor Joshua , Gupta Aashray , Delloso Thomson , Zhang Tony , Goh Rudy , El-Masri Shaddy , Kiley Michelle , Maddocks Ian , Harroud Adil , Stacpoole Sybil , Crawford Gregory , Bacchi Stephen
Published: March 2024

Background:

Seizures are an important palliative symptom, the management of which can be complicated by patients’ capacity to swallow oral medications. In this setting, and the wish to avoid intravenous access, subcutaneous infusions may be employed. Options for antiseizure medications that can be provided subcutaneously may be limited. Subcutaneous sodium valproate may be an additional management strategy.

Aim:

To evaluate the published experience of subcutaneous valproate use in palliative care, namely with respect to effectiveness and tolerability.

Design:

A systematic review was registered (PROSPERO CRD42023453427), conducted and reported according to PRISMA reporting guidelines.

Data sources:

The databases PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus were searched for publications until August 11, 2023.

Results:

The searches returned 429 results, of which six fulfilled inclusion criteria. Case series were the most common study design, and most studies included <10 individuals who received subcutaneous sodium valproate. There were three studies that presented results on the utility of subcutaneous sodium valproate for seizure control, which described it to be an effective strategy. One study also described it as an effective treatment for neuropathic pain. The doses were often based on presumed 1:1 oral to subcutaneous conversion ratios. Only one study described a local site adverse reaction, which resolved with a change of administration site.

Conclusions:

There are limited data on the use of subcutaneous sodium valproate in palliative care. However, palliative symptoms for which subcutaneous sodium valproate have been used successfully are seizures and neuropathic pain. The available data have described few adverse effects, supporting its use with an appropriate degree of caution.
The brain’s “dark energy” puzzle: How strongly is glucose metabolism linked to resting-state brain activity?
Authors: Volpi Tommaso , Silvestri Erica , Aiello Marco , Lee John J , Vlassenko Andrei G , Goyal Manu S , Corbetta Maurizio , Bertoldo Alessandra
Published: March 2024

Brain glucose metabolism, which can be investigated at the macroscale level with [18F]FDG PET, displays significant regional variability for reasons that remain unclear. Some of the functional drivers behind this heterogeneity may be captured by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). However, the full extent to which an fMRI-based description of the brain’s spontaneous activity can describe local metabolism is unknown. Here, using two multimodal datasets of healthy participants, we built a multivariable multilevel model of functional-metabolic associations, assessing multiple functional features, describing the 1) rs-fMRI signal, 2) hemodynamic response, 3) static and 4) time-varying functional connectivity, as predictors of the human brain’s metabolic architecture. The full model was trained on one dataset and tested on the other to assess its reproducibility. We found that functional-metabolic spatial coupling is nonlinear and heterogeneous across the brain, and that local measures of rs-fMRI activity and synchrony are more tightly coupled to local metabolism. In the testing dataset, the degree of functional-metabolic spatial coupling was also related to peripheral metabolism. Overall, although a significant proportion of regional metabolic variability can be described by measures of spontaneous activity, additional efforts are needed to explain the remaining variance in the brain’s ‘dark energy’.
Respiratory failure as first presentation of myasthenia gravis: a case report
Authors: Wang Fangming , Cheng Jinming , Niu Xiaoli , Li Litao
Published: March 2024

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is often complicated by respiratory failure, an exacerbation known as myasthenic crisis. However, most patients with MG develop respiratory symptoms during the late course of the disease. Respiratory failure as an exclusive initial and primary complaint in patients with MG is rare and seldom reported. We herein describe a woman in her late 50s who presented with respiratory failure and was diagnosed with obesity hypoventilation syndrome at a local hospital. Her condition gradually worsened during the next 4 months and became accompanied by dysphagia. After 1 year of medical investigation, she was diagnosed in our hospital. A high level of anti-muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase antibody was found in her serum, and stimulation and electromyography results suggested MG. The patient’s symptoms were improved by intravenous immunoglobulin and hormone therapy. This case reminds physicians to consider MG when encountering a patient who initially presents with respiratory failure.
The dynamics of international exploitation
Authors: Cogliano Jonathan F , Veneziani Roberto , Yoshihara Naoki
Published: March 2024

This paper develops a framework to analyse imperialistic international relations (IIR) and the dynamics of international exploitation. A new exploitation index is proposed which captures the territorial structure of IIR: wealthy nations are net lenders and exploiters, whereas endowment-poor countries are net borrowers and exploited. Capital flows transfer surplus from countries in the periphery of the global economy to those in the core. However, while international credit markets and wealth inequalities are central in generating international exploitation, other factors, including labour-saving innovations, are shown to be essential in explaining its persistence.
Reflections on preserving association records
Authors: Bossaller Jenny , Aparac-Jelušić Tatjana
Published: March 2024

This article provides an overview of the recorded history of information associations, focusing especially on the Association for Information Science and Technology. Discussions with the archivists of three other professional associations about their beginnings, services, and funding provide the framework. While there are firm legal guidelines for keeping association records, there are no firm guidelines that specifically describe how to archive association records for historical purposes. Association records—including correspondence, votes, and addresses that are not held in formal publications—can reveal how and when decisions were made. Making these records available in archives is invaluable to historians. The authors’ views and opinions are based on what they have learned during the last several years of the active engagement of the Association for Information Science and Technology’s History Committee (HC) and curator, and the hope is that this article will be useful for other associations as they curate their own archives.
An Unbeloved Heir? A Reassessment of Louis the Stammerer's Role in the Last Years of Charles the Bald's Reign and its Implications for Understanding Carolingian Rule
Authors: McNair Fraser
Published: March 2024

The father–son relationship between Charles the Bald and his eldest son Louis the Stammerer is generally understood as one of hostility and distrust. This article takes several episodes from the final decades of Charles the Bald's reign to question this, re-examining how royal Carolingian fathers and royal Carolingian sons could take steps to overcome previous conflicts and arguing that political ties within the royal family were more robust, and consequently of different significance for our understanding of Carolingian politics, than is usually understood.
The problem of winter navigation in the medieval Black Sea
Authors: Mirea Andrei
Published: March 2024

Unlike the pre-industrial practice of winter navigation in the Mediterranean Sea, which has been the subject of numerous studies, winter seafaring on the medieval Black Sea has not previously been the subject of thorough scholarly investigation, not least because the available sources are relatively few and fairly circumstantial. Being aware of the limitations of the present survey, the author attempts to gather together and reinterpret several instances dating from the period of the Byzantine and Italian domination over the Black Sea, which can shed some light on the seamen's often complicated relation with the winter season. The majority of the extant sources date from the last two centuries of the Middle Ages, an era that witnessed substantial technological developments which contributed to the amelioration of winter navigation. This study chiefly aims to highlight the unresolved issues and address the challenges that such a topic of inquiry presents.
An Introductory Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Interventional Radiology: Part 2: Implementation Considerations and Harms
Authors: Warren Blair Edward , Bilbily Alexander , Gichoya Judy Wawira , Chartier Lucas B. , Fawzy Aly , Barragán Camilo , Jaberi Arash , Mafeld Sebastian
Published: March 2024

The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in interventional radiology (IR) will bring about new challenges and opportunities for patients and clinicians. AI may comprise software as a medical device or AI-integrated hardware and will require a rigorous evaluation that should be guided based on the level of risk of the implementation. A hierarchy of risk of harm and possible harms are described herein. A checklist to guide deployment of an AI in a clinical IR environment is provided. As AI continues to evolve, regulation and evaluation of the AI medical devices will need to continue to evolve to keep pace and ensure patient safety.
Centre variation in home dialysis uptake: A survey of kidney centre practice in relation to home dialysis organisation and delivery in England
Authors: Damery Sarah , Lambie Mark , Williams Iestyn , Coyle David , Fotheringham James , Solis-Trapala Ivonne , Allen Kerry , Potts Jessica , Dikomitis Lisa , Davies Simon J
Published: March 2024

Background:

Disparities in home dialysis uptake across England suggest inequity and unexplained variation in access. We surveyed staff at all English kidney centres to identify patterns in service organisation/delivery and explore correlations with home therapy uptake, as part of a larger study (‘Inter-CEPt’), which aims to identify potentially modifiable factors to address observed variations.

Methods:

Between June and September 2022, staff working at English kidney centres were surveyed and individual responses combined into one centre-level response per question using predetermined data aggregation rules. Descriptive analysis described centre practices and their correlation with home dialysis uptake (proportion of new home dialysis starters) using 2019 UK Renal Registry 12-month home dialysis incidence data.

Results:

In total, 180 responses were received (50/51 centres, 98.0%). Despite varied organisation of home dialysis services, most components of service delivery and practice had minimal or weak correlations with home dialysis uptake apart from offering assisted peritoneal dialysis and ‘promoting flexible decision-making about dialysis modality’. Moderate to strong correlations were identified between home dialysis uptake and centres reporting supportive clinical leadership (correlation 0.32, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.05–0.55), an organisational culture that values trying new initiatives (0.57, 95% CI: 0.34–0.73); support for reflective practice (0.38, 95% CI: 0.11–0.60), facilitating research engagement (0.39, 95% CI: 0.13–0.61) and promoting continuous quality improvement (0.29, 95% CI: 0.01–0.53).

Conclusions:

Uptake of home dialysis is likely to be driven by organisational culture, leadership and staff attitudes, which provide a supportive clinical environment within which specific components of service organisation and delivery can be effective.
Turning Social Capital into Scientific Capital: Men’s Networking in Academia
Authors: Järvinen Margaretha , Mik-Meyer Nanna
Published: March 2024

Universities have changed in recent decades with the introduction of various performance measurement systems, including journal ranking lists. This Bourdieu-inspired article analyses three types of strategies used by male associate professors in response to journal lists: building social capital at conferences and during stays abroad; marketing of research papers to potential reviewers and journal editors; and tactical co-authorship. Drawing on 55 qualitative interviews with male associate professors in the social sciences in Denmark, the article shows that journal lists, and the forms of strategic networking they are associated with, represent a new doxa in higher education. However, it also reveals that participants are unequally positioned when it comes to acting in accordance with performance metrics. Although comprehended as neutral, journal lists are based on (and contribute to) dividing lines between acknowledged and unacknowledged research – lines that tend to pass unnoticed among winners as well as losers in the academic publishing game.
Perceived Health Status, Quality of Life and Treatment-Seeking Behaviour Among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) Attending Antiretroviral Therapy Clinic at a Tertiary Care Centre of North India
Authors: Kaur Mandeep , Kaur Sukhpal , Sharma Aman , Sachdeva Ravinder Kaur
Published: March 2024

HIV is a major health issue globally. Though highly effective antiretroviral therapy has improved the life expectancy, people living with HIV (PLHIV) suffer from many physical and psychological issues. The present study assessed perceived health status, quality of life (QOL) and treatment-seeking behaviour among PLHIV.

The study was carried out among 75 PLHIV attending ART clinic of a tertiary care centre of North India. Convenience sampling technique was used. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Institute Ethics Committee. Participants were asked to rate their current state of health as perceived by them on a five-point scale ranging from poor to excellent. QOL was assessed by using WHOQOL-BREF (Hindi version). Treatment-seeking behaviour was assessed by a structured questionnaire developed by researchers.

A total of 45.3% ( n = 34) rated it as fair, 22.7% ( n = 17) rated it as good 13.3% ( n = 10) rated it as poor, 10.7% ( n = 8) rated it as excellent and 8% ( n = 6) rated it as very good. QOL score was highest in physical health domain with a mean ± S.D. of 12.3 ± 4.1 (median 13) and lowest in the social relationships domain with a mean of 8.6 ± 2.9 (median = 8) ( p = .001). Most common reason of going for HIV testing was being symptomatic ( n = 21) followed by spouse testing positive for HIV ( n = 19).

HIV impacts QOL of the PLHIV and treatment-seeking behaviour varies among the patients. There is a need to develop a multilevel approach involving all the stakeholders including patient, family and society.
Development and Evaluation of a Serious Game on Pressure Injury Prevention for the Training of Patient Relatives: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Authors: Çakar Vildan , Karadağ Ayişe
Published: March 2024

Background

In recent years, serious games have been used as an educational method in various fields such as economy, marketing, military, education, and health as a training method. Pressure injuries (PIs) are a significant health problem and clinical quality improvement issue throughout the world. Implementation of prevention strategies has gained importance in all healthcare settings due to the negative effects of PIs. Educating patient relatives on PI prevention is essential.

Aims

This study aimed to develop a serious game for the training of patient relatives on PI prevention and evaluate the game in terms of knowledge acquisition and its features.

Methods

The study was carried out as a single-group quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design in three stages between August 1, 2020-April 30, 2022. In the first stage educational content, knowledge assessment test, and game evaluation questionnaire were prepared. A web-based serious game (PreSore: Pressure Injury Prevention Game) was developed in the second stage. The participants played the game in the third stage, and data was collected. The study sample consisted of patient relatives (n=55). A knowledge assessment test (pre-test, post-test, and re-test) and a game evaluation questionnaire were administered for the data collection.

Results

It was determined that there was a significant increase in knowledge scores after the PreSore game implementation ( p < .001). Most of the participants indicated that the information in the game was easy to understand (98.2%), they wanted to share their educational experience with others with the digital game method (96.4%), and they found the game was authentic (94.5%).

Conclusions

The study revealed that the PreSore game is a method that could be used to train patient relatives on PI prevention. Integrating the PreSore into daily practice in healthcare institutions and conducting prospective studies are recommended.
Obesity modifies the association between diabetes and iron biomarkers and red cell indices in reproductive-aged women in the United States
Authors: Aguree Sixtus , Owora Arthur , Hawkins Misty , Gletsu-Miller Nana
Published: March 2024

Obesity and diabetes are associated with impaired iron metabolism. We aimed to examine the independent relationship between diabetes and iron after controlling for body weight (or obesity) in women aged 20–49 years. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2015 to 2018 were used in this investigation. Body composition data, HbAc1, iron biomarkers (serum ferritin (SF), soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), and body iron index (BII)), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean hemoglobin concentration (MCH), red cell distribution width (RDW), and hemoglobin were used. Linear regression models were used to examine how and to what extent body mass index (BMI) modified the relationship between diabetes and iron status biomarkers. A total of 1834 women aged 20–49 were included in the analysis with a mean (SD) age of 32 .2 ± 6.1 years and BMI of 29.5 ± 6.9 kg/m2. The mean SF (p = 0.014) and BII (p < 0.001) were lower, while sTfR (p < 0.001) was higher in women with diabetes than those with no diabetes. Mean estimates for MCV and MCH were lower, while RDW (p = 0.001) was higher in diabetes patients (all p < 0.001). Women with diabetes were more likely to have iron deficiency, anemia, and iron deficiency anemia than those without diabetes (18.1% vs 8.6%, p < 0.001), (24.4% vs 8.4%, p < 0.001), and (14.8% vs 5.2%, p < 0.001), respectively. Among women with obesity, those with diabetes had lower predicted ferritin (β = −0.19, p = 0.016), BII (β = −0.99, p = 0.016), and hemoglobin (β = −0.27, p = 0.042) than those without diabetes. The study shows that diabetes is linked to lower iron stores; this is exacerbated in those with obesity.
A Content and Quality Evaluation of Mobile Classroom Behavior Management Applications
Authors: Mittiga Sharon R. , Freeman Nerelie C. , Furlonger Brett E. , Chan Perrin , Leif Erin S.
Published: March 2024

This study evaluated the quality and behavior change techniques (BCTs) included in 11 freely available mobile classroom behavior management applications (mCBM apps). We found that mCBM apps included a limited number of BCTs, with an average of 9 of 21 possible BCTs. Consequence-based BCTs like rewards and feedback were common, while antecedent-based strategies like prompts and reminders were less prevalent. Some mCBM apps also included BCTs related to sharing and exporting data. There was no significant correlation between the number of BCTs and the apps’ overall quality ratings based on the user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale. However, there was a positive correlation between the number of BCTs and the Engagement and Information subdomains of this scale. The findings contribute to understanding mCBM apps design and functionality, providing insights for future development and evaluation. However, concerns were raised about some features of mCBM apps and the degree to which apps ensured data privacy and security. Further research is needed to assess the quality and benefits of mCBM apps for students and teachers.
The disappearing generation and climate change: evidence from Zimbabwe
Authors: Chiba Moffat
Published: March 2024

The passing on of key elderly members of communities is presenting new challenges on the well-being of the natural environment as their disappearance signifies the end of Indigenous Knowledge that had protected the ecological environment. Using 60 in-depth interviews situated in 2 rural settlements in the Shamva District of Zimbabwe, complemented by documents on climate change literature, the article demonstrates that the dying of elderly community members is contributing to climate change. With unprecedented levels of migration globally in the absence of Indigenous Knowledge transfer, the continued survival of this important body of knowledge is seriously threatened and this is also greatly contributing to climate change. An end to the free-market economy has been proposed as a solution to address the global problem of climate change. However, the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge into the education curriculum, including its digitalisation, may go a long way in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
The Risk Factors of Mitral Regurgitation Deterioration After Secundum Atrial Septal Defect Closure
Authors: Swandita Garniswara , Arso Irsad Andi , Anggrahini Dyah Wulan , Hartopo Anggoro Budi , Cipta Cindy Elica , Dinarti Lucia Kris
Published: March 2024

Background:

Association between secundum Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) and mitral valve (MV) disease has been recognized for decades. Secundum ASD closure can reduce mitral regurgitation (MR) degree. However, in some patients, deterioration of MR after ASD closure has been observed. We aimed to identify the risk factors of MR deterioration after ASD closure.

Methods:

This was an observational retrospective cohort study. Data were collected from the registry and echocardiogram report. We evaluated all patients with ASD closure by surgery and transcatheterization without MR intervention from January 2012 until June 2021 at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, Yogyakarta. We excluded patients with multiple ASD and ASD with severe MR requiring MV intervention. Risk factors for MR deterioration were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression.

Results:

A total of 242 patients who underwent post-secundum ASD closure were included. In multivariate analysis, ASD closure by surgery, large left atrial (LA) diameter (>40 mm), low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; <55%), and MV regurgitation degree were significant risk factors for MR worsening after ASD closure, with OR of 2.103 (95% CI 1.124-3.937); 2.871 (95% CI 1.032-7.985); 5.531 (95% CI 1.368-22.366); and 2.490 (95% CI 1.339-4.630) respectively.

Conclusion:

ASD closure by surgery, large LA diameter (>40 mm), low LVEF (<55%), and MV regurgitation degree are independent significant risk factors for MR deterioration in post-secundum ASD closure patients. In adult ASD patients with reduced LV function, it is recommended to perform balloon testing and consider fenestrated closure, as low LVEF <55% has the highest risk of causing new or deteriorating MR.