bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study of Empiric Antibiotic Prescription Patterns and Microbiological Isolates in Hemodynamically Stable and Unstable ICU Patients With Community-Acquired Sepsis
Authors: Bhattacharyya Mahuya , Saha Ananya , Todi Subhash
Published: February 2024

Background: The efficacy of combination empiric antibiotic therapy for all intensive care unit (ICU) patients with community-acquired sepsis is a subject of ongoing debate in the era of increasing antibiotic resistance. This study was conducted to evaluate the patterns of antibiotic usage and microbial resistance in sepsis patients admitted to the ICU with both hemodynamically stable (HS) and unstable states and to analyze their clinical outcomes. Methods: In this observational study, patients aged 18 years and above who received antibiotics upon admission and had a culture report were included. These patients were categorized into the following groups: HS and hemodynamically unstable (HU), single or combined antibiotics group (more than one antibiotic used empirically to cover one or more groups of organisms), culture-positive and culture-negative group. The microbiological isolates were grouped according to their identified resistance patterns. The outcome parameters involved assessing the differences in empiric antibiotics use upon admission and microbial resistance with hemodynamic stability and investigating any associations with ICU and hospital outcomes. Results: The study included a total of 2675 patients, of which 70.3% were in the HS group, and 29.7% in the HU group. The use of combination antibiotics was significantly higher ( p < 0 .0001) across all groups. Carbapenems were used more frequently in the single antibiotic group ( p < 0 .001). The culture was positive in 27.8% ( n  =  747) of patients. A significantly higher number of patients in the HU group ( p < 0 .001) were found to have carbapenem-resistant and multidrug-resistant organisms. The ICU and hospital mortality rates were significantly higher in the HU group ( p < 0 .001), the culture-positive group with resistance ( p < 0 .001), and the HS patients who received combination antibiotics. Conclusion: The usage of combination antibiotics, coupled with the presence of resistant organisms, emerged as an important variable in predicting ICU and hospital mortality rates in cases of community-acquired sepsis.
Involvement of Guns in Nonfatal Conflict Between Adult Children and Their Parents
Authors: Labrum Travis , Solomon Phyllis , Newhill Christina E.
Published: February 2024

The objectives of the present analyses are to examine the frequency, nature, and correlates of nonfatal gun use in incidents of conflict between adult children and their parents, to which police were summoned. A cross-sectional study design was used with all cases of domestic violence to which police were called between adult children and their parents, in Philadelphia, PA, in 2013 ( N = 6,248). Data were drawn from forms required to be completed by police when responding to domestic violence calls for assistance. A series of multivariate logistic regression models were estimated. Of the 6,248 incidents, 5,486 involved no weapon, 522 involved a bodily weapon, 190 involved a non-gun external weapon, and 50 involved a gun. Guns were most often used to threaten victims (66%), with guns less often fired (6%) or used to pistol whip victims (4%). Compared to incidents involving a bodily weapon, when guns were involved, offenders were less likely to have pushed, grabbed, or punched the victim and victims were less likely to have visible injuries; however, offenders were more likely to have threatened victims and victims were more likely to be observed as frightened. Police officers intervened similarly to incidents involving guns vs. bodily weapons. This is the first study we are aware of to focus on nonfatal gun use between family members who are not intimate partners, with the results extending much of what is known regarding nonfatal gun use among intimate partners to nonfatal gun use among adult children and parents.
Precarity and the Predatory Inclusion of Black Women by For-Profit Colleges
Authors: Dawson Caleb E.
Published: February 2024

Numerous sectors and institutions engage in ‘predatory inclusion’, purporting to satisfy the unmet needs of historically marginalized groups under exploitative terms. However, extant scholarship has yet to robustly examine why they target certain groups. Drawing on Black feminist Marxism, I theorize how predatory inclusion depends on precarity, and I redefine ‘precarity’ as a structural position of vulnerability to violence based on excess responsibilities and the denial of means to meet them – or, ‘alternativelessness’. I convey the usefulness of my definition of precarity and my theorization of the relationship between precarity and predatory inclusion through empirical sections that demonstrate how for-profit colleges (‘for-profits’) prey upon the alternativelessness of Black women, the race-gender demographic group with the highest rates of debt-financed enrollment in for-profits. By examining the training materials for admissions ‘counselors’ at for-profits, I illuminate how for-profits succeed at enrollment growth by manipulating the pain, urgency, and relationality of this precarity. I also reveal how descriptive statistics of Black women’s enrollment and financial need in for-profits correspond to the sector’s predation of precarity. I contend that precarity must be contested for the sake of ending the predatory inclusion of Black women and all others positioned alongside them as ideal prey.
Justice, inclusion, and incentives
Authors: Demeze-Jouatsa Ghislain Herman , Pongou Roland , Tondji Jean-Baptiste
Published: February 2024

How does justice affect individual incentives and efficiency in a political economy? We show that elementary principles of distributive justice guarantee the existence of a self-enforcing contract whereby agents non-cooperatively choose their inputs and derive utility from their pay. Chief among these principles is that your pay should not depend on your name, and a more productive individual should not earn less. We generalize our analysis to incorporate inclusivity, ensuring basic pay to unproductive agents, implemented through progressive taxation and redistribution. Our findings show that without redistribution, any self-enforcing agreement may be inefficient, but a minimal level of redistribution guarantees the existence of an efficient agreement. Our model has several applications and interpretations. In addition to highlighting the structure of economies and organizations in which fairness and efficiency are compatible, we develop an application to the formation of rent-seeking political alliances under the threat of fake news.
Research on temperature field and friction wear of friction partner of composite synchronizer ring
Authors: Li Qinghua , Xiao Kai , Cheng Siyuan , Wang Chunyu , Zhang Shihong
Published: February 2024

In order to ameliorate the changes in friction material properties caused by the local high temperatures and contact wear generated by the synchronizer friction pair during the gearshift process. A composite synchronous ring using carbon fiber composite material as friction material is proposed. The temperature field characteristics of the working surface of the friction sub-side of the composite synchronous ring and the influence of different parameters on the friction and wear of the composite synchronous ring are investigated. Combined with the actual structure and working conditions of the composite synchronous ring as well as heat transfer and abrasive wear fractal theory. The finite element analysis model and contact wear mathematical model of the friction vice of the composite synchronous ring are established, and the finite element simulation analysis and numerical simulation analysis are carried out. The research results show that the performance of the double-layer carbon fiber synchronizer ring is better than that of the single-layer carbon fiber synchronizer ring, and the temperature of the friction surface of the double-layer composite synchronizer ring is the highest temperature of 113.4°C, and the highest temperature rise is 91.4°C. The larger the shift force is during the synchronizer process, the deeper the wear rate of the friction surface of the composite synchronous ring is; the appropriate increase of the friction cone angle of the composite synchronous ring can reduce the wear of the composite synchronous ring.
Integrated modification of silicon carbide ceramic armor via kaolin and Soda-lime glass for enhanced ballistic protection: Fabrication, characterization, and performance analysis
Authors: Bader Ali Mohammed , Hadi Enas Muhi
Published: February 2024

This work proposed the introduction of a new approach to modify plate ceramics for armor. Two additives were used, kaolin and soda-lime glass, which were added to silicon carbide in variable weight ratios: 5, 10, and 15 wt.% for the kaolin, while the glass was added at 5, 15, and 30 wt.%. The samples were formed using axial pressing and then sintered at 1100 °C. It was found that increasing the percentage of clay and glass leads to a decrease in porosity, an increase in density, and a decrease in the water absorption of samples. The mechanical properties (hardness and diametrical compression) increased with the increase in the proportion of kaolin, and the thermal conductivity also increased. Also, a scanning electron microscope was used. Finally, the specimen was examined by a ballistic test, and it successfully provided safety for people against bullets who were shot by rifle AK-47. This article contributed to the provision of high-efficiency and low-cost bulletproof shields from available cheap materials (kaolin, glass, and silicon carbide).
Multi-modal battery-operated trains on partially electrified lines: A case study on some regional lines in Italy
Authors: Pugi Luca , di Carlo Luca
Published: February 2024

A full electrification of many local railway lines is often not feasible or sustainable in terms of construction and maintenance costs or alternatively for the presence of additional constraints and limitations deriving from environmental or infrastructural limitations. Battery Operated Powertrains or other kind of hybrid solutions are currently proposed as sustainable alternatives to internal combustion engines for the propulsion of rolling stock on non-electrified lines. In this work, the authors propose the adoption of a partial electrification of lines to assure higher performances and reliability of battery-operated rolling stock designed to be recharged and feed using standard technologies such as pantographs gathering power from suspended catenaries. This innovative solution is designed for a benchmark test vehicle inspired from an existing one and simulated considering some possible scenario of application corresponding to some existing railway lines in Italy.
Collaborative strategy research of target tracking based on natural intelligence by UAV swarm
Authors: Yin Shi , Wang Xiaofang , Luo Lianyong , Pan Nan , Zhao Da , Zhang Xiayang
Published: February 2024

Regarding the regional area target collaborative tracking problem widely existing in intelligent scenarios, this paper built a distributed UAV swarm framework inspired by natural intelligence to heighten intricate missions’ efficiency. Also, a standoff collaboratively continuous tracking strategy was proposed based on a lateral guidance law with an improved Reference Point Guidance (RPG) and a longitudinal guidance law with an improved phase collaboration. Under an uncertain environment, this framework used an improved bat algorithm (IBA) to optimize the speed allocation of the UAV swarm’s online control strategy with information consensus estimation. Compared with a case without the designed transformation, statistically, the results demonstrate that the framework operates efficiently and robustly in phase error convergence, swarm flight distance, and fuel consumption, where a dynamic target exists.
The PM2.5 pollution rebound effect and industrial structure adjustment in China: The impact of heterogeneous technological progress and resource dependence
Authors: Zheng You , Tang Jian , Xiao Jianzhong
Published: February 2024

Adjusting industrial structure is the fundamental way of pollution control and environmental protection. Analyzing the PM2.5 pollution rebound effect of industrial structure adjustment based on heterogeneous technological progress and resource dependence is of great significance for in-depth and sustained pollution reduction. The results of combining the panel threshold regression model and the modified STIRPAT model on provincial panel data from 2008 to 2022 show that a 1% increase in structural upgrading results in a 0.4130% decrease in PM2.5 pollution; a 1% increase in structural rationalization results in a 0.0934% decrease in PM2.5 pollution. Resource dependence causes the PM2.5 pollution rebound effect of industrial structure adjustment; industrial structure upgrading with resource dependence has an insignificant increase effect on PM2.5 pollution, 1% increase of rationalization with resource dependence leads to a 2.8637% increase in PM2.5 pollution. As technology progresses, the increasing effect of industrial structure upgrading with resource dependence on pollution gradually weakens and finally transforms into a reduction effect; the reduction effect of industrial structure rationalization with resource dependence becomes an increasing effect causing the rebound to reappear and then turns to be a reduction effect again, show an invert “N.” Heterogeneous technological progress has the paradox impact mechanism on the pollution rebound; environmental protection technological progress can eliminate the pollution rebound, whereas energy-saving technological progress may cause a pollution rebound effect of industrial structure rationalization.
Micro-entrepreneurship, Institutional Environment and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of Weaving Clusters in West Bengal, India
Authors: De Indranil , Biswas Saswata Narayan , Dey Devleena
Published: February 2024

This article compares micro-enterprises’ performance and the entrepreneurial ability of weavers as perceived by the weavers themselves under two different institutional environments: one dominated by a cooperative society and the other dominated by private traders. Weavers in the private trader-dominated institutional environment are more likely to introduce new designs, develop new products and usher client satisfaction. However, the determinants of overall entrepreneurial ability reveal that after controlling for several factors, the weavers associated with a cooperative society seem to have significantly higher abilities. Analysing the marginal effects of the institutional environment, it is observed that the perceived quality of handlooms, weaver’s ability to bargain for returns and ability to efficiently manage business finances are much better in the cooperative-dominated cluster as compared to the private trader-dominated cluster. Furthermore, the resilience of enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic was much higher in the cooperative-dominated business environment. Enterprises using more unpaid female household labour were more resilient than others during the pandemic.
Digital selves: A cross-cultural examination of athlete social media self-presentation during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Authors: Xu Qingru , Kim Eunhui , Guo Sitong
Published: February 2024

This study investigates the social media self-presentation of Chinese, South Korean, and US athletes during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with the aim of elucidating the influence of gender and nationalism on their online portrayals across countries. A total of 1800 photographs posted by 278 Olympians were analyzed, revealing that (a) South Korean athletes, particularly males, display a higher prevalence of business-related images in their self-presentation compared to athletes from other countries; (b) Chinese athletes exhibit a greater degree of nationalism in their posted photographs than their South Korean and US counterparts; and (c) female athletes, although gaining agency over their online presence, still demonstrate behaviors reinforcing conventional gender norms. This research underscores the multifaceted interplay of gender, nationalistic, cultural, political, and ideological factors in shaping athletes’ self-representations on social media, offering valuable insights into the complex dynamics that inform their digital self-expression.
High School Students’ Motivation to Learn Climate Change Science through Educational Computer Games
Authors: Besalti Metin , Smith Glenn Gordon
Published: February 2024

Background

Teaching climate change is difficult. Its complexity spans many subjects, often taught disjointedly. Many climate change effects are not immediately observable, making it hard for students to connect to it personally.

Aim

This study investigates how we can spark high school students’ interest in learning about climate change using educational computer games.

Method

We adopted a qualitative case research design to understand how games boost students’ drive and their role in motivating them. We selected a high school teacher and her eight students as our subjects, interviewing them in person. We analyzed their responses were using Keller’s ARCS Theory of Motivation Model and blending deductive and inductive methods.

Results

The findings were encouraging: games positively impacted students’ interest in climate change. They transformed the learning atmosphere into a concentrated, captivating space where the content was seen as tough yet enjoyable. Moreover, the games helped students make real-world connections, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of the topic.

Conclusion

Educational games are a powerful tool in motivating students to learn about climate change science. Hence, educators should be ready to harness the games’ power to create immersive, fun, and stimulating learning environments.
Fertility by Design: Integrating IVF, Biopsychosocial Tenets, and Counseling
Authors: Bjornsen-Ramig Abby L. , Schneider Kara , Blount Ashley J. , Hellman Samantha
Published: February 2024

Women's health is a vast and complex field, encompassing diverse experiences and challenges throughout the pregnancy lifecycle. Despite advanced medical facilities in the United States, pregnancy-related mortality rates remain higher than in other countries, with alarming disparities affecting minority populations. This article explores the multifaceted landscape of infertility, focusing on women in heterosexual partnerships pursuing in vitro fertilization (IVF). In exploring the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of women's health in the context of IVF, this article employs the biopsychosocial model as a systemic framework to comprehend the comprehensive nature of the IVF process. It delves into the challenges faced by individuals and couples, emphasizing the vital role of mental health services in promoting overall wellbeing.
Super Formula for Soluble C-Type Lectin-Like Receptor 2 × D-Dimer in Patients With Acute Cerebral Infarction
Authors: Kamon Toshitaka , Wada Hideo , Horie Shotaro , Inaba Tomoya , Okamoto Karin , Shiraki Katsuya , Ichikawa Yuhuko , Ezaki Minoru , Shimaoka Motomu , Nishigaki Akisato , Shindo Akihiro , Shimpo Hideto , Ito Nobuo
Published: February 2024

Acute cerebral infarction (ACI) includes atherosclerotic and cardiogenic ACI and involves a thrombotic state, requiring antithrombotic treatment. However, the thrombotic state in ACI cannot be evaluated using routine hemostatic examinations. Plasma soluble C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (sCLEC-2) and D-dimer levels were measured in patients with ACI. Plasma sCLEC-2 and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in patients with ACI than in those without it. The sCLEC-2 × D-dimer formula was significantly higher in patients with ACI than in those without it. A receiver operating characteristic curve showed a high sensitivity, area under the curve, and odds for diagnosing ACI in the sCLEC-2 × D-dimer formula. Although the sCLEC-2 and D-dimer levels were useful for the differential diagnosis between cardiogenic and atherosclerotic ACI, the sCLEC-2 × D-dimer formula was not useful. sCLEC2 and D-dimer levels are useful for the diagnosis of ACI and the sCLEC2 × D-dimer formula can enhance the diagnostic ability of ACI, and sCLEC2 and D-dimer levels may be useful for differentiating between atherosclerotic and cardioembolic ACI.
Tunable acoustic metamaterial for broadband low-frequency sound absorption by continuous acoustic impedance manipulation
Authors: Wang Xiaochen , Yu Chenlei , Xin Fengxian
Published: February 2024

In this paper, a continuously tunable acoustic metamaterial is proposed for broadband low-frequency sound absorption. The metamaterial can be considered as a reconfigurable Helmholtz resonator with an upper perforated panel that can be continuously rotated to adjust the neck length. A theoretical model is developed to study the tunable sound absorption performance of the metamaterial, which demonstrates that it exhibits efficient low-frequency sound absorption ([Formula: see text]) in the frequency range (from 186 Hz to 319 Hz). Furthermore, perfect sound absorption ([Formula: see text]) is achieved at 197 Hz with a deep subwavelength thickness ([Formula: see text]). To validate this model, numerical simulations and experimental measurements are performed, and the physical mechanism of tunable sound absorption is explored. Results show that the acoustic impedance manipulation is realized by rotating the perforated panel to tune the acoustic mass of the Helmholtz resonator, which is the key to the continuous tunability of the proposed metamaterial. Based on the continuous tunability of each metamaterial unit, a tunable broadband sound absorber is designed to achieve a variety of broadband sound absorption performance with a single fabricated structure. This work paves the way for the manual realization of flexible tunability of sound absorbers and helps to achieve tunable absorption of complex noise according to variable acoustic application scenarios.
Successful switch to cisplatin-based chemotherapy in a patient with lung cancer who developed a carboplatin-induced hypersensitivity reaction
Authors: Nagata Yuko , Toyokawa Gouji , Sugiyama Akiko , Shimamatsu Shinichiro , Saitoh Ohki , Okubo Hiroshi , Ueda Hitoshi
Published: February 2024

Introduction

Platinum-based chemotherapy is the mainstay of first-line therapy for advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although carboplatin-induced hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) commonly occur following multiple cycles of therapy, they are rarely observed during the first cycle of the treatment.

Case report

Here, we report the case of a 70-year-old man with advanced-stage NSCLC who developed HSR possibly caused by carboplatin during the first cycle of induction with platinum-doublet chemotherapy plus pembrolizumab. The patient presented with bronchial obstruction due to a centrally located tumor. No driver mutations were detected, and the programmed death-ligand 1 expression ranged from 1% to 24%. Consequently, the patient was treated with pembrolizumab combined with carboplatin and paclitaxel. However, immediately after the start of carboplatin, the blood pressure and oxygen levels of the patient dropped and he began exhibiting an altered level of consciousness. These findings indicated carboplatin-induced anaphylaxis. Hypotension and oxygen desaturation improved following carboplatin discontinuation and normal saline administration.

Management and outcome

The basophil activation test for both carboplatin and cisplatin was negative. Thus, the risk of anaphylaxis owing to both drugs was ruled out, and carboplatin was believed to have induced grade 3 HSR. Subsequently, carboplatin-based chemotherapy was switched to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. HSR was not observed during the four treatment cycles with pembrolizumab, cisplatin, and pemetrexed, and best response was partial response.

Discussion

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy could be used as an alternate treatment in patients with NSCLC who develop severe carboplatin-induced HSR.
Assessment of potential drug–drug interactions in hospitalized cancer patients
Authors: Ratan Chameli , Rajeev Mekha , Krishnan Karthik , Jayamohanan Hridya , Kartha Niveditha , Vijayan Meenu , Pavithran Keechilat
Published: February 2024

Introduction

Drug–drug interactions (DDIs) pose a significant threat to patients with cancer, resulting in several adverse events in an oncology setting. Our study aims to identify potential DDIs in inpatient oncology wards, assess their severity, and provide recommendations to avoid these interactions.

Materials and methods

This prospective study was conducted in 79 hospitalized cancer patients over a period of 9 months (from August 2021 to May 2022) at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi receiving at least two oncological or non-oncological drugs for 5 days.

Results

Significant differences were found in drug count (61.6% vs. 38.4%), hospitalization duration (63.1% vs. 36.9%), and medications for comorbidities (63% vs. 37%) between patients with and without DDIs (p < 0.001, <0.001, and 0.01, respectively). The study identified 321 DDIs, with 14 (4.4%) X interactions, 93 (30%) D interactions, 161 (50%) C interactions, and 53 (15.6%) B interactions. Severity-wise, 76 (23.7%) were major, 190 (59.1%) were moderate, and 55 (17.2%) were minor.

Conclusion

Our study showed that drug count, medications for comorbidities, and hospitalization duration significantly increase the risk of DDIs in hospitalized oncology patients. Around 96.4% of recommendations for potential interactions were accepted and implemented, highlighting the huge opportunities and requirements for improvement, implementation, and management of drug interactions in oncology settings.
Learning to Make Change Via Virtual Money Manipulative, System of Least Prompts, and Modeling Online
Authors: Bouck Emily C. , Long Holly , O’Reilly Carrielynn
Published: February 2024

Individuals engage in purchasing skills on a daily basis. Regardless of the curricular focus of secondary students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; i.e., academic or functional), possession of life skills is important. In this single case design study, researchers examined the provision of online instruction to three U.S. high school students with IDD learning to solve making change with coins problems. Researchers provided students with an intervention package consisting of a virtual money manipulative, modeling, and the system of least prompts (SLP). A functional relation was suggested between the dependent variable of independent accuracy and the intervention package. Students also increased their percentage of task analysis steps completed independently following receipt of the intervention package. All three students maintained their percentage of task analysis steps completed independently and their independent accuracy was higher than baseline. However, generalization to real-life experiences was not examined.
Unlocking the Transformative Power of Hospitality and Tourism Experiences: Towards Theoretical Syntheses and Research Agenda
Authors: Wu Laurie , Fan Alei , Hou Yuansi , Wei Wei
Published: February 2024

Hospitality and tourism experiences have impeccable capacities of transformation. Drawing on the experience advantage literature, the current research highlights the needs-based mechanisms through self-esteem, autonomy, meaningfulness, and relatedness in understanding the transformative power of hospitality and tourism experiences. Through a synthesis of past literature, we first synthesize how these four needs-based mechanisms have been addressed in the hospitality and tourism experience literature. Against the backdrop of socially conditioned trends evolving around the four needs-based mechanisms, we developed a “HEAL” model to outline the transformative functions of hospitality and tourism experiences, which are to Harbor, Evolve, Awaken and Link individuals. Finally, our research calls for additional studies that contribute to advancing hospitality and tourism experiences’ transformative power.
Standard-of-Care Treatment for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer and Emerging Therapeutic Options
Authors: Premji Sarah K , O’Sullivan Ciara C
Published: February 2024

Prior to the advent of the HER2-targeted monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, HER2+ breast cancer (BC) was considered an aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. Over the past 25 years, innovations in molecular biology, pathology, and early therapeutics have transformed the treatment landscape. With the advent of multiple HER2-directed therapies, there have been immense improvements in oncological outcomes in both adjuvant and metastatic settings. Currently, 8 HER2-targeted therapies are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of early-stage and/or advanced/metastatic disease. Nonetheless, approximately 25% of patients develop recurrent disease or metastasis after HER2-targeted therapy and most patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC) die from their disease. Given the many mechanisms of resistance to HER2-directed therapy, there is a pressing need to further personalize care for patients with HER2+ MBC, by the identification of reliable predictive biomarkers, and the development of novel therapies and combination regimens to overcome therapeutic resistance. Of particular interest are established and novel antibody-drug conjugates, as well as other novel therapeutics and multifaceted approaches to harness the immune system (checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and vaccine therapy). Herein, we discuss standard-of-care treatment of HER2+ MBC, including the management of breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM). Furthermore, we highlight novel treatment approaches for HER2+ MBC, including endeavors to personalize therapy, and discuss ongoing controversies and challenges.
The impact of social distancing measures on anti–JC virus serostatus changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in US patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Krieger Stephen C , Sinks Susie , Huang Furong , Steverson Julie , Kalina Tamar J , White Kurt , Avila Robin L
Published: February 2024

Background:

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic offered an epidemiological opportunity to evaluate if isolation and masking affected John Cunningham (JC) virus transmission.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess the proportion of natalizumab-treated patients who converted to a positive anti-JCV antibody serostatus before and during the pandemic.

Methods:

Data from TYSABRI Outreach: Unified Commitment to Health (TOUCH) for 22,375 US patients treated with natalizumab with anti-JCV antibody records were assessed in epochs annually from 2017 to 2022.

Results:

Pre-pandemic anti-JCV antibody serostatus change was observed for 7.4%–7.7%. During the first and second years of the pandemic, 7.3% and 7.2% of patients’ serostatus changed, respectively.

Conclusion:

The proportion of patients with anti-JCV antibody serostatus change did not significantly differ during the first 2 years of the pandemic compared with prior years. In contrast to seasonal influenza, masking and social distancing had no discernable effect on JCV serostatus change.
“Too soft for real psychiatry”? Gendered boundary-making between coercion and dialog in Italian wards
Authors: Rossero Eleonora , Ferrero Camoletto Raffaella
Published: February 2024

Psychiatric practice has always entailed a coercive dimension, visible not only in its formal expressions (e.g. compulsory treatment) but in many informal and implicit forms. In fact, contemporary psychiatric practices are characterized by an interplay of coercion and dialog to be interpreted not as binary categories but as extremes of a spectrum. Within this perspective, it becomes crucial to draw boundaries attributing meaning to professional identities and practices in psychiatric work. This is particularly relevant in acute wards: to explore this issue, we selected two cases according to a most-different-cases design, one ward with a mechanical-restraint approach compared to one with no-mechanical-restraint. We argue that gender, mobilized to performatively draw distinctions and hierarchies in order to define and justify different approaches to psychiatric crises along the continuum between coercion and dialog, is a key dimension in the boundary-making process. The analysis identifies two main dimensions of drawing gendered boundaries: inter-gender boundaries (overlapping the binary distinction between masculinity and femininity with a more coercive or relational-dialogic approach to crisis) and intra-gender boundaries (distinguishing and ranking of different masculinities and femininities), associating a less coercive orientation with a devirilized masculinity.
Acquiring differential object marking in heritage Spanish: Late childhood to adulthood
Authors: Thane Patrick D.
Published: February 2024

Aims/objectives/purpose/research questions:

The present study evaluated child and adult heritage speakers’ (HSs) productive and receptive knowledge of differential object marking (DOM) and addressed the roles of age, proficiency, and frequency of use in explaining variability.

Design/methodology/approach:

A total of 127 participants completed a sentence completion task (SCT) and a morphology selection task (MST) targeting DOM with animate and specific direct objects. Fifth grade, seventh/eighth grade, and adult HS groups participated alongside a group of Spanish-dominant bilingual adults.

Data and analysis:

All responses were coded for DOM and submitted to binomial logistic regressions, which included effects for group, task, proficiency, and frequency of use of Spanish.

Findings and conclusions:

HSs’ DOM production and selection increased across age groups. Proficiency modulated differences between HSs of all ages and participants were more likely to select DOM than to produce it, particularly if they used Spanish less frequently. All HSs produced and selected DOM at least one time, but many differed from Spanish-dominant bilingual adults.

Originality:

This study is the first to plot the course of development across late childhood and into adulthood in Spanish HSs that incorporates both a production task and a receptive measure to explore HSs’ holistic linguistic systems.

Significance/implications:

These findings show that there are factors that can account for variability in the production and selection of DOM at the group, individual, and within-speaker levels. This has implications for theories of acquisition: gradient knowledge is inconsistent with incomplete acquisition of DOM, but the increase in knowledge across age groups does not support feature reassembly.
Sentiment analysis of the COVID-19 vaccine perception
Authors: Park Byeonghwa , Jang In Suk , Kwak Daehan
Published: February 2024

The sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the United States, as well as other countries, is driven by variants such as the Omicron substrain, BA4 and BA5. Keeping up to date with COVID-19 vaccination and wearing masks are essential tools for mitigating the pandemic. Social media plays a vital role in sharing and exchanging information, but it also affects perceptions of social phenomena. In this study, we conducted sentiment analysis and topic modeling to investigate vaccine perception using 338,465 COVID-19 vaccine-related comments collected from January 2020 to May 2021 on Reddit. This study stands apart from prior COVID-related research on social media, particularly on Reddit, as it conducted separate analyses for each COVID vaccine and examines public sentiment with various societal events, including vaccine development progress and government responses to COVID. The findings reveal two notable spikes in the number of comments containing the keyword “vaccine”. This suggests that discussions about vaccines tend to increase during times of significant social and political events, indicating that people’s attention and interest in the topic are influenced by current events. Understanding the public perception of vaccines and identifying factors influencing vaccine perception could help propose appropriate interventions to promote vaccination.
Granular biopolitics: Facial recognition, pandemics and the securitization of circulation
Authors: Andrejevic Mark , O’Neill Chris , Smith Gavin , Selwyn Neil , Gu Xin
Published: February 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunities for facial recognition technology and other forms of biometric monitoring to expand into new markets. One anticipated result is the wholesale reconfiguration of shared and public space enabled by the automated identification and tracking of individuals in real time. Drawing on data from several industry trade shows, this article considers the forms of ‘environmental’ governance envisioned by those developing and deploying the technology for the purposes of security, risk management, and profit. We argue that the ‘contactless culture’ that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic anticipates the normalization of a form of mass-customized biopolitics: the ability to operate on the population and the individual simultaneously through automated forms of passive identification. This form of governance relies not just on machinic recognition, but on the real-time reconfiguration of physical space through automated access controls and the channelling of both people and information.
Disaster, facial recognition technology, and the problem of the corpse
Authors: O’Neill Christopher
Published: February 2024

The overlapping disasters of the Australian 2019–2020 bushfire season and the COVID-19 pandemic, figured alongside the imaginary of projected future disasters, have provided a space of legitimation to experiment with controversial facial recognition technologies (FRTs). Drawing upon interviews conducted with senior Australian government administrators and researchers, I argue that FRTs are being used to respond to the trauma of disaster through its novel mediation and refiguration, tied to discourses of resilience which have been used to justify the expansion of FRT as a means for relief and the provision of aid. This legitimation, however, is challenged by the difficulty FRT encounters in capturing the face in its vital and its mortal malleability. What I term ‘the problem of the corpse’ serves to bring to light the ‘paranoid’ gaze of the biometric apparatus, disrupting the aim of using biometric infrastructure to produce a ‘new normal’ in the ongoing aftermath of disaster.
Beyond extraction: Data strategies from the Global South
Authors: Horst Heather A , Sargent Adam , gaspard luke
Published: February 2024

This article draws upon a desk-based review and expert interviews with practitioners in the Global South to understand the diverse forms of data mediation that have become increasingly visible in the wake of the global coronavirus disease-19 pandemic. In contrast to accounts that frame the Global South solely as a site for the extraction of data and cheap, unskilled digital labor, we explore alternative accounts of the ways in which individuals and organizations in the Global South are asserting their role as active mediators of data who carve out spaces for value creation that are meaningful in their local and national contexts. From data collection and “refining” to the analysis of data for local needs and markets, these forms of data mediation demonstrate some of the changing dynamics of data practices globally and reflect the necessity of more nuanced analyses of value and power within and across regions.
Where are the pandemic drones? On the ‘failure’ of automated aerial solutionism
Authors: Jackman Anna , Richardson Michael , Veber Madelene
Published: February 2024

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, excitement broke out around the potential for drones to generate aerial solutions to devilish pandemic problems. But despite the hype, pandemic drones largely failed to take to the sky and far from the scale initially imagined. This article pursues the failure of the pandemic drone to materialise, showing how it nevertheless functioned as a locus of experimentation for remote logics and processes. As such, we shift focus away from what the pandemic drone is to if and where it – or its logics – can be found. To learn from the pandemic drone, we turn to three trajectories of failure: failure as experiment, failure as imaginary and failure as glitch. With particular attention to specific case studies, we show how failure enables drone logics and processes to migrate across various socio-technical forms, sites and applications of automated decision-making responses to the pandemic.
The artificial intelligence divide: Who is the most vulnerable?
Authors: Wang Chenyue , Boerman Sophie C , Kroon Anne C , Möller Judith , H de Vreese Claes
Published: February 2024

This study investigates users’ artificial intelligence (AI)-related competencies (i.e., AI knowledge, skills, and attitudes) and identifies the vulnerable user groups in the AI-shaped online news and entertainment environment. We surveyed 1088 Dutch citizens over the age of 16 years and identified five user groups through the latent class analysis: the average users, the expert advocates, the expert skeptics, the unskilled skeptics, and the neutral unskilled. The most vulnerable groups with the lowest levels of AI knowledge and AI skills (i.e., unskilled skeptics and neutral unskilled) were mostly older, with lower levels of education and privacy protection skills, than the average users. Overall, the results of this study resonate with the existing findings on the digital divide and provide evidence for an emerging AI divide among users. Finally, the societal implication of this study is discussed, such as the need for education programs and applications of the explainable AI.
Experiences of Indonesian people with dementia and carers undertaking an online-delivered exercise program
Authors: Sari Yulisna Mutia , Hill Keith D. , Burton Elissa , Lee Den-Ching A. , Lalor Aislinn F.
Published: February 2024

Participating in physical activity is beneficial for older people with dementia. Little is known however about the perceptions of people living with dementia undertaking an online-delivered exercise program. This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of older people with dementia and their carers in Indonesia participating in an online-delivered exercise program, and factors that may influence acceptability to the program. An exploratory qualitative study design using semi-structured interviews was used. Data were recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and analyzed thematically. Twelve participants with dementia (mean age = 63.3 years) and 30 carers (26 family carers and 4 paid carers) (mean age = 37.9 years) were interviewed separately. Seven themes were identified: (i) Motivating factors to participate; (ii) Benefits for people with dementia; (iii) Impacts on carers; (iv) Challenges and enablers to exercising; (v) Carers’ strategies for exercise engagement; (vi) Roles, relationships and supports; and (vii) Participants’ receptiveness to online delivery of the exercise program. This study illustrated that an online-delivered exercise program was acceptable for people with dementia and their carers in Indonesia and reinforced the importance of carers’ support for the exercise program. These findings can help physiotherapists and other exercise practitioners in considering the aspects of delivery that people with dementia and their carers value in participating in online-delivered exercise programs.
Experimental and numerical study of high-intensity sound in the cavity between rotator and stator of high- pressure compressor
Authors: Fengtong Zhao , Bo Cui , Mingsui Yang , MX Jiang , YD Sha , Xiaopeng Guo
Published: February 2024

An experiment is conducted in a multistage high-pressure compressor to investigate noise and rotor blade vibration. When vibration with high amplitude occurs in the rotor blade, high-intensity sound occurs within the compressor. The amplitude of noise inside the compressor varies with the amplitude of blade vibration, and the variation laws are consistent. Therefore, an annular disk cavity model, the simplified cavity between the rotator and stator of a high-pressure compressor, is built to study the high-intensity sound in the compressor by numerical simulation. The motion processes of the vortex structure inside the cavity are captured. The acoustic mode of the annular disk cavity model is excited at Ma 0.2, at the same time the sound pressure in the cavity is characterized with obvious a form of circumferential second order. The internal sound pressure gradually increases along the radial direction. Meanwhile, an annular disk cavity structure is established for experimental study. The characteristics of the acoustic mode of the annular disk cavity structure obtained in the simulation and experiment are consistent.
Measuring Healing and Recovery After Gender-Based Violence: A Scoping Review
Authors: Sinko Laura , Dubois Claire , Thorvaldsdottir Karen Birna
Published: February 2024

Healing after gender-based violence (GBV) is multidimensional, with varying instruments used in the scientific literature to capture this phenomenon quantitively in survivor populations. The purpose of this scoping review was to (a) describe quantitative measures used to evaluate recovery after GBV, (b) compare these findings with domains uncovered in a qualitative metasynthesis about survivors’ perspectives about healing after GBV, and (c) summarize recovery relationships found. We searched Pubmed, PsycInfo, and Violence/Criminology/Family Studies Abstracts. Studies were included for review if they (a) used quantitative methods, (b) evaluated healing or recovery in survivors of GBV, (c) were available in English, and (d) were empirical articles in peer-reviewed journals. Two thousand nine hundred thirty-five articles were reviewed by title and abstract, and 92 articles were reviewed by full text. Twenty-six articles were included in this review. Eight studies used an alleviation of adverse symptomology as a proxy for recovery, eight used growth-related outcomes, and ten used a combination of both types of measures. While the quantitative instruments synthesized in this review seemed to map onto some of the recovery domains identified through qualitative metasynthesis, no study synthesized measured all domains simultaneously. Studies synthesized identified that recovery-related outcomes may be influenced by social support, symptom burden, disclosure, and various therapeutic intervention programs tested in the literature to date. Synthesizing research on recovery after GBV is an essential step to understand gaps in measurement and understanding. Streamlining and using holistic recovery outcome measurement can aid in the development of evidence-based interventions to promote healing in survivor populations.