bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Experimental Study of Paint-Stripping Using an Excimer Laser
Authors: Galantucci L.M. , Gravina A. , Chita G. , Cinquepalmi M.
Published: April 2023

An excimer laser paint stripping process on metallic surfaces has been investigated, applicable to all those situations, such as adhesive bonding or spot welding, where a localised removal of the surface coating on single parts before assembly could be less expensive and better in quality than the ones realised with traditional methods. This process, due to the properties of the UV laser radiation used, is also suitable for paint stripping on already thermal treated metallic surfaces and plastic composites surfaces.

The absence of contact of the laser “tool” with the coating and the easy removal of products formed during the process is another important advantage of this method. Treating radioactive or contaminated parts is also possible, keeping the process in a closed chamber. Several kinds of polymer coatings have been tested for paint stripping experiments applied on aluminium and low carbon steel substrates, with different composition, colours, and thicknesses. The results obtained show that high quality surfaces can be obtained using this treatment, but the processing time is long.

These characteristics make the method suitable for treatment of small zones when either high surface quality, or absence of contact, is essential.
Damage Monitoring in Metallic Structures Using Piezoelectric Thin Film Sensors
Authors: Chiu W.K.
Published: April 2023

The increasing emphasis on intelligent material systems and structures has resulted in a significant research effort in the areas of embedded and bonded sensors and actuators. Piezoelectric thin film sensors are one of the many sensing materials available. The piezoelectric sensor output is proportional to changes in surface displacement and can be used to interpret variations in structural and material properties, e.g., the compliance of the material. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of using piezoelectric thin film sensors for structural integrity monitoring and assessment. To illustrate this potential, piezoelectric film sensors will be used for monitoring crack growth in an aluminium alloy specimen. Structural integrity assessment traditionally requires a detailed knowledge of the stress field in the critical region. In this respect, a numerical/analytical scheme will also be presented to show that data from an array of piezoelectric thin film sensors can be used to predict the stress field in a given region.
Effect of Reactive Compatibilisers on the Impact Properties of Polypropylene/ Poly(butylene terephthalate) Blends
Authors: Xiaochuan Zhu , Shibata Mitsuhiro , Yosomiya Ryutoku
Published: April 2023

Improvement of the impact strength for blends of polypropylene and poly(butylene terephthalate), with a polypropylene content of not less than 70 wt.% was investigated by the addition of reactive compatibilisers. Izod impact strength of the blends considerably increased with the addition of both maleic anhydride-modified polypropylene (MAH-PP) and a bisphenol A type epoxy resin with epoxy equivalent of 488 g/eq. From the SEM micrographs, it appeared that the interfacial adhesion increased on addition of the two compatibilisers.
Effects of Mixing Regimes on the Fracture Toughness of Polyurethane Rubber-Toughened Unsaturated Polyester Resins
Authors: Miller N.A. , Langford V.S.M. , Howell O.T. , Finch G.R.
Published: April 2023

The effects of different mixing regimes on the fracture toughness of polyurethane rubber-toughened polyester resins has been investigated. Variables studied included stirring action, temperature of mixing and rubber content. Two polyurethane rubbers, one hydroxyl terminated and one isocyanate terminated, were studied. It was found that mixing at 60°C and stirring with a laboratory mixer gave the most consistent results in terms of improvement in fracture toughness of the base resin. The optimum rubber content for the hydroxyl terminated rubber was found to be 2.5% w/w while for the isocyanate terminated rubber the optimum rubber content lay between 5% and 7.5%. Both rubber additions produced a decrease in flexural modulus and tensile strength of the base resin, with the hydroxyl terminated rubber giving the greatest decrease.
Thermoplastic Composites Based on Jute Fibre Treated with Cardanol-Formaldehyde
Authors: Tan Ton That Minh
Published: April 2023

The effect of surface treatment of jute fibre by aqueous NaOH solution and cardanol formaldehyde (CF) was evaluated by Diffuse Reflectance Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) and Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (C13-NMR) and the fibre tensile properties and the fibre water absorption were measured. Composites based on untreated and treated fibres and common thermoplastic films (LDPE, HDPE and PP) were also prepared by hot press moulding. Treatment of jute fibre with CF reduced the water absorption of composites and improved the tensile and flexural strength, especially when the samples were immersed in water.
Electrical Properties of Polypyrrole-Poly(ether urethane) Composite Films
Authors: Seki Miharu , Shibata Mitsuhiro , Kobayashi Takayuki , Yosomiya Ryutoku
Published: April 2023

Polypyrrole (PPy)-poly(ether urethane) (PEU) composite films were prepared via the chemical polymerisation of pyrrole in a tetrahydrofuran solution of PEU containing copper(II) chloride and lithium perchlorate, and subsequent casting. The electrical conductivity of the composite film (weight ratio of pyrrole to PEU 1:1, [CuCl2] 0.1 mol/mol pyrrole, [LiClO4] 1.0 mmol/g PEU) in the direction parallel to the film surface was 0.16 S/cm, which was considerably higher than the conductivity in the direction perpendicular to the film surface (8.0 x 10'7 S/cm). The low conductivity in the perpendicular direction is attributed to the ionic conduction of the PEU-lithium perchlorate component, with little contribution from the electronic conduction of the PPy component. From the SEM micrographs of the composite film, it appeared that the PPy layer was formed at the air side of the film.
Strength Prediction for Mechanical Joints in Laminated Composite Plate Using Progressive Failure Analysis
Authors: Kang Tae Jin , Lee Kyung Woo
Published: April 2023

An investigation into the pinned joint strength of laminated composite plate was performed. Numerical prediction of joint strength using ply material properties and geometrical parameters, such as width and edge distance to hole diameter ratios has been made. Six failure criteria with material properties degradation rules were proposed to model the joint failure behaviour. The technique of progressive failure analysis was used to simulate the ultimate failure load of mechanical joints in laminated composite plate. Numerical results were compared with experimental data. They showed excellent agreement.
Impact Properties and Fracture Mechanism of Epoxy Resin Filled with Irregular-Shaped Alumina Particles
Authors: Yamaguchi Miho , Nakamura Yoshinobu , Iida Takeo
Published: April 2023

The effect of particle size distribution on the impact properties of epoxy resin filled with irregular-shaped alumina particles was studied using an instrumented Charpy impact tester. For this purpose, the alumina particles were prepared by crushing fused α-Al2O3 having a wide size distribution and a mean size of about 10 μm were sorted by air-separation. Particles having narrow size distribution and mean size of about 5 - 7 μm were obtained. The absorbed impact energy by the narrow distribution particle-filled resin was higher than that of the wide distribution particle-filled resin and was almost the same as that of unfilled cured epoxy resin. In general, the impact strength of filled epoxy resins is less than that of unfilled ones. From the result above, controlling the particle-size distribution seems to be one effective technique which improves many mechanical properties without decreasing the impact strength. Observations of the fractured surfaces of specimens were made in order to estimate the mechanism above, using scanning electron microscopy.
Waste Plastics/Cellulose Fibre Composites
Authors: Miller N.A. , Jones M.S. , Stirling C.D.
Published: April 2023

Commingled post-consumer waste plastics, from municipal recycling collections, have been melt blended with Pinus Radiata fibre to form composite materials. Increases in tensile strengths of the order of 30% to 50% over those of the matrix materials have been achieved in these composite materials with the use of suitable coupling agents. Five different coupling agents were trialed but only two, Epolene E-43 (a maleated propylene wax) and Ken-React CAPS L12/L (a proprietary neoalkoxy titanium phosphate) gave significant increases in tensile strength.
Study of Polymer Materials by Dielectric and Thermal NDT Methods
Authors: Matiss I. , Muschik H.
Published: April 2023

The application of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques (dielectric spectroscopy, thermal conductivity and thermal activity) to different polymers, including fibre reinforced materials with and without voids is described. The NDT results are shown to correlate well with the structural parameters of the polymers.
High Fibre Volume Fraction Injection Moulding of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) in Order to Raise Mechanical Properties
Authors: Semadeni M. , Zerlik H. , Rossini P. , Meyer J. , Wintermantel E.
Published: April 2023

Injection moulded test specimens of short carbon fibre reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) were processed, varying fibre weight fraction and fibre type. This investigation was aimed at the enhancement of mechanical properties, e.g. tensile and flexural strength and modulus, respectively. The structure-property-relations in injection moulded granules and specimens were characterized with regard to fibre length and fibre orientation. Tensile and flexural properties revealed a pronounced dependency on the fibre content up to a critical value of 50 w/w%. Above this value, structural inhomogeneity caused strength reduction while modulus was further increased. Comparing the influence of fibre properties, differences in strength were detected.
Birefringence and Shrinkage during Thermal Reversion of Oriented Polymers
Authors: Bornarel A-C. , White J.R.
Published: April 2023

Thermally-induced changes in shrinkage and birefringence in oriented polycarbonate have been studied using video recordings. It was found that the decrease in birefringence was not in phase with the development of shrinkage except in a narrow temperature range near to Tg. It is evident that these two phenomena are controlled by different aspects of molecular orientation. In another set of experiments the development of birefringence in thick polystyrene mouldings could not be explained either by residual stresses nor by frozen-in flow orientation. It is believed that these two observations are related and that thermal stresses due to the temperature gradients present during cooling are responsible for the introduction of localized orientation of molecule segments that is largely independent of main chain orientation. Related ideas are found in the literature on the changes in birefringence caused by stresses applied to glassy polymers for extended periods and these are compared with the observations presented here and discussed.
Mechanical Performance of Glass Woven Fabric Laminates: Effect of Hybrid Layers with Different Silane Coupling Agents
Authors: Sham Man-Lung , Kim Jang-Kyo , Hamada Hiroyuki
Published: April 2023

An attempt is made to fabricate glass woven fabric composite laminates containing layers of different fibre surface treatments, based on the so-called ‘hybrid interface’ concept. Mechanical properties of hybrid laminates, including strength and elastic moduii in uniaxial tension and three-point bending, and Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness, are characterized and compared with those for non-hybrid laminates. The results showed some improvements in tensile and bending strengths when the laminates consisted of hybrid layers containing low and high silane concentrations. Improvements in crack growth stability in Mode I interlaminar fracture were also highlighted for similar combinations of hybrid layers.
Kinetics of Formation of Heterocyclic Polymer Networks. 4. Storage Time Effect
Authors: Kramarenko V.Yu. , Sokol V.L. , Karateev A.M. , Privalko V.P.
Published: April 2023

The effect of the time of preliminary storage at room temperature on the kinetics of HMDI trimerization at the fixed HMDI/ER ratio (85/25), and different concentrations of the catalyst, TEA, and the evolution of glass transition parameters of the end products in function of the curing reaction regime, were studied by calorimetry. It was established that both the activation energy Eα and the pre-exponential factor ln A increased, the longer the storage time, and both tended to decrease with the conversion α1 The time for the onset of gelation tgel decreased, the higher the catalyst concentration and/or the longer the preliminary storage time the former proved to be a major factor controlling tgel|. The glass transition temperatures Tg for post-cured samples of series HT “internally diluted” with stiff oxazolidone heterocycles were systematically higher than those for samples of series LT cured at 393 K whatever the catalyst concentration and/or the storage time.
Synthesis of Polyarylates with Allylic Side Groups. Part 4. Polyarylates Based on Chalcones
Authors: Zadrozna I. , Wyszomierska A.
Published: April 2023

Several UV sensitive polyarylates based on chalcones with allylic groups side chains for potential use as photosensitive polymers were obtained by interfacial polycondensation. The structure of the UV-sensitive monomers and polymers obtained has been confirmed using IR, 1H NMR and UV spectroscopies. Their physical, chemical and mechanical properties have also been determined.

The investigations show that some of the new polymers bearing allylic groups as photosensitive side chains conjugated with benzylideno-acetophenone groups exhibit different behaviour under UV light exposure from the polyarylates based only on bisbenzylideneketone bisphenols, presented in our previous work.
Time to Teach Age Old Values Yamas and Niyamas as Part of Value Education to School children
Authors: Swapna J. K. , Nagarajan Karuna
Published: April 2023

Value-based education aims to train students with appropriate attitude and values when they are interacting with their friends, family and outside the school. It helps in developing the child’s Personality, Character, Citizenship, and Spirituality. Stories are an effective tool and an ideal medium through which children can be taught essential life lessons. In ancient India, children were taught values and ethics through the oral story-telling tradition. Stories from Indian Folk tales such as Panchatantra, Hitopodesha, Epics like Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita were told to children during their childhood to teach them Ethics, Values which plays a significant role in their personality development. In this article, we have attempted to bring out the commonality between the values as given in Patanjali Yoga Sutras and HYP as Yamas (Social Discipline) and Niyamas (Personal Discipline) with the characters of Ramayana and the values given in Bhagavad Gita. It is easy to incorporate them in the curriculum with the help of stories class wise.
Crime and Punishment: How Historical Narratives Affect the Evaluation of Restorative and Retributive Justice
Authors: Hernandez-Posada Juan David , Corredor Javier , Martínez-Salgado Alejandra María
Published: April 2023

This article explores how historical narratives affect the evaluation of political decisions regarding justice during peace negotiations. Specifically, this study evaluates how different narratives of the Colombian armed conflict relate to the preference for either restorative or retributive justice. Results revealed that a historically accurate narrative that included structural elements correlated with the preference for restorative justice, whereas a schematic narrative that focused on individual greed favoured the preference for retributive justice. These results are explained in terms of the characteristics of expert historical narratives, which include structural elements, such as economic and institutional factors. The presence of these elements in the explanation of conflicts decreases the weight of individual decisions and, in this way, prevent ingroup attributional biases.
Sustainability Rankings: What they are About and How to make them Meaningful
Authors: Calderon Angel
Published: April 2023

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have long embraced a path towards sustainability and engaged in supporting sustainable development. The adoption of the sustainability development goals has forced HEIs to assess how they engage with these goals and how they address societal challenges head on. However, the emergence of sustainability rankings is when HEIs began to focus on promoting these institutional efforts in earnest. The aim of this article is to put in perspective the various sustainability rankings which have emerged over the past fifteen years, discuss some of the methodological nuances of these, and highlight the disparity in performance of HEIs across world regions. This article also suggests some ways in which these rankings can be improved and ways in which the administrative burden of supplying and analysing data can be strengthened.
Validation of an ELISA kit to measure allopregnanolone in human and equine hair
Authors: Peric Tanja , Ellero Letizia , Comin Antonella , Pividori Isabella , Prandi Alberto
Published: April 2023

In humans, allopregnanolone plays important roles in a number of different neurodegenerative disorders, and it has been proposed for use in some therapies. Horses are commonly used as animal models for human neurodegenerative diseases, mental and behavioral disorders, and neuropsychiatric disorders, and there is interest in using hair as a biological sample to study hormones in these conditions. We validated the use of a commercial ELISA kit (DetectX allopregnanolone kit; Arbor Assays), which was designed for serum, plasma, feces, urine, and tissue samples, to assess allopregnanolone in hair samples from 30 humans and 63 horses. The ELISA kit had good precision (intra- and inter-assay CVs: 6.4% and 11.0% for equine hair; 7.3% and 11.0% for human hair, respectively), sensitivity (50.4 pg/mL for both equine and human hair), and accuracy (parallelism and recovery tests) in determining allopregnanolone concentrations in hair from both species. The allopregnanolone concentrations in human hair were 7.3–79.1 pg/mg; the concentrations were 286 ± 141 pg/mg (x̄ ± SD) in mares on the day of parturition and 16.9 ± 5.5 pg/mg in nonpregnant mares. The DetectX ELISA kit offered a simple and accessible analysis of allopregnanolone in human and equine hair samples.
Developing the Weaving Healthy Families Program to Promote Wellness and Prevent Substance Abuse and Violence: Approach, Adaptation, and Implementation
Authors: McKinley Catherine E. , Lilly Jennifer , Liddell Jessica L. , Knipp Hannah , Solomon Tamela Autumn , Comby Nikki , Comby Harold , Haynes Patricia , Ferris Kathleen , Goldberg Maple
Published: April 2023

Family prevention programs that enhance mental health, wellness, and resilience—while simultaneously addressing violence and alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse—among Indigenous families are scarce. This gap in culturally grounded and community-based programs creates a critical need to develop and evaluate the efficacy of such prevention programs. This article fills this gap, with the purpose of describing the structure and content of the Weaving Healthy Families (WHF) program, a culturally grounded and community-based program aimed at preventing violence and AOD use while promoting mental health, resilience, and wellness in Indigenous families. The focus then turns to how to approach this process of developing and implementing the program in a culturally grounded and community-based way.
Contemporary Review: An Overview of the Utility of Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) in Foot and Ankle Surgery
Authors: Czerwonka Natalia , Desai Sohil S. , Arciero Emily , Greisberg Justin , Trofa David P. , Chien Bonnie Y.
Published: April 2023

Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) has favorable psychometric and administrative properties in orthopaedic clinical research. It facilitates clinically meaningful data collection while minimizing administration time and survey fatigue and improving compliance. PROMIS is a critical component of patient-centered care and shared decision making, as it provides enhanced communication and engagement between patients and providers. As a validated instrument, it may also aid in measuring value-based health care quality. The goal of the current work is to provide an overview of PROMIS metrics used in orthopaedic foot and ankle, including advantages and disadvantages compared to legacy scales and PROMIS’s applicability in specific foot and ankle conditions based on psychometric properties. We provide a review of the literature regarding the utilization of PROMIS as an outcome measure for specific foot and ankle procedures and conditions.
The And Article: Collage as Research Method
Authors: de Rijke Victoria
Published: April 2023

In 1994, Denzin and Lincoln suggested an immediate future for qualitative research, very akin to collage. This article begins by examining a seminal early collage work by Kurt Schwitters and ends with an example of the author’s own meta-collage as a means of exploring the model as both a “borderlands epistemology,” an art form, and a research practice. Claims for collage’s potential for rich data collection plus iterative, inclusive, critical practice are made, as with that of bringing the “unthought known” using synecdoche and serendipity to the surface, championing arts-based, “And” methods.
Pharmacokinetic approach in therapeutic monitoring of antineoplastic drugs and the impact on pharmacoeconomics: A systematic review
Authors: Barbosa Islania Almeida Brandão , Silva Taiane Candeias da , Souza Monielly Vasconcelos Pereira de , Pedreira Lorena Argolo , Godoy Ana Leonor Pardo Campos
Published: April 2023

Objectives

Therapeutic drug monitoring aims to quantify the concentration of a drug in a biological matrix. In oncology, the therapeutic arsenal is vast and therapeutic drug monitoring optimizes treatment and reduces costs. This review will analyze the financial impact of therapeutic monitoring of anticancer drugs in healthcare institutions.

Methods

Keywords were selected using Decs (MeSH). Through the Pubmed, Scopus, and Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases, 74 articles were found, of which 4 meet the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed according to the Research Triangle Institute Item Bank (RTI-Item Bank) scale.

Key findings

Therapeutic drug monitoring is an important tool for dose reduction or dose increase due to toxicity and lack of response, respectively. The main barriers are associated costs and lack of cost–benefit data. An alternative is to use population pharmacokinetic models, measured plasma concentration(s) and relevant patient characteristics, estimated individual pharmacokinetic parameters, and predicted drug concentrations at any point in the dosing range.

Conclusions

Therapeutic drug monitoring is understood as a technology that adds costs to payers. Future studies should generate clinical evidence of population pharmacokinetics from therapeutic drug monitoring studies.
Numerical corroboration of Koiter’s model for all the main types of linearly elastic shells in the static case
Authors: Duan Wangxi , Piersanti Paolo , Shen Xiaoqin , Yang Qian
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we corroborate the main theorems establishing the justification of Koiter’s model, established by Ciarlet and his associates, for all the types of linearly elastic shells via a set of numerical experiments.
QR codes during the pandemic: Seamful quotidian placemaking
Authors: Davies Hugh , Hjorth Larissa , Andrejevic Mark , Richardson Ingrid , DeSouza Ruth
Published: April 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one technology for contact tracing has come to dominate – QR codes. As a technology pioneered in Japan two decades ago and mainstreamed in China, QR codes have quickly become part of quotidian placemaking. While locations such as China have fully incorporated QR code technology into everyday contexts including public transport and mobile wallet applications, QR codes in the West were relatively overlooked. That was, until the pandemic. In this article, we examine some of the ways QR codes are being imagined and reimagined as part of public placemaking practices. In order to do so, we begin with a short history of QR codes – emerging in Japan, becoming mainstream in China and their consequent uptake globally. We then discuss the methods of our Australian study conducted during the pandemic and the seamful/seamless findings from our study.
The role of teacher knowledge and practice in shaping EFL teachers’ glocal identity
Authors: Feng Maomao , Kim Hoe Kyeung
Published: April 2023

This study examined the identity development of two Chinese teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in a globalized city in China. Grounded in the conceptual frameworks of ‘identity in belief and practice’ and the images of teacher knowledge, the study critically analysed the factors that influenced the formation of teacher identities. The data were collected through interviews and classroom observations. It was revealed that the participants acquired and internalized their professional knowledge differently, resulting in differences in teacher beliefs and instructional practices. Individuals’ acquisition of teaching knowledge did not necessarily lead to practical identities that matched their initial expectations. The gaps between teacher knowledge and practice and between the participants’ ideals and reality acted as parts of their ‘glocal’ identity formation. The findings illuminated the tensions and limitations within the educational transfer between Western-style and non-Western-style classrooms in Chinese teachers’ teaching.
Mutual aid for local journalism?: A public media collaborative
Authors: Wenzel Andrea
Published: April 2023

This study looks at a public media station’s effort to build a “mutual aid journalism collaborative” connecting a cohort of community and ethnic media journalists, podcasters, bloggers, and social media influencers, most of whom had a mission of serving Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities in a U.S. metro region. Using a communication infrastructure theory framework to explore how this initiative affected local “storytelling networks,” this study draws from observations, interviews with project partners and station staff, focus groups and interviews with newsroom staff, and focus groups with community members. The study reflects on how the project conceived of community engagement and how it positioned itself as “mutual aid” from within a mainstream majority white news institution. It examines how the project challenged dominant norms around “objectivity” as it strengthened connections between public media and grassroots influencers, but also the limitations the project faced connecting to broader community constituencies.
Dwelling on the move: Negotiating home and place with resident communities
Authors: Russo Antonio Paolo
Published: April 2023

This paper explores how places are culturally constructed through the practices, bodily performances and memories of dwelling in the context of places that stand out as destinations of temporary mobilities. To do this, I narrate my own personal experiences of finding my way and respectively make or contest personal roots, in two autoethnographic accounts of my city of origin, Venice, where I return occasionally, and in Barcelona, where I settled in the 2000 decade. In these memoirs, I excavate on the nexa between domestic home spaces and public life in the urban space, focusing especially on my experiences of homing, on the assemblage of domestic spaces as unfolding in a negotiation between my old and new self, my family (past and present), and other place users, including friends and passers-by in the spaces in questions. My own navigation and mooring in those cities is analysed as a collective, relational process that calls in affinity and distancing, serendipitous engagements and purposeful disengagements. In this way I hope to shed more light on the cultural construction of two cities that stand out as ‘touristed’ places, and contribute to debates on translocal urbanism and the need for an embodied, grounded understanding of the social and cultural evolution of cities.
Challenging perspectives: Reflexivity as a critical approach to qualitative social work research
Authors: Ide Yayoi , Beddoe Liz
Published: April 2023

Reflexivity is acknowledged as a crucial concept and is pivotal in the methodology of qualitative research. Various practices of reflexivity are adopted in the social science disciplines. However, the concept is difficult to pin down and the challenge for researchers is to address how to become reflexive and do reflexivity in research practice. In social work, reflexivity has further been developed and applied in practice contexts. The practice terms, critical reflection and reflection or reflectivity are interrelated in ways that aim to explain reflexivity in the profession which, in turn, can offer an enhanced understanding of reflexivity applied in research. This exploratory article promotes practising reflection – questioning, analysing and evaluating oneself in employing reflexivity in all the research stages: methodological construction, data collection and data analysis by undertaking three key self-focused activities: (1) thinking about one’s own thinking; (2) observation of emotions/thoughts, role boundaries and power dynamics in research relationships; and (3) exploration of perceptual experiences. Maintaining the reflexive stance is achieved through reflectivity. The article is largely descriptive but draws on experience in a doctoral study of cultural competence and promotes the effective use of reflexivity in qualitative social work research.
Dynamic modeling and control of hydraulic driven payload anti-swing system for shipborne cranes
Authors: Jin Guoliang , Sun Yuqing , Cheng Hongyu , Sun Hailong , Wang Shenghai , Chen Haiquan
Published: April 2023

Shipborne cranes are widely used in marine engineering and are employed in more diversified working scenes. However, due to the extensive swing range of ships, it is impossible to locate the payload accurately. A constant tension control method of payload anti-swing is proposed based on the principle of linear velocity feedback. This paper establishes a dynamic model of the payload anti-swing system driven by hydraulic motors. The characteristics of the payload swing and the cable tension are obtained through the dynamic simulation. The simulation and experimental results show that the constant tension control method significantly suppresses the shipborne crane’s payload swing, and the payload anti-swing effect reaches 73% and 85.6%. It is also found that the payload swings asymmetrically under external excitation. In addition, the effects of payload asymmetric swing on cable tension, payload swing angle, and the hydraulic pump output oil pressure are studied by a payload asymmetric swing experiment, and the results show that the proposed method also has a good suppression effect on the asymmetric payload swing.
Slogans, political discourse and education: An interview with Ruth Wodak
Authors: Sardoč Mitja , Wodak Ruth
Published: April 2023

This interview with Prof. Ruth Wodak discusses some of the most pressing issues associated with slogans, political discourse an education. The introductory section of the interview touches on Prof. Wodak’s work in critical discourse analysis. The central part of the interview examines slogans as one of the main vehicles of political propaganda and policy-making. In the concluding section of the interview, Prof. Wodak lays out her plans for future research.
SLPs’ Use of Mindfulness in Personal and Professional Contexts: A Follow-Up Study
Authors: Medina Angela M. , Mead Jean S.
Published: April 2023

A 3-year follow-up survey was sent to speech-language pathologists who completed a mindfulness program as part of their graduate studies. Findings indicated that 53% of the speech-language pathologists who responded continued to practice learned mindfulness skills in their personal lives as well as incorporating them in their therapy plans.
Neo-Cult and the Altered Audience: Reviving Cult TV for the Post-TV Age
Authors: Jones Bethan
Published: April 2023

From The X-Files to Friends, Gilmore Girls to Twin Peaks, revivals of beloved TV series have dominated the airwaves and streaming services over the last decade. The media landscape has changed significantly since these series’ original airings, however, and webisodes, video games, social media hashtags and fan communities exist alongside—and act upon—the “original” text. By focusing on The X-Files and Twin Peaks revivals this chapter theorizes the return of cult television series as neo-cult. I use the concept of the dialogic to argue that if cult is defined dialogically between text, audience, industry, the media and the academy, neo-cult emerges through discourse recalling the series’ earlier iterations as cult being reflected and amplified, thus resulting in the revived text becoming a self-referential cult text or neo-cult.
Questioning the validity and reliability of using a video-based test to assess decision making among female and male water polo players
Authors: Dong Lily , Berryman Nicolas , Romeas Thomas
Published: April 2023

This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of a water polo video-based test to assess decision making. Ninety-five female and male elite/tier 4 (T4) or highly trained/tier 3 (T3) athletes participated using their smartphones. Males repeated the test one week later for reliability analyses. Coaches assessed males’ in-water decision making and females were noted as selected or nonselected for the national team. Although response accuracy was significantly different between T3 and T4 athletes ( p < .001) and correlated with age (rs(88) = 0.43), sex-specific analyses identified that the only significant differences in accuracy were between T3 females and the other three groups (T4 females, T3 males, and T4 males). There was no correlation between males’ accuracy and coach-rated decision making skill, and no difference in accuracy between selected and nonselected females. Reliability analyses comparing performance between weeks revealed an ICC of 0.75, a standard error of measurement of 3.41%, and a significant improvement from week 1 to week 2 among T4 males ( p = .018). Despite associations between accuracy and age, the test was not able to distinguish between more similar groups of athletes. Considering the nonrepresentative design of the test, the construct assessed was declarative game knowledge rather than decision making skill, with the results suggesting that the former is not critical for evaluating elite players. The performance improvement between weeks among T4 males reinforces that video-based designs should be used cautiously in high-performance sport. However, there may still be practical applications for video-based designs, such as in video review sessions or as a pedagogical tool.
Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell Mediated Bilateral Facial Nerve Palsy: A Case Report
Authors: Patrick Natalya , Bahlis Nizar , Peters Steven
Published: April 2023

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T) cell therapy is highly effective against hematological cancers but is associated with immune mediated side effects, including neurotoxicity. The most commonly described presentations of immune cell mediated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) include cortical symptoms and generally localize to the central nervous system. In this report, we present a patient with acute onset of bilateral facial nerve palsy following CAR-T cell therapy, followed by a complete clinical recovery. Aside from a temporary anisocoria, he had no other neurologic symptoms and no encephalopathy or seizures. MRI Brain was non-contributory and cerebrospinal fluid revealed a modest increase in lymphocytes without systemic leukocytosis and viral studies were all negative. He was diagnosed with bilateral facial nerve palsy secondary to CAR-T cell therapy and subsequently treated with a course of steroids. Several weeks after presentation he returned to his neurological baseline. The presentation of CAR-T cell mediated facial nerve palsy is both clinically and scientifically relevant for physicians, patients, and researchers.
Steroids Provide Temporary Improvement of Refractory Pain Following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Jaffa Matthew N. , Podell Jamie E. , Foroutan Arshom , Motta Melissa , Chang Wan-Tsu W. , Cherian Jacob , Pergakis Melissa B. , Parikh Gunjan Y. , Simard J. Marc , Armahizer Michael J. , Badjatia Neeraj , Morris Nicholas A.
Published: April 2023

Introduction

Evidence for optimal analgesia following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is limited. Steroid therapy for pain refractory to standard regimens is common despite lack of evidence for its efficacy. We sought to determine if steroids reduced pain or utilization of other analgesics when given for refractory headache following SAH.

Methods

We performed a retrospective within-subjects cohort study of SAH patients who received steroids for refractory headache. We compared daily pain scores, total daily opioid, and acetaminophen doses before, during, and after steroids. Repeated measures were analyzed with a multivariable general linear model and generalized estimating equations.

Results

Included 52 patients treated with dexamethasone following SAH, of whom 11 received a second course, increasing total to 63 treatment epochs. Mean pain score on the first day of therapy was 7.92 (standard error of the mean [SEM] .37) and decreased to 6.68 (SEM .36) on the second day before quickly returning to baseline levels, 7.36 (SEM .33), following completion of treatment. Total daily analgesics mirrored this trend. Mean total opioid and acetaminophen doses on days one and two and two days after treatment were 47.83mg (SEM 6.22) and 1848mg (SEM 170.66), 34.24mg (SEM 5.12) and 1809mg (SEM 150.28), and 46.38mg (SEM 11.64) and 1833mg (SEM 174.23), respectively. Response to therapy was associated with older age, decreasing acetaminophen dosing, and longer duration of steroids. Hyperglycemia and sleep disturbance/delirium effected 28.6% and 55.6% of cases, respectively.

Conclusion

Steroid therapy for refractory pain in SAH patients may have modest, transient effects in select patients.
The Impact of Adaptive Leadership on Burnout in Special Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Sims Britt W. , Matos Renee I. , Brendle Janna , Lock Robin H.
Published: April 2023

Occupational burnout among special education teachers results in increased attrition, and lower student and teacher outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to establish a framework of occupational burnout within special education and adaptive leadership theory. The quantitative correlational study surveyed K-12 special education teachers who taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty-seven eligible respondents completed the online survey including demographics, Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey, Adaptive Leadership with Authority Scale, and sections of Pandemic Experiences and Perceptions Survey. A statistical correlation between teacher occupational burnout and adaptive leadership indicated supervisors using adaptive leadership strategies had less teacher attrition.
Incidences of and risk factors for clinical and subclinical contrast-associated acute kidney injury in patients who underwent neuroendovascular surgery
Authors: Mitaka Chieko , Teranishi Kohsuke , Wakita Mitsuru , Misawa Shigeki , Nojiri Shuko , Satoh Daizoh , Hayashida Masakazu
Published: April 2023

Background

Contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) can develop after intravascular administration of iodinated contrast media. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is an early marker for AKI that helps to detect subclinical CA-AKI. We investigated the incidence of and risk factors for clinical and subclinical CA-AKI in patients who underwent neuroendovascular surgery.

Methods

We retrospectively investigated 228 patients who underwent neuroendovascular surgery in 2020. Changes in serum creatinine and urine output were used to detect clinical CA-AKI. Urine NGAL concentration was used to detect subclinical CA-AKI in 67 out of 228 patients.

Results

In 228 patients, serum creatinine, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total protein, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) decreased significantly ( p < 0.001) after surgery. However, serum creatinine decreased less significantly ( p < 0.05) than hemoglobin, hematocrit, total protein, and BUN on postoperative Day 3. Two patients out of 228 developed clinical CA-AKI, and seven patients out of 67 with urine NGAL measurements developed subclinical CA-AKI. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that diabetes mellitus and carotid artery stenosis were significantly ( p < 0.05) associated with the development of clinical and/or subclinical CA-AKI.

Conclusion

There was a large difference between the incidences of clinical CA-AKI (0.88%) and subclinical CA-AKI (10.4%). The difference might have primarily resulted from the different sensitivities between serum creatinine and urine NGAL and possibly from underestimation of the incidence of clinical AKI due to a postoperative decrease in serum creatinine caused by hemodilution. In addition to diabetes mellitus, carotid artery stenosis could also be a risk factor for CA-AKI.
Thinking ‘with’ China: Material and conceptual challenges
Authors: Woodworth Max D.
Published: April 2023

Urban studies have been roiled by a lively debate over the roles of generalization and particularity in advancing theory about cities and urbanization. Also at stake are questions of epistemology, method, inclusion, representation, and power in knowledge production. Teo, Chung, and Wang have proposed a set of methodological propositions aimed at ‘building theory in and through urban China’ as a contribution to the larger ongoing discussion about urban theory and global urban studies. In this commentary, I present a critique of their methodological proposals by highlighting issues originating from within and outside the field of urban Chinese studies.
Collaborative Leadership in the Institution of Higher Education: A Sociocultural Context of Pakistan
Authors: Shaikh Shabnam A. , Lämsä Anna-Maija , Heikkinen Suvi
Published: April 2023

The need for collaborative leadership to advance knowledge sharing, novel ideas, inclusion and employee engagement has increased in modern organizations, with the aim being to make organizations more effective and responsible. Yet, an interesting question arises about how this kind of leadership model, which is arguably of Western origin, is understood and whether it can be applied in sociocultural contexts where top-down leadership tends to be exercised. This study addresses this question and explores the meaning of collaborative leadership from a cultural viewpoint in Pakistan, where collaborative relationships across hierarchical levels are not common. The applicability of collaborative leadership in the study context is also highlighted. The qualitative instrumental case study was conducted in a higher education institution in Pakistan, where the data were gathered with the help of open-ended interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Two central themes were explored: the tradition of leadership collaboration and the exclusion of some groups from collaboration. The study shows that the traditional cultural attribute called Otaq lays a foundation for understanding collaborative leadership in the study context. Similarly, it was discovered that several cultural features place limits on specific people’s opportunities to participate in leadership collaboration. Cultural features and how they are linked to the inclusion of the studied organization members in collaborative leadership efforts are highlighted. It is concluded that more contextually sensitive knowledge about collaborative leadership activities is needed in the future.
The Nonlinear Effect of Executive Compensation on Financial Performance
Authors: Pareek Ritu , Sahu Tarak Nath , Pandey Krishna Dayal
Published: April 2023

The agency theory propagates the use of compensation as a motivational measure to get the interest of the firm’s owners and the managers aligned. However, after a series of scandals, there has been a widespread focus on the payments made to the executives and their relationship with the organization’s financial performance. Although the relationship between compensation and performance has been observed extensively, the change in the relationship at various levels of compensation and the nonlinear aspect in the relationship still remain unanswered. Under this backdrop, the study makes an in-depth analysis of the relationship between executive compensation and firm performance in the context of 182 nonfinancial NSE-listed companies of India for the period 2014–2020. The study besides applying the static panel data analysis also advances to generalized method of moments based dynamic panel model to overcome the issues of endogeneity and declares that the relationship existing between executive compensation and firm’s Tobin’s Q is seen to be an inverted U-shaped curve. As per the robust estimator, an increase in the level of executive compensation is found to affect financial performance positively until it transcends a threshold level of 2.6% of the firm’s net profit.
Evaluation of Efficiency of Distal Shoe Space Maintainer: A Systematic Review
Authors: Dadpe Mahesh V. , Chordiya Nikita A. , Kale Yogesh J. , Dahake Prasanna T. , Kendre Shrikant B. , Mankar Shrawani S.
Published: April 2023

Aim:

A space deficiency in the dental arch may result from the early loss of a second deciduous molar before the eruption of the first permanent molar. In this circumstance, the Distal Shoe Space Maintainer (DSSM) is recommended to prevent space loss. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of this device.

Materials and Methods:

PUBMED, Cochrane libraries, Google scholar, Ebsco, and Science Gov. were all thoroughly searched. The effectiveness of DSSM as measured by patient tolerance and gingival response to DSSM was our main outcome goal. Also, we evaluated each study’s quality and design.

Results:

Eleven publications that fit the criteria for inclusion were examined after duplicates were removed. These papers were eventually chosen and thoroughly examined. The studies provided insufficient details regarding the efficacy of space maintenance or gingival response to the DSSM.

Conclusion:

The main concern is to provide maximum benefit to the patient with minimum discomfort, maximum effectiveness, more cooperation and less chair-side time which can be achieved by the modified distal shoe appliance when compared with the conventional, as it was more stable and required less chair-side time. Though the appliances were designed keeping all the basic requirements in mind, it is firmly recommended to assess more patient-centered outcomes of DSSMs.