bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In situ suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride/3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (MPTMS) intercalated Mg-Al-layered double hydroxide: II. Morphological, thermal properties and diffusion behavior
Authors: Mohammadi Berenjegani Reza , Darvishi Reza , Payam Ghasem
Published: June 2023

A series of PVC composites were produced using an in-situ suspension polymerization method with an optimal amount of 5 wt% of MgAl(NO3) layered double hydroxide (LDH) or LDH-MPTMS, which is MPTMS-intercalated Mg-Al LDH. The physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the composite samples were compared to pure PVC. Results from the Brabender® plastograph showed that the PVC grains produced with LDH-MPTMS had a longer thermal stability time and shorter fusion time. The addition of LDH-MPTMS nanosheets increased the gelation degree of PVC particles, resulting in a lower temperature/time requirement for processing. The thermal stability of the composite material was confirmed through a standard dehydrochlorination test, which demonstrated a 40% improvement in dehydrochlorination rate compared to pure PVC. This improvement was 12% higher than that observed in the PVC/LDH composite. TGA curves indicated a significant increase in the 5 and 50% weight loss temperatures of PVC resins with the addition of 5wt% LDH or LDH-MPTMS, with an approximate growth of 11°C. The glassy state storage modulus and Tg of the PVC/LDH-MPTMS composite were higher than those of pure PVC and the PVC/LDH composite. Mechanical analysis revealed that the PVC/LDH-MPTMS composites exhibited greater stiffness and toughness, as well as significantly higher Charpy notched impact strength, tensile strength, and Young’s modulus compared to both the PVC/LDH composite and pure PVC.
Does the Digital Economy Successfully Facilitate Carbon Emission Reduction in China? Green Technology Innovation Perspective
Authors: Hou Jian , Bai Wanting , Sha Dechun
Published: June 2023

How to reduce carbon emissions is a critical problem in the world, especially when the emerging economy grows and technology breakthrough happens frequently. In this study, we systematically evaluate China’s digital economy based on regional data experience and construct a nonlinear dynamic threshold model to incorporate a heterogeneous threshold of green technology innovation into the influential mechanism to figure out whether the digital economy can effectively reduce regional carbon emissions. According to the results, China’s digital economy currently shows a trend of overall upward and local fluctuation and there is a large ‘gap’ between the rich and poor. Interestingly, green technology innovation has a heterogeneous threshold effect between the digital economy and carbon emissions: a lesser level of green technology innovation promotes the carbon emission impact of the digital economy to a certain extent, but when green technology innovation rises and exceeds a threshold, the digital economy can dramatically inhibit regional carbon emissions. This study answers the question of how to use the threshold effect of green technology innovation to reduce carbon emissions in the digital economy, which has significant theoretical and practical value to reduce carbon emissions in developing countries.
Public Debt and External Debt Sustainability among BRICS Countries
Authors: George Magulsha , Shanmugam K. R.
Published: June 2023

This study analyses an important policy issue pertaining to the public debt and external debt of BRICS nations from 1993 to 2020 using the Bohn framework and a penalised-spline estimation method. It also checks the robustness of the results using the ADF and co-integration tests. The results indicate that as the primary surplus reacts positively and significantly to public debt in China and South Africa, the debt is sustainable in these nations. In Brazil, India and Russia, the debt is not sustainable. The external debt policy is sustainable only in China and not in other BRICS nations. These results suggest the need for immediate policy interventions in Brazil, India and Russia to achieve sustainable levels of public debt and external debt. We hope that these results will be useful to policymakers and other stakeholders to take appropriate strategies to improve the public debt and external debt position of BRICS nations and to make them sustainable.

JEL Codes: H63, C23, D72, E62, H72
Evaluating the Long-run Sustainability of India’s Fiscal Management with Structural Change
Authors: Shankar Shiv , Trivedi Pushpa
Published: June 2023

Amidst output moderation, rising deficits and increasing debt, India’s macro-fiscal arithmetic witnesses severe strain and often invites downward rating pressures by sovereign rating agencies. The article aims to examine India’s fiscal sustainability during the past four decades employing time series integration and cointegration techniques, with structural breaks in a sequential schematic framework under intertemporal government budget constraints. It examines stationarity with exogenous and endogenous structure breakpoint(s) at the level and slope for government revenue and expenditure data-generating process following Narayan and Popp (2010), Lee and Strazicich (2003), Zivot and Andrews (1992) and Perron (1989). Furthermore, the cointegration vectors of these fiscal variables in Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) and a generic cointegration framework following Gregory and Hansen (1996) with structural shifts confirm the sustainability of India’s fiscal management. However, a less-than-unity estimate of the DOLS cointegrating slope parameter with few exogenous breakpoints signifies a weak form of sustainability and hence emphasises a credible commitment to fiscal consolidation going forward for India.

JEL Codes: C32, H50, E62, H62
The Influence of Perceived Role of Government on Energy Efficiency Improvement: Evidence from Manufacturing Firms in Malaysia
Authors: Heng Helen Lee Siew
Published: June 2023

Energy efficiency improvement is one of the effective strategies to attain energy sustainability. Firms’ perceptions and attitudes towards energy efficiency improvement have come to be seen as vital in the supply and demand management of energy. This research aims to examine the influence of perceived role of government on manufacturing firms’ intentions to improve energy efficiency. Data were collected from a survey, and the research model was empirically tested. Results from the empirical analysis show that perceived role of government significantly influenced manufacturing firms’ intentions to improve energy efficiency. In addition, the results indicate that there was a significant mediating effect of attitude towards energy efficiency improvement on the relationship between perceived role of government and manufacturing firms’ intentions to improve energy efficiency. Several notable policy implications can be drawn from the research results.

JEL Codes: D22, L60, Q48
The Strategic Advantage of Impulsivity in Entrepreneurial Action: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach
Authors: Bort James , Wiklund Johan , Crawford G. Christopher , Lerner Daniel A. , Hunt Richard A.
Published: June 2023

Our study extends and enhances entrepreneurial action theory (EAT) by considering the strategic advantage or disadvantage of impulsive action. To date, EAT has largely sidestepped the role of dispositional impulsivity, limiting its veridicality and inclusivity. Popularized notions of celebrity entrepreneurs and an increasingly large body of empirical research on the prevalence of impulsivity have inspired a reassessment of what drives entrepreneurs. Looking beyond both the anecdotes and well-established prevalence of impulsivity, we develop and illustrate a novel theory concerning the fate of impulsive nascent entrepreneurs who are wired for nondeliberative, less-calculative action. We use an agent-based model and conduct simulation-based experiments involving 2.7 million virtual entrepreneurs to identify and explicate the specific conditions under which impulsivity does or does not generate strategic advantage. Accordingly, we contribute a broader and deeper theorization of EAT, taking notable steps toward the inclusion of nontraditional entrepreneurs and the varied impacts of impulsive action in this domain’s evolving conception of new venture emergence.
Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) for Financial Capability: Application of Practice-Based Program Theory and Measures in Intervention Design
Authors: Hong Philip Young P. , Shin Alanna , Wathen Maria V. , Gibbons Theresa
Published: June 2023

Purpose: Financial knowledge often does not translate into financial well-being. This study looks at how knowledge might be converted to well-being for people living in low-income environments, based on a theory called Financial PSS. Methods: The study tests the validity of the two scales that make up Financial PSS: Perceived Financial Barriers and Financial Hope. Then it examines how these measures along with an intervention measure called TIP are associated with financial capability. Results: Results validated the Perceived Financial Barrier Scale and Financial Hope Scale. Next, the study found that the Perceived Financial Barriers Scale and the Financial Hope Scale are associated with financial capability, as is the TIP score. Conclusions: The study concludes that Financial PSS as a newly applied practice-based theory should be further tested. Workforce providers could integrate financial education and empowerment-based F-PSS process models and see a positive impact on their placement and retention outcomes.
The Prevalence of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review
Authors: Eaton Christopher , Roarty Kayley , Doval Nimisha , Shetty Smitarani , Goodall Karen , Rhodes Sinead M.
Published: June 2023

Objective:

ADHD commonly co-occurs with ASD without ID in young people. It has been difficult to obtain accurate prevalence estimates of ADHD in this population, as a dual-diagnosis was not permitted until DSM-V. We systematically reviewed the literature on the prevalence of ADHD symptoms in young people with ASD without ID.

Method:

9,050 articles were identified through six databases. Articles were reviewed against inclusion and exclusion criteria and 23 studies were included.

Results:

ADHD symptom prevalence varied from 2.6% to 95.5%. We discuss these findings according to the ADHD assessment measure, informant, diagnostic criteria, risk of bias rating and recruitment pool.

Conclusion:

ADHD symptoms are common in young people with ASD without ID, but there is substantial variance in study reporting. Future studies should recruit participants from community sources, provide information on key sociodemographic sample characteristics and assess ADHD with standardized diagnostic criteria, using both parent/carer and teacher report.
Book review: M. Peltola and A. Phoenix, Nuancing Young Masculinities: Helsinki Boys’ Intersectional Relationship in New Times
Authors: Eldred Lucy
Published: June 2023

M. Peltola and A. Phoenix, Nuancing Young Masculinities: Helsinki Boys’ Intersectional Relationship in New Times. Helsinki University Press, 2022, 220 pp., £29.42 (paperback). ISBN: 9789523690660.
On the Ethics of Getting the Word Out: Rural Girls Reflect on Ownership in Participatory Visual Research in Rural South Africa
Authors: Mitchell Claudia , Yamile Ntomboxolo , D’Amico Miranda , Linds Warren , Denov Myriam
Published: June 2023

Despite the growing body of literature dedicated to ethical and methodological issues related to youth engagement and youth participation in arts-based research, the ethics of ownership in relation to the production and sharing of visual artefacts remains an understudied area. This work is particularly critical in the context of war-affected youth, and youth addressing issues of gender-based violence in their lives. Drawing on the voices and perspectives of a group of girls and young women affected by sexual violence in rural South Africa, we explore their views on the idea of ownership of the visual productions (videos, photos, policy briefs) created in an arts-based research project. As we highlight in the article, ownership is a complex ethical issue, and one that cuts across a range of concerns including consent, rights and personal engagement.
Communication research and teaching: the Australian Communication Association at 40 years
Authors: Maras Steven , Nolan David , Goggin Gerard , Fitch Kate , Bossio Diana , Hutchinson Jonathon , Brookes Stephanie , Freeman Julie
Published: June 2023

This article presents responses from a range of Australian scholars on communication research and teaching in the context of a roundtable in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Australian Communication Association (ACA), the precursor organisation to the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA). Emphasising the range and diversity of approaches and epistemologies in this field, the roundtable invited a ‘situated’ response to questions considering scholarship, frameworks, and theoretical perspectives useful in thinking through the near and mid-term challenges facing the area. Emerging from the exercise is a snapshot of different agendas for research and teaching, many of them future-oriented and reformist in their emphasis on responsible practice and social change.
Towards a global security studies: what can looking at China tell us about the concept of security?
Authors: Nyman Jonna
Published: June 2023

Existing scholarship has demonstrated that theorising about security is Eurocentric. This leaves us with a partial account of the concept of security, which is presented as universal. This in turn generates explanatory problems because we are only seeing part of the picture. Yet there have been few attempts to move beyond critiques of Eurocentrism to examine the concept of security ‘elsewhere’. This paper takes China as its starting point, asking: what can looking at China tell us about security? In answering this question, the paper makes two contributions. First, it presents new empirical findings, building a conceptual history of security in China. Drawing on 140 key texts dating 1926–2022, the paper traces the emergence of the concept of security in China and its evolution through three explicit security concepts. Drawing on postcolonial insights it demonstrates that these concepts are hybrid, evolving out of multiple domestic and international influences. They have similarities as well as differences with the Eurocentric concept that dominates International Security Studies (ISS) and produce a discrete approach towards security that has been overlooked in a discipline that uses ‘Europe to explain Asia’. Second, considering these insights, the paper demonstrates that the universal concept of security that underpins theorising in ISS is partial and misleading. Differences in security concepts matter for theorising security and for understanding security policy. Consequently, I argue that we need to provincialize the concept of security: a truly global security studies is of necessity a provincial one attuned to difference and similarity.
Contingent connectivity: Internet shutdowns and the infrastructural precarity of digital citizenship
Authors: Grover Rohan
Published: June 2023

The Indian state has invested simultaneously in connectivity by pursuing universal Internet access and in disconnectivity by leading the world in state-ordered Internet shutdowns. How can we make sense of these contradictory approaches to technology policy? This article argues that this paradox illustrates a bifurcated experience of digital citizenship moderated infrastructurally through differential access to mobile connectivity. While previous research has largely interpreted Internet shutdowns as curtailments of freedom of expression, this article evaluates the implications for citizenship itself by bringing together scholarship on digital governance, science and technology studies (STS) approaches to Internet governance, and postcolonial and decolonial theory. More broadly, this article raises the stakes for critical analysis of how authoritarian states approach Internet policy to bridge digital divides—and for evaluating quality and contingency of connectivity experienced by marginalized and peripheral communities.
Design and analysis of lightweight stiffened honeycomb metallic sandwich panels under high-intensity air blast
Authors: Patel Murlidhar , Patel Shivdayal
Published: June 2023

An explosive attack on a vehicle can cause catastrophic damage, injury, and loss of life. Experimentally evaluating the blast performance is very costly, hazardous, and environmentally polluting. The numerical investigation of blast behavior is a good alternative. However, this numerical study showed an effort toward improving metallic sandwich panels’ ability to withstand explosion loads of 1–3 kg of TNT at a distance of 100 mm. The blast mitigation of square and circular tube honeycomb cores was compared. The foam and circular tube stiffeners were used to optimize the honeycomb sandwiches’ blast mitigation characteristics. Radial face deflection, face center deflection, core crushing behavior, internal energy, and plastic dissipation energy parameters were used for the characterization of blast behavior. The obtained results indicate that the circular tube honeycomb has better blast mitigation characteristics than the square honeycomb, which improves with foam filling. The circular tube-strengthened square honeycomb provides the lightest stiffened sandwich panel with the smallest deformation and face deflections under all explosive loadings.
Call for reflection on the feminist Left: why care, solidarity and abolitionism cannot sufficiently underwrite a radical programme of social change – Fraserian critical theory and an extended review of Cannibal Capitalism
Authors: Stybnarova Nicole
Published: June 2023

This article first introduces and reviews Nancy Fraser's latest book Cannibal Capitalism. Next, it discusses the book's its programme for critical theory in the framework of Fraser's previous scholarship. It focuses on two ingredients of ‘Fraserian' critical theory: the role of difference in social justice-driven research and the separation of ontological and normative parts of such research. It then applies these specifically to feminist radical theories and explains why current, ostensibly non-economic, care-, solidarity- and abolitionist resistance programmes cannot underwrite sufficiently radical political programmes for social change. While these programmes' alternative ontologies are resourceful for informing and fomenting resistance, their potential to radically change social structures hinges upon their ability to relate their programme to other socially dominated and economically oppressed groups on the Left. Because capitalism codes both social domination and economic oppression, radical programmes would integrate their ostensibly non-economic ontological resources with a critique of capitalism to illuminate the common struggles of socially dominated and economically oppressed. ‘System crises critique' articulated by Fraser in Cannibal Capitalism is an example of one such ‘radical’ programme, which mobilises the working class as well as other marginalised groups, which are simultaneously economically oppressed and socially dominated.
Cross-correlation vibro-acoustic modulation method for damage detection
Authors: Liu Dong , Donskoy Dimitri
Published: June 2023

The vibroacoustic modulation (VAM) method distinguishes itself from other linear or nonlinear acoustic structure health monitoring methods due to its advantages of high sensitivity, relatively simple implementation, and the capability to detect defects in complex structures. However, the damaged index of VAM—modulation index, which is used for quantifying the damage severity, is highly influenced by the frequency of the probe wave. To increase the reliability and robustness of the VAM method, researchers modified it by replacing the single harmonic probe wave with a chirp signal. The instantaneous frequency of the chirp signal linearly increases with time, allowing the modified VAM method to access the broadband frequency range in a relatively short amount of time. However, the sideband that attributes to the acoustic nonlinearity of the defect would be overwhelmed by the broadband frequency content of the probe wave. Hence, a different algorithm is needed to process the received signal of the modified VAM method. Previous studies have employed short-time Fourier transform, wavelet transform, Hilbert transform, and synchronous demodulation for this purpose. Yet, these signal processing methods do not take into account affection of the phase difference between the probe and pump waves to the final result. To address this issue, this paper proposes using a cross-correlation (CC) approach. The performance of the proposed CC approach and existing methods were compared using simulation and experimental testing, evaluating their ability to detect acoustic nonlinearity.
Feasibility and Toxicity of Full-Body Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Technique for High-Dose Total Body Irradiation
Authors: Keit Emily , Liveringhouse Casey , Figura Nicholas , Weygand Joseph , Sandoval Maria L. , Garcia Genevieve , Peters Julia , Nieder Michael , Faramand Rawan , Khimani Farhad , Kim Sungjune , Robinson Timothy J. , Johnstone Peter A.S. , Penagaricano Jose , Latifi Kujtim
Published: June 2023

Introduction: High-dose total body irradiation (TBI) is often part of myeloablative conditioning in acute leukemia. Modern volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT)-based plans employ arcs to the inferior-most portion of the body that can be simulated in a head-first position and use 2D planning for the inferior body which can result in heterogeneous doses. Here, we describe our institution's unique protocol for delivering high-dose TBI entirely with VMAT and retrospectively compare dosimetric outcomes with helical tomotherapy (HT) plans. Additionally, we describe our method of oropharyngeal mucosal sparing that was implemented after fatal mucositis occurred in two patients. Methods: Thirty-one patients were simulated and treated in head-first (HFS) and feet-first (FFS) orientations. Patients were treated with VMAT (n = 26) or HT (n = 5). In VMAT plans, to synchronize doses between the orientations, images were deformably registered and the HFS dose was transferred to the FFS plan and used as a background dose when optimizing plans. Six to eight isocenters with two arcs per isocenter were generated. HT was delivered with an established technique. Patients were treated to 13.2 Gy over eight twice daily fractions. Dosimetric outcomes and toxicities were retrospectively compared. Results: Prescription dose and organ at risk (OAR) constraints were met for all patients. Lower lung doses were achieved with VMAT relative to HT plans (7.4 vs 7.7 Gy, P = .009). Statistically significant improvement in mucositis was not achieved after adopting a mucosal-sparing technique, however lower doses to the oropharyngeal mucosal were achieved (6.9 vs 14.1 Gy, P = .009), and no further mucositis-related deaths occurred. Conclusions: This full-body VMAT method of TBI achieves dose goals, eliminates risk of heterogenous doses within the femur, and demonstrates that selective OAR sparing with the purpose of reducing TBI-related morbidity and mortality is possible at any institution with a VMAT-capable linear accelerator.
Validity and Reliability Diabetic Foot Check-up as a Simple Screening Test of Diabetic Foot Ulcers in a Community
Authors: Bubun Juhelnita , Yusuf Saldy , Syam Yuliana , Hidayat Wahyu , Majid Sintawati
Published: June 2023

Early detection of PAD and neuropathy is essential to prevent diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). The study aimed to identify the inter reliability of diabetic foot check-up (Ipswich touch test [IpTT] and palpation of the dorsal pedis and posterior tibialis) between nurses and caregivers. An inter-operator observation study between nurses and caregivers was conducted to evaluate the reliability of diabetic foot check-up in eight public health centers in eastern Indonesia. Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) with and without diabetic foot ulcer (DFU, n  =  144) were included in this study. The nurse demonstrates IpTT and palpation of the dorsal pedis and posterior tibial artery, followed by the caregiver. The McNemar test confirmed no difference in IpTT between nurses and caregivers on the left foot at the first, third, and fifth finger (P > 0.05), similar to the right foot (P > 0.05). The sensitivity of palpation dorsal pedis was (47.3%–50%) and (50%–52%) for the left and right foot, respectively. The insights gained from this study may assist in implementing diabetic foot check-up as an early screening tool for risk DFU in the community setting.
Cumulative Lifetime Violence, Gender Role Conflict, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Eastern Canadian Men
Authors: Scott-Storey Kelly , O’Donnell Sue , Vincent Charlene D. , Malcolm Jeannie , Wuest Judith
Published: June 2023

Despite violence being a chronic stressor that negatively affects health through allostatic overload and potentially harmful coping behaviors, the relationship between cumulative lifetime violence severity (CLVS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in men has received little attention and the role of gender has not been considered. Using survey and health assessment data from a community sample of 177 of eastern Canadian men with CLVS as target and/or perpetrator, we developed a profile of CVD risk measured by the Framingham 30-year risk score. We tested the hypothesis that CLVS measured by the CLVS-44 scale has direct and specific indirect effects through gender role conflict (GRC) on 30-year CVD risk using parallel multiple mediation analysis. Overall, the full sample had 30-year risk scores 1.5 times higher than their age-based Framingham reference normal risk scores. Men classified as having elevated 30-year CVD risk ( n = 77) had risk scores 1.7 times higher than reference normal. Although the direct effects of CLVS on 30-year CVD risk were not significant, indirect effects of CLVS through GRC, specifically Restrictive Affectionate Behavior Between Men, were significant. These novel results reinforce the critical role of chronic toxic stress, particularly from CLVS but also from GRC, in influencing CVD risk. Our findings highlight the need for providers to consider CLVS and GRC as potential antecedents to CVD and to routinely use trauma- and violence-informed approaches in the care of men.
Geographies of ground rent: Periodizing ground rent theory, spatializing ground rent refusal
Authors: Manning F.T.C.
Published: June 2023

This article presents an overview of ground rent theories from a historical and political vantage, analyzing chronological continuities and discontinuities, and hypothesizing about the historicopolitical motivations which spur certain approaches to ground rent. I begin with “Classical Marxist” approaches to ground rent theory in the decades after Marx’s death, followed by an analysis of ground rent theory from the 1970s to 2020s. While critical of some contemporary trends in ground rent scholarship, I note several important contributions the literature makes to our understanding of the world and argue that ground rent-based analyses yield a unique and essential interpretation of class relations, state–capital relations, and the complexity of embodied categories of capitalist social relations. I conclude by considering Demonic Ground/Rent in which the analysis of ground rent may lead us toward ascertaining how to most deeply and fundamentally challenge, refuse, abolish, the current state of things—if we allow ourselves to follow it there.
Beyond Outrage: Observers Anticipate Different Behaviors From Expressors of Anger Versus Disgust
Authors: Fan Lei , Molho Catherine , Kupfer Tom R. , Sauter Disa A. , Tybur Joshua M.
Published: June 2023

The modern world affords unprecedented opportunities for individuals to express moral sentiments. The widespread distribution of one specific type of sentiment — outrage — has consequences for social and political harmony. The current investigation contributes to better understanding these consequences by examining what types of aggression people expect from the outraged. Furthermore, it delineates how these expectations are shaped by the emotion used to express outrage. Three pre-registered studies ( N’s = 800, 1630, 1100) revealed that people infer different types of aggression from individuals who expressed anger nonverbally compared with those who expressed disgust nonverbally. Perceptions that the outraged individual was angry corresponded with expectations of direct aggression rather than indirect aggression, whereas perceptions that the outraged individual was disgusted corresponded with expectations of indirect aggression rather than direct aggression. These results revealed that the distinct emotions used to communicate outrage shape observers’ expectations of how moral conflicts will unfold.
Innovating the digital product development toolchain with digital twins at Helbling Technik AG
Authors: Bettega Kateryna , Düggelin Wilhelm , Ehrenthal Joachim , Ulrich Philipp
Published: June 2023

This teaching case examines how engineering consultants Helbling Technik AG overcame challenges in implementing a digital twin approach to mechatronics product development, saving costs, and reducing time to market. It challenges students to understand digital twins in mechatronic system development and their implications for processes, use cases, and service models. This real-world example is relevant for students and educators interested in the challenges and opportunities of digital twin implementation.
Endoscopic carpal surgery in carpal tunnel syndrome: A systematic review
Authors: Liawrungrueang Wongthawat , Wongsiri Sunton , Sarasombath Peem
Published: June 2023

Objective:

Endoscopic carpal tunnel release has become increasingly popular and has shown the advantage of early recovery of hand function with minimal morbidity. In this systematic review, we aimed to summarize the currently available data and describe the reported advantages and disadvantages of endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery for treating carpal tunnel syndrome.

Methods:

In this study, we followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, which is a set of reporting requirements for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The search strategy with MeSH terms was “MeSH (carpal tunnel syndrome) AND (endoscopic)” Filters: in the last 5 years, English—on February 27th, 2022. A total of 131 articles fulfilled the first screening criteria. A detailed analysis of those articles identified 39 that matched the criteria, of which 14 were considered appropriate for this analysis after applying the complete inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results:

A total of 14 studies met the eligibility criteria. Analysis of those studies found that all types of portals in endoscopic carpal tunnel release reduced postoperative pain at a short-term follow-up. There was no evidence to suggest the superiority of the single- or two-portal techniques in terms of outcomes. In terms of pain relief, symptom resolution, patient satisfaction, duration to return to work, and adverse events, this early use of endoscopic carpal tunnel release produced satisfactory outcomes. Further studies comparing the number of portals are needed.

Conclusion:

Endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery for treating carpal tunnel syndrome is effective and both single- and dual-portal techniques provide advantages in terms of early recovery and minimal morbidity.
Identifying health research in the era of COVID-19: A scoping review
Authors: Samah Tawil
Published: June 2023

Background:

Health improvements are considered one of the most important fields of research. Since the coronavirus disease 2019 was declared a pandemic, it might have impacted clinical and public health research in various forms.

Objectives:

The goal of this study is to explore health research approaches in the era of coronavirus disease 2019.

Methods:

In this scoping review, we reviewed published medical full-text studies and identified potential areas of interest of health research in the era the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic during the last 3 years within a higher educational setting. A bibliometric analysis was used to compare among published works.

Results:

Among the 93 studies that met the inclusion criteria, most focused on mental health ( n = 23; 24.7%). Twenty-one publications targeted coronavirus disease 2019 and its consequences on general health. Other studies have described hemato-oncological, cardiovascular, respiratory, and endocrinological diseases. 42 studies were cross-sectional or cohort studies and most of them published in Q1 journals. Almost half of them belonged to the Faculty of Medicine (49.5%) followed by the School of Arts, Sciences, and Psychology (26.9%).

Conclusions:

Health research has been demonstrated to be important, at all times, especially during crises. Therefore, researchers need to invest more efforts into seeking new medical updates in various health-related fields, regardless of their correlation with coronavirus disease 2019.
Virtual fall program assessment for frail Canadian community-dwelling older adults: Examining equitable accessibility
Authors: Weiss Sophie M. , Castelo Matthew , Liu Barbara , Norris Mireille
Published: June 2023

Objective

In response to COVID-19, the fall prevention program (FPP) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre was modified to be delivered virtually. We compared patient populations assessed for the FPP virtually versus in-person to explore equitable accessibility.

Methods

A retrospective chart review was performed. All patients assessed virtually from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of abstraction (April 25, 2022) were compared to a historic sample of patients assessed in-person beginning in January 2019. Demographics, measures of frailty, co-morbidity, and cognition were abstracted. Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests and Fisher's Exact tests were used for continuous and categorical variables, respectively.

Results

Thirty patients were assessed virtually and compared to 30 in-person historic controls. Median age was 80 years (interquartile range 75–85), 82% were female, 70% were university educated, the median Clinical Frailty Score was 5 out of 9, and 87% used >5 medications. Once normalized, frailty scores showed no difference (p  =  0.446). The virtual cohort showed significantly higher outdoor walking aid use (p  =  0.015), reduced accuracy with clock drawing (p  =  0.020), and nonsignificant trends toward using >10 medications, requiring assistance with >3 instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and higher treatment attendance. No significant differences were seen for time-to-treat (p  =  0.423).

Conclusion

Patients assessed virtually were similarly frail as the in-person controls but had increased use of walking aids, medications, IADL assistance, and cognitive impairment. In a Canadian context, frail and high socioeconomic status older adults continued to access treatment through virtual FPP assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting both the benefits of virtual care and potential inequity.
Use of Bluetooth contact tracing technology to model COVID-19 quarantine policies in high-risk closed populations
Authors: Sun Yinxiaohe , Koo Joel Ruihan , Park Minah , Yi Huso , Dickens Borame L , Cook Alex R
Published: June 2023

Containment measures in high-risk closed settings, like migrant worker (MW) dormitories, are critical for mitigating emerging infectious disease outbreaks and protecting potentially vulnerable populations in outbreaks such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The direct impact of social distancing measures can be assessed through wearable contact tracing devices. Here, we developed an individual-based model using data collected through a Bluetooth wearable device that collected 33.6M and 52.8M contact events in two dormitories in Singapore, one apartment style and the other a barrack style, to assess the impact of measures to reduce the social contact of cases and their contacts. The simulation of highly detailed contact networks accounts for different infrastructural levels, including room, floor, block, and dormitory, and intensity in terms of being regular or transient. Via a branching process model, we then simulated outbreaks that matched the prevalence during the COVID-19 outbreak in the two dormitories and explored alternative scenarios for control. We found that strict isolation of all cases and quarantine of all contacts would lead to very low prevalence but that quarantining only regular contacts would lead to only marginally higher prevalence but substantially fewer total man-hours lost in quarantine. Reducing the density of contacts by 30% through the construction of additional dormitories was modelled to reduce the prevalence by 14 and 9% under smaller and larger outbreaks, respectively. Wearable contact tracing devices may be used not just for contact tracing efforts but also to inform alternative containment measures in high-risk closed settings.
Hate Influencers’ Mediation of Hate on Telegram: “We Declare War Against the Anti-White System”
Authors: Stewart Nicole K. , Al-Rawi Ahmed , Celestini Carmen , Worku Nathan
Published: June 2023

Hate influencers play a critical role in platforming hate. In this article, we illustrate how visible (forward-facing) and invisible (faceless) hate influencers mobilize far-right hate groups in the mobile socio-sphere. Based on our digital multimodal walkthrough method and multimodal discourse analysis, we analyze 16 Telegram channels for two designated hate groups. We focus our analysis on Proud Boys content related to the 6 January attack on Capitol Hill and the White Lives Matter rallies across North America in 2021. To illustrate how hate influencers mobilize these groups, we introduce a three-part model that entails the process (mobile mobilization), means (discourses), and ends (actualizing the objective of the hate group).
Agency and Incentives of Diasporic Political Influencers on Facebook Malawi
Authors: Nyangulu Deborah , Sharra Albert
Published: June 2023

This article examines the agency and incentives that drive the activism of diasporic political influencers on “Facebook Malawi,” an online imagined political community. In their seminal work on “social media dissidents” and “social media self-made activists” in the Global South, Matsilele and Sharra demonstrate that social media activists engage with different strategies to initiate movements, mobilize citizens, and create their brands in strong opposition to authoritarian regimes which repositions them as freedom fighters in the eyes of the masses and enemies of the state. Correspondingly, we frame diasporic political influencers as actors aided by digital technologies who engage in “long-distance nationalism” on Facebook against authoritarianism in the homeland. We deploy a qualitative mixed methods approach to analyze Facebook data of two diasporic political influencers, Onjezani Kenani and Manes Winnie Hale, who gave informed consent to use their Facebook data generated in 2018 and 2021, a period preceding and following the 2019 Malawi tripartite elections. A thematic analysis of 250 Facebook posts and interview data with the two influencers illustrates how they exercise their agency in their quest for a vision of a better Malawi while navigating a complex and ambivalent web of online and offline threats, incentives, and interests. Implicated in the political communication and mobilization of the two are different strategies that include verbal inventiveness, trolling, and exposing. The article also shows how the concept of long-distance nationalism needs to be adapted in studying diasporic political influencers.
Student-To-School-Counselor Ratios, School-Level Factors, and Leadership Practices of School Counselors: A National Investigation
Authors: Hilts Derron , Liu Yanhong , Guo Xiuyan
Published: June 2023

Since 1965, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has recommended a student-to-school-counselor ratio of 250:1; however, a large disparity exists in school counselor caseloads across the United States. To date, most of the literature highlights the positive impact that lower ratios have on student outcomes, yet literature exploring the potential relationships between school counselor caseload and ecological contextual factors is scant. This study examined the association between student-to-school-counselor ratios and school-level variables, school counselor demographics, perceived school climate, and leadership practices. The results, based on a national sample, revealed that school counselors’ racial identity (i.e., identifying as White), school-level variables (i.e., percentages of students with disabilities, students who are bi/multilingual, White students, and White faculty members) were significantly associated with school counselors’ odds of meeting a 250:1 student-to-school-counselor ratio. School counselors with a ratio of 250:1 or lower scored slightly lower in leadership practices. This article discusses implications for practice, policy, and future research.
The Relationship between Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Digital Transformation
Authors: Guimarães Jaiandra da Silva , Fernandes Cristina , Veiga Pedro Mota , Ramadani Veland
Published: June 2023

Given the growing importance of digital transformation, on the one hand, and the recognized importance of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EE) on the other, we find that these are two fragmented fields in the literature and that they lack a systematization of the literature. Our research aims to develop a systematic literature review, in which we will study the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems and digital transformation, at the micro, meso and macro levels. For this, we used the Web of Science to collect our database, and we analysed 73 articles that were included in our study for their purpose. In our analysis, we were able to identify the characteristics of the environments of entrepreneurial ecosystems, the actions of digital technology approaches to digital transformation and the necessary skills in the scenario of entrepreneurship. Thus, we proposed a conceptual model with the presentation of the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems and digital transformation, which may be useful in future studies. The greatest contribution of our investigation is the offer of this systematization to this field of study, allowing us to see the different paths of investigation.
Racial Segregation in Everyday Mobility Patterns: Disentangling the Effect of Travel Time
Authors: Vachuska Karl
Published: June 2023

Nascent research documents that U.S. racial segregation is not merely a residential phenomenon but is present in everyday mobility patterns. Better understanding the causes of mobility-based segregation requires disentangling the spatial macrosegregation, which constitutes an obvious confounding factor. In this work, the author analyzes big data on everyday visits between 270 million neighborhood dyads to estimate the effect of neighborhood racial composition on mobility patterns, net of driving, walking, and public transportation travel time. Matching on these travel times, the author finds that residents of Black and Hispanic neighborhoods visit White neighborhoods only slightly less than they visit other Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Distinctly, residents of White neighborhoods are far less likely to visit non-White neighborhoods than other White neighborhoods, even net of travel time. The author finds that this travel time–adjusted visit homophily among White neighborhoods is greater in commuting zones where White neighborhoods are situated closer to non-White neighborhoods.
A Review on Interlinking Poverty, Social Inequity and Exclusion as a Social Discrimination Among Scheduled Castes
Authors: Kumar Bushan , Geelani Syed Zahoor Ahmad , Bhat Gh. Jeelani , Shah Rizwan Ahmad
Published: June 2023

The present article aims to look at several elements of caste-based exclusion among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) community in India. It looks at denying SCs their social, cultural, civil, political and economic rights, which leads to social exclusion and poverty. The work is expressive and analytical, based on secondary data sources. The research is based on a survey of the existing literature on these connected institutional phenomena that have had a significant impact on the lives of SCs. Different literature reviews have also been conducted from various journals, government reports, websites and working papers to present this research article.
Institutional anomie theory and gambling-related crime: An empirical test in Macau
Authors: Dai Mengliang , Zhuang Xiaoyu , Ng Ting Kin
Published: June 2023

To date, scholars have rarely applied institutional anomie theory to gambling-related crime. Using time series data on the rates of illegal gambling, money laundering, organised crime, and drug-related crime, as well as various indicators of the economy and noneconomic social institutions, this study tested the applicability of institutional anomie theory to gambling-related crime. The study found that unemployment positively related to organised crime and drug-related crime. GDP per capita is positively associated with illegal gambling crime, organised crime, and drug-related crime. However, all social institutional variables failed to predict gambling-related crime. Moreover, for the interaction effects, this finding also provided limited and mixed support for the theory. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Higher rate of progression in HIV– than in HIV+ patients after rituximab for HHV8+ multicentric Castleman disease
Authors: Rasmussen Camille , Gérard Laurence , Fadlallah Jehane , Corvilain Emilie , Galicier Lionel , Meignin Véronique , Oksenhendler Eric , Boutboul David
Published: June 2023

Rituximab has revolutionized the treatment of Kaposi sarcoma–associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus 8–associated multicentric Castleman disease (HHV8+ MCD), converting a rapidly fatal illness into a relapsing disease. HHV8+ MCD mainly affects patients with HIV infection but can also be observed in patients without HIV infection. We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 99 patients (73 who tested HIV+ and 26 who tested HIV–), with HHV8+ MCD treated with rituximab-based therapy. Baseline characteristics were similar in patients who had HIV– and HIV+ results, although those who tested HIV– were older (65 vs 42 years) and presented less frequently with Kaposi sarcoma (15% vs 40%). Ninety-five patients (70 HIV+ and 25 HIV–) achieved complete remission (CR) after rituximab-based therapy. After a median follow-up of 51 months, 36 patients (12 HIV– and 24 HIV+) experienced disease progression. The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 54%. The 5-year PFS was lower in HIV– patients than in HIV+ patients : 26% and 62%, respectively (P = .02). A multivariate prognostic factors analysis including time-dependent covariates revealed that HIV– status, reoccurrence of HHV8 DNA >3 log copies per mL, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) >20 mg/mL were independently associated with an increased risk of progression after rituximab-induced CR (P = .001; P = .01; and P = .01, respectively). The lower rate of progression observed in the population with HIV+ results despite a longer follow-up period might have resulted from the possible immune restoration upon antiretroviral therapy. HHV8 viral load and serum CRP monitoring after rituximab therapy provide information on the progression risk and may help in the decision to resume specific therapy.