bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spillover Effects of Mental Health Disorders on Family Members’ Health-Related Quality of Life: Evidence from a US Sample
Authors: Lee Donghoon , Kim Yeonil , Devine Beth
Published: August 2021

Objectives

This study aims to characterize the spillover effects of selected mental health disorders (episodic mood disorder (EMD), anxiety, substance use disorder (SUD), schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dementia) on family members’ health-related quality of life and to compare the magnitude of spillover effects across these types.

Methods

Using the 2000–2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, households having individuals with mental health disorders were identified. The SF-12 and EQ-5D surveys were used to acquire utility and health status scores for household members. The outcomes in households including an individual with a mental health disorder were compared to those of the control group (absence of individuals with mental health disorders in the household). We also compared a total of 15 pairs of diseases based on the SF-6D scores. A beta generalized estimating equation model was employed.

Results

Average scores of utility and health status among individuals living with a member with a mental health disorder in the household were statistically lower than those of the control group and; for the SF-6D, met the minimally important difference for SUD, schizophrenia, and dementia. Differences in the SF-6D scores were statistically significant for 5 pairs of the mental health disorders: EMD–anxiety, EMD–ADHD, dementia–anxiety, dementia–ADHD, and schizophrenia–ADHD.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence of family spillover effects in mental illness using both utility and health status measures from a US representative sample. Integrating this evidence into clinical and policy decision making as well as economic evaluations would allow for a more comprehensive valuation of the societal benefits of mental and behavioral health interventions.
Hepatitis C virus infection and anaesthesia practice: A narrative review
Authors: Carman Jeremy A , Lee Karl KH , Gardner Andrew I , Chong Smathi KK
Published: August 2021

This paper reviews the natural and treated history of hepatitis C virus infection, the interactions between current therapies and anaesthesia medications, and the implications of occupational exposure and infection to anaesthetists in light of significant changes in treatment. In the past decade, the introduction of new direct acting antiviral medications has seen high cure rates with a sustained viral response across all virus genotypes. These medications are well tolerated with minimal side-effects. Should a patient on these medications require anaesthesia, there are few clinically significant interactions with commonly used anaesthesia medications, and minimal perioperative investigations are required, although delaying elective surgery until after the completion of treatment regimens should be considered to maximise treatment success. As anaesthetists may practise exposure-prone procedures, regular screening for hepatitis C virus infection remains recommended to enable both patient protection and treatment of the anaesthetist prior to the development of any long-term complications of hepatitis C virus infection. Similarly, early diagnosis and treatment of occupationally acquired hepatitis C virus infection after body fluid exposure is associated with high cure rates with minimal risk of long-term liver damage. Although hepatitis C virus infection remains a significant public health issue in Australia and New Zealand, improvements in outcomes as a result of new treatment regimens have allowed the World Health Organization to target the elimination of hepatitis C virus infection as a public health threat by 2030, and public health strategies are being implemented to achieve this goal.
Evaluation of Operating Schemes on Municipal Rail Transit with Express/Local Mode
Authors: Teng Jing , Wang Hui , Zhang Cen , Liu Shaojie
Published: August 2021

The express/local train mode has made municipal rail more competitive in connecting the city center with its suburbs. Therefore, how to design operating schemes is of concern to decision makers. Unlike earlier line planning optimization, this paper aims to provide a quick and comprehensive evaluation of operating performance in all feasible options through reasonable reduction of the scope of the operating schemes, rather than optimization for a single objective. To achieve this, the paper constructs a travel topology network structure based on the separation of trains, which regards express and local trains running on the common line as independent competitors. Focusing on the problems of uneven departure intervals and inconsistent dwell times caused by overtaking, a generalized cost model suitable for the express/local train mode is established. To solve the express/local line problems of multi-routes and high-overlapping, the improved Multinominal Logit (MNL) Model is used to construct a passenger flow assignment model, with the solution achieved by the Method of Successive Averages algorithm. Taking a municipal rail line in Guangzhou as a case study, this paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of feasible operation schemes with different characteristics in the express/local train ratio, the location and number of overtaking stations based on passenger flow assignment results and also the impacts of crowdedness on passenger flow dynamics. The results verified the effectiveness of our approach in the comprehensive evaluation of the express/local train mode and shed light on potential practical applications in determining a reasonable operating scheme.
Developing Transportation Response Strategies for Wildfire Evacuations via an Empirically Supported Traffic Simulation of Berkeley, California
Authors: Zhao Bingyu , Wong Stephen D.
Published: August 2021

Government agencies must make rapid and informed decisions in wildfires to evacuate people safely. However, current evacuation simulation tools for resource-strapped agencies largely fail to compare possible transportation responses or incorporate empirical evidence from past wildfires. Consequently, this study employs online survey data from evacuees of the 2017 Northern California Wildfires ( n = 37), the 2017 Southern California Wildfires ( n = 175), and the 2018 Carr Wildfire ( n = 254) to inform a policy-oriented traffic evacuation simulation model. The simulation is tested for a hypothetical wildfire evacuation in the wildland-urban interface of Berkeley, California. The study focuses on variables including fire speed, departure time distribution, towing of items, transportation mode, GPS-enabled rerouting, phased evacuations (i.e., allowing higher-risk residents to leave earlier), and contraflow (i.e., switching all lanes away from danger). It was found that reducing evacuating household vehicles (i.e., to one vehicle per household) and increasing GPS-enabled rerouting (e.g., 50% participation) lowered exposed vehicles (i.e., total vehicles in the fire frontier) by over 50% and evacuation time estimates (ETEs) by about 30% from baseline. Phased evacuations with a suitable time interval reduced exposed vehicles most significantly (over 90%) but produced slightly longer ETEs. Both contraflow (on limited links because of resource constraints) and slowing fire speed were effective in lowering number of exposed vehicles (around 50%), but not ETEs. Extended contraflow can reduce both exposed vehicles and ETEs. It is recommended that agencies develop a communication and parking plan to reduce the number of evacuating vehicles, create and communicate a phased evacuation plan, and build partnerships with GPS-routing services.
Balancing Collaboration and Cognitive Load to Optimize Individual and Group Desirable Difficulties
Authors: Nihalani Priya K. , Robinson Daniel H.
Published: August 2021

We sought to identify factors that optimize individual learning in complex, technology-enhanced learning environments. Undergraduates viewed tutorials and played a simulation-based game either alone or in groups and in either high or low cognitive load sequences and later took tests measuring comprehension of tutorials and transfer of computer networking skills. A cognitive load by collaboration interaction was found for both immediate and delayed transfer measures, but not comprehension measures. Students working in groups performed best under high cognitive load whereas students working individually performed best under low cognitive load. These findings support the notions of optimal individual and group cognitive load and have implications for leveraging technology to design learning environments that allow students to collaborate and maximize individual learning.
Student and Teacher Evaluation of a School Re-entry Program Following the Initial Covid19 Lockdown
Authors: Capurso Michele , Buratta Livia , Pazzagli Chiara , Pagano Salmi Luciana , Casucci Simone , Finauro Stefania , Potenza Cristina , Mazzeschi Claudia
Published: August 2021

The Covid19 pandemic raised concerns regarding millions of children’s mental health. For schools, the real challenge has been how to manage the situation in terms of education and development. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate a school re-entry program that supported teachers and students with activities aimed at processing emotions and lockdown experiences in their classrooms. Results show that the program was well perceived and was associated with a consequent reduction in children’s state anxiety and negative emotions. We conclude that a school re-entry program can play an important role in fostering resilience and development during a crisis.
Increased Risks or Peace of Mind? Exploring Fear, Victimization, and Safety Strategies Among Women Planning to Get a Gun
Authors: Logan TK , Lynch Kellie R.
Published: August 2021

Much of the research on firearm owners implies that the U.S. population can be divided into two groups—those that own guns and those that do not; however, there is a third group—those thinking of getting a gun and almost nothing is known about this group. A survey on gun ownership, experiences, and behaviors was deployed online via Prolific in June and July 2020 to recruit women from the general U.S. population who were planning on getting a gun ( n = 187), who owned a gun ( n = 288) and who did not own or plan to own guns ( n = 968). Results show that women planning on getting a gun worried more about their personal safety and more had experienced recent interpersonal violence victimization compared to the other two groups. Almost all of the women planning on getting a gun believed that carrying a gun would make them safer. Even though women planning on getting a gun had limited experience with guns, they expressed fewer gun related worries than nongun owners. Additionally, women planning on getting a gun had more depression symptoms and more of them indicated they had thoughts of self-harm in the past two weeks than current gun owners. Depression symptoms were significantly associated with plans to get a gun in the multivariate model. Given the risks associated with having firearms in the household, interventions could target those considering getting a gun as well as educating friends and family about what to say when someone close is considering obtaining a firearm for safety.
The Everyday Ageism Scale: Development and Evaluation
Authors: Allen Julie Ober , Solway Erica , Kirch Matthias , Singer Dianne , Kullgren Jeffrey T. , Malani Preeti N.
Published: August 2021

Objectives

Older adults regularly encounter age-based discrimination and stereotyping in their day-to-day lives. Whether this type of routine ageism negatively affects their health and well-being is unclear, in part due to the absence of validated scales that comprehensively measure this phenomenon and distinguish it from other sources of everyday discrimination.

Methods

This study describes the development of a novel scale, the Everyday Ageism Scale, and its psychometric evaluation using a nationally representative sample of US adults age 50–80 from the December 2019 National Poll on Healthy Aging ( N = 2012).

Results

Exploratory factor analysis indicated a 3-factor structure comprised of ageist messages, ageism in interpersonal interactions, and internalized ageism. The ten-item scale was psychometrically sound and demonstrated good internal reliability.

Discussion

Everyday ageism is a multidimensional construct. Preliminary evaluation of the Everyday Ageism Scale suggests its utility in future studies examining the prevalence of everyday ageism and its relationships with health.
Comparison of response surface methodology with artificial neural network for prediction of the tensile properties of friction stir-processed surface composites
Authors: Butola Ravi , Singari Ranganath M. , Murtaza Qasim , Tyagi Lakshay
Published: August 2021

In the present work, nanoboron carbide is integrated in the aluminum matrix using friction stir processing: by varying process parameters, that is, tool pin profile, tool rotational speed and tool traverse speed, based on Taguchi L16 design of experiment. A self-assembled monolayer is successfully developed on the substrate to homogeneously and uniformly distribute the reinforcement particles. Response surface methodology and artificial neural network models are developed using ultimate tensile strength and total elongation as responses. Percentage absolute error between the experimental and predicted values of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation for the response surface methodology model is 3.537 and 2.865, respectively, and for artificial neural network is 2.788 and 2.578, respectively. For both the developed models experimental and forecasted values are in close approximation. The artificial neural network model showed slightly better predictive capacity compared to the response surface methodology model. From the scanning electron microscopy micrograph, it is evident that throughout the matrix B4C reinforcement particles are well distributed also; with increasing tool rotational speed grain size decreases up to 1200 r/min; on further increasing the tool rotational speed particles starts clustering.
Thermal augmentation in solar aircraft using tangent hyperbolic hybrid nanofluid: A solar energy application
Authors: Jamshed Wasim
Published: August 2021

The major source of heat from the sun is solar energy, with enormous use of photovoltaic technology, solar power plates, photovoltaic lights and pumping solar water. This time is about the analysis of solar radiation and how the efficiency of solar aircraft may be improved by using solar radiation and nanotechnology. The study is intended to develop analyses of solar aircraft hybrid nanofluid transfer via parabolic trough surface collector solar wings. Solar radiative flow was named the heat source. The heat transfer efficiency of the wings is evaluated for various phenomena such as a slanted magnetic field, Joule heating, play heat and thermal radiative flow. The entropy production study was carried out in the instance of the tangent hyperbolic fluid. The modelled energy and momentum formulas were controlled with the well-established Keller box numerical technique. This work consists of ethylene glycol standard fluid with two differing types of nanosolid particles copper and silver. Different control factors for velocities, shear stress and temperature are addressed and shown in the figures and tables as well as surface friction and heat transport rate. In terms of thermal transfer, the efficacy of the aviation wings with thermal radiation amplification and changeable thermal conduction parameters is enhanced. Hybrid nanofluid is an ideal source of heat transmission compared to conventional nanofluids. Silver–copper/ethylene glycol thermal efficiency is reduced between 2.6% and 4.4% than copper–ethylene glycol nanofluid.
Physicochemical properties of chitosan–magnetite nanocomposites obtained with different pH
Authors: Chapa González Christian , Navarro Arriaga Javier Ulises , García Casillas Perla Elvia
Published: August 2021

The physicochemical properties of the nanoparticle surface determine the performance of nanocomposites in biomedical applications such as their biodistribution and pharmacokinetics. The physicochemical properties of chitosan, such as apparent charge density and solubility, are pH dependent. Similarly, Fe3O4 nanoparticles are susceptible to variations in their physicochemical properties due to changes in pH. In this work, we evaluated the physicochemical properties of chitosan–magnetite nanocomposites that were suspended at pH 7.0, 9.0, and 11.0 to determinate the effect on particle size, zeta potential, and mass percentage of the polymeric coating, in addition to the crystalline phase and magnetic properties of magnetite phase. X-ray diffraction results exposed that the present phase was magnetite with no other phases present and that the crystallite size was between 10.8 and 14.1 nm. Fourier transform infrared verified the chitosan functional groups in treated samples while the percentage of mass determined by TGA found to be nearly 9%. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs corroborated the spherical shape of the bare and chitosan-coated nanoparticles. Dynamic light scattering results showed that chitosan coating modifies the zeta potential, going from a potential of −11.8 mV for bare particles to −3.0 mV (pH 11). Besides, vibrating sample magnetometer measurements showed that coercivity remained very low, which is desirable in biomedical applications.
Making algorithms safe for workers: occupational risks associated with work managed by artificial intelligence
Authors: Todolí-Signes Adrián
Published: August 2021

It is increasingly common for companies to use artificial intelligence mechanisms to manage work. This study examines the health hazards caused by these new forms of technological management. Occupational risks can be reduced if they are taken into account when programming an algorithm. This study confirms the need for algorithms to be correctly programmed, taking account of these occupational risks. In the same way as supervisors have to be trained in risk prevention to be able to perform their work, the algorithm must be programmed to weigh up the occupational risks – and when such features do not exist, steps must be taken to prevent the algorithm being used to direct workers. The algorithm must assess all (known) factors posing a risk to workers’ health and safety. It therefore seems necessary to incorporate a mandatory risk assessment performed by specialists in the programming of algorithms so that all ascertained risks can be taken into account.
Exploiting internal resonance to improve flow energy harvesting from vortex-induced vibrations
Authors: Jiang Wenan , Li Ye , Ma Xindong , Wang Yong , Chen Liqun , Bi Qinsheng
Published: August 2021

Vortex-induced vibrations have been recently employed to capture scalable flow energy harvesters, which can attain the maximum power when the wind speed is in the lock-in region where the vortex-shedding frequency is close to the structural frequency. Nevertheless, the dynamical mechanism of the synchronization phenomenon has not been reported. To solve this critical problem, in this paper we explore a novel internal resonance to scavenge flow energy from vortex-induced vibrations, the mechanism of synchronous oscillations is introduced by the amplitude-frequency relationship and confirmed by the energy function. To show the capturing performance, an electromagnetic energy harvester with one-to-one internal resonance is proposed. Based on the harmonic balance method, the electromechanical coupling equations are decoupled, and the first order approximate harmonic responses of displacement and current are established. The modulation equations are derived, the amplitude-frequency curves of displacement and current are plotted with different detuning parameters. The advantage of the proposed one-to-one internal resonance is compared to the noninternal resonance case, the results express that the internal resonance scheme can enhance flow energy capture. The effects of physical parameters on the scavenged power are discussed. The accuracy and efficiency of the approximate analytical results are checked by numerical simulations.
TRENDS: The Geography of Law: Understanding the Origin of State and Federal Redistricting Cases
Authors: Gimpel James G. , Hightower Tristan M. , Wohlfarth Patrick C.
Published: August 2021

Knowing where legal complaints arise can tell us something about them and reveal clues about their conditions of origin. In this paper, we examine the geographic origins of litigation challenging the boundaries of electoral districts—an increasingly salient and prominent source of political conflict. We construct an original dataset of all redistricting cases in state and federal courts nationwide, from 1960 to 2019. We show that redistricting litigation surfaces not just in states where there are regions undergoing rapid population change or that have a greater proportion of aggrieved racial minority groups but also in areas where there is close partisan competition. The filing of redistricting litigation is highly responsive to hypercompetitive political environments, suggesting that parties pursue judicial intervention vigorously when political power hangs in the balance and not simply due to demographic changes associated with decennial population measurement. These findings have important implications for understanding the temporal and spatial dynamics of redistricting politics and the consequences of intense partisan electoral competition in the United States.
Generalized scattering matrix method for Lamb wave scattering analysis at cascaded notches
Authors: Cao Xuwei , Zeng Liang , Lin Jing
Published: August 2021

A thorough understanding of the scattering mechanism of Lamb waves at discontinuities is of interest for quantitative evaluation of structural properties and mode control. This study extends the generalized scattering matrix method to investigate the interaction of straight crested Lamb waves with multiple cascaded rectangular notches. Based on the orthogonality and completeness of Lamb modes, the mode matching method is utilized to determine the scattering matrices of downward and upward step discontinuities. After that, the generalized scattering matrix method is employed to determine the scattering matrices of a single rectangular notch and the recurrence relations between the scattering matrices of n + 1 cascaded notches and those of n cascaded notches. Finally, the scattering matrices of multiple cascaded notches can be easily obtained taking advantage of the recurrence relations. As the number of cascaded notches increases, more and sharper peaks appear in the scattering coefficient curves. The finite element simulations conducted in the time domain validate the theoretical results for cascaded notches with identical or different depths, which demonstrate that this method can be applied to find the scattering coefficients at piece-wise periodic or nonperiodic waveguides. The generalized scattering matrix method may have potential applications in quantitative nondestructive evaluation and mode control.
From Military Masculinity toward Hybrid Masculinities: Constructing a New Sense of Manhood among Veterans Treated for PTSS
Authors: Spector-Mersel Gabriela , Gilbar Ohad
Published: August 2021

This study examines how Israeli men who are army veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress and consequently participated in therapy engage “new masculinities” ideologies. Drawing from interview data with these veterans, we find changes in the men’s perceptions of masculinity and sense of themselves as men. They expressed this shift through criticisms of military masculinity and disassociating from the idea of man-as-fighter, disputing the sociocultural category of hegemonic masculinity, and performing practices identified as feminine. The men portrayed this movement, away from endorsing hegemonic military masculinity toward affirming “new masculinity” ideology rooted in therapeutic discourse, which emphasizes sensitivity, emotional disclosure, self-care, and seeking help, as intertwined with their mental recovery—and they attributed both to therapy. These findings suggest that new masculinity ideology embedded in therapeutic discourse, can offer men suffering from post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) a template to reaffirm their status as men—although men of a different kind—and indicate the possibilities for therapy in this endeavor. However, while the men adopted new masculinity ideologies, they also conformed to hegemonic masculinity, constructing hybrid masculinities. The study joins growing evidence that hybrid masculinities may have positive effects in enabling men to overcome the limitations of hegemonic masculinity, while also conforming to its expectations more broadly and maintaining men’s power.
Tourism specialisation and education: Leading the way to better labour conditions?
Authors: Garcia Carolina Inés , Porto Natalia
Published: August 2021

This article studies the returns to education in the Argentinian tourism sector considering tourism specialisation. With data from the Permanent Household and Hotel Occupancy Surveys, we make use of Mincer equations to understand the relation between wages and education. For that, we take into account three different types of agglomerates: Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA), agglomerates more specialised in tourism (AT) and agglomerates less specialised in tourism (ALT). We find that, for tourism workers, there is a penalty in returns to education, which differs according to the type of agglomerate. These negative returns are partially mitigated by tourism specialisation. In CABA, the most developed and specialised destination, there is almost no penalty. In the case of AT, the mitigation is greater than in ALT. Consequently, this specialisation positions AT in the tourism development path leading to the improvement of labour conditions. There should therefore be an interaction between tourism and education, and it is also imperative to generate incentives and partnerships for the improvement of the sector’s training and labour conditions.
Avoiding conflict and minimising exposure: Face-work on Twitter
Authors: Walsh Michael James , Baker Stephanie Alice
Published: August 2021

In a context where Twitter has come under criticism for enabling and encouraging hostile communication, this article explores how users adopt a ‘Twitter face’ when navigating interactions on the platform. Extending Goffman’s observation that face-work is applicable to both immediate and mediated interaction, this article provides a novel application of face-work on Twitter. Reporting on data from an online questionnaire completed by general Twitter users, we explore how uncivil interaction is experienced on the platform and the interaction strategies users employ to protect their face. We examine how interactions on the platform can lead to a ritual break-down that generate forms of alienation arising from aggressive uses of face-work. We contend that attempts to enhance Twitter as a medium by limiting and restricting particular interactions are ultimately attempts at shaping Twitter’s affordances. In analysing user experience, our discussion considers how incivility is responded to and how the platform encourages users to engage in the avoidance components of face-work, while simultaneously inhibiting the easy adoption of its restorative dimensions. While both dimensions of face-work are vital, the downplaying of restorative aspects of face-work arguably undermines Twitter’s efforts to encourage inclusive interactions across the platform.
Probabilistic cracking prediction via deep learned electrical tomography
Authors: Chen Liang , Gallet Adrien , Huang Shan-Shan , Liu Dong , Smyl Danny
Published: August 2021

In recent years, electrical tomography, namely, electrical resistance tomography (ERT), has emerged as a viable approach to detecting, localizing and reconstructing structural cracking patterns in concrete structures. High-fidelity ERT reconstructions, however, often require computationally expensive optimization regimes and complex constraining and regularization schemes, which impedes pragmatic implementation in Structural Health Monitoring frameworks. To address this challenge, this article proposes the use of predictive deep neural networks to directly and rapidly solve an analogous ERT inverse problem. Specifically, the use of cross-entropy loss is used in optimizing networks forming a nonlinear mapping from ERT voltage measurements to binary probabilistic spatial crack distributions (cracked/not cracked). In this effort, artificial neural networks and convolutional neural networks are first trained using simulated electrical data. Following, the feasibility of the predictive networks is tested and affirmed using experimental and simulated data considering flexural and shear cracking patterns observed from reinforced concrete elements.
Formulation and existence of weak solutions for a problem of adhesive contact with elastoplasticity and hardening
Authors: Peñas Galezo Ramiro
Published: August 2021

This paper presents the weak formulation of a quasi-static evolution model for two deformable bodies with uni-directional adhesive unilateral contact on which external loads act. Small deformations and linearized elastoplasticity with hardening are assumed. The adhesion component is rate-dependent or rate-independent according to the choice of the viscosity coefficient of the glue; elastoplasticity is considered rate-independent. The weak formulation is expressed as a doubly non-linear problem with unbounded multivalued operators, as a function of internal and boundary displacements, plastic and symmetric strain tensors, and the bonding field and its gradient. This paper differs from other formulations by coupling the equations defined inside and on the boundary of the solids in functional form. In addition to this novelty, we verify the existence of solutions by a path other than that displayed in similar articles. The existence of solutions is demonstrated after considering a succession of doubly non-linear problems with an unbounded operator, and verifying that the solution of one of the problems is also a solution to the objective problem. The proof is supported by previous results from non-linear Partial differential equations theory with monotone operators.
Multiple brown tumors—Forgotten pathology in times of calcimimetics: A case report and literature review
Authors: De La Flor Merino José Carlos , Justo Pablo , Domínguez Juan J. , Gómez-Berrocal Ana , Seva Antonio E. , Marschall Alexander , Rodeles Miguel
Published: August 2021

Multiple brown tumors represent a rare variant of osteitis fibrosa cystica. Brown tumors are associated with primary, secondary, or tertiary hyperparathyroidism. Brown tumors have been reported in patients with chronic kidney disease resulting in mineral and bone disorders. Chronic kidney disease resulting in mineral and bone disorder is a result of increased osteoclast activity and excessive production of parathormone due to parathyroid gland hyperactivity. Brown tumors are frequently overlooked in patients with end-stage renal disease since calcimimetics and vitamin D analogs were introduced as pharmacological therapy for secondary hyperparathyroidism. We present a case of a 79 year-old pre-dialysis woman, with multiple brown tumors secondary to a parathyroid adenoma despite being treated with cinacalcet for secondary hyperparathyroidism. In addition, we review the corresponding literature.
Impact of Perioperative Complications on Living Kidney Donor Health-Related Quality of Life and Mental Health: Results From a Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Garcia-Ochoa Carlos , Feldman Liane S. , Nguan Chris , Monroy-Caudros Mauricio , Arnold Jennifer B. , Barnieh Lianne , Boudville Neil , Cuerden Meaghan S. , Dipchand Christine , Gill John S. , Karpinski Martin , Klarenbach Scott , Knoll Greg , Lok Charmaine E. , Miller Matthew , Prasad G. V. Ramesh , Sontrop Jessica M. , Storsley Leroy , Garg Amit X.
Published: August 2021

Background:

Although living kidney donation is safe, some donors experience perioperative complications.

Objective:

This study explored how perioperative complications affected donor-reported health-related quality of life, depression, and anxiety.

Design:

This research was a conducted as a prospective cohort study.

Setting:

Twelve transplant centers across Canada.

Patients:

A total of 912 living kidney donors were included in this study.

Measurements:

Short Form 36 health survey, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory.

Methods:

Living kidney donors were prospectively enrolled predonation between 2009 to 2014. Donor perioperative complications were graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification system. Mental and physical health-related quality of life was assessed with the 3 measurements; measurements were taken predonation and at 3- and 12-months postdonation.

Results:

Seventy-four donors (8%) experienced a perioperative complication; most were minor (n = 67 [91%]), and all minor complications resolved before hospital discharge. The presence (versus absence) of a perioperative complication was associated with lower mental health-related quality of life and higher depression symptoms 3-month postdonation; neither of these differences persisted at 12-month. Perioperative complications were not associated with any changes in physical health-related quality of life or anxiety 3-month postdonation.

Limitations:

Minor complications may have been missed and information on complications postdischarge were not collected. No minimal clinically significant change has been defined for kidney donors across the 3 measurements.

Conclusions:

These findings highlight a potential opportunity to better support the psychosocial needs of donors who experience perioperative complications in the months following donation.

Trial registration:

NCT00319579 and NCT00936078.
Trauma Risk Score Also Predicts Blood Transfusion Requirements in Hip Fracture Patients
Authors: Konda Sanjit R. , Perskin Cody R , Parola Rown , Robitsek R. Jonathan , Ganta Abhishek , Egol Kenneth A
Published: August 2021

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to determine if the risk of receiving a blood transfusion during hip fracture hospitalization can be predicted by a validated risk profiling score (Score for Trauma Triage in Geriatric and Middle Aged (STTGMA)).

Materials and Methods

A consecutive series of 1449 patients 55 years and older admitted for a hip fracture at one academic medical center were identified from a trauma database. The STTGMA risk score was calculated for each patient. Patients were stratified into risk groups based on their STTGMA score quantile: minimal risk (0–50%), low risk (50–80%), moderate risk (80–95%), and high risk (95–100%). Incidence and volume of blood transfusions were compared between risk groups.

Results

There were 562 (38.8%) patients who received a transfusion during their admission. 58.3% of patients in the high risk group received a transfusion during admission compared to 31.2% of minimal risk group patients, 42.6% of low risk group patients, and 50.0% of moderate risk group patients ( p < 0.001). STTGMA was predictive of first transfusion incidence in both the preoperative and postoperative periods. There was no difference in mean total transfusion volume between the four risk groups.

Conclusion

The STTGMA model is capable of risk stratifying hip fracture patients more likely to receive blood transfusions during hospitalization. Surgeons can use this tool to anticipate transfusion requirements.
Injuries in Muscle-Tendon-Bone Units: A Systematic Review Considering the Role of Passive Tissue Fatigue
Authors: Vila Pouca Maria C.P. , Parente Marco P.L. , Jorge Renato M. Natal , Ashton-Miller James A.
Published: August 2021

Background:

Low-cycle fatigue damage accumulating to the point of structural failure has been recently reported at the origin of the human anterior cruciate ligament under strenuous repetitive loading. If this can occur in a ligament, low-cycle fatigue damage may also occur in the connective tissue of muscle-tendon units. To this end, we reviewed what is known about how, when, and where injuries of muscle-tendon units occur throughout the body.

Purpose:

To systematically review injuries in the muscle-tendon-bone complex; assess the site of injury (muscle belly, musculotendinous junction [MTJ], tendon/aponeurosis, tendon/aponeurosis–bone junction, and tendon/aponeurosis avulsion), incidence, muscles and tendons involved, mechanism of injury, and main symptoms; and consider the hypothesis that injury may often be consistent with the accumulation of multiscale material fatigue damage during repetitive submaximal loading regimens.

Methods:

PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched on July 24, 2019. Quality assessment was undertaken using ARRIVE, STROBE, and CARE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments, Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology, and the Case Report Statement and Checklist, respectively).

Results:

Overall, 131 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 799 specimens and 2,823 patients who sustained 3,246 injuries. Laboratory studies showed a preponderance of failures at the MTJ, a viscoelastic behavior of muscle-tendon units, and damage accumulation at the MTJ with repetitive loading. Observational studies showed that 35% of injuries occurred in the tendon midsubstance; 28%, at the MTJ; 18%, at the tendon-bone junction; 13%, within the muscle belly and that 6% were tendon avulsions including a bone fragment. The biceps femoris was the most injured muscle (25%), followed by the supraspinatus (12%) and the Achilles tendon (9%). The most common symptoms were hematoma and/or swelling, tenderness, edema and muscle/tendon retraction. The onset of injury was consistent with tissue fatigue at all injury sites except for tendon avulsions, where 63% of the injuries were caused by an evident trauma.

Conclusion:

Excluding traumatic tendon avulsions, most injuries were consistent with the hypothesis that material fatigue damage accumulated during repetitive submaximal loading regimens. If supported by data from better imaging modalities, this has implications for improving injury detection, prevention, and training regimens.
Essential Factors Influencing Malaysia’s Relations with the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Abu-Hussin Mohd Fauzi , Idris Asmady , Yaakop Mohd Rizal Mohd , Salleh Mohd Afandi
Published: August 2021

This study analyses Malaysia’s relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as one of its important partners and the most rapidly developing country in the Middle East. It seeks to understand the bilateral relationship by identifying the essential factors that influence them. Apart from the systemic structure that presents no obstacle for the relations, the study has found two essential factors that play pivotal roles in solidifying Malaysia’s relations with the UAE. They are political–diplomatic engagements and socioeconomic opportunities. Hence, this study touches first on Malaysia’s early interactions with the UAE from an overview of foreign policy orientation and is followed by examining the political–diplomatic engagements and socioeconomic interactions, which shape the character of the relations. The findings show that besides significance of political–diplomatic engagements and socioeconomic interactions, the religious element is still germane. Though not in the manner of Malaysia’s traditional–religious interactions with some Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt, it visibly appears in the form of ‘Islamic commercial brands’ vis-à-vis the UAE that economically bind both countries to embrace more in Islamic finance and investment, halal industry, tourism, and education.
Fracking and epistemic injustice: A feminist critique of knowledge formation
Authors: Beebeejaun Yasminah
Published: August 2021

The expansion of fracking, an intensive form of hydrocarbon extraction, has been met with increasing public hostility, spanning a diverse range of interests and political allegiances. However, to date, few authors have engaged with the role of gender and women activists. In this paper, I consider how gender and gendered ideas have been used as a resource to underpin fracking protests in the USA and UK. I find that a problematic gendered binary has emerged that undermined the veracity of anti-fracking protestors’ opposition and aligns with modes of planning governance that valorize universal and objective forms of knowledge. Drawing upon a feminist epistemological stance, I turn to a planning dispute over noise levels in Lancashire, England, to explore the limits to current forms of knowledge production. I argue that specific actors, behaviours, and forms of knowledge become framed as gendered and unreliable in the sphere of technical decision making, diminishing our understanding of the complexities of human experience and subjectivity within spatial planning.
Evaluating dynamic visual experience of designed environments: A real-time 3D simulation method utilizing game technologies
Authors: Xu Fang
Published: August 2021

Dynamic vision refers to a person’s visual perception of the environment when the person is in motion. Pedestrians naturally have dynamic visual experiences, the aesthetic qualities of which may modify their walking and seeing behaviors. Despite the subject’s significant design relevance, dynamic visual research has shown limited theoretical and methodological progress since the 1960s. Inspired by recent development in 3D visibility research, this paper proposes a Real-Time Dynamic Visual Evaluation (RtDVE) protocol that simulates and evaluates pedestrians’ dynamic visual experiences in designed environments. The protocol utilizes Downtown Explorer, a 3D game developed to allow research participants to simulate free-roaming walks by controlling a pedestrian avatar. The game synchronously collects graphic and numerical data about the avatar’s first-person sequential views. The RtDVE protocol prescribes computational procedures to convert collected data into diagrammatic charts illustrating view-to-view transitions within the avatar’s Field of View. The protocol also introduces Dynamic Visual Variance Index, a composite quantitative index synthesizing multiple numerical data to facilitate comparisons of dynamic visual experiences across various simulated walks. Through a two-stage empirical study, the paper reveals the RtDVE protocol’s conception and demonstrates its effectiveness. The study applied the RtDVE protocol to investigate simulated dynamic visual experiences about different architectural massing schemes. The descriptive analysis outcomes facilitated the exploratory evaluation of these design schemes’ implications on pedestrians’ dynamic vision. Given its strengths in operability and research quality, the RtDVE protocol can promote evidence-based, user-centered design practices incorporating dynamic visual evaluation. Future RtDVE studies may adopt evolved real-time 3D simulation technologies and more sophisticated research designs to examine the complex ecological interplay between the objective and subjective factors in dynamic vision.
Materialization of racialized surveillance: Lived experiences of home imprisonment
Authors: Wadhawan Subhah
Published: August 2021

Racialization, surveillance, and securitization may be distinct theoretical concepts, but they are nevertheless significantly intertwined. Race, as a mode of thinking and governance, largely informs the practices of securitization, whereby surveilling racialized bodies is an immanent task of the securitization process. To demonstrate this relationship, I interviewed three of the men from the infamous Canadian “Secret Trial 5” Security Certificate cases and their family members. I investigate their lived experiences of home imprisonment, examining how their home became a key site for the operation and deployment of racialized surveillance. Their experiences illustrate how surveillance emerges as a practice of securitization, where racialized “Others” are reaffirmed as threats to and subjects of unfettered surveillance practices. As the only research endeavor to interview Canada’s security certificate detainees and their families, this article demonstrates how securitization materializes through the transformation of the home into a prison; this is achieved through the imposition of carceral practices and a penal architecture within the home and through eroding belonging and safety for the people living under this type of regime. Moreover, given that most studies focusing on the experiences of securitization are restricted to the experiences of the incarcerated individuals, these studies often exclude, and by extension, silence the voices of the families also touched by these processes. Thus, this article illuminates that, albeit, in different magnitudes, families also undergo the pains of imprisonment.
Investigation of unexplored kaolin occurrences in southern Mauritania and preliminary assessment of possible applications
Authors: Küster D. , Kaufhold Stephan , Limam Emanetoullah , Jatlaoui Omar , Ba Oumar , Mohamed Abdellahi Maham Zein , Pohlmann-Lortz M. , Ranneberg M. , Ufer K.
Published: August 2021

Non-metallic raw materials are largely unexplored in many African countries. In an attempt to reduce this knowledge gap, kaolin occurrences in three promising regions of southern Mauritania were examined. The aim of the paper is to describe the occurrences and characterize the material in terms of mineralogy and potential technical use in the ceramics industry. The kaolins are geologically associated with various sedimentary rock units in either the Coastal Basin (Kaédi), the Mauritanide Belt (Hassi Abyad) or the Taoudeni Basin (Néma). Geochemical data show Al2O3contents of between 9% and 38% (corresponding to 23–96% kaolinite). Samples from the Hassi Abyad and Kaédi regions have greater kaolinite contents on average and were further investigated mineralogically. The kaolin from the Néma region contained less kaolinite (<50 mass%). The region is also less accessible and hence is not considered further in this study. X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy confirmed the geochemically calculated kaolinite contents of the kaolins and identified quartz, anatase and goethite as the remaining major mineral constituents. The degree of structural disorder of the kaolinites (determined by infrared spectroscopy) is generally greater in the Kaédi occurrences than at Hassi Abyad. Ceramic tests proved that all of these kaolin raw materials might be used for the production of ceramics, and some may even be used for fine ceramics. From an economic point of view, the Hassi Abyad deposit is interesting in terms of its quality and reserves, aspects that will be addressed in detail in a follow-up study.