bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BEYOND CONVENTIONAL BOUNDARIES
Authors: Kupatadze Alexander
Published: June 2023

According to conventional wisdom, organized criminal activity is perpetrated primarily by non‐state, private actors who are occasionally [or not] protected by corrupt government officials. From this perspective, a hard distinction is made between those who provide protection to criminals (e.g., politicians or law enforcement officials) and the criminals themselves (e.g., smugglers or producers of counterfeit goods). It further treats the involvement of state‐affiliated actors as a by‐product of corruption in public office, rather than, in some places, a feature of it. This article builds on emerging evidence that state representatives play a far more direct role in supervising, organizing and sometimes managing crime than assumed in the majority of the literature. It shows that there are inherent theoretical, policy‐level biases that misguide the analytical thinking about organized crime in the Global South, and argues that there is a need to reconsider existing approaches to develop more accommodative definitions of organized crime.
The Injustice of Gentrification
Authors: Hoover Dr. Joe
Published: June 2023

Discussion of gentrification is ubiquitous in cities around the world. And while criticism of it is common, there is still considerable contestation over whether gentrification is unjust. Political theorists have recently turned their attention to the normative evaluation of gentrification, especially the displacement of long-term residents from neighbourhoods experiencing redevelopment and reinvestment. Two important limitations in this recent work are, first, a narrow focus on the link between gentrification and displacement, and second, the injustice of gentrification has been evaluated in light of abstract ideals of justice divorced from the lived experience of its harms. Although the emerging literature usefully identifies some of the harms of gentrification, it fails to recognise the full extent of the injustice of gentrification. To address these limitations, I argue the normative evaluation of gentrification should start with a conceptualisation of the problem grounded in the experience of its negative effects. Further, employing a more comprehensive conceptualisation of gentrification’s negative effects reveals it to be a distinctive and encompassing urban injustice better understood by examining how gentrification is defined by harmful inequalities of political power, leading to exploitation, dispossession, displacement, marginalisation, and violence.
An Institutional Duty to Vote: Applying Role Morality in Representative Democracy
Authors: Elliott Kevin J.
Published: June 2023

Is voting a duty of democratic citizenship? This article advances a new argument for the existence of a duty to vote. It argues that every normative account of electoral representation requires universal turnout to function in line with its own internal normative logic. This generates a special obligation for citizens to vote in electoral representative contexts as a function of the role morality of democratic citizenship. Because voting uniquely authorizes office holding in representative democracies, and because universal turnout contributes powerfully to representation being fair, to be a good citizen of such democracies requires one to vote. Whereas previous arguments for a duty to vote have invoked basic moral principles like fairness or a Samaritan duty of rescue, this account is based on citizens occupying a vital functional role within electoral representative institutions. This institutional duty solves the “specificity problem” of justifying a duty to vote better than competing accounts and also immunizes the duty to objections that there is no duty to vote when there are only bad choices and that there is a no duty to vote but rather duty to vote well. By emphasizing the tight connection between institutions and individual conduct, the role morality approach used here supplies a less abstract and more realistic framework than much previous research on the ethics of democratic citizenship and brings the debate closer to constitutive features of democratic politics.
Do Community College “Promise” Programs With Low-Bar Merit Criteria Improve High School Performance?
Authors: Monaghan David B. , Coca Vanessa M.
Published: June 2023

Objective/Research Question: Community college “Promise” programs have proliferated recently, particularly in areas with many low-income, academically struggling students. Many Promise programs restrict eligibility by high school performance but set eligibility thresholds quite low. As such they function as “low-bar” merit scholarships, and merit scholarships are often believed to incentivize improved academic performance. But do such “low-bar” merit scholarships boost high school attendance and grades? Methods: We investigate impacts of one such program, the Milwaukee Area Technical College Promise, on high school students in Milwaukee Public Schools, exploiting program design features to identify treatment effects through a differences-in-differences strategy. Results: The program appears to have marginally improved high school grades while slightly lowering attendance. These effects cancel each other out in terms of meeting combined GPA and attendance eligibility thresholds. Estimated positive impacts on GPA were statistically significant but very small for males, Black students, free lunch eligible students, special education students and current English language learners, while impacts on attendance were negative for most subgroups. The positive GPA effect was restricted to the program’s second year. Conclusions: We do not find strong evidence that low-bar scholarships are effective at improving academic performance. Policymakers should reconsider conventional wisdom underlying inclusion of merit criteria in broad-based scholarships.
Reimagining Community College Math Reform Amid COVID-19
Authors: Wickersham Kelly , Zheng Peiwen , Wang Xueli , Prevost Amy
Published: June 2023

Objective: In Spring 2020 when COVID-19 hit, community colleges moved almost all classes online. This disruption impacts recent math reforms, including contextualization, raising concerns about sustained faculty and institutional leadership commitment. This study investigated how community college faculty teaching contextualized math courses adapted their instruction in response to COVID-19-related disruptions and how community college and instructional leadership addressed math contextualization efforts in response to COVID-19. Methods: Using multiple case studies, we conducted interviews with faculty and institutional leaders from two large community colleges in a Midwestern state. We also integrated field notes, observations, lesson plans, project documentation, and other contextual information as complementary data. Results: Three themes revealed how faculty and institutional leaders navigated the process of adapting contextualization efforts throughout the pandemic: reaching out to create community remotely, reimagining contextualization or pushing the pause button, and skilling up to persist through and toward change. Contribution: This study provides insight into the unique challenges and innovations due to sudden yet enduring disruptions that impact instruction, faculty development, and institutional support around instructional reform in the community college. This research informs faculty and institutional leaders navigating sustained efforts around math reform to identify actions to help institutions and their faculty continue advancing high-impact approaches and initiatives to math instruction in any environment.
Purity Culture: Measurement and Relationship to Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance
Authors: Ortiz Amanda M. , Sunu Bretlyn C. , Hall M. Elizabeth Lewis , Anderson Tamara L. , Wang David C.
Published: June 2023

Though discussed extensively in popular culture, purity culture, a conservative Christian movement that builds on traditional sexual ethics by proscribing additional rules and regulations to govern sexual behaviors and prioritize virginity, has scarcely been examined from a psychological perspective. The present study was designed to develop and validate a measure of purity culture, the Purity Culture Beliefs Scale (PCBS). We explore and confirm the factor structure of the PCBS and establish convergent and discriminant validity. We also demonstrate the utility of the scale showing incremental validity in the prediction of domestic violence myth acceptance. Convergent validity was established between purity culture and heterosexual scripts, sexual–spiritual integration, and shame. Discriminant validity was established between purity culture and manifestation of God in sexuality, sacred qualities of sexuality, Christian orthodoxy, and affect. The PCBS was also used to find that purity culture beliefs predicted domestic violence myth acceptance above and beyond the constructs of hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and traditional sex roles. The introduction of the PCBS allows for the empirical study of the internalization and consequences of purity culture, which may inform interventions around Christian engagement with the topics of gender and sexuality.
The Development of Modern Urban Planning: The Case of Strasbourg, 1871-1918
Authors: Heckmann-Umhau Philipp
Published: June 2023

Strasbourg, this article argues, played a seminal role in the development of urban planning. The city’s transformation in the late nineteenth century was one of the earliest, largest, and most expensive planned urban extensions in modern Germany. In the process, Strasbourg also came to play a central role in the development of urban planning into an established area of technical expertise, an academic discipline, and an area of professional practice. Initially conceived under the aegis of the empire’s military command, the transformation of Strasbourg quickly involved local politicians, landowners, and independent experts, accelerating the development of urban planning into a practice dominated by what Camillo Sitte described as “technicians and specialists.” The reception of Strasbourg impacted the salient debates in urban planning from the 1870s to the early twentieth century.
Edge-weights-based method to identify influential spreaders in complex networks
Authors: Sun Shixiang , Ren Tao , Xu Yanjie
Published: June 2023

Identifying influential nodes has drawn great attention in recent years. In this paper, a novel method for identifying influential spreaders based on potential edge weights (WDK for simplicity) for both undirected and unweighted networks is proposed. Degree and k-shell of a node and its neighbors are considered simultaneously, which are regarded as the weight of the edge directly connected to the node. The algorithm considers not only the local information of nodes but also their location information. The proposed method not only improves the accuracy of node mining but also has approximately linear time complexity, which indicates that the proposed method is suitable for large-scale networks. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, different evaluation indexes are introduced in nine real networks. Compared with five classical key nodes identification methods, the experimental results show that the proposed method performs optimally in all networks.
STIMA: Submucosal Temporary Inferior Maxillary Antrostomy: A Cadaveric Controlled Study of a Modification of the Conventional Antrostomy
Authors: Alromaih Saud R. , Alsayed Ahmed , Aloraini Nouf M. , Aldajani Ahmad , Alrasheed Abdulaziz , Alroqi Ahmad , Aloulah Mohammad , Alsaleh Saad
Published: June 2023

Introduction: Inferior meatal antrostomy (IMA) is a safe and easy approach to the maxillary sinus. However, studies have shown disadvantages of conventional IMA, such as disruption of mucociliary transport and injury of the nasolacrimal duct (NLD). Endoscopic middle meatal antrostomy (MMA) has become the standard of care for addressing various maxillary pathologies. It is more functional and physiological but offers limited exposure to certain areas of the maxillary sinus, such as the prelacrimal recess, alveolar recess, and zygomatic recess. We proposed submucosal temporary inferior maxillary antrostomy (STIMA) to improve visualization and accessibility to such difficult-to-access locations. Objectives: To describe our proposed modification, to compare the degree of visualization and ease of accessibility between MMA and STIMA. Methods: This is a descriptive cadaveric study. It was performed on 4 fresh frozen human cadavers, and 8 maxillary sinuses were used to achieve the study’s objectives. Different angled rigid nasal endoscopes and suction tubes were used to score the degree of visualization and ease of accessibility between the MMA and STIMA. Result: We demonstrated the superiority of the STIMA over the MMA in the degree of visualization and ease of accessibility in these difficult-to-access locations ( P-value was significant, <.05). We did not encounter orbital injury or injury to the NLD in our specimens. Conclusion: STIMA is a relatively easy and safe modification of conventional IMA. It improves the degree of visualization and ease of accessibility to difficult-to-access maxillary sinus locations without the potential complications of conventional IMA.
Sinonasal Burkitt Lymphoma in a 2-Year-Old Child: An Uncommon Case Report
Authors: Kallel Souha , Ayedi Sirine , Ben Ayed Mariam , Salem Noura , Achour Imen , Ben Mahfoudh Khaireddine , Chaabouni Mohamed Amin , Charfeddine Ilhem
Published: June 2023

Burkitt Lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive B-type non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It rarely develops at the level of the sinonasal cavities, especially in young children. We present the case of a 2-year-old boy who presented with a 2-month history of nasal obstruction, snoring, and epistaxis followed by a recent dyspnea. Examination revealed a protruding tissue mass in the left nasal cavity. Computed tomography scan showed a homogenous soft-tissue mass in the left nasal cavity extending toward the ipsilateral orbit, infratemporal fossa, nasopharynx, as well as the ethmoid and maxillary sinuses. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a homogenous infiltrating mass with a hypo-intense signal on T2-weighted images reaching the infratemporal fossa and oropharynx. Biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of BL. The patient was referred to the clinical hematology department and received complex chemotherapy. Following chemotherapy, imaging revealed significant regression of the mass. We performed a nasopharyngeal biopsy which confirmed the absence of any persistent disease. This case report highlights a rare case of an extensive sinonasal BL emphasizing the importance of a high level of suspicion to ensure an early diagnosis and treatment.
A Critical Race Theory Assessment of Law Student Needs
Authors: Deo Meera E.
Published: June 2023

Background/Context:

Law students of color have been struggling to recover from the heightened challenges they endured during the first two years of the pandemic. Struggles with food insecurity, financial anxiety, and emotional strain contribute to declining academic success for populations that were marginalized on law school campuses long before COVID. Legislative support is necessary to support students through this era so they can maximize their full potential.

Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study:

The study seeks to understand law students’ challenges during COVID and consider ways that administrators, legislators, and others can ameliorate their struggles. The objective is to provide greater support to already marginalized students during a time of significant stress and pressure. The focus of the study is on serving the needs of students of color, particularly women of color (drawing from an intersectional raceXgender framework from critical race theory).

Research Design:

The article draws on data from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE). With participation from partner law schools, LSSSE collects annual longitudinal data from law students, now housing responses from almost 300,000 students over 19 years. This study of law student needs draws from more than 13,000 responses collected in spring 2021, highlighting findings from the Coping with COVID module, a short set of questions focused on anticipated student challenges during the pandemic. The article presents findings disaggregated by race as well as raceXgender to underscore ways that COVID deepened existing disparities and heightened challenges for already vulnerable populations.

Conclusions/Recommendations:

The article concludes with recommendations for both institutional and legislative solutions to the identified student struggles. Law schools must allocate greater resources to student needs that range from mental health counseling to academic support—and only after first identifying the unique challenges facing women of color and other students traditionally left at the margins. Legislators must recognize that law students, while privileged in many ways, nevertheless need ongoing support to meet their basic needs; they should consider expanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to cover law students, providing more financial aid and loan forgiveness, and prioritizing rental assistance so that law students can focus on their academic success and reach their full potential as attorneys.
Socio-Economic conditions of Cobblers in Pune City
Authors: Hamid Muffaddal , Jain Radhika
Published: June 2023

Abstract Maladies pertaining to the unorganised sector in India have baffled policymakers and bureaucrats for years. Cobblers, compared to earlier generations, have become a rather disregarded part of the economy, partly due to digitisation and the advent of e-commerce, which has made commodities such as footwear cheaper, reducing incentives to repair footwear, especially within urban areas. This article shows that observable structural changes within one particular profession are highly dynamic and, in this case, to some extent significantly damaging for these self-employed workers. The study presents data collected from 75 cobblers operating in different parts of Pune city in India, providing insights into their current working practices and economic well-being. Utilising multinomial logistic regression (MLR) revealed that the incomes of cobblers were primarily influenced by age, ownership of land and property, not by variables such as education and experience, which generally affect the livelihoods of individuals.
They Would Never Say Anything Like This! Reasons To Doubt Political Deepfakes
Authors: Hameleers Michael , van der Meer Toni G. L. A. , Dobber Tom
Published: June 2023

Although deepfakes are conventionally regarded as dangerous, we know little about how deepfakes are perceived, and which potential motivations drive doubt in the believability of deepfakes versus authentic videos. To better understand the audience's perceptions of deepfakes, we ran an online experiment ( N = 829) in which participants were randomly exposed to a politician's textual or audio-visual authentic speech or a textual or audio-visual manipulation (a deepfake) where this politician's speech was forged to include a radical right-wing populist narrative. In response to both textual disinformation and deepfakes, we inductively assessed (1) the perceived motivations for expressed doubt and uncertainty in response to disinformation and (2) the accuracy of such judgments. Key findings show that participants have a hard time distinguishing a deepfake from a related authentic video, and that the deepfake's content distance from reality is a more likely cause for doubt than perceived technological glitches. Together, we offer new insights into news users’ abilities to distinguish deepfakes from authentic news, which may inform (targeted) media literacy interventions promoting accurate verification skills among the audience.
Perspectives of Early Intervention Program Directors on Provider Retention Efforts
Authors: Yeager Kristopher Hawk , Argus-Calvo Beverley , Mangadu Thenral , Thimbriel Roberta , Chaib Lozano Eduardo Elias
Published: June 2023

There is a national shortage of early intervention (EI) providers for young children with disabilities or developmental delays. This needs assessment study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives of EI program directors ( n = 27) across a large state on provider retention efforts. Through a qualitative analysis, we identified 12 themes across four overarching categories—(a) compensation and financial incentives, (b) program management and organization, (c) positive climate and culture, and (d) training and mentoring. We discuss implications and suggestions for future research.
Role and mechanism of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor in cervical cancer invasion and metastasis
Authors: Hu Hengfen , Zhao Qihui , Sang Yufei , Xiao Yanqing , Jiang Na
Published: June 2023

Objective

To investigate the relationships of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) with cervical cancer invasion and metastasis.

Methods

From January 2021 to December 2022, 45 patients treated for cervical cancer and lung metastases were identified. Western blotting was used to determine the expression of Hippo–YAP signaling pathway-related proteins. Meanwhile, 40 healthy Sprague-Dawley nude mice were used and evenly randomized into two groups, which were injected with LIFR-overexpressing (study group) or normal cervical cancer cells (control group). The lung tissue of nude mice was removed for hematoxylin–eosin staining, and the number of lung cell metastases in nude mice was counted.

Results

The highest LIFR mRNA expression was found in paracancerous tissue, followed by cervix cancer tissue and metastatic lesions. The study group exhibited higher LIFR, P-YAP, and P-TAZ protein expression and lower YAP and TAZ protein expression than the control group. The study group had a lower number of lung metastases than the control group.

Conclusion

Decreased expression of LIFR and decreased phosphorylation of Hippo–YAP signaling pathway-related proteins might be the underlying mechanisms that promote lung metastasis of cervical cancer.
Optimization of Electric Bus Scheduling Considering Charging Station Resource Constraints
Authors: Zhang Mingye , Yang Min , Li Yu , Huang Shiyu
Published: June 2023

The electrification of bus systems is an inevitable trend in sustainable urban development because electric buses do not use fossil fuels and, therefore, do not exacerbate energy shortages. However, because of their limited driving range and the restricted charging station resources, it is crucial to optimize the scheduling and charging plan for electric buses jointly to ensure operational efficiency. This paper studies the electric bus scheduling problem considering charging station resource constraints, including the limited number of chargers and total power output, which are generally simplified in the relevant literature. We first formulate a nonlinear model to optimize vehicle scheduling, charging time, and charging power, to minimize the total system costs, including the usage costs of electric buses and charging costs. Then, a genetic algorithm is developed to solve this model. Finally, the proposed method is demonstrated by using the example of a transit network in Nanjing. Compared with the existing scheme based on an uncontrolled charging strategy, the proposed solution reduces the total system costs and charging costs by 7.34% and 36.51%, respectively. The findings in this paper can provide practical guidance on electric bus scheduling and promote the sustainable development of bus systems.
Decreased circulating CD73 and adenosine deaminase are associated with disease severity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19
Authors: Rud Jonathan , Riker Richard R , Eldridge Ashley , Lord Christine , deKay Joanne T , May Teresa L , Gagnon David J , Sawyer Douglas , Ryzhov Sergey , Seder David B
Published: June 2023

Objective

SARS-CoV-2 infection has been shown to result in increased circulating levels of adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate and decreased levels of adenosine, which has important anti-inflammatory activity. The goal of this pilot project was to assess the levels of soluble CD73 and soluble Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and determine if levels of these molecules are associated with disease severity.

Methods

Plasma from 28 PCR-confirmed hospitalized COVID-19 patients who had varied disease severity based on WHO classification (6 mild/moderate, 10 severe, 12 critical) had concentrations of both soluble CD73 and ADA determined by ELISA. These concentrations were compared to healthy control plasma that is commercially available and was biobanked prior to the start of the pandemic. Additionally, outcomes such as WHO ordinal scale for disease severity, ICU admission, needed for invasive ventilation, hospital length of stay, and development of thrombosis during admission were used as markers of disease severity.

Results

Our results show that both CD73 and ADA are decreased during SARS-CoV-2 infection. The level of circulating CD73 is directly correlated to the severity of the disease defined by the need for ICU admission, invasive ventilation, and hospital length of stay. Low level of CD73 is also associated with clinical thrombosis, a severe complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Conclusion

Our study indicates that adenosine metabolism is down-regulated in patients with COVID-19 and associated with severe infection. Further large-scale studies are warranted to investigate the role of the adenosinergic anti-inflammatory CD73/ADA axis in protection against COVID-19.
Caregiving, Gender, and Health: The Moderating Role of Age
Authors: Kim Min Ju
Published: June 2023

Unpaid caregiving by family or friends has increased over the recent years, with a simultaneous decline in the health of caregivers. Yet, limited research has examined the interrelationships between caregiving status, gender, age and health, or how dimensions of caregiving (type of care, relationship with care recipient) complicate these relationships. Using data from 428,395 U.S. adults from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), I find that young adult men and women providing personal care report poorer self-rated health than noncaregivers. Regarding the relationship with care recipient, young adults caring for a spouse/partner report the poorest self-rated health, and particularly women. Overall, caregiving tends to be more adversely associated with health among young adults when the type of care provided is personal or when they have an ill spouse/partner to care for, both of which can be construed as off-timed from the life course perspective.
Circadian Regulation of the Neuroimmune Environment Across the Lifespan: From Brain Development to Aging
Authors: Chen Ruizhuo , Routh Brandy N. , Gaudet Andrew D. , Fonken Laura K.
Published: June 2023

Circadian clocks confer 24-h periodicity to biological systems, to ultimately maximize energy efficiency and promote survival in a world with regular environmental light cycles. In mammals, circadian rhythms regulate myriad physiological functions, including the immune, endocrine, and central nervous systems. Within the central nervous system, specialized glial cells such as astrocytes and microglia survey and maintain the neuroimmune environment. The contributions of these neuroimmune cells to both homeostatic and pathogenic demands vary greatly across the day. Moreover, the function of these cells changes across the lifespan. In this review, we discuss circadian regulation of the neuroimmune environment across the lifespan, with a focus on microglia and astrocytes. Circadian rhythms emerge in early life concurrent with neuroimmune sculpting of brain circuits and wane late in life alongside increasing immunosenescence and neurodegeneration. Importantly, circadian dysregulation can alter immune function, which may contribute to susceptibility to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we highlight circadian neuroimmune interactions across the lifespan and share evidence that circadian dysregulation within the neuroimmune system may be a critical component in human neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases.
Representations of older people in Irish public broadcaster's online news coverage during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic
Authors: Beasley Stephen , Timonen Virpi
Published: June 2023

The media influences how we perceive and understand the world, groups of people, and events. The media has been criticised for portraying older people and aging predominantly negatively. In 2020, older people became the focal point of governmental responses in the management of the coronavirus pandemic. In this article, we explore how older people were represented in the officially most legitimate part of Irish news media during the first year of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. A sample of 137 articles was drawn from Ireland's national broadcasting company (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) online news content, and thematic analysis was applied to interrogate representations of older people in these data from a social constructivist perspective. Older people featured as ‘the face of COVID-19’ due to their constant and accentuated framing as especially vulnerable to the virus. Older adults were construed as a burden to the public, families, and the healthcare system and as a risk to healthcare workers. They were portrayed as powerless and rendered almost completely ‘voiceless’ as their own views rarely featured in the news content. The social constructions of older persons during the coronavirus pandemic reflected and exceeded the (typically implicit) ageism in contemporary western societies.
Association of Hospital Mortality With Initiation of Mechanical Ventilation on a Weekend: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Rai Karan , Douglas Ivor S. , Mehta Anuj B.
Published: June 2023

Rationale

Increased mortality in patients admitted to hospitals on weekends is a well-described phenomenon labeled the “weekend effect.” Studies evaluating the weekend effect in intensive care units (ICUs) have arrived at conflicting results. Identifying a weekend effect for critically-ill patients may inform clinical care pathways and resource allocation.

Objectives

Determine the association of initiation of mechanical ventilation (MV) upon admission on a weekend versus weekday with hospital mortality.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of non-surgical adult patients using the California Patient Discharge Database from 2018 to 2019. We identified MV initiated on the day of admission and diagnoses using discharge billing codes. The primary exposure was admission and initiation of MV on a weekend versus weekday and the primary outcome was hospital mortality. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to determine the association between hospital mortality and MV initiation timing, adjusting for case-mix.

Results

Among 90 288 admissions in 2018 and 2019 meeting inclusion criteria, 24 771 (27.5%) had MV initiated on weekends, while 65 517 (72.6%) had MV initiated on weekdays. Patient demographics and comorbidities were similar between groups. Chronic alcohol and substance use disorders, and acute intoxications and traumas were more prevalent among patients with MV initiated on weekends. No difference in hospital mortality was observed with initiation of MV on weekends versus weekdays (23.1% vs 22.8%, ARD = 0.3%, aOR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.98, 1.07).

Conclusions

Contrary to prior studies, no increased mortality was observed among newly admitted patients initiated on MV on weekends compared to weekdays. While weekend effects may exist in other settings, newly admitted patients likely have MV initiated in the emergency department or ICU, which tend to have more consistent staffing levels. Further research is needed to determine if care patterns in these units could be used as a model for units where weekend effects continue to impact outcomes.
Does Athlete Status Explain Sexual Violence Victimization and Perpetration on College Campuses? A Socio-Ecological Study
Authors: McCray Kristy L. , Evans James O. , Lower-Hoppe Leeann M. , Brgoch Shea M. , Ryder Ashley
Published: June 2023

In the United States, college students have been identified as a high-risk group for sexual violence (SV) victimization and perpetration, with one in three women and one in four men experiencing SV in their lifetimes. Therefore, studies investigating both perpetration and victimization across genders are pertinent. Additionally, in the context of higher education, athletics is often viewed as a high-risk environment for SV. Despite established relationships between SV and intercollegiate athletics, research on this topic is not conclusive due to the heterogeneous nature of college sports, as well as a dearth of research on recreational athletes. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the differences in SV victimization and perpetration among intercollegiate, recreational, and non-athlete populations. Additional context was provided by exploring variables at multiple levels of the socio-ecological model for violence prevention, as these factors can be important aspects of a person’s development and may inform behavior. Utilizing a sample of 62,996 students from 199 institutions of higher education in the United States, multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess individual- (i.e., personal demographics), relationship- (i.e., athlete status), and community-level (i.e., institutional characteristics) predictors of SV victimization and perpetration. The results indicated that recreational athletes are the most at-risk group, experiencing and perpetrating SV at higher rates than non-athletes. Results on institutional status and individual characteristics, as well as implications for practitioners and future research is discussed.
The effect of process and context factors on teachers’ readiness for change in West Gojam Zone secondary schools of Ethiopia
Authors: Alene Abebaw Ayana , Kassa Temesgen Melaku
Published: June 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ readiness for change and the factors that contributed to it in secondary schools in the West Gojam Zone. The study used a correlational research design and a quantitative approach. Data were collected from 466 randomly selected teachers using a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (one-sample t-test, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression). The findings revealed that teachers were ready to implement planned educational changes. The principals made an effort to maintain strong staff cohesion, high organizational commitment, and minimal politicking during the change's implementation. They have also taken advantage of the school's positive track record of change. Process and context factors had statistically significant correlation with readiness for change at p < .05. The four context factors (organizational politicking, history of change, staff cohesion, and organizational commitment) and a process factor (communication of change) contribute to 31.3% of the variations in teachers’ readiness for change. This confirms that teachers’ readiness for change is a function of both context and process factors.
Integrating Human Insights Into Text Analysis: Semi-Supervised Topic Modeling of Emerging Food-Technology Businesses’ Brand Communication on Social Media
Authors: Su Leona Yi-Fan , Chen Tianli , Ng Yee Man Margaret , Gong Ziyang , Wang Yi-Cheng
Published: June 2023

Textual social media data have become indispensable to researchers’ understanding of message strategies and other marketing practices. In a new departure for the field of brand communication, this study adopts and extends a semi-supervised machine-learning approach, guided latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), which incorporates human insights into the discovery and classification of topics. We used it to analyze tweets from businesses involved with an emerging food technology, cultured meat, and delineated four key message strategies used by these brands: providing functional, educational, corporate social responsibility, and relational content. We further ascertained the relationships between brands and the key topics embedded in their Twitter data. A comparison of model performance suggests that guided LDA can be an advantageous alternative to traditional LDA, which is characterized by high efficiency and immense popularity among researchers, but—because of its unsupervised nature—yields findings that can be difficult to interpret. The present study therefore has critical theoretical and methodological implications for communication and marketing scholars.
Bones of contention: Predicting and preventing fractures in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis
Authors: Cowan Andrea C , Khan Tayyab , Thain Jenny , Clemens Kristin K
Published: June 2023

Low bone density is common among those individuals receiving peritoneal dialysis. While cross-sectional studies support an association between low bone mineral density (BMD) and prevalent fracture, relying on bone density alone, particularly at the lumbar spine and in those with high degrees of hyperparathyroidism may underestimate fracture risk. Commonly used risk calculators in the general population have been shown to perform reasonably well in those receiving dialysis although they do not include any risk factors for high turnover bone disease that may play a role in increased fracture risk. The best options for decreasing fracture risk in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis are unclear. The evidence for bisphosphonates is limited to small studies of BMD, and concerns about drug accumulation have limited their use. Denosumab is more commonly used and has some evidence for improvement in BMD but carries with it a high risk of hypocalcaemia requiring rigorous prophylaxis. More research is needed to explore practical methods to identify those at risk of fracture and determine the efficacy of antiresorptive and anabolic therapies to decrease this risk.
Upgraded closed-form cutting force models for general-helix cylindrical milling tools with application to cutting power and energy demand modeling
Authors: Ozoegwu Chigbogu
Published: June 2023

This paper upgrades the original closed-form models of cutting force for general-helix milling tools for higher accuracy and demonstrates an application of the upgraded models in closed-form modeling of cutting power. The proposed models are shown to be numerically exact for the conventional fixed helix angle milling tools while the original models are not even though they are more accurate than the numerical methods. Errors of 0.00%, 12.15%, and 50.66% are recorded for an upgraded closed-form model, the equivalent original closed-form model, and an equivalent numerical method. Higher accurate applicability of the upgraded closed-form models to variable helix tools is also demonstrated for the harmonic case. Typical errors of 1.37%, 4.84%, and 9.94% are recorded for an upgraded closed-form model, the equivalent original closed-form model, and an equivalent numerical method. The proposed closed-form cutting force models are used to formulate new closed-form cutting power models for general-helix cylindrical milling tools which are applied in numerical evaluation of average cutting power. Evaluated data sets of average cutting power (seen to agree with published values) and spindle speed are then used in empirical calibration of average milling machine power demand. The high goodness-of-fit of the models with three published measured data sets are reflected in the high [Formula: see text] values of 0.9980, 0.9834, and 0.9472 and low mean percentage errors (MPE) of −0.1247, −0.4137, and −0.6242.
Trajectory tracking control of unmanned surface vehicle based on exponential global fast terminal sliding mode control
Authors: Zhu Tengbin , Xiao Yingjie , Zhang Hao , Pan Yufeng
Published: June 2023

This article studies the trajectory tracking of an underactuated unmanned surface vehicle. The trajectory tracking controller is divided into two parts: the kinematics controller and the dynamic controller. Taking the hull coordinate system of the unmanned surface vehicle as the datum plane, the kinematics controller is designed based on the backstepping method, and the virtual control input of the speed and the heading deviation of the ship are obtained. A dynamic controller is designed through an exponential sliding surface to stabilize the error of speed and heading deviation, thereby stabilizing the position error. In the process of designing the controller, the stability of the entire closed-loop control system is analyzed using Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the designed numerical simulation experiment is carried out. The proposed exponential sliding mode controller is compared with the global integral sliding mode controller, and it is verified that the proposed controller has better effectiveness and robustness in the trajectory tracking of the underactuated unmanned surface vehicle.
Long-term cause of death patterns and mode of breast cancer detection in The Netherlands, 2004−2019
Authors: Otten Johannes D M , Verbeek André L M , Broeders Mireille J M
Published: June 2023

Objective

Early detection through mammographic screening and various treatment modalities of cancer may have changed life expectancy and cause-specific mortality of breast cancer patients. We aimed to determine the long-term cause of death patterns in screening-detected patients and clinically diagnosed patients in the Netherlands compared with the general population.

Methods

Using data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and Statistics Netherlands of around 26,000 women, aged 50–75 at diagnosis and surgically treated for invasive breast cancer in 2004–2008, we compared patients with screening-detected and clinically diagnosed cancer for major causes of death until 2020. The expected number of all-cause and cause-specific deaths was calculated using rates of the general population.

Results

During the follow-up period, 4310 women died. The age-standardised all-cause mortality ratio for the screening-detected cancer group was 1.41 (95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.37–1.46). A higher mortality ratio was observed for patients with clinically detected cancer: 2.27 (95% CI, 2.19–2.34). The observed versus expected breast cancer mortality ratio in the screening-detected patient group was 8.92 (95% CI, 8.45–9.40) and 20.23 (19.38–21.09) in the clinical group. Excess mortality was found for lung cancer in both patient groups, and small elevations for circulatory and respiratory disease in the clinically detected group.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that for the screening group no other causes of death but breast and lung cancer were prominent compared with the general population. The clinical group showed excess mortality for some other causes of death as well, suggesting a less healthy group compared with the general population.
A Bibliometric Analysis on the Impact of Corruption on Foreign Direct Investment Attractiveness
Authors: Patel Richa , Mohapatra Dipti Ranjan , Yadav Sunil Kumar
Published: June 2023

The purpose of this research is to investigate the asymmetric link between corruption and foreign direct investment (FDI). The article examines the literature to assess the impact of corruption on FDI attractiveness using bibliometric and content analysis based on 148 articles from Scopus database for a period of 24 years (1999–2022). The findings reveal that research on the theme has grown a lot in terms of publications. The geographical focus of the literature has been on developing economies as compared to developed economies. It has also been observed that majority of research contribution has been made by developed nations. The findings indicate that the impact of corruption on FDI differs on the basis of development level of economies. The foreign market attractiveness and corruption distance also influences the flow of foreign capital in bilateral trade. The study intends to contribute positively to the understanding of association of corruption with FDI, by analysing the existing literature, the most significant works, authors, journals and the emerging topics of concern on the theme.
Analysing the Framework of Tax Compliance: A Study of Attitudinal Determinants
Authors: Sharma Arun , Sharma Poonam , Singh Jaspal
Published: June 2023

Taxes have always been an indispensable part of state revenue. They have existed as old as the existence of civilizations themselves. The question of enforcing compliance has always been an aspiring goal for the exchequer. Compliance is not everything about enforcement for tax collections alone; it carries attempts of modern-day states to build an obedient and self-policing society. While a host of empirical research efforts have solicited tax compliance problem, soliciting its dynamics from taxpayers’ perspective has not been adequately focused upon. The present study postulates a three-dimensional holistic model of taxpayers’ compliance attitude defining tax payee’s relationship (both economic and non-economic dimensions) with the state. The proposed scale would contribute in studying the compliance problem in a comprehensive framework.
Imagining, Conceiving and Implementing Development: Diaspora Philanthropic Interventions in Post-War Sri Lanka
Authors: Munas Mohamed , Smith Lothar
Published: June 2023

In the field of migration and development, the role of diasporas has been examined critically because of the political consequences and culturally informed moral norms often attached to their engagement with their country of origin. These shape the nature of their interactions. Drawing on two case studies of diaspora philanthropic interventions in post-war Sri Lanka, this article applies a post-development framework to study the complexities of transnationalism. These cases highlight the complex and uneven relationships between local and diaspora actors, and in doing so illustrate the various kinds of diaspora organizations and their ‘constituencies’. The cases also show that diasporas can have a facilitative effect on local development, but that the process of change is rife with institutional complexities, competing agendas and shifting priorities over time. The article speaks to the need to conceive development as a process, even more so in a post-war context. This requires much time to understand the exact impact of diaspora interventions in any local situation.
Unwritten rules shaping the EU's ‘form of government’: A study of conventions and their constitutional implications
Authors: Citino Ylenia M.
Published: June 2023

The debate on the conventions of the constitution has led to a variety of tools for analysing institutional practices in national governments. Few attempts have been made to identify relevant political rules in the EU's ‘form of government’. This paper argues the applicability of the conventional theory in understanding the EU's most recent constitutional developments by comparing the common law and continental understandings of conventions. It highlights the different features attached to conventions in various national experiences and offers a fresh view of them to take the most out of this notion, long forlorn in EU studies. Using three practical experiences (trilogues, parliamentary hearings for Commissioners-designate and the Spitzenkandidaten practice), the paper shows how unwritten rules can shape the EU's political or material constitution up to the point of bringing concrete informal changes without any formal Treaty amendment.