bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Authentic student voice at the board table: A conversation with Jennifer Tran of the National Student Board Member Association
Authors: Vail Kathleen
Published: April 2024

Jennifer Tran, the first student board member in California’s Garden Grove Independent School District, is an advocate for authentic student participation in the governance of school districts. She successfully petitioned her school district to add a student member to the board of education. In this Kappan interview, she discusses the challenges of serving on the board as a student, how her status as a preferential voter affected her ability make change, and how the National Student Board Member Association (NSBMA) helps to advocate for and provide training to student board members.
Sudowrite: Co-Writing Creative Stories with Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Fang Xiaoxuan , Guo Kai , Ng Davy Tsz Kit
Published: April 2024

Due to the advancement of natural language generation, a subset of artificial intelligence, digital tools that can generate human-like text have arisen. Such tools can play a promising role in facilitating students’ writing growth. Among them, one recent noteworthy tool is Sudowrite, which is designed for creative story writing. This technology review provides an overview of its affordances and how the tool can be utilized for improving students’ writing. We hope that teachers can apply this tool in practice and help students effectively and critically use it for writing.
An approach to the emotional design of female nursing scrubs
Authors: Zhao Yu , Li Zhou , Cheng Yan , Zhou Feng , Wei Xixi
Published: April 2024

Nurses often encounter negative emotions such as fatigue, boredom, anxiety and fear in the course of their nursing duties, and one of the efficient approaches to improve their emotions is to wear the proper nursing scrubs during their tasks. This paper presents a work with the overall objective to have an emotionally tailored apparel design of nursing scrubs. To reach this objective, the study first mines Kansei words to recognize nurses’ emotions in nursing scrubs domain. Then, design attributes and their corresponding attribute levels for nursing scrubs are identified and determined by applying the rank sum ratio method. Furthermore, a model mapping nurses’ emotions to design attributes of nursing scrubs is established by employing the entropy-weight technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution approach. The study yields two significant contributions: (a) presenting the first ever emotion recognition for nurses, which provides a domain-specific foundation for investigating nurses’ psychological wellbeing; (b) constructing a model to conduct the emotional apparel design of female nursing scrubs, which offers a guide to improve preferred and satisfied female nursing scrubs for nurses, and thus positive emotions will be experienced during their nursing duties.
A visual servo reinforcement learning control of uncalibrated manipulators with multi-channel gain decision
Authors: Wang Bingsen , Dong Jiuxiang
Published: April 2024

A technology based on Kalman filtering method combined with multi-channel gain training reinforcement learning for uncalibrated camera visual servo tasks is proposed in this paper. First, a dynamic system with state variables formed from the elements of the image Jacobian matrix is constructed to describe the mapping relationship between two-dimensional images and three-dimensional poses. Kalman filter is used to estimate the state variables of the constructed system online. Next, the Jacobian matrix estimation and depth determination strategy gradient (DDPG) methods are combined to jointly train multi-channel gains by setting a reasonable segmented reward and punishment mechanism. Through training, a more effective gain decision can be obtained. The robustness of Kalman filtering to interference to a certain extent reduces the precise dependence of reinforcement learning models, thereby achieving higher robustness in intelligent visual servo control. Finally, the effectiveness and advantages of the Kalman-DDPG method have been demonstrated through simulation comparison and six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) uncalibrated manipulator physical experiments.
Misinformation’s missing human
Authors: Munn Luke
Published: April 2024

From pandemics to political campaigns, online misinformation has become acute. In response, a plethora of interventions have been offered, from debunking and prebunking to fact-checking and labeling. While the technical efficacy of these “solutions” are debatable, I suggest a more fundamental failure: they rely on a humanlike caricature, a rational and ethical figure who only needs better facts to disavow misguided misinfo practices. Instead I argue that misinformation studies must incorporate a more holistic human. Drawing from the broader humanities, this article conceptualizes the actually-existing human who can be emotional, factional, and bigoted – all qualities instrumentalized and amplified by online media. Reinserting this missing figure reintroduces agency and antipathy into misinformation studies. Misinformation is not something done to innocent subjects who merely need to be educated, but is an active practice shaped by identity and sociality that reflects the contradictions and frictions intrinsic to human nature.
Mobilising Kinship as a Modern Network: Syrian Christian Family Associations
Authors: Donald Nidhin
Published: April 2024

This article analyses the meanings, practices and socio-historical contexts of kudumbayogams (family associations) among the large, relatively prosperous, multi-denominational community of Syrian Christians in Kerala, who are today spread across the globe. Kudumbayogams present new ways of mobilising and displaying family, kinship and community ties. The article argues that while earlier socio-economic shifts inaugurated the spatial dispersal and reconstitution of Syrian Christian patrilineal families and households, they also led to the formation of family associations, alongside other modern associational forms. Based on a detailed analysis of printed family histories, and allied documents, this study conceptualises kudumbayogam as a modern fortification of attempts to resolve the ambiguities of changing times by tethering a Christian brand of upper-caste social conservatism with ‘neoliberal’ individualism. This modern fortification mobilises households and families through an array of structures and activities that seek to foster cultural continuity, communication, conflict resolution and charity among its members. In the process, kudumbayogams actively blunt intra-group contradictions and highlight inter-group differences.
Arts and mission: An emerging conversation
Authors: Krabill James R
Published: April 2024

The relationship between arts and mission has been a particularly troubled one. Today, many believe that Christian mission has too often dismissed, demeaned, or even destroyed local arts expressions around the world in an effort to impose the West's imperial project of “The 3 Cs”—Commerce, Christianity, and Civilization. But a new conversation is emerging that examines more closely the intersectional relationship between arts and mission when they are understood and carried out in more fruitful and healthy ways. In this introductory article to the April 2024 issue of “Transformation,” five conversation areas between the arts and mission are explored: Biblical roots, creative expressions, mission history, cultural influences, and worship practices. Subsequent articles throughout this issue of the journal then illustrate the five conversations in more detail.
Mexican-origin siblings’ unique and shared perspectives of sibling conflict: Links with adjustment
Authors: Padilla Jenny , Jager Justin , Updegraff Kimberly A. , Umaña-Taylor Adriana J.
Published: April 2024

Siblings are ubiquitous in the lives of youth, but sibling conflict is linked to adjustment problems and risky behaviors. To advance understanding of older and younger siblings’ unique and shared perspectives of conflict in Mexican-origin families, our study addressed two goals. First, using Multitrait-Multimethod Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MTMM-CFA; Kenny & Kashy, 1992), we estimated the variance accounted for by older and younger siblings’ unique and shared experiences of the frequency of their conflict. A shared viewpoint indicates commonality in siblings’ reported experiences, whereas a unique perspective encompasses each sibling’s distinct perceptions of their conflict. Second, we examined links between older and younger siblings’ unique and shared conflict factors and each sibling’s depressive symptoms and risky behavior. Participants were two siblings ( Mage = 15.48 years for older and Mage = 12.55 years for younger siblings) from 246 Mexican-origin families who were interviewed in their homes. Results indicated that the shared conflict factor accounted for most of the variance in older siblings’ reports of conflict frequency, whereas the unique factor accounted for the largest portion of the variance in younger siblings’ reports. Further, for older siblings, the shared conflict factor was linked to their individual adjustment, whereas for younger siblings, the unique factor predicted their adjustment. Parsing siblings’ reports of the frequency of their relational conflict, specifically the extent to which perspectives overlap versus are distinctive, provides novel insights about the role of siblings’ conflict experiences in youth adjustment. Additionally, it offers directions for future research and has the potential to inform existing sibling conflict programs.
Which Coping Strategies Alleviate or Perpetuate Anxiety Symptoms in the Context of Perceived Ethnic Discrimination in Adolescents With an Immigrant Background?
Authors: St-Pierre Sophie , Tardif-Grenier Kristel , Marks Amy K. , Aude Villatte
Published: April 2024

Many biopsychosocial changes occur in early adolescence. Adolescents with an immigrant background face additional challenges, such as ethnic discrimination, which is associated with anxiety symptoms. Studies among immigrant adults have shown that using strategies to cope with ethnic discrimination is associated with decreased anxiety. Little is known on how coping strategies could alleviate or perpetuate anxiety symptoms in the context of ethnic discrimination in early adolescence. This study assessed the coping strategies that moderate the association between ethnic discrimination and anxiety symptoms in 512 first- (born abroad; n = 241) and second-generation (at least one parent born abroad; n = 271) adolescents ( Mage = 12.97; SD = .75; 55% girls). Results suggest that religious coping and substance use have a positive moderating effect on the association between ethnic discrimination and anxiety symptoms. These findings add to knowledge on coping strategies among immigrant early adolescents facing discrimination.
Bordering the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Schengen Visa: Contested Policies and Persistent Effects for Mobility Rights
Authors: Cangönül Mert , Şahin Temel Vuslat Nur
Published: April 2024

Visa regimes were key global mechanisms of the COVID-19 pandemic governance. Many nationals, both from the Global South and North, were subject to the several visa regulations during the pandemic. Whilst nationals of the Global North could regain their visa-free travel rights in the further phases, the others are still entrapped in the visa regimes, just like the pre-pandemic period. Considering visa’s global importance for border regulations in the (post-) pandemic period, what has changed for mobility rights of the visa applicants? This study examines changes in mobility rights for visa applicants during and after the pandemic, focusing on Schengen visa regime from March 2020 to June 2023. Our argument is twofold: first, the EU temporarily but substantially changed visa policies in the name securing the public health and free movement in(to) the Schengen area. However, these policies for securing mobility also created administrative gray zones that include new travel restrictions, confusions as well as strategic spaces for accessing to the mobility rights. Second, ongoing visa issuance practices and application process problems since the pandemic reveal a regression in the mobility rights lasting in the (post-)pandemic period. Hence, this article offers a more nuanced account of mobility rights by shedding light on the Schengen visa regime which will continue to play substantial roles in the EU’s border management system in the post-pandemic period.
Utopia as compensation for secularization
Authors: Cunningham Daniel
Published: April 2024

In this article, I argue for an historical understanding of the relationship between ideology and utopia/utopianism that positions the latter as a specifically modern compensation for the loss of the cosmologically grounded, unitary ideology supplied by the late medieval Christian Church. This claim relies upon but revises Fredric Jameson’s early theorization of the collaboration between ideology and utopia/utopianism, which emphasizes that utopian elements allow ideology to offer subjects a ‘compensatory exchange’ for their complicity. Developing my central argument requires considering the current viability of the ‘secularization thesis’, which classically associated modernization with secularization but which has undergone heavy criticism and revision by social scientists over the past half-century. These theoretical discussions, finally, are couched within a critical appraisal of the status of utopianism in contemporary politics.
Seismic behavior of precast segmental bridge columns confined by grouted glass fiber reinforced plastic tubes
Authors: Zhang Zi-Lin , Li Xian , Zhou Tao
Published: April 2024

The application of precast segmental bridge columns (PSBCs) is still restricted in seismicity areas due to concerns such as lower lateral stiffness and column base bearing capacity. To enhance the applicability of PSBCs, this study proposed a novel approach of confining them with grouted GFRP tubes. Four novel and one reference specimens were tested under low cyclic loading to evaluate the effects of energy dissipation (ED) bars ratios, concrete interlayer strength, type of segment concrete, and concrete pouring methods within the outer GFRP tube (OGT) on the seismic behavior. Experimental results reveal that the failure modes of all specimens were triggered by the yielding of ED bars and the break of OGT at the top of ED bars. No crushed concrete at column bases or cracks at the segment joint were observed during the test due to the good confinement of GFRP tubes. All the specimens exhibited stable hysteretic behavior with small residual drift ratios and low strength degradation. Furthermore, finite element models (FEMs) were generated to predict the hysteretic behavior of novel specimens. The effects of some parameters such as OGT thickness, ED bars diameter, and concrete strength were further studied.
Parental Exposure to Work Schedule Instability and Child Sleep Quality
Authors: Logan Allison , Schneider Daniel
Published: April 2024

Recent scholarship has documented the effects of unstable scheduling practices on worker health and well-being, but there has been less research examining the intergenerational consequences of work schedule instability. This study investigates the relationship between parental exposure to unstable and unpredictable work schedules and child sleep quality. We find evidence of significant and large associations between parental exposure to each of five different types of unstable and unpredictable work scheduling practices and child sleep quality, including sleep duration, variability and daytime sleepiness. We are also able to mediate 35–50% of this relationship with measures of work–life conflict, parental stress and well-being, material hardship, and child behaviour. These findings suggest that the effects of the temporal dimensions of job quality extend beyond workers to their children, with implications for the mechanisms by which social inequality is reproduced and for social policies intended to regulate precarious and unequal employment conditions.
Characteristics or Returns: Understanding Gender Pay Inequality among College Graduates in the USA
Authors: Dressel Joanna , Attewell Paul , Reisel Liza , Østbakken Kjersti Misje
Published: April 2024

Explanations for the persistent pay disparity between similarly qualified men and women vary between women’s different and devalued work characteristics and specific processes that result in unequal wage returns to the same characteristics. This article investigates how the gender wage gap is affected by gender differences in detailed work activities among full-time, year-round, college-graduate workers in the US using decomposition analysis in the National Survey of College Graduates. Differences in men’s and women’s characteristics account for a majority of the gender wage gap. Additionally, men and women receive different returns to several characteristics: occupational composition, marriage and work activities. While men are penalized more than women for having teaching as their primary work activity, women receive lower rewards for primary work activities such as finance and computer programming. The findings suggest that even with men and women becoming more similar on several characteristics, unequal returns to those characteristics will stall progress towards equality.
‘Early childhood autism, Asperger type’, by H. Asperger (1982)
Authors: Rebecchi Kevin
Published: April 2024

After his 1944 thesis, Asperger continued to write about autism, but none of these texts have been translated. At a time when autism spectrum disorder faces many challenges (e.g. the nature and measurement of autism), this text tells us more about the particular population that Asperger worked with. He describes sensitive, intelligent, creative and rational children, a far cry from the Wing triad. Moreover, ‘Asperger’s Syndrome’ was introduced after he had died, was included in the DSM-IV in 1994 and was omitted from the DSM-5 in 2013. The question posed by this last text, written before his death, is whether Asperger’s descriptions of autistic children are really part of the autism spectrum disorder or whether they are outside the pathological field.
Pandemic at the Gates: The Improvement of Social Capital and Collective Efficacy in Neighbourhoods of the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Area
Authors: Adianto Joko , Gabe Rossa Turpuk , Hernowo Bimo
Published: April 2024

This study seeks to interpret the presence of social capital and collective efficacy among residents of neighbourhoods in the Greater Metropolitan Jakarta Area (GJMA) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative study was undertaken by surveying 922 GJMA residents on the basis of their perception of the improvement of five components of social capital. During this period, neighbourhood residents improved their social capital and practised collective efficacy in several concrete forms to meet their common goals and procure the required goods. Although this study finds the shared values and norms, social network size, mutual aid and trust, civic engagement and participation in activities improved during the pandemic, the level of monthly income and marital and tenurial status implicated the quality of social ties and capital.
Calcium Homeostasis Abnormalities in Patients Taking Chronic Anticonvulsants Therapy – A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Rajasekhar G  , Padma D. , Evanjalin D. Jennifar , Jose Angel , Kumar Gudluru Pujith , Reddy Ketham Reddy Girish
Published: April 2024

Introduction:

Epilepsy is a well-known disease entity that is responsible for a significant amount of morbidity. The purpose of this research is to determine the frequency of calcium homeostasis abnormalities in patients who are taking chronic anticonvulsant medication and to analyze the levels of Vitamin D in the serum of patients who are taking chronic anticonvulsant medication.

Materials and Methods:

The SVRRGGH general medicine department in Tirupati conducted this cross-sectional single-centered prevalence study. The study included outpatients, inpatients, and acute medical care (AMC) patients. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the study randomly selected 100 seizure disorder patients from the SVRRGH in Tirupati. Epilepsy patients who participated in the study were asked about medication, compliance, and seizure control. Anticonvulsant usage and duration were recorded. Serum calcium, Vitamin D, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and parathormone were measured. Hypoalbuminemia caused calcium adjustments. Liver and renal function tests ruled out other major causes of hypovitaminosis D.

Results:

In this study, 36% were hypocalcemic and 64% were normocalcemic. There was a significant association between a number of drugs, duration of up to 12 months, normal Vitamin D levels, and good seizure levels with hypocalcemia ( P < 0.001). Around 25% had high ALP levels and 75% had normal ALP levels. High ALP levels were significantly associated with hypocalcemia ( P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

Chronic anticonvulsant therapy is associated with significant hypocalcemia and hypovitaminemia D, and our findings suggest that calcium and Vitamin D supplementation might be beneficial for patients experiencing these conditions.
A Critical Stocktake of Community-Based Healthy Masculinities Programs in Victoria, Australia
Authors: Flood Michael , Hewson-Munro Shelley , Keddie Amanda
Published: April 2024

Programs that engage men and boys in health promotion and violence prevention are proliferating. Many aim to foster “healthy masculinities”, using education and support to involve men and boys in adopting more positive or gender-equitable forms of selfhood and relating. This paper offers a critical stocktake of 15 such programs in one state in Australia, assessing them against common standards for gender-transformative programming among men and boys. The programs are diverse in their aims and approaches and their understandings of men and gender. There were common themes, that men’s and boys’ lives are constrained by typical constructions of masculinity and that there are widespread gender inequalities that disadvantage women and girls, although the balance between these differed among programs. This paper articulates the significance of critically analyzing these programs through a gender transformative lens to discern their utility in supporting gender justice.
Awareness of having hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia among US adults: The 2011–2018 NHANES data
Authors: To Kien G. , Vandelanotte Corneel , Huynh Anh N.V. , Schoeppe Stephanie , Alley Stephanie , Memon Aamir Raoof , Nguyen Nhung T.Q. , To Quyen G.
Published: April 2024

Aim:

This study aimed to investigate awareness of having hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia and their associated factors among US adults.

Methods:

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, including 21,399 adults aged ⩾20 years (pregnant women excluded) collected between 2011 and 2018, were used. Blood pressure was measured using a Baumanometer calibrated mercury true gravity wall model sphygmomanometer. Serum total cholesterol levels were measured using enzymatic assays. The percentage of haemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), which reflects long-term blood glucose levels, was measured and used to identify diabetes. Participants self-reported whether they were told by a doctor that they have hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes. Awareness was defined as alignment between objective and self-reported measures for having the conditions. Sampling weights and the Taylor series linearisation variance estimation method were used in the analyses.

Results:

The findings showed that 64.06% of people with hypertension, 54.71% of those with dyslipidaemia and 78.40% of those with diabetes were aware of having the respective condition. Age, sex and health insurance were associated with awareness of having all three conditions, but marital status was not associated with any outcome. Weight status was associated with awareness of having hypertension and dyslipidaemia, whereas ethnicity was associated with awareness of having hypertension and diabetes. Relative family income was only associated with awareness of having hypertension.

Conclusions:

Large proportions of US adults with hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes are not aware of having the conditions. Interventions targeting groups at higher risk of being unaware of these conditions are needed.
Met expectations, job satisfaction, and intention to leave: The effects of discrepancy between job expectations and experiences on journalists’ intention to leave
Authors: Lee Na Yeon
Published: April 2024

This study examined whether and to what extent journalists’ unmet expectations about their work as journalists affect their job satisfaction and intention to leave based on the Met Expectation Model used in organizational behavioral research. Representative survey data of South Korean women journalists showed that before entering the news industry women journalists had three types of expectations about journalists’ work: Professionalism & Compensation, Attractiveness of Journalism Work, and Public Service. Findings of this study showed that Public Service was the most important expectation whereas Professionalism & Compensation was the least important. Regarding the three types of discrepancy between journalists’ pre-entry expectations and post- experience perceptions, Public Service showed the highest level of discrepancy. Levels of discrepancy were also found to be negatively associated with journalists’ job satisfaction and positively related to their intention to leave, while journalists’ job satisfaction mediated the relationship between the levels of discrepancy and the journalists’ intention to leave.
Giving voice by doing with not doing through: Collaborating with tactile sign language interpreters in interpretative phenomenological analysis research involving older deafblind people
Authors: Simcock Peter , Manthorpe Jill , Tinker Anthea
Published: April 2024

There is a dearth of qualitative research into deafblind people’s experiences, impoverishing our understanding of the phenomenon and contributing to deafblind people’s social exclusion. As an approach which seeks to amplify the perspectives of participants from so called ‘vulnerable groups’, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) appears ideally suited to qualitative research exploring the experiences of the deafblind population. However, one strategy for facilitating the inclusion of deafblind people in qualitative research is the involvement of tactile sign language interpreters, and some have argued that phenomenological methods, such as IPA, be avoided where interpreters are involved. Nevertheless, those promoting IPA encourage flexibility and creativity in its use. Using the example of a UK based study exploring vulnerability among older deafblind people, this paper illustrates how tactile sign language interpreters were involved in IPA research. The criteria for evaluating the management of interpreters in qualitative research devised by Squires are used to frame critical reflection on the necessary adaptation of IPA, and the authors contend that IPA study involving tactile sign language interpreters can successfully give voice to older deafblind people when careful attention is paid to the interpreters’ credentials, role, and positionality, and it is acknowledged that IPA research is completed with not through the interpreters.
A bearing fault diagnosis method based on M-SSCNN and M-LR attention mechanism
Authors: Li Yonghua , Men Zhihui , Bai Xiaoning , Xia Qing , Zhang DongXu
Published: April 2024

Bearing fault diagnosis is vital for mechanical maintenance and fault prediction. It ensures equipment safety, extends lifespan, reduces maintenance costs, and improves production efficiency. Nevertheless, it should be acknowledged that some existing diagnostic methods have achieved high accuracy rates in certain scenarios. However, the challenge lies in their limited generalization capabilities, which can lead to reduced accuracy when applied to diverse or unseen conditions. In this study, we proposed a new bearing fault diagnosis method to address the issue of low accuracy caused by the inadequate generalization of models in the process of rolling bearing fault diagnosis. The method is based on a multi-scale sliding convolution neural network and multi-level residual attention mechanism, the model exhibits high accuracy, strong generalization capability, and lightweight structure. Firstly, the time domain signal of the bearing vibration is converted into a two-dimensional time–frequency map, and the image is pixel-segmented using superpixel segmentation techniques. Next, a multi-scale parallel convolution approach is used to extract features to improve the adaptability and robustness of the model to objects of different sizes and scales. Sliding convolution is used instead of pooling to avoid the problem of feature loss caused by maximum pooling and average pooling. A multi-level attention mechanism is then introduced for all stacked channels to focus on the more important and critical information of the module, and residual connections are added to prevent degradation of the network performance. Finally, the proposed method is passed through the fully connected layer for classification using the Softmax classifier. Experimental verification using public datasets and experimental data of our research group shows that the proposed method has better performance than the existing diagnostic methods and diagnostic models. The proposed method offers an advanced and innovative solution in the domain of bearing fault diagnosis.
Compensating Tendencies in Disciplinary Sanctions: The Case of Hurling
Authors: Considine John , Eakins John , Horgan Peter , Weir Conor
Published: April 2024

This paper investigates the presence of compensating tendencies in the awarding of free shots in hurling. Probit models are estimated to examine whether free shots awarded are determined by the score margin, net free count, and net card count at the time. In addition, the effect of large attendances and home games on these compensating tendencies is captured using interaction effects. Clear evidence of compensating tendency effects if the team is behind on the score margin or behind on the free count are found. When the game is played in front of large attendances, compensating tendencies based on the score margin are amplified. In contrast, there is no evidence of a home team bias in compensating tendencies based on the subset of games played at nonneutral venues. Although efforts should be made to minimize the compensating tendencies identified, administrators should tread carefully because the direction of the compensating tendencies are procompetition.
A study on hybrid jute and palm fibers blend/polyester composites: Properties and potential end uses
Authors: El Messiry Magdi , El-Tarfawy Shaimaa Youssef , El Deeb Rania
Published: April 2024

The study aims to provide valuable insights into the development of sustainable and cost-effective composite materials, particularly focusing on the combination of palm fiber and jute fabric. The inclusion of palm fibers significantly enhances the stiffness and strength of the composite. The research involves the fabrication of composites with a consistent fiber-to-polymer ratio of 20% in all samples. However, the proportions of the various reinforcing components varied in each sample, with the palm fiber ratio to jute fabric set at 40%, 70%, and 100%. The resulting curved beam, designed as a low-speed collision bumper, surpasses its commercial counterparts in deflection. Increasing fiber volume percentages contribute to enhanced bending stiffness and flexural strength. Notably, the optimal ratio of 70% demonstrates the highest impact energy, surpassing the 40% ratio sample by 150%. The study underscores the successful production of a low-impact bumper through the synergistic reinforcement of jute and palm fibers. It emphasizes the specific optimal ratio (70%) as a substantial contribution to the sustainable development of composites for effective low-impact bumpers.
A scheduling optimization method for multiple automated guided vehicle systems
Authors: Zhang Tongpo , Xu Mengju , Ma Zimai , Ma Fei , Yu Limin
Published: April 2024

When constructing a multiple automated guided vehicle (multi-AGV) system, it is essential to calculate the potential values of the system’s feature parameters. This article presents two time-cost calculators and an improved simulation platform for scientifically estimating the cost of constructing a multi-AGV system. By inputting the parameters of the number of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), the velocity of the AGV, the number of tasks, scheduling interval and path length, the designed calculator can output the system’s time expense when all tasks are completed. The designed simulation platform can display a specific multi-AGV system’s time cost and how the entire progress works in a visual interface. An advanced scheduling method based on handover mode and A* algorithm is used to solve task scheduling problems in a multi-AGV system. The overall performance of the newly integrated scheduling system is compared with other scheduling systems to validate its superiority and shortcomings in different corresponding work scenarios. The final results present a robust solution to improve a multi-AGV system’s effectiveness.
Emotional anticipation for dynamic emotional faces is not modulated by schizotypal traits: A Representational Momentum study
Authors: Grave Joana , Cordeiro Sara , de Sá Teixeira Nuno , Korb Sebastian , Soares Sandra Cristina
Published: April 2024

Schizotypy, a personality structure that resembles schizophrenia symptoms, is often associated with abnormal facial emotion perception. Based on the prevailing sense of threat in psychotic experiences, and the immediate perceptual history of seeing others’ facial expressions, individuals with high schizotypal traits may exhibit a heightened tendency to anticipate anger. To test this, we used insights from Representational Momentum (RM), a perceptual phenomenon in which the endpoint of a dynamic event is systematically displaced forward, into the immediate future. Angry-to-ambiguous and happy-to-ambiguous avatar faces were presented, each followed by a probe with the same (ambiguous) expression as the endpoint, or one slightly changed to express greater happiness/anger. Participants judged if the probe was “equal” to the endpoint and rated how confident they were. The sample was divided into high ( N = 46) and low ( N = 49) schizotypal traits using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). First, a forward bias was found in happy-to-ambiguous faces, suggesting emotional anticipation solely for dynamic faces changing towards a potential threat (anger). This may reflect an adaptative mechanism, as it is safer to anticipate any hostility from a conspecific than the opposite. Second, contrary to our hypothesis, high schizotypal traits did not heighten RM for happy-to-ambiguous faces, nor did they lead to overconfidence in biased judgements. This may suggest a typical pattern of emotional anticipation in non-clinical schizotypy, but caution is needed due to the use of self-report questionnaires, university students, and a modest sample size. Future studies should also investigate if the same holds for clinical manifestations of schizophrenia.
Schematic narrative templates in national remembering
Authors: Kaidesoja Tuukka
Published: April 2024

James V. Wertsch coined the concept of schematic narrative template in his Voices of Collective Remembering, which has become a classic work in memory studies. The central argument of this article is that the analytical power of the concept of schematic narrative template can be increased, and its methodological implications clarified, by making a distinction between plot structures, narrative schemata, and the practices of narrative production, dissemination, and consumption. The article demonstrates that these entities and their associated mechanisms and processes are different in kind and should therefore be studied by using different types of methods. Furthermore, the article elaborates on the cognitive aspects of Wertsch’s notion of schematic narrative template by distinguishing between the pattern completion and pattern matching functions of narrative schemata as well as between the cognitive processes of assimilation and accommodation of narrative schemata.
What is important and why? Students’ experience of educational activities including technologies
Authors: Bjørgen Anne Mette , Fritze Yvonne
Published: April 2024

Digital technology is now a central part of higher education and has led to high expectations of increased student activity, engagement, and learning. Drawing on two research projects about Norwegian bachelor’s students, this article explores how they experience educational activities, including the use of technologies in on-campus courses. It is vital to understand this from the students’ point of view. Data have been gathered from qualitative group interviews and an online survey. The analysis draws on socio-cultural perspectives on learning, focusing on what forms of activities and technologies the students experienced as important and useful, or challenging, in various contexts. The results suggest that, despite extensive access to digital technologies, the students experience that activities that support physical encounters on campus, such as lectures and group work, are more important and beneficial than flexible digital solutions. Technologies are basically experienced as a supplement for handling academic demands. The possible implications this has for students’ experiences of educational activities and technology use, and teachers’ facilitation, are discussed. The overall intention is to highlight the significance of the students’ experiences, as well as contribute to more realistic institutional expectations for the pedagogical use of technology.
Acute left anterior descending artery occlusion after IVUS leading to urgent percutaneous coronary intervention complicated with coronary perforation: Case report
Authors: Velarde-Acosta Kevin , Moscoso Ramirez Josh Yefry , Rojas Paol , Baltodano-Arellano Roberto
Published: April 2024

Background

Intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) has become an important complementary tool in interventional cardiology, both for preprocedural planning and for optimizing the performance of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, this tool is not free of potential complications, because of that it is essential to be aware of them and their management. Over time, new uses of IVUS have emerged, and it is currently a potential tool for predicting the risk of coronary perforation.

Case report

We present the clinical case of a 51-year-old male patient who was admitted in the context of post-infarction angina. During coronary angiography, the patient presented with two acute complications, one of them associated with IVUS and the other associated with severe coronary calcification that predisposed to coronary perforation. Both complications were successfully treated.

Conclusion

IVUS, although a very useful imaging tool before and during PCI, is not without risk. The overall rate of complications with certain or possible relation to IVUS is 3.9%. Vascular spasm is the most frequent complication and acute vascular occlusion, with the need for emergency coronary artery by-pass grafting, the least frequent. On the other hand, IVUS can predict the risk of developing other complications, such as coronary perforation, by means of the C-CAT sign. Knowledge of the possible complications during PCI and the rapid procedure of the hemodynamic team allows adequate management of these potentially fatal complications.
Explainable machine learning for predicting conversion to neurological disease: Results from 52,939 medical records
Authors: Felix Christina , Johnston Joshua D , Owen Kelsey , Shirima Emil , Hinds Sidney R , Mandl Kenneth D , Milinovich Alex , Alberts Jay L
Published: April 2024

Objective

This study assesses the application of interpretable machine learning modeling using electronic medical record data for the prediction of conversion to neurological disease.

Methods

A retrospective dataset of Cleveland Clinic patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's disease, and matched controls based on age, sex, race, and ethnicity was compiled. Individualized risk prediction models were created using eXtreme Gradient Boosting for each neurological disease at four timepoints in patient history. The prediction models were assessed for transparency and fairness.

Results

At timepoints 0-months, 12-months, 24-months, and 60-months prior to diagnosis, Alzheimer’s disease models achieved the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve on a holdout test dataset of 0.794, 0.742, 0.709, and 0.645; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis of 0.883, 0.710, 0.658, and 0.620; multiple sclerosis of 0.922, 0.877, 0.849, and 0.781; and Parkinson’s disease of 0.809, 0.738, 0.700, and 0.651, respectively.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate that electronic medical records contain latent information that can be used for risk stratification for neurological disorders. In particular, patient-reported outcomes, sleep assessments, falls data, additional disease diagnoses, and longitudinal changes in patient health, such as weight change, are important predictors.
Peer Review and Medical Journals
Authors: Nugent Kenneth , Peterson Christopher J.
Published: April 2024

Journal editors depend on peer reviewers to make decisions about submitted manuscripts. These reviewers help evaluate the methods, the results, the discussion of the results, and the overall organization and presentation of the manuscript. In addition, reviewers can help identify important mistakes and possible misconduct. Editors frequently have difficulty obtaining enough peer reviews which are submitted in a timely manner. This increases the workload of editors and journal managers and potentially delays the publication of clinical and research studies. This commentary discusses of the importance of peer reviews and make suggestions which potentially can increase the participation of academic faculty and researchers in this important activity.
Factors Influencing Chinese Teachers’ Perceptions of Students with Special Education Needs: A Structural Equation Modeling
Authors: Zhang Xiao-hong , Mo Kitty Yuen-han , Cheung Johnson Chun-Sing
Published: April 2024

This study examined teachers’ perceptions and attitudes toward students with special education needs (SEN) in primary and secondary schools in Foshan city located in the Guangdong province. The factors affecting teachers’ perceptions were investigated through a survey with 1,424 participants. The results indicated that the teachers’ perceptions of students with SEN were influenced by gender, age, class teacher role, administrator role, subject taught, type of disability of students, school support resources, and job demands. The findings extended current understanding of the influential factors on teacher’s perception. Moreover, it raised a concern for school level support that will contribute to the building of inclusive environment. Re-examination of the inclusive policy from the perspective of a whole school support approach is recommended.
Shared biological features between ovarian cancer and endometriosis based on co-expression networks analysis
Authors: Mehdizadeh Kashi Abolfazl , Rokhgireh Samaneh , Chaichian Shahla , Barjaste Nadia , Eslahi Neda , Ajdary Marziyeh , Tahermanesh Kobra , Minaeian Sara
Published: April 2024

Background:

Endometriosis is a gynecologic disease common among younger females, impacts adversely the quality of life, and results in infertility. The evidence demonstrates that patients with endometriosis have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. Due to this similarity, we aimed to identify common molecular markers between ovarian cancer and endometriosis.

Methods:

We used publicly available microarray data (GSE9899) including ovarian tumor samples and alongside normal controls, common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in ovarian samples compared to controls. We constructed a co-expression network based on ovarian cancer and then extracted the hub genes. We validated the similarities between ovarian cancer and endometriosis by examining the expression of hub genes in endometriosis patients referred to Iranian Rasoul Akram Hospital.

Results:

In total 1000 DEGs were identified in grade 2 and grade 3 of ovarian cancer. We identified 34 co-expression modules in grade 3 ovarian cancer and 31 in grade 2. Modules were mostly enriched in inflammatory response and plasma membrane-bounded cell projection, mostly. To validate the comorbidity of ovarian cancer and endometriosis, we examined the expression of six significant hubs (resulting in an ovarian cancer co-expression network) in women with endometriosis.

Conclusion:

Our results suggest that patients with endometriosis have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. These findings will improve the diagnosis of ovarian cancer in endometriosis patients. More research is required to find the exact mechanism of hub genes affecting the development of ovarian cancer.
How the Visibility of “Whiteness as a Credential” Creates Trade-offs for the Fit and Belonging of Minoritized Students at College
Authors: Chin Lynn Gencianeo
Published: April 2024

Based on 57 interviews with minoritized students at one highly selective PWI, this project examines how nonwhite students feel judged against two separate standards of hegemonic whiteness, where whiteness is openly valued socially but is invisible academically. This article theorizes how the explicit visibility of whiteness as a community standard of fit influences the degree to which students recognize that valued (white) standards are (1) unattainable and (2) unfair, arbitrary, and linked to a larger system of racialized oppression. The data suggest that while all forms of hegemonic whiteness are costly, visibility creates different trade-offs for fit and belonging. When whiteness is explicitly acknowledged as a valued social credential, minoritized students feel low social fit and belonging because of their inability to fully embody whiteness, but they recognize their racial devaluation is illegitimate and those alternative social standards can exist. When minoritized students do not perceive whiteness as a salient academic credential, they experience academic fit and belonging as they feel that they share individual merit with other matriculated students who have been accepted into an “elite” school. However, they also accept the meritocratic ideals that stereotype them as less academically competent and frame their academic success as racial exceptionalism. Under colorblindness, they accept the racialized status quo, even though it perpetuates their exposure to microaggressions, stereotype threat and imposter syndrome.