bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simulation analysis of communication performance of PROFIBUS in single and multiple master mode
Authors: Liang Geng , An Xin
Published: June 2020

With the application of digital information technology and communication technology, industrial intelligence and integration also began to develop rapidly, and the importance of the research on bus communication in industrial control communication also increased. As the first international bus standard, PROFIBUS has been widely used in the field of industrial control; in recent years, it was mainly used to connect devices to the control layer and convert data through token transmission. Based on the understanding of the transmission mechanism of PROFIBUS fieldbus protocol, this article carries out a simulation study on its communication performance. Through analysis of the data link layer, changing the target token cycle time (high and low priority) and random setting each site message number, as well as the number of master station and slave station, how the main token latency and packet loss rate and efficiency of bus affect the change of performance parameters was observed. For multiple communication systems, the relationship between the address value on the main token ring and transport performance is found by experiments on the site address value on the main token ring and the target token cycle time value. Finally, the scheduling algorithm is applied to the communication scheduling of PROFIBUS fieldbus. The results confirm that the scheduling algorithm has better transmission efficiency than the traditional MAC media access protocol under the condition that the load rate does not exceed 100%, which makes up for the shortcomings of the original PROFIBUS bus system and makes the communication performance better.
The Persistence of Character in Twentieth-century British Politics
Authors: Nuttall Jeremy
Published: June 2020

Politicians across parties repeatedly agreed that their visions of social improvement rested as much on the promotion of character virtues as on the efficacy of economic systems. Character posed recurring political dilemmas. Ideological dispute over character, as to whether it is formed best through individual exertion or collective support, lies at the heart of the division of politics between right and left. Further, the limits to the people’s character were seen as a constraint upon social progress. Yet, contrary to much historiography, this is not a story of decline from a supposed Victorian heyday of ‘moral politics’. British politics proved notably adaptive in forging updated, optimistic visions, in which the forces of modernity which might have seemed to threaten the moral calibre of the body politic, or of society, whether democracy, state expansion, or, later, ‘individualism’, were recast instead as supportive foundations for the people’s moral growth. If the century has seen a steadily ‘quieter’, less loudly moralizing, more nurturing approach to the encouragement of character, this reflected a growth in the sophistication of the method of advancing character, not a decline in either the political importance accorded to it, or the people’s possession of it.
Are the World’s National Cultures Becoming More Similar?
Authors: Kaasa Anneli , Minkov Michael
Published: June 2020

Globalization is highlighting existing cultural differences between nations, but what is the future of these differences? We attempt to answer this question by analyzing the evolution of cultural convergence-divergence across 18 select countries representing the existing cross-national cultural diversity across the globe in a balanced way. Using World Values Survey data (28,051 respondents in 18 countries from 1995 to 1998 and 30,453 from the same 18 countries in 2010–2014), we find evidence for a global shift in the direction of cultural traits typical of the rich Western individualist countries. However, different types of traits evolve differently and different national cultures change at different speeds. Thus, we find evidence of global convergence in terms of qualities that parents would like to see in their children (especially a shift away from religion and obedience toward independence and responsibility), divergence in terms of moral ideologies (such as homosexuality, abortion, divorce, and suicide, despite the growing acceptance of these, especially homosexuality), and distance stability in terms of key personal values (such as religion, work, family, friends, and leisure, despite the falling importance of the first two and the growing importance of the last three). Thus, there is no simple single answer to the convergence-divergence question and no evidence allowing us to predict full cultural convergence across the world in the foreseeable future.
Other Duties as Assigned: The Ambiguous Role of the High School Counselor
Authors: Blake Mary Kate
Published: June 2020

Previous research suggests high school counselors are not living up to their potential as social/emotional, academic, and postsecondary counselors. This article addresses this concern by studying how schools and districts utilize counselors. Through interviews and observations of high school counselors, administrators, and counselor educators in an urban midwestern community, I find that counselors suffer from role ambiguity and role conflict due to lack of a clear job description, overlap with similar professions, supervision by noncounseling administrators, inadequate forms of performance evaluation, and conflict between their roles as counselors and educators. This conflict leads to poor boundaries at work, with counselors receiving an overwhelming amount of noncounseling duties that reduce their time with students. High school counselors have the potential to improve student social and academic outcomes, but these obstacles of role ambiguity and role conflict reduce them to school managers rather than master’s-level trained educators with a mental health background.
Neighbourhood perceptions and residential mobility
Authors: Jones Antwan , Dantzler Prentiss
Published: June 2020

This paper considers the ways in which neighbourhood perceptions can differentially affect residential mobility, particularly in low-income areas. Given the long history of understanding the relationship between neighbourhood context and residential mobility, this study includes measures of satisfaction, safety, decay and neighbourly agency to understand mobility. Using data from the Making Connections Initiative, this paper uses a unique panel survey across neighbourhoods in 10 US cities undergoing spatial and/or demographic transitions to analyse the extent to which neighbourhood perceptions are associated with residential mobility. By employing a multilevel structural equation model, the study accounts for neighbourhood perceptions, neighbourhood demographics and mobility risk over time. The results show that perceptions of neighbourhood context matter more than the actual neighbourhood setting. These findings highlight the continued importance of subjective rather than objective measures of neighbourhood conditions in understanding residential mobility.
Explaining Ideology: Mechanisms and Metaphysics
Authors: Bianchin Matteo
Published: June 2020

Ideology is commonly defined along functional, epistemic, and genetic dimensions. This article advances a reasonably unified account that specifies how they connect and locates the mechanisms at work. I frame the account along a recent distinction between anchoring and grounding, endorse an etiological reading of functional explanations, and draw on current work about the epistemology of delusion, looping effects, and structuring causes to explain how ideologies originate, reproduce, and possibly collapse. This eventually allows articulating how the legitimating function of ideologies relates to the constitutive and causal role they play when embedded into the facts they are originally designed to anchor.
On the Individuation of Choice Options
Authors: Fumagalli Roberto
Published: June 2020

Decision theorists have attempted to accommodate several violations of decision theory’s axiomatic requirements by modifying how agents’ choice options are individuated and formally represented. In recent years, prominent authors have worried that these modifications threaten to trivialize decision theory, make the theory unfalsifiable, impose overdemanding requirements on decision theorists, and hamper decision theory’s internal coherence. In this paper, I draw on leading descriptive and normative works in contemporary decision theory to address these prominent concerns. In doing so, I articulate and assess several different criteria for individuating and formally representing agents’ choice options.
Calibrating Questionnaires with Weekly Diaries: An Application in Religious Behavior, Netherlands 1975 to 2005
Authors: Scappini Ettore
Published: June 2020

This article presents an innovative approach to improve the power of questionnaires by combining them with weekly diaries. The aim is to show how one can calibrate information collected from questionnaires, which provide a distribution that is in general biased, with diary data, which are more accurate but cannot provide a distribution across a range of frequencies. These problems become even more pronounced when the object of analysis is a specific issue, such as religious practice, the focus of this study. The suggested user-friendly model uses the more accurate diary data to adjust the distribution produced by the standard questions and enables researchers to obviate the problems of the two data collection methods. To present a practical application, the Time Budget Survey, conducted at five-year intervals between 1975 and 2005 in the Netherlands, is used.
Platform Development: Emerging Insights From a Nascent Industry
Authors: Shi Xiaohui , Li Feng , Chumnumpan Pattarin
Published: June 2020

This article investigates the emergence and development of the innovation platform in a nascent industry, through a dynamic capabilities perspective. Based on an inductive study of the U.K.’s tele-rehabilitation through gaming (TRTG) industry, we identify four capabilities that are important for successful platform development: innovation leverage, market exploration, quality control, and appropriation. A holistic framework is developed to explain how these capabilities can facilitate platform development by enabling appropriate business models and activities. We then discuss how a firm could define and redefine its firm boundary in order to deploy the four capabilities for platform development.
Reflections on the inheritances of Indymedia in the age of surveillance and social media
Authors: Robé Chris , Wolfson Todd
Published: June 2020

Despite certain structural limitations, Indymedia provided three vital functions for movement-based media coverage: (1) it established a secure website that shielded its users’ identities when navigating it or producing content, (2) its platform united sympathetic reporting on local and global struggles that fueled an imaginary of worldwide struggle, and (3) it established behind-the-scenes momentum in engaging new participants in independent media that continues to this day.
The Hidden Paths of Category Research: Climbing new heights and slippery slopes
Authors: Delmestri Giuseppe , Wezel Filippo Carlo , Goodrick Elizabeth , Washington Marvin
Published: June 2020

Category research has flourished over the last decade. While this body of work has prioritized the behavioral and economic consequences of stable classification systems, the papers in this special issue challenge this orientation by highlighting the importance of category dynamics for improving our understanding of markets and fields. We show how these papers support the emergence of category maintenance, the recategorization of mature categories, and the consolidation of new categories as understudied phenomena and as the next research challenges to pursue. After connecting the main findings of the papers in this special issue into a unified process model, we discuss various alternative pathways to further explore those challenges. We also point to how this theoretical endeavor runs on slippery slopes and might lead to cul-de-sacs such as terminological balkanization. We conclude by highlighting the need for developing a more comprehensive understanding of category dynamics.
Startup Responses to Unexpected Events: The impact of the relative presence of improvisation
Authors: O’Toole Jay , Gong Yan , Baker Ted , Eesley Dale T. , Miner Anne S.
Published: June 2020

This study seeks to advance the literatures on organizational improvisation and unexpected events. It tackles the question of whether the relative presence of improvisation during a startup’s response to an ordinary, unexpected event affects the value of that response, an issue of clear importance given the ubiquity of unexpected events in startups. Improvisation in practice typically involves varying degrees of predesigned and extemporaneously designed activity. The study explores the dangers of simultaneously mixing predesigned actions and improvisational activity. It develops theory in the context of startups’ action streams in response to 141 unexpected events identified by field informants. Results from hypothesis tests support theory that the relative presence of improvisation in an action stream in response to an unexpected event will have a U-shaped impact on its success resolving that event: a mixed presence shows relatively poorer outcomes than either concentrated predesigned action or a high presence of improvisation. The study also extends prior work by theorizing and finding evidence that two sources of organizational memory—firm-specific experience (proxied by organizational age) and nonfirm-specific experience (proxied by founders’ business experience prior to founding)—moderate the value of the presence of improvisation in response to unexpected events in different ways, consistent with greater challenges to rapidly integrating varied knowledge. Finally, it contributes to understanding of improvisation patterns in response to ordinary, unexpected events, suggests areas for additional research, and offers managerial implications for startups such as the value of deliberately raising shared awareness of shifts to organizational improvisation.
Work Design for Global Professionals: Connectivity demands, connectivity behaviors, and their effects on psychological and behavioral outcomes
Authors: Nurmi Niina , Hinds Pamela J.
Published: June 2020

We investigated connectivity demands as a work design characteristic and how its different enactments affect interpersonal relationships and outcomes in global work. Work design theory has seen a resurgence over the last decade as both work and the expectations of workers have evolved. Emerging technologies, in particular, have fueled higher levels of autonomy, greater interdependence, and more global collaboration. These trends, in turn, have sparked increasing recognition among scholars of the social characteristics of work design. Building on this burgeoning research, we identify a modern-day social characteristic of work, global connectivity demands, defined as the extent to which workers collaborate with distant colleagues, especially those that span significant time zone differences, thus requiring high levels of interaction across national boundaries. We examine how these demands are enacted by global professionals and what effects they have on outcomes, including relationships. We conducted initial interviews with 13 human resource directors, which confirmed that global professionals face strong pressure to connect and are being expected to communicate frequently with their distant colleagues, work after hours, and make site visits. Our study of 413 global professionals in an engineering firm then found that not all workers conformed to these connectivity demands, and that their choices shaped their interpersonal relationships with distant colleagues. We advance research on connectivity by interweaving it with work design theory to create a more multifaceted view of the role and effects of global connectivity demands. Our findings demonstrate that different enactments of connectivity may have different effects on interpersonal relationships and work outcomes.
Algorithmic Surveillance in the Gig Economy: The Organization of Work through Lefebvrian Conceived Space
Authors: Newlands Gemma
Published: June 2020

Workplace surveillance is traditionally conceived of as a dyadic process, with an observer and an observee. In this paper, I discuss the implications of an emerging form of workplace surveillance: surveillance with an algorithmic, as opposed to human, observer. Situated within the on-demand food-delivery context, I draw upon Henri Lefebvre’s spatial triad to provide in-depth conceptual examination of how platforms rely on conceived space, namely the virtual reality generated by data capture, while neglecting perceived and lived space in the form of the material embodied reality of workers. This paper offers a two-fold contribution. First, it applies Henri Lefebvre’s spatial triad to the techno-centric digital cartography used by platform-mediated organisations, assessing spatial power dynamics and opportunities for resistance. Second, this paper advances organisational research into workplace surveillance in situations where the observer and decision-maker can be a non-human agent.
The Indirect Effects of Police Racial Bias on African American Families
Authors: Miller Catina , Vittrup Brigitte
Published: June 2020

This qualitative study investigated the personal experiences of police racial bias and brutality among 18 African-American parents, the effect these experiences have had on them, how they discuss such incidents with their children, and which sources of strength the rely on during difficult times. Results revealed that both the participants and some of their children had endured negative encounters with law enforcement, and most of them suffered mental health consequences as a result, including fear, anger, and chronic stress. Most of the participants reported engaging in various forms of preparation for bias, including preparation for interaction with the police. For many, this was in order to ensure their children’s survival. Despite the negative and sometimes traumatic experiences, participants indicated that they found strength primarily in their faith and their families. Implications of these findings are discussed.
D-PLEX100 in an Abdominal Surgery Incision Model in Miniature Swine: Safety Study
Authors: Ramot Yuval , Nedvetzki Shlomo , Rosenfeld Sefi , Rousselle Serge D. , Nyska Abraham , Emanuel Noam
Published: June 2020

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a common surgical-related complication. To avoid these complications, a new biodegradable polymer–lipid encapsulation matrix that provides controlled release of doxycycline (doxycycline/polymer-lipid encapsulation matrix [D-PLEX]) has been developed. The aim of this comprehensive study was to evaluate the potential safety of D-PLEX100 in abdominal surgical site. D-PLEX100 was administered into incisions of abdominal surgical site in Yucatan miniature swine, which were followed for up to 6 months and compared to sham-control swine. The D-PLEX100 mass did not migrate from the incisional site, and there was no evidence for systemic toxicity or other safety concerns. Surgical incision sites, including the peritoneal surface, were fully healed at 6 months in all animals. Most of the D-PLEX100 mass was absorbed during the first 3 months, and by 6 months, D-PLEX100 was fully absorbed. Toxicokinetic evaluation revealed that doxycycline concentrations were evident at 30 minutes and persisted to 8 days (71 mg/kg) or at least 15 days (284 mg/kg) and were no longer present in plasma by day 29. This study supports the safety of D-PLEX100 and its favorable degradability profile. A clinical study is being performed to assess the safety and the efficacy of D-PLEX100 to prevent human abdominal SSIs.
Marr’s levels of analysis and the notion of copying
Authors: Grüter Theres
Published: June 2020

In this commentary, I suggest that it may be helpful to think about the formidable problem space that Westergaard’s (2021) Linguistic Proximity Model seeks to address at the three levels of analysis that Marr (1982) famously proposed are needed to understand any complex cognitive system. I argue that at the computational level of analysis, where it appears the Linguistic Proximity Model is epistemiologically situated, the notion of copying grammatical representations is unproblematic, contrary to Westergaard’s concerns.
Minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation is a cost-effective alternative to conventional extracorporeal circulation for coronary artery bypass grafting: propensity matched analysis
Authors: Ali Jason M , Kovzel Maksym , McPhilimey Eve , Colah Simon , De Silva Ravi , Moorjani Narain
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation has developed with the aim of reducing the impact of the adverse effects associated with conventional extracorporeal circulation. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting using minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation with those performed using conventional extracorporeal circulation.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis was performed of patients undergoing minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation coronary artery bypass grafting at a single centre. 2:1 propensity matching was performed to identify control patients undergoing conventional extracorporeal circulation coronary artery bypass grafting. Outcomes were compared using univariate analysis.

Results:

A total of 354 patients were included in the study, with 118 patients undergoing minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation coronary artery bypass grafting. Patients were well matched on baseline characteristics. The mean logistic EuroSCORE was 3.95 ± 4.20. Operative times (3.31 ± 1.52 vs. 3.56 ± 0.73, p = 0.03) were significantly shorter in minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation cases. Patients who underwent surgery with minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation had significantly less 12-hour blood loss (322.3 ± 13.2 mL vs. 380.8 ± 15.2 mL, p < 0.01). Correspondingly, a significantly lower proportion of patients were transfused (25.8% vs. 36%, p = 0.04), and the mean number of red blood cells transfused was lower (0.45 ± 0.95 vs. 0.97 ± 2.13, p = 0.01). Similarly, the number of coagulation products administered was lower (0.161 ± 0.05 vs. 0.40 ± 0.09, p = 0.05). There was a significantly lower incidence of acute kidney injury (11.0% vs. 19.9%, p = 0.03). Minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation was associated with a £679.50 cost saving per patient.

Discussion:

Minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation for coronary artery bypass grafting is associated with a reduced requirement for blood transfusion, reduced incidence of acute kidney injury and a significant cost saving. Minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation should be considered as an adjunct for all patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
Finding Colour in Conformity Part II—Reflections on Structured Professional Judgement and Cross-Cultural Risk Assessment
Authors: Shepherd Stephane M. , Spivak Benjamin L.
Published: June 2020

There has been an increasing interest in cross-cultural risk assessment over the past 5 years. Much of this has been driven by concerns that particular risk instruments may be biased against, or ill-suited to, non-White offending populations. A growing body of work has asserted that unique cultural-specific risk factors and experiences may not be adequately considered within current risk assessment frameworks which have led to calls to culturally alter/remodel risk instruments. While recognising the importance of generalizable risk instruments, this article outlines a number of realities that cross-cultural risk assessment researchers must contend with before embarking on projects to alter instruments. With specific regard to structured professional judgement risk instruments, the article notes that efforts to culturally amend instruments, could paradoxically reduce accuracy and increase bias.
Demographic Differences in Youth Perceptions of Staff: A National Evaluation of Adjudicated Youth
Authors: Pederson Casey A. , Fite Paula J. , Poquiz Jonathan L.
Published: June 2020

Despite the large societal and personal cost associated with the detainment of juvenile offenders in residential facilities, little is known about the factors that contribute to youth behavior while incarcerated. One factor that may be of importance to maintaining security within facilities and improving rehabilitation efforts is youth’s perceptions of correctional staff, namely, youth’s perceptions of positive staff characteristics (e.g., friendliness; helpfulness) and staff behavior toward youth (e.g., fair punishments). Accordingly, the current study used the National Survey of Youth in Custody across two cohorts to better understand youth perceptions about staff by examining rates of these perceptions within juvenile detention centers nationwide. Furthermore, given the overrepresentation of marginalized groups in the justice system, systematic differences in youth’s perceptions about staff were evaluated based on demographic characteristics, including age, race, sex, and sexual orientation, to better understand how these characteristics influence youth perceptions. Results suggested several significant differences based on demographic characteristics, with the most prominent and consistent differences associated with race and age, with Black youth and older youth having the least positive views of staff. Interestingly, non-heterosexual youth were more likely to view staff characteristics as positive than heterosexual youth. Implications of findings are discussed.
Improving the Wellbeing of Female Prisoners via Psychological Skills Training: A Feasibility Study
Authors: Lo Laura , Iasiello Matthew , Carey Marissa , van Agteren Joseph
Published: June 2020

Prisoners display significantly higher rates of mental disorders and lower mental wellbeing than the general population. The integration of positive psychological interventions in offender supervision has received recent advocacy. The aim of the current pre-post pilot study was to determine the short-term effects of group-based resilience training on mental health outcomes for female offenders and explore intervention acceptability. Offenders ( n = 24) self-selected to partake in a multi-component psychological skill program based on positive psychology, cognitive–behavioural therapy, and mindfulness-based activities. The training was taught in nine sessions of 1.5 hr each. Baseline and follow-up measurements of mental wellbeing and psychological distress were collected and focus groups conducted to investigate participants’ experiences, acceptability, and appropriateness of the training. Moderate to large effect sizes indicating significant improvements were observed for wellbeing, g = 0.75 and distress, g = 0.56. Training was well received by participants and staff and was delivered feasibly within the prison context. The results are encouraging, and a future well-powered study using a rigorous controlled design is warranted.
Are Dual-System Offenders Different? An Examination of Prevalence and Specialization in Criminal Offending and Child Maltreatment Perpetration
Authors: Craig Jessica M. , Stewart Anna , Hurren Emily
Published: June 2020

Although most theoretical and policy approaches treat criminal behavior and child maltreatment as different issues, we examine the prevalence of those involved in both the criminal justice system and child protective services as perpetrators, assessing how several criminal career characteristics differ between dual-system and single-system offenders. Using longitudinal cohort data from the Queensland Cross-Sector Research Collaboration (QCRC), we found that while dual-system-involved offenders made up only 4% of the population, their proportion was much higher among those with a delinquent history, especially among females (males = 21%, females = 38%). Those involved with both systems were more serious offenders and child maltreatment perpetrators with respect to the number and versatility of system contacts. These findings suggest involvement in both the criminal justice and child welfare systems are part of an underlying vulnerability or predisposition toward antisocial behavior and represent an important overlap of service delivery that must be managed effectively.
Potential Contribution of Deflection-Induced Fuel Consumption to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Authors: AzariJafari Hessam , Gregory Jeremy , Kirchain Randolph
Published: June 2020

Various methods have been proposed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with transportation. We investigate the potential of increasing the elastic modulus of pavement surface layers across the entire U.S. pavement network as a means of lowering vehicle excess fuel consumption (EFC) resulting from deflection-induced pavement–vehicle interaction. We show that in a business-as-usual case deflection-induced EFC represents up to 2660 million metric tons (Mt) over a 50-year analysis period. Elastic modulus increases can be accomplished using several currently implementable methods. The analysis shows that increasing the modulus of elasticity using 10% resurfacing in the network per year leads to an 18% reduction of GHG emissions from the pavement network, or 440 Mt CO2eq, over a 50-year analysis period. This would potentially offset 0.5% of the future GHG emission of the whole transportation sector.
Death in Rural Georgia: A Historical Comparison of Georgians and Ossets in the Kistauri Commune
Authors: Zurabishvili Tinatin , Lee Rennie , Emigh Rebecca Jean
Published: June 2020

This article examines the factors influencing age at death in the multiethnic villages, comprised mostly of Georgians and Ossets, in the Kistauri commune in the eastern Republic of Georgia between 1897 and 1997. The data are analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models using age at death as the dependent variable, and ethnicity, gender, marital status, residency status, and year of birth as the independent variables. The results show that Georgians lived longer than Ossets. Individuals who had ever been married lived longer than those who had not. The results perhaps reflect harsher living conditions for Ossets, the ethnic minority, despite Soviet ideologies about equality.
Nutrition, Adult Cognitive Skills, and Productivity: Results and Influence of the INCAP Longitudinal Study
Authors: Behrman Jere R. , Hoddinott John , Maluccio John A.
Published: June 2020

This article summarizes research based on the INCAP Longitudinal Study that demonstrates the positive effects of the atole intervention on prime-age adult cognitive skills and productivities. The findings are interpreted in the context of a life-cycle stages model in which various factors and investments at each stage of life influence outcomes not only in that stage but in subsequent ones. The results point to the likely importance of improvements in adult cognitive skills due to better early-life nutrition on adult male labor market outcomes as well as on women’s “home productivity” in terms of anthropometrics for the next generation. Possible mechanisms are also explored, including the impacts of early-life exposure to atole on children’s height when starting school, on grades of schooling attainment, and on the extent of experience with higher-skilled jobs, as well as the impacts of improved cognitive skills on wages. Not only are investments in early-life nutrition important for immediate welfare but also they have significant productivity payoffs in adulthood.
History and Design of the INCAP Longitudinal Study (1969-1977) and Its Impact in Early Childhood
Authors: Martorell Reynaldo
Published: June 2020

The Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) longitudinal study of 1969 to 1977 was a community randomized trial in which 2 pairs of matched villages received either a protein-rich gruel ( atole) or a nonprotein, low-energy drink ( fresco). Both contained equal amounts of micronutrients by volume. I review the history and design of the study and impact on dietary intakes and physical growth. The design dates from the 1960s when protein was seen as the main dietary deficiency. During the 1970s, emphasis shifted to energy deficiency and this influenced early analyses. Energy from the 2 drinks during pregnancy was associated with improved birthweights and whether protein was also provided along with energy appeared to make no difference. These analyses, observational in nature, were possible because there was substantial overlap in energy intakes from the supplements during pregnancy across village types. In children, analyses initially focused on energy but eventually relied on the original experimental design. Exposure to the atole compared to fresco was associated with improved physical growth at 3 years of age but not from 3 to 7 years. Consumption of the fresco in the first 3 years of life was low such that there was little overlap in energy intakes from the supplements, not allowing for the type of analyses done for pregnancy. Diets in atole villages were greater from 15 to 36 months in protein, energy, and micronutrients, making attribution of impact on growth to a specific nutrient impossible. The atole improved linear growth, arm, and calf circumferences at 3 years but not skinfold thicknesses.
Can Central America and the Dominican Republic Overcome Malnutrition in All Its Forms?
Authors: Siu Carolina
Published: June 2020

Malnutrition impairs many forms of human development. In order to tackle nutritional deficiencies and excesses, the science of evidence-based nutrition needs rapid transformations to scale up pro-poor and sustainable actions. The aims of this article are to briefly outline the nutritional challenges faced in Central America and the Dominican Republic, highlight new evidence produced by the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama during the last decade, and foster the implementation of feasible solutions in limited-resourced settings.
Variation in the Factors Associated With Diet Quality of Children Aged 6 to 23 Months in Low and High Agroecological Zones of Rongai Subcounty, Kenya
Authors: Kemboi Sharon , Mungiria-Mituki Dorothy , Ramkat Rose , Termote Celine , Covic Namukolo , Cheserek Maureen Jepkorir
Published: June 2020

Background:

Adequate quality complementary diets and appropriate feeding practices are important for proper growth and development of young children.

Objective:

To assess factors associated with diet diversity, meal frequency, and acceptable diet of children aged 6 to 23 months in two agroecological zones of Rongai subcounty, Kenya.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 mothers/caregivers with children aged 6 to 23 months. A structured questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographic characteristics and child feeding practices. Diet diversity, meal frequency, and acceptable diet were derived from a 24-hour recall of child’s food intake. Factors associated with diet quality were determined using binary logistic regression.

Results:

Mean child diet diversity score was 3.54 ± 1.0 of 7 food groups, with 56.8% of the children achieving minimum dietary diversity. A majority of the children (81.8%) received minimum meal frequency (MMF), with significant ( P < .05) difference between low (91.1%) and high (75.2%) agricultural potential areas. Children who received minimum acceptable diet (MAD) were only 34.1%. Mother/caregiver education level positively ( P < .05) associated with minimum diet diversity in low potential area (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.79, 95% CI: 1.47-9.75) and with MAD in high potential area (AOR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.01-3.46). Other factors associated with MDD, MMF, and MAD included household income and slow feeding in low potential area, and child gender and active feeding in high potential area.

Conclusion:

There is a variation in factors associated with diet quality and child feeding practices in different agroecological zones. Therefore, nutrition education and behavior change communication interventions aimed at improving child nutrition should be context-specific.
Implementing Microlearning in Nursing Homes: Implications for Policy and Practice in Person-Centered Dementia Care
Authors: Inker Jenny , Jensen Christine , Barsness Sonya , Stewart Mary Martha
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to develop and pilot a 52-week Microlearning curriculum on person-centered dementia care in nine nursing homes. The goal was to evaluate the usability and application of Microlearning as a tool to increase staff knowledge and improve perceptions of people with dementia, thus increasing their ability to deliver person-centered care and their job satisfaction. Findings indicate that participants enjoyed the flexible, 24/7 access to training and found that the immediacy of the format encouraged them to apply their learning directly to practice. Staff knowledge and attitudes toward people with dementia were positively impacted by the training, as was job satisfaction. Further research to test the efficacy of Microlearning compared to usual training is warranted, as are coordinated policy development efforts that can guide the implementation of best practices in the use of Microlearning as an innovative training modality in nursing homes.
La proximité en marketing: proposition d’un cadre intégrateur et agenda de recherche
Authors: Lenglet François , Mencarelli Rémi
Published: June 2020

Depuis quelques années le monde académique comme les praticiens montrent un intérêt grandissant pour le concept de proximité. Face à une littérature croissante mais confuse en raison de la diversité des approches mobilisées, cet article propose une synthèse intégrative et macro-analytique autour du concept de proximité. L’article poursuit quatre objectifs : caractériser et définir la proximité, comprendre la place occupée par ce concept dans les modèles théoriques en marketing, envisager l’intérêt managérial de la proximité, et, enfin, proposer des voies de recherche afin d’approfondir la compréhension du concept de proximité dans le champ du marketing.
Parents’ Perceptions of the Acceptability of Evidence-Based Interventions to Support Transition From Neonatal to Rehabilitation Services
Authors: Yamada Janet , Ballantyne Marilyn , Kron Amie T. , Sidani Souraya
Published: June 2020

Background

Parents of children born preterm with a disability often experience profound psychological distress with transition from neonatal to rehabilitation services. Four interventions were found effective to support parents throughout this critical transition period whereby parental stress can threaten the child’s development.

Purpose

To examine parents’ perceptions of the acceptability of four evidence-based interventions to support their transition.

Methods

A quantitative design using survey methods was employed with 24 parents with experience in transition to rehabilitation services. Each participant rated the acceptability of the interventions using the Treatment Perception and Preference scale. Descriptive statistics and repeated measures analysis of variance were used for data analysis.

Results

Mean overall acceptability scores differed across the four interventions ( p = .042); the difference was of moderate size (η2 = .11). Parents perceived psychoeducation and narrative therapy as most acceptable, followed by website consultation with healthcare providers and parent support program, then parent self-help program.

Conclusions

Psychoeducation and narrative therapy should be accessible to parents experiencing transition from neonatal to rehabilitation services.
Lacosamide-Induced Dyskinesia in Children With Intractable Epilepsy
Authors: Madani Nadine , O’Malley Jennifer A. , Porter Brenda E. , Baumer Fiona M.
Published: June 2020

Lacosamide, an antiepileptic drug prescribed for children with refractory focal epilepsy, is generally well tolerated, with dose-dependent adverse effects. We describe 4 children who developed a movement disorder in conjunction with the initiation and/or uptitration of lacosamide. Three patients developed dyskinesias involving the face or upper extremity whereas the fourth had substantial worsening of chronic facial tics. The patients all had histories suggestive of opercular dysfunction: 3 had seizure semiologies including hypersalivation, facial and upper extremity clonus while the fourth underwent resection of polymicrogyria involving the opercula. Onset, severity, and resolution of dyskinesias correlated with lacosamide dosing. These cases suggest that pediatric patients with dysfunction of the opercular cortex are at increased risk for developing drug-induced dyskinesias on high-dose lacosamide therapy. Practitioners should be aware of this potential side effect and consider weaning lacosamide or video electroencephalography (EEG) for differential diagnosis, particularly in pediatric patients with underlying opercular dysfunction.
Developmental Cascades of Preschoolers’ Effortful Control, Externalizing Behaviors, and Parental Corporal Punishment in China
Authors: Li Jingya , Wang Meifang , Liu Xianqi , Zhang Han
Published: June 2020

This research examined the interrelations among children’s effortful control, externalizing behaviors, and parental corporal punishment in China. Two hundred and five father–mother dyads of preschoolers (initial Mage = 3.73 years, 50% boys) completed measures of children’s effortful control, externalizing behaviors, and parental corporal punishment at three time points with 1-year intervals in between. In developmental cascade models, only unidirectional direct relations between variables were found: preschoolers’ effortful control negatively predicted externalizing behaviors a year later, and preschoolers’ externalizing behaviors positively predicted maternal and paternal corporal punishment a year later. Moreover, although no direct relations between preschoolers’ effortful control and parental corporal punishment were found, a potential indirect pathway from effortful control to paternal corporal punishment through externalizing behaviors was observed. The findings are discussed in terms of their cultural basis and highlight the importance of efforts to strengthen children’s self-regulation during early childhood.
Reinforcing MWCNTs to enhance viscoelastic properties of polyurethane nanocomposites by using nano DMA techniques
Authors: Kumar Dinesh , Kumar Navin , Jindal Prashant
Published: June 2020

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-reinforced polyurethane (PU) composites were fabricated by using solution mixing technique followed by compression molding. Nano dynamic mechanical analysis was carried out to investigate the viscoelastic properties of PU/MWCNTs composites within a frequency range of 5–250 Hz. At higher frequencies (250 Hz), the storage modulus of PU/MWCNTs composites with 10 wt% loading of MWCNTs was enhanced by 148% in equivalence to pristine PU. An improvement of 13.3% in storage modulus was observed at a loading frequency of 250 Hz in comparison to that of a loading frequency of 75 Hz, which indicates that the effect of MWCNTs on storage modulus was more pronounced at higher frequencies. At 75 Hz, a minor composition of MWCNTs (3 wt%) was sufficient to reduce the value of tan δ from 0.20 to 0.15, indicating that the material becomes more elastic after reinforcing MWCNTs. This significant improvement in the mechanical behavior of composite material has been attributed to the uniform dispersion of MWCNTs, and their adhesion with PU molecules. Reported enhancement in the elastic behavior of PU composite will boost the applicability of PU-based composite material for the fabrication of high-strength boots, gloves, and jackets required to absorb high vibration frequencies experienced during conditions such as rock drilling.
Monitoring of material-removal mechanism in micro-electrical discharge machining by pulse classification and acoustic emission signals
Authors: Goswami Kanka , Samuel GL
Published: June 2020

Micro-electrical discharge machining is a stochastic process where the interaction between the materials and the process parameters are difficult to understand. Monitoring of the process becomes necessary to achieve the dimensional accuracy of the micro-featured components. Although thermo-mechanical erosion is the most accepted material-removal mechanism, it fails to explain the material removal with very short pulse duration. Alternative postulate like electrostatic force-induced stress yielding provides a stronger argument, rising ambiguity over the material-removal process in the micro-electrical discharge machining regime. In this work, it was found that the stress waves released from the material during micro-electrical discharge-machining process indicate material removal by mechanical deformation and fracture mechanism. These stress waves were captured using the acoustic emission sensor. The discharge pulses were captured by voltage measurement and classified using voltage gradient and machining time duration into three major categories, open pulse, normal pulse and arc pulse. The acoustic emission signal features were extracted and identified by time–frequency–energy distribution analysis. A feed-forward back-propagation neural network mapping of the pulse instances was performed with the obtained acoustic emission signature. The time–frequency–energy distribution analysis of the acoustic emission and the scanning electron microscope images of the craters provide conclusive evidence that the material is removed by mechanical stress and fracture. The feed-forward back-propagation network model was trained to predict the discharge categories of the pulse instances with AE signal inputs which can be used for monitoring the material-removal mechanism in micro-electrical discharge machining operation.
Influence of secondary phase particles Al2O3/SiC on the microstructure and tribological characteristics of AA7075-based surface hybrid composites tailored using friction stir processing
Authors: Suganeswaran K , Parameshwaran R , Mohanraj T , Radhika N
Published: June 2020

Recently, cylinder liners of automotive and aircraft engines are encountered severe wear due to piston slap occurred by the repeated sliding stroke of piston. This research focuses on providing an alternative material for cylinder liners, which can be obtained through friction stir processing on AA7075 with different weight ratios of reinforcements like Al2O3 and SiC. Friction stir processing is executed with a tool rotational speed of 1000 r/min and traveling speed of 56 mm/min at 2° tool tilt angle. The images of optical microscopy reveal the fine-grains with a homogeneous distribution of secondary phase particles and also offer decrement in particle clustering except at some localized regions. It is identified that addition of 3.7 wt.% Al2O3 + 3.0 wt.% SiC in AA7075 enhanced the microhardness about 33.96% higher than base matrix. Hence, wear resistance of the specimen is improved. Dry sliding wear behavior of specimens is analyzed using pin on disc at 20, 40, and 60 N load conditions to create the actual sliding behavior of piston on cylinder wall. Increasing the wt.% of Al2O3 particles enhanced the wear resistance of AA7075 surface hybrid composites at 20 N load due to the formation of protective tribofilm. Specimen with 3.7% Al2O3 + 3.0% SiC has better lubrication and load-bearing capacity that exhibits superior tribological behavior at 40 and 60 N. Higher Fe content of 5.44 wt.% has been obtained through spectroscopy analysis in S5, which is 8% and 6% higher than S3 (7.5% of Al2O3) and S7 (6% of SiC), respectively. The scratching action of this hard specimen on the counterpart brings more Fe content. Increase of Al2O3 particles paved the way for tribofilm formation and identified through scanning electron microscopy micrographs. The observation from worn specimens shows that finer wear debris had increased by adding more quantity of SiC particles due to abrasive wear mechanism.