bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Educational Technology in Support of Elementary Students With Reading or Language-Based Disabilities: A Cluster Randomized Control Trial
Authors: Hurwitz Lisa B. , Vanacore Kirk P.
Published: December 2022

Experts laud the potential of educational technology (edtech) to promote reading among students with disabilities, but supporting evidence is lacking. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Lexia® Core5® Reading edtech program (Core5) on the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP) Growth Reading™ and easyCBM oral reading fluency performance of students with reading or language-based disabilities in Grades K to 5. Core5 systematically addresses multiple reading domains and previously was effective in general education. We hypothesized treatment students using Core5 would outperform controls on the reading assessments. This was a cluster randomized effectiveness evaluation, with condition assignment by school (three treatment and two business-as-usual control schools). Participating students in Grades K to 5 ( N = 115; nTreatment = 65) were flagged by their Chicago-area district as needing reading intervention and had Individualized Education Program (IEP) designations of specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, or developmental delay. Treatment students used Core5 to supplement Tier 1 instruction for an average of 58.76 minutes weekly for 24.58 weeks. Regressions revealed treatment students outperformed controls on MAP ( B = 3.85, CI = 0.57–7.13, p = .022, d = .24), but there were no differences for oral reading fluency. MAP findings confirm edtech can effectively supplement reading instruction for this population.
Analysis of the effects of store image, trust and perceived quality on consumption habits of textile products in the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Zambrano Roldán Karen Estefanía , Santos Roldán Luna María , Palacios Florencio Beatriz , Cabeza Ramírez Javier
Published: December 2022

Consumer clothing presents behaviors defined by pre-established trends and patterns in contemporary societies, and in general the consumption of textile products follows this trend. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions perpetuated as a consequence of it, the consumption of textile products has been affected throughout the world. Under this premise, the objective of this research is to analyze the effect of store images, trust and perceived quality on the habits of the textile consumer in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, for which, firstly, a review of the literature was carried out regarding the variables of the habits of the textile consumer and their relationship with the store image, trust and perceived quality, for which documents from academic search engines were taken into account, such as Scopus, Web of Science, ResearchGate and Google Scholar. On the other hand, a survey was conducted among textile consumers in Ecuador. The measurement tool was completed by 500 participants. In this way, the survey was conducted virtually through Google Forms and through the use of IBM SPSS software. The sampling technique consisted of convenience sampling. For the specific case of this investigation, it was decided to opt for the use of 500 valid questionnaires. This allowed one to propose a model of structural equations based on constructs associated with reference investigations. The main results of this research confirmed that there is a positive impact of the image of the trusted establishment on the product, as well as a positive impact on the general perceived quality of consumption habits (comparison) and on the effect of the quality of perceived service in consumption habits (planning).
Deformation mechanism and mechanical model construction for recycled regenerated silk fibroin/polyvinyl alcohol blended fibers
Authors: Zhang Xin , Pan Zhijuan
Published: December 2022

The mechanical properties of regenerated silk fibroin-based fibers have attracted much attention, but the related theoretical research and the mechanical model are insufficient. Thus, recycled regenerated silk fibroin (RRSF)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blended as-spun fibers were taken as an example. Transformations of the apparent morphology, microstructure, and two-phase distribution of the as-spun fibers were explored at different tensile stages. The appropriate mechanical models were established with model formulas. The results showed that the RRSF component in the fiber gradually presented an axial fibril-like dispersion and split fragmentary areas under uniform stretching. Then, the PVA component undertook the external force, and ductile fracture finally occurred. At the micro level, the β-sheet content of the RRSF component reached a maximum of 54.7% at 50% elongation. The value of I⊥/I∥ reached the highest point (1.25) when stretched to 100%. The tensile process was divided into low-, negative-, and high-viscoelasticity deformation stages. Nonlinear spring or sticky pot elements were introduced to establish a two-element parallel mechanical model, and the fitting degree of the model formula was higher than 0.993.
Comparative study of soft drafting system and the conventional drafting system based on the ring spinning frame
Authors: Cui Yuemin , Cheng Longdi , He Shanshan , Lyu Jindan , Cui Yihuai , Deng Wansheng
Published: December 2022

A modified drafting system, named the soft drafting system, based on the ring spinning frame, has been introduced in the previous paper. In order to compare with the conventional drafting system, this paper analyzed pressure distributions of the two drafting systems and compared apron slippages based on the condition of spinning 18.2 tex combed cotton yarns. The results show that the floating area of the soft drafting system is only 6 mm, much smaller than that of the conventional drafting system at 12 mm. In addition, the soft drafting system can provide a longer and more stable friction zone and the curved channel is more conducive to the separation of fiber bundles to reduce yarn imperfections. The soft drafting system does not have the problem of apron-to-apron slippage that may cause deterioration of yarn quality. The slip rate of the soft drafting system between the lattice apron and the middle bottom roller is 0.03%, while the slip rate of the conventional drafting system between the bottom apron and the middle bottom roller is 8.58%, resulting in a reduction in drafting efficiency and poor stability of yarn quality. The experimental results show that the soft drafting system can significantly improve yarn evenness with CVm% of the soft drafting system decreasing 10.2% over the conventional drafting system. Also, the soft drafting system can reduce yarn imperfections, especially thick places with +35% thick places decreasing 71.9% and +50% thick places decreasing 70.4%.
Sebastián Lelio’s Una mujer fantástica: Intimate Citizenship, Trans Activism, and the Gender Identity Law in Chile
Authors: Miles Penny
Published: December 2022

When Una mujer fantástica reached the height of Oscar success in March 2018, Chilean trans populations were fighting to secure legal recognition, and they were doing so at a time of political transition from a leftist to a rightist government. The film’s international success ensured that the gender identity bill remained on the table. Use of the concepts of intimate citizenship and frame resonance to analyze the social and political role of the film’s trans representation shows how they offer visual framing and visual resonance for Chilean activism. The protagonist’s story created a visual frame to reinforce trans activist claims at a key moment in the congressional debates as the soft power of the Oscars was brought to bear on them.

Cuando Una mujer fantástica alcanzó la cima del éxito en los óscares de marzo de 2018, las poblaciones trans chilenas luchaban por asegurarse reconocimiento legal en un momento de transición política—el paso de un gobierno de izquierda a uno de derecha. El éxito internacional de la película aseguró que el proyecto de ley sobre identidad de género permaneciera sobre la mesa. El uso de los conceptos de ciudadanía íntima y resonancia de marco para analizar el rol social y político de la representación trans en la película muestra cómo esto nos brinda tanto encuadre como resonancia visual al activismo chileno. La historia de la protagonista generó un marco visual que refuerza las afirmaciones de activistas trans en un momento clave en los debates del Congreso, los cuales se vieron influenciado por el poder blando de los óscares.
Indebted Adulthood in Queer Times
Authors: Verklan Elizabeth A.
Published: December 2022

This article examines the US student debt crisis through a queer, feminist lens attuned to matters of the material. Examining the discourse of ‘failed’ and/or forestalled millennial adulthood, I argue that the student debt crisis is a product of neoliberal, racial capitalism, and its profit resides in its financialisation. Drawing on queer and feminist theories regarding time and futurity and current research on student debt, I examine the configurations and effects of what I term the ‘student-debt-as-hetero-failure discourse’, which renders the crisis of student debt legible through a heteronormative life narrative, and obscures the racialised, gendered realities of student debt. The student-debt-as-hetero-failure discourse illustrates how under racial capitalism, heteronormative temporality is structurally conditioned via race. Examining US media coverage, I assert that the reprosexually oriented student-debt-as-hetero-failure discourse legitimises new financial products that enable debtors to sustain and reproduce themselves via more debt.
Cultural Impacts of Social Movements: Feminism within the Catholic Church in Spain
Authors: Valiente Celia
Published: December 2022

This article studies the cultural impacts of social movements targeting non-state institutions. Using printed primary sources, bibliography and press clippings, the case of the feminist protest within the Catholic Church in Spain after 1975 is analysed from a comparative perspective. This research shows that cultural products (books, articles and other published texts) constitute a principal cultural outcome of the aforementioned protest. Some characteristics of the targeted institution, such as the intransigency of the Church hierarchy to feminist demands, made policy consequences impossible. Yet activists managed to produce cultural outputs and disseminate them to their movement constituency thanks to allies’ support; the use of the Spanish language as a vehicle for mobilisation; and the utilisation of activists’ locations within the Church and in society as sites from which to spread their world-views and demands.
Development and Assessment of the Personal Emotional Capital Questionnaire for Adolescents
Authors: Khazaei Morteza , Holder Mark D. , Sirois Fuschia M. , Gallagher Matthew W.
Published: December 2022

Higher emotional capital is associated with enhanced positive emotions, social relationships, social capital and human capital. The present study developed and evaluated a personal emotional capital questionnaire for adolescents (PECQ-A) that assessed 10 components of this capital. The PECQ-A was administrated to two samples of Iranian 15-year-olds from two Iranian cities ( N1 = 600, N2 = 300, total N = 900) recruited using multistage random cluster sampling. A confirmatory factor analysis of the first sample confirmed the ten-factor structure of the PECQ-A. The reliability of PECQ-A was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = .90, McDonald’s ω = .88, AVE = .57, Composite reliability CR = .89). Analyses of the second sample revealed that the PECQ-A and its components exhibited convergent validity when compared to the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form (MHC–SF), the students’ GPAs, and the students’ mathematics and natural sciences scores. The PECQ-A demonstrated divergent validity when contrasted with the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS21). Test-retest reliability was acceptable. Invariance measurement was confirmed for the PECQ-A. A MANOVA identified several gender differences. PECQ-A scores were not sensitive to the order that the questionnaires were administered. The results suggest that the PECQ–A is a valid and reliable measure of personal emotional capital suitable for use with adolescents.
Is ideology critique worthwhile? A defense of writing for an absent audience in a cynical, warming world
Authors: Gunderson Ryan
Published: December 2022

There are at least five obstacles to the viability of ideology critique as a method of analysis in current conditions: (1) there is no ideology-free, God’s-eye view through which the critical theorist can analyze other ideologies; (2) few people really believe in explicit ideological justifications for exploitation and domination today, a widespread skepticism that could annul the warrant for ideology critique; (3) conspiracy theories and identity politics have superseded more universalistic and structural forms of critique, which, due to their real and superficial similarities with ideology critique, represent troublesome competitors; (4) ecological degradation is undermining the possibility of the free future that ideology critique implicitly anticipates; and (5) due to the decline of radical labor movements and near-absolute control of consciousness by the culture industry, the audience for ideology critique is so small and distracted that thoughtful, written analyses of ideology may be pointless. Despite these obstacles, I defend ideology critique as a viable and beneficial method. Barrier (5) is the only obstacle that I think has the potential to deliver a death blow to ideology critique in the foreseeable future.
Marxism and revisionism in the world today
Authors: Das Raju J
Published: December 2022

Lenin said, ‘We do not regard Marx’s theory as something completed and inviolable; on the contrary, we are convinced that it has only laid the foundation stone of the science which socialists must develop in all directions if they wish to keep pace with life’. Marx himself believed in the principle of ‘ruthless criticism’ of everything existing. Critiquing and revising certain ideas to strengthen an approach to society is a constructive act. But the legitimate act of revision becomes revision-ism, when the fundamental tenets of Marxism are revised in order to attack – negate – its very explanatory or scientific foundation and to justify political reformism. Indeed, since Lenin’s time, scientific socialism has been under attack from not only the ruling class and its ideologues, but also those who associate themselves with Marxism itself, including in academia. The latter are revisionist Marxists. For them, Marxism has some usefulness. But they deny the superiority of Marxism as a way of critically and scientifically interpreting the world and transforming that world in the interest of the exploited and oppressed masses in a revolutionary socialist manner. This denial of Marxism’s superiority takes the form of the denial of Marxism’s central concepts: class and capitalism. The article discusses, and critiques, various forms of revisionist Marxism (e.g. Analytical Marxism, Polanyian Marxism, Post-Modernist Marxism, and Geographical Marxism). Revisionism does respond to some recent developments in the world (e.g. the defeat of class-based movements; the complexity of class structure), but it seeks to explain these not on the basis of Marxist foundations but on the basis of scientifically inadequate ideas and in a manner that is politically reformist.
Resin infusion in porous preform in the presence of HPM considering complex geometry and gravity: Flow simulation and experimental validation
Authors: Adhikari Debabrata , Gururaja Suhasini , Hemchandra Santosh , Kočí Jan
Published: December 2022

Present work demonstrates the complete numerical modeling and experimental validation of transient incompressible two-phase flow during vacuum infusion (VI) in the presence and absence of high permeability media (HPM) considering gravity effects. Coupled flow modeling based on continuity equations, Darcy’s law for porous media flow, including gravity effects with level set front tracking algorithm, has been developed on the multiblock-structured grid with higher-order finite-difference framework to predict the spatio-temporal preform saturation during infusion with/without HPM on the complex mold configurations. The model-predicted instantaneous change in pressure, thickness elevation, fill time, flow front positions, and influence of gravity have been validated with experiments for horizontal and vertical flat plates using pressure sensors and digital cameras. For the first time, the complete modeling and experimentation of transient VI in the presence or absence of HPM, including gravity, shows the ability to predict realistic preform saturation during VI in different mold geometry.
Sensory methods and machine learning based damage identification of fibre-reinforced composite structures: An introductory review
Authors: Bandara Senaka , Herath Madhubhashitha , Epaarachchi Jayantha
Published: December 2022

Fibre-reinforced composite materials are extensively used for manufacturing critical engineering components in diverse applications, which demands intelligent and reliable structural health monitoring (SHM) schemes to prevent catastrophic failures associated with composite structures. Composite materials have complex failure mechanisms, and it is essential to employ reliable SHM methods with high accuracy to detect damages at the incipient stage. Although there are several SHM technologies available, no single strategy is impeccable for tackling all damage types due to the incredibly complex failure mechanisms of the composite materials. Machine learning (ML) methods are frequently integrated to compensate for the limitations of the traditional SHM methods. This paper presents the state-of-the-art sensory methods and deep learning (DL) techniques while emphasizing the future directions for the engineering and scientific community interested in developing novel SHM systems for fibre-reinforced polymer composite structures intended for civil, aerospace, automotive, marine, oil and gas exploration industries.
Hearing and feeling the music in every step: Musical walks and biographical experience of lockdown
Authors: Nurse Lyudmila , Robertson Chika
Published: December 2022

The article investigates the ways in which young musicians explored new (unfamiliar) social landscapes and emotions during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, through learning to listen to the “music within their steps” while walking on their own or with members of their own families for the inter-disciplinary project ‘The Musical Steps’. The project examines the self-recorded essays, visual materials and reflections by the young musicians and their parents, which reveal new cultural perspectives of sound, space and silence, along with the thoughts about musical repertoire which were inspired by the walks. Methodologically, we applied the walking biographical method that enabled us to explore young musicians’ reflections on music and their lives during lockdowns from an inter-disciplinary perspective. The walking biographies approach to research on the move has been specially adapted for young musicians and their families by the authors. This article explores how walking changed young musicians’ emotional perceptions of music and what they heard and felt during and after their walks. Questions were raised as to whether the walks affected their physical and mental well-being, both personally and musically, and whether the walks influenced their understanding of their cultural background/origin.
Strength in the gap: A rapid review of principles and practices for urgent care centres
Authors: Benjamin Ponn , Bryce Rhonda , Oyedokun Taofiq , Stempien James
Published: December 2022

Responding to a provincial government decision to develop two Urgent Care Centres (UCCs) in Saskatchewan, we undertook a rapid review of published literature with the objective of determining best practices for their creation and functioning. Two English-limited PubMed database searches combining “after-hours care,” “ambulatory care,” “emergency medicine,” “urgent care,” “minor emergency,” “walk-in,” and “Canada” over the past 10 years were the sources of articles for our review. Articles were independently reviewed by two authors and synthesized collaboratively. From 833 articles, 44 were utilized in the review. Six considerations in the following areas were subsequently outlined: expected impact, preferred location, healthcare services collaboration, available services, staffing priorities, and community partnerships. These principles were considered against the backdrop of currently successful Canadian UCCs. This review indicates that general principles for the successful development of UCCs exist; these may guide the establishment and functioning of UCCs both in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.
U.S. Young Adults’ Professional Help-Seeking in Response to Technology-Facilitated Abuse
Authors: Mumford Elizabeth A. , Rothman Emily F. , Maitra Poulami , Sheridan-Johnson Jackie
Published: December 2022

Widespread access to an increasing number of technology-enhanced communications channels multiplies the potential for abusive interactions (i.e., technology-facilitated abuse [TFA]). Practitioners will be better prepared to respond to the problem of TFA if more is known about how commonly victims seek help, and from whom. Through a cross-sectional, U.S. nationally representative survey of n = 1,215 young adults aged 18 to 35, respondents completed the TFA scale of the Cyber-Abuse Research Initiative. We calculated the percentage of TFA survivors who sought help for their most damaging experience of TFA, and used logistic regression to model help-seeking for health services, victim services, technological assistance, and/or criminal justice/legal assistance. For each help source, we examined risk markers including sociodemographic characteristics, online activity, the number of different forms of TFA experience, and the perpetrator’s relationship to the victim. Use of a broader range of social media sites/platforms, and several indicators of more severe TFA experiences, predicted help-seeking from health services, victim services, and justice/legal assistance. Young adults who identified the TFA perpetrator as a current or ex-intimate partner were less likely than other survivors to seek two forms of help: technological assistance and/or criminal justice/legal assistance. Survivors who self-identified as Black were more likely than White survivors to seek victim services. Professionals who support survivors of interpersonal aggression may use these results to enhance their screening protocols and form cross-disciplinary partnerships to address the harms associated with TFA.
Physical Intimate Partner Violence Concordance Rates in Couples: Does CTS2 Item Order Matter?
Authors: Pollard Deanna L. , Babcock Julia C. , Cantos Arthur L.
Published: December 2022

Intimate partner violence (IPV) concordance rates between partners are low across national, community, and clinical samples. Discordance between partners’ IPV reports is problematic given that self-report questionnaires, such as the CTS2, are commonly used to assess IPV. Moreover, most research is based solely on the report of one partner. Some have attributed this discordance to how CTS2 items are presented. The CTS2 presents items inquiring on the frequencies of perpetration by oneself and then one’s partner in pairs. The present study examined whether IPV concordance rates improve if couples are administered a version of the CTS2 where all items assessing their partner’s behaviors are presented first, followed by items assessing the respondents’ behaviors. Additionally, the present study examined whether correlations between self-reported and partner-reported perpetration and victimization differ depending on the order in which CTS2 items are presented. Two samples of heterosexual couples were recruited from a large metropolitan area in the United States. The first sample was administered the CTS2 in its usual format. The second sample was administered a version of the CTS2 that presented items on one’s partners’ behavior first, followed by self-reported behavior. Results revealed that concordance rates among violent couples were higher in the group administered the CTS2 in its altered format, particularly agreement on male IPV perpetration. However, when agreement on minor and severe IPV was examined separately, concordance rates between groups were relatively similar for severe IPV. These findings suggest that altering the item presentation of the CTS2 may improve the interrater reliability of the Physical Assault Scale of the CTS2. Additional results are discussed.
Nonlinear three-dimensional oscillations of probabilistic reinforced nanocomposite shells at microscale via modified strain gradient meshfree formulations
Authors: Sahmani Saeid , Safaei Babak
Published: December 2022

A numerical solution process based on the moving Kriging meshfree is developed in the current exploration to predict microstructural-dependent three-dimensional nonlinear large-deflection oscillation response of probabilistic nanocomposite microsized shells considering deviatoric stretch, rotation, and dilatation gradient tensors. To do so, the modified strain gradient theory of mechanics is applied within the three-dimensional elasticity framework. Probabilistic composite microshells are prepared from nanocomposites reinforced by graphene nanofillers dispersed in different checkerboard schemes. Material properties are determined using a combination of the Monte-Carlo simulation and probabilistic-based micromechanical scheme. Thereafter, correct meshfree polynomial-based functions associated with a considered nodding system are applied to satisfy the essential boundary conditions correctly. It is described that the strengthening character corresponding to deviatoric stretch, rotation and dilatation, gradient tensors is stronger for probabilistic composite microshells containing nanofillers with larger aspect ratios and higher volume fractions. Also, a peak is observed for a certain three-dimensional frequency ratio at a specific ratio of the length to radius of the microshell. Considering microstructural gradient tensors, frequency ratio peak appears at a lower ratio of the length to radius of the microshell.
Nasal monkeypox virus infection successfully treated with cidofovir in a patient newly diagnosed with HIV
Authors: Labate Laura , Brucci Giorgia , Ciccarese Giulia , Bruzzone Bianca , Ricucci Valentina , Stefanelli Federica , Delfino Emanuele , Taramasso Lucia , Bassetti Matteo , Di Biagio Antonio
Published: December 2022

Monkeypox (MPXV) usually causes a mild and self-limited infection. To date there are no data about cidofovir for the treatment for MPXV in humans. We report a case of a 25 years-old Brazilian man with a concurrent diagnosis of acute HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection, primary syphilis and MPXV infection with a nasal lesion successfully treated with intravenous cidofovir.
What are we aiming for? Exploring tensions in healthcare provider perspectives on and communications about eating disorder recovery
Authors: LaMarre Andrea , Gilbert Kelsey , Scalise Pamela A.
Published: December 2022

Eating disorder recovery is differently understood in multi-disciplinary healthcare contexts. In this study, we sought to better understand how healthcare providers (HCPs) describe recovery and communicating about recovery. We conducted an anonymous, online, qualitative survey with 41 eating disorder HCPs. In their responses, HCPs noted that communicating about recovery was core to their practice of establishing collaboration and communication with clients, as well as enabling “realistic hope” in clinical encounters. Recovery was described as related to the concept of attaining “normalcy” in life. We identified several tensions across HCP accounts, including what “normalcy” might look like, differences in the role of diagnostic and other contextual factors in determining recovery and different perspectives on how symptom remission figures in recovery. Our findings suggest that attending to differences in communication about recovery is an important direction for eating disorders research and treatment.
Reduced inverse integer-order controller design for a class of fractional-order model: Case study on two-tank liquid-level process
Authors: Yumuk Erhan , Güzelkaya Müjde , Eksin Ibrahim
Published: December 2022

In this study, a reduced inverse integer-order controller design methodology for single fractional-order pole model is proposed. First, the higher integer-order equivalent of this model is found using the Oustaloup approximation to fractional operator. Then, the poles and zeros of the higher integer-order model are determined in terms of fractional-order system model parameters employing characteristic equation format and root-locus idea. The order of the higher integer-order model is reduced using dominant pole–zero couples. The proximity of the pole–zero couples to each other as well as their proximity to the origin is key dominance requirement for order reduction. The controller is obtained inverting the reduced order integer system model in terms of fractional-order system model parameters. The proposed controller is compared with integer and fractional proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controllers using the experiments carried out on two-tank liquid-level process. The real-time experiment outcomes demonstrate that the proposed controller has superior performance over integer and fractional proportional–integral–derivative controllers.
The Principle and Practice of Mahr in Muslim Marriages
Authors: Showkat Arshi
Published: December 2022

Muslim marriages are essentially a contract entered into by two consenting adults. It emphasizes the need to lay down the terms of the contract and also ensures financial safeguards to women getting married. The financial safeguards are provided through provision of Mahr – a payment made or committed by the groom towards the bride at the time of Nikah. This article examines the practice of giving and taking Mahr. The findings of the study suggest a huge difference between the actual prescribed way and the practised way of giving Mahr. Due to lack of awareness among women about their rights and the social and cultural practices dominating the practice, Mahr, instead of being a safeguard, becomes a source of bondage into abusive marriages for women.
Altarplay: A Technology of the Soul
Authors: Guest Deryn
Published: December 2022

This article theorises how home altars can support healing, individuation and personal transformation. It is informed by theory pertaining to Jungian sandplay therapy and Donald Winnicott’s ideas about transitional space and the holding environment. The methodology is grounded in a critical reflexive autobiographical approach that illustrates how altarplay can support the practitioner when negotiating a difficult shift from Christian to postchristian space.
Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Dissenter and Her Work
Authors: Duran Jane
Published: December 2022

It is argued that the thought of Lady Jane Grey has received too little attention, and that her name and beliefs need to be resuscitated. The work of Levin, DeLisle and others is alluded to, and it is concluded that Grey was a devoted Dissenter of her time with explicit beliefs
Enhancement of oil recovery by surfactant-polymer synergy flooding: A review
Authors: An Yuxiu , Yao Xiutian , Zhong Jinpan , Pang Shaocong , Xie Hailong
Published: December 2022

With the depletion of conventional resources, it is necessary to enhance the recovery of remaining oil. The tertiary oil recovery chemical flooding is the most promising for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The use of alkali in chemical flooding produces fouling with the formation, which brings new challenges to chemical flooding EOR. So, alkali-free surfactant-polymer (SP) flooding is used as a new solution for EOR. The polymer makes the displacing fluid have a high viscosity and increases the swept volume. The surfactant can decrease the interfacial tension and emulsify the crude oil while the displacing fluid reaches the corresponding area. The synergistic effect of the two is more conducive to the recovery of the remaining oil. As a result, SP flooding is a more practical approach to enhance oilfield EOR. The research status of several surfactant and polymer types for EOR is reported in this work. According to the study, complex and anionic surfactants are better for EOR. For difficult formations, SP flooding is more suited because of the presence of polymers. Additionally, study analysis demonstrates that SP flooding and alternative polymer injection, when employed at the same cost, can enhance EOR and assist in resolving issues brought on by low oil prices.
How Do Trade and Foreign Investment Affect Wage Patterns: An Empirical Analysis of Indian Organised Manufacturing
Authors: Jadhav Kishor , Arora Kashika
Published: December 2022

This article empirically verifies the impact of trade liberalisation on wage rates in Indian manufacturing industries while controlling for the effects of several industry-specific factors, such as net value added, capital intensity, R&D intensity and foreign direct investment (FDI). This impact is seen in three different employment patterns in India’s organised manufacturing industry—contract vs. regular workers, women vs. men and unskilled vs. skilled workers. The result of a panel analysis using a fixed effect model shows that an industry’s export and import have a positive impact on wage rates. Even, FDI has a considerable favourable impact on the level of wages and wage rates in Indian manufacturing. While technology-related activities such as R&D tend to provide no wage increases or job opportunities for both regular and contract workers.
Supply Chain Collaboration Components Enhancing Firm Performance of Manufacturers in Vietnam: Innovation Capability Moderation
Authors: Nguyen Nguyen Thi Duc , Mai Nguyen Thi Hoang
Published: December 2022

This study aims to investigate the components of supply chain collaboration, their impacts on firm performance, and the moderation of innovation capability on the relationship between supply chain collaboration components and firm performance in the real world of manufacturing companies in Vietnam.

A two-phase approach, including exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in structural equation modelling with the support of SPSS/AMOS 20 is conducted to verify the proposed hypotheses based on supply chain collaboration activities of 241 manufacturing firms in Vietnam under the extended resource-based view—capability-based approach—specifying innovation capability. The results indicate that six supply chain collaboration components—information sharing, goal congruence, joint knowledge creation, incentive alignment, resource sharing, and collaborative communication—have a significant impact on firm performance, while decision synchronisation has no statistically proven impact on firm performance. Particularly, collaborative communication has the greatest positive impact, and innovation capability can considerably alter the positive relationship between supply chain collaboration components and firm performance. Accordingly, manufacturing companies in Vietnam and their supply chain partners should strategically prioritise resources for supply chain collaboration activities and capitalise on potential networks to foster an inter-organizational learning-oriented culture for improving innovation capability and achieving firm performance.
Safety of Bivalirudin Combined with Ticagrelor in the Emergency PCI in Patients with Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Wang Zheng-Dong , Chen Yu-Xiang , Liu Ming , Li Ping , Liang Xiang-Wen , Zhu Xian-Zhang , Xie Wen-Chao , Liao Wang
Published: December 2022

Objective

The present study aimed to investigate the application safety of bivalirudin combined with ticagrelor in the emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods

From October 1, 2018, to December 30, 2019, 210 patients with STEMI admitted to the Department of Cardiology who underwent emergency PCI were randomly divided into the bivalirudin group (group A, N = 105) and the unfractionated heparin group (group B, N = 105). Before the emergency PCI operation after admission, the loading dose of aspirin (300 mg) was given orally, and then 100 mg/d. At the same time, the loading dose of ticagrelor (180 mg) was administered orally, and then 90 mg/bid. The adverse events and the hemorrhage events 30 days after the operation were observed and recorded.

Results

There were five hemorrhage cases in the bivalirudin group, with one case of secondary hemorrhage and four cases of mild hemorrhage. There were 14 hemorrhages in the unfractionated heparin group with one case of secondary hemorrhage and thirteen cases of mild hemorrhage. In terms of mild hemorrhage, the hemorrhage rate in the bivalirudin group was significantly lower than that in the unfractionated heparin group (3.8% vs. 12.4%, P = 0.040). One patient died in the unfractionated heparin group, while no deaths occurred in the bivalirudin group during the thirty days of follow-up. No myocardial infarction, revascularization, or stroke occurred in the two groups within 30 days after the operation.

Conclusion

Compared with unfractionated heparin combined with ticagrelor in patients with STEMI undergoing emergency PCI treatment, bivalirudin combined with ticagrelor could significantly reduce the occurrence of mild hemorrhage events, and it would not increase the incidence of MACE during the 30 days of follow-up.
Cover Letter
Authors: Humphrey Harvey
Published: December 2022

A poem on the endless job hunt for early career sociologists
Use of a photoacoustic needle improves needle tip recognition in a video recording of simulated ultrasound-guided vascular access: A pilot study
Authors: Nakazawa Harumasa , Tokumine Joho , Lefor Alan Kawarai , Yamamoto Katsuya , Karasawa Hiroyuki , Shimazu Keisuke , Yorozu Tomoko
Published: December 2022

Background:

We developed a novel photoacoustic needle, which emits ultrasound produced by the photoacoustic effect. This study focused on the most common “pitfall” associated with placement during ultrasound-guided vascular access, which is misidentification of the needle tip.

Methods:

The study was conducted as a prospective cohort study using a questionnaire. The authors intentionally created two successful and one failed ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization videos using the photoacoustic needle on a simulator. Each of these three videos was then split into two movies for viewing, one with standard ultrasound images only and the second including the images from the photoacoustic needle, for a total of six movies.

Results:

Participants who were 18 anesthesiologists, 12 residents, and 10 medical students, watched each of the six movies and completed a survey whether the puncture was successful or not. In the results, there was a significant difference in the percentage of correct answers whether the movie depicted successful or failed puncture with and without the photoacoustic ultrasound ( p = 0.0001).

Conclusion:

The novel photoacoustic needle improved the ability to identify the needle tip on recorded videos. It may have efficacy to prevent serious mechanical complication during the ultrasound-guided vascular access in clinical practice.
Mal-positioning of a dialysis catheter: One lumen with arterial blood and the other with venous blood?
Authors: Ávila Gonçalo , Matias Patrícia , Marques Luís , Laranjinha Ivo , Carvalho Tiago , Mendes Artur , Gil Célia
Published: December 2022

Partial anomalous pulmonary vein drainage is a rare congenital defect, where the pulmonary vein drains into a systemic vein instead of draining into the left atrium. We present a case of a 63-year-old woman on hemodialysis who was found to have a right pulmonary vein with anomalous drainage to the superior vena cava after mal-positioning of a dialysis catheter, which demonstrated unexpected blood results from the different lumina of the catheter. Multiple imaging techniques were used to deal with this rare clinical situation. This is the first case reporting a mal-positioning of a left-side internal jugular vein tunneled catheter into a right-side pulmonary vein.
Case report: Arteriovenous graft for hemodialysis using abdominal vessels
Authors: Filippo Márcio Gomes , Melo Maria Fernanda Di Guimarães Gonçalves , da Silva Deborah Moraes , Nunes Maria Augusta de Jesus , Chun Judy Soares Suk , Maia Ana Beatriz de Almeida Porto , Furtado Ana Luísa Marinho , Kimura Lucca Hiroshi de Sá , Alves Hugo Farah Affonso
Published: December 2022

The improvement of dialysis therapy and clinical support has increased the life expectancy of patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) over the last years. However, in Brazil, the renal transplant rate cannot follow this growth. This fact, in association with the unavailability of adequate healthcare services in the country, substantially enlarges the use of dual lumen catheters and, consequently, access-related complications. The result is a high rate of patients with access failure, which brings a challenge: how to maintain dialysis in this group? This case report describes a non-conventional surgical approach to create a definite access using abdominal vessels, in an end stage vascular access patient.
Hemodialysis Arteriovenous Access Cosmesis Scale (AVACS): A new measure for vascular access
Authors: Yuo Theodore H , Kim Charles Y , Rajan Dheeraj K , Niyyar Vandana D , Murea Marianna , Dillavou Ellen D , Bream Jr Peter R , Dinwiddie Lesley C , Hohmann Stephen E , Woo Karen , Vachharajani Tushar , Roberts Cynthia , Gooden Christie , Wright George WJ , Hogan Andrew J , Ferko Nicole C , Kahle Erin , Clynes Diana , Lok Charmaine E
Published: December 2022

Rationale and objective:

This study aimed to develop a cosmesis scale to evaluate the cosmetic appearance of hemodialysis (HD) arteriovenous (AV) accesses from the perspective of the patient and clinician, which could be incorporated into clinical trials.

Study design:

Using a modified Delphi process, two AV access cosmesis scale (AVACS) components were developed in a four-round Delphi panel consisting of two surveys and two consensus meetings with two rounds of patient consultation.

Setting and participants:

The Delphi panel consisted of 15 voting members including five interventional or general nephrologists, five vascular surgeons, three interventional radiologists, and two vascular access nurse coordinators. Four patients experienced with vascular access were involved in patient question development.

Analytical approach:

For a component to be included in the AVACS, it had to meet the prespecified panel consensus agreement of ⩾70%.

Results:

The clinician component of the AVACS includes nine questions on the following AV access features: scarring, skin discoloration, aneurysm/pseudoaneurysms and megafistula appearance. The patient component includes six questions about future vascular access decisions, interference with work or leisure activities, clothing choices, self-consciousness or attractiveness, emotional impact, and overall appearance.

Limitations:

Delphi panel methods are subjective by design, but with expert clinical opinion are used to develop classification systems and outcome measures. The developed scale requires further validation testing but is available for clinical trial use.

Conclusions:

While safety and efficacy are the primary concerns when evaluating AV access for HD, cosmesis is an important component of the ESKD patient experience. The AVACS has been designed to assess this important domain; it can be used to facilitate patient care and education about vascular access choice and maintenance. AVACS can also be used to inform future research on developing new techniques for AV access creation and maintenance, particularly as relates to AV access cosmesis.
Doppler ultrasound assessment of calcified radial arteries prior to radio-cephalic arterio-venous fistula placement: an observational study
Authors: Gubensek Jakob
Published: December 2022

Background:

In elderly and diabetic patients, arterial calcifications are prevalent and result in worse outcomes of arterio-venous fistulas (AVFs). Optimal ultrasound criteria for assessment of calcified arteries are unknown. We report our experience with ultrasound assessment of calcified arteries prior to placement of radio-cephalic (RC) AVFs.

Material and methods:

We included 85 patients in whom a RC-AVF placement was planned. Patients were divided according to the presence of radial artery calcifications into a calcified group (moderate/severe calcifications, N = 18) and control group (no changes/mild atherosclerosis, N = 67). Doppler ultrasound parameters were analyzed in the calcified group with focus on assessment of the artery, including grading of calcifications and Doppler measurements at rest and during reactive hyperemia (RH).

Results:

In the calcified group mean patients’ age was 72 ± 11 years, 72% were diabetics, mean resistance index (RI) during RH was 0.78 ± 0.09 (range 0.63–0.90). In 14 (78%) patients an AVF was successfully placed and in 12 it matured (67% maturation rate). A lower RI at rest was observed in the primary failure sub-group with high area under the ROC curve (0.89) and a cut-off value of 0.90 for RI. There was no difference in RI at RH between failed and matured AVFs. 1-year secondary patency was 66% and in eight patients with follow-up ultrasound available, blood flow was 350–1300 ml/min. For comparison, in the control group a radio-cephalic AVF was placed in all patients, primary failure rate was 6%, maturation rate 85% and 1-year secondary patency was 77%.

Conclusions:

Our very limited experience suggests that successful RC-AVF placement and maturation with good 1-year patency rates is possible in patients with moderately/severely calcified arteries and RI during RH of up to 0.90.
The Biological Causes and Consequences of COVID-19: ACE I/D Polymorphism and In-Silico Screening of Potential Bioactive Phytochemicals Against COVID-19
Authors: Hussain Nageen , Adil Muhammad , Mumtaz Mohsin , Waseem Muhammad
Published: December 2022

The “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome” (SARS), which has relation to the coronavirus-2 considered to be a major cause of the disease addressed by COVID-19. COVID-19 requires the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2), which is considered to be the target receptor of the host cells. The intention of this practical research study was to observe ACE I/D polymorphism association with COVID-19 and also the in-silico screening of potential phytochemicals against COVID-19. This study incorporated total of 320 blood samples; of which 160 were collected from COVID-19 patients and 160 were collected from healthy controls. DNA extraction was conducted from whole genomic blood and afterward, the banding patterns of ACE polymorphism were identified by the application of a nested polymerase chain reaction. A significant discrepancy was recorded in the frequency of insertion/deletion (ID) and homozygous deletion (DD) between controls and patients. The frequency reported for ID was just 10% and that of DD (genetic constitution) was 90%. Predictably, a 100% DD genetic constitution was shown by all the controls. The inference of this study was that the DD genotype has a greater prevalence in COVID-19 as compared to II and ID. In-silico screening of potential phytochemicals against COVID-19 is very effective in its concentrated form showing no or fewer side effects and can be used as a drug against COVID-19 spike protein blockage to inhibit the interaction between ACE-2 receptors. The highest affinity and lowest binding energy were observed by Dictaminine.