bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“Guys don’t see me as beautiful... I’m too much, too different, not normal”: Romantic relationships through the lens of Black women with experience of anorexia
Authors: Duncan Lauren J. , Josselin Daphne
Published: December 2024

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study aimed to explore the experiences of romantic relationships among nine British Black women who have had Anorexia Nervosa (AN), seeking to develop a greater sensitivity as to how the illness can intersect with the impact of race, culture, and interpersonal factors. The findings highlight that Black women who have had AN can experience strong ambivalence about romantic relationships and that this is linked to several factors, including low self-esteem (LSE), conflicting feelings towards sexual intimacy and one’s body, and wariness of trust. The findings speak to the complexities involved in navigating boundaries in romantic relationships and highlight how AN can be experienced as not only a barrier to, but at times, perhaps more unexpectedly, also a facilitator of, intimacy. The study highlights how race and culture can conflate with the illness and risk isolating Black women in ways quite specific to them. This research can help support ethical practice by demonstrating a greater awareness of the diversity in individuals’ experiences, including those from socially disadvantaged groups whose voices have historically been silenced.
Piloting Market Food Environment Assessments in LMICs: A Feasibility Assessment and Lessons Learned
Authors: Downs Shauna , Warne Teresa , McClung Sarah , Vogliano Chris , Alexander Noni , Kennedy Gina , Ahmed Selena , Crum Jennifer
Published: December 2024

Background

Food environments are rapidly changing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), leading to dietary shifts. Many gaps exist in the measurement of food environments in LMICs making it difficult to characterize the linkages between food environments and diets.

Objective

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of implementing USAID Advancing Nutrition's Market Food Environment Assessment (MFEA)—a suite of 7 non-resource intensive food environment assessments.

Methods

We implemented the MFEA package in 4 countries (Liberia, Honduras, Nigeria, and Timor-Leste) and assessed the feasibility of implementing the package by conducting a descriptive analysis, using both qualitative and quantitative data of enumerators’ feedback collected through training evaluations, feedback forms, detailed notes from meetings, and final reports from in-country partners.

Results

Overall, we found it feasible to implement the MFEA, some assessments being easier to implement and more practical than others. Several key themes related to the MFEA implementation were identified across the countries, including: the potential for vendors to be hesitant to engage in assessments; the importance of ascertaining buy-in from local officials; the need to shift toward electronic, rather than paper-based, data collection; difficulties in selecting markets; the time constraints of conducting some of the assessments; and the need for better alignment between the instructions, data collection, and data analysis sheets.

Conclusions

The package of food environment assessments, with minimal additional refinement, can be used to characterize market food environments in LMIC settings to inform context-specific interventions.

Testing the feasibility of implementing a package of 7 assessments to measure factors influencing food access in low-resource settings
An Analysis and Evaluation of Basic Needs Theory and Transition Theory
Authors: Black Dorn Wendy
Published: December 2024

Academic clinical nurse educators are valued for their current clinical expertise; however, they often have little training in pedagogy. Current research has focused on strategies to improve orientation, support, confidence, and retention. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and evaluate transition theory and basic needs theory as they relate to the phenomenon of becoming a clinical instructor. After analysis and review, basic needs theory was determined to be a useful, parsimonious theory to examine the phenomenon of becoming a clinical instructor and may allow for developing interventions to increase the intrinsic motivation of academic clinical nurse educators.
Hope and Expanding Consciousness: Adolescents and Young Adults With Advanced Cancer
Authors: Bennett C. Robert , Coats Heather L. , Hendricks-Ferguson Verna L. , Willis Danny G. , Sousa Karen H.
Published: December 2024

Adolescents and young adults living with advanced cancer must often discover new rules for living during cancer treatment. Such experiences may lead them to emerge to higher levels of consciousness and find personal meaning in these experiences. Newman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness was this qualitative research study’s framework examining hope’s role for adolescents and young adults living with advanced cancer. Fifteen participants aged 12-21 years created written narratives and illustrations to describe their experiences with hope. We propose an updated theoretical model in which hope facilitates expanding consciousness in adolescents and young adults living with advanced cancer.
Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory with Persons with Peripheral Artery Disease: A Mixed Method Study
Authors: Kalkan Nevra , Karadağ Mevlude
Published: December 2024

This study was conducted to determine the effects of an algorithm training booklet, which was based on Orem’s self-care deficit nursing theory, specific to lower extremity peripheral artery disease, on pain, activities of daily living, self-care agency, walking distance, quality of life, and other symptoms. This mixed-method study included a qualitative stage using face-to-face in-depth individual interviews and a pretest–posttest semiexperimental design quantitative stage. In-depth interviews were conducted to highlight self-care needs and symptoms and to create the booklet. The booklet’s content was prepared in line with concepts of Orem’s theory. The patients were educated with the direction of the booklet and evaluated on outcomes. The data were evaluated using percentage distribution, means, Mann-Whitney U test, and Friedman test. Three categories were identified through the thematic analysis. It was determined that patients had lower pain score and higher activities of daily living, self-care, walking distance, and quality of life scores after the training.
Living on the Edge: Paradoxical Experiences with Ethics (Reprinted with permission)
Authors: Milton Constance L.
Published: December 2024

Paradox is living phenomenon that provides insights into straight thinking and diverse human experiences important to the discipline of nursing from a nursing philosophical theory-based approach. The author here delves into the metaphorical experience of living on the edge and the paradoxical concepts that assist the discipline in its thinking about artificial intelligence. Possible ethical implications of utilizing artificial intelligence from a humanbecoming ethos of understanding is utilized. The metaphorical implications for future disciplinary priorities are presented.
The challenges in lymphogranuloma venereum diagnosis whether NAAT is negative, a case series
Authors: Malec Igor , Vanstokstraeten Robin , Van Honacker Eveline , Lefesvre Pierre , Wilmes Dunja , Van Damme Kathleen , Moretti Marco
Published: December 2024

Background

Persistent inguinal lymphadenopathy can range from benign to malignant causes. Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), a sexually transmitted infection (STI), is a possible cause, particularly in individuals engaged in sexual practices associated with a higher likelihood of transmitting STIs. This case series outlines the diagnostic challenges of LGV.

Case Presentation

Two male patients, aged 36 and 48, with sexual practices associated with an elevated risk of STI transmission, presented with inguinal lymphadenopathy. Initial investigations, including rectal and genital nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for STIs, were negative. Patient one underwent two fine-needle aspirations, both inconclusive. An excisional biopsy later confirmed LGV through a positive NAAT for Chlamydia trachomatis and consistent pathology. The diagnosis took several years, included three PET scans, and was complicated by a surgical site infection with Staphylococcus aureus. Patient 2, despite negative NAAT results, was empirically treated for LGV based on clinical suspicion, with resolution after doxycycline.

Intervention and Outcome

Both patients improved significantly with doxycycline. Retrospective serology showed elevated Chlamydia trachomatis IgG titers, supporting this diagnosis.

Conclusion

This case series emphasizes the need to consider LGV in patients with persistent lymphadenopathy and sexual practices that may increase the likelihood of STIs.
Testing the equality of response rate functions for paired binary data with multiple groups
Authors: Liu Yufei , Li Zhiming , Mou Keyi , Du Junhong
Published: December 2024

In clinical trials, we often encounter observations from patients’ paired organs. In paired correlated data, there exist various measures to evaluate the therapeutic responses, such as risk difference, relative risk ratio, and odds ratio. These measures are essentially some forms of response rate functions. Based on this point, this article aims to test the equality of response rate functions such that the homogeneity tests of the above measures are special cases. Under an interclass correlation model, the global and constrained maximum likelihood estimations are obtained through algorithms. Furthermore, we construct likelihood ratio, score, and Wald-type statistics and provide the explicit expressions of the corresponding tests based on the risk difference, relative risk ratio, and odds ratio. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to compare the performance of the proposed methods in terms of the empirical type I error rates and powers. The results show that the score tests perform satisfactorily as their type I error rates are close to the specified nominal level, followed by the likelihood ratio test. The Wald-type tests exhibit poor performance, especially for small sample sizes. A real example is given to illustrate the three proposed test statistics.
Hierarchical selection of genetic and gene by environment interaction effects in high-dimensional mixed models
Authors: St-Pierre Julien , Oualkacha Karim , Rai Bhatnagar Sahir
Published: December 2024

Interactions between genes and environmental factors may play a key role in the etiology of many common disorders. Several regularized generalized linear models have been proposed for hierarchical selection of gene by environment interaction effects, where a gene-environment interaction effect is selected only if the corresponding genetic main effect is also selected in the model. However, none of these methods allow to include random effects to account for population structure, subject relatedness and shared environmental exposure. In this article, we develop a unified approach based on regularized penalized quasi-likelihood estimation to perform hierarchical selection of gene-environment interaction effects in sparse regularized mixed models. We compare the selection and prediction accuracy of our proposed model with existing methods through simulations under the presence of population structure and shared environmental exposure. We show that for all simulation scenarios, including and additional random effect to account for the shared environmental exposure reduces the false positive rate and false discovery rate of our proposed method for selection of both gene-environment interaction and main effects. Using the [Formula: see text] score as a balanced measure of the false discovery rate and true positive rate, we further show that in the hierarchical simulation scenarios, our method outperforms other methods for retrieving important gene-environment interaction effects. Finally, we apply our method to a real data application using the Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment (OPPERA) study, and found that our method retrieves previously reported significant loci.
Living with a Sense of a Right to Hope
Authors: Trotter Sarah
Published: December 2024

This is an essay about the idea of a right to hope. It asks: what might it mean, to construct hope as a right in this way, to live with hope in this way? I come to these questions through law, and in particular through the notion of the ‘right to hope’ articulated by the European Court of Human Rights in recent years. Discussions of this have tended to stay within the legal literature, but in this essay I suggest that an analysis of the construction of the right to hope in European human rights law opens up a distinction that takes us beyond law: a distinction between living with an idea of a right to hope and living with a sense of a right to hope. How might we think about this distinction? How might we think with this distinction? And what might it mean, to live with a sense of a right to hope? The essay examines these questions and reflects on the way of thinking and relating that the very notion of living with a sense of a right to hope implies.
Effects of Role-Play Simulation-Based Case Studies on Motivation and Learning Strategies in Healthcare Sciences: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: BOURIAMI Asma , BOUSSAA Samia , EL ADIB Ahmed Rhassane
Published: December 2024

Background

Since the introduction of active teaching methods, health science education has undergone considerable transformation. These methods help students become more motivated and develop communication, analytical and critical thinking skills, which influence students' learning practices.

Aim

The objective of this study is to evaluate effects of role-play simulation-based case studies on motivation and learning strategies among health sciences.

Methods

One hundred sixty-two students participated in this randomized trial. Students in the control group (n = 86) attended traditional interactive lectures, whereas students in the experimental group (n = 76) participated in role-play simulation-based case studies. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was administered both before and after educational intervention for both groups.

Results

Compared to the control group, the scores of the experimental group are higher for Intrinsic goal orientation, Task value, Self-efficacy for learning and performance, Metacognitive self-regulation, Elaboration and critical thinking, Peer learning and help seeking (p< 0,001). In addition, we observed a positive association between role-play simulation-based case studies and Post-test sore of MLSQ for Task value, Self-efficacy for learning and performance, and Peer learning and help seeking (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The study findings support the use of role-play simulation-based case studies in improving the motivation significantly and changing learning strategies for health care students. This active method can be recommended as a promising method for teaching health science.
Managing workplace hazards and environmental contaminants for promoting green human resource management and health and safety in developing economies
Authors: Javaid Muhammad Umair , Farooq Saba , Arshad Muhammad Zulqarnain , Ibikunle Afeez Kayode , Ibrahim Aidarus Mohamed
Published: December 2024

Background

At a global scale, the impact of the manufacturing sector on the environment has led to the increased demand for the sustainable practices and strategies that help the businesses achieve environmental, social, and economic objectives particularly within the context of developing economies.

Objective

This paper addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between employees and firms’ environmental performance in the manufacturing sector operating in a developing country, Pakistan—where the environmental focus is sparse and organizational structures rarely follow cross-functional systems.

Methods

Quantitative research was employed and SmartPLS technique was used to test the theoretical model with a valid response rate of 77 percent of senior and middle-level managers of manufacturing firms.

Results

Results revealed the significance of green HRM as direct effect with all constructs. And internal environment management mediates the relationship (β = 0.158; t­-value = 3.458; p < 0.05; lower level = 0.077; upper level = 0.258) between green HRM and green health and Safety.

Conclusion

For sustainable performance, firms must transform their human resource into an environmentally responsible asset. Our findings provide practical implications for the managers of manufacturing firms where ethical monitoring of environmental management must be the prime concern of these firms.
Developing an observational technique for agricultural ergonomics risk assessment (AERA)
Authors: Akkeesuwan Anuwat , Pochana Klangduen , Chaiprapat Supapan
Published: December 2024

Background

Ergonomics risk assessment tools are vital for evaluating awkward postures in various industries, with a primary focus on biomechanical factors. However, existing observational techniques often fail to meet specific postural loading criteria or are inadequate to establish validity, especially in agricultural settings. Enhancements in these tools have been guided by extensive literature reviews.

Objective

This study aimed to develop a new assessment tool, the Agricultural Ergonomics Risk Assessment (AERA), by utilizing electromyography (EMG) to classify postural loads and prioritize risks.

Method

This paper describes an experimental study utilizing EMG to analyze postural loads, emphasizing biomechanical factors and including an evaluation of individual and occupational risk factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The validity and reliability of AERA were assessed by five experts and thirty evaluators.

Results

The study revealed strong effects of varying loads and postures on muscle activation. A key finding was the application of biomechanical factors to assess risk levels associated with awkward postures, especially regarding the prevalence of MSD in the neck, trunk, and arm regions. The evaluation indicated a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.97 for precision in content validity of risk assessment criteria. Reliability tests comparing AERA with OWAS, RULA, and REBA yielded Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.99, 0.84, 0.93, and 0.88, respectively.

Conclusion

AERA's evaluation criteria incorporating specific and comprehensive risk factors produced the highest levels of test-retest reliability, making it a valuable screening tool for the agricultural sector.
The effect of basic psychological needs on healthcare professionals’ work-related psychological outcomes
Authors: Grinberg Eldad , Nachoum Reut , Kanat-Maymon Yaniv
Published: December 2024

Background

self-determination theory (SDT) posits that the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness affects employees’ work-related psychological outcomes. Despite the wealth of studies addressing SDT in the workplace domain, little is known of the effect of each basic need to the work-related psychological outcomes of healthcare workers.

Objective

To evaluate the relative effect of each basic psychological need to occupational and physical therapists’ work-related psychological outcomes.

Methods

Participants were 152 occupational and physical therapists who completed questionnaires tapping basic psychological needs satisfaction, well-being, work meaning, work satisfaction and compassion fatigue. A series of linear regressions were performed.

Results

Competence, relatedness toward co-workers, and relatedness toward patients were positive predictors of occupational and physical therapists’ mental well-being. Autonomy and competence predicted job satisfaction. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness toward patients predicted work meaning. Autonomy and competence were significant negative predictors of compassion fatigue.

Conclusions

Study results demonstrate each basic psychological need makes its own influence to different psychological outcomes, highlighting the importance of supporting all three needs.
Effects of botulinum toxin on paraspinal muscle imbalance during spinal motions in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis: Assessment using high-density electromyography
Authors: Wang Wei , Huang Jianping , Wang Jun , Yang Wanzhang , Li Guanglin
Published: December 2024

Background

The pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) remains unclear, with muscle imbalance being a widely discussed hypothesis.

Objective

This study examined the impact of muscle imbalance on AIS by injecting botulinum toxin A (BTX) into patients’ unilateral muscles and investigating altered back muscle synergies.

Methods

Three AIS patients received BTX injections in the concave-side paraspinal muscles. High-density electromyogram arrays placed from T8 to L4 recorded signals during five spinal motions at four timepoints (one pre-BTX and three post-BTX). Muscle synergies were extracted using non-negative matrix factorization and compared with data from ten healthy and ten AIS subjects from our previous studies.

Results

Post-BTX, muscle activity maps during flexion/extension, sitting, and standing exhibited reduced symmetry, with concave/convex ratios decreasing and being statistically lower than those of healthy subjects at post-2 and post-3 follow-ups ( p < 0.01). Muscles on the dominant side during lateral bending or axial rotation demonstrated decreased activation and differently distributed center of gravity positions on synergy maps compared to healthy subjects at all timepoints ( p < 0.05). Post-BTX changes were particularly notable for the patient with mild deformity.

Conclusions

BTX affected the activation of paraspinal muscles, providing insights into the role of muscle imbalance in AIS and informing future therapeutic strategies.
Two Heads Are Better than One: Task Division and Decision Control in Inventory Planning
Authors: Park Young Soo , Lee Yun Shin , Siemsen Enno
Published: December 2024

We examine when and how task division improves performance for inventory planning. Specifically, we consider a decentralized inventory management context with two interdependent subtasks: preparing a forecast and setting a service level. Using a behavioral experiment, we reveal that the task challenge moderates the relationship between task division and performance. Our findings indicate that task division improves performance when the task becomes more challenging, such as under high demand uncertainty. It facilitates counteracting behavior, where individuals adjust their decisions to counterbalance their partner's errors, leading to more stabilized final decisions. We identify this counteracting behavior as a critical mechanism driving the benefits of task division, mainly when subtasks are interdependent. We demonstrate the robustness of our findings by examining an egalitarian system, where decision-making authority is shared among team members, and a hierarchical system, where decision control resides entirely with one team member.
Evaluation of the Incidence of Nocardia Infection in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients on Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole for Opportunistic Infection Prophylaxis
Authors: Jung Regina , Au Jenny , Burnell Jacqueline , Diamond Adam , Shah Ishani , Ruggia-Check Christina
Published: December 2024

Background:

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is the preferred prophylactic agent for Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP) and toxoplasmosis after solid organ transplant (SOT). Compared with other agents, it has additional activity against Nocardia species.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of Nocardia infection in SOT patients receiving TMP-SMX or an alternative agent for opportunistic infection (OI) prophylaxis.

Methods:

This retrospective analysis included transplant recipients at a large urban medical center over a period of 4 years. All patients received either TMP-SMX or an alternative agent for PJP prophylaxis. The primary outcome was the incidence of Nocardia infection within 24 months posttransplant. Secondary outcomes included resistance rates of Nocardia isolates, usage rates of alternative prophylactic agents, reasons for using alternative agents, and rate of conversion from an alternative agent back to TMP-SMX.

Results:

A total of 791 adult SOT recipients who received PJP or toxoplasmosis prophylaxis were included. Mean age at transplantation was 60.9 years with the majority of patients being male (67.3%) lung transplant recipients (63.6%). TMP-SMX was the most commonly used initial prophylactic agent (84.6%), followed by atovaquone (15.4%). Of the 791 SOT recipients, 16 (2.0%) were diagnosed with nocardiosis within 24 months posttransplant. Patients receiving alternative agents had a higher incidence of infection compared with those receiving TMP-SMX prophylaxis ( P < 0.001).

Conclusion and Relevance:

Our findings suggest that OI prophylaxis with TMP-SMX may be protective against nocardiosis in SOT recipients. If possible, patients who are switched to an alternative agent due to TMP-SMX intolerance should be re-challenged when the adverse effect resolves. Most patients in our study were able to tolerate re-initiation, suggesting that the adverse effects associated with TMP-SMX may be temporary and may not warrant discontinuation.
Vibration response of small-scaled FG-CNTRC sandwich plates with MR fluid core supported by Kerr elastic substance
Authors: Mosayyebi Mohammad , Ashenai Ghasemi Faramarz , Kolahchi Reza
Published: December 2024

The current work is a continuation of the previous work by proposing the refined zigzag theory (RZT) for the vibration response of the micro sandwich plate. The face sheets of this structure are magnetostrictive and reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) in four different patterns (FG-AV, FG-O, FG-X, and UD) following the rule of mixtures (ROM). The core material contains magnetorheological (MR) fluid which can work as a damper under a magnetic field. The micro sandwich plate is supported by an elastic substance utilizing the Kerr model. Additionally, the modified couple stress theory (MCST) is employed to predict size effects, and the magnetostrictive material (MsM) properties are considered viscoelastic based on the Kelvin–Voigt model. The Hamilton principle is applied to derive the size-dependent equations of motion. Then, an analytical solution is presented to evaluate the efficacies of various parameters including the volume fractions and the functional arrangement of carbon nanotubes, the geometrical aspect ratio of the system, the magnetic field intensity, the type of MR fluid, the small-scale parameter, damping coefficients of the system, and the elastic medium. Consequently, 29% increase in the dimensionless frequency for [Formula: see text] is indicated when the small scale changes from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. This research can be contributed to the design and optimization of systems that use micro sandwich plates, addressing practical and essential engineering considerations.
Treatment of patellar luxation with polyethylene sulcal ridge prostheses in 44 feline stifles: a retrospective study
Authors: Mills Jon , Jaworski Janusz , Hargittai Tamir
Published: December 2024

Objectives

The aim of this study was to assess the complication rates and long-term outcomes, as well as to refine case selection criteria for cats undergoing trochlear ridge augmentation (TRA) using an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene implant (UHMWPEI) for the treatment of patellar luxation (PL).

Methods

The clinical records from two referral veterinary hospitals were searched for cases that fitted defined inclusion criteria. A short-term assessment was based on examination and radiography at 8 weeks postoperatively. The long-term assessment was carried out at least 2 years postoperatively through examination and radiography, and less commonly via questionnaire.

Results

A total of 44 stifles in 39 patients with PL grade 2 (n = 19), 3 (n = 22) or 4 (n = 3) met the inclusion criteria. TRA using UHMWPEI was associated with minor complications in 20% of cases and major complications in 7% of cases. Minor complications included seroma formation (n = 5), superficial wound infection (n = 2), prolonged discomfort for a few weeks postoperatively (n = 1) and transient postoperative azotaemia (n = 1). After surgical correction of medial PL, one skeletally immature case developed transient grade 1 lateral PL, which resolved without intervention. Major complications comprised implant removal for ongoing lameness (n = 3). Degenerative joint disease, with mineralisation that was often marked, was noted in 26/35 (74%) cases that were available for radiographic follow-up 2 years or more after TRA. Nevertheless, good or very good long-term functional outcomes were achieved for 93% of cases.

Conclusions and relevance

The currently available UHMWPEIs were shown to be suitable for treating PL grades 2, 3 or 4 in cats weighing ⩾3 kg. Delaying TRA until growth is completed is advised. The long-term follow-up suggested that the correction of PL in cats with UHMWPEI was sustained and that good function could be expected in the long term. Mineralisation overlying implants was common, but this was not appreciably correlated with adverse functional consequences.
Vibro-acoustic behavior of partially submerged composite sandwich plates with negative Poisson’s ratio grids
Authors: Qi Wenchao , Wang Xianzhong , Yu Min , Jiang Quanzhou , Xu Longlong , Wang Weiwei , Gao Bangzheng , Zhan Bixin
Published: December 2024

Composite sandwich structures demonstrate significant potential for applications in Marine structures due to their corrosion resistance, high specific strength, and lightweight characteristics. This paper explores the underwater vibro-acoustic characteristics of composite sandwich plates featuring negative Poisson’s ratio grids. The composite sandwich plate comprises orthotropic carbon fiber and glass fiber laminates, along with a periodic grating structure. The fundamental units of the grating structure are star grids, chiral grids, and concave hexagonal grids, respectively. The vibration and noise reduction performance of the negative Poisson ratio composite sandwich plate is affirmed through comparison with the traditional regular hexagonal composite sandwich plate. The chiral and concave hexagonal grids demonstrate outstanding noise reduction capabilities, achieving up to 25 dB, though their vibration damping performance is poor. In contrast, the star grid still exhibits high acoustic response peaks but maintains a relatively stable vibration damping performance of around 5 dB. Finally, the paper explores the effects of different parameters on the vibro-acoustic behavior of composite sandwich plates with negative Poisson ratio grids, including cell equivalent Poisson ratio, panel layup angle, and plate curvature.
The digital transformation of party membership: How party members perceive online participation and adapt to it under pandemic circumstances
Authors: Ziegler Stine , Borucki Isabelle , Weissenbach Kristina
Published: December 2024

Analysing the effects of digital transformation on politics is a vast and fast-growing research field. We contribute to this research by assessing how party members perceived enforced digitalisation during the COVID-19 pandemic and how this affected their (non-)participation. Based on the DigiPM party member survey data, we investigate how individuals perceived participating in their organisations and how they dealt with peculiarities through the pandemic. The study provides insights into how the pandemic as an external shock is processed within parties and the role that routinised party-internal practices play in this regard. Methodologically, the article draws on bivariate analysis and multivariate regression models to explain stable member activity during the pandemic. Through this analysis, we contribute to the discussion on party membership change and the digital transformation of party organisations. Our analyses confirm the assumptions that the pandemic enforced digitalisation in German parties and changed party members’ engagement. Further, the results draw attention to the importance of intra-party socialisation for member participation.
The solar radiation induced spatiotemporal temperature distribution and time-varying temperature effect in long-span ballastless track continuous beam-arch bridge
Authors: Sheng Xingwang , Lin Chao , Zheng Weiqi , Li Yanji , Chen Zoujie
Published: December 2024

The influence of a time-varying temperature environment on the mechanical performance and geometric alignment of long-span ballastless track continuous beam-arch bridge is significant. However, the structural temperature loads are often simplified into a single mode, making it difficult to accurately simulate the evolution of geometric alignment of long-span ballastless track continuous beam-arch bridge under time-varying temperature effects. To explore the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of temperature fields and the evolution patterns of track geometric alignment in long-span ballastless track continuous beam-arch bridge, a refined analysis model for the time-varying temperature field is established incorporating ray tracing methods and real-time shadow techniques. Combining the temperature experiment results, the spatiotemporal distribution characteristic and evolution patterns of temperature across the bridge system and key sections are explored. Building on this foundation, the evolution of track geometric alignment on the bridge is analyzed, and the measures for controlling track geometric alignment are proposed. The research findings indicate that the surface temperature of the structure undergoes periodic changes throughout the day, and the orientation of the bridge significantly influences the temperature field of the beam-track structure. The vertical displacement extremes of the ballastless track on the bridge are positively correlated with the structural temperature. The track maintenance moments affect the track alignment on the bridge, but the extreme deformation of the ballastless track and the temporal variation pattern of the structural system temperature remain consistent. To minimize irregularities in the ballastless track geometric alignment on the bridge, adjustments to the track position during high-speed railway maintenance window should choose the moments close to the daily average temperature, aiming to decrease the effects of time-varying temperature on track irregularity.
Interleukin-4 promotes the clearance of amyloid-β by monocyte through enhancing the recognition and intracellular processing of amyloid-β
Authors: Chen Si-Han , Cheng Yuan , Wang Yan-Jiang , Ji Yi-Fei
Published: December 2024

Background

Impaired clearance of amyloid-β protein (Aβ) in the peripheral system is a crucial event in the pathogenesis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dysfunctional monocytes with deficient clearance of Aβ and increased secretion of pro-inflammatory factors in the periphery are considered to contribute to AD development. Multiple studies suggest that IL-4 can inhibit the inflammatory response and enhance the expression and activity of cathepsin protease associated with intracellular clearance of Aβ by monocytes.

Objective

To investigate the effects of interleukin-4 (IL-4) on Aβ clearance and inflammatory response of monocytes in vitro.

Methods

In this study, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy and ELISA techniques were used for measurement of Aβ clearance and its related mechanisms of monocytes.

Results

We found that the mean intracellular content and uptake ratios of Aβ42 in total monocytes, as well as in the CD14 + CD16− subset, were enhanced by IL-4, concomitant with the degradation of Aβ42 by monocytes. And IL-4 treatment also increased expression of scavenger receptor CD36 and Macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (MSR1) on monocytes. It was shown that IL-4 increased the Aβ immunoreactive area within lysosomal markers, including early endosome antigen 1 (EEA1), lysosome-associated membrane glycoprotein 1 and 2 (LAMP1 and 2) and Aβ degradative enzymes cathepsin B and S in monocytes, but reduced secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) by monocytes.

Conclusions

Our study supports the role of IL-4 in regulating Aβ clearance and inflammatory response by monocytes, suggesting that IL-4 may have therapeutic potential for AD.
The platformization of music production: How digital audio workstations are turned into platforms of labor market relations
Authors: Kjus Yngvar
Published: December 2024

Recent decades have seen the proliferation of digital music production technologies, led by digital audio workstations (DAWs) such as Pro Tools and Live. The companies behind them, including Avid and Ableton, resemble music distributors in their ongoing process of platformization—that is, in making themselves the foundation of an increasing range of interactions and transactions. The article discusses economic, social, and cultural aspects of platformization before zooming in on key DAW enterprises and the ways in which they have extended their presence across adjacent markets, including record production, live performance, audiovisual media, instrument manufacturing, sample sales, and music education. These companies have gone beyond selling tools to reorganizing the music industry and rearticulating what is needed to prevail in it, thereby intervening in labor market relations in ways that should not remain hidden “backstage.”
The Third Sector’s contribution to the implementation of adult education policies
Authors: Di Rienzo Paolo , Serra Giovanni , De Blasis Maria Caterina
Published: December 2024

The European Union’s policies on lifelong learning, initiated in the 1990s, have significantly influenced the development of Italy’s legislative framework in this area. This paper presents the key findings from a series of collaborative research projects conducted between Roma Tre University and the National Forum of the Third Sector. Undertaken between 2016 and 2023, these participatory studies focused on experiential learning among individuals employed within these organisations, as well as methodologies for competence recognition. The research on experiential learning has elucidated that all human activities can serve as learning opportunities, provided individuals engage in reflective practices to derive meaning from them. Within the contexts of lifelong and lifewide learning, the validation of non-formal and informal learning offers significant benefits for adults, fostering personal, social, civic, and occupational development, while reducing barriers to re-entry into formal education systems. For initiatives within non-profit organisations aimed at facilitating validation processes, a deeper understanding of the competences cultivated through such experiences is essential. The presence of recognised standards is deemed a crucial formal prerequisite for validation. The frameworks emerging from the presented studies demonstrate that activities within the Third Sector primarily promote the development of transferable competences, crucial for both enhancing technical–professional skills and fostering conscientious and proficient conduct in social and civic engagement. In this context, engagement in the Third Sector emerges as a catalyst for nurturing citizenship competences vital for navigating national and international transitions, promoting social cohesion, and advancing democracy. Through the findings of these studies, the Italian Third Sector has played a significant role in shaping public policies concerning lifelong learning and the validation of experientially acquired competences, notably regarding the incorporation of transferable competences into the National Repertoire. Additionally, some lines of action for influencing the implementation of validation policies at the European level will be discussed.
Hello, Worlds: A Ludic Theory of Cognition
Authors: Wilcox Steve
Published: December 2024

This article lays the foundation for a ludic theory of cognition. At the core of this approach are two theories of mind and world brought into dialogue with one another: enactive cognition and ludic sociology. Combining these two approaches results in a theory of cognition in which social agents and game players alike rely on cognitive play to enact and inhabit worlds of meaning and significance. In the first section of the article, I draw out the relationship between enactive cognition and cultural theorist Pierre Bourdieu's ludic sociology, consolidating them into a ludic theory of cognition. In the second section, I examine how the ludic nature of cognition facilitates and inhibits understanding between agents and players, such that cognitive play itself is seen as the means by which we understand ourselves, each other, and the worlds around us.
Walking Into Their Lives: Applying the Go-Along Method to Explore Refugee Health
Authors: Yeo Sarah , Ehiri John , Magrath Priscilla , Dawson Angela , Ernst Kacey , Alaofè Halimatou
Published: December 2024

The go-along method is a way of interviewing people in situ. Combining participant observation and interviewing, the method capitalizes on the advantages of both approaches. This places study participants in context and allows researchers to elicit the interpretations, practices, and experiences of those participants within the contexts. Based on a refugee maternal health study that involved the go-along method in the United States, we reflect on the specific research questions that this approach can help answer, the advantages and limitations of employing this methodological approach and delineate the process of conducting the go-along. The go-along method has numerous benefits in studying refugee health. It can assist in identifying the needs and challenges of people with limited language skills or low educational levels, as well as providing a more nuanced understanding of life skills and language proficiency. It can aid in the observation of interactions between study participants and people around them and provide more detailed information based on spatial cues. It can assist researchers in observing how services are delivered on the ground. More importantly, it can facilitate researchers’ vicarious experiences for those who may struggle in their lives. In doing so, it can facilitate contextualized understanding of refugee and their experiences. Although this method has several limitations, such as being more time-consuming and labor-intensive compared to traditional sit-down interviews and being susceptible to external conditions, the go-along method has significant potential for exploring the health of refugees.
Emblems of Goodrich’s Law
Authors: Giddens Thomas
Published: December 2024

The introduction to a special issue of Law, Culture and the Humanities on “Goodrich’s Law,” which critically engages and celebrates the scholarly corpus and conduct of Professor Peter Goodrich.
The Antinomy of Emergency and Its Repetitions in India
Authors: Suresh Sabarish
Published: December 2024

This article will demonstrate how a constitutive tension between the sovereign decision on the state of exception and the norm structured by the rule of law has not just animated legal discourse in the colonial period in India, as exhaustively demonstrated by Nasser Hussain, but has also affected the making of the Indian Constitution, exacerbated by the crisis of partition. This antinomy, on closer inspection, is antinomic merely in form and appearance, for the exception, although understood as outside, and against, the norm, is also lodged deep within it. This article will delineate how a constitutive state of exception structured the exception as the norm and encoded it within the rule of law.
Missing and dismissing the impact of periods. Outcomes of focus groups of teens with period concerns
Authors: Munro Courtney Bree , Flanagan Madeline , Moussaoui Dehlia , Kite Lauren , Grover Sonia R
Published: December 2024

Background:

Despite a high prevalence, menstrual issues are often normalised or trivialised and undermanaged in young people (YP). Uncontrolled dysmenorrhoea and heavy menstrual bleeding have a vastly negative impact on the quality of life of YP, especially when these issues are compounded by the social and emotional complexities of navigating adolescence.

Objectives:

The Longitudinal Study of Teens with Endometriosis, Period and Pelvic Pain (LongSTEPPP) project is a 5-year study aiming to understand factors that contribute to endometriosis, period and pelvic pain in YP and to examine long-term outcomes.

Design:

Focus groups (FGs), held as part of co-design, sought to ensure that the perspectives and concerns of YP and their parents were incorporated into the longitudinal study design.

Methods:

YP and their parents were invited to participate in an online FG after completing a survey about periods. The online survey was also part of the co-design of LongSTEPPP and was advertised primarily through social media channels.

Results:

Four FGs were held, including three with YP ( n = 12) and one with parents ( n = 3). Major themes to emerge were (1) YPs experiences, including the physical and psychological impact of pain and bleeding; (2) pain and pain management; and (3) education. Mental health burden was significant on YP, with some reporting suicidal ideations. YP and their parents reported a lack of knowledge and awareness about menstrual issues among societies, healthcare professionals, and schoolteachers.

Conclusion:

This study identified the substantial impact of periods on YP, and their parents’ lives, the challenge of navigating a chronic pain condition in adolescence, and the lack of awareness in society and among professionals. Through the co-design model, these findings have informed the longitudinal study to ensure that it will adequately measure the concerns of YP and their parents.