bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acupuncture Needles and the Risk of Lymphedema After Breast Cancer Surgery: A Retrospective National Cohort Study
Authors: Lee Ye-Seul , Lim Yucheol , Yeo Jiyoon
Published: February 2024

Background: Controversies remain over the impact of using needles on breast cancer patients after surgery due to risk of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). While recent literature suggests that vascular access during the postsurgical stage does not affect the risk of BCRL, the impact of acupuncture on the risk of BCRL during the postsurgical stage has not been studied.Methods: This study included 35,153 patients from 2011 to 2013 who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer in a population-based cohort from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. All patients received breast surgery, and the treatment group received acupuncture for more than 3 sessions in the 3-6 months post-surgery. The control group did not receive acupuncture. The incidence rate ratio, Kaplan-Meier curve, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the risk of BCRL, and death between groups.Results: About 5.8% of the study population received acupuncture during the 3-6 months post-surgery treatment window. After propensity score matching, the acupuncture treatment group did not show an increased risk of BCRL (IRR 1.017, 95% CI 0.868-1.193; unadjusted HR 1.018, 95% CI 0.868-1.193). This risk was robust in all multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.Conclusion: An association of BCRL with acupuncture was not observed. Patients who received acupuncture to manage symptoms such as pain during the 3-6 months postsurgical stage did not have a higher risk of developing BCRL. Breast cancer patients who seek acupuncture to alleviate post-surgery symptoms such as pain, can receive acupuncture without concerns for potential risk of BCRL.
A Survey of the Clinical Practice of Korean Medicine for Smoking Cessation in Public Health Centers: A Web-Based Survey of Public Health Doctors of Korean Medicine
Authors: Park Gyoungeun , Moon Jeong-Hyun , Kim Eun-Jung , Seo Byung-Kwan , Baek Yong-Hyeon , Sung Won-Suk
Published: February 2024

Background: In South Korea, public health centers provide smoking cessation (SC) treatments including behavioral therapy and nicotine replacement treatment. Also, public health doctors of Korean medicine (PHDKMs) are providing Korean Medicine (KM) treatments. Several studies have reported the clinical usefulness of KM treatment, but in this study, the opinion of PHDKMs was explored to examine the current KM treatments for SC.Methods: A web-based survey (Moaform) of the treatment for SC by PHDKMs consisted of 5 main sections including clinical practice status, SC participants, KM treatments for SC, progress and prognosis, and perception of KM. The survey was emailed twice to 621 PHDKMs on April 6 to 20, 2022. The frequencies and percentages of each question were calculated.Results: There were 28 PHDKMs who participated in the survey. Among them, over 90% of PHDKMs had treated ≤ 10 SC participants, and about 10% of PHDKMs had treated 11-20 participants. The abstinence rate was 56.8% with an average 63.2% level of satisfaction in the treatment. Typically used, and recognized as important KM treatments, were auricular acupuncture, acupuncture, education, and herbal medicine. While auricular acupuncture and education were perceived as convenient KM treatment, PHDKMs thought that SC could not be achieved with KM treatment alone and needed be combined with other treatments.Conclusion: This survey showed the effectiveness of KM treatments with withdrawal symptoms, and treatment satisfaction of SC participants. Respondents also thought that KM treatment combined with other treatments is more effective than KM monotherapy. Based on this small study, further research would be needed.
Validation of a New Sham Acupuncture Needle for Double-Blind Trials: A Study Protocol
Authors: Lim Sung Min
Published: February 2024

Background: To establish efficacy in acupuncture treatment, rigorous randomized controlled trials (RCT) are needed. Non-invasive sham acupuncture needles are an effective tool for practitioner/participant blinding. This study presents a protocol for the validation of a newly developed sham acupuncture needle.Methods: A double-blind RCT will be conducted on 66 healthy adults who will be randomly assigned (using computer-generated random numbers) to either the verum (n = 33) or sham (n = 33) acupuncture needle group. The needles will be inserted at 2 acupuncture points: LI4 (upper limb) and ST36 (lower limb). The primary outcome measure is the practitioner/participants belief that they received verum or sham acupuncture. The secondary outcome measures are participant-rated sensations (penetration, pain, and de qi). Adverse events will be recorded with detailed explanations, categorizing occurrences according to related or unrelated to acupuncture. As the newly developed sham acupuncture has not been studied before, an exploratory approach has been adopted. Descriptive statistics, t test, and χ² test will be applied appropriately.Results: This study is intended to provide a protocol for the validation of a sham acupuncture needle by using a double-blind RCT setting, and the results will hopefully contribute to the standardization of the needles used for sham acupuncture. The outcomes aim to determine the reliability of practitioner/participant blinding, participant experience of sensations, and lay groundwork for a standardized control group for clinical trials in the future. The newly developed non-invasive sham acupuncture needle may reduce bias and improve reliability in the size effect of acupuncture treatment.
Improving the meiotic competence of small antral follicle-derived porcine oocytes by using dibutyryl-cAMP and melatonin
Authors: Jitjumnong ๋Jakree , Tang Pin-Chi
Published: February 2024

Objective: We increased the nuclear maturation rate of antral follicle derived oocytes by using a pre-in vitro maturation (IVM) culture system and improved the developmental potential of these porcine pathenotes by supplementing with melatonin. Furthermore, we investigated the expression patterns of genes involved in cumulus expansion (HAS2, PTGS2, TNFAIP6, and PTX3) derived from small and medium antral follicles before and after oocyte maturation.Methods: Only the cumulus oocyte-complexes (COCs) derived from small antral follicles were induced with [Pre-SF(+)hCG] or without [Pre-SF(-)hCG] the addition of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) during the last 7 h of the pre-IVM period before undergoing the regular culture system. The mature oocytes were investigated on embryonic development after parthenogenetic activation (PA). Melatonin (10-7 M) was supplemented during in vitro culture (IVC) to improve the developmental potential of these porcine pathenotes.Results: A pre-IVM culture system with hCG added during the last 7 h of the pre-IVM period [Pre-SF(+)hCG] effectively supported small antral follicle-derived oocytes and increased their nuclear maturation rate. The oocytes derived from medium antral follicles exhibited the highest nuclear maturation rate in a regular culture system. Compared with oocytes cultured in a regular culture system, those cultured in the pre-IVM culture system exhibited considerable overexpression of HAS2, PTGS2, and TNFAIP6. Porcine embryos treated with melatonin during IVC exhibited markedly improved quality and developmental competence after PA. Notably, melatonin supplementation during the IVM period can reduce and increase the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH), respectively.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the Pre-SF(+)hCG culture system increases the nuclear maturation rate of small antral follicle-derived oocytes and the expression of genes involved in cumulus expansion. Melatonin supplementation during IVC may improve the quality and increase the blastocyst formation rate of porcine embryos. In addition, it can reduce and increase the levels of ROS and GSH, respectively, in mature oocytes, thus affecting subsequent embryos.
Comunicação de más notícias
Authors: Gallego Patrícia Barberá , Peres Rodrigo Sanches , Gomes Layla Raquel Silva
Published: February 2024

O presente estudo teve como objetivo compreender os significados atribuídos à comunicação de más notícias por psicólogos hospitalares. Trata-se de um estudo clínico-qualitativo, do qual participaram 17 psicólogos hospitalares que atuavam em setores de urgência e emergência em hospitais-gerais públicos brasileiros. Os instrumentos utilizados foram uma entrevista semidirigida e, especificamente para a obtenção de um perfil profissional dos participantes, um questionário de autopreenchimento. O corpus foi submetido à análise de conteúdo. Foram configuradas duas categorias, intituladas “O equilibrista de pratos” e “Cá entre nós”. A primeira categoria agrega relatos representativos dos significados atribuídos pelos participantes às dificuldades que, para os mesmos, caracterizam as situações de comunicação de más notícias. A segunda categoria abarca o ponto de vista dos participantes quanto ao papel que compete aos psicólogos hospitalares no equacionamento das expectativas e das necessidades de cada um dos envolvidos na comunicação de más notícias. Em síntese, os resultados obtidos indicam que, de acordo com os participantes, os profissionais de saúde se posicionam de diferentes maneiras – predominantemente sugerindo antagonismo, ao invés de complementaridade – frente às más notícias, sendo que caberia especificamente aos psicólogos hospitalares acolher as demandas emocionais de pacientes e familiares, sobretudo aquelas que se verificam após a ação comunicacional.
Sentiment's Stock Impact: Company Size's Role In Stock Price Dynamics
Authors: Zahra Humairoh , Bandi Bandi
Published: February 2024

This study aims to present empirical evidence on the impact of investor sentiment on stock prices, test the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between investor sentiment and stock prices, and examine potential differences in this relationship across firms of varying sizes. The sample for this study consists of 246 companies listed on the main board of the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2018 to 2022. EViews 12 were used for data processing. The findings of the study suggest that investor sentiment has a positive impact on the stock prices of firms traded on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Additionally, the relationship between investor sentiment and stock prices is not moderated by company size, although the effect of investor sentiment on stock prices varies across different company sizes.
PEG hydrogel sealant versus fibrin glue in posterior fossa surgery: an economic comparison across five European countries
Authors: Talamonti Giuseppe , Horaczek Jörn-Andre , Torres Rafael Torrejon , Deppo Lisa Da , Carter Marissa J
Published: February 2024

Aim:
Posterior cranial fossa (PCF) surgery is associated with complications, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. Dural sealants such as polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogels and fibrin glue can prevent CSF leaks, with evidence suggesting PEG hydrogels may outperform fibrin glue. However, the budget impact of using PEG hydrogels in PCF surgeries in Europe is unclear.
Materials & methods:
A decision tree was developed based on a previous US model, to assess the budget impact of switching from fibrin glue to PEG hydrogel in PCF surgery across five European countries. Input costs were derived from published sources for the financial year 2022/2023. Health outcomes, including CSF leaks, were considered.
Results:
The model predicted that using PEG hydrogel instead of fibrin glue in PCF surgery can lead to cost savings in five European countries. Cost savings per patient ranged from EUR 419 to EUR 1279, depending on the country. Sensitivity analysis showed that the incidence of CSF leaks and pseudomeningoceles had a substantial impact on the model's results.
Conclusion:
PEG hydrogels may be a cost-effective alternative to fibrin glue in PCF surgery. The model predicted that cost savings would be mainly driven by a reduction in the incidence of postoperative CSF leaks, resulting in reduced reliance on lumbar drains, reparative surgery and shortened hospital stays.
PHENOLOGY AND HARVEST POINTS OF SNAP BEAN VARIETIES RELATED TO DEGREE DAYS ACCUMULATION
Authors: Lima Filho Marcos Roberto de , Tomaz Francisco Linco de Souza , Araújo Linda Brenna Ribeiro , Bertini Cândida Hermínia Campos de Magalhães , Guimarães Marcelo de Almeida , Pessoa Angela Maria dos Santos
Published: February 2024

The objective of this study was to characterize the phenology and determine the harvest points of snap bean varieties related to degree-day accumulation. The experiments were conducted in the Teaching Garden of the Federal University of Ceará, evaluating five bean genotypes. A randomized block design with three and five replications was used for experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Each experimental unit consisted of a 9.6 m seedbed. In the first experiment, the spacing adopted was 0.1 x 0.4 m (24 plants per plot). For the second experiment, the spacing adopted was 0.1 x 0.3 m (32 plants per plot). Phenological characterization was carried out, estimating the thermal requirement and the pod growth curve. The evaluated genotypes presented thermal requirements ranging between 1,282 and 2,111 °C per day. The Habichuela genotype presented shorter cycle length, lower degree-day accumulation and higher initial pod growth compared to the others. It is recommended to harvest Feijão Vagem do Panamá (FVP), Habichuela and De Metro between the 10th and 15th day after fruiting. For Pronto Alívio and Quiura Bejuco, the harvest should be conducted at the 20th day after fruiting.
Unsteady Numerical Investigation Strategy of Natural Convection in an Isosceles Superimposed Triangular Enclosure
Authors: BENACHOUR Elhadj , ASNOUNE Khadidja , HASNAT Mohammed , DRAOUI Belkacem
Published: February 2024

In energy applications, convection plays a dominant role in the transport of energy for the proper design in order to achieve higher heat transfer rates. Where the fluid motion is simply induced by density gradients. This study is concerned with transient natural convection in an isosceles-superimposed triangular enclosure.  The inclination of the inclined partitions walls was θ =45°. Critical Rayleigh numbers have been obtained: Ra=106, especially for the fluid crushed between the two triangles where we can visualize the critical convection transaction between the air and water. The results in quantitative measurement of average Nusselt number change and qualitative visualization of streamline and isotherms are examined. The air and water streamlines and the temperature fields were obtained for the Rayleigh numbers 103 ≤ Ra ≤ 108 for both cases studied. Besides, the highest heat transfer performance is observed during the natural convection case of the water fluid, and the lowest heat is transferred when the fluid is dilatant.  The triangular shape can greatly enhance the heat transfer from the bottom to the top at first in a smooth and harmonious manner, and then it turns into a more complex and disorderly shape when the water reaches high temperatures.
Historical Dictionary of Mozambique
Authors: Darch Colin
Published: February 2024

The new edition of Historical Dictionary of Mozambique covers the Bantu expansion; the arrival of the Portuguese navigators and their str competition with local African power centers and coastal Arab-Swahili trading towns; the trade cycles of gold, ivory, and slaves; the establishment of the semi-Africanized prazos along the Zambezi Valley; “pacification” campaigns; and the period of Portuguese weakness in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when vast tracts of land were rented to concessionary companies. In the late colonial period the Salazar dictatorship tried to reassert Portuguese power, but after ten years of armed struggle for national liberation, Mozambique gained its independence in 1975.

The book contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Mozambique.
Historical Dictionary of Finland
Authors: Hjelm Titus , Maude George
Published: February 2024

Finland was part of Sweden until 1809, it then became a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire until it declared its independence on December 6, 1917. From these humble beginnings, Finland has emerged as an important player in the European Union and the world.

Historical Dictionary of Finland, Third Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Finland.
A History of Medical Libraries and Medical Librarianship
Authors: Kronenfeld Michael R. , Kronenfeld Jennie Jacobs
Published: February 2024

A History of Medical Libraries and Librarianship in the United States: From John Shaw Billingsto the Digital Era presents a history of the profession from the beginnings of the Army Surgeon General’s Library in 1836 to today’s era of the digital health sciences library. The purpose of this book is not only to make this history available to the profession’s practitioners, but also to provide context as medical librarians and libraries enter a new age in their history as the digital information environment has undercut the medical library’s previous role as the depository of the print based KBI/information base.

The book divides the profession’s history is divided into seven eras:

1. The Era of the Library of the Office of the Army Surgeon General and John Shaw Billings – 1836 – 1898

2. The Era of the Gentleman Physician Librarian – 1898 to 1945

3. The Era of the Development of the Clinical Research Infrastructure (NIH), the Rapid Expansion in Funded and Published Clinical Research and the Emergence of Medical Librarianship as a Profession – 1945 – 1962

4. The Era of the Development of the National Library of Medicine, Online digital Subject Searching (Medline) and the Creation of the National Health Science Library Infrastructure– 1962 – 1975

5. The Medline Era – A Golden Age for Medical Libraries – 1975 – 1995

6. The Era of Universal Access to Information and the Transition from Paper to Digitally Based Medical Libraries – 1995 – 2015

7. The Era of the Digital Health Sciences Library – 2015 –

Each era is reviewed through discussing the developments in the field and the factors which drove those developments. The book will provide current and future medical librarians and information specialists an understanding of the development of their profession and some insights into its future.
Historical Dictionary of Cold War Intelligence
Authors: West Nigel
Published: February 2024

The Cold War was a sophisticated conflict fought by the west, principally the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with support from NATO, CENTO and SEATO, to confront the Kremlin and its Warsaw Pact satellites. The battlegrounds extended from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Byelorussia and Albania to Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary, and resulted in conventional, proxy wars fought in Vietnam, Egypt and Korea. Only now, thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, can these issues be examined through the prism of the secret files generated by the intelligence agencies on both sides which have been declassified.

This Historical Dictionary of Cold War Intelligence contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on crucial operations spies, defectors, moles, double and triple agents, and the tradecraft they apply. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about intelligence during the Cold War.
Sustaining a City's Culture and Character
Authors: Wolfe Charles R.
Published: February 2024

Somewhere, between character and caricature, there exists an authentic—a truly unique—urban place, that blends global and local, old and new. Yet, in a dramatically changing world dominated by crises of climate change, maintaining public health, and social justice, finding such places—and explaining their relevance—may be easier said than done.

Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character accepts that challenge, and provides a comprehensive method for assessing how and why successful places come to be, with an explicit emphasis on context: Authenticity, culture, character, and uniqueness are words with meanings that depend on who is using them and in what contexts.

Through text interwoven with 160 full-color photographs by the author, and select illustrations by others, this book addresses how to enact blended and contextualized urban change, using the past and the status quo as catalysts rather than castaways. It provides resources and examples for the context-vetting process and for understanding how one era, object, or generation informs the next.

This beautiful full-color book illustrates how we can understand—or unlock— a public place, neighborhood, or city. Based on comparative experiences around the world, the book proposes a new tool—called LEARN (Look, Engage, Assess, Review, and Negotiate) —as a way of sustaining urban culture and character in transformative times.

Inspired by recent efforts and outcomes, the book is full of relevant examples. They include moving a small Swedish city, reviving Irish market towns, and revitalization efforts adjacent to London’s Waterloo Station.

Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character provides a catalog of techniques that emphasize “bottom up,” resident-based input about local history, building forms, natural and open spaces, cultural assets and tradition, and related policy, planning, and regulatory examples.

For those who seek an urbanism of distinctiveness to enhance city livability, rather than a bland, generic uniformity, the book examines on a global basis how the many interrelated facets of an urban area’s unique, yet dynamic context—built, social, cultural and intangible—can be championed and advanced, rather than simply borrowed from another place.
The Thinker's Guide to Scientific Thinking
Authors: Paul Richard , Elder Linda
Published: February 2024

The Thinker’s Guide to Scientific Thinking focuses on developing the intellectual skills inherent in the well-cultivated practice of every area of scientific research and study. It helps students and practicing scientists come to reason within the logic of science and to see the field as a cohesive whole.

From astronomers to zoologists and physicists to chemists, skilled scientists use careful analysis to question data, test theories, draw logical conclusions, and propose feasible solutions. Students in science courses, and scientists themselves will find their analytical abilities enhanced by the engaging framework of inquiry set forth by Richard Paul and Linda Elder in this guide.

As part of the Thinker’s Guide Library, this book advances the mission of the Foundation for Critical Thinking to promote fairminded critical societies through cultivating essential intellectual abilities and virtues across every field of study across world.
Reclaiming Rural
Authors: Stanton Allen T.
Published: February 2024

As rural America continues to undergo massive economic and demographic shifts, rural churches are uniquely positioned to provide community leadership. Leading a rural congregation requires a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these communities, as well as a strong theological and community-focused identity. Allen T. Stanton describes how in establishing this identity, rural leaders build a meaningful and vital ministry.

Reclaiming Rural explores the myths and realities of rural places, and how those common narratives impact the leadership of rural churches. Ultimately, rural congregations must practice a contextual understanding of vitality, which understands both the strengths and challenges of leading in a rural setting.

Arguing for a practice of evangelism imbued with this mission of vitality, Reclaiming Rural promotes the church as a leader in economic and community development, modeled upon a Wesleyan theology of grace. Acknowledging the many challenges facing rural churches, this book is an energetic and encouraging guide to overcoming social and economic obstacles to build a thriving congregation.
Begeisterung der Materie
Authors: Schulz-Nieswandt Frank
Published: February 2024

If the basic creative mood is open to the world in active passivity, experiences of epiphanic events are also possible. Post-Cartesian responsive phenomenology can help to reconstruct this. Using a textual description of a surrealistic waking dream at night from "Weihrauch und Ziegenkäse. Syncretistic Stories" by Ulrich Kadelbach, this study illustrates this hypothesis. To this end, the author develops the whole problem and the research question epistemologically. The study’s scenic hermeneutic analysis enables a different look at the subject, which is always already a response to the self-revelation of the prior givenness of being and a form of animism of things (material substance), thematised here atheistically as a form of metaphysics without God.
ELSI challenges with children in Translational Medicine
Authors: Casati Sara , Ellul Bridget
Published: February 2024

Paediatric translational research deals mainly with genomics of biological samples. It has benefitted substantially from developments in new technologies and from international collaboration to access and use large cohorts of banked biological samples and associated data. However, there are still significant ELSI (ethical, legal and societal implications) challenges that need to be addressed before we can move smoothly from the “bench” to the “bedside” to the “community”. In this chapter we shall concentrate on the intertwined ethical and legal issues regarding informed assent/consent of minors and the return of genomic results to minors and families. This leads to the societal issues faced in minor engagement and empowerment. We will then emphasise the need for healthcare integrated biobanking to maximise use of samples and data and so facilitate translational research.
Humanitarian Action: A Necessity in the Academic Training of Health Professionals
Authors: Giménez Pardo Consuelo , Félix Hoyo Jimenez José
Published: February 2024

In an increasingly complex world, many low and middle-income countries (LMIC) lack access to proper water and sanitation, have scarce economic resources, and have weak public health systems. With limited funds to cover this gap and day-by-day worsening panorama of day, international agencies need to meet aid projects with ever-increasing quality and efficiency requirements. Aside from the increasing budget, this implies the creation of quality training programs in universities that do not exist specifically. The need for theoretical-practical training on aspects related to global health problems, migratory movements, geopolitical world history, human rights, security, health care for vulnerable populations, and how to create specific health action plans to improve related outcomes, etc., makes unavoidable to improve necessary conscience and skills on this problem from the first steps of health science students’ career to professional postgraduate teaching programs. The objective is to equip health workers with specific tools under a systematic wide approach to issues that, till now, have not been included in undergraduate studies of the health professions and constitute a complex framework of comprehensive knowledge.
Novel Approaches for Sustainable Management of Chromium Contaminated Wastewater
Authors: Kumar Manoj , Singh Saini Harvinder
Published: February 2024

The release of high volumes of untreated effluents containing different forms of chromium into waterbodies and further use of this wastewater for ferti-irrigation purposes pose a direct threat to health of human populations consuming produces from such agricultural fields. The higher concentration of chromium above permissible limits at these sites may pose harm to flora and fauna. The conventional processes used for treatment of chromium-containing effluents have low treatment efficiency, high operational costs, and produce toxic sludge requiring safe disposal. In contrast, the approaches exploiting use of living systems, such as microbes/microbial products and microbes, may provide sustainable treatment options. The emerging advanced/novel treatment technologies based on harnessing metabolic potential of microbiome of the polluted sites have potential to achieve the efficient removal of heavy metals from polluted sites. The success of protocols developed and tested at lab scale needs to be replicated at pilot/industrial to handle high volumes with varying levels of organic co-contaminants and harsh physiological conditions. The presented chapter provides an overview of impact of high chromium levels on ecosystem and various treatment processes with advanced aspect of management of heavy metals to prevent harmful effects on the environment.
Perspective Chapter: Palliative Care Experiences in Ethiopia – Call for Comprehensive Care Approach
Authors: Solomon Kalkidan , Mamo Azmera Yoseph , Kaba Mirgissa
Published: February 2024

WHO estimated over 56 million people across the world require palliative care each year. Seventy-six percent of these are from low- and-middle-income countries. Due to the aging population, urbanization, and physical inactivity among others, chronic health problems are expanding. The number of individuals with such health problems is increasing. Even though access to palliative care is a patient’s right and a duty of care provider, provision of comprehensive and integrated palliative care remains non-existent in Ethiopia. Within the health facilities where alleviation of pain and suffering is believed to improve quality of life, access to opioids is at best limited. Psychosocial needs and financial instability are primarily caused by persisting pain and diminishing livelihood. In Ethiopia, palliative care failed to pay attention to such components as social, economic, and spiritual support that are equally desirable to improve quality of life of those with chronic diseases. Coordinated care mechanisms are compromised with an inadequate understanding of the scope of palliative care, how to integrate different resources and lack of model that defines and guide provision of comprehensive palliative care.
Impact of Rare Earth Element Cerium on Structural and Magnetic Characterization of Different Nanoferrites
Authors: Elaya Kumar Kannan , Muthulingam S. , Manikandan A.
Published: February 2024

Due to its numerous uses in the fields of magnetic recording devices, electronic devices, biosensors, high-frequency transformers, microwave devices, and radar devices, magnetic nanoferrites have drawn increased attention from society. There are several ways to make rare earth ion-doped spinel ferrites, including the sol-gel approach, auto-combustion method, hydrothermal method, co-precipitation method, ball milling method, and green synthesis method. Numerous studies have recently discussed the effect of rare earth ion substitution on spinel ferrite, concluding that it improved the material’s structural and magnetic characteristics. The replacement of Cerium ions, which was studied by just a few researchers, allows ferrites and mixed ferrites’ magnetic properties, such as coercivity, saturation magnetization, and retentivity, to be fine-tuned. In this study, we summarized the effect of different concentrations of Cerium ions on various ferrites to find the significant results of structural parameters like crystal size, lattice constant, and also magnetic parameters such as coercivity and saturation magnetization, through the study of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM).
Effect of Silver Nanoclusters on Physical and Electrical Properties of Cerium Oxide Thin Film
Authors: Paul Mousri , Karmakar Sabyasachi , Chakraborty Supratic
Published: February 2024

An in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigation has revealed that silver metal clusters (Ag-NCs) can enhance the redox property of cerium oxide (CeO2) at relatively lower temperatures by oxidizing Ag-NCs to Ag2+ and Ag3+ states. Strong metal support interaction (SMSI) effect at the interface is indicated by a specific interaction seen in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images of CeO2/Ag-NCs, confirming Ag-NC encapsulation by deposited CeO2 layer after heating. Through chemisorption processes, the SMSI effect aids in the release of oxygen from the ceria surface by making a bond of Ag, O, and Ce. Consequently, employing silver as a supporting novel metal improves the redox behaviour of CeO2 at nearly 100°C. The band gap of cerium is modified because of this interaction as shown by UV-vis spectroscopy, influencing the electronic charge transport property of ceria. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in silver cluster supported ceria thin film verify the significant increase in current under visible light illumination as compared to the current in dark conditions. This renders that Ag-NCs supported CeO2 is suitable for photocatalysis and the capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristic confirms the enhanced storage capacity of Ag-NCs /CeO2-based metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices qualifies it for use as non-volatile memory (NVM) devices.
Perioperative Preparation of Emergency Patients from Emergency Department to Operating Room
Authors: A. Zaki Hany , E. Shaban Eman , Shaban Ahmed , Hamdi Alkahlout Baha , A. Shallik Nabil , Mohammad Azad Aftab
Published: February 2024

Perioperative preparation for emergency patients is paramount, as it entails a comprehensive approach to ensure the safety, well-being, and successful outcomes of individuals facing urgent surgical interventions. In the preoperative phase, rapid but essential steps are taken, such as assessing the patient’s medical history, conducting diagnostic tests, and stabilising their condition to minimise risks during surgery. So in this chapter, we will discuss the importance of formation of the multidisciplinary team, efficiency improvements, identifying the need for emergency department (ED) to operating room (OR) Handoff Standardisation, and integration of ED nurses into the OR. It begins by establishing the criteria for identifying patients needing urgent surgery, encompassing traumatic injuries and acute medical conditions. It extensively covers the interdisciplinary collaboration required among ED staff, OR teams, anaesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses. The scope includes patient assessment and stabilisation procedures conducted in the ED, focusing on diagnostics, interventions, and life-saving measures. Furthermore, the chapter delves into handoff protocols and communication strategies, highlighting their crucial role in ensuring safe and efficient patient transfers. It addresses resource allocation, emphasising the optimisation of operating rooms, equipment, and personnel. The chapter also acknowledges the importance of patient and family engagement, stressing clear communication, informed consent, and emotional support.
Investigating the Relationship between Organizational Culture, Compensation, Spiritual Leadership, and Teacher Performance in Private Islamic Elementary Schools
Authors: Syahid Syahid , Syarifuddin E. , Gunawan Agus
Published: February 2024

This research aims to analyze the influence of Organizational Culture (OC) on teacher performance (TP), the influence of compensation (C) on TP, and the influence of spiritual leadership (SL) on TP, as well as the combined influence of OC, C, and SL of the on TP. Data analysis was conducted at a significance level of 0.5%. The results are as follows: There is a significant influence of OC on TP, as evidenced by the t-test result showing that t-value 22.458 > t-table 1.966 and Sig 0.000 < 0.05; thus, hypothesis H1 is accepted. There is a significant influence of C on TP, as evidenced by the t-test result showing that t-value 2.420 > t-table 1.966 and sig 0.016 < 0.05; thus, hypothesis H2 is accepted. There is a significant influence of the SL on TP, as evidenced by the t-test result showing that t-value 2.379 > t-table 1.966 and sig 0.18 < 0.05; thus, hypothesis H3 is accepted. Based on the F-test, the calculated F-value is 578.741; because the calculated F-value 578.741 > F-table 2.395, it means that hypothesis H4 is accepted, or in other words, OC, C, and SL collectively influence TP. The coefficient of determination test yields a Coefficient of Determination (R-Square) for TP of 0.819, exceeding the value of 0.67, indicating that the independent variables collectively have a strong influence, accounting for 81.9% of TP. In conclusion, there is a significant combined influence of (X1), (X2), and (X3) on TP. This influence is direct and accounts for 81.9%, while the remaining 18.1% is influenced by other variables not tested in this research. These findings have an impact on TP in private madrasah ibtidaiyah. Therefore, the research findings recommend that the performance of private madrasah ibtidaiyah teachers can be improved through OC, C, and SL.
La Pedagogía Ancestral. Fundamentos epistemológicos
Authors: Machuca Barbosa Adriana Elizabeth
Published: February 2024

This article reports the epistemological construction of ancestral pedagogy of calpulli Zetzahui Huitzilopochtli Texauhki Xipetotec, at the university community to Mexican Institute of Holistic Education (IMEI) sites of Pirámide, Texcoco, Coacalco-Tultitlán and Clínica Psicológica ROCE-A at Tepetlaoxtoc, highlighting their characteristics and their pedagogicals and identity foundations. The researching approach was cualitative, through participant observation and semi-structured interviews to an aleatory sample. It was found a hybridization to ancestral pedagogy with traditional teaching method.
Inteligencia emocional en estudiantes de ingeniería de la División de Ciencias Forestales de la UACh
Authors: Díaz Mendoza Gabriel , Martínez Gómez Gladys , Romo Lozano José Luis , Cortés Rodríguez Carlos Alberto
Published: February 2024

The objective of this study was to evaluate the emotional intelligence of engineering students from the Forestry Sciences Division of the Autonomous University of Chapingo based on the Emotional Intelligence Profile, to locate those skills that need to be worked on with the purpose of promoting their comprehensive professional development. A quantitative diagnostic investigation was carried out with self-selected sampling, where 218 students out of a population of 332 voluntarily responded to an instrument sent by email. The results show that, of the eight components considered, optimism and social skill are located on a low scale. In global terms, 35% of the participants achieved high emotional intelligence, 42% average and 18% low, so they should be considered to design strategies that allow the development of EI that contributes to academic performance, well-being,and social balance.
Family Rules, Employment, Fertility and Women’s Empowerment: Evidence from a Developing Country
Authors: Khan Safdar  Ullah , Goldsmith Arthur H. , Rajaguru Gulasekaran , Khalid Ahmad M
Published: February 2024

This research investigates the determinants of women's empowerment within households in a developing country. The investigation specifically focuses on the impact of employment and fertility, considering constraints imposed by family rules that play a pivotal role in shaping women's empowerment. The theoretical framework outlined in this study posits a simplistic model demonstrating that, within the prevailing family structure and household composition, earned income and fertility may bear significant relevance. Utilizing data extracted from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey, we engage in estimating the level of female empowerment, operationalized as the extent of female authority over household expenditures. Notably, our empirical approach accounts for the endogeneity of employment and fertility through a two-stage estimation process. This involves leveraging information on family rules—representative of a family's cultural norms—pertaining to work and childbearing. Our empirical findings affirm the viability of family-specific rules as instruments to estimate and subsequently predict employment and fertility. Importantly, the evidence gleaned underscores the critical role of selecting valid threat options in theoretical analyses of women's empowerment.
Strategies for Beginning to Create Change in the Classroom
Authors: Johnson Lamar
Published: February 2024

“In order to make good use of equity-based and critical race pedagogies, educators must understand that these pedagogies require a deep look within.”
Review Essay: “It’s Beautiful”: Language Difference as a New Norm in College Writing Instruction
Authors: Ray Brian
Published: February 2024

Reviewed are: Literacy as Translingual Practice: Between Communities and Classrooms A. Suresh Canagarajah, editor Translingual Practice: Global Englishes and Cosmopolitan Relations A. Suresh Canagarajah Shaping Language Policy in the U.S.: The Role of Composition Studies Scott Wible Other People’s English: Code-Meshing, Code-Switching, and African AmericanLiteracy Vershawn Ashanti Young, Rusty Barrett, Y’Shanda Young-Rivera, and Kim Brian Lovejoy
Prototypical Reading: Volume, Desire, Anxiety
Authors: Enoch Jessica , VanHaitsma Pamela
Published: February 2024

This essay explores the pedagogical project of integrating digital archival research into the undergraduate classroom. We contend that rather than simply asking students to
Metanoic Movement: The Transformative Power of Regret
Authors: Myers Kelly A.
Published: February 2024

The concept of metanoia illuminates the spaces that exist around and beyond opportune moments. As such, metanoia offers ways to reframe the affective elements of teaching and learning, writing and revising. This essay examines emotion, agency, and transformation in the concept of metanoia as a way to expand “opportunity” in writing processes. View a short video by Myers and some of her students on the CCC Videos page.
Do Academics Really Write This Way? A Corpus Investigation of Moves and Templates in “They Say / I Say”
Authors: Lancaster Zak
Published: February 2024

Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein’s writing textbook, “They Say / I Say,” has triggered important debates among writing professionals. Not included within these debates,however, is the empirical question of whether the textbook’s templates reflect patterns of language use in actual academic discourses. This article uses corpus-based discourse analysis to examine how two particular “moves” discussed in the textbook are realized in three large corpora of professional and student academic writing. The analysis reveals important differences between the textbook’s wordings and those preferred by student and professional writers. It also uncovers differences in use of “interpersonal”functions of language by experienced and less experienced writers. In offering this detailed analysis of academic prose, I aim to extend calls to recenter language in writing research and instruction. I conclude with implications for discussing academic argumentation with students.
Rhetoric and Composition’s Conceptual Indeterminacy as Political-Economic Work
Authors: Abraham Matthew
Published: February 2024

By returning to the controversy created by the publication in 2002 of Marc Bousquet’s JAC article (“Composition as a Management Science”), focusing on the labor issues attending composition teaching and the prospects of institutional critique, I examine how the conceptual indeterminacy of many of the field’s key terms in actuality undergo (and perform) a political-economic function. This exploration forms the basis for an analysis of how the knowledge domains of the field can be more clearly defined through an effort to reframe the field as “writing studies,” for the purpose of moving beyond the worn out commonplaces and labor exploitation associated with first-year composition.
The Physical Mundane as Topos: Walking/Dwelling/Using as Rhetorical Invention
Authors: Bacha Jeffrey A.
Published: February 2024

Borrowing from rhetorically based theories of usability, this article offers an invention tactic designed to help students understand how mundane features of everyday dwelling places have significant impacts on their educational experiences. Additionally, the offered tactic helps students understand how to craft rhetorical critiques in contexts inside and outside academia.
New Pedagogical Engagements with Archives: Student Inquiry and Composing in Digital Spaces
Authors: VanHaitsma Pamela
Published: February 2024

This essay advances a new pedagogical approach to engaging with archives in undergraduate courses. Through this approach, students not only examine traditional archival materials from the past, but also create new online archives of present-day sources they identify as related. Rather than training undergraduate students to become archival specialists, this pedagogy invites them to inquire into the relevance of archival materials to their own everyday lives and composing practices in digital spaces.
Cultivating a Rhetorical Sensibility in the Translingual Writing Classroom
Authors: Guerra Juan C.
Published: February 2024

This essay argues that students must call on their rhetorical sensibilities each time they sit down to write instead of automatically assuming that engaging in code-meshing is the appropriate response to every writing situation. It also encourages pedagogical efforts among teachers that invite students to locate translingualism in its larger contextual relationship with monolingualism and multlingualism, two other approaches to language difference that inform the teaching of writing. In the end, the essay suggests, students must take into consideration how each of these approaches to language difference influences the various decisions they are required to make in the writing classroom.
Review: Teaching Writing in the 21st Century: Composition Methodologies,Reading, and Transfer
Authors: Kerschbaum Stephanie L.
Published: February 2024

What does a twenty-first-century writing pedagogy look like? What principles should undergird contemporary writing pedagogy and practice? How should writing teachers today design writing courses, motivate student engagement, and promote literacy practices? Each of the five books reviewed here takes up these questions in calling for sensitivity and care in understanding students and the many ways that they are positioned in the world, for more attention to reading pedagogy in conjunction with writing, and for the continued study of transfer.
Writing and Rhetoric and/as Posthuman Practice
Authors: Boyle Casey
Published: February 2024

This article examines the role of reflective practice in rhetoric and composition scholarship and argues for reconsidering practice through posthumanism. It (re)introduces posthumanism as a productive frame for considering rhetorical training in a networked age. In place of reflective practice, the article develops the concept of "posthuman practice" as a serial and material activity for rhetorical training. The article concludes by reconsidering metacognition and how reframing rhetoric as a posthuman practice could affect rhetorical pedagogy and ethics.
“Keep the Appalachian, Drop the Redneck”: Tellable Student Narratives of Appalachian Identity
Authors: Webb-Sunderhaus Sara
Published: February 2024

This article explores the performance of Appalachian identity via the use of tellable narratives by students in two composition classrooms that were the focus of an ethnographic case study. Utilizing examples gleaned from interviews, classroom observations, and student writing, I illustrate how the students in my study demonstrated narrative complexity as they skillfully and creatively mediated the rhetorical situations they faced, crafting tellable and untellable narratives of Appalachian identity in response to their audience’s needs.