bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Linezolid-Associated Posterior Reversible Leuco-encephalopathy Syndrome in a Patient with Disseminated Tuberculosis
Authors: Tomar Laxmikant Ramkumarsingh , Pandita Neha , Arya Sakshi , Agrawal CS
Published: December 2021

Neurological side-effects of linezolid manifesting as a posterior reversible leuco-encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is rare. Early identification of this offending drug might reverse this catastrophic event. We report a 45-year-old female, who was diagnosed as a case of disseminated tuberculosis and was treated with antitubercular drugs (ATT), but later developed ATT-induced hepatitis. She was then put on modified ATT (moxifloxacin, terizidone, and linezolid). In the next two days she developed an altered sensorium. Brain imaging was suggestive of PRES. Linezolid was withdrawn, following which she showed an excellent clinical and radiological recovery.
Assessing sources of resilience in orphans and vulnerable children in Amajuba District schools
Authors: Lawrence Kehinde C. , Makhonza Lindokuhle O. , Mngomezulu Thanduxolo. T.
Published: December 2021

The main aim of the study was to assess the sources of resilience in orphans and vulnerable children in district schools in the local communities of Amajuba. The study has drawn insight from the social ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner. Being a mixed-method research approach, its design is grounded within the post-positivism paradigm. A self-administered questionnaire and individual interviews were used to collect data from 303 orphans and vulnerable children purposively sampled from schools within the Amajuba district KwaZulu-Natal for the quantitative phase, while eight orphans and vulnerable children were interviewed for the qualitative phase. Frequency distributions and a thematic analysis were employed to analyse the data. The findings establish that apart from HIV/Aids related deaths of parents, poverty, disabilities, abandonment or neglect, and COVID-19 are found to be other causes of vulnerability among the participants. Conversely, future expectations, religion or spirituality, and an extraverted personality type were found to be the sources of resilience in the participants. The inclusion of resilience in the education/school curriculum across all levels as well as resilience booster interventions are recommended for African children.
Physical Health of Older Canadians: Do Intersections Between Immigrant and Refugee Status, Racialized Status, and Socioeconomic Position Matter?
Authors: McAlpine Alyssa A. , George Usha , Kobayashi Karen , Fuller-Thomson Esme
Published: December 2021

It is unclear whether racial or nativity health disparities exist among older Canadians and what social and economic disadvantages may contribute to these differences. Secondary analysis of data collected from respondents aged 55 and older in the Canadian General Social Survey 27 was performed. The outcome variable was self-reported physical health. Compared to racialized immigrants, white immigrant and Canadian-born respondents had approximately 35% higher odds of good health. Among racialized older adults, the odds of good health were better if they were younger than 75, more affluent, better educated, had a confidant, had not experienced discrimination in the past five years, and were more acculturated. Racialized immigrants are at a health disadvantage compared to white groups in Canada; however, greater acculturation, social support, and lower experiences of discrimination contribute to better health among racialized older adults.
Error feedback regulation for 1D anti-stable wave equation
Authors: Li Zhiyuan , Jin Feng-Fei
Published: December 2021

This paper is concerned with the boundary error feedback regulation for a one-dimensional anti-stable wave equation with distributed disturbance generated by a finite-dimensional exogenous system. Transport equation and regulator equation are introduced first to deal with the anti-damping on boundary and the distributed disturbance of the original system. Then, the tracking error and its derivative are measured to design an observer for both exosystem and auxiliary partial differential equation (PDE) system to recover the state. After proving the well-posedness of the regulator equations, we propose an observer-based controller to regulate the tracking error to zero exponentially and keep the states of all the internal loop uniformly bounded. Finally, some numerical simulations are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
Challenges in curriculum development process aimed at revising the capabilities of future public financial managers
Authors: Sinervo Lotta-Maria , Kork Anna-Aurora , Hasanen Kirsi
Published: December 2021

Traditionally, civil servants and public officials are highly educated and have strong administrative expertise. Public financial managers have been regarded as ‘guardians of the public purse’, who have solid budgeting, accounting and auditing skills. However, the development of ‘mega-trends’ such as digitalization and e-government affect the future of the public sector by challenging the traditional competencies of public managers. This paper examines an attempt to redefine the capabilities of future public financial managers as part of the curriculum development process at Tampere University, Finland. The study reflects the tensions and institutional pressures between what is traditionally taught and what will be needed in the public sector in the future. Although in our teaching we emphasise the constant changes happening in public administration, we may be failing to provide our students with the broader skills they will need for dealing with the dynamics of change in a complex working environment.
The Fiscal Burden of Wildfires: State Expenditures and Funding Mechanisms for Wildfire Suppression in the Western U.S. and Implications for Federal Policy
Authors: Pennick McIver Chelsea , Cook Philip S. , Becker Dennis R.
Published: December 2021

The number and size of wildfires in the western United States have increased dramatically in the last 30 years. The rising cost of wildfire suppression has become a significant concern for all levels of government, although most attention has been focused on the federal level. Much less is known about the financial impact of expenditures on states, which retain responsibility for suppression on over 480 million acres of state and private forests. This study collected data on state expenditures for wildfire suppression in the western United States from 2005 to 2015 to examine fiscal burdens and compare funding mechanisms used to cover those costs. Our analysis finds that western states expended $11.9 billion on wildfire suppression over the 11-year period and used own-source funds to cover 88 percent of these costs. States displayed a variety of mechanisms for covering their cost obligations with tradeoffs that may affect non-wildfire policy priorities.
Afterword: Shifting the Terms of the Debate
Authors: Schüll Natasha D.
Published: December 2021

The afterword discusses how this special issue’s articles work from different angles to unsettle the precepts of “attentional sovereignty” — the socially, politically, and economically valorized virtue that anchors most discussions over attention in its contemporary technological predicament. Whether the attentional sovereign appears in its liberal humanist or its neoliberal behavioral economic guise, sovereignty is valorized and considered under threat. By revealing the contemporary and historical backstories to our investment in this notion, these articles shift the terms of the debate around the attention crisis and clear space for thinking anew about the possibilities and limits of attention today.
Shylock’s ghosts
Authors: Pellone Elena
Published: December 2021

Compagnia de’ Colombari, directed by Karin Coonrod, fashioned The Merchant in Venice from the stones of the Venetian Ghetto: Shylock's haunting ghost corporealised under moonlight. This 2016 production followed Max Reinhardt's Venetian Merchant in 1934: another lingering ghost of Shylock. These productions intersected in a vision to create bonds between strangers. Looking back on them in the Covid-19 pandemic context of isolation and intolerance, they remind us of the restorative hope in a globalised theatre. This essay engages with the way the Ghetto, Venice and Shylock speak back, inverting the perspective of the ‘other’, framed by personal reflections of the author-actor playing Nerissa.
Gender Socialization, Family Leadership, and the Invisible Father in Children’s Literature
Authors: Anderson David A. , Hamilton Mykol C. , Gilkison Gabrielle M. , Palmer Skyler K.
Published: December 2021

Objective: This study examines the portrayals of mothers and fathers in children’s picture books read by millions of parents and children in their formative years. We investigate the extent to which these books present rigid parental stereotypes that misrepresent the potential of family leaders. Method: We performed a content analysis of 203 prominent children’s picture books from recent years to assess the appearances, activities, and emotions of mothers and fathers. Results: Rather than transcending narrow gender stereotypes, fathers in the most-read books continue to be underrepresented, relatively hands-off parents. Mothers are generally portrayed as emotional parents who complete traditional chores and nurture children. Conclusion: The gender socialization of children and parents via children’s books contributes to the notion that mothers and fathers cannot perform as equals in homes or workplaces. Representations of mothers and fathers differ substantially, with fathers playing a secondary role in parenting if they appear at all.
Fighting for Family and Glory: Hope, Racialization, and Exploitation in a U.S. Boxing Gym
Authors: Torres Colón Gabriel A.
Published: December 2021

Relaying on years of ethnographic research and boxers’ life stories, this article examines how boxers from racialized and marginalized communities hope for family and glory in a Midwestern U.S. gym. Hope for family is embraced by youth and young adults who develop familial ties with trainers and fellow boxers. Hope for glory begins in gyms but ultimately must be sought in competitive arenas of elite amateur tournaments and professional boxing. Competitive arenas, however, exists in sociocultural systems that capitalize on the brutalization and exploitation of racialized bodies as boxing fanatics crave blood, pain, and concussions. In these contexts, boxers’ hope for glory is fulfilled through exploitation—both physical and cultural—of their collective bodies; and hope for glory compromises the relationships and sense of community that are established as boxers pursue hope for family.
Comparison of Educationally Labeled and Nonlabeled Adolescents With Emotional and Behavioral Needs
Authors: Hetrick Allyse A. , Kern Lee , Dever Bridget V.
Published: December 2021

Epidemiologic research suggests a gap between prevalence estimates of students with emotional or behavioral problems and the actual number of students identified under the federal category of emotional disturbance (ED). To better understand issues related to the identification gap, we investigated the academic and behavioral functioning, school-based services, frequency of discipline incidents, and predictors of labels among 626 secondary age students referred for participation in a larger study due to emotional and behavioral difficulties. Students with special education labels (i.e., ED, specific learning disability [SLD], other health impairment [OHI]) were compared to those who did not have a school label. Analyses indicated that there were no significant differences between groups on standardized measures of emotional and behavioral functioning. Academic performance was the only distinction, with students with learning disabilities scoring significantly lower in reading and math than students with other disability types or without disabilities. Students without an ED label received significantly fewer services whereas students with an ED label received significantly higher rates of disciplinary actions. Finally, demographic data examined did not differentially predict receipt of a label.
Regulatory regionalism and the limits of ASEAN banking integration: The case of Indonesia
Authors: Karim Moch Faisal , Irawan Adelia Putri , Mursitama Tirta Nugraha
Published: December 2021

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aims to integrate the banking industry in the region. To achieve this, ASEAN members have agreed to create the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF) to support such integration. Despite being endorsed in 2014, the framework remains vague and lacks clear policy coordination arrangements as well as standardisation instruments that enable ASEAN member states to integrate their banking sectors. This article examines why the member states agreed to such regulatory arrangements. Building upon the regulatory regionalism approach, we argue that the regulatory arrangement is underpinned by a socio-political struggle among dominant social forces in ASEAN. The article further argues that the political endeavour to internationalise domestic capital through the banking integration project remains problematic, given that local banking players seem to largely focus on protecting and penetrating domestic markets rather than regional expansion. This has hindered the progress of regional banking integration in ASEAN. To substantiate this argument, we use Indonesia’s engagement in the process as a case study. This article contributes to the study of political economies of banking integration outside of the European experiment by emphasising the importance of state–society relations in shaping the outcome of regional integration.
Coming and Going in Loops: Participatory Modelling of a System with All its Complexity
Authors: Brychkov Dmitry , Domegan Christine , McHugh Patricia
Published: December 2021

Social marketing is currently involved in pursuing several important theoretical and methodological goals pertaining to wide-scale behavior change. The lack of complex system understanding via highly participatory processes and feedback loops is a major impediment for systemic behavior change. The purpose of this paper is to show how the implementation of participatory modelling to explore networks of feedback loops can empower social marketing in capturing system complexity. As a case study, a group of system stakeholders qualitatively modelled a cycling system in a city setting to uncover the system's core behavioral dynamics. This participatory modelling process revealed that the interactions within and between three feedback loops were mainly responsible for the cycling system issues. These feedback loops were: (a) output-based and autocratic decision-making, (b) an abundance of conflicted interests and (c) the reinforcement of a car-dominant paradigm in people's minds. The paper contributes to understanding the potential of participatory modelling for multi-level behavior change.
Radiology reporting in rectal cancer using MRI: adherence to national template for structured reporting
Authors: Alvfeldt Gustav , Aspelin Peter , Blomqvist Lennart , Sellberg Nina
Published: December 2021

Background

In 2014, a national workshop program was initiated and a reporting template and manual for rectal cancer primary staging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was introduced and made available by the national Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry.

Purpose

To evaluate the effect of the national template program by identify if there was a gap between the content in Swedish MRI reports from 2016 and the national reporting template from 2014. The aim was to explore and compare differences in content in reporting practice in different hospitals in relation to the national reporting template, with focus on: (i) identifying any implementational differences in reporting styles; and (ii) evaluating if reporting completeness vary based on such implementational differences.

Material and Methods

A total of 250 MRI reports from 10 hospitals in four healthcare regions in Sweden were collected. Reports were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with a deductive thematic coding scheme based on the national reporting template.

Results

Three different implemented reporting styles were identified with variations of content coverage in relation to the template: (i) standardized and structured protocol (reporting style A); (ii) standardized semi-structured free-text (reporting style B); and (iii) regular free-text (reporting style C). The relative completeness of reporting practice of rectal cancer staging in relation to the national reporting template were 92.9% for reporting style A, 77.5% for reporting style B, and 63.9% for reporting style C.

Conclusion

The implementation of template-based reporting according to reporting style A is a key factor to conform to evidence-based practice for rectal cancer reporting using MRI.
Effects of nicorandil on systemic inflammation and oxidative stress induced by percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with coronary heart disease
Authors: Zong Yulong , Li Jie , Xu Xinghua , Xu Xingli
Published: December 2021

Objective

The present study investigated the effects of a bolus intracoronary injection of nicorandil on systemic inflammation and oxidative stress induced by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods

Patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) were enrolled into the CAG group (n = 30). Patients undergoing PCI were randomly divided into the PCI (n = 30) and PCI + nicorandil groups (n = 30).

Results

Blood taken from patients in the placebo group 24 hours after PCI exhibited significant increases in the expression of inflammatory indicators and mild increases in the expression of anti-inflammatory indicators. The intracoronary injection of nicorandil reversed the elevation of inflammatory indicators and significantly increased the levels of anti-inflammatory indicators in the blood of patients with PCI. Blood taken from patients in the placebo group 24 hours after PCI also displayed significant decreased superoxide dismutase levels and increased malondialdehyde levels. Nicorandil treatment reversed these changes of oxidative stress marker levels.

Conclusions

These results indicated the possible medical application of intracoronary injections of nicorandil for reducing systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in the peripheral blood of patients undergoing PCI.
Selecting from their toolbox of interventions – A realist study of the role of occupational therapists in reablement services
Authors: Dibsdall Lisa
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Reablement services support people to regain skills and increase their independence. This aim resonates with occupational therapy philosophy. This article presents results of a study of the role of occupational therapists in reablement services that involve two organisations.

Method

Theories on the role of occupational therapists in reablement were identified using a realist synthesis approach and were tested and expanded using a qualitative case study design. Each of the three case studies consisted of one reablement service in England. Methods of the study included observations and interviews with occupational therapists, interviews with managers in both organisations and focus groups and interviews with reablement support workers.

Findings

Findings conclude that occupational therapists’ education and experience underpin their ability to undertake assessments and person-centred goal setting. They utilise a range of intervention techniques selecting from their toolbox of interventions to support people. Occupational therapists have a role in training reablement support workers to work in an enabling way. Regular communication and co-location support levels of trust and shared purpose between members of the reablement team.

Conclusion

The conceptual framework developed from the study can be used by organisations when commissioning and developing reablement services to consider the different contextual layers of reablement.
Effect of porosity and skew edges on transient response of functionally graded sandwich plates
Authors: Karakoti Abhilash , Podishetty Mahesh , Pandey Shashank , Ranjan Kar Vishesh
Published: December 2021

This work for the first time presents the effect of porosity and skew edges on the transient response of functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates using a layerwise finite element formulation. Two configurations of FGM sandwich plates are considered. In the first configuration, the top and the bottom layers are made of the FGM and the core is made of pure metal, whereas in the second configuration, the bottom, core and the top layers are made of pure metal, FGM and pure ceramic, respectively. Four micromechanics models based on the rule of mixture are used to model porosity for these two configurations of FGM sandwich plates. A layerwise theory based on a first-order shear deformation theory for each layer that maintains the displacement continuity at the layer interface is used for the present investigation. An eight-noded isoparametric element with nine degrees of freedom per node is used to develop the finite element model (FEM). The governing equations for the present investigation are derived using Hamilton’s principle. A wide range of comparison studies are presented to establish the accuracy of the present FEM formulation. It has been shown here that the parameters like skew angle, porosity coefficient, volume fraction index, core to facesheet thickness ratio and boundary conditions have a significant effect on the transient response of FGM sandwich plates. Also, the present finite element formulation is simple and accurate.
Incidence and determinants of malpositioning tracheostomy tubes in critically ill adult patients
Authors: Ananthan Prakkash P , Ho Kwok M , Anstey Matthew H , Wibrow Bradley A
Published: December 2021

Tracheostomy tubes are chosen primarily based on their internal diameter; however, the length of the tube may also be important. We performed a prospective clinical audit of 30 critically ill patients following tracheostomy to identify the type of tracheostomy tube inserted, the incidence of malpositioning and the factors associated with the need to change the tracheostomy tube subsequently. Anthropometric neck measurements, distance between the skin and tracheal rings and the position of the tracheostomy cuff relative to the tracheal stoma were recorded and analysed. Malpositioning of the tracheostomy tube was noted in 20%, with a high riding cuff being the most common cause of malpositioning, resulting in an audible leak and a need to change the tracheostomy tube subsequently. A high riding cuff was more common when a small tracheostomy tube (e.g. Portex (Smiths Medical Australasia, Macquarie Park, NSW) ≤8.0 mm internal diameter with length <7.5 cm) was used, with risk further increased when the patient’s skin to trachea depth was greater than 0.8 cm. Identifying a high riding cuff relative to the tracheal stoma confirmed by a translaryngeal bronchoscopy strongly predicted the risk of air leak and the need to change the tracheostomy tube subsequently. Our study suggests that when a small (and short) tracheostomy tube is planned for use, intraoperative translaryngeal bronchoscopy is warranted to exclude malpositioning of the tracheostomy tube with a high riding cuff.
Effects of an open lung ventilatory strategy on lung gas exchange during laparoscopic surgery
Authors: Peyton Philip J , Aitken Sarah , Wallin Mats
Published: December 2021

In general anaesthesia, early collapse of poorly ventilated lung segments with low alveolar ventilation–perfusion ratios occurs and may lead to postoperative pulmonary complications after abdominal surgery. An ‘open lung’ ventilation strategy involves lung recruitment followed by ‘individualised’ positive end-expiratory pressure titrated to maintain recruitment of low alveolar ventilation–perfusion ratio lung segments. There are limited data in laparoscopic surgery on the effects of this on pulmonary gas exchange. Forty laparoscopic bowel surgery patients were randomly assigned to standard ventilation or an ‘open lung’ ventilation intervention, with end-tidal target sevoflurane of 1% supplemented by propofol infusion. After peritoneal insufflation, stepped lung recruitment was performed in the intervention group followed by maintenance positive end-expiratory pressure of 12–15 cmH2O adjusted to maintain dynamic lung compliance at post-recruitment levels. Baseline gas and blood samples were taken and repeated after a minimum of 30 minutes for oxygen and carbon dioxide and for sevoflurane partial pressures using headspace equilibration. The sevoflurane arterial/alveolar partial pressure ratio and alveolar deadspace fraction were unchanged from baseline and remained similar between groups (mean (standard deviation) control group = 0.754 (0.086) versus intervention group = 0.785 (0.099), P = 0.319), while the arterial oxygen partial pressure/fractional inspired oxygen concentration ratio was significantly higher in the intervention group at the second timepoint (control group median (interquartile range) 288 (234–372) versus 376 (297–470) mmHg in the intervention group, P = 0.011). There was no difference between groups in the sevoflurane consumption rate. The efficiency of sevoflurane uptake is not improved by open lung ventilation in laparoscopy, despite improved arterial oxygenation associated with effective and sustained recruitment of low alveolar ventilation–perfusion ratio lung segments.
Unexpected survival after deliberate phosphine gas poisoning: An Australian experience of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation rescue in this setting
Authors: A Farrar Ross , B Justus Angelo , A Masurkar Vikram , M Garrett Peter
Published: December 2021

Phosphine poisoning is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths per year in countries where access to this pesticide is unrestricted. Metal phosphides release phosphine gas on contact with moisture, and ingestion of these tablets most often results in death despite intensive support. A 36-year-old woman presented to a regional hospital after ingesting multiple aluminium phosphide pesticide tablets and rapidly developed severe cardiogenic shock. In this case, serendipitous access to an untested Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) service of a regional hospital effected a successful rescue and prevented the predicted death. We discuss the toxicology, management and the evidence for and against using ECMO in this acute poisoning.
How an idiosyncratic (zero-beta) risk can greatly increase the firm’s cost of capital
Authors: Grant Andrew , Johnstone David , Kwon Oh Kang
Published: December 2021

The celebrated capital asset pricing model (‘CAPM’) brought numerous appealing insights and spawned a new theory of capital budgeting. One key intuition is that there is ‘no penalty for diversifiable risk’ – that is, any risky payoff that has zero-correlation with the wider economy, and hence zero-beta, is treated as ‘risk-free’. Does that mean that managers can bet the firm on a spin of the roulette wheel without attracting a higher CAPM discount rate? Our re-interpretation of CAPM reveals that potential financial losses which are conventionally regarded as firm-specific ‘unpriced’ risks can bring a large increase in the firm’s beta and CAPM cost of capital, despite having zero-beta and making only negligible difference at the aggregate market level. This mathematical result clashes with textbook expositions but is easily demonstrated and can be traced to authoritative but overlooked parts of the theoretical CAPM literature.

JEL Classification: G11, G12
Patterns of Delirium in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Associations With Noise Pollution
Authors: Weatherhead Jeffrey R. , Niedner Matthew , Dahmer Mary K. , Malas Nasuh , Owens Toni , Kawai Yu
Published: December 2021

Objective: Delirium is a common problem in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and is associated with increased length of stay, cost and mortality. This study evaluated the relationship between noise pollution and delirium risk. Design: This is a Quality Improvement (QI) initiative at an academic PICU. Sound levels were monitored and patients were screened for delirium using the Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium (CAPD). Setting PICU Patients: All PICU patients Interventions: None Measurements and Main Results: Over the 83-week study period (2015-2017), the median [IQR] CAPD score was 8 [3 to 14]. Nursing compliance with the CAPD was 72.2%. The proportion of patients screening positive for delirium (CAPD ≥ 9) was 45.9%. A total of 329 711 hly decibel (dB) measurements were collected and reported. Occupied rooms were louder than unoccupied rooms (51.8 [51.6-51.9] dB vs. 49.8 [49.7-49.9] dB, respectively, p < 0.001). Days (10 AM to 4 PM) were louder than nights (11 PM to 5 AM) (52.8 [52.7-53.0] dB vs. 50.7 [49.9-51.5] dB, respectively p < 0.001) in occupied rooms. Winter (Nov-Feb) months were louder than summer (May-Aug) months (52.0 [51.8-52.3] dB vs. 51.5 [51.3-51.7] dB, respectively, p < 0.002) in occupied rooms. Median weekly nighttime noise levels and CAPD scores demonstrated a correlation coefficient of 0.6 ( p < 0.001). Median weekly risk of mortality (ROM) and CAPD scores demonstrated a correlation coefficient of 0.15 ( p < 0.01). Conclusions: Significant noise pollution exists in the PICU with a moderate correlation between nighttime noise levels and CAPD scores. This could potentially implicate noise pollution as a risk factor for the development of delirium.
The Political Opportunity Structure and the Evolution of the Organizational Base of Peasants’ and Farmers’ Protest Activity in Poland in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
Authors: Foryś Grzegorz
Published: December 2021

The main research question of this article is as follows: What was the impact on the protest potential of peasants and farmers in the analyzed periods of the relations between the structure of political opportunity and the way these social groups were organized? In the author’s opinion, the impact was indirect, although it remodelled the organizational aspects of how the peasant and farmer movement functioned: from organizations in the form of political parties, through trade unions in the period of state socialism, up to producers’ organizations in contemporary Poland. It must be added, however, that the key factor responsible for these changes in the organizational background of the peasantry was changes within those social groups themselves: firstly, the empowerment of the peasantry in the inter-war period, the professionalization of farmers during state socialism, and the marketization of their activity after 1989.
Assessment of Exclusive, Dual, and Polytobacco E-Cigarette Use and COVID-19 Outcomes Among College Students
Authors: Merianos Ashley L. , Russell Alex M. , Mahabee-Gittens E. Melinda , Barry Adam E. , Yang Meng , Lin Hsien-Chang
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study examined current (past 30-day) dual- and polytobacco use patterns and COVID-19 symptomatology, testing, and diagnosis status among college student electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users.

Design

Cross-sectional online questionnaire administered during October–December 2020.

Setting

Four large, U.S. public universities in geographically diverse locations.

Sample

College students (N=756) ages 18–24 who reported current e-cigarette use.

Measures

Current use of e-cigarettes, combustible cigarettes, and cigars, and self-reported COVID-19 symptomatology, testing, and diagnosis status were measured.

Analysis

Multivariable logistic regression models accounting for students’ demographics, university site, fraternity/sorority membership, and current residence.

Results

Over half (53.6%) of students were exclusive e-cigarette users, 20.4% were dual e-cigarette and combustible cigarette users, 4.6% were dual e-cigarette and cigar users, and 21.4% were poly users of e-cigarettes, combustible cigarettes, and cigars. Compared to exclusive e-cigarette users, dual users of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes (AOR=2.12, 95%CI=1.05–4.27) and poly users of e-cigarettes, combustible cigarettes, and cigars (AOR=3.70, 95%CI=1.78–7.70) had increased odds of COVID-19 symptomatology, even when accounting for covariates. While current tobacco use groups did not differ based on COVID-19 testing, polytobacco users had significantly increased odds (AOR=2.16, 95%CI=1.11–4.20) of having received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

Conclusion

Given use of two or more tobacco products increased COVID-19-related risks, results underscore the need to prevent dual- and polytobacco use behaviors in college student e-cigarette users.
Resisting a postcolonial construction of historical trauma and healing: Critical discourse analysis of public apologies in Canada
Authors: Lee Eunjung , Johnstone Marjorie
Published: December 2021

The contemporary discourse around historical trauma and healing is site for debate and resistance in public spheres. Guided by critical scholars in language and power as well as post-and settler colonialism, this study analyzes texts and contexts of two public apologies in Canada – Chinese head tax, and residential schools for Indigenous children – to examine how historical trauma and healing were understood, and by doing so how the subject and object were re/constructed to maintain or resist social (dis)orders – postcolonial racial orders – in the past and the present of Canada. Findings included: (1) a split and temporal distance between the wrong past and the benevolent present with governments constructing themselves as the good subject reifying a sincere fiction of a liberal, benevolent, and just white-nation; (2) no acknowledgement of the cause of historical trauma, namely colonial governing; (3) ongoing construction of the other racialized population as victims/burdens/lesser citizens to current Canada; and (4) the explicit demand to collective forgetting of the past/historical trauma as current healing and inclusion. We discuss social responsibilities when historical wounds continue to leave injuries and the risk of perpetuating systemic violence to people with whom we currently share the nation all of us call home.
“It’s Going to be Different for Everyone”: Negotiating Quality of Life and Care Priorities Within Care Convoys
Authors: Burgess Elisabeth O. , Kemp Candace L. , Bender Alexis A.
Published: December 2021

Objective: The overall goal of this analysis was to learn about residents’ quality of life and quality of care in assisted living over time and from multiple viewpoints within support networks. Method: This grounded theory analysis examined qualitative data collected from 50 residents and 169 of their care network members followed over two consecutive 2-year periods in 8 diverse settings. Results: Quality involved a dynamic process of “negotiating priorities,” which refers to working out what is most important for residents’ quality of life and care. Resident and care partner priorities were not always consistent or shared, in part because quality is personal, subjective, dynamic, and situational. Discussion: Communication and collaboration among formal and informal care partners are vital to residents’ ability to age in place with a high quality of life and quality care.
Decadence and relational freedom among China's gay migrants: Subverting heteronormativity by ‘lying flat’
Authors: Gong Jing , Liu Tingting
Published: December 2021

Departing from the prevailing, individualist perspective of freedom, emphasizing individuals’ independence and the maximization of self-interest via unconstrained decision-making, this article applies the concepts of practised freedom and relational autonomy to explore the lived experience of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant gay men. Drawing on our ethnographic fieldwork in the ‘urban villages’ (城中村) of South China, we examine the ways in which rural migrant gay men achieve a sense of freedom, which is dependent on rural-to-urban migration, informal manufacturing jobs, and other queer peers, thus demonstrating a certain level of relational autonomy. Our article clearly shows how these men have come to identify as homeless guabi (挂逼, local slang for those who suffer a tragic and mysterious fate) and spend their days wandering, with no interest in stable work or long-term monogamous relationships. Our research offers a first-hand anthropological account of young adults from the rural working classes who prefer to ‘lie flat’ (躺平) – they refuse to strive for upward social mobility because they believe that upward social mobility is unattainable and a factory job too taxing.
Informative campaigning in multidimensional politics: The role of naïve voters
Authors: Kasamatsu Satoshi , Kishishita Daiki
Published: December 2021

This paper aims to investigate the possibility that electoral campaigning transmits truthful information in a situation where campaigning has a direct persuasive effect on a subset of the electorate called “naïve voters.” To this end, we construct a multi-sender signaling game in which an incumbent and a challenger decide whether to focus on policy or ability in electoral campaigning, and a media outlet then decides whether to gather news. Voters are divided into sophisticated and naïve voters. We demonstrate that a candidate's strategy regarding their issues of focus (campaign messages) can signal his or her private information. Specifically, negative campaigning against the incumbent's ability signals the incumbent's low ability in all separating equilibria. It is also noteworthy that separating equilibria exist only when sophisticated and naïve voters coexist. This implies that a fraction of naïve voters has a non-monotonic effect on the possibility of transmitting truthful information.
Adaptive neural sliding mode control with prescribed performance of robotic manipulators subject to backlash hysteresis
Authors: Wang Huaizhen , Fang Lijin , Wang Junyi , Song Tangzhong , Shen Hesong
Published: December 2021

Robust and precise control of robot systems are still challenging problems due to the existence of uncertainties and backlash hysteresis. To deal with the problems, an adaptive neural sliding mode control with prescribed performance is proposed for robotic manipulators. A finite-time nonsingular terminal sliding mode control combined with a new prescribed performance function (PPF) is developed to guarantee the transient and steady-state performance of the closed-loop system. Based on the sliding mode variable, an adaptive law is presented to effectively estimate the bound of system uncertainties where the prior knowledge of uncertainties is not needed. To approximate nonlinear function and unknown dynamics, the Gaussian radial basis function neural networks(RBFNNs) is introduced to compensate the lumped nonlinearities. All signals of the closed-loop system are proven to be uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) by Lyapunov analysis. Finally, comparative simulations are conducted to illustrate superiority and reliability of the proposed control strategy.
Numerical investigation of surface roughness effect on pool boiling heat transfer of Al2O3/water nanofluid
Authors: Mousavi Fatemeh , Adibi Pouyan , Abedini Ehsan
Published: December 2021

This study examined the effect of surface roughness on the pool boiling heat transfer coefficient of pure water and water-alumina nanofluid with 0.1% and 0.01% volume concentration using computational fluid dynamics on the surface of a stainless-steel cylinder. The effect of nanoparticles was checked by averaging the thermophysical properties in the equations of the flow field with boiling. Simulations were performed for initial surface roughnesses from 0.1 to 0.8 µm. Furthermore, the presence of nanoparticles would make their deposition on the heated surface and change the surface properties. Thus, once again simulations were performed for roughness with the same values but because of the deposition of nanoparticles. In doing so, two separate equations were used for the nucleation site density parameter. Ultimately, the results obtained from both types of roughness were compared. The results indicated that with an increase in the roughness, the boiling heat transfer coefficient increased. Further, at the same roughness, the boiling heat transfer rate of the deposited surface decreased for nanofluid of 0.01% vol and increased for nanofluid of 0.1% vol compared to the non-deposited surface. For pure water at 0.8 µm roughness, the sediment improved heat transfer but it reduced heat transfer for 0.4 µm and lower roughness.
Parametric study on the influence of material properties and geometry on the thermally induced bistability of composite laminates
Authors: Emam Samir A , Pherwani Tarun , Anil Aravindh , Muhammed Aeman
Published: December 2021

This paper presents a parametric study on the key parameters that control the thermally induced bistability of cross-ply laminates. The influence of the material properties including the moduli of elasticity and the thermal expansion coefficients and the laminate’s geometry including the aspect ratio (AR) and the width-to-thickness ratio are investigated. The unsymmetric [Formula: see text] and the antisymmetric [Formula: see text] cross-ply laminates are investigated. Five key parameters are varied: the number of plies, the width-to-thickness ratio, the laminate’s aspect ratio, the ratio of the moduli of elasticity, and the ratio of the thermal expansion coefficients of the lamina. The laminate is assumed flat at the cured temperature and a uniform temperature gradient is applied until it is reduced to the room temperature. For each set of parameters, the stable equilibrium shapes of the laminate are obtained using a Ritz model. The ABAQUS finite element package is used to validate the model and an excellent agreement is obtained. Results that show the variation of the curvatures with the width-to-thickness ratio and the onset of the bistability for a variety of parameters are presented. The ratio of the moduli of elasticity and the thermal expansion coefficients significantly affect the critical width-to-thickness ratio at which the laminates become bistable. The unsymmetric laminates show bistability at a lower width-to-thickness ratio compared with the antisymmetric laminates. The results also show that the higher the aspect ratio, the lower the critical width-to-thickness ratio for stability for both laminates.
Analysis of process efficiency in laser fusion cutting and some single- and multi-objective optimization aspects
Authors: Madić Miloš , Gadallah Mohamed H , Petković Dušan
Published: December 2021

For an efficient use of laser cutting technology, it is of great importance to analyze the impact of process parameters on different performance indicators, such as cut quality criteria, productivity criteria, costs as well as environmental performance criteria (energy and resource efficiency). Having this in mind, this study presents the experimental results of CO2 laser fusion cutting of AISI 304 stainless steel using nitrogen, with the aim of developing a semi-empirical mathematical model for the estimation of process efficiency as an important indicator of the achievable energy transfer efficiency in the cutting process. The model was developed by relating the theoretical power needed to melt the volume per unit time and used laser power, where the change of kerf width was modeled using an empirical power model in terms of laser cutting parameters such as laser power, cutting speed, and focus position. The obtained results indicated the dominant effect of the focus position on the change in process efficiency, followed by the cutting speed and laser power. In addition, in order to maximize process efficiency and simultaneously ensure high cut quality without dross formation, a laser cutting optimization problem with constraints was formulated and solved. Also, a multi-objective optimization problem aimed at simultaneous optimization of process efficiency and material removal rate was formulated and solved, where the determined set of Pareto non-dominated solutions was analyzed by using the entropy method and multi-criteria decision analysis method, that is, the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution. The optimization results revealed that in order to enhance process efficiency and material removal rate, while ensuring high cut quality without dross formation, focusing the laser beam deep into the bulk of material is needed with particular trade-offs between laser power and cutting speed levels at high pressure levels of nitrogen.
Effect of flat wall length on decay and shock structure of a supersonic square wall jet
Authors: Tammabathula Venkata Satya Manikanta , Ghanta Venkata Sai Krishna , Bandla Tharaka Narendra Sridhar
Published: December 2021

Experiments were conducted to find the effect of wall length on the decay behaviour and shock structure of a supersonic wall jet issuing from c-d nozzle of the square-shaped exit. A straight flat wall of width same as the side length of the square was attached to the lip of the nozzle such that the leading edge of the wall and the side of the square aligned properly which allowed the supersonic jet to graze past the flat wall. Experiments were conducted with five different wall lengths, that is, [Formula: see text] = 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8. Wall pressure measurements were made from leading edge to the trailing edge of the wall along its centreline. Schlieren flow visualization of the jet flow over the wall for the different wall lengths revealed the shock pattern and the effect of the wall length on the shock structure. The shock structure and jet deflection were significantly affected due to the presence of the wall. There was an upward jet deflection for [Formula: see text] up to [Formula: see text] whereas a downward jet deflection was observed for [Formula: see text]. Noticeable changes in the shock structure were observed for the wall lengths up to 2 D h. The wall length also significantly affected the jet decay characteristics and supersonic core length. Maximum enhancement in jet decay and maximum reduction in supersonic core length resulted when the wall length was [Formula: see text]. However, when the wall length was increased to [Formula: see text], there was a significant reduction in jet decay and a recovery of [Formula: see text]. Presence of wall always resulted a reduction in Lsc irrespective of wall length. The wall effect was to induce a more precipitous pressure drop closer to the nozzle exit, and a more gradual drop farther from it for [Formula: see text] > [Formula: see text].
Research on compound fault diagnosis of rolling bearing based on intrinsic time scale decomposition and information fusion
Authors: Yu Mingyue , Guo Guihong
Published: December 2021

In view of the difficulty to effectively extract compound faults of rolling bearing from aero-engine and precisely identify their types, the paper has proposed a method integrating signal separation algorithm and information fusion. Firstly, the method decomposes the vibration acceleration signals collected by sensors from different positions at the same moment based on intrinsic time scale decomposition algorithm. Secondly, cross correlation analysis is given to the proper rotation component (PRC) of the same layer, which are obtained after decomposition and correspond to the sensors from different positions and cross-correlation function is introduced to embody information fusion. Thirdly, signals are reconstructed according to cross-correlation function of each PRC. Finally, based on the frequency spectrum of reconstructed signal, extract the characteristics of rolling bearing and identify the type of faults under different sensor combinations and multiple compound fault types. The result shows, the proposed method can effectively extract the characteristics of compound faults of bearing and precisely identify the type of faults under different sensor combinations and multiple compound fault types of rolling bearing.