bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
UK medical students’ mental health and their intention to drop out: a longitudinal study
Authors: Medisauskaite Asta , Silkens Milou , Lagisetty Neha , Rich Antonia
Published: February 2025

Objective

The attrition of medical students is an incredibly important problem feeding into healthcare workforce issues. This study seeks to explore the relationships between various mental health issues and dropout.

Design

This is a longitudinal study where medical students completed an online questionnaire between November 2020 and February 2021 and those who took part were invited (February–May 2021) to complete the questionnaire again 3 months later.

Settings

Students from nine geographically spread medical schools in the UK took part in this study.

Participants

792 (71.16%) participants filled in the baseline questionnaire and 407 (51.39%) of these students completed the follow-up survey (385 participants were lost to follow-up).

Outcome measures

Dropout intentions.

Exposures

Various mental ill-health symptoms using validated scales: emotional exhaustion, insomnia, somatisation, hazardous drinking, anxiety/depression, anorexia tendencies, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), paranoia and bipolar.

Results

A large number of students met the criteria for mental health disorders (eg, 54.1% insomnia, 37.9% anxiety/depression, 19.4% paranoia) and 19.4% (79) said that they considered dropping out from medical school. Those students who were more emotionally exhausted (Badjusted=0.94, p<0.0001) and expressed higher anxiety/depression symptoms (Badjusted=1.12, p<0.0001), insomnia symptoms (Badjusted=0.69, p<0.0001), somatisation symptoms (Badjusted=0.77, p<0.0001), anorexia tendencies (Badjusted=−0.84, p<0.0001), OCD symptoms (Badjusted=0.61, p<0.0001) and paranoia symptoms (Badjusted=0.52, p<0.0001) expressed significantly stronger intentions to leave their medical education. Hazardous drinking and bipolar symptoms did not predict students’ intention to drop out (p>0.05).

Conclusions

A substantial number of UK medical students experienced mental ill-health symptoms, about one in five medical students considers leaving medical school, and mental ill-health symptoms contributed to students’ intentions to leave their medical education. Medical schools should improve the learning environment for students and encourage them to seek help to reduce the stigma of mental ill-health symptoms (eg, through education, signposting). It may be useful for medical schools to help applicants/medical students understand whether medical school is the right decision for them and provide them with resources should they wish to leave.
Understanding cardiac arrest dispatch of physician-paramedic critical care prehospital teams: a survey-based evaluation
Authors: Morton Sarah , Eagle Chris , Wallman Scott , Wareham Gaynor , Major Rob , Edmunds Christopher , McLachlan Sarah
Published: February 2025

Background

Appropriate dispatch of critical care teams to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has been identified as a research priority emergency care in the UK. The study aimed to understand the criteria informing the decision to dispatch a critical care physician-paramedic prehospital team to OHCA in one UK region.

Methods

An invitation to participate in an anonymised online survey was sent by email to clinicians and non-clinicians working on the critical care (physician-paramedic) dispatch desk for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust between June and July 2023. Demographic data relating to the experience of the dispatchers were collected alongside evaluating the effect of 15 predetermined criteria on OHCA dispatch (based on a pilot survey) on their decision to dispatch a physician-paramedic team. Responses to closed-end questions were calculated as percentages. A compulsory free text question on dispatching the physician-paramedic team was included. Free text data were interpreted by one author and the interpretation reviewed by all authors.

Results

20 respondents (19 critical care paramedics and one non-clinical dispatcher) participated, yielding a 79% response rate for clinical and 17% for non-clinical dispatchers. ‘Witnessed cardiac arrest’ and return of spontaneous circulation achieved on scene were criteria used by 100% of respondents in informing dispatch of a physician-paramedic team to OHCA. 10 of the 15 preidentified criteria were considered important in their decision-making by at least 75% of respondents. ‘Age’ was considered as more than just a number, instead incorporating both the nuances of a paediatric cardiac arrest and the importance of physiological reserve and frailty.

Conclusion

The only 100% agreement in dispatch criteria was ‘witnessed arrest’. Otherwise, variation existed and additional information, like identification of frailty, was gathered to support nuanced decision-making. Wider research across the UK would help identify factors and commonalities in OHCA physician-paramedic dispatch to target improved survival rates.
Insufficient sleep, impaired sleep and medically treated injury in Canadian adolescents: a national cross-sectional study
Authors: Pagnotta Valerie Frances , Liu Jian , Vine Michelle , Pickett William
Published: February 2025

Background

Insufficient and impaired sleep are common in adolescents and can adversely impact health and well-being. One likely consequence of poor sleep is a risk of unintentional injuries, yet the evidence base is limited for such relationships. We, therefore, documented contemporary sleeping behaviours of young people in Canada and examined relationships between these behaviours and risks for injury.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was employed using records from the 2017/2018 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n=21 745). Indicators of poor sleep (insufficient sleep on school and non-school days, impaired sleep, daytime sleepiness) and annual reports of medically treated injuries (any, serious) were obtained. Descriptive and hierarchical modified Poisson regression analyses were performed to explore these relationships, while controlling for potential confounders.

Results

Insufficient sleep, impaired sleep and daytime sleepiness were reported by 11.3–35.3% of adolescents; variations in these estimates were observed by gender. Sleep indicators were modestly but consistently associated with risks for the occurrence of ‘any injury’, whereas impaired sleep and daytime sleepiness were the only meaningful and significant risk factors for ‘serious injuries’ in adjusted models (prevalence ratio range: 1.18–1.30). The analysis of interactions revealed boys with insufficient sleep on non-school days as well as impaired sleep to have higher injury risks compared with girls.

Discussion and conclusions

Impaired sleep and its effects have emerged as a quiet epidemic, affecting up to one-third of Canadian adolescents and being associated with risks for injury. Sleep hygiene may therefore act as a plausible focus for clinical and public health initiatives to mitigate injury risks.
Upskilling pain relief after surgery: a scoping review of perioperative behavioral intervention efficacy and practical considerations for implementation
Authors: Darnall Beth D , Abshire Lauren , Courtney Rena E , Davin Sara
Published: February 2025

Perioperative skills-based interventions may support non-pharmacological management of pain and opioid reduction after surgery. Such interventions may target and enhance predictors for surgical recovery and possibly reduce chronic postsurgical pain. Existing meta-analyses are limited by inclusion of studies that are either non-surgical or with outcomes occurring only in the hours after surgery. Lacking is a scoping review of studies testing perioperative skills-based interventions for postsurgical pain relief and opioid reduction in the days and months after surgery. We reviewed the efficacy of perioperative behavioral interventions; over what time frame and in which surgical populations efficacy evidence exists; and whether such interventions can prevent chronic postsurgical pain. 20 randomized trials were included, with the following intervention types: hypnosis, relaxation therapy, stress management training, mindfulness, mixed-type skills interventions (mind–body skills, preoperative pain self-management, empowered relief for surgery); cognitive behavioral–therapy (CBT); and mindfulness-based CBT. We summarize study methods, treatment specifics, and analgesic effects. No studies were designed to test intervention efficacy for preventing chronic postsurgical pain. Only two studies used active controls as the study comparator. Two studies showed positive effects on postsurgical opioid use. No studies tested whether the interventions enhanced time to pain cessation after surgery. Four studies demonstrated durable analgesic effects at 3–12 months after surgery. We describe the real-world practicality of intervention integration into the perioperative pathway and provide dissemination and implementation methodologies that may increase intervention uptake and therefore fulfill calls from national agencies to better integrate behavioral pain treatments into perioperative care.
New physics in spin entanglement
Authors: Duch Mateusz , Strumia Alessandro , Titov Arsenii
Published: February 2025

We propose a theory that preserves spin-summed scattering and decay rates at tree level while affecting particle spins. This is achieved by breaking the Lorentz group in a non-local way that tries avoiding stringent constraints, for example leaving unbroken the maximal sub-group SIM(2). As a phenomenological application, this new physics can alter the spins of top-antitop pairs (and consequently their entanglement) produced in pp collisions without impacting their rates. Some observables affected by loops involving top quarks with modified entanglement receive corrections.
Remove point-mass concept-remove singularities from GR
Authors: Sobouti Yousef , Sheikhahmadi Haidar
Published: February 2025

Singularities in Newton’s gravitation, in general relativity (GR), in Coulomb’s law, and elsewhere in classical physics, stem from two ill conceived assumptions: (a) there are point-like entities with finite masses, charges, etc., packed in zero volumes, and (b) the non-quantum assumption that these point-likes can be assigned precise coordinates and momenta. In the case of GR, we argue that the classical energy–momentum tensor in Einstein’s field equation is that of a collection of point particles and is prone to singularity. In compliance with Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, we suggest to replace each constituent of the gravitating matter with a suitable quantum mechanical equivalent, here a Klien–Gordon (KG) or a Yukawa-ameliorated version of it, YKG field. KG and YKG fields are spatially distributed entities. They do not end up in singular spacetime points nor predict singular blackholes. On the other hand, YKG waves reach infinity as [Formula: see text]. They create the Newtonian [Formula: see text] term as well as a non-Newtonian [Formula: see text] force. The latter is capable of explaining the observed flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies, and is interpretable as an alternative gravity, a dark matter scenario, etc. There are ample observational data on flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies, coded in the Tully–Fisher relation, to support our propositions.
INTEGRAL SOLUTIONS OF AN INITIAL VALUE PROBLEM OF FRACTIONAL DYNAMIC EQUATIONS ON TIME SCALE
Authors: GOGOI BIKASH , SAHA UTPAL KUMAR , HAZARIKA BIPAN , AHMAD HIJAZ , OZSAHIN DILBER UZUN , ADEL M. , ALOTAIBI MAGED F.
Published: February 2025

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of the integral solution of a fractional dynamic problem in the domain of time scale calculus. The discussion has been done with the help of Schauder’s fixed point theorem and the Kolmogorov compactness criterion in time scales. The new notion of the Caputo derivative in terms of nabla derivative (Caputo [Formula: see text]-derivative) is developed with the help of the recently developed new notion of Riemann–Liouville nabla derivative (Riemann–Liouville [Formula: see text]-derivative). Some properties of the Caputo [Formula: see text]-derivative are also discussed. Later, examples have been given to justify the main findings of the paper.
EXISTENCE RESULTS FOR SOME p-KIRCHHOFF PROBLEMS WITH ψ-HILFER FRACTIONAL DERIVATIVE
Authors: ALZUMI HADEEL Z. , SHAMMAKH WAFA , GHANMI ABDELJABBAR
Published: February 2025

In this paper, we investigate the existence of solutions to a [Formula: see text]-Kirchhoff problem involving the [Formula: see text]-Hilfer fractional derivative. Specifically, we reformulate the problem by analyzing the associated functional energy. We then construct three disjoint sets and demonstrate that the functional energy has a critical point in each of these sets. Finally, based on the definitions of these sets, we show that in the first set the solution is positive, in the second set the solution is negative, and in the third set, the solution changes sign.
‘AI is Soulless’: Hollywood Film Workers Strike and Emerging Perceptions of Generative Cinema
Authors: Halperin Brett A. , Rosner Daniela K.
Published: February 2025

Why were Hollywood film workers striking or supporting strikes against artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023? To investigate this question, we conduct participant observation on the picket line and interview 15 film workers, including 12 union members from SAG-AFTRA, WGA, and IATSE, as well as 3 non-unionized workers, across roles. From screenwriting to acting, our interlocutors described how studio use of AI might exacerbate wage squeeze, estrangement from embodied co-creation, rush for results, and inauthentic creativity. We find that film worker resistance to emergent and projected uses of AI echoes earlier technical developments, such as the incorporation of sound, color, HD, DVD, and CGI. These innovations initially sparked anxieties about the demise of cinema, but ultimately created new aesthetic possibilities and professions. We end with a reflection on core concerns for worker engagement, including topics of prophesy and the “soul” of sociotechnical labor.
Research on Flashover Characteristics and Charge Evolution Mechanism of Silicone Rubber Under Different Temperature and Pressure
Authors: Xu Fengyuan , Zhang Liankang , Feng Hao , Li Guochang , Zhu Yuanwei , Wei Yanhui
Published: February 2025

The interface between gas and insulation dielectric is one of the weakest links in the insulation of electrical equipment. This paper focuses on the influence of temperature and pressure on the surface flashover of silicone rubber under the action of AC electric field was studied by combining simulation and experiment, and the influence mechanism of temperature and pressure on the surface flashover was revealed. The experimental results show that the flashover voltage decreases from 12.24 kV to 9.43 kV when the temperature increases from −40 °C to 60 °C. Meanwhile, the pressure decreases from 1 atm to 0.5 atm, and the flashover voltage decreases from 10.24 kV to 6.43 kV. At the same time, the lower temperature weakens the ionization process, resulting in less electron accumulation. The simulation results show that the electron density of the material surface decreases from 1.41 × 1019 m−3 to 8.46 × 1018 m−3. As the pressure decreases, the impact-ionization process is enhanced, resulting in increased electron accumulation. The electron density of the material surface increases from 2.25 × 1019 m−3 to 6.59 × 1019 m−3. This work has important guiding significance for studying the influence mechanism of different environments on flashover.
Numerical and Experimental Investigations on an Angular Approach Flowfield (AAF) Geometry for PEM Fuel Cells
Authors: Nejma Mohammed Hicham , Mounir Hamid , Iskandarani Bilal , Morimoto Yu , Brouwer Jack , Zenyuk Iryna V.
Published: February 2025

In this study, we introduce and investigate numerically and experimentally the performance of an Angular Approach Flowfield (AAF) geometry for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and we compare three versions of this geometry (AAF V1.0, AAF V2.0, and AAF v2.1) to the conventional triple-serpentine (triple-serpentine homemade (TSHM)) one. The AAF V2.0 showed an improvement of 11% in numerical simulation compared to the triple serpentine geometry. However, this improvement was not replicated in the in-situ testing which may be attributed to the material used in the bipolar plates and the need for further hardware improvement. The introduction of channels in AAF V2.1 reduced the pressure drop but resulted in lower performance probably due to a non-optimal reactant distribution. In this study, we showed the impact of material properties and the assembly protocol on the performance of the fuel cell. We investigated the contact angle of the graphite used as well as the best torque (sealing and contacting pressure) to use in our hardware. These findings show the importance of flow-field design, material selection, and assembly conditions for achieving good velocity, pressure and oxygen distributions for enhancing PEMFC efficiency.
Influence of Ionomer Content in Pt/mesoporous SnO2 Electrodes on PEM Fuel Cell Performance
Authors: Murase Ryuichi , Inaba Masanori , Matsuoka Yoriko , Kamitaka Yuji , Yoshino Shuhei , Koiwai Akihiko , Takeshita Tomohiro , Kodama Kensaku
Published: February 2025

The search for more durable supports for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst is a topic of increasing importance in the development of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Recently, tin oxide (SnO2) supports have garnered attention because of their high oxidative stability. However, improving their cell performance, particularly under wet conditions, remains a challenge before their successful deployment. Herein, we expand on our previous work on carbon-free mesoporous SnO2-based catalyst supports and investigate the effects of ionomer content on ORR performance and cathode catalyst layer (CCL) structure. Optimization of the ionomer content resulted in a more uniform ionomer distribution and alleviation of CCL flooding and a 2-fold increase in catalytic activity under wet conditions. As a result, the mesoporous SnO2-based catalyst supports exhibited comparable performance to solid-core carbon supports under both wet and dry conditions. Finally, we present a summary of our progress on the development of mesoporous SnO2-based catalyst support and highlight critical areas of improvements needed towards their future deployment.
Experiences of Empathy‐Based Stress Among Care Staff Supporting Children and Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities and/or Autism in Residential and Respite Services: A Qualitative Exploration
Authors: Madden Riona , Coffey Laura
Published: February 2025

Background: Care staff in the disability sector experience high levels of work‐related stress and burnout, which contribute to high staff turnover and limited residential service capacity and affect both staff well‐being and the quality of care provided. Little is currently known about the impact that exposure to secondary trauma has on care staff, which could put them at risk of experiencing empathy‐based stress. This qualitative study aimed to explore how empathy‐based stress is experienced by care staff supporting children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities and/or autism in residential and respite services, and the factors they perceive as contributing towards or protecting them from experiencing empathy‐based stress.

Methods: Twelve care staff from four different community‐based organisations in Ireland (two residential care and two overnight respite) took part in online semistructured interviews, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results: Four themes were identified, which had two to three subthemes each: (i) Challenging Periods (exposure to distress and trauma, empathy and feeling powerless), (ii) Organisational Factors (lack of support from management, training and staff cohesion), (iii) Personal Resilience (awareness, focussing on the positives) and (iv) Impact of Empathy‐Based Stress (negative work affect, adverse impact on health and well‐being).

Conclusion: Staff were exposed to service user distress or trauma, which at times initiated an empathy‐based stress process. A build‐up of factors, both individual and contextual, led to adverse physical and psychological outcomes and negative work affect. These findings have implications for policy and practice within disability care settings and suggest that interventions at a personal and organisational level and the adoption of a trauma‐informed approach may help to reduce empathy‐based stress in care staff and improve quality of care for service users.
Impact of Titanium Mining and Other Anthropogenic Activities on Malaria Positivity Rates and Parasitemia in Five Selected Study Sites in Msambweni Subcounty, Kwale County, Kenya
Authors: Githinji Edward , Okoyo Collins , Mwatele Cassian , Mwatasa Juma , Chieng Benard , Araka Sylvie , Kanyi Henry , Njenga Sammy , Mwai Judy
Published: February 2025

Africa was home to 95% of malaria cases and deaths in 2021. The negative impacts of malaria can be aggravated by social–economic–environmental factors, more so agroeconomic practices such as irrigation, mining, and dam construction. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of water harvesting, sugarcane farming, and mining activities on Plasmodium falciparum positivity rates and parasitemia densities in five selected sites in Msambweni Subcounty, Kwale Kenya. A cross‐sectional concurrent mixed methods study was used to collect data. Kwale County was selected due to the high malaria endemicity possibly attributable to the suitable vector habitat characterized by the major anthropogenic activities. The study had five different arms of investigation; the first arm was the control (C), second dam (D) site, third sugarcane (S) site, fourth mining (M) site, and fifth dam–sugarcane–mining (DMS) site. Each of the 1025 consenting participants from 208 households provided a single blood sample for determining malaria prevalence and parasitemia using rapid diagnostic kit and microscopy. Overall, the malaria positivity rate was 22.9% by rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) and 20.1% by microscopy. P. falciparum observation by RDT was highest in the DMS site with 33.7% followed by S site with 26.8%, D site with 23.3%, and M site with 17.6%, and the least was the C site with 11.0%. The overall parasitemia density (parasite counts per 200 white blood cells) was 8.4 with a site‐specific density of 18.7, 8.6, 7.1, 3.7, and 3.1 for DMS, S, D, M, and C sites, respectively. Univariable analysis of factors associated with malaria infection showed that participants in the DMS site were four times more likely to be infected with malaria (odds ratio (OR) = 4.1, p < 0.001) compared to those in the C site. Malaria vector and human host interactions are often enhanced by suitable environmental conditions especially ambient temperature which accelerate parasite growth in the mosquito and humidity. Anthropogenic activities may open up new breeding sites for the vector or increase human–Anopheles infective contact hours, hence the different positivity rates and intensities in P. falciparum transmission. The study results showed that prevalence of malaria and parasitemia was highest in areas where all the three anthropogenic activities were taking place. In the single‐activity site, sugarcane farming predisposed participants to high malaria burden. Characterized relational interplay between these anthropogenic activities and P. falciparum parasitemia will be useful in developing tailored strategies towards optimized malaria control interventions in areas with and without anthropogenic activities.
Bābur and Muḥammad Šaybānī: Fighting for Literary Pre-eminence in Early 16th-Century Central Asia
Authors: Péri Benedek
Published: February 2025

Rival rulers of the Persianate Turkic cosmopolis often clashed not only on the battlefield in the late 15th–early 16th centuries, but also competed with each other in the virtual space of literary accomplishments. Two outstanding Central Asian characters of the period, namely Ẓahīr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (d. 1530) and his nemesis, Muḥammad Šaybānī Ḫān (d. 1510) also fought each other both in bloody battles and on the literary sphere. As is well known, their political rivalry ended with Bābur’s defeat on the battlefield. It is less known, however, how these two individuals fared against each other on the literary scene. The present article seeks to offer a comparative analysis of the two statesmen’s poetic accomplishments with the hope of showing how close attention to these two figure’s imitation ghazals can contribute to a better understanding of their respective literary personalities.
Harvesting the Sea in Central Monsoon Dhofar and al-Mahrah
Authors: Watson Janet C.E. , Morris Miranda J. , Moore Alec , Baquir Said
Published: February 2025

This chapter discusses aspects of harvesting the sea along the central coastline of monsoon Dhofar and to the east of this region, with some mention of al-Mahrah in eastern Yemen. The chapter is based on fieldwork with Śḥerɛ̄t and Mehri speakers. Fieldwork was conducted by Watson together with Alec Moore in 2014, and, on three separate occasions, by Watson alone in early 2014, late 2015 and late 2016. It is told through the voices of fishers and through Watson’s diary and fieldnotes. Notes from Watson’s fieldwork conducted in al-Ġayḏ̣ah, Yemen in 2013 are also referenced. The chapter is followed by transcribed, translated and annotated audio and audio-video texts, with references to the original recordings in the Shehret and Mehri Endangered Languages Archives (ELAR, Borealis Dataverse) where available. The documentation and ethnolinguistic analysis of Modern South Arabian: Shehret | Endangered Languages Archive (elararchive.org) and The documentation and ethnolinguistic analysis of Modern South Arabian: Mehri | Endangered Languages Archive (elararchive.org). The media files are also available through Borealis, housed at Carleton University Harvesting the Sea in Central Monsoon Dhofar and al-Mahrah media files - Arabian Peninsula Languages Dataverse (borealisdata.ca).
4. The Role of Stress in the Scansion of Zajal Genres
Authors: Haydar Adnan
Published: February 2025

The fourth chapter begins with a note on stress in fuṣḥā Arabic verse and zajal. The discussion and analysis exposes the weaknesses in previous criticism concerning the role of stress and leads to an important identification of two musical styles in scanning zajal lines: nathr al-naghamāt and naẓm al-naghamāt (musical prose and ordering of tones). An original methodology to be used in scanning macannā and qarrādī pieces to illustrate the workings of the two aforementioned systems is laid out. Most importantly, a framework for identifying stress in the rendition of macannā and qarrādī is constructed and explained, which superimposes musical stress on poetic stress.
Weather-Water-Climate Value Chain(s): Giving VOICE to the Characterization of the Economic Benefits of Hydro-Met Services and Products
Authors: Lazo Jeffrey
Published: February 2025

In this paper we present and develop the concept of the “weather information value chain” as a means for understanding, discussing, and analyzing the socioeconomic value of Earth Observations, Science, and Services (ESOSS). To begin to formalize a process for building and evaluating value chains we propose the “Value of Information Characterization and Evaluation,” or VOICE approach. The VOICE approach provides a framework to gather and organize the relevant data to rigorously tell the end-to-end story of any given weather information chain or explain explicitly how the information relates to decisions, outcomes, and values. This can facilitate both retrospective and prospective evaluations of existing and planned services, respectively. The value chain concept can be used for multiple purposes, as illustrated by the case studies included in this study. These purposes include, for example, facilitating decision-making; enhancing collaboration among experts from different disciplines; framing and synthesizing information and understanding; and communicating with external users and audiences. The seven case studies provided by contributing authors include U.S. and international studies as well as applied and theoretical work.
Multichannel Dilution Analysis Using a Single Peristaltic Pump Tube
Authors: Huff Robbie M. , Jones Willis B. , Jones Bradley T.
Published: February 2025

Multi-channel dilution analysis (MCDA) is a novel, matrix-matched calibration method that automatically dilutes a standard solution using a tubing manifold to split a solution stream traveling between an autosampler and an analytical instrument. The manifold consists of separate tubing channels of various lengths, resulting in a stairstep of signal levels as different portions of the solution reach the instrument to be measured at different points in time. Multi-channel dilution analysis was initially developed on an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) equipped with a peristaltic pump with five channels, with three used to drive solution through individual tubes in the manifold and a fourth reserved for waste. The setup limited MCDA measurements from being realized on instruments that have fewer pump channels without employing an external pump. The use of a single peristaltic pump line to drive solution through the entire tubing manifold is proposed as a feasible way to overcome this hardware limitation and is applied to both ICP-OES and ICP mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The method is validated through the analysis of certified reference materials, with recoveries for a suite of analytes ranging from 83% to 117%, with relative standard deviations on the order of 1%. The matrix matching capabilities of the method are demonstrated through the analysis of spiked matrices containing high concentrations of ethanol and calcium, and a comparison to traditional calibration techniques. In addition, the improvements in calibration statistics for ICP-MS measurements using MCDA are discussed.
Trends in Political Science Research: Economic Sanctions
Authors: Sharma Yatan
Published: February 2025

In the aftermath of World War I, sanctions were viewed as a less violent alternative to military retaliation. However, this belief was challenged when the sanctions imposed by the Allied powers on the Axis countries worsened living conditions, contributing to the outbreak of World War II. Over time, the scope of economic sanctions has expanded, extending beyond purely economic impacts to encompass significant social and political consequences. As a result, there is a rapidly growing body of multidisciplinary literature examining these broader implications. This article reviews the current state of research on economic sanctions and the themes related to it. It explores the factors that influence the effectiveness of sanctions, the relationship between domestic political and economic interests that determines the trajectory of sanctions, and the broader societal and political externalities they produce. The article offers a necessary assessment and organization of a dynamic and evolving research field that crosses multiple disciplinary boundaries.
EXPRESS: The Effect of Company Size on Aggregate Word of Mouth Valence
Authors: Klostermann Jan , Flaswinkel Anne Mareike , Hydock Chris , Decker Reinhold
Published: February 2025

Online word of mouth (WOM) is a critical driver of consumer purchases; however, relatively few researchers have sought to understand how a company’s characteristics might impact aggregate WOM valence (e.g., average star ratings of online reviews). The authors examine the effects of one such attribute—company size—and how it impacts WOM valence through individuals’ decisions regarding whether to engage in WOM. In four field studies, the authors find a negative relationship between company size and WOM that persists when controlling for the quality of consumers’ experience with the company. Subsequent experiments show that this effect occurs because consumers are more empathetic toward smaller companies. This empathy increases their desire to help smaller companies, which in turn increases the likelihood that they share WOM about a smaller company following a high-quality experience and decreases this likelihood in the case of a low-quality experience. Larger companies can mitigate the negative effect on aggregate WOM valence by responding frequently to WOM posts and employing language that evokes empathy—for example, by using emotional words, providing personalized responses, and addressing consumers by name.
EXPRESS: Retributive Philanthropy
Authors: Milne Ethan , Kristofferson Kirk , Goode Miranda R.
Published: February 2025

Prosocial behavior research has historically considered altruistic or self-interested motives as the primary drivers for charitable giving. Recently, however, there have been many high-profile cases wherein consumers use their donations to harm others. We define this behavior, characterized by a desire for retribution resulting from witnessing or experiencing volitional wrongdoing, as “retributive philanthropy” and examine this phenomenon using a multi-method approach. Qualitative interviews with perpetrators and targets of retributive philanthropy reveal key themes of blameworthiness judgments, strong negative affect, and a desire to harm as a terminal goal of donation—all of which are not typically associated with prosocial behaviors. Analysis of real-world anti-vaccine protestor donation data find similar themes of perceived wrongdoing and outrage related to retributive donations in a large-scale context. Five lab studies and five supplementary studies then demonstrate the effects of perceived volitional wrongdoing, harm, efficacy, and authoritarianism on willingness to make retributive donations. Together, these findings offer critical insight into an emerging mode of donation that is emotionally, motivationally, and behaviorally distinct from traditional prosocial behavior and has important implications for consumers and charitable marketers.
EXPRESS: The Effect of Gender-Neutral Marketing on Consumer Attribute Preference
Authors: Yin Yunlu , Li Ruoou , Su Yi
Published: February 2025

As consumer demand for gender inclusivity grows, numerous brands are actively embracing gender-neutral communication and practices to signal their commitment to inclusivity. While companies generally assume gender-neutral marketing (i.e., efforts that explicitly reject binary gender categorization and stereotypes) nets favorable benefits, this research uncovers an unintended consequence of this marketing practice on consumer attribute preference. Specifically, the authors find that gender-neutral marketing decreases consumers’ reliance on aesthetics in product evaluations by reducing their endorsement of binary gender stereotypes in their decision making. Eight pre-registered studies—including field experiments, an eye-tracking study, and lab and online experiments—provide triangulating evidence for these propositions. The authors also identify three boundary conditions by revealing that the effect is less pronounced when the brand exhibits a prominent binary gender personality, among consumers who primarily rely on visual elements in their information processing, and when the target product is expected to be used in a social context. These findings deepen our understanding of how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in marketing shape consumer behavior and provide valuable insights for managers seeking to implement gender-neutral marketing tactics.
The fiscal reckoning of war: Contemporary armed conflict and progressive income taxation
Authors: Frizell Jakob
Published: February 2025

Armed conflicts expose states to extraordinary fiscal stress and leave poverty and inequality in their wake. Yet, the fiscal policy responses in contemporary conflict-affected states appear feeble, in striking contrast to historical antecedents, having led to radical and distinctly progressive tax reforms. Whereas extant literature cautions against generalising Western wartime experiences, emphasising qualitative differences in warfare and institutional context, this article argues for the ex ante generality of the link between war and progressive taxation. Accordingly, it elaborates a revised theory of wartime tax bargaining, centred on fiscal need and demand for fiscal fairness, whereby contemporary conflicts, including civil wars, should induce governments to increase taxes, and particularly on the rich. The apparent absence of war-induced progressive taxation in the last decades, in contrast, is overdetermined by international shifts at the end of the Cold War and its influence on local wartime elites. Statistically analysing newly collected data on top personal income tax rates for all conflict-affected countries 1960–2020, it is shown that the link was strong, general and, contrary to common assumption, applied as much to civil as to interstate wars. The results support the theory, whereby acute revenue needs and war-induced demand for fiscal fairness translate into increased taxes on the rich. The sudden uniform disappearance of the association in the last decades, irrespective of country-level factors, is consistent with an interpretation emphasising global shifts precipitated by the end of the Cold War.
Socialisation of Children to Cope With Death, Bereavement and Grief - A Berger and Luckman Inspired Analysis of Children’s Picture Books in a Chinese Context
Authors: Fu Cong , Xu Hongxuan , Stjernswärd Sigrid , Glasdam Stinne
Published: February 2025

Children’s understanding of death, bereavement and grief develop through socialisation where picture books also may play a role. The study explores how children’s picture books published in China (2010–2024), communicated themes of death, bereavement and grief. A systematic search identified 321 relevant books, of which 47 met the inclusion criteria and were analysed using both descriptive and a Berger and Luckmann-inspired qualitative thematic approach. Three themes were constructed: ‘ Nature as a framework for understanding death, bereavement and grief ‘, ‘ Normalisation strategies of death, bereavement and grief’, and ‘ Reinventing new relationships to the deceased’. Nature was depicted as a retreat and a medium for socialising children about death, bereavement, and grief. Grieving and bereavement were portrayed as complex processes, with external support and communal rituals emphasised as essential strategies, shaped by societal norms and rituals. Relationships with the deceased were often reinvented to continue bonds.
Serum magnesium levels and the risk of acute kidney injury in ICU patients with acute pancreatitis: A MIMIC-IV cohort study
Authors: Zhou Xuehong , Jin Shoubing , Wu Dong , Su Wantong
Published: February 2025

Objective

This cohort study investigated the relationship between serum magnesium levels and the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP).

Methods

We analyzed data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database, focusing on adult AP patients (≥18 years old) with ICU stays longer than 24 h. Univariable logistic regression was used to identify key covariates. Both univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the link between serum magnesium levels and AKI occurrence. A restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to visualize the associations, and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

Results

During hospitalization, 455 (69.1%) participants experienced AKI. After adjusting for relevant factors, higher serum magnesium concentrations were significantly associated with AKI (OR: 2.247, 95% CI: 1.234–4.091; p = 0.008). Magnesium levels between 1.6–2.6 mg/dL (OR: 1.872, 95% CI: 1.105–1.174, p = 0.020) and ≥2.6 mg/dL (OR: 3.851, 95% CI: 1.08–13.736, p = 0.038) were linked to increased AKI occurrence. The RCS curve indicated a nonlinear relationship, suggesting a potential threshold effect between serum magnesium and AKI risk.

Conclusions

Higher serum magnesium levels were found to be associated with AKI in ICU patients with acute pancreatitis. Further studies are needed to explore this relationship.
Adaptive event-triggered control for nonstrict-feedback nonlinear systems with time-varying delay and uncertain nonlinearities: A neural network approach
Authors: Tan Cheng , Ma Xinrui , Chen Ziran , Sun Hongtao
Published: February 2025

This paper focuses on adaptive event-triggered control within nonstrict-feedback nonlinear systems that incorporate time-varying delays and uncertain nonlinearities. The system under consideration involves unknown parameters, external disturbances, and elusive nonlinearities. Distinguishing itself from conventional methods, this work eliminates the necessity for the hypothesis of input-to-state stability (ISS) regarding measurement errors, and avoids excessive constraints of nonlinearities. A new adaptive controller is derived by integrating the neural network (NN) approximation, backstepping, and the event-triggering mechanism (ETM) to ensure the semi-global boundedness of the closed-loop system, while improving the tracking performance and avoiding Zeno phenomenon. Simulation outcomes are demonstrated to illustrate the validity of the proposed control scheme.
A Systematic Review of Pyramidal Training for Implementing Behavioral Interventions
Authors: Risse Madeline R. , Blair Kwang-Sun Cho
Published: February 2025

The pyramidal training approach is a promising strategy to train behavioral interventionists in applied settings, as it maximizes efficiency of training by allowing for more trainees to learn and implement a diverse range of behavioral strategies in less time. This systematic review synthesized 30 single-case studies that evaluated pyramidal training in training practitioners to implement behavioral interventions. Results support the effectiveness of the pyramidal training model at the case, tier, and study levels across various settings, targeted skills, and participant types, particularly for improving practitioner implementation fidelity. However, strategies for promoting maintenance of trained skills, such as feedback and coaching, have not been routinely incorporated into pyramidal training procedures. Future researchers should evaluate the utility of post-training observations of implementation fidelity to determine the sustainability and most efficacious methods for promoting fidelity of trained behavioral interventions. Ultimately, the pyramidal training approach shows great promise but requires further optimization and empirical scrutiny.
The Determination of Risks in Orientation and Mobility Services: Ethical and Professional Issues
Authors: Banja J.D.
Published: February 2025

A fundamental responsibility of orientation and mobility instructors is to prepare clients with visual impairments to manage various risks associated with everyday life. This article discusses ethical and legal issues associated with informing clients about risks, evaluates arguments against the disclosure of risks, and describes a computerized method of assessing risks.
The Play Behavior and Play Materials of Blind and Sighted Infants and Preschoolers
Authors: Tröster H. , Brambring M.
Published: February 2025

Parents’ answers to a survey of their children’s play behavior revealed numerous differences between the play behavior of children who are blind and children who are sighted. The main findings were that the sighted children engaged in more complex levels of play at an earlier age than did the blind children, the blind children interacted less frequently with other children than did the sighted children, the blind children preferred tactile-auditory games and toys and rarely engaged in symbolic games.
Are Family Owners Willing to Risk “Rocking the Boat”? A Blended Socioemotional Wealth-Implicit Theory Framework
Authors: Gómez-Mejía Luis R. , Chirico Francesco , Withers Michael C. , Martin Geoffrey P. , Wiseman Robert M.
Published: February 2025

We leverage research on socioemotional wealth (SEW) and implicit theories to develop a novel blended SEW-implicit theory framework that explains why some family firms are more risk seeking or more risk averse. According to implicit theory, individuals perceive reality through their interpretative cognitive filters. Those with an entity theory orientation see reality as relatively fixed or uncontrollable, while those with an incremental-implicit theory orientation tend to perceive reality as malleable and change as leading to positive outcomes. We theorize that family firms with high SEW intensity tend to adopt an entity orientation, whereas those with low SEW intensity tend to adopt an incremental orientation. Accordingly, we propose that the likelihood that family owners hold either orientation is shaped by organizational features associated with SEW intensity, namely (a) the salience of family versus business identity, (b) family founder imprinting, (c) generational stage, and (d) favorable path dependence. In turn, family owners with an entity orientation are less likely to take risks compared to family owners with an incremental orientation. Furthermore, we theorize that a firm’s performance hazard can shift family owners’ implicit orientation from entity-based to incremental and vice versa, thereby impacting their risk-taking behavior.
The Feasibility of Technology to Support Data-Driven Decision Making in Early Head Start Classrooms
Authors: Davis Rebecca E. , Buzhardt Jay , Walker Dale , Irvin Dwight W. , Higgins Susan , Seven Yagmur , Greenwood Charles R.
Published: February 2025

Educators have struggled to implement research-based practices effectively, particularly in early childhood settings where data-driven decision making (DDDM) is important for guiding practice. Implementation of DDDM is hindered by a lack of progress monitoring assessments, guidelines for how to use data to inform intervention decisions, and professional development for educators. To address these challenges, tools like the Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) and the Making Online Decisions (MOD) system have been developed, demonstrating significant benefits in enhancing education outcomes when used effectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of the MOD to enhance DDDM for young children performing below benchmark in Early Head Start. Findings indicated that the MOD increased the frequency of progress monitoring, high implementation fidelity, and sustainability after research support was discontinued. Educator satisfaction was generally high, but suggestions were made for improvements. Limitations, implications for practice, and future directions are discussed.