bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Trajectory tracking control of quadrotor under variable payloads with model-free controller and sliding mode control technology
Authors: Zou Xu , Liu Zhenbao , Gao HongGang , Zhao Wen 
Published: September 2021

Purpose
This study aims to deal with the problem of trajectory tracking control for the quadrotor under external environmental disturbance and variable payloads.

Design/methodology/approach
In the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control, external environmental disturbance and internal variable payloads as two major interference factors lead to control performance degradation or even instability, thus a trajectory tracking controller which innovatively combines sliding mode control technology and model-free control technique is proposed. The proposed controller is constructed with a learning rate-based sliding mode controller and an ultra-local model. Based on the proposed controller, the nonlinear system model of variable load quadrotor is locally estimated and the system’s uncertainties and disturbances can be compensated.

Findings
The simulation and actual test results demonstrate the satisfactory control performance and the robustness of the proposed controller compared with the PID and Backstepping controller under external environmental disturbance and variable payloads. Moreover, the proposed controller solves the trajectory tracking control problem not only when payloads change at the center of gravity but also when the position of load variation deviates from the center of gravity.

Practical implications
In both military and civilian domains, the quadrotor may encounter such situations that the payloads change, such as transporting goods, aerial refueling and so on. As a large internal interference factor, variable load tends to lead to unstable control. The research results provide theoretical guidance and technical support for trajectory tracking control of quadrotor under variable payloads.

Originality/value
The proposed controller combines learning rate-based sliding mode controller and model-free control technique to achieve a more efficient and accurate trajectory control of the quadrotor when considering system uncertainties and the load variation that happens in the unknown location.
Extending information poverty theory to better understand the digital access and inequalities among young people who are not in education, employment or training in South Africa
Authors: Matli Walter , Ngoepe Mpho 
Published: September 2021

PurposeThe objective of this study is to present evidence regarding how young people, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) in South Africa, lack literacy skills and access to enabling resources to actively search and navigate information services systems that are primarily web-based. Information Poverty Theory is adopted to better understand the technological and social strata challenges experienced by young NEET people.Design/methodology/approachThe study used semi-structured interviews for collecting data over two months in 2018, employing snowball sampling with 24 key participants, representing a diversity of educational backgrounds and previous experience of economic participation.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that most interviewed young people, who are NEET, lack advanced information literacy and digital skills to access information services. The results also indicate that access to information services that are primed for online information is a challenge for most of these NEET young people residing in underserviced communities. The high cost of an Internet connection means that the Internet is out of reach for most low-income households. In communities that are underserviced with no adequate information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, people residing in such areas are subjected to living in circumstances where there is poverty and thus a lack of access to online information.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper reports on data collected in 2018 using intense interviews, while acknowledging limitations in terms of the sample size. Hence, it is not fully representative of the whole population of young people, who are NEET, residing in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.Practical implicationsThe findings illustrate the need for further collaboration among relevant stakeholders to strengthen existing programmes and for stronger partnerships. The arguments presented herein enhance knowledge and understanding concerning the digital literacy skills divide that exists among young people who are NEET. It includes a discussion to contribute to policy development.Originality/valueThis study focuses on challenges young people who are NEET experience when looking for work and developmental opportunities. This qualitative study adopts Information Poverty Theory and uses prior studies to link the undertaken survey and research. It is expected that this study may serve as a pilot for future studies and may also contribute to the ongoing discussions around the use of ICTs on their use and access, especially the effect on young people when searching for information related to jobs and other developmental opportunities using online services.
Exploring the jazz festival experience amongst local and non-local residents: The case of the Jazzaldia Festival in Spain
Authors: Bakić Sonja , Cuenca-Amigo Macarena , Cuenca Jaime 
Published: September 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the jazz festival experience at the Heineken Jazzaldia Festival in San Sebastian, Spain. It focuses especially on the relationship between participants’ area of residence and their experience of the festival, concert expectations, preference for different festival settings and perception of the best aspects of the festival.Design/methodology/approachThis study modifies and applies the Audience Experience Survey (Radbourne et al., 2009) to the Heineken Jazzaldia Festival in San Sebastian, Spain. A total of 406 valid questionnaires were obtained. A quantitative analysis technique was used for the area of residence, on the one hand, and for concert expectations, audience experience and venue setting, on the other. A qualitative approach was applied for identifying the best aspects of the festival.FindingsThe results suggest that the audiences’ festival preferences differed according to their area of residence. Audience members who lived in Spain outside of the Basque Country were more motivated to attend the festival, had higher concert expectations and greater indoor venue concert attendance, and considered music diversity to be one of the most important aspects of the festival. Local participants were more likely not to have expectations prior to concerts, had higher outdoor venue concert attendance rates and preferred ambience compared with residents from outside of the Basque Country.Practical implicationsFindings could be relevant to festivals’ organisers for management and marketing purposes in terms of their audiences’ needs and preferences. One of the main results obtained is that local residents were more likely not to have expectations prior to concerts. They also equalised music diversity, artists, stages and atmosphere as the best Festival’s aspects while participants from outside of the Basque Country prioritised music diversity aspect.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature regarding residents’ behaviour in the Spanish music festival context. Our findings add to the body of knowledge around local audiences’ and non-local audience’s experience in jazz festivals.
Medicalising the Jewish Ritual Bath: Women, Health and Purity in the Late Ottoman Empire
Authors: Esperanza Anabella 
Published: September 2021

AbstractMenstrual impurity is among the most important religious practices in Jewish lore. Examining two case studies of Judeo–Spanish Ottoman Jewry: discussions of the temperature of the ritual bath water; and purity, hygiene and the collective of the Jewish body, this article demonstrates that menstrual impurity in Ottoman Judaism underwent an intensive medicalisation process. This process reframed menstruation from a religious concern to one involving medicine, health and hygiene. This article offers a glimpse of how non‐Western Jews dealt with European conceptions of medicalisation, actively debating them according to their Ottoman cultural surroundings. Moreover, it illuminates the mechanisms women used to negotiate their immersion and command their own bodies, emphasising their anxieties, demands and resistance.
Impact of COVID‐19 on Prescriptions for Controlled Substances for Veterans with Opioid Use Disorder
Authors: Myers Ursula , Bishu Kinfe , Gauthier‐Wetzel Holly , Grubaugh Anouk , Axon R. Neal , Ana Elizabeth Santa , Gebregziabher Mulugeta 
Published: September 2021

Research ObjectiveVeterans with opioid use disorder (OUD) are at significant risk of overdose, unintentional death, and a wide range of negative health‐related consequences. While evidenced‐based treatments for OUD exist, including medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) like buprenorphine (suboxone), there are a number of barriers preventing veterans from accessing this care. A potential avenue to increase the numbers of veterans who can access high quality mental healthcare such as MOUD is through telemental healthcare using VA Video Connect (VVC). While telehealth can mitigate this access to care issue, the opioid crisis led to the Ryan Haight Act of 2008, which mandates that the first visit with a prescriber of schedule II‐IV controlled substances be conducted in person. However, due to the public health emergency caused by COVID‐19, the in person requirement for controlled substances is temporarily waived.Study DesignThe aims of this project were to examine temporal changes in controlled substances from September 2019 – August 2020 (6 months before and after the requirement was waived), to understand the impacts of this waiver for veterans with OUD.Population StudiedWe examined prescription information from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse for 42,579 Veterans diagnosed with OUD (91.6% male, 71% white, 16.8% black, 27% rural dwelling).Principal FindingsDuring this 12‐month window, 56.6% of the sample were prescribed suboxone, 53.6% were prescribed sedatives, and 13.8% were prescribed anxiolytics. Monthly an average of 33,323 (SD = 3190) prescriptions were filled, with an average of 1.45 (SD = 0.08) medications prescribed per visit. As expected, the largest dip was seen in April 2020, with only 28,376 prescriptions filled, with an 1.33 prescriptions written per visit. As of August 2020, the rates for prescriptions for controlled substances had not returned to pre‐COVID levels.ConclusionsThese data suggest that while telehealth is a legal option to appropriately prescribe controlled substances, it was not utilized in a way that replicated in person care. Future projects that focus on understanding and addressing barriers providers face when attempting to provide care via telehealth are an important next step. Additionally, there was no dramatic increase in prescriptions for controlled substances as a result of the Ryan Haight waiver.Implications for Policy or PracticeThese data support keeping the wavier of in person appointments in the Ryan Haight Act is one useful avenue to help providers to provide access to life saving MOUDs.Primary Funding SourceDepartment of Veterans Affairs.
Effect of a Value‐Based Health Insurance Design on Acute Diabetes Complications
Authors: Wharam J. Frank , Zhang Fang , Garabedian Laura , Lakoma Matthew , Ross‐Degnan Dennis 
Published: September 2021

Research ObjectiveEmployers are increasingly purchasing “value‐based health insurance” designs that reduce out‐of‐pocket costs for select beneficial health services. For example, “preventive drug list” (PDL) plans make cardioprotective medications $0 to encourage adherence. Research has demonstrated that PDL designs substantially improved cardioprotective medication adherence among low‐income diabetes patients enrolled in health savings account‐eligible high‐deductible health plans (HSA‐HDHP). However, effects on health outcomes are unknown.Study DesignInterrupted time series with matched control group.Population StudiedUsing data from 2004–2017, we analyzed a large commercial health insurance claims dataset with enrollees in all US states. The intervention group included 1498 low‐income commercially‐insured HSA‐HDHP patients with diabetes age 12–64 years who experienced employer‐mandated switches to PDL coverage; the control group included 11,984 matched HSA‐HDHP counterparts whose employers offered no PDL. We defined the index date as the day that the intervention group received the PDL benefit that reduced cardioprotective drugs to $0 out‐of‐pocket, and matched controls had a corresponding contemporaneous index date. We measured monthly rates of aggregated acute preventable diabetes complications (such as hyperglycemic coma, hypoglycemia, angina, cellulitis, and pneumonia) presenting to the outpatient setting or the emergency department. We constructed cumulative interrupted time series plots of these two measures and conducted segmented regression analysis and marginal effects estimation.Principal FindingsIn both the intervention and control groups, 46% of subjects were female, 49% lived in low‐income neighborhoods, and 2.2% lived in predominantly black neighborhoods. The study groups had similar baseline trends in outcomes. From before to after the index date, the PDL intervention group experienced a 16.2% decrease (absolute change, −8.3/1000) in emergency department visits for acute, preventable diabetes complications relative to controls. Corresponding relative and absolute changes for outpatient complication visits were 0.6% and 1.0 visit/1000.ConclusionsLow‐income HSA‐HDHP members with diabetes who were switched to a generous value‐based medication benefit experienced a 16% reduction in emergency department visits for acute, preventable diabetes complications.Implications for Policy or PracticeValue‐based health insurance designs might improve health outcomes of vulnerable populations. Policymakers, health insurers, and employers should consider encouraging uptake among low‐income, chronically ill patients.Primary Funding SourceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.
COVID‐19‐Related Knowledge, Protective Behaviors and the Moderating Role of Primary Sources of Information: Findings from a Cross‐Sectional Online Survey in the United States
Authors: Kim Sooyoung , Ali Shahmir H. , Jones Abbey , Capasso Ariadna , Foreman Joshua , DiClemente Ralph Joseph , Tozan Yesim 
Published: September 2021

Research ObjectiveTo assess the moderating effects of primary sources of COVID‐19 information on the association between knowledge and protective behaviors against COVID‐19.Study DesignThis is a secondary analysis of data from a cross‐sectional online COVID‐19 survey conducted among US adults in April 2020 using advertisement‐based recruitment on social media. A total of 6518 people completed the survey. Linear regression analysis was performed on COVID‐19 knowledge and protective behavior scores. An interaction term between knowledge and primary source of information was included in order to examine any moderating effects of the information source on the relationship between knowledge and protective behaviors. The analysis was adjusted for demographic and socio‐economic factors and was conducted using R software (version 3.6.3).Population StudiedAdult population (age > 18) living in the United States.Principal FindingsOverall, higher level of COVID‐19‐related knowledge was associated with higher level of self‐reported engagement in protective behaviors. More specifically, our results indicate that the primary source of information modified the association between knowledge and protective behaviors. The most effective sources of information to translate incremental knowledge into higher engagement in protective behaviors were interpersonal communication and social media. Official sources such US government, CDC, and WHO websites had significantly weaker effects. Our results also showed that respondents with lower knowledge scores preferred social media or interpersonal communication as their primary source for seeking COVID‐19‐related information.ConclusionsThis study shows the important role that the different COVID‐19 information sources can play on influencing people's engagement in protective behaviors while delivering the COVID‐19‐related knowledge.Implications for Policy or PracticeOverflowing information and misinformation are influencing people's degree of engagement in protective behaviors against COVID‐19. Policy makers should carefully monitor the use of different information sources by the public so that they can effectively target, influence decision‐making, and promote behavior change to fight the current pandemic and the infodemic concurrently.
Decrease in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Due to a National Initiative to Improve Preventive Services in Small Primary Care Practices
Authors: Lindner Stephan , Kottke Thomas , Balasubramanian Bijal , McConnell John , Marino Miguel , Cohen Deborah 
Published: September 2021

Research ObjectiveCardiovascular disease (CVD) such as heart failure and stroke has been the top cause of death for over 90 years. The beneficial effects of four simple treatment options ‐‐ aspirin prescription, blood pressure control, cholesterol management and smoking screening and cessation counseling (ABCS) ‐‐ in reducing mortality are well established. Yet, delivering the ABCS at optimal levels continues to be challenging for primary care practices, where the majority of patients receive care. In 2015, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) launched EvidenceNOW: Advancing Heart Health in Primary Care, a national, 110 million dollar initiative focused on providing external support interventions (e.g., practice facilitation or health information technology support) to 1500 small‐to‐medium sized primary care practices with over eight million patients. The research objective of this study was to estimate EvidenceNOW‐related reductions in the risk of experiencing an adverse CVD event.Study DesignStudy Design: We developed a new methodology to calculate CVD risk using (i) ABCS levels of EvidenceNOW practices; (ii) patient‐level information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES); and (iii) information about CVD risk over a 10‐year period developed by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. We estimated 10‐year CVD risk at baseline, just before EvidenceNOW started, and reductions to risk due to EvidenceNOW‐related improvements in the ABCS.Population StudiedPrimary care practices participating in EvidenceNOW and NHANES study participants.Principal FindingsThe average 10‐year CVD risk at baseline was estimated to be 10.3 percent among patients of practices participating in the initiative. Improvements in the ABCS due to EvidenceNow reduced this risk by about 0.1 percentage points, or approximately 1.0 percent relative to baseline. Two patient populations had the biggest CVD risk reduction: those with hypertension and those with multiple comorbidities who have a high CVD risk. According to these estimates, EvidenceNOW prevented about 4000 CVD events at a cost of approximately $29,000 per event.ConclusionsEvidenceNOW successfully reduced CVD events among patients of practices participating in the initiative, although overall reductions were small. Risk reductions were stronger for high‐risk patients, such as those with multiple comorbidities.Implications for Policy or PracticePreventive care efforts to reduce cardiovascular disease in primary care practices are cost effective even for a large patient population with moderate CVD risk and therefore should be implemented more widely. Targeting specific patient population can be a valuable policy to improve the health of high‐risk populations.Primary Funding SourceAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Mapping and Identifying Community Risk Factors for COVID‐19 Nursing Home Deaths
Authors: Wang Xiao 
Published: September 2021

Research ObjectiveAlthough emerging research has identified facility‐level or community‐level risk factors for nursing home COVID‐19 infection cases, little research has been conducted to understand the risk factors for nursing home COVID‐19 death rates. This study has two aims: 1) identify geographic clusters with high nursing home COVID‐19 death rates; 2) understand facility‐level and community‐level risk factors for facilities residing within the hot spots versus those not in the hot spots.Study DesignThis is a cross‐sectional research design. We utilized nursing home COVID data from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (as of November 13th, 2020) linked with Brown University's LTCfocus data and Nursing Home Compare, along with zip code‐level data from American Community Survey. Geospatial hot spot analysis (Getis‐Ord Gi*) was applied to identify statistically significant hot spots of COVID‐19 death rates in nursing homes. We compared facility‐level and community‐level factors associated with COVID death rates by performing multivariate regressions stratified by whether the nursing home was located in the hot spot area identified.Population StudiedThe sample included 15,341 nursing homes.Principal Findings322 zip code areas were identified as having a significantly high level of nursing home COVID death rates at the 95% confidence level. We found statistically significant clustering of COVID‐19 death rates in nursing homes in Northeastern United States (New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York), South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, and parts of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. The hot spot areas tend to be communities with lower household income, higher household sizes, and higher unemployed rates. Regression results indicated common facility‐level risk factors as low total nursing staffing levels, high proportion of Medicaid residents, and low deficiency/quality ratings. Significant zip code‐level factors included household income, average household size, unemployed rate, and proportion of Hispanic residents. However, among nursing homes residing in hot spot zip code areas, total nursing staffing levels (β = −0.04, p < 0.001) and proportion of Medicaid residents (β = 0.03, p < 0.001) had greater effects on death rates.ConclusionsNursing homes located in communities of lower social‐economic status were hit the hardest in terms of having high death rates. Among nursing homes located in hot spot communities, nurse staffing and facility resources (i.e. proportion of Medicaid) play more critical roles in preventing further damage to residents.Implications for Policy or PracticePolicymakers should target resources to nursing homes in the hot spot areas identified, particularly nursing homes with low staffing and high Medicaid census in those areas.