bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of chitosan on mechanical and thermal properties of novel aloe vera fiber reinforced composites
Authors: Veerabathiran Anbumalar , Palanichamy Ramakrishnan , Rasu Karthick 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
The aim of this work is to study the effect of chitosan on mechanical and thermal properties of aloe vera fiber reinforced composites. In this work, we have fabricated the five different composites namely pure polyester composite (SP), pure aloe vera fiber composite (S0), 1 wt.% of chitosan filled aloe vera fiber composite (S1), 3 wt.% of chitosan filled aloe vera fiber composite (S3), and 5 wt.% of chitosan filled aloe vera fiber composite (S5) through simple hand layup method and investigated the mechanical and thermal properties. From the results, it is concluded that, 3 wt.% of chitosan filled aloe vera fiber reinforced composite was performed well in all the testing and it is suitable for various engineering applications such as automobile, aeronautical and marine. SEM analysis shows good adhesion behavior between fiber and matrix with the addition of chitosan. Further, 3 wt.% of chitosan can be added in natural fiber based polymer composites to enhance mechanical properties of the composites.
Influence of backing layers on the interlaminar fracture toughness energy – Mode I – of quasi-unidirectional GFRP
Authors: Backens Simon , Schmidt Stefan , Flügge Wilko 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Quasi-unidirectional glass fiber non-crimp fabrics consist of a unidirectional main layer in the 0° direction stabilized by a backing layer in the 90° direction with a significantly lower amount of fibers. It is known that the backing layers impair the fatigue performance of respective reinforced plastics due to their orientation perpendicular to the main load direction. They act as damage initiators for the failure of the load-carrying unidirectional fibers. In the present work, the positive influence of the backing layers on the interlaminar fracture toughness energy – Mode I – G
IC is demonstrated by tests in accordance with DIN EN 6033. The presence of backing fibers in the delamination plane can improve the G
IC values by up to 43 %. Furthermore, results from evaluation according to DIN EN 6033 and ASTM D5528 are shown to have a good agreement, if the correction factor for large displacements recommended in the ASTM standard is not applied. If it is applied, however, there is a clear gap of up to 19 % between the two standards because the DIN simply does not provide a correction for large deflections.
Carbon metal nanoparticle composites for the removal of pollutants
Authors: Kumar Ramachandran Vinoth , Kiruthika Naganathan , Priya Gunasekaran 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Pollution in the water bodies has been on the rise for several decades. To address this issue, many technologies involving physical, chemical, biological, and electrochemical processes are being utilised. Nevertheless, their commercial use is limited by a number of inherent drawbacks. Here, nanotechnology combined with material science has offered practical and economical ways to remove organic pollutants from the wastewater. This review will provide a detailed overview of the efficiency and applicability of various carbon-metal nanoparticle adsorbents such as heavy metals (mercury, lead, and cadmium), organic contaminants (benzene, insecticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon), and nitrogen and sulfur compounds from the wastewater by the adsorption process. The future research direction and the encouraging future of carbon composites loaded with metal nanoparticles for environmental applications are also discussed.
Criteria for Identifying Adjectival Participles in Lithuanian
Authors: Jancaitė Laima 
Published: April 2024

The aim of this paper is to present criteria for identifying adjectival Lithuanian participles, which function as adjectives but have participial forms, and to explain how adjectival participles can be identified through corpus data analysis. The relevance of the research lies in the fact that adjectival participles are considered as adjectives in dictionaries. Moreover, the devised identification criteria may be of added value for part-of-speech tagging, teaching Lithuanian, and other related domains.The article examines the concept of adjectivization, proposing a potential classification of Lithuanian participles based on the extent of their adjectivization (i.e., fully adjectival and partially adjectival participles). It also suggests criteria for identifying adjectival participles. The criteria, categorized into grammatical, semantic, derivational, and quantitative, are distinguished based on prior research and a pilot study. The data for the pilot study was extracted from Mokomasis lietuvių kalbos vartosenos leksikonas (The Lexical Database of Lithuanian Language Usage), encompassing 200 most frequent verbs and 49 adjectives with participial forms analyzed across two Lithuanian corpora. In addition, the order of criteria application is demonstrated in the present paper. In total, 185 frequent verbs were analyzed in the corpora to identify adjectival participles based on the following parameters: (1) the inclination of the participle to form an adverb with the suffix -ai; (2) its propensity to generate comparative and superlative forms and be used with adverbs of measure/degree; and (3) its inclination to be used attributively without verbal arguments. Methodologically, a quantitative approach was applied to analyze the data (only frequent participle forms were examined, as it is hypothesized that particularly frequent participles are adjectival).The results show that the proposed criteria, along with quantitative information, aid in the identification of adjectival participles. Seventeen identified participles are classified as separate words rather than verbal forms by Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas (The Dictionary of the Standard Lithuanian Language); one identified participle is categorized as an adjective by Lietuvių kalbos žodynas (The Lithuanian Language Dictionary); one identified participle was found to be adjectival, and another participle was used as a pronoun, while eight identified participles are considered partly adjectival. Six identified participles should not be considered adjectival. Thus, it appears that additional criteria need to be applied, and the methodology requires refinement for a more accurate identification of adjectival participles.
Role of Social and Self-Regulated Learning in School Contexts
Authors: Akhmedjanova Diana R. 
Published: April 2024

Self- and socially regulated learning skills allow students to develop soft skills or competencies to tackle learning tasks. Self-regulated learning skills help students set learning goals, choose learning strategies, monitor their progress, and control their affective and motivational states when working on learning tasks. Socially regulated learning skills help students to use self-regulated learning practices recognizing the reciprocal influence of other people, technology, and environment, creating opportunities for joint regulation of learning. However, it is still not clear how social regulation of learning relates to self-regulated learning. The purpose of this article is to describe the constructs of self- and socially regulated learning, report on the results of recent research studies of their components, introduce a theoretical model of the self- and socially regulated learning, discuss the results of our studies, and identify the areas for future research. The scientific contribution of this article is an attempt to compare the scholarly evidence and theoretical views of Russian and foreign researchers in order to understand the state of research of self- and socially regulated learning in authentic school contexts.
Erratum
Authors: Collective Editorial , Bell Susan 
Published: April 2024

The author has identified the following error in the published article:

This Erratum relates to the following article: Bell, Susan E., Patrick R. Grzanka, Kelly Joyce, and Laura Senier. 2023. “Masking (Not Masking) Up: An STS Visual-Intersectional Approach to Understanding Publics and Science in Times of Rapid Change.” Engaging Science, Technology, and Society 9(2): 9–40. https://doi.org/10.17351/ests2023.1363.

On page 22 it should read: “In figure 4, a local coffee shop used humor to encourage compliance with the local indoor mask mandate in Massachusetts.” rather than “In figure 5, a local coffee shop used humor to encourage compliance with the local indoor mask mandate in Massachusetts.”

On page 23, it should read: “Our visual-intersectional analysis of figure 4. . .” rather than “Our visual-intersectional analysis of figure 6 . . .”
Non-obvious and obvious signs of the thoracic spine pathology: a clinical study
Authors: Jasim M. R. , Saeed M. A. M. 
Published: April 2024

Background The thoracic spine pathology can lead to severe disability and discomfort.This study aims to identify determinant characteristics in patients with thoracic spine pathologies who present with non-regional complaints such as lumbar/cervical pain and others.Methods A prospective observational descriptive study was conducted at Basrah Teaching Hospital from March 2020 to December 2021, enrolling 114 patients categorized into two groups. Group A included patients with thoracic spine pathology and thoracic pain, while Group B consisted of patients with thoracic spine pathology and non-local symptoms (such as lower lumbar pain, pain in extremities, etc.). Comprehensive clinical evaluations were performed using a specially designed questionnaire.Results The majority of patients were in the 60-79 age group, with females comprising 55 % in Group A and 60 % in Group B. Smoking was observed in 28.98 % of Group A and 26.66 % of Group B. Symptomatic patients with solitary back pain commonly exhibited dorsal root compression symptoms (49.27 %), lower limb weakness (18.84 %), and sphincter dysfunction (7.24 %). Patients with thoracic plus lower and/or neck pain frequently reported paraesthesia (42.22 %) and cervical root symptoms (48.38 %). Kyphotic deformity was present in 20.28 % of Group A and 11.11 % of Group B, while tenderness was observed in 23.18 % of Group A and 13.33 % of Group B. Plain radiograph changes, including disk space narrowing (44.44 %), subchondral sclerosis (29.63 %), curve alterations (29.63 %), and facet arthropathy (25.9 %), were more prevalent in those with symptomatic thoracic back pain (Group A).Conclusion Non-local symptoms in thoracic spine pathologies are common, with complicated and multi-site low back pain being more prevalent than isolated back or thoracic pain. Elderly individuals, females, obesity, and comorbidities appear to be predictive risk factors for low back pain development. Paraesthesia emerges as the most common neurological manifestation, while kyphosis and scoliosis are primary presentations of thoracic pathologies. Multi-modalities of imaging, including plain radiographs, MRI, CT scan, and DEXA scan, can aid in detecting back pathologies. The mainstay of managing symptomatic thoracic pathologies is surgical intervention.
Evolution of tactical approaches to eliminating limb length discrepancy
Authors: Novikov K. I. , Komarova E. S. , Kolesnikov S. V. , Klimov O. V. , Sergeev K. S. 
Published: April 2024

Introduction Limb length discrepancy (LLD) can be debilitating and may cause other medical and social problems. LLD is a serious physical condition and have a significant impact on the patient's quality of life changing the gait, forming pathological adaptive mechanisms and causing long-term musculoskeletal disturbances in children. The objective was to analyze the evolution of tactical approaches to the rehabilitation of patients with lower limb length inequality.Material and methods The original literature search was conducted on key resources including Scientific Electronic Library (www.elibrary.ru) and the National Library of Medicine (www.pubmed.org). Literature searches included both Russian and English studies. The search strategy was comprised of keywords: lower limbs, limb length inequality, approaches and means of limb length correction, osteosynthesis. Clinical guidelines, clinical recommendations, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials and multicenter cohort studies were selected for analysis.Results and discussion Normal individuals can often experience a difference in the length of the lower limbs from several mm to 1.5 cm and have no effect on the gait, condition of adjacent joints and joints of the opposite limb. Some authors report inequality of 5 mm leading to orthopaedic pathology. A variety of conservative and surgical treatments are offered for limb length equalization. Elimination of LLD is a common and unresolved medical problem. Conservative treatment of LLD can be considered as one of the stages of rehabilitation. Some patients can benefit from conservative treatments. Alternatively, surgical equalization is a treatment option for patients with LLD.Conclusion Surgical methods offered earlier to address LLD had disadvantages, which ultimately minimized their use, and orthopaedic surgeons abandoned some of them due to the high risk of severe complications. The device and the technique developed by Dr. Ilizarov in the 50s of the last century was an epoch-making event in the elimination of LLD and are constantly being improved.
Understanding Qibla Orientation through the 'Nagara' Artificial Compass: A Falak Legal Perspective
Authors: Mahmud Hamdan , Bahran Bahran , Ipansyah Nor , Faridah Siti , Ruslan Ruslan 
Published: April 2024

Abstract: Facing or directing towards Qibla, which is one of the essential conditions for the validity of prayer, is sometimes challenging and tends to rely on existing directions or estimations. Among the various Qibla direction indicators circulating in society, especially in South Kalimantan, the Nagara-made compass was found (from one of the Districts in South Hulu Sungai Regency), which later became known as the Nagara compass. The research method used by the author is qualitative research, which produces descriptive data. The type of research is field research, conducted by gathering data by observing the object to be studied, with the researcher as the subject (actor) of the research. The reason for using this type of research is to obtain data in line with the location's data and to avoid invalid data regarding the Nagara compass. The data obtained are collected through observation techniques and data analysis through the science of falak. This study proves that the results of the Qibla direction indication by the Nagara compass cannot be considered scientifically accurate and cannot be justified scientifically; it can only be used as a mere aid for estimating the Qibla direction.Keywords: Qibla, Compass, magnetic correction. Abstrak:Ketentuan menghadap atau mengarah ke Qiblat yang merupakan salah satu syarat sahnya shalat, terkadang merupakan hal yang sulit untuk dilakukan, dan cenderung memanfaatkan arah yang sudah ada atau dengan taksiran saja. Diantara sekian banyak alat penunjuk arah Qiblat yang beredar di masyarakat, khususnya di Kalimantan Selatan, ditemukan kompas buatan Nagara (salah satu Kecamatan di Kabupaten Hulu Sungai Selatan), kompas ini kemudian lebih dikenal dengan kompas Nagara. Metode penelitian yang dilakukan penulis merupakan metode penelitian kualitatif yang menghasilkan data deskriptif. Untuk jenis penelitian yaitu penelitian lapangan. Dengan cara mencari data dengan melihat obyek yang akan diteliti. Dimana peneliti sebagai subyek (pelaku) penelitian. Alasan peneliti menggunakan jenis penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan data sesuai dengan data lokasi, serta untuk menghindari data yang tidak valid terhadap kompas Nagara. Data yang diperoleh menggunakan teknik observasi dan telaah data melalui ilmu falak. Penelitian ini membuktikan bahwa hasil penunjukkan arah Qiblat kompas Nagara secara ilmiah belum dapat dikatakan akurat dan malah belum dapat dipertanggungjawabkan keilmiahannya, dan hanya dapat dijadikan sebagai alat bantu semata, untuk mengira-ngira “arah” Qiblat.Kata Kunci : Qiblat, Kompas, koreksi magnet,
Peer-Led Focus Groups Identify Barriers to Healthy Lifestyle in African American Adolescents from Baltimore City
Authors: Warren Kimberly R. , Parker Elizabeth A. , Ganjavi Maryam , Watkins-Lewis Karen , Clark Sarah , Randolph Cunningham Suzanne , Hancock Yolandra 
Published: April 2024

Objectives
Black youth are disproportionately affected by the US obesity epidemic. Early-age obesity often continues into adulthood and is associated with a higher risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Few studies have incorporated community-based participatory research (CBPR) facilitated by youth to provide frank discussions among teens living in inner cities about challenges and facilitators in maintaining a healthy weight and to design teen-identified interventions.

Design
Black youth (n=10) were recruited from a Baltimore City high school during the 2019 to 2020 academic year and were trained by seasoned investigators and mentored by graduate and undergraduate students on qualitative methods using CBPR. These youth then implemented focus groups with their peers aged 15 to 18 years (10 focus groups of 10 teens each). Topics included healthy lifestyle knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and suggested interventions. Content analyses were conducted using dual-rater techniques.

Results
Focus group themes yielded strengths and challenges of weight maintenance for Black youth at various levels, including in their personal lives, families, school, and community. Themes also suggested several technology-based possibilities using social media to reach Black youth about healthy living practices.

Conclusions
Engagement of Black youth in CBPR projects can yield valuable data to design more culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate interventions. Youth are competent collectors of information to identify needed changes in their schools/communities and about the use of technology/social media to facilitate improved health practices among their peers and should be involved early in the process of developing targeted obesity prevention interventions and/or programs.
Family Health Equity in Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
Authors: Ellis Katrina R. , Young Tiffany L. , Langford Aisha T. 
Published: April 2024

Introduction/Purpose
Efforts to improve chronic disease outcomes among US adults highlight families, particularly support from families, as a key aspect of disease prevention and management. To date, however, an overwhelming focus on individual-level outcomes and unidirectional support (eg, from a family caregiver to an identified care recipient) belies the existence of co-occurring health concerns and interdependent care. There are increasing calls for more sophisticated and intensive family health interventions that better integrate family-level factors, processes, and outcomes to provide comprehensive family support services in health care and community-based settings.

Methods
This commentary provides key considerations for advancing this work while centering family health equity and families themselves in health initiatives.

Results
Several critical barriers are identified and discussed. For example, a narrow focus on family and inadequate measures of family-level disease burden make it challenging to understand how the disproportionate burden of chronic disease observed among individuals of lower socioeconomic status and certain racial and ethnic groups compounds and complicates family health experiences. In addition, limited attention to the interaction between individuals, families, and broader sociocultural factors that influence family resources and constraints, such as racism, hamper program design, implementation, and evaluation.

Conclusion
To center families in efforts to reduce chronic disease disparities, it is necessary to move beyond superficial attention to the complexity of disease prevention and management within the family context. This commentary serves to enhance understanding of important drivers of family-level chronic disease outcomes, while providing important considerations for advancing research and practice.
Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Among Residents and Employees in a Veterans Affairs Community Living Center: A 42-Month Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Jinadatha Chetan , Jones Lucas , Hailes Jennifer , Marshall Emma , Hwang Munok , Cadnum Jennifer , Choi Hosoon , Chatterjee Piyali , Chan Ernest , Zimmerman Peter , El Chakhtoura Nadim , Saade Elie , Donskey Curtis 
Published: April 2024

Background: Understanding routes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission in long-term care facilities is essential for the development of effective control measures.
Methods: Between March 1, 2020, and August 31, 2023, we identified coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases among residents and employees in a Veterans Affairs community living center that conducted routine screening for asymptomatic COVID-19. Contact tracing was conducted to identify suspected transmission events, and whole genome sequencing was performed to determine the relatedness of SARS-CoV-2 samples.
Results: During the 42-month study period, 269 cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed, including 199 employees and 70 residents. A total of 48 (24.1%) employees and 30 (42.9%) residents were asymptomatic. Sequencing analysis provided support for multiple events in which employees transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to co-workers and residents. There was 1 episode of likely transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from one resident to another resident, but no documented transmissions from residents to employees.
Conclusions: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the community living center predominantly involved transmission from employees to co-workers and residents. There is a need for improved measures to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by healthcare personnel.
Tax structure and public sector efficiency: new evidence for developing countries
Authors: Menescal Lucas , Alves José 
Published: April 2024

Abstract

This study examines the effects of the tax structure composition for public sector efficiency in a sample of 41 developing countries for the period between 1997–2019. We start by calculating Public Sector Performance (PSP) composite indicators and use them as outputs to compute Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) efficiency scores under different orientation setups. After using a general-to-specific approach to identify the most determinant variables, we analyze the relevance of different taxes for public efficiency in a panel regression specification. We find that tax effects are significantly different depending on the orientation of DEA scores. Notably, we observe that taxation presents stronger detrimental effects to input-oriented scores in comparison to output-oriented, and that Opportunity PSP indicators seem more affected by property taxes and working contributions, while Musgravian PSP indicators are more closely related to individual and corporate income taxes. Our results allow us to provide policy recommendations regarding tax structures to improve efficiency on the provision of public goods and services.
JEL: C14, C23, H11, H21, H50