Rational Research Articles

Care and the Limits of a Pro-Choice Discourse

Abstract The global pandemic exposed many flaws in the gendered political economy. It also illuminated how essential care is to our economy and to our flourishing. Yet, when care is dependent on a capitalist system that relies on competition, there will always be people who receive care and those that will not. In such a system, care is wrongly perceived to be a “choice” one can opt into or out of. This short essay grapples with the discourse of care as a choice, particularly around reproductive decisions. Choices offered within a neoliberal market logic fail to understand the political relationalities of such choices. Drawing on my personal experience of an abortion and other examples from the first year of COVID-19, this essay demonstrates how little choice there is in matters of care; care connects and disconnects one another regardless of personal choices. If matters of care persist in the realm of the market reliant on rational economic autonomous actors, then the many interrelationalities of care that the pandemic exposed will not have any impact on attaining a more caring society. This is particularly important given the nature of abortion politics in the United States. I argue that abortion is health care, and is often the most caring decision a pregnant person can make for the world they are trying to maintain, continue, and repair (per Tronto 1993). Care is not a choice; it is fundamental to human society.

SNSS USE IN GENERATION Z, EMOTIONAL STIMULI PROCESSING, AND ITS NEURAL CORRELATES. EVIDENCE FROM THE FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

The paper aims to examine the relationship between three factors among Generation Z members: time spent on SNSs (Social Network Sites) activities, visual vs. linguistic emotional stimuli processing, and neural activation during the performance of visual vs. verbal tasks. Although gene ra tion Z is described as having worse emotional linguistic competence than it does a visual competence, there is a lack of experimental research doc- umenting these dissimilarities. The study in volved a group of 57 adults born between 1995-2000, i.e. representatives of Generation Z.The experiment consisted of two parts: the first devoted to the testing of emotion recognition from images (The Scale of Emotional Intelligence – Faces), and the second performing linguistic emotional tasks (The Emotion Understanding Test). During the tests a neuroimaging technique (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) was applied to examine and register neural cortical activity in the frontal, temporal, and occipital areas. The Social Network Sites Scale was used to assess the level of social network site use.Results showed that individuals representing Generation Z perform better in visual emotional task than in linguistic tasks. There is an association between SNSs use and brain activation.Gen Z who overuse SNSs present greater activation of the brain regions responsible for a greater cognitive effort such as frontal and prefrontal areas. The activation differences in the frontal and temporal cortical regions between high users of SNSs and low users document the impact of SNSs utilization on brain functioning and confirm that SNSs overuse can have a negative impact on linguistic emotional stimuli processing.

Development of Wearable Microneedle-Based Platform for Real-Time Biomarkers Sensing

The wearable device technology plays a huge role in the healthcare sector owing to the aging global population and increased acquisition of the internet of things (IoT). Further, the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated the emergence of wearable medical devices in the market. The patients with chronic diseases are more focused on tracking single or multiple nutrients and biomarkers in the body. Diabetes is a classic example of chronic disease where the patients need to monitor their blood glucose level for a long time. In addition, diabetic patients also face electrolyte imbalance which gives rise to several other diseases. There is an immense urgency to develop a sensing platform that can detect the essential ions as well as biomarkers from the interstitial fluid (ISF) as it contains valuable information about the physiological status of a person. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), imbalance of sodium concentration in the body may lead to stroke, hypertension, and epilepsy; for potassium: arrhythmia, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and dizziness; for calcium: depression, osteoporosis, and other bone-related disease; for pH of body fluid: urinary tract infection, respiratory acidosis, and sleep apnea. Within this advent of wearables, microneedle (MN)-based transdermal sensors are well positioned to play a key role in combining the significant benefits of dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) as a source of clinical indicators and minimally invasive skin puncturing to allow the collection of real-time diagnostic data. In this context, we have developed a MNs based versatile platform for the transdermal amperometric detection of glucose and different clinically relevant biomarkers such as K+, Na+, Ca2+ in the body fluid in a robust, reliable, and cost-effective way. Here, stainless steel microneedle (SS-MN) is used as an ideal candidate for multiplex sensing due to its great chemical stability as well as the rigidity for accurate and painless puncture. The device is fabricated with ion selective electrode (ISM) coating on each needle for their corresponding electrolyte and enzyme for glucose detection. In vitro experiments performed in artificial ISF samples yielded excellent sensitivity and a good linear response. The sensor is successfully applied for in vivo detection of glucose and these ions in SD rats for validating their feasibility as a real-time sensing device. Overall, this developed concept comprises of significant progress in the sensing of glucose and other ions in relation to an electrolyte imbalance in the humans that holds relevance in controlling several diseases.

Patient-centricity: Research's new shibboleth?

Patient-centricity: Research's new shibboleth?

EFEKTIVITAS PROMOSI ONLINE, LAYANAN PURNA JUAL DAN PERSEPSI HARGA UNTUK MENINGKATKAN PENGAMBILAN KEPUTUSAN PADA M-COMMERCE

The purpose of this study is to investigate how pricing perception, after-sales service, and online promotion influence online purchasing decisions. The sample is 150 respondents who have made online purchases via smartphones. Multiple linear regression was employed in the data analysis with SPSS 20.0. The conclusions in this study are as follows: 1) Perception of price affects online purchasing decisions; 2) After-sales service does not affect online purchasing decisions; 3) Online Promotion affects online purchasing decisions. Price perceptions and online promotions affect online purchasing decisions because prices are sensitive, especially for mothers or women. Consumers are rational economic actors. This means that they will take decisions or actions that are most beneficial to them, in this case, related to the price of goods. The law of supply and demand concerns price and quantity. If prices fall, the need for goods and services will increase, and vice versa

Impact of Simulation-Based Teaching in the Development of Students' Exploration and Learning Skills

Abstract :Students in higher education, learn many courses in their curriculum, especially in various engineering streams. Not all the courses in the curriculum are accompanied by physical laboratories to have practical exposure. Some of the courses are restricted only to theory content. In this context, simulation-based teaching and learning make such courses more interesting and enhance student learning and interaction in classrooms even in online or offline teaching. For the courses that are supported by simulation software, the facilitator or instructor can apply the simulation-based training techniques, tools, and strategies in designing well-defined learning capabilities. As a part of the study, simulation-based teaching and learning was tested in delivering two courses online. One of them is a third-year course “Antennas and Propagation” wherein the “Antenna Designer” application in Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) environment was used to ensure the students learn the performance of an antenna, based on various design parameters and the other one is a second-year course “Electronic Circuit Analysis” wherein “Multisim Live online simulator” was used for designing and analyzing the circuits. The participation and engagement of around 65 learners each year were examined by the way they performed the complete design and analysis in the respective courses. The student's performance was assessed based on the clear demonstration of design and analysis they performed. This experiment found that about 80% of students benefitted from the experiment in terms of what they learned and how well they could do analysis, in both courses. This method of simulation-based learning embedded with the instructional design helped the students enhance their exploration skills and hence supported learning new concepts. Keywords : Student Engagement, Simulation-Based Le arning, Shor t Demonst ra tions, Student Assessment, MATLAB, Multisim.

Impact of High-Deductible Health Plans on Breast Reconstruction: Considerations for Financial Toxicity.

High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) are used within the United States to curb unnecessary health care spending; however, the resulting increased out-of-pocket (OOP) costs may be associated with financial toxicity. The aim was to assess the impact of HDHPs on use and seasonality of mastectomy and breast reconstruction procedures. The hypothesis is that the high OOP costs of HDHPs will lead to decreased overall service use and greater fourth-quarter use after the deductible has been met. MarketScan was queried from 2014 to 2017 for episodes of mastectomy, breast reconstruction (immediate and delayed), breast revision, and reduction. Only patients continuously enrolled for the full calendar year after the index operation were included. HDHPs and low-deductible health plans (LDHPs) were compared based on OOP cost sharing. Outcomes included surgery use rates, seasonality of operations, and median/mean OOP costs. Annual mastectomy and breast reconstruction use rates varied little between LDHPs and HDHPs. Mastectomies, delayed breast reconstruction, and elective breast procedures (P < 0.001) all showed significant increases in fourth-quarter use, whereas immediate breast reconstruction did not. Regardless of timing and reconstruction method, HDHPs had significantly greater median OOP costs compared to LDHPs (all P < 0.001). Mastectomy and breast reconstruction rates did not differ between LDHPs and HDHPs, but seasonality for all breast procedures was measured with the exception of immediate breast reconstruction, suggesting that women are rational economic actors. Regardless of service timing and reconstruction modality, HDHP patients had greater OOP costs compared to LDHP patients, which serves as a good starting point for provider engagement in financial toxicity.

Examining Whistleblowing Intention: The Influence of Rationalization on Wrongdoing and Threat of Retaliation.

Whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing often face several concerns, pressures, and threats of retaliation before reaching a final decision. Specifically, this study examines the effects of perceived seriousness of wrongdoing (PSW) and perceived threat of retaliation (PTR), as well as the impact of rationalization (RNL), comparing perceived seriousness of wrongdoing, perceived threat of retaliation and whistleblowing intention. Furthermore, this study aims to determine the mediating effect of anticipated regret (AR) on the relationship between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing and whistleblowing intention. We validated our model by analyzing data gathered across three stages from employees in the telecom sector in Pakistan. The key findings of our research may be summarized as follows: (i) individuals’ willingness to ‘blow the whistle’ increases as a result of perceived seriousness of wrongdoing; (ii) whistleblowers are more likely to opt to remain silent if they anticipate a greater threat of retaliation, and (iii) our study establishes a positive connection between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing and whistleblowing intention, indicating that perceived seriousness of wrongdoing enhances people’s willingness to blow the whistle, and whistleblowers are more likely to choose to emerge if the behaviour is more serious in nature; (iv) the data we have uncovered indicates a moderating role of rationalization in regulating the connections between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing, perceived threat of retaliation, and whistleblowing intention; and (v) the findings demonstrate that anticipated regret mediates the connection between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing and the intention to report wrongdoing. Additionally, the results are discussed in terms of their significance for corporate ethics researchers and managers, as well as for end-users who are interested in whistleblowing.

Раціональний підхід до лікування гострих тонзилофарингітів у дітей

У роботі розглянуто варіант місцевої протизапальної терапії при гострому тонзилофарингіті в дітей із протизапальним, анальгетичним, антимікробним і противірусним ефектом як у вигляді монотерапії, так і в комплексі з антибактеріальними засобами.

Pathophysiological effects\xa0of Tamiflu on liver and kidneys of male rats

BackgroundTamiflu/oseltamivir phosphate (OP), an anti-influenza drug, has a highly doubted safety especially after many cases of abnormal behaviour and deaths reported after being used. Such controversy was also locally and globally generated, especially after being heavily used in COVID-19 treatment protocol. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of three different doses of OP on the liver and kidneys of male adult albino rats through histological approaches, measuring their DNA integrity and biochemical analyses. Different doses of Tamiflu applied to humans were converted to rats, then observed their effects on the liver and kidneys. Rats were divided into four groups. G1: considered as control group. The rest of the three treated groups were received the same calculated dose of Tamiflu (6.75 mg/kg b.w.) in three different durations. G2, G3 and G4 represented the animals orally received OP, in which the rats received OP twice for 5 consecutive days, once for 10 and 45 days, respectively.ResultsOur data showed numerous deleterious necrotic and fibrotic histopathological changes in the liver, and kidneys; as well as necrotic DNA smears, by using electrophoresis, in OP-treated rats of G2 and G4. In addition, OP significantly increased the serum cellular hepatic/renal toxicity markers (ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, indirect bilirubin, urea, creatinine, uric acid, & Na+). Also, it showed a reduction in the levels of serum total protein, albumin and K+ ions in rats of G2 and G4 compared with G1. In G3, OP treatment did not significantly alter hepatic/renal histological, DNA integrity and biochemical analyses in rats. ConclusionsThe therapeutic and long-term prophylactic doses of OP most likely cause structural and functional hepato- and nephrotoxicity in experimentally subjected rats. So, caution must be taken during Tamiflu treatment, and not used for long durations and/or with repetitive doses (time- and/or accumulative-dose-dependent); especially with patients suffer from liver and/or kidney dysfunction, while the short-term prophylactic dose of OP appears to be relatively safe and could be explored for oral medications.Graphical

Насущные вопросы рациональной антибиотикотерапии воспалительных заболеваний нижних дыхательных путей в детской практике

В течение последних 30 лет большую тревогу вызывает высокая частота острых инфекций нижних дыхательных путей бактериальной этиологии, прежде всего пневмоний и бронхитов, лечение которых в условиях распространенной устойчивости к антибиотикам нередко представляет трудную задачу. Бронхиты — одни из наиболее частых после острых респираторных вирусных инфекций заболеваний органов дыхания в детском возрасте. Применение антибиотиков при остром бронхите у детей не рекомендуется, но их назначают при выраженной интоксикации и длительной гипертермии (более 3 дней), особенно у больных раннего возраста, у детей с неблагоприятным преморбидным фоном и высоким риском развития пневмонии. Антибиотикотерапия признана единственным научно обоснованным методом лечения пневмонии. C учетом широкого спектра действия современных антибиотиков наиболее целесообразна монотерапия. При необходимости большего расширения спектра их действия предпочтение отдается комбинации амоксициллина/клавуланата с макролидами, к которым чувствительны все основные возбудители инфекций органов дыхания.

Explaining consumer motives to purchase in the informal economy.

Usually, studies on the informal economy focus mainly upon those working in the informal economy (supply side). However, many exchanges in the informal economy are initiated by purchasers asking how much a good or service costs if paid cash in hand. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to advance understanding of who make purchases in the informal economy and the reasons of the consumers making these purchases (demand side). Two potential explanations are evaluated. Firstly, consumers are explained as rational economic actors seeking a more convenient deal or profit maximisation (i.e., lower price or better value for money), making purchases from the informal economy due to the lack of availability of the product or service they need on the formal market, or they make such purchases involuntarily, due to the lack of perfect information necessary to make a fully rational economic decision when purchasing. Secondly, the consumers are portrayed as social actors pursuing community help. Using a multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis on a 2019 Eurobarometer interviews in 27 EU member states and the UK reveal how the prevalence of these motives significantly varies across populations and regions. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed in the concluding section.

Диагностика и лечение внебольничной пневмонии у детей

На практике, особенно в амбулаторных условиях, серьезными проблемами педиатрии являются ранняя диагностика и рациональная терапия пневмонии у детей. Наиболее распространенными возбудителями при внебольничной пневмонии являются Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae и другие микроорганизмы, в том числе вирусы и грибы. Следует уточнить, что этиология заболеваний нижнего респираторного тракта резко отличается в разных возрастных группах. Самой частой причиной внебольничной пневмонии (до 50 %) является S.pneumoniae, реже встречаются такие палочки, как E.сoli, Klebsiella spp., C.trachomatis, Mycoplasma, Ureаplasma. У детей старше 5 лет в этиологической структуре внебольничной пневмонии наряду с S.рneumoniae возрастает значимость Mycoplasma рneumoniae. Резистентность возбудителей инфекции к антибактериальным препаратам — нарастающая глобальная проблема. Алгоритм диагностики внебольничной пневмонии включает фебрильную температуру продолжительностью &gt; 3 дней, цианоз, одышку при отсутствии признаков бронхиальной обструкции, кашель. Тахипноэ является одним из лучших предикторов пневмонии у детей всех возрастов. При физикальном обследовании — наличие укорочения перкуторного звука в зоне поражения, бронхиальное или ослабленное дыхание, звучные мелкопузырчатые или крепитирующие хрипы. Для диагностики нетяжелых внебольничных пневмоний вполне достаточно ограничиться клиническими симптомами, рентгенографией легких, общим анализом крови. Начальная антибиотикотерапия внебольничной пневмонии проводится эмпирическим путем. При лечении нетяжелых внебольничных пневмоний у детей от 2 мес. до 5 лет препаратом выбора является амоксициллин перорально. Макролиды — препараты выбора у детей от 5 до 16 лет. При тяжелой пневмонии препаратами выбора являются амоксициллин/клавуланат, цефалоспорины II, III, IV поколения. В целом продолжительность антибиотикотерапии при внебольничной пневмонии, вызванной типичными бактериями, составляет 7–10 дней, атипичными бактериями — 10–14 дней. В реальной клинической практике при проведении антибактериальной терапии нередко наблюдаются ошибки, связанные с выбором препарата, пути введения, дозировки, режима применения, длительности курса.

Care as a ‘New’ Feminist Rationality

Leseprobe ----- Bibliographie: Bosisio, Elisa: Care as a ‘New’ Feminist Rationality, Femina Politica – Zeitschrift für feministische Politikwissenschaft, 1-2021, S. 109-116. https://doi.org/10.3224/feminapolitica.v30i1.11

Tackling Undeclared Self-Employment in South-East Europe: from Deterrents to Preventative Policy Measures

This paper evaluates two contrasting policy approaches for tackling those working on an own-account basis who do not declare all their paid activities to the authorities for tax, social security and/or labour law purposes. The conventional deterrence approach, based on a rational economic actor view, has sought to raise the costs of engaging in undeclared work by increasing the expected sanctions and risk of detection. Recently, an alternative preventative approach has emerged viewing participants more as social actors operating in the undeclared economy when there is a lack of vertical trust (in government) and horizontal trust (in others to operate legitimately).Consequently, this seeks to improve vertical and horizontal trust in order to elicit voluntary compliance. To evaluate the effectiveness of these contrasting policy approaches in tackling undeclared self-employment, evidence is reported from a 2019 Eurobarometer survey in seven South-East European countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia). This reveals that the likelihood of participation in undeclared selfemployment is not significantly associated with the deterrent measures of increasing the perceived sanctions and risk of detection but is significantly associated with the preventative measures of improving vertical and horizontal trust. The implications for theorising and tackling undeclared self-employment are discussed.

The Analysis of the Algebraic Proving Process Based on Habermas Construct of Rationality

The Analysis of the Algebraic Proving Process Based on Habermas Construct of Rationality

Explaining different types of undeclared work: lessons from a 2019 Eurobarometer survey

PurposeUntil now, most scholars have used one of four competing theories to explain undeclared work. Political economy theories explain undeclared work as resulting from the exclusion of workers from formal work and welfare, neo-liberal theories explain such work as a voluntarily chosen rational economic decision and neo-institutionalist and post-structuralist theories explain those engaging as social actors who disagree with the formal rules or seek to help others out respectively. Recognising that each theory focuses upon different employment relationships, this paper evaluates the proposition that these different theories are more explanations of different types of undeclared work.Design/methodology/approachTo evaluate this, data reported is collected in 2019 across 28 European countries (the 27 member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom) in special Eurobarometer survey 92.1 involving 27,565 interviews.FindingsOf the 3.6% of citizens participating in undeclared work, 10% engage in undeclared waged employment, 42% in undeclared self-employment and 48% in undeclared paid favours. Reporting their rationales, 7% state purely political economy exclusion-driven reasons, 19% solely neo-liberal rational economic actor reasons, 20% purely social actor reasons and 54% mixed motives. A logistic regression analysis finds those engaging in undeclared waged employment significantly more likely to state purely exclusion-driven rationales, those engaging in undeclared self-employment significantly more likely to state neo-liberal rational economic actor and neo-institutionalist social actor rationales and those engaging in undeclared paid favours post-structuralist social actor motives.Practical implicationsThis finding suggests that the policy initiatives required to tackle undeclared work will vary according to the type of undeclared work addressed. These are outlined.Originality/valueEvidence is provided that a different weighting needs to be given to different theories when explaining each type of undeclared work.

What Should Humeans Say about Rationality?

What Should Humeans Say about Rationality?

Metallobiochemistry of ultratrace levels of bismuth in the rat I. Metabolic patterns of 205+206Bi3+ in the blood

BackgroundThe number of the applications of bismuth (Bi) is rapidly and remarkably increasing, enhancing the chance to increase the levels to which humans are normally daily exposed. The interest to Bi comes also from the potential of Bi-based nanoparticles (BiNPs) for industrial and biomedical purposes. Like other metal-based NPs used in nanomedicine, BiNPs may release ultratrace amounts of Bi ions when injected. The metabolic fate and toxicity of these ions still needs to be evaluated. At present, knowledge of Bi metabolism in laboratory animals refers almost solely to studies under unnatural “extreme” exposures, i.e. pharmacologically relevant high-doses (up to thousand mg kg−1) in relation to its medical use, or infinitesimal-doses (pg kg−1 as non-carrier-added Bi radioisotopes) for radiobiology protection, diagnostic and radiotherapeutic purposes. No specific study exists on the “metabolic patterns” in animal models exposed to levels of Bi, i.e. at “environmental dose exposure” that reflect the human daily exposure (μg kg−1). MethodologyRats were intraperitoneally injected with 0.8 μg Bi kg−1 bw as 205+206Bi(NO)3 alone or in combination with 59Fe for radiolabelling of iron proteins. The use of 205+206Bi radiotracers allowed the detection and measurement down to pg fg−1 of the element in the blood biochemical compartments and protein fractions as isolated by differential centrifugation, size exclusion- and ion exchange chromatography, electrophoresis, solvent extraction, precipitation and dialysis. Results24 h after the administration, the blood concentration of Bi was 0.18 ng mL−1, with a repartition plasma/red blod cells (RBC) in a ratio of 2:1. Elution profiles of plasma from gel filtration on Sephadex G-150 showed four pools of Bi-binder proteins with different molecular sizes (> 300 kDa, 160 kDa, 70 kDa and < 6.5 kDa). In the 70 kDa fraction transferrin and albumin were identified as biomolecule carriers for Bi. In red blood cells, Bi was distributed between cytosol and membranes (ghosts) in a ratio of about 5:1. In the cytosol, low molecular components (LMWC) and the hemoglobin associated the Bi in a ratio of about 1.8:1. In the hemoglobin molecule, Bi was bound to the beta polypeptide chain of the globin. In the ghosts, Bi was detected at more than one site of the protein fraction, with no binding with lipids. Dialysis experiments and the consistently high recovery (80–90 %) of 206Bi from chromatography of 206Bi-containing biocomponents suggest that Bi was firmly complexed at physiological pH with a low degree of breaking during the applications of experimental protocols for the isolation of the 206Bi-biocomplexes. These latter were sensitive to acid buffer pH 5, and to the presence of complexing agents in the dialysis fluid. ConclusionsOn the basis of an environmental biochemical toxicology approach, we have undertaken a study on the metabolic patterns of Bi3+ ions in rats at tissue, subcellular and molecular level with the identification of cellular Bi-binding components. As a first part of the study the present work reports the results concerned with the metabolic fate of ultratrace levels of 205+206Bi(NO)3 in the blood.

Order-k rationality

Order-k rationality