Tool For Qualitative Analysis Research Articles

The reception of post-Soviet Russian fiction through the peritexts of Finnish translations

ABSTRACT This article is based on research addressing the reception of post-Soviet Russian fiction in the twenty-first century (2000–2023) through Finnish translations and the notions of Russia and Russian literature mediated through them. The investigation of translated fiction draws on imagology, i.e. the study of images and cross-national perceptions in literary representations. Focusing on the peritexts, a subcategory of paratexts coined by Genette (1987/1997), the article investigates book cover texts and publishers’ descriptions of the translated works to find out how the translations are received and introduced to readers of the target culture. The translations comprise 101 books, first translated during 2000–2023. The peritexts were retrieved directly from the printed books or using the search service Finna.fi and publisher websites. The analysis was conducted with help of a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis tool, designed to support inductive, data-driven qualitative analysis. As a result of the analysis, three thematic groups emerging from the peritexts were identified: 1) the portrayal of the (Soviet) Russian past and post-Soviet society as grim, insane and tragic, 2) the emphasis on realism and truthfulness of the image of Russia conveyed by the translations, and 3) praise of the authors’ literary skills.

Exploring Internal Reverse Migration Patterns in Cumilla District, Bangladesh: A Case Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study possesses two-fold objectives: first, to explain the nature of internal reverse migration in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic, and second, to explore the push-pull factors of it. This study used a qualitative analysis tool and conducted 04 case studies and 10 In-depth interviews of reverse migrants for case study-based analysis. the study found that the pandemic triggered the reverse migration of informal workers, particularly female workers. Livelihood crisis, food insecurity, unexpected shocks, health insecurity, low living costs, and fear of infection are push-pull factors of reverse migration during COVID-19. Furthermore, these push-pull factors have motivated informal workers to migrate from urban to rural areas during COVID-19. The findings recommend that policymakers should address the vulnerability of informal workers in policy decisions. Policymakers should introduce new programs, i.e., social protection, and emergency economic schemes to provide support to the informal workers during emergencies like COVID-19.

A Comprehensive Review on Advantages of Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) for Analytical Method Development, Validation, and Stability Studies

Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) represents a paradigm shift in analytical separation science, offering enhanced speed, sensitivity, and resolution while retaining the foundational principles of traditional liquid chromatography. This comprehensive review explores the principles, instrumentation, advantages, and applications of UPLC in analytical method development, validation, and stability studies, with a focus on pharmaceutical analysis. UPLC leverages finer particles and intensified flow rates to achieve unprecedented performance gains, facilitating rapid and precise separations without compromising analytical rigor. The discussion delves into the intricate instrumentation involved, including sample injection, column selection, and detector operation, highlighting the critical role of each component in ensuring optimal analytical performance. Advantages of UPLC include drastically reduced run times, streamlined method optimization, and increased sample throughput, while limitations such as higher back pressures and limited column regenerability are also discussed. Furthermore, the review outlines the diverse applications of UPLC across pharmaceutical, environmental, food and beverage, clinical, forensic, bioanalytical, and polymer analysis domains, underscoring its versatility and significance in advancing research, development, and quality control in various industries. In summary, UPLC represents a transformative tool in analytical chemistry, offering unparalleled capabilities for expedited and accurate analysis of complex sample matrices, ultimately driving innovation and scientific progress. Key Words: Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), analytical method development, validation, stability studies, pharmaceutical analysis, instrumentation, advantages, applications, sample injection, column chemistry, detector technology, back pressures, method optimization, sample throughput, environmental analysis, food and beverage analysis, clinical diagnostics, forensic analysis, bioanalytical research, polymer analysis, analytical chemistry.

Analysis and Control of Partially Observed Discrete-Event Systems via Positively Constructed Formulas

This paper establishes a connection between control theory for partially observed discrete-event systems (DESs) and automated theorem proving (ATP) in the calculus of positively constructed formulas (PCFs). The language of PCFs is a complete first-order language providing a powerful tool for qualitative analysis of dynamical systems. Based on ATP in the PCF calculus, a new technique is suggested for checking observability as a property of formal languages, which is necessary for the existence of supervisory control of DESs. In the case of violation of observability, words causing a conflict can also be extracted with the help of a specially designed PCF. With an example of the problem of path planning by a robot in an unknown environment, we show the application of our approach at one of the levels of a robot control system. The prover Bootfrost developed to facilitate PCF refutation is also presented. The tests show positive results and perspectives for the presented approach.

Negotiating access and belonging: Recounting the lived experiences and challenges of migrant women returnees in Nigeria

The study explores the lived experiences of women migrant returnees in Nigeria. It aims to highlight the motivation and push factors for migration, understand the challenges and lived experiences of migrant women, and appraise their integration and sense of belonging. Through referrals and purposive sampling, a total of 20 migrant women were recruited and interviewed. The inclusion criteria include those who have lived and worked in the diaspora for a minimum of 5 years and 2 years as a returnee in Nigeria, respectively. The exclusion criteria involve women who migrated with families and those considered professionals. Themes were identified with the NVivo (v.12) qualitative software and the Content Qualitative Analytical tool employed to interpret these themes. The need for migration for many women includes access to improved economic life, infrastructure, and amenities, means of sustaining families in the home country, and improved social and political security. The lived experience of women migrants in the diaspora includes sexual harassment, rape, forced and inhumane labour practices, low wages, isolation and depression, and xenophobia. For many returnees, the challenge includes unemployment, integration, family support, inflation, and financial insolvency. The quest for integration and belonging is limited for many returnees. The paper argues for more robust migration policies and a well-established policy of integration for migrant returnees. The study recommends a more monitoring effort of the activities of the Nigerian border. This recommendation becomes crucial with the porous borders in Nigeria through which people, including women, migrate to other countries illegally and undocumented.

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) As a Critical Friend: The Affordances and Limitations

ABSTRACT This qualitative self-study contributes new insights on critical friendship, specifically related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot utility trends, asking: In what ways can AI serve as our critical friend? And, what are the affordances and limitations of AI as a critical friend, compared to our human critical friends? To answer these questions, the authors selected Pi.ai/talk, an AI tool they later nicknamed Pia. After interacting with Pia (using data from a previous study), they compared Pia’s responses to those of two human critical friends, Anne and Anders, who originally provided feedback in their previous self-study. Drawing on theoretical and conceptual perspectives (Thought Collective, Anatomy of Critical Friend Attributes, & Critical Friend Definition Continuum) and using four data sources, the authors applied multiple qualitative analysis tools to determine the affordances and limitations of Pia. They found Pia could serve as a critical friend when examining her critical friend attributes because to some extent she provided feedback to their thinking, probed thoughtful questions, and remained in a positive tone. Although Pia had some affordances in her ability to serve as a critical friend, the data evidenced several limitations in how she met the critical attributes in the areas of constraints, trust, and relational dynamics; especially when juxtaposing Pia’s feedback to Anne’s and Anders’ feedback. Given the findings, the authors argue AI tools can complement human critical friends in self-study research, but as of the date of this publication, they do not advocate for replacing human critical friends entirely.

Swept-source Raman spectroscopy of chemical and biological materials.

Raman spectroscopy has been used as a powerful tool for chemical analysis, enabling the noninvasive acquisition of molecular fingerprints from various samples. Raman spectroscopy has proven to be valuable in numerous fields, including pharmaceutical, materials science, and biomedicine. Active research and development efforts are currently underway to bring this analytical instrument into the field, enabling in situ Raman measurements for a wider range of applications. Dispersive Raman spectroscopy using a fixed, narrowband source is a common method for acquiring Raman spectra. However, dispersive Raman spectroscopy requires a bulky spectrometer, which limits its field applicability. Therefore, there has been a tremendous need to develop a portable and sensitive Raman system. We developed a compact swept-source Raman (SS-Raman) spectroscopy system and proposed a signal processing method to mitigate hardware limitations. We demonstrated the capabilities of the SS-Raman spectroscopy by acquiring Raman spectra from both chemical and biological samples. These spectra were then compared with Raman spectra obtained using a conventional dispersive Raman spectroscopy system. The SS-Raman spectroscopy system used a wavelength-swept source laser (822 to 842nm), a bandpass filter with a bandwidth of 1.5nm, and a low-noise silicon photoreceiver. Raman spectra were acquired from various chemical samples, including phenylalanine, hydroxyapatite, glucose, and acetaminophen. A comparative analysis with the conventional dispersive Raman spectroscopy was conducted by calculating the correlation coefficients between the spectra from the SS-Raman spectroscopy and those from the conventional system. Furthermore, Raman mapping was obtained from cross-sections of swine tissue, demonstrating the applicability of the SS-Raman spectroscopy in biological samples. We developed a compact SS-Raman system and validated its performance by acquiring Raman spectra from both chemical and biological materials. Our straightforward signal processing method enhanced the quality of the Raman spectra without incurring high costs. Raman spectra in the range of 900 to were observed for phenylalanine, hydroxyapatite, glucose, and acetaminophen. The results were validated with correlation coefficients of 0.88, 0.84, 0.87, and 0.73, respectively, compared with those obtained from dispersive Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, we performed scans across the cross-section of swine tissue to generate a biological tissue mapping plot, providing information about the composition of swine tissue. We demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed compact SS-Raman spectroscopy system by obtaining Raman spectra of chemical and biological materials, utilizing straightforward signal processing. We anticipate that the SS-Raman spectroscopy will be utilized in various fields, including biomedical and chemical applications.

China-ASEAN Economic Ties: Balancing Growth amid Middle-Income Challenges and Opportunities

The introduction of a free trade area between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China (ACFTA) in 2012 brought China to a leading economic position in Southeast Asia (this was manifested in a significant, almost 2.2-fold, increase in the volume of trade) and turned it into a driving force of ASEAN’s economic prosperity. However, this increased economic interdependence creates challenges for both China and ASEAN: on the one hand, China seeks to make the transition from a high-income country to sustainable economic development in the ASEAN region, and on the other hand, ASEAN has concerns about excessive economic dependence on China. This situation requires a balance to be struck to avoid repeating the historical patterns seen in Japan in the 1960s and 1980s. This article examines the investment, trade and geopolitical relations between China and ASEAN in a historical retrospective of 2010-2022, assesses their economic dependence and the mechanisms of political-economic relations, identifies the factors that caused China’s rapid economic breakthrough, and outlines directions for overcoming the most modern challenges that have place in the context of this relationship through formulation of suggested frameworks. The article considers 2 research questions, for the solution of which the G/T (Grounded Theory) approach was used and a qualitative analysis of the 12 most relevant sources was carried out (limitation of their number – according to the concept of theoretical saturation), selected primarily through online databases, websites, international organizations’ data, analytical reviews, and scientific papers. RQ1: Identify the root causes of the problems faced by ASEAN middle-income countries in their engagement with China. The article identifies the following 3 main reasons through the empirical review analysis: 1) dependence of middle-income ASEAN countries on financial assistance, especially from China; 2) a noticeable decrease in unity in the ASEAN region; 3) China’s lack of recommendations on the advisory policy of economic development in the ASEAN countries. RQ2: development of recommendations for middle-income ASEAN countries to increase their ability to pave independent paths to sustainable economic development and reduce their economic dependence on China, taking into account the review of the balance of power in political relations with the United States and China. Using the qualitative analysis tool ATLAS.ti (version 24) for the G/T approach, it was concluded that to overcome the syndromes of lower-middle-income trap (LMIT) and higher-middle-income trap (HMIT), ASEAN economies should implement the following spontaneous strategies: infrastructure development, improvement of basic education and promotion of science and technology. In addition, it is important to raise awareness of political tensions between China and the US, apply the techniques of thoughtful diplomacy, fine-tuned policy formulation, and shared vision to establish a diplomatic balance between China, the US, and Japan in the context of geopolitical risk management.

Study of the Effect of Procedural Justice on Performance

This paper aims to identify research trends on procedural justice on performance globally. The method used in this study is qualitative research with a bibliometric analysis. As for the data found, 122 documents were obtained and analyzed from 2014-2023. This dataset was converted to CSV format and for Bibliometrix in the analysis using VOSviewer. The study included publication distribution year, country, keywords, and authors. The findings of this research showed that the research trend from 2014 to 2023 Experienced a significant increase in interest and research related to procedural justice on performance. The United States is the country that contributes the most research publications, research trends show an increasing focus throughout this decade. The increasing focus on procedural justice on performance reflects a paradigm shift in understanding and dealing with the challenges and opportunities faced by organizations in applying the principles of procedural justice used in organizations to their employees. The main limitation of this study should be considered - the use of data derived only from the Scopus database. This paper reveals research trends and areas of procedural justice on performance over the past few years. The results can help organisations to quickly understand procedural justice in performance research. This paper also provides an alternative approach in conducting literature reviews with qualitative research analysis tools that were previously widely adopted in various disciplines and are relatively new compared to conventional systematic literature

Greenness-sustainability metrics for assessment smart-chemometric spectrophotometric strategy for evaluation of the combination of six gastric proton-pump inhibitors with two selected impurities

Green analytical approaches are employed for the determination of active pharmaceutical ingredients, in conjunction with their impurities. Smart chemometric spectrophotometric techniques, including orthogonal partial least square (OPLS), variable selection such as genetic algorithm (GA-OPLS), and interval selection (i-OPLS), were utilized. These chemometric models were implemented for assessing six proton-pump inhibitors Omeprazole, Esomeprazole, Lansoprazole, Pantoprazole, Rabeprazole, and Dexlansoprazole along with two selected official impurities, namely 4-Desmethoxy omeprazole impurity and Rabeprazole-impurity B. Experimental design was implemented to separate impurities, in the process of multivariate calibration, a five-level eight-factor calibration design consisting of 25 samples was selected. This design was deliberately selected to guarantee that the components were mutually orthogonal to assess the model's performance and reliability, a separate validation set of 15 samples was constructed. The best-performing of the proposed techniques were identified by considering the least favorable values of the Correlation Coefficient (R ≥ 0.9995), the Root Mean Square Error of Prediction (RMSEP) values between (0.0102–0.5622), and the Relative Error of Prediction (REP) values between (0.2961–1.1917). The proposed and reported methods' greenness-sustainability was quantitatively evaluated, and a comparative study of the greenness profile was established through a spider chart, the National Environmental Method Index tool, advanced and modified NEMI along with the Hexagon tool, and the whiteness qualities of the presented approaches were assessed by implementing the recently adopted Red-Green-Blue paradigm and White Analytical Chemistry tool. These approaches are well-suited for use in quality control laboratories due to their observed acceptance, long-term sustainability, simplicity, and affordability.

Implementing trauma-informed care practices in the workplace: a descriptive phenomenological study

The effects of trauma are becoming more prevalent in the clinical setting, which has helped generate conversations about being more trauma-informed and providing trauma-informed care services. The principles centered around trauma-informed care could be applied to a person’s everyday life, including the work setting with the goal of creating a more trauma-informed environment for all employees. This qualitative descriptive phenomenological study aimed to investigate what trauma-informed care principles are needed in the workplace from the employee perspective to create a more trauma-informed environment. The survey instrument used in this study was a modified version of Fallot and Harris’s (2011) consumer satisfaction survey in their published article Creating Cultures of Trauma-Informed Care: A Self-Assessment and Planning Protocol. The instrument contained 13 questions, with each core question having an optional secondary question requesting additional details about the participants’ responses. The tool was categorized into four sections: safety, trustworthiness, choice and collaboration, and empowerment. Ninety participants accessed the survey through SurveyMonkey Audience, but four did not meet the criteria to participate and exited the study. The researcher was left with 86 completed surveys. The qualitative analytical tool Quirkos was employed to help analyze the data and generate themes. The category that produced the most themes was empowerment. Employees want to be viewed as a person rather than a resource to get the job done. Likewise, participants wanted to be valued and have their voices heard. To push this conversation forward, future researchers should conduct interviews face-to-face to produce more in-depth findings.

Development of a Qualitative Data Analysis Codebook for Arterial Hypertension and Type-2-Diabetes Integrated Care Evaluation.

Non-communicable diseases, such as arterial hypertension (HTN) and type-2 diabetes (T2D), pose a global public health problem. Integrated care with focus on person-centred principles aims to enhance healthcare quality and access. Previous qualitative research has identified facilitators and barriers for scaling-up integrated care, however the lack of standardized terms and measures hinder cross-country comparisons. This paper addresses these gaps by presenting a generic codebook for qualitative research on integrated care implementation for HTN and T2D. The codebook serves as a tool for deductive or deductive-inductive qualitative analysis, organizing concepts and themes from qualitative data. It consists of nine first level and 39 second level themes. First level codes cover core issues; and second level codes provide detailed insights into facilitators and barriers. This codebook is more widely applicable than previously developed tools because it includes a broader scope of stakeholders across micro, meso, and macro levels, and the themes being derived from highly diverse health systems across high- and low-income countries. The codebook is a useful tool for implementation research on integrated care for HTN and T2D at global scale. It facilitates cross-country learning, contributing to improved implementation, scale-up and outcomes.

A depth-resolved quantitative evaluation method for non-carious cervical lesions treatment with optical coherence tomography

ObjectivesThe aim of this study is prognostic assessment of surface smoothness and the presence of internal bubbles after treatment of non-cancerous cervical lesions (NCCLs) using optical coherence tomography (OCT). MethodsAfter treatment with NCCLs, cross-sectional images of the lesion parts of the sample were non-invasively acquired and analyzed. The surface smoothness between tooth and resin, resin and cemento-enamel junction, and the presence bubble inside resin was confirmed. In addition, using an algorithm that distinguishes between resin and dental structure based on OCT cross-sectional images, we quantitatively analyzed the amount of resin used in treating NCCLs and acquired 3D images. ResultsThe inner structure of the resin in each sample was checked, and the presence of bubbles was confirmed. In addition, the resin sections were separated from the tomographic images acquired by OCT to visualize 3D images. The volume of resin used in the treatment part of each NCCLs samples was quantitatively analyzed as 3.7216 ∼ 14.889 mm3. ConclusionsOCT is able to measure not only the surface abrasion provided by existing intraoral scanner, but also the size and depth location of interal bubbles, which is distinctive advantage of our method. Based on our results, OCT is a significant tool for qualitative and quantitative analysis of dental NCCLs treatment before and after treatment. Clinical significanceThe study used OCT, a non-destructive diagnostic, to reveal the structure of the resin and the location and size of bubbles after NCCLs treatment. These findings could be golden standard in determining the prognosis of NCCLs treatment.

A simple, fast and green method for API gravity, density, sulfur and nitrogen determination in crude oil by ATR-FTIR

In this work, the combination of multivariate data analysis and Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) for the characterization of crude oil samples based on the determination of API gravity (°API), density, sulfur and nitrogen contents is proposed. Reference values for density and °API were determined according to ASTM D7042-04, while nitrogen was determined according to ASTM D4629. For sulfur determination, a miniaturized MAD-SRC method was used to obtain reference values. The best model for density and °API was obtained applying a partial least squares with two response variables (PLS2) calibration. Multiplicative scattering correction (MSC) and mean centering pre-treatments were applied for this model (R2 of 0.936 and 0.944 for density and °API, respectively). For N content, the best PLS model consisted in using selected variables and first derivative with Savitsky-Golay smoothing (R2 = 0.983). The PLS model for S content prediction was built using selected variables and applying first derivative with Savitsky-Golay smoothing and mean-centering data pre-treatment (R2 = 0.982). The environmental impact and greenness of crude oil characterization applying both the alternative (using multivariate calibration) and the official methods was evaluated using the White Analytical Chemistry (WAC) tool. WAC analysis resulted in relatively low scores for conventional methods (76.8 for ASTM D4629, 75.8 for ASTM D7042-04 and 70.7 for MAD-SRC) while the ATR-FTIR method was considered the greener method (low impact, WAC score of 98.3). The proposed method combining FTIR with multivariate calibration enabled the use of a very low sample volume (about 0.01 mL), minimum waste generation, and suitable results were achieved, saving time and reagents.

A methodological framework for rigorous systematic reviews: Tailoring comprehensive analyses to clinicians and healthcare professionals

Systematic reviews represent a fundamental study design, providing the highest level of evidence across diverse research inquiries, encompassing both public health and clinical research and practice. However, for healthcare professionals, the process of selecting, synthesizing, and interpreting evidence can be challenging, and requires specialized skills. Therefore, it is imperative to explore innovative solutions aimed at simplifying and making the traditional systematic review process more accessible while ensuring the validity and reliability of results.In this perspective, our research objective is to develop a systematic review framework that, while maintaining a rigorous methodological approach, streamlines the process for healthcare professionals. This study describes such approach in every phase, from the collection of evidence to the writing of the text, creating a guide for the healthcare professional who approaches this type of research. The qualitative and organizational analysis tools are also described, providing useful information for the use of non-paid programs.This systematic review aims to develop a framework with a rigorous methodological approach that allows simplify the process for clinicians and healthcare professionals. The implementation of this methodology in clinical practice offers new perspectives to ensure a thoughtful consideration and application of scientific evidence and opens the way to innovative and easily accessible solutions to facilitate the conduct of systematic reviews in the clinical care setting.

Chemoenzymatic Installation of Site-Specific Chemical Groups on DNA Enhances the Catalytic Activity.

Functional DNAs are valuable molecular tools in chemical biology and analytical chemistry but suffer from low activities due to their limited chemical functionalities. Here, we present a chemoenzymatic method for site-specific installation of diverse functional groups on DNA, and showcase the application of this method to enhance the catalytic activity of a DNA catalyst. Through chemoenzymatic introduction of distinct chemical groups, such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, and benzyl, at specific positions, we achieve significant enhancements in the catalytic activity of the RNA-cleaving deoxyribozyme 10-23. A single carboxyl modification results in a 100-fold increase, while dual modifications (carboxyl and benzyl) yield an approximately 700-fold increase in activity when an RNA cleavage reaction is catalyzed on a DNA-RNA chimeric substrate. The resulting dually modified DNA catalyst, CaBn, exhibits a kobs of 3.76 min-1 in the presence of 1 mM Mg2+ and can be employed for fluorescent imaging of intracellular magnesium ions. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the superior capability of CaBn to recruit magnesium ions to metal-ion-binding site 2 and adopt a catalytically competent conformation. Our work provides a broadly accessible strategy for DNA functionalization with diverse chemical modifications, and CaBn offers a highly active DNA catalyst with immense potential in chemistry and biotechnology.

Odd skipped-related 2 as a novel mark for labeling the proximal convoluted tubule within the zebrafish kidney

The proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) of the kidney is a crucial functional segment responsible for reabsorption, secretion, and the maintenance of electrolyte and water balance within the renal tubule. However, there is a lack of a well-defined endogenous transgenic line for studying PCT morphogenesis. By analyzing single-cell transcriptome data from the adult zebrafish kidney, we have identified the expression of odd-skipped-related 2 (osr2, which encodes an odd-skipped zinc-finger transcription factor) in the PCT. To gain insight into the role of osr2 in PCT morphogenesis, we have generated a transgenic zebrafish line Tg(osr2:EGFP), expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The EGFP expression pattern closely mirrors that of endogenous Osr2, faithfully recapitulating its native expression profile. During kidney development, we can use EGFP to track PCT development, which is also preserved in adult zebrafish. Additionally, osr2:EGFP-labeled zebrafish PCT fragments displayed short lengths with infrequent overlap, rendering them conducive for nephrons counting. The generation of Tg(osr2:EGFP) transgenic line is accompanied by simultaneous disruption of osr2 activity. Importantly, our findings demonstrate that osr2 inactivation had no discernible impact on the development and regeneration of Tg(osr2:EGFP) zebrafish nephrons. Overall, the establishment of this transgenic zebrafish line offers a valuable tool for both genetic and chemical analysis of PCT.

Classroom Management Strategies in Hybrid Learning: Insights from Academic Leaders and Lecturers in Chengdu, China

This qualitative multiple case research looks into the domain of hybrid learning within the higher education environment of Chengdu, China, with the goal of developing a conceptual model that thoroughly elucidates classroom management approaches. As educational institutions increasingly incorporate hybrid learning methods, academic leaders and lecturers play critical roles in navigating this changing pedagogical environment. The study looks at the experiences of 15 people from three different institutions in Chengdu. Using a non-probability sampling strategy, this research investigates the numerous characteristics of classroom management via in-depth interviews. The data is rigorously analysed using ALTAS.ti, a qualitative data analysis tool. The results highlight five critical features of classroom management techniques: (a) technological infrastructure; (b) pedagogical adaptations; (c) student engagement and interaction; (d) classroom management strategies; and (e) institutional support and policy. These elements serve as the basis for a conceptual model that provides a comprehensive knowledge of how academic leaders and lecturers improve the efficacy of hybrid learning. The study's findings provide useful insights to the wider discussion of blended learning, providing recommendations to educational practitioners, policymakers, and academics. This study extends our knowledge of classroom management approaches by contextualizing the results within the growing landscape of hybrid learning, enabling the creation of personalized solutions to maximize the hybrid learning experience in the chosen institutions of Chengdu, China.

Investigation of 3D Printed Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold Crimping Behavior

AbstractThe rise in additive manufacturing (AM) offers myriad opportunities for 3D printed polymeric vascular scaffolds, such as customization and on‐the‐spot manufacturing, in vivo biodegradation, incorporation of drugs to prevent restenosis, and visibility under X‐ray. To maximize these benefits, informed scaffold design is critical. Polymeric bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) must undergo significant deformation prior to implantation in a diameter‐reduction process known as crimping that enables minimally invasive surgery. Understanding the behavior of vascular scaffolds in this step provides twofold benefits: first, it ensures the BVS is able to accommodate stresses occurring during this process to prevent failure, and further, it provides information on the radial strength of the BVS, a key metric to understanding its post‐implant performance in the artery. To capitalize on the fast manufacturing speed AM provides, a low time cost solution for understanding scaffold performance during this step is necessary. Through simulation of the BVS crimping process in ABAQUS using experimentally obtained bulk material properties, a qualitative analysis tool is developed that is capable of accurately comparing relative performance trends of varying BVS designs during crimping in a fraction of the time of experimental testing, thereby assisting in the integration of informed design into the additive manufacturing process.

Axle characteristics and vehicle limit cycle behaviour

The paper discusses the limit cycle performance of the nonlinear 2DOF single track vehicle model. That means that periodic solutions arise under constant vehicle speed and steering angle, under excessive handling conditions, with axle characteristics playing a dominant role. These characteristics are modelled using the Magic Formula tyre model, with the model parameters varied to investigate the sensitivity of peak friction and slip stiffness on limit cycle occurrence. In the transition to limit cycling, different types of bifurcation are found, being mainly of homoclinic and Hopf type, and sometimes saddle-node bifurcation, or bifurcation involving unstable limit cycles. Dealing with models being strongly nonlinear, the research includes qualitative analysis tools being appropriate for such models, such as phase plane analysis and the application of the stability diagram. The paper discusses two conjectures on the necessary and sufficient conditions on axle characteristics for the existence of limit cycle behaviour, and the relationship between steering angle and vehicle speed at the transition to limit cycling. Limit cycle performance and the impact on global stability are elements of the dynamic vehicle performance under high acceleration conditions, and therefore very relevant for excessive handling situations and our understanding of active safety under critical circumstances.