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While the literature is abundant on hand therapy assessment and treatment of nonsurgical thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) osteoarthritis (OA), clarity and uniformity are meager, making it a desirable diagnosis to establish expert consensus. This study aimed to ascertain if consensus exists for the assessment and treatment of nonsurgical management of thumb CMC OA in the hand therapy clinical setting. This was a consensus paper via the modified Delphi approach. A modified Delphi method was used to determine consensus among an expert panel, including hand therapists and hand surgeons, via two online surveys. A consensus paper steering committee (from the American Society of Hand Therapist's research division) designed the surveys and analyzed responses. Consensus was established as 75% agreement among the expert panel. Demographic information was collected from the expert panel. The expert panel included 34 hand therapists and seven hand surgeons. The survey response rates were 93.6% for the first survey and 90.2% for the second survey. Consensus recommendations were classified according to the World Health Organization categorization. These included evaluating the body structures for clinical signs/clinical testing and body functions for pain, range of motion for palmar abduction, radial abduction, opposition, and thumb metacarpal phalangeal flexion/extension, and grip and tripod pinch strength. Further consensus recommendations were for the assessment of function using a region-specific, upper extremity patient-reported outcome measure (activity and participation), environmental factors, outcome expectation, and illness perception within the patient's unique environmental and social contexts. Treatment recommendations included the use of an orthosis during painful activities, a dynamic stability program (stable C posture, release of tight adductors, and strengthening of stabilizers), patient education, joint protection techniques, adaptive equipment, and functional-based intervention. The findings describe the consensus of a group of experts and provide a clinical reference tool on the hand therapy assessment and treatment of nonsurgical thumb CMC joint OA. • A consensus paper using a modified Delphi process to determine consensus on non-surgical assessment and treatment of thumb CMC OA. • Assessment recommendations: evaluate clinical signs/testing, pain, thumb range of motion grip and tripod pinch, a region-specific PROM, environmental factors, outcome expectation, and illness perception. • Treatment: orthosis during painful activities as needed, a dynamic stability program, patient education, joint protection techniques, adaptive equipment, and functional based intervention. • Findings provide a clinical reference tool on hand therapy assessment and treatment of non-surgical CMC joint OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-regulated learning (SRL) and metacognitive processes are important in education because they contribute to effective learning and improved academic performance. Metacognitive SRL may be facilitated by the implementation of computer technology. This qualitative study examined the presence and use of metacognitive SLR processes among elementary school students as they completed computer-and paper-based reading assignments. Students in two after-school programs were recruited from a public school district in a southeastern region of the United States (U.S.). The participants consisted of 52 elementary students in Grades 2-5. Students participated in two, counterbalanced, conditions that involved computer- and paper-based reading assignments. Observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results indicated that students were more likely to apply metacognitive SRL skills when reading on paper than reading on a computer. Overall, students showed signs of planning more in the paper than in the computer condition but student behaviors and responses differed between grades. Monitoring practices appeared in both the computer- and the paper-based reading assignment, with monitoring connected with background knowledge in Grades 2 and 3 but reading content in Grades 4 and 5. Control processes such as retrying and representing graphically were more common in the computer- than in the paper-based reading across all grades. Students used their score in a reading assignment as an evaluation tool to assess performance in the computer- and paper-based reading condition. These findings suggest that the utilization of prior information, integration of multimedia and verbal signals, and comfort level with the reading medium all influenced students' SRL decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether reading comprehension would differ when the texts are studied and tested on screen or on paper. Participants were 69 college students who were attending a college in midwestern United States. Participants read two expository texts each, under comparable paper and screen conditions and answered comprehension questions. Test forms and the order of the conditions were counterbalanced. The correlations between reading outcomes and reader characteristics were examined. Participants also completed a survey on their views on the two media (paper or screen). The results did not indicate a significant difference on students' reading comprehension as a function of medium and reader characteristics. However, students reported preferring paper-based reading for complex material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study investigated how pre-service teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) experienced and learned from their completion of a reflective project, including a reflection paper and digital storytelling. The participants were 20 graduate students in a program for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at a university in the United States. This study aimed to identify participants' experiences when completing the project and its influences on their learning. The findings demonstrated their diverse performance and perspectives during the tasks, as well as their learning in language, culture, education, and technology. Based on these findings, dialogic hybrid learning and the pedagogical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cash register receipts made of thermal paper expose workers and shoppers to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and contaminate paper recycling streams. In 2022, 571 receipts were collected from retail stores in the United States and tested for developer chemicals using attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy. The results were compared to a 2017 study of 167 receipts to determine changes in color developer use over time. Receipts were tested as-is and a subset were additionally subjected to a simple extraction that improved detection of receipt chemicals. Bisphenol S was the most frequently detected developer (85% of tested receipts), followed by Pergafast 201 (12%), bisphenol A (1%); and Appvion Alpha Free, D-8, and NKK-1304 (each below 1%). NKK-1304 is reported here for the first time in a scientific journal. The frequency of bisphenol A usage in receipts decreased and the frequency of bisphenol S and Pergafast 201 increased between 2017 and 2022, particularly among large companies. National retailers were more likely than regional or local retailers to have adopted non-bisphenol alternatives. Potential health and environmental hazards of the detected developer chemicals and strategies for reduction are discussed. [Display omitted] • Infrared spectroscopy was used to identify thermal paper receipt chemicals. • BPS is a major replacement chemical for BPA in U.S. thermal paper receipts. • Non-bisphenol receipt frequency was 5% in 2017 and 16% in 2022. • Between 2017 and 2022 large national businesses mostly replaced BPA with non-bisphenols. • Between 2017 and 2022 local/regional businesses mostly replaced BPA with BPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article reports on the assumptions and background of assessment of the prospective energy, environment, and financial performance of biorefineries that is a commercial gasification-based which is incorporated with kraft pulp and paper mills. This assessment was made due to the anticipation of the commercialization of black liquor and biomass gasification technologies. Designs were developed for a reference mill in the southeastern United States with the associated mass/energy balances. air emissions estimates, and capital investment requirements.

Most states recognize a privilege for journalists to protect confidential sources from compelled disclosure. The privilege varies from state to state, and a major difference is how they define a journalist--i.e., a person qualified to claim the privilege. Some schemes are narrow and limit their coverage to employees of professional news organizations. Others are broad and cover freelancers, filmmakers, bloggers, and others who gather information for publication. But what about student journalists? Are they covered? In recent years, as traditional media have adapted to changing circumstances, student journalists have played a vital role in meeting their communities' needs for news. This Article explores whether state reporter's privilege protections cover student journalists by reviewing existing privilege schemes, ultimately finding that most exclude student journalists. This poses a unique problem because, as one commentator put it, "[i]f we're going to ask students to fulfill the responsibility of being front-line newsgatherers, the least we can do is send them out into the field with the confidence of meaningful legal protection." With that in mind, the Article offers solutions and calls for legislative action, arguing that student journalists need more than a paper shield to fulfill their editorial responsibilities. This is the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study about the use of use polarized light reflectometry technique in analyzing a wide-scale of coated papers from pulp mills in the U.S. The polarized light reflectometry technique measures roughness and refractive index of the surface which can help in examining the surface porosity properties. The study aims to show how the technique can provide information about surface porosity, composition, and structure. The study reveals that the technique is useful for investigating of the coating structure and explains the source of gloss. However, the technique needs further applications and materials to be studied to examine its consistency.

The article presents a study on how trace metals enter the paper mill and how pulp ion exchange regulates where the trace elements go in the bleach plant in the U.S. The study uses the method of analysis of condition in a mill that had encountered a calcium oxalate scale and analyze the ion exchange, ion activity, and acid-base activity that affects ion concentrations of calcium and oxalate. The study reveals that the potential of hydrogen of 2.5 in the first chlorine dioxide bleach does not go lower and the use of chlorine dioxide generator should be avoided in any risk of barium sulfate scale.