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Schools around the nation are increasingly offering online testing options. House Bill (HB) 3906, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019, resulted in the STAAR redesign, which will be administered in the 2022--2023 school year. The STAAR redesign includes several components including an online test administration for the STAAR. With the change to an online platform comes many concerns related to student familiarity with an online testing platform. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and compare the test taking strategies that teachers in grades three through eight teach in preparation for the paper/online versions of the reading STAAR test. A group of Texas teachers participated in focus group sessions. The three primary themes reported in the findings include resources, which teachers suggested were needed to help them prepare students for an online assessment, platforms, which detailed the pros and cons of an online testing environment, and strategies, which support students as they read passages and answer test questions. Overall, the teachers found ways to transfer previously used strategies, such as pen and paper annotations, to online test administration. However, older students have an easier time with this transfer of skills than the younger students.

Background & Aims: Texas has the highest age-adjusted incidence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States. The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has funded the Texas Collaborative Center for Hepatocellular Cancer (TeCH) to facilitate HCC research, education, and advocacy activities with the overall goal of reducing HCC mortality in Texas through coordination, collaboration, and advocacy., Methods: On September 17, 2022, TeCH co-sponsored a multi-stakeholder conference on HCC with the Baker Institute Center for Health and Biosciences. This conference was attended by HCC researchers, policy makers, payers, members from pharmaceutical industry and patient advocacy groups in and outside of Texas. This report summarizes the results of the conference., Results: The goal of this meeting was to identify different strategies for preventing HCC and evaluate their readiness for implementation., Conclusions: We call for a statewide (1) viral hepatitis elimination program; (2) program to increase nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and obesity awareness; (3) research program to develop health care models that integrate alcohol associated liver disease treatment and treatment for alcohol use disorder; and (4) demonstration projects to evaluate the effectiveness of identifying and linking patient with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis to clinical care., (Copyright © 2023 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This paper provides empirical evidence using two studies to explain the primary factors facilitating electronic health record (EHR) systems adoption through the lens of the resource advantage theory. We aim to address the following research questions: What are the main organizational antecedents of EHR implementation? What is the role of monitoring in EHR system implementation? What are the current themes and people's attitudes toward EHR systems? This paper includes two empirical studies. Study 1 presents a research model based on data collected from four different archival datasets. Drawing upon the resource advantage theory, this paper uses archival data from 200 Texas hospitals, thus mitigating potential response bias and enhancing the validity of the findings. Study 2 includes a text analysis of 5154 textual data, sentiment analysis, and topic modeling. Study 1's findings reveal that joint ventures and ownership are the two main enablers of adopting EHR systems in 200 Texas hospitals. Moreover, the results offer a moderating role of monitoring in strengthening the relationship between joint-venture capability and the implementation of EHR systems. Study 2's results indicate a positive attitude toward EHR systems. The U.S. was unique in the sample due to its slower adoption of EHR systems than other developed countries. Physician burnout also emerged as a significant concern in the context of EHR adoption. Topic modeling identified three themes: training, healthcare interoperability, and organizational barriers. In a multimethod design, this paper contributes to prior work by offering two new EHR antecedents: hospital ownership and joint-venture capability. Moreover, this paper suggests that the monitoring mechanism moderates the adoption of EHR systems in Texas hospitals. Moreover, this paper contributes to prior EHR works by performing text analysis of textual data to carry out sentiment analysis and topic modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a report from the President of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies (SASS) about their 2-year term and the recent annual conference held at the University of Texas, Austin. The report highlights the success of the conference, including the keynote lecture and the presentation of papers by Society members. The report also announces the winners of various awards and discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the field of Scandinavian Studies, such as hiring and membership. The report concludes with an invitation to the next conference in Seattle and emphasizes the importance of financial support for the Society's mission. [Extracted from the article]

Executive Summary: This paper explores how qualitative information may be used to enhance understanding and inform recommendations for improved accounting of migrant deaths along the Texas-Mexico border. While border crossing related deaths affect jurisdictions throughout the US's Southwestern border states and Northern Mexican states, Texas has unique challenges that merit specific examination. In short, the management and investigation of unidentified migrant decedents in Texas is severely fragmented and often noncompliant with Texas Criminal Code Procedure. I explore a way to improve accounting of migrant deaths leveraging qualitative information, local newspaper articles from South Texas and Northern Mexico, by using descriptive summaries coupled with Sankey Diagrams and a programmatic technique, qualitative spatial representation (QSR). QSR enabled me to identify under-recognized stakeholders (South Texas locals, Mexican consulates) and under-supported counties (i.e., those with migrant deaths that do not share a border directly with Mexico). I found that local English-language newspapers obscured the prevalence of migrant deaths and that their narrative tone of "business as usual" normalized the occurrence of such deaths. The Spanish-language articles better represented the diversity of agencies and individuals that were involved in the various aspects of migrant remains management and forensic investigation, most notably residents of South Texas themselves (or situational participants who first found the remains) and Mexican consulates. Finally, I noted that the collaborations among Texas counties and between Texan and Mexican jurisdictions, when they were described in the newspapers, highlighted that the phenomenon of migrant deaths penetrates beyond the dividing line of the Rio Grande/Río Bravo River. Migrant deaths must be accounted for in a way that reflects a regional experience in which people may perish as far as ~100 miles into Texas' interior. Considering these observations, I have two policy recommendations. First, the Office of the Texas Governor should establish funds distinct from the Operation Lone Star program for the management of unidentified human remains. Currently, grants through the Operation Lone Star Program are the only funds available in Texas to support identification of migrant decedents. However, this program is explicitly designed to further border security operations in the state of Texas, which can contradict efforts around recovery and identification. The documentation and forensic investigation of the unidentified deceased can be eclipsed or neglected under the larger deterrence aims of Operation Lone Star. Second, to improve accounting and increase documentation of migrant deaths, a Regional Identification Center should be established in South Texas. Not every county in Texas has or has access to a Medical Examiner's office, including the means to transport and pay for autopsy or other forensic services. The Center would provide training, store extra equipment such as mobile refrigerated morgues, and hire personnel to inventory cases, and report information to the state (e.g., vital statistics) and to foreign consulates. A Regional Identification Center would counteract the challenges highlighted in the local newspaper summaries and QSR by decreasing the isolation of counties experiencing migrant deaths and serve as a documentary and communication hub for stakeholders in Texas and Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As data-driven models gain importance in driving decisions and processes, recently, it has become increasingly important to visualize the data with both speed and accuracy. A massive volume of data is presently generated in the educational sphere from various learning platforms, tools, and institutions. The visual analytics of educational big data has the capability to improve student learning, develop strategies for personalized learning, and improve faculty productivity. However, there are limited advancements in the education domain for data-driven decision making leveraging the recent advancements in the field of machine learning. Some of the recent tools such as Tableau, Power BI, Microsoft Azure suite, Sisense, etc., leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to visualize data and generate insights from them; however, their applicability in educational advances is limited. This paper focuses on leveraging machine learning and visualization techniques to demonstrate their utility through a practical implementation using K-12 state assessment data compiled from the institutional websites of the States of Texas and Louisiana. Effective modeling and predictive analytics are the focus of the sample use case presented in this research. Our approach demonstrates the applicability of web technology in conjunction with machine learning to provide a cost-effective and timely solution to visualize and analyze big educational data. Additionally, ad hoc visualization provides contextual analysis in areas of concern for education agencies (EAs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the mechanisms by which companies have utilized corporate restructuring through divisive mergers in conjunction with the available protections and tools of the United States Bankruptcy Code to resolve mass tort liability without placing the entirety of the business under bankruptcy. Popularized in Texas, a divisive merger is a mechanism by which an existing business entity divides itself into two new entities, allocating all pre-existing assets and liabilities to each as they see fit. Although intended to be a means by which to easily sell assets of a business, it has been more popularly used to resolve mass tort liability burdening a business. Known as the Texas Two-Step, this procedure requires two simple steps. First, a business undergoes a divisive merger and allocates all liability associated with its mass tort claims to a newly created entity. Second, the liability-burdened entity places itself under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in order to enjoin further prosecution of claims and to resolve all current and future liability through the creation of a settlement trust administered by the bankruptcy court. In addition to presenting the mechanisms of the Texas Two-Step and a case study of its use, this paper will present the series of decisions culminating in the Third Circuit's instruction to reject its use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers an unavoidable feature of the school environment, class rank. What are the long-run effects of a student's ordinal rank in elementary school? Using administrative data on all public school students in Texas, we show that students with a higher third-grade academic rank, conditional on achievement and classroom fixed effects, have higher subsequent test scores, are more likely to take AP classes, graduate from high school, enroll in and graduate from college, and ultimately have higher earnings nineteen years later. We also discuss the necessary assumptions for the identification of rank effects and propose new solutions to identification challenges. The paper concludes by exploring the trade-off between higher-quality schools and higher rank in the presence of these rank-based peer effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a concerted effort to build intelligent sea and numerous artificial intelligence technologies have been explored. At present, more and more people are engaged in the research of deep reinforcement learning algorithm, and its mainstream application is in the field of games. Reinforcement learning has conquered chess belonging to complete information game, and Texas poker belonging to incomplete information games. And it reached or even surpassed the highest player level of mankind in E-sports games with huge state space and complex action space. However, reinforcement learning algorithm still has great challenges in fields such as automatic driving. The main reason is that the training of reinforcement learning needs to build an environment for interacting with agents. However, it is very difficult to construct realistic simulation scenes, and there is no guarantee that we will not encounter the state that the agent has not seen. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the simulation scene first. Based on this, this paper mainly studies reinforcement learning in simulation scenario. There are huge challenges in migrating them to real scenario applications, especially in sea missions. Aiming at the heterogeneous multi-agent game confrontation scenario, this paper proposes a sea battlefield game confrontation decision algorithm based on multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient. The algorithm combines long short-term memory and actor-critic, which not only realizes the convergence of the algorithm in huge state space and action space, but also solves the problem of sparse real rewards. At the same time, imitation learning is integrated into the decision algorithm, which not only improves the convergence speed of the algorithm, but also greatly improves the effectiveness of the algorithm. The results show that the algorithm can deal with a variety of different tactical sea battlefield scenarios, make flexible decisions according to the changes of the enemy, and the average winning rate is close to 90%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the feasibility of development and implementation of an educational intervention addressing sexual and gender minority healthcare issues; examine recruitment processes and instrument appropriateness. Design: Non‐randomized feasibility study. Methods: The educational intervention was developed and implemented in family nurse practitioner courses with data collection from August through December 2022. Clinical preparedness, attitudinal awareness and basic knowledge were measured using the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale. Results: Development and implementation of the intervention was feasible but will require amendment before progressing to the pilot study. Clinical preparedness and basic knowledge increased post‐intervention, but attitudinal awareness did not improve. Recruitment did not achieve the desired sample size. Instrument internal consistency reliability was confirmed. Conclusion: Feasibility was established but will require amendment prior to the pilot study. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: To prepare nurses and nurse practitioners to care for sexual and gender minority patients. Impact: This study addressed the feasibility of developing and implementing a sexual and gender minority healthcare education using an e‐Learning platform. Findings confirm that the intervention was feasible but will require amendment. The intervention increased knowledge and clinical preparedness in caring for this population, but recruitment was challenging. This research will impact nurses, nurse practitioners and nurse educators. Reporting Method: The authors adhered to the relevant EQUATOR guidelines. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guideline extension for reporting randomized and feasibility guidelines were used. Public Contribution: Sexual and gender minority community members contributed to the intervention development. What Does this Paper Contribute to the Wider Global Clinical Community?: The feasibility of using interactive e‐learning educational resources to provide sexual and gender minority healthcare curriculum.Evidence to support the use of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale to measure learning outcomes. Trial Registration: This study was not prospectively registered because it was an educational intervention involving graduate student nurses and did not assess clinical outcomes of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: COVID-19 has a lasting impact on mental health, particularly within the Hispanic/Latinx communities. This paper empirically investigates the post-COVID-19 presence and severities of depression, one of the most common mental health disorders, among adults in a predominantly U.S.-born Hispanic/Latinx community in South Texas composed primarily of Mexican Americans. Methods: Multiple statistic regression models were applied to data from 515 adults in Nueces County who completed all questions in a survey from convenience sampling between June 2022 and May 2023. Depression was assessed using both standard PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 measurements. Results: Of the 515 participants, 377 (64.5%) were Hispanic, and 441 (85.6%) had a high school education or higher, reflecting the county's demographics. About half of the participants (47%) reported mild/moderate to severe depression. The regression model estimation results reveal that female participants, those not in full-time employment, and individuals with disabilities were more likely to feel depressed after COVID-19. Middle-aged adults demonstrated greater resilience to depression compared to other age groups. Notably, non-Hispanic participants in the study reported higher levels of depression compared to their Hispanic counterparts. Additionally, COVID-19-related experiences, such as testing positive for the virus, being hospitalized, or having a history of depression before COVID-19, were associated with higher levels of reported depression. Conclusions: COVID-19 has significantly impacted the mental health of this predominantly U.S.-born Hispanic/Latinx community. These findings can assist healthcare providers and policymakers in developing targeted strategies to tailor interventions aimed at enhancing mental health well-being, reducing disparities, and fostering overall improvement within the Hispanic/Latinx community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper explores parent coaching experiences supporting parents of young children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in a clinical trial. Methods: In a trial for 157 parents, those in the intervention arm (n = 116) were paired with a parent coach (n = 37; Mage = 37.9 years, SD = 3.9; 94.6% mothers, 81.1% White non-Hispanic). Parent coaches provided diabetes-specific social support. Parent coaches completed monthly surveys and satisfaction/feasibility surveys, with a subset (n = 7) undergoing qualitative interviews at the end of this study. Results: There were 2262 contacts between participants and their parent coaches, averaging 14.4 (SD = 9.3) per participant. Parent coaches reported that the most commonly used methods were text messages (67.9%) and emails (18.7%), with 33.6% having in-person visits. Coaches reported high satisfaction and belief in their usefulness to participants during the first 9 months after T1D diagnosis. Themes discussed by parent coaches about their experience in mentoring included relationship building, expertise sharing, personal growth, gratification, and intervention optimization suggestions. Conclusions: Parent coaching post T1D diagnosis involves regular, multi-method contacts. It is highly acceptable and valuable for parent coaches to mentor other parents of young children newly diagnosed with T1D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 2021, Texas was hit by a severe winter storm. The extreme cold weather triggered an unprecedented increase of electricity demand and simultaneous failure of multiple electricity grid components. The dual effect caused a widespread power outage that left millions of Texans without power for days. This paper estimates the indirect economy-wide cascading impact of that power outage. It utilized historical make and use tables between 1997 and 2019 in an inoperability input-output analysis–based economic impact assessment model to quantify the expected indirect cost of the power outage in terms of the loss of gross domestic product of Texas. This research found that expected loss to be approximately $664 million in 2019 values. It also found that in Texas industries such as oil and gas extraction, petroleum, coal products, and so on are particularly vulnerable to such weather-related prolonged power outages. The outcomes of this paper can be used in planning for strategies to make the grid robust, reliable, and resilient to severe weather events. The identification of vulnerable industries can also help in planning for auxiliary capacities so the cascading economic impacts of the weather-related power outages can be reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, new therapeutic options to overcome the mechanisms of tumor immune suppression be effective in the treatment of cutaneous melanoma. These approaches have also been applied in ocular melanoma. The aim of this study is to present the current status and research hotspots of immunotherapy for ocular melanoma from a bibliometric perspective and to explore the field of immunotherapy for malignant ocular melanoma research. Methods: In this study, the Web of Science Core Collection database (WoSCC) and Pubmed were selected to search the literature related to immunotherapy of ocular melanoma. Using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, the R package "bibliometrix," and the bibliometric online platform through the construction and visualization of bibliometric networks, the country/region, institution, journal, author, and keywords were analyzed to predict the most recent trends in research pertaining to ocular melanoma and immunotherapy. Results: A total of 401 papers and 144 reviews related to immunotherapy of ocular melanoma were included. The United States is the main driver of research in the field, ranking first in terms of the number of publications, total citations, and H-index. The UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM is the most active institution, contributing the most papers. Jager, Martine is the most prolific author, and Carvajal, Richard is the most frequently cited author. CANCERS is the most published journal in the field and J CLIN ONCOL is the most cited journal. In addition to ocular melanoma and immunotherapy, the most popular keywords were "uveal melanoma" and "targeted therapy". According to keyword co-occurrence and burst analysis, uveal melanoma, immunotherapy, melanoma, metastases, bap1, tebentafusp, bioinformatics, conjunctival melanoma, immune checkpoint inhibitors, ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, and other research topics appear to be at the forefront of this field's research and have the potential to remain a hot research topic in the future. Conclusion: This is the first bibliometric study in the last 30 years to comprehensively map the knowledge structure and trends in the field of research related to ocular melanoma and immunotherapy. The results comprehensively summarize and identify research frontiers for scholars studying immunotherapy associated with ocular melanoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive Summary: Will recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) leave the United States if a legal challenge succeeds in ending this important program? The fate of over 600,000 current DACA recipients may depend on answers to this question in one expert report and one online survey question, which a Texas District Court found to show "a quantifiable percentage" would leave. Had the District Court in its DACA ruling not credited these sources, Texas' lawsuit could have collapsed, and DACA would persist. The issue of whether DACA recipients will leave if DACA is ended will matter as this case is litigated, most likely to be decided by the Supreme Court. Drawing on research on immigrant return, DACA recipients, survey questions, priming, and intention-behavior gap, this paper argues that this expert report and the single online survey question used by the District Court cannot support the inferences regarding the return of DACA recipients to their birth countries. Rather, relevant research points toward DACA recipients staying in the United States, even if DACA were terminated. The paper recommends offering DACA recipients and long term undocumented residents a short path to legal status and citizenship, reassessing whether these two sources can support the conclusions drawn by the District Court; and analyzing the benefits accruing from DACA to Texas and all Texans, including US citizen children of DACA recipients, in assessing the claimed injury to the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the repercussions of the novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 have been felt across the world over the past few years, the impact has not been consistent. Instead, it has been mediated by the systemic ways in which existing social and structural disparities have failed vulnerable populations globally. Drawing on document analysis and fifteen in-depth interviews (n=15) conducted among the key stakeholders in the city of San Antonio, South Central Texas, this paper reveals how structural violence worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in making it a syndemic pandemic of high rates of deaths and illnesses among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. A grounded theory approach particularly revealed themes of social suffering such as low income and pre-existing medical conditions that contributed to higher mortality rates, the presence of racism and misinformation, the importance of trustworthy communication channels, and streamlined collaborative partnerships with clear and effective communication through all levels of the government, especially when communicating scientific information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community colleges serve a substantial percentage of college-age students in the United States, many of whom arrive with negative attitudes toward mathematics, despite there being many STEM-related fields available to community college graduates. The current paper summarizes the creation of a day-long activity that assists students in developing applied mathematical skills in a format that aligns with the experiential learning theory. Students at a community college in Texas are learning math by engaging with a popular topic, crime scene investigation, through an annual event, established in 2017, called NVCsi. Students interact with hands-on activities that combine forensics, mathematics, and other disciplines. The implementation of the event is described so that other colleges can develop their own experiential learning event. Planned data collection for future event cycles are described, as are limitations and constraints of the NVCsi event with a discussion of planned modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses are at high risk of burnout and subsequent mental health concerns due to problems with overstaffing, immense workload volume, and personal health risks associated with the job. Effective mental health treatments are available but potential barriers to receiving care may prevent nurses from benefiting. The Emotional Health and Well-Being Clinic (EHWC) at Houston Methodist is an outpatient mental health clinic offering therapy and medication management services for employees and employee dependents of our institution. The EHWC is uniquely positioned to observe how nurses utilize mental health services and to address barriers to effective care for this vital group of healthcare professionals. This paper provides descriptive data on the utilization of mental health services by nurses in the EHWC and a discussion of possible challenges faced by this group when seeking care. Based on these data, we propose potential solutions to ensure that nurses can achieve maximum benefit from outpatient mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections can cause cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus, and oropharynx. The most recently approved HPV vaccine, Gardasil-9, protects against HPV infection and can prevent HPV-associated invasive cancers. However, Gardasil-9 is one of the most underused vaccines in the US today. Young adults are at risk for HPV infection, but many are not vaccinated. This study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test an innovative multilevel intervention to increase HPV vaccination rates among young adults. In this paper, we describe the research protocol. Methods: The study uses a two by three factorial design. A total of 1200 young adults in Texas, age 18–26 years, who have not been previously fully vaccinated against HPV will be randomly assigned to one of six conditions to receive: (1) standard CDC information about HPV vaccination (control); (2) video narratives about HPV vaccination; (3) written narratives about HPV vaccination; or (4–6) enhanced access to HPV vaccine combined with (4) standard CDC information, (5) video narratives, or (6) written narratives. The two primary outcomes are the rate of HPV vaccination initiation by 3-month follow-up and rate of HPV vaccination completion by 9-month follow-ups. We will determine the impact of the individual level intervention (i.e., persuasive narratives through video or written format), the systemic level intervention (i.e., enhanced access to HPV vaccines), and the combination of both levels, on HPV vaccination initiation and completion. We will also use purposive sampling to select participants to take part in semi-structured interviews/focus groups to better understand the mechanisms of the intervention. Discussion: Recruitment and data collection began in March 2022. We expect to complete data collection by March 2026. We expect that narratives, enhanced access, and the combination of both will improve HPV vaccination initiation and completion rates among young adults. If proven successful, these individual- and system-level interventions can be easily disseminated in regions with low HPV vaccination rates to improve HPV vaccination, and ultimately decrease HPV-related cancer burden. Trial Registration: NCT05057312. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Multispan bridges with simply supported girders are straightforward to construct and economical but have historically utilized expansion joints between spans. The negative long-term impacts of expansion joints are well-documented in the literature; eventual leaking causes damage to the girder ends and substructures. To avoid this deterioration associated with the use of expansion joints, link slabs may be used instead. However, the complex induced forces and deformations associated with link slabs are not fully understood and may damage the slab, reducing the life of the superstructure. This paper presents the results of a field study examining bonded link slab behavior under ambient (in-service) live and thermal loads on five Texas bridges. Typical Texas link slabs are not debonded at the girder ends, feature continuous longitudinal reinforcement, and incorporate partial-depth precast concrete panels. The five bridges were instrumented with displacement gauges at the girder ends, at both link slab and expansion joint locations, and strain gauges attached to the bottom of the bridge deck. Displacement, strain, and temperature data collected for a period of 1–2 weeks were used to estimate link slab mechanics. The results show differences in behavior between the differing link slab details, lateral deck stiffness characteristics, and continuous deck unit lengths. The increase in superstructure stiffness provided by the link slab is quantified. Longitudinal deck cracking and reinforcing steel yield behavior are predicted at each monitored link slab. The calculated displacement and strain data show that both live and thermal load effects should be considered in the design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial and energy-related industries are major sources of carbon dioxide emissions, and their interdependence, as reflected in the financial field, has attracted the attention of scholars. For the purpose of exploring the evolutionary characteristics of the short-term dynamic correlation coefficient between the EU carbon futures price and the industrial and energy-related indices, this paper selected the settlement price of EU carbon emission quota futures, the MSCI energy I index on three dimensions, and the Dow Jones industrial index and West Texas crude oil futures price, as sample data. Using the time-varying t-copula model to measure the dynamic correlation coefficient between variables, the time-sliding window idea and coarse-grained method were combined to establish the correlation fluctuation mode, and a complex network theory and analysis methods were used to study the evolutionary traits of the time-varying network structure between the EU carbon price and the industrial and energy-related index. The results show that the transmission objects of the key correlation fluctuation modes in the network are stable and maintain their own state with a high probability. Second, the clustering effect exists in the transmission process. Some nodes with high mediating abilities are also the key correlation wave modes in the dynamic correlation evolution network. This study provides ideas for the study of the correlations between multiple variables and is also a useful reference for international investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world of technological advancement higher data rate and data transmission with minimal memory requirement is gaining importance. At the same time it also important to preserve quality of data to be transferred from various types of distortions and to assess the quality at the receiving end. Hence perceptual image quality assessment is becoming more popular. This paper introduces a new approach in domain of no reference image quality assessment of jpeg compressed images using spatial features. Considering the fact that pixel distortion, blurring and edge information are important aspects as far as distortions are concern. A novel approach is presented in this paper to address the distortion categories. The results are obtained in conjunction with the subjective image quality assessment of train and test image categories. Also results are compared with full reference image quality assessment technique and parameters of full reference quality assessment. To achieve better accuracy algorithm is tested on LIVE Texas' image database and our own developed database. Results are found to be well correlating to the various parameters considered for the comparison purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to investigate clinical outcomes in overhead athletes undergoing biceps tenodesis for the treatment of symptomatic, isolated SLAP tears involving the biceps-labral complex. Methods: A retrospective review of overhead athletes who underwent biceps tenodesis for a SLAP tear was performed. The American Shoulder & Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), patient satisfaction, willingness to undergo surgery again, revisions, and return to play (RTP) were evaluated. Psychological readiness to return to sport was evaluated using the SLAP-Return to Sport after Injury (SLAP-RSI) score. A p value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The current study included 44 overhead athletes. The mean age was 34.9 (16-46), 79.5% were males, and the mean follow-up was 49 months (18-107). Overall, we found that 81.8% of patients returned to play their overhead sport following biceps tenodesis, and 59.1% of patients returned to the same or higher level of play. It took patients on average 8.7 months to return to play following biceps tenodesis. The mean SLAP-RSI score was 69.3, and 70.5 % of patients passed the SLAP-RSI threshold of 56. The mean scores for ASES, VAS, SSV, and satisfaction were 92, 0.8, 80.5, and 87.9%, respectively. No patients in our cohort required a revision surgery. Conclusions: This study found that athletes undergoing biceps tenodesis as the treatment for a symptomatic, isolated SLAP tear had a high rate of return to play, good functional outcomes, and a low rate of revision surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the associated sea level rise (SLR) are presenting newfound challenges to the port systems and coastal transportation infrastructure of southeast Texas. This paper introduces a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based model designed to simulate inundation scenarios under various sea-level projections, aiming to assess the vulnerabilities of both port facilities and road networks. The study area encompasses a specific region within Jefferson County, southeast Texas, encompassing three major ports: Port Arthur, Beaumont, and Orange. Utilizing a high-resolution (1-m) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived from the 2017 LiDAR dataset, this model is integrated with NASA's sea-level rise projections to compute the extent and volume of inundation across low, medium, and high SLR scenarios. Drawing from monthly mean sea level data spanning from 1958 to 2020, the lowest SLR projections, derived from the relative sea-level trend measured at the Sabine Pass, TX gauge station, indicate a yearly increase of 6.16 mm, with a 95% confidence interval of +/- 0.74 mm. Projections for 2050 and 2,100 show the lowest SLR at 0.17 m and 0.48 m, respectively. In contrast, the medium to high RSLR projections under the IPCC SSP3-7.0 scenario for 2050 and 2,100 stand at 0.54 m and 1.34 m, respectively. The findings reveal that, under medium to high SLR scenarios, the extent of inundated areas in the study region is expected to expand by 12.4% in 2050 and 19.9% in 2,100, compared to the lowest SLR projection. Additionally, the length of submerged roadways is predicted to increase by 6.9% in 2050 and 13.3% in 2,100, in comparison to the lowest SLR projection. It is worth noting that some margin of error may be introduced due to factors such as the width of the port area and access roads, the high-resolution DEM, and the alignment of computed inundated areas with the existing topography. Overall, the manuscript highlights the urgency of proactive planning and underscores the importance of safeguarding critical infrastructure in the context of climate change and SLR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sewer system is a principal element of infrastructure in modern cities, accounting for massive amounts of public investments. Corrosion of manholes in the sewer system is a global issue, and millions of dollars are being spent on the maintenance, restoration, and replacement of deteriorated sewer networks. Concrete manholes in the sewer system are deteriorating due to the attack of sulfuric acid produced by microorganisms in a process termed microbial induced concrete corrosion (MICC), which reduces the lifespan of concrete sewer elements. The objective of this paper is to investigate the correlation between the gas- and liquid-phase sewer environmental factors and hydrogen sulfide concentration in the gas phase. The production, emission, and build-up of hydrogen sulfide gas in manholes is identified as a major cause of MICC in manhole shafts. The field study was conducted in more than 200 manholes in the City of Arlington (Texas, US). The data was collected every minute for 48 h to understand the trends of liquid- and gas-phase parameters such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S concentration), liquid and gas temperature, pH, DO, and relative humidity. The study also examines how gas-phase H2S concentrations vary with season; manhole design, including manholes' depth, slope, and presence of drop; and sewer flow conditions such as velocity and turbulence. Although no strong linear correlation was found between liquid-/gas-phase parameters, the manhole categories were found to play a significant role in H2S generation. The manholes with hydraulic jump generated the highest average H2S concentrations, followed by manholes with drops. High turbulence zones were observed in manholes of both categories, leading to H2S stripping from liquid to gas phase. The highest H2S concentration was recorded in summer, suggesting that higher liquid temperature resulted in increased bacterial activity, which generated greater liquid-phase sulfide. Greater Henry's law constants in summer, due to high temperatures, would have favored transfer of liquid-phase sulfide to the gas phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Applied Economics is the property of Singidunum University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)