bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GS-OPT: A new fast stochastic algorithm for solving the non-convex optimization problem
Authors: Bui Xuan , Duong Nhung , Hoang Trung
Published: May 2020

Non-convex optimization has an important role in machine learning. However, the theoretical understanding of non-convex optimization remained rather limited. Studying efficient algorithms for non-convex optimization has attracted a great deal of attention from many researchers around the world but these problems are usually NP-hard to solve. In this paper, we have proposed a new algorithm namely GS-OPT (General Stochastic OPTimization) which is effective for solving the non-convex problems. Our idea is to combine two stochastic bounds of the objective function where they are made by a commonly discrete probability distribution namely Bernoulli. We consider GS-OPT carefully on both the theoretical and experimental aspects. We also apply GS-OPT for solving the posterior inference problem in the latent Dirichlet allocation. Empirical results show that our approach is often more efficient than previous ones.
Index-based transmission for distributed generation in voltage stability and loss control incorporating optimization technique
Authors: Kahar Fareed Danial Ahmad , Musirin Ismail , Nazer Muhamad Faliq Mohamad , Jelani Shahrizal , Helmi Mansor Mohd
Published: May 2020

The integration of Distributed Generation (DG) in a distribution network may significantly affect distribution performance. With the penetration of DG, voltage security is no longer an issue in the transmission network. This paper presents a study of Distributed Generation on the IEEE 26-Bus Reliability Test System (RTS) with the use of Fast Voltage Stability Index (FVSI) for determining its location and incorporated with Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA) to optimize the sizing of the DG. The study emphasizes the power loss of the system in which a comparison between Evolutionary Programming (EP) and Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm is done to determine which optimization technique gives an optimal result for the DG solution. The results show that the proposed algorithm is able to provide a slightly better result compared to EP.
OPF for large scale power system using ant lion optimization: a case study of the Algerian electrical network
Authors: Kouadri Ramzi , Musirin Ismail , Slimani Linda , Bouktir Tarek
Published: May 2020

This paper presents a study of the optimal power flow (OPF) for a large scale power system. A metaheuristic search method based on the Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO) algorithm is presented and has been confirmed in the real and larger scale Algerian 114-bus system for the OPF problem with and without static VAR compensator (SVC) devices. To get the highest impact of SVC devices in terms of improving the voltage profile, minimize the total generation cost and reduction of active power losses, the ALO algorithm was applied to determine the optimal allocation of SVC devices. The results obtained by the ALO method were compared with other methods in the literature such as DE, GA-ED-PS, QP, and MOALO, to see the efficiency of the proposed method. The proposed method has been tested on the Algerian 114-bus system with objective functions is the minimization of total generation cost (TGC) with two different vectors of variables control.
A hybrid technique for single-source shortest path-based on A* algorithm and ant colony optimization
Authors: Alani Sameer , Baseel Atheer , Maad Hamdi Mustafa , Abduljabbar Rashid Sami
Published: May 2020

In the single-source shortest path (SSSP) problem, the shortest paths from a source vertex v to all other vertices in a graph should be executed in the best way. A common algorithm to solve the (SSSP) is the A* and Ant colony optimization (ACO). However, the traditional A* is fast but not accurate because it doesn’t calculate all node's distance of the graph. Moreover, it is slow in path computation. In this paper, we propose a new technique that consists of a hybridizing of A* algorithm and ant colony optimization (ACO). This solution depends on applying the optimization on the best path. For justification, the proposed algorithm has been applied to the parking system as a case study to validate the proposed algorithm performance. First, A*algorithm generates the shortest path in fast time processing. ACO will optimize this path and output the best path. The result showed that the proposed solution provides an average decreasing time performance is 13.5%.
Translations in Time
Authors: Buck-Morss Susan
Published: May 2020

This text is a modified excerpt from YEAR 1, a project in the reconfiguration of knowledge (as well as a book forthcoming from MIT Press in 2021). The focus is on the first century that starts the numerical countdown to the present. All of the schemata of modernity—time, space, concepts, and categories [as in Kant's First Critique]—are put to the test of comprehending this alleged beginning, and none survives unscathed. Walter Benjamin's understanding of the task of the translator, when applied to historical rather than linguistic translation, provides the methodological armature for the analysis. The excerpt printed here is the methodological introduction to Chapter 2: “Translations in Time.”
THE QUR’ĀNIC VISION: UNITY OR UNIFORMITY?
Authors: Takim Liyakat
Published: May 2020

Given the fact that, in recent times, there has been much discussion on violence in Islam,a discourse on the issue of peace within the Islamic tradition is to be welcomed. It is imperative to voice an opinion on an issue that is of major concern to millions of people, especially for a religion that has often been targeted as violent and extremist. In this paper, I will attempt to delineate the Qur’ānic position on peaceful coexistence with the “other.” I will also examine the classical juridical and exegetical pronouncements on peace and war in Islam. In the final section, I will assess the possibility of an Islamic theology of peace in modern times.
QUR’ANIC ILLUMINATIONS ABOUT EXTREMISM OF THOUGHT & THOUGHT OF EXTREMISM
Authors: Al-Dulaimi Ashraf M.Zedan , Kadir Fakhrul Adabi Abdul
Published: May 2020

The presence of extremist thought or avoidance moderate thought in human life brought about natural outgrowths of extremes of human thought. Recent studies proved that extremism is a social disease. This article attempts to shed the light of Qur’anic illuminations upon the subject as much as possible in order to indicate Qur’anic perspective of extremism. Thus, a comprehensive and rigorous study has to take place very carefully, professionally and objectively to determine the features of this disease, which may vary from an environment to another possible similar name. Today, extremism of thought or vice versa is a controversial issue among the societies which it has an impact on the human life. Hereby, this Arabic study is going to evaluate the extremism of thought and thought of extremism from a Qur’anic perspective.
A Journey Not Walked Alone: Who are the Influential Adults Identified by Catholic-Raised Young Adults during their Religious Identity Development?
Authors: Vaclavik Danielle , Velazquez Kelly , Carballo Jakob
Published: May 2020

Interactions with adults may play a crucial role in youths’ religious identity development. However, who these adults are and how they are influential is under explored. Twelve Catholic and twelve former Catholic college students were interviewed about their experiences growing up Catholic focusing on influential adults. Interviews were analyzed using modified grounded theory. Adult type categories were identified. Implications and future studies are discussed.
Peponium elgonense (Cucurbitaceae), a new species from Mount Elgon in Kenya

Authors: MUTIE FREDRICK MUNYAO , RONO PENINAH CHEPTOO , KATHAMBI VIVIAN , WEI NENG , KAMAU PERIS , GITURU ROBERT WAHITI , HU GUANG-WAN , WANG QING-FENG
Published: May 2020

Peponium elgonense, a new species of Cucurbitaceae from Mount Elgon in Kenya, is described and illustrated here with photographs. This species is similar to P. cienkowskii and P. vogelii, but differs by being monoecious and having a longer ovary. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of Peponium based on ITS and five plastid markers (trnL–F, rpl20–rps12, matK, rbcL, and trnL intron) of four species of Peponium further shows that P. elgonense individuals cluster together supporting the argument to regard it as a separate species.
Diversity in the Hawaiian endemic genus Neurisothrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae)
Authors: MOUND LAURENCE A.
Published: May 2020

The genus Neurisothrips is known only from the Hawaiian Islands, where it has radiated into a considerable number of species. No other species of the worldwide family Thripidae is endemic to Hawaii, and the lack of structural diversity amongst the members of this genus might suggest that they are derived from a single ancestral introduction. The phylogenetic relationships of Neurisothrips are unclear, but it is possibly derived from Frankliniella, the most species-rich Thripidae genus on the American continent. A key is provided to 14 recognised species of which the following seven are newly described: N. bidens sp. n., N. fran sp. n., N. janis sp. n., N. karl sp. n., N. robbiei sp. n., N. saki sp. n., N. tsuda sp. n. The type species of the genus, N. multispinus (Bagnall), is known only from five fragmented specimens, and its identity remains in doubt. Since each of the species is known only from adults the true host associations remain unclear, but these thrips seem to live primarily on plants that are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with N. saki breeding only on the young croziers of Cibotium species, a native fern genus.
Eggersanthus Sittichaya & Smith gen. nov., a new Oriental ambrosia beetle genus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini)
Authors: SITTICHAYA WISUT , SMITH SARAH M.
Published: May 2020

A new genus, Eggersanthus Sittichaya & Smith gen. nov is described from a single species, Webbia sublaevis Eggers, 1927. The taxonomic characters of Eggersanthus and the morphologically similar genus Arixyleborus are analyzed and compared, and the status of the Webbia genus group is discussed.
Holiday Clubs as Community Organizations
Authors: Stretesky Paul B. , Defeyter Margaret Anne , Long Michael A. , Sattar Zeibeda , Crilley Eilish
Published: May 2020

Holiday clubs—publicly or privately operated organizations that provide child care services and healthy food to disadvantaged children in the United Kingdom (UK) when schools are not in session—are increasing in number. We know a good deal about the effectiveness of the clubs in terms of nutrition-related outcomes, but little is known about the anti-poverty resources these holiday clubs may provide. The possibility that club funding may be centralized through the national government requires a better understanding of holiday club resources. This study describes the range of resources that holiday clubs deliver and reports on how these resources are acquired and brokered by club staff and volunteers. We use data from seventeen clubs operating in disadvantaged communities in North East England during the summer of 2017, and find that clubs deliver an assortment of anti-poverty resources that are often tied to staff (personal and professional) networks.
“My Crying Is Not a Cry by Itself”: Building Sustainable Social Ties through a Poor People’s Organization
Authors: Mazelis Joan Maya
Published: May 2020

Research has highlighted that social ties help poor people to survive, but has also shown that nonkin ties often only last a short time. In this article, I argue that organizations that serve the needs of poor people can help to create more sustainable supportive ties among them. Drawing on participant observation and ethnographic interviews with twenty-five members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) in Philadelphia—an organization of, by, and for poor people—I found that supportive ties among members of KWRU can last years or even decades. I show how this organization enabled poor people to create and maintain supportive ties. KWRU provided people living in desperate poverty space for frequent interaction, connection, and cooperation. The organization supported a sense of kinship among members, and group leaders often helped to mend rifts between members. While KWRU is distinctive, other organizations that serve the needs of poor people could use this model to be more responsive to the needs of those in poverty.
Walking a Tightrope: Using Financial Diaries to Investigate Day-to-Day Financial Decisions and the Social Safety Net of the Financially Excluded
Authors: Biosca Olga , McHugh Neil , Ibrahim Fatma , Baker Rachel , Laxton Tim , Donaldson Cam
Published: May 2020

Financially vulnerable, low-income individuals are more likely to experience financial exclusion as they are unable to access financial services that meet their needs. How do they cope with economic instability, and what is the role of social networks in their coping strategies? Using financial diaries, we explore the day-to-day monetary transactions (n = 16,889) of forty-five low-to-moderate income individuals with restricted access to mainstream lending in Glasgow, UK, over a six-month period. Our sample includes users of microcredit and financial advice, as well as nonusers of these services. Findings reveal that informal lending to avoid the pernicious effects of short-term illiquidity was pervasive among these individuals. However, taking informal loans often strains valuable social capital and keeps people from building up a formal credit footprint. Our findings suggest that financially vulnerable populations would benefit from policies that focus on alternative financial mechanisms to help stabilize income-insecure individuals in the short-term.
Ties that Bind/Unwind: The Social, Economic, and Organizational Contexts of Sharing Networks
Authors: Newman Katherine S.
Published: May 2020

This commentary provides a synthetic overview and analytic framework for understanding the papers in this volume of The ANNALS, which focuses on sharing networks in a comparative context. Economic crises endemic to capitalist societies generate the need for support networks, while welfare state configurations influence their importance as an additional survival tool. Social norms set the stage for the degrees of reciprocity and durable obligation that networks engender and the boundary conditions that enable or disable the most vulnerable members of the social hierarchy to tap the resources of more privileged contacts.
Clinical Manifestations of Allergic Rhinitis by Age and Gender: A 12-Year Single-Center Study
Authors: Hong Seung-No , Won Jun Yeon , Nam Eui-Cheol , Kim Tae Su , Ryu Yoon-Jong , Kwon Jea-Woo , Lee Woo Hyun
Published: May 2020

Objectives:

Currently, epidemiological data on allergic rhinitis collected through the skin prick test are scarce. Moreover, the relationship of age and sex to allergic rhinitis is not comprehensively understood. This study aimed to characterize allergic rhinitis and the associated clinical manifestations by age and sex.

Methods:

We retrospectively investigated data from 2883 patients who visited a single university hospital for rhinitis symptoms between January 2003 and December 2014. Of these 2883 patients, 1964 who underwent a skin prick test with 11 standardized allergen extracts and completed a nasal symptom questionnaire were enrolled. The clinical characteristics of allergen sensitization and nasal symptoms were analyzed by sex and age distribution.

Results:

The prevalence of allergen sensitization progressively decreased with age after peaking at between 20 and 29 years. The sensitization rate was higher in males than in females ( P = .046). The sensitization rate to house dust mites decreased with age, while sensitization to mugwort and ragweed increased. Six allergens ( Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, mugwort, trees, ragweed, and cats) were sufficient to identify >96% of patients with allergen sensitization. Nasal obstruction tended to decrease with age and was more prevalent in males ( P = .002) than in females, while rhinorrhea ( P = .007) and itching ( P = .013) were more prevalent in females. Total nasal symptom scores did not differ by sex.

Conclusions:

The clinical characteristics of allergic rhinitis, including allergen-sensitization patterns and related symptoms, varied by age and sex. Six common allergens could be sufficient to generate a cost-effective tool to identify allergic rhinitis.
Detection of Group A Streptococcus in the Saliva of Children Presenting With Pharyngitis Using the cobas Liat PCR System
Authors: DeMuri Gregory , Wald Ellen R.
Published: May 2020

Rapid turnaround real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has recently become available as a point-of-care test for group A Streptococcus (GAS) in children presenting with pharyngitis. Our aim in this pilot study was to determine if GAS can be detected in the saliva of children with sore throat using swabs inoculated by children sucking on them as they would a lollipop. Twenty children with positive rapid antigen detection tests for GAS from pharyngeal swabs were enrolled. Pharyngeal and lollipop samples underwent PCR testing using the cobas Liat system. All 20 pharyngeal swabs were positive; 19 of 20 lollipop samples were positive. The increased sensitivity of the new PCR kits for GAS may permit use of less invasive and more comfortable sampling techniques for diagnosis.
From Absolute Poverty to Participatory Poverty Assessment and Back Again? A Critique of Poverty Scorecard through a Case Study from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Authors: Owais Syed
Published: May 2020

This paper critiques the poverty scorecard (PSC), a monetary-based tool for measuring poverty that has been adopted by community development programmes and participatory non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 66 countries including Pakistan. Drawing on 15 interviews and five focus group discussions conducted with the staff members and community members of Frontier Organization for Rural Development, a participatory NGO in Pakistan, I argue that it uses clouds intra-household power and resources distribution thereby furthering gender, class, and ethnic inequalities. Instead of solely relying on the PSC, the paper suggests supplementing it with participatory methods.
Child pornography: Characteristics of its depiction and use
Authors: Prat Sébastien , Bertsch Ingrid , Praud Noëmie , Huynh Aline-Claire , Courtois Robert
Published: May 2020

Child pornography involves the realisation of deviant fantasies with very specific characteristics with regard to its content and use and therefore the legal action needed to deal with it. The internet has facilitated its dissemination and access and complicates the issue but we need to be able to identify and track people who use illegal pornography. This paper is based on a review of the literature and presents some criminological characteristics of child pornography on the internet.
An Integrated Review of Recent Research on the Relationships Between Religious Belief, Political Ideology, Authoritarianism, and Prejudice
Authors: Cuevas Joshua A. , Dawson Bryan L.
Published: May 2020

Religious ideology and extremism have had an increasing influence on political agendas in the United States and much of the developed world in the past 60 years, with right-wing ideology becoming more prevalent this decade. This article serves as a review of studies investigating the correlations between political ideology, religiosity, right-wing authoritarianism, ingroups/outgroups, and prejudice in an attempt to describe and understand the well-established links between these dimensions. We discuss several group-level theories including Terror Management Theory, Social Identity Theory, Realistic Group Conflict Theory among others to frame the intercorrelations of these constructs in an effort to better understand the underlying mechanisms that drive individuals to embody religious and political beliefs. We then discuss individual-level cognitive and psychological differences such as intelligence, cognitive flexibility, and specific biological and neurological limitations of brain function that may influence people to adopt certain religious and political beliefs. Through a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms of religious and political extremism, we may be better equipped to assuage the fear and denigration that is associated with many of these beliefs.
Vulnerability, Space and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Building Spatial Resilience
Authors: Clark Janine Natalya
Published: May 2020

This article is about the relationship between vulnerability and space. It examines how vulnerability moves and shifts in relation to space – and more specifically particular types of spaces – and how space both generates vulnerability and affects the experiential ‘living’ of vulnerability. With a specific focus on conflict-related sexual violence, and drawing on empirical data from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Uganda, the article situates and discusses the relationship between vulnerability and space within a broader transitional justice framework. Underlining the need for transitional justice processes to give more attention to spaces of vulnerability, it foregrounds the notion of ‘spatial resilience’ as providing a conceptual frame for an ecological remodelling of transitional justice.
Entangled and Estranged: Living and Dying in Relation (to Cancer)
Authors: Broom Alex , Kenny Katherine , Kirby Emma
Published: May 2020

Serious illness has typically been explored as emergent within the relatively linear unfolding of the steady march of time. Here, focusing on cancer and drawing on the accounts of patient/carer dyads, we propose a relational ontology of the affective and temporal entanglements of living-with disease. Emphasising the iterative intra-activity of vital matter and social meaning as they are repatterned across time, we examine the enfolding of various temporal, affective and normative dis/continuities that become particularly meaningful – or are made to matter – in the context of living/dying-with cancer. We focus on the social practices of ‘making memories’, ‘anticipating absence’ and ‘maintaining normal’ which reveal the entanglement of seemingly discrete categories such as self and other, here and gone, and past, present and future. Living-with cancer thus emerges as more than an illness/caring experience, but rather as instructive in contributing to a relational understanding of everyday life.
Isothermal characteristics of methane adsorption and changes in the pore structure before and after methane adsorption with high-rank coal
Authors: Li Teng , Wu Caifang , Wang Ziwei
Published: May 2020

The pore structure is an essential factor that influences the isothermal characteristics of methane adsorption of coal, and the pore structure is altered after methane adsorption. In this study, a high-rank coal sample was investigated via methane adsorption isothermal measurement, and changes in the pore structure were studied using low-pressure N2 adsorption and low-pressure CO2 adsorption before and after the methane adsorption. The excess adsorption capacity exhibits a rapid increase at low pressure, reaching a maximum when the test pressure is approximately 8 MPa. Following that, the excess adsorption capacity of the high-rank coal tends to decrease. After the methane adsorption, the pore volume and specific surface area of the micro-, meso-, and macropores increase as compared to those before the methane adsorption, especially for micropores with apertures greater than 0.8 nm and mesopores with apertures below 10 nm. This is mainly caused by high pressure in the methane adsorption, indicating a pressure effect on the pore structure after the methane adsorption. After the methane adsorption, the ratio of pores with various sizes in the high-rank coal is enhanced, but the connectivity for meso- and macropores presents a slight decrease.
Local Versus General Anesthesia for Balloon Dilation of the Eustachian Tube: A Single-Center Retrospective Study in a Chinese Population
Authors: Chen Xiaoxin , Xie Lingwen , Zeng Haicang , Xu Yaodong , Xiong Hao
Published: May 2020

Objective:

To compare local anesthesia (LA) versus general anesthesia (GA) for balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube (BDET) using the Bielefeld Dilation System in a Chinese population with obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (OETD).

Methods:

A total of 49 patients with OETD undergoing BDET under either LA or GA were included in the present study. Intraoperative blood pressure, heart rate, and pain sensation were recorded. The surgical outcome was assessed by Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7) symptom scores and positive Valsalva maneuver at baseline, 1 day, 2-, 4-, 12-, 24-, and 52-week follow-up.

Results:

Balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube procedures were successfully completed in all patients without adverse effects. The visual analog scale score for maximal pain during the surgical procedure in the LA group was 6.1 ± 1.0. Intraoperative blood pressure and heart rate were higher in the LA group compared with the GA group. The duration and costs of surgery were significantly reduced in the LA group compared with the GA group. Normalization of ETDQ-7 scores at 12-week and 52-week follow-up was observed in 71.9% (23/32) and 63.3% (19/30) of patients in the LA group, respectively, which was comparable to that of the GA group. Although improvement in positive Valsalva maneuver was observed in both groups after BDET, more patients reported positive Valsalva maneuver in the GA group compared with the LA group at 12-week and 52-week follow-up. In total, 96.0% (24/25) of patients in the LA group and 95.8% (23/24) of patients in the GA group would choose LA if BDET was needed again.

Conclusion:

Balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube under LA is safe and feasible in a Chinese population. The surgical outcome of BDET is comparable between under LA and GA during 52-week follow-up. Further studies are needed to address management of intraoperative pain and determine longer follow-up outcome for BDET under LA.
Pediatric Oncology Patients With Vincristine-Induced Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Palsy: Two Case Reports and a Brief Review of Literature
Authors: Tay Sok Yan , Foster Jennifer , Heczey Andras , Sitton Matthew
Published: May 2020

Introduction:

Vincristine (VCR) is a chemotherapeutic agent used widely in the treatment of hematologic and solid tumors, known to result in neurotoxicity, especially with cumulative administrations. Bilateral vocal fold palsy (VFP) is a rare but life-threatening complication of VCR. We report 2 patients with hepatoblastoma presenting with stridor following VCR treatment and propose a management plan.

Methods:

Electronic medical records of oncology patients treated at a tertiary hospital with VCR-induced VFP were reviewed. Literature review was performed in PubMed using the terms: hoarseness, VFP, stridor, vincristine.

Results:

A total of 23 children with VCR-induced VFP were identified from the literature review and adding on our 2 cases. Seventeen (77.3%) were male and 5 (22.7%) were female. The median presenting age was 36.0 months (5-204 months). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 15 of 23 (65.2%), was the most common malignancy. Eighteen patients (78.3%) had bilateral VFP and 5 (21.7%) had unilateral VFP. The mean time to VF function recovery was 167.3 days (median: 200.5 days, range: 7-270 days) in the intervention group versus 72.1 days (median: 31.5 days, range: 3-240 days) in the conservative group. One patient in the intervention group had persistent VFP. Sixteen patients (69.6%) were observed, 4 (17.4%) underwent tracheostomy, 1 (4.35%) was intubated, 1 (4.35%) underwent cordectomy, and 1 (4.35%) required positive pressure support. Vincristine was restarted in 12 patients (54.5%), of which 4 developed recurrence of airway symptoms and had to stop VCR.

Conclusion:

A new-onset hoarseness or stridor in a child on VCR should raise the suspicions of VFP. The assumption of an upper respiratory–induced hoarseness or stridor should be avoided. Decisions regarding readministration of VCR and possible airway interventions should be made via a multidisciplinary team approach.
Early Maternal Employment Status and Attachment Quality: An Investigation of a Conditional Process Model
Authors: Kim Jihyoung , Wickrama K. A. S.
Published: May 2020

This study examined how maternal employment status during the first year of a child’s life influenced later attachment quality. A sample of 1,364 mothers participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development was categorized into five groups including consistent working, transition to working, transition to nonworking, consistent nonworking, and multiple transitions. Results supported the hypothesized model by showing two interrelated mediating mechanisms of depressive symptoms and maternal sensitivity. Mothers who have not worked consistently and experienced transition to nonworking showed higher levels of depressive symptoms when compared with mothers who have worked consistently, which in turn negatively influenced maternal sensitivity. Tests of moderated mediation indicated that among nonworking mothers, only those with negative attitudes toward employment showed lower levels of depressive symptoms compared with the consistent working group. Findings suggest different mechanisms involved in the relationship between early maternal employment and the development of secure attachment.
From in vitro to in vivo reprogramming for neural transdifferentiation: An approach for CNS tissue remodeling using stem cell technology
Authors: Egawa Naohiro , Suzuki Hidefumi , Takahashi Ryosuke , Hayakawa Kazuhide , Li Wenlu , Lo Eng H , Arai Ken , Inoue Haruhisa
Published: May 2020

Advances in stem cell technology have provided three approaches to address the demanding issue of the treatment of intractable neurological disease. One of the approaches is the screening of compounds attenuating pathological phenotypes in stem-cell based models. A second approach consists of exogenous-targeted cell supplementation to the lesion with stem cell-derived differentiated cells. A third approach involves in vivo direct programming to transdifferentiate endogenous somatic cells and to boost CNS tissue remodeling. In this review, we outline research advances in stem cell technology of direct reprogramming in vitro and in vivo and discuss the future challenge of tissue remodeling by neural transdifferentiation.
What Helps People Make Values-Congruent Medical Decisions? Eleven Strategies Tested across 6 Studies
Authors: Witteman Holly O. , Julien Anne-Sophie , Ndjaboue Ruth , Exe Nicole L. , Kahn Valerie C. , (Angie) Fagerlin Angela , Zikmund-Fisher Brian J.
Published: May 2020

Background. High-quality health decisions are often defined as those that are both evidence informed and values congruent. A values-congruent decision aligns with what matters to those most affected by the decision. Values clarification methods are intended to support values-congruent decisions, but their effects on values congruence are rarely evaluated. Methods. We tested 11 strategies, including the 3 most commonly used values clarification methods, across 6 between-subjects online randomized experiments in demographically diverse US populations ( n1 = 1346, n2 = 456, n3 = 840, n4 = 1178, n5 = 841, n6 = 2033) in the same hypothetical decision. Our primary outcome was values congruence. Decisional conflict was a secondary outcome in studies 3 to 6. Results. Two commonly used values clarification methods (pros and cons, rating scales) reduced decisional conflict but did not encourage values-congruent decisions. Strategies using mathematical models to show participants which option aligned with what mattered to them encouraged values-congruent decisions and reduced decisional conflict when assessed. Limitations. A hypothetical decision was necessary for ethical reasons, as we believed some strategies may harm decision quality. Later studies used more outcomes and covariates. Results may not generalize outside US-based adults with online access. We assumed validity and stability of values during the brief experiments. Conclusions. Failing to explicitly support the process of aligning options with values leads to increased proportions of values-incongruent decisions. Methods representing more than half of values clarification methods commonly in use failed to encourage values-congruent decisions. Methods that use models to explicitly show people how options align with their values offer more promise for helping people make decisions aligned with what matters to them. Decisional conflict, while arguably an important outcome in and of itself, is not an appropriate proxy for values congruence.
Abnormal functional connectivity and effective connectivity between the default mode network and attention networks in patients with alcohol-use disorder
Authors: Song Zhiyan , Chen Jun , Wen Zhi , Zhang Lei
Published: May 2020

Background

Patients with alcohol-use disorder (AUD) demonstrate dysfunctional cerebral network connectivity. However, limited studies have investigated attention systems in AUD.

Purpose

To assess functional (FC) and effective connectivity (EC) in the dorsal (DAN) and ventral attention networks (VAN) and default mode network (DMN) in patients with AUD using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).

Material and Methods

MRI and rs-fMRI data were obtained from 28 men with AUD and 30 age-matched healthy controls. Independent component analysis was used to identify and extract network data, for comparison between the two groups. Effective connectivity was evaluated using Granger causality analysis (GCA) by selecting significantly different brain areas as regions of interest (ROI). Signed-path coefficients between ROIs were computed in bivariate mode.

Results

In patients with AUD, FC decreased in the left superior parietal gurus (SPG) and left interparietal sulcus (IPS, in DAN); FC decreased in the right superior frontal gyrus (SPG) and right middle frontal gyrus (MFG, in DMN). GCA values indicated that the DMN exerts a positive causal effect on the DAN ( P = 0.007/0.027), which consequently exerts a negative causal effect on the DMN ( P = 0.032). Signed-path coefficients from the right MFG to the left IPS correlated negatively with MAST scores ( P = 0.015).

Conclusion

We found novel inter-network connectivity dysfunction in patients with AUD, which indicates abnormal causal relations between resting-state DAN and DMN. Thus, patients with AUD may have abnormal top-down attention modulation and cognition.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection for the Treatment of Hamstring Injuries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis With Best-Worst Case Analysis
Authors: Seow Dexter , Shimozono Yoshiharu , Tengku Yusof Tengku Nazim B. , Yasui Youichi , Massey Andrew , Kennedy John G.
Published: May 2020

Background:

Hamstring injuries are common and account for considerable time lost to play in athletes. Platelet-rich plasma has potential as a means to accelerate healing of these injuries.

Purpose:

(1) To present the evidence of platelet-rich plasma injection in the treatment of hamstring injuries, (2) evaluate the “best-case scenario” in dichotomous outcomes, and (3) evaluate the “worst-case scenario” in dichotomous outcomes.

Study Design:

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods:

Two authors systematically reviewed the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, with any discrepancies resolved by mutual consensus. The level of evidence was assessed per the criteria of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and the quality of evidence by the Coleman Methodology Score. Meta-analysis by fixed effects models was used if heterogeneity was low ( I2 < 25%) and random effects models if heterogeneity was moderate to high ( I2≥ 25%). P values <.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results:

A total of 10 studies were included with 207 hamstring injuries in the platelet-rich plasma group and 149 in the control group. Random-effects model for mean time to return to play that compared platelet-rich plasma + physical therapy to physical therapy alone non-significantly favored platelet-rich plasma + physical therapy (mean difference, −5.67 days). The fixed effects model for reinjury rates, which also compared platelet-rich plasma + physical therapy with physical therapy alone nonsignificantly favored platelet-rich plasma + physical therapy (risk ratio, 0.88). The best-case scenario fixed effects model for reinjury rates nonsignificantly favored platelet-rich plasma + physical therapy (risk ratio, 0.82). The worst-case scenario fixed effects model for reinjury rates nonsignificantly favored physical therapy alone (risk ratio, 1.13). The mean ± SD complication rate for either postinjection discomfort, pain, or sciatic nerve irritation was 5.2% ± 2.9% (range, 2.7% to 9.1%).

Conclusion:

There has been statistically nonsignificant evidence to suggest that PRP injection ± PT reduced mean time to RTP or reinjury rates compared to no treatment or PT alone for hamstring injuries in a short-term follow-up. The complication profiles were favorable. Further studies of high quality and large cohorts are needed to better support or disprove the consensus of the systematic review and meta-analysis.
Irremediable Psychiatric Suffering in the Context of Physician-assisted Death: A Scoping Review of Arguments: La souffrance psychiatrique irrémédiable dans le contexte du suicide assisté : Une revue étendue des arguments
Authors: van Veen Sisco M. P. , Ruissen Andrea M. , Widdershoven Guy A. M.
Published: May 2020

Objectives:

Physician-assisted death (PAD), also known as medical assistance in dying, of patients with a psychiatric disorder (PPD) is a global issue of debate. In most jurisdictions that allow PAD, irremediable suffering is a legal requirement, how to apply the concept of irremediability to PPD remains challenging. The aim of this article is to identify the main arguments concerning irremediability in the debate about PAD of PPD and give directions for further moral deliberation and empirical research.

Methods:

Systematic searches in MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO were combined with 4 additional search strategies. All conceptual-ethical articles, quantitative and qualitative empirical studies, guidelines, case reports, and commentaries that met the inclusion criteria were included, and a qualitative data synthesis was used to identify recurring themes within the literature. The study protocol was preregistered at the Open Science Framework under registration code: thjg8.

Results:

A total of 50 articles met the inclusion criteria. Three main arguments concerning irremediability were found in the debate about PAD of PPD: uncertainty, hope, and treatment refusal.

Conclusions:

Uncertainty about irremediability is inevitable, so which level of certainty is morally required should be the subject of moral deliberation. Whether PAD induces or resolves hopelessness is an empirical claim that deserves clarification. Treatment refusal in search of PAD raises questions about treatment efficacy in this patient group and about decision-making in the context of the physician–patient relationship. Going forward, more attention should be given to epidemiological research and to specific challenges posed by different psychiatric disorders.
“It Wasn’t Like We Expected”: Analyzing (Non-)Participation of Family Caregivers of People With Dementia in Sports Activities From Different Perspectives
Authors: Wolter Veronique , Hampel Sarah
Published: May 2020

Family caregivers of people with dementia represent a physically and psychologically burdened target group, which can benefit from offers of health promotion, but rarely use existing services. This article deals with the motives and conditions that induce this target group to be (not) active in sports. For this purpose, the perspectives of family caregivers and local sports clubs in Germany are compared to uncover similarities and discrepancies with the aim of developing target group-specific health promotion services. Results were classified into three dimensions for (non-)participation in sports activities. People who participated in sports club programs generally confirmed its positive effects. Among other things, the sports clubs and family caregivers surveyed emphasized the compatibility of the care situation with possible leisure activities as very important components for (non-)participation. The results show that the subjective health attitudes must be taken into account in the design of health promotion offers.
Love: A Critical Pillar in the Pedagogy of Jesus
Authors: Sales Terrelle B.
Published: May 2020

This paper seeks to illuminate the Christocentric themes and elements found within critical pedagogy. This work looks to Jesus as a pioneer in the development of some of the essential theories and works brought about by many critical scholars, namely Paulo Freire’s social concept of conscientization and teaching as an act of love. Jesus’ pedagogy offers love not as a political force, but as a spiritual command that is unconditional in scope and application.
Millennials’ Intention to Use Self-Checkout Technology in Different Fashion Retail Formats: Perceived Benefits and Risks
Authors: Lee Hanna , Leonas Karen K.
Published: May 2020

With an increase in automation, fashion retailers started to offer a self-checkout option in their stores to meet diverse consumers’ demand. Self-checkout technology has great potential to enhance the shopping experience of millennials, who increasingly dominate the market with increasing buying power, placing convenience as their top priority in the shopping process. However, despite the potential, it is unclear what drives and inhibits millennials to use self-checkout in the fashion retail context. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine millennials’ intention to use self-checkout in the fashion retail environment with regard to their perceptions of benefits and risks. Data were collected from 352 millennials through an online survey. Perceived benefits and risks identified in this study are the key antecedents of the intention to use self-checkout in the fashion retail stores. Also, individuals who have a low need for human interaction are more likely to use self-checkout.
Examining the Relationship Between Incarceration and Population Health: The Roles of Region and Urbanicity
Authors: Weidner Robert R. , Schultz Jennifer
Published: May 2020

Among the myriad collateral consequences of the high level of incarceration in the United States is its detrimental effects on public health. Just as there are geographic variations in level of incarceration within the United States, so too are there variations in health outcomes. This study examines the relationship between incarceration rates and population health for a national sample of counties from 2015, with a focus on how this relationship is influenced by both region (South vs. non-South) and whether a jurisdiction is rural. To obtain unbiased estimates of the effect of incarceration rates on two alternate health outcomes, it employs two-stage least-squares modeling, which accounts for the endogeneity of incarceration rates when determining their effect on population health. Results indicate that level of incarceration has a detrimental effect on both mortality (i.e., premature death) and morbidity (i.e., self-reported health), and that these effects are more pronounced in rural and Southern counties. Implications of these findings for both policy and research are considered.
Numerical investigation of the fatigue performance of elastic rail clips considering rail corrugation and dynamic axle load
Authors: Wang Ping , Lu Jun , Zhao Caiyou , Chen Mingming , Xing Mengting
Published: May 2020

To analyze the reasons for rail clip fracture, the characteristics of rail corrugation were first measured using a rail corrugation meter. The vibration acceleration of the fastener clips at the sections with/without rail corrugation was measured, and the effects of rail corrugation on the clip vibration were analyzed. After this, a vehicle--track coupling dynamic model and a refined model for the fastener system were established in order to study the effects of rail corrugation on the vibration acceleration and stress on critical points. Finally, the rail grinding limits were determined based on the fatigue analysis method and the damage accumulation theory from the aspect of the fatigue life of the clip. The results of the study showed that the main wavelength of rail corrugation at the rail clip fracture section was approximately 40 mm. The vibration acceleration of the clip caused by rail corrugation was too large. Under normal installation conditions, the maximum clip stress was 1490 MPa at the small circular arc on the rear arch, which was identical to the on-site fracture location. The intrinsic frequency of the clip was approximately 810 Hz. Rail corrugation excited and triggered the forced vibration of the clip, and induced resonance at a speed of 120 km/h and a wavelength of 40 mm. The large cyclic stress amplitude of the clip with rail corrugation increased from 44 MPa to 68 MPa when compared with the clip without rail corrugation. Rail clip fracture was caused by the naturally occurring resonance fatigue arising from rail corrugation. For metro lines designed with a maximum speed of 120 km/h, it was suggested to control the rail corrugation amplitudes with a wavelength of 40 mm, 50 mm, 30 mm, 120 mm and 160 mm to below 0.04, 0.08, 0.16, 0.19 and 0.2 mm, respectively, taking into account the fatigue life of the clip.
Computational fluid dynamics simulations of cerebral aneurysm using Newtonian, power-law and quasi-mechanistic blood viscosity models
Authors: Saqr Khalid M
Published: May 2020

Cerebral aneurysm is a fatal neurovascular disorder. Computational fluid dynamics simulation of aneurysm haemodynamics is one of the most important research tools which provide increasing potential for clinical applications. However, computational fluid dynamics modelling of such delicate neurovascular disorder involves physical complexities that cannot be easily simplified. Recently, it was shown that the Newtonian simplification used to close the shear stress tensor of the Navier–Stokes equation is not sufficient to explore aneurysm haemodynamics. This article explores the differences between the latter simplification, non-Newtonian power-law model and a newly proposed quasi-mechanistic model. The modified Krieger model, which treats blood as a suspension of plasma and particles, was implemented in computational fluid dynamics context here for the first time and is made available to the readers in a C# code in the supplementary material of this article. Two middle-cerebral artery and two anterior-communicating artery aneurysms, all ruptured, were utilized here as case studies. It was shown that the modified Krieger model had higher sensitivity for wall shear stress calculations in comparison with the other two models. The modified Krieger model yielded lower wall shear stress values consistently in comparison with the other two models. Moreover, the modified Krieger model has generally predicted higher pressure in the aneurysm models. Based on published aneurysm rupture studies, it is believed that ruptured aneurysms are usually correlated with lower wall shear stress values than unruptured ones. Therefore, this work concludes that the modified Krieger model is a potential candidate for providing better clinical relevance to aneurysm computational fluid dynamics simulations.