bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Real-time cloud system for managing blood units and convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients
Authors: Abdulla Dhuha Basheer , Younus Mohammed Dherar
Published: April 2021

In health care systems, blood management services are essential to saving lives. In such systems, when a unit of blood is required, if the system is not able to provide it on time, sometimes this may lead to patient death, especially in critical cases. Unfortunately, even if the required blood unit is available within the system, contradictions may occur and the required blood unit may not be allocated to critical cases on time, due to the allocation of these units to lower priority cases or due to the isolated operate of blood banks within these systems. So, to overcome these obstacles, we proposed a real-time system on a cloud, to managing blood units within the whole health care system. This system will allocate blood units depends on the deadline and the severity of the case that needs blood, in addition to the types, quantities, and position of available blood units. Where, this system eliminated the need for human intervention in managing blood units, in addition to offering the ability to easily develop the system to deal with new urgent requirements, which need new methods of managing blood units; as is happening today with the COVID-19 epidemic. This system increases the performance, transparency, reliability, and accuracy of blood unit management operations while reducing the required cost and effort.
Modified digital space vector pulse width modulation realization on low-cost FPGA platform with optimization for 3-phase voltage source inverter
Authors: Vashishtha Shalini , K. R. Rekha
Published: April 2021

The realization of power electronic applications on hardware is a challenging task. The digital control circuit strategies are used to overcome the analog control strategies by providing great flexibility with simple equipment and higher switching frequencies. In this manuscript, an area optimized, modified digital space vector (DSV) pulse width modulation is designed and realized on low-cost FPGA. The modified digital space vector pulse width modulation (DSVPWM) uses a phase-locked loop (PLL) to generate clocks using the digital clock manager (DCM). These DCM clocks are used in the DSVPWM module to synchronize the other sub-modules. The voltage generation unit generates the three-phase (3-Ф) voltages and is used in the alpha-beta generation and sector determination unit. The reference active vectors are made by the reference generation unit and used in switching time calculation. The PWM pulses are generated using switching time generation, and lastly, the dead time occurrence unit generates the final SVPWM gate pulses. The modified DSVPWM is synthesized and implemented on Spartan-3E FPGA. The modified DSVPWM utilizes 17% slices, works at 102.45 MHz, and consumes 0.070 W total power. The simulation results and the resource utilization of modified DSVPWM are represented in detail. The modified DSVPWM is compared with existing PWM approaches on different Spartan-series FPGAs with better chip area improvement
Geoconservação no geomorfossítio Complexo Mini Cânion do Rio Poti, Juazeiro do Piauí, Piauí, Brasil
Authors: Silva Helena Vanessa Maria da , Aquino Claudia Maria Sabóia de , Aquino Renê Pedro de
Published: April 2021

O geomorfossítio Complexo Mini Cânion do Rio Poti fica localizado no município de Juazeiro do Piauí, Centro-Norte do Estado. Caracterizado como um vale encaixado, com drenagem que tende a se profundar à medida que escava o substrato rochoso, o trabalho da erosão diferencial favorece a formação de patamares no leito do rio, os agentes erosivos desintegram o arenito de acordo com o seu grau de resistência o que possibilita dar forma ao vale, originando um cânion de grande beleza cênica. Com valores científico, didático, ecológico, turístico, cultural, estético e econômico elevado as singularidades geológicas e geomorfológicas do local são variadas. Diante desse contexto, este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar e propor estratégias de geoconservação para o referido geomorfossítio, para tanto foi realizado o inventário, a avaliação quantitativa e propostas medidas de valorização e divulgação. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa os procedimentos operacionais compreenderam análise bibliográfica, trabalhos de gabinete e realização de trabalho de campo orientado por fichas com base em Oliveira (2015) e Pereira (2006). Constatou-se que o referido geomorfossítio é um espaço passível de utilização em atividades científicas, educativas e geoturísticas, tanto por suas aptidões como pelo baixo risco de degradação. As medidas de valorização e divulgação propostas foram: confecção de um painel interpretativo e confecção de souvenires. As propostas expõem o caráter aplicado dos estudos em geoconservação ao integrar conceitos relativos às temáticas da interpretação ambiental, educação ambiental e geocomunicação.
Breve depoimento sobre a revista "Orpheu"
Authors: Berardinelli Cleonice
Published: April 2021

Transcrição de fala no evento "100 Orpheu - Congresso Internacional 2015"
Anatomia política de uma crise bancária, praça do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, primeiro semestre de 1875
Authors: Gambi Thiago Fontelas Rosado
Published: April 2021

A proposta deste artigo é analisar o debate parlamentar brasileiro sobre a intervenção do Estado na crise bancária de 1875. De modo geral, enquadra-se no conjunto de contribuições que tratam da reação do mundo político às crises econômicas. Seu objetivo é compreender as diferentes visões da crise que se estabeleceram no parlamento, a fim de identificar, na prática, como argumentos econômicos se misturavam a interesses políticos na definição da atuação do Estado num momento de dificuldade para os bancos do império. Em outras palavras, o artigo procurará mostrar como o governo e o parlamento lidaram com essa crise no Brasil. A documentação fundamental utilizada na análise foram os anais da câmara e do senado, por meio dos quais percorremos as extensas e intensas discussões sobre o projeto de “auxílio aos bancos”.
Soluble CD14 Levels in the Jackson Heart Study: Associations With Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Genetic Variants
Authors: Stanislawski Maggie A. , Lange Leslie A. , Raffield Laura M. , Zakai Neil A. , Meyer Mariah , Ferrier Kendra , Szeto Mindy D. , Leavitt Colton , Shortt Jonathan A. , Thornton Timothy A. , Tracy Russell P. , Auer Paul L. , Reiner Alex P. , Lange Ethan M. , Olson Nels C.
Published: April 2021

Objective:

sCD14 (soluble CD14) is a circulating pattern recognition receptor involved in inflammatory signaling. Although it is known that sCD14 levels vary by race, information on the genetic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk relationships of sCD14 in Black participants is limited.

Approach and Results:

We measured sCD14 in plasma at the baseline exam from n=3492 Black participants from the JHS (Jackson Heart Study). We evaluated associations between sCD14 and subclinical CVD measures, incident CVD events, and mortality under 3 levels of covariate adjustment. We used whole-genome sequence data from the Trans-Omics for Personalized Medicine program to identify genetic associations with sCD14. Adjusting for CVD risk factors and C-reactive protein, higher sCD14 was significantly associated with increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio, 1.25 [95% CI, 1.17–1.32]), incident coronary heart disease (hazard ratio, 1.28 [95% CI, 1.11–1.47]), and incident heart failure (hazard ratio, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.15–1.41]), but not stroke (hazard ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.84–1.09]). Some of these relationships differed by age or sex: the association between sCD14 and heart failure was only observed in females; there was an association between sCD14 and stroke only at younger ages (in the lowest tertile of age, <49.4 years). We replicated the association between sCD14 levels with African ancestry-specific allele (rs75652866) on the
CD14
region of chromosome 5q31. We additionally identified 2 novel statistically distinct genetic associations with sCD14 represented by index variants rs770147646 and rs57599368, also in the chromosome 5q31 region.

Conclusions:

sCD14 independently predicts CVD-related outcomes and mortality in Black participants.
Current Therapeutic Options in Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Boskovski Marko T. , Gleason Thomas G.
Published: April 2021

Aortic stenosis is the most common valvular disease requiring valve replacement. Valve replacement therapies have undergone progressive evolution since the 1960s. Over the last 20 years, transcatheter aortic valve replacement has radically transformed the care of aortic stenosis, such that it is now the treatment of choice for many, particularly elderly, patients. This review provides an overview of the pathophysiology, presentation, diagnosis, indications for intervention, and current therapeutic options for aortic stenosis.
Not So Well Campaign Speech in Swahili
Authors: Kipacha Ahmad
Published: April 2021

The political campaign speeches can be used not only as platform to promote election manifestos of the candidates but also as communication channels imbued with creative manipulation of words, phrases, sayings and proverbial expressions to lure voters. Of interest in this study, is how some erudite public figures in Tanzania tend to interspace their political campaign speeches with proverbial elements. As campaign speeches aim to weaken political rivals, the use of subverted form of standard adage became inevitable on the process of waging verbal war to disarm opponents’ argumentative style, didactic wisdom and explanatory prowess. This paper goes beyond the exploration of standard proverbial expressions in political campaign speeches, to specifically target the deliberate modification, parody, subversion on existing proverbs and proverbial expressions in Swahili by the two major political parties of CCM and UKAWA as contested in the 2015 Tanzania general election campaigns.
“Five and Five Does Not Make Ten …”
Authors: Raji-Oyelade Aderemi , Ango Zaynab
Published: April 2021

The scholarship of change and transformations in proverbs has become an emergent industry in contemporary African studies. The term in transgressive paremiography used for this phenomenon of transformation is called postproverbials. Postproverbiality in Fulfulde is one illustration of the engagement with perspectives of modernities, and aspects of change in worldviews among the Ful’be. “Five and five does not make ten, …” is a signal Ful’be proverbial clause which represents the early interactional history of trade, political and jurisprudent relations between the Ful’be and the predominant Hausa communities of Northern Nigeria. The proverb has experienced a radical reception and turning, based on contemporary social relations and literacy. It is employed in this essay as a symbolic example of how change in proverb construction can also be a challenge to received history. Thirteen pairs of Ful’be proverbs and postproverbials will be deployed to establish the phenomenon of transgressive proverb-making among contemporary Ful’be speakers. The essay will highlight the peculiar forms of extensions, adaptations and cutterage that have been invested into the making of new radical Fulbe proverbs, usually by a younger generation of Fulfulde speakers whose attempt (inadvertent or deliberate) is ultimately to break conventions through newly invented proverbs.
Implications of the Failure to Pay The Required Electoral Deposit in South Africa: Analysing National Freedom Party V Electoral Commission and Another
Authors: Dube Angelo
Published: April 2021

The right to participate in elections is one of the cornerstones of any democratic country. This is true of South Africa’s electoral process, which was put to the test in the case of National Freedom Party v Electoral Commission in 2016. To promote free and fair elections, certain safeguards must be put in place. These include notifying the Electoral Commission of an intention to participate in elections through the payment of a deposit on a specified date by the party intending to participate in elections, and the publication of an election timetable by the government. This research has found that once published, the Electoral Commission has no power to change the electoral timetable. The only remedy for a party that fails to comply with the electoral prescripts such as the payment of an electoral deposit lies under section 11(2)(a) of the South African Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act. Additionally, it found that the concept of free and fair elections takes into account the interests of all parties concerned, and not just that of the party that alleges unfairness stemming from the exclusion. Whilst the exclusion of a party can lead to the violation of certain fundamental rights, such as the right to regular free and fair elections, and the right to vote, it is important to note that this case clearly establishes the legal position that a party’s failure to comply with the legal prescripts, will bar that political party from obtaining a remedy for exclusion.
Between Cooperation and/or Co-optation and Confrontation: Civil Society-State Relations in Ethiopia, Since 1991 up to 2018
Authors: Gichamo Bekalu Wachiso , Woldesenbet Wassihun Gebreegizaber
Published: April 2021

By qualitatively drawing on relevant empirical and secondary data sources, the present study sought to investigate the relationship and the practice between the Ethiopian state and csos through the illustration of different relationship patterns, i.e. cooperation and/or co-optation and confrontation, between the two actors and the implications thereof for the imperative of democratization in the country. The study primarily analyzed two supplementary notions: the politico-legal changes in the governance of Ethiopian csos, between 1991 and 2018, on the one hand, and the strategies employed by cso actors to deal with such changes in the same period, on the other hand. The analysis could be further divided into two analytical time periods i.e., the first is from 1991 up to 2005 and the second is from 2005 up to 2018. In doing so, the study found out that the state-civil society relations in Ethiopia since 1991 was more complicated than implied by the liberal discourse, and reflected a continuum of accommodation and confrontation dynamics. The study concluded by arguing that the commonly held dichotomy which polarized the relation between the state and csos as a whole may have overlooked the nature of relationship between the two actors, which can range from overt and hidden tensions and active hostility to cooperation and collaboration, depending on various factors across time and space.
Freedom of Thought in Canada: The History of a Forgetting and the Potential of a Remembering
Authors: Newman Dwight
Published: April 2021

Canada has a constitutional freedom of thought clause that has received almost no attention. This article considers reasons behind this phenomenon and the future potential of the clause. Unlike many constitutional rights and freedoms in Canada, constitutionalised freedom of thought did not have precedents in prior Canadian human rights instruments. Rather, its precedents are in international human rights instruments, with Canadian drafters choosing to adopt this freedom into Canada’s 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms. For a complex set of reasons, almost no Canadian case law has developed on freedom of thought. This article explains that phenomenon in terms of path dependence and problematic features of Canadian jurisprudence and scholarship. It argues that some recent cases offer new hope for development of freedom of thought jurisprudence. It argues that comparative constitutional conversations and emerging contemporary challenges may be significant in the development of Canada’s constitutional freedom of thought guarantee.
Bertrand Russell, Fu Tong, and the Emergence of Scientific Secularism in Early 1920s China
Authors: Vrhovski Jan
Published: April 2021

In the May Fourth period (1917–1921), the Chinese intellectual world saw the emergence of various forms of secularism, which culminated around the year 1922, when a nationwide non-religious movement was formed. The Western-educated philosopher Fu Tong influenced and contributed to the discourse on science and religion in the early 1920s, and his philosophy of religion served as a conduit for the introduction of Bertrand Russell’s ideas about religion into Chinese public and intellectual discourses. This article establishes a connection between Fu and the lectures on religious belief that Russell delivered in Peking in January 1921 and documents the transfer of ideas from Russell to Fu’s philosophical writings on religion between 1921 and 1922. In its central analysis, the article focuses on Fu’s philosophy of religion and his theory of scientific secularism, which he developed as a critique of the Marxist-led non-religious movement from 1922 onward. The discussion also sheds light on the network of intellectual connections underlying the emergence of the notion of scientific secularism in 1920s China.
Personal Ethics of the New Covenant: How Does the Spirit Change Us?
Authors: Saucy Mark
Published: April 2021

This essay explores recent discussion – primarily with Volker Rabens’s The Holy Spirit and Ethics in Paul – of how exactly the Holy Spirit effects ethical transformation in the new covenant’s members. The essay is broken into three parts. Part one will briefly establish the prophesied new covenant centre of the NT. From this part two will consider the biblical anthropological matrix for ethical transformation in the domain of the believer’s heart. Finally, part three will take up the NT writers’ account of the Spirit poured into the believer’s heart with an eye to the specific means the Spirit uses on the heart to effect ethical transformation. The Spirit as the minister of the grace of God in new relationship, as opposed to a sacramentally infused substance, will confirm Rabens’s thesis as a good expression of Paul’s teaching, and also the teaching of the greater corpus of Scripture.
Following Jesus in a Spiritual Age: Post-Religious Spirituality and the letter to the Ephesians
Authors: Mackenzie Ed
Published: April 2021

A number of commentators have noted the growth and appeal of spirituality in Western Europe and North America, a development concurrent with a general decline in religious affiliation. Such post-religious spirituality reflects a ‘turn to the subject’ that sacralises the self, privileges experience, and prizes authenticity. While some approaches to post-religious spirituality seek to reshape Christianity in its image, Paul’s vision of spiritual transformation in Ephesians challenges its key features. In particular, Paul’s stress on God’s grace, his robust ecclesiology, and his call for moral change illustrate that a call to life ‘in Christ’ is deeply countercultural in today’s spiritual age.
Penal substitutionary atonement in the later ante-Nicene period
Authors: Ensor Peter
Published: April 2021

This article surveys passages from the writings of Hippolytus, Cyprian, Methodius, Lactantius and Alexander of Alexandria with a view to elucidating their implied understanding of the significance of the death of Christ on the cross. It is argued that the authors whose works are reviewed held the belief that Christ died in our place, bearing the punishment for sin we deserved, with the result that those who trust in him might receive forgiveness, eternal life, and all the other blessings of salvation. The evidence adduced in this article, together with that adduced in the previous articles on Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian, combine to show that the doctrine of penal substitution was not an invention of the Protestant Reformation, as has recently been alleged, but was present already in the thinking of the Church during the post-apostolic period.
Christian Concern UK: Evangelicals contra Irreligion in an Increasingly Secular Britain
Authors: Montgomery John Warwick
Published: April 2021

Christian Concern and its litigation arm have in recent years been the most vocal spokespersons for conservative evangelicalism in Britain’s political and legal arenas. Founded by former practicing barrister Andrea Williams within the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship (Horace Rumpole’s ‘Lawyers as Christians’), it has actively promoted the evangelical agenda and taken legal cases as far as the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Among its concerns are: fighting abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and same-sex marriage and parenting; and defending Christian practices in the public square such as personal evangelism, the employment of Christian symbolism, and the distribution of Christian literature. This article briefly evaluates Christian Concern’s biblically-orientated program, degree of success, and future prospects.
Soteriological Coherence in Athanasius’s Contra Gentes-De Incarnatione
Authors: Morgan Jonathan
Published: April 2021

This article seeks to demonstrate the coherence of Athanasius of Alexandria’s soteriology by drawing attention to the interrelationship between his doctrines of sin and redemption. Traditional accounts of Athanasius’s doctrine of salvation often present an incomplete picture by, for example, underemphasizing sin and the effects of the Fall or overemphasizing deification. In fact, Athanasius’s soteriology is balanced and intelligible insofar as he integrates a robust doctrine of sin with a deep and rich soteriology founded upon the Incarnation. Therefore, this study lends further support to the thesis in contemporary studies that Athanasius is a consistent thinker who integrates various doctrines of the Christian faith into a coherent system.
The Nicene Creed: A Round Table Discussion
Authors: Lane Anthony N. S.
Published: April 2021

This article explores the relation between the NT writings and the Nicene Creed by means of an imaginary round table discussion involving the authors of the NT. This teases out the origins of the different clauses of the creed. The participants also point to four weak points of the creed: (1) its downplaying of the theme of Christ dying for our sins; (2) its failure to identify God as the God of Israel; (3) its silence about the earthly ministry of Jesus, jumping from his birth to his crucifixion; (4) its omission of the ethical dimension. They end by affirming what the creed actually does state.
The Sola behind the Solas: Martin Luther and The Unity and Future of the Five Solas of the Reformation
Authors: Bender Kimlyn J.
Published: April 2021

The five Solas of the Reformation have a complex history and remain sources not only of doctrinal coalition but conflict. This essay examines the traditional five Solas – sola fide, sola gratia, sola scriptura, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria – as present in nascent form in the writings of Martin Luther. While the technical terms themselves and their grouping are a later development, the incipient form of each sola is nevertheless evidenced in Luther’s corpus of writing. Having surveyed their presence and inter-relationship in Luther’s thought, the essay argues for the unity of the Solas and their continuing and valuable ability to express and articulate facets of the one revelatory and salvific economy of God, particularly when their function is seen not only as serving polemical ends of rejection and negation, but also and more beneficially outlining positive and properly ordered relations between faith and works, grace and gratitude, Scripture and tradition, Christ and the church, and God and the world. The essay concludes that if one of the Solas serves as the first among equals and the interpretive key to the others, it is that of Christ alone, and thus argues for a Christological interpretation of them all.
Restoring order to the ordo salutis: Conversion normativity in light of recent critique
Authors: Helgerson Bradley J.
Published: April 2021

Given the disparate details of Luke’s report on early conversion practices, some scholars have sought to deliver their readers from the difficulty of determining normativity. However, the complication which excites such re-exegesis, at least in terms of the ordo salutis, is often overstated. Indeed, once the intrinsic dependency of conversion-initiation’s constituent elements is considered, a general (and essential) order emerges. Even the seemingly mutable moment of regeneration is fixed given a concrete set of conditions. Thus, the only controversy remaining concerns the particulars, specifically which conditions initiate regeneration.
Tertullian’s Views on Women
Authors: Edwards Jordan H.
Published: April 2021

Tertullian was a brilliant author and defender of the faith in Roman North Africa during the early third century, but his views on women have not been equally well-received and often are dismissed entirely on the basis of a few statements. These statements, frequently taken out of context, have led many scholars to label him as the first Christian misogynist. However, Tertullian’s views on women are far more nuanced than he is given credit for by most interpreters. Rather than hating women and demeaning them as individuals, Tertullian instead viewed them through a particular lens of his cultural context. This context does not excuse Tertullian entirely, but a charitable reading of his overall approach that examines Tertullian’s comments concerning the inherent worth of women, beauty, and marriage reveals that Tertullian actually honored women who lived their lives fully dedicated to the Lord.
The Anglican Doctrine of the Visible Church
Authors: Gatiss Lee
Published: April 2021

This article examines what the Church of England’s historic Thirty-nine Articles of Religion actually mean in context when they define the visible church as ‘a congregation of faithful men in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.’ The article clarifies the meaning of the words ‘a congregation’ here in their historical and polemical context during the Reformation, giving this significant attention for the first time in print, in order to correct common evangelical mis-readings and misappropriations of Article 19. It also unpacks the Anglican view of the marks of the church against the confessional divides of the 16th century, to locate this Article in its Reformed Protestant context against Rome. It outlines ten challenges which a properly understood Anglican ecclesiology presents for evangelicals today.
Philo’s Influence on Understanding Divine Anthropomorphism
Authors: Jones Adam W.
Published: April 2021

Divine anthropomorphisms are prevalent in the Old Testament. Authors of Old Testament works seemingly had no reservations with using human qualities to describe God. During the Second Temple period Greek philosophy began to influence the interpretation of texts that describe God using anthropomorphisms. This shift in understanding God is evidenced in translation tendencies in the Septuagint and in Philo’s reading of Hebrew Scripture. The elements of proto-Gnosticism found in Philo’s writings are at times closely related to his interpretation of anthropomorphism. Since Philo’s understanding of such figures of speech has been the historic majority view, it is important to evaluate his method of interpretation to determine whether this understanding of divine anthropomorphism is rooted in Scripture or his philosophical tradition.
Why Andrew Fuller Matters
Authors: Haykin Michael A. G.
Published: April 2021

Andrew Fuller was the most influential Baptist theologian of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He is often remembered for his friendship and support of William Carey, but he also needs to be remembered for his theology, known in his own day as ‘Fullerism’. It was formed by his rebuttal of the Hyper-Calvinism that dogged far too many Particular Baptist communities and is encapsulated in his treatise The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation. This controversy, which at its heart was about divine sovereignty and human responsibility, led to Fuller’s instructive involvement in other key conflicts of his day, namely, the debates with Socinianism, Deism, and Sandemanianism. Fuller’s importance as a pastor-theologian, though, is not limited to these controversies, but is also evident in a quintessential evangelical piety that is focused on the cross.
Gifted Adolescent Readers’ Perceptions of How Teachers Should (or Should Not) Listen During Dialogic Discourse
Authors: Gilson Cindy M. , Sauder Adrienne E.
Published: April 2021

Effective listening is essential when teachers facilitate instructional classroom discussions. While the intersection between teacher listening and how students engage in discussions has received a wealth of research attention from other fields, this important phenomenon continues to be underresearched in the gifted and literacy education fields. To deepen our understanding of the phenomenon of teacher listening from students’ perspectives, we conducted an in-depth focus group study with middle school gifted students from five schools in a Southeastern state in the United States. Findings of our data analysis revealed four key interrelated themes: (a) teachers as active listeners, (b) teacher character traits, (c) student feelings and behaviors, and (d) listening as a pedagogical tool. Of significance, this study revealed students’ perspectives of how gifted education teachers should listen and that their listening influences students’ sense of connectedness and motivation for learning. Implications for professional learning and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Experimental investigation on spark ignition of linear combustor at low pressure conditions
Authors: Wang Kaixing , Liu Fuqiang , Lu Haitao , Yang Jinhu , Zhao Qianpeng , Gao Wei , Xu Gang
Published: April 2021

In order to explore the influence of low pressure on ignition process, the ignition performance of a linear combustor with five burners was experimentally investigated at ambient temperature and low pressure. At air pressure drops of 1%, 2% and 3%, the influence of low pressure on the lower boundary of the ignition equivalence ratio and ignition delay have been carried, and the high-speed camera was used to record the flame propagation at various time. The results indicate that the minimum ignition equivalence ratio increases with the decrease of pressure. And, the lower the pressure, the more obvious the influence of pressure on the ignition boundary. At the same air pressure, the minimum ignition equivalent ratio decreases with the increase of the air pressure drop. For the process of ignition delay, the air pressure mainly affects the evaporation of droplets and the chemical delay process, and the air pressure drop mainly affects the physical delay stage. For the process of flame propagation, the flame moves between adjacent burners in a symmetrical pattern under various pressures. The air pressure mainly affects the ignition delay process, and the air pressure drop influences the ignition delay and the flame propagation in the early stage (the light-around from single burner to three-burners). The time needed to achieve stable combustion is the shortest at the air pressure drop of 2%.
Cardiac implantable electronic device surgery with interruption of warfarin forgoing post-operative bridging therapy in patients with moderate or high thromboembolic risks
Authors: Ng Andrew Kei-Yan , Ng Pauline Yeung , Tam Eva Wai-Ying , Siu Chung-Wah , Fan Katherine
Published: April 2021

Background

For patients taking warfarin and undergoing pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator surgery, clinical evidence and guidelines support continuation of warfarin therapy, as opposed to interruption of warfarin therapy with heparin bridging. Interruption of warfarin without post-operative bridging therapy may be a feasible alternative but data is sparse.

Methods

This is a single-arm observational study including adults who had interruption of warfarin therapy without post-operative bridging therapy for cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) surgery performed between 2010 and 2019 in a tertiary referral hospital. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality, arterial or venous thromboembolic events. The secondary outcomes were clinically significant device-pocket hematoma and other procedural complications.

Results

Of the 411 patients analysed including 257 patients (62.5%) who had mechanical heart valves, the primary outcome developed in 5 (1.2%) patients within 30 days after surgery, including death in 3 (0.7%) patients, transient ischemic attack in 1 (0.2%) patient and non-CNS embolism in 1 (0.2%) patient. Clinically significant hematomas occurred in 24 (5.8%) patients, including 15 (3.7%) requiring additional interruption of anti-coagulation and 6 (1.5%) requiring clot evacuation. Other procedural complications and bleeding events were rare (< 1%).

Conclusions

Warfarin interruption without post-operative bridging therapy for CIED surgery was associated with low thromboembolic risks and acceptable bleeding risk. Randomized controlled trials are required to formulate an optimal approach to anti-coagulation management.
N6-methyladenosine-dependent signalling in cancer progression and insights into cancer therapies
Authors: Tan Fenghua , Zhao Mengyao , Xiong Fang , Wang Yumin , Zhang Shanshan , Gong Zhaojian , Li Xiayu , He Yi , Shi Lei , Wang Fuyan , Xiang Bo , Zhou Ming , Li Xiaoling , Li Yong , Li Guiyuan , Zeng Zhaoyang , Xiong Wei , Guo Can
Published: April 2021

The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is a dynamic and reversible epigenetic modification, which is co-transcriptionally deposited by a methyltransferase complex, removed by a demethylase, and recognized by reader proteins. Mechanistically, m6A modification regulates the expression levels of mRNA and nocoding RNA by modulating the fate of modified RNA molecules, such as RNA splicing, nuclear transport, translation, and stability. Several studies have shown that m6A modification is dysregulated in the progression of multiple diseases, especially human tumors. We emphasized that the dysregulation of m6A modification affects different signal transduction pathways and involves in the biological processes underlying tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration, and metabolic reprogramming, and discuss the effects on different cancer treatment.
Radiofrequency ablation and chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (PELICAN): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors:   for the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group, Walma M. S. , Rombouts S. J. , Brada L. J. H. , Borel Rinkes I. H. , Bosscha K. , Bruijnen R. C. , Busch O. R. , Creemers G. J. , Daams F. , van Dam R. M. , van Delden O. M. , Festen S. , Ghorbani P. , de Groot D. J. , de Groot J. W. B. , Haj Mohammad N. , van Hillegersberg R. , de Hingh I. H. , D’Hondt M. , Kerver E. D. , van Leeuwen M. S. , Liem M. S. , van Lienden K. P. , Los M. , de Meijer V. E. , Meijerink M. R. , Mekenkamp L. J. , Nio C. Y. , Oulad Abdennabi I. , Pando E. , Patijn G. A. , Polée M. B. , Pruijt J. F. , Roeyen G. , Ropela J. A. , Stommel M. W. J. , de Vos-Geelen J. , de Vries J. J. , van der Waal E. M. , Wessels F. J. , Wilmink J. W. , van Santvoort H. C. , Besselink M. G. , Molenaar I. Q.
Published: April 2021

Background

Approximately 80% of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) are treated with chemotherapy, of whom approximately 10% undergo a resection. Cohort studies investigating local tumor ablation with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have reported a promising overall survival of 26–34 months when given in a multimodal setting. However, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effect of RFA in combination with chemotherapy in patients with LAPC are lacking.

Methods

The “Pancreatic Locally Advanced Unresectable Cancer Ablation” (PELICAN) trial is an international multicenter superiority RCT, initiated by the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group (DPCG). All patients with LAPC according to DPCG criteria, who start with FOLFIRINOX or (nab-paclitaxel/)gemcitabine, are screened for eligibility. Restaging is performed after completion of four cycles of FOLFIRINOX or two cycles of (nab-paclitaxel/)gemcitabine (i.e., 2 months of treatment), and the results are assessed within a nationwide online expert panel. Eligible patients with RECIST stable disease or objective response, in whom resection is not feasible, are randomized to RFA followed by chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone. In total, 228 patients will be included in 16 centers in The Netherlands and four other European centers. The primary endpoint is overall survival. Secondary endpoints include progression-free survival, RECIST response, CA 19.9 and CEA response, toxicity, quality of life, pain, costs, and immunomodulatory effects of RFA.

Discussion

The PELICAN RCT aims to assess whether the combination of chemotherapy and RFA improves the overall survival when compared to chemotherapy alone, in patients with LAPC with no progression of disease following 2 months of systemic treatment.

Trial registration

Dutch Trial RegistryNL4997. Registered on December 29, 2015. ClinicalTrials.govNCT03690323. Retrospectively registered on October 1, 2018
Statistical analysis plan for the Surgery for Cancer with Option of Palliative Care Expert (SCOPE) trial: a randomized controlled trial of a specialist palliative care intervention for patients undergoing surgery for cancer
Authors: Orun Onur M. , Shinall Myrick C. , Hoskins Aimee , Morgan Ellis , Karlekar Mohana , Martin Sara F. , Ely E. Wesley , Raman Rameela
Published: April 2021

Background

The impact of specialist palliative care intervention in patients undergoing surgery for cancer has not been studied extensively. The SCOPE randomized controlled trial will investigate the effect of specialist palliative care intervention in cancer patients undergoing surgery for selected abdominal malignancies. The study protocol of the SCOPE Trial was published in December 2019.

Methods and design

The SCOPE Trial is a single-center, single-blind, prospective, randomized controlled trial that will investigate specialist palliative care intervention for cancer patients undergoing surgery for selected abdominal malignancies. The study plans to enroll 236 patients that will be randomized to specialist palliative care (intervention arm) and usual care (control arm) in a 1:1 ratio.

Results

The primary outcome of the study is the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) Trial Outcome Index (TOI) at 90 days postoperatively. Secondary outcomes of the study include the total FACT-G score at 90 days postoperatively, days alive at home without an emergency room visit within 90 days of operation, and all-cause mortality at 1 year after operation. Time frames for all outcomes will start on the day of surgery.

Conclusion

This manuscript serves as the formal statistical analysis plan (version 1.0) for the SCOPE randomized controlled trial. The statistical analysis plan was completed on 6 April 2021.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03436290. Registered on 16 February 2018
Structural stability for the Forchheimer equations interfacing with a Darcy fluid in a bounded region in $\mathbb{R}^{3}$
Authors: Shi Jincheng , Liu Yan
Published: April 2021

The structural stability for the Forchheimer fluid interfacing with a Darcy fluid in a bounded region in$\mathbb{R}^{3}$R3was studied. We assumed that the nonlinear fluid was governed by the Forchheimer equations in$\Omega _{1}$Ω1, while in$\Omega _{2}$Ω2, we supposed that the flow satisfies the Darcy equations. With the aid of some useful a priori bounds, we were able to demonstrate the continuous dependence results for the Forchheimer coefficientλ.
Socioeconomic, urban‐rural and sex‐based inequality in infant mortality rate: evidence from 2013 Yemen demographic and health survey
Authors: Zegeye Betregiorgis , Shibre Gebretsadik , Haidar Jemal , Lemma Gorems
Published: April 2021

Background

The occurrence of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) varied globally with most of the cases coming from developing countries including Yemen. The disparity in IMR in Yemen however, has not been well dealt and therefore we examined the IMR inequality based on the most reliable methodology in order to generate evidence-based information for some program initiatives in Yemen.

Methods

Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) software, we analyzed the inequality across the different inequality dimensions in Yemen. The toolkit analyzes data stored in the WHO health equity monitor database. Simple and complex, and absolute and relative measures of inequality were calculated for the four dimensions of inequality (subpopulations) which included wealth, education, sex and residence. We computed a 95 % CI to assess statistical significance.

Results

The analysis included 31, 743 infants. Absolute and relative wealth-driven, education, urban-rural and sex-based inequalities were found in IMR. Higher concentration of IMR was observed among infants from the poorest/poor households (ACI=-4.68, 95 % CI; -6.57, -2.79, R = 1.61, 95 % CI; 1.18, 2.03), rural residents (D = 15.07, 95 % CI; 8.04, 22.09, PAF=-23.57, 95 % CI; -25.47, -21.68), mothers who had no formal education (ACI=-2.16, 95 % CI; -3.79, -0.54) and had male infants (PAF= -3.66, 95 % CI; -4.86, -2.45).

Conclusions

Higher concentration of IMR was observed among male infants from disadvantaged subpopulations such as poorest/poor, uneducated and rural residents. To eliminate the observed inequalities, interventions are needed to target the poorest/poor households, rural residents, mothers with no formal education and male infants.
Pulp and paper mill wastes: utilizations and prospects for high value-added biomaterials
Authors: Haile Adane , Gelebo Gemeda Gebino , Tesfaye Tamrat , Mengie Wassie , Mebrate Million Ayele , Abuhay Amare , Limeneh Derseh Yilie
Published: April 2021

A wide variety of biomass is available all around the world. Most of the biomass exists as a by-product from manufacturing industries. Pulp and paper mills contribute to a higher amount of these biomasses mostly discarded in the landfills creating an environmental burden. Biomasses from other sources have been used to produce different kinds and grades of biomaterials such as those used in industrial and medical applications. The present review aims to investigate the availability of biomass from pulp and paper mills and show sustainable routes for the production of high value-added biomaterials. The study reveals that using conventional and integrated biorefinery technology the ample variety and quantity of waste generated from pulp and paper mills can be converted into wealth. As per the findings of the current review, it is shown that high-performance carbon fiber and bioplastic can be manufactured from black liquor of pulping waste; the cellulosic waste from sawdust and sludge can be utilized for the synthesis of CNC and regenerated fibers such as viscose rayon and acetate; the mineral-based pulping wastes and fly ash can be used for manufacturing of different kinds of biocomposites. The different biomaterials obtained from the pulp and paper mill biomass can be used for versatile applications including conventional, high performance, and smart materials. Through customization and optimization of the conversion techniques and product manufacturing schemes, a variety of engineering materials can be obtained from pulp and paper mill wastes realizing the current global waste to wealth developmental approach.
Urinary bladder cancer as a late sequela of traumatic spinal cord injury
Authors: Böthig Ralf , Tiburtius Christian , Schöps Wolfgang , Zellner Michael , Balzer Oliver , Kowald Birgitt , Hirschfeld Sven , Thietje Roland , Pietsch Aki , Kurze Ines , Forchert Martin , Kadhum Thura , Golka Klaus
Published: April 2021

Background

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is also a combat-related injury that is increasing in modern warfare. The aim of this work is to inform medical experts regarding the different course of bladder cancer in able-bodied patients compared with SCI patients based on the latest medical scientific knowledge, and to present decision-making aids for the assessment of bladder cancer as a late sequela of traumatic SCI.

Methods

A study conducted between January 1998 and December 2019 in the BG Trauma Hospital Hamburg formed the basis for the decision-making aids. Urinary bladder cancer was diagnosed in 40 out of 7396 treated outpatient and inpatient SCI patients. General patient information, latency period, age at initial diagnosis, type of bladder management and survival of SCI patients with bladder cancer were collected and analysed. T category, grading and tumour entity in these patients were compared with those in the general population. Relevant bladder cancer risk factors in SCI patients were analysed. Furthermore, relevant published literature was taken into consideration.

Results

Initial diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer in SCI patients occurs at a mean age of 56.4 years (SD ± 10.7 years), i.e., approximately 20 years earlier as compared with the general population. These bladder cancers are significantly more frequently muscle invasive (i.e., T category ≥ T2) and present a higher grade at initial diagnosis. Furthermore, SCI patients show a significantly higher proportion of the more aggressive squamous cell carcinoma than that of the general population in areas not endemic for the tropical disease schistosomiasis. Consequently, the survival time is extremely unfavourable. A very important finding, for practical reasons is that, in the Hamburg study as well as in the literature, urinary bladder cancer is more frequently observed after 10 years or more of SCI. Based on these findings, a matrix was compiled where the various influencing factors, either for or against the recognition of an association between SCI and urinary bladder cancer, were weighted according to their relevance.

Conclusions

The results showed that urinary bladder cancer in SCI patients differs considerably from that in able-bodied patients. The presented algorithm is an important aid in everyday clinical practice for assessing the correlation between SCI and bladder cancer.
Joint attention behaviour in remote collaborative problem solving: exploring different attentional levels in dyadic interaction
Authors: Pöysä-Tarhonen Johanna , Awwal Nafisa , Häkkinen Päivi , Otieno Suzanne
Published: April 2021

The current article describes an exploratory study that focussed on joint attention behaviour—the basis of interaction predicting productive collaboration—to better understand collaborative problem solving, particularly its social aspects during remote dyadic interaction. The study considered joint attention behaviour as a socio-linguistic phenomenon and relied on detailed qualitative interaction analysis on event-related measures of multiple observational data (i.e. log files, eye-tracking data). The aim was to illustrate and exemplify how the diverse attentional levels of joint attention behaviour (i.e. monitoring, common, mutual and shared attention) delineated by Siposova and Carpenter (Cognition 89:260–274, 2019) were achieved in remote collaborative problem solving in dyads, including the underlying basis of joint attention behaviour (i.e. individual attention experience). The results made visible the complex functioning of the social aspects of remote collaborative problem solving and provided preliminary insights into how the hierarchical and nested levels of ‘jointness’ and common knowledge were achieved in this context. The analysis reproduced all the theorised attentional levels as both isolated and parallel individualistic attention experiences whilst acknowledging the restrictions of the remote interaction environment and the specific task structures.