bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Jonah’s Gourd and Mark’s Gethsemane: A Study in Allegorical Messianic Intertextuality
Authors: Robinson Jonathan Rivett
Published: November 2020

A number of scholars have recognized a verbal allusion to Jon. 4.9 in Mk 14.34. However, the Gethsemane account (Mk 14.32-42) may allude to the narrative of Jon. 4 in other ways not previously observed. Some modern interpreters have suggested an allegorical messianic interpretation of Jonah’s gourd as Zerubbabel, despite lacking any basis for this interpretation in early Jewish literature. Mark’s allusion may be formerly unrecognized evidence of such an interpretation from the first century ce. This article will examine the wider allusion to Jon. 4 in Mk 14, suggest what kind of exegesis of Jon. 4 might motivate that allusion, and argue for the coherence of such an allusion within the immediate Markan context.
Schmittean logic
Authors: Dyzenhaus David
Published: November 2020

I argue that Schmitt was a faux jurist and that is important to understand ‘Schmittean’ logic. This is a logic which aims to undermine democracy and the rule of law which is not unique to Schmitt and is at play in our contemporary world.
The substance of procedures
Authors: Gebh Sara
Published: November 2020

In Democracy without Shortcuts, Cristina Lafont identifies proceduralist or ‘deep pluralist’ conceptions of democracy alongside epistemic and lottocratic approaches as shortcuts that avoid the more challenging but, in her view, preferable path of engaging with and attempting to sway competing views, values and beliefs of fellow citizens. I argue that with the wholesale dismissal of proceduralist accounts of democracy Lafont herself takes two shortcuts: The first concerns the characterization of deep pluralism as unable to explain substantive disagreement after a decision is settled, and the second undervalues proceduralism’s ability to evaluate and criticize the substance of the political decision-making process. While her critique is fitting for minimalist conceptions of proceduralism, a theory of normative proceduralism shares many objectives with Lafont’s vision of a participatory deliberative democracy. Integrating those approaches instead of dismissing proceduralism outright would render her project appealing to theorists who would not otherwise consider themselves deliberative democrats.
Neuroanatomy and Sampling of Central Projections for the Visual System in Mammals Used in Toxicity Testing
Authors: Muthuswamy Anantharaman , Pardo Ingrid D. , Rao Deepa B. , Switzer Robert C. , Sharma Alok K. , Bolon Brad
Published: November 2020

Visual system toxicity may manifest anywhere in the visual system, from the eye proper to the visual brain. Therefore, effective screening for visual system toxicity must evaluate not only ocular structures (ie, eye and optic nerve) but also multiple key brain regions involved in vision (eg, optic tract, subcortical relay nuclei, and primary and secondary visual cortices). Despite a generally comparable pattern across species, the neuroanatomic organization and function of the visual brain in rodents and rabbits exhibit appreciable differences relative to nonrodents. Currently recognized sampling practices for general toxicity studies in animals, which are based on easily discerned external neuroanatomic landmarks and guided by extant stereotaxic brain atlases, typically will permit histopathologic evaluation of many brain centers involved in visual sensation (eg, optic chiasm, optic tract, dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, primary and secondary visual cortices) and often some subcortical brain nuclei involved in light-modulated nonvisual activities needed for visual attention and orientation (eg, rostral colliculus in quadrupeds, termed the superior colliculus in bipeds; several cranial nerve nuclei). Pathologic findings induced by toxicants in the visual brain centers are similar to those that are produced in other brain regions.
Beyond Human: Deep Learning, Explainability and Representation
Authors: Fazi M. Beatrice
Published: November 2020

This article addresses computational procedures that are no longer constrained by human modes of representation and considers how these procedures could be philosophically understood in terms of ‘algorithmic thought’. Research in deep learning is its case study. This artificial intelligence (AI) technique operates in computational ways that are often opaque. Such a black-box character demands rethinking the abstractive operations of deep learning. The article does so by entering debates about explainability in AI and assessing how technoscience and technoculture tackle the possibility to ‘re-present’ the algorithmic procedures of feature extraction and feature learning to the human mind. The article thus mobilises the notion of incommensurability (originally developed in the philosophy of science) to address explainability as a communicational and representational issue, which challenges phenomenological and existential modes of comparison between human and algorithmic ‘thinking’ operations.
Quality of life: Investigating the impact of two major mental disorders, anxiety and depression, in patients with age-related macular degeneration
Authors: Papalamprou Marios , Georgakopoulos Constantine D , Pharmakakis Nikolaos
Published: November 2020

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact on the quality of life of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in relation to common mental disorders, namely anxiety and depression, and determine specific factors (e.g., thoughts/feelings, sociodemographic characteristics) that may be used to refer such patients to psychiatrists.

Materials–Methods:

To classify the patients into different categories, regarding the development of the mental disorders under consideration, the “Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale” (HADS) has been utilized. The main statistical methodologies applied are classification and regression trees (CART) techniques and logistic regression. For the purposes of the aforementioned statistical analysis, the R software package has been used.

Results:

Both depression and anxiety scores varied considerably across visual acuity (VA) severity. Patients with severe visual acuity problems tend to have also higher HADS scores. Women were more likely to be affected by depression; sociodemographic factors did not have any significant effect. According to the performed CART analysis, responses to two HADS items (namely, “I can enjoy a good book or radio or television program” and “I have lost interest in my appearance”) identified the vast majority of severely to moderately depressed patients. Furthermore, the level of VA severity was found as a main driver for diagnosing an AMD patient with depression.

Conclusions:

VA impairment (or decline) severity level was found to be the main factor associated with depression in patients with AMD. Moreover, specific thoughts/feelings present in patients with AMD have been found as significant regarding the level of their mental disorders under consideration and could be asked by the ophthalmologist to refer (or not) them to psychiatrists.
Headache complexity (number of symptom features) differentiates post-traumatic from non-traumatic headaches
Authors: Scher Ann I , McGinley James S , Wirth RJ , Lipton Richard B , Terrio Heidi , Brenner Lisa A , Cole Wesley R , Schwab Karen
Published: November 2020

Background

Post-traumatic headaches are a common sequela of mild traumatic brain injury (concussion). It is unclear whether or how these headaches differ phenotypically from primary headaches.

Objective

Determine whether there is an overarching unobserved latent trait that drives the expression of observed features of post-traumatic headache and other headaches.

Methods

Data from this post-hoc analysis come from the Warrior Strong Cohort Study conducted from 2010 through 2015. Approximately 25,000 soldiers were screened for concussion history at routine post-deployment health assessments. A random sample was invited to participate, enrolling 1567. Twelve observed headache phenotypic features were used to measure “headache complexity”, the latent trait of clinical interest, using single factor confirmatory factor analysis. We compared headache complexity between groups and determined whether headache complexity predicted accessing medical care for headache.

Results

Of 1094 soldiers with headaches, 198 were classified as having post-traumatic headache. These headaches were compared to those in the other soldiers (647 without concussion history and 249 with concussion history). Soldiers with post-traumatic headache had greater endorsement of all 12 headache features compared to the soldiers with non-concussive headaches. The confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit (χ2 (51) = 95.59, p = 0.0002, RMSEA = 0.03, comparative fit index = 0.99, and Tucker-Lewis index = 0.99), providing empirical support for the headache complexity construct. Soldier groups differed in their mean headache complexity level ( p < 0.001) such that post-traumatic headache soldiers had greater headache complexity compared to non-concussed soldiers (standardized mean difference = 0.91, 95% confidence interval: 0.72–1.09, p < 0.001 and to concussed soldiers with coincidental headaches standardized mean difference = 0.75, 95% confidence interval: 0.53–0.96, p < 0.001). Increasing headache complexity predicted medical encounters for headache (odds ratio = 1.87, 95% confidence interval: 1.49–2.35, p < 0.001) and migraine (odds ratio = 3.74, 95% confidence interval: 2.33–5.98, p < 0.001) during the year following deployment. Conclusions and relevance: The current study provided support for a single latent trait, characterized by observed headache symptoms, that differentiates between concussive and non-concussive headaches and predicts use of medical care for headache. The single trait confirmatory factor analysis suggests that post-traumatic headaches differ from non-concussive headaches by severity more than kind, based on the symptoms assessed. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01847040
Hydrogen Refueling Station Consideration and Driver Experience in California
Authors: Krafft Aimee , Kelley Scott , Kuby Michael , Lopez Jaramillo Oscar G. , Stotts Rhian
Published: November 2020

The recent growth in the California hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) market offers the opportunity to analyze how refueling stations that drivers use after some experience compare with those they initially intended to use. Online surveys completed by 124 FCV adopters in California in early 2019 were analyzed. Respondents listed stations they initially planned to use, stations that they later used, subjective reasons for using them, and important travel destinations. Network GIS analysis was then used to measure estimated travel times between both available and planned retail hydrogen stations and home, work, and frequently traveled routes, both at the time of adoption and at the time of the survey. Results show that 40% of respondents changed refueling stations over time. Those with stations objectively nearer to home, work, and frequently traveled routes were less likely to change their list. Drivers were more likely to subjectively label stations as near home and less likely to label them as on the way compared with objective measurements of these criteria, though these differences are greater for respondents who changed stations. Regardless of whether the station was available pre-adoption or opened post-adoption, stations that respondents added to their lists were farther from home than those they initially intended to use. For stations available pre-adoption, reliability positively influenced adding them after experience, while stations added by drivers that opened post-adoption tended to require short deviations to reach. These results indicate that a mixture of geographic and station-level characteristics contribute to FCV drivers changing stations over time.
Federal Reserve Economic Data: A History
Authors: Mendez-Carbajo Diego , Podleski Genevieve M.
Published: November 2020

This article describes the contributions of the Federal Reserve System to the production and distribution of economic data. First, we present a chronological account of those contributions. Next, we describe the origins and evolution of the data information services provided by the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) online database, its partnership with sources, and the profile of its users. Next, we review the data-related educational outreach efforts of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, presenting some evidence of their impact. A summary and several reflections on the future of economic data and education conclude the article.

JEL Classifications: N22, E01, A20
The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Psychological Distress among Adolescents: Les Directives canadiennes en matière de mouvement sur 24 heures et la détresse psychologique chez les adolescents
Authors: Sampasa-Kanyinga Hugues , Chaput Jean-Philippe , Goldfield Gary S. , Janssen Ian , Wang JianLi , Hamilton Hayley A. , Ferro Mark A. , Colman Ian
Published: November 2020

Objective:

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth recommend at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, 2 hours or less of recreational screen time per day, and 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night for 5 to 13 years old and 8 to 10 hours per night for 14 to 17 years old. This study examined the association between meeting these guidelines and psychological distress among adolescents.

Methods:

The present cross-sectional sample included 6,364 students aged 11 to 20 years from the 2017 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. This provincially representative school-based survey is based on a 2-stage cluster design. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was first conducted to confirm the factor structure of the K6, and structural equation modeling adjusted for age, sex, ethnoracial background, subjective socioeconomic status, and body mass index z-score was used to investigate the association between meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and K6 factors among adolescents.

Results:

The CFA demonstrated that a 2-factor model (representing anxiety and depressive symptoms) of the K6 fit the data well. The anxiety and depression items demonstrated a composite reliability (Cronbach’s α) of 0.86 and 0.83, respectively, indicating a high level of internal consistency. Compared to meeting none of the recommendations, meeting all 3 movement behavior recommendations was associated with lower anxiety (β = −0.076; P = 0.028) and depressive symptoms (β = −0.067; P = 0.028). Meeting the screen time + sleep duration recommendations had the strongest association with anxiety (β = −0.157; P < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (β = −0.139; P < 0.001), followed by meeting the sleep duration recommendation only for both anxiety (β = −0.135; P < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (β = −0.106; P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

Meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was associated with lower anxiety and depressive symptoms among adolescents, and these associations appear mainly driven by meeting the sleep duration recommendation.
Depression as a Risk Factor for Physical Illness and Multimorbidity in a Cohort with No Prior Comorbidity
Authors: Li Allanah , Rosella Laura C. , Kurdyak Paul , Wodchis Walter P.
Published: November 2020

Objective:

This study examines whether depression is associated with the development of physical illness and multimorbidity, after controlling for socioeconomic, behavioral, and other potential confounders.

Methods:

This is a retrospective cohort study in which adult respondents to three nationally representative population health surveys were linked to health administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, and followed for 10 years from survey index. Respondents with any of the study outcome conditions at baseline were excluded to create a final cohort of 29,838 participants. The main exposure of interest was depression, measured using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview–Short Form for Major Depression. We controlled for age, body mass index, marital status, immigrant status, annual household income, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, health status, and having a regular doctor. The outcome measure was the development of physical illness over 10 years of follow-up, defined as 1 of 15 common chronic conditions using administrative data.

Results:

Among the 29,838 participants (15,259 [51%] female), 8% of females and 4% of males had depression at baseline. In this cohort with no comorbidities at baseline, even in the fully adjusted model, depression increased the risk of developing a first physical illness for females (hazard ratio [HR] 1.16; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.26) and males (HR 1.20; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.36) and increased the risk of developing a second physical illness for females (HR 1.16; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.33) over 10 years of follow-up.

Conclusions:

For individuals with no prior comorbidities, depression is associated with a greater risk of developing subsequent physical illness and multimorbidity over time. Thus, depression identifies a population of people who may benefit from early identification, additional screening, and intervention. Further study needs to be done to determine whether interventions to manage and support people with depression can prevent or delay the increased risk of multimorbidity.
Classes of Oppositional Defiant Disorder Behavior in Clinic-referred Children and Adolescents: Concurrent Features and Outcomes: Classification Des Comportements Dans le Trouble Oppositionnel Avec Provocation Chez Des Enfants et des Adolescents Aiguillés à Une Clinique: Caractéristiques Co-occurrentes et Résultats
Authors: Roetman Peter J. , Siebelink Berend M. , Vermeiren Robert R. J. M. , Colins Olivier F.
Published: November 2020

Objective:

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) consists of irritable and oppositional behaviors, both of which are associated with different problems. However, it is unclear whether irritability and oppositionality enable classification of clinic-referred children and adolescents into mutually exclusive groups (e.g., high in oppositionality, low in irritability), and whether this classification is clinically meaningful.

Method:

As part of a clinical protocol, ODD behaviors were assessed at referral through a comprehensive diagnostic interview and questionnaire. Parent- and teacher-reported ODD of 2,185 clinic-referred 5- to 18-year-olds (36.9% females) were used in latent class analysis. Resulting ODD classes were compared, concurrently at referral, and, longitudinally at the end of the diagnostic and treatment process, on various clinically relevant measures that were completed by various informants, including mental health problems, global functioning, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) classifications.

Results:

Three classes emerged with high, moderate, and low levels of both irritability and oppositionality. At referral, the high class experienced the highest levels of mental health problems and DSM classifications. Importantly, all ODD classes defined at intake were predictive of diagnostic and treatment outcomes months later. Notably, the high class had higher rates of clinician-based classifications of ODD and conduct disorder, and the lowest levels of pre- and posttreatment global functioning. Additionally, the low class exhibited higher rates of generalized anxiety disorder and fear disorders.

Conclusions:

Irritability and oppositionality co-occur in clinic-referred youths to such an extent that classification based on these behaviors does not add to clinical inference. Instead, findings suggest that the overall ODD severity at referral should be used as a guidance for treatment.
Castoriadis before Castoriadis: How did Paul Cardan become Cornelius Castoriadis?
Authors: Beilharz Peter
Published: November 2020

This memorandum offers some incomplete thoughts on the process through which Paul Cardan became Cornelius Castoriadis. This involves some examination of the connection, alignments and dissonances between the Johnson-Forest Tendency in Detroit, and Socialisme ou Barbarie in Paris. Special emphasis is placed on the pioneering work of Stephen Hastings-King and the notion that these intellectual movements centred their energies around the search for the proletariat. Cardan spent more time with Marx; Castoriadis, professionally, spent more time with Freud, and after. The spectre of Freud is as central to these inquiries as is the ghost of Marx. If the spectre of the Worker needs to be dispelled, after Socialisme ou Barbarie, then the dynamics of suffering and creativity also need yet to be maintained in tension.
Burrowing a way: Plato’s cave and the labyrinth of creation
Authors: Klooger Jeff
Published: November 2020

Plato’s simile of the cave has for over two millennia been the model for a particular understanding of the limitated nature of human knowledge. Castoriadis’s understanding of human knowledge differs from Plato’s in that the artificiality of knowledge, and by extension of culture and society in general, is seen not as a barrier to true knowledge but as a necessary precondition for any knowledge whatsoever. Plato dreams of leaving the cave and encountering the world in the clear light of day; Castoriadis contends that the labyrinth of human creation is our only means of encountering the real. Plato tries to use philosophy to design a way out of the traps humans find themselves in, traps they build for themselves. Castoriadis seeks no such escape and believes that to make such an ultimate escape the business of philosophy or politics is misguided, if not dangerous.
Commodity Fetishism as Semblance
Authors: Skotnicki Tad
Published: November 2020

With the aid of Hannah Arendt’s distinction between authentic and inauthentic semblances, this article reconstructs Karl Marx’s notion of commodity fetishism as a phenomenological concept. It reveals two distinct interpretive moments in the fetish: the interpretation of goods as anonymous in exchange and the interpretation of commodity-exchange as natural. As authentic semblances, interpretations in commodity-exchange cannot be “seen through” or corrected with a shift in perspective; in contrast, as inauthentic semblances, interpretations of commodity-exchange can be corrected with such a shift. This reconsideration of commodity fetishism suggests phenomenology and interpretive analysis should contribute to an analysis of region and globe-defining social systems.
Halalization: Religious Product Certification in Secular Markets
Authors: Calder Ryan
Published: November 2020

In Islam, the extension of religious regulation and certification to new product types and economic sectors—“halalization”—has become widespread. There are now Islamic mortgages, halal ports, halal refrigerators, halal blockchain, and shariah-compliant cryptocurrencies. Yet classical secularization theory says religious authority cannot regulate modern economic activity. So what explains halalization? I point to an elective affinity between fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and twenty-first-century markets. Contemporary fiqh offers widely respected religious jurists who issue fatwas certifying products. Entrepreneurs empanel the jurists on certification boards, allowing fiqh to function as a regime of voluntary regulation layered atop secular state law instead of conflicting with it. Indeed, secular liberal markets provide ideal conditions for halalization and religious meaning-making through consumption. Case studies of Islamic finance and halal logistics show how entrepreneurs assuage consumers’ religious anxieties—and generate new ones—in the context of globalization and liberalization in secular markets.
Reducing Low-Value Practices a Functional-Contextual Consideration to Aid in De-Implementation Efforts
Authors: Farmer Ryan L. , Zaheer Imad , Duhon Gary J. , Ghazal Stephanie
Published: November 2020

Through innovation in research and self-correction, it is inevitable that some practices will be replaced or be discredited for one reason or another. De-implementation of discredited and low-value practices is a necessary step for school psychologists’ maintenance of evidence-based practices and to reduce unnecessary costs and risk. However, efforts to clarify de-implementation frameworks and strategies are ongoing. The scope of this paper follows McKay et al. in considering the potential for de-implementation strategies to be informed by applied behavior analysis and operant learning theory. We conceptualize low-value practice as sets of behaviors evoked by their context and maintained by their consequences, and thus de-implementation as behavior reduction. We discuss the need for future research given this perspective.
Educational Language Policy in Massachusetts: Discourses of the LOOK Act
Authors: Rubio Jesse
Published: November 2020

Within the United States, equity for English learners, while essential, has remained elusive. As such, language policy in education is a central issue. When An Act Relative to Language Opportunity for Our Kids (LOOK Act) was passed in 2017 in Massachusetts, it was celebrated as a victory for bilingual education after a 15-year period of mandated English-only education. This study thus aims to analyze the language and intertextual discourses of the LOOK Act to inform its interpretation and appropriation by agents at various levels and investigate how language, language use, and language users are positioned in the Act.
Introduction: Contested narratives of the mind and the brain: Neuro/psychological knowledge in popular debates and everyday life
Authors: Schregel Susanne , Broer Tineke
Published: November 2020

This special section evolved out of a workshop entitled ‘Minds and Brains in Everyday Life: Embedding and Negotiating Scientific Concepts in Popular Discourses’, held at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh. Our discussions at the workshop and for this special section began with the observation that scientific interpretations and everyday explanations regularly meet and come together in debates about aspects of the mind and the brain. Such entanglements between science and the wider public have already been studied from multiple perspectives in history and the social sciences. Recently, however, warnings have intensified that researchers also need to take into account the limitations that certain scientific claims may encounter in everyday life, and to remain methodologically open to alternative explanations that are not derived from forms of (neuro)psychological knowledge. We suggest that focusing on contested narratives of the mind and the brain may be one approach to studying the interaction between science and the larger public, as well as investigating the ignorance, limits, counterforces, and outright rejection that scientific concepts may encounter in everyday life.
Study on heat transfer characteristics and thermal error suppression method of cylindrical giant magnetostrictive actuator for ball screw preload
Authors: Ju Xiaojun , Lu Jili , Jin Hongyan
Published: November 2020

Based on the structure analysis and the working principle of cylindrical giant magnetostricve actuator (CGMA) for ball screw preload, a thermal error suppression method using oil cooling system to control the temperature is proposed. Firstly, the heat transfer model and thermal circuit model of CGMA are established; next, the steady-state temperature model and the thermal expansion displacement model of cylindrical giant magnetostrictive material (CGMM) are obtained according to the heat-transfer rules and loop analysis method in circuit analysis; finally, the design parameters of the oil-cooling temperature control system are determined by combining thermal circuit model analysis with finite element simulation analysis. Such optimization method saves a lot of computation and provides a simple way for the design of oil cooling structure. In addition, a test platform for the CGMA is established. The experimental results indicate that the measured temperatures are in good agreement with the simulation results under forced oil cooling, and the relative error is less than 5%, which proves the rationality of the temperature control system. Moreover, the output accuracy and stability of the CGMA is significantly improved with proposed oil cooling method, which further confirms the thermal error suppression method is effective. As a result, this study provides a basis for the application of CGMA in the precise adjustment of double-nut ball screw preload.
Modelling and stress analysis for double-row curvic couplings
Authors: Zhang Dayi , Yang Cheng , He Tian , Liu Jixing , Hong Jie
Published: November 2020

This paper proposes a parameterized modelling method that considers the details of the machining process for double-row curvic couplings and presents a modified stress analytical method that can take the deep beam bending effect into account. The modified method provides a more accurate equivalent stress estimation than the classic Gleason method, which is demonstrated by the nonlinear finite element simulation. The contact stress and the contact status of the curvic couplings in high-speed rotation situations are analysed with the nonlinear FEA method under different loads. The results show that the strength of the weak regions of the double-row curvic couplings occur at the tooth root and the tooth to near the bolts. The bolt preload has the greatest influence on the contact stress and the contact status. The rotating speed reduces the bolt preload, causing the stress to decrease. The torque results in contact stress and contact status of different sides of the tooth being obviously different. Finally, the modified analytic method is recommended during the preliminary design, and the FEA method considering the contact effects is recommended for the detailing design.
Relevance of a novel external dynamic distraction device for treating back pain
Authors: Zaïri Fahed , Moulart Mélissa , Fontaine Christian , Zaïri Fahmi , Tiffreau Vincent , Logier Régis
Published: November 2020

Low back pain is a common, expensive, and disabling condition in industrialized countries. There is still no consensus for its ideal management. Believing in the beneficial effect of traction, we developed a novel external dynamic distraction device. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate that external distraction allows limiting the pressure exerted in standing-up position on the lower intervertebral discs. Numerical and cadaveric studies were used as complementary approaches. Firstly, we implemented the device into a numerical model of a validated musculoskeletal software (Anybody Modeling System) and we calculated the lower disc pressure while traction forces were applied. Secondly, we performed an anatomical study using a non-formalin preserved cadaver placed in a sitting position. A pressure sensor was placed in the lower discs under fluoroscopic control through a Jamshidi needle. The intradiscal pressure was then measured continuously at rest while applying a traction force of 200 N. Both numerical and cadaveric studies demonstrated a decrease in intradiscal pressures after applying a traction force with the external device. Using the numerical model, we showed that tensile forces below 500 N in total were sufficient. The application of higher forces seems useless and potentially deleterious. External dynamic distraction device is able to significantly decrease the intradiscal pressure in a sitting or standing position. However, the therapeutic effects need to be proven using clinical studies.
Two-dimensional mid and near infrared correlation spectroscopy for bacterial identification
Authors: Krepelka Pavel , Bolívar Araceli , Pérez-Rodríguez Fernando
Published: November 2020

In recent years, near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has gained interest as a tool for bacteria strain identification. Although some promising results suggest good applicability of the technique, a better interpretation of the NIR bacterial spectra is still needed. In order to analyze the NIR spectrum of biological samples, a correlation analysis between the NIR and the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectra was performed. In total, 28 spectra of 8 bacterial strains were acquired and correlated in the NIR and the mid-IR spectral ranges. Some molecular bands (Amide I, P = O stretching, C-H stretching/deformation of polysaccharides) were well correlated, and the effect of concentration changes in these molecules were investigated. Moreover, a model for the NIR spectra classification was created with an overall 85% correct classification rate. Subsequently, only NIR wavelengths with high correlation to important mid-IR peaks were selected. This led to an increase in the correct classification rate to 94%. By correlation between well-established mid-IR peaks and NIR spectra, some relationships in the NIR spectra of biological samples were revealed, which was a step towards better understanding and interpretation of the NIR spectra of biological samples.
Optimum power of a nonlinear piezomagnetoelastic energy harvester with using multidisciplinary optimization algorithms
Authors: Tahmasbi Mohammad , Jamshiddoust Asghar , Farrokhabadi Amin
Published: November 2020

Energy-harvesting devices have been widely used to generate electrical power. Through the use of energy harvesting techniques, ambient vibration energy can be captured and converted into usable electricity in order to create self-powering systems. In the present study, to further improve the efficiency of energy-harvesting devices, a nonlinear piezomagnetoelastic energy harvester is proposed in two different configurations that is parallel and series. In order to optimize the generated electrical power, the physical parameters of the harvester are chosen as the design variables. Classical and Metaheuristic algorithms, namely, random search, genetic algorithm, and simulated annealing are applied to optimize the output power regarding the stress and displacement constraints and feasible variable bounds. Finally, the results of the applied algorithms are compared together. The results demonstrate that most of the implemented algorithms converge to the similar objective function value. The constrained random search methods with SQP and active set algorithms converge faster with small iterations. However, the genetic algorithm and simulated annealing algorithm are more capable to find the global optimum. The obtained results revealed that, before the optimization, the average extracted power in specified time was 3.121 W in parallel configuration and 3.156 W in serial configuration. By using the optimization approaches, the power converged to 4.273 W in parallel configuration and 4.296 W in serial configuration that means the power is increased by 36.9% and 36.1% approximately.
Preparation and polishing properties of water-based magnetorheological chemical finishing fluid with high catalytic activity for single-crystal SiC
Authors: Deng Jiayun , Lu Jiabin , Yan Qiusheng , Zhang Qixiang , Pan Jisheng
Published: November 2020

A water-based high catalytic activity magnetorheological chemical finishing fluid (HCAMRCFF) was prepared and modified to enhance the chemical action strength in magnetorheological chemical finishing (MRCF) for single-crystal SiC. The fluid consisted of ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) and chromium (Cr), deionized water (DW), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and oleic acid, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the composite catalyst particles, base carrier liquid, surfactants, and oxidant, respectively. HCAMRCFFs with different component concentrations were used to modify via evaluating their catalytic activity. Moreover, the MRCF experiments on SiC were conducted using the prepared HCAMRCFFs. The results show that the catalytic activity increases with an increase in the oxidant concentration. Furthermore, composite catalysts and composite surfactants can significantly improve their catalytic activity. The catalytic activity also increases with an increase in the concentration of composite catalysts. In the composite catalysts, increasing the Cr concentration can significantly enhance the catalytic performance. Composite surfactants can exert the relative superiority to enhance the catalytic activity. Compared with the unmodified finishing fluid, the catalytic activity of modified HCAMRCFF increases by 65.4%; the material removal rate (MRR) of SiC increases by 72.5% up to 635.621 nmh−1, and a surface with a roughness of 0.33 nm is obtained.
Exploring Absolute Happiness Through Experiential Education
Authors: Kuo Nai-Cheng , Kawaguchi Tomohiro , Yang Yu-Fen
Published: November 2020

Background: Happiness is an important but less-explored topic in higher education. This calls for examining courses in higher education on happiness and how college students perceive happiness through experiential learning activities. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the development of a happiness course in higher education and understand students’ perspectives toward their experiential learning activities. Methodology/Approach: The course materials (e.g., the syllabus), teaching logs, students’ reflective observations, and final projects were collected. Content analysis was adopted to analyze the course design. Findings/Conclusions: The concrete experiences in this happiness course involved field trips, hands-on activities, dialogue, inquiries, and shared reading. These activities were associated with good relationships, art, and the human spirit, a healthy life, peaceful coexistence with nature, as well as harsh realities and optimism. Evidence from reflective observations demonstrates students’ personal unique perspectives toward the experiential learning activities on absolute happiness. The final projects as active experimentation deepened students’ understanding of absolute happiness. Implications: Converging evidence across intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup domains, our study suggests the possibility of using Ikeda’s six life conditions for absolute happiness and Kolb’s experiential learning model to help college students develop knowledge and wisdom for creating absolute happiness.
Glucocorticoids in the Physiological and Transcriptional Regulation of 5-HT1A Receptor and the Pathogenesis of Depression
Authors: Haleem Darakhshan Jabeen
Published: November 2020

There is growing increase in the global prevalence of depression, but treatment outcome of this highly disabling disease is not satisfactory. Many patients are not benefitted by the currently prescribed antidepressants—together with this partial remission is very common. Improving treatment strategies and developing better therapeutic agents for treating depression is therefore highly needed. Stress-related epigenetic changes play a critical role in the pathogenesis as well as treatment of depression. Stressful events activate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to increase circulating levels of glucocorticoids (GCs), and a greater sensitivity to this fright and flight response increases risk of depression. A role of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) in responses to stress and in the pathogenesis and treatment of depression is well established. Substantial evidence supports a critical role of 5-HT1A receptors in these effects of 5-HT. The present article targets stress-induced higher and sustained increases of GCs and mediated influences on the physiological as well transcriptional regulation of 5-HT1A receptors to evaluate their causal role in the pathogenesis of depression. It is suggested that synthetic compounds with antagonist activity for GC receptors and agonist activity for 5-HT1A receptors may prove better therapeutic agents for treating depression.
What to Make of Gentrification in Older Industrial Cities? Comparing St. Louis (USA) and Dortmund (Germany)
Authors: Swanstrom Todd , Plöger Jörg
Published: November 2020

Few scholars have studied gentrification in older industrial cities across different national contexts. A review of the literature suggests that gentrification in older industrial cities will look different in systematic ways from gentrification in global, magnet cities that most research has focused on. The literature also suggests that the political and institutional differences in cities located in different national contexts can shape gentrification processes. Our research shows that Dortmund and St. Louis are both undergoing deep processes of economic restructuring with new knowledge workers moving in to neighborhoods adjacent to expanding tech clusters. The speed and magnitude of gentrification, however, is significantly less than reported in strong market cities. Unlike in hot market, global cities, many areas within Dortmund and St. Louis are experiencing little or no gentrification, and the neighborhoods that are experiencing gentrification-like processes vary significantly along important dimensions. Despite important differences in political institutions, the basic pattern of gentrification in St. Louis and Dortmund is similar. In these two older industrial cities, at least, gentrification is a complex and variegated phenomenon that requires more research to be fully understood.
Comparison of Dermoscopic Features Between Melanoacanthomas and Melanoacanthoma-Like Malignant Melanomas in Korean Patients
Authors: Roh Dongyoung , Ha Dae-Lyong , Kim Yeona , Shin Kihyuk , Kim Hoon-Soo , Ko Hyun-Chang , Kim Byung-Soo , Kim Moon-Bum
Published: November 2020

Background

A melanoacanthoma (MA) is a pigmented variant of seborrheic keratosis. Owing to the pigmentation, MAs may mimic the clinical appearance of malignant melanomas (MMs). However, the dermoscopic patterns of MAs and MA-like MMs have rarely been compared.

Objective

To elucidate the clinical and dermoscopic differences between MAs and MA-like MMs.

Methods

This study included 77 MA and 33 MA-like MM patients. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records, clinical findings, and dermoscopic findings of the two groups.

Results

Crypts and comedo-like openings (71.4%) in MAs and the blue-white veil (60.6%) in MMs were the most common dermoscopic findings. Crypts, comedo-like opening, milia-like cysts, fissures, and hairpin vessels appeared more frequently in MAs ( P < .05). However, atypical pigment networks, blue-white veils, pseudopods and streaks, and atypical vessels were more common in MMs ( P < .05). MAs often showed melanoma-specific dermoscopic findings, especially blue-white veils (22.1%). Furthermore, fissures (42.4%), crypts (21.2%), and comedo-like openings (15.2%) were observed in MMs, although they are typically benign patterns.

Conclusion

Differences in dermoscopic patterns might provide important clues for the differential diagnosis of MA-like lesions. However, MAs such as MMs and true-benign MAs may overlap clinically in appearance and on dermoscopy. Several benign patterns were frequently observed in MMs (fissures, globular pattern, crypts, comedo-like openings, cerebriform appearance, and milia-like cysts), and several malignant patterns were observed in MAs (blue-white veil, pseudopod, and atypical pigment network). Importantly, if any of the melanoma-associated features or atypical vessels are present, the lesion should be biopsied to establish a diagnosis.
Youth with multiple sclerosis have low levels of fitness
Authors: Stephens Samantha , Berenbaum Tara , Finlayson Marcia , Motl Robert W , Yeh E Ann
Published: November 2020

Background:

Moderate and vigorous physical activity is associated with improved outcomes in youth with multiple sclerosis (MS). Physical fitness may also influence disease and health outcomes in this population.

Objectives:

To determine if there were differences in physical fitness between youth with MS and healthy controls (HC). To examine relationships between physical fitness, physical activity (PA) level, fatigue, depression and disease activity in youth with MS and HC.

Methods:

Youth with MS ( n = 19) and HC ( n = 21) completed tests establishing cardiorespiratory-fitness (VO2peak), endurance via 2-minute walk test, and musculoskeletal strength via grip strength (GS). Questionnaires determined fatigue, depression, and PA levels. Weekly PA level was determined by accelerometry. Tests of differences and correlational analyses were used to evaluate physical fitness.

Results:

Youth with MS had lower VO2peak ( U = 279, p < 0.0001), endurance ( t = 2.6, p = 0.02), and higher body mass index (BMI) ( t = -5.9, p = 0.001) than HC. Higher VO2peak was associated with higher moderate to vigorous PAaccelerometer in HC (Spearman-Rho = 0.5, p = 0.03), but not in youth with MS (Spearman-Rho = 0.5, p = 0.06). Lower VO2peak and GS were associated with higher disability (Spearman-Rho = -0.6, p = 0.03) and relapses in MS (Spearman-Rho = -0.52, p = 0.04).

Conclusions:

Youth with MS have lower levels of fitness, compared with HC. Higher levels of fitness were associated with lower disease activity and disability in youth with MS.
Cruising in-between immunity and community: A virtual ethnography of cruising in Istanbul
Authors: Atuk Tankut
Published: November 2020

This article revisits the concept of (virtual) cruising with the purpose of uncovering an often-disregarded fact in queer theory: that cruising is equally about rejecting as it is about welcoming others/otherness. With the help of two critical conceptual tools, community and immunity, that I borrow from Italian philosopher Roberto Esposito, this paper discusses how a particular Geosocial Networking Application, Hornet, both enables and undermines the emergence of a virtual community in Istanbul, Turkey. While defying heteronormativity, Hornet reproduces violence in the shape of homonormativity, endangering what it claims to offer originally: community. By addressing cruising in relation not only to community but also immunity, this article makes an intervention in queer theory’s tendency to reduce cruising to a universal welcoming of otherness. This paper aims to revisit both the communitarian potentials and immunitarian risks of cruising in the light of a rather politicized analysis grounded in the everyday experiences of ordinary people.