bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conclusion
Authors: Kramer Paul Gordon
Published: September 2022

In the conclusion, I depend upon ethnographic/anecdotal research from my fieldwork to inject complications into the overall project. I attempt to utilize my personal experiences to emphasize the messiness of queer and trans identity and its resistance to capture.
Maternal Worker Power
Authors: Perrier Maud
Published: September 2022

This chapter modifies Jane McAlevey's definition of ‘whole worker power’ and adds nuance to claims that social relations in the workplace and the community can act as a strategic wedge against the privatization of childcare. The chapter lays out how maternal worker power challenges the ways in which the sociology of mothering continues to separate mothers from waged caregivers. The chapter also details how Susan Ferguson's theorization of social reproduction struggles on dual terrains can best inform this project so that it does not put either waged or unwaged workers above the other. It develops a typology of maternal worker power as praxis, solidarity and threat and shows how it can inform a new sociological research agenda. Ultimately, the chapter presents a set of criteria for evaluating when childcare social movements can work as a threat by foregrounding how they prioritize claims on state resources, organize on dual terrains and hold states accountable for harm done through depletion.
Pandemic Postscript
Authors: Perrier Maud
Published: September 2022

This chapter offers an alternative framework for analysing childcare movements in the Global North that connects low-income mothers' struggles for resources for nurturing their families and childcare workers' struggles for better wages under the framework of dual-terrain organizing. The chapter stresses that connecting these struggles can both hold states accountable for depletion following the withdrawal of infrastructure and capture work-based women's movements to secure recognition and compensation from the state. The chapter also shows the need to resolutely multiply who counts as a maternal worker, contest the stratified organization of this labour and deepen social relations that can at least temporarily address the separation between waged and unwaged mothering. The chapter argues for producing sociological knowledges that explicitly counters the idealization of middle-class privatized mothering and the invisibilization of waged childcare workers. It concludes by revealing that one way to start this process is to map these workers' praxis.
The New Constructivism
Authors: McCourt David M.
Published: September 2022

Chapter 2 analyses the main approaches of The New Constructivism: practice theory, relationalism, network analysis, and actor network theory. I first offer an overview of each perspective, and then describe how together they overcome the dichotomies described related to Constructivism I discuss in the previous chapter, together forming a broad “practice-relational” theoretical basis for the New Constructivism in IR. While practice theory is often thought limited to the work of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, I explore the full array of pragmatic and critical practice theories available to IR scholars. Similarly, I describe a broad account of relational and processual sociology, network analysis and actor network theory. I describe how, by deploying distinct concepts, a practice-relational approach moves beyond problematic binaries like material vs. ideational explanations, structure vs. agency, and subjective vs. object accounts of social action. From a practice-relational perspective, political agents are always situated in social contexts imbued with power and knowledge. I show how a practice-relational view proves that approaches that downplay meaning are as misplaced as those that rely solely on objective power differentials to explain political life.
New Constructivist Methodology and Methods
Authors: McCourt David M.
Published: September 2022

Chapter Five debunks two popular myths about constructivism’s methodological implications: first, that Constructivism is an interpretive approach focused on the reconstruction of subjective meanings; and second, that analysis of texts—speeches, strategy documents, newspaper articles, and memoirs, etc.—is therefore the only way of “doing” Constructivism. Counter to this common wisdom, I make the case that, instead, constructivism should be seen as the inheritor of what sociologist C. Wright Mills called “Classic Social Analysis:” Situating the New Constructivism within classic social analysis has two key methodological implications. First, constructivists are much freer in terms of the methods they can use to substantiate their claims than is captured by the focus on interpreting texts. I illustrate using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), an approach that could be misconstrued as “quantitative” and beyond the constructivist pale. Second, the New Constructivism remains within the pursuit of objective knowledge, despite the emphasis placed on inter-subjectivity. From this perspective, Constructivism, Old and New, sits uneasily alongside the main IR theories, such as realism and liberalism, as it has broader concerns than the actions of states in international politics: not only are the social construction of national interests at issue, but the origins of state itself, for instance.
The New Constructivism as a Phronetic Social Science
Authors: McCourt David M.
Published: September 2022

Chapter Seven further explores the New Constructivism’s pluralist ethical commitments via an engagement with history, historical modes of knowing, and the question what is history in IR? Rather than diagnose specific solutions to be applied, like theoretical knowledge is supposed to do in common understandings, I argue that constructivist theory offers a phronetic understanding of knowledge as fostering “prudence” and prudential political action. While powerful, such a position does not solve the problem of the relation between theory and practice in IR, but gives name to a type of knowledge the New Constructivism promises—knowledge sensitive to practice, context, history, and the world of artifice, a form worth defending from both problem-solving and critical theorizing.
The EU’s and China’s Foreign and Security Policy Principles
Authors: Gurol Julia
Published: September 2022

This chapter introduces the contradicting principles of foreign and security policy that the EU and China adhere to. It argues that these principles derive from different underlying identities as the EU and China are undoubtedly very different actors on the international stage concerning their founding ideals, their normative moralities and aspirations and the roots of their foreign and security principles. The chapter introduces these identities and sums up the main contradictions in the EU’s and China’s foreign and security policy along three cleavages: the primacy of sovereignty versus integration; ‘principled’ versus ‘Chinese’ multilateralism and the good governance versus Chinese nationalism.
EU–China Relations on Maritime Security and Anti-Piracy
Authors: Gurol Julia
Published: September 2022

This chapter scrutinises EU-China relations in the realm of maritime security/anti-piracy. Taking into account complex interdependence, (economic) interests, framing and mutual perceptions, it discusses the particular dynamics that lead to cooperation on these issues. Thereby it focuses on the Gulf of Aden, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf as most crucial sea lines of communication for the EU and China. The chapter shows that a strong economy-security nexus is at play that fosters EU-China cooperation in the context of the EU’s ATALANTA mission. It also discusses future pathways of development against the backdrop of the increasing Chinese maritime presence in the broader Indian Ocean.
The Home Office Laboratory
Authors: Maxwell Jack , Tomlinson Joe
Published: September 2022

The chapter outlines how the book will explore Home Office’s experimentation with automated systems, with significant consequences for individuals and their families, as well as wider society and the economy.
Party Views on Democratic Backsliding and Differentiated Integration
Authors: Bellamy Richard , Kröger Sandra , Lorimer Marta
Published: September 2022

This chapter focuses on how political party actors conceive of the EU and differentiated integration's (DI) role in matters of democratic backsliding, and what factors motivate their views. It complements interview materials with a survey of 42 party actors to analyse whether they perceive democratic backsliding to be a problematic issue. It confirms if party actors consider DI responsible for it and determines how they think the EU should respond to democratic backsliding. The chapter starts by identifying the party political factors that have stood in the way of EU intervention and discusses how they may shape political party actors' views concerning the relation between the EU, DI, and democratic backsliding. Following recent developments in Hungary and Poland, democratic backsliding has emerged as a key concern in European politics.
Conclusion
Authors: Bellamy Richard , Kröger Sandra , Lorimer Marta
Published: September 2022

This chapter argues that differentiated integration (DI) provides a mechanism for combining the demands for European integration with the recognition of national diversity. It contends that differentiated integration must be understood not simply as strategically beneficial or expedient but also as ethically desirable and constrained. Differentiated integration would prove objectionable and divisive, liable to undermine rather than to facilitate European integration, if it served simply to allow states to cherry pick those policies they considered to be in their national interest narrowly conceived. The chapter identifies the conditions under which DI is necessary for and supports a just and democratically legitimate scheme of cooperation and is recognized as such by political party actors. It points out that DI must fulfil certain normative criteria to support a fair scheme of cooperation between EU member states.
From Geopolitics to Geo-Economics? 1
Authors: Cox Michael
Published: September 2022

Clinton has been much criticized for having no grand strategy. This chapter refutes this argument and explains in detail what lay at the heart the “Clinton Doctrine”: namely a ruthless determination to ensure that America remained number one in a fast-globalizing economy. The first part outlines Clinton’s well-developed political economy. The chapter then goes on to examine some of the key people who helped set Clinton’s economic agenda. This is followed by a consideration of some of the many practical implications of his approach. Finally, we look at some of the problems involved with implementing his ‘win the economic race’ strategy.
The Wilsonian Moment? Promoting Democracy 1
Authors: Cox Michael
Published: September 2022

This chapter explores the many facets of democracy promotion as one part of Clinton’s grand strategy. It examines why his administration opted for the defined policy of ‘democratic enlargement’. It also asks whether the Clinton administration was ever as idealistically committed to the promotion of democracy as its supporters and critics believed? What was the relationship between democracy promotion and Clinton’s stated goal of pursuing America’s economic goals? And what was, or is, ‘Wilsonianism’, and was Clinton a new Woodrow Wilson?
Empire, Imperialism and the Bush Doctrine 1
Authors: Cox Michael
Published: September 2022

The debate about whether or not the United States is or is not empire has gone on for several years. Denied by most mainstream writers but regarded as the only way of defining America’s position in the world by the left, during the 1990s and into the Bush years the idea of empire became increasingly popular amongst a range of writers, many on the ideological right. What was the significance of the debate and how did it help define Bush’s foreign policy?
Stresses across the Atlantic 1
Authors: Cox Michael
Published: September 2022

The transatlantic relationship faced many challenges during the Cold War. With the passing of the Cold War these became more difficult to manage. Two are discussed here: the clash across the Atlantic precipitated by Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq in 2002–3, and Obama’s ‘tilt to Asia’ which left Europeans wondering where they fitted into America’s world view.
War/No War
Authors: Fierke K.M.
Published: September 2022

This chapter moves to an exploration of Sun Tzu's Art of War and yinyang strategy. It follows the significance of yinyang and the non-presence/presence relationship for strategic engagement in a context of war, as well as Sun Tzu's objective to win without actually fighting a war. The actionless action (wuwei) is brought to a question of yinyang strategy and its implications for navigating a relationship of negative difference, that is, war. The chapter first surveys the significance of Sun Tzu's framing of an ‘art’ of war, and reveals the strategic implications of following patterns within nature. It then explicates the strategic dynamics of the Art of War as a backdrop for analyzing a contemporary context, that is, the war against COVID-19. The chapter argues that the contours of this war provide insight into the importance of nature and the environment in Sun Tzu's strategy, as well as further perspective on the relationship between the present and non-present. It assesses how to effortlessly navigate the long-term strategic potentials that emerge from a context of global pandemic.
The Demands of Realism
Authors: Foster John
Published: September 2022

In politics we are very liable to ideologically-driven self-deception and wishful thinking – with green politics no exception. If to guard against this tendency we cultivate a realism of disillusion, we must conclude it to be overwhelmingly likely that we are out of time to avoid climate catastrophe; change of the order required is utterly unprecedented, and the utterly unprecedented is the empirically unrealistic. But life insists within us on our going on hoping for an indefinitely habitable human future. The demand for sustainability has nothing essentially to do with justice but arises out of the inherent intergenerationality of the human form of life. So if such hope cannot be abandoned, must be realistic and yet cannot now be entertained on empirically realistic grounds, we must appeal to a different way of understanding realism.
Transformation?
Authors: Foster John
Published: September 2022

We must take seriously the idea of transformation. Transformative change happens against the odds by definition, because the odds only predict by projecting forward the form that relevant events have taken in the past. Writers about our climate plight aware of the odds now stacked against us have invested hope in transformations which the active power of hoping itself may help to bring about. But this cannot then be grounded on any appeal to precedent. Analogies from past successes against the odds fail precisely because of what made the prospect of our overcoming these odds empirically implausible in the first place. Hope for transformation must accept an explicitly counter-empirical basis: in human affairs observed regularities, even those underpinned by ‘laws of nature’, don’t always lay down rules for the future, and the fundamental power of human agency is to create genuinely new possibility.
Creating Possibility
Authors: Foster John
Published: September 2022

‘Hoping against hope’ involves accepting our first-order hopes as empirically unrealistic, but then weaponising this acceptance to reduce the odds against us. But this process is misrepresented as one of triggering possibilities previously inherent in the given situation. These can’t be already ‘on the cards’ when our conscious attention and reaction to the cards has itself to be included amongst them. Our climate plight thus prompts a new pragmatic resolution of the ancient conundrum of free will. There remains a huge disparity between individual behaviour and ecological effect (giving rise to the collective action dilemma) and its disincentive force has always inhibited serious remedial action on climate dangers. But if (in Greta Thunberg’s slogan) “no one is too small to make a difference”, this must involve recasting our embedded assumptions about our role as rational agents and our life-responsibility to create new possibilities .
Climate Crisis as Tragedy
Authors: Foster John
Published: September 2022

Anthropogenic global warming has been presented within the policy domain as a problem, and recently, as a wicked or super-wicked problem. This owes more to the imposition of a favoured intellectual paradigm than to policy-analytical rigour. It expresses the fundamental Enlightenment-utilitarian spirit of the age, and explains our failure to see the glaring inadequacies of the sustainability model. A serious appreciation of the climate emergency, however, would challenge the assumptions of this paradigm that we are in some kind of control, that conflicting values can somehow always be reconciled, and that the trajectory of ‘progressive’ human betterment can be more or less maintained. It would recover instead a genuinely tragic vision of human life, enabling us to approach the practical challenges of the climate emergency in a suitably hard-headed way, looking for the path of ‘rough coping’ and accepting the associated costs rather than pursuing imaginary ‘solutions’.
The New Revolutionary Dynamic
Authors: Foster John
Published: September 2022

Moral outrage cannot substitute for the immiseration needed to drive revolution at whatever tragic cost, for it not only does not block life in the requisite way, but can even subtly enhance it. Nor, however, can the dynamic of immiseration now be the inexorably forcing of a proletariat below subsistence-level, because the main driver of climate emergency is gross material superabundance. The misery which must trigger the new kind of revolution we need must be existential. The motivation to transformative action must be the dark face of what has earlier been identified as life-responsibility – directly experienced as the starvation of life-meaning which goes inescapably with conscious complicity in a biocidal system. Correspondingly, because the prerequisites of life-responsibility are intelligence, imagination, reflectiveness, honesty and courage, only a small minority can be expected to establish themselves as centres of such responsibility under present conditions.
The Vanguard of Hope
Authors: Foster John
Published: September 2022

That minority must come to power within twenty years to avert climate catastrophe. Suitably co-ordinated, it just might still do so – provided that it starts to take its vanguard historical role with tragic seriousness. People uniting the relevant qualities will tend to have their hands near the levers of legitimacy and efficiency of the fossil-fuel state. Objections to their seizing the associated opportunities are misconceived and misplaced. Liberal democracy is ill-adapted to addressing climate crisis, is long out of time for doing so and is in any case thoroughly broken. A three-pronged programme for empowering the vanguard is sketched, including actively destabilising and sabotaging the existing state, simultaneously building up a shadow eco-state from a locality basis, and relentlessly exploiting the propaganda value of new climate-driven disasters, including future pandemics. Green parties which have abandoned their current well-meaning displacement activity have a key role here.
Robbery in the Illegal Drugs Trade
Authors: McLean Robert , Densley James A.
Published: September 2022

Robbery can be planned or spontaneous and is a typically short, chaotic crime that is comparatively under-researched. This book transports the reader to the streets of Scotland and focuses on the real-life narratives and motivations of the youth gang members and adult organized criminals immersed in this form of violence. Uniquely focusing on robberies involving drug dealers and users, the book considers the material and emotional gains and losses to offenders and victims, and offers policy recommendations to reduce occurrences of this common crime. The book begins with an introduction to the lived experience of robbery from the perspective of victims and offenders. It covers the risks and rewards of a crime that can be planned or spontaneous. It also highlights the causes and consequences of robberies, the adrenaline rush of the act, the at times precarious and explosive nature of the crime. The book examines the evolution of robbery, namely how globalized changes have widened and somewhat diluted the crime. It explains why offenders choose robbery in general over other crimes, and it looks at the motivations of robbery in illicit drugs markets. The book moves on to examine life after robbery and the process of desistance from robbery and concludes with a summary of the findings on robbery in Scotland that situates them within the wider theory and research on robbery.
The Will to Rob
Authors: McLean Robert , Densley James A.
Published: September 2022

This chapter talks about what motivates robbery in illicit drugs markets, covering issues on monetary rewards, drug use and addiction as stimulants for robbery, drug debts and debt-bondage, and personal, emotional drivers. It draws upon the voices of participants to explore some of the reasons why robbery occurs within Scotland's illicit drugs trade. Some motivations are somewhat obvious given the victim–offender overlap and relationship to the law, the potential profits involved, the accessibility of targets, and so on. The chapter points out money as the main reason why the interviewees started robbing. Compared to high-end market-based crimes like drugs-, firearms-, and sex-trafficking, robbery provides instant gratification.
Conclusion
Authors: McLean Robert , Densley James A.
Published: September 2022

This chapter summarizes the findings on robbery in Scotland and situates them within the wider theory and research on robbery. It shares insights from over a decade of empirical research in Glasgow and West Scotland, areas with a long history of gang- and drug-related crime and violence. Through qualitative interviews with (ex-) offenders and practitioners, the chapter explores the nature of robbery within the context of the illicit drugs trade, specifically. It reviews the way in which robbery has evolved and how offenders move through their criminal careers. It also discusses the use of opportunistic violent robbery as a means of acquiring symbolic capital before graduating to more serious and organized robbery ventures.
It's Never Too Late: Debunking Myths About Communication and Adults With Severe Disabilities
Authors: Sevcik Rose A. , Barton-Hulsey Andrea , Bruce Susan , Goldman Amy , Ogletree Bill T. , Paul Diane , Romski MaryAnn
Published: September 2022

Communication infuses all dimensions and stages of life, influencing one's self-determination and quality of life. A number of empirical studies have demonstrated that people with severe disabilities continue to develop communication and language skills well into their adult years and make measurable gains when provided with appropriate communication services and supports. Several myths about age, ability, and experiences limit opportunities for persons with severe disabilities. In this paper, we confront and address these myths.
Generation of terahertz waves based on nonlinear frequency conversion with stimulated Raman adiabatic passage
Authors: Jia Haitao , Zhang Zhonghao , Long Jing , Li Zemin , Jin Yintong , Chen Changshui
Published: September 2022

In recent years, high-power, tunable terahertz (THZ) radiation sources have become the key areas of research in the world. The method of THZ waves by nonlinear optical difference frequency generation (DFG) has the advantages of wide tuning, high power, room temperature operation, and compact structure. However, the conversion efficiency of the current difference frequency method is low, which needs a trade-off between conversion efficiency and tuning range. We apply the nonlinear optical cascade difference frequency conversion theory based on stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) and propose a theoretical scheme to generate THZ waves. Numerical simulation investigates the cascaded difference frequency process of generating THZ waves with the help of the nonlinear medium lithium niobate (LN) crystal. The theoretical analysis shows that the maximum quantum conversion efficiency from signal laser to THZ waves is 43.2 % when the wavelength of the tuned signal laser varies between 1.044 − 1.065 µm with the fixed two pump laser wavelengths constant. The tunable THZ waves of 0.48 − 5.0 THz can be obtained and the maximum output intensity of THZ waves is 2.17 MW/cm2, and the method is robust to temperature variations. It also provides a novel idea for the cascaded difference frequency generation of THZ waves.
Evaluation of gamut enhancement in yellow regions and a choice of optimal wavelength for a RGBY four-primary laser display system
Authors: Zhu Liquan , Yao Binghui , Deng Linxiao , Yang Yuhua , Wang Guan , Gu Chun , Xu Lixin
Published: September 2022

To improve the color rendering ability in yellow color regions, the inclusion of yellow among the primary colors is commonly proposed. In this study, an algorithm for evaluating gamut enhancement in yellow regions is developed. The performance of different wavelength sets of RGBY four-primary system is studied theoretically in terms of various aspects, including the color gamut volume, gamut coverages, and gamut enhancement ratio in yellow regions. The optimal wavelength set and its optimal luminance ratio are then determined. This research provides strong guidance for the construction of practical four-primary-laser display systems.
Plasmonic nanolaser based on a single oligomer
Authors: Litvin Igor A , Reich Stephanie
Published: September 2022

We investigate the effect of manipulating the laser quality factor and the spectral properties of the gain medium on an oligomer-based plasmonic nanolaser. We develop different designs of the oligomer resonators, decreasing the lasing threshold and increasing the mode lifetime to improve the lasing efficiency. Based on the designs we are able to decrease the lasing threshold by a factor of ten. We discuss and show numerically the influence of the oligomer geometry, the lasing mode oscillation lifetime, and the photoluminescence peak linewidth of the gain medium on the lasing efficiency of the oligomer based plasmonic nanolaser.
Deep neural networks for simultaneous BTEX sensing at high temperatures
Authors: Mhanna Mhanna , Sy Mohamed , Elkhazraji Ali , Farooq Aamir
Published: September 2022

In the study of chemical reactions, it is desirable to have a diagnostic strategy that can detect multiple species simultaneously with high sensitivity, selectivity, and fast time response. Laser-based selective detection of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) has been challenging due to the similarly broad absorbance spectra of these species. Here, a mid-infrared laser sensor is presented for selective and simultaneous BTEX detection in high-temperature shock tube experiments using deep neural networks (DNN). A shock tube was coupled with a non-intrusive mid-infrared laser source, scanned over 3038.6–3039.8 cm-1, and an off-axis cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy (OA-CEAS) setup of ∼ 100 gain to enable trace detection. Absorption cross-sections of BTEX species were measured at temperatures of 1000–1250 K and pressures near 1 atm. A DNN model with five hidden layers of 256, 128, 64, 32, and 16 nodes was implemented to split the composite measured spectra into the contributing spectra of each species. Several BTEX mixtures with varying mole fractions (0–600 ppm) of each species were prepared manometrically and shock-heated to 1000–1250 K and 1 atm, and the composite measured absorbance were split into contributions from each BTEX species using the developed DNN model, and thus make selective determinations of BTEX species. Predicted and manometric mole fractions were in good agreement with an absolute relative error of ∼ 11%. We obtained a minimum detection limit of 0.73–1.38 ppm of the target species at 1180 K. To the best of our knowledge, this work reports the first successful implementation of multispecies detection with a single narrow wavelength-tuning laser in a shock tube with laser absorption spectroscopy.
Impulse dispersion of aerosols during playing the recorder and evaluation of safety measures
Authors: Köberlein Marie , Hermann Laila , Gantner Sophia , Tur Bogac , Peters Gregor , Westphalen Caroline , Benthaus Tobias , Döllinger Michael , Kniesburges Stefan , Echternach Matthias
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Group musical activities using wind instruments have been restricted during the CoVID19 pandemic due to suspected higher risk of virus transmission. It was presumed that the aerosols exhaled through the tubes while playing would be ejected over larger distances and spread into the room due to jet stream effects. In particular, the soprano recorder is widely used as an instrument in school classes, for beginners of all age groups in their musical education, in the context of leisure activities and in professional concert performances. Understanding the aerosol impulse dispersion characteristics of playing the soprano recorder could assist with the establishment of concepts for safe music-making.

Methods

Five adult professionally trained soprano recorder players (4 female, 1 male) played four bars of the main theme of L. van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in low and in high octaves, as well as with 3 different potential protection devices in the high octave. For comparison they spoke the corresponding text by F. Schiller. Before each task, they inhaled .5 L of vapor from an e-cigarette filled with base liquid. The vapor cloud escaping during speaking or playing was recorded by cameras and its spread was measured as a function of time in the three spatial dimensions. The potential safety devices were rated for practicability with a questionnaire, and their influence on the sound was compared, generating a long-term average spectrum from the audio data.

Results

When playing in the high octave, at the end of the task the clouds showed a median distance of 1.06 m to the front and .57 m diameter laterally (maxima: x: 1.35 m and y: .97 m). It was found that the clouds’ expansion values in playing the recorder with and without safety measures are mostly lower when compared to the ordinary, raised speaking voice of the same subjects. The safety devices which covered the instrument did not show clear advantages and were rated as unpractical by the subjects. The most effective reduction of the cloud was reached when playing into a suction funnel.

Conclusion

The aerosol dispersion characteristics of soprano recorders seem comparable to clarinets. The tested safety devices which covered holes of the instrument did not show clear benefits.
An analysis of machine learning risk factors and risk parity portfolio optimization
Authors: Wu Liyun , Ahmad Muneeb , Qureshi Salman Ali , Raza Kashif , Khan Yousaf Ali
Published: September 2022

Many academics and experts focus on portfolio optimization and risk budgeting as a topic of study. Streamlining a portfolio using machine learning methods and elements is examined, as well as a strategy for portfolio expansion that relies on the decay of a portfolio’s risk into risk factor commitments. There is a more vulnerable relationship between commonly used trademarked portfolios and neural organizations based on variables than famous dimensionality decrease strategies, as we have found. Machine learning methods also generate covariance and portfolio weight structures that are more difficult to assess. The least change portfolios outperform simpler benchmarks in minimizing risk. During periods of high instability, risk-adjusted returns are present, and these effects are amplified for investors with greater sensitivity to chance changes in returns R.
Three dimensional analysis of hip joint reaction force using Q Hip Force (AQHF) software: Implication as a diagnostic tool
Authors: Abd El-Tawab Amany Eid , Farhana Aisha
Published: September 2022

Assessment of hip joint reaction force (JRF) is one of the analytical methods that can enable an understanding of the healthy walking index and the propensity towards disease. In this study, we have designed software, Analysis Q Hip Force (AQHF), to analyze the data retrieved from the mathematical equations for calculating the JRF and ground reaction force (GRF) that act on the hip joint during the early part of the stance phase. The stance phase is considered the least stable sub-phase during walking on level ground, and the gait stability is sequentially minimized during walking on elevated ramps. We have calculated the JRF and GRF values of walking stances on varied inclinations. The data obtained from these calculations during walking on elevated ramps were exported from mathematical equations to Q Hip Force software as two separate values, namely the JRF data and GRF data of the hip joint. The Q Hip Force software stores the two reaction force data in a text file, which allows the import and easy readability of the analyzed data with the AQHF application. The input and output data from the AQHF software were used to investigate the effect of different walking ramps on the magnitude of the hip JRF and GRF. The result of this study demonstrates a significant correlation between the JRF/GRF values and healthy walking indices till a ramp elevation of 70°. The software is designed to calculate and extrapolate data to analyze the possibility of stress in the hip joint. The framework developed in this study shows promise for preclinical and clinical applications. Studies are underway to use the results of JRF and GRF values as a diagnostic and prognostic tools in different diseases.
Association between predialysis creatinine and mortality in acute kidney injury patients requiring dialysis
Authors: Chang Hsin-Hsiung , Wu Chia-Lin , Tsai Chun-Chieh , Chiu Ping-Fang
Published: September 2022

Background

Creatinine is widely used to estimate renal function, but this is not practical in critical illness. Low creatinine has been associated with mortality in many clinical settings. However, the associations between predialysis creatinine level, Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, fluid overload, and mortality in acute kidney injury patients receiving dialysis therapy (AKI-D) has not been fully addressed.

Methods

We extracted data for AKI-D patients in the eICU and MIMIC databases. We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study using the eICU dataset. The study cohort was divided into the high-creatine group and the low-creatinine group by the median value (4 mg/dL). The baseline patient information included demographic data, laboratory tests, medications, and comorbid conditions. The independent association of creatinine level with 30-day mortality was examined using multivariate logistic regression analysis. In sensitivity analyses, the associations between creatinine, SOFA score, and mortality were analyzed in patients with or without fluid overload. We also carried out an external validity using the MIMIC dataset.

Results

In all 1,600 eICU participants, the 30-day mortality rate was 34.2%. The crude overall mortality rate in the low-creatinine group (44.9%) was significantly higher than that in the high-creatinine group (21.9%; P < 0.001). In the fully adjusted models, the low-creatinine group was associated with a higher risk of 30-day mortality (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.29–2.42; P < 0.001) compared with the high-creatinine group. The low-creatinine group had higher SOFA and nonrenal SOFA scores. In sensitivity analyses, the low-creatinine group had a higher 30-day mortality rate with regard to the BMI or albumin level. Fluid overloaded patients were associated with a significantly worse survival in the low-creatinine group. The results were consistent when assessing the external validity using the MIMIC dataset.

Conclusions

In patients with AKI-D, lower predialysis creatinine was associated with increased mortality risk. Moreover, the mortality rate was substantially higher in patients with lower predialysis creatinine with concomitant elevation of fluid overload status.
New methodology of TMB assessment from tissue and liquid biopsy in NSCLC
Authors: Křížová Ľudmila , Šafaříková Markéta , Kalousová Marta , Pfeiferová Lucie , Kuběna Aleš Antonín , Vočka Michal , Ulrych Jan , Franková Věra , Petruželka Luboš , Zima Tomáš , Feltl David
Published: September 2022

Immunotherapy has dramatically influenced and changed therapeutical approach in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in recent five years. Even though we can reach long-term response to this treatment in approximately 20% of patients with NSCLC, we are still not able to identify this cohort of patients based on predictive biomarkers. In our study we have focused on tumor mutation burden (TMB), one of the potential biomarkers which could predict effectiveness of check-point inhibitors, but has several limitations, especially in multiple approaches to TMB quantification and ununiform threshold. We determined the value of TMB in tumor tissue (tTMB) and blood (bTMB) in 20 patients with early stage NSCLC using original custom gene panel LMB_TMB1. We evaluated various possibilities of TMB calculation and concluded that TMB should be counted from both somatic non-synonymous and synonymous mutations. Considering various factors, we established cut-offs of tTMB in/excluding HLA genes as ≥22 mut/Mb and 12 mut/Mb respectively, and cut-offs of bTMB were defined as ≥21 mut/Mb and ≥5 mut/Mb, respectively. We also observed trend in correlation of somatic mutations in HLA genes with overall survival of patients.
Quality of life after resection of a meningioma—A cross-cultural comparison of Indian and Australian patients
Authors: Schadewaldt Verena , Cherkil Sandhya , Panikar Dilip , Drummond Katharine J.
Published: September 2022

Purpose

To compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptom burden following meningioma resection in patients from two samples from Australia and India. This will add to the body of data on the longer-term consequences of living with a meningioma in two socio-economically and culturally different countries.

Methods

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), Brain Neoplasm Module (QLQ-BN20) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were administered to 159 Australian and 92 Indian meningioma patients over 24 months postoperative. A linear mixed model analysis identified differences between groups over time.

Results

Australian patients reported better physical functioning in the early months after surgery (T1: mean diff: 19.8, p<0.001; T2: mean diff: 12.5, p = 0.016) whereas Indian patients reported better global HRQoL (mean: -20.3, p<0.001) and emotional functioning (mean diff:-15.6, p = 0.020) at 12–24 months. In general, Australian patients reported more sleep and fatigue symptoms while Indian patients reported more gastro-intestinal symptoms over the 2-year follow-up. Future uncertainty and symptoms common for brain tumour patients were consistently more commonly reported by patients in Australia than in India. No differences for depression and anxiety were identified.

Conclusion

This is the first cross cultural study to directly compare postoperative HRQoL in meningioma patients. Some differences in HRQoL domains and symptom burden may be explained by culturally intrinsic reporting of symptoms, as well as higher care support from family members in India. Although there were differences in some HRQoL domains, clinically meaningful differences between the two samples were less common than perhaps expected. This may be due to an Indian sample with high literacy and financial resources to afford surgery and follow up care.
Binding of adenovirus species C hexon to prothrombin and the influence of hexon on vector properties in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Tian Jie , Xu Zhili , Moitra Rituparna , Palmer Donna J. , Ng Philip , Byrnes Andrew P.
Published: September 2022

The majority of adenovirus (Ad) vectors are based on human Ad type 5, which is a member of Ad species C. Species C also includes the closely-related types 1, 2, 6, 57 and 89. It is known that coagulation factors bind to Ad5 hexon and play a key role in the liver tropism of Ad5 vectors, but it is unclear how coagulation factors affect vectors derived from other species C Ads. We evaluated species C Ad vectors both in vitro and following intravenous injection in mice. To assess the impact of hexon differences, we constructed chimeric Ad5 vectors that contain the hexon hypervariable regions from other species C types, including vectors with hexon mutations that decreased coagulation factor binding. After intravenous injection into mice, vectors with Ad5 or Ad6 hexon had strong liver tropism, while vectors with chimeric hexon from other Ad types had weaker liver tropism due to inhibition by natural antibodies and complement. In addition, we discovered a novel ability of hexon to bind prothrombin, which is the most abundant coagulation factor in blood, and we found striking differences in the affinity of Ads for human, mouse and bovine coagulation factors. When compared to Ad5, vectors with non-Ad5 species C hexons had considerably higher affinity for both human and mouse prothrombin. Most of the vectors tested were strongly dependent on coagulation factors for liver transduction, but vectors with chimeric Ad6 hexon showed much less dependence on coagulation factors than other vectors. We found that in vitro neutralization experiments with mouse serum predicted in vivo behavior of Ad5 vectors, but in vitro experiments did not predict the in vivo behavior of vectors based on other Ad types. In sum, hexons from different human Ad species C viruses confer diverse properties on vectors, including differing abilities to target the liver.
Can Gamification Help in Increasing Motivation, Engagement, and Satisfaction? A gamified experience in teaching CS to students from other disciplines
Authors: García-Iruela Miguel , Hijón-Neira Raquel , Connolly Cornelia
Published: September 2022

The digital revolution is causing the new generations to demand new ways of learning. Motivating students is one crucial element of the learning-teaching process to achieve students’ learning, which is the main objective of education. Using typical gaming elements in non-game environments, gamification transforms the learning process into a more motivating and enjoyable experience. Therefore, gamification offers adequate solutions for the educational needs of the new generation of students. Although most studies have found benefits from gamification, the results have not been encouraging in some cases. Several review studies suggest that more empirical studies are needed to investigate the motivating effects of using gamification in different educational settings and for specific student types. This study wants to answer whether using the proposed gamification design affects motivation, engagement, and satisfaction in teaching computer science to university students from other disciplinary areas such as journalism and audiovisual communication. The experiment consists of a gamified experience in a virtual classroom in Moodle for four weeks on general computer science content. A control group and a test group were used. The difference between the two was the use of gamified elements (points, badges, levels, task unlocking...). From the data obtained in this study, no significant differences were found in motivation and satisfaction between the different groups or the different methodologies. Our results demonstrate a specific positive correlation between engagement, motivation, and satisfaction. It is worth noting the positive values obtained in this type of course among all the students who were part of this experience and methodology.
Effects of probiotic (Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus subtilis) supplementation on mortality, growth performance, and carcass characteristics of native Vietnamese broilers challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium
Authors: Nam Tran Van Be , Anh Luu Huynh , Loc Huynh Tan , Trang Chau Thi Huyen , Thiet Nguyen , Lan Ly Thi Thu , Diep Tran Hoang , Xuan Nguyen Hong , Ngu Nguyen Trong
Published: September 2022

Background and Aim: Probiotic species have been proven to be beneficial on broiler performance; however, most studies have focused on industrial chickens with fast growth, whereas little information concerning the use of these species on native chickens is available. This study aimed to investigate the effects of probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) and Bacillus subtilis (BS) on the mortality, growth rate, and carcass characteristics in native Noi chickens challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium.

Materials and Methods: We divided 420 1-day-old Noi chicks into seven different treatment groups (n = 60): negative control (no S. Typhimurium, no probiotics or antibiotics); positive control (PC, S. Typhimurium infection, no probiotics or antibiotics); and S. Typhimurium infection and supplementation with LP, BS, LP + BS, enrofloxacin, and commercial probiotics, respectively. Treatment was for 96 days, and the chicks were orally challenged with S. Typhimurium at 22 days old.

Results: No deaths occurred during the 4 weeks post-infection in the negative control, LP, or LP+BS groups. The PC group had the highest mortality rate (20%). Re-isolation of S. Typhimurium from the liver, spleen, and heart showed reduced bacterial counts at 1 week post-infection in the LP, BS, and LP + BS groups. The lowest body weight gain was observed in the PC group (949 g/bird), and chicks in the LP group gained 1148 g/bird. An improved feed conversion ratio was noted in the groups receiving probiotic supplementation (3.42–3.50 kg feed/kg gain). There was little evidence that probiotics affected carcass percentage and related parameters, such as breast, thigh and drumstick, and wings.

Conclusion: Lactobacillus plantarum or BS dietary supplementation to native Noi broilers resulted in a lower mortality rate and improved body weight gain but did not affect carcass characteristics.