bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acquisition and Loss of CTX-M-Producing and Non-Producing Escherichia coli in the Fecal Microbiome of Travelers to South Asia
Authors: Bevan Edward R. , McNally Alan , Thomas Christopher M. , Piddock Laura J. V. , Hawkey Peter M.
Published: December 2018

Escherichia coli
strains which produce CTX-M extended-spectrum beta-lactamases are endemic as colonizers of humans and in the environment in South Asia. This study demonstrates that acquisition of CTX-M-producing
E. coli
(CTX-M-EC) in travelers from the United Kingdom to South Asia is polyclonal, which is likely due to multiple acquisition events from contaminated food and drinking water during travel. CTX-M-EC frequently persists in the fecal microbiome for at least 1 year after acquisition, often alongside newly acquired non-CTX-M
E. coli
strains. In travelers who acquire CTX-M-EC, pre-travel non-CTX-M
E. coli
remains as a minority population in the gut until the CTX-M-EC strains are lost. The non-CTX-M strains are then reestablished as the predominant
E. coli
population. This study has shed light on the dynamics of CTX-M-EC acquisition, colonization, and loss after travel. Future work involving manipulation of nonvirulent resident
E. coli
could be used to prevent colonization with antibiotic-resistant
E. coli
.
Association of triglyceride to HDL cholesterol ratio with cardiometabolic outcomes
Authors: Yang May , Rigdon Joseph , Tsai Sandra A
Published: December 2018

Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer a potential opportunity to identify patients at high risk for cardiometabolic disease, which encompasses type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this retrospective cohort study is to use information gathered from EMR to investigate the association between triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C) and cardiometabolic outcomes in a general population of subjects over 50 years of age during a follow-up period of 8–9 years. TG/HDL-C was recorded for each of 1428 subjects in 2008, and diagnoses of type 2 diabetes and CVD were recorded through chart review until 2017. Cox proportional hazards models controlling for demographic characteristics and other risk factors demonstrated that high TG/HDL-C (>2.5 in women or >3.5 in men) was significantly associated with increased incidence of type 2 diabetes (HR 1.66; 95% CI 1.07 to 2.57; p=0.0230). There was also a suggested association between high TG/HDL-C and incidence of CVD (HR 1.51; 95% CI 0.98 to 2.35; p=0.0628). These findings suggest that using TG/HDL-C, which can be easily calculated from data in an EMR, should be another tool used in identifying patients at high cardiometabolic risk.
Diabetic amyotrophy: a painful radiculoplexus neuropathy
Authors: Llewelyn Dafydd , Llewelyn J Gareth
Published: December 2018

Diabetic lumbosacral radiculoplexus neuropathy is a monophasic syndrome of diffuse pain and weakness that typically affects the lower limbs asymmetrically and is often associated with significant weight loss. Recovery can be prolonged and unpredictable. It is a clinical diagnosis and investigations are performed mainly to exclude other causes. Although it is most likely caused by a microvasculitis, there is no evidence to support using intravenous immunoglobulin or any long-term immunosuppression. Pulsed methylprednisolone may help pain if given within 2–3 months of symptom onset.
Multiplex Limited Penetrable Horizontal Visibility Graph from EEG Signals for Driver Fatigue Detection
Authors: Cai Qing , Gao Zhong-Ke , Yang Yu-Xuan , Dang Wei-Dong , Grebogi Celso
Published: December 2018

Driver fatigue is an important contributor to road accidents, and driver fatigue detection has attracted a great deal of attention on account of its significant importance. Numerous methods have been proposed to fulfill this challenging task, though, the characterization of the fatigue mechanism still, to a large extent, remains to be investigated. To address this problem, we, in this work, develop a novel Multiplex Limited Penetrable Horizontal Visibility Graph (Multiplex LPHVG) method, which allows in not only detecting fatigue driving but also probing into the brain fatigue behavior. Importantly, we use the method to construct brain networks from EEG signals recorded from different subjects performing simulated driving tasks under alert and fatigue driving states. We then employ clustering coefficient, global efficiency and characteristic path length to characterize the topological structure of the networks generated from different brain states. In addition, we combine average edge overlap with the network measures to distinguish alert and mental fatigue states. The high-accurate classification results clearly demonstrate and validate the efficacy of our multiplex LPHVG method for the fatigue detection from EEG signals. Furthermore, our findings show a significant increase of the clustering coefficient as the brain evolves from alert state to mental fatigue state, which yields novel insights into the brain behavior associated with fatigue driving.
Probe Feed Multi-Element Multi-Segment Triangular Dielectric Resonator Antenna with RCS Analysis
Authors: Ranjan Pinku , Gangwar Ravi Kumar
Published: December 2018

The aim of the paper is to propose a design and analysis of multi-element multi-segment triangular dielectric resonator antenna (MEMS TDRA) with Radar Cross-Section (RCS). The proposed antenna has been excited through coaxial probe feed. The coaxial probe feed excites TM[Formula: see text] dominant mode fields within the TDR elements. A general guideline for wide bandwidth and high gain has been prepared for designing of MEMS TDRA. The model of the proposed MEMS TDRA has been studied through simulation (Ansoft HFSS software) and fabricated for measurement. The simulated antenna performance has good agreement with the measured one. The proposed MEMS TDRA performance has been compared with some similar type of previously published structure and found wider bandwidth and higher gain. The proposed MEMS TDRA provides monopole-like radiation pattern with nearly 39% bandwidth ([Formula: see text] dB). The average gain of 6.0 dBi has been found over the entire bandwidth. The RCS analysis has been performed for monostatic and bistatic modes at different frequencies and angles. The proposed antenna is appropriate for WLAN and WiMAX applications.
Ultra-high energy neutrino-nucleon scattering and gluon saturation
Authors: Jalilian-Marian Jamal
Published: December 2018

Ultra-high energy neutrinos are an enigma; among their many poorly understood aspects are their origins and how they interact with nucleons when they reach the Earth. Due to the hard scale ([Formula: see text]) involved in neutrino-nucleon scattering and for a large range of neutrino energies, it is appropriate to describe the target nucleon in terms of its partons — quarks and gluons — and their evolution with [Formula: see text] as governed by the Dokshitzer–Gribov–Lipatov–Altarelli–Parisi (DGLAP) evolution equations of perturbative Quantum ChromoDynamics (pQCD). Nevertheless, at the highest neutrino energies, the scattering cross-section is dominated by the contribution of small [Formula: see text] gluons of the target where one expects DGLAP evolution equations to break down due to high gluon density effects (gluon saturation). Here, we give a brief overview of gluon saturation physics in QCD and its effects on ultra-high energy neutrino-nucleon (nucleus) scattering cross-section.
Damped Oscillations of the Energy of a Bosonic Bath due to Spectral Gaps and Special Initial Correlations
Authors: Giraldi Filippo
Published: December 2018

The energy of the bosonic bath and the flow of quantum information in local dephasing channels are studied over short and long times in case the distribution of frequency modes of the bosonic bath exhibits a low-frequency gap. The initial conditions consist in special correlations between the qubit and the bosonic bath or are factorized, and involve thermal states of the whole system or of the bath. The low-frequency gap generates damped oscillations of the bath energy around the asymptotic value, for the correlated initial conditions, and induces the open system to alternately loose and gain information, for the factorized initial configurations. The long-time oscillations of the bath energy become regular and the frequency of the oscillations coincides with the upper cut-off frequency of the spectral gap. Regular long-time sequences of intervals are found over which the bath energy increases (decreases), for the correlated initial conditions, and information is lost (gained) by the open system, for the factorized initial configurations, even at different temperatures. This relation is reversed, if compared to the one obtained without the low-frequency gap, and can fail if the spectral density is tailored near the spectral gap according to power laws with odd natural powers.
Robustness of Quantum Correlations in Entangled Two su(2) Systems Non-mutually Interacting with su(1, 1) System under Intrinsic Decoherence
Authors: Mohamed A.-B. A. , Abdalla M. S. , Obada A.-S. F.
Published: December 2018

Two two-level systems generated by su(2) algebra are initially prepared in a maximum nonsymmetric Bell state and having no mutual interaction. Each su(2)-system spatially interacts with two-mode cavity field in the nondegenerate parametric amplifier type cast through operators governed by su(1, 1) Lie algebra. An analytical description for the time evolution of the final state of the total system with the effect of intrinsic decoherence is found. Therefore, the robustness of the quantum correlations between the two su(2)-system is investigated by means of geometric quantum discord, measurement-induced nonlocality and negativity. We analyze in some detail the influence of initial coherence intensities, detuning and phase decoherence parameters on the steady-state correlation. We find that the steady-state correlations can be generated and enhanced by controlling the parameters of: the initial coherence intensities, the Bargmman index and the detuning. It is shown that the phenomenon of sudden death and re-birth of entanglement, and the sudden changes of the geometric quantum correlation can be controlled by these parameters. We find that the robustness of the quantum correlation can be greatly enhanced by the Bargmman index and the resonance detuning. Negativity is the measure most susceptible to phase decoherence, while geometric quantum discord and measurement-induced nonlocality are the more robust measures.
Differential neotectonic rotations in Anatolia and the Tauride Arc: palaeomagnetic investigation of the Erenlerdaǧ Volcanic Complex and Isparta volcanic district, south–central Turkey
Authors: Tatar O. , Gürsoy H. , Piper J. D. A.
Published: December 2018

Abstract:
In the Anatolian sector of the Alpine–Himalayan collisional belt a palaeotectonic phase of terrane accretion has been succeeded by a neotectonic phase of intracontinental deformation as the Afro-Arabian plate has continued to impinge differentially into the accreted collage. The resulting tectonic escape has, during the last few million years, extruded and rotated blocks in a southwesterly direction. This paper reports a palaeomagnetic investigation of the Erenlerdaǧ Volcanic Complex and Isparta alkaline volcanic district undertaken to extend analysis of crustal rotation into the southwestern part of the Anatolian region, and investigate the interaction with the Isparta angle and the extensional province of western Turkey. The Erenlerdaǧ volcanism comprises three phases of volcanism. The oldest Sille volcanics (11.7–11.4 Ma) yield a mean
D
=150°
I
=−52° rotated anticlockwise during early stages of crustal thickening and deformation before a later Miocene episode (
c
. 10.9–8.9 Ma,
D
=183°,
I
=−47°) and a Mio-Pliocene episode (
D
=179°,
I
=−51°). The latter two episodes indicate that no significant rotation has resulted during the neotectonic crustal extrusion in this southwestern sector of Anatolia. Further to the west within the Isparta Angle a 4.7–4.0 Ma alkaline episode yields a mean of
D
=186°,
I
=−53° rotated slightly clockwise. The pattern of palaeomagnetic declinations across Anatolia shows rotations that are strongly anticlockwise in the east near the Arabian pincer and diminish towards the west to become zero or slightly clockwise at the western extremity of the collage. The timing of rotation also appears to become younger towards the south. Crustal deformation has therefore been distributed and the net effect of terrane extrusion to the west and south has been to expand the curvature of the Tauride Arc and, by inference, the Cyprian Arc. Where good age control exists in Cappadocia and the Sivas Basin rotations are found to be concentrated within the last few million years and are up to an order higher than rates deduced from global positioning system. The palaeomagnetic data imply that the neotectonic deformation following collision initially produced crustal thickening resulting in uplift of the Anatolian Plateau and was only subsequently accommodated by major differential block rotation during tectonic escape.
KIST
Authors: Jansen Rob , Traudt Matthew , Geddes John , Wacek Chris , Sherr Micah , Syverson Paul
Published: December 2018

Tor’s growing popularity and user diversity has resulted in network performance problems that are not well understood, though performance is understood to be a significant factor in Tor’s security. A large body of work has attempted to solve performance problems without a complete understanding of where congestion occurs in Tor. In this article, we first study congestion in Tor at individual relays as well as along the entire end-to-end Tor path and find that congestion occurs almost exclusively in egress kernel socket buffers. We then analyze Tor’s socket interactions and discover two major contributors to Tor’s congestion: Tor writes sockets sequentially, and Tor writes as much as possible to each socket. To improve Tor’s performance, we design, implement, and test KIST: a new socket management algorithm that uses real-time kernel information to
dynamically compute the amount to write
to each socket while considering
all circuits of all writable sockets
when scheduling cells. We find that, in the medians, KIST reduces circuit congestion by more than 30%, reduces network latency by 18%, and increases network throughput by nearly 10%. We also find that client and relay performance with KIST improves as more relays deploy it and as network load and packet loss rates increase. We analyze the security of KIST and find an acceptable performance and security tradeoff, as it does not significantly affect the outcome of well-known latency, throughput, and traffic correlation attacks. KIST has been merged and configured as the default socket scheduling algorithm in Tor version 0.3.2.1-alpha (released September 18, 2017) and became stable in Tor version 0.3.2.9 (released January 9, 2018). While our focus is Tor, our techniques and observations should help analyze and improve overlay and application performance, both for security applications and in general.
Distributed garbage collection for general graphs
Authors: Brandt Steven R. , Krishnan Hari , Busch Costas , Sharma Gokarna
Published: December 2018

We propose a scalable, cycle-collecting, decentralized, reference counting garbage collector with partial tracing. The algorithm is based on the Brownbridge system but uses four different types of references to label edges. Memory usage is O (log n) bits per node, where n is the number of nodes in the graph. The algorithm assumes an asynchronous network model with a reliable reordering channel. It collects garbage in O (E a ) time, where E a is the number of edges in the in- duced subgraph. The algorithm uses termination detection to manage the distributed computation, a unique identifier to break the symmetry among multiple collectors, and a transaction-based approach when multiple collectors conflict. Unlike existing algorithms, ours is not centralized, does not require barriers, does not require migration of nodes, does not require back-pointers on every edge, and is stable against concurrent mutation.
A Disruption Recovery Problem with Time Windows Change in the Last Mile Delivery of Online Shopping
Authors: Jiang Li , Liang Changyong , Dong Junfeng , Lu Wenxing , Mladenovic Marko
Published: December 2018

Frequent time window changing disruptions result in high secondary delivery rates in the last mile delivery. With the rapid growth of parcel volumes in online shopping, the time window changing disruptions could translate to substantial delivery cost-wastes. In recent years, customer pickup (CP), a new delivery mode that allows customers to pick up their parcels from shared delivery facilities, has provided a new way to deal with such disruptions. This study proposed a disruption recovery problem with time windows change in the last mile delivery in which customers can be served through home delivery (HD) or CP. A variant variable neighborhood descent (VVND) algorithm was presented to solve the problem. Computational experiments based on a set of instances were tested, and results were compared with other heuristics in the literature, which have affirmed the competitiveness of the model and algorithm.
Ex VivoEvaluation of Secretion-Clearing Device in Reducing Airway Resistance within Endotracheal Tubes
Authors: Waters Christopher , Wiener R. Constance , Motlagh Hamed M.
Published: December 2018

Background. Secretions accumulate in endotracheal tubes’ (ETT) lumens upon their placement in patients. The secretions impact airway resistance and pressure. Secretions potentiate prolonged mechanical ventilation and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Our primary objective in this study was to evaluate an ETT-clearing device (ETT-CD) in its ability to remove secretions fromex vivoETT lumens.Methods. Forty ETTs, obtained from intensive care patients at extubation, were individually placed into a ventilator field performance testing simulator at 37°C. The pressure drop through the ETTs was measured at a flow rate of 60 L/min before and after cleaning with the ETT-CD and compared with unused, similarly sized controls tubes. The ETT-CD was inserted into an ETT until the tip reached Murphy’s eye (hole in the side) of the ETT. The wiper, set back from the tip, was expanded by ETT-CD handle activation. As the ETT-CD was removed, the distal wiper extracted secretions from the ETT lumen.Results. Forty ETTs were tested with nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Before being cleared with the ETT-CD, the median pressure drop in the extubated 7.5 mm ETTs was 17.8 cm H2O; after ETT-CD use, it was 12.3. The cleared ETTs were significantly improved over the ETTs before being cleared (p<0.001); however, there remained a significant difference between the cleared ETTs and the control tubes (p=0.005), indicating the clearing was not to the level of an unused ETT. Similar results were determined for the 8.0 mm ETTs.Conclusions. For the 7.5 mm and the 8.0 mm EETs, the ETT-CD improved effective patency of the ETTs over the uncleared ETTs, independent of occlusion location, tube size, or length of tube. However, there remained a significant difference between the cleared tubes and controls.
An Improved Deep Learning Model for Traffic Crash Prediction
Authors: Dong Chunjiao , Shao Chunfu , Li Juan , Xiong Zhihua
Published: December 2018

Machine-learning technology powers many aspects of modern society. Compared to the conventional machine learning techniques that were limited in processing natural data in the raw form, deep learning allows computational models to learn representations of data with multiple levels of abstraction. In this study, an improved deep learning model is proposed to explore the complex interactions among roadways, traffic, environmental elements, and traffic crashes. The proposed model includes two modules, an unsupervised feature learning module to identify functional network between the explanatory variables and the feature representations and a supervised fine tuning module to perform traffic crash prediction. To address the unobserved heterogeneity issues in the traffic crash prediction, a multivariate negative binomial (MVNB) model is embedding into the supervised fine tuning module as a regression layer. The proposed model was applied to the dataset that was collected from Knox County in Tennessee to validate the performances. The results indicate that the feature learning module identifies relational information between the explanatory variables and the feature representations, which reduces the dimensionality of the input and preserves the original information. The proposed model that includes the MVNB regression layer in the supervised fine tuning module can better account for differential distribution patterns in traffic crashes across injury severities and provides superior traffic crash predictions. The findings suggest that the proposed model is a superior alternative for traffic crash predictions and the average accuracy of the prediction that was measured by RMSD can be improved by 84.58% and 158.27% compared to the deep learning model without the regression layer and the SVM model, respectively.
Evaluating the Impacts of Bus Stop Design and Bus Dwelling on Operations of Multitype Road Users
Authors: Zhang Jian , Li Zhibin , Zhang Fangwei , Qi Yong , Zhou Wenzhu , Wang Yong , Zhao De , Wang Wei
Published: December 2018

On urban streets with bus stops, bus arrivals can disrupt traffic flows in the neighboring areas. Different stop designs have distinct influences on the road users. This study aims to evaluate how different types of bus stops affect the operations of vehicles, bicycles, and buses that pass by. Four types of stops that differ in geometric layout are examined. They are termed the shared bike/bus (Type 1), separated shared bike/bus (Type 2), vehicle/bus with inboard bike lane (Type 3), and bus bay with inboard bike lane (Type 4). Data are collected from eight sites in two cities of China. Results of data analysis show that different bus stop designs have quite different impacts on the neighboring traffic flows. More specifically, Type 3 stops create the least bicycle delay but the largest vehicle delay. Type 4 stops have the least impact on bicycle and vehicle operations, but occupy the most road space. Traffic operations are less affected by Type 1 stops than by Type 2 stops. Policy suggestions are discussed regarding the optimal design of bus stops that minimizes the total vehicle delay of all modes.
Vulnerability Analysis of Ancient Timber Architecture by Considering the Correlation of Different Failure Modes
Authors: Huan Junhong , Ma Donghui , Wang Wei
Published: December 2018

The paper proposes an innovative method of analyzing the seismic fragility of ancient timber architecture. The method is based on the Copulas, in which correlation between different failure modes is considered. This method is applied to assess the vulnerability of ancient timber architecture in Ming dynasty. The assessment includes four steps. In the first step, the incremental dynamic analysis is employed to establish seismic vulnerability curves of different failure modes for the structure. After that, Copula joint distribution function is used to analyze the correlation among different failure modes. In the third step, fragility curves considering correlation among different failure modes are established. In the last step, the fragility curves are compared with those obtained by first-order bound method. The results show that seismic vulnerability of ancient timber architecture based on the Copulas is greater than that of any single failure modes. Moreover, the occurrence probability ranges between the upper and lower boundaries of the first-order bound method, but is close to the lower boundary.
Integrated Estimation/Guidance Law against Exoatmospheric Maneuvering Targets
Authors: Su Mao , Liu Lei , Wang Yongji
Published: December 2018

An integrated guidance integrated estimation/guidance law is designed for exoatmospheric interceptors equipped with divert thrusters and optical seekers to intercept maneuvering targets. This paper considers an angles‐only guidance problem for exoatmospheric maneuvering targets. A bounded differential game‐based guidance law is derived against maneuvering targets using zero‐effort‐miss (ZEM). Estimators based the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) are designed to estimate LOS rates that are contaminated by noise and target maneuver. Furthermore, to improve the observability of the range, an observability enhancement differential game guidance law is derived. The guidance law and the estimator are integrated together in the guidance loop. The proposed integrated estimation/guidance law has been tested in several three‐dimensional nonlinear interception scenarios. Numerical simulations on a set of Monte‐Carlo simulations prove the validity and superiority of the proposed guidance law in hit‐to‐kill interception.
Plante (n)a Praça
Authors: Boel Andressa Rezende
Published: December 2018

Este ensaio visa refletir sobre a produção em site oriented art e algumas teorias da arte, tais como Estética Relacional, Arte Colaborativa e Arte produzida em contexto a partir de uma ação artística, Plante na Praça. Iniciada em 2014 em uma praça de Uberlândia-MG, a ação visou criar coletiva e colaborativamente um jardim, bem como potencializar diferentes maneiras de “usos” para a praça. Com esse exercício de escrita e prática artística, considero que ações artísticas relacionais e colaborativas, como esta, devem ter autonomia enquanto produções no campo efêmero e volátil das artes, não se justificando a criação de produtos posteriormente apenas com a intenção de imortalizar ou institucionalizar a ação enquanto produção artística.
Situações para uma historiografia da performance arte no Brasil
Authors: Valente Maíra Vaz
Published: December 2018

O artigo toma as manifestações da Vanguarda Brasileira, entre os anos de 1960 e 1970, como ponto de partida para uma possível historiografia da performance arte no Brasil. A partir do Manifesto Neoconcreto e da Teoria do Não-Objeto, ambos textos publicados em 1959, verifica-se a insurgência de uma prática performática entre as novas estratégias no campo da arte para sua inserção na realidade social nacional. A compreensão de obra de arte, do papel político do artista na sociedade e do lugar do espectador na experiência da arte transformaram a noção de objeto para experiência.
Neural Lattice Language Models
Authors: Buckman Jacob , Neubig Graham
Published: December 2018

In this work, we propose a new language modeling paradigm that has the ability to perform both prediction and moderation of information flow at multiple granularities: neural lattice language models. These models construct a lattice of possible paths through a sentence and marginalize across this lattice to calculate sequence probabilities or optimize parameters. This approach allows us to seamlessly incorporate linguistic intuitions — including polysemy and the existence of multiword lexical items — into our language model. Experiments on multiple language modeling tasks show that English neural lattice language models that utilize polysemous embeddings are able to improve perplexity by 9.95% relative to a word-level baseline, and that a Chinese model that handles multi-character tokens is able to improve perplexity by 20.94% relative to a character-level baseline.
Der weiße Met im altenglischen Finnsburgfragment
Authors: Schürr Diether
Published: December 2018

Two of the traditional ‘beasts of battle’ appear in the Finnsburh fragment as græghama ‘grey-coat’ (wolf) and hræfen + sweart ‘raven’ + ‘black’. Later on comes swa noc hwitne medo, i.e., an unclear swa noc (with s- required for alliteration) and ‘white mead’, contrasting with the black raven attracted by the fight. It is proposed that a third association between an animal and a colour can be recognised here by emending to *swanhwitne medo, ‘swan-white mead’, thus strengthening this contrast while simultaneously declaring a refined ethic, namely, sacrificing life, not for gold, as usual in the traditional heroic poetry, but for immaterial values symbolised by this mead, which is brighter than gold.
Zur Etymologie von ahd. musina und orgina
Authors: Schuhmann Roland , Nievergelt Andreas
Published: December 2018

In this article, new etymologies for two Old High German words are proposed. Old High German musina ‘bag, satchel’ is explained as a loanword from Slavonic (cf. Old Church Slavonic mošьna ‘bag’), Old High German orgina ‘bit’ as a loanword from Middle Latin *orginum ‘iron ring’.

Im Folgenden wird für zwei althochdeutsche Wörter, die bisher etymologisch unklar waren, jeweils eine neue Etymologie vorgeschlagen: Ahd. musina ‚Tasche, Ranzen‘ wird als ein Lehnwort aus dem Slawischen (vgl. aksl. mošьna ‚Tasche‘), ahd. orgina ‚Gebiss, Mundstück am Pferdezaum‘ als Lehnwort aus mlat. *orginum ‚Eisenring‘ erklärt.

This article is in German Language.
Caedmon on the Continent: The Heliand Prefaces and Bernlef
Authors: Veenbaas Redbad
Published: December 2018

Firstly, this article addresses the influence of the story of the Anglo-Saxon singer Caedmon by Bede on two texts about religious poets on the continent: the Bernlef episodes in the Lives of Liudger and the Heliand Prefaces. Secondly, the question will be addressed whether a connection between the Heliand Prefaces and the Bernlef episodes can be found. Finally, a new light is shed on the discussion about the identity of the poet of the Heliand.

The result of a comparison between the profiles of the Heliand poet and Bernlef is as follows: 1) they were laymen, the Heliand poet at least at the time of his divine vocation; 2) they were held in great esteem by their people/neighbours as a poet/singer; 3) they were considered the best/a very good poet in the Thiudisc language; 4) after a divine miracle they focus on the adaptation of passages from the Holy Scripture; 5) the testimony of these miracles should not be doubted because of the ‘studium’ of the poets; 6) references to the story of Caedmon by Bede; 7) tradition of their stories on the continent between approximately 845 and 875.

These similarities could imply that Bernlef was the author of the Heliand. At the very least, the poet of the Heliand (according to the Prefaces) was someone that closely resembled Bernlef.
Challenging Contextualism
Authors: Blaauw Martijn
Published: December 2018

In order to explain such puzzling cases as the Bank Case and the Airport Case, semantic contextualists defend two theses. First, that the truth-conditions of knowledge sentences fluctuate in accordance with features of the conversational context. Second, that this fluctuation can be explained by the fact that 'knows' is an indexical. In this paper, I challenge both theses. In particular, I argue (i) that it isn't obvious that 'knows' is an indexical at all, and (ii) that contrastivism can do the same work as contextualism is supposed to do, without being linguistically implausible.
Why We Should Promote Irrationality
Authors: Schmidt Sebastian
Published: December 2018

The author defends the claim that there are cases in which we should promote irrationality by arguing (1) that it is sometimes better to be in an irrational state of mind, and (2) that we can often (purposefully) influence our state of mind via our actions. The first claim is supported by presenting cases of irrational belief and by countering a common line of argument associated with William K. Clifford, who defended the idea that having an irrational belief is always worse than having a rational one. In support of the second claim, the author then explains how the control we have over our beliefs could look like. In conclusion, the author suggests that the argument of this essay is not restricted to the irrationality of beliefs, but can be applied to irrational states of mind in general (like desires, intentions, emotions, or hopes). In an outlook on the “ethics of belief” debate, the author points out that the argument of this essay need not conflict with evidentialism, but does so when combined with another plausible claim about the meaning of doxastic ought-statements.
Chenopodium luteorubrum (Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae sensu APG): a remarkable new species from the Russian Far East
Authors: MANDÁK BOHUMIL , LOMONOSOVA MARIA N. , MOSYAKIN SERGEI L.
Published: December 2018

Chenopodium luteorubrum is described as a new species of Chenopodiaceae (Amaranthaceae sensu APG) from coastal habitats along the Sea of Japan in the Russian Far East. It has been demonstrated that this allohexaploid species (2n = 6x = 54) combines in its genome the subgenomes ‘A’ (closely related to or inherited from C. bryoniifolium), ‘C’ (unknown or extinct species), and ‘D’ (C. acuminatum s. l.). That subgenome combination is unique; it differs from the combination in C. album s. str. and closely related hexaploid taxa, which have ‘B’ (derived from C. ficifolium/C. suecicum), ‘C’, and ‘D’ subgenomes. Here we describe and illustrate the new species and provide information on its evolution, ecology, morphology, karyology, and distribution. The new species is compared with morphologically somewhat similar taxa C. album s. str. (hexaploid), C. suecicum (diploid), C. betaceum s. l. (C. strictum auct., tetraploid), and C. acuminatum (diploid).
Hieracia balcanica XVI. Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on Hieracium rotundatum and H. transylvanicum (Asteraceae)
Authors: SZELĄG ZBIGNIEW
Published: December 2018

Hieracium rotundatum Kit. ex Schult. and H. transylvanicum Heuff., two species of H. sect. Transsilvanica (Zahn) Schljakov, have been confused under the older name H. rotundatum in the most important European monographs. The original specimen of H. rotundatum stored at BP is recognized as the holotype and re-identified as a representative of the H. praecurrens aggregate. Hieracium transylvanicum is lectotypified using a specimen also stored at the Hungarian Museum of Natural History in Budapest (BP). The original spelling of the species epithet of H. transylvanicum is clarified.
A revision of the Australian species of the genus Melobasis Laporte & Gory 1837 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Part 2 (Revision of the nervosa species group)
Authors: LEVEY BRIAN
Published: December 2018

This is the second part of a revision of the Australian members of the genus Melobasis Laporte & Gory 1837 and revises the species of the nervosa species group.13 new species and subspecies are described: M. angustecostata angustecostata ssp. n., M. angustecostata subacuta ssp. n., M. barkeri sp. n., M. brevimaculata sp. n., M. breviserrata sp. n., M. cupreovittata queenslandica ssp. n., M. cupreovittata westralica ssp. n., M. dissimilis sp. n., M. fortipunctata sp. n., M. latecostata sp. n., M. planithorax sp. n., M. soror basicostata ssp. n., M. vertebralis cuneata ssp. n. The following new synonymies are proposed: M. bicolor Blackburn is synonymised with M. rubromarginata Saunders; M. costata Thomson is synonymised with M. nervosa (Boisduval); M. semistriata Blackburn is synonymised with M. viridiceps Saunders; M. viridisterna Carter is synonymised with M. sordida Blackburn; M. victoriae Obenberger is synonymised with M. viridiceps Saunders. The following changes of status are proposed: M. costipennis Kerremans is removed from synonymy with M. lathami (Laporte & Gory); M. costata Thomson is removed from synonymy with M. interstitialis Blackburn; M. rubromarginata Saunders is removed from synonymy with M. lathami (Laporte & Gory); M. bicolor Blackburn is removed from synonymy with M. lathami (Laporte & Gory); M. sordida Blackburn is removed from synonymy with M. simplex Germar; M. soror Blackburn is removed from synonymy with M. lathami (Laporte & Gory).
Factors Associated With Increased Hospital Length of Stay in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients With Peritonitis: A Need for Antimicrobial Stewardship?
Authors: Morrisette Taylor , Canada Robert B. , Padgett Danielle , Hudson Joanna Q.
Published: December 2018

Background: Peritonitis remains a complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD) and contributes to morbidity. Adherence to evidence-based recommendations should resolve peritonitis within 5 days; however, hospital length of stay (LOS) for patients with PD-associated peritonitis (PDAP) varies. Factors contributing to increased LOS and vigilance with antimicrobial stewardship (ASP) in this population are not well described. Methods: This was a system-wide, retrospective cohort of adult patients presenting with PDAP from August 2012 to August 2017. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on LOS: <7 days (reduced LOS) versus ≥7 days (prolonged LOS). Patient demographics, resolution of peritonitis by day 5, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, infectious diseases (ID) consultation, changes in dialysis modality, blood glucose, and pathogen/antimicrobial characteristics were compared. In-hospital mortality and 30-day readmissions were also evaluated. Results: Of the 401 patients screened, 90 were included: 53% women, 88% African American, age 52 ± 2 years (reduced LOS: 46 patients; prolonged LOS: 44 patients). Increased LOS was associated with ICU admission ( P = .014), ID consultation ( P = .015), PD catheter removal ( P = .001), hemodialysis conversion ( P < .001), antifungal therapy ( P = .021), and days with blood glucose >180 mg/dL ( P = .028). Opportunities for antimicrobial de-escalation were identified in 24 (52%) and 22 (50%) patients in the reduced and prolonged LOS groups, respectively; however, de-escalation occurred in only 5 (21%) and 6 (27%) of these patients. There were no differences in mortality or 30-day readmissions. Conclusions: Longer LOS was influenced by acuity of illness and possibly lack of enforced ASP. Improvement of ASP within the PDAP population is necessary.
Introducing a new dataset on leadership change in rebel groups, 1946–2010
Authors: Lutmar Carmela , Terris Lesley G
Published: December 2018

Leaders and leadership changes are found to influence states’ foreign policy decisions, in particular with respect to war and peace between states. Although this issue is also addressed in the qualitative literature on intrastate wars, the influence of leadership turnovers in civil war has received limited systematic attention. One reason for this is the scarcity of quantitative data on rebel group leaderships. To fill this gap, we present a comprehensive dataset on leadership changes in rebel groups, 1946–2010, organized by rebel-month. The effects of leadership changes among parties engaged in civil war are argued to be more complex than those found in interstate disputes. In this article we present our theoretical argument followed by presentation of the variables in the dataset and descriptive statistics. To demonstrate the potential research value of the dataset we examine the impact of leader shifts on civil war settlement in Africa. We conclude with avenues for future research which might benefit from this dataset.
Present temperature field characterization and geothermal resource assessment in the Harbin Area, Northeast China
Authors: Shi Yizuo , Jiang Guangzheng , Zhang Xinyong , Yuan Zhe , Wang Zhuting , Qiu Qianfeng , Hu Shengbiao
Published: December 2018

Seven steady-state temperature profiles are logged in the Harbin Area, Northeast China. The temperature data illustrate high conductive thermal gradients with a mean value of 4.78°C/100 m. Temperature maps at depths of 1000, 1500, and 1800 m are represented. The present temperature field is cooling southeastward, with the highest thermal gradients being observed at the junction zone between the Central Depression and the Southeast Uplift of the Songliao Basin. The recoverable heat is calculated using a volumetric method and Monte Carlo simulation. The mean value for recoverable heat from the detailed exploration area around the Harbin Area is 1.052 × 1019 J (3.59 × 1011 t standard coal). Geological controls on the present temperature fields are discussed.
It’s Not Personal: A Review and Theoretical Integration of Research on Vicarious Workplace Mistreatment
Authors: Dhanani Lindsay Y. , LaPalme Matthew L.
Published: December 2018

Recent advancements in the area of workplace mistreatment have begun to challenge our view of who is affected by this phenomenon. Whereas it was initially assumed that mistreatment affected a small subset of employees who were directly targeted by negative treatment, empirical work has documented that employees who observe or become aware of others being mistreated are also adversely affected. However, the extant literature examining vicarious mistreatment has developed in silos centered around individual mistreatment constructs and individual outcome domains, and there is currently little integration among these bodies of work. As such, this paper draws on a systematic review of empirical studies examining vicarious mistreatment to summarize its antecedents and outcomes. The review further enumerates the mechanisms that transmit the effects of vicarious mistreatment to third-party outcomes and the moderating variables that may mitigate or amplify the impact of vicarious mistreatment. The culmination of this review is the development of a dual process model of vicarious mistreatment that integrates prior theoretical perspectives into an overarching framework to guide subsequent research. The authors then conclude by providing a road map for future theoretical and empirical work on vicarious mistreatment. Included within the future research agenda is a constructive critique of current research designs and methodological approaches that may undermine the field’s understanding of how vicarious mistreatment operates.
Nonanemic extramedullary hematopoiesis in the posterior mediastinum
Authors: Nguyen Giang Truong , Ngoc Nguyen Trung , Duc Vu Thang , Van Nguyen Nam , The Nguyen Kien
Published: December 2018

Extramedullary hematopoiesis is a rare condition characterized by the formation of blood cells outside the bone marrow. It is commonly seen in patients with hematopoietic disorders or chronic anemia. Here, we report the case of a 55-year-old patient who had extramedullary hematopoiesis that manifested as an asymptomatic posterior mediastinal mass. Chest computed tomography showed a 30 × 35-mm mass located on the left side of the D11 vertebra. Laboratory investigations revealed no signs of anemia. The tumor was safely and completely removed using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Pathological studies confirmed the extramedullary hematopoiesis nature of the tumor.
The environmental factors that influence technology adoption for older adults with age-related vision loss
Authors: McGrath Colleen , Corrado Ann Marie
Published: December 2018

Introduction

With the increasing proportion of older adults aging with vision loss, low-vision assistive devices can help to support occupational engagement; however, such devices are grossly underused among this population. The overarching purpose of this project was to examine the environmental factors that influence technology adoption for older adults with age-related vision loss.

Methods

A one-day workshop, which utilized a variety of hands-on methods including Show & Tell, Technology Interaction, and an “App” Assessment activity, was conducted. A total of 19 participants attended the workshop, including 10 older adults with age-related vision loss, six caregivers, one healthcare provider, and two technology industry professionals.

Results

A total of four themes emerged, including: (1) making life harder; (2) relying on support networks; (3) factoring in the pragmatics; and (4) not me, not yet. These themes illustrate the various ways that environmental factors, including physical, social, cultural, and institutional/political factors, influence decision-making regarding technology adoption by older adults with age-related vision loss.

Conclusion

This paper demonstrates several environmental factors that influence low-vision assistive device adoption among older adults with age-related vision loss. With their holistic view of clients, including an appreciation for environmental influences, occupational therapists are well positioned to help identify those environmental barriers limiting low-vision assistive device adoption and use.
The toileting habit profile questionnaire: Examining construct validity using the Rasch model
Authors: Beaudry-Bellefeuille Isabelle , Bundy Anita , Lane Alison , Ramos Polo Eduardo , Lane Shelly J
Published: December 2018

Introduction

Preliminary reports support the hypothesis that sensory issues may be related to atypical defecation habits in children. Clinical practice in this area is limited by the lack of validated measures. The toileting habit profile questionnaire was designed to address this gap.

Methods

This study included two phases of validity testing. In phase 1, we used Rasch analysis of existing data to assess item structural validity, directed content analysis of recent literature to determine the extent to which items capture clinical concerns, and expert review to validate the toileting habit profile questionnaire. Based on phase 1 outcomes, we made adjustments to toileting habit profile questionnaire items. In phase 2, we examined the item structural validity of the revised toileting habit profile questionnaire.

Results

Phase 1 resulted in a 17-item questionnaire: 15 items designed to identify habits linked to sensory over-reactivity and two designed to identify sensory under-reactivity and/or poor perception items. The analysis carried out in phase 2 supported the use of the sensory over-reactivity items. Remaining items can be used as clinical observations.

Conclusion

Caregiver report of behaviour using the revised toileting habit profile questionnaire appears to adequately capture challenging defecation behaviours related to sensory over-reactivity. Identifying challenging behaviours related to sensory under-reactivity and/or perception issues using exclusively the revised toileting habit profile questionnaire is not recommended.
Updating Bridge Deck Condition Transition Probabilities as New Inspection Data Are Collected: Methodology and Empirical Evaluation
Authors: Mishalani Rabi G. , Shafieezadeh Abdollah , Li Zequn
Published: December 2018

A Bayesian updating method is proposed to estimate a Markov chain based concrete deck deterioration model in a manner that combines condition data collected over two consecutive inspections and the deterioration information available prior to the collection of these data. A dataset of bridge deck condition assessments based on AASHTO condition state definitions collected by a state infrastructure agency spanning two years is used to evaluate the performance of this method. Training and validation datasets are selected from the original dataset where the former is used for estimation and the latter for prediction and evaluation. Single period transition probabilities are estimated using Bayesian updating, where prior deterioration information is combined with the condition data, and maximum likelihood estimation where only the collected condition data over two consecutive inspections are used. The evaluation is based on measuring the degree of similarity between reported condition states and those predicted based on the estimated transition probabilities using the two estimation methods. While updating transition probabilities as new data are collected is found to be advantageous for many cases, this advantage is highly dependent on the extent to which the training dataset is representative of the deterioration nature of the bridge decks for which condition is to be predicted. The less representative the training dataset, the more value is derived from Bayesian updating based predictions where prior deterioration information is considered.