bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Working Memory in Unilateral Spatial Neglect: Evidence for Impaired Binding of Object Identity and Object Location
Authors: Cohen-Dallal Haggar , Soroker Nachum , Pertzov Yoni
Published: September 2020

Working memory (WM) is known to be impaired in patients with stroke experiencing unilateral spatial neglect (USN). Here, we examined in a systematic manner three WM components: memory of object identity, memory of object location, and binding between object identity and location. Moreover, we used two different retention intervals to isolate maintenance from other mnemonic and perceptual processes. Fourteen USN first-event stroke patients with right-hemisphere damage were tested in two different WM experiments using long and short retention intervals and an analog response scale. Patients exhibited more identification errors for items displayed on the contralesional side. Localization errors were also more prominent in the contralesional side, especially after a long retention interval. These localization errors were often a result of swap errors, that is, erroneous localizations of correctly identified contralesional objects in correctly memorized locations of ipsilesional objects. We conclude that a key WM deficit in USN is a lateralized impairment in binding between the identity of an object and its spatial tag.
The Role of Hippocampal–Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Neural Dynamics in Building Mental Representations
Authors: Monk Anna M. , Dalton Marshall A. , Barnes Gareth R. , Maguire Eleanor A.
Published: September 2020

The hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) play key roles in numerous cognitive domains including mind-wandering, episodic memory, and imagining the future. Perspectives differ on precisely how they support these diverse functions, but there is general agreement that it involves constructing representations composed of numerous elements. Visual scenes have been deployed extensively in cognitive neuroscience because they are paradigmatic multielement stimuli. However, it remains unclear whether scenes, rather than other types of multifeature stimuli, preferentially engage hippocampus and vmPFC. Here, we leveraged the high temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography to test participants as they gradually built scene imagery from three successive auditorily presented object descriptions and an imagined 3-D space. This was contrasted with constructing mental images of nonscene arrays that were composed of three objects and an imagined 2-D space. The scene and array stimuli were, therefore, highly matched, and this paradigm permitted a closer examination of step-by-step mental construction than has been undertaken previously. We observed modulation of theta power in our two regions of interest—anterior hippocampus during the initial stage and vmPFC during the first two stages, of scene relative to array construction. Moreover, the scene-specific anterior hippocampal activity during the first construction stage was driven by the vmPFC, with mutual entrainment between the two brain regions thereafter. These findings suggest that hippocampal and vmPFC neural activity is especially tuned to scene representations during the earliest stage of their formation, with implications for theories of how these brain areas enable cognitive functions such as episodic memory.
Look at me while having sex! Eye-to-eye contact affects homosexual behaviour in bonobo females
Authors: Annicchiarico G. , Bertini M. , Cordoni G. , Palagi E.
Published: September 2020

In humans, eye-to-eye contact (EEC) or mutual gazing is a reflexive predisposition occurring in intimate contexts. We investigated the role of EEC during bonobo socio-sexual contacts. Females engage in homosexual ventro-ventral, genito-genital rubbing (VVGGR) during which they embrace each other while rubbing part of their vulvae and, sometimes, clitoris. VVGGR facilitates conflict resolution, anxiety reduction and social bonding. We found that EEC was negatively affected by female bonding: the more the eye contact, the weaker the social relationship. This suggests that EEC promotes an intimate contact between the more unfamiliar subjects. Moreover, VVGGRs were successfully prolonged in presence of at least one event of EEC compared to VVGGRs during which none of the partners looked towards the other or only one looked at the other’s face. EEC has been probably favoured by natural selection to enhance the cohesion between bonobo females, who can gain social power through socio-sexual contacts.
Is Weather Chaotic?: Coexistence of Chaos and Order within a Generalized Lorenz Model
Authors: Shen Bo-Wen , Pielke Roger A. , Zeng Xubin , Baik Jong-Jin , Faghih-Naini Sara , Cui Jialin , Atlas Robert
Published: September 2020

Over 50 years since Lorenz’s 1963 study and a follow-up presentation in 1972, the statement “weather is chaotic” has been well accepted. Such a view turns our attention from regularity associated with Laplace’s view of determinism to irregularity associated with chaos. In contrast to single-type chaotic solutions, recent studies using a generalized Lorenz model (GLM) have focused on the coexistence of chaotic and regular solutions that appear within the same model using the same modeling configurations but different initial conditions. The results, with attractor coexistence, suggest that the entirety of weather possesses a dual nature of chaos and order with distinct predictability. In this study, based on the GLM, we illustrate the following two mechanisms that may enable or modulate two kinds of attractor coexistence and, thus, contribute to distinct predictability: 1) the aggregated negative feedback of small-scale convective processes that can produce stable nontrivial equilibrium points and, thus, enable the appearance of stable steady-state solutions and their coexistence with chaotic or nonlinear oscillatory solutions, referred to as the first and second kinds of attractor coexistence; and 2) the modulation of large-scale time-varying forcing (heating) that can determine (or modulate) the alternative appearance of two kinds of attractor coexistence. Based on our results, we then discuss new opportunities and challenges in predictability research with the aim of improving predictions at extended-range time scales, as well as subseasonal to seasonal time scales.
Simulated Changes in Storm Morphology Associated with a Sea-Breeze Air Mass
Authors: Hartigan Joshua , Warren Robert A. , Soderholm Joshua S. , Richter Harald
Published: September 2020

The central east coast of Australia is frequently impacted by large hail and damaging winds associated with severe convective storms, with individual events recording damages exceeding AUD 1 billion. These storms present a significant challenge for forecasting because of their development in seemingly marginal environments. They often have been observed to intensify upon approaching the coast, with case studies and climatological analyses indicating that interactions with the sea breeze are key to this process. The relative importance of the additional lifting and vorticity along the sea-breeze front in comparison with the change to a cooler, moister air mass with stronger low-level shear behind the front has yet to be investigated. Here, the role of the sea-breeze air mass is isolated using idealized numerical simulations of storms developing in a horizontally homogeneous environment. The base-state substitution (BSS) modeling technique is utilized to introduce the sea-breeze air mass following initial storm development. Relative to a simulation without BSS, the storm is longer lived and more intense, ultimately developing supercell characteristics including increased updraft rotation, deviant motion to the left of the mean wind vector, and a strong reflectivity gradient on the inflow edge. Separately simulating the changes in the thermodynamic and wind fields reveals that the enhanced storm longevity and intensity are primarily due to the latter. The change in the low-level environmental winds slows gust-front propagation, allowing the storm to continue to ingest warm, potentially buoyant environmental air. At the same time, increased low-level shear promotes the development of persistent updraft rotation that causes the storm to make a transition from a multicell to a supercell.
The Information Communication Technology, Social Media, International Migration and Migrants’ Relations with Kin in Nigeria
Authors: Akanle Olayinka , Fayehun OA , Oyelakin S
Published: September 2020

Studies abound on international migration and remittances across the world and studies are particularly not lacking on the subject in Africa. There are however few studies on the moderating roles of information communication technology (ICT) and social media in the relationships among international migration, remittances and relationships in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article examines the dimension of ICT and social media in migration studies. This is an aspect that has often been ignored and overlooked even though ICT and social media have great contributions in the international migration process particularly as migrants and relatives in sending and receiving countries both have the primary experience. Research objectives include: reasons for emigration; information technology/social media used by migrants and their kin as they relate across spaces; and how ICT affects relationships of kin and international migrants. Secondary data were gathered through journals, books, documents and reliable Internet sources. Primary data were gathered in Ibadan, Nigeria in 2018 through 30 in-depth interviews analysed through content analysis. Findings reveal the nature of ICT used by international migrants and their kin and purpose of utilization and the effects of ICT on international migration, remittances and kinship networks. The article presents detailed data, narratives, interpretations and implications of relationships among international migration, ICT/social media and kinship networks. This article argues that ICT/social media is central to international migration decision-making, access of migrants and kin to social forces and factors motivating international migration, and it is very important to how migrants and kin maintain and/or weaken relationships and access to remittances and utilization.
Indirect Reciprocity for Mitigating Intergroup Hostility: A Vignette Experiment and an Agent-based Model on Intergroup Relations between Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese
Authors: Chiang Yen-Sheng
Published: September 2020

Social scientists have proposed myriad solutions for mitigating intergroup conflicts. While the literature, such as studies on intergroup contact theory, focuses on intergroup relations, we argue that it is important not to ignore intragroup relations that may benefit or undermine the improvement of intergroup relations at the same time. In this paper, we investigate a typology of eight mechanisms for the behavior of intergroup and intragroup relations. Specifically, we focused on interactions in a triad consisting of an actor paired up with two alters—one ingroup and one outgroup. The triadic network enabled us to theorize and test how intergroup and intragroup relations coevolve. We conducted a vignette experiment to test the intergroup relationship between mainland Chinese and Taiwanese. We found strong evidence for one mechanism for improving intergroup hostility: indirect reciprocity—people rewarded the outgroup for behaving friendly to their ingroup peers. Using agent-based simulation, we predicted that the triadic effect found in the one-shot experiment can continuously improve and stabilize intergroup relations over time.
Epidemiological Investigation of OHCWs with COVID-19
Authors: Meng L. , Ma B. , Cheng Y. , Bian Z.
Published: September 2020

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is an important risk of infection in health care workers, including oral health care workers (OHCWs), due to the characteristics of dental practice. In this retrospective study, data pertaining to the 31 OHCWs diagnosed with COVID-19 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, were retrieved and analyzed. Questionnaires were administered to the subjects over the Internet and telephone. Clinical and epidemiological characteristics and information on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) were collected. There were 22 females and 9 males, with a median age of 39 y. Although the severity of most cases of COVID-19 (93.5%) was mild or moderate, 1 case was severe, and another case was critical, resulting in death. Fever was the main first symptom of COVID-19, followed by fatigue and myalgia. Most of the OHCWs routinely used PPE such as medical masks, gloves, caps, and work clothes while performing clinical work. N95 or KN95 masks were rarely available because of the scarcity of PPE during the outbreak. Nineteen OHCWs reported a contact history, among whom 7 worked in a fever clinic, 5 reported contact with dental patients suspected of having COVID-19, and 7 reported contact with family members with COVID-19–related symptoms at least 1 d earlier. Our findings indicated that there were few clusters of COVID-19 in dental settings. Since the outbreak, the Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, has provided emergency dental treatment, and none of their staff were infected while providing dental service, which indicates that comprehensive measures such as the use of advanced PPE and environmental disinfection can prevent cross-infection in dental practice. The analysis of the procedures followed during the emergency treatments indicated that OHCWs preferred to recommend conservative treatment to patients, suggesting that attention should be paid to the psychological impact of COVID-19 on dental practitioners.
Multisite Effectiveness Study of the Marquette Method of Natural Family Planning Program
Authors: Mu Qiyan , Fehring Richard J. , Bouchard Thomas
Published: September 2020

Women of reproductive age need reliable and effective family planning methods to manage their fertility. Natural family planning (NFP) methods or fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) have been increasingly used by women due to their health benefits. Nevertheless, effectiveness of these natural methods remains inconsistent, and these methods are difficult for healthcare providers to implement in their clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Marquette Model NFP system to avoid pregnancy for women at multiple teaching sites using twelve months of retrospectively collected teaching data. Survival analysis (Kaplan–Meier) was used to determine typical unintended pregnancy rates for a total of 1,221 women. There were forty-two unintended pregnancies which provided a typical use unintended pregnancy rate of 6.7 per 100 women over twelve months of use. Eleven of the forty-two unintended pregnancies were associated with correct use of the method. The total unintended pregnancy rate over twelve months of use was 2.8 per 100 for women with regular cycles, 8.0 per 100 women for the postpartum and breastfeeding women, and 4.3 per 100 for women with irregular menstrual cycles. The Marquette Model system of NFP was effective when provided by health professionals who completed the Marquette Model NFP teacher training program.

This study involved determining whether healthcare professionals at ten sites across the United States and Canada trained to provide the Marquette Method NFP services can replicate the effectiveness demonstrated in previous studies of the method. We found a high level of effectiveness (i.e., very low pregnancy rates) in using the Marquette Method among women from various regions across North America with diverse reproductive backgrounds and in particular when using hormonal fertility marker. Healthcare providers who have been trained to teach NFP can successfully incorporate NFP services in their practice and assist their clients in choosing appropriate family planning methods.
A transformed proportional-integral-derivative controller for a multi-vectored propeller aerostat with independent actuator magnitude and rate saturations
Authors: Chen Li , Deng Yuxiang , Gao Qiyuan , Liu Jinguo
Published: September 2020

The problem of designing a controller for a multi-vectored propeller airship with independent amplitude and rate saturations is addressed. First, a linear Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller is introduced for position control without considering the input saturations. Then, two design methods are applied to the traditional PID control output to satisfy the independent amplitude and rate constraints: the nested saturated PID controller (N-PID) and the transformed PID controller (T-PID). The bounded magnitudes and rate outputs of the modified controllers are given. Simulation results showed both controllers have good tracking performance while satisfying independent amplitude and rate saturations. However, the transformed PID controller has the advantage of expressing explicitly the relationship of the actuator magnitude and rate saturations with the parameters of the transformed function such that the actuator saturations are suppressed by calculation but not by trial and error.
De/coloniality, disabled sexualities, and anti-oppressive education: a review of Southern African literature
Authors: Ubisi Lindokuhle
Published: September 2020

This review seeks to establish the current body of knowledge on the intersection of de/coloniality and the sexuality of disabled individuals. It suggests that few studies problematise the lack of such intersections in Southern Africa. The review locates this dearth of knowledge within the recent rollout of comprehensive sexuality education in schools, which remains silent to intersections of de/coloniality, disability, and sexuality. This analysis builds on the recommendation of Kumashiro to consider marginalised and post-structural theories in developing anti-oppressive education for disabled groups in terms of their sexualities. This becomes relevant as the sexuality of disabled individuals has been subject to institutional oppression based on colonial ideologies of health, beauty, and sexuality, since socio-medical discourses portray disabled individuals as infertile, non-sexual, and degendered. Given the shortage of relevant studies, the review uses the available local and international literature to locate the complex, interconnected structures and actors that perpetuate repressive colonial systems such as ableism, compulsory able-bodiedness, and heteronormativity within sexuality education. It suggests alternative ways of looking at these intersections within the diverse scope of comprehensive sexuality education. It does not claim that decoloniality is the panacea to erase the consequences of coloniality towards disabled sexualities, but suggests that it is one of the modalities that can redress the complex, interconnected systems of post-colonial oppression. The review recommends that future authors consider other marginalised and post-structural theories in conceptualising anti-oppressive education, like Foucauldian theories.
Careers in Psychology Course: Prevalence, Structure, and Timing
Authors: Pfund Rory A. , Hailstorks Robin , Stamm Karen E. , Christidis Peggy , Conroy Jessica C. , Norcross John C.
Published: September 2020

Despite the multiple benefits of the careers in psychology course, it is not universally offered in undergraduate programs. Teachers who wish to design such a course may wonder about its typical number of credits, when students should take the course, and how much it uses a common curriculum across sections. The 2018 Undergraduate Study in Psychology gathered data on these questions in a nationally representative sample of undergraduate programs at associate ( n = 60) and baccalaureate ( n = 180) institutions. In 2017–2018, 39% of baccalaureate programs and 12% of associate programs offered the course. Discussion centers on department-specific adaptations of the career course, its curricular alternatives, and future research. The authors also issue a call for action to more widely implement the career course nationally.
Interventions to Improve Breastfeeding Outcomes from Six Weeks to Six Months: A Systematic Review
Authors: Cordell Alexandra , Elverson Cynthia
Published: September 2020

In the United States, breastfeeding duration and exclusivity rates are not at ideal levels. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the effects of education and support interventions during the third trimester, immediate postpartum, and the first six months of life on breastfeeding duration and exclusivity from six weeks to six months. Inclusion criteria were (a) randomized controlled trials or controlled clinical trials, (b) pregnant and/or postpartum women, (c) lactation education and support interventions, (d) measurement of breastfeeding outcomes during the first six months, and (e) published between 2008 and 2020. Twenty articles (21 studies) were reviewed. Fourteen studies employed interventions that resulted in significant differences in breastfeeding outcomes between groups. Common study weaknesses included limited use of a theoretical model, incomplete description of the intervention, and inconsistent outcome definitions and measurements. Based on these results recommendations for future breastfeeding interventions were derived.
Stereotyped Beliefs About Adolescents and Parent and Teen Well-Being: The Role of Parent-Teen Communication
Authors: Silva Karol , Robles Reyneris J. , Friedrich Elizabeth , Fisher Thiel Megan , Ford Carol A. , Miller Victoria A.
Published: September 2020

Stereotyped beliefs about the teen years may guide individuals’ cognition, behaviors, and well-being. This study explored associations between parents’ generalized views of typical adolescents and parent and teen well-being and examined parent–adolescent communication (PAC) as a potential mechanism in that association. One-hundred twenty parent–teen dyads (adolescents: 13–15 years) were recruited from a pediatric primary-care practice in the United States. All data were collected via self-report. Parents who viewed typical adolescents more favorably (as friendly and upstanding/prosocial) reported higher well-being. This association was partly mediated by quality of PAC. Positive parental views of adolescents were related to higher adolescent well-being only indirectly via PAC. Similarly, negative parental views of adolescents were associated with parent and adolescent well-being indirectly via PAC. The findings point to PAC as a potential intervening variable that is linked to parents’ views of adolescents and parent and adolescent well-being. The current findings merit replication and further investigation using larger representative samples.
Efficacy and safety of bivalirudin application during primary percutaneous coronary intervention in older patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction
Authors: Chen Hongwu , Yu Xiaofan , Kong Xiangyong , Li Longwei , Wu Jiawei , Ma Likun
Published: September 2020

Objective

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is the most serious type of acute coronary syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of bivalirudin application during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) in older patients with acute STEMI.

Methods

A total of 672 older patients with STEMI (>75 years) who underwent PPCI were studied. The primary endpoints were 30-day net adverse clinical events (NACEs) post-emergency percutaneous coronary intervention, including major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium grades 2 to 5 (BARC 2–5) bleeding events.

Results

The incidence of NACEs and BARC 2–5 bleeding events in the bivalirudin group was significantly lower than that in the unfractionated heparin group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that bivalirudin significantly reduced 30-day NACEs (odds ratio: 0.700, 95% confidence interval: 0.492–0.995) and BARC 2–5 bleeding events (odds ratio: 0.561, 95% confidence interval: 0.343–0.918). At 1-year follow-up, these results were similar.

Conclusions

Bivalirudin can be safely and effectively used during PPCI in older patients with STEMI. Bivalirudin reduces the risks of NACEs and bleeding within 30 days after PPCI, without increasing the risks of MACCEs and stent thrombosis compared with heparin.
Spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in a nonpregnant female patient: a case report and literature review
Authors: Chai Wei , He Hongyu , Li Fei , Zhang Wenlei , He Chao
Published: September 2020

Spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (sOHSS) usually occurs in patients with a spontaneous ovulation cycle, especially in those with multiple pregnancies combined with hypothyroidism and polycystic ovary syndrome. sOHSS rarely occurs in women who are not pregnant. A 23-year-old woman with obvious abdominal distension visited our hospital. The patient was not pregnant and had not undergone controlled superovulation. Apart from abdominal distension, the patient denied any symptom of obvious incentives, abdominal pain, abnormal vaginal bleeding, or drainage. Biochemical analysis showed a high carbohydrate antigen-125 level and low total protein and albumin levels. Abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography showed a large amount of ascites and cystic uneven masses with an irregular shape in the area of the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Post-surgical histopathology indicated the diagnosis of sOHSS. Wedge resection of both ovaries was performed. Symptomatic treatment was further performed and the patient recovered well. Our findings indicate that sOHSS can occur in women who are not pregnant. Additionally, besides the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor gene mutation hypothesis, the pathogenesis of sOHSS should be further studied.
Influence of personality on music-genre exclusivity
Authors: Bansal Jotthi , Flannery Maya B , Woolhouse Matthew H
Published: September 2020

Studies reveal consistent relationships between personality and preferred musical genre. This article explores these relationships using a novel methodology: genre dispersion among people’s mobile-phone music collections. By analyzing the download behavior of genre-based user subgroups, we investigated the following questions: (1) do genre-based subgroups exhibit different levels of genre exclusivity; and (2) does genre exclusivity relate to Big Five personality factors? We hypothesized that genre-based subgroups would vary in genre exclusivity, and that their degree of exclusivity would be associated with the personality factor of openness (if people have open personalities, they should be open to different musical styles). Consistent with our hypothesis, results showed that greater genre inclusivity, that is, many genres in people’s music collections, positively correlated with openness and (unexpectedly) agreeableness, suggesting that individuals with high openness and agreeableness have wider musical tastes than those with low openness and agreeableness. By demonstrating an association between personality and patterns of music consumption, this research serves to corroborate previous work linking genre preference and personality. The practical implications of this research may be useful in the implementation of music-recommendation systems.
Effects of service quality on satisfaction in Eastern University Library, Bangladesh
Authors: Alam Md. Jahangir
Published: September 2020

This study evaluated the effects of SERVQUAL dimensions on user satisfaction at Eastern University Library, Bangladesh. A modified SERVQUAL instrument was adapted to the local arrangements and included 30 statements under five dimensions with a seven-point Likert scale for evaluating the effects of library service quality on user satisfaction. A survey was conducted among 51 teachers and 163 undergraduate and 38 postgraduate students. The effects of five SERVQUAL dimensions were computed through multiple regression analysis, where the five dimensions were used as independent variables and user satisfaction was used as the dependent variable. The regression model was established as significant ( p < 0.001) and explained the 56.9% variation in user satisfaction. The results recommended that tangible facilities ( p < 0.001), staff responsiveness ( p < 0.001) and the resources ( p < 0.004) of the library significantly influenced user satisfaction. Several statistical methods supported the reliability and validity of the model, which will prompt further research on service quality and its impact on user satisfaction in academic libraries.
Exploration of Statewide Fragmentation of Activity and Travel and a Taxonomy of Daily Time Use Patterns using Sequence Analysis in California
Authors: McBride Elizabeth Callahan , Davis Adam Wilkinson , Goulias Konstadinos G.
Published: September 2020

Sequence analysis is used in this paper to measure fragmentation in activity participation and travel. Fragmentation here is defined as the sequencing of many short and long activities and trips that happen in a personal daily schedule. Studying sequences of daily episodes (each activity at a place and each trip) is preferable over other techniques of studying activity–travel behavior because sequences include the entire trajectory of a person’s activity during a day while jointly considering the number of activities and trips, their ordering, and their durations. We first identify places visited and duration at each place on a minute-by-minute basis, then we derive representative daily behavior patterns using hierarchical clustering. Our study shows there are at least nine distinct daily patterns with different sequencing of activities and travel as well as travel time ratios and modal split. These patterns include typical commute to work or school, staying at home all day, or traveling extensively. As expected, day of the week plays a major role in the type of daily activity–travel patterns. Travel time ratios are also examined for each daily pattern and we find differences in the role played within each pattern between central city, suburban, exurban, and rural dwellers. In a comparison of couples, we find systematically higher fragmentation in households that have children and their parents are employed, with women showing higher fragmentation in the activity–travel patterns.
Comprehensive Framework for Quantitative Performance Assessment of Signal Control Effectiveness using Vehicle Trajectories
Authors: Ostojic Marija , Mittal Archak , Mahmassani Hani S.
Published: September 2020

Connected environments offer more information, improved data availability and quality which can lead to better decision making; new meaningful information adds new functionalities and opportunities to advance operational efficiency. Can traffic signal system efficiency and mobility be measured and enhanced in innovative and meaningful ways by combining two data sources - connected vehicle-generated and controller event logs? This paper develops a comprehensive signal systems performance assessment framework that aims to offer better understanding of current traffic signal practices and standards and add new functionalities and opportunities to enhance signal systems operations. Its core is a novel performance metric that provides a holistic representation of the system which traditional metrics do not offer. To develop and demonstrate the concept, the study used simulation data in a format that corresponds to high resolution data (signal status and vehicle positions) on a tenth of a second level. Vehicle trajectory information is processed, fused with control data, synthesized to produce "information" required to develop a signalized approach performance estimation method. The data analysis platform presented in this study is intended to comprehensively characterize the state of the signalized system and help identify causes of inferior intersection performance by defining a set of visual and quantitative success indicators. The practicality of this method is reflected in reducing the time and effort required by the existing signal design/retiming practice, since trajectory-signal signatures distinguish between incidents and retiming opportunities caused by changing traffic conditions.
Suicidality Over the First 5 Years of Psychosis: Does Extending Early Intervention Have Benefits?
Authors: Iyer Srividya N. , Mustafa Sally S. , Moro Laura , Jarvis G. Eric , Joober Ridha , Abadi Sherezad , Casacalenda Nicola , Margolese Howard C. , Abdel-Baki Amal , Lepage Martin , Malla Ashok
Published: September 2020

Objective:

We aimed to investigate whether individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) receiving extended early intervention (EI) were less likely to experience suicidal ideation and behaviors than those transferred to regular care after 2 years of EI. Another objective was to examine the 5-year course of suicidality in FEP.

Methods:

We conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial where 220 patients were randomized after 2 years of EI to receive extended EI or regular care for the subsequent 3 years. Suicidality was rated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Linear mixed model analysis was used to study time and group effects on suicidality.

Results:

Extended EI and regular care groups did not differ on suicidality. There was a small decrease in suicidality over time, F(7, 1038) = 1.84, P = 0.077, with an immediate sharp decline within a month of treatment, followed by stability over the remaining 5 years. Patients who endorsed suicidality at entry (46.6%) had higher baseline positive, negative, and depressive symptoms. The 5-year course fell in 3 groups: never endorsed suicidality (33.9%), endorsed suicidality at low-risk levels (43.1%), and endorsed high-risk levels (23.0%). The high-risk group had a higher proportion of affective versus nonaffective psychosis diagnosis; higher baseline positive and depressive symptoms; higher 5-year mean depression scores, and fewer weeks of positive symptom remission over the 5-year course.

Conclusions:

The first month of treatment is a critical period for suicide risk in FEP. Although early reductions in suicidality are often maintained, our findings make the case for sustained monitoring for suicide risk management.
Épidémiologie descriptive du risque suicidaire dans le système médical français de médecine générale
Authors: Ducher J.-L. , Llorca P.-M. , Callahan S. , de Chazeron I.
Published: September 2020

Objective:

Suicide prevention certainly includes a better knowledge of suicide risk in primary care. A number of international publications have shown interest in assessing this risk, but mostly through specific consultant populations: young patients, old patients, anhedonic, depressive, etc. Our study analyses suicide risk prevalence in patients consulting in general medicine for any somatic or psychiatric reason, their pathology or their age.

Method:

This cross-sectional study was conducted with adult patients (827 subjects included) who were consulting a French generalist doctor panel randomly selected. They filled a validated self-questionnaire (aRSD) assessing their suicide risk in the 15 preceding days and providing professional and personal data.

Results:

The totally operable 757 files (483 female; 274 male) show that close to a quarter of consultants (24.3%) presents with a positive suicide risk in the 15 days preceding their consultation and 6.3%, reveal a severe risk (aRSD ≥ 7) with ideas and impulses to commit the act. When the reason to consult is psychiatric, 64.6% of these consultants have aRSD positive. One time out of two, the risk is even severe.

Conclusions:

This data shows how important the suicide risk prevalence is in general medicine. It confirms the main role played by primary care patricians in acting to prevent suicide risk. This data also shows the contribution represented by a self-questionnaire that would rapidly assess the suicide intent while screening, it.
Inhibitor of DNA binding 2 (Id2) Regulates Photic Entrainment Responses in Mice: Differential Responses of the Id2-/- Mouse Circadian System Are Dependent on Circadian Phase and on Duration and Intensity of Light
Authors: Duffield Giles E. , Han Sung , Hou Tim Y. , de la Iglesia Horacio O. , McDonald Kathleen A. , Mecklenburg Kirk L. , Robles-Murguia Maricela
Published: September 2020

ID2 is a rhythmically expressed helix–loop–helix transcriptional repressor, and its deletion results in abnormal properties of photoentrainment. By examining parametric and nonparametric models of entrainment, we have started to explore the mechanism underlying this circadian phenotype. Id2-/- mice were exposed to differing photoperiods, and the phase angle of entrainment under short days was delayed 2 h as compared with controls. When exposed to long durations of continuous light, enhanced entrainment responses were observed after a delay of the clock but not with phase advances. However, the magnitude of phase shifts was not different in Id2-/- mice tested in constant darkness using a discrete pulse of saturating light. No differences were observed in the speed of clock resetting when challenged by a series of discrete pulses interspaced by varying time intervals. A photic phase-response curve was constructed, although no genotypic differences were observed. Although phase shifts produced by discrete saturating light pulses at CT16 were similar, treatment with a subsaturating pulse revealed a ~2-fold increase in the magnitude of the Id2-/- shift. A corresponding elevation of light-induced per1 expression was observed in the Id2-/- suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). To test whether the phenotype is based on a sensitivity change at the level of the retina, pupil constriction responses were measured. No differences were observed in responses or in retinal histology, suggesting that the phenotype occurs downstream of the retina and retinal hypothalamic tract. To test whether the phenotype is due to a reduced amplitude of state variables of the clock, the expression of clock genes per1 and per2 was assessed in vivo and in SCN tissue explants. Amplitude, phase, and period length were normal in Id2-/- mice. These findings suggest that ID2 contributes to a photoregulatory mechanism at the level of the SCN central pacemaker through control of the photic induction of negative elements of the clock.
Neurophysiologic Intraoperative Monitoring for Spine Surgery: A Practical Guide From Past to Present
Authors: Buhl Lauren K. , Bastos Andres Brenes , Pollard Richard J. , Arle Jeffrey E. , Thomas George P. , Song Yinchen , Boone M. Dustin
Published: September 2020

Intraoperative neuromonitoring was introduced in the second half of the 20th century with the goal of preventing patient morbidity for patients undergoing complex operations of the central and peripheral nervous system. Since its early use for scoliosis surgery, the growth and utilization of IOM techniques expanded dramatically over the past 50 years to include spinal tumor resection and evaluation of cerebral ischemia. The importance of IOM has been broadly acknowledged, and in 1989, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) released a statement that the use of SSEPs should be standard-of-care during spine surgery. In 2012, both the AAN and the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS) recommended that: “Intraoperative monitoring (IOM) using SSEPs and transcranial MEPs be established as an effective means of predicting an increased risk of adverse outcomes, such as paraparesis, paraplegia, and quadriplegia, in spinal surgery.” With a multimodal approach that combines SSEPs, MEPs, and sEMG with tEMG and D waves, as appropriate, sensitivity and specificity can be maximized for the diagnosis of reversible insults to the spinal cord, nerve roots, and peripheral nerves. As with most patient safety efforts in the operating room, IOM requires contributions from and communication between a number of different teams. This comprehensive review of neuromonitoring techniques for surgery on the central and peripheral nervous system will highlight the technical, surgical and anesthesia factors required to optimize outcomes. In addition, this review will discuss important trouble shooting measures to be considered when managing ION changes concerning for potential injury.
Early Identification of IgA Anti-SARSCoV-2 in Milk of Mother With COVID-19 Infection
Authors: Lebrão Cibele Wolf , Cruz Manuela Navarro , Silva Mariliza Henrique da , Dutra Letícia Veríssimo , Cristiani Camila , Affonso Fonseca Fernando Luiz , Suano-Souza Fabíola Isabel
Published: September 2020

Introduction

Human milk cannot currently be considered a major source of COVID-19 infection. On the other hand, it can contain specific antibodies that could modulate a possible newborn infection by SARS-CoV-2.

Main issue

A 32-year-old pregnant woman, gestational age 37 and 3/7 weeks, was admitted with a flu-like syndrome caused by COVID-19. The female newborn was appropriate for gestational age, with a birth weight of 2,890 g, length 48 cm, and head circumference 34 cm.

Management

The mother–infant dyad remained in the rooming-in unit during hospitalization, exclusively breastfeeding and following World Health Organization recommendations for contact and airway precautions. On the 3rd day after delivery, two mother’s milk samples (3 and 5 mL) were collected by hand expression. The samples were centrifuged for 10 min twice consecutively to separate fat, which was removed, and the remaining material was transferred to another tube to determine anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoglobulin A and Immunoglobulin G (ELISA, Kit EUROIMMUN AG, Luebeck, Germany). Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoglobulin A was detected in the two samples evaluated, whose values were 2.5 and 1.9, respectively. No anti-SARSCoV-2 immunoglobulin G was detected. The exclusively-breastfed infant remained well through 45 days of age.

Conclusion

The presence of SARS-CoV-2 Immunoglobulin A in the milk of mothers infected with COVID-19 may be related to protection against the transmission and severity of the disease in their infants.
Optimization and assessment of MWCNT dispersion in polypropylene nanocomposite films
Authors: Khare Vivek , Kamle Sudhir
Published: September 2020

Functionalized carbon nanotubes dispersion in polypropylene is optimized and investigated using thresholding based image segmentation. Carbon nanotubes polypropylene films are developed using solution casting method and MWCNT dispersion is optimized upto 1% MWCNT concentration. Dispersion state is investigated by thresholding based image segmentation and agglomeration estimation method applied on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. K-means clustering algorithm is applied further to validate the thresholding algorithm by calculating the MWCNT weight % in processed SEM images. It is found that the proposed clustering algorithm can detect MWCNT concentration significantly upto 1%. To further validate the dispersion studies, developed nanocomposite films are used to fabricate the dragonfly inspired artificial flapping wings. The natural frequency was found maximum for 1% MWCNT-COOH-PP wing at 52.27 Hz.
Lessons from Covid-19 and a resilience model for higher education
Authors: Nandy Monomita , Lodh Suman , Tang Audrey
Published: September 2020

In this article the authors first highlight major challenges that higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing during the Covid-19 pandemic. They then consider the challenges HEIs should expect in the post-Covid period. In practice, HEIs are keen to maintain their core activities during the pandemic and in this context the authors examine how institutions can continue their activities efficiently by addressing issues related to the potential socio-psychological damage to stakeholders in higher education. To answer this question, they recommend the application of an all-inclusive resilience model at the beginning of the recovery period to withstand the shock of the pandemic and show how an HEI can apply the antifragile model for the advancement and betterment of the experience of individuals associated with it. The recommendations of the study contribute to the literature related to HEIs and the coronavirus, and constitute practical guidance for a post-Covid model that may be followed by HEIs around the world.
Passivity control for nonlinear real-time hybrid tests
Authors: Peiris LD Hashan , Plummer Andrew R , du Bois Jonathan L
Published: September 2020

In real-time hybrid testing, systems are separated into a numerically simulated substructure and a physically tested substructure, coupled in real time using actuators and force sensors. Actuators tend to introduce spurious dynamics to the system which can result in inaccuracy or even instability. Conventional means of mitigating these dynamics can be ineffective in the presence of nonlinearity in the physical substructure or transfer system. This article presents the first experimental tests of a novel passivity-based controller for hybrid testing. Passivity control was found to stabilize a real-time hybrid test which would otherwise exhibit instability due to the combination of actuator lag and a stiff physical substructure. Limit cycle behaviour caused by nonlinear friction in the actuator was also reduced by 95% with passivity control, compared to only 64% for contemporary methods. The combination of passivity control with conventional methods is shown to reduce actuator lag from 35.3° to 13.7°. A big advantage of passivity control is its simplicity compared with model-based compensators, making it an attractive choice in a wide range of contexts.
Timing of inducing therapeutic hypothermia in patients successfully resuscitated after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Authors: Kim Doo Youp , Park Jin Sup , Lee Sun Hak , Choe Jeong Cheon , Ahn Jin Hee , Lee Hye Won , Oh Jun Hyok , Choi Jung Hyun , Lee Han Cheol , Cha Kwang Soo , Hong Taek Jong
Published: September 2020

Background:

Therapeutic hypothermia can improve neurological status in cardiac arrest survivors.

Objectives:

We investigated the association between the timing of inducing therapeutic hypothermia and neurological outcomes in patients who experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Methods:

We evaluated data from 116 patients who were comatose after return of spontaneous circulation and those who received therapeutic hypothermia between January 2013 and April 2017. The primary endpoint was good neurological outcomes during index hospitalization, defined as a cerebral performance category score of 1 or 2. Therapeutic hypothermia timing was defined as the duration from the return of spontaneous circulation to hypothermia initiation. We analyzed the effect of early hypothermia induction on neurological results.

Results:

In total, 112 patients were enrolled. The median duration to hypothermia initiation was 284 min (25th–75th percentile, 171–418 min). Eighty-two (69.5%) patients underwent hypothermia within 6 h, and 30 (25.4%) had good neurological outcomes. The rates of good neurological outcomes by hypothermia initiation time quartile (shortest to longest) were 28.3%, 34.5%, 14.8%, and 28.6% (p = 0.401). The good neurologic outcomes did not differ between hypothermia patients within 6 h or after (26.5% vs 26.7%, p = 0.986). Short low-flow time and bystander resuscitation were associated with good neurological outcomes (p = 0.044, confidence interval: 0.027–0.955), but the timing of hypothermia initiation was not (p = 0.602, confidence interval: 0.622–1.317).

Conclusion:

A shorter low-flow time was associated with good neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients who experienced hypothermia. However, inducing hypothermia sooner, even within 6 h, did not improve the neurological outcomes. Thus, as current guidelines recommend, initiating hypothermia within 6 h of recovery of spontaneous circulation is reasonable.