bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Double Pump Sequential Constant Citrate Anticoagulation in General Hemodialysis
Authors: Tang Li , Zhang Jiali , Cheng Qijun , Li Jie , Zhou Ling , Wang Li , Liao Changbin
Published: July 2022

Objective. To investigate the safety and efficacy of single-pump and double-pump sequential anticoagulation in general hemodialysis under the condition of constant citrate. Methods. A total of 32 patients with end-stage renal disease complicated with hemorrhage admitted by Zigong Third People’s Hospital from December 2019 to December 2020 were collected. Randomly divided into single pump group (

n
=
17

) and double pump group (

n
=
15

). The coagulation of dialyzer and intravenous pot was compared between the two groups. Then, the changes of serum calcium before treatment, after 2 h treatment, and after the completion of the treatment, and the front of the blood pump and intravenous pot, as well as behind the intravenous pot were observed and recorded in the two groups. Then, single-pool clearance of urea/volume (spKt/V) was compared between the two groups. Results. There were few differences in dialyzer coagulation between the single pump group and double pump group. However, the single pump group had a significant increase in the number of intravenous pot coagulations than the double pump group. At 2 h for dialysis, the serum calcium level behind the intravenous pot in the double pump group was notably lower than that in the single pump group. And after the completion of dialysis, the serum calcium returned to pretreatment level. The Kt/v in both groups reached the normal standard without statistically significant difference. And there were no adverse reactions in the patients of both groups after dialysis. Conclusion. For hemodialysis patients with bleeding, dual-pump segmented anticoagulation is superior to single-pump anticoagulation in intravenous pot anticoagulation. Double pump segmented sequential constant citrate anticoagulation can be utilized as a new simple and effective anticoagulation method for clinical hemodialysis.
Thought and Politics Teaching Students’ Mental Health Impact Model Based on Fuzzy Control Algorithm
Authors: YIN Te-ni-la , Nhung Vien
Published: July 2022

The rapid development of modern science and technology has led to the increasing scale of production systems and the formation of large and complex systems, resulting in the increasing complexity of control objects, controllers, and control tasks and purposes. The problem of how to better play the nurturing function of professional courses and realize the combination of knowledge transfer and value leadership is addressed. Compared with traditional teaching methods, the combination of mental health knowledge and ideological and political content can effectively improve the life satisfaction of college students and thus promote the completion of teaching objectives. Based on the background of the current new social development, the values of college students are gradually tending to diversify, which brings certain difficulties to the development of thought and politics teaching in schools. In the new era, the psychological health and thought dynamics of college students are getting more and more attention from the society and schools. To establish positive and healthy “three views,” students are closely related to teaching of psychological fitness and thought and politics teaching. In this paper, we study the influence model of thought and politics teaching based on fuzzy control algorithm (FL) in order to achieve a scientific and systematic teaching method and good teaching effect. In this paper, the construction of FL-based thought and politics teaching students’ mental health influence model is studied, in order to achieve a scientific and systematic teaching method and good teaching effect. The experimental results show that the average correct rate of the endpoints corresponding to the endpoints detected by FL’s thought and politics teaching model is 76.99%, which is 42.85% higher than that of the nonlinear SISO system algorithm. Therefore, the endpoint detection algorithm of FL’s thought and politics teaching model combined with amplitude and phase information has a higher correct rate. Therefore, this paper can analyze the psychology of different groups of college students, so as to draw more accurate conclusions in the field of student psychology, and then improve the psychological health of individual college students. Therefore, the research in this paper can meet the intrinsic requirements of the psychological and ideological health development of college students, strengthen the theoretical research on the infiltration of teaching of psychological fitness into the teaching of civics, improve the teaching mode, and innovate the educational methods.
[Retracted] Detection of Pancreatic Cancer in CT Scan Images Using PSO SVM and Image Processing
Authors: Ansari Arshiya S. , Zamani Abu Sarwar , Mohammadi Mohammad Sajid , Meenakshi  , Ritonga Mahyudin , Ahmed Syed Sohail , Pounraj Devabalan , Kaliyaperumal Karthikeyan
Published: July 2022

A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is one of the worst cancers that may be received anywhere in the world; the five‐year survival rate is very less. The majority of cases of this condition may be traced back to pancreatic cancer. Due to medical image scans, a significant number of cancer patients are able to identify abnormalities at an earlier stage. The expensive cost of the necessary gear and infrastructure makes it difficult to disseminate the technology, putting it out of the reach of a lot of people. This article presents detection of pancreatic cancer in CT scan images using machine PSO SVM and image processing. The Gaussian elimination filter is utilized during the image preprocessing stage of the removal of noise from images. The K means algorithm uses a partitioning technique to separate the image into its component parts. The process of identifying objects in an image and determining the regions of interest is aided by image segmentation. The PCA method is used to extract important information from digital photographs. PSO SVM, naive Bayes, and AdaBoost are the algorithms that are used to perform the classification. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the PSO SVM algorithm are better.
Mechanical Properties Damage, Fracture Evolution, and Constitutive Model of Siltstone under the Effect of Moisture Content
Authors: Wang Weinan , Yao Qiangling , Tang Chuanjin , Li Haitao , Liu Hengyi , Shan Changhao
Published: July 2022

In order to study the weakening mechanism of mechanical properties and the evolution of fracture of water-bearing rocks, cylindrical standard siltstone samples with four moisture contents (0, 2.85, 3.87, and 4.25%) were prepared, and the mechanical properties, damage mode, AE characteristics, and fractal law of water-bearing rock samples were studied by means of uniaxial compression test and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring technique, and based on the test findings, a constitutive model of the entire process of rock deformation and damage under uniaxial compression was built with different moisture content of rock. The results show that with the increase of moisture content, the peak stress, the stress threshold of void compaction stage, and the stress threshold of elastic stage of the rock samples decreased linearly, elastic modulus decreased exponentially as a function, and the peak strain, the strain threshold of void compaction stage, and the strain threshold of elastic stage increased linearly. The higher the moisture content, the weaker the AE signal intensity and the smaller the AE count value. From dry to saturated, the damage form of rock samples gradually transitioned from predominantly tensile damage to predominantly shear damage. The fractal dimension of the broken block linearly decreases as the moisture content rises. The model constructed in this paper has good applicability to the deformation characteristics of water-bearing rocks under uniaxial compression before the peak stress; it especially can express the rock void compaction stage, but it cannot accurately describe the postpeak deformation characteristics.
[Retracted] Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Incorporated in the Metal Mesh Used to Enhance the Heat Transfer Performance of the Catalytic Converter and to Reduce Emission
Authors: Prabhahar M. , Prakash S. , Saravana Kumar M. , Sendilvelan S. , Sreerag M. V. , Akhil Vishnu B. S. , Samad Asif , Rani B. Jansi , Allasi Haiter Lenin , Haile Adisu , Issac Praveen Kumar
Published: July 2022

Heating the catalysts chemically at a cold start is indeed an approach to achieving catalytic performance. The purpose of this effort is to reduce cold flow emissions to background levels during regular engine operation. To address this issue, a thermal model was created, and a temperature study of various configurations was performed utilizing the computational dynamics method. This was followed by a regression model to confirm the results of the experiment. The article discusses how using a computational fluid dynamic to simulate the transient temperature profile of a chemically heated catalytic converter (CHCC) in exhaust may aid in the development of a much more powerful and energy‐efficient catalytic converter. In this research, nanoparticles have been used as a heat transfer enhancement agent to improve the thermal conductivity of the exhaust gases. This work has been proposed to calculate the flow behaviour and heat transfer of nanoparticles in the proposed catalytic converter. The nanomaterial composite, created by incorporating copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO2) on the surfaces of metal mesh, is used in the catalytic converter. The analytical technique has previously demonstrated its use in better predicting and comprehending the dynamic behaviour of a tightly linked catalyst and its thermally light‐off period. The converter was evaluated in this study together with the SI (spark ignition) engine, and the data collected has been verified using analysis of regression. It is seen that in the converter with nanocopper oxide configuration, 50% carbon monoxide (CO) conversion efficiency is possible when the temperature of the main converter reaches 250°C and the CO is initially 2.7% Vol, and after reaching light off, it is 1.95% Vol. The time it takes to reach 250°C is 48 seconds after a cold start. In the case of hydrocarbons (HC), 50% HC conversion is reached during the test period of 168 seconds after the cold start. The HC is 605 ppm initially, and after light off, it is 130 ppm. The time taken to reach the HC light‐off temperature is 300°C, with nanocopper oxide reaching this temperature in 168 seconds.
[Retracted] Dapagliflozin Improves Diabetic Cardiomyopathy by Modulating the Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway
Authors: Ren Mengxiang , Pan Dabin , Zha Dayong , Shan Zeyang
Published: July 2022

Background. Dapagliflozin can significantly improve heart failure, and Cx43 is one of the molecular mechanisms of heart failure. This study investigated the effect of dapagliflozin on Cx43 and Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in ventricular myocytes. Methods. A rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus was established by high‐fat diet combined with streptozotocin, and the animals were treated randomly with dapagliflozin. The morphological changes of the myocardium were observed by hematoxylin eosin staining, and the expression and distribution of Cx43 in ventricular myocytes were detected by immunohistochemistry. And Western blot determined the expressions of Cx43, Akt, mTOR, p62, and LC3 proteins in rat myocardium. Results. Compared with the normal control group, the heart rate of diabetic rats decreased significantly (p < 0.05), QRS wave of ECG widened, and QT interval prolonged (p < 0.05). Dapagliflozin treatment in diabetic rats resulted in improvements in these ECG indexes (p < 0.05) with early administration group obtaining greater efficacy than the late administration group (p < 0.05). In the normal control group, the cardiomyocytes were arranged orderly, and the expression of Cx43 was dense, uniform, and regular, which was higher than that in the intercalated disc. In the diabetic control model group, the cardiomyocytes were enlarged and presented disorderly with detection of Cx43 in the cytoplasm. Early use of dapagliflozin better improved these myocardial tissue lesions. Of note, as diabetic rats exhibited decreased expression of Cx43, Akt, and mTOR (p < 0.05), increased p62 expression (p < 0.05), and decreased LC3‐II/I ratio (p < 0.05), administration of dapagliflozin partially reversed the expression of the above proteins (p < 0.05) with greater improvement in the early administration group compared with the late administration group (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Dapagliflozin increases the expression of Cx43 in cardiomyocytes of diabetic rats and thereby alleviates heart failure partly through regulating the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.
The Javan Leopard Panthera pardus melas (Cuvier, 1809) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in West Java, Indonesia: estimating population density and occupancy
Authors: Ario Anton , Mercusiana Senjaya , Rustiadi Ayi , Gumilang Robi , I Gede Gelgel Darma Putra Wirawan  , Ahmad Slamet Toni
Published: July 2022

The Javan Leopard is endemic to the Indonesian island of Java and has been classified as Endangered. Reliable information about its population status, distribution, and density is lacking but are essential to guide conservation efforts and provide a benchmark for management decisions. Our study represents the first empirical density and occupancy estimates for the Leopard in West Java and provides baseline data for this region. We used camera trap data collected from February 2009 to October 2018 in six study areas comprising a sampling effort of 10,955 camera trap days in a total area of 793.5 km2. We identified 55 individual Leopards in these areas and estimated Leopard density using spatially explicit capture-recapture. Population density estimates range from 4.9 individuals/100 km2 in Gunung Guntur-Papandayan Nature Reserve to 16.04 individuals/100 km2 in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. Latter is among the globally highest Leopard densities. Based on detection data, we modelled single-season Leopard occupancy using three sampling covariates and eight site covariates. Modelling revealed that the two covariates forest cover and presence of Wild Boar are the strongest predictors for Leopard occupancy in our study areas. We recommend assessing and monitoring Leopard distribution, density and occupancy in other areas of Java and emphasize that a landscape approach for conservation of the Javan Leopard is imperative.
A new southern distribution record for Pacific Marten Martes caurina
Authors: Maximilian L. Allen  , Brianne Kenny  , Benjamin Crawford  , Morgan J. Farmer
Published: July 2022

ThePacific Marten is a mesocarnivore that is native to western North America, with a distribution that ranges from the boreal forests of southern British Columbia to the southern terminus of the Rocky Mountains in north-central New Mexico. Martens are considered a state-threatened species in New Mexico, and the southern extent of their range is unclear. We documented a sighting of a Pacific Marten at 35.835, -105.750, north-east of Santa Fe that is farther south than any confirmed marten sighting since 1884. It is unknown if this sighting represents the documentation of a population or just a lone individual. It is unlikely that marten populations would extend much farther south, as this is near the southern terminus of the Rocky Mountains. However, a systematic survey to determine the distribution of this southern population would inform conservation of Pacific Martens within the state.
Remarks on Tucker S. Ferda, Jesus, the Gospels and the Galilean Crisis
Authors: Schröter Jens
Published: July 2022

This article is an appreciative and critical engagement with Tucker Ferda’s book, Jesus, the Gospels, and the Galilean Crisis.
A Multicultural Approach to the Idea of Tragedy
Authors: Nishi Kinya
Published: July 2022

In The Death of Tragedy (1961) George Steiner observed that tragedy as a form of drama was “distinctive of Western tradition.” Today, critics and scholars are understandably impatient with this position. Indeed, Andrew Gerstle points to Japanese traditional theater to challenge the idea that there can only be one norm of the concept of the tragic. Yet both Steiner and Gerstle absolutize formalistically the power of tragic art to reveal an unalterable human condition, thereby disconnecting great literary achievements from the perception of contemporary society. The argument of this essay is inspired by Raymond William’s notion of “modern tragedy,” which considers tragedy as a representation of our experience of the permanent contradictions in the process of modernization. From this perspective I critically examine the reception of traditional and modern Japanese literature in an attempt to establish through multicultural dialogue a truly inclusive framework for the interpretation of tragic art.
Architecture – A Worldly Stage
Authors: Erzen Jale Nejdet
Published: July 2022

This essay attempts to illustrate the vital dialogue there is between architecture and theatre, not only in the sense that the former resembles a worldly stage but also in the way it intentionally designates spaces for events to be seen and experienced. The origins of architecture go back to the erection of spaces to facilitate the dialogue between humans and gods. The stage is the embodiment and objectification of the flow of life. It makes it possible to contemplate both the present and the past thereby creating narratives. Architecture is also a mediator for us to observe our own actions. The theatrical quality of space in relation to the movements of the body and the bodily perceptions of spatial elements, leads to an active participation in the unfolding of meanings. The city has not only been defined as theatre by many urbanists; it has also throughout history been designed and formed as a natural stage. Baroque Rome, the impressionists’ paintings of Paris, or Byzantine Constantinople with its many spectacles illustrate well this dimension of the city.
What It Means to Be an American Today: Democracy “To Come”
Authors: Atterton Peter
Published: July 2022

This essay addresses the question of what it means to be an American today. In the first half, I respond to Samuel P. Huntington’s claim that America’s national identity is fundamentally Anglo-Protestant by rehearsing Jacques Derrida’s argument that the founding of a nation whose self-understanding is based on the idea of a social contract, such as the United States, implies an “originating violence” governed by extralegal considerations. In the second half, I discuss the “melting pot” and “salad bowl” concepts of American identity and show how deconstruction does not force us to choose between them. However, I suggest that the dynamic nature of the melting pot is more consonant with the deconstructionist idea of the American people “to come” presented in the first half.
Mortal Vocabularies vs. Immortal Propositions
Authors: Reed-Tsocha Katerina
Published: July 2022

Over thirty years ago, Richard Rorty’s Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature declared the demise of epistemology and the arrival of a new post-Philosophical era. Rorty envisaged the intellectual activity of this predominantly literary culture as an unconstrained large-scale conversation that would flourish in an “ecstasy of spiritual freedom.” Having abandoned all systematic pretensions, edifying philosophers would add their voice to the conversation of mankind, fully aware of the radical incommensurability of the mortal vocabularies they employ. In an attempt to evaluate this radical proposal, the first part of this essay argues that some of Rorty’s most memorable utopian statements are far-fetched, rhetorical and often exaggerated to the point that they damage his broad humanistic vision. Building on this, the second part discusses the “missed potential” of Rorty’s excessively broad notion of a conversation of mankind and of the uncompromisingly anti-essentialist and anti-foundationalist reorientation that he proposes.
Sustaining Cultures in the Face of Globalization
Authors: Hassoun Nicole , Wong David B.
Published: July 2022

Arguments for the preservation of culture are based on an extremely problematic essentialist conception of culture as a fixed entity. The inadequacy of the essentialist conception has received increasing recognition, but an adequate positive conception has yet to take its place. This essay reframes the debate about cultural preservation by proposing a new conception of culture as conversation. The new conception acknowledges the fluidity and internal contestation that occurs within actual cultures, and the agency of a culture’s members in creating, transmitting and revising that culture. We make this new conception our basis for proposing that a proper concern for the value of a culture should be realized in enabling its members to sustain it, not to preserve some pre-existing essence. Adopting this more viable notion of culture also changes our conception of what needs to be done to sustain it, and allows us to acknowledge and better deal with the complex arguments for and against sustaining culture.
Portrait as Dialogue: Exercising the Dialogical Self
Authors: Böck Angelika
Published: July 2022

To what extent are artists and sitters (or researchers and “objects” of investigation) implicated in their representations of others? How implicated are we when we identify with the way different cultures or perspectives represent ourselves? Understanding how specific forms of representation reveal differently authored perceptions of the individual is a critical concern. My overarching concern, as an artist, is to start mapping contemporary practices of identity formation and expression through the investigation of specific non- Western and subcultural modes that prioritise different codes and social processes of cultural production – modes that do not privilege the gaze. Crucially, the case studies operate a strategic reversal of the classical artistic and scientific approaches: both sides in this dialogue of interpretation and representation involving the artist/researcher and the cultural actor are equally subject and object. The resulting artworks present distinct cultural practices as new possibilities for portrayal, and acts of selection, interpretation and definition as forms of cultural production.
“Manly” Drinks and Secretive Cooks: On the Development of Students’ Gendered Identities
Authors: Hale Hannah
Published: July 2022

This study explored how social representations of food and health fit into the development of masculinities. In what ways does the transition into Higher Education impact on students’ eating and drinking behaviours? And where do representations of food and health fit into the development of masculinities? A total of thirty-five students from two separate higher education establishments in Ireland took part. Fourteen semi-structured individual interviews (7 males, 7 females) and four focus groups (6 males in one, 5 males in two and 6 females in another) were conducted. A thematic analysis indicated that increasing unhealthy behaviour among young people is not just about their disinclination to engage with an active comprehension of the implications of their behaviour for their future. Rather, their choice of food and drink, and the quantity of alcohol they consume has more to do with attaining and maintaining their gendered identities within a community of students.
The nomenclature and taxonomy of Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae resolved
Authors: SMITH GIDEON F. , MONRO ANNA M.
Published: July 2022

The two subfamily names Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae and Crassulaceae subfam. Cotyledonoideae were simultaneously validly published by Alwin Berger in 1930. In a long-overlooked contribution, René C.J.E. Maire was the first to combine these two taxa and when he did so, in 1977, adopted the name Crassulaceae subfam. Cotyledonoideae for the united subfamily and unambiguously included Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae in synonymy. However, crassuloid systematists have continued to use the name Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae at this rank virtually exclusively for the past ca. 30 years. This subfamily, as presently circumscribed, consists of the genera Adromischus, Cotyledon (nom. cons.), Kalanchoe, and Tylecodon, and in phylogenetic studies is also widely referred to as the Kalanchoe clade. We do not follow Maire and rather propose maintenance of the name Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae, with a proposal to reject the name Crassulaceae subfam. Cotyledonoideae being under consideration. The circumscription of Crassulaceae subfam. Kalanchooideae is here formally amended to reflect its current circumscription as a monophyletic unit.
Typification of the name Brachypodium obtusifolium (Brachypodieae, Poaceae)
Authors: FERRER-GALLEGO P. PABLO , MARTÍNEZ LABARGA JUAN M.
Published: July 2022

Brachypodium Palisot de Beauvois (1812: 100,155) (Brachypodieae, Pooideae) is a temperate grass distributed in Europe and Asia with disjunct occurrences in Central America and Central and Southern Africa (Schippmann 1991, Catalán & Olmstead 2000, Piep 2007).  Brachypodium obtusifolium Lagasca ex Link (1821: 95) is a Spanish endemic species, restricted to the mountainous zone of Sierra Nevada, Sierra Tejeda, Sierra de Almijara and Sierra de Cázulas (provinces of Granada and Málaga) (Romero 2009; López González 2021).
Near-Surface Atmospheric Behavior over Complex Tropical Topography in Puerto Rico Dominated by Seasonal Patterns Despite Frequent Environmental Changes
Authors: Van Beusekom Ashley E. , González Grizelle
Published: July 2022

Understanding near-surface atmospheric behavior in the tropics is imperative given the role of tropical energy fluxes in Earth’s climate cycles, but this area is complicated by a land–atmosphere interaction that includes rugged topography, seasonal weather drivers, and frequent environmental disturbances. This study examines variation in near-surface atmospheric behaviors in northeastern Puerto Rico using a synthesis of data from lowland and montane locations under different land covers (forest, urban, and rural) during 2008–21, when a severe drought, large hurricanes (Irma and Maria), and the COVID-19 mobility-reducing lockdown occurred. Ceilometer, weather, air quality, radiosonde, and satellite data were analyzed for annual patterns and monthly time series of data and data correlations. The results showed a system that is strongly dominated by easterly trade winds transmitting regional oceanic patterns over terrain. Environmental disturbances affected land–atmosphere interaction for short time periods after events. Events that reduce the land signature (reducing greenness: e.g., drought and hurricanes, or reducing land pollution: e.g., COVID-19 lockdown) were evidenced to strengthen the transmission of the oceanic pattern. The most variation in near-surface atmospheric behavior was seen in the mountainous areas that were influenced by both factors: trade winds, and terrain-induced orographic lifting. As an exception to the rest of the near-surface atmospheric behavior, pollutants other than ozone did not correlate positively or negatively with stronger trade winds at all sites across the region. Instead, these pollutants were hypothesized to be more anthropogenically influenced. Once COVID-19 lockdown had persisted for 3 months, urban pollution decreased and cloud base may have increased.
Novel Parameterization of Ice Cloud Effective Diameter from Collocated CALIOP-IIR and CloudSat Retrievals
Authors: Dolinar Erica K. , Campbell James R. , Marquis Jared W. , Garnier Anne E. , Karpowicz Bryan M.
Published: July 2022

Satellite-based measurements of global ice cloud microphysical properties are sampled to develop a novel set of physical parameterizations, relating to cloud layer temperature and effective diameter De, that can be implemented for two separate applications: in numerical weather prediction models and lidar-based cloud radiative forcing studies. Ice cloud optical properties (i.e., spectral scattering and absorption) are estimated based on the effective size and habit mixture of the cloud particles. Historically, the ice cloud De has been parameterized from aircraft in situ measurements. However, aircraft-based parameterizations are opportunistic in that they only represent specific types of clouds (e.g., convective anvil, tropopause-topped cirrus) in the regions in which they were sampled and, in some cases, are limited in fully resolving the entire vertical cloud layer. Breaking away from the aircraft-based parameterization paradigm, this study is the first of its kind to attempt a parameterization of De as a function of temperature, ice water content (IWC), and lidar-derived extinction from satellite-based global oceanic measurements of ice clouds. Data from both active and passive remote sensing sensors from two of NASA’s A-Train satellites, CloudSat and CALIPSO, are collected to guide development of globally robust parameterizations of all ice cloud types and one exclusively for cirrus clouds.

Significance Statement

We derived unique parameterizations of ice crystal effective size from global satellite measurements in an effort to more robustly and consistently represent ice clouds in numerical models for weather forecasting and climate energy balance studies. Based on our results, effective ice crystal size is easily solved based on temperature and visible cloud translucence. By knowing the size of the ice crystals, we can then estimate cloud scattering and absorption. In comparison with aircraft-based parameterizations, the satellite data reveal that ice crystal effective sizes are much smaller, on global average, for ice clouds occurring in relatively warm layers (>230 K), indicating that many ice clouds are more reflective than previously believed.
The ephemeral self: The legitimacy of an advance euthanasia directive
Authors: Doomen Jasper
Published: July 2022

It is hard to say at what point someone with dementia has changed so dramatically that the self that existed before the dementia manifested itself cannot be said to exist (anymore). This issue raises important existential questions and may call into question the validity of a living will, in particular that of an advance euthanasia directive. The idea that the request expressed in such a directive should always be respected, regardless of conflicting expressions by the severely demented individual, may conflict with the interests of that individual. Balancing the various interests is the difficult task undertaken in this paper.
Do Rural-Urban Identities Affect Individuals’ Health? Evidence From China
Authors: Lu Feng-Gang , Chen Yin-Ping , Yang Fan-Jie
Published: July 2022

We study the relationship between household registration status (Hukou) and the state of individuals’ health to find out whether inequality in health between urban and rural population exists in China. We have used the probit model to regress the state of health on household registration using the individual-level data of the 2018 CFPS survey. We find that inequality in health between urban and rural population does exist in China. Individuals with rural Hukou have a higher probability by 1.4% to be admitted to hospital than individuals with urban Hukou. While, individuals with rural Hukou tend to over-estimate the state of their health as the probability for them to assess themselves healthy is higher by 1.7% than individuals with urban Hukou. The findings suggest that policy makers should recognize the issue of rural-urban health inequalities and take measures, such as controlling pollution in rural areas and providing high quality routine health checks for rural population to deal with the problem.
Silence Among First-Line Managers in Eldercare and Their Continuous Improvement Work During Covid-19
Authors: Dellve Lotta , Jendeby Mimmi Kheddache
Published: July 2022

Eldercare sector faced severe needs, and unexplained difficulties, to manage daily work and the continuous improvement of routines at operative levels during Covid-19. First-line managers in eldercare have a key role to facilitate learnings but may be hindered in public, hierarchical organizations. This is the first study on the conditions and importance of silence for managerial work in terms of daily operations and continuous improvement work. To identify first-line managers’ silence in eldercare, its contextual and supportive conditions, its reasons and its implications for managerial work with regard to daily operations and continuous improvement work. Mixed-method study based on a questionnaire to first-line managers (n = 189) in Swedish public eldercare in 33 randomly selected municipal organizations and one city. The instruments Communication of Critical Issues at Work, Managers Stress Inventory and Managerial Work and an open question were analyzed using: (1) qualitative coding to explore organizational conditions, (2) descriptive statistics, and (3) stepwise regressions to identify associations. The most common forms of silence were quiescent (based on fear of the consequences of speaking up) and acquiescent (based on resignation and demotivation). Organizational conditions shaping managerial silence were due to strict governance and control in a hierarchical organization, lack of support and participation in decision-making and the experience of not being valued. Managers’ silence had a negative impact on managerial work and especially work on continuous improvements. The pandemic also offered space for values of occupational professionalism and learning at operational levels. Organizational conditions of support through superiors and management teams decreased silence. Manager silence is detrimental for continuous improvement work and may arise in organizations with dominant values of organizational professionalism. Supportive conditions based on trust and space for occupational professionalism may be important and should be improved to decrease managerial silence and better support continuous improvements.
Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis in children- report of two cases from South India
Authors: Joseph Ranjit Baby , Rauf Abdul , Chettali Akbar Mohamed , Pillai Rajappan , Vijayan Ajay , MV Poornima
Published: July 2022

Primary Amoebic meningoencephalitis is a rare and fatal neuro-infection caused by free-living fresh-water amoeba Naegleria fowleri. It is a ubiquitous organism and the infection occurs usually via contact with warm water-bodies. The clinical presentation is often indistinguishable from acute bacterial meningitis and the diagnosis can be made by CSF wet smear examination if there is a high index of suspicion. The disease progresses rapidly compared to pyogenic meningitis and usually has a fatal outcome. Reports of two confirmed cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis in children from different centres in Kerala state of India are presented here. In spite of early diagnosis and treatment, both these patients demised. Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute meningitis, especially in patients with recent freshwater exposure. Implementation of chlorination of pools of water bodies, especially if re-opened for recreational purpose after prolonged periods of non-use, needs vigorous implementation.
Spectrum of viral hepatitis in hospitalized children in western India
Authors: Biradar Padmaja A , Tambe Anil S , Rathi Surbhi P , Junare Parmeshwar R , Rathi Pravin M
Published: July 2022

Viral hepatitis is a major public health problem affecting children globally. Clinical presentation varies from asymptomatic illness to hepatitis, and liver failure. Data on clinical features and laboratory parameters were collected and analysed on 300 children, aged 1–12 years, admitted with confirmed viral hepatitis. A small majority (52%) were boys. The mean age of presentation was 6.9  ±  2.8 years with the commonest symptoms being anorexia or vomiting (in 98%), fever (in 89%) and jaundice (in 71.3%). Tender hepatomegaly was seen in 31.7%. Almost all (97.6%) had hepatitis A, though mixed infection (A & E) was seen in 1.7%. Only 8% had serum bilirubin levels >200 µmol/L. Significantly elevated (>20 μkat/L) levels of aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase were seen in 19% and 25.3% of cases respectively. Coagulopathy (PT >15 s) was present in 11.0% cases. HAV remains the most common cause of viral hepatitis in children in our environment. Public awareness and universal vaccination should be the focus to prevent morbidity and mortality due to these pathogens.
Giant aortic arch aneurysm presenting with hoarseness of voice
Authors: Arora Umang , Garg Prerna , Baitha Upendra
Published: July 2022

A middle-aged male with hypertension and dyslipidaemia presented with hoarseness of voice due to a left vocal palsy. The chest radiograph revealed a saccular opacity silhouetting the left border of the aortic knuckle, suggestive of a large aortic arch aneurysm. Routine investigations, such as a chest radiograph do occasionally identify potentially fatal pathology, even when perhaps not strictly indicated; uncommon presentations do occur!
Visceral leishmaniasis: A leucaemia mimicker: A case report
Authors: Rathod Santosh Govind , Chozakade Aakash , Akhoon Tapsi , jalid Ayeshah , roshan Reshma
Published: July 2022

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is endemic in the northeast part of India, principally Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. We report a case of VL from the non-endemic Himalayan region of Kashmir. A 25-year-old female presented with a history of fever, generalized weakness, loss of appetite for one month. On clinical examination, there was hepatosplenomegaly and pancytopenia. There was no travel history to any VL endemic areas. Bone marrow examination revealed an amastigote form of Leishmania Donovan. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed diagnosis. The patient was treated with 6 mg/kg liposomal amphotericin B, for ten days and improved clinically. Our case reveals that VL is expanding towards non-endemic regions of India, and physicians should remember the differential diagnosis of VL in a patient presenting with fever, pancytopenia, and hepatosplenomegaly.
Effectiveness of supervised and functional level-based exercise program in elderly inpatients: Randomised controlled trial
Authors: Karapınar Merve , Kırdı Nuray , Fırat Tüzün
Published: July 2022

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of supervised and unsupervised functional level-based exercises program for elderly inpatients on physical activity, mobility, health-related quality of life and depression status.

Design

A single-blinded randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Internal medicine service.

Subjects

Patients aged 65 years or older.

Interventions

A supervised functional level-based exercise program was applied to the intervention group by a physiotherapist, for 40 min 5 times a week during their hospitalisation. Patients in the control group were asked to perform an unsupervised functional level-based exercise program which was described by the physiotherapist during the first visit.

Main measures

Mobility, physical activity level and health-related quality of life were assessed at admission and discharge in both groups. Depression status was evaluated at admission and 3 months after discharge.

Results

Sociodemographic features between intervention group ( n = 62) and control group ( n = 62) were similar. The intervention group showed a higher increment in mobility, physical activity level and quality of life scores than the control group ( d = 0.62, p < 0.05; d = 0.57, p < 0.05; d = 1.12, p < 0.05 respectively). Inpatients in the intervention group, depression scores were lower 3 months after discharge ( d = 0.42, p < 0.05). The length of stay in the hospital was not different between the groups.

Conclusions

A supervised functional level-based exercise program is more effective than an unsupervised functional level-based exercise program for mobility, physical activity, depression and quality of life in elderly inpatients. These positive contributions are seen within a short period like a 5 to 10 days stay in hospital.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov(NCT03516032).
Features of antibody responses after SARS-COV-2 infection in healthcare workers in the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico City
Authors: Thompson-Bonilla Maria del Rocío , León Jorge A , Cárdenas-Turrent Martha Beatriz , Peña-Thompson Alba , Hanessian-De la Garza Diana , Zavala-Vega Sergio , Xicohtencatl-Cortes Juan , Ochoa Sara A , Cruz-Córdova Ariadnna , Arellano-Galindo José
Published: July 2022

Objective

To investigate the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 and identify associated factors in frontline and second-line healthcare workers (HCWs) at a large hospital in Mexico City during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study of HCWs returning to work following mandatory isolation after recovering from COVID-19. Immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 were semiquantitatively measured using densitometric analysis of band intensities in lateral flow assay (LFA) devices. The mean pixel intensity (dots-per-inch [dpi]) of each band on the LFA was considered a measure of antibody titre.

Results

Of the 111 HCWs involved in the study, antibody responses were detected in 73/111 (66%) participants. Severe COVID symptoms was associated with old age. No differences in IgM intensity were observed between men and women, but IgG intensity was significantly higher in men than in women. Second-line HCWs produced a higher IgG intensity than firstline HCWs. The IgG intensity was high in severe cases.

Conclusions

For HCWs who may acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection, it is necessary to establish a routine program for detection of the virus to avoid risk of infection and spread of COVID-19.
Rotated Mask Region-Based Convolutional Neural Network Detection for Parking Space Management System
Authors: Truong Long Ngo Hoang , Clay Edward , Mora Omar E. , Cheng Wen , Singh Mankirat , Jia Xudong
Published: July 2022

Parking space management systems help organize and optimize available parking spaces for consumers, making the process of finding and using parking spaces more efficient. Current parking space management systems include manual recognition, the employment of magnetic and ultrasonic sensors, and, recently, computer vision (CV). One relatively new region-based convolutional neural network (R-CNN) model, Mask R-CNN, has shown promise in its ability to detect objects and has demonstrated superior performance over many other popular CV methods. Building on Mask R-CNN, an updated version, Rotated Mask R-CNN, which can generate bounding boxes the axes of which are rotated with respect to the image’s axis, was proposed to address the limitation of Mask R-CNN. Albeit with the documented theoretical benefits, the application of the rotated version is rare because of its recent invention. To this end, the study aims to detect vehicle instances in one parking lot using various Rotated Mask R-CNN models based on unmanned aircraft system collected images. Both average precision and average recall were utilized to assess the performance of the alternative models with different backbone and head networks. The results reveal the high accuracy level associated with Rotated Mask R-CNN in real-time detection of vehicles. In addition, the results indicate that the inference speed and total loss are highly correlated with head networks and training schedules.
Content Analysis on Homelessness Issues at Airports by News Media Mining
Authors: Das Subasish , Aman Javad J. C. , Rahman M. Ashifur
Published: July 2022

The number of homeless people at airports has increased in recent years. As airports are safe, transit-accessible, convenient, and climate-controlled facilities with food and amenities, these places are attractive to homeless people who need a safe and secure place to stay. The main struggle of airports in this regard is maintaining a balance between customers, who are mostly the traveling public, and dealing with homeless people delicately. Moreover, because of their poverty and insufficient or no access to healthcare, these people suffer from physical and mental issues. With the COVID-19 pandemic, this problem became more critical. Many news media outlets started to report on homelessness at airports. News-framing impacts have some contribution in the context of this issue. However, the impact of news coverage on “airport and homelessness” has not yet been studied. News-framing effects have been identified in the context of tourist destinations. Although many studies have explored homelessness and transit, this issue at airports has not been well studied. This study provides a brief overview of the issue of homelessness in the transportation domain, including transit and aviation. Additionally, this study collected news articles related to “airport and homelessness” (71 articles) both during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 1, 2020–July 21, 2021) and before the pandemic (before March 1, 2020). These news articles contain around 50,000 words. As the data is unsupervised in nature, a text network analysis was performed to determine the latent information from these textual contents. The findings of this study can shed some light on this scientifically unexplored but widely discussed issue.
Effects of Speed Reduction Marking Patterns on Simulated Driving Speed and Lane Position
Authors: Iio Kentaro , Nakai Hiroshi , Usui Shinnosuke
Published: July 2022

Speed reduction markings have been installed on highways as perceptual countermeasures for speeding. However, little is known about the effects of the shape and interval of road markings on driving speed and lane position. In this paper, a driving simulator experiment and questionnaires were performed to explore the effects of speed reduction marking patterns on driving speed and standard deviation of lane position (SDLP), as well as drivers’ subjective feelings, mental workload, and visual attention. Thirty-nine participants drove on a simulated two-lane rural highway where speed reduction markings with different shapes and intervals were presented at horizontal curves. The pavement markings were associated with reduced throttle values and mean speed in advance of a horizontal curve. The marking shape did not affect participants’ speed choice or SDLP. A cognitive alerting effect of the speed reduction markings was dominant because the participants did not drive more slowly with the markings with converging intervals toward the traveling direction compared to those with a constant interval. A questionnaire on drivers’ attention reflected a potential use of road markings for drivers’ lane-position maintenance. Since less than 18 % of the participants noticed the convergence in marking intervals, speed reduction markings may also induce the perceptual illusion of acceleration.