bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Design of local placement detector for cable accessories based on ultrasonic technology
Authors: Zhao Tiemin , Liu Jianshu , Zheng Shiyang , Yang Le , Ding Zhen , Li Dongsheng , Li Kai , Li Wenpeng , Yang Xue , Chai Fangsen
Published: February 2023

In the process of cable transmission, the existence of air gap, tip, burr and other conditions will cause partial discharge phenomenon and lead to cable insulation aging, which can affect the safety of power transmission. Partial discharge detection can detect early insulation defects accurately, timely and efficiently. It is an ideal method to detect the occurrence of PD by ultrasonic wave which is the by-product of PD because it is less affected by electromagnetic interference. At the same time, a clamping device is designed, which is compact in structure, easy to carry and high in accuracy. This discharge detector can reduce the degree of external interference in the detection process, improve the accuracy of ultrasonic waveform, accurately identify whether partial discharge occurs, and alarm.
Dynamic Detection Based on Planar Array Capacitance for Adhesive Defects of Thermal Protection Structure
Authors: Sun Yurong , Zhang Yuyan , Wen Yintang
Published: February 2023

The defect detection of thermal protective structures is of great significance in ensuring the safe flight of aircraft. In this paper, a dynamic measurement method based on the planar capacitance sensing principle is proposed to solve the problem of detecting defects in the adhesive layer of large-area thermal protection structures. This paper analyses the principle of capacitive sensing and establishes a planar array capacitive dynamic detection system. The dielectric distribution of the structural components to be measured is obtained at different locations by moving the array of electrode sensors regularly. To obtain the dielectric distribution information of the complete structure, the dielectric distribution at adjacent locations is spliced and fused. To achieve the precise location of the overlapping areas in the image to be fused, an image alignment method based on coordinates is adopted. The experimental results show that our proposed method can detect defects in the adhesive layer of large-area thermal protection structures and achieve complete visualization of the adhesive layer.
Research on Indoor AGV Fusion Localization Based on Adaptive Weight EKF Using Multi-sensor
Authors: Xu Haoran , Li Yi , Lu Yucheng
Published: February 2023

To solve the problem of large accumulative errors of wheel odometer and inertial measurement unit (IMU), which make pose calculation mistakes due to friction coefficient of the ground or bumps and collisions, furthermore, affect path planning and navigation of automated guided vehicle (AGV), an extensible fusion localization method based on multiple sensors is proposed. Based on the traditional extended Kalman filter (EKF), the internal positioning data is used for prediction, while the external positioning data is used for correction. According to the states of different sensors, the adaptive weight method is applied to eliminate the influence of system accumulative error and provide continuous and accurate positioning data. The experimental results show that compared to single-sensor, the fusion localization method has an increase in quantity, which can reach an accuracy within 5~8cm. It can deal with non-line-of-sight (NLOS) landmark occlusion situations, and can navigate in dim light or dark environments. The system ensures the accuracy of fusion data through visual positioning and ensures the stability of the system through the odometer and IMU. New positioning sensors are also possible to be added into the system for data fusion.
Research on Particle Swarm Fusion Sliding Mode Tracking Decoding Technology for Rotary Transformer
Authors: Du Yexin , Qing Li , He Jie
Published: February 2023

A sliding mode tracking fusion particle swarm optimization (PSO) was proposed to solve the soft decoding problem of the rotary transformer. Firstly, the principle of soft decoding of the rotary transformer was expounded and analyzed. Then the mathematical model of the sliding mode tracking and decoding system was established. Based on sliding mode tracking and decoding, the parameters in the model were selected iteratively by using a particle swarm optimization algorithm according to the fitness value function. Finally, the simulation environment was built by Simulink and S-function for simulation verification. The simulation results show that the decoding scheme based on particle swarm optimization and sliding mode tracking can track and decode the rotating transformers at different speeds, such as uniform speed, acceleration speed, and sines/cosines speed, without steady-state error and with certain anti-interference.
Intelligent Inspection Technology of Substation Secondary System Based on Machine Vision
Authors: Jin Sheng , Yin Jianjun , Zhou Jie , Cai Yihang , Hu Yanwei
Published: February 2023

To solve the problems of low efficiency and poor precision in the current inspection of substation secondary systems, machine vision technology is introduced to conduct the design and research of inspection technology. It acquires equipment images and manufactures an image data set of that secondary system equipment of the transformer substation. It also processes and segments an inspection guideline image using machine vision technology and realizes itinerant inspection of the secondary system instrument equipment of the transformer substation based on the acquired inspection image. The comparative experiments show that the efficiency and accuracy of the new inspection technology have been significantly improved.
Multi-task Joint Learning to Enhance Named Entity Recognition
Authors: Shen Xiajiong , Hu Xiaojie , Liu Ning , Shen Yatian
Published: February 2023

Named Entity Recognition (NER) models have achieved good performance in recent years but also have some shortcomings. Existing models regard NER as a sequence labeling task for label prediction, without considering the impact of different stages in the entity recognition process on the final result. NER can be viewed as two separate subtasks: boundary detection task and type prediction task. The two subtasks can transmit information and cooperate in the process of entity recognition, so the synergy of the two subtasks is beneficial to NER. In this paper, we propose a method to split the NER task into multiple subtasks and use the information of each subtask to enhance the NER task. According to the characteristics of different subtasks, we use different feature extraction method models to extract structural information useful for this task effectively. Using the information extracted from each subtask or the final results of the subtasks, the performance of NER was enhanced through the gating network. We conducted extensive experiments on the CONLL2003 dataset, and the experimental results show that our proposed multi-task joint learning enhances the effectiveness of the named entity recognition model.
Identification for Red Automobile Based on Cifar-10 Using Machine Learning Models
Authors: Li Zongze
Published: February 2023

Algorithms were made and improved across time in different application fields to help them better fit and solve problems that human encounter. Specifically, this paper focuses on the identification mission, that is commonly needed and used by governmental facilities and police departments to track certain objects. However, it is not always that easy, and methods were made to help invent and test these algorithms, along with a vast dataset collected for use, so that they can be examined before putting into real-life use. An existing dataset called Cifar-10 was introduced and chosen, and different methods were introduced and used, to design and examine the accuracy of an identification method. This paper mainly focuses on a red automobile identification model. The experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the model. Further usages of similar models will also be applicable with corresponding adjustments, hoping to make it into other similar areas and fulfilling similar goals.
Sensitivity analysis and tailored design of minimization diagrams
Authors: Birgin E. , Laurain A. , Menezes T.
Published: February 2023

Minimization diagrams encompass a large class of diagrams of interest in the literature, such as generalized Voronoi diagrams. We develop an abstract perturbation theory in two dimensions and perform a sensitivity analysis for functions depending on sets defined through intersections of smooth sublevel sets, and formulate precise conditions to avoid singular situations. This allows us to define a general framework for solving optimization problems depending on two-dimensional minimization diagrams. The particular case of Voronoi diagrams is discussed to illustrate the general theory. A variety of numerical experiments is presented. The experiments include constructing Voronoi diagrams with cells of equal size, cells satisfying conditions on the relative size of their edges or their internal angles, cells with the midpoints of pairs of Voronoi and Delaunay edges as close as possible, or cells of varying sizes governed by a given function. Overall, the experiments show that the proposed methodology allows the construction of customized Voronoi diagrams using off-the-shelf well-established optimization algorithms.
Quasi-periodic waves and asymptotic behavior for a coupled nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation
Authors: Wen Ting , Sun Jianqing
Published: February 2023

With the Hirota’s bilinear method,

N
N

-periodic wave solutions to the coupled nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation are constructed in terms of theta function. The asymptotic behaviors under small amplitude limits are also deduced strictly for the one and two-periodic waves. Moreover, a numerical scheme is presented for the case of

N
≥
3

N\geq 3

. Some three-periodic wave solutions are calculated numerically as examples.
Polynomial tractability for integration in an unweighted function space with absolutely convergent Fourier series
Authors: Goda Takashi
Published: February 2023

In this note, we prove that the following function space with absolutely convergent Fourier series
\[
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="upper F Subscript d Baseline colon-equal StartSet f element-of upper L squared left-parenthesis left-bracket 0 comma 1 right-parenthesis Superscript d Baseline right-parenthesis StartAbsoluteValue double-vertical-bar f double-vertical-bar colon-equal sigma-summation Underscript bold-italic k element-of double-struck upper Z Superscript d Baseline Endscripts EndAbsoluteValue ModifyingAbove f With caret left-parenthesis bold-italic k right-parenthesis vertical-bar max left-parenthesis 1 comma min Underscript j element-of s u p p left-parenthesis bold-italic k right-parenthesis Endscripts log StartAbsoluteValue k Subscript j Baseline EndAbsoluteValue right-parenthesis greater-than normal infinity EndSet">

F
d

≔

{
f
∈

L
2

(
[
0
,
1

)
d

)

|

‖
f
‖
≔

∑

k
∈

Z

d

|

f
^

(

k

)

|

max

(
1
,

min

j
∈
supp
⁡
(

k

)

log
⁡

|

k
j

|

)

>
∞
}

F_d≔\left \{ f\in L^2([0,1)^d)\middle | \|f\|≔\sum _{\boldsymbol {k}\in {\mathbb {Z}}^d}|\hat {f}({\boldsymbol {k}}) |\max \left (1,\min _{j\in \operatorname {supp}({\boldsymbol {k}})}\log |k_j|\right )>\infty \right \}

\]
with

f
^

(

k

)

\hat {f}({\boldsymbol {k}})

being the

k

{\boldsymbol {k}}

-th Fourier coefficient of

f
f

and

supp
⁡
(

k

)
≔
{
j

∈

{
1
,
…
,
d
}
∣

k
j

≠
0
}

\operatorname {supp}({\boldsymbol {k}}) ≔\{j\!\in \!\{1,\ldots ,d\}\mid k_j\neq 0\}

is polynomially tractable for multivariate integration in the worst-case setting. Here polynomial tractability means that the minimum number of function evaluations required to make the worst-case error less than or equal to a tolerance

ε
\varepsilon

grows only polynomially with respect to

ε

−
1

\varepsilon ^{-1}

and

d
d

. It is important to remark that the function space

F
d

F_d

is unweighted, that is, all variables contribute equally to the norm of functions. Our tractability result is in contrast to those for most of the unweighted integration problems studied in the literature, in which polynomial tractability does not hold and the problem suffers from the curse of dimensionality. Our proof is constructive in the sense that we provide an explicit quasi-Monte Carlo rule that attains a desired worst-case error bound.
Grothendieck-to-Lascoux expansions
Authors: Shimozono Mark , Yu Tianyi
Published: February 2023

We establish the conjecture of Reiner and Yong for an explicit combinatorial formula for the expansion of a Grothendieck polynomial into the basis of Lascoux polynomials. This expansion is a subtle refinement of its symmetric function version due to Buch, Kresch, Shimozono, Tamvakis, and Yong, which gives the expansion of stable Grothendieck polynomials indexed by permutations into Grassmannian stable Grothendieck polynomials. Our expansion is the

K
K

-theoretic analogue of that of a Schubert polynomial into Demazure characters, whose symmetric analogue is the expansion of a Stanley symmetric function into Schur functions. Our expansions extend to flagged Grothendieck polynomials.
Plurisigned hermitian metrics
Authors: Angella Daniele , Guedj Vincent , Lu Chinh
Published: February 2023

Let

(
X
,
ω
)

(X,\omega )

be a compact hermitian manifold of dimension

n
n

. We study the asymptotic behavior of Monge-Ampère volumes

∫
X

(
ω
+
d

d
c

φ

)
n

\int _X (\omega +dd^c \varphi )^n

, when

ω
+
d

d
c

φ

\omega +dd^c \varphi

varies in the set of hermitian forms that are

d

d
c

dd^c

-cohomologous to

ω
\omega

. We show that these Monge-Ampère volumes are uniformly bounded if

ω
\omega

is “strongly pluripositive”, and that they are uniformly positive if

ω
\omega

is “strongly plurinegative”. This motivates the study of the existence of such plurisigned hermitian metrics.

We analyze several classes of examples (complex parallelisable manifolds, twistor spaces, Vaisman manifolds) admitting such metrics, showing that they cannot coexist. We take a close look at

6
6

-dimensional nilmanifolds which admit a left-invariant complex structure, showing that each of them admit a plurisigned hermitian metric, while only few of them admit a pluriclosed metric. We also study

6
6

-dimensional solvmanifolds with trivial canonical bundle.
RecurrentPRDM10Fusions in Superficial CD34-Positive Fibroblastic Tumors : A Clinicopathologic and Molecular Study of 10 Additional Cases of an Emerging Novel Entity
Authors: Zhao Ming , Yin Xiaona , He Huiying , Fan Yuqian , Ru Guoqing , Meng Xuli
Published: February 2023

Objectives

Superficial CD34-positive fibroblastic tumor (SCD34FT) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm. The genetic alterations of SCD34FT have yet to be determined. Recent studies suggest it overlaps with PRDM10-rearranged soft tissue tumor (PRDM10-STT).

Methods

This study aimed to characterize a series of 10 cases of SCD34FT using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS).

Results

The study recruited 7 men and 3 women aged between 26 and 64 years. The tumors were located in the superficial soft tissues of the thigh (8 cases), foot, and back (1 case each), ranging in size from 1.5 to 7 cm. The tumors were composed of sheets and fascicles of plump spindled to polygonal cells, with glassy cytoplasm and pleomorphic nuclei. Mitotic activity was absent or low. Common and uncommon stromal findings included foamy histiocytic infiltrates, myxoid changes, peripheral lymphoid aggregates, large ectatic vessels, arborizing capillary vasculature, and hemosiderin deposition. All tumors expressed CD34, and 4 demonstrated focal cytokeratin immunoexpression. In 7 of 9 (77.8%) cases analyzed, FISH identified PRDM10 rearrangement. Targeted NGS revealed a MED12::PRDM10 fusion in 4 of 7 cases tested. Follow-up showed no recurrence or metastasis.

Conclusions

We demonstrate recurrent PRDM10 rearrangements in SCD34FT and provide additional evidence of a close relationship to PRDM10-STT.
Validation of a Remote Monitoring Blood Pressure Device in Pregnancy
Authors: Oben Ayamo , Moore Matthew , Wallace Eric , Muntner Paul , Oparil Suzanne , Tita Alan , Sinkey Rachel
Published: February 2023

Background

The Ideal Life Blood Pressure Manager measures blood pressure (BP) and automatically transmits results to the patient’s medical record independent of internet access, but has not been validated. Our objective was to conduct a validation study of the Ideal Life BP Manager in pregnant women using a validation protocol.

Methods

Pregnant participants were enrolled into three subgroups per the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/European Society of Hypertension/International Organization for Standardization protocol: normotensive (systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 140 and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) < 90), hypertensive without proteinuria (SBP ≥ 140 or DBP ≥ 90), and preeclampsia (SBP ≥ 140 or DBP ≥ 90 with proteinuria). Two trained research staff used a mercury sphygmomanometer to validate the device, alternating sphygmomanometer, and device readings for a total of 9 measurements.

Results

Among 51 participants, the mean SBP and DBP differences and standard deviations between the device and the mean staff measurements for all participants were 1.7 ± 7.1 and 1.5 ± 7.0 mm Hg, respectively. The standard deviations of the individual participant’s paired device and mean staff SBP and DBP measurements were 6.0 and 6.4 mm Hg, respectively. The device was more likely to overestimate rather than underestimate BP (SBP: mean difference = 1.67, 95% CI [−12.15 to 15.49]; DBP: mean difference = 1.51, 95% CI [−12.26 to 15.28]). Most paired readings had a difference of less than 10 mm Hg across averaged paired readings.

Conclusion

The Ideal Life BP Manager met internationally recognized validity criteria in this sample of pregnant women.
Ivabradine-Induced Bradycardia is Accompanied by Reduced Stress-Related Anxiety
Authors: Woodman Ryan , Student Jeffrey , Miller Coleman , Lockette Warren
Published: February 2023

BACKGROUND

Hypertensive individuals with higher heart rates and anxiety have greater cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Despite the correlation between hypertension, heart rate, and anxiety, scant attention has been paid to the effect of hypertension drug therapy on behavioral outcomes in cardiovascular disease. Ivabradine, an inhibitor of hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated funny channels (HCNs), has been used clinically to reduce heart rates and has been shown to improve quality of life in patients with angina and heart failure. We postulated that in addition to lowering heart rate, ivabradine could reduce anxiety in mice exposed to a significant stress paradigm.

METHODS

Mice underwent a stress induction protocol, subsequently they received either vehicle or ivabradine (10 mg/kg) via osmotic minipumps. Blood pressure and heart rates were measured with tail cuff photoplethysmography. Anxiety was assessed quantitatively through the open field test (OFT) and the elevated plus maze (EPM). Cognition was assessed with an object recognition test (ORT). Pain tolerance was measured by the hot plate test or subcutaneous injection of formalin. HCN gene expression was measured with RT-PCR.

RESULTS

Ivabradine reduced resting heart rate in the stressed mice by 22%. Stressed mice treated with ivabradine displayed significantly greater exploratory behavior in the OFT, EPM, and ORT. The expression of central HCN channels was significantly reduced following stress.

CONCLUSION

It is suggested from our findings that ivabradine can reduce anxiety following significant psychological stress. Reductions in heart rate may directly improve quality of life by reducing anxiety in patients with hypertension and high heart rates.
Diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with oesophagogastric cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: national study
Authors: Baxter Mark A , Khan Khurram S , Gall Lewis S , Samuelson Catherine , McCollum Catherine , Chuntamongkol Rongkagorn , Narramneni Lakshmi R , Al-Zuabi Manaf , Bryce Gavin , Shareef Hala E J , Forshaw Matthew , Petty Russell D
Published: February 2023

Background

The national response to COVID-19 has had a significant impact on cancer services. This study investigated the effect of national lockdown on diagnosis, management, and outcomes of patients with oesophagogastric cancers in Scotland.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included consecutive new patients presenting to regional oesophagogastric cancer multidisciplinary teams in National Health Service Scotland between October 2019 and September 2020. The study interval was divided into before and after lockdown, based on the first UK national lockdown. Electronic health records were reviewed and results compared.

Results

Some 958 patients with biopsy-proven oesophagogastric cancer in 3 cancer networks were included: 506 (52.8 per cent) before and 452 (47.2 per cent) after lockdown. Median age was 72 (range 25–95) years and 630 patients (65.7 per cent) were men. There were 693 oesophageal (72.3 per cent) and 265 gastric (27.7 per cent) cancers. Median time to gastroscopy was 15 (range 0–337) days before versus 19 (0–261) days after lockdown (P < 0.001). Patients were more likely to present as an emergency after lockdown (8.5 per cent before versus 12.4 per cent after lockdown; P = 0.005), had poorer Eastern Cooperative Oncology group performance status, were more symptomatic, and presented with a higher stage of disease (stage IV: 49.8 per cent before versus 58.8 per cent after lockdown; P = 0.04). There was a shift to treatment with non-curative intent (64.6 per cent before versus 77.4 per cent after lockdown; P < 0.001). Median overall survival was 9.9 (95 per cent c.i. 8.7 to 11.4) months before and 6.9 (5.9 to 8.3) months after lockdown (HR 1.26, 95 per cent c.i. 1.09 to 1.46; P = 0.002).

Conclusion

This national study has highlighted the adverse impact of COVID-19 on oesophagogastric cancer outcomes in Scotland. Patients presented with more advanced disease and a shift towards treatment with non-curative intent was observed, with a subsequent negative impact on overall survival.
Transformation
Authors: Brown Alan
Published: February 2023

Professor Alan Brown FBCS explores digital transformation’s shifting and evolving definition.
‘Take Power—Vote Liberal’: Jeremy Thorpe, the 1974 Liberal Revival, and the Politics of 1970s Britain
Authors: Sloman Peter
Published: February 2023

The Liberal Party’s 1972–4 revival under Jeremy Thorpe placed it at the heart of political debate in 1970s Britain—a period marked by inflation, strikes, and recurrent talk of political ‘crisis’. This article explores the evolution of Liberal policy, strategy, and support between 1970 and 1979, and argues that Thorpe and his colleagues were agents as well as beneficiaries of electoral dealignment. As long-standing critics of class politics, Liberals were well placed to exploit voters’ frustrations with Edward Heath and Harold Wilson and to articulate demands for a more collaborative and participatory style of government. Thorpe’s populist critique of the two-party system was backed up by a distinctive plan for economic and political renewal, in which social, industrial, and constitutional reforms would give governments the legitimacy to make incomes policies work. These ideas resonated strongly in the two 1974 general elections, but the Liberals’ new-found support was relatively shallow, and Thorpe’s appeal was waning even before the Norman Scott affair forced his 1976 resignation. The 1970s Liberal revival nevertheless laid important political foundations which the SDP/Liberal Alliance would build on after 1981, as it sought to articulate a centrist alternative to Thatcherism.
Does donor–recipient age mismatch have an influence on outcome after lung transplantation? A single-centre experience
Authors: Franz Maximilian , Aburahma Khalil , Avsar Murat , Boethig Dietmar , Greer Mark , Alhadidi Hani , Sommer Wiebke , Tudorache Igor , Warnecke Gregor , Haverich Axel , Ius Fabio , Salman Jawad
Published: February 2023

OBJECTIVES

Lack of organ donors demands transplantation of older lung allografts for recipients between 0 and 50 years. So far, it has not yet been investigated whether donor–recipient age mismatch affects long-term outcome.

METHODS

Records of patients aged between 0 and 50 years were retrospectively reviewed. Donor–recipient age mismatch was calculated subtracting recipient age from donor age. Multivariable Cox regression analyses was performed to assess donor–recipient age mismatch regarding the end points’ overall patient mortality, mortality conditioned to hospital discharge, biopsy-confirmed rejection and chronic lung allograft dysfunction. Furthermore, we performed competing risk analysis to analyse if age mismatch affects biopsy-confirmed rejection and CLAD while death being a competing risk.

RESULTS

Between January 2010 and September 2021, out of 1363 patients who underwent lung transplantation at our institution, 409 patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included. Age mismatch ranged between 0 and 56 years. Multivariable analysis revealed that donor–recipient age mismatch does not affect overall patient mortality (P = 0.19), biopsy-confirmed rejection (P = 0.68) and chronic lung allograft dysfunction (P = 0.42). There was no difference seen in CLAD (P = 0.166) and biopsy-confirmed rejection (P = 0.944) with the competing risk death (P = 0.765 and P = 0.851; respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Age mismatch between recipients and donors of lung allografts does not affect long-term outcomes after lung transplantation.
Surgical management of large tracheoesophageal fistula in infants after button battery ingestion
Authors: Avsar Murat , Goecke Tobias , Keil Oliver , Koeditz Harald , Schwerk Nicolaus , Kuebler Joachim F , Horke Alexander , Warnecke Gregor , Haverich Axel , Ure Benno , Zardo Patrick
Published: February 2023

OBJECTIVES

In recent years, an increase in severe and even fatal outcomes related to oesophageal or airway button battery (BB) ingestion by infants and small children has been reported. Extensive tissue necrosis caused by lodged BB can lead to major complications, including tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). In these instances, best treatment remains controversial. While small defects may warrant a conservative approach, surgery often remains inevitable in highly complex cases with large TEF. We present a series of small children that underwent successful surgical management by a multidisciplinary team in our institution.

METHODS

This is a retrospective analysis of n = 4 patients <18 months undergoing TEF repair from 2018 to 2021.

RESULTS

Surgical repair under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support was feasible in n = 4 patients by reconstructing the trachea with decellularized aortic homografts that were buttressed with pedicled latissimus dorsi muscle flaps. While direct oesophageal repair was feasible in 1 patient, 3 required esophagogastrostomy and secondary repair. The procedure was completed successfully in all 4 children with no mortality and acceptable morbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

Tracheo-oesophageal repair after BB ingestion remains challenging and is associated with major morbidity. Bioprosthetic materials in conjunction with the interposition of vascularized tissue flaps between trachea and oesophagus appear to be a valid approach to manage severe cases.
The Association of Global and Disease-Related Stress With Susceptibility to and Use of E-Cigarettes and Marijuana Among Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Fox Kristen R , Ferketich Amy K , Groner Judith A , Rausch Joseph R , Garg Vidu , Grant Victoria R , Neville Steven P , Cua Clifford L , Jackson Jamie L
Published: February 2023

Objective 

Adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) are exposed to disease-related stressors and have elevated risk for cardiovascular and cognitive complications that are exacerbated by e-cigarettes and marijuana. The aims of this cross-sectional study are to: (1) identify the association between perceived global and disease-related stress and susceptibility to e-cigarettes and marijuana, (2) determine if the association between stress and susceptibility differs by gender, and (3) explore the association between stress and ever use of e-cigarettes and marijuana among adolescents with CHD;

Methods 

Adolescents with CHD (N = 98; aged 12–18 years) completed self-report measures of susceptibility to/ever use of e-cigarettes and marijuana and global and disease-related stress;

Results 

Susceptibility to e-cigarettes and marijuana was reported by 31.3% and 40.2% of adolescents, respectively. Ever use of e-cigarettes and marijuana was reported by 15.3% and 14.3% of adolescents, respectively. Global stress was associated with susceptibility to and ever use of e-cigarettes and marijuana. Disease-related stress was associated with susceptibility to marijuana. Females reported more global and disease-related stress than males, but the association of stress with susceptibility to e-cigarettes and marijuana did not differ by gender.

Conclusions 

Susceptibility to e-cigarettes and marijuana is common among adolescents with CHD and is associated with stress. Future work to examine the longitudinal associations between susceptibility, stress, and use of e-cigarettes and marijuana is warranted. Global stress may be an important consideration in the development of strategies to prevent these risky health behaviors among adolescents with CHD.
Hierarchical dynamic modelling for individualized Bayesian forecasting
Authors: Yanchenko Anna K , Deng Di Daniel , Li Jinglan , Cron Andrew J , West Mike
Published: February 2023

We present a case study and methodological developments in large-scale hierarchical dynamic modelling for personalized prediction in commerce. The context is supermarket sales, where improved forecasting of household-specific purchasing behaviour informs decisions about personalized pricing and promotions. This setting involves many thousands of heterogeneous customers and items. Models developed are fully Bayesian, interpretable and multi-scale, with hierarchical forms overlaid on the inherent structure of the retail setting. Customer behavior is modelled at several levels of aggregation, and information flows from aggregate to individual levels. Methodological innovations include extensions of Bayesian dynamic mixture models, their integration into multi-scale systems, and forecast evaluation with context-specific metrics. The use of simultaneous predictors from multiple hierarchical levels improves forecasts at the customer-item level of main interest.
The Religious Adequacy of a Euteleological Theism
Authors: Bishop John , Perszyk Ken
Published: February 2023

This chapter replies to the objection that no coherent sense can be made of key religious practices such as worship and prayer under a non-personalist understanding of theism such as the euteleological one. In particular, a response is given to Brian Leftow’s argument that a non-personal God is not a conceptually appropriate object of worship. This response includes critical discussion of some aspects of an account of worship given by Nicholas Wolterstorff. A positive euteleological account of worship is offered, and defended as religiously viable. Right relationship is at the heart of authentic worship, but, on a euteleological account, this is not to be understood as relationship to or with some other supremely great individual being. Rather, it is right relationship to ‘eutelic’ reality as directed upon realizing the supreme good. Worship, in a broad sense, is a matter of practical commitment to a whole ethos and way of life rooted in a cognitive and affective orientation to reality which places God at the centre (an orientation consistent with reflective understanding that God-as-a-being is a cognitive analogical construction, apt for enabling right human responses to ultimate divine reality). Prayer fits into this picture too, when understood as the work of aligning human wills with the divine will, which a Christian euteleological theism may understand as the exercise of the power of agapē-love. Worship of God, and of God alone, and prayer to God, thus remain well-founded practices under a euteleological understanding of theism.
The Darling of the Greeks Turns into a Tyrant
Authors: Nicholson Emma
Published: February 2023

Chapter 2 questions the historicity of Polybius’ claim that Philip underwent a turn for the worse from 215 bc, changing from the ‘darling of the Greeks’ into a treacherous tyrant. It offers close readings of two key, connected episodes in Polybius’ construction of Philip’s character arc, the sack of Thermum in 218 bc and the attempt on Messene in 215 bc, and investigates how the interpretation of these episodes has been heavily impacted by Polybius’ political and didactic motives. It highlights how rhetorical and literary tropes (e.g. the laws of war, and a polarized case study of good and bad advisers) have been used to exaggerate historical events and contrive a narrative that presents Philip as an increasingly negative character and defends Aratus of Sicyon from criticisms of ineffectiveness in deterring the king’s aggression towards Messene and the rest of the Greek world.
Philip V and His Greek Allies
Authors: Nicholson Emma
Published: February 2023

Chapter 3 proceeds from the arguments in Chapter 2 and problematizes Polybius’ construction of Philip as an increasingly treacherous tyrant in his dealings with his Greek allies in his early and middling years. It aims to revise our understanding of this relationship by demonstrating that, despite the historian’s claims of treachery and deceit, Philip was a dedicated and energetic ally who supported and aided his Greek allies consistently until his defeat by Rome. It begins by noting the need for a clear distinction between Greek allies, neutrals, and enemies in assessing Philip’s activity, and surveys Polybius’ and Livy’s narratives between the years 221 and 196 bc documenting the king’s interactions with the Greek states. It finishes by discussing the varying loyalty of Philip’s Greek allies in the build-up to the battle of Cynoscephalae and highlighting how many allies in fact remained attached to Macedon until the king’s defeat, throwing into question Polybius’ claims about treachery, tyranny and violence.
Defending the Constitution, But Which One? The Indonesian Military, Constitutional Change, and Political Contestation, 1945–2020
Authors: Mietzner Marcus
Published: February 2023

Indonesia’s military has habitually emphasized its loyalty to the Constitution. But as this chapter demonstrates, the generals’ support for the Constitution has been selective. At the beginning of the Republic, the military regularly ignored the principle of civilian supremacy enshrined in the initial 1945 Constitution. When that Constitution was set aside in important parts in October 1945, and when two new Constitutions were issued in quick succession in 1950, the military grew even more reluctant to endorse key constitutional guidelines. The military leadership subsequently supported Sukarno’s autocratic takeover in 1959, which restored the original 1945 Constitution—a document that the generals preferred to the Constitutions of 1950. From thereon, the military highlighted its support for the 1945 Constitution as it served as the basis for Sukarno’s and—after 1965—Suharto’s authoritarian regime. After Suharto’s fall in 1998, the military elite campaigned against wide-ranging amendments to the 1945 Constitution, at one point proposing to annul all amendments already made. The chapter shows that the military has adopted an ambiguous attitude towards the amended Constitution ever since, formally pledging support for it but frequently voicing opposition to some of its most crucial contents. Thus, the military’s expression of loyalty to the Constitution must be understood as support for a historical document that was only in force briefly in 1945 and then from 1959 to 1998—its allegiance to other active Constitutions, in place between 1945 and 1959 and after 1998, is much more circumspect.
Making Social Rights Real? The 1945 Constitution and Social Rights Litigation in Indonesia
Authors: Rosser Andrew
Published: February 2023

Between 1999 and 2002, the Supreme Deliberative Council (MPR) amended the 1945 Constitution to, among other things, incorporate new provisions providing for better protection of social rights. This chapter assesses the impact of these changes, focusing on legal mobilization related to the rights to education and health. It makes four main claims. The first is that such legal mobilization has typically been collective in orientation, focusing on policy-related matters rather than individual claims. The second is that it has had a positive effect vis-à-vis the fulfilment of social rights in Indonesia because it has precipitated policy changes that helped to enforce or realize these rights. The third is that this outcome has been supported by—and conditional upon—a number of factors including the presence of judicial and health institutions that have limited the scope for citizens to engage in individually focused litigation and—instead—enabled them to engage in collectively oriented litigation; and the presence of non-governmental organizations that have had a strong commitment to social rights, the financial and technical resources to mobilize the law, and the ability to forge alliances with and mobilize popular forces. Fourth, and finally, it suggests that some of these conditions may no longer hold, raising doubts about the likely effectiveness of social rights litigation as a strategy for citizens to promote fulfilment of social rights in the foreseeable future.
Indigeneity in the Indonesian Constitution
Authors: Arizona Yance
Published: February 2023

Many post-colonial countries encountered a problem incorporating traditional political institutions and customary land rights into the new constitution. Constitution-makers faced a dilemma between preserving legal pluralism inherited by the colonial government or developing a new national law for a modern state. This chapter discusses that dilemma by focusing on the recognition of traditional political institutions and customary land rights in the constitution-making process in Indonesia. By analysing minutes of the meetings of the constitution-making process and the political context of the implementation of the constitution, this chapter finds that constitution-makers and lawmakers instituted conditional recognition clauses to recognize indigeneity to the extent it is consistent with national interests. The conditionalities for recognition of indigeneity are changing over time, based on the economic and political interests of the government. Constitution-makers and lawmakers were concerned with the conditional recognition clause as a means to manage and control indigenous identity in accordance with the pursuit of modern national law.
Cotton Mather and the First Resurrection
Authors: Trigg Christopher
Published: February 2023

Chapter 2 discusses the resurrection theology of Cotton Mather (1663–1728), one of the most influential New England Puritan thinkers. Scholars have taken at face value Puritan claims that national identities would not carry over into the world to come. However, Mather was closely concerned with the position of New England in the millennial earth. He believed that the dead elect would be resurrected at the beginning of the millennium to serve as the governors of the kingdom of Christ. Although Congregationalists in America and Nonconformists in England seemed peripheral to the present political order, they were members of a party destined to rule over the planet. To support his claims about the continuity of personal and collective identity after death, Mather developed the idea of the Nishmath-Chajim, a semispiritual substance that enabled the soul to survive the death of the body and would facilitate the process of resurrection.
Resurrection’s Racial Politics
Authors: Trigg Christopher
Published: February 2023

Focusing on the eighteenth century, chapter 3 addresses the impact of the hardening of racial distinctions on Protestant attitudes toward the salvation and resurrection of Africans. Missionaries typically claimed that the enslaved would be granted spiritual equality in heaven (while insisting that baptism would not alter their socioeconomic status in this world). Yet some Protestant authors implicitly or explicitly suggested that racial differences would continue to matter in the next world. Massachusetts magistrate Samuel Sewall and Connecticut Anglican John Beach doubted that resurrected bodies could be black; Cotton Mather implied that most African converts would continue to occupy a subordinate position in the millennial church. At the end of the 1700s, the first African writers to be published in English, including Phillis Wheatley, Ottobah Cugoano, Ignatius Sancho, and Prince Hall, contested the notion that black bodies would not be welcome in heaven.
Thomas Prince and the Resurrection of the World
Authors: Trigg Christopher
Published: February 2023

Chapter 4 analyzes the resurrection theology of Boston minister Thomas Prince (1687–1758), an important promoter of the New England revivals of the mid-eighteenth century. Prominent revivalists such as George Whitefield and Gilbert Tennent associated conversion with resurrection so closely that some of their hearers started to think that the faithful could be resurrected in the course of this life. To ward off this error, Prince’s sermons emphasized the relationship between individual resurrection and the total regeneration of the planet he expected to take place at the beginning of the millennium. Although he believed that the British Empire was making the world a more Christian place, Prince wanted Protestants to realize how much their piety and morality were compromised by the environmental effects of the Fall and the Flood and to understand the processes by which the resurrection of their bodies and the remaking of the earth would purify this corruption.
Coda
Authors: Trigg Christopher
Published: February 2023

The coda considers the significance of the doctrine of resurrection in contemporary Western society. Theologians associated with Radical Orthodoxy and Christian phenomenology have advocated faith in resurrection as a corrective to modernity’s fear of death and philosophical and commercial materialism. Meanwhile, secular people may find that resurrection is a useful imaginative resource for addressing new developments in the cultures of mortality and memorialization. As advances in neuroscience raise the possibility of uploading human consciousness into digital repositories, resurrection’s emphasis on the universality of death and judgment contrasts starkly with the conferral of artificial immortality on an elite few. In response to climate change, some scholars have argued that the world must be seen from the perspective of deep evolutionary, geological, and ecological time. But the notion that one might return to live on the planet again could prove to be a more tangible imaginative provocation toward ecological responsibility.
Kinds of Ignorance
Authors: Peels Rik
Published: February 2023

This chapter explores kinds of ignorance. First, it lays out what propositional ignorance, objectual ignorance, and practical ignorance amount to. Next, it argues that erotetic ignorance—roughly, not knowing the answer to a question—is a real phenomenon, but that it is reducible to propositional ignorance. Suggestions that ignorance should be understood in terms of lack of understanding or lack of wisdom are also wanting. After that, it suggests that we should distinguish between the nature and the accidental properties of ignorance and that we ought to keep this distinction in the back of our minds in considering conceptions of ignorance in various philosophical debates. Finally, it assesses Nadja El Kassar’s rival conception of ignorance and defends the view that the threefold analysis of ignorance in terms of propositional, objectual, and practical ignorance needs no revisions in light of her alternative analysis.
Richmond City
Authors: McGraw Andrew
Published: February 2023

This chapter focuses on the experience of music (or “noise”) as ethics in terms of Richmond, Virginia’s Black/White racial divide, historically the most salient social divide in the city. Richmond was the capital of the confederacy, and following reconstruction a series of laws were passed to consolidate White power and protect the legacy of the “lost cause.” The methodology for this chapter largely shifts from qualitative ethnography to a more quantitative approach involving the visualization of large data sets and a shift of focus from individuals to institutions. How does access to music making and listening, and the right to make and be free from “noise,” express and reproduce Richmond’s ethical life? Whose sounds are celebrated? Whose sounds are muted? Who has a sonic “right to the city”? These questions concern the intersection of justice, equity, and distribution that has long been a central theme in Western moral theory.
Genealogical and Genetic Ancestry
Authors: Kampourakis Kostas
Published: February 2023

This chapter begins by defining genealogical ancestry and genetic ancestry, and it explains the differences between the two concepts. Then it explains why DNA ancestry testing cannot provide a complete account of a person’s ancestry. The reason is that as we go back in time, the number of a person’s ancestors doubles in every generation. At the same time, because of the exchange of segments among chromosomes during the phenomenon called crossing over, the portion of DNA that we inherit from each ancestor diminishes across generations. As a result of this, only some of a person’s genealogical ancestors are also that person’s genetic ancestors, which entails that not all of a person’s ancestors will be reflected in their DNA. Finally, the chapter explains that the tests are not really about ancestry, but rather about similarity among DNA sequences inherited from (relatively recent) common ancestors.
Separating DNA from Culture
Authors: Kampourakis Kostas
Published: February 2023

After explaining what ancient DNA is and how it is used in the study of ancestry, I focus on two studies claiming to establish the continuity between ancient and modern Greeks. I emphasize that there are two problems with these studies. First, the ancient samples are limited in size and preassigned to categories in a way that leads to a circular argument reaffirming the initial assignment. Second, the cultural designations used do not represent historically distinct human groups, yet they are considered as such. As a result, what was initially an artificial category ends up being naturalized based on ancient DNA analyses. I conclude by suggesting that we need to be aware of the current limitations of the study of ancient DNA before making claims about genetic continuity based on a few samples. Ancient DNA studies have a lot to contribute to our understanding of human ancestry insofar as large samples are studied and scholars from different disciplines work together.
Conclusion
Authors: Kampourakis Kostas
Published: February 2023

In this concluding section, the author summarizes the main points of the book and states which of the general purposes of DNA ancestry tests are achieved and which ones are not. What the tests can do very well is to identify particular individuals to whom a person is genetically related. In contrast, the tests cannot identify geographic areas where a person’s ancestors lived, but only geographic areas where people sharing a common ancestors with that person live today. Finally, the tests can estimate the ancestry proportions of a person only in a probabilistic, and not in any absolute, sense. These indicate the most probable assignement of a person to a reference group, which might change as new data are added. The book concludes with the take-home message that a person’s ethnicity depends on their social life, not their DNA.