bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nepali Linguistic Validation of the Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Effects on Life Outcomes Instrument: VELO-Nepali
Authors: Lindeborg Michael M. , Shakya Pramila , Pradhan Bhawani , Rai Shiba Kala , Gurung Kabita Bhattarai , Niroula Suman , Rayamajhi Badri , Chaudhary Hema , Gaire Bhagwati , Mahato Naina , Rana Lila , Rokaya Phana , Shrestha Nilam , Shrestha Renuka , Tamang Januka , Joshi Hemanta Dhoj , Gaha Pushpa , Khorja Dhana Kumari , Mitnick Carole D. , Rai Shankar Man , Shaye David A.
Published: February 2020

Objective:

To translate and validate the velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) effects on life outcomes (VELO) instrument into Nepali, and test its internal consistency and validity.

Design:

Quality-of-life instrument translation and validation.

Setting:

Community served by Nepal’s craniofacial referral hospital.

Participants:

Twenty-three postpalatoplasty children with VPI, 19 family guardians of VPI cases, and 29 non-VPI controls.

Interventions:

The VELO instrument was translated to Nepali by 2 independent bilingual translators, reconciled, backward-translated, compared, and modified using patient cognitive interviews. All VPI children, guardians, and controls completed the VELO-Nepali.

Main Outcome Measure(s):

The VELO internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach α coefficient. Concurrent validity and discriminant validity were assessed using 2-sample t test: assuming unequal variances.

Results:

The VELO was translated and optimized using cognitive interviews. The VELO-Nepali demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach α coefficients of 0.93, 0.94, and 0.90 for VPI cases, guardians of VPI cases, and non-VPI controls, respectively. The VELO-Nepali exhibited strong discriminant validity between VPI cases ([Formula: see text] = 45.4, standard deviation [SD] = 22.1) and non-VPI controls ([Formula: see text] = 84.9, SD = 12.3), ( P < .001). The VELO-Nepali showed strong concurrent validity with similarities in VPI case scores ([Formula: see text] = 45.4, SD = 22.1), and guardian scores ([Formula: see text] = 52.9, s = 22.8; P = .473).

Conclusion:

The translated VELO-Nepali demonstrates strong internal consistency, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity, and can assess quality of life for Nepali VPI patients. This instrument represents the first VPI quality of life assessment validated in Nepali, and supports the feasibility of its implementation in other low- and low-middle-income countries.
Extravasation of Noncytotoxic Drugs
Authors: David Valentin , Christou Niki , Etienne Pauline , Almeida Martine , Roux Alexia , Taibi Abdelkader , Mathonnet Muriel
Published: February 2020

Objective: Commonly used drugs may be dangerous in case of extravasation. The lack of information from health care teams can lead to delays in both diagnosis and treatments. This review aims at alerting health care professionals about drugs and risk factors for extravasation and outlines recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of extravasation. Data Source: A literature search of MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar was performed from 2000 to December 2019 using the following terms: extravasation, central venous line, peripheral venous line, irritant, and vesicant. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Overall, 140 articles dealing with drug extravasation were considered potentially relevant. Each article was critically appraised independently by 2 authors, leading to the inclusion of 80 relevant studies, guidelines, and reviews. Articles discussing incidents of extravasation in the neonatal and pediatric population of patients were excluded. Data Synthesis: Training of health care teams and writing care protocols are important for an optimal management of extravasations. A prompt consultation should be achieved by a specialist surgeon. The surgical procedure, if necessary, will consist of wound debridement followed by an abundant lavage. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: This review discusses the management of drug extravasations according to their mechanism(s) of toxicity on tissues. It highlights the importance of a close monitoring of patients and the training of health care teams likely to face this type of adverse event. Conclusions: Extravasations still contribute to significant morbidity and mortality. A good knowledge of risk factors and the implementation of easily and quickly accessible standardized care protocols are 2 key elements in both prevention and treatment of extravasations.
Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm: An Uncommon Entity to Consider in the Differential Diagnosis of Cutaneous Lymphoma
Authors: Aldera Alessandro Pietro , van den Worm Lerinza , Locketz Michael Louis
Published: February 2020

Cutaneous lymphomas are encountered infrequently in general surgical pathology practice, and the broad array of pathological entities poses a diagnostic challenge. Integration of clinical information, results of additional laboratory investigations, and an extensive immunohistochemical panel are essential in arriving at the correct diagnosis. We present a case of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm that occurred in an unusual clinical setting. This case highlights the need for a broad differential diagnosis and an extensive immunohistochemical workup when approaching a cutaneous lymphoma.
Age Appropriateness of the Self-Report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Authors: Black Louise , Mansfield Rosie , Panayiotou Margarita
Published: February 2020

The self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is widely used in clinical and research settings. However, the measure’s suitability for younger adolescents has recently been called into question by readability analysis. To provide further insight into the age-appropriateness of the self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, readability was assessed at the item level alongside consideration of item quality criteria, its factor structure was analyzed, and measurement invariance between adolescents in Year 7 (age 11-12 years) versus Year 9 (age 13-15 years) was tested. The measure showed a wide range of reading ages, and the theorized factor structure was unacceptable. Measurement invariance was therefore considered for a flexible exploratory structural equation model, and no evidence of differences between age groups was found. Suggestions are made for the measure’s revision based on these findings.
Parametric vibrations and instabilities of an elliptical gear pair
Authors: Gao Nan , Meesap Chanannipat , Wang Shiyu , Zhang Dongsheng
Published: February 2020

Parametric vibrations and instabilities can be induced in an elliptical gear pair. This study examined the effects of basic parameters on vibration instability. Geometric parameters and time-variant mesh stiffness are calculated. A torsional dynamic model is established by introducing the lumped parameter assumption. Based on the model, the parametric vibrations caused by the excitations of eccentricity and time-variant mesh stiffness are investigated, and the additive and difference combination resonances are identified. Comparison between the elliptical and circular gears implies that the vibration amplitude at mesh frequency of the elliptical gears is lower than that of the regular circular gears. The vibrations caused by load torque are also examined. The results show that the vibrations with different frequencies are coupled with each other. The inherent reason behind the coupling is the interaction between the eccentricity, time-variant stiffness, and load.
How the Geographic Diversity of Editorial Boards Affects What Is Published in JCR-Ranked Communication Journals
Authors: Goyanes Manuel , Demeter Marton
Published: February 2020

This article tests whether the geographic diversity of editorial boards affects the diversity of research papers. Based on a content analysis of 84 journals listed in the Journal Citation Report, we show that diverse editorial boards are more likely to publish more diverse research articles, based on the country of origin of the first author and on where the data were collected. Our findings also indicate a negative association between (a) the impact factor and diversity of the research approach, (b) the journal’s affiliation to an academic association and diversity in the first author’s country of origin and the country of data collection, and (c) the founding year of the publication and the country of data collection. Finally, the founding year of the publication is explored as a moderator.
Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic factor for survival in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (Turkish Oncology Group Study)
Authors: Hizal Mutlu , Sendur Mehmet AN , Yasar Hatime Arzu , Bir Yucel Kadriye , Arslan Cagatay , Ucar Gokhan , Karakaya Serdar , Taban Hakan , Kucukarda Ahmet , Erturk Ismail , Bilgin Burak , Yıldırım Nuriye , Demirci Umut , Kılıckap Saadettin , Cicin Irfan , Karadurmus Nuri , Yalcin Bulent , Ürün Yüksel
Published: February 2020

Background

To describe the prognostic value of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio and its effect on survival in in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 331 patients. The cut-off value of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio was specified as “3” which is mostly close—and also clinically easily applicable—to the median neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio level of our study group. High group is identified as neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio >3 (n = 160) and low group is identified as neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio ≤3 (n = 163).

Results

A total of 331 (with 211 male and 120 female) patients were enrolled to study. The median age of the patients was 58. The International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium risk score is calculated for the 72.8% (n = 241) of the study group and among these patients, favorable, intermediate, and poor risk rates were 22, 45.2, and 32.8%. The total usage of tyrosine kinase inhibitors reached 78% of the patients. The median overall survival was 32 months versus 11 months in the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio low and high groups, respectively (HR: 0.49 (95% CI 0.37–0.65), p < 0.001).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the pre-treatment value of elevated neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio might be a predictor of poor overall survival in advanced renal cell carcinoma patients.
Systemic BK Virus Infection in a Pediatric Patient With Severe Combined Immunodeficiency
Authors: Espinosa-González Ricardo , E Aguilar León Diana , Rodríguez-Jurado Rodolfo , Uribe-Uribe Norma O
Published: February 2020

Human BK virus (BKV) infection is known to occur mostly during childhood with the establishment of latent infection with no tissue damage or clinical manifestations. However, conditions causing immunosuppression can lead to increased virus replication and tissue damage. Although the tissues most commonly involved are the kidneys, bladder, ureters and, to some extent, brain tissue, there are some reports that suggest that BKV may cause multisystemic infections. In this case, a 12-month-old child was seen to suffer from multiple gastrointestinal infections. This prompted a search for immunodeficiencies, which revealed the presence of severe combined immunodeficiency. The child was eventually hospitalized and continued showing recurrent bouts of gastroenteritis as well as lower respiratory infection. After multiple antibiotic courses, he developed acute kidney injury, a hemophagocytic syndrome, and eventually respiratory failure, which led to his death a year later. Autopsy findings revealed the presence of a disseminated BKV infection involving the kidneys, ureters, leptomeninges, and pancreas. Analysis of the literature failed to show any previous case of BKV pancreatitis. The present case suggests that BKV can damage more tissues than previously reported and may be responsible for systemic infections in immunosuppressed patients.
Objective cyclodeviation measurement in normal subjects by means of Cyclocheck® application
Authors: Simiera Justyna , Ordon Agata Joanna , Loba Piotr
Published: February 2020

Purpose:

To evaluate the range of cyclodeviation in normal individuals by means of Cyclocheck® application recently designed by the authors and freely available at www.cyclocheck.com .

Methods:

Healthy subjects with normal muscle balance, best-corrected visual acuity of ⩾0.8, and stereopsis on Randot charts of ⩽100 s of arc were included in the study. Two separate digital fundus photographs were taken of each eye of every patient. The disk-foveal angle was calculated using the Cyclocheck® application. The average result of the disk-foveal angle measurements were considered for data analysis.

Results:

A total of 131 patients met inclusion criteria for the study population. The mean value of the disk-foveal angle in the whole study group (both right and left eye) was 6.39° ± 2.72° with 5.26° ± 2.56° (range from −0.4° to 12.55°) in the right eye and 7.52° ± 2.39° (range from 1.25° to 12.76°) in the left eye. The mean value of the disk-foveal angle of the left eye was greater by 2.26° than that of the right eye.

Conclusion:

Cyclocheck® software allows easy assessment of cyclodeviation. Normal individuals present with a positive value of the disk-foveal angle with a certain spread of the results. The analysis of obtained measurements revealed a significant asymmetry between both eyes with the left eye being more excyclodeviated in an otherwise orthotropic population, which remains a subject for further investigations.
Clinical impact of needle-free connector design: A systematic review of literature
Authors: Rosenthal Victor Daniel
Published: February 2020

The objective of this systematic review is to analyze types of needle-free connectors and open systems and their effects on central line–associated bloodstream infection rates and other adverse outcomes through a research protocol consistent with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews’ recommendations. MEDLINE and Cochrane databases of systematic reviews were searched for relevant comparative studies published from January 2000 to September 2017. Eighteen studies compared central line–associated bloodstream infection (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Healthcare Safety Network definition), internal microbial contamination, occlusions, phlebitis, and other outcomes associated with needle-free connectors with a positive displacement device, negative displacement device, neutral displacement device, or three-way stopcock. Ten studies reported central line–associated bloodstream infection rates, which were lower with positive displacement devices versus negative displacement devices/neutral displacement devices (one study) and with negative displacement devices versus three-way stopcocks (three studies), but varied with different positive displacement device and negative displacement device/neutral displacement device designs (four studies). Seven studies reported internal microbial contamination rates, which were higher with three-way stopcocks versus negative displacement devices (two studies) and positive displacement devices (two studies), lower when positive displacement devices were used versus neutral displacement devices (one study), and varied with different types of negative displacement device (one study). Central line–associated bloodstream infection rates and most other outcomes analyzed were statistically significantly higher with three-way stopcocks (open devices) versus positive displacement device, negative displacement devices, and neutral displacement devices, but varied among closed device designs.
How do frontline staff use patient experience data for service improvement? Findings from an ethnographic case study evaluation
Authors: Locock Louise , Montgomery Catherine , Parkin Stephen , Chisholm Alison , Bostock Jennifer , Dopson Sue , Gager Melanie , Gibbons Elizabeth , Graham Chris , King Jenny , Martin Angela , Powell John , Ziebland Sue
Published: February 2020

Objectives

Improving patient experience is widely regarded as a key component of health care quality. However, while a considerable amount of data are collected about patient experience, there are concerns this information is not always used to improve care. This study explored whether and how frontline staff use patient experience data for service improvement.

Methods

We conducted a year-long ethnographic case study evaluation, including 299 hours of observations and 95 interviews, of how frontline staff in six medical wards at different hospital sites in the United Kingdom used patient experience data for improvement.

Results

In every site, staff undertook quality improvement projects using a range of data sources. Teams of health care practitioners and ancillary staff engaged collectively in a process of sense-making using formal and informal sources of patient experience data. While survey data were popular, ‘soft’ intelligence – such as patients’ stories, informal comments and observations – also informed staff’s improvement plans, without always being recognized as data. Teams with staff from different professional backgrounds and grades tended to make more progress than less diverse teams, being able to draw on a wider net of practical, organizational and social resources, support and skills, which we describe as team-based capital.

Conclusions

Organizational recognition, or rejection, of specific forms of patient experience intelligence as ‘data’ affects whether staff feel the data are actionable. Teams combining a diverse range of staff generated higher levels of ‘team-based capital’ for quality improvement than those adopting a single disciplinary approach. This may be a key mechanism for achieving person-centred improvement in health care.
Cultural studies Can we / should we reinvent it?
Authors: Couldry Nick
Published: February 2020

This short article returns to an original sense of the term ‘cultural studies’, that is, a subject which needed to be invented to supplement a democratic deficit in established humanities and social science disciplines. It reviews reasons why something like cultural studies needs to be reinvented again today (converging crises in democratic systems and culture, deriving from new social and political ecologies, linked to technology), but also reasons why, right now, this is particularly difficult. Addressing this challenge requires a modesty as to what can be done, but also an urgency opening up a space where the threats to democracy’s future can honestly be faced in a cross-disciplinary dialogue.
Emerging spheres of engagement: the role of trust and care in community–university research
Authors: Palmer Jane , Burton Lorelle J , Walsh Angelia
Published: February 2020

Community-engaged research takes place at a complex social site that has both a history and a future as well as encompassing the project activities of the researchers and community members. We argue that a crucial methodological aspect of undertaking such research is the development of trust relationships between researchers and community. We propose that for each research project, this relationship can best be understood as a ‘sphere of engagement’, after Ingold’s ‘sphere of nurture’, and that trust and care are emergent and binding qualities of this sphere. Tracing the development of trust relationships in a case study, using the idea of security-based trust and harmony-based trust, we conclude that trust, and the related concept of care, bind together people, events, histories and futures beyond the dichotomous and time-delimited relationship of a research contract, and carry the sphere of engagement of researchers and community beyond the life of any one project.
Process evaluation of complex cardiovascular interventions: How to interpret the results of my trial?
Authors: Saarijärvi Markus , Wallin Lars , Bratt Ewa-Lena
Published: February 2020

Complex interventions of varying degrees of complexity are commonly used and evaluated in cardiovascular nursing and allied professions. Such interventions are increasingly tested using randomized trial designs. However, process evaluations are seldom used to better understand the results of these trials. Process evaluation aims to understand how complex interventions create change by evaluating implementation, mechanisms of impact, and the surrounding context when delivering an intervention. As such, this method can illuminate important mechanisms and clarify variation in results. In this article, process evaluation is described according to the Medical Research Council guidance and its use exemplified through a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a transition program for adolescents with chronic conditions.
Rapid Review of Men’s Behavior Change Programs
Authors: O’Connor Amanda , Morris Heather , Panayiotidis Anastasia , Cooke Victoria , Skouteris Helen
Published: February 2020

Family violence is recognized as the violence toward a family member that is threatening, coercive, controlling, dominating, and causes people to fear for their safety and well-being; this complex problem primarily affects women and children. In order to enhance women and children’s safety, Men’s Behavior Change Programs (MBCPs) aim to achieve change in perpetrators’ violent behaviors, by making men accountable and responsible for their actions. The objective of this rapid review was to examine MBCP content, implementation, and the impact on participant and family outcomes. Thirteen articles and 10 MBCPs were identified, using PRISMA guidelines, electronic database searches, and an inclusion criteria of English peer-reviewed articles examining MBCPs or domestic violence perpetrator programs with male perpetrators of family/domestic/intimate partner violence as program participants. The findings of this review indicated a limited evidence base of detailed MBCP evaluations. Information relating to program content was included for nine MBCPs and covered a wide range of topics. None of the articles examined the links between men’s accountability and responsibility to the safety and well-being of women and children. Also, none of the articles included assessments of integrity of program delivery, system processes, or evaluations based on program logics. Positive changes were reported for MBCP participants, including communication, parenting, interpersonal relationships, aggression, abuse, responsibility for behavior, self-awareness power and control tactics, empathy, skills development, cognitive beliefs, behavior control, and abusiveness patterns. A whole family approach was utilized by some of the programs and one article reported on family outcomes.
Effects on Career Development From Sharing One’s Story: Young Professionals’ Experiences With Family Planning Voices
Authors: Ballard Sara Anne , Futrell Elizabeth , Gurman Tilly
Published: February 2020

Supporting the development of young family planning professionals is key to fostering communities of practitioners that can help countries achieve family planning goals. The Family Planning Voices (FP Voices) storytelling initiative, created by The Knowledge for Health Project and Family Planning 2020, documents stories from people around the world who are passionate about family planning. This qualitative evaluation used in-depth interviews ( n = 11) with young professionals (ages 18-30) to uncover the effects of sharing their story with FP Voices. Participants came from 10 countries in one of three regions, Latin America ( n = 2), South Asia ( n = 2), and Africa ( n = 7). Findings highlight that sharing one’s story with FP Voices served as a professional development opportunity and instilled confidence and pride among young professionals. Additionally, participants linked access to a professional headshot and the experience of participating in an interview to their professional development. Participants often discussed the recognition they gained from sharing their story and the resulting increase in professional connections and opportunities. Participants hoped that their stories would inspire and encourage others and support recognition of the value of young professionals to the larger family planning field. In sum, storytelling initiatives like FP Voices can motivate and create community and opportunity among young professionals.
A generative adversarial network–based method for generating negative financial samples
Authors: Zhang Zhaohui , Yang Lijun , Chen Ligong , Liu Qiuwen , Meng Ying , Wang Pengwei , Li Maozhen
Published: February 2020

In financial anti-fraud field, negative samples are small and sparse with serious sample imbalanced problem. Generating negative samples consistent with original data to naturally solve imbalanced problem is a serious problem. This article proposes a new method to solve this problem. We introduce a new generation model, combined Generative Adversarial Network with Long Short-Term Memory network for one-dimensional negative financial samples. The characteristic association between transaction sequences can be learned by long short-term memory layer, and the generator covers real data distribution by the adversarial discriminator with time-sequence. Mapping data distribution to feature space is a common evaluation method of synthetic data; however, relationships between data attributes have been ignored in online transactions. We define a comprehensive evaluation method to evaluate the validity of generated samples from data distribution and attribute characteristics. Experimental results on real bank B2B transaction data show that the proposed model has higher overall ratings, which is 10% higher than traditional generation models. Finally, well-trained model is used to generate negative samples and form new dataset. The classification results on new datasets show that precision and recall are all higher than baseline models. Our work has a certain practical value and provides a new idea to solve imbalanced problem in whatever fields.
Tearing of post-consumer cotton T-shirts and jeans of varying degree of wear
Authors: Aronsson Julia , Persson Anders
Published: February 2020

The demand for textile fibres is growing quickly. However, global cotton production has stabilized around 25 Mton/year. This is a sound development since cotton cultivation causes major sustainable development issues. Even if regenerated cellulose fibre production steadily grows, it is still only from a sixth to a fifth of cotton volumes. Hence, it is essential to find resource-efficient routes to generate alternatives to virgin cotton. There are many promising research initiatives that discover the possibility to utilize waste streams of neat cotton and cotton in fibre blends as raw materials for dissolving pulp for regeneration into, for example, viscose or Lyocell. However, there is a much simpler and energy-efficient route at hand. If fabrics are disintegrated mechanically, the separated fibres can be turned into yarn again. However, since fibre length is a key parameter to accomplish strong and durable textiles, fibre length loss upon tearing should be minimized. This study evaluates how fibre length distribution alters upon tearing of post-consumer cotton waste of two different constructions: denim and single jersey; and different degrees of wear, rendering four different fractions: (1) barely worn denim, (2) rather worn denim, (3) barely worn single-jersey and (4) rather worn single-jersey. Before tearing, the garments were dissembled, their yarns were characterized, fibre length distributions were manually determined for (1)–(4). Length analysis of the recovered fibres after tearing revealed that the length drop was most severe for (a) the finer single-jersey and (b) the barely worn fractions. The findings suggest that significant wear does not exclude from mechanical recycling.
Influence and stabilization of environmental conditions on teraohmmeter measurements of textile materials
Authors: Kreisel Thomas , Froböse Bernd , Ehrmann Andrea
Published: February 2020

The conductivity of textile fabrics is not only relevant for highly conductive textile materials, which can be prepared by coatings with fine metal layers or conductive polymers, but it is also of large interest in antistatic or other textiles which necessitate relatively low conductivities. These high resistances are usually in a range of gigaohms to teraohms which is not accessible by common multimeters, but necessitates special teraohmmeters. Although these measurement instruments are not unusual in the textile industry, their applications necessitate knowledge of the measurement principle and especially of the influence of environmental conditions on the measurement results. Here, temperature- and humidity-dependent measurements for temperatures of 20°C/23°C/27°C and relative humidities of 50%/65% with a teraohmmeter on different textile fabrics are shown. The results show not only the strong impact of the environmental conditions, resulting in resistance deviations of more than one order of magnitude, but also give hints on how these environmental conditions can be stabilized to a large amount to enable reliable comparison between different textile materials.
Thermal–hydraulic coupling model and operating conditions analysis of waxy crude oil pipeline restart process after shutdown
Authors: Cheng Qinglin , Yang Jinwei , Li Zhidong , Tian Jingwu , Gan Yifan , Zhao Yu
Published: February 2020

To realize the safe and economic operation of a waxy crude oil pipeline, a thermal–hydraulic model in an unsteady state was established for the restart process of waxy crude oil. The model is based on the thermodynamic and hydraulic characteristics of crude oil within a pipeline intercoupling with media outside the pipeline during the restart process of the crude oil pipeline. The characteristics of waxy crude oil are considered, and the model includes the continuity equation, momentum conservation equation, and energy conservation equation. This article suggests a method for developing the model based on shockwave theory combined with the characteristic line method, numerically simulates the restart process of a certain buried oil pipe in summer and winter, and analyzes how the oil temperature at the beginning and terminal of the pipeline and the pressure at the beginning of the pipeline change during restart. In addition, this article confirms the safe duration of shutdown in two seasons for a waxy oil pipe, which are 37 h in summer and 33 h in winter.
An active reconstruction algorithm based on partial prior information
Authors: Kong Yanzi , Zhu Feng , Hao Yingming , Sun Haibo , Xie Yilin , Lin Zhiyuan
Published: February 2020

Active reconstruction is an intelligent perception method that achieves object modeling with few views and short motion paths by systematically adjusting the parameters of the camera while ensuring model integrity. Part of the object information is always known for vision tasks in real scenes, and it provides some guidance for the view planning. A two-step active reconstruction algorithm based on partial prior information is presented, which includes rough shape estimation phase and complete object reconstruction phase, and both of them introduce the concept of active vision. An information expression method is proposed that can be used to manually initialize the repository according to specific visual tasks, and then the prior information and detected information are used to plan the next best view online until the object reconstruction is completed. The method is evaluated with simulated experiments and the result is compared with other methods.
Cross-Cultural Emotion Recognition and In-Group Advantage in Vocal Expression: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Laukka Petri , Elfenbein Hillary Anger
Published: February 2020

Most research on cross-cultural emotion recognition has focused on facial expressions. To integrate the body of evidence on vocal expression, we present a meta-analysis of 37 cross-cultural studies of emotion recognition from speech prosody and nonlinguistic vocalizations, including expressers from 26 cultural groups and perceivers from 44 different cultures. Results showed that a wide variety of positive and negative emotions could be recognized with above-chance accuracy in cross-cultural conditions. However, there was also evidence for in-group advantage with higher accuracy in within- versus cross-cultural conditions. The distance between expresser and perceiver culture, measured via Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, was negatively correlated with recognition accuracy and positively correlated with in-group advantage. Results are discussed in relation to the dialect theory of emotion.
Unmet needs in clinical nutrition in oncology: a multinational analysis of real-world evidence
Authors: Caccialanza Riccardo , Goldwasser Francois , Marschal Oliver , Ottery Faith , Schiefke Ingolf , Tilleul Patrick , Zalcman Gerard , Pedrazzoli Paolo
Published: February 2020

Background:

Knowledge about cancer-related malnutrition and the use of clinical nutrition (CN) in the real-world setting are lacking. We investigated diagnosis and treatment frequency of malnutrition in a multinational survey to identify unmet needs in cancer patients’ care.

Methods:

Retrospective analyses were conducted on data from three administrative healthcare datasets from France ( n = 570,727), Germany ( n = 4642) and Italy ( n = 58,468). Data from France described frequency and timing of malnutrition diagnosis in hospitalized gastrointestinal cancer patients. The German data detailed home parenteral nutrition (HPN) use in cancer patients with stage III/IV cancers. The Italian data analysed three cohorts: metastatic with CN, metastatic without CN, and patients without metastatic disease.

Results:

In France, malnutrition diagnosis at first hospitalization occurred in 10% of patients, 13% were subsequently diagnosed, and 77% had no malnutrition diagnosis. In Germany, 16% of patients received HPN. Patients started HPN around 3 months before death. In Italy, 8.4% of metastatic cancer patients received CN; average time between metastasis diagnosis and first CN prescription was 6.6 months. Average time between first CN prescription and death was 3.5 months.

Conclusions:

These data indicate that in the real-world clinical practice, cancer-related malnutrition is under-recognized and undertreated. CN often appears to be prescribed as an end-of-life intervention or is not prescribed at all. Appropriate CN use remains challenging, and current practice may not allow optimal oncologic outcomes for patients at nutritional risk. Improving awareness of malnutrition and generating further evidence on clinical and economic benefits of CN are critical priorities in oncology.
Three Faces of Party Organisation in the National League for Democracy
Authors: Roewer Richard
Published: February 2020

The National League for Democracy (NLD) is a decisive actor in Myanmar’s ongoing political transformation process and yet a clear understanding of its structure is absent from the discourse on the party. This article analyses the NLD based on Richard Katz’s and Peter Mair’s “three faces of party organisation.” It examines the relationship between the NLD in public office, the NLD on the ground, and the NLD central office. The findings characterise the NLD as a highly centralised party in which most decision-making power is concentrated at the party’s central office. Select layers of the party’s network retain the power to influence important decisions, such as the nomination of candidates for elections. Yet, their ability to do so is due to the lack of rules and regulations. This article argues that the structure of the NLD is the product of the dynamics that governed the formation and development of the party under authoritarian rule. Fears of a partial authoritarian resurgence at the hands of Myanmar’s armed forces (Tatmadaw) and the perception that its authoritarian structures constitute a competitive advantage within Myanmar’s hybrid regime inform the NLD’s decision to refrain from reforming and democratising its structure. Yet, leaving the party’s structure unchanged stands to negatively impact the party’s political profile and its role in Myanmar’s political transformation process. In the long term, it might endanger the party’s stability and contravene the party’s political principles. The article draws on interviews with NLD politicians conducted during an extensive research stay in Myanmar from 2018 to 2019.
An “Ironclad Friend”: Explaining Cambodia’s Bandwagoning Policy towards China
Authors: Po Sovinda , Primiano Christopher B.
Published: February 2020

In this article, drawing from both interviews and secondary sources, we examine why Cambodia welcomes the rise of China when other states appear to be less enthusiastic. Despite the alarm in the region at China’s assertiveness, Cambodia, unlike some other nation states, has chosen to bandwagon with China. While some states in the region are pursuing a mixed strategy of economic engagement with China on the one hand and security alignment with the United States on the other (i.e. hedging), which allows such states to be on good terms with both the United States and China, Cambodia has embraced China almost exclusively. Situating the issue within the IR literature of bandwagoning, balancing, and hedging, this article presents four variables explaining the motivations behind Cambodia’s bandwagoning policy towards China. Towards the end, we offer some suggestions for Cambodia to move forward.
Imperial parliament for a hybrid empire: Representative experiments in the early 20th-century Russian Empire
Authors: Semyonov Alexander M.
Published: February 2020

This article argues that the history of Russian constitutional and parliamentary reform in the early 20th century can be cast in a new light in view of the global transformation of political life under the challenge of imperial diversity and mass politics. The article points out that imperial diversity as a challenge to democratic government was not unique to the Russian Empire. The character of the Russian Empire was marked by peculiarities; it was shaped by composite and hybrid imperial space, which placed the challenge of imperial diversity at the center of political practices and imaginaries. The article traces the history of political reform in the Russian Empire in the early 20th century focusing on the reform of the Sejm of the Grand Duchy of Finland and the novel practices and political imaginaries of imperial diversity in the first and second State Duma. The exploration of the history of the constitutional reform in the Russian Empire of early 20th century demonstrates that rather than being absolute antagonists to representative government, Russian imperial politics and traditions of imperial sovereignty nested possibilities of compromise and redefinition of political solidarity in the space of diversity.
Imperialism, Resources and Food Security, with reference to the Indian Experience
Authors: Patnaik Utsa
Published: February 2020

This paper analyzes the reasons for declining incomes and nutritional standards of agriculture-dependent populations of developing countries under recent neoliberal economic reforms by taking up the case of India. Located mainly in tropical areas, developing countries can produce a qualitatively different primary output vector with a much larger range of products compared to cold temperate regions comprising today's advanced countries. This fact underlies the author's critique of Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage leading to mutual benefit from trade, which is shown to be based on a material fallacy since it assumes that both countries entering into trade can produce both goods, something that is factually untrue. Past demands by Northern countries on limited tropical lands under colonial plantation systems for expanding exports, always led to declining food grains availability for local populations. The same outcome is seen at present in countries opening up to trade, when these demands from advanced countries on tropical lands have increased manifold and encompass a range of perishable products whose rapid expansion for export entails a decline of foodgrains output and energy intake per head of the agriculture-dependent population. The past mechanism for releasing the land and resources required for an export thrust was heavy taxation by the colonial state reducing the purchasing power of local populations, and use of taxes to purchase export goods from them. The present mechanism relies on expenditure-deflating policies by the national state following the advice of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. These policies raise unemployment levels and reduce the purchasing power of the agriculture-dependent population, which leads to a decline in their foodgrains absorption and energy intake. The official and World Bank claims of decline in poverty in India are shown to be untenable since the original nutrition norms for estimating poverty lines, have been abandoned, and the method actually followed using a fixed, over three decade old consumption basket, results in gross underestimation of poverty. Correctly measured poverty on the contrary, shows a markedly rising trend over the economic reforms period.
The Global Crisis and its Consequences
Authors: Sideri Sandro
Published: February 2020

The first section of the paper identifies the immediate causes of a crisis that is both severe and global. The second section examines the unsustainable imbalance that feeds the current crisis: more than two billion people under-consume and save, while a few hundred million borrow and live beyond their means. This imbalance rests on, and at the same time strengthens, the huge and often widening income gaps between, and within, countries, including the redistribution in favor of capital and highly skilled labor caused by globalization and technological change. The third section explores the effects of the crisis and the problems that it is creating, including those generated by the way in which it is being handled and the “exit strategy” that will eventually be used.

The crisis is accelerating the shift of power toward Asia, because the US is increasingly perceived as the destabilizer of the world economy, but until the imbalance is eliminated, the financialization of the global economy is brought under control and productive investment replaces the speculative activity of financial capitals, other crises are bound to follow. Which means that any future international order that emerges from the current mess must abandon the present economic growth model, while integrating globalization with regionalism. These two processes are already underway and may perhaps result in a more balanced and multipolar world system.
From the Neoliberal Barrio to the Socialist Commune
Authors: Marcano L. Ciro
Published: February 2020

With the adoption of the Communal Councils Law in 2006, and the recent creation in 2009 of the People's Power Ministry for Communes, the government of Venezuela fosters the construction of socialism in the twentieth first century. Considerations about communal power are of fundamentally importance. But, what are the communal councils, what direction are they taking, and how does this new system of communal government express itself on the ground at a national scale? This study analyzes the experience of the communalization of the State in Venezuela, a phenomenon of enormous relevancy to questions of equity, political legitimacy, and development, which lie at the heart of the changes underway in Latin America.
The Contemporary Significance of Primitive Accumulation∗
Authors: Negi Rohit , Auerbach Marc
Published: February 2020

The emerging body of literature on accumulation by dispossession (ABD) sharpens the political edge of the critique of contemporary capitalism. While this is welcome, there are also reasons for concern about the way ABD has been taken up. This is so, because the processes at the heart of Marx's enunciations of primitive accumulation are widely considered passé or are subsumed within the broadened conception of ABD. It matters because the separation of agricultural households from land is an ongoing and central reality of our times, and the social effects have been disastrous. Achieving greater clarity around primitive accumulation and the constellation of issues associated with the agrarian question, then, is of more than passing importance. This article argues that radical geographers should return to the land to undertake an open and materialist engagement with contemporary processes of primitive accumulation.
A Cacophony of Crises Systemic Failure and Reasserting People's Rights
Authors: Schmidt Johannes Dragsbaek
Published: February 2020

A cacophony of crises challenges neoliberalism and marks a fundamental reversal in capitalism itself. This is a systemic failure of the capitalist mode of production to renovate and renew itself through a multiplicity of environmental and resource crises and the financial crises which has important links with the real economy. Capitalism cannot survive by simply inventing new institutions – global or national – or by shifting to another phase. New nationalisms and protectionisms loom on the horizon, while darker shades of xenophobia are another possible scenario. A further possibility lies in the emergence of informalized labor markets and economies as a result of the last phase of neoliberal globalization. Informalization or disposessed surplus labor has some revolutionary potential. The paper discusses various alternatives based on the new economy of the informalized sectors
The 2007–09 Financial Crisis Narrating and Politicising a Calamity la Crisis Financiera 2007–09 Narrando y Politizando una Calamidad
Authors: Castree Noel
Published: February 2020

The events triggered by defaults on ‘sub-prime’ mortgages have been widely described as constituting a ‘crisis’. But a crisis of what exactly? Several different explanations of the 20 month drama that unfolded from summer 2007 have been proposed by a wide range of commentators. These include journalists, academics, politicians, business-people, pundits and public administrators, among others. This essay parses this superfluity of crisis talk into five principal accounts. It focuses on the Anglo-American scene. The interpretations presented range from the simplistic and populist to the complex and specialised. They are compared and contrasted, and in each case their diverse normative implications are sketched. As a Marxist, I argue that the fifth interpretation – which speaks to macro-economic imbalances and asymmetries of class power – is the most compelling. But I also argue that each of the other interpretations can be narrated and politicised in such a way as to advance Left arguments for far-reaching socio-economic reform. Yet, this fact notwithstanding, the Left – by which I mean those positioned left of both New Labour and the Democrats – has so far failed to use the recent crisis to its political advantage. This, I suggest, is a sign of its long-standing marginality in Britain and the US – a marginality so entrenched that even an acute economic crisis has been unable to alter it. This crisis thus reveals a seeming paradox: the continued strength of neoliberal capitalism despite itself.