bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PSA Testing and Prostate Cancer Incidence Following the 2012 Update to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Prostate Cancer Screening Recommendation: Implications for Racial/Ethnic Disparities
Authors: Kensler KH , Pernar CH , Mahal BA , Nguyen PL , Trinh QD , Kibel AS , Rebbeck TR
Published: March 2020

The 2012 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation against prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing led to a decrease in prostate cancer screening, but its impact on prostate cancer racial/ethnic disparities remains unclear. Methods: The proportion of men ages 40–74 years who received a routine PSA test in the past year was estimated over time in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS; 2012–2018) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS; 2005–2018). Screening trends by race/ethnicity were evaluated using logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of screening adjusting for socioeconomic and healthcare-related factors. Prostate cancer incidence rates and rate ratios (IRRs) by race/ethnicity were estimated in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry data over time (2004–2016). Results: In the 2012 BRFSS, PSA testing rates were highest among non-Hispanic white (NHW) men (32.3%), followed by non-Hispanic black (NHB; 30.3%), Hispanic (21.8%), and Asian/Pacific Islander men (17.7%). The absolute screening frequency declined by 9.5% overall from 2012 to 2018, with a greater decline among NHB (11.6%) than NHW men (9.3%). Adjusting for socioeconomic and healthcare-related factors, the relative decline was greater among NHB (OR per year = 0.86, 95% CI 0.84–0.88) than NHW men (OR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.89–0.90; p-het. = 0.005), driven by a steeper drop among NHB men ages 40–54. In the NHIS, the 2012 update was associated with a 35% decrease in the odds of screening (OR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.51–0.82), though there was no annual change since 2012 (OR = 1.00, 95% CI 0.98–1.03). Trends in the NHIS did not differ by race/ethnicity. The NHB:NHW IRR for total prostate cancer increased from 1.73 in 2011 to 1.87 in 2012 and has remained elevated, driven by differences in the incidence of localized tumors. Disparity IRRs have been consistent since 2012 for other racial/ethnic populations. Conclusions: Although the frequency of prostate cancer screening varies by race/ethnicity, the impact of the 2012 USPSTF recommendation against PSA testing on screening trends did not robustly differ by race/ethnicity. Following 2012, there was a modest increase in the disparity for localized prostate cancer incidence between NHB and NHW men.
Abnormal Stool Blood Tests and Colorectal Cancer Mortality in a Large United States Cohort
Authors: San Miguel Y , Demb J , Martinez ME , Gupta S , May F
Published: March 2020

Our aim was to examine the association between fatal colorectal cancer (CRC) and time to colonoscopy among individuals who underwent diagnostic colonoscopy after abnormal stool blood test (SBT) in a cohort of United States Veterans. Methods: We performed a cohort study of Veterans aged 50–75 years, with an abnormal SBT using the Veterans Health Administration's (VA) national electronic health record data during the years 1999 and 2010. Colonoscopy receipt was ascertained using current procedural terminology codes after abnormal SBT. The study outcome, CRC death, was defined through National Death Index cause-specific mortality data. We followed patients through CRC-related death, other death, or until December 31, 2015. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to generate CRC-specific mortality hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for 3-month colonoscopy intervals, with 3–6 months as the reference. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking, diabetes, body mass index, and Charlson Comorbidity Index. Results: We included 222,004 patients with abnormal SBTs; the average age was 63 with a standard deviation of 7.2 years, 97% were male, 72% were Non-Hispanic White and 20% were Black. Of the 222,004 patients, 69% completed diagnostic colonoscopy within 12 months of abnormal SBT, 4% were diagnosed with CRC, and 1% died of CRC specific death. Compared to patients with a colonoscopy at 3–6 months (standard of care), CRC-related mortality risk was significantly higher for patients with colonoscopies at 0–3 months (HR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.14–1.47), 18–21 months (HR = 1.57; 95% CI, 1.19–2.06), and 21–24 months (HR = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.07–1.97). No significant increase in mortality risk was shown for 6–9 month, 9–12 month, 12–15 month, 15–18 months, and 24+ month intervals. Conclusion: Time to colonoscopy plays a significant role in CRC death after abnormal SBT. Compared to a colonoscopy performed during a 3–6-month window, a colonoscopy performed outside of the 15-month window had a higher risk for mortality. Given the impact of timely diagnostic colonoscopy on CRC mortality, development of interventions to increase timely diagnostic follow-up after abnormal SBT are essential to CRC outcome improvement.
Composition of the Vaginal Microbiome Associated with High Risk HPV Infection and Increased Risk for Cervical Cancer
Authors: Madhivanan P , Bokulich NA , Coudray M , Colbert B , Ruiz-Perez D , Krupp K , Mathee K , Narasimhan G , Caporaso JG
Published: March 2020

Persistent high-risk Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary but not sufficient cause for development of cervical cancer. Changes in the vaginal microbiota including reduction of Lactobacillus and increased microbial diversity may facilitate HPV infection and persistence as well as the pathogenesis of cervical cancer. Our objective was to characterize the vaginal microbiota among women with and without persistent HPV infection with HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, 58 in a cohort of young U.S. women. Methods: This analysis used data from a longitudinal study of 1365 women followed for 12 months every two months apart from six locations across the US. HPV genotyping was performed using quantitative PCR using TaqMan probes in a customized plate (ThermoFisher Scientific). Bacterial communities were profiled by 16S rRNA gene sequences from the V3-V4 region using high-throughput pyrosequencing. Persistence was defined by examining for HPV presence in two consecutive visits. Results: Participants included 80 African-American women tested at 3 consecutive time-points. The mean age of participants was 21.4 years. About 43.7% (95% CI: 32.7%–55.3%) had persistent HPV infection, 20% (11.9%–30.4%) were able to clear the infection, and 36.2% (25.8%–47.8%) were consistently negative for HPV infection at all three time points. Atopobium and Peptoniphilus were significantly more abundant in women who were HPV negative suggesting possible protective effects. Prevotella bivia was enriched among women with persistent HPV. Conclusion: Based on these data, we can hypothesize that Prevotella richness is significantly associated with HPV persistence, suggesting a possible role in chronic HPV infection and development of cervical cancer.
Financial Distress and its Associated Burden in Couples Coping with an Incurable Cancer
Authors: Milbury K , Lopez G , Contreras J , Weather S-P , Bruera E
Published: March 2020

Although financial toxicity has been linked to poor disease outcomes in cancer patients, the associations between subjective financial distress (FD) and symptom burden and quality of life (QOL) are rarely examined from a patient-partner dyadic perspective. Thus, this cross-sectional study seeks to examine dyadic associations in couples coping with an incurable cancer. Method: Patients undergoing systemic and/or radiotherapy for advanced lung cancer (n = 50) or high grade glioma (n = 50) and their spouses/romantic partners completed measures of psychological distress (BSI-18), symptom severity including FD (ESAS, 0–10 scale), QOL (PROMIS-10), relationship wellbeing (SRI), and avoidance (AAQ-2). Results: Patients were mainly female (60%), and patients and partners were all in a heterosexual relationship (mean length: 30.12 ± 15.1 yrs), mainly non-Hispanic White (80%), married to each other (93%) and well educated with a mean age of 57.9 years (range: 28.5–79.0 years). FD was interrelated in couples (ICC = 0.53, P<0.0001), and mean score did not significantly differ by role (patient = 2.32 vs partner = 2.81). Controlling for medical and demographic factors, based on dyadic level analyses, FD was significantly associated with physical QOL (P = 0.01) so that those with higher FD reported lower QOL. Interestingly, FD was significantly associated with psychological distress (P = 0.001), mental QOL (P<0.001), avoidance (P = 0.01), and relationship wellbeing (P = 0.03) for partners but not for patients so that partners reporting higher FD had worse health and wellbeing. Moreover, in terms of relative burden, FD was the 7th (out of 12) most severe symptom for patients, and the 2nd most severe symptom for partners (after sleep disturbances). Based on concordance analyses, patients significantly underestimated their partners' FD (P = 0.007), which was further associated with increased partner psychological distress (P = 0.04). Conclusion: Although FD is interdependent in couples coping with an incurable cancer, FD appears to be a greater relative burden for partners than patients. In the palliative care setting, reducing FD may be an important target for caregiver interventions seeking to improve their health and wellbeing and reduce the overall cancer burden.
First-in-Human Study of Utomilumab, a 4-1BB/CD137 Agonist, in Combination with Rituximab in Patients with Follicular and Other CD20+ Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas
Authors: Gopal Ajay K. , Levy Ronald , Houot Roch , Patel Sandip P. , Popplewell Leslie , Jacobson Caron , Mu Xinmeng J. , Deng Shibing , Ching Keith A. , Chen Ying , Davis Craig B. , Huang Bo , Fly Kolette D. , Thall Aron , Woolfson Adrian , Bartlett Nancy L.
Published: March 2020

Purpose:

In this phase I study (NCT01307267), we evaluated safety, pharmacokinetics, clinical activity, and pharmacodynamics of treatment with utomilumab plus rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) and other CD20+ non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL).

Patients and Methods:

Primary objectives were to assess treatment safety and tolerability for estimating the MTD, using a modified time-to-event continual reassessment method, and selecting the recommended phase II dose (RP2D).

Results:

Sixty-seven patients received utomilumab (0.03–10.0 mg/kg every 4 weeks) and rituximab (375 mg/m2 weekly) in the dose-escalation groups or utomilumab (1.2 mg/kg every 4 weeks) plus rituximab in the dose-expansion cohort. No patient experienced dose-limiting toxicity. The MTD for utomilumab in combination with rituximab was not reached and estimated to be ≥10 mg/kg every 4 weeks. The majority of the utomilumab treatment-related adverse events (AE) were grade 1 to 2; the most common AE was fatigue (16.4%). The pharmacokinetics of utomilumab in combination with rituximab was linear in the 0.03 to 10 mg/kg dose range. A low incidence (1.5%) of treatment-induced antidrug antibodies against utomilumab was observed. The objective response rate was 21.2% (95% CI, 12.1%–33.0%) in all patients with NHL, including four complete and 10 partial responses. Analysis of paired biopsies from a relapsed/refractory FL patient with complete response showed increased T-cell infiltration and cytotoxic activity in tumors. Biomarker correlations with outcomes suggested that clinical benefit may be contingent on patient immune function.

Conclusions:

Utomilumab in combination with rituximab demonstrated clinical activity and a favorable safety profile in patients with CD20+ NHLs.
A Multi-level Model to Understand Cervical Cancer Disparities in Appalachia
Authors: Paskett Electra D. , Pennell Michael L. , Ruffin Mack T. , Weghorst Christopher M. , Lu Bo , Hade Erinn M. , Peng Juan , Bernardo Brittany M. , Wewers Mary Ellen
Published: March 2020

The Appalachian region experiences higher incidence and mortality due to cervical cancer compared with other regions of the United States. The goal of the Ohio State University Center for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD), called the Community Awareness Resources and Education (CARE) project, was to understand reasons for this disparity. The first wave (2003–2008) of funding included three projects focusing on the known risk factors for cervical cancer, lack of screening, smoking, and infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). On the basis of the results of these projects, the second wave (2011–2017) included four projects, designed to address a multi-level model of factors contributing to cervical disparities in Appalachia. The results of these projects were then used to refine a multi-level model that explains cervical cancer disparities in Appalachia. Future funded projects will take these multi-level explanations for cervical disparities and focus on implementation science strategies to reduce the burden of cervical cancer morbidity and mortality in Appalachia.

See all articles in this Special Collection Honoring Paul F. Engstrom, MD, Champion of Cancer Prevention
Dysplastic Aberrant Crypt Foci: Biomarkers of Early Colorectal Neoplasia and Response to Preventive Intervention
Authors: Clapper Margie L. , Chang Wen-Chi L. , Cooper Harry S.
Published: March 2020

The discovery of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) more than three decades ago not only enhanced our understanding of how colorectal tumors form, but provided new opportunities to detect lesions prior to adenoma development and intervene in the colorectal carcinogenesis process even earlier. Because not all ACF progress to neoplasia, it is important to stratify these lesions based on the presence of dysplasia and establish early detection methods and interventions that specifically target dysplastic ACF (microadenomas). Significant progress has been made in characterizing the morphology and genetics of dysplastic ACF in both preclinical models and humans. Image-based methods have been established and new techniques that utilize bioactivatable probes and capture histologic abnormalities in vivo are emerging for lesion detection. Successful identification of agents that target dysplastic ACF holds great promise for intervening even earlier in the carcinogenesis process to maximize tumor inhibition. Future preclinical and clinical prevention studies should give significant attention to assessing the utility of dysplastic ACF as the earliest identifiable biomarker of colorectal neoplasia and response to therapy.

See all articles in this Special Collection Honoring Paul F. Engstrom, MD, Champion of Cancer Prevention
Impact of Social Support on Colorectal Cancer Screening among Adult Hispanics/Latinos: A Randomized Community-based Study in Central Pennsylvania
Authors: Dominic Oralia G. , Chinchilli Vern , Wasserman Emily , Curry William J. , Kambic Daniel M. , Caicedo Christian H. , Ramirez Amelie G. , Ochoa John A. , Lengerich Eugene J.
Published: March 2020

In the United States, the five-year survival rate of colorectal cancer for Latinos is lower than it is for White, non-Latinos. Differences in survival are due, in part, to Latinos being diagnosed at a later stage. An ethnic gap in the use of colorectal cancer screening contributes to the difference in survival. We developed, implemented, and evaluated a targeted colorectal cancer screening intervention to increase colorectal cancer screening uptake by sex, ethnicity, and geography. We measured actual colorectal cancer screening uptake in both arms as a method to determine completion rates. We used a randomized, community-based, participatory design to test the impact of social support (intervention) on completion of a provider-recommended, take-home fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit screening test among average-risk, urban, and rural Pennsylvania Latino adults age 50 and older not currently adherent to national colorectal cancer screening guidelines (n = 264). Participants in each arm attended a community-based educational program offered at eight sites. Among the 264 participants, 154 (58%) returned a completed usable FIT kit screening test. A higher return rate was observed among participants in the social support arm (66.0%) compared with the control (47.2%). Participants in the social support arm were statistically significant 2.67 times as likely to return a completed FIT kit. Of these, 27 (17.5%) had a positive FIT kit screening test result. The results of this study suggest that social support is an effective method to increase colorectal cancer screening rates among Latinos. Future studies should examine dissemination and implementation of community-based strategies among Latinos that include social support.
Association between Sleep Duration and Incident Chronic Kidney Disease: A Population-Based Cohort Analysis of the NAGALA Study
Authors: Nakajima Hanako , Hashimoto Yoshitaka , Okamura Takuro , Obora Akihiro , Kojima Takao , Hamaguchi Masahide , Fukui Michiaki
Published: March 2020

Background: The duration of sleep might be a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated the relationship between sleep duration and incident CKD. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study of 7,752 men and 6,722 women, we divided the subjects into 4 groups according to sleep duration, i.e., those whose reported regular sleep duration was <6 h (the “<6 h group”), those whose sleep duration was >6 but <7 h (the “6 to <7 h group”), those with a sleep duration of 7 to <8 h (the “7 to <8 h group”), and those with ≥8 h sleep (the “≥8 h group”). CKD was defined as the presence of proteinuria and/or an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2. The HR of the 4 groups for incident CKD were calculated with a Cox proportional hazards model, with the 7 to <8 h group set as the reference. Results: Incident CKD was detected in 1,513 (19.5%) men and 688 (10.2%) women over the median follow-up period of 7.0 (3.3–11.9) years in the men and 6.7 (3.1–10.8) years in the women. There was no association between sleep duration and incident CKD in the women. In the men, the HR of incident CKD was 0.54 (95% CI 0.45–0.64, p < 0.001) in the <6 h group, 0.73 (95% CI 0.66–0.82, p < 0.001) in the 6 to <7 h group, and 0.93 (95% CI 0.78–1.11, p = 0.433) in the ≥8 h group. Conclusion: The risk of incident CKD is lowest in those who sleep <6 h. We revealed that the risk of incident CKD is lowest in those who sleep <6 h among apparently healthy men.
Clinical Utility and Global Applicability of Prolonged Grief Disorder in the ICD-11 from the Perspective of Chinese and German-Speaking Health Care Professionals
Authors: Stelzer Eva-Maria , Zhou Ningning , Merzhvynska Mariia , Rohner Stefan , Sun Han , Wagner Birgit , Maercker Andreas , Killikelly Clare
Published: March 2020

Background: Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is included in the ICD-11 (11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases). The new PGD criteria reflect the requirements and recommendations of the World Health Organization for improved clinical utility and international applicability. Even though the ICD classification system is globally used, no research has investigated how healthcare professionals (HP) in non-Western countries may adopt this change for their own practice. Objective: The present study explored the extent to which the new PGD criteria were accepted and perceived to meet the standards for clinical utility and international applicability among Chinese and German-speaking HP. Methods: Individual semistructured interviews were conducted in person, by phone, or online (e.g., via Skype), with 24 Chinese (n = 10) and German-speaking (n = 14) HP working with bereaved populations in China and Switzerland, and analyzed using a qualitative framework analysis. Questions included “what items are currently missing from the PGD criteria?”. Results: Across all HP, the majority supported the inclusion of PGD and were generally aligned with the current criteria. HP found that the criteria distinguished between normal and abnormal grief and considered the criteria easy to use if their modifications were considered. Merits included, among others, improved clinical decision making, research promotion, and social acknowledgment. Main concerns included misdiagnosis, pathologization, and a lack of specificity of criteria. The importance of international applicability was emphasized across Chinese and German-speaking HP. Different grief-specific symptoms were identified by German-speaking and Chinese HP. Conclusions: These findings provide evidence for the clinical utility and international applicability of ICD-11 PGD criteria among German-speaking and Chinese HP, as well as cultural similarities and differences in the barriers to implementation of these criteria.
Identification and Characterization of γ-Ray-Induced Mutations in Rice Cytoplasmic Genomes by Whole-Genome Sequencing
Authors: Zheng Yunchao , Li Shan , Huang Jianzhong , Fan Longjiang , Shu Qingyao
Published: March 2020

Chloroplasts and mitochondria are semi-autonomous organelles and have their own genomes (cytoplasmic genomes). Physical radiations (e.g., γ-rays) have been widely used in artificial mutation induction for plant germplasm enhancement and for breeding new cultivars. However, little is known at the genomic level about which kind of cytoplasmic mutations and/or characteristics could be induced in plants. The present study aimed to investigate the type, number, and distribution of inheritable cytoplasmic mutations induced by γ-rays in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Six plants were selected from the 2nd generation (M2) populations after γ-ray (137Cs) irradiation of the rice cultivar Nipponbare, 2 each for the 3 irradiation doses (150, 250, and 350 Gy), and their genomes were sequenced on an Illumina platform. Together with the whole-genome sequencing data of 3 external Nipponbare control plants, single-base substitutions (SBSs) and insertions/deletions (InDels) in chloroplast (cp) and mitochondrial (mt) genomes were identified and analyzed in-depth using bioinformatic tools. The majority of SBSs and InDels identified were background mutations in the 6 M2 plants, and the number of induced mutations varied greatly among the plants. Most induced mutations were present in a heterogeneous state, reflecting the fact that multiple cp and mt copies existed in the progenitor cells. The induced mutations were distributed in different genomic regions in the 6 M2 plants, including exonic regions, but none of them was predicted to cause nonsynonymous mutations or frameshifts. Our study thus revealed, at the genomic level, characteristics of cytoplasmic mutations induced by γ-rays in rice.
By Using Model Shift and Improving The Walking Facilities: A Case Study In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Authors: Mohammed Ali A
Published: March 2020

The recent increase in privately owned vehicles has caused numerous problems: traffic congestions, unnecessary fuel lost and global warming are only few of these problems. This study will try to understand people’s behavior and modal choice and try to sway them to means of public transportation. A survey of mode choice between cars users in a neighborhood in Kuala Lumpur was conducted. A total of 25 surveys were collected over the course of a month. Among data collected were demographic details such as age, gender, educational level and travel behavior. The data was processed by SPSS software to determine which factors encourages and discourages using private, public transportation or walking. The study highlighted four models travel time reduction, travel cost reduction, and increase the parking charges and improves the walking facility. The sensitivity analysis results show that the main attraction that might switch private car users is travel time and improving the walking facility. The consequences of these would be less traffic on the roads contributing to less pollution and greater safety.
Investigation of Neem Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester for Electric Power Generation
Authors: Gowri G. Vijaya , Kannan M. , Murugesan A.
Published: March 2020

Producing an efficient alternative renewable fuel for power generation is the solution for today’s power crisis. As the oil prices are increasing day- by- day and the fossil fuels are depleting, why to rely on the fossil fuels for energy?. One of the alternative fuels is bio-fuel which can be obtained from sewage, garbage and waste vegetable oils which would otherwise be difficult to dispose leading to pollution. Biodiesel is a substitute for petroleum-based diesel which is derived from vegetable oils by the process of trans-esterification. Biodiesel is prevalently used as automobile fuel. Ethyl esters produced by trans-esterification can be used for rural electrification. In this paper, the electrified quality output obtained using different blends of ethyl ester with diesel and the efficiencies for each blend and pure diesel are studied and the results show that power generation using ethyl ester for rural population will be efficient, reliable and economical.
Speech Recognition Using MFCC and VQLBG
Authors: Suman M. , Harish K. , Kumar K. Manoj , Samrajyam S.
Published: March 2020

Speaker  Recognition  is  the  computing  task  of confirmatory a user’s claimed  identity mistreatment characteristics extracted  from  their  voices.  This  technique  is  one  of  the  most helpful  and in style  biometric  recognition  techniques  in  the  world particularly connected  to  areas  in that security could be a major concern. It are often used for authentication, police work, rhetorical speaker recognition and variety of connected activities. The method of Speaker recognition consists of two modules particularly feature extraction and have matching. Feature extraction is that the method during which we have a tendency to extract a tiny low quantity of knowledge from  the  voice  signal  that will  later  be  used  to  represent every  speaker.    Feature  matching involves  identification  of  the  unknown  speaker  by scrutiny  the  extracted options  from his/her voice input with those from a collection of identified speakers. Our projected  work  consists  of  truncating  a  recorded  voice  signal,  framing  it,  passing  it through  a  window perform, conniving  the  Short  Term  FFT,  extracting  its options  and Matching it with a hold on guide.  Cepstral constant  Calculation  and  Mel  frequency Cepstral  Coefficients  (MFCC) area unit  applied  for  feature  extraction  purpose.VQLBG (Vector Quantization via Linde-Buzo-Gray) algorithmic rule is used for generating guide and feature matching purpose.
A Physiologic Model for the Problem of Blood Flow through Diseased Blood Vessels
Authors: Ratan Shah Sapna , Siddiqui S. U.
Published: March 2020

This study focuses on the behavior of blood flow through diseased artery in the presence of porous effects. The laminar, incompressible, fully developed, non-Newtonian in an artery having axially non-symmetric but radially symmetric stenosis is numerically studied. Here blood is represented as Herschel-Bulkley fluid model and flow model is shown by the Navier-Stokes and the continuity equations. Using appropriate boundary conditions, numerical expression for volumetric flow rate, pressure drop and wall shear stress have been derived. The expressions are computed numerically and results are presented graphically. The effects of porous parameter on wall shear stress, stenosis length, stenosis size and stenosis shape parameter are discussed. The wall shear stress increases as the porous parameter, stenosis size and stenosis length increases, but as the stenosis shape parameter increases, the wall shear stress decreases. The work shows that the results obtained from the porous wall model are significantly different from those obtained by the rigid wall model.
Water Pumping Using Solar Energy
Authors: Boujemaa Mehimmedetsi , Rachid Chenni
Published: March 2020

This article defines a simulation model of a simple system based essentially solar pumping of a photovoltaic generator and a DC motor with permanent magnet type of load as the centrifugal pump, in order to optimized the whole system it is necessary introduce a boost converter
Experimental and Modeling Dynamic Study of the Indirect Solar Water Heater: Application to Rabat Morocco
Authors: Badr Ouhammou , Frimane Azeddine , Mohammed Aggour , Daouchi Brahim , Bah Abdellah , Kazdaba Halima
Published: March 2020

The Indirect Solar Water Heater System (SWHS) with Forced Circulation is modeled by proposing a theoretical dynamic multi-node model. The SWHS, which works with a 1,91 m2 PFC and 300 L storage tank, and it is equipped with available forced circulation scale system fitted with an automated sub-system that controlled hot water, is what the experimental setup consisted of. The system, which 100% heated water by only using solar energy. The experimental weather conditions are measured every one minute. The experiments validation steps were performed for two periods, the first one concern the cloudy days in December, the second for the sunny days in May; the average deviations between the predicted and the experimental values is 2 %, 5 % for the water temperature output and for the useful energy  are 4 %, 9 % respectively for the both typical days, which is very satisfied. The thermal efficiency was determined experimentally and theoretically and shown to agree well with the EN12975 standard for the flow rate between 0,02 kg/s and 0,2kg/s.
Development of Russian Driverless Electric Vehicle
Authors: Saykin Andrey Mikhailovich , Buznikov Sergey Evgenievich , Endachev Denis Vladimirovich , Karpukhin Kirill Evgenievich , Terenchenko Alexey Stanislavovich
Published: March 2020

This article overviews the history of development of driverless vehicles both in Russia and the World. Foreign experience of development of driverless vehicles, including electric traction, is analyzed. Main stages of creation of experimental NAMI driverless electric vehicle are revised. Main engineering solutions are described concerning development of advanced NAMI driverless electric vehicle, its major components and control systems. Projects aimed at environmental safety of passengers in NAMI driverless electric vehicle are exemplified. Results of bench scale and running tests of NAMI driverless electric vehicle are summarized. Major advantages of driverless energy efficient and environmentally clean transport are demonstrated.
Machine learning approach for flood risks prediction
Authors: Razali Nazim , Ismail Shuhaida , Mustapha Aida
Published: March 2020

Flood is one of main natural disaster that happens all around the globe caused law of nature. It has caused vast destruction of huge amount of properties, livestock and even loss of life. Therefore, the needs to develop an accurate and efficient flood risk prediction as an early warning system is highly essential. This study aims to develop a predictive modelling follow Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) methodology by using Bayesian network (BN) and other Machine Learning (ML) techniques such as Decision Tree (DT), k-Nearest Neighbours (kNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) for flood risks prediction in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, Malaysia. The data is sourced from 5-year period between 2012 until 2016 consisting 1,827 observations. The performance of each models were compared in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and f-measure. The results showed that DT with SMOTE method performed the best compared to others by achieving 99.92% accuracy. Also, SMOTE method is found highly effective in dealing with imbalance dataset. Thus, it is hoped that the finding of this research may assist the non-government or government organization to take preventive action on flood phenomenon that commonly occurs in Malaysia due to the wet climate.
Estátuas verbais
Authors: Moreira Diego
Published: March 2020

O presente artigo tem por objetivo analisar alguns poemas do parnasianismo brasileiro, comumente massacrado pela crítica literária, como sendo uma espécie de arte destituída de paixão, cerebral e que não fazia mais que emular motivos e regras do parnaso europeu. O objetivo aqui é estabelecer ligações entre os poemas parnasianos e a escultura, uma vez que para Olavo Bilac, Raimundo Correia e Alberto Oliveira, o ápice da criação parnasiana ultrapassaria a ourivesaria verbal, a fim de transformar o próprio poema (predominantemente a forma soneto) em objeto de contemplação estética. Nesse sentido, para além da querela entre parnasianos e simbolistas e o fato de que este surge, no Brasil, como espécie de reação àquele (o que não é novidade, posto que o próprio parnasianismo se configurasse como resposta ao romantismo tardio), perceber as inflexões, mesmo dentro do parnasianismo, a partir de figuras como Francisca Júlia e Luiz Delfino, resulta fulcral para lançar nova luz às leituras feitas, desde o começo do século XX, sobre o parnaso brasileiro.
Transficcionalidade e crítica de arte
Authors: Vieira André Soares
Published: March 2020

Partindo do conceito de transficcionalidade proposto por Richard Saint-Gelais (2011), segundo o qual toda obra opera a partir da possibilidade de expansão da ficção, seja em forma de continuações (sequels), seja em forma de narrativas anteriores (prequels) à ficção apresentada, este trabalho focaliza o modo como Gonzaga Duque extrapola os limites da materialidade dos quadros, inserindo a ficção em descrições picturais de suas críticas de arte. Farei algumas reflexões acerca dos modos como o escritor e crítico de arte brasileiro descreve e narra de forma transficcional os quadros que comenta, valendo-se de uma linguagem a meio caminho entre a ficção e a crítica narrativa.Construídas em torno do referente, suas críticas de arte são elaboradas a partir do assunto da tela, remetendo, no entanto, a ações exteriores ao quadro. Trata-se de imaginar literariamente, seguindo os passos de Daunais (1997), as continuações do tema representado, evocando cenas não representadas, mas supostamente contidas na imagem, e sugerindo um outro tempo, anterior ou posterior, colocando espectador da pintura e leitor da crítica de arte diante de dois objetos culturais complementares, em que um é a medida do outro.
The PCORnet Blood Pressure Control Laboratory
Authors: Pletcher Mark J. , Fontil Valy , Carton Thomas , Shaw Kathryn M. , Smith Myra , Choi Sujung , Todd Jonathan , Chamberlain Alanna M. , O’Brien Emily C. , Faulkner Madelaine , Maeztu Carlos , Wozniak Gregory , Rakotz Michael , Shay Christina M. , Cooper-DeHoff Rhonda M.
Published: March 2020

Background:

Uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) is a leading preventable cause of death that remains common in the US population despite the availability of effective medications. New technology and program innovation has high potential to improve BP but may be expensive and burdensome for patients, clinicians, health systems, and payers and may not produce desired results or reduce existing disparities in BP control.

Methods and Results:

The PCORnet Blood Pressure Control Laboratory is a platform designed to enable national surveillance and facilitate quality improvement and comparative effectiveness research. The platform uses PCORnet, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, for engagement of health systems and collection of electronic health record data, and the Eureka Research Platform for eConsent and collection of patient-reported outcomes and mHealth data from wearable devices and smartphones. Three demonstration projects are underway: BP track will conduct national surveillance of BP control and related clinical processes by measuring theory-derived pragmatic BP control metrics using electronic health record data, with a focus on tracking disparities over time; BP MAP will conduct a cluster-randomized trial comparing effectiveness of 2 versions of a BP control quality improvement program; BP Home will conduct an individual patient-level randomized trial comparing effectiveness of smartphone-linked versus standard home BP monitoring. Thus far, BP Track has collected electronic health record data from over 826 000 eligible patients with hypertension who completed ≈3.1 million ambulatory visits. Preliminary results demonstrate substantial room for improvement in BP control (<140/90 mm Hg), which was 58% overall, and in the clinical processes relevant for BP control. For example, only 12% of patients with hypertension with a high BP measurement during an ambulatory visit received an order for a new antihypertensive medication.

Conclusions:

The PCORnet Blood Pressure Control Laboratory is designed to be a reusable platform for efficient surveillance and comparative effectiveness research; results from demonstration projects are forthcoming.
Instantaneous Art? Investigating Frank Stella’s Moroccan Paintings with a Short-Exposure Experiment
Authors: De Winter Stefanie , Vissers Nathalie , Bossens Christophe , Wagemans Johan
Published: March 2020

In his search to create ‘instantaneously capturable’ paintings, Frank Stella started to use Day-Glo alkyd paints as a vehicle to communicate his simple, striped designs. Up till now, art criticism has neglected the visual impact of these fluorescent colours on this concept of ‘instantaneous art’. By presenting participants with Stella’s designs (fluorescent and conventional variants) for short presentation times (8 to 12 ms), we aimed to find out whether fluorescent colour combinations are seen faster (i.e., yield better performance in identifying the specific design) than their conventional counterparts. In general, participants were very good in identifying the correct design among distractors, which means that the pattern and colour combinations based on Stella’s work do seem to be ‘instantaneously capturable’. However, Stella’s formula for ‘instantaneous’ paintings is not identical for the different combinations. When exploring fluorescence in combination with other aspects of the design (colour and pattern), we found two effects that seemed to predict performance. First, performance seemed to depend on specific design patterns. Second, fluorescence seemed to interact with specific colour combinations in predicting performance. The red/yellow designs yielded better performance for the fluorescent variants, while the opposite was found for the green/orange designs. Contrast differences in luminance between the two colours of each colour combination might explain part of the results. On the other hand, the effect of fluorescent colours might have been watered down by the confusion between the hand-printed fluorescent colours and the computer display used for the identification task, which only showed conventional colours.
Diagnostics and updated catalogue of Acalyptris Meyrick, the second largest genus of Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) in the Americas
Authors: STONIS JONAS R. , DIŠKUS ARŪNAS , DIŠKUS ARŪNAS , REMEIKIS ANDRIUS , VARGAS SERGIO A. , SOLIS M. ALMA
Published: March 2020

We list all 56 currently known Acalyptris Meyrick species from North and South America, designate five new species groups, and provide pictorial diagnostics for all nine revised species groups of the American fauna. We describe seven new species: A. marmor Stonis & Diškus, sp. nov., A. barbudo Stonis & Remeikis, sp. nov., A. jareki Stonis & Diškus, sp. nov., A. hilli Stonis & Diškus, sp. nov., A. mortalis Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., A. hyacinthum Stonis & Vargas, sp. nov., and A. extremus Stonis & Diškus, sp. nov. We provide new data on morphology, biology or distribution for the following species: A. murex Diškus & Stonis, A. hispidus Puplesis & Robinson, A. trifidus Puplesis & Robinson, A. bifidus Puplesis & Robinson, A. terrificus Šimkevičiūtė & Stonis, and particularly A. yucatani Remeikis & Stonis. We transfer Fomoria miranda Diškus & Stonis to Acalyptris and provide the first photographic documentation of A. novenarius Puplesis & Robinson, A. fortis Puplesis & Robinson, A. martinheringi Puplesis & Robinson, A. basihastatus Puplesis & Diškus, A. pseudohastatus Puplesis & Diškus, A. articulosus Puplesis & Diškus, A. bovicorneus Puplesis & Diškus, and A. insolentis Puplesis & Diškus. We also comment on the re-deposition of some type series to the collection of the Zoological Museum of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen.
Calcareous sponges from the French Polynesia (Porifera: Calcarea)
Authors: KLAUTAU MICHELLE , LOPES MATHEUS VIEIRA , GUARABYRA BRUNA , FOLCHER ERIC , EKINS MERRICK , DEBITUS CÉCILE
Published: March 2020

Although the French Polynesian reefs are among the most well studied reefs of the world, sponges are still poorly known, with only 199 species or OTUs of sponges having been described from French Polynesia, 167 at an OTU level and 32 at a species level. From those 199 species, just five are calcareous sponges. As it is possible that this number is underestimated, the aim of the present work was to study the diversity of calcareous sponges from French Polynesia. Hence, different French Polynesian archipelagos were surveyed by SCUBA from 3 to 60 m of depth. Identifications were performed using morphological and molecular (ITS and C-LSU) tools. We found a total of nine species of Calcarea, comprising five different genera. Five species are new to science: Clathrina fakaravae sp. nov., Clathrina huahineae sp. nov., Ernstia variabilis sp. nov., Leucascus digitiformis sp. nov., and Leucandra tahuatae sp. nov. With the present work, the number of identified sponges from French Polynesia at a species level increased from 32 to 41. The only calcareous sponge previously known from French Polynesia that was recollected by our group was Leucetta chagosensis. Our results suggest that the Eastern Indo-Pacific Realm shows more affinity with the Central and the Western Indo-Pacific Realms. Four species supported these affinities: Ascandra cf. crewsi, previously known only from Papua New Guinea, Leucascus simplex from South Australia, and Leucetta chagosensis and L. microraphis, both widespread species in the Indo-Pacific. These two Leucetta species, however, most likely represent species complexes. Once again the molecular markers ITS and C-LSU helped in the identification of calcareous sponges, showing how important is an integrative taxonomy. Although our work has increased in 250% (6 spp to 15 spp) the diversity of calcareous sponges in French Polynesia, it is most possible that this number is still underestimated.
“I Can’t Help at Work! My Family Is Driving Me Crazy!” How Family-to-Work Conflict Diminishes Change-Oriented Citizenship Behaviors and How Key Resources Disrupt This Link
Authors: De Clercq Dirk
Published: March 2020

This study investigates how employees’ experience of family-to-work conflict might turn them away from change-oriented citizenship behaviors, as well as how this negative link might be buffered by two relational resources (social interaction and goodwill trust) and two organizational resources (distributive and procedural justice). Data collected among employees in the Canadian banking and financial services sector reveal that negative interferences of family with work reduce the likelihood that employees undertake voluntary behaviors that alter and improve the organizational status quo; this effect is weaker though when employees maintain informal relationships with their peers, believe that peers do not take advantage of them, and regard organizational decision-making procedures as fair. The results do not support a buffering effect of distributive justice. This study thus pinpoints different ways organizational change professionals can reduce the risk of diminished change-oriented voluntarism, as might arise due to the spillover of family-related strain into the workplace.
Parametric investigation of one-sided composite patch efficiency for repairing crack in mixed mode considering different thicknesses of the main plate
Authors: Mohammadi Sirvan
Published: March 2020

In this paper, parameters affecting the performance and durability of a one-sided composite patch for mixed-mode crack repairing is investigated, considering different thicknesses of the main plate. In different references, there is no unity of opinion on the effect of various parameters on the performance and durability of one-sided patches. In the present study, to eliminate this disagreement, 3D finite element method is employed. It is clear that the effect of each parameter strongly depends on the thickness of the repaired plate. Among the investigated parameters, the patch material, length and width of the patch, and adhesive thickness are more important and studied in this paper. Results reveal that the effect of different parameters on the performance and durability of one-sided patches depends not only on the thickness of the main plate but also on the patch material.
Short-Term Effectiveness of Job Search Skills Training: Comparisons by Summer Work Experience Participation
Authors: Cmar Jennifer L. , McDonnall Michele C.
Published: March 2020

We utilized a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design to assess the effects of job search skills training on job search knowledge, job search behavior, job search behavior self-efficacy, and job search outcomes self-efficacy. We also examined differences in outcomes based on participation in a vocational rehabilitation agency-sponsored summer work experience (SWE) program. Participants were 92 youth with visual impairments, ages 15 to 22 years, from three U.S. states. The intervention was an intensive job search skills training program involving 35 to 40 hr of content; 42 youth also participated in an SWE program for approximately 6 weeks. Intervention group participants significantly improved in job search knowledge, job search behavior, and job search behavior self-efficacy in contrast to comparison group participants, but results for job search outcomes self-efficacy did not differentiate the two groups. SWE participation by itself was related to increases in both self-efficacy measures, and participation in the intervention plus the SWE was related to larger increases in job search behavior self-efficacy. Results indicate that job search skills training and SWE programs may have differential effects on short-term outcomes. Rather than finding jobs for youth, practitioners could foster youths’ competence, confidence, and preparation for the future by teaching job search skills and encouraging independent job-seeking.
Public realm ethnography: (Non-)Participation, co-presence and the challenge of situated multiplicity
Authors: Jones Alasdair
Published: March 2020

Against the backdrop of abstract accounts of a variety of processes associated with the ‘end of public space’ (disneyfication, commodification, privatisation, gentrification, securitisation and so on), the last few decades have witnessed a marked growth in ethnographic accounts of the production, meaning and experience of urban public spaces. Methodologically, studying these dimensions of public space ethnographically poses clear challenges for how researchers design and conduct their fieldwork: practically, how can fieldworkers participate in a socio-spatial context typically characterised by ‘situated multiplicity’ (Amin A (2008) Collective culture and urban public space. City 12(1): 5–24) and co-presence with strangers? Moreover, what do researchers do when there are no core group activities, institutional roles or (sub-)cultural practices to participate in? With these questions in mind, I first seek to review the practical fieldwork techniques used by ethnographers interested in studying the urban public realm. I then use this review to synthesise and distil a set of four interlinked fieldwork heuristics for public realm ethnography.