bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Being a front-line dentist during the Covid-19 pandemic: a literature review
Authors: Fallahi Hamid Reza , Keyhan Seied Omid , Zandian Dana , Kim Seong-Gon , Cheshmi Behzad
Published: April 2020

Coronavirus is an enveloped virus with positive-sense single-stranded RNA. Coronavirus infection in humans mainly affects the upper respiratory tract and to a lesser extent the gastrointestinal tract. Clinical symptoms of coronavirus infections can range from relatively mild (similar to the common cold) to severe (bronchitis, pneumonia, and renal involvement). The disease caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was called Covid-19 by the World Health Organization in February 2020. Face-to-face communication and consistent exposure to body fluids such as blood and saliva predispose dental care workers at serious risk for 2019-nCoV infection. As demonstrated by the recent coronavirus outbreak, information is not enough. During dental practice, blood and saliva can be scattered. Accordingly, dental practice can be a potential risk for dental staff, and there is a high risk of cross-infection. This article addresses all information collected to date on the virus, in accordance with the guidelines of international health care institutions, and provides a comprehensive protocol for managing possible exposure to patients or those suspected of having coronavirus.
Thickening-upward cycles in deep-marine and deep-lacustrine turbidite lobes: examples from the Clare Basin and the Ordos Basin
Authors: Zhang Lei-Fu , Dong Da-Zhong
Published: April 2020

Deep-marine and deep-lacustrine reservoirs have been targets for conventional and unconventional oil and gas exploration and development for decades. Thickening-upward cycles in the deep-marine Carboniferous Ross Sandstone Formation outcrops in western Ireland and the deep-lacustrine Triassic Yanchang Formation outcrops in southeast Ordos Basin have been investigated and correlated in this study. Typical thickening-upward cycles consisting of, from bottom to top: (1) laminated shales/shales with interbedded siltstone beds; (2) interbedded sandstones/siltstones and mudstones; (3) structureless massive sandstones, are well recognized in these outcrops and are interpreted as turbidite lobes. A continuously prograding lobe-element model is proposed to explain the repeated stacking of thickening-upward cycles. Thickening-upward cycles developed within deep-marine and deep-lacustrine environments are highly comparable in many aspects, such as sedimentary structures, sheet-like geometries and amalgamation features. A frequent and strong degree of amalgamation is developed within the massive sandstone at the top of each thickening-upward cycle, suggesting a layer-by-layer depositional manner. Field observations and comparison with deep-marine counterparts support the occurrence of turbidity flows in the Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin.
Fiber optic sensing technologies potentially applicable for hypersonic wind tunnel harsh environments
Authors: Qiu Huacheng , Min Fu , Yang Yanguang
Published: April 2020

Advanced sensing techniques are in big demand for applications in hypersonic wind tunnel harsh environments, such as aero(thermo)dynamics measurements, thermal protection of aircraft structures, air-breathing propulsion, light-weighted and high-strength materials, etc. In comparison with traditional electromechanical or electronic sensors, the fiber optic sensors have relatively high potential to work in hypersonic wind tunnel, due to the capability of responding to a wide variety of parameters, high resolution, miniature size, high resistant to electromagnetic and radio frequency interferences, and multiplexing, and so on. This article has classified and summarized the research status and the representative achievement on the fiber optic sensing technologies, giving special attention to the summary of research status on the popular Fabry-Perot interferometric, fiber Bragg gratings and (quasi) distributed fiber optic sensors working in hypersonic wind tunnel environment, and discussed the current problems in special optical fiber sensing technologies. This article would be regarded as reference for the researchers in hypersonic wind tunnel experiment field.
Child psychiatry: a model for specific goals for in-patient treatment linked to resources and limitations in out-patient treatment
Authors: Wilkinson Simon R.
Published: April 2020

I present a rationale for two different types of in-patient child psychiatric unit: 24/7 intensive units and 24/5 child and family units. Intensive units address safety requirements. The developing personality of young people is at the centre of in-patient approaches on the child and family units. This requires attachment-informed practice. Families must always be involved and placement of units must facilitate their participation. The primary skill characterising these units is use of the milieu for therapy and combining this with family therapy. In other words, nurses and allied professionals need to be the dominant force in unit development, under the reflective guidance of consultants and clinical psychologists.
Feasibility and utility of enhanced sleep management on in-patient psychiatry wards
Authors: Novak Chloe , Packer Emma , Paterson Alastair , Roshi Ambrina , Locke Rosie , Keown Patrick , Watson Stuart , Anderson Kirstie N.
Published: April 2020

Aims and method

Sleep disturbance is common in psychiatry wards despite poor sleep worsening mental health. Contributory factors include the ward environment, frequent nightly checks on patients and sleep disorders including sleep apnoea. We evaluated the safety and feasibility of a package of measures to improve sleep across a mental health trust, including removing hourly checks when safe, sleep disorder screening and improving the ward environment.

Results

During the pilot there were no serious adverse events; 50% of in-patients were able to have protected overnight sleep. Hypnotic issuing decreased, and feedback from patients and staff was positive. It was possible to offer cognitive–behavioural therapy for insomnia to selected patients.

Clinical implications

Many psychiatry wards perform standardised, overnight checks, which are one cause of sleep disruption. A protected sleep period was safe and well-tolerated alongside education about sleep disturbance and mental health. Future research should evaluate personalised care rather than blanket observation policies.
Protective Effects of Dietary Intake of Antioxidants and Treatment-Related Toxicity in Childhood Leukemia: A Report From the DALLT Cohort
Authors: Ladas Elena J. , Blonquist Traci M. , Puligandla Maneka , Orjuela Manuela , Stevenson Kristen , Cole Peter D. , Athale Uma H. , Clavell Luis A. , Leclerc Jean-Marie , Laverdiere Caroline , Michon Bruno , Schorin Marshall A. , Greene Welch Jennifer , Asselin Barbara L. , Sallan Stephen E. , Silverman Lewis B. , Kelly Kara M.
Published: April 2020

PURPOSE

The benefits and risks of supplementation with antioxidants during cancer therapy have been a controversial area. Few studies have systematically evaluated dietary intake of antioxidants with toxicity and survival in childhood cancer. We sought to determine the role of dietary intake of antioxidants on rates of infections, mucositis, relapse, and disease-free survival during induction and postinduction phases of therapy among children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We enrolled 794 children in a prospective clinical trial for treatment of ALL. Dietary intake was prospectively evaluated by a food frequency questionnaire. The association between dietary intake of antioxidants and treatment-related toxicities and survival were evaluated with the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (q) and logistic regression and the Kaplan-Meier method, respectively.

RESULTS

Dietary surveys were available for analysis from 614 (77%), and 561 (71%) participants at diagnosis and at end of induction, respectively. Of 513 participants who completed the dietary surveys at both time points, 120 (23%) and 87 (16%) experienced a bacterial infection and 22 (4%) and 55 (10%) experienced mucositis during the induction or postinduction phases of treatment, respectively. Increased intake of dietary antioxidants was associated with significantly lower rates of infection and mucositis. No association with relapse or disease-free survival was observed. Supplementation was not associated with toxicity, relapse, or survival.

CONCLUSION

Consumption of antioxidants through dietary intake was associated with reduced rates of infection or mucositis, with no increased risk of relapse or reduced survival. Dietary counseling on a well-balanced diet that includes an array of antioxidants from food sources alone may confer a benefit from infections and mucositis during treatment of childhood ALL.
Brainstorming Revisited
Authors: Mareis Claudia
Published: April 2020

This article discusses a particular strand in the history of creativity in the mid-twentieth century shaped by an instrumental, production-oriented understanding of the term. When the field of creativity research emerged in the United States after World War II, debates around creativity were driven not only by humanist intents of self-actualization but also by the aim of rendering individual creative potentials productive for both society and economy. Creativity was thus defined in terms of not mere novelty and originality but utility and productivity. There was a strong interest, too, in methods and techniques that promised to systematically enhance human creativity. In this context, the article looks at the formation of brainstorming, a group-based creativity method that came into fashion in the United States around 1950. It discusses how this method had been influenced by concepts of human productivity developed and applied during World War II and prior to it. Using the brainstorming method as a case in point, this article aims not only to shed light on the quite uncharted history of creativity in the mid-twentieth century, but also to stress the conducive role of allegedly trivial creativity methods in the rise of what sociologist Andreas Reckwitz has identified as the “creativity dispositif”: a seemingly playful, but indeed rigid, imperative in post-Fordist and neoliberal societies that demand the constant production of innovative outcomes under flexible, yet self-exploitative working conditions.
Acute effects of Zamzam water on blood pressure and heart rate variability
Authors: Latif Rabia , Majeed Farrukh , Al Sunni Ahmed , K ALamrie Rahmah Mohammed , Al Naimi Shaykhah Nasser
Published: April 2020

Objective: There is a lack of studies exploring the effects of Zamzam water on human physiology. The present study determined the effects of Zamzam water on blood pressure and heart rate variability (HRV).

Methods: This comparative interventional study was conducted at the Department of Physiology, of our university in March 2018. A total number of 97 female subjects drank 500 ml of either Zamzam water or mineral water in one minute. Finometer Pro and PowerLab (ADInstrumentsR) with ECG electrodes through bioamplifier and attached finger pulse transducer were used to collect data at the baseline (for five minutes), during (for one minute) and after the drink (for five minutes). Paired and uunpaired student’s t-test, one-way ANCOVA and one-way repeated measure ANOVA were used for analysis. Blood pressure parameters were followed minute by minute and HRV parameters were compared as a 5-minute of baseline segment to 5-minute post drink segment.

Results: Within-the-group comparison exhibited significant increases in blood pressure parameters (systolic, diastolic, pulse and mean arterial pressure), over a 5-minute post-drinking period in both groups. Zamzam water caused a significant increase in SDRR (an indication of overall HRV) and RMSSD (an indication of vagal activity) as compared to baseline.

Conclusion: Both drinks cause a significant increase in systolic, diastolic, pulse and mean arterial pressure within five minutes post-drinking period. Zamzam water produce a significant increase in cardiac vagal tone but has no effect on cardiac sympathetic activity. Mineral water has no significant effect on both, cardiac vagal and sympathetic activity.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1755

How to cite this:Latif R, Majeed F, Al-Sunni A, ALamrie RMK, AlNaimi SN. Acute effects of Zamzam water on blood pressure and heart rate variability. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(4):755-760. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1755

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Στάσεις εκπαιδευτικών που διδάσκουν σε Δομές Υποδοχής και Εκπαίδευσης Προσφύγων (ΔΥΕΠ) απέναντι στην εκπαίδευση προσφύγων μαθητών
Authors: Μαλιγκούδη Χριστίνα , Τσαουσίδης Αναστάσιος
Published: April 2020

Ο θεσμός των Δομών Υποδοχής και Εκπαίδευσης Προσφύγων (ΔΥΕΠ) αποτελεί μία από τις βασικότερες δομές εκπαίδευσης των προσφύγων στην Ελλάδα εκ μέρους της ελληνικής πολιτείας. Οι εκπαιδευτικοί που εργάζονται σε αυτές έρχονται καθημερινά αντιμέτωποι με πολλές εκπαιδευτικές προκλήσεις, αλλά παράλληλα, και οι μαθητές που φοιτούν σε αυτές, λαμβάνουν σημαντικότατα κοινωνικά, ψυχολογικά και γνωστικά ερεθίσματα. Συνεπώς, οι στάσεις των εκπαιδευτικών που διδάσκουν στις ΔΥΕΠ απέναντι στην εκπαίδευση των προσφύγων μαθητών, είναι καλό να αναδειχτούν και να μελετηθούν, καθώς επηρεάζουν πρωτίστως τους μαθητές. Για την παρούσα έρευνα επιλέχτηκε η ποιοτική μεθοδολογική προσέγγιση, στο πλαίσιο της οποίας εφαρμόστηκε  η ημι-δομημένη συνέντευξη. Οι συμμετέχοντες της έρευνας ήταν δώδεκα εκπαιδευτικοί των κλάδων ΠΕ70-Δάσκαλοι, ΠΕ60-Νηπιαγωγοί και ΠΕ02-Φιλόλογοι που εργάστηκαν το σχολικό έτος 2018-19 σε ΔΥΕΠ που υπάγονται σε σχολεία των Διευθύνσεων Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης των περιφερειών της Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας, Ανατολικής Μακεδονίας, Αττικής και Στερεάς Ελλάδας. Η επεξεργασία των συνεντεύξεων επιχειρεί να εξετάσει τις ρητές αλλά και άρρητες πεποιθήσεις τους απέναντι σε ζητήματα διγλωσσίας, ετερότητας, χρήσης της μητρικής γλώσσας κ.λπ.
Current and emerging diagnostic tests available for the novel COVID-19 global pandemic
Authors: Mboowa Gerald
Published: April 2020

On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the status of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak from epidemic to a global pandemic. This infection is caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Several rapid diagnostic tests have been developed at an astonishing pace; however, COVID-19 requires more highly specific rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests. This review describes the currently available testing approaches, as well as the available test assays including the Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test (takes ~45 min) and Abbott ID COVID-19 test (5 min) as easy to use point-of-care tests for diagnosis of novel COVID-19 that have so far received the US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorizations clearance. This review is correct as of the date published and will be updated as more diagnostic tests come to light.
Effectiveness of non-pharmacological falls prevention interventions for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and stroke: protocol for an umbrella review
Authors: O'Malley Nicola , Clifford Amanda M. , Comber Laura , Coote Susan
Published: April 2020

Background: Falls are common among people with neurological diseases and are associated with many negative physical, psychosocial and economic consequences. Implementation of single diagnosis falls prevention interventions is currently problematic due to lack of participants and resources. Given the similarities in falls risk factors across stroke, Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the development of an intervention designed for mixed neurological populations seems plausible and may provide a solution to current implementation challenges. This umbrella review aims to summarise the totality of evidence regarding the effectiveness of non-pharmacological falls prevention interventions for people with MS, PD and stroke and to identify the commonalities and differences between interventions that are effective for each disease to inform the development of an intervention for mixed diagnoses.

Methods: This umbrella review will be conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Electronic databases and grey literature will be searched. Systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials (RCTS) and studies investigating the effects of non-pharmacological falls prevention interventions on falls outcomes among people with MS, PD and stroke will be included. Methodological quality of included reviews will be assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool. The Grading of Recommendations Assessments, Development and Evaluation framework will be used to rate the quality of evidence. A summary of evidence table and narrative synthesis will be utilised to clearly indicate the findings.

Discussion: This umbrella review presents a novel and timely approach to synthesise existing falls literature to identify effective non-pharmacological interventions for people with MS, PD and stroke. Of importance, this umbrella review will use a robust methodology to explore the key differences and similarities in effective interventions for individuals with these neurological diseases to facilitate the development of an intervention for mixed neurological groups.
Pathocharacterologic features as predictors of impulsive aggression
Authors: Telesheva Klavdiya , Safuanov Farit , Kirenskaya Anna , Storozheva Zinaida , Myamlin Vadim
Published: April 2020

In the original study, in order to identify predisposition factors and mechanisms of criminal impulsive aggression, psychometric testing was performed with further evaluation of the dependence of the probability of impulsive aggression on the results of psychometric testing by constructing a binary logistic regression model. On groups of mentally healthy individuals and individuals with organic mental disorder, the dependence of the presence or absence of the fact of impulsive aggression and the diagnosis (mentally healthy/organic mental disorder) on the variable test results was evaluated. The results prove the extra-nosological nature of the formation of propensity to impulsive aggression, the contribution of pathocharacterological predictors of aggressive behavior, but not clinical ones. The specificity of mechanisms of formation of propensity to impulsive aggression in mental health and organic mental disorder is determined. A method for determining probability has been developed.
Measurement Invariance of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-Second Edition (LASSI-II) across Gender and Discipline in Egyptian College Students
Authors: Abulela Mohammed A. A. , Davenport Jr Ernest C.
Published: April 2020

Validating the intended interpretations and proposed uses of tests scores is paramount for making valid inferences in educational and psychological research. Ascertaining measurement invariance for measurement instruments is an assumption for comparing means. If measurement invariance does not hold for groups of interest, comparison of means will be invalid since making valid inferences presupposes that the instrument measures the same construct across subgroups. One of the most widely used instruments for measuring learning strategies for college students is the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (second edition). The inventory has 10 subscales namely, information processing, selecting main ideas, test strategies, anxiety, attitude, motivation, concentration, self-testing, study aids, and time management with eight items for each subscale. Although it is stated that the learning and study strategies inventory is internationally adopted to measure students’ use of learning and study strategies, little is known about its measurement invariance across gender (males/females) and discipline (science/humanities) in Egyptian college students. The authors utilize an adapted Arabic version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory administered to 522 Egyptian college students to investigate if the adopted model has measurement invariance across gender (males/females) and discipline (science/humanities). Results revealed that the effort-related activities, goal orientation, and cognitive activities model was confirmed for these students. Using multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses, results also showed that the factorial structure of the adopted model had partial measurement invariance across gender and full measurement invariance across discipline. Centers for teaching and learning at universities can use the validated instrument to measure students’ learning and study strategies across gender and discipline. More implications and suggestions for future research were also addressed.
The Effects of Home Literacy Environment on Children’s Reading Comprehension Development: A Meta-analysis
Authors: Dong Yang , Wu Sammy Xiao-Ying , Dong Wei-Yang , Tang Yi
Published: April 2020

A rich home literacy environment (HLE) fosters students’ academic achievement. However, the link between HLE and children’s reading comprehension is unclear. This study examined the effects of HLE factors on children’s reading comprehension through a meta-analysis of 59 studies conducted between 1998 and 2018. Results of the meta-analysis indicated three main findings. First, the overall positive correlation between HLE and children’s reading comprehension was moderate (z = .32). Second, sampling area, type of home literacy resource and parental involvement styles did not show a significant interaction effect between each HLE factor and children’s reading comprehension. Third, parents’ involvement and literacy expectations of children had a significantly higher correlation with children’s reading comprehension than home literacy resources did. Findings of this study suggest that parental literacy activities involvement and parental literacy expectations contribute more to children's literacy knowledge enhancement.
A Robust Approach to the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Uncertain Costs
Authors: Eufinger Lars , Kurtz Jannis , Buchheim Christoph , Clausen Uwe
Published: April 2020

We investigate a robust approach for solving the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) with uncertain travel times. It is based on the concept of K-adaptability, which allows one to calculate a set of k feasible solutions in a preprocessing phase before the scenario is revealed. Once a scenario occurs, the corresponding best solution may be picked out of the set of candidates. The aim is to determine the k candidates by hedging against the worst-case scenario, as is common in robust optimization. This idea leads to a min-max-min problem. In this paper, we propose an oracle-based algorithm for solving the resulting min-max-min CVRP, calling an exact algorithm for the deterministic problem in each iteration. Moreover, we adjust this approach such that heuristics for the CVRP can also be used. In this way, we derive a heuristic algorithm for the min-max-min problem, which turns out to yield good solutions in a short running time. All algorithms are tested on standard benchmark instances of the CVRP.
Capacity Expansions with Bundled Supplies of Attributes: An Application to Server Procurement in Cloud Computing
Authors: Arbabian Mohammad Ebrahim , Chen Shi , Moinzadeh Kamran
Published: April 2020

Problem definition: The recent surge in demand for cloud services has posed a significant capacity-expansion problem for cloud infrastructure providers. Although the growth of demand for capacity attributes—for example, CPU and RAM—is disproportionate, these attributes are often provided in preconfigured packages (cluster-types), and the fixed ratio of attributes in a package does not match with the time-varying ratio of demand. We analyze a class of expansion policies to determine the timing and magnitude of expansions, using preconfigured cluster-types, and we examine the optimal configurations of the cluster-types. Academic/practical relevance: Cloud computing is a major technological advance that is influencing businesses significantly, giving rise to an emerging industry but also posing the above-noted capacity-expansion problem. To our knowledge, this is a new issue that has not been studied in the literature. Methodology: We consider growing demand for two attributes and analyze a class of policies that consist of capacity expansion cycles (CECs), whereby capacities are added through sequential or simultaneous replenishments of two configured cluster-types. Results: We first derive the optimal timing and magnitude of expansions for every CEC, and then we devise two algorithms, the dynamic-programming-based (DP) algorithm and the forward-looking (FL) heuristic, to determine the optimal cycle lengths. We also propose a cluster-selection heuristic for choosing the optimal configurations of the cluster-types. Managerial implications: The FL-heuristic is effective, easy to communicate, and can be used as an excellent starting point for the search of the DP-algorithm. Moreover, because there is a desire in practice to reduce the variety of cluster-types, we find conditions under which the employment of only two cluster-types is as efficient as the employment of many cluster-types. Finally, we provide useful guidelines for the optimal configurations of these two cluster-types.
AI and Big Data Standardization: Contributing to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Walshe Ray , Casey Kevin , Kernan Jane , Fitzpatrick Donal
Published: April 2020

Emerging Technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and 5G communications are innovation accelerators creating new products, processes and industries by disrupting the Information Communication Technologies status quo. International Standards Development Organisations (SDOs) and Standard Setting Organisations (SSOs) develop and evolve consensus documents of the state of the art and publish these international agreements as Standards. In this document the authors present uses cases where some of these emerging technologies can contribute significantly to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Long-term survival after endoscopic vein harvest for coronary artery bypass grafting
Authors: Kirmani BH , Power S , Zacharias J
Published: April 2020

Introduction

Endoscopic vein harvest is the technique of choice in North America, where it constitutes 80% of conduit harvest for coronary artery bypass grafting. The UK has much lower rates, despite demonstrable perioperative benefits. Concerns about patency and long-term survival are often cited as reasons for poor uptake and evidence in the literature thus far has only addressed mid-term outcomes. We sought to identify the long-term survival of patients undergoing endoscopic vein harvest compared with a contemporaneous cohort of open vein harvest.

Materials and methods

This was a retrospective cohort study of all consecutive patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting at a single institution between 2007 and 2017. All-cause long-term mortality was compared using Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank analysis.

Results

A total of 7,527 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (1,029 receiving endoscopic vein harvest) were studied. The groups were well matched for preoperative characteristics, except that there were more patients with triple-vessel disease and good left-ventricular function in the endoscopic vein harvest group. There was no statistically significant difference in the long-term survival (p = 0.23). At five years (median follow-up), survival was 86.1% (95% confidence interval 85.3–87.0) in the open vein harvest group compared with 85.5% (95% confidence interval 82.8–88.2) in the endoscopic vein harvest group.

Discussion and conclusion

Endoscopic vein harvest does not affect long-term survival in an unselected population. The contraindications for minimally invasive vein harvest in coronary artery bypass grafting are increasingly diminishing.
Significance of a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy in staging for distant metastasis in breast cancer: are current guidelines relevant?
Authors: Hubbard TJE , Ives C
Published: April 2020

Introduction

In breast cancer, early identification of distant metastasis changes management. Current guidelines recommend radiological staging in patients with a preoperative positive axilla; no guidelines address a preoperative negative axilla with subsequent positive sentinel lymph node biopsy. This study investigates whether current guidelines adequately identify distant metastasis in a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy population that had radiological staging.

Materials and methods

Patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer between 1 January 2013 and 1 October 2017 with a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy and subsequent radiological staging from a single unit were included. A systematic search identified relevant guideline criteria, against which patients were audited.

Results

A total of 330 patients with positive sentinel lymph node biopsy were identified; 227 (69%) had radiological staging postoperatively with computed tomography (5.3%), bone scan (2.6%) and both (92%) which identified 8/227 (3.5%) patients had distant metastasis. Patients with distant metastasis (DMp) compared with those without distant metastasis (NDMp) were associated with poorly differentiated tumours (DMp 62% vs NDMp 28%; p = 0.037), high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DMp 75% vs NDMp 39%; p = 0.043) and increased mean invasive tumour size (DMp 37mm vs NDMp 24mm; p = 0.014). Binomial logistic regression did not identify any characteristics to predict distant metastasis in staged patients (chi-squared p = 0.162). Two guidelines used postoperative results to inform radiological staging decision; 68/227 (30%) of staged patients met these guideline criteria, five of eight patients with distant metastasis did not meet current guideline criteria for radiological staging.

Discussion

Over 50% of patients with distant metastasis did not meet current guideline criteria for radiological staging and would have remained undiagnosed if current guidelines were followed. This study had an acceptable detection rate of 3.5% for distant metastasis. We therefore recommend radiological staging in all patients with positive sentinel lymph node biopsy.
Small bowel obstruction caused by pericaecal hernia resolved with a laparoscopic approach
Authors: Plua-Muñiz K , Sanchez-Gonzalez J , Bailon-Cuadrado M , Pacheco-Sanchez D
Published: April 2020

Small bowel obstruction from internal hernias is a familiar pathology for the surgeon, with an incidence of 0.5–5.8%. However, pericaecal hernia is a very uncommon type of internal hernia. Diagnosis and early treatment are essential to avoid strangulation and necrosis of the incarcerated small bowel. We report a case of an 84-year-old woman with no previous history of abdominal surgery who came to our hospital having endured 6 hours of abdominal pain and vomiting. Following physical examination and computed tomography, a diagnosis of small bowel obstruction caused by pericaecal hernia was made and emergency surgery was performed. The hernia was successfully reduced with a laparoscopic approach. Although pericaecal hernia is a rare disease, surgeons should bear it in mind as a differential diagnosis in small bowel obstruction.
How inhomogeneous can an inhomogeneous Jones matrix be?
Authors: Gutiérrez-Vega Julio C.
Published: April 2020

We determine the interval of the inhomogeneity parameter of a Jones
matrix to get physically realizable optical systems satisfying the
passivity condition. It is found that the inhomogeneity parameter
depends on the inner product of the eigenvectors of the Jones matrix,
but its maximum value depends exclusively on its eigenvalues.
Tear film stability assessment by corneal reflex image degradation: publisher’s note
Authors: Aldaba Mikel , Mira-Agudelo Alejandro , Ramírez John Fredy Barrera , García-Guerra Carlos Enrique , Ramo Jaume Pujol
Published: April 2020

This publisher’s note corrects the funding in J. Opt. Soc. Am. A
36, B110 (2019).JOAOD60740-323210.1364/JOSAA.36.00B110
Passively Q-switched and mode-locked erbium-doped fiber lasers based on tellurene nanosheets as saturable absorber
Authors: Zhang Wenfei , Wang Guomei , Xing Fei , Man Zhongsheng , Zhang Fang , Han Kezhen , Zhang Huanian , Fu Shenggui
Published: April 2020

Various two-dimensional (2D) materials show unique optical properties and excellent performance in acting as saturable absorber (SA) for demonstrating all-fiber ultra-fast lasers. Tellurene, as a new-fashioned few-layer 2D monoelemental material, was designed as an excellent saturable absorber to achieve Q-switched and mode-locked operations within erbium-doped fiber (EDF) lasers in our experiment. High-quality tellurene-based SA with a modulation depth of 0.97% was obtained by blending few-layer tellurene nanosheet solution prepared by liquid phase exfoliation method and the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution. Inserting the SA into the EDF laser cavity by sandwiching the tellurene-PVA film between two fiber ferrules, either the passively Q-switched or the passively mode-locked operations can be obtained. The repetition rate varies from 15.92 to 47.61 kHz, and the pulse duration decreases from 8.915 to 5.196 µs in the passively Q-switched operation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration focusing on the modulation application of tellurene in designing Q-switched pulsed laser operations. Additionally, mode-locked operations were also achieved by adjusting the polarization state. The obtained results fully indicate that tellurene can be developed as an efficient SA for pulsed fiber lasers.
Self-phase modulation and four-wave mixing in a chalcogenide ridge waveguide
Authors: Delcourt Enguerran , Jebali Nessim , Bodiou Loïc , Baillieul Marion , Baudet Emeline , Lemaitre Jonathan , Nazabal Virginie , Dumeige Yannick , Charrier Joël
Published: April 2020

Third order optical nonlinear effects relying on the instantaneous Kerr effect are investigated in a straight chalcogenide ridge waveguide. The sample consists of a GeSbSe film deposited on a thermally oxidized silicon substrate. Ridge waveguides were processed using photolithography and dry etching techniques. From a 1.1 cm long integrated GeSbSe device, self-phase modulation with a maximum nonlinear phase shift of 2.02 π for a peak power of 15.8 W and four-wave mixing with an external conversion efficiency of −42.6 dB for a pump power of 28 mW are demonstrated. Experimental results show a good agreement with calculations.
Focusing on bandwidth: achromatic metalens limits
Authors: Presutti Federico , Monticone Francesco
Published: April 2020

Metalenses have shown great promise in their ability to function as ultracompact optical systems for focusing and imaging. Remarkably, several designs have been recently demonstrated that operate over a large range of frequencies with minimized chromatic aberrations, potentially paving the way for ultrathin achromatic optics. Here, we derive fundamental bandwidth limits that apply to broadband optical metalenses regardless of their implementation. Specifically, we discuss how the product between achievable time delay and bandwidth is limited in any time-invariant system, and we apply well-established bounds on this product to a general focusing system. We then show that all metalenses designed thus far obey the appropriate bandwidth limit. The derived physical bounds provide a useful metric to compare and assess the performance of different devices, and they offer fundamental insight into how to design better broadband metalenses.
Singapore as non-place: National cinema through the lens of temporal heterogeneity
Authors: Deng MaoHui
Published: April 2020

This article suggests that Singapore and Singapore cinema serve as a good site to return to debates surrounding the national. First, I investigate the disconnect between the present and the past in contemporary Singapore and argue that contemporary Singapore cinema is microcosmic of the nation’s uncomfortable relationship with the past. Drawing from Marc Augé’s work in order to understand this temporal disconnect, I propose to think of the nation as a non-place, where the nation is thought of as a liminal entity. Ultimately, I call for a reconsideration of Singapore cinema through the lens of temporal heterogeneity, suggesting that the notion of the nation as a non-place allows us to not only understand the evolving present of the nation(al) but also cinema’s role in helping access the past.
Imagining film censorship in Singapore: The case of Sex.Violence.FamilyValues
Authors: Fong Siao Yuong
Published: April 2020

This article aims to rethink film censorship in Singapore by investigating how the agents involved in the Singapore Board of Film Censors imagine and represent its processes. Contrary to deterministic and structural approaches, I argue for the consideration of how specific events and practices articulate film censorship in Singapore in specific ways and how these, in turn, feed back into the process of censorship. Using the case study of Ken Kwek’s Sex.Violence.FamilyValues (2012), this article problematizes idealistic representations of the censorship system as an efficient machine made up of separate components with clearly defined functions. It finds instead that the complex agency based on contingent relations and identities make any form of overall structure in film censorship impossible. This inherent ambiguity of the censorship process has serious consequences for those involved in filmmaking and implications for our theoretical understandings of the so-called ‘Singapore New Wave’.
Taipei Golden Horse film awards and Singapore cinema: Prestige, privilege and disarticulation
Authors: Ng How Wee
Published: April 2020

Drawing from the idea of national revival, which is closely associated with the term ‘new wave’, this article examines the implications of how winning international film awards, with a focus on how the Taipei Golden Horse Awards (GHA) is variously understood by Singapore filmmakers. If film festivals and awards are crucial to constituting the ‘Singapore new wave’, how does GHA perceivably shape filmmaking and the way filmmakers understand issues of identity, language, prestige and cultural sensibilities? Based on interviews with ten Singapore directors and a producer-film festival director, media reports, film reviews and social media posts, I demonstrate that the supposed prestige of GHA is fraught with conflicting understandings of ‘Chineseness’, impartiality, inclusivity and credibility. For a sovereign country with a high ethnic Chinese population like Singapore which claims a national identity that is multilingual and multi-ethnic, at stake are the problematics of Chinese geopolitics and the linguistic-cultural practices of exclusion when it comes to GHA nominations and wins.
Celluloid Singapore: Cinema, Performance and the National, Edna Lim (2018)
Authors: Kai Khiun Liew
Published: April 2020

Review of: Celluloid Singapore: Cinema, Performance and the National, Edna Lim (2018)

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 201 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-47440-289-7, PDF, £70
Changing pedagogic identities of tutors and students in the design studio: Case study of desk and peer critiques
Authors: Yorgancıoğlu Derya , Tunalı Sevinç
Published: April 2020

This article explores the tools and processes of effective learning in the design studio with a special emphasis on the pedagogic roles of the tutors and the students in desk critique and peer critique. It aims to identify the ways that pedagogical roles of the tutor and the student change due to the nature of their communication and the degree of their engagement in learning processes. The inquiry is based on the findings of a qualitative case study involving tutors, students and graduates from a bachelor of architecture degree programme. Data were gathered via focus group and in-depth interviews, studio observations and analysed through qualitative content analysis. The findings indicated that the pedagogic identity of a tutor could help scaffold the formation of a community of learners in the design studio. However, the lack of negotiation and trust between a tutor and students in the feedback processes weakens the students’ effective learning experiences.
Educating relational thinking to improve design creativity
Authors: Alipour Leyla
Published: April 2020

Developing the creativity of design students is widely considered to be an important goal in design education. Finding effective training and instruction to improve creativity is a challenging subject for design educators and researchers. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of relational thinking training on creativity of design ideas in an analogical design task. The proposed training consisted of three steps: finding relations between two sources; the characteristics of each source; and relations between a new idea and the sources. The participants were 45 second-year architectural design students. The results indicated that the training significantly improved the quality of design ideas and significantly changed the type of similarity that designers established between source and design idea from literal similarity to analogical similarity. We concluded that stimulating relational thinking of design students by an educational training is an effective way in design education to improve the design creativity.
Transparency in Iraq petroleum sector: More symbolic formality than impacting effectiveness
Authors: Jiyad Ahmed Mousa
Published: April 2020

Iraq’s petroleum sector has been the only economic sector that has experienced a formal articulated transparency regime for almost a decade through the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI). As an entirely new concept in the Iraqi governance mindset, transparency was introduced following the 2003 invasion and Iraq has passed through distinct phases in its association with EITI, from application as a candidate in 2009 to a compliant country by the end of 2012, through its suspension in late 2017, from which time Iraq has worked hard to re-instate its compliancy status. This article discusses and assesses the Iraqi experience with transparency and the path it has followed in its implementation of this new concept for prudent management of its finite natural resources of petroleum. Specifically, what prompted or compelled Iraq to adopt EITI norms; what measures it had taken to gain the compliant status; why that status was suspended; what Iraq was expected to do if it wants to regain that status and, above all, what outcomes and how sustainable they might be are examined. Though Iraq’s EITI (IEITI) experience has been characterized as a bureaucratic formality and symbolic, the article argues that good, comprehensive and regular reporting on transparency enhances transparency and contributes to good governance in the petroleum sector. Hence, the article argues further, that what is needed is how to transform IEITI into a real, effective and impactful change agency.
Iraq’s tough governance setting: Examining the importance of self-sacrifice over institutions to public service motivation
Authors: Alobaydi Dhirgham , Johnson Bonnie J. , Templin Jonathan
Published: April 2020

Public service motivation (PSM) is understudied within ‘tough governance settings’ such Iraq’s, as it transitioned from dictatorship to democracy amidst civil unrest. Debates surrounding a universal construct of PSM currently focus on whether a love of public institutions is an essential component, or if measures of self-sacrifice will suffice. Results from a multidimensional PSM measure previously utilized in western settings are used here in Iraq. The results demonstrate that items from typical PSM dimensions remain in the model, but the pro-social, self-sacrifice dimension is the only reliable subscale. Reinforcing a pro-social foundation of PSM, a pro-social unidimensional measure fits the data well and respondents themselves define ‘public service’ in pro-social terms. Showing little connection to institutions, PSM in Iraq correlates with public servants determining the public interest based on their knowledge of their communities and of citizens and less on professional expertise, adopted plans or on guidance from elected officials. Contrary to reports of a divided Iraq, PSM scores are similar across regions. These insights have implications for PSM measurement, governance choices in developing countries, and comparative public administration research.
The Sino-Russian strategic understanding on the Arab uprisings: Motivations and implications
Authors: Selim Gamal M.
Published: April 2020

This article seeks to analyse the emerging Sino-Russian strategic understanding on the Arab uprisings of late 2010 and beyond by investigating its underlying motivations and its implications for Middle East and international politics. Building on the assumptions of ‘power transition theory’ in explaining great power interactions, it is argued that the Sino-Russian strategic understanding on the Arab uprisings dovetails with their pre-existing strategic posture in relation to global politics, and was motivated by their joint rising dissatisfaction with US unilateralist and hegemonic policies in the region. Such policies, from a Sino-Russian perspective, tended to exclude, rather than accommodate, the interests of both powers in this pivotal part of the globe. This prompted Russia and China to capitalize on their growing military and economic power and join efforts in the form of a strategic understanding in an attempt to effectively challenge an intrusive and overreaching hegemon and secure their interests in the region. This strategic understanding has had significant implications for the configuration of great power relationships in the direction of challenging US regional hegemony and facilitating a shift in the regional and global balance of power.
Remembering the literary achievements of Daizy Al-Amir
Authors: Abou Rached Ruth
Published: April 2020

Eminent Iraqi writer Daizy Al-Amir passed away in Houston, USA in November 2018. Born in Alexandria in 1935, she was a prolific short-story writer who wrote and travelled across many countries and continents throughout the course of her life. Daizy Al-Amir’s legacy to Arab and women’s literature, particularly in Beirut, are many-faceted. This article pays tribute to two important aspects of Daizy Al-Amir’s work: her literary works published with the highly influential literary journal Al-Ādāb from the 1960s and her short stories about women in the Arab world that were published in Arabic–English translation.
Measuring human capital in Portugal
Authors: Cabral Pereira João Paulo
Published: April 2020

Although human capital is widely used as an input in modern economic growth models, in empirical studies, its importance in explaining economic growth is still an open issue. In fact, results range from influence in Gross Domestic Product growth rates to just a levels effect, and there are even several studies that find no significant explaining capability of human capital in economic growth. Human capital is usually measured through a proxy related to the population knowledge or to education. These proxies are prone to important measurement errors that may be the basis for the different found results of their effects on economic growth. The present study recognizes the importance of a good measure of human capital. It builds three annual series for Portugal, one of them based on years of schooling for the period 1960 to 2001, with a methodology different from other studies available for Portugal, and two others based on the market labour income for the period 1982 to 1998.