bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An fNIRS examination of executive function in bilingual young children
Authors: Xie Sha , Wu Dandan , Yang Jinfeng , Luo Jiutong , Chang Chunqi , Li Hui
Published: September 2020

Aims:

The present study aims to examine: (1) the relationship between young children’s bilingualism and their performance in the Dimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS) task; and (2) whether prefrontal activation was associated with children’s bilingualism and executive function.

Methodology:

Children performed three sessions of the DCCS and their brain activity during the task was measured using functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Data and analysis:

A sample of bilingual children ( N = 49) was recruited from a preschool with an English immersion program. We examined whether children’s performance in the DCCS was related to their bilingualism and whether the changes in oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal regions were related to their bilingualism and performance in the DCCS.

Findings/conclusions:

Results showed that children’s English ability was significantly correlated with their behavioral performance in DCCS, and predicted children’s group membership (pass or perseverate). Furthermore, children in the pass group significantly activated the prefrontal cortex than those in the perseverate group, and activation in the prefrontal region was significantly correlated with children’s English ability.

Originality:

The current study first examined the effect of children’s bilingualism on their executive function and prefrontal activation.
Trends in older adults’ alcohol use in Norway 1985–2019
Authors: Bye Elin K , Moan Inger Synnøve
Published: September 2020

Aims:

To examine the prevalence of and trends in older adults’ (60–79 years) alcohol use in Norway between 1985 and 2019.

Methods:

Data stem from two repeated cross-sectional surveys in the Norwegian population: Statistics Norway’s Health and Living Conditions Surveys from 1985 ( N = 7799), 1995 ( N = 3518) and 2005 ( N = 6487), and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health’s (NIPH) annual surveys on alcohol, tobacco and drug use from 2012/2013 ( N = 4047), 2014/2015 ( N = 4378), 2016/2017 ( N = 4264) and 2018/2019 ( N = 4330). The following measures were used to examine trends in alcohol use among women and men aged 60 and older: drinking status, drinking frequency, number of drinks per occasion, and frequency of heavy episodic drinking (HED).

Results:

Between 1985 and 2019, there has been a substantial increase in the proportions of older adults in Norway who drink alcohol and who drink relatively often. The increase was particularly marked between 1985 and 2012/2013, and for elderly women. However, the majority of older adults drink small amounts of alcohol on typical drinking occasions, illustrating that the increased frequency of drinking is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in risky drinking.

Conclusions:

There has been a marked increase in alcohol use among older adults the past 30 years, particularly among older women, suggesting that the age and gender gap traditionally found in alcohol use in Norway is diminishing. Due to the lower alcohol tolerance among elderly, monitoring the changing trends in alcohol use in this group, as well as the possible consequences of these changes, is important.
From rehabilitation to penal communication: The role of furlough and visitation within a retributivist framework
Authors: Bülow William , Dagan Netanel
Published: September 2020

Retributivism is one of the most prevalent theories in contemporary penal theory. However, despite its popularity it is frequently argued that too little attention has been paid to the implications of retributivism for prison management and prison life, including prison visits and furlough. More so, it has been questioned both whether the various forms of retributivism found in the philosophical literature on criminal punishment have anything to say about what prison life ought to be like and whether they are able to criticize deeply contested rules and practices, such as those that deny inmates contact with family-members for the sake of prison discipline. In this paper, we argue that prison visits and furlough have a crucial role in a prison system based on retributivist principles. In particular, we argue that the communicative theory of punishment has important theoretical resources for proving a strong and compelling rationale for both furlough and visitation on retributivist grounds. Besides exploring this rationale, we also discuss the practical implications of this view for the penal policy.
Agonistic planning theory revisited: The planner’s role in dealing with conflict
Authors: Kühn Manfred
Published: September 2020

Approaches from agonistic planning theory view conflict as immanent to pluralistic democracies and criticize communicative planning theories for disregarding such conflict and relying too much on consensus and cooperation. This criticism has led to a partial division between agonistic and communicative planning theories. The article presents the basic principles of agonistic planning theory and develops a criticism of its biasedly positive view of conflict as a productive force, as well as the significant gap between its theory and practice. In order to expand the scope of planning and to bridge this gap between theory and practice, the article distinguishes between three ideal types of dealing with conflict: (a) avoidance of conflict that is understood as disruptive, (b) conflict as an occasion for participation and consensus building, and (c) acceptance of conflict. These passive, reactive, and proactive manners of dealing with conflict are assigned to the comprehensive-rationalistic, communicative, and agonistic planning theories. Because these ideal types occur in practice in various mixed forms, the theoretical framework may help to understand and analyze the politics of planning. Finally, the article presents some planning challenges and dilemmas with regard to the ongoing transition towards pluralist democracies.
The self as a multitude: Edward Abramowski’s social philosophy and the politics of cooperativism in Poland at the turn of the 20th century
Authors: Błesznowski Bartłomiej
Published: September 2020

The article aims to analyse the thought of Edward Abramowski – a Polish philosopher, pioneer of psychology and theorist of the socialist cooperative movement. It attempts to reconstruct the impact that his social thought and his philosophical anthropology have had on the political activity of Polish cooperativism. In keeping with Michael Freeden’s thesis that an ideologist translates philosophical concepts into political practice, the author sees Abramowski as a thoroughly modern thinker who opened an alternative ideological path to the great political narratives of the day. The article points out the originality of the Polish philosopher’s proposition for the socialist movement, the goal being to achieve the political emancipation of the popular classes through economic activity undertaken by grassroots cooperatives operating outside state structures. The philosophical-sociological concept of ‘fraternity’ or ‘pure socialization’ leads Abramowski to formulate a doctrine of ‘stateless socialism’, in which popular political organizations use primordial, human-based cooperation to create new opportunities for community life. The last parts of the article show links between Abramowski's concepts and the modern school of commoning. The aim of this comparison is to show the doctrine of cooperativism can make a contribution to determining the political stakes of contemporary conflicts regarding biopolitical subjectivity.
Constructing International School Teacher Identity from Lived Experience: A Fresh Conceptual Framework
Authors: Poole Adam
Published: September 2020

This paper responds to Bailey and Cooker’s (2019) paper entitled ‘Exploring Teacher Identity in International Schools: Key Concepts for Research’ in which the authors offer a typology of international school teachers based on interviews with non-qualified teachers. This paper builds upon the typology of international school teachers by offering a framework for researching international school teacher identity. The framework is illustrated by interview data with an expatriate teacher in a Chinese Internationalised School, both of which remain under-researched. Chinese Internationalised Schools typically cater to local middle-class elites and offer some form of international curricula, such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma, alongside study of the Chinese national curriculum. Rather than utilising a priori teacher types derived from existing typologies, the framework utilises teachers’ lived experiences to inductively construct a ‘snap-shot’ of their teacher identity. Drawing upon postmodern approaches to teacher identity, identity is conceptualised as an ongoing dialogic process. Interview data with an international school teacher called Tyron (a pseudonym) is utilised in order to take the reader through how the framework is intended to be put into practice. The framework is an alternative approach to researching international school teachers that guides researchers away from labelling teachers by observation and instead looks at what they do and their histories. Moreover, this approach involves both the researcher and the teacher, and not, as is typically the case, only the researcher.
A multidisciplinary community level approach to improving quality in early years’ settings
Authors: Buckley Lynn , Martin Shirley , Curtin Margaret
Published: September 2020

This paper explores the processes involved in developing, embedding and sustaining an ECCE practitioner capacity building programme in the community through an interagency approach, which utilises mentoring and coaching strategies for increased knowledge and skills uptake. There is now conclusive international evidence that early childhood care and education (ECCE) is vital in children’s learning and development, and that the benefits are long-lasting, and are more cost-effective than educational investments and remedial interventions later in life. This signifies the importance of high quality ECCE for development and learning, and highlights the potential impact of early childhood intervention programmes. This paper explores the implementation of a quality improvement strategy in seven ECCE centres to improve child-outcomes as part of the Young Knocknaheeny Area Based Childhood Programme (YK). Utilising evidence-based programmes, practitioners from a range of disciplines, working in a low-income community with high levels of adversity, are immersed in an environment of continuous learning in line with best practice implementation science.

The core elements of the quality improvement strategy focused on language supports for staff (Hanen Learning Language and Loving It™ training), curriculum enhancement ( HighScope curriculum training), onsite mentoring for staff, and an Environment Enhancement Fund for each centre. The implementation of a Mentoring Programme involved weekly site visits by a specialist onsite mentor in which the implementation of curriculum content and the suggested environmental changes and teaching strategies were overseen and supported. Pre and post Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) assessments; ITERS-R (crèche) and ECERS-3 (pre-school); showed significant improvements in the quality of ECCE services in the YK catchment area following ECCE practitioners participation in the quality improvement initiative. Pre-school rooms across the seven ECCE centres experienced an overall improvement of +2.5 on the ERS scales, and crèche rooms experienced an overall improvement of +2.4. Approximately 700 children aged 1 to 5 years indirectly benefitted from YK-delivered curriculum and language training programmes in their ECCE settings.
The ethical conflict of truth, hope, and the experience of suffering: A discussion of non-disclosure of terminal illness and clinical placebos
Authors: Fairchild Acadia
Published: September 2020

In medical practice, physicians are often faced with tough ethical and moral dilemmas, one such example is the reoccurring conflict between a patient’s hope and the truth. This paper explores two ethical dilemmas centered on compassion and the reduction of suffering: truth-telling with terminal patients and the clinical use of placebos. In each case the disclosure of truthful information could interfere with hope and suffering relief.
COMUNIX WhatsAppers: The Community School in Portugal and Spain
Authors: Barbosa Sérgio
Published: September 2020

This symposium article investigates the COMUNIX—Active Participation of Young People in the Governance of Common Lands—community school. To do so, I analyze how the community school implemented pedagogical activities based on informal learning, which aims to stimulate young people to exchange communal and practical experiences. On the one hand, this article investigates, while thinking through bottom-up educational pedagogies, how underrepresented youth were challenged to absorb knowledge about common lands. On the other, using the lens of digital sociology it explores how COMUNIX WhatsAppers appropriated digital media to activate their participation through deliberation channels. The article is based on a digital ethnography of group interactions and conversations on WhatsApp chat and Facebook page, complemented by participant observation. It shows how digital media has come to constitute a key platform for deliberation during the community school.
Weight Gain, Energy Intake, Energy Expenditure, and Immunosuppressive Therapy in Kidney Transplant Recipients
Authors: Taşdemir Deniz , Aksoy Nilgün
Published: September 2020

Background:

Weight gain after kidney transplantation is a common health problem. The factors in weight gain after kidney transplant include many factors such as age, ethnicity, gender, change in lifestyle (eg, kilocalorie intake and physical activity level), and immunosuppressive therapy.

Research Questions:

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between weight gain and energy intake in dietary, energy expenditure in physical activity, and immunosuppressive therapy in kidney transplant recipients.

Design:

This prospective, observational study included 51 participants who underwent kidney transplant, during 6 months from the start of the study. Anthropometric measurements were performed at first week, third- and sixth-month follow-ups of transplant recipients. Participants also completed 3-day “Dietary Record Form” and the “Physical Activity Record Form” at each follow-up. Simple frequency, analysis of variance analysis, and correlation analysis were used for data analysis.

Results:

Weight gain in sixth month follow-up compared to baseline value was positively related to energy intake in first week (r = 0.59), third month (r = 0.75), and sixth month (r = 0.67) follow-ups, and energy expenditure in first week (r = 0.35) and sixth month (r = 0.34) follow-ups. However, weight gain was negatively related to mycophenolate mofetil dose (mg/d) in sixth month (r = −0.31) follow-up ( P < .05).

Discussion:

The results of this study provide an opportunity to reflect and discuss on modifiable risk factors such as energy intake and energy expenditure that affect weight gain posttransplantation in participants. It also examines the relationship between immunosuppressive therapy. Additionally, these results can be effective in designing interventions and managing risk factors to achieve weight management goals.
A Single-Center Assessment of Delayed Graft Function in Recipients of Simultaneous Liver and Kidney Transplant
Authors: Aziz Fahad , Gardezi Ali , Muth Brenda , Blazel Justin , Garg Neetika , Mohammed Maha , Mezrich Joshua , Djamali Arjang , Mandelbrot Didier , Parajuli Sandesh
Published: September 2020

Background:

The effects of delayed graft function on long-term kidney allograft outcomes are poorly defined among simultaneous liver and kidney transplant recipients.

Methods:

We analyzed data of all simultaneous liver and kidney recipients transplanted at the University of Wisconsin between 2010 and 2017. Risk factors for the development of delayed graft function, kidney graft failure, and patient mortality were outcomes of interest.

Results:

There were a total of 60 simultaneous liver and kidney recipients; 28 (47%) had delayed graft function. After adjustment for multiple variables, we found that pretransplant dialysis >6 weeks (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.6, 95% CI: 1.23-25.59, P = .02), pretransplant albumin <3 g/dL (HR = 5.75, 95% CI: 1.76-16.94, P = .003), and presence of pretransplant diabetes (HR = 2.5, 95% CI: 0.97-4.77, P = .05) were significantly associated with delayed graft function. Multivariate analysis showed that pretransplant albumin <3 (HR = 4.86, 95% CI: 1.07-22.02, P = .02) was associated with a higher risk of all-cause kidney allograft failure, whereas the duration of delayed graft function (HR = 1.07 per day, 95% CI: 1.01-1.14, P = .01) was associated with a higher risk of death-censored kidney allograft failure. The presence of delayed graft function was not associated with all-cause or death-censored kidney or liver allograft failure. Similarly, the presence of delayed graft function was not associated with patient mortality.

Conclusion:

The incidence of delayed graft function was high in simultaneous liver and kidney recipients. However, with appropriate management, delayed graft function may not have a negative impact on patient or kidney allograft survival.
State of the Science of Palliative Care in Solid Organ Transplantation
Authors: Gustafson Carolina , Song Mi-Kyung
Published: September 2020

Introduction:

Both solid organ transplant candidates and recipients and their family caregivers have complex care needs and may benefit from palliative care. But palliative care is not often considered as part of transplant care despite palliative care being promoted as an important component of transplant care both before and after solid organ transplantation. Further, the current state of the science of palliative care in solid organ transplantation has not been well-documented.

Objective:

To describe the state of the science of palliative care in solid organ transplant and identify gaps in the literature.

Methods:

Four electronic databases were searched using controlled vocabulary words and synonymous free text to find articles on palliative care and solid organ transplant. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and checklist were also used.

Results:

Twenty articles were included in the final review for synthesis, 18 of which involved transplants for adults only. Twelve articles described palliative care for patients before transplant, four articles examined palliative care for patients after transplant, primarily at the end-of-life, and four articles described transplant provider perspectives on palliative care. The reviewed evidence suggested that patients could be benefited by palliative care both pre and posttransplant, particularly for symptom management and advance care planning and that transplant providers faced many barriers to implementing palliative care in practice.

Discussion:

There is limited research on palliative care following solid organ transplantation, particularly outside of hospice care. Much of the prior research on this topic has described adult patients.
Assure deletion supporting dynamic insertion for outsourced data in cloud computing
Authors: Yang Changsong , Liu Yueling , Tao Xiaoling
Published: September 2020

With the rapid development of cloud computing, an increasing number of data owners are willing to employ cloud storage service. In cloud storage, the resource-constraint data owners can outsource their large-scale data to the remote cloud server, by which they can greatly reduce local storage overhead and computation cost. Despite plenty of attractive advantages, cloud storage inevitably suffers from some new security challenges due to the separation of outsourced data ownership and its management, such as secure data insertion and deletion. The cloud server may maliciously reserve some data copies and return a wrong deletion result to cheat the data owner. Moreover, it is very difficult for the data owner to securely insert some new data blocks into the outsourced data set. To solve the above two problems, we adopt the primitive of Merkle sum hash tree to design a novel publicly verifiable cloud data deletion scheme, which can also simultaneously achieve provable data storage and dynamic data insertion. Moreover, an interesting property of our proposed scheme is that it can satisfy private and public verifiability without requiring any trusted third party. Furthermore, we formally prove that our proposed scheme not only can achieve the desired security properties, but also can realize the high efficiency and practicality.
Characterization and analysis of wrinkling behavior of glass warp knitted non-crimp fabrics based on double-dome draping geometry
Authors: Ali Habboush , Noor Sanbhal , Huiqi Shao , Jinhua Jiang , Nanliang Chen
Published: September 2020

The good formability of textile composite materials over complex mold geometries is one of the reasons to make their use expanding in various modern industries. However, different defects in these reinforcements could have occurred during the forming step in the manufacturing process. The defects are arising for many reasons; some are related to the fabric itself and others related to the draping parameters. Understanding the textile structure mechanics and draping behavior is essential to choose the proper reinforcement as well as to attain better simulation. Fabric wrinkles and local out-of-plane bucking of yarns were the fundamental defects in focus. The main objective of this part of the project was to experimentally investigate and compare the draping behavior of six commercially available glass fabrics from the same category of warp-knitted non-crimp fabrics (WKNCFs). The tested fabrics included two stitching patterns: tricot and chain. Also, they were relatively heavy with approximate mass per square meter. A double-dome punching test was performed to implement draping for each fabric; then, the defects were detected and characterized. Punching load-displacement curves were also recorded. In addition, a defect code was designated for the main defects to characterize forming defects at the meso-macroscopic scale. The structure and the number of fabric axes, stacking sequence, and stitching pattern all contribute to defect formation during draping. The studied configurations in this paper can help in studying the simulation of deformed technical fabric and provide a method to minimize and even eliminate the draping defects.
Long-term follow-up results of the SMART coil in the endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms
Authors: McAvoy Malia B , Cappuzzo Justin M , Stapleton Christopher J , Koch Matthew J , Raymond Scott B , Torok Collin M , Patel Aman B
Published: September 2020

Background

The Penumbra SMART coil is a novel device that becomes progressively softer from its distal to proximal end to maximize coil packing and prevent microcatheter prolapse or coil migration. Here, we report a large series of patients detailing the long-term experience of a single institution using the SMART coil among patients with intracranial aneurysms (IAs).

Methods

Prospective data of 105 consecutive patients with 106 IAs treated using SMART coils was collected between March 2015 and July 2018. Clinical and angiographic data were analyzed.

Results

Forty-nine patients (46.7%) presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage and 16 (14.2%) had recurrent aneurysms. Two patients had minor intraprocedural ruptures and remained neurologically stable. One patient had a thromboembolic complication with progressive neurologic decline. There was only one case microcatheter prolapse related to placement of a stent before coiling. An initial post-treatment modified Raymond-Roy Occlusion Classification (mRROC) I or II closure was achieved in 56 (52.8%) aneurysms. The average time to last follow-up was 8.4 months at which 70 (81.4%) aneurysms had mRROC I or II occlusion and a major recurrence was seen in 5 (5.8%) patients. Thirteen (12.3%) aneurysms required re-treatment of which one aneurysm was clipped.

Conclusions

The Penumbra SMART coil is safe and effective for the endovascular treatment of appropriately selected IAs. Additional studies at multiple centers comparing safety and efficacy profile over long-term periods to other mainstream coils are necessary.
Prognostic value of myeloperoxidase in patients with peripheral artery disease
Authors: Schahab Nadjib , Mansuroglu Seyid , Schaefer Christian , Fimmers Rolf , Nickenig Georg , Tiyerili Vedat
Published: September 2020

Objectives

The involvement of myeloperoxidase in the production of dysfunctional high-density lipoproteins and oxidised biomolecules leads to oxidative stress in the blood vessel endothelium. This prospective cohort study aimed to examine the prognostic value of myeloperoxidase in patients with peripheral artery disease in relation to major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), target lesion revascularisation, and major adverse limb events (MALEs) and its association with multi-bed vascular disease, which is defined as any combination of the following: peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease.

Methods

Myeloperoxidase levels were measured in patients with peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease during angiography. A total of 94 patients were analysed and followed up regarding their MACEs, target lesion revascularisation, and MALEs from August 2016 until February 2019.

Results

Among patients with peripheral artery disease, the rates of MACE and mortality were higher in patients with high myeloperoxidase levels than in those with low myeloperoxidase levels; the myeloperoxidase levels were 3.68 times higher in these patients ( p < 0.0001). Patients with peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease (multi-bed vascular disease) had higher myeloperoxidase levels than those with only peripheral artery disease and only coronary artery disease (one-bed vascular disease). Peripheral artery disease patients with higher myeloperoxidase levels had significantly higher rates of limb ischaemia, requiring further revascularisation than those with low myeloperoxidase levels.

Conclusions

High myeloperoxidase levels suggest poor outcomes and are associated with MACE and limb ischaemia. Our findings indicated that myeloperoxidase levels could become a prognostic marker and may be used in conjunction with other methods for risk stratification in patients with peripheral artery disease and multi-bed vascular disease.
Formation tracking of multiple amphibious robots with unknown nonlinear dynamics
Authors: Wu Di , Hao Lichao , Xu Xiujun , Wang Hongjian , Zhou Jiajia
Published: September 2020

Cooperative tracking control problem of multiple water–land amphibious robots is discussed in this article with consideration of unknown nonlinear dynamics. Firstly, the amphibious robot dynamic model is formulated as an uncoupled nonlinear one in horizontal plane through eliminating relatively small sway velocity of the platform. Then cooperative tracking control algorithm is proposed with a two-stage strategy including dynamic control stage and kinematic control stage. In dynamic control stage, adaptive consensus control algorithm is obtained with estimating nonlinear properties of amphibious robots and velocities of the leader by neural network with unreliable communication links which is always the case in underwater applications. After that, kinematic cooperative controller is presented to guarantee formation stability of multiple water–land amphibious robots system in kinematic control stage. As a result, with the implementation of graph theory and Lyapunov theory, the stability of the formation tracking of multiple water–land amphibious robots system is proved with consideration of jointly connected communication graph. At last, simulations are carried out to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.
Capturing the dynamic target by the robot manipulator in high-dimensional configuration space map
Authors: Pi Jiali , Zhang Weiming , Zhang Shifu , Pi Chunming , Xie Changhua
Published: September 2020

In robotics, the tough problem about the dynamic target capturing consists of tracking the target by the robot manipulator and grasping the target by the robot finger. For the sake of space, this article deals with only the first problem, tracking the dynamic target by the robot manipulator. The traditional approaches of capturing the dynamic target may work well when they are employed in low-dimensional space by reinforcement learning or physical modeling. However, they fail to work well in high-dimensional space. The traditional approaches have four limitations with respect to Cartesian space, configuration space, reinforcement learning, and physical modeling. To overcome these limitations, this article implements improved dynamic A* algorithm in high-dimensional configuration space map to capture the target. First, a space injection model injects the collision detection and target position from the Cartesian space into the configuration space to construct a high-dimensional map. Then, the target capturing method including the improved dynamic A* algorithm is applied on the map to track and capture the target. Finally, the experiment performed in time-varying environment and the dynamic target achieves a reliable result. This article has proposed an approach that makes the robot manipulator motion planning more accurate in high-dimensional dynamic configuration space. This approach enables the multi-joint manipulator to avoid the obstacle while tracking the target in high-dimensional configuration space. It takes the advantages of heuristic algorithms in the process of target capturing method designing. It adds precision and speed to target tracking. The success of the approach may apply to any industrial robot tracking target, surgical operation, and space probes. And, it may lay a solid foundation for dynamics control with a scope for future investigations.
Phototropism rapidly exploring random tree: An efficient rapidly exploring random tree approach based on the phototropism of plants
Authors: Zhuge Chengchen , Liu Jiayin , Guo Dongyan , Cui Ying
Published: September 2020

Inspired by the phototropism of plants, a novel variant of the rapidly exploring random tree algorithm as called phototropism rapidly exploring random tree is proposed. The phototropism rapidly exploring random tree algorithm expands less tree nodes during the exploration period and has shorter path length than the original rapidly exploring random tree algorithm. In the algorithm, a virtual light source is set up at the goal point, and a light beam propagation method is adopted on the map to generate a map of light intensity distribution. The phototropism rapidly exploring random tree expands its node toward the space where the light intensity is higher, while the original rapidly exploring random tree expands its node based on the uniform sampling strategy. The performance of the phototropism rapidly exploring random tree is tested in three scenarios which include the simulation environment and the real-world environment. The experimental results show that the proposed phototropism rapidly exploring random tree algorithm has a higher sampling efficiency than the original rapidly exploring random tree, and the path length is close to the optimal solution of the rapidly exploring random tree* algorithm without considering the non-holonomic constraint.
Establishing professional expectations in further education middle management: The human resource manager’s perspective
Authors: Corbett Stephen
Published: September 2020

The further education sector is a challenging working environment with expectations to deliver high-quality education against a backdrop of continuous policy and structural reforms. Further education managers play a key part in how further education institutions respond to this dynamic operating environment. However, despite the importance of this role there is an absence of an agreed set of professional expectations for further education middle managers.

Sector bodies have commissioned research to address recruitment challenges and support workforce development, but this is often directed towards teachers. As a result, the credibility of further education teachers has increased markedly, which is welcomed. However, further education middle managers who are responsible for the management of teachers and operationalisation of organisational strategies have not benefited from comparable opportunities for professionalisation. In contrast, they suffer from a lack of support when assimilating into the role. This paper investigates the role of further education middle managers through the lens of those responsible for their recruitment and development, human resource managers. Through the administration of a national survey of human resource managers, drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, this paper establishes a new theoretical framework: four pillars of professional expectations for further education middle managers. Furthermore, it highlights the value in a contextualised approach, moving away from generic management standards.
Values: Which Theories, Which Methods?
Authors: Fleury Béatrice , Walter Jacques
Published: September 2020

For the 31st issue of Questions de communication, Nathalie Heinich (EHESS, CNRS) extracted 10 proposals from her book published early in 2017, Des Valeurs. Une approche sociologique ( Values: A sociological approach). By characterising the diversity of attributions given to values in situations, she exposes the outlines for a scientific project which various researchers discuss in this special issue: Laurence Kaufmann and Philippe Gonzalez (University of Lausanne), Louis Quéré (EHESS, CNRS) and Danilo Martuccelli (Millennium Nucleus Centre Authority and Power Asymmetries - Université de Paris - Universidad Diego Portales, Chile). Although all of them consider Nathalie Heinich’s project to be heuristic, they suggest that some aspects require further nuance, and they develop complementary analyses that will be of interest for all the humanities and social sciences.
Prognostic significance of forced vital capacity decline prior to and following antifibrotic therapy in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: Aono Yuya , Nakamura Yutaro , Kono Masato , Nakamura Hidenori , Yokomura Koshi , Imokawa Shiro , Toyoshima Mikio , Yasui Hideki , Hozumi Hironao , Karayama Masato , Suzuki Yuzo , Furuhashi Kazuki , Enomoto Noriyuki , Fujisawa Tomoyuki , Inui Naoki , Suda Takafumi
Published: September 2020

Background:

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal interstitial lung disease (ILD). Currently, two antifibrotic drugs are available for reducing forced vital capacity (FVC) decline in IPF. However, many pulmonologists wait before initiating treatment, especially when IPF patients have stable disease. This study aimed to investigate the impact on survival outcome of FVC decline and a slow rate of FVC decline prior to and following treatment with these two antifibrotic drugs.

Methods:

Out of the 235 IPF patients treated with antifibrotic therapy that were screened, 105 cases were eligible, who then underwent physiological evaluation at 6 months prior to and following antifibrotic therapy. Clinical characteristics and prognostic outcomes were compared among groups, and prognostic factors were evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards analysis.

Results:

In terms of %FVC decline prior to the therapy and a slow rate of FVC decline, there was no significant difference between stable and worsened groups and responder and non-responder groups, respectively. On the other hand, in terms of %FVC decline (decline >5%) following antifibrotic therapy, the stable/improved group had significantly better prognosis than the worsened group. Prognostic analysis revealed that a stable/improved status following antifibrotic therapy [HR: 0.35 (0.15–0.87)] was significantly associated with a better prognosis.

Conclusions:

Concerning the FVC decline prior to and following antifibrotic therapy and a slow rate of FVC decline, only the FVC decline following the therapy is associated with a greater survival outcome. An early treatment decision may thus be beneficial for IPF. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.
Lifestyle medicine: A pragmatic approach to chronic disease management
Authors: Shehata Mishkat , Thurston Emma
Published: September 2020

This article gives a generic outline of lifestyle medicine as an evidence-based specialty and how to develop a portfolio career in this new and exciting field. It also discusses the current disease burden associated with non-communicable diseases. Lifestyle medicine is defined by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine as ‘the use of a whole food, plant-predominant dietary lifestyle, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connection as a primary therapeutic modality for treatment and reversal of chronic disease’.
Applying the evidence to your patient: The role of systematic reviews in your knowledge tool box
Authors: Tovey David
Published: September 2020

This article explores how systematic reviews can provide a useful addition to a general practitioner’s knowledge toolbox and explores scenarios where systematic reviews can be used to help inform a decision. The article also explores how the trustworthiness of the information from a systematic review or indeed any knowledge resource, can be assessed, and describes some of the ways that systematic reviews are changing. A follow up article will explore, in more detail, how to appraise, understand and use the information in a systematic review.
The role of the gut microbiome and exercise in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Houttu Veera , Boulund Ulrika , Grefhorst Aldo , Soeters Maarten R. , Pinto-Sietsma Sara-Joan , Nieuwdorp Max , Holleboom Adriaan G.
Published: September 2020

In recent years, the human gut microbiome has been found to influence a multitude of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, with its components type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. It is recognized to be mainly influenced by environmental factors, such as lifestyle, but also genetics may play a role. The interaction of gut microbiota and obesity has been widely studied, but in regard to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as a manifestation of obesity and insulin resistance, the causal role of the gut microbiome has not been fully established. The mechanisms by which the gut microbiome influences lipid accumulation, inflammatory responses, and occurrence of fibrosis in the liver are a topic of active research.

In addition, the influence of exercise on gut microbiome composition is also being investigated. In clinical trials, exercise reduced hepatic steatosis independently of weight reduction. Other studies indicate that exercise may modulate the gut microbiome. This puts forward the question whether exercise could mediate its beneficial effects on NAFLD via changes in gut microbiome. Yet, the specific mechanisms underlying this potential connection are largely unknown. Thus, associative evidence from clinical trials, as well as mechanistic studies in vivo are called for to elucidate the relationship between exercise and the gut microbiome in NAFLD. Here, we review the current literature on exercise and the gut microbiome in NAFLD.
Origins of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
Authors: Weedn Victor W.
Published: September 2020

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) is the only medicolegal death investigation system of the US federal government. Its origins can be traced to three dried tissue specimens placed on a shelf by a Civil War Surgeon General in 1862. The collections and the library of the Army Surgeon General spawned the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), the National Museum of Health and Medicine, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and the National Library of Medicine. Pathologists of the Army Medical Museum performed the autopsies of assassinated Presidents Lincoln and Garfield and assisted with that of Kennedy. The now defunct AFIP created the first forensic pathology training program approved by the American Board of Pathology and then the AFMES. Col Ed Johnston, CAPT Charlie Stahl, and Col Dick Froede were the original pioneers of the AFMES.
Poisoning Crimes and Forensic Toxicology Since the 18th Century
Authors: Watson Katherine D.
Published: September 2020

The easy availability of deadly poisons in 19th-century Britain, Western Europe, and the United States led to widespread public anxiety about the prevalence of murder by poison, resulting in what might be termed a “poison panic.” The fear was fed by well-publicized reports of trials and executions which, though not especially numerous, seemed indicative of the dangerous incidence of a unique type of homicide, one that was particularly difficult to prevent or detect. As a result, poisoning crimes stimulated the development of the earliest medicolegal specialism, forensic toxicology, and consequently the careers of some of the best known expert witnesses of the Victorian era, including Mathieu Orfila, Alfred Swaine Taylor, Thomas Stevenson, and Theodore Wormley. This article traces the history of poisoning crimes and the related medico-scientific discipline of forensic toxicology using textbooks, key trials, and crime statistics to examine and evaluate their contribution to the historical development of forensic expertise and practice.
The Social History of Disaster Victim Identification in the United States, 1865 to 1950
Authors: Daniel Vicki
Published: September 2020

This paper will trace the history of DVI from nineteenth-century practices of sight recognition to contemporary DVI, detailing when and how different technologies used in DVI entered the disaster morgue. Much of this history is defined by improvisation, as local communities affected by sudden, mass death often relied on known technologies, medical or otherwise, applied under extremely difficult circumstances. Initially, these technologies were not always strictly forensic, but ones that supplemented sight recognition. As more forensic technologies became available in others fields, such as criminology, dentistry, and forensic pathology, disaster responders had greater tools at their disposal. The gradual introduction of these tools allowed DVI to become a more systematic and scientific process.
Variables and Outcomes in Patient Room Design: A Study of Design Hypotheses
Authors: Greer Valerie , Johnson Emily , Hsu Josephine
Published: September 2020

Objective:

Research was conducted to evaluate the correlation between design hypotheses and performance outcomes in single-occupancy patient rooms.

Background:

Health environments host complex interactions between patients and clinicians, and patient rooms offer a unique lens to understanding the impact of design on interactions and outcomes. This places importance on articulating, measuring, and assessing design hypotheses. This study of documented strategies and measured outcomes in patient room design investigates the relationship between design variables and clinical interactions.

Methods:

Design hypotheses were identified for the strategic approach to four key elements of patient room design: the room configuration, charting location, personal protective equipment (PPE) supply, and mobile supply cart. Researchers collected observational data from existing and newly constructed patient rooms in order to evaluate performance outcomes related to design hypotheses.

Results:

Observation data supported hypotheses behind three of the four design components and revealed greater insight into how design variables impacted interactions in patient rooms.

Conclusions:

The study identified a distinction between “fixed” design elements, such as the configuration of the patient room, and “dynamic” elements such as the design of the mobile cart. This was more prevalent in evaluating the use of supply carts and PPE cabinets, which may be more influenced by training, while the room configuration and charting location require little training to benefit both clinicians and patients. This study points to the value of research that evaluates correlations between design hypotheses and outcomes in healthcare design.
The Representational Function of Clinic Design: Staff and Patient Perceptions of Teamwork
Authors: Lim Lisa , Kanfer Ruth , Stroebel Robert J. , Zimring Craig M.
Published: September 2020

Objective:

This study empirically investigates the relationships between visibility attributes and both patients’ and staff members’ teamwork experiences.

Background:

Teamwork among healthcare professionals is critical for the safety and quality of patient care. While a patient-centered, team-based care approach is promoted in primary care clinics, little is known about how clinic layouts can support the teamwork experiences of staff and patients in team-based primary clinics.

Methods:

This article measured teamwork perceptions of staff members and patients at four primary care clinics providing team-based care. Visual access to staff workstations from both staff and patient perspectives was analyzed using VisualPower tool(version 21). The relationships between teamwork perception and visibility attributes were analyzed for each entity: staff members and patients.

Results:

The results showed that the visual relationships among staff members and those between staff members and patients have significant associations with overall perceptions of teamwork. While clinics providing more visual connections between staff workstations reported higher teamwork perception of staff members, patient perceptions of staff teamwork were inversely related to the number of visual connections between patients and staff workstations.

Conclusions:

The findings of the study provide implications for designing team-based primary care clinics to enhance the teamwork experience of both staff members and patients, which is also applicable to teamwork perceptions in other settings where both inhabitants and visitors are main user groups of the spaces. This study illustrates the representational function of space: Organizations can emphasize their values via layout design by regulating what they show to inhabitants or visitors.
Muslim reformist scholars’ arguments for democracy independent of religious justification
Authors: Akbar Ali
Published: September 2020

This article examines the ideas of three contemporary Muslim reformists, namely Abdolkarim Soroush, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, and Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari, concerning the relationship between democracy and the Islamic principle of shura (consultation). The article aims to demonstrate how the theological-philosophical approaches of these scholars—particularly with respect to their methods of interpreting the Qurʾan and the distinctions they draw between the pre-modern and modern worldview—have contributed to the rise of a political discourse which seeks to understand concepts such as shura and democracy within their own specific epistemological and cultural contexts. This political discourse, as the article argues, supports democracy without any narrow religious justification and promotes a form of government whose legitimacy is not based on religious sources or authority, and thus is neutral towards different religions and their followers.