bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A critical review of the research evidence on early childhood education and care in refugee contexts in low- and middle-income countries
Authors: Stevens Katharina Ereky , Siraj Iram , Kong Kimberley
Published: February 2023

Refugee children are some of the most vulnerable populations in the world. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) for refugee children can have positive impacts on child outcomes, however most of the evidence stems from research from high income countries. This paper reports on a critical review, carried out to evaluate what we know about benefits and the quality of ECEC programmes for refugee children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 15 studies were identified, located in refugee camps and resettlement contexts in seven different countries. Whilst acknowledging limitations due to the small number and low rigour of the studies included in this review, the findings indicate benefits of ECEC participation for children across developmental domains, showing particular the potential to support socio-emotional learning and emotional recovery. Findings confirm the challenge of resources for the provision of high-quality refugee ECEC in LMICs, including lack of materials, space, and training and support needs of staff. By bringing together what we learn from the existing research in the field, this review helps to identify successful strategies, that call for play-based approaches, interactions that focus on socio-emotional support and recovery, the engagement of communities and families, and the provision of culturally responsive environments. These findings strengthen the wider knowledge base about the characteristics of ECEC provision which are important for supporting refugee children and families in lower-resource contexts.
Cost-effectiveness of increased contraceptive coverage using family planning benefits cards compared with the standard of care for young women in Uganda
Authors: Nuwamanya Elly , Babigumira Joseph B. , Svensson Mikael
Published: February 2023

Background

Uganda has a high population growth rate of 3%, partly due to limited access to and low usage of contraception. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of the family planning benefits cards (FPBC) program compared to standard of care (SOC). The FPBC program was initiated to increase access to modern contraception among young women in slums in Kampala, Uganda.

Methods

We developed a decision-analytic model (decision tree) and parameterized it using primary intervention data together with previously published data. In the base case, a sexually active woman from an urban slum, aged 18 to 30 years, was modelled over a one-year time horizon from both the modified societal and provider perspectives. The main model outcomes included the probability of unintended conception, costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) in terms of cost per unwanted pregnancy averted. Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the modelling results. All costs were reported in 2022 US dollars, and analyses were conducted in Microsoft Excel.

Results

In the base case analysis, the FPBC was superior to the SOC in outcomes. The probability of conception was lower in the FPBC than in the SOC (0.20 vs. 0.44). The average societal and provider costs were higher in the FPBC than in the SOC, i.e., $195 vs. $164 and $193 vs. $163, respectively. The ICER comparing the FPBC to the SOC was $125 per percentage reduction in the probability of unwanted conception from the societal perspective and $121 from the provider perspective. The results were robust to sensitivity analyses.

Conclusion

Given Uganda’s GDP per capita of $1046 in 2022, the FPBC is highly cost-effective compared to the SOC in reducing unintended pregnancies among young women in low-income settings. It can even get cheaper in the long run due to the low marginal costs of deploying additional FPBCs.

Trial registration

MUREC1/7 No. 10/05-17. Registered on July 19, 2017.
Pediatricians’ perspectives on childhood behavioral and mental health problems in Jordan
Authors: Nasir Arwa , Masri Amira , Nasir Laeth
Published: February 2023

Background

Mental health disorders among children are highly prevalent worldwide. In most countries, the primary care physician is point of first contact with the medical system for children with these problems. There are few data from developing countries about the ways in which these children present barriers that may hinder appropriate recognition, treatment, or referral. This study sought to explore the range and expression of childhood behavioral disorders encountered by primary care pediatricians in Jordan, as well as barriers to the identification and management of these conditions.

Results

We used qualitative methodology to conduct 8 focus-group interviews with physicians in Jordan. A total of 36 physicians participated. Themes that emerged from the interviews were organized into four categories. The first category described specific behavioral disorders encountered by physicians, autism being the most common and problematic. Second were themes related to system issues impacting the approach to behavioral problems. These included deficiencies in physician training and a lack of mental health services. Third were family-related issues such as parenting practices and family structure that were perceived to contribute to behavioral morbidity. Finally, sociocultural attitudes that included resistance to medicalization, reluctance to discuss behavioral issues, and interpretation of certain childhood behaviors affected help-seeking behavior and acceptance of diagnosis and treatment.

Conclusions

Sociocultural and structural issues strongly influence the presentation and management of behavioral and mental health conditions among pediatric patients in Jordan. These findings have significant implications for the development of approaches to the detection and management of these problems in developing countries. The creation of robust pathways for early detection and intervention among children at risk for mental health can help reduce the burden of mental health morbidity in the region.
Assessment of role of cranial ultrasound (CUS) in the evaluation of high-risk preterm and term neonates
Authors: Sherwani Aliya Shabir , Parry Arshed Hussain , Bhat Mudasir Hamid , Gojwari Tariq Ahmad , Charoo Bashir Ahmad , Choh Naseer Ahmad
Published: February 2023

Background

Cranial ultrasonography (CUS) has become an important tool to depict normal brain anatomy and to detect the ischemic and hemorrhagic brain injury patterns in high-risk neonates. The present study aimed to assess the utility of CUS to diagnose the spectrum of brain injury patterns in high-risk preterm and term neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to find the association of CUS findings in various adverse antenatal and perinatal feto-maternal factors.

Results

Out of the 200 neonates, 76 (38%) neonates had abnormal CUS findings and 124 (62%) had a normal CUS. Germinal matrix hemorrhage-intraventricular hemorrhage (GMH-IVH) (28/76; 36.8 %) was the commonest abnormality with GMH (grade 1) in 14/76 (18.4%), grade 2 in 7 (9.2%), grade 3 in 5 (6.5%), and grade 4 in 2 (2.63%). The other findings observed were cerebral edema (14/76; 18.4%), thalamic hyperechogenicity (10/76; 13.1%), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) (4/76; 5.2%), and congenital anomalies (8; 10.5%). Abnormal CUS findings had a statistically significant association with birth weight <2000 g, prematurity, Apgar score <7, and adverse peri-natal fetal and maternal factors (allp-values <0.05). Abnormal CUS findings had a statistically significant association with poor cry, poor activity, abnormal tone, and presence of cyanosis (allp-values <0.05).

Conclusion

In this cohort study of high-risk preterm and term infants GMH-IVH, cerebral edema, thalamic hyperechogenicity, PVL, and congenital malformations were the commonest lesions detected on CUS. Abnormal CUS findings were found to have a statistically significant association with various adverse peri-natal fetal and maternal factors.
The effect of different direct antivirals on hepatic steatosis in nondiabetic and naïve hepatitis C-infected Egyptian patients
Authors: El-Ghandour Ahmed , Youssif Tarek , Ibrahim Wesam , Abdelsattar Hoda Ahmed , Bawady Somia Abd elhamid , Wagih Mariam , El-Nakeep Sarah
Published: February 2023

Background

Hepatitis C is associated with metabolic effects and fatty liver disease. The effect of different direct antivirals on the liver steatosis, and the metabolic profile, still needs to be established. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of achieving the sustained virological response after 12 weeks (SVR-12 weeks) with different combinations of direct antiviral drugs, on the hepatic steatosis, and fibrosis presented by laboratory and transient elastography parameters. Our study population is nondiabetic, chronically infected HCV Egyptian patients and naïve to any form of HCV treatment.

Methods

This cohort study was carried on 100 nondiabetic HCV treatment-naïve patients attending the Hepatology Clinic, in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department, Ain Shams University, and Kobry El Koba Military Hospital. The patients were divided into four groups according to their treatment regimens as follows: group A: 25 patients who received sofosbuvir (400 mg) and daclatasvir (60 mg) daily for 12 weeks; group B: 25 patients who received sofosbuvir (400 mg) and ledipasvir (90 mg) daily for 12 weeks; group C: 25 patients who received ombitasvir (12.5 mg), paritaprevir (75 mg), and ritonavir (50 mg) daily for 12 weeks; and group D: 25 patients who received sofosbuvir (400 mg) and simeprevir (150 mg) daily for 12 weeks. All patients were subjected to the following investigations: HCV quantitative PCR before and after 12 weeks of treatment, clinical and laboratory metabolic evaluation including alfa-fetoprotein level, thyroid profile assessment, ferritin level, pelvi-abdominal ultrasound, and FibroScan examination.

Results

All patients achieved SVR after 12 weeks. FibroScan median decreased (P< 0.001) from 19.29 ± 6.97 kPa at baseline to 14.15 ± 6.48 kPa at SVR12. NAFLD score median increased from 1.88 (1.49–2.22) at baseline to 2.01 (1.61–2.33) after 12 weeks of treatment. The highest level of NAFLD score was in group C, and the lowest was in group B. The BMI mean decreased from 28.31 ± 1.53 at baseline to 28.07 ± 1.52 at SVR12. HbA1C level mean decreased from 5.73 ± 0.23 at baseline to 5.40 ± 0.24 at SVR12. In addition, liver enzymes, cholesterol, triglycerides, APRI score (AST-platelet ratio index), and HBA1C decreased after 12-week treatment with a statistically significant difference, while the mean LDL increased after 12 weeks of treatment.

Conclusions

DAAs affect the metabolic profile of the treated patients. There is a noticed improvement in the FibroScan, NAFLD score, and lipid profile after achieving the SVR-12 weeks. However, LDL is increased after viral cure, mostly due to viral-host molecular interaction.
Modeling and inversion in acoustic-elastic coupled media using energy-stable summation-by-parts operators
Authors: Bader Milad , Almquist Martin , Dunham Eric M.
Published: February 2023

Seismic data acquired at the seafloor are valuable in characterizing the subsurface and monitoring producing hydrocarbon fields. To fully use such data, a stable, accurate, and efficient numerical scheme is needed that accounts for acoustic and elastic wave propagation, their interaction at the seafloor interface, and for sources and receivers placed on either side of that interface. Existing methods either make incorrect assumptions or have high implementation and computational costs. We have developed a high-order finite-difference summation-by-parts framework for the acoustic-elastic wave equations in second-order form (in terms of displacements in the solid and an extension of velocity potential in the fluid). Our modified discretization of the elastic operator overcomes the dispersion errors known to plague displacement-based schemes in the high VP/ VS limit. We weakly impose boundary and interface conditions using simultaneous approximation terms, leading to an energy-stable numerical scheme that rigorously handles point injection and extraction. The fully discrete system is self-adjoint after a time reversal and a sign flip and is furthermore a high-order accurate discretization of the continuous problem. The self-adjointness ensures that forward and adjoint wavefields are computed with similar accuracy and simplifies gradient computation for inversion purposes. We find that our numerical scheme achieves accuracy comparable to a more computationally expensive spectral-element method and demonstrate its application to full-waveform inversion using the Marmousi2 model.
Dietary Inflammatory Index and Fractures in Midlife Women: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation
Authors: Shieh Albert , Karlamangla Arun S , Huang Mei-Hua , Shivappa Nitin , Wirth Michael D , Hébert James R , Greendale Gail A
Published: February 2023

Context

While evidence suggests that chronic, low-grade inflammation is a risk factor for bone loss and fractures, the potential relation between an inflammatory dietary profile and greater fracture risk is uncertain.

Objective

We examined whether a more inflammatory diet, consumed during pre- and early perimenopause, is associated with more incident fractures starting in the menopause transition (MT) and continuing into postmenopause.

Methods

Dietary inflammatory potential was quantified using 2 energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index scores: one for diet only (E-DII), and one for diet plus supplements (E-DII-S). We included 1559 women from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, with E-DII and E-DII-S scores from the baseline visit (during pre- or early perimenopausal), and up to 20 years of follow-up. We excluded women using bone-beneficial medications at baseline; subsequent initiators were censored at first use. The associations of E-DII or E-DII-S (each tested as separate exposures) with incident fracture were examined using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results

Adjusted for age, BMI, cigarette use, diabetes, MT stage, race/ethnicity, prior fracture, bone-detrimental medication use, aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, and study site, greater E-DII and E-DII-S (tested separately) were associated with more future fractures. Each SD increment in E-DII and E-DII-S predicted 28% (P = .005) and 21% (P = .02) greater fracture hazard, respectively. Associations were essentially unchanged after controlling for bone mineral density.

Conclusion

A more pro-inflammatory diet in pre- and early perimenopause is a risk factor for incident fracture. Future studies should consider whether reducing dietary inflammation in midlife diminishes fracture risk.
The Novel's Cybernetic Hypothesis: Coetzee and McCarthy in the Closed World
Authors: Draney James
Published: February 2023

How do novels come to terms with the social and economic structures engendered by big data and surveillance capitalism? This question weighs heavily on J. M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year (2007) and Tom McCarthy's Satin Island (2015), two novels whose intellectual protagonists struggle against systems of data capture and control. Both novels suggest that the ubiquity of computational systems has generated new problems for the form and function of literary thinking in the twenty-first century. The first problem is both practical and aesthetic: how to narrate or describe a world that already diagrams and archives itself in dizzying detail via computational media. The second is theoretical and political: how to conceive of an effective mode of opposition to the political economy of surveillance capitalism. This essay takes account of the formal strategies by which Diary and Satin Island dramatize these aesthetic and political dilemmas. The readings account for these novels’ peculiar endings, both of which suggest a longing to escape the seemingly “closed world” of cybernetic control. The narrators of Diary and Satin Island reach an impasse when they discover that the cybernetic universe has obviated their critical methods, including the ethics of “evasion,” on the one hand, and the humanism of “literalist criticism,” on the other. What if the genre of the novel is no longer capable of generating a critical anthesis to the alienated world of informatic control?
Typicality in the Novel and Novel Theory
Authors: Lee Yoon Sun
Published: February 2023

This essay examines the phenomenon of typicality as a horizon of the novel's activity. The novel's manner of representing seems to require a certain belief in the existence of types. Yet how the novel goes about demonstrating this belief does not sit easily with usual ideas about what classification looks like or how it proceeds. Novels seem to manifest typicality while pulling away from taxonomic endeavors in the empirical world. If taxonomy aims at systematically arranging things in order to express how they are related to each other, typicality in the novel proceeds differently. Instead of linking typicality to quantitative occurrence, this essay examines how it asserts itself through a kind of representational intensity that can shift from one mode or object to another and take different forms. This intensity comes about not so much through description, or through the accumulation of detail, as through a kind of supercharged observation and modulations of narrative pace and speed. If taxonomy ends in an array, the novel's typicality manifests itself more phenomenologically and affectively, through sentiments and hard-to-define sensations that include those of decline and deficiency, of something missing or of something running down. There is also a phenomenon that occurs when types suddenly disclose themselves in all their fullness; such an event can even bring the narrative to a halt. This essay focuses on the question of how types appear, or, in other words, the phenomenology of the novel as form.
Three Contemporary Imaginaries of Sortition
Authors: Abbas Nabila , Sintomer Yves
Published: February 2023

A contribution to the Common Knowledge symposium “Antipolitics,” this article examines the diverse types of imaginary that support sortition, which is currently at the heart of important debates on the reform of existing democratic institutions. Different and often diametrically opposed actors now advocate sortition as a tool for addressing crises of political representation. How are we to understand this convergence? Over the past two decades, the field of experience and the horizon of expectation of citizens in the global North have profoundly changed, and this article seeks to assess those changes in the context of three ideal types that advocate the use of randomly selected minipublics. This article analyzes, each in turn, the attraction of sortition for supporters and theorists of deliberative democracy, antipolitical democracy, and radical democracy, outlining the elements that unite and divide these imaginaries to help explain the astonishing convergence of voices in defense of sortition in politics.
The Boundary of Chinese Music: A Cultural and Aesthetic Comparison betweenPipaandGuqin
Authors: Zou Ivan Yifan , Tsai Yaching , Wang William Shi-Yuan
Published: February 2023

Reform and innovation toward the Western standards have been a perennial theme in the modern history of Chinese music. However, reformers can be easily overwhelmed by various details, to the point that the most fundamental question, What is Chinese music?, is often obscured. In a sense, we have to define the boundary of Chinese music to determine what new elements should be integrated and what traditional features should be preserved. Chinese music is a highly diverse and complex system, yet traditional Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of homogeneity over heterogeneity due to the constant need for political unity and demand of a single market. However, cultural identity cannot be constructed by homogeneity alone since the boundary of culture can only be best identified when examining its heterogeneity. Pipa and guqin, which represent Chinese musical cultures under significant and little Western influence, respectively, provide an ideal window through which the boundary of Chinese music might be delineated. By discussing the aesthetic pursuits and evolutionary paths that are distinct between the two instruments, the article aims to initiate a small step toward a better understanding of how Chinese music is indeed a highly complex and heterogeneous system in which various musical cultures, despite their distinct origins, can come into contact, interact, fuse, and eventually achieve the state of “unity in diversity.”
Gender, digital financial services and vulnerability in the era of pandemics: A cross-sectional analysis
Authors: Amidu Mohammed , Akakpo Agnes Akpene , Mensah James Kwame , Asiedu Edward
Published: February 2023

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread across the world, infecting millions, and causing economic disruption on an unprecedented scale. While everyone is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable communities are at the greatest risk. This study aims to examine the relationship between digital financial services (DFS), gender, and the vulnerability of informal settlement dwellers to COVID-19.

Methods: We sampled a total of 2,697 households from 101 informal settlements across eleven out of sixteen administrative regions of Ghana. The regions were selected based on the relative severity of the pandemic, and the associated national lockdown regulations.

Results: Adopting the ordinary least square analytical technique, the results reveal three main findings: First, we observe that males in informal settlements are more exposed to infected people or a person who died from COVID-19 than females. However, women are more vulnerable to the pandemic than men as vulnerable populations have a higher susceptibility to pandemics due to less capacity to implement preparedness and response strategies due to disparities in their societal status. Finally, we find that the vulnerability of informal dwellers is moderated using digital financial services.

Conclusions: We conclude that there exist gender disparities regarding COVID-19 exposure and vulnerability. Also, by making use of digital financial services vulnerable groups can reduce their exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results provide policy implications for authorities designing policies to educate men more on the need to take preventive measures seriously as well as educate vulnerable populations to adopt digital financial services
The experiences of nurses who were involved in the COVID-19 contact tracing and tracking activities in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Authors: Moyo Idah , Tshivhase Livhuwani , Mavhandu-Mudzusi Azwihangwisi Helen
Published: February 2023

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the healthcare systems worldwide. For countries to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate its impact, contact tracing was adopted as one of the COVID-19 response strategies. The objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of nurses who were involved in the COVID-19 contact tracing and tracking activities in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Methods: A descriptive phenomenological design was utilised in this study. Data was collected telephonically using in-depth individual interviews between the 28th of December 2020 and 25th February 2021. Twelve participants comprising of two males and ten females with experience in contact tracing were purposively sampled and interviewed telephonically to get lived experiences. The number of females and males who were purposefully sampled depended on the proportion of this participants in the setting. Analysis followed the seven steps by Colaizzi strategies.

Results: The study findings demonstrated that the participants experienced challenges as they implemented contact tracing activities. Four themes on contact tracing emerged: follow-up and contact-tracing activities; support systems; psychosocial implications; and witnessed patients’ experiences. Fourteen sub-themes were identified: negative perceptions of the re-assigned roles; unintended outcomes; delayed COVID-19 test results; increased workload; provision of personal protective equipment; training and orientation on COVID-19; meals for providers involved in contact tracing; we want to be heard and listened to; anxiety and fear; stress; emotionally challenging moments; unable to provide a service; witnessed discomfort; and stigma and discrimination.

Conclusions: Contact tracing is key in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy has proven to be complex, with increased workload, which is emotionally draining – hence the need for an effective support system for staff conducting contact-tracing activities.
COVID-19 vaccines knowledge and acceptance among Indonesian adults in Java Island
Authors: d'Arqom Annette , Asa Peter , Andriani Amalia Putri , Nasution Mhd Zamal , Fatimah Nurmawati , Mustika Arifa , Djuari Lilik , Yusof Junaidah
Published: February 2023

Background: To increase vaccination coverage, it is important to understand COVID-19 vaccination programs and respondents’ acceptance. Therefore, this study aimed to measure respondents’ knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine and its acceptance among Indonesian adults in Java.

Methods: A web-based survey was distributed through social media on self-claimed knowledge, risk and benefits of the vaccine, as well as respondents’ acceptance and experiences of the vaccination. The survey period was from March to July 2021, and 910 responses were included for further analysis. The frequency of each categorical factor, including self-claimed knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine, their descriptive benefit and side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, and their experiences receiving or not receiving the vaccine were explored. Predictor factors on vaccine knowledge and acceptance are investigated using multivariate ordinal regression analysis.

Results: This study showed that almost all the respondents in both groups have knowledge about COVID-19 vaccination, or at least ever heard about it. The main source of information is social media. More than two third of respondents from each group had already received a COVID-19 vaccine or were at least on the waiting list. Moreover, a quarter of the respondents still hesitate to receive the vaccination. Only less than 10% of respondents reject the vaccination, with the strongest reason being scared of the side effect. Moreover, it found that respondents’ knowledge of the vaccination was influenced by age, medical background, a history of relatives who tested positive for COVID-19, source of information, economic status, and education levels. Moreover, the acceptance was influenced by age, knowledge about vaccines, and having medical background.

Conclusions: This study showed high levels of knowledge and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among adults in Java. Increasing understanding or knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine risks and benefits is necessary to reduce vaccination hesitancy.
Characteristics of bibliometric analyses of the complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine literature: A scoping review protocol
Authors: Ng Jeremy Y. , Liu Henry , Shah Aimun Qadeer , Wieland L. Susan , Moher David
Published: February 2023

Background: There is a growing body of literature on complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine (CAIM), which offers a holistic approach to health and the maintenance of social and cultural values. Bibliometric analyses are an increasingly commonly used method employing quantitative statistical techniques to understand trends in a particular scientific field. The objective of this scoping review is to investigate the quantity and characteristics of evidence in relation to bibliometric analyses of CAIM literature.

Methods: The following bibliographic databases will be searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science. Studies published in English, conducting any type of bibliometric analysis involving any CAIM therapies, as detailed by an operational definition of CAIM adopted by Cochrane Complementary Medicine, will be included. Conference abstracts and study protocols will be excluded. The following variables will be extracted from included studies: title, author, year, country, study objective, type of CAIM, health condition targeted, databases searched in the bibliometric analysis, the type of bibliometric variables assessed, how bibliometric information was reported, main findings, conclusions, and limitations. Findings will be summarized narratively, as well as in tabular and graphical format.

Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this scoping review will be the first to investigate the characteristics of evidence in relation to bibliometric analyses on CAIM literature. The findings of this review may be useful to identify variations in the objectives, methods, and results of bibliometric analyses of CAIM research literature.
Global sensitivity analysis to enhance the transparency and rigour of energy system optimisation modelling
Authors: Usher William , Barnes Trevor , Moksnes Nandi , Niet Taco
Published: February 2023

Background: Energy system optimisation models (ESOMs) are commonly used to support long-term planning at national, regional, or continental scales. The importance of recognising uncertainty in energy system modelling is regularly commented on but there is little practical guidance on how to best incorporate existing techniques, such as global sensitivity analysis, despite some good applications in the literature.

Methods: In this paper, we provide comprehensive guidelines for conducting a global sensitivity analysis of an ESOM, aiming to remove barriers to adopting this approach. With a pedagogical intent, we begin by exploring why you should conduct a global sensitivity analysis. We then describe how to implement a global sensitivity analysis using the Morris method in an ESOM using a sequence of simple illustrative models built using the Open Source energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS) framework, followed by a realistic example.

Results: Results show that the global sensitivity analysis identifies influential parameters that drive results in the simple and realistic models, and identifies uninfluential parameters which can be ignored or fixed. We show that global sensitivity analysis can be applied to ESOMs with relative ease using freely available open-source tools. The results replicate the findings of best-practice studies from the field demonstrating the importance of including all parameters in the analysis and avoiding a narrow focus on particular parameters such as technology costs.

Conclusions: The results highlight the benefits of performing a global sensitivity analysis for the design of energy system optimisation scenarios. We discuss how the results can be interpreted and used to enhance the transparency and rigour of energy system modelling studies.
The shadows of waiting and care: on discourses of waiting in the history of the British National Health Service.
Authors: Bar-Haim Shaul , Baraitser Lisa , Moore Martin D.
Published: February 2023

Waiting is at the centre of experiences and practices of healthcare. However, we know very little about the relationship between the subjective experiences of patients who wait in and for care, health practitioners who ‘prescribe’ and manage waiting, and how this relates to broader cultural meanings of waiting. Waiting features heavily in the sociological, managerial, historical and health economics literatures that investigate UK healthcare, but the focus has been on service provision and quality, with waiting (including waiting lists and waiting times) drawn on as a key marker to test the efficiency and affordability of the NHS. In this article, we consider the historical contours of this framing of waiting, and ask what has been lost or occluded through its development. To do so, we review the available discourses in the existing literature on the NHS through a series of ‘snapshots’ or key moments in its history. Through its negative imprint, we argue that what shadows these discourses is the idea of waiting and care as phenomenological temporal experiences, and time as a practice of care. In response, we begin to trace the intellectual and historical resources available for alternative histories of waiting – materials that might enable scholars to reconstruct some of the complex temporalities of care marginalized in existing accounts of waiting, and which could help reframe both future historical accounts and contemporary debates about waiting in the NHS.
Inorganic chemistry
Authors: Martynova Tat'yana , Suponickaya Irina , Ageeva Yuliya , Gorichev Igor' , Koval'chukova Ol'ga , Svetlana Boleslavna
Published: February 2023

A textbook with a laboratory workshop on inorganic chemistry contains voluminous theoretical material presented using tables, graphs and reference schemes. At the end of each chapter, control questions, fifteen variants of individual tasks, tests for self-control, laboratory experiments are offered. In the last chapter, compact diagrams-summaries on the main sections of general chemistry are placed as auxiliary material. The appendix provides the necessary reference data.
Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation.
It is intended for students studying in technical specialties and areas of training, as well as for students of specialized classes.
"A self-organizing person." Psychology of interaction in higher education
Authors: Grebneva Valentina
Published: February 2023

The monograph examines the features of psychological interaction in higher education, based on the systemic principles of the functioning of social phenomena. From the point of view of a person-centered approach, concepts, principles and methods are revealed, defined: the structure, patterns, conditions and mechanisms of interaction in the "man — university" system. The idea of a new image of a "self-organizing person" is put forward. Theoretically, two self-organizing models, invariant to each other, are substantiated: a person and an educational environment. The results of an empirical study of the synergy effect of two models are presented, the system-forming factor of which is the mental health of teachers and students, as well as the psychological safety of the educational environment of the university.
It is intended for students of psychological and pedagogical areas of training and specialties. It is of interest to scientists, university teachers interested in the problems of psychological safety of the educational environment, the preservation of mental health and ensuring socio-psychological well-being in the field of higher education.
Institutional changes in modern Russia: activist-activity approach
Authors: Sitnova Irina , Yadov Vladimir , Kirdina-Chendler Svetlana
Published: February 2023

Dissatisfaction with societal structuralist approaches with culturological determinism characteristic of them resulted in another crisis of modern sociology. Traditional sociology ignored a person capable
of making individual decisions and making informed choices, and in traditional economic theory this person hung in an airless space in the absence of supportive social structures. Sociologists began to show interest in what is happening in neo-institutional economic theory, and, moreover, intensively borrow its conceptual apparatus. Attempts to resolve the crisis are demonstrated today by theorists of the activist-activity direction M. Archer, E. Giddens, P. Shtompka, and in the field of economics - neo-institutionalists J. Commans, R. Krouse, D. North, T. Veblen, et al.
The monograph represents the activist paradigm shared by us, the basic principle of which goes back to K. Marx's formula that people, being born under the same conditions, change them by their practical activities, changing themselves. The task of the research is to find an explanation for institutional changes in a certain value conceptual model and subsequently apply it to the analysis of Russian reality.
For students, postgraduates and teachers of sociological universities and faculties.
Economy and finance of the region: current trends
Authors: Bogdanova Marina , Voblaya Irina , Garazha Nataliya , Danilova Svetlana , Drugova Tat'yana , Zayarnaya Irina , Izhboldin-Kronberg Anatoliy , Il'inyh Yuliya , Kozlova Zhanna , Kosenkova Polina , Lomakina Ol'ga , Maslihova Elena , Mischenko Irina , Povolockaya Ol'ga , Trockovskiy Aleksandr , Belyaev Viktor
Published: February 2023

The monograph is devoted to the analysis of trends, problems and prospects for the development of the regions of the Russian Federation. The main attention is paid to the border territories, the Altai Territory is chosen as an example. The features of the border regions, the principles of their local production specialization, the importance for the country's economy are characterized. The economic aspects and some trends of digitalization are investigated, the main financial mechanisms of regulation of the region's activities are studied.
It is intended for researchers, managers and specialists of organizations and enterprises, teachers, graduate students and students of economic specialties of universities, students of the faculties of retraining and advanced training of specialists.
International legal framework for the protection of civilian objects during armed conflicts
Authors: Ivanov Ivan , Kotlyarov Ivan , Klimenko Aleksey
Published: February 2023

The monograph is a comprehensive study of the issue of international legal regulation of the protection of civilian objects during armed conflicts. The paper considers the applied aspects of the implementation of the principle of protection of civilian objects during international armed conflicts and non-international armed conflicts, identifies trends in the development and improvement of the legal regulation of the protection of civilian objects, taking into account the features of modern armed conflicts.
It is intended for researchers, practicing lawyers, teaching staff, students and postgraduates of law schools.
Methods of digital processing and speech recognition
Authors: Shishkin Aleksey
Published: February 2023

The monograph discusses the theory, algorithms and practical methods of implementing digital processing and recognition of speech signals. The basics of mathematical analysis of digital signals necessary for speech processing are presented. The acoustic theory of speech formation with the construction of a general discrete model is briefly described. The main characteristic features of speech signals, as well as methods of their isolation are considered. Hidden Markov models and the architecture of traditional recognition systems based on them are described in detail. Weighted finite converters used to increase the efficiency and speed up the process of decoding acoustic signals are considered. The main architectures of artificial neural networks and examples of integrated (end-to-end) speech recognition systems based on them are presented.
It is intended for students, postgraduates, researchers and specialists dealing with speech signal processing, pattern recognition and artificial intelligence.
Computers and peripherals
Authors: Lyang Viktor , Nikolay Ivanovich , Yuriy Anatol'evich
Published: February 2023

The textbook discusses the organization of electronic computers and systems, which include peripheral equipment and devices for creating networks, as well as the architecture of buses, devices and principles of operation of the main elements of computing systems.
Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation.
It is addressed to students studying in the field of Computer Science and Computer Engineering in preparation for laboratory work and exam. It can be used by students of other fields of training and specialties when studying the courses "Fundamentals of Computer Science", "Networks and Telecommunications" and "Information Security".
Effect of Sawing Variation on Hardwood Lumber Recovery—Part I: Volume
Authors: Thomas Edward , Buehlmann Urs
Published: February 2023

Sawing variation (SV), the degree of deviation from a specified target lumber size, is an unavoidable component of the sawing process. SV is influenced by several factors such as machine, material, set works, feed works, and cutting parameters. To account for these factors resulting in deviations from the desired target size, the target thickness of the lumber cut must be increased such that only a minimal number of boards is less than target thickness. Thus, the greater the amount of SV, the larger the target thickness must be such that a minimal quantity of undersized lumber is produced. Hence, with larger amounts of SV come greater waste and decreased opportunities for optimizing lumber recovery. However, the decrease in material loss due to a reduction in SV may not necessarily translate into a statistically significant increase in lumber product recovery by volume. This study explored the effect of varying degrees of SV on lumber recovery by volume for a range of hardwood log diameters using the US Forest Service's LOg ReCovery Analysis Tool sawmill simulation software. A minimal average recovery improvement of 3 percent due to reduced SV was observed across all kerf thicknesses, equating to a production value improvement of $336,000 for an 8 million board feet mill. Results indicate that the recovery gains realized by volume depend upon the log diameters sawn, the lumber target thickness, and the change (reduction) in SV.
The Spectral Sensitivities of the Middle-Wavelength and Long-Wavelength Sensitive Cones
Authors: Stockman Andrew
Published: February 2023

Previously we reported the development and validation of a technique of estimating the spectral sensitivities of the middle-wavelength sensitive (MWS) and long-wavelength sensitive (LWS) cones that relies on the use of transient adaptation conditions. The spectral sensitivity for detecting 17-Hz flicker is measured during the first 500 ms following a change of background color from deep-red to blue for LWS cone isolation or vice versa for MWS cone isolation. In this paper, we report the final analysis of the MWS and LWS cone spectral sensitivities obtained in two protanopes, four deuteranopes and eleven normals.
The Molecular Genetic Basis of Polymorphism in Normal Color Vision
Authors: Neitz Jay , Neitz Maureen , Jacobs Gerald H.
Published: February 2023

People with normal color vision don't all have the same complement of cone pigments. Individual differences in the spectral sensitivities of cone pigments have been studied extensively through the examination of color matches (e.g. Neitz and Jacobs, 1986, 1990; He and Shevell, 1990; Webster and MacLeod, 1988). However, the exact nature of the cone pigment differences among color normals, and their cause, is still poorly understood.
Are Cones Independent at Detection Threshold?
Authors: Pokorny Joel , Shevell Steven K. , Smith Vivianne C. , Hasenyager Jennifer
Published: February 2023

In previous work at foveal absolute threshold for point sources of light [1, 2], we assumed independence of individual cones at threshold. Here we present experimental data and a more general model to allow evaluation of receptor independence.
Early Detection of Retinal Disorders by Colour Vision Tests: A comparative study of electrophysiological and psychophysical results
Authors: Bayer A. , Thiel H.-J. , Zrenners E.
Published: February 2023

Colour vision deficiences are often early symptoms of retinal disorders and, if recognized early enough, can lead to an early diagnosis of such disorders.
Analysis of Normal and Dichromatic Color Vision by Multi-layered Neural Networks
Authors: Usui Shiro , Nakauchi Shigeki
Published: February 2023

Typical color blindness is a consequence of loss of some types of cones, and the natures of color blindness has been studied through psychophysical experiments and/or predicted by color vision models. This paper describes neural network models for normal and dichromatic color vision which realize nonlinear mapping from cone space defined by cone responses, into perceived color space defined by responses of one achromatic and two chromatic responses.
The Effects of Chromatic Adaptation and M-Scaling on Colour Perception as a Function of Eccentricity in Man
Authors: Iivanainen Antti , Raninen Antti , Rovamo Jyrki
Published: February 2023

The detection of chromatic deviations from white (Iivanainen & Rovamo, 1991) and yellow (Rovamo & Iivanainen, 1991) and the desaturation threshold of blue after homochromatic adaptation of short duration (Iivanainen & Rovamo, 1992) become independent of visual field location when the stimulus is M-scaled by magnifying its size with increasing eccentricity in inverse proportion to the lowest local sampling density of across the human retina (Rovamo & Virsu, 1979). M-scaling also makes the perceived distinctness of a yellow-blue, equiluminous, chromatic border at eccentricities greater than 1.25 deg (Blatherwick & Hallet, 1989) independent of eccentricity.
Racial Difference of Blue-Sensitive Mechanism
Authors: Daley Michael L. , Burghen George A. , Meyer David , Maisky Paul
Published: February 2023

Acquired loss of color vision is associated with diseases which produce vascular complications that affect the eye.1,2 In particular, the early loss of color vision associated with diabetes mellitus initially influences the blue-sensitive mechanism. Generally, as the disease progresses, loss of green vision becomes evident, and finally, red vision is involved.3 The patho-physiological mechanisms which produce the visual loss appear to be related to optical and neural changes within the eye.4,5 The optical loss may be caused by light scattering produced by plasma proteins which leak into the retina through an altered blood-retinal barrier.4,5
Roles of Central Chromatic Mechanisms
Authors: Lennie Peter
Published: February 2023

One of the most challenging problems of color vision is to understand what analyses take place at higher levels in the visual pathway. Psychophysical and physiological observations have established very clearly the general properties of the receptoral and immediate post-receptoral stages of color vision, but have not firmly defined the characteristics of mechanisms at higher levels.
The effect of selective visual system lesions on the processing of wavelength information in rhesus monkeys
Authors: Schiller Peter H. , Dolan Robert P.
Published: February 2023

In an attempt to define the neural sites for the processing of various aspects of wavelength information, a series of psychophysical experiments were carried out in rhesus monkeys before and after making selective lesions in the visual system. Using the color space described by Krauskopf1 we studied chrominance detection and discrimination as well as the effects of neural adaptation on them.
Test Additivity of Rod and Cone Signals: the Influence of Boynton, Ikeda and Stiles
Authors: Buck Steven L. , Knight Roger
Published: February 2023

One of the early milestones in Bob Boynton's career was his work with Ikeda and Stiles which examined the degree of summation between π mechanisms at threshold (e.g., Boynton, Ikeda, and Stiles, 1964). They made early use of a technique now called the test-additivity procedure, in which thresholds for two test-stimulus wavelengths are compared when they are presented singly versus presented together. Their results show that despite the relative independence of "photoreceptor-based" π mechanisms in other situations, in joint detection of increments, they interact in complicated ways that suggest the action of opponent postreceptoral pathways. In this sense, Boynton, Ikeda, and Stiles link what are now termed "first" and "second" sites.