bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A smart energy consumption manager based on protues simulation
Authors: Mohammed Mohammed Abdulhussein , Farhood Alaa Desher , Abid Ahmed Jabbar
Published: January 2020

In the proposed system, a strategy for the control of energy consumption by home appliances is provided. The statistics of previous energy production and consumption of a case study city are used in providing the strategy. In the design of the proposed system, home appliances are categorized into three levels of priority, even though it can be more than three. In this article the control of energy consumption is achieved using a real time energy consumption manager (ECM) based on stored data without the need for real time communication. The system which is proposed here is affordable and simple. Also, it does not require grid upgrade or power line communication through the grid. 
Design a nine-level modular multilevel converter for DC railway electrification system
Authors: Toh Chuen Ling , Ooi P. C.
Published: January 2020

A recuperating converter is highly demanded in traction power substation to deliver the braking energy generated by a traction vehicle. Conventional voltage source inverter had been implemented in the traction power station. However, large ac line filters must be installed to improve the quality of ac voltages and currents. This paper proposes to install a nine-level Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) as a recuperating converter. The main aim is to eliminate the need of ac line filters while producing good quality of ac voltage and current waveforms. The MMC is designed and modelled using MATLAB/Simulink Simulation tool. A centralized control of balancing all the sub-module capacitor voltage level is proposed with Third Harmonic Voltage Injection Level Shifted Pulse Width Modulation (THVI-LSPWM) technique. The simulation results prove that with the application of MMC, good quality of ac voltages and currents are being produced. The Total Harmonic Distortion indexes are found less than 3.5 % without using any ac line filters in the system. In addition, the classic DC link capacitance has also being eliminated. 
Implementation of the conventional seven-level single-phase symmetrical cascaded h-bridge MLI based on PSIM
Authors: Hamad Hassan Salman
Published: January 2020

Researchers have found interest in the multilevel inverters (MLI) owing to the low total harmonic distortion (THD) associated with their output voltage, as well as their low electromagnetic interference (EMI). The MLI represents an effective and feasible solution for enhancing power demand and minimizing AC waveforms’ harmonics as they generate a preferred level of output voltage as inputs from varying levels of DC voltages. In this paper, the performance of a seven-level cascaded H-bridge MLI with an asymmetrical number of power switches was evaluated. The simulation performance is shown to validate the operating principle of the single-phase cascaded H-bridge inverter. To control the MLI, a pulse width modulation approach was utilized. The operating principle of the MLI was verified via simulation using PSIM software.
Design and implementation of high frequency induction heating with LLC resonant load matching using ELTA
Authors: Karuppusamy Suganthi , V Sunandhitha , R Suraj , S Roja T , K Sundararaman
Published: January 2020

Induction heating is a non-contact method of producing heat which can be used to perform various processes like hardening, annealing, tempering, welding, brazing, melting, forging, etc. This paper discusses the design and implementation of induction heating on a given work-piece, using an LLC resonant circuit and a transformer for impedance matching, so as to transfer a maximum power of 5KW to the load. The load parameters are found out using ELTA software which calculates the values based on the dimensions of the work piece, operating frequency and temperature. The inverter used is based on SiC MOSFETs which minimizes the losses at high frequencies and high temperatures. The theoretical and simulated results from MATLAB are analysed and verified.  The hardware is implemented for the LLC circuit with transformer and the results are presented.
Stabilization of the stator and rotor flux linkage of the induction motor in the asynchronous electric drives with frequency regulation
Authors: Kodkin Vladimir L. , Anikin Aleksandr Sergeevich , Baldenkov Aleksander Aleksandrovich
Published: January 2020

The article is a continuation of the authors' work in research, mainly experimental, asynchronous electric drives with frequency regulation (AED FR) of hoisting-and-transport mechanisms, in which for constructive, operational and other reasons it is difficult to install additional sensors, for example encoders. The results of the analysis of the dynamics of AED FR with two types of sensorless control: vector and scalar are presented in this article. The study was conducted by mathematical modeling in the Simulink application of the MatLab software using standard control system models. The processes of sequential acceleration of the engine to fixed speeds with overload and load shedding on each of them were simulated. At the same time, the speed and effective values of the flux linkages of the rotor and stator and the stator current were monitored, by which the dynamics and efficiency of each type of control were evaluated. As in experimental studies, the dynamic and efficiency of a more stable scalar control was significantly improved by the use of dynamic positive feedback on stator current.
Application of artificial neural network in sizing a stand-alone photovoltaic system: a review
Authors: Nor Ahmad Fateh Mohamad , Salimin Suriana , Abdullah Mohd Noor , Ismail Muhammad Nafis
Published: January 2020

Artiﬁcial Neural Network (ANN) techniques are becoming useful in the current era due to the vast development of the current computer technologies. ANN has been used in various fields especially in the field of science and technology. One of the advantage that makes ANN so interesting is the ANN’s ability to learn the input and output relationship even though the relationship is non-linear. In addition, ANN is also useful for modelling, optimization, prediction, forecasting, and controlling systems. The main objective of this paper is to present a review of the ANN techniques for sizing a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system. The review in this paper shows the potential of ANN as a design tool for a stand-alone PV. In addition, ANN is very useful to improve the sizing process of the stand-alone PV system. The sizing process is of paramount importance to a stand-alone PV system in order to make sure the system can generate ample electrical energy to supply the load demand.
Enhancement of real-time IoT-based air quality monitoring system
Authors: Ng Wei Jian , Dahari Zuraini
Published: January 2020

Air pollution is one of the biggest threat for the environment and the human’s health. The monitoring of air pollution based on several atmospheric pollutants is becoming critical in most countries including Malaysia. This paper presents a development and enhancement features of real-time Internet of Things (IoT)-based environmental monitoring system for air quality. The proposed system will be beneficial to monitor the real-time data for a specific set of air quality parameters such as temperature, humidity and concentration of carbon monoxide, liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and smoke. An alarm system will be triggered if the concentration of carbon monoxide exceeds 50 ppm. Users can use their smartphone to view these data via Wi-Fi by installing an application called “AirProp”. Based on the collected data, this paper also analyses other contributing factors such as time and traffic condition on the temperature, humidity and concentration of pollutant gases at different locations. The advantage of the real-time system is it serves as the data base platform to store data up to certain duration of time. The data can be further analysed and leveraged by governments and researchers to mitigate air pollution.
A review of available hybrid renewable energy systems in Malaysia
Authors: Tambi Nur Huda. M , Afrouzi Hadi Nabipour , Mehranzamir Kamyar , Ahmed Jubaer
Published: January 2020

The utilization of conventional sources of energy releases harmful pollutants to the environment causing global warming and acid rain. For that reason, it becomes necessary to use a non-depletable, sustainable and eco-friendly renewable energy as a mean of producing electricity. Malaysia is tropical country rich in resources beneficial in electricity generation as it is in equatorial region therefore it has an abundance of solar irradiance of average annually. In addition, Malaysia’s demand in electricity is increasing to 124,677 GWh by 2020. Therefore, the electricity generation from renewable sources in Malaysia is anticipated to grow in the future alongside the government endorsement due to its clean, eco-friendly and free source of energy which can highly reduce the dependency on oil and gas that emits harmful pollutants to the environment. This paper gives a comprehensive review on the renewable projects and researches in Malaysia, challenges that affect popularity of renewable energy in Malaysia and available and successful renewable energy system in Malaysia.
Electrical profile of ultra violet (UV) curable renewable polymer graphite (PG) composites
Authors: Abdullah Nur Munirah , Rus A. Z. M. , Abdullah M. F. L. , Wahab Hanani Abd
Published: January 2020

The electrical profiles of the renewable polymer graphite (PG) composites upon ultra violet (UV) curing were investigated. Renewable PG films were prepared by mixing with varying weight percent of graphite (with an increment of 5 wt. % of prepared graphite) up to 30 wt.% and crosslinker. Then, the composites solution was slip casted and cured upon stimulated UV irradiation (UV accelerated weathering tester) at different time exposure (up to 1000 hours) was applied. Small changes on the functional groups of the composites were observed due to UV exposure time by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Suggesting that chemical crosslink and chain scissions occurred within renewable polymer graphite composites. Further electrical profile through two point probe and four point probe method recorded visibly fluctuating values for both resistivity and conductivity within its composites range. Proposed here that the removal of organic contaminants and weak materials form both renewable polymer and graphite particles through the UV curing may have an effect on the formation of conductive network stability. 
PV integrated single-phase dynamic voltage restorer for sag voltage, voltage fluctuations and harmonics compensation
Authors: Toumi Toufik , Allali Ahmed , Abdelkhalek Othmane , Abdelkader Abdallah Ben , Meftouhi Abdelmalek , Soumeur Mohammed Amine
Published: January 2020

This document proposes a photovoltaic (PV) based single-phase dynamic voltage restoration (DVR) device, it eliminates both sag and swell voltage and compensates for power. The proposed system requires a power source to compensate for the sag/swell voltage. This system has found a simple topology for the DVR that uses PV with two DC-DC boosts converters as the DC power source for the dynamic voltage conservator. The DC/DC boost converter powered by the PV generator is used to increase the voltage to meet the DC bus voltage requirements of the single-branch voltage source inverter (VSI). This system uses renewable energy; saves energy accordingly and supplies power to critical/sensitive loads. The control method used in this work is a Sliding Mode Control (SMC) method and relies on a phase locked loop (PLL) used to control the active filter. The effectiveness of the suggested method is confirmed by the MATLAB/Simulink® simulation results and some prototype experiments. These results show the capacity of the proposed DC link control.
Solar fed BLDC motor drive for mixer grinder using a boost converter
Authors: Nayak Deekshitha S , Shivarudraswamy R
Published: January 2020

The existing mixer grinder comprises of the universal motor operating in alternating current supply due to high starting torque characteristics and simple controlling of the speed. The absence of brushes and the reduction of noise in the Brushless DC (BLDC) extends its lifetime and makes it ideal in a mixer grinder. A novel solar-powered BLDC motor drive for mixer grinder is presented in this paper. A DC-DC boost converter has been utilised to operate a PV (photovoltaic) array at its highest power. The proposed hysteresis current control BLDC system has been developed in the MATLAB. A performance comparison is made using the commercially available mixer grinder along with the simulated proposed system.
Voltage control of switched reluctance generator using grasshopper optimization algorithm
Authors: Bahy Mohamed , Nada Adel S. , Elbanna Sayed H. , Shanab Mohamed A. M.
Published: January 2020

This paper presents a terminal voltage control approach of a Switched Reluctance Generator (SRG) based wind turbine generating systems. The control process is employed using a closed loop stimulated by the error between the reference voltage and the generator output voltage due to load and wind speed variation. This error feeds the tuned Proportional Integral controller (PI).

Tuning of PI controller by conventional analysis methods is difficult by the existence of a significant non-linearity. A novel strategy method is presented here to determine optimum PI controller parameters of voltage control of SRG using Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA). This proposed approach is a simple and effective algorithm that is able to solve many optimization problems. The simplicity of algorithm provides high quality tuning of optimal PI controller parameters. The integral of time weighted squared error (ITSE) is used as the performance of the proposed GOA-PI controller. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is tested with the three-phase 12/8 structure SRG. Outcomes indicate the supremacy of GOA over Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) in terms of control performance measures.
Sensorless DTC of IPMSM for embedded systems
Authors: Tahar Terras , Kada Hatani
Published: January 2020

The aim of this paper is to describe the sensorless control of interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) for electric vehicle (EV) using the Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) method for speed estimation. The algorithm of this method has been adapted with the mathematical model of the motorized wheels electric vehicle. The command used is the DTC. High performance sensorless drive of the in-wheel motor based on MRAS for electric vehicle and the whole system is simulated by Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results show the effectiveness of this proposed sensorless control strategy which is extensively used in electric vehicle application.
High Speed Area Efficient FPGA Implementation of AES Algorithm
Authors: B. Mane P. , O. Mulani A.
Published: January 2020

Now a day digital information is very easy to process, but it allows unauthorized users to access this information. To protect this information from unauthorized access, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is one of the most frequently used symmetric key cryptography algorithm. Main objective of this paper is to implement fast and secure AES algorithm on reconfigurable platform. In this paper, AES algorithm is designed with the aim to achieve less power consumption and high throughput. Keys are generated using MATLAB and remaining algorithm is designed using Xilinx SysGen, implemented on Nexys4 and simulated using Simulink. Synthesis result shows that it consumes 121 slice registers and its operating frequency is 1102.536 MHz. Throughput of the overall system is 14.1125 Gbps.
Energy and Area Effective Hardware Design of Lifting Approach Discrete Wavelet Transform
Authors: Hasan Khamees Khalaf , Salih Ibrahim Khalil , Hussen Abdumuttalib. A.
Published: January 2020

This paper presents low power Discrete Wavelet Transform DWT architecture, comprising of forward and inverse multilevel transform for 5/3 lifting scheme LS based wavelet transform filter. This LS filter consists of integer adder units and binary shifter rather than multiplier and divider units as in the convolution based filters; hence it is more adaptable to energy efficient hardware performance. The proposed architecture is described using the VHDL based methodology. This VHDL code has been simulated and synthesized to achieve the gate level building design which can be organized to be effectively developed in hardware environment. The Quartus II 9.1 software synthesis tools were employed to implement 2D-DWT VHDL codes in Altera Development board DE2, with Cyclone II FPGA device. The proposed LS wavelet architectures can be attained by focusing on the physical FPGA devices to considerably decrease the needed hardware expenditure and power consumption of the design. The utilized logic and register elements of the architecture are 127 slices (only 1%) usage from 33216 and the architecture consumes only 0.033 W. Simulations were performed using different sizes of gray scale images that authenticate the proposed design and attain a speed performance appropriate for numerous real-time applications.
Time Perspective and the Subjective Passage of Time in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorders
Authors: Mioni Giovanna , Wittmann Marc , Prunetti Elena , Stablum Franca
Published: January 2020

Patients with borderline personality disorders (BPD) show heightened negative affect and maladaptive emotion-regulation strategies. An individual's time perspective towards the past, present, and future as well as the feeling of time passage are strongly related to affect and emotion regulation. We therefore assessed the time perspective (Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, ZTPI) and the subjective passage of time for present and past time intervals (Subjective Time Questionnaire, STQ) in 17 patients with BPD between the ages of 18 and 52 and 17 control subjects matched for gender, age and education. Patients with BPD show deviations in nearly all time orientations in the ZTPI: lower scores in the future and the past-positive dimension and higher scores in the present-fatalistic and past-negative dimensions. Patients deviate significantly more than controls from a balanced time perspective (BTP). Regarding the STQ, patients with BPD feel a general expansion of time at present but not for past intervals. Taken together, we show how BPD can be understood as a strong imbalance in individual time orientations and a most likely negatively felt expansion of subjective time in daily life.
Condoning Corrupt Behavior at Work: What Roles Do Machiavellianism, On-the-Job Experience, and Neutralization Play?
Authors: Hauser Christian , Simonyan Aram , Werner Arndt
Published: January 2020

Corruption continues to be a considerable challenge for internationally active companies. In this article, we examine personal and socioenvironmental antecedents of corrupt behavior in organizations. In particular, we aim to illuminate the links between Machiavellianism, on-the-job experience with corrupt behavior at work, neutralization, and the attitude of business professionals toward corruption. The empirical analysis is based on the responses of 169 professionals. At first, a positive relationship between both Machiavellianism and on-the-job experience and the acceptance of corruption appears in the model. However, an in-depth mediation analysis shows that neutralization is the keystone linking both Machiavellianism and on-the-job experience to the likelihood to condone corruption. Based on these results, we offer avenues for further research and implications for practitioners.
Integrating Design into Organizations: The Coevolution of Design Capabilities
Authors: Björklund Tua , Maula Hanna , Soule Sarah A. , Maula Jesse
Published: January 2020

Organizational leaders are increasingly turning to design approaches as a panacea for uncertainty and disruption. However, frictions between design and typical engineering and management practices make integrating design into organizations difficult. To do this well, it is necessary to foster the coevolution of two types of design capabilities: deep expertise in design practices and wide understanding, application, and scaffolds of design. Underestimating the coevolution leads to three typical “pitfalls” that can limit the effectiveness of investments in design. This article examines each of these tensions in the context of large technology companies and presents practical recommendations on how to avoid them.
Research on dynamics of hybrid pouring robot and attitude stability control of ladle
Authors: Li Long , Wang Chengjun , Guo Yongcun , Wu Hongtao
Published: January 2020

In this paper, the vibration characteristics of the designed hybrid truss-type movable heavy-load pouring robot (pouring robot) and the pose control of the parallel working arm are studied. The dynamic-static method is used to simplify the truss and parallel working arm of the pouring robot into a forced vibration system composed of spring, damping, and mass body, based on this the 9-degree-of-freedom vibration equation of the pouring robot is established, the analysis of the amplitude–frequency characteristics shows that the four input vibrations of the pavement have basically the same influence on the ladle, which will cause the ladle to resonate. Kane’s method is used to establish the lower mobility dynamic equation of the parallel working arm, the Jacobian matrix of force-driven and torque-driven coupling are given. Based on the vibration characteristics of the pouring robot and the dynamic model of the parallel working arm, an adaptive sliding mode control method with radial basis function neural network compensator and Newton–Euler iterative estimator are proposed to realize the pose control of the ladle, the Lyapunov theorem proves the stability of the control method, the simulation results show that adaptive sliding mode control has better control performance, faster response speed, higher convergence accuracy, and better robustness than traditional sliding mode control algorithm. The paper provides a reference and research basis for the suppression of ladle vibration when the pouring robot is transferred, which is affected by the road roughness.
Innovation, Risk, and Uncertainty: A Study of Tourism Entrepreneurs
Authors: Williams Allan M. , Rodríguez Sánchez Isabel , Škokić Vlatka
Published: January 2020

Innovation is inherently associated with risk and uncertainty, and the engagement of entrepreneurs with these is central to the innovation process. Entrepreneurs are not passive actors but, through learning, they contribute to the dynamic capabilities of the firm across the innovation process. Drawing on 57 interviews with entrepreneurs in tourism small and medium enterprises in Spain and the United Kingdom, the article identifies how risk and uncertainty are understood to change throughout the innovation process in the key areas of technology, finance, markets, and organizations. It also examines how tourism entrepreneurs respond to risk and uncertainty through a range of strategies, especially the harvesting of knowledge and networking. However, engaging with uncertainty remains elusive and relies as much on intuition as on reasoning.
Varieties of Developmentalism: A Critical Assessment of the PT Governments
Authors: Prates Daniela Magalhães , Fritz Barbara , de Paula Luiz Fernando
Published: January 2020

To what extent did the PT governments follow developmentalist policies? A critical assessment reveals that they combined two varieties of developmentalism in different ways over time, with a surprisingly high frequency of policy changes, and that orthodox policies played a prominent role in part of this time span.

Até que ponto os governos do PT seguiram políticas desenvolvimentistas? Uma avaliação crítica revela que eles combinaram duas variedades de desenvolvimentismo de maneiras diferentes ao longo do tempo, com uma frequência surpreendentemente alta de mudanças de políticas, e que as políticas ortodoxas tiveram um papel de destaque em parte desse período.
The Heart of the Game: Girls, Sports and the Limits of “Empowerment”
Authors: Heinecken Dawn
Published: January 2020

As one of the most widely celebrated documentaries about female athletes to date, The Heart of the Game remains an important text to examine for the ways it represents female athletic experience and encourages audiences to consider gender issues in sport. Such an investigation is particularly apt, given how sports documentaries authenticate particular viewpoints while being understood by audiences as historical reflections of reality. Although the film is praiseworthy for exposing the cultural construction of gender as well as some ways gender ideologies hamper female athletic success, this essay argues that The Heart of the Game’s progressive agenda is ultimately undercut by its simultaneous reproduction of gender and racial ideologies that actually marginalize women and girls in sport.
Black feminist methods of activism are the tool for global social justice and peace
Authors: Sheehy Chris , Nayak Suryia
Published: January 2020

We use the method of conversation as a tool of living activist struggles to end social injustice. We draw on Black feminism to create an intersectionality of diverse activist voices across time and space. We insist on an intersectional acuity to analyse Global alienation, subjugation and exploitation. We use examples from activist contexts such as the Trade Union and Rape Crisis movements. Our conversation speaks of the tensions and risks of solidarity and organizing across difference. We use Gramsci’s idea of the ‘interregnum’ to look at the in-between space of protest and transformation. We argue that the ‘interregnum’ is an opportunity to build solidarity for Global justice. In the context of intersectional racism, we ask, can the racial grief of Black women speak? We like Lorde’s idea that ‘Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare’ (Lorde, 1988: 332). We argue that the relationship of Black feminism to oppression, constitutes its revolutionary potential, and this distinguishes Black feminist activist methodologies from other methodologies as the tool for Global social justice and peace.
New venture evolution of migrants under institutional voids: Lessons from Shonga Farms in Nigeria
Authors: Mickiewicz Tomasz , Olarewaju Tolu
Published: January 2020

This article inductively builds theory on how transaction costs may be alleviated and institutional voids bridged in developing economies, based on the case study of successful migrant entrepreneurial involvement in Nigerian agriculture: Shonga Farms. We argue that the iterative process of building conditions of trust through long-term commitment, involvement of regional government, appropriate modes of financial contracts and the gradual transitioning of controlling interests to private actors are factors of success. We draw additional lessons by contrasting our case study with other similar migrant schemes that have failed.
Towards a Bourdieusian sociology of self-censorship: What we can learn from journalists adapting to rapid political change in Crimea after 2014
Authors: Zeveleva Olga
Published: January 2020

This article explores self-censorship among journalists by drawing on Bourdieusian field theory and New Censorship Theory. The article analyses the experiences of local Crimean journalists in the period following Russia’s annexation of the peninsula, and during the rapid increase of Russian state control over local media. The analysis presented here draws on 70 biographical interviews conducted with local journalists who worked in Crimea for a period of at least 1 year between 2013 and 2017. In the first part of the article, I propose a Bourdieusian approach to self-censorship. In the second part of the article, I focus on illustrative examples of journalists who have risen to prominent positions in new post-2014 Crimean media, and detail three self-censorship practices: (1) governing ‘the other’ (a journalist engages in self-censorship only when it comes to ‘the ethnic other’: they refuse to practice self-censorship when working for Moscow-based Russian language media, but agree to self-censorship in local media targeting Crimean Tatars); (2) alerting the authorities (a journalist strikes deals with local politicians by not reporting on local infrastructural problems, instead directly asking the local government to fix them in return for favourable media coverage); and (3) self-censorship as patience (a journalist oversees positive reporting of local news and avoids negative topics as they wait patiently for Crimea’s growing pains to pass).
In vivo carbon dioxide clearance of a low-flow extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal circuit in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Barrett Nicholas A , Hart Nicholas , Camporota Luigi
Published: January 2020

Background:

Veno-venous extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal allows clearance of CO2 from the blood and is becoming popular to enhance protective mechanical ventilation and assist in the management of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including the prevention of intubation. The main factor determining CO2 transfer across a membrane lung for any given blood flow rate and venous CO2 content is the sweep gas flow rate. The in vivo characteristics of CO2 clearance using ultra-low blood flow devices in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has not been previously described.

Methods:

Patients commenced on extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease recruited to a randomized controlled trial of non-invasive ventilation versus extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal had pre- and post-membrane circuit gases measured after each increment of sweep gas flow to allow calculation of the transmembrane CO2 clearance. This was compared with the clearance reported by the device and also corrected to inlet PCO2 to allow characterization of the CO2 clearance of the device at different sweep gas flow rates.

Results:

CO2 clearance was calculated using both the transmembrane CO2 whole-blood content difference and CO2 clearance reported by the device. The two methods demonstrated a linear relationship and agreement with a bias of 14 mL/minute (SD = ±10) and an R2 of 0.92. The membrane CO2 clearance was non-linear with nearly two thirds of total clearance achieved with sweep gas flow below 2 L/minute (VCO2 of 40 ± 16.7 mL/minute) and a plateau above 5 L/minute sweep gas flow (VCO2 64 ± 1 2.4 mL/minute).

Conclusion:

The extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal device used in the study provides efficient clearance of CO2 at low sweep flow rates which then plateaus. This has implications for how the device may be used in clinical practice, particularly during the weaning phase where the final discontinuation of the device may take longer than anticipated. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02086084, registered 13 March 2014, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02086084 )
A better inferior vena cava filter retrieval rate: A retrospective study in a single-center institution
Authors: Cao Pengkai , Li Yunsong , Liu Xiangdong , Li Liang , Li Haitao , Zhang Xianchao , Hao Qingchun , Zhang Yanrong
Published: January 2020

Purpose

To determine practice patterns of inferior vena cava filters (IVCFs), retrieval rates, and reasons why retrievable-IVCFs (R-IVCFs) are kept permanent.

Methods

A total of 399 patients who received IVCFs at Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2017 to December 2017 were registered and retrospectively studied. Date of demographics, baseline medical history, dwell time, reasons why R-IVCFs were kept permanent, and R-IVCFs thrombus were collected.

Results

A total of 399 IVCFs were placed during the study period including 27 permanent IVCFs and 372 R-IVCFs. Among all patients who received R-IVCFs, the mean dwell time was 18.25 ± 16.60 days, follow-up rate was 96.24% (358/372), and 337 R-IVCFs were attempted to be removed. Except one, 336 R-IVCFs were retrieved successfully (336/372, 90.32%). Sixty-four R-IVCFs thrombi were found during retrieval including 53 small-size thrombi (< 1 cm × 1 cm) and 13 large-size thrombi (>1 cm × 1 cm). Fifty-three R-IVCFs with small-size thrombi were removed successfully with no additional treatments. Twelve large-size thrombi were retrieved successfully after catheter-directed thrombolysis.

Conclusions

With good follow-up, the retrieval rate could be improved to 90.32%. The main reasons why R-IVCFs were kept permanent were to avoid losing follow-up and overcome inappropriate selections of indications or IVCF types. And R-IVCFs with thrombus could be removed safely.
Model-based dynamic feedback control of a planar soft robot: trajectory tracking and interaction with the environment
Authors: Della Santina Cosimo , Katzschmann Robert K , Bicchi Antonio , Rus Daniela
Published: January 2020

Leveraging the elastic bodies of soft robots promises to enable the execution of dynamic motions as well as compliant and safe interaction with an unstructured environment. However, the exploitation of these abilities is constrained by the lack of appropriate control strategies. This work tackles for the first time the development of closed-loop dynamic controllers for a continuous soft robot. We present two architectures designed for dynamic trajectory tracking and surface following, respectively. Both controllers are designed to preserve the natural softness of the robot and adapt to interactions with an unstructured environment. The validity of the controllers is proven analytically within the hypotheses of the model. The controllers are evaluated through an extensive series of simulations, and through experiments on a physical soft robot capable of planar motions.
Size Effects in the Recognition of Blurry Faces
Authors: Mousavi Seyed Morteza , Oruc Ipek
Published: January 2020

Spatial frequencies critical for recognition of faces are scale-dependent. Progressively coarser features of the face are utilized at smaller sizes, despite the availability of finer features. Blur removes fine details in an image, disrupting the finer features utilized for recognition at large sizes. At smaller sizes, observers utilize coarser features, and thus, recognition may be less impacted by blur. This coupling between size and critical spatial frequencies allows us to predict a regime in which observers tolerate blur better with decreasing image sizes within a range of moderate face sizes. We tested recognition of famous faces in four conditions: large-intact, small-intact, large-blurry, and small-blurry. Observers showed high recognition performance in both intact conditions. Blur significantly disrupted recognition, yet accuracy was significantly and consistently higher in the small-blurry compared to the large-blurry condition. These results are suggestive of an inherent scale-dependent mechanism that, at certain sizes, negatively impacts recognition of blurry images.
Measuring humility in musical contexts: Initial development of the Musical Humility Scale
Authors: Coppola William J , Kumar Anita B , Hook Joshua N
Published: January 2020

The purpose of this study was to construct and validate a psychometric measure of humility in musical contexts. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) ( N = 423), we demonstrated initial evidence for the validity of a theoretical model of musical humility. We used CFA to test an a priori model building from prior research, which confirmed five factors: purposeful musical engagement and collaboration, other-orientedness, lack of superiority, acknowledgment of shortcomings and learnability, and healthy pride. The resulting Musical Humility Scale is comprised of 30 items that may be further tested alongside other psychometric batteries for investigating predictors and correlates of humility in musical participation. We offer limitations and directions for future research, including strategies for refining the testing criteria and suggestions for establishing convergent and discriminant validity.
Mini-review of waste shell-derived materials’ applications
Authors: Hart Abarasi
Published: January 2020

This mini-review reports curbing waste shells (i.e. seashells, eggshells, snail shells, etc.), environmental health issues and liabilities by using them as material for heterogenous catalysts, blended cement manufacture, concrete aggregate, ceramics and plastics additives, biofilter medium and biomedical applications. The traditional materials used in the manufacture of these products could be relatively cheap; however, there are considerable environmental issues (i.e., ecological damage, disruption of eco-system and air contamination) as well as intense energy consumption associated with the exploitation of depleting natural resources. Waste shells are a renewable and cheap alternative, and will simultaneously decrease manufacturing cost while reducing their burden on the environment. This paper emphasizes environmental sustainability by summarizing articles published on various applications of waste shell-derived biomaterials. The properties of waste shell-derived biomaterials are presented and discussed. The materials’ properties suggest they are similar to limestone and their biological–natural origin and the high calcium carbonate content with a trace amount of other mineral elements makes them highly favorable for cement production, heterogenous catalysts and hydroxyapatite manufacture for biomedical and wastewater treatment applications. The purpose of this work is to offer new perspectives and direction for future research on waste shell-derived biomaterials while existing areas of applications demanding scale up are highlighted.
Why Would Hispanics Vote for Trump? Explaining the Controversy of the 2016 Election
Authors: Galbraith Quinn , Callister Adam
Published: January 2020

Donald Trump was particularly vocal in shaping his presidential campaign around policies perceived as being anti-immigration. Consequently, many were shocked that Hispanic support for the Republican Party did not drop in the 2016 presidential election. In fact, our survey, which consisted of 1,080 people of Hispanic descent living in the United States, found that 74% of Hispanic Trump voters were in favor of generally deporting all illegal immigrants. Our results suggest that the population of Hispanics who voted in the 2016 presidential election was, on average, more conservative than the overall population of Hispanics living in the United States. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that issues such as the economy, health care, and education were more important to Hispanic voters than were issues related to immigration.
Longitudinal Changes Among Latino/a Immigrant Parental Acculturation and Extra-Familial Immigration-Related Stress
Authors: Whitehead Michael R. , Parra-Cardona Rubén , Wampler Richard , Bowles Ryan , Klein Sacha
Published: January 2020

Foreign-born Latino/a immigrants currently make up 12.9% of the total U.S. population. Latino/a immigrants continue to be exposed to widespread health and mental health care disparities. Scholarship focused on the needs of Latino/a immigrants continues to be characterized by multiple gaps. Latino/a immigrants and their families, particularly those with low family annual incomes, are exposed to multiple types of immigration-related stress. However, little is known about how immigration-related stress impacts couples. The objective of this investigation was to examine the interrelationship among acculturation and immigration-related stress as reported by a group of Latino/a immigrant parents who participated in a cultural adaptation parenting study. Data were provided by 78 two-parent families. The statistical approach consisted of latent growth curve analyses to examine rates of change over time. Findings indicated a potential protective role of biculturalism among Latino/a immigrant couples. Research, clinical, and policy implications are discussed.
“The Only Way We’ll Be Successful”: Organizational Factors That Influence Psychosocial Well-Being and Self-Care Among Advocates Working to Address Gender-Based Violence
Authors: Cayir Ebru , Spencer Mindi , Billings Deborah , Hilfinger Messias DeAnne K. , Robillard Alyssa , Cunningham Tim
Published: January 2020

Advocates who work for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that address gender-based violence (GBV) experience a wide range of psychosocial health and well-being risks due to the emotionally demanding nature of the work they engage in. Most recommendations for advocates’ self-care focus on individual-level activities, failing to hold the NPOs accountable for creating workplace cultures and practices that foster psychosocial well-being, self-care, and resilience among the advocates. The aim of this qualitative research was to further our understanding of organizational-level factors that influence psychosocial well-being and self-care practices among advocates who work for GBV-specific NPOs in a metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. We conducted in-depth interviews with 25 GBV-specific advocates. Constructivist grounded theory methods were used in coding and analyzing the data. Sixteen advocates identified as White, followed by five Black, two Hispanic, and two mixed-race/ethnicity. Mean age was 36 years. Most participants had a master’s degree ( n = 16). Analysis of the data resulted in three major themes: (a) Management and Leadership Style, (b) Interpersonal Relationship Dynamics, and (c) Culture of Self-Care. The ways in which leaders established relationships with other advocates to accomplish organizational goals, how advocates developed a sense of camaraderie with their coworkers, and shared norms around self-care shaped advocates’ willingness and ability to engage in individual and collective self-care. Findings of this study highlight the role of GBV-specific NPOs in creating workplace cultures and practices that are conducive to engaging in self-care and developing resilience among the advocates. By fulfilling this responsibility, organizations would enable the advocates to not only survive, but thrive in their work and make even greater strides in the overall mission of GBV prevention.
Soldiers and Scholars: Ritual Dilemmas among National Religious Combat Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces
Authors: Stern Nehemia , Ben-Shalom Uzi
Published: January 2020

This article explores how the practice of Jewish rabbinic law within the combat ranks of the Israel Defense Forces can be used as an ethnographic medium through which anthropologists may better contextualize the social and political tensions that characterize Jewish religious nationalism in Israel. We argue that national religious combat soldiers rarely turn to rabbinic legal tracts, or to the overlapping levels of military and civilian rabbinic leadership in their immediate efforts to resolve the everyday ritual dilemmas of their service. Rather, these dilemmas are primarily addressed and (always imperfectly) resolved on the small-scale intra-unit level. Through this ethnographic window into the religious and ritual aspects of military life, this article ultimately argues that the experience of political piety in Israel (and perhaps the wider Middle East) hinges not so much upon the power play between opposing religious and secular institutions but rather in the daily ambivalences and ambiguities experienced by individual adherents as they go about their daily lives.
Endomyocardial biopsies in the diagnosis of myocardial involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Gartshteyn Y , Tamargo M , Fleischer S , Kapoor T , Li J , Askanase A , Winchester R , Geraldino-Pardilla L
Published: January 2020

Background

Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is considered the gold standard for diagnosing myocardial involvement in most inflammatory conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, EMBs are rarely performed, and most of the myocardial histopathology reports in SLE consist of postmortem data. We therefore sought to describe the histopathologic findings of contemporary EMBs in SLE performed in clinical practice.

Methods

A retrospective review of histopathology reports from SLE patients who underwent EMB from 1994 to 2017 was performed. A total of 41 SLE patients had cardiac pathology reports. Of these, 11 histopathology reports were EMBs, and the remaining were valvular specimens.

Results

A total of 11 SLE EMBs were reviewed. It was found that 45% of the patients had hypertension, 27% had coronary artery disease, 9% had hyperlipidemia, and 36% had end-stage renal disease. None had diabetes or smoked. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 37%. On histopathology, 10 had mild interstitial fibrosis, 9 had myocyte hypertrophy, 3 had organized blood clots, and 3 had a mild infiltration of lymphocytes and macrophages without clear evidence of myocarditis. None had vasculitis, endocarditis, ischemia, amyloid deposition, or lamellar or curvilinear inclusions.

Conclusion

EMBs are rarely performed in SLE. In this case series, nonspecific interstitial fibrosis and myocyte hypertrophy were the most common findings, suggesting EMBs have limited value in the diagnosis of cardiac involvement in SLE and rather rule out competing conditions. These data support the need for diagnostic methods with high sensitivity and specificity for SLE heart disease.
Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis as the initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Chandra T , Tilstra J S
Published: January 2020

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a hypercoagulable state due to a variety of mechanisms. Herein, we discuss the case of a 40-year-old gentleman who presented with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) as the first manifestation of underlying SLE. On initial presentation, he did not endorse any other signs and symptoms to suggest the presence of an autoimmune condition. Work-up revealed an absence of antiphospholipid antibodies. Further evaluation uncovered the underlying etiology of the CVST as SLE-induced nephrotic syndrome. The existing literature on CVST suggests that there are only two other biopsy-proven cases of lupus nephritis leading to nephrotic range proteinuria as the etiology for CVST. Given the rarity of this presentation, there are no clearly delineated treatment strategies.
A case of systemic lupus erythematosus with rectal necrosis
Authors: Wang Z , Wu C , Ruan F , Li Z , Peng X , Wang P
Published: January 2020

Lupus mesenteric vasculitis is one of the most devastating complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and may lead to a spectrum of complications, including ulceration, haemorrhage, bowel necrosis, perforation, serositis and ascites. Among such complications, intestinal necrosis and intestinal perforation are the most serious. Rectal necrosis is a rare manifestation of SLE, with only two case reports in the English literature. Here, we report the case of a 59-year-old male patient with SLE complicated by rectal necrosis that was initially misdiagnosed as acne and rectal tumours. After two surgeries and the addition of immunosuppressive therapy, the patient was eventually cured and discharged.
Alopecia areata in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus treated with belimumab: a plausible association
Authors: Shamriz O , Yahia S H , Ramot Y , Agmon-Levin N , Tal Y
Published: January 2020

Belimumab, an anti-B-lymphocyte stimulator monoclonal antibody, was recently approved for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. Alopecia areata is characterized by an acute immune-mediated hair loss. Herein, we report on three adult systemic lupus erythematosus patients who developed alopecia areata in association with belimumab treatment. Alopecia areata was resolved in all three patients and belimumab was discontinued in two of them. Thus, in the current report, we explore the plausible link between alopecia areata and belimumab.