bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Treating the tear trough‐eye bag complex: Treatment targets, treatment selection, and injection algorithms with case studies
Authors: Peng Hsien‐Li Peter , Peng Jui‐Hui
Published: July 2020

Background

The tear trough is a commonly requested area for aesthetic correction, but is difficult to treat well, especially when concurrent with other deformities such as eye bags. There are multiple possible treatment methods for the tear trough and eye bag, such as surgery and hyaluronic acid (HA) filler injection, with the latter gaining popularity in recent years.

Aims

To explore tear trough and eye bags etiology, describe the process for treatment selection, outline possible contraindications for filler injection, and expand upon the previously published atrophy‐bulging‐laxity (ABL) system of tear trough classification and treatment algorithm, with special focus on tear troughs complicated with eye bags.

Methods

Six major etiologies of the eye bag were described, and three main contraindications for HA injection were outlined. Three useful tests (snap test, push test, lift test) to aid in treatment selection were described. A comprehensive treatment algorithm was developed to counteract each etiology: “Lifting” injections at the zygoma and anteromedial cheek help counteract senescent or congenital bone deficiency; “Supporting” injections into the anteromedial cheek fat pads help counteract fat atrophy or prolapse; and “Volumization” injections directly at the deformity help smooth out structural grooves or troughs.

Results

Patients with pronounced eye bags and tear troughs were treated according to this algorithm and obtained good, long‐lasting outcomes.

Conclusions

Tear troughs complicated with eye bags can be successfully classified and treated with the ABL system and the additional procedures described by this report.
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for gynecological cancer
Authors: Tsuyoshi Hideaki , Inoue Daisuke , Kurokawa Tetsuji , Yoshida Yoshio
Published: July 2020

Aim

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a method of administering anticancer agents directly while heating the abdominal cavity. The aim of this review is to know the current position of HIPEC in ovarian cancer and uterine sarcoma and its future prospects.

Methods

This article reviews the current literature and evidence for the clinical trial of HIPEC in ovarian cancer and uterine sarcoma with consideration of the cases treated in our department.

Results

In January 2018, van Driel et al. reported the results of their phase 3, randomized, controlled trial and the usefulness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery. With respect to greater than grade 3 complications, such as suture failure, intestinal perforation, postoperative bleeding, wound issues and death, there were no significant differences between the HIPEC group and the no‐HIPEC group. In a meta‐analysis including two randomized, controlled studies and 11 observational studies in 2019, the addition of HIPEC to cytoreductive surgery significantly improved overall survival of ovarian cancer patients. Moreover, growing evidence of the efficacy of cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC has also been reported in uterine sarcoma with peritoneal sarcomatosis in a multi‐institutional study. HIPEC could be one of the new therapeutic strategies for such disseminated peritoneal lesions.

Conclusion

Since the usage regimen and temperature setting of HIPEC are not standardized, and its effectiveness and adverse events are greatly affected by the time of administration, it is necessary to consider clinical trials for the optimization and establishment of HIPEC in Japan in the future.
Women's Marital Experiences Following Premarital Fertility in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Smith‐Greenaway Emily , Koski Alissa , Clark Shelley
Published: July 2020

Objective

The aim of the study was to offer a descriptive overview of the stability and quality of marriages formed by women following premarital fertility in contemporary sub‐Saharan Africa.

Background

Premarital sex and fertility rates are high in many sub‐Saharan African countries, yet we know little about how premarital childbirth, or even premarital conception, corresponds with women's subsequent marital outcomes. For instance, it is unknown whether premarital fertility is associated with forming unions that are less stable, polygynous, or more violent.

Method

We analyze Demographic and Health Survey data for 25 sub‐Saharan African countries to describe women's marital experiences following a premarital pregnancy or premarital birth (relative to marital pregnancy and birth). We estimate country‐specific, two‐stage Heckman probit models to understand whether, conditional on having married, premarital pregnancy or premarital birth is associated with union instability, and among women currently married, polygyny and intimate partner violence.

Results

In most countries, unions following a premarital pregnancy or premarital birth were less stable relative to unions in which pregnancy occurred only after marriage. Premarital births were also associated with a higher likelihood of entering a polygynous union, especially in West and Central African countries, as well as a greater likelihood of being in a physically violent union, particularly in East and Southern African countries.

Conclusion

The associations between premarital fertility and women's subsequent marital experiences raise questions about the broader health and life course implications for the women and children involved.
Bhutanese Refugee Youth: The Importance of Assessing and Addressing Psychosocial Needs in a School Setting
Authors: Cardeli Emma , Phan Jenny , Mulder Luna , Benson Molly , Adhikari Radha , Ellis B. Heidi
Published: July 2020

BACKGROUND

Traumatic exposure combined with significant stressors in resettlement place Bhutanese refugees at risk for mental health problems. Despite this, refugee youth often are reluctant to seek mental health services. Psychosocial support services, such as school‐based groups, offer one solution to this barrier to care. We had 2 aims in this study: (1) to describe the psychosocial needs of resettled Bhutanese refugee students; and (2) to evaluate the impact of skills‐based groups on these students' sense of school belonging and mental health.

METHODS

Bhutanese refugee students in middle school (N = 34) participated in the 12‐week group curriculum (a component of Trauma Systems Therapy for Refugees) and the associated preevaluation/postevaluation.

RESULTS

Baseline descriptive analyses indicated high levels of mental health symptoms; approximately, 49% of students met partial or full criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. In addition, sense of school belonging was significantly inversely associated with depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms at baseline. Paired sample t tests indicate that students' avoidance symptoms significantly decreased postintervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that skills‐based groups may be an effective way to engage students in supportive services and address psychosocial needs. Results further highlight the potential protective role of school belonging in reducing refugee students' vulnerability to psychological distress.
Cytotoxic activity of dimeric acridone alkaloids derived from Citrus plants towards human leukaemia HL-60 cells
Authors: Murata Tomiyasu , Kohno Susumu , Ogawa Kazuma , Ito Chihiro , Itoigawa Masataka , Ito Masafumi , Hikita Kiyomi , Kaneda Norio
Published: July 2020

Objectives

Acridone alkaloids from Citrus and their derivatives show various kinds of biological activity. However, the anticancer activities of dimeric acridone alkaloids with unique structures and the molecular mechanism of these effects are poorly understood.

Methods

We investigated the cytotoxicity effects of dimeric acridone alkaloids isolated from Marsh grapefruit on human myeloid leukaemia HL-60 cells.

Key findings

Of the six dimeric acridone alkaloids tested, citbismine-E, the most potent, dose- and time-dependently decreased HL-60 cell viability by inducing apoptosis. The treatment of HL-60 cells with citbismine-E yielded a significant increase in levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Citbismine-E lowered the mitochondrial membrane potential and increased the activities of caspase-9 and -3. In addition, citbismine-E-induced apoptosis, decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and caspase activation were significantly alleviated by pretreatment of the cells with antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Citbismine-E induced intrinsic caspase-dependent apoptosis through ROS-mediated c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation. Citbismine-E-induced production of oxidative stress biomarkers, malondialdehyde and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine was also attenuated by pretreatment with NAC.

Conclusions

Citbismine-E is a powerful cytotoxic agent against HL-60 cells that acts by inducing mitochondrial dysfunction-mediated apoptosis through ROS-dependent JNK activation. Citbismine-E also induced oxidative stress damage via ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation and DNA damage in HL-60 cells.
Azithromycin concentration in severely inflamed canine external ear canals – a case series
Authors: Perry E. , Lavy E. , Soback S. , Britzi M. , Zur G.
Published: July 2020

Objective

To determine azithromycin concentration in severely inflamed canine external ear canals.

Material and Methods

Five dogs of various breeds and ages with severe and chronic otitis externa underwent ear canal reconstruction surgery. A single oral dose of azithromycin at 10 mg/kg was administered 12 to 24 hours prior to surgery. Tissue samples were collected from the excised external ear canals and azithromycin concentration was determined using a liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method.

Results

Azithromycin concentrations ranging from 11.4 to 107.0 μg/g (mean 59.2 ± 44.6 μg/g, median 50.9 μg/g) were detected in the chronically infected external ear canal tissue 12 to 24 hours after administration.

Clinical Significance

Little information exists on antibiotic concentrations in pathological tissues of dogs. Macrolides are known to concentrate in skin tissue. In light of the present results, investigation of clinical efficacy of azithromycin in chronic canine otitis externa is warranted.
Haemophilia A in a female mixed‐breed dog
Authors: Nishitani Y. , Kitoh K.
Published: July 2020

A spayed female mixed‐breed dog was presented with excessive bleeding from a wound in the mouth. The dog had a history of self‐limiting bleeding following ovariohysterectomy. A coagulation test revealed prolongation of the activated partial thromboplastin time (20.2 seconds; reference interval: 11.0–15.0 seconds), prothrombin time was normal and factor VIII activity was markedly decreased (1.9%; reference interval: >50%). The von Willebrand factor antigen concentration was 158% (reference interval: >50%). A cross‐mixing test indicated that the diminished factor VIII activity was due to deficiency or dysfunction of factor VIII rather than inhibition of factor VIII activity. Based on these results, the dog was diagnosed with haemophilia A. Haemophilia A should be considered in the differential diagnosis of bleeding disorders also in female mixed‐breeds dogs.
Back‐transformation mechanisms of ringwoodite and majorite in an ordinary chondrite
Authors: Fukimoto Kanta , Miyahara Masaaki , Sakai Takeshi , Ohfuji Hiroaki , Tomioka Naotaka , Kodama Yu , Ohtani Eiji , Yamaguchi Akira
Published: July 2020

We investigated the back‐transformation mechanisms of ringwoodite and majorite occurring in a shock‐melt vein (SMV) of the Yamato 75267 H6 ordinary chondrite during atmospheric entry heating. Ringwoodite and majorite in the shock melt near the fusion crust have back‐transformed into olivine and enstatite, respectively. Ringwoodite (Fa~18) occurs in the SMV as a fine‐grained polycrystalline assemblage. Approaching the fusion crust, fine‐grained polycrystalline olivine becomes dominant instead of ringwoodite. The back‐transformation from ringwoodite to olivine proceeds by incoherent nucleation and by an interface‐controlled growth mechanism: nucleation occurs on the grain boundaries of ringwoodite, and subsequently olivine grains grow. Majorite (Fs16–17En82–83Wo1) occurs in the SMV as a fine‐grained polycrystalline assemblage. Approaching the fusion crust, the majorite grains become vitrified. Approaching the fusion crust even more, clino/orthoenstatite grains occur in the vitrified majorite. The back‐transformation from majorite to enstatite is initiated by the vitrification, and growth continues by the subsequent nucleation in the vitrified majorite.
Choices on museum attendance: An agent‐based approach
Authors: Biondo Alessio Emanuele , Cellini Roberto , Cuccia Tiziana
Published: July 2020

This paper presents an agent‐based model to study museum attendance, with the final aim of evaluating how the rules on free admission affect charged visits. Heterogeneous agents of a population are assumed to make their choices over a bundle of goods and activities which include museum attendance along with other consumption and leisure‐time alternatives. Simulations show that larger free‐admission rules always lead to an increase in the number of total visits. A specific focus is dedicated to show which conditions let the free admittance policies induce an increment also in charged visits. Agents are characterized in terms of income and education. Addiction to cultural consumption is modelled both with and without reference to education. Specific aspects, such as crowd effects and renovation of exhibitions, are also considered, as features of the museum attendance.
The association between low birth weight, childhood recollections of parental response to illness, and irritable bowel syndrome: a twin study
Authors: Harvey Philip R. , Theron Byron , Smith Samuel C. L. , Rastall Paul , Steves Claire J. , Harris Julliette , Spector Timothy D. , Trudgill Nigel J.
Published: July 2020

Background

The aetiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is multifactorial, including genetic and environmental factors. Previous studies have suggested that low birth weight and family environment during childhood are associated with developing IBS.

Methods

A survey was sent to all individuals in a UK twin registry. Questions included IBS diagnosed by the Rome IV criteria and if a doctor had previously diagnosed them with IBS. Subjects were categorized as having IBS by Rome IV criteria, a medical diagnosis of IBS or no IBS. Further questions included subjects' recollections of their parents' responses to illness in both the respondent as a child and in the parents themselves. Information regarding birth weight and gestational age have been collected previously.

Key Results

4258 subjects responded to the questionnaire (51.7%), mean age of 52 (SD 14) years, of whom 98.5% were white and 89.6% female. The mean birth weight was 2.4  (0.6) kg. 5.1% satisfied the Rome IV IBS criteria, the same prevalence as the UK population. However, 14.1% had a previous medical diagnosis of IBS. There was no association found between birth weight and IBS or a medical diagnosis of IBS. On multivariable regression analysis, including parental responses to illness, subjects recalling a parent responding to the parent's bowel symptoms by excusing themselves from household chores were associated with a Rome IV diagnosis of IBS (OR 2.19 (95% CI 1.17‐4.10), P = .013).

Conclusions and Inferences

There was no association between birth weight and IBS. However, observing their parents excuse themselves from household chores when they had bowel symptoms was associated with IBS in later life.
A qualitative examination of the relationship between rumination, distress, and dysregulated behaviours in vulnerable young people
Authors: Sloan Elise , Moulding Richard , Weiner Carlye , Dowling Rose‐Mary , Hall Kate
Published: July 2020

Objectives

Young people accessing mental health treatment in Australia frequently engage in dysregulated behaviours, such as substance misuse, deliberate self‐harm (DSH), and binge eating and purging. Rumination has been identified as a correlate of behavioural dysregulation; however, a qualitative examination of the functional relationship between ruminative processes and distress and subsequent engagement in dysregulated behaviours has not yet been conducted. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of rumination in young people and examine how this process relates to engagement in DSH, binge eating and purging, and substance misuse in a sample of treatment‐seeking young people.

Design

A qualitative research methodology was used gain an in‐depth understanding of participants’ experience of rumination as it relates to their engagement in dysregulated behaviours.

Methods

Twelve treatment‐seeking young people were interviewed about their experience of rumination in the context of a recently recalled situation where they engaged in a dysregulated behaviour. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Themes included the following: (1) triggers to behavioural dysregulation; (2) characteristics and content of rumination; (3) key precipitants to dysregulated behaviours (rumination, distress, and prior ineffective were at managing rumination); and (4) distraction from rumination and regulation of distress as short term, positively reinforcing consequences of dysregulated behaviours, while ongoing cycles of rumination and psychological distress were identified as long‐term consequences.

Conclusions

DSH, binge/purge behaviours, and substance misuse represent maladaptive ways to distract from intense and pervasive rumination in this cohort of young people. Theoretical and treatment implications pertaining to these findings are discussed.

Practitioner points

Rumination is a common experience in young people who engage in dysregulated behaviours including deliberate self‐harm, binging and purging, and substance misuse

Engagement in behavioural dysregulation functions to distract from rumination, which negatively reinforces further engagement in dysregulated behaviours.

Interventions in this population should focus on the development of adaptive skills that provide the same level of distraction provided by the physical sensations associated with engaging in a dysregulated behaviour.
Evaluation of rural public libraries to address telemedicine inequities
Authors: DeGuzman Pamela B. , Siegfried Zack , Leimkuhler Megan E.
Published: July 2020

Access to home‐based telemedicine is inequitably distributed in the United States due to the limited reach of fixed broadband in rural areas. Public libraries typically offer patrons free access to broadband. Libraries, particularly those in rural regions, need to be evaluated as sites for patients to connect to a health care provider over a video visit. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the technological readiness of public libraries to provide telemedicine support and to determine differences in readiness between rural and urban public libraries. We distributed a survey to Virginia librarians to evaluate technological readiness of their libraries to support telemedicine. Respondents from 39 libraries completed the survey, approximately one third of which were in rural or small urban areas. All reported fixed broadband, at least four computers, and staff to assist with technology. Eighty‐five percent of surveyed libraries reported sufficient broadband speed and a private room available to patrons. There were no significant differences between rural and urban status for any of the library characteristics. Virginia public libraries may have infrastructure necessary to support patrons connecting to telemedicine. Libraries may benefit from systematic guidelines for collaborating with health providers to support telemedicine implementation across geographic and socioeconomically diverse areas.
Quo Vadis? Career paths of Brazilian regulators
Authors: Peci Alketa , de Menezes Santos Aline , Pino Oliveira de Araújo Bruno César
Published: July 2020

Research about professional trajectories of regulators highlights the exchange of personnel from independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) to the private sector, mainly based on US evidence. However, current studies indicate that revolving doors in different contexts may share more nuances, reflecting the role of different political institutions. Here we rely on sequence analysis to explore the trajectories of 117 Brazilian board members of IRAs, investigating: What are their typical professional trajectories? Which career path receives most of the benefits in postterm positions? The analysis uncovers five clusters of career paths in which most regulators do not transition between the public and private sectors but still benefit in direct and indirect ways from serving terms in IRAs. A different mix of market/bureaucratic/political incentives plays a role in the patterns of professional trajectories we uncover in Brazil. Depending on the context, regulators' trajectories might be driven by either market or state forces.
Experimentalist interactions: Joining up the transnational timber legality regime
Authors: Zeitlin Jonathan , Overdevest Christine
Published: July 2020

This paper analyzes the interactions between the separate components of the emerging transnational timber legality regime, both public and private. It examines how far, and through what institutional mechanisms, these interactions are producing a joined‐up transnational regime, based on a shared normative commitment to combat illegal logging and cooperative efforts to implement and enforce it. The paper argues that the experimentalist architecture of the EU FLEGT initiative has fostered productive, mutually reinforcing interactions both with public timber legality regulation in other consumer countries and with private certification schemes. But this emerging regime remains highly polyarchic, with broad scope for autonomous initiatives by NGOs and private service providers, along with national governments, international organizations, and multi‐donor partnerships. Hence horizontal integration and coordination within it depend on a series of institutional mechanisms, some of which are distinctively experimentalist, while others can also be found in more conventional regimes. These mechanisms include cross‐referencing and reciprocal endorsement of rules and standards; recursive learning through information pooling and peer review of implementation experience; public oversight and joint assessment of private certification and legality verification schemes; and the “penalty default” effect of public legality regulation in consumer countries, which have pushed both exporting countries and transnational firms to comply with the norms and procedures of the emerging transnational regime. The paper's findings thus provide robust new evidence for the claim advanced in previous work that a joined‐up transnational regime can be assembled piece by piece under polyarchic conditions through coordinated learning from decentralized experimentation, without a hegemonic power to impose common global rules.
Risk Framework for an Organizational System With Major Components
Authors: Hall Shane N. , Gallagher Mark A. , Fenn Daniel S.
Published: July 2020

Many large organizations accomplish their various functions through interactions across their major components. Components refers to functional entities within a large complex organization, such as business sectors, academic departments, or regional divisions. The dependency between the various components can cause risk to propagate through their overall system. This article presents a risk assessment framework that integrates risk across a diverse set of components to the overall organization functions. This project addresses three major challenges: aggregating risk, estimating component interdependencies including cycles of dependencies, and propagating risk across components. The framework aggregates risk assessments through a value function for severity that is evaluated at the expected outcome of accomplishing planned goals in terms of performance, schedule, and resources. The value function, which represents risk tolerance, scales between defined points corresponding to failure and success. Different risk assessment may be aggregated together. This article presents a novel approach to establishing relationships between the various components. This article develops and compares three network risk propagation models that characterize the overall organizational risk. The U.S. Air Force has applied this risk framework to evaluate success in hypothetical future wars. The analysts employing this risk framework have informed billions of dollars of strategic investment decisions.
The impacts of farmland expropriation on Vietnam’s rural households
Authors: Le Kien , Nguyen My
Published: July 2020

The expropriation of agricultural land to provide new land for industrial and urban expansion, referred to as compulsory acquisition, is prevalent in developing countries. Using Vietnam as a laboratory, this study evaluates the impacts of losing farmland through compulsory acquisition on household welfare and reaches the following findings. A 10 percentage point increase in the fraction of land expropriated results in a 2.2% decrease in household welfare proxied by food expenditure. Furthermore, politically unconnected and ethnic minority households are disproportionately vulnerable. The adverse welfare effect could take up to 10 years to evaporate. The reduction in household welfare is attributable to the decline in agricultural income and the inability to participate in the non‐agricultural labor market. Other aspects of household behavior following compulsory acquisition are also explored, such as saving, social capital, labor, and capital allocation.
Preparing residents to deal with human trafficking
Authors: Ma Keon , Ali Jahaan , Deutscher Julianna , Silverman Jason A , Novak Chris , Dong Sandy , Chmelicek John , Dance Erica , Goez Helly
Published: July 2020

Background

Victims of human trafficking (HT) are predisposed to numerous health concerns. Many encounter health care practitioners during captivity, but awareness and knowledge among front‐line physicians is low. Limited data exist on attempts to address this within residency training programmes. Formal curriculum time in residency is limited and online modules may be a useful educational option.

Methods

Residents in family medicine, emergency medicine and general paediatrics at the University of Alberta were invited to participate. They completed short surveys to assess knowledge both before and after completing an online learning module either individually (n = 15) or in a facilitated session (n = 17). Baseline and post‐intervention changes in self‐reported and tested knowledge were assessed.

Results

Thirty‐two residents completed the pre‐intervention survey: only 6% self‐identified as somewhat knowledgeable on HT and 16% knew the red flags used to identify victims. Eighty‐one percent wanted this topic incorporated into residency training, but only 6% and 25% had received education previously in residency or medical school, respectively. Thirteen percent were comfortable supporting victims, and 6% reported knowing how to provide support. Twenty residents completed the post‐intervention survey, with improvements in both self‐reported (p < 0.001) and tested (p = 0.005) knowledge of HT. Residents also reported being more prepared to identify victims (p < 0.001), more comfortable supporting victims (p < 0.001) and more confident in knowing how to support victims (p < 0.001).

Discussion

Baseline HT knowledge in residents providing first‐contact care appears limited. Residency programmes should consider providing more HT education in order to improve competency in care. Although an online module was shown to be effective, protected time might be necessary for the widespread adoption of online education delivery.
Otoscopic evaluation of epithelial remnants in the tympanic cavity after total ear canal ablation and lateral bulla osteotomy
Authors: Watt Meghan M. , Regier Penny J. , Ferrigno Cassio R. A. , McConkey Marina J. , Fox‐Alvarez W. Alexander , Bertran Judith
Published: July 2020

Objective

To determine the ability to detect the presence of epithelial remnants after total ear canal ablation (TECA) and lateral bulla osteotomy (LBO) with endoscopy and to identify the most common locations of epithelial remnants after tympanic curettage.

Study design

Experimental study.

Animals

Five fresh canine cadavers with no gross evidence of middle ear disease.

Methods

Ten TECA‐LBO were performed by four surgeons. After tympanic curettage, a 1.9‐mm rigid 30° endoscope was inserted into the rostral, caudal, dorsal, ventral, and medial sections of the tympanic cavity. Three observers evaluated otoscopic images for epithelial remnants in each compartment. The median distribution of epithelial remnants was calculated for each section of the tympanic cavity with a three‐dimensional tympanic cavity model.

Results

Epithelial remnants were identified in at least one of the five areas of the tympanic cavity after each TECA‐LBO. The rostral section contained the most epithelial remnants (35.6%), while the medial section contained the least amount (1.8%).

Conclusion

Use of a 1.9‐mm rigid endoscope was an effective method to evaluate all sections of the tympanic cavity after curettage in TECA‐LBO. Epithelial remnants were consistently found after TECA‐LBO, especially in the rostral compartment.

Clinical significance

Intraoperative endoscopy should be considered to improve removal of epithelium after initial TECA‐LBO or revision surgeries.
Un judío con muchos rostros: exégesis y teología en Filón de Alejandría
Authors: Hernández-Valencia Juan Sebastián
Published: July 2020

La obra y figura teológica de Filón de Alejandría ha estado abierta a múltiples interpretaciones durante el siglo XX y lo corrido del XXI. ¿Cómo entenderlas ¿Como relectura de la tradición de la Biblia a la luz del platonismo medio, o como apología sobre el valor cultural del judaísmo ante la paideia griega? En el artículo se aborda este problema a partir de la correlación entre exégesis y teología en la obra de Filón. Este, como exégeta comenta la Torah. Su método de exégesis no es el midrash o el pesher, sino la alegoresis, propia de la tradición estoica. Como teólogo, Filón propone un sistema notable, desechado por la naciente corriente farisaico-rabínica. En el artículo se exploran dos líneas de la amplísima teología filónica. La primera expone a la teología mística como centro de su sistema teológico. La segunda trata el problema de la teodicea.
Forced Oscillations of the Discrete Membrane Under Conditions of “Sonic Vacuum”
Authors: Kevorkov S. S. , Koroleva I. P. , Smirnov V. V. , Manevitch L. I.
Published: July 2020

This study presents a new analytical model for nonlinear dynamics of a discrete rectangular membrane that is subjected to external harmonic force. It has recently been shown that the corresponding autonomous system admits a series of nonlinear normal modes. In this paper, we describe stationary and non-stationary dynamics on a single mode manifold. We suggest a simple formula for the amplitude-frequency response in both conservative and non-conservative cases and present an analytical expression (in parametric space) for thresholds for all possible bifurcations. Theoretical results obtained through asymptotic approach are confirmed by the experimental data. Experiments on the shaking table show that amplitude-frequency response to external force in a real system matches our theory. Substantial hysteresis is observed in the regimes with increasing and decreasing frequency of external force. The obtained results may be used in designing nonlinear energy sinks.
Rotor-Alone Tones in the Outflow Noise of a Centrifugal Compressor
Authors: Faßbender Armin , Enneking Martin , Jeschke Peter
Published: July 2020

This article investigates the generation of rotor-alone tones and their contribution to the outflow noise of a transonic centrifugal compressor stage with vaneless diffuser and volute by means of unsteady full-annulus computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The aerodynamic field and the generation and propagation of sound were simulated simultaneously using the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) approach of the solver trace and a numerical grid consisting of 170 M cells. To assess the accuracy of the predicted fluctuations, the investigation compares the simulated diffuser flow field to measured flow angles and pressure fluctuations obtained from experiments conducted on a large-scale test rig. The analysis explains the different sound generation mechanisms responsible for tonal components in the acoustic spectrum at the compressor outlet based on the Fourier decomposition of the pressure fluctuations in diffuser and volute. Furthermore, this article analyzes the modal structure of the simulated sound field at the volute outlet by means of a radial mode analysis and discusses the influence of changing operating conditions on the sound power emitted. The analyses reveal that supersonic flow phenomena occurring at choked operating conditions cause a significant increase in noise emissions. Furthermore, the investigation shows that the sound field at the volute outlet is dominated by few low-order modes, a fact that justifies the analysis using methods based on the compressed sensing in future experimental investigations.
An Exploration of Intermediary’s Role in Participatory Product Design at the Bottom of the Pyramid: The Case of Improvised Pedal-Operated
Chaak
Authors: Bhattacharjya Bibhuti Ranjan , Kakoty Sashindra Kumar
Published: July 2020

Design, development, and delivery of a new product to fulfill the needs and aspirations of marginalized people living at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) is a challenging endeavor. This is challenging, as the dynamic integration of sociocognitive aspects of the BoP with technological factors is a complicated task. Therefore, the participatory design approach is essential, as it facilitates dialogue among experts from multiple domains. This article presents the case of improvised pedal-operated Chaak (IPC) to appraise a realistic view of a participatory approach in the design and delivery of a new product in the BoP. The role played by Rural Technology Action Group as an intermediary to facilitate co-creation of knowledge during design and delivery of IPC is also discussed. This study infers that the IPC will improve productivity and has the capability to reduce the health drudgery of pottery artisans in Assam, India. This study demonstrates how nonbusiness actors (e.g., academia, non-government organizations, etc.) and local fabricators can constructively participate in the product design and delivery for sustainable community development at the BoP.
An Agent-Based Model for Adoption of Clean Technology Using the Theory of Planned Behavior
Authors: Pakravan Mohammad H. , MacCarty Nordica
Published: July 2020

Technology adoption in low-income regions is among the key challenges facing international development projects. Nearly 40% of the world's population relies on open fires and rudimentary cooking devices exacerbating health outcomes, deforestation, and climatic impacts of inefficient biomass burning. Clean technology alternatives such as clean cookstoves are among the most challenging technologies to approach their target goals through sustainable adoption due to a lack of systematic market-driven design for adoption. Thus, a method is needed to provide insight regarding how target customers evaluate and perceive causes for adopting a clean technology. The holistic approach of this study captures technology adoption through lenses of social networks, individual and society scale beliefs, and rational decision-making behavior. Based on the data collected in the Apac region in Northern Uganda, an agent-based model is developed to simulate emerging adoption behavior in a community. Then, four different scenarios investigate how adoption patterns change due to the potential changes in technology or intervention strategy. These scenarios include influence of stove malfunctions, price elasticity, information campaigns, and strength of a social network. Results suggest that higher adoption rates are achievable if designed technologies are more durable, information campaigns provide realistic expectations for users, policymakers, and education programs work toward women's empowerment, and communal social ties are recognized for influence maximization. The application of this study provides insight for technology designers, project implementers, and policymakers to update their practices for achieving sustainable and to the scale clean technology adoption rates.
Scalable Set-Based Design Optimization and Remanufacturing for Meeting Changing Requirements
Authors: Al Handawi Khalil , Andersson Petter , Panarotto Massimo , Isaksson Ola , Kokkolaras Michael
Published: July 2020

Design requirements are often uncertain in the early stages of product development. Set-based design is a paradigm for exploring, and keeping under consideration, several alternatives so that commitment to a single design can be delayed until requirements are settled. In addition, requirements may change over the lifetime of a component or a system. Novel manufacturing technologies may enable designs to be remanufactured to meet changed requirements. By considering this capability during the set-based design optimization process, solutions can be scaled to meet evolving requirements and customer specifications even after commitment. Such an ability can also support a circular economy paradigm based on the return of used or discarded components and systems to working condition. We propose a set-based design methodology to obtain scalable optimal solutions that can satisfy changing requirements through remanufacturing. We first use design optimization and surrogate modeling to obtain parametric optimal designs. This set of parametric optimal designs is then reduced to scalable optimal designs by observing a set of transition rules for the manufacturing process used (additive or subtractive). The methodology is demonstrated by means of a structural aeroengine component that is remanufactured by direct energy deposition of a stiffener to meet higher loading requirements.
Algorithm for Accumulating Part Mating Gaps to Evaluate Solid and Fluid Performances
Authors: Ni Jun , Liu Rui , Sun Yu
Published: July 2020

Part mating gaps need to be effectively adjusted during the assembly of products and greatly affect the working performance. This paper develops an algorithm to calculate the dimensional and aerodynamic indexes affected by part mating gaps. Mating gaps are expressed by displacements of one contact surface, and indexes are evaluated by displacements of key surface, when the surface is ready to compare with the other. A graph that denotes contacts as nodes and related paths through the physical domain as lines is proposed to express assembly sequences and hierarchies. A variable is defined to combine the time set with the displacement set. Boolean algebraic theorems are extended to derive a compact expression for the contact graph that supports the organization of accumulations at different surfaces with propagations through physical domains. Demonstrations of this method using three products exhibit the general applicability, and the application shows that the performance deviations of the centrifugal fan and axial turbine are apparent. In particular, the isentropic efficiency is good with a certain probability, despite turbines having mating gaps. The algorithm benefits both design and assembly: design can be performed through the fluid domain, which is affected by the mating gaps, and when the parts are being adjusted, the selected tolerance limit allows engineers to monitor key surfaces to ensure good aerodynamic performance.
A Statistical Design of Experiments Approach to Machine Learning Model Selection in Engineering Applications
Authors: Munger T. , Desa S.
Published: July 2020

An important but insufficiently addressed issue for machine learning in engineering applications is the task of model selection for new problems. Existing approaches to model selection generally focus on optimizing the learning algorithm and associated hyperparameters. However, in real-world engineering applications, the parameters that are external to the learning algorithm, such as feature engineering, can also have a significant impact on the performance of the model. These external parameters do not fit into most existing approaches for model selection and are therefore often studied ad hoc or not at all. In this article, we develop a statistical design of experiment (DOEs) approach to model selection based on the use of the Taguchi method. The key idea is that we use orthogonal arrays to plan a set of build-and-test experiments to study the external parameters in combination with the learning algorithm. The use of orthogonal arrays maximizes the information learned from each experiment and, therefore, enables the experimental space to be explored extremely efficiently in comparison with grid or random search methods. We demonstrated the application of the statistical DOE approach to a real-world model selection problem involving predicting service request escalation. Statistical DOE significantly reduced the number of experiments necessary to fully explore the external parameters for this problem and was able to successfully optimize the model with respect to the objective function of minimizing total cost in addition to the standard evaluation metrics such as accuracy, f-measure, and g-mean.
Variation in plutonium dioxide sputter yields for 1–5 keV Ar+ ions
Authors: Donald Scott B. , Stanford Jeff A. , Gollott Rory T. , Roberts David J. , Nelson Art J. , McLean W.
Published: July 2020

An oxide layer with a known thickness and chemistry was grown on delta stabilized Pu and sputtered with 1–5 keV Ar+ ions over a range of incident ion angle between 22° and 72°. From the time required to remove the oxide layer, sputter yields of PuO2 were calculated. The sputter yields appear to increase with higher Ar+ ion beam energy in the range of 1–5 keV at an incident sputter ion angle of 42° and were found to increase with a decreasing angle of incidence up to 62°. The degree of oxide reduction induced during the sputter process was found to vary with the incident sputter ion angle.
Infants' use of isolated and combined temporal cues in speech sound segregation
Authors: Oster Monika-Maria , Werner Lynne A.
Published: July 2020

This paper investigates infants' and adults' use of envelope cues and combined onset asynchrony and envelope cues in the segregation of concurrent vowels. Listeners heard superimposed vowel pairs consisting of two different vowels spoken by a male and a female talker and were trained to respond to one specific target vowel, either the male /u:/ or male /i:/. Vowel detection was measured in three conditions. In the baseline condition the two superimposed vowels had similar amplitude envelopes and synchronous onset. In the envelope cue condition, the amplitude envelopes of the two vowels differed. In the combined cue condition, both the onset time and amplitude envelopes of the two vowels differed. Seven-month-old infants' concurrent vowel segregation improved both with envelope and with combined onset asynchrony and envelope cues to the same extent as adults'. A preliminary investigation with 3-month-old infants suggested that neither envelope cues nor combined asynchrony and envelope cues improved their ability to detect the target vowel. Taken together, these results suggest that envelope and combined onset-asynchrony cues are available to infants as they attempt to process competing speech sounds, at least after 7 months of age.
Efficient two-microphone speech enhancement using basic recurrent neural network cell for hearing and hearing aids
Authors: Shankar Nikhil , Bhat Gautam Shreedhar , Panahi Issa M. S.
Published: July 2020

This work presents a two-microphone speech enhancement (SE) framework based on basic recurrent neural network (RNN) cell. The proposed method operates in real-time, improving the speech quality and intelligibility in noisy environments. The RNN model trained using a simple feature set—real and imaginary parts of the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) are computationally efficient with a minimal input-output processing delay. The proposed algorithm can be used in any stand-alone platform such as a smartphone using its two inbuilt microphones. The detailed operation of the real-time implementation on the smartphone is presented. The developed application works as an assistive tool for hearing aid devices (HADs). Speech quality and intelligibility test results are used to compare the proposed algorithm to existing conventional and neural network-based SE methods. Subjective and objective scores show the superior performance of the developed method over several conventional methods in different noise conditions and low signal to noise ratios (SNRs).
Does a pitch rating method converge on the frequencies within tonal stimuli?
Authors: Lentz Jennifer J.
Published: July 2020

This study determined how well the “perceived spectrum,” estimated using a pitch similarity rating method, reflected the spectrum and pitch of seven different tonal sounds. The perceived spectrum well-matched the acoustic spectrum for pure tones ranging from 1 to 12 kHz, it also matched the broad frequency range for two complex tones with periodicity pitches of 1 and 2 kHz, but it did not reflect the pitch of the complex tones. These results suggest that while this method may not measure the pitch of sounds, it may be useful for measuring the general perceived frequency range of sounds.
Mechanisms for Induction of Microbial Extracellular Proteases in Response to Exterior Proteins
Authors: Zhang Yu-Zhong , Zhang Wei-Xin , Chen Xiu-Lan
Published: July 2020

Proteins are a main organic nitrogen source for microorganisms. Many heterotrophic microorganisms secrete extracellular proteases (ex-proteases) to efficiently decompose proteins into oligopeptides and amino acids when exterior proteins are required for growth. These ex-proteases not only play important roles in microbial nutrient acquisition or host infection but also contribute greatly to the global recycling of carbon and nitrogen. Moreover, may microbial ex-proteases have important applications in industrial, medical, and biotechnological areas.
Antibody Binding and Complement-Mediated Killing of Invasive Haemophilus influenzae Isolates from Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands
Authors: Dudukina Elena , de Smit Laura , Verhagen Giel J. A. , van de Ende Arie , Marimón José María , Bajanca-Lavado Paula , Ardanuy Carmen , Marti Sara , de Jonge Marien I. , Langereis Jeroen D.
Published: July 2020

Haemophilus influenzae
is a Gram-negative bacterium that can be classified into typeable (types a through f) and nontypeable (NTHi) groups. This opportunistic pathogen asymptomatically colonizes the mucosal epithelium of the upper respiratory tract, from where it spreads to other neighboring regions, potentially leading to disease. Infection with NTHi can cause otitis media, sinusitis, conjunctivitis, exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia, but it is increasingly causing invasive disease, including bacteremia and meningitis.