bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
P‐15.3: Process Improvement for solving the highlight issues of flexible screen
Authors: Peng Xu , Zhanqi Xu , Wanru Dong , Yong-fei Li , Jian Yang , Heren Gui , Liuyue Yin , Haifeng Hu , Yu Jiang , Zhongzheng Yang
Published: February 2021

This article studied the influence factor of highlight issues that existed in trace area in the flexible displays. The reason of highlight issues was OC was corroded by etch agent due to poor OC chemical resistance. We solved the highlight issues by means of changing the OC material, optimizing the manufacturing process of OC film, cutting down the ITO etching time, and adding the ITO etching anneal process.
P‐15.4: Virtual reality gesture recognition based on depth information
Authors: Yu Xiaoyang , Jiang Lin , wang Lijun
Published: February 2021

With the rapid development of computer technology, the information revolution is constantly affecting and changing our lives. Today's virtual reality technology is no longer just a virtual model for viewing. Experiencers are more willing to personally interact with the virtual environment in a virtual scene to increase their sense of gaming experience.

Today's virtual reality interaction methods mainly interact through the handles that come with VR helmets. Previously, some scholars have researched gesture interaction in virtual environments. They use data gloves to obtain information about hand movements. This method makes users have to wear heavy data gloves, which limits the natural movement of their hands. To overcome this shortcoming, the need for low‐cost vision‐based virtual reality gesture interaction is becoming more and more urgent.

Traditional gesture recognition technologies based on artificial modeling include template‐based matching, data‐based gloves, and machine learning. As machine learning gesture classifiers, Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) [1] have been widely used. However, in the hand motion detection of ordinary cameras, the image is prone to speckles, lighting changes, and other factors, which seriously affects the performance of the classifier, making it difficult to accurately and efficiently detect the first image when the background is complex and the lighting is affected. In recent years, deep learning‐based object detection methods have achieved great breakthroughs [2]. In the past decade, many deep learning‐based dynamic gesture recognition algorithms have been introduced. In the case of changing lighting conditions, in order to improve the classification accuracy of gesture recognition [3]. Therefore, this article chooses a depth camera combined with HTC VIVE device for gesture recognition in virtual reality. First obtain the depth image of the hand through the depth camera, then label the depth image, and then learn through the deep learning network hand movement training [4], preprocess the detected human hand image, and recognize it by hand detection The position of the hand in the image is obtained, and the movement of the hand is recognized as a result of recognition.

The algorithm in this paper uses the advanced deep learning network YOLOv3, and changes the network structure and multiscale structure based on the original network. This algorithm is compared with other deep learning algorithms for gesture recognition, and the recognition effect is better than other algorithms in the same category.
1.1: Invited Paper: High Mobility Self‐Aligned Coplanar and BCE IGTO Semiconductor TFTs for Future Applications
Authors: Seo Hyun-Sik , Wu Weihua , Li GongTan , Xiao Jun Cheng , Wu Yuan-Chun , Zhao Bin , ZHANG Xin , Yan Xiaolin
Published: February 2021

Self‐aligned coplanar structure and back channel etched (BCE) structure have been developed using InGaSnO (IGTO) active layer. The mobility of IGTO TFT is around 25 cm2V−1s−1 for both TFT structures. The 31 inch 4K2K (144ppi) top emission IJP AMOLED driven by self‐aligned coplanar IGTO TFTs and 10.7 inch 120 × 120 (× RGB) mini‐LED display driven by BCE IGTO TFTs are fabricated to verify IGTO TFT's characteristics. High mobility IGTO TFTs have been developed for future applications such as high resolution and narrow bezel OLED displays and micro‐LED displays.
Stretchable Energy Storage Devices Based on Carbon Materials
Authors: Li Luhe , Wang Lie , Ye Tingting , Peng Huisheng , Zhang Ye
Published: February 2021

Stretchable energy storage devices are essential for developing stretchable electronics and have thus attracted extensive attention in a variety of fields including wearable devices and bioelectronics. Carbon materials, e.g., carbon nanotube and graphene, are widely investigated as electrode materials for energy storage devices due to their large specific surface areas and combined remarkable electrical and electrochemical properties. They can also be effectively composited with many other functional materials or designed into different microstructures for fabricating stretchable energy storage devices. This review summarizes recent advances toward the development of carbon‐material‐based stretchable energy storage devices. An overview of common carbon materials’ fundamental properties and general strategies to enable the stretchability of carbon‐material‐based electrodes are presented. The performances of the as‐fabricated stretchable energy storage devices including supercapacitors, lithium‐ion batteries, metal–air batteries, and other batteries are then carefully discussed. Challenges and perspectives in this emerging field are finally highlighted for future studies.
QQ-system and Weyl-type transfer matrices in integrable SO(2r) spin chains
Authors: Ferrando Gwenaël , Frassek Rouven , Kazakov Vladimir
Published: February 2021

Abstract

We propose the full system of Baxter Q-functions (QQ-system) for the integrable spin chains with the symmetry of the Dr Lie algebra. We use this QQ-system to derive new Weyl-type formulas expressing transfer matrices in all symmetric and antisymmetric (fundamental) representations through r + 1 basic Q-functions. Our functional relations are consistent with the Q-operators proposed recently by one of the authors and verified explicitly on the level of operators at small finite length.
High-order conservative formulation of viscous terms for variable viscosity flows
Authors: De Vanna Francesco , Benato Alberto , Picano Francesco , Benini Ernesto
Published: February 2021

The work presents a general strategy to design high-order conservative co-located finite-difference approximations of viscous/diffusion terms for flows featuring extreme variations of diffusive properties. The proposed scheme becomes equivalent to central finite-difference derivatives with corresponding order in the case of uniform flow properties, while in variable viscosity/diffusion conditions it grants a strong preservation and a proper telescoping of viscous/diffusion terms. Presented tests show that standard co-located discretisation of the viscous terms is not able to describe the flow when the viscosity field experiences substantial variations, while the proposed method always reproduces the correct behaviour. Thus, the process is recommended for such flows whose viscosity field highly varies, in both laminar and turbulent conditions, relying on a more robust approximation of diffuse terms in any situation. Hence, the proposed discretisation should be used in all these cases and, for example, in large eddy simulations of turbulent wall flows where the eddy viscosity abruptly changes in the near-wall region.
Genetic Correlates of Psychological Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Young Adult Twins in Great Britain
Authors: Rimfeld Kaili , Malanchini Margherita , Allegrini Andrea G. , Packer Amy E. , McMillan Andrew , Ogden Rachel , Webster Louise , Shakeshaft Nicholas G. , Schofield Kerry L. , Pingault Jean-Baptiste , Stringaris Argyris , von Stumm Sophie , Plomin Robert
Published: February 2021

We investigated how the COVID-19 crisis and the extraordinary experience of lockdown affected young adults in England and Wales psychologically. One month after lockdown commenced (T2), we assessed 30 psychological and behavioural traits in more than 4000 twins in their mid-twenties and compared their responses to the same traits assessed in 2018 (T1). Mean changes from T1 to T2 were modest and inconsistent. Contrary to the hypothesis that major environmental changes related to COVID-19 would result in increased variance in psychological and behavioural traits, we found that the magnitude of individual differences did not change from T1 to T2. Twin analyses revealed that while genetic factors accounted for about half of the reliable variance at T1 and T2, they only accounted for ~ 15% of individual differences in change from T1 to T2, and that nonshared environmental factors played a major role in psychological and behavioural changes. Shared environmental influences had negligible impact on T1, T2 or T2 change. Genetic factors correlated on average .86 between T1 and T2 and accounted for over half of the phenotypic stability, as would be expected for a 2-year interval even without the major disruption of lockdown. We conclude that the first month of lockdown has not resulted in major psychological or attitudinal shifts in young adults, nor in major changes in the genetic and environmental origins of these traits. Genetic influences on the modest psychological and behavioural changes are likely to be the result of gene–environment correlation not interaction.
Systematic Variation in Waste Site Effects on Residential Property Values: A Meta-Regression Analysis and Benefit Transfer
Authors: Schütt Marvin
Published: February 2021

This article presents a meta-analysis based on 727 estimates from 83 hedonic pricing studies to provide new insights on the effects of waste sites on residential property values. Relative to previous meta-analyses on this subject, estimates are corrected for publication bias and the ability of the meta-regression model to produce reliable benefit-transfer estimates is assessed. Proximity to severely contaminated waste sites has a supremely negative impact on residential property values, whereas on average the distance from non-hazardous waste sites has no effect. Correcting for publication bias has a sizeable impact, reducing the average effect size by up to 38%. Benefit-transfer errors based on the meta-regression model are fairly large and, in line with the broader literature, outperform simple value transfer when the underlying data sample is heterogeneous.
Finite Strain Modelling for Multiphase Flow in Dual Scale Porous Media During Resin Infusion Process
Authors: Huang Ruoyu
Published: February 2021

Resin infusion is a pressure-gradient-driven composite manufacturing process in which the liquid resin is driven to flow through and fill in the void space of a porous composite preform prior to the heat treatment for resin solidification. It usually is a great challenge to design both the infusion system and the infusion process meeting the manufacturing requirements, especially for large-scale components of aircraft and wind turbine blades. Aiming at addressing the key concerns about flow fronts and air bubble entrapment, the present study proposes a modelling framework of the multiphase flow of resin and air in a dual scale porous medium, i.e. a composite preform. A finite strain formulation is discussed for the fluid–solid interaction during an infusion process. The present study bridges the gap between the microscopic observation and the macroscopic modelling by using the averaging method and first principle method, which sheds new light on the high-fidelity finite element modelling.
Femtosecond laser-assisted implantation of corneal stroma lenticule for keratoconus
Authors: Fasolo Adriano , Galzignato Alice , Pedrotti Emilio , Chierego Chiara , Cozzini Tiziano , Bonacci Erika , Marchini Giorgio
Published: February 2021

Purpose

To review recent progress, challenges, and future perspectives of stromal keratophakia for the treatment of advanced keratoconus.

Methods

We systematically reviewed the literature in the PubMed database, last update June 30, 2020. No language restriction was applied. The authors checked the reference lists of the retrieved articles to identify any additional study of interest.

Results

Several techniques have been proposed for the treatment of keratoconus in order to avoid or delay keratoplasty. This was primarily due to the lack of accessibility to donor corneas in many countries. The ease and predictability of the more advanced femtosecond lasers used to correct ametropias by stromal lenticule extraction lead to hypothesize that generated refractive lenticules could be implanted into corneal stromal layers to restore volume and alter the refractive properties of the cornea in patients with corneal ectasias. At the same time, new techniques for preservation, customization, and cellular therapy of the corneal stromal have been developed, directing to the valorization of otherwise discarded byproducts such as donor corneas unsuitable for either lamellar of penetrating keratoplasty.

Conclusions

Femtosecond laser-assisted stromal keratophakia could be a suitable therapeutic option for the treatment of corneal ectasias, especially in patients with advanced keratoconus, providing biomechanical support recovering the pachimetry to nearly normal value at the same time. The accuracy and predictability of the refractive outcome are yet a critical issue and the patient eligible for the procedure still has to be characterized.
Who Reports What? A Comparison of Child and Caregivers´ Reports of Child Trauma Exposure and Associations to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Functional Impairment in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinics
Authors: Skar Ane-Marthe Solheim , Jensen Tine K. , Harpviken Anna Naterstad
Published: February 2021

Identifying trauma-related symptoms is important for treatment planning at child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), and routine trauma screening may be a first step to ensure appropriate treatment. Studies with community samples have found modest agreement between children’s and caregivers´ report of exposure to potentially traumatizing events (PTEs). However, studies from clinical populations are scarce and the evidence base for screening recommendations is insufficient. The current study explores child and caregiver agreement on the child’s exposure to PTEs and its relationship with the child’s post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and functional impairment. The sample consist of 6653 caregiver-child dyads referred to Norwegian CAMHS between 2012–2017. The children were 6 to 18 years of age (M = 12.03, SD = 3.14) and 47% were boys and 45% were girls (8% missing). Children reported significantly more exposure to accidents or illness, community violence, and sexual abuse than their caregiver, but there were no differences for reports of domestic violence. Kappa results were fair to moderate, with the highest agreement rate for reports of sexual abuse, followed by domestic violence, community violence, and lowest agreement for accidents or illnesses. There were higher agreement rates among caregivers and older children, and caregivers and girls. In general, the child had higher PTSS and functional impairment scores when child exposure to PTEs were reported by both the caregiver and the child. Both children and caregivers should be included in trauma screening procedures at CAMHS to collect a more complete picture of the child’s experiences and treatment needs.
Textile-based cyanobacteria biocomposites for potential environmental remediation applications
Authors: Hart Rachel , In-na Pichaya , Kapralov Maxim V. , Lee Jonathan G.M. , Caldwell Gary S.
Published: February 2021

Microalgae and cyanobacteria are effective platforms for environmental remediation (phycoremediation), particularly of air and water. There is limited scope to deploy suspension cultures due to space, cost and maintenance challenges—driving an imperative towards biofilm-based treatment systems; however, these systems are ill-equipped for rapid and mobile deployment. In this study we explored the main technical challenges to developing cheap, accessible and low-maintenance engineered biofilm systems (biocomposites) comprising cyanobacteria (Synechococcus elongatus) immobilised to a range of textiles (n = 4) by natural or synthetic latex binders (n = 16), chitosan or shellac. Biocomposite viability (measured as net CO2 uptake) was assessed over 20 days in semi-batch trials. No maintenance was required during this period as the humidity within the reactor was sufficient to support metabolism. Two commercial natural latex binders (AURO 320 and 321) supported strong growth within the biocomposite, outperforming suspension controls. There was variation in textiles performance, with an 80/20 polyester-cotton blend performing most consistently. Biocomposite formulation was varied in terms of binder solids content and cell loading rate, with 5% solids and 2.5% cell loading the most effective combination. We demonstrate the technical feasibility of fabricating functional textile-based cyanobacteria biocomposites and discuss this within the context of developing decentralised wastewater treatment services.
Determining elastic anisotropy of textured polycrystals using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy
Authors: Evans Jordan A. , Sturtevant Blake T. , Clausen Bjørn , Vogel Sven C. , Balakirev Fedor F. , Betts Jonathan B. , Capolungo Laurent , Lebensohn Ricardo A. , Maiorov Boris
Published: February 2021

Polycrystalline materials can have complex anisotropic properties depending on their crystallographic texture and crystal structure. In this study, we use resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) to nondestructively quantify the elastic anisotropy in extruded aluminum alloy 1100-O, an inherently low-anisotropy material. Further, we show that RUS can be used to indirectly provide a description of the material’s texture, which in the present case is found to be transversely isotropic. By determining the entire elastic tensor, we can identify the level and orientation of the anisotropy originated during extrusion. The relative anisotropy of the compressive (c11/c33) and shear (c44/c66) elastic constants is 1.5% ± 0.5% and 5.7% ± 0.5%, respectively, where the elastic constants (five independent elastic constants for transversely isotropic) are those associated with the extrusion axis that defines the symmetry of the texture. These results indicate that the texture is expected to have transversely isotropic symmetry. This finding is confirmed by two additional approaches. First, we confirm elastic constants and the degree of elastic anisotropy by direct sound velocity measurements using ultrasonic pulse echo. Second, neutron diffraction (ND) data confirm the symmetry of the bulk texture consistent with extrusion-induced anisotropy, and polycrystal elasticity simulations using the elastic self-consistent model with input from ND textures and aluminum single-crystal elastic constants render similar levels of polycrystal elastic anisotropy to those measured by RUS. We demonstrate the ability of RUS to detect texture-induced anisotropy in inherently low-anisotropy materials. Therefore, as many other common materials have intrinsically higher elastic anisotropy, this technique should be applicable for similar levels of texture, providing an efficient general diagnostic and characterization tool.
A literature review of open-ended concept maps as a research instrument to study knowledge and learning
Authors: de Ries Kirsten E. , Schaap Harmen , van Loon Anne-Marieke M. J. A. P. , Kral Marijke M. H. , Meijer Paulien C.
Published: February 2021

In educational, social or organizational studies, open-ended concept maps are used as an instrument to collect data about and analyze individuals’ conceptual knowledge. Open-ended concept map studies devoted to knowledge and learning apply a variety of methods of analysis. This literature review systematically summarizes the various ways in which open-ended concept maps have been applied in previous studies of knowledge and learning. This paper describes three major aspects of these studies: what methods of analysis were used, what concept map characteristics were considered, and what conclusions about individuals’ knowledge or understanding were drawn. Twenty-five studies that used open-ended concept maps as a research instrument were found eligible for inclusion. In addition, the paper examines associations between the three aspects of the studies and provides guidelines for methodological coherence in the process of such analysis. This review underscores the importance of expatiating on choices made concerning these aspects. The transparency provided by this method of working will contribute to the imitable application of open-ended concept maps as a research tool and foster more informed choices in future open-ended concept map studies.”
The independence of (in)coherence
Authors: Lee Wooram
Published: February 2021

On an increasingly popular view of rationality, rationality is fundamentally about responding correctly to reasons and there is no independent rational requirement to avoid incoherence: having an incoherent combination of attitudes is irrational not because there is a fundamental requirement of rationality that prohibits it, but rather because you are guaranteed to fail to respond correctly to reasons in having it. This paper argues that any such attempt to explain the irrationality of incoherence in terms of responsiveness to reasons fails. For there is something distinctively irrational about incoherence that is not explained in terms of the guaranteed failure to respond to reasons. Any adequate account of the nature of coherence requirements on belief and intention should take into account the distinctive kind of commitments involved in each type of attitude.
More than Meets the Eye: Understanding Perceptions of China Beyond the Favorable–Unfavorable Dichotomy
Authors: Li Xiaojun
Published: February 2021

How is China viewed by citizens of other countries? Popular polling data based on the feeling thermometer scale can reveal overall patterns of public sentiment toward China, but they do not necessarily capture the multidimensional preferences of the public. This article takes a deeper dive into a series of surveys conducted in Canada that covered a wide range of topics, from trade and investment to international leadership. Two broad conclusions follow. First, public perceptions of China are much more nuanced and conflicted than can be quickly gleaned from the simple dichotomy of “favorable versus unfavorable,” especially as one moves from overall impressions to more specific policy issues. Second, misperceptions of China are widespread and may be difficult to overcome, especially among those who already view China negatively. At a time when countries around the world are grappling with the rise of China and its expanding global footprint, failure to account for these features in public opinion about China may lead to misguided policies.
seMLP: Self-evolving Multi-layer Perceptron in Stock Trading Decision Making
Authors: Jun Seow Wen , Sekh Arif Ahmed , Quek Chai , Prasad Dilip K.
Published: February 2021

There is a growing interest in automatic crafting of neural network architectures as opposed to expert tuning to find the best architecture. On the other hand, the problem of stock trading is considered one of the most dynamic systems that heavily depends on complex trends of the individual company. This paper proposes a novel self-evolving neural network system called self-evolving Multi-Layer Perceptron (seMLP) which can abstract the data and produce an optimum neural network architecture without expert tuning. seMLP incorporates the human cognitive ability of concept abstraction into the architecture of the neural network. Genetic algorithm (GA) is used to determine the best neural network architecture that is capable of knowledge abstraction of the data. After determining the architecture of the neural network with the minimum width, seMLP prunes the network to remove the redundant neurons in the network, thus decreasing the density of the network and achieving conciseness. seMLP is evaluated on three stock market data sets. The optimized models obtained from seMLP are compared and benchmarked against state-of-the-art methods. The results show that seMLP can automatically choose best performing models.
Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Internet of Things (IoT) cybersecurity
Authors: Kuzlu Murat , Fair Corinne , Guler Ozgur
Published: February 2021

In recent years, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) has increased exponentially, and cybersecurity concerns have increased along with it. On the cutting edge of cybersecurity is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is used for the development of complex algorithms to protect networks and systems, including IoT systems. However, cyber-attackers have figured out how to exploit AI and have even begun to use adversarial AI in order to carry out cybersecurity attacks. This review paper compiles information from several other surveys and research papers regarding IoT, AI, and attacks with and against AI and explores the relationship between these three topics with the purpose of comprehensively presenting and summarizing relevant literature in these fields.
“Chatty Devices” and edge-based activity classification
Authors: Lakoju Mike , Javed Amir , Rana Omer , Burnap Pete , Atiba Samuelson T. , Cherkaoui Soumaya
Published: February 2021

With increasing automation of manufacturing processes (focusing on technologies such as robotics and human-robot interaction), there is a realisation that the manufacturing process and the artefacts/products it produces can be better connected post-production. Built on this requirement, a “chatty" factory involves creating products which are able to send data back to the manufacturing/production environment as they are used, whilst still ensuring user privacy. The intended use of a product during design phase may different significantly from actual usage. Understanding how this data can be used to support continuous product refinement, and how the manufacturing process can be dynamically adapted based on the availability of this data provides a number of opportunities. We describe how data collected on product use can be used to: (i) classify product use; (ii) associate a label with product use using unsupervised learning—making use of edge-based analytics; (iii) transmission of this data to a cloud environment where labels can be compared across different products of the same type. Federated learning strategies are used on edge devices to ensure that any data captured from a product can be analysed locally (ensuring data privacy).
Monks, laity and the prospect of self-sufficiency: Souflar Metochi of Vatopedi Monastery
Authors: Bouroutis Andreas
Published: February 2021

Over time, the monasteries of Mount Athos became owners of great estates in the Balkan Peninsula. These metochia contributed significantly to the monasteries’ resilience. Vatopedi acquired the Souflar çiftlik in 1907 in order to pursue its goals of self-sufficiency and sustainability. The article reveals important details about the operation of Souflar Metochi and its impact on the local and the monastic economy. The detailed procedures followed by the monks appointed to manage it are a valuable source of information concerning the agricultural methods employed, the weights and measures used and the forms of labour relations of the local population.
Rural–urban differences in antibiotic prescribing for uncomplicated urinary tract infection
Authors: Clark Abbye W. , Durkin Michael J. , Olsen Margaret A. , Keller Matthew , Ma Yinjiao , O’Neil Caroline A. , Butler Anne M.
Published: February 2021

Objective:

To examine rural–urban differences in temporal trends and risk of inappropriate antibiotic use by agent and duration among women with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI).

Design:

Observational cohort study.

Methods:

Using the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database (2010–2015), we identified US commercially insured women aged 18–44 years coded for uncomplicated UTI and prescribed an oral antibiotic agent. We classified antibiotic agents and durations as appropriate versus inappropriate based on clinical guidelines. Rural–urban status was defined by residence in a metropolitan statistical area. We used modified Poisson regression to determine the association between rural–urban status and inappropriate antibiotic receipt, accounting for patient- and provider-level characteristics. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate trends in antibiotic use by rural–urban status.

Results:

Of 670,450 women with uncomplicated UTI, a large proportion received antibiotic prescriptions for inappropriate agents (46.7%) or durations (76.1%). Compared to urban women, rural women were more likely to receive prescriptions with inappropriately long durations (adjusted risk ratio 1.10, 95% CI, 1.10–1.10), which was consistent across subgroups. From 2011 to 2015, there was slight decline in the quarterly proportion of patients who received inappropriate agents (48.5% to 43.7%) and durations (78.3% to 73.4%). Rural–urban differences varied over time by agent (duration outcome only), geographic region, and provider specialty.

Conclusions:

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is quite common for the treatment of uncomplicated UTI. Rural women are more likely to receive inappropriately long antibiotic durations. Antimicrobial stewardship interventions are needed to improve outpatient UTI antibiotic prescribing and to reduce unnecessary exposure to antibiotics, particularly in rural settings.
TOOL OR LENS? WORLDVIEW THEORY AND CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE LEGAL ACTIVISM
Authors: Whitehead Jason E.
Published: February 2021

This article combines historical and philosophical analysis to examine and critique the ideas motivating Christian conservative legal activism. Such activists routinely claim to be motivated by a Christian worldview, which they define as a comprehensive explanation of reality that determines all their thinking and action, including their legal activism and argumentation. Examination of the historical and philosophical roots of the concept of worldview identified by Christian thinkers reveals two understandings of the concept: an analytic tool for rationally comparing the evidence for different social philosophies, and a pre-theoretical lens that determines what counts as evidence in the first place. Christian conservatives have largely favored the first sense of worldview as a tool to understand issues like sexuality and gender identity in an essentialist way and to demonstrate with foundationalist logic the rational superiority of their legal conclusions about these issues. However, a comparison of the Christian conservative worldview and the queer theory worldview illustrates how this understanding of worldview as a tool fails because there is no neutral perspective outside of any worldview, from which one could examine and compare one to another. The idea of worldview as a pre-theoretical, historically, and socially contingent lens can be more productive. Embracing this notion of worldview in a personalist way is necessary to build a culture of dialogue that uses narrative to pursue the truth while also respecting and honoring the different perspectives from which these narratives are told.
A self-adaptive two-parameter method for characterizing roughness of multi-scale subglacial topography
Authors: Lang Shinan , Xu Ben , Cui Xiangbin , Luo Kun , Guo Jingxue , Tang Xueyuan , Cai Yiheng , Sun Bo , Siegert Martin J.
Published: February 2021

During the last few decades, bed-elevation profiles from radar sounders have been used to quantify bed roughness. Various methods have been employed, such as the ‘two-parameter’ technique that considers vertical and slope irregularities in topography, but they struggle to incorporate roughness at multiple spatial scales leading to a breakdown in their depiction of bed roughness where the relief is most complex. In this article, we describe a new algorithm, analogous to wavelet transformations, to quantify the bed roughness at multiple scales. The ‘Self-Adaptive Two-Parameter’ system calculates the roughness of a bed profile using a frequency-domain method, allowing the extraction of three characteristic factors: (1) slope, (2) skewness and (3) coefficient of variation. The multi-scale roughness is derived by weighted-summing of these frequency-related factors. We use idealized bed elevations to initially validate the algorithm, and then actual bed-elevation data are used to compare the new roughness index with other methods. We show the new technique is an effective tool for quantifying bed roughness from radar data, paving the way for improved continental-wide depictions of bed roughness and incorporation of this information into ice flow models.
The Soldier Ghaut Petroglyphs on Montserrat, Lesser Antilles
Authors: Cherry John F. , Ryzewski Krysta , Guimarães Susana , Stouvenot Christian , Francis Sarita
Published: February 2021

Only five years ago, Montserrat was a blank spot on the distribution map of islands in the Lesser Antilles where petroglyphs were known. In January 2016, hikers in Soldier Ghaut, a deeply incised watercourse in the northwest of the island, came upon a panel of nine petroglyphs engraved on a nearly vertical wall of volcanoclastic tuff. Soon afterward the petroglyphs were documented by the Survey and Landscape Archaeology on Montserrat project (SLAM). Then in January 2018 an additional petroglyph was spotted on a large slab of rock, detached from the rock wall on the opposite side of the ghaut. At the invitation of the Montserrat National Trust (MNT) and with European Union funding, Susana Guimarães and Christian Stouvenot traveled to Montserrat in 2018 to assist in further studies at the site. They conducted photogrammetric documentation and photography under enhanced lighting conditions and inspected the petroglyphs and their context in detail in order to advise MNT about their conservation and provisions for public access. This report presents this new group of petroglyphs and their landscape setting and considers questions of dating and interpretation.
Origins: Colonies and Statistics
Authors: Arneil Barbara
Published: February 2021

In this address, I examine the lexical, geographic, temporal and philosophical origins of two key concepts in modern political thought: colonies and statistics. Beginning with the Latin word colonia, I argue that the modern ideology of settler colonialism is anchored in the claim of “improvement” of both people and land via agrarian labour in John Locke's labour theory of property in seventeenth-century America, through which he sought to provide an ideological justification for both the assimilation and dispossession of Indigenous peoples. This same ideology of colonialism was turned inward a century later by Sir John Sinclair to justify domestic colonies on “waste” land in Scotland—specifically Caithness (the county within which my own grandparents were tenant farmers). Domestic colonialism understood as “improvement” of people (the “idle” poor and mentally ill and disabled) through engagement in agrarian labour on waste land inside explicitly named colonies within the borders of one's own country was first championed not only by Sinclair but also his famous correspondent, Jeremy Bentham, in England. Sinclair simultaneously coined the word statistics and was the first to use it in the English language. He defined it as the scientific gathering of mass survey data to shape state policies. Bentham embraced statistics as well. In both cases, statistics were developed and deployed to support their domestic colony schemes by creating a benchmark and roadmap for the improvement of people and land as well as a tool to measure the colony's capacity to achieve both over time. I conclude that settler colonialism along with the intertwined origins of domestic colonies and statistics have important implications for the study of political science in Canada, the history of colonialism as distinct from imperialism in modern political thought and the role played by intersecting colonialisms in the Canadian polity.
Phylogenetic genotyping, virulence genes and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli isolates from cases of bovine mastitis
Authors: Aslam Nashmil , Khan Saeed-Ul-Hassan , Usman Tahir , Ali Tariq
Published: February 2021

The study described in this research communication used phylogenetic genotyping to identify virulence genes and antimicrobial susceptibility in Escherichia coli recovered from cases of bovine mastitis. From 385 mastitic milk samples, 30 (7.8%) isolates were confirmed as E. coli. Most isolates (80%) belonged to phylo-group A. These 30 E. coli isolates were also screened for 11 different virulence genes. The majority of isolates (63%) harbored no virulence gene. Only 11 (37%) isolates tested positive for two virulence genes, either the iron uptake gene iucD in 3 (10%) isolates or the serum resistance gene traT in 2 (7%) isolates or both traT and iucD in 6 (20%) isolates. The E. coli isolates showed highest susceptibility to gentamicin, meropenem, and pipracillin. Most isolates were resistant to ampicillin, cefotaxime and streptomycin. This study suggests that mastitis causing E. coli might originate from commensal bacteria and that the presence of these virulence genes, common in extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains could be attributed to high genetic variability of mastitis-causing E. coli.
Risk of disease transmission from flexible nasoendoscopy during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
Authors: Kavanagh F G , Connolly C , Farrell E , Callanan D , Brinkman D , Affendi A , Lang E , Sheahan P
Published: February 2021

Background

Concerns have emerged regarding infection transmission during flexible nasoendoscopy.

Methods

Information was gathered prospectively on flexible nasoendoscopy procedures performed between March and June 2020. Patients and healthcare workers were followed up to assess for coronavirus disease 2019 development. One-sided 97.5 per cent Poisson confidence intervals were calculated for upper limits of risk where zero events were observed.

Results

A total of 286 patients were recruited. The most common indication for flexible nasoendoscopy was investigation of ‘red flag’ symptoms (67 per cent). Forty-seven patients (16 per cent, 95 per cent confidence interval = 13–21 per cent) had suspicious findings on flexible nasoendoscopy requiring further investigation. Twenty patients (7.1 per cent, 95 per cent confidence interval = 4.4–11 per cent) had new cancer diagnoses. Zero coronavirus disease 2019 infections were recorded in the 273 patients. No. 27 endoscopists (the doctors and nurses who carried out the procedures) were followed up.The risk of developing coronavirus disease 2019 after flexible nasoendoscopy was determined to be 0–1.3 per cent.

Conclusion

The risk of coronavirus disease 2019 transmission associated with performing flexible nasoendoscopy in asymptomatic patients, while using appropriate personal protective equipment, is very low. Additional data are required to confirm these findings in the setting of further disease surges.
Association between the glyco-metabolic adverse effects of antipsychotic drugs and their chemical and pharmacological profile: a network meta-analysis and regression
Authors: Carnovale Carla , Lucenteforte Ersilia , Battini Vera , Mazhar Faizan , Fornili Marco , Invernizzi Elena , Mosini Giulia , Gringeri Michele , Capuano Annalisa , Scavone Cristina , Nobile Maria , Vantaggiato Chiara , Pisano Simone , Bravaccio Carmela , Radice Sonia , Clementi Emilio , Pozzi Marco
Published: February 2021

Background

Glyco-metabolic deteriorations are the most limiting adverse reactions to antipsychotics in the long term. They have been incompletely investigated and the properties of antipsychotics that determine their magnitude are not clarified.

To rank antipsychotics by the magnitude of glyco-metabolic alterations and to associate it to their pharmacological and chemical properties, we conducted a network meta-analysis.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Embase, and Psycinfo on 10 September 2020. We selected studies containing the endpoint-baseline difference or the distinct values of at least one outcome among glucose, HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, total/HDL/LDL cholesterols. Of 2094 articles, 46 were included in network meta-analysis. Study quality was assessed by the RoB 2 and ROBINS-I tools. Mean differences (MD) were obtained by random-effects network meta-analysis; relations between MD and antipsychotic properties were analyzed by linear regressions. Antipsychotic properties investigated were acidic and basic pKa, polar surface area, polarizability, and occupancies of D2, H1, M1, M3, α1A, α2A, 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C receptors.

Results

We meta-analyzed 46 studies (11 464 patients); on average, studies lasted 15.47 weeks, patients had between 17.68 and 61.06 years of mean age and 61.64% were males. Olanzapine and clozapine associated with greater deteriorations, aripiprazole and ziprasidone with smaller deteriorations. Higher polarizability and 5-HT1A receptor occupancy were associated with smaller deteriorations, H1, M1, and M3 receptor occupancies with larger deteriorations.

Conclusions

Drug rankings may guide antipsychotic switching toward metabolically safer drugs. Mechanistic insights may suggest improvements for combination therapies and drug development. More data are required regarding newer antipsychotics.
Removing Some Impediments to Development of America's Third- and Fourth-Generation Health Care Delivery Systems: Legal Aspects of Computer Medicine
Authors: Norris John A. , Szabo David S.
Published: February 2021

In this full-length Foreword, John Norris and David Szabo discuss the trend towards the development of substantially integrated and automated multi-institutional health care delivery systems. The authors then address the legal, economic, and policy implications of regulating medical computer systems. They conclude by noting that the rational allocation of costs and risks is a necessary step in developing new systems for health care delivery.
Liability of Manufacturers and Providers of Health Related Goods and Services: Confronting the Dilemma
Authors: Cooper Theodore
Published: February 2021

In this Article, Theodore Cooper, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health at HEW, contends that the crush of lawsuits brought by aggrieved health care consumers against medical professionals and institutions, and drug and medical equipment manufacturers, may be the result, in large part, of a widely held impression—often encouraged by members of the health professions and industries themselves—that medicine has unlimited powers to heal. Dr. Cooper suggests that those involved in providing health care services and products—and members of the legal profession—have a responsibility to inform the public that this expectation is unrealistic and that everyone suffers when the number of such lawsuits and the size of damage awards are excessive.
Structural Codes and Patient Safety: Does Strict Compliance Make Sense?
Authors: Feeley Rich , Walsh Diana Chapman , Fielding Jonathan E.
Published: February 2021

The authors of this Comment note recent trends rigidifying the enforcement of building and safety codes for health care facilities and compare the estimated costs (in terms of dollars spent) of those trends with their anticipated benefits (in terms of potential years of human life saved). They estimate that for each potential year of life saved, strict enforcement of the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association would cost $12.7 to $63.5 million for hospitals and $1.1 to $2.6 million for nursing homes, the latter figure based on Massachusetts's experience. These figures are contrasted to the cost of routine kidney dialysis, which is generally acknowledged to be an extremely expensive technology, costing approximately $20,000 per potential year of life saved. The authors suggest that even if strict enforcement of the Code were fully effective (which, given the current structure of the Code, seems doubtful), a portion of the substantial financial resources expended from our limited national health care budget in hewing to the letter of the Code might be better spent on other activities with greater potential yield in improving the quality of life for patients in hospitals and nursing homes.
Cost Containment in the Health Care Field and the Antitrust Laws
Authors: Shapiro David I.
Published: February 2021

The Supreme Court of the United States and other courts currently are considering the question of the extent to which the health care field should be subject to antitrust rules. This Article explores the special characteristics of the health care field, and the problems they create for antitrust analysis. Two current cases—Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society (awaiting decision by the Supreme Court) and Kartell v. Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. (pending in the District of Massachusetts)—illustrate the issues raised by efforts to contain health care costs through the setting of maximum fees. This Article suggests that traditional antitrust principles should and will prevail over arguments that such restraints are in the public interest.
Cumulative Injury or Disease Claims: An Attempt to Define Employers’ Liability for Workers’ Compensation
Authors: LaDou Joseph , Mulryan Lawrence E. , McCarthy Kevin J.
Published: February 2021

The workers’ compensation systems of several states have been expanded in recent years to include injuries and diseases caused by cumulative injury and occupational stress. This expansion has placed a financial burden on the respective systems, on employers, and on consumers, who ultimately must pay the cost of claims through higher priced products or services. This expansion may not be justified from a social perspective, however; extant medical and sociological evidence is not conclusive as to whether occupational-stress injuries or diseases—such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and neuropsychiatric illness—are the direct result of stressful work environments. Using the California workers” compensation system as a model, the authors submit that the underlying premises of liability governing the expanded systems should be reassessed based (1) on economic factors, specifically, the increasing costs of workers’ compensation; (2) on the capacity of the system to process an ever-increasing number of claims; and (3) on the principle on which workers’ compensation systems were established, that of equity between the employer and the employee.

On the basis of these three factors, the authors evaluate three legislative approaches to restructuring the expanded system: presumption of compensability, apportionment of liability, and threshold of compensability. The first recognizes that although certain health problems are related to the workplace, the degree of causation is difficult to prove; under this approach, therefore, causation is presumed, and injury compensated, for all diseases and injuries that the system defines as work-related. The second holds that where a causal relationship between the work and the injury can be proved, the employer nevertheless should be responsible only for that portion of the disability actually caused by the workplace. The third directs that the injured employee be compensated only when a direct causal link between the job and the injury or disease can be proved. The authors recommend that legislators implement this third alternative. For one reason, it is feasible economically; for a second, it would not burden the system or increase litigation; for a third, it is equitable to both employees and employers.