bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Image and video-based crime prediction using object detection and deep learning
Authors: Boukabous Mohammed , Azizi Mostafa
Published: January 2023

In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for image and video-based crime detection has gained significant attention from law enforcement agencies and security experts. Indeed, deep learning (DL) models can learn complex patterns from data and help law enforcement agencies save time and resources by automatically identifying and tracking potential criminals. This contributes to make deep investigations and better steer their targets’ searches. Among others, handheld firearms and bladed weapons are the most frequent objects encountered at crime scenes. In this paper, we propose a DL-based surveillance system that can detect the presence of tracked objects, such as handheld firearms and bladed weapons, as well as may proceed to alert authorities regarding eventual threats before an incident occurs. After making a comparison of different DL-based object detection techniques, such as you only look once (YOLO), single shot multibox detector (SSD), or faster region-based convolutional neural networks (R-CNN), YOLO achieves the optimal balance of mean average precision (mAP) and inference speed for real-time prediction. Thus, we retain YOLOv5 for the implementation of our solution.
Evaluation of feature scaling for improving the performance of supervised learning methods
Authors: Assegie Tsehay Admassu , Elanangai Vadivel , Paulraj Josephin Shermila , Velmurugan Mani , Devesan Daya Florance
Published: January 2023

This article evaluates the performance of the support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT), and random forest (RF) on the dataset that contains the medical records of 299 patients with heart failure (HF) collected at the Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology and the Allied hospital in Pakistan. The dataset contains 13 descriptive features of physical, clinical, and lifestyle information. The study compared the performance of three classification algorithms employing pre-processing techniques such as min-max scaling, and principal component analysis (PCA). The simulation result shows that the performance of the DT, and RF decreased with dimensionality reduction while the SVM improved with dimensionality reduction. The SVM achieved 84.44%. Thus, feature scaling improves the performance of the SVM. The RF performs at 82.22%, the DT at 81.11%, and the SVM shows an improvement of 1.64% with scaled features, compared to the original dataset.
Nuclear Methods for Immune Cell Imaging: Bridging Molecular Imaging and Individualized Medicine
Authors: Heo Gyu Seong , Diekmann Johanna , Thackeray James T. , Liu Yongjian
Published: January 2023

Inflammation is a key mechanistic contributor to the progression of cardiovascular disease, from atherosclerosis through ischemic injury and overt heart failure. Recent evidence has identified specific roles of immune cell subpopulations in cardiac pathogenesis that diverges between individual patients. Nuclear imaging approaches facilitate noninvasive and serial quantification of inflammation severity, offering the opportunity to predict eventual outcome, stratify patient risk, and guide novel targeted molecular therapies against specific leukocyte subpopulations. Here, we will discuss the established and emerging nuclear imaging methods to label and track exogenous and endogenous immune cells, with a particular focus on clinical situations in which targeted molecular inflammation imaging would be advantageous. The expanding options for imaging inflammation provide the foundation to bridge between molecular imaging and individual therapy.
Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Vessel Wall Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Authors: Toczek Jakub , Gona Kiran , Liu Yongjian , Ahmad Azmi , Ghim Mean , Ojha Devi , Kukreja Gunjan , Salarian Mani , Luehmann Hannah , Heo Gyu Seong , Guzman Raul J. , Ochoa Chaar Cassius I. , Tellides George , Hassab Abdulrahman H.M. , Ye Yunpeng , Shoghi Kooresh I. , Zayed Mohamed A. , Gropler Robert J. , Sadeghi Mehran M.
Published: January 2023

Background:

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a key role in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Imaging aortic MMP activity, especially using positron emission tomography to access high sensitivity, quantitative data, could potentially improve AAA risk stratification. Here, we describe the design, synthesis, characterization, and evaluation in murine AAA and human aortic tissue of a first-in-class MMP-targeted positron emission tomography radioligand,
64
Cu-RYM2.

Methods:

The broad spectrum MMP inhibitor, RYM2 was synthetized, and its potency as an MMP inhibitor was evaluated by a competitive inhibition assay. Toxicology studies were performed. Tracer biodistribution was evaluated in a murine model of AAA induced by angiotensin II infusion in Apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.
64
Cu-RYM2 binding to normal and aneurysmal human aortic tissues was assessed by autoradiography.

Results:

RYM2 functioned as an MMP inhibitor with nanomolar affinities. Toxicology studies showed no adverse reaction in mice. Upon radiolabeling with Cu-64, the resulting tracer was stable in murine and human blood in vitro. Biodistribution and metabolite analysis in mice showed rapid renal clearance and acceptable in vivo stability. In vivo positron emission tomography/computed tomography in a murine model of AAA showed a specific aortic signal, which correlated with ex vivo measured MMP activity and
Cd68
gene expression.
64
Cu-RYM2 specifically bound to normal and aneurysmal human aortic tissues in correlation with MMP activity.

Conclusions:

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Cu-RYM2 is a first-in-class MMP-targeted positron emission tomography tracer with favorable stability, biodistribution, performance in preclinical AAA, and importantly, specific binding to human tissues. These data set the stage for
64
Cu-RYM2-based translational imaging studies of vessel wall MMP activity, and indirectly, inflammation, in AAA.
Congenital Heart Disease and Fertility: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study Including Both Men and Women
Authors: Udholm Louise F. , Arendt Linn H. , Knudsen Ulla B. , Ramlau‐Hansen Cecilia H. , Hjortdal Vibeke E.
Published: January 2023

Background

Despite an increasing number of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) reaching reproductive age, the fertility of these patients remains undescribed. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the fertility in men and women with CHD by estimating the risk of infertility and comparing the birth rates, proportions of individuals becoming parents or remaining childless, and the number of children per parent with unaffected individuals.

Methods and Results

The study population consisted of individuals born between 1977 and 2000. Information on CHD, infertility, and live born children were obtained from the Danish health registries. Hazard ratios for infertility were analyzed using a Cox regression model. Differences of proportions and birth rates were calculated and compared between groups. Among 1 385 895 individuals, a total of 8679 (0.6%) were diagnosed with CHD. Men and women with simple or moderate CHD had no increased risk of infertility when compared with the reference population. Estimates for complex CHD groups were too imprecise for evaluation. Individuals with CHD were more often childless with consequently lower birth rates compared with unaffected individuals. However, those becoming parents had the same number of children as the reference population.

Conclusions

Men and women with simple or moderate CHD had the same risk of infertility as the reference population. Despite patients with CHD more often being childless, those becoming parents had the same number of children as parents without CHD. The current findings increase the knowledge regarding fertility in the CHD population.
Safety of Carotid Endarterectomy for Symptomatic Stenosis by Age: Meta-Analysis With Individual Patient Data
Authors: Leung Ya Yuan Rachel , Bera Kasia , Urriza Rodriguez Daniel , Dardik Alan , Mas Jean-Louis , Simonte Gioele , Rerkasem Kittipan , Howard Dominic P.J.
Published: January 2023

Background:

There is uncertainty whether elderly patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis have higher rates of adverse events following carotid endarterectomy. In trials, recurrent stroke risk on medical therapy alone increased with age, whereas operative stroke risk was not related. Few octogenarians were included in trials and there has been no systematic analysis of all study types. We aimed to evaluate the safety of carotid endarterectomy in symptomatic elderly patients, particularly in octogenarians.

Methods:

We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies (from January 1, 1980 through March 1, 2022) reporting post carotid endarterectomy risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, and death in patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis. We included observational studies and interventional arms of randomized trials if the outcome rates (or the raw data to calculate these) were provided. Individual patient data from 4 prospective cohorts enabled multivariate analysis.

Results:

Of 47 studies (107 587 patients), risk of perioperative stroke was 2.04% (1.94–2.14) in octogenarians (390 strokes/19 101 patients) and 1.85% (1.75–1.95) in nonoctogenarians (1395/75 537);
P
=0.046. Perioperative death was 1.09% (0.94–1.25) in octogenarians (203/18 702) and 0.53% (0.48–0.59) in nonoctogenarians (392/73 327);
P
<0.001. Per 5-year age increment, a linear increase in perioperative stroke, myocardial infarction, and death were observed;
P
=0.04 to 0.002. However, during the last 3 decades, perioperative stroke±death has declined significantly in octogenarians (7.78% [5.58–10.55] before year 2000 to 2.80% [2.56–3.04] after 2010);
P
<0.001. In Individual patient data multivariate-analysis (5111 patients), age ≥85 years was independently associated with perioperative stroke (
P
<0.001) and death (
P
=0.005). Yet, survival was similar for octogenarians versus nonoctogenarians at 1-year (95.0% [93.2–96.5] versus 97.5% [96.4–98.6];
P
=0.08), as was 5-year stroke risk (11.93% [9.98–14.16]) versus 12.78% [11.65–13.61];
P
=0.24).

Conclusions:

We found a modest increase in perioperative risk with age in symptomatic patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. As stroke risk increases with age when on medical therapy alone, our findings support selective urgent intervention in symptomatic elderly patients.
Scribe: Machine Learning, Parafiction, and the Perversion of Practice
Authors: Dyer Mark
Published: January 2023

Scribe (2022) is a choral work for three voices. It is a multidisciplinary project that encompasses paleography, machine learning, transcription, and performance. Furthermore, Scribe is a work of parafictional art where fact and fiction overlap, conventional practices of paleography and edition-making are playfully reconfigured, and supposed historical authenticity is employed as a compositional material. This paper describes the creative processes in the making of Scribe before evaluating aspects of the uncanny and material agency. It draws upon autoethnographic analysis before contextualizing this within the psychoanalytical criticism of philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
gOd, mOther and sOldier: A Story of Oppression, Told through the Lens of AI
Authors: Gambardella Andrew , Chung Meeyung , Choi Doyo , Lee Jinjoon
Published: January 2023

The authors present gOd, mOther and sOldier—Nowhere in Somewhere Series 2022, a work that was conceptualized and created by artist Jinjoon Lee and his TX Creative Media Lab at KAIST, realized through the remote cooperation of eight local collaborators across Southeast Asia. The authors used artificial intelligence–based object detectors and sonification techniques in a work of media art to symbolize the voicelessness of those at the margins of society in Southeast Asia. These algorithms and concepts, and the work as a whole, artistically demonstrate how marginalized people are misrepresented and misunderstood when interpreted out of context.
Epiphytic Memory: A Cognitive Assemblage of Plant-Human-Technology
Authors: Petrie Finn
Published: January 2023

Epiphytic Memory is an ongoing project motivated by the symbiotic homing relations of plants. The artist 3D-printed porcelain LIDAR scans of ancient trees from Aotearoa New Zealand’s southern rainforests, situating them in hybrid environments in Ōtepoti Dunedin as scientific interventions. These site-specific sculptures function both as memories and as potential bioscaffolds for new life. The project uses augmented reality to help viewers understand the depth of time involved within the work through an interactive gallery installation that simulates plant growth. In this article, the artist contextualizes the project through scientific research and Indigenous Māori thought on plant relations and intelligence. Multiple forms of sentience connect within the project, and the artist uses philosopher N. Katherine Hayles’s ideas of planetary cognitive ecology and cognitive assemblages to understand the ecological value of this connected sentience and how these connections might facilitate plant-human dialogues.
Reflections on Light: Developing New Methods for Producing Anamorphic Sculpture
Authors: Pratt Louis , Johnston Andrew , Pietroni Nico
Published: January 2023

This paper presents novel catoptric anamorphic sculptures made possible by the development of bespoke software. The authors detail the production of a catoptric anamorphic sculpture involving a concave mirror and examine the audience’s experience. The reflections the mirror creates are described as being holographic. This effect is known as a “real image” and only occurs using a concave mirror. The authors present the digital tools they have developed to facilitate anamorphic artistic production and extend the limits of what has been achieved in the past. They end with an outline of future work, including glass lenses, and propose using video projection mapping.
The Case for Judith’s Imitation of “Nobody” (among Others)
Authors: Kochenash Michael
Published: January 2023

In this article, I argue that Judith can be read as imitating book 9 of Homer’s Odyssey, the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus the Cyclops, in a way that compliments its use of other literary models (e.g., Genesis 34; Judges 4–5; 1 Kingdoms 17; and Homer, Iliad 14). Such an imitation can be read as reinforcing the narrative’s explicit themes, especially that of violent opposition to foreign invaders, and as contributing to its characterizations of Judith (who compares favorably to Odysseus) and Holofernes (who is stigmatized by association with Polyphemus). In the process, I situate Judith among other imitations of Odyssey 9 in antiquity and observe how especially Jewish writings in the Hellenistic and Roman eras appear to use it as a resource for opposing foreign subjugation, including to Greek empires. Accordingly, Judith further attests to the participation of Jews in the contestation over the Greek canonical past.
Unique and Multiplied Lviv: On Urban Memory in the Tales of Ukrainian Writers (on the Example of the Cycle of Stories “The Lviv Series“)
Authors: Podluk Anastazja
Published: January 2023

This article is devoted to the literary images of Lviv in the cycle of stories L’vivska seriia [The Lviv Series]. Created by contemporary Ukrainian women writers, the cycle can be considered a special archive of memory, illustrating the ways of experiencing the city and thinking about it. The study analyses the stories included in the series in two aspects: what Lviv as an entity is like in the memory of Ukrainian writers, and what selected fragments of the remembered Lviv reality they refer to in creating the literary image of the city. These two ways of remembering have been defined as the memory of the city and the memory of the place: the first term is about a systemic approach, presenting the city as a gestalt, and the second one is about specific fragments of urban reality.
Creating Urban Heterotopia: Užupis in the Focus of Literature and Film (“Tūla” by Jurgis Kunčinas and “Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus” by Arūnas Matelis)
Authors: Bidlauskienė Gintarė
Published: January 2023

This article aims to analyze and compare two representations of the Vilnius district of Užupis: the literary image created in the novel Tūla by Jurgis Kunčinas (1993) and the cinematic image provided in the documentary Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus by Arūnas Matelis (1990). Applying the approaches of geocriticism, urban studies, and intermedial contexts allows to relate these images in terms of the dominant motifs of the sensorial experience of the city related to two representational strategies: observing and walking in the city. In the novel Tūla, different gazing modes make the urban space visible, and the protagonist’s walking links particular urban objects to the whole referential space. In this way, the analysis of the representation of Vilnius, especially Užupis, in Tūla highlights the links between the construction of the fictional urban space and the structure of the city novel. Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus focuses on the district of Užupis and the everyday life of its residents. The street-level camera eye matches the gaze of the potential perceiver and his bodily ability to grasp the space haptically, i.e. by footsteps. The movement on foot is essential as it connects all the spatial points into one entity and highlights a permanent link between walking in the city and storytelling as reading or writing. Ultimately, both representational strategies allow qualifying the area of Užupis as the “other” space or a heterotopia due to its distinctive language, which is also a bodily practice, intrinsic to both texts.
Polish Language in the Linguistic Landscape of Vilnius
Authors: Geben Kinga
Published: January 2023

The aim of this article is to analyse the use of Polish-language signs in public space in Vilnius and to identify the reasons for the presence or, conversely, absence of Polish in the linguistic landscape of Vilnius in 2022. The subject of the study is inscriptions in Polish found in public space in the Old Town in Vilnius. As a result of the exploration carried out from December 2021 to May 2022, 52 photos of inscriptions in Polish were taken. The signs were analysed using the method adopted in the study of the linguistic landscape. They were classified according to their linguistic specificity into (1) monolingual, (2) polyphonic and (3) mixed signs. Apart from this, they were also classified into public and private ones. The specificity of the functioning of the Polish language in Vilnius is that it functions in speech rather than writing. Poles from Vilnius are multilingual and use several languages alternately. The willingness to remain anonymous by assigning oneself to the majority of society speaking a more prestigious language means that informal inscriptions (e.g. graffiti) are not created in Polish. Information signs in languages other than Lithuanian are not seen by the respondents as necessary, and their installation is effectively hampered by the system of administrative penalties.
Internet as a Basis for Research on Ethnic Identity: Polish Blogs in Lithuania
Authors: Rutkowska Krystyna
Published: January 2023

This article discusses an important type of public communication taking place in Lithuania – internet blogs written in Polish. The study presents how they function, outlines the reasons behind their creation, and analyses the topics which they concern. As this is a sphere of uncontrolled communication, the author makes an attempt to present various social attitudes and to analyse subjective opinions on cultural and identity issues. The linguistic ways of expressing them are also an equally important issue. In this study, we assume that the sphere of the internet, although so far little explored, can be a very good basis for research on the way ethnic identities are shaped. The analysis of the genres of texts posted on blogs or social networking sites indicates that they are characterised by rhetorical coherence, enter into various relationships with each other, creating a blogosphere, and have a dialogical nature. They are usually written in a general language with regional accretions. A frequent phenomenon is using these features as the hallmark of a group, a factor integrating the internet community. Due to the fact that the authors of these websites are usually young people, a common phenomenon is the colloquial linguistic marking of statements, striving to exaggerate certain events, using stylistically marked lexis. We are dealing here with the colloquial style preserved in the written version.
A Review Study of Numerical Simulation of Lid-Driven Cavity Flow with Nanofluids
Authors: Borbora Mustaque Hussain , Vasu B. , Chamkha Ali J.
Published: January 2023

Perhaps the most deliberated fluid problem in the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics is the lid driven cavity flow whose simple geometry is used to study the thermal behavior of many engineering applications such as cooling of electronic equipment, solar collectors, thermal storage
systems, food processing, solar ponds, crystal growth, lubrication technologies and cooling of electrical and mechanical components. Researchers have been devoting much of their time in order to discover innovative methods to enhance the thermal conductivity of conventional fluids. With the
development of nanotechnology, the concept of nanofluids has gained ground considerably as a new kind of heat transfer fluid. Nanofluid is a new kind of fluid with high thermal conductivity is a mixture of solid nanoparticles and a liquid. This review recapitulates the recent progress of the
various numerical methods that are used in predicting the influence of several parameters such as type of nanoparticle and host liquid, particle volume concentration, particle size and shape, Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis effect on hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of convective
heat transfer using nanofluids in a lid driven cavity.
Thermo-Hydraulic Performance of Mini Channels in the Presence of Nanoparticles Phase Change Material Slab
Authors: Saghir M. Z. , Rahman M. M.
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of combining mini-channel configurations in the presence of phase change material slabs. Different phase change material slabs connected with four mini channels were studied numerically. The Navier-Stokes and energy equations for the flow
together with the energy equation for the phase change material considering the two-phase system were solved numerically using the finite element technique. Amongst the parameters investigated in this analysis is the Reynolds number, or in other terms, the flow rate. It is found that heat
extraction continues as the flow rate within the microchannel increases until the velocity and thermal boundary layers have fully developed. When these layers are fully grown, adding slabs of phase change materials to the system allows for even more heat extraction. Therefore, a combination
of mini-channel and phase change material is the best solution for combined heat extraction from a hot surface. This is especially true for circulating flows near the creeping flow with a low Reynolds number.
Figures-of-Merit Analysis Using the Thermophysical Properties of Water and Ethylene Glycol Based Reduced Graphene Oxide/Nanodiamond Hybrid Nanofluids
Authors: Syam Sundar L. , Shaik Feroz , Basheer Ahmed Munaver Jaman
Published: January 2023

The water and ethylene glycol based stable rGO/nanodiamond hybrid nanofluids were prepared and used for thermophysical properties analysis. The thermophysical properties were measured experimentally at various particle loadings from 0.2% to 1.0% and various temperatures ranging from
20 to 60 °C. From the measured thermophysical properties the figures-of-merit were analyzed by assuming constant heat flux and turbulent boundary conditions by using different models, and also by assuming the hybrid nanofluids flows through a tube. Results indicate that the thermal conductivity
of water and ethylene glycol based hybrid nanofluids at Φ = 1.0% vol. is enhanced about 27.87% and 18.8% at 60 °C; viscosity of water and ethylene glycol based hybrid nanofluids at Φ = 1.0% vol. is also enhanced by 72.15% and 86.62% compared to their base fluids
at 20 °C. The density is also increased with an increase of particle loadings, whereas, the specific heat is decreased with a rise of particle loadings. Experimental thermophysical properties are fitted into regression equations by using multi linear regression method. The figures-of-merit
of all the prepared hybrid nanofluids show its value is less than one under the used particle loadings and temperatures.
Unsteady Hybrid (Ag–CuO/Water) Nanofluid Flow and Heat Transfer due to a Stretching Sheet with Variable Temperature
Authors: Rajesh V. , Srilatha M. , Chamkha Ali J.
Published: January 2023

In this paper, the focal aims are (i) to explore the transient boundary-layer flow and heat transfer of an electrically conducting hybrid (Ag–CuO water) nanofluid along a vertical stretching surface (sheet) having non-zero slot velocity at variable temperature, and (ii) to discuss
the influences of momentous parameters involved on the heat transfer and skin friction coefficient graphically. The “Tiwari-Das nanofluid model” is used. The central equations (PDEs) are converted into finite difference equations by the powerful Crank Nicolson technique and numerically
solved using the Thomas algorithm. The achieved outcomes for a specific case of the challenge are compared with an analytical solution computed using the Laplace transform technique and discovered to be in excellent accord.
Analysis of Mixed Convection and Free Convection in a Reduced Solar Collector Using a Nanofluid as Heat Transfer Fluid
Authors: Cherif Soumia Baali , Rahmoune Imene , Bougoul Saadi , Chamkha Ali J.
Published: January 2023

A three-dimensional investigation of mixed convection which occurs from Al2O3-water nanofluid flow in tube of a reduced solar collector and free convection in air gap situated between cover of solar collector and its absorber was investigated. Heat transmission
by conduction in absorber and cover as well as thermal losses to exterior expressed in form of a convective flux have also been taken into account. The different transport equations were solved using CFD-Fluent software which is founded on finite volume method and Boussinesq’s law was
introduced to take into account of buoyancy effects. In this investigation, thermal efficiency of solar collector was evaluated and use of nanofluids allows to increase this parameter which is generally low for this kind of thermal systems. Length of thermal regime established in the tube
is proposed and this investigation is extended relative to other works developed in this research field. Results obtained gave an idea about the flow structure of the fluid under consideration in a tube of a solar collector and heat transmission mechanisms in air gap and in other elements
of the solar collector. These results can facilitate design of this thermal system.
What Kind of Democracy Do We All Support? How Partisan Interest Impacts a Citizen’s Conceptualization of Democracy
Authors: Bryan James D.
Published: January 2023

Despite waves of democratic backsliding over the last decade, most global citizens still claim to support democracy. On the other hand, many citizens become more supportive of specific anti-democratic actions when their preferred political side can benefit. How, then, do citizens justify their consistent “explicit support for democracy” with their more malleable support for the implementation of liberal democracy? This paper uses cross-national survey data from 74 countries and two methods—a standard cross-sectional analysis and a within-country variation design—to show that a citizen’s conceptualization of democracy, or what democracy means to them, is subject to partisan-motivated reasoning. In other words, citizens are more likely to conceptualize democracy in illiberal terms, like emphasizing the need for obeying authority, when their preferred political party is in power. The findings suggest one’s conception of democracy can be a fluid attitude that citizens mold to match their partisan self-interest.
Constitutional inclusion in divided societies: Conceptual choices, practical dilemmas and the contribution of the grassroots in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
Authors: McEvoy Joanne , Todd Jennifer
Published: January 2023

Processes of constitutional discussion increasingly invite widespread popular inclusion and participation. Conceptual and practical problems remain, not least the respects in which inclusion is to take place. In deeply divided places, these challenges are intensified, first in the difficulties of conceptualising inclusion, and second in the practical dangers participation may pose to peace. We tackle these problems empirically by looking at a hard case of constitutional discussion amid division: the re-emergence of debate about Irish unity in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Through focus groups and interviews, we explore how ‘others’, disengaged from the main political groups and defined transversally, approach the discussion, showing that they welcome the prospect of participation and seek to remove discursive triggers of conflict by focussing on shared everyday experience. We discuss the implications for the constitutional process and the likely impact on polarisation. The analysis has implications for the literature on divided societies, for constitutional theory and for policy. We argue that it is both possible and desirable to remedy group exclusion while facilitating universalistic discussion and lessening the dangers of polarisation. The policy implications are quite radical.
‘In the Beginning’: Three Catholic Insights into Hinduism: Vasco Da Gama, Saint Francis Xavier and Roberto De Nobili
Authors: Didier H.
Published: January 2023

Before the landing of Vasco Da Gama and his seamen, India did not remain an isolated world: during the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great reached the Indus. During the Middle Ages, Indian themes enjoyed a remarkable expansion in the West. In the mind of the Portuguese discoverers, the concept of an eastern Christianity created by Saint Thomas the Apostle was a deciding factor. Elsewhere, the Moslem abrahamised Hinduism: this was another source of confusion. The apostle of India, Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) belonged to the pre-Tridentine period: therefore, he demonised Hinduism. His meetings with the Brahmans were rather confrontational. But, with Roberto de Nobili (1577-1658) the Christian mission took an alternative path. We must take into account the struggle for indianising Christianity, conceived by Father De Nobili. Unfortunately, this enterprise evaded the key-problem of Hindu esotericism and metaphysical monism.
Police reform in the aftermath of armed conflict: How militarization and accountability affect police violence
Authors: Tiscornia Lucía
Published: January 2023

Police reform implementation has been widespread in post-conflict transitions. Responding to conflict recurrence and past human rights violations, among other factors, motivate reforms. However, we know little about the effectiveness of reforms in reducing police propensity for violence. How does police reform affect police violence after armed conflict? I argue that the nature of reforms poses a challenge to peace and stability: police reform may aggravate the problems it seeks to resolve. Increasing deterrent capacity reinforces militarization, a logic of organization to produce violence that accountability mechanisms – the generation of information and the imposition of costs on abuses – are unlikely to curb. I test these propositions on a panel of 55 post-conflict countries between 1985 and 2015. My findings challenge research suggesting that security reforms lead to peace. Results support policies that reduce police’s propensity to use force. Implications are relevant for domestic and international actors engaged in police reform.
Utilization of Uncaria gambir Roxb leaf extract as a reducing agent in the green synthesis of Ag/TiO2 composites and its application for multifunctional towels
Authors: Sahadewo Adam Haikal , Elysabeth Tiur , Slamet
Published: January 2023

Unhygienic use of towels can cause bacterial infections. Therefore, it is necessary to develop anti-bacterial, self-cleaning, hydrophilic towels. TiO2 photocatalyst modification with Ag nanoparticles can add these properties to towels. However, the problem is the process of reducing Ag ions, which usually uses chemical reducing agents that are dangerous, toxic, and expensive. This study aims to utilize gambir leaf extract as an alternative reducing agent so that Ag/TiO2 synthesis can be carried out using a green process. The results of field emission scanning electron microscopy characterization showed that the use of gambier leaf extract as a reducing agent did not cause aggregation or agglomeration. Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy analysis showed that the bandgap energy of Ag/TiO2 prepared using gambir leaf extract as the reducing agent was only slightly higher than that of its counterpart. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy characterization showed an increase in the number of OH groups on the Ag/TiO2 towels compared to the blank towels. This proves that Ag/TiO2 towels have superior hydrophilic properties. The results of the anti-bacterial, self-cleaning, and hydrophilic tests showed that the optimal Ag loading in various tests was 3%, which could disinfect up to 33% of the bacteria and possessed the best self-cleaning, absorption capacity, and drying rates.
Ambivalent insurgencies: Citizenship, land politics and development in Hanoi and its periurban fringe
Authors: Brakke Gray
Published: January 2023

This article examines the Vietnamese state’s ambivalence towards insurgent assertions of urban citizenship in and around Hanoi. In the 1980s and 1990s, it tolerated the lawbreaking construction of self-built housing in the city centre and eventually extended self-builders land use rights for their extralegal claims. In the 2000s and 2010s, however, the state violently cracked down on periurban villagers using insurgent strategies to resist the expropriation of their agricultural land for master-planned real estate developments. I suggest that the insurgency of self-builders precipitated a regime of graduated land use rights wherein the informal, extralegal claims of self-builders have been more respected than the formal, legal claims of periurban villagers. I ultimately argue that the state’s ambivalent responses to insurgency result from its pursuit of a materially shifting ideology of developmentalism. I also find that the success of insurgency derives from how the interests of citizens, the local state and the national state align and realign with one another.
Microbial profile from peritoneal fluid and surgical wounds in patients with perforation peritonitis - A cross-sectional study from New Delhi
Authors: Gupta Princy , Lal Pawanindra , Manchanda Vikas
Published: January 2023

Surgical site infection (SSI) remains one of the most common complications of perforation peritonitis, contributing not only to morbidity but also mortality. We studied the culture and sensitivity of intra-peritoneal fluid and post-operative laparotomy wounds, and found consistency in pathogen and sensitivity between the intra and post-operative samples in 25 cases (80.6%). Therefore, routine culture and sensitivity of peritoneal fluid and subsequently switching the empirical anti-microbial therapy accordingly is justified.
Happy Reading: Textual Self-Consciousness and Human Flourishing in the Macarisms of Lk 11.28, Gos. Thom. 79.2, and Rev. 1.3
Authors: Trax Kenneth
Published: January 2023

Scholars are rediscovering how early Christian texts addressed questions of human flourishing and exploring how textualization may have affected interpretation. These two trends intersect in the beatitudes or macarisms of Lk 11.28, Gos. Thom. 79.2, and Rev. 1.3, which attribute “flourishing” to obedient hearers of a divine word mediated by Jesus. I argue that early Christ followers may have understood these macarisms to promise flourishing to those who receive Luke, Thomas, or Revelation as a written divine word from Jesus. Many early “readers” would have encountered these texts aurally, creating a link between “hearing the word of God” and hearing the written text read aloud. Moreover, these works exhibit “textual self-consciousness” in which they acknowledge their own existence as written documents, present themselves as messages from or about Jesus, and suggest that they should carry authority. Because the “word(s)” extolled in the macarisms are Jesus’s words, and the works are presented as Jesus’s words, hearers could have connected the works themselves with the divine word(s) that enable flourishing. Such a connection may have reinforced the practice of reading and hearing these texts, encouraged further textual transmission of the works, and affected how Christ followers perceived God spoke to them through written works.
Effects of Tier 1 Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) on On-task Group Behavior in a Preschool Classroom
Authors: Layman Lauren N. , Ray Lacey C. , Ayres Kevin M. , Ringdahl Joel E.
Published: January 2023

Disruptive behaviors such as elopement, calling-out, and aggression are often a major barrier to instruction in preschool classrooms. One widely used class-wide behavior management system is Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT). To date, we could only locate two studies on CW-FIT used in preschool settings which found a therapeutic change in on-task behavior as well rates of teacher praise, teacher reprimands, student socials skills, and student problem behaviors. The current study used a withdrawal design to also evaluate the effectiveness of Tier 1 CW-FIT on on-task student behavior and teacher praise and reprimand behavior in a preschool setting during both large and small group activities. Results suggested that the implementation of the Tier 1 components of CW-FIT increased on-task group behavior in both settings. Results for rates of teacher’s praise and reprimand statements were variable.
South African tabloid coverage of Covid19: The Daily Sun
Authors: Bosch Tanja , Wasserman Herman
Published: January 2023

Around the world, tabloid newspapers are routinely surrounded by a moral and cultural panic. They are criticised for lowering standards of journalism and privileging sensation above substance, diverting readers from serious news to entertainment, or foregoing ethical principles. However, scholarship about tabloids have also highlighted the ways in which these papers are frequently better attuned to their readers’ everyday lived experience. In South Africa, tabloid newspapers have also received much criticism in the past for their perceived superficial treatment of important news. This article examines South African tabloid newspapers’ coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, focussing specifically on a case study of the national newspaper the Daily Sun. The national Daily Sun newspaper boasts the country’s largest circulation figures. Through a quantitative content analysis of 1050 online news stories in the Daily Sun, we found that unlike mainstream front-page news reporting which was largely episodic, negative and alarmist, the majority of Daily Sun coverage was thematic and neutral. Daily Sun news coverage countered Covid-19 related misinformation and provided contextual coverage, with a large focus on the social impacts of Covid-19. The analysis concludes that despite the popular discourse of the reporting, Daily Sun reporting on Covid-19 provided readers with access to information and a focus on the micro aspects of the pandemic versus broader political issues and the views of political or scientific elites.
Editorial: encounters with Western media theory
Authors: Keightley Emily , Li Eva Cheuk-Yin , Natale Simone , Punathambekar Aswin
Published: January 2023

Beginning in 2020, the Crosscurrents section of this journal featured 10 provocative essays on the theme of “Encounters in Western Media Theory.” These essays stemmed from scholars’ engagements with various canonical texts in media, cultural, and communication studies that took the Anglophone Global North as a taken-for-granted site for making sweeping theoretical claims. In this editorial, we reflect on the critiques and arguments that scholars have developed to move past debates about “internationalizing” and “de-westernizing” the field of media, communication, and cultural studies. Taken together, the essays published in this themed section grapple with the shifting terrain of academic knowledge production and the potential for redefining practices of reading, citation, and teaching.
Direct Incorporation of Expert Opinion into Parametric Survival Models to Inform Survival Extrapolation
Authors: Cooney Philip , White Arthur
Published: January 2023

Background

In decision modeling with time-to-event data, there are a variety of parametric models that can be used to extrapolate the survival function. Each model implies a different hazard function, and in situations in which there is moderate censoring, this can result in quite different survival projections. External information such as expert opinion on long-term survival can more accurately characterize the uncertainty in these extrapolations.

Objective

We present a general and easily implementable approach to incorporate various types of expert opinions into parametric survival models, focusing on opinions about survival at various landmark time points.

Methods

Expert opinion is incorporated into parametric survival models using Bayesian and frequentist approaches. In the Bayesian method, expert opinion is included through a loss function and in the frequentist approach by penalizing the likelihood function, although in both cases the core approach is the same. The issue of aggregating multiple expert opinions is also considered.

Results

We apply this method to data from a leukemia trial and use previously elicited expert opinion on survival probabilities for that particular trial population at years 4 and 5 to inform our analysis. We take a robust approach to modeling expert opinion by using pooled distributions and fit a broad class of parametric models to the data. We also assess statistical goodness of fit of the models to both the observed data and expert opinion.

Conclusions

Expert opinions can be implemented in a straightforward manner using this novel approach; however, more work is required on the correct elicitation of these quantities.

Highlights

Presentation of a novel and open-source method to incorporate expert opinion into decision modeling. Extends upon earlier work in that expert opinion can be incorporated into a wide range of parametric models. Provides methodological guidance for directly including expert opinion in decision modeling, which is a research focus area in NICE TSD 21.1
Solution for the Problem of Sustainable Staff Scheduling in Semi-Automated Dock Container Terminals in Ports
Authors: Özder Emir Hüseyin , Gümüş Mehmet
Published: January 2023

Port operations in container terminals are as important as container transportation itself. A port has a complex system in which a wide variety of operations take place, and a wide variety of resources are required to interact with each other. The aim of a port operator is to complete the service required in the shortest time and in the most efficient way. The quayside of the port, the equipment used such as cranes and field vehicles, and the operations officer and personnel are factors that directly affect the service provided at a port. The port management aims to maximize efficiency by reaching the maximum number of movements with the least possible cost. Increasing the efficiency and quality of the working personnel is extremely important in achieving this aim. This study provides efficient, fair, and balanced scheduling of field personnel and shift supervisors working in port operations using a real-life case of the semi-automated docks at an international port. A goal-programing model is constructed to manage the workforce needed by the port for a one-week working period and to assign the shift supervisors to the shifts in a balanced way. The personnel’s preferences and qualifications, which directly affect productivity, are also considered while planning. Results show an increase in productivity, quality of life, concentration, and employee job satisfaction. The results of the suggested mathematical model in the study show that the demands of the workers facing conflicting constraints were met with the least deviation from goals.
Pause But Not Panic: Exploring COVID-19 as a Critical Incident for Nonprofit Workers
Authors: Kuenzi Kerry , Stewart Amanda J. , Walk Marlene
Published: January 2023

Critical incidents often have significant impacts on workers, sometimes causing disruptions to career pathways and a re-evaluation of past career decisions. This article seeks to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nonprofit workers and their commitment to the sector using a critical incidents lens. In-depth interviews with nonprofit workers provided insights on the pandemic’s impact on workers’ personal and professional lives and how they made sense of these. Changes to work including flexibility and work-from-home options were often viewed positively, yet workers expressed a loss of connection with their colleagues, mental health and well-being challenges, as well as challenges to adapt to new ways of working. In making sense of these changes, commitment to the sector was mostly sustained; however, respondents also noted a shift in priorities and expressed a desire for better balance between their personal and professional lives.
Reporting Workplace Discrimination: An Exploratory Analysis of Bystander Behavior
Authors: Yu Helen H.
Published: January 2023

Reporting workplace discrimination has garnered renewed attention in public administration scholarship. Missing, however, from the literature is bystander reporting, a relatively new and understudied mode of reporting. Using a sub-sample of respondents (i.e., bystanders) who witnessed others encountering workplace discrimination—specifically race- ( n = 886) and/or sex-based discrimination ( n = 1,152)—this study finds that less than one fifth (18.7% and 16.6% respectively) of all bystanders reported the alleged offense. However, this study suggests that personal characteristics such as age, race or ethnicity, and veteran status, as well as occupational variables such as supervisory status and tenure duration, significantly impacted bystander reporting after witnessing race-based discrimination. Likewise, personal characteristics such as age, as well as occupational variables such as grade level, supervisory status, and tenure duration, also significantly impacted bystander reporting after witnessing sex-based discrimination. These findings are important because a different mode of reporting may increase agency accountability for acts of workplace discrimination or retaliation.