bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ensemble learning for poor prognosis predictions: A case study on SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Wu Honghan , Zhang Huayu , Karwath Andreas , Ibrahim Zina , Shi Ting , Zhang Xin , Wang Kun , Sun Jiaxing , Dhaliwal Kevin , Bean Daniel , Cardoso Victor Roth , Li Kezhi , Teo James T , Banerjee Amitava , Gao-Smith Fang , Whitehouse Tony , Veenith Tonny , Gkoutos Georgios V , Wu Xiaodong , Dobson Richard , Guthrie Bruce
Published: November 2020

Objective

Risk prediction models are widely used to inform evidence-based clinical decision making. However, few models developed from single cohorts can perform consistently well at population level where diverse prognoses exist (such as the SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] pandemic). This study aims at tackling this challenge by synergizing prediction models from the literature using ensemble learning.

Materials and Methods

In this study, we selected and reimplemented 7 prediction models for COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) that were derived from diverse cohorts and used different implementation techniques. A novel ensemble learning framework was proposed to synergize them for realizing personalized predictions for individual patients. Four diverse international cohorts (2 from the United Kingdom and 2 from China; N = 5394) were used to validate all 8 models on discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness.

Results

Results showed that individual prediction models could perform well on some cohorts while poorly on others. Conversely, the ensemble model achieved the best performances consistently on all metrics quantifying discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. Performance disparities were observed in cohorts from the 2 countries: all models achieved better performances on the China cohorts.

Discussion

When individual models were learned from complementary cohorts, the synergized model had the potential to achieve better performances than any individual model. Results indicate that blood parameters and physiological measurements might have better predictive powers when collected early, which remains to be confirmed by further studies.

Conclusions

Combining a diverse set of individual prediction models, the ensemble method can synergize a robust and well-performing model by choosing the most competent ones for individual patients.
The Effect of Sound Lure Frequency and Habitat Type on Male Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Capture Rates With the Male Aedes Sound Trap
Authors: Swan Tom , Russell Tanya L , Burkot Thomas R , Liu Jianyi , Ritchie Scott A , Staunton Kyran M
Published: November 2020

The global distribution of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) is rapidly expanding which has contributed to the emergence and re-emergence of dengue and chikungunya outbreaks. Improvements in vector surveillance are necessary to facilitate optimized, evidence-based vector control operations. Current trapping technology used to target Ae. albopictus and other Aedes species for vector surveillance are limited in both scale and scope, thus novel tools are required. Here, we evaluated the Male Aedes Sound Trap (MAST) for its capacity to sample male Ae. albopictus. Aims of this study were twofold: 1) to determine the most effective frequency for capturing male Ae. albopictus and 2) to investigate fine-scale variations in male Ae. albopictus abundance. MASTs which produced sound lure frequencies between 500 and 650 Hz captured significantly more male Ae. albopictus than those with sound lure frequencies set to 450 Hz. Further, the higher sound lure frequency of 700 Hz significantly reduced catches relative to 650 Hz. MASTs placed in woodland habitats captured significantly more male Ae. albopictus than MASTs placed near houses. These results provide baseline information for optimizing sound lure frequencies and placement of the MAST to sample male Ae. albopictus in remote areas.
Dissecting the nutrient partitioning mechanism in rice grain using spatially resolved gene expression profiling
Authors: Ram Hasthi , Singh Anmol , Katoch Megha , Kaur Ravneet , Sardar Shaswati , Palia Shubham , Satyam Rohit , Sonah Humira , Deshmukh Rupesh , Pandey Ajay Kumar , Gupta Ishaan , Sharma Tilak Raj
Published: November 2020

Rice, a staple food worldwide, contains varying amounts of nutrients in different grain tissues. The underlying molecular mechanism of such distinct nutrient partitioning remains poorly investigated. Here, an optimized rapid laser capture microdissection (LCM) approach was used to individually collect pericarp, aleurone, embryo and endosperm from grains 10 days after fertilization. Subsequent RNA-Seq analysis in these tissues identified 7760 differentially expressed genes. Analysis of promoter sequences of tissue-specific genes identified many known and novel cis-elements important for grain filling and seed development. Using the identified differentially expressed genes, comprehensive spatial gene expression pathways were built for accumulation of starch, proteins, lipids, and iron. The extensive transcriptomic analysis provided novel insights about nutrient partitioning mechanisms; for example, it revealed a gradient in seed storage protein accumulation across the four tissue types analysed. The analysis also revealed that the partitioning of various minerals, such as iron, is most likely regulated through transcriptional control of their transporters. We present the extensive analysis from this study as an interactive online tool that provides a much-needed resource for future functional genomics studies aimed to improve grain quality and seed development.
Comments on contact terms and conformal manifolds in the AdS/CFT correspondence
Authors: Sakai Tadakatsu , Zenkai Masashi
Published: November 2020

We study the contact terms that appear in the correlation functions of exactly marginal operators using the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence. It is known that CFT with an exactly marginal deformation requires the existence of the contact terms with their coefficients having a geometrical interpretation in the context of conformal manifolds. We show that the AdS/CFT correspondence captures properly the mathematical structure of the correlation functions that is expected from the CFT analysis. For this purpose, we employ a holographic renormalization group to formulate a most general setup in the bulk for describing an exactly marginal deformation. The resultant bulk equations of motion are nonlinear and solved perturbatively to obtain the on-shell action. We compute three- and four-point functions of the exactly marginal operators using the GKP–Witten prescription, and show that they match the expected results precisely. The cut-off surface prescription in the bulk serves as a regularization scheme for conformal perturbation theory in the boundary CFT. As an application, we examine a double OPE limit of the four-point functions. The anomalous dimensions of double trace operators are written in terms of the geometrical data of a conformal manifold.
The Gun Debate
Authors: Cook Philip J. , Goss Kristin A.
Published: November 2020

No topic is more polarizing than guns and gun control. From a gun culture that took root early in American history to the mass shootings that repeatedly bring the public discussion of gun control to a fever pitch, the topic has preoccupied citizens, public officials, and special interest groups for decades. In this thoroughly revised second edition of The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know® noted economist Philip J. Cook and political scientist Kristin A. Goss delve into the issues that Americans debate when they talk about guns. With a balanced and broad-ranging approach, the authors thoroughly cover the latest research, data, and developments on gun ownership, gun violence, the firearms industry, and the regulation of firearms. The authors also tackle sensitive issues such as the impact of gun violence on quality of life, the influence of exposure to gun violence on mental health, home production of guns, arming teachers, the effect of concealed weapons on crime rates, and the ability of authorities to disarm people who aren’t allowed to have a gun. No discussion of guns in the U.S. would be complete without consideration of the history, culture, and politics that drive the passion behind the debate. Cook and Goss deftly explore the origins of the American gun culture and the makeup of both the gun rights and gun control movements. Written in question-and-answer format, this updated edition brings the debate up-to-date for the current political climate under Trump and will help readers make sense of the ideologically driven statistics and slogans that characterize our national conversation on firearms. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in getting a clear view of the issues surrounding guns and gun policy in America.
Environmental Protection
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

What is the environment?

Various materials and conditions, some natural and some made by humans, affect life on earth. Taken together, they form the environment. Sunlight is part of the environment as is an ocean bed deep beneath the surface, or groundwater flowing through and...
Water
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

Why is clean water important?

Water covers 70 percent of the surface of the earth in all three forms of matter, solid (ice), liquid (flowing water), and gas (water vapor such as clouds). The human body is over 60 percent water. Of all the earth’s...
Air
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

Why is clean air important?

Each person takes in more than three thousand gallons of air a day to stay alive. The quality of that air is key to good health. Moreover, polluted air affects everyone and is unavoidable: although it can collect in large...
Ecosystems
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

What is an ecosystem?

The environment is often seen as made up of distinct parts operating more or less independently of each other. Viewed this way, protecting the environment means protecting distinctly different categories of things: the oceans, endangered species, the air we breathe, and...
Climate Change
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

What is climate change?

Climate change means long-term changes in atmospheric conditions—including temperature, wind patterns, and precipitation. Although climate fluctuations such as the great ice age cycles have happened in varying degrees many times throughout history, there is broad agreement that over the last sixty-five...
The Built Environment
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

What is the built environment?

The term “built environment” refers to the places that people have designed and constructed for living, working, and recreation. It includes homes, commercial buildings, highways, parks—every place that has been altered by humans for our safety, comfort, convenience, and pleasure....
Environmental Justice
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

How is justice a part of environmental protection?

A safe, healthy environment is considered by many to be a basic human right. Like any goal embraced and implemented in various ways by all levels of government, environmental protection should be administered as justly and fairly...
The Future
Authors: Hill Pamela
Published: November 2020

What are the greatest threats to the environment today?

We all should be deeply concerned about our planet as we move further into the twenty-first century. Even though the science is not completely certain and the facts are evolving, it is clear that we are...
Brazilian Culture and Society
Authors: Roett Riordan
Published: November 2020

Brazil has a vibrant national culture. It ranges from the passionate commitment of the average Brazilian to “their” soccer team to the bossa nova, an imaginative film industry, and Carnival. These colorful and fascinating aspects of life in Brazil are as important as government changes,...
Conclusion
Authors: Roett Riordan
Published: November 2020

Was the 2014 presidential election totally unpredictable?

As the Brazilian election cycle began in the spring of 2014—with the first round of voting on October 5—the general expectation was that the PT would nominate incumbent President Dilma Rousseff and that she would win, perhaps outright...
Introduction
Authors: Axworthy Michael
Published: November 2020

For many years, Iran has been closed off from much of the rest of the outside world, but now the country is opening up. The conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July 2015 and the consequent implementation of commitments for the...
Ancient and Islamic Iran
Authors: Axworthy Michael
Published: November 2020

What do we know about the Indo-European peoples and the origins of Iran?

What we know begins with the fact that the Persian language (known to Iranians in their own tongue as Farsi) along with English and most other European languages, as well as Sanskrit,...
The Pahlavis
Authors: Axworthy Michael
Published: November 2020

How did the British take control of Iranian oil in the first years of the twentieth century?

Part of the story of western encroachment and the increasing weakness of the Qajar monarchy in the latter part of the nineteenth century was the long list of...
Inequality in the History of Economic Thought
Authors: Galbraith James K.
Published: November 2020

We in the United States are accustomed to the principle that “all men are created equal.” But of course that principle is not from time immemorial; it is not “self-evident” even now, and was far from being so, to most people, at the time...
Categorical Inequality
Authors: Galbraith James K.
Published: November 2020

There is another way to think about inequalities. And that is to classify individuals into groups to which they belong, and look at the inequalities that exist between various groups, usually between the average (or median) income (or pay, or wealth) of one group...
Major Concepts of Distribution
Authors: Galbraith James K.
Published: November 2020

As you have probably noticed, economic inequality is a term covering a great many distinct ideas and concepts and measures. Here we will introduce the major terms that have operational meaning, because governments (and others) tend to collect data on them, and...
The “Violencia” and Military Rule
Authors: Mahoney Richard D.
Published: November 2020

What was the effect of Gaitán’s assassination?

In the rioting that erupted after Gaitán’s assassination, an estimated 1,000 people were killed and more than 100 buildings in downtown Bogotá were firebombed and completely destroyed.1 The surging crowds first concentrated their attack on...
Neoliberalism and Counterinsurgency
Authors: Mahoney Richard D.
Published: November 2020

How did the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement come about?

The officially named “U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement” was the stepchild of a rancorous hemispheric divorce between the United States and five Latin American governments over the proposal to extend the North American Free Trade Agreement...
The Civil Wars of Liberation
Authors: Mahoney Richard D.
Published: November 2020

Why did Spain lose its grip in the New World?

In a panic because of the French Revolution, especially after the execution of his fellow Bourbon regent, French king Louis XVI in 1793, Carlos IV of Spain joined other European monarchs in declaring war...
Conservative Peace and the Liberal Republic
Authors: Mahoney Richard D.
Published: November 2020

How did Colombia recover from the Thousand-Day War?

Ruined and disgraced, Colombia somehow held a presidential election in 1904. Fortunately for the country, Conservative Rafael Reyes—a former general who had distinguished himself as Colombia’s leading diplomat at the turn of the century—prevailed. He proved...
“Good Neighbor,” The Nazi Threat, and Cold War “Armageddon”
Authors: Mahoney Richard D.
Published: November 2020

What was America’s Good Neighbor policy?

Washington’s closer ties to Bogotá were part of a broader U.S. effort throughout Latin America to be a “good neighbor,” something President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had promised in his inaugural speech in March 1933.1 FDR’s “radical...
Introduction
Authors: Fisman Ray , Golden Miriam A.
Published: November 2020

What is the purpose of this book?

Well over half of the world’s inhabitants live in countries where corruption is relatively common, according to standard survey data. In other words, most people on earth live in places where they must contend with the fundamental dilemma...
Where Is Corruption Most Prevalent?
Authors: Fisman Ray , Golden Miriam A.
Published: November 2020

Now that we have a common understanding of what corruption is, we can take tools developed in the last chapter for measuring corruption to explore where it’s most common. We’ll see early on that there is a positive relationship between country-level wealth and...
How do Political Institutions Affect Corruption?
Authors: Fisman Ray , Golden Miriam A.
Published: November 2020

In chapter 3, we saw that corruption is far more pervasive in poor nations than in rich ones. That is, per capita GDP offers a huge amount of information about corruption: the cross-national data that we studied there suggests that you can explain about 60...
Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Kaplan Jerry
Published: November 2020

What are the main areas of research and development in AI?

Work in artificial intelligence is generally divided into a number of subfields that address common, though difficult, practical problems or require different tools or skills. Some of the more prominent are robotics, computer...
Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Kaplan Jerry
Published: November 2020

What is the philosophy of AI?

You might wonder why a field like AI seems to attract so much controversy. After all, other engineering disciplines—such as civil, mechanical, or electrical engineering—aren’t typically the target of vociferous criticism from various branches of the humanities. Largely,...
Artificial Intelligence and the Law
Authors: Kaplan Jerry
Published: November 2020

How will AI affect the law?

AI will significantly impact a wide variety of human activities and have a dramatic influence on many fields, professions, and markets. Any attempt to catalog these would necessarily be incomplete and go quickly out of date, so I...
How Does My Brain Accomplish So Much?
Authors: Wenk Gary L.
Published: November 2020

I originally considered beginning this book in the traditional style with a discussion about the basics of brain anatomy. I decided not to follow that tradition because I wanted you to become excited about what your brain can do before investigating the precise anatomical structures...
Conceptualizing Privacy
Authors: Francis Leslie P. , Francis John G.
Published: November 2020

Introduction

What is privacy? What does it mean, and how does it relate to other important values? Is it a human right? When and how did it emerge as an idea? In this introductory chapter, we address these and related questions to set the stage...
Law Enforcement Information
Authors: Francis Leslie P. , Francis John G.
Published: November 2020

Introduction

Law enforcement activities involve enforcers, people who are being victimized or protected, and people who are suspected of activities against the law. Because all members of a society have a strong interest in public safety and justice, there is arguably a presumption in favor...
Introduction
Authors: Wright Dale S.
Published: November 2020

Why would everyone need to know anything about Buddhism? One important reason is that no matter who you are or where you live, Buddhism is part of your cultural environment. Whether we know it or not, most of us have Buddhist neighbors or communities of...
Buddhist Diversity
Authors: Wright Dale S.
Published: November 2020

How and when did Buddhism spread beyond its origins in northeastern India?

Buddhism began expanding out from its birthplace during the Buddha’s life, and that process continues today. Its mode of dissemination has typically been word of mouth: from person to person and community to...
Economic Consequences of Terrorism
Authors: Sandler Todd
Published: November 2020

Why Do Some Terrorist Groups Try to Create Economic Losses?

During the summers of 1985, 1986, and 1987, the Spanish Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) carried out a bombing campaign against seaside hotels, visited by European and other tourists. For example, on...
Alcohol and Health
Authors: Newby P.K.
Published: November 2020

How is alcohol handled in the body?

Alcohol is among the only drugs consumed regularly in the diet other than caffeine. It is water-soluble and distributed into all tissues and fluids in relative proportion to water content. As a result, equal quantities of alcohol...
Authoritarianism
Authors: Frantz Erica
Published: November 2020

Despite the spread of democratization following the Cold War’s end, all signs indicate that we are currently seeing a resurgence of authoritarianism. Around forty percent of the world’s people live under some form of authoritarian rule, and authoritarian regimes govern about a third of the world’s countries. In Authoritarianism: What Everyone Needs to KnowRG, Erica Frantz guides us through today’s authoritarian wave, explaining how it came to be and what its features are. She also looks at authoritarians themselves, focusing in particular on the techniques they use to take power, the strategies they use to survive, and how they fall. As she demonstrates, understanding how politics works in authoritarian regimes and recognizing the factors that either give rise to them or trigger their downfall, remains as important as ever. This book paves the ways for such an understanding. Authoritarianism is a clear and concise overview that provides readers with a context for making sense of one of the most important-and most worrying-developments in contemporary world politics.
Introduction
Authors: Spiro Peter J.
Published: November 2020

Citizenship is a like the air we breathe; it’s all around us but often goes unnoticed. That is not a historically ordinary situation. Citizenship was once an exceptional status, a kind of aristocracy of the ancient world in which freedom and political voice were not...
Society, Culture, and Religion
Authors: Rood Steven
Published: November 2020

In late 1987, American journalist James Fallows caused a stir with his article “A Damaged Culture” in The Atlantic, in which he took a pessimistic view of the Philippines. He argued against euphoria in the wake of the peaceful ouster of Ferdinand...
Government and Governance
Authors: Rood Steven
Published: November 2020

How is the national legislature structured?

The bicameral Philippine Congress works in interesting ways. In fact, constitutional designers have been ambivalent about bicameralism in the Philippine state. The revolutionary Malolos Constitution in 1899 was unicameral, the American colonial government was bicameral, and the original...
Evolution of Behavior
Authors: Dunbar Robin
Published: November 2020

What role does behavior play in evolution?

Most adaptations ultimately require some level of genetic change, but genetic change depends in part on the availability of sufficient genetic variation within the population—or, at the very least, the chance to produce new mutations. If the environmental...
Evolution of Sociality
Authors: Dunbar Robin
Published: November 2020

Why do some animals live in groups?

The ancestral mammals were small (we can tell that from their fossils) and almost certainly solitary (as suggested by reconstructing their likely behavior from the social arrangements of living species using statistical analyses that take species evolutionary...
Evolution of Culture
Authors: Dunbar Robin
Published: November 2020

Does culture evolve?

Culture is defined as those aspects of our behavior and beliefs that are learned—passed on from parents to children or between two unrelated individuals, by copying and instruction. Given that evolution simply means the way traits change over time, and all cultural...
How Do You Know If You or Someone You Care About Has an Eating Disorder?
Authors: Walsh B. Timothy , Attia Evelyn , Glasofer Deborah R.
Published: November 2020

Unfortunately, eating disorders are sometimes easier to recognize in someone else than in oneself. They often develop innocently as someone tries to cut out unhealthy foods or lose a few pounds because a friend was doing the same. Or maybe a coach at school...
Do Eating Disorders Overlap with Other Psychiatric Disorders?
Authors: Walsh B. Timothy , Attia Evelyn , Glasofer Deborah R.
Published: November 2020

Eating disorders do not occur in a vacuum. They have a high rate of overlap with depression and anxiety and a few other kinds of psychiatric disorders, which we will review in this chapter. The order in which an eating disorder develops in relation...
Who Provides Eating Disorder Treatment?
Authors: Walsh B. Timothy , Attia Evelyn , Glasofer Deborah R.
Published: November 2020

Eating disorders are complex conditions, and adequate treatment commonly requires a team (multidisciplinary) approach. Navigating the landscape of treatment providers can be overwhelming, but it is worth taking the time to really understand who’s who in eating disorder treatment and what role they each...
What Does Recovery Look Like?
Authors: Walsh B. Timothy , Attia Evelyn , Glasofer Deborah R.
Published: November 2020

Full recovery encompasses physical, behavioral, and psychological normalization. Weight (and rate of growth for children and adolescents) is in an optimal range for the individual and is stable. Eating is normal and a variety of foods are consumed. Anxiety about shape or weight is...
Olanzapine
Authors: Walsh B. Timothy , Attia Evelyn , Glasofer Deborah R.
Published: November 2020

In this and in the following chapters, we describe three areas of active research:

Hot topic #1 (Chapter 16): a new medication treatment for anorexia nervosa

Hot topic #2 (Chapter 17): the application of modern neuroscience to probe eating disorders...
Shariah
Authors: Esposito John L. , DeLong-Bas Natana J.
Published: November 2020

Sharia is by now a term that most Americans and Europeans recognize, though few really understand what it means. Often portrayed as a medieval system used by religious zealots to oppress women and deny human rights, conservative politicians, media commentators, and hardline televangelists stoke fear by promoting the idea that Muslims want to impose a repressive Sharia rule in America and Europe. Despite the breadth of this propaganda, a majority of Muslims-men and women-support Sharia as a source of law. In fact, for many centuries Sharia has functioned for Muslims as a positive source of guidance, providing a moral compass for individuals and society. This critical new book by John L. Esposito and Natana Delong-Bas aims to serve as a guide for what everybody needs to know in the conversation about Sharia, responding to misunderstandings and distortions, and offering answers to questions about the origin, nature, and content of Sharia.
Statistics
Authors: Ruse Michael
Published: November 2020

How Many Atheists Are There?

Let’s plunge right into the key questions. Start with the most obvious and pressing. How common is atheism today? The world population is around 7 billion. One rough count put the number of atheists as around 2.5%, which means...
Belief
Authors: Ruse Michael
Published: November 2020

Why Should We Believe Any of the Claims of Christianity?

Traditionally, philosophers and theologians make a distinction between beliefs based on revelation (revealed theology or religion) and beliefs based on reason and evidence (natural religion or theology). Starting with the former, this is all...
The Matter of Science
Authors: Ruse Michael
Published: November 2020

How Religious are Scientists?

Let us open the batting with science. Our history has primed us for this charge: Modern science basically and thoroughly makes religious belief untenable, or, if not untenable, then at least implausible and unneeded. It is the cry of the New...
Are there Good Reasons to Believe?
Authors: Ruse Michael
Published: November 2020

Why Should We Believe?

Turn next to the reasons for belief. What about faith? The nonbeliever is faced with an option. It is genuine, or it is self-deception. I’ll leave out options along the lines that no one really believes any of this stuff,...
Alternative Religions
Authors: Ruse Michael
Published: November 2020

Is There Only One Right Belief?

Let us pull back for a moment and widen our gaze, out from Christianity toward other religions. As atheists rightfully keep pointing out nonstop, at once we come up against a major problem, namely, that faith is apparently...
Military Ethics
Authors: Lucas George
Published: November 2020

What significance does “ethics” have for the men and women serving in the military forces of nations around the world? What core values and moral principles collectively guide the members of this “military profession?” This book explains these essential moral foundations, along with “just war theory,” international relations, and international law. The ethical foundations that define the “Profession of Arms” have developed over millennia from the shared moral values, unique role responsibilities, and occasional reflection by individual members the profession on their own practices - eventually coming to serve as the basis for the “Law of Armed Conflict” itself. This book focuses upon the ordinary men and women around the world who wear a military uniform and are committed to the defense of their countries and their fellow citizens. It is about what they do, how they do it, what they think about it, how they behave when carrying out their activities, and how they are expected to behave, both on and off the battlefield (whether in, or out of, uniform) - and what everyone (and not just military personnel themselves) needs to know about this. The book also examines how military personnel are treated and regarded by those whom they have sworn to defend and protect, as well as how they treat and regard one another within their respective services and organizational settings. Finally, the book discusses the transformations in military professionalism occasioned by new developments in armed conflict, ranging counterinsurgency warfare and humanitarian military intervention, to cyber conflict, military robotics, and private military contracting. From China to Russia, author George Lucas effectively sheds light on today’s military ethics in existence throughout the world. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
Agricultural and Food Controversies
Authors: Norwood F. Bailey , Calvo-Lorenzo Michelle S. , Lancaster Sarah , Oltenacu Pascal A.
Published: November 2020

The public is more interested in agricultural and food issues than ever before, as is evident in the many agricultural controversies debated in the media. Why is it that some people embrace new agricultural technologies while others steadfastly defend traditional farming methods? Why do some prefer to buy food grown around the world while others patronize small, local farmers? In the debates about organic food, genetically modified organisms, and farm animal welfare, it is not always clear what the scientific literature actually says. To understand these controversies, the authors encourage readers to develop first an appreciation for why two equally intelligent and well-intentioned people can form radically different notions about food. Sometimes the disputes are scientific in nature, and sometimes they arise from conflicting ethical views. This book confronts the most controversial issues in agriculture by first explaining the principles of both sides of the debate, and then guiding readers through the scientific literature so that they may form their own educated opinions. Is food safe if the farm used pesticides, or are organic foods truly better for your health? Are chemical fertilizers sustainable, or are we producing cheap food today at the expense of future generations? What foods should we eat to have a smaller carbon footprint? Is genetically-modified food the key to global food security, and does it give corporations too much market power? Is the prevalence of corn throughout the food system the result of farm subsidies? Does buying local food stimulate the local economy? Why are so many farm animals raised indoors, and should antibiotics be given to livestock? These are the issues addressed in Agricultural and Food Controversies: What Everyone Needs to Know. While it doesn't claim to have all the answers, it provides a synthesis of research and popular opinions on both sides of these important issues, allowing readers to decide what they value and believe for themselves.
VAWG and the Environment
Authors: True Jacqui
Published: November 2020

How are environmental changes related to VAWG?

Environmental changes that cause resource scarcity exacerbate VAWG. In societies where harmful traditional practices continue to regard women as property, resource scarcities intensify gender-based VAWG. Moreover, extreme weather events can exacerbate insecurities and foreshadow gender-based violence. For...
Advocacy Frameworks: Ending VAWG
Authors: True Jacqui
Published: November 2020

What theories of social and behavioral change inform current advocacy to end VAWG?

Prevention of VAWG requires deep societal transformation in norms, structures, and institutions. Such transformation can only occur when a critical mass of people can no longer tolerate the status quo and...
Historical Background
Authors: Finkel Andrew
Published: November 2020

Who were the Ottomans and what is their relation to modern Turkey?

Today’s Turkish Republic was previously part of an empire ruled over by the Ottoman dynasty. The word “Ottoman” is a Latin transcription of the Arabic for Osman, the reputed founder of the...
General Information
Authors: Waldau Paul
Published: November 2020

In the phrase “animal rights,” the word “animal” is rarely, if ever, understood to refer to humans. Instead, it is virtually always a reference to living beings outside our own species. Humans are, of course, primates, mammals, vertebrates, and so forth. Since all of...
Introduction
Authors: Tinker Salas Miguel
Published: November 2020

The first thing most people outside of Venezuela know about the country is its former president, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, one of the most charismatic and controversial leaders in the Western Hemisphere in the last one hundred years, whose death in 2013 traumatized the...
Why the Russian Phoenix Matters
Authors: Colton Timothy J.
Published: November 2020

What is Russia and who are the Russians?

Russia in its current incarnation, known interchangeably as the Russian Federation, came into being in 1991. It is the latest version of what is well and truly a phoenix state, arisen again and again from the ashes....
Foundations
Authors: Colton Timothy J.
Published: November 2020

How did geography influence Russia’s development?

To make sense of Russia, start with geographic endowment. Any atlas will draw the eye to its salient features: a gigantic physiognomy, northerly and easterly location vis-à-vis Europe, and, for most of its extent, topographic uniformity.

States and protostates...
Politics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Authors: Brennan Jason
Published: November 2020

How popular is libertarianism in the United States?

Somewhere between one-tenth and one-third of Americans are libertarians.

Many libertarians do not self-identify as libertarian. They call themselves liberals, moderates, or conservatives. Many of them vote Democrat or Republican.

Thus, to know what percentage of...
Conclusion
Authors: Axilrod Stephen H.
Published: November 2020

What major challenges face the Fed as an organization in the future?

Judged from today’s conditions, I would mention three.

First, the Fed needs somehow to bring regulatory issues more to the fore in considering its monetary policy. It seems to be working in...
Historical Background, 711–1939
Authors: Chislett William
Published: November 2020

What was the legacy of the Muslim presence between 711 and 1492?

Moors (Berber tribes) crossed over from North Africa in 711 and landed at a limestone mass they called jabal-tariq (Tariq’s rock), or Gibraltar as it is known today. In just...
The Transition to Democracy, 1975–1982
Authors: Chislett William
Published: November 2020

What happened when Franco died?

Franco, the chief protagonist of nearly half a century of Spanish history, died on November 20, 1975, at the age of 82. He was wired and plugged into a battery of medical machines, with the arm of Saint Teresa...
The Socialist Era, 1982–1996
Authors: Chislett William
Published: November 2020

Why did the Socialists win a landslide victory in the 1982 election?

The Unión del Centro Democrático (UCD, the Union of the Democratic Center), a disparate coalition held together by an ambition for power rather than a common ideology, imploded in the run-up to...
The Return of the Right, 1996–2004
Authors: Chislett William
Published: November 2020

How did the right reinvent itself and return to power in 1996 under the Popular Party?

The conservative Partido Popular’s (PP, Popular Party) hunger for power, after 13 years of Socialist government, was amusingly depicted in a 1996 cartoon by El Roto in ...
A Case of False-positive Amphetamine Results on Urine Toxicology Testing Secondary to Imatinib
Authors: Meyers Sarah , Wachman Elisha M.
Published: November 2020

In this case report, we describe a case of imatinib leading to a false-positive amphetamine result on urine drug testing. A 21-year-old female with chronic myelocytic leukemia and in recovery from opioid use disorder reinitiated imatinib maintenance therapy in her third trimester, after previous discontinuation at the beginning of pregnancy. Subsequently, she had multiple presumptive immunoassay-based urine drug tests that resulted positive for amphetamines. The infant's meconium testing was negative for amphetamines, as was maternal definitive testing using urine gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. She had no history of stimulant use and denied any substance use during her pregnancy. Imatinib and/or its metabolites may be responsible for cross-reactivity with urine drug immunoassays leading to a false-positive result for amphetamine.
Properties of Situation-Specific Theories and Neo-pragmatism
Authors: Im Eun-Ok
Published: November 2020

The purpose of this article is to discuss whether the properties of existing situation-specific theories are congruent with the philosophical stance of neo-pragmatism. A literature review was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycInfo with keywords of “situation-specific theory” and “nursing.” Fifteen situation-specific theories were included in the analysis. The properties of existing situation-specific theories included “high specificity and low level of abstraction,” “context understanding,” “direct linkages to research and practice,” and “reflecting diversities and complexities with limited generalizability.” Finally, the findings are discussed in terms of their linkages to the major tenets of neo-pragmatism.
Migration of a Lumbar Spinal Fusion Rod Into the Posterolateral Knee
Authors: Long Mitchell King-wei , Enders Tyler , Leven Dante , Cappellino Anthony
Published: November 2020

Study Design.

Case report (level V evidence).

Objective.

We report a case of a 33-year-old man with Marfan syndrome that visited our clinic for left knee pain and stiffness. Radiographs of the left knee and lumbar spine demonstrated a spinal rod in the posterolateral left knee and its origin being a broken rod from his previous unilateral spinal fusion 17 years prior.

Summary of Background Data.

Spinal arthrodesis is a common treatment modality for a wide range of spinal pathologies including infection, trauma, congenital and developmental deformities, and degenerative conditions. A rare complication that may arise from said procedure is implant migration, most often a result of pseudoarthrosis.

Methods.

Description of the case report.

Results.

Patient was taken to the operating room 2 weeks later for an uneventful removal of the implant and immediate improvement with pain and range of motion.

Conclusion.

Spinal implant migration is a rare complication most often due to implant failure from pseudoarthrosis. In the case presented, this phenomenon was likely attributed to the use of unilateral instrumentation coupled with Marfan syndrome, shown to lead to insufficient implant stability and poorer fusion rates, respectively.

Level of Evidence: 5
Follow-up Study on the Outcomes of Recovered Pregnant Women with a History of COVID-19 in the First and Second Trimesters: A Case Series from China
Authors: Zhao Yin , Huang Bangxing , Ma Hui , Shang You , Nie Xiu , Zou Li
Published: November 2020

Objective:

To determine the pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of women who recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that developed in early pregnancy.

Methods:

This case series analyzed five pregnant women (26–33 years) whom recovered from COVID-19 which were developed in early pregnancy (6–27 weeks) and admitted at the Wuhan Union Hospital from January 15, 2020 to April 30, 2020. The clinical manifestation, laboratory examinations, treatment, pregnancy outcomes, maternal and neonatal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) throat swab reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test results, and SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results in neonates were reviewed. The placental pathology, placental angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 expression were studied by hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemistry staining, SARS-CoV-2 presence was examined by QT-PCR. We also followed up the infants at 3–6 months.

Results:

Three pregnant women were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early pregnancy (Cases 1–3), and two were serum immunoglobulin G positive asymptomatic cases (Cases 4 and 5). Cases 1–3 showed complete recovery after severe COVID-19. Case 3 was infected at 6 weeks of gestation during the first trimester and had induced medical abortion at 12 weeks of gestation. All neonates had no pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2 mRNA reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and serum immunoglobulin M were negative, and immunoglobulin G were positive. All placental samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2 in the nucleic acid test. Placental pathology showed chronic ischemia changes. ACE-2 expressed in both placenta and decidua. The follow-up showed that the infants were healthy and asymptomatic at 3–6 months.

Conclusion:

No adverse outcomes was observed in our case series. However, systemic inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause placental injury. At the time of delivery after recovery from COVID-19, no SARS-CoV-2 positive results was found in the placenta in this case series.
Intrauterine Blood Transfusion in an HCV and HIV Co-Infected Woman
Authors: Charison Jodie C. , Schneider Carol E. , Poliquin Vanessa
Published: November 2020

Hepatitis C infection is not uncommon in pregnant women. Vertical transmission of the virus from mother to fetus is estimated at 4%-8%, however this transmission rate is significantly higher when the mother is co-infected with HIV. Intrauterine blood transfusions can be a necessary part of management for certain perinatal conditions like hemolytic disease of the fetus. Currently there is no published material available on the vertical transmission risk of HCV infection to the fetus as a result of this procedure, irrespective of HIV co-infection. We present a case of a pregnant woman co-infected with HCV and HIV that required an intrauterine blood transfusion during pregnancy. Vertical transmission of either infection to the child did not occur. This provides important evidence that vertical transmission of HCV and/or HIV does not necessarily occur with intrauterine blood transfusions.
The relative importance of reputation and pride as predictors of employee turnover in an academic medical center
Authors: Brown E. Sherwood , Palka Jayme , Helm Sabrina V. , Kulikova Alexandra
Published: November 2020

Background

Past research shows a dual role of organizational reputation in an employment context. Prospective and current employees are affected by public perceptions of their employer, as affiliation with an employer widely known for its positive achievements boosts organization-based self-esteem whereas a poor reputation leads to decreased self-esteem and disassociation. Another key construct is engagement, which relates to employee enthusiasm and their attitude toward the organization and their interest in finding employment elsewhere.

Purpose

The current study examined relationships between engagement, organizational pride, perceived departmental and institutional reputation, and turnover intentions in employees at an academic medical center.

Methods

Participants were 241 faculty, staff, and trainees (63.9% women) in a clinical department at an academic medical center who completed an anonymous online survey that contained the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, as well as questions about pride, reputation, and turnover intentions. Relationships between engagement, organizational pride, perceived departmental and institutional reputation, and turnover intentions were explored.

Results

To determine whether employee engagement mediates the relationship between various predictors and turnover intentions, exploratory mediation models were examined. All of the variables were significantly correlated with each other. Perception of departmental reputation was more strongly associated with engagement, pride, and turnover intentions than was institutional reputation. Engagement fully mediated the relationship between perceived institutional reputation and turnover intentions and partially mediated relationships between departmental reputation and turnover intentions and between pride and turnover intentions.

Practice Implications

The findings suggest that perception of one’s department may be more important to engagement and pride than perception of the larger institution. Furthermore, relationships between pride and reputation and turnover intentions in an academic medical center appear to be, at least partially, mediated through engagement. In contrast to common practice, turnover reduction efforts might be more effective if they enhance perceived departmental, rather than institutional, reputation.
IMMUNOGLOBULIN G4–RELATED OPHTHALMIC DISEASE MIMICKING INTRAOCULAR LYMPHOMA: A CASE REPORT
Authors: Aragona Emanuela , Miserocchi Elisabetta , Arrigo Alessandro , Marchese Alessandro , Bordato Alessandro , Bandello Francesco , Modorati Giulio
Published: November 2020

Purpose:

To describe a case of immunoglobulin G4–related choroiditis mimicking intraocular lymphoma.

Methods:

The patient underwent a complete ophthalmological evaluation including multimodal imaging, with structural optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, ultra-widefield color, and autofluorescent fundus photographies to assess the ocular involvement.

Results:

Patient's best-corrected visual acuity was of 20/25 in the right eye and 20/20 in the left eye. Fundus appearance showed abnormal yellowish choroidal lesions and moderate vitritis in both eyes. Fluorescein angiography was within normal limits, whereas indocyanine green angiography showed areas of choroiditis in both eyes, and structural optical coherence tomography scans disclosed retinal small roundish lesions in the corresponding regions. Laboratory examinations and lymph node biopsy led to the final diagnosis of immunoglobulin G4–related disease.

Conclusion:

We describe a case of immunoglobulin G4–related choroiditis mimicking intraocular lymphoma. The proper use of multimodal imaging associated with laboratory investigations was helpful to reach the correct diagnosis.