bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New York State Hurricane Hazard: History and Future Projections
Authors: Lee Chia-Ying , Sobel Adam H. , Camargo Suzana J. , Tippett Michael K. , Yang Qidong
Published: April 2022

This study addresses hurricane hazard to the state of New York in past, present, and future using synthetic storms generated by the Columbia Hazard model (CHAZ) and climate inputs from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), in conjunction with historical observations. The projected influence of anthropogenic climate change on future hazard is quantified by the normalized differences in statistics of hurricane hazard between the recent historical period (1951–2005) and two future periods under the representative concentration pathway 8.5 warming scenario: the near future (2006–40) and the late-twenty-first century (2070–99). Changes in return periods of storms affecting the state at given intensities are computed, as are wind hazards for individual counties. Other storm characteristics examined include hurricane intensity, forward speed, heading, and rate of change of the heading. The 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of these characteristics mostly change by less than 3% from the historical to the near future period. In the late-twenty-first century, CHAZ projects a clear upward trend in New York hurricane intensity as a consequence of increasing potential intensity and decreasing vertical wind shear in the vicinity. CHAZ also projects a decrease in translation speed and an increasing probability of approach from the east. Changes in hurricane wind hazard, however, are epistemically uncertain because of a fundamental uncertainty in CHAZ projections of New York State hurricane frequency in which frequency either increases or decreases depending on which humidity variable is used in the environmental index that controls genesis in the model. Thus, projected changes in the wind hazards are reported separately under storylines of increasing or decreasing frequency.
Variability of Environmental Conditions for Tropical Cyclone Rapid Intensification in the Western North Pacific
Authors: Shimada Udai
Published: April 2022

How environmental conditions vary among rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones (TCs) and which factors can help offset negative factors for intensification were examined using a dataset of geostationary satellites and environmental diagnostics. The dataset contains TCs in the western North Pacific from 1995 to 2020. A cluster analysis was performed to classify different morphologies of TC cloud patterns at the onset of rapid intensification (RI). Six clusters were identified, and each cluster had a distinct set of environmental conditions. Three clusters (clusters 1, 3, and 5) had some conditions unfavorable for RI. Cluster 1 TCs were exposed to moderate vertical (850–200 hPa) shear (∼6 m s−1). Relatively high sea surface temperature, a moist environment, and movement toward environments with weak vertical shear, high equivalent potential temperature, and high ocean heat content are potential factors that resist the effects of vertical shear. Cluster 3 TCs were characterized by a large 30-kt wind radius and moderate vertical shear (1 kt ≈ 0.51 m s−1). Large storm size and a moist environment caused by large-scale, strong, low-level convergence are possible factors for vortex resiliency against shear. Cluster 5 TCs were located in a very dry environment. Weak vertical shear and small storm size are factors that may offset the negative effects of dry air and ocean cooling. The results suggest that in the case of RI with negative conditions for intensification, other factors can offset the negative impacts of those conditions and that suitable combinations of environmental conditions and TC structural features are important for RI.
The Seasonal Cycle of Surface Soil Moisture
Authors: Stahl Mason O. , McColl Kaighin A.
Published: April 2022

The seasonal cycle contributes substantially to soil moisture temporal variability in many parts of the world, with important implications for seasonal forecasting relevant to agriculture and the health of humans and ecosystems. There is considerable spatial variability in the seasonal cycle of soil moisture, yet a lack of global observations has hindered the development of parsimonious theories explaining that variability. Here, we use 6 years of global satellite observations to describe and explain the seasonal cycle of surface soil moisture globally. An unsupervised clustering algorithm is used to identify five distinct seasonal cycle regimes. Each seasonal cycle regime typically arises in both hemispheres, on multiple continents, and across substantially different local climates. To explain this spatial variability, we then show that the observed seasonal cycle regimes are reproduced very well by a simple but physically based water balance model, which only uses precipitation and downwelling surface shortwave radiation as inputs, and includes no free parameters. Surprisingly, no information on vegetation or land cover is required. To our knowledge, this is the first characterization of the seasonal cycle of surface soil moisture based on global observations.
Improved Quantification of the Rate of Ocean Warming
Authors: Cheng Lijing , Foster Grant , Hausfather Zeke , Trenberth Kevin E. , Abraham John
Published: April 2022

The increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere create an increase in Earth’s thermal energy, which is mainly stored in the ocean. Quantification of the rate of increase in ocean heat content (OHC) is vital for understanding the current and future climate of Earth. Linear trend lines have been frequently used to quantify long-term rates of change, but are inappropriate because they cannot capture nonlinearity in trends, have large start- and end-point sensitivity, and the assumption of linearity is nonphysical. Here observed and model-based linear regressions with higher-order polynomial (quadratic), piecewise linear, and locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) are compared. Piecewise linear and LOWESS perform best in depicting multidecadal trends. It is shown that linear rates are valid for up to about 15-yr segments (i.e., it is valid to compute linear rates within a 15-yr time window). Using the recommended methods, ocean warming for the upper 2000 m increases from about 0 to 0.06 ± 0.08 W m−2 for 1958–73 to 0.58 ± 0.08 W m−2 for 2003–18, indicating an acceleration of ocean warming that happens in all four ocean basins and from near the sea surface to 2000 m. There is consistency between multimodel-mean historically forced climate models and observations, which implies that the contribution of internal variability is small for global 0–2000 m OHC. Notable increases of OHC in the upper ocean (i.e., 0–300 m) after about 1980 and the deeper ocean (300–2000 m) after the late 1980s are also evident. This study suggests alternative methods to those currently used to estimate ocean warming rates to provide a more accurate quantification of long-term Earth’s energy changes.

Significance Statement

Quantifying long-term rates of change is needed to understand the time evolution of ocean warming and to assess the changing ocean and Earth’s energy budgets. Linear trend lines have been frequently used but cannot capture nonlinearity in trends, and have large start- and end-point sensitivity. Based on an analysis of the statistical features of ocean heat content time series, this study proposes two alternative methods to quantify the rates of change, including piecewise linear fit and LOWESS. Robust increases in warming for the upper 2000 m detected through observational records and climate models from 1958 to 2020, indicate a robust acceleration of ocean warming. Slow penetration of heat from the upper ocean into the deeper ocean is also evident.
Evaluation and Improvement of a TKE-Based Eddy-Diffusivity Mass-Flux (EDMF) Planetary Boundary Layer Scheme in Hurricane Conditions
Authors: Chen Xiaomin , Bryan George H. , Hazelton Andrew , Marks Frank D. , Fitzpatrick Pat
Published: April 2022

Accurately representing boundary layer turbulent processes in numerical models is critical to improve tropical cyclone forecasts. A new turbulence kinetic energy (TKE)-based moist eddy-diffusivity mass-flux (EDMF-TKE) planetary boundary layer scheme has been implemented in NOAA’s Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS). This study evaluates EDMF-TKE in hurricane conditions based on a recently developed framework using large-eddy simulation (LES). Single-column modeling tests indicate that EDMF-TKE produces much greater TKE values below 500-m height than LES benchmark runs in different high-wind conditions. To improve these results, two parameters in the TKE scheme were modified to ensure a match between the PBL and surface-layer parameterizations. Additional improvements were made by reducing the maximum allowable mixing length to 40 m based on LES and observations, by adopting a different definition of boundary layer height, and by reducing nonlocal mass fluxes in high-wind conditions. With these modifications, the profiles of TKE, eddy viscosity, and winds compare much better with LES results. Three-dimensional idealized simulations and an ensemble of HAFS forecasts of Hurricane Michael (2018) consistently show that the modified EDMF-TKE tends to produce a stronger vortex with a smaller radius of maximum wind than the original EDMF-TKE, while the radius of gale-force wind is unaffected. The modified EDMF-TKE code produces smaller eddy viscosity within the boundary layer compared to the original code, which contributes to stronger inflow, especially within the annulus of 1–3 times the radius of maximum wind. The modified EDMF-TKE shows promise to improve forecast skill of rapid intensification in sheared environments.
Intonational and Syntactic Innovations in a Language Contact Situation: An Explorative Study of Yes/No Questions in Paraguayan Guarani–Spanish Bilinguals
Authors: Pešková Andrea
Published: April 2022

Whereas the intonation of Spanish varieties has received considerable attention in the past few decades, the research has so far not included the variety of Spanish spoken in Paraguay, where intensive language contact between the Indigenous Guarani language and Spanish since the 16th century has led to widespread bilingualism. This study compares the F0 patterns of yes/no questions in Guarani-dominant bilinguals with those of Spanish-dominant bilinguals and Spanish monolinguals, formalized within the Autosegmental-Metrical model of intonation phonology. Results show no particular differences between the three groups, with all groups producing an H+L*LH% pattern in all types of yes/no questions, the exception being counter-expectational and echo yes/no questions, which were also realized with an L+¡H* L% contour. In spite of the fact that Guarani-dominant bilinguals exhibited more tonal variation in biased yes/no questions, the findings appear on the whole to support the convergence of two intonational systems due to the long period of contact. Furthermore, both bilingual groups made use of Guarani question particles and other Guarani expressions in their productions. Interestingly, across all groups, some speakers occasionally used the calque expression ¿ Será que . . . (“Will it be that . . .?”) at the beginning of questions; this construction can be considered to have become grammaticalized as a question particle. Taken together, the intonational and syntactic innovations apparent in Paraguayan Spanish point toward language change brought about by intensive contact with Guarani and show how two levels of linguistic structure—intonation and syntax—may evolve differently.
“We Will All Go, But What We All Seek Is Good Death”: Cultural Notions of Good Death And Related Mortuary Rituals Among the Akan of Ghana
Authors: Adinkrah Mensah
Published: April 2022

Thanatologists who have researched mortuary beliefs and practices from around the world posit that many societies differentiate between good and bad deaths. The current study utilized in-depth interviews with 30 Akan culture experts to investigate what the Akan ethnic group of Ghana considers to be good death. The results show that Akan good death is natural harmonious death that occurs at advanced age. The deceased would also have experienced a meaningful life devoid of immorality or turpitude. While the bodies of decedents of Akan bad deaths are interred without much ceremony, good deaths are associated with elaborate burial rites and funerary obsequies that serve to honor the decedent. Findings show that Akans generally aspire to achieve a good death, be granted solemn burial rites, and to receive a fitting funerary celebration that would launch them on a journey to join ancestral kin in the hereafter.
Assessing Outpatients’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Managing Diabetes in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Mansy Wael , Wajid Syed , Alwhaibi Abdulrahman , Alghadeer Sultan M. , Alhossan Abdulaziz , Babelghaith Salmeen , Alrabiah Ziyad , Al Arifi Mohamed N.
Published: April 2022

Introduction: When it comes to non-communicable diseases like diabetes, inadequate knowledge, attitude, and practice are often linked to poor health outcomes. This study aims to assess the patients’ knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of diabetes in the outpatient department of a university teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, diabetes type 2 patients attending outpatient departments at a university teaching hospital, Riyadh, were assessed regarding their knowledge, attitude, and practice toward diabetes using a validated KAP scale. Descriptive and inferential analysis was done to determine the factors associated with KAP score using SPSS version 26.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, U.S.). Results: Males made up 69.7% of the sample (n = 165), while 56.9% were between the ages of 41 and 75. The level of knowledge and practice had “good” in 37.6%, and 47.9%, respectively, but level of attitude had “positive” in 30.9% of patients. The association between knowledge tier and gender (p0.014) and insurance status (p0.008), respectively, was shown to be significant. However, the attitude tier was only significantly associated with gender ( P = .003). The practice tier also showed a significant age association ( P = .049). As regards, the mean scores for diabetes-related knowledge were higher only among insured participants ( P = .03) than for other participants’ sociodemographic factors. Meanwhile, the mean attitude scores were also higher among males ( P = .006) than for other sociodemographic characteristics. A comparison of the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics found no statistically significant variations in practice scores. Conclusion: Unfortunately, this study found that outpatient diabetes patients had insufficient knowledge, practice, and a negative attitude toward diabetes type 2. This imposes a great burden on healthcare workers and hence the healthcare system to improve patient scores via diabetes education programs or pharmacist-led patient counseling initiatives.
Prevalence of Undernutrition and Its Associated Factors Among Lactating Women in the Shebedino District, Sidama Regional State, Ethiopia
Authors: Hechera Yonas , Dona Aregahegn
Published: April 2022

Background: Ensuring the nutritional status of lactating women is crucial to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality in poor countries like Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among lactating women in Shebedino district, Sidama Regional State, Ethiopia.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 612 lactating women from February to March 2020. Data were collected by using an interviewer-administered, structured, and pretested questionnaire. Also, physical measurements (weight, height, and body mass index) were measured by using standardized and calibrated instruments. Data entered into Epi data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for further analysis. Descriptive statistics, bivariable, and multivariable logistic regression analysis were done. A P-value of ≤.05 was used to consider the statistical significance.

Result: The prevalence of undernutrition was 25.9% (95% CI: 22.5, 29.5). Having polygamous husband (AOR = 3.47, 95% CI: 1.13, 10.68), belonged to households with less than 5 members (AOR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.16, 2.83), abortion history in the last 6 months (AOR = 3.09, 95% CI: 1.73, 5.51), poor household wealth status (AOR = 3.85, 95% CI: 1.89, 7.81), and medium wealth status (AOR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.06, 4.03) were factors positively associated with undernutrition.

Conclusion: Undernutrition among lactating women was high in the study area. Attention should be given to the economic status of the women, family planning services, abortion prevention, and habits of marrying more than 1 wife (polygamy).
Uncanny Waters
Authors: Rae Caroline Emily
Published: April 2022

In this article, I argue for the notion of what I term ‘uncanny water’ as a conceptual tool for reading contemporary oceanic fictions. The uncanny’s affective capacity to destabilise epistemological and ontological certainties makes it a particularly potent literary tool for challenging the nature/culture binary. I argue that fictions which actively defamiliarise the ocean can be used to redress the anthropocentric privilege found in hitherto narratives of the oceanic that were predicated upon mastery and control, and that uncanny moments of displacement and uncertainty can illuminate human/oceanic interconnections and foster a sense of responsibility and compassion towards the oceans. I identify resonances between the uncanny’s continuing referentiality and the notion that feminist transcorporeality interrelates the subject into networks of materiality which extend across time and space in unknowable ways. Both transcorporeality and the uncanny work against the conceit of the individual through the dissolution of boundaries, and, crucially, both require a suspension of assumptions of the self as whole, discrete and impermeable. To demonstrate this, I read the uncanny waters of contemporary fictions from the Northern Atlantic Littoral (Atlantic Canada and the westernmost parts of the UK). The littoral position of these spaces makes them ideally placed to negotiate the borders between habitable and unhabitable spaces, and the limitations of knowledge that run alongside this. I assert that iterations of uncanny water offer a transoceanic dialogue which shifts constructions of subjectivity away from national and terrestrial boundaries to one more akin to the fluid and relational dialectics of transcorporeality.
Stabilisation of network-controlled aircraft pitch control system with time delay
Authors: Subramanian Manikandan , Kokil Priyanka
Published: April 2022

This paper describes the stability assurance of network-controlled aircraft pitch control system with time delays. A frequency-domain method is used to determine the upper bound of time delay for aircraft pitch control system with gain and phase margin constraint. The effectiveness of proportional-integral (PI) and fractional-order PI controller on aircraft pitch control system stability and performance is investigated in presence of time delay. The parametric space of the PI and fractional-order PI controller are plotted in two-dimensional space to determine the stability region and controller is designed with concern to the time delay. The relation between controller parameters and time delay is estimated and these findings contribute significantly for the design of the controller for aircraft pitch control system. The accuracy of the proposed results is validated using simulation benchmark.
Stabilization of a class of switched systems with state constraints via time-varying Lyapunov functions
Authors: Ma Ruicheng , Huang Lin , Tian Xiaoyi
Published: April 2022

This paper studies the stabilization problem of a class of continuous-time switched linear systems with state constraints under pre-specified dwell-time switchings. Such systems are defined on a closed hypercube as all state variables are constrained to the unit hypercube. The dwell time in this paper is an arbitrarily pre-specified rather than a calculated constant, which is independent of any parameters. First, a class of multiple time-varying Lyapunov functions is introduced to study the stability analysis, and sufficient conditions on stability of the studied switched systems without control input are derived in the framework of pre-specified dwell-time switchings. The distinguishing feature of the proposed Lyapunov functions is that this type of delicately constructed Lyapunov functions can efficiently eliminate the “jump” phenomena of adjacent Lyapunov functions at switching times. Second in the same framework of the dwell time, sufficient conditions for stabilization are proposed for that of the switched systems with state constraints by further designing state feedback controllers. Finally, two examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results. The results of this paper do not require to calculate the total time of each subsystem during which the state is saturated or non-saturated separately, which makes the pre-specified dwell-time switchings easy to apply.
Questionable conferences and presenters from top-ranked universities
Authors: Kulczycki Emanuel , Hołowiecki Marek , Taşk℩n Zehra , Doğan Güleda
Published: April 2022

This article aims to investigate the structures of 935 conferences organised by OMICS and 296 conferences organised by WASET from 2015 through 2017. These conferences are characterised in existing literature as so-called predatory or questionable conferences that provide low-quality academic meetings. We analyse 40,224 presenters, focusing on top-ranked institutions according to three global university ranking systems (Academic Ranking of World Universities, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and QS World University Rankings). Our analysis shows that participants in OMICS events were primarily researchers from the United States, India, the United Kingdom, and China. WASET attracted more researchers from Turkey, India, and South Korea. We found that 11.0% of OMICS and 5.7% of WASET presenters were affiliated with institutions ranked in the top 100 in one of the three aforementioned rankings. We also found that both companies mostly organised conferences in cities that were top tourist destinations.
Exploring Citizen Participation in Smart City Development in Mexico City: An institutional logics approach
Authors: Pansera Mario , Marsh Alex , Owen Richard , Flores López Jesús Arturo , De Alba Ulloa Jessica Lillian
Published: April 2022

We explore smart city development, with a focus on the modalities of citizen participation, using an institutional logics approach. Taking Mexico City as our case study, we describe the presence and dynamics of several logics influencing smart city development. At an organizational level we identify the bureaucratic and technocratic logics underpinning the practices of the governmental agency leading smart city development. Characterized by centralization and the pursuit of efficiency, and framed by a discourse of austerity and financial control, these logics promote a modality of citizen participation that is limited and unidirectional in nature, with citizens positioned largely as users. At a supra-organizational level, we identify a logic of active citizen participation in urban governance that is formalized in city laws. However, this logic is itself entangled in a logic of clientelism and patronage, manifested through networks of power. These logics work synergistically to limit broader, inclusive citizen participation in, and realization of benefits from, smart city agendas. We conclude that a richer understanding of institutional logics enhances the analysis of the social construction of the smart city in particular, situated contexts.
Regulating Nimbus and Focus: Organizing Copresence for Creative Collaboration
Authors: Schiemer Benjamin , Schüßler Elke , Theel Tobias
Published: April 2022

Creative collaboration often takes place in collaborative spaces that increasingly use virtual modes of interaction. To better understand the organizational conditions and organizing practices that facilitate collaboration in such spaces, we compare ethnographies of an online platform for collaborative songwriting and a physical songwriting camp, with each of these spatial settings coming with distinct advantages and disadvantages for creative collaboration. We identify the emergence of copresence – an active mutual orientation toward one another – as a common organizational condition for collaboration. Copresence was fostered by practices of regulating nimbus (i.e. making people more or less visible) and focus (i.e. directing attention to others) that not only stimulated moments of converging copresence marked by collaborative problem-solving, but also enabled diverging copresence marked by undirected attention and more serendipitous interactions. Our comparison reveals the challenges of negotiating between converging and diverging copresence to counteract tendencies towards excessive, or conversely, insufficient nimbus and focus of the participants, both of which are barriers to copresence. These insights contribute to ongoing debates about the organization of online and offline collaborative spaces by shifting the focus away from co-location towards copresence, highlighting the oscillation between converging and diverging copresence as important for a collaborative atmosphere and identifying practices by which copresence can be organized in different spatial settings.
Non-heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in patients after open-heart surgery
Authors: Keles Ercan , Bilen Cagatay , Aygun Hakan , Gencpinar Tugra , Catalyurek Hudai
Published: April 2022

Background

Thrombocytopenia (platelet count below 150 x 103/μL) is a common finding after open-heart surgery and can lead to various complications, including patient death. This study aimed to determine the extent of non–heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in open-heart surgery and to highlight the associated factors.

Materials and Methods

In this cohort study, 842 patients who underwent valve and/or coronary bypass surgery over a 5-year period were retrospectively analyzed. After open-heart surgery, patients whose platelet count was less than 150 x 103/μL on a complete blood count 12 and 24 h after surgery were classified as thrombocytopenic. Three hundred twenty patients without thrombocytopenia and 21 patients with a high probability of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia were excluded from the study. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of independent variables in moderate-severe thrombocytopenia: Age groups, sex, underlying disease, symptoms, type of surgery, pump time, pulsatile or non-pulsatile duration, degree of hypothermia, hemodilution, oxygenator type, use of an intra-aortic balloon, and erythrocyte transfusion counts were included in the analysis.

Results

A total of 501 patients were diagnosed as having non–heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, and 64.3% were male. Three hundred seventy-seven (75.2%) patients had mild thrombocytopenia and 124 (24.7%) had moderate-severe thrombocytopenia. The postoperative platelet count was significantly lower than the preoperative platelet count (213 x 103 vs.117 x 103/μL; p < 0.001). Moderate-severe thrombocytopenia was associated with age ≥80 years odds (OR = 9.026, 95% CI: [1.757–46.363]; p = 0.008), isolated valve surgery (OR = 3.090, 95% CI: [1.867–5.114]; p < 0.001), and valve surgery with coronary bypass (OR = 4.938, 95% CI: [1.638–14.889]; p = 0.005) compared to isolated coronary bypass, type of oxygenator (Nipro vital compared with Affinity OR = 11.097, 95% CI: [1.923–64.023]; p = 0.007), erythrocyte transfusion count (OR = 1.219, 95%CI: [1.046–1.420]; p = 0.011).

Conclusion

Age 80 years or older, surgical procedures including heart-valve surgery, and the number of red blood cell transfusions are associated with the risk of moderate-to-severe thrombocytopenia. This study provides a guide in terms of risk factors that may lead to moderate-to-severe thrombocytopenia after open-heart surgery. However, future multicentre prospective randomized studies may provide more detailed information on this subject.
Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI perfusion parameters are imaging biomarkers for angiogenesis in lung cancer
Authors: Du Yonghao , Zhang Shuo , Liang Ting , Shang Jin , Guo Chenguang , Lian Jie , Gong Huilin , Yang Jian , Niu Gang
Published: April 2022

Background

Quantitative parameters of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) may have the potential to reflect angiogenesis and proliferation of pulmonary neoplasms.

Purpose

To verify whether DCE-MRI can identify pulmonary neoplasm property and evaluate the correlation of DCE-MRI perfusion parameters with microvessel density (MVD) and Ki-67 in lung cancer.

Material and Methods

This study enrolled 65 patients with one pulmonary neoplasm who underwent computed tomography-guided percutaneous lung biopsy with pathological diagnosis (43 malignant, 22 benign; mean age = 59.71 ± 11.72 years). All patients did DCE-MRI before biopsy. Quantitative MRI parameters including endothelial transfer constant (Ktrans), flux rate constant (Kep), and fractional extravascular extracellular space (EES) volume (Ve) were calculated by extended Tofts linear model. MVD was evaluated by CD34-expressing tumor vessels. Proliferation was assessed by Ki-67 staining. The correlations of parameters with MVD and Ki-67 expression were analyzed.

Results

Ktrans and Kep values were significantly increased in malignant lesions compared to benign lesions ( P = 0.001 and 0.022, respectively), whereas no statistical difference in Ve was found. The CD34 expression was positively correlated to Ktrans ( r = 0.608; P = 0.004) and Kep ( r = 0.556; P = 0.001). Subsequent subtype analyses also showed positive correlations of Ktrans and Kep with MVD in adenocarcinoma group ( r = 0.550 and 0.563; P = 0.012 and 0.015, respectively). No significant correlation was found between these parameters and Ki-67.

Conclusion

Ktrans and Kep may distinguish benign and malignant pulmonary neoplasm. Ktrans and Kep, with their positive correlation to MVD, can be used as non-invasive parameters reflecting lung cancer angiogenesis.
No correlation between diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis and coronary artery disease on computed tomography using two different scoring systems
Authors: Dan Lantsman Christine , Brodov Yafim , Matetzky Shlomi , Beigel Roi , Lidar Merav , Eshed Iris , Goitein Orly
Published: April 2022

Background

An association between diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and a history of coronary artery disease (CAD) was previously reported.

Purpose

To investigate the association between DISH and CAD as assessed using the coronary artery calcification score (CACS) and the CAD-Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS) score in patients with symptomatic chest pain.

Material and Methods

Consecutive cardiac CT scans performed before and after IV contrast administration were evaluated for CACS (Agatston method), CAD-RADS, and the presence of DISH. The association of DISH with the presence and extent of CACS/CAD-RADS scores was analyzed with and without adjustment for known atherosclerotic risk factors.

Results

The study cohort included 268 individuals (157 men, 111 women; median age = 54 years). DISH was present in 65 (24.3%) individuals. CACS was significantly higher in the DISH group compared to the non-DISH group in the univariate analysis (median CACS DISH = 2, range = 0–80.5 vs. median CACS non-DISH = 0, range = 0–11; P < 0.005) but this association did not persist on multivariate analysis. There was a positive trend toward higher CAD-RADS scores in the DISH group ( P = 0.03) but after adjustment for age, male sex, and family history, this tendency was not significant.

Conclusion

No independent association was found between the presence of DISH and CACS and CAD-RADS scores. Our findings suggest a more complex and possibly non-causal relationship between coronary artery disease and DISH.
High-altitude exposure duration dependent global and regional gray matter volume decrease in healthy immigrants: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Feng Jie , Men Weiwei , Yu Xiao , Liu Wenjia , Zhang Shiyu , Liu Jie , Ma Lin
Published: April 2022

Background

The correlation between brain injury and high-altitude (HA) exposure duration (Dur_HA) as well as peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) remains unclear.

Purpose

To evaluate the global and regional brain volume differences between HA immigrants and sea-level residents, and the relationship between brain volume with Dur_HA and SpO2.

Material and Methods

Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired in 33 healthy male HA immigrants (HA group) and 33 matched sea-level male residents (SL group). Differences in global gray matter volume (GMV), white matter volume (WMV), brain parenchyma volume (BV), total intracranial volume (TIV), and the volume-fraction (the ratio of GMV/TIV, WMV/TIV, BV/TIV) were assessed. Regional gray matter differences were investigated using voxel-based morphology analysis. The volume of clusters with GM loss were calculated as the volume of volume of interest (V_VOI). Student’s t-test and partial correlation were adopted for statistic calculation.

Results

Compared to the SL group, the HA immigrants had larger WMV ( P = 0.015), smaller ratio of GMV/WMV ( P = 0.022), and regional gray matter loss in bilateral basal ganglion, limbic system, midbrain, and vermis (cluster size >100 voxels, family-wise error corrected at P = 0.01). The global GMV, BV, and V_VOI confined to vermis had negative correlations with the Dur_HA (r = -0.369, P = 0.049; r = -0.380, P = 0.042; and r = −0.471, P = 0.010. Neither global nor regional brain volume correlated with SpO2.

Conclusion

Global and regional brain are affected by long-term HA exposure, and global and regional gray matter have a time-dependent volume loss.
Roles of C-reactive protein polymorphisms and life event changes on cognitive function in bipolar patients receiving valproate
Authors: Chen Po See , Tang Li-Yi , Chang Hui Hua
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) exhibit an inflamed condition that is associated with metabolic disturbance and cognitive impairment. Whether inflammation, represented by C-reactive protein (CRP), is causally associated with BD and influences treatment outcome has not been established.

Methods

We examined whether CRP is a causal factor for the risk of BD in drug-naïve, depressed BD patients and investigated whether polymorphisms in CRP and life event changes influence cognitive function in BD patients receiving valproate (VPA) treatment.

Results

Our results showed that BD patients had significantly higher CRP levels and worse cognitive function than the controls, while the frequencies of CRP single nucleotide polymorphisms in BD patients and in controls were not different. In addition, the life event scale score was higher for BD patients than for controls. Furthermore, the genotypes of CRP polymorphisms and the interactions between polymorphisms of CRP and life event scale score had a significant influence on cognitive performance in BD patients after 12 weeks of VPA treatment.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated the clinical utility of the application of functional genetics in clarifying the interactions among CRP, life event stress, and BD and suggested the important roles of CRP gene–environment interactions in developing treatment strategies for BD.
Sensemaking by Employees in Essential versus Non-essential Professions During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Comparison of Effects of Change Communication and Disruption Cues on Mental Health, Through Interpretations of Identity Threats and Work Meaningfulness
Authors: van Zoonen Ward , Rice Ronald E. , ter Hoeven Claartje L.
Published: April 2022

This study examines the implications of categorizing workers into essential and non-essential groups due to disruptions in work associated with—and the quality of organizational change communication about—the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we examine how these cues trigger identity threats and influence the meaningfulness of work, consequently affecting the mental health of workers (anxiety, distress, and depression). The results show that change communication reduces identity threat, while also increasing meaningfulness of work, for both work categories. However, the disruptions increase identity threat only for non-essential workers. Conversely, identity threat increases two of the three mental health issues while meaningfulness of work reduces two of them. The study contributes to our growing understanding of the pervasive, though subtle, implications of COVID-19 for the workplace by showing how a process of employee sensemaking and organizational change communication directly and indirectly influence important dimensions of mental health.
Gravity-compensated guidance for impact-angle interception of a moving target
Authors: Kim Hyeong-Geun , Lee Jun-Yong , Kim Pyojin
Published: April 2022

This paper proposes an impact-angle control guidance (IACG) law for anti-ship and anti-tank missiles in which the command converges to zero at the point of interception, even in a gravity field. The desired line-of-sight (LoS) angle that satisfies the terminal impact-angle and acceleration constraints is first defined. The guidance command is then derived as a solution that realizes the convergence of the actual LoS angle to the desired LoS angle during the terminal stage of homing in on a target. Gravity is considered when designing the guidance law such that the desired terminal constraints are accurately satisfied, even under realistic pitch-axis engagement. We also investigated whether the proposed law is optimal for minimizing the total expense of maneuvering while performing IACG in a gravity field. The results of the numerical simulations included in this study demonstrate that the proposed guidance law achieves accurate impact-angle interception with the command converging to zero at the end of homing.
Joint analysis of multivariate failure time data with latent variables
Authors: Pan Deng , Song Xinyuan , Pan Junhao
Published: April 2022

We propose a joint modeling approach to investigate the observed and latent risk factors of the multivariate failure times of interest. The proposed model comprises two parts. The first part is a distribution-free confirmatory factor analysis model that characterizes the latent factors by correlated multiple observed variables. The second part is a multivariate additive hazards model that assesses the observed and latent risk factors of the failure times. A hybrid procedure that combines the borrow-strength estimation approach and the asymptotically distribution-free generalized least square method is developed to estimate the model parameters. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators are derived. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed method performs well for practical settings. An application to a study concerning the risk factors of multiple diabetic complications is provided.
Active Sensory Therapies Enhancing Upper Limb Recovery Among Poststroke Subjects: A Systematic Review
Authors: Arya Kamal Narayan , Pandian Shanta , Joshi Akshay Kumar , Chaudhary Neera , Agarwal G.G.
Published: April 2022

Background:

In stroke, sensory deficits may affect the motor recovery of the subjects. The evidence for the active sensory intervention to enhance motor recovery is sparsely available.

Purpose:

To systematically review the available evidence from the studies on active sensory therapies augmenting upper limb recovery among poststroke subjects.

Methods:

The following databases were searched for the desired articles: PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Trials (CENTRAL), DORIS, PEDro, and OTseeker. The primary search keywords were stroke, sensory, and motor. The articles published in English up to August 2021 were considered for the review. Only investigations that studied active sensory interventions to enhance motor recovery were considered for the review. The studies of robotic training, virtual reality, electrical stimulation, and acupuncture were excluded. Motor recovery and sensory recovery were considered as primary and secondary measures, respectively.

Results:

Out of 3528 screened studies, eight studies were found eligible for the present systematic review. Active sensory interventions in the form of sensory discrimination, mirror therapy, motor imagery, and specific somatosensory training were utilized in the selected studies. The interventions through mirror therapy and mental imaging have some promising roles in enhancing upper limb recovery. However, there is a lack of strong evidence for the effectiveness of the intervention enhancing motor improvement among the stroke subjects.

Conclusion:

A comprehensive active sensory protocol should be developed having components of cognitive, sensory, motor, and functional demand. There is a need to conduct good quality randomized trials to support the existing active sensory therapies.
Internationalization at Home and Virtual: A Sustainable Model for Brazilian Higher Education
Authors: Woicolesco Vanessa Gabrielle , Cassol-Silva Carla Camargo , Morosini Marilia
Published: April 2022

The objective of this article is to analyze the strategies adopted by Brazilian universities for the continuity of higher education internationalization actions during the pandemic of COVID-19. Taking as a guide the stages of development of the internationalization of higher education proposed by Brandenburg; de Wit; Jones; Leask & Drobner ( 2020 ), a new stage of development is proposed: the virtualization. The research results suggest that it will continue after the pandemic. In an empirical qualitative study, conducted with six Brazilian Higher Education Institutions well evaluated by the Times Higher Education 2020 ranking, it was identified that the Internationalization actions developed to contribute to a new sustainable model of internationalization in the country, based on virtualization of Internationalization at Home, and that meets the main objective of the internationalization of higher education: to provide opportunities for all students to develop international perspectives and intercultural competencies during their formative journey.
Somali Refugee Women’s Cultural Beliefs and Practices Around Pregnancy and Childbirth
Authors: Njenga Angela
Published: April 2022

Introduction:

The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural beliefs and practices of resettled Somali refugee women around pregnancy and childbirth. This study took place in the Midwestern region of the United States.

Methodology:

Leininger’s theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality served as the theoretical framework for the design of this qualitative descriptive study. Data were collected from 15 Somali refugee women through in-depth interviews.

Results:

Three major themes emerged from this study. This article focuses on one of the themes: It’s what women believe and do. This theme is reflective and indicative of the Somali refugee women cultural beliefs and practices during pregnancy, and during and after childbirth.

Discussion and Conclusion:

Somali refugee women approached, managed, and conceptualized pregnancy and childbirth in their cultural context. Western health care providers should strive to understand cultural beliefs and conceptualizations that may influence the utilization of prenatal health care.
The Desperate Radicalism of Orwell’s 1984: Power, Socialism, and Utopia in Dystopian Times
Authors: Cole Matthew B.
Published: April 2022

Though 1984 is often praised for its prescience, critics in Orwell’s time and ours have also condemned its pessimism. Orwell’s despair, the argument goes, undermines the power of his warning, representing a retreat from politics, a betrayal of socialism, and a repudiation of utopianism. This article draws on the text of 1984 and Orwell’s contemporaneous writings to reassess his thinking on power, socialism, and utopia and to reconsider 1984’s appeal to the political imagination. Characterizing Orwell’s late political sensibility as one of desperate radicalism, the article demonstrates that Orwell remained both a socialist and a steward of the utopian imagination and that he feared totalitarianism because it threatened to expunge utopian ideals from historical consciousness. 1984 depicts a world in which this effort has nearly succeeded, rendering Orwell’s present as a moment of choice between an egalitarian future and a future of permanent hierarchy.
Association of Cardiovascular Disease and Military Veteran Status With Impairments in Physical and Psychological Functioning: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Analysis of US National Survey Data
Authors: Early Nicole K. , Buckley Kelsey , Entsuah Nana , Fairman Kathleen A.
Published: April 2022

Introduction:

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides multidisciplinary team-based care with peer-to-peer support for diabetes and obesity, but not for most heart diseases.

Objective:

To inform disease-care models, assess physical and psychological functioning in veterans with, or at high risk of, heart disease.

Methods:

Retrospective, cross-sectional cohort analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2015-2019, based on standard measures of functioning: self-rated health, serious psychological distress, and high-risk substance use. Cohorts were veterans with respondent-reported heart disease, or at high risk of cardiovascular disease based on age/comorbidity combinations (HD/risk); nonveterans with HD/risk; and veterans without HD/risk. Ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for demographics, social determinants of health, and chronic conditions. A priori alpha was set to 0.01 because of large sample size (N = 28,314).

Results:

Among those with HD/risk, veterans (n = 3,483) and nonveterans (n = 16,438) had similar physical impairments, but distress trended higher among veterans (adjusted odds ratio = 1.36, 99% confidence interval [CI] = 0.99-1.86). Among those with comorbid HD/risk and behavioral health problems, regression-adjusted treatment rates were similar for veterans and nonveterans with psychological symptoms (55.9% vs. 55.2%, respectively, P = 0.531) or high-risk substance use (18.7% vs. 19.4%, P = .547); veterans were more likely to receive outpatient mental health treatment (36.1% [CI = 34.4%-37.8%] vs. 28.9% [CI = 28.2%-29.6%]).

Conclusion:

An upward trend in distress among veterans compared with nonveterans with HD/risk was not explained by differences in behavioral health treatment utilization. Further research should test multidisciplinary team-based care for veterans with HD/risk, similar to that used for other chronic diseases.