bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Temporal trends of case-fatality in patients undergoing dual-injection coronary chronic total occlusion recanalization
Authors: Blessing Recha , Keller Karsten , Dimitriadis Zisis , Münzel Thomas , Gori Tommaso , Hobohm Lukas
Published: September 2023

Aims

Recently, interventional techniques and material to treat chronic total occlusion (CTO) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have evolved significantly. Nevertheless, it is still unknown whether this progress improved treatment success and patients’ outcome. In a nationwide sample, we sought to analyze trends of patients’ characteristics, complications and in-hospital case-fatality of patients undergoing CTO revascularization in Germany.

Methods and Results

We analyzed data on characteristics, treatments, and in-hospital outcomes for all coronary artery disease (CAD) patients (ICD-code I25) undergoing dual-injection CTO recanalization (OPS procedural code: 8–839.9) in Germany from 2009 to 2020. Overall, 4,998,457 inpatients aged ≥ 18 years with diagnosis of CAD were treated in German hospitals in this period. Among these, 52,879 patients (1.1%) underwent CTO recanalization. Annual number of CTO PCIs increased from 1263 in 2009 to 6435 in 2020 (β 3.48 [95% CI 3.44–3.52]; p < 0.001) in parallel with a significant decrease of case-fatality (2.2% in 2009 to 1.4% in 2020; β  – 0.60 [95% CI  – 0.82 to  – 0.39]; p < 0.001). Overall, 754 (1.4%) patients with CTO recanalization died during the in-hospital stay and in-hospital case-fatality grew exponentially with age (β 0.82 [95% CI 0.73–0.90]; p < 0.001). Significant predictors of in-hospital case fatality with an OR > 3 were cancer, stroke, hemopericardium, acute renal failure, pulmonary embolism and shock.

Conclusion

Annual number of CTO procedures performed in Germany increased from 2009 to 2020 with a concomitant anti-proportional decrease in the case-fatality. Our findings may help to draw more attention to predictors of in-hospital case fatality in patients hospitalized for CTO recanalization.

Graphical abstract
The disappearance of gastric metastasis and liver metastasis in non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma is due to osimertinib
Authors: Wang Yun , Yan Chao , Zhang Chuantao , Yu Enhao , Wang Kai , Liu Xiangyong , Yu Jie , Zhou Chunyang , Yang Aijie
Published: September 2023

Purpose

Gastric metastasis of lung cancer is rare, and the cases of disappearance of gastric metastasis and liver metastasis caused by oxitinib treatment have not been reported.

Methods

A 47-year-old male patient with no history of diabetes, hypertension or smoking presented with chest discomfort after eating. At the time of consultation, the diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the right lower lobe of the lung with liver and gastric metastasis was considered by pathological examination of biopsy of the fundus of the stomach near the cardia, pathological examination of CT-guided lung aspiration and pathological examination of liver occupancy aspiration, combined with immunohistochemical results. He was found to have exon 19 deletion in next generation sequencing. We performed osimertinib on him (EGFR–TKI) systemic therapy, followed by local radiation therapy to the right lower lung primary lesion.

Results

After systemic treatment with osimertinib and local radiotherapy of the primary site, the metastases disappeared and the primary site showed post-radiotherapy changes, and the evaluated efficacy was complete remission.

Conclusions

This is the first report to our knowledge of a patient who presented with gastric and hepatic metastases from lung cancer and achieved complete remission with osimertinib and local radiotherapy, with good quality of life, which also provides a basis for future clinical work and is of great significance.
Types of mathematical tasks in lower secondary classrooms in Germany
Authors: Adleff Ann-Kristin , Ross Natalie , König Johannes , Kaiser Gabriele
Published: September 2023

Tasks play an important role in mathematics education, as they provide opportunities for students to develop their competencies and to cognitively engage with the mathematical content. The potential for cognitive activation as a central feature of a mathematical task has been considered in numerous studies, mostly as a didactical analysis by means of existing classification systems. In this study, which has been carried out in the frame of the TEDS research program, a different approach is taken by which we aim to identify the cognitive demand level of tasks used in ordinary mathematics lessons. Thus, the correlation between general mathematical competencies and the cognitive mathematical activities required to solve the task was analyzed and common properties of groupings of tasks were empirically extracted. In detail, 2490 tasks from mathematics lessons in Germany were analyzed by means of a rational task analysis with regard to their potential for fostering general mathematical competencies, namely modelling, problem solving, reasoning and argumentation, use of representations, use of symbols and operations, and communication. Latent class analysis revealed six classes of mathematical tasks with varying potential for the different competencies. In accordance with previous studies on mathematical tasks in Germany, the biggest class focused solely on the use of symbols and operations, while other classes showed different foci. Post hoc analyses revealed that the classes of tasks differ with regard to the level of cognitive activity they require. The results of the study highlight that the potential for cognitive activation of the tasks used in the classrooms of this more recent study has not improved in the last decades, despite many reform activities in German mathematics education, and that many mathematical tasks used are still more or less calculation oriented.
Reactivity in chemistry: the propensity view
Authors: Suárez Mauricio , Sánchez Gómez Pedro J.
Published: September 2023

We argue for an account of chemical reactivities as chancy propensities, in accordance with the ‘complex nexus of chance’ defended by one of us in the past. Reactivities are typically quantified as proportions, and an expression such as “A + B → C” does not entail that under the right conditions some given amounts of A and B react to give the mass of C that theoretically corresponds to the stoichiometry of the reaction. Instead, what is produced is a fraction α < 1 of this theoretical amount, and the corresponding percentage is usually known as the yield, which expresses the relative preponderance of its reaction. This is then routinely tested in a laboratory against the observed actual yields for the different reactions. Thus, on our account, reactivities ambiguously refer to three quantities at once. They first refer to the underlying propensities effectively acting in the reaction mechanisms, which in ‘chemical chemistry’ (Schummer in Hyle 4:129–162, 1998) are commonly represented by means of Lewis structures. Besides, reactivities represent the probabilities that these propensities give rise to, for any amount of the reactants to combine as prescribed. This last notion is hence best understood as a single case chance and corresponds to a theoretical stoichiometric yield. Finally, reactivities represent the actual yields observed in experimental runs, which account for and provide the requisite evidence for/against both the mechanisms and single case chances ascribed.
Wideband ultrathin and polarization insensitive metamaterial absorber for Ku-band applications
Authors: Saadeldin A. Samy , Sayed Amr M. , Amr Adnan M. , Sayed Menna O. , Hameed Mohamed Farhat O. , Obayya S. S. A.
Published: September 2023

In this paper, wideband, and ultrathin metamaterial absorber is proposed, analyzed and fabricated for Ku-band applications. The reported absorber has a nearly perfect absorptivity above 90% covering the entire Ku band (12–20 GHz) at normal incidence for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarization. This is due to the supported electric and magnetic resonances simultaneously. Consequently, the effective permittivity and permeability can be designed to obtain impedance matching with free space. This leads to the absorption of the entire incident energy in the metamaterial absorber. The suggested structure also shows a good absorption response (above 80%) under oblique incidence (from 0 to 50°). Therefore, the proposed absorber represents a good potential for Ku-band applications.
Improving case duration accuracy of orthopedic surgery using bidirectional encoder representations from Transformers (BERT) on Radiology Reports
Authors: Zhong William , Yao Phil Y. , Boppana Sri Harsha , Pacheco Fernanda V. , Alexander Brenton S. , Simpson Sierra , Gabriel Rodney A.
Published: September 2023

Purpose

A major source of inefficiency in the operating room is the mismatch between scheduled versus actual surgical time. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate a proof-of-concept study for predicting case duration by applying natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning that interpret radiology reports for patients undergoing radius fracture repair.

Methods

Logistic regression, random forest, and feedforward neural networks were tested without NLP and with bag-of-words. Another NLP method tested used feedforward neural networks and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers specifically pre-trained on clinical notes (ClinicalBERT). A total of 201 cases were included. The data were split into 70% training and 30% test sets. The average root mean squared error (RMSE) were calculated (and 95% confidence interval [CI]) from 10-fold cross-validation on the training set. The models were then tested on the test set to determine proportion of times surgical cases would have scheduled accurately if ClinicalBERT was implemented versus historic averages.

Results

The average RMSE was lowest using feedforward neural networks using outputs from ClinicalBERT (25.6 min, 95% CI: 21.5–29.7), which was significantly (P < 0.001) lower than the baseline model (39.3 min, 95% CI: 30.9–47.7). Using the feedforward neural network and ClinicalBERT on the test set, the percentage of accurately predicted cases, which was defined by the actual surgical duration within 15% of the predicted surgical duration, increased from 26.8 to 58.9% (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

This proof-of-concept study demonstrated the successful application of NLP and machine leaning to extract features from unstructured clinical data resulting in improved prediction accuracy for surgical case duration.
La Voz De La Hechicera: De La Narración Oral Al Registro Judicial
Authors: Gala Pellicer Susana
Published: September 2023

Halfway between orality and writing, the statement of the women accused by the Inquisition of practicing sorcery raises interpretive difficulties that are hard to resolve. The analysis of the confession made by Vicenta Graçia Almenar before the Inquisition of Valencia (1623) will allow us to detect some of the factors that mediate between the discourse of the woman and the text produced by the Inquisition: aspects such as the transcription process (for example, the presence of errors and spelling slips introduced by the notary), the context of emission (which determines the use of a characteristic formulaic language) or the discursive typology (the narration of experiences and magical practices), among others, will shed new light on the construction of the defendant’s speech and on its transformation into a judicial text.
Pre-electoral coalitions and the distribution of political power
Authors: Hortala-Vallve Rafael , Meriläinen Jaakko , Tukiainen Janne
Published: September 2023

Pre-electoral coalitions (PECs) may increase parties’ chances of winning an election, but they may also distort electoral results and policies away from citizens’ preferences. To shed light on how PECs shape post-electoral power distribution, we study the causes and consequences of PECs in Finland where elections use an open-list proportional representation system, and parties may form joint lists. We present descriptive evidence showing that PECs are more common between parties of equal size and similar ideology, and when elections are more disproportional or involve more parties. Using difference-in-differences and density discontinuity designs, we illustrate that voters punish coalescing parties and target personal votes strategically within the coalitions, and that PECs are formed with the particular purpose of influencing the distribution of power. PECs increase small parties’ chances of acquiring leadership positions, lead to more dispersed seat distributions, and sometimes prevent absolute majorities. They can thus enable a broader representation of citizens’ policy preferences.
Patient adherence to patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) completion in clinical care: current understanding and future recommendations
Authors: Unni Elizabeth , Coles Theresa , Lavallee Danielle C. , Freel Jennifer , Roberts Natasha , Absolom Kate
Published: September 2023

Background

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used as an assessment and monitoring tool in clinical practice. However, patient adherence to PROMs completions are typically not well documented or explained in published studies and reports. Through a collaboration between the International Society for Quality-of-Life Research (ISOQOL) Patient Engagement and QOL in Clinical Practice Special Interest Groups (SIGs) case studies were collated as a platform to explore how adherence can be evaluated and understood. Case studies were drawn from across a range of clinically and methodologically diverse PROMs activities.

Results

The case studies identified that the influences on PROMs adherence vary. Key drivers include PROMs administeration methods within a service and wider system, patient capacity to engage and clinician engagement with PROMs information. It was identified that it is important to  evaluate  PROMs integration and adherence from multiple perspectives.

Conclusion

PROM completion rates are an important indicator of patient adherence. Future research prioritizing an understanding of PROMs completion rates by patients is needed.
Eliciting a value set for the Swedish Capability-Adjusted Life Years instrument (CALY-SWE)
Authors: Meili Kaspar Walter , Mulhern Brendan , Ssegonja Richard , Norström Fredrik , Feldman Inna , Månsdotter Anna , Hjelte Jan , Lindholm Lars
Published: September 2023

Purpose

Our aim was to elicit a value set for Capability-Adjusted Life Years Sweden (CALY-SWE); a capability-grounded quality of life instrument intended for use in economic evaluations of social interventions with broad consequences beyond health.

Methods

Building on methods commonly used in the quality-adjusted life years EQ-5D context, we collected time-trade off (TTO) and discrete choice experiment (DCE) data through an online survey from a general population sample of 1697 Swedish participants. We assessed data quality using a score based on the severity of inconsistencies. For generating the value set, we compared different model features, including hybrid modeling of DCE and TTO versus TTO data only, censoring of TTO answers, varying intercept, and accommodating for heteroskedasticity. We also assessed the models’ DCE logit fidelity to measure agreement with potentially less-biased DCE data. To anchor the best capability state to 1 on the 0 to 1 scale, we included a multiplicative scaling factor.

Results

We excluded 20% of the TTO answers of participants with the largest inconsistencies to improve data quality. A hybrid model with an anchor scale and censoring was chosen to generate the value set; models with heteroskedasticity considerations or individually varying intercepts did not offer substantial improvement. The lowest capability weight was 0.114. Health, social relations, and finance and housing attributes contributed the largest capability gains, followed by occupation, security, and political and civil rights.

Conclusion

We elicited a value set for CALY-SWE for use in economic evaluations of interventions with broad social consequences.
Analyst ability and research effort: non-EPS forecast provision as a research quality signal
Authors: Pope Peter F. , Wang Tong
Published: September 2023

The range of non-EPS forecast types provided by individual analysts to I/B/E/S has increased dramatically over time but varies considerably across firms. We propose that in providing a broader range of forecast types, analysts can signal superior research ability and research effort. Consistent with this hypothesis, we document positive associations between the number of forecast types (NFT) an analyst provides and common proxies for research quality, including earnings forecast accuracy, price target accuracy, stock recommendation profitability, market reactions to stock recommendation revisions, and analyst career outcomes. The effects of NFT are incremental to other quality proxies used in the literature and are distinct from the issuance of specific non-EPS forecast types studied previously (e.g., cash flow forecasts). We demonstrate the information value of NFT to investors by examining the out-of-sample performance of portfolios formed conditional on NFT and exploiting revisions in consensus earnings forecasts and individual analysts’ stock recommendations. We conclude that the number of forecast types an analyst provides for a firm is a readily available proxy for the quality of her research.
Parsimonious mixtures for the analysis of tensor-variate data
Authors: Tomarchio Salvatore D. , Punzo Antonio , Bagnato Luca
Published: September 2023

Real data is taking on more and more complex structures, raising the necessity for more flexible and parsimonious statistical methodologies. Tensor-variate (or multi-way) structures are a typical example of such kind of data. Unfortunately, real data often present atypical observations that make the traditional normality assumption inadequate. Thus, in this paper, we first introduce two new tensor-variate distributions, both heavy-tailed generalizations of the tensor-variate normal distribution. Then, we use these distributions for model-based clustering via finite mixture models. To introduce parsimony in the models, we use the eigen-decomposition of the components’ scale matrices, obtaining two families of parsimonious tensor-variate mixture models. As a by-product, we also introduce the parsimonious version of tensor-variate normal mixtures. As for parameter estimation, we illustrate variants of the well-known EM algorithm. Since the number of parsimonious models depends on the order of the tensors, we implement strategies intending to shorten the initialization and fitting processes. These procedures are investigated via simulated analyses. Finally, we fitted our parsimonious models to two real datasets having a 4-way and a 5-way structure, respectively.
Mechanical Characterization of Fatigue and Cyclic Plasticity of 304L Stainless Steel at Elevated Temperature
Authors: Subasic M. , Alfredsson B. , Dahlberg C. F. O. , Öberg M. , Efsing P.
Published: September 2023

Background

The mechanical characterization of the cyclic elastoplastic response of structural materials at elevated temperatures is crucial for understanding and predicting the fatigue life of components in nuclear reactors.

Objective

In this study, a comprehensive mechanical characterization of 304L stainless steel has been performed including metallography, tensile tests, fatigue tests, fatigue crack growth tests and cyclic stress-strain tests.

Methods

Isothermal tests were conducted at both room temperature and 300 °C for both the rolling direction and the transverse direction of the hot rolled steel. Mechanical properties were extracted from the uniaxial experiments by fitting relevant material models to the data. The cyclic plasticity behavior has been modelled with a radial return-mapping algorithm that utilizes the Voce nonlinear isotropic hardening model in combination with the Armstrong-Frederick nonlinear kinematic hardening model. The plasticity models are available in commercial FE software and accurately capture the stabilized hysteresis loops, including a substantial Bauschinger effect.

Results

The material exhibits near isotropic properties, but its mechanical performance is generally reduced at high temperatures. Specifically, in the rolling direction, the Young’s modulus is reduced by 16 % at 300 °C, the yield strength at 0.2 % plastic strain is lower by 23 %, and the ultimate tensile strength is lower by 30 % compared to room temperature. Fatigue life is also decreased, leading to an accelerated fatigue crack growth rate compared to room temperature. A von Mises radial return mapping algorithm proves to be effective in accurately modelling the cyclic plasticity of the material. The algorithm has also been used to establish a clear correlation between energy dissipation per cycle and cycles to failure, leading to the proposal of an energy-based fatigue life prediction model.

Conclusions

The material exhibits reduced mechanical performance at elevated temperatures, with decreased monotonic strength, compared to room temperature. Fatigue life is also compromised, resulting in accelerated fatigue crack growth. The material’s hardening behavior differs at room temperature and elevated temperature, with lower peak stress values observed at higher temperatures. The radial return mapping algorithm can be used to determine the dissipated energy per cycle which together with fatigue testing has been used to propose a low cycle fatigue life prediction model at both temperatures.
The Question of the Origins of COVID-19 and the Ends of Science
Authors: Komesaroff Paul A. , Dwyer Dominic E.
Published: September 2023

Intense public interest in scientific claims about COVID-19, concerning its origins, modes of spread, evolution, and preventive and therapeutic strategies, has focused attention on the values to which scientists are assumed to be committed and the relationship between science and other public discourses. A much discussed claim, which has stimulated several inquiries and generated far-reaching political and economic consequences, has been that SARS-CoV-2 was deliberately engineered at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and then, either inadvertently or otherwise, released to the public by a laboratory worker. This has been pursued despite a clear refutation, through comprehensive genomic analysis, of the hypothesis that the virus was deliberately engineered and the failure of detailed investigations to identify any evidence in support of a laboratory leak. At the same time a substantial, established body of knowledge about the many factors underlying the emergence of novel zoonotic diseases has been largely ignored—including climate change and other mechanisms of environmental destruction, tourism, patterns of trade, and cultural influences. The existence and conduct of these debates have raised questions about the vulnerability of science to manipulation for political purposes. Scientific discourses are vulnerable because: (i) claims can be made with no more than probabilistic force; (ii) alleged “facts” are always subject to interpretation, which depends on social, ethical, and epistemological assumptions; and (iii) science and scientists are not inherently committed to any single set of values and historically have served diverse, and sometimes perverse, social and political interests. In the face of this complexity, the COVID-19 experience highlights the need for processes of ethical scrutiny of the scientific enterprise and its strategic deployment. To ensure reliability of truth claims and protection from corrupting influences robust ethical discourses are required that are independent of, and at times even contrary to, those of science itself.
Cardioprotective effect of St. Thomas’ Hospital No. 2 solution against age-related changes in aquaporin-7-deficient mice
Authors: Fujii Masahiro , Bessho Ryuzo , Akimoto Toshio , Ishii Yosuke
Published: September 2023

Objective

This study aimed to investigate whether St. Thomas’ Hospital No. 2 solution (STH2) is equally effective in both young and aged aquaporin-7-knockout (AQP7-KO) mice and the mechanisms by which the intra-myocardial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content is altered during ischemia without aquaporin-7.

Methods

In study 1, isolated hearts of male wild-type (WT) and AQP7-KO mice (< 12 weeks old) were Langendorff perfused with 5-min STH2 prior to a 20-min global ischemia (GI) or 25-min GI without STH2. Similarly, in Study 2, hearts from WT and AQP7-KO mice (≥ 24 weeks old) were subjected to 2-min STH2 infusion prior to GI. In study 3, intra-myocardial ATP content was compared before (sham) and after (control or STH2) ischemia in mature WT and AQP7-KO mice.

Results

In study 1, troponin T levels (ng/g wet weight) of WT and AQP7-KO hearts were significantly lower in the STH2 groups (75.6 ± 45.9 and 80.2 ± 52.2, respectively) than in the GI groups (934.0 ± 341.1 and 1089.3 ± 182.5, respectively). In Study 2, troponin T levels in aged WT and AQP7-KO mice were 566.5 ± 550.0 and 547.8 ± 594.3, respectively (p = 0.9561). In Study 3, ATP levels (μmol/g protein) in the sham, control, and STH2 AQP7-KO mice groups were 4.45, 2.57, and 3.37, respectively(p = 0.0005).

Conclusions

The present study revealed the cardio-protective efficacy of STH2 in an experimental model of isolated AQP7-KO young and aged murine hearts. Further, STH2 preserved intra-myocardial ATP during ischemia with Krebs–Henseleit buffer perfusion in the Langendorff setting.
Practice recommendation for measuring washout rates in 123I-BMIPP fatty acid images
Authors: Nakajima Kenichi , Miyauchi Hideyuki , Hirano Ken-ichi , Fujimoto Shinichiro , Kawahito Michitomo , Iimori Takashi , Kudo Takashi
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this practice recommendation is to specifically identify the critical steps involved in performing and interpreting 123I-β-methyl-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and measurement of washout rate (WR) from the heart. This document will cover backgrounds, patient preparation, testing procedure, visual image interpretation, quantitation methods using planar and SPECT studies, and reporting of WR. The pitfall and some tips for the calculation of 123I-BMIPP WR are also included. The targets of global and regional WR calculation include ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy, an emerging rare heart disease.
Amyloid-β Pathology-Specific Cytokine Secretion Suppresses Neuronal Mitochondrial Metabolism
Authors: Kuhn Madison K. , Fleeman Rebecca M. , Beidler Lynne M. , Snyder Amanda M. , Chan Dennis C. , Proctor Elizabeth A.
Published: September 2023

Introduction

Neuroinflammation and metabolic dysfunction are early alterations in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain that are thought to contribute to disease onset and progression. Glial activation due to protein deposition results in cytokine secretion and shifts in brain metabolism, which have been observed in AD patients. However, the mechanism by which this immunometabolic feedback loop can injure neurons and cause neurodegeneration remains unclear.

Methods

We used Luminex XMAP technology to quantify hippocampal cytokine concentrations in the 5xFAD mouse model of AD at milestone timepoints in disease development. We used partial least squares regression to build cytokine signatures predictive of disease progression, as compared to healthy aging in wild-type littermates. We applied the disease-defining cytokine signature to wild-type primary neuron cultures and measured downstream changes in gene expression using the NanoString nCounter system and mitochondrial function using the Seahorse Extracellular Flux live-cell analyzer.

Results

We identified a pattern of up-regulated IFNγ, IP-10/CXCL10, and IL-9 as predictive of advanced disease. When healthy neurons were exposed to these cytokines in proportions found in diseased brain, gene expression of mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes, including ATP synthase, was suppressed. In live cells, basal and maximal mitochondrial respiration were impaired following cytokine stimulation.

Conclusions

We identify a pattern of cytokine secretion predictive of progressing amyloid-β pathology in the 5xFAD mouse model of AD that reduces expression of mitochondrial electron transport complexes and impairs mitochondrial respiration in healthy neurons. We establish a mechanistic link between disease-specific immune cues and impaired neuronal metabolism, potentially causing neuronal vulnerability and susceptibility to degeneration in AD.
Using packet trimming at the edge for in-network video quality adaption
Authors: Tüker Mustafa , Karakış Emre , Sayıt Müge , Clayman Stuart
Published: September 2023

This paper describes the effects of running in-network quality adaption by trimming the packets of layered video streams at the edge. The video stream is transmitted using the BPP transport protocol, which is like UDP, but has been designed to be both amenable to trimming and to provide low-latency and high reliability. The traffic adaption uses the Packet Wash process of Big Packet Protocol (BPP) on the transmitted Scalable Video Coding (SVC) video streams as they pass through a network function which is BPP-aware and embedded at the edge. Our previous work has either demonstrated the use of Software Defined Networking (SDN) controllers to implement Packet Wash directly, or the use of a network function in the core of the network to do the same task. This paper presents our effort to deploy and evaluate such a process at the edge, highlighting the packet trimming algorithm and showing the packet trimming effects on the streams. We compare the performance of transmitting video using BPP and the Packet Wash trimming, against alternative transmission schemes, namely UDP and HTTP adaptive streaming (HAS), presenting a number of quality parameters. The results demonstrate that providing traffic engineering using in-network quality adaption using packet trimming, provides high quality at the receiver.
The Case of the Jeffreys-Lindley-paradox as a Bayes-frequentist Compromise: A Perspective Based on the Rao-Lovric-Theorem
Authors: Kelter Riko
Published: September 2023

Testing a precise hypothesis can lead to substantially different results in the frequentist and Bayesian approach, a situation which is highlighted by the Jeffreys-Lindley paradox. While there exist various explanations why the paradox occurs, this article extends prior work by placing the less well-studied point-null-zero-probability paradox at the center of the analysis. The relationship between the two paradoxes is analyzed based on accepting or rejecting the existence of precise hypotheses. The perspective provided in this paper aims at demonstrating how the Bayesian and frequentist solutions can be reconciled when paying attention to the assumption of the point-null-zero-probability paradox. As a result, the Jeffreys-Lindley-paradox can be reinterpreted as a Bayes-frequentist compromise. The resolution shows that divergences between Bayesian and frequentist modes of inference stem from (a) accepting the existence of a precise hypothesis or not, (b) the assignment of positive measure to a null set and (c) the use of unstandardized p-values or p-values standardized to tail-area probabilities.
Sneaky emotions: impact of data partitions in affective computing experiments with brain-computer interfacing
Authors: Moreno-Alcayde Yoelvis , Traver V. Javier , Leiva Luis A.
Published: September 2023

Brain-Computer Interfacing (BCI) has shown promise in Machine Learning (ML) for emotion recognition. Unfortunately, how data are partitioned in training/test splits is often overlooked, which makes it difficult to attribute research findings to actual modeling improvements or to partitioning issues. We introduce the “data transfer rate” construct (i.e., how much data of the test samples are seen during training) and use it to examine data partitioning effects under several conditions. As a use case, we consider emotion recognition in videos using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Three data splits are considered, each representing a relevant BCI task: subject-independent (affective decoding), video-independent (affective annotation), and time-based (feature extraction). Model performance may change significantly (ranging e.g. from 50% to 90%) depending on how data is partitioned, in classification accuracy. This was evidenced in all experimental conditions tested. Our results show that (1) for affective decoding, it is hard to achieve performance above the baseline case (random classification) unless some data of the test subjects are considered in the training partition; (2) for affective annotation, having data from the same subject in training and test partitions, even though they correspond to different videos, also increases performance; and (3) later signal segments are generally more discriminative, but it is the number of segments (data points) what matters the most. Our findings not only have implications in how brain data are managed, but also in how experimental conditions and results are reported.
A computer vision sensor for the parallelization of actively regulated capillary slug flow microreactors
Authors: Gladius Anoj Winston , Mylenbusch Jonas A. , Agar David William
Published: September 2023

In this work, a computer vision sensor for the extraction of slug length, slug velocity and phase ratio from capillary liquid–liquid slug flows from video feeds in real-time, including the necessary post-processing algorithms, is developed. The developed sensor is shown to be capable of simultaneously monitoring multiple capillaries and provides reasonable accuracy at less than 3.5% mean relative error. Subsequently, the sensor is used for the control of a parallelized and actively regulated dual-channel slug flow capillary microreactor setup. As a model reaction, the solvent-free epoxidation of methyl oleate with hydrogen peroxide and a phase-transfer catalyst based on tungstophosphoric acid and a quaternary ammonium salt to yield the product 9,10-epoxystearic acid methyl ester is conducted. A space–time yield of 0.679 kg L−1 h−1is achieved.
Evaluation of a PlayPosit guided group project’s impact on student engagement in an undergraduate course
Authors: Sherifi Dasantila , Jia Yuane , Hunt Thomas J. , Ndanga Memory
Published: September 2023

Student engagement is critical for meaningful learning and can be impacted by teaching methods, tools, and course content. Online student engagement continues to be challenging because online classes offer fewer ways to engage with professors, peers, and the university than in-person classes. PlayPosit is a video teaching tool that incorporates questions to check for understanding. Our study aimed to evaluate how a PlayPosit guided group project impacted engagement in a structured online learning environment. For this qualitative study, a PlayPosit guided group project was implemented in an online undergraduate course taught via Canvas learning management system. Engagement was evaluated using online course analytics and student’s written feedback. Canvas reports were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and students’ written feedback was analyzed using directed content analysis. All 29 students enrolled in the course completed the course successfully. They completed 99.3% of the PlayPosit activities with accuracy 87.6–100% and completed the course project with scores 89–100%. Student comments were grouped into themes related to PlayPosit, group project, and engagement. Students found PlayPosit activities helpful/beneficial, aligned with deliverables, a great learning resource, and enjoyable. Students recognized the group project for its importance in teaching them collaboration, expressed that it enabled them to learn more from each-other, was an enjoyable networking experience, and was challenging. Engagement themes included knowledge gained was applicable to the real world, the course stimulated higher-order thinking, and the course was enjoyable and kept students wanting more. This study suggested that a PlayPosit guided group project was well-received by students and contributed to high engagement with the content, peers, and the professor.
Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-symphonie
Authors: Shenton Andrew
Published: September 2023

As one of only a few pieces not primarily inspired by Messiaen's Catholic faith, but by human love as described in the romance of Tristan and Isolde and elsewhere, the Turangalîla-symphonie is contextualized in Messiaen's oeuvre and as a genre piece. Using previously untranslated information from Messiaen's own description of the work in his Traité, close analysis of the music seeks to demystify some of the complex innovations he made to his musical language, especially in the areas of rhythm and orchestration. This Element pays special attention to the fragmentary and elusive program which is explained with reference to Messiaen's fascination with surrealism at this time. Information is included on the commission and composition of the piece, its premiere by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein, its revision by Messiaen in 1990, and its reception history in both live and recorded performances.
The Institutionalization of International Law at a Crossroads: Pacifists, Jurists, and the Creation of the ILA and the IDI
Authors: Chen Xiaohang
Published: September 2023

The International Law Association (ILA) and the Institut de Droit International (IDI) were both founded in 1873 at a critical juncture in the history of pacifism and internationalism, in the immediate aftermath of the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War and the 1872 British-American Alabama arbitration. Frustrated by the blatant violations of international rules during the war and then emboldened by the arbitral resolution of the protracted Alabama dispute between Britain and the United States, pacifists and international jurists joined forces to promote an ordered system of international law and advocate for legalized international dispute settlement. The aim was to marshal the scattered reformist forces of international law in furtherance of international legal reform—“international law needed to be institutionalized,” as Gerald Fitzmaurice put it.1 This resulted in the almost simultaneous establishment of the pacifism-originated ILA and the legal-scientism-oriented IDI, and helped to explain the similarity in institutional telos and the high degree of overlap in membership between the two institutions in their early years.2 Nevertheless, the ILA and the IDI differed in their working agendas and strategies. In terms of agendas, while the ILA tended to adopt an idealist view of international law hardly succumbing to compromises, the IDI mainly adhered to a scientifically pragmatic approach. With respect to strategies, the ILA sought social influence based on expansive membership, while the IDI's membership consisted of a limited number of international jurists. Despite changes over time, these organizational structures and distinctions between the two institutions at their founding moment are still visible.
Legal Knowledge as Social and Political Capital
Authors: Dezalay Sara
Published: September 2023

The 150th anniversary of the Institut de Droit International (IDI) and the International Law Association (ILA) provides an opportunity to assess the role of legal scholarship in the codification and institutionalization of international law. This essay argues that academic expertise is a form of social and political capital that is at once individual, institutional, and structural. Empirically focused on international dispute settlement mechanisms (interstate adjudication and arbitration), this essay underscores that academic expertise shapes the professional status of international lawyers, and influences the clout of international institutions as codifiers of international law.
The Institute of International Law and the Colonial Phenomenon
Authors: Abi-Saab Georges
Published: September 2023

This essay examines the activities of the Institute of International Law (the Institute or IIL) during its 150 years of existence, dealing directly or indirectly with the colonial phenomenon. It distinguishes between two major periods of roughly equal length: first the period between the years 1873 and 1945; and second, the period from 1945 to the present. These correspond to two important periods of international relations: the second wave of colonial expansion and its remnants and the regime of mandates following World War I, on the one hand, and the era of the United Nations Charter, the promotion of human rights, self-determination, and decolonialization, on the other hand.
Unveiling the “Legal Conscience of the Civilized World:” a Critical Look at the Institut de Droit International
Authors: Emtseva Julia
Published: September 2023

For the past 150 years, the Institut de Droit International (IDI) has held a prominent position in the field of international law, garnering recognition as one of the world's distinguished professional organizations for international lawyers. Yet, a closer look at its structures reveals that in fact, the IDI has been and remains an elitist club, comprised of renowned international legal jurists, practitioners, and scholars. Its goal was and is to formulate “principles from which rules [of international law] could be deduced.”1 While there may be doubts regarding the contemporary authority of the IDI in shaping today's international law, it possessed significant influence during its first century of existence. Therefore, on the occasion of its 150th anniversary, this essay offers an alternative perspective on the IDI's contribution to the field, focusing on the implications of its claimed status of the “legal conscience of the civilized world” and exploring whether this status had somehow impacted international legal norms and principles. While further empirical investigation is required to establish a definitive correlation between the IDI's affiliations with the “civilized world” and a skewed focus of international law on Western legal traditions, a few examples can serve as a starting point. The illustrations from the IDI's engagement with the laws of war—specifically, the nineteenth-century regulation of occupation and the post-World War II determination of military targets—exemplify how the inherent elitism rooted in the notion of “civilization” can be discerned in pivotal advancements of international law.
The IDI, The ILA, and their Impact on the Institutionalization of International Law in the Americas: Resonances and Dissonances
Authors: Scarfi Juan Pablo
Published: September 2023

The Institut de Droit International (IDI) and the International Law Association (ILA) have bequeathed complex and contradictory legacies to the Americas. This essay explores both the resonances and the dissonances that the formation of the IDI, and to a lesser extent, the ILA, had in the institutionalization of the modern discipline of international law in the Americas. On the one hand, the IDI's establishment as an elite Eurocentric organization with a missionary imperial approach to the promotion and reform of international law, generated resonances across the Americas, inspiring the creation of the American Institute of International Law (AIIL). On the other hand, the AIIL emerged as a reaction to the IDI, insofar as the former promoted juridical values based on the idea of American international law and a distinctive sense of U.S. and continental legal exceptionalism. The essay argues that the institutionalization of international law in the Americas was both inspired by the Eurocentric imperial and elitist legal approach promoted by the IDI, and the desire to forge a distinctive Western Hemispheric counterpart: a continental American international law.
Navigating the Storm: An Exquisite Leadership Insight into Healthcare Management amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Bhat Zahid Hussain , Bhat Javaid Ahmad , Saba Nuzhat
Published: September 2023

This article presents a reflective analysis of the role of public leadership within the context of crises, advocating for increased involvement of public health experts in crisis management. The study delves into the intricate dynamics that executives and board members exhibit when faced with crises. A primary focus of this research is the essential aspects that illuminate the engagement of public officials in the ongoing crisis, notably rapid decision-making and innovative thinking. The article underscores the paramount importance of leaders emphasizing values and mission while employing clear, meaningful, and empathetic communication. A comprehensive comprehension of public leadership emerges as a pivotal factor in crisis management, particularly when devising policy remedies for public health emergencies. The criticality of nurturing a new generation of healthcare CEOs and elevating the visibility of public health roles is underscored as an imperative for adeptly addressing the array of crises confronting us. This article broadens our insights into the multifaceted responsibilities of human resource management in both crisis response and recovery. Consequently, this endeavor facilitates the identification of evolving leadership roles essential for efficacious crisis management, fostering preparedness for prospective public health challenges.
A New Experience in the Turkish Health System in Response to COVID-19
Authors: Kıran Şafak , Bostan Sedat
Published: September 2023

Objective:

A substantial amount of work addressing strategies on how to respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis already exists. However, there is simply not enough evidence to support a systematic and all-encompassing approach. This study aims to systematically review and present the roadmap of Turkiye’s response to COVID-19.

Methods:

This study is based on a thematic content analysis of official policy documents to present the roadmap in Turkiye’s fight against COVID-19. The analysis included 46 press releases accessed from the Ministry of Health’s website. The coding structure was created by the researchers based on the literature. Documents were analyzed by dividing them into 3 periods: the panic period, the controlled normalization period, and the normalization period. Each document was sub-coded under the main themes of “concerns” and “strategies” and interpreted by comparing them with each other.

Results:

The study results show that different categories and coding structures were formed between periods. Some categories that emerged under the theme of concerns were “vaccine concerns” and “social concerns.” Similarly, some categories that appeared under the theme of strategies were “vaccine strategies,” “monitoring and surveillance strategies,” and “intervention strategies.”

Conclusion:

The results provide policy-makers with an appropriate conceptual framework to deal with the pandemic crisis that may be encountered in the future.