bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Decomposition Analysis of Inequality in Child Malnutrition in Tanzania
Authors: Ntegwa Magashi J. , Masawe Cresencia A.
Published: July 2022

The paper analysed inequality in childhood malnutrition in Tanzania using data from the 2009/10 and 2015/16 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS). The paper also addressed the trends of childhood malnutrition and the socio- economic factors associated with inequality in childhood malnutrition in the country for the period between 2009/10 and 2015/16. Erreygers Concentration Index and its decomposition were used in the analysis of data. The findings revealed that childhood malnutrition is concentrated among children from poor households. They showed that the degree of inequality in stunting, underweight and wasting did not change significantly during the period between 2009/10 and 2015/16. The results from decomposition analysis revealed that household wealth status, mother’s education, and place of residence are the major factors contributing to inequality in childhood malnutrition in Tanzania. According to the findings, a policy that is geared towards empowering women by expanding their access to education, and that addresses household resource constraints is important in bridging the gap. Additionally, provision of social services in rural areas needs to be emphasized so as to improve access to health facilities, which would greatly help reducing childhood malnutrition there.
Knowledge and Willingness of University of Ibadan Graduate Students regarding Seeking Redress against Police Misconduct in Nigeria
Authors: Ojedokun Usman A. , Badmus Titilayo M.
Published: July 2022

This study investigated the knowledge and willingness of University of Ibadan graduate students regarding seeking redress against professional misconduct by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. The theory of reasoned action was adopted as the conceptual framework. Data were accessed through survey and in-depth interview methods. The results showed that 55.2% of students were unaware of the available internal channels through which redress can be sought. More than half (52%) were unwilling to seek redress against police misconduct for a variety of reasons. There was no association (χ2 = 3.340; P > 0.05) between respondents’ gender and the gender of police officials they were willing to report. It is imperative that the Police Service Commission and the management of the Nigeria Police Force develop viable strategies through which the public can be adequately sensitised regarding the available channels and the steps that can be taken to file complaints against misuse of power by police personnel.
Impeachment: A Mechanism between Political Accountability and Legal Responsibility? Common Law Sources and the Brazilian Originalist Model
Authors: Resende Ranieri L.
Published: July 2022

This paper seeks to analyze impeachment as a mechanism of institutional control of political actors, searching for its historical and theoretical bases in common law, so as to uncover the sources of the Brazilian originalist model. The Brazilian model deserves special attention due to its highly distinct, descriptive constitutional hypotheses. Before attempting to define the nature of impeachment, the main objective was to place the general idea of responsibility within the theoretical scope of representative democracy, accounting for potential failures resulting in frustration of expectations of constituencies and/or abuse of power by representatives. While identifying structural distinctions between political accountability and legal responsibility, it was appropriate to bring forth the requirement of legal violation in classical Athenian precedents (eisangeliai). In the end, this analysis goes over historical mutations of the impeachment mechanism: a) establishment of procedural parameters (British first cases); b) inceptive prerequisite of legal violation (Stuart period); c) attemptable specification of appropriate legal hypotheses (US); d) constitutional provision of precise categories of legal violation (Brazil).
Wood Anatomy of Cipocereus (Cactaceae)
Authors: Soffiatti Patricia , Angyalossy Veronica
Published: July 2022

The genus Cipocereus belongs to the subfamily Cactoideae, tribe Cereeae, and comprises five species: C. bradei, C. crassisepalus, C. laniflorus, C. minensis and C. pusilliflorus. Four of these species were studied. Their wood shows vessel elements with simple perforation plates; vessel pits scalariform, opposite, alternate to irregular, and bordered, half-bordered to simple; scanty paratracheal parenchyma; high and large rays; septate libriform fibres; axial and radial non-lignified-parenchyma. The differences between them are mostly with regard to quantitative features, such as vessel diameter and element length, and ray width and height.
Radial Variations of Anatomical Characteristics and Specific Gravity in Eucalyptus Camaldulensis Clones
Authors: Veenin Teera , Fujita Minoru , Nobuchi Tadashi , Siripatanadilok Somkid
Published: July 2022

Five superior clones of Eucalyptus camaldulensis from in vitro propagation or tissue culture at the Sra Keaw plantation site in the eastern part of Thailand were selected for examining radial variations of anatomical characteristics and specific gravity. The age of the clones was 5 years at harvest. A 9-year-old tree grown from seed in the same site was also investigated. Results were as follows: 1) Mean specific gravity showed significantly different values among the 5 clones and the seedling. 2) Vessel density rapidly decreased in the first 2–4 cm from the pith in the clones and in 5 cm from the pith in the seedling. 3) Fiber lengths of the clones slowly increased from the pith outwards, while that of the seedling rapidly increased. 4) Each clone and the seedling had a different specific gravity and anatomical characteristics. 5) Clones had a narrower juvenile wood zone than the seedling due to the older cambial age of the clones.
Liquid Gold Down the Drain: Measuring Perceptions of Creativity Associated with Figurative Language and Play
Authors: Skalicky Stephen
Published: July 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine layperson perceptions of creativity associated with figurative language and language play. To do so, participants wrote attention-grabbing responses for two news stories and rated whether their responses were less, equally, or more creative when compared to preconstructed responses containing different combinations of metaphor and sarcasm. Participants’ answers were also analyzed for the presence of figurative language or language play. Results demonstrated participants were less likely to self-rate their answers as more creative when compared to preconstructed responses containing figurative language, but only for specific instances of metaphor and sarcasm. Moreover, participants who included figurative language or language play in their responses were significantly more likely to self-rate their answers as more creative. These results suggest layperson perceptions of creativity are influenced by figurative language and language play in a manner which supports scholarly understandings of the relationship between language and creativity.
Exile to the Equator: Chinese Anti-Colonialism and Nationalism in Southeast Asia, 1939–1946
Authors: Zhu Qian
Published: July 2022

This paper discusses and compares the ideas of Chinese leftists in exile, as expressed in their publications and journals and in their anti-colonial activism in collaboration with the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia from 1939 to 1946. Describing Chinese anti-colonialism and nationalism through a transnational conceptualization and an ethnographic approach, stories that occur “behind the scenes” enhance our ability to decode key words and reveal the complexities of concrete economic and political conflicts from multiple sources that involve migration, ethnicities, and capitalism. The class nature of Chinese anti-colonial internationalism that was forged during and after the Second World War was deeply embedded in the “liberal” discourses of freedom, democracy, equality, liberty, and women’s emancipation. It was also rooted in the mass politics of anti-capitalism, which was global in scope and fine-grained, local, and rooted in everyday life. The Chinese leftist geopolitical configuration of the “nations below the wind” and “the equator” enabled the perception of a proto-global South—South alliance as a world-historical force, with the dual goals of overturning unequal development and achieving an integrated path of anti-colonialism and national independence.
Youth on the ‘Bridge to All Nations’
Authors: Gaini Firouz
Published: July 2022

On a bell hanging in front of the main hall of the Shurijo Castle in Naha, Okinawa, the following inscription is engraved: “Ryukyu is located in a blessed region in the South Seas…sailing on ships and serving as a bridge between all nations, the land is filled with treasures.” This article, which is based on an ethnographic fieldwork in Okinawa in 2018, looks at contemporary young Okinawans’ narratives and experiences of ‘globalization’ as part of their everyday lives and future perspectives. It explores the role of the history and culture of the country – connecting it to China, Japan, and USA – in the young islanders’ local and global identities and networks. I use the Okinawan concept of chanpuru, referring to the art of fusing objects and ideas from different sources to create new cultural identities, to explain the way Okinawans reflect on global transformation processes, for example in relation to consumerism, militarism, tourism, and revitalisation of ‘Okinawan culture’ (e.g., local languages). Has the inscription on the old bell regained importance in the 21st century? How do young people from Okinawa capitalize from their cultural capital and international networks in a globalizing world? This article presents the view from an island community in transition.
Cultural Imperialism and the Struggle over Kiswahili as the Medium of Instruction in Tanzania
Authors: Makulilo Alexander , Madeni Maulid
Published: July 2022

In 1997, Tanzania’s National Cultural Policy recommended Kiswahili to be used as the medium of instruction for the entire nation’s public education system. However, since then English language maintains a hegemonic position as the medium of instruction in post-primary education. Arguably, this demonstrates cultural imperialism as a factor in the non-implementation of the cultural policy. We examine whether the global politics of expansionism and domination is causally responsible for the non-adoption of Kiswahili as the medium of instruction by making English a precious product and decisive tool for managing international politics. Political, economic and cultural institutions established by imperial powers have directly and indirectly shaped the language policy and its implementation. Consequently, elites in Tanzania have supported approaches that maintain English as the medium of instruction. Breaking away from the imperial structures that resist the adoption of Kiswahili as medium of instruction is central to any possibility for changing the prevailing situation.
Seasonally Modulated El Niño Precipitation Response in the Eastern Pacific and Its Dependence on El Niño Flavors
Authors: Zhang Huijing , Zhang Wenjun , Geng Xin , Jiang Feng , Stuecker Malte F.
Published: July 2022

Many previous studies have shown that El Niño exhibits a strong seasonality in its teleconnections and regional climate impacts. Aside from the seasonal synchronization of El Niño anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) itself, seasonal differences in its associated climate impacts could also stem from the local background seasonal cycle. During the El Niño developing boreal autumn (August–October) and decaying boreal spring (February–April), the El Niño–associated precipitation anomalies display remarkably different patterns over the eastern tropical Pacific despite similar SST anomaly amplitudes. This strong seasonality can be largely attributed to the seasonal cycle of the eastern tropical Pacific SST background state with the cold tongue being strongest in autumn and weakest in spring. Therefore, the El Niño–associated SST in spring is likely to exceed the convection threshold on both sides of the equator, leading to an approximately symmetric precipitation response about the equator. In contrast, this symmetric precipitation response is absent in autumn since the SST near and south of the equator remains below the threshold and pronounced eastern tropical precipitation anomalies can only be observed in the warm Northern Hemisphere. This seasonality is mainly embodied in eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño events rather than central Pacific (CP) El Niño events since the westward-shifted warm SST anomalies for the latter cannot establish an effective cooperation with the cold tongue SST annual cycle. This study has important implications for regional climate prediction by involving the different local precipitation responses over the tropical eastern Pacific.
Combined Effect of the Tropical Indian Ocean and Tropical North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly on the Tibetan Plateau Precipitation Anomaly in Late Summer
Authors: Zhang Ping , Duan Anmin , Hu Jun
Published: July 2022

Precipitation variability over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) depends largely on the atmospheric circulation pattern associated with remote oceanic forcing, while the contribution of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in different ocean basins, especially the tropical North Atlantic (TNA), remains unclear. By using multisource data and atmospheric general circulation model, this study reveals the individual and combined effects of the Indian Ocean basin mode (IOBM) and TNA SSTA on the interannual variability of TP precipitation in late summer (August). During the positive phase of the IOBM, warm SSTAs in the Indian Ocean induce an anomalous anticyclone over the Bay of Bengal (BOBAC) via the Kelvin wave–induced Ekman divergence and a resulting positive precipitation anomaly over the southeastern TP. Simultaneously, an eastward-extending Kelvin wave triggered by the positive TNA SSTA overlaps with that caused by the IOBM, further strengthening the BOBAC. In addition, the Kelvin wave triggered by the TNA SSTA induces anomalous easterlies over the tropical Indo-Pacific, which contribute to the warm Indian Ocean SSTA and thus amplify the IOBM affecting TP precipitation. Moreover, the positive TNA SSTA generates a westward-extending Walker circulation anomaly that is responsible for the suppressed convection over the central Pacific, which in turn triggers a Rossby wave response and further strengthens the BOBAC. As a result, the positive precipitation anomaly over the southeastern TP is strengthened significantly. Particularly, considering the 2–3-month lead time of the IOBM and TNA SSTA, the tropical SSTA can be used as a predictor for the TP precipitation anomaly.
Bias and Trend Correction of Precipitation Datasets to Force Ocean Models
Authors: Dussin Raphael
Published: July 2022

A novel method to adjust the precipitation produced by atmospheric reanalyses using observational constraints to force ocean models is described. The method allows the preservation of the qualities of the high-resolution and high-frequency output from the reanalyses while eliminating their bias and spurious trends. The method is shown to be robust to degradation in both space and time of the observation dataset. This method is applied to the ERA-Interim precipitation dataset using the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) v2.3 as the observational reference in order to create a debiased dataset that can be used to force ocean models. The produced debiased dataset is then compared to ERA-Interim and GPCP in a suite of forced ice–ocean numerical experiments using the GFDL OM4 model. Ocean states obtained with the new precipitation dataset are consistent with results from GPCP-forced experiments with respect to global metrics but produces the extra sea surface salinity variability at the time scales unresolved by the observation-based dataset. Discrepancies between modeled and observed freshwater fluxes are discussed as well as the strategies to mitigate them and their impacts.
Is there a welfare trap? Duration dependence in social assistance recipiency among young Finns
Authors: Ilmakunnas Ilari
Published: July 2022

The probability of social assistance exit decreasing over time is called negative duration dependence. This is one of the most debated aspects of social assistance receipt. This study analyses duration dependence among young adults in Finland and aims to show how social assistance receipt per se affects the likelihood of exiting social assistance. It also examines whether parental recipiency is associated with duration dependence. While the intergenerational transmission of social assistance has received extensive research attention, there is a scarcity of evidence on whether parental recipiency is associated with social assistance exits and duration effects. This study uses full monthly history of social assistance receipt between the ages of 19 and 29 years. The analyses are based on Finnish register data and conducted using discrete-time event-history models (pooled logistic, random-effect logistic and fixed-effect logistic). The findings indicate that controlling for all time-invariant characteristics significantly reduces but does not completely remove duration dependence among young adults. They also show that those whose parents received social assistance are less likely to exit social assistance. In models controlling for all time-invariant characteristics, parental social assistance receipt is also linked with stronger duration dependence. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Not all men, nor all women: Strength of gender identification and social spending preferences in Sweden
Authors: Goossen Mikael
Published: July 2022

The gender gap in welfare state attitudes is the tendency of men to be less positive toward an encompassing welfare state than women. To study attitudinal gender differences at the individual level, this paper synthesizes prior explanations, focused on self-interest and norms, with a social identity perspective, centered on the process of social identification with a gender group. With representative survey data ( n = 1515), covering social spending preferences in Sweden, this study uses a psychometric instrument to gauge the emotional and psychological centrality of gender to individuals’ concept of self—thus distinguishing between men and women with different degrees of attachment to their gender group (strength of gender identification). The results show a strong gender identification is negatively related to social spending preferences for men, but not for women. The findings are discussed in the light the influence of gender norms and masculinity threat, highlighting the structuring and normative implications of social policy for gender differences in attitudes toward the Swedish welfare state.
Exploring sources of heterogeneity in immigrant crime: Evidence from Norway
Authors: Andersen Synøve N , Savolainen Jukka , Messner Steven F
Published: July 2022

Evidence from prior research indicates that, in many European countries, immigrants tend to be overrepresented in official crime statistics. Most of these studies treat immigrants as a single category, ignoring considerable differences in the characteristics of this population aggregate. To better understand the nature of immigrant crime, our research explores variation in registered criminal offending across two characteristics that have been relatively neglected in previous work: the immigrants’ cultural backgrounds and their reasons to migrate. The analysis uses population-wide microdata from Norwegian administrative sources and considers both violent and total offending rates for men and women separately. Results show that, net of controls for age, employment, and other sociodemographic factors, immigrant men from environments that differ culturally the most from Norway in terms of Survival versus Self-Expression values have increased rates of registered criminal involvement. Rates are also higher for refugees and family members of refugees, but the relative ranking of groups that have migrated for various reasons differs between men and women and between total and violent offending. Our results are consistent with processes to be expected based on social control, anomie/strain, and labelling perspectives, suggesting fruitful avenues of inquiry for future research on the relationships between immigrant background and registered offending.
Towards a renewed understanding of barriers to immigrant parents’ involvement in education
Authors: Jahreie Josefine
Published: July 2022

This article investigates Danish and Norwegian early childhood education and care teachers’ expectations of immigrant parents’ involvement in kindergarten. The findings are interpreted in terms of the multifaceted interplay between social class relations, culture, migration and hegemonic ideals of intensive parenting and concerted cultivation. By taking the early childhood education and care teachers’ standpoint, the article contributes a renewed understanding of previous reports of barriers to immigrant parents’ involvement in their children's education. Based on early childhood education and care teachers’ accounts, I identify three key tensions: (1) conflicting perceptions of responsibility, (2) conflicting perceptions of children's roles and how to communicate with children and (3) conflicting perceptions of what kindergarten is and what constitutes valuable knowledge. The findings suggest the existence of a distinct Nordic adaptation to intensive parenting, contradicting parts of the dominant understandings of concerted cultivation found in more school-oriented curricular contexts, such as the UK and France, while still maintaining the original key characteristics of concerted cultivation.
Labour leaders as identity entrepreneurs: Identity formation in the Swedish trade union movement in the 1920s
Authors: Jansson Jenny
Published: July 2022

This article explores how cohesive labour movements are created. Although overlooked by previous research, strategic labour leaders that act as identity entrepreneurs can play a decisive role in class formation processes. Using the Swedish trade union movement during the crucial period from 1910 through the 1930s as a case, I examine the labour leaders’ strategic actions to create cohesiveness in the movement. Being pressured by emerging left-wing organizations in the 1910s, Swedish labour leaders realized that the Trade Union Confederation needed a strong organizational identity. The threat of the fragmentation of the trade union movement into different organizations fighting over the same members made the leaders formulate and implement a strategy for cohesion. Through an extensive education campaign to teach trade union members the aim and meaning of the reformist union movement, the leaders hoped to solve the fragmentation problem. This article indicates not only that labour leaders actively managed identity formation in the Swedish case, but also that internal education served as a means for creating cohesiveness in the movement.
Strategic Denial of Rohingya Identity and Their Right to Internal Self-Determination
Authors: Sejan Sakhawat Sajjat
Published: July 2022

Denying the identity of a race is the step towards committing the crime of genocide, which may also result in ethnic cleansing. This article has tried to strategically depict the nexus between the identity denial and ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas. From the very inception to now, the gradual development of ignoring the identity of Rohingyas is evident to deny their rights. Also, Buddhist extremism has outnumbered the demands of Rohingya as an ethnicity among 144 races of Myanmar. Then, it has claimed the proposition that might become applicable for their internal recognition, which is ‘right to internal self-determination’. This article also discusses the development of the Gambia versus Myanmar case, which may contribute to the resurrection of Rohingya identity within the lands of Myanmar. Internal recognition of the Rohingyas under the legal instruments of Myanmar will restore their fundamental rights along with their political and social recognition.
Sociolinguistic Variation in Mouthings in British Sign Language: A Corpus-Based Study
Authors: Proctor Heidi , Cormier Kearsy
Published: July 2022

Mouth activity forms a key component of all sign languages. This can be divided into mouthings, which originate from words in the ambient spoken language, and mouth gestures, which do not. This study examines the relationship between the distribution of mouthings co-occurring with verb signs in British Sign Language (BSL) and various linguistic and social factors, using the BSL Corpus. We find considerable variation between participants and a lack of homogeneity in mouth actions with particular signs. This accords with previous theories that mouthings constitute code-blending between spoken and signed languages—similar to code-switching or code-mixing in spoken languages—rather than being a phonologically or lexically compulsory part of the sign. We also find a strong association between production of plain verbs (which are body-anchored and cannot be modified spatially) and increased mouthing. In addition, we observe significant effects of region (signers from the south of the United Kingdom mouth more than those from the north), gender (women mouth more than men), and age (signers aged 16–35 years produce fewer mouthings than older participants). We find no significant effect of language background (deaf vs. hearing family). Based on these findings, we argue that the multimodal, multilingual, and simultaneous nature of code-blending in sign languages fits well within the paradigm of translanguaging. We discuss implications of this for concepts of translanguaging, code-switching, code-mixing, and related phenomena, highlighting the need to consider not just modality and linguistic codes but also sequential versus simultaneous patterning.
An Updated Framework for Theoretical and Practical Engagement With Sustainable Tourism Quality Control Tools
Authors: Lesar Laura , Weaver David Bruce , Gardiner Sarah
Published: July 2022

Quality control tools, such as certification programs, translate sustainable tourism into practice. Recent scholarship demonstrates considerable tool diversification, yet further theoretical and practical engagement is impeded by the absence of an updated conceptual framework. This conceptual research is the first to extend the only existing framework, the one-dimensional Quality Control Spectrum, after more than 15 years of quiescence. The proposed three-dimensional framework illustrates 26 tools organized across function categories (how each tool progresses sustainability), toolboxes (expressions of strength) and operational Fordism (expressions of adaptability). This reconceptualized diversity highlights tools facilitating flexible post-Fordist and less flexible Fordist models of sustainable tourism. The identification of “neo-Fordist” tools, which fuse characteristics of Fordist and post-Fordist practice, is a related substantive contribution. The framework provides a new paradigmatic basis for future theoretical engagement with sustainable tourism while offering a framework for pragmatic practitioner engagement.
A unique case of fever with skin lesions
Authors: Bhattacharjee Siddharth , Wilson Arun , Warrier Anup
Published: July 2022

The incidence of Nocardiosis was c.1–2 per 100,000 population worldwide in the early 2000s. Co-infection with Nocardia and MOTT (mycobacterium other than tuberculosis) is even more uncommon and has been described only in the setting of pulmonary manifestations in an immunocompromised (HIV) patient. However, over the last two decades, the incidence of Nocardiosis has increased to about 7–8 per 100,000 population, with pulmonary manifestations being the most common. With this background, we present the case of a middle-aged immunosuppressed man (post renal transplant with rejection), who presented with fever with extensive skin lesions and features suggestive of sepsis, without pulmonary involvement.
Adaptive invariant Kalman filtering for lie groups attitude estimation with biased and heavy-tailed process noise
Authors: Wang Jiaolong , Zhang Chengxi , Liu Jinyu , Wei Caisheng , Liu Haitao
Published: July 2022

Attitude determination is fundamental for spacecraft missions in aerospace engineering. Kalman filter (KF) is the optimal estimator in least square sense and, using the symmetry properties of matrix Lie groups system, the invariant Kalman filter (IKF) has been developed to boost the filtering performance for attitude estimation. However, due to presence of frequent and severer maneuvers, the Lie groups attitude dynamics is usually corrupted by significant biases and heavy-tailed outliers, which usually leads to decreased precision of IKF. For attitude estimation problem troubled by biased and heavy-tailed process noise, this work proposes a new invariant Kalman filter (VBAIKF) by constructing the hierarchical Gaussian system model: the probability density function of prior estimate state is first described using the student’s t distribution, while the unknown scale covariance matrix and degrees of freedom (dof) of the employed student’s t distribution are defined as the inverse Wishart distribution (IWD) and Gamma distribution. In VBAIKF, the Lie groups rotation matrix of spacecraft, the biased mean, the parameters of dof and scale covariance matrix are online estimated together by variational Bayesian fixed-point iterations. The simulation results with Lie groups attitude estimation system further verify the superior filtering adaptability and precision of proposed approach VBAIKF than other methods for attitude determination with biased mean and heavy-tailed process noise.
Workplace discrimination against LGBT employees in Mauritius: A sociological perspective
Authors: Bhankaraully Shabneez , Goyer Michel , Aroles Jeremy
Published: July 2022

This article focuses on workplace discrimination against LGBT employees in Mauritius – a multi-ethnic society in the Indian Ocean. Drawing from the insights of sociological studies that highlight how the manifestation of practices across settings is shaped by the process by which it is framed, the analysis illustrates the importance of the local context in accounting for the specific forms taken by LGBT workplace discrimination in Mauritius. Reflecting the importance of respect for different ethnic groups in the stability of the Mauritian democracy, the empirical results highlight how instances of workplace discrimination against LGBT employees are pervasive but framed to avoid inter-ethnic conflicts whilst stigmatising LGBT identities as problematic.
Configural properties of face portraits change between childhood and adulthood
Authors: Balas Benjamin , Weigelt Sarah , Koldewyn Kami
Published: July 2022

Adult observers are sensitive to the configuration of facial features within a face, able to distinguish between relative differences in feature spacing, and detecting deviations from typical facial appearance. How does the representation of the typical configuration of facial features develop? While there is a great deal of work describing children’s developing abilities to detect differences in feature spacing across face images, there is substantially less work examining what children think constitutes a typical arrangement of facial features. In the current study, we investigated this issue using a production task in which adults and 5- to 10-year-old children created a face “portrait” by arranging the eyes, nose, and mouth of a standard face within an empty outline. Using this simple task, we found differences in face configuration across age groups, such that children of all ages made far larger errors than adult participants, expanding facial features outward from the center of the face more than adults. These results were not affected by face inversion, potentially implying a domain-general rather than face-specific process. We also found that children of all ages endorsed the correct configuration as a best likeness in a perceptual task. We discuss these results in terms of ongoing debate regarding the extent to which configural processing is a meaningful component of face recognition and the conclusions we can draw from production paradigms as compared to purely perceptual tasks.
Congenital unilateral pulmonary vein atresia: A rare disease with successful outcome in a child
Authors: Aduri Raja Sumandatta , Raja Javid , Munirathinam Ganesh Kumar , Soundararajan Raghuraman , Sharma Arun , Mahajan Sachin
Published: July 2022

Unilateral pulmonary vein atresia is a rare congenital anomaly that may occur in association with other congenital heart diseases. We report a rare case of left-sided pulmonary vein atresia in a 2-year-old child who presented with recurrent hemoptysis and was managed surgically with left pneumonectomy.
Safe access to road crossings and the issue of quiet vehicles in relation to pedestrians with a vision impairment: A literature review
Authors: Peat Letitia , Higgins Nancy
Published: July 2022

This New Zealand study explored the research literature about quiet motor vehicles, like electric and hybrid cars, and the safety of pedestrians with vision impairment when making road-crossing decisions through an integrative literature review. A search of four research databases, two public library databases, and the New Zealand and the United States’ Departments of Transport online resources, as well as three relevant journals was conducted using key words. A rapid critical appraisal tool was used to assess whether the 38 found articles were valid and important, provided any answers to the research questions, and met the study’s inclusion criteria. A thematic analysis of 25 studies, which were included in this study, was completed to answer the following research questions: (1) What does the current literature say, as a whole, about the potential effects of ‘quiet vehicles’ on road-crossing procedures for pedestrians with a vision impairment? and (2) what remedies may exist to alleviate these effects, including possible changes to orientation and mobility (O&M) practice? Five emerging themes were found in the research: (1) crossing the road as a pedestrian with a vision impairment with quiet cars; (2) O&M instruction needs to change; (3) environmental access to road crossings; (4) developing and adapting technology and car sounds; and (5) rights of people with a vision impairment, policy, and legislation. The literature also confirmed that road crossings, when quiet vehicles are present, are dangerous for pedestrians with a vision impairment because such pedestrians rely on vehicular sounds for safe crossings. However, the review concluded that further research is needed in order to answer the research questions in this study. There were no studies about road-crossing procedures and quiet cars, and little research about possible remedies and O&M practice.
Whole-brain perfusion mapping in mice by dynamic BOLD MRI with transient hypoxia
Authors: Lee DongKyu , Le Thuy Thi , Im Geun Ho , Kim Seong-Gi
Published: July 2022

Non-invasive mapping of cerebral perfusion is critical for understanding neurovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. However, perfusion MRI methods cannot be easily implemented for whole-brain studies in mice because of their small size. To overcome this issue, a transient hypoxia stimulus was applied to induce a bolus of deoxyhemoglobins as an endogenous paramagnetic contrast in blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) MRI. Based on stimulus-duration-dependent studies, 5 s anoxic stimulus was chosen, which induced a decrease in arterial oxygenation to 59%. Dynamic susceptibility changes were acquired with whole-brain BOLD MRI using both all-vessel-sensitive gradient-echo and microvascular-sensitive spin-echo readouts. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) were quantified by modeling BOLD dynamics using a partial-volume-corrected arterial input function. In the mouse under ketamine/xylazine anesthesia, total CBF and CBV were 112.0 ± 15.0 ml/100 g/min and 3.39 ± 0.59 ml/100 g (n = 15 mice), respectively, whereas microvascular CBF and CBV were 85.8 ± 6.9 ml/100 g/min and 2.23 ± 0.27 ml/100 g (n = 7 mice), respectively. Regional total vs. microvascular perfusion metrics were highly correlated but a slight mismatch was observed in the large-vessel areas and cortical depth profiles. Overall, this non-invasive, repeatable, simple hypoxia BOLD-MRI approach is viable for perfusion mapping of rodents.
Patient-Preference Diagnostics: Adapting Stated-Preference Methods to Inform Effective Shared Decision Making
Authors: Gonzalez Sepulveda Juan Marcos , Johnson F. Reed , Reed Shelby D. , Muiruri Charles , Hutyra Carolyn A. , Mather Richard C.
Published: July 2022

Background

While clinical practice guidelines underscore the need to incorporate patient preferences in clinical decision making, incorporating meaningful assessment of patient preferences in clinical encounters is challenging. Structured approaches that combine quantitative patient preferences and clinical evidence could facilitate effective patient-provider communication and more patient-centric health care decisions. Adaptive conjoint or stated-preference approaches can identify individual preference parameters, but they can require a relatively large number of choice questions or simplifying assumptions about the error with which preferences are elicited.

Method

We propose an approach to efficiently diagnose preferences of patients for outcomes of treatment alternatives by leveraging prior information on patient preferences to generate adaptive choice questions to identify a patient’s proximity to known preference phenotypes. This information can be used for measuring sensitivity and specificity, much like any other diagnostic procedure. We simulated responses with varying levels of choice errors for hypothetical patients with specific preference profiles to measure sensitivity and specificity of a 2-question preference diagnostic.

Results

We identified 4 classes representing distinct preference profiles for patients who participated in a previous first-time anterior shoulder dislocation (FTASD) survey. Posterior probabilities of class membership at the end of a 2-question sequence ranged from 87% to 89%. We found that specificity and sensitivity of the 2-question sequences were robust to respondent errors. The questions appeared to have better specificity than sensitivity.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that this approach could help diagnose patient preferences for treatments for a condition such as FTASD with acceptable precision using as few as 2 choice questions. Such preference-diagnostic tools could be used to improve and document alignment of treatment choices and patient preferences.

Highlights

Approaches that combine patient preferences and clinical evidence can facilitate effective patient-provider communication and more patient-centric healthcare decisions. However, diagnosing individual-level preferences is challenging, and no formal diagnostic tools exist. We propose a structured approach to efficiently diagnose patient preferences based on prior information on the distribution of patient preferences in a population. We generated a 2-question test of preferences for the outcomes associated with the treatment of first-time anterior shoulder dislocation. The diagnosis of preferences can help physicians discuss relevant aspects of the treatment options and proactively address patient concerns during the clinical encounter.
Acetabular cartilage delamination: performance of MRI using arthroscopy as the standard of reference
Authors: Neumann Jan , Zhang Alan L , Bucknor Matthew , Majumdar Sharmila , Souza Richard , Joseph Gabby B , Link Thomas M
Published: July 2022

Background

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) frequently leads to acetabular chondral delamination. Early identification and treatment of these cases is crucial to prevent further damage to the hip.

Purpose

To evaluate the accuracy of morphological signs of cartilage acetabular delamination in non-arthrographic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using intra-articular arthroscopic findings in patients undergoing FAI surgery.

Material and Methods

All hip MRI scans were assessed individually by three independent radiologists. Images were assessed for signs of delamination including the presence of a linear area of bright signal intensity along the acetabular subchondral bone and an area of darker tissue at the surface of the acetabular cartilage. All FAI patients underwent surgery; arthroscopy served as the standard of reference.

Results

The mean age of participants was 36.1±10.9 years with 36 (48.6%) women. In the FAI group, arthroscopic surgery showed acetabular chondral delamination in 37 hips. In all hips (including the controls), MRI signs of acetabular cartilage delamination showed an average sensitivity across the three raters of 73.0% with a specificity of 71.0%. In a separate analysis of only the FAI patients, a slightly higher sensitivity (77.7%) but lower specificity (66.7%) was demonstrated. The interrater reliability showed a moderate agreement (average [k]) across the raters (0.450).

Conclusion

Performance of non-arthrographic MRI in diagnosing acetabular chondral delamination showed good results, yet inter-observer reproducibility among different radiologists was only moderate. Our results suggest that an increased level of awareness, for signs of delamination using MRI, will be helpful for detecting chondral delamination in patients with a history of FAI.
Correlation between quantitative parameters of CEUS and Ki-67 labeling index in soft-tissue sarcoma
Authors: Wang Pingping , Xu Di , Hu Yu , Li Hai , Li Ao
Published: July 2022

Background

Apart from the immunohistochemical Ki-67 labeling index (LI), clinicians need a non-invasive and convenient way to predict the prognosis of patients with soft-tissue sarcoma (STS).

Purpose

To investigate the correlation between quantitative parameters of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and Ki-67 LI in STS.

Material and Methods

A total of 25 patients diagnosed with STS who underwent CEUS examination using SonoVue®, between January 2019 to November 2020, were included in the study. They were then divided into a high-proliferation group and low-proliferation group according to 30% Ki-67 positive tumor cells. The quantitative parameters in the semi-automatic time intensity curve analysis software, including arrival time, time to peak, peak intensity, rise time (RT), rise slope, 50% wash-out time, and 50% wash-out intensity, were extracted from the time intensity curve of CEUS by two independent observers. Statistical evaluation of the correlation and difference between CEUS quantitative parameters and Ki-67 LI between the two groups was performed. According to the area under the curve (AUC) analysis, optimal cutoff points of parameters with significant difference were determined.

Results

CEUS RT of the high-proliferation group in STS was significantly higher than that of the low-proliferation group (ρ = 0.509, P = 0.01). The most reasonable cutoff to distinguish between low- and high-proliferation groups was 10.84 s. The sensitivity, specificity, and the AUC were 86.7%, 80%, and 0.80, respectively.

Conclusion

CEUS RT was correlated with Ki-67 LI of STS, which can be used as a minimally invasive auxiliary tool to predict the prognosis of STS in clinical practice.
Comparison of primary frequency control methods for wind turbines based on the doubly fed induction generator
Authors: Amaro Pinazo Mauro , Antara Arias Ronal , Mirez Tarrillo Jorge
Published: July 2022

The penetration of large levels of wind energy leads to technical problems affecting the frequency stability of the power system. Naturally, a wind power plant does not provide an inertial response nor does it regulate the system frequency in case of generation-demand imbalance due to the decoupling between the rotor speed and the grid frequency through the electronic converter (AC/DC/AC). This paper reviews, analysis and compares the performance of four control methods based on the modification of the electromagnetic torque set point and one of the mechanical torque. These methods allow that activation of the wind turbine inertia when a frequency deviation occurs, contributing to the regulation of the system frequency similarly to a conventional synchronous generator. However, wind turbines only change their operating point for a limited time and not permanently.
Comparison of different modalities of continuous renal replacement therapy with regional sodium citrate anticoagulation in paediatric patients
Authors: He Jie , Xiao Zhenghui , Zhou Xiong , Cao Jianshe , Kang Xiayan , Zhang Xinping
Published: July 2022

Background:

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) modalities with regional sodium citrate anticoagulation (RCA) in children.

Methods:

This retrospective study was conducted at the paediatric intensive care unit of Hunan Children’s Hospital in China. Medical records of paediatric patients hospitalised for RCA-CRRT between April 2017 and March 2021 were reviewed. Patients received continuous venovenous haemodialysis, continuous venovenous haemofiltration (CVVH), or continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF).

Results:

Patients on continuous venovenous haemodialysis ( n = 2) were excluded because of their small sample size. The remaining participants were divided into CVVH and CVVHDF groups; 80 patients received CRRT, with 40 and 62 sessions in the CVVH and CVVHDF groups, respectively. The filtre lifespan was longer in the CVVHDF group than in the CVVH group (median value [interquartile range]; 47 [15] hours vs. 35 [17.5] hours; p = 0.029). Compared with the CVVHDF group, the hazard ratio for filtre lifespan in the CVVH group was 3.023 (95% confidence interval 1.820–5.023, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in ionised calcium levels of the circuits between the two groups at different time points ( p < 0.05). Metabolic alkalosis, hyperlactataemia, hypocalcaemia, and hypercalcaemia occurred in both groups, with metabolic alkalosis being the most common complication. No patients in either group experienced sodium citrate accumulation or hypernatraemia. Inter-group differences in the incidence of these complications were not statistically significant ( p > 0.05).

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that CVVHDF is a better option for RCA-CRRT than CVVH.