bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intercommunity interactions and killings in central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from Loango National Park, Gabon
Authors: Martínez-Íñigo Laura , Baas Pauline , Klein Harmonie , Pika Simone , Deschner Tobias
Published: June 2021

Intercommunity competition in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) has been widely studied in eastern (P. t. schweinfurthii) and western (P. t. verus) communities. Both subspecies show hostility towards neighboring communities but differ in rates of lethal attacks and female involvement. However, relatively little is known about the territorial behavior of the two other subspecies, central (P. t. troglodytes) and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (P. t. ellioti). Here, we present the first insights into intercommunity interactions of individuals of a community of central chimpanzees living in the Loango National Park in Gabon. The presence of individuals of neighboring communities in the Rekambo home range was assessed using 27 camera traps. Information was compiled on intergroup interactions recorded before (2005–2016) and after (January 2017–June 2019) the habituation of the community. Individuals from neighboring communities entered the core area, where nine out of 16 recorded intercommunity encounters occurred. Males were the main participants in territorial patrols and intercommunity aggressions. Females were part of all six territorial patrols recorded and dependent offspring participated in five patrols. Females were involved in intercommunity aggression in five out of twelve recorded encounters in which there was visual contact between communities. While the intercommunity encounter rate was lower than that reported across most other long-term chimpanzee sites, the annual intercommunity killing rate was among the highest. These results suggest that the frequency of lethal attacks at Loango is comparable to that reported for the eastern subspecies. In contrast, female involvement in intercommunity interactions mirrors that of the western subspecies.
Cost-sensitive rainfall thresholds for shallow landslides
Authors: Sala Gianluca , Lanfranconi Camilla , Frattini Paolo , Rusconi Giulia , Crosta Giovanni B.
Published: June 2021

The risk management of rainfall-induced landslides requires reliable rainfall thresholds to issue early warning alerts. The practical application of these thresholds often leads to misclassifications, either false negative or false positive, which induce costs for the society. Since missed-alarm (false negative) and false-alarm (false positive) cost may be significantly different, it is necessary to find an optimal threshold that accounts for and minimises such costs, tuning the false-alarm and missed-alarm rates. In this paper, we propose a new methodology to develop cost-sensitive rainfall thresholds, and we also analyse several factors that produce uncertainty, such as the accuracy of rainfall intensity values at landslide location, the time of occurrence, the minimum rainfall amount to define the non-triggering event, and the variability of cost scenarios. Starting from a detailed mapping of landslides that occurred during five large-scale rainfall events in the Italian Central Alps, we first developed rainfall threshold curves with a ROC-based approach by using both rain gauge and bias-adjusted weather radar data. Then, based on a reference cost scenario in which we quantified several cost items for both missed alarms and false alarms, we developed cost-sensitive rainfall threshold curves by using cost-curve approach (Drummond and Holte 2000). Finally, we studied the sensitivity of cost items. The study confirms how important is the information regarding rainfall intensity at the landslide site for the development of rainfall thresholds. Although the use of bias-corrected radar strongly improves these values, a large uncertainty related to the exact time of landslide occurrence still remains, negatively affecting the analysis. Accounting for the different missed-alarm and false-alarm misclassification costs is important because different combinations of these costs make an increase or decrease of the rainfall thresholds convenient. In our reference cost scenario, the most convenient threshold is lower than ROC-based thresholds because it seeks to minimise the number of missed alarms, whereas the missed-alarm costs are almost seven times greater than false-alarm costs. However, for different cost scenarios, threshold may vary significantly, as much as half an order of magnitude.
Constitutional monarchy as power sharing
Authors: Tridimas George
Published: June 2021

In the transition to democracy some autocracies transformed to republics while others evolved to constitutional monarchies. The paper inquires how constitutional monarchy is established. It models a hereditary king and a liberal challenger who coexist over a succession of periods and fight for power which brings office rents and the right to decide one’s preferred policy. The outcome of the confrontation is uncertain and may vary from period to period. If the king wins, he establishes absolute monarchy, but if the liberal wins he establishes a republic. Instead of fighting they may agree on a constitutional monarchy and share office rents and policy making responsibilities. Whether constitutional monarchy is agreed depends on the marginal utilities from rents and policy preferences of the two actors, the sizes of the benefits from rents and policy, the rates by which they discount the future, and the probabilities of winning office. The contemporary European constitutional monarch as a ceremonial head of state who reigns but does not govern arises as a special case of the general model.
Instabilities at a sheared interface over a liquid laden with soluble surfactant
Authors: Kalogirou A. , Blyth M. G.
Published: June 2021

The linear stability of a semi-infinite fluid undergoing a shearing motion over a fluid layer that is laden with soluble surfactant and that is bounded below by a plane wall is investigated under conditions of Stokes flow. While it is known that this configuration is unstable in the presence of an insoluble surfactant, it is shown via a linear stability analysis that surfactant solubility has a stabilising effect on the flow. As the solubility increases, large-wavelength perturbations are stabilised first, leaving open the possibility of mid-wave instability for moderate surfactant solubilities, and the flow is fully stabilised when the solubility exceeds a threshold value. The predictions of the linear stability analysis are supported by an energy budget analysis which is also used to determine the key physical effects responsible for the (de)stabilisation. Asymptotic expansions performed for long-wavelength perturbations turn out to be non-uniform in the insoluble surfactant limit. In keeping with the findings for insoluble surfactant obtained by Pozrikidis & Hill (IMA J Appl Math 76:859–875, 2011), the presence of the wall is found to be a crucial factor in the instability.
UTLDR: an agent-based framework for modeling infectious diseases and public interventions
Authors: Rossetti Giulio , Milli Letizia , Citraro Salvatore , Morini Virginia
Published: June 2021

Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, epidemic modeling is now experiencing a constantly growing interest from researchers of heterogeneous study fields. Indeed, due to such an increased attention, several software libraries and scientific tools have been developed to ease the access to epidemic modeling. However, only a handful of such resources were designed with the aim of providing a simple proxy for the study of the potential effects of public interventions (e.g., lockdown, testing, contact tracing). In this work, we introduce UTLDR, a framework that, overcoming such limitations, allows to generate “what if” epidemic scenarios incorporating several public interventions (and their combinations). UTLDR is designed to be easy to use and capable to leverage information provided by stratified populations of agents (e.g., age, gender, geographical allocation, and mobility patterns…). Moreover, the proposed framework is generic and not tailored for a specific epidemic phenomena: it aims to provide a qualitative support to understanding the effects of restrictions, rather than produce forecasts/explanation of specific data-driven phenomena.
“The Awesomeness and the Vastness of Who You Really Are:” A Culturally Distinct Framework for Understanding the Link Between Spirituality and Health for Black Sexual Minority Men
Authors: Lassiter Jonathan Mathias , Mims Ivie
Published: June 2021

Despite health inequities, many Black sexual minority men are resilient and often utilize spirituality as a culturally distinct self-protective and self-enhancing resource to maintain their health. However, little is known about how spirituality impacts health within a cultural framework that is specific to Black sexual minority men. We conducted 10 individual in-depth interviews, reaching code saturation, with Black sexual minority men across the USA. Our study was guided by grounded theory and a Black psychology theoretical framework. Seven themes were discovered and revealed that participants’ level of spiritual consciousness influenced their engagement in psychological and behavioral processes that were related to mental and physical health. These themes were: (a) suboptimal worldview, (b) emotional revelation, (c) emotional emancipation, (d) emotional regulation, (e) health motivations, (f) health behaviors, and (g) links between spiritual consciousness, mental health, and physical health. Implications of these findings for clinicians and researchers are discussed.
A comparison of statistical relational learning and graph neural networks for aggregate graph queries
Authors: Embar Varun , Srinivasan Sriram , Getoor Lise
Published: June 2021

Statistical relational learning (SRL) and graph neural networks (GNNs) are two powerful approaches for learning and inference over graphs. Typically, they are evaluated in terms of simple metrics such as accuracy over individual node labels. Complexaggregate graph queries(AGQ) involving multiple nodes, edges, and labels are common in the graph mining community and are used to estimate important network properties such as social cohesion and influence. While graph mining algorithms support AGQs, they typically do not take into account uncertainty, or when they do, make simplifying assumptions and do not build full probabilistic models. In this paper, we examine the performance of SRL and GNNs on AGQs over graphs with partially observed node labels. We show that, not surprisingly, inferring the unobserved node labels as a first step and then evaluating the queries on the fully observed graph can lead to sub-optimal estimates, and that a better approach is to compute these queries as an expectation under the joint distribution. We propose a sampling framework to tractably compute the expected values of AGQs. Motivated by the analysis of subgroup cohesion in social networks, we propose a suite of AGQs that estimate the community structure in graphs. In our empirical evaluation, we show that by estimating these queries as an expectation, SRL-based approaches yield up to a 50-fold reduction in average error when compared to existing GNN-based approaches.
Migration and fuel use in rural Zambia
Authors: Wu Yu , Entwisle Barbara , Sinai Cyrus , Handa Sudhanshu
Published: June 2021

What is the effect of migration on fuel use in rural Zambia? Opportunities to increase income can be scarce in this setting; in response, households may pursue a migration strategy to increase resources as well as to mitigate risk. Migrant remittances may make it possible for households to shift from primary reliance on firewood to charcoal, and the loss of productive labor through migration may reinforce this shift. This paper uses four waves of panel data collected as part of the Child Grant Programme in rural Zambia to examine the connection between migration and the choice of firewood or charcoal as cooking fuel and finds evidence for both mechanisms. Importantly, this paper considers migration as a process, including out as well as return migration, embedding it in the context of household dynamics generally. Empirical results suggest that while out-migration helps move households away from firewood as a fuel source, return migration moves them back, but because the former is more common, the overall effect of migration is to shift households away from primary reliance on firewood.
Distributing entanglement with separable states: assessment of encoding and decoding imperfections
Authors: McAleese Hannah , Juska Gediminas , Jahromi Iman Ranjbar , Pelucchi Emanuele , Ferraro Alessandro , Paternostro Mauro
Published: June 2021

Entanglement can be distributed using a carrier which is always separable from the rest of the systems involved. Up to now, this effect has predominantly been analyzed in the case where the carrier-system interactions take the form of ideal unitary operations, thus leaving untested its robustness against either non-unitary or unitary errors. We address this issue by considering the effect of incoherent dynamics acting alongside imperfect unitary interactions. In particular, we determine the restrictions that need to be placed on the interaction time, as well as the strength of the incoherent dynamics. We find that with non-unitary errors, we can still successfully distribute entanglement, provided we measure the carrier in a suitable basis. Introducing imperfections in the unitary dynamics, we show that entanglement gain is possible even with substantial unitary errors. Moreover, certain variations in the strength of the unitary dynamics can allow for greater robustness against non-unitary errors. Therefore, even in experimental settings where unitary operations cannot be carried out without imperfections, it is still possible to generate entanglement between two systems using a separable carrier.
Serum metabolic fingerprinting of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients using solid-phase microextraction—liquid chromatography—high-resolution mass spectrometry
Authors: Looby Nikita , Roszkowska Anna , Reyes-Garcés Nathaly , Yu Miao , Bączek Tomasz , Kulasingam Vathany , Pawliszyn Janusz , Chandran Vinod
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), an inflammatory arthritis that develops in individuals with psoriasis, is associated with reduced quality of life. Identifying biomarkers associated with development of PsA as well as with PsA disease activity may help management of psoriatic disease.

Objectives

To use metabolomic fingerprinting to determine potential candidate markers of disease conversion (psoriasis to PsA) and/or PsA activity.

Methods

A novel sample preparation protocol based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was used to prepare serum samples obtained from: (1) individuals with psoriasis, some of whom develop psoriatic arthritis (n = 20); (2) individuals with varying PsA activity (mild, moderate, severe; n = 10 each) and (3) healthy controls (n = 10). Metabolomic fingerprinting of the obtained extracts was performed using reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry.

Results

Psoriasis patients who developed PsA had similar metabolomic profiles to patients with mild PsA and were also indistinguishable from patients with psoriasis who did not develop PsA. Elevated levels of selected long-chain fatty acids (e.g., 3-hydroxytetradecanedioic acid) that are associated with dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism, were observed in patients with severe PsA. In addition, 1,11-undecanedicarboxylic acid—an unusual fatty acid associated with peroxisomal disorders—was also identified as a classifier in PsA patients vs. healthy individuals. Furthermore, a number of different eicosanoids with either pro- or anti-inflammatory properties were detected solely in serum samples of patients with moderate and severe PsA.

Conclusion

A global metabolomics approach was employed to analyze the serum metabolome of patients with psoriasis, PsA, and healthy controls in order to examine potential differences in the biochemical profiles at a metabolite level. A closer examination of circulating metabolites may potentially provide markers of PsA activity.
Longitudinal Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Clinical Trials: Applications of Multilevel and Multidimensional Item Response Theory
Authors: Cai Li , Houts Carrie R.
Published: June 2021

With decades of advance research and recent developments in the drug and medical device regulatory approval process, patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are becoming increasingly important in clinical trials. While clinical trial analyses typically treat scores from PROs as observed variables, the potential to use latent variable models when analyzing patient responses in clinical trial data presents novel opportunities for both psychometrics and regulatory science. An accessible overview of analyses commonly used to analyze longitudinal trial data and statistical models familiar in both psychometrics and biometrics, such as growth models, multilevel models, and latent variable models, is provided to call attention to connections and common themes among these models that have found use across many research areas. Additionally, examples using empirical data from a randomized clinical trial provide concrete demonstrations of the implementation of these models. The increasing availability of high-quality, psychometrically rigorous assessment instruments in clinical trials, of which the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) is a prominent example, provides rare possibilities for psychometrics to help improve the statistical tools used in regulatory science.
Influence of High-Productivity Process Parameters on the Surface Quality and Residual Stress State of AISI 316L Components Produced by Directed Energy Deposition
Authors: Piscopo Gabriele , Salmi Alessandro , Atzeni Eleonora
Published: June 2021

The production of large components is one of the most powerful applications of laser powder-directed energy deposition (LP-DED) processes. High productivity could be achieved, when focusing on industrial applications, by selecting the proper process parameters. However, it is of crucial importance to understand the strategies that are necessary to increase productivity while maintaining the overall part quality and minimizing the need for post-processing. In this paper, an analysis of the dimensional deviations, surface roughness and subsurface residual stresses of samples produced by LP-DED is described as a function of the applied energy input. The aim of this work is to analyze the effects of high-productivity process parameters on the surface quality and the mechanical characteristics of the samples. The obtained results show that the analyzed process parameters affect the dimensional deviations and the residual stresses, but have a very little influence on surface roughness, which is instead dominated by the presence of unmelted particles.
Seed germination behaviour of the narrow endemic Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae) compared to the more widespread Daphne cneorum
Authors: Di Sacco Alice , Gajdošová Zuzana , Slovák Marek , Turisová Ingrid , Turis Peter , Kučera Jaromír , Müller Jonas V
Published: June 2021

Diminished reproduction success in species with narrow distribution ranges might be one of the factors responsible for their limited dispersal and colonization abilities. We investigated here various aspects of the seed biology of the West Carpathian endemic Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae) and compared it with its more widespread relative D. cneorum. In both species, we investigated (i) differences in seed viability and germination ability; (ii) differences between the two observed fruit morphotype groups, and (iii) the effect of cold stratification in breaking seed dormancy and enhance germination in stored seeds. To determine seed viability, a tetrazolium test and an imbibed cut test were performed. Several seed germination tests with gibberellic acid and with a sequence of cold and warm stratification, using different temperatures and durations, were carried out. We uncovered that (i) D. arbuscula seeds show significantly lower viability than D. cneorum seeds, but this difference is due to the smaller-fruit morphotype; (ii) seed quality and viability of the big-fruit morphotype are significantly greater than the smaller-fruit morphotype in both species, although the seed viability of the latter is not null and the dormancy level seems to differ between them; (iii) a warm stratification at 15°C for 13 weeks, followed by cold stratification at either 0 or 5°C for 28 weeks, followed by 4 weeks at 15°C, break physiological dormancy and allow the majority of seeds of D. arbuscula (63%) to germinate. We recommend including both fruit morphotypes when collecting seed of Daphne for ex situ conservation and reintroduction initiatives, to maintain the original genetic diversity of the species.
A novel automated tower graph based ECG signal classification method with hexadecimal local adaptive binary pattern and deep learning
Authors: Subasi Abdulhamit , Dogan Sengul , Tuncer Turker
Published: June 2021

Electrocardiography (ECG) signal recognition is one of the popular research topics for machine learning. In this paper, a novel transformation called tower graph transformation is proposed to classify ECG signals with high accuracy rates. It employs a tower graph, which uses minimum, maximum and average pooling methods altogether to generate novel signals for the feature extraction. In order to extract meaningful features, we presented a novel one-dimensional hexadecimal pattern. To select distinctive and informative features, an iterative ReliefF and Neighborhood Component Analysis (NCA) based feature selection is utilized. By using these methods, a novel ECG signal classification approach is presented. In the preprocessing phase, tower graph-based pooling transformation is applied to each signal. The proposed one-dimensional hexadecimal adaptive pattern extracts 1536 features from each node of the tower graph. The extracted features are fused and 15,360 features are obtained and the most discriminative 142 features are selected by the ReliefF and iterative NCA (RFINCA) feature selection approach. These selected features are used as an input to the artificial neural network and deep neural network and 95.70% and 97.10% classification accuracy was obtained respectively. These results demonstrated the success of the proposed tower graph-based method.
Improving drilling hydraulics estimations-a case study
Authors: Ashena Rahman , Hekmatinia Abdol-Azim , Ghalambor Ali , Aadnoy Bernt , Enget Charissa , Rasouli Vamegh
Published: June 2021

Accurate pressure drop estimation is important for drill string and bit nozzles design and optimized fluid circulations as well as identifying the drilling problems such as bit nozzle(s) washout or plugging. In this study, the Bingham Plastic model has been modified by applying a coefficient to its turbulent pressure loss calculations. This coefficient encompasses the effects of the drill pipe tool joints and other effects in estimation of pressure losses. The range of the coefficient was determined in field applications for different hole sizes and mud types. The results showed that applying a correction coefficient of 1.08–1.12 to turbulent pressure loss equations (depending on borehole size and mud type) improves the pressure loss estimation. By applying this coefficient, the estimated pressure losses are increased to compensate the under-estimation of the Bingham Plastic model. This is considered a significant contribution to accurate calculation of borehole hydraulics and in-time detection and identification of borehole problems and reduction of invisible lost time. The findings also showed that this enhanced effect is independent of the mud type. The use of this coefficient removes the necessity of using rather complex mud rheological models such as the Herschel–Bulkley model.
Cloisite 10A as an Effective Antibacterial Agent in Polymer Matrices: Role of Nanoscale Roughness and Interfacial Interactions
Authors: Snigdha S. , Nandakumar K. , Sabu T. , Radhakrishnan E. K.
Published: June 2021

Polymer–filler interactions play a major role in determining the antibacterial activity of organoclay in nanocomposites. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of polymer type on the antibacterial properties of an organically modified clay – cloisite 10A (C10A) – using poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) and poly-L-lactic acid (PLA) polymeric systems. Nanocomposite characterization using atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed an increase in roughness upon addition of the clay mineral, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed intercalation of the selected polymers into the interlayer spaces of the clay. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis supported the XRD findings. C10A in PCL thin films enhanced the bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus when compared to the C10A in PLA. The observed change could be the result of pronounced levels of interaction between the filler and polymer matrix in the C10A-PLA nanocomposite when compared to C10A-PCL. The higher interaction levels could hinder the diffusion of bactericidal agents from the nanocomposite membranes. The present study provided insight into the nature of interaction between nanocomposite components and its impact on bioactivity, which can have applications in terms of generating engineered antibacterial materials.
Editorial
Authors: Mansfield-Devine Steve
Published: June 2021

The law can be a blunt instrument at times. It can struggle to keep up with the complexities of society and the lives we lead. And nowhere is this more obvious than with the UK's Computer Misuse Act (CMA) 1990.
Deconstructing the SolarWinds breach
Authors: Lazarovitz Lavi
Published: June 2021

The now infamous SolarWinds breach is still causing ramifications for the businesses involved.

It won't be long until we see another attack of this kind, because most organisations currently don't have the ability to quickly find and respond to attackers that have infiltrated their networks. Lavi Lazarovitz of CyberArk Labs dissects the SolarWinds case, examining the major steps used by the attackers. And he makes recommendations for how organisations can avoid falling victim to this form of attack in the future.

In 2021 we’ve already seen a number of far-reaching cyber attacks. The now infamous SolarWinds breach is still causing ramifications for the businesses involved, and the recent hack on Microsoft exchange servers has reportedly put more than 3,000 UK email servers at risk. 1
Trade and Empire in Early Nineteenth-Century Southeast Asia
Authors: Knight G. Roger
Published: June 2021

This book explores European mercantile activity in Southeast Asia at a time when trade in this part of the world was being transformed and extended much more widely. Based on extensive original research including in newly discovered archives, the book reveals, through the study of one particular merchant and his extensive network, how trade in the region worked. It outlines the activities of Gillian Maclaine, a young Scottish 'adventurer' (his word) who came to the region in about 1816 and established an enduring business in Batavia (present day Jakarta), trading in cotton goods and coffee, and later in opium. It examines the multi-faceted nature of such a trading network, including the wide scope of commodity chains, the associated link between colony and colonial metropole, and the many tensions between colonial powers, in this case the Dutch and the British, and with local polities. The book demonstrates that Southeast Asian maritime trade was every bit as important to European worldwide commercial networks as the trade with India and China, which have been much more extensively studied, and it contributes to current scholarly debates about western imperialism, colonialism and the nature of empire. G. Roger Knight is an Associate Professor in the School of History and Politics in the University of Adelaide. He has published three previous books and numerous journal articles on the economic and social history of Southeast Asia.
Ernest John Moeran
Authors: Maxwell Ian
Published: June 2021

This long-awaited study of the life and music of Anglo-Irish composer Ernest John Moeran (1894–1950) finally provides a full biography of the last senior figure in early twentieth-century British Music to have been without one.
Narrating Democracy in Myanmar
Authors: Wells Tamas
Published: June 2021

This book analyses what Myanmar's struggle for democracy has signified to Burmese activists and democratic leaders, and to their international allies. In doing so, it explores how understanding contested meanings of democracy helps make sense of the country's tortuous path since Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won historic elections in 2015. Using Burmese and English language sources, Narrating Democracy in Myanmar reveals how the country's ongoing struggles for democracy exist not only in opposition to Burmese military elites, but also within networks of local activists and democratic leaders, and international aid workers.
Evaluating High-Functioning Young Stroke Survivors with Cognitive Complaints
Authors: Rebchuk Alexander D. , Kuzmuk Leah E. , Deptuck Halina M. , Silverberg Noah D. , Field Thalia S.
Published: June 2021

Background:

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a commonly used cognitive outcome in stroke trials. However, it may be insufficiently sensitive to detect impairment in high-functioning stroke survivors. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB), a 30-min comprehensive tablet-based cognitive assessment, may be a better choice to characterize cognitive issues in this cohort.

Methods:

We compared MoCA and NIHTB-CB performance in young stroke survivors (18–55 years) with excellent functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale 0–1) reporting subjective cognitive complaints to that of age-matched healthy controls. We recruited 53 stroke survivors and 53 controls. We performed a sensitivity analysis in those participants with normal MoCA scores (≥26).

Results:

Median MoCA scores were not significantly different between stroke survivors (27.0 vs. 28.0) and healthy controls. Mean T scores for NIHTB-CB fluid (44.9 vs. 54.2), crystallized (53.8 vs. 60.0), and total cognition (49.1 vs. 58.4) components were significantly lower in stroke survivors compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001 for all). In participants scoring within normal range (≥26) on the MoCA, NIHTB-CB scores for all components remained significantly lower in stroke survivors.

Conclusions:

In young stroke survivors with excellent functional outcomes and subjective cognitive complaints, the NIHTB-CB, but not the MoCA, was able to detect differences in cognitive performance between stroke survivors and healthy controls. The NIHTB-CB may be a suitable outcome measure for cognition in clinical trials examining higher-functioning young stroke survivors.
Making Managers in Latin America: The Emergence of Executive Education in Central America, Peru, and Colombia
Authors: Amdam Rolv Petter , Dávila Carlos
Published: June 2021

Executive education programs offered by business schools became a global phenomenon for developing top managers in the 1960s. These programs were established in more than 40 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America in less than two decades. This article explores the phenomenon in three different Latin American contexts: Central America, Peru, and Colombia. In all these cases, initiatives led to successful executive programs, which contributed to the growth of business schools that gradually achieved high international reputation. By studying the way that various U.S. actors interacted differently with local actors in the three cases, the article contributes to three discussions within business history: the history of Americanization, management education, and the alternative business history of emerging markets.
Discrimination against Muslims, the role of networks and terrorist attacks in Western Europe: the cases of United Kingdom, France, and Italy
Authors: Dell'Isola Davide
Published: June 2021

In the last few years, a wave of Islamist-related terrorist attacks took place in Western Europe, mainly in France and Belgium but with relevant episodes also in the United Kingdom whereas so far Italy did not suffer any attack of this kind. Each of these countries hosts a large number of Muslim immigrants and communities, participated in military missions in the Middle East, and has been repeatedly threatened by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or other Islamist-related radical groups. What then explains the difference in the number and intensity of Islamist-related terrorist attacks in Western European countries? Using qualitative cross-case comparison case studies and relying on the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and the Association of Religion Data Archive (ARDA), I argue that countries directly discriminating toward Islamic communities are more likely to suffer these kinds of attacks because this discrimination causes grievances against the host state within the discriminated minority. This effect is higher in the presence of religious and cultural networks where these grievances can be brought at the center of the public debate and be connected together because of the presence of large audiences, resulting in the possible development of more radicalized positions of small portions of the discriminated community. This is particularly true for highly secular states like France, where the interpretation of secularism makes accommodation for religious minorities extremely challenging, also resulting in laws that regulate religious behavior of minorities, therefore increasing outrage and frustration of the minority group.
RETURNING TO THE RATE OF SPREAD OF EARLY FARMING IN EUROPE: COMMENT ON THE ARTICLE BY MANEN ET AL. (2019) IN RADIOCARBON
Authors: Ammerman Albert J
Published: June 2021

The aim of the comment is to address the misrepresentations of our work on the Neolithic transitions that are found in a recent article by Manen and coauthors in Radiocarbon. There are a fair number of them as indicated in the comment. The purpose of the comment is (1) to set the record straight, (2) to clarify several misconceptions that have persisted in the literature for some time, and (3) to comment briefly on the convergence between our own recent regional modeling of the spread of early farming along the north coast of the West Mediterranean and the position currently held by Manen and coauthors.
THE SPREAD OF FARMING ECONOMY IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN: A SHORT REPLY TO AMMERMAN (2021)
Authors: Manen C , Perrin T , Guilaine J , Bouby L , Bréhard S , Briois F , Durand F , Marinval P , Vigne J-D
Published: June 2021

Manen et al. provide here a reply to the critical comment published by A. J. Ammerman regarding their article “The Neolithic Transition in the Western Mediterranean: a complex and non-linear diffusion process—the radiocarbon record revisited,” published in 2019 inRadiocarbon. They also use this occasion to reaffirm the need to elaborate novel interpretive frameworks that combine both geo-chronological and cultural data.
On the Politics of Performing Wagner Outdoors: Open-Air Opera,Gesamtkunstwerkand the Third Reich’s ‘Forest Opera’, 1933–45
Authors: PAIGE KIRSTEN
Published: June 2021

This article explores the politics of performing Wagner outdoors, focusing on theWaldoperin Sopot, Poland, and its operations under the Third Reich. Festival literature suggests that the Reich combined climatic deterministic logic with established open-air theatrical practice to implicate experiencing Wagnerian sounds outdoors as inculcatingvölkischcharacter in Poles, positioning the festival within the Reich’s imperial mission. However, this vision from ‘on high’ was undermined by bureaucratic disorganization and inefficiency, much like other Nazi artistic projects. The article concludes with a discussion of the post-war afterlives of theWaldoperand its attendant mythologies.
Effects ofl-citrulline supplementation on nitric oxide and antioxidant markers after high-intensity interval exercise in young men: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Valaei Kosar , Mehrabani Javad , Wong Alexei
Published: June 2021

l-Citrulline (l-Cit) is a non-essential amino acid that stimulates nitric oxide (NO) production and improves exercise performance by reducing muscle damage indices; however, the direct benefits ofl-Cit on antioxidant markers are unclear. The aim of this study was to examine antioxidant responses to high-intensity interval exercise following acutel-Cit supplementation. Nine young men (21 (sd1) years) participated in a double-blind crossover study in which they received 12 g ofl-Cit and placebo (PL) an hour prior to high-intensity interval exercise on two occasions, separated by a 7-d washout period. Blood samples were obtained before (PRE), immediately after (IP), 10 (10P) and 30 min after exercise (30P) from the cubital vein using standard procedures. Serum concentrations of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and NO metabolites (NOx) were measured. The exercise protocol significantly elevated SOD (P= 0·01) and GPx (P= 0·048) from PRE to 10P in thel-Cit group with greater changes than the PL group. CAT concentrations increased IP (P= 0·014) and remained elevated at 10P (P= 0·03) and 30P (P= 0·015) in both thel-Cit and PL conditions. NOx concentrations increased IP (P= 0·05) in thel-Cit group with greater changes than PL group in PRE to IP, PRE to 10P and PRE to 30P (P< 0·05). Our data indicate thatl-Cit supplementation (single 12 g dose pre-exercise) induces improvements in antioxidant markers following a session of high-intensity interval exercise in young men.
Operator equalities and Characterizations of Orthogonality in Pre-Hilbert C*-Modules
Authors: Eskandari Rasoul , Moslehian M. S. , Popovici Dan
Published: June 2021

In the first part of the paper, we use states on $C^{*}$-algebras in order to establish some equivalent statements to equality in the triangle inequality, as well as to the parallelogram identity for elements of a pre-Hilbert $C^{*}$-module. We also characterize the equality case in the triangle inequality for adjointable operators on a Hilbert $C^{*}$-module. Then we give certain necessary and sufficient conditions to the Pythagoras identity for two vectors in a pre-Hilbert $C^{*}$-module under the assumption that their inner product has a negative real part. We introduce the concept of Pythagoras orthogonality and discuss its properties. We describe this notion for Hilbert space operators in terms of the parallelogram law and some limit conditions. We present several examples in order to illustrate the relationship between the Birkhoff–James, Roberts, and Pythagoras orthogonalities, and the usual orthogonality in the framework of Hilbert $C^{*}$-modules.
Serum otolin-1 as a biomarker for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a case-control study
Authors: Irugu D V K , Singh A , Yadav H , Verma H , Kumar R , Abraham R A , Ramakrishnan L
Published: June 2021

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate serum otolin-1 levels in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and to compare these levels with healthy individuals.

Method

This was a case-control study. After obtaining institutional ethical committee clearance, the serum level of otolin-1 was calculated in adult individuals (18–75 years old) who were divided into group 1 (patients presenting with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) and group 2 (healthy patients without benign paroxysmal positional vertigo as the control group). Data analysis was carried out to compare the serum levels in the cases and controls. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

A total of 70 age-matched individuals (cases, n = 40; controls, n = 30) were included in the study. The mean serum level of otolin-1 was 636.8 pg/ml (range, 259–981 pg/ml) in the group of patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and 236.2 pg/ml (range, 189–370 pg/ml) in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0000).

Conclusion

The serum levels of otolin-1 in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo are significantly higher compared with individuals without benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.
Semon Lecture: ‘Laryngectomy Practice Based on Personal Research’, Royal Society of Medicine, 5 November 2020, London, UK
Authors: Fagan J J
Published: June 2021

I wish to thank the Semon Committee for inviting me to deliver the 2020 Semon lecture. This is a very special honour, as is evidenced by the list of distinguished lecturers dating back to the inaugural lecture delivered at University College London in 1913. I am not the first South African to deliver the Semon lecture, having been preceded by my previous chairman Sean Sellars in 1993, and by Jack Gluckman in 2001, who was South African raised and educated and who subsequently became the chairman of otolaryngology in Cincinnati, USA.
Alternative Publications, Spaces and Publics: Revisiting the Public Sphere in 20th- and 21st-century China
Authors: Veg Sebastian , Cheng Edmund W.
Published: June 2021

Reviewing the extant literature on China's public sphere from the perspective of 20th-century history and social science, this introductory essay argues for the continued relevance of studying the publications and public practices associated with knowledge communities. By steering away from normative definitions and by envisaging publicness as a process, a connection can be explored between social discourses and political practices in China. Discursive communities, based on shared identity or sociability, may appear marginal, but at key moments they can play a unique role in modifying the dynamics of political events.
Composable data visualizations
Authors: PETRICEK TOMAS
Published: June 2021

Let’s say we want to create the two charts in Figure 1. The chart on the left is a bar chart that
shows two different values for each bar. The chart on the right consists of two line charts
that share the x axis with parts of the timeline highlighted using two different colors.
Cardiac manifestations and short-term outcomes of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in Middle Eastern children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case series
Authors: Tannoury Theresia E. , Bulbul Ziad R. , Bitar Fadi F.
Published: June 2021

We herein report on a series of four patients presented to our tertiary care centre with features of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and cardiac involvement. Two of our patients had recent exposure to a COVID-19-positive patient, one had recent documented infection, and another had no known positive contact. All the patients were tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 immunoglobulin G antibody at the time of presentation. All of them fulfilled the diagnostic criteria according to the World Health Organization Centers for Disease Control or the British guidelines for MIS-C (fever for ≥3 days, multisystem involvement (at least two), elevated markers of inflammation, and no other alternative diagnosis).

Cardiac involvement was variable ranging from isolated ectasia of the coronary arteries to full-blown pancarditis such as severe biventricular dysfunction, multi-valvar involvement, and pericardial effusion.

All our patients received intravenous immunoglobulin (2 g/kg), methylprednisolone, and aspirin and some required inotropic support and ICU admission.

Remarkably, all our patients showed significant improvement in their cardiac disease within a few days as evident on serial echocardiographic evaluation. However, we stress the need for long-term follow-up as one of our patients demonstrated mild LV myocardial scarring as evident by gadolinium late enhancement on a cardiac MRI.
A Career at the Inner Temple: Thirty Years On
Authors: Clay Margaret
Published: June 2021

The author of this article Margaret Clay looks back on her long tenure as Librarian at the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court libraries serving barristers, judiciary, and students on the Bar Course. She recalls the selection process she experienced and proceeds to discuss the introduction of automation to the Library, a high priority in the early days. She explains the various relocations of parts of the Library's print collection (made necessary by periodic changes in the priorities of the parent organisation) and traces the development of electronic services: from CD-ROM databases to web-based services and onward to social media. She outlines the initiatives in reader services and other areas entered upon during her tenure and, in conclusion, looks forward to the future of the information service she was instrumental in setting up. Margaret retired in 2020.*
Metformin in obese pregnancy has no adverse effects on cardiovascular risk in early childhood
Authors: Yang Liu , Lacey Lauren , Whyte Sonia , Quenby Siobhan , Denison Fiona C. , Dhaun Neeraj , Norman Jane E. , Drake Amanda J. , Reynolds Rebecca M.
Published: June 2021

Metformin is widely used in pregnancy, despite lack of long-term safety for children. We hypothesised that metformin exposure in utero is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We tested this hypothesis in a follow-up study of children born to obese mothers who had participated in a randomised controlled trial of metformin versus placebo in pregnancy (EMPOWaR). We measured body composition, peripheral blood pressure (BP), arterial pulse wave velocity and central haemodynamics (central BP and augmentation index) using an oscillometric device in 40 children of mean (SD) age 5.78 (0.93) years, exposed to metformin (n = 19) or placebo (n = 21) in utero. There were no differences in any of the anthropometric or vascular measures between metformin and placebo-exposed groups in univariate analyses, or after adjustment for potential confounders including the child’s behaviour, diet and activity levels. Post-hoc sample size calculation indicated we would have detected large clinically significant differences between the groups but would need an unfeasible large number to detect possible subtle differences in key cardiovascular risk parameters in children at this age of follow-up. Our findings suggest no evidence of increased cardiovascular risk in children born to obese mothers who took metformin in pregnancy and increase available knowledge of the long-term safety of metformin on childhood outcomes.
Unusual West Arctic Storm Activity During Winter 2020: Another Collapse of the Beaufort High?
Authors: Ballinger Thomas J. , Walsh John E. , Bhatt Uma S. , Bieniek Peter A. , Tschudi Mark A. , Brettschneider Brian , Eicken Hajo , Mahoney Andrew R. , Richter‐Menge Jackie , Shapiro Lewis H.
Published: June 2021

Weather and sea ice forecasts provided in support of the U.S. Navy's Ice Exercise winter 2020 campaign in the Beaufort Sea noted frequent storms in the absence of the climatological Beaufort High which coincided with anomalous eastward drift of the region's ice cover. To place the 2020 Beaufort‐Chukchi regional atmospheric conditions in historical context, we evaluated winter low sea‐level pressure (SLP) extremes and storm characteristics in the region over the 1948–2020 period. March 2020 SLP in the Beaufort‐Chukchi region was the lowest of the modern reanalysis era (1009.07 hPa) with record counts of passing storms and days with SLP at least two standard deviations below the climatological mean. The Beaufort High collapse in winter 2020 continued a recent pattern of Beaufort High collapses dating back to 2010. Unlike other recent collapses, such as 2017, most of the late‐winter 2020 cyclones originated locally over the western Arctic Ocean.