bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneous multi-unmanned aerial vehicle task planning: Simultaneous attacks on targets using the Pythagorean hodograph curve
Authors: Yan Fei , Zhu Xiaoping , Zhou Zhou , Tang Yang
Published: February 2019

The coupled task allocation and path planning problem for heterogeneous multiple unmanned aerial vehicles performing a search and attack mission involving obstacles and no-fly zones are addressed. The importance of the target is measured using a time-dependent value. A task allocation algorithm is proposed to obtain the maximum system utility. In the system utility function, the reward of the target, path lengths of unmanned aerial vehicles, and number of unmanned aerial vehicles to perform a simultaneous attack are considered. The path length of the unmanned aerial vehicles based on the Pythagorean hodograph curve is calculated, and it serves as the input for the task allocation problem. A resource management method for unmanned aerial vehicles is used, so that the resource consumption of the unmanned aerial vehicles can be balanced. To satisfy the requirement of simultaneous attacks and the unmanned aerial vehicle kinematic constraints in an environment involving obstacles and no-fly zones, a distributed cooperative particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed to generate flyable and safe Pythagorean hodograph curve trajectories for unmanned aerial vehicles to achieve simultaneous arrival. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed task allocation and path planning method.
Development and testing of an efficient and cost-effective underwater propulsion system
Authors: Paolucci Libero , Grasso Emanuele , Grasso Francesco , König Niklas , Pagliai Marco , Ridolfi Alessandro , Rindi Andrea , Allotta Benedetto
Published: February 2019

Underwater vehicle propulsion performed by exploiting electrical motor is in general the most flexible solution and it is growing in popularity because of its high efficiency both at high and at low advance speed, quick and simple deployment, low costs, and encumbrance. In the present work, permanent magnet synchronous motors for underwater propulsion are proposed. In particular, advanced sensorless control techniques of permanent magnet synchronous motors permit reduced costs, high reliability, and performances. When dealing with small autonomous underwater vehicle propulsion, such devices are hard to find in the market. Hence, the authors focused the research in the development of a system able to perform a reliable rotational speed and torque sensorless estimation. The design and implementation of a complete solution for underwater propulsion are presented as well as a novel rotor polarity identification technique exploiting a high-frequency injection control. Pool tests for the identification of the performances and of the dynamic parameters of the propulsion system are presented. Finally, the possibility of operating a sensorless estimation of the thrust and torque exerted by the propeller and pool test measurements are presented. These features could be exploited to improve navigation accuracy and involves obvious benefits in terms of cost reduction and reliability of the system.
Empathy and cultural competence in clinical nurses: A structural equation modelling approach
Authors: Zarei Bahare , Salmabadi Mohaddeseh , Amirabadizadeh Alireza , Vagharseyyedin Seyyed Abolfazl
Published: February 2019

Background:

Forgiveness has the potential to resolve painful feelings arising from nurse–patient conflicts. It would be useful to evaluate direct and indirect important factors which are related to forgiveness in order to design interventions that try to facilitate forgiveness.

Aim/objective:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intermediating role of empathy in the cultural competence–forgiveness association among nurses using structural equation modeling.

Research design:

The research applied a cross-sectional correlational design.

Participants and research context:

The study included 380 nurses eight hospitals in southern Iran.

Ethical considerations:

The Ethics and Research Committee of Birjand University of Medical Sciences approved the study protocol. The voluntary nature of participation was explained consent was obtained from participants, and anonymity was guaranteed.

Findings:

Most of the participants were married and female and fell in the 20- to 30-year-old category. Most of them (89.5%) had a working experience of 1–10 years. The proposed model showed that nurses’ empathy intermediated the association between nurses’ cultural competence and forgiveness which has fitted the data acceptably (root mean square error approximation = 0.070; comparative fit index = 0.993; goodness-of-fit index = 0.983; and χ2/df = 2.85).

Conclusion:

Empathy skills and cultural competence training were essential for interventions aimed at increasing the tendency to forgive patients. In such interventions, planners should aim at increasing nurses’ cultural competence in order to enhance their empathy toward patients, which can, in turn, lead to a greater wish to forgive patients.
Twelve-Step Programs and Spiritual Support at the End of Life
Authors: Groninger Hunter , Knapik Michael
Published: February 2019

Experts estimate that over 25 million Americans are in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Many will be confronted with a serious progressive illness necessitating palliative care or hospice services. In current literature, substance use disorder has mostly been examined in relation to appropriate symptom assessment and management, opioid risk screening, and controlled substance prescribing practices. However, as hospice and palliative care (HPC) clinicians strive to provide whole person care for the seriously ill, awareness and facilitation of healthy psychosocial–spiritual coping strategies for recovering addicts should enhance such care. One of the more common support mechanisms to support recovery is the 12-step program, based on Alcoholics Anonymous. Twelve-step programs have been shown to provide effective coping strategies, not only to help facilitate ongoing abstinence but also to support other psychosocial–spiritual crises. The HPC providers may help to serve those living with addiction disorders better by assessing not only patient histories of substance use/abuse and other addictive behaviors but by facilitating their ongoing support recovery efforts. Here, we use 2 HPC cases to illustrate the value of 12-step recovery programs in patient support and provide recommendations for enhancing such healthy coping in HPC clinical settings.
Palliative Care in Myocardial Infarction: Patient Characteristics and Trends of Service Utilization in a National Inpatient Sample
Authors: Abdullah Abdullah Sayied , Salama Amr , Ibrahim Hisham , Eigbire George , Hoefen Ryan , Alweis Richard
Published: February 2019

Introduction:

Myocardial infarction (MI) remains a leading cause of mortality. Palliative care (PC) has recently expanded in scope to include noncancer-related conditions. There is little data available regarding the use of PC in critical MI patients.

Methods:

We used discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample for the years 2012 to 2014. We examined discharges with a primary diagnosis of MI. We measured the rate of PC referral, trend in utilization during the study period and possible predictors of PC utilization.

Results:

Among 1 667 520 discharges of those patients ≥18 years of age and with a primary diagnosis of MI, use of PC was seen in 2.5% of all patients and in 24% of patients who died. In a multivariable logistic regression, we found the presence of cancer, cardiogenic shock, dementia, stroke, hemiplegia, the use of circulatory support, and mechanical ventilation were associated with higher likelihood of PC referral. Palliative care referral increased during the study period, odds ratio of 1.18 per year (95% confidence interval: 1.14-1.21; P value <.001). Palliative care was not associated with prolonged length of stay.

Conclusion:

Several comorbidities were associated with the use of PC, most notably the use of mechanical ventilation and the presence of metastatic cancer. There was a trend of increasing use of PC during the study period.
Distributed Leadership for Social Justice: Exploring how Influence and Equity are Stretched over an Urban High School
Authors: Brooks Jeffrey S. , Jean-Marie Gaetane , Normore Anthony H. , Hodgins Diane W.
Published: February 2019

Although leadership for social justice and distributed leadership have separately garnered a great deal of interest among educational administration scholars, no studies have explored the possible conceptual and empirical links between these important and promising areas of inquiry. This study draws from extant literature to suggest an exploratory conceptual framework designed to investigate distributed leadership practice for social justice; it then explores the efficacy of the framework using data from an ethnographic study of leadership practice conducted in an urban high school in the southeastern United States. Findings suggest that the framework has potential for explaining social justice leadership practice as the context-specific and situation-bound work of formal and informal leaders throughout an organization.
Beyond Distributed Leadership: Collaboration, Interaction, and Emergent Reciprocal Influence
Authors: Watson Sheldon T. , Scribner Jay Paredes
Published: February 2019

Distributed leadership has joined the current pantheon of educational buzzwords. This represents a shift from a past that focused on positions and individuals as the keys to leadership. Unfortunately, the distributed perspective itself fails to capture much of the leadership activity that takes place in organizations. Specifically, activity that is inherently collaborative, interactive, and reciprocal is difficult to isolate and identify within the context of contemporary lenses of leadership, including distributed leadership. This article explores this conceptual terrain, through a review of scholarship and a discussion of empirical findings. It concludes that the lens of distributed leadership needs further conceptual development to effectively capture the dynamic nature of leadership in today's schools. The framework of emergent reciprocal influence is offered as an initial means of conceptualizing the complex and interactive forms of leadership that emerge within the context of collaborative activity in organizations.
Distributed Accountability: Creating District Systems to Ensure Teaching Quality
Authors: Goldstein Jennifer
Published: February 2019

Districts play a key and relatively unexamined role in distributed leadership research. This article explores how leadership was distributed through a district structure designed to improve the quality of teaching by improving the quality of teacher evaluation. It examines peer assistance and review, a policy designed to address the key problems of traditional teacher evaluation by allowing administrators and teacher leaders to share accountability for evaluation processes and decisions. The article presents data from a peer assistance and review program in one urban district, detailing how the program distributed accountability for teacher quality across the district organization. The article extends previous work on distributed leadership by showing how the design of shared tasks can effectively distribute accountability. The article also extends previous work on distributed leadership by elucidating the democratic effects of that distribution. As such, the article addresses questions of instrumentality (i.e., how can district leaders design and implement a better teacher evaluation system?) and agency (i.e., what are the political implications of distributing formal authority for teacher evaluation out of the hands of administrators and into the hands of teachers?).
The Relationship of Gender on the Perceptions of School Resource Officers regarding Roles, Responsibilities, and School Culture and Collaboration
Authors: Kelly Michael D. , Swezey James A.
Published: February 2019

School resource officers (SROs) play a critical role in establishing a safe learning environment for students across the nation. Although there are several studies related to SROs’ perceptions regarding their roles and responsibilities, a thorough literature review found no studies that looked specifically at the relationship of SROs’ gender to their perceptions. This study involved 53 SROs across three municipalities along the East Coast. Among several findings, one is that while the officers seem satisfied overall with their duties, gender does seem to have a relationship with the amount of time that they spend participating in these duties and in their satisfaction related to them. Recommendations to school superintendents and principals include recognizing the potential advantage of selecting female SROs to serve on their campuses and establishing districtwide policies to annually assess the level of job satisfaction among SROs assigned to schools.
Did the Teachers Destroy the School? Public Entrepreneurship as Creation and Adaptation
Authors: Maranto Robert
Published: February 2019

This article is based on a case study to explore a model of teacher governance and illustrate the distinct challenges of entrepreneurship in public education. In the Sedona Charter School, each classroom principal educator serves as instructional leader and resource leader. Principal educators adjust curricula, hire their teachers, determine salaries (including their own), and purchase classroom materials within the constraints of state funding. By conventional measures of market, financial, and performance accountability, the school succeeds, suggesting that this model can be replicated. Yet the school founders severed their relationship with the school and lobbied state authorities to close it, since, in their view, it violated its charter (process accountability). This case suggests that most innovative entrepreneurs may have difficulty adjusting to educational realities and must themselves be held accountable by parents and state authorities. The study further suggests that, as educational principals, parents and state regulators are more influenced by performance and financial accountability than by process accountability.
Understanding Superintendents’ Self-Efficacy Influences on Instructional Leadership and Student Achievement
Authors: Whitt Ken , Scheurich James Joseph , Skrla Linda
Published: February 2019

This qualitative interpretivist research study focused on understanding perceived superintendent self-efficacy and instructional leadership in school districts that have persistently failed to serve students of color and that also may have contributed to persistent student achievement inequities and achievement gaps. This study yielded three complex and interrelated themes: rejecting responsibility, supporting persistent racism, and sustaining deficit viewpoints. Findings from this study serve to suggest that an important self-efficacy linkage may be absent or underdeveloped in superintendents who maintain paradoxical high efficacy beliefs in the face of ongoing low and inequitable student performance. Policy and practice recommendations are discussed that might assist and influence superintendents’ abilities to link their self-efficacy perceptions to improving equitable academic performance for all students.
How Middle School Principals Can Affect Beginning Teachers’ Experiences
Authors: Youngs Peter , Kwak Hyun-Seung , Pogodzinski Ben
Published: February 2019

This article reports on a 2-year qualitative research study of the processes by which middle school principals’ policies and actions shaped the experiences of five novice teachers in two Michigan school districts. We examined beginning teachers’ perceptions of principals’ approaches to managing student behavior, instructional leadership, and teacher collaboration and their perceptions of the extent to which each principal was trusted by his or her teaching staff. At the end of the second year of data collection (2007–2008), all five beginning teachers expressed high levels of satisfaction and planned to remain teaching in their schools. We argue that leadership related to student behavior and instruction (as perceived by the novices), combined with high levels of teacher–principal trust (again as perceived by the novices), contributes to these outcomes.
Examining the Effects of Instructional Leadership on School Academic Press and Student Achievement
Authors: Mitchell Roxanne M. , Kensler Lisa A. W. , Tschannen-Moran Megan
Published: February 2019

The purpose of the current study was (1) to determine if three observed variables (teacher academic press, parent academic press, and student academic press) would come together to create the latent construct school academic press and (2) to examine the utility of this construct along with instructional leadership and two control variables (elementary school level and socioeconomic status) in predicting academic achievement. A confirmatory factor analysis and a simultaneous structural equation based on a multiple indicator–multiple cause model were developed and tested that explained the relationships among these variables in 49 schools in one large urban district. Participants included 1,292 teachers who responded to an instructional leadership and academic press survey, as well as 980 parents and 4,782 students who responded to surveys of academic press. As predicted, instructional leadership, school academic press, and the control variables explained approximately 84% of the variance in student achievement, with school academic press making the largest contribution.
How Arts Integration Has Helped K–2 Teachers to Boost the Language Development of English-Language Learners
Authors: Brouillette Liane , Grove Doung , Hinga Briana
Published: February 2019

This study looks at the impact of a cost-effective professional development model in which teaching artists helped early elementary teachers master arts-based strategies for boosting the oral language development of English-language learners (ELLs). Teaching artists visited K–2 classrooms for 50 minutes weekly for 28 weeks. Student scores on the listening and speaking sections of the California English Language Development Test were used to determine the impact on language development. The experimental group consisted of 267 students; the comparison group consisted of 2,981 students. The analysis of the listening and speaking scores, fall 2010 to fall 2011, showed significantly more improvement for students in the experimental group. This research has implications for school leaders who, in times of tight budgets, seek professional development opportunities that can assist teachers in addressing the language development needs of English-language learners.
Saving Our Future by Reducing Suspensions and Expulsions among African American Males
Authors: Mccray Carlos R. , Beachum Floyd D. , Yawn Christopher D.
Published: February 2019

In 2012, the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights Division, presented a report titled Revealing New Truths About Our Nation's Schools. This lengthy and detailed report delineated the increasing problem of young African American males being suspended and expelled from school, thus robbing them of an opportunity to fully participate in our nation's new economy. This article attempts to problematize even further the issue of over-representation of Black males who are exposed to out-of-school suspension. We offer the framework cultural collision and collusion as an explanation for this increasing phenomenon. We also recommend prescriptive measures for educators and school leaders to take under consideration to prevent the ushering out of Black males from the educative process.
Development of a Theoretical Model for Achieving Inclusion in Schools
Authors: Torres Mario S. , Madsen Jean , Luo Wen , Ji Yuhong , Luevanos Elisabeth
Published: February 2019

School systems are in the midst of dealing with changing demographics. It is assumed schools play an important role in addressing the varying educational, cultural, and social needs of an increasingly diverse group of members (Holme, Diem, & Welton, 2013). In response authors reviewed multiple inclusive models and frameworks relevant to schools with changing demographics. The scale was based on three meta-constructs: leadership capacity, organizational justice, and performance outcomes. The School Inclusion Survey used in this study employed robust scales to ascertain inclusiveness. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach's α for subscale reliability, in addition to confirmatory factor analysis, were employed to evaluate the construct validity of the inclusion model. While the school inclusion model is exploratory, it is believed schools can use this tool to gauge organizational inclusiveness and develop strategies to address gaps or weaknesses to address the needs of their changing demographics.
Ideology of Joyful Learning through Play in Early Childhood Classroom in Hong Kong: Misconceptions or Paradoxes?
Authors: Lau Grace
Published: February 2019

The ideological slogan of the latest drafted reform document for early childhood education in Hong Kong in July 2016 is, “Joyful Learning Through Play: Balanced Development All the Way.” Based on this ideological slogan, this article “Ideology of Joyful Learning Through Play in Early Childhood Classroom in Hong Kong: Misconceptions or Paradoxes?” discusses the myth and reality of play and its underlying child-centeredness philosophy in the early childhood classroom in Hong Kong. Practical examples would be drawn to compare with the literature review on play and the drafted reform document and to identify any misconceptions and paradoxes that exist. The findings and implications discussed would help readers look at the issue of equity and equality confronting religious-affiliated schools in Hong Kong if the play curriculum and its allied child-centeredness philosophy are to be applied in the reform process.
To Brevet or Not to Brevet: Lebanon Contemplates Abandoning the Middle-Secondary Examination
Authors: Dabaja Tharwat , Vlaardingerbroek Barend
Published: February 2019

The Lebanese government in 2016 was presented with a proposal to abandon the middle-secondary Brevet examination. The Brevet acts as a filter for the upper secondary tier and channels considerable numbers of students into technical/vocational education. This article discusses the likely impact of the abolition of this public examination and presents data compiled from a survey of student views. The authors argue that the fundamental problem plaguing Lebanese education is its poor articulation with the labor market and warn against abolishing the Brevet unless the move is part of a package of reforms aimed at rectifying this dysfunctional interface.
Urine Biomarkers for the Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer – Are We There Yet?
Authors: Grayson Kelly , Gregory Ebony , Khan Ghazala , Guinn Barbara-Ann
Published: February 2019

Ovarian cancer affects around 7500 women in the United Kingdom every year. Despite this, there is no effective screening strategy or standard treatment for ovarian cancer. If diagnosed during stage I, ovarian cancer has a 90% 5-year survival rate; however, there is usually a masking of symptoms which leads to an often late-stage diagnosis and correspondingly poor survival rate. Current diagnostic methods are invasive and consist of a pelvic examination, transvaginal ultrasonography, and blood tests to detect cancer antigen 125 (CA125). Unfortunately, surgery is often still required to make a positive diagnosis. To address the need for accurate, specific, and non-invasive diagnostic methods, there has been an increased interest in biomarkers identified through non-invasive tests as tools for the earlier diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Although most studies have focused on the identification of biomarkers in blood, the ease of availability of urine and the high patient compliance rates suggest that it could provide a promising resource for the screening of patients for ovarian cancer.
Retention of new words learned incidentally from reading: Word exposure frequency, L1 marginal glosses, and their combination
Authors: Teng (Mark) Feng
Published: February 2019

This article examines the influence of different reading conditions (i.e. reading only and reading with first language marginal glosses), number of word encounters (one, three, and seven) while reading, and combinations of these two variables on new word retention. This study considered a total of six possible combinations. Six groups of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) ( n = 240) were randomly selected and each assigned to a condition including 15 target lexical items. Each treatment session lasted for 5 weeks. One delayed test, containing four dimensions of vocabulary knowledge, was intended to measure learners’ retention of unknown words. The delayed test was administered 2 weeks after the experiment and was not disclosed to the learners in advance. The groups whose reading was accompanied by first-language (L1) marginal glosses scored significantly higher than the reading-only groups. The increased effectiveness of repeatedly encountering target lexical items was more pronounced in the reading experiment including L1 marginal glosses. The combination of L1 marginal glosses and seven encounters was found to be the most effective combination for lexical item retention. This study highlighted the effectiveness of repeatedly encountering target words and being provided with L1 marginal glosses to retain new words incidentally learned from reading. The conditions and relevant teaching implications are discussed in this study.
Human behaviour-dependent and variable-flow-reversible mechanical ventilation system design in an underground parking facility
Authors: Kong Kok Haw , Chong Wen Tong , Koh Voon Li
Published: February 2019

Fixed air change ventilation in a huge underground parking facility is a major energy consumption for a building. Variable and unidirectional flow and control by carbon monoxide (CO) sensors in a parking facility can help to reduce energy consumption. However, obstructions in the parking facility reduce the effectiveness of uni-directional flow. Also, siting of CO sensors at particular positions may not accurately reflect the CO level throughout the whole parking facility. This study proposes two energy-efficient approaches. The first approach is to reduce the ventilation rate based on the number of cars, which is determined by a parking guidance system. The second approach is a reversible zonal control system in relation to the human behaviour. Parking bays near access lobbies are always favoured. This behaviour is used to determine ventilation zoning. For commercial buildings, cars are parked for long periods of time, where CO and heat generated by cars can be removed within a certain period of time. All fan shafts are designed for zonal control and reversible mode, dynamically operated to effectively remove hot and contaminated air. This reversible zonal control system can remove the heat effectively within a shorter time, thus improving energy savings.
Punitive reform and the cultural life of punishment: Moving from the ASBO to its successors
Authors: Brown Kevin J
Published: February 2019

This paper explores the process of punitive reform through a cultural theory lens. The existing literature focuses on high-end punishments of historical pedigree e.g. imprisonment or the death penalty. This paper instead takes as its focus low-end, contemporary punishments. In doing so, it provides original insights into the utility a cultural methodology can bring to understanding punitive reform in the digital age. It tests the applicability of Philip Smith's theory of the cultural life of punishment to case studies of the Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) and its replacements in England and Wales, the Criminal Behaviour Order and the Injunction. The ASBO was a punitive zeitgeist of its time becoming rooted in popular culture. However, it was ultimately abolished after attracting a predominantly negative cultural narrative. Thus far, after attracting some controversy at the legislative stage, the Criminal Behaviour Order and Injunction have received minimal scrutiny, despite being more problematic than their predecessor. This paper argues that the lower cultural impacts of the new punishments are responsible for the lack of scrutiny.
Sticky ethics: Environmental activism and the limits of ethical freedom in Kerala, India
Authors: Mathias John
Published: February 2019

Environmental activists in Kerala, India, often contest the boundaries between the ethical and the non-ethical, flouting widely-accepted norms while ethicalizing usually trivial aspects of everyday life. The resulting ambiguity presents an opportunity to explore a problem that has troubled the recent ethical turn in anthropology: how do we know ethics when we see it? Analyzing seemingly ethicalizing moves during an environmental awareness campaign, I show how ambiguous evaluations can become persistent demands to account for one’s actions, even for those who protest, transgress, mock, or otherwise resist them. This process sheds light on the limits of freedom in ethical life and, thus, contributes to debates on how to define ethics for the purposes of anthropological research.
Multi-input–multi-output optimization of reactivity-controlled compression-ignition combustion in a heavy-duty diesel engine running on natural gas/diesel fuel
Authors: Ebrahimi Mojtaba , Najafi Mohammad , Jazayeri Seyed Ali
Published: February 2019

The aim of this study is to implement the multi-input–multi-output optimization of reactivity-controlled compression-ignition combustion in a heavy-duty diesel engine running on natural gas and diesel fuel. A single-cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine with a modified bathtub piston bowl profile is set on operation at 9.4 bar indicated mean effective pressure and running at a fixed engine speed of 1300 r/min. A certain amount of diesel fuel mass per cycle is fed into the engine at a fixed equivalence ratio without any exhaust gas recirculation. The optimization targets include reduction in engine emissions as much as possible, avoiding diesel knock occurrence, and achieving low temperature combustion concept with the least or no engine power losses. To implement the optimization, the effects of three control factors on the engine performance are assessed by the design of experiment concept—fractional factorial method. These selected control factors are intake temperature and intake pressure (both at intake valve closing) and the diesel fuel start of injection timing. Some randomized treatment combinations of chosen levels from the three selected control factors are employed to simulate reactivity-controlled compression-ignition combustion. Based on the engine’s responses derived from the simulation, reactivity-controlled compression-ignition combustion’s mathematical model is identified directly using an artificial neural network. Next, an optimization process is conducted using two different optimization algorithms, namely, genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm. For assessing and validating the obtained optimal results, the obtained data are used to simulate reactivity-controlled compression-ignition combustion as the engine input factors. The results show that the proposed artificial neural network design is effectively capable of identifying reactivity-controlled compression-ignition combustion’s mathematical model. Also, by optimizing reactivity-controlled compression-ignition combustion through different optimization algorithms, the optimal range of the engine operation at 9.4 bar indicated mean effective pressure is well estimated and extended.
Cyclic NO2:NOx ratio from a diesel engine undergoing transient load steps
Authors: Leach FCP , Davy MH , Peckham MS
Published: February 2019

As the control of real driving emissions continues to increase in importance, the importance of understanding emission formation mechanisms during engine transients similarly increases. Knowledge of the NO2/NOx ratio emitted from a diesel engine is necessary, particularly for ensuring optimum performance of NOx aftertreatment systems. In this work, cycle-to-cycle NO and NOx emissions have been measured using a Cambustion CLD500, and the cyclic NO2/NOx ratio calculated as a high-speed light-duty diesel engine undergoes transient steps in load, while all other engine parameters are held constant across a wide range of operating conditions with and without exhaust gas recirculation. The results show that changes in NO and NOx, and hence NO2/NOx ratio, are instantaneous upon a step change in engine load. NO2/NOx ratios have been observed in line with previously reported results, although at the lightest engine loads and at high levels of exhaust gas recirculation, higher levels of NO2 than have been previously reported in the literature are observed.
The limits of commodification arguments: Framing, motivation crowding, and shared valuations
Authors: Gold Natalie
Published: February 2019

I connect commodification arguments to an empirical literature, present a mechanism by which commodification may occur, and show how this may restrict the range of goods and services that are subject to commodification, therefore having implications for the use of commodification arguments in political theory. Commodification arguments assert that some people’s trading a good or service can debase it for third parties. They consist of a normative premise, a theory of value, and an empirical premise, a mechanism whereby some people’s market exchange affects how goods can be valued by others. Hence, their soundness depends on the existence of a suitable candidate mechanism for the empirical premise. The ‘motivation crowding effect’ has been cited as the empirical base of commodification. I show why the main explanations of motivation crowding – signaling and over-justification – do not provide mechanisms that could underpin the empirical premise. In doing this, I reveal some requirements on any candidate mechanism. I present a third explanation of motivation crowding, based on the crowding out of frames, and show how it fulfills the requirements. With a mechanism in hand, I explore the type of goods and services to which commodification arguments are applicable. The mechanism enables markets to break down ‘shared valuations’, which is a subset of the valuations that proponents of commodification arguments are concerned with. Further, it can only break down relatively fragile shared understandings and therefore, I suggest, it cannot support a commodification argument regarding the sale of sexual services.
Telling a ‘good or white lie’: The views of people living with dementia and their carers
Authors: Casey Dympna , Lynch Una , Murphy Kathleen , Cooney Adeline , Gannon Mary , Houghton Catherine , Hunter Andrew , Jordan Fionnuala , Smyth Siobhan , Felzman Heike , Meskell Pauline
Published: February 2019

Objective

A common symptom of cognitive decline in people living with dementia, or people with memory problems, the cause of which has not yet been diagnosed, is the person repeatedly asking for loved ones who are deceased or making statements that are incorrect. Carers are then faced with a dilemma, do they avoid and distract or ‘correct’ the person and tell the ‘truth’, or tell a lie. This paper explores the concept of lying from the perspective of people living with dementia in the community and their informal/unpaid carers.

Methods

A descriptive qualitative study utilising focus groups to collect the data was conducted. Three focus group’s with a purposive sample of people with memory problems ( n = 14) and three focus group’s with informal/unpaid carers ( n = 18) were undertaken. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results

All participants considered that blatant lying with the intention to deceive and do harm is not acceptable. However, telling a ‘good lie’ or ‘white lie’ to alleviate distress was in certain circumstances considered acceptable. The intention behind the ‘lie’ in their view had to be to do good, and the informal/unpaid carer telling the lie had to really ‘know the person’ and be cognisant of family preferences. Some informal/unpaid carers acknowledged that it may be acceptable for health care professionals to tell a ‘good lie’ or ‘small lie’ in certain circumstances. However, health professionals need to ‘know the person’ and need to consider informal/family caregivers’ wishes.

Conclusion

Lying was only considered acceptable in the context of knowing the person and when done with the intention not to harm or deceive, undertaken with empathy, and only for the purpose of mitigating the person living with dementia’s distress.
The role of international criminal law in responding to the crime–terror nexus
Authors: van der Wilt Harmen , Paulussen Christophe
Published: February 2019

This article seeks to map the possible bottlenecks for international legal cooperation in the context of terrorism and/or organized crime. The assumption is that – because of the crime–terror nexus – any obstacle encountered in that area with respect to the suppression of one form of criminality will backfire on the other form as well. After addressing the indefinite concept of terrorism, and its connection with organized crime, we will look at extraterritorial jurisdiction and international cooperation in criminal matters. In the final section, we will offer a number of concluding observations.
“The Books of the Office of My Charge”
Authors: Forsythe Jenny Marie
Published: February 2019

Heloise Hulse Cruzat and Laura Louise Porteous spent decades of their lives feeding the quill and ink symbols scratched onto eighteenth century Spanish and French colonial judicial records to their typewriters. Cruzat worked for the Louisiana Historical Society (LHS) from 1917 to 1931 as a translator of French colonial records, and Porteous worked from 1920 to 1948 on the Spanish records. Translation was a central part of the process that transformed the colonial notarial and judicial records into historical documents. In this case study, one Spanish judicial record is compared to Porteous's corresponding English “Index” entry. Examining such work closely allows us to spotlight what Porteous chose to omit; moreover, her “Index” entry becomes a tool for reading between the lines of one Spanish colonial judicial record.
Synthesis and characterization of cellulose-based adsorbent for removal of anionic and cationic dyes
Authors: Yue Xinxia , Huang Jiwei , Jiang Fang , Lin Hong , Chen Yuyue
Published: February 2019

Synthetic dyes are widely used in textile, paper, plastic, and other industries, which are toxic and harmful to environment and human. Adsorption is an efficient method to control wastewater. Cellulose is an abundant, renewable, and eco-friendly polymer produced by plants and trees. An adsorbent for removal of dyes was successfully prepared by grafting amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (NH2-HBP) and beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD) onto cotton fibers in this study. The adsorbent were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The influences of adsorption parameters in a batch mode including initial solution pH, contact time, and dye initial concentration were evaluated in the experiments. The experiment results showed that the adsorption equilibrium was reached within 6 h for Congo red and within 4 h for methylene blue. Both the adsorption isotherms and kinetic studies showed that the behaviors of Congo red and methylene blue removal by the adsorbent based on cotton fibers conformed with Freundlich model and fitted pseudo-second-order model, respectively.
DWI-pc-ASPECT score in basilar artery occlusion: is 6 points or less always indicative of a bad outcome?
Authors: Kim Joong-Goo , Lee Dongwhane , Choi Jay Chol , Song Yunsun , Lee Deok Hee , Suh Dae Chul
Published: February 2019

Background and purpose

The prognosis of patients with acute basilar arterial occlusion after endovascular reperfusion therapy with diffusion-weighted imaging – posterior circulation–Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (DWI-pc-ASPECTS) of 6 or less remains unclear. We aimed to assess the characteristics and prognosis of endovascular reperfusion therapy in patients with acute basilar arterial occlusion and DWI-pc-ASPECTS of 6 or less.

Methods

We analysed data collected from 1 January 2012 to 31 January 2018 in a prospective neuro-interventional registry of consecutive patients treated with endovascular reperfusion therapy. Clinical and imaging data on patients with DWI-pc-ASPECTS of 6 or less who underwent endovascular reperfusion therapy for acute basilar arterial occlusion were collected for this study. A good clinical outcome was defined as a modified Rankin scale of 2 or less at 90 days.

Results

Forty-five acute basilar arterial occlusion patients with DWI-pc-ASPECTS of 6 or less were included. Among them, 11 (24.4%) patients had a good clinical outcome at 90 days. Patients with a good clinical outcome had less severe neurological symptoms at presentation (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) 19.0 (12.0–25.0) vs. 8.0 (6.0–11.5); P = 0.003) and were younger (72.5 years (57.0–80.0 years) vs. 63.0 years (55.5–69.0 years), P = 0.096) than those with a poor clinical outcome. The symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage rate was significantly higher in the poor clinical outcome group (13 (38.2%)) than in the good clinical outcome group (0 (0.0%)) ( P = 0.045). In particular, in patients aged over 70 years, a favourable outcome was low (18 (52.9%) vs. 1 (9.1%); P = 0.027) even after successful recanalisation. In a multivariate model, a low initial NIHSS score (odds ratio 1.21; 95% confidence interval 1.07–1.44; P = 0.0093) and age over 70 years (odds ratio 15.27; 95% confidence interval 1.85–379.79; P = 0.0321) were independent predictors of poor clinical outcome.

Conclusions

Even with DWI-pc-ASPECTS of 6 or less, good clinical outcome can be achieved after endovascular reperfusion therapy. Relatively mild initial symptoms and younger age can predict a better outcome in acute basilar arterial occlusion patients with DWI-pc-ASPECTS of 6 or less.
Delayed development of a de novo contralateral middle cerebral artery aneurysm in a patient with hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome: A case report
Authors: Nussbaum Eric S , Torok Collin M , Carroll Jason , Gunderman Allicia M
Published: February 2019

A 50-year-old female patient with hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome (HIES) presented initially at the age of 48 years with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from a ruptured left middle cerebral artery (MCA) bifurcation aneurysm, which was treated successfully with coiling and microsurgical clipping. Angiography and cross-sectional imaging did not indicate evidence of any additional intracranial aneurysm. However, the patient presented two years later with SAH secondary to a new ruptured right MCA bifurcation aneurysm, which was treated successfully with microsurgical clipping. This case provides further evidence that HIES places the cerebral vasculature at increased risk for cerebral aneurysm formation and that special considerations are indicated in managing and monitoring these patients.
Visual disorders caused by cranial arteriovenous fistula with venous drainage into the superior ophthalmic vein
Authors: Kondo Ryushi , Kumabe Toshihiro , Yamamoto Daisuke , Koizumi Hiroyuki , Kuroda Hiroki , Miyasaka Kazuhiro
Published: February 2019

Background

Although the abnormal venous drainage into the superior ophthalmic vein (SOV) is a well-known entity responsible for ocular symptoms, it remains unclear to what degree it affects the visual function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, characteristics and outcomes of the visual disorders in patients with intracranial arteriovenous fistula (AVF) with venous drainage into the SOV.

Methods

This retrospective study involved eight patients diagnosed with intracranial AVFs with abnormal venous drainage into the SOV between January 2014 and December 2016.

Results

The most common location of AVF was the cavernous sinus (CS) in five patients, followed by the intraorbit in two patients and superior sagittal sinus (SSS) in one patient. Visual disorders were detected in three patients (two intraorbit and one CS). The visual field contraction was observed in a patient with intraorbital AVF, and the reduction of visual acuity was confirmed in another patient with intraorbital AVF and a patient with CS dural AVF. All patients underwent an interventional treatment consisting of endovascular embolisation, stereotactic radiosurgery or both, which was selected based on their angioarchitecture. Although angiographic cure of AVF was confirmed in all patients, visual function did not fully recover in two patients with intraorbital AVF.

Conclusions

In cases of intraorbital AVF, visual disorders are more frequent and can result in poorer outcomes compared with other dural AVFs with drainage into the SOV. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to preserve the visual function of patients with intraorbital AVF.
An assured deletion scheme for encrypted data in Internet of Things
Authors: Mu Haibing , Li Yuanyuan
Published: February 2019

With the development of Internet of Things, heterogeneous data from all kinds of sensors are processed and stored in the cloud server provider. Cloud can be regarded as one of the important layers in the Internet of Things architecture and Internet of Things is the biggest customer of the cloud. As to the security in the Internet of Things, encryption is one of the important mechanisms to achieve confidentiality of the data. However, data encryption introduces new challenges for its assured deletion in cloud, which becomes crucial for big data storage and processing in cloud for Internet of Things. Most existing solutions of cloud data assured deletion only delete the key while the ciphertext is still intact. On the other hand, the decryption time of the user increases with the size of data in the solutions. In this article, we propose a novel assured deletion scheme over encrypted cloud data based on the idea of uploading by sampling slice and outsourcing the decryption of ciphertext policy attribute–based encryption. The analysis and simulation results show that our scheme is secure and efficient, especially on reducing the decryption time of the user. We also designed a ciphertext deduplication scheme based on this scheme and explained its flow.
Bringing stroke clinical guidelines to life
Authors: English Coralie , Bayley Mark , Hill Kelvin , Langhorne Peter , Molag Marja , Ranta Annemarei , Solomon John M , Turner Tari , Campbell Bruce CV
Published: February 2019

Clinical practice guidelines are essential for driving evidence-based clinical care to patients. In an era of ever-increasing research evidence, keeping guidelines up to date is a challenging and resource-intensive process. Advances in technological platforms provide opportunities to develop new models of guideline development that will allow for continuous, rapid updates to recommendations as new evidence emerges. As Australia and other countries begin to develop these models, we have an opportunity to work more closely together to ensure the most efficient use of resources.