bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bausteine für den Erfolg: Lehren, lernen, Geld einwerben
Authors: Fröhlich Carla , Vazquez Olalla
Published: March 2019

Im Juni 2018 fand der zweite Fulbright‐Cottrell Junior Professional Development Workshop in Berlin statt. Der Workshop ist eine praxisbezogene Weiterbildung für Juniorprofessoren und Gruppenleiter, die Aspekte von Lehre, Forschung, Kommunikation und Leitungsfunktionen behandelt. Ziel ist, Juniorprofessoren und Gruppenleitern das nötige Wissen und erprobte Strategien zu vermitteln, damit sie ihre Arbeit effizient verrichten und so zu Führungspersönlichkeiten werden können. An der dreitägigen Veranstaltung beteiligten sich 50 Juniorprofessoren, Gruppenleiter und Postdoktoranden der Chemie, Physik und Astronomie in Deutschland sowie 14 Schulungsleiter, allesamt Professoren, Programmdirektoren oder Referentinnen aus Deutschland und den USA. Die Idee, einen solchen Workshop in Deutschland durchzuführen, stammt von Olalla Vázquez (Universität Marburg, Deutschland) und Carla Fröhlich (NC State University, USA). Der Workshop wurde finanziell vom BMBF und Fulbright Deutschland unterstützt.
Noninvasive ablation of rabbit fetal and placental tissue targets in utero using magnetic resonance‐guided high‐intensity focused ultrasound
Authors: Piorkowska Karolina , Waspe Adam C. , Wang Tao , Mougenot Charles , Ryan Greg , Drake James M. , Gerstle Justin T.
Published: March 2019

Objective

Magnetic resonance‐guided high‐intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU) is a potential noninvasive therapy for fetal conditions. In utero MRgHIFU delivery and proton resonance frequency shift (PRFS) thermometry monitoring will control accuracy of HIFU ablation and confirm in situ tissue heating in a rabbit model.

Methods

High‐resolution 3T MR images were acquired in late‐gestation rabbits (approximately 30 days, n = 5). HIFU sonications, using magnetic resonance (MR) thermometry as a guide, were delivered to achieve necrosis in relevant fetal targets. Thermometry, posttreatment magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and follow‐up histology confirmed ablation.

Results

Placentas (n = 14) were treated with 127 ± 34 Wac; thermometry‐indicated temperatures reached 67°C. Lungs (n = 8) were treated with 85 ± 15 Wac and reached 73°C, livers (n = 6) with 80 ± 15 Wac and reached 74°C, and kidneys (n = 5) with 100 Wac and reached 66°C. Histological changes showed focal areas of necrosis with circumferential hemorrhage and/or vasodilation, which transitioned abruptly to healthy tissue.

Conclusion

MRgHIFU therapy can effectively target and thermally treat specific in utero organs in this acute fetal rabbit model. PRFS gives in situ temperature control of therapy on tissues. Conceivably, MRgHIFU therapy may be applicable to specific fetal organ anomalies clinically and has the potential to improve the overall fetal outcome over traditional invasive surgical procedures.
Electron Sandwich Doubles the Thermoelectric Power Factor of SrTiO3
Authors: Zhang Yuqiao , Ohta Hiromichi
Published: March 2019

Thermoelectric materials convert a temperature difference into electricity through a phenomenon known as the Seebeck effect, and their efficiency is determined by the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT (≡ S2 · σ · κ−1). Currently, most materials exhibiting high ZT values (ZT > 1) are based on heavy metal compounds, but these materials have low thermal/chemical stability. In this regard, conducting metal oxides attract much attention for thermoelectric power generations at high temperatures based on their advantages in thermal stability over heavy metal compounds. However, the thermoelectric performance of metal oxides is usually low. Here the authors review that an enhanced two‐dimensionality is efficient for enhancing the thermoelectric power factor of metal oxides. The authors fabricate SrTiO3‐based superlattices of [N unit cell SrTi1−xNbxO3|11 unit cell SrTiO3]10, of which the de Broglie wavelengths can be tuned by the substitution of Nb. The maximum power factor of the superlattice composed of the long de Broglie wavelength SrTi1−xNbxO3 exceeds ≈5 mW m−1 K−2, which doubles the value observed from the optimized bulk SrTi1−xNbxO3. This finding can help to reduce the amount of wasted heat and thus wasted fossil fuel in daily activities and industrial factories.
Protocol for using compound‐specific isotope analysis in environmental forensics
Authors: McLoughlin Patrick
Published: March 2019

Forensic arguments must be demonstrably objective. A protocol is proposed to supply a framework to achieve this when using data from compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) in developing forensic arguments about volatile organic carbon (VOC) contamination in groundwater. The protocol uses a “line of evidence” approach to reiteratively refine a hypothesis by testing it against each of three criteria, modifying the hypothesis if it fails or accumulating supporting evidence if it passes. The criteria are intended to organize data interpretation and to maximize use of both site data and supporting literature. Specifically, the criteria are: 1) degradation: enrichment factors and dual isotope plot (DIP) slopes; 2) hydrogeology: groundwater flow and plume shape; and 3) site history: VOC use and previous remediation work. Each of these criteria is described in detail and examples are provided for these criteria to show how each criterion can be used to identify the more plausible explanation when alternate hypotheses are presented. The protocol built upon these criteria is intended to maximize the use of supporting data and to document that support, as well as to ensure that interpretations are self consistent. The protocol is intended to be flexible and provides the framework to use exceptions as a line of evidence supporting an explanation.
Optimization and testing in linear non‐Gaussian component analysis
Authors: Jin Ze , Risk Benjamin B. , Matteson David S.
Published: March 2019

Independent component analysis (ICA) decomposes multivariate data into mutually independent components (ICs). The ICA model is subject to a constraint that at most one of these components is Gaussian, which is required for model identifiability. Linear non‐Gaussian component analysis (LNGCA) generalizes the ICA model to a linear latent factor model with any number of both non‐Gaussian components (signals) and Gaussian components (noise), where observations are linear combinations of independent components. Although the individual Gaussian components are not identifiable, the Gaussian subspace is identifiable. We introduce an estimator along with its optimization approach in which non‐Gaussian and Gaussian components are estimated simultaneously, maximizing the discrepancy of each non‐Gaussian component from Gaussianity while minimizing the discrepancy of each Gaussian component from Gaussianity. When the number of non‐Gaussian components is unknown, we develop a statistical test to determine it based on resampling and the discrepancy of estimated components. Through a variety of simulation studies, we demonstrate the improvements of our estimator over competing estimators, and we illustrate the effectiveness of our test to determine the number of non‐Gaussian components. Further, we apply our method to real data examples and show its practical value.
The option value in Jack‐of‐all‐trades investment
Authors: Arend Richard J.
Published: March 2019

Research Summary

The Jack‐of‐all‐trades model assumes there is demand in the economy not only for individuals who are generalists but also for those who are specialists, and that organizations need multiple skills to succeed. Thus, generalists have the option of acting as self‐employed entrepreneurs while specialists must work for corporations. This model generates empirically testable hypotheses but also holds glaring deficiencies. One deficiency is the exclusion of risk, a deficiency questionable in any model explaining entrepreneurial activity. Adding risk to the model is straightforward, but necessitates the analysis of the option value for individual investments in generalist skills. We discuss how those novel additions change the predictions and applications of the model, and what that implies for the relevant literatures in entrepreneurial human capital, activity and theory assessment.

Managerial Summary

In this conceptual paper, we correct the original Jack‐of‐all‐trades model of entrepreneurial activity for risk (and for uncertainties that can be captured as risk). Decision‐makers in human skills investments can exploit that risk using an options approach. Our correction affects the original model's predictions in several ways, including increasing expected entrepreneurial activity in contexts of high volatility concerning the economic value of such activity. A new set of predictions based on contextual volatility is identified. The new results have implications for generalist skills investments, for when to hire specialists, and for the effects of “weakest link” employees. For potential entrepreneurs, we recommend understanding the value of options thinking in personal skills investments, as well as the effects on scale that tightly held generalist skills imply.
Synthesis of Hydrogen‐Substituted Graphyne Film for Lithium–Sulfur Battery Applications
Authors: Li Jiaqiang , Li Sha , Liu Qing , Yin Chen , Tong Lianming , Chen Changguo , Zhang Jin
Published: March 2019

Graphyne (GY) is a new type of carbon allotrope, which is viewed as a rapidly rising star in the carbon family referred to as 2D carbon allotropes due to its extraordinary properties. Considering the dynamic nature of the alkyne metathesis reaction, a hydrogen‐substituted graphyne (HsGY) film is successfully synthesized on a gas/liquid interface using 1,3,5‐tripynylbenzene (TPB) as the precursor. The synthesized HsGY film is used as a sulfur host matrix to be applied in lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs). The HsGY@S electrode is prepared using S8 as sulfur source and presents excellent electrochemical performance.
Surface‐Acoustic‐Wave‐Based Lab‐on‐Chip for Rapid Transport of Cryoprotectants across Cell Membrane for Cryopreservation with Significantly Improved Cell Viability
Authors: Farooq Umar , Haider Zeeshan , Liang Xin M. , Memon Kashan , Hossain S. M. Chapal , Zheng Yuan , Xu Hongsheng , Qadir Akeel , Panhwar Fazil , Dong Shurong , Zhao Gang , Luo Jikui
Published: March 2019

Cryopreservation is essential to effectively extend the shelf life of delicate biomaterials while maintaining proper levels of cell functions. Cryopreservation requires a cryoprotective agent (CPA) to suppress intracellular ice formation during freezing, but it must be removed prior to clinical use due to its toxicity. Conventional multistep CPA loading and unloading approaches are time consuming, often creating osmotic shocks and causing mechanical injuries for biological samples. An efficient surface‐acoustic‐wave‐ (SAW‐) based lab‐on‐a‐chip (LoC) for fast loading and removal of CPAs is presented here. With the SAW‐based multistep CPA loading/removal approach, high concentration (3 m) CPA can be successfully loaded and removed in less than 1 min. Results show that the technique causes the least harm to umbilical cord matrix mesenchymal stem cells as compared to conventional method, and an average of 24% higher cell recovery rate is achieved, while preserving the integrity and morphology of the cells. This device is the first of its kind to combine high loading/unloading efficiency, high cell viability, and high throughput into one LoC device, offering not only a more efficient and safer route for CPA loading and removal from cells, but also paving the way for other cryopreservation‐dependent applications.
Reproduction of Oppression Through Fraternity and Sorority Recruitment and Socialization
Authors: Salinas Cristobal , Gillon Kathleen E. , Camacho Trace
Published: March 2019

This chapter provides an introduction to fraternity and sorority recruitment and socialization practices across various councils and discusses how power, privilege, and oppression shape recruitment as an inequitable practice.
Asian American Interest Fraternities: Fulfilling Unmet Needs of the Loneliest Americans
Authors: Tran Minh , Chang Mitchell
Published: March 2019

This chapter points to how race and gender specific affinity groups serve as a vehicle for Asian male students to challenge mainstream stereotypes and redefine themselves in culturally relevant ways that subsequently empower them to embrace more fully their Asian male identities.
Comparative metaphysics: Evolutionary and ontogenetic roots of essentialist thought about objects
Authors: Rakoczy Hannes , Cacchione Trix
Published: March 2019

How do animals and young children see the world around them in its most basic structure, and how do such world‐views develop over time? These are questions of what could be called comparative and developmental metaphysics. The present paper gives an introduction to this newly emerging field of research. Special emphasis is put on thinking about the world as made up of discrete and enduring objects as the most fundamental form of objective thought. The paper discusses whether language is necessary for such basic forms of objective thought, and whether thinking about objects, in turn, may lay a foundation for psychological essentialism.

This article is categorized under:

Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition

Psychology > Comparative Psychology
Methodological Approaches to Reflect on the Relationships Between People, Spaces, Technologies
Authors: Čakovská Barbora , Bihuňová Mária , Hansen Preben , Marcheggiani Ernesto , Galli Andrea
Published: March 2019

Social behaviour in public spaces has changed over the time and has become attractive to all those involved in designing people’s spaces. Communities in different countries in Europe have shown more and more interest and various activities have started to shape the public spaces all round the world. The main objective of the chapter is to review development of the methodologies that have been used to analyse public spaces worldwide and to summarize their requirements and conditions to suggest how they can be applied in order to analyse the relationship between people and spaces, with the aim to boost the active participation of people in design process. The chapter describes the methodologies using ICTs, especially e-participation, mobile technologies, GIS systems, or on the methodologies increasing the attractiveness of the public open spaces for citizens and visitors (laser holograms, QR codes, interactive boards, online and interactive maps, questionnaires and social interaction, etc.). Information technology offers new potentials of citizen participation and provides a communication platform, which suppresses a barrier of non-professionalism, allowing for distant contacts and enabling participatory process management. Users, accustomed to communicating through ICT also in public spaces, feel by using this tool more anonymous and less harassed to express their opinion. Not only ICT are important in the 21st century society, but also new ways of social media, which are accessible/open to use for larger group of people. The institutions or municipalities could use them as semi-official information platform, public open discuss forums or resource of the public initiatives.
Liveable Open Public Space - From Flaneur to Cyborg
Authors: Djukic Aleksandra , Vlastos Thanos , Joklova Viera
Published: March 2019

Open public spaces have always been key elements of the city. Now they are also crucial for mixed reality. It is the main carrier of urban life, place for socialization, where users rest, have fun and talk. Moreover, “Seeing others and being seen” is a condition of socialization. Intensity of life in public spaces provides qualities like safety, comfort and attractiveness. Furthermore, open public spaces represent a spatial framework for meetings and multileveled interactions, and should include virtual flows, stimulating merging of physical and digital reality. Aim of the chapter is to present a critical analysis of public open spaces, aspects of their social role and liveability. It will also suggest how new technologies, in a mixed reality world, may enhance design approaches and upgrade the relationship between a user and his surroundings. New technologies are necessary for obtaining physical/digital spaces, becoming playable and liveable which will encourage walking, cycling, standing and interacting. Hence, they will attract more citizens and visitors, assure a healthy environment, quality of life and sociability. Public space, acting as an open book of the history of the city and of its future, should play a new role, being a place of reference for the flaneur/cyborg citizen personal and social life. The key result is a framework for understanding the particular importance of cyberparks in contemporary urban life in order to better adapt technologies in the modern urban life needs.
Exploring the Concept of Cyberpark: What the Experts Think
Authors: Arvanitidis Paschalis , Lalenis Konstantinos , Artopoulos Georgios , Pallares-Barbera Montserrat
Published: March 2019

The chapter aims to provide a contextualisation of the cyberpark concept as this is perceived by a wide range of experts in public space and information technologies. To do so it makes use of a questionnaire survey conducted with the participants of the CyberParks COST Action, which collected their views on a number of aspects concerning both the mediated and the not mediated public open spaces, such as: their elements and qualities, the facilities they should offer, the activities they should facilitate, the type of space and location that are most suitable to accommodate them, their appropriate size and manner for their development, their target user group and other aspects of their configuration. The analysis brings out the commonalities and differences in experts’ views regarding the mediated and the not mediated public open spaces, and, as such, it contributes to specify further the cyberpark concept, mapping out its characteristics and dimensions. This should enrich the ongoing dialogue within the literature and facilitate interactions between relevant, yet fragmented, scientific disciplines in the area to inform the production and appropriation of both mediated and the not mediated public open spaces.
Socio-Spatial Practices: An Introduction and Overview
Authors: Kenna Therese , Maksymiuk Gabriela
Published: March 2019

We are now firmly in a digital era and technologies are ever-present. Since the introduction of new digital technologies and ICTs, such as smart phones, the literature has presented some contrasting analyses of the socio-spatial practices and impacts that have resulted from the uptake of new technologies in urban public spaces. On one hand, there is a particular set of debates that have expressed concerns that the introduction of digital technologies, especially personal ICTs, is leading to a greater withdrawal from urban public spaces.
People - Space - Technology: An Ethnographic Approach
Authors: Menezes Marluci , Arvanitidis Paschalis , Kenna Therese , Ivanova-Radovanova Petja
Published: March 2019

CyberParks aims at advancing knowledge on the relationship between information and communication technologies and the socially sustainable production and usage of public open spaces. Such research necessitates a solid methodological base. Urban ethnography brings together a number of perspectives and approaches to deal with cultural and social aspects of urban life, and as such it is able to provide an integrated methodological framework for the study of technology-public space relationship. The ethnographic approach means, by definition, an in-depth, micro-scale look at the phenomena under concern. However, the technological dimension makes the relationship between people and space more complex. This is not simply because an additional layer of analysis is added; it comes as a result of the emergence of multiple connections between the real and the virtual. From an ethnographic perspective, this requires the researcher to capture, explore and understand the cyber-social phenomena and dynamics in a multifaceted, hybrid, triangulated and cross-referenced way. This makes ethnographic research much more complicated but more interesting as well. The current chapter attempts to outline such an analytical framework to guide empirical research on the issues. This framework draws on the public space literature and adds the technological dimension brought in by the CyberParks project. We argue that this enriches the ethnographic approach providing a more integrated framework for the analysis of the relationship between people, space and technology.
What Applied Implies: A Reflection on the Identity of the Religious Research Association
Authors: Thumma Scott
Published: March 2019

In this 2018 Presidential Address to the Religious Research Association, I explore the applied religious identity of the Association. This address also addresses the manner in which individual basic research efforts could benefit from key practices of an applied research mindset. This applied identity is central to the Religious Research Association as I show from a sketch of its history and through references to previous Presidential addresses. I then discuss three questions that an applied orientation raises for individual research, for dissemination of research findings, and for the future of the Association. I propose answers to this final question that suggest out possible directions forward for the Association to strengthen its distinctive identity characteristic while also addressing the current needs of the broader religious community.
JOINT LIFE INSURANCE PRICING USING EXTENDED MARSHALL–OLKIN MODELS
Authors: Gobbi Fabio , Kolev Nikolai , Mulinacci Sabrina
Published: March 2019

In this paper we suggest a modeling of joint life insurance pricing via Extended Marshall–Olkin (EMO) models and related copulas. These models are based on the combination of two approaches: the absolutely continuous copula approach, where the copula is used to capture dependencies due to environmental factors shared by the two lives, and the classical Marshall–Olkin model, where the association is given by accounting for a fatal event causing the simultaneous death of the two lives. New properties of the EMO model are established and applied to a sample of censored residual lifetimes of couples of insureds extracted from a data set of annuities contracts of a large Canadian life insurance company. Finally, some joint life insurance products are analyzed.
Management of the Invasive Shrub Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) for the Endangered Perennial Wild Dill (Perideridia americana)
Authors: Loeb Robert E. , Peters Will , Ward Steve
Published: March 2019

Radnor Lake State Natural Area in Nashville, TN, has cedar glades that contain the endangered perennial herb wild dill [Perideridia americana (Nutt. ex DC.) Rchb.] and the invasive shrub Amur honeysuckle [Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Herder]. This research examined whether L. maackii treatment in the Radnor Lake State Natural Area cedar glades is followed by an increase in P. americana plants. A grid of 60 adjacent 2 m by 4 m plots was placed in five cedar glades to encompass the P. americana population. With great care to protect P. americana, the annual treatment for L. maackii was to pull plants ≤1-m tall from the ground; and to cut stems >1-m tall and then treat the stumps with glyphosate. The t-tests of means for the log natural of the number of plants in the 60 plots (significance level of P-value = 0.05) were used to compare pretreatment L. maackii and P. americana counts with posttreatment counts in 2018 and P. americana counts at leaf out and flowering in 2018. The L. maackii population was significantly smaller (P-value < 0.001) in 2018 than pretreatment at all five sites. When pretreatment in 2014 and 2015 was compared with posttreatment in 2018 for the P. americana populations, the increases were significant at the Cheek, Harris 2, Hideaway, and Norfleet sites, but the increase at East Hall Farm was not significant. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) trampling was the explanation given for the decreases in P. americana from leaf out to flowering at all five sites in 2018. Browsing was evident only at Hideaway, which had a greater loss for P. americana from leaf out to flowering in 2018 than the combined losses for the Cheek, East Hall Farm, Harris 2, and Norfleet sites. The research informed the creation of adaptive management decisions regarding monitoring and treatment of the invasive species L. maackii for an endangered species.
Geodetic glacier mass balance (1975–1999) in the central Pamir using the SRTM DEM and KH-9 imagery
Authors: ZHOU YUSHAN , LI ZHIWEI , LI JIA , ZHAO RONG , DING XIAOLI
Published: March 2019

Multiple studies on regional glacier mass balance in the Pamir Mountains have been conducted using the geodetic method, but they were rarely extended to the period before 2000. In this study, we used KH-9 imagery acquired in 1975 to generate the historical DEM for the central Pamir, and then obtained the glacier elevation change by comparing this with the SRTM C-band DEM. The penetration depth of the C-band radar was corrected for different glacier surfaces, i.e. 2.96, 1.68 and 0 m for firn/snow cover, bare ice and debris-covered areas, respectively. The final results suggest that the central Pamir glaciers, overall, experienced a near-zero mass balance of −0.03 ± 0.24 m w.e. a−1 for 1975–99. Due to glacier surge activity, the elevation change patterns of individual glaciers were highly variable, and their mass balances varied from −0.12 ± 0.26 to 0.63 ± 0.20 m w.e. a−1. The mean mass budgets of the surge-type glaciers and non-surge-type glaciers were 0.03 ± 0.14 and −0.05 ± 0.28 m w.e. a−1, respectively. Concurring with previous studies, we conclude that the central Pamir glaciers may have been in a state of approximately balanced mass budget or slight mass deficit from the mid-1970s to the mid-2010s.
First archaeointensity reference paleosecular variation curve for South America and its implications for geomagnetism and archaeology
Authors: Goguitchaichvili Avto , Greco Catriel , Garcia Ruiz Rafael , Pereyra Domingorena Lucas , Cejudo Ruben , Morales Juan , Gogorza Claudia , Scattolin Cristina , Tarragó Myriam
Published: March 2019

We report comprehensive rock-magnetic and archaeointensity investigations from 21 well-constrained pottery fragments from the Catamarca province of northwest Argentina. The absolute ages of the studied sites are ascertained by several high-quality radiometric ages and range between 1940 to 114014C yr BP. Magnetic mineralogy experiments indicates that the remanence is carried by thermally stable Ti-poor titanomagnetites. Forty-seven samples belonging to 11 out of 98 studied potsherds yielded reliable absolute intensity determinations judging from the quality parameters associated with the Thellier double-heating experiments. Moreover, we analyzed the available absolute geomagnetic intensities associated with the radiometric ages to construct the first intensity paleosecular variation curve (PSVC) for South America using thermoremanent magnetization carried by burned archaeological artifacts obtained in the present investigation and 79 other selected archaeointensities (out of 213 published in the literature). The dataset is used to build the PSVC reference curve by combined bootstrap and temporal P-spline methods. The variation curve shows significant differences with the global prediction model SHA.DIF.14k mainly based on the GEOMAGIA database. This intensity PSVC curve shows reasonably good agreement with paleosecular variation curves for Europe between 850 through 1150 BC and for Asia between 1000 and 1500 BC. This regional curve may be used as most reliable archaeomagnetic dating tool for the major part of South America (Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia) for the last two millennia.
Three-dimensional study of vestibular anatomy as it relates to the stapes footplate and its clinical implications: an augmented reality development
Authors: Mukherjee P , Cheng K , Curthoys I
Published: March 2019

Background

The anatomy of the membranous labyrinth within the vestibule has direct implications for surgical intervention. The anatomy of the otoliths has been studied, but there is limited information regarding their supporting connective tissue structures such as the membrana limitans in humans.

Methods

One guinea pig and 17 cadaveric human temporal bones were scanned using micro computed tomography, after staining with 2 per cent osmium tetroxide and preservation with Karnovsky's solution, with a resolution from 1 µm to 55 µm. The data were analysed using VGStudio Max software, rendered in three-dimensions and published in augmented reality.

Results

In 50 per cent of ears, the membrana limitans attached directly to the postero-superior part of the stapes footplate. If attachments were present in one ear, they were present bilaterally in 100 per cent of cases.

Conclusion

Micro computed tomography imaging allowed three-dimensional assessment of the inner ear. Such assessments are important as they influence the surgical intervention and the evolution of future innovations.
Robust Bipedal Locomotion Based on a Hierarchical Control Structure
Authors: Luo Jianwen , Su Yao , Ruan Lecheng , Zhao Ye , Kim Donghyun , Sentis Luis , Fu Chenglong
Published: March 2019

To improve biped locomotion’s robustness to internal and external disturbances, this study proposes a hierarchical structure with three control levels. At the high level, a foothold sequence is generated so that the Center of Mass (CoM) trajectory tracks a planned path. The planning procedure is simplified by selecting the midpoint between two consecutive Center of Pressure (CoP) points as the feature point. At the middle level, a novel robust hybrid controller is devised to drive perturbed system states back to the nominal trajectory within finite cycles without chattering. The novelty lies in that the hybrid controller is not subject to linear CoM dynamic constraints. The hybrid controller consists of two sub-controllers: an oscillation controller and a smoothing controller. For the oscillation controller, the desired CoM height is specified as a sine-shaped function, avoiding a new attractive limit cycle. However, this controller results in the inevitable chattering because of discontinuities. A smoothing controller provides continuous properties and thus can inhibit the chattering problem, but has a smaller region of attraction compared with the oscillation controller. A hybrid controller merges the two controllers for a smooth transition. At the low level, the desired CoM motion is defined as tasks and embedded in a whole body operational space (WBOS) controller to compute the joint torques analytically. The novelty of the low-level controller lies in that within the WBOS framework, CoM motion is not subject to fixed CoM dynamics and thus can be generalized.
Hurdle Poisson Regression Model for Identifying Factors Related to Noncompliance and Waiting Time for Confirmatory Diagnosis in Colorectal Cancer Screening
Authors: Jen Hsiao-Hsuan , Wang Tsung-Hsi , Chiu Han-Mo , Peng Szu-Min , Hsu Chen-Yang , Chiu Sherry Yueh-Hsia , Chen Sam Li-Sheng , Yen Amy Ming-Fang , Lee Yi-Chia , Chen Hsiu-Hsi , Fann Jean Ching-Yuan
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Population-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs that use a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) are often faced with a noncompliance issue and its subsequent waiting time (WT) for those FIT positives complying with confirmatory diagnosis. We aimed to identify factors associated with both of the correlated problems in the same model.

Methods

A total of 294,469 subjects, either with positive FIT test results or having a family history, collected from 2004 to 2013 were enrolled for analysis. We applied a hurdle Poisson regression model to accommodate the hurdle of compliance and also its related WT for undergoing colonoscopy while assessing factors responsible for the mixture of the two outcomes.

Results

The effect on compliance and WT varied with contextual factors, such as geographic areas, type of screening units, and level of urbanization. The hurdle score, representing the risk score in association with noncompliance, and the WT score, reflecting the rate of taking colonoscopy, were used to classify subjects into each of three groups representing the degree of compliance and the level of health awareness.

Conclusion

Our model was not only successfully applied to evaluating factors associated with the compliance and the WT distribution, but also developed into a useful assessment model for stratifying the risk and predicting whether and when screenees comply with the procedure of receiving confirmatory diagnosis given contextual factors and individual characteristics.
Does scientific effort reflect global need? A review of infectious disease publications over 100 years
Authors: Hayman D. T. S. , Baker M. G.
Published: March 2019

In a rational world, scientific effort would reflect society's needs. We tested this hypothesis using the area of infectious diseases, where the research response to emerging threats has obvious potential to save lives through informing interventions such as vaccination and prevention policies. Pathogens continue to evolve, emerge and re-emerge and infectious diseases that were once common become less so or their global distribution changes. A question remains as to whether scientific endeavours can adapt. Here, we identified papers on infectious diseases published in the four highest ranking, health-related journals over the 118 years from 1900. Focussing on outbreak-related and burden of disease-related metrics over the two time periods, 1990 to 2017 and 1900 to 2017, our analyses suggest that there is little underrepresentation of important infectious diseases among top ranked journals. Encouragingly our results suggest the scientific process is largely self-correcting.
Understanding of HIV/AIDS in the international border area, Manipur: Northeast India
Authors: Sharma A. L. , Singh T. R. , Singh L. S.
Published: March 2019

Manipur, an international border region has the highest incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection in India. Nevertheless, there have been no analytical reviews of research article published within this region. In this review, the authors aim to draw the attention of policy makers, medical practitioners and researchers in adopting new strategies to limit the expansion of HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) not only in Manipur but also in other international border areas. A systematic search for published literature in last decade was performed based on the keywords ‘Manipur’ and ‘HIV’ using the PubMed. Twenty-six articles were selected and reviewed. There were high incidence of drug resistance (53%), emergence of recombinant virus (32%) and increased incidence of co-infection with hepatitis C virus. The prime cause of the HIV is due to the uses of ‘heroin’ smuggled from the ‘South Asia Golden Triangle’ and complex patterns of cross-border movement for trade and commerce. The drug abuse, social stigma, geographical location and resource limitation and socio-political problem of the region have contributed strongly on spreading and failure of preventively programme of HIV/AIDS. This review will provide vital knowledge for the policy makers and clinicians for sentinel surveillance of AIDS pandemic in Manipur and other international border regions.
Hallucinogens and Altered States of Consciousness in Cusco, Peru: A Path to Local Power during Wari State Expansion
Authors: Bélisle Véronique
Published: March 2019

This paper addresses the tension between élite-sponsored rituals in the context of state expansion and the persistence of rituals involving hallucinogens among communities that met with state colonists. It focuses on the consumption of hallucinogens inducing altered states of consciousness during the Peruvian Middle Horizon (ad600–1000), a period characterized by the expansion of the Wari state, known for large state-sanctioned feasts during which élites distributed corn beer and reaffirmed their power. This paper presents new evidence for the ingestion of hallucinogens from the site of Ak'awillay in the Cusco region, focusing on paraphernalia and ritual spaces recovered in large horizontal excavations. Results indicate that the people of Ak'awillay were able to maintain practices that were fundamentally different from those of Wari élites and retained access to low-altitude areas lying outside Wari control for the procurement of hallucinogens and esoteric knowledge. The paper concludes that at least some people at Ak'awillay operated outside the Wari state, thereby maintaining local power over the religious realm despite Wari presence in the region.
Serum folate and vitamin B12 status in young Brazilian children
Authors: Silva Lara LS , Fawzi Wafaie W , Cardoso Marly A ,   for the ENFAC Working Group
Published: March 2019

Objective

To assess the nutritional status of folate and vitamin B12 with anaemia in young children.

Design

A cross-sectional study was conducted at the primary health-care centres of four Brazilian cities. Folate and vitamin B12 were assessed by fluoroimmunoassay. Multilevel Poisson regression models were used to explore the association of folate and vitamin B12 status in relation to anaemia in young children.

Setting

Brazil.

Participants

Children (n 460) aged 11 to 15 months.

Results

The median (interquartile range) of serum folate was 39·7 (28·8–55·3) nmol/l and only four children presented with folate deficiency (<10 nmol/l). Surprisingly, 30·9 % of children presented with serum folate concentrations above the upper limit of detectable values by the commercial kit used for analysis. The frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency (<148 pmol/l) was 15 % and it was inversely associated with the highest tertile of serum folate concentrations (P<0·001). Having high serum folate concentration (≥50·1 nmol/l) and vitamin B12≥148 pmol/l was associated with lower frequency of anaemia in these children (prevalence ratio=0·53; 95% CI 0·30, 0·92).

Conclusions

High frequency of elevated serum concentration of folate was found among young Brazilian children and 15 % of them had vitamin B12 deficiency. The combination of high serum folate and normal vitamin B12 status was associated with a lower frequency of anaemia in these children. Improvements in the current strategies to promote healthy food-based complementary feeding along with prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies are recommended to improve children’s health.
Mixed-technology quasi-reflectionless planar filters: bandpass, bandstop, and multi-band designs
Authors: Simpson Dakotah J. , Gómez-García Roberto , Psychogiou Dimitra
Published: March 2019

The design of mixed-technology quasi-reflectionless planar bandpass filters (BPFs), bandstop filters (BSFs), and multi-band filters is reported. The proposed quasi-reflectionless filter architectures comprise a main filtering section that determines the power transmission response (bandpass, bandstop, or multi-band type) of the overall circuit network and auxiliary sections that absorb the reflected radio-frequency (RF) signal energy. By loading the input and output ports of the main filtering section with auxiliary filtering sections that exhibit a complementary transfer function with regard to the main one, a symmetric quasi-reflectionless behavior can be obtained at both accesses of the overall filter. The operating principles of the proposed filter concept are shown through synthesized first-order BPF and BSF designs. Selectivity-increase techniques are also described. They are based on: (i) cascading in-series multiple first-order stages and (ii) increasing the order of the filtering sections. Moreover, the RF design of quasi-reflectionless multi-band BPFs and BSFs is discussed. A hybrid integration scheme in which microstrip-type and lumped-elements are effectively combined within the filter volume is investigated for size miniaturization purposes. For experimental validation purposes, two quasi-reflectionless BPF prototypes (one- and two-stage architectures) centered at 2 GHz and a second-order BSF prototype centered at 1 GHz were designed, manufactured, and measured.
The Line Manager’s Role in Implementing Successful Organizational Interventions
Authors: Christensen Marit , Innstrand Siw Tone , Saksvik Per Øystein , Nielsen Karina
Published: March 2019

The aim of the paper is to discuss the role of the line manager in implementing to plan, implement and evaluate successful organizational interventions using our experiences from the ARK-program. Earlier literature has shown that line managers have a major influence on an intervention’s outcomes (Nielsen, 2017; Saksvik, Nytrø, Dahl-Jørgensen, & Mikkelsen, 2002), however, there is a lack of knowledge about the managements’ role throughout the entire intervention process and how line managers are influenced by the context at different levels. We therefore discuss the line managers’ role within the five phase cycle of an organizational intervention, including preparation, screening, action planning, implementation and evaluation. We also introduce a more in-depth understanding of the context by using of the IGLO-model (Individual, Group, Leadership and Organizational level). Based on our knowledge and experience from the ARK-program we make some recommendations for (a) what the line managers need throughout the five phases in order to contribute to a successful intervention, and (b) on what the line manager has to provide in order to develop and implement a successful intervention process.
The U.S. Water Data Gap—A Survey of State‐Level Water Data Platforms to Inform the Development of a National Water Portal
Authors: Josset Laureline , Allaire Maura , Hayek Carolyn , Rising James , Thomas Chacko , Lall Upmanu
Published: March 2019

Water data play a crucial role in the development and assessment of sustainable water management strategies. Water resource assessments are needed for the planning, management, and the evaluation of current practices. They require environmental, climatic, hydrologic, hydrogeologic, industrial, agricultural, energy, and socioeconomic data to assess and accurately project the supply of and demand for water services. Given this context, we provide a review of the current state of publicly available water data in the United States. While considerable progress has been made in data science and model development in recent years, data limitations continue to hamper analytics. A brief overview of the water data sets available at the federal level is used to highlight the gaps in readily accessible water data in the United States. Then, we present a systematic review of 275 websites that provide water information collected at the state level. Data platforms are evaluated based on content (ground and surface water, water quality, and water use information) along with the analytical and exploratory tools that are offered. Wev discuss the degree to which existing state‐level data sets could enrich the data available from federal sources and review some recent technological developments and initiatives that may modernize water data. We argue that a national water data portal, more comprehensive than the U.S. Energy Information Administration, addressing the significant gaps and centralizing water data is critical. It would serve to quantify the risks emerging from growing water stress and aging infrastructure and to better inform water management and investment decisions.
Similarity Among Atmospheric Thermal Stratifications Over Elevated Surfaces Under Radiative‐Convective Equilibrium
Authors: Nie Ji , Xia Yan , Hu Shineng , Yuan Wei , Yang Jun , Ma Ding
Published: March 2019

An air column under radiative‐convective equilibrium is studied here to understand equilibrium climate over different surface elevations. Cloud‐resolving model (CRM) simulations show that atmospheric thermal stratifications exhibit similar structures when expressed in sigma coordinates over varying surface elevations under radiative‐convective equilibrium. A zero‐buoyancy plume model that reproduces CRM results is used to interpret related processes. As surface pressure decreases, decreased pressure on a certain σ level leads to decreases of moist adiabatic temperature lapse rate, which largely cancel the increases of moist adiabatic lapse rate by temperature decreases. Meanwhile, the invariance of convective entrainment/detrainment rates keeps the deviation of environmental temperature lapse rate from moist adiabat approximately invariant, result in similar thermal stratifications under varying surface pressures. A comparison of thermodynamic profiles over the Tibetan Plateau with those over plains in reanalysis confirms the similarity found in CRM simulations. This similarity provides a useful simplification for representing the effects of convection.
Mean and Eddy‐Driven Heat Advection in the Ocean Region Adjacent to the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge Derived From Satellite Altimetry
Authors: Lundrigan S. , Demirov E.
Published: March 2019

Along‐track altimeter and sea surface temperature satellite observations and ARGO in situ measurements of temperature and salinity are used to investigate the heat transport by mean currents and eddies in the ocean region adjacent to the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge from 2003 to 2008. Our results show that the heat advection by the mean flow in the surface layer is zonally asymmetric with a higher magnitude in the western part of the region. This asymmetry is associated with an excessive mean heat advection in an area adjacent to the Denmark Strait. The advection of heat is high and positive south of the strait and low and negative north of it. We suggest that this heat advection impacts the local budgets of heat and potential energy of the mean flow in the surface layer. The mesoscale eddies are identified and their characteristics, including radius, sea level anomaly, lifetime, and paths of propagation, are assessed by using along‐track altimeter data. About 70% of the eddies are observed in the eastern part of the studied region. The eddy‐induced heat transport by warm mesoscale eddies in the Norwegian Sea was found to be about 2.5 times larger than the mean advection by the Norwegian Atlantic Current. We suggest, therefore, that the eddy‐induced transport is a dominant factor in the heat budget of this region.