bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the use of Wasserstein distance in the distributional analysis of human decision making under uncertainty
Authors: Candelieri Antonio , Ponti Andrea , Giordani Ilaria , Archetti Francesco
Published: July 2022

The key contribution of this paper is a theoretical framework to analyse humans’ decision-making strategies under uncertainty, and more specifically how human subjects manage the trade-off between information gathering (exploration) and reward seeking (exploitation) in particular active learning in a black-box optimization task. Humans’ decisions making according to these two objectives can be modelled in terms of Pareto rationality. If a decision set contains a Pareto efficient (dominant) strategy, a rational decision maker should always select the dominant strategy over its dominated alternatives. A distance from the Pareto frontier determines whether a choice is (Pareto) rational. The key element in the proposed analytical framework is the representation of behavioural patterns of human learners as a discrete probability distribution, specifically a histogram considered as a non-parametric estimate of discrete probability density function on the real line. Thus, the similarity between users can be captured by a distance between their associated histograms. This maps the problem of the characterization of humans’ behaviour into a space, whose elements are probability distributions, structured by a distance between histograms, namely the optimal transport-based Wasserstein distance. The distributional analysis gives new insights into human behaviour in search tasks and their deviations from Pareto rationality. Since the uncertainty is one of the two objectives defining the Pareto frontier, the analysis has been performed for three different uncertainty quantification measures to identify which better explains the Pareto compliant behavioural patterns. Beside the analysis of individual patterns Wasserstein has also enabled a global analysis computing the WST barycenters and performing k-means Wasserstein clustering.
Wild type cardiac amyloidosis: is it time to order a nuclear technetium pyrophosphate SPECT imaging study?
Authors: Shen Christine P. , Vanichsarn Christopher T. , Pandey Amitabh C. , Billick Kristen , Rubenson David S. , Mohan Rajeev C. , Heywood James Thomas , Srivastava Ajay V.
Published: July 2022

Transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis is a debilitating systemic disease often associated with symptomatic cardiac involvement. Diagnosis has dramatically changed with the advent of Technetium-99 m pyrophosphate (Tc-PYP) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). With the ability to diagnose ATTR amyloidosis noninvasively and offer newer therapies, it is increasingly important to identify which patients should be referred for this testing. Relative apical sparing of longitudinal strain on echocardiogram can be potentially used to screen such patients. We sought to describe electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram (TTE) findings, including relative apical sparing of longitudinal strain, in ATTR amyloidosis patients diagnosed non-invasively with 99mTc-PYP imaging. This was a single-center, retrospective study with 64 patients who underwent 99mTc-PYP imaging between June 2016 and February 2019. Relative apical longitudinal strain was calculated from left ventricular longitudinal strain (LV LS) values. No ECG parameters were meaningfully associated with of 99 m Tc-PYP positive patients. LV mass index (p = 0.001), IVSd (p < 0.001), and LVPWd (< 0.001) demonstrated a highly significant difference between positive and negative 99mTc-PYP groups. 99mTc-PYP positive patients had a higher relative apical sparing of LV LS (p < 0.001), and notably, no 99mTc-PYP negative patient had a ratio > 1.0. The finding of relative apical sparing of longitudinal strain can reliably guide clinicians in triaging which patients to consider ordering 99mTc-PYP imaging for the noninvasive diagnosis of wild type cardiac amyloidosis. A patient with clinically suggestive features and an LV LS relative apical sparing ratio > 0.8 can be considered for 99mTc-PYP imaging to evaluate for ATTR cardiac amyloidosis.
At the intersection of mind and climate change: integrating inner dimensions of climate change into policymaking and practice
Authors: Wamsler Christine , Bristow Jamie
Published: July 2022

Dominant policy approaches have failed to generate action at anywhere near the rate, scale or depth needed to avert climate change and environmental disaster. In particular, they fail to address the need for a fundamental cultural transformation, which involves a collective shift in mindsets (values, beliefs, worldviews and associated inner human capacities). Whilst scholars and practitioners are increasingly calling for more integrative approaches, knowledge on how the link between our mind and the climate crisis can be best addressed in policy responses is still scarce. Our study addresses this gap. Based on a survey and in-depth interviews with high-level policymakers worldwide, we explore how they perceive the intersection of mind and climate change, how it is reflected in current policymaking and how it could be better considered to support transformation. Our findings show, on the one hand, that the mind is perceived as a victim of increasing climate impacts. On the other hand, it is considered a key driver of the crisis, and a barrier to action, to the detriment of both personal and planetary wellbeing. The resultant vicious cycle of mind and climate change is, however, not reflected in mainstream policymaking, which fails to generate more sustainable pathways. At the same time, there are important lessons from other fields (e.g. education, health, the workplace, policy mainstreaming) that provide insights into how to integrate aspects of mind into climate policies. Our results show that systematic integration into policymaking is a key for improving both climate resilience and climate responsiveness across individual, collective, organisational and system levels and indicate the inner human potential and capacities that support related change. We conclude with some policy recommendations and further research that is needed to move from a vicious to a virtuous cycle of mind and climate change that supports personal and planetary wellbeing.
Why the extended mind is nothing special but is central
Authors: Ongaro Giulio , Hardman Doug , Deschenaux Ivan
Published: July 2022

The extended mind thesis states that the mind is not brain-bound but extends into the physical world. The philosophical debate around the thesis has mostly focused on extension towards epistemic artefacts, treating the phenomenon as a special capacity of the human organism to recruit external physical resources to solve individual tasks. This paper argues that if the mind extends to artefacts in the pursuit of individual tasks, it extends to other humans in the pursuit of collective tasks. Mind extension to other humans corresponds essentially to the ‘we-mode’ of cognition, the unique power of human minds to be jointly directed at goals, intentions, states of affairs, or values (which, importantly, differs from having a ‘group mind’). Because the capacity for collective intentionality holds evolutionary and developmental primacy over human-epistemic artefacts relations, the extended mind should not be seen as a special phenomenon, but as a central aspect of the human condition. The original extended mind thesis carried important implications for how the cognitive sciences should proceed. In a version of the thesis that accommodates collective intentionality, these implications would go far deeper than originally assumed.
Relevance of document types in the scores’ calculation of a specific field-normalized indicator: Are the scores strongly dependent on or nearly independent of the document type handling?
Authors: Haunschild Robin , Bornmann Lutz
Published: July 2022

Although it is bibliometric standard to employ field normalization, the detailed procedure of field normalization is not standardized regarding the handling of the document types. All publications without filtering the document type can be used or only selected document types. Furthermore, the field-normalization procedure can be carried out with regard to the document type of publications or without. We studied if the field-normalized scores strongly depend on the choice of different document type handlings. In doing so, we used the publications from the Web of Science between 2000 and 2017 and compared different field-normalized scores. We compared the results on the individual publication level, the country level, and the institutional level. We found rather high correlations between the different scores but the concordance values provide a more differentiated conclusion: Rather different scores are produced on the individual publication level. As our results on the aggregated levels are not supported by our results on the level of individual publications, any comparison of normalized scores that result from different procedures should only be performed with caution.
Largest contribution to LIS by external disciplines as measured by the characteristics of research articles
Authors: Vakkari Pertti , Chang Yu-Wei , Järvelin Kalervo
Published: July 2022

The paper analyses Library and Information Science (LIS) articles published in leading international LIS journals based on their authors’ disciplinary backgrounds. The study combines content analysis of articles with authors’ affiliation analysis. The main research question is: Are authors’ disciplinary backgrounds associated with choice of research topics and methods in LIS articles? The study employs a quantitative content analysis of articles published in 30 + scholarly LIS journals in 2015, focusing on research topics and methods. The articles are also assigned to three disciplinary categories based on authors’ affiliations: External (no authors from LIS institutions), Internal (all authors from LIS institutions), and Mixed (some authors from LIS institutions, some from outside). The association of articles’ disciplinary categories with article research topics and methods is analysed quantitatively. Most research contributions to LIS come from external articles (57%). However, LIS scholars have a clear majority in research on L&I services and institutions (68%), while external scholars dominate the contributions in Information retrieval (73%) and Scientific communication (Scientometrics, 69%). Internal articles tend to have an intermediary’s (29%) or end-user’s (22%) viewpoint on information dissemination while the external ones have developer’s viewpoint (27%) or no dissemination viewpoint (49%). Among research strategies, survey (29%) and concept analysis (23%) dominate internal articles, survey (28%) and citation analysis (19%) dominate mixed articles, and survey (20%) and citation analysis (19%) dominate external articles. The application profiles of research strategies varied somewhat between disciplinary categories and main topics. Consequently, the development of LIS in the areas of Information retrieval, Information seeking, and Scientific communication seems highly dependent on the contribution of other disciplines. As a small discipline, LIS may have difficulties in responding to the challenges of other disciplines interested in research questions in these three areas.
The G4i Analogue of a G3i Sequent Calculus
Authors: Iemhoff Rosalie
Published: July 2022

This paper provides a method to obtain terminating analytic calculi for a large class of intuitionistic modal logics. For a given logic with a cut-free calculus that is an extension of the method produces a terminating analytic calculus that is an extension of and equivalent to . was introduced by Roy Dyckhoff in 1992 as a terminating analogue of the calculus for intuitionistic propositional logic. Thus this paper can be viewed as an extension of Dyckhoff’s work to intuitionistic modal logic.
Assessing the Vulnerability of California Water Utilities to Wildfires
Authors: Lee Juhee , Nemati Mehdi , Sanchez Jose J.
Published: July 2022

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive in California, and it is essential to quantify their potential impacts on drinking water utilities. This study aims to measure the severity of wildfires in each California water utility based on the exposure frequency and the extent of area burned by wildfires in each service area. Our quantitative models show an association between water utility characteristics and their vulnerability to wildfires. Findings indicate that wildfire vulnerability is higher in government-owned utilities than private ones, utilities primarily relying on surface water than groundwater, and utilities using local-sourced water than purchased water. Also, we find a stronger association between wildfire vulnerability and large utilities in terms of population served than small or medium ones. Regarding geography, we find wildfire vulnerability is higher in southern and coastal California utilities than in Northern and inland California. These results help water utilities and land managers identify vulnerable locations and develop wildfire management and disaster preparedness strategies.
MRA-detected intracranial atherosclerotic disease in patients with TIA and minor stroke
Authors: Dempsey Philip J. , Murphy Mark C. , Marnane Michael , Murphy Sean , Kavanagh Eoin C.
Published: July 2022

Objectives

Patients with TIA and minor stroke commonly undergo CT and CTA in the emergency department with subsequent MRI with MRA for further workup. The purpose of this study was to review outpatient MRIs for TIA/stroke patients to assess the additional benefit, if any, of the MRA sequence in the detection of intracranial atherosclerotic disease in patients for whom CTA had already been performed.

Methods

The radiology reports of outpatient MRIs of the brain for TIA/minor stroke patients were retrospectively reviewed via the hospital PACS system. Following this, the imaging report from the patient’s initial presentation to the emergency department was reviewed. This index imaging and subsequent MRI were compared to assess the incidence of new vascular findings detected on the MRA sequence in patients for whom CTA had already been performed. Where new lesions had been identified at follow-up, the imaging was retroactively reviewed to assess if they were present on the index imaging.

Results

Two hundred seven consecutive patients were reviewed. Significant (> 50%) intracranial atherosclerotic disease was present on MRA in 18 patients (8.7%). This was a new finding in 11 patients. Five had initial CTA where the atherosclerosis was not detected. All 5 of these cases were located in the posterior cerebral arteries. Incidental aneurysms were seen in 14 (6.7%); 12 were a new finding at time of MRI.

Conclusion

The MRA sequence provides additional value by increasing the detection of clinically important intracranial atherosclerotic disease which may inform management in patients with minor stroke and TIA.
Socially induced motivation in learning: coping with digital interaction in higher education under the pandemic
Authors: Poppe Ida , Kjekshus Lars Erik
Published: July 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a total digital disruption of all activities at universities. New digital tools and arenas replaced the daily physical interactions between students and professors. How did this affect motivation and learning outcomes? This article uses the pandemic as a prism to understand how and why social relations and interaction are important in the educational system. Data were obtained from 26 informants in two case studies (study programs). A total of 12 in-depth interviews with employees and 4 group interviews with 14 students were performed at Oslo University during the pandemic (2020–2021). We explore an alternative understanding of social ties in relation to the educational process and the importance of social interaction in sensemaking and self-determination theory concepts. As digital disruption creates a social disconnect for most actors, it becomes prevalent that social activity, both formal and informal, seems to be an important source of motivation for both students and faculty members at the university. We introduce the concept of socially induced motivation as an important aspect of learning. The tendencies in the informants’ accounts of the social interaction are perceived in this context as sensemaking the university as an organization and how it solves its missions and assignments. Socially induced motivation is an important concept, both in relation to work in general and specifically to work in higher education. Our study shows why universities should strive to facilitate socially induced motivation in the future.
Impact of Oral Probiotics in Amelioration of Immunological and Inflammatory Responses on Experimentally Induced Acute Diverticulitis
Authors: Soliman Maha G. , Mansour Hanaa A. , Hassan Wedad A. , Shawky Eman
Published: July 2022

Acute diverticulitis is inflammation of a colon diverticulum; it represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The alteration of gut microbiota contributes to the promotion of inflammation and the development of acute diverticulitis disease. Probiotics can modify the gut microbiota, so they are considered a promising option for managing diverticulitis disease. This study aimed to investigate the potential protective effect of probiotics, alone or in combination with amoxicillin, on the experimentally induced model of acute diverticulitis disease. Forty-two rats were divided into seven groups as follows: control group: received water and food only; DSS group: received 3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) daily for 7 days; LPS group: injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) enema at the dose of (4 mg/kg); probiotics group: treated with probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis) each of which (4 × 108 CFU suspended in 2 ml distilled water) orally for 7 days; DSS/LPS group: received DSS and LPS; DSS/LPS treated with probiotics group; DSS/LPS treated with probiotics and amoxicillin group. The results revealed that both treatments (probiotics and probiotics-amoxicillin) attenuated DSS/LPS-induced diverticulitis, by restoring the colonic antioxidant status, ameliorating inflammation (significantly reduced TNF-α, interleukins, interferon-γ, myeloperoxidase activity, and C-reactive protein), decreasing apoptosis (through downregulating caspase-3), and reduction of the colon aerobic bacterial count. These probiotic strains were effective in preventing the development of the experimentally induced acute diverticulitis through the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects and have affected gut microbiota, so they can be considered a potential option in treating acute diverticulitis disease.
Regional Anesthesia in the Emergency Department: an Overview of Common Nerve Block Techniques and Recent Literature
Authors: Malik Adrienne , Thom Stephanie , Haber Brian , Sarani Nima , Ottenhoff Jakob , Jackson Bradley , Rance Logan , Ehrman Robert
Published: July 2022

Purpose of Review

This review seeks to discuss the use of RA in the ED including benefits of administration, types of RA by anatomic location, complications and management, teaching methods currently in practice, and future applications of RA in the ED.

Recent Findings

The early use of RA in pain management may reduce the transition of acute to chronic pain. Multiple plane blocks have emerged as feasible and efficacious for ED pain complaints and are now being safely utilized.

Adverse effects of opioids and their potential for abuse have necessitated the exploration of substitute therapies. Regional anesthesia (RA) is a safe and effective alternative to opioid treatment for pain in the emergency department (ED). RA can manage pain for a wide variety of injuries while avoiding the risks of opioid use and decreasing length of stay when compared to other forms of analgesia and anesthesia, without compromising patient satisfaction.
On a variant of Pillai’s problem involving S-units and Fibonacci numbers
Authors: Ziegler Volker
Published: July 2022

Let us denote by $$F_n$$

F
n

the n-th Fibonacci number. In this paper we show that there exist at most finitely many integers c such that the exponential Diophantine equation $$F_n-2^x3^y=c$$

F
n

-

2
x

3
y

=
c

has more than one solution $$(n,x,y)\in {\mathbb {N}}^3$$

(
n
,
x
,
y
)

∈

N

3

with $$n>1$$

n
>
1

. Moreover, in the case that $$c>0$$

c
>
0

we find all integers c such that the Diophantine equation has at least three solutions and in the case that $$c<0$$

c
<
0

we find all integers c such that the Diophantine equation has at least four solutions.
Longitudinal assessment of renal function after lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis: transition from post-operative acute kidney injury to acute kidney disease and chronic kidney failure
Authors: Scaravilli Vittorio , Merrino Alessandra , Bichi Francesca , Madotto Fabiana , Morlacchi Letizia Corinna , Nosotti Mario , Lissoni Alfredo , Rosso Lorenzo , Blasi Francesco , Pesenti Antonio , Zanella Alberto , Castellano Giuseppe , Grasselli Giacomo
Published: July 2022

Introduction

The clinical trajectory of post-operative acute kidney injury (AKI) following lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis is unknown.

Methods

Incidence and risk factors for post-operative AKI, acute kidney disease (AKD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) were retrospectively analyzed in cystic fibrosis patients undergoing lung transplantation. Logistic regressions, Chi-square, Cuzick rank tests, and Cox-proportional hazard models were used.

Results

Eighty-three patients were included. Creatinine peaked 3[2–4] days after transplantation, with 15(18%), 15(18%), and 20(24%) patients having post-operative AKI stages 1, 2, and 3, while 15(18%), 19(23%) and 10(12%) developed AKD stage 1, stage 2 and 3, respectively. Higher AKI stage was associated with worsening AKD (p = 0.009) and CKD (p = 0.015) stages. Of the 50 patients with AKI, 32(66%) transitioned to AKD stage > 0, and then 27 (56%) to CKD stage > 1. Female sex, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support as a bridge to lung transplant and at the end of the surgery, the use of intraoperative blood components, and cold-ischemia time were associated with increased risk of post-operative AKI and AKD. Higher AKI stage prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation (p = 0.0001), ICU stay (p = 0.0001), and hospital stay (p = 0.0001), and increased the incidence of primary graft dysfunction (p = 0.035). Both AKI and AKD stages > 2 worsened long-term survival with risk ratios of 3.71 (1.34–10.2), p = 0.0131 and 2.65(1.02–6.87), p = 0.0443, respectively.

Discussion

AKI is frequent in cystic fibrosis patients undergoing lung transplantation, it often evolves to AKD and to chronic kidney disease, thereby worsening short- and long-term outcomes.

Graphical abstract
Sentence part-enhanced BERT with respect to downstream tasks
Authors: Liu Chaoming , Zhu Wenhao , Zhang Xiaoyu , Zhai Qiuhong
Published: July 2022

Bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) have achieved great success in many natural language processing tasks. However, BERT generally takes the embedding of the first token to represent sentence meaning in the tasks such as sentiment analysis and textual similarity, which does not properly treat different sentence parts. Different sentence parts have different levels of importance for different downstream tasks. For example, main parts (subject, predicate, and object) play crucial roles in textual similarity calculation, while secondary parts (adverbial and complement) are more important than the main parts in sentiment analysis. To this end, we propose a sentence part-enhanced BERT (SpeBERT) model that uses sentence parts with respect to downstream tasks to enhance sentence representations. Specifically, we encode sentence parts based on dependency parsing and downstream tasks, and extract embeddings through a pooling operation. Furthermore, we design several fusion strategies to incorporate different embeddings. We evaluate the proposed SpeBERT model on two downstream tasks, sentiment classification, and semantic textual similarity, with six benchmark datasets. The experimental results show that our model achieves better performance than competitor models.
Oxygen Vacancy-Rich 2D TiO2 Nanosheets: A Bridge Toward High Stability and Rapid Hydrogen Storage Kinetics of Nano-Confined MgH2
Authors: Ren Li , Zhu Wen , Li Yinghui , Lin Xi , Xu Hao , Sun Fengzhan , Lu Chong , Zou Jianxin
Published: July 2022

MgH2 has attracted intensive interests as one of the most promising hydrogen storage materials. Nevertheless, the high desorption temperature, sluggish kinetics, and rapid capacity decay hamper its commercial application. Herein, 2D TiO2 nanosheets with abundant oxygen vacancies are used to fabricate a flower-like MgH2/TiO2 heterostructure with enhanced hydrogen storage performances. Particularly, the onset hydrogen desorption temperature of the MgH2/TiO2 heterostructure is lowered down to 180 °C (295 °C for blank MgH2). The initial desorption rate of MgH2/TiO2 reaches 2.116 wt% min−1 at 300 °C, 35 times of the blank MgH2 under the same conditions. Moreover, the capacity retention is as high as 98.5% after 100 cycles at 300 °C, remarkably higher than those of the previously reported MgH2-TiO2 composites. Both in situ HRTEM observations and ex situ XPS analyses confirm that the synergistic effects from multi-valance of Ti species, accelerated electron transportation caused by oxygen vacancies, formation of catalytic Mg-Ti oxides, and stabilized MgH2 NPs confined by TiO2 nanosheets contribute to the high stability and kinetically accelerated hydrogen storage performances of the composite. The strategy of using 2D substrates with abundant defects to support nano-sized energy storage materials to build heterostructure is therefore promising for the design of high-performance energy materials.
A Cesàro average for an additive problem with an arbitrary number of prime powers and squares
Authors: Cantarini Marco , Gambini Alessandro , Zaccagnini Alessandro
Published: July 2022

In this paper we extend and improve all the previous results known in literature about weighted average, with Cesàro weight, of representations of an integer as sum of a positive arbitrary number of prime powers and a non-negative arbitrary number of squares. Our result includes all cases dealt with so far and allows us to obtain the best possible outcome using the chosen technique.
Levels and behavior of environmental tritium in East Asia
Authors: Feng Bin , Zhuo Wei-Hai
Published: July 2022

For a more systematic understanding of the levels of environmental tritium and its behavior in East Asia, a database on environmental tritium was established based on the literature published in the past 30 years. Subsequently, the levels and behavior of the environmental tritium were further studied by statistical analyses. The results indicate that the distribution of environmental tritium is inhomogeneous and complex. In areas without nuclear facilities, the level of environmental tritium has decreased to its background level, even though a certain number of atmospheric nuclear tests were performed before 1980. In general, the level of atmospheric tritium was marginally higher than the levels in precipitation and surface water; the levels in shallow groundwater and seawater were considerably lower. Furthermore, the levels of tritium in the atmosphere, precipitation, and inland surface water were strongly correlated with latitude and distance from the coastline. In soil and living organisms, the level of tissue-free water tritium (TFWT) was comparable to the tritium levels in local rainfall, whereas the persistence of organically bound tritium (OBT) in the majority of organisms resulted in an OBT/TFWT ratio greater than one. Conversely, extremely high levels of environmental tritium were observed near certain nuclear power plants and the Fukushima accident sites. These results highlight the requirement to know the tritium baseline level and its behavior in the environment beforehand to better assess the impact of tritium discharge. Further investigations of environmental tritium in East Asia using more efficient and adequate monitoring methods are also required.
Controlling effect of saline sedimentary environment on enrichment and exploitation of shale gas and oil in lacustrine basin
Authors: Wu Songbai , Zhao Zhongxiang
Published: July 2022

The salinity of continental lacustrine basin has a great influence on the properties of shale. The main objective of this paper is to present the characteristics of shale in different saline stages. In this study, we restored the saline process by the Kauchi method and evaluated the hydrocarbon generation capacity, reservoir property, oiliness and exploitability of shale in different saline stages. The sources of organic matter and paleoproductivity may vary among saline stages. Organic matter mainly originates from coccolithophyta and dinoflagellate in the saltwater stage, demonstrating the highest paleoproductivity. Meanwhile, paleosalinity has an important effect on the lithologic assemblage and mineral composition of shale, which controls its reservoir properties, oiliness and compressibility. The lithology in the saltwater stage is dominated by lamellar argillaceous limestone/calcareous mudstone and lamellar limestone, with good original physical properties. The carbonate content in such stage is the highest, making it easy to dissolve into dissolution pores and thus increasing the porosity and saturation of movable fluid. The high hardness of carbonate gives optimum compressibility to shale.
Novel carbon coating on aluminum current collectors for lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Onsrud Morten , Tezel Ahmet Oguz , Fotedar Sameer , Svensson Ann Mari
Published: July 2022

In this work a significant improvement of the performance of LiFePO4 (LFP) composite cathodes, in particular at high rates (up to 12C), is demonstrated by the use of carbon-coated aluminum current collectors. The coating procedure is novel, and allows for application of a thin carbon layer without the use of solvent and binder. The presence of the thin carbon coating is verified by collecting the Raman spectra. The spectra are dominated by the D-band, indicating a low the degree of graphitization and a high amount of disordered carbon in the sample. LFP cathodes with an area capacity of 1.7 mAh/cm2 show an excellent rate capability of 89% upon cycling at 5C. A dramatic reduction of the contact resistance towards the active cathode material has been verified for the coated current collectors. It is furthermore shown that the electrochemical impedance spectra for cathodes applied on uncoated current collectors is dominated by the contact resistance, while the charge transfer resistance dominates the spectrum for cathodes applied to the carbon-coated current collector.

Article Highlights

A novel carbon coating is applied to aluminum current collectors without the use of solvents and binders

The rate performance of LiFePO4 cathodes is considerably improved when the active material is coated onto the carbon-coated collectors

The contact resistance between the active cathode material and the current collector is almost eliminated by the use of the carbon coating
Efficacy of Two Texas Bentonites in Binding Aflatoxin B1 and in Reducing Aflatoxicosis in Broilers
Authors: Barrientos-Velazquez Ana Luisa , Kakani Radhika , Fowler Justin , Haq Akram-ul , Bailey Christopher A. , Deng Youjun
Published: July 2022

The incorporation of bentonites in aflatoxin-contaminated animal feeds to remedy aflatoxicosis has been tested widely in animal trials. Yet, a large variation in efficacy among samples has been observed which has been attributed to variations in the properties of the clay mineral adsorbents. The objectives of the current study were: (1) to evaluate the mineral and chemical composition of two selected bentonites to find minerals or elements which are potentially of concern; (2) to characterize the aflatoxin B1 (AfB1) adsorption (selectivity, capacity, reversibility, and interlayer accessibility) by the bentonites; and (3) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of selected clays as amendments of aflatoxin-contaminated feed for broiler chickens. The mineral, chemical, and exchange cation composition of the clays were analyzed, and they appeared to be safe for use in feed. The bentonites and their fractions showed that adsorption capacities range from 0.48 to 0.97 mol/kg. The interlayer spaces of both montmorillonites were accessible by AfB1, and the adsorption was irreversible. Three-day old broiler chickens were given clean and high-aflatoxin-concentration (1400 mg/kg) diets with and without the presence of the two bentonites. After three weeks the chickens were sacrificed and biomarkers were evaluated. The presence of aflatoxins reduced the body weight by 58% and resulted in a 25% mortality rate. Adding bentonites 1TX and 4TX increased the body weight of the chickens by 14 and 23%, respectively, but did not improve the mortality rates. The results suggested that selected bentonites could effectively sequester aflatoxins in vivo but did not eliminate the total toxicity present in highly contaminated poultry feed.
The Hardest Hamiltonian Cycle Problem Instances: The Plateau of Yes and the Cliff of No
Authors: Sleegers Joeri , van den Berg Daan
Published: July 2022

We use two evolutionary algorithms to make hard instances of the Hamiltonian cycle problem. Hardness (or ‘fitness’), is defined as the number of recursions required by Vandegriend–Culberson, the best known exact backtracking algorithm for the problem. The hardest instances, all non-Hamiltonian, display a high degree of regularity and scalability across graph sizes. These graphs are found multiple times through independent runs, and by both evolutionary algorithms, suggesting the search space might contain monotonic paths towards the global maximum. For Hamiltonian-bound evolution, some hard graphs were found, but convergence is much less consistent. In this extended paper, we survey the neighbourhoods of both the hardest yes- and no-instances produced by the evolutionary algorithms. Results show that the hardest no-instance resides on top of a steep cliff, while the hardest yes-instance turns out to be part of a plateau of 27 equally hard instances. While definitive answers are far away, the results provide a lot of insight in the Hamiltonian cycle problem’s state space.
Spinal deformity surgery is accompanied by serious complications: report from the Morbidity and Mortality Database of the Scoliosis Research Society from 2013 to 2020
Authors: Bivona Louis J. , France John , Daly-Seiler Conor S. , Burton Douglas C. , Dolan Lori A. , Seale J. Justin , de Kleuver Marinus , Ferrero Emmanuelle , Gurd David P. , Konya Deniz , Lavelle William F. , Sarwahi Vishal , Suratwala Sanjeev J. , Yilgor Caglar , Li Ying
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) report of the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) has been collected since 1965 and since 1968 submission of complications has been required of all members. Since 2009, the SRS has collected information on death, blindness, and neurological deficit, with acute infection being added in 2012 and unintentional return to the operating room (OR) being added in 2017. In this report, we use the most recent data submitted to the SRS M&M database to determine the rate of neurological deficit, blindness, acute infection, unintentional return to the OR, and death, while also comparing this information to previous reports.

Methods

The SRS M&M database was queried for all cases from 2013 to 2020. The rates of death, vision loss, neurological deficit, acute infection, and unintentional return to the OR were then calculated and analyzed. The rates were compared to previously published data if available. Differences in complication rates between years were analyzed with Poisson regression with significance set at α = 0.05.

Results

The total number of cases submitted per year varied with a maximum of 49,615 in 2018 and a minimum of 40,464 in 2020. The overall reported complication rate from 2013 to 2020 was 2.86%. The overall mortality rate ranged from 0.09% in 2018 to 0.14% in 2015. The number of patients with visual impairment ranged from 4 to 13 between 2013 and 2015 (no data on visual impairment were collected after 2015). The overall infection rate varied from 0.95 in 2020 to 1.30% in 2015. When the infection rate was analyzed based on spinal deformity group, the neuromuscular scoliosis group consistently had the highest infection rate ranging from 3.24 to 3.94%. The overall neurological deficit rate ranged from 0.74 to 0.94%, with the congenital kyphosis and dysplastic spondylolisthesis groups having the highest rates. The rates of unintentional return to the OR ranged from 1.60 to 1.79%. Multiple groups showed a statistically significant decreasing trend for infection, return to the operating room, neurologic deficit, and death.

Conclusions

Neuromuscular scoliosis had the highest infection rate among all spinal deformity groups. Congenital kyphosis and dysplastic spondylolisthesis had the highest rate of neurological deficit postoperatively. This is similar to previously published data. Contrary to previous reports, neuromuscular scoliosis did not have the highest annual death rate. Multiple groups showed a statistically significant decreasing trend in complication rates during the reporting period, with only mortality in degenerative spondylolisthesis significantly trending upwards.

Level of evidence

Level III.
Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder/Genito-Pelvic Dysesthesia caused by Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction
Authors: Zhang Yunxu , Su Li , Ge Hong , Wang Qiang
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Persistent genital arousal disorder/genito-pelvic dysesthesia (PGAD/GPD) consists of persistent or recurrent unwanted sensations of genital arousal that may include other types of genito-pelvic dysesthesia, which occur without concomitant sexual interest or thoughts. There are multiple triggering factors for PGAD/GPD.

Aim

To report the case of a 38-year-old woman with low back pain and PGAD/GPD triggered by sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

Methods

The medical data of the female patient with low back pain and PGAD/GPD were reviewed and analyzed.

Results

Resetting of the subluxated sacroiliac joint resulted in complete remission of the patient's symptoms.

Conclusion

Sacroiliac joint dysfunction may be a trigger for PGAD/GPD in some cases. Lack of relevant knowledge among patients and healthcare providers is the biggest challenge of the proper diagnosis and treatment of PGAD/GPD at present.
Global China as Method
Authors: Franceschini Ivan , Loubere Nicholas
Published: July 2022

Is China part of the world? Based on much of the political, media, and popular discourse in the West the answer is seemingly no. Even after four decades of integration into the global socioeconomic system, discussions of China continue to be underpinned by a core assumption: that the country represents a fundamentally different 'other' that somehow exists outside the 'real' world. Either implicitly or explicitly, China is generally depicted as an external force with the potential to impact on the 'normal' functioning of things. This core assumption, of China as an orientalised, externalised, and separate 'other', ultimately produces a distorted image of both China and the world. This Element seeks to illuminate the ways in which the country and people form an integral part of the global capitalist system. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
The Foreign Office's War, 1939-41
Authors: Neilson Keith
Published: July 2022

Provides a forceful corrective to the idea that Britain 'stood alone' until the invasion of the Soviet Union and the attack on Pearl Harbor brought about 'the Grand Alliance'.
Policy Dialogue: Twenty Years of Test-Based Accountability
Authors: Ravitch Diane , Forte Denise , Moss Princess , Reville Paul
Published: July 2022

Since No Child Left Behind was signed into law, test-based accountability has become a core feature of the K-12 public education system in the United States. The approach, it would seem, is here to stay. Yet that is not to say that anything resembling a consensus has emerged. Over the past twenty years, critics have continued to raise questions about the theory of change underlying test-based accountability, and scholars have detailed a variety of unintended consequences associated with it.

If test-based accountability is both likely to persist and imperfect in its design, then it is critical to consider how its shortcomings might be addressed. In service of that aim, and in keeping with the mission of this feature, this Policy Dialogue explores future possibilities by starting, first, with a look at the past. In this particular case, participants were asked to address one simple question: “What have we learned from two decades of high-stakes testing?”

As regular readers of HEQ are aware, these dialogues usually feature a historian in conversation with a scholar or practitioner from the world of policy. In this case, the choice of Diane Ravitch was a natural one, particularly given the fact that she is a member of HEQ's editorial board. A research professor at New York University, she is also a former assistant US secretary of education and the author of several books about measurement and accountability.

Rather than select a single interlocutor, however, the editors chose to pair her with three leaders who represent the broad range of viewpoints in the field: Denise Forte, Princess Moss, and Paul Reville. Denise Forte is the interim CEO of The Education Trust. She brings to our conversation twenty years of experience in congressional staff roles, including as the staff director for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Princess Moss is vice president of the National Education Association and cochair of the NEA's task force on measurement and accountability. In prior work with the NEA's Executive Committee, she helped develop the group's position on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—from NCLB to the Every Student Succeeds Act. Paul Reville is the Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and former secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Nearly a decade before the passage of NCLB, he played a key role in the development of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, which instituted standards-based accountability across the state.

HEQ Policy Dialogues are, by design, intended to promote an informal, free exchange of ideas between scholars. At the end of the exchange, we offer a list of references for readers who wish to follow up on sources relevant to the discussion.
“The Eye of the Juvenile Court”: Report Cards, Juvenile Corrections, and a Colorado Street Kid, 1900-1920
Authors: Morris Wade H.
Published: July 2022

Andrew Monroe [pseud.] (b. 1894) was a Colorado street kid whose acts of truancy and theft landed him before the state's early juvenile courts, and his youth was marked by attempts at escape from reform school. His childhood and youth provide insights into the mechanics of how systems of juvenile corrections operated in the early twentieth century. To enforce new truancy laws, Progressive Era child-savers relied on report cards for the surveillance of probationers, categorizing children like Andrew as “stubborn,” “unyielding,” and “disobedient.” Ultimately, Andrew's refusal to comply with these new forms of institutional control serves as a case study for the challenges that children faced in escaping an apparatus that reduced them to the label of “delinquent.”
A survey study of the association between active utilization of National Healthcare Safety Network resources and central-line–associated bloodstream infection reporting
Authors: Adams Barker Caitlin M. , Stewart Kathleen O. , Dowling-Schmitt Miriam C. , Calderwood Michael S. , Kim Justin J.
Published: July 2022

In this survey of 41 hospitals, 18 (72%) of 25 respondents reporting utilization of National Healthcare Safety Network resources demonstrated accurate central-line–associated bloodstream infection reporting compared to 6 (38%) of 16 without utilization (adjusted odds ratio, 5.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.16–24.8). Adherence to standard definitions is essential for consistent reporting across healthcare facilities.
Development of a model to predict antidepressant treatment response for depression among Veterans
Authors: Puac-Polanco Victor , Ziobrowski Hannah N. , Ross Eric L. , Liu Howard , Turner Brett , Cui Ruifeng , Leung Lucinda B. , Bossarte Robert M. , Bryant Corey , Joormann Jutta , Nierenberg Andrew A. , Oslin David W. , Pigeon Wilfred R. , Post Edward P. , Zainal Nur Hani , Zaslavsky Alan M. , Zubizarreta Jose R. , Luedtke Alex , Kennedy Chris J. , Cipriani Andrea , Furukawa Toshiaki A. , Kessler Ronald C.
Published: July 2022

Background

Only a limited number of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) respond to a first course of antidepressant medication (ADM). We investigated the feasibility of creating a baseline model to determine which of these would be among patients beginning ADM treatment in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Methods

A 2018–2020 national sample of n = 660 VHA patients receiving ADM treatment for MDD completed an extensive baseline self-report assessment near the beginning of treatment and a 3-month self-report follow-up assessment. Using baseline self-report data along with administrative and geospatial data, an ensemble machine learning method was used to develop a model for 3-month treatment response defined by the Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology Self-Report and a modified Sheehan Disability Scale. The model was developed in a 70% training sample and tested in the remaining 30% test sample.

Results

In total, 35.7% of patients responded to treatment. The prediction model had an area under the ROC curve (s.e.) of 0.66 (0.04) in the test sample. A strong gradient in probability (s.e.) of treatment response was found across three subsamples of the test sample using training sample thresholds for high [45.6% (5.5)], intermediate [34.5% (7.6)], and low [11.1% (4.9)] probabilities of response. Baseline symptom severity, comorbidity, treatment characteristics (expectations, history, and aspects of current treatment), and protective/resilience factors were the most important predictors.

Conclusions

Although these results are promising, parallel models to predict response to alternative treatments based on data collected before initiating treatment would be needed for such models to help guide treatment selection.
(Just Thinking of) Uncertainty Increases Intolerance of Uncertainty
Authors: Parker Suzanne C. , Ahrens Anthony H.
Published: July 2022

Abstract. Intolerance of uncertainty is a far-reaching – yet not widely examined – construct with clinical and nonclinical associations. The current study implemented a brief reflection on uncertainty hypothesized to increase tolerance of uncertainty. The group who engaged in the reflection ( n = 50) was compared to an active control condition ( n = 50). Results demonstrated the opposite of the primary hypothesis: simply reflecting on uncertainty significantly increased intolerance of uncertainty (vs. tolerance of uncertainty). Results also demonstrated that those higher in mindfulness were higher in tolerance of uncertainty, with the “nonreactivity” factor of mindfulness contributing unique variance. These findings suggest multiple factors that might contribute to both tolerance and intolerance of uncertainty. This study indicates that investigations of interventions that include training in mindfulness and its component of nonreactivity might be particularly warranted.