bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hurricane Bond Price Dependency on Underlying Hurricane Parameters
Authors: Chang Carolyn W. , Feng Yalan
Published: September 2020

Hurricane bonds are parametric in nature as they have a dual-exercise structure: the first exercise is conditional on the hurricane’s physical landfall location and the second is conditional upon the embedded option ending in-the-money. We propose a coupled and physically-based hurricane bond pricing model via Monte Carlo simulation that resolves the dual exercise, which was not addressed in extant loss-based catastrophe bond pricing models. This coupled model is developed at the nexus of atmospheric science and finance by integrating hurricane risk modeling and option pricing. By applying this model to price a parametric hurricane bond, we demonstrate how a hurricane bond’s price is sensitive to its underlying hurricane’s physical parameters – genesis, heading, translation speed, velocity, and radius.
Verbesserung der Netzverlustprognose für Energieübertragungsnetze
Authors: Klaiber Stefan , Bauer Fabian , Bretschneider Peter
Published: September 2020

Bei der Energieübertragung entstehen Netzverluste in den Leitungen und Betriebsmitteln des elektrischen Energiesystems. Die Höhe der Netzverluste ist sowohl von der Netzlast als auch von zahlreichen weiteren Einflussgrößen abhängig. Einen besonderen Einfluss hat dabei die fluktuierende und größtenteils verbrauchsferne Erzeugung durch erneuerbare Energien. Die Übertragungsnetzbetreiber müssen die elektrische Energie zum Ausgleich der Netzverluste im Voraus beschaffen. Um die benötigte Ausgleichsenergie möglichst kostenminimal einzukaufen, ist eine genaue Prognose der Netzverluste notwendig. Im Rahmen des vorliegenden Beitrags wird ein Verfahren vorgestellt, das für die Prognose der Netzverluste im Übertragungsnetz der 50Hertz Transmission GmbH zum Einsatz kommt. Als Modellansatz der Prognosemethode werden Künstliche Neuronale Netze verwendet. Das als Ergebnis der Arbeiten entwickelte Modell für die Netzverlustprognose steigert die Prognosegüte im Vergleich zum bisherigen Modell um sieben Prozent und befindet sich bei 50Hertz seit Juni 2019 im operativen Einsatz.
Sectoral Productivity Gaps and Aggregate Productivity
Authors: Sinha Rishabh
Published: September 2020

The paper examines the aggregate impact of misallocation measured using gaps in labor productivity across sectors. A simple model of resource allocation is used to quantify the effect in which the gaps arise due to distortions in the form of asymmetrical taxes on hiring labor across sectors. From a development accounting approach, the gains from eliminating distortions are meager and are not consequential in accounting for cross-country variation in incomes. Nevertheless, the gains for some countries rival the growth that they have accumulated over several years. Of the 87 countries in the sample, the changes in distortions over time exert a net negative impact in 45 countries instead of providing tailwinds to growth. Changes in distortions account for just under 5.6% of the total growth when aiding growth. In turn, the output drag represents 3.4% of the actual growth on average for the sub-sample in which distortions yield a net negative effect. The move towards allocative efficiency bears a positive association with the quality of institutions.
Emicizumab, the factor VIII mimetic bi-specific monoclonal antibody and its measurement in plasma
Authors: Tripodi Armando , Chantarangkul Veena , Novembrino Cristina , Scalambrino Erica , Boscolo-Anzoletti Massimo , Clerici Marigrazia , Rossi Federica , Peyvandi Flora
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Emicizumab, a monoclonal antibody mimicking the function of factor (F) VIII in the activation of FX by FIXa, is widely used for prophylaxis in hemophilia patients with or without inhibitors to FVIII. Although it is administered at fixed dose, its measurement could be occasionally required. In principle, the emicizumab procoagulant effect could be assessed by the one-stage assay (OSA) currently used to measure FVIII. However, the OSA for FVIII presents with limitations. Furthermore, owing to its potent FVIII-like activity, emicizumab interferes with the measurement of the inhibitor to FVIII, which is often needed in patients on emicizumab.

Methods

We prepared test samples by spiking a FVIII-deficient plasma with graded amounts of emicizumab. We modified the OSA for FVIII and tested plasma samples for emicizumab concentrations. Furthermore the chromogenic assay (CA) for FVIII with bovine reagents was used to assess for the FVIII inhibitor in patients on emicizumab.

Results

Slight modification of the OSA for FVIII (i.e., higher test plasma dilution and longer coagulometer acquisition time) made the regular OSA as a reliable laboratory tool to measure emicizumab concentration as shown by the identity of the regression (observed vs. expected) lines. Furthermore, the inhibitors to FVIII in patients on emicizumab, which were negative when measured by the regular Bethesda assay, were reliably measured by the CA assay employing bovine reagents.

Conclusions

The methods currently used to measure FVIII can be easily modified to make the general clinical laboratory able to assist clinicians when dealing with patients on emicizumab.
The impact of an instruction to improve L2 learners’ academic conference abstract writing in multidisciplinary programmes
Authors: Ioratim-Uba Godwin
Published: September 2020

Writing successful academic conference abstracts is essential for PhD students to enable them to access world-class conferences for the presentation of their research. However, these students often face both discourse-structure and linguistic difficulties in writing their conference abstracts. This study evaluates the impact of genre, process, elicitation and guided learning instruction on students’ performance in academic conference abstract writing. Participants are multidisciplinary L2 PhD students at a Sino-British university. The first dataset used for the impact evaluation comprises post-intervention written abstracts collected from 10 focal students. To evaluate the instruction, a scoring descriptor instrument adapted from the university’s academic writing assessment rubric is used to grade the abstracts’ move-structure, and linguistic features of cohesion, hedging, passive, and present simple. Trends in the scores are analysed statistically. The second dataset consists of students’ questionnaire-elicited experiences of the instruction. Findings show improvements in post-intervention abstracts’ move-structures and linguistic features, which suggests pedagogical effectiveness. Questionnaire responses also display positive perceptions of the pedagogy. Due to the impact of disciplinary genre materials, disciplinary discrepancy is more evident in linguistic structures than in move structures. Writer characteristics also appear to gravitate towards a discipline-centric writing ethos due to the impact of disciplinary-genre materials and the desire to enhance the abstract’s selection chances. Thus, there is potential for language-feature functions, process writing, exact-genre materials and interactive learning process pedagogies to mediate learning and improvement in disciplinary L2 writing.
A General Superapproximation Result
Authors: Brenner Susanne C.
Published: September 2020

A general superapproximation result is derived in this paper which is
useful for the local/interior error analysis of finite element methods.
Bounds of operators on the Hilbert sequence space
Authors: Roopaei Hadi
Published: September 2020

The author has computed the bounds of the Hilbert operator on some sequence spaces [18, 19]. Through this study the author has investigated the bounds of operators on the Hilbert sequence space and the present study is a complement of those previous research.
CONUT: a tool to assess nutritional status. First application in a primary care population
Authors: Salinas Maria , Flores Emilio , Blasco Alvaro , López-Garrigós Maite , Puche Carmen , Asencio Alberto , Leiva-Salinas Carlos
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Malnutrition is an unfavorable prognostic factor associated with an increase in mortality, hospital stays, readmissions and resources consumption. The aim was to screen primary care patients for risk of malnutrition by using the control nutritional (CONUT) score, calculated through total lymphocytes count, serum albumin and total cholesterol, when the three markers were requested, and to compare results between primary care centers (PCC).

Methods

The clinical laboratory located in a 370-bed suburban University Community Hospital serves the Health Department inhabitants (2,34,551), attended in nine PCC. The laboratory information system (LIS) automatically calculated the CONUT score in every primary care patient over 18 years old, when all three laboratory markers were ordered by the General Practitioner. For all primary care patients, we collected demographic data, CONUT index and PCC. We classified results by PCC, and compared them.

Results

The clinical laboratory received 74,743 requests from primary care. The CONUT score was calculated in 7,155 (12.28%) patients. Nine hundred seventy-six (13.6%) were at risk of malnutrition according to the CONUT score, mainly male (p<0.01) and over 65 (p<0.01). Detected cases of malnutrition were all mild, except 48 patients (4.9%) with moderate, and one (0.1%) with severe risk. The percentage of patients at risk of malnutrition was not significantly different among PCC, with the exception of one with patients at lower malnutrition risk.

Conclusions

It is possible to use CONUT score as a front-line population-wide laboratory marker to screen for the risk for malnutrition in primary care patients that was lower in one PCC.
A balanced-to-balanced directional coupler based on branch-slotline coupled structure
Authors: Liu Yaxin , Wei Feng , Shi Xiaowei , Zeng Cao
Published: September 2020

In this paper, a balanced-to-balanced (BTB) branch-slotline directional coupler (DC) is firstly presented, which can realize an arbitrary power division ratios (PDRs). The coupler is composed by microstrip-to-slotline (MS) transition structures and branch-slotline coupled structures. The single-ended to balanced-ended conversion is simplified and easy to implemented by the MS transition structures, which intrinsically leads to the differential-mode (DM) transmission and common-mode (CM) suppression. Moreover, the different PDRs which are controlled by the widths of branch-slotlines can be achieved. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed design method, two prototype circuits of the proposed coupler with different PDRs are fabricated and measured. The return loss and the isolation of two designs are all better than 10 dB. Moreover, the CM suppressions are greater than 35 dB. A good agreement between the simulation and measurement results is observed.
Design of low profile co-axial fed high gain stacked patch antenna for Wi-Fi/WLAN/Wi-Max applications
Authors: Pachaiyappan Gnanasivam , Ramanujam Parthasarathy
Published: September 2020

In this article, a simple design of stacked radiating system with enhanced gain, impedance bandwidth, and radiation efficiency for mobile base station application is presented. The proposed antenna consists of a driven patch with a semicircular parasitic patch printed on the bottom layer and five parasitic patches printed on the top layer. The driven patch is feed by a co-axial probe and both the layers are separated in air. The second layer has four truncated circular parasitic patches on one side and one circular patch on the other side to enhance the directive gain acts as a directive reflector. This staked system encompasses some prominent features such as wide bandwidth, good gain, low profile, better radiation efficiency simple design, and integration for the mobile base station. Meanwhile, this configuration exhibits a bandwidth of 2 GHz with the minimized volume is 0.75 λ0 × 0.75 λ0 × 0.08 λ0. Experimentally validated results have an average and peak gain of 10.7 and 12.7 dBi, impedance bandwidth of more than 30.7% for |S11| < −10 dB, and radiation efficiency of above 86%. The proposed stacked radiating system finds its applications in Wi-Fi, WLAN, Wi-Max, Indoor UWB, and Marine Radar applications.
To be or not to be in the social media arena? The perspective of healthcare providers working within adolescent and young adult oncology in Switzerland
Authors: De Clercq Eva , Rost Michael , von der Weid Nicolas , Ansari Marc , Elger Bernice S.
Published: September 2020

Background

Given that social media is quickly penetrating clinical practice, it is essential to explore how these technologies can be used to improve patient-centered care. This is particularly important for healthcare professionals caring for adolescents and young adults (AYA), amid whom the use of social media is nearly universal and whose medical and psychosocial needs are often underestimated by the pediatric or adult oncology settings in which they are treated.

Objectives

To examine the perspectives of various medical professionals on the emerging role of social media in AYA oncology.

Methods

Three focus groups were performed with Swiss healthcare professionals involved in the care of AYA patients with cancer. The focus groups were analyzed using thematic coding.

Results

Healthcare professionals caring for AYA cancer patients in Switzerland are reluctant to step into the social media sphere because they find it difficult to navigate professional boundaries in an unfamiliar space where different contexts collapse. Nurses and younger healthcare professionals who tend to have a more intimate relationship with AYA, often lack virtual mentorship to know how to maintain online professionalism. Adolescents and young adults cancer-related social media presence was unknown to our participants which resulted in missed occasions to inform, educate and care for this often underserved population of cancer patients.

Conclusions

More practical guidance is needed to help healthcare professionals with how to integrate social media into clinical practice. Setting up fruitful collaborations between medical institutions and existing AYA support groups online might be the best way forward.
Modelling ethnic differences in the distribution of insulin resistance via Bayesian nonparametric processes: an application to the SABRE cohort study
Authors: Molinari Marco , de Iorio Maria , Chaturvedi Nishi , Hughes Alun , Tillin Therese
Published: September 2020

We analyse data from the Southall And Brent REvisited (SABRE) tri-ethnic study, where measurements of metabolic and anthropometric variables have been recorded. In particular, we focus on modelling the distribution of insulin resistance which is strongly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. We propose the use of a Bayesian nonparametric prior to model the distribution of Homeostasis Model Assessment insulin resistance, as it allows for data-driven clustering of the observations. Anthropometric variables and metabolites concentrations are included as covariates in a regression framework. This strategy highlights the presence of sub-populations in the data, characterised by different levels of risk of developing type 2 diabetes across ethnicities. Posterior inference is performed through Markov Chains Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods.
Influence of the amine alkyl-chain upon carbon dioxide absorption in G-L-L reactor
Authors: Brea Uxía , Gómez-Díaz Diego , Navaza José M.
Published: September 2020

Present work analyzes the behavior of several gas-liquid-liquid systems for carbon dioxide separation using chemical absorption. The type of amine center in a solvent with two liquid phases (organic and aqueous) shows a high importance in relation to the overall behavior. The experimental results for these solvents have been compared with a previous study using octylamine in the chemical solvent because it has shown suitable results for carbon dioxide loading, absorption rate and energy cost associated to solvent regeneration. Present study analyzes the carbon dioxide absorption mechanism in multiphasic reactors (specifically G-L-L) using different types of amines in order to understand the overall behavior that involves steps of mass transfer and chemical reaction.
Fischer-Tropsch reaction mixture permeation through a silicalite-1 membrane reactor and its effect on the produced hydrocarbons distribution
Authors: Bellal Abdelmalek , Chibane Lemnouer
Published: September 2020

The quantification of the permeation of the Fischer-Tropsch reaction mixture through a silicalite-1 zeolite membrane in which is integrated in to fixed bed reactor was theoretically investigated. The approach is based on the prediction of the permeation parameters by using two different mechanisms including surface diffusion and gaseous diffusion. It was found that under our investigated conditions, the total permeation could be governed by surface diffusion model since the contribution of this mechanism is dominant versus the gaseous diffusion. Noteworthy, our results show that except for the selective gas permeation of carbon dioxide, the measuring factors of different permeates were proportional to the operating pressure. Hydrocarbons with low molecular weight diffuse greater than long-chain hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the high adsorbed molecules are more likely to be affected by the high processing temperature. It can be also highlighted that the permeate amounts has no important effect on the product distribution which is characterized by the olefins to paraffins ratios. So the assumption that considers the separation of CO
2 without assuming other components permeation is well supported.
Analysis of power quality in a grid system connected with a three phase induction motor
Authors: Babu Bandla Pavan , Vairavasundaram Indragandhi
Published: September 2020

In an electrical system, power quality (PQ) is becoming significant to all types of consumers. With the increase of power demand from end users, maintaining the quality of power within the limitations is a major problem. This paper describes power quality issues like voltage sag, voltage variations, voltage fluctuations, individual harmonics, inter-harmonics and power frequency variations in a grid connected system with a three-phase induction motor connected as a load. This system is tested in according to International Electro technical Commission (IEC) Std. 61000-4-11/4-13/4-14/4-28 which are allowed to the load through a regenerative grid simulator. Test procedures of the system equipment and the detailed analysis of the monitored and measured results are also described in this paper.
Adjoint of generalized Cesáro operators on analytic function spaces
Authors: Naik Sunanda , Nath Pankaj K.
Published: September 2020

In this article, we define a convolution operator and study its boundedness on
mixed-norm spaces. In particular, we obtain a well-known result on the boundedness of
composition operators given by Avetisyan and Stević in [K. Avetisyan and S. Stević,
The generalized Libera transform is bounded on the Besov mixed-norm, BMOA and VMOA spaces on the unit disc,
Appl. Math. Comput. 213 2009, 2, 304–311].
Also we consider the adjoint

𝒜

b
,
c

{\mathcal{A}^{b,c}}

for

b
>
0

{b>0}

of two parameter families
of Cesáro averaging operators and prove the boundedness on Besov mixed-norm spaces

B

α
+

(

c
-
1

)

p
,
q

{B_{\alpha+(c-1)}^{p,q}}

for

c
>
1

{c>1}

.
Parametric PSF estimation based on recursive SURE for sparse deconvolution
Authors: Xue Feng , Liu Jiaqi , Ai Xia
Published: September 2020

PSF (point spread function) estimation plays an important role in blind image deconvolution. It has been shown in our previous work that minimization of the Stein’s unbiased risk estimate (SURE) – unbiased estimate of mean squared error (MSE) – could yield an accurate PSF estimate.
In this paper, we show that the PSF estimation error is upper bounded by the deconvolution accuracy and the mismatch between the assumed PSF parametric form and the underlying true one. For this reason, we incorporate the

ℓ
1

{\ell_{1}}

-penalized sparse deconvolution into the SURE instead of previously used Wiener filter. In particular, we apply the iterative soft-thresholding algorithms to solve

ℓ
1

{\ell_{1}}

-minimization, and develop recursive evaluations of SURE, which is then shown to converge to the existing theoretical result. In practical implementations with large-scale data, we apply the Monte-Carlo simulation to avoid the explicit matrix operation. Numerical examples demonstrate the improvements of PSF estimate, and the resulting deconvolution performance.
A Framework of Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics. I. Role and Types of Fluctuations
Authors: Öttinger Hans Christian , Peletier Mark A. , Montefusco Alberto
Published: September 2020

Understanding the fluctuations by which phenomenological evolution equations with thermodynamic structure can be enhanced is the key to a general framework of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. These fluctuations provide an idealized representation of microscopic details. We consider fluctuation-enhanced equations associated with Markov processes and elaborate the general recipes for evaluating dynamic material properties, which characterize force-flux constitutive laws, by statistical mechanics. Markov processes with continuous trajectories are conveniently characterized by stochastic differential equations and lead to Green–Kubo-type formulas for dynamic material properties. Markov processes with discontinuous jumps include transitions over energy barriers with the rates calculated by Kramers. We describe a unified approach to Markovian fluctuations and demonstrate how the appropriate type of fluctuations (continuous versus discontinuous) is reflected in the mathematical structure of the phenomenological equations.
Performance evaluation of a multiple optical link FSO–FSO
Authors: Tayebi Mohammed Larbi , Djir Amina , Meskine Fatiha
Published: September 2020

Free-space optics (FSO) connects two distant points by a simple light beam. Currently, this technique is a complement to radio frequency systems and those based on optical fibers. However, its large-scale deployment is slowing down due to major drawbacks such as the short operating distance and its great vulnerability to atmospheric conditions. In this article, and in order to increase the connection distance of the FSO systems and maintaining an acceptable signal quality, we inserted in the transmission channel: a receiver and a transmitter that retransmit the received signal. We have chosen two weather situations. The attenuation values used are 85 dB/km and 170 dB/km. They represent two different fog densities. For an attenuation of 85 dB/km, the quality factor Q degrades and goes from the value 44.50 to 2.60 when the distance goes from 90 to 180 m. With the proposed technique, the quality factor has improved significantly since we obtained a value that is equal to 29.82 instead of 2.60 at the overall distance of 180 m. On the other hand, we increased the distance until we obtained a quality factor around 2.5. The distance obtained is equal to 360 m, which is twice the initial distance.
Application of photonic crystal based nonlinear ring resonators for realizing all optical 3-to-8 decoder
Authors: Rostamizadeh Alidoost , Taghizadeh Mehdi , Jamali Jasem , Andalib Alireza
Published: September 2020

Optical decoders are required for optical routing. In this paper we presented the design procedure and simulation results for 3-to-8 optical decoder, which was designed using nonlinear ring resonators inside two dimensional photonic crystals. The proposed structure was simulated using finite difference time domain method. Based on the simulation results the maximum delay time of the structure is about 2 ps. Also the worst transmission values for logic 0 and 1 are 10% and 78%, respectively.
Serum kallistatin level is decreased in women with preeclampsia
Authors: Güralp Onur , Tüten Nevin , Gök Koray , Hamzaoglu Kübra , Bulut Huri , Schild-Suhren Meike , Malik Eduard , Tüten Abdullah
Published: September 2020

Objectives

To evaluate the serum levels of the serine proteinase inhibitor kallistatin in women with preeclampsia (PE).

Methods

The clinical and laboratory parameters of 55 consecutive women with early-onset PE (EOPE) and 55 consecutive women with late-onset PE (LOPE) were compared with 110 consecutive gestational age (GA)-matched (±1 week) pregnant women with an uncomplicated pregnancy and an appropriate for gestational age fetus.

Results

Mean serum kallistatin was significantly lower in women with PE compared to the GA-matched-controls (27.74±8.29 ng/mL vs. 37.86±20.64 ng/mL, p<0.001); in women with EOPE compared to that of women in the control group GA-matched for EOPE (24.85±6.65 ng/mL vs. 33.37±17.46 ng/mL, p=0.002); and in women with LOPE compared to that of women in the control group GA-matched for LOPE (30.87±8.81 ng/mL vs. 42.25±22.67 ng/mL, p=0.002). Mean serum kallistatin was significantly lower in women with EOPE compared to LOPE (24.85±6.65 ng/mL vs. 30.87±8.81 ng/mL, p<0.001). Serum kallistatin had negative correlations with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, creatinine, and positive correlation with GA at sampling and GA at birth.

Conclusions

Serum kallistatin levels are decreased in preeclamptic pregnancies compared to the GA-matched-controls. This decrease was also significant in women with EOPE compared to LOPE. Serum kallistatin had negative correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, creatinine and positive correlation with GA at sampling and GA at birth.
Predictive values of clinical parameters and biophysical and biochemical markers in the first trimester for the detection of small-for-gestational age fetuses
Authors: Antunes Irene Reali , Lobo Guilherme Antonio Rago , Araujo Júnior Edward , Pares David Baptista da Silva
Published: September 2020

Objectives

To evaluate the predictive values of maternal characteristics, biophysical parameters (mean arterial pressure [MAP] and Doppler uterine artery measurements), and biochemical parameters (pregnancy-associated plasma protein A [PAPP-A] and placental growth factor [PlGF]) alone and in association for small-for-gestational age (SGA) fetuses.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospective observational study that evaluated 615 pregnant women in the first trimester using ultrasonography. For all the women, information regarding clinical and obstetric histories, MAP, and uterine artery mean pulsatility index (UtA-PI), and blood samples for analysis of biochemical markers (PAPP-A and PlGF) were obtained. The patients were grouped according to birth weight as follows: group I (n=571), >10th percentile (control); group II (n=44), <10th percentile; and group III (n=34), <5th percentile. The predictive values of the variables for the detection of SGA fetuses were calculated using a logistic regression model and an analysis of the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC).

Results

The sensitivity rates of the maternal characteristics, biophysical markers (MAP and UtA-PI), biochemical markers (PAPP-A and PlGF), and the association between them were: 23.3, 32.5, 25, and 30% respectively, at a false-positive (FP) rate of 10%, in group II and 26.5, 26.5, 23.5, and 23.5%, respectively, at a FP rate of 10% in group III.

Conclusions

The predictive performances of the combination of maternal characteristics and biophysical and biochemical parameters were unsatisfactory, with a slight improvement in the predictive capacity for SGA fetuses <10th percentile.
Risk factors for pregnancy-associated venous thromboembolism in Singapore
Authors: Jaya-Bodestyne Sandra Lynn , Lee Lai Heng , Tan Lay Kok , Tan Kok Hian , Østbye Truls , Malhotra Rahul , Allen John , Tan Sophie Seine Xuan , Tan Melinda Si Yun , Ng Lawrence Cheng Kiat , Yong Yang , Tan Thiam Chye
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Pregnancy-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is associated with increased risk of maternal mortality and morbidity. This study aimed to assess potential risk factors for pregnancy-associated VTE.

Methods

In this case-control study, women with pregnancy-associated VTE were identified via International Classification of Diseases codes and included if they had been objectively diagnosed with VTE during pregnancy or within six weeks postpartum, from 2004 to 2016, at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital or Singapore General Hospital in Singapore. Controls, i.e. pregnant women without VTE, were selected from a prospective longitudinal study. The odds ratio (OR) for VTE was computed for a range of maternal and obstetric factors.

Results and conclusions

From 2004 to 2016, 89 cases of pregnancy-associated VTE and 926 controls were identifed and analysed using logistic regression. The most significant risk factors for pregnancy-associated VTE were smoking (OR 5.44, p=0.0002) and preterm delivery (OR 5.06, p=0.023). Malay race, multiparity, non-O blood group and caesarean section, were also identified to be of higher risk. These risk factors should be useful in the development of thromboprophylaxis strategies for pregnancy and the postpartum period, especially in Singapore.
Predictive factors of progression to severe COVID-19
Authors: Zhou Yi-Hong , Li Huan , Qin Yuan-Yuan , Yan Xiao-Feng , Lu Yan-Qiu , Liu Hong-Lan , Ye Si-Kuan , Wan Yan , Zhang Lu , Harypursat Vijay , Chen Yaokai
Published: September 2020

Aim

Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for the survival of severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, but data with regard to risk factors for disease progression from milder COVID-19 to severe COVID-19 remain scarce.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis on 116 patients.

Results

Three factors were observed to be independently associated with progression to severe COVID-19 during 14 days after admission: (a) age 65 years or older (hazard ratio [HR] = 8.456; 95% CI: 2.706–26.426); (b) creatine kinase (CK) ≥ 180 U/L (HR = 3.667; 95% CI: 1.253–10.733); and (c) CD4+ T-cell counts <300 cells/µL (HR = 4.695; 95% CI: 1.483–14.856). The difference in rates of severe COVID-19 development was found to be statistically significant between patients aged 65 years or older (46.2%) and those younger than 65 years (90.2%), between patients with CK ≥ 180 U/L (55.6%) and those with CK < 180 U/L (91.5%), and between patients with CD4+ T-cell counts <300 cells/µL (53.8%) and those with CD4+ cell counts ≥300 cells/µL (83.2%).

Conclusions

Age ≥ 65 years, CK ≥ 180 U/L, and CD4+ T-cell counts <300 cells/µL at admission were risk factors independently associated with disease progression to severe COVID-19 during 14 days after admission and are therefore potential markers for disease progression in patients with milder COVID-19.
Procedural sedation and analgesia for percutaneous trans-hepatic biliary drainage: Randomized clinical trial for comparison of two different concepts
Authors: Zanvettor Alex , Lederer Wolfgang , Glodny Bernhard , Chemelli Andreas P. , Wiedermann Franz J.
Published: September 2020

Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is important during painful dilatation and stenting in patients undergoing percutaneous trans-hepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). A prospective, nonblinded randomized clinical trial was performed comparing different analgesic regimens with regard to the patient’s comfort. Patients were randomly assigned to two treatment groups in a parallel study, receiving either remifentanil or combined midazolam, piritramide, and S-ketamine. The primary study endpoint was pain intensity before, during, and after the intervention using the numerical rating scale (0, no pain; 10, maximum pain). The secondary study endpoint was the satisfaction of the interventional radiologist. Fifty patients underwent PTBD of whom 19 (38.0%) underwent additional stenting. During intervention, the two groups did not differ significantly. After the intervention, the need for auxiliary opioids was higher (12.5% vs 7.7%; p = 0.571) and nausea/vomiting was more frequently observed (33.4% vs 3.8%; p = 0.007) in patients with remifentanil than in patients with PSA. Overall, 45 patients (90.0%) needed additional administration of non-opioid analgesics during postinterventional observation. Remifentanil and combined midazolam, piritramide, and S-ketamine obtained adequate analgesic effects during PTBD. After the intervention, medications with antiemetics and long-acting analgesics were more frequently administered in patients treated with remifentanil (EudraCT No. 2006-003285-34; institutional funding).
Knowledge, authority, and positionality in Asian immigrant female faculty teaching diversity classes
Authors: Choi Jung-ah , Lim Jae Hoon
Published: September 2020

This paper is a self-reflective narrative of our teaching experience as two immigrant Asian female professors who teach Multicultural Education. Employing collaborative autoethnography (CAE), the study addresses the issues of authority, positionality, and legitimacy of knowledge claims in critical feminist pedagogy. Two research questions guided our inquiry: 1. How does a teacher’s racial positionality play out in exercising professional knowledge, and conversely, 2. How does seemingly neutral professional knowledge become racialized in the discussions of race? Major findings demonstrate the double-edged contradictions in the body/knowledge nexus manifested in our everyday teaching contexts. On the one hand, the bodily dimension of teacher knowledge is de-racialized because of institutional norms and cultures. On the other hand, there are times professional knowledge becomes racialized through the teacher’s body. Understanding the body/knowledge nexus that invites precarious power dynamics in racial discussions and even blatantly dismisses our professional knowledge, we, as an immigrant faculty of color, find it impossible to create a safe environment for participatory, critical discourse. Acknowledging our triple marginality, we put forth the concept of “pedagogy of fear” (Leonardo, Z., & Porter, R. K. (2010). Pedagogy of fear: Toward a Fanonian theory of ‘safety’ in race dialogue. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 13(2), 139–157) which squarely disrupts the idea of a safe environment in race dialog and urges teachers to confront their own/their students’ fear and create a space of teaching vulnerably.
Fighting COVID-19 in East Asia: The role of classical Chinese poetry
Authors: Chen Xi
Published: September 2020

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, new global challenges have been presented to all affected countries, underlining the importance of international communication and co-operation. This study examines a particular linguistic means, classical Chinese poetry, used successfully by China, Japan and South Korea to facilitate their intercultural relationships. Specifically, poetic texts were pasted onto boxes of COVID-19 prevention supplies. An analysis of these texts in the context of the pandemic points to their role in establishing an ‘expressive tie’ between the countries (Hwang, Kwang-kuo. 1987. Face and favor: the Chinese power game. American Journal of Sociology. University of Chicago Press 92(4). 944–974) and demonstrating emotional resonance in the midst of mixed-tied intercultural relationships. The texts also helped to conceal the requirement of reciprocity, while highlighting morality of a country for its favour-giving behaviour. Through practicing reciprocity in a culturally appropriate way, the three countries were able to promote their national image (i.e. national face). The findings provide insights into East Asian ways of managing intercultural relationships, that can be applied to navigate international co-operation for future challenges.
Crystal structure of (2-carboxy-4-(3-carboxy-5-carboxylatophenoxy)benzoato-κ2
O,O′)bis(1,10-phenantroline-κ2
N,N′)cobalt(II), C40H24N4O9Co
Authors: Luo Jie , Gu Guang-Na , Wang Xiao-Wei
Published: September 2020

C40H24N4O9Co, triclinic, P1̄ (no. 2), a = 11.5623(9) Å, b = 11.5732(12) Å, c = 13.4379(11) Å, α = 82.003(8)°, β = 77.597(7)°, γ = 76.048(8)°, V = 1697.1(3) Å3, Z = 2, R
gt(F) = 0.0462, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.1021, T = 293(2) K.
Philosophical Hermeneutics and Urban Encounters
Authors: Pathirane Henrik
Published: September 2020

The paper applies Gadamerian hermeneutics to everyday situations of nonverbal social interaction in the urban space. First, relevant aspects of urban encounters are briefly discussed with philosophical hermeneutics’ relation to nonverbal communication and bodily understanding. Second, hermeneutic understanding is presented as conversation, and the ethical implications of hermeneutics are articulated: as philosophical practice, Gadamerian hermeneutics is about intensifying the voice of the other. There is a demand for mutual openness towards otherness. Connected to this attitude required for hermeneutic encounters are the ideas of a cosmopolitan public sphere and an inclusive hermeneutic community. After attending to these, the value of specifically urban encounters can be articulated. Urban context and built environment can in good circumstances assist in encountering the other hermeneutically. The passing communicative situations can be negotiations of meanings and values, instances of public sphere. The urban mass society with its crowds has potentiality to enact an inclusive hermeneutic community. To conclude, the consequences of our failures to engage hermeneutically with each other are discussed in a plea for hermeneutic openness.
Der Mensch im Klima
Authors: Ahrens Jörn
Published: September 2020

Kaum ein anderes Thema bündelt aktuell so nachhaltig die Debatte über die Konsequenzen des unlängst ausgerufenen Anthropozäns, wie das des anthropogenen Klimawandels. Nicht nur wird die Umwelt des Menschen unabsehbaren Veränderungen ausgesetzt sein, sondern diese Veränderungen der natürlichen Umwelt sind insbesondere auch humanen Ursprungs. Anthropologie, Ökologie und Ethik werden verschaltet; die zu gewärtigenden Konsequenzen können unabsehbar sein. Damit wird der Klimawandel auch grundlegende anthropologische Folgen haben und sich etwa der epistemische Zuschnitt des Anthropos grundlegend neu definieren. Gerade aber weil Natur hier konsequent humanisiert ist, kann sie auch für die Verfasstheit der Gattung bedrohlich werden und sich gegen das Humanum wenden.
Redefining Humanity in the Era of AI – Technical Civilization
Authors: Suzuki Shoko
Published: September 2020

The human environment is currently undergoing massive change amid the rapid adoption of information and communications technology (ICT). ICT can be characterized as offering an opportunity to consider the nature of humanity, create new values, and foster new cultures. As humans, the question that technical innovation relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robots thrusts before us is, “What is a human?” What exactly are the things that AI will never be able to do, no matter how close it gets to human capabilities? What makes us humans, and what is it that only humans can do? This essay discusses the impact of AI technology on humans and society from the perspective of a turning point in how people perceive themselves and humanity.
Über den Menschen, der kein Tier sein will, und den Menschen auf Verwandtensuche
Authors: Böhme Hartmut
Published: September 2020

Wir leben in einem Zeitalter der Angst, im Phobozän, wie Jens Soentgen sagt, der die global grassierende Angst der Tiere vor den Menschen zu erfassen sucht. Von daher wird die Traditionslinie der europäischen Philosophie untersucht, die das Verhältnis von Mensch und Tier bestimmt, indem sie es zugleich zerstört. Charakteristisch ist dabei die Heraushebung des Menschen aus der Gemeinsamkeit mit den Lebewesen; der Mensch hat eine Sonder- und Höherstellung im Kreis des Seienden inne. Das ist sein Speziesismus, der sich schon in antiker Tradition, aber auch bei Herder und später bei Husserl, Heidegger und Derrida in unterschiedlicher Vehemenz zeigt. Dagegen werden die Tier-Mensch-Reflexionen von Montaigne als singuläre Leistung der Kritik der anthropologischen Sonderstellung, aber auch als ironische Umkehrungen der habituellen Bewertung der Mensch-Tier-Relationen dargestellt. Donna Haraway, die gern den Herzschlag der Erneuerung in einer unheilen Welt darstellt, wird dagegen mit ihrer Theorie des Chthuluzän und ihren Versuchen einer neuencompanionship, einer kulturellen Sympoiesis zwischen Menschen und Tieren als eine späte Nachfolgerin der Romantik charakterisiert. Das mag als Symptom der Schuld und der Wiedergutmachung hingehen, eine Lösung der abgründigen Störungen im Tier-Mensch-Verhältnis liegt darin ebenso wenig wie die Aussicht auf eine neue Anthropologie.
Was für ein Tier ist der Mensch?
Authors: Schwarte Ludger
Published: September 2020

Mein Beitrag versucht, die für die Anthropologie grundlegende Frage nach der Tier/ Mensch-Unterscheidung anders zu wenden. Zu oft wurde der Begriff des Tieres fraglos vorausgesetzt, um das Rätsel des Menschseins im Abgleich dazu zu diskutieren. Was aber macht das Tiersein aus, wenn auch der Mensch zu den Tieren zählt? Wir verstehen, das ist meine These, die Tiere, ja die Natur besser, wenn wir uns selbst als Tiere, als Natur, begreifen und von dem, was uns aus Sicht der historischen Anthropologie auszeichnet, auch auf die Tierwelt blicken. Das, was wir über die menschliche Lebensform wissen bzw. in Erfahrung bringen können, gilt es, nicht als Ausnahme, sondern als integrative Möglichkeit des Tierischen, des Natürlichen, des Biologischen zu denken.
Emotionen: Zwischen Romantisierung und Technologisierung
Authors: Seichter Sabine
Published: September 2020

Macht man sich die anthropologischen Transformationen zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts bewusst, dann sind es gewiss nicht zuletzt die Neuformulierungen des Menschen im Zuge des Digitalen. Mehr noch: Das Digitale wird in den folgenden Überlegungen nicht nur ein neuer Appendix des Menschlichen sein, sondern als Einwohner der sog. ‚Digitalgesellschaft‘ erscheint der Mensch selbst als ‚homo digitalis‘.

Aus einer kulturwissenschaftlich getränkten pädagogischen Perspektive stelle ich mir die Frage nach den Ver-Änderungen bzw. Um-Formungen menschlicher Beziehungen im Zuge des rasant fortschreitenden digitalen Wandels. Dabei werde ich weder einer nur kulturpessimistischen noch einer nur technikoptimistischen Sichtweise das Wort reden. Beide scheinen zwar mögliche und plausible Wahrnehmungsmuster im Kontext des Anthropologischen zu sein, beide bergen jedoch die Gefahren der Absolutsetzung und der Vereinseitigung. Stattdessen soll der Versuch eine deskriptive Skizzierung darstellen, an deren Ende sich möglicherweise unerwartete anthropologische Betrachtungen des Emotionalen ergeben werden.
Die alte Hoffnung auf den neuen Menschen
Authors: Oorschot Jürgen van
Published: September 2020

Konzeptionen des Neuen und der Erneuerung begleiten die menschlichen Kulturen und Zeiten. Der Beitrag nimmt konkrete Lebens- und Textwelten der biblischen Überlieferung des Judentums und des Christentums in den Blick, wie sie in den Traditionen der Hebräischen Bibel/des Alten Testaments zu finden sind. Zum einen zeigt sich dabei eine pragmatische und auf die Förderung der Lebensverhältnisse von Gemeinschaft und Mensch orientierte Rede vom Neuen. Zum anderen gibt es ein Wissen um Neues und Vollkommenes als Wissen um einen Schöpfer, der Vollkommenes und Schönes schafft (Kohelet) sowie als Gegenbild zu Defizientem und Bösem, mit dem Bildung, Gesellschaft und Religion ringen.
Practice patterns, attitudes, and knowledge among clinicians regarding hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy and pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy: a national survey by Indian society of peritoneal surface malignancies (ISPSM)
Authors: Somashekhar S. P. , Rohit Kumar C. , Deo S. V. S. , Ashwin K. R.
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Perception of cytoreductive surgery (CRS), hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), and pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) for treating peritoneal surface malignancies (PSM) differ widely among physicians.

Methods

This on-site survey performed during a major oncology congress in 2019 evaluated the current opinion, perceptions, knowledge and practice of HIPEC and PIPAC among oncologists in India.

Results

There were 147 respondents (gynecologists (30%), surgical oncologists and gastrointestinal surgeons (64%), and medical oncologists (6%)). Whereas most respondents considered CRS and HIPEC an appropriate therapeutic option, 25% would not recommend CRS and HIPEC. The main barriers to referral to an expert center were inaccessibility to such a center (37.8%), non-inclusion of CRS and HIPEC in clinical practice guidelines (32.4%), and a high morbidity/mortality (21.6%). Variations were found in the various practice patterns of CRS/HIPEC like eligibility criteria, HIPEC protocols and safety measures. Although PIPAC awareness as a novel therapeutic option was high, only a limited number of centers offered PIPAC, mainly because of non-access to technology and missing training opportunities (76.2%).

Conclusions

Lack of widespread acceptance, poor accessibility and low utilization presents a significant challenge for HIPEC and PIPAC in India. There is a need to raise the awareness of curative and palliative therapeutic options for PSM. This might be achieved by the creation of expert centers, specialized training curricula and of a new sub-speciality in oncology.
Luminescence spectroscopic investigations of europium complexes formed in the kaolinite-humic acid/citric acid systems
Authors: Verma Parveen Kumar , Mohapatra Prasanta Kumar
Published: September 2020

In the present study, the nature of Eu(III) complexes (Eu(III) was used as a surrogate for Am(III)) formed in kaolinite–humic acid (HA)/citric acid (CA) system was investigated by luminescence spectroscopy. In addition to the ternary system (kaolinite + Eu + L(CA/HA)), the binary system (Eu-L) was also looked at for a better understanding of the complexes formed at the kaolinite surface. The lifetime and emission spectra of Eu-L complexes on the kaolinite surface differ considerably as compared to the same in the aqueous phase. The Eu-HA aqueous complexation shows differences in the excitation spectra with similar decay lifetimes with increasing aqueous HA concentrations. The ligand-to-metal charger transfer (LMCT) in the Eu-HA excitation spectra suggests the complexation of Eu(III) with HA at pH ∼ 4. Although the mode of Eu(III) binding to the kaolinite surface in the presence of CA/HA was the same i.e. metal-bridged ternary complex formation, the local surroundings around the sorbed Eu(III) differ in the two cases. The loading of HA in the Eu-HA-kaolinite system does not have a large effect on the local structure around the sorbed Eu(III) ion, but enhances the percentage of Eu(III) uptake onto the kaolinite surface. The number of H2O molecules in the primary hydration sphere of sorbed Eu(III) differs in the Eu-HA-kaolinite and Eu-CA-kaolinite systems. In addition, Eu(III) assisted precipitation of HA was also seen using a radiometric method.