bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differentiated thyroid cancer in children: Heterogeneity of predictive risk factors
Authors: Russo Marco , Malandrino Pasqualino , Moleti Mariacarla , Vermiglio Francesco , D'Angelo Antonio , La Rosa Giuliana , Sapuppo Giulia , Calaciura Francesca , Regalbuto Concetto , Belfiore Antonino , Vigneri Riccardo , Pellegriti Gabriella
Published: May 2018

Objective

To correlate clinical and pathological characteristics at diagnosis with patient long‐term outcomes and to evaluate ongoing risk stratifications in a large series of paediatric differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC).

Study design

Retrospective analysis of clinical and pathological prognostic factors of 124 paediatric patients with DTC (age at diagnosis <19 years) followed up for 10.4 ± 8.4 years. Patients with a follow‐up >3 years (n = 104) were re‐classified 18 months after surgery on the basis of their response to therapy (ongoing risk stratification).

Results

Most patients had a papillary histotype (96.0%), were older than 15 years (75.0%) and were diagnosed because of clinical local symptoms (63.7%). Persistent/recurrent disease was present in 31.5% of cases during follow‐up, but at the last evaluation, only 12.9% had biochemical or structural disease. The presence of metastases in the lymph nodes of the lateral compartment (OR 3.2, 95% CI, 1.28–7.16, P = 0.01) was the only independent factor associated with recurrent/persistent disease during follow‐up. At the last evaluation, biochemical/structural disease was associated with node metastases (N1a, N1b) by univariate but not multivariate analysis. Ongoing risk stratification compared to the initial risk classification method better identified patients with a lower probability of persistent/recurrent disease (NPV = 100%).

Conclusions

In spite of the aggressive presentations at diagnosis, paediatric patients with DTC show an excellent response to treatment and often a favourable outcome. N1b status should be considered a strong predictor of persistent/recurrent disease which, as in adults, is better predicted by ongoing risk stratification.
Quality of life among women diagnosed with breast Cancer: A randomized waitlist controlled trial of commercially available mobile app‐delivered mindfulness training
Authors: Rosen Kristen D. , Paniagua Samantha M. , Kazanis William , Jones Shaun , Potter Jennifer Sharpe
Published: May 2018

Objective

The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of commercially available mobile app‐delivered mindfulness training (AMT), compared with waitlist control (WC), on quality of life (QOL) among women diagnosed with breast cancer. The secondary outcome was dispositional mindfulness. Enrollment, app utilization, and study completion are reported as feasibility objectives.

Methods

Women diagnosed with breast cancer ≤5 years (n = 112) were randomized to AMT (n = 57) or WC (n = 55), over 8 weeks, with 4 weeks of follow‐up. We conducted linear mixed effects models to examine group by observation interactions on QOL and dispositional mindfulness at baseline, during intervention (5‐weeks), post‐intervention (9‐weeks), and follow‐up (12‐weeks post‐baseline).

Results

Participants assigned to AMT reported higher QOL, compared with those assigned to WC, from baseline through follow‐up t(258.40) = 3.09, P < 0.01, 95% CI [2.71, 11.90]. Participants assigned to AMT also reported higher dispositional mindfulness, compared with those assigned to WC, from baseline through follow‐up t(268.44) = 2.04, P = 0.04, 95% CI [0.01, 0.57]. App utilization data was obtained from 34 participants. Fewer participants assigned to AMT completed all study assessments, compared with participants assigned to WC, (χ21 = 7.07, P = 0.008).

Conclusions

Findings suggest commercially available AMT may proffer some benefit to women seeking to enhance their QOL following breast cancer diagnosis.
Ribcage deformity and the altered breathing pattern in children with osteogenesis imperfecta
Authors: LoMauro Antonella , Fraschini Paolo , Pochintesta Simona , Romei Marianna , D'Angelo Maria G. , Aliverti Andrea
Published: May 2018

Aim

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disease characterized by bones fragility and progressive deformity. Life expectancy is reduced in the non‐lethal most severe type III form before the age of 10 years. The main cause of death in OI is respiratory insufficiency resulting from impaired thoracic function worsened by ribcage deformity and scoliosis.

Methods

We used opto‐electronic plethysmography to study chest geometry, the ventilatory, and the thoraco‐abdominal pattern at rest in supine position in children younger than 10 years. Radiographic measurements were used to describe spinal deformity.

Results

Eight severe OI (sOI), seven affected by other moderate forms (mOI), and nine healthy controls (CTR) were analyzed. sOI were characterized by Pectus carinatum (sternal angle: 165.2°, CTR: 183.1°; P < 0.01), rapid and shallow breathing (RSBi: 267.4 L−1 min−1, CTR: 150.7 L−1 min−1; P < 0.05) and reduced pulmonary rib cage contribution to tidal volume (5.1%, CTR: 14.6%; P < 0.001) that evolved with age approaching the paradoxical inspiratory inward movement previously found in adults. mOI showed almost normal ventilatory pattern (RSBi: 189.2−1 min−1) and absence of sternal deformity (sternal angle: 176.8°). Platyspondyly and kyphosis were common features in all OI children.

Conclusion

An altered breathing pattern in severe OI is present since childhood and it worsens with age. This is caused by the combination of pectus carinatum, brittle ribs and spinal deformity that put the ribcage muscles in mechanical disadvantage. These results suggest that in severe OI the assessment of the respiratory function should start in early childhood in order to try to reduce the incidence of premature death.
Nonparametric analysis of dependently interval‐censored failure time data
Authors: Zhu Yayuan , Lawless Jerald F. , Cotton Cecilia A.
Published: May 2018

Failure time studies based on observational cohorts often have to deal with irregular intermittent observation of individuals, which produces interval‐censored failure times. When the observation times depend on factors related to a person's failure time, the failure times may be dependently interval censored. Inverse‐intensity‐of‐visit weighting methods have been developed for irregularly observed longitudinal or repeated measures data and recently extended to parametric failure time analysis. This article develops nonparametric estimation of failure time distributions using weighted generalized estimating equations and monotone smoothing techniques. Simulations are conducted for examination of the finite sample performance of proposed estimators. This research is motivated in part by the Toronto Psoriatic Arthritis Cohort Study, and the proposed methodology is applied to this study.
Quantifying and estimating the predictive accuracy for censored time‐to‐event data with competing risks
Authors: Wu Cai , Li Liang
Published: May 2018

This paper focuses on quantifying and estimating the predictive accuracy of prognostic models for time‐to‐event outcomes with competing events. We consider the time‐dependent discrimination and calibration metrics, including the receiver operating characteristics curve and the Brier score, in the context of competing risks. To address censoring, we propose a unified nonparametric estimation framework for both discrimination and calibration measures, by weighting the censored subjects with the conditional probability of the event of interest given the observed data. The proposed method can be extended to time‐dependent predictive accuracy metrics constructed from a general class of loss functions. We apply the methodology to a data set from the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension to evaluate the predictive accuracy of a prognostic risk score in predicting end‐stage renal disease, accounting for the competing risk of pre–end‐stage renal disease death, and evaluate its numerical performance in extensive simulation studies.
Seismic behavior of specially shaped concrete‐filled steel tube columns with multiple cavities
Authors: Qiao Qiyun , Li Xiangyu , Cao Wanlin , Dong Hongying
Published: May 2018

To study the seismic behavior of specially shaped concrete‐filled tube (CFT) columns with multiple cavities under axial tension or axial compression, a quasistatic test of four 1/30‐scale specially shaped CFT columns with multiple cavities was conducted based on the CFT mega columns in a super‐high‐rise building. The main parameters of the 4 specimens were the direction of axial force, the direction of horizontal force, and the cross‐sectional structural form. The test was conducted twice at each level of horizontal displacement. The results shows that the compression–flexure test specimen showed lower yield damage, higher bearing capacity, and superior seismic performance relative to the tension–flexure test specimen; the specimen loaded along the short axis of the section had a lower bearing capacity and stiffness relative to the specimen loaded along the long axis; and the corner‐reinforced specimen with a round steel pipe was found to be rationally designed and properly constructed. Finally, an N–M correlation curve was generated and found to show satisfactory agreement between the fitted values and the test values.
Reporting in Agile Portfolio Management: Routines, Metrics and Artefacts to Maintain an Effective Oversight
Authors: Stettina Christoph Johann , Schoemaker Lennard
Published: May 2018

In a world where the speed of change is faster than ever, a growing number of organisations adopts Agile Portfolio Management (APM) to connect their agile teams to business strategy. A domain which has been little explored in literature and professional frameworks. Based on 14 interviews conducted in 10 large European organisations, in this paper we report the preliminary results of our study on reporting routines, artefacts and metrics in Agile Portfolio Management. In our findings we discuss the three generic domains of reporting responsibility and the novel types of reporting routines found in practice. Further, we use the concept of boundary objects to recommend which types of artefacts are effective for which reporting routines.
Teamwork Quality and Team Performance: Exploring Differences Between Small and Large Agile Projects
Authors: Lindsjørn Yngve , Bergersen Gunnar R. , Dingsøyr Torgeir , Sjøberg Dag I. K.
Published: May 2018

Agile principles were originally developed for small projects but are now widely used in larger projects with hundreds of developers. Teamwork quality is essential in any development work, but how does teamwork quality differ in small and large agile projects? We report from an explorative survey with 64 agile teams and 320 team members and team leaders, from 31 teams in small projects and 33 teams in large projects. For small projects, teamwork quality was considered by both team members and team leaders to primarily affect product quality. For large projects, the effect of teamwork quality on product quality was positive when it was rated by team members but was negative when rated by team leaders. At a finer granularity, the six dimensions of teamwork quality that we investigated affected team performance differently in small and large projects. These findings question to what extent findings from previous studies on teamwork in agile development in small projects apply to large projects.
ICOs Overview: Should Investors Choose an ICO Developed with the Lean Startup Methodology?
Authors: Ibba Simona , Pinna Andrea , Baralla Gavina , Marchesi Michele
Published: May 2018

An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is an innovative way to raise funds and launch a startup. It is also an opportunity to take part in a project, or in a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). The use of ICO is a global phenomenon that involves many nations and several business categories: ICOs collected over 5.2 billion dollars only in 2017. The success of an ICO is based on the credibility and innovativeness of project proposals. This fund-raising tool contains however some critical issues, such as the use of tokens that have no intrinsic value and do not generate direct liquidity, and the role of investors in the management of the startup. We analyzed if the Lean Startup methodology is helpful to face this critical aspects and we examined some ICOs in which the proposing team states explicitly that a lean startup approach is used.
Myths and Facts About Static Application Security Testing Tools: An Action Research at Telenor Digital
Authors: Oyetoyan Tosin Daniel , Milosheska Bisera , Grini Mari , Soares Cruzes Daniela
Published: May 2018

It is claimed that integrating agile and security in practice is challenging. There is the notion that security is a heavy process, requires expertise, and consumes developers’ time. These contrast with the agile vision. Regardless of these challenges, it is important for organizations to address security within their agile processes since critical assets must be protected against attacks. One way is to integrate tools that could help to identify security weaknesses during implementation and suggest methods to refactor them. We used quantitative and qualitative approaches to investigate the efficiency of the tools and what they mean to the actual users (i.e. developers) at Telenor Digital. Our findings, although not surprising, show that several barriers exist both in terms of tool’s performance and developers’ perceptions. We suggest practical ways for improvement.
Interface Problems of Agile in a Non-agile Environment
Authors: Theobald Sven , Diebold Philipp
Published: May 2018

Agile is the widespread software development approach. But many projects are still working with traditional methods. In addition, non-technical business units continue working in traditional ways. Thus, problems arise on the interface of agile and traditional due to their fundamental differences. To prevent potential problems, one must be aware of the existing interfaces and common pitfalls. Based on a literature search and workshops, we identified existing interfaces, collected and grouped problems. We present the identified problems and propose a matrix that facilitates classification of interface problems. This matrix can be used to identify and classify more problems as well as understanding and preventing problems on the interface of agile and traditional.
Elliptic polylogarithms and iterated integrals on elliptic curves. Part I: general formalism
Authors: Broedel Johannes , Duhr Claude , Dulat Falko , Tancredi Lorenzo
Published: May 2018

Abstract

We introduce a class of iterated integrals, defined through a set of linearly independent integration kernels on elliptic curves. As a direct generalisation of multiple polylogarithms, we construct our set of integration kernels ensuring that they have at most simple poles, implying that the iterated integrals have at most logarithmic singularities. We study the properties of our iterated integrals and their relationship to the multiple elliptic polylogarithms from the mathematics literature. On the one hand, we find that our iterated integrals span essentially the same space of functions as the multiple elliptic polylogarithms. On the other, our formulation allows for a more direct use to solve a large variety of problems in high-energy physics. We demonstrate the use of our functions in the evaluation of the Laurent expansion of some hypergeometric functions for values of the indices close to half integers.
Scattering forms and the positive geometry of kinematics, color and the worldsheet
Authors: Arkani-Hamed Nima , Bai Yuntao , He Song , Yan Gongwang
Published: May 2018

Abstract

The search for a theory of the S-Matrix over the past five decades has revealed surprising geometric structures underlying scattering amplitudes ranging from the string worldsheet to the amplituhedron, but these are all geometries in auxiliary spaces as opposed to the kinematical space where amplitudes actually live. Motivated by recent advances providing a reformulation of the amplituhedron and planar

$$ \mathcal{N} $$

N

= 4 SYM amplitudes directly in kinematic space, we propose a novel geometric understanding of amplitudes in more general theories. The key idea is to think of amplitudes not as functions, but rather as differential forms on kinematic space. We explore the resulting picture for a wide range of massless theories in general spacetime dimensions. For the bi-adjoint ϕ
3 scalar theory, we establish a direct connection between its “scattering form” and a classic polytope — the associahedron — known to mathematicians since the 1960’s. We find an associahedron living naturally in kinematic space, and the tree level amplitude is simply the “canonical form” associated with this “positive geometry”. Fundamental physical properties such as locality and unitarity, as well as novel “soft” limits, are fully determined by the combinatorial geometry of this polytope. Furthermore, the moduli space for the open string worldsheet has also long been recognized as an associahedron. We show that the scattering equations act as a diffeomorphism between the interior of this old “worldsheet associahedron” and the new “kinematic associahedron”, providing a geometric interpretation and simple conceptual derivation of the bi-adjoint CHY formula. We also find “scattering forms” on kinematic space for Yang-Mills theory and the Non-linear Sigma Model, which are dual to the fully color-dressed amplitudes despite having no explicit color factors. This is possible due to a remarkable fact—“Color is Kinematics”— whereby kinematic wedge products in the scattering forms satisfy the same Jacobi relations as color factors. Finally, all our scattering forms are well-defined on the projectivized kinematic space, a property which can be seen to provide a geometric origin for color-kinematics duality.
On the local structure of spacetime in ghost-free bimetric theory and massive gravity
Authors: Hassan S. F. , Kocic Mikica
Published: May 2018

Abstract

The ghost-free bimetric theory describes interactions of gravity with another spin-2 field in terms of two Lorentzian metrics. However, if the two metrics do not admit compatible notions of space and time, the formulation of the initial value problem becomes problematic. Furthermore, the interaction potential is given in terms of the square root of a matrix which is in general nonunique and possibly nonreal. In this paper we show that both these issues are evaded by requiring reality and general covariance of the equations. First we prove that the reality of the square root matrix leads to a classification of the allowed metrics in terms of the intersections of their null cones. Then, the requirement of general covariance further restricts the allowed metrics to geometries that admit compatible notions of space and time. It also selects a unique definition of the square root matrix. The restrictions are compatible with the equations of motion. These results ensure that the ghost-free bimetric theory can be defined unambiguously and that the two metrics always admit compatible 3+1 decompositions, at least locally. In particular, these considerations rule out certain solutions of massive gravity with locally Closed Causal Curves, which have been used to argue that the theory is acausal.
Xiphoidectomy for Intractable Xiphodynia
Authors: Dorn Patrick , Kuhn Michael A. , Schweizer Barbara A. , Schmid Ralph A. , Kocher Gregor J.
Published: May 2018

Background

Xiphodynia is a rare condition with hardly any data published regarding xiphoidectomy as a valid treatment option for intractable disease. It is necessary to bear this syndrome in mind after having filtered out other differential diagnoses.

Methods

Between 2003 and 2015, 11 patients underwent xiphoidectomy for intractable xiphodynia at our institution. Patients’ charts were reviewed including preoperative workup, operative technique, and results. Every patient had routine follow‐ups, 4 weeks after the procedure and 1 year after surgery.

Results

The main symptom was chest pain in the area of the xiphoid. Conservative treatment trials with different combinations of analgesics over at least 1 year did not lead to insufficient and long‐term improvement, which is why the decision for a surgical xiphoidectomy was eventually made. No postoperative complications occurred. Significant pain relief was achieved in eight out of ten patients; one patient was lost to long‐term follow‐up. Both patients with insufficient pain relief have had previous surgery in form of a sternotomy and upper median laparotomy.

Conclusions

Xiphodynia is a diagnostic conundrum, which is why reports on its treatment including surgical resection of the xiphoid are even sparser. So far, this is the largest reported series of surgically treated xiphodynia. Correct diagnosis remains the key factor for success. While tenderness over the tip of the xiphoid process combined with protrusion of the xiphoid with a xiphisternal angle of <160° are good indications for surgery, patients after previous operations affecting the xiphoid process are less likely to benefit from xiphoidectomy.
Virtual memory palaces: immersion aids recall
Authors: Krokos Eric , Plaisant Catherine , Varshney Amitabh
Published: May 2018

Virtual reality displays, such as head-mounted displays (HMD), afford us a superior spatial awareness by leveraging our vestibular and proprioceptive senses, as compared to traditional desktop displays. Since classical times, people have used memory palaces as a spatial mnemonic to help remember information by organizing it spatially and associating it with salient features in that environment. In this paper, we explore whether using virtual memory palaces in a head-mounted display with head-tracking (HMD condition) would allow a user to better recall information than when using a traditional desktop display with a mouse-based interaction (desktop condition). We found that virtual memory palaces in HMD condition provide a superior memory recall ability compared to the desktop condition. We believe this is a first step in using virtual environments for creating more memorable experiences that enhance productivity through better recall of large amounts of information organized using the idea of virtual memory palaces.
Creation and Implementation of an Environmental Scan to Assess Cancer Genetics Services at Three Oncology Care Settings
Authors: Bednar Erica M. , Walsh Michael T. , Baker Ellen , Muse Kimberly I. , Oakley Holly D. , Krukenberg Rebekah C. , Dresbold Cara S. , Jenkinson Sandra B. , Eppolito Amanda L. , Teed Kelly B. , Klein Molly H. , Morman Nichole A. , Bowdish Elizabeth C. , Russ Pauline , Wise Emaline E. , Cooper Julia N. , Method Michael W. , Henson John W. , Grainger Andrew V. , Arun Banu K. , Lu Karen H.
Published: May 2018

An environmental scan (ES) is an efficient mixed‐methods approach to collect and interpret relevant data for strategic planning and project design. To date, the ES has not been used nor evaluated in the clinical cancer genetics setting. We created and implemented an ES to inform the design of a quality improvement (QI) project to increase the rates of adherence to national guidelines for cancer genetic counseling and genetic testing at three unique oncology care settings (OCS). The ES collected qualitative and quantitative data from reviews of internal processes, past QI efforts, the literature, and each OCS. The ES used a data collection form and semi‐structured interviews to aid in data collection. The ES was completed within 6 months, and sufficient data were captured to identify opportunities and threats to the QI project's success, as well as potential barriers to, and facilitators of guideline‐based cancer genetics services at each OCS. Previously unreported barriers were identified, including inefficient genetic counseling appointment scheduling processes and the inability to track referrals, genetics appointments, and genetic test results within electronic medical record systems. The ES was a valuable process for QI project planning at three OCS and may be used to evaluate genetics services in other settings.
Apraxia profiles—A single cognitive marker to discriminate all variants of frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Johnen Andreas , Reul Sophia , Wiendl Heinz , Meuth Sven G. , Duning Thomas
Published: May 2018

Introduction

Apraxia is common in neurodegenerative dementias but underrepresented in clinical workup for differential diagnoses.

Methods

Praxis‐profiles were assessed with the Dementia Apraxia Test in 93 patients with early stages of biologically supported Alzheimer's disease or frontotemporal lobar degeneration: semantic primary‐progressive aphasia, nonfluent primary‐progressive aphasia, and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Associations with core cognitive deficits of the dementia subtypes (i.e., visuospatial, sociocognitive, and semantic‐linguistic) were explored.

Results

Patients showed significant apraxia compared with healthy controls but also disease‐specific praxis‐profiles. Using only the Dementia Apraxia Test, all four dementia subtypes could be correctly discriminated in 64.4% of cases, and in 78.2% when only distinguishing Alzheimer's disease versus frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Praxis‐profiles showed consistent associations with core cognitive impairments of the different dementia subtypes.

Discussion

The Dementia Apraxia Test is a valid, time‐efficient and versatile cognitive marker to delineate variants of frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Alzheimer's disease in clinical routine, facilitating differential diagnoses of dementia subtypes in early disease stages.
Does voice answer the call for a better customer experience?
Authors: Beranek Brett
Published: May 2018

Customer experience has become the main point of competition for most organisations today. So what is it that consumers now want? Increasingly, they are time-poor and faced with an ever-growing number of touchpoints in their daily lives, so they are clearly looking for greater convenience and choice in the ways in which they communicate with a business.
‘The Hidden Victims’–Family Violence in Kinship Care in Victoria
Authors: Breman Rachel , MacRae Ann , Vicary Dave
Published: May 2018

Family violence is endemic. It has a dramatic and negative impact upon the victims and the family systems in which it occurs. While there is a growing evidence base to support our understanding, prevention and treatment of family violence, little is known about some of its “hidden victims” (e.g., kinship carers). In 2017, Baptcare commenced research with 101 kinship carers in Victoria to gain a better understanding of how family violence, perpetrated by the child's close family member once the placement started, was impacting on children and families. In this context, family violence means any act of physical violence, emotional/psychological violence, verbal abuse and property damage. The study utilised a mixed design methodology that specifically targeted kinship carers who had direct experience of family violence. Findings from this study demonstrated that (1) many kinship carers, and the children in their care, experienced family violence early in the placement, (2) that the violence occurred frequently and (3) the incidents of violence did not occur in isolation. Carers sought support from multiple sources to deal with the family violence, however, the study illustrated that the usefulness of these supports varied. Additionally, findings highlighted reasons why many kinship carers felt reluctant to file a report to end the violence. The study described in this paper is the first step in understanding and exposing this multifaceted issue and delineates some of the major issues confronting Victorian kinship carers experiencing family violence – and the support required to ensure the safety of them and the children they care for. This paper will describe the approach that Baptcare is taking to address family violence in kinship care in western metropolitan Melbourne. This is the second paper in a three-part series relating to family violence in kinship care.
Violent Origins of Authoritarian Variation: Rebellion Type and Regime Type in Cold War Southeast Asia
Authors: Slater Dan
Published: May 2018

Dictatorships are every bit as institutionally diverse as democracies, but where does this variation come from? This article argues that different types of internal rebellion influence the emergence of different types of authoritarian regimes. The critical question is whether rebel forces primarily seek to seize state power or to escape it. Regional rebellions seeking toescapethe state raise the probability of a military-dominated authoritarian regime, since they are especially likely to unify the military while heightening friction between civilian and military elites. Leftist rebellions seeking toseizethe state are more likely to give rise to civilian-dominated dictatorships by inspiring ‘joint projects’ in which military elites willingly support party-led authoritarian rule. Historical case studies of Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam illustrate the theory, elaborating how different types of violent conflict helped produce different types of dictatorships across the breadth of mainland and island Southeast Asia during the Cold War era.
Efficient high harmonics generation by enhancement cavity driven with a post-compressed FCPA laser at 10 MHz
Authors: Zhao Zhigang , Ozawa Akira , Kuwata-Gonokami Makoto , Kobayashi Yohei
Published: May 2018

Efficient high harmonics generation (HHG) was demonstrated at 10 MHz repetition rate with an external femtosecond enhancement cavity, seeded by a ${\sim}70~\text{fs}$ post-compressed 10 MHz fiber chirped pulse amplifier (FCPA) laser. Operation lasting over 30 min with 0.1 mW outcoupled power at 149 nm was demonstrated. It was found that shorter pulse was beneficial for alleviating the nonlinear plasma effect and improving the efficiency of HHG. Low finesse cavity can relax the plasma nonlinearity clamped intra-cavity power and improve the cavity-locking stability. The pulse duration is expected to be below 100 fs for both 1040 nm and 149 nm outputs, making it ideal for applications such as time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.
Dynamics of a perturbed solid-body rotation flow in a finite-length straight rotating pipe
Authors: Feng Chunjuan , Liu Feng , Rusak Zvi , Wang Shixiao
Published: May 2018

Direct numerical simulations are used to study the three-dimensional, incompressible and viscous flow dynamics of a base solid-body rotation flow with a uniform axial velocity entering a rotating, finite-length, straight circular pipe. Steady in time profiles of the axial, radial and circumferential velocities are prescribed along the pipe inlet. The convective boundary conditions for each velocity flux component is set at the pipe outlet. The simulation results describe the neutral stability line in response to either axisymmetric or three-dimensional perturbations in a diagram of Reynolds number ($Re$, based on inlet axial velocity and pipe radius) versus the incoming flow swirl ratio ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$). This line is in good agreement with the neutral stability line recently predicted by the linear stability theory of Wang et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 797, 2016, pp. 284–321). The computed time history of the velocity components at a certain point in the flow is used to describe three-dimensional phase portraits of the flow global dynamics and its long-term behaviour. They show three types of flow evolution scenarios. First, the Wang & Rusak (Phys. Fluids, vol. 8 (4), 1996, pp. 1007–1016) axisymmetric instability mechanism and evolution to a stable axisymmetric breakdown state is recovered at certain operational conditions in terms of $Re$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$. However, at other operational conditions with same $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$ but with a higher $Re$, a second scenario is found. The axisymmetric breakdown state continues to evolve and a spiral instability mode appears on it and grows to a rotating spiral breakdown state. Moreover, at higher levels of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$ a third scenario is found where there exists a dominant three-dimensional spiral type of instability mode that agrees with the linear stability theory of Wang et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 797, 2016, pp. 284–321). The growth of this mode leads directly to a spiral type of flow roll-up and nonlinearly saturates on a rotating spiral type of vortex breakdown. The Reynolds–Orr equation is used to reveal the mechanism that drives all the instabilities as well as the nonlinear global flow evolution. At high swirl ratios, the confined kinetic energy in the swirling flow can be triggered to be released through various physical agents, such as the asymmetric inlet–outlet conditions, that eliminate axial homogeneity along the pipe and induce flow instabilities and evolution to breakdown states. It is also shown that local instability analysis or its extension using the assumption of a weakly non-parallel flow to conduct convective instability–absolute instability analyses is definitely not related to any of the instability modes found in the present study. Moreover, a stability study based on the strongly non-parallel flow character, including axial inhomogeneity due to a finite-domain boundary conditions, must be conducted to reveal instabilities in such flows.
Cannabinoid signalling in embryonic and adult neurogenesis: possible implications for psychiatric and neurological disorders
Authors: de Oliveira Rúbia W. , Oliveira Cilene L. , Guimarães Francisco S. , Campos Alline C.
Published: May 2018

Cannabinoid signalling modulates several aspects of brain function, including the generation and survival of neurons during embryonic and adult periods. The present review intended to summarise evidence supporting a role for the endocannabinoid system on the control of neurogenesis and neurogenesis-dependent functions. Studies reporting participation of cannabinoids on the regulation of any step of neurogenesis and the effects of cannabinoid compounds on animal models possessing neurogenesis-dependent features were selected from Medline. Qualitative evaluation of the selected studies indicated that activation of cannabinoid receptors may change neurogenesis in embryonic or adult nervous systems alongside rescue of phenotypes in animal models of different psychiatric and neurological disorders. The text offers an overview on the effects of cannabinoids on central nervous system development and the possible links with psychiatric and neurological disorders such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, brain ischaemia/stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. An understanding of the mechanisms by which cannabinoid signalling influences developmental and adult neurogenesis will help foster the development of new therapeutic strategies for neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and neurological disorders.
Independent Candidates and Political Representation in India
Authors: KAPOOR SACHA , MAGESAN ARVIND
Published: May 2018

We estimate the causal effect of independent candidates on voter turnout and election outcomes in India. To do this, we exploit exogenous changes in the entry deposit candidates pay for their participation in the political process, changes that disproportionately excluded candidates with no affiliation to established political parties. A one standard deviation increase in the number of independent candidates increases voter turnout by more than 6 percentage points, as some voters choose to vote rather than stay home. The vote share of independent candidates increases by more than 10 percentage points, as some existing voters switch who they vote for. Thus, independents allow winning candidates to win with less vote share, decrease the probability of electing a candidate from the governing coalition by about 31 percentage points, and ultimately increase the probability of electing an ethnic-party candidate. Altogether, the results imply that the price of participation by independents is constituency representation in government.
Episodes of Translation and Network Resilience: Lessons from Israel's Attempted Institutionalisation of Workfare
Authors: HELMAN SARA , MARON ASA
Published: May 2018

The translation perspective explores the travel of policy ideas, programmes and practices across international boundaries, focusing on the process through which interpretative agents introduce and adjust borrowed policy items to a new policy context. Current research emphasises the significance of local networks’ support for translation's efficacy. However, we know little about how such networks are maintained and stabilized over time or how changing configurations and capacities may affect translation's prospects. This paper explores the case of Israel's attempted institutionalisation of workfare – an enduring international policy fashion – from 1998 to the present day. We follow the stabilization and destabilization of the local translation network across different levels and sites of policy design and implementation, analysing emerging conflicts and agreements at each site. We use the metaphor ‘episodes of translation’ to explore translation's value as a concept accounting for local policy change. In order for translation-led policy change to maintain legitimacy and actualisation in contested domains, ongoing engagement of existing and emerging policy actors is essential. This case demonstrates how when networks become destabilized, translation-led policy change may come to a halt.
Choreographing American Dance Archives: Artist-Driven Archival Projects by Eiko & Koma, Bebe Miller Company, and Jennifer Monson
Authors: Candelario Rosemary
Published: May 2018

Choreographers have begun experimenting with artist-driven archives using digital technologies, exhibitions and installations, and live performance as a way to generate new work from their own archival materials and increase access to their body of work for audiences. This article focuses on three recent artist-driven archive projects by notable American choreographers Eiko & Koma, Bebe Miller Company, and Jennifer Monson. Drawing on interviews with the choreographers as well as on analyses of the three projects, I suggest that these projects' most important contribution is the idea that archives are not separate from a choreographer's body of work, but are indeed a part of his or her creative process and artistic production.
Boolean functions with small spectral norm, revisited
Authors: SANDERS TOM
Published: May 2018

We show that if f is a Boolean function on F2n with spectral norm at most M then there is some L ≤ exp(M3+o(1)) and subspaces V1,. . .,VL such that f = Σi ± 1Vi.
Ocean Vehicle Inertial Navigation Method based on Dynamic Constraints
Authors: Lu Jiazhen , Xie Lili
Published: May 2018

This paper proposes a dynamic aided inertial navigation method to improve the attitude accuracy for ocean vehicles. The proposed method includes a dynamic identification algorithm and the utilisation of dynamic constraints to derive additional observations. The derived additional observations are used to update the filters and limit the attitude error based on the dynamic knowledge. In this paper, two dynamic conditions, constant speed cruise and quasi-static, are identified and corresponding additional velocity and position observations are derived. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method can improve and guarantee the accuracy of the attitude. The method can be used as a backup method to bridge external information outages or unavailability. Both the features of independence of external support and integrity of the Inertial Navigation System (INS) are enhanced.
An outbreak of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome linked with mountain recreational activities in Zagreb, Croatia, 2017
Authors: Lovrić Z. , Kolarić B. , Kosanović Ličina M. L. , Tomljenović M. , Đaković Rode O. , Danis K. , Kaić B. , Tešić V.
Published: May 2018

In 2017 Zagreb faced the largest outbreak of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) to date. We investigated to describe the extent of the outbreak and identify risk factors for infection. We compared laboratory-confirmed cases of Hantavirus infection in Zagreb residents with the onset of illness after 1 January 2017, with individually matched controls from the same household or neighbourhood. We calculated adjusted matched odds ratios (amOR) using conditional logistic regression. During 2017, 104 cases were reported: 11–81 years old (median 37) and 71% (73) male. Compared with 104 controls, cases were more likely to report visiting Mount Medvednica (amOR 60, 95% CI 6–597), visiting a forest (amOR 46, 95% CI 4.7–450) and observing rodents (amOR 20, 95% CI 2.6–159). Seventy per cent of cases (73/104) had visited Mount Medvednica prior to infection. Among participants who had visited Mount Medvednica, cases were more likely to have drunk water from a spring (amOR 22, 95% CI 1.9–265), observed rodents (amOR 17, 95% CI 2–144), picked flowers (amOR 15, 95% CI 1.2–182) or cycled (amOR 14, 95% CI 1.6–135). Our study indicated that recreational activity around Mount Medvednica was associated with HFRS. We recommend enhanced surveillance of the recreational areas during an outbreak.
URBAN DEPRAVITY, RURAL UNSOPHISTICATION: HEREDITARY TAINT IN HARDY'STESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES
Authors: Nunan Rosanna
Published: May 2018

Critics have used various approachesto explain the paradoxes or inconsistencies evident in the characterization of Angel Clare in Thomas Hardy'sTess of the D'Urbervilles(1891); however, by examining the social purity movement and its response to increasingly popular theories of degeneration at the fin de siècle, we can understand the interplay of contradictory ideas at work in Angel. The tension between the supposedly modern, secular viewpoints that Angel exhibits in the beginning of the narrative and his unexpected return to a conservative and misogynistic ideology upon Tess's confession of her “fall” puzzles readers, fellow characters, and perhaps even the narrator of the novel itself, who accounts for the alteration as simply the hypocrisy of a man who “was yet the slave to custom and conventionality when surprised back into his early teachings” (Hardy 265; vol. 2, ch. 39). Oliver Lovesey suggests that the reason why “Clare somewhat bombastically renounces his father's Christianity, but . . . still stumbles on elements of traditional social morality” and why he “bypasses the resurrection, but cannot negotiate around Tess's ‘unintact state’” is that Tess's “virginity replaces the resurrection in his religion of unbelief” (913–14). Lovesey argues that Angel displaces religious faith in Christ's resurrection onto a material substitute, Tess's virginity, and that the revelation of her lack of virginity then catapults him into a despair akin to the despair of annihilated spiritual belief, “the void of an unbeliever's hell” (924). While I am also concerned with Angel's fetishization of virginity, I believe that it is significant that his obsession with purity extends beyond Tess's virginity to encompass rural space as a whole, a space in which Tess's virginity constitutes but one part. The very capaciousness of Angel's devotion to purity situates him squarely within the environmental binaries characteristic of later theories of urban degeneration.
SEX IN UTOPIA: THE EVOLUTIONARY HEDONISM OF GRANT ALLEN AND OSCAR WILDE
Authors: Wilhelm Lindsay
Published: May 2018

In his provocative polemic“The New Hedonism,” Grant Allen mounts a passionate defense offin-de-siècleaestheticism by proposing a modern ethic – the titular “new hedonism,” which he borrows from Oscar Wilde's novelThe Picture of Dorian Gray(1890, rev. 1891) – that fully synthesizes aestheticism's insights with up-to-date scientific knowledge. At first glance, Allen seems an unexpected ally for Wilde, in part because few literary historians have explored the link between the two contemporaries. Many modern-day scholars of Allen's work (including Peter Morton, Bernard Lightman, William Greenslade, and Terence Rodgers) have tended to focus on his popular science writing, his elaborations on Herbert Spencer's evolutionary theories, and his controversial “New Woman” novelsThe Woman Who Did(1895) andThe Type-Writer Girl(1897). Those who do connect Allen and Wilde, such as Nick Freeman, often draw the relationship into focus through the two writers’ shared interest in libertarian socialism rather than their overlapping philosophical and aesthetic concerns (111–28). Yet, as we can begin to see in the epigraphs, the association that Allen made between evolutionary progress and the “beautifying of life” echoes one of the most significant claims of Wilde's earlier, dialogic essay, “The Critic as Artist.” “Aesthetics,” Wilde's speaker, Gilbert, enthuses, “like sexual selection, make life lovely and wonderful, fill it with new forms, and give it progress, and variety and change” (“The Critic as Artist” 204). Allen's survey of human evolutionary history reminds him, too, that our cultural and artistic achievements are all that lift us “above the beasts that perish” (382). For both writers, then, aestheticism's commitment to beauty, “self-development,” and the emancipated pursuit of pleasure entails potentially sweeping consequences for the future evolution of humankind. Allen's vocal support for Wilde – which Allen expressed privately in letters as well as publicly in his 1891 article “The Celt in English Art” – was not simply a convenient political alliance, but an integral part of Allen's complete program for sociocultural improvement.
FORGETTING THACKERAY AND UNMAKING CAREERS
Authors: Garcha Amanpal
Published: May 2018

One of the peculiar challengesfacing scholars who wish to write about Thackeray's fiction is locating a dominant critical account to argue against. TheMLA Bibliographycontains a great number of examples of scrupulously argued, compelling research into Thackeray's body of writing, but few if any of them have reached any kind of canonical status as the (or even one of the) interpretive accounts that define how critics understand his fiction. It can seem, for example, that Thackeray is either consciously or unconsciously evaded by many scholars seeking to develop overarching, defining accounts of the nineteenth-century novel. In two works that helped set the terms for decades of critical conversation about nineteenth-century literature –Desire and Domestic Fiction(1987) andThe Novel and the Police(1988) – Nancy Armstrong and D. A. Miller each give at most a passing mention to Thackeray (he shows up four times in Armstong's book; never in Miller's). In their equally influential bodies of criticism, Mary Poovey and Catherine Gallagher provide no sustained – or even fragmentary – treatment of Thackeray's work. Moving into the twenty-first century, one would look in vain for a chapter on Thackeray in Amanda Anderson'sThe Powers of Distance(2001), Sharon Marcus'sBetween Women, and Alex Woloch'sThe One vs the Many(2003) – books that have provided us with key terms, issues, and methods to do our work. (To readers of this journal, it might be not necessary to say the following: Thackeray's fiction includes many illustrations of the phenomena discussed by these works – cosmopolitanism, female-female friendship, and minor characters – so his absence cannot be explained solely on this basis.) And to move backwards from the 1980s, Steven Marcus, J. Hillis Miller, and Raymond Williams produced pioneering analyses of the links between history, ideology, and Victorian literature, but Thackeray's writing played almost no part in their elaboration of those links, with Hillis Miller focusing on Thackeray only in one short essay and one book chapter among his large body of scholarship and Williams omitting him altogether fromThe English Novel from Dickens to Lawrence(1970).