bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changing hearts and minds: Cristina Lafont on democratic self-legislation
Authors: Cooke Maeve
Published: December 2020

Lafont argues for a participatory version of deliberative democracy that shares key features with other contemporary approaches, while departing from them in decisive ways. It is based on the Rousseauian–Kantian idea of democratic self-legislation, interpreted as the idea that citizens must be able to see themselves as the authors of the laws and public policies to which they are subject. She insists that her specification of the ideal of democratic self-legislation is a general one, aiming to appeal to readers with different understandings of the core democratic values of equality, freedom and democratic control. This is questionable. I show that she interprets the democratic ideal of freedom as a distinctive, normatively robust conception of citizen self-determination. Those drawn to travel with her on the long participatory road should be aware of this and ready to explore the implications. By downplaying the distinctiveness and normative robustness of her idea of freedom, she does her model a disservice.
Practices and perceptions of German itinerant teachers in the field of visual impairment: Exploratory research focussing on three types of itinerant services
Authors: Miyauchi Hisae , Gewinn Wiebke
Published: December 2020

This study aimed to clarify the practices and perceptions of itinerant teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) in inclusive education following three different types (i.e., school-based, school-based single role, and centre-based), identifying the salient factors that enable them to fulfil their roles. To date, the majority of the existing research has focussed on centre-based itinerant TVIs, with scant attention paid to the other itinerant types. This study mitigates this lack of research. Designed as an exploratory study to provide a useful reference for future research, the study employed a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with nine German TVIs. The results showed more similarities than differences among the three types of TVIs in their daily tasks, needed qualities and skills, and overall perceptions of the job. Two crucial elements enabled these TVIs to work effectively: the existence of a large community of TVIs and TVIs possessing good ‘collaborative skills’. The school-based dual role seemed to provide much-needed emotional and technical support. Further investigations are needed on the factors that contribute to a good ‘team’ or a ‘community’ of TVIs and on the effectiveness of the school-based dual role.
Interactive book-reading to improve inferencing abilities in kindergarten classrooms: A clinical project
Authors: McMahon-Morin Paméla , Rezzonico Stefano , Trudeau Natacha , Croteau Claire
Published: December 2020

Inferencing abilities are crucial to development of reading comprehension. However, few studies addressed those abilities in interventions promoting early literacy skills, especially in kindergartners. The aim of this study was to measure the efficacy of an interactive book-reading intervention targeting inferencing abilities, delivered by a school-based speech-language pathologist (SLP) in whole group kindergarten classes. Two hundred and forty-nine 5-year-old kindergartners from low socio-economic settings were quasi-randomly assigned to either one of the experimental groups (EG1 and EG2) or an active control group (CG). EG1 received a 7-week interactive book-reading intervention followed by a 7-week period where it was up to the teachers to implement aspects of the intervention in their teaching or not. EG2 received the 7-week interactive book-reading intervention only and the active control group received an initial workshop only. Three subtests targeting (1) causal inferences during book-reading, (2) causal inferences in a formal task, and (3) referential inferences in a formal task were performed at pre- and post-intervention assessments. There was a significant Time × Group interaction effect for the first subtest indicating an advantage for EG1 compared to CG over time. EG2 appeared as an intermediary group as its results were not different from EG1 and showing only a trend toward significance ( p = 0.064) when compared to CG. There was no significant Time × Group interaction effect for the second subtest. A significant Time × Group interaction effect was present for the third subtest, EG1 and EG2 showing larger improvement than CG.
Oxytocin-induced facilitation of learning in a probabilistic task is associated with reduced feedback- and error-related negativity potentials
Authors: Zhuang Qian , Zhu Siyu , Yang Xue , Zhou Xinqi , Xu Xiaolei , Chen Zhuo , Lan Chunmei , Zhao Weihua , Becker Benjamin , Yao Shuxia , Kendrick Keith M
Published: December 2020

Background:

Feedback evaluation of actions and error response detection are critical for optimizing behavioral adaptation. Oxytocin can facilitate learning following social feedback but whether its effects vary as a function of feedback valence remains unclear.

Aims:

The present study aimed to investigate whether oxytocin would influence responses to positive and negative feedback differentially or equivalently.

Methods:

The present study employed a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled within-subject design to investigate whether intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) influenced behavioral and evoked electrophysiological potential responses to positive or negative feedback in a probabilistic learning task.

Results:

Results showed that oxytocin facilitated learning and this effect was maintained in the absence of feedback. Using novel stimulus pairings, we found that oxytocin abolished bias towards learning more from negative feedback under placebo by increasing accuracy for positively reinforced stimuli. Oxytocin also decreased the feedback-related negativity difference (negative minus positive feedback) during learning, further suggesting that it rendered the evaluation of positive and negative feedback more equivalent. Additionally, post-learning oxytocin attenuated error-related negativity amplitudes but increased the late error positivity, suggesting that it may lower conflict detection between actual errors and expected correct responses at an early stage of processing but at a later stage increase error awareness and motivation for avoiding them.

Conclusions:

Oxytocin facilitates learning and subsequent performance by rendering the impact of positive relative to negative feedback more equivalent and also by reducing conflict detection and increasing error awareness, which may be beneficial for behavioral adaption.
Study protocol to investigate the correlation between Tourette syndrome and allergy in children and adolescents
Authors: Tsai Lee-Hou , Lin Jeng-Wen , Lue Ko-Huang
Published: December 2020

Objective

Noting that the usefulness of cases diagnosed in administrative registers is dependent on diagnostic validity, in this study, we aim to elucidate the correlation between Tourette syndrome and allergy in children and adolescents, specifically with regard to incidence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis.

Methods

Based on a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria, we intend to enroll 200 children and adolescents aged 18 years and younger, accompanied by their parents, for a duration of 2 years. We will administer an anonymous questionnaire in a case–control study. We will use the chi-squared test to evaluate differences between cases and controls.

Results

According to the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, the proportion of allergic diseases expected in patients with Tourette syndrome is 53.1% (17/32) and 22.9% (8/35) in the controls. Setting the type 1 error to 0.05 and the power to 0.8, we will ensure a 1:2 case-to-control ratio.

Conclusions

This study protocol describes our analysis of anonymous questionnaire responses. Comorbidity rates, environmental factors, and genetic factors for various allergens, allergies, and other neuropsychiatric disorders will be studied.
Does Reassessment Improve Prediction? A Prospective Study of the Sexual Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS)
Authors: Hanson R. Karl , Newstrom Nicholas , Brouillette-Alarie Sébastien , Thornton David , Robinson Beatrice “Bean” E. , Miner Michael H.
Published: December 2020

This prospective study examined the predictive validity of the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS; McGrath et al., 2012), a sexual recidivism risk/need tool designed to identify dynamic (changeable) risk factors relevant to supervision and treatment. The SOTIPS risk tool was scored by probation officers at two sites ( n = 565) for three time points: near the start of community supervision, at 6 months, and then at 12 months. Given that conventions for analyzing dynamic prediction studies have yet to be established, one of the goals of the current paper was to demonstrate promising statistical approaches for the analysis of longitudinal studies in corrections. In most analyses, static SOTIPS scores predicted all types of recidivism (sexual, violent, and general [any]). Dynamic SOTIPS scores, however, only improved the prediction of general recidivism, and only when the analyses with the greatest statistical power were used (Cox regression with time dependent covariates).
A novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach for offshore wind turbine selection
Authors: Ma Yuanxing , Xu Li , Cai Jingjing , Cao Jing , Zhao Fengfeng , Zhang Jiaying
Published: December 2020

Offshore wind power has been an important force to promote energy transformation. To build an advanced offshore wind farm, wind turbine selection requires the decision maker to explore new relevant criteria and evaluate alternatives with respect to decision criteria with assigning importance weightings to the criteria. In this paper, we devise a novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach for offshore wind turbine selection by reconstructing analytic network process (ANP) and entropy-weight method (EWM). Based on the assigned weightings for ANP and EWM, the best alternative can be selected. For the decision-making model, five main criteria are specifically subdivided into 22 sub-criteria. The method is then applied to deal with the quantitative and qualitative inputs and the interrelation of criteria as arising from decision-making process. The results show that the proposed method can effectively select the optimal one from four different types of alternative offshore wind turbines.
Evaluating In-Vehicle Sound and Vibration during Incursions on Sinusoidal Rumble Strips
Authors: Horne Dylan , Jashami Hisham , Monsere Christopher M. , Kothuri Sirisha , Hurwitz David S.
Published: December 2020

Rumble strips (RS) are a countermeasure used to reduce roadway-departure crashes by providing audible and haptic alerts to the driver when a vehicle is departing the roadway. This study evaluated the feasibility of using sinusoidal RS as a substitute for more traditional rounded RS. A van, a passenger car, and a heavy vehicle were equipped with sound and vibration sensors to measure the interior noise and haptic feedback of each RS design. A set of typical conditions (with interior climate control fan and radio turned on) were also tested. Data from 75 RS strikes were analyzed. Experimental results demonstrated that the rounded RS doubled interior noise for the passenger car and van (11.3 dBA, 10.0 dBA) but the sinusoidal RS also generated a clearly noticeable interior alert for the passenger car and van (5.8 dBA, 4.6 dBA). The haptic alert provided an increase over the human perception threshold of vibration for all vehicles. The sinusoidal RS interior alert was detectable and within the acceptable range, but not clearly noticeable (5 dBA) when the climate control and radio were active. Alert levels for the rounded RS were >10 dBA, doubling the amount of interior noise for all ambient factor groups (11.2–14.4 dBA).
Research on Traffic Assignment Model and Algorithm Based on Cumulative Prospect Theory under Uncertain Factors
Authors: Xu Junxiang , Guo Jingni , Zhang Jin
Published: December 2020

Current traffic assignment theories and methods are studied. To address the limitations of existing models and algorithms in solving the traffic assignment problems under uncertain supply and demand, a traffic assignment model based on the cumulative prospect theory is proposed. Firstly, the problem of uncertain supply and demand of the traffic network is described, and an improved traffic impedance function of road sections is proposed. Then, the reference point of generalized cost and the reference point of the dynamic section risk are set up, and the comprehensive cumulative prospect value function considering the preference coefficient of the reference point is given. A traffic assignment model based on the cumulative prospect theory is constructed, and an isolation niche genetic simulated annealing algorithm is designed to solve the model. Finally, with the highway traffic network in the Sichuan-Tibet region as an example, the process of network traffic equilibrium based on the cumulative prospect theory under the fixed and changing network structure is studied respectively, and parameter sensitivity and algorithm comparison are analyzed. The results show that the proposed traffic assignment model based on the cumulative prospect theory provides a good idea for solving the traffic assignment problem under uncertain supply and demand, and is of theoretical significance and application value.
An exploration of Canadian transitional care programs for older adults
Authors: Weeks Lori E. , Barber Brittany , MacDougall Eileigh Storey , Macdonald Marilyn , Martin-Misener Ruth , Warner Grace
Published: December 2020

Transitional care programs are effective for improving patient outcomes upon discharge from acute care services and reducing the burden of healthcare costs; however, little is known about the types of transitional care programs for older adults across Canada. This exploratory study gathered an in-depth understanding of Canadian transitional care programs and described how each program functions to support older adults and family/friend caregivers. Nine key informants were interviewed about the development of transitional care programs within four Canadian provincial regions including Atlantic, Central, Prairie, and West Coast. Key facilitators and barriers influencing the development and long-term success of transitional care programs included program scope, program structure, continuity of care, funding, and health system infrastructure. Future research is required to identify how a broad range of transitional care programs operate and to disseminate knowledge with health leaders and decision-makers to ensure transitional care programs are embedded as essential health system services.
Duration of Breastfeeding in Late Preterm Infants: Maternal and Infant Factors
Authors: Handayani Kartika Darma , Irwanto  , Masturina Melinda , Etika Risa , Harianto Agus , Sauer Pieter J.J.
Published: December 2020

Background

More than 550,000 late preterm infants are born each year in Indonesia. These infants, born between 340/7–366/7 weeks, have more complications than term infants. Breastfeeding is considered the most optimal nutrition for newborn infants. Two groups of factors are important for successful breastfeeding: infant and maternal factors. The infant factors can be evaluated using the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool and the maternal aspects with the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form.

Aim

To determine whether the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool or the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form was more predictive of successful breastfeeding among late preterm infants.

Methods

This study was conducted in the Academic Teaching Hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia in March–July 2017. Mothers who delivered their infant between a gestational age of 340/7 and 366/7 weeks were included.

Results

Fifty-four single born participant mother–infant pairs were included. The mean total Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form score was 57.8 ( SD = 8.9). The mean Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool score was 8.3 ( SD = 1.8). There was a significant correlation between the total Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form score and the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool score ( p = .020, r = 0.316). The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form was significantly higher in the participant (mothers) of the infants breastfed ≥ 4 months, compared to < 4 months, 61.59 ( SD = 5.78) versus 51.78 ( SD = 11.64; p = .001). No correlation was found between the duration of breastfeeding and Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool score ( p = .087)

Conclusion

Maternal factors were more important for successful breastfeeding in these late preterm infants than infant factors in our sample.
“Paying it Forward” – Swedish Women’s Experiences of Donating Human Milk
Authors: Olsson Emma , Diderholm Barbro , Blomqvist Ylva Thernström
Published: December 2020

Background

Human milk is recommended as the only nutritional source during the first 6 months of life. For preterm infants, the benefits of human milk are even more important and can alleviate the negative influences of preterm birth.

Research aim

To describe how Swedish human milk donors experienced the donation process.

Method

A prospective mixed methods mail survey was designed. It was sent to human milk donors ( N = 72) at two Swedish hospitals. Quantitative data are presented with descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results

The infants were between newborn and 17 weeks of age when the participants started their human milk donations, and the duration of the donation period lasted 1–24 weeks. The overall theme identified was the participants’ strong desire to help infants, often expressed as being involved in saving infants’ lives. Many participants experienced difficulties getting the information needed to become human milk donors; for others, expressing milk required both time and energy that they could otherwise spend with their own newborn infants.

Conclusion

Donating human milk can be experienced as a demanding and strenuous task. Therefore, it is important that women who donate human milk receive the practical help from health care staff that they feel they need. Furthermore, information and knowledge about the possibility of donating human milk, and how important human milk is for preterm and/or sick infants, are important in order to increase the number of women willing to donate human milk.
Barriers to the Success of Recreational Groups for Persons With Dementia
Authors: Cohen-Mansfield Jiska , Jensen Barbara
Published: December 2020

Background:

This paper describes barriers to engagement in the context of group activities attended by nursing home residents with dementia.

Objective:

The goal is to clarify the presence and types of barriers to group activities for persons with dementia.

Methods:

Therapeutic recreation staff (TRs) who conducted the group activities, and trained research observers (ROs) independently identified barriers occurring during group activity sessions through ratings and open-ended comments, which were analyzed via a mixed-method approach.

Results:

Barriers were related to specific participant, environmental, and group session characteristics. Most frequently noted barriers were participant-related, pertaining to apathy and challenging behavior. Noise was the most frequent environmental barrier. Overall, ROs reported more barriers than TRs, yet TRs reported the barrier of inappropriate topic more frequently than ROs.

Conclusions:

The study suggests that the number and specific types of barriers are associated with negative engagement outcomes. Insight into these barriers is the first step toward addressing them and minimizing their effects.
The Making of a Work-ready Individual: The Political Economy of Time in a Workfare Program in Israel
Authors: Helman Sara
Published: December 2020

A neoliberal policy ideal, workfare, aims to transform the long-term unemployed into “work-ready” individuals. Studies of workfare examine their use of technologies of agency and coercion, but do not sufficiently delve into the political economy of time’s role in these technologies. Based on 9 months of participant observation in an Israeli workfare program, this article analyzes how it exploited time and temporality to transform social assistance benefits into a “wage.” I argue that in calculating participants’ activities through “time accountancy,” workfare prepares the unemployed for precarious unemployment at the lower rungs of the labor market. Time accountancy disciplines the unemployed through the enforcement of time regularity and punctuality, under threat of loss of benefits, yet in the absence of time density. Workfare’s apparently incongruous training in efficient “time management” and contrasting “time-filling” practices find concordance in preparing the long-term unemployed for low-wage jobs requiring docility and obedience, for precarious flexible work where new forms of digital and biometric control proliferate.
Nonprofit Benchmarking With Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Coupet Jason , Berrett Jessica , Broussard Paul , Johnson Bradley
Published: December 2020

Benchmarking nonprofit performance can be challenging, constraining the ways nonprofits can use operational data to learn from each other and highlight organizational progress. Valid output or outcome data are scarce, and there is much to learn about measuring performance even when these data are available. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a mathematical linear programming technique that can be used to measure performance in a way that not only produces valid efficiency scores but also allows for benchmarking nonprofits with similar service missions. Using financial and production data from the nonprofit transportation sector, we walk through an example to explore DEA as a tool to measure and benchmark nonprofits. We conclude with suggestions for practice, emphasizing that DEA is useful for stakeholders looking to benchmark nonprofits by underscoring production and performance.
Profit over People? Evaluating Morality on the Front Line during the COVID-19 Crisis: A Front-Line Service Manager’s Confession and Regrets
Authors: Hadjisolomou Anastasios , Simone Sam
Published: December 2020

This article gives voice to a front-line manager in food retailing, discussing her experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak which, overnight, became an ‘essential service’, leaving employees exposed to the virus. The article utilizes the ‘moral economy’ framework to understand how organizational policies, which were developed by senior management and implemented by front-line managers, denied human flourishing and well-being during a period of socio-economic crisis. The article captures the complexity of morality in organizations across managerial levels. Questioning the morality of managerial decisions during the pandemic and emphasizing how these are driven by the intense competition in the market, it reveals that front-line managers are caught between conflicting moral values and expectations. This study contributes to the ‘moral economy’ framework suggesting that the structural constraints of front-line managerial authority have challenged their moral values and narrowed the space for safe and meaningful work and well-being for front-line managers and employees.
The role of higher education in establishing career perceptions related to manufacturing: An exploratory study
Authors: Bosman Lisa , Strimel Greg J. , Krause Liesl
Published: December 2020

The main purpose of this study was to explore pre-service STEM teacher perceptions, or misperceptions, about manufacturing, and to identify potential practices for how the K-12 system can better inform students, parents, teachers, and society on education and career paths in manufacturing. The research design and methodology were grounded in participatory action research to qualitatively investigate pre-service teacher perceptions of manufacturing. Data collection was done through photovoice, in which participants took pictures and wrote a narrative related to their perceptions of manufacturing, and photo-elicitation, in which participants completed a focus group session to further elicit and dig deeper into their perceptions. The preliminary findings identified four themes related to the pre-service teacher societal perceptions of manufacturing, including (1) manufacturing is a black box; (2) manufacturing has poor working conditions; (3) the media has a large influence on manufacturing perceptions; and (4) teachers and educational institutions have great potential to influence manufacturing perceptions. Recommendations for educational practice and implications for future research are provided. In particular, the study should be extended to pre-service teachers across concentrations to gain a more holistic understanding of perceptions related to all K-12 teachers entering the workforce, not just teachers with a focus on engineering/technology.
Improving the thermal and mechanical properties of phenolic fiber over boron modified high-ortho phenolic resin
Authors: Ren Yu , Lin Xu , Shi Zhengjun , Zheng Yunwu , Liu Jianxiang , Zheng Zhifeng , Liu Can
Published: December 2020

Boron-modified high-ortho phenolic resins (BPRs) were prepared under normal pressure by using phenol and formaldehyde as raw materials, zinc acetate, and oxalic acid as catalysts, and boric acid as a modifier. Boron-modified phenolic fibers (BPFs) were prepared by melt spinning and curing in a mixture of formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid, followed by a heat treatment under high temperature. The structure, ortho–para ratio (O/P), molecular weight and distribution, spinnability, thermal stability, fiber strength, and morphology of the resins were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fiber strength testing. The results showed that the addition of boric acid reduced the ortho reaction of the synthetic resin and the O/P value of phenolic resin. When the content of boric acid was 3 wt%, the thermal stability was the best, the O/P value was up to 3.26, and the weight average molecular weight (Mw) was 18745 g/mol. In Compared with the unmodified resin, the mass loss was increased by 33.7%, and finally the carbon yield was 51.2%. The tensile strength of the fibers reached 187.2 MPa and the elongation at break was 10.5%. By introducing boron into the molecular chain, the structure of the resin was improved, and the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the fibers were improved.
Study of a new water jet thruster for robotic returnable jumping
Authors: Mo Jixue , Xiao Jingcheng , Lin Feng , Li Yao , Song Zhendong
Published: December 2020

A novel water jet thruster which is capable of conducting two sequential jumps is proposed for the amphibious jumping robot. The proposed water jet thruster adopted a unique structural design with a double-layered tank. Liquid nitrogen was injected to the tank to pressure the propellant water and generate propulsive force, which is safe and effective for both aquatic and terrestrial environment. Then a theoretical jumping model was built to evaluate the performances of two jumping actions. According to the tethered thrust measurement and free jumping experiments, the estimation from the model met well with their experimental verifications. Moreover, CFD simulation was conducted to compare the emission process of inner and outer chambers in detail. We believe the demonstration of the novel thruster would drive the innovation of future amphibious robots that capable of leaping from both aquatic and terrestrial environments.
The press club as indicator of science medialization: How Japanese research organizations adapt to domestic media conventions
Authors: Koso Ayumi
Published: December 2020

This study examined how and whether Japanese research organizations adapt their communications outputs and practices to the media’s requirements in a media landscape that has frequently been described as “cartelized.” A survey and subsequent in-depth interviews with communications and public relations departments at Japanese research organizations showed that universities and government-funded research institutions employ outputs expected by the media, such as issuing press releases and using fax machines for dissemination. The adoption of media-imposed requirements appears to meet the dual interests of Japanese research organizations and established media. The results suggest that press clubs, one manifestation of an information cartel, are an indicator of how research organizations orient to the media at the organizational level. The findings add a non-Western perspective to the current literature of science medialization.
Risk Factors Associated With Young-Onset Colorectal Adenomas and Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Research
Authors: Breau Genevieve , Ellis Ursula
Published: December 2020

The risk of young-onset colorectal adenomas and cancer (yCRAC) in adults less than 50 years of age is increasing. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies to identify lifestyle and clinical risk factors associated with yCRAC risk. We searched Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for studies which: used an epidemiologic study design, involved individuals with yCRAC, evaluated at least 1 lifestyle or clinical factor, and applied multivariable regression approaches. We critically appraised the quality of included studies and calculated pooled measures of association (e.g. odds ratio [OR]) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using random-effects models. We identified 499 articles in our search with 9 included in a narrative synthesis and 6 included in a meta-analysis. We found in the pooled analysis that smoking and alcohol consumption were lifestyle factors associated with yCRAC, as were clinical factors including obesity elevated blood glucose, elevated blood pressure, and elevated triglycerides. We identified lifestyle and clinical risk factors associated with risk of yCRAC, which have potential implications for informing preventive efforts and modifying screening to target at-risk populations.
Diclofenac for prophylaxis of heterotopic ossification after hip arthroplasty: a systematic review
Authors: Haffer Henryk , Müller Michael , Ascherl Rudolf , Perka Carsten , Winkler Tobias
Published: December 2020

Background:

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is defined as the formation of lamellar bone in extraskeletal soft tissues. HO can be a severe complication after hip arthroplasty but can possibly be prevented by postoperative treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or radiotherapy. Diclofenac is 1 of the most used drugs in HO prophylaxis because it is effective and long established. However, there is still no uniform therapy regimen in terms of duration, dose and side effect profile regarding the application of diclofenac in HO prevention. We have, therefore, conducted the first systematic review investigating diclofenac for HO prophylaxis after hip arthroplasty. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy, dose and duration of diclofenac therapy in preventing HO after total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Methods:

According to the PRISMA Guidelines we performed a systematic literature search in EMBASE via Ovid, in MEDLINE via PubMed and in the Cochrane Library addressing all studies in English and German regarding the prophylaxis of HO with diclofenac after THA. We identified 731 potential studies and included 6 randomised controlled trials with 957 patients.

Results:

The studies were heterogeneous with regard to duration of therapy, dose, comparative group and follow-up period. The therapy duration ranged from 9 to 42 days, the applied diclofenac doses ranged from 75 mg to 150 mg daily. Patients treated with diclofenac showed a significant reduction in the total incidence of HO regarding to the Brooker Classification compared to placebo and no clinically relevant ossifications occured (Brooker III and IV).

Conclusions:

Diclofenac is efficacious in the prevention of HO and can be used routinely after THA. The existing data indicates that a minimum dose of 75 mg diclofenac per day started on the first postoperative day for a minimum of 9 days is needed to prevent HO with an acceptable incidence of side effects, such as gastrointestinal symptoms.
Examining fluctuations in the WTC of Japanese EFL speakers: Language proficiency, affective and conditional factors
Authors: Sato Rintaro
Published: December 2020

Willingness to communicate (WTC), which plays a crucial role in second or foreign language learning, has a dynamic and complex nature, fluctuating during communicative events. This study examines how the situational WTC of four Japanese speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL) emerges and fluctuates, focusing on the roles of language proficiency and affective and conditional factors. Low-intermediate and advanced speakers were engaged in an interactive, communicative activity with an interlocutor. All utterances were recorded, transcribed, and analysed and combined with the qualitative data from participants’ self-ratings and a stimulated recall interview after the activity to assess fluctuations in WTC. The findings indicate that levels of WTC are influenced differently between low-intermediate and advanced speakers. Although the WTC of all speakers was negatively affected when they sensed a lack of English proficiency, low-intermediate speakers were affected by interest in the topic, influence of interlocutors on sense of security, and self-confidence, while opportunity to talk about oneself and one’s opinions contributed to the WTC of advanced speakers. It is suggested that teaches of EFL should be considerate of these factors that can affect EFL learners’ WTC.
‘Frustrated women invite the immigrants to Europe’: Intersection of (xeno-) racism and sexism in online discussions on gender aspects of immigration
Authors: Vochocová Lenka
Published: December 2020

This article presents discursive strategies of sexual othering aimed at excluding the alleged European proponents of immigration from the ‘domestic’ culture and sexual norms and representing them as traitors of Europe driven by their sexual attraction to immigrants. A qualitative analysis of comments related to mainstream online news articles on gender aspects of immigration reveals how sexism and both old and new forms of racism intersect in online debates on the topic. The anti-immigration discussants express worries about the endangering of the European sexual and gender norms and define themselves in opposition not only to immigrants but also to European actors perceived as pro-immigration. While representing their gender culture as superior to the gender culture of immigrants, as based on respect towards women, they express openly disrespectful and sexist thoughts, treat women as inferior, and justify and normalize sexual violence and verbal sexual abuse.
The advice they give: Knowledge transfer of international organisations in countries of the former Soviet Union
Authors: Heinrich Andreas
Published: December 2020

This article tests the assumptions of the literature regarding the neoliberal agenda (‘Washington Consensus’) promoted by international organisations through knowledge transfer and about the power they supposedly have through loan conditionality to impose their will on countries in financial need. In addition, it examines ‘avant-garde measures’ of neoliberal reforms exceeding the requirements from international organisations. Looking at the social policy concepts and advice these organisations give countries in the former Soviet Union, it utilises the example of healthcare reform in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The article examines the general advice these organisations gave between 1991 and 2018 for the reorganisation and management of the countries’ healthcare systems, especially concerning the introduction of a mandatory health insurance system.
The Educational Value and Emotional Impact on Medical Students After Participating in Transplant Organ Retrieval
Authors: Reed Alistair J. M. , Baldwin-Smith Rhiannon , Arwyn-Jones James , Knight Simon , Quiroga Isabel
Published: December 2020

Introduction:

Medical students and healthcare professionals lack knowledge and confidence in organ transplantation which stems in part from a lack of exposure to transplant surgery at medical school. To address this, we developed a program that allowed students to attend organ retrievals and assessed its efficacy as an educational intervention.

Methods:

Students were invited to attend organ retrievals through a voluntary program. Students then completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire (n = 40) designed to capture the perceived educational value and emotive impact of attending an organ retrieval, and its effect on career aspirations. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed.

Results:

100% of students would recommend attending an organ retrieval to a colleague. Students strongly agreed that attending an organ retrieval was a useful learning experience (87.5%) and 90% of students felt more confident discussing organ donation with patients and relatives. 50% of students were more likely to pursue a career in transplant surgery. Students recognized a number of difficulties associated with the emotive impact of organ procurement.

Conclusion:

An organ retrieval program for medical students offers a novel learning opportunity, and may increase knowledge and improve attitudes toward transplantation in future healthcare professionals. However, the emotive impact of exposing students to organ retrievals must also be recognized.
Dose Prescription Methods in Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Small Peripheral Lung Tumors: Approaches Based on the Gross Tumor Volume Are Superior to Prescribing a Dose That Covers 95% of the Planning Target Volume
Authors: Komiyama Takafumi , Saito Masahide , Kuriyama Kengo , Marino Kan , Aoki Shinichi , Saito Ryo , Muramatsu Juria , Maehata Yoshiyasu , Ze Chen , Akita Tomoko , Yamada Takashi , Sano Naoki , Yoshizawa Kazuya , Kazunari Ashizawa , Hidekazu Suzuki , Ueda Koji , Vu Nam , Onishi Hiroshi
Published: December 2020

Background and Purpose:

We aimed to validate the usefulness of prescriptions based on gross tumor volume for stereotactic body radiotherapy for small peripheral lung tumors.

Materials and Methods:

Radiotherapy treatment planning data of 50 patients with small peripheral lung tumors (adenocarcinoma: 24, squamous cell carcinoma: 10, other: 1, unknown: 15) receiving breath-hold computed tomography-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy at our institution during 2013–2016 were analyzed. For each case, 3 dose prescription methods were applied: one based on 95% (PTVD95%) of the planning target volume, one based on 50% of the gross tumor volume (GTVD50%), and one based on 98% (GTVD98%) of the gross tumor volume. The maximum (GTVDmax), minimum (GTVDmin), and mean gross tumor volume dose (GTVDmean) and the dose covering 98% of the gross tumor volume were calculated to evaluate variations in the gross tumor volume dose.

Results:

Upon switching to GTVD50%, the variations in GTVDmax and GTVDmean decreased significantly, compared with variations observed for PTVD95% (p < 0.01), but the variation in GTVDmin increased significantly (p < 0.01). Upon switching to the GTVD98%, the variation in GTVDmean decreased significantly compared with that observed for PTVD95% (p < 0.01).

Conclusion:

Switching from prescriptions based on 95% of the planning target volume to those based on 98% of the gross tumor volume decreased variations among cases in the overall gross tumor volume dose. Overall, prescriptions based on 98% of the gross tumor volume appear to be more suitable than those based on 95% of the planning target volume in cases of small peripheral lung tumors treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy.
Unsupervised learning trajectory anomaly detection algorithm based on deep representation
Authors: Wang Zhongqiu , Yuan Guan , Pei Haoran , Zhang Yanmei , Liu Xiao
Published: December 2020

Without ground-truth data, trajectory anomaly detection is a hard work and the result lacks of interpretability. Moreover, in most current methods, trajectories are represented by geometric features or their low-dimensional linear combination, and some hidden features and high-dimensional combined features cannot be found efficiently. Meanwhile, traditional methods still cannot get rid of the limitation of space attributes. Therefore, a novel trajectory anomaly detection algorithm is present in this article. Unsupervised learning mechanism is used to overcome nonground-truth problem and deep representation method is used to represent trajectories in a comprehensive way. First, each trajectory is partitioned into segments according to its open angles, then the shallow features at each point of a segment are extracted and. In this way, each segment is represented as a feature sequence. Second, shallow features are integrated into auto-encoder-based deep feature fusion model, and the fusion feature sequences can be extracted. Third, these fused feature sequences are grouped into different clusters using a unsupervised clustering algorithm, and then segments which quite differ from others are detected as anomalies. Finally, comprehensive experiments are conducted on both synthetic and real data sets, which demonstrate the efficiency of our work.
An examination of initial structural degradation in tubular braided composites through region-by-region strain analysis
Authors: Lepp Eric A , Carey Jason P
Published: December 2020

The objective of this study was to characterize the early structural degradation behavior of tubular braided composites (TBCs) under quasi-static tension through direct quantification of the surface strains developed in their yarn-reinforced and unreinforced (resin-rich) material regions. Kevlar-epoxy TBCs with varying braid angles and numbers of yarns were analyzed through quasi-static testing and stereo digital image correlation (DIC) analysis to understand how the yarn-reinforced and resin-rich regions deformed under tensile loads up to the initiation of structural degradation within the braid structure. Structural weakening was confirmed to initiate in the unreinforced, resin-rich regions of the TBC specimens by way of a normal tensile failure mode, as the strains developed within these regions were the first to deviate from a linear-elastic growth trend and also exceed the expected strain to failure of their constituent material. Through two-way full-factorial ANOVA analysis with a 95% confidence interval, the stress required to initiate degradation within these regions was found to depend significantly upon both the quantity and angular orientation of the preform yarns, the former to a markedly lower extent. The maximum strain accumulated in the resin-rich regions upon their degradation was found to not statistically depend on either of these parameters, affirming that it is purely defined by the strength properties of the constituent neat resin material. To provide conservative and repeatable estimates of the stress to failure in TBC structures, it is recommended that this quantity be estimated from both the global stress-strain data of the entire specimen and the local stress-strain data measured exclusively within its resin-rich regions, with the lower of the two taken. Through these means, the relationship between a TBC’s preform geometry and its stress to failure may be optimally modeled using a polynomial regression trend.
A theoretical analysis of temperature rise of hydrogen in high-pressure storage cylinder during fast filling process
Authors: LI Ji-Qiang , Myoung No-Seuk , Kwon Jeong-Tae , Jang Seon-Jun , Lee Taeckhong , Lee Yong-Hun
Published: December 2020

During the fast filing process, thermal stress is generated due to the increase in the pressure and temperature of hydrogen in the hydrogen storage tank. For its safety purpose, it is necessary to predict and control the temperature change in the tank. The aim of this study is quantitative analysis of the final temperature and the mass of the hydrogen in the tank through experimental and theoretical methods. In this paper; Theoretical model for adiabatic and non-adiabatic real filling processes of high pressure hydrogen cylinder has been proposed. The cycle of filling process from the initial vacuum state is called the “First cycle.” After the first cycle is completed, there is a certain residual pressure in the tank. Then the second filling process called “Second cycle” begins. The final temperature in fast filling of hydrogen storage cylinders depends on targeted pressure, initial pressure and temperature, and mass filling rate. The final temperature of hydrogen in the tank was calculated from the real gas equation of state, mass and energy conservation equations. As a result of the analysis, based on the first cycle analysis of high pressure tank, the final temperatures were calculated to be 442.11 K for the adiabatic filling process, and 422.37 K for the non-adiabatic process. Based on the second cycle analysis of high pressure tank, the final temperature were obtained as 397.12 K and 380.8 K for the adiabatic and non-adiabatic processes, respectively. The temperatures calculated from the theoretical non-adiabatic condition were lower than those from the adiabatic condition by 5%. The results of this study can provide a reference basis in terms of how to control the temperature in the actual hydrogen storage tank during the fast filling process and how to improve safety.
Mobility analysis of a typical multi-loop coupled mechanism based on screw theory and its drive layout optimization
Authors: Han Ming , Yang Dong , Shi Baojun , Li Tiejun , Feng Jianbin
Published: December 2020

Improving the load-to-weight ratio of robots is an essential issue in the field of construction robots. In the present study, a method for analyzing the mobility of the typical multi-loop coupled mechanism is proposed, which combines the iterative replacement of generalized kinematic pairs with the screw theory. Then, the driving force/torque, driving power, and total power of actuators are considered as the evaluation indices, and the influence of different drive layouts on the mechanism is analyzed. Obtained results show that the driving force of the moving pair in the drive layout S1 or S3 changes smoothly compared with that in the drive layout S2, and the peak values of the driving force and the driving torque reduce by 49% and 12%, respectively. This demonstrates that the drive layout S1 effectively reduces the quality of the actuators. Finally, the coupled mechanism with the drive layout is applied in a high-altitude curtain wall installation robot, and the prototype of the robot is developed based on the coupled mechanism. Performed experiments show that the load-to-weight ratio in the proposed robot is about 13%.
Reproduction, fetal medicine and genomics
Authors: Homfray Tessa , Hayward Judith , Rafi Imran
Published: December 2020

Identification of a genetic disorder within a family raises the question of risk of the genetic disorder to other family members and future pregnancies. This question is particularly pertinent when considering reproductive risks and choices. Primary care is crucial in identifying and managing couples at increased risk of having an affected pregnancy, both pre-conceptually and in early pregnancy, before the first midwife appointment. Genomic technologies have an increasing role in antenatal screening programmes and antenatal testing; specifically non-invasive prenatal testing considered in this article. Infertility, recurrent miscarriage and fetal abnormality may all have an underlying genetic cause.