bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coplanar waveguide-fed ultra-wideband antenna with WLAN band
Authors: Soemphol Chaiyong , Angkawisittpan Niwat
Published: February 2021

A coplanar waveguidefed ultra-wideband antenna with extended transmission band to WLAN frequency is investigated. The proposed antenna consists of a modified semi-circular patch and staircase of ground plane. The prototype is fabricated on a low cost FR4 substrate with dielectric constant of 4.4 with thicknes of 0.8 mm. The overall dimensions of proposed UWB antenna are 34 mm x 40 mm. The simulation and experimental results have been shown that the proposed antenna archives low VSWR over transmission bandwidth from 2.10 - 12.7 GHz to cover both WLAN and UWB bands.  The average gain is 3.87 dBi. It depicts nearly omni-directional radiation pattern like dipole antenna. Moreover, the fabricated prototype antenna shows a good agreement between the simulated and measured results
Predicting heart failure using a wrapper-based feature selection
Authors: Tuan Le Minh , Thanh Vo Minh , Tan Pham Nhat , V.T Dao Son
Published: February 2021

In the current health system, it is very difficult for medical practitioners/physicians to diagnose the effectiveness of heart contraction. In this research, we proposed a machine learning model to predict heart contraction using an artificial neural network (ANN). We also proposed a novel wrapper-based feature selection utilizing a grey wolf optimization (GWO) to reduce the number of required input attributes. In this work, we compared the results achieved using our method and several conventional machine learning algorithms approaches such as support vector machine, decision tree, K-nearest neighbor, naïve bayes, random forest, and logistic regression. Computational results show not only that much fewer features are needed, but also higher prediction accuracy can be achieved around 87%. This work has the potential to be applicable to clinical practice and become a supporting tool for doctors/physicians.
Bidirectional gated recurrent unit for improving classification in credit card fraud detection
Authors: Sadgali Imane , Sael Nawal , Benabbou Fouazia
Published: February 2021

In recent years, the use of credit cards around the world has grown enormously. Thus, the number of fraud cases have also increased, resulting in losses of thousands of dollars worldwide. Therefore, it is mandatory to use techniques that are able to assist in the detection of credit card fraud. For this purpose, we have proposed a multi-level architecture, composed of four levels: authentication level, behavioral level, smart level and background processing level. In this paper, we focus on the implementation of the smart level. The aim of this level is to develop a classifier for the detection of credit card fraud, using bidirectional gated recurrent units (BGRU). The experiments, applied on well-known credit card fraud dataset from Kaggle, show that this model has peak performance compared to other proposed models, with 97.16% for accuracy rate and 99.66% for the area under the ROC curve.
Evaluation of SVM performance in the detection of lung cancer in marked CT scan dataset
Authors: Kareem Hamdalla Fadil , AL-Huseiny Muayed S , Y. Mohsen Furat , A. Khalil Enam , S. Hassan Zainab
Published: February 2021

This paper concerns the development/analysis of the IQ-OTH/NCCD lung cancer dataset. This CT-scan dataset includes more than 1100 images of diagnosed healthy and tumorous chest scans collected in two Iraqi hospitals. A computer system is proposed for detecting lung cancer in the dataset by using image-processing/computer-vision techniques. This includes three preprocessing stages: image enhancement, image segmentation, and feature extraction techniques. Then, support vector machine (SVM) is used at the final stage as a classification technique for identifying the cases on the slides as one of three classes: normal, benign, or malignant. Different SVM kernels and feature extraction techniques are evaluated. The best accuracy achieved by applying this procedure on the new dataset was 89.8876%.
The automatic and manual railroad door systems based on IoT
Authors: Budiyanto Setiyo , Artadima Silaban Freddy , Medriavin Silalahi Lukman , Pangaribowo Triyanto , Ibnu Hajar Muhammad Hafizd , Sepbrian Alvin , Muwardi Rachmat , Hongmin Gao
Published: February 2021

The automatic and manual IoT-based rail door (internet of things) is a door bar designed to be able to close and open automatically and manually. The automatic system works based on sensors that detect the presence of trains and system manual works based on the open and Close button on the smartphone. The components to be used are ATmega328 microcontrollers, infrared sensors, power supply, CCTV and android applications. Infrared sensor will detect the presence of the train and the gate will close automatically. Then the doorway will open when the train has crossed the automatic door bar. By the manual way, rail door control can be open and closed with Android smartphones in real-time with graphical display provided by CCTV. The whole process is connected to a WEB server where the program is embedded. Either it is automatic or manual control. From the tests that have been done, that the response data from the server is very fast, which is less than 1 second civil. For infrared sensor 1 there is an average delay of 0,687/sec and Infrared Sensor 2 is 3,449/sec. In realtime CCTV There is an average delay of 0,857/sec.
Microhabitat selection of the poorly known lizard Tropidurus lagunablanca (Squamata: Tropiduridae) in the Pantanal, Brazil
Authors: Benício Ronildo Alves , Passos Daniel Cunha , Mencía Abraham , Ortega Zaida
Published: February 2021

Understanding how different environmental factors influence species occurrence is a key issue to address the study of natural populations. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how local traits influence the microhabitat use of tropical arboreal lizards. Here, we investigated the microhabitat selection of the poorly known lizard Tropidurus lagunablanca (Squamata: Tropiduridae) and evaluated how environmental microhabitat features influence animal’s presence. We used a Resource Selection Function approach, in a case/control design where we analyzed the effect of substrate temperature and tree’s diameter at breast height (DBH) in the probability of presence of lizards using mixed Conditional Logistic Regression. We found that T. lagunablanca uses trees with DBH from 0.40 m to 4 m and substrate temperatures ranging from 25.9℃ to 42℃. Moreover, we showed that thickness of the trees and substrate temperatures significantly increased the probability of presence of T. lagunablanca individuals, being the probability of presence higher than 50% for trees up to 1.5 m DBH and temperature of substrate up to 37.5℃. Our study probed that T. lagunablanca individuals choose trees non-randomly, selecting thicker and warmer tree trunks. This information advances the knowledge of the spatial ecology of Neotropical arboreal lizards and is relevant for conservation, putting an emphasis on preserving native vegetation in the Pantanal.
On the development of a trait-based approach for studying Neotropical bats
Authors: Castillo-Figueroa Dennis , Pérez-Torres Jairo
Published: February 2021

New World bats are involved in key ecological processes and are good indicators of environmental changes. Recently, trait-based approaches have been used in several taxa to better understand mechanisms underlying species assemblages, biotic interactions, environmental relationships and ecosystem functions. However, despite the relevance of bats on ecosystem dynamics, so far, there is no conceptual framework that relies on the measurement of bat traits to address functional studies. Here, we present a set of 50 bat biological traits, which are suitable to assess environmental stressors and can potentially affect ecological processes. Several examples were provided to show the applicability of this framework in the study of Neotropical bat ecology. We suggest some considerations regarding trait-based approach including the importance of intraspecific variation, correlations between traits, response-effect framework, global dataset, and future directions to assess the reliability of functional relations across species and Neotropical regions by using traits. This could be helpful in tackling ecological questions associated with community assembly and habitat filtering, species diversity patterns along environmental gradients, and ecological processes. We envision this paper as a first step toward an integrative bat functional trait protocol held up with solid evidence.
Revisiting the morphology and systematic placement of the enigmatic Cretaceous ommatid beetle Bukhkalius lindae (Coleoptera: Archostemata: Ommatidae)
Authors: Li Yan-Da , Huang Di-Ying , Cai Chen-Yang
Published: February 2021

The systematic position of Bukhkalius lindae (Jarzembowski et al. 2017) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is revised based on a re-examination of the type specimen. Our observation confirms that B. lindae lacks unique apomorphies of Tetraphalerus Waterhouse, in which it was originally placed, including complete antennal grooves and mushroom-shaped micro-tubercles. It is well justified to place it into a separate genus, i.e., Bukhkalius Kirejtshuk & Jarzembowski, 2020. The incomplete but distinct antennal grooves and the Tetraphalerus-like mouthparts of B. lindae suggest that it has a close affinity to Tetraphalerus. Therefore, B. lindae may represent a missing link bridging the morphological gap between extant ommatid subfamilies Tetraphalerinae and Ommatinae.
“His name throughout the earth”: YHWH’s political strategies in Exodus 3-15
Authors: Kanasiro André
Published: February 2021

This paper analyzes the characterization of YHWH as a political ruler in Exodus 3-15. His role as king of Israel comes as a novelty in the biblical narrative after the book of Genesis, and in the book of Exodus he presents new divine traits such as jealousy, wrathfulness and holiness. Among his new traits as a ruler comes the concern with his reputation, both in the short and long term, amidst his followers and even his enemies. A close-reading of the Plagues narratives thus shows God’s actions stemming from his political reasoning and strategies, which aim at driving the whole earth — especially Israel, his chosen people — to acknowledge his absolute power and rule.
Early Pregnancy Atherogenic Profile in a First Pregnancy and Hypertension Risk 2 to 7 Years After Delivery
Authors: Catov Janet M. , McNeil Rebecca B. , Marsh Derek J. , Mercer Brian M. , Bairey Merz C. Noel , Parker Corette B. , Pemberton Victoria L. , Saade George R. , Chen Yii‐Der (Ida) , Chung Judith H. , Ehrenthal Deborah B. , Grobman William A. , Haas David M. , Parry Samuel , Polito LuAnn , Reddy Uma M. , Silver Robert M. , Simhan Hyagriv N. , Wapner Ronald J. , Kominiarek Michelle , Kreutz Rolf , Levine Lisa D. , Greenland Philip ,   for the NHLBI nuMoM2b Heart Health Study
Published: February 2021

Background

Cardiovascular risk in young adulthood is an important determinant of lifetime cardiovascular disease risk. Women with adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) have increased cardiovascular risk, but the relationship of other factors is unknown.

Methods and Results

Among 4471 primiparous women, we related first‐trimester atherogenic markers to risk of APO (hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, small for gestational age), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and hypertension (130/80 mm Hg or antihypertensive use) 2 to 7 years after delivery. Women with an APO/GDM (n=1102) had more atherogenic characteristics (obesity [34.2 versus 19.5%], higher blood pressure [systolic blood pressure 112.2 versus 108.4, diastolic blood pressure 69.2 versus 66.6 mm Hg], glucose [5.0 versus 4.8 mmol/L], insulin [77.6 versus 60.1 pmol/L], triglycerides [1.4 versus 1.3 mmol/L], and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein [5.6 versus 4.0 nmol/L], and lower high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol [1.8 versus 1.9 mmol/L];
P
<0.05) than women without an APO/GDM. They were also more likely to develop hypertension after delivery (32.8% versus 18.1%,
P
<0.05). Accounting for confounders and factors routinely assessed antepartum, higher glucose (relative risk [RR] 1.03 [95% CI, 1.00–1.06] per 0.6 mmol/L), high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (RR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.02–1.11] per 2‐fold higher), and triglycerides (RR, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.14–1.41] per 2‐fold higher) were associated with later hypertension. Higher physical activity was protective (RR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.87‐0.99] per 3 h/week). When evaluated as latent profiles, the nonobese group with higher lipids, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, and insulin values (6.9% of the cohort) had increased risk of an APO/GDM and later hypertension. Among these factors, 7% to 15% of excess RR was related to APO/GDM.

Conclusions

Individual and combined first‐trimester atherogenic characteristics are associated with APO/GDM occurrence and hypertension 2 to 7 years later.

Registration

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT02231398.
Gender Issues in Italian Catheterization Laboratories: The Gender‐CATH Study
Authors: Bernelli Chiara , Cerrato Enrico , Ortega Rebecca , Piccaluga Emanuela , Ricottini Elisabetta , Chieffo Alaide , Masiero Giulia , Mattesini Alessio , La Manna Alessio , Musumeci Giuseppe , Tarantini Giuseppe , Mehran Roxana
Published: February 2021

Background

Women represent an increasing percentage of interventional cardiologists in Italy compared with other countries. However, gaps exist in understanding and adapting to the impact of these changing demographics.

Methods and Results

We performed a national survey to analyze demographics, gender‐based professional difference, needs in terms of catheterization laboratory (Cath‐Lab) abstention, and radiation safety issues in Italian Cath‐Lab settings. A survey supported by the Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology (Società Italiana di Cardiologia Interventistica–Gruppo Italiano di Studi Emodinamici SICI‐GISE) was mailed to all SICI‐GISE members. Categorical data were compared using the χ
2
test.
P
<0.05 was considered significant. There were 326 respondents: 20.2% were <35 years old, and 64.4% had >10 years of Cath‐Lab experience. Notably, 26.4% were women. Workload was not gender‐influenced (women performed “on‐call” duty 69.8% versus men 68.3%;
P
=0.97). Women were more frequently unmarried (22.1% women versus 8.7% men;
P
=0.002) and childless (43.9% versus 56.1%;
P
<0.001). Interestingly, 69.8% of women versus 44.6% of men (
P
<0.001) argued that pregnancy/breastfeeding negatively impacts professional skill development and career advancement. For Cath‐Lab abstention, 38.9% and 69.6% of respondents considered it useful to perform percutaneous coronary intervention robotic simulations and "refresh‐skill" sessions while they were absent or on return to work, respectively, without gender differences. Overall, 80% of respondents described current radioprotection counseling efforts as inadequate and not gender specific. Finally, 26.7% faced some type of job discrimination, a significantly higher proportion of whom were women.

Conclusions

Several gender‐based differences exist or are perceived to exist among interventional cardiologists in Italian Cath‐Labs. Joint strategies addressing Cath‐Lab abstention and radiation exposure education should be developed to promote gender equity in interventional cardiologists.
Associations of Job Strain, Stressful Life Events, and Social Strain With Coronary Heart Disease in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study
Authors: Wang Conglong , Lê‐Scherban Félice , Taylor Jennifer , Salmoirago‐Blotcher Elena , Allison Matthew , Gefen David , Robinson Lucy , Michael Yvonne L.
Published: February 2021

Background

The association between psychosocial stress and coronary heart disease (CHD) may be stronger in women than men and may differ across types of stressors. In this study, we assessed associations of psychosocial stressors, including job strain, stressful life events, and social strain with the incidence of CHD in women.

Methods and Results

We used longitudinal data from 80 825 WHI‐OS (Women's Health Initiative Observational Study) participants with a mean age of 63.4 years (7.3 years) at baseline. Job strain was assessed through linkage of Standard Occupational Classification codes to the Occupational Information Network. Stressful life events and social strain were assessed via validated self‐reported questionnaires. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate associations of each stressor with CHD separately and jointly. A total of 3841 (4.8%) women developed CHD during an average of 14.7 years of follow‐up. After adjustment for age, other stressors, job tenure, and socioeconomic factors, high stressful life events score was associated with a 12% increased CHD risk, and high social strain was associated with a 9% increased CHD risk. Job strain was not independently associated with CHD risk, but we observed a statistically significant interaction between job strain and social strain (
P
=0.04), such that among women with high social strain, passive job strain was associated with a 21% increased CHD risk.

Conclusions

High stressful life events and social strain were each associated with higher CHD risk. Job strain and social strain work synergistically to increase CHD risk.
Breast Cancer Promotes Cardiac Dysfunction Through Deregulation of Cardiomyocyte Ca
2+
‐Handling Protein Expression That is Not Reversed by Exercise Training
Authors: da Costa Tassia S. R. , Urias Ursula , Negrao Marcelo V. , Jordão Camila P. , Passos Clévia S. , Gomes‐Santos Igor L. , Salemi Vera Maria C. , Camargo Anamaria A. , Brum Patricia C. , Oliveira Edilamar M. , Hajjar Ludhmila A. , Chammas Roger , Filho Roberto K. , Negrao Carlos E.
Published: February 2021

Background

Patients treated for breast cancer have a high incidence of cardiovascular complications. In this study, we evaluated the impact of breast cancer on cardiac function and cardiomyocyte Ca
2+
‐handling protein expression. We also investigated whether exercise training (ET) would prevent these potential alterations.

Methods and Results

Transgenic mice with spontaneous breast cancer (mouse mammary tumor virus–polyomavirus middle T antigen [MMTV‐PyMT+], n=15) and littermate mice with no cancer (MMTV‐PyMT−, n=14) were studied. For the ET analysis, MMTV‐PyMT+ were divided into sedentary (n=10) and exercise‐trained (n=12) groups. Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography with speckle‐tracking imaging. Exercise tolerance test was conducted on a treadmill. Both studies were performed when the tumor became palpable and when it reached 1 cm
3
. After euthanasia, Ca
2+
‐handling protein expression (Western blot) was evaluated. Exercise capacity was reduced in MMTV‐PyMT+ compared with MMTV‐PyMT− (
P
interaction
=0.031). Longitudinal strain (
P
group
<0.001) and strain rate (
P
group
=0.030) were impaired. Cardiomyocyte phospholamban was increased (
P
=0.011), whereas phospho‐phospholamban and sodium/calcium exchanger were decreased (
P
=0.038 and
P
=0.017, respectively) in MMTV‐PyMT+. No significant difference in sarcoplasmic or endoplasmic reticulum calcium 2 ATPase (SERCA2a) was found. SERCA2a/phospholamban ratio was reduced (
P
=0.007). ET was not associated with increased exercise capacity. ET decreased left ventricular end‐systolic diameter (
P
group
=0.038) and end‐diastolic volume (
P
group
=0.026). Other morphological and functional cardiac parameters were not improved by ET in MMTV‐PyMT+. ET did not improve cardiomyocyte Ca
2+
‐handling protein expression.

Conclusions

Breast cancer is associated with decreased exercise capacity and subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in MMTV‐PyMT+, which is at least partly associated with dysregulation of cardiomyocyte Ca
2+
handling. ET did not prevent or reverse these changes.
Developing an Internally Validated Veterans Affairs Women Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score Using Veterans Affairs National Electronic Health Records
Authors: Jeon‐Slaughter Haekyung , Chen Xiaofei , Tsai Shirling , Ramanan Bala , Ebrahimi Ramin
Published: February 2021

Background

The current American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association women cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk score suboptimally estimates CVD risk for young and minority women in the military. The current study developed an internally validated CVD risk score for women military service members and veterans using the Veterans Affairs (VA) national electronic health records data.

Methods and Results

The study cohort included 69 574 White, Black, and Hispanic women service members and veterans aged 30 to 79 years in 2007 treated in the VA Health Care System between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2017 (henceforth, VA women). Stratified by race and ethnicity, the new VA women CVD risk model estimated risk coefficients and 10‐year CVD risk using a time‐variant covariate Cox model. Harrell C‐statistics, calibration plots, and net classification index were used to assess accuracy and prognostic performance of the new VA women CVD risk model. The new internally validated VA women CVD risk score performed better in predicting VA women 10‐year atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease risk than the pooled cohort American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association risk score in both accuracy (White Harrell C‐statistics, 70% versus 61%; Black, 68% versus 63%) and prognostic performance (White net classification index, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.26–0.33; Black net classification index, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.03–0.09).

Conclusions

The proposed VA women CVD risk score improves accuracy of the existing American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association CVD risk assessment tool in predicting long‐term CVD risk for VA women, particularly in young and racial/ethnic minority women.
Future-Proofing Capitalism: The Paradox of the Circular Economy for Plastics
Authors: Mah Alice
Published: February 2021

The marine plastics crisis sparked a wave of corporate interest in the circular economy, a sustainable business model that aims to eliminate waste in industrial systems through recycling, reduction, reuse, and recovery. Drawing on debates about the role of corporations in global environmental governance, this article examines the rise of the circular economy as a dominant corporate sustainability concept, focusing on the flagship example of the circular economy for plastics. It argues that corporations across the plastics value chain have coordinated their efforts to contain the circular economy policy agenda, while extending their markets through developing risky circular economy technologies. These corporate strategies of containment and proliferation represent attempts to “future-proof” capitalism against existential threats to public legitimacy, masking the implications for environmental justice. The paradox of the circular economy is that it seems to offer radical challenges to linear “take-make-waste” models of industrial capitalism, backed by international legislation, but it does not actually give up on unsustainable growth. We need to tackle the plastics crisis at its root, dramatically reducing the global production of toxic and wasteful plastics.
Classification From Pairwise Similarities/Dissimilarities and Unlabeled Data via Empirical Risk Minimization
Authors: Shimada Takuya , Bao Han , Sato Issei , Sugiyama Masashi
Published: February 2021

Pairwise similarities and dissimilarities between data points are often obtained more easily than full labels of data in real-world classification problems. To make use of such pairwise information, an empirical risk minimization approach has been proposed, where an unbiased estimator of the classification risk is computed from only pairwise similarities and unlabeled data. However, this approach has not yet been able to handle pairwise dissimilarities. Semisupervised clustering methods can incorporate both similarities and dissimilarities into their framework; however, they typically require strong geometrical assumptions on the data distribution such as the manifold assumption, which may cause severe performance deterioration. In this letter, we derive an unbiased estimator of the classification risk based on all of similarities and dissimilarities and unlabeled data. We theoretically establish an estimation error bound and experimentally demonstrate the practical usefulness of our empirical risk minimization method.
Parameter Estimation in Multiple Dynamic Synaptic Coupling Model Using Bayesian Point Process State-Space Modeling Framework
Authors: Amidi Yalda , Nazari Behzad , Sadri Saeid , Yousefi Ali
Published: February 2021

It is of great interest to characterize the spiking activity of individual neurons in a cell ensemble. Many different mechanisms, such as synaptic coupling and the spiking activity of itself and its neighbors, drive a cell's firing properties. Though this is a widely studied modeling problem, there is still room to develop modeling solutions by simplifications embedded in previous models. The first shortcut is that synaptic coupling mechanisms in previous models do not replicate the complex dynamics of the synaptic response. The second is that the number of synaptic connections in these models is an order of magnitude smaller than in an actual neuron. In this research, we push this barrier by incorporating a more accurate model of the synapse and propose a system identification solution that can scale to a network incorporating hundreds of synaptic connections. Although a neuron has hundreds of synaptic connections, only a subset of these connections significantly contributes to its spiking activity. As a result, we assume the synaptic connections are sparse, and to characterize these dynamics, we propose a Bayesian point-process state-space model that lets us incorporate the sparsity of synaptic connections within the regularization technique into our framework. We develop an extended expectation-maximization. algorithm to estimate the free parameters of the proposed model and demonstrate the application of this methodology to the problem of estimating the parameters of many dynamic synaptic connections. We then go through a simulation example consisting of the dynamic synapses across a range of parameter values and show that the model parameters can be estimated using our method. We also show the application of the proposed algorithm in the intracellular data that contains 96 presynaptic connections and assess the estimation accuracy of our method using a combination of goodness-of-fit measures.
Sex differences in response to environmental and social breeding cues in an amphibian
Authors: O’Brien Daniel M. , Silla Aimee J. , Forsythe Patrick S. , Byrne Phillip G.
Published: February 2021

The relative influence of climatic and social factors on sex-specific variation in reproductive behaviour remains poorly understood. Here, we examine the influence of multiple climatic cues in combination with a social cue on the reproductive behaviours of males and females in a terrestrial breeding toadlet (Pseudophryne coriacea). Over a 115-day breeding season, arrival patterns of each sex, and male calling activity, were recorded daily, while climatic variables were logged continuously. Multivariate analysis showed that arrival of males at the breeding site, as well as male nightly calling activity, were most strongly influenced by a climatic variable (rainfall). By contrast, female arrival was strongly correlated with a social variable (male calling activity), with abiotic conditions having no influence, other than a moderate influence of lunar phase (lunar illumination). These results suggest that cues used for breeding are sex specific and provide new evidence that combinations of climatic and social cues can be integrated into breeding decisions.
Neo-Liberalism, State-Capitalism and Ordo-Liberalism: ‘Institutional Economics’ and ‘Constitutional Choices’ in Multilevel Trade Regulation
Authors: Petersmann Ernst-Ulrich , Steinbach Armin
Published: February 2021

Reforms of international trade and investment law and institutions are hampered by conflicting economic paradigms. For instance, utilitarian Anglo-Saxon neo-liberalism (e.g. promoting self-regulatory market forces privileging the homo economicus), constitutional European ordo-liberalism (e.g. protecting multilevel, constitutional rights and judicial remedies of European Union citizens), and authoritarian state-capitalism (e.g. protecting totalitarian power monopolies of the communist party in China) pursue different legal and institutional designs of trade and investment agreements. Globalization and its transformation of national into transnational public goods (PG s) require extending constitutional and institutional economics to multilevel governance of transnational PG s in order to enhance the wealth of nations. Maintaining the worldwide legal and dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO) – and interpreting its regional and national exception clauses broadly in order to reconcile diverse, national and regional institutions of economic integration and of ‘embedded liberalism’ – remains in the interest of all WTO member states.
Assessment of Temperature and Specific Humidity Inversions and Their Relationships in Three Global Reanalysis Products over the Arctic Ocean
Authors: Chang Liang , Wen Shiqiang , Gao Guoping , Han Zhen , Feng Guiping , Zhang Yang
Published: February 2021

Characteristics of temperature inversions (TIs) and specific humidity inversions (SHIs) and their relationships in three of the latest global reanalyses—the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis (ERA-I), the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA-55), and the ERA5—are assessed against in situ radiosonde (RS) measurements from two expeditions over the Arctic Ocean. All reanalyses tend to detect many fewer TI and SHI occurrences, together with much less common multiple TIs and SHIs per profile than are seen in the RS data in summer 2008, winter 2015, and spring 2015. The reanalyses generally depict well the relationships among TI characteristics seen in RS data, except for the TIs below 400 m in summer, as well as above 1000 m in summer and winter. The depth is simulated worst by the reanalyses among the SHI characteristics, which may result from its sensitivity to the uncertainties in specific humidity in the reanalyses. The strongest TI per profile in RS data exhibits more robust dependency on surface conditions than the strongest SHI per profile, and the former is better presented by the reanalyses than the latter. Furthermore, all reanalyses have difficulties simulating the relationships between TIs and SHIs, together with the correlations between the simultaneous inversions. The accuracy and vertical resolution in the reanalyses are both important to properly capture occurrence and characteristics of the Arctic inversions. In general, ERA5 performs better than ERA-I and JRA-55 in depicting the relationships among the TIs. However, the representation of SHIs is more challenging than TIs in all reanalyses over the Arctic Ocean.
Role of Diurnal Cycle in the Maritime Continent Barrier Effect on MJO Propagation in an AGCM
Authors: Ajayamohan R. S. , Khouider Boualem , Praveen V. , Majda Andrew J.
Published: February 2021

The barrier effect of the Maritime Continent (MC) in stalling or modifying the propagation characteristics of the MJO is widely accepted. The strong diurnal cycle of convection over the MC is believed to play a dominant role in this regard. This hypothesis is studied here, with the help of a coarse-resolution atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). The dry dynamical core of the AGCM is coupled to the multicloud parameterization piggybacked with a dynamical bulk boundary layer model. A set of sensitivity experiments is carried out by systematically varying the strength of the MC diurnal flux to assess the impact of the diurnal convective variability on the MJO propagation. The effects of deterministic and stochastic diurnal forcings on MJO characteristics are compared. It is found that the precipitation and zonal wind variance, on the intraseasonal time scales, over the western Pacific region decreases with the increase in diurnal forcing, indicating the blocking of MC precipitation. An increase in precipitation variance over the MC associated with the weakening of precipitation variance over the west Pacific is evident in all experiments. The striking difference between deterministic and stochastic diurnal forcing experiments is that the strength needed for the deterministic case to achieve the same degree of blocking is almost double that of stochastic case. The stochastic diurnal flux over the MC seems to be more detrimental in blocking the MJO propagation. This hints at the notion that the models with inadequate representation of organized convection tend to suffer from the MC-barrier effect.
Land Surface Temperature from GOES-East and GOES-West
Authors: Chen Wen , Pinker Rachel T. , Ma Yingtao , Hulley Glynn , Borbas Eva , Islam Tanvir , Cawse-Nicholson Kerry-A. , Hook Simon , Hain Chris , Basara Jeff
Published: February 2021

Land surface temperature (LST) is an important climate parameter that controls the surface energy budget. For climate applications, information is needed at the global scale with representation of the diurnal cycle. To achieve global coverage there is a need to merge about five independent geostationary (GEO) satellites that have different observing capabilities. An issue of practical importance is the merging of independent satellite observations in areas of overlap. An optimal approach in such areas could eliminate the need for redundant computations by differently viewing satellites. We use a previously developed approach to derive information on LST from GOES-East (GOES-E), modify it for application to GOES-West (GOES-W) and implement it simultaneously across areas of overlap at 5-km spatial resolution. We evaluate the GOES-based LST against in situ observations and an independent MODIS product for the period of 2004–09. The methodology proposed minimizes differences between satellites in areas of overlap. The mean and median values of the differences in monthly mean LST retrieved from GOES-E and GOES-W at 0600 UTC for July are 0.01 and 0.11 K, respectively. Similarly, at 1800 UTC the respective mean and median value of the differences were 0.15 and 1.33 K. These findings can provide guidelines for potential users to decide whether the reported accuracy based on one satellite alone, meets their needs in area of overlap. Since the 6 yr record of LST was produced at hourly time scale, the data are well suited to address scientific issues that require the representation of LST diurnal cycle or the diurnal temperature range (DTR).
Political Vigilante Groups in Ghana: Violence or Democracy?
Authors: Owusu Kyei Justice Richard Kwabena , Berckmoes Lidewyde H.
Published: February 2021

Literature on political vigilante groups has centred on the violence and conflict that emanate from their activities. This article approaches political vigilante groups as political actors who engage in political mobilisation and participation and therewith also contribute to nation state building. It explores how such groups participate in Ghana’s democratic governance and asks whether violence is an inevitable characteristic. The article builds on individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with political vigilante group members in Kumasi and Tamale in 2019. Findings show that political vigilante “youth” appeared to refer primarily to the social position attributed to non-elite groups in the political field. Political vigilante groups are multi-faceted in their organisational structures, membership, and activities both during electoral campaigns and during governing periods. While some groups revert to violence occasionally, the study concludes that political vigilante groups, in enabling different voices to be heard, are also contributing to democratic governance.
Postcolonial Bonds? Latin American Origins, Discrimination, and Sense of Belonging to Spain
Authors: Lobera Josep
Published: February 2021

The present study examines the costs of discrimination and cultural-linguistic differences for the development of migrants’ sense of belonging to the receiving society. Focusing on Latin Americans in Spain allows shedding light on the cultural and linguistic mechanisms involved in this process. Migration scholars have long recognized the importance of belonging as a key indicator of integration. An analysis of belonging has clear relevance to settlement policies and programs to prevent social fragmentation or isolation of immigrants. This article takes a fresh approach to explore the development of migrants’ sense of belonging to the receiving society by drawing on an original survey data set collected in 25 highly diverse territories in Spain ( N = 2,648). The results show that cultural and linguistic affinity matter: There is a greater predisposition among immigrants born in Latin America to identify themselves as Spaniards, compared with other immigrant groups. However, self-reported discrimination and deficient residential settings seem to be hindering the development of a significant feeling of belonging to Spain, also among Latin Americans. Public policies aimed at decreasing discrimination against migrants, as well as improving migrant neighborhoods, will favor the integration of these immigrants and their descendants.
The interurban migration industry: ‘Migration products’ and the materialisation of urban speculation at Iskandar Malaysia
Authors: Koh Sin Yee
Published: February 2021

Iskandar Malaysia (IM) is a 4749 km2 urban conurbation and development region located at the Malaysia–Singapore border. State-led development of this regional economic corridor has attracted inflows of foreign investments and spurred the rise of mid- to high-end urban developments by foreign developers. This has resulted in the emergence of an interurban migration industry consisting of intermediary entities that are co-developing and co-marketing ‘migration products’ (real estate, education and lifestyle migration) as an integrated package to middle-class, aspiring transnational investor/lifestyle migrants from the region. This article argues that this middlemen industry is crucial to the materialisation of urban speculation, for state actors and investor/lifestyle migrants alike. Through interurban alliances that capitalise on the broader state-led speculative urbanism landscape, the industry co-creates an imagined urban future that is grounded in transnational lifestyle mobilities. This article highlights the need to analyse speculative urbanism and transnational investment/lifestyle migration as intertwined processes.
LGBTQ Policy and Fragmented Federalism in the U.S.
Authors: Taylor Jami K. , Lewis Daniel C. , Haider-Markel Donald P.
Published: February 2021

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Americans face a fragmented policy landscape across the country. Some states and localities have taken the lead and adopted policies to protect LGBTQ citizens, while others have sought to undermine LGBTQ equality. As such, the rights of LGBTQ citizens are very much dependent on the politics of states they reside in. In this article, we argue subnational innovation on LGBTQ inclusive policy is a result of national policy gridlock. We also examine the state-level political factors driving the adoption of policy protections for LGBTQ citizens. We conclude that LGBTQ policies are driven by local political context and illustrate the dynamic nature of fragmented federalism in America.
Assessing Trends in Fellowship Training Among Otolaryngology Residents: A National Survey Study
Authors: Miller Robert H. , McCrary Hilary Caitlyn , Gurgel Richard K.
Published: February 2021

Objective

To summarize trends in otolaryngology fellowship applications, fellowships selected, and reasons for pursuing a fellowship.

Study Design

One‐page anonymous questionnaire.

Setting

A survey was completed by examinees at the conclusion of their American Board of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery oral examination from 2011 to 2019.

Methods

Data included age, gender, fellowship type, reasons for doing a fellowship, and type of practice that examinees will enter. Spearman correlation and Pearson chi‐square tests were completed.

Results

Over the 8‐year study, 58% of the 2243 responding examinees did fellowships. The most frequently chosen fellowship was facial plastic surgery (25%), followed by pediatric otolaryngology (21%), head and neck surgery (19%), rhinology (13%), laryngology (9%), and neurotology (8%). The 2 most common reasons for doing a fellowship were desire for additional expertise beyond residency training (35%) and intellectual appeal (30%). Over the study period, the number of residents choosing to do a fellowship increased from 45.6% in 2011 to 61.5% in 2019, with a positive correlation between year and number of residents (r = 0.73, P =. 036). When the data were stratified by gender, there were statistically significant differences in fellowship selection (P <. 001), notably with women selecting pediatric otolaryngology at a higher frequency than men (30.9% vs 15.8%).

Conclusion

There is a statistically significant increasing trend of otolaryngology residents who choose to undergo further training in fellowship. These data from a large, long‐term study will be valuable in planning for training and workforce needs in the future.
Early Tracheostomy Change in Neonates: Feasibility and Benefits
Authors: Zebda Denna , Anderson Brady , Huang Zhen , Yuksel Sancak , Roy Soham , Jiang Zi Yang
Published: February 2021

Objectives

To compare outcomes of early and late tracheostomy change in neonatal patients. Early tracheostomy change (ETC) occurred 3 to 4 days after surgery, and late tracheostomy change (LTC) occurred 5 to 7 days after surgery.

Study Design

Retrospective cohort.

Setting

Tertiary neonatal/pediatric intensive care unit.

Methods

A retrospective review of patients who underwent tracheostomy from 2015 to 2019 was performed for infants <1 year old. Data were recorded regarding age at tracheostomy, days until tracheostomy tube change, postoperative complications, and total number of days on sedative or paralytic drugs.

Results

Forty‐six patients were included: 18 (39%) were male, with a mean age of 140 days (SD, 78). Of these, 28 (61%) received ETC. There were no accidental decannulation events in either group. Wound breakdown developed in 4 (14%) patients with ETC versus 5 (28%) with LTC (P =. 3). Use of FlexTend tracheostomy tubes was associated with decreased odds of breakdown (odds ratio, 0.03; P =. 01). Postoperatively, 46 (100%) patients received sedation, and 12 (26%) received paralysis. Mean duration of paralysis was 0.5 days in ETC as opposed to 2.2 days in LTC (P =. 02) on univariate analysis, but the significance was not maintained on multivariate regression (P =. 07).

Conclusions

ETC appears to be feasible in children less than a year of age. There does not appear to be an increased risk of accidental decannulation events or false passage tracts. Further investigations are warranted to investigate safety and possible impact on wound breakdown.
Developmental Anatomy of the Eustachian Tube: Implications for Balloon Dilation
Authors: Magro Isabelle , Pastel David , Hilton Jace , Miller Mia , Saunders James , Noonan Kathryn
Published: February 2021

Objective

To describe the developmental anatomy of the eustachian tube (ET) and its relationship to surrounding structures on computed tomography.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

A tertiary care hospital.

Methods

ET anatomy was assessed with reformatted high‐resolution computed tomography scans from 2010 to 2018. Scans (n = 78) were randomly selected from the following age groups: <4, 5 to 7, 8 to 18, and >18 years. The following were measured and compared between groups: ET length, angles, and relationship between its bony cartilaginous junction and the internal carotid artery and between its nasopharyngeal opening and the nasal floor.

Results

The distance between the bony cartilaginous junction and internal carotid artery decreased with age between the <4‐year‐olds (2.4 ± 0.6 mm) and the 5‐ to 7‐year‐olds (2.0 ± 0.3 mm, P =. 001). The ET length increased among the <4‐year‐olds (32 mm), 5‐ to 7‐year‐olds (36 mm), and 8‐ to 18‐year‐olds (41 mm, P <. 0001). The cartilaginous ET increased among the <4‐year‐olds (20 mm), 5‐ to 7‐year‐olds (25 mm), and 8‐ to 18‐year‐olds (28 mm, P <. 0001). The ET horizontal angle increased among the <4‐year‐olds (17°), 5‐ to 7‐year‐olds (21°), and 8‐ to 18‐year‐olds (23°, P≤. 003), but the ET sagittal angle did not statistically change after 5 years of age. The height difference between the nasopharyngeal opening of the ET and the nasal floor increased among the <4‐year‐olds (4 mm), 5‐ to 7‐year‐olds (7 mm), and 8‐ to 18‐year‐olds (11 mm, P <. 0001).

Conclusion

The ET elongates with age, and its angles and relationship to the nasal floor increase. Although some parameters mature faster, more than half of the ET growth occurs by 8 years of age, and adult morphology is achieved by early adolescence.
Caring ahead: Mixed methods development of a questionnaire to measure caregiver preparedness for end-of-life with dementia
Authors: Durepos Pamela , Akhtar-Danesh Noori , Ploeg Jenny , Sussman Tamara , Kaasalainen Sharon
Published: February 2021

Background:

Family caregivers of persons with dementia often feel unprepared for end-of-life and preparedness predicts caregiver outcomes in bereavement. Existing questionnaires assessing preparedness have limitations. A multi-dimensional questionnaire assessing family caregiver preparedness for the end-of-life of persons with dementia is needed to identify caregivers at risk for negative outcomes in bereavement and evaluate the quality of strategies within a palliative approach.

Aim:

To develop a multi-dimensional questionnaire titled ‘Caring Ahead’ to assess feelings of preparedness for end-of-life in family caregivers of persons with dementia.

Design:

A mixed methods, sequential design employed semi-structured interviews, a Delphi-survey and pilot-testing of the questionnaire, June 2018 to July 2019.

Setting/population:

Participants included five current and 16 bereaved family caregivers of persons with symptoms advanced dementia from long-term care homes in Ontario, Canada; and 12 professional experts from clinical and academic settings in Canada, Europe, United States.

Results:

Interviews generated three core concepts and 114 indicators of preparedness sampling cognitive, affective and behavioural traits in four domains (i.e., medical, psychosocial, spiritual, practical). Indicators were translated and reduced to a pool of 73 potential questionnaire items. 30-items were selected to create the ‘Caring Ahead’ preparedness questionnaire through a Delphi-survey. Items were revised through a pilot-test with cognitive interviewing.

Conclusions:

Family caregivers’ feelings of preparedness for end-of-life need to be assessed and the quality of strategies within a palliative approach evaluated. Future psychometric testing of the Caring Ahead questionnaire will evaluate evidence for validity and reliability.