bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Direct hydrogenation of CO2 to dimethyl ether (DME) over hybrid catalysts containing CuO/ZrO2 as a metallic function and heteropolyacids as an acidic function
Authors: Kornas A. , Śliwa M. , Ruggiero-Mikołajczyk M. , Samson K. , Podobiński J. , Karcz R. , Duraczyńska D. , Rutkowska-Zbik D. , Grabowski R.
Published: April 2020

Dimethyl ether (DME) is considered as a substitution of diesel oil. It can be used in diesel engines because of its high cetane number (> 55). The combustion process does not generate particle matter (PM) or sulphur oxides (SOx) pollutions. One of the methods to obtain DME is direct synthesis from a CO2 and H2 mixture. On the other hand, CO2 is an attractive reagent, which is a safe and economical source of carbon. The aim of this work was to obtain DME in the direct process from the mixture CO2 and H2 in the presence of hybrid catalyst. In these catalytic the CuO/ZrO2 was selected as a metallic function. The montmorillonite K10 modified by heteropolyacids was selected as an acidic function. The catalysts were obtained by different preparation methods and contained various types of heteropolyacids. The catalysts were characterized by following methods: BET/BJH, XRD, SEM, DCS/TG, NH3-TPD and FT-IR. The direct hydrogenation of CO2 was performed in the high pressure fixed-bed flow reactor connected online with GC equipped with TCD and FID detectors. It was shown that both synthesis method of metallic function and the type of heteropolyacids have influence on the total catalytic activity of the hybrid catalyst. The acidity and thermal stability of HPAs are identified as the most important parameters having a decisive influence on the overall catalytic activity of the samples.
Autonomic architecture for fault handling in mobile robots
Authors: Doran Martin , Sterritt Roy , Wilkie George
Published: April 2020

This paper describes a generic autonomic architecture for use in developing systems for managing hardware faults in mobile robots. The method by which the generic architecture was developed is also described. Using autonomic principles, we focused on how to detect faults within a mobile robot and how specialized algorithms can be deployed to compensate for the faults discovered. We design the foundation of a generic architecture using the elements found in the MAPE-K and IMD architectures. We present case studies that show three different fault scenarios that can occur within the effectors, sensors and power units of a mobile robot. For each case study, we have developed algorithms for monitoring and analyzing data stored from previous tasks completed by the robot. We use the results from the case studies to create and refine a generic autonomic architecture that can be utilized for any general mobile robot setup for fault detection and fault compensation. We then describe a further case study which exercises the generic autonomic architecture in order to demonstrate its utility. Our proposal addresses fundamental challenges in operating remote mobile robots with little or no human intervention. If a fault does occur within the mobile robot during field operations, then having a self-automated strategy as part of its processes may result in the mobile robot continuing to function at a productive level. Our research has provided insights into the shortcomings of existing robot design which is also discussed.
Acoustic signal analysis of instrument–tissue interaction for minimally invasive interventions
Authors: Ostler Daniel , Seibold Matthias , Fuchtmann Jonas , Samm Nicole , Feussner Hubertus , Wilhelm Dirk , Navab Nassir
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has become the standard for many surgical procedures as it minimizes trauma, reduces infection rates and shortens hospitalization. However, the manipulation of objects in the surgical workspace can be difficult due to the unintuitive handling of instruments and limited range of motion. Apart from the advantages of robot-assisted systems such as augmented view or improved dexterity, both robotic and MIS techniques introduce drawbacks such as limited haptic perception and their major reliance on visual perception.

Methods

In order to address the above-mentioned limitations, a perception study was conducted to investigate whether the transmission of intra-abdominal acoustic signals can potentially improve the perception during MIS. To investigate whether these acoustic signals can be used as a basis for further automated analysis, a large audio data set capturing the application of electrosurgery on different types of porcine tissue was acquired. A sliding window technique was applied to compute log-mel-spectrograms, which were fed to a pre-trained convolutional neural network for feature extraction. A fully connected layer was trained on the intermediate feature representation to classify instrument–tissue interaction.

Results

The perception study revealed that acoustic feedback has potential to improve the perception during MIS and to serve as a basis for further automated analysis. The proposed classification pipeline yielded excellent performance for four types of instrument–tissue interaction (muscle, fascia, liver and fatty tissue) and achieved top-1 accuracies of up to 89.9%. Moreover, our model is able to distinguish electrosurgical operation modes with an overall classification accuracy of 86.40%.

Conclusion

Our proof-of-principle indicates great application potential for guidance systems in MIS, such as controlled tissue resection. Supported by a pilot perception study with surgeons, we believe that utilizing audio signals as an additional information channel has great potential to improve the surgical performance and to partly compensate the loss of haptic feedback.
Learned optical flow for intra-operative tracking of the retinal fundus
Authors: Ravasio Claudio S. , Pissas Theodoros , Bloch Edward , Flores Blanca , Jalali Sepehr , Stoyanov Danail , Cardoso Jorge M. , Da Cruz Lyndon , Bergeles Christos
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Sustained delivery of regenerative retinal therapies by robotic systems requires intra-operative tracking of the retinal fundus. We propose a supervised deep convolutional neural network to densely predict semantic segmentation and optical flow of the retina as mutually supportive tasks, implicitly inpainting retinal flow information missing due to occlusion by surgical tools.

Methods

As manual annotation of optical flow is infeasible, we propose a flexible algorithm for generation of large synthetic training datasets on the basis of given intra-operative retinal images. We evaluate optical flow estimation by tracking a grid and sparsely annotated ground truth points on a benchmark of challenging real intra-operative clips obtained from an extensive internally acquired dataset encompassing representative vitreoretinal surgical cases.

Results

The U-Net-based network trained on the synthetic dataset is shown to generalise well to the benchmark of real surgical videos. When used to track retinal points of interest, our flow estimation outperforms variational baseline methods on clips containing tool motions which occlude the points of interest, as is routinely observed in intra-operatively recorded surgery videos.

Conclusions

The results indicate that complex synthetic training datasets can be used to specifically guide optical flow estimation. Our proposed algorithm therefore lays the foundation for a robust system which can assist with intra-operative tracking of moving surgical targets even when occluded.
Towards better representations of carbon allocation in vegetation: a conceptual framework and mathematical tool
Authors: Ceballos-Núñez Verónika , Müller Markus , Sierra Carlos A.
Published: April 2020

The representation of carbon allocation (CA) in ecosystem differs tremendously among models, resulting in diverse responses of carbon cycling and storage to global change. Several studies have highlighted discrepancies between empirical observations and model predictions, attributing these differences to problems of model structure. We analyzed the mathematical representation of CA in models using concepts from dynamical systems theory; we reviewed a representative sample of models of CA in vegetation and developed a model database within the Python package bgc-md. We asked whether these representations can be generalized as a linear system, or whether a more general framework is needed to accommodate nonlinearities. Some of the vegetation systems simulated with the reviewed models have a fixed partitioning of photosynthetic products, independent of environmental forcing. Vegetation is often represented as a linear system without storage compartments. Yet, other structures with nonlinearities have also been proposed, with important consequences on the temporal trajectories of ecosystem carbon compartments. The proposed mathematical framework unifies the representation of alternative CA schemes, facilitating their classification according to mathematical properties as well as their potential temporal behaviour. It can represent complex processes in a compact form, which can potentially facilitate dialog among empiricists, theoreticians, and modellers.
ESMO 2019—personal highlights in gastrointestinal cancer
Authors: Amann A.
Published: April 2020

This article summarizes important highlights regarding gastrointestinal cancer at the 2019 ESMO annual meeting. The choice of the abstracts was based on a personal view with a focus on different tumor entities of the gastrointestinal tract. Precision-medicine-guided therapy for cancer entities was one of the main topics at this year’s ESMO. Furthermore, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) by performing liquid biopsy was again another hot topic, especially in guiding adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Finally, hope was stirred up again for immunotherapy in the indication of first-line treatment in nonresectable hepatocellular cancer (HCC). In summary, the astonishing progress in new drugs that has been made in recent years is still ongoing and will lead to better treatment for cancer patients.
Curve severity and apical vertebral rotation and their association with curve flexibility in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
Authors: Mohanty S. P. , Pai Kanhangad M. , Gullia A.
Published: April 2020

Purpose

To determine the association between coronal Cobb’s angle and Nash–Moe index in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. We also attempted to determine whether apical vertebral derotation depended upon the curve flexibility.

Overview of literature

The three-dimensional nature of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is well established. Knowledge of all components of this complex deformity is essential to formulate effective treatment strategies. Though the importance of quantifying all the components of the deformity, in AIS, has been analysed in detail, very few studies have been done to ascertain the relationship between the coronal plane deformity and apical vertebral rotation.

Methods

Digitalised standing and supine stretch anteroposterior (AP) radiographs of 158 patients with AIS were analysed. The standing and supine stretch AP radiographs were compared to calculate the percentage reduction of Cobb’s angle to determine curve flexibility. The derotation of the apical vertebra on application of traction was also noted. The one-way repeated ANOVA was used to determine the association between Cobb’s angle and Nash–Moe index. The independent samplettest was used to determine whether a statistically significant difference was present, in the age of the patient, severity of the curve and percentage reduction of Cobb’s angle between those curves that derotated and those that did not, when stretched.

Results

The one-way repeated ANOVA revealed an association between Cobb’s angle and Nash–Moe index on the standing and supine AP stretch radiographs (P < 0.01). The Independent samplet-test showed a statistically significant difference in percentage reduction of Cobb’s angle between those curves that derotated compared to those that did not, on stretch (P < 0.01).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that there is an association between apical vertebral rotation and the coronal plane deformity. It also demonstrates that flexible curves derotate to a greater extent compared to rigid curves, when stretched.
Metacognitive Development and Conceptual Change in Children
Authors: Smortchkova Joulia , Shea Nicholas
Published: April 2020

There has been little investigation to date of the way metacognition is involved in conceptual change. It has been recognised that analytic metacognition is important to the way older children (c. 8–12 years) acquire more sophisticated scientific and mathematical concepts at school. But there has been barely any examination of the role of metacognition in earlier stages of concept acquisition, at the ages that have been the major focus of the developmental psychology of concepts. The growing evidence that even young children have a capacity for procedural metacognition raises the question of whether and how these abilities are involved in conceptual development. More specifically, are there developmental changes in metacognitive abilities that have a wholescale effect on the way children acquire new concepts and replace existing concepts? We show that there is already evidence of at least one plausible example of such a link and argue that these connections deserve to be investigated systematically.
Synthesis of potential bio-adsorbent from Indian Neem leaves (Azadirachta indica) and its optimization for malachite green dye removal from industrial wastes using response surface methodology: kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic studies
Authors: Das Radha , Mukherjee Anupam , Sinha Ishita , Roy Kunal , Dutta Binay K.
Published: April 2020

The response surface methodology has been extended to study the adsorption of malachite green dye (MG) on Indian Neem leaf powder (NLP),Azadirachta indica. The study was experimented by varying the solution concentration from 10 to 100 mg/l. The removal percentage of MG was determined by spectrophotometer at wavelength of 618 nm. Design Expert 11.0 was used as a tool to study the optimal conditions of MG adsorption (applying 2-factorial interaction model of central composite design) and evaluation of interaction effects of different operating parameters including pH, time, solute concentration, temperature and adsorbent dosage. Numerical optimization helped to identify the optimal conditions for achieving the targeted dye removal of 95.493% when the pH, time, solute concentration, temperature and adsorbent amount were set at the range of 6.868, 36.4 min, 27.899 mg/l, 308.477 K, and 4.3475 g/l respectively. The experimental results indicate that the maximum adsorption capacity of NLP depends on various operating parameter like, pH, dye concentration, particle size of adsorbents and it’s activation. It was noted that adsorption capacity of the NLP increases from 33.33 to 66.72 mg/g when it was activated with dilute HCl. The higher correlation coefficient value (R2) of Langmuir isotherm 0.996 and lowerpvalue (0.01203) indicate the fitness of the response surface 2FI model developed. Kinetic studies displayed the suitability of pseudo second order reaction for this adsorption process. The thermodynamic study show that the sorption process is exothermic and spontaneous in nature. It was observed that the adsorbent NLP in the form of fine powder are very effective for the removal of MG from its aqueous solution. The satisfactory values of regression coefficients at different temperature, and fittings of adsorption isotherms indicate that Indian NLP is a promising adsorbent for treatment of textile dyes.
Evidence-based medicine, shared decision making and the hidden curriculum: a qualitative content analysis
Authors: Braschi Emélie , Stacey Dawn , Légaré France , Grad Roland , Archibald Douglas
Published: April 2020

Introduction Medical education should portray evidence-based medicine (EBM) and shared decision making (SDM) as central to patient care. However, misconceptions regarding EBM and SDM are common in clinical practice, and these biases might unintentionally be transmitted to medical trainees through a hidden curriculum. The current study explores how assumptions of EBM and SDM can be hidden in formal curriculum material such as PowerPoint slides.

Methods We conducted a qualitative content analysis using a purposive sample of 18 PowerPoints on the management of upper respiratory tract infections. We identified concepts pertaining to decision making using theory-driven codes taken from the fields of EBM and SDM. We then re-analyzed the coded text using a constructivist latent thematic approach to develop a rich description of conceptualizations of decision making in relation to EBM and SDM frameworks.

Results PowerPoint slides can relay a hidden curriculum, which can normalize: pathophysiological reasoning, unexplained variations in clinical care, the use of EBM mimics, defensive medicine, an unrealistic portrayal of benefits, and paternalism.

Discussion Addressing the hidden curriculum in formal curricular material should be explored as a novel strategy to foster a positive attitude towards EBM and SDM and to improve patient outcomes by encouraging the use of these skills.
Pilotphase eines neu gestalteten Wechselschichtsystems der Polizei in einer Metropolregion
Authors: Terschüren C. , Herold R. , Mache S. , Velasco Garrido M. , Preisser A. , Harth V.
Published: April 2020

Mit dem Ziel, für die Polizistinnen und Polizisten im Wechselschichtdienst (WSD) eine Reduktion potenzieller gesundheitlicher Belastungen zu ermöglichen und eine Verbesserung der Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Privatleben zu erreichen, wurde in der Polizei Hamburg eine neue Dienstzeitregelung (DZR) entwickelt. Das neue Schichtsystem umfasst im Vergleich zur bestehenden DZR 14 statt vier 12-Stunden-Schichten in 8 Wochen, gleichzeitig aber auch 14 anstelle von 2 freien Tagen. Die neue DZR wurde in einer einjährigen Pilotphase in 6 Polizeikommissariaten (PKs) erprobt, die zuvor bei einer Abstimmung einen Zwei-Drittel-Mehrheitsbeschluss für die Teilnahme erzielten. Die Vergleichsgruppe bestand aus 17 nichtpilotierenden PKs. Für eine Prä-post-Analyse wurden vor Beginn der Pilotierung in einem umfassenden Fragebogen neben anderen Parametern die Erwartungen in Bezug auf die Umsetzung im Alltag, die Vereinbarkeit mit dem Privatleben und die Gesundheit erfasst. Nach einem Jahr wurden die Einschätzungen zu den entsprechenden Aspekten erhoben. Vor Beginn der Pilotphase (T0) nahmen 1151 (72,7 %) von insgesamt 1583 im WSD Beschäftigten an der Befragung teil, nach einem Jahr (T1) 74,3 % (1122 von 1511). In beiden Gruppen wurden zu beiden Zeitpunkten die freien Tage und bessere Regenerationsmöglichkeiten als führende Gründe für die Befürwortung der neuen DZR angegeben. Zu T0 erwarteten 16,5 % aus den pilotierenden PKs eine einfache Anpassung des privaten Alltags an die neue DZR, in T1 gaben 36,9 % an, dass diese Anpassung in der einjährigen Pilotphase leicht umzusetzen war. Eine positive Auswirkung auf die allgemeine Gesundheit berichteten 22,1 % der Frauen und 32,7 % der Männer nach der Pilotphase. Die Erwartung an eine verbesserte Regeneration stand zu Beginn der Pilotierung deutlich im Fokus der Beschäftigten. In den 6 pilotierenden PKs wurde die veränderte Schichtplangestaltung mehrheitlich positiv bewertet.
Recommendation decision-making algorithm for sharing accommodation using probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets and bipartite network projection
Authors: Cao Qian , Liu Xiaodi , Wang Zengwen , Zhang Shitao , Wu Jian
Published: April 2020

In recent years, with the uninterrupted development of sharing accommodation, it not only caters to the diversified accommodation of tourists, but also takes an active role in expanding employment and entrepreneurship channels, enhancing the income of urban and rural residents, and promoting the revitalization of rural areas. However, with the continuous expansion of the scale of sharing accommodation, it is fairly complicated for users to search appropriate services or information. The decision-making problems become more and more complicated. Hence, a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy recommendation decision-making algorithm based on bipartite network projection is proposed in this paper. First of all, combining the users’ decision-making information and the experts’ evaluation information, a bipartite graph connecting users and alternatives is established. Then, the satisfaction degree of probabilistic hesitant fuzzy element is defined. Besides, the recommended alternative is obtained by the allocation of resources. Finally, a numerical case of Airbnb users is given to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Menu or Mandate? EU Governance and Party Politics in Poland
Authors: Hou Pengfei
Published: April 2020

This article examines how the European Union (EU) has impacted party politics in Poland. Before the 2004 accession, party politics in Poland were turbulent. In this period, the EU, as a reference point, helped to create a pro- and anti-EU party cleavage. With this impact admitted, the article turns to the post-accession party politics. Centering on the nationalist Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS), the article attempts to explore the EU’s impact on the PiS by studying the latter’s adaptation preferences. To do so, I employ James N. Rosenau’s political adaptation theory. Central to the article is the argument that since political parties are the protagonists in member states’ domestic politics, the EU can only affect the party politics in Poland indirectly, but not inconsequentially. Without mandate notwithstanding, the EU can create bottom-up pressures through civil society; meanwhile, since EU norms and political parties’ particular interests are not necessarily incompatible, the EU can take the initiatives to make a balance between them through policy innovations.
Clinical Features, Bacteriology, and Antibiotic Treatment Among Patients with Presumed Naja Bites in Vietnam
Authors: Ngo Ngoc Duc , Le Quy Xuan , Pham Anh Quang , Nguyen Nguyen Trung , Ha Hung Tran , Dinh Michael Minh Quoc , Le Thuan Quang
Published: April 2020

Introduction

Clinical and bacteriological features of cobra ( Naja) bites are still relatively unknown in Vietnam. This study aimed to characterize the clinical and bacteriological characteristics of local wounds in patients with presumed Naja spp bite, as well as their antibiotic treatment.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed on presumed Naja bite patients who were admitted to Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. In vitro bacterial isolation, blood tests, and lesion measure were conducted, and antibiotic susceptibilities of localized bite wounds were assessed. The Mann-Whitney test was used to examine the difference in clinical characteristics between patients experiencing presumed Naja atra bites and Naja kaouthia bites. Data are presented as percentages or median with interquartile range, as appropriate. Statistical significance was accepted at P<0.05.

Results

Among 46 patients, all had typical clinical features of Naja bite. The median bite-to-hospital time was 6 h (interquartile range 4.0–11.3). The dominant organisms isolated from local wounds were Morganella morganii (11/36) and Enterococcus faecalis (25/36). All cultures were susceptible to ciprofloxacin. No difference was found with regard to pain, swelling circumference, swelling spread, or necrotic area between patients bitten by presumed Naja atra and Naja kaouthia ( P>0.05).

Conclusions

Wound necrosis and infection were important clinical issues in presumed Naja spp snake bites. Morganella morganii and Enterococcus faecalis were dominant in local wound swabs of such cases. Ciprofloxacin should be an effective first-line antibiotic for patients with presumed Naja bite.
Are your IT staff ready for the pandemic-driven insider threat?
Authors: Chapman Phil
Published: April 2020

As this article is being written it's mid-March. The situation likely will have changed significantly by the time you read this, as it does by the day and even the hour. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Covid-19 to be a global pandemic and the UK Government has stepped up its response from the ‘contain’ to the ‘delay’ phase. Public spaces and transport are noticeably quieter and many workplaces are getting emptier as staff members work from home.

The Covid-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns are hitting businesses hard. And as workforces move to remote working, IT departments are under pressure.

At the same time, cyber criminals are exploiting the pandemic, with rises in phishing and other forms of attacks. The cyber security workforce, already suffering a skills crisis, may lack the soft skills required to effectively tackle these issues, many of which could be solved if the industry didn't rely so heavily on recruiting graduates and rather looked towards hiring apprentices, argues Phil Chapman of Firebrand Training.
The security risks created by cloud migration and how to overcome them
Authors: Kelf Simon
Published: April 2020

More than half of UK businesses are expected to migrate to the cloud by the end of the year, but concerns over security remain among some contemplating the move. While there are tremendous upsides to using the cloud over traditional data storage methods, there are some risks that arise during the migration process.
Application and Prospect of a Mobile Hospital in Disaster Response
Authors: Chen Xinlin , Lu Lu , Shi Jie , Zhang Xin , Fan Haojun , Fan Bin , Qu Bo , Lv Qi , Hou Shike
Published: April 2020

Disasters such as an earthquake, a flood, and an epidemic usually lead to large numbers of casualties accompanied by disruption of the functioning of local medical institutions. A rapid response of medical assistance and support is required. Mobile hospitals have been deployed by national and international organizations at disaster situations in the past decades, which play an important role in saving casualties and alleviating the shortage of medical resources. In this paper, we briefly introduce the types and characteristics of mobile hospitals used by medical teams in disaster rescue, including the aspects of structural form, organizational form, and mobile transportation. We also review the practices of mobile hospitals in disaster response and summarize the problems and needs of mobile hospitals in disaster rescue. Finally, we propose the development direction of mobile hospitals, especially on the development of intelligence, rapid deployment capabilities, and modularization, which provide suggestions for further research and development of mobile hospitals in the future.
Challenges of infection prevention and control in Scottish long-term care facilities
Authors: Nguyen Le K. N. , Megiddo Itamar , Howick Susan
Published: April 2020

Residents living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are at high risk of contracting healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The unique operational and cultural characteristics of LTCFs and the currently evolving models of healthcare delivery in Scotland create great challenges for infection prevention and control (IPC). Existing literature that discusses the challenges of infection control in LTCFs focuses on operational factors within a facility and does not explore the challenges associated with higher levels of management and the lack of evidence to support IPC practices in this setting.1-7 Here, we provide a broader view of challenges faced by LTCFs in the context of the current health and social care models in Scotland. Many of these challenges are also faced in the rest of the United Kingdom and internationally.
Tobacco smoking in young people seeking treatment for mental ill-health: what are their attitudes, knowledge and behaviours towards quitting?
Authors: Brown E. , O’Donoghue B. , White S. L. , Chanen A. , Bedi G. , Adams S. , Schely C. , Do T. U. , Sterjovska A. , Moeller-Saxone K. , Kay-Lambkin F. , Simmons M. , Cementon E. , Killackey E.
Published: April 2020

Introduction

Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of preventable death and disease worldwide. Adults with mental ill-health smoke tobacco at substantially higher rates than other adults, with public health approaches effective in the population overall having less impact on those with mental ill-health. However, less is known about the tobacco smoking behaviours, attitudes and knowledge of young people with mental ill-health, despite this being the peak period of onset for both mental illness and cigarette smoking.

Methods

Young people attending a youth mental health centre (providing both primary and specialist care) in Melbourne, Australia were approached by youth peer researchers and asked to complete a survey about smoking behaviours, attitudes and knowledge. We examined smoking and associated attitudes in the sample overall, and as a function of the services accessed.

Results

In total, 114 young people completed the survey, with 56.3% reporting lifetime cigarette smoking, 42.0% smoking in the last 12 months and 28.6% in the past week. Of current regular smokers, 75.0% acknowledged they should quit in the future; however, only 23.5% planned to do so in the next month, with 44.4% confident that they could quit. Participants lacked knowledge about interactions between tobacco smoking, mental and physical health.

Conclusions

Youth presenting for mental ill-health had high rates of cigarette smoking relative to population rates. Presentation at youth mental health services may represent a critical window for early intervention to reduce the lifetime impacts of cigarette smoking in mental ill-health. Interventions to support smoking cessation in this group are urgently needed.
Inside-Out Interviews: Cross-Cultural Research in China
Authors: Sposato Martin , Jeffrey Heather L.
Published: April 2020

There is a paucity of research exploring the use of local facilitators in cross-cultural research in Chinese cultural contexts and the impact this may have on data generation and knowledge creation. Addressing this gap, this paper critically reflects on cross-cultural interviews in Hong Kong. The reflection is centred on the experience of interviewing as an outsider to the culture of the participants and later working alongside an insider. While insider and outsider positionalities are formed from a multitude of intersectional characteristics, both gender and nationality emerged as primary influencers in this context. This paper contributes to the methodologically oriented literature by making salient the complexities of deciphering the multitude of influences originating from the researcher's positionality in relation to research others. Specifically, this paper highlights how both insider and outsider positionalities generate different, but complementary data through the exploration of participant's responses. ‘It's a Chinese thing’ or comments equating to it's a woman's thing were used by participants to either limit responses or expand and offer additional information, and the juxtaposition of these responses with those given to an insider help to highlight what this might mean for knowledge creation.
The mitochondrial genomes of the mesozoansIntoshia linei,Dicyemasp. andDicyema japonicum
Authors: Robertson Helen E. , Schiffer Philipp H. , Telford Maximilian J.
Published: April 2020

The Dicyemida and Orthonectida are two groups of tiny, simple, vermiform parasites that have historically been united in a group named the Mesozoa. Both Dicyemida and Orthonectida have just two cell layers and appear to lack any defined tissues. They were initially thought to be evolutionary intermediates between protozoans and metazoans but more recent analyses indicate that they are protostomian metazoans that have undergone secondary simplification from a complex ancestor. Here we describe the first almost complete mitochondrial genome sequence from an orthonectid,Intoshia linei, and describe nine and eight mitochondrial protein-coding genes fromDicyemasp. andDicyema japonicum, respectively. The 14 247 base pair longI. lineisequence has typical metazoan gene content, but is exceptionally AT-rich, and has a unique gene order. The data we have analysed from the Dicyemida provide very limited support for the suggestion that dicyemid mitochondrial genes are found on discrete mini-circles, as opposed to the large circular mitochondrial genomes that are typical of the Metazoa. Thecox1gene from dicyemid species has a series of conserved, in-frame deletions that is unique to this lineage. Usingcox1genes from across the genusDicyema, we report the first internal phylogeny of this group.
In situ and in vitro techniques for estimating degradation parameters and digestibility of diets based on maize or sorghum
Authors: Silva B. C. , Pacheco M. V. C. , Godoi L. A. , Silva F. A. S. , Zanetti D. , Menezes A. C. B. , Pucetti P. , Santos S. A. , Paulino M. F. , Valadares Filho S. C.
Published: April 2020

An experiment was conducted to evaluate: (1) the effects of ensiling maize or sorghum grains after reconstitution on readily soluble fraction (a), potentially degradable fraction in the rumen (b) and rate constant for degradation of b (c) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and starch (STA); and (2) an appropriate incubation time for in situ or in vitro procedures to estimate in vivo digestibility. Four rumen-cannulated Nellore bulls (body weight = 262 ± 19.6 kg) distributed in a 4 × 4 Latin square were used. Diets were based on dry ground maize (DGM); or dry ground sorghum (DGS); or reconstituted ground maize silage; or reconstituted ground sorghum silage. In vitro and in situ incubations of the individual grains and diets were simultaneously performed with in vivo digestibility. In general, reconstituted grains and diets based on reconstituted grains presented greater (P < 0.05) fraction a and lower (P < 0.05) fraction b of DM, OM and STA compared to dry grains and diets based on dry grain. However, the magnitude of response of the reconstitution and ensiling process on DM and OM degradability parameter was greater for maize than that for sorghum. Moreover, no differences (P > 0.05) were observed between DGM- and DGS-based diets for c estimates. The results suggest that the reconstitution process promotes grains protein matrix breakdown increasing STA availability. The incubation times required for in vivo digestibility estimations of DM, OM and STA are 24 h for in situ and 36 h for in vitro procedures.
Pathways from performance monitoring to negative symptoms and functional outcomes in psychotic disorders
Authors: Foti Dan , Perlman Greg , Bromet Evelyn J. , Harvey Philip D. , Hajcak Greg , Mathalon Daniel H. , Kotov Roman
Published: April 2020

Background

Performance monitoring entails rapid error detection to maintain task performance. Impaired performance monitoring is a candidate pathophysiological process in psychotic disorders, which may explain the broader deficit in executive function and its known associations with negative symptoms and poor functioning. The current study models cross-sectional pathways bridging neurophysiological measures of performance monitoring with executive function, symptoms, and functioning.

Methods

Data were from the 20-year assessment of the Suffolk County Mental Health Project. Individuals with psychotic disorders (N= 181) were originally recruited from inpatient psychiatric facilities. Data were also collected from a geographically and demographically matched group with no psychosis history (N= 242). Neural measures were the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe). Structural equation modeling tested mediation pathways.

Results

Blunted ERN and Pe in the clinical cohort related to impaired executive function (r= 0.26–0.35), negative symptom severity (r= 0.17–0.25), and poor real-world functioning (r= 0.17–0.19). Associations with executive function were consistent across groups. Multiple potential pathways were identified in the clinical cohort: reduced ERN to inexpressivity was mediated by executive function (β= 0.10); reduced Pe to global functioning was mediated by executive function and avolition (β= 0.10).

Conclusions

This supports a transdiagnostic model of psychotic disorders by which poor performance monitoring contributes to impaired executive function, which contributes to negative symptoms and poor real-world functioning. If supported by future longitudinal research, these pathways could inform the development of targeted interventions to address cognitive and functional deficits that are central to psychotic disorders.
Vínculo Entre La Evaluación De Tecnologías Sanitarias y La Toma De Decisión Para La Asignación De Recursos Sanitarios en Latino-América
Authors: Pichon-Riviere Andrés , Augustovski Federico , García Martí Sebastián , Alfie Verónica , Sampietro-Colom Laura
Published: April 2020

Objetivos

Un vínculo claro entre la evaluación y la toma de decisión constituye un principio de buena práctica en evaluación de tecnologías sanitarias (ETESA) reconocido a nivel internacional. El objetivo del Foro de Políticas en Latino-América (LatamPF) 2019 de Health Technology Assessment International fue explorar los diferentes modelos que vinculan la ETESA y la toma de decisión y discutir su potencial aplicabilidad en Latino-América.

Métodos

Este manuscrito está basado en un documento base y en el trabajo deliberativo realizado por los miembros (54 participantes, 12 países) que asistieron al LatamPF, a través de la metodología design thinking.

Resultados

Los participantes coincidieron en que la relación inapropiada entre la ETESA y la toma de decisión atenta hoy contra la legitimidad de las decisiones, expone al proceso de ETESA a una excesiva influencia política y judicial, y condiciona que algunos actores se sientan relegados del proceso de evaluación y toma de decisión. Se identificaron los atributos del proceso de ETESA más prioritarios y factibles de ser mejorados en la región, y con el mayor potencial para generar un cambio positivo en los sistemas de salud. La mayor parte de estos están vinculados con la apropiada institucionalización de la ETESA, ampliar la participación de los diferentes actores y mejorar la transparencia de los procesos de ETESA.

Conclusiones

El LatamPF ha identificado barreras y recomendado acciones para reforzar el vínculo entre ETESA y la decisión. A su vez, existe en estos momentos una ventana de oportunidad en la región, ya que el tema es visualizado como una prioridad por gran parte de los actores de la sociedad. Por ello, los diferentes actores de los sistemas sanitarios deberían ahora tomar esta oportunidad para avanzar en el fortalecimiento del vínculo entre ETESA y toma de decisión.
BLOOD, FLOWERS, AND POWER: A NEW INTERPRETATION OF PLATE 44 OF THE CODEX BORGIA, A MEXICAN PRE-HISPANIC MANUSCRIPT
Authors: Olivier Guilhem
Published: April 2020

In this paper, I propose a new interpretation of Plate 44 of the Codex Borgia in the context of his central part, the most difficult to understand. The challenge is to demonstrate that Nowotny's (2005 [1961]) reading of this plate as a representation of a ritual of access to power can be combined with Boone's (2007) interpretation of the plate as a representation of a myth of the origin of flowers. In Mesoamerica, the nose-piercing ritual is part of a rite of passage in which the candidate appeared symbolically as a sacrificial victim, dying before his rebirth as a king. The myth of the origin of flowers is also a myth of the origin of menstruation and access to womanhood, thereby constituting a feminine equivalent of the nose-piercing rite of passage. Therefore, plate 44 of the Codex Borgia would illustrate the parallelism between women's fertility and men's access to power. This proposal will contribute to elucidate Frazer's (1981–1984 [1913–1924]) study, who, years ago, was wondering about the coincidence of menstruation taboos related to menarche and taboos that affected sacred kings in many parts of the world.
The PowerPoint Nation: Branding an Imagined Commodity
Authors: Bolin Göran , Ståhlberg Per
Published: April 2020

In the formation of the modern nation state and the social imaginary of nationalism in the nineteenth century, the media and representational practices have, among most scholars, been ascribed a prominent position. The question is, however, how have changes in media technologies, from mass media to digital and interactive personal media, impacted on the national imaginaries over the past few decades? This article discusses what happens with the social imaginaries when national(ist) symbols are reproduced through the medium of PowerPoint, as one of the main tools for constructing images of the nation in nation-branding campaigns, i.e. promotional campaigns initiated by governments in conjunction with corporate actors with the aim of producing an attractive image of a country for foreign investors and tourists. It is concluded that the representational technology of PowerPoint produces a nation as an imagined commodity rather than an imagined community.
Hydropower Production Benefits More From 1.5 °C than 2 °C Climate Scenario
Authors: Meng Ying , Liu Junguo , Leduc Sylvain , Mesfun Sennai , Kraxner Florian , Mao Ganquan , Qi Wei , Wang Zifeng
Published: April 2020

Hydropower plays an important role as renewable and clean energy in the world's overall energy supply. Electricity generation from hydropower represented approximately 16.6% of the world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity in 2015. Determining the different effects of 1.5 and 2 °C of global warming has become a hot spot in water resources research. However, there are still few studies on the impacts of different global warming levels on gross hydropower potential. This study used a coupled hydrological and techno‐economic model framework to assess hydropower production under global warming levels of 1.5 and 2 °C, while also considering gross hydropower potential, power consumption, and economic factors. The results show that both global warming levels will have a positive impact on the hydropower production of a tropical island (Sumatra) relative to the historical period; however, the ratio of hydropower production versus power demand provided by 1.5 °C of global warming is 40% higher than that provided by 2 °C of global warming under RCP6.0. The power generation by hydropower plants shows incongruous changing trends with hydropower potential under the same global warming levels. This inconformity occurs because the optimal sites for hydropower plants were chosen by considering not only hydropower potential but also economic factors. In addition, the reduction in CO2 emissions under global warming of 1.5 °C (39.06 × 106 t) is greater than that under global warming of 2 °C (10.20 × 106 t), which reveals that global warming decreases the benefits necessary to relieve global warming levels. However, the hydropower generation and the reduction in CO2 emissions will be far less than the energy demand when protected areas are excluded as potential sites for hydropower plants, with a sharp decrease of 40–80%. Thus, government policy‐makers should consider the trade‐off between hydropower generation and forest coverage area in nationally determined contributions.
Improving Hydrological Models With the Assimilation of Crowdsourced Data
Authors: Avellaneda P. M. , Ficklin D. L. , Lowry C. S. , Knouft J. H. , Hall D. M.
Published: April 2020

Small streams often lack reliable hydrological data. Environmental agencies play a key role in providing such data; however, these agencies are often challenged by the growing monitoring needs and lack of funding. Given the spatial mismatch between observed data and small watersheds/headwaters, local volunteers can act as potentially valuable research partners. We examine how CrowdHydrology, a citizen science program that collects stream stage and stream temperature observations, improves a hydrologic model of the Boyne River, Michigan, USA. Volunteers provided observations at four calibration sites with different interarrival times of the observations. We tested whether stream stage and stream temperature observations (measured by volunteers) improved the performance of a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model of the Boyne River. Observations were integrated into the model using the ensemble Kalman filter. This framework allowed us to integrate observation error, track the variability of model parameters, and simulate daily streamflow and stream temperature across the watershed. Measures of daily model performance included the Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency, modified Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency (Ef‐mod), refined index of agreement (dr), and relative bias (Bias). For all calibration sites, estimates of streamflow improved after data assimilation compared to simulations based on initial/default SWAT parameters. Different measures of model performance emerged based on the interarrival times of the observations. Results demonstrate that observations collected by local volunteers, with a certain temporal resolution, can improve SWAT hydrological models and capture central tendency.
Correction: The dentate gyrus in depression: directions for future research
Authors: Nuninga Jasper O. , Mandl René C. W. , Sommer Iris E. C.
Published: April 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
New virus isolates from Italian hydrothermal environments underscore the biogeographic pattern in archaeal virus communities
Authors: Baquero Diana P , Contursi Patrizia , Piochi Monica , Bartolucci Simonetta , Liu Ying , Cvirkaite-Krupovic Virginija , Prangishvili David , Krupovic Mart
Published: April 2020

Viruses of hyperthermophilic archaea represent one of the least understood parts of the virosphere, showing little genomic and morphological similarity to viruses of bacteria or eukaryotes. Here, we investigated virus diversity in the active sulfurous fields of the Campi Flegrei volcano in Pozzuoli, Italy. Virus-like particles displaying eight different morphotypes, including lemon-shaped, droplet-shaped and bottle-shaped virions, were observed and five new archaeal viruses proposed to belong to families Rudiviridae, Globuloviridae and Tristromaviridae were isolated and characterized. Two of these viruses infect neutrophilic hyperthermophiles of the genus Pyrobaculum, whereas the remaining three have rod-shaped virions typical of the family Rudiviridae and infect acidophilic hyperthermophiles belonging to three different genera of the order Sulfolobales, namely, Saccharolobus, Acidianus, and Metallosphaera. Notably, Metallosphaera rod-shaped virus 1 is the first rudivirus isolated on Metallosphaera species. Phylogenomic analysis of the newly isolated and previously sequenced rudiviruses revealed a clear biogeographic pattern, with all Italian rudiviruses forming a monophyletic clade, suggesting geographical structuring of virus communities in extreme geothermal environments. Analysis of the CRISPR spacers suggests that isolated rudiviruses have experienced recent host switching across the genus boundary, potentially to escape the targeting by CRISPR-Cas immunity systems. Finally, we propose a revised classification of the Rudiviridae family, with the establishment of six new genera. Collectively, our results further show that high-temperature continental hydrothermal systems harbor a highly diverse virome and shed light on the evolution of archaeal viruses.