bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Theoretical Underpinnings of Wiredu’s Empiricalism
Authors: Kwesi Richmond 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Wiredu uses the term ‘empiricalism’ to characterise a mode of thinking that is essentially empirical in orientation but admits non-transcendental metaphysical categories and existents into its systems of thought. Wiredu finds evidence of this mode of thinking in the Akan language, characterising the main linguistic community in Ghana, West Africa. The central question addressed in this essay is this: is empiricalism a plausible system in the sense that it carries universal validity and intelligibility? I argue that the plausibility and universality of empiricalism is evident in Wiredu’s logical syntactic and semantic principles which he recruits to investigate the contrast between basic categories of discursive thought such as signification and reference, concept and object, and the notion of ‘existence’. These analyses underpin the central theses of his empiricalism. Such detailed investigations demonstrate that the attractiveness of empiricalism is dependent upon theoretical principles other than, and in addition to, the linguistic evidence that Akan everyday usage provides. Thus the essay demonstrates a basic contrast between Wiredu’s philosophical investigation of language versus many standard works of African philosophy that constitute essentially in-depth studies in sociolinguistics.
Nonlinear Response of Atmospheric Blocking to Early Winter Barents–Kara Seas Warming: An Idealized Model Study
Authors: Chen Xiaodan , Luo Dehai , Wu Yutian , Dunn-Sigouin Etienne , Lu Jian 
Published: December 2020

AbstractWintertime Ural blocking (UB) has been shown to play an important role in cold extremes over Eurasia, and thus it is useful to investigate the impact of warming over the Barents–Kara Seas (BKS) on the behavior of Ural blocking. Here the response of UB to stepwise tropospheric warming over the BKS is examined using a dry dynamic core model. Nonlinear responses are found in the frequency and local persistence of UB. The frequency and local persistence of the UB increase with the strength of BKS warming in a less strong range and decrease with the further increase of BKS warming, which is linked to the UB propagation influenced by upstream background atmospheric circulation. For a weak BKS warming, the UB becomes more persistent due to its less westward movement associated with intensified upstream zonal wind and meridional potential vorticity gradient (PVy) in the North Atlantic mid-high latitudes, which corresponds to a negative height response over the North Atlantic high latitudes. When BKS warming is strong, a positive height response appears in the early winter stratosphere, and its subsequent downward propagation leads to a negative NAO response or increased Greenland blocking events, which reduces zonal wind and PVy in the high latitudes from North Atlantic to Europe, thus enhancing the westward propagation of UB and reducing its local persistence. The transition to the negative NAO phase and the retrogression of UB are not found when numerically suppressing the downward influence of weakened stratospheric polar vortex, suggesting a crucial role of the stratospheric pathway in nonlinear responses of UB to the early winter BKS warming.
Assessing the Influence of Large-Scale Environmental Conditions on the Rainfall Structure of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones: An Observational Study
Authors: Kim Dasol , Ho Chang-Hoi , Murakami Hiroyuki , Park Doo-Sun R. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractUnderstanding the mechanisms related to the variations in the rainfall structure of tropical cyclones (TCs) is crucial in improving forecasting systems of TC rainfall and its impact. Using satellite precipitation and reanalysis data, we examined the influence of along-track large-scale environmental conditions on inner-core rainfall strength (RS) and total rainfall area (RA) for Atlantic TCs during the TC season (July–November) from 1998 to 2019. Factor analysis revealed three major factors associated with variations in RS and RA: large-scale low and high pressure systems [factor 1 (F1)]; environmental flows, sea surface temperature, and humidity [factor 2 (F2)]; and maximum wind speed of TCs [factor 3 (F3)]. Results from our study indicate that RS increases with an increase in the inherent primary circulation of TCs (i.e., F3) but is less affected by large-scale environmental conditions (i.e., F1 and F2), whereas RA is primarily influenced by large-scale low and high pressure systems (i.e., F1) over the entire North Atlantic and partially influenced by environmental flows, sea surface temperature, humidity, and maximum wind speed (i.e., F2 and F3). A multivariable regression model based on the three factors accounted for the variations of RS and RA across the entire basin. In addition, regional distributions of mean RS and RA from the model significantly resembled those from observations. Therefore, our study suggests that large-scale environmental conditions over the North Atlantic Ocean are important predictors for TC rainfall forecasts, particularly with regard to RA.
Effectiveness of Home-Based Occupational Therapy on COPM Performance and Satisfaction Scores in Patients with COPD
Authors: Koolen Eleonore H. , Spruit Martijn A. , de Man Marianne , Antons Jeanine C. , Nijhuis Elieke , Nakken Nienke , Janssen Daisy J.A. , van ‘t Hul Alex J. 
Published: December 2020

Background. Occupational therapy (OT) may be an important intervention in patients with COPD, but studies show conflicting results. Purpose. To evaluate the effectiveness of home-based monodisciplinary OT in COPD patients Method. We conducted an observational clinical study. Main outcomes were the mean differences in the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) performance and satisfaction scores, pre and post intervention. Findings. Pre- and postintervention data were obtained from 41 patients. Statistically significant increases were observed in COPM performance (5.0 ± 1.1 versus 6.9 ± 0.9; P<0.001) and satisfaction (4.6 ± 1.3 versus 6.9 ± 1.0; P<0.001). The most frequently reported occupational performance problems were found in the domains of productivity (47%) and mobility (40%), fewer in self-care (10%) and the least in leisure (3%). Implications. Home-based monodisciplinary OT can contribute significantly to the improvement of daily functioning of patients with COPD. OT should therefore be considered more often as part of the integrated management of these patients.
Improving Quantitative Abilities and Attitudes in Clinical Psychology Courses: Longitudinal Assessment of a Blended Learning Intervention
Authors: Sockol Laura E. , Ellison William D. , Stutts Lauren A. , Knouse Laura E. 
Published: December 2020

Background: Many students report negative attitudes toward research methods and statistics (RMS), and these attitudes are associated with impaired performance. Student interest in clinical psychology suggests that clinical courses may provide a promising venue for integrating RMS instruction. This approach may be particularly valuable for students from underrepresented groups in psychology. Objective: We evaluated whether integrating core RMS concepts into undergraduate clinical psychology courses using a blended learning intervention improved students’ quantitative knowledge and attitudes. Exploratory analyses assessed whether the intervention had differential efficacy for students from underrepresented groups. Method: Students completed pre- and post-course assessments of content knowledge, perceived RMS competence, implicit theories of quantitative skills, and statistics anxiety. We compared changes in student outcomes before ( n = 101) and after ( n = 91) implementing the blended learning intervention. Results: Overall, the intervention did not result in greater improvements in content knowledge, perceived RMS competence, or statistics anxiety. However, exploratory analyses suggested that the intervention was more effective for first-generation and racial/ethnic minority students. Change in endorsement of a growth-oriented mindset for quantitative skills was marginally stronger among students in courses implementing the blended learning intervention. Conclusion: These findings suggest that integrating RMS content in clinical psychology courses may confer modest benefits for students’ knowledge and attitudes toward quantitative skills, especially among students from underrepresented groups.
Interventions to Engage Patients and Families in Patient Safety: A Systematic Review
Authors: Lee Miseon , Lee Nam-Ju , Seo Hyun-Ju , Jang Haena , Kim Seong Min 
Published: December 2020

The involvement of patients and families is essential for improving patient safety. However, the role of patients and caregivers in patient safety has recently been receiving attention, and programs and interventions have been implemented for patients and caregivers. The objective of this systematic review was to identify the types of interventions to improve patient safety that focused on engaging patients and their families, and the effectiveness of these interventions. Searching four electronic databases, 2019 articles were obtained; of these, 15 articles met the inclusion criteria. The studies used intervention strategies at the “information” and “involvement” engagement levels. Interventions with strategies only at the information level mostly measured safety perception and were mostly found to be effective. Interventions with both information and involvement strategies measured more diverse outcomes, but their effectiveness was inconsistent. Further studies using a range of intervention strategies and outcomes with more rigorous methodologies are needed. PROSPERO registration number CRD42018096162.
Perceptions of quality of life by people with advanced cancer who live at home
Authors: Peoples Hanne , Nissen Nina , Brandt Åse , la Cour Karen 
Published: December 2020

Introduction Cancer in advanced stages often results in a reduced ability to engage in occupations, which may influence quality of life. A growing number of people with advanced cancer receive palliative care at home and thus the home becomes the place where most of their everyday occupations occur. The purpose of this study was to explore, from an occupational perspective, how people with advanced cancer who live at home perceive quality of life. Method A qualitative descriptive design was employed, consisting of two consecutive interviews: a semi-structured interview and a subsequent photo-elicitation interview. Thematic analysis was used to explore the data. Ten participants took part in this study. Findings The analysis identified three interrelated themes: ‘quality of life during changing circumstances’; ‘striving to continue everyday life’ and ‘being independent and connected’. Conclusion The findings highlight the importance of everyday life continuity and ongoing changes and adjustments needed to maintain quality of life. However, due to the progressive nature of advanced cancer, the required adjustments may not always be possible. The findings furthermore show that loss of independence and increased dependence may lead to a new sense of interdependence and closeness with family and friends, which positively influences quality of life.
Knowledge, Perceptions, and Preferred Information Sources Related to COVID-19 Among Healthcare Workers: Results of a Cross Sectional Survey
Authors: Sathianathan Shyama , Van Scoy Lauren Jodi , Sakya Surav Man , Miller Erin , Snyder Bethany , Wasserman Emily , Chinchilli Vernon M. , Garman John , Lennon Robert P. 
Published: December 2020

Purpose: To compare COVID-19 related knowledge, perceptions, and preferred information sources between healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Web-based. Subjects: Convenience sample of Pennsylvanian adults. Measures: Primary outcomes were binary responses to 15 COVID-19 knowledge questions weighted by a Likert scale assessing response confidence. Analysis: Generalized linear mixed-effects models to assess comparisons between clinical decision makers (CDM), non-clinical decision makers working in healthcare (non-CDM) and non-healthcare workers (non-HCW). Results: CDMs (n = 91) had higher overall knowledge than non-CDMs (n = 854; OR 1.81 [1.51, 2.17], p < .05). Overall knowledge scores were not significantly different between non-CDMs (n = 854) and non-HCW (n = 4,966; OR 1.03 [0.97, 1.09], p > .05). Conclusion: The findings suggest a need for improved education about COVID-19 for healthcare workers who are not clinical decision makers, as they play key roles in patient perceptions and compliance with preventive medicine during primary care visits.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Concept Analysis
Authors: Levi Paula , Patrician Patricia A. , Vance David E. , Montgomery Aoyjai P. , Moss Jacqueline 
Published: December 2020

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses are at an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to their stressful work environment. Using the Walker and Avant conceptual analysis method, we sought to review the literature to better understand PTSD as it pertained to ICU nurses and its impact on their lives, patient care, and health care organizations. Methods: For the review, we searched the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and PsycINFO. The keyword searches included the terms “post-traumatic stress disorder” AND “psychological stress” AND “intensive care unit nurses.” Abstract and full text reviews were conducted. Ten articles met our inclusion criteria of being published in the past 10 years (2010–2020), peer reviewed, written in English, and referred specifically to PTSD and psychological stress in ICU nurses. Findings: Antecedents for PTSD in ICU nurses are their stressful work environment, where exposure to traumatic events is experienced, and a lack of support from their manager, coworkers, and organization. Defining attributes for ICU nurses with PTSD included reexperiencing, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and hyperarousal. Consequences identified included burnout, job dissatisfaction, and the intention to leave their job. The conceptual definition of PTSD in ICU nurses was illustrated by the attributes, antecedents, consequences, model case, empirical referents, and by the negative impact on the nurse, patients, and the health care organization. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Hospital administrators, nurse managers, and occupational health nurses should ensure that policies and interventions are in place to recognize and reduce the risk of PTSD among ICU nurses.
Automated detection of activity onset after postictal generalized EEG suppression
Authors: Lamichhane Bishal , Kim Yejin , Segarra Santiago , Zhang Guoqiang , Lhatoo Samden , Hampson Jaison , Jiang Xiaoqian 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBackgroundSudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a leading cause of premature death in patients with epilepsy. If timely assessment of SUDEP risk can be made, early interventions for optimized treatments might be provided. One of the biomarkers being investigated for SUDEP risk assessment is postictal generalized EEG suppression [postictal generalized EEG suppression (PGES)]. For example, prolonged PGES has been found to be associated with a higher risk for SUDEP. Accurate characterization of PGES requires correct identification of the end of PGES, which is often complicated due to signal noise and artifacts, and has been reported to be a difficult task even for trained clinical professionals. In this work we present a method for automatic detection of the end of PGES using multi-channel EEG recordings, thus enabling the downstream task of SUDEP risk assessment by PGES characterization.MethodsWe address the detection of the end of PGES as a classification problem. Given a short EEG snippet, a trained model classifies whether it consists of the end of PGES or not. Scalp EEG recordings from a total of 134 patients with epilepsy are used for training a random forest based classification model. Various time-series based features are used to characterize the EEG signal for the classification task. The features that we have used are computationally inexpensive, making it suitable for real-time implementations and low-power solutions. The reference labels for classification are based on annotations by trained clinicians identifying the end of PGES in an EEG recording.ResultsWe evaluated our classification model on an independent test dataset from 34 epileptic patients and obtained an AUreceiver operating characteristic (ROC) (area under the curve) of 0.84. We found that inclusion of multiple EEG channels is important for better classification results, possibly owing to the generalized nature of PGES. Of among the channels included in our analysis, the central EEG channels were found to provide the best discriminative representation for the detection of the end of PGES.ConclusionAccurate detection of the end of PGES is important for PGES characterization and SUDEP risk assessment. In this work, we showed that it is feasible to automatically detect the end of PGES—otherwise difficult to detect due to EEG noise and artifacts—using time-series features derived from multi-channel EEG recordings. In future work, we will explore deep learning based models for improved detection and investigate the downstream task of PGES characterization for SUDEP risk assessment.
Capability of oxygen-scavenger sachets and modified atmosphere packaging to extend fresh barberry shelf life
Authors: Niazmand Razieh , Yeganehzad Samira 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Background
Barberry has long been used as an herbal remedy since ancient times which is found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Given the short harvesting season and limited shelf life of the barberry, we evaluated the possibility of using modified atmosphere packaging and oxygen-scavenger sachets to increase its storage period. For this purpose, the physicochemical characterization (antioxidant activity, anthocyanin, phenolic compounds, and ascorbic acid content, acidity, firmness, color, and decay incident) of fresh barberry samples packaged within different atmospheres was investigated over 4 weeks of storage at 4 and 25 °C. The barberries were packaged with low-density polyethylene/polyester (LDPE/PET) films under natural atmosphere (C), N2 gas (N), vacuum (V), or in the presence of an oxygen scavenger (OS).

Results
The results revealed that with increased storage period, the O2 and CO2 levels inside the packages decreased and increased, respectively. The antioxidant activity and amounts of anthocyanin, phenolic compounds, and ascorbic acid all decreased with increasing storage period. Among the studied atmospheres, the OS and, subsequently, V packages were most capable of maintaining the quality of fresh barberries, with the decay incidence being approximately 30 times lower inside these packages relative to the control. Increasing the storage temperature accelerated the intensity of chemical changes and decay across all samples.

Conclusion
The barberries inside the OS packages stored at 4 °C (and even at 25 °C) still had good sensory properties in terms of chemical properties, texture, and color after 4 weeks. Fortunately, it seems that this packaging technology makes the exportation and delayed consumption of the fresh barberry possible by maintaining its quality.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from dairy wastewater effluent: bacterial accumulation, structural characterization and physical properties
Authors: Pagliano Giorgia , Gugliucci Wanda , Torrieri Elena , Piccolo Alessandro , Cangemi Silvana , Di Giuseppe Fabio Angelo , Robertiello Alessandro , Faraco Vincenza , Pepe Olimpia , Ventorino Valeria 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Background
To establish bioplastics as a real alternative to conventional plastics, high production costs must be constrained by using different kinds of wastewater streams as organic substrates and novel microbial strains as material-accumulating bacteria with high performance. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from the effluent of dairy wastewater biodigestion represent a new and inexpensive feedstock, which was used in this study for biopolymer production through microbial processes.

Results
Cupriavidus necator DSM 13513 was particularly able to accumulate PHAs when operating in fed-batch mode by limiting the oxygen level together with intermittent feeding of a carbon source; maximum poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulation was achieved in 48 h without compromising microbial growth. The complex VFAs mixture from the digestate did not influence PHA homopolymer accumulation. In fact, structural characterization by NMR analysis revealed PHB synthesis by C. necator DSM 13513 grown with different VFAs mixtures. Moreover, the bioplastic disk obtained from C. necator DSM 13513 cells grown on VFAs from digested dairy wastewater effluent presented good thermic properties and low affinity to water.

Conclusions
Overall, the results make digested dairy wastewater effluent suitable for PHB production for specific biobased industrial applications.
Cystic mass of the right iliac fossa: don't forget about lymphatic malformation
Authors: Bellamlih Habib , El Farouki Ayman , Mssrouri Rahal , Derqaoui Sabrine , Jahid Ahmed , Moatassim Billah Nabil , Nassar Ittimade 
Published: December 2020

Lymphatic malformation or cystic lymphangioma is a benign tumour of the lymphatic vessels. It is more commonly reported among children and has polymorphic clinical presentations. The diagnosis is based on imaging but requires histological confirmation. The treatment of choice is surgical excision for the abdominal and symptomatic localization. We report the case of a 30-year-old female who consulted for right iliac fossa pain mimicking an acute appendicitis. The physical examination revealed a slight tenderness in the right iliac fossa without fever or palpable mass. Though the biological screening was normal, the imaging exploration has revealed the presence of a multiloculated cyst located in the right iliac fossa at the ascending colon and measuring 15 cm. The mass matches with lymphatic malformation. Therefore, a laparoscopy was performed, and complete resection of the cystic tumor was accomplished with right hemicolectomy. The histologic exam has confirmed the diagnosis. Colonic lymphatic malformation is a rare and benign tumour, requiring a complete surgical excision to minimise any recidivism. The definitive diagnosis remains histological.
Developing support networks for successful implementation of innovative education-al programmes: the case of “evidence-based practice in nursing” continuing education programme in Greece
Authors: Fasoi Georgia , Kelesi Martha , Stavropoulou Areti 
Published: December 2020

Developing and evaluating programmes of continuing education in nursing proved to be a challenging and yet a complex task. Nurse educators and evaluators confront a number of demanding issues regarding the development and implementation of continuing education programmes. Exploration of peers’ and stakeholders’ experience in programme development and evaluation appeared to be a valuable source of knowledge in the field. The aim of the present paper is to share the experience of planning and evaluating the stage of developing support networks during the implementation of an innovative continuing educational programme in nursing. Throughout the development and evaluation of different programme stages, several issues evolved that attracted programme planners’ attention. Development of support networks, group dynamics and communication appeared to be of critical importance for the successful implementation of continuing education programmes in nursing.