Detailed Code Research Articles

‘He is just getting old, you know’: the role of cultural and health beliefs in shaping the help-seeking process of family members caring for persons with dementia in Vietnam

ABSTRACT Objectives This study aims to examine the help-seeking process of family caregivers for persons with dementia (PWD) in Vietnam, and how health and cultural beliefs shape this process. Design Twenty family caregivers of PWD at a geriatric hospital in Northern Vietnam were recruited. A total of 30 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, including 10 follow-up interviews, were conducted. Structural coding was used first to guide data analysis through four structural codes consistent with the four stages of the help-seeking model: (1) disease and symptom experience; (2) explanatory models for symptom appraisal; (3) decision to seek help; and (4) contact with the sources of help. Then thematic coding was used for more detailed and data-driven initial codes to emerge from the data. Results Cultural and health beliefs, particularly collectivist values, such as familism and filial piety, shaped each stage of Vietnamese family caregivers’ help-seeking process. Caregivers experienced different PWD’s symptoms and adopted a mixed explanatory model combining biomedical and folk beliefs to explain the causes of dementia. They highly valued independence, autonomy, devotion to their family, and self-sacrifice, making these values the driving force underlying their self-reliance regime in caregiving. Help-seeking was often delayed until caregivers considered the situation to be beyond their own capacity to manage independently. The family was always the primary informal source of support for caregivers, with additional help sought from friends, neighbors, and religious facilities. Health professionals, if available, were also an important formal source for medical advice. Conclusions The results highlight the importance of culture and health beliefs in shaping caregivers’ help-seeking process, and advocate the needs of service development targeting not only Vietnamese family caregivers for PWD, but also caregivers sharing similar collectivist culture in different areas. Interventions and services that are consistent with their values of self-sacrifice, devotion to family, autonomy, and self-reliance are much needed.

SANDD: A directional antineutrino detector with segmented [formula omitted]Li-doped pulse-shape-sensitive plastic scintillator

We present a characterization of a small (9-liter) and mobile 0.1% 6Li-doped pulse-shape-sensitive plastic scintillator antineutrino detector called SANDD (Segmented AntiNeutrino Directional Detector), constructed for the purpose of near-field reactor monitoring with sensitivity to antineutrino direction. SANDD comprises three different types of module. A detailed Monte Carlo simulation code was developed to match and validate the performance of each of the three modules. The combined model was then used to produce a prediction of the performance of the entire detector. Analysis cuts were established to isolate antineutrino inverse beta decay events while rejecting large fraction of backgrounds. The neutron and positron detection efficiencies are estimated to be 34.8% and 80.2%, respectively, while the coincidence detection efficiency is estimated to be 71.7%, resulting in inverse beta decay detection efficiency of 20.0% ± 0.2%(stat.) ± 2.1%(syst.). The predicted directional sensitivity of SANDD produces an uncertainty of 20∘ in the azimuthal direction per 100 detected antineutrino events.

A comparative performance analysis of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and the Item-Perspective Classification framework for classifying the content of patient reported outcome measures

BackgroundStandardized coding of the content presented in patient reported outcome measures can be achieved using classification frameworks, and the resulting data can be used for ascertaining content validity or comparative analyses. The International Classification of Functioning (ICF) is a framework with a detailed conceptual structure that has been successfully utilized for such purposes through established coding procedures. The Item Perspective Classification (IPC) framework is a newly developed relational coding system that classifies the respondent perspective and conceptual domains addressed in items. The purpose of this study was to compare and describe the performance of these two frameworks when used alone, and in conjunction, for the generation of data pertaining to the content of patient reported outcome measures.MethodsSix health-related quality of life questionnaires with a total of 159 items were classified by two raters using the Item Perspective Classification framework in conjunction with the International Classification of Functioning. Framework performance indicators included: classification capacity (percent of items amenable to successful classification), coding efficiency (number of codes required to classify items), and content overlap detection (percent of items sharing identical classification codes with at least one other item). Inter-rater reliability of item coding was determined using Krippendorff's alpha.ResultsClassification capacity of the IPC framework was 97%, coding efficiency 26, and content overlap detection was 95%; whereas respective values for the ICF were 68%, 114, and 58%. When used in conjunction values were 63%, 129, and 30%. Krippendorff's alpha exceeded 0.97 for all 3 classification indices.ConclusionInter-rater agreement on classification data was excellent. The IPC framework provided a unique classification of the respondent’s judgment during item response and classified more items using fewer categories, indicated greater content overlap across items and was able to describe the relationship between multiple concepts presented within the context of a single item. The ICF provided a unique classification of item content relating to aspects of disability and generated more detailed and precise descriptions. A combined approach provided a rich description (detailed codes) with each framework providing complementary information. The benefits of this approach in instrument development and content validation require further investigation.

Potentials and Importance of Detailed Computational Codes in Mining and Mineral Applications/Industries

Potentials and Importance of Detailed Computational Codes in Mining and Mineral Applications/Industries

Conceptualising olfaction: A study of the scent nouns and adjectives in Old English

ABSTRACT This article investigates the noun and adjective scent lexicon in Old English and provides a Cognitive Linguistic analysis of the conceptualisation of scent. The closely related modality of taste is also taken into consideration, and it is claimed that while both modalities are associated with emotive evaluation, olfaction is distinct from taste in that it lacks any degree of detailed lexical coding. Though the nature of olfactory and gustatory conceptualisation may result from universal properties of sense perception, cultural factors, including the role of medical and religious cultural world views are also taken into consideration. This article puts forward an account of scent in terms of conceptual metaphor, image schemas, and prototype categories.

Experimental investigation of the coolant flow in the VVER reactor core with TVSA fuel assemblies

The paper presents the results of an experimental study to investigate the coolant interaction in adjoining fuel assemblies in the VVER reactor core composed of TVSA-T and upgraded TVSA FAs. The processes of the in-core coolant flow were simulated in a test wind tunnel. The experiments were conducted using models representing different portions of the VVER reactor core fuel bundle and consisted in measuring the radial and axial airflow velocities in representative areas within the FAs and in the interassembly space. The results of the experiments can be translated to the full-scale conditions of the coolant flow with the use of the fluid dynamics simulation theory. The measurements were performed using a five-channel pressure-tube probe. The coolant flow pattern in different portions of the fuel bundle is represented by distribution diagrams and distribution maps for the radial and axial velocity vector components in the representative areas of the models. An analysis for the spatial distribution of the radial and axial velocity vector components has made it possible to obtain a detailed pattern of the coolant flow about the FA spacer, mixing and combined spacer grids of different designs. The accumulated database for the coolant flow in FAs of different designs forms the basis for the engineering justification of the VVER reactor core reliability and serviceability. The investigation results for the coolant interaction in adjoining TVSA FAs of different designs have been adopted for the practical use at JSC Afrikantov OKBM to estimate the heat-engineering reliability of the VVER reactor cores and have been included in the database for verification of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes and detailed by-channel calculation codes.

Frequency of procedural and medical treatments of actinic keratosis

Frequency of procedural and medical treatments of actinic keratosis

Experimental Study on the Behavior of Existing Reinforced Concrete Multi-Column Piers under Earthquake Loading

When a seismic force acts on bridges, the pier can be damaged by the horizontal inertia force of the superstructure. To prevent this failure, criteria for seismic reinforcement details have been developed in many design codes. However, in moderate seismicity regions, many existing bridges were constructed without considering seismic detail because the detailed seismic design code was only applied recently. These existing structures should be retrofitted by evaluating their seismic performance. Even if the seismic design criteria are not applied, it cannot be concluded that the structure does not have adequate seismic performance. In particular, the performance of a lap-spliced reinforcement bar at a construction joint applied by past practices cannot be easily evaluated analytically. Therefore, experimental tests on the bridge piers considering a non-seismic detail of existing structures need to be performed to evaluate the seismic performance. For this reason, six small scale specimens according to existing bridge piers were constructed and seismic performances were evaluated experimentally. The three types of reinforcement detail were adjusted, including a lap-splice for construction joints. Quasi-static loading tests were performed for three types of scale model with two-column piers in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. From the test results, the effect on the failure mechanism of the lap-splice and transverse reinforcement ratio were investigated. The difference in failure characteristics according to the loading direction was investigated by the location of plastic hinges. Finally, the seismic capacity related to the displacement ductility factor and the absorbed energy by hysteresis behavior for each test were obtained and discussed.

Validation of a measure of parental responsiveness: Comparison of the brief Parental Responsiveness Rating Scale with a detailed measure of responsive parental behaviours.

Parental responsiveness is vital for child language development. Its accurate measurement in clinical settings could identify families who may benefit from preventative interventions; however, coding of responsiveness is time-consuming and expensive. This study investigates in a clinical context the validity of the Parental Responsiveness Rating Scale (PaRRiS): a time- and cost-effective global rating scale of parental responsiveness. Child health nurse (CHN) PaRRiS ratings are compared to a detailed coding of parental responsiveness. Thirty parent–child dyads completed an 8-min free-play session at their 27-month health review. CHNs rated the interaction live using PaRRiS. Videos of these interactions were then blindly coded using the more detailed coding system. PaRRiS ratings and detailed codings were compared using correlational analysis and the Bland–Altman method. PaRRiS and the detailed coding showed a moderate-strong correlation (rs (28) = 0.57, 95% CI [0.26, 0.77]) and high agreement (Bland–Altman). CHNs using PaRRiS can capture parental responsiveness as effectively as trained clinicians using detailed coding. This may allow (1) increased accuracy and efficiency in identifying toddlers at risk for long-term language difficulties; (2) more accurate allocation to speech and language therapy (SLT) services; (3) decreased burden on SLT resources by empowering CHNs to make more informed referral decisions.

A comparative study on the rapid seismic evaluation methods of reinforced concrete buildings

In this study, firstly, visual screening based (VSB) (FEMA 154, RVS and RBTE) and capacity-based (P25, Yakut, AURAP and DURTES) methods which are rapid seismic safety assessment methods of existing buildings have discussed. In addition, the linear and nonlinear earthquake performance procedures of the reinforced concrete structures according to the TBEC-2018 which does not have a rapid evaluation method but includes a detailed performance analysis procedure code were also given. After that, 30 existing reinforced concrete buildings collected from Istanbul-Turkey have been analyzed to all these mentioned methods. In this study results of all 7 different rapid seismic assessment methods were compared with results of TBEC-2018's linear and nonlinear performance with regard to advantages and disadvantages. Finally, it was seen that while FEMA 154, RVS and RBTE methods are faster to apply on the buildings however P25, Yakut, AURAP and DURTES methods take more time to apply and give more conservative results. It was observed that the results obtained from the non-linear evaluation method of TBEC-2018 are less conservative than other methods. In addition, different results obtained from linear and nonlinear evaluation methods given in TBEC-2018 for the same buildings were also drawn attention.

An enhanced pairing-based authentication scheme for smart grid communications

To ensure that messages can be securely transmitted between different entities in a smart grid, many researchers have focused on authentication and key exchange schemes. Chen et al. recently proposed an authenticated key exchange scheme called PAuth to overcome the defects of the schemes proposed by Mahmood et al. and Abbasinezhad-Mood et al. However, we found that the PAuth scheme proposed by Chen et al. still suffers from some security defects. In this study, we show the detailed attack steps. Then, an enhanced scheme based on PAuth is proposed. Formal and informal security analyses are provided to demonstrate the improved security of the proposed scheme. ProVerif, an automatic cryptographic protocol verifier, is also used to analyze the enhanced scheme. We present the detailed implementation code used in ProVerif. A comparison of the computational and communication costs with those of some previous schemes is provided in the last section of the paper.

965. Partnering with State Health Departments: A Road Map for Collaboration Using Public Health Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (eHARS)

BackgroundAcademic and public health partnerships are a critical component of the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE). The Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (eHARS) is a standardized document-based surveillance database used by state health departments to collect and manage case reports, lab reports, and other documentation on persons living with HIV. Innovative analysis of this data can inform targeted, evidence-based interventions to achieve EHE objectives. We describe the development of a distributed data network strategy at an academic institution in partnership with public health departments to identify geographic differences in time to HIV viral suppression after HIV diagnosis using eHARS data.Figure 1. Distributed Data Network MethodsThis project was an outgrowth of work developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for AIDS Research (UAB CFAR) and existing relationships with the state health departments of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. At a project start-up meeting which included study investigators and state epidemiologists, core objectives and outcome measures were established, key eHARS variables were identified, and regulatory and confidentiality procedures were examined. The study methods were approved by the UAB Institutional Review Board (IRB) and all three state health department IRBs.ResultsA common data structure and data dictionary across the three states were developed. Detailed analysis protocols and statistical code were developed by investigators in collaboration with state health departments. Over the course of multiple in-person and virtual meetings, the program code was successfully piloted with one state health department. This generated initial summary statistics, including measures of central tendency, dispersion, and preliminary survival analysis.ConclusionWe developed a successful academic and public health partnership creating a distributed data network that allows for innovative research using eHARS surveillance data while protecting sensitive health information. Next, state health departments will transmit summary statistics to UAB for combination using meta-analytic techniques. This approach can be adapted to inform delivery of targeted interventions at a regional and national level.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Express Wavenet: A lower parameter optical neural network with random shift wavelet pattern

Compared with other optical diffractive neural networks, the express wavenet (ExWave) is an improved and efficient network which adopts much fewer parameters. For advantages of the ExWave, firstly, the wavelet-like pattern is used to modulate the phase of optical waves; secondly, the number of parameters can be reduced from O(n2) to O(n), for the input image with n2 pixels; thirdly, the accuracy can be still high with only 1% of total parameters of the famous D2 NN. Besides, in the modified national institute of standards and technology (MNIST) dataset, 93.5% accuracy can be achieved with only 2457 parameters, nevertheless, 250880 parameters are required to meet a similar accuracy for the standard optical network. Moreover, the random shift wavelets exhibit characteristics of optical network vividly, especially for the vanishing gradient phenomenon in the training process. We present the modified expressway structure for solving this problem. Afterward, simulation have been carried out to validate effects of both random shift wavelet and expressway structure. Finally, it can be shown that the optical diffractive network in this work utilizes much fewer parameters than other neural networks. The detailed source code can be available in the following link: https://github.com/closest-git/ONNet.

Children’s development of humour in everyday interactions: two case-studies in French and Brazilian Portuguese

In order to understand how children learn to recognize and use humor in their own cultural environment, we have chosen to study their production in two different languages and cultures. We studied a French-speaking monolingual child and a Brazilian Portuguese-speaking child, video-recorded once a month up to seven years old. The detailed multimodal linguistic coding of our data enabled us to draw the multimodal paths the two children followed from the first instances of shared amusement initiated by the adult, expressed mainly through reactive behavior such as laughing, to the children’s own verbal production of successful humor in dialogue. Our study demonstrates that the production of children’s humor is closely linked to the family input (their micro-culture), and to children’s multimodal linguistic and meta-cognitive development. We did not observe important differences between the two children at the macro-cultural level, but there were noticeable inter-individual differences.

Correlation matrix renormalization theory in multi-band lattice systems

An appropriate treatment of electronic correlation effects plays an important role in accurate descriptions of physical and chemical properties of real materials. The recently proposed correlation matrix renormalization theory with sum rule correction (CMR) [] for studying correlated-electron materials has shown good performance in molecular systems and a periodic hydrogen chain in comparison with various quantum chemistry and quantum Monte Carlo calculations []. This work gives a detailed formulation and computational code implementation of CMR in multi-band periodic lattice systems. This lattice CMR ab initio theory is highly efficient, has no material specific adjustable parameters, and has no double counting issues faced by the hybrid approaches like LDA + U, DFT + DMFT and DFT + GA type theories. Benchmark studies on materials with s and p orbitals in this study show that CMR in its current implementation consistently performs well for these systems as the electron correlation increases from the bonding region to the bond breaking region.

Consolidating core entrepreneurial competences: toward a meta-competence framework

PurposeEmerging digital ventures and related breakthrough innovations result in new challenges for the development of entrepreneurial competences and demand new perspectives for entrepreneurship research. In this context, policy-makers and organizations are increasingly interested in fostering entrepreneurial competences to improve the success of policies and venture capital investments. This paper aims at identifying the core relevant entrepreneurial competences, mapping the current literature and the main clusters and going beyond toward a meta-competence framework.Design/methodology/approachThe research approach is a literature review, combining bibliometric, network and content analysis. The sampling process was conducted in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The bibliometrics and content analysis were performed with a computer aid approach applying VosViewer1.6, Ucinet and NetDraw 2.139. The content analysis approach was performed considering a detailed coding schema developed. Finally, toward the meta-competences framework, the study applied quantitative analysis on the coding schema, particularly cross-tabulation, core-periphery and network analysis.FindingsThe results show the state of the art concerning entrepreneurial competences. The research identified a list of 98 entrepreneurial competences. Finally, the study proposes a meta-competence framework and clusters the 33 core entrepreneurial competences previously identified.Originality/valueThe proposed conceptual framework exploring meta-entrepreneurial competences offers an original contribution with implications for theory and practice. The research contributes to broadening the understanding of the entrepreneurial competences, helping on the creation, design, development and improvement of entrepreneurship educational initiatives, which are important to entrepreneurs' educators. The proposed framework contributes by providing relevant knowledge for the policy-makers' strategy formulation processes. As implications for the practice, the proposed framework can allow better assessment process for incubators and accelerators, besides more robust ventures considering learning trails based on meta-competences frameworks.

Evolution of technical debt remediation in Python: A case study on the Apache Software Ecosystem

AbstractIn recent years, the evolution of software ecosystems and the detection of technical debt received significant attention by researchers from both industry and academia. While a few studies that analyze various aspects of technical debt evolution already exist, to the best of our knowledge, there is no large‐scale study that focuses on the remediation of technical debt over time in Python projects—that is, one of the most popular programming languages at the moment. In this paper, we analyze the evolution of technical debt in 44 Python open‐source software projects belonging to the Apache Software Foundation. We focus on the type and amount of technical debt that is paid back. The study required the mining of over 60K commits, detailed code analysis on 3.7K system versions, and the analysis of almost 43K fixed issues. The findings show that most of the repayment effort goes into testing, documentation, complexity, and duplication removal. Moreover, more than half of the Python technical debt is short term being repaid in less than 2 months. In particular, the observations that a minority of rules account for the majority of issues fixed and spent effort suggest that addressing those kinds of debt in the future is important for research and practice.

Inside the Black Box of Organizational Life: The Gendered Language of Performance Assessment

Organizations implement formalized procedures to eliminate the biasing effects of gender and other characteristics on evaluations. Prior work shows managers play a key role, but researchers have been unable to observe the thought processes guiding managers’ evaluations. This article takes a first step in examining managers’ sensemaking as they interpret and evaluate employee behaviors. Our data include managers’ written performance reviews and numeric ratings of employees at a Fortune 500 technology company. Our theoretical model—the Viewing and Valuing Social Cognitive Processing Model—explains how and when gender beliefs frame managers’ evaluations, affecting what behaviors managers notice (i.e., view) and rate highly (i.e., value). After conducting a detailed coding of the language in reviews, we assess whether there are gender differences in (1) the language used to describe performance (i.e., viewing differences) and (2) the correlations between that language and numeric ratings (i.e., valuing differences). Our analysis of 88 language attributes reveals where gender frames managers’ evaluations and where the process instead operates gender-neutrally. For example, men and women are equally likely to be described as having technical ability, while women are viewed as too aggressive and men as too soft. Furthermore, some behaviors, such as “taking charge,” are more valued for men than for women: “taking charge” is associated with the highest performance ratings for men but not for women. Overall, our analysis identifies novel ways that gender biases emerge in a process intended to be meritocratic.

A Compact EES Program to Predict Axial Temperature Distribution in Triple-fluid Heat Exchanger

In this paper, a simplified mathematical model is presented to predict the axial temperature distribution of fluids in a three-concentric tube heat exchanger. Calculation results are compared with experimental results to confirm accuracy. The objective of the study is to avoid temperature cross which is very likely to be occurred in triple-fluid heat exchangers. Thereby the designer can adjust the design parameters, e.g. geometric parameters of the exchanger, temperatures or fluid flow rates, so that the temperature cross does not occur. The result of calculating a case shows that at the tube length of 21.5 m, the temperature cross occurs between the hot fluid and the intermediate fluid at a certain position. The shorten tube length to 8.5 m yields desirable gain. EES code and calculation procedure in detail are presented in the current study.

Exergoeconomic optimization of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger

The paper presents an economic optimization of a STHX with two commonly adopted (i.e., Kern and Bell-Delaware) and one rarely explored (i.e., Wills-Johnston) methods. A detailed numerical code concerning thermal, hydraulic, exergy, and economic analysis of STHX is developed for all three methods. Normalized sensitivity analysis, parametric study, and Genetic Algorithm are used to ascertain the most influential parameters and optimize the total cost. It is observed that the calculations made using the Wills-Johnston method were reasonably close to the Bell-Delaware method. While the Kern method showed a significant deviation in the shell side calculations because of the several assumptions in this method. The parametric analysis showed that increasing the mass flow rate and the number of baffles increased the operating cost because of an exponential increase in the pressure drops. Finally, the optimization reduced the heat transfer area by ~26.4%, capital cost by ~20%, operational cost by ~50%, total cost by ~22%, and the stream cost by ~21%.