Number Of General Conditions Research Articles

Students home alone—profiles of internal and external conditions associated with mathematics learning from home

sThis study aims at describing differences in internal and external resources of students to handle mathematics learning from home. Based on data from N = 223 7th-grade secondary school students gathered via an online survey at the end of the first school year during the COVID-19 pandemic, we used latent profile analysis to identify student profiles defined by the internal factors perceived value and success of students’ math learning from home and the external factors family support and teacher support—all specifically related to home learning. A number of general learning conditions, comprising internal (e.g., sustained attention) and external factors (e.g., socioeconomic status), are included as outcome variables. The best-fitting four-profile solution suggests one profile with comparably unfavorable internal and external resources. About 35% of the students are assigned to that profile. The other three profiles show combinations of, relative to the sample, more and less promising specific home learning and general learning conditions suggesting that these students have different resources available in the face of learning mathematics from home.

The development of cognitive activity of children in research activities

The article reveals the importance of research activity in increasing the degree of cognitive activity of preschoolers. In accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of Preschool Education, the development of the cognitive activity of preschool children is one of the priority tasks of modern preschool pedagogy. In the course of the experimental activity carried out at the ascertaining stage, the initial level of the pupils’ cognitive activity was revealed. In most cases, it was characterized by instability of cognitive interest and a lack of desire on the part of children to engage in activities requiring intellectual exertion. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the pedagogical conditions conducive to the development of the cognitive activity of children in research and cognitive activity. The authors analyzed various views on the definition of the essence of the concept of “cognitive activity”, outlined the features of its development in cognitive research practice in a preschool educational organization; a number of general pedagogical conditions that contribute to the development of the cognitive activity of preschoolers are identified. One of the main conditions contributing to an increase in the degree of activity of children in cognitive activity was the development and implementation of a program aimed at developing a persistent cognitive interest in children and increasing the level of knowledge about the world around them by means of children’s experimentation. The developed program includes the goal, objectives, principles, content and description of forms, methods, means of organizing experimental research activities of preschoolers. The implementation of the presented complex of pedagogical conditions contributed to the fact that it became more accessible for children to understand the relationships in nature, to determine their capabilities and the role of a person in the development of society. Thanks to the manifestation of greater independence and initiative on the part of preschoolers in cognizing the world around them, there was an accumulation of specific ideas about objects and natural phenomena, the application of this knowledge in practical activity.

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Libya and Syria

Purpose– Against the backdrop of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) policy – an instrument with which the UN seeks to protect vulnerable civilians from gross violations of human rights – this study examines the application of R2P in the Libyan intervention and the various efforts to replicate similar claim to intervene in Syria. While proposing that the roles of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) is increasingly influential to the success of an intervention, this study asks the question: what are the general conditions for success of R2P application in Libya and Syria during the period 2011-2014?Design/methodology/approach– In its examination of the policy and scholarly works that have informed, justified and evaluated the processes and outcomes of the principles of R2P policy, this paper used relevant search terms for conditions for success of humanitarian military intervention (COSI). Specific keywords such as R2P, BRICS and humanitarian intervention are scrutinised for relevance to the research question. Documents that failed to satisfy the criteria of research quality were excluded, whereas the key problems and findings identified in each studied document were tabulated into inclusion and exclusion.Findings– Despite the role of BRICS in the Libyan and Syrian interventions, existing literature failed to explicitly make this connection, although much of the literature agreed on a number of general conditions for success. This paper problematise the relationship between success and BRICS role. One of the reasons for this is the emerging nature of the literature that is beginning to appreciate the plausibility that the BRICS influences the success of an intervention.Originality/value– This piece synthesises studies that focus on COSI with preference for works that engaged this study’s case countries. Much rich data which even until now are always in need of close examination emerged during data collection, making it useful to craft a third part for BRICS-focused literature that has informed the R2P debate.

Geriatric emergency general surgery: Survival and outcomes in a low-middle income country

Geriatric patients remain largely unstudied in low-middle income health care settings. The purpose of this study was to compare the epidemiology and outcomes of older versus younger adults with emergency general surgical conditions in South Asia. Discharge data from March 2009 to April 2014 were obtained for all adult patients (≥16 years) with an International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes consistent with an emergency general surgery condition as defined by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. Multivariable regression analyses compared patients >65 years of age with patients ≤65 years for differences in all-cause mortality, major complications, and duration of hospital stay. Models were adjusted for potential confounding owing to patient demographic and clinical case-mix data with propensity scores. We included 13,893 patients; patients >65 years constituted 15% (n = 2,123) of the cohort. Relative to younger patients, older adults were more likely to present with a number of emergency general surgery conditions, including gastrointestinal bleeding (odds ratio OR [95% CI], 2.63[1.99-3.46]), resuscitation (2.17 [1.67-2.80]), and peptic ulcer disease (2.09 [1.40-3.10]). They had an 89% greater risk-adjusted odds (1.89 [1.55-2.29]) of complications and a 63% greater odds (1.63 [1.21-2.20]) of mortality. Restricted to patients undergoing operative interventions, older adults had 95% greater odds (1.95 [1.29-2.94]) of complications and 117% greater odds (2.17 [1.62-2.91]) of mortality. Understanding unique needs of geriatric patients is critical to enhancing the management and prioritization of appropriate care in developing settings.

Convergence analysis for Kaczmarz-type methods in a Hilbert space framework

Using the concept of stable Hilbert space splittings, we provide a unified approach to the convergence analysis for multiplicative Schwarz methods (a version of alternating directions methods), and in particular Kaczmarz-type methods for solving linear systems. We consider both fixed cyclic and randomized ordering strategies, and cover block versions as well. For the classical Kaczmarz method with cyclic ordering for solving general linear systems Ax=b, a new convergence rate estimate in terms of the generalized condition number of A and logarithmically depending on the rank of A is presented.

Optic nerve sheath diameter measurement using bedside ultrasound: Is it accurate?

Optic nerve sheath diameter measurement using bedside ultrasound: Is it accurate?

Airway complications in traumatic lower cervical spinal cord injury: A retrospective study

ObjectiveTo investigate risk factors for pneumonia in patients with traumatic lower cervical spinal cord injury.DesignObservational study, retrospective study.SettingSpinal cord unit in a maximum care hospital.MethodsThirty-seven patients with acute isolated traumatic spinal cord injury at levels C4–C8 and complete motor function injury (AIS A, B) treated from 2004 to 2010 met the criteria for inclusion in our retrospective analysis. The following parameters were considered: ventilation-specific parameters, re-intubation, creation of a tracheostomy, pneumonia, antibiotic treatment, and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and total hospitalization.ResultsAmong the patients, 81% had primary invasive ventilation. In 78% of cases a tracheostomy was created; 3% of these cases were discharged with invasive ventilation and 28% with a tracheostomy without ventilation. Pneumonia according to Centers for Disease Control criteria occurred in 51% of cases within 21 ± 32 days of injury, and in 3% at a later date. The number of pre-existing conditions was significantly associated with pneumonia. Length of ICU stay was 25 ± 34 days, and average total hospital duration was 230 ± 144 days. Significant factors affecting the duration of ventilation were the number of pre-existing conditions and tetraplegia-specific complications.ConclusionsOur results confirm that patients with traumatic lower cervical spinal cord injuries defined by lesion level and AIS constitute a homogeneous group. This group is characterized by a high rate of pneumonia during the first 4 weeks after injury. The number of pre-existing general conditions and spinal injury-specific comorbidities are the only risk factors identified for the development of pneumonia and/or duration of ventilation.

Toward Quantifying Vertex Similarity in Networks

AbstractVertex similarity is a major concept in network science with a wide range of applications. In this work we provide novel perspectives on finding (dis)similar vertices within a network and across two networks with the same number of vertices (graph matching). With respect to the former problem, we propose to optimize a geometric objective that allows us to express each vertex uniquely as a convex combination of a few extreme types of vertices. Our method has the important advantage of supporting efficiently several types of queries such as, which other vertices are most similar to this vertex? by using appropriate data structures and by mining interesting patterns in the network. With respect to the latter problem (graph matching) we propose the generalized condition number—a quantity widely used in numerical analysis— κ(LG, LH) of the Laplacian matrix representations of G, H as a measure of graph similarity, where G, H are the graphs of interest. We show that this objective has a solid theoretical...

Nearly Linear Time Algorithms for Preconditioning and Solving Symmetric, Diagonally Dominant Linear Systems

We present a randomized algorithm that on input a symmetric, weakly diagonally dominant $n$-by-$n$ matrix $A$ with $m$ nonzero entries and an $n$-vector $b$ produces an ${\tilde{x}} $ such that $\|{\tilde{x}} - A^{\dagger} {b} \|_{A} \leq \epsilon \|A^{\dagger} {b}\|_{A}$ in expected time $O (m \log^{c}n \log (1/\epsilon))$ for some constant $c$. By applying this algorithm inside the inverse power method, we compute approximate Fiedler vectors in a similar amount of time. The algorithm applies subgraph preconditioners in a recursive fashion. These preconditioners improve upon the subgraph preconditioners first introduced by Vaidya in 1990. For any symmetric, weakly diagonally dominant matrix $A$ with nonpositive off-diagonal entries and $k \geq 1$, we construct in time $O (m \log^{c} n)$ a preconditioner $B$ of $A$ with at most $2 (n - 1) + O ((m/k) \log^{39} n)$ nonzero off-diagonal entries such that the finite generalized condition number $\kappa_{f} (A,B)$ is at most $k$, for some other constant $c$. In the special case when the nonzero structure of the matrix is planar the corresponding linear system solver runs in expected time $O (n \log^{2} n + n \log n \ \log \log n \ \log (1/\epsilon))$. We hope that our introduction of algorithms of low asymptotic complexity will lead to the development of algorithms that are also fast in practice.

Pain interference and incident mood, anxiety, and substance-use disorders: Findings from a representative sample of men and women in the general population

To examine gender differences in the longitudinal relationship between past-month pain interference and incident mood, anxiety, and substance-use disorders, chi-square tests and binomial logistic regression analyses were performed on data obtained from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions from 34,465 adult respondents (47.9% men; 52.1% women) who completed waves 1 (2000–2001) and 2 (2004–2005) data collection. Models were adjusted for potentially confounding factors (i.e., age, race, marital status, educational level, employment, household income, number of stressful life events, number of general medical conditions, and wave-1 psychopathology). Respondents were categorized at wave 1 according to their past-month level of pain interference (i.e., no or low pain interference, moderate pain interference, severe pain interference). Moderate and severe pain interference (as compared to no or low pain interference) in male and female respondents was associated with the incidence of several psychiatric disorders. A stronger relationship was observed in male respondents as compared to female ones between past-month moderate pain interference and a new onset of any mood disorder (OR=1.57, p=0.03) and major depressive disorder (OR=1.60, p=0.03), and between past-month severe pain interference and a new onset of alcohol abuse or dependence (OR=1.69, p=0.045) and nicotine dependence (OR=1.48, p=0.04). These findings suggest that providers should consider screening patients with past-month moderate or severe pain interference for mood, anxiety, and substance-use problems and monitor the possible development of subsequent comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Combined Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy and Amantadine in Adolescent Catatonia Precipitated by Cyber-Bullying

Catatonia is a unique motor dysregulation syndrome characterized by identifiable signs such as immobility, sometimes alternating with excessive motor activity, that is apparently purposeless and not influenced by external stimuli, extreme negativism or muteness, peculiarities of voluntary movement, echolalia, or echopraxia (Fink and Taylor 2009). Catatonia accompanies a number of general medical and neurologic conditions (Dhossche and Wachtel 2010), with acute or insidious onset. In its most severe forms, catatonia may become life threatening, especially when aggravated by autonomic dysfunction and fever. Although previously considered to be rare in children and adolescents (Cohen et al. 1999), recent reports suggest that the prevalence of catatonic symptoms in these age groups is in fact similar to that reported in adults (Ghaziuddin et al. 2012). Overwhelming stress and trauma may trigger catatonia in children and adolescents (Dhossche et al. 2012). Benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are considered first-line treatments (Weiss et al. 2012); however, the literature offers little guidance in cases that do not respond or that respond slowly to a course of these primary treatments. We present an adolescent case with close temporal relationship between onset of catatonia and cyber-bullying, a severe but common stressor nowadays for many adolescents, which resolved with daily ECT and adjunctive amantadine. We did not find any prior published accounts of these features in adolescents.

Race/Ethnicity and the Relationship Between Homeownership and Health

We investigated whether race/ethnicity moderates the association between homeownership and health and whether this association is the same for racial/ethnic minorities as for non-Latino Whites. With data on US-born Latinos, African Americans, and non-Latino Whites from the 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 California Health Interview Survey, we used weighted multivariate regression techniques in fully adjusted models, controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, to test the association between homeownership and number of psychological health conditions, number of general health conditions, self-perceived health status, and health trade-offs. Race/ethnicity significantly moderates the effect of homeownership on self-perceived health status, incidence of general health conditions, and health trade-offs, including delays in accessing medical care and delays in obtaining prescription medication. Although homeownership was a robust, independent predictor for each health outcome in the non-Latino White population, the association disappeared in statistical significance for racial/ethnic minorities. The mechanisms that create a significant association between homeownership and health seem not to be operative for racial/ethnic minorities or are countervailed by other processes, such as possible housing insecurity, that may create an adverse association. Homeownership provides a baseline for future investigations.

Depression Treatment in Patients With General Medical Conditions: Results From the CO-MED Trial

We studied the effect of 3 antidepressant treatments on outcomes (depressive severity, medication tolerability, and psychosocial functioning) in depressed patients having comorbid general medical conditions in the Combining Medications to Enhance Depression Outcomes (CO-MED) trial. Adult outpatients who had chronic and/or recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) with and without general medical conditions were randomly assigned in 1:1:1 ratio to 28 weeks of single-blind, placebo-controlled antidepressant treatment with (1) escitalopram plus placebo, (2) bupropion-SR plus escitalopram, or (3) venlafaxine-XR plus mirtazapine. At weeks 12 and 28, we compared response and tolerability between participants with 0, 1, 2, and 3 or more general medical conditions. Of the 665 evaluable patients, 49.5% reported having no treated general medical conditions, 23.8% reported having 1, 14.8% reported having 2, and 11.9% reported having at least 3. We found only minimal differences in antidepressant treatment response between these groups having different numbers of conditions; patients with 3 or more conditions reported higher rates of impairment in social and occupational functioning at week 12 but not at week 28. Additionally, we found no significant differences between the 3 antidepressant treatments across these groups. Patients with general medical conditions can be safely and effectively treated for MDD with antidepressants with no additional adverse effect or tolerability burden relative to their counterparts without such conditions. Combination therapy is not associated with an increased treatment response beyond that found with traditional monotherapy in patients with MDD, regardless of the presence and number of general medical conditions.

Capacity Stability Analysis for 4-Element Compact MIMO Systems

In this paper, both 3-dimentional channel matrix eigenvalue probability distribution and a newly proposed generalized condition number (GCN) are used to analyze the capacity stability of 4-element compact MIMO systems when the mean angle of arrival (AoA) of the incident waves varies in the case that mutual coupling among array elements is considered. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that comparing with the traditional 4-element linear array, 4-element square array with spatially symmetric structure is much less sensitive to the angle of incidence, indicating that the square array can maintain a more stable capacity.

A Novel Square Antenna Array to Improve the Capacity Stability of 4-Element Compact Mimo Systems

Abstract In a compact multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems, the channel capacity of a traditional 4-element uniform linear array (1JLA) will decrease rapidly with the increment of the mean angle of arrival (AoA) of the incident waves. We will show first in this paper that this channel capacity decrement is caused by the antenna radiation pattern distortion, which owes to the so-called mutual coupling (MC) effect among the dense array elements. In order to overcome this channel capacity decrement flaw of ULA, a 4-element square antenna array (SAA) with space symmetric structure is proposed by re-arranging the antenna elements layout according to the idea of reducing the final radiation pattern distortion. Three-dimensional capacity matrix eigenvalue distribution and generalized condition number (GCN) are also developed in this paper to analyze the final capacity stability of 4-element compact MIMO systems. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that comparing with the tr...

Estimates on the condition number of random rank-deficient matrices

Let r ≤ m ≤ n ∈ N and let A be a rank r matrix of size m x n, with entries in K = ℂ or K = R. The generalized condition number of A, which measures the sensitivity of Ker(A) to small perturbations of A, is defined as κ (A) = ∥A∥ ∥A † ∥, where † denotes Moore-Penrose pseudoinversion. In this paper we prove sharp lower and upper bounds on the probability distribution of this condition number, when the set of rank r, m x n matrices is endowed with the natural probability measure coming from the Gaussian measure in K m×n . We also prove an upper-bound estimate for the expected value of log κ in this setting.

Kantorovich type operator inequalities for Furuta inequality

In this paper, we shall present Kantorovich type operator inequalities for Furuta inequality related to the usual order and the chaotic one in terms of a generalized Kantorovich constant, a generalized condition number and the Specht ratio, in which we use variants of the grand Furuta inequality. Mathematics subject classification (2000): 47A63.

Bipolar Disorder Clinical Synthesis: Where Does the Evidence Lead?

Bipolar disorder is a common condition diagnosed by the occurrence of pathological mood elevation but most often dominated by dysphoria states. Over the past 10 years, understanding of bipolar disorder and the number of evidence-based treatments have increased dramatically. This article offers strategies for improving diagnostic confidence and simple benchmarks that facilitate integrating principles of evidence-based medicine into the management of patients with bipolar disorder. Simple systematic assessment techniques such as focusing the evaluation to assess the most extreme episode of mood elevation and longitudinal factors such as age of onset and course of illness can avoid errors of omission and raise diagnostic confidence. An iterative measurement-based treatment model that aims to bring patients and their supports into the collaborative care process for progressively better outcomes is recommended.

Estimates on the Distribution of the Condition Number of Singular Matrices

We exhibit some new techniques to study volumes of tubes about algebraic varieties in complex projective spaces. We prove the existence of relations between volumes and Intersection Theory in the presence of singularities. In particular, we can exhibit an average Bezout Equality for equidimensional varieties. We also state an upper bound for the volume of a tube about a projective variety. As a main outcome, we prove an upper bound estimate for the volume of the intersection of a tube with an equidimensional projective algebraic variety. We apply these techniques to exhibit upper bounds for the probability distribution of the generalized condition number of singular complex matrices.

Evaluation of Outcomes With Citalopram for Depression Using Measurement-Based Care in STAR*D: Implications for Clinical Practice

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely used to treat depression, but the rates, timing, and baseline predictors of remission in "real world" patients are not established. The authors' primary objectives in this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of citalopram, an SSRI, using measurement-based care in actual practice, and to identify predictors of symptom remission in outpatients with major depressive disorder. This clinical study included outpatients with major depressive disorder who were treated in 23 psychiatric and 18 primary care "real world" settings. The patients received flexible doses of citalopram prescribed by clinicians for up to 14 weeks. The clinicians were assisted by a clinical research coordinator in the application of measurement-based care, which included the routine measurement of symptoms and side effects at each treatment visit and the use of a treatment manual that described when and how to modify medication doses based on these measures. Remission was defined as an exit score of <or=7 on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) (primary outcome) or a score of <or=5 on the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Self-Report (QIDS-SR) (secondary outcome). Response was defined as a reduction of >or=50% in baseline QIDS-SR score. Nearly 80% of the 2,876 outpatients in the analyzed sample had chronic or recurrent major depression; most also had a number of comorbid general medical and psychiatric conditions. The mean exit citalopram dose was 41.8 mg/day. Remission rates were 28% (HAM-D) and 33% (QIDS-SR). The response rate was 47% (QIDS-SR). Patients in primary and psychiatric care settings did not differ in remission or response rates. A substantial portion of participants who achieved either response or remission at study exit did so at or after 8 weeks of treatment. Participants who were Caucasian, female, employed, or had higher levels of education or income had higher HAM-D remission rates; longer index episodes, more concurrent psychiatric disorders (especially anxiety disorders or drug abuse), more general medical disorders, and lower baseline function and quality of life were associated with lower HAM-D remission rates. The response and remission rates in this highly generalizable sample with substantial axis I and axis III comorbidity closely resemble those seen in 8-week efficacy trials. The systematic use of easily implemented measurement-based care procedures may have assisted in achieving these results.