Sole Reliance Research Articles

Kugel's Artery as a Rare Intracoronary Collateralization Does Not Effectively Guarantee the Presence of Viable Hibernating Myocardium.

In this note, it was aimed to describe a 66-year-old patient for ischemia evaluation following the episodes of chest discomfort using dipyridamole stress-rest myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Invasive coronary angiography demonstrated a total occlusion of the right coronary artery (RCA) and prominent RCA intracoronary collateral (Kugel's artery) associated with nonviable, infarcted myocardium in the inferior wall of left ventricular LV on myocardial perfusion SPECT. Thus, recanalization of RCA was not performed in our patient. It is concluded that performing complementary imaging modalities for assessing myocardial perfusion like SPECT for the prediction of viability to sole reliance on angiographic data in decision making for revascularization is encouraged.

British Society for Haematology guideline for anticoagulantmanagement of pregnant individuals with mechanical heart valves.

British Society for Haematology guideline for anticoagulantmanagement of pregnant individuals with mechanical heart valves.

Doppler Underestimates Transvalvular Gradient Measured by Catheterization in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis

We sought to clarify characteristics of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) in whom transvalvular mean pressure gradient (MPG) was underestimated with Doppler compared with catheterization. Study subjects included 127 patients with severe AS who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Between subjects with Doppler MPG underestimation ≥10mm Hg (group U) and those without (group C), we retrospectively compared echocardiographic parameters and aortic valve calcification score using the Agatston method. Despite a strong correlation (rS = 0.88) and small absolute difference (2.1 ± 10.1mm Hg) between Doppler and catheter MPG, 27 patients (21%) were in group U. Among 48 patients with catheter MPG ≥60mm Hg, 10 patients (21%) revealed Doppler MPG of 40 to 59mm Hg, suggesting they had been misclassified as having severe AS instead of very severe AS. According to the guidelines, indication of valve replacement for patients without symptoms should be considered for very severe AS but not for severe AS. Therefore, sole reliance on Doppler MPG could cause clinical misjudgments. Group U had larger relative wall thickness (median [interquartile range: 0.60 [0.50 to 0.69] vs 0.53 [0.46 to 0.60], p=0.003) and higher calcification score (3,024 [2,066 to 3,555] vs 1,790 [1,293 to 2,501]arbitrary units, p <0.001). Both calcification score (per 100 arbitrary unit increment, odds ratio 1.10, 1.04 to 1.17, p=0.002) and relative wall thickness (per 0.05 increment, odds ratio 1.29, 95% confidence interval 1.05 to 1.60, p=0.02) were independently associated with Doppler underestimation. In conclusion, Doppler might underestimate transvalvular gradient compared with catheterization in patients with severe AS who have heavy valve calcification and prominent concentric remodeling left ventricular geometry.

Al‐Azhar and the Salafis in Egypt: Contestation of two traditions

<scp>Al‐Azhar</scp> and the Salafis in Egypt: Contestation of two traditions

Hydrocarbon Extraction in the Niger Delta: Reasons for the Acute Environmental Pollution

The Niger Delta has remained the epicentre of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities for over six decades. During this period, operations of the oil companies have adversely impacted the environment. This is because the oil companies operations have involved unabated oil spillages and massive gas flaring. However, all these have occurred despite the existence of plethora of laws that are aimed to prevent hydrocarbon activities from impacting the environment adversely. It would seem that since oil revenues constitute the live wire of the State, its only concern is revenue generation; the cost to the environment notwithstanding. As such, the philosophy underlying hydrocarbon extraction in the Niger Delta appears based on maximum profit at minimum cost. Hydrocarbon operations are not without some pitfalls; however, the paper argues that the acute impact of oil operations on Niger Delta environment was State-created. It contends that the situation was due to the State’s sole reliance on hydrocarbon revenues to fund its budget. It argues further that the situation was compounded by the near insolvent position of the State oil company NNPC; in comparison to the oil multinationals, its joint ventures partners. As a result, hydrocarbon operations have acutely impacted the region’s flora and fauna.

Biomechanical Analysis of Body Movements of Myoelectric Prosthesis Users During Standardized Clinical Tests.

The objective clinical evaluation of user's capabilities to handle their prosthesis is done using various tests which primarily focus on the task completion speed and do not explicitly account for the potential presence of compensatory motions. Given that the excessive body compensation is a common indicator of inadequate prosthesis control, tests which include subjective observations on the quality of performed motions have been introduced. However, these metrics are then influenced by the examiner's opinions, skills, and training making them harder to standardize across patient pools and compare across different prosthetic technologies. Here we aim to objectively quantify the severity of body compensations present in myoelectric prosthetic hand users and evaluate the extent to which traditional objective clinical scores are still able to capture them. We have instructed 9 below-elbow prosthesis users and 9 able-bodied participants to complete three established objective clinical tests: Box-and-Blocks-Test, Clothespin-Relocation-Test, and Southampton-Hand-Assessment-Procedure. During all tests, upper-body kinematics has been recorded. While the analysis showed that there are some correlations between the achieved clinical scores and the individual body segment travel distances and average speeds, there were only weak correlations between the clinical scores and the observed ranges of motion. At the same time, the compensations were observed in all prosthesis users and, for the most part, they were substantial across the tests. The sole reliance on the currently available objective clinical assessment methods seems inadequate as the compensatory movements are prominent in prosthesis users and yet not sufficiently accounted for.

Structure-informed microbial population genetics elucidate selective pressures that shape protein evolution.

Comprehensive sampling of natural genetic diversity with metagenomics enables highly resolved insights into the interplay between ecology and evolution. However, resolving adaptive, neutral, or purifying processes of evolution from intrapopulation genomic variation remains a challenge, partly due to the sole reliance on gene sequences to interpret variants. Here, we describe an approach to analyze genetic variation in the context of predicted protein structures and apply it to a marine microbial population within the SAR11 subclade 1a.3.V, which dominates low-latitude surface oceans. Our analyses reveal a tight association between genetic variation and protein structure. In a central gene in nitrogen metabolism, we observe decreased occurrence of nonsynonymous variants from ligand-binding sites as a function of nitrate concentrations, revealing genetic targets of distinct evolutionary pressures maintained by nutrient availability. Our work yields insights into the governing principles of evolution and enables structure-aware investigations of microbial population genetics.

Multi-fidelity cost-aware Bayesian optimization

Bayesian optimization (BO) is increasingly employed in critical applications such as materials design and drug discovery. An increasingly popular strategy in BO is to forgo the sole reliance on high-fidelity data and instead use an ensemble of information sources which provide inexpensive low-fidelity data. The overall premise of this strategy is to reduce the total sampling costs by querying inexpensive low-fidelity sources whose data are correlated with high-fidelity samples. Here, we propose a multi-fidelity cost-aware BO framework that dramatically outperforms the state-of-the-art technologies in terms of efficiency, consistency, and robustness. We demonstrate the advantages of our framework on analytic and engineering problems and argue that these benefits stem from our two main contributions: (1) we develop a novel acquisition function for multi-fidelity cost-aware BO that safeguards the convergence against the biases of low-fidelity data, and (2) we tailor a newly developed emulator for multi-fidelity BO which enables us to not only simultaneously learn from an ensemble of multi-fidelity datasets, but also identify the severely biased low-fidelity sources that should be excluded from BO.

Supercritical CO2 permeation in polymeric films: Design, characterization, and modeling

This study is concerned with the development of an optimum method for identification of supercritical CO2 permeability in thermoplastic films with moderate to excellent barrier properties namely, High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Raised-Temperature Polyethylene (PE-RT), Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) and aliphatic Polyketone (PK) at elevated temperatures (40 °C−82 °C). A high-temperature/high-pressure permeation cell was designed based on the “closed-volume/variable pressure” standard test method. The identified gas transport properties using the time lag method yielded significant error particularly for PVDF and PK, which was ascribed to the sole reliance on the accumulated pressure-rate in steady-state. This error was minimized using the Non-Linear Regression (NLR) by utilizing the full range of measured data including the transient state. The coefficient of determination between the measured and modeled data using NLR was quantified above 0.99 for all the polymers at the entire examined temperature range. The 1.4 % higher degree of crystallinity and 28.5 % smaller spherulite size caused 13.3 % higher diffusivity and 8.6 % lower solubility in PE-RT when compared with HDPE at 82°C. As a result of this trade-off, PE-RT exhibited only 3.5 % higher permeability than HDPE. The developed generalized temperature-dependent model provided the essential data for design optimization of gas barrier performance in multilayer high-temperature pressure-vessels.

Absalom’s Rebellion and David’s Flight (2 Sam 15): The Emergence of the Ideal King David

Abstract David’s depiction in 2 Sam 15 shows his absolute faith in YHWH and his sole reliance on Him. This portrayal accords with Dtn 17,14–20 and contrasts sharply with the characterization of Absalom. The description of Ittai’s oath in YHWH’s name is deemed an example of adherence to YHWH by non-Israelites. The narrative portrays the ideal relationship between the people (the Israelites and foreigners) and YHWH. It is construed to depict the essential objective of the Deuteronomists in the postexilic period. Consequently, 2 Sam 15 does not belong to the so-called Succession Narrative; instead, it represents a Deuteronomistic narrative accomplished by the Deuteronomists in the postexilic period to express their theological ideals and opinions.

Optical manipulation: from fluid to solid domains

Light carries energy and momentum, laying the physical foundation of optical manipulation that has facilitated advances in myriad scientific disciplines, ranging from biochemistry and robotics to quantum physics. Utilizing the momentum of light, optical tweezers have exemplified elegant light–matter interactions in which mechanical and optical momenta can be interchanged, whose effects are the most pronounced on micro and nano objects in fluid suspensions. In solid domains, the same momentum transfer becomes futile in the face of dramatically increased adhesion force. Effective implementation of optical manipulation should thereupon switch to the “energy” channel by involving auxiliary physical fields, which also coincides with the irresistible trend of enriching actuation mechanisms beyond sole reliance on light-momentum-based optical force. From this perspective, this review covers the developments of optical manipulation in schemes of both momentum and energy transfer, and we have correspondingly selected representative techniques to present. Theoretical analyses are provided at the beginning of this review followed by experimental embodiments, with special emphasis on the contrast between mechanisms and the practical realization of optical manipulation in fluid and solid domains.

Analyzing the Forensic Significance of Tattoos and their Relevance in India

This research paper envisages to throw light on the forensic importance of tattoos in investigation and identificationfrom a global perspective. It also aims to analyze the relevance of tattoos in forensic science in India. The authorshighlight that with increased passion and popularity in body modification, sometimes, tattoos are the onlyevidence that the judiciary solely depends to identify and convict an accused. Thus, tattoos play a significant rolein criminal justice system. However, sole reliance on tattoos in this regard may not deliver precise conclusion asthere are psychopathological and scientific gaps involved.This research paper is divided into two segments – Part I and Part II, to analyze and substantiate the objective ofthe paper with judicial and legislative backing. Finally, the paper provides recommendations which may improvethe effectiveness of tattoos in forensic analysis and judicial proceedings in India.

ESG performance measures for executive pay: Delphi inquiry strategy and experts’ opinion

Orientation: Rising levels of executive compensation amidst the widening inequality, unemployment, poverty and other socio-economic challenges have raised questions among policymakers, academics and practitioners alike on the best ways to resolve this conundrum.Research purpose: The main objective of this study was to identify a composite mix of environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators that can be used in executive compensation plans.Motivation for the study: Whereas the importance of incorporating the ESG in executive compensation plans is well documented, it is not known which indicators are appropriate and can be used in the South African context.Research design, approach and method: A sequential exploratory research design was used in this study. The ESG-based indicators were identified from the literature and then subjected to three rounds of surveys in a Delphi enquiry strategy.Main findings: An eclectic mix of nonfinancial performance measures (NFPMs) based on the ESG philosophy were identified, confirmed and validated by a diverse team of international experts.Practical/managerial implications: In order to curb rising executive compensation and to disincentivise short-termism associated with sole reliance on profits as the only yardstick for performance, NFPMs identified in this study should be integrated into the executive compensation designs.Contribution/value-add: On an empirical front, the study proffers novel NFPMs for executive compensation plans that are predicated on ESG philosophy. The methodological contribution lies in the use of a Delphi inquiry strategy, which has never been used in the area of executive compensation.

Vegetative anatomical characteristics and trichome morphology of the monotypic Martynia annua L. (Martyniaceae) for use in identification and crude drug search

Background: Leaf epidermis and indumenta structure of M. annua were studied with the aid of microscopy for easy identification&nbsp; of the plant materials when in fragments and for crude drug search. Stomata and trichome morphology appear significant in identifying the species. Paracytic and anomocytic stomatal types are basic but polocytic is additional on the abaxial surface of theepidermis.The overwhelming reports on the folkloric uses of Martynia annua L. (Martyniaceae) and the sole reliance on exo-morphology for its identification which gives room to error form the basis for this study. Moreso, the need to utilize as many data as possible for accurate identification of the plant is another important reason for its choice for investigation. Methods: A total of 20 plant samples were examined. 100 leaves and 40 stems, petioles and midribs obtained from both herbarium samples of the plant were examined. The epidermis was recovered after treatment with concentrated trioxonitrate (v) acid (HNO3) in capped specimen bottles for about 8–24hrs to macerate the mesophyll. Samples were stained with acidified phloroglucinol and then one drop of toluidine blue. They were mounted on glass slides and examined under the microscope (XSZ- 170BN Olympus) and photomicrographs were taken with microscope eyepiece camera (Toupview 3.7). Line drawings were made with camera lucida drawing instrument. Results: Interesting folia epidermal features were encountered. These include 3 stomatal types, two main types of trichomes namely: - Type 1: Long to short multicellular-glandular trichomes with globular heads and Type 2: Unicellular non-glandular globular-headed trichomes with stalk or no stalk. Conclusion: The report of leaf teeth in M. annua which is the begonioid type is novel and cell shape of the perivascular structures is oval to polyhedral.Asuite of these characters will aid identification of M. annua when a whole fresh plant specimen is absent.

On Noise Stability and Robustness of Adversarially Trained Networks on NVM Crossbars

Applications based on deep neural networks (DNNs) have grown exponentially in the past decade. To match their increasing computational needs, several nonvolatile memory (NVM) crossbar-based accelerators have been proposed. Recently, researchers have shown that apart from improved energy efficiency and performance, such approximate hardware also possess intrinsic robustness for defense against adversarial attacks. Prior works have focused on quantifying this intrinsic robustness for vanilla networks, that is DNNs trained on unperturbed inputs. However, adversarial training of DNNs, i.e., training with adversarially perturbed images, is the benchmark technique for robustness, and sole reliance on intrinsic robustness of the hardware may not be sufficient. In this work, we explore the design of robust DNNs through the amalgamation of adversarial training and the intrinsic robustness offered by NVM crossbar-based analog hardware. First, we study the noise stability of such networks on unperturbed inputs and observe that internal activations of adversarially trained networks have lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and are sensitive to noise compared to vanilla networks. As a result, they suffer significantly higher performance degradation due to the approximate computations on analog hardware; on an average <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> accuracy drop. Noise stability analyses clearly show the instability of adversarially trained DNNs. On the other hand, for adversarial images generated using Square Black Box attacks, ResNet-10/20 adversarially trained on CIFAR-10/100 display a robustness improvement of 20%–30% under high <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\epsilon _{\mathrm{ attack}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (degree of input perturbation). For adversarial images generated using projected-gradient-descent (PGD) White-Box attacks, the adversarially trained DNNs present a 5%–10% gain in robust accuracy due to the underlying NVM crossbar when <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\epsilon _{\mathrm{ attack}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is greater than the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">epsilon</i> of the adversarial training ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\epsilon _{\mathrm{ train}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ). Our results indicate that implementing adversarially trained networks on analog hardware requires careful calibration between hardware nonidealities and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\epsilon _{\mathrm{ train}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to achieve optimum robustness and performance.

An ecological momentary assessment study to investigate individuals' reactions to perceived social exclusion

Most psychological research on social exclusion mainly focused on maximizing internal validity (e.g., controlling for confounding variables). However, maximizing external validity to produce generalizable knowledge about real-world experiences becomes increasingly essential. In the present study (N = 89), we adopted an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design to track exclusionary experiences and their impact on psychological distress over 15 consecutive days. We tested the mediating effects of positive and negative emotions on the link between daily exclusionary experiences and psychological distress, examining the moderating role of experiential avoidance (EA). Results confirmed a large effect of social exclusion on distress mediated by positive and negative emotions. However, EA did not moderate the exclusion-distress link but was, unexpectedly, found to moderate the exclusion-positive emotions relationship. Specifically, this relationship was stronger for low (vs. high) levels of EA, indicating that adopting EA in response to perceived exclusion may provide a protective function from blunted positive emotions. The present study suggests the usefulness of investigating the occurrence and reactions to the daily experiences of social exclusion, going beyond the sole reliance on experimental manipulations, especially to explore the role of individual differences in working towards a more integrated theoretical model of exclusion.

Application of dynamic flexibility index for evaluation of process control system designs

Traditionally, the process control systems have been evaluated on the basis of nominal model parameters and operating conditions. However, sole reliance on such criterion does not always guarantee operability if some uncertain parameters deviate from their assumed levels. Flexibility analysis has long been successfully adopted to quantify the ability of a given process to maintain its feasibility. This paper presents the use of the dynamic flexibility index (FId) for assessing the capability of PID controller of any given process system. In order to calculate FId efficiently, the computation strategy proposed by Ali et al. (2021) has been adopted. In particular, the dynamic flexibility index has been used as an additional criterion along with the integrated square of error, to determine suitable controller parameters. It has been shown in the case studies presented that FId can effectively complement the traditional tuning methods to enhance both operability and controllability in practical applications.

Alterations in Pre/Post Oxygenator Flows Due to Fibrin Deposition in the CardioHelp System—A Case Report

We present a 62-year-old patient with COVID-19 pneumonia on Veno-venous (VV) Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) with unique perturbations to pre and post oxygenator pressures due to fibrin deposition in despite being on a Heparin/Bivalirudin infusion and activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) within therapeutic range of 60–80 seconds. On Day 8 of ECMO support, it was noticed that flows steadily decreased despite unchanged RPMs. Unlike typical blood flow to circuit pressure relationships, the circuit pressures did not correlate with the observed decreased flow. The Delta Pressure (ΔP) was not elevated. The patient’s vitals were stable. On inspection post change-out, clots were noted in the oxygenator outlets. Oxygenator clots are usually associated with increased ΔP. In this scenario, clots in the oxygenator blocked 1 of the 4 outlets in the oxygenator causing the flow, pressures, and ΔP to drop consecutively. Due to reduced flow, the ΔP was not elevated despite extensive clots. The fibrin clot location in the CardioHelp ECMO circuit may lead to unexpected pressure and flow alterations. Sole reliance on ΔP as a marker for oxygenator clots may be misleading. Careful monitoring and timely diagnosis of coagulation status may lead to changes in anticoagulation goals and meaningfully impact patient outcomes.

Integrated Pest Management of Wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) and the Rhizosphere in Agroecosystems.

Simple SummaryThe name ‘wireworm’ refers to the subterranean larvae of click beetle (Coleoptera: Elateridae) species, of which several are serious pests of a wide range of crops. The limited effectiveness of the available insecticides, their wide host range, their long life cycle, and their cryptic subterranean habitat make wireworms a challenging pest to control. Integrated pest management (IPM) strategies have been recommended to reduce wireworm damage. Although IPM is generally considered to be an approach that is relatively more compatible with the environment and non-target organisms, the implementation of some of the tactics of managing subterranean wireworms is expected to induce stress in the rhizosphere and the established ecological interactions within, some of which could negatively impact various soil health parameters and, subsequently, plant growth. In this paper, we highlight some of the IPM tactics against wireworms and their effects on the rhizosphere and soil microbiome. Awareness of the potential impacts of IPM approaches to the management of subterranean pests will help professionals to develop and implement IPM strategies that minimize disturbance in the rhizosphere and support agroecosystem sustainability.The rhizosphere is where plant roots, physical soil, and subterranean organisms interact to contribute to soil fertility and plant growth. In agroecosystems, the nature of the ecological interactions within the rhizosphere is highly dynamic due to constant disruptions from agricultural practices. The concept of integrated pest management (IPM) was developed in order to promote an approach which is complementary to the environment and non-target organisms, including natural enemies, by reducing the sole reliance on synthetic pesticides to control pests. However, some of the implemented integrated cultural and biological control practices may impact the rhizosphere, especially when targeting subterranean pests. Wireworms, the larval stage of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), are generalist herbivores and a voracious group of pests that are difficult to control. This paper introduces some existing challenges in wireworm IPM, and discusses the potential impacts of various control methods on the rhizosphere. The awareness of the potential implications of different pest management approaches on the rhizosphere will assist in decision-making and the selection of the control tactics with the least long-term adverse effects on the rhizosphere.

The sentiment of a virtual rock concert

We created a virtual reality version of a 1983 performance by Dire Straits, this being a highly complex scenario consisting of both the virtual band performance and the appearance and behaviour of the virtual audience surrounding the participants. Our goal was to understand the responses of participants, and to learn how this type of scenario might be improved for later reconstructions of other concerts. To understand the responses of participants we carried out two studies which used sentiment analysis of texts written by the participants. Study 1 (n = 25) (Beacco et al. in IEEE Virtual Reality: 538–545, 2021) had the unexpected finding that negative sentiment was caused by the virtual audience, where e.g. some participants were fearful of being harassed by audience members. In Study 2 (n = 26) notwithstanding some changes, the audience again led to negative sentiment—e.g. a feeling of being stared at. For Study 2 we compared sentiment with questionnaire scores, finding that the illusion of being at the concert was associated with positive sentiment for males but negative for females. Overall, we found sentiment was dominated by responses to the audience rather than the band. Participants had been placed in an unusual situation, being alone at a concert, surrounded by strangers, who seemed to pose a social threat for some of them. We relate our findings to the concept of Plausibility, the illusion that events and situations in the VR are really happening. The results indicate high Plausibility, since the negative sentiment, for example in response to being started at, only makes sense if the events are experienced as actually happening. We conclude with the need for co-design of VR scenarios, and the use of sentiment analysis in this process, rather than sole reliance on concepts proposed by researchers, typically expressed through questionnaires, which may not reflect the experiences of participants.