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Introduction. Varying methods of cricket injury surveillance projects have made direct comparison of published studies in this field impossible. Methods. A consensus regarding definitions and methods to calculate injury rates in cricket was sought between researchers in this field. This was arrived at through a variety of face-to-face meetings, email communication and draft reviews between researchers from six of the major cricket-playing nations. Results. It is recommended that a cricket injury is defined as any injury or other medical condition that either: 1) prevents a player from being fully available for selection for a major match or 2) during a major match, causes a player to be unable to bat, bowl or keep wicket when required by either the rules or the teams captain. Recommended definitions for injury incidence (for matches, training sessions and seasons) and injury prevalence are also provided. It is proposed that match injury incidence is calculated using a denominator based on a standard time estimated for player exposure in matches, for the purposes of simplicity. This will allow all injury surveillance systems, including those with limited resources, to make calculations according to a standard definition. Conclusion. The consensus statement presented provides a standard which, if followed, allows meaningful comparison of injury surveillance data from different countries and time periods, which will assist in the possible identification of risk factors for injury in cricket.

The standard definition of translation as the rendering, in one language, of content originally formulated in another language is insufficient to describe some situations that closely appro...

While ideology is a central concept in Václav Havel’s master essay, at no point does he operate with a standard definition of the term. Instead, Havel “defines” ideology in metaphorical and performative terms, reframing our understanding of its meaning and power in the modern world by focusing on its pre-political operation. This point has yet to be appreciated by scholars of Havel. To better understand the import of Havel’s approach, this essay details metaphorical contexts for ideology in The Power of the Powerless and draws connections to ideological performativity in Havel’s plays from the 1970s as well as in the cinema of the Czech New Wave.

Ten administrators were interviewed from residential facilities that serve sex trafficking victims in the United States in order to gain a better understanding of the programs they use to treat their clients. Residential facilities are defined as centers designed to separate victims from their perpetrators while proving residential treatment and training to maintain a life outside of sex trafficking. Study participants were asked to describe the clients they serve, the services they provide, the way services are structured, and the standards they use to measure success. Key findings show that residential facilities designed treatment around five program categories to address multiple needs of sex trafficking victims. These are social support, counseling, education, job skills, and life skills. The study also found that residential facilities do not have standards for the evaluation of their programs or a standard definition of success.

Teaching determinants poses significant challenges to the instructor of a proof-based undergraduate linear algebra course. The standard definition by cofactor expansion is ugly, lacks symmetry, and is hard for students to use in proofs. We introduce a visual definition of the determinant that interprets permutations as arrangements of non-attacking rooks on an n × n chessboard. We show that under this definition, many of the usual lemmas about determinants admit natural, insightful proofs that students themselves can readily discover.

This paper recommends what could be a standard definition for the word “leadership”, as it found out that there has been no standard way for defining leadership, and that others have defined leadership based on the leadership elements a leader has but failed to rethink that one could be a bad leader and as such the leadership elements could not be transferred (passed on) to heirs for the simple reason that no one likes bad things.

Foetal heart rate (FHR) variability is known to be a very important feature in the diagnosis of foetal well-being. Despite its clinical importance and the widespread use of foetal monitoring, a standard definition of FHR variability (FHRV) and an agreement concerning the methodologies to be employed in its evaluation are still lacking. Often, FHRV is computed in tracts of FHR signals in which both accelerations and decelerations are absent, thus making it very difficult to assess it for signals with several and closely spaced events of this kind. In this work, we propose an automated method for estimating the FHRV signal, defining it as the difference between the FHR signal and the floatingline, where the latter is the imaginary line that follows accelerations and decelerations, taking into account the frequency characteristics of these events. We tested the software developed for this purpose on both simulated and real FHR signals (sets of 50 signals). In the case of simulated signals, the average value of the mean square error vector between the simulated floatingline and that estimated was only 0.04 bpm 2 . In the case of real signals, however, in absence of a reference gold standard, the estimated floatinglines were visually assessed by a team of five expert obstetricians who judged them matching to the definition in 96% of cases. As regards the evaluation of FHRV, using the simulated FHR signals, we compared the estimated values with the reference values of short term variability (STV) and sympathovagal balance (SVB), two very significant parameters employed in computerised foetal monitoring, and obtained an error lower than 1.5% for the STV index, and an underestimation of the SVB index with an error of about 4.5%. Finally, we compared the proposed method for the estimation of the floatingline with more traditional filters (moving average and FIR with Hamming window) which showed, on average, a worse performance (quantified by mean square errors up to five times higher).

There is no generally accepted definition for conditional Tsallis entropy. The standard definition of (unconditional) Tsallis entropy depends on a parameter α that converges to the Shannon entropy as α approaches 1. In this paper, we describe three proposed definitions of conditional Tsallis entropy suggested in the literature—their properties are studied and their values, as a function of α, are compared. We also consider another natural proposal for conditional Tsallis entropy and compare it with the existing ones. Lastly, we present an online tool to compute the four conditional Tsallis entropies, given the probability distributions and the value of the parameter α.

It is know that the Valdivia compact spaces can be characterized by a special family of retractions called r-skeleton (see [10] ). Also we know that there are compact spaces with r-skeletons which are not Valdivia. In this paper, we shall study r-skeletons and special families of closed subsets of compact spaces. We prove that if X is a zero-dimensional compact space and { r s : s ∈ Γ } is an r-skeleton on X such that | r s ( X ) | ≤ ω for all s ∈ Γ , then X has a dense subset consisting of isolated points. Also we give conditions to an r-skeleton in order that this r-skeleton can be extended to an r-skeleton on the Alexandroff Duplicate of the base space. The standard definition of a Valdivia compact spaces is via a Σ-product of a power of the unit interval. Following this fact we introduce the notion of π-skeleton on a compact space X by embedding X in a suitable power of the unit interval together with a pair ( F , φ ) , where F is family of metric separable subspaces of X and φ an ω-monotone function which satisfy certain properties. This new notion generalize the idea of a Σ-product. We prove that a compact space admits a r-skeleton iff it admits a π-skeleton. This equivalence allows to give a new proof of the fact that the product of compact spaces with r-skeletons admits an r-skeleton (see [9] ).

Background: Psychological contracts, and particularly the honouring of these contracts – are central to employee behaviour and organisational success. The interest of academics and practitioners in this construct is therefore understandable. However, due to the immense amount of information on the topic, a comprehensive review of the literature is necessary. Aim: The aim of this article is to present a critical review on the conceptualisation of the psychological contract, distilling and operationalising the concept, to ensure that debate and future research are linked to a dominant body of knowledge. Setting: Present literature on psychological contracts is fragmented as no conceptual standardisation exists. Method: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to obtain a large quantum of conceptualisations of the construct and evaluate these for breadth of adoption, consensus, and operationalisation. Results: After reviewing reputable sources published between 1960 and 2020, a standard definition proposed, the most recognised typologies specified, and sound measures identified. It was found that Rousseau’s (1995) definition and typologies (transactional and relational contracts) are still widely used, and that the measuring scale for transactional and relational contracts by Millward and Hopkins (1998) demonstrates good psychometric properties and broadly utilised. Conclusion: Since its inception, several amended definitions, typologies, and measurement of the psychological contract have been presented. Nonetheless, the original conceptualisations still seem to prevail. Managerial implications: Researchers and practitioners are now aware of the most widely adopted definitions, typologies and measuring instruments relating to psychological contract and these should guide them in future discussions and research in the field.

The term ‘deindustrialization’ stands for an element of structural change, indicating some form of decline within the secondary sector of a national economy. Sociologists use relative decline of manufacturing as their standard definition while economists often consider reductions in sectoral output as equally or even more important. There is a variety of other current descriptions. Rigid definitions were constituted and utilized in a model of industrialization and deindustrialization based on compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of macro-economic indicators. For this article, the scenario model was applied on twelve mature countries (i.e. fully industrialized states beyond their maximum relative employment in manufacturing). The analysis covers the years 1973-2008 with successive 15 + 5 +15-year sub-periods. On the basis of the model-based findings and additional socio-economic analyses, different paths of industrial development (patterns of deindustrialization) were distinguished for mature economies with regard to their final outcome, i.e. the sectoral parameters and the resulting GDP per capita, employment rate and trade indicators.

Purpose Advanced radiotherapy delivery systems designed for high‐dose, high‐precision treatments often come equipped with high‐definition multi‐leaf collimators (HD‐MLC) aimed at more finely shaping radiation dose to the target. In this work, we study the effect of a high definition MLC on spine stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatment plan quality and plan deliverability. Methods and Materials Seventeen spine SBRT cases were planned with VMAT using a standard definition MLC (M120), HD‐MLC, and HD‐MLC with an added objective to reduce monitor units (MU). M120 plans were converted into plans deliverable on an HD‐MLC using in‐house software. Plan quality and plan deliverability as measured by portal dosimetry were compared among the three types of plans. Results Only minor differences were noted in plan quality between the M120 and HD‐MLC plans. Plans generated with the HD‐MLC tended to have better spinal cord sparing (3% reduction in maximum cord dose). HD‐MLC plans on average had 12% more MU and 55% greater modulation complexity as defined by an in‐house metric. HD‐MLC plans also had significantly degraded deliverability. Of the VMAT arcs measured, 94% had lower gamma passing metrics when using the HD‐MLC. Conclusion Modest improvements in plan quality were noted when switching from M120 to HD‐MLC at the expense of significantly less accurate deliverability in some cases.

In this paper, we point out several problems in the different definitions (and related results) of penalty functions found in the literature. Then, we propose a new standard definition of penalty functions that overcomes such problems. Some results related to averaging aggregation functions, in terms of penalty functions, are presented, as the characterization of averaging aggregation functions based on penalty functions. Some examples are shown, as the penalty functions based on spread measures, which happen to be continuous. We also discuss the definition of quasi-penalty functions, in order to deal with non-monotonic (or weakly/directionally monotonic) averaging functions.

Research objective. During identification and the analysis of clinical and epidemiological features of streptococcal tonsillitis in organized collectives to develop definition of a standard case of streptococcal tonsillitis. Materials and methods. In the course of work with use of clinical and epidemiological and statistical methods of a research on the basis of274 cases of acute streptococcal tonsillitis at adults from organized collectives features of clinic, diagnostics and assistance at this disease are analysed. Results. Clinical laboratory and epidemiological features of streptococcal tonsillitis at the military personnel are established and standard definition of a case of the specified disease is developed. Conclusion. The standard definition of a case of streptococcal tonsillitis based on set of epidemiological and clinical laboratory data will allow to establish the diagnosis with a larger share of probability and will promote the fastest localization and elimination of the epidemic center, especially at seasonal raising of a case rate flu and other acute respiratory infections in the conditions of the intensive entering flow of infectious patients. Characteristic of a course of streptococcal tonsillitis at patients was insignificant aberrations of indicators of a peripheric blood.

Although the term lacks a standard definition, learning commons represent academic library spaces that provide computer and library resources as well as a range of academic services that support learners and learning. Learning commons have been equated to a laboratory for creating knowledge and staffed with librarians that serve as facilitators of learning. Many of these spaces evolved over time with the addition of campus partners and services. In this article, the authors examined the literature on academic library learning commons to identify common themes. A qualitiative analysis of 103 articles identified five themes including: planning the learning commons, assessing the learning commons, benefiting from the learning commons, collaborating in the learning commons, and staffing the learning commons. Foremost, the review pointed to the increasing popularity of learning commons in academic institutions. To that end, it remains critical that librarians possess the capabilities necessary to suppo...

Many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are affected by urinary retention. Common causes include neurogenic underactive bladder and/or bladder outlet obstruction from detrusor sphincter dyssynergia. Systemic review of contemporary MS urodynamic studies demonstrates that 53% of MS patients have detrusor overactivity, 43% have detrusor sphincter dyssynergia, and 12% have atonic bladder (12 studies, 1524 patients). There is no standard definition of MS-related urinary retention, but greater than 300 mL is a proposed threshold value for the condition based on literature review. Treatment should be based on stratifying patients by risk from morbidity from retention and by symptoms caused by retention.

Background Residue-residue contacts are key features for accurate de novo protein structure prediction. For the optimal utilization of these predicted contacts in folding proteins accurately, it is important to study the challenges of reconstructing protein structures using true contacts. Because contact-guided protein modeling approach is valuable for predicting the folds of proteins that do not have structural templates, it is necessary for reconstruction studies to focus on hard-to-predict protein structures. Results Using a data set consisting of 496 structural domains released in recent CASP experiments and a dataset of 150 representative protein structures, in this work, we discuss three techniques to improve the reconstruction accuracy using true contacts – adding secondary structures, increasing contact distance thresholds, and adding non-contacts. We find that reconstruction using secondary structures and contacts can deliver accuracy higher than using full contact maps. Similarly, we demonstrate that non-contacts can improve reconstruction accuracy not only when the used non-contacts are true but also when they are predicted. On the dataset consisting of 150 proteins, we find that by simply using low ranked predicted contacts as non-contacts and adding them as additional restraints, can increase the reconstruction accuracy by 5% when the reconstructed models are evaluated using TM-score. Conclusions Our findings suggest that secondary structures are invaluable companions of contacts for accurate reconstruction. Confirming some earlier findings, we also find that larger distance thresholds are useful for folding many protein structures which cannot be folded using the standard definition of contacts. Our findings also suggest that for more accurate reconstruction using predicted contacts it is useful to predict contacts at higher distance thresholds (beyond 8 Å) and predict non-contacts. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12859-017-1807-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This paper demonstrates that rejecting the standard definition of full-time and part-time workers, the estimated number of hours that an individual is likely to work as a full-time worker is a func...

Background The standard definition for protocol adherence is the proportion of all scheduled doses that are delivered. In clinical research, this definition has several limitations when evaluating protocol adherence in trials that study interventions requiring continuous titration. Discussion Building upon a specific case study, we analyzed a recent trial of a continuously titrated intervention to assess the impact of different definitions of protocol deviations on the interpretation of protocol adherence. The OVATION pilot trial was an open-label randomized controlled trial of higher (75–80 mmHg) versus lower (60–65 mmHg) mean arterial pressure (MAP) targets for vasopressor therapy in shock. In this trial, potential protocol deviations were defined as MAP values outside the targeted range for >4 consecutive hours during vasopressor therapy without synchronous and consistent adjustments of vasopressor doses. An adjudication committee reviewed each potential deviation to determine if it was clinically-justified or not. There are four reasons for this contextual measurement and reporting of protocol adherence. First, between-arm separation is a robust measure of adherence to complex protocols. Second, adherence assessed by protocol deviations varies in function of the definition of deviations and the frequency of measurements. Third, distinguishing clinically-justified vs. not clinically-justified protocol deviations acknowledges clinically sensible bedside decision-making and offers a clear terminology before the trial begins. Finally, multiple metrics exist to report protocol deviations, which provides different information but complementary information on protocol adherence. Conclusions In trials of interventions requiring continuous titration, metrics used for defining protocol deviations have a considerable impact on the interpretation of protocol adherence. Definitions for protocol deviations should be prespecified and correlated with between-arm separation, if it can be measured. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12874-017-0388-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In many parts of the world, groundwater users regularly face serious resource-depletion threat. At the same time, "groundwater overexploitation" is massively cited when discussing groundwater management problems. A kind of standard definition tends to relegate groundwater overexploitation only as a matter of inputs and outputs. However, a thorough state-of-the-art analysis shows that groundwater overexploitation is not only a matter of hydrogeology but also a qualification of exploitation based on political, social, technical, economic or environmental criteria. Thus, an aquifer with no threat to groundwater storage can rightly be considered as overexploited because of many other prejudicial aspects. So, why is groundwater overexploitation so frequently only associated with resource-depletion threat and so rarely related to other prejudicial aspects? In that case, what really lies behind the use of the overexploitation concept? The case of the Kairouan plain aquifer in central Tunisia was used to analyze the way that the overexploitation message emerges in a given context, how groundwater-use stakeholders (farmers, management agencies and scientists) each qualify the problem in their own way, and how they see themselves with regard to the concept of overexploitation. The analysis shows that focusing messages on overexploitation conceals the problems encountered by the various stakeholders: difficulties accessing water, problems for the authorities in controlling the territory and individual practices, and complications for scientists when qualifying hydrological situations. The solutions put forward to manage overexploitation are at odds with the problems that arise locally, triggering tensions and leading to misunderstandings between the parties involved.

One-sun power ratings for bifacial modules are currently undefined. This is partly because there is no standard definition of rear irradiance given 1000 Wcm−2 on the front. Using field measurements and simulations, we evaluate multiple deployment scenarios for bifacial modules and provide details on the amount of irradiance that could be expected. A simplified case that represents a single module deployed under conditions consistent with existing one-sun irradiance standards lead to a bifacial reference condition of 1000 Wcm −2 G front and 130–140 Wcm−2 G rear. For fielded systems of bifacial modules, G rear magnitude and spatial uniformity will be affected by self-shade from adjacent modules, varied ground cover, and ground-clearance height. A standard measurement procedure for bifacial modules is also currently undefined. A proposed international standard is under development, which provides the motivation for this paper. Here, we compare field measurements of bifacial modules under natural illumination with proposed indoor test methods, where irradiance is only applied to one side at a time. The indoor method has multiple advantages, including controlled and repeatable irradiance and thermal environment, along with allowing the use of conventional single-sided flash test equipment. The comparison results are promising, showing that indoor and outdoor methods agree within 1%–2% for multiple rear-irradiance conditions and bifacial module construction. A comparison with single-diode theory also shows good agreement to indoor measurements, within 1%–2% for power and other current–voltage curve parameters.

Aim To report an analysis of the concept of exposure in environmental health for nursing. Background The importance of the environment has long been recognized in nursing, although the nature and scope of the concept and how it influences health has varied over time. Exposure is the sufficient and necessary link between environment and health. In nursing practice, the word ‘exposure’ has been used frequently with no clear standard definition. Design Concept analysis using Kim's first level analytics. Data sources Chronological review (1980-2015) of the nursing science literature was conducted through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses and CINAHL, followed by a multi-disciplinary search through PubMed (1980-2015), texts and the Internet to compare definitions and measurements of exposure and related concepts. Methods Explicit and implicit conceptual definitions and measurements of exposure were identified, categorized and analyzed. Results The newly defined concept of exposure is a process involves three phases: 1. contact is made between a target and one or more agents in the same environment; 2. the agent accesses the target by one or more routes of entry; and 3. the agent enters the target by crossing a barrier or boundary. Existing measurements related to each phase are identified and discussed. Definitions of target and agent were refined for congruency. Conclusion Consistent use of terms as defined is critical to development of nursing knowledge. These concepts should be incorporated into nursing-related research to evaluate their usefulness to nursing. Alignment of this concept with relevant theories should be critically examined. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Background: The concept of independence is common in occupational therapy theory and practice but has rarely been clearly defined or conceptualized within in occupational therapy literature and there seems to be no standard definition. This can result in ambiguity, which potentially jeopardizes client-centred practice.\ud \ud Aim: This paper proposes an occupational therapy independence framework (OTIF) that synthesizes the range of characterizations of independence in a practically useful and occupation-centred manner.\ud \ud Methods: A review of literature, clinical experience, doctoral research and conversations with occupational therapists and disabled people, in particular those involved in a disability activism group and people with physical disabilities, has led to the development of the OTIF.\ud \ud Results: Independence and interdependence, as characterized in the OTIF, occur when an individual exerts choice over occupational performance and can engage in occupations in a manner acceptable to the individual. Interdependence results when occupations are performed with another person whereas independence involves solitary occupational performance. Dependence typically results from inability to choose occupations or a mismatch between performance capacity and environmental factors.\ud \ud Significance: The OTIF has the potential to clarify the conceptualization of independence within occupational therapy theory and practice. This initial proposal is presented to stimulate debate and discussion.

Sepsis is a complex, multi-organ disorder that may have catastrophic effects on the woman and fetus, resulting in the rapid deterioration of the woman's health and subsequent serious morbidity and mortality. Guidelines specifically for pregnant women are derived from research on the non-pregnant population, and a lack of hospital guidelines for the management of sepsis in pregnancy has been identified. Considerations of physiological changes that occur in pregnant women make diagnostic thresholds difficult, thus identifying the need for a standard definition of sepsis in the obstetric population. This article will discuss the diagnosis and the midwife's role in the management of sepsis in pregnancy.

Abscess rates have been reported to be as low as 1% and as high as 50% following perforated appendicitis (PA). This range may be because of lack of universal definition for PA. An evidence-based definition (EBD) is crucial for accurate wound classification, risk-stratification, and subsequent process optimization. ACS NSQIP-Pediatric guidelines do not specify a definition of PA. We hypothesize that reported postoperative abscess rates underrepresent true incidence, as they may include low-risk cases in final calculations.Local institutional records of PA patients were reviewed to calculate the postoperative abscess rate. The ACS NSQIP-Pediatric participant use file (PUF) was used to determine cross-institutional postoperative abscess rates. A PubMed literature review was performed to identify trials reporting PA abscess rates, and definitions and rates were recorded.20.9% of our patients with PA developed a postoperative abscess. The ACS NSQIP-Pediatric abscess rate was significantly lower (7.61%, p0.001). In the eighteen published studies analyzed, average abscess rate (14.49%) was significantly higher than ACS NSQIP-Pediatric (p0.001). There was significantly more variation in trials that do not employ an EBD of perforation (Levene's test F-value =6.980, p=0.018).A standard EBD of perforation leads to lower variability in reported postoperative abscess rates following PA. Nonstandard definitions may be significantly altering the aggregate rate of postoperative abscess formation. We advocate for adoption of a standard definition by all institutions participating in ACS NSQIP-Pediatric data submission.III.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out the accuracy of detecting new vessels (NVE) using standard field and widefield (SF and WF) angiographic imaging modality in eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Methods: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 88 patients who underwent fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) for suspected PDR from March 2015 to August 2015. Angiography was performed on the SPECTRALIS (Heidelberg, Germany) using SF 55° lens at primary, up, down, right, and left gaze and Staurenghi WF 102° lens in primary gaze. NVE were diagnosed by standard definition on FFA and a number of NVE were counted. Comparison of NVE detected on WF versus SF in primary gaze and WF versus SF in peripheral gaze was made. Fisher's exact t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 56.87 ± 12.42 years. PDR was bilateral in 73 eyes and unilateral in 15 eyes. On comparing WF versus SF in primary gaze, 117 and 99 eyes were correctly detected as having NVE, respectively. On comparison of WF with SF in peripheral gaze, NVE picked up was 117 and 114 eyes, respectively. The missed NVE count in both comparisons was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.02). The sensitivity of SF in primary gaze was calculated to be 84.6%, whereas in peripheral gazes, it improved to 97.4%. Conclusion: As evident by our study results, SF images in primary as well as all peripheral gazes tend to miss out on NVE, thereby incorrectly diagnosing PDR eyes as non-PDR, which were picked up on WF as having NVE. Hence, we propose that WF angiography can be considered as gold standard for accurately diagnosing the presence of NVE in eyes with PDR.

Background:Colchicine is the standard treatment for Familiar Mediterranean Fever (FMF), however about 5% of patients experience colchicine resistance. There is no standard definition of colchicine resistance. Recently a panel of experts elaborated a new definition based on a Delphi consensus approach.Objectives:We aim to describe main features of the disease and clinical outcome of a cohort of FMF patients with particular interest on the colchicine resistance and tolerability according to the definitions proposed by the recent consensus.Methods:Since November 2009, 425 Italian pediatric and adult FMF patients (pts) from 13 centers were enrolled in a national longitudinal cohort study, using the international EUROFEVER registry. Demographic, genetic and clinical data, including response to treatment, were analyzed. Supplementary information on health related quality of life and treatment adherence was also collected by a specific questionnaire.Results:Complete information were available in 341 pts (189 M and 152 F, 211 children and 120 adults). The median age at disease onset was 5.0 years (1 m-59 y); the mean diagnostic delay was 8.7 y (range 0-61 y). The median age at enrollment was 12.1 y (range 3 m - 82 y). The MEFV genotype was the following: 103 (30.2%) pts carried biallelic pathogenic variants; 59 (17.3%) one pathogenic variants and one VOUS /LB variant; 27 (7.9%) had biallelic VOUS/LB variants; 97 (28.45%) were heterozygous for pathogenic variants; 30 (8.8%) were heterozygous for VOUS/LB, 25 (7.33%) were genetically negative.Colchicine treatment was used in 280 pts; during treatment, biologic treatment (anti-IL1) in 22 pts. 61 pts received NSAID or steroid on demand.We analyzed the behavior of the pts treated with colchicine according to the statements on colchicine resistance/intolerance defined by Ozen et al (1) (Table 1).Table 1.Adherence62% displayed a total adherence (> 90% of prescription); 10.8% a good adherence (50-89% of prescriptions); 1.9% poor adherence (< 50% of prescriptions); 0.9% no adherenceDose adjustment criteria/ Recommended maximum colchicine doseMean colchicine dose:Pts 5-10 year: 0.77mg/die (std. dev. 0.23)10-18 years: 1.1mg/die (std. dev. 0.39)Adults: 1.16 mg/die (std. dev. 0.37)Pts with a dose inferior to the minimum recommended dose5-10 years: 2.5%10-18 years: 15%Adults: 4%Resistance to ColchicineResistance was be defined as persistence of fever attacks, despite optimal treatment. 41.6% pts had a complete disease control32.8% Pts had < 1 episode/month for 3 months25.5% had ≥1 episode/month for 3 monthsInclusion of secondary amyloidosis in the definition of colchicine resistance5 adult pts (1.5%) displayed amyloidosisColchicine intolerance11 pts (3.2%) withdraw colchicine because of drug intolerancePatient quality of life and patient-reported outcomes20.7% of pts experience fatigue or chronic pain, 16.9% limitations in daily activities, and 16.9% have lost school/work days.Conclusion:Almost 58% of FMF pts display disease activity despite colchicine treatment. The treatment is generally under-dosed, especially in children. The adherence and the compliance to the treatment is generally good.References:[1]Ozen S et all. Recommendation on colchicine dosing and definition of colchicine resistance/intolerance in the management of FMF. Pediatric Rheumatology, 2019.Acknowledgments:This research was financial supported by Novartis AGDisclosure of Interests:Romina Gallizzi: None declared, Marta Bustaffa: None declared, Francesca Mazza: None declared, Diana Sutera: None declared, Giovanna Fabio: None declared, Laura Obici: None declared, Maria Alessio: None declared, Donato Rigante: None declared, Luca Cantarini: None declared, Antonella Insalaco: None declared, Marco Cattalini: None declared, Maria Cristina Maggio: None declared, Gabriele Simonini: None declared, Alma Nunzia Olivieri: None declared, Serena Pastore: None declared, Maddalena Lancieri: None declared, Nicolino Ruperto Grant/research support from: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lily, F Hoffmann-La Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, Sobi (paid to institution), Consultant of: Ablynx, AbbVie, AstraZeneca-Medimmune, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lily, EMD Serono, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann-La Roche, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, R-Pharma, Sanofi, Servier, Sinergie, Sobi, Takeda, Speakers bureau: Ablynx, AbbVie, AstraZeneca-Medimmune, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lily, EMD Serono, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann-La Roche, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, R-Pharma, Sanofi, Servier, Sinergie, Sobi, Takeda, Marco Gattorno Consultant of: Sobi, Novartis, Speakers bureau: Sobi, Novartis

Background Determining the activity of localized scleroderma (LS) remains crucial for decision making, and reliable clinical indicators of activity are lacking. Our objective in this study was to analyze the utility of infrared thermography (IRT) in assessing the activity of LS according to existing clinical scales. A secondary objective was to study whether clinical characteristics of patients and/or IRT have any role in predicting the activity of LS. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the activity of LS was determined using a visual analog scale (VAS), a dyspigmentation-induration-erythema-telangiectasias (DIET) scale, and a localized scleroderma skin severity index (LoSSI). Local temperature was measured by IRT. Results We studied 56 patients with a median age of 14.2 years. The mean difference in temperature between the affected and unaffected skin was 0.29°C. The comparison of patients with active versus inactive LS (using a 50% composite score cutoff) according to differences in temperature was not significant. An exploratory regression analysis showed an insignificant association of difference in temperature and other clinical characteristics for activity of LS. Our relatively small sample size consisted primarily of patients with low to moderate activity, and the lack of a standard definition of activity of LS was another limitation. Conclusions There is a possible role for temperature and other clinical characteristics as predictors of activity of LS. More studies and better definitions of activity in LS are needed.

Definitions for whole grain (WG) have been published by governments, the food industry, and grain organizations and generally fall into 2 categories: WG and WG food. WG definitions focus on the principal components of the WGs and their proportions, whereas WG-food definitions describe the quantity of WGs present in food. In the United States, widespread agreement exists on the main parts of a definition for a WG, with a definition for a WG food still in its early stages; a standard definition that has been universally accepted does not exist. Furthermore, nutrition policy advises consumers to eat WGs for at least one-half of their total grain intake (2010 and 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans), but confusion exists over which foods are considered WGs and how much is needed to achieve health benefits. In December 2014, a workshop sponsored by the subcommittee on collaborative process of the US Government's Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Research convened in Washington, DC, and recognized WG definitions as a key nutrition and public health-related issue that could benefit from further collaboration. As a follow-up to that meeting, an interdisciplinary roundtable meeting was organized at the Whole Grains Summit on 25 June 2015 in Portland, Oregon, to help resolve the issue. This article summarizes the main opportunities and challenges that were identified during the meeting for defining WGs and WG foods internationally. Definitions of WGs and WG foods that are uniformly adopted by research, food industry, consumer, and public health communities are needed to enable comparison of research results across populations.

The definition of mucinous cysts was first raised by Compagno and Oertel [1] in 1978, identifying it as a mucin-producing cysts with malignant potential that occur in the body or tail of pancreas and usually in the perimenopausal women [2]. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed the standard definition of MCNs by their well-demarcated cystic lesions, lined by a mucin-producing columnar epithelium and ovarian stroma, which can distinguish MCNs from mucinous intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) [3].

The Precision Agriculture (PA) concept is becoming more and more important in the modern world. Although it faces numerous hardships with technology the biggest problem is the lack of pure standard definition. Solution may be to get inspired from Vehicle to Everything (V2X) model. It is a widely spoken conception of the road system, where vehicle, infrastructure and other traffic elements would be able to communicate with others. However, it is not in the common use, it is a developed technology with tested and established assumptions for various of aspects like transmitting medium. Because such work has been done in that field, it should be considered to implement solutions from V2X to PA, due to the similarities between them.

The history of ARDS is long, complex, and very interesting. The definition has been complicated by the usage of a multitude of descriptive terms (e.g., wet lung, shock lung, Da Nang lung) that were synonymous with conditions now grouped under the modern definition of ARDS. Formally described in 1967, the definition of ARDS has evolved over the past 5 decades. In the absence of a standard definition, ARDS diagnosis is established when certain criteria are met in the framework of the prevailing ARDS definition. The American-European Consensus Conference definition (1995) and the Berlin definition (2012) have refined our ability to diagnose, study, and treat ARDS, but these adult-centric definitions were not developed for children with ARDS and had their shortcomings. To address this issue, the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC) was convened to develop, among other recommendations, a specific definition for pediatric ARDS (PARDS). This new definition establishes a common language for those caring for children with PARDS and opens the door for meaningful and sustained international collaboration and rapid scientific progress.

Introduction Sexual activity is an essential human need and an important predictor of other aspects of human life. A literature review was conducted to investigate whether sexual abstinence in young and middle-aged men is generally considered a deliberate, healthy behavior and whether it has other causes and consequences. Aim To review the prevalence and factors associated with sexual abstinence in young (10–24 years) and middle-aged (25–59 years) men. Methods Studies were retrieved from Science Direct, PubMed, and EBSCOhost published from 2008 to 2019. The selection criteria were original population- or community-based articles, published in the English language, on sexual abstinence, and in young and middle-aged men. Main Outcome Measure This article reviewed the literature on the proportions of and factors associated with sexual abstinence in young and middle-aged men. Results A total of 13,154 studies were retrieved, from which data were extracted for 37 population- or community-based studies. The prevalence of sexual abstinence varied from 0% to 83.6% in men younger than 60 years. The prevalence of primary sexual abstinence was 3.4%–83.3% for young men and 12.5%–15.5% for middle-aged men. The prevalence of secondary abstinence for young men ranged from 1.3% to 83.6%, while for middle-aged men, it was from 1.2% to 67.7%. The prevalence of sexual abstinence decreased with increasing age in young men but increased with increasing age in middle-aged men. The significant factors reported were age, single status, poor relationships, low socioeconomic status, sex education, religious practices, caring and monitoring parents, and not using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. Although the variations in findings from different studies can be explained by different regions and cultures, the information cannot be generalized worldwide because of a lack of studies in Asian and Australian populations. Clinical Implications The studies on sexual abstinence in the future should use a consistent and standard definition, cover all sexual behaviors, and investigate all related factors. Strength & Limitations The restricted timeframe (2008–2019), English language, availability of full text, and variability in definition and time duration may be the sources of bias. Conclusion Young men had higher proportions of sexual abstinence than middle-aged men, and age, unavailability of a partner, lower educational levels, low socioeconomic status, conservative and religious conditions, and no or less knowledge about sexually transmitted infections were common predictors of sexual abstinence in most of the men. Although determinants of sexual abstinence were identified, further investigation of biological factors in men younger than 60 years is needed.

In this paper, the economic impact of the active power droop gain in droop-based microgrids has been studied. To accomplish this, a theoretical analysis is presented first. This analysis is used to study a simple case in which the solution of the economic dispatch problem is compared with the dispatch obtained after applying the standard definition of the droop gains for the droop-controlled DGs, given by the Standard IEEE 1547.7. Then, the mathematical model for the optimal power flow of droop-based islanded microgrids is used to simulate and study a real unbalanced three-phase system. Results have shown that the standard definition guarantees a proper active power sharing among all the DG units, independent of the load level. However, as shown by the simulations, the standard definition does not necessarily correspond to the solution with minimum active power losses and can have a significant economic impact when compared with the optimal economic dispatch solution.

In NIP theories, generically stable Keisler measures can be characterized in several ways. We analyze these various forms of "generic stability" in arbitrary theories. Among other things, we show that the standard definition of generic stability for types coincides with the notion of a frequency interpretation measure. We also give combinatorial examples of types in NSOP theories that are finitely approximated but not generically stable, as well as $\phi$-types in simple theories that are definable and finitely satisfiable in a small model, but not finitely approximated. Our proofs demonstrate interesting connections to classical results from Ramsey theory for finite graphs and hypergraphs., Comment: 21 pages, final version incorporating referee comments

This paper addresses two questions. The first is whether the life of Deirdriu, as described in Longes mac n-Uislenn, can reasonably be said to correspond to the narrative pattern commonly referred to as the ‘heroic biography’. I argue that Deirdriu’s biography is, indeed, a heroic one, at least at the level of narrative structure, and can be shown to broadly follow the same progression as the biographies of more typical heroic biography subjects, and in particular that of Oedipus, who provides a model for many studies of the biography pattern. Moreover, this narrative kinship can be observed straightforwardly and without appealing to alternate versions of the pattern constructed to suit stories about women (i.e. those of Jezewski 1984 and Covington 1989). The second question is that of what Deirdriu’s biography tells us about the heroic biography itself. I argue that in recognising that Deirdriu not only has a heroic biography, but also that it is a conventional one, we gain insight into the use of the heroic biography as a narrative structuring device in stories about the lives of those who cannot be labeled ‘hero,’ according to any standard definition of the word.

The information-bottleneck (IB) principle is defined in terms of mutual information. This study defines mutual information between two random variables using the Jensen-Shannon (JS) divergence instead of the standard definition which is based on the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence. We reformulate the information-bottleneck principle using the proposed mutual information and apply it to the problem of pairwise clustering. We show that applying IB to clustering tasks using JS divergences instead of KL yields improved results. This indicates that JS-based mutual information has an expressive power at least as the standard KL-based mutual information.

Diabetes can often cause lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS). This has been called diabetic cystopathy by many authors, but no concise grouping of symptoms for this condition has been agreed upon. The etiology of diabetic cystopathy remains unknown, but evidence from the literature strongly suggests a neurologic etiology as the primary factor, with other factors such as polyuria, damage to muscle from oxidative stress, and urothelial factors possibly contributing. Once a standard definition for diabetic cystopathy can be agreed upon, prospective, longitudinal studies will play a key role in the generation of hypotheses for the causes of diabetic cystopathy. Animal models will help test these hypotheses and possibly provide strategies for prevention.

It is important to include civil society in the purview of the sociology of professions because many professionals and professions interact not just with the state and the market but also with civil society actors. Moreover, members of professions engage in civic action and political activism not just as citizens or single professionals but also as the (founding or regular) members of their professional associations. They also establish think-tanks, research and counseling centres, consortia, and on occasion even citizen initiatives or social movements. Professional life can be explored more comprehensively when these professional interactions and activities are included in the analysis. The text provides a standard definition of professions, argues for considering professions’ role in civil society, defines civil society, and draws on US research on civic and political lawyering to buttress its arguments. Some examples from other professions are also offered.

Efficiency indicators have been frequently used to assess end-of-life chain performance, mostly. In terms of the percentage of mass sent to re-use, recycling, and/or energy recovery facilities. While legislation gives a standard definition for recycling and recovery rates, stakeholders sometimes redefine them to better fit their own scopes and objectives. Therefore, to accurately interpret the results of an efficiency indicator, during a decision-making process, it’s necessary to fully understand the scope definition used to calculate it. This work discusses the influence of scope definition when establishing performance rates. It does this by introducing further alternative scope definitions and comparing them to those defined by legislation and stakeholders. As a case study, the proposed complementary scopes are applied to the recycling chain of flat panel displays in France.

Currently, the world is almost saturated with products and material objects. Organizations are looking for new streams for profit. Services and product-service-systems are the future of revenue rivulets. For organizations to fully leverage services to increase their revenue, they must first comprehend how to describe and develop a service. Service Prototyping is an innovative discipline that offers a co-creative service development process to ensure the success of planned future services. This paper intents to explain and define the service prototyping design dimensions, which is the first step in designing, describing, and experiencing a service. There are four design dimensions: actors, processes, artefacts, and environment. A service prototype can contain one design dimension, a combination of design dimensions or all of them at once. The design dimensions enable service stakeholders to fully control the pivotal dimension for the service prototyping process. The service prototyping design dimensions allow a holistic service experience even before the service exists. We will also discuss our service prototyping conceptual framework, validation of the framework will be discussed in future work. Our aim is to enrich the knowledge on service prototyping, offer service stakeholders a better service prototyping experience and provide a standard definition to the service prototyping design dimensions.

The standard definition of localization restricts the phenomenon to digital documents, but adaptation of texts for different readerships began long before the digital era. This paper looks at two examples from the late seventeenth century; they are both translations from the Philosophical Transactions to the Journal des Scavans in 1675. They display a strategy of selective translation, combined in the second case with reorganization of the text. While thematic analysis reveals only minor differences, analysis of process types shows that there is a move towards physical factors at the expense of human involvement. It can be hypothesized that the reason for this derives from the different types of readership of the two periodicals. This phenomenon can be termed “protolocalization”.

BACKGROUND. Binge drinking is common in college students, and many youth drink in quantities greater than the standard definition of bingeing. The use of additional substances, particularly marijuana, is also common. OBJECTIVES. Increased Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking are risk factors for binge drinking, and this study was designed to characterize the association of Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking with more extreme compared to standard bingeing, as well as with combined bingeing and marijuana use. The negative consequences of these patterns of substance use were also investigated. METHODS. Self-report personality measures and a measure of the negative consequences of alcohol use were given to a sample of 221 college students (109 F) sorted into 5 groups based upon their patterns of bingeing and marijuana use. Narrowly defined, non-overlapping measures of Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking were initially analyzed, followed by a broader set of personality traits to determine the best predictors of substance-use patterns and negative consequences of bingeing. RESULTS. Both standard and extreme bingers had significantly higher Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking scores than the non-bingeing control group, but only Sensation Seeking significantly differentiated the two binge groups. A Disinhibition scale was a highly significant predictor of substance use group, along with Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking. Personality traits significantly predicted substance use patterns as well as specific negative consequences of bingeing. CONCLUSIONS. Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking are significant predictors of substance use patterns and the negative consequences of use in college students, as is Disinhibition and to a lesser extent, other personality traits.

This lecture is devoted to review some of the main properties of multisymplectic geometry. In particular, after reminding the standard definition of multisymplectic manifold, we introduce its characteristic submanifolds, the canonical models, and other relevant kinds of multisymplectic manifolds, such as those where the existence of Darboux-type coordinates is assured. The Hamiltonian structures that can be defined in these manifolds are also studied, as well as other important properties, such as their invariant forms and the characterization by automorphisms.

While postoperative opioid consumption is commonly reported in pain studies, there is no standard definition of the intervals over which it is reported. In the article by Lam et al ,[1][1] the authors found that 43.8% of reported opioid consumption would be missed if postoperative day 1 begins at

In comparison with other Western industrialized nations, the rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among youth aged 15 to 19 in the United States is higher. Since the 1980s, the U.S. Federal Government has intervened to aid in lowering the rates of pregnancy and STIs among youth aged 15 to 19 by funding a variety of abstinence-only sex education programs. Despite almost $1.5 billion federal dollars spent on efforts to reduce pregnancy and STIs among this subpopulation, there have been overall unsustainable declines in pregnancy and STIs among youth aged 15 to 19. Significant concerns have been raised by health policy advocates, such as former Rep. Waxman (D-Calif.), and sexual health advocates about the lack of a definition for medically accurate curricula. Mixed interpretations of policies for sex education content have resulted in abstinence-only sex education programs targeting youth to reflect conservative ideology with information that is not medically accurate. To better understand the topic, a review of the historical time line and legislative actions of U.S. federal and state policies is presented. As an example, Mississippi’s state policy for sex education programs is analyzed and reviewed. Furthermore, the authors put forward the need for a standard definition of medically accurate information, offer a proposed definition, and discuss the limitations of a standard definition for sex education programs. Public health professionals and public health education specialists play a key role in ensuring that sex education programs be taught using medically accurate information to reduce the rate of STIs and prevent teen pregnancy consistently among youth aged 15 to 19.