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U.S. foster care policy prioritizes keeping siblings together while in foster care. However, prior research on the effects of sibling placement is limited in sample, measures, and research design. In this study, we use data on 2,297 children from an urban county in years 2015–2019 and assess how sibling separation is associated with placement instability. We use multilevel parametric hazard modeling with adjustments for child, sibling, and placement characteristics. Findings indicate that children placed with at least one sibling are less likely to experience a placement move and are specifically less likely to experience a non-progress move (e.g., moves due to problems or negative experiences in their foster home). For larger sibling groups, sibling separation was not consistently associated with placement instability and there was little difference in placement instability for children placed with some versus all siblings. Results were robust to differences in measurement and model specification. Black or Hispanic race/ethnicity was also associated with increased risk of instability, and associations between sibling separation and instability were stronger for Black children, implying enhanced efforts to maintain sibling groups may be especially beneficial for Black children. Overall, findings provide support for the continuation and expansion of policies promoting sibling placement.

In this article, we draw on Finch’s (2007) concept of family display to examine how collectivist understandings of family intersect with gender to shape mothers’ and fathers’ post-separation displays of family life. Drawing on interviews with fifteen separated Pacific parents (ten mothers and five fathers), we explore how mothers and fathers navigate how, when, with and for whom they display family relationships and family life following separation. In pursuing this inquiry, we pay particular attention to how family imaginaries and norms in Pacific cultures affect participants’ post-separation family displays. We found gender differences among our participants, with mothers displaying post-separation family connections in child-centred and collectivist ways, while the post-separation family displays by fathers were child-related and more individualistic.

Objective The revised Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT2) is the instrument that is the most widely used for measuring diabetes knowledge; nevertheless, its structural validity has never been evaluated. This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the DKT2. Methods This study performed a secondary data analysis of people with diabetes recruited at university hospitals. Rasch analysis was used. Results One item in the 14-item DKT2 measuring general diabetes knowledge exhibited a poor-fit, and so it was eliminated. The person-item map showed that items of greater difficulty need to be added to the instrument. The principal-components analysis of residuals revealed a unidimensional structure. The person reliability was 0.50, with a person separation index of 1.01. Measurement invariance was not satisfied for items 11 and 2 according to gender and age. Conclusions The unidimensional structure of the 13-item DKT2 demonstrated poor person reliability and a low person separation index. Females and elderly persons found it more difficult to respond to items 11 and 2, respectively. Practice implications Careful consideration is necessary when using the 13-item DKT2 in practice and research. It is recommended for future studies to add items of greater difficulty to the instrument.

Despite poor treatment results, a family-oriented approach and the securing of residency have been deemed essential to recovery from resignation syndrome (RS). In a retrospective cohort study, we evaluated an alternative method involving environmental therapy, with patients separated from their parents, while actively abstaining from involving the asylum process in treatment. We examined medical records, social services acts, and residential care home acts from 13 individuals treated at Solsidan residential care home between 2005 and 2020. Severity and outcome were assessed with Clinical Global Impression, Severity and Improvement subscales. Thirteen participants were included and out of these nine (69%) recovered, i.e. they very much or much improved. Out of the eight that were separated, all recovered, also, one non-separated recovered. The difference in outcome between subjects separated and not was significant (p = 0.007). Moreover, out of the five which received a residency permit during treatment, one recovered whereas four did not. The difference in outcome between subjects granted residency and not was significant (p = 0.007). The data revealed three (23%) cases of simulation where parents were suspected to have instigated symptoms. Our evaluation suggests that separation from parents and abstaining from invoking residency permit could be essential components when treating RS. Relying on a family-oriented approach, and residency could even be detrimental to recovery. The examined intervention was successful also in cases of probable malingering by proxy.

To compare the perinatal outcomes of pregnancies complicated by chorioamniotic separation (CAS) vs septostomy following fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP) for twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).This was a retrospective cohort analysis of monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies with TTTS that underwent FLP at one of two university-affiliated tertiary medical centers between January 2012 and December 2020. CAS and septostomy were diagnosed either during the procedure or by ultrasonography within 24-48 h after FLP. Data on procedure and postprocedure parameters, pregnancy outcomes and survival were collected from the patients' electronic medical records. Pregnancies were stratified according to the presence of CAS, septostomy or neither. Patients diagnosed with both CAS and septostomy were analyzed separately.Of the 522 women included in the cohort, 38 (7.3%) were diagnosed with CAS, 68 (13.0%) with septostomy and 23 (4.4%) with both CAS and septostomy. The remaining 393 (75.3%) women comprised the control group. Groups did not differ in demographic characteristics. The septostomy group had a lower rate of selective fetal growth restriction than did the CAS and control groups (24.2% vs 36.8% vs 42.7%, respectively; P = 0.017). Moreover, intertwin size discordance was lower in the septostomy group (15.1% vs 23.4% in the CAS group and 25.5% in the control group; P = 0.001). Median gestational age at FLP was significantly lower in the CAS group (19.3 weeks vs 20.4 weeks in controls and 20.9 weeks in the septostomy group; P = 0.049). The rate of delivery prior to 34 weeks was significantly higher in the CAS group (89.2%), followed by the septostomy group (80.9%), compared with the control group (69.0%) (P = 0.006). A secondary analysis demonstrated that patients with both CAS and septostomy presented the highest rates of delivery prior to 34 weeks (100%) and 32 weeks (68.2%).CAS and septostomy following laser surgery for TTTS are independently associated with higher rates of preterm delivery. The presence of these two findings in the same patient enhances the risk of prematurity. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Introduction: Development of integrated mixed-criticality systems is becoming increasingly popular for application-specific systems, which needs separation mechanism for available onboard resources and the processors equipped with hardware virtualization. Hardware virtualization allow the partitions to physical resources, which include processor cores, memory, and I/O devices, among guest virtual machines (VMs). For building mixed criticality computing environment, traditional virtual machine systems are inappropriate because they use hypervisors to schedule separate VMs on physical processor cores. In this article, we discuss the design of an environment for mixed-criticality systems: The Muen an x86/64 separation kernel for high assurance. The Muen Separation Kernel is an Open Source microkernel which has no runtime errors at the source code level. The Muen separation kernel has been designed precisely to encounter the challenging requirements of high-assurance systems built on the Intel x86/64 platform. Muen is under active development, and none of the kernel properties of it has been verified yet. In this paper, we present a novel work of verifying one of the kernel properties formally. Method: The CTL used in NuSMV is a first-order modal along with data-depended processes and regular formulas. CTL is a branching-time logic, meaning that its model of time is a tree-like structure in which the future is not determined; there are different paths in the future, any one of which might be an actual path that is realized . This section shows the verification of all the requirements mentioned in section 3. In NuSMV tool the command used for verification of the formulas written in CTL is checkctlspec -p ”CTL-expression”. The nearest quantifier binds each occurrence of a variable in the scope of the bound variable, which has the same name and the same number of arguments. Result: Formal methods have been applied to various projects for specification and verification purpose. Some of them are the SCOMP , SeaView , LOCK,and Multinet Gateway projects. The TLS was written formally. Several mappings were done between the TLS and the SCOMP code: Informal English language to TLS, TLS to actual code , and TLS to pseudo-code. The authors present an ACL2 model for a generic separation kernel also known as GWV approach. Conclusion: We consider the formal verification of data separation property which is one of the crucial modules to achieve the separation functionality. The verification of the data separation manager is carried out on the design level using the NuSMV tool. Furthermore, we present the complete model of the data separation unit along with its code written in the NuSMV modelling language. Finally, we have converted the non-functional requirements into the formal logic, which then has verified the model formally.

Tradeoffs occur when deciding between improving forest inventory precision by increasing sample size or by augmenting cluster plot design factors like size or subplot separation distance. The nature of these tradeoffs changes with variation in type and scale of the spatial pattern of the attribute of interest. To understand the impacts of relationships between type and scale of spatial heterogeneity and cluster plot design efficiency, we constructed a factorial simulation experiment and analysed relationships among forest inventory cost, cluster plot design factors, and different spatial heterogeneity scenarios constructed via simulation. To calculate cost, we constructed a cost model that accounted for both on- and between-plot costs. We found that type and scale of heterogeneity have important implications for plot design choices. Homogeneous stands and landscapes are the least costly to inventory. Subplot area and count have stronger impacts than subplot separation on cost efficiency, particularly in landscapes with aggregated forest patterns and in stands with homogeneous tree patterns. We discuss results in the context of the physical interaction between cluster plot geometry and spatial patterns at different scales, provide computer code for simulations, and suggest principles that forest inventory cluster plot design specialists should consider when designing inventories.

Studies using probability samples have yielded cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between relationship dissolution and psychopathology, including depressive, anxiety, and substance use symptoms and disorders. The present review summarizes theory relevant to the association of relationship dissolution to psychopathology, discusses the time course over which postdissolution psychopathology may be most likely to manifest, and selectively reviews empirical findings regarding main and moderated associations between relationship dissolution and psychopathology. We conclude by acknowledging the need for continued study of the association between relationship dissolution and psychopathology, including research that rules out potential rival explanations (i.e., confounding variables) for this association and examines this association across cultures and types of intimate relationships (e.g., cohabiting relationships).

Knowledge-based statistical potentials have been shown to be rather effective in protein 3-dimensional (3D) structure evaluation and prediction. Recently, several statistical potentials have been developed for RNA 3D structure evaluation, while their performances are either still at low level for the test datasets from structure prediction models or dependent on the “black-box” process through neural networks. In this work, we have developed an all-atom distance-dependent statistical potential based on residue separation for RNA 3D structure evaluation, namely rsRNASP, which is composed of short- and long-ranged potentials distinguished by residue separation. The extensive examinations against available RNA test datasets show that, rsRNASP has apparently higher performance than the existing statistical potentials for the realistic test datasets with large RNAs from structure prediction models including the newly released RNA-Puzzles dataset, and is comparable to the existing top statistical potentials for the test datasets with small RNAs or near-native decoys. Additionally, rsRNASP is also superior to RNA3DCNN, a recently developed scoring function through 3D convolutional neural networks. rsRNASP and the relevant databases are available at website https://github.com/Tan-group/rsRNASP.SIGNIFICANCERNAs play crucial roles in catalyzing biochemical reactions and regulating gene expression, and the biological functions of RNAs are generally coupled to their structures. Complementary to experiments, developing computational models to predict RNA 3D structures can be very helpful for understanding RNA biology functions. For a computational model, a reliable energy function is essentially important either for guiding conformational folding or for structure evaluation. For this purpose, we developed a residue-separation-based distance-dependent statistical potential, named rsRNASP which distinguishes the short- and long-ranged interactions, for RNA 3D structure evaluation. Our rsRNASP were examined against extensive test sets and shows overall superior performance over existing top traditional statistical potentials and a recently developed scoring function through 3D convolutional neural networks, especially for realistic test set from various computational structure prediction models.

In this paper, we first study continuous linear functionals on a fuzzy quasi-normed space, obtain a characterization of continuous linear functionals, and point out that the set of all continuous linear functionals forms a convex cone and can be equipped with a weak fuzzy quasi-norm. Next, we prove a theorem of Hahn-Banach type and two separation theorems for convex subsets of fuzzy quasinormed spaces.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe birth satisfaction in women who gave birth in U.S. hospitals during the earliest months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March–July 2020). Study Design and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 747 postpartum women who gave birth in the United States during the early COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. Participants in the United were recruited via social media. They completed a questionnaire that included demographic, health, and obstetric experience questions, and the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA) models, and nonparametric correlations were performed. Results: Higher birth satisfaction scores were associated with higher income, marriage, white race, vaginal birth, having a birth partner present, and sufficient support during birth. Factors negatively associated with birth satisfaction were separation from infant, unplanned cesarean birth, neonatal intensive care unit admission, hypertension, preeclampsia, hemorrhage, depression, and anxiety. Clinical Implications: Presence of birth partners, sufficient birth support, and minimizing separation of mother and infant improve birth satisfaction. Obstetric complications, including unplanned cesarean birth, negatively affect birth satisfaction. There are racial disparities in birth satisfaction. It is critical to develop further interventions to end racism in maternal health care., During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many restrictive changes to childbirth practices in the inpatient setting geared toward reducing viral spread and keeping patients and health care workers safe. In this study 747 women who gave birth in the United States during the first several months of the pandemic offer their perspectives on how these changes affected their childbirth experience and overall satisfaction.

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine better- ear listening effect on spatial separation with the N1–P2 complex. Methods Twenty individuals with normal hearing participated in this study. The speech stimulus /ba/ was presented in front of the participant (0°). Continuous Speech Noise (5 dB signal-to-noise ratio) was presented either in front of the participant (0°), left-side (-90°), or right-side (+90°). N1- P2 complex has been recorded in quiet and three noisy conditions. Results There was a remarkable effect of noise direction on N1, P2 latencies. When the noise was separated from the stimulus, N1 and P2 latency increased in terms of when noise was co-located with the stimulus. There was no statistically significant difference in N1-P2 amplitudes between the stimulus-only and co-located condition. N1-P2 amplitude was increased when the noise came from the sides, according to the stimulus-only and co-located conditions. Conclusion These findings demonstrate that the latency shifts on N1-P2 complex explain cortical mechanisms of spatial separation in better-ear listening.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) involves physical and sexual violence and coercive controlling behaviours to maximise power inequality in abusive relationships. Many women make the decision to exit abusive relationships due to the detrimental impact of IPV on their children. In a qualitative exploration, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 women recruited by purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. Two overarching themes of single mothers’ unique experiences of co-parenting with IPV were revealed through interpretative phenomenological analysis. The first theme was Continuous Victimisation, which indicated that post-separation victimisation was an extension of existing IPV whereby fathers used intimidation, threatening behaviours such as stalking and other monitoring tactics and the deliberate undermining of the mother–child relationship. The second theme identified was Systemic Challenges, indicating how court officials applied a ‘pro-contact’ approach and either minimised or denied mothers’ allegations of IPV and the impact on them and the children. The analysis found a persistent bias against mothers . Implications of the study are discussed before the article concludes that attitudinal change regarding IPV is required by decision makers in court processes with a recognition that abusive men may be unwilling to engage in cooperative parenting that focuses on the children’s developmental, social, emotional, psychological and physical needs.

Objectives This study aimed to assess the success rate and the amount of suture separation after the miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE) procedure in relation to the chronological age and sex of the patients. Materials and methods The periapical radiographs of 215 subjects (95 male; 120 female; range, 6–60 years) who had undergone MARPE treatment were retrospectively analyzed. The success of suture separation was determined and, in suture-separated subjects, the amount of suture separation was evaluated by suture separation ratio calculated from the periapical radiograph obtained after active expansion. Association tests were performed using linear-by-linear association, the Jonckheere-Terpstra test, Fisher’s exact test, and the Mann–Whitney U test, and linear regression models were also developed. Results The success rate of suture separation was 61.05% in male, 94.17% in female, and 79.53% in both sexes. There was a statistically significant association between older age and suture nonseparation in male (p p = 0.221). In suture-separated subjects, there was a statistically significant trend toward a low amount of suture separation with older age subgroups in both sexes (p Conclusions Older patients treated with MARPE, particularly in male, may have a reduced likelihood of both success in suture separation and sufficient basal bone expansion. Clinical relevance This study demonstrates that clinicians should consider that the success rate of MARPE and the amount of suture separation may depend on chronological age and sex.

Long distance relationships (LDR) are increasingly common, particularly among postsecondary students. The geographic separation inherent in LDR, and related relationship factors, may have implications for the health of individuals in LDR. However, little current work examines these potential associations. The current study examined associations between relationship-level predictors (satisfaction, stress, maintenance) and individual-level health (e.g., anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, fatigue) and health behaviors (e.g., alcohol and cigarette use, sex) in LDR. Participants ( N = 100) were postsecondary students and romantic partners of postsecondary students, recruited from October 2018–June 2019, who completed an online survey on relationships and health. Here, we report sample characteristics; correlations between key study variables; and, results of stepwise hierarchical regressions testing whether relationship-level variables predicted individual-level health. Results indicated that relationship satisfaction and relationship stress predicted self-reported health in multiple domains, in the expected directions; but, neither relationship satisfaction nor relationship stress predicted health behaviors. Relationship maintenance predicted neither self-reported health nor health behaviors. Overall, some, but not all, relationship-level variables influenced some, but not all, individual-level health variables among postsecondary students and partners of postsecondary students in LDR. Future work can clarify relationship-level predictors of individual-level health behaviors in postsecondary students, among whom LDR are prevalent.

Aims We aimed to determine parents' levels of anxiety and fear and suspicion in relation to the COVID-19 period and the possible predictive factors for these variables in families admitted to a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Turkey. In this way, it is hoped to contribute to the identification of priority target groups in psychosocial support services. Method The research study group consisted of 600 patients aged 0-18 years and their parents who were referred to a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic of a university hospital. Parents completed the COVID-19-related psychological distress (CORPD) scale and the data recording form developed specifically for this study. All cases included in the study were examined by a child and adolescent psychiatrist for diagnostic evaluation and their current diagnoses were recorded. Results Parents of children with any psychiatric diagnosis had higher suspicion scores on the CORPD scale and parents of children with high COVID-19-related anxiety also had higher anxiety and fear scores on the same scale. Logistic regression analysis revealed that negative changes in family relationships increased the risk of higher maternal COVID-19-related suspicion. Conclusions The most important factors associated with parental high CORPD levels were negative changes in family relationships and children with high COVID-19-related anxiety. Children's high COVID-19-related anxiety levels were associated with living with a single parent or separation from parents, negative changes in family relationships, previous COVID-19 infection in the family, and changes in daily routines.

Keeping similar memories distinct from one another is a critical cognitive process without which we would have difficulty functioning in everyday life. Memories are thought to be kept distinct through the computational mechanism of pattern separation, which reduces overlap between similar input patterns to amplify differences among stored representations. At the behavioral level, impaired pattern separation has been shown to contribute to memory deficits seen in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, and in normal aging. This protocol describes the use of the spontaneous location recognition (SLR) task in mice and rats to behaviorally assess spatial pattern separation ability. This two-phase spontaneous memory task assesses the extent to which animals can discriminate and remember object locations presented during the encoding phase. Using three configurations of the task, the similarity of the to-be-remembered locations can be parametrically manipulated by altering the spatial positions of objects—dissimilar, similar or extra similar—to vary the load on pattern separation. Unlike other pattern separation tasks, SLR varies the load on pattern separation during encoding, when pattern separation is thought to occur. Furthermore, SLR can be used in standard rodent behavioral facilities with basic expertise in rodent handling. The entire protocol takes ~20 d from habituation to testing of the animals on all three task configurations. By incorporating breaks between testing, and varying the objects used as landmarks, animals can be tested repeatedly, increasing experimental power by allowing for within-subjects manipulations. This two-phase task assesses the extent to which animals can discriminate and remember object locations. Unlike in similar tasks, the load on pattern separation during memory encoding—when pattern separation is thought to occur—varies.

The separation of a couple is a situation of risk for the appearance of violent behaviour. In Spain, one out of every three femicides occurs in a context of separation. This research analyses the breakdown of the relationship and the woman's manifestation of separation, comparing these variables in non-fatal intimate partner violence cases (VdG; n = 513) and femicide (n = 171). Subsequently, cases of femicide were in-depth studied, classifying them as preceded (FPS; n = 88) and not preceded by separation (FNPS; n = 81), focusing on those cases in which there were reportable violent behaviors. The findings showed that the relationship breakdown was associated with cases in which there were reportable violent behaviours. In addition, the woman's manifestation of separation was more common in non-lethal violent cases, although whether eliminating femicides without reportable violent behaviors, the situation of rupture was associated with femicides. Regarding the FPS authors’ profile, they are younger than FNPS authors, have use of drugs but do not have disabilities, showed an insecure attachment style, and have criminal records. Regarding the relational dynamics, the FPS cases show a shorter relationship time, the victims had protection measures, and these cases registered violence, threats, control behaviours, and harassment to a greater extent than the FNPS. However, when analysing those femicides in which there was not reportable violent behaviours, the findings showed that the perpetrator's disability, the length of the relationship and the existence of harassing behaviours remained to be statistically significant. These findings show that associations that have been identified in previous research related to the couple breakup could be explained by the presence of violent behaviors rather than the fact associated with the separation itself.

We investigated the chemical behavior of lanthanides (Ln) by multistage extraction. Using 10 aqueous phases with Ln and 3 organic phases, we drew the breakthrough curves for light and middle Ln. Our study reveals that the limit of metal extraction depends on their D values and the metal concentration employed in experiments. From the multistage extractions of 15 stage aqueous phases and 15 stage organic phases, three curves (extraction curves, back-extraction curves, and separation curves) were obtained. Setting appropriate conditions, adequate separation of light Ln from middle ones can be achieved. As an example, under the condition of the separation curve experiment (aqueous phase: 0.5 M HNO3, organic phase: 0.1 M TDDGA (N,N,N',N'-tetradecyl-diglycolamide) in n-dodecane), the recovery of more than 99% of Sm in the organic phase with less than 1% of Nd can be obtained, even in the case of two metals adjacent to each other in the Ln series.

PURPOSE: To explore the impact of different surgical sequences on the visual and refractive outcomes of bilateral small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. METHODS: Participants who underwent uneventful SMILE between March 2018 and September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed and were divided into two groups: Sequence A (laser scanning [LS] of the right eye, manual separation lenticule [MSL] of the right eye, and LS and MSL of the left eye) and Sequence B (LS of the right eye, LS of the left eye, MSL of the left eye, and MSL of the right eye). PSM was conducted to minimize the effect of confounding factors on postoperative visual outcomes at days 1 and 7 and months 1, 3, and 6. Safety, efficacy, predictability, and stability were compared between groups. RESULTS: Overall, 1,854 eyes of 927 participants were included (Sequence A, n = 280; Sequence B, n = 647). After PSM, there were no significant differences in baseline characteristics, and 534 eyes (267 patients) in the Sequence A group were matched (1:1) to the Sequence B group. The postoperative corrected distance visual acuity significantly differed between groups at 3 months (adjusted P = .007). The uncorrected distance visual acuity significantly differed between groups at all follow-up visits (adjusted P < .01). The safety index (1.341 ± 0.265 and 1.413 ± 0.294) and efficacy index (1.173 ± 0.191 and 1.251 ± 0.269) were different in the Sequence A and Sequence B groups, respectively, at 3 months (adjusted P < .01). No difference in visual outcomes was found between right and left eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who had bilateral lenticule creation followed by bilateral lenticule separation had better postoperative visual outcomes than those who underwent complete SMILE surgery in each eye separately. Regardless of the surgical sequence chosen for the SMILE procedure, there was no impact on outcomes between the right and left eyes. Adjusting the sequence of the surgical procedure may be a way to improve the visual results. [ J Refract Surg . 2021;37(11):726–733.]

The fundamental requirement for real-time operation of a speech-processing algorithm is causality—that it operate without utilizing future time frames. In the present study, the performance of a fully causal deep computational auditory scene analysis algorithm was assessed. Target sentences were isolated from complex interference consisting of an interfering talker and concurrent room reverberation. The talker- and corpus/channel-independent model used Dense-UNet and temporal convolutional networks and estimated both magnitude and phase of the target speech. It was found that mean algorithm benefit was significant in every condition. Mean benefit for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners across all conditions was 46.4 percentage points. The cost of converting the algorithm to causal processing was also assessed by comparing to a prior non-causal version. Intelligibility decrements for HI and normal-hearing listeners from non-causal to causal processing were present in most but not all conditions, and these decrements were statistically significant in half of the conditions tested—those representing the greater levels of complex interference. Although a cost associated with causal processing was present in most conditions, it may be considered modest relative to the overall level of benefit.

В работе описан и апробирован на выборке размером ∼ 300 звезд теоретико-вероятностный подход, который на основе блеска в полосах ugriz и JHK s позволяет вынести суждение о значениях атмосферных характеристик звезды и полном поглощении. Подход основан на методе максимального правдоподобия с использованием поискового индекса по типу k - d дерева, для создания которого использовались результаты вычислений моделей звездных атмосфер Куруца. We present a probability-theoretic approach to separation of stellar properties using SDSS, 2MASS magnitudes. The approach is based on the maximum likelihood method using a search index of the type k - d tree. Using synthetic photometry of Kurucz model spectra, the search index is constructed and the approach is tested on sample of ∼ 300 stars.

Objective To develop and validate a prognostic model for LEF discontinuation with abnormal blood test results. Methods Data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Gold and Aurum were used for model development and external validation, respectively. Participants prescribed LEF between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2019 were followed up from 6 months after the first general practitioner prescription to the earliest of date of outcome, death, 5 year follow-up or 31 December 2019. Candidate prognostic factors were ascertained using theory and data-driven approaches. Penalized Cox regression was performed to develop the risk equation, followed by internal validation using 500 bootstraps to correct for optimism. Multiple imputation was applied to handle missing data. Model performance was assessed in terms of calibration and discrimination. Results Data for 1487 and 2329 participants contributing 3140 and 5246 person-years follow-up were included in the development and validation cohorts, respectively. Thirteen candidate predictors were included in the model. Epilepsy and either cytopenia or elevated liver enzymes during the first 6 months of shared-care LEF prescription were strong predictors of drug discontinuation with a hazard ratio of 4.39 (95% CI 1.74, 11.06) and 3.06 (2.15, 4.35), respectively. The unadjusted and optimism-adjusted calibration slope in development data was 1.00 (95% CI 0.75, 1.25) and 0.72 (95% CI 0.47, 0.97), respectively. The calibration slope in validation data was 0.91 (95% CI 0.74, 1.07). The model showed prognostic separation with an optimism-adjusted Royston D statistic of 0.73 (95% CI 0.44, 1.02). Conclusion We have developed and externally validated an easy-to-use prognostic model that may be used to risk stratify monitoring for LEF toxicity and to make informed choices about risks when choosing treatments.

Bullying is an increasingly common problem in schools, associated with negative educational outcomes for both bullies and victims. This study explored the socio-educational family and school variables related to bullying, victimization and positive behavior, such as age, gender, separation from parents, school results, and truancy. In this study 311 students (50.8% boys) have participated, they were aged between 6 and 16 years (M = 11.01, SD = 1.71), enrolled in primary school (47.3%) and in secondary school (52.7%), all were from urban areas. 43.8% of respondents were separated from one or both parents due to divorce (17.4%), parental death (6.1%), migration (20%) or abandonment (0.3%). Bullying, victimization and positive behavior were measured with one standardized scale; the data about school results and attendance of the students was collected from the school registers; family information was self-reported by participants. Because Cronbach’s Alpha for the positive behavior scale was 0.57, lower that 0.7, this scale was not considered for further data analysis. Empirical data for the study was collected before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mann-Whitney U test showed significant age differences: secondary school students scored higher in aggression than primary school students. We also found significant gender differences in bullying behavior: boys’ reported higher level of aggression. The Independent Sample Student’s t-test indicated gender differences in school results: the boys obtained lower school results in Language and Mathematics than the girls. Separation from one or both parents did not lead to significant differences in bullying behavior, but pupils separated from their parents had fewer school absences than their colleagues not separated from their parents. Pearson’s correlation indicated that students with higher bullying scores, also scored higher on victimization and had higher number of school absences, but had scored lower grades in Language and Mathematics. One-way ANOVA indicated that victimization was influenced by age and bullying was influenced by gender. Also, one-way ANOVA indicated an effect of bullying on school results. Two-way ANOVA showed an interaction effect between gender and separation from parents on bullying. When living with both parents, boys had higher bullying scores, but under separation condition, the boys scored slightly lower than girls. The implications of the results for education and counseling are discussed.

Recycling is one of the priority solutions for reducing the amount of waste entering landfills. To achieve high rates of recycling, citizens are encouraged to participate in waste separation at home. Behavior prediction has been used to understand the factors that promote participation in recycling activities. This study focused on predictive models of waste separation behavior and their application in estimating the effect of promotion measures on behavior. Data were collected from 600 households in Da Nang, Vietnam. Logistic regression was used to develop predictive models of separation behavior for 14 recyclable categories. Sensitivity analyses of the models were carried out to predict changes in participation rates and waste amount caused by the implementation of various promotion measures. Provision of information was the most effective promotion measure, with the highest predicted increase in recycling participation rates (6.1−49.0%) and the amount of separated recyclables (up to 9.6% of total waste generated), followed by provision of collection services, with a predicted increase of 1.6−7.7% in participation rates and 7.7% in the amount of separated recyclables. For further improvement, promotion of environmental awareness should be considered. This study is beneficial to authorities looking for ways to motivate citizens to recycle.

Legal separation is a crucial step in the dissolving of marriages in Italy. Marriage and legal separation data come from administrative data sources and have been part of the civil registration and vital statistics system for a long time. These data make it possible to constantly monitor evolution of marital unions formation and dissolution over time and space. This study highlights the potential of combining administrative data at a macro level, aggregated by selected characteristics of the marriage and of the spouses. Data collection on legal separations is a complex process that brings together records from different administrative sources that have different transmission procedures. The system has rapidly evolved in recent years because of important normative changes. Pooling the two exhaustive data sources on marriages and separations we calculate duration-specific separation rates by selected spouses’ and wedding characteristics and estimate survival curves for 1975 marriage cohorts onward. Although the propensity to separate is increasing across marriage cohorts, the most recent first-marriage cohorts—those celebrated since the beginning of the new millennium—show a decreasing tendency to separate after short marriage durations. The most fragile unions are those celebrated in a civil ceremony in the north of Italy and that choose the separation of property regime. Couples in which the bride is more educated than the groom show a higher risk of separating. Differences by geographical area and celebration rite tend to reduce over time. This study contributes to existing information about the propensity to separate in Italy and the role that some characteristics of weddings and spouses play. It shows the potential for integrating information from marriage and separation registers when dealing with a relatively rare phenomenon at the population level and with information not usually collected in social surveys.

We explore the effects of a particular facet of separation of powers—namely, the executive’s independence from the legislature—on maintaining a norm of legislative restraint in which antagonistic factions refrain from passing laws that infringe on their rival’s liberties. Our main result establishes that executive independence may sometimes undermine and at other times facilitate legislative restraint, depending on the probabilities with which the factions hold legislative and executive power. Our results contribute to the larger game-theoretic literature exploring the effects of political institutions; our results also contribute to the literature exploring how institutions designed to protect liberty affect tacit cooperation among rival factions.

T-junction is broadly utilized for phase separation, as it has a notable function as a conduit to distribute fluid, due to its simple design, low maintenance cost and adaptability to offshore industries. The geometrical parameters that influence phase separation make the phase re-distribution unpredictable. Even though the diameter ratio of the T-junction has a prominent effect on phase separation, it was not thoroughly and comprehensively reviewed specifically. This review article intends to fill in that gap, focusing solely on the effect of the diameter ratio on phase separation, specifically for two-phase flow in branching T-junction. Initially, the inversely proportional relation between diameter ratio and phase separation is discussed, reported first in the 1970s. Besides, a critical analysis in 1998, is reported which challenged the inverse proportionality. Unfortunately, their disagreement was not addressed for more than a decade. Lastly, two different criteria to determine the separation efficiency, state-of-the-art T-junction design and side arm modifications are summed up with conclusions. The primary contribution of this research is that it takes into account the agreement and disagreements among the researchers for inverse proportionality between phase separation and diameter ratio, including some critical findings that were not reported in the past in review articles. Some recommendations for future research in this domain are also reported.

Separation or monotone-likelihood can be observed in fitting process of a multinomial logistic model using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) when sample size is small and/or one of the outcome categories is rare and/or there is one or more influential covariates, resulting in infinite or biased estimate of at least one regression coefficient of the model. This study investigated empirically to identify the optimal data condition to define both ‘separation’ and ‘near-to-separation’ (partial separation) and explored their consequences in MLE and provided a solution by applying a penalized likelihood approach, which has been proposed in the literature, by adding a Jeffreys prior-based penalty term to the original likelihood function to remove the first-order bias in the MLEs of the multinomial logit model via equivalent Poisson regression. Furthermore, the penalized estimating equation (PMLE) is extended to a weighted estimating equation allowing for survey-weight for analyzing data from a complex survey. The simulation study suggests that the PMLE outperforms the MLE by providing smaller amount of bias and mean squared of error and better coverage. The methods are applied to analyze data on choice of health facility for treatment of childhood diseases.

This study aimed to investigate waste separation at source behaviour among South African households in Abaqulusi Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Behaviour in this context refers to determining...

This paper investigates the links between poverty and marital separation. In order to account for both unobserved heterogeneity and complex dynamics, the paper builds and estimates a dynamic nonlinear panel model with correlated random effects. The main finding is that a substantial portion of the link between poverty and separation appears to derive spuriously from unobserved factors that affect both outcomes. However, even after accounting for dynamics and unobserved heterogeneity, there remains a strong association between the arrival of poverty and marital separation. The results appear to suggest that poverty and separation often arrive concurrently, though that finding might stem from the relatively course periodicity of large micro household panel surveys. To that end, this paper presents a case for household surveys to adopt more frequent recordings of information.

Numerous studies have shown that parental divorce is associated with an increase in adult children's divorce risk. We extend this literature by assessing how parental divorce on both sides of a couple is related to their partnership dynamics, specifically, whether there is parental divorce homogamy and whether a history of parental divorce for both partners is associated with increased dissolution risks for cohabiting and married unions. We use Finnish Census Panel data on 28,021 cohabiting and marital partnerships to conduct event-history models that follow individuals between ages 18 and 45. Findings show substantial parental divorce homogamy. Children with experience of parental divorce have 13% greater odds of cohabiting with and 17% greater odds of marrying a fellow child of divorcees, compared with those whose parents have not divorced. Moreover, contrary to evidence from the United States and Norway, our findings for Finland support an additive—rather than multiplicative—association between parental divorce homogamy and union dissolution. Parental divorce homogamy increases offspring's union dissolution risk by 20% for cohabitation and 70% for marriage, compared with couples for whom neither partner's parents are divorced. In Finland, the sizes of these associations are notably weaker than in the United States and Norway, likely because cohabitation and separation are more widespread and socially accepted in Finland, and an expansive welfare state buffers the socioeconomic consequences of divorce.

Sustainable chemistry established one of kind standards to maintain protection of environment through using safer mobile phase composition and/or lower solvent consumption. A fast green micellar HPLC method was developed and applied for the first time aiming at simultaneous determination of chlorpheniramine maleate, one of the most widely used antihistamine in combination with levochlopersatine fenodizoate or dextromethorphan hydrobromide or dexamethasone, in their pure forms, laboratory prepared mixtures and pharmaceutical dosage forms used in alleviating the symptoms of cough resulting from common colds and allergy. The separation was achieved on Kinetex C18 column (100 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 2.6-μm particle size) using micellar aqueous mobile phase consisting of (30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 50 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 5) and ethanol (85:15) with UV detection at 230 nm. The four drugs were successfully separated using isocratic elution in a single run not exceeding 7 min. According to ICH guidelines, the method was confirmed to be linear, accurate and precise over the concentration ranges of 5–60 μg mL−1 for chlorpheniramine maleate, 10–100 μg mL−1 for levocloperastine fenodizoate and dextromethorphan hydrobromide and 5–30 μg mL−1 for dexamethasone. In addition, the greenness of the developed method was assessed using two different tools indicating their least hazardous effect on the environment.

Repeated nightmares involving separation are a DSM-5 symptom criterion for separation anxiety disorder. However, research on nightmares and separation anxiety in clinical or non-clinical samples is scarce. To verify whether children’s separation anxiety predicted nightmares’ characteristics (frequency, distress and separation-related content), we conducted an online survey among 237 mothers of a 4- to 12-year-old child. Children’s separation anxiety as assessed by a modified version of the Separation Anxiety Symptoms Inventory predicted frequent nightmares and bad dreams, dreaming of the parents’ death (odds ratio [OR] = 2.65 [1.41, 4.98]) or of any separation theme (OR = 5.97 [2.64, 13.50]) during the last year, and dysphoric dream distress. The association between children’s separation anxiety and dysphoric dream distress was mediated by dysphoric dream frequency. Our findings suggest that dysphoric dream distress may be a better marker of separation anxiety compared with frequency. Future studies in clinical samples are needed to determine whether the DSM-5 nightmare symptom criterion should be reviewed to emphasize the occurrence of any type of dysphoric dreams (bad dreams and nightmares), the presence of distress in relation to these dreams, and their specific content.

In this study coping with imprisonment among female inmates, and how it relates to experiencing separation from family and friends, is being explored. Data was collected via a survey of 194 female ...

From the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco to the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, Japan has always adopted a political and economic separation policy that maintains diplomacy with Taiwan and economic and cultural relations with China. Within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to break the existing deadlock, Kenzo Matsumura of the Japanese House of Representatives and others formed a foreign policy group in 1959. This group spoke highly of China's importance to Japan's development on the grounds of national interests rather than ideology and national sentiments, played a bridging role in the political communication between China and Japan, and created a precedent for the nontraditional improvement of international relations in Japan.

There are currently approximately 10.1 million pet dogs in the UK, equating to about 26% of the UK adult population owning a dog. Early research indicates that dogs have played an essential role in helping their owners to cope throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores the potential impact of lockdown on the canine experience and the risk of developing separation-related behavioural problems, as well as how first referral veterinary practices can support their clients through this.

Background Quantitative MRI is increasingly proposed in clinical trials related to neuromuscular disorders (NMDs). Purpose To investigate the potential of an MR fingerprinting sequence for water and fat fraction (FF) quantification (MRF T1-FF) for providing markers of fatty replacement and disease activity in patients with NMDs and to establish the sensitivity of water T1 as a marker of disease activity compared with water T2 mapping. Materials and Methods Data acquired between March 2018 and March 2020 from the legs of patients with NMDs were retrospectively analyzed. The MRI examination comprised fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging, mapping of the FF measured with the three-point Dixon technique (FFDixon), water T2 mapping, and MRF T1-FF, from which the FF measured with MRF T1-FF (FFMRF) and water T1 were derived. Data from the legs of healthy volunteers were prospectively acquired between January and July 2020 to derive abnormality thresholds for FF, water T2, and water T1 values. Kruskal-Wallis tests and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were performed, and linear models were used. Results A total of 73 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 47 years ± 12; 45 women) and 15 healthy volunteers (mean age, 33 years ± 8; three women) were evaluated. A linear correlation was observed between FFMRF and FFDixon (R2 = 0.97, P < .001). Water T1 values were higher in muscles with high signal intensity at fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging than in muscles with low signal intensity (mean value, 1281 msec [95% CI: 1165, 1604] vs 1198 msec [95% CI: 1099, 1312], respectively; P < .001), and a correlation was found between water T1 and water T2 distribution metrics (R2 = 0.66 and 0.79 for the median and 90th percentile values, respectively; P < .001). Water T1 classified the patients' muscles as abnormal based on quantitative water T2, with high sensitivity (93%; 68 of 73 patients) and specificity (80%; 53 of 73 patients) (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.92 [95% CI: 0.83, 0.97]; P < .001). Conclusion Water-fat separation in MR fingerprinting is robust for deriving quantitative imaging markers of intramuscular fatty replacement and disease activity in patients with neuromuscular disorders. © RSNA, 2021 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

The article substantiates technological and technical solutions that expand the application of design standards for railway automation and remote control systems, regulating the development and opera- tion of systems for interval control of train traffic. Based on the analysis of the methods for arranging automatic block signal system and signal signs of automatic train control, used as an independent signaling and communication device during train movement, it has been proved that determining the lengths of block sections at specified train-to-train and intervals reduces the carrying capacity of the hauls. It has been established that a significant increase in the working capacity of the hauls is achieved when determining the lengths of “fixed” block sections by calculating the maximum stopping distances of trains on each haul, and the lengths of the “running” blocks - on the basis of the operatively calcu- lated stopping distances of each ride, passing along the given section. Particular attention is paid to the application of the cognitive (research) method of using the knowledge and experience of interacting railway transport specialists in the field of creation, design and operation of the systems for interval control of train traffic. The directions of development of software for existing and created information systems that serve graphists-technologists, field dispatchers and machinists have been determined. It is shown that the use of the method of simulation modeling of train movement links the times of arrival and departure of trains with the beginning and end of station technological operations, which expands the possibilities of taking into account the influence of technical and organizational factors on the assessment of the working capacity and processing capacity of train stations. It is proposed to supplement the software of the method with a set of algorithms that determine the required working capacity of railway lines, stations, sections, lines and directions for a given number of trains of various high-speed categories, taking into account the prospect of providing possessions for repair work, de- pending on the planned volumes transportation.

Background Plate fixation is an established treatment for Neer type II and V distal clavicle fractures; however, residual coracoclavicular (C-C) separation after osteosynthesis for unstable distal clavicle fractures has rarely been discussed. This study aimed to reveal the extent of postoperative C-C separation after plate fixation for distal clavicle fractures and to evaluate the relationship between residual C-C separation and the risk of postoperative complications. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 60 patients with a displaced distal clavicle fracture that was treated with a Scorpion plate without C-C reconstruction and successfully united. Distal clavicle fractures were divided as per the Neer classification into type IIA (12 patients), IIB (36 patients), and V (12 patients) groups. The modified C-C distance ratio at the time of injury and after bone union, and the postoperative complications (plate-related pain, delayed union, infection, and contracture) were compared among the three groups. Results The mean postoperative modified C-C distance ratio was 115.0% ± 12.0%; this ratio was significantly larger in the type IIB and V groups than in the type IIA group (P = .021 and P = .006, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in the frequency of postoperative complications among the three groups. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that a certain degree of C-C separation remained after plate fixation for Neer type II and V distal clavicle fractures, even when bone union was achieved. The postoperative residual C-C separation was greater for the type IIB and V groups than for the type IIA group; however, this difference may not affect postoperative complications.