Three Dimensional Approaches to Personality Disorders: a Review on Personality Functioning, Personality Structure, and Personality Organization

Purpose of Review The concept of personality functioning (Alternative DSM-5 Model of Personality Disorders) has led to increased interest in dimensional personality disorder diagnosis. While differing markedly from the current categorical classification, it is closely related to the psychodynamic concepts of personality structure and personality organization. In this review, the three dimensional approaches, their underlying models, and common instruments are introduced, and empirical studies on similarities and differences between the concepts and the categorical classification are summarized. Additionally, a case example illustrates the clinical application. Recent Findings Numerous studies demonstrate the broad empirical basis, validated assessment instruments and clinical usefulness of the dimensional concepts. Their advantages compared to the categorical approach, but also the respective differences, have been demonstrated empirically, in line with clinical observations. Summary Evidence supports the three dimensional concepts, which share conceptual overlap, but also entail unique aspects of personality pathology, respectively.

Assessing the Potential of Remotely-Sensed Drone Spectroscopy to Determine Live Coral Cover on Heron Reef

Coral reefs, as biologically diverse ecosystems, hold significant ecological and economic value. With increased threats imposed on them, it is increasingly important to monitor reef health by developing accessible methods to quantify coral cover. Discriminating between substrate types has previously been achieved with in situ spectroscopy but has not been tested using drones. In this study, we test the ability of using point-based drone spectroscopy to determine substrate cover through spectral unmixing on a portion of Heron Reef, Australia. A spectral mixture analysis was conducted to separate the components contributing to spectral signatures obtained across the reef. The pure spectra used to unmix measured data include live coral, algae, sand, and rock, obtained from a public spectral library. These were able to account for over 82% of the spectral mixing captured in each spectroscopy measurement, highlighting the benefits of using a public database. The unmixing results were then compared to a categorical classification on an overlapping mosaicked drone image but yielded inconclusive results due to challenges in co-registration. This study uniquely showcases the potential of using commercial-grade drones and point spectroscopy in mapping complex environments. This can pave the way for future research, by increasing access to repeatable, effective, and affordable technology.

Electrochemical Detection of Glucose Molecules Using Laser-Induced Graphene Sensors: A Review

This paper deals with recent progress in the use of laser-induced graphene sensors for the electrochemical detection of glucose molecules. The exponential increase in the exploitation of the laser induction technique to generate porous graphene from polymeric and other naturally occurring materials has provided a podium for researchers to fabricate flexible sensors with high dynamicity. These sensors have been employed largely for electrochemical applications due to their distinct advantages like high customization in their structural dimensions, enhanced characteristics and easy roll-to-roll production. These laser-induced graphene (LIG)-based sensors have been employed for a wide range of sensorial applications, including detection of ions at varying concentrations. Among the many pivotal electrochemical uses in the biomedical sector, the use of these prototypes to monitor the concentration of glucose molecules is constantly increasing due to the essentiality of the presence of these molecules at specific concentrations in the human body. This paper shows a categorical classification of the various uses of these sensors based on the type of materials involved in the fabrication of sensors. The first category constitutes examples where the electrodes have been functionalized with various forms of copper and other types of metallic nanomaterials. The second category includes other miscellaneous forms where the use of both pure and composite forms of LIG-based sensors has been shown. Finally, the paper concludes with some of the possible measures that can be taken to enhance the use of this technique to generate optimized sensing prototypes for a wider range of applications.

Probing rhythmic patterns in English-L2: a preliminary study on vowel reduction by Brazilian learners at different ages

Languages are traditionally classified as mora-timed, syllable-timed or stress-timed in relation to their rhythmic patterns. The distinction between syllable-timed and stress-timed languages, however, lacks solid evidence in the literature. Syllable-timed languages typically have similar duration across unstressed and stressed syllables, whereas stress-timed languages tend to have similar inter-stress intervals, and unstressed syllables are shorter than stressed syllables. According to this categorical classification, English is a stress-timed language, thus having more reduction in unstressed vowels. Brazilian Portuguese, on the other hand, is typically classified as syllable-timed, and thus has little reduction of unstressed vowels. If these categorical rhythmic differences are correct, then acquiring the rhythmic patterns of English should be a challenging task to Brazilian learners, who are not expected to produce unstressed vowels with asmuch reduction as English native speakers. However, recent studies have found that the typology of rhythm is best understood as not categorical, but rather gradient, and that Brazilian Portuguese has a mixed classification, with more stress timing than would be expected from a traditional and categorical perspective. We therefore hypothesize that Brazilian learners of English should not have major difficulties reducing unstressed vowels, even when exposed to the second language later in life. To test this hypothesis, we analyze production data of native speakers of English (control group) and two groups of Brazilian advanced learners of English who differ in their age of initial exposure to formal instruction. The results show that neither group of learners is credibly different from the control group, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the mixed rhythm present in Brazilian Portuguese in fact facilitates the acquisition of the rhythmic patterns of English, a stress-timed language, at least in terms of unstressed vowel reduction.

Factors that Determine Comprehensive Categorical Classification of EHR Implementation Levels

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have the potential to alleviate patient safety mistakes. Of the various levels of EHR, advanced or higher-level functionalities of EHR are designed to improve patient safety. Certain organizational and environmental factors may pose as barriers toward implementing all of the functionalities, leaving certain hospitals intermediate between basic and comprehensive levels of implementation. This study identifies a comprehensive categorical classification that includes hospitals that have functionalities between basic and comprehensive levels of EHR and determines the organizational and environmental factors that may influence hospitals to implement one or more combinations of these categories. A longitudinal panel design was used. Ordinal logistic regression with random effects model was fitted with robust cluster standard errors. Our sample consisted of non-federal general acute care hospitals utilizing a panel design from 2010 to 2016 with 17 586 hospital-year observations (or an average of 2600 hospitals per year). Larger size hospitals, ones with higher total margin, metropolitan and urban hospitals, system affiliated hospitals, and those in higher managed care penetration areas have higher odds of belonging in one of the higher categories of EHR implementation. Hospitals that can access a greater amount of human resources and financial assets from their environments, may implement higher levels of EHR. Initial and maintenance costs of EHR, interoperability issues, and inability to distribute high costs of training across facilities may stymie implementation of higher EHR functionalities. Policymaking to encourage competition among vendors may possibly lower the implementation price for hospitals with limited resources.

Opatrenia v oblasti vlastných príjmov ako nástroj kompenzácie negatívnych dopadov pandémie COVID 19 na obyvateľov krajských miest v podmienkach SR

The author examines the measures concerning the revenue side of city budgets (property revenues, local taxes), which were adopted in eight Slovak regional cities during the first wave of the COVID 19 pandemic. Using the method of analysis, comparison, categorical classification, systematization and finally synthesis the author in conclusion states that in choosing the fiscal measures used, the cities did not put their own economic interests and the achievement of budgeted income above the economic, social or cultural needs of individuals, rather perceive them as a possible effort to be proportional. The author also points out the finding that local governments are aware, in addition to the economic and social potential of local taxes, which are in their administration and thus become an effective and accessible direct tool for fulfilling some specific tasks of municipalities and cities. URL: https://vsas.fvs.upjs.sk/

WELSH TOPONYMS AS REFLECTION OF LINGUISTIC AND ETHNOCULTURAL LEGACY OF THE CELTS WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF WALES

Statement of the problem. The Celtic languages are formed as one of the primary groups within the Indo-European language family. The 6th – 7th centuries saw the exodus of the Celts, as well as the Celtic language by the Germanic tribes and their languages from the territory of Britain pushed. Along with that we had our special interest riveted on linguistic artifacts which support the assumption about some Celtic tribes to staying within certain territories, particularly, within the territory of Wales, where during historical conquests, a considerable number of the Celtic tribes were pushed back to avoid the fate of being enslaved by the Anglo-Saxons. The object of linguistic analysis was the contemporary toponyms of Wales, including the linguistic and ethnic-cultural legacy of the Celts within the diachrony. The purpose of the article is to reveal and show the Celtic substrate in contemporary Welsh oikonymy within the territory of Wales as a proof of the preservation of the ancient lingo-social legacy of the Celts. The research methodology includes method of searching for particular toponymical units, which include the Celtic substrate, inductive method in finding a great number of oikonyms for creation of categorical classification according to the meaning of the name, comparative historical method, and the method of etymological analysis. Research results. The preservation of ancient ethnic-cultural legacy of the Celts and its distinctive interpretation are needed for understanding the movement of the English language expansion on a certain territory during the ancient period and immersion into the lingo-cultural, lingo-cognitive image of the world reflected in oikonyms. As a result of exploring the Celtic toponymic layer, it was found out that the north-western part of Wales was less influenced by the Anglo-Saxon invaders in diachrony and the local population of Celtic origin were able to preserve their unique ethnic-cultural identity. The conclusion. All names of places in Wales, especially the ones that are located in the north-western part remain unchanged from ancient times. Despite the attempts to push out the Celtic language and pressure on the part of the Anglo-Saxon invaders the expansion of the English language was halted by the courageous actions of the ancestors of the contemporary Welsh people. Today, this is reflected in the prevailing Celtic substrate among genuine Wales’ toponyms.

Intellectual processing of spatial data in the GIS of landscape-ecological monitoring

An approach to the creation of modular subsystems for intelligent processing and compression of spatial data as a part of GIS landscape-ecological monitoring is proposed. The functions and methods of implementing the tasks of these subsystems are determined. The main modules include: a module for preliminary processing of spatial data with the formation of digitized images; module of image segmentation and edge highlighting; module for categorical classification of images of landscape objects; image compression module using a fractal model and a genetic algorithm; a module for compressing and restoring noisy digitized images using a noise-canceling autoencoder.