A Spiritual Ecological Study of Toni Morrison’s Paradise

As one of the first African American women that won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993, Toni Morrison(1931-2019) is one of the most influential writers in the contemporary American literary world. Through a comparative analysis of Ruby residents and Covent women, this thesis explores how the Covent women overcome the spiritual crisis as well as the root cause for the decline in Ruby, and excavates Morrison’s ecological ideas embodied in Paradise. It also reflects Morrison’s initial exploration of the establishment of a harmonious society for black people and her expectations that the black community can achieve self-identification and finally get rid of the trauma

DISTINGUISHING CONTINUOUS AND DISCRETE APPROACHES TO MULTILEVEL MIXTURE IRT MODELS: A MODEL COMPARISON PERSPECTIVE

The current study introduced a general modeling framework, multilevel mixture IRT (MMIRT) which detects and describes characteristics of population heterogeneity, while accommodating the hierarchical data structure. In addition to introducing both continuous and discrete approaches to MMIRT, the main focus of the current study was to distinguish continuous and discrete MMIRT models from a model comparison perspective. A simulation study was conducted to evaluate the impact of class separation, cluster size, proportion of mixture, and between-group ability variance on the model performance of a set of MMIRT models. The behavior of information-based fit criteria in distinguishing between discrete and continuous MMIRT models was also investigated. An empirical analysis was presented to illustrate the application of MMIRT models. Results suggested that class separation, and between-group ability variance had significant impact on MMIRT model performance. Discrete MMIRT models with fewer group-level latent classes performed consistently better on parameter and classification recovery than the continuous MMIRT model and the discrete models with more latent classes at the group level. Despite the poor performance of the continuous MMIRT model, it was favored over the discrete models by most fit indices. The AIC, AIC3, AICC, and the modification of AIC and ssBIC were more sensitive to the discreteness in random effect distribution, compared to the CAIC, BIC, their modifications, and ssBIC. The latter ones had a higher tendency to select continuous MMIRT model as the best fitting model, regardless of the true distribution of random effects

Multiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization Based on PAM and Uniform Design

In MOPSO (multiobjective particle swarm optimization), to maintain or increase the diversity of the swarm and help an algorithm to jump out of the local optimal solution, PAM (Partitioning Around Medoid) clustering algorithm and uniform design are respectively introduced to maintain the diversity of Pareto optimal solutions and the uniformity of the selected Pareto optimal solutions. In this paper, a novel algorithm, the multiobjective particle swarm optimization based on PAM and uniform design, is proposed. The differences between the proposed algorithm and the others lie in that PAM and uniform design are firstly introduced to MOPSO. The experimental results performing on several test problems illustrate that the proposed algorithm is efficient

Can external use of Chinese herbal medicine prevent cumulative peripheral neuropathy induced oxaliplatin? : a systematic literature review with meta-analysis

Background. Peripheral neurotoxicity caused by oxaliplatin (OXA) chemotherapy is the main limitation preventing continuation of chemotherapy in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of external use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) on the incidence of cumulative OXA-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (OIPN). Method. Scientific literature databases were searched to identify controlled clinical trials analyzing CHM in OIPN. Clinical studies that included at least 1 relevant primary outcome were analyzed by 2 independent reviewers. Meta-analysis was performed on the software RevMan 5.3. Results. 700 cancer patients of 9 studies were reported, of whom 352 received external CHM and 348 received warm water baths, conventional medicine, or no intervention as controls. Neurotoxicity incidence (Levi grade ≥ 1) was significantly decreased in CHM group, compared with no intervention (P .05). Conclusion. External use of CHM may be beneficial in preventing the OXA-induced cumulative neurotoxicity. However, given the low quality of the evidence, the results should be interpreted with caution

Herbal Medicine for Hot Flushes Induced by Endocrine Therapy in Women with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. This systematic review was conducted to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine (HM) as an alternative management for hot flushes induced by endocrine therapy in breast cancer patients. Methods. Key English and Chinese language databases were searched from inception to July 2015. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of HM on hot flushes induced by endocrine therapy in women with breast cancer were retrieved. We conducted data collection and analysis in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Statistical analysis was performed with the software (Review Manager 5.3). Results. 19 articles were selected from the articles retrieved, and 5 articles met the inclusion criteria for analysis. Some included individual studies showed that HM can relieve hot flushes as well as other menopausal symptoms induced by endocrine therapy among women with breast cancer and improve the quality of life. There are minor side effects related to HM which are well tolerated. Conclusion. Given the small number of included studies and relatively poor methodological quality, there is insufficient evidence to draw positive conclusions regarding the objective benefit of HM. Additional high quality studies are needed with more rigorous methodological approach to answer this question

Evaluating Teachers and Schools Using Student Growth Models

Interest in Student Growth Modeling (SGM) and Value Added Modeling (VAM) arises from educators concerned with measuring the effectiveness of teaching and other school activities through changes in student performance as a companion and perhaps even an alternative to status. Several formal statistical models have been proposed for year-to-year growth and these fall into at least three clusters: simple change (e.g., differences on a vertical scale), residualized change (e.g., simple linear or quantile regression techniques), and value tables (varying salience of different achievement level outcomes across two years). Several of these methods have been implemented by states and districts. This paper reviews relevant literature and reports results of a data-based comparison of six basic SGM models that may permit aggregating across teachers or schools to provide evaluative information. Our investigation raises some issues that may compromise current efforts to implement VAM in teacher and school evaluations and makes suggestions for both practice and research based on the results. Accessed 9,761 times on https://pareonline.net from December 17, 2012 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Drug-herb interactions between Scutellaria baicalensis and pharmaceutical drugs : insights from experimental studies, mechanistic actions to clinical applications

Whilst the popular use of herbal medicine globally, it poses challenges in managing potential drug-herb interaction. There are two folds of the drug-herb interaction, a beneficial interaction that may improve therapeutic outcome and minimise the toxicity of drug desirably; by contrast, negative interaction may evoke unwanted clinical consequences, especially with drugs of narrow therapeutic index. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is one of the most popular medicinal plants used in Asian countries. It has been widely used for treating various diseases and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Studies on its extract and bioactive compounds have shown pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions with a wide range of pharmaceutical drugs as evidenced by plenty of in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies. Notably, S. baicalensis and its bioactives including baicalein, baicalin and wogonin exhibited synergistic interactions with many pharmaceutical drugs to enhance their efficacy, reduce toxicity or overcome drug resistance to combat complex diseases such as cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases. On the other hand, S. baicalensis and its bioactives also affected the pharmacokinetic profile of many drugs in absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination via the regulatory actions of the efflux pumps and cytochrome P450 enzymes. This review provides comprehensive references of the observed pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic drug interactions of Scutellaria baicalensis and its bioactives. We have elucidated the interaction with detailed mechanistic actions, identified the knowledge gaps for future research and potential clinical implications. Such knowledge is important for the practice of both conventional and complementary medicines, and it is essential to ensure the safe use of related herbal medicines. The review may be of great interest to practitioners, consumers, clinicians who require comprehensive information on the possible drug interactions with S. baicalensis and its bioactives