bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Suppression of Endothelial AGO1 Promotes Adipose Tissue Browning and Improves Metabolic Dysfunction
Authors: Tang Xiaofang , Miao Yifei , Luo Yingjun , Sriram Kiran , Qi Zhijie , Lin Feng-Mao , Gu Yusu , Lai Chih-Hung , Hsu Chien-Yi , Peterson Kirk L. , Van Keuren-Jensen Kendall , Fueger Patrick T. , Yeo Gene W. , Natarajan Rama , Zhong Sheng , Chen Zhen Bouman
Published: May 2020

Background:

Metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes mellitus can cause dysfunction of endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular rarefaction in adipose tissues. However, the modulatory role of ECs in adipose tissue function is not fully understood. Other than vascular endothelial growth factor–vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-mediated angiogenic signaling, little is known about the EC-derived signals in adipose tissue regulation. We previously identified Argonaute 1 (AGO1; a key component of microRNA-induced silencing complex) as a crucial regulator in hypoxia-induced angiogenesis. In this study, we intend to determine the AGO1-mediated EC transcriptome, the functional importance of AGO1-regulated endothelial function in vivo, and the relevance to adipose tissue function and obesity.

Methods:

We generated and subjected mice with EC-AGO1 deletion (EC-AGO1-knockout [KO]) and their wild-type littermates to a fast food–mimicking, high-fat high-sucrose diet and profiled the metabolic phenotypes. We used crosslinking immunoprecipitation- and RNA-sequencing to identify the AGO1-mediated mechanisms underlying the observed metabolic phenotype of EC-AGO1-KO. We further leveraged cell cultures and mouse models to validate the functional importance of the identified molecular pathway, for which the translational relevance was explored using human endothelium isolated from healthy donors and donors with obesity/type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Results:

We identified an antiobesity phenotype of EC-AGO1-KO, evident by lower body weight and body fat, improved insulin sensitivity, and enhanced energy expenditure. At the organ level, we observed the most significant phenotype in the subcutaneous and brown adipose tissues of KO mice, with greater vascularity and enhanced browning and thermogenesis. Mechanistically, EC-AGO1 suppression results in inhibition of thrombospondin-1 (
THBS1
/TSP1), an antiangiogenic and proinflammatory cytokine that promotes insulin resistance. In EC-AGO1-KO mice, overexpression of TSP1 substantially attenuated the beneficial phenotype. In human endothelium isolated from donors with obesity or type 2 diabetes mellitus, AGO1 and THBS1 are expressed at higher levels than the healthy controls, supporting a pathological role of this pathway.

Conclusions:

Our study suggests a novel mechanism by which ECs, through the AGO1-TSP1 pathway, control vascularization and function of adipose tissues, insulin sensitivity, and whole-body metabolic state.
Increasing the Usability of Climate Models through the Use of Consumer-Report-Style Resources for Decision-Making
Authors: Briley Laura , Kelly Rachel , Blackmer Emily D. , Troncoso Andrea Vega , Rood Richard B. , Andresen Jeffrey , Lemos Maria Carmen
Published: May 2020

Consumers of climate model information face difficulty in assessing which models and projections are best for their particular needs. This difficulty stems from the abundance of climate information, as well as the relative inaccessibility or unavailability of information concerning a given model’s quality, trade-offs, and suitability for a particular geographic region or decision-making application. Consumer reports have traditionally provided potential consumers with background knowledge and a review of available products and services to help to make decisions. As a knowledge broker for climate information in the Great Lakes region, the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA) team has developed a suite of climate model consumer-report-style documents to help climate information consumers make decisions when selecting models and projections for their work. To develop the reports, GLISA reviewed examples of consumer reports from other sectors, relied on the feedback and advice of our ongoing Practitioner Working Group composed of real-world consumers, and incorporated otherwise-unavailable information from model developers. Due to close, continuing partnership with our Practitioner Working Group, the content and the formatting of our climate model consumer reports respond directly to the needs of consumers. Our reports therefore evolve based on needs of the practitioners as well as with the knowledge generated by our research in usability of climate knowledge. We pose that climate model consumer reports, especially when developed in the context of trusted user–knowledge broker relationships, contribute to making climate information more relevant to and usable by practitioners.
A Statistical–Dynamical Methodology to Downscale Regional Climate Projections to Urban Scale
Authors: DuchÊne François , Van Schaeybroeck Bert , Caluwaerts Steven , De Troch Rozemien , Hamdi Rafiq , Termonia Piet
Published: May 2020

The demand of city planners for quantitative information on the impact of climate change on the urban environment is increasing. However, such information is usually extracted from decadelong climate projections generated with global or regional climate models (RCMs). Because of their coarse resolution and unsuitable physical parameterization, however, their model output is not adequate to be used at city scale. A full dynamical downscaling to city level, on the other hand, is computationally too expensive for climatological time scales. A statistical–dynamical computationally inexpensive method is therefore proposed that approximates well the behavior of the full dynamical downscaling approach. The approach downscales RCM simulations using the combination of an RCM at high resolution (H-RES) and a land surface model (LSM). The method involves the setup of a database of urban signatures by running an H-RES RCM with and without urban parameterization for a relatively short period. Using an analog approach, these signatures are first selectively added to the long-term RCM data, which are then used as forcing for an LSM using an urban parameterization in a stand-alone mode. A comparison with a full dynamical downscaling approach is presented for the city of Brussels, Belgium, for 30 summers with the combined ALADIN–AROME model (ALARO-0) coupled to the Surface Externalisée model (SURFEX) as H-RES RCM and SURFEX as LSM. The average bias of the nocturnal urban heat island during heat waves is vanishingly small, and the RMSE is strongly reduced. Not only is the statistical–dynamical approach able to correct the heat-wave number and intensities, it can also improve intervariable correlations and multivariate and temporally correlated indices, such as Humidex.
How Marriage Matters for the Intergenerational Mobility of Family Income: Heterogeneity by Gender, Life Course, and Birth Cohort
Authors: Choi Seongsoo , Chung Inkwan , Breen Richard
Published: May 2020

Adult children’s labor market status and their type of marriage are major channels through which family advantages are passed from one generation to the next. However, these two routes are seldom studied together. We develop a theoretical approach to incorporate marriage entry and marital sorting into the intergenerational transmission of family income, accounting for differences between sons and daughters and considering education as a central explanatory factor. Using a novel decomposition method applied to data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find that marriage plays a major role in intergenerational transmission only among daughters and not until they reach their late-30s. This is more salient in the recent cohort in our data (people born 1963 to 1975). Marital status and marital sorting are comparably important in accounting for the role of marriage, but sorting becomes more important over cohorts. The increasing earnings returns to education over a husband’s career and the weakening association between parental income and daughter’s own earnings explain why marital sorting, and marriage overall, have been growing more important for intergenerational transmission from parents to their daughters.
Do Children Classified With Specific Language Impairment Have a Learning Disability in Writing? A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Graham Steve , Hebert Michael , Fishman Evan , Ray Amber B. , Rouse Amy Gillespie
Published: May 2020

In this meta-analysis, we examined whether children classified with specific language impairment (SLI) experience difficulties with writing. We included studies comparing children with SLI to (a) typically developing peers matched on age ( k = 39 studies) and (b) typically developing younger peers with similar language capabilities ( k = six studies). Children classified with SLI scored lower on writing measures than their typically developing peers matched on age ( g = −0.97) when all writing scores in a study were included in the analysis. This same pattern occurred for specific measures of writing: quality ( g = −0.92), output ( g = −1.00), grammar ( g = −0.68), vocabulary ( g = −0.68), and spelling ( g = −1.17). A moderator analysis revealed that differences in the writing scores of children classified with SLI and typically developing peers matched on age were not as large, but were still statistically significant, when assessment involved a contrived response format (vs. measured based on students’ writing), researcher-created measures (vs. norm-referenced tests), or SLI included just children with a speech disorder (vs. children with a language disorder). Children classified with SLI further scored lower on writing than typically developing peers with similar language capabilities ( g = −0.47). We concluded that children with SLI experience difficulties with writing.
Human Flourishing in Christ: A Journey of Hope in the Christian Community
Authors: Perkins Ignatius
Published: May 2020

Promoting human flourishing among the sick and the dying as the spiritual goal of life—union with Christ—presents one of the most challenging experiences for patients, families, clinicians, and the Christian community in today’s healthcare environment. This article will present a framework and the important Catholic moral principles that can help guide and facilitate ethical decisions in end-of-life care that promotes and protects human dignity, freedom, and human flourishing in Christ as the telos of the journey of hope in the Christian community.

As members of the Christian Community we have been called to bring the healing message of salvation and hope to one another. This ministry calls each of us to reach beyond ourselves and to touch our loved ones, our neighbors, those made vulnerable by the circumstances of their illness and to protect and defend human dignity, freedom and promote human flourishing. As Jesus did in his own time, each of us is called to help bring healing and wholeness to the sick and the dying in our world. How we can respond to our obligation to care for the sick and dying at the end-of-life, grounded in the principles of the Catholic moral tradition that govern our care and treatment decisions, is the focus of this paper.
Health Care Executive Perceptions of Hiring and Retention Practices of People With Disabilities: Results From Executive Focus Groups
Authors: McDonough Jennifer , Ham Whitney , Brooke Alissa , Wehman Paul , Wright Travis S. , Godwin James C. , Junod Paul , Hurst Robin
Published: May 2020

The supply-side approach to providing services without taking into account employer practices has not been effective in achieving meaningful, competitive, and integrated employment outcomes for people with disabilities. This focus neglects the fact that disability and employment is a two-way process with businesses being accountable for such demand-side factors as establishing better hiring, retention, and advancement practices. To initiate the identification of effective employer practices, this article shares the results of two executive focus groups that were conducted in a large health care organization, across four individual hospitals, with a documented success rate of hiring and retaining people with disabilities (PWDs). The purpose of the focus groups was to explore executive perceptions of their organization’s success at integrating PWDs throughout their work force. Results are explored through five identified themes: (a) organizational mission guided decision-making concerning the employment of PWDs, (b) executives living the mission through their daily inclusive behaviors led to employing PWDs, (c) organizational values were important to employing PWDs, (d) the organization benefited from employment of PWDs, and (e) employing PWDs benefited organization staff and the surrounding community. The results of these executive focus groups provide an initial glimpse into the culture and practices of a highly effective organization.
Flipping Out and Digging in: Combining the Flipped Class and Project-Based Learning to Teach Adult Development
Authors: Mehta Clare M.
Published: May 2020

The urgent need for a worldwide workforce trained in gerontology (Silverstein, N. M., & Fitzgerald, K. G. (2017). Educating a new generation of professionals in agingworldwide. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 38, 1-4) has lead for a call by gerontology educators to employ creative, innovative, novel, and engaging pedagogy in gerontological education (Brown,P. P. (2016). From pedagogy to practice: Adventures in student engagement. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 37, 105-107; Niles-Yokum, K., & Howe, J. L. (2015). Making aging real through reflective teaching and learning strategies. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 36, 107–108; Siegal, B., & Kagan, S. (2012). Teaching psychological and social gerontology to millennial undergraduates. Educational Gerontology, 38, 20–29). This article outlines a novel approach to teaching—combining the flipped classroom with project-based learning—that not only fosters deep learning but also fosters the development of skills applicable to real life. This article describes how to turn traditional lectures into online lectures to “flip” the classroom and also provides a guide for setting up project-based learning, providing suggestions for group formation, project topics, and examples of project contracts and evaluation sheets. When employed together, these powerful teaching tools can provide students with an active, participatory, class experience with the potential to inspire a lifelong interest in adult development and gerontology.
The Whole Lateral Type of the Sphenoethmoidal Cell and Its Relevance to Endoscopic Sinus Surgery
Authors: Liu Jinfeng , Yuan Jingjing , Dai Jinsheng , Wang Ningyu
Published: May 2020

Background:

The sphenoethmoidal cell and the sphenoid sinus (SS) show great similarity in endoscopy and imaging. Hence, it is important to accurately identify the sphenoethmoidal cell preoperatively to prevent injury of the nerve and artery during endoscopic surgery. The aim of the present study was to investigate a special type of sphenoethmoidal cell.

Methods:

A total of 365 inpatients whose paranasal sinus computed tomography (CT) was collected and reviewed from May 2018 to September 2019 were included. The anatomical imaging characteristics of the sphenoethmoidal cell were observed.

Results:

A special type of the sphenoethmoidal cell was found on 9 sides in 730 sides (1.3%), according to its extension to the SS. Unlike Onodi cell (49.6%) and Jinfeng cell (1.3%), this cell simultaneously extends toward the superolateral, lateral, and inferolateral regions of the SS and is simultaneously closely attached to the optic canal and the maxillary nerve. Presently, this cell is named as the whole lateral type of the sphenoethmoidal cell, and the SS is located at the medial or inferomedial of it.

Conclusions:

When evaluating the paranasal sinus CT preoperatively, attention must be paid to the possibility of the whole lateral type of sphenoethmoidal cell appearing, not just Onodi cell, extending into the SS.
Mapping Patent Usage in Management Research: The State of Prior Art
Authors: Savage Jeff P. , Li Mengge , Turner Scott F. , Hatfield Donald E. , Cardinal Laura B.
Published: May 2020

Patents play an important, and increasingly influential, role in management scholarship. In this study, we conduct a broad and systematic review of patent-based empirical work in the management field, which involves mapping the ways in which scholars are using patent-based measures to represent concepts and assessing this usage based on measurement principles. With respect to mapping, our review identifies the different types of measures that researchers have constructed based on different types of patent data (e.g., patent counts, backward citations) as well as delineates the classes of theoretical concepts that are being represented by those measures. In terms of assessing, as a complement to prior surveys of patent-based research that have assessed patents as indicators based on features of patents, patenting, and patent offices, we develop a framework that is based on measurement principles. Using this framework, our assessment of patent-based research in management reveals important patterns surrounding foundational measurement issues, i.e., method bias, validation threats, model misspecification. Our review makes two core contributions: one centering on summarizing how patents have been used in management research and one focusing on guiding management scholars in terms of common measurement issues for patent-based indicators. These contributions have important implications for future scholarly work in management.
Semantics-preserving optimisation of mapping multi-column key constraints for RDB to RDF transformation
Authors: Jun Hee-Gook , Im Dong-Hyuk , Kim Hyoung-Joo
Published: May 2020

The relational database (RDB) to resource description framework (RDF) transformation is a major semantic information extraction method because most web data are managed by RDBs. Existing automatic RDB-to-RDF transformation methods generate RDF data without losing the semantics of original relational data. However, two major problems have been observed during the mapping of multi-column key constraints: repetitive data generation and semantic information loss. In this article, we propose an improved RDB-to-RDF transformation method that ensures mapping without the aforementioned problems. Optimised rules are defined to generate an accurate semantic data structure for a multi-column key constraint and to reduce repetitive constraint data. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves better accuracy in transforming multi-column key constraints and generates compact semantic results without repetitive data.
Changes in Pharyngeal Baseline Impedance in Patients With Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
Authors: Doo Jeon Gang , Kim Su Il , Park Jung Min , Kwon Oh Eun , Lee Young Chan , Eun Young‐Gyu
Published: May 2020

Objective

Few studies have investigated pharyngeal intraluminal baseline impedance (BI) levels in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). The aim of this study was to compare intraluminal BI levels between patients with LPR and healthy controls.

Study Design

Retrospective case series.

Setting

Tertiary care medical center.

Subjects and Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 24‐hour multichannel intraluminal impedance (MII)–pH monitoring results from patients with suspected LPR complaining of reflux symptoms. Patients with suspected LPR were divided into 2 groups according to the 24‐hour MII‐pH monitoring (LPR group: patients with symptoms with reflux events ≥1, symptom but no reflux [SNR] group: patients with symptoms but no reflux event). Healthy controls were recruited and also underwent 24‐hour MII‐pH monitoring. We compared the esophageal and pharyngeal BI levels and ratios between 3 groups.

Results

Pharyngeal BI levels in the LPR group were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. In addition, the pharyngeal BI levels in the SNR group were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. All ratios of pharyngeal to distal esophageal BI levels in the LPR and SNR group were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. However, there were no significant differences in esophageal BI levels and ratios between the 3 groups.

Conclusion

We found that the pharyngeal BI levels were higher in patients with LPR than in healthy controls. In addition, the pharyngeal BI levels measured by 24‐hour MII‐pH monitoring in patients with LPR symptoms, but without a reflux episode, were higher than in the healthy controls.
Budesonide vs Saline Nasal Irrigation in Allergic Rhinitis: A Randomized Placebo‐Controlled Trial
Authors: Periasamy Nikitha , Pujary Kailesh , Bhandarkar Ajay M. , Bhandarkar Naveen D. , Ramaswamy Balakrishnan
Published: May 2020

Objectives

Budesonide nasal irrigation is currently widely used in the treatment of chronic sinusitis typically following endoscopic sinus surgery to improve inflammatory control. Its application in treatment of allergic rhinitis has not been previously studied. This study assesses the subjective and clinical response to budesonide buffered hypertonic saline nasal irrigation and hypertonic saline nasal irrigation in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Study Design

This is a prospective, single‐center, double‐blind, randomized placebo‐controlled trial.

Setting

Tertiary care hospital.

Subjects and Methods

Fifty‐two patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis were randomized into 2 groups to receive either buffered hypertonic saline nasal irrigation with a placebo respule or buffered hypertonic saline nasal irrigation with a budesonide respule. Patients were assessed at baseline and 4 weeks subjectively using the Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test–22 (SNOT‐22) questionnaire and visual analog scale (VAS). Clinical assessment was done using the modified Lund‐Kennedy score.

Results

The average SNOT‐22, VAS, and modified Lund‐Kennedy scores improved in both groups (P <. 001). The budesonide irrigation group was found to have significantly better improvement than the saline nasal irrigation group with the SNOT‐22 scores (P =. 012) and VAS scores (P =. 007). However, the difference in the clinical response between the 2 groups was not significant (P =. 268).

Conclusion

This study adds evidence to the use of saline nasal irrigation in allergic rhinitis but also demonstrates efficacy of the addition of budesonide to irrigations. Budesonide nasal irrigation thus appears to be a viable treatment option for allergic rhinitis.
Police guns and private security cars. Ordering the state through socio-material policing assemblages in Nairobi
Authors: Colona Francesco
Published: May 2020

In this article, I show how the work of heterogeneous security and policing assemblages in Nairobi hinges upon and reproduces physical urban borders, and consequentially enacts social orders. While these assemblages enrol a diverse collection of people and objects, I liken their work to that of the state: some urban residents are considered as belonging to safe spaces and in need of extra protection, while others are considered dangerous and targets of policing activities. I draw on one year of ethnographic fieldwork with private security companies and police patrols in middle- and upper-class Nairobi. In Nairobi, armed police personnel are commonly seen in vehicles that are marked with the logos and colours of security companies or private vehicles. These arrangements are not only based on agreements between companies’ managers, urban residents and police, but rely on what specific infrastructures (such as road or radio networks) and various objects (such as guns and cars) afford. These material elements are not insignificant details. Rather they become central to the unfolding of the patrols. They contribute to the work of security and policing assemblages of categorizing Nairobi’s residents as either dangerous and potentially criminal subjects or as residents in need of extra protection.
Lexical frequency and morphological regularity as sources of heritage speaker variability in the acquisition of mood
Authors: Perez-Cortes Silvia
Published: May 2020

The present investigation examines intra-speaker variability in heritage speakers (HSs) of Spanish by focusing on the potential effects of two variables in their acquisition of mood: lexical frequency and morphological regularity. To do so, this study tested participants’ interpretation and use of early-acquired mood alternations conveying either assertive or jussive meanings. Results from a truth-value judgment and a picture-based sentence completion task revealed that HSs’ performance was significantly modulated by the lexical frequency of the matrix verb introducing the modal alternation, as well as by the regularity of the embedded verbal form. In particular, frequent matrix verbs and irregular forms yielded higher rates of accuracy across most of the experimental tasks, suggesting that the degree of variability in HSs’ outcomes is determined, to a certain extent, by these two factors. These results favor an account of heritage language acquisition and loss focused on the effects of lexical activation on bilinguals’ grammatical representations (Perez-Cortes, Putnam and Sánchez, 2019; Putnam and Sánchez, 2013).
From Time Sheets to Tablets: Documentation Technology in Frontline Service Sector Managers’ Coordination of Home Healthcare Services
Authors: Wu Tina
Published: May 2020

Research on service work theorizes a triangle of power alliances between workers, managers, and customers, while studies on electronic health records (EHRs) focus on user experiences. Using an ethnography of a home healthcare company, this article explores how EHR affects the roles of frontline managers in the service triangle. Managers using traditional paperwork perform mediational authority. They interpret accounts from workers and clients to create an official record. Managers using app-based EHR software perform directive authority by telling staff how to document, but they lack the power to directly alter the record. Thus, documentation technologies have unintended implications for roles and relationships in service sector work.
Social Capital in the Response to COVID-19
Authors: Pitas Nicholas , Ehmer Colin
Published: May 2020

Social capital provides a number of benefits during crisis scenarios, and high social capital communities respond more efficaciously than those with low social capital. With this in mind, we argue that the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic may be hampered in many American communities by deficiencies or disruptions in social capital brought about by physical distancing. Drawing on evidence from past crises, we recommend individuals, communities, and government institutions work to strengthen and expand social networks. A failure to do so will exact a toll in terms of human morbidity and mortality and exacerbate the current disaster.
Individuals’ Career Growth Within and Across Organizations: A Review and Agenda for Future Research
Authors: Weng Qingxiong (Derek) , Zhu Linna
Published: May 2020

The tremendous changes occurring in the work environment encourage new studies to update our knowledge about what determines ones’ career growth within and across organizations. Seven papers from a pool of submissions are presented in this special issue. We summarize how the seven papers included in this special issue contribute to our understanding beyond previous research and identify directions for future research. As a result of this special issue, we urge researchers to (a) identify other determinants of career growth, (b) enrich the theoretical framework connecting career growth with individuals’ attitudes and behaviors, (c) distinguish the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic career growth, (d) incorporate work context and career stage in future research, and (e) further explore the benefits of organizations’ investment on employees’ career growth in the new career era.
How disunity matters to the history of cybernetics in the human sciences in the United States, 1940–80
Authors: Kline Ronald
Published: May 2020

Rather than assume a unitary cybernetics, I ask how its disunity mattered to the history of the human sciences in the United States from about 1940 to 1980. I compare the work of four prominent social scientists – Herbert Simon, George Miller, Karl Deutsch, and Talcott Parsons – who created cybernetic models in psychology, economics, political science, and sociology with the work of anthropologist Gregory Bateson, and relate their interpretations of cybernetics to those of such well-known cyberneticians as Norbert Wiener, Warren McCulloch, W. Ross Ashby, and Heinz von Foerster. I argue that viewing cybernetics through the lens of disunity – asking what was at stake in choosing a specific cybernetic model – shows the complexity of the relationship between first-order cybernetics and the postwar human sciences, and helps us rethink the history of second-order cybernetics.
Modeling the curing behavior of a toughened hot curing epoxide adhesive during the paint drying process
Authors: Griese M , Günther N , Stammen E , Dilger K
Published: May 2020

Lightweight body-in-white is often based on a mix of materials that causes problems in the production process. More specifically, the paint oven process after cathodic dip-coating can lead to damaged adhesive layers due to mismatches in thermal expansion of the materials. The understanding of the curing behavior of the structural adhesive cured in this oven process is of crucial interest to determine the damaging in numerical analyses. Therefore, the curing behavior of a one-component toughened hot curing structural adhesive is modeled using three model-based and a model-free approach as well as experimental data from differential scanning calorimetry. After the parameter identification of the models, the parameters are validated using an oven-process-like temperature profile to compare experimental and numerical data.
Spatial and temporal pattern evolution and influencing factors of energy–environmental efficiency: A case study of Yangtze River urban agglomeration in China
Authors: Zhong Zhaoqiang , Peng Benhong , Elahi Ehsan
Published: May 2020

Improving energy–environmental efficiency is prerequisite for sustainable development. In order to explore ways to improve energy–environmental efficiency, this paper uses the undesired output slack-based model to measure the energy–environmental efficiency of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration based on the input and output index data from 2008 to 2017, and its spatial and temporal pattern evolution is analyzed by using kernel density estimation, Gini coefficient, and coefficient of variation. Moreover, the Tobit regression model is used to analyze the influencing factors of the energy–environmental efficiency of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration. The results indicate that the energy–environmental efficiency of each city is increased continuously, and the regional differences are gradually narrowed. The spatial pattern is changed from polar nucleus type to valley type, and finally the distribution characteristics of “overall high” are formed. Overall, the energy–environmental efficiency presents a spatial layout of “high in the east and low in the west.” The regression results show that the level of economic development and energy–environmental efficiency are “U-type” associated characteristics, and government regulation and population density have significant positive effects on it. Industrial structure and technological progress have negative effects on it, and the effect of opening degree is not significant.
The ties that bind: Cancer history, communication, and screening intention associations among diverse families
Authors: Nolan Timiya S , Tan Alai , Williams Karen Patricia
Published: May 2020

Objective

Breast and cervical cancers are screen-detectable; yet, challenges exist with ensuring uptake of mammography and Pap smear. Family, a central factor in developing knowledge to carry out health promotion behaviors, may be an asset to improving intention to screen among non-adherent women from underrepresented minority groups. We explored familial cancer; communication; and breast and cervical screening intention among non-adherent Black, Latina, and Arab women in the United States who participated in a randomized controlled trial of the Kin KeeperSM Cancer Prevention Intervention study. The intervention was a culturally-targeted breast and cervical cancer literacy tool for Black, Latina, and Arab women, consisting of two family-focused education sessions on the cancers, their screening guidelines, and risk-reducing health-related behaviors.

Methods

For this secondary analysis, we assessed family cancer history, family communication, and screening intention for breast and cervical cancer in age-eligible, non-adherent participants. Descriptive statistics examined sample characteristics of the intervention and control groups. Odds ratios were estimated from logistic regression modeling to assess the intervention and sample characteristic effects on screening intention.

Results

Of the 516 participants, 123 and 98 were non-adherent to breast and cervical cancer screening, respectively. The intervention (OR = 1.95 for mammography; OR = 1.62 for Pap smear) and highly communicative (OR = 2.57 for mammography; OR = 3.68 for Pap smear) families reported greater screening intention. Family history of cancer only increased screening intention for mammography (OR = 2.25).

Conclusion

Family-focused approaches supporting communication may increase breast and cervical cancer screening intention among non-adherent, underrepresented minority groups.
Fair-Wages for People With Disabilities: Barriers and Facilitators
Authors: Friedman Carli , Rizzolo Mary C.
Published: May 2020

Subminimum wage is a prominent and problematic issue affecting the lives of many people with disabilities. For this reason, the aim of this study was to identify the correlates of fair-wages (at least minimum wage) for people with disabilities—which factors facilitate and hinder people with disabilities’ access to fair-wages. We utilized Personal Outcome Measures® interview data from approximately 1,500 people with disabilities to examine how individual, employment, and organizational-level factors correlate with people with disabilities’ access to fair-wages. Binary logistic regression models revealed at the individual-level support needs, guardianship, and residence type all significantly correlate with people with disabilities’ odds of receiving fair-wages. In addition, the ability to experience a number of employment options, as well as decide where to work, produce higher odds of having fair-wages. Finally, our findings also revealed the key role service organizations can play in facilitating people with disabilities’ access to fair-wages. Attention to the facilitators that promote access to fair-wages for people with disabilities, and the barriers that hinder this access is one of the first steps toward ending this discrimination against people with disabilities.
Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level at Admission Predicts Unfavorable Outcome in Intensive Care Unit Patients
Authors: Maamer Dhouha , Trifi Ahlem , Ben Fradj Mohamed Kacem , Daly Foued , Hammami Mohamed Bassem , Abdellatif Sami , Feki Moncef , Ben Lakhal Salah
Published: May 2020

Introduction:

Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are at high risk of unfavorable outcomes. Considering the role of vitamin D (Vit D) in cardiovascular and immune functions, Vit D deficiency could affect ICU patients’ outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate Vit D status and its predictive value for outcome in ICU patients.

Patients and Methods:

A total of 169 ICU patients were followed during ICU stay. Primary outcome was the occurrence of at least one major adverse event; secondary outcomes were organ failure, septic shock, ICU-acquired infection, other adverse events, and ICU mortality. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was assessed by immunoassay. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to test the associations of low 25(OH)D levels with poor outcomes.

Results:

Around 75% of patients had 25(OH)D levels <12 ng/ml. During their ICU stay, 114 patients experienced a major adverse event, 85 patients presented an ICU-acquired infection, and 22 patients died. Plasma 25(OH)D levels <12 ng/ml were associated with higher risk of major adverse events, Hazard ratio [95% CI], 4.47 [1.77, 11.3], p = .020, and ICU-acquired infection, 2.67 [1.01, 7.42], p = .049, but not with increased risk of ICU mortality.

Conclusions:

Hypovitaminosis D is very common in ICU patients. Results of the present study show that low plasma 25(OH)D levels are associated with increased risk of unfavorable outcomes in these patients. Additional research is needed to investigate the impact of Vit D status and effect of Vit D supplementation in ICU patients.
Experimental study on wind force coefficient of a truss arch tower with multiple skewbacks
Authors: Li Lingyao , He Shichang , He Xuhui , Jing Haiquan
Published: May 2020

A truss arch tower is a large-span arch structure with multiple skewbacks. This tower is made of a large number of members with unique form, and contains more than five kinds of geometric features. The wind forces and the corresponding wind effects on the truss arch tower are notably complicated. In this study, wind tunnel tests were conducted to evaluate the wind forces on the steel latticed structure mentioned above using the high-frequency base balance technique. Four segmental models, including one arch foot of main truss, two arch feet of sub-truss, and one arch crown of main truss were tested in nominally smooth flow. The drag forces were measured and compared with several existing codes, including the British, American, and Chinese codes. The incidence angle effects and the interference effects on the drag coefficient were analyzed. The testing results showed that the direction of the wind forces has a marked effect on the whole truss tower. The solidity ratio and layout of the segmental models, including the cross-section and the centerline of the members, have critical effects on the drag forces.
“The feel of the place”: Investigating atmosphere with the residents of a modernist housing estate
Authors: Hicks Stephen
Published: May 2020

Atmosphere is a neglected topic in social work, and so this article considers the production of atmospheres amongst the residents of an extant 1960s housing scheme in Edinburgh (UK). This is in order to address not only the complexity of feelings about living on such an estate but also to consider what consequences the paying of attention to atmosphere’s production and effects might have for a social work concern with welfare and wellbeing. The article is based upon semi-structured and walking interviews with 17 residents – council or private renters and home-owners – of Claremont Court, a mixed, low-rise estate and analyses their description and crafting of atmosphere as a way to understand questions of belonging, welfare and community in situ. After reviewing some existing research on atmosphere and outlining methodological issues relating to the Claremont Court project, the article goes on to consider how residents described their feelings about or sense of the estate and its design before discussing the emergence of contradictory narratives about home. The production of narratives about those needing welfare support is particularly pertinent to atmospheric accounts of the housing scheme, and so the article addresses this before finally making an argument for the relevance of immersive and emplaced accounts of space and place for both social work practice and research.
Sharp as a Fox: Are foxnews.com Visitors Less Politically Knowledgeable?
Authors: Licari Peter R.
Published: May 2020

In 2012, a survey research was publicized suggesting that Fox News viewers were not only less informed than consumers of other news media but also less informed than people abstaining from news media entirely. Many have taken this to be unequivocally true and the study remains popular among political discussants to this day. However, virtually all of the investigations used to advance the argument focus on current events type knowledge and neglect important controls that could influence both political knowledge and Fox News consumption. Furthermore, no research to date has investigated any effects stemming from consuming the network’s online content (i.e., from foxnews.com ). This article aims to contribute these gaps. Using the 2016 American National Election Survey (ANES), I investigate whether consuming content from foxnews.com is associated with decreased political knowledge. I find no differences in knowledge concerning how the U.S. political system works (what I call process-related knowledge) but do find a significant, negative relationship between visiting foxnews.com and facts about society writ large (what I call society-oriented knowledge). These effects persist even when controlling for party, ideology, and conservative-group affinity and in the preponderance of matching procedures employed to reduce concerns of self-selection. Implications and avenues of future research are also discussed.
A Head-to-Head Comparison of an Isometric and a Concentric Fatigability Protocol and the Association With Fatigue and Walking in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Taul-Madsen Laurits , Dalgas Ulrik , Kjølhede Tue , Hvid Lars G. , Petersen Thor , Riemenschneider Morten
Published: May 2020

Background. Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Distinction is made between subjective perceptions of fatigue and objective measures of fatigability. Fatigability can be measured by different protocols. Yet no studies have compared isometric and concentric contraction protocols of the lower extremities head-to-head. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to (1) compare 2 such protocols head-to-head and (2) to investigate the association between fatigability evoked by the 2 protocols and measures of fatigue and walking. Methods. A total of 45 patients with MS had their walking capacity measured objectively by the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and subjectively by the 12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12). Fatigue was measured by the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) and fatigability by 2 knee extension protocols: sustained isometric and concentric. Results. The sustained isometric protocol induced a higher degree of fatigability than the concentric protocol ( P < .01). Regression analyses revealed that sustained isometric fatigability was not associated with either measures of fatigue or walking (all r2 = 0.00; P = .85-.99), whereas the concentric protocol was significantly associated with fatigue ( r2 = 0.20; P < .01), 6MWT ( r2 = 0.09; P < .05), and MSWS-12 ( r2 = 0.16; P < .01). Furthermore, after adjusting for maximal strength and sex, concentric fatigability remained a strong and significant predictor of fatigue (β = 0.49) and walking (6MWT: β = −0.26; MSWS: β = 0.37). Conclusion. This study provides the first evidence that a lower-extremity concentric fatigability protocol provides superior reflection of both fatigue and walking when compared with a sustained isometric protocol. We suggest that concentric protocols should be the focus of future studies investigating fatigability.
The Cascade device – In vitro tests to assess coil protrusion into the parent vessel
Authors: Bhogal P , Wong K , Makalanda HLD
Published: May 2020

Background

Balloon and stent-assisted coiling of aneurysms have increased the number of aneurysms available for endovascular treatment. Newer devices that allow flow within the parent vessel but coverage at the neck have recently entered the market. The Cascade is a new non-occlusive fully retrievable neck-bridging support device that has been designed to provide temporary support during coil embolisation of intracranial aneurysms.

Methods

Using a silicone aneurysm model three different aneurysms were catheterised with the coiling microcatheter placed in three different positions within each aneurysm – at the neck, centrally, and looped within the aneurysm. Multiple different coils were then deployed within each aneurysm with the Cascade device deployed across the neck to provide protection. In total 480 attempted coilings were performed. Aneurysm flow was used to calculate the change in intra-aneurysmal flow with the Cascade device deployed across the neck of the aneurysm.

Results

We did not observe a single episode of coil protrusion through the Cascade mesh nor did we observe any coil protrusion into the parent vessel when the Cascade was deployed across the neck. There was an average flow velocity reduction of 23% with the Cascade device deployed across the neck of the aneurysm.

Conclusion

The Cascade device offers robust protection of the aneurysmal neck and parent vessel as well as inducing significant intra-aneurysmal flow velocity reduction.
Safety and efficacy of delayed-release dimethyl fumarate in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: 9 years’ follow-up of DEFINE, CONFIRM, and ENDORSE
Authors: Gold Ralf , Arnold Douglas L. , Bar-Or Amit , Fox Robert J. , Kappos Ludwig , Chen Chongshu , Parks Becky , Miller Catherine
Published: May 2020

Introduction:

We report safety and efficacy in patients treated with dimethyl fumarate (DMF) for ~9 years in ENDORSE. Lymphocyte analysis data are also reported.

Methods:

Incidence of serious adverse events (SAEs), discontinuations due to adverse events (AEs), annualized relapse rate (ARR) and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score were assessed. Patients were treated with DMF 240 mg twice daily (BID): placebo (PBO)/DMF (PBO for years 0–2 /DMF for years 3–9) or continuous (DMF/DMF) treatment; newly diagnosed patients were included. Annual magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was evaluated in patients from the MRI cohort of DEFINE/CONFIRM. For the lymphocyte analysis, data from first DMF exposure were analyzed.

Results:

Of 2079 DEFINE/CONFIRM completers, 1736 enrolled and received ⩾1 dose of DMF. The MRI cohort included 530 patients. In the overall population, 527 (30%) patients experienced SAEs; most were fall and urinary tract infection. Over 9 years on DMF treatment, adjusted ARR remained low (⩽0.20). In patients treated with PBO in years 0–2, decreased ARR was apparent as early as year 3. Of DMF/DMF and PBO/DMF patients, 73% and 74%, respectively, had no 24-week confirmed disability progression. Most patients (~70%) had no new T1 or new/newly enlarging T2 lesions compared with previous MRI scans after 7 years treatment with DMF; the annual number of new T1 hypointense lesions and new/newly enlarging T2 hyperintense lesions were 0.6–0.8 and 0.9–2.0, respectively. Mean percentage brain volume change from ENDORSE baseline (6 years treatment in ENDORSE) was −1.32% (range −1.60% to −1.05%). Of the 2513 patients with lymphocyte assessments, 2470 had ⩾1 post-baseline measurement, 53 developed severe prolonged lymphopenia and were followed for up to 11 years; incidence of serious infection was not higher than in patients with absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) always ⩾ lower limit of normal (LLN). In patients with lymphopenia while on DMF and ALC < 0.91 × 109/L at discontinuation ( n = 138), median time to ALC ⩾ LLN was 7 weeks post-discontinuation.

Conclusions:

Sustained safety and efficacy of DMF was observed in patients continuing on treatment for up to 11 years, supporting DMF as a long-term treatment option for patients with RRMS.

Trial registration:

ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers, NCT00835770 (ENDORSE); NCT00420212 (DEFINE); NCT00451451 (CONFIRM).