bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cohort study of adult patients with haemoglobin SC disease: clinical characteristics and predictors of mortality
Authors: Gualandro Sandra F. Mm , Fonseca Guilherme H. H. , Yokomizo Iara K. , Gualandro Danielle M. , Suganuma Liliana M.
Published: August 2015

Haemoglobin (Hb) SC disease is the second most common subtype of sickle cell disease and is potentially fatal. This study aimed to determine the clinical characteristics, outcome and predictors of mortality in HbSC disease patients, and to compare these findings with patients followed‐up in different centres. Clinical, laboratory and outcome data were collected from a cohort of adult patients with HbSC disease followed between 1991 and 2103. Cox regression multivariate analysis was used to determine predictors of mortality. One hundred and fifty‐five patients were followed‐up over 20 years: 9% died and 70·8% had at least one complication. The most common complications were: painful crises (38·3%), retinopathy (33·8%), cholelithiasis (30·3%), osteonecrosis (24·8%) and sensorineural hearing disorders (9·7%). Frequency of chronic complications was similar in most studies. In multivariate analysis, hearing disorders remained an independent predictor of mortality (Odds Ratio 9·26, 95% confidence interval 1·1–74·8; P = 0·03). It was concluded that patients with HbSC disease receive a late diagnosis and there is remarkable similarity between the studies conducted in different centres around the world. Sensorineural hearing disorders were an independent predictor of mortality, suggesting that it may be useful to implement routine diagnostic screening.
Reforming Shapes for Material‐aware Fabrication
Authors: Yang Yong‐Liang , Wang Jun , Mitra Niloy J.
Published: August 2015

As humans, we regularly associate shape of an object with its built material. In the context of geometric modeling, however, this inter‐relation between form and material is rarely explored. In this work, we propose a novel data‐driven reforming (i.e., reshaping) algorithm that adapts an input multi‐component model for a target fabrication material. The algorithm adapts both the part geometry and the inter‐part topology of the input shape to better align with material‐aware fabrication requirements. As output, we produce the reshaped model along with respective part dimensions and inter‐part junction specifications. We evaluate our algorithm on a range of man‐made models and demonstrate a variety of model reshaping examples focusing only on metal and wooden materials.
Yellow nail syndrome: a case report and review of treatment options
Authors: Kurin Michael , Wiesen Jonathan , Mehta Atul C.
Published: August 2015

Background and Aims

Yellow nail syndrome is a rare disorder involving characteristic nail changes, lymphedema and chronic respiratory symptoms. Currently there is no definitive treatment and there have been no prospective randomised controlled trials evaluating the available options. In order to strengthen the literature on this topic, we present the case of a 67‐year‐old man with YNS and a detailed review of current treatment options.

Methods

We included 40 articles for the final review according to their relevance with the subject.

Results

Data for use of the commonly chosen therapies for YNS remains inconclusive, with small studies and case reports showing mixed results of efficacy.

Conclusion

Although the date indicates that it is reasonable to recommend a trial of conservative therapy including vitamin E, antibiotics and compression stockings before pursuing more aggressive or invasive modalities, larger scale studies are required to determine the true efficacy of all treatment options.
Endoscopic management of colonic diverticular bleeding
Authors: Yamada Atsuo , Niikura Ryota , Yoshida Shuntaro , Hirata Yoshihiro , Koike Kazuhiko
Published: August 2015

Colonic diverticular bleeding is the most common cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Colonoscopy can be used for both diagnosis and treatment of colonic diverticular bleeding. Identification of the stigmata of recent hemorrhage allows for various endoscopic hemostasis methods. Clipping, endoscopic band ligation, injection therapy, and thermal contact are available methods for endoscopic hemostasis. However, the optimal technique remains to be determined. Herein, we review the techniques and clinical outcomes of endoscopic hemostasis for colonic diverticular bleeding.
Care, Narrativity, and the Nature of Disponibilité
Authors: Chen Melvin
Published: August 2015

This paper attempts to make more explicit the relationship between narrativity and feminist care ethics. The central concern is the way in which narrativity carries the semantic load that some accounts of feminist care ethics imply but leave hanging. In so doing, some feminist theorists of care‐based ethics then undervalue the major contribution that narrativity provides to care ethics: it carries the semantic load that is essential to the best care. In this article, I defend the narrative as the central medium though which we make sense of and communicate our lives and their attendant hopes and cares. More than just working with the narrative of the cared‐for, caring is about investing in the narrative of the cared‐for in order to meet the needs of this cared‐for and how this narrative might turn out. I will further demonstrate how the attitude of caring or investing in a narrative would amount to what Gabriel Marcel has described as the attitude of disponibilité.
Commercial Contract Pregnancy in India, Judgment, and Resistance to Oppression
Authors: Fulfer Katy
Published: August 2015

Feminist scholars have done much to identify oppressive forces within transnational commercial contract pregnancy and its social context that may coerce women into becoming gestational laborers. Feminists have also been careful not to depict gestational laborers as merely passive victims of oppression, though there is disagreement about the degree to which contract pregnancy offers opportunities for agency. In this article I consider how women who sell gestational labor may be agents against their oppression. I make explicit connections between resistance and judgment, which I will take to be a critically considered, intersubjective evaluative claim. Drawing on work by Jennifer Nedelsky and Hannah Arendt, my main argument will be that individual judgments can better enable oppressed persons to resist some aspects of their oppression, and that judgment helps to (further) develop agential capacities, in particular, the capacity for a person to be self‐constituting, to see herself as giving reasons for her own actions. I use Indian contract pregnancy as a case study to think through connections between resistance and judgment.
Optical Scattering from Nanostructured Glass Surfaces
Authors: Nolan Daniel , Senaratne Wageesha , Baker David , Liu Li
Published: August 2015

Nanostructured glass surfaces enable new and innovative applications for glass substrates. These nanostructures enable trapping as well as extraction of light. They affect the propagation of light such that it scatters and is trapped or extracted based on the index of the propagation media. The diffusive scattering component as opposed to the specular component is what enables the trapping and extraction. Often smooth surfaces are required for growing semiconductor thin films. Scattering sites beneath these surfaces can significantly enhance the optical performance of these films. Example devices utilizing these substrates include organic light‐emitting diodes (OLED) displays, OLED lighting components, and microelectromechanical systems reflective displays. We demonstrate methods to fabricate these substrates using nanoparticle deposition processes. Important parameters of these nanoparticles and their agglomerates include both size and refractive index. We characterize these substrates using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy microscopy, and we simulate their optical properties using optical scattering models.
The Life Expectancy of People with Intellectual Disabilities in Germany
Authors: Dieckmann Friedrich , Giovis Christos , Offergeld Jana
Published: August 2015

Background

This study presents age group‐specific mortality rates and the average life expectancy of people with intellectual disabilities in Germany.

Method

For two samples from Westphalia‐Lippe and Baden‐Wuerttemberg, person‐related data for the years 2007–2009 were analysed. Age group‐specific mortality rates were estimated by exponential regression analyses.

Results

The average life expectancy of men with intellectual disabilities was 70.9 years in Westphalia‐Lippe and 65.3 years in the Baden‐Wuerttemberg sample. Women with intellectual disabilities reached a life expectancy of 72.8 years in the Westphalian sample and 69.9 years in Baden‐Wuerttemberg. The mortality tables, the crude mortality rates and the standardized mortality rates according to the WHO standard population are reported.

Conclusion

Comparing the results with other international studies, the trend of increasing life expectancies of people with intellectual disabilities is confirmed. People with intellectual disabilities still have a lower average life expectancy than the general population, partly due to subgroups with low life expectancies.
Mortality Rates in the General Irish Population Compared to those with an Intellectual Disability from 2003 to 2012
Authors: McCarron Mary , Carroll Rachael , Kelly Caraiosa , McCallion Philip
Published: August 2015

Background

Historically, there has been higher and earlier mortality among people with intellectual disability as compared to the general population, but there have also been methodological problems and differences in the available studies.

Method

Data were drawn from the 2012 National Intellectual Disability Database and the Census in Ireland. A standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated, as well as average age at death. Ratios and differences were further examined for the influence of age, gender and level of intellectual disability.

Results

Mortality in persons with intellectual disability was four times higher and they were, on average, dying 19 years earlier than peers in the general population. Women with intellectual disability were living longer than males with intellectual disability, but differences in survival as compared to the general population were greater for these women. There was little change in average age at death over 10 years, and death was earlier the more severe the level of intellectual disability.

Discussion

The use of mortality ratios rather than average age at death alone is recommended, as well as greater standardization in use of data sets including the whole population, given high levels of earlier deaths in people with intellectual disability.
Salvianolic acid B‐induced microRNA‐152 inhibits liver fibrosis by attenuating DNMT1‐mediated Patched1 methylation
Authors: Yu Fujun , Lu Zhongqiu , Chen Bicheng , Wu Xiaoli , Dong Peihong , Zheng Jianjian
Published: August 2015

Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) was reported to be involved in the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), contributing to the development of liver fibrosis. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition can be promoted by the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway. Patched1 (PTCH1), a negative regulatory factor of the Hh signalling pathway, was down‐regulated during liver fibrosis and associated with its hypermethylation status. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are reported to play a critical role in the control of various HSCs functions. However, miRNA‐mediated epigenetic regulations in EMT during liver fibrosis are seldom studied. In this study, Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) suppressed the activation of HSCs in CCl4‐treated mice and mouse primary HSCs, leading to inhibition of cell proliferation, type I collagen and alpha‐smooth muscle actin. We demonstrated that the antifibrotic effects caused by Sal B were, at least in part, via inhibition of EMT and the Hh pathway. In particular, up‐regulation of PTCH1 was associated with decreased DNA methylation level after Sal B treatment. Accordingly, DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) was attenuated by Sal B in vivo and in vitro. The knockdown of DNMT1 in Sal B‐treated HSCs enhanced PTCH1 expression and its demethylation level. Interestingly, increased miR‐152 in Sal B‐treated cells was responsible for the hypomethylation of PTCH1 by Sal B. As confirmed by the luciferase activity assay, DNMT1 was a direct target of miR‐152. Further studies showed that the miR‐152 inhibitor reversed Sal B‐mediated PTCH1 up‐regulation and DNMT1 down‐regulation. Collectively, miR‐152 induced by Sal B, contributed to DNMT1 down‐regulation and epigenetically regulated PTCH1, resulting in the inhibition of EMT in liver fibrosis.
Psychophysical Measurement of Wet and Clingy Sensation of Fabrics by the Volar Forearm Test
Authors: Tang K. P. M. , Kan C. W. , Fan J. T.
Published: August 2015

Wet and clingy sensation caused by fabric is activated by thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors and is critical to wearers’ thermophysiological and tactile comfort. This study aims at quantifying the absolute threshold for wet and clingy sensation of apparel fabrics using a psychophysical approach and measuring the residual moisture left on skin through a physical approach. A volar forearm test is proposed where water supply and controlled fabric movement are used to simulate sweating and body movement during wear. The results show that the volar forearm test has good within‐judge reliability, between‐judge consistency and high sensitivity. The difference in absolute threshold of wet and clingy sensation of fabrics can be attributed to the difference in wicking rate, evaporation rate, geometry and thermal properties of fabrics. The results further suggest that a clingy sensation is triggered when the residual water accumulated on the skin exceeds 0.013 gram, given that the covering fabric is water absorbent. Besides, the absolute threshold for wet and clingy sensation was found strongly correlated with the instrumentally measured water absorption capacity of the fabric. Furthermore, results obtained by the psychophysical threshold method were compared with the psychological wetness rating scale method, and the former was found to be advantageous in terms of testing sensitivity.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

To improve living standards, the textile industry is constantly seeking comfortable apparel fabrics, especially for sportswear, intimate apparel and functional clothing when used under extreme conditions or strenuous activities. The wetness comfort is also important for health‐care products since wetness can promote growth of microorganisms, thereby causing dermatitis. In the proposed forearm test, the sweat rate and the degree of fabric movement is adjustable, which simulates varying levels of activity. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using an absolute threshold to assess moisture sensation of apparel fabrics. It may be beneficial to textile/clothing manufacturers to improve existing products or develop new products for specific end uses. Since our study shows that water absorption capacity of fabric has a strong correlation with wet and clingy sensation, instrumental measurement can be employed as a routine fabric performance analysis to substitute the time‐consuming human subjective assessment.
Linking performance trait stability with species distribution: the case of Artemisia and its close relatives in northern China
Authors: Yang Xuejun , Huang Zhenying , Venable David L. , Wang Lei , Zhang Keliang , Baskin Jerry M. , Baskin Carol C. , Cornelissen Johannes H. C.
Published: August 2015

Aims

Understanding the relationship between species and environments is at the heart of ecology and biology. Ranges of species depend strongly on environmental factors, but our limited understanding of relationships between range and trait stability of species across environments hampers our ability to predict their future ranges. Species that occur over a wide range (and thus have wide niche breadth) will have high variation in morpho‐physiological traits in response to environmental conditions, thereby permitting stability of performance traits and enabling plants to survive in a range of environments. We hypothesized that species' niche breadth is negatively correlated with the rate of performance trait change along an environmental gradient.

Location

Northern China.

Methods

We analysed standing biomass and height of 48 species of Asteraceae (Artemisia and its close relatives) collected from 65 sites along an environmental gradient across northern China.

Results

In support of our hypothesis, there were significant negative correlations between climatic niche breadth and rate of change in biomass, a performance trait, but not in height, which is both a morphological and a performance trait.

Conclusions

These findings have implications for risk assessment of species under climate change and prediction of unknown distributions of species. They also offer a new avenue of research for species distribution models.
The margin of appreciation doctrine: a low-level institutional view
Authors: Tsarapatsanis Dimitrios
Published: August 2015

The paper argues that the margin of appreciation (MoA) doctrine of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, or Court), should be understood as, inter alia, an underenforcement doctrine, according to which Convention rights should not be applied to their full conceptual limits. Underenforcement is justified by institutional considerations relating to the Court's role and competence. Although institutional considerations have been theorised normatively, the paper claims that ‘low‐level’ empirical inquiry into the comparative institutional competence of different decision makers across the Council of Europe is critical in explaining MoA. Such comparative empirical analysis ties shared institutional responsibility and subsidiarity with certain traits of decision makers when determining Convention rights. In this context, the paper briefly compares the decision making abilities of different institutions. It concludes by stressing that under certain circumstances the Court can be worse placed than national authorities to decide on violations of Convention rights. This is corroborated by the Court's case‐law concerning Convention rights impinging on the economic and social policies of States Parties.
The phylogeny of Anophelinae revisited: inferences about the origin and classification of Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae)
Authors: Harbach Ralph E. , Kitching Ian J.
Published: August 2015

The evolution of anopheline mosquitoes (Culicidae: Anophelinae) has been the subject of speculation and study for decades, but a comprehensive phylogeny of these insects is far from complete. The results of phylogenetic studies based on morphological and molecular data sets are conspicuously ambiguous. Here, we revisit the phylogenetic relationships of anopheline mosquitoes using state‐of‐the‐art software and cladistic methods to analyse the data set of Harbach & Kitching (2005). We present a refined interpretation of relationships based on analyses of a revised data set that includes an additional species. Implied weighting analyses were conducted with TNT with the concavity constant K ranging from 1 to 33. We determined the optimal K value by summing the GC supports for each MPC and selected the tree with the highest support, K = 30, as the preferred cladogram. We then collapsed the branches with GC support < 1 to obtain the ‘best’ topography of relationships. Genus Chagasia is the basalmost taxon of Anophelinae, and genus Anopheles is recovered as monophyletic but only if Anopheles implexus is excluded and genus Bironella is subordinated within it. The Afrotropical An. implexus is recovered as the sister to all other anophelines, and Christya Theobald, stat. nov., is elevated from synonymy with Anopheles Meigen as a subgenus to accommodate it. The other anophelines comprise two large clades. The first includes the reciprocally monophyletic subgenera Kerteszia + Nyssorhynchus; the second consists of subgenus Cellia as the sister to a heterogeneous clade that includes genus Bironella and subgenera Anopheles, Baimaia, Lophopodomyia and Stethomyia of genus Anopheles. The sister relationship of Cellia and the heterogeneous clade is lost when the branches with GC <1 are collapsed. The monophyly and non‐monophyly of the informal subordinate taxa of subgenera Nyssorhynchus, Cellia and Anopheles, and also evolutionary scenarios, are discussed in relation to previous studies.
The Effects of Rigid Scapular Taping on Acromiohumeral Distance in Healthy Shoulders: An Observational Study
Authors: Bdaiwi Alya H. , Mackenzie Tanya Anne , Herrington Lee , Horlsey Ian , Cools Ann
Published: August 2015

Context:

Compromise to the acromiohumeral distance (AHD) has been reported in subjects with subacromial impingement syndrome when compared with healthy subjects. In clinical practice, patients are taped with the intention of altering scapular position and influencing the AHD. However, research to determine the effects of taping on AHD is exiguous.

Objectives:

To evaluate the effect of ridged taping techniques to increase posterior scapular tilt and upward scapular rotation on the AHD.

Design:

1-group pretest/posttest repeated-measures design.

Setting:

Human performance laboratory.

Participants:

20 asymptomatic participants (10 male and 10 female) age 27 y (SD 8.0 y).

Intervention:

Ridged tapping of the scapula into posterior tilt and upward scapular rotation.

Main Outcome Measure:

Ultrasound measurement of the AHD.

Results:

AHD increased significantly after rigid tape application to the scapula (P < .003) in healthy shoulders in 60° of passive arm abduction.

Conclusion:

Taping techniques applied to the scapula had an immediate effect of increasing the AHD in healthy shoulders in 60° of passive arm abduction. Results suggest that taping for increasing posterior scapular tilt and increasing scapular upward rotation can influence the AHD and is a useful adjunct to rehabilitation in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome.
An Unexpected Complication of Hip Arthroplasty: Knee Dislocation
Authors: Yilmaz Serdar , Cankaya Deniz , Deveci Alper , Ozdemir Mahmut , Bozkurt Murat
Published: August 2015

An increasing number of patients with hip fracture have been seen with osteoporosis associated with osteoarthritis. Although knee dislocation is related to high-energy trauma, low-grade injuries can also lead to knee dislocation which is defined as “ultra-low velocity dislocation.” The case reported here is of an 82-year-old patient who presented with a left intertrochanteric hip fracture. Partial arthroplasty was planned because of osteoporosis. In the course of surgery, degenerative arthritic knee was dislocated during the hip reduction maneuver with the application of long traction. The neurovascular examination was intact, but the knee was grossly unstable and was dislocated even in a brace; thus a hinged knee prosthesis was applied nine days after surgery. The patient was mobilized with crutches after the knee prosthesis but exercise tolerance was diminished. In conclusion, it should be emphasized that overtraction must be avoided during the hip reduction maneuver in patients with advanced osteoarthritic knee.
Cortex Fraxini (Qingpi) Protects Rat Pheochromocytoma Cells against 6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Apoptosis
Authors: Li Jing-Jie , Zhou Shi-Ya , Zhang Huan , Lam Kim-Hung , Lee Simon Ming-Yuen , Yu Peter Hoi-Fu , Chan Shun-Wan
Published: August 2015

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder having close relationship with oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cortex Fraxini (QP) is a kind of traditional Chinese medicinal herb with antioxidant properties. It may be a potential candidate for preventing the development of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, the key objective of the current study was to investigate the neuroprotective effect of QP water extract on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) induced apoptosis in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. It was found that QP water extract possesses strong antioxidant property with SC50= 0.15 mg/mL. Total phenolic content of QP water extract was found to be 200.78 ± 2.65 mg GAE/g. QP water extract’s free radical scavenging capacity was demonstrated by reversing the increased level of intracellular ROS induced by 6-OHDA, using 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. Moreover, QP water extract (0.5 mg/mL) could remarkably increase the viability of PC12 cells treated with 6-OHDA. The protective effect of QP water extract was found to be via inhibiting MEK/ERK pathway and reversing PI3-K/Akt/GSK3βpathway. The current results suggest that QP might be a potential candidate for preventing the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD.
Delays and Factors Related to Cessation of Generalized Convulsive Status Epilepticus
Authors: Kämppi Leena , Ritvanen Jaakko , Mustonen Harri , Soinila Seppo
Published: August 2015

Introduction. This study was designed to identify the delays and factors related to and predicting the cessation of generalized convulsive SE (GCSE). Methods. This retrospective study includes 70 consecutive patients (>16 years) diagnosed with GCSE and treated in the emergency department of a tertiary hospital over 2 years. We defined cessation of SE stepwise using clinical seizure freedom, achievement of burst-suppression, and return of consciousness as endpoints and calculated delays for these cessation markers. In addition 10 treatment delay parameters and 7 prognostic and GCSE episode related factors were defined. Multiple statistical analyses were performed on their relation to cessation markers. Results. Onset-to-second-stage-medication (p=0.027), onset-to-burst-suppression (p=0.005), and onset-to-clinical-seizure-freedom (p=0.035) delays correlated with the onset-to-consciousness delay. We detected no correlation between age, epilepsy, STESS, prestatus period, type of SE onset, effect of the first medication, and cessation of SE. Conclusion. Our study demonstrates that rapid administration of second-stage medication and early obtainment of clinical seizure freedom and burst-suppression predict early return of consciousness, an unambiguous marker for the end of SE. We propose that delays in treatment chain may be more significant determinants of SE cessation than the previously established outcome predictors. Thus, streamlining the treatment chain is advocated.
Experimental Nondestructive Test for Estimation of Buckling Load on Unstiffened Cylindrical Shells Using Vibration Correlation Technique
Authors: Kalnins Kaspars , Arbelo Mariano A. , Ozolins Olgerts , Skukis Eduards , Castro Saullo G. P. , Degenhardt Richard
Published: August 2015

Nondestructive methods, to calculate the buckling load of imperfection sensitive thin-walled structures, such as large-scale aerospace structures, are one of the most important techniques for the evaluation of new structures and validation of numerical models. The vibration correlation technique (VCT) allows determining the buckling load for several types of structures without reaching the instability point, but this technique is still under development for thin-walled plates and shells. This paper presents and discusses an experimental verification of a novel approach using vibration correlation technique for the prediction of realistic buckling loads of unstiffened cylindrical shells loaded under axial compression. Four different test structures were manufactured and loaded up to buckling: two composite laminated cylindrical shells and two stainless steel cylinders. In order to characterize a relationship with the applied load, the first natural frequency of vibration and mode shape is measured during testing using a 3D laser scanner. The proposed vibration correlation technique allows one to predict the experimental buckling load with a very good approximation without actually reaching the instability point. Additional experimental tests and numerical models are currently under development to further validate the proposed approach for composite and metallic conical structures.
Verification of the Chromosome Region 9q21 Association with Pelvic Organ Prolapse Using RegulomeDB Annotations
Authors: Khadzhieva Maryam B. , Kolobkov Dmitry S. , Kamoeva Svetlana V. , Ivanova Anastasia V. , Abilev Serikbay K. , Salnikova Lyubov E.
Published: August 2015

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common highly disabling disorder with a large hereditary component. It is characterized by a loss of pelvic floor support that leads to the herniation of the uterus in or outside the vagina. Genome-wide linkage studies have shown an evidence of POP association with the region 9q21 and six other loci in European pedigrees. The aim of our study was to test the above associations in a case-control study in Russian population. Twelve SNPs including SNPs cited in the above studies and those selected using the RegulomeDB annotations for the region 9q21 were genotyped in 210 patients with POP (stages III-IV) and 292 controls with no even minimal POP. Genotyping was performed using the polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers (PCR–CTPP). Association analyses were conducted for individual SNPs, 9q21 haplotypes, and SNP-SNP interactions. SNP rs12237222 with the highest RegulomeDB score 1a appeared to be the key SNP in haplotypes associated with POP. Other RegulomeDB Category 1 SNPs, rs12551710 and rs2236479 (scores 1d and 1f, resp.), exhibited epistatic effects. In this study, we verified the region 9q21 association with POP in Russians, using RegulomeDB annotations.
Chloroplast DNA Variations in Wild Brassicas and Their Implication in Breeding and Population Genetics Studies
Authors: Sarin Bharti , Martín Juan Pedro , Kaula Babeeta Chrungu , Mohanty Aparajita
Published: August 2015

Evaluation of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) diversity in wild relatives of crop brassicas is important for characterization of cytoplasm and also for population genetics/phylogeographic analyses. The former is useful for breeding programs involving wide hybridization and synthesis of alloplasmic lines, while the latter is important for formulating conservation strategies. Therefore, PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) technique was applied to study cpDNA diversity in 14 wild brassicas (including 31 accessions) which revealed a total of 219 polymorphic fragments. The combination of polymorphisms obtained by using only two primer pair-restriction enzyme combinations was sufficient to distinguish all 14 wild brassicas. Moreover, 11 primer pairs-restriction enzyme combinations revealed intraspecific polymorphisms in eight wild brassicas (including endemic and endangered species,B. creticaandB. insularis, resp.). Thus, even within a small number of accessions that were screened, intraspecific polymorphisms were observed, which is important for population genetics analyses in wild brassicas and consequently for conservation studies.
Bryophytes of Bioko (Equatorial Guinea), Results of an excursion in 2002

Authors: Müller Frank
Published: August 2015

97 species of bryophytes are reported as new for the island of Bioko, 89 of them are new for whole Equatorial Guinea, a remarkable amount is new for tropical West Africa and Micromitrium tenerum is new for sub-Saharan Africa. The bryoflora of the highest mountain of Bioko, the Pico Basile, shoes strongly phytogeographic affinities with Mt Cameroon on the African mainland. Rhabdoweisia lineata P.W. Richards & Argent, which was made a synonym of R. fugax (Hedw.) Bruch, Schimp. & W. Gümbel by Frahm & al. (2000) is regarded as a clear distinct species.
Repatriating a lost name: notes on McClelland and Griffith’s Cobitis boutanensis (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae)
Authors: THONI RYAN J. , HART ROBBIE
Published: August 2015

In 1842, a loach was described with great brevity in McClelland’s “On the freshwater fishes collected by William Griffith during his travels from 1835 to 1842” (McClelland 1842). The species was named Cobitis boutanensis McClelland and Griffith 1842, presumably after the country where it was collected. At that time, there was not a consensus on the spelling of ‘Bhutan’, which appeared commonly as ‘Bhotan’, ‘Bootan’, or ‘Boutan’. The locality of Cobitis boutanensis was described simply as “Boutan, on the Mishmee Mountains” (McClelland 1842). Hora (1928) subsequently amended the locality of the specimen to ‘Bolan Pass’ in what was then Afghanistan (now Pakistan). This amendment was based on the assumption that there was likely an error in spelling or interpreting the text in McClelland (1842). As a result, Cobitis boutanensis, now Paracobitis boutanensis in Eschmeyer (2015), has been referred to as a species endemic to Afghanistan for nearly 90 years.
Expansion of the Southern Hemisphere Hadley Cell in Response to Greenhouse Gas Forcing
Authors: Nguyen H. , Lucas C. , Evans A. , Timbal B. , Hanson L.
Published: August 2015

Changes of the Southern Hemisphere Hadley cell over the twentieth century are investigated using the Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) and coupled model simulations from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Trends computed on a 30-yr sliding window on the 20CR dataset reveal a statistically significant expansion of the Hadley cell from 1968 forced by an increasing surface global warming. This expansion is strongly associated with the intensification and poleward shift of the subtropical dry zone, which potentially explain the increasing trends of droughts in the subtropical regions such as southern Australia, South America, and Africa. Coupled models from the CMIP5 do not adequately simulate the observed amount of the Hadley expansion, only showing an average of one-fourth of the expansion as determined from the 20CR and only when simulations include greenhouse gas forcing as opposed to simulations including natural forcing only.
Exploring Effects of Media Type and Delivery Technology on Facilitating Critical Thinking Among College Students
Authors: Reychav Iris , Warkentin Merrill , McHaney Roger
Published: August 2015

The current study examines the impact of new media, specifically the introduction of tablets, on student learning. Student groups were asked to build learning materials on either personal computers (PCs) or tablets. The study further investigated building this material in video and text forms. The results were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance. Tablet use lead to superior outcomes, but this result was conditional on critical thinking stage. For instance, tablet use resulted in better outcomes in the fourth (evaluation) stage of critical thinking. In the first three and fifth stages of critical thinking, tablets provided no significant advantage over PCs. From a learning strategies perspective, tablets lead to more employment of all three strategies investigated: elaboration, rehearsal, and organization. In terms of media type, video presentation was more effective in the first stage of critical thinking (problem identification), while text worked better in the fourth stage of the process (evaluation).
On the political nature of cyanobacteria: intra-active collective politics in Loweswater, the English Lake District
Authors: Waterton Claire , Tsouvalis Judith
Published: August 2015

How can the politics of nature be envisioned for an age conscious of the complexity, contingency, and relationality of the world? What new practices are required to do justice to the recognition that the potential to act, shape, and change emerging worlds lies within complex epistemological and ontological relations? This paper describes an interdisciplinary study conducted between 2007 and 2010 in Loweswater, the English Lake District, that addressed these questions. Here, for three years, a ‘new collective’ as described by Latour emerged that carried out its own epistemological and ontological experiments: the Loweswater Care Project (LCP). The LCP was shaped by ideas about ‘new collectives’ and the commitment to understanding material ‘intra-action’ in situ. This inspired an appreciation of the radical relationality of people and things, and an approach to doing politics with things that we term ‘intra-active collective politics’. In this paper we highlight the consequences of this approach for knowing, but also for action and ‘management’. The research and the experimental forum of the LCP lie at a crossroads between the preoccupations of environmental management (particularly catchment management), the concerns of science and technology studies, and posthumanist thinking.
Into the archive: Vancouver’s Missing Women Commission of Inquiry
Authors: Collard Juliane
Published: August 2015

In response to public concern over the prolonged serial killings of Vancouver’s Missing Women, in 2010, British Columbia’s provincial government called a public inquiry into the police investigation of Robert William Pickton, the convicted murderer of six women from Vancouver’s downtown eastside. Intended in part as an opportunity for victims, families, and community members to contribute to a process of collective memory making and archivization, the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry ultimately reproduced dominant patterns of silence and exclusion. This article explores the particular mechanisms through which exclusions were enacted; their imbrication with the legal archive that underwrote the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry and the process of archivization in which it was engaged; and the implications for future inquiries into systemic race and gender violence in Canada.
Ordinary theatre and extraordinary law at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Authors: Hughes Rachel
Published: August 2015

This paper examines Cambodia’s current international criminal tribunal (ICT)—the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)—using a critical geopolitics of justice approach. This approach holds that ICTs necessarily work within an existing geopolitical terrain and that, as public events, they also exceed their formal mandates. With reference to the Cambodian case these two insights are expanded to consider questions of preceding justice and memorial initiatives and the performativity of law and sovereignty. I specifically explore the charge of ‘show trial’ that circulates in international English-language mass media discourse on the ECCC. I argue that this charge unthinkingly revives the geopolitical ostracism of Cambodia that occurred in the period following Khmer Rouge rule and misrecognises the productively theatrical nature of the legal event. There is a critical need to interrogate the normative claim that international criminal justice be ‘not only done, but seen to be done’. This paper calls instead for a recognition of international(ised) legal events in terms of their productive theatricality and performative force.
The affect of Jugaad: Frugal innovation and postcolonial practice in India’s mobile phone ecology
Authors: Rai Amit S
Published: August 2015

Previous studies have identified affect as constitutive of and woven into everyday life. Less work has focused on how affect is designed and produced through consumer services and goods to modulate human–technical assemblages for commercial and economic ends. In this paper, I draw on social geography, affect studies, and postcolonial media studies to analyse value creation in the Indian mobile phone market, specifically in the deployment of an Indian form of workaround called ‘jugaad’. Following nonrepresentational analyses of digital practices, I identify this market as a collection of human–technical assemblages that are marketed through a rhetoric of frugal innovation or jugaad. Moving through examples from fieldnotes, case studies, and reports, the analysis of the affective atmospheres of Indian mobile phone marketing communications appraises televised Bharti Airtel adverts. Findings of this analysis suggest affect has spatial, temporal, and economic dimensions, as well as being embedded in everyday experiences of a newly distributed subaltern agency.
Effects of Image and Verbal Generation on False Memory
Authors: Robin Frédérique , Mahé Aurélia
Published: August 2015

The effects of image and verbal generation on false memories in the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm were investigated by comparing three experimental conditions (description, image, and image description). False memory rates were reduced when participants received an explicit imagery instruction rather than when they were asked to describe the characteristics of word referents or both imagine and describe referents. Verbal generation is thought to promote the associated processing of list items and thus increase the probability of activating lures during encoding and of falsely remembering. Conversely, self-generated imagery is expected to decrease the probability of falsely recalling and recognizing the lures. Imagery encoding should be used as a distinctiveness heuristic at retrieval for impeding the false recalls/recognitions of the critical items. Nevertheless, when imagery encoding was coupled with a verbal generation task, mental images were no longer sufficiently stringent criteria for reducing false memories. These findings could challenge the conditions of using imagery techniques when people have to remember an event while evoking it in a mental image so as to describe it in greater detail.
Modeling Interruption and Resumption in a Smartphone Task: An ACT-R Approach
Authors: Wirzberger Maria , Russwinkel Nele
Published: August 2015

This research aims to inspect human cognition when being interrupted while performing a smartphone task with varying levels of mental demand. Due to its benefits especially in the early stages of interface development, a cognitive modeling approach is used. It applies the cognitive architecture ACT-R to shed light on task-related cognitive processing. The inspected task setting involves a shopping scenario, manipulating interruption via product advertisements and mental demands by the respective number of people shopping is done for. Model predictions are validated through a corresponding experimental setting with 62 human participants. Comparing model and human data in a defined set of performance-related parameters displays mixed results that indicate an acceptable fit – at least in some cases. Potential explanations for the observed differences are discussed at the end.
Drying Characteristics and Assessment of Physicochemical and Microstructural Properties of Dried Culinary Banana Slices
Authors: Khawas Prerna , Dash Kshirod K. , Das Arup J. , Deka Sankar C.
Published: August 2015

This study quantifies the drying characteristics and quality attributes of culinary banana at various temperatures (40–70°C) which exhibited falling rate period. Among the different drying models, Wang and Singh model was found the best fitted model with lowest Ӽ2 and highest R
2 values. The coefficients of Wang and Singh model were expressed in nonlinear form as a function of temperature and a new model was developed in which moisture ratio is expressed as a function of time and temperature. Effective moisture diffusivity increased with increase in drying temperature. Scanning electron micrographs showed that samples dried at 70°C produced larger pores which resulted in better rehydration ratio and minimum hardness. The nonenzymatic browning occurred faster at 70°C and in addition, the chemical properties were not significantly affected by drying temperatures.
From the conventional to the alternative: exploring patients’ pathways of cancer treatment and care
Authors: Mulkins Andrea L. , McKenzie Emily , Balneaves Lynda G. , Salamonsen Anita , Verhoef Marja J.
Published: August 2015

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is widespread and on the increase among cancer patients. Most research to date has involved a cross-sectional snapshot of CAM use rather than an exploration into the longitudinal, nonlinear treatment trajectories that cancer patients develop. Our aim is to explore and describe different treatment and decision-making pathways that individuals develop after receipt of a diagnosis of either breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer.

Methods: The study was part of a larger mixed-methods pilot project to explore the feasibility of conducting a five-year international study to assess cancer patients’ treatment pathways, including health care use and the perceived impact of different patterns of use on health outcomes over the course of one year. The results presented in this paper are based on the analysis of personal interviews that were conducted over the course of 12 months with 30 participants.

Results: Five pathways emerged from the data: passive conventional, self-directed conventional, cautious integrative, aggressive integrative, and aggressive alternative. Factors that shaped each pathway included health beliefs, decision-making role, illness characteristics, and the patient–practitioner relationship.

Conclusions: The results of this examination of the longitudinal treatment and decision-making trajectory provide important information to support health care professionals in their quest for individualized, targeted support at each stage of the patient pathway.
Modeling and HIL Simulation of Flight Conditions Simulating Control System for the Altitude Test Facility
Authors: Zhou Jun , Shen Li , Zhang Tianhong
Published: August 2015

Simulated altitude test is an essential exploring, debugging, verification and validation means during the development of aero-engine. Free-jet engine test can simulate actual working conditions of aero-engine more realistically than direct-connect engine test but with relatively lower cost compared to propulsion wind tunnel test, thus becoming an important developing area of simulated altitude test technology. The Flight Conditions Simulating Control System (FCSCS) is of great importance to the Altitude Test Facility (ATF) but the development of that is a huge challenge. Aiming at improving the design efficiency and reducing risks during the development of FCSCS for ATFs, a Hardware- in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation system was designed and the mathematical models of key components such as the pressure stabilizing chamber, free-jet nozzle, control valve and aero-engine were built in this paper. Moreover, some HIL simulation experiments were carried out. The results show that the HIL simulation system designed and established in this paper is reasonable and effective, which can be used to adjust control parameters conveniently and assess the software and hardware in the control system immediately.
Morphological and Anatomical Characterization of Solidago × niederederi and Other Sympatric Solidago Species
Authors: Karpavičienė Birutė , Radušienė Jolita
Published: August 2015

Two species of invasive goldenrods, Solidago canadensis and Solidago gigantea, are spread over all territories of Lithuania. Solidago × niederederi, a putative hybrid between S. canadensis and native Solidago virgaurea, was found in 27 populations mixed with the parental species. This research represents the characterization of S. × niederederi in comparison to the other mentioned Solidago species, with the use of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal-components analysis (PCA), and discriminant analysis of a large data set. Twenty quantitative, four qualitative, and five ratio morphological and anatomical characteristics, pollen viability, and somatic chromosome numbers of the four Solidago species were studied with the aim to ascertain inter- and intraspecific variation and reliable features identifying S. × niederederi, and to test the hypothesized hybrid origin. The PCA of morphological and anatomical characteristics showed the clear intermediate position of S. × niederederi compared to S. canadensis and S. virgaurea. The results showed that the most informative characteristics for the distinction of hybrids from parental species are floral traits such as the lengths of the disc, ray florets, and involucre. The intermediate stomatal characteristics and sharply decreased pollen viability discovered herein could potentially be used as an additional discriminating character in Solidago hybrid identification and support the hybrid origin of S. × niederederi.