bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of Satellite Rainfall Estimation Methods
Authors: Martin David W. , Scherer Wolfgang D.
Published: April 2018

This paper grew out of two ad hoc conferences held last year to discuss the problem of estimating precipitation from satellite data. Although developments in an area as new as this are rapid, there was sufficient interest in the problem, progress towards a solution, and ignorance of the work of others to warrant drawing the conference summaries together in a review paper of wider circulation and general interest.

Our purpose is to examine, from the perspective of GATE rainfall requirements, methodologies in use and under development for the estimation of rainfall from satellite visible and infrared images. As an introduction to critical descriptions of each method, we touch upon the uses of rainfall observations in GATE, the advantages of satellite monitoring, and the purposes of the two conferences held to date. A discussion of calibration and accuracy requirements, including ground truth and accuracies for GATE, is followed by descriptions of two field programs—one completed, the other planned—which have provided and should provide excellent “ground truth” data. We conclude with a discussion of remaining problems and recommendations for observations in GATE.
Island wind shadows observed by satellite and radar
Authors: Deardorff J. W.
Published: April 2018

It is proposed that a major mechanism in the maintenance of an island wind shadow is the stable thermal stratification induced when the air first passes over the heated island and then over the sea.
Role of Observational Errors in Optimum Interpolation Analysis
Authors: Bergman Kenneth H.
Published: April 2018

The theory of optimum interpolation analysis is presented, with emphasis on the role that observational errors have in the analysis scheme. It is shown that an estimate of the root-mean-square observational error is required and also that the correlations between errors of observations, if nonzero, must be specified. Methods of determining these quantities from observational data statistics are discussed and examples shown. Finally, error-checking routines that either accept or reject data are described. It is pointed out that care should be exercised when checking for errors so that good and useful data are not inadvertently rejected.
Paranasal Sinuses: Anatomic Terminology and Nomenclature
Authors: Stammberger Heinz R. , Kennedy David W.
Published: April 2018

A consensus on the preferred modem usage of potentially confusing or ambiguous terms in sinus anatomy and nomenclature is described. These terms are intended to provide clear communication among otorhinolaryngologists and serve as a basis for discussion among anatomists. Terminology is in English and based on Latin nomenclature. An attempt has been made to reconcile or eliminate duplication, redundancy, and overlap in terminology that have arisen over the past century. A key concept is that the ethmoid complex is divided into anterior and posterior sections by the basal lamella of the middle turbinate.
Practice makes perfect? Skillful performances in veterinary work
Authors: Clarke Caroline A , Knights David
Published: April 2018

Is vetting a craft that must be learned owing to the limitations of scientific discipline, or simply a question of practice makes perfect? This question arose from our empirical research on veterinary surgeons (vets), who we found were often struggling with the divergence between the precise and unambiguous knowledge underlying the training and the unpredictability and imprecision of their everyday practices. These are comparatively underexplored issues insofar as the literature on vets tends to be descriptive and statistical, focusing primarily on clinical matters and associated human-animal interactions. Our cliché title has a question mark because while many vets remain embedded in the disciplined ‘certainties’ and causal regularities within their training, in practice this ordered world is rarely realized, and they are faced with indeterminacy where the ‘perfect’ solution eludes them. Vets often turn these unrealistic ideals of expertise back in on themselves, thus generating doubt and insecurity for any failure in their practices. In analysing vets’ experiences, we pay attention to the anatomical models of science, where linear causal analysis is expected to provide orderly and predictable outcomes or ‘right’ answers to problems, as well as notions of expertise that turn out to be illusory.
Loyal after the end: Understanding organizational identification in the wake of failure
Authors: Walsh Ian J , Pazzaglia Federica , Ergene Erim
Published: April 2018

Prestige has traditionally been viewed as a primary explanation for individuals’ identification with organizations. Yet there are clues in the literature that some individuals identify with organizations that have lost their prestige owing to failure. We use data from a survey of former employees of a defunct technology firm to test a proposed model of identification with failed organizations. We find that the extent to which the perceived identity of a failed organization fulfills former members’ self-enhancement and belongingness motives has a positive relationship with their identification with it. Identification, in turn, inclines former members to socially interact with each other and participate in alumni associations. Further qualitative analysis reveals the organizational identity work practices by which former members recast a failed organization’s identity in positive terms. These findings suggest the merit of relaxing assumptions about prestige as a necessary precursor to organizational identification, and augment scholarly understanding of the cognitive and relational mechanisms that facilitate individuals’ identification with organizations in the wake of events that injure their reputations.
Governmentality, activism and representation: Dalit studies, a review essay
Authors: Rawat Ramnarayan S.
Published: April 2018

Rupa Viswanath, The Pariah Problem: Caste, Religion, and the Social in Modern India, New York: Columbia University Press, 2014, pp. 416.

P. Sanal Mohan, Modernity of Slavery: Struggles against Caste Inequality in Colonial Kerala, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2015, 368 pp.

Charu Gupta, The Gender of Caste: Representing Dalits in Print, Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2016, 352 pp.
Book review: Michael H. Fisher, A Short History of The Mughal Empire
Authors: Bhargava Meena
Published: April 2018

Michael H. Fisher, A Short History of The Mughal Empire, London, New York: I.B. Tauris, 2016, 274 pp.
Book review: Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, The Defining Moments in Bengal: 1920–1947, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, The Colonial State: Theory and Practice and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya and Rana P. Behal, eds, The Vernacularization of Labour Politics
Authors: Farooqui Amar
Published: April 2018

Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, The Defining Moments in Bengal: 1920–1947, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2014, 403 pp.

Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, The Colonial State: Theory and Practice, Delhi: Primus, 2016, 228 pp.

Sabyasachi Bhattacharya and Rana P. Behal, eds, The Vernacularization of Labour Politics, Delhi: Tulika Books, 2016, 347 pp.
Semantic adaptation for FMI co-simulation with hierarchical simulators
Authors: Gomes Cláudio , Meyers Bart , Denil Joachim , Thule Casper , Lausdahl Kenneth , Vangheluwe Hans , De Meulenaere Paul
Published: April 2018

Model-based design can shorten the development time of complex systems by the use of simulation techniques. However, it can be hard to simulate the system as a whole if it is developed in a concurrent fashion by multiple and specialized teams. Co-simulation, with the support of the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI) Standard, is proposed as a way to promote tool interoperability while protecting the intellectual property of subsystems. The standard allows uniform communication between subsystem simulators, but does not state how the inputs and outputs should be interpreted, nor how the subsystems should interact correctly.

Semantic adaptations can be quickly made to correct the interactions with subsystem simulators that were produced with different assumptions, and avoid changing those subsystems, their simulators, or the orchestration algorithm that computes the co-simulation. In this work, we explore how to describe common adaptations and what their meaning is in the context of FMI co-simulation.

The result is a sound language that enables the implementation of adaptations with minimal effort. A distinct feature is that it describes adaptations for groups of interconnected subsystem simulators in the same way as for a single simulator, and the implementation is itself a simulator, thanks to a sound definition of hierarchical co-simulation.

This work paves the way for research into the correct combination and interfacing of different adaptations.
Cities and the political imagination
Authors: Jaffe Rivke
Published: April 2018

How can we recognize the political in the city? How might urban scholars engage with forms of urban politics outside of established sites of research such as those associated with representative democracy or collective mobilizations? This article suggests that new perspectives on urban politics might be enabled through reinvigorated connections between the social sciences and humanities, and by combining long-term urban ethnography and cultural analysis. Reading forms of creative expression in relation to power struggles in and over urban space can direct our attention towards negotiations of authority and political belonging that are often overlooked within urban studies. The article explores the possibilities of such an approach by focusing on the idea of the political imagination as socially and materially embedded in urban landscapes. Expressive culture generates both analytical and normative frames, guiding everyday understandings of how urban power works, where and in whose hands it is concentrated, and whether we see this as just or unjust. Such frames can legitimize or delegitimize specific distributions of urban resources and risks, and can normalize or denaturalize specific structures of decision-making. Through a discussion of popular music and visual culture, the article considers how everyday practices both feed into, and are informed by, imaginations of urban rule and political belonging.
Understanding how Families Cope with Alcohol Problems in the UK West Midlands Sikh Community
Authors: Ahuja Apninder , Orford Jim , Copello Alex
Published: April 2018

Twenty-four British Sikh wives of men with identified alcohol problems, plus ten of their husbands and seven of their daughters, were interviewed using a semistructured procedure that focused upon the ways in which wives and daughters had attempted to cope with their husbands'/fathers’ excessive drinking. In addition each completed the Coping Questionnaire (CQ) which has the same focus (husbands were instructed to indicate ways in which their wives had coped). Interview data were analyzed according to the grounded theory approach, and a model was constructed depicting the ways in which wives and daughters accommodated over time to the drinking problem. The general pattern was for inactive resignation (approved of by husbands/fathers), replaced by a phase during which wives and daughters stood up to their husbands/fathers in various ways (disapproved of), followed by active resignation and partial independence (also disapproved of). Despite the success that the women had achieved in being active in the face of men's excessive drinking, there remained a commitment on the part of wives to continue to care domestically for their husbands (and a similar commitment on the part of daughters to support their mothers); and CQ scores showed wives to have higher engaged and tolerant coping scores than a comparison sample of white British wives. The results have implications for service providers—for example, in recognizing the oversimplicity of some stereotypes about how Sikh women cope with their menfolk's drinking.
Decisions to Appeal, Decisions to Approve: Requalification for SSI by Former DA&A Beneficiaries
Authors: Scott Richard , Baumohl Jim
Published: April 2018

Recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Drug Addiction and Alcoholism (DA&A) benefits had the opportunity to appeal their termination during the six months prior to the end of the DA&A program in January 1997. In this study, we examined factors that affected transition from the DA&A program to continuing SSI benefits based on other qualifying impairments. We treated requalification for SSI as the outcome of two processes: a beneficiary's submission of a request for reconsideration and the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Disability Determination Senvices’ efforts to document a qualifying impairment, culminating in a decision to approve or to deny the appeal. We developed two multivariate statistical models. The first specified factors that predict beneficiaries’ submission of appeals and the second articulated factors affecting the SSA's disposition. We tested the models using data from nine metropolitan areas in the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois and Michigan. We found that the likelihood of appeal submission increased with the severity of physical and mental health problems, social support, institutional integration and employment status. The SSA's disposition was predicted by a beneficiary's frequency of alcohol consumption, economic status, level of institutional integration, functional capacity for daily living, and the metropolitan area in which he or she resided.
The Bottom Line: Employment and Barriers to Work among Former SSI DA&A Beneficiaries
Authors: Campbell Kevin , Baumohl Jim , Hunt Sharon R.
Published: April 2018

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for drug addicts and alcoholics (DA&A beneficiaries) ended in January 1997 without any special effort to create employment for those who lost benefits. Relying on data from a nine-site, two-year panel study of 1,764 former DA&A recipients and detailed semi structured interviews with subsamples in four sites, this paper examines employment outcomes and barriers to employment among 611 respondents who lost SSI and did not replace it with another form of publicly funded income assistance. Despite the tight labor market of the late 1990s, this group was plagued by widespread unemployment and sub-employment. At the two-year follow-up, only 25% earned $500 per month or more, and only 12% typically earned this much throughout the study. Given their age, health problems and limited human capital, it is likely that many former DA&A beneficiaries will remain indigent, returning to the SSI rolls when they requalify upon turning 65.
SSI Receipt and Alcohol and Other Drug use among Former SSI DA&A Beneficiaries
Authors: Speiglman Richard , Norris Jean , Kappagoda Shanthi , Green Rex S. , Martinovich Zoran
Published: April 2018

Following termination of the SSI Drug Addiction and Alcoholism (DA&A) program, a nine-site study followed 1,764 randomly selected SSI beneficiaries over two years. This paper examines how loss of SSI affected use of alcohol and illegal drugs. One-third of study respondents reported neither drinking nor using illegal drugs at baseline (just before the end of the program). Nevertheless, use of illegal drugs was 15 times more prevalent among the study sample (44%) than the general population, while use of alcohol was 1.3 times more prevalent (59%), and use of both alcohol and other drugs was significantly greater among those who would lose SSI than those who would retain it. During the follow-up period, prevalence of drinking and use of illegal drugs remained steady, but mean days of use declined for alcohol and illegal drugs other than marijuana. In three separate repeated measures ordinal regression models we examined the net effect of SSI retention on use of alcohol, marijuana and other illegal drugs over time, controlling for demographics, social and health status, and utilization of substance abuse treatment or self-help. Declines in use of alcohol and illegal drugs other than marijuana were similar for those who retained and those who lost SSI benefits, indicating that termination of the program had no effect on levels of substance use. Higher levels of substance use remained significantly and substantially associated with younger age (under 44 years), psychiatric and legal problems, and family or social conflicts, suggesting that subsets of the DA&A population need individualized services beyond income support.
An Analysis of the Criminogenic Effects of Terminating the Supplemental Security Income Impairment Category for Drug Addiction and Alcoholism
Authors: Swartz James A. , Martinovich Zoran , Goldstein Paul
Published: April 2018

This study examined the criminogenic effects of terminating the Supplemental Security Income program for drug addiction and alcoholism. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze self-reported crime, economic, and drug-use data collected as part of a two-year multisite study with five interview waves from 1,640 former DA&As. The primary independent variables examined included subjects’ replacement of lost SSI benefits legally or through re qualification under another disability category and their weekly use of heroin and/or cocaine. The study found that failure to replace lost cash benefits resulted in a moderate increase in crime, particularly drug and property crime, that peaked two years after loss of benefits. Heroin and cocaine use were also related to criminality, though the magnitude of this effect was greatest at six months after loss of benefits. The study also found a relationship between drug use and loss of benefits, suggesting that the federal legislation has created a crime-prone residual population of drug users with limited treatment access.
Substance Abuse and Welfare Policy at the New Century
Authors: Baumohl Jim , Speiglman Richard , Swartz James A. , Stahl Roland
Published: April 2018

Drawing on findings from the SSI Study and other research, this paper takes up various policy questions fundamental to any welfare program for substance abusers. The paper considers the place of disability benefits in the U.S. system of categorical aid and the problems raised by substance abuse for the disability category. It discusses the desirable objectives of a welfare program for substance abusers and the various mechanisms by which they might be achieved. And finally, it considers how any new program might be positioned in the context of categorical aid and American federalism.
Finnish Newspapers' Positions on Drug Policy between 1993 and 2000
Authors: Törrönen Jukka
Published: April 2018

Based on an analysis of editorials published in five Finnish newspapers from 1993 to 2000, this article discusses the role of the print press in the 1990s efforts to bridge the gap between restrictive drug policy and drug-harm-minimization policy in Finland. The analysis shows that from 1993 to 2000 there was a tone of “moral panic” in Finnish newspapers’ assessment that drug trafficking originating from abroad and the related crime were the prime challenge for Finnish drug policy. However, none of the five newspapers considered a restrictive drug policy sufficient. They maintained that while police control was necessary, further steps were needed so that the problem could be properly tackled as the internal national problem that it in fact constituted. The editorials recommended three lines of action: (1) an extensive drug treatment system should be developed, (2) young people, families, and communities should be urged to support a drug-free way of life, and (3) the authorities should be cautious in the introduction of drug testing. However, the analysis shows that the newspapers did not actually deal with the ideological ruptures and tensions that the promotion of drug-harm-reduction techniques caused for the dominant restrictive drug policy. The papers just pragmatically stated that more resources needed to be allocated to the strategy of prohibition as well as to the techniques of harm reduction.
Onset of Substance use among Transnational and Domestic Agricultural Workers: Social Relations and Place of Initiation
Authors: Bletzer Keith
Published: April 2018

Farm workers differ from both urban and rural populations by their short-term, irregular employment and, for those who migrate, frequent travel. Overall, they enjoy few of the work benefits of other occupations, and they generally include members of minority populations that experience high levels of drug use. As such, they comprise an ideal population for the study of initiation of substance use. Although most farm workers have rural backgrounds as children, adolescents or adults, there are growing numbers of workers from small urban cities as well as metropolitan areas. Based on a series of 173 interviews in the American South with 119 men and women with a range of experience in agriculture, the present analysis examines locales where initiation of substance use takes place and identifies social relationships that figure in the context of first and subsequent use among transnational and U.S.-born workers in agriculture.
Patterns of Drinking and Estimates of Alcohol-Related Mortality in New Zealand
Authors: Connor Jennie , Broad Joanna , Rehm Jürgen , Hoorn Stephen Vander , Jackson Rod
Published: April 2018

The two main population groups in New Zealand have different average drinking patterns but similar average alcohol consumption. This article compares three approaches to incorporating pattern of drinking into estimates of alcohol-attributable mortality and years of life lost for New Zealand. We adapted the comparative risk assessment (CRA) methods developed by World Health Organization (WHO), and applied them at a country and subpopulation (Māori/non-Māori) level, using different alcohol-attributable fractions for injuries and coronary heart disease for Maori and non-Maori populations based on drinking patterns. When the impact of differences in drinking pattern between Maori and non-Maori was included, overall alcohol-attributable mortality and Years of Life Lost (YLL) rates increased, and ethnic disparities in alcohol-related health burden increased markedly. Thus using a single measure of pattern of drinking for the whole country resulted in an underestimation of the national health burden of alcohol, and masked important differences in health impacts of alcohol between Maori and non-Maori populations.
Predicting Alcohol-Related Harm by Sociodemographic Background: High Prevalence versus High Risk
Authors: Selin Klara Hradilova
Published: April 2018

The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between sociodemographic background (gender, age, household situation, socioeconomic status, and region of residence) and the level of alcohol-related harm, when controlling for actual drinking habits in terms of average volume and binge drinking frequency. The dependent variables, modelled in logistic regressions, were summary measures of four areas of harm from alcohol–-impaired self-control, chronic health problems, public disorder, and interpersonal problems. The data was drawn from a 2002 Swedish national survey, consisting of 5,469 completed telephone interviews with adults 17 years old and above. Across all the problem areas, sociodemographic background variables seem to be rather weak overall predictors of experienced harm from drinking. The strongest effects found, besides drinking itself, were for being young–-especially for public disorder and impaired self-control. Socioeconomic indicators (income and education) and marital status also showed some significant effects, but these pointed in different directions for men and women, as well as for the different problem areas. Almost no regional differences could be observed. The results are, at least in part, in line with the so-called two-step model–-particularly for people above 30. According to this model, sociodemographic variables are good predictors of variation in drinking habits, while other factors may have a higher explanatory value for the harm from a given level of drinking. Based on the findings, interventions aimed to affect everybody's drinking might be preferred rather than harm reduction strategies targeted at particular risk groups.
On the Road to Damascus? A Qualitative Study of Life Events and Decreased Drinking
Authors: Rolfe Alison , Dalton Sue , Orford Jim
Published: April 2018

This article presents a qualitative exploration of the relationship between life events and reduction in drinking. The 17 participants were all heavy drinkers who had experienced a life event in the previous two years and who had decreased their alcohol consumption. They were selected from a cohort of 500 untreated heavy drinkers in the English West Midlands. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews and subjected to thematic analysis. Participants discussed the decision to decrease in terms of: “needing to” decrease in order to prevent harm, “having to” decrease because of responsibilities, and “being able to” cut down as a by-product of other changes. It is argued that drinking change may occur for diverse reasons, and needs to be seen, not only as an individual decision-making process, but in relation to the discursive, social and environmental context in which drinking is embedded.
The Interplay between Perceived Self-Choice and Reported Informal, Formal and Legal Pressures in Treatment Entry
Authors: Storbjörk Jessica
Published: April 2018

This article focuses on the interplay between reported informal, formal and legal pressure and self-choice in treatment entry. The representative sample of those entering treatment for alcohol or drugs problems in Stockholm County, Sweden includes 1865 clients (71% men). Most respondents reported that it was their own idea to come to treatment (81%). It was also common to report reasons for entering treatment indicating different forms of perceived pressures, especially informal pressures (75%), but also formal and legal pressures. Informal pressure from someone close was a particularly important reason for treatment entry. Informal pressure was found to be positively associated with the feeling of self-choice in treatment entry, whereas perceptions of formal pressure (and particularly legal pressure) mainly were negatively related to self-choice. Most of those reporting self-choice in treatment entry also reported informal, formal, or legal pressure as reasons for coming to treatment.
Why not treatment?–-untreated substance abusers’ accounts of their lifestyles and efforts to change
Authors: Ekendahl Mats
Published: April 2018

In this study a sample of non-abstinent untreated amphetamine users’ accounts of lifestyles, living conditions and efforts to change were described and analyzed. The objective was to inductively identify the qualitative characteristics of their potential distance to the treatment system. The analysis focused how self presentations and descriptions of reality were related to views on treatment and lifestyle change. Results showed that respondents distanced themselves from the individuals and practices of several social contexts, which was interpreted as indicating a limbo between substance abuse and conventional life. Yet, to solve acute predicaments the substance abusers were confronted with the demands of the supposedly condemning treatment system. It is suggested in the article that the Swedish treatment system develop further “low threshold” interventions that address life problems as identified by the clients themselves. This should enable less motivated substance abusers to acquire stable living conditions that may facilitate lifestyle change efforts.
Phase partition and identification based on a two-step method for batch process
Authors: Guo Runxia , Zhang Na , Wang Jiaqi , Dong Jiankang
Published: April 2018

The batch process is a batch-repeated production process, which shows a multiple modal switching within the batch. This makes it difficult to use a single-mode analysis method to achieve accurate modeling and fault diagnosis. Therefore, a novel two-step phase partition idea is proposed based on improved affinity propagation (AP) clustering and sub-phase similarity diminishing scan (PSDS) method. In order to capture the dynamic characteristics of the modes switching, the improved AP clustering is used for phase preliminary partition, in which an effective method that is more suitable for complex batch process is proposed to calculate the similarity. For sub-phases generated by the phase preliminary partition, the internal process of each sub-phase also varies obviously with the development of duration, so an innovative method PSDS is proposed to implement phase fine partition. Then each sub-phase scanned by the PSDS method is identified and divided into stable parts and transition parts, which further reflects the change trend within the sub-phase. For the outliers and misclassification points that may arise during the process of phase partition, the solutions are put forward, respectively. Thus, the partition results with different characteristics are modeled and monitored separately by using the method of principal component analysis (PCA). A practical application on batch process, aircraft steering engine platform fault diagnosis experiment, is given to conform the feasibility and performance of the proposed method.
Second-order group consensus for linear multi-agent systems with average dwell time switching
Authors: Xie Dongmei , Shi Lin , Jiang Fangcui
Published: April 2018

This paper studies the group consensus problem of second-order multi-agent systems (MASs) with switching communication topology. Unlike most existing papers concerning the consensus issue of MASs under arbitrary switching topology or Markovian switching topology, our paper tries to design a switching signal such that MAS can achieve group consensus under a designed switching signal set. First, using a state transformation method, the group consensus problem of MASs can be equivalently transformed into the asymptotical stability of a corresponding switched system. Then, two sufficient criteria are established by using Lyapunov function method and average dwell time (ADT) approach, where the minimum ADT [Formula: see text] is given clearly. Finally, simulation examples are given to show the effectiveness of our theoretical analysis.
Discrete-time sliding mode for building structure bidirectional active vibration control
Authors: Paul Satyam , Yu Wen , Li Xiaoou
Published: April 2018

In terms of vibrations along bidirectional earthquake forces, several problems are faced when modelling and controlling the structure of a building, such as lateral-torsional vibration, uncertainties surrounding the rigidity and the difficulty of estimating damping forces.

In this paper, we use a fuzzy logic model to identify and compensate the uncertainty which does not require an exact model of the building structure. To attenuate bidirectional vibration, a novel discrete-time sliding mode control is proposed. This sliding mode control has time-varying gain and is combined with fuzzy sliding mode control in order to reduce the chattering of the sliding mode control. We prove that the closed-loop system is uniformly stable using Lyapunov stability analysis. We compare our fuzzy sliding mode control with the traditional controllers: proportional–integral–derivative and sliding mode control. Experimental results show significant vibration attenuation with our fuzzy sliding mode control and horizontal-torsional actuators. The proposed control system is the most efficient at mitigating bidirectional and torsional vibrations.
Optical Tracking of Superficial Dynamics from an Acoustic Radiation Force-Induced Excitation
Authors: Bouchard Richard R. , Van Soest Gijs , Trahey Gregg E. , Van Der Steen Anton F.W.
Published: April 2018

Acoustic radiation force (ARF) has become a common excitation mechanism in elasticity imaging. The high acoustic intensities and subsequent generation of harmonics, however, hamper the effectiveness of using conventional radiofrequency (rf) tracking to investigate the dynamics of tissues and catheter-based transducers, especially during the excitation. Optical tracking, on the other hand, does not utilize acoustic echo and thus is not affected by ARF-generated interference. Additionally, it is able to track equally well in two dimensions, something that rf tracking is unable to do. Despite the inherent near-field scattering that will likely preclude optical (i.e., visible spectrum) tracking from supplanting current ultrasound-based methods in a clinical setting, it could offer valuable new tools in the pursuit of a better understanding of ARF-induced dynamic responses.

We utilized an optically-based method to track the dynamic response resulting from an ARF-induced excitation on the surface of a tissue-mimicking phantom and on an unbounded catheter. These tracking data were then compared to tracking data obtained from the conventional rf tracking method. Both impulsive and harmonic (i.e., amplitude-modulated) excitations were investigated. In general, there was good agreement between the conventional (i.e., ultrasound-based) and optically-based tracking methods. Disparities between displacement estimates from the two tracking methods is thought to be a result of the finite length of the tracking marker, which was assumed to move as an infinitesimal point, and aberration of reflected light due to surface waves. Given the reasonable agreement seen for the harmonic and impulsive excitation cases, an optical tracking method could be insightful in future investigations of tissue/transducer response to ARF-induced excitations in controlled experimental settings.
Peripheral Vestibular Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Concussion
Authors: Brodsky Jacob R. , Shoshany Talia N. , Lipson Sophie , Zhou Guangwei
Published: April 2018

Objective

To review peripheral vestibular disorders in pediatric patients with dizziness following concussion.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Pediatric vestibular clinic and pediatric multidisciplinary concussion clinic at a tertiary level pediatric hospital.

Subjects and Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 109 patients seen for dizziness following a concussion between September 2012 and July 2015. Patients were ≤20 years of age at the time of concussion. Incidences of specific peripheral vestibular disorders were assessed along with timing of diagnosis relative to the date of injury, diagnostic test findings, and treatment interventions associated with those diagnoses.

Results

Twenty‐eight patients (25.7%) were diagnosed with peripheral vestibular disorders. None of these disorders were diagnosed prior to evaluation in our pediatric vestibular clinic or our multidisciplinary concussion clinic, which occurred a mean of 133 days (95% confidence interval, 89.2‐177.3) after injury. Benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo was diagnosed in 19 patients, all of whom underwent successful canalith repositioning maneuvers. Other diagnoses included temporal bone fracture (n = 3), labyrinthine concussion (n = 2), perilymphatic fistula (n = 2), and superior semicircular canal dehiscence (n = 2). Both patients with perilymphatic fistula and 1 patient with superior semicircular canal dehiscence underwent successful surgical management, while 1 patient with superior semicircular canal dehiscence was managed nonsurgically.

Conclusion

Peripheral vestibular disorders may occur in pediatric patients with dizziness following concussion, but these disorders may not be recognized until symptoms have persisted for several weeks. An algorithm is proposed to guide the diagnosis and management of peripheral vestibular disorders in pediatric patients with concussion.
Reference Errors in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Literature
Authors: Armstrong Michael F. , Conduff Joseph H. , Fenton John E. , Coelho Daniel H.
Published: April 2018

Objective

Proper use of citation and quotation is crucial to the integrity of the medical literature. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of quotation and citation errors in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (OHNS) journals and how they have changed over time.

Study Design

Literature review.

Methods

Fifty references were randomly selected from the first published issue of 2017 for 8 leading OHNS journals. These were analyzed for errors in citation (data elements by which the article is referenced) and quotation (factual inaccuracies of the reference). Citation errors were categorized as major, intermediate, or minor. Quotation errors were categorized as major or minor. Results were compared with data from 1997 articles.

Results

Citation errors occurred in 17% of all references studied, with 34% classified as major. Quotation errors occurred in 9%, with 69% classified as major. There was no association between journal impact factor and total number of errors (r = −0.33, P =. 42). This compares with a 37% citation error rate (32% major) and 17% quotation error rate (65% major) from 1997.

Conclusion

Citation and quotation errors are still prevalent in the OHNS literature albeit decreased from previously reported data. Improvement in citation errors may be due to technological improvements in reference management. However, it is the continued responsibility of the authors, reviewers, and editors to further reduce error rates to maintain the integrity of our publications.
The Making of Immigrant Niches in an Affluent Welfare State
Authors: Friberg Jon Horgen , Midtbøen Arnfinn H.
Published: April 2018

This article explores how immigrant niches have emerged within two traditional working-class industries in Norway. Drawing on extensive case studies in urban and coastal areas, we analyze how employers perceive the availability and desirability of native-born and immigrant workers and discuss how these perceptions are related to underlying changes in the structure of employment. The article contributes to the literature by developing a general model of the formation of immigrant niches as well as pointing out the context-specific institutional conditions that explain how and why such niches emerge in the first place.
Causal Mediation in Educational Intervention Studies
Authors: Roberts Greg , Scammacca Nancy , Roberts Garrett J.
Published: April 2018

Understanding the factors that mediate the effect of educational or behavioral intervention is critical to advancing both research and practice. When properly implemented, mediators add depth to the results of intervention research, indicating why a program works, highlighting ways to enhance its effectiveness, and revealing the elements that are essential to successful implementation. However, many researchers find mediation a difficult topic and struggle to implement it properly in statistical models of effects from between-groups randomized studies. In an effort to bring clarity to the topic of mediation and encourage its use where appropriate, this article lays out the requirements for evidence of a causal-mediated effect. An example of a randomized trial of an intervention targeting self-regulation and student behavior is used to illustrate the process of conceptualizing and testing for mediation of treatment effects. Statistical considerations also are addressed.
Comparison of Universal Mental Health Screening to Students Already Receiving Intervention in a Multitiered System of Support
Authors: Splett Joni W. , Trainor Kathryn M. , Raborn Anthony , Halliday-Boykins Colleen A. , Garzona Marlene E. , Dongo Melissa D. , Weist Mark D.
Published: April 2018

Despite schools increasingly adopting multitiered systems of support (MTSS) for prevention and intervention of mental health concerns, many are slow to adopt universal mental health screening (UMHS), a core MTSS feature, due to concerns about their limited capacity to meet the needs of all identified. In this study, we examined differences in the number and characteristics of students who would be identified for intervention services when UMHS in an MTSS were added to those students already receiving social, emotional, and behavioral supports. In a sample of 3,744 students in Grades 1 to 5 from six schools, 679 (18.1%) additional students were identified by screening, representing a 180.1% increase in students identified with behavioral risk or need for mental health interventions. Using a series of stepwise logistic regression analyses, we identified significant predictors of newly identified students including gender, number of office discipline referrals, and externalizing, internalizing, and adaptive behavior ratings. Findings are discussed in relation to opportunities for prevention and the systems needed in an MTSS to meet the needs of newly identified students.
An Examination of School Climate, Victimization, and Mental Health Problems Among Middle School Students Self-Identifying With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Authors: Salle Tamika La , George Heather Peshak , McCoach D. Betsy , Polk Tiffany , Evanovich Lauren L.
Published: April 2018

The purpose of the current study was to examine perceptions of school climate among students who self-identify as having an emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD) and their counterparts without disabilities on the Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0. Although research examining the link between perceptions of school climate and student outcomes has increased, no research has examined how students with disabilities, particularly those with EBD, perceive school climate, and the relation of those perceptions to outcomes including peer victimization and mental health problems. The current study found that in comparison with students without disabilities (SWOD), students with EBD (SWEBD) reported significantly lower perceptions of school climate and significantly higher rates of mental health problems and peer victimization. Perceptions of school climate and mental health were inversely associated with reports of victimization among both SWOD and SWEBD. We discuss how educational leaders can improve school climate for SWEBD through tiered systems of supports such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports to support mental health and reduce peer victimization.
Cough-induced nonunion rib fractures and herniation: surgical repair and review
Authors: Oostendorp Stefan E van , Buijsman Rene , Zuidema Wietse P
Published: April 2018

We present the case of a 57-year-old man who had suffered pain in the left hemithorax for a year, which started after a period of severe coughing during pneumonia. The pain was triggered by lying down. A computed tomography scan revealed two nonunion costal fractures. In the operating room, intercostal diastasis with pulmonary herniation was encountered in addition to the costal fractures. This report describes the technique used to reconstruct the thoracic wall with mesh and plate-osteosynthesis.
Viscoelastic material models for more accurate polyethylene wear estimation
Authors: Alotta Gioacchino , Barrera Olga , Pegg Elise C
Published: April 2018

Wear debris from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene components used for joint replacement prostheses can cause significant clinical complications, and it is essential to be able to predict implant wear accurately in vitro to prevent unsafe implant designs continuing to clinical trials. The established method to predict wear is simulator testing, but the significant equipment costs, experimental time and equipment availability can be prohibitive. It is possible to predict implant wear using finite element methods, though those reported in the literature simplify the material behaviour of polyethylene and typically use linear or elastoplastic material models. Such models cannot represent the creep or viscoelastic material behaviour and may introduce significant error. However, the magnitude of this error and the importance of this simplification have never been determined. This study compares the volume of predicted wear from a standard elastoplastic model, to a fractional viscoelastic material model. Both models have been fitted to the experimental data. Standard tensile tests in accordance with ISO 527-3 and tensile creep recovery tests were performed to experimentally characterise both (a) the elastoplastic parameters and (b) creep and relaxation behaviour of the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. Digital image correlation technique was used in order to measure the strain field. The predicted wear with the two material models was compared for a finite element model of a mobile-bearing unicompartmental knee replacement, and wear predictions were made using Archard’s law. The fractional viscoelastic material model predicted almost ten times as much wear compared to the elastoplastic material representation. This work quantifies, for the first time, the error introduced by use of a simplified material model in polyethylene wear predictions, and shows the importance of representing the viscoelastic behaviour of polyethylene for wear predictions.
Analysis of a main fatigue crack interaction with multiple micro-cracks/voids in a compact tension specimen repaired by stop-hole technique
Authors: Malekan Mohammad , Carvalho Hermes
Published: April 2018

Fatigue is a process in engineering materials in which damage accumulates due to the fluctuating loading. One solution for a component under the fatigue process is to arrest the crack propagation before the final failure using different available retardation methods, such as drilling/stop-hole technique. In addition, structural components may also suffer from the existence of micro-cracks or voids due to their forming process or service lives. These micro-cracks/voids are very critical to study, since they can effectively play an important role in the behavior of the existing main crack in a component. This article aims to investigate the effect of the stop-hole retardation technique and multiple micro-cracks/voids with different characteristic lengths and geometries on the fatigue crack propagation in a compact tension specimen. A modified Forman equation, the so-called NASGRO equation is used to define the transition between crack initiation and crack growth period. Also, the extended finite element method is adapted in the crack propagation phase in order to model crack path in the geometry eliminating the need for remeshing procedure. The whole analyses are conducted in a commercial package through a user-written code that handles all fatigue crack growth analysis. The reference solutions from the literature are used to compare and to validate results obtained from current work.
Estimation of Gravel Roads Ride Quality Through an Android-Based Smartphone
Authors: Aleadelat Waleed , Wright Cameron H. G. , Ksaibati Khaled
Published: April 2018

This study demonstrated the ability of smartphone sensors in evaluating gravel roads conditions. Seventy gravel roads with various conditions, surface materials, and geometric features were included in this study. The analysis was based on signal demodulation and wavelet transformation to reduce the effect of many external factors (i.e., speed dependency, engine vibrations, and suspension system) that may affect the obtained measurements. It was found that the acquired signals from a smartphone accelerometer can reflect the actual conditions of a gravel road. In addition, the location and the severity of surface deteriorations such as potholes could be identified. A regression model ( R2 = 0.78) based on the acquired signals from smartphones was developed to predict the overall rating of the gravel road condition according to the Riding Quality Rating Guide (RQRG) system. An initial validation analysis, conducted on 35 new gravel roads, showed that this model was able to return reasonable ratings. Also, the statistical analysis showed that any difference between the predicted and the actual ratings of <1.3 was not significant. The proposed methodology can be considered as a baseline for building a low cost crowdsourcing platform that helps local agencies in managing their inventory of gravel roads.