bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High tunnels: protection for rather than from insect pests?
Authors: Ingwell Laura L , Thompson Sarah L , Kaplan Ian , Foster Ricky E
Published: June 2017

BACKGROUND

High tunnels are a season extension tool creating a hybrid of field and greenhouse growing conditions. High tunnels have recently increased in the USA and thus research on their management is lacking. One purported advantage of these structures is protection from common field pests, but evidence to support this claim is lacking. We compared insect pest populations in high tunnels with field production over two years for three crops: tomato, broccoli and cucumber.

RESULTS

Greenhouse pests (e.g. aphids, whiteflies) were more prevalent in high tunnels, compared to field plots. Hornworms (tobacco (Manduca sexta L.) and tomato (M. quinquemaculata Haworth)), a common field pest on tomato, were also more abundant in high tunnels, requiring chemical control while field populations were low. The crucifer caterpillar complex (imported cabbageworm (Pieris rapae L.), diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.) and cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni Hübner)) was also more abundant in high tunnels in 2010. Cucumber beetle (striped (Acalymma vittatum F.) and spotted (Diabrotica undecimpunctata Mannerheim)) densities were higher in high tunnels in 2010 and field plots in 2011.

CONCLUSION

The common assumption that high tunnels offer protection from field pests was not supported. Instead, high tunnel growing conditions may facilitate higher pest populations. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Tree spacing impacts the individual incidence of Moniliophthora roreri disease in cacao agroforests
Authors: Ngo Bieng Marie Ange , Alem Laudine , Curtet Chloé , Tixier Philippe
Published: June 2017

BACKGROUND

Using conventional pesticides in crop protection has raised serious environmental concerns and there is therefore a need for integrated pest management (IPM) methods. In this paper, we found that the spacing of trees can impact disease, which could result in a reduction in pesticide applications and may act as a potential IPM method. We studied Frosty Pod Rot (FPR) in 20 cacao agroforests in Costa Rica (Upala region).

RESULTS

Using a generalized linear mixed model, we analyzed the impact of the neighborhood composition and distance from a studied cacao individual on its individual FPR incidence. We found that the number of cacao tree neighbors in a radius of 3.7 m and the number of fruit trees in a radius of 4.3 m had a significant negative influence on the incidence of FPR on individual cacao trees. Moreover, cacao tree neighbors had the most significant local influence compared to the neighborhood of other taller categories such as fruit or forest trees.

CONCLUSION

The mechanisms involved are related to the barrier effect, due to the effectiveness of the cacao tree's architecture as an efficient barrier against FPR spore dispersal. This paper provides new insights into optimization of the spatial environment around each host as an original IPM method. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
The Statistical Characteristics of Maxima of Contact Force in Stacked Packaging Units under Random Vibration
Authors: Fang Ke , Wang Zhi‐Wei
Published: June 2017

Stacked packaging units are the major form when transporting packaged products. In these stacked packaging units, the maxima of contact force between boxes are closely related with fatigue, the main failure form of packaged products during transportation, which can be simulated by random vibration. Therefore, this paper proposes a probability density function (PDF) of maxima for stationary Gaussian random signal with non‐zero mean and non‐unit variance to study the statistical characteristics of the maxima of contact force in three‐layer stacked packaging units, which is of vital importance to the fatigue evaluation. The proposed PDF of maxima is controlled by three parameters: spectral width parameter ϵ, mean value μx and variance σx. These three parameters are obtained respectively under three different impact factors, namely, constraint, acceleration excitation and location of contact surface. Power spectrum density (PSD) of contact force and PSDs' Q factors are also calculated. Relations and variations of the three parameters of PDF of maxima, PSD and PSD's Q factor under different impact factors are discussed in detail. It is found that the system of the three‐layer stacked units with a wide‐band excitation (ϵ → 1) as input and contact force (ϵ<1) as output can be regarded as a relatively narrow band system. And the proposed PDF of maxima proves to be an effective method to investigate the statistical characteristics of the maxima of contact force between boxes in the stacked packaging units. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Method for Fast Quality Evaluation of Deep‐drawn Paperboard Packaging Components
Authors: Müller Tobias , Lenske Alexander , Hauptmann Marek , Majschak Jens‐Peter
Published: June 2017

The visual and mechanical quality of paperboard packaging components formed by deep drawing closely corresponds to the wrinkle distribution within the material wall section. Assessing this quality of paperboard packaging components currently relies on very slow or even subjective methods. Therefore, counting the number of wrinkles and measuring the mean distance between wrinkles proved to be a sensitive strategy for the evaluation of quality levels in deep drawing formed paperboard containers like cups or trays. A method introduced by Hauptmann proposes the measurement of the distances between 10 wrinkles in machine direction and 10 wrinkles in cross direction for each sample. However, this method is unsatisfactory because it can only observe a small part of each sample and is subject to deviation through the individual judgement of the person carrying out the survey. Further methods, as well as their respective application range, are listed in Table . Hence, it is desirable to automate the wrinkle survey to be carried out without operator influences to the measurement. This paper introduces such an automated measuring method. The given method relies on recording the sample surface topography through laser‐distance measurement. An evaluation algorithm, which enables the detection of wrinkles in the topographic data, is proposed. Furthermore, it is shown that the method yields feasible results and is capable of generating reliable quality information in considerably reduced time frames.
Modelling convectively induced secondary circulations in the terra incognita with TerrSysMP
Authors: Poll S. , Shrestha P. , Simmer C.
Published: June 2017

Advances in high‐performance computing have led to kilometre and even sub‐kilometre scale regional simulations with numerical weather prediction models. This range of grid resolution – also termed ‘terra incognita’ – approaches the length‐scale of the most energetic eddies of the convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), which accordingly can only be inadequately resolved. This dilemma becomes particularly obvious when simulating convectively induced secondary circulations (CISCs) in the terra incognita, because the modelled CISC‐like circulations – also termed M‐CISCs – are poorly resolved and exhibit a grid‐resolution dependence. Previous studies have pointed out this problem using different modelling platforms and also suggested options for attenuating poorly resolved M‐CISCs with methods specific to the applied ABL schemes.

This study examines M‐CISCs at horizontal grid resolutions of O(1 km), using the Terrestrial Systems Modelling Platform (TerrSysMP) for idealized and real case studies. The analysis of simulations using different surface heterogeneity and grid resolutions of O(1 km) shows that the presence of a superadiabatic layer near the surface and the increase of the horizontal grid resolution allow the critical Rayleigh number to be exceeded, generating poorly resolved M‐CISCs, whose amplitudes are strongly dependent on the horizontal grid resolution. We show that the asymptotic turbulent mixing length‐scale in the used ABL scheme can be tuned in a way that M‐CISCs are attenuated while the non‐resolved turbulence dealt with by the ABL scheme effectively propagates the surface fluxes into the ABL and sustains reasonable ABL profiles.
Relative molar response of lipophilic marine algal toxins in liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry
Authors: Zendong Zita , Sibat Manoella , Herrenknecht Christine , Hess Philipp , McCarron Pearse
Published: June 2017

Rationale

Accurate quantitative analysis of lipophilic toxins by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) requires calibration solution reference materials (RMs) for individual toxin analogs. Untargeted analysis is aimed at identifying a vast number of compounds and thus validation of fully quantitative untargeted methods is not feasible. However, a semi‐quantitative approach allowing for profiling is still required and will be strengthened by knowledge of the relative molar response (RMR) of analogs in LC/MS with electrospray ionization (ESI).

Methods

RMR factors were evaluated for toxins from the okadaic acid (OA/DTXs), yessotoxin (YTX), pectenotoxin (PTX), azaspiracid (AZA) and cyclic imine (CI) toxin groups, in both solvent standards and environmental sample extracts. Since compound ionization and fragmentation influences the MS response of toxins, RMRs were assessed under different chromatographic conditions (gradient, isocratic) and MS acquisition modes (SIM, SRM, All‐ion, target MS/MS) on low‐ and high‐resolution mass spectrometers.

Results

In general, RMRs were not significantly impacted by chromatographic conditions (isocratic vs gradient), with the exception of DTX1. MS acquisition modes had a more significant impact, with PnTX‐G and SPX differing notably. For a given toxin group, response factors were generally in the range of 0.5 to 2. The cyclic imines were an exception.

Conclusions

Differences in RMRs between toxins of a same chemical base structure were not significant enough to indicate major issues for non‐targeted semi‐quantitative analysis, where there is limited or no availability of standards for many compounds, and where high degrees of accuracy are not required. Differences in RMRs should be considered when developing methods that use a standard of a single analogue to quantitate other toxins from the same group.
Experimental Study of Burden Distribution in the COREX Melter Gasifier
Authors: You Yang , Luo Zhiguo , Hou Qinfu , Li Haifeng , Zhou Heng , Chen Ren , Zou Zongshu
Published: June 2017

The COREX melter gasifier (MG) is a reduction reactor applied to produce liquid iron from non‐coking coal and directly reduced iron. The burden distribution in its operation plays an important role in achieving high stability and energy efficiency. This work establishes a 1/7.5 scale experimental model to study the burden distribution with a mixed charging. First, the relationship between the angle of distributor and the burden falling point is investigated. Then, the effects of the initial burden surface profile and the descending burden are discussed in terms of the radial ore‐to‐coal ratio and voidage distribution. The results show that the burden flow widths of coal and pellet increase along the radial direction, and the burden flow width of coal is larger than that of coal in a modern blast furnace. The ore‐to‐coal ratio near the wall is significantly larger than that of the center, possibly leading to worse reduction of burden near the wall. Compared to results with a horizontal initial burden surface, the results under the conditions of a naturally‐formed initial burden surface and a descending burden are more realistic helpful for the operation of the MG.
YY1 Expression Is Sufficient for the Maintenance of Cardiac Progenitor Cell State
Authors: Gregoire Serge , Li Guang , Sturzu Anthony C. , Schwartz Robert J. , Wu Sean M.
Published: June 2017

During cardiac development, DNA binding transcription factors and epigenetic modifiers regulate gene expression in cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs). We have previously shown that Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is essential for the commitment of mesodermal precursors into CPCs. However, the role of YY1 in the maintenance of CPC phenotype and their differentiation into cardiomyocytes is unknown. In this study, we found, by genome-wide transcriptional profiling and phenotypic assays, that YY1 overexpression prevents cardiomyogenic differentiation and maintains the proliferative capacity of CPCs. We show further that the ability of YY1 to regulate CPC phenotype is associated with its ability to modulate histone modifications specifically at a developmentally critical enhancer of Nkx2-5 and other key cardiac transcription factor such as Tbx5. Specifically, YY1 overexpression helps to maintain markers of gene activation such as the acetylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9Ac) and lysine 27 (H3K27Ac) as well as trimethylation at lysine 4 (H3K4Me3) at the Nkx2-5 cardiac enhancer. Furthermore, transcription factors associated proteins such as PoIII, p300, and Brg1 are also enriched at the Nkx2-5 enhancer with YY1 overexpression. The biological activities of YY1 in CPCs appear to be cell autonomous, based coculture assays in differentiating embryonic stem cells. Altogether, these results demonstrate that YY1 overexpression is sufficient to maintain a CPC phenotype through its ability to sustain the presence of activating epigenetic/chromatin marks at key cardiac enhancers.
Teaching aquatic science as inquiry through professional development: Teacher characteristics and student outcomes
Authors: Duncan Seraphin Kanesa , Harrison George M. , Philippoff Joanna , Brandon Paul R. , Nguyen Thanh Truc T. , Lawton Brian E. , Vallin Lisa M.
Published: June 2017

We present an inquiry‐based, aquatic science professional development (PD) for upper‐elementary, middle, and high school teachers and examine changes in student outcomes in light of participating teachers’ characteristics and the grade band of the students. Our study lends support to the assertion that inquiry‐ and content‐focused PD, paired with classroom implementation, can effectively improve student learning. Our findings indicate that students improved in their nature of science (NOS) and aquatic science content knowledge and that these changes depended in some ways on the participating teachers’ characteristics and adherence to the program. The students’ improvements were amplified when their teachers adhered more closely to the PD activities during their classroom implementation. The teachers’ previous science PD experience and pre‐PD understanding of inquiry‐based teaching also explained some of the variability in student growth. In both NOS and content, students of teachers with less prior science‐PD experience benefited more. Grade band also explained variation in student outcomes through interactions with teacher‐characteristic variables. In high school, students of teachers with lower pre‐PD inquiry knowledge appeared to learn more about NOS. Our results suggest that inquiry and content training through PD may minimize disparities in teaching due to inexperience and lack of expertise. Our study also demonstrates the value of PD that teaches a flexible approach to inquiry and focuses on underrepresented, interdisciplinary content areas, like aquatic science. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54:1219–1245, 2017
It's About Time! The Influence of Institutional Investment Horizon on Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Boubaker Sabri , Chourou Lamia , Himick Darlene , Saadi Samir
Published: June 2017

The US equity market has witnessed the rising power of institutional investors over the past three decades. Yet even as these institutional owners become more powerful, their effect on corporate social responsibility (CSR) still remains unclear. The present study attempts to fill this gap by examining these investors’ influence on CSR along the dimension of investor time horizon. We find robust evidence that ownership by institutional investors with long investment horizons is positively associated with higher CSR scores, while ownership by institutional investors with short investment horizons is either negatively or not significantly associated with CSR scores. The same results hold when we consider ownership by public pension funds, which present a unique case in which a theoretically long‐term horizon has recently been questioned, due to pressures toward short‐termism. Granger causality tests also show that the direction of the observed effects goes from institutional ownership to CSR and not the opposite. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Credibility in social media: opinions, news, and health information—a survey
Authors: Viviani Marco , Pasi Gabriella
Published: June 2017

In the Social Web scenario, where large amounts of User Generated Content diffuse through Social Media, the risk of running into misinformation is not negligible. For this reason, assessing and mining the credibility of both sources of information and information itself constitute nowadays a fundamental issue. Credibility, also referred as believability, is a quality perceived by individuals, who are not always able to discern with their cognitive capacities genuine information from the fake one. For this reason, in the recent years several approaches have been proposed to automatically assess credibility in Social Media. Most of them are based on data‐driven models, i.e., they employ machine‐learning techniques to identify misinformation, but recently also model‐driven approaches are emerging, as well as graph‐based approaches focusing on credibility propagation. Since multiple social applications have been developed for different aims and in different contexts, several solutions have been considered to address the issue of credibility assessment in Social Media. Three of the main tasks facing this issue and considered in this article concern: (1) the detection of opinion spam in review sites, (2) the detection of fake news and spam in microblogging, and (3) the credibility assessment of online health information. Despite the high number of interesting solutions proposed in the literature to tackle the above three tasks, some issues remain unsolved; they mainly concern both the absence of predefined benchmarks and gold standard datasets, and the difficulty of collecting and mining large amount of data, which has not yet received the attention it deserves. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2017, 7:e1209. doi: 10.1002/widm.1209

This article is categorized under:

Algorithmic Development > Web Mining

Application Areas > Science and Technology

Technologies > Machine Learning
Impact of climate change on alpine vegetation of mountain summits in Norway
Authors: Vanneste Thomas , Michelsen Ottar , Graae Bente Jessen , Kyrkjeeide Magni Olsen , Holien Håkon , Hassel Kristian , Lindmo Sigrid , Kapás Rozália Erzsebet , De Frenne Pieter
Published: June 2017

Climate change is affecting the composition and functioning of ecosystems across the globe. Mountain ecosystems are particularly sensitive to climate warming since their biota is generally limited by low temperatures. Cryptogams such as lichens and bryophytes are important for the biodiversity and functioning of these ecosystems, but have not often been incorporated in vegetation resurvey studies. Hence, we lack a good understanding of how vascular plants, lichens and bryophytes respond interactively to climate warming in alpine communities. Here we quantified long‐term changes in species richness, cover, composition and thermophilization (i.e. the increasing dominance of warm‐adapted species) of vascular plants, lichens and bryophytes on four summits at Dovrefjell, Norway. These summits are situated along an elevational gradient from the low alpine to high alpine zone and were surveyed for all species in 2001, 2008 and 2015. During the 15‐year period, a decline in lichen richness and increase in bryophyte richness was detected, whereas no change in vascular plant richness was found. Dwarf‐shrub abundance progressively increased at the expense of lichens, and thermophilization was most pronounced for vascular plants, but occurred only on the lowest summits and northern aspects. Lichens showed less thermophilization and, for the bryophytes, no significant thermophilization was found. Although recent climate change may have primarily caused the observed changes in vegetation, combined effects with non‐climatic factors (e.g. grazing and trampling) are likely important as well. At a larger scale, alpine vegetation shifts could have a profound impact on biosphere functioning with feedbacks to the global climate.
Epidemiology and Disease Burden of Lateral Epicondylitis in the USA: Analysis of 85, 318 Patients
Authors: Degen Ryan M. , Conti Matthew S. , Camp Christopher L. , Altchek David W. , Dines Joshua S. , Werner Brian C.
Published: June 2017

Background

National rates of lateral epicondylitis and surgical treatment are poorly defined. Disease burden of lateral epicondylitis (LE) continues to increase annually. Further study is necessary to optimize treatment algorithms to reduce associated health-care expenditures.

Questions/Purposes

The purpose of this study is to review the annual incidence of LE, surgical rates, and associated health-care costs in a population setting.

Methods

A national database was queried for LE from 2007 to 2014. Surgical cases were identified and annual rates were recorded. Demographic and epidemiologic data were reported with descriptive statistics, while trends over time were analyzed using linear regression.

Results

Eighty-five thousand three hundred eighteen cases of LE were identified. The annual incidence per 10, 000 patients remained constant ( p = 0.304). The proportion of diagnoses in patients <65 years decreased ( p ≤ 0.002) and ≥65 years increased ( p < 0.001) over the study period. One thousand six hundred ninety-four patients (2%) required operative treatment. The annual rate of surgical intervention remained constant ( p = 0.623). The proportion of patients <40 years requiring surgery decreased ( p < 0.001) as the proportion of patients ≥65 years needing surgery increased ( p = 0.003). Total reimbursement for LE procedures during the study period was $7, 220,912. Average per-patient reimbursement was $4263. Both annual total reimbursement ( p = 0.006) and per-patient reimbursement rates ( p = 0.002) significantly increased.

Conclusion

The annual incidence of LE and rate of surgical intervention have remained constant from 2007 to 2014. The proportion of patients over >65 years diagnosed with, and receiving surgical treatment for, LE has significantly increased in recent years. Total reimbursement and average per-patient reimbursement have steadily risen, demonstrating the increasing burden of cost on the health-care system.
A Stochastic Programming Model for Decision-Making Concerning Medical Supply Location and Allocation in Disaster Management
Authors: Barri Khojasteh Samad , Macit Irfan
Published: June 2017

We propose a stochastic programming model as a solution for optimizing the problem of locating and allocating medical supplies used in disaster management. To prepare for natural disasters, we developed a stochastic optimization approach to select the storage location of medical supplies and determine their inventory levels and to allocate each type of medical supply. Our model also captures disaster elaborations and possible effects of disasters by using a new classification for major earthquake scenarios. We present a case study for our model for the preparedness phase. As a case study, we applied our model to earthquake planning in Adana, Turkey. The experimental evaluations showed that the model is robust and effective. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:747–755)
Hospital-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections in Québec: Impact of Guidelines
Authors: Li Lynne , Fortin Elise , Tremblay Claude , Ngenda-Muadi Muleka , Garenc Christophe , Moisan Danielle , Villeneuve Jasmin , Quach Caroline ,   for SPIN-BACC and SPIN-SARM
Published: June 2017

OBJECTIVE

We examined the impact of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) guidelines in Québec adult hospitals from January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2015, by examining the incidence rate reduction (IRR) in healthcare-associated MRSA bloodstream infections (HA-MRSA), using central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) as a comparator.

METHODS

In this study, we utilized a quasi-experimental design with Poisson segmented regression to model HA-MRSA and CLABSI incidence for successive 4-week surveillance segments, stratified by teaching status. We used 3 distinct periods with 2 break points (April 1, 2007, and January 3, 2010) corresponding to major MRSA guideline publications and updates.

RESULTS

Over the study period, HA-MRSA incidence decreased significantly in adult teaching facilities but not in nonteaching facilities. Prior to MRSA guideline publication (2006–2007), HA-MRSA incidence decrease was not significant (P=.89), while CLABSI incidence decreased by 4% per 4-week period (P=.05). After the publication of guidelines (2007–2009), HA-MRSA incidence decreased significantly by 1% (P=.04), while no significant decrease in CLABSI incidence was observed (P=.75). HA-MRSA and CLABSI decreases were both significant at 1% for 2010–2015 (P<.001 and P=.01, respectively). These decreases were gradual rather than sudden; break points were not significant. Teaching facilities drove these decreases.

CONCLUSION

During the study period, HA-MRSA and CLABSI rates decreased significantly. In 2007–2009, the significant decrease in HA-MRSA rates with stable CLABSI rates suggests an impact from MRSA-specific guidelines. In 2010–2015, significant and equal IRRs for HA-MRSA and CLABSI may be due to the continuing impact of MRSA guidelines, to the impact of new interventions targeting device-associated infections in general by the 2010–2015 Action Plan, or to a combination of factors.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:840–847
Successful student activism in contemporary Italian universities
Authors: Cini Lorenzo
Published: June 2017

This article assesses the strategies that the Italian student activists adopted in order to influence the revision process of the governance structure of their universities in 2011. Which kind of strategy has enabled these activists to influence more successfully this process? I argue that the joint pressure of insiders and outsiders allows student activists to get their voice more effectively heard from the university leaders than when one of the two forms of pressure is absent. The ‘power of the streets’ exerted by the ‘outsiders’, combined with the institutional power of the ‘insiders’, produces a significant amplifying effect in the governing bodies. University leaders fear this kind of alliance, as they perceive that insiders with a strong tie with other actors are the expression of a collective voice that is difficult to neutralize. On the other hand, the outsiders are also aware that their collective strength is more likely to be translated into institutional power and action from their allies and/or representatives. To empirically probe this proposition, I have singled out three Italian universities (University of Turin, Sapienza of Rome, and Federico II of Naples), which witnessed high levels of student mobilization in the past years (2008–13), and where student activists and their organizations adopted the most different array of strategies. More specifically, while at the University of Turin the student activists were able to deploy simultaneously both forms of pressure, at the Federico II of Naples and Sapienza of Rome one of the two forms was lacking.
The long-wave vorticity dynamics of rotating buoyant outflows
Authors: Johnson E. R. , Southwick O. R. , McDonald N. R.
Published: June 2017

This paper discusses the evolution of coastal currents by considering, relative to a rotating frame, the flow development when buoyant fluid is injected into a quiescent fluid bounded by a solid wall. The initial rapid response is determined by the Coriolis force–pressure gradient balance with a Kelvin wave propagating rapidly, at the long-wave speed, with the bounding wall to its right (for positive rotation). However fluid columns can stretch or squash on ejection from coastal outflows so that the ejected fluid gains positive or negative relative vorticity. Depending on its sign, the image in the solid wall of this vorticity can reinforce or oppose the zero potential-vorticity-anomaly (PVa) current set up by the Kelvin wave (KW). This paper presents a simple, fully nonlinear, dispersive, quasi-geostrophic model to discuss the form of coastal outflows as the relative strength of vortex to KW driving is varied. The model retains sufficient physics to capture both effects at finite amplitude and thus the essential nonlinearity of the flow, but is sufficiently simple so as to allow highly accurate numerical integration of the full problem and also explicit, fully nonlinear solutions for the evolution of a uniform PVa outflow in the hydraulic limit. Outflow evolutions are shown to depend strongly on the sign of the PVa of the expelled fluid, which determines whether the vortex and KW driving are reinforcing or opposing, and on the ratio of the internal Rossby radius to the vortex-source scale, $|V_{0}/D^{2}\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F1}_{0}|^{1/2}$, of the flow (where $D$ measures the outflow depth, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F1}_{0}$ the PVa of the outflow and $V_{0}$ the volume flux of the outflow), which measures the relative strengths of the two drivers. Comparison of the explicit hydraulic solutions with the numerical integrations shows that the analytical solutions predict the flow development well with differences ascribable to dispersive Rossby waves on the current boundary and changes in the source region captured by the full equations but not present in the hydraulic solutions.
The effects of a post-exercise carbohydrate and protein supplement on repeat performance, serum chemistry, insulin and glucagon in competitive weight-pulling dogs
Authors: Frye Christopher W. , VanDeventer Gretchen M. , Dinallo Gina K. , Poplarski Jennifer A. , Mann Sabine , Pittman Ella , Zanghi Brian M. , Wakshlag Joseph J.
Published: June 2017

The physiological demands of weight-pulling dogs have yet to be investigated. Two groups of competitive weight-pulling dogs both underwent two identical pull series 3 h apart. The control group (n8) was compared with a group fed a rapidly digestible carbohydrate and protein supplement after the first pull series (n9). Blood was drawn before and after each pull series as well as at 15 and 30 min after the first pull series finished. Biochemistry values remained unremarkable throughout the study in both groups regardless of supplementation or exercise over time. Lactic acid showed mild significant increases post-exercise (2·1 (sd1·2) mmol/l) compared with baseline (1·4 (sd0·3) mmol/l;P = 0·03) after the initial pull series. When examining the effects of time there was a significant increase in insulin from baseline (median of 10·8 (range 6·8–17·4) μIU/ml) compared with 30 min after supplementation (17·0 (range 8·1–33·0) μIU/ml) and at 3 h after supplementation (19·2 (range 9·7–53·4) μIU/ml). In the treatment group there was also a time effect, with glucagon being elevated from baseline (median of 100 (range 79–115) pg/ml) compared with 30 min after supplementation (114 (range 90–183) pg/ml) and after the second pull series (131 (range 107–152) pg/ml). Evaluation of each dog's ability to pull the same or greater amount of weight on the second pull series revealed no significant differences. In conclusion, weight-pulling dogs have mild elevations in lactate reflecting little anaerobic metabolism compared with other canine sprinting athletes; hormonal changes associated with carbohydrate absorption are reflected within the treatment group, and supplementation had no effect on performance.
Montesquieu's Teaching on the Dangers of Extreme Corrections: Japan, the Catholic Inquisition, and Moderation inThe Spirit of the Laws
Authors: GILMORE NATHANIEL , SULLIVAN VICKIE B.
Published: June 2017

Explicitly and implicitly inThe Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu binds together the Japanese who persecute Christians and the Inquisitors of Catholicism who persecute heretics. In seeking purity, both sets of vehement reformers impose atrocious punishments. In so binding the abuses of the East and West together, the work is an expression neither of Orientalism nor of Eurocentrism as conventionally understood. Although Montesquieu thus offers a critical approach to Europe's vulnerability to reformers who go to extremes, whether pious zealots who seek to perpetuate Christianity or zealous Enlightenment philosophes who would seek to eradicate it, many commentators have focused on the work's apparent neutrality with regard to the various cultural phenomena it examines. The key to understanding Montesquieu's reserved tone lies in his commitment to moderation. Given the West's continuing vulnerability to extremism of various types, Montesquieu's moderate teaching on the need for moderation in corrections remains pressingly relevant.
A higher Dietary Inflammatory Index score is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer among Chinese women: a case–control study
Authors: Huang Wu-Qing , Mo Xiong-Fei , Ye Yan-Bin , Shivappa Nitin , Lin Fang-Yu , Huang Jing , Hébert James R. , Yan Bo , Zhang Cai-Xia
Published: June 2017

Previous studies have investigated the association between dietary inflammatory potential and the development of cancer. For breast cancer the results have been equivocal. The present study aimed to investigate whether higher Dietary Inflammatory IndexTM (DII) scores were associated with increased risk of breast cancer among Chinese women. A total of 867 cases and 824 controls were recruited into the present case–control study from September 2011 to February 2016. DII scores were computed based on baseline dietary intake assessed by a validated 81-item FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI were assessed by multivariable logistic regression after adjusting for various potential confounders. DII scores in this study ranged from −5·87 (most anti-inflammatory score) to +5·71 (most proinflammatory score). A higher DII score was associated with a higher breast cancer risk (adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 2·28; 95 % CI 1·71, 3·03; adjusted ORcontinuous 1·40; 95 %CI 1·25, 1·39). In stratified analyses, positive associations also were observed except for underweight women or women with either oestrogen receptor+ or progesterone receptor+ status (but not both). Results from this study indicated that higher DII scores, corresponding to more proinflammatory diets, were positively associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women.
Biological traits and the complex of parasitoids of the elm pest Orchestes steppensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Xinjiang, China
Authors: Li Q. , Triapitsyn S.V. , Wang C. , Zhong W. , Hu H.-Y.
Published: June 2017

The flee-weevil Orchestes steppensis Korotyaev (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a steppe eastern Palaearctic species, notable as a serious pest of elms (Ulmus spp., Ulmaceae), by feeding on the leaves (adults) or mining them heavily (larvae), especially of Ulmus pumila L. in Xinjiang, China. We have corrected the previous misidentifications of this weevil in China as O. alni (L.) or O. mutabilis Boheman and demonstrated that it is likely to be an invasive species in Xinjiang. Prior to this study, natural enemies of O. steppensis were unknown in Xinjiang. Resulting from field investigation and rearing in the laboratory during 2013–2016, seven parasitoid species were found to be primary and solitary, attacking larval and pupal stages of the host weevil. Pteromalus sp. 2 is the dominant species and also is the most competitive among the seven parasitoids, which could considered to be a perspective biological control agent of O. steppensis. Yet, the current control of this pest by the local natural enemies in Xinjiang is still currently inefficient, even though in 2016 parasitism was about 36% on U. pumila in Urumqi, so the potential for a classical biological control program against it needs to be further investigated, including an assessment of its parasitoids and other natural enemies in the native range of O. steppensis. The presented information on the natural enemies of this weevil can be also important for a potential classical biological control program against it in North America (Canada and USA), where it is a highly damaging and rapidly spreading invasive species.
TO WHAT EXTENT DO COUPLES’ PRE-MARITAL COMMUNICATIONS AFFECT THEIR POST-MARITAL FERTILITY BEHAVIOUR IN INDIA?
Authors: Chatterjee Sayantani , Kastor Anshul
Published: June 2017

Reproduction in India is mainly confined to within marriage. The fertility preferences of spouses will not necessarily be the same, but discussion between couples creates scope for understanding between spouses after marriage. Knowing each other’s opinions facilitates decision-making on sensitive matters such as contraception use and desired family size. This study used data from the India Human Development Survey-II (2011–12), and was based on a sample of 31,276 currently married women. The aim was to understand the role of pre-marital communication, studied through the choosing of husbands, mutual communication before marriage and duration of time spouses knew each other before marriage on the fertility preferences of couples post-marriage. These preferences included contraception use, who has most say on the number of children and the gap between desired and actual number of offspring. The results showed that wives who knew their husbands or who had any kind of communication with them before marriage had a greater chance of being involved in fertility decisions. However, most fertility decisions were found to be male-driven. Wives who knew their husbands for more than a month before marriage took more decisions on number of children (27%) than those who only knew their husbands from the day of their wedding (20%). Wives were less likely to have more children/sons/daughters than desired if they had some communication with their husbands before marriage. A better understanding of fertility preferences between spouses might help to curb unwanted births through delaying or limiting births by contraception use. Families in India could encourage couples to interact before marriage so they can make collective decisions on contraception use and/or the number of children they have.
Stress sensitivity in paranoia: poor-me paranoia protects against the unpleasant effects of social stress
Authors: Udachina A. , Bentall R. P. , Varese F. , Rowse G.
Published: June 2017

Background

The attributional theory of paranoia suggests that paranoid beliefs may protect individuals from low self-esteem and distress (Bentall et al. 2001). The current study tested this theory by investigating a hypothesis that paranoid beliefs in combination with low perceived deservedness of persecution (poor-me beliefs) confer protection against the distress caused by social but not activity related stress.

Methods

Paranoid symptoms, perceived deservedness of persecution, self-esteem, mood, and stress levels of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (N = 91) and healthy controls (N = 52) were assessed in the context of daily life using the experience sampling method.

Results

Individuals holding poor-me beliefs (poor-me individuals) showed blunted sensitivity to social but not activity stress. In contrast, individuals holding paranoid beliefs in combination with high perceived deservedness of persecution (bad-me individuals) showed heightened sensitivity to social stress. No consistent differences in reactions to activity stress emerged. Although both poor-me and bad-me individuals reported low self-esteem, this disturbance was particularly characteristic of bad-me individuals.

Conclusions

The results suggest that poor-me paranoid beliefs may protect individuals against the distress associated with unpleasant social situations. The specificity of reactions to social stress is discussed in the context of wider literature. Future directions for research are suggested.
Practising gender, queering theory
Authors: Wilcox Lauren
Published: June 2017

The development of a ‘practice turn’ in International Relations promises to reconstitute IR theory around the study of embodied practices. Despite occasional references to Judith Butler’s work, the contributions of feminist and queer theory are under recognised in existing work. In this piece I note the distinctive approach to gender as a practice represented by Butler and other feminist/queer theorists for its emphasis on intelligibility and failure, particularly the importance on ‘competently’ practising gender in order to established as an intelligible subject. Given the centrality of ‘competency’ in ‘practice turn’ literature, theorising practice from the perspective of ‘gender failures’ sheds light on the embedded exclusions within this literature. To demonstrate the stakes of this critique, I discuss airport security practices, a growing area of interest to IR scholars, in terms of the experiences of trans- and gender non-conforming people. I argue that such practices ultimately complicate success/failure binaries. I conclude by considering the political stakes of practising theory in IR and how competency in theory is similarly marked by the exclusion of feminist/queer work.
SHAPING QUALITY THROUGH VISION, STRUCTURE, AND MONITORING OF PERFORMANCE AND QUALITY INDICATORS: IMPACT STORY FROM THE QUEBEC TRAUMA NETWORK
Authors: Truchon Catherine , Moore Lynne , Belcaid Amina , Clément Julien , Trudelle Nathalie , Ulysse Marie-Andrée , Grolleau Benoît , Clusiau Jacinthe , Lévesque Danielle , de Guise Michèle
Published: June 2017

Objectives: The Quebec Trauma Care Continuum (TCC) was initiated in 1991 with the objective of providing accessible, continuous, efficient, and high quality services for all injury cases in the province.

Methods: The TCC design relied on three key components: (i) the designation of a network of acute care and rehabilitation facilities with specific mandates and responsibilities; (ii) the elaboration of transfer protocols, standing agreements, and governing structures to ensure fluid and optimal patient flow; and (iii) the close monitoring of several indicators to facilitate the continuous evaluation and improvement of the network.

Results: Between 1992 and 2002, in-hospital mortality following major trauma decreased from 51.8 percent to 8.6 percent, followed by an additional 24 percent drop between 1999 and 2012. We also observed a 16 percent decrease in average LOS but no change in the incidence of complications or unplanned readmissions. These changes translate into 186 lives saved per year and cost savings, due to shorter LOS, of 6.3 million CD$ per year. The risk-adjusted incidence of in-hospital mortality following major injury between 2006 and 2012 (7 percent) was the lowest of all Canadian provinces.

Conclusions: Strategic transformation of a network's structure and processes, supported by continuous monitoring of validated quality indicators, can lead to significant and sustainable improvements in clinical outcomes. It is hoped that the Quebec trauma story will inspire other jurisdictions and other healthcare sectors.
DEVELOPMENTS IN VALUE FRAMEWORKS TO INFORM THE ALLOCATION OF HEALTHCARE RESOURCES
Authors: Oortwijn Wija , Sampietro-Colom Laura , Habens Fay
Published: June 2017

Background:In recent years, there has been a surge in the development of frameworks to assess the value of different types of health technologies to inform healthcare resource allocation. The reasons for, and the potential of, these value frameworks were discussed during the 2017 Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Policy Forum Meeting.

Methods:This study reflects the discussion, drawing on presentations from invited experts and Policy Forum members, as well as a background paper.

Results:The reasons given for a proliferation of value frameworks included: rising healthcare costs; more complex health technology; perceived disconnect between price and value in some cases; changes in societal values; the need for inclusion of additional considerations, such as ethical issues; and greater empowerment of clinicians and patients in defining and using value frameworks. Many Policy Forum participants recommended learning from existing frameworks. Furthermore, there was a desire to agree on the core components of value frameworks, defining the additional value elements as necessary and considering how they might be measured and used in practice. Furthermore, adherence to the principles of transparency, predictability, broad stakeholder involvement, and accountability were widely supported, along with being forward looking, explicit, and consistent across decisions.

Conclusions:Value frameworks continue to evolve with significant implications for global incentives for innovation and access to health technologies. There is a role for the HTA community to address some of the key areas discussed during the meeting, such as defining the core components for assessing the value of a health technology.
ADAPTIVE TESTS OF CONDITIONAL MOMENT INEQUALITIES
Authors: Chetverikov Denis
Published: June 2017

Many economic models yield conditional moment inequalities that can be used for inference on parameters of these models. In this paper, I construct new tests of parameter hypotheses in conditional moment inequality models based on studentized kernel estimates of moment functions. The tests automatically adapt to the unknown smoothness of the moment functions, have uniformly correct asymptotic size, and are rate-optimal against certain classes of alternatives. Some existing tests have nontrivial power against n−1/2-local alternatives of a certain type whereas my methods only allow for nontrivial testing against (n / log n)−1/2-local alternatives of this type. There exist, however, large classes of sequences of well-behaved alternatives against which the tests developed in this paper are consistent and those tests are not.
CONTINUOUS REVIEW INVENTORY MODELS FOR PERISHABLE ITEMS WITH LEADTIMES
Authors: Baron Opher , Berman Oded , Perry David
Published: June 2017

We consider a continuous review (s, S) model of perishable items with lost sales. Once items are perished the entire inventory drops instantaneously to zero. The total cost includes the cost of: ordering, unsatisfied demand, units destroyed, holding, and fixed cost of perishability. Both the time to perishability and the lead times are assumed to be exponentially distributed while two cases of demand distribution are considered: Poisson and compound Poisson with general demand sizes. We study the average cost criterion and provide computational results on the problem of finding the optimal re-order level,s, and order up-to level,S. None of the known work on the subject is as general as the model presented here. Our analysis leads to several insights on the optimal (s, S) policies for perishable items in the presence of lead times. For example, we demonstrate that the effectiveness of a heuristic that ignores perishability (and is also analyzed here) decreases with the demand variability and that the cost may either increase or decrease with this variability.
LIKELIHOOD RATIO ORDERING OF PARALLEL SYSTEMS WITH HETEROGENEOUS SCALED COMPONENTS
Authors: Wang Jiantian
Published: June 2017

This paper considers stochastic comparison of parallel systems in terms of likelihood ratio order under scale models. We introduce a new order, the so-called q-larger order, and show that under certain conditions, the q-larger order between the scale vectors can imply the likelihood ratio order of parallel systems. Applications are given to the generalized gamma scale family.