bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How to implant left bundle branch pacing lead in routine clinical practice
Authors: Chen Keping , Li Yuqiu
Published: September 2019

Introduction

Left bundle branch pacing (LBBP) is characterized with a low and stable pacing capture threshold, relatively narrow QRS duration due to fast left ventricular activation, and direct excitation of the diseased left bundle branch. This report aims to describe the methods, procedural skills, and clinical implications of performing LBBP implantation.

Methods and Results

LBBP is achieved by transventricular‐septal approach. There are two methods to identify the location for LBBP lead placement: the single‐lead method and the dual‐lead method. During implantation, the unique transition of the paced QRS morphology and pacing parameter changes are important for guiding the lead ‐ advancement to the left side of the interventricular septum. In our experience, LBBP can be safely performed in most patients requiring pacemaker therapy.

Conclusion

Clinical development of LBBP is at an early but encouraging phase with increasing clinical use, and a standardized procedure with improved delivery tools and pacing leads is needed, as well as long‐term efficacy and safety.
Inappropriate noise detection in Tendril family pacing leads
Authors: Zhu Dennis W. X. , Chu Matthew M. , Zager Andrew J. , House Chad M. , Xi Min , Zhi Emily W. , Zhu Leah L. , Lavell Kristen A. , Nelson William B.
Published: September 2019

Introduction

Noise oversensing encountered in patients with Abbott Tendril leads in our hospital triggered an internal investigation.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed patients with a Tendril lead model 1688, 1788, 1888, and 2088. Most leads were connected to Abbott generators. To exclude a primary generator issue as the cause of noise oversensing, we enrolled a cohort of patients in whom Medtronic CapSureFix leads model 4076 and 5076 were prospectively connected to similar Abbott generators.

Results

A total of 1063 Tendril leads were implanted in 869 patients. Noise was encountered in 66 leads (6.2%) during a follow‐up of 3.9 years. Most affected leads had normal impedance and only a few of these patients were symptomatic. Reprogramming was attempted in 44 of 66 (67%), and reduced oversensing in 34 of 44 (77%) of these patients. Seventeen malfunctioning leads (1.5%) were replaced, including 16 of 66 (24%) of those with noise. Of the four leads with noise extracted and returned to the manufacturer, lead to device abrasion was identified in two and inner insulation breach in one. None of the 145 Medtronic CapSureFix leads connected to Abbott generators had noise during a follow‐up of 3.6 years.

Conclusion

Noise oversensing was relatively common in Tendril leads, but was not detected in Medtronic leads despite connecting to Abbott generators. Although the majority of the affected leads did not show abnormal impedance, outer or inner insulation breach was identified in three of the four returned leads. As patients with affected leads are generally asymptomatic, most of them can be managed conservatively.
Life stress moderates the effects of preschool behavioral inhibition on anxiety in early adolescence
Authors: Mumper Emma E. , Dyson Margaret W. , Finsaas Megan C. , Olino Thomas M. , Klein Daniel N.
Published: September 2019

Background

Although a robust body of literature implicates temperamental behavioral inhibition (BI) as a prominent risk factor for anxiety disorders, many children with heightened BI do not develop anxiety. The current study examines the role of two forms of life stress (life events and natural disaster exposure) in moderating the relationship between BI in preschoolers and anxiety in early adolescence.

Method

A community sample of 392 3‐year‐old children was administered a laboratory observational assessment of temperament. When children were a mean age 10, the region was struck by a devastating hurricane and exposure to disaster‐related stress was assessed. In early adolescence, youth and a parent were administered the UCLA Life Stress Interview (LSI) to assess behaviorally independent and dependent negative life events during the prior year and youth completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED).

Results

The association between early childhood BI and anxiety symptoms in early adolescence was moderated by both independent life events and disaster‐related stress. Children high in BI at age 3 reported greater anxiety symptoms at age 12 after exposure to higher levels of both forms of stress.

Conclusions

Stress moderated the association between early BI and later anxiety. Importantly, this was evident for two different kinds of stressors that were independent of the child's behavior that increases confidence in the causal role of stress in the development of anxiety in high BI children.
Correlative X‐ray and neutron tomography of root systems using cadmium fiducial markers
Authors: CLARK T. , BURCA G. , BOARDMAN R. , BLUMENSATH T.
Published: September 2019

The interactions between plant roots and soil are an area of active research, particularly in terms of water and nutrient uptake. Because noninvasive, in vivo studies are required, tomographic imaging appears an obvious method to use, but no one imaging modality is well suited to capture the complete system. X‐ray imaging gives clear insight to soil structure and composition; however, water is comparatively transparent to X‐rays and biological matter also displays poor contrast with respect to the pores between soil particles. Neutron imaging presents a complementary view where water and biological matter are better distinguished but the soil minerals are not imaged as clearly as they would be with X‐rays.

This work aims to develop robust methods for complementary X‐ray/neutron tomographic imaging of plant root samples which should lead to new insight into water and nutrient transport in soil. The key challenges of this project are to develop experiments that will meet the requirements of both imaging modalities as well as the biological requirements of the plant samples and to develop ways to register a pair of reconstructed volume images of a sample that will typically have been produced with entirely separate facilities. The use of cadmium fiducial markers for registration has been investigated. Simulations were conducted to investigate the expected registration accuracy as the quantity and distribution of the markers varied. The findings of these simulations were then tested experimentally as plant samples were grown and imaged using neutrons with the IMAT instrument at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell, and with X‐rays at µ‐VIS X‐ray Imaging Centre at the University of Southampton.

Lay Description

The interactions between plant roots and soil are an area of active research, particularly in terms of water and nutrient uptake. The samples used in this research are typically imaged so that they can be studied without digging up the roots and destroying the sample in the process. X‐ray and neutron imaging techniques have both been used as each can show different materials within the sample. Because neither can show all the components of the system by itself, this work explores methods for combining scans of the same sample to give a more complete image of the system. In particular this work focusses on the use of fiducial markers as a strategy for preparing the samples in such a way that the resulting images can be aligned. The effectiveness of this method was tested in simulation and then in practice. The samples used within this work were imaged using neutrons on the IMAT instrument at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell, and with X‐rays at µ‐VIS X‐ray Imaging Centre at the University of Southampton.
Writing Sound: Stenography, Writing Technology, and National Modernity in China, 1890s
Authors: Hou Dongchen
Published: September 2019

Writing practices are often subsumed under the authenticity of speech (Derrida 1976). This grammatological understanding of writing is especially conspicuous in transcription from speech to writing in institutional settings. However, transcription is not simply a “veridical record of speech” (Linell 2005) but imbued with power dynamics  at the interface between writing subjects, technology, and institutions. Drawing on archival material and stenographic works from 1890s China, this article examines human‐technology interactions in Chinese stenography. The emergence of stenography coincided with the ideology of linguistic modernity, the coming of internationalization, and the political agenda of national strength, boiled down to the sensorial shift of authenticity from eye to ear in writing practices. Stenographers were seen as “transparent” mediators between speech and texts. However, the embodied labor of stenographers precludes the perfect and complete representation of sound‐in‐texts. The indexical tie between speech events and “faithful” transcripts is thus broken, complicated by negotiations between the institutional power of political‐technological rationality and  executive subjects, stenographers. The legitimacy within texts, therefore, needs to be reexamined by looking into writing practices happening between stenographers and networks of institutional and technological ideologies.
The art we wear
Authors: Mays Jóna N.
Published: September 2019

Since humans began wearing clothes, we have used them to portray characteristics about ourselves including ethnic origin, tribes, wealth, status, and religion. This paper discusses the intellectual property protection available for clothing designs in the United States, Europe, India, and China. It begins by discussing the history of fashion and fashion designing across the world during different eras. Next, the paper explains the early methods used to protect fashion designs as originators struggled to protect their creations in regimes that had not yet implemented sui generis protection for fashion designs. Some regimes, notably the United States, still do not offer sui generis protection for fashion designs and have greatly limited the industry's ability to self‐regulate against copying. The paper also discusses and compares the current regime of fashion design protection in the United States, European Union, India, and China, including their strengths and deficiencies. Finally, the paper suggests a solution to the lack of protection in the United States that would treat fashion design piracy similarly to the treatment of counterfeit goods.
A frequency‐domain noniterative algorithm for structural parameter identification of shear buildings subjected to frequent earthquakes
Authors: Zhang Jingyao , Aoki Takayoshi
Published: September 2019

System identification is the key technique for damage detection in application of structural health monitoring. In contrast to modal parameters, changes in structural parameters (stiffness and damping) are more sensitive and straightforward for damage detection of a building under severe environments such as earthquakes. In this study, we first present the fundamental theory for direct identification of structural parameters by using the frequency‐domain responses of a shear building in frequent earthquakes. Shear buildings are widely adopted for structural analysis of low‐ and middle‐rise buildings in practice. Modal information, in terms of spectrum ratios, is implicitly used in the proposed noniterative algorithm to greatly improve the estimation accuracy as well as to avoid any human intervention. The fundamental theory is validated by the numerical and physical examples. The numerical examples are further used to verify the high efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of the proposed algorithm against noised responses. The proposed algorithm is highly efficient because no iterative computation is necessary, while the necessary Fourier transform of the dynamic responses is not very time consuming. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is highly accurate and robust because (a) the fundamental theory behind the algorithm is straightforward: the identification values should have the same value irrespective of circular frequencies, according to the theory; (b) error in modal parameter identification is completely avoided because it is unnecessary to identify the exact values of the frequencies as in many existing methods.
Geminivirus C4 antagonizes the HIR1‐mediated hypersensitive response by inhibiting the HIR1 self‐interaction and promoting degradation of the protein
Authors: Mei Yuzhen , Ma Zhonghua , Wang Yaqin , Zhou Xueping
Published: September 2019

Tomato leaf curl Yunnan virus (TLCYnV)‐encoded C4 protein induces the upregulation of the hypersensitive induced reaction 1 (HIR1) gene but interferes with the HIR1‐mediated hypersensitive response (HR).

HIR1 self‐interaction is essential for the HIR1‐induced HR.

TLCYnV C4 impairs the HIR1 self‐interaction and concomitantly increases the amount of Leucine‐Rich Repeat protein 1 (LRR1), a modulator of HIR1, which binds to HIR1. LRR1 promotes the degradation of HIR1, compromising the HIR1‐mediated HR.

This study provides new insights into the mechanisms employed by a viral protein to counter host resistance through the cooption of the host regulatory system.
Agreement between frontal and occipital regional cerebral oxygen saturation in infants during surgery and general anesthesia an observational study
Authors: Jildenstål Pether , Sandin Johan , WarrènStomberg Margareta , Pålsson Jan , Ricksten Sven‐Erik , Snygg Johan
Published: September 2019

Background

Advances in perioperative pediatric care have resulted in an increased number of procedures requiring anesthesia. During anesthesia and surgery, the patient is subjected to factors that affect the circulatory homeostasis, which can influence oxygenation of the brain. Near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an easy applicable noninvasive method for monitoring of regional tissue oxygenation (rScO₂%). Alternate placements for NIRS have been investigated; however, no alternative cranial placements have been explored.

Aim

To evaluate the agreement between frontal and occipital recordings of rScO₂% in infants using INVOSTM during surgery and general anesthesia.

Method

A standard frontal monitoring of rScO₂% with NIRS was compared with occipital rScO₂% measurements in fifteen children at an age <1 year, ASA 1‐2, undergoing cleft lip and/or palate surgery during general anesthesia with sevoflurane. An agreement analysis was performed according to Bland and Altman.

Results

Mean values of frontal and occipital rScO₂% at baseline were largely similar (70.7 ± 4.77% and 69.40 ± 5.04%, respectively). In the majority of the patients, the frontal and occipital recordings of rScO2 changed in parallel. There was a moderate positive correlation between frontal and occipital rScO₂% INVOS™ readings (rho[ρ]: 0.513, P < .01). The difference between frontal and occipital rScO₂ ranged from −31 to 28 with a mean difference (bias) of −0.15%. The 95% limit of agreement was −18.04%‐17.74%. The error between frontal and occipital rScO₂ recordings was 23%.

Conclusion

The agreement between frontal and occipital recordings of brain rScO₂% in infants using INVOSTM during surgery and general anesthesia was acceptable. In surgical procedures where the frontal region of the head is not available for monitoring, occipital recordings of rScO₂% could be an option for monitoring.
Knowledge, safety, and Gettierized lottery cases: Why mere statistical evidence is not a (safe) source of knowledge
Authors: Broncano‐Berrocal Fernando
Published: September 2019

The lottery problem is the problem of explaining why mere reflection on the long odds that one will lose the lottery does not yield knowledge that one will lose. More generally, it is the problem of explaining why true beliefs merely formed on the basis of statistical evidence do not amount to knowledge. Some have thought that the lottery problem can be solved by appeal to a violation of the safety principle for knowledge, i.e., the principle that if S knows that p, not easily would S have believed that p without p being the case. Against the standard safety‐based solution, I argue that understanding safe belief as belief that directly covaries with the truth of what is believed in a suitably defined set of possible worlds forces safety theorists to make a series of theoretical choices that ultimately prevent a satisfactory solution to the problem. In this way, I analyze several safety principles that result from such choices—the paper thus gives valuable insights into the nature of safety—and explain why none solves the lottery problem, including their inability to explain away Gettierized lottery cases. On a more positive note, I show that there is a viable solution in terms of safety if we get rid of the unquestioned assumption that safe beliefs directly track the truth. The alternative is a conception of safe belief according to which what safe beliefs directly track is the appropriateness of the circumstances and, indirectly, the truth. The resulting safety principle, I argue, explains why mere statistical evidence is not a safe source of knowledge.
Organizational Structure, Subsystem Interaction Pattern, and Misalignments in Complex NPD Projects
Authors: Jafari Songhori Mohsen , Nasiry Javad
Published: September 2019

Developing a complex new product requires the firm both to deconstruct that product into subsystems and to create an organizational structure aligned with the product architecture. However, empirical evidence indicates that misalignments do occur and are usually one of two general forms: a “hidden dependency,” which is a missing link between teams responsible for two interacting subsystems; or “spurious communications” between two teams that interact even though their respective subsystems are not linked. We model the product development process as a search on a rugged landscape and study how misalignments affect the performance of the process in both design quality and convergence time. We find that the effects are mediated by the organizational decision‐making structure, and also by the interaction pattern among product subsystems. For instance, with a modular design, a project with a hidden dependency yields higher quality design solutions than a project with spurious communications or an aligned project. However, hidden dependencies cause a longer convergence time. Further, in modular designs spurious communications do not impact quality or convergence time when compared with aligned projects. The effect in non‐modular product designs depends on the organizational decision‐making structure and managerial capability. When decisions are made in a centralized organization that employs a capable manager, spurious communications improve the design quality but could delay the convergence time. We trace the cause of these effects to errors committed by teams in rejecting superior designs, which make the search process more exploratory and covering a wider area of the search landscape.
Why People Join Terrorist Groups in Kuwait: A Qualitative Examination
Authors: Scull Nicholas C. , Alkhadher Othman , Alawadi Salman
Published: September 2019

Qualitative interviews were conducted with nine members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al‐Qaeda currently incarcerated in Kuwait's Central Prison. The semistructured interviews attempted to understand psychosocial factors in Kuwait that contributed to their decision to join extremist organizations. Interviews were analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and the emergent themes identified the following core themes explaining their involvement: (1) religious identity development; (2) personal connections; (3) propaganda; (4) defense of Islam; and (5) social marginalization. Participants described a process whereby their religion became a central part of their personal identity. As their religious identity developed, they became involved in Islamic organizations where they met people involved with ISIS or Al‐Qaeda. These social connections exposed them to jihadi propaganda which, in addition to increased military conflict in the Middle East, crystallized their beliefs that Islam is under attack, and they were religiously obligated to defend it. The results also identified societal factors that increased the probability of engaging in terrorism including relatively low levels of education, coming from low socioeconomic groups in Kuwait, and feeling socially marginalized by broader Kuwaiti society.
Skin pH mapping and its relationship with transepidermal water loss, hydration and disease severity in adult patients with atopic dermatitis
Authors: Zainal Hazleen , Jamil Adawiyah , Md Nor Norazirah , Tang Min Moon
Published: September 2019

Background

Defective skin's acidic mantle is a component of atopic dermatitis (AD) pathophysiology. We mapped the skin pH and determine its relationship with transepidermal water loss (TEWL), hydration and disease severity.

Materials and Methods

A cross‐sectional study involving patients aged ≥18 years. Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) was assessed. Skin pH, TEWL and hydration were measured at 18 pre‐determined sites.

Results

Forty‐eight patients participated, 33(68.8%) females and 15(31.3%) males aged 28.46 ± 12.07 years. The overall skin pH was 5.32 ± 0.68 ranging from 5.16 ± 0.75 to 5.52 ± 0.59. The lowest pH 5.16 ± 0.75 was at anterior leg, popliteal fossae 5.18 ± 0.67, lower back 5.21 ± 0.64, forehead 5.22 ± 0.62, upper back 5.25 ± 0.65 and neck 5.26 ± 0.76. Highest pH was at the cheek 5.52 ± 0.59, anterior thigh 5.47 ± 0.68, dorsal arm 5.46 ± 0.68, volar arm 5.43 ± 0.67 and abdomen 5.39 ± 0.67. Lesional areas’ pH (5.40 ± 0.13) was higher than nonlesional (5.27 ± 0.14), P = .01. pH at AD predilection sites was significantly lower non‐predilection sites (5.26 ± 0.59 vs 5.34 ± 0.64). pH did not correlate with TEWL (r = .23, P = .12), EASI (r = .19, P = .20) and itch (r = .06, P = .70) but correlated with hydration r = −.33, P = .02.

Conclusion

Skin pH was lower at AD predilection sites. There was no correlation between pH with AD severity and TEWL, pH correlated with hydration.
Soil aggregate stability and aggregate‐associated organic carbon under different land use or land cover types
Authors: Dorji Tshering , Field Damien J. , Odeh Inakwu O. A.
Published: September 2019

Soil aggregate stability (SAS) is an indicator for soil condition and is greatly influenced by land use or land cover (LULC) type and other soil and environmental attributes. This study investigated the soil aggregate‐size distribution, SAS, aggregate‐associated organic carbon (AAOC) and the relative importance of factors affecting SAS and AAOC. Based on conditioned Latin hypercube sampling, soil aggregate samples were collected from the “A” horizon and wet sieved into large macroaggregates (>2.0 mm), small macroaggregates (0.25–2.0 mm), microaggregates (0.053–0.25 mm) and mineral fraction (<0.053 mm). The large macroaggregates accounted for 86% to 93% of the total aggregates under all LULC types except under dry land (64%) and paddy land (35%). The SAS under different LULC decreased in the order fir > shrubland > natural grassland > orchard > blue pine > broadleaf > mixed conifer > dry land > paddy land. The AAOC of the large macroaggregates constituted for 76%–90% of the total AAOC under all LULC types except under dry land (65%) and paddy land (38%). While SAS was largely influenced by the AAOC of small macroaggregates, microaggregates and large macroaggregates and LULC type, the AAOC of different aggregate fractions was mostly affected by LULC type, altitude and slope. SAS did not exhibit any significant relationship with the AAOC of different aggregate fractions under the natural LULC types but showed a strong relationship under the agricultural land indicating that AAOC is more critical for SAS under the agricultural land than under the natural LULC.
Examination of the Problems of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature Students Receiving Pedagogical Formation Training
Authors: Polatcan Faruk
Published: September 2019

The aim of this study is to investigate the problems encountered during education by the Department of Turkish Language and Literature students who receive pedagogical formation training. The case study was used as a qualitative research design, in which students’ opinions were obtained by using a semi-structured interview form. 36 students voluntarily participated in the study, in which the convenience sampling method was used. The collected data were evaluated by using the content analysis method. The findings of the study show that the students consider the formation training necessary; that some of the lecturers did not fully teach the curriculum; they had problems with lighting and heating in the classroom; and they could not focus on the departmental courses due to the addition of the formation courses. In addition, students believe that pedagogical formation training should not be used for commercial purposes.
Risk Management in US Diplomatic Security
Authors: Stocking Thomas
Published: September 2019

Over the last thirty-five years, the Department of State (DoS) has experienced four wrenching incidents: the 1983 Beirut embassy bombings; the 1998 East Africa embassy bombings; the 2007 Nisour Square incident; and the 2012 attack on the Benghazi Special Embassy Mission. These tragic events have challenged US approach to diplomatic security, forcing the DoS Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) to become less tolerant of risk and better able to assess and understand the consequences of the risks it continues to face. Drawing on the author’s experience as a special agent within the DS, this chapter examines these four incidents as catalysts for a more robust understanding of risk management in the DoS, outlining their implications on the evolution of US diplomatic security.
Puppet
Authors: Moshenska Joe
Published: September 2019

This chapter opens with a movable image of a dove, representing the Holy Spirit, that was made into a plaything in sixteenth century Germany. It relates this specific object to a wider range of articulated and jointed figures involved in late medieval piety that were often attacked as empty puppets by reformers. It uses these objects to think not about puppets per se but rather about the jointedness or constitutive brokenness of holy things more broadly, particularly relics poised between the sacred and the disgusting. These objects are related to the unstable place of playfulness and the material in Erasmus’s writings, and to the wider place of creative breaking and the disgusting in modern art.
From Bullets to Bureaucracy
Authors: Lurtz Casey Marina
Published: September 2019

Order and progress have long defined both the ambitions and achievements of governments across Latin America at the turn of the century. This chapter demonstrates how local actors also put those ideas into play, working around political violence by engaging with state bureaucracy. In parallel to the political history of popular liberalism, this chapter traces a popular history bureaucratic liberalism. Beginning with the history of a local cacique’s rise to the state governorship, it then traces his decline through the gradual reworking of the apparatus and physical spaces of state institutions into places where producers could work around the cacique’s arbitrary exercise of power. This sidestepping of political authority set the stage for local control over the implementation of reform, even after the cacique’s death. Administration substituted for electoral politics, but administration itself became a means of local assertions of self-governance.
Conclusion
Authors: Lurtz Casey Marina
Published: September 2019

This conclusion illustrates how the book has sought to advance a history of the export boom that understands late nineteenth century globalization through the activities of all those involved in production. Pulling the history of the Soconusco’s export economy through the Mexican Revolution and into the present, it illustrates how this place provides a model for understanding the transformation of rural economies through engagement rather than imposition. State projects for modernization and consolidation manifested on a timeline and in a manner that had much more to do with local need than the desires of higher authorities. This stilted, sometimes stumbling manner of building new legal and commercial institutions may have impeded future economic development. Yet as the nineteenth century slipped into the twentieth, it facilitated the continued involvement of a large swath of local society in export production.
Conclusion
Authors: Camlot Jason
Published: September 2019

The Conclusion to Phonopoetics explores conceptions of voice preservation and models of the voice archive. It takes early ideas of the audible archival artifact (the sound recording) and the event-oriented scenario of its use as useful points of departure for a historically motivated theorization of the voice recording and voice archive at the present time. Specifically, it considers the impact of digital media technologies on the status of the record and its archive. The Conclusion mediates on how the analogue artifact of the sound archive has shaped our ideas and expectations about what a digital repository should be, and reflects on the status of the artifact of study as we move increasingly from the study of material media artifacts to virtual instantiations of the signals those media may once have held, in the form of digital media files.
Networked Technonationalism in the Biomedical Industry
Authors: Ibata-Arens Kathryn C.
Published: September 2019

The book discusses the importance of global competition in biomedical and new-technology sectors to understanding international trade and investment in the twenty-first century. It argues that countries that pursue networked technonationalism (NTN) have been the most effective in improving innovation capacity and fostering frontier-industry growth. Technonationalism is state-led strategic investment in new technologies, perceived as key to national security. From the most closed system (Japan’s classic technonationalism) to the most open, or technoglobal system (Singapore) technationalism exists on a continuum. A typology of knowledge and network regimes is proposed to explain variations in domestic capacities, institutions, and policy and network practices. Comparisons of human capital development (STEM education), knowledge production (scientific citations and patents), institutions supporting innovation (technology licensing organizations, incubators), and interfirm networks and international openness (inward foreign direct investment, engaging with diaspora, and immigration) elucidate distinctions.
South Africa’s Proxy War in Angola
Authors: Groh Tyrone L.
Published: September 2019

This chapter presents a case study for how South Africa used UNITA as a proxy to intervene in the tense civil war in Angola to protect itself from communist influence. Pretoria wanted to prevent the African National Congress from taking over South Africa by force and to minimize Soviet influence in the region. UNITA received relatively overt support, operated with a high degree of autonomy, and had highly divergent objectives. Although the international community rhetorically opposed South Africa’s involvement in Angola, the actions of the United States and Western Europe reflected a more tacit approval. Domestically, South Africa’s public was reluctantly supportive but only on the condition that the costs remain low. Considering that most states had already rhetorically condemned Pretoria’s government and its foreign policy in southern Africa, it is interesting that states failed to raise the international costs of South Africa’s indirect intervention in Angola.
India’s Proxy War in Sri Lanka
Authors: Groh Tyrone L.
Published: September 2019

This chapter presents a case study for how India initially supported the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) covertly to protect ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka and then later had to overtly intervene to stop LTTE’s operations during efforts to broker peace. For the duration of the conflict, India’s support remained covert and plausibly deniable. Inside Sri Lanka, the character of the conflict was almost exclusively ethnic and involved the government in Colombo trying to prevent the emergence of an independent Tamil state. Internationally, the United States, the Soviet Union, and most other global powers, for the most part, remained sidelined. Domestically, India’s government had to balance its foreign policy with concerns about its sympathetic Tamil population and the threat of several different secessionist movements inside its own borders. The India-LTTE case reflects history’s most costly proxy war policy.
Asia's Regional Architecture
Authors: Yeo Andrew
Published: September 2019

Something remarkable has occurred in Asia with little fanfare over the past twenty-five years. Considered severely underinstitutionalized at the end of the Cold War, Asia’s regional architecture is now characterized by a complex patchwork of overlapping alliances and multilateral institutions. How did this happen? Why should we care? And what does this mean for the future of regional order and Asian security? Adopting a new framework grounded in historical institutionalism, this book examines the transformation of Asia’s regional architecture from 1945 to the present. The book traces institutional and political developments in Asia beginning with the emergence of the postwar US bilateral alliance system and covers the debate and contention behind the rise of several post–Cold War multilateral initiatives. These include the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, ASEAN Regional Forum, East Asian Summit, Trans-Pacific Partnership, China-Japan-Korea Trilateral Summit, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the Belt and Road Initiative, among others. Asian policy makers have endeavored to create a set of rules, norms, and institutions to build confidence, facilitate cooperation, improve governance, and ultimately bring peace and order to a region fraught with underlying historical and political tensions. Although Asia’s complex patchwork of institutions may exacerbate regional rivalries, the book demonstrates how overlapping institutions may ultimately bring greater stability to the region.
Rising Regionalism: 1998–2007
Authors: Yeo Andrew
Published: September 2019

Chapter 4 describes the rising phenomena of East Asian regionalism in the wake of the Asian financial crisis and demonstrates how debates between inclusive and exclusive variations of Asian regionalism played out in the development of the regional architecture. The chapter traces the establishment of the ASEAN Plus Three, the East Asia Summit, and the Six-Party Talks. Taken together, these three institutions signified greater political will behind regional multilateralism but also revealed the contentious nature of institution building. The discussion of multilateral developments is juxtaposed to an analysis of the US–South Korea and US-Thailand alliances, and their resilience in an era of greater multilateralism and expanding regionalism.
Impact of Modularity Decisions on a Firm’s Economic Objectives
Authors: Hackl Jennifer , Krause Dieter , Otto Kevin , Windheim Marc , Moon Seung Ki , Bursac Nikola , Lachmayer Roland
Published: September 2019

Research in modularization of product families reveals numerous individual cause and effect impacts of modularity on a firm. There are clearly many interrelated positive and negative economic impacts arising from different activities of the firm impacted by the modular product structures. This makes the construction of an economic business case for modularity difficult, where often the benefits are reduced indirect costs. This paper presents a literature-based network model of how modular product structures affect firm’s economics across the design-to-manufacturing life cycle phases. It shows how (1) changes on modularity properties may lead to (2) different effects within the product’s life cycle phases that (3) have an economic impact on the firm. For instance, modularization can prolong development time of a platform, while shortening the subsequent development times of product variants and lowering manufacturing costs. To validate the proposed model, the given effect chains were compared by industrial experts against nine case study modularization projects by marking effects that were experienced and observed in their projects. The results first revealed that in design, an increase of commonality drove component reuse leading to lower development costs per unit. Second, in procurement, it was found that increased modularity caused better predictability, less purchasing orders, and better purchasing conditions that ultimately lead to lower costs. Third, in production, it was found that a smaller variety of components allowed less process variety, leading to fewer and more optimized processes and therefore lower production costs. We present these cause and effect impacts of modularity as drivers for quantifying the economic impact of modularity.
Numerical Investigation of the Influence of Fiber Geometry on Filtration Performance With a Coupled Lattice Boltzmann–Discrete Element Method
Authors: Fan Jianhua , Lominé Franck , Hellou Mustapha
Published: September 2019

Motion and deposition of solid particles in fibrous filter with circular, diamond, and square fibers are numerically investigated. A coupled Lattice Boltzmann (LB) and discrete element (DE) method is presented and applied to simulate the filtration process in particulate flow, taking into account the mutual interaction between fluid and particle. The influence of pertinent parameters such as the Reynolds number, the particle-to-fiber diameter ratio, and the particle-to-fluid density ratio on filtration performance (pressure drop and capture efficiency) is analyzed for fibrous filter with different fiber cross-sectional shapes. The simulation results indicate that both the pressure drop and the capture efficiency of filter are considerably affected by the fiber’s shape. Dimensionless drag force increases with the Reynolds number when Re > 1. The filter with diamond fiber has a lower pressure drop than that of the circular and square cases. Meanwhile, the deposition of particles on the surface of square fiber is more favorable. From the filter quality factor standpoint, filter with diamond fiber exhibits a better filtration performance.
Discovering Quantities of Circular Motion of a Light-Emitting Toy Train Using a Smartphone Light Sensor
Authors: Kapucu Serkan
Published: September 2019

In recent years, smartphone sensors have been frequently used in educational demonstrations to improve students’ understanding of certain physical kinematic topics. In particular, the sensors on modern smartphones enable students to use their phones as physics mini-laboratories, and they have been used to analyze objects’ speeds and accelerations and to investigate the conservation of energy and magnetic field properties. As a particular example, one of the sensors on smartphones capable of being used to measure the speed and acceleration of light-emitting objects, and the value of g and spring constant, is the smartphone’s light sensor. In similar fashion, we now outline how a smartphone’s light sensor may be used to find the angular velocity, linear velocity, and centripetal acceleration of a light-emitting toy train moving on a circular track.
Reorganization of surviving mammal communities after the end-Pleistocene megafaunal extinction
Authors: Tóth Anikó B. , Lyons S. Kathleen , Barr W. Andrew , Behrensmeyer Anna K. , Blois Jessica L. , Bobe René , Davis Matt , Du Andrew , Eronen Jussi T. , Faith J. Tyler , Fraser Danielle , Gotelli Nicholas J. , Graves Gary R. , Jukar Advait M. , Miller Joshua H. , Pineda-Munoz Silvia , Soul Laura C. , Villaseñor Amelia , Alroy John
Published: September 2019

Extinction leads to restructuring

By most accounts, human activities are resulting in Earth's sixth major extinction event, and large-bodied mammals are among those at greatest risk. Loss of such vital ecosystem components can have substantial impacts on the structure and function of ecological systems, yet fully understanding these effects is challenging. Tóth
et al.
looked at the loss of large-bodied mammals in the Pleistocene epoch to identify potential community assembly effects. They found that the demise of large mammals led to a restructuring and a shift from biotic to abiotic drivers of community structure. Understanding past changes may help predict the community-level effects of the extinctions we are currently driving.

Science
, this issue p.
1305
Comment on “Revised paleoaltimetry data show low Tibetan Plateau elevation during the Eocene”
Authors: Valdes Paul J. , Lin Ding , Farnsworth Alex , Spicer Robert A. , Li Shi-Hu , Tao Su
Published: September 2019

Botsyun
et al
. (Research Articles, 1 March 2019, eaaq1436) have suggested that the Tibetan Plateau was low (substantially less than 3000 meters) during the Eocene, based on a comparison of oxygen isotope proxy data with isotope-enabled climate model simulations. However, we contend that their conclusions are flawed as the result of a number of failings of both the modeling and the data comparison.
Response to Comment on “Revised paleoaltimetry data show low Tibetan Plateau elevation during the Eocene”
Authors: Botsyun Svetlana , Sepulchre Pierre , Donnadieu Yannick , Risi Camille , Licht Alexis , Caves Rugenstein Jeremy K.
Published: September 2019

Valdes
et al
. contest our results, suggesting failings in our modeling approach as well as in our comparison with data. Although their comment points to interesting ideas of improvement, we find that their critique reflects an incomplete understanding of our methods and is not supported by the material they provide.
Virulence Factor Identification in the Banana Pathogen Dickeya zeae MS2
Authors: Feng Luwen , Schaefer Amy L. , Hu Ming , Chen Ruiyi , Greenberg E. Peter , Zhou Jianuan
Published: September 2019

Dickeya zeae
is an emerging banana soft rot pathogen in China. We used genome sequencing and annotation to create an inventory of potential virulence factors and virulence gene regulators encoded in
Dickeya zeae
MS2, a particularly virulent strain. We created mutations in several genes and tested these mutants in a banana seedling infection model. A strain with a mutated proline iminopeptidase gene, homologs of which are important for disease in the
Xanthomonas
species phytopathogens, was attenuated for soft rot symptoms in our model. Understanding how the proline iminopeptidase functions as a virulence factor may lead to insights about how to control the disease, and it is of general importance as homologs of the proline iminopeptidase occur in dozens of plant-associated bacteria.
Using the Endogenous CRISPR-Cas System of
Heliobacterium modesticaldum
To Delete the Photochemical Reaction Center Core Subunit Gene
Authors: Baker Patricia L. , Orf Gregory S. , Kevershan Kimberly , Pyne Michael E. , Bicer Taner , Redding Kevin E.
Published: September 2019

The heliobacteria are the only phototrophic members of the largely Gram-positive phylum
Firmicutes
, which contains medically and industrially important members, such as
Clostridium difficile
and
Clostridium acetobutylicum
. Heliobacteria are of interest in the study of photosynthesis because their photosynthetic system is unique and the simplest known. Since their discovery in the early 1980s, work on the heliobacteria has been hindered by the lack of a genetic transformation system. The problem of introducing foreign DNA into these bacteria has been recently rectified by our group; however, issues still remained for efficient genome editing. The significance of this work is that we have characterized the endogenous type I CRISPR-Cas system in the heliobacteria and leveraged it to assist in genome editing. Using the CRISPR-Cas system allowed us to isolate transformants with precise replacement of the
pshA
gene encoding the main subunit of the photochemical reaction center.
A Conserved Mechanism of APOBEC3 Relocalization by Herpesviral Ribonucleotide Reductase Large Subunits
Authors: Cheng Adam Z. , Moraes Sofia N. , Attarian Claire , Yockteng-Melgar Jaime , Jarvis Matthew C. , Biolatti Matteo , Galitska Ganna , Dell’Oste Valentina , Frappier Lori , Bierle Craig J. , Rice Stephen A. , Harris Reuben S.
Published: September 2019

The APOBEC3 family of DNA cytosine deaminases constitutes a vital innate immune defense against a range of different viruses. A novel counterrestriction mechanism has recently been uncovered for the gammaherpesvirus EBV, in which a subunit of the viral protein known to produce DNA building blocks (ribonucleotide reductase) causes A3B to relocalize from the nucleus to the cytosol. Here, we extend these observations with A3B to include a closely related gammaherpesvirus, KSHV, and a more distantly related alphaherpesvirus, HSV-1. These different viral ribonucleotide reductases also caused relocalization of A3A, which is 92% identical to A3B. These studies are important because they suggest a conserved mechanism of APOBEC3 evasion by large double-stranded DNA herpesviruses. Strategies to block this host-pathogen interaction may be effective for treating infections caused by these herpesviruses.
Development of a neonatal adverse event severity scale through a Delphi consensus approach
Authors: Salaets Thomas , Turner Mark A , Short Mary , Ward Robert M , Hokuto Isamu , Ariagno Ronald L , Klein Agnes , Beauman Sandra , Wade Kelly , Thomson Merran , Roberts Eve , Harrison Judy , Quinn Theresa , Baer Gerri , Davis Jonathan , Allegaert Karel
Published: September 2019

Background

Assessment of the seriousness, expectedness and causality are necessary for any adverse event (AE) in a clinical trial. In addition, assessing AE severity helps determine the importance of the AE in the clinical setting. Standardisation of AE severity criteria could make safety information more reliable and comparable across trials. Although standardised AE severity scales have been developed in other research fields, they are not suitable for use in neonates. The development of an AE severity scale to facilitate the conduct and interpretation of neonatal clinical trials is therefore urgently needed.

Methods

A stepwise consensus process was undertaken within the International Neonatal Consortium (INC) with input from all relevant stakeholders. The consensus process included several rounds of surveys (based on a Delphi approach), face-to-face meetings and a pilot validation.

Results

Neonatal AE severity was classified by five grades (mild, moderate, severe, life threatening or death). AE severity in neonates was defined by the effect of the AE on age appropriate behaviour, basal physiological functions and care changes in response to the AE. Pilot validation of the generic criteria revealed κ=0.23 and guided further refinement. This generic scale was applied to 35 typical and common neonatal AEs resulting in the INC neonatal AE severity scale (NAESS) V.1.0, which is now publicly available.

Discussion

The INC NAESS is an ongoing effort that will be continuously updated. Future perspectives include further validation and the development of a training module for users.
Symptomatic stress reaction of the humerus in a professional cricketer
Authors: Beech Matthew , Nagra Navraj S , Wedatilake Thamindu , Kluzek Stefan
Published: September 2019

A symptomatic bone stress reaction is an early pathological feature, which can lead to stress fractures. It typically affects bones of the lower limbs in response to unaccustomed disproportional compressive loading. Professional sportspeople are susceptible to both bone stress reaction and stress fractures, where training regimes and competition predispose to overuse injuries. We discuss a unique case of a professional cricketer developing pain in the throwing arm due to bone stress reaction in the distal humerus, as confirmed on MRI. Modification of the patient’s training regime, presented in this case, facilitated complete recovery within 6 weeks. The positive response to modified training suggests a biomechanical origin of the pain. This case illustrates that tensile stress associated with throwing activities can result in a symptomatic bone stress reaction of the humerus in elite cricketers.