bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Terrestrial Parasitengona (except chiggers) of China: a review of progress in systematics and biology, with a checklist of species
Authors: ZHANG ZHI-QIANG
Published: November 2019

This paper reviews the research on taxonomy and biology of the terrestrial Parasitengona (except chiggers) in China, with an updated checklist of 47 species (+9 undetermined species) belonging to 5 superfamilies, 9 families and 25 genera.  Major contributions to the Chinese fauna of the terrestrial Parasitengona were made by Zhang Zhi-Qiang and his colleagues, Zheng Bo-Yi  and R. Haitlinger.  There have been some studies on the biology and use in biological control of the Trombidioidea and Erythraeiodea in China and these are briefly reviewed.
Pheromone gland musculature in Phryganeidae: Structural features, postcopulatory modification and taxonomic significance

Authors: MELNITSKY STANISLAV I. , IVANOV VLADIMIR D. , ZUEVA LYDIA V.
Published: November 2019

Ultrastructure of the cells forming the sternal glands in males and both fertilized and virgin females of Phryganea bipunctata Retzius and Phryganea grandis L. has been studied by optical and transmission electron microscopy. The structures involved in the synthesis and excretion of pheromone mixtures consist of 4 types of cells: secretory, canal, muscle and epidermal. The secretory and canal cells form a compound structure where the secretory cells produce the secretion, while the canal cells form the conducting and receiving cuticular canals, which participate in conducting the secretion to the cavity of a cuticular reservoir.  The cuticle of the reservoir is rough and has numerous folds. Muscle fibers are situated between the epidermal cells and the  secretory cells in several layers, which are  perpendicular  to each other. The presence of muscle fibers in pheromone glands is in agreement with the eliciting of the droplets from the gland orifice in this family. The structure of muscle fibers changes in inseminated  females: they become more loose and apparently non-functional. The ultrastructure of secretory cells of the pheromone glands evidences also the greater functional activity of these glands in females as compared to the cells of males. The presence of muscle fibers in the examined pheromone glands in Trichoptera suggests these structures to be a putative apomorphy of Phryganeidae.
Environmental factors influencing the distribution of EPT assemblages in streams of Lake Balaton’s catchment area, Hungary
Authors: MÓRA ARNOLD , SZIVÁK ILDIKÓ , DEÁK CSABA , BODA RÉKA , CSABAI ZOLTÁN , SÁLY PÉTER , TAKÁCS PÉTER , ERŐS TIBOR , BÍRÓ PÉTER
Published: November 2019

Lake Balaton is the largest shallow lake in Central Europe. A large part of its catchment area is a reputable and popular tourism area, where the quality of surface waters is in the center of public and scientific interest. The inflows of Lake Balaton are vulnerable, due to the strong human activity upstream. Despite their significance, the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities of these inflow streams are poorly known. In the summer of 2008, we investigated the distributional pattern of EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) assemblages, and their relationships with selected physico-chemical factors and landscape characteristics at different spatial scales. Samples were taken according to the AQEM sampling protocol at 20 stream sections with different environmental conditions. Multivariate analyses were used for evaluation. Altogether 8131 specimens (6225 Ephemeroptera, 133 Plecoptera, 1773 Trichoptera) belonging to 55 species (25 Ephemeroptera, 2 Plecoptera, 28 Trichoptera) were identified. Cloeon dipterum (L.) and Baetis spp. were the most common mayfly taxa, while caddisfly communities were dominated by limnephilids [Anabolia furcata Brauer, Potamophylax rotundipennis (Brauer)] and hydropsychids [Hydropsyche saxonica McLachlan, H. angustipennis (Curtis)]. The distribution of EPT assemblages was highly affected by pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, temperature and total dissolved solids. At reach scale, relationships were detected between spatial patterns of EPT assemblages and structure of riparian vegetation, type of sediment, and some hydromorphological characteristics (e.g., depth and width of stream bed, cover of aquatic vegetation, etc.). At medium and large scale, the ratio of natural and human-impacted areas proved to be the most influential factor.
Two new species of Ochrotrichia (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) from the southwestern United States

Authors: RUITER DAVID E.
Published: November 2019

Descriptions and figures are provided for two new species of Ochrotrichia Mosely 1934 from Southern California and Arizona, United States, O. bickfordae, n. sp., and O. bogani, n. sp.  Both species have the combination of a relatively simple 10th tergum and long inferior appendages.
The drift of Trichoptera larvae in a river with a disturbed hydrological regime
Authors: TSZYDEL MARIUSZ , SZCZERKOWSKA-MAJCHRZAK ELIZA
Published: November 2019

The aim of the study, carried out in a section of the Drzewiczka River downstream of a dam reservoir and a white-water canoeing track, was to estimate seasonal changes in the number of drifting invertebrates, especially Trichoptera and their body size and weight as compared with individuals living in benthos. It was also important to determine environmental factors which have the most significant influence on transported invertebrate fauna.      The abundance of Trichoptera in benthos and drift was estimated for stonegravel habitats at 2 study sites; one just downstream of a canoeing track, which underwent flow fluctuations, marked as disturbed (D), and the other, control site (N), 10 km farther downstream, where no changes caused by 2 hydro-constructions were noticed.      The percentage of dominant Trichoptera in drift [U coefficient, %] ranged from 0.0001 (Hydropsyche contubernalis McLachlan) to 0.06 (Halesus sp.). The U value for Trichoptera was 0.0005 and 0.012 at the 2 study sites, respectively, which indicates that when there was no correlation with the flow/current velocity, drifting preferences of Trichoptera were random or dependent on seasons, seasonal reservoir management, and larval concentration in the benthos, and at the same time independent of canoeist training. The highest number of drifting individuals was observed between March/April and August/September. This might be connected with a release of a larger amount of water from the impoundment after spring thaw and autumn rain, especially because sudden increases in water level and current velocity were noticed at that time.      The increase in abundance of early developmental stages (juvenile) of caddis larvae in drift took place mainly in autumn and winter, whereas larvae at more advanced developmental stages were more frequently noticed in late spring. The differences in Trichopteran sizes at their 3th, 4th and 5th larval instars representing benthos and drift were observed by comparing the width of the head capsule [mm] and body mass [mg] of the examined individuals. Organisms transported in running water were definitely smaller than benthic ones, with the exception of the most developed larvae of H. pellucidula (Curtis).
Evolutionary riddles and phylogenetic twiddles: the ground plan and early diversification of the sternum V gland in Amphiesmenoptera (Trichoptera + Lepidoptera)

Authors: DJERNÆS MARIE , SPERLING FELIX A. H.
Published: November 2019

Despite the sternum V gland being a well known synapomorphy for Trichoptera and Lepidoptera, its ancestral configuration is uncertain. We investigated the sternum V gland in a wide variety of Trichoptera and Lepidoptera to resolve this question. We propose the ground plan to be constituted as follows: The gland is invaginated from sternum V with a slit-like opening and a U-shaped (in cross section) gland duct just inside the opening. Opening muscles originate anteromedially on sternum VI and insert on the walls of the gland duct just inside the opening. The gland reservoir is pressed against the cuticle of sternum IV and in females this area of cuticle is hyaline and perforated. A distinctive arrangement of muscle fibres originates around the perforated cuticle; they insert on the walls of the gland reservoir and facilitate secretion of gland products through the perforated cuticle. Other significant findings were the presence of 2 nonhomologous types of opening muscles in Trichoptera and the scattered distribution of retained ancestral gland features; the latter might imply that these features have been retained as genetic pathways without being physically present in all ancestors of the extant species exhibiting the features.
Field and greenhouse evaluation of spirodiclofen against Panonychus ulmi and Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Serbia*

Authors: MARCIC DEJAN , MUTAVDZIC SLAVKA , MEDJO IRENA , PRIJOVIC MIRJANA , PERIC PANTELIJA
Published: November 2019

Spirodiclofen, an acaricide with a novel mode of action (inhibition of lipid synthesis), has recently been commercialized and recommended as a compound that effectively controls mite populations resistant to other acaricides. The efficacy of the spirodiclofen against European red mite [Panonychus ulmi (Koch)] on apple, and two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) on greenhouse cucumber was tested in Serbia from 2004 to 2008. Spirodiclofen efficacy was compared to the effectiveness of several other acaricides (bifenthrin, clofentezine, fenazaquin, fenpyroximate) that had been in use for some time. The acaricides were applied at their recommended application rates. Control efficacy against P. ulmi was tested in a commercial apple orchard at Morovic (45°00.711’N; 19°15.146’ E). Applied at the BBCH 09 growth stage (green leaf tips about 5 mm above bud scales) against overwintering eggs, spirodiclofen achieved 89.1 and 86.0% efficacy in evaluations 12 and 25 DAT (days after treatment), respectively. Similar effectiveness was demonstrated for fenazaquin (91.3 and 84.4%), while clofentezine achieved a considerably lower efficacy (67.4 and 27.8%, respectively). In three trials involving the summer population of P. ulmi in three vegetation seasons, spirodiclofen achieved high and steady efficacy: 91% (15 DAT), 97.2% (30 DAT) and 98% (45 DAT) in the first season; 95.2% (14 DAT), 96.3% (29 DAT) and 95.7% (47 DAT) in the second season; and 97.4% (14 DAT), 95.6% (21 DAT) and 97% (38 DAT) in the third season. The highest clofentezine efficacy in the first season was 90.9% (30 DAT), 77.4% (29 DAT) in the second and 68.1% (21 DAT) in the third season. Bifenthrin achieved the highest efficacy in the first season, 78.2% (15 DAT), while it declined to 65.9% (14 DAT) in the second and was practically negligible in the third season. Such unsatisfactory efficacies of bifenthrin and clofentezine were probably the result of resistance development under selection pressure of these compounds at Morovic. The efficacy of fenpyroximate, tested in the second season, was high (97.4%) in evaluations 14 and 29 DAT, but it was only 50.3% in evaluation 47 DAT. Efficacy in controlling T. urticae was tested in a commercial greenhouse in Padinska Skela (44°57.012’ N; 20°25.741’ E). In evaluations 6 and 10 DAT, spirodiclofen achieved 98.4 and 96.8% efficacy, while clofentezine effectiveness was 95.4 and 93.4%, and bifenthrin efficacy 96.5 and 98.8%, respectively. The results showed that spirodiclofen is effective in controlling European red mite on apple and twospotted spider mite on cucumber, and a good alternative to older acaricides.
Impact of the date of transplanting on population dynamics of the rice sheath mite, Steneotarsonemus spinki Smiley (Acari: Tarsonemidae), on the rice cultivar IET-4786 in the Gangetic Plains ofWest Bengal, India*

Authors: KARMAKAR KRISHNA , GUPTA SALIL K.
Published: November 2019

West Bengal is one of the main rice producing Indian states, where about 14 million t are produced in 6.2 million ha. In recent years, the rice sheath mite, Steneotarsonemus spinki Smiley, has been one of the most destructive mite pests of this crop in the Bengal Basin, especially in the wet season. It colonizes the leaf sheath, causing chaffy and sterile grains and brownish patches on the affected plant parts.An experiment was conducted to study the impact of five different dates of transplanting (at seven day intervals) of rice cultivar IET-4786 on mite density and crop yield. The study was conducted from July to November 2007 in Kalyani, West Bengal. Rice sheath mite population increased gradually, reaching the maximum level on September 25 on plants of the first three planting dates, and on October 5, on plants of the last two planting dates. The result revealed that peak incidence of mite occurred at the ripening stage of the first three planting dates, but significantly higher number of mite population and damage symptoms in all plants were observed in the last two planting dates, at the panicle emerging to flowering stage. Poor yield was obtained from plants of the last planting date, which could be due to the sheath mite attack.
The effect of fire on soil oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) in a South African grassland*

Authors: HUGO-COETZEE ELIZABET A. , AVENANT NICO L.
Published: November 2019

Fire is a natural disturbance factor in southern African grasslands, and has become an important management tool for conservation of these habitats. Information on the impact of fire on any aspect of biodiversity will assist land managers to make more informed decisions on a fire regime that will conserve biodiversity in these grasslands. This is the first study to examine the responses of mite assemblages to fire disturbance in South African grasslands. The study was conducted in the Erfenis Dam Nature Reserve in central South Africa. An area of the Reserve was burned with a fast, hot fire while another area was left unburned as a control. Soil oribatid mites were collected over a period of one year from the burned and control areas. Oribatid assemblages exhibited seasonal patterns, with species richness and abundance slightly higher in early and late autumn and early spring. Four months after fire, there was no residual effect of fire on total abundance and species richness. However, species composition and the seasonal relative abundances of particular species, e.g. Multioppia wilsoni Aoki, 1964, Scheloribates confusia Coetzer, 1968 and Anellozetes auriculatus (Mahunka, 1984), differed between burned and control plots, demonstrating how targeted species can be investigated as indicators of post-fire recovery.
Mites associated with the ruddy ground dove, Columbina talpacoti (Temminck, 1810), in São Paulo State, Brazil

Authors: MORAES DAVI L. , GOULART THAÍS M. , PRADO ANGELO P.
Published: November 2019

Mites associated with birds have different relationships with their hosts, ranging from accidental association to true ecto- and endoparasitism. A total of 51 samples of the ruddy ground dove, Columbina talpacoti (Temminck, 1810) (Columbiformes), from São Paulo State, Brazil, were examined for mites. Five of the samples were nests.Mites belonging to the following taxa were found:Astigmata—Analgidae (three species), Falculiferidae (four species) and an unidentified Pyroglyphidae species; Mesostigmata—a single species of Macronyssidae; Prostigmata—a single species each of Cheyletidae, Ereynetidae, Harpirhynchidae and Syringophilidae. Diplaegidia columbigallinae Cerny´, 1975 and Byersalges talpacoti Cerny´, 1975 were the most frequent species. Known associations of each mite species to other columbiform birds are reported.
Comparative and functional morphology of the mouthparts in larvae of Parasitengona (Acariformes)*

Authors: SHATROV ANDREY B.
Published: November 2019

Anatomy and ultrastructural organization of the larval mouthparts in representatives of terrestrial (Trombiculidae parasitizing vertebrates and Microtrombidiidae parasitizing arthropods) as well as aquatic (Pionidae and Hydrodromidae parasitizing arthropods) families from the cohort Parasitengona were studied using whole-mount preparations, semi-thin sections and TEM and SEM methods. In these groups, the organization of the mouth apparatus differs significantly especially with regard to their particular functional specialization and adaptations reflecting evolutionary trends in these groups. In trombiculid larvae, the mouthparts reveal the simplest organization. The gnathosoma is totally free, the infracapitulum and the basal cheliceral segments are short and wide, and the latter are separated from each other. The flexible lateral lips form a temporary sucker, distinguishable when the larva feeds, and the pharynx is totally fused with the bottom of the infracapitulum. In microtrombidiid larvae, the gnathosoma is covered by the arched dorsal shield, the chelicerae are comparatively long and separated, and the lateral lips form a permanent sucker provided with an internal sclerite. Conversely, in water mite larvae, the chelicerae are fused together and either partially (Piona carnea) or totally (Hydrodroma despiciens) free from the overhanging idiosomal fold. The lateral lips are flexible and organized freely, and the pharynx is totally separated from the bottom of the infracapitulum. In general, water mite larvae show significant variations and specializations but at the same time seem to possess the most plesiomorphic characters in organization of the mouth apparatus. The ancestral parasitengone may have given rise to divergent groups of water mites as such, as well as to trombiculids with the secondary simplification of the mouth apparatus and to microtrombidiids with their particular additional adaptations and specialization in organization of the mouthparts.
Asymmetry in the number of solenidia on tarsi II of Brevipalpus (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) populations from Argentina*

Authors: KITAJIMA ELLIOT W. , TASSI ALINE D. , NOVELLI VALDENICE M. , CACERES SARA , AGUIRRE ALCIDES , COSTA NORMA , DE MORAES GILBERTO J.
Published: November 2019

To verify the prevailing Brevipalpus species in citrus orchards affected by leprosis in Argentina, specimens of this genus were collected mainly from ‘Valencia’ and ‘Hamlin’ varieties of sweet orange plants from experimental and commercial plantations at Bella Vista, Corrientes Province, Concordia, Entre Rios Province and Saens Peña, Chaco Province. Examinations under light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to identify the species based on external morphological characteristics. A mixture of typical Brevipalpus obovatus Donnadieu and Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) was found, with prevalence of the former (43.7 versus 27.2%) in the 327 adult females examined. However, 29% of the total number of females examined were atypical, having one solenidion (ù”) on one of tarsi II and two (ù’ and ù”) on the other, either left or right. To investigate whether this variation was also common elsewhere, several Brevipalpus populations of the obovatus species-group from Chile (Brevipalpus chilensis Baker), Brazil (B. obovatus and B. phoenicis), Costa Rica and Paraguay (B. phoenicis in both countries) were examined. Asymmetric numbers of tarsus II solenidia were found in 11 of the 1,993 examined adult female specimens of these populations. The results suggested a relation between the high proportion of asymmetric mites in Argentina and the occurrence of a mixed population of both B. obovatus and B. phoenicis; however, present knowledge about the apparently parthenogenetic system of reproduction of these species does not support the hypothesis that asymmetric mites could be the hybrids of those species. Thus, the factor leading to high proportions of asymmetric Brevipalpus in Argentina remains unknown.
Redescription of Peniculus minuticaudae Shiino, 1956 (Copepoda: Pennellidae) from aquarium-held marine fishes in Japan, with notes on its occurrence and life cycle in captivity

Authors: OKAWACHI HIROKO , UYENO DAISUKE , OGINO KOTARO , NAGASAWA KAZUYA
Published: November 2019

Infections with the pennellid Peniculus minuticaudae Shiino, 1956 occurred on three species of marine fishes, the unicorn leatherjacket filefish, Aluterus monoceros (L.), the hairfinned leatherjacket, Paramonacanthus japonicus (Tilesius), and the brown-banded butterflyfish, Roa modesta (Temminck & Schlegel), held at a public aquarium in Kagoshima, Japan. Using specimens from the aquarium and type material, the postmetamorphic and premetamorphic adult females of P. minuticaudae are redescribed. The adult male, copepodid I, and late chalimus stages are described for the first time. The three fish species represent new host records for P. minuticaudae. Fishes were found heavily infected with P. minuticaudae, and extensive lesions associated with infections were found on the skin and around the fin rays of R. modesta. While pennellids usually use two hosts during their life cycle, it is very likely that P. minuticaudae completes its life cycle using one host, as suggested by copepodids, chalimi, adult males, premetamorphic adult females, and postmetamorphic adult females of the parasite all being found on a single fish.
Review of the genus Daplasa Moore (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Lymantriinae) from China, with description of new species
Authors: PANG XING-YAN , RINDOŠ MICHAL , KISHIDA YASUNORI , WANG HOU-SHUAI
Published: November 2019

The tussock moth genus Daplasa Moore, 1879 is reviewed from China. Hitherto four species are recognized, where one new species, D. nivisala sp. n., is described and one new combination D. melanoma (Collenette, 1938) comb. n. is proposed. Adults and their genital structures are provided, together with a key to the species of Daplasa with the occurrence in China.
A Fast Mode Decision Algorithm for Intra Prediction in High Efficiency Video Coding
Authors: Si Wen , Zhang Qian , Shi Zhengcheng , Wang Bin , Yan Tao , Chen Yihai
Published: November 2019

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is the next generation video coding standard. In HEVC, 35 intra prediction modes are defined to improve coding efficiency, which result in huge computational complexity, as a large number of prediction modes and a flexible coding unit (CU) structure
is adopted in CU coding. To reduce this computational burden, this paper presents a gradient-based candidate list clipping algorithm for Intra mode prediction. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can reduce 29.16% total encoding time with just 1.34% BD-rate increase and –0.07
dB decrease of BD-PSNR.
Image Segmentation Algorithm Combined with Regularized P-M De-Noising Model and Improved Watershed Algorithm
Authors: Chen Guorui
Published: November 2019

Aiming at the problems of noise sensitivity and unclear contour in existing MRI image segmentation algorithms, a segmentation method combining regularized P-M de-noising model and improved watershed algorithm is proposed. First, the brain MRI image is pre-processed to obtain a brain
nuclear image. Then, the brain nuclear image is de-noised by a regularized P-M model. After that, the image is preliminarily segmented by the traditional watershed algorithm to extract the features of each small region. Finally, the small regions are merged by Fuzzy Clustering with Spatial
Pattern (FCSP) to obtain the segmentation image with smooth edges. The experimental results show that the algorithm can accurately segment the gray matter (GM), white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) regions. The average AOM and ME of the segmentation results on the BrainWeb dataset
reached 0.93 and 0.04, respectively.
Death at the Border: Revisiting the Debate in Light of the Euro-Mediterranean Migration Crisis
Authors: Pécoud Antoine
Published: November 2019

Migrant deaths at the border is a long-standing consequence of border control. The lethal effects of irregular migration have become particularly salient in the Euro-Mediterranean region since the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011, as several thousand migrants have been losing their lives every year. This special issue of American Behavioral Scientist revisits the debate on border deaths in the light of this context. This article introduces this special issue and outlines the key arguments developed therein.
Assessment of the Impact of Pharmacist-led Transitions of Care Services in a Primary Health Center
Authors: Njonkou Gaelle , Gbadamosi Kikelola , Muhammad Sheheryar , Chughtai Imran , Le Giang , Fabayo Adenrele , Tran Haijing , Lam Beatrix , Senay Meriam , DeLaine Letitia , McSwain Chelsea , Price DeAngelo
Published: November 2019

Background: The impact of pharmacist-led transition of care services with collaborative drug therapy management has shown to improve patients’ outcomes and decrease health costs. Compelling statistics show higher readmission rates for under-insured patients compared with insured patients at primary health care clinics. Methods: This is a single center, prospective, cohort study designed to examine team-based collaborative drug therapy management and its effect on therapeutic outcomes of under-insured patients with target chronic diseases managed in a primary health center. Targeted chronic diseases included dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, anticoagulation disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure. The primary outcome measures included percentage of time in therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) and percentage of patients at targeted goals of blood pressure, lipids, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Secondary outcomes included reduced emergency department visits, number of patient encounters, hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge, and disease exacerbation rates. Results: Patients were at INR goal 58% of the time compared with 52% at baseline ( P = .66). There was a 9% improvement in mean HbA1c in the intervention group when compared with baseline (9.6% vs 10.9%, P = .03). With pharmacist intervention, 73.8% of the patients had their blood pressure at goal compared with 50% at baseline ( P = .14). A limited number of patients were readmitted for different reasons, including uncontrolled disease states. Conclusions: The pharmacist-physician collaborative drug therapy management led to improved blood pressure control, average HbA1c, and time in therapeutic INR range. A decrease in health care utilization was also identified.
Bridging competing demands through co-leadership? Potential and limitations
Authors: Gibeau Émilie , Langley Ann , Denis Jean-Louis , van Schendel Nicolas
Published: November 2019

Collective leadership arrangements in which two people jointly occupy a shared leadership role space are often thought to enable the bridging of competing demands and sources of expertise and legitimacy in pluralistic settings where multiple institutional logics coexist. This research investigates 20 co-leadership dyads in health care organizations to examine whether, when, and how co-leadership arrangements can enable the bridging of institutional logics. Empirical findings suggest that the potential for bridging through co-leadership arrangements is present, but that it may often be achieved through the assimilation of one side by the other rather than balanced integration of competing demands. We conclude that the challenge of collective leadership (and of co-leadership, in particular) may lie not only in developing smooth relations among multiple leaders and their followers, but also in maintaining and mobilizing the tensions that can make their collaboration most fruitful. We suggest that the collective leadership literature has often missed the significance of this central paradox: that collective leadership may be most needed where it is most difficult to achieve. When it seems to operate most smoothly, it is possible that it may not always be fulfilling its mission.
Expanding Curriculum-Based Measurement in Written Expression for Middle School
Authors: Truckenmiller Adrea J. , McKindles Jessica V. , Petscher Yaacov , Eckert Tanya L. , Tock Jamie
Published: November 2019

This study provides significant advances in the understanding and utility of writing assessment for progress monitoring writing instruction. We explored the validity of a new writing tool that asks students in Grades 3 through 8 to read and respond to informational passages. The written response is then scored for writing fluency. Results indicated that students’ writing fluency facilitated their writing quality and predicted 70% to 95% of the variance in writing achievement among students in middle school and 31% of the variance in Grade 3. To further validate the use of passages in progress monitoring, we used a rigorous method (latent variable equating) to remove the measurement error due to different passages. Considerations for instructional decisions based on writing assessment, as well as limitations of the study, are discussed.
To Democratize Finance, Democratize Central Banking
Authors: Woodruff David M.
Published: November 2019

Robert C. Hockett’s “franchise view” argues, convincingly, that the capacity of banks or quasi-bank financial entities to create money rests on the laws, regulations, and guarantees of the state under which they operate. Fred Block advocates the use of this insight as a beachhead for establishing the legitimacy of locally embedded, nonprofit lenders whose investments would be dedicated to public purposes. However, given the pervasive influence of “everyday libertarianism,” which fosters blindness to the public character of private economic power, this commentary warns of possible counterproductive consequences of this proposal unless it is fused to the democratization of central banking. An end to central bank independence would highlight the ineliminable role of the state in the market and make that role easier to reshape. It would also end the dynamic whereby monetary easing provides political cover for damaging fiscal austerity and thus lead to better democratic deliberation on the contours of policy.
Finance without Financiers
Authors: Hockett Robert C.
Published: November 2019

Finance orthodoxy views finance capital as privately supplied, inherently scarce, and limited to assets accumulated by rentiers and held in financial institutions to be “intermediated” between virtuous savers and needful end users. But this “intermediated scarce private capital” orthodoxy is false and profoundly antagonistic to both democracy and productive investment. This article offers a more accurate portrayal that captures the critical role the public plays in generating and allocating its own full faith and credit in monetized form. The financial system then looks like a franchise arrangement in which the public is franchiser and the institutions dispensing its full faith and credit are its franchisees. A post-capital-scarcity account of publicly underwritten finance explicitly recognizes both the propriety and the necessity of the public’s taking an active role in modulating and allocating its credit aggregates across the economy it constitutes.
The effects of the combined process of enzymatic bleach clean-up, enzymatic defibrillation and dyeing on the comfort and physical properties of Tencel/cotton knitted fabrics
Authors: Şardağ Sibel , Toprak Tuba , Aniş Pervin
Published: November 2019

This study aimed to investigate the comfort and physical properties of raw and finished knitted fabrics made of yarns with different Tencel/cotton blend ratios. For this purpose, Ne 20 yarns were produced with the same twist coefficient on the same production line. Fabric samples were produced on the same knitting machine. The raw fabrics were subjected to two different combined enzymatic pre-treatments and dyeing processes. In the first process, enzymatic defibrillation and dyeing were carried out in the same bath. In the second, enzymatic bleach clean-up, defibrillation and dyeing were conducted in the same bath. The comfort and physical properties of all the raw and finished fabric samples were measured according to the relevant standards. The results were assessed statistically. The results of this study showed that with increased percentage of Tencel in the blend, the water vapor and air permeability, fabric roughness, pilling, thermal absorption and loss of mass values of the fabrics increased, whereas thermal conductivity values decreased. It was observed that the fabrics which were subjected to enzymatic defibrillation and dyeing processes in a single bath gave lower surface roughness and abrasion values but higher air permeability values; while those subjected to enzymatic bleach clean-up, defibrillation and dyeing in a single bath gave higher thermal conductivity and thermal absorptivity values. Comparison of the two processes showed that there were no significant differences in the pilling and the water vapor permeability values obtained from both processes.
Neighbourhood-scale public spaces, inter-group attitudes and migrant integration in Beijing, China
Authors: Liu Zhilin , Tan Yiming , Chai Yanwei
Published: November 2019

Cities worldwide face the challenge of persistent social polarisation that is exacerbated by the mass migration of populations. Scholars have debated whether the planning of public spaces, which presumably fosters inter-group encounter, potentially reduces prejudice against minorities such as migrants, and eventually promotes social inclusiveness. This research uses a large-scale questionnaire survey conducted in 36 neighbourhoods (estates) in Beijing, China, combined with field observations and interviews, to investigate whether the presence, perception and use of neighbourhood-scale spaces of encounter are relevant in predicting residents’ attitudes towards migrant social inclusion, particularly with respect to equal access to citizenship and government welfare. Qualitative and quantitative analyses found that residents’ inclusiveness attitude is less associated with the physical presence of public spaces and facilities in the neighbourhood, and more with actually using such spaces for neighbourly encounters in daily life. The findings echo recent critiques of the romanticised view of public spaces for urban encounters, and suggest that neighbourhood planning of public spaces should incorporate elements from social projects that facilitate meaningful interaction between native and migrant residents to achieve the goal of building an inclusive city.
Measuring neighbourhood social and economic change for urban health studies
Authors: Bilal Usama , Franco Manuel , Lau Bryan , Celentano David , Glass Thomas
Published: November 2019

Neighbourhood change is a complex phenomenon. To study its consequences for health outcomes, we developed a measure of neighbourhood social and economic change for all census tracts ( n = 2272) in the entire city of Madrid (Spain) in two epochs (2005–2009 and 2009–2013). We used a finite mixture modelling approach with 16 indicators from several administrative sources. We found four types of neighbourhoods: Decreasing Socioeconomic Status (SES) areas with increased diversity and decreased socioeconomic status; New Housing/Gentrification areas with high residential mobility, new housing construction and with markers of gentrification in the crisis epoch; Increasing SES areas with increased socioeconomic status and decreased diversity; and Aging areas with an aging population, low residential mobility and no new construction. We describe the baseline predictors of these types of change, finding that there is a potential widening of socioeconomic gaps, as Increasing SES areas start with higher SES, and Decreasing SES areas start with lower SES. We found a change in the spatial distribution of these types between the first and second epochs, as New Housing/Gentrification areas became more common in the centre of the city. We discuss two potential applications of this type of model to the study of the consequences of residential environment changes for health determinants and health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on retail food environments and diabetes incidence.
How Guests Develop Trust in Hosts: An Investigation of Trust Formation in P2P Accommodation
Authors: Park Sangwon , Tussyadiah Iis P.
Published: November 2019

As peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation service often involves multistage interactions between hosts and guests in online and offline settings, trust between the parties involved is of the utmost importance. In particular, the possibility of interacting offline in P2P service delivery highlights the significance of interpersonal trust between hosts and guests. Accordingly, this study examines the formation of trusting beliefs in hosts, comprising prospective guests’ perception of the ability, benevolence, and integrity of the hosts. This study estimated the effects of two antecedents—propensity to trust and trust in P2P platform—on trusting beliefs, as well as the consequence of trusting beliefs, that is, behavioral intention to book from the host. Important implications for trust formation in a P2P accommodation marketplace are provided.
Disambiguating and Specifying Social Actors in Big Data: Using Wikipedia as a Data Source for Demographic Information
Authors: Poschmann Philipp , Goldenstein Jan
Published: November 2019

Despite the recent and ongoing progress in using text-mining tools to automatically analyze large text corpora, there remains significant potential to facilitate the study of social action in social science research. In this context, particularly the disambiguation (who is referred to in a text?) and specification (which demographic characteristics are present?) of social actors—currently a manual job—remains a challenge. This article demonstrates a reliable and accurate software architecture for social scientists who are interested in automatically detecting, disambiguating, and demographically specifying social actors (i.e., persons and organizations) in large text collections. The backbone of our software architecture is the online encyclopedia Wikipedia as a currently unexploited data source of a large amount of accurately prepared information. We illustrate how our software architecture detects and disambiguates social actors in large text corpora and retrieves their respective demographic information. Overall, we evaluate the reliability and accuracy of our software architecture across seven different social settings and facilitate an intuitive sense of the comprehensive applicability of our software architecture. We end by not only highlighting the benefits of our software architecture for social science research but also pointing to the limitations of using Wikipedia as a data source.
The quality and safety of locum doctors: a narrative review
Authors: Ferguson Jane , Walshe Kieran
Published: November 2019

Summary

Locum doctors are often perceived to present greater risks of causing harm to patients than permanent doctors. After eligibility and quality assessment, eight empirical and 34 non-empirical papers were included in a narrative synthesis to establish what was known about the quality and safety of locum medical practice. Empirical literature was limited and weak methodologically. Locums enabled healthcare organisations to maintain appropriate staffing levels and allowed staffing flexibility, but they also gave rise to concerns about continuity of care, patient safety, team function and cost. There was some evidence to suggest that the way locum doctors are recruited, employed and used by organisations, may result in a higher risk of harm to patients. A better understanding of the quality and safety of locum working is needed to improve the use of locum doctors and the quality and safety of patient care that they provide.
Provisional Notes on Decolonizing Research Methodology and Undoing Its Dirty History
Authors: Ndlovu-Gatsheni Sabelo J.
Published: November 2019

Decolonizing research methodology is a vast and complex task of undoing its dirty history. The dirty history is so hidden within research methodology that only a careful decolonial mind can unmask and reveal it. This task of decolonizing research methodology lies at the core of struggles for epistemic freedom involving rethinking and unthinking dominant ways of producing knowledge. This short article tackles the sacred cow of research methodology, which is often approached as though it is an objective and technical issue of research procedures and technologies of gathering data, rather than one which is very colonial and political, always shot through by complex questions of power, identity, values, and ethics.
The Social Costs of Sounding Gay: Voice-Based Impressions of Adoption Applicants
Authors: Fasoli Fabio , Maass Anne
Published: November 2019

In three studies (total N = 239) we examined the unexplored question of whether voice conveying sexual orientation elicits stigma and discrimination in the context of adoption. Studies 1 and 2 were conducted in Italy where same-sex adoption is illegal and controversial. Study 3 was conducted in the United Kingdom where same-sex adoption is legal and generally more accepted. The three studies show that listeners draw strong inferences from voice when judging hypothetical adoption seekers. Both Italian and British listeners judged gay-sounding speakers as warmer and as having better parenting skills, yet Italian participants consistently preferred straight over gay-sounding applicants, whereas British participants showed an opposite tendency, presumably reflecting the different normative context in the two countries. We conclude that vocal cues may have culturally distinct effects on judgment and decision making and that people with gay-sounding voices may face discrimination in adoption procedures in countries with antigay norms.
Low-level carbon monoxide exposure affects BOLD fMRI response
Authors: Bendell Caroline , Moosavi Shakeeb H , Herigstad Mari
Published: November 2019

Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI is a common technique for measuring brain activation that could be affected by low-level carbon monoxide (CO) exposure from, e.g. smoking. This study aimed to probe the vulnerability of BOLD fMRI to CO and determine whether it may constitute a significant neuroimaging confound. Low-level (6 ppm exhaled) CO effects on BOLD response were assessed in 12 healthy never-smokers on two separate experimental days (CO and air control). fMRI tasks were breath-holds (hypercapnia), visual stimulation and fingertapping. BOLD fMRI response was lower during breath holds, visual stimulation and fingertapping in the CO protocol compared to the air control protocol. Behavioural and physiological measures remained unchanged. We conclude that BOLD fMRI might be vulnerable to changes in baseline CO, and suggest exercising caution when imaging populations exposed to elevated CO levels. Further work is required to fully elucidate the impact on CO on fMRI and its underlying mechanisms.
Strategic coupling between finance, technology and the state: Cultivating a Fintech ecosystem for incumbent finance
Authors: Hendrikse Reijer , van Meeteren Michiel , Bassens David
Published: November 2019

The rise of Fintech challenges established financial centres and incumbent financial institutions to rethink their strategies to remain obligatory passage points in the age of digitizing finance. To appreciate these changes, it is important to maintain theoretical interchange between developments in financial geography and economic geography, its parent discipline. In this paper, we argue that the ways in which evolutionary economic geography impacts strategic coupling in global financial networks are crucial to grasp tomorrow’s geographies of Fintech. Through an in-depth examination of Brussels, we analyse the potential of Fintech opening a window of locational opportunity in financial services. Belgium has put together a strategy to seize this window by leveraging its politically neutral image and Brussels’ existing niche in financial collaboration and infrastructural plumbing. The latter status is exemplified by the presence of global players SWIFT and Euroclear. We analyse how Belgian entrepreneurs and politicians assess Brussels’ locational resources, and strategically couple big financial institutions with small tech startups in order to cultivate a Fintech ecosystem in the service of incumbent finance, constituting a Fin-Tech-State triangle. As such, we document and analyse how the coalescence of finance and technology offers new opportunities for second-tier financial centres, while highlighting the difficulties in reaping these in practice.
Bolt assessment of wind turbine hub using nonlinear ultrasound methods
Authors: Fierro Gian Piero Malfense , Meo Michele
Published: November 2019

This work evaluates various nonlinear ultrasound methods for in situ structural health monitoring of the loosened state of a four-bolt structure found on large-scale wind turbines. The aim was assessment of a four bolted structure with only two piezoelectric sensors, and determination of individual bolt loosened and the extent of loosening. Nonlinear ultrasound methods have been shown to have advantages over linear methods in terms of sensitivity, although the detection accuracy and robustness of these methods can be highly dependent on correct frequency selection. Thus, a frequency selection process based on the modal response of the structure is suggested for determination of bolt-specific frequencies, which was then used to evaluate the individual bolt loosened state. Two nonlinear ultrasound techniques were used to evaluate the bolted structure: the second- and third-order nonlinearity parameters and a nonlinear acoustic moment’s method. The modal response method used for frequency selection was able to determine specific bolt frequencies based on surface and bolt velocities. Nonlinear evaluation at these frequencies showed that specific frequencies related to individual bolts, and as the bolts loosened there was a clear increase in the production of nonlinearities. Thus, the loosened status of individual bolts could be tracked using specific pre-identified frequencies.
Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (PARDS) in Children With Pulmonary Contusion
Authors: Medar Shivanand S. , Villacres Sindy , Kaushik Shubhi , Eisenberg Ruth , Stone Melvin E.
Published: November 2019

Objective:

There is paucity of data about prevalence of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) in children with pulmonary contusion (PC). We intend to evaluate PC in children with chest trauma and the association between PC and PARDS.

Design:

Retrospective review of Institutional Trauma Registry for patients with trauma.

Setting:

Level 1 trauma center.

Patients:

Age 18 years and younger with a diagnosis of PC.

Interventions:

None.

Measurements and Main Results:

Of the 1916 children with trauma, 50 (2.6%) had PC. Patients with PC and PARDS had lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (7 [3-15] vs 15 [15-15], P = .0003), higher Injury Severity Scale (ISS) score (29 [22-34] vs 19 [14-22], P = .004), lower oxygen saturations (96 [93-99] days vs 99 [98-100] days, P = .0009), higher FiO2 (1 [1-1] vs 0.21 [0.21-0.40], P < .0001), lower oxygen saturation/FiO2 (S/F) ratios (97 [90-99] vs 457 [280-471], P < .0001), need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV; 86% vs 23%, P < .0001), and mortality (28% vs 0%, P = .006) compared to those without PARDS. Forty-two percent (21/50) of patients needed IMV, of these 61% (13/21) had PARDS. Patients who needed IMV had significantly lower GCS score (8 [3-11] vs 15 [15-15], P < .0001), higher ISS score (27 [22-34] vs 18 [14-22], P = .002), longer length of stay (LOS; 7.5 [4-14] days vs 3.3 [2-5] days, P = .003), longer hospital LOS (18 [7.0-25] vs 5 [4-11], P = .008), higher PARDS rate (62% vs 7%, P < .0001), and lower S/F ratios (99 [94-190] vs 461 [353-471], P < .0001) compared to those who did not require IMV. Lower GCS score was independently associated with both PARDS and need for IMV.

Conclusions:

Pediatric ARDS in children with PC is independently associated with lower GCS score, and its presence significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Further larger studies are needed to explore association of lower GCS and higher injury score in children with PARDS and PC.