bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maternal left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction and brain natriuretic peptide concentration in early‐ and late‐onset pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Borges V. T. M. , Zanati S. G. , Peraçoli M. T. S. , Poiati J. R. , Romão‐Veiga M. , Peraçoli J. C. , Thilaganathan B.
Published: April 2017

Objective

Pre‐eclampsia (PE) is associated with maternal cardiac remodeling and diastolic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to assess and compare maternal left ventricular structure and diastolic function and levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in women with early‐onset (< 34 weeks' gestation) vs those with late‐onset (≥ 34 weeks' gestation) PE.

Methods

This was a prospective, cross‐sectional, observational study of 30 women with early‐onset PE, 32 with late‐onset PE and 23 normotensive controls. Maternal cardiac structure and diastolic function were assessed by echocardiography and plasma levels of BNP were measured by enzyme immunoassay.

Results

Early‐ and late‐onset PE were associated with increased left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness compared with normotensive controls. In women with early‐onset PE, the prevalence of concentric hypertrophy (40%) and diastolic dysfunction (23%) was also significantly higher (both P < 0.05) compared with women with late‐onset PE (16% for both). Maternal serum BNP levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in women with early‐onset PE and correlated with relative wall thickness and left ventricular mass index.

Conclusions

Early‐onset PE is associated with more severe cardiac impairment than is late‐onset PE, as evidenced by an increased prevalence of concentric hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction and higher levels of BNP. These findings suggest that early‐onset PE causes greater myocardial damage, increasing the risk of both peripartum and postpartum cardiovascular morbidity. Although these cardiovascular effects are easily identified by echocardiographic parameters and measuring BNP, further studies are needed to assess their clinical utility. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The QUiPP App: a safe alternative to a treat‐all strategy for threatened preterm labor
Authors: Watson H. A. , Carter J. , Seed P. T. , Tribe R. M. , Shennan A. H.
Published: April 2017

Objective

To evaluate the impact of triaging women at risk of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) using the QUiPP App, which incorporates a predictive model combining history of sPTB, gestational age and quantitative measurements of fetal fibronectin, compared with a treat‐all policy (advocated by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) among women with threatened preterm labor before 30 weeks' gestation.

Methods

Prospectively collected data of pregnant women presenting with symptoms of preterm labor (abdominal pain or tightening) at 24–34 weeks' gestation were retrieved from the research databases of the EQUIPP and PETRA studies for subanalysis. Each episode of threatened preterm labor was retrospectively assigned a risk for sPTB within 7 days using the QUiPP App. A primary outcome of delivery within 7 days was used to model the performance accuracy of the QUiPP App compared with a treat‐all policy.

Results

Using a 5% risk of delivery within 7 days according to the QUiPP App as the threshold for intervention, 9/9 women who presented with threatened preterm labor < 34 weeks would have been treated correctly, giving a sensitivity of 100% (one‐sided 97.5% CI, 66.4%) and a negative predictive value of 100% (97.5% CI, 98.9–100%). The positive predictive value for delivery within 7 days was 30.0% (95% CI, 11.9–54.3%) for women presenting before 30 weeks and 20.0% (95% CI, 12.7–30.1%) for women presenting between 30 + 0 and 34 + 0 weeks. If this 5% threshold had been used to triage women presenting between 24 + 0 and 29 + 6 weeks, 89.4% (n = 168) of admissions could have been safely avoided, compared with 0% for a treat‐all strategy. No true case of preterm labor would have been missed, as no woman who was assigned a risk of < 10% delivered within 7 days.

Conclusion

For women with threatened preterm labor, the QUiPP App can accurately guide management at risk thresholds for sPTB of 1%, 5% and 10%, allowing outpatient management in the vast majority of cases. A treat‐all approach would not have avoided admission for any woman, and would have exposed 188 mothers and their babies to unnecessary hospitalization and steroid administration and increased the burden on network and transport services owing to unnecessary in‐utero transfers. Prediction of sPTB should be performed before 30 weeks to determine management until there is evidence that such a high level of unnecessary intervention, as suggested by the treat‐all strategy, does less harm than the occurrence of rare false negatives. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Anatomical subgroup analysis of the MERIDIAN cohort: failed commissuration
Authors: Griffiths P. D. , Brackley K. , Bradburn M. , Connolly D. J. A. , Gawne‐Cain M. L. , Griffiths D. I. , Kilby M. D. , Mandefield L. , Mooney C. , Robson S. C. , Vollmer B. , Mason G.
Published: April 2017

Objective

To assess the contribution of fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in fetuses of the MERIDIAN cohort diagnosed with either agenesis or hypogenesis of the corpus callosum (referred to collectively as failed commissuration) on antenatal ultrasound.

Methods

This was a subgroup analysis of the MERIDIAN study of fetuses with failed commissuration (with or without ventriculomegaly) diagnosed on ultrasound in women who had MRI assessment within 2 weeks of ultrasound and for whom outcome reference data were available. The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound and MRI was studied, as well as indicators of diagnostic confidence and effects on prognosis/clinical management. Appropriate diagnostic confidence was assessed by the score‐based weighted average method, which combines diagnostic accuracy with diagnostic confidence data.

Results

In the MERIDIAN cohort, 79 fetuses were diagnosed with failed commissuration on ultrasound (55 with agenesis and 24 with hypogenesis of the corpus callosum). The diagnostic accuracy for detecting failed commissuration was 34.2% for ultrasound and 94.9% for MRI (difference, 60.7% (95% CI, 47.6–73.9%), P < 0.0001). The diagnostic accuracy for detecting hypogenesis of the corpus callosum as a discrete entity was 8.3% for ultrasound and 87.5% for MRI, and for detecting agenesis of the corpus callosum as a distinct entity was 40.0% for ultrasound and 92.7% for MRI. There was a statistically significant improvement in ‘appropriate’ diagnostic confidence when using MRI as assessed by the score‐based weighted average method (P < 0.0001). Prognostic information given to the women changed in 36/79 (45.6%) cases after MRI and its overall effect on clinical management was ‘significant’, ‘major’ or ‘decisive’ in 35/79 cases (44.3%).

Conclusions

Our data suggest that any woman whose fetus has failed commissuration as the only intracranial finding detected on ultrasound should have MRI examination for further evaluation. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
24‐segment sphericity index: a new technique to evaluate fetal cardiac diastolic shape
Authors: DeVore G. R. , Klas B. , Satou G. , Sklansky M.
Published: April 2017

Objective

Because of parallel circulation in the fetus and the differential effect that various disease states may have on the shape of the right and left ventricles, this study was conducted to evaluate the sphericity index (SI) of 24 transverse segments distributed from the base to the apex of each of the ventricular chambers.

Methods

Two hundred control fetuses were examined between 20 and 40 weeks of gestation. The displacement of the ventricular endocardium during the cardiac cycle was computed using offline speckle‐tracking software. From the ASCII output of the analysis, we analyzed 24 end‐diastolic transverse segments, distributed from the base to the apex of each ventricle, as well as the end‐diastolic mid‐basal–apical length. The SI was computed for each of the 24 segments by dividing the mid‐basal–apical length by the transverse length for each segment. Regression analysis was performed against biometric measurements and gestational age according to last menstrual period and ultrasound. Eight fetuses, in which the four‐chamber view appeared subjectively to demonstrate chamber disproportion, were evaluated as examples to demonstrate the utility of this technology.

Results

The SI for each segment was independent of gestational age and fetal biometric measurements. The SI of the right ventricle was significantly (P < 0.001) lower than that of the left ventricle for segments 1–18, suggesting that the right ventricle was more globular in shape than was the left ventricle at the base, mid and a portion of the apical segments of the chamber. Fetuses with various cardiac structural abnormalities and abnormal fetal growth had abnormal SI values that reflected either a more globular or a more flattened ventricular chamber.

Conclusion

Determination of SI for each of 24 segments of the fetal right and left ventricles provides a comprehensive method to examine the shape of the ventricular chambers. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
A “fractal” solution to the chopstick auction
Authors: Ewerhart Christian
Published: April 2017

This paper constructs a novel equilibrium in the chopstick auction of Szentes and Rosenthal (Games Econ Behav 44(1):114–133, 2003a). In contrast to the existing solution, the identified equilibrium strategy allows a simple and intuitive characterization. Moreover, its best-response set has the same Hausdorff dimension as its support, which may be seen as a robustness property. The analysis also reveals some new links to the literature on Blotto games.
Plasma Phosphatidylethanolamine and Triacylglycerol Fatty Acid Concentrations are Altered in Major Depressive Disorder Patients with Seasonal Pattern
Authors: Otoki Yurika , Hennebelle Marie , Levitt Anthony J. , Nakagawa Kiyotaka , Swardfager Walter , Taha Ameer Y.
Published: April 2017

Disturbances in peripheral and brain lipid metabolism, including the omega‐3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have been reported in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, these changes have yet to be confirmed in MDD with seasonal pattern (MDD‐s), a subtype of recurrent MDD. The present exploratory study quantified plasma plasmalogen and diacyl‐phospholipid species, and fatty acids within total phospholipids, cholesteryl esters, triacylglycerols and free fatty acids in non‐medicated MDD‐s participants (n = 9) during euthymia in summer or fall, and during depression in winter in order to screen for potential high sensitivity lipid biomarkers. Triacylglycerol alpha‐linolenic acid concentration was significantly decreased, and myristoleic acid concentration was significantly increased, during winter depression compared to summer‐fall euthymia. 1‐stearyl‐2‐docosahexaenoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphoethanolamine, a diacyl‐phospholipid containing stearic acid and DHA, was significantly decreased in winter depression. Concentrations of cholesteryl ester oleic acid and several polyunsaturated fatty acids between summer/fall and winter increased in proportion to the increase in depressive symptoms. The observed changes in lipid metabolic pathways in winter‐type MDD‐s offer new promise for lipid biomarker development.
Allometry varies among related families of Norway spruce
Authors: Chmura Daniel J. , Guzicka Marzenna , Rożkowski Roman , Chałupka Władysław
Published: April 2017

Key message

Slopes and intercepts of allometric equations for organs’ biomass varied among half-sib families of Norway spruce and between age categories in a family-dependent manner. Genetic variation should be accounted for when applying allometric analysis to mixtures of genetic groups.

Context

Genetic variation in relationships among plant biomass components was rarely addressed in trees, though depending on deployment strategies in tree improvement programs, variation among genetic groups in plant organs’ growth rates, and thus biomass allocation, would affect forest growth and carbon balance.

Aims

We investigated growth and biomass distribution in Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] H. Karst) half-sib families. We assumed invariance among families in allometric relationships, and stability in growth rates of different organs between ages 2 and 8 years in the subset of those families. We also tested for ontogenetic trend in allometry using the independent dataset of biomass at age 21 years.

Methods

We analyzed allometric relationships among plant components using standardized major axis regression.

Results

Slopes and intercepts of allometric relationships varied among families, indicating variation in both organs’ growth rates and biomass partitioning at a given plant size. Variation in scaling exponents between age categories was also dependent on the family and plant organ considered.

Conclusion

Variation in slopes of allometric relationships indicates that a single scaling coefficient should not be applied when different genetic groups are compared. For the interpretation of age effect on biomass partitioning, both slopes and intercepts of allometric relationships should be examined.
Antipsychotic Prescribing to Patients Diagnosed with Dementia Without a Diagnosis of Psychosis in the Context of National Guidance and Drug Safety Warnings: Longitudinal Study in UK General Practice
Authors: Stocks S. Jill , Kontopantelis Evangelos , Webb Roger T. , Avery Anthony J. , Burns Alistair , Ashcroft Darren M.
Published: April 2017

Introduction

Policy interventions to address inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to older people diagnosed with dementia are commonplace. In the UK, warnings were issued by the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in 2004, 2009 and 2012 and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance was published in 2006. It is important to evaluate the impact of such interventions.

Methods

We analysed routinely collected primary-care data from 111,346 patients attending one of 689 general practices contributing to the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to describe the temporal changes in the prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to patients aged 65 years or over diagnosed with dementia without a concomitant psychosis diagnosis from 2001 to 2014 using an interrupted time series and a before-and-after design. Logistic regression methods were used to quantify the impact of patient and practice level variables on prescribing prevalence.

Results

Prescribing of first-generation antipsychotic drugs reduced from 8.9% in 2001 to 1.4% in 2014 (prevalence ratio 2014/2001 adjusted for age, sex and clustering within practices (0.14, 95% confidence interval 0.12–0.16), whereas there was little change for second-generation antipsychotic drugs (1.01, confidence interval 0.94–1.17). Between 2004 and 2012, several policy interventions coincided with a pattern of ups and downs, whereas the 2006 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance was followed by a gradual longer term reduction. Since 2013, the decreasing trend in second-generation antipsychotic drug prescribing has plateaued largely driven by the increasing prescribing of risperidone.

Conclusions

Increased surveillance and evaluation of drug safety warnings and guidance are needed to improve the impact of future interventions.
Why computer models help to understand developmental processes
Authors: Kunnen E. Saskia
Published: April 2017

It is argued that simulating psychological processes by means of computer models is a valuable technique to increase our understanding of adolescent developmental processes. Modelling offers possibilities to test hypotheses that cannot be reached by designing empirical studies only and it allows us to investigate adolescent development as the complex and non‐linear process that it is.
Customer-Directed Extra-Role Performance and Emotional Understanding: Effects on Customer Conflict, Felt Stress, Job Performance and Turnover Intentions
Authors: Mulki Jay P. , Wilkinson John W.
Published: April 2017

Sales and customer service employees often face demanding or even abusive customers. This study utilized structural equation modeling to develop a preliminary model identifying relationships between interpersonal customer conflict, key consequences of such conflict, and potential means to avoid or reduce that conflict. Results confirm that interpersonal conflict with customers has a direct negative influence on job performance, and works through felt stress to increase turnover intentions among employees. However, results suggest that a salesperson's emotional understanding and customer-directed extra-role performance reduce that conflict and increase job performance. Comparisons with prior related studies, although none of those cover all relevant factors, indicate that these relationships are likely to be similar in developed and developing economies. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
Vagal response in cryoballoon ablation of atrial fibrillation and autonomic nervous system: Utility of epicardial adipose tissue location
Authors: Yanagisawa Satoshi , Inden Yasuya , Mizutani Yoshiaki , Fujii Aya , Kamikubo Yosuke , Kanzaki Yasunori , Ando Monami , Funabiki Junya , Murase Yosuke , Takenaka Masaki , Otake Noriaki , Hattori Tetsuyoshi , Shibata Rei , Murohara Toyoaki
Published: April 2017

Background

Mechanism and effects of vagal response (VR) during cryoballoon ablation procedure on the cardiac autonomic nervous system (ANS) are unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between VR during cryoballoon catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation and ANS modulation by evaluating epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) locations and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis.

Methods

Forty‐one patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (11 with VR during the procedure and 30 without VR) who underwent second‐generation cryoballoon ablation were included. EAT locations and changes in HRV parameters were compared between the VR and non‐VR groups, using Holter monitoring before ablation, immediately after ablation and one month after ablation.

Results

The total EAT volume surrounding the left atrium (LA) in the VR and non‐VR groups was 29.0±18.4 cm3 vs 27.7±19.7 cm3, respectively (p=0.847). The VR group exhibited greater EAT volume overlaying the LA‐left superior pulmonary vein (PV) junction (6.1±3.6 cm3 vs 3.6±3.3 cm3, p=0.039) than the non‐VR group. HRV parameters similarly changed following ablation in both the groups. EAT volume overlaying LA‐right superior PV junction was significantly correlated with the relative changes in root‐mean‐square successive differences (r=−0.317, p=0.043) and high frequency (r=−0.331, p=0.034), immediately after the ablation.

Conclusions

Changes in HRV parameters following ablation were similarly observed in both the groups. EAT volume on the LA‐PV junction is helpful for interpretation of VR occurrence and ANS modulation.
Overhauling China’s Financial Stability Regulation: Policy Riddles and Regulatory Dilemmas
Authors: AVGOULEAS Emilios , XU Duoqi
Published: April 2017

China faces a number of important financial-stability risks. A persistent feature of the Chinese banking sector is the rapid formation of non-performing loans (NPLs) during each business cycle. Moreover, lending restrictions and interest-rate caps (“financial repression”) have, in part, given rise to an ever-expanding shadow-banking sector. The article highlights five cardinal sins within the Chinese financial system: (1) bad lending practices by the regulated sector, (2) lax governance, (3) a shadow-banking system that is dominated by short-term claims with no liquidity backstop, (4) stark lack of transparency in the shadow sector, and (5) very high levels of interconnectedness between the shadow and the regulated sector. The article suggests that some of these problems will be alleviated through a regulatory big bang that would abolish the current silo approach to financial regulation streamlining financial stability and conduct/consumer-protection supervision. Furthermore, we recommend the introduction of a binding and all-encompassing leverage ratio that will require banks to hold much higher capital buffers as a means to boost bank resilience, reduce NPLs, and battle interconnectedness with the shadow sector.
Of Meuse and Man: the geomorphogenetic and archaeological predictive maps of the Dutch Meuse valley
Authors: Isarin R.F.B. , Rensink E. , Ellenkamp G.R. , Heunks E.
Published: April 2017

For the first time, geomorphology and archaeology are combined for a 165 km long stretch of the Meuse river, resulting in a geomorphogenetic map (GKM) and a series of archaeological predictive maps (AVM). The maps cover the central part the Meuse valley, located in the province of Limburg between Mook in the north and Eijsden in the south. The area consists of fluvial and aeolian landforms of the Holocene Meuse floodplain and Younger Dryas aged terraces along it, spanning a period of approximately 15,000 years of landscape genesis and human habitation. The GKM more clearly discriminates between map units of Younger Dryas and early Holocene age than in previous mappings of the Meuse valley. The AVM series provide predictive information on the location of sites for four distinct consecutive archaeological periods and four main cultural themes. The maps contribute to a better understanding of landscape processes (fluvial and aeolian geomorphology and the impact of man on river behaviour), and the possibilities for human habitation and land use in prehistoric and historic times.
Direct and indirect resistance of sugarcane to Diatraea saccharalis induced by jasmonic acid
Authors: Sanches P.A. , Santos F. , Peñaflor M.F.G.V. , Bento J.M.S.
Published: April 2017

Treating plants with synthetic jasmonic acid (JA) induces a defensive response similar to herbivore attack, and is a potential strategy for integrated pest management. Despite the importance of sugarcane, its JA-induced defences have not yet been studied. We investigated the effects of JA treatment on the direct and indirect resistance of sugarcane to the key-pest and specialist herbivore Diatraea saccharalis and the generalist Spodoptera frugiperda. Indirect defences were examined by testing the attraction of Cotesia flavipes, a sugarcane-borer parasitoid, to JA-induced volatile. The results showed that JA-treated sugarcane did not affect the weight gain of the two larvae. However, in dual-choice assays, both species preferred to feed on mock rather than JA-treated plants. Leaf colorimetric analyses showed that visual cues are unlikely to be involved in larval preference, whereas results from olfactometric assays revealed that D. saccharalis preferred JA-induced over mock plant volatiles. After 48 h of treatment, JA-treated plants emitted a volatile blend attractive to C. flavipes, comprised mainly of sesquiterpenes. However, the parasitoid did not discriminate JA-treated from host-damaged plant volatiles. When the wasps were given a choice between JA-treated and JA-treated + host-damaged plants, they preferred the latter, which emitted a more complex blend, suggesting that JA treatment likely does not hamper host-finding. We concluded that JA induces the emission of volatiles that are attractive to the sugarcane borer parasitoid, as well as an antixenosis type of resistance in sugarcane against the two pests, although neither volatiles nor visual cues alone are involved in the underlying mechanism.
The Distributional Consequences of Preferential Trade Liberalization: Firm-Level Evidence
Authors: Baccini Leonardo , Pinto Pablo M. , Weymouth Stephen
Published: April 2017

While increasing trade and foreign direct investment, international trade agreements create winners and losers. Our paper examines the distributional consequences of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) at the firm level. We contend that PTAs expand trade among the largest and most productive multinationals by lowering preferential tariffs. We examine data covering the near universe of US foreign direct investment and disaggregated tariff data from PTAs signed by the United States. Our results indicate that US preferential tariffs increase sales to the United States from the most competitive subsidiaries of multinational corporations operating in partner countries. We also find increases in market concentration in partner countries following preferential liberalization with the United States. By demonstrating that the gains from preferential liberalization are unevenly distributed across firms, we shed new light on the firm-level, economic sources of political mobilization over international trade and investment policies.
Reactivity to unpredictable threat as a treatment target for fear-based anxiety disorders
Authors: Gorka S. M. , Lieberman L. , Klumpp H. , Kinney K. L. , Kennedy A. E. , Ajilore O. , Francis J. , Duffecy J. , Craske M. G. , Nathan J. , Langenecker S. , Shankman S. A. , Phan K. L.
Published: April 2017

Background

Heightened reactivity to unpredictable threat (U-threat) is a core individual difference factor underlying fear-based psychopathology. Little is known, however, about whether reactivity to U-threat is a stable marker of fear-based psychopathology or if it is malleable to treatment. The aim of the current study was to address this question by examining differences in reactivity to U-threat within patients before and after 12-weeks of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

Methods

Participants included patients with principal fear (n= 22) and distress/misery disorders (n= 29), and a group of healthy controls (n= 21) assessed 12-weeks apart. A well-validated threat-of-shock task was used to probe reactivity to predictable (P-) and U-threat and startle eyeblink magnitude was recorded as an index of defensive responding.

Results

Across both assessments, individuals with fear-based disorders displayed greater startle magnitude to U-threat relative to healthy controls and distress/misery patients (who did not differ). From pre- to post-treatment, startle magnitude during U-threat decreased only within the fear patients who received CBT. Moreover, within fear patients, the magnitude of decline in startle to U-threat correlated with the magnitude of decline in fear symptoms. For the healthy controls, startle to U-threat across the two time points was highly reliable and stable.

Conclusions

Together, these results indicate that startle to U-threat characterizes fear disorder patients and is malleable to treatment with CBT but not SSRIs within fear patients. Startle to U-threat may therefore reflect an objective, psychophysiological indicator of fear disorder status and CBT treatment response.
On the religious worth of bodily liturgical action
Authors: CUNEO TERENCE
Published: April 2017

A striking feature of the Eastern Orthodox liturgies is how much movement and touching occurs during their performance. For example, when participants in these liturgies enter into a church building, they do not simply look at the icons; they typically venerate them by kissing them. Call events such as these scripted movement-touching sequences. The question I pursue in this article is why movement-touching sequences play such prominent roles in the performance of the Eastern liturgies. The answer I offer is that the performance of these actions has religious worth. I then consider two models that attempt to explain why the performance of scripted movement-touching sequences has religious worth. After exploring and rejecting what I call the instrumentalist model, I develop what I term the authorization-appropriation model of the composition of the church's liturgies. According to this model, the religious worth of scripted bodily liturgical action lies (in part) in the fact that God has both authorized the composition of and appropriated the liturgical scripts that prescribe the performance of such actions.
From Democratic Consultation to User-employment: Shifting Institutional Embedding of Citizen Involvement in Health and Social Care
Authors: ALM ANDREASSEN TONE
Published: April 2017

Policies of citizen involvement in health and social care have given rise to a variety of organisational forms, which address citizens in different capacities and differ in their demands as to the representativeness, performance and competence of those involved. Apparently, the policies draw on different institutional logics. Based on extant studies, partly the author's own research from Norway, this article sheds light on three purposefully selected cases of citizen involvement. Two models of democratic consultation encompass a dominant model of involvement in Norway (advisory bodies of service users) and a model more prevalent in UK (panels of the general public). These are both embedded within a logic of democracy. A third emergent model of involvement is one in which citizens with experience as service users are engaged as workers in service providing organisations. This model resembles an idea of co-production. However, when involvement is organised as user-employment and paid work, the model rather seems rooted within the logic of the market – the labour market of service workers. The rise of this model suggests a shift in institutional embedding of citizen involvement. The analysis of these models provides a framework of distinguishing dimensions between different models of involvement.
Action in interaction is conduct under a description
Authors: Sidnell Jack
Published: April 2017

Requests, offers, invitations, complaints, and greetings are some of the many action types routinely invoked in the description and analysis of interaction. But what is the ontological status of, for instance, a request? In what follows I propose that action is conduct under a description. Thus, for the most part, interaction is organized independently of any action description or categorization of conduct into discrete action types. Instead, participants in interaction draw on the details of the situation in which they find themselves in order to produce conduct that others will recognize and to which they are able to respond in fitted ways. ‘Action’ still plays a key role in the organization of interaction, however, because accountability attaches not to raw conduct but only to conduct under some particular, action-formulating description. (Action, interaction, description, conversation analysis, Anscombe)*
CARDIOVASCULAR SCREENING OF YOUNG ATHLETES: A REVIEW OF ECONOMIC EVALUATIONS
Authors: Gerkens Sophie , Van Brabandt Hans , Desomer Anja , Leonard Christian , Neyt Mattias
Published: April 2017

Objectives: Some experts have promoted preparticipative cardiovascular screening programs for young athletes and have claimed that such programs were cost-effective without performing a critical analysis of studies supporting this statement. In this systematic review, a critical assessment of economic evaluations on these programs is performed to determine if they really provide value for money.

Methods: A systematic review of economic evaluations was performed on December 24, 2014. Web sites of health technology assessment agencies, the Cochrane database of systematic review, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database of the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline, Psychinfo, and EconLit were searched to retrieve (reviews of) economic evaluations. No language or time restrictions were imposed and predefined selection criteria were used. Selected studies were critically assessed applying a structured data extraction sheet.

Results: Five relevant economic evaluations were critically assessed. Results of these studies were mixed. However, those in favor of screening made (methodological) incorrect choices, of which the most important one was not taking into account a no-screening alternative as comparator. Compared with no screening, other strategies (history and physical examination or history and physical examination plus electrocardiogram) were not considered cost-effective.

Conclusions: Results of primary economic evaluations should not be blindly copied without critical assessment. Economic evaluations in this field lack the support of robust evidence. Negative consequences of screening (false positive findings, overtreatment) should also be taken into account and may cause more harm than good. A mass screening of young athletes for cardiovascular diseases does not provide value for money and should be discouraged.
“Unintentionally” (Numbers 35:11) and “Unwittingly” (Deuteronomy 19:4): Two Aspects of the Cities of Refuge
Authors: Hadad Eliezer
Published: April 2017

Pericopes on the cities of refuge to which an unintentional manslayer may flee appear in the Pentateuch in two places: in Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19. This article demonstrates that the differences between these pericopes emerge from the differing internal logic of each text. In Numbers, the unintentional manslayer defiles the land where the Lord abides by spilling blood on it. In order to prevent the divine presence from departing, a manslayer must purge the land with his own blood. When the act was unintentional, the law commands removing the unintentional manslayer from the land, exiling him to a city of refuge until the land is purged by the death of the high priest. In Deuteronomy, an unwitting killer is untainted, and therefore anyone who kills him spills innocent blood. The Lord, watching from heaven, is concerned primarily with the human heart; if the killing was inadvertent, God considers the killer innocent. Therefore, the unwitting killer goes to the city of refuge to protect himself from the blood-avenger, only until the latter ceases to be a threat to his life.
Using camera traps to examine distribution and occupancy trends of ground-dwelling rainforest birds in north-eastern Madagascar
Authors: MURPHY ASIA J. , FARRIS ZACH J. , KARPANTY SARAH , KELLY MARCELLA J. , MILES KATHLEEN A. , RATELOLAHY FÉLIX , RAHARINIAINA RAYMOND P. , GOLDEN CHRISTOPHER D.
Published: April 2017

Camera trap surveys are a non-invasive way to monitor wildlife populations. Although most often used to study medium- and large-sized mammals, camera traps also detect non-target species. These detections provide useful ecological information on little-known species, but such data usually remain unanalysed. We used detections from camera-trapping surveys of native carnivores and small mammals to examine distribution patterns and occupancy trends of little-known ground-dwelling rainforest birds at seven sites across the Masoala-Makira protected area complex in north-eastern Madagascar. We obtained 4,083 detections of 28 bird species over 18,056 trap nights from 200 to 2013. We estimated occupancy across the Masoala-Makira protected area complex (hereafter, landscape occupancy) and annual trends in occupancy at three resurveyed sites for five commonly observed species. Landscape occupancy across Masoala-Makira ranged from 0.75 (SE 0.09; Madagascar Magpie-robinCopsychus albospecularis) to 0.25 (SE 0.06; Scaly Ground-rollerGeobiastes squamiger). Ground-dwelling forest bird occupancy was similar at forest sites that ranged from intact to fully degraded; however, three species were detected less often at sites with high feral cat trap success. Nearly half of all focal species showed declines in annual occupancy probability at one resurveyed site (S02) from 2008 to 2013. The declines in ground-dwelling bird occupancy could have community-wide consequences as birds provide ecosystem services such as seed dispersal and pest regulation. We suggest immediate conservation measures—such as feral cat removal—be implemented to protect ground-dwelling forest birds and other threatened taxa across this landscape.
Of War and Peace: A European Technological Tale
Authors: Sanz Esteve
Published: April 2017

This article studies the formation of the European Union as a technological discourse. It traces the technological narrative from the origins of the Community until the current debates around the internet and the future of the Union. In search of a renewed telos, the European rhetoric of an open internet could express the commitment of the EU to re-link its popular legitimacy away from liberal abstractions and closer to the concrete, subjective experience of individuals, actively sharing a peaceful, dense and diverse democratic life.
NEGLIGENCE AND ACCOMMODATION
Authors: Dorfman Avihay
Published: April 2017

Whereas the Restatement of Torts and leading economic and justice-based approaches to explaining the standard of reasonable care advocate symmetric measurement of reasonable care across the defendant/plaintiff distinction, this article demonstrates that, in fact, the law applies this standard asymmetrically. Defendants are expected to discharge an objectively fixed amount of care, whereas plaintiffs are generally assessed using a subjective measurement of reasonable care. Normatively, I argue that an asymmetric assessment of care, because it combines an unfavorable assessment of defendant's negligence with a favorable assessment of plaintiff's negligence, means that the victim gets to fix the terms of the interaction. This argument resonates with the powerful egalitarian idea of accommodating, rather than overlooking, relevant differences; different treatment is necessary for the duty of reasonable care to give effect to the qualitative difference between the plaintiff's life and limb and the defendant's autonomy. Asymmetric assessment of due care, I argue, is the doctrinal metric by which the law determines what it is for the plaintiff and the defendant to relate as equals given that difference, or to relate as substantive equals.
Association between Sleep Disordered Breathing and Nighttime Driving Performance in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Cross Nathan , Terpening Zoe , Duffy Shantel L. , Lewis Simon J.G. , Grunstein Ron , Wong Keith , Naismith Sharon L.
Published: April 2017

Objectives:The effect of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) on driving performance in older adults has not been extensively investigated, especially in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between severity measures of SDB and a simulated driving task in older adults with and without MCI.Methods:Nineteen older adults (age ≥50) meeting criteria for MCI and 23 age-matched cognitively intact controls underwent neuropsychological assessment and a driving simulator task in the evening before a diagnostic sleep study.Results:There were no differences in driving simulator performance or SDB severity between the two groups. In patients with MCI, a higher oxygen desaturation index (ODI) was associated with an increased number of crashes on the simulator task, as well as other driving parameters such as steering and speed deviation. Poorer driving performance was also associated with poorer executive functioning (set-shifting) but the relationship between ODI and crashes was independent of executive ability.Conclusions:While driving ability did not differ between older adults with and without MCI, oxygen saturation dips in MCI were related to worse driving performance. These results suggest that decreased brain integrity may render those with SDB particularly vulnerable to driving accidents. In older adults, both cognition and SDB need to be considered concurrently in relation to driving ability. (JINS, 2017,23, 502–510)
Local Structural Damage Evaluation of a C/C–SiC Ceramic Matrix Composite
Authors: Arhatari Benedicta D. , Zonneveldt Matthew , Thornton John , Abbey Brian
Published: April 2017

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are structural materials, which have useful properties that combine high strength at high temperatures with moderate toughness. Carbon fibers within a matrix of carbon and silicon carbide, called C/C–SiC, are a particular class of CMC noted for their high oxidation resistance. Here we use a combination of four-point bending and X-ray radiography, to study the mechanical failure of C/C-SiC CMCs. Correlating X-ray radiographic and load/displacement curve data reveals that the fiber bundles act to slow down crack propagation during four-point bending tests. We attribute this to the fact that strain energy is expended in breaking these fibers and in pulling fiber bundles out of the surrounding matrix material. In addition, we find that the local distribution and concentration of SiC plays an important role in reducing the toughness of the material.
Wirksamkeit eines additiven Sprachförderkonzepts für mehrsprachige Kinder
Authors: Groth Katarina , Egert Franziska , Sachse Steffi
Published: April 2017

Zusammenfassung. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde ein additives Sprachförderprogramm (KIKUS), das auf Kinder nicht-deutscher Erstsprachen ausgerichtet ist und ab einem Alter von drei Jahren in Kindertageseinrichtungen eingesetzt werden kann, auf seine Wirkung hin überprüft. Die Hälfte der insgesamt 171 mehrsprachigen Kinder im Alter zwischen 3–5 Jahren (n = 89) besuchte Einrichtungen die KIKUS verwendeten, während die andere Hälfte (n = 82) keine additive Sprachförderung in ihren Einrichtungen erhielt. Für die Wirkungsanalyse wurde eine parallelisierte Stichprobe von 36 Kindern pro Gruppe verwendet. Die Sprachentwicklung im Deutschen wurde mittels standardisierter Sprachentwicklungstests zu drei Messzeitpunkten im Abstand von jeweils sieben Monaten erhoben. Eine Überlegenheit einer der beiden Gruppen fand sich in keinem Maß für Sprachproduktion oder Sprachverständnis. Kinder der Interventionsgruppe zeigten einen höheren Anstieg der Leistungen im Sprachgedächtnis. Kinder mit mehr Förderstunden erzielten bessere Leistungen im rezeptiven Wortschatz als Kinder mit wenig Förderstunden. Die Ergebnisse können helfen, Sprachfördermaßnahmen effektiver zu gestalten und spezifische von unspezifischen Fördereffekten besser zu unterscheiden.
Malathion increases apoptotic cell death by inducing lysosomal membrane permeabilization in N2a neuroblastoma cells: a model for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Venkatesan Ramu , Park Yong Un , Ji Eunhee , Yeo Eui-Ju , Kim Sun Yeou
Published: April 2017

Malathion is an organophosphate with severe neurotoxic effects. Upon acute exposure, malathion initially enhances cholinergic activity by inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, which is its major pathological mechanism. Malathion also induces non-cholinergic neuronal cell death in neurodegenerative conditions; the associated molecular mechanism is not well-characterized. To investigate the molecular mechanism of malathion-induced cell death, N2a mouse neuroblastoma cells were exposed to malathion and cell death-related parameters were examined. Malathion reduced cell viability mainly by apoptosis through mitochondrial dysfunction in N2a cells, as judged by an increase in the level of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax and decrease in the levels of the anti-apoptotic proteins p-Akt and Bcl2, resulting in cytochrome c release and caspase-dependent DNA fragmentation and condensation. Malathion treatment also induced autophagy and lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) in N2a cells. LMP caused a lessening of autophagic flux via inhibition of lysosomal fusion with the autophagosome. LMP-induced cathepsin B release and its proteolytic effect may intensify apoptotic insults. Moreover, malathion-exposed N2a cells showed a marked reduction in the levels of the neuronal marker proteins vascular endothelial growth factor and heart fatty acid binding protein 3, along with diminished neuritogenesis in N2a cells and nerve growth factor secretion in C6 glioma cells. Our data suggest that the non-cholinergic effect of malathion may be mediated by apoptotic cell death via LMP induction in N2a cells. Malathion-treated N2a cells can be utilized as an in vitro model system to screen natural and new chemical drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Hydrophilic surface modification of PDMS for droplet microfluidics using a simple, quick, and robust method via PVA deposition
Authors: Trantidou Tatiana , Elani Yuval , Parsons Edward , Ces Oscar
Published: April 2017

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a dominant material in the fabrication of microfluidic devices to generate water-in-oil droplets, particularly lipid-stabilized droplets, because of its highly hydrophobic nature. However, its key property of hydrophobicity has hindered its use in the microfluidic generation of oil-in-water droplets, which requires channels to have hydrophilic surface properties. In this article, we developed, optimized, and characterized a method to produce PDMS with a hydrophilic surface via the deposition of polyvinyl alcohol following plasma treatment and demonstrated its suitability for droplet generation. The proposed method is simple, quick, effective, and low cost and is versatile with respect to surfactants, with droplets being successfully generated using both anionic surfactants and more biologically relevant phospholipids. This method also allows the device to be selectively patterned with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions, leading to the generation of double emulsions and inverted double emulsions.
Resonant pitch and roll silicon gyroscopes with sub-micron-gap slanted electrodes: Breaking the barrier toward high-performance monolithic inertial measurement units
Authors: Wen Haoran , Daruwalla Anosh , Ayazi Farrokh
Published: April 2017

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a novel high quality factor (Q) resonant pitch/roll gyroscope implemented in a 40 μm (100) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate without using the deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) process. The featured silicon gyroscope has a mode-matched operating frequency of 200 kHz and is the first out-of-plane pitch/roll gyroscope with electrostatic quadrature tuning capability to fully compensate for fabrication non-idealities and variation in SOI thickness. The quadrature tuning is enabled by slanted electrodes with sub-micron capacitive gaps along the (111) plane created by an anisotropic wet etching. The quadrature cancellation enables a 20-fold improvement in the scale factor for a typical fabricated device. Noise measurement of quadrature-cancelled mode-matched devices shows an angle random walk (ARW) of 0.63° √h−1 and a bias instability of 37.7° h−1, partially limited by the noise of the interface electronics. The elimination of silicon DRIE in the anisotropically wet-etched gyroscope improves the gyroscope robustness against the process variation and reduces the fabrication costs. The use of a slanted electrode for quadrature tuning demonstrates an effective path to reach high-performance in future pitch and roll gyroscope designs for the implementation of single-chip high-precision inertial measurement units (IMUs).
Band structure engineered layered metals for low-loss plasmonics
Authors: Gjerding Morten N. , Pandey Mohnish , Thygesen Kristian S.
Published: April 2017

Plasmonics currently faces the problem of seemingly inevitable optical losses occurring in the metallic components that challenges the implementation of essentially any application. In this work, we show that Ohmic losses are reduced in certain layered metals, such as the transition metal dichalcogenide TaS2, due to an extraordinarily small density of states for scattering in the near-IR originating from their special electronic band structure. On the basis of this observation, we propose a new class of band structure engineered van der Waals layered metals composed of hexagonal transition metal chalcogenide-halide layers with greatly suppressed intrinsic losses. Using first-principles calculations, we show that the suppression of optical losses lead to improved performance for thin-film waveguiding and transformation optics.