bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experiences of home care assistants providing social care to older people: A context in transition
Authors: Craftman Åsa Gransjön , Grundberg Åke , Westerbotn Margareta
Published: August 2018

Aim

The aim was to describe home care assistants’ (HCA) experiences of providing social care in older people's own homes.

Background

With the increase in average life expectancy and related growth of the elder population, addressing geriatric care needs has become an increasingly vital issue. However, the frontline workforce faces major challenges in meeting these needs, including a lack of trained professionals entering the field.

Design

A qualitative inductive design was used.

Methods

A descriptive, qualitative study using focus group interviews and content analysis.

Findings

The findings revealed that HCAs are active in an area facing challenges due to an older home‐dwelling generation. Transfer of tasks should be reviewed considering changes to the workforce's skill mix brought on by task shifting.

Conclusions

Certain prerequisites are needed to enable unlicensed assistive personnel to perform a good job; they also need to receive affirmation that they are a crucial workforce carrying out multifaceted tasks. To improve and maintain the pull factors of social care work, it is crucial to clarify how older people's requirements influence the daily care relation.

Implications for Practice

The findings highlight HCAs’ blurred responsibility when providing nursing and care to older people with multiple chronic conditions and functional disabilities. Increasing expectations are placed upon HCAs to cope with practical situations that are theoretically outside the bounds of social care. The findings contribute knowledge to further development of collaboration between social and health care providers as well as the important affirmation of this unlicensed personnel group in transition. A long‐term plan is therefore needed to provide HCAs with the skills and tools they need to deliver care and support to older people with a variety of needs.
Daylight photodynamic therapy for the treatment of actinic cheilitis
Authors: Levi Assi , Hodak Emmilia , Enk Claes D. , Snast Igor , Slodownik Dan , Lapidoth Moshe
Published: August 2018

Background

Actinic cheilitis (AC) is a common, chronic premalignant condition resulting from protracted sun exposure affecting the vermilion border of the lower lip. Treatment of AC aims at terminating the progression to squamous cell carcinoma by obliterating the primary lesion, and includes ablative methods; nonablative modalities such as cryotherapy, electrodessication, chemical peeling, topical imiquimod and 5‐fluorouracil; and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Daylight‐activated PDT, in which natural daylight serves as the light source, showed promising results in the treatment of actinic keratoses with substantially less pain than conventional PDT.

Purpose

To determine the safety and efficacy of daylight PDT in a series of patients with AC.

Methods

Eleven patients with AC were treated with daylight PDT. All patients underwent repeated treatment sessions until clinical and histological remission were achieved.

Results

Cure rate was 91% (10 of 11 patients, three females/eight males; mean age 59.2 ± 14.4 years). Mean number of treatments to attain cure was 2.7. Patients experienced mild erythema and minimal to no pain during treatment.

Conclusions

Daylight PDT is a promising modality for the treatment of AC, with impressive cosmetic results and few side effects.
Detection ofSimonsiellaspp. in the Vagina of Lions and Leopard in Oestrus
Authors: Callealta Isabel , Ganswindt Andre , Goncalves Sara , Mathew Abraham , Lueders Imke
Published: August 2018

Contents

Reports of the vaginal flora of wild cats such as lions or leopards are scarce. The micro‐organisms most commonly found in the vagina of clinically healthy cats are aerobic bacteria such as coagulase‐negativeStaphylococcus,Streptococcus canis, andEscherichia coli.Simonsiellaspp are large Gram‐negative bacteria belonging to the Neisseriaceae family, typically found in the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract of many species. To date, there are no reports of the detection ofSimonsiellaspp in the vaginal flora of any felid. For a period of six months, daily behaviour monitoring was performed on six captive lionesses at a South African conservation centre, in parallel with the collection of vaginal swabs and interpretation of the resultant vaginal cytologies every other day. Oestrus was identified by typical female reproductive behaviours, as well as by enlarged and separated vulvar lips, and a predominant proportion of superficial cornified cells, clearing of the background, and high bacterial presence in the vaginal smear.Simonsiellaspp were identified by their characteristic morphology in 58% (60 of 103) of the vaginal samples collected during oestrus. They were also found in oral swabs of three out of three lions tested. Additionally,Simonsiellaspp were opportunistically found in a vaginal smear from a zoo housed female Sri Lankan leopard in oestrus, during a routine reproduction assessment. The finding ofSimonsiellaspp may be more common than previously suspected, transitory, and without detectable clinical relevance. A connection between occurrence of these bacteria and oestrus was apparent.
Computational Models of Emotion Inference in Theory of Mind: A Review and Roadmap
Authors: Ong Desmond C. , Zaki Jamil , Goodman Noah D.
Published: August 2018

Research on social cognition has fruitfully applied computational modeling approaches to explain how observers understand and reason about others’ mental states. By contrast, there has been less work on modeling observers’ understanding ofemotionalstates. We propose an intuitive theory framework to studyingaffective cognition—how humans reason about emotions—and derive a taxonomy of inferences within affective cognition. Using this taxonomy, we review formal computational modeling work on such inferences, including causal reasoning about how others react to events, reasoning about unseen causes of emotions, reasoning with multiple cues, as well as reasoning from emotions to other mental states. In addition, we provide a roadmap for future research by charting out inferences—such as hypothetical and counterfactual reasoning about emotions—that are ripe for future computational modeling work. This framework proposes unifying these various types of reasoning as Bayesian inference within a common “intuitive Theory of Emotion.” Finally, we end with a discussion of important theoretical and methodological challenges that lie ahead in modeling affective cognition.
Trichographic features of hair from normal black Dobermann pinscher dogs
Authors: Richman Austin W. , Griffin Craig E.
Published: August 2018

Background

Dobermann dogs are predisposed to colour dilution alopecia and follicular dysplasia. Limited information is available regarding the trichographic features of normal canine hair shafts, including those from Dobermanns, with no studies of inter‐observer agreement for canine trichographic features.

Objectives

To characterize the trichographic features of normal black Dobermann hair shafts evaluating the following variables; gross appearance, primary versus secondary hairs, colour change, tip structure, curling, twisting, bending, cuticle changes (breaks, compression, loss or abnormal overlapping), fractures and variations in hair diameter.

Animals

Twenty client‐owned, normal, black Dobermanns of different ages and genders.

Methods and materials

A systemized trichographic evaluation of hair samples from five body locations, which were evaluated independently by two observers, and inter‐observer agreement evaluation. Kappa statistics, positive and negative agreement were determined.

Results

Agreement between investigators ranged from 87% to 99% for each examined variable. Kappa statistics showed excellent (0.81–1.00) to substantial agreement (0.61–0.80) for all variables with the exception of moderate agreement (0.41–0.60) for cuticle compressions and variations in hair diameter. A novel finding of a “round hair tip” was made, which was more commonly found on the dorsal head. Colour change to the proximal hair shaft was more common on the thighs and flanks.

Conclusions and clinical importance

Trichographic features of 500 hairs collected from 20 normal black Dobermann dogs are described. A previously unreported finding of round hair tips was seen. We describe a systematic approach for evaluating hair shafts that can be applied in future studies for both normal and abnormal Dobermanns, and potentially other dog breeds.
Task Pricing Optimization Model of Crowdsourcing Platform
Authors: Lin Li , Chen Xiangyue , Lou Yiying , Zhang Weijian , Zhang Ru
Published: August 2018

In this paper, we established a task pricing optimization model by the Logistic and anti-resolve thought to work out the problem of unequal spatial distribution and overall low of the task completion rate in the crowdsourcing platforms. Combining with the actual application information, we use scatter diagram, contour map, etc. to make a qualitative study and find that the reason why some of the tasks are not accepted is because the enterprise failed to take the total task quotas around the task into consideration while pricing the task. Then, combined with the influencing factors of traditional pricing model and results of qualitative analyses, the optimization model of crowdsourcing platform is built. Next, we select an ending project in an app of “make money” in China as the example to evaluate the effectiveness of our model. We applied the method of computer simulation to solve the model, and we find that, under the new pricing plan, the task completion rate has been significantly improved, which proves the conclusion of our qualitative analysis and the validity of the optimal model.
Lectura analítica del paisaje cultural en Santa Fe de Antioquia desde el levantamiento de nuevos mapas
Authors: Montoya Arenas Catalina , Patiño Zuluaga Evelyn , Escobar Ocampo Lina María , González Escobar Luis Fernando
Published: August 2018

Los contenidos históricos de un territorio se revelan en el paisaje cultural. Éste se refiere al proceso de transformación simbólica que puede ser leído a través de las huellas espaciales, que no son otra cosa que el accionar de la cultura con un lugar. En ese sentido, la lectura de Santa Fe de Antioquia a través de una serie de 10 paisajes tiene por objetivo destacar y revelar los aspectos de la materialidad e inmaterialidad referida a la identidad del territorio a través de los valores físico-espaciales y paisajísticos en su trasegar por el tiempo. A partir del levantamiento de nuevos mapas se establecen vínculos teórico-prácticos entre los procesos históricos, estéticos, físicos y simbólicos, contrastados con agentes transformadores del modelo económico (discurso de la competitividad, la industria turística y la presión inmobiliaria). Dichos mapas combinan la lectura y análisis de la cartografía y de documentos estratégicos y de ordenamiento con la coreografía y la narrativa histórica-literaria-pictórica en un análisis multivariado y multitemporal. Esta metodología descriptiva, interpretativa y propositiva se aproxima a la lectura física de los encuentros del entorno, lo urbano y el centro histórico, como elementos culturalmente determinantes en la imagen del paisaje que, en el caso de estudio, apuntan a un empobrecimiento del mismo.
Participación comunitaria, patrimonio cultural e identidad. Estrategia educativa para la apropiación del conocimiento en la población de Taratara, Venezuela
Authors: Zavala-Reyes Miguel , -Eloy Reye Andrés
Published: August 2018

El Parque Arqueológico y Paleontológico Taimataima, ubicado al este de la ribera caribeña del estado Falcón, en el noroccidente venezolano, se encontraba en avanzado estado de deterioro, sin que las comunidades que integran el área de influencia mostraran algún signo de interés ante tal situación. Se planteó, entonces, implementar estrategias para la valoración del patrimonio natural y cultural, para lo cual se conformó un equipo multidisciplinario con la Universidad Nacional Experimental Francisco de Miranda (Unefm) y los consejos comunales, respaldado por los resultados que obtuvimos de la investigación arqueológica y geohistórica en la zona. Se realizaron unos talleres pedagógicos de apropiación social, diseñados de acuerdo con paradigmas educativos que brindaron herramientas para el cambio en las apreciaciones de los vecinos sobre su riqueza patrimonial. También se organizó una exposición: “Cruxent y el primer hombre americano en Falcón”, pionero en la investigación arqueológica de esta región. Los resultados lograron sensibilizar a los vecinos, quienes reconocieron su necesaria participación para alcanzar el rescate del parque, y los consejos comunales manifestaron su propósito de fortalecer su relación con las instituciones patrimoniales competentes y propusieron productos turísticos culturales para una gestión comunitaria.
Costos económicos de las externalidades ambientales del fracking: un análisis de metarregresión y algunas implicaciones para Colombia
Authors: Silva Barbosa Pablo Blas Tupac , Carriazo Fernando
Published: August 2018

La cuantificación monetaria de las externalidades ambientales derivadas de la explotación de hidrocarburos no convencionales que utiliza la técnica de fracturación hidráulica o fracking muestra una alta variabilidad pues sus costos no están unívocamente determinados. En este documento desarrollamos un análisis de metarregresión sobre los posibles efectos económicos atribuibles a la proximidad de entornos que puedan verse afectados ambientalmente por el fracking. Las categorías de impacto analizadas son: 1) contaminación de fuentes de agua, 2) disposición de residuos peligrosos, 3) contaminación del aire y 4) sismicidad inducida. Los resultados de nuestras estimaciones sugieren un efecto de mayor magnitud y significancia para las dos primeras. Se muestra también que aspectos metodológicos y externos a las investigaciones tales como el año de la publicación del estudio o la especificación utilizada influyen sobre la estimación de los costos.
Convergencias entre la rentabilidad y la liquidez en el sector del agronegocio
Authors: Vazquez Carrazana Xiomara Esther , Rech Ilirio José , Miranda Gilberto José , Tavares Marcelo
Published: August 2018

En muchos casos, los indicadores de rentabilidad y liquidez han sido evaluados de acuerdo con una relación de rivalidad. Sin embargo, un análisis concienzudo de la interacción de estas variables sugiere la coexistencia y no la contraposición –término de por sí problemático y que será sometido a evaluación en el presente artículo– de ambas. Este artículo tiene el objetivo de evaluar la relación que se entabla entre la rentabilidad y la liquidez en empresas de agronegocio. El análisis desarrollado tiene las características de un estudio descriptivo cuantitativo; cuenta con el empleo de métodos de análisis de correlación y segregación; corresponde a una muestra de 20 empresas del sector del agronegocio brasileño listadas en la base de datos Economática, y atañe al período comprendido entre 2005 y 2015. El estudio realizado permitió observar que la correlación que existe entre la rentabilidad y la liquidez, en el marco definido, fue positiva y significativa. Por su parte, los resultados de la prueba Mann-Whitney sugieren que la composición y la rotación de los activos fijos constituyen variables que diferencian el comportamiento de las empresas de este tipo. En suma, pueden ser factores determinantes al momento de direccionar la coexistencia de la rentabilidad y la liquidez en el sector del agronegocio. Palabras clave Rentabilidad y liquidez; rentabilidad del agronegocio; composición de activos en agronegocio.
Inclusión financiera en Colombia. Análisis de su evolución en términos de eficiencia relativa
Authors: Rodríguez-Lozano Gloria Isabel
Published: August 2018

Esta investigación analiza la situación y evolución de la inclusión financiera en Colombia desde un punto de vista diferente: desde la eficiencia relativa, que maneja las entidades financieras como objeto específico —no global— de análisis. Por esto y por la metodología usada, esta investigación es pionera. La metodología que se utiliza es el Análisis Envolvente de Datos (Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA), metodología de programación lineal avanzada que mediante un doble proceso de optimización proporciona un único índice de eficiencia relativa para cada una de las unidades estudiadas, con la fortaleza de analizar las variables en un escenario de utilización de multirrecursos y de obtención de multisalidas. Da respuesta a los siguientes interrogantes: ¿Qué tipo de entidades es eficiente y en qué número para cada año? ¿Qué resultados se obtienen cuando se compara el comportamiento, en términos de eficiencia relativa, de los años 2013 y 2014? Los resultados, en la comparación, muestran que globalmente hay un desmejoramiento en el comportamiento de la eficiencia relativa de las instituciones evaluadas: disminuyen las unidades con altos índices y aumentan las unidades con bajos índices.
Percepción de estudiantes de enfermería sobre el aprendizaje basado en evidencias
Authors: Volpato Marcia Paschoalina , Larcher Caliri Maria Helena , Quina Galdino Maria José , Martins Júlia Trevisan
Published: August 2018

Objetivo: revelar la percepción de estudiantes de enfermería sobre la práctica basada en evidencias como estrategia de enseñanza y aprendizaje en la prevención de úlceras por presión. Métodos: estudio cualitativo realizado con doce estudiantes de graduación en enfermería de una universidad del sur de Brasil que participaron en un workshop teórico-práctico sobre la prevención de úlceras por presión. Los datos se recabaron a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas y se sometieron a análisis temático. Resultados: se evidenció la categoría temática como la estrategia de la práctica basada en evidencias en la enseñanza-aprendizaje de úlceras por presión, con cuatro subcategorías: facilitando la correlación entre teoría y práctica y la búsqueda de soluciones; activando las competencias del enfermero; fomentando la identicación de las fases de la úlcera por presión, y revelando la importancia de la escala de Braden. Conclusión: los estudiantes destacaron que la práctica basada en evidencias fomentó un aprendizaje amplio sobre las medidas para prevenir las úlceras por presión.
Ventajas y desventajas del parto vertical en contraste con el parto horizontal: una revisión de la literatura
Authors: Vargas Londoño Vanessa Fernanda , Rodríguez Castiblanco Jessyca Paola , Corredor Acosta Marcia Tatiana , Vallejo Astudillo Nasly Mildred
Published: August 2018

El parto vertical es una práctica ancestral que puede ofrecer ventajas para la madre y su recién nacido. Objetivo: integrar los hallazgos que informa la literatura sobre ventajas y desventajas del parto vertical en contraste con el parto horizontal. Método: revisión integrativa de la literatura publicada en el periodo 2005-2015. Se seleccionaron quince estudios, luego de un proceso de búsqueda y crítica de literatura. Los datos se extrajeron, analizaron y compararon con apoyo en la herramienta ATLAS.ti, versión 7.0. Resultados: esta revisión integró los hallazgos de los artículos seleccionados, de los cuales emergieron doce subtemas que se clasificaron en los dos temas planteados: ventajas y desventajas del parto vertical en contraste al parto horizontal. Se encontraron las siguientes ventajas: disminución en el tiempo en la segunda etapa, menos desgarros de tercer y cuarto grado, menor edema vulvar, menor necesidad de instrumentación, menor necesidad de episiotomía, menos casos de presión del fondo uterino, menos casos de placenta retenida, menor dolor, mejor percepción de la materna y mejores resultados fetales y neonatales. Como desventajas se encontraron: mayor sangrado y dicultad de mantener la posición. Conclusión: esta revisión encontró que el parto en posición vertical tiene más ventajas en contraste a la posición horizontal, lo que beneficia fisiopsicológicamente tanto a la madre como alneonato.
Caracterización de los servicios de promoción de la salud y prevención de la enfermedad en cuatro instituciones de salud del municipio de Medellín, 2015
Authors: Barrientos-Gómez Juan Guillermo , Ángel-Jiménez Gloria , López-Herrera Francy Edith
Published: August 2018

Estudio descriptivo que permitió caracterizar los programas y las actividades de promoción de la salud y prevención de la enfermedad en cuatro instituciones de salud de alta complejidad de Medellín. Por medio de un estudio descriptivo de serie de casos, se aplicaron dos instrumentos semiestructurados tipo encuesta donde se recolectó información sobre: estructura y funcionamiento, enfoque, públicos beneficiarios, metodologías y equipos de trabajo. Se encontró que las cuatro instituciones desarrollan actividades de este tipo, con un enfoque hacia la prevención terciaria congruente con su nivel de complejidad; están orientadas esencialmente al paciente y a las familias, y, a veces, a la comunidad; los empleados también se benefician desde salud ocupacional; son desarrolladas por profesionales de diferentes disciplinas; su funcionamiento depende generalmente de las direcciones científicas; no se identifica un área en particular que las gestione articuladamente. Se considera importante que las instituciones se declaren a favor de modelos de atención en salud integrales donde se trabaje de manera articulada las actividades de promoción y prevención con la atención clínica
Acoustic radiation force on an elastic sphere in a soft elastic medium
Authors: Ilinskii Yurii A. , Zabolotskaya Evgenia A. , Treweek Benjamin C. , Hamilton Mark F.
Published: August 2018

A theoretical framework in Lagrangian coordinates is developed for calculating the acoustic radiation force on an elastic sphere in a soft elastic medium. Advantages of using Lagrangian coordinates are that the surface of the sphere is fixed in the reference frame, and nonlinearity appears only in the stress tensor. The incident field is a time-harmonic compressional wave with arbitrary spatial structure, and there is no restriction on the size of the sphere. Bulk and shear viscosities are taken into account with complex wavenumbers. A solution is presented for the radiation force due to the scattered compressional wave. For an ideal liquid surrounding the sphere, there is no scattered shear wave contributing to the radiation force and the solution is complete. The theory reproduces established results obtained in Eulerian coordinates for an elastic sphere in a fluid.
Macroscopic models for networks of coupled biological oscillators
Authors: Hannay Kevin M. , Forger Daniel B. , Booth Victoria
Published: August 2018

We describe a low-dimensional relation and demonstrate its use in reducing model complexity for coupled oscillator systems.
Far from home: Distance patterns of global fishing fleets
Authors: Tickler David , Meeuwig Jessica J. , Palomares Maria-Lourdes , Pauly Daniel , Zeller Dirk
Published: August 2018

Mapping reconstructed catches shows that subsidy-fuelled industrial fishing may have reached its spatial limit.
Studies on Aminoglycoside Susceptibility Identify a Novel Function of KsgA To Secure Translational Fidelity during Antibiotic Stress
Authors: Zou Jin , Zhang Wenwen , Zhang Hongjie , Zhang Xiaohua Douglas , Peng Bo , Zheng Jun
Published: August 2018

Antibiotic resistance has become a global crisis. Studies on the mechanism of bacterial tolerance to antibiotics will not only increase our conceptual understanding of bacterial death but also provide potential targets for novel inhibitors.
Clinical and Molecular Correlates of Escherichia coli Bloodstream Infection from Two Geographically Diverse Centers in Rochester, Minnesota, and Singapore
Authors: Mendis Shehara M. , Vasoo Shawn , Johnston Brian D. , Porter Stephen B. , Cunningham Scott A. , Menon Sanjay R. , Teng Christine B. , De Partha P. , Patel Robin , Johnson James R. , Banerjee Ritu
Published: August 2018

Escherichia colibacteremia is caused mainly by sequence type complex 131 (STc131) and two clades within its fluoroquinolone-resistance-associatedH30 subclone,H30R1 andH30Rx. We examined clinical and molecular correlates ofE. colibacteremia in two geographically distinct centers.
Ergot Alkaloid Synthesis Capacity of Penicillium camemberti
Authors: Fabian Samantha J. , Maust Matthew D. , Panaccione Daniel G.
Published: August 2018

The presence of ergot alkaloid synthesis genes in the genome of
Penicillium camemberti
is significant, because the fungus is widely consumed in Brie and Camembert cheeses. Our results show that, although the fungus has several functional genes from the ergot alkaloid pathway, it produces only an early pathway intermediate in culture and does not produce ergot alkaloids in cheese.
Penicillium biforme
, a close relative of
P. camemberti
, contains a similar but fully functional set of ergot alkaloid synthesis genes and produces ergot alkaloids chanoclavine-I, chanoclavine-I aldehyde, and rugulovasine A and B. Our reconstruction of the
P. camemberti
pathway in the model fungus
Neosartorya fumigata
indicated that
P. camemberti
formerly had the capacity to produce these same ergot alkaloids. Neither
P. camemberti
nor
P. biforme
produced ergot alkaloids in cheese, indicating that nutritionally driven gene regulation prevents these fungi from producing ergot alkaloids in a dairy environment.
Student-Centered Microbioassay Laboratory Activity Utilizing Bioluminescent Bacteria
Authors: Younkin Kerri , Romano Christina
Published: August 2018

Student-centered teaching allows students to be actively engaged in hands-on, minds-on activities that emphasize creativity and collaboration, enabling them to ask questions and design their own investigations to real-world problems. One such problem is water contamination, which causes human health and environmental issues. However, chemical water quality testing for pollutants can be timely and expensive. In addition to chemical testing, researchers have developed assays using unicellular organisms to determine which pollutants are present and in what concentrations. In this three-hour laboratory activity, high school students and undergraduate biology or microbiology students work in pairs to help a fictional company develop a water quality microbioassay. Students design their own laboratory protocols to test the reaction of a bioluminescent bacterial species (i.e.,
Photobacterium phosphoreum
or
Aliivibrio fischeri
) to exposure of common aquatic pollutants such as fertilizer, household cleaners, and motor oil. During this laboratory activity, students apply previously learned components of experimental design, including positive and negative controls, constants, and experimental groups. In addition, students gain experience writing a scientific explanation for a recommendation regarding the bioluminescent bacteria’s suitability in a bioassay. Pre- and post-evaluation data revealed that students were successful in achieving the activity’s objectives as well as in designing their investigations and writing their protocols using scaffolds within the lesson.
Draft Genome Sequence of Lactobacillus kefiri SGL 13, a Potential Probiotic Strain Isolated from Kefir Grains
Authors: Federici Federica , Manna Laura , Rizzi Eleonora , Galantini Elena , Marini Umberto
Published: August 2018

In this report, we present the draft genome sequence of a newly discovered potential probiotic strain of
Lactobacillus kefiri
, SGL 13, isolated from kefir grains. Antibiotic resistance analysis did not reveal evidence of interspecific horizontal gene transfer since the identified bacitracin resistance gene does not have mobile genetic elements.
p16
Authors: Serra Stefano , Chetty Runjan
Published: August 2018

Thep16gene belongs toINK4family of genes and is made up of four members: p16INK4A, p15INK4B, p18INK4Cand p19INK4D, all of which share biological properties, namely, inhibition of cell growth and tumour suppression. Afterp53,p16is the second most common tumour suppressor gene. It has been regarded as the familial melanoma gene. Immunohistochemistry for p16 has a well-defined role in distinct pathological scenarios. It is used to distinguish desmoplastic melanoma from reactive fibrous proliferation, with former showing strong nuclear positivity. In other types of melanoma, p16 protein expression is lost. Spitz nevi show retention of nuclear staining for p16. Benign mesothelial proliferations tend to retain nuclear p16 immunoreactivity, while malignant mesotheliomas lose expression. However,p16fluorescent in-situ hybridisation analysis is recommended in the workup of malignant mesothelioma. Another common application of p16 immunohistochemistry is as an indicator for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and p16 protein is overexpressed in HPV-associated tumours. In this context, p16 immunopositivity should be strong, diffuse, nuclear or nuclear and cytoplasmic in location. Another use for p16 is demonstration of p16 immunopositivity in well-differentiated and dedifferentiated liposarcoma.
Contemporary outcomes of isolated bioprothestic mitral valve replacement for mitral regurgitation
Authors: Berzingi Chalak , Badhwar Vinay , Alqahtani Fahad , Aljohani Sami , Chaker Zakeih , Alkhouli Mohamad
Published: August 2018

Background

Early experience with transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) highlighted several investigational challenges related to this novel therapy. Conclusive randomised clinical trials in the field may, therefore, be years ahead. In the interim, contemporary outcomes of isolated surgical bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement (MVR) can be used as a benchmark for the emerging TMVR therapies.

Methods

We used the nationwide inpatient sample to examine recent trends and outcomes of surgical bioprosthetic MVR for mitral regurgitation (isolated and combined).

Results

21 007 patients who had bioprosthetic MVR between 2003 and 2014 were included. Of those, 30% had isolated MVR and 70% had concomitant cardiac surgical procedure(s). In patients who underwent isolated bioprothestic MVR, mean age was 68±13, and females were the majority (58.4%). Most of these procedures were performed at teaching institutions (71.3%) and during an elective admission (64%). In-hospital mortality improved during the study period (7.8% in 2003 to 4.7% in 2014, p trend=0.016). Postoperative morbidities were common; permanent pacemaker 11.7%, stroke 2.4%, new dialysis 4.9% and blood transfusion 41.6%. Mean length of stay was 13±12 days, and 27.2% of patients were discharged to an intermediate care of rehabilitation facility. Cost of hospitalisation was $62 443±50 997.

Conclusions

Isolated bioprosthetic MVR for mitral regurgitation is performed infrequently but is associated with significant in-hospital morbidity and mortality and cost in contemporary practice. These data are useful as benchmarks for the evolving TMVR therapies.
Dipole-induced effects on charge transfer and charge transport. Why do molecular electrets matter?
Authors: Derr James B. , Tamayo Jesse , Espinoza Eli M. , Clark John A. , Vullev Valentine I.
Published: August 2018

Charge transfer (CT) and charge transport (CTr) are at the core of life-sustaining biological processes and of processes that govern the performance of electronic and energy-conversion devices. Electric fields are invaluable for guiding charge movement. Therefore, as electrostatic analogues of magnets, electrets have unexplored potential for generating local electric fields for accelerating desired CT processes and suppressing undesired ones. The notion about dipole-generated local fields affecting CT has evolved since the middle of the 20th century. In the 1990s, the first reports demonstrating the dipole effects on the kinetics of long-range electron transfer appeared. Concurrently, the development of molecular-level designs of electric junctions has led the exploration of dipole effects on CTr. Biomimetic molecular electrets such as polypeptide helices are often the dipole sources in CT systems. Conversely, surface-charge electrets and self-assembled monolayers of small polar conjugates are the preferred sources for modifying interfacial electric fields for controlling CTr. The multifaceted complexity of such effects on CT and CTr testifies for the challenges and the wealth of this field that still remains largely unexplored. This review outlines the basic concepts about dipole effects on CT and CTr, discusses their evolution, and provides accounts for their future developments and impacts.
Effects of oxygen partial pressure on the microstructure, electrical and optical properties of the Sn-doped In2O3 thin films
Authors: Liu Xiaochan , An Yukai , Lin Zhen , Liu Jiwen
Published: August 2018

The effects of oxygen partial pressure on the microstructure, electrical and photo-sensitive properties of the Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) films deposited by different Ar–O2 flow rates (10:0.4, 10:1, 10:1.8 and 10:3) were investigated systematically by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Hall effect, UV-Vis and optical measurements. The XRD and SEM measurements show that the ITO film deposited at oxygen flow rate of 0.4 sccm prefers to (400) orientation and has a rough sawtooth-shaped surface. However, the ITO films deposited at oxygen flow rates of 1 sccm, 1.8 sccm and 3 sccm prefer to (222) orientation and exhibit a flat smooth surface. The conductivity, mobility and photosensitive property of ITO films are also sensitive to oxygen flow rate. The ITO film deposited at oxygen flow rate of 0.4 sccm has a high carrier concentration (up to [Formula: see text] cm[Formula: see text]) and mobility (16.7 cm2/vs), low resistivity [Formula: see text], and a long response time but good sensitivity to ultraviolet light. It can be concluded that the surface morphology plays a dominant role in sensitivity to ultraviolet light. The good sensitivity of ultraviolet light is gained from the ITO film with sawtooth-shaped surface.
Novel Memory Efficient Hardware Architecture for 5/3 Lifting-Based 2D Inverse DWT
Authors: Savić Goran , Rajović Vladimir
Published: August 2018

This paper presents a novel memory efficient hardware architecture for 5/3 lifting-based two-dimensional (2D) inverse discrete wavelet transform (IDWT). The proposed architecture processes multiple levels of composition simultaneously using only one one-dimensional (1D) 5/3 lifting-based inverse vertical filter and only one 1D 5/3 lifting-based inverse horizontal filter. In case of [Formula: see text] levels of composition for [Formula: see text] image, the proposed 5/3 2D IDWT architecture requires the total memory of size less than [Formula: see text], which is lower memory size than memory size required in any other previously published architecture. In terms of total number of adders, total number of multipliers (shifters), total computing time and output latency, presented solution is comparable with other state-of-the-art solutions. Proposed hardware architecture is suitable for implementation in JPEG 2000 decoder, since default inverse filter for reversible transformation in JPEG 2000 standard is 5/3 IDWT filter.
The “unknotting number” associated with other local moves than the crossing-change
Authors: Ogasa Eiji
Published: August 2018

The ordinary unknotting number of 1-dimensional knots, which is defined by using the crossing-change, is a very basic and important invariant. Let [Formula: see text] be a positive integer. It is very natural to consider the “unknotting number” associated with other local moves on [Formula: see text]-dimensional knots. In this paper, we prove the following. For the ribbon-move on 2-knots, which is a local move on knots, we have the following: There is a 2-knot which is changed into the unknot by two times of the ribbon-move not by one time. The “unknotting number” associated with the ribbon-move is unbounded. For the pass-move on 1-knots, which is a local move on knots, we have the following: There is a 1-knot such that it is changed into the unknot by two times of the pass-move not by one time and such that the ordinary unknotting number is [Formula: see text]. For any positive integer [Formula: see text], there is a 1-knot whose “unknotting number” associated with the pass-move is [Formula: see text] and whose ordinary unknotting number is [Formula: see text]. Let [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be positive integers. For the [Formula: see text]-move on [Formula: see text]-knots, which is a local move on knots, we have the following: Let [Formula: see text] be a non-negative integer. There is a [Formula: see text]-knot which is changed into the unknot by two times of the [Formula: see text]-move not by one time. The “unknotting number” associated with the [Formula: see text]-move is unbounded. There is a [Formula: see text]-knot which is changed into the unknot by two times of the [Formula: see text]-move not by one. The “unknotting number” associated with the [Formula: see text]-move is unbounded. We prove the following: For any positive integer [Formula: see text] and any positive integer [Formula: see text], there is a [Formula: see text]-knot which is changed into the unknot by [Formula: see text] times of the twist-move not by [Formula: see text] times.
2-Adjacency between some special links and pretzel links
Authors: Tao Zhi-Xiong
Published: August 2018

This paper studies 2-adjacency between a 3-strand pretzel link and one of the Hopf link, the Solomon’s link and the Whitehead link by using the results that have been obtained about 2-adjacency between knots or links and their polynomials and etc. This paper shows that of all 3-strand pretzel links, only ordinary pretzel links are 2-adjacent to the Hopf link or the Solomon’s link or the Whitehead link. Conversely, these special links are not 2-adjacent to any other 3-strand pretzel links, except for themselves, respectively.
A NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE BLOOD FLOW BEHAVIOR IN CORONARY ARTERY ANOMALIES FOR NORMAL AND DIABETIC PERSONS
Authors: ATTIA RADWA M. , ELDOSOKY MOHAMED A. A. , DARWISH R. R.
Published: August 2018

This work is developed to facilitate studying the flow of blood through a stenosed coronary artery of a diabetic person. It is Important in the diagnosis, risk assessment, and management of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease where the major cause of death worldwide is the cardiovascular diseases. Two different cases of coronary artery were investigated to demonstrate the difference between blood flow in a normal and stenosed artery for both normal and diabetic persons. A 3D model was designed and meshed using ANSYS Program, the outputs of the computational fluid dynamics analysis were observed. This paper shows full and non-invasive visualization of the blood flow with high degree of precision that can be applied to the heart diseases. The results show that the disturbed flow patterns and oscillating velocity indicate that the vulnerability of plaque formation is high in case of diabetes. The increasing in blood viscosity causes a deviation in the wall shear stress especially in the presence of stenosis.
Higher order duality for cone vector optimization problems
Authors: Singh Vivek , Jayswal Anurag , Al-Homidan S. , Ahmad I.
Published: August 2018

In this paper, we present a new class of higher order [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-invex functions over cones. Further, we formulate two types of higher order dual models for a vector optimization problem over cones containing support functions in objectives as well as in constraints and establish several duality results, viz., weak and strong duality results.
Arnold
Authors: Georgiev Iliyan , Ize Thiago , Farnsworth Mike , Montoya-Vozmediano Ramón , King Alan , Lommel Brecht Van , Jimenez Angel , Anson Oscar , Ogaki Shinji , Johnston Eric , Herubel Adrien , Russell Declan , Servant Frédéric , Fajardo Marcos
Published: August 2018

Arnold is a physically based renderer for feature-length animation and visual effects. Conceived in an era of complex multi-pass rasterization-based workflows struggling to keep up with growing demands for complexity and realism, Arnold was created to take on the challenge of making the simple and elegant approach of brute-force Monte Carlo path tracing practical for production rendering. Achieving this required building a robust piece of ray-tracing software that can ingest large amounts of geometry with detailed shading and lighting and produce images with high fidelity, while scaling well with the available memory and processing power.

Arnold’s guiding principles are to expose as few controls as possible, provide rapid feedback to artists, and adapt to various production workflows. In this article, we describe its architecture with a focus on the design and implementation choices made during its evolutionary development to meet the aforementioned requirements and goals. Arnold’s workhorse is a unidirectional path tracer that avoids the use of hard-to-manage and artifact-prone caching and sits on top of a ray-tracing engine optimized to shoot and shade billions of spatially incoherent rays throughout a scene. A comprehensive API provides the means to configure and extend the system’s functionality, to describe a scene, render it, and save the results.
An Emerging Archaeology of the Nazi Era
Authors: Bernbeck Reinhard
Published: August 2018

The archaeology of the Nazi era is a relatively new field of research. This review addresses motivations and ethical circumstances of such research, as well as the complex relations between archaeological evidence and a variety of other sources, including documents, oral history, and photography. Archaeologists work with two fundamentally different conceptualizations: an objectivist one concerned with recording material remains, for which scale is a prominent issue, and interpretive approaches based on the evocative power of things, in which different degrees of victims’ anonymity play a core role. Other issues involve questions about the possibility of any coherent synthesis of this period. Investigations into the Nazi past also invariably include commemorative politics whose complex development is outlined. An engagement with this time of extremes has wider consequences, posing the question of the role of suffering and desolation in human history as a whole.
How Consonants and Vowels Shape Spoken-Language Recognition
Authors: Nazzi Thierry , Cutler Anne
Published: August 2018

All languages instantiate a consonant/vowel contrast. This contrast has processing consequences at different levels of spoken-language recognition throughout the lifespan. In adulthood, lexical processing is more strongly associated with consonant than with vowel processing; this has been demonstrated across 13 languages from seven language families and in a variety of auditory lexical-level tasks (deciding whether a spoken input is a word, spotting a real word embedded in a minimal context, reconstructing a word minimally altered into a pseudoword, learning new words or the “words” of a made-up language), as well as in written-word tasks involving phonological processing. In infancy, a consonant advantage in word learning and recognition is found to emerge during development in some languages, though possibly not in others, revealing that the stronger lexicon–consonant association found in adulthood is learned. Current research is evaluating the relative contribution of the early acquisition of the acoustic/phonetic and lexical properties of the native language in the emergence of this association.
A New Closed‐Form Solution of the Side Abutment Pressure Distribution of Roadway
Authors: Cheng Liang , Zhang Yidong
Published: August 2018

Instability of coal wall is one of the hot‐button and difficult issues in the study of coal mine ground control. The shallow side coal of roadway in the coal measures is usually weak and consequently easy to bring about failure. Hence, the side abutment pressure redistributes and dramatically influences the roadway stability. Since the previous closed‐form solutions of the side abutment pressure do not take into account all the necessary parameters which include the properties of the coal and the interface between coal and roof/floor, the roadway height, and the support strength, a mechanical model is established based on the equilibrium of the plastic zone, and a new closed‐form solution is derived in this paper. Moreover, a numerical investigation is conducted to validate the accuracy of the closed‐form solution. The numerical results of the side abutment pressure distribution are in good agreement with the closed‐form solution. Afterwards, a parametric analysis of the width of the plastic zone is carried out, and the results show that the width of the plastic zone is nearly negatively linearly correlated with the friction angle and the cohesion of the coal, the interfacial cohesion, and the support strength. By contrast, it is positively linearly correlated with the roadway height and negatively exponentially correlated with the interfacial friction angle. The results obtained in the present study could be useful for the evaluation process of roadway stability.
Numerical Analysis Method of Shear Properties of Infilled Joints under Constant Normal Stiffness Condition
Authors: Wang Xiangyu , Wang Ruofan , Zhang Zizheng
Published: August 2018

The direct shear test is implemented in this paper for infilled joints under constant normal stiffness (CNS) condition with the finite difference software FLAC3D. The CNS condition was performed based on a servoprogram developed by FISH language. The effects of initial normal stress, undulating angle, and infilled ratio on the shear failure mode of infilled joints under CNS are revealed based on numerical simulation. It is found that the shear strength of infilled joints will grow along with the increase of the undulating angle and the decrease of the infilled ratio. The numerical analysis method is also able to quantify the effect of multiple factors (initial normal stress and infilled ratio) on shear properties of infilled joints. The model shows a good agreement with the experimental results available in the literatures. Therefore, this study proposed and verified a numerical analysis method capable of studying the effects of normal stress, undulating angles, and infilled ratio on the shear behavior of infilled rock joints.