bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rural community birth: Maternal and neonatal outcomes for planned community births among rural women in the United States, 2004‐2009
Authors: Nethery Elizabeth , Gordon Wendy , Bovbjerg Marit L. , Cheyney Melissa
Published: November 2017

Background

Approximately 22% of women in the United States live in rural areas with limited access to obstetric care. Despite declines in hospital‐based obstetric services in many rural communities, midwifery care at home and in free standing birth centers is available in many rural communities. This study examines maternal and neonatal outcomes among planned home and birth center births attended by midwives, comparing outcomes for rural and nonrural women.

Methods

Using the Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project 2.0 dataset of 18 723 low‐risk, planned home, and birth center births, rural women (n = 3737) were compared to nonrural women. Maternal outcomes included mode of delivery (cesarean and instrumental delivery), blood transfusions, severe events, perineal lacerations, or transfer to hospital and a composite (any of the above). The primary neonatal outcome was a composite of early neonatal intensive care unit or hospital admissions (longer than 1 day), and intrapartum or neonatal deaths. Analysis involved multivariable logistic regression, controlling for sociodemographics, antepartum, and intrapartum risk factors.

Results

Rural women had different risk profiles relative to nonrural women and reduced risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in bivariable analyses. However, after adjusting for risk factors and confounders, there were no significant differences for a composite of maternal (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.05 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.93‐1.19]) or neonatal (aOR 1.13 [95% CI 0.87‐1.46]) outcomes between rural and nonrural pregnancies.

Conclusion

Among this sample of low‐risk women who planned midwife‐led community births, no increased risk was detected by rural vs nonrural status.
Effects of achievement differences for internal/external frame of reference model investigations: A test of robustness of findings over diverse student samples
Authors: Schmidt Isabelle , Brunner Martin , Preckel Franzis
Published: November 2017

Background

Achievement in math and achievement in verbal school subjects are more strongly correlated than the respective academic self‐concepts. The internal/external frame of reference model (I/E model; Marsh, 1986, Am. Educ. Res. J., 23, 129) explains this finding by social and dimensional comparison processes. We investigated a key assumption of the model that dimensional comparisons mainly depend on the difference in achievement between subjects. We compared correlations between subject‐specific self‐concepts of groups of elementary and secondary school students with or without achievement differences in the respective subjects.

Aims

The main goals were (1) to show that effects of dimensional comparisons depend to a large degree on the existence of achievement differences between subjects, (2) to demonstrate the generalizability of findings over different grade levels and self‐concept scales, and (3) to test a rarely used correlation comparison approach (CCA) for the investigation of I/E model assumptions.

Samples

We analysed eight German elementary and secondary school student samples (grades 3–8) from three independent studies (Ns 326–878).

Method

Correlations between math and German self‐concepts of students with identical grades in the respective subjects were compared with the correlation of self‐concepts of students having different grades using Fisher's Z test for independent samples.

Results

In all samples, correlations between math self‐concept and German self‐concept were higher for students having identical grades than for students having different grades. Differences in median correlations had small effect sizes for elementary school students and moderate effect sizes for secondary school students.

Conclusions

Findings generalized over grades and indicated a developmental aspect in self‐concept formation. The CCA complements investigations within I/E‐research.
Emerging roles of MicroRNAs in osteonecrosis of the femoral head
Authors: Li Zheng , Yang Bo , Weng Xisheng , Tse Gary , Chan Matthew T. V. , Wu William Ka Kei
Published: November 2017

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is one of the most common orthopaedic diseases. The exact pathogenic mechanism of ONFH is still unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non‐coding RNAs that negatively modulate gene expression at post‐transcriptional level. An increasing number of studies have shown that miRNAs play crucial roles in different physiological processes, including development, cell proliferation, differentiation and metabolism. Recently, multiple studies demonstrated that miRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of ONFH. In this review, we summarize dysregulated miRNAs and their functions in ONFH. Furthermore, we discuss their potential clinical applications for diagnosis and treatment of ONFH.
Examining the Impact of Turkey's Approach Vis‐à‐Vis Syria into Turkey's Iraq Policy
Authors: Çetinoğlu Harunoğlu Nur
Published: November 2017

The tension between “international order” and justice has long been a focus of critical attention of many scholars. Today, with the rise of the humanitarian crises, the debate is once again visible, and Turkish foreign policy is one of the most important areas of observation of this tension. Indeed, the U.S.‐led invasion of Iraq in 2003 paved the way for Turkey to actively engage in regional affairs. Meanwhile, the need to bring human justice into world politics makes Turkish foreign policy decision makers operate on a much more humanitarian basis. Nevertheless, active humanitarian engagement poses an important challenge to traditional Turkish foreign policy as it is mainly based on the notion of “non‐interference,” as well as on the elementary components of international order, by raising suspicions on the intentions of the Turkish authorities. This article aims to explore the challenges Turkey has been facing since the U.S.‐led invasion of Iraq, and diagnose Turkish foreign policy vis‐à‐vis Iraq in the shadow of the Syrian civil war from Hedley Bull's framework of “order” and “justice.” It argues that Turkey's recent fluctuations in the Middle East could be linked to Turkey's failure to reconcile the requirements of “order” with those of “justice” and the Turkish governing party's (AKP) attempts to use justice as an important instrument to consolidate its power both in Turkey and in the Middle East.
Testicular vein thrombosis: Incidence of recurrent venous thromboembolism and survival
Authors: Lenz Charles J , McBane Robert D , Cohoon Kevin P , Janczak Dawid T , Simmons Benjamin S , Saadiq Rayya A , Mimier Malgorzata , Casanegra Ana I , Daniels Paul R , Wysokinski Waldemar E
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Testicular vein thrombosis (TVT) etiology, recurrence, and survival were compared with lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in order to determine whether treatment guidelines for DVT could be applied to TVT.

Patients and Methods

An inception cohort of patients with confirmed TVT (January 1995‐October 2015) was compared to a control group of patients with lower extremity DVT matched by age, gender, and diagnosis date.

Results

Thirty‐nine men with TVT were identified; 15 (38%) with isolated TVT. Left testicular vein was affected in 77% patients; there were no cases of bilateral TVT. Cancer was over twofold more common in TVT patients (59% vs 28%, P = .01). Most cancers (78%) involved organs in proximity to the testicular vein. Although TVT patients were less frequently treated with anticoagulants (49% vs 97%, P = .0001), recurrence rates were similar to DVT group (TVT 4.2 vs DVT 1.1 per 100 patient‐years, P = .11). Despite higher cancer prevalence, survival rates were similar between groups (31% vs 28%; P = .34). Major bleeding events were rare (one patient per group).

Conclusions

Identifying TVT should prompt a search for a regional malignancy. Despite the high cancer prevalence and low utilization of anticoagulants, recurrent venous thrombosis and mortality rates are similar to DVT patients.
Interferon regulatory factor 4/5 signaling impacts on microglial activation after ischemic stroke in mice
Authors: Al Mamun Abdullah , Chauhan Anjali , Yu Haifu , Xu Yan , Sharmeen Romana , Liu Fudong
Published: November 2017

Microglial activation is a key element in initiating and perpetuating inflammatory responses to stroke. Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) and IRF4 signaling have been found critical in mediating macrophage pro‐inflammatory (M1) and anti‐inflammatory (M2) phenotypes, respectively, in peripheral inflammation. We hypothesize that the IRF5/4 regulatory axis also mediates microglial activation after stroke. C57BL6 mice of 8–12 weeks were subject to a 90‐min middle cerebral artery occlusion, and the brains evaluated at 24 h, 3, 10 and 30 days after reperfusion. Flow cytometry was utilized to examine microglial activation and cytokine expression. RT‐PCR was performed for mRNA levels of IRF5/4 in sorted microglia. Microglial expression of IRF5/4 was examined by immunohistochemistry, and brain cytokine levels were determined by ELISA. Our results revealed that the IRF5 mRNA level in sorted microglia increased at 3 days of stroke; whereas IRF4 mRNA level exhibited biphasic increases, with a transient rise at 24 h and a peak at 10 days. The same pattern was seen in IRF5/4 protein colocalization with Iba‐1+ cells by IHC. Intracellular levels of TNF‐α and IL‐1β in microglia peaked at 3 days of stroke, and IL‐4+IL‐10+ double‐positive microglia significantly increased at day 10. Brain levels of these cytokines were consistent with microglial cytokine changes. Worse behavior test results were seen at 3 days vs. 10 days of stroke. We conclude that microglia phenotypes are dynamic to ischemic stroke, and IRF5/4 signaling may regulate microglial M1/M2 activation and impact on stroke outcomes.
miR‐140‐5p‐mediated regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells occurs through the lipopolysaccharide/toll‐like receptor 4 signaling pathway
Authors: Sun De‐gang , Xin Bing‐chang , Wu Di , Zhou Lei , Wu Hong‐bin , Gong Wen , Lv Jian
Published: November 2017

Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are oral mesenchymal stem cells with potential to differentiate into various cell types. Recent studies of DPSCs have focused on microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small noncoding RNAs that play crucial roles in regulating DPSC phenotypes. In the current study, the expression of miR‐140‐5p was significantly decreased during lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐mediated differentiation of DPSCs in vitro. Overexpression of miR‐140‐5p enhanced proliferation of DPSCs and inhibited DPSC differentiation, whereas suppression of miR‐140‐5p produced the opposite effect. Moreover, the expression of toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR‐4), a critical regulator of DPSCs, was negatively correlated with the levels of miR‐140‐5p. A luciferase reporter analysis confirmed that miR‐140‐5p could regulate TLR‐4 by directly binding to the 3′‐untranslated region (3′‐UTR) of the TLR4 mRNA. Additionally, we suppressed TLR‐4 expression by treating cells with a TLR‐4 inhibitor, CLI‐095, and demonstrated that the effect of the miR‐140‐5p inhibitor on DPSC proliferation and differentiation could be partially reversed by blocking TLR‐4. Taken together, our data suggest that miR‐140‐5p is a novel miRNA that regulates DPSC proliferation and differentiation.
Stent use for hemodialysis access: What a general nephrologist needs to know
Authors: Anwar Siddiq , Vachharajani Tushar J.
Published: November 2017

Recurrent stenosis due to neo‐intimal hyperplasia leads to loss of patency in an established hemodialysis access. The current treatment strategy to maintain patency involves percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with or without stent placement. There are several key points that an interventionalist needs to weigh before deciding to place a stent. These include appropriateness of stent placement, the long term consequences, the type of stent to be deployed, the size of stent and finally the impact on cannulation during dialysis. A general nephrologist needs to be aware of the various benefits and pitfalls of stent placement. The current review provides basic information that will educate the dialysis provider about stents and its use in treating dysfunctional hemodialysis access using commonly encountered clinical scenarios.
Sequence variants in nine different genes underlying rare skin disorders in 10 consanguineous families
Authors: Shah Khadim , Mehmood Sabba , Jan Abid , Abbe Izoduwa , Hussain Ali Raja , Khan Anwar , Chishti Muhammad S. , Lee Kwanghyuk , Ahmad Farooq , Ansar Muhammad ,   University of Washington Center for Mendelian Genomics, Shahzad Shaheen , Nickerson Deborah A. , Bamshad Michael J. , Coucke Paul J. , Santos‐Cortez Regie L. P. , Spritz Richard A. , Leal Suzanne M. , Ahmad Wasim
Published: November 2017

Background

Genodermatoses represent genetic anomalies of skin tissues including hair follicles, sebaceous glands, eccrine glands, nails, and teeth. Ten consanguineous families segregating various genodermatosis phenotypes were investigated in the present study.

Methods

Homozygosity mapping, exome, and Sanger sequencing were employed to search for the disease‐causing variants in the 10 families.

Results

Exome sequencing identified seven homozygous sequence variants in different families, including: c.27delT in FERMT1; c.836delA in ABHD5; c.2453C>T in ERCC5; c.5314C>T in COL7A1; c.1630C>T in ALOXE3; c.502C>T in PPOX; and c.10G>T in ALDH3A2. Sanger sequencing revealed three homozygous variants: c.1718 + 2A>G in FERMT1; c.10459A>T in FLG; and c.92delT in the KRT14 genes as the underlying genetic cause of skin phenotypes.

Conclusion

This study supports the use of exome sequencing as a powerful, efficient tool for identifying genes that underlie rare monogenic skin disorders.
Increased rates of atrial fibrillation recurrence following pulmonary vein isolation in overweight and obese patients
Authors: Sivasambu Bhradeev , Balouch Muhammad A. , Zghaib Tarek , Bajwa Rizma J. , Chrispin Jonathan , Berger Ronald D. , Ashikaga Hiroshi , Nazarian Saman , Marine Joseph E. , Calkins Hugh , Spragg David D.
Published: November 2017

Introduction

Catheter ablation is common for patients with symptomatic, drug‐refractory atrial fibrillation (AF). Obesity is a known risk factor for incident AF. The impact of obesity on AF ablation outcomes is incompletely understood. We sought to determine the impact of elevated body mass index (BMI) on pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) procedural outcomes and associated complications.

Methods and results

We evaluated patients undergoing PVI from 2001 to 2015, dividing them into four groups: normal weight (BMI ≥ 18.5 to < 25), overweight (BMI ≥ 25 to < 30), obese (BMI > 30 to < 40), and morbidly obese (BMI ≥ 40). Demographic and procedural characteristics, complications, and ablation outcomes were compared among groups.

A total of 701 patients (146 time‐matched controls, 227 overweight, 244 obese, and 84 morbidly obese) with complete demographic, procedural, and follow‐up data were included. Increasing BMI correlated positively with HTN, OSA, CHA2DS2‐VASC score, and persistent AF (P ≤ 0.001 for all associations). Radiofrequency application time and intraprocedural heparin dose increased with BMI (P ≤ 0.001). Arrhythmia recurrence at 1 year was 39.9% in controls, while higher in all high‐BMI groups (overweight, 51.3%; obese, 57%; morbidly obese, 58.1 %; P  =  0.007 for all versus controls). Impact of BMI on AF recurrence was not seen in persistent AF patients. Complication rates across groups were similar.

Conclusions

 AF recurrence after catheter ablation is higher in overweight, obese, and morbidly obese patients comparing to normal‐weight controls, driven primarily by outcomes differences in paroxysmal AF patients. Complications were not associated with increased BMI.
It Is Time to Change How We Think about Electricity: Getting the Consumer Involved
Authors: McDermott Karl A.
Published: November 2017

The electricity supply industry operated for over a hundred years under a regulatory framework that viewed our economic welfare as directly linked to our increasing consumption of electricity. The public utility under its obligation to serve customers designed a system to meet the growing consumption needs of the public. Today both our attitude toward energy and our technological capabilities allow the consumer to play their proper role as informed customers. The consumer can now deploy conservation technologies, and state regulators have begun to modify the form of regulation employed policies that enable conservation and energy efficiency choices on the consumers' part. This article examines the history of this transformation in the consumers' role within the electric system and the implications this has for the evolution in regulatory policy that is now harnessing the power of consumer involvement and breaking the link between profits and sales.
Multiple strategies for pathogen perception by plant immune receptors
Authors: Cesari Stella
Published: November 2017

Contents

Summary
17

I.
Introduction
17

II.
Pathogen perception by NLRs: from direct recognition to integrated decoys
18

III.
Multiple activation and signaling pathways for NLRs
18

IV.
How to engineer NLR‐mediated disease resistance?
21

V.
Conclusion
23

Acknowledgements
23

References
23

Plants have evolved a complex immune system to protect themselves against phytopathogens. A major class of plant immune receptors called nucleotide‐binding domain and leucine‐rich repeat‐containing proteins (NLRs) is ubiquitous in plants and is widely used for crop disease protection, making these proteins critical contributors to global food security. Until recently, NLRs were thought to be conserved in their modular architecture and functional features. Investigation of their biochemical, functional and structural properties has revealed fascinating mechanisms that enable these proteins to perceive a wide range of pathogens. Here, I review recent insights demonstrating that NLRs are more mechanistically and structurally diverse than previously thought. I also discuss how these findings provide exciting future prospects to improve plant disease resistance.
Body fatness at a young age, body fatness gain and risk of breast cancer: systematic review and meta‐analysis of cohort studies
Authors: Hidayat K. , Yang C.‐M. , Shi B.‐M.
Published: November 2017

Higher body fatness in adulthood has been consistently associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, as well as a tendency towards a lower risk of premenopausal breast cancer. However, the association between body fatness at a young age (≤30 years), body fatness gain and the risk of breast cancer is less defined. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched to identify relevant publications. Risk estimates with 95% confidence intervals from each study were transformed into a continuous variable for each 5 kg m−2 increase in body mass index (BMI) and were pooled under a random‐effects model. Each 5 kg m−2 increase in BMI was significantly associated with a 14%, 12% and 17% lower risk of breast cancer later in life among all women, premenopausal women and postmenopausal women, respectively. Significant heterogeneity and publication bias were observed. The results remained unchanged after the trim and fill method was applied to correct the bias. Each 5 kg m−2 increase in BMI from a young age until cohort entry was significantly associated with a 13% and 14% higher risk of breast cancer in all women and postmenopausal women, respectively. In summary, higher body fatness at a young age may have a protective role in the later development of breast cancer in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. However, this potential benefit should not be overemphasized, as our findings suggest that increased body fatness gain from a young age is positively associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk. These findings further justify the need to maintain a steady weight throughout life.
The Undesirable & the Adesirable
Authors: Yao Vida
Published: November 2017

The guise of the good thesis can be understood as an attempt to distinguish between human motivations that are intelligible as desires and those that are not. I propose, first, that we understand the intelligibility at stake here as the kind necessary for the experience of reactive attitudes, both negative and positive, to the behavior and motivations of an agent. Given this, I argue that the thesis must be understood as proposing substantive content restrictions on how human agents perceive objects of their desires; it cannot be a purely formal constraint. Moreover, while proponents of the guise of the good thesis who posit substantive content restrictions on human desire are right to do so, they are mistaken to claim that we always desire the apparently good. Instead, I propose a different limit: the naturally attractive. This alternative to the guise of the good thesis nonetheless captures the compelling idea that human desires are intelligent, quasi‐perceptual responses to the world.
Image analysis is an excellent tool for quantifying Ki‐67 to predict the prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients
Authors: Sugita Shintaro , Hirano Hiroshi , Hatanaka Yutaka , Fujita Hiromi , Kubo Terufumi , Kikuchi Noriaki , Ito Yumika , Sugawara Taro , Segawa Keiko , Hisai Hiroyuki , Yamashita Kentaro , Nobuoka Takayuki , Matsuno Yoshihiro , Hasegawa Tadashi
Published: November 2017

We investigated the quantification of Ki‐67 staining using digital image analysis (IA) as a complementary prognostic factor to the modified National Institutes of Health (NIH) classification in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). We examined 92 patients, focusing on the correlation between age, sex, primary tumor site, tumor size, predominant histologic type, mitotic index, modified NIH classification (low/intermediate vs high), Ki‐67 quantitation, and recurrence‐free survival (RFS). We compared two IA processes for whole slide imaging (WSI) and manually captured image (MCI) methods. A Ki‐67 quantitation cutoff was determined by receiver operator characteristics curve analysis. In the survival analysis, the high‐risk group of a modified NIH classification, a mitotic count >5 per 20 high‐powered fields, and Ki‐67 cutoffs of ≥6% and ≥8% obtained by IA of the WSI and MCI methods, respectively, had an adverse impact on RFS. On multivariate analysis, each Ki‐67 quantitation method strongly predicted prognosis, more strongly than the modified NIH classification. In addition, Ki‐67 quantitation using IA of the MCI method could stratify low or intermediate risk and high risk GIST patients. Thus, IA is an excellent tool for quantifying Ki‐67 to predict the prognosis of GIST patients, and this semiautomated approach may be preferable for patient care.
Intelligent feeding control methods in aquaculture with an emphasis on fish: a review
Authors: Zhou Chao , Xu Daming , Lin Kai , Sun Chuanheng , Yang Xinting
Published: November 2017

In aquaculture, feeding is the primary factor determining efficiency and cost, so it is important to know when to stop feeding to maximize efficiency. Until now, fish feeding has been mostly based on artificial discrimination, which is usually time‐consuming and laborious. In recent years, intelligent feeding control according to changes in behaviour and growth status has gained increasing attention. This approach involves many methods as well as monitoring and feedback equipment and can automatically determine the feeding demands of fish. This review summarizes the development of intelligent feeding control methods, such as mathematical models, acoustic methods and computer vision, in aquaculture over the past three decades. All methods have unique application scenarios and models for the culture to which they are most suitable, and the advantages and disadvantages of each method in the laboratory as well as in pond, cage and recirculating aquaculture systems are analysed. Studies show that improvements in sensor accuracy and hardware and software processing speed have promoted the development of new technologies and methods, providing effective or potential support for intelligent feeding control. However, its accuracy and intelligent are still need to be improved to meet the needs of actual feeding scenarios. Through close collaborations between engineers and fish behaviourists, the feeding machine and system will be more elaborate and precise on the basis of the above methods, and the level of intelligence will be further improved.
A critical analysis of the international legal framework regulating the microbiological classification of bivalve shellfish production areas
Authors: de Souza Robson Ventura , Campos Carlos , Garbossa Luis Hamilton Pospissil , Vianna Luiz Fernando de Novaes , Vanz Argeu , Rupp Guilherme Sabino , Seiffert Walter
Published: November 2017

This study presents a review of the microbiological standards and associated monitoring practices for classification of commercial shellfish production areas in force in Brazil, European Union and United States of America. The classification systems are not immediately comparable principally because some regulations are based on the monitoring of water and others of shellfish flesh. To create a common baseline to compare these regulations, regression models were developed based on monitoring data and used to correlate levels of faecal indicator bacteria in water and in shellfish. The classification system used in the European Union was found to provide the highest level of shellfish safety for classification categories that do not require post‐harvest treatments prior to marketing, while the United States system provides higher level of shellfish safety for classification categories that require these treatments. The Brazilian legislation prescribes depuration as the post‐harvest treatment for shellfish with much higher levels of coliforms than the United States and European Union systems. Evidence was found that the microbiological limits for sea water set out in the Brazilian Resolution 357 – CONAMA are more stringent than the regulations used in the European Union and United States. The results also suggest that the Brazilian Shellfish Sanitation Programme and the European Union legislation are the least stringent concerning maximum faecal contamination tolerated. This assessment provides information on margins of safety for shellfish products traded internationally.
Translation and validation of the Danish version of the brief family assessment measure III in a sample of acutely admitted elderly medical patients
Authors: Shamali Mahdi , Konradsen Hanne , Lauridsen Jørgen T. , Østergaard Birte
Published: November 2017

Rationale and objective

Family functioning plays a pivotal role in the adaptation to illness of both individuals and families, especially among elderly patients. The Brief Family Assessment Measure Third Edition (Brief FAM‐III) is among the most frequently used self‐report instruments that measures family functioning. However, no Danish translation or measure of its psychometric properties in a Danish population is available. The purpose of this study was to translate the Brief FAM‐III into Danish and then evaluate its psychometric properties in elderly patients.

Methods

The Brief FAM‐III was translated into Danish using the forward–backward translation procedure and examined its psychometric properties in 60 elderly patients (aged over 65) consecutively admitted to an acute medical ward. Internal consistency reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficients, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity of the Brief FAM‐III.

Results

Evaluation of the Danish version of the Brief FAM‐III confirmed the three‐factor structure (General Scale, Self‐Rating Scale and Dyadic Relationships Scale) identified in the original instrument. However, goodness‐of‐fit indicators showed a relatively poor model fit. Cronbach's alpha for the total scales of Brief FAM‐III was 0.94 suggesting good internal consistency.

Conclusions

The Danish version of the Brief FAM‐III demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability to assess family functioning among acutely admitted elderly Danish patients. We suggest that it may also be useful for monitoring family functioning over time or determining the effects of therapeutic interventions in elderly medical patients; however, further testing is recommended.
Influences of age, ethnic group, and skin sites on a provisory skin marking, experimentally induced, in vivo
Authors: Flament F. , Bazin R.
Published: November 2017

Background

To study capacity of skin to being imprinted by a marking head rapidly applied (10 seconds) onto the skin under a standardized pressure (15 kPa).

Material and Methods

Referential photographs of skin markings, resulting from different times of application serve at grading the extent of skin imprints. The imprinting tool, equipped with 5 linear bulbs of different sizes but same thickness (1 mm), was applied onto the cheeks of 641 women of different ages (18‐80 years) of 3 different ethnic groups. In the cohort of 198 Caucasian women, the marking head was pressed onto 3 different sites (outer arm, cheek, and dorsal forearm) and the kinetics of skin recovery from cheek marking was recorded on a smaller and younger part of this Caucasian cohort, ie, 141 Caucasian women, aged 18‐59 years.

Results

The recorded intensities of skin markings were found highly correlated with age in all 3 studied ethnic groups (Chinese, African‐American, and Caucasian). Caucasian women seem more sensitive to the marking and the kinetics of recovery from such imprint was found highly dependent from its intensity, ie, the higher the grades, the slower the recovery. In Caucasian women, intensities were different between skin sites, where arm showed higher resistance to marking. Possible impact of photo‐aging on the decreased skin resistance to such provoked deformation is likely of minor amplitude, as compared to the one induced by chronological aging.

Conclusion

This method offers a new vision on skin aging, in its variable response to a standard deformation that appears mostly driven by chronological aging.
HLA class II polymorphism in Saudi patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Al Jumah M. , Kojan S. , Al Shehri A. M. , Al Balwi M. , Al Abdulkarim I. , Masuadi E. M. , Alhaidan Y. , Alabdulrahman A. , Fakhoury H. M. , Hajeer A. H.
Published: November 2017

Several studies have investigated the association of different HLA antigens with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, only few studies have considered the association of high‐resolution HLA type and MS with none yet from Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of HLA class II alleles with MS in the Saudi population. We used next‐generation sequencing to investigate HLA association with MS. This study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We found that several HLA‐DRB1 and DQB1 alleles were associated with MS. These alleles included HLA‐DRB1*15:01 (odds ratio [OR]: 3.01; 95%, confidence interval [CI]: 1.68‐5.54; P = .0001), HLA‐DQB1*02:01 (OR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.20‐2.58; P = .0022), HLA‐DQB1*06:02 (OR: 3.52; 95% CI: 1.87‐6.86; P < .0001), and HLA‐DQB1*06:03 (OR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.16‐5.25; P = 0.01). Interestingly, HLA‐DRB1*15:01 was associated with increased risk of previous relapses. In addition, HLA‐DRB1*15:01 and HLA‐DQB1*06:02 were found to be associated with lower vitamin D levels. This study provides insights on the association of different HLA alleles with clinical characteristics and outcome of MS among Saudis. These insights can have future implications for the clinical management of MS based on the patient genetic profile.
The Role of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Prediction Error and Signaling Surprise
Authors: Alexander William H. , Brown Joshua W.
Published: November 2017

In the past two decades, reinforcement learning (RL) has become a popular framework for understanding brain function. A key component of RL models, prediction error, has been associated with neural signals throughout the brain, including subcortical nuclei, primary sensory cortices, and prefrontal cortex. Depending on the location in which activity is observed, the functional interpretation of prediction error may change: Prediction errors may reflect a discrepancy in the anticipated and actual value of reward, a signal indicating the salience or novelty of a stimulus, and many other interpretations. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has long been recognized as a region involved in processing behavioral error, and recent computational models of the region have expanded this interpretation to include a more general role for the region in predicting likely events, broadly construed, and signaling deviations between expected and observed events. Ongoing modeling work investigating the interaction between ACC and additional regions involved in cognitive control suggests an even broader role for cingulate in computing a hierarchically structured surprise signal critical for learning models of the environment. The result is a predictive coding model of the frontal lobes, suggesting that predictive coding may be a unifying computational principle across the neocortex.
Glimpses of Emergence in the Ayoreo Video Project
Authors: Bessire Lucas
Published: November 2017

Drawing upon scenes from a recent Indigenous video workshop in Paraguay, the essay details the emergent forms of perception, imagery, and experience that were unique to the video workshop form. The aim of the essay is to write present‐tense difference through such emergent visual forms rather than through increasingly common aesthetic frameworks of inevitable endings or cultural, technological, and economic determinisms. In doing so, the essay crafts a larger argument about how ethnographic attention to community video workshops and unauthorized Indigenous self‐imagery may offer correctives to the visual economies and political lexicons often presumed to define the present. It asks how Ayoreo remediations of self and world may charter novel axes for ethnographic writing and critique.
Projecting Films to Spirits: On Shrines as Conjunctural Space and the Ritual Economy of Outdoor Cinema in Bangkok
Authors: MacDonald Richard L.
Published: November 2017

This article is concerned with the ritually embedded character of open‐air cinema in Thailand. It draws on ethnographic fieldwork in Isaan and Bangkok and interviews with different actors within the ritual economy of open‐air cinema at shrines and temples. Outlining different ritual actions through which cinema is sponsored, it then focuses on a particular practice: pledging film screenings to spirits and deities at shrines. Looking at a specific site, a Daoist shrine in suburban Bangkok, it foregrounds the implications of a disjuncture between the personal nature of the spiritual transaction and the public character of its fulfillment. It considers these implications through an analysis of the spatial conjuncture formed when a projector casts its light in a particular setting, which is then appropriated by those customarily excluded by the institution of cinema in its commodity form.
ENHANCED BIOGAS (CO2/CH4) SEPARATION PERFORMANCE OF HYBRID MIXED MATRIX MEMBRANE BY INCORPORATING NANOSILICA PARTICLES INTO POLYETHERSULFONE
Authors: Djoko Kusworo Tutuk , Budiyono Budiyono , Qudratun Qudratun
Published: November 2017

This paper studies the gas transport properties of PES-nanosilica hybrid mixed matrix membrane for biogas purification. Problem statement: The hybrid mixed matrix membrane was produced to improve the membrane separation performance for biogas purification. The membrane was produced via dry-wet phase inversion method, in which the nanosilica was incorporated into polyethersulfone membranes and the prepared membrane was performed on biogas separation experimental test. Quantitative result: The SEM images analysis confirmed that nanosilica surface had taken important role in gas transport properties. Moreover, the nano-gaps (voids) between polymer and nanosilica particles were disappeared in the polyethersulfone hybrid mixed matrix membrane. The results revealed that the good nano-silica dispersion leads to enhance the properties of gas permeation up to 200% and slighly increased the selectivity about 0.9% of the nanosilica concentration 8 wt-%. Conclusion: It can be concluded that incorporation of nanosilicas particles into the matrix of polyethersulfone polymer significantly enhanced the membrane structure and separation properties.
TREATMENT OF RUBBER INDUSTRY WASTEWATER BY USING FENTON REAGENT AND ACTIVATED CARBON
Authors: Emilia Agustina Tuty , Jefri Sirait Elon , Silalahi Herman
Published: November 2017

Rubber industries are sufficiently developed and widely spread countryside as well as in some big cities in Indonesia. An Increasing number of rubber industries have also increased rubber wastewater. However, the rubber industry development should pay attention to the impact on the environment. The rubber wastewater is problematic, because of high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) content. So far, the methods that have been used to remove COD in the waste water have been proven to be costly and time consuming. The research objective is to treat the rubber wastewater by using a combination of Fenton reagent and activated carbon adsorption. In this study, effect of molar ratios of Fenton reagent, pH, and reaction time on COD degradation were studied. After treating with Fenton reagent, the wastewater was passed into an adsorption column of 20 cm height of activated carbon granules. The maximum COD degradation of 95% were found by using a combination of Fenton reagent and activated carbon, with a molar ratio of reagent Fenton 1:250 and a reaction time of 45 minutes. The final COD of 71 mg/l, TSS of 70 mg/l, and pH of 7.8 were found which fulfilled the environmental quality standard regulation for industrial wastewater in Indonesia.
JOINT STRENGTH OF MIXED SILYL MODIFIED POLYMER-EPOXY ADHESIVE ON SINGLE LAP JOINT ETCHED ALUMINUM
Authors: Hastuti Sri , Sri Suharty Neng , Triyono Triyono
Published: November 2017

Currently, aluminum alloy is widely used in an automotive structure such as bus body materials due to decreasing the structure weight and fuel consumption. In this structure, there are tens or even hundreds of joints to meet the engineering design. Because of its advantages, the adhesive joint is usually chosen. Aluminum is stiff enough, but it can deform easily. Due to its deformability, cracks will occur easily on the aluminum adhesive joint if it is joined using strong and stiff adhesive. Otherwise, it will be very weak if it is joined using flexible adhesive. The mixture of the strong adhesive, epoxy (EP) and the ductile adhesive, silyl modified polymer (SMP) was proposed for joining aluminum. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the composition of mixed adhesive and its thickness on the strength of single lap joint (SLJ) etched aluminum. Before joining process, the aluminum surface was treated by sandpapering (SDP), and then chromic-sulphuric acid (CSA) etch. The composition variations of mixed adhesive were 100%EP, 75%SMP:25%EP, 50%SMP:50%EP, 25%SMP:75%EP, and 100%SMP. Mixed adhesives were prepared by using a stirrer with a spatula for 4-6 minutes at 60 rpm. SLJ specimens were manufactured through bonding of two aluminum sheets surface with an adhesive and giving 0.1 MPa pressure. The thickness adhesive was varied of 0.2 mm, 0.4 mm, and 0.6 mm. Specimens got a post-curing process at 100oC for 100 minutes. The shear tests were performed to evaluate the strength of SLJ. The experimental result showed that the surface treatments of SDP and CSA give higher porosity on the adherend surface. The highest strength and elasticity modulus were achieved by joint of 25%SMP:75%EP mixed adhesive joints. The addition a few of SMP adhesive in EP adhesive and adherend surface treatment increases the joint strength. All of the joints have mixed failure mode except the 100%EP adhesive joint has an adhesive failure mode.
TACKLING IMBALANCED CLASS IN SOFTWARE DEFECT PREDICTION USING TWO-STEP CLUSTER BASED RANDOM UNDERSAMPLING AND STACKING TECHNIQUE
Authors: Wijaya Adi , Satria Wahono Romi
Published: November 2017

The cost of finding and correcting the software defects are high and increases exponentially in the software development. The software defect prediction (SDP) can be used in the early phases to reduce the testing and maintenance time, cost and effort; thus, improves the quality of the software. SDP performance is poor caused by imbalanced class in datasets where defective modules as minority compared to defect-free ones. In this study, we propose the combination of random undersampling based on two-step cluster and stacking technique for improving the accuracy of SDP. In stacking technique, Decision Tree, Logistic Regression and k-Nearest Neighbor are used as base learner while Naive Bayes as stacking model learner. The proposed method is evaluated using nine datasets from NASA metrics data program repository and area under curve (AUC) as main evaluation. Results have indicated that the proposed method yield excellent performance for 5 of 9 datasets (AUC > 0.9). Compared to the prior researches, the proposed method has first position for 3 datasets, second position for 5 datasets and only 1 dataset in third position for AUC value comparison. Therefore, it can be concluded that the proposed method has an impressive and promising result in prediction performance for most datasets compared with prior research performance.
Impact of Digital Growth in Modern Business
Authors: Mastilo Zoran
Published: November 2017

Target research in this paper is the assessment and analysis of content of digital progress and its impact on modern business. Business digitization has been introducing increasingly dynamic changes across the entire global economic sphere, whereas its content increasingly maintains to affect the competitiveness of national economies. At the microeconomic level, digital technologies lead to a change of economic structure and quality of production factors, based on knowledge and innovations. This paper should provide specific answers on how to apply new technologies and digital techniques in a quality manner within the knowledge economy. This is not the only answer provided in this paper. On the contrary, the paper shall respond to question how to minimize the risks of all kinds, in order to increase labour productivity. The immediate objective of this paper is to adequately locate and understand the problem of economy digitization and the changes it brings, as well as to provide specific ideas and practical solutions for better and more efficient business operations. The new information, i.e. digital economy fundamentally differs from the traditional ones. This very synergy of workforce, its emergence in such manner, as well as increase in its presence, will be the biggest challenge to what we now call the digital economy. The IT revolution and communication technology affect the development of the new economy on a global scale, which significantly contributes to the modern business. The impact of digital growth on modern business should be reflected in increased productivity, knowing that the increase in productivity is a key issue in any economy, including the digital economy. Increasing productivity implies an increase in the results achieved with the same consumption of resources or achieving the same results with less consumption of resources. Numerous studies have been performed on this subject at the global level, demonstrating that there are serious analyses and research that show exactly how much the investment in IT does actually increase productivity. It is believed that the majority of the growth in productivity since 1995 to date is to be primarily credited to investments in information technology and business process automation. Increasing productivity is evident almost anywhere: in individual companies, industries and economies, which actually represents the essence of modern business activities.
The Failure of Home Depot in China - A Case Study
Authors: Zheng Shihui
Published: November 2017

In modern business management, organizational behavior is a crucial factor in influencing the success. Especially, when considering the market performance of a business, the decision-making behavior may be an important factor. In different local conditions, organizational behavior might be a determining factor in success. The paper, by studying the case of the US Home Depot in China, attempts to analyze the behavioral factors impacting the success in the local place of its targeted market. Based on the two factors including incompetent local adaptation and the wrong entry time and entry mode leading to failure, some recommendations are made. Firstly, the company could conduct a more detailed and systematic research of the local conditions, especially the local cultural and economic features. Secondly, it is crucially important to know the exact time and the suitable entry mode. Thirdly, that the Home Depot could have study the communicative mode with the locals heavily influenced by the local cultural traditions and conventions in order to avoid blind entry strategy. To conclude, for the success of cross-border businesses, being adaptable to the local consuming habits is an important premise of the sustainable development for the Home Depot in the international market.
Impact and Rolling Abrasive Wear Behavior and Hardening Mechanism for Hot-Rolled Medium-Manganese Steel
Authors: Wang Jian , Wang Qingliang , Zhang Xiao , Zhang Dekun
Published: November 2017

The coupled impact and rolling wear behavior of the medium-manganese austenitic steel (Mn8) were studied by comparison with the traditional Hadfield (Mn13) steel. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to analyze the wear and hardening mechanisms. The experimental results show that the impact and rolling wear resistance of hot-rolled medium-manganese steel (Mn8) is better than that of high-manganese steel (Mn13) under conditions of low-impact load. The better work hardening sensitivity effectively improves the wear resistance of medium-manganese steel. Not only the coefficient of friction is low, but the mass loss and wear rate of the wear are lower than that of high-manganese steel. After impact and rolling wear, a hardened layer with a thickness of about 600 μm is formed on the wear surface. The highest microhardness of the subsurface layer for Mn8 is about 594 HV and the corresponding Rockwell hardness is about 55 HRC, showing the remarkable work hardening effect. The wear-resistant strengthening mechanism of medium-manganese steel is compound strengthening, including the deformation-induced martensitic transformation, dislocation strengthening, and twin strengthening. In initial stages of impact and rolling abrasion, dislocation strengthening plays a major role. When the deformation reaches a certain extent, the deformation-induced martensitic transformation and twinning strengthening begin to play a leading role.