bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constructing definitions of safety risks while nurses care for hospitalised older people: Secondary analysis of qualitative data
Authors: Dahlke Sherry , Hall Wendy A. , Baumbusch Jennifer
Published: February 2017

Aim

The aim of this secondary qualitative descriptive analysis was to examine how nurses construct a definition of older peoples' safety risks and provide care while working within organisational contexts that are focused on diminishing patient risks.

Background

Numbers of older patients are increasing in acute hospital contexts—contexts that place their focus on patient safety. Nurses need to manage tensions between older peoples' risks, evidence‐informed practice decisions, limited resources and organisational emphases on patient falls. To date, their practice dilemmas have not been well examined.

Design

A secondary qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted using data that were collected between June 2010 and May 2011 to examine nursing practice with hospitalised older people.

Methods

All field notes and transcribed data were reviewed to generate themes representing 18 Registered Nurses' perceptions about safe care for hospitalised older people. The first author generated categories that described how nurses construct definitions of safety risks for older people. All authors engaged in an iterative analytic process that resulted in themes capturing nurses' efforts to provide care in limited resource environments while considering older peoples' safety risks.

Results

Nurses constructed definitions of patient safety risks in the context of institutional directives. Nurses provided care using available resources as efficiently as possible and accessing co‐worker support. They also minimised the importance of older people's functional abilities by setting priorities for medically delegated tasks and immobilising their patients to reduce their risks.

Conclusions

Nurses' definitions of patient risk, which were shaped by impoverished institutional resources and nurses' lack of valuing of functional abilities, contributed to suboptimal care for older adults. Nurses' definitions of risk as physical injury reduced their attention to patients' functional abilities, which nurses reported suffered declines as a result.

Implications for practice

Leaders need to examine how organisational emphases on particular areas of patient safety and resource constraints contribute to suboptimal care of older people. Nurses understanding of patient risk must incorporate older patients' functional abilities.
Night‐time pedestrian conspicuity: effects of clothing on drivers’ eye movements
Authors: Wood Joanne M. , Tyrrell Richard A. , Lacherez Philippe , Black Alex A.
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Drivers’ responses and eye movements were assessed as they approached pedestrians at night in order to explore the relative conspicuity benefits of different configurations of retroreflective markings.

Methods

Eye movements were recorded using an ASL Mobile Eye (Applied Science Technologies, www.asleyetracking.com) from 14 young licensed drivers (M = 24.1 ± 6.4 years) as they drove along a closed‐road circuit at night. At two locations, pedestrians walked in place facing either towards or away from the road. Pedestrians wore black clothing with a standard retroreflective vest either alone or with additional retroreflective markers positioned in a configuration conveying biological motion (biomotion). Drivers responded when they recognised that a pedestrian was present and again when they identified the direction the pedestrian was facing.

Results

Drivers recognised pedestrians from a significantly greater distance (p < 0.05) when the pedestrian's clothing included the biomotion configuration (319.1 m) than when the biomotion markings were absent (184.5 m). Further, the drivers recognised the direction that the pedestrian faced from a longer distance when biomotion markings were present (215.4 m vs 95.6 m). Eye movement data suggested that the biomotion configuration attracted drivers’ attention significantly sooner than the vest (time to first fixation: 1.1 vs 3.5 s), that drivers fixated on pedestrians wearing biomotion for significantly less time prior to responding (3.4 s vs 6.1 s), and the time to first recognise a pedestrian was approximately half that for biomotion compared to vest (6.4 vs 13.9 s).

Conclusion

Adding biomotion reflectors to the vest facilitated earlier recognition of pedestrians and faster identification of the direction that the pedestrian faced. These findings confirm that the conspicuity advantages of biomotion configurations on pedestrians at night result in part from drivers fixating pedestrians earlier and more efficiently.
A comparison of Goldmann III, V and spatially equated test stimuli in visual field testing: the importance of complete and partial spatial summation
Authors: Phu Jack , Khuu Sieu K. , Zangerl Barbara , Kalloniatis Michael
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Goldmann size V (GV) test stimuli are less variable with a greater dynamic range and have been proposed for measuring contrast sensitivity instead of size III (GIII). Since GIII and GV operate within partial summation, we hypothesise that actual GV (aGV) thresholds could predict GIII (pGIII) thresholds, facilitating comparisons between actual GIII (aGIII) thresholds with pGIII thresholds derived from smaller GV variances. We test the suitability of GV for detecting visual field (VF) loss in patients with early glaucoma, and examine eccentricity‐dependent effects of number and depth of defects. We also hypothesise that stimuli operating within complete spatial summation (‘spatially equated stimuli’) would detect more and deeper defects.

Methods

Sixty normal subjects and 20 glaucoma patients underwent VF testing on the Humphrey Field Analyzer using GI‐V sized stimuli on the 30‐2 test grid in full threshold mode. Point‐wise partial summation slope values were generated from GI‐V thresholds, and we subsequently derived pGIII thresholds using aGV. Difference plots between actual GIII (aGIII) and pGIII thresholds were used to compare the amount of discordance. In glaucoma patients, the number of ‘events’ (points below the 95% lower limit of normal), defect depth and global indices were compared between stimuli.

Results

90.5% of pGIII and aGIII points were within ±3 dB of each other in normal subjects. In the glaucoma cohort, there was less concordance (63.2% within ±3 dB), decreasing with increasing eccentricity. GIII found more defects compared to GV‐derived thresholds, but only at outermost test locations. Greater defect depth was found using aGIII compared to aGV and pGIII, which increased with eccentricity. Global indices revealed more severe loss when using GIII compared to GV. Spatially equated stimuli detected the greatest number of ‘events’ and largest defect depth.

Conclusions

Whilst GV may be used to reliably predict GIII values in normal subjects, there was less concordance in glaucoma patients. Similarities in ‘event’ detection and defect depth in the central VF were consistent with the fact that GIII and GV operate within partial summation in this region. Eccentricity‐dependent effects in ‘events’ and defect depth were congruent with changes in spatial summation across the VF and the increase in critical area with disease. The spatially equated test stimuli showed the greatest number of defective locations and larger sensitivity loss.
Long‐Term Experience with First‐Generation Implantable Neurostimulation Device in Central Sleep Apnea Treatment
Authors: FOX HENRIK , BITTER THOMAS , HORSTKOTTE DIETER , OLDENBURG OLAF , GUTLEBEN KLAUS‐JÜRGEN
Published: February 2017

Background

Sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) and Cheyne‐Stokes respiration (CSR) are associated with shorter survival in patients with heart failure. A novel treatment method for this patient group is unilateral phrenic nerve stimulation by the remedē® system (Respicardia Inc., Minnetonka, MN, USA), a transvenously implantable neurostimulation device, which has recently been studied in a large randomized, controlled trial. Previous literature has shown efficacy and safety of the treatment with this first‐generation device, but hardly any data are available on long‐term clinical parameters, the remedē® device's battery lifetime, device exchangeability, lead position stability, surgical accessibility, and manageability.

Methods

We performed remedē® device replacements in consecutive patients for battery depletion, and documented clinical parameters, longevity, operation procedure, complications, and difficulties.

Results

All patients were on neurostimulation treatment by phrenic nerve neurostimulation when device replacement became necessary. Apnea‐hypopnea index (from 45 ± 4/h to 9 ± 4/h), oxygen‐desaturation index (from 35 ± 7/h to 7 ± 6/h), and time spent with oxygen saturation of <90% (T < 90% from 5 ± 7% to 0 ± 0%) were improved and improvements remained constant throughout the 4‐year follow‐up. Mean battery life was 4.2 ± 0.2 years and mean replacement procedure time was 25 ± 5.1 minutes. Apart from conventional X‐ray documentation of stable lead positions in a long‐term setting, no radiation or contrast dye usage was needed and no major complications occurred. In addition, clinical exercise capacity and sleepiness symptoms improved.

Conclusions

Novel remedē® device shows sustained therapy efficacy and safety in terms of stable lead positions over 4 years. Long‐term phrenic nerve neurostimulation therapy for central SDB/CSR appears feasible in a clinical routine setting.
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: outcomes of neonates treated at Mayo Clinic with and without extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Authors: Bojanić Katarina , Woodbury Jason M. , Cavalcante Alexandre N. , Grizelj Ruža , Asay Garth F. , Colby Christopher E. , Carey William A. , Schears Gregory J. , Weingarten Toby N. , Schroeder Darrell R. , Sprung Juraj
Published: February 2017

Background

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a rare anomaly with high mortality and long‐term comorbid conditions.

Aims

Our aim was to describe the presenting characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of consecutive patients with CDH treated at our institution.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study and identified consecutive neonates treated for CDH from 2001 to 2015 at our institution. For all patients identified, we reviewed hospital and postdischarge data for neonatal, disease, and treatment characteristics. We determined hospital survival overall and also according to the presence of prenatal diagnosis, liver herniation into the chest (liver up), and the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in addition to surgery. We evaluated postdischarge chronic conditions in patients with at least one year of follow‐up.

Results

Thirty‐eight neonates were admitted for treatment during the study period. In three who were in extremis, life support was withdrawn. The other 35 underwent surgical repair, of whom eight received ECMO. The overall survival was 79% (30/38). Survival for those who had surgical correction of CDH but did not need ECMO was 89% (24/27); it was 75% (6/8) for those who received ECMO and had surgery. Hospital survival was lower for liver‐up vs liver‐down CDH (61% [11/18] vs 95% [19/20]; odds ratio, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01–0.77; P = 0.01). Among survivors, the median duration of hospitalization was 31 (interquartile range, 20–73) days. Major chronic pulmonary and gastrointestinal disorders, failure to thrive, and neurodevelopmental delays were the most noted comorbid conditions after discharge, and all were more prevalent in those who required ECMO.

Conclusion

The overall survival of neonates with CDH was 79%. Intrathoracic liver herniation was associated with more frequent use of ECMO and greater mortality. A substantial number of survivors, especially those who required ECMO, experienced chronic conditions after discharge.
Safety of antifibrinolytics in cranial vault reconstructive surgery: a report from the pediatric craniofacial collaborative group
Authors: Goobie Susan M. , Cladis Franklyn P. , Glover Chris D. , Huang Henry , Reddy Srijaya K. , Fernandez Allison M. , Zurakowski David , Gries Heike , Stricker Paul A. ,   the Pediatric Craniofacial Collaborative Group
Published: February 2017

Background

Antifibrinolytic therapy significantly decreases blood loss and transfusion in pediatric cranial vault reconstructive surgery; however, concern regarding the side effects profile limits clinical use.

Aims

The aim was to utilize the Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery Perioperative Registry database to identify the safety profile of antifibrinolytic therapy for cranial vault reconstructive surgery by reporting the incidence of adverse events as they relate to exposure to tranexamic acid and aminocaproic acid compared to no exposure to antifibrinolytics.

Methods

The database was queried for cases of open cranial vault reconstructive surgery. Less invasive procedures such as neuro‐endoscopic and spring‐mediated cranioplasties were excluded. The outcomes evaluated included any perioperative neurological adverse event including seizures or seizure‐like movements and thromboembolic events.

Results

Thirty‐one institutions reported a total of 1638 cases from 2010 to 2015. Total antifibrinolytic administration accounted for 59.5% (tranexamic acid, 36.1% and aminocaproic acid, 23.4%), with 40.5% not receiving any antifibrinolytic. The overall incidence of postoperative seizures or seizure‐like movements was 0.6%. No significant difference was detected in the incidence of postoperative seizures between patients receiving tranexamic acid and those receiving aminocaproic acid [the odds ratio for seizures being 0.34 (95% confidence interval: 0.07–1.85) controlling for American Society of Anesthesia (ASA) physical class] nor in patients receiving antifibrinolytics compared to those not administered antifibrinolytics (the odds ratio for seizures being 1.02 (confidence interval 0.29–3.63) controlling for ASA physical class). One complicated patient in the antifibrinolytic group with a femoral venous catheter had a postoperative deep venous thrombosis.

Conclusions

This is the first report of an incidence of postoperative seizures of 0.6% in pediatric cranial vault reconstructive surgery. There was no significant difference in postoperative seizures or seizure‐like events in those patients who received the tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid vs those that did not. This report provides evidence of the safety profile of antifibrinolytic in children having noncardiac major surgery. Caution should prevail however in using antifibrinolytic in high‐risk patients. Antifibrinolytic dosage regimes should be based on pharmacokinetic data avoiding high doses.
Effect of age on the performance of bispectral and entropy indices during sevoflurane pediatric anesthesia: a pharmacometric study
Authors: Sciusco Alberto , Standing Joseph F. , Sheng Yucheng , Raimondo Pasquale , Cinnella Gilda , Dambrosio Michele
Published: February 2017

Background

Bispectral index (BIS) and entropy monitors have been proposed for use in children, but research has not supported their validity for infants. However, effective monitoring of young children may be even more important than for adults, to aid appropriate anesthetic dosing and reduce the chance of adverse consequences. This prospective study aimed to investigate the relationships between age and the predictive performance of BIS and entropy monitors in measuring the anesthetic drug effects within a pediatric surgery setting.

Methods

We concurrently recorded BIS and entropy (SE/RE) in 48 children aged 1 month–12 years, undergoing general anesthesia with sevoflurane and fentanyl. Nonlinear mixed effects modeling was used to characterize the concentration–response relationship independently between the three monitor indicators with sevoflurane. The model's goodness‐of‐fit was assessed by prediction‐corrected visual predictive checks. Model fit with age was evaluated using absolute conditional individual weighted residuals (|CIWRES|). The ability of BIS and entropy monitors to describe the effect of anesthesia was compared with prediction probabilities (PK) in different age groups. Intraoperative and awakening values were compared in the age groups. The correlation between BIS and entropy was also calculated.

Results

|CIWRES| vs age showed an increasing trend in the model's accuracy for all three indicators. PK probabilities were similar for all three indicators within each age group, though lower in infants. The linear correlations between BIS and entropy in different age groups were lower for infants. Infants also tended to have lower values during surgery and at awakening than older children, while toddlers had higher values.

Conclusions

Performance of both monitors improves as age increases. Our results suggest a need for the development of new monitor algorithms or calibration to better account for the age‐specific EEG dynamics of younger patients.
Sequential allocation trial design in anesthesia: an introduction to methods, modeling, and clinical applications
Authors: Görges Matthias , Zhou Guohai , Brant Rollin , Ansermino J. Mark
Published: February 2017

Estimation of the dose–response curve for new anesthetic protocols typically focuses on identifying minimum effective doses. The application of a sequential experimental method is appropriate, as it minimizes sample size requirements by updating dose assignments based on information accrued from successive subjects. One approach is the up‐and‐down method for estimating the median effective dose in a patient population (ED50). Designs better suited for achieving greater than 50% effectiveness, include the biased coin approach, and continual reassessment method. In this review we introduce different sequential design methods, provide examples of their use, and show through simulation how the method employed influences sample size and the accuracy of the estimated dose. Simulation studies are presented to illustrate the effects of dose parameter and stopping rule choice for up‐and‐down method and biased coin approach. For continual reassessment method, the effects of assumed dose–response model, prior guess, and cohort size are simulated. A binary response regression curve was fit to the data in Saidman and Eger's endtidal halothane dose‐finding study to provide a dose–response curve for generating simulations. A range of options exist when designing a study using sequential allocation with biased coin approach or continual reassessment method. Method choice influences the required sample size and confidence in estimated effect. In the halothane example, up‐and‐down method decreases the required sample size by 20–30% when the choice of design parameters is optimal. For both up‐and‐down method and biased coin approach designs, greater sample sizes, arising from adjusted stopping criteria, might be required to achieve reliable estimates. The continual reassessment method is only efficient if a limited range of doses can be chosen a priori. In conclusion the up‐and‐down method can be more efficient than nonsequential designs for the estimation of the median dose/intervention level for a given intervention (ED50). The biased coin approach or continual reassessment method are preferred for the estimation of higher or lower tail quantiles such as ED90 or ED10. Continual reassessment method may be superior if knowledge of the dose–response relationship is available for the drug of interest.
Staged intraperitoneal brachytherapy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in an adolescent: novel anesthetic challenges for pediatric anesthetists
Authors: Weatherall Andrew D. , Bennett Tristan R. , Lovell Mark , Fung Winnie , de Lima Jonathan
Published: February 2017

Newer techniques that have found a place in cancer management in adults are offered far less commonly in pediatric patients. We present a case of a patient with recurrent Wilms' tumor managed with a novel combination of cytoreductive surgery, intraperitoneal brachytherapy, and subsequent hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Each stage presents challenges that the pediatric anesthetist is unlikely to have faced before. Such cases require flexibility and thorough planning to manage the combination of major surgery, remote anesthesia with brachytherapy and hyperthermic chemotherapy with its potential for metabolic derangement, significant fluid shifts, analgesic care, and potential exposure of staff to cytotoxic agents. Comprehensive care can be offered in pediatric centers.
The effect of sevoflurane on electrocorticographic spike activity in pediatric patients with epilepsy
Authors: Tanaka Shigekazu , Oda Yutaka , Ryokai Masayoshi , Uda Takehiro , Kunihiro Noritsugu , Kuki Ichiro , Okutani Ryu
Published: February 2017

Background

Electrocorticogram (ECoG) spike activity is enhanced under general anesthesia with 1.5 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) sevoflurane compared with lower concentrations in adult patients with epilepsy. However, the effect of concentration of sevoflurane on ECoG in children with epilepsy is less known.

Aims

The primary endpoint was to investigate the effects of sevoflurane on ECoG spike activity in pediatric patients undergoing epilepsy surgery. The secondary endpoint was to examine its effects on baseline ECoG including burst suppression.

Methods

Children of age 3–18 years with medically intractable epilepsy undergoing corpus callosotomy or resection of the epileptic foci (n = 11) were enrolled. Electrodes were placed on the brain surface and ECoG was recorded under anesthesia with endtidal carbon dioxide tension at 30 mmHg and sevoflurane at 2.5%, followed by age‐adjusted 1.5 MAC (3.1–3.4%) for 10 min. The number of leads with spikes, the average number of spikes per lead per minute, median frequency of ECoG, and duration of suppression of ECoG ≥ 1 s were compared between 2.5% and 1.5 MAC sevoflurane.

Results

The number of leads with spikes increased [11 vs 14, P = 0.003, difference in mean (95% CI) is 3 (2–5)], and the average number of spikes increased [9 vs 14·lead−1·min−1, P = 0.003, difference in mean (95% CI) is 5 (2–8) lead−1·min−1] under anesthesia with 1.5 MAC compared with 2.5% sevoflurane. Median frequency was decreased [2.8 Hz vs 2.0 Hz, P = 0.003, difference in mean (95% CI) is 0.8 (0.4–1.2) Hz], and the duration of suppression was increased [105 s vs 262 s, P < 0.001, difference in mean (95% CI) is 156 (90–223) s] with 1.5 MAC compared with 2.5% sevoflurane.

Conclusions

Sevoflurane at 1.5 MAC significantly increased the extent and the number of spikes, prolonged the duration of suppression, and decreased median frequency of ECoG compared with those at 2.5% sevoflurane.
Nasal hemophilic pseudotumor in a patient with mild hemophilia A and allergic rhinitis
Authors: Ogata Yoshiyasu , Monji Mikio , Kai Keita , Matsuo Muneaki
Published: February 2017

Hemophilic pseudotumor is a rare complication, even in patients with severe hemophilia. Herein we report on a case of hemophilic pseudotumor in a patient with mild hemophilia A and allergic rhinitis, initially suspected to be a nasal tumor. The pseudotumor was cured by supplementation with recombinant factor VIII concentrates, and medication for allergic rhinitis. Pseudotumor should always be considered in hemophiliac patients, even in those with only mild deficiency of coagulation factors.
The Communicated Perspective‐Taking Rating System and links to well‐being in marital conflict
Authors: KELLAS JODY KOENIG , CARR KRISTEN , HORSTMAN HALEY KRANSTUBER , DILILLO DAVID
Published: February 2017

Research highlights the importance of perspective taking as a cognitive ability. A growing body of research also suggests that communicated perspective taking (CPT)—or how interactional partners acknowledge, attend to, and confirm each others' perspectives during interactions—enables collaborative sense‐making of shared difficulties with significant links to individual and relational health. The purpose of the current study was to further operationalize the construct and to test the relation between CPT and well‐being in married couples' (n = 80) conversations about conflict. The Communicated Perspective‐Taking Rating System (CPTRS) was developed and tested as a reliable observational system. Findings indicate that husbands' CPT predicted wives' relational satisfaction, and wives' CPT predicted husbands' relational satisfaction. Implications and future applications of the CPTRS are discussed.
Attitude similarity and attraction: Validation, positive affect, and trust as sequential mediators
Authors: SINGH RAMADHAR , WEGENER DUANE T. , SANKARAN KRITHIGA , BHULLAR NAUREEN , ANG KAREN Q. P. , CHIA PAULINE J. L. , CHEONG XINYI , CHEN FUWEI
Published: February 2017

Effectance motivation—an urge for certainty and a feeling of being able to know, predict, and control one's environment—was initially proposed as the mechanism underlying attitude similarity effects on attraction. However, this motivation was discarded as an explanation when positive affect was identified. The presence of alternative mechanisms did not deny a role for the validation of attitudes in attraction. Therefore, we investigated the validation of one's views by those of peers as an additional mediator and its relation with two previously known mediators of positive affect and trust. As hypothesized, validation mediated attitude similarity effects when measured alone (Experiment 1) and within sequential mediation patterns involving positive affect (Experiment 2A) and trust (Experiments 2B and 2C).
Liver transplantation from a deceased donor with β‐thalassemia intermedia is not contraindicated: A case report
Authors: Gumus Ersin , Abbasoglu Osman , Tanyel Cahit , Gumruk Fatma , Ozen Hasan , Yuce Aysel
Published: February 2017

The use of extended criteria donors who might have previously been deemed unsuitable is an option to increase the organ supply for transplantation. This report presents a pediatric case of a successful liver transplantation from a donor with β‐thalassemia intermedia. A patient, 6‐year‐old female, with a diagnosis of cryptogenic liver cirrhosis underwent deceased donor liver transplantation from a thalassemic donor. Extreme hyperferritinemia was detected shortly after transplantation. The most probable cause of hyperferritinemia was iron overload secondary to transplantation of a hemosiderotic liver. Hepatocellular injury due to acute graft rejection might have contributed to elevated ferritin levels by causing release of stored iron from the hemosiderotic liver graft. Iron chelation and phlebotomy therapies were started simultaneously in the early postoperative period to avoid iron‐related organ toxicity and transplant failure. Follow‐up with monthly phlebotomies after discharge yielded a favorable outcome with normal transplant functions. Thalassemia intermedia patients can be candidates of liver donors to decrease pretransplant waitlist mortality. After transplantation of a hemosiderotic liver, it is important to monitor the recipient in terms of iron overload and toxicity. Early attempts to lower iron burden including chelation therapy and/or phlebotomy should be considered to avoid organ toxicity and transplant failure.
Quality of Service Based Pricing Schemes for Content Sharing in Peer‐to‐Peer Networks
Authors: De Prabuddha , Hao Lin , Li Yung‐Ming , Tan Yong
Published: February 2017

In this paper, we study quality‐of‐service (QoS) based pricing schemes that serve as incentive mechanisms to induce sharing behaviors in Peer‐to‐Peer (P2P) networks. We incorporate operational QoS metrics into users’ utility functions and demonstrate how they affect individual users’ content sharing decisions. Using a game‐theoretic model, our study reveals how organizations respond to the changes of operational QoS metrics in their design of pricing schemes for various business objectives at different stages of network evolution. Our results show that a higher upload capacity can foster rational sharing to start when the network is small; however, it also discourages sharing behaviors when the network becomes large. In order to induce a socially optimal behavior, a pricing scheme will not charge users for requesting content while compensating them for sharing content. Such compensation is found to increase faster with the network size when the network is large. In order to maximize the profit of a monopolistic provider, however, a pricing scheme will charge content requests with a positive price while providing less compensation to sharing users compared to the socially optimal scheme. When the network size is small, such compensation can be even negative, which implies that a monopolistic provider discourages content sharing when the network is small, but encourages it when the network becomes larger. In addition, we find that more information about peer upload capacity discourages peers to share.
Embedded Government Control and Nonprofit Revenue Growth
Authors: Ni Na , Zhan Xueyong
Published: February 2017

This research combines insights from resource dependence and institutional theories to examine the growth of Chinese nonprofit revenues. The authors propose the concept of embedded government control (EGC) to capture the complexity of the government–nonprofit relationship along two dimensions: government regulation of nonprofits’ public fund‐raising qualifications and the political embeddedness of nonprofits with the government. Using a data set of 2,159 Chinese philanthropic foundations for the period 2005–12, the authors test hypotheses about the implications of EGC for nonprofit revenues in China following two major external shocks: the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 and the Guo Meimei scandal in 2011. The empirical analysis shows that EGC can help philanthropic foundations obtain more government subsidies, donations, and market revenues. However, external shocks may either strengthen or weaken the enabling role of EGC in helping foundations acquire relatively more donations.
Commentary: Understanding the Polling Place Experience
Authors: Newby Brian D. , Greene Sean
Published: February 2017

Related Content: Burden et al. (PAR May/June 2017)
Clinical relevance of pre‐ovulatory follicular temperature in heat‐stressed lactating dairy cows
Authors: López‐Gatius F , Hunter RHF
Published: February 2017

Contents

Temperature gradients in female reproductive tissues seem to influence the success of key processes such as ovulation and fertilization. The objective of this study was to investigate whether pre‐ovulatory follicles are cooler than neighbouring uterine tissue and deep rectal temperatures in lactating dairy cows under heat stress conditions. Temperatures within the pre‐ovulatory follicle, on the uterine adjacent surface and 20 cm deep within rectum, were measured using fine thermistor probes within 45 min after sunrise (dawn). Cows were selected from synchronized groups for fixed‐time insemination during the warm period of the year. Five cows under direct sun radiation and 11 cows in the shade were included in the study. None of the cows in the sun area ovulated within 24 hr, whereas 10 of the 11 cows in the sun area ovulated. Four of the 10 ovulating cows became pregnant. In the ovulating cows, follicular temperatures were 0.74 and 1.54°C significantly cooler than uterine surface and rectal temperatures, respectively, whereas temperatures in the uterine area were 0.80°C significantly cooler than rectal temperatures. No significant differences among temperatures were found in non‐ovulating cows. Follicular size was similar for ovulating and non‐ovulating cows. Environmental temperatures in the shade area were 6.4°C significantly lower than those in the sun area. Results of this study indicate that pre‐ovulatory follicles are cooler than neighbouring uterine tissue and deep rectal temperatures and those temperature gradients were not found in cows suffering ovulation failure.
Distribution of mast cells in the feline ovary in various phases of the oestrous cycle
Authors: Hamouzova P , Cizek P , Novotny R , Bartoskova A , Tichy F
Published: February 2017

Contents

This study is the first description of the distribution of mast cells in various phases of the oestrous cycle in the ovary of cat. Furthermore, this is the first description in species with an induced ovulation. The aim was to describe the distribution of mast cells and variability of their numbers in the feline ovaries in different phases of the oestrous cycle. The number of mast cells in medulla ovarii was affected by the estradiol and progesterone level in the blood serum because the lowest number was detected in anoestrus when the levels of hormones were basal. Nevertheless, both high and low numbers of mast cells were found in oestrus and dioestrus. To conclude, mast cells seem to be essential for the induction of spontaneous ovulation, but they do not play the same role for ovulation itself in cats with induced ovulation.
Asthma or asthma‐COPD overlap syndrome?
Authors: Wang Fa‐Ping , Liu Ting , Wang Geng , Mao Hui
Published: February 2017

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Quantitative interrogation of a fossilized carbonate sand body – The Pleistocene Miami oolite of South Florida
Authors: Purkis Sam J. , Harris Paul (Mitch)
Published: February 2017

Exposures of the Pleistocene Miami oolite in South Florida provide excellent examples of preserved primary sedimentary features and subsequent diagenetic changes of a ‘fossilized’ ooid sand body that has been subaerially exposed in a tropical climate since its deposition during the last interglacial highstand – Marine Isotope Stage 5e. Using a robust airborne light detection and ranging digital terrain model and select outcrops, a detailed analysis of the morphologies and dimensions of the different portions of the Miami oolite was conducted. The sand body, extending 95 km north to south and approximately 15 km wide, consists of shoals (or bars) separated by tidal channels and is partly bounded on the ocean‐facing side by a prograding barrier bar that collectively cover an area of approximately 1000 sq. km. Results of the quantitative interrogation of the Miami oolite are compared with those of previously published work from modern sand bodies on Great Bahama Bank including the Exumas, Schooners Cays and Tongue of the Ocean. Digital terrain models developed for these modern sand bodies on the Great Bahama Bank and the ancient Miami oolite were used as the basis for the definition of shoals, shoal crests (peaks) and channels which were examined with respect to their size, shape and orientation. The Exumas sand body is the best morphometric match when analysing the bars and the channels, and the Joulter Cays area is an analogue for the formation of the barrier bar and for burrow reworking of cross‐bedding within stabilized sand shoals. The Exumas is a particularly compelling analogue for the Miami oolite with respect to length and overall visual comparison between the morphologies of the sand bodies, shoal (or bar) shape, number of tidal channels, channel length and width, and high areas parallel to the strike trend of the sand body (islands in the Exumas and possible islands as part of the Miami oolite barrier bar). Despite ca 115 kyr of subaerial exposure and meteoric diagenesis including karst, the morphology of the Miami oolite is still relatively intact to the point where it can be easily analysed and meaningful comparisons to modern systems can be made. The Miami oolite serves as a key reference example for comparison to Holocene sand units in the Bahamas – it validates the concept of comparative sedimentology and in particular emphasizes how results from the modern can improve the interpretation of a fossilized example.
Friendship, Depression, and Suicide Attempts in Adults: Exploratory Analysis of a Longitudinal Follow‐Up Study
Authors: Marver Julia E. , Galfalvy Hanga C. , Burke Ainsley K. , Sublette M. Elizabeth , Oquendo Maria A. , Mann J. John , Grunebaum Michael F.
Published: February 2017

Social support is thought to protect against the risk of suicidal behavior in young people and late life, but less is known about the role of friendship in adults. We explored the effect of friendship on suicide attempt risk during 1‐year follow‐up of 132 adults presenting with major depressive episode (MDE). Items from the Social Adjustment Scale–Self‐Report were used as an index of frequency and quality of recent friendship contacts. Survival methods tested associations of friendship with risk of suicide attempt, recurrent MDE, and related outcomes during follow‐up. Impaired friendship predicted greater risk of suicide attempt in an unadjusted Cox model. This association was stronger for quality (p = .009) than frequency (p = .081) of friendship contacts. In the adjusted model, the effect of friendship on suicide attempts was largely explained by self‐reported depression severity. Friendship has a potentially bidirectional relationship with depression, and its effect on suicidal behavior appears to occur through its relationship with depression. Future research should examine the effect of antidepressant treatment on friendship and be designed to test mediation models of relationships between friendship, depression, and suicidal behavior.
Relative analytical sensitivity of donor nucleic acid amplification technology screening and diagnostic real‐time polymerase chain reaction assays for detection of Zika virus RNA
Authors: Stone Mars , Lanteri Marion C. , Bakkour Sonia , Deng Xutao , Galel Susan A. , Linnen Jeffrey M. , Muñoz‐Jordán Jorge L. , Lanciotti Robert S. , Rios Maria , Gallian Pierre , Musso Didier , Levi José E. , Sabino Ester C. , Coffey Lark L. , Busch Michael P.
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUND

Zika virus (ZIKV) has spread rapidly in the Pacific and throughout the Americas and is associated with severe congenital and adult neurologic outcomes. Nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) assays were developed for diagnostic applications and for blood donor screening on high‐throughput NAT systems. We distributed blinded panels to compare the analytical performance of blood screening relative to diagnostic NAT assays.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A 25‐member, coded panel (11 half‐log dilutions of a 2013 French Polynesia ZIKV isolate and 2015 Brazilian donor plasma implicated in transfusion transmission, and 3 negative controls) was sent to 11 laboratories that performed 17 assays with 2 to 12 replicates per panel member. Results were analyzed for the percentage reactivity at each dilution and by probit analysis to estimate the 50% and 95% limits of detection (LOD50 and LOD95, respectively).

RESULTS

Donor‐screening NAT assays that process approximately 500 µL of plasma into amplification reactions were comparable in sensitivity (LOD50 and LOD95, 2.5 and 15‐18 copies/mL) and were approximately 10‐fold to 100‐fold more sensitive than research laboratory‐developed and diagnostic reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction tests that process from 10 to 30 µL of plasma per amplification. Increasing sample input volume assayed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction assays increased the LODs by 10‐fold to 30‐fold.

CONCLUSIONS

Blood donor‐screening ZIKV NAT assays demonstrate similar excellent sensitivities to assays currently used for screening for transfusion‐transmitted viruses and are substantially more sensitive than most other laboratory‐developed and diagnostic ZIKV reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction assays. Enhancing sensitivities of laboratory‐developed and diagnostic assays may be achievable by increasing sample input.
Prolactin regulation of oxytocin neurone activity in pregnancy and lactation
Authors: Augustine Rachael A. , Ladyman Sharon R. , Bouwer Gregory T. , Alyousif Yousif , Sapsford Tony J. , Scott Victoria , Kokay Ilona C. , Grattan David R. , Brown Colin H.
Published: February 2017

Key points

During lactation, prolactin promotes milk synthesis and oxytocin stimulates milk ejection.

In virgin rats, prolactin inhibits the activity of oxytocin‐secreting neurones.

We found that prolactin inhibition of oxytocin neurone activity is lost in lactation, and that some oxytocin neurones were excited by prolactin in lactating rats.

The change in prolactin regulation of oxytocin neurone activity was not associated with a change in activation of intracellular signalling pathways known to couple to prolactin receptors.

The change in prolactin regulation of oxytocin neurone activity in lactation might allow coordinated activation of both populations of neurones when required for successful lactation.

Secretion of prolactin for milk synthesis and oxytocin for milk secretion is required for successful lactation. In virgin rats, prolactin inhibits oxytocin neurones but this effect would be counterproductive during lactation when secretion of both hormones is required for synthesis and delivery of milk to the newborn. Hence, we determined the effects of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) prolactin on oxytocin neurones in urethane‐anaesthetised virgin, pregnant and lactating rats. Prolactin (2 μg) consistently inhibited oxytocin neurones in virgin and pregnant rats (by 1.9 ± 0.4 and 1.8 ± 0.5 spikes s−1, respectively), but not in lactating rats; indeed, prolactin excited six of 27 oxytocin neurones by >1 spike s−1 in lactating rats but excited none in virgin or pregnant rats (χ22 = 7.2, P = 0.03). Vasopressin neurones were unaffected by prolactin (2 μg) in virgin rats but were inhibited by 1.1 ± 0.2 spikes s−1 in lactating rats. Immunohistochemistry showed that i.c.v. prolactin increased oxytocin expression in virgin and lactating rats and increased signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 phosphorylation to a similar extent in oxytocin neurones of virgin and lactating rats. Western blotting showed that i.c.v. prolactin did not affect phosphorylation of extracellular regulated kinase 1 or 2, or of Akt in the supraoptic or paraventricular nuclei of virgin or lactating rats. Hence, prolactin inhibition of oxytocin neurones is lost in lactation, which might allow concurrent elevation of prolactin secretion from the pituitary gland and activation of oxytocin neurones for synthesis and delivery of milk to the newborn.
Theoretical and Experimental Research on a Three-Way Water Hydraulic Pressure Reducing Valve
Authors: He Xiaofeng , Zhao Daoxin , Sun Xiao , Zhu Bihai
Published: February 2017

A three-way water hydraulic pressure reducing valve (PRV) was developed in this paper for a test equipment in laboratory for adapting complex conditions. The designed PRV has a damping chamber with an orifice located at the spring chamber. Two types of throttles and orifice diameter were investigated through dynamic simulation and optimization, and their dimensions were determined and applied to the manufactured valve prototype. The static and dynamic performances of the valve were tested by experiments. At the preset pressure of 5.0 MPa, the outlet pressure variations for the pressure-reducing port and the relief port, are 0.73 MPa and 1.44 MPa, respectively, while the flow variation is up to 18.0 l/min. The experimental rising times and settling times of the PRV under the inlet pressure step for preset pressures of 5.0 MPa are 33.7 ms and 120.2 ms, respectively, and the overshoot is 3.76%. The test results at each preset pressure agree well with the simulation which verifies that the simulation model can be used to predict the dynamic performance of the PRV. The experimental results for the valve under flow step input conclude that it can work stably at small flow state. The research indicates that making the spring chamber a damping chamber by using an orifice is a feasible way to increase the pressure stability and the dynamic performance of the PRV. However, the damping effect of this structure is insufficient at high working pressure.
On Elliptic Inverse Heat Conduction Problems
Authors: Tadi M.
Published: February 2017

This note is concerned with a new method for the solution of an elliptic inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP). It considers an elliptic system where no information is given at part of the boundary. The method is iterative in nature. Starting with an initial guess for the missing boundary condition, the algorithm obtains corrections to the assumed value at every iteration. The updating part of the algorithm is the new feature of the present algorithm. The algorithm shows good robustness to noise and can be used to obtain a good estimate of the unknown boundary condition. A number of numerical examples are used to show the applicability of the method.
3. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm: 'Rotkäppchen' (KHM 26)
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Grimm Rotkäppchen Fairy Tales
4. Parody of 'Rotkäppchen' (KHM 26)
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Parody Rotkäppchen Fairy Tales
4.2 Janosch: 'Das elektrische Rotkäppchen'
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Parody Grimm Janosch Rotkäppchen
4.5 Heinrich Kühleborn: 'Rotkäppchen und die Wölfe'
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Parody Grimm Kühleborn Rotkäppchen
Erinnerungen
Authors: Blumenfeld Gerti
Published: February 2017

Wolfskehl
Erinnerungen
Authors: Blumenfeld Maja
Published: February 2017

Wolfskehl
"Einen frischen Trunk Schiller zu tun": Fontanes Schillerkritiken 1870-1889
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane Schiller
Preußen 1803-1813 im "vaterländischen Roman": Willibald Alexis, George Hesekiel, Theodor Fontane
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane, W. Alexis, Hesekiel
"Une saison en enfer": Die erste Saison der Freien Bühne und Fontanes Kritiken
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane  Freie Bühne
"Die wahre hohe Schule der Zweideutigkeit": Frivolität in Fontanes Romanen
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane
Irrungen, Wirrungen: Käthe von Sellenthins "Irrungen, Wirrungen"
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane Irrungen, Wirrungen
Frau Jenny Treibel: "Lieutenant Vogelsang a. D." und "Mr. Nelson aus Liverpool": Treibels politische und Corinnas private Verirrungen
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane Frau Jenny Treibel
Effi Briest: "Geducktes Vögelchen in Schneelandschaft": Effi von Innstetten, geborene Briest
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane Effi Briest
Der Stechlin: Fontanes neues Sprachbewußtsein
Authors: -- --
Published: February 2017

Fontane Der Stechlin
Wien oder das letzte Fest der Aufklärung
Authors: Weigl Engelhard
Published: February 2017

Wien, Aufklärung
Eine Einritzung auf der Pyramide des Mykerinos. Von der relativen (geschlechtlichen) Identität des Banalen und des Erhabenen
Authors: Aspetsberger Friedbert
Published: February 2017

banal. erhaben
Automatic identification of hypernasality in normal and cleft lip and palate patients with acoustic analysis of speech
Authors: Golabbakhsh Marzieh , Abnavi Fatemeh , Kadkhodaei Elyaderani Mina , Derakhshandeh Fatemeh , Khanlar Fatemeh , Rong Panying , Kuehn David P.
Published: February 2017

Hypernasality is seen in cleft lip and palate patients who had undergone repair surgery as a consequence of velopharyngeal insufficiency. Hypernasality has been studied by evaluation of perturbation, noise measures, and cepstral analysis of speech. In this study, feature extraction and analysis were performed during running speech using six different sentences. Jitter, shimmer, Mel frequency cepstral coefficients, bionic wavelet transform entropy, and bionic wavelet transform energy were calculated. Support vector machines were employed for classification of data to normal or hypernasal. Finally, results of the automatic classification were compared with true labels to find accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. Accuracy was higher when Mel frequency cepstral coefficients were combined with bionic wavelet transform energy feature. In the best case, accuracy of 85% with sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 85% was obtained. Results prove that acoustic analysis is a reliable method to find hypernasality in cleft lip and palate patients.
The host microRNA miR-301a blocks the IRF1-mediated neuronal innate immune response to Japanese encephalitis virus infection
Authors: Hazra Bibhabasu , Kumawat Kanhaiya Lal , Basu Anirban
Published: February 2017

Targeting a microRNA that inhibits type I interferon production may be a strategy to treat Japanese encephalitis virus infection.