bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The graft polymerization of vinyl benzoate and trans-stilbene onto polyurethane to control its mechanical and shape memory properties
Authors: Chung Yong-Chan , Bae Jin Cheol , Chun Byoung Chul
Published: October 2016

Vinyl benzoate (VB series) and trans-stilbene (SB series) were added onto polyurethane (PU) via graft polymerization, and the spectroscopic, thermal, tensile, shape memory, and low-temperature flexibility properties of the resulting polymers were compared with those of unmodified PU. The melting temperature ( Tm) and glass transition temperature ( Tg) of the soft segments are not significantly different for the VB and SB series compared with unmodified PU. The tensile strengths of the VB and SB series sharply increase with increasing vinyl polymer content, whereas the control series does not exhibit an increase in tensile strength. The VB series exhibits excellent shape recovery at 10℃ compared with unmodified PU, and the shape recovery of the SB series remains above 90% at 45℃. The shape retention values of the VB (−45℃) and SB series (–25℃) are not less than 90%. The selected PUs demonstrate better flexibilities at extremely low temperatures compared with unmodified PU. Therefore, the graft polymerization of vinyl benzoate or trans-stilbene onto PU improves the tensile strength, shape recovery at low temperatures, and low-temperature flexibility of the polymer without decreasing the tensile strain or shape retention.
“If the Americans can do it, so can we”: How dinosaur bones shaped German paleontology
Authors: Tamborini Marco
Published: October 2016

Between 1909 and 1913, Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin Museum of Natural History) unearthed more than 225 tons of fossils in former German East Africa and transported them to Berlin. Among them were the bones of Brachiosaurus brancai, which would eventually become the biggest mounted dinosaur in the world. By analyzing the social and communicative strategies that made this expedition possible, this paper aims to reveal several aspects of natural history knowledge production at the end of the long nineteenth century. Using rhetoric, the director of the Geological–Paleontological Museum in Berlin, Wilhelm von Branca, conducted a highly successful campaign to market the dinosaurs in Prussia and to convince public opinion and the Prussian central state of the value of paleontology. He fired the Prussian imagination and took advantage of the competitive urge to emulate American paleontology and industry. This work examines how his public relations strategies shaped the German biological “landscape” of the first decades of the twentieth century. It asks: when and under what conditions did paleontology successfully appeal to the public? How does communication dictate, shape, and constrain the development of a specific epistemic agenda? And what kind of power do the public and money have?
Even a Little Bit Helps
Authors: Barnes Geoffrey C. , Hyatt Jordan M. , Sherman Lawrence W.
Published: October 2016

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most promising and widely used therapeutic approaches to reducing recidivism among criminal populations. Although many studies have evaluated CBT for this express purpose, few have done so in a community correctional environment. This article reports findings from a randomized field trial evaluating, “Choosing to Think, Thinking to Choose,” a CBT program designed specifically for a community correctional setting, and its impact on the recidivism of high-risk offenders. High-risk probationers were assigned to either standard, intensive probation ( n = 447) or to the treatment condition ( n = 457), where they received the same supervision intensity while also being directed to a classroom-based, 14-week CBT program. Twelve months after random assignment, intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses indicate that the overall CBT group was significantly less likely to reoffend, although this effect is concentrated in measures of nonviolent offending.
Community Eludes the Architect? German Architect Planners, American Democracy, and the Question of Community Building in Transatlantic Perspective
Authors: Joch Andreas
Published: October 2016

This article focuses on the problematic relationship between planning experts and society on the basis of the careers of two German architect planners who relocated to the United States during the interwar period: Walter Curt Behrendt (1884-1945) and Oscar Stonorov (1905-1970). Their transatlantic careers highlight the cultural background that shaped planners’ focus on community building and let us trace how technical experts adapted their professional language and re-contextualized their concepts in the process of migration. Across national borders, these experts presented community life as an alternative to urban industrial modernity. Behrendt’s notion of government-backed planning clashed with the realities of the American sociopolitical system. Stonorov, however, developed a planning language focused on participation that was compatible with American democracy. After they had joined ranks in a transnational effort to deal with the consequences of modernization, technical experts like Behrendt and Stonorov re-negotiated their continued presence in all areas of the social in the 1940s and 1950s. This, too, happened in a transnational setting.
Between privilege and poverty: The affordances of mobility among aid worker children
Authors: Fechter Anne-Meike
Published: October 2016

Contemporary research on children affected by migration in Southeast Asia has examined the impact of mobility on their life chances, choices and overall welfare. Extending this concern, this article seeks to address these questions in the context of privileged migration. Specifically, it asks how the mobility of children whose parents work for aid agencies in low-income countries shapes the way they understand and negotiate experiences of privilege, as well as their everyday encounters with poverty. Based on ethnographic research with young people and their families in Cambodia, the findings suggest that parents and children may envisage their international mobility as a chance for personal growth, specifically as manifest in the form of ‘open-mindedness.’ Such positive discourses are complicated, however, by a simultaneously engendered sense of superiority toward those who are less mobile. They are also intertwined with practices of ‘bracketing’ possible frictions arising from their interactions with children of local elite members. While the young people’s proximity to poverty provides opportunities for locally-based service-learning activities, connections with their parents’ work can remain abstract. The article therefore suggests that this form of international mobility may not, in itself, enable a critical engagement with poverty or with their own and others’ privilege.
Comics, comics studies, and political science
Authors: Worcester Kent
Published: October 2016

Many readers look to comics and cartoons for entertainment, but they can also inform, as well as inspire, controversy and even acts of political violence, as the Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo cases demonstrate. Indeed, politics and comics connect and overlap in all sorts of ways. This review essay explores the nexus of politics and comics at a time when a growing number of cartoonists are creating extended works of graphic nonfiction that address serious political and historical themes.
Sustainable World Expo? The Governing Function of Spectacle in Shanghai and Beyond
Authors: Krupar Shiloh
Published: October 2016

This paper explores the Shanghai 2010 World Expo to show how spectacle serves a governing function of the Chinese developmental state. I introduce soil exegesis as a method to excavate sedimented power relations of spectacle, undergirding the expo’s presentation. This approach investigates how spectacle is a state-territorializing project and pedagogical venture that relies on and denies the state socialist-era’s waste, to produce a ‘new nature’ and perform socio-technical management of crisis and crowds. Dynamic rearrangement of soil quality and composition facilitated the urban redevelopment zone of sustainable futures, while interactive-technocratic environments inserted visitor bodies into expo surveillance systems and infrastructure without reference to the embedded political ecology of the mass event within Shanghai and beyond. The article concludes by considering ethical legacies of the event and the ways ‘sustainable spectacle’ operates through waste administration and environmental performance that ‘greenwash’ the socialist past and obstruct other governing arrangements.
The predictive value of haemodynamic parameters for outcome of deep venous reconstructions in patients with chronic deep vein obstruction – A systematic review
Authors: Kurstjens RLM , de Wolf MAF , Kleijnen J , de Graaf R , Wittens CHA
Published: October 2016

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of haemodynamic parameters on success of stenting or bypass surgery in patients with non-thrombotic or post-thrombotic deep venous obstruction.

Methods

EMBASE, MEDLINE and trial registries were searched up to 5 February 2016. Studies needed to investigate stenting or bypass surgery in patients with post-thrombotic obstruction or stenting for non-thrombotic iliac vein compression. Haemodynamic data needed to be available with prognostic analysis for success of treatment. Two authors, independently, selected studies and extracted data with risk bias assessment using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool.

Results

Two studies using stenting and two using bypass surgery were included. Three investigated plethysmography, though results varied and confounding was not properly taken into account. Dorsal foot vein pressure and venous refill times appeared to be of influence in one study, though confounding by deep vein incompetence was likely. Another investigated femoral-central pressure gradients without finding statistical significance, though sample size was small without details on statistical methodology. Reduced femoral inflow was found to be a predictor for stent stenosis or occlusion in one study, though patients also received additional surgery to improve stent inflow. Data on prediction of haemodynamic parameters for stenting of non-thrombotic iliac vein compression were not available.

Conclusions

Data on the predictive value of haemodynamic parameters for success of treatment in deep venous obstructive disease are scant and of poor quality. Plethysmography does not seem to be of value in predicting outcome of stenting or bypass surgery in post-thrombotic disease. The relevance of pressure-related parameters is unclear. Reduced flow into the common femoral vein seems to be predictive for in-stent stenosis or occlusion. Further research into the predictive effect of haemodynamic parameters is warranted and the possibility of developing new techniques that evaluate various haemodynamic aspects should be explored.
Distribution of cardiac output to the brain across the adult lifespan
Authors: Xing Chang-Yang , Tarumi Takashi , Liu Jie , Zhang Yinan , Turner Marcel , Riley Jonathan , Tinajero Cynthia Duron , Yuan Li-Jun , Zhang Rong
Published: October 2016

A widely accepted dogma is that about 15–20% of cardiac output is received by the brain in healthy adults under resting conditions. However, it is unclear if the distribution of cardiac output directed to the brain alters across the adult lifespan and is modulated by sex or other hemodynamic variables. We measured cerebral blood flow/cardiac output ratio index in 139 subjects (88 women, age 21–80 years) using phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiography. Body mass index, cardiac systolic function (eject fraction), central arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity), arterial pressure, heart rate, physical fitness (VO2 max), and total brain volume were measured to assess their effects on the cardiac output–cerebral blood flow relationship. Cerebral blood flow/cardiac output ratio index decreased by 1.3% per decade associated with decreases in cerebral blood flow ( P < 0.001), while cardiac output remained unchanged. Women had higher cerebral blood flow, lower cardiac output, and thus higher cerebral blood flow/cardiac output ratio index than men across the adult lifespan. Age, body mass index, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, and arterial pressure all had negative correlations with cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood flow/cardiac output ratio index ( P < 0.05). Multivariable analysis adjusted for sex, age showed that only body mass index was negatively associated with cerebral blood flow/cardiac output ratio index (β = −0.33, P < 0.001). These findings demonstrated that cardiac output distributed to the brain has sex differences and decreases across the adult lifespan and is inversely associated with body mass index.
Elevation of arginine vasopressin levels following loop diuretic therapy as a prognostic indicator in heart failure
Authors: Kitada Shuichi , Kikuchi Shohei , Sonoda Hiroo , Yoshida Atsuhiro , Ohte Nobuyuki
Published: October 2016

Objective

To investigate the association between arginine vasopressin (AVP) levels and loop diuretic (LD) therapy in patients with heart failure and to determine if AVP levels are a prognostic indicator of treatment failure.

Methods

Patients with stable heart failure and reduced (< 40%) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were divided into those treated with (LD) or without LD (NLD). The LD group was separated into subgroups of high (> 6.5 pg/dl) and low (≤ 6.5 pg/dl) AVP levels. The clinical and biochemical characteristics of the two groups were compared and the prognostic value of AVP levels in heart failure evaluated.

Results

Of the 63 patients enrolled into the study, 41 (65.1%) were in the LD group and 22 (34.9%) were in the NLD group. Despite no differences between groups in LVEF, creatinine clearance, or brain natriuretic peptide, the LD group had significantly higher AVP levels compared with the NLD group. A Cox proportional-hazards model showed that AVP was an independent predictor of adverse events. In addition, the elevation in AVP in the LD group was inversely correlated with an increase in free water clearance but not serum osmolality and was related to poor outcome.

Conclusions

Elevated AVP levels in patients with heart failure who received LD therapy were associated with a poor prognosis. Loop diuretics may induce non-osmolar AVP release, which can worsen heart failure.
Herd protection effect of N95 respirators in healthcare workers
Authors: Chen Xin , Chughtai Abrar Ahmad , MacIntyre Chandini Raina
Published: October 2016

Objective

To determine if there was herd protection conferred to unprotected healthcare workers (HCWs) by N95 respirators worn by colleagues.

Methods

Data were analysed from a prospective cluster randomized clinical trial conducted in Beijing, China between 1 December 2008 and 15 January 2009. A minimum compliance level (MCL) of N95 respirators for prevention of clinical respiratory illness (CRI) was set based on various compliance cut-offs. The CRI rates were compared between compliant (≥MCL) and non-compliant (<MCL) N95 wearers by ward, and between non-compliant wearers and control subjects who did not wear masks.

Results

Data were analysed from 949 HCWs who wore N95 respirators and 125 HCWs who did not wear masks. At 50% MCL there were no significant differences in the CRI rates between compliant and non-compliant N95 wearers by ward. In multivariate analysis, the CRI rate in non-compliant HCWs was significantly lower compared with controls (relative risk 0.26; 95% confidence interval 0.08, 0.82).

Conclusion

This study suggests herd protection from use of N95 respirators by colleagues within a hospital ward.
The effect of context and audio-visual modality on emotions elicited by a musical performance
Authors: Coutinho Eduardo , Scherer Klaus R.
Published: October 2016

In this work, we compared emotions induced by the same performance of Schubert Lieder during a live concert and in a laboratory viewing/listening setting to determine the extent to which laboratory research on affective reactions to music approximates real listening conditions in dedicated performances. We measured emotions experienced by volunteer members of an audience that attended a Lieder recital in a church (Context 1) and emotional reactions to an audio-video-recording of the same performance in a university lecture hall (Context 2). Three groups of participants were exposed to three presentation versions in Context 2: (1) an audio-visual recording, (2) an audio-only recording, and (3) a video-only recording. Participants achieved statistically higher levels of emotional convergence in the live performance than in the laboratory context, and the experience of particular emotions was determined by complex interactions between auditory and visual cues in the performance. This study demonstrates the contribution of the performance setting and the performers’ appearance and nonverbal expression to emotion induction by music, encouraging further systematic research into the factors involved.
The informational turn in food politics: The US FDA’s nutrition label as information infrastructure
Authors: Frohlich Xaq
Published: October 2016

This article traces the history of the US FDA regulation of nutrition labeling, identifying an ‘informational turn’ in the evolving politics of food, diet and health in America. Before nutrition labeling was introduced, regulators actively sought to segregate food markets from drug markets by largely prohibiting health information on food labels, believing such information would ‘confuse’ the ordinary food consumer. Nutrition labeling’s emergence, first in the 1970s as consumer empowerment and then later in the 1990s as a solution to information overload, reflected the belief that it was better to manage markets indirectly through consumer information than directly through command-and-control regulatory architecture. By studying product labels as ‘information infrastructure’, rather than a ‘knowledge fix’, the article shows how labels are situated at the center of a legally constructed terrain of inter-textual references, both educational and promotional, that reflects a mix of market pragmatism and evolving legal thought about mass versus niche markets. A change to the label reaches out across a wide informational environment representing food and has direct material consequences for how food is produced, distributed, and consumed. One legacy of this informational turn has been an increasing focus by policymakers, industry, and arguably consumers on the politics of information in place of the politics of the food itself.
Persistent idiopathic facial pain – a prospective systematic study of clinical characteristics and neuroanatomical findings at 3.0 Tesla MRI
Authors: Maarbjerg Stine , Wolfram Frauke , Heinskou Tone Bruvik , Rochat Per , Gozalov Aydin , Brennum Jannick , Olesen Jes , Bendtsen Lars
Published: October 2016

Introduction

Persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP) is a poorly understood chronic orofacial pain disorder and a differential diagnosis to trigeminal neuralgia. To address the lack of systematic studies in PIFP we here report clinical characteristics and neuroimaging findings in PIFP.

Methods

Data collection was prospective and standardized in consecutive PIFP patients. All patients underwent 3.0 MRI.

Results

In a cohort of 53 PIFP patients, the average age of onset was 44.1 years. PIFP was found in more women 40 (75%) than men 13 (25%), p < 0.001. There was a high prevalence of bilateral pain 7 (13%), hypoesthesia 23 (48%), depression 16 (30%) and other chronic pain conditions 17 (32%) and a low prevalence of stabbing pain 21 (40%), touch-evoked pain 14 (26%) and remission periods 10 (19%). The odds ratio between neurovascular contact and the painful side was 1.4 (95% Cl 0.4–4.4, p = 0.565) and the odds ratio between neurovascular contact with displacement of the trigeminal nerve and the painful side was 0.2 (95% Cl 0.0–2.1, p = 0.195).

Conclusion

PIFP is separated from trigeminal neuralgia both with respect to the clinical characteristics and neuroimaging findings, as NVC was not associated to PIFP.
Data governance, data literacy and the management of data quality
Authors: Koltay Tibor
Published: October 2016

Data governance and data literacy are two important building blocks in the knowledge base of information professionals involved in supporting data-intensive research, and both address data quality and research data management. Applying data governance to research data management processes and data literacy education helps in delineating decision domains and defining accountability for decision making. Adopting data governance is advantageous, because it is a service based on standardised, repeatable processes and is designed to enable the transparency of data-related processes and cost reduction. It is also useful, because it refers to rules, policies, standards; decision rights; accountabilities and methods of enforcement. Therefore, although it received more attention in corporate settings and some of the skills related to it are already possessed by librarians, knowledge on data governance is foundational for research data services, especially as it appears on all levels of research data services, and is applicable to big data.
Data information literacy instruction in Business and Public Health
Authors: Macy Katharine V. , Coates Heather L.
Published: October 2016

Employers need a workforce capable of using data to create actionable information. This requires students to develop data information literacy competencies that enable them to navigate and create meaning in an increasingly complex information world. This article examines why data information literacy should be integrated into program curricula, specifically in the instances of business and public health, and offers strategies for how it can be accomplished. We approach this as a comparative case study within undergraduate business and master of public health programs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. These case studies reveal several implications for practice that apply across social and health sciences programs.
‘Essentials 4 Data Support’
Authors: Verbakel Ellen , Grootveld Marjan
Published: October 2016

This article describes a research data management course for support staff such as librarians and IT staff. The authors, who coach the participants, introduce the three course formats and describe the training in more detail. In the last years over 170 persons have participated in this training. It combines a wealth of online information with face-to-face meetings. The aim of the course is to support the participants in strengthening various skills and acquiring knowledge so they feel confident to support, advise and train researchers. Interaction among the students is embedded in the structure of the training, because we regard it as a valuable instrument to develop a professional network. Recently the course has taken on a new challenge: in addition to the regular courses a couple of in house trainings have been delivered on request. The paper ends with a description of the key group assignments for such compact trainings.
A Positive Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) Is Associated With Increased Recovery Time After Sports-Related Concussion in Youth and Adolescent Athletes
Authors: Anzalone Anthony J. , Blueitt Damond , Case Tami , McGuffin Tiffany , Pollard Kalyssa , Garrison J. Craig , Jones Margaret T. , Pavur Robert , Turner Stephanie , Oliver Jonathan M.
Published: October 2016

Background:

Vestibular and ocular motor impairments are routinely reported in patients with sports-related concussion (SRC) and may result in delayed return to play (RTP). The Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) assessment has been shown to be consistent and sensitive in identifying concussion when used as part of a comprehensive examination. To what extent these impairments or symptoms are associated with length of recovery is unknown.

Purpose:

To examine whether symptom provocation or clinical abnormality in specific domains of the VOMS results in protracted recovery (time from SRC to commencement of RTP protocol).

Study Design:

Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

A retrospective chart review was conducted of 167 patients (69 girls, 98 boys; mean ± SD age, 15 ± 2 years [range, 11-19 years]) presenting with SRC in 2014. During the initial visit, VOMS was performed in which symptom provocation or clinical abnormality (eg, unsmooth eye movements) was documented by use of a dichotomous scale (0 = not present, 1 = present). The VOMS used in this clinic consisted of smooth pursuits (SMO_PUR), horizontal and vertical saccades (HOR_SAC and VER_SAC), horizontal and vertical vestibular ocular reflex (HOR_VOR and VER_VOR), near point of convergence (NPC), and accommodation (ACCOM). Domains were also categorized into ocular motor (SMO_PUR, HOR_SAC, VER_SAC, NPC, ACCOM) and vestibular (HOR_VOR, VER_VOR). Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore the relationship between the domains and recovery. Alpha was set at P ≤ .05.

Results:

Symptom provocation and/or clinical abnormality in all domains except NPC ( P = .107) and ACCOM ( P = .234) delayed recovery (domain, hazard ratio [95% CI]: SMO_PUR, 0.65 [0.47-0.90], P = .009; HOR_SAC, 0.68 [0.50-0.94], P = .018; VER_SAC, 0.55 [0.40-0.75], P < .001; HOR_VOR, 0.68 [0.49-0.94], P = .018; VER_VOR, 0.60 [0.44-0.83], P = .002). The lowest crude hazard ratio was for ocular motor category (0.45 [0.32-0.63], P < .001).

Conclusion:

These data suggest that symptom provocation/clinical abnormality associated with all domains except NPC and ACCOM can delay recovery after SRC in youth and adolescents. Thus, the VOMS not only may augment current diagnostic tools but also may serve as a predictor of recovery time in patients with SRC. The findings of this study may lead to more effective prognosis of concussion in youth and adolescents.
Revaluing Low-Wage Work
Authors: Pietrykowski Bruce
Published: October 2016

Labor and community activists have organized around raising wages for low-wage workers, notably through the “Fight for 15” campaign among fast food workers. This study uses skills data together with manager survey data to estimate occupational wages. Quantile regression was used to estimate a skills-based wage. The analysis provides empirical support for a US$15 an hour minimum wage. The results indicate that low-wage workers possess skills that are undervalued in the labor market.
A novel data processing method for sectional rail measurements to detect track irregularities in high-speed railways
Authors: Li Yangtenglong , Cen Minyi , Zhang Tonggang
Published: October 2016

Static track inspection methods record the position and direction data through track surveys completed by trolleys that survey a track based on a track control network. The track inspection points must be measured in sections to decrease the likelihood of measurement errors. Certain track inspection points will be measured twice by adjacent stations, and different results will be obtained because of the measurement errors. To improve the regularity of the track, inspection point data from the sectional measurements must be processed, and differences in the results for the same inspection points must be eliminated. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel method referred to as the regularity for processing sectional measurement data (RPSMD) method, which overcomes the disadvantages of the currently available methods of processing inspection points via track-surveying trolleys and also improves the processing of nonoverlapping and overlapping inspection points. The adjustment criterion states that the difference value for the same adjusted overlapping points should be zero, and this criterion can be used to obtain the adjustment equation for each station. Using the adjustment equation, all station points can be corrected and the total regularity of the track points can be guaranteed. According to precisely measured ballastless tracks and their calculated three-dimensional coordinates, the RPSMD method and other available methods are verified by an experimentally designed precise mechanical device. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the nonoverlapping points adjusted by the RPSMD method is improved, and the accuracy is obviously higher than that obtained by the other available methods. Also, the accuracy of the RPSMD-adjusted overlapping points is much higher than that of the nonadjusted points.
Cervical cancer screening practices, knowledge of screening and risk, and highly active antiretroviral therapy adherence among women living with human immunodeficiency virus in Lima, Peru
Authors: Delgado Jeanne R , Menacho Luis , Segura Eddy R , Roman Fernando , Cabello Robinson
Published: October 2016

Cervical cancer (CC) is the leading cause of cancer death among Peruvian women. Awareness shown by women living with HIV (WLHIV) of their increased risk and Papanicoloau (Pap) smear frequency is understudied, particularly in Peru. We assessed the uptake of guidelines-based CC screening practices and its associations with two predictors, knowledge of CC screening and risk and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) adherence, among WLHIV. Collected by self-administered questionnaires from 2014 to 2016, we analyzed the data of 71 WLHIV. Most WLHIV (77.5%, n = 55/71) were overdue to CC screening by not having a Pap smear within the prior 12 months. WLHIV who had on-time Pap smears had a higher median composite ‘knowledge’ score of 3.0 ([interquartile range] 1.5–4) compared to 2.0 (IQR 1–3) for overdue WLHIV. On-time and overdue WLHIV had the same median composite ‘HAART adherence’ score of 3.0 (IQR 2–4). Bivariate analysis found no association between knowledge nor adherence with on-time Pap smears. Although on-time WLHIV were more knowledgeable about CC screening and risk, overall CC screening uptake was poor. Larger studies of this population are needed to assess the educational, social, and structural barriers contributing to this low prevalence of screening.
What does the Paris Agreement actually do?
Authors: Campbell David
Published: October 2016

Though very widely believed to be inadequate in the target it sets, the Paris Agreement is commonly thought actually to set a binding target of reducing global CO2e emissions so as to limit global warming to 2℃. Proper legal interpretation of the Agreement shows it to set no such target. It rather gives the newly industrialising countries such as China and India a permission to emit as much as they see fit. These countries have been principally responsible for the huge growth in emissions since 1990 and they will be responsible for their continued huge growth until 2030. The Paris Agreement therefore makes the policy of mitigation of global warming impossible. However, this policy has been impossible over the whole of the now more than a quarter century of international climate change policy.
Designing quantitative telemedicine research
Authors: Wade Victoria , Barnett Adrian G , Martin-Khan Melinda , Russell Trevor
Published: October 2016

When designing quantitative trials and evaluation of telehealth interventions, researchers should think ahead to the intended way that the intervention could be implemented in routine care and consider how trial participants with similar characteristics to the target population can be included. The telehealth intervention and the context in which it is placed should be clearly described, and consideration given to conducting pragmatic trials in order to show the effect of telehealth in complex environments with rapidly changing technology. Types of research designs, comparators and outcome measures are discussed and common statistical issues are introduced.
Economic evaluation strategies in telehealth: Obtaining a more holistic valuation of telehealth interventions
Authors: Snoswell Centaine , Smith Anthony C , Scuffham Paul A , Whitty Jennifer A
Published: October 2016

Telehealth is an emerging area of medical research. Its translation from conception, to research and into practice requires tailored research and economic evaluation methods. Due to their nature telehealth interventions exhibit a number of extra-clinical benefits that are relevant when valuing their costs and outcomes. By incorporating methods to measure societal values such as patient preference and willingness-to-pay, a more holistic value can be placed on the extra-clinical outcomes associated with telehealth and evaluations can represent new interventions more effectively. Cost-benefit analysis is a method by which relevant costs and outcomes in telehealth can be succinctly valued and compared. When health economic methods are conducted using holistic approaches such as cost-benefit analysis they can facilitate the translation of telehealth research into policy and practice.
Simulating the world
Authors: Opitz Sven
Published: October 2016

If the twentieth century was the age of the world picture taken as a photograph of the Whole Earth from outer space, today’s observations of the planet are produced by means of computer simulation. Pandemic models are of paramount sociological interest in this respect, since modelling contagion is closely intertwined with modelling the material connectivities of social life. By envisioning the global dynamics of disease transmission, pandemic simulations enact the relationscapes of a transnational world. This article seeks to analyse such an enactment: It asks how simulation methods can establish a particular relation to the social from within the social. To provide an answer to this question, and adopting Niklas Luhmann’s theory of world society, pandemic simulations are described as modes of global self-observation that can be specified factually, socially, spatially and temporally. They instantiate a ‘doubling of reality’ designed to apprehend the potential future threat of disease transmission along the pathways marked by global infrastructures. They constitute scopic regimes that virtually synthesize a global situation of universal communicability in order to turn the world into an object of political intervention.
Hemostatic Efficacy of Nanofibrous Matrix in Rat Liver Injury Model
Authors: Jaiswal Amit K. , Chhabra Hemlata , Narwane Sandipan , Rege Nirmala , Bellare Jayesh R.
Published: October 2016

This present study examined the hemostatic efficacy of nanofibrous matrix in a rat liver model. The nanofibrous matrix comprising gelatin and polycaprolactone was prepared by electrospinning method. Twelve animals underwent surgery and were followed-up for a month. Time taken to cease bleeding, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, and fibrinogen concentration were measured. Histopathological examination of liver was also done of treated and control animals. All test animals showed very rapid hemostasis after application of electrospun sheet. Histopathological study showed quick recovery of liver wound in the test group as compared to the control group. The nanofibrous matrix has proven to be not only safe and effective as hemostat but has also shown its potential for liver regeneration.
Eclipsed by the Prostate: Expanding Testicular Cancer Scholarship Through Years of Potential Life Lost and Economic Productivity
Authors: Rovito Michael J.
Published: October 2016

Men’s health has been generalized as prostate cancer (PCa) with a supporting cast of other health issues, such as testicular cancer (TCa). As a result, research and scholarship in these supporting topical areas may not receive appropriate attention.This may possibly lead to disease burden indicators failing to comprehensively assess overall affect from a specific outcome within the population. The following commentary provides an example of years of potential life lost (YPLL) and economic productivity as it relates to TCa to encourage diversity in male health research and scholarship topical areas. Overall incidence and mortality rates overwhelmingly support a disparate burden from PCa as compared to other male-specific outcomes, specifically, TCa. When factoring in YPLL and lost economic activity as a result of early death, that disparity essentially dissipates. This discussion will provide an alternative disposition on how males are affected by PCa and TCa. Although PCa has much larger mortality and incidence rates compared to TCa, the amount of life a man potentially lo ses (nearly quadrupled) if he would die of TCa as compared to PCa assists in balancing out the disparate aforementioned burden. Suggestions are offered to encourage scholarship attention equity as well as implications for future research in the field.
Coil embolization through the Marathon microcatheter: Advantages and pitfalls
Authors: Beckett Joel S , Duckwiler Gary R , Tateshima Satoshi , Szeder Viktor , Jahan Reza , Gonzalez Nestor , Vinuela Fernando
Published: October 2016

Due to technical limitations, small, distal, and tortuous intracranial pathology is sometimes out of reach of the current armamentarium of microcatheters designed for intracranial coil embolization. The Marathon microcatheter (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA), designed specifically for the delivery of Onyx, is longer and more flexible than most coil delivery catheters. We report on nine patients (three with arteriovenous fistula, three with arteriovenous malformation, two with intracranial aneurysm, and one with tumor) where Marathon was used to deliver commercially available platinum coils. We also conducted laboratory compatibility testing and conclude that the Marathon can be used as a coil delivery catheter for Barricade coils (Blockade Medical, Irvine, California, USA) with diameter less than 0.012 in.
Change point–based software reliability model under imperfect debugging with revised concept of fault dependency
Authors: Chatterjee Subhashis , Shukla Ankur
Published: October 2016

A detailed study about the characteristics of different types of faults is necessary to enhance the accuracy of software reliability estimation. Over the last three decades, some software reliability growth models have been proposed considering the possibility of existence of two types of faults in a software: (1) independent and (2) dependent faults. In these software reliability growth models, it is considered that the removal of a leading fault or independent fault causes detection of corresponding dependent faults. In practical, it is noticed that some dependent faults are possible in a software which are removed during the removal of other faults. Moreover, dependent faults may have different characteristics, which cannot be ignored. Considering these facts, a detailed study about the different characteristics of both dependent and independent faults has been performed, and based on this study, dependent faults have been categorized into different categories. Furthermore, a new software reliability growth model has been proposed with revised concept of fault dependency under imperfect debugging by introducing the fault removal proportionality. In addition, the effect of change point on model’s parameters due to different environmental factors has been considered. The fault reduction factor is considered as a proportionality function. Experimental results establish the fact that the performance of the proposed model is better with respect to estimated and predicted cumulative number of faults on some real software failure datasets.
Successful conversion of wrist prosthesis to arthrodesis in 11 patients
Authors: Reigstad O. , Holm-Glad T. , Thorkildsen R. , Grimsgaard C. , Røkkum M.
Published: October 2016

From 2001 to 2015, 11 wrists in 11 patients with osteoarthritis of the wrist had failed wrist arthroplasties, which were subsequently converted to arthrodesis using intercalated corticocancellous autograft from the iliac crest and fixation with an arthrodesis plate or a customized peg. Clinical and radiological bone union was achieved in all the operated wrists. At final follow-up of ten patients after 6 years, they had a substantial reduction in pain and improvement in daily function and grip strength compared with those before arthrodesis. We conclude from outcomes of this series that the conversion to arthrodesis after failed wrist arthroplasty is worthwhile and reliably improve wrist function over failed wrist arthroplasty. The results suggest that the patients who will have wrist arthroplasty can be assured that in case of failure the conversion to arthrodesis will produce outcomes comparable with those after primary arthrodesis.

Level of evidence: IV
What works for wellbeing in culture and sport? Report of a DELPHI process to support coproduction and establish principles and parameters of an evidence review
Authors: Daykin Norma , Mansfield Louise , Payne Annette , Kay Tess , Meads Catherine , D’Innocenzo Giorgia , Burnett Adele , Dolan Paul , Julier Guy , Longworth Louise , Tomlinson Alan , Testoni Stefano , Victor Christina
Published: October 2016

Aims:

There is a growing recognition of the ways in which culture and sport can contribute to wellbeing. A strong evidence base is needed to support innovative service development and a 3-year research programme is being undertaken to capture best evidence of wellbeing impacts and outcomes of cultural and sporting activities in order to inform UK policy and practice. This article provides an overview of methods and findings from an initial coproduction process with key stakeholders that sought to explore and agree principles and parameters of the evidence review for culture, sport and wellbeing (CSW).

Methods:

A two-stage DELPHI process was conducted with a purposeful sample of 57 stakeholders between August and December 2015. Participants were drawn from a range of culture and sport organisations and included commissioners and managers, policy makers, representatives of service delivery organisations (SDOs) and scholars. The DELPHI 1 questionnaire was developed from extensive consultation in July and August 2015. It explored definitions of wellbeing, the role of evidence, quality assessment, and the culture and sport populations, settings and interventions that are most likely to deliver wellbeing outcomes. Following further consultation, the results, presented as a series of ranked statements, were sent back to participants (DELPHI 2), which allowed them to reflect on and, if they wished, express agreement or disagreement with the emerging consensus.

Results:

A total of 40 stakeholders (70.02%) responded to the DELPHI questionnaires. DELPHI 1 mapped areas of agreement and disagreement, confirmed in DELPHI 2. The exercise drew together the key priorities for the CSW evidence review.

Conclusion:

The DELPHI process, in combination with face-to-face deliberation, enabled stakeholders to engage in complex discussion and express nuanced priorities while also allowing the group to come to an overall consensus and agree outcomes. The results will inform the CSW evidence review programme until its completion in March 2018.
Does the efficacy of asenapine in bipolar disorder increase in the presence of comorbidity with a substance use disorder? A naturalistic study
Authors: De Filippis Sergio , Cuomo Ilaria , Kotzalidis Georgios D. , Pucci Daniela , Zingaretti Pietro , Porrari Raffaella , Fini Camilla , Motta Paola , Caloro Matteo , Girardi Paolo
Published: October 2016

Background:

Asenapine is a second-generation antipsychotic approved in Europe for treating moderate-to-severe manic episodes in adults affected by type I bipolar disorder (BD-I). We aimed to compare its efficacy in psychiatric inpatients with BD-I, with or without substance use disorder (SUD).

Methods:

We administered flexible asenapine doses ranging from 5–20 mg/day to 119 voluntarily hospitalized patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) BD-I diagnosis, with or without SUD. Patients were assessed with clinician-rated questionnaires [i.e. Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF)]. Assessments were carried out at baseline (T0, prior to treatment), and 3 (T1), 7 (T2), 15 (T3), and 30 days (T4) after starting treatment for all clinical scales and at T0 and T4 for the GAF.

Results:

Patients improved on all scales ( p < 0.001) across all timepoints, as shown both by paired-sample comparisons and by applying a repeated-measures, generalized linear model (GLM). Patients without comorbid SUD showed greater reductions in BPRS scores at T2 and T3, greater reduction in YMRS scores at T3, and lower HARS scores at all timepoints. HDRS scores did not differ between the two groups at any timepoint. However, the reduction in HARS scores in the comorbid group was stronger than in the BD-I only group, albeit not significantly. Side effects were few and mild-to-moderate.

Conclusions:

The open-label design and the relatively short observation period may expose to both type I and type II statistical errors (false positive and false negatives). Asenapine showed effectiveness and safety in hospitalized BD-I patients. Its effect was stronger in patients without comorbid SUD.
Role of psilocybin in the treatment of depression
Authors: Mahapatra Ananya , Gupta Rishi
Published: October 2016

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring alkaloid, pharmacologically similar to the classic hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Although primarily used as a recreational drug or an entheogen in particular cultural settings, recent population based studies have shown that it does not lead to serious physical or mental health problems or dependent use. In view of recent work demonstrating psilocybin’s potential to increase subjective sense of wellbeing and because of its novel mechanism of 5-HT2A serotonin receptor agonism, it is being explored for possible therapeutic utility in mood and anxiety disorders.
Mechatronic design and manufacturing of an affordable healthcare robotic bed
Authors: Portillo-Velez R de J , Vázquez-Santacruz E , Morales-Cruz C , Gamboa-Zúñiga M
Published: October 2016

The design and manufacturing of affordable medical assistive devices represents a major challenge for developing countries where resources are much more limited than in rich countries. The engineering design process focuses on developing better devices and systems with a low impact on the environment and the most functional and efficient performance, at the lowest possible price. In this context, the mechatronic design is perhaps the most complete way of thinking about performing concurrent design tasks which provide fully of mechanical, electronic, informatics and intelligent control systems integration. This design process can take advantage of many computer-aided tools, which play a key role in the modern methods of optimization and reduce the cost of prototyping. This work presents the mechatronic design process of an affordable assistive robotic bed, from the main requirements through the mechanical design and up to the integration of the electronics and the embedded control, while industrial design suitably merges to all the modules of the robotic bed. The work was developed in cooperation with a set of experts at the Hospital Juarez de Mexico who provided their very specific necessities for the designers and more important for the patients.