bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A nonparametric method for assessment of interactions in a median regression model for analyzing right censored data
Authors: Lee MinJae , Rahbar Mohammad H , Talebi Hooshang
Published: January 2018

We propose a nonparametric test for interactions when we are concerned with investigation of the simultaneous effects of two or more factors in a median regression model with right censored survival data. Our approach is developed to detect interaction in special situations, when the covariates have a finite number of levels with a limited number of observations in each level, and it allows varying levels of variance and censorship at different levels of the covariates. Through simulation studies, we compare the power of detecting an interaction between the study group variable and a covariate using our proposed procedure with that of the Cox Proportional Hazard (PH) model and censored quantile regression model. We also assess the impact of censoring rate and type on the standard error of the estimators of parameters. Finally, we illustrate application of our proposed method to real life data from Prospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion (PROMMTT) study to test an interaction effect between type of injury and study sites using median time for a trauma patient to receive three units of red blood cells. The results from simulation studies indicate that our procedure performs better than both Cox PH model and censored quantile regression model based on statistical power for detecting the interaction, especially when the number of observations is small. It is also relatively less sensitive to censoring rates or even the presence of conditionally independent censoring that is conditional on the levels of covariates.
Conspiracy and foreign policy
Authors: Aistrope Tim , Bleiker Roland
Published: January 2018

Conspiracies play a significant role in world politics. States often engage in covert operations. They plot in secret, with and against each other. At the same time, conspiracies are often associated with irrational thinking and delusion. We address this puzzle and highlight the need to see conspiracies as more than just empirical phenomena. We argue that claims about conspiracies should be seen as narratives that are intrinsically linked to power relations and the production of foreign policy knowledge. We illustrate the links between conspiracies, legitimacy and power by examining multiple conspiracies associated with 9/11 and the War on Terror. Two trends are visible. On the one hand, US officials identified a range of conspiracies and presented them as legitimate and rational, even though some, such as the alleged covert development of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, are now widely considered false. On the other hand, conspiracies circulating in the Arab-Muslim world were dismissed as irrational and pathological, even though some, like those concerned with the covert operation of US power in the Middle East, were based on credible concerns.
The Socioeconomic Dimensions for the Management of Haemophilia in India
Authors: Gupta Hemant , Dutta Ujjal Protim , Sengupta Partha Pratim
Published: January 2018

Purpose:

Haemophilia is an X-lined recessive disorder of coagulation that can affect any section of the society. Haemophilia is incurable and expensive lifelong disease; hence, the patient always brings in a financial crisis to manage its medication. In developing country like India the per capita health expenditure is 58 USD/year in 2012. The AHF therapy has been negligibly used in critical conditions of the disease. This study was undertaken to identify the social and economic dimensions that can influence the attitude of the medical practitioners for the choice of treatment therapy for a patient with haemophilia (PwH) in India.

Design/methodology/approach:

A cross-sectional study was conducted by collecting the primary data from the randomly selected 50 medical practitioners who were having at least one PwH on weekly basis. The EFA method was applied to determine the major socioeconomic dimensions of the choice of therapy.

Findings:

Four major dimensions were explored in the study that have significant impact on the attitude of medical practitioners. The availability of the AHF therapy is the most important dimension for consideration of a therapy for PwH in India. Moreover, the patient safety profile, patient affordability profile, and the experience of medical practitioners are three more dimensions that established the positive impact on attitude.

Research limitations/implications:

The methodology has socioeconomic tools for analysis and applied instrument has only 15 items for factor analysis.

Practical implications:

Governing bodies to rectify the policies on rare diseases because of inadequate supply of medicines. Academics would also benefit greatly since it will add value to existing body of literature on haemophilia in Indian context.
It’s All About Communication: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Collaboration Between Volunteers and Staff in Pediatric Palliative Care
Authors: Meyer Dorothee , Schmidt Pia , Zernikow Boris , Wager Julia
Published: January 2018

Background:

Multidisciplinary teamwork is considered central to pediatric palliative care. Although different studies state that volunteers play an essential role in palliative care, little is known about the collaboration between volunteers and staff.

Aim:

This study aims to explore and compare the perspectives of volunteers and staff regarding collaboration in a pediatric palliative care unit.

Design:

A mixed-methods approach was chosen to appropriately reflect the complex aspects of collaboration.

Setting/Participants:

Both face-to-face interviews with staff who work together with volunteers and a group discussion with all volunteers were conducted. These were supplemented by 2 questionnaires designed for this study that examined participants’ characteristics and their estimation of what information volunteers need before they meet a patient.

Results:

Nine staff members and 7 volunteers participated in this study. Their ideas of collaboration could be grouped into 3 categories: (i) factual level of collaboration, (ii) relationship level of collaboration, and (iii) overall appraisal of collaboration (suggestions for improvement).

Conclusion:

Communication can be considered a key factor in successful collaboration between volunteers and staff. Because many patients in pediatric palliative care units are not able to communicate verbally, good information flow between volunteers and staff is crucial for ensuring quality patient care. Moreover, communication is the key to establishing a team philosophy by clarifying roles and building relationships between volunteers and staff.
Five-Year Experience of an Inpatient Palliative Care Unit at an Academic Referral Center
Authors: Shinall Myrick C. , Martin Sara F. , Nelson Jill , Miller Richard S. , Semler Matthew W. , Zimmerman Eli E. , Noblit Christy C. , Ely E. Wesley , Karlekar Mohana
Published: January 2018

Background:

Palliative care units (PCUs) staffed by specialty-trained physicians and nurses have been established in a number of medical centers. The purpose of this study is to review the 5-year experience of a PCU at a large, urban academic referral center.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed a prospectively collected database of all admissions to the PCU at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the first 5 years of its existence, from 2012 through 2017.

Results:

Over these 5 years, there were 3321 admissions to the PCU. No single underlying disease process accounted for the majority of the patients, but the largest single category of patients were those with malignancy, who accounted for 38% of admissions. Transfers from the intensive care unit accounted for 50% of admissions, with 43% of admissions from a hospital floor and 7% coming from the emergency department or a clinic. Median length of stay in the PCU was 3 days. In hospital deaths occurred for 50% of admitted patients, while 38% of patients were discharged from the PCU to hospice.

Conclusion:

These data show that a successful PCU is enabled by buy in from a wide variety of referring specialists and by a multidisciplinary palliative care team focused on care of the actively dying patient as well as pain and symptom management, advance care planning, and hospice referral since a large proportion of referred patients do not die in house.
Did I Miss It? Discovering Hidden Coexisting Hematological Neoplasms: A Single Institutional Review of 100 Collision Tumors
Authors: Himchak Evan , Marks Etan , Shi Yang , Wang Yanhua
Published: January 2018

A collision tumor is defined as two histologically distinct tumor types identified at the same anatomic site. Hematolymphoid proliferative disorders (HLPDs), which coincide with non-hematological neoplasms, can mimic an immune response and can easily be overlooked as an immune reaction to a solid organ neoplasm, especially when low grade. In order to avoid a delay in the diagnosis of a HLPD during the workup for a non-hematological neoplasm, we identified a cohort of 100 cases with a HLPD diagnosis during the initial workup and treatment of a non-hematological neoplasm, or vice versa. Among the 100 collision tumors, the most common non-hematological neoplasms associated with a HLPD were from the colon (17%), breast (15%), and prostate (12%). The most commonly identified HLPDs were chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL; 18%), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (17%), follicular lymphoma (14%), marginal zone lymphoma (10%), acute myeloid leukemia (8%), and classical Hodgkin lymphoma (5%). Interestingly, in this cohort 5% of the low-grade HLPDs, all of them CLL/SLL, were missed at initial sign-out and subsequently required an addendum report. The other 95% of cases were reviewed or signed out by a hematopathologist before the report was finalized for the non-hematological neoplasm. In summary, high-grade hematological malignancies are less likely to be missed; however, low-grade coexisting HLPDs can be overlooked as a reactive immune response to a solid organ neoplasm. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind the existence of collision low-grade HLPDs before assuming the lymphoid infiltrates as an immunological response.
Syme Amputation: A Systematic Review
Authors: Braaksma Rudwina , Dijkstra Pieter U. , Geertzen Jan H. B.
Published: January 2018

Background:

In the decision-making process toward an amputation of the lower extremity, knowledge about patient-related outcomes after amputation and rehabilitation is important. We have not found a systematic review that provides this knowledge for Syme amputation. The aim of this study was to present an overview of outcomes after a Syme amputation grouped according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model, focusing on body structures and functions, activities, and participation.

Methods:

A systematic literature search was performed. Included studies went through 2 selection procedures by 2 independent assessors. Included were all studies concerning Syme amputation with patient-related outcomes.

Results:

Thirty-six studies were included for data extraction, concerning 1056 patients (238 children and 818 adults). Heel pad migration was reported in 49 of 176 (28%), skin problems in 23 of 128 (18%), and bone problems in 42 of 145 (29%) children. No reamputations were reported. All children were fitted with a prosthesis, and 62 of 90 (69%) children participated in sports. Skin problems were reported in 35 of 195 (18%), ulceration or infection in 120 of 512 (23%), residual limb pain in 46 of 181 (25%), and reamputations in 180 of 919 (20%) adults. In total, 247 of 363 (68%) adults were fitted with a prosthesis. Walking aids were used by 45 of 135 (33%) adults. Employment status was unchanged in 147 of 209 (72%) adults.

Conclusion:

In children, no reamputations were necessary and few complications were reported, with good participation in daily life in the majority of children. In adults, more complications and reamputations were reported; nevertheless, most adult amputees became successful prosthesis users.

Level of Evidence:

Therapeutic Level III, systematic review containing retrospective cohort studies.
FDA and the Marketplace of Ideas for Medical Products
Authors: Cortez Nathan
Published: January 2018

The market can produce skewed information about investigational products awaiting FDA approval. But the FDA rarely steps in to correct such misleading information, despite statutory authority to do so. This article evaluates a recommendation by the FDA Transparency Working Group that FDA more clearly signal when and how it will correct misleading information about investigational products, and why such a recommendation is particularly important after the 21st Century Cures Act.
Withholding Information on Unapproved Drug Marketing Applications: The Public Has a Right to Know
Authors: Almashat Sammy , Carome Michael
Published: January 2018

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as a matter of long-standing policy, does not inform the public of instances whereby applications for new drugs or new indications for existing drugs have been rejected by the agency or withdrawn from consideration, nor does it disclose the agency’s analyses of the data submitted with such applications. This lack of transparency is unjustified and prevents patients, researchers, and healthcare providers from gaining insight into why a drug’s application was not approved. The FDA’s policy is particularly troubling in cases where the agency has found a currently marketed drug to be ineffective or unsafe for a newly proposed indication. Disclosure of the FDA’s findings in such cases would promote public health by encouraging healthcare providers to avoid prescribing drugs for unapproved (off-label) uses that the agency has deemed to be potentially dangerous or ineffective. The FDA’s counterpart agencies in Europe and Canada have demonstrated the feasibility of disclosing information on rejected and withdrawn drug marketing applications. The FDA should follow suit and allow the American public to know when a drug is deemed unsafe or ineffective for a certain use.
Perceptions, Realities, and Euphemisms: Community Choices of In-House Service Provision or Alternative Service Delivery
Authors: Hora Jennifer J. , Schreiber Kylie
Published: January 2018

Increased expectations for municipalities to provide services, a push for updating and maintaining the services already provided, and simultaneous dealing with strained budgets and less federal funding opportunities have led some communities to adopt alternative service for delivery of public works systems. This research project creates a new data set of localities and investigates what characteristics increase the likelihood a political subdivision will choose an alternative service delivery system for what was a traditionally in-house public service. Testing three hypotheses, findings indicate need for expertise does not play a role in service delivery choices.
Impact of 3 Tesla MRI on interobserver agreement in clinically isolated syndrome: A MAGNIMS multicentre study
Authors: Hagens Marloes HJ , Burggraaff Jessica , Kilsdonk Iris D , Ruggieri Serena , Collorone Sara , Cortese Rosa , Cawley Niamh , Sbardella Emilia , Andelova Michaela , Amann Michael , Lieb Johanna M , Pantano Patrizia , Lissenberg-Witte Birgit I , Killestein Joep , Oreja-Guevara Celia , Wuerfel Jens , Ciccarelli Olga , Gasperini Claudio , Lukas Carsten , Rovira Alex , Barkhof Frederik , Wattjes Mike P ,   For the MAGNIMS Study Group
Published: January 2018

Background:

Compared to 1.5 T, 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) increases signal-to-noise ratio leading to improved image quality. However, its clinical relevance in clinically isolated syndrome suggestive of multiple sclerosis remains uncertain.

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to investigate how 3 T MRI affects the agreement between raters on lesion detection and diagnosis.

Methods:

We selected 30 patients and 10 healthy controls from our ongoing prospective multicentre cohort. All subjects received baseline 1.5 and 3 T brain and spinal cord MRI. Patients also received follow-up brain MRI at 3–6 months. Four experienced neuroradiologists and four less-experienced raters scored the number of lesions per anatomical region and determined dissemination in space and time (McDonald 2010).

Results:

In controls, the mean number of lesions per rater was 0.16 at 1.5 T and 0.38 at 3 T ( p = 0.005). For patients, this was 4.18 and 4.40, respectively ( p = 0.657). Inter-rater agreement on involvement per anatomical region and dissemination in space and time was moderate to good for both field strengths. 3 T slightly improved agreement between experienced raters, but slightly decreased agreement between less-experienced raters.

Conclusion:

Overall, the interobserver agreement was moderate to good. 3 T appears to improve the reading for experienced readers, underlining the benefit of additional training.
Collaboration for sustainable tourism through strategic bridging: A case of travel2change
Authors: Park Sun-Young , Kohler Thomas
Published: January 2018

Although the importance of collaboration for sustainable tourism has been widely emphasized for value co-creation, there is a lack of understanding about alternative collaboration models and how partnerships develop and operate. This study examines strategic bridging, which can be a viable collaboration form fostered by an independent third party. We investigate a case, travel2change (t2c) that connects travelers and local organizations through a crowdsourcing platform to facilitate concerted efforts for sustainable Hawaii. In-depth interviews with t2c and its 13 partners show that their shared mission ties them to join the endeavors, although there are some implementation challenges. We further discuss collaboration outcomes, outcome measures, and future improvements. The findings shed light on actions stakeholders can take, so that the constituents can mobilize, synchronize, and synthesize their resources and efforts toward a sustainable tourism destination.
Cognate facilitation priming effect is modulated by writing system: Evidence from Chinese-English bilinguals
Authors: Zhang Juan , Wu Chenggang , Zhou Tiemin , Meng Yaxuan
Published: January 2018

Aims:

The present study aims to examine the cross-script cognate facilitation effect that cognates have processing advantages over non-cognates and this effect is strong evidence supporting the non-selective access hypothesis for bilinguals.

Methodology:

By adopting a masked translation priming paradigm, Experiment 1 used 48 Chinese–English cognates (Chinese words) and 48 non-cognates (Chinese words) as primes and their English translation equivalences as targets. Chinese–English bilinguals were instructed to judge whether the target stimuli were real words or not. In Experiment 2, another group of participants took the same lexical decision task as in Experiment 1, except that English–Chinese cognates and non-cognates (English words) served as primes and their Chinese translation equivalences were targets.

Data and analysis:

Response latency and accuracy data were submitted to a repeated-measures analysis of variance.

Findings/conclusions:

Experiment 1 showed that Chinese–English cognates (Chinese words) and non-cognates (Chinese words) produced similar priming effect, while Experiment 2 revealed that English–Chinese cognates (English words) generated a significant priming effect, whereas non-cognates (English words) failed to induce any priming effect. Overall, Chinese words did not show cognate advantage, while English words produced a significant cognate facilitation effect. These results might be attributed to different mappings from orthography to phonology in English and Chinese. Opaque mapping from orthography to phonology in Chinese hindered phonological activation and reduced Chinese–English cognate phonological priming effect. However, English–Chinese cognates benefited from transparent mapping from sound to print and thus generated a significant phonological priming effect. Implications of the current findings for bilingual word recognition models were discussed.

Originality:

The present study is the first to investigate the cross-script cognate facilitation effect by ensuring both the heterogeneity of primes and targets (English and Chinese) and the homogeneity of primes (Chinese or English). The results indicated that the writing systems of the primes constrained the cross-script cognate priming effect.
Effect of liner material and explosive type on penetration effectiveness of shaped charge
Authors: Zaki S , Uddin Emad , Rashid B , Mubashar A , Shah Samiur R
Published: January 2018

Shaped charges are used in many civilian and military applications. This study focuses on the effects of liner material and the type of explosive on the development of shaped charge jet. This was carried out by experimentation and numerical finite element-based modelling. Shaped charges were tested on a steel plate during the experimentation and the experimental data were used to validate the developed numerical model of the shaped charge. A hydrocode-based finite element model was able to predict the perforation and jet formation for the shaped charge, as well as the characteristics of the holes formed in the target plate. Several variations of the numerical model with the change of liner material and the filled explosive showed that the higher explosive resulted in higher velocity jet. The jet formation and velocity of jet were compared to determine the better performing combination of the material and explosive for the given shaped charge geometry. The underlying mechanisms were discussed in detail and compared with the previous studies.
Multiculturalist policies in an age of immigration: Do multiculturalist policies influence negative immigrant attitudes toward homosexuality?
Authors: Kwon Ronald , Hughes Elizabeth
Published: January 2018

In this article, we provide an empirical analysis of the relationship between multiculturalist policies and immigrant attitudes toward homosexuality. Normative discourses implicate multiculturalism as a key obstacle to the sociocultural integration between immigrants and natives within affluent democracies. At the core of this controversial debate are differences over the extent to which multiculturalism impedes or promotes the adoption of sexual norms from host societies to immigrants. However, a dearth of empirical studies has allowed political actors to levy broad, but largely speculative, claims that multiculturalist policies aggravate cultural conflicts between incoming immigrants and the values of host societies. We begin to address this issue by examining whether immigrants’ attitudes toward homosexuality vary in any direction across multicultural contexts. We find no evidence that multicultural policies exacerbate negative attitudes toward homosexuality, or facilitate the greater acceptance of sociocultural norms surrounding homosexuality for immigrants and Muslim immigrants. The findings are consistent across alternative measures of multiculturalism and two large cross-national samples: The European Social Survey and the World Values Survey. Interestingly, we find some support that multiculturalist policies may be correlated with greater acceptance of homosexuality among natives rather than immigrant respondents. However, further research is necessary to develop and unpack this potential relationship.
‘The Russians are back’: Symbolic boundaries and cultural trauma in immigration from the former Soviet Union to the Czech Republic
Authors: Klvaňová Radka
Published: January 2018

This study contributes to the literature on migration and the construction of the symbolic boundaries of belonging. It explores the neglected topic of the role of collective memory and, in particular, cultural trauma, in the processes of negotiation of the symbolic boundaries between immigrants and the native-born. It does so by studying the case of post-Cold War immigration from three countries of the former Soviet Union—Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia—to the Czech Republic, focusing on immigrants’ experiences of being assigned responsibility for “1968,” the Warsaw Treaty Troops’ military intervention into Czechoslovakia and its subsequent occupation by the Soviet army. Analysis of the narratives of immigrants about their everyday encounters with Czechs advances the understanding of symbolic boundary-making processes by identifying two types of responses the immigrants employ for contesting the stigma of the perpetrators imposed on them in the Czech immigration context. The first involves “differentiation,” which aims at redrawing the symbolic boundaries between perpetrators and victims. The second response involves “individualization,” in which immigrants completely dissociate from the past acts of violence of the Soviet regime. This study offers insight into the micro-politics of nation-building in Central and Eastern Europe.
Gas-phase relative stabilities of Tl+-crown ether complexes and Rb+-crown ether complexes
Authors: Frańska Magdalena , Michalak Anna
Published: January 2018

The gas-phase stabilities of Tl+-crown ether complexes and Rb+-crown ether complexes were studied using the electrospray ionization-collision-induced dissociation-tandem mass spectrometry. Tl+ and Rb+ have identical ionic radii, thus a comparison of the properties of the crown ether complexes with these two cations seems to be justified. The selected crown ethers were 12C4 (it has a cavity smaller than the cation radius), 18C6 (it has a cavity of size similar to the cation radius), 24C8 (it has a cavity greater than the cation radius) and their conjugates. It has been found that the crown ether complexes of stoichiometry 1:1 with Tl+ are more or equally stable in the gas phase than the crown ether complexes with Rb+. However, 2:1 complexes with Tl+ are less stable than the complexes with Rb+.
Planetary bearing defect detection in a commercial helicopter main gearbox with vibration and acoustic emission
Authors: Elasha Faris , Greaves Matthew , Mba David
Published: January 2018

Helicopter gearboxes significantly differ from other transmission types and exhibit unique behaviours that reduce the effectiveness of traditional fault diagnostics methods. In addition, due to lack of redundancy, helicopter transmission failure can lead to catastrophic accidents. Bearing faults in helicopter gearboxes are difficult to discriminate due to the low signal-to-noise ratio in the presence of gear vibration. In addition, the vibration response from the planet gear bearings must be transmitted via a time-varying path through the ring gear to externally mounted accelerometers, which cause yet further bearing vibration signal suppression. This research programme has resulted in the successful proof of concept of a broadband wireless transmission sensor that incorporates power scavenging while operating within a helicopter gearbox. In addition, this article investigates the application of signal separation techniques in detection of bearing faults within the epicyclic module of a large helicopter (CS-29) main gearbox using vibration and acoustic emissions. It compares their effectiveness for various operating conditions. Three signal processing techniques, including an adaptive filter, spectral kurtosis and envelope analysis, were combined for this investigation. In addition, this research discusses the feasibility of using acoustic emission for helicopter gearbox monitoring.
Allowing harm because we care: Self-injury and harm minimisation
Authors: Sullivan Patrick J
Published: January 2018

Harm minimisation has been proposed as a means of supporting people who self-injure. When adopting this approach, rather than trying to stop self-injury immediately the person is allowed to injure safely whilst developing more appropriate ways of dealing with distress. The approach is controversial as the health care professional actively allows harm to occur. This paper will consider a specific objection to harm minimisation. That is, it is a misguided collaboration between the health care professional and the person who self-injures that is morally and clinically questionable. The objection has two components. The first component is moral in nature and asserts that the health care professional is complicit in any harm that occurs and as a result they can be held morally responsible and subject to moral blame. The second component is clinical in nature and suggests that harm minimisation involves the health care professional in colluding in the perpetuation of self-injury. This element of the objection is based on a psychodynamic understanding of why self-injury occurs and it is argued that harm minimisation is merely a mechanism for avoiding thinking about the psychotherapeutic issues that need to be addressed. Thus, the health care professional merely reinforces a dysfunctional pattern of behaviour and supports the perpetuation of self-injury. I will consider this objection and argue that it fails on both counts. I conclude that the use of harm minimisation techniques is an appropriate form of intervention that is helpful to certain individuals in some situations.
Psychometric Considerations for Conducting Observations Using Time-Sampling Procedures
Authors: Ferguson Tyler David , Briesch Amy M. , Volpe Robert J. , Donaldson Aberdine R. , Feinberg Adam B.
Published: January 2018

Time-sampling techniques are popular among school practitioners and researchers alike when conducting observations of student behavior. Despite their popularity, the psychometric properties of such observation data have not received much attention, likely given that both procedures and targets vary widely across individual coding systems. A systematic literature review was therefore conducted to provide insight into how various procedural aspects may influence the psychometric properties of time-sampling data. Specifically, the influences of the number of target behaviors, time-sampling method, interval length, observation length, and number of observations on the psychometric properties of time-sampling data are explored. Both implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Evaluating Screening Procedures Across Changes to the Statewide Achievement Test
Authors: Klingbeil David A. , Van Norman Ethan R. , Nelson Peter M. , Birr Chris
Published: January 2018

Several states have changed their statewide achievement tests over the past 5 years. These changes may pose difficulties for educators tasked with identifying students in need of additional support. This study evaluated the stability of decision-making accuracy estimates across changes to the statewide achievement test. We analyzed extant data from a large suburban district in Wisconsin in 2014–2015 ( N = 2,774) and 2015–2016 ( N = 2,882). We estimated the decision-making accuracy of recommendations from the Measures of Academic Progress for predicting risk on a Common Core State Standards aligned test (2014–2015) and a new test based on updated academic standards (2015–2016) in reading and math. Findings suggest that sensitivity and specificity estimates were relatively stable in math. Changes in the criterion measure were associated with decreased sensitivity when predicting performance in reading. These results provide initial support for educators to continue existing screening practices until test vendors or state educational agencies establish cut-scores for predicting risk on the newer test. Using a lower cut-score to establish risk (increasing sensitivity while decreasing specificity) may be prudent in reading. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
Class Placements and Competing Priorities
Authors: Hasson Julie D.
Published: January 2018

Justine Finley, newly appointed principal of Northside Elementary, had been tasked with increasing her school’s grade under the state accountability system and keeping neighborhood families from choosing to enroll in the charter school down the street. The superintendent made these priorities very clear. After spending the first 3 months observing and analyzing data, Justine realized that a new model for placing students in classes could be a lever for increasing achievement scores. What Justine failed to realize was the conflict that the new model would generate among parents and teachers. This case highlights the challenges a new principal encountered when attempting to implement a change in student and teacher placement procedures amid competing priorities.
Risk of Erectile Dysfunction After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort study in Taiwan
Authors: Yang Yun-Ju , Chien Wu-Chien , Chung Chi-Hsiang , Hong Kun-Ting , Yu Yi-Lin , Hueng Dueng-Yuan , Chen Yuan-Hao , Ma Hsin-I , Chang Hsin-An , Kao Yu-Chen , Yeh Hui-Wen , Tzeng Nian-Sheng
Published: January 2018

Introduction:

In our study, we aimed to investigate the association between a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and subsequent erectile dysfunction (ED). This is a population-based study using the claims dataset from The National Health Insurance Research Database.

Methods:

We included 72,642 patients with TBI aged over 20 years, retrospectively, selected from the longitudinal health insurance database during 2000–2010, according to the ICD-9-CM. The control group consisted of 217,872 patients without TBI that were randomly chosen from the database at a ratio of 1:3, with age- and index year matched. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to estimate the association between the TBI and subsequent ED.

Results:

After a 10-year follow-up, the incidence rate of ED was higher in the TBI patients when compared with the non-TBI control group (24.66 and 19.07 per 100,000, respectively). Patients with TBI had a higher risk of developing ED than the non-TBI cohort after the adjustment of the confounding factors, such as age, comorbidity, residence of urbanization and locations, seasons, level of care, and insured premiums (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2.569, 95% CI [1.890, 3.492], p < .001).

Conclusion:

This is the first study using a comprehensive nationwide database to analyze the association of ED and TBI in the Asian population. After adjusted the confounding factors, patients with TBI have a significantly higher risk of developing ED, especially organic ED, than the general population. This finding might remind clinicians that it’s crucial in early identification and treatment of ED in post-TBI patients.
MRSA Incidence and Antibiotic Trends in Urban Hand Infections: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study
Authors: Kistler Justin M. , Thoder Joseph J. , Ilyas Asif M.
Published: January 2018

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most reported pathogen in hand infections at urban medical centers throughout the country. Antibiotic sensitivity trends are not well known. The purposes of this study were to examine and determine the drug resistance trends for MRSA infections of the hand and to provide recommendations for empiric antibiotic treatment based on sensitivity profiles. Methods: A 10-year longitudinal, retrospective chart review was performed on all culture-positive hand infections encountered at a single urban medical center from 2005 to 2014. The proportions of all organisms were calculated for each year and collectively. MRSA infections were additionally subanalyzed for antibiotic sensitivity. Results: A total of 815 culture-positive hand infections were identified. Overall, MRSA grew on culture in 46% of cases. A trend toward decreasing annual MRSA incidence was noted over the 10-year study period. There was a steady increase in polymicrobial infections during the same time. Resistance to clindamycin increased steadily during the 10-year study, starting at 4% in 2008 but growing to 31% by 2014. Similarly, levofloxacin resistance consistently increased throughout the study, reaching its peak at 56% in 2014. Conclusions: The annual incidence of MRSA in hand infections has declined overall but remains the most common pathogen. There has been an alternative increase in the number of polymicrobial infections. MRSA resistance to clindamycin and levofloxacin consistently increased during the study period. Empiric antibiotic therapy for hand infections should not only avoid penicillin and other beta-lactams but should also consider avoiding clindamycin and levofloxacin for empiric treatment.
Dynamic walking control of humanoid robots combining linear inverted pendulum mode with parameter optimization
Authors: Liu Chengju , Ning Jing , Chen Qijun
Published: January 2018

To improve the robustness of biped walking, a model parameters optimization method based on policy gradient decent learning is presented. For the linear inverted pendulum mode-based model parameters optimization, firstly, select the input parameters of the inverted pendulum model and the torso attitude parameters of the robot as the correction variables and establish the correction equation. Then, using the tracking errors of center of mass (CoM) of the robot and the errors of the robot posture relative to the upright state of the body to establish the fitness function. According to the fitness function, the gain coefficients in the model parameters correction equation are optimized by using the strategy gradient learning method, and the modified gain parameters are substituted into the model parameters correction equation to obtain the correction amount. By applying the model parameters optimization strategy, the robot can quickly and in real time adjust the body posture and walking patterns under unknown disturbances, hence, the walking robustness can be enhanced. Simulation and experiments on a full-body humanoid robot NAO validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experiments show that the optimized model yields a more controlled, robust walk on NAO robot and on various surfaces without additional manual parameters tuning.
Cost-efficient designs for three-arm trials with treatment delivered by health professionals: Sample sizes for a combination of nested and crossed designs
Authors: Moerbeek Mirjam
Published: January 2018

Background

This article studies the design of trials that compare three treatment conditions that are delivered by two types of health professionals. The one type of health professional delivers one treatment, and the other type delivers two treatments, hence, this design is a combination of a nested and crossed design. As each health professional treats multiple patients, the data have a nested structure. This nested structure has thus far been ignored in the design of such trials, which may result in an underestimate of the required sample size. In the design stage, the sample sizes should be determined such that a desired power is achieved for each of the three pairwise comparisons, while keeping costs or sample size at a minimum.

Methods

The statistical model that relates outcome to treatment condition and explicitly takes the nested data structure into account is presented. Mathematical expressions that relate sample size to power are derived for each of the three pairwise comparisons on the basis of this model. The cost-efficient design achieves sufficient power for each pairwise comparison at lowest costs. Alternatively, one may minimize the total number of patients. The sample sizes are found numerically and an Internet application is available for this purpose. The design is also compared to a nested design in which each health professional delivers just one treatment.

Results

Mathematical expressions show that this design is more efficient than the nested design. For each pairwise comparison, power increases with the number of health professionals and the number of patients per health professional. The methodology of finding a cost-efficient design is illustrated using a trial that compares treatments for social phobia. The optimal sample sizes reflect the costs for training and supervising psychologists and psychiatrists, and the patient-level costs in the three treatment conditions.

Conclusion

This article provides the methodology for designing trials that compare three treatment conditions while taking the nesting of patients within health professionals into account. As such, it helps to avoid underpowered trials. To use the methodology, a priori estimates of the total outcome variances and intraclass correlation coefficients must be obtained from experts’ opinions or findings in the literature.
Leadership ambidexterity: Key to stimulating team learning through team-oriented HRM? An explorative study among teacher teams in VET colleges
Authors: Bouwmans Machiel , Runhaar Piety , Wesselink Renate , Mulder Martin
Published: January 2018

In vocational education and training (VET) colleges worldwide, teacher teams work on innovations to improve their educational quality. To foster this process, teams benefit from team-oriented human resource management (HRM) aimed at stimulating teachers’ team learning. This qualitative study explores in-depth how team leaders enact team-oriented human resource practices and how this affects teachers’ perceptions of these practices and their engagement in team learning. Interviews with four team leaders and group interviews with 11 teachers from these four teams were conducted in one VET college in the Netherlands. The results showed that team leaders were both controlling and stimulating in their enactment. To foster team learning, it appears not just necessary that team leaders’ enactment and teachers’ perceptions of this enactment should be aligned, but that team leaders’ enactment also should be geared towards the team’s needs. This study therefore shows team leaders’ crucial role in the effective implementation of team-oriented HRM in VET colleges.
Physical and anthropometrical attributes of Australian youth soccer players
Authors: Keller Brad S , Raynor Annette J , Bruce Lyndell , Iredale Fiona
Published: January 2018

Objectives

To determine whether Australian youth soccer players of varying levels could be distinguished based on their anthropometrical and physical attributes.

Design

A cross-sectional observational design was used, involving six anthropometrical and physical tests for each player.

Methods

Participants represented three youth levels of competition, namely national elite (n = 18), state elite (n = 22) and sub-elite (n = 22). Anthropometrical and physical tests included standing height; body mass; 5, 10, 30 m sprint and 20 m ‘flying start’ sprint; zig-zag agility test; vertical jump and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level 1. A multiple analysis of variance for the main effect of cohort, with a follow-up ANOVA and Tukey's Honest Significant Difference were used to discern which attributes differed between each cohort. Receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated, providing cut-off values between cohorts.

Results

The national elite cohort was significantly taller than the state elite cohort (ES = 0.94) and faster than the sub-elite athletes across 30 m (ES = 0.79) and 20 m with a flying start (ES = 0.77) (P < 0.05). The national elite cohort had a significantly higher level of intermittent endurance, compared to the state elite athletes who also performed better than the sub-elite cohort. The discrepancy between groups in the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level 1 was exemplified by the receiver operating characteristic with 94.1% of national elite players running further than 1980 m, while 95.7% of state elite and 100% of sub-elite players failed to reach this distance (ES = 0.88–1.77).

Conclusions

It is evident that anthropometrical and physical attributes differ between youth cohorts, particularly intermittent endurance. It is important to use this knowledge to enhance the current processes used to identify future talent for success in Australian soccer.
Evaluating Operating Theatre Experience Student Nurses in South East Wales
Authors: Hughes Suzanne
Published: January 2018

Nurses following the traditional pre-registration programme used to be offered a theatre placement of up to ten weeks’ duration and it was during this period that they were able to develop key nursing skills in the care of the perioperative patient (Hughes 2003). Prior to the implementation of the Fitness for Practice (FFP) curriculum (UKCC 1999a), students in parts of Wales were denied a theatre placement. However, the new programme highlighted the need for closer links between academic and clinical educators and allowed students the opportunity to experience the perioperative environment.
The role of noninvasive cardiovascular testing, applied clinical nutrition and nutritional supplements in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease
Authors: Houston Mark
Published: January 2018

Numerous clinical trials suggest that we have reached a limit in our ability to decrease the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) utilizing the traditional diagnostic evaluation, prevention and treatment strategies for the top five cardiovascular risk factors of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, obesity and smoking.

About 80% of heart disease (heart attacks, angina, coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure) can be prevented by optimal nutrition, optimal exercise, optimal weight and body composition, mild alcohol intake and avoiding smoking. Statistics show that approximately 50% of patients continue to have CHD or myocardial infarction (MI) despite presently defined ‘normal’ levels of the five risk factors listed above. This is often referred to as the ‘CHD gap’. Novel and more accurate definitions and evaluations of these top five risk factors are required, such as 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (ABM) results, advanced lipid profiles, redefined fasting and 2 h dysglycemia parameters, a focus on visceral obesity and body composition and the effects of adipokines on cardiovascular risk. There are numerous traumatic insults from the environment that damage the cardiovascular system but there are only three finite vascular endothelial responses, which are inflammation, oxidative stress and immune vascular dysfunction. In addition, the concept of translational cardiovascular medicine is mandatory in order to correlate the myriad of CHD risk factors to the presence or absence of functional or structural damage to the vascular system, preclinical and clinical CHD. This can be accomplished by utilizing advanced and updated CV risk scoring systems, new and redefined CV risk factors and biomarkers, micronutrient testing, cardiovascular genetics, nutrigenomics, metabolomics, genetic expression testing and noninvasive cardiovascular testing.
Reproductive Phenology and Seed Germination in Eight Tree Species From a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest of Morelos, Mexico: Implications for Community-Oriented Restoration and Conservation
Authors: Núñez-Cruz Adriana , Meave Jorge A. , Bonfil Consuelo
Published: January 2018

With the aim of providing information for ecological restoration programs, we studied reproductive phenology and seed germination of eight species from the tropical dry forest of Morelos, Mexico. With the participation of students from the local junior high school, we monitored monthly, over one year, the production of flowers and immature and mature fruits for each species. We estimated intensity, duration, seasonality, and synchrony for each fruiting phenophase and flowering duration. Germination tests were undertaken in a germination chamber (18℃–32℃) and under the environmental conditions at the local school. We applied specific pregermination treatments for each species. Two distinct peaks of mature fruit production were identified: one at the beginning and the other in the middle of the dry season. Fructification seasonality was significant in most cases. Germination was relatively high in three legumes and particularly low in two Bursera species. Four species responded to the germination environments, and differences among pregermination treatments were significant in most cases. Knowledge on fruiting patterns and seed viability and germination will allow adequate decision-making for seed collection and plant propagation of the study species. Student participation increased their interest and knowledge on local environmental problems and solutions.