bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ozone uptake at night is more damaging to plants than equivalent day-time flux
Authors: Goumenaki Eleni , González-Fernández Ignacio , Barnes Jeremy D.
Published: February 2021

Main conclusion

Plants exposed to equivalent ozone fluxes administered during day-time versus night-time exhibited greater losses in biomass at night and this finding is attributed to night-time depletion of cell wall-localised ascorbate.

The present study employed Lactuca sativa and its closest wild relative, L. serriola, to explore the relative sensitivity of plants to ozone-induced oxidative stress during day-time versus night-time. By controlling atmospheric ozone concentration and measuring stomatal conductance, equivalent ozone uptake into leaves was engineered during day and night, and consequences on productivity and net CO2 assimilation rate were determined. Biomass losses attributable to ozone were significantly greater when an equivalent dose of ozone was taken-up by foliage at night compared to the day. Linkages between ozone impacts and ascorbic acid (AA) content, redox status and cellular compartmentation were probed in both species. Leaf AA pools were depleted by exposure of plants to darkness, and then AA levels in the apoplast and symplast were monitored on subsequent transfer of plants to the light. Apoplast AA appeared to be more affected by light–dark transition than the symplast pool. Moreover, equivalent ozone fluxes administered to leaves with contrasting AA levels resulted in contrasting effects on the light-saturated rate of CO2 assimilation (Asat) in both species. Once apoplast AA content recovered to pre-treatment levels, the same ozone flux resulted in no impacts on Asat. The results of the present investigation reveal that plants are significantly more sensitive to equivalent ozone fluxes taken-up at night compared with those during the day and were consistent with diel shifts in apoplast AA content and/or redox status. Furthermore, findings suggest that some thought should be given to weighing regional models of ozone impacts for extraordinary night-time ozone impacts.
Research activity amongst DCM research priorities
Authors: Grodzinski Ben , Bestwick Harry , Bhatti Faheem , Durham Rory , Khan Maaz , Partha Sarathi Celine Iswarya , Teh Jye Quan , Mowforth Oliver , Davies Benjamin
Published: February 2021

Introduction

Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. DCM is common (estimated prevalence, 2% of adults) and significantly impacts quality of life. The AO Spine RECODE-DCM (Research Objectives and Common Data Elements in DCM) project has recently established the top research priorities for DCM. This article examines the extent to which existing research activity aligns with the established research priorities.

Methods

A systematic review of MEDLINE and Embase for “Cervical” AND “Myelopathy” was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Full-text papers in English, exclusively studying DCM, published between January 1, 1995 and August 08, 2020 were considered eligible. Extracted data for each study included authors, journal, year of publication, location, sample size and study design. Each study was then analysed for alignment to the established research priorities.

Results

In total, 2261 papers with a total of 1,323,979 patients were included. Japan published more papers (625) than any other country. Moreover, 2005 (89%) of 2261 papers were aligned to at least one research priority. The alignment of papers to the different research priorities was unequal, with 1060 papers on the most researched priority alone (#15, predictors of outcome after treatment), but only 64 total papers on the least-researched 10 priorities. The comparative growth of research in the different priorities was also unequal, with some priorities growing and others plateauing over the past 5 years.

Discussion

Research activity in DCM continues to grow, and the focus of this research remains on surgery. The established research priorities therefore represent a new direction for the field.
Inside the failure mechanism of tin oxide as anode for sodium ion batteries
Authors: Spada Daniele , Davino Stefania , Girella Alessandro , Milanese Chiara , Bini Marcella
Published: February 2021

The conversion-alloying compounds have been identified as promising anode materials for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). One of them, SnO2, with an enormous theoretical capacity of 1558 mAh g−1 is an interesting candidate, also due to its low cost, environmental friendliness and wide availability of tin. However, many drawbacks limit its application in commercial batteries. In this paper, SnO2 has been synthesized from cheap reagents by using simple and easily scalable coprecipitation synthesis routes obtaining nanoparticles with sizes between 2 and 14 nm with almost spherical morphologies. The reasons of the failure of the alloying/de-alloying process were investigated by combining the results obtained from common electrochemical techniques, providing useful examples for the investigation of every material with analogous electrochemical features. Thanks to cyclic voltammetry, different reaction paths were detected for the two samples. The first cycle irreversibility was well characterized with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, showing interesting trends in the values of the resistance. Galvanostatic cycling with potential limitations was employed to quantify the irreversibility, finding out that the most crystalline sample reached the terminal phase in the Sn-Na system (Na15Sn4), while the least crystalline sample could not achieve such a result (Na3Sn). The crystallinity of SnO2 was determined to be a key parameter, often neglected, for the realization of satisfactory anode compounds.
Untersuchungskonzept zum Einfluss hoher Dehnraten auf die Zahnfußtragfähigkeit
Authors: Trippe Moritz , Lövenich Johannes , Malinowski Oscar , Brecher Christian , Brimmers Jens , Neus Stephan
Published: February 2021

Der Einsatz von Getrieben in elektrifizierten Antriebssträngen und Flugzeugturbinen führt zu höheren Betriebsdrehzahlen und einer höheren Anzahl von Lastwechseln. Lastwechselzahlen von N > 107 im Ultra High Cycle Fatigue (UHCF) Bereich bewirken eine Abnahme der Dauerfestigkeit von Einsatzstählen. Außerdem steigt mit zunehmender Drehzahl die Dehnrate im Zahnfuß, was ebenfalls einen Einfluss auf die Dauerfestigkeit hat. Aufgrund der geringen Drehzahlen konventioneller Verspannungsprüfstände ist eine Untersuchung der Dehnrateneffekte heute nicht möglich. Darüber hinaus ist die Untersuchung des UHCF-Bereichs wegen der langen Prüfzeiten unwirtschaftlich.

Ziel des Berichts ist ein Prüfstandskonzept zur Untersuchung des Einflusses höherer Dehnraten auf die Zahnfußtragfähigkeit von Zahnrädern bei hohen Drehzahlen. Zunächst werden die Leistungsanforderungen an das neue Prüfstandskonzept abgeleitet. Basierend auf diesen Anforderungen wird das Prüfgetriebe unter Verwendung der Norm ISO 6336 ausgelegt. Die Auslegung wird mit einer FE-basierten Zahnkontaktanalyse verifiziert und die erreichbaren Dehnraten im Betrieb analysiert. Abschließend wird das Prüfstandskonzept hinsichtlich der Lastaufbringung, des Lagerkonzepts, des Schmierungskonzepts und der möglichen Schadenserkennung vorgestellt. Der Prüfstand bietet die Möglichkeit, höhere Dehnraten zu untersuchen. Zusätzlich kann der UHCF-Bereich von Getrieben effizienter untersucht werden.
Content-Based Estimation of Brain MRI Tilt in Three Orthogonal Directions
Authors: Prabhu Pooja , Karunakar A. K. , Sinha Sanjib , Mariyappa N. , Bhargava G. K. , Velmurugan J. , Anitha H.
Published: February 2021

In a general scenario, the brain images acquired from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may experience tilt, distorting brain MR images. The tilt experienced by the brain MR images may result in misalignment during image registration for medical applications. Manually correcting (or estimating) the tilt on a large scale is time-consuming, expensive, and needs brain anatomy expertise. Thus, there is a need for an automatic way of performing tilt correction in three orthogonal directions (X,Y,Z). The proposed work aims to correct the tilt automatically by measuring the pitch angle, yaw angle, and roll angle inX-axis,Z-axis, andY-axis, respectively. For correction of the tilt around theZ-axis (pointing to the superior direction), image processing techniques, principal component analysis, and similarity measures are used. Also, for correction of the tilt around theX-axis (pointing to the right direction), morphological operations, and tilt correction around theY-axis (pointing to the anterior direction), orthogonal regression is used. The proposed approach was applied to adjust the tilt observed in the T1- and T2-weighted MR images. The simulation study with the proposed algorithm yielded an error of 0.40 ± 0.09°, and it outperformed the other existing studies. The tilt angle (in degrees) obtained is ranged from 6.2 ± 3.94, 2.35 ± 2.61, and 5 ± 4.36 inX-,Z-, andY-directions, respectively, by using the proposed algorithm. The proposed work corrects the tilt more accurately and robustly when compared with existing studies.
Studying the evolution of social behaviour in one of Darwin’s Dreamponds: a case for the Lamprologine shell-dwelling cichlids
Authors: Lein Etienne , Jordan Alex
Published: February 2021

The link between the evolution of advanced sociality and cognition has been an important concept across fields and taxonomic boundaries. However, in many study systems, ecological and phylogenetic confounds impair evolutionary inferences drawn when comparing social organization. Here, we highlight the value of the shell-dwelling Lamprologine cichlids of Lake Tanganyika in studies of cognitive and social evolution. These species show differences in social organization, both within and across species, but otherwise exhibit remarkable similarities in their ecology and life history. We focus on the ecological and social attributes of 15 Lamprologine cichlids that live in permanent association with empty gastropod shells, often in syntopy and with largely overlapping ecological niches. We then discuss difficulties with terminology and categorization of social organization, outlining current and emerging methodologies to address these limitations. Our goal is twofold: (i) to gather available empirical evidence on the behaviour, life history, and ecology of shell-dwelling Lamprologine cichlids, highlighting their potential in comparative studies of cognition and evolution, and (ii) to stimulate debate and critical appraisal of current terminology and categorizations of social structure, ideally leading to more precise and empirically standardized definitions of sociality in cichlids.
Ergodicity for Singular-Degenerate Stochastic Porous Media Equations
Authors: Neuß Marius
Published: February 2021

The long time behaviour of solutions to generalized stochastic porous media equations on bounded intervals with zero Dirichlet boundary conditions is studied. We focus on a degenerate form of nonlinearity arising in self-organized criticality. Based on the so-called lower bound technique, the existence and uniqueness of an invariant measure is proved.
The serum 25(OH)D level and hand grip strength for fall risk assessment among osteoporotic elderly Japanese women
Authors: Nagai Takashi , Okano Ichiro , Ishikawa Koji , Kuroda Takuma , Oshita Yusuke , Tsuchiya Koki , Tani Soji , Okamura Hiroki , Sakamoto Keizo , Inagaki Katsunori
Published: February 2021

Summary

We investigated the relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels, grip strength, and fall score in elderly osteoporotic women for fall risk assessment. Both low serum 25(OH)D and low grip strength were independently associated with increased fall risk. The serum 25(OH)D cutoff specific to increased fall risk was 14 mg/dL (35 nmol/L).

Purpose

This study aimed to establish a cutoff value of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) for fall assessment and investigate the relationship between serum 25(OH)D, grip strength, and fall score adjusted for age in osteoporotic elderly Japanese women.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study utilizing collected data of osteoporotic elderly (age ≥65 years) female patients. A questionnaire for fall risk assessment was used, in which a score ≥ 6 was determined as increased fall risk. Serum 25(OH)D levels and grip strength were measured, and the cutoff points were calculated by receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. Logistic regression analysis with age adjustment was conducted for potential risk factors for fall.

Results

After applying eligibility criteria, finally, 349 patients were enrolled. The median patient age was 77.0 years, and the mean serum 25(OH)D level was 15.6 ng/mL (36 nmol/L). Based on the ROC analysis, we defined the cutoff values of serum 25(OH)D level and grip strength as 14 ng/mL (35 nmol/L) and 15 kg, respectively. A multivariate analysis adjusted for age was conducted. Low serum 25(OH)D level and grip strength were independent risk factors for ≥6 fall risk scores.

Conclusion

Both low serum 25(OH)D level and low grip strength were independently associated with increased fall risk score in osteoporotic elderly women. The appropriate serum 25(OH)D cutoff specific to the increased fall risk group in this population was 14 mg/dL (35 nmol/L). These findings might be used for the identification of patients with high fall risks. These results should be confirmed in other patient groups.
Thermodynamic Refractory Corrosion Model for Ferronickel Manufacturing
Authors: Sagadin Christoph , Luidold Stefan , Wagner Christoph , Pichler Christoph , Kreuzer Daniel , Spanring Alfred , Antrekowitsch Helmut , Clarke Amy , Clarke Kester
Published: February 2021

A thermodynamic model, based on SimuSage, was developed to simulate refractory corrosion between a magnesia-based refractory material and ferronickel (FeNi) slags. The model considers a theoretical cross-section of a refractory material to simulate a ferronickel smelter application. The current model is structured into 10 zones, which characterize different sectors in the brick (hot to cold side) perpendicular to the refractory surface with an underlying temperature gradient. In each zone, the model calculates the equilibrium between the slag and a specified amount of refractory material. The emerging liquid phases are transferred to subsequent zones. Meanwhile, all solids remain in the calculated zone. This computational process repeats until a steady state is reached in each zone. The simulation results show that when FeNi slag infiltrates into the refractory material, the melt dissolves the magnesia-based refractory and forms silicates (Mg,Fe,Ca)2SiO4 and Al spinel ((Mg,Fe)Al2O4). Furthermore, it was observed that iron oxide from the slag reacts with the refractory and generates magnesiowustite (Mg,Fe)O. Practical lab-scale tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) characterization confirmed the formation of these minerals. Finally, the refractory corrosion model (RCM) ultimately provides a pathway for improving refractory lifetimes and performance.
Mindfulness related changes in grey matter: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Pernet Cyril R. , Belov Nikolai , Delorme Arnaud , Zammit Alison
Published: February 2021

Knowing target regions undergoing strfuncti changes caused by behavioural interventions is paramount in evaluating the effectiveness of such practices. Here, using a systematic review approach, we identified 25 peer-reviewed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies demonstrating grey matter changes related to mindfulness meditation. An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analysis (n = 16) revealed the right anterior ventral insula as the only significant region with consistent effect across studies, whilst an additional functional connectivity analysis indicates that both left and right insulae, and the anterior cingulate gyrus with adjacent paracingulate gyri should also be considered in future studies. Statistical meta-analyses suggest medium to strong effect sizes from Cohen’s d ~ 0.8 in the right insula to ~ 1 using maxima across the whole brain. The systematic review revealed design issues with selection, information, attrition and confirmation biases, in addition to weak statistical power. In conclusion, our analyses show that mindfulness meditation practice does induce grey matter changes but also that improvements in methodology are needed to establish mindfulness as a therapeutic intervention.
Remote Ischemic Postconditioning vs. Physical Exercise After Stroke: an Alternative Rehabilitation Strategy?
Authors: Geng Xiaokun , Wang Qingzhu , Lee Hangil , Huber Christian , Wills Melissa , Elkin Kenneth , Li Fengwu , Ji Xunming , Ding Yuchuan
Published: February 2021

There remain debates on neuroprotection and rehabilitation techniques for acute ischemic stroke patients. Therapeutic physical exercise following stroke has shown promise but is challenging to apply clinically. Ischemic conditioning, which has several clinical advantages, is a potential neuroprotective method for stroke rehabilitation that is less understood. In the present study, the rehabilitative properties and mechanisms of physical exercise and remote ischemic postconditioning (RIPostC) after stroke were compared and determined. A total of 248 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: (1) sham, (2) stroke, (3) stroke with intense treadmill exercise, (4) stroke with mild treadmill exercise, and (5) stroke with RIPostC. Focal ischemia was evaluated by infarct volume and neurological deficit. Long-term functional outcomes were represented through neurobehavioral function tests: adhesive removal, beam balance, forelimb placing, grid walk, rota-rod, and Morris water maze. To further understand the mechanisms underlying neurorehabilitation and verify the presence thereof, we measured mRNA and protein levels of neuroplasticity factors, synaptic proteins, angiogenesis factors, and regulation molecules, including HIF-1α, BDNF, TrkB, and CREB. The key role of HIF-1α was elucidated by using the inhibitor, YC-1. Both exercise intensities and RIPostC significantly decreased infarct volumes and neurological deficits and outperformed the stroke group in the neurobehavioral function tests. All treatment groups showed significant increases in mRNA and protein expression levels of the target molecules for neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis, with intermittent further increases in the RIPostC group. HIF-1α inhibition nullified most beneficial effects and indicative molecule expressions, including HIF-1α, BDNF, TrkB, and CREB, in both procedures. RIPostC is equally, or superiorly, effective in inducing neuroprotection and rehabilitation compared to exercise in ischemic rats. HIF-1α likely plays an important role in the efficacy of neuroplasticity conditioning, possibly through HIF-1α/BDNF/TrkB/CREB regulation.
A new piece in the puzzle for the riverine slugs of the Acochlidiidae (Gastropoda: Panpulmonata: Acochlidimorpha) helps tracing steps of their freshwater invasion
Authors: Brenzinger Bastian , Glaubrecht Matthias , Jörger Katharina M. , Schrödl Michael , Neusser Timea P.
Published: February 2021

Gastropods (slugs and snails) are prominent and species-rich faunal elements in marine and terrestrial habitats of the tropics. While several clades of snails inhabit freshwater systems, slugs are extremely rare in freshwater: only the centimeter-sized Acochlidiidae, with currently three genera, contain more than one species and live in the lower reaches of island streams in an area comprising Eastern Indonesia, Fiji, and Palau. Where known, the species of this unique group are specialized predators of other amphidromous snails’ egg capsules (Neritidae) and their reproductive biology and adaptations to life in freshwater are complex. Acochlidiidae are thus of special interest for evolutionary biology and ecology. We here describe a new genus of unusually bluish-green acochlidiid to date known only from a single locality on the island of Ambon, Indonesia. Previous molecular data found this charismatic species to link slender Strubellia slugs with broad and flattened Acochlidium and Palliohedyle. We establish Wallacellia siputbiru n. gen. n. sp., the “blue slug” in Bahasa Indonesia, by using scanning electron microscopy of cuticular elements, light microscopy of serial semithin histological sections of the soft body, and 3D reconstruction of all organ systems based on these sections. Special structures of this seemingly rare endemic species include the enlarged kidney and the huge copulatory organ. Our data now clarify that, in the invasion of freshwater habitats in Acochlidiidae, sexual selection (the anterior three-part copulatory organ) preceded ecological selection (posterior flattened habitus with branched or multiplied internal organs).
Global behavior of a third order difference equation with quadratic term
Authors: Abo-Zeid R. , Kamal H.
Published: February 2021

In this paper, we solve and study the global behavior of the admissible solutions of the difference equation $$\begin{aligned} x_{n+1}=\frac{x_{n}x_{n-2}}{-ax_{n-1}+bx_{n-2}}, \quad n=0,1,\ldots , \end{aligned}$$

x

n
+
1

=

x
n

x

n
-
2

-
a

x

n
-
1

+
b

x

n
-
2

,

n
=
0
,
1
,
…
,

where $$a, b>0$$

a
,
b
>
0

and the initial values $$x_{-2}$$

x

-
2

, $$x_{-1}$$

x

-
1

, $$x_{0}$$

x
0

are real numbers.
Mediated Generalization and Stimulus Equivalence
Authors: Eilifsen Christoffer , Arntzen Erik
Published: February 2021

From the 1930s to the 1970s a large number of experimental studies on mediated generalization were published, and this research tradition provided an important context for early research on stimulus equivalence. Mediated generalization and stimulus equivalence have several characteristics in common, notably that both traditions seek to experimentally investigate derived responding among arbitrarily related stimuli in human participants. Although studies of stimulus equivalence are currently being regularly published, few studies investigate mediated generalization in humans today, and the research tradition is mainly of historical interest. The current article will give an account of the origin, the development, and the demise of research on mediated generalization, including a presentation of publication trends, experimental methodology, and the conceptual context research on mediated generalization took place within. Finally, some thoughts on the demise of mediated generalization and its relevance for modern research on stimulus equivalence and other types of derived responding are presented, including reflections on the observability of explanatory variables and the use of inferential statistics.
Infrared and visible image fusion based on optimal segmenting and contour extraction
Authors: Abbasi Aghamaleki Javad , Ghorbani Alireza
Published: February 2021

Image fusion is the combining process of complementary information of multiple same scene images into an output image. The resultant output image that is named fused image, produces more precise description of the scene than any of the individual input images. In this paper, we propose a novel simple and fast strategy for infrared (IR) and visible images based on local important areas of IR image. The fusion method is completed in three step approach. Firstly, only the segmented regions in the infrared image is extracted. Next, the image fusion is applied on segmented area and finally, contour lines are also used to improve the quality of the results of the second step of fusion method. Using a publicly available database, the proposed method is evaluated and compared to the other fusion methods. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method compared to the state of the art methods.
Recent advances in cancer photo-theranostics: the synergistic combination of transition metal complexes and gold nanostructures
Authors: Ricciardi Loredana , La Deda Massimo
Published: February 2021

In this mini review, we highlight advances in the last five years in light-activated cancer theranostics by using hybrid systems consisting of transition metal complexes (TMCs) and plasmonic gold nanostructures (AuNPs). TMCs are molecules with attractive properties and high potential in biomedical application. Due to their antiproliferative abilities, platinum-based compounds are currently first-choice drugs for the treatment of several solid tumors. Moreover, ruthenium, iridium and platinum complexes are well-known for their ability to photogenerate singlet oxygen, a highly cytotoxic reactive species with a key role in photodynamic therapy. Their potential is further extended by the unique photophysical properties, which make TMCs particularly suitable for bioimaging. Recently, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely investigated as one of the leading nanomaterials in cancer theranostics. AuNPs—being an inert and highly biocompatible material—represent excellent drug delivery systems, overcoming most of the side effects associated with the systemic administration of anticancer drugs. Furthermore, due to the thermoplasmonic properties, AuNPs proved to be efficient nano-sources of heat for photothermal therapy application. Therefore, the hybrid combination TMC/AuNPs could represent a synergistic merger of multiple functionalities for combinatorial cancer therapy strategies. Herein, we report the most recent examples of TMC/AuNPs systems in in-vitro in-vivo cancer tharanostics application whose effects are triggered by light-exposure in the Vis–NIR region, leading to a spatial and temporal control of the TMC/AuNPs activation for light-mediated precision therapeutics.
Things in the air: tagging wearable IoT information on drone videos
Authors: Van Lan-Da , Zhang Ling-Yan , Chang Chun-Hao , Tong Kit-Lun , Wu Kun-Ru , Tseng Yu-Chee
Published: February 2021

Drones have been applied to a wide range of security and surveillance applications recently. With drones, Internet of Things are extending to 3D space. An interesting question is: Can we conduct person identification (PID) in a drone view? Traditional PID technologies such as RFID and fingerprint/iris/face recognition have their limitations or require close contact to specific devices. Hence, these traditional technologies can not be easily deployed to drones due to dynamic change of view angle and height. In this work, we demonstrate how to retrieve IoT data from users’ wearables and correctly tag them on the human objects captured by a drone camera to identify and track ground human objects. First, we retrieve human objects from videos and conduct coordination transformation to handle the change of drone positions. Second, a fusion algorithm is applied to measure the correlation of video data and inertial data based on the extracted human motion features. Finally, we can couple human objects with their wearable IoT devices, achieving our goal of tagging wearable device data (such as personal profiles) on human objects in a drone view. Our experimental evaluation shows a recognition rate of 99.5% for varying walking paths, and 98.6% when the drone’s camera angle is within 37°. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work integrating videos from drone cameras and IoT data from inertial sensors.
QoE in IoT: a vision, survey and future directions
Authors: Fizza Kaneez , Banerjee Abhik , Mitra Karan , Jayaraman Prem Prakash , Ranjan Rajiv , Patel Pankesh , Georgakopoulos Dimitrios
Published: February 2021

The rapid evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) is making way for the development of several IoT applications that require minimal or no human involvement in the data collection, transformation, knowledge extraction, and decision-making (actuation) process. To ensure that such IoT applications (we term them autonomic) function as expected, it is necessary to measure and evaluate their quality, which is challenging in the absence of any human involvement or feedback. Existing Quality of Experience (QoE) literature and most QoE definitions focuses on evaluating application quality from the lens of human receiving application services. However, in autonomic IoT applications, poor quality of decisions and resulting actions can degrade the application quality leading to economic and social losses. In this paper, we present a vision, survey and future directions for QoE research in IoT. We review existing QoE definitions followed by a survey of techniques and approaches in the literature used to evaluate QoE in IoT. We identify and review the role of data from the perspective of IoT architectures, which is a critical factor when evaluating the QoE of IoT applications. We conclude the paper by identifying and presenting our vision for future research in evaluating the QoE of autonomic IoT applications.
Putative imbalanced amino acid metabolism in rainbow trout long term fed a plant-based diet as revealed by 1H-NMR metabolomics
Authors: Deborde Catherine , Hounoum Blandine Madji , Moing Annick , Maucourt Mickaël , Jacob Daniel , Corraze Geneviève , Médale Françoise , Fauconneau Benoit
Published: February 2021

The long-term effect of a plant (P)-based diet was assessed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) metabolomics in rainbow trout fed a marine fish meal (FM)–fish oil (FO) diet (M), a P-based diet and a control commercial-like diet (C) starting with the first feeding. Growth performances were not heavily altered by long-term feeding on the P-based diet. An 1H-NMR metabolomic analysis of the feed revealed significantly different soluble chemical compound profiles between the diets. A set of soluble chemical compounds was found to be specific either to the P-based diet or to the M diet. Pterin, a biomarker of plant feedstuffs, was identified both in the P-based diet and in the plasma of fish fed the P-based diet. 1H-NMR metabolomic analysis on fish plasma and liver and muscle tissues at 6 and 48 h post feeding revealed significantly different profiles between the P-based diet and the M diet, while the C diet showed intermediate results. A higher amino acid content was found in the plasma of fish fed the P-based diet compared with the M diet after 48 h, suggesting either a delayed delivery of the amino acids or a lower amino acid utilisation in the P-based diet. This was associated with an accumulation of essential amino acids and the depletion of glutamine in the muscle, together with an accumulation of choline in the liver. Combined with an anticipated absorption of methionine and lysine supplemented in free form, the present results suggest an imbalanced essential amino acid supply for protein metabolism in the muscle and for specific functions of the liver.
Maldistributed Health Care Services: Restructuring the Current Regulatory System
Authors: Canarie J. David
Published: February 2021

The American health care delivery system currently suffers from a variety of problems; among the most intractable of these is a maldistribution of health care services. This Note focuses on two aspects of this problem: unnecessary hospital beds, and medically underserved populations. The Note also discusses the related issues of hospital cost inflation and inefficient use of limited resources. It then examines the current statutory remedies for these problems, and subjects their effectiveness to a two-tiered test. The Note concludes that the existing mechanisms, while partially effective, ultimately result in a fragmented, uncoordinated, and unsuccessful health care regulatory system. Moreover, the Note suggests not only that the existing statutes fail to solve the problems they were enacted to correct, but that they actually add to health care inflation and complicate health planning by subjecting the entire health care industry to uncertainty. This Note proposes a comprehensive regulatory approach that will resolve health care imbalances in a manner that avoids the shortcomings inherent in the present system.
Termination of Skilled Nursing Facility Medicaid Provider Agreements: Procedural Due Process Requirements
Authors: Jones Nancy Elizabeth
Published: February 2021

When a state Medicaid agency terminates its provider agreement with a skilled nursing facility, federal regulations give the state the option of providing a pretermination evidentiary hearing; they do not, however, require that a state provide such a hearing. If a state chooses not to grant a pretermination hearing, as a number of states have done, federal regulations require: (1) an informal written reconsideration made by the state and submitted to the skilled nursing facility before the effective date of the termination, and (2) a posttermination evidentiary hearing.

This Article argues that a skilled nursing facility has a right under the due process clauses of the fifth and fourteenth amendments of the U. S. Constitution to an evidentiary hearing before termination of its Medicaid provider agreement. The author claims that a skilled nursing facility's interest in continued receipt of Medicaid reimbursement under its provider agreement is a property interest entitled to constitutional due process protections, and not merely an expectation of economic benefit that does not implicate constitutional due process considerations.

The Article concludes that, except in emergency situations, state Medicaid agencies are constitutionally required to grant a provider a pretermination, rather than a posttermination, evidentiary hearing. This procedure would protect the provider and its patients from the severe effects of an erroneous termination, while furthering the governmental interest in ensuring the health and safety of skilled nursing facility patients. The format for such a hearing should allow for the participation, with the assistance of counsel, of both the skilled nursing facility and its patients.
Reforming the Health Care System: The Universal Dilemma
Authors: Reinhardt Uwe E.
Published: February 2021

This Article surveys alternative approaches by which the advanced industrialized nations seek to cope with the twin problems that health care poses everywhere: the provision of universal access to health care and the control of national spending on health care. Although approaches to these twin problems vary considerably among nations at this time, there may well be a convergence toward a common approach in the next century. Under that approach, all health care systems will be subject to top-down global budgets and will put their health care providers into “statistical fishbowls” that reveal just how effectively these providers allocate the global budgets at their disposal.
The Role of Medicare Reimbursement in Contemporary Hospital Finance
Authors: Golub Steven
Published: February 2021

A hospital, while performing its major function of providing health care, is also viewed as a business. It needs capital from a wide variety of sources, many of which are government regulated. Over the past few years, federal expenditures for Medicare have increased dramatically, as has regulation of hospital revenue sources. Congress enacted the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) to curb hospital cost inflation.

This Note examines historical trends in health care financing and analyzes the Medicare reimbursement system, with emphasis on PPS and its impact on hospital revenues. The Note suggests that hospitals, due to the effects of PPS, will be forced to reduce their levels of financial leverage and will have to look for corporate financial alternatives. PPS may signal a new era in hospital finance. Survival mandates an increased focus on efficient corporate, financial and managerial policies.
Corporate Reorganization: The Last Gasp or Last Clear Chance for The Tax-Exempt, Nonprofit Hospital?
Authors: Horwitz Melvin
Published: February 2021

The current revolution in health care organization and financing, increased competition, and a retrenching of industry from its commitments to expansion of health care benefits challenge the nonprofit hospital's existence as a viable entity. Hospital governing boards and administrators have turned to corporate reorganization in order to maintain their financial position and to continue to serve their communities.

This Article examines the not-for-profit concept and the problems facing nonprofit hospitals. It reviews the pros and cons of reorganization and the for-profit/nonprofit controversy. It questions whether the hybridization of the hospital results in a stronger or weaker species and discusses the possible effects of the newly structured entity on the quality and delivery of health care. Finally, the Article suggests that the nonprofit hospital may survive only by a continued commitment to societal and communal values, to service rather than to profit; that this commitment is adequate justificaton for the preservation of the nonprofit system, and its preservation will reinforce and strengthen the concept.
Barriers to Forgoing Nutrition and Hydration in Nursing Homes
Authors: Meisel Alan
Published: February 2021

In the two decades since the Karen Quinlan case first brought the issues that now go under the heading of the “right to die” to the attention of the courts and the public, a well-accepted legal consensus has developed about the law governing the forgoing of life-sustaining medical treatment. Law and clinical medical practice do not always run in tandem, however, and what law prescribes does not always occur in practice. One aspect of the legal consensus—that artificial nutrition and hydration is a medical treatment and thus may be withheld or withdrawn according to the same procedures and standards as other life-sustaining medical treatments—is probably less well accepted than the remainder. For reasons that I will explain, this is understandable. But what is puzzling is that this element of the consensus seems to be even less well accepted in nursing homes than in acute-care hospitals.
Statutes Aiding States' Recovery of Medicaid Costs from Tobacco Companies: A Better Strategy for Redressing an Identifiable Harm?
Authors: Frohlich Elizabeth A.
Published: February 2021

“We ‘re going to take the Marlboro Man to court. “

— Florida Governor Lawton Chiles

Despite overwhelming epidemiological evidence that cigarette smoking causes cancer, and that addictive nicotine in tobacco keeps smokers smoking, our legal system has yet to allow a recovery against the tobacco industry for the massive harms it knowingly causes. Plaintiff smokers have sought recovery, only to be thwarted by affirmative defenses of assumption of the risk and contributory negligence, preemption of their claims by federal cigarette labeling laws, the difficulty of proving that cigarette smoking causes cancer, and the enormous resources of the $45 billion per year tobacco industry.

After forty years of unsuccessful lawsuits against the tobacco industry, a new plaintiff has come forward. In 1994, Florida and Massachusetts passed legislation enabling the states to bring suit against the tobacco industry to recover Medicaid costs of treating smoking-related illnesses.
Neither Moore nor the Market: Alternative Models for Compensating Contributors of Human Tissue
Authors: Harrison Charlotte H.
Published: February 2021

Parts and products of the human body are increasingly important to biomedical research. Tumors removed in surgery help researchers map the molecular progression of cancer. Blood samples matched to clinical profiles suggest the role of genes and other factors in disease. Both hospital patients and visitors to the World Wide Web may be approached to provide tissues for study.

Sometimes this research results in commercial developments that produce substantial financial rewards for researchers, biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical or medical device makers. Frequently, the use of human tissue is crucial to the scientific discoveries on which those products rely. Yet, the individual sources of tissue seldom share in the ensuing profits.
Physician Dispensing: Issues of Law, Legislation and Social Policy
Authors: Abood Richard R.
Published: February 2021

Despite the fact that physicians have dispensed prescription drugs for profit for several years, the practice is currently under intense challenge and controversy. This recent flare-up can be explained by several factors including the involvement of the Federal Trade Commission (FTQ, increased competition among physicians, alternative delivery systems and drug repackagers.

Federal laws including the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and Controlled Substances Act regulate dispensing practices, but have been interpreted to regulate dispensing by pharmacists, not physicians. All states have laws applicable to the dispensing of prescription drugs by physicians, but the wording of these laws raises unclear legal issues. Both uncertainty about these legal issues and pharmacists' concern over the increase in physician dispensing has promoted state legislative efforts to restrict or regulate the practice. These legislative efforts and the corresponding regulatory actions by state boards have triggered FTC involvement.

From a social policy perspective physician dispensing raises significant concerns of ethics, conflicts of interest, patient welfare and economics. Based upon social policy, physician dispensing for profit is not a practice which should be condoned or allowed to flourish.
The Future Role of Managed Care and Capitation in Workers’ Compensation
Authors: Hashimoto Dean M.
Published: February 2021

A patient of mine, Mrs. Lopez, suffered a lower back injury while lifting heavy equipment. She sustained the injury while working in the housekeeping department at a local college. I telephoned her supervisor and asked him about Mrs. Lopez’s injury. He assured me that he had forwarded an accident report to the benefits department. He said he was unaware of any employer policies or training programs governing heavy lifting. The college did not have an employee health service, but instead relied on a local law firm to handle the administration of its workers’ compensation. When I informed the supervisor that I thought Mrs. Lopez might be able to return to a restricted duty job soon, he said that he did not want Mrs. Lopez to return until “she was 100%.” I told him that this employee would benefit medically from returning to a restricted duty job as soon as it was reasonable rather than waiting until she could perform heavy lifting again. However, the supervisor replied “Don't you worry about returning her to work so soon. Workers’ compensation will pay for it.”
Procedural Protections for Patients in Capitated Health Plans
Authors: Kinney Eleanor D.
Published: February 2021

In the American health care system, payers are rapidly moving toward the use of capitation as the preferred method for paying for health care services for sponsored patients. n capitation, the payer pays a provider organization a set rate per patient to care for a group of patients. The provider organization assumes the risk of the actual costs of caring for these covered lives. The theory of capitation is that providers, by assuming risk, will have incentives to contain their costs.

The provider entity that provides the care can take many corporate forms. A capitated provider can be a small group of physicians with admitting privileges at a single hospital or a complex integrated delivery network comprised of hospitals, physicians, and other health care professionals and institutions with integrated case management and data systems. Currently such integrated delivery networks assume a variety of organizational forms, ranging from traditional staff model health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in which physicians are employees of the health plan to physician hospital organizations (PHOs) in which physicians and hospitals join together for purposes of contracting with payers. Hospitals and physicians belonging to their medical staffs are motivated to form integrated delivery networks or other consolidated business organizations in order to contract with payers that seek providers willing to accept financial risk for the care of sponsored patients. Providers join such arrangements out of fear of losing patients if they do not.
Confidentiality of Genetic Information in the Workplace
Authors: Andrews Lori B. , Jaeger Ami S.
Published: February 2021

This Article analyzes existing legal protections for the confidentiality of information collected through genetic screening or genetic monitoring in the workplace. It notes that there are a variety of protections, such as ethical codes for occupational physicians, statutes protecting health care information in the hands of the employers, and tort, contract and constitutional principles. It describes defenses to suits based on improper disclosure of medical information. The Article then analyzes legal bases for employee and third party access to the employee's genetic information. In response to gaps in existing legal protections, it suggests parameters for a model law protecting the confidentiality of genetic information collected in the workplace.
Patents for Critical Pharmaceuticals: The AZT Case
Authors: Ackiron Evan
Published: February 2021

Patents and other statutory types of market protections are used in the United States to promote scientific research and innovation. This incentive is especially important in research intensive fields such as the pharmaceutical industry. Unfortunately, these same protections often result in higher monopoly pricing once a successful product is brought to market. Usually this consequence is viewed as the necessary evil of an incentive system that encourages costly research and development by promising large rewards to the successful inventor. However, in the case of the AIDS drug Zidovudine (AZT), the high prices charged by the pharmaceutical company owning the drug have led to public outcry and a re-examination of government incentive systems.

This Note traces the evolution of these incentive programs — the patent system, and, to a lesser extent, the orphan drug program — and details the conflicting interests involved in their development. It then demonstrates how the AZT problem brings the interest of providing inventors with incentives for risky innovative efforts into a sharp collision with the ultimate goal of such systems: ensuring that the public has access to the resulting products at a reasonable price. Finally, the Note describes how Congress and the courts have attempted to resolve these problems in the past, and how they might best try to solve the AZT problem in the near future.
The Impact of Medical Technology on the Pregnant Woman’s Right to Privacy
Authors: Annas George J.
Published: February 2021

In the context of the bicentennial of the Constitution and science's relationship to society, it has been argued that “the advance of science and technology in the West has changed not only the relation of man to nature but of man to man.“ This seemingly immodest statement may soon prove an understatement. In the arena of human reproduction, the marriage of science and technology in medicine may change not only the relationship of man to nature and man to man, but more significantly, the very concept of what it means to be human. This, in turn, will directly affect how we define the “rights” this “new human” may properly claim.

This article begins to explore developing reproductive medical technology with a view toward examining the way it might change our concept of humanness, and how this change might be accommodated, encouraged, or truncated by the relationship between the government and its pregnant citizens as defined by the United States Constitution and the “right to privacy.”