bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Model Framework for Stochastic Representation of Uncertainties Associated with Physical Processes in NOAA’s Next Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS)
Authors: Bengtsson Lisa , Bao Jian-Wen , Pegion Philip , Penland Cecile , Michelson Sara , Whitaker Jeffrey
Published: January 2019

In this study, we propose a physical-process-based stochastic parameterization scheme using cellular automata for NOAA’s Next Generation Global Prediction System. The cellular automata, used to simulate stochastic processes such as the production and destruction of subgrid convective elements, are conditioned on unresolved vertical motion that follows a prescribed stochastically generated skewed distribution (SGS). The SGS is described by a stochastic differential equation and linked to observations by taking into account the first four moments from an observed dataset. In the proposed parameterization framework, we emphasize the need for a dynamical memory term to be included in physical-process-based stochastic parameterizations, and we illustrate the requirement for the dynamical memory using the Mori–Zwanzig formalism. Although this paper focuses on the methodology, early results indicate that if we apply our stochastic framework to deep cumulus convection, it is found that the frequency distribution of precipitation is improved in a single-member stochastic forecast, and some improved spread–skill relationship in ensemble runs can be found in state variables in the tropics, as well as in the subtropics.
Screening Program of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Authors: Sprynger Muriel , Willems Michel , Van Damme Hendrik , Drieghe Benny , Wautrecht J. C. , Moonen Marie
Published: January 2019

In Europe, the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) in the elderly population (≥65 year old) has declined in the past decades to <4%. Aneurysmal degeneration of the aorta is a serious and potentially life-threatening vascular disease. Abdominal aortic aneurysms typically develop subclinically and often only become symptomatic when complicated by impending rupture. Most AAAs are discovered incidentally while investigating for an unrelated pathology. Ruptured AAA is the tenth leading cause of death in Belgium (0.32% of all deaths in 2014). Health-care providers have emphasized the importance of early detection of AAA and elective repair when the rupture risk outweighs operative risk (usual diameter threshold of 55 mm). Routine AAA screening programs, consisting of a single abdominal ultrasonography at the age of 65 years, aim to reduce the number of AAA-related deaths. Does population-based ultrasound screening for AAA achieve its objective and is it cost-effective? This literature review tries to answer these challenging questions.
Online Characterization of Single Airborne Carbon Nanotube Particles Using Optical Trapping Raman Spectroscopy
Authors: Gong Zhiyong , Pan Yong-Le , Videen Gorden , Wang Chuji
Published: January 2019

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have become recognized as a potential environmental and health hazard as their applications are broadening and manufacturing costs are reducing. Fundamental information of CNTs in air is of significant importance to our understanding of their environmental fate as well as to further applications. Extensive efforts have been made over decades on characterizing CNTs; however, a majority of the studies are of bulk or CNTs dispersed on substrates. In the present study, we characterize single CNT particles in air using optical trapping Raman spectroscopy (OT-RS). Different types of CNT particles, as well as glassy carbon spheres, were optically trapped in air. Their physical properties were viewed by microscopic bright field images and scattering images; their chemical properties and structural information can be inferred from characteristic Raman bands. The system can also spatially resolve the morphology and chemical distribution of optically trapped CNT particles in air. The OT-RS technique combines single-particle morphological and chemical information and offers an online method to characterize the physicochemical properties of single CNT particles at their native states in air.
Cyclic Changes in the Amide Bands Within Escherichia coli Biofilms Monitored Using Real-Time Infrared Attenuated Total Reflection Spectroscopy (IR-ATR)
Authors: Stenclova Pavla , Freisinger Simon , Barth Holger , Kromka Alexander , Mizaikoff Boris
Published: January 2019

Contrary to the planktonic state of bacteria, their biofilm form represents severe complications in areas such as human medicine or food industry due to the increasing resistance against harsh conditions and treatment. In the present study, infrared attenuated total reflection (IR-ATR) spectroscopy has been applied as an analytic tool studying Escherichia coli ( E. coli) biofilm formation close to real time. We report on IR spectroscopic investigations on the biofilm formation via ATR waveguides probing the biofilm in the spectral window of 1800–900 cm−1 at dynamic flow conditions, which facilitated monitoring the growth dynamics during several days. Key IR bands are in the range 1700–1590 cm−1 (amide I), 1580–1490 cm−1 (amide II), and 1141–1006 cm−1 extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which were evaluated as a function of time. Cyclic fluctuations of the amide I and amide II bands and a continuous increase of the EPS band were related to the starvation of bottom-layered bacteria caused by the nutrient gradient. Potential death of bacteria may then result in cannibalistic behavior known for E. coli colonies. Observing this behavior via IR spectroscopy allows revealing these cyclical changes in bottom-layered bacteria within the biofilm under continuous nutrient flow, in molecular detail, and during extended periods for the first time.
Dietary self-efficacy and dietary intake by race/ethnicity among elementary school children
Authors: Kulik Noel , Thomas Erica M , Fahlman Mariane M , Garn Alex C , Centeio Erin E , Somers Cheryl L , McCaughtry Nathan
Published: January 2019

Objective:

Existing research shows that sociodemographic factors are associated with dietary patterns among adolescents; however, little is known about when these relationships begin in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between dietary self-efficacy (SE) and dietary intake among children over time and by race/ethnicity, among students receiving a healthy eating and physical activity intervention.

Design:

Pretest–posttest questionnaire, before and after an 8-month intervention

Setting:

The study was conducted in a large Midwestern metropolitan area of the USA.

Method:

Students ( N = 332, Mage = 9.1; SD = .61; female = 45%, Black = 46%) completed a questionnaire at the beginning (T1) and end (T2) of the school year. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and a Mann–Whitney U test were used to determine if there were differences by group.

Results:

SE at T1 was associated with intake ( p < .01 to p < .05; except whole grains). While there were not intervention effects over time in dietary self-efficacy or intake, findings suggest that healthy eating and self-efficacy differences do not exist in children when examined by race/ethnicity, except in the case of a composite healthy eating score with White students reporting a higher intake of healthy food and a lower intake of unhealthy food overall.

Conclusion:

Future research should examine when specific differences in healthy eating and SE emerge in children or adolescents in order to develop school, home and community-based interventions that effectively disrupt differences by race/ethnicity before they occur in adolescence.
The Ability of Adults of Different Size to Egress Through Confined Space Apertures
Authors: Stewart Arthur , Nevill Alan , Johnson Christopher
Published: January 2019

Objective:

To determine minimum egress apertures in healthy adults of different body size.

Background:

Body space requirements have traditionally been considered from an industrial perspective, facilitating safe confined-space working. However, increased typical body size resulting from global obesity renders traditional assumptions of body size inappropriate. This has potentially far-reaching consequences for evacuation planning, due to diminished clearance space, slower movement, and increased chance of physical entrapment. Critically, no current literature describes the minimum apertures adults can negotiate.

Method:

Forty-eight men and 40 women underwent anthropometric and 3-D scanning assessments from which anatomical dimensions were extracted. Additionally, a wall egress task was undertaken through an aperture that was progressively narrowed until individuals failed to pass. Minimum egress aperture was predicted from anatomical variables using backwards elimination regression.

Results:

Minimum wall egress was best predicted from mass, abdominal depth, bideltoid breadth and chest depth. Passes and fails, discriminated using binary logistic regression, identified chest depth and abdominal depth as influential for wall egress success at selected apertures, with a gender interaction manifest at abdominal depth.

Conclusion:

Minimum egress aperture relates to body size and can be predicted from anatomical variables; however, men and women display subtle differences in egress capability.

Application:

In public and industrial settings, egress capability in restricted spaces is affected by size and gender, with profound implications for safety, which relate to increased typical body size associated with global obesity.
The problem with neera: The (un)making of a national drink in late colonial India
Authors: Alagirisamy Darinee
Published: January 2019

Over the course of the interwar period, the Congress-led movement for prohibition wrought a lengthy debate about ‘Indian’ and ‘foreign’ drinks. This debate gave rise to a little-known movement to promote the fresh, unfermented sap of the palm tree as India’s swadeshi beverage. If the British tried to claim the initiative for temperance through their tea campaign, Congress leaders sought to replace intoxicating drinks and their sobering ‘foreign’ alternatives with an indigenous drink. They had high hopes for this drink, which they believed would facilitate social reform while supporting national economic development. Neera, in other words, was the nationalists’ answer to toddy as well as tea. Indeed, the project of popularising neera was entirely in keeping with the upper-caste sensibilities of the Congress leadership: if toddy was the profane, neera was fresh, unfermented, and hence, pure. To this end, Congress leaders emphasised its nutritional value and potential in supporting the manufacture of gur (jaggery). They also promised a ready source of re-employment for tappers displaced by prohibition. As this article demonstrates, however, the neera scheme proved to be a slippery course to navigate owing to a combination of factors, foremost amongst them the impossibility of taming toddy.
Applying a psychosocial pathways model to improving mental health and reducing health inequalities: Practical approaches
Authors: Stansfield Jude , Bell Ruth
Published: January 2019

Background:

Mental health can help explain how social inequalities impact on health. Many current public health challenges are shaped by social, economic and environmental conditions that take a mental toll on society.

Purpose:

This article describes a conceptual framework illustrating the psychosocial pathways that link the wider conditions to health behaviours and outcomes. It draws out implications of this framework for mental health practice that aim to support policy and decision-making on future action to reduce health inequalities and presents practical examples of what can be done.

Methods:

This article expands on a report commissioned by Public Health England. A narrative review and synthesis of relevant evidence built on existing research by the Institute of Health Equity. A conceptual framework was developed and a consultation exercise with stakeholders helped to revise and illustrate it with practice examples.

Conclusions:

The field of mental health has much to contribute to prevention, not just of mental illness but also of physical health conditions and reduction of inequalities in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, especially through collaborative public health action.
Detecting, Preventing, and Mitigating Online Firestorms in Brand Communities
Authors: Herhausen Dennis , Ludwig Stephan , Grewal Dhruv , Wulf Jochen , Schoegel Marcus
Published: January 2019

Online firestorms pose severe threats to online brand communities. Any negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has the potential to become an online firestorm, yet not every post does, so finding ways to detect and respond to negative eWOM constitutes a critical managerial priority. The authors develop a comprehensive framework that integrates different drivers of negative eWOM and the response approaches that firms use to engage in and disengage from online conversations with complaining customers. A text-mining study of negative eWOM demonstrates distinct impacts of high- and low-arousal emotions, structural tie strength, and linguistic style match (between sender and brand community) on firestorm potential. The firm’s response must be tailored to the intensity of arousal in the negative eWOM to limit the virality of potential online firestorms. The impact of initiated firestorms can be mitigated by distinct firm responses over time, and the effectiveness of different disengagement approaches also varies with their timing. For managers, these insights provide guidance on how to detect and reduce the virality of online firestorms.
Meta-Analytic Evidence of the Criterion Validity of Gordon’s Music Aptitude Tests in Published Music Education Research
Authors: Hanson Josef
Published: January 2019

This meta-analytic study examined the validity of Gordon’s music aptitude tests as predictors of other musical variables. The four tests analyzed were the Music Aptitude Profile (1965), Primary Measures of Music Audiation (1979), Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (1982), and Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (1989). Separate analyses were performed for tonal, rhythm, and composite constructs of music aptitude. From 47 music education journal articles that met requirements for inclusion, 215 independent data points representing 6,086 participants were collapsed into an overriding set of five criterion categories: (a) aural perception, (b) achievement, (c) creativity, (d) affective outcomes, and (e) musical engagement. Moderators potentially affecting validity included audiation type, sampling method, grade level, criterion test type, and year of publication. Results revealed estimated true criterion-related validities of .45 (tonal), .46 (rhythm), and .53 (composite). Gordon’s music aptitude tests were consistently but not always strongly associated with many desirable musical outcomes. Analysis of correlations by subtest and criterion category produced mixed results, and high levels of between-study heterogeneity could not be explained through meta-regression moderator analysis.
Effect of sock type on foot health
Authors: Van Amber Rebecca , Laing Raechel M , Wilson Cheryl A , Dunn Linda A , Jowett Tim
Published: January 2019

The objective was to determine whether changes in indicators of skin health among participants suffering from diabetes mellitus could be attributable to the type of sock worn (fiber content, structure). Changes in skin health over time (e.g. temperature, skin hardness, transepidermal water loss, stratum corneum hydration) can indicate improvement or deterioration, and these may be related to socks worn. Socks of different structure (single jersey, terry), and of fiber content (merino wool, cotton) were worn over a period of 22 weeks by participants suffering from diabetes mellitus. Each participant was their own control: change over time in skin hardness, stratum corneum hydration, transepidermal water loss and temperatures were monitored. Properties of the sock fabrics were measured as new and after use to determine effects of wear. Limited evidence of improved skin health was attributable to socks composed primarily of wool.
Effect of Degrees of Freedom on the Sense of Presence Generated by Virtual Reality (VR) Head-Mounted Display Systems: A Case Study on the Use of VR in Early Design Studios
Authors: Chandrasekera Tilanka , Fernando Kinkini , Puig Luis
Published: January 2019

The purpose of this research was to explore the use of virtual reality (VR) in early design studios. In this research project, two different types of Head-Mounted Display (HMD) systems were used. One type of HMD provided six degrees of freedom and the other HMD provided three degrees of freedom. The research findings provide comparison on the functionality of the different types of HMDs and the sense of presence in VR environments. Sense of presence is defined as the sense of “being there” in a computer-simulated environment. The outcomes of this research are (a) development of a new presence questionnaire that focuses on newer VR systems and (b) understanding student perception of using VR in design projects.
The Accuracy of the Violent Offender Identification Directive Tool to Predict Future Gun Violence
Authors: Wheeler Andrew P. , Worden Robert E. , Silver Jason R.
Published: January 2019

We evaluate the Violent Offender Identification Directive (VOID) tool, a risk prediction instrument implemented within a police department to identify offenders likely to be involved with future gun violence. VOID uses a variety of static measures of prior criminal history that are available in police records management systems. The VOID tool is assessed for predictive accuracy by taking a historical sample and calculating scores for over 200,000 individuals known to the police at the end of 2012, and predicting 103 individuals involved with gun violence (either as a shooter or a victim) during 2013. Despite weights for the instrument being determined in an ad hoc manner, the VOID tool does very well in predicting involvement with gun violence compared with an optimized logistic regression and generalized boosted models. We discuss theoretical reasons why such ad hoc instruments are likely to perform well in identifying chronic offenders for all police departments.
Effect of surface treatment of natural reinforcement on thermal and mechanical properties of vinyl ester/polyurethane interpenetrating polymer network-based biocomposites
Authors: Ranjan Jagesh Kumar , Goswami Sudipta
Published: January 2019

Kenaf fibre-reinforced vinyl ester (VE)/polyurethane (PU) interpenetrating polymer network (IPN)-based composites were made by hand lay-up technique. The kenaf bast fibre was chemically treated with 3, 6 and 9% vinyl silane. Treated fibres were characterized in terms of crystallinity, mechanical strength, density, thermal property and morphology. In comparison with the untreated fibre, 6% silane-treated fibres showed 25.4% higher % crystallinity, 66.9% increase in modulus elasticity and 604.2% increase in tenacity. Comparison of the pure VE with VE/PU IPN showed that the IPN had 3.3% lower modulus but 26.4% higher toughness than the former. Composites based on pure VE matrix and VE/PU IPN matrix were manufactured with the variation of untreated and treated fibre loading as 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 wt%. Novelty of this work lies in the modification of both the fibre surface and the matrix system simultaneously with the aim of increasing the adhesion between the fibre surface and matrix material of the composite. Composites with untreated fibres showed poor strength compared to that with modified fibres having corresponding compositions. IPN-based composites, with 35 wt% silane-treated fibre, showed improvement in tensile modulus by 16.61% and flexural modulus by 6.35% than pure VE-based composites with corresponding fibre loading.
Stabilization of a rotating flexible structure subject to matched input disturbances
Authors: Guo Ya-Ping , Wang Jun-Min
Published: January 2019

In this paper, we are concerned with nondissipative controllers design of a rotating flexible structure subject to boundary control matched disturbances. The active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) method is adopted to cancel the disturbances. Firstly, the time varying gain extend state observers (ESOs) are constructed to estimate the disturbances. Then, using estimates of uncertainties generated by ESOs, nondissipative torque control and shear control are designed for disk and beam respectively. Finally, when the angular velocity of the disk is less than the square root of the smallest natural frequency of the beam, we prove that the proposed controllers can ensure the stability of the closed-loop system in the sense that the disk can be rotated with the desired angular velocity and the beam can be stabilized. Moreover, simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the control strategy.
Autonomous Goal Striving Promotes a Nonlimited Theory About Willpower
Authors: Sieber Vanda , Flückiger Lavinia , Mata Jutta , Bernecker Katharina , Job Veronika
Published: January 2019

People who believe that willpower is not limited exhibit higher self-regulation and well-being than people who believe that willpower is a limited resource. So far, only little is known about the antecedents of people’s beliefs about willpower. Three studies examine whether autonomous goal striving promotes the endorsement of a nonlimited belief and whether this relationship is mediated by vitality, the feeling of being awake and energetic. Study 1 ( n = 208) showed that autonomous goal striving predicts a change in willpower beliefs over 4 months and that this change is mediated by vitality. Study 2 ( n = 92) replicated this finding using experience sampling assessments of vitality. Experimental Study 3 ( n = 243) showed that inducing an autonomous mind-set enhances people’s endorsement of a nonlimited belief by fostering vitality. The studies support the idea that what people believe about willpower depends, at least in part, on recent experiences with tasks as being energizing or draining.
Beyond the Stable Image of Institutions: Using Institutional Analysis to Tackle Classic Questions in Institutional Theory
Authors: Bouilloud Jean-Philippe , Pérezts Mar , Viale Thierry , Schaepelynck Valentin
Published: January 2019

Although institutions are subject to constant change, we retain a stable image of them. Consequently, should they be considered as objects or processes? Notwithstanding its success, institutional theory still faces theoretical challenges to account simultaneously for change and stability, agency and structure. Following recent calls to integrate other perspectives on how we think about institutions, we draw on institutional analysis – a stream that has flourished in Europe and Latin America – to propose a radical and comprehensive conception of the institution as a locus of tension between the instituting (by which institutions are formed) and the instituted (temporarily stabilized forms). Since there is permanent tension between them, the institution itself can never be a stable object. It is constantly evolving, being either reinforced or destabilized. This research enriches the theoretical dialogue between organizational institutionalism and institutional analysis, two streams that have hitherto displayed little cross-fertilization. First, it contributes to rethinking the nature of institutions by emphasizing the role of the social imaginary, thus improving our understanding of the under-theorized role of imagination in institutionalization processes. Second, by placing the dynamic tension between the instituted and the instituting at the core of institutional theories, we answer calls to reclaim their missing critical dimension. Furthermore, this results in a methodological implication: the clinical approach of institutional analysis involving the intervention of researchers allows us to further embed institutional theories in organizational practice.
The virtue of tolerance: Notes on the root s-m-ḥ in the Islamic tradition
Authors: Zilio-Grandi Ida
Published: January 2019

Starting from the semantic difference between the Arabic terms samāḥa or tasāmuḥ, and the Latin tolerantia, this essay proposes some observations on the Islamic notion of tolerance according to some contemporary Arabic language texts of Islamic inspiration. This literature invariably emphasises the importance of tolerance in the context of the Islamic religion and thought; and, notwithstanding some evident differences among the authors, relating to schools and to varying degrees of openness to Western thought, the discourse remains anchored in the foundational literature, especially the Sunnah of the Prophet.
Removal of 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid using novel dual functional weakly basic anion exchange resins from aqueous solution
Authors: Sun Yue , Zheng Weisheng , Yin Deqiang
Published: January 2019

Two novel weakly basic anion exchange resins BNH and BN2 bearing two different functional groups was fabricated via the two-step amination of chloromethylated polystyrene-divinylbenzene beads with dibutylamine and dimethylamine. The adsorption properties of BNH and BN2 for the 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid (NSA) removal from wastewater were compared with two synthesized monofunctional anion exchange resins BN0 and BN6 (derived from dimethylamine and dibutylamine, respectively). The experimental data revealed that the adsorption process on the four resins fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetics equation and the equilibrium isotherms were in good agreement with the Langmuir model. Thermodynamic analyses illustrated that 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid adsorption onto resins was an endothermic and spontaneous process. Importantly, BN2 still displayed relatively high adsorption capacity in the existence of Na2SO4, indicative of an excellent selectivity for 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid over sulfate than other resins. The obtained results elucidate that BN2 could have potential industrial application in effluent disposal fields because of its superior selectivity, acceptable kinetics, and desorption capability.
Emerging adults’ received and desired support from parents: Evidence for optimal received–desired support matching and optimal support surpluses
Authors: Wang Ningxin
Published: January 2019

This study examined parental support to emerging adults from a support gap perspective, which focuses on discrepancies between the amount of support received and the amount of support desired. Analyzing survey data collected from a sample of emerging adults in college ( N = 341) with polynomial regressions and response surface modeling, the current study revealed that implications of support gaps differed by the support type, directionality of the discrepancy (i.e., support deficits or surpluses), and outcome of interest. For all types of support, emerging adults’ perceived stress was lowest when received and desired parental support were congruent. However, received–desired support congruence corresponded with the highest levels of relationship satisfaction only for informational support. For nurturant support (i.e., emotional, esteem, network support), a certain degree of support surplus corresponded with the highest level of relationship satisfaction, demonstrating an “optimal surpluses” phenomenon. Additionally, relationship satisfaction was higher when received and desired support from parents matched at a higher than at a lower level.
Mass media reportage of Lassa fever in Nigeria: a viewpoint
Authors: Wogu Joseph Oluchukwu , Chukwu Christiana Ogeri , Nwafor Kenneth Adibe , Anikpe Ekenechukwu Anazor , Ugwuoke Joel Chinedum , Ugwulor-Onyinyechi Chinyere Christiana , Eseadi Chiedu
Published: January 2019

In Nigeria, the mass media are used independently or complementarily in health promotion activities to achieve positive lifestyle changes. The mass media can play a positive role in combating the Lassa fever epidemic and its attendant fatality in Nigeria. The present review is necessitated by the widespread reportage and persistence of Lassa fever infection and fatality in Nigeria. From June to October 2018, the authors searched for relevant information in the grey literature, Scopus database, PubMed, Cochrane database, Google, and Nigerian newspapers and magazines, among other sources. Based on the reviewed literature, the authors argue that the mass media reportage of Lassa fever is limited in its content and undermined by poor network connection, the time of the day the broadcasts are made, and people’s indifference. These factors have posed a hindrance to health and environmental behaviours that would help to prevent Lassa fever and have resulted in cases of Lassa fever. It is recommended that media reporters intensify efforts at understanding the best time of the day to broadcast Lassa fever prevention information. The mass media should also make efforts toward providing accurate information regarding disease outbreak because this might help reduce panic and resistance to control and prevention measures.
Under repair: A publication ethics and research record in the making
Authors: Jacob Marie-Andrée
Published: January 2019

Based on fieldwork in the Committee on Publication Ethics, this paper offers an analysis of the forms of doings that publication ethics in action can take during what is called the ‘Forum’, a space where allegations of dubious research conduct get aired and debated between editors and publishers. This article examines recurring motifs within the review of publication practices whose ethics are called into. These motifs include: the shaping of publication ethics as an expertise that can be standardized across locations and disciplines, the separation of the research record from relations that produce it, and the divisibility of the scientific paper. Together these institute an ethics of repair at the centre of the curative enterprise of the Committee on Publication Ethics. Under the language of correcting the literature the members are working out, along with authors, what the research record should be and, inevitably, what it is. In turn, this article elicits new analytical objects that re-describe publication ethics as a form of expertise, beyond (and despite) the rehearsed axioms of this now well-established professional field.
Decreased Posterior Tibial Slope Does Not Affect Postoperative Posterior Knee Laxity After Double-Bundle Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Bernhardson Andrew S. , DePhillipo Nicholas N. , Aman Zachary S. , Kennedy Mitchell I. , Dornan Grant J. , LaPrade Robert F.
Published: January 2019

Background:

Recent clinical studies identified sagittal plane posterior tibial slope as a risk factor for increased postoperative laxity after single-bundle posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (PCLR).

Purpose/Hypothesis:

To retrospectively compare the degree of posterior tibial slope and its effect on posterior tibial translation (PTT) after double-bundle (DB) PCLR. Our null hypothesis was that preoperative tibial slope would not be associated with graft laxity.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

Patients who underwent DB PCLR between 2010 and 2017 by a single surgeon were retrospectively analyzed. Measurements of posterior tibial slope were performed on lateral radiographs, and PTT was measured with pre- and postoperative kneeling stress radiographs. Simple and multiple linear regression was performed to estimate the unadjusted and adjusted effect of tibial slope on postoperative graft laxity, respectively.

Results:

A total of 103 patients with posterior cruciate ligament tears and subsequent reconstructions were included. There was a significant reduction of the mean ± SD side-to-side difference in PTT between stress radiographs (preoperative, 10.6 ± 2.7 mm; postoperative, 1.5 ± 2.6 mm; mean difference, 9.1 mm; 95% CI, 8.4-9.8; P < .001). Linear regression analysis revealed no significant correlation between preoperative posterior tibial slope and the amount of side-to-side difference in PTT on postoperative stress radiographs obtained at a mean 18.5 months ( R = −0.115, P = .249). Combined ligament injury (beta = −1.01; 95% CI, −2.00 to −0.01; P = .047) was a significant independent predictor of decreased postoperative side-to-side difference in PTT.

Conclusion:

Graft laxity, determined by PTT in posterior kneeling stress radiographs, was not influenced by decreased posterior tibial slope after DB PCLRs. The observed results in the current study support the use of DB PCLR. Future studies should be conducted to compare the effect of tibial slope after SB PCLR and DB PCLR at long-term follow-up.
Risk factors for adverse outcomes after left ventricular assist device implantation and extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Authors: Ljajikj Edis , Zittermann Armin , Koster Andreas , Hata Masatoshi , Börgermann Jochen , Schönbrodt Michael , Hakim Meibodi Kavous , Gummert Jan F , Morshuis Michiel
Published: January 2019

Left ventricular assist device implantation following extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation has been associated with ambivalent results. In a series of patients who underwent left ventricular assist device implantation after extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, we investigated whether the outcome can be predicted by preoperative risk factors or established risk scores. Primary endpoint was a composite of mortality and severe neurological disabling over 1 year of follow-up. To assess predictors of the primary endpoint, we performed univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses. Of the 40 patients included, 24 patients (60%) experienced the primary endpoint. Renal replacement therapy and the Vasoactive-Inotropic Score were independently associated regarding the primary endpoint with a hazard ratio for renal replacement therapy of 2.50 (95% confidence interval: 1.09–5.70; P = 0.021) and for the Vasoactive-Inotropic Score of 1.02 per unit (95% confidence interval: 1.00–1.03; P = 0.040). The risk of experiencing an unfavorable outcome during follow-up in patients with a Vasoactive-Inotropic Score of 20 who needed renal replacement therapy or did not need renal replacement therapy was 78% and 54%, respectively. Our data indicate that a decision to implant a left ventricular assist device in patients requiring renal replacement therapy and revealing a high Vasoactive-Inotropic Score after extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be reached with caution.
Personality and the group matrix
Authors: Karterud Sigmund , Folmo E , Kongerslev MT
Published: January 2019

Foulkes’ concept of the group matrix is foundational for group analysis. However, its content should progress in parallel with new knowledge in areas that concern its essence. Influential authors have recently proposed a ‘tripartite matrix’ as well as constitutive ‘four modalities’ for understanding others. In this article we contend that personality theory has important implications for a modern understanding of the matrix. We have recently formulated a new theory of personality, based on three major constituents: temperament (primary emotions), attachment, and self-consciousness (mentalizing). All communication and relations between humans are coloured by these constituents. Temperament is the term for evolutionary inbuilt motivational systems that provide the basic energy and emotional quality to interpersonal transactions. Attachment is the individual’s unique template for interpersonal relatedness. And, mentalizing refers to the continuous reflection and interpretation of the content and process of intersubjective communication. These constituents likewise underpin and shape the communicative web in groups, the matrix. There is emotional energy in groups, there is preferred and avoided (types of) interpersonal relations, and there are different levels of reflective capacity (mentalizing), both at the level of the individual and the group. The main task of the group conductor is to create a therapeutic social system that in some defined way is different from the matrix of everyday social groups. S/he has to counteract the principle of entropy, a drift in the direction of an ordinary, daily, matter-of-fact discourse, which can take place in any everyday setting. We illustrate our views with a group therapy case where the therapists succeed in creating a highly productive group sequence (matrix), and where the protagonist clearly increases her mentalizing capacity, followed by a sequence (in the same group session) where the therapists abdicate from the role of matrix creators and the group declines to common talk.
Nation’s body, river’s pulse: Narratives of anti-dam politics in India
Authors: Baviskar Amita
Published: January 2019

In the 1990s, social movements against large dams in India were celebrated for crafting a powerful challenge to dominant policies of development. These grounded struggles were acclaimed for their critique of capitalist industrialization and their advocacy for an alternative model of socially just and ecologically sustainable development. Twenty years later, as large dams continue to be built, their critics have shifted the battle off the streets to new arenas – to courts and government committees, in particular – and switched to a techno-managerial discourse of maintaining river health. What accounts for this change? This article traces the trajectory of cultural politics around Indian rivers within the larger imagination of the nation, the rise of economic liberalization and Hindu nationalism, and the emergence of environmental bureaucracies. It argues that, alongside being shaped by this context, current anti-dam campaigns also contend with the legacy of earlier social movements, their gains as well as losses. This political field has narrowed the potential for radical critique, large-scale collective mobilization and, ultimately, keeping rivers alive.
Technology Resistance: The Case of Food Production Processes
Authors: Zheng Yanmei , Bolton Lisa E. , Alba Joseph W.
Published: January 2019

This article examines the relationship between food technology acceptance and the public’s food literacy, defined in terms of consumers’ scientific understanding of food technology. The research investigates four food technologies—food irradiation, genetic modification, biofabrication, and bug-based food—that have immense implications for consumer and societal well-being. The findings reveal complex relationships between consumer understanding of these technologies and acceptance that arise from the multidimensional nature of resistance. Using these results, the authors develop a framework for predicting and addressing consumer resistance to food technology. In addition, they explore the effectiveness of knowledge-based interventions that illustrate how marketing can enhance food literacy, reduce technology resistance, and enhance well-being. Finally, they describe how their findings also speak to the food policy, food marketing, food socialization, and food availability dimensions of the “food = well-being” paradigm.
“It All Starts With the Parents”: A Qualitative Study on Protective Factors for Drug-Use Prevention Among Black and Hispanic Girls
Authors: Opara Ijeoma , Lardier David T. , Reid Robert J. , Garcia-Reid Pauline
Published: January 2019

Using intersectionality theory as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study uncovered the protective factors present among black and Hispanic adolescent girls living in an urban, underresourced neighborhood in the Northeastern United States. The sample used in this study includes eight focus groups that consisted of adolescent females only ( N = 57). Female participants were sampled through six youth-serving summer programs throughout the target city. The female participants were between 11 and 17 years of age, with 73% self-identifying as black ( n = 45) and 26% ( n = 12) as Hispanic. Thematic analysis using an intersectional approach was used to analyze the narratives of participants in the study. Three main themes arose: environmental context, parent–child communication about drug use, and parental modeling. Participants were critically aware of their environmental context which normalized drug use. However, participants identified protective factors such as parents communicating about drug use and parental modeling to girls in the sample as the most salient factors against substance use in their community. Findings provide insight for researchers, social workers, and interventionists to create and implement family-centered, strengths-based substance-abuse prevention programs that are racial, ethnic, and gender specific for black and Hispanic adolescent girls.
Psychometric Properties of the Checklist of Experiences of Psychological Abuse to the Couple in Adolescents and Young Adults
Authors: Rey Anacona César Armando , Martínez Gómez Jorge Arturo , Herrero Olaizola Juan B. , Rodríguez Díaz Francisco Javier
Published: January 2019

In Ibero-America, interest in the evaluation and prevention of violence in young couples has been increasing. However, there are not enough Spanish-speaking standardized questionnaires. The psychometric analyses of the Checklist of Experiences of Psychological Abuse to the Couple (CEPA) are presented as a subset of the Checklist of Experiences of Abuse to the Couple. Overall, 1,505 adolescents participated; 828 were women, and 677 were men, aged 14 to 21 years old. A confirmatory factor analysis with the Structural Equation Modeling Software version 6.2 (EQS) was performed to consider different factor models that were consistent with theoretical and empirical aspects about violence in young couples. A structure was obtained with one factor of higher order, “Psychological Aggression” (14 items), and the following three primary factors: (a) “Coercion” (four items), (b) “Humiliation” (five items), and (c) “Control” (five items); Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .71 to .83. The overall scale and the three subscales correlated significantly with each other and with negative personality traits associated with gender. The results indicate that the scale has adequate psychometric properties for use in clinical practice and research.
Breastfeeding Prevalence at Time of Vaccination: Results of a Pilot Study in 6 Italian Regions
Authors: Lauria Laura , Spinelli Angela , Buoncristiano Marta , Bucciarelli Mauro , Pizzi Enrica
Published: January 2019

Background:

In Italy, there is no widespread standardized national monitoring system for breastfeeding practices.

Research aims:

To estimate breastfeeding indicators according to World Health Organization recommendations and associated socioeconomic factors, highlighting the potential and limitations of vaccination centers as sources of data.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the vaccination centers of 13 Local Health Districts in Italy. Data on breastfeeding practices were collected via structured questionnaires between February and November, 2015, from 14,191 mothers recruited during vaccination appointments for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd doses against Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis, and for the 1st dose against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. Crude breastfeeding rates and direct age standardized rates were compared. Logistic regression models were used to explore socio-demographic characteristics associated with breastfeeding indicators.

Results:

Overall, 14,191 mothers were recruited, with a response rate higher than 94%. Exclusive breastfeeding rates among children aged 2–3 months and 4–5 months were 44.4% and 25.8%, respectively; breastfeeding rates among children aged 11–12 and 13–15 months were 34.2% and 24.9%; 10.4% never breastfed. Strong geographical and socioeconomic differences were found. Some differences also emerged between crude and standardized rates.

Conclusions

We conclude that a survey system in vaccination centers is practicable and its use could produce, with standardized methodology, representative regional and national breastfeeding estimates that could monitor progress towards present and future targets.
Venture Philanthropy and Practice Variations: The Interplay of Institutional Logics and Organizational Identities
Authors: Onishi Tamaki
Published: January 2019

While institutional logics and organizational identity become effective theoretical lenses to analyze hybrid organizations, the literature often focuses on tensions between multiple logics or multiple identities and remains relatively silent regarding how logics and identities simultaneously constrain organizations and how organizations respond to incompatibilities as well as compatibilities between logic and identity. To address this gap, the present study draws from burgeoning research that theorizes identity as an integral part of the mechanism from which logics shape organizational decision making. I examined how social-welfare/commercial logics and social/businesslike identities directly and indirectly shape 138 organizations’ practices of venture philanthropy—a hybrid approach combining philanthropy and venture capitalism. The findings confirm identity’s overall mediating effects and offer new theoretical insights into organizational responses to logic–identity incompatibility, especially the dominant role of social identity in consistently suppressing external pressures from commercial logic, whereas businesslike identity overcomes social-welfare logic only associated with the nonprofit status.
Investigation of vehicle stability under crosswind conditions based on coupling methods
Authors: Huang Taiming , Li Shuya , Wan Zhongmin , Gu Zhengqi
Published: January 2019

In this study, vehicle stability under crosswind conditions is investigated. A two-way coupling method is established based on computational fluid dynamics and vehicle multi-body dynamics. Large eddy simulation is employed in the computational fluid dynamics model to compute the transient aerodynamic load, and the accuracy of the large eddy simulation is validated with a wind tunnel experiment. The arbitrary Lagrange–Euler technique is used in the computational fluid dynamics simulation to realise vehicle motion, and a real-time data transmission method is employed to ensure effective exchange of data between the computational fluid dynamics and multi-body dynamics models. The robustness of the two-way coupling model is verified by changing the position of the vehicle centroid. The results of the two-way and one-way coupling simulations demonstrate that crosswinds significantly affect vehicle stability. There is a clear difference between the results obtained with the two methods, particularly after the disappearance of the crosswind. The main reason for the difference is that the interaction between the transient airflow and the vehicle movement is considered in the two-way coupling method. Therefore, investigations of vehicle stability under crosswind conditions should consider the coupling of transient aerodynamic force and vehicle movement.
Transplanting Cells for Spinal Cord Repair: Who, What, When, Where and Why?
Authors: Zholudeva Lyandysha V. , Lane Michael A.
Published: January 2019

Cellular transplantation for repair of the injured spinal cord has a rich history with strategies focused on neuroprotection, immunomodulation, and neural reconstruction. The goal of the present review is to provide a concise overview and discussion of five key themes that have become important considerations for rebuilding functional neural networks. The questions raised include: (i) who are the donor cells selected for transplantation, (ii) what is the intended target for repair, (iii) when is the optimal time for transplantation, (iv) where should the cells be delivered, and lastly (v) why does cell transplantation remain an attractive candidate for promoting neural repair after injury? Recent developments in neurobiology and engineering now enable us to start addressing these questions with multidisciplinary expertise and methods.