bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Activating KIRs on Educated NK Cells Support Downregulation of CD226 and Inefficient Tumor Immunosurveillance
Authors: Guillamón Concepción F. , Martínez-Sánchez María V. , Gimeno Lourdes , Campillo José A. , Server-Pastor Gerardo , Martínez-García Jerónimo , Martínez-Escribano Jorge , Torroba Amparo , Ferri Belén , Abellán Daniel J. , Legaz Isabel , López-Álvarez María R. , Moya-Quiles María R. , Muro Manuel , Minguela Alfredo
Published: June 2019

Therapies using NK cells (NKc) expanded/activated ex vivo or stimulated in vivo with new immunostimulatory agents offer alternative opportunities for patients with recurrent/refractory tumors, but relevant biomarkers to guide the selection of patients are required for optimum results. Overall survival of 249 solid cancer patients was evaluated in relation to the genetics and/or the expression on peripheral blood NKcs of inhibitory and activating killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (iKIR and aKIR, respectively), HLA class I ligands, CD226 (also known as DNAM-1), and NKG2A. Compared with patients with higher expression, patients with low expression of CD226 on total NKcs showed shorter mean overall survival (60.7 vs. 98.0 months, P < 0.001), which was further reduced in presence of telomeric aKIRs (KIR2DS1-DS5 and/or KIR3DS1, 31.6 vs. 96.8 months, P < 0.001). KIR2DL2/S2+, KIR3DL1+, KIR2DL1+, and KIR2DL3+ NKc subsets in the presence of their cognate ligands primarily contributed to shortening patients’ overall survival by increasing the sensitivity to CD226 downmodulation in aKIR-rich telomeric genotypes. In patients with high tumor burden who died during the follow-up period, aKIR-rich telomeric genotypes were associated with: (i) specific downmodulation of CD226 on educated NKcs but not on CD8+ T cells or uneducated NKcs, (ii) lower expression of CD226 and higher expression of NKG2A on aKIR+ NKcs, and (iii) lower numbers of total CD56dim NKcs. The reduced expression of CD226 on NKcs with aKIR-rich genotypes may be a biomarker indicative of NKc hyporesponsiveness in patients that could benefit from new NKc immune-stimulatory therapies.
Socioeconomic Costs and Health Inequalities from Psoriasis: A Cohort Study
Authors: Thomsen Simon Francis , Skov Lone , Dodge Rikke , Hedegaard Morten Storling , Kjellberg Jakob
Published: June 2019

Background: To date, there are no nationwide studies of the social and economic burden of psoriasis to patients in Denmark. Incentives for health care management based on patient-related outcomes and value (IMPROVE) in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis is a project aimed at assisting movement from activity-based to outcome-based health care management. One of the key objectives in IMPROVE is to describe the disease-associated socioeconomic burden of psoriasis. Methods: A case-matched study of the impact of psoriasis on patients’ income, employment and health care costs in Denmark was performed. The IMPROVE study was a retrospective analysis of patients with a hospital diagnosis of psoriasis identified from the Danish National Patient Registry (NPR). In total, 13,025 psoriasis patients and 25,629 matched controls were identified from the NPR. Data from psoriasis patients and matched controls were compared for social and economic factors including income, employment, health care costs and risk of comorbidities. Results: Psoriasis was associated with increased health care costs (mean annual costs +116% compared to control, p < 0.001), peaking in the year of referral to hospital for psoriasis and sustained thereafter. Both direct and indirect costs were significantly higher for patients with psoriasis than controls (p < 0.001). In the years before and immediately following hospital diagnosis, the rates of employment were lower in psoriasis patients than controls. Comorbidities, including cardiovascular (odds ratio 1.93 [95% CI 1.77–2.09]) and psychiatric conditions (odds ratio 2.61 [95% CI 2.30–2.97]), were more prevalent in patients with psoriasis than controls. Conclusion: In Denmark, psoriasis has a significant impact on health care costs, income and employment, and is associated with a range of comorbidities.
Navigating the Digital Health Ecosystem to Bridge the Gap from Innovation to Transformation: A NODE.Health Perspective on Digital Evidence
Authors: Van Winkle Brian , Solad Yauheni , Vaswani Nitin , Rosner Benjamin I.
Published: June 2019

This article examines the challenges of broad adoption of digital solutions within the healthcare industry and why evidence is so critical for advancement of digital health technologies. It then illustrates how emerging nonprofits are positioned to help the ecosystem overcome these challenges and to catalyze the process of matching the right evidence-based solution to the right clinical challenge.
Fetoscopy-Assisted Percutaneous Decompression of the Distal Trachea and Lungs Reverses Hydrops Fetalis and Fetal Distress in a Fetus with Laryngeal Atresia
Authors: Nicolas Clara T. , Lynch-Salamon David , Bendel-Stenzel Ellen , Tibesar Robert , Luks Francois , Eyerly-Webb Stephanie , Lillegard Joseph B.
Published: June 2019

We present a case of prenatal hydrops secondary to congenital high airway obstruction syndrome (CHAOS) that was treated with fetoscopy-assisted needle decompression. A 22-year-old G3P2 woman presented after a 21-week ultrasound demonstrated CHAOS. The fetus developed hydrops at 25 weeks, characterized by abdominal ascites, pericardial effusion, and scalp edema. Fetal MRI showed complete obstruction of the glottis and subglottic airway, suggestive of laryngeal atresia. At 27 weeks, due to the progression of the hydrops, operative fetoscopy was proposed and performed. Fetal laryngoscopy confirmed fusion of the vocal cords and laryngeal atresia. The atretic segment was a solid cartilaginous block, preventing intubation. Using the fetoscope to stabilize the fetal head and neck, we performed ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle drainage of the cervical trachea through the anterior fetal neck. We removed 17 mL of viscous fluid from the lower trachea, resulting in immediate lung decompression. Two weeks later, ultrasound confirmed hydrops resolution. The patient was delivered and tracheostomy performed at 30 weeks via an ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedure after progression of preterm labor. At 27 days of life, the infant was stable on minimal ventilator support. To our knowledge, this is the first successful report of an ultrasound-guided percutaneous tracheal decompression through the anterior neck of a fetus with CHAOS secondary to laryngeal atresia.
Plasma Lipopolysaccharide Concentrations in Cardiorenal Syndrome Type 1
Authors: Virzì Grazia Maria , Breglia Andrea , Ankawi Ghada , Bolin Chiara , de Cal Massimo , Cianci Vito , Vescovo Giorgio , Ronco Claudio
Published: June 2019

Background: Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) type 1 is characterized by a rapid worsening of cardiac function that leads to acute kidney injury (AKI). This study evaluated the role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the development of AKI in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) and its relationship with renal parameters, to enable a better comprehension of the pathophysiology of CRS type 1. Methods: We enrolled 32 AHF patients, 15 of whom were classified as having CRS type 1. Eight of these 15 exhibited AKI at the time of admission (caused by AHF) and the other 7 developed AKI during their stay in hospital (in the first 48 h). We evaluated the plasmatic LPS concentrations as well as conventional (serum creatinine [sCr] and urea) and unconventional (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin [NGAL] and cystatin C) renal markers. Results: LPS levels were significantly higher in the CRS type 1 patients. No significant difference in LPS level was found in patients who were admitted with AKI and those developed AKI in hospital, but there was a tendency towards a higher level of LPS in CRS type 1 patients admitted with AKI. The LPS concentrations at admission were similar in CRS type 1 survivors (n = 12) and nonsurvivors (n = 3) (p = 0.22). We observed a positive correlation between LPS level and NGAL, Scr at admission and peak Scr during hospitalization and urea at admission. Conclusion: CRS type 1 patients present with an increased level of LPS and there is a direct correlation between LPS and renal parameters. This pilot research is the first study to explore the premise of LPS as novel pathophysiological factor in CRS type 1.
Pediatric Giant Cerebral Candida Abscess: A Case Report
Authors: Bilgin Emre , Ökten Ali İhsan , Gezercan Yurdal , Çavuş Gökhan , Açık Vedat , Arslan Ali , Altıntaş Süleyman
Published: June 2019

Fungal infections of the central nervous system and pediatric brain abscess are rare but serious conditions in terms of morbidity and mortality that need immediate diagnosis and treatment. It can be seen in congenital or acquired immunosuppressed patients as opportunistic infections as well as in low-birth-weight, premature infants with ventriculoperitoneal shunt, external ventricular drainage, or with a history of craniotomy. Our aim is to emphasize the giant cerebral Candida abscess of a 13-month-old female infant who previously had eight ventriculoperitoneal shunt operations due to hydrocephalus. The patient was taken to pediatric emergency care with complaints of feeding difficulty and discomfort and was hospitalized due to the detection of an intracranial mass by contrast-enhanced brain tomography. After total excision of the mass with its capsule, the patient was pathologically diagnosed with Candida abscess, and the treatment was started. The patient was discharged by the end of the 6th week.
Lendo (e escrevendo sobre) Levrero
Authors: Pereira Antonio Marcos
Published: June 2019

Meu propósito neste ensaio é – partindo de uma reflexão produzida anteriormente a respeito de conexões entre algumas propostas de Roland Barthes e a produção final de Mario Levrero – considerar um aspecto da recepção justamente desse entrecho de sua obra (composto por Diario de un canalla, El discurso vacío e La novela luminosa). Assim, continuando na exploração do paralelismo entre propostas de Barthes e potencialidades interpretativas da produção de Levrero, invisto com um pouco mais de vigor na expansão do que poderia ser uma “crítica patética”, e comento o que percebo como estratégias de evitação dessa forma da crítica em ensaios de Adriana Astutti e Sandra Contreras. Por essa via, busco angariar argumentos que destaquem a pertinência de uma inclinação crítica que permita uma aproximação de elementos autobiográficos no processo de, como diz Barthes, “escrever a leitura” (Écrire la lecture).
Autoficción en la novela El orden del mundo
Authors: Chiappara Juan Pablo
Published: June 2019

Este artículo analiza El orden del mundo de Ramiro Sanchiz desde la perspectiva de la autoficción. Analizamos dos elementos de la novela: la idea del libro total y la complejidad del narrador. Este análisis, aliado al concepto de bio/grafía de Maingueneau, nos permite reflexionar sobre la deconstrucción de novela y autobiografía al no aceptarlas como polos antitéticos en lo que concierne a la representación del yo autoral. También dialogamos con autores que discuten desde una perspectiva teórica el concepto de autoficción en El yo fabulado (Casas, 2014). Ese diálogo nos conduce a sugerir el abandono de la perspectiva que considera la autoficción como género o subgénero literario. Proponemos un desplazamiento semiótico del término autoficción hacia auto/ficción en el cual la barra expresa la opacidad, inestabilidad y reciprocidad constitutivas en la relación que se establece entre el yo autoral y el texto al redactar un manuscrito que recaerá
Contribution of the Lung to the Genesis of Cheyne‐Stokes Respiration in Heart Failure: Plant Gain Beyond Chemoreflex Gain and Circulation Time
Authors: Giannoni Alberto , Gentile Francesco , Navari Alessandro , Borrelli Chiara , Mirizzi Gianluca , Catapano Giosuè , Vergaro Giuseppe , Grotti Francesco , Betta Monica , Piepoli Massimo F. , Francis Darrel P. , Passino Claudio , Emdin Michele
Published: June 2019

Background

The contribution of the lung or the plant gain (
PG
; ie, change in blood gases per unit change in ventilation) to Cheyne‐Stokes respiration (
CSR
) in heart failure has only been hypothesized by mathematical models, but never been directly evaluated.

Methods and Results

Twenty patients with systolic heart failure (age, 72.4±6.4 years; left ventricular ejection fraction, 31.5±5.8%), 10 with relevant
CSR
(24‐hour apnea‐hypopnea index [
AHI
] ≥10 events/h) and 10 without (
AHI
<10 events/h) at 24‐hour cardiorespiratory monitoring underwent evaluation of chemoreflex gain (CG) to hypoxia (

) and hypercapnia (

) by rebreathing technique, lung‐to‐finger circulation time, and
PG
assessment through a visual system.
PG
test was feasible and reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.98; 95%
CI
, 0.91–0.99); the best‐fitting curve to express the
PG
was a hyperbola (
R
2
≥0.98). Patients with
CSR
showed increased
PG
,

(but not

), and lung‐to‐finger circulation time, compared with patients without
CSR
(all
P
<0.05).
PG
was the only predictor of the daytime
AHI
(
R
=0.56,
P
=0.01) and together with the

also predicted the nighttime
AHI
(
R
=0.81,
P
=0.0003) and the 24‐hour
AHI
(
R
=0.71,
P
=0.001). Lung‐to‐finger circulation time was the only predictor of
CSR
cycle length (
R
=0.82,
P
=0.00006).

Conclusions

PG is a powerful contributor of
CSR
and should be evaluated together with the CG and circulation time to individualize treatments aimed at stabilizing breathing in heart failure.
Severe Acute Stent Malapposition After Drug‐Eluting Stent Implantation: Effects on Long‐Term Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Lee Seung‐Yul , Im Eui , Hong Sung‐Jin , Ahn Chul‐Min , Kim Jung‐Sun , Kim Byeong‐Keuk , Ko Young‐Guk , Choi Donghoon , Jang Yangsoo , Hong Myeong‐Ki
Published: June 2019

Background

The effects of severe acute stent malapposition (
ASM
) after drug‐eluting stent implantation on long‐term clinical outcomes are not clearly understood. We evaluated long‐term clinical outcomes of severe
ASM
using optical coherence tomography.

Methods and Results

We pooled patient‐ and lesion‐level data from 6 randomized studies. Five studies investigated follow‐up drug‐eluting stent strut coverage and one investigated
ASM
. In this data set, a total of 436 patients with 444 lesions underwent postintervention optical coherence tomography examination and these data were included in the analysis. Severe
ASM
was defined as lesions with ≥400 μm of maximum malapposed distance or ≥1 mm of maximum malapposed length. Composite events (cardiac death, target lesion–related myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization, and stent thrombosis) were compared between patients with and without severe
ASM
. The postintervention optical coherence tomography findings indicated that 62 (14.2%) patients had lesions with ≥400 μm of maximum malapposed distance and 186 (42.7%) patients had lesions with ≥1 mm of maximum malapposed length. The 5‐year clinical follow‐up was completed in 371 (86.1%) of the eligible 431 patients. The cumulative rate of composite events was similar among the patients in each group during 5‐year follow‐up: 3.3% in patients with
ASM
≥400 μm of maximum malapposed distance versus 3.1% in those with no
ASM
or
ASM
<400 μm of maximum malapposed distance (
P
=0.89), and 1.2% in patients with
ASM
≥1 mm of maximum malapposed length versus 4.6% in those with no
ASM
or
ASM
<1 mm of maximum malapposed length (
P
=0.06).

Conclusions

During the 5‐year follow‐up,
ASM
severity was not associated with long‐term clinical outcomes in patients treated with drug‐eluting stents.
Thesium ovatifolium (Santalaceae), a new species with ovate leaves from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Authors: LOMBARD NATASHA , LE ROUX M. MARIANNE , VAN WYK BEN-ERIK
Published: June 2019

A new species from South Africa, Thesium ovatifolium, is described. A diagnosis, description and photographs are provided along with details of its distribution, habitat and conservation status. The new species forms part of Thesium sect. Barbata, which is characterized by the presence of a dense apical beard on the corolla lobes and post-staminal hairs connecting the anthers to the perianth. It is distinguished by its alate stems, large ovate leaves and bracts, with reticulate secondary venation, 3- to 4-flowered cymes on inflorescence apices, as well as the rosulate arrangement of leaves and bracts in young stems and inflorescences. Thesium ovatifolium is believed to be Endangered (EN), based on IUCN criteria.
Bletilla guizhouensis (Orchidaceae; Epidendroideae), a new species from Guizhou China: evidence from morphological and molecular analyses
Authors: HUANG JIE , WANG MENG , CHEN LI-JUN , HUANG ZHI-CONG , RAO WEN-HUI , ZHANG YONG-QIANG , CHEN JIAN-BING , CHEN GUI-ZHEN
Published: June 2019

Bletilla guizhouensis (Coelogyninae, Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae), a new species from Guizhou, China, is described and illustrated in this study based on the morphological and molecular evidence. Based on the morphological comparison, B. guizhouensis is closely related to B. striata, but differs in having ovate-oblong floral bracts, oblong-elliptic dorsal sepal, lip broadly-obovate, lip mid-lobe subelliptic, and disk with 7 longitudinal lamellae. These features distinguish the new orchid from all other known species of Bletilla. Molecular analysis based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid DNA sequence data indicate that B. guizhouensis is a new species.
Begonia balangcodiae sp. nov. from northern Luzon, the Philippines and its natural hybrid with B. crispipila, B. × kapangan nothosp. nov.
Authors: LIU SHIH-HUI , TSENG YU-HSIN , ZURE DIAITI , RUBITE ROSARIO RIVERA , BALANGCOD TEODORA D. , PENG CHING-I , CHUNG KUO-FANG
Published: June 2019

The pantropically distributed Begonia (Begoniaceae) is one of the most species-rich genera. Philippines is one of the diversity centers of Southeast Asian Begonia. In our 2012 field survey, three species of Begonia section Petermannia were collected in Barangay Sagubo, Municipality of Kapangan, Province of Benguet in the northern Luzon Island, Philippines. Our study on literatures and herbarium specimens suggests that these collections consist of B. crispipila, an unknown new species hereby we named B. balangcodiae, and the natural hybrid between them. Molecular analyses confirm that the former contributed the maternal genome while the latter provided the paternal genome. We name the natural hybrid B. × kapangan, which is the first natural hybrid reported in sect. Petermannia.
A new berry-fruited species of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from Xizang (Tibet) in China
Authors: CHEN WEN-HONG , GUO SHI-WEI , RADBOUCHOOM SIRILAK , DONG WEN-KE , WANG ZHONG-XUAN , XI HUI-HUI , SHUI YU-MIN
Published: June 2019

Based on field surveys in Southeastern Xizang and detailed examination of specimens in several herbaria, a new species with berry-like fruits, Begonia pseudoheydei, is herein confirmed and described. Its relationship with the similar species Begonia longifolia from Asia, and its morphological homoplasy with the species Begonia heydei from Central America, are discussed.
Begonia ciliatifolia (Begoniaceae), a rare, critically endangered new species endemic from Santa Catarina, southern Brazil
Authors: FUNEZ LUÍS ADRIANO , JARAMILLO JULIO CESAR
Published: June 2019

We describe here Begonia ciliatifolia, a new species from Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. We treat the species as a member of Begonia sect. Pritzelia, and discuss its differences to related species. Due the species small area of occurrence and the very specific habitat, the new species is assessed as critically endangered according to IUCN criteria. Additionally, we present a distribution map, field photographs and a key to the species of Begonia with peltate leaves and corniculate fruits of South Region of Brazil.
Begonia yizhouensis, a new species in Begonia sect. Coelocentrum (Begoniaceae) from Guangxi, China
Authors: TONG YI , TIAN DAI-KE , SHU JIANG-PING , XIAO YAN , WANG BING-MOU , FU NAI-FENG
Published: June 2019

Begonia yizhouensis, a new species in Begonia sect. Coelocentrum (Begoniaceae) from Guangxi of China, is described and illustrated. Morphologically, it is similar to the adjacently distributed B. luochengensis, but clearly separated by its waxy leaves with glabrous or sometimes sparsely puberulous surfaces, larger variation in leaf color and maculation along the main veins, white to pinkish-white flowers and late flowering. Furthermore, molecular phylogenetic analysis indicated B. yizhouensis was a monophyletic lineage and was sister with B. luochengensis. The relationship of the new species and other similar species is also discussed. This new species is endemic to limestone hills in Guangxi and is assessed as “Endangered” (EN) according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Additionally, morphological and molecular evidence for B. yishanensis not being synonymous with B. porteri is presented.
A new species of jumping pitviper of the genus Atropoides (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) from the Sierra de Botaderos and the Sierra La Muralla, Honduras
Authors: SMITH ERIC N. , FERRARI-CASTRO JORGE A.
Published: June 2019

We describe a new species of pitviper of the genus Atropoides from the Sierra de Botaderos and La Muralla, Honduras. The new species is easily distinguished from all other members of the genus, except A. picadoi from Costa Rica and Panama, by possessing more ventral scales (140 vs. 103–138). This new species differs from A. picadoi in being relatively small, less than 600 mm in total length (vs. reaching > 750 mm), having the posterior third of the body venter heavily melanized (vs. more than 50%), less than 50% of the underside of the tail melanized, and the postorbital stripe covering more than 50% of only one or two scales from the first temporal row and covering completely only the last scale of the row, at most (vs. 3–4 more than 50% melanized and the last two scales in the row usually completely melanized). In addition to morphological characters, molecular evidence also differentiates this new species from the other species of Atropoides (as recognized by Castoe et al. 2005). Using mitochondrial gene sequence data, they found the new species described herein to represent the sister species of A. occiduus, with 5.7 % sequence divergence separating these two taxa.
Updating the Linnaean Heritage: Names as Tools for Thinking about Animals and Plants (cover)
Authors: MINELLI ALESSANDRO , BONATO LUCIO , FUSCO GIUSEPPE
Published: June 2019

(cover)
Zoological vs. botanical nomenclature: a forgotten BioCode experiment from the times of the Strickland Code
Authors: MINELLI ALESSANDRO
Published: June 2019

A code intended to apply to both zoological and botanical nomenclature was drafted in 1842–43 by a commission appointed by the fourth Congress of Italian Scientists on request of the zoologist Carlo Luciano Bonaparte, as a reaction to the recently published Strickland Code (1842). Large excerpts from the latter document and an English translation of documents related to the Italian initiative are presented in appendices.
Checklist of the marine and estuarine Brachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda) of northern and northeastern Brazil
Authors: COELHO PETRÔNIO ALVES , DE ALMEIDA ALEXANDRE OLIVEIRA , BEZERRA LUIS ERNESTO ARRUDA
Published: June 2019

A total of 272 species of brachyuran crabs are reported from marine and estuarine environments in northern and northeast Brazil. The checklist is derived from the literature published from 1847 to 2008, and includes all species that have been reported at least once from the study area. It is also partially supported by material deposited in the crustacean collection of the Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, city of Recife, Brazil (DOUFPE). The families containing the highest number of species in northern and northeastern Brazil are Majidae (31), Portunidae (22), Epialtidae (20), Panopeidae (20), and Xanthidae (18). The remaining species are distributed in 39 families. The analysis of the distribution of the species in the region, allows for identification of four patterns of longitudinal distribution (western Atlantic, Amphi-Atlantic, Amphi-American, and circumtropical species) and, in the western Atlantic, six patterns of latitudinal distribution (Virginian, Carolinian, Antillean, Central-South American, Boreal, and Endemic). Two non-indigenous species have also been reported. Most of the species represented in northern and northeastern Brazil have Antillean (94 species; 34.5%) and Carolinian (75 species; 27.6%) pattern of distribution.
Central ocellus of extinct cockroaches (Blattida: Caloblattinidae)
Authors: VRŠANSKÝ PETER
Published: June 2019

Third, central ocellus, lost in living cockroaches, is discovered in the diverse Upper Jurassic representatives of the family Caloblattinidae. Three new genera possessing central ocellus are described: Decomposita triocella gen. et sp. nov.; Srdiecko tri gen. et sp. nov.; Paleovia praecarnia gen. et sp. nov. Presence of central ocellus, although a plesiomorphy, in the Caloblattinidae falsifies the last argument against their ancestral position in respect to mantises (via the Liberiblattinidae).
A new species in the Rhyacophila lieftincki Group (Trichoptera: Rhyacophilidae) from southwestern Virginia
Authors: ARMITAGE BRIAN J.
Published: June 2019

Members of the Rhyacophila lieftincki Group (Trichoptera: Rhyacophilidae) share distinctive characters in both the adult (Schmid 1970) and larval forms (Smith 1984). In males, segment IX is short ventrally, with the apico-dorsal portion forming a large, usually triangular lobe over segment X. Segment X is somewhat reduced in height, slightly oblique to the base, and bearing small, claw- or toothlike points at its posterior end. Anal sclerites are vestigial or lacking in about half the species, and usually without roots. The phallotheca and endotheca are reduced, and the dorsal appendage of the phallic apparatus is absent. In the larva, the anal proleg has an apicolateral spur that arises independently of the lateral sclerites. The anal claw has a comb-like row of minute teeth ventrally and tergite IX has anterolateral angles extended ventrally to near the sternum.
Phase morphs and phoresy: New species of Antennoseius (Vitzthumia) mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Ascidae) associated with pyrophilous carabids (Carabidae: Sericoda spp.) in Alberta, Canada
Authors: BEAULIEU FRÉDÉRIC , DÉCHÊNE ANDREA D. , WALTER DAVID E.
Published: June 2019

The mite genus Antennoseius is composed of free-living species in soil and litter, as well as species that are phoretic on carabid beetles as adult females. Among approximately 60 described Antennoseius species, one North American species, A. janus, was found in laboratory cultures to have two female morphs: one granular, free-living morph, and one smooth, putatively phoretic morph. We here describe the adult females of A. perseus n. sp. and A. pyrophilus n. sp. collected from under the elytra of carabid beetles (Sericoda quadripunctata and S. bembidioides) associated with recently burned forests in Alberta, Canada. We also describe the female and male of a distinct, granular, non-phoretic morph of A. perseus, obtained from soil and by rearing the offspring of phoretic females. A key to the females of Antennoseius species having an ambulacrum on leg I (i.e. subgenus Vitzthumia) is provided.
Maluti Mystery: A systematic review of Amietia vertebralis (Hewitt, 1927) and Strongylopus hymenopus (Boulenger, 1920) (Anura: Pyxicephalidae)
Authors: TARRANT JEANNE , CUNNINGHAM MICHAEL J. , PREEZ LOUIS H. DU
Published: June 2019

The taxonomic status of Amietia vertebralis and Strongylopus hymenopus, two frogs restricted to the Maluti-Drakensberg highlands in southern Africa, is unclear. Here, morphological examination and phylogenetic analyses elucidate the systematic position of these two species. Type specimens of both species were examined and compared with more recent collections to clarify their identity. These comparisons revealed discrepancies between the original application of these names and their current usage. The holotype and original description of A. vertebralis match specimens from an extant population at that species’ type locality that are currently assigned to S. hymenopus. Furthermore, the type specimen of S. hymenopus is of uncertain provenance and does not match well with either of the forms currently associated with these names. We assessed both intraspecific and interspecific variability using DNA sequence data. Broad sampling of the form currently assigned to A. vertebralis revealed very little genetic variation thereby dispelling the hypothesis that this is a compound taxon. The generic placement of both species within the family Pyxicephalidae was resolved using a combined dataset of mitochondrial 16S rDNA and nuclear RAG1 gene sequences. The form currently recognised as S. hymenopus was excluded from the otherwise monophyletic genus Strongylopus, and was placed instead within Amietia. Based on these data a revised application of both species names is recommended here. Populations currently assigned to Amietia vertebralis are referred to Amietia umbraculata and those attributed to Strongylopus hymenopus are referred instead to Amietia vertebralis.
Tropical Cyclone Center Fix Using CYGNSS Winds
Authors: Mayers David , Ruf Christopher
Published: June 2019

A new method is described for determining the center location of a tropical cyclone (TC) using wind speed measurements by the NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS). CYGNSS measurements made during TC overpasses are used to constrain a parametric wind speed model in which storm center location is varied. The “MTrack” storm center location is selected to minimize the residual difference between model and measurement. Results of the MTrack center fix are compared to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) Best Track, the Automated Rotational Center Hurricane Eye Retrieval (ARCHER), and aircraft reconnaissance fixes for category 1–category 3 TCs during the 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons. MTrack produces storm center locations at intermediate times between NHC fixes with a factor of 5.6 overall reduction in sensitivity to uncertainties in the NHC fixes between which it interpolates. The MTrack uncertainty is found to be larger in the cross-track direction than the along-track direction, although this behavior and the absolute accuracy of position estimates require further investigation.
Interactions between a Nocturnal MCS and the Stable Boundary Layer as Observed by an Airborne Compact Raman Lidar during PECAN
Authors: Lin Guo , Geerts Bart , Wang Zhien , Grasmick Coltin , Jing Xiaoqin , Yang Jing
Published: June 2019

Small-scale variations within the low-level outflow and inflow of an MCS can either support or deter the upscale growth and maintenance of the MCS. However, these small-scale variations, in particular in the thermodynamics (temperature and humidity), remain poorly understood, due to a lack of detailed measurements. The compact Raman lidar (CRL) deployed on the University of Wyoming King Air aircraft directly sampled temperature and water vapor profiles at unprecedented vertical and along-track resolutions along the southern margin of a series of mature nocturnal MCSs traveling along a frontal boundary on 1 July 2015 during the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) campaign. Here, the capability of the airborne CRL to document interactions between the MCS inflow and outflow currents is illustrated. The CRL reveals the well-defined boundary of a cooler current. This is interpreted as the frontal boundary sharpened by convectively induced cold pools, in particular by the outflow boundary of the downstream MCS. In one CRL transect, the frontal/outflow boundary appeared as a distinct two-layer structure of moisture and aerosols formed by moist stable boundary layer air advected above the boundary. The second transect, one hour later, reveals a single sloping boundary. In both cases, the lofting of the moist stably stratified air over the boundary favors MCS maintenance, through enhanced elevated CAPE and reduced CIN. The CRL data are sufficiently resolved to reveal Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) billows and the vertical structure of the outflow boundary, which in this case behaved as a density current rather than an undular bore.
Getting the Word Out, Rain or Shine: The Impact of Message Features and Hazard Context on Message Passing Online
Authors: Sutton Jeannette , Renshaw Scott L. , Vos Sarah C. , Olson Michele K. , Prestley Robert , Ben Gibson C. , Butts Carter T.
Published: June 2019

Networked social media provide governmental organizations, such as the National Weather Service (NWS), the opportunity to communicate directly with stakeholders over long periods of time as a form of online engagement. Typologies of engagement include aspects of message content that provide information, contribute to community building, and inspire action and aspects of message microstructural features that facilitate interaction and dialogue, such as directed messages, hashtags, and URLs. Currently, little is known regarding the effect of message strategies on behavioral outcomes, and whether those effects vary under different weather conditions. In this paper we examine how message practices used on Twitter by the NWS are related to message engagement under routine and nonroutine weather conditions. Our analysis employs a census of tweets sent by 12 NWS Weather Forecast Offices in spring 2016 and uses a combination of manual and automated coding to identify engagement content and microstructure features present in each message. We identify factors that increase and decrease message retransmission (retweets) within this corpus under varying threat conditions, using a mixed-effects negative binomial regression model. We find that inclusion of actionable message content, information about historical weather facts, attached visual imagery (such as a map or infograph), and named event hashtags increases message passing during both threat and nonthreat periods. In contrast, messages that include forecast and nowcast content and messages that are sent in reply to other users have a lower passing rate. Findings suggest that common message features do alter message passing, potentially informing message design practices aimed at increasing the reach of messages sent under threat conditions.
Response Complexity Reduces Errors on a Response Inhibition Task
Authors: Head James , Tenan Matthew S. , Tweedell Andrew J. , Wilson Kyle M. , Helton William S.
Published: June 2019

Objective

The purpose of this investigation was to elucidate the role of button-response complexity to targets in a response inhibition task.

Background

Response inhibition is the ability to correctly inhibit an overt response to a target. The U.S. military is actively pursuing development of armed, combat robots as a force multiplier, which may present challenges to operators of combat robots in the form of response inhibition errors.

Method

A total of 15 participants completed two 51-min versions of a modified sustained attention to response task (SART). Participants were outfitted with an electrocardiogram to index heart-rate variability and completed the NASA–Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) to index workload.

Results

The results demonstrated that the complex SART reduced errors of commission (4%) and slowed response times (874 ms) to correct Go targets relative to the simple SART (14%, 739 ms). The NASA-TLX did not show differences between the modified SARTs; however, heart-rate variability did demonstrate that Soldiers had an increased autonomic stress response to the complex SART.

Conclusion

Increasing the behavioral response requirement during a response inhibition task can decrease errors of commission; however, it comes at the cost of slower response times to target stimuli. Heart-rate variability may provide better insight into objective workload relative to subjective measures.

Application

The use of complex behavioral responses may provide a viable option to reduce potential “friendly fire” or collateral damage by Soldiers remotely engaging a target-rich environment.
Water Scarcity and Social Well-being of People in Makran
Authors: Ali Tariq , Ali Wasif , Shahnaz
Published: June 2019

Water scarcity is connected to food, health and other life-security issues. More importantly, water is the most basic human need and also a key to eradicating poverty and bringing economic growth. This article will focuses on how water scarcity has had a big impact on the social well-being of the people in the Makran region of Balochistan. The main purpose of this article is to help policymakers and leaders better understand the perceptions of people about how drought has impacted households in the Gwadar region. The research for this article was conducted using a qualitative research design in which in-depth semi-structured interviews were used for data collection.
The influence of software timing error on measurement accuracy of data acquisition
Authors: Wei Fan , Huaxue Jin , Yin Wang , Yuchen Fu
Published: June 2019

The application of high-speed real-time data acquisition is becoming increasingly wide spread in industrial field, and its measurement accuracy is also increasing. The closed-loop test system of sine wave signal is constructed by the RIGOL’s DG1022 dual-channel signal source, DS1102C oscilloscope and PCI7489 multifunctional data acquisition card. Three kinds of timing methods, such as Visual Basics (VB) Timer control, multimedia timer function timing and query performance frequency function timing method, were carried out a series of comparative experiments. This paper analyzes the correlation characteristics of the measured voltage peak data, which includes mean value, variance, standard deviation, range, mutation system, deviation, kurtosis and so on, and then finds out the influence rules of software timing error on data acquisition and measurement accuracy. In the high-speed data acquisition, the repeatability error can be reduced from 84.22% to 0.62%, which provides scientific basis and reference for selecting software timing method in different test environment.
A campus microgrid used as an active learning tool for new generation of electrical power engineers
Authors: Khan Kaisar R , Haque Muhammad M , Sachdeva Dinesh , Morgan Mitchell BK
Published: June 2019

We are demonstrating that a campus microgrid can be used as a learning tool to prepare electrical power engineers for the new millennium. A project-based extrapolated active learning method using this microgrid is adopted to train students, the industry standard tools, system, and practices. Digital computer-based automation techniques for microgrid operation make an exciting learning experience for the new generation of students who are daily users of digital technology. The method is intended to prepare them with skills necessary to operate, design and develop the evolving smarter grid. A positive trend in student learning outcome and positive feedback from industry professionals reflects the contribution of this microgrid as a training tool where industry professionals and academia work symbiotically. Evidence shows that students who graduated with this training were employed in the respective area and the supervisor from the industry finds the teaching techniques effective.
Prevalence of Physical and Verbal Violence Against Health Care Workers in Turkey
Authors: Hamzaoglu Nurcan , Türk Burcu
Published: June 2019

Workplace violence has affected many individuals in recent years, irrespective of age, gender, race, educational level, and sector. We analyzed the responses to the Workplace Violence in the Health Sector Country Case Study Questionnaire, applied online to 447 health care workers who worked in public or private health care institutions in different cities of Turkey. Frequencies, percentages, and a chi-square independence test were used for data analysis through SPSS 18. Of the participants, 37.4% were doctors, 61.3% were midwives-nurses or emergency medical technicians (EMT), and 1.3% worked in units with no direct contact with patients and relatives (such as management and the hospital pharmacy). A total of 36.7% of participants reported exposure to physical violence, and 88.8% reported exposure to verbal abuse at least once during their working lives. Many participants who were victims of physical violence or verbal abuse did not report incidents because they thought it would provide no benefits. Regulations on effective communication training, changes in workplace conditions, and effective implementation of violence prevention procedures may help to reduce the rates of verbal abuse and physical violence in the health care sector. In addition, when managers show support for their employees in the prevention of workplace violence, it may help employees to feel more secure in their workplaces.
Employee involvement in the public administrative sector: an exploration of the engagement drivers in Cameroon
Authors: Tioumagneng André , Njifen Issofou
Published: June 2019

In many developing countries, despite the efforts made to roll out New Public Management, public service quality is still more of an ideal than a reality. Employee disengagement emerges time and again in reflections on the causes of the problem, without, in most contexts, having any precise explanations. The article sets out to identify the engagement drivers likely to secure the effective involvement of public officials tasked with providing the public administrative service. To do this, an empirical study is conducted in Cameroon. The analysis makes use of both statistical inference and content analysis. Its results tell us that the involvement of public officials is linked, in particular, to work organisation, human resources management practices and the recognition of their potential by their superiors.

Points for practitioners

This study identifies some major current issues. For anyone involved in human resources management, work involvement is a competitive tool that creates value. It is considered as one of the general objectives that staff management practices should help to achieve. A high-quality public service requires particular attention to be granted to work involvement. The study reveals many employee engagement drivers that can boost the performance of public administrations, particularly in developing countries.
Impending Threat of Rent Globalization and the Defence of Capitalism by Labour
Authors: Elsenhans Hartmut
Published: June 2019

It is wrong that globalization necessarily leads to a world system where all participating economies are capitalist economies. Under the prevailing conditions of disempowerment of labour, capitalism is too weak to transform rent-based underdeveloped economies. Globalization is driven by currency devaluation, which transforms new comparative advantage into cost competitiveness. The major check on devaluation is full employment. It is often not achieved in countries engaging in devaluation-driven exports. In order to globalize capitalism, labour in the South would have to be empowered. At the theoretical level, a neoliberal understanding of capitalism as against Keynesianism blocks an understanding of the importance of mass consumption for maintaining capitalism. At the political level, mass movements where they exist in the South are captured by secular nationalism or cultural nationalism. An increasingly fragmented multipolar system emerges where governments promote rent seeking.
Two Worlds Apart: A Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Domestic Abuse Law and Policy in England and Wales and the Russian Federation
Authors: Richardson Kayliegh , Speed Ana
Published: June 2019

In 2015, s 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced the new criminal offence of ‘controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship’. This is just one of many steps the UK government have taken in recent years to acknowledge the different forms of domestic abuse and power imbalances that can be present in intimate relationships. In contrast, in February 2017, the Russian government passed an amendment to the Russian Criminal Code to decriminalise some forms of assault, a step which many human rights activists have opposed. This article will compare the seemingly dichotomous approaches to domestic abuse adopted by England and Wales and Russia and will examine the effectiveness of both approaches in deterring domestic violence, providing adequate support for victims and meeting state obligations under international law. There has been extensive commentary on the approach to domestic abuse in England, the USA and Australia. In comparison, consideration of the approach in the Russian Federation is limited. This is in part due to the approach taken in Russia to dealing with domestic abuse as a private issue and the associated lack of available data. This article seeks to go behind closed doors to explore the Russian approach to tackling domestic abuse in a way that it has not previously been considered.
The Politics of Poverty
Authors: Kumar Digvijay
Published: June 2019

The reduction in the official poverty rate seen in relation with increasing morbidity status, a mammoth income gap between the rich and the poor, ambiguous methodology followed to calculate Below Poverty Line Census and government policies on poverty reduction tends to question the whole poverty line debate. The official commitment to higher economic growth may reflect booming economic growth but it also has led to a large gap between the rich and the poor in both regional and social dimensions. To look into the causes and ameliorate poverty levels, various committees and policies have identified poverty levels. Using different criteria and methods, they still have failed to look at the social and political aspects. It is politics that has engulfed the whole discourse over universalisation of social welfare policies as some sort of justification behind the nation’s fiscal deficit and subsidy constraint-related questions.
Book review: Bidyut Mohanty and Victor Fassel (Eds.), Our Money, Our Lives: Microcredit and Women’s Empowerment in Cross Cultural Perspective
Authors: Vanamala M.
Published: June 2019

Bidyut Mohanty and Victor Fassel (Eds.), Our Money, Our Lives: Microcredit and Women’s Empowerment in Cross Cultural Perspective. New Delhi: Aakar Books, 2018, 280 pp., ₹795.00, ISBN 978-93-5002-555-0 (Hardcover).
Struggling Foreign Small- and Medium-Sized Factories in Coastal China: Liquidate, Move, or Fly by Night?
Authors: Paik Wooyeal
Published: June 2019

Since the mid-2000s, China has been transforming its industrial structure from a world sweatshop to a global manufacturing center. Many foreign small- and medium-sized factories that were engines of development in coastal China for the past two decades have recently been phased out due to the changing nature of macroeconomic policy, the labor market, and local interests. Unlike macroeconomic policy and the labor market, the subject of changing local interests has not been extensively investigated. This article explores an unclear political-economic logic and demonstrates the key counter-actions of the factories—legal liquidation, moving inland or to other countries, and illegal flight by night—in response to “phasing out” pressure from local politics. The micro-level struggles between foreign factories and local interests are indirectly conducive to China’s macro-level industrial transformation. This pattern will likely be repeated in China’s less-developed regions and other rapidly developing countries in the near future. This study is based on empirical data from fieldwork, primarily in Shandong province, from 2008 to 2016 as well as archival data from China, Korea, and other countries.