bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Orthotropic Integrated Flow-Stress Model for Process Simulation of Composite Materials—Part II: Three-Phase Systems
Authors: Amini Niaki Sina , Forghani Alireza , Vaziri Reza , Poursartip Anoush
Published: November 2018

In this paper, the two-phase orthotropic integrated flow-stress (IFS) process model presented in Part I is extended to a three-phase model where the third-phase accounts for the presence of gas in the composite material system. The gas flow and its compressibility are taken into account, while the seamless transformation of the resin material from its initially liquid stage to a cured solid material is incorporated within the previously developed IFS framework. A three-phase orthotropic flow model is employed to describe the behavior of the composite material during the pregelation stage of the process cycle which transforms continuously to a solid mechanics model using a stepwise three-phase micromechanics. The model is implemented in a u–v–P plane strain finite element code similar to that presented in Part I but with extended degrees-of-freedom accounting for the velocity and pressure of the gas phase. The numerical model is applied to the debulking and curing process of an L-shaped unidirectional composite laminate. Performance of the model is assessed through evaluating the process-induced deformations and residual porosity distribution over the spatial domain of the laminate.
Development of Gradient Concentrated Single-Phase Fine Mg-Zn Particles and Effect on Structure and Mechanical Properties
Authors: Hassan S. Fida , Siddiqui O. , Ahmed M. F. , Al Nawwah A. I.
Published: November 2018

In this study, we used powder metallurgy process to develop gradient concentrated single-phase fine magnesium–zinc alloy particles. Fine magnesium particles were initially dry coated with nanometer size zinc particles in homogeneous manner and cold compacted to cylindrical billet. Zinc atoms were diffused in to the magnesium particles during high-temperature sintering process and produced the single-phase gradient solid solution. The gradient concentration of zinc induced gradual grain refinement in the magnesium particles. The powder metallurgy processed gradient concentrated alloy particles showed an excellent level of hardness, strength, ductility, and fracture toughness in their bulk form, which was even much higher when compared with unalloyed magnesium. Despite having gradient solid solution structure, the developed alloy particles showed homogeneous properties in their bulk form.
Parallelized Finite Element Analysis of Knitted Textile Mechanical Behavior
Authors: Liu D. , Koric S. , Kontsos A.
Published: November 2018

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of knitted textile mechanical behavior are for the first time conducted on high performance computing (HPC) using both the explicit and implicit finite element analysis (FEA) to directly assess effective ways to model the behavior of such complex material systems. Yarn-level models including interyarn interactions are used as a benchmark computational problem to enable direct comparison in terms of computational efficiency between explicit and implicit methods. The need for such comparison stems from both a significant increase in the degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) with increasing size of the computational models considered as well as from memory and numerical stability issues due to the highly complex three-dimensional (3D) mechanical behavior of such 3D architectured materials. Mesh and size dependency, as well as parallelization in an HPC environment are investigated. The results demonstrate a satisfying accuracy combined with higher computational efficiency and much less memory requirements for the explicit method, which could be leveraged in modeling and design of such novel materials.
Study of Adiabatic Obstacles on Natural Convection in a Square Cavity Using Lattice Boltzmann Method
Authors: Karki Pawan , Yadav Ajay Kumar , Arumuga Perumal D.
Published: November 2018

This study involves the effect of adiabatic obstacles on two-dimensional natural convection in a square enclosure using lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The enclosure embodies square-shaped adiabatic obstacles with one, two, and four in number. The single obstacle in cavity is centrally placed, whereas for other two configurations, a different arrangement has been made such that the core fluid zone is not hampered. The four boundaries of the cavity considered here consist of two adiabatic horizontal walls and two differentially heated vertical walls. The current study covers the range of Rayleigh number (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106) and a fixed Prandtl number of 0.71 for all cases. The effect of size of obstacle is studied in detail for single obstacle. It is found that the average heat transfer along the hot wall increases with the increase in size of obstacle until it reaches an optimum value and then with further increase in size, the heat transfer rate deteriorates. Study is carried out to delineate the comparison between the presences of obstacle in and out of the conduction dominant zone in the cavity. The number of obstacles (two and four) outside of this core zone shows that heat transfer decreases despite the obstacle being adiabatic in nature.
On Dynamics of Acoustically Driven Bistable Fluidic Valves
Authors: Mair Michael , Bacic Marko , Ireland Peter
Published: November 2018

The dynamics of an actively controlled fluidic diverter with novel actuation method are presented. This bistable fluidic valve is based on the Coanda effect and is able to switch the main flow solely by means of acoustic excitation. The switching is explained through a combination of experiments and large eddy simulations (LES). The switching time and minimum energy required are characterized for a range of pressure ratios, acoustic excitation frequencies, and input powers. It is shown that the switching mechanism depends on the excitation of natural instabilities inside the free shear layer. An enhanced roll-up of vortices at the excitation frequency increases the rate of entrainment and results in a transverse pressure gradient sufficient to counteract the Coanda effect leading to jet detachment and switching.
The Time-Splitting Spectral Method for the Gerdjikov–Ivanov Equation With the Riesz Fractional Derivative in the Quantum Field Theory
Authors: Saha Ray S.
Published: November 2018

The present work deals with the solutions of the Gerdjikov–Ivanov(G–I) equation with the Riesz fractional derivative by means of the time-splitting spectral approach. In this approach, the G–I equation is split into two equations and the proposed technique viz. time-splitting spectral method is employed for discretizing the equation in space and then subsequently integrating in time exactly. Furthermore, an implicit finite difference method (IMFD) is utilized here to compare the results with the above-mentioned seminumerical method viz. time-splitting spectral technique. Moreover, it has been established that the proposed method is unconditionally stable. In addition to these, the error norms have been also presented here.
Determination of the Vertical Vibration of a Ballasted Railway Track to Be Used in the Experimental Detection of Wheel Flats in Metropolitan Railways
Authors: Sanchís Ricard , Cardona Salvador , Martínez Jordi
Published: November 2018

This paper presents a mathematical model used to obtain the vertical vibration of a ballasted railway track when a wheel is passing at a certain speed over a fixed location of the rail. The aim of this simulation is to compare calculated root-mean-square (RMS) values of the vertical vibration velocity with measured RMS values. This comparison is the basis for a proposed time domain methodology for detecting potential wheel flats or any other singular defect on the wheel rolling bands of metropolitan trains. In order to reach this goal, a wheel–rail contact model is proposed; this model is described by the track vertical impulse response and the vertical impulse response of the wheel with the primary suspension, both linked through a Hertz nonlinear stiffness. To solve the model for obtaining the wheel–rail contact force, a double convolution method is applied. Several kinds of wheel flats are analyzed, from theoretical round edged wheel flats to different real wheel profile irregularities. Afterward, the vertical vibration velocity at a fixed point on the rail is obtained using a variable kernel convolution method. Running different simulations for different wheel flats, a study of the vertical vibration attenuation along the rail is carried out. Finally, it is proceeded to obtain the temporary evolution of the RMS value for the rail vertical vibration velocity in order to be used as a reference for detecting wheel flats or any other defect. This last aspect will be presented in more detail in a second paper.
Physiologic Medium Maintains the Homeostasis of Immature Bovine Articular Cartilage Explants in Long-Term Culture
Authors: Durney Krista M. , Sharifi Kia Danial , Wang Tianbai , Singh Akaljot , Karbowski Lucie , Koo Hyeon Jin , Ateshian Gerard A. , Albro Michael B.
Published: November 2018

The ability to maintain living articular cartilage tissue in long-term culture can serve as a valuable analytical research tool, allowing for direct examination of mechanical or chemical perturbations on tissue behavior. A fundamental challenge for this technique is the recreation of the salient environmental conditions of the synovial joint in culture that are required to maintain native cartilage homeostasis. Interestingly, conventional media formulations used in explanted cartilage tissue culture investigations often consist of levels of metabolic mediators that deviate greatly from their concentrations in synovial fluid (SF). Here, we hypothesize that the utilization of a culture medium consisting of near-physiologic levels of several highly influential metabolic mediators (glucose, amino acids, cortisol, insulin, and ascorbic acid) will maintain the homeostasis of cartilage explants as assessed by their mechanical properties and extracellular matrix (ECM) contents. Results demonstrate that the aforementioned mediators have a strong effect on the mechanical and biochemical stability of skeletally immature bovine cartilage explants. Most notably, (1) in the absence of cortisol, explants exhibit extensive swelling and tissue softening and (2) in the presence of supraphysiologic levels of anabolic mediators (glucose, amino acids, insulin), explants exhibit increased matrix accumulation and tissue stiffening. In contrast, the administration of physiologic levels of these mediators (as present in native SF) greatly improves the stability of live cartilage explants over one month of culture. These results may have broad applicability for articular cartilage and other musculoskeletal tissue research, setting the foundation for important culture formulations required for examinations into tissue behavior.
A Force-Sensing Insole to Quantify Impact Loading to the Foot
Authors: Acharya Ishan , Van Tuyl John T. , de Lange Julia , Quenneville Cheryl E.
Published: November 2018

Lower leg injuries commonly occur in frontal automobile collisions, and are associated with high disability rates. Accurate methods to predict these injuries must be developed to facilitate the testing and improvement of vehicle safety systems. Anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) are often used to assess injury risk by mimicking the behavior of the human body in a crash while recording data from sensors at discrete locations, which are then compared to established safety limits developed by cadaveric testing. Due to the difference in compliance of cadaveric and ATD legs, the force dissipating characteristics of footwear, and the lack of direct measurement of injury risk to the foot and ankle, a novel instrumented insole was developed that could be applied equally to all specimens both during injury limit generation and during safety evaluation tests. An array of piezoresistive sensors were calibrated over a range of speeds using a pneumatic impacting apparatus, and then applied to the insole of a boot. The boot was subsequently tested and compared to loads measured using ankle and toe load cells in an ATD, and found to have an average error of 10%. The sensors also provided useful information regarding the force distribution across the sole of the foot during an impact, which may be used to develop regional injury criteria. This work has furthered the understanding of lower leg injury prediction and developed a tool that may be useful in developing accurate injury criteria in the future for the foot and lower leg.
Professional Footballers’ Association Counselors’ Perceptions of the Role Long-Term Injury Plays in Mental Health Issues Presented by Current and Former Players
Authors: Gervis Misia , Pickford Helen , Hau Thomas
Published: November 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate counselors’ professional understanding of the long-term psychological consequences of injury in UK football players. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 counselors who were registered to work for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). The interviews examined the counselors’ perception of the relationship between long-term injury and presenting mental health issues, the antecedents to those mental health issues, and recommendations for psychological intervention following injury. The critical finding was the mental health problems regularly presented to PFA counselors were often the psychological and behavioral consequences of long-term injury. Counselors recommended that early and sustained psychological intervention with long-term injured players would act as a preventative measure against future mental health issues.
Promoting Academic Integrity in the Context of 21st Century Technology
Authors: Solmon Melinda A.
Published: November 2018

Academic integrity is a fundamental value, and maintaining it is central to achieving the mission of providing high-quality instructional programs. Cheating in academic settings is a widespread problem, and the perception is that the proliferation of technology in recent years has compounded this concern. This paper provides an overview of the issues related to academic dishonesty and the problems associated with cheating on college campuses. Academic misconduct in online courses and programs is discussed, and a variety of ways that technology can be used by students to cheat are described. Strategies are offered that can be used to decrease cheating and promote ethical behavior. It is the responsibility of faculty and administrators to take steps to deter academic misconduct and to strive to create a culture of academic integrity.
Study Abroad’s Impact on U.S. Sport Management Students
Authors: LeCrom Carrie W. , Dwyer Brendan , Greenhalgh Gregory
Published: November 2018

As society looks to identify globally minded citizens and leaders to move us forward, sport and education have a leading role to play. The sport industry is unique in how globally focused it is, and therefore, it is critical that sport management students be well prepared for this world. Study-abroad experiences for sport management students have the ability to aid in their development as world-minded individuals. The current study sampled students from four sport management programs participating in study-abroad programs over a 3-year time frame. The pre- and posttest results on a scale of global mindedness revealed no significant differences before and after studying abroad; however, there were significant differences between the five factors of global mindedness. Reasons for these potential findings, related to the theory of reasoned action, are discussed, as well as how this study can be built on in future iterations.
Llama antibodies inspire gene spray to prevent all flus
Authors: Cohen Jon
Published: November 2018

Strategy for mutable virus might outdo traditional vaccines.
Europe's €1 billion quantum flagship announces grants
Authors: Cartlidge Edwin
Published: November 2018

Program aims to nudge quantum technology to market.
Suspect science leads to pause in stem cell trial
Authors: Kaiser Jocelyn
Published: November 2018

Harvard University finds fraud in 31 papers, casting doubt on study rationale.
Defining the human C2H2 zinc finger degrome targeted by thalidomide analogs through CRBN
Authors: Sievers Quinlan L. , Petzold Georg , Bunker Richard D. , Renneville Aline , Słabicki Mikołaj , Liddicoat Brian J. , Abdulrahman Wassim , Mikkelsen Tarjei , Ebert Benjamin L. , Thomä Nicolas H.
Published: November 2018

Thalidomide-targeted degradation

Thalidomide and its analogs improve the survival of patients with multiple myeloma and other blood cancers. Previous work showed that the drugs bind to the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cereblon, which then targets for degradation two specific zinc finger (ZF) transcription factors with a role in cancer development. Sievers
et al.
found that more ZF proteins than anticipated are destabilized by thalidomide analogs. A proof-of-concept experiment revealed that chemical modifications of thalidomide can lead to selective degradation of specific ZF proteins. The detailed information provided by structural, biochemical, and computational analyses could guide the development of drugs that target ZF transcription factors implicated in human disease.

Science
, this issue p.
eaat0572
Improving outbreak response
Outbreak Culture
Pardis Sabeti and Lara Salahi
Harvard University Press, 2018. 275 pp.
Authors: Pewen William F.
Published: November 2018

Learning from Ebola failures is key for crafting better plans for public health emergencies
Salmonella
Pathogenicity Island 1 Is Expressed in the Chicken Intestine and Promotes Bacterial Proliferation
Authors: Eade Colleen R. , Bogomolnaya Lydia , Hung Chien-Che , Betteken Michael I. , Adams L. Garry , Andrews-Polymenis Helene , Altier Craig
Published: November 2018

Salmonella enterica
serovar Enteritidis is a common cause of foodborne illness in the United States. The bacterium can be transmitted to humans via contaminated chicken meat and eggs, and virulence in humans requires type III secretion system 1 (TTSS-1), encoded on
Salmonella
pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1).
Dolutegravir Monotherapy of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macaques Selects for Several Patterns of Resistance Mutations with Variable Virological Outcomes
Authors: Van Rompay Koen K. A. , Hassounah Said , Keele Brandon F. , Lifson Jeffrey D. , Ardeshir Amir , Watanabe Jennifer , Pham Hanh Thi , Chertova Elena , Sowder Raymond , Balzarini Jan , Mesplède Thibault , Wainberg Mark A.
Published: November 2018

A growing number of anti-HIV drug combinations are effective in suppressing virus replication in HIV-infected persons. However, to reduce their cost and risk for toxicity, there is considerable interest in simplifying drug regimens. A major concern with single-drug regimens is the emergence of drug-resistant viral mutants. It has been speculated that DTG monotherapy may be a feasible option, because DTG may have a higher genetic barrier for the development of drug resistance than other commonly used antiretrovirals. To explore treatment initiation with DTG monotherapy, we started SIV-infected macaques on DTG during either acute or chronic infection. Although DTG initially reduced virus replication, continued treatment led to the emergence of a variety of viral mutations previously described to confer low-level resistance of HIV-1 to DTG, and this was associated with variable clinical outcomes. This unpredictability of mutational pathways and outcomes warns against using DTG monotherapy as initial treatment for HIV-infected people.
Outer retinal layer thickness in patients with glaucoma with horizontal hemifield visual field defects
Authors: Vianna Jayme R , Butty Ziad , Torres Lucas A , Sharpe Glen P , Hutchison Donna M , Shuba Lesya M , Nicolela Marcelo T , Chauhan Balwantray C
Published: November 2018

Background/Aims

To determine the effect of glaucoma on outer retinal layer thickness in eyes with horizontal hemifield visual field (VF) defects.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study in glaucomatous eyes with repeatable (in three or examinations) horizontal hemifield VF (programme 24–2) defect defined as: all five nasal VF locations immediately either above or below the horizontal midline abnormal in the pattern deviation plot with p<0.5%; no mirror-image adjacent 5 VF locations abnormal in the pattern deviation plot and no non-edge VF locations in the non-affected hemifield abnormal in the pattern deviation plot with p<1%. We used optical coherence tomography to measure thickness of each retinal layer in the temporal macula (12° horizontally and 24° vertically) and computed the absolute (µm) and relative (%) intraindividual asymmetry between the perimetrically normal and abnormal hemimacula.

Results

We included 10 eyes of 8 patients with median age of 67 years and median VF mean deviation of −8.85 dB. The nerve fibre, ganglion cell and inner plexiform layers were significantly thinner in the perimetrically abnormal hemimacula (median asymmetry of –6.4, –11.5 and −3.8 µm, (corresponding to –27.7, –40.5 and −15.7 %), respectively, all p≤0.01). The inner nuclear layer was slightly thicker in the perimetrically abnormal hemimacula (median asymmetry of 1.3 µm (5.0 %), p=0.01). The outer plexiform, outer nuclear and photoreceptor layers asymmetry values were negligible.

Conclusion

Our study showed no evidence that glaucoma has an effect on the outer retinal layer thickness. In contrast, a large impact was observed in inner layer thickness.
Anticoagulant therapies for acute venous thromboembolism among a cohort of patients discharged from Canadian urban and rural hospitals
Authors: Bungard Tammy J , Ritchie Bruce , Bolt Jennifer , Semchuk William M
Published: November 2018

Objective

To determine anticoagulant therapy at hospital discharge for patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) and secondarily, to describe factors affecting choice of therapy.

Design

A retrospective chart review.

Setting

Canadian hospitals in Edmonton, Alberta (n=4), Regina, Saskatchewan (n=2) and rural Alberta (n=3) from April 2014 to March 2015.

Participants

All patients discharged with an acute VTE were screened. Those with atypical clots, another indication for anticoagulation, pregnancy/breast feeding or lifespan <3 months were excluded.

Primary and secondary outcomes

Primarily, we identified the proportion of patients discharged from hospital with acute VTE that were prescribed either traditional therapy (parenteral anticoagulant±warfarin) or a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC). Secondarily, management based on setting, therapy choice based on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) versus pulmonary embolism (PE), clot burden and renal function was compared. DOAC dosing was assessed (when prescribed), length of hospital stay based on therapy was compared and planned follow-up in the community was described.

Results

Among the 695 patients included, most were discharged following a diagnosis of PE (82.9%) on traditional therapy (parenteral anticoagulant±warfarin) (70.2%) with follow-up by either a family doctor (51.5%) or specialist/clinic (46.9%) postdischarge. Regional variation was most evident between urban and rural sites. Of those prescribed a DOAC (28.3%), the majority were dosed appropriately (85.8%). DOAC use did not differ between those with DVT and PE, was proportionately higher for less severe clots and declined with worsening renal function. Patients prescribed DOACs versus traditional therapy had a shorter length of stay (4 vs 7 days, respectively).

Conclusions

Uptake of DOAC therapy for acute VTE was modest and may have been influenced by the timing of the audit in relation to the approval of these agents for this indication. Future audits should occur to assess temporal changes and ongoing appropriateness of care delivery.
How do healthcare professionals working in accountable care organisations understand patient activation and engagement? Qualitative interviews across two time points
Authors: Mishra Manish K , Saunders Catherine H , Rodriguez Hector P , Shortell Stephen M , Fisher Elliott , Elwyn Glyn
Published: November 2018

Objective

If patient engagement is the new ‘blockbuster drug’ why are we not seeing spectacular effects? Studies have shown that activated patients have improved health outcomes, and patient engagement has become an integral component of value-based payment and delivery models, including accountable care organisations (ACO). Yet the extent to which clinicians and managers at ACOs understand and reliably execute patient engagement in clinical encounters remains unknown. We assessed the use and understanding of patient engagement approaches among frontline clinicians and managers at ACO-affiliated practices.

Design

Qualitative study; 103 in-depth, semi-structured interviews.

Participants

Sixty clinicians and eight managers were interviewed at two established ACOs.

Approach

We interviewed healthcare professionals about their awareness, attitudes, understanding and experiences of implementing three key approaches to patient engagement and activation: 1) goal-setting, 2) motivational interviewing and 3) shared decision making. Of the 60 clinicians, 33 were interviewed twice leading to 93 clinician interviews. Of the 8 managers, 2 were interviewed twice leading to 10 manager interviews. We used a thematic analysis approach to the data.

Key results

Interviewees recognised the term ‘patient activation and engagement’ and had favourable attitudes about the utility of the associated skills. However, in-depth probing revealed that although interviewees reported that they used these patient activation and engagement approaches, they have limited understanding of these approaches.

Conclusions

Without understanding the concept of patient activation and the associated approaches of shared decision making and motivational interviewing, effective implementation in routine care seems like a distant goal. Clinical teams in the ACO model would benefit from specificity defining key terms pertaining to the principles of patient activation and engagement. Measuring the degree of understanding with reward that are better-aligned for behaviour change will minimise the notion that these techniques are already being used and help fulfil the potential of patient-centred care.
Can delirium research activity impact on routine delirium recognition? A prospective cohort study
Authors: Welch Carly , Jackson Thomas A
Published: November 2018

Objective

To assess if ongoing delirium research activity within an acute admissions unit impacts on prevalent delirium recognition.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Single-site tertiary university teaching hospital.

Participants

125 patients with delirium, as diagnosed by an expert using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition reference criteria, were recruited to a prospective cohort study investigating use of informant tools to detect unrecognised dementia. This study evaluated recognition of delirium and documentation of delirium by medical staff.

Interventions

The main study followed an observational design; the intervention discussed was the implementation of this study itself.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The primary outcome was recognition of delirium by the admitting medical team prior to study diagnosis. Secondary outcomes included recording of or description of delirium in discharge summaries, and factors which may be associated with unrecognised delirium.

Results

Delirium recognition improved between the first half (48%) and second half (71%) of recruitment (p=0.01). There was no difference in recording of delirium or description of delirium in the text of discharge summaries.

Conclusion

Delirium research activity can improve recognition of delirium. This has the potential to improve patient outcomes.
Distribution of nephrologists and regional variation in the clinical severity of IgA nephropathy at biopsy diagnosis in Japan: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Okabayashi Yusuke , Tsuboi Nobuo , Amano Hoichi , Miyazaki Yoichi , Kawamura Tetsuya , Ogura Makoto , Narita Ichiei , Ninomiya Toshiharu , Yokoyama Hitoshi , Yokoo Takashi
Published: November 2018

Objectives

The clinical severity of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) at the time of biopsy diagnosis differs significantly among cases. One possible determinant of any such difference is the time taken for referral from the primary care physician to a nephrologist, but the definitive cause remains unclear. This study examined the contribution of the number of nephrologists per regional population as a potential social factor influencing the clinical severity at diagnosis among patients with IgAN in Japan, which has an ethnically homogeneous population.

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Setting and participants

Patients were registered in the Japan Renal Biopsy Registry (J-RBR), a nationwide multicentre registry, and 6426 patients diagnosed with IgAN were analysed. The facilities registered to the J-RBR were divided into 10 regions and the clinical features of IgAN at biopsy diagnosis, including renal function and level of proteinuria, were examined.

Main outcome measures

Renal prognosis risk at the time of biopsy diagnosis defined by Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes guideline 2012.

Results

Among the regions, there were significant differences in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (67.5–91.4 mL/min/1.73 m2), urinary protein excretion rate (0.93–1.93 g/day) and renal prognosis risk group distribution at diagnosis. The severity of all clinical parameters was inversely correlated with the number of nephrologists per regional population, which showed an up to 2.7-fold difference among regions. A generalised linear mixed model revealed that a low number of nephrologists per regional population were significantly associated with fulfilment of clinical criteria indicating a very-high-risk renal prognosis (β=−0.484, 95% CI −0.959 to −0.010).

Conclusions

Among Japanese patients with IgAN, significant regional differences were detected in clinical severity at the time of diagnosis. Social factors, such as an uneven distribution of nephrologists across regions, may influence the timing of biopsy and determine such differences.
Ethnic Minority Health in Ireland—Co-creating knowledge (EMH-IC): a participatory health research protocol
Authors: Hannigan Ailish , Basogomba Alphonse , LeMaster Joseph , Nurse Diane , O’Reilly Fiona , Roura Maria , Villarroel Nazmy , MacFarlane Anne
Published: November 2018

Introduction

International policy recommends continuous, cost-effective monitoring of health data to enable health services to identify and respond to health inequities as experienced by different ethnic groups. However, there is a lack of routinely collected ethnicity data, particularly in primary care, and very little implementation research internationally to understand how ethnic identifiers are introduced, embedded and used in healthcare settings. This paper describes a protocol for a novel participatory health research project with the objective of building the evidence base on ethnic minority health in Ireland. Findings on the participatory appraisal of ethnic identifiers as an intervention to generate useful data about minority and majority ethnic groups will have relevance in other settings and countries.

Methods and analysis

This multidisciplinary project is designed as a participatory health research study where all stakeholders, including ethnic minority communities, participate in co-design of the research protocol, project governance, collaborative data interpretation and disseminating findings. A national catalogue of all routinely collected health data repositories will be electronically searched for any repositories that contain information on ethnicity. A secondary quantitative analysis of a population-representative cohort study, Growing Up in Ireland, will be carried out to compare the health of ethnic minority and majority groups. A qualitative case study informed by normalisation process theory will be carried out at three primary care sites to monitor the implementation of an ethnic identifier and identify barriers and levers to implementation.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval for the qualitative case study has been granted by the Irish Council for General Practitioners (06/09/17). Permission to access data from Growing Up in Ireland has been granted by the Director General of the Central Statistics Office. Dissemination will be carried out at community events and academic conferences, in peer-reviewed journal publications, and through academic and healthcare provider networks.
Expanding the phenotype of COPA syndrome: a kindred with typical and atypical features
Authors: Taveira-DaSilva Angelo M , Markello Thomas C , Kleiner David E , Jones Amanda M , Groden Catherine , Macnamara Ellen , Yokoyama Tadafumi , Gahl William A , Gochuico Bernadette R , Moss Joel
Published: November 2018

Background

Copa syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder with abnormal intracellular vesicle trafficking. The objective of this work is to expand the knowledge about this disorder by delineating phenotypic features of an unreported COPA family.

Methods and results

A heterozygous missense variant (c.698 G>A, p.Arg233His) inCOPAwas identified in four members of a three-generation kindred with lung, autoimmune and malignant disease of unknown aetiology. Ages of onset were 56, 26, 16 and 1 year, with earlier age of onset in successive generations. Presenting symptoms were cough and dyspnoea. Findings included small lung cysts, follicular bronchiolitis, interstitial lung disease, neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis and select abnormal autoimmune serologies. Neither alveolar haemorrhage nor glomerular disease were present. Features not previously associated with Copa syndrome included neuromyelitis optica, pulmonary carcinoid tumour, clear cell renal carcinoma, renal cysts, hepatic cysts, nephrolithiasis, pyelonephritis and meningitis. Longitudinal evaluations demonstrated slow progression of lung disease and extrapulmonary cysts.

Conclusions

Worsening severity with successive generations may be observed in Copa syndrome. Extrapulmonary cysts, malignancies, autoimmune neurological disorders and infections are clinical features that may be associated with Copa syndrome. Further studies are indicated to fully define the phenotypic spectrum of this disorder.
Point-of-sale marketing of little cigars and cigarillos on and near California Tribal lands
Authors: Smiley Sabrina L , Soto Claradina , Cruz Tess Boley , Kintz Natalie , Rodriguez Yaneth L , Sussman Steve , Baezconde-Garbanati Lourdes
Published: November 2018

Introduction

American Indians have the highest cigarette smoking prevalence of any racial/ethnic group in the USA. Tobacco marketing at point-of-sale is associated with smoking, possibly due to easy access to cheap tobacco products. The sale of novel tobacco products like little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs) has increased in recent years which may further increase combustible tobacco use among American Indians.

Methods

Between October 2015 and February 2017, trained community health workers collected LCC product and price information by conducting audits of tobacco retailers on Tribal lands (n=53) and retailers within a 1-mile radius of Tribal lands (n=43) in California. Χ2analyses were performed to examine associations among the availability and advertising of LCCs, including indoor price promotions and store location.

Results

Overall, 85.4% of stores sold LCCs, 76.0% sold flavoured LCCs and 51.0% sold LCCs for less than $1. Indoor price promotions were displayed at 45 (46.9%) stores. Stores within a 1-mile radius of Tribal lands sold significantly more LCC (p<0.01) and flavoured LCCs (p=0.01) than stores on Tribal lands. Stores within a 1-mile radius of Tribal lands also displayed significantly more LCCs priced at less than $1 (p<0.01) than stores on Tribal lands.

Conclusions

LCCs are widely available in stores on and near California Tribal lands. Stores located a short distance away from Tribal lands were more likely to sell LCCs, including flavoured versions, more likely to sell LCCs priced below $1, and more likely to advertise little LCC price promotions than stores on Tribal lands. Policy-makers and Tribal leaders should consider regulations that would limit access to LCCs at point of sale to help prevent youth initiation and reduce smoking-related morbidity and mortality among American Indians.
Synthesis of amphiphilic asymmetrical dithienylethenes with aryl groups at the reactive carbons
Authors: Sang M.S. Jemeli , Cai Jianxin , Kandasamy Yamuna S. , Murphy R. Scott
Published: November 2018

A synthetic route for the preparation of amphiphilic asymmetrical dithienylethenes that incorporate methyl groups at the 4- and 4′-positions and an aryl group at one of the reactive carbons has been developed. The presence of a bulky aryl substituent ensures a relatively large change in molecular geometry upon photoisomerization, whereas the presence of methyl groups provide enhanced photostability. Notably, a substituent effect was systematically revealed en route to the preparation of the dithienylethene precursors. In particular, this formal substitution reaction was significantly inhibited due to steric hindrance, stemming from the presence of aryl and methyl groups at the alpha positions of the preformed thienyl carbanionic carbon, and an aryl group on the monosubstituted perfluorocyclopentene derivative.
Designing acoustic arrays for estimation of mortality rates in riverine and estuarine systems
Authors: Patterson Toby A. , Pillans Richard D.
Published: November 2018

Motivated by monitoring populations of threatened tropical euryhaline elasmobranchs, this study examines aspects of acoustic telemetry array design for estimating survival rates in riverine populations. Simulation models incorporating movement and survival were constructed whose outputs were input into an observation model mimicking an acoustic telemetry array and into a simplified survival model. Precision of mortality rate and observation probability parameter estimates were examined as a function of the study design. Coefficients of variation on survival rate and observation probability parameters indicated that the volume of detections was more strongly related to the number of receiver locations than the probability of detecting tagged individuals at each location. Observation probabilities approaching one had only minor effect on reducing uncertainty and also for characterizing the persistence of individuals in the system. Uncertainty in survival probability estimates was more strongly tied to number of tagged individuals. Conversely, uncertainty in observation probability was most strongly related to number of receivers. This approach provides guidelines for robust estimation of movement and mortality from studies utilizing acoustic telemetry on euryhaline elasmobranchs.
The pattern of reproduction in the Libyan jird (Meriones libycus; Rodentia: Muridae) from central Saudi Arabia in the absence of rainfall
Authors: Hart D.W. , Alghamdi A.A. , Bennett N.C. , Mohammed O.B. , Amor N.M. , Alagaili A.N.
Published: November 2018

The reproductive pattern of the Libyan jird (Meriones libycus Lichtenstein, 1823) from central Saudi Arabia was investigated in the absence of rainfall. In this study, body mass, morphometry of the reproductive tract, the histology of the reproductive organs, and the hormone concentrations of males and females were studied over 12 consecutive months in a wild population of the Libyan jird from central Saudi Arabia. Previous studies have found the breeding season of the Libyan jird from the Sahara desert of Algeria to occur during the wet months of spring. In the absence of rainfall, temperature and photoperiod were found to be important activators of reproductive activity. The cooler temperatures and shorter days of winter triggered the onset of ovulation in females and increased testes size and seminiferous tubule diameter in males. Only two pregnancies were found during the sampling period, which occurred during the cooler winter and early spring and coincided with a rise in plasma progesterone concentration in females. The Libyan jird was found to shift its breeding to the cooler months of winter in the absence of rainfall. This study strengthens the findings that changes in rainfall and temperature in dry deserts are critical cues for the onset of reproduction in small mammals.
Effect of Locus of Control on Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Self-Employment Intentions: The Moderating Role of Individualism
Authors: Baluku Martin Mabunda , Bantu Edward , Otto Kathleen
Published: November 2018

Applying Ajzen’s planned behavior theory, we study the impact of control beliefs (reflected by an internal locus of control) and normative beliefs (investigated via individualistic cultural orientation) on entrepreneurial attitudes and self-employment intentions of final year university students. We particularly explore the interactive effect of internal locus of control and culture when explaining entrepreneurial attitudes, which consequently shapes self-employment intentions. The data were collected at a German university and three universities in East Africa. We received 590 complete responses. We used PROCESS Macro to test our model and hypotheses. Our findings show that both internal locus of control and culture predict entrepreneurial attitudes and self-employment intention. The effects of international locus of control are mediated by entrepreneurial attitudes. Moreover, the indirect effect is further conditioned by culture. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Testing Waters, Sending Clues
Authors: Andalibi Nazanin , Morris Margaret E. , Forte Andrea
Published: November 2018

Indirect disclosure strategies include hinting about an experience or a facet of one's identity or relaying information explicitly but through another person. These strategies lend themselves to sharing stigmatized or sensitive experiences such as a pregnancy loss, mental illness, or abuse. Drawing on interviews with women in the U.S. who use social media and experienced pregnancy loss, we investigated factors guiding indirect disclosure decisions on social media. Our findings include 1) a typology of indirect disclosure strategies based on content explicitness, original content creator, and content sharer, and 2) an examination of indirect disclosure decision factors related to the self, audience, platform affordances, and temporality. We identify how people intentionally adapt social media and indirect disclosures to meet psychological (e.g., keeping a personal record) and social (e.g., feeling out the audience) needs associated with loss. We discuss implications for design and research, including features that support disclosures through proxy, and relevance for algorithmic detection and intervention. CAUTION: This paper includes quotes about pregnancy loss.
SOLVENT
Authors: Chan Joel , Chang Joseph Chee , Hope Tom , Shahaf Dafna , Kittur Aniket
Published: November 2018

Scientific discoveries are often driven by finding analogies in distant domains, but the growing number of papers makes it difficult to find relevant ideas in a single discipline, let alone distant analogies in other domains. To provide computational support for finding analogies across domains, we introduce SOLVENT, a mixed-initiative system where humans annotate aspects of research papers that denote their background (the high-level problems being addressed), purpose (the specific problems being addressed), mechanism (how they achieved their purpose), and findings (what they learned/achieved), and a computational model constructs a semantic representation from these annotations that can be used to find analogies among the research papers. We demonstrate that this system finds more analogies than baseline information-retrieval approaches; that annotators and annotations can generalize beyond domain; and that the resulting analogies found are useful to experts. These results demonstrate a novel path towards computationally supported knowledge sharing in research communities.
The Internet's Hidden Rules
Authors: Chandrasekharan Eshwar , Samory Mattia , Jhaver Shagun , Charvat Hunter , Bruckman Amy , Lampe Cliff , Eisenstein Jacob , Gilbert Eric
Published: November 2018

Norms are central to how online communities are governed. Yet, norms are also emergent, arise from interaction, and can vary significantly between communities---making them challenging to study at scale. In this paper, we study community norms on Reddit in a large-scale, empirical manner. Via 2.8M comments removed by moderators of 100 top subreddits over 10 months, we use both computational and qualitative methods to identify three types of norms: macro norms that are universal to most parts of Reddit; meso norms that are shared across certain groups of subreddits; and micro norms that are specific to individual, relatively unique subreddits. Given the size of Reddit's user base---and the wide range of topics covered by different subreddits---we argue this represents the first large-scale census of the norms in broader internet culture. In other words, these findings shed light on what Reddit values, and how widely-held those values are. We conclude by discussing implications for the design of new and existing online communities.
'Too Gay for Facebook'
Authors: DeVito Michael Ann , Walker Ashley Marie , Birnholtz Jeremy
Published: November 2018

Most US social media users engage regularly with multiple platforms. For LGBTQ+ people, this means making self-presentation decisions not just on one platform, but many. These choices are made in the face of sometimes-overlapping platform environments, which can have consequentially different norms, audiences, and affordances. Moreover, many LGBTQ+ users face high stakes in online self-presentation, due to the risk of stigmatization of their LGBTQ+ identity, increasing the importance of self-presentation decisions that enable them to achieve their goals and avoid stigmatization. This combination of environmental complexity and high stakes is not adequately accounted for in existing work on self-presentation, but doing so is important to support and understand the experiences of LGBTQ+ and other potentially stigmatized users. We adopt an ecological approach to an interview and cognitive mapping study of 20 LGBTQ+ social media users. We find that participants employ the platforms, audiences, affordances, and norms within what we call their "personal social media ecosystems" to avoid stigmatization while still allowing for expression of their LGBTQ+ identity and the flexibility to adjust their presentation over time.