bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Biomineralization Proteome: Protein Complexity for a Complex Bioceramic Assembly Process
Authors: Evans John Spencer
Published: June 2019

There are over 62 different biominerals on Earth and a diverse array of organisms that generate these biominerals for survival. This review will introduce the process of biomineralization and the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of mineral formation, and then comparatively explore the representative secretomes of two well‐documented skeletal systems: vertebrate bone (calcium phosphate) and invertebrate mollusk shell (calcium carbonate). It is found that both skeletal secretomes have gross similarities and possess proteins that fall into four functional categories: matrix formers, nucleation assisters, communicators, and remodelers. In many cases the mineral‐associated matrix former and nucleation assister sequences in both skeletal systems are unique and possess interactive conserved globular domains, intrinsic disorder, post‐translational modifications, sequence redundancy, and amyloid‐like aggregation‐prone sequences. Together, these molecular features create a protein‐based environment that facilitates mineral formation and organization and argue in favor of conserved features that evolve from the mollusk shell to bone. Interestingly, the mollusk shell secretome appears to be more complex compared to that of bone tissue, in that there are numerous protein subcategories that are required for the nucleation and organization of inner (nacre) and outer (prismatic) calcium carbonate regions of the shell. This may reflect the organizational and material requirements of an exoskeletal protective system.
The human NMDA receptor GluN2AN615K variant influences channel blocker potency
Authors: Marwick Katie F. M. , Skehel Paul A. , Hardingham Giles E. , Wyllie David J. A.
Published: June 2019

N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors are glutamate receptors with key roles in synaptic plasticity, due in part to their Mg2+ mediated voltage‐dependence. A large number of genetic variants affecting NMDA receptor subunits have been found in people with a range of neurodevelopmental disorders, including GluN2AN615K (GRIN2AC1845A) in two unrelated individuals with severe epileptic encephalopathy. This missense variant substitutes a lysine in place of an asparagine known to be important for blockade by Mg2+ and other small molecule channel blockers. We therefore measured the impact of GluN2AN615K on a range of NMDA receptor channel blockers using two‐electrode voltage clamp recordings made in Xenopus oocytes. We found that GluN2AN615K resulted in block by Mg2+ 1 mmol/L being greatly reduced (89% vs 8%), block by memantine 10 μmol/L (76% vs 27%) and amantadine 100 μmol/L (45% vs 17%) being substantially reduced, block by ketamine 10 μmol/L being modestly reduced (79% vs 73%) and block by dextromethorphan 10 μmol/L being enhanced (45% vs 55%). Coapplying Mg2+ with memantine or amantadine did not reduce the GluN2AN615K block seen with either small molecule. In addition, we measured single–channel conductance of GluN2AN615K–containing NMDA receptors in outside‐out patches pulled from Xenopus oocytes, finding a 4‐fold reduction in conductance (58 vs 15 pS). In conclusion, the GluN2AN615K variant is associated with substantial changes to important physiological and pharmacological properties of the NMDA receptor. Our findings are consistent with GluN2AN615K having a disease–causing role, and inform potential therapeutic strategies.
Influence of quasi‐biennial oscillation on the boreal winter extratropical stratosphere in QBOi experiments
Authors: Naoe Hiroaki , Yoshida Kohei
Published: June 2019

This study investigates the Holton–Tan (HT) relationship based on re‐analyses and co‐ordinated experiments for present‐day and warming scenarios within the SPARC Quasi‐Biennial Oscillation initiative (QBOi) using Meteorological Research Institute Earth System Model version 2.0 (MRI‐ESM2.0). The aim is to explore to what extent global warming modulates the HT mechanism in the effect of the QBO on the polar vortex. The simulations of the present‐day conditions reproduce the zonal wind composite differences in the re‐analysis; however, there are some discrepancies. In regions near the QBO (i.e. 20–40°N), there is good agreement between the simulations and the re‐analysis. Examples include the midlatitude (∼30°N) lower (middle) stratosphere Eliassen–Palm (EP) flux convergence (divergence) anomalies between the easterly phase and the westerly phase of the QBO, which are common in the re‐analysis and in the present‐day and warming simulations. The influence of the QBO on the midlatitude lower stratosphere is associated with an effective waveguide for enhanced upward‐propagating Rossby waves near the subtropical jet. At high latitudes, the significant (less significant) convergence anomalies of significant horizontal EP fluxes in the middle stratosphere are dominant in the re‐analysis (the present‐day simulations). In the warming scenarios, the QBO signatures of the zonal wind are strengthened with the significant EP flux convergence anomalies of less significant upward‐propagating waves inside the polar vortex above 20 hPa. These results suggest that fundamental mechanisms behind the HT effect in regions near the QBO can be explained by enhanced upward‐propagating waves associated with an effective waveguide (by inhibiting equatorward‐refracting upward waves) in the lower‐to‐mid stratosphere. In the warming scenarios, however, HT mechanisms, especially inside the polar vortex, may have another pathway, different from that of the present‐day climate.
Address students’ self‐perception of online invincibility, anonymity
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: June 2019

Advances in technology and changes in risk‐taking behavior have created a sense of online invincibility for today's students who often struggle to differentiate their online actions from the physical world.
Was student subjected to gender‐biased disciplinary process?
Authors: Gelpi Aileen
Published: June 2019

Marymount student John Doe was notified in September 2015 that student Jane Roe had accused him of sexually assaulting her in Roe's residence hall in 2014.
Banking Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Umbilical Cord Tissue: Large Sample Size Analysis Reveals Consistency Between Donors
Authors: Raileanu Vanessa N. , Whiteley Jennifer , Chow Theresa , Kollara Alexandra , Mohamed Aisha , Keating Armand , Rogers Ian M.
Published: June 2019

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as candidate cells with therapeutic potential to treat different pathologies. The underlying mechanism is paracrine signaling. The cells secrete proteins that can impact inflammation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and cell proliferation. All are important in wound healing and tissue regeneration. Although the bone marrow has been the most widely used source of MSCs, umbilical cord tissue (CT) presents a source that is just starting to be used in the clinic, yet can be obtained with more ease and easily stored. Here, we characterize CT-MSCs obtained from multiple donors by analyzing cell surface proteins, differentiation capacity, and proteome profile. Analysis of low, medium, and high passage cells indicates that the morphology and proliferation rate stay constant and with the exception of cluster of differentiation (CD) 105 at late passage, there are no changes in the cell surface protein characteristics, indicating the population does not change with passage. TNF-stimulated gene 6 protein was measured in a subset of samples and variable expression was observed, but this did not impact the ability of the cells to enhance skin regeneration. In conclusion, CT-MSC represents a consistent, easily accessible source of cells for cell therapy. Stem Cells Translational Medicine  2019;8:1041–1054
Female directorship on boards and corporate sustainability policies: Their effect on sustainable development
Authors: Pucheta‐Martínez María Consuelo , Olcina‐Sempere Gustau , López‐Zamora Blanca
Published: June 2019

We aim to explore whether board gender diversity—specifically, women directors representing institutional ownership—improves the sustainability development of listed firms by affecting corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. Moreover, among female directors representing institutional shareholders, we can differentiate between those working for banks and insurance companies (pressure‐sensitive female institutional directors) and those working for mutual funds, investment funds, pension funds, and venture capital firms (pressure‐resistant female institutional directors). The effect of these categories of directors on CSR policies is also analysed. Our evidence suggests that women directors representing institutional ownership positively affect CSR policies, which is the same as for pressure‐resistant female institutional directors, and pressure‐sensitive institutional directors do not impact CSR policies. This research provides a new framework for the role played by certain types of female directors (female institutional directors, female pressure‐sensitive directors, and female pressure‐resistant directors) in relation to CSR policies, and thus, it may help policymakers to promote CSR policies and to take action to promote responsible behaviour among listed firms.
Cutaneous small‐vessel vasculitis following hysterosalpingo‐foam sonography (HyFoSy)
Authors: Ludwin A. , Ludwin I. , Szczeklik W. , Martins W. P.
Published: June 2019

We present a case of diffuse skin immune reaction, diagnosed as cutaneous small‐vessel vasculitis, following assessment of tubal patency by contrast ultrasound, which appears to be the first reported case of hypersensitivity reaction to sonographic tubal patency testing, based on a literature search. A 32‐year‐old woman presented with non‐thrombocytopenic palpable purpura the day after assessment of tubal patency by two‐/three‐dimensional hysterosalpingo‐foam sonography (HyFoSy) using ExEm® Foam. During real‐time ultrasound, the observer identified flow in only the right tube when using saline with air as contrast medium; however, the same observer identified flow in both tubes after injecting ExEm Foam and the woman left the clinic without any complications. The next day, the patient was admitted with a complaint of a red‐purple skin rash noticed the same morning, associated with moderate leg pain. Slow‐motion analysis of the recorded videos and three‐dimensional ultrasound datasets showed previously unnoticed venous intravasation of ExEm Foam into the myometrial vessels. Palpable purpura is typically found in vasculitis as a result of extravasation of red cells outside the inflamed blood vessel. This previously unreported side effect of tubal patency testing by HyFoSy, its potential rare organ consequences, as well as unknown consequences of venous intravasation by foam, should be included in the informed consent prior to the examination. Copyright © 2019 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Neutrophils in innate immunity and systems biology‐level approaches
Authors: Rungelrath Viktoria , Kobayashi Scott D. , DeLeo Frank R.
Published: June 2019

The innate immune system is the first line of host defense against invading microorganisms. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs or neutrophils) are the most abundant leukocyte in humans and essential to the innate immune response against invading pathogens. Compared to the acquired immune response, which requires time to develop and is dependent on previous interaction with specific microbes, the ability of neutrophils to kill microorganisms is immediate, nonspecific, and not dependent on previous exposure to microorganisms. Historically, studies of PMN‐pathogen interaction focused on the events leading to killing of microorganisms, such as recruitment/chemotaxis, transmigration, phagocytosis, and activation, whereas postphagocytosis sequelae were infrequently considered. In addition, it was widely accepted that human neutrophils possessed limited capacity for new gene transcription and thus, relatively little biosynthetic capacity. This notion has changed dramatically within the past 20 years. Further, there is now more effort directed to understand the events occurring in PMNs after killing of microbes. Herein, we give an updated review of the systems biology‐level approaches that have been used to gain an enhanced view of the role of neutrophils during host‐pathogen interaction and neutrophil‐mediated diseases. We anticipate that these and future systems‐level studies will continue to provide information important for understanding, treatment, and control of diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms.

This article is categorized under:

Physiology > Organismal Responses to Environment

Physiology > Mammalian Physiology in Health and Disease

Biological Mechanisms > Cell Fates
Real-time quantum dynamics, path integrals and the method of thimbles
Authors: Mou Zong-Gang , Saffin Paul M. , Tranberg Anders , Woodward Simon
Published: June 2019

Abstract

Direct numerical evaluation of the real-time path integral has a well-known sign problem that makes convergence exponentially slow. One promising remedy is to use Picard-Lefschetz theory to flow the domain of the field variables into the complex plane, where the integral is better behaved. By Cauchy’s theorem, the final value of the path integral is unchanged. Previous analyses have considered the case of real scalar fields in thermal equilibrium, employing a closed Schwinger-Keldysh time contour, allowing the evaluation of the full quantum correlation functions. Here we extend the analysis by not requiring a closed time path, instead allowing for an initial density matrix for out-of-equilibrium initial value problems. We are able to explicitly implement Gaussian initial conditions, and by separating the initial time and the later times into a two-step Monte-Carlo sampling, we are able to avoid the phenomenon of multiple thimbles. In fact, there exists one and only one thimble for each sample member of the initial density matrix. We demonstrate the approach through explicitly computing the real-time propagator for an interacting scalar in 0+1 dimensions, and find very good convergence allowing for comparison with perturbation theory and the classical-statistical approximation to real-time dynamics.
Entropy, entanglement and swampland bounds in DS/dS
Authors: Geng Hao , Grieninger Sebastian , Karch Andreas
Published: June 2019

Abstract

We calculate the entanglement entropy of the de-Sitter (dS) static patch in the context of the DS/dS correspondence. Interestingly, we find that there exists a one parameter family of bulk minimal surfaces that all have the same area. Two of them have appeared earlier in the literature. All of them correctly calculate the dS entropy. One surface yields the entanglement between the two different CFTs that provide the holographic dual of the bulk DS geometry. The second surface describes the entanglement across the horizon in the boundary static patch. The other surfaces describe a mixture of these two concepts. We also show that in the presence of extra matter fields the former entanglement entropy always exceeds the dS entropy. We interpret this result in the context of entropy bounds in de Sitter space and the swampland program.
Establishing a Multicentre Trauma Registry in India: An Evaluation of Data Completeness
Authors: Shivasabesan Gowri , O'Reilly Gerard M. , Mathew Joseph , Fitzgerald Mark C. , Gupta Amit , Roy Nobhojit , Joshipura Manjul , Sharma Naveen , Cameron Peter , Fahey Madonna , Howard Teresa , Cheung Zoe , Kumar Vineet , Jarwani Bhavesh , Soni Kapil Dev , Patel Pankaj , Thakor Advait , Misra Mahesh , Gruen Russell L. , Mitra Biswadev ,   the Australia‐India Trauma Systems Collaboration (AITSC)
Published: June 2019

Background

The completeness of a trauma registry's data is essential for its valid use. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of missing data in a new multicentre trauma registry in India and to assess the association between data completeness and potential predictors of missing data, particularly mortality.

Methods

The proportion of missing data for variables among all adults was determined from data collected from 19 April 2016 to 30 April 2017. In‐hospital physiological data were defined as missing if any of initial systolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, or Glasgow Coma Scale were missing. Univariable logistic regression and multivariable logistic regression, using manual stepwise selection, were used to investigate the association between mortality (and other potential predictors) and missing physiological data.

Results

Data on the 4466 trauma patients in the registry were analysed. Out of 59 variables, most (n = 51; 86.4%) were missing less than 20% of observations. There were 808 (18.1%) patients missing at least one of the first in‐hospital physiological observations. Hospital death was associated with missing in‐hospital physiological data (adjusted OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.02–2.01; p = 0.04). Other significant associations with missing data were: patient arrival time out of hours, hospital of care, ‘other’ place of injury, and specific injury mechanisms. Assault/homicide injury intent and occurrence of chest X‐ray were associated with not missing any of first in‐hospital physiological variables.

Conclusion

Most variables were well collected. Hospital death, a proxy for more severe injury, was associated with missing first in‐hospital physiological observations. This remains an important limitation for trauma registries.
Combining metabolic flux analysis and adaptive evolution to enhance lipase production in Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Yuan Kai , Song Ping , Li Shuang , Gao Song , Wen Jianping , Huang He
Published: June 2019

Metabolic fluxes during lipase production by Bacillus subtilis CICC 20034 in synthetic medium were studied using metabolic flux analysis (MFA). The MFA showed that lipase production was dependent on, and coupled to the tributyrin uptake rate, formation of biomass, lactate, ATP, as well as amino acids from the aspartate and glutamate family. Using tributyrin as the sole carbon source, an adaptive evolution strategy was applied to increase the tributyrin uptake rate. B. subtilis SPZ1 was obtained from CICC 20034 by adaptive evolution over 1000 generations of growth-based selection. The tributyrin consumption rate of strain SPZ1 reached 0.89 g/(L·h) which was 1.9-fold higher than that of the original strain. The MFA indicated that the 212% increase of tributyrin uptake flux contributed to the 556% increase of lipase flux. Consequently, the lipase activity (0.65 U/mL) of strain SPZ1 was 1.9-fold higher than that of the original strain. This was the highest lipase activity obtained by fermentation in synthetic medium reported for Bacillus strains. In complex culture medium, lipase activity of SPZ1 reached 3.3 U/mL.
Pay for performance in health care: a new best practice tariff-based tool using a log-linear piecewise frontier function and a dual–primal approach for unique solutions
Authors: Ferreira Diogo Cunha , Marques Rui Cunha , Nunes Alexandre Morais
Published: June 2019

Health care systems worldwide have faced a problem of resources scarcity that, in turn, should be allocated to the health care providers according to the corresponding population needs. Such an allocation should be as much as effective and efficient as possible to guarantee the sustainability of those systems. One alternative to reach that goal is through (prospective) payments due to the providers for their clinical procedures. The way that such payments are computed is frequently unknown and arguably far from being optimal. For instance, in Portugal, public hospitals are clustered based on criteria related to size, consumed resources, and volume of medical acts, and payments associated with the inpatient services are equal to the smallest unitary cost within each cluster. First, there is no reason to impose a single benchmark for each inefficient hospital. Second, this approach disregards dimensions like quality (and access) and the environment, which are paramount for fair comparisons and benchmarking exercises. This paper proposes an innovative tool to achieve best-practices tariff. This tool merges both quality and financial sustainability concepts, attributing a hospital-specific tariff that can be different from hospital to hospital. That payment results from the combination of costs related to a set of potential benchmarks, keeping quality as high as possible and higher than a user-predefined threshold, and being able to generate considerable cost savings. To obtain those coefficients we propose and detail a log-linear piecewise frontier function as well as a dual–primal approach for unique solutions.
Theorizing Research Ethics for the Study of Psychological Phenomena from Within Relational Everyday Life
Authors: Hilppö Jaakko , Chimirri Niklas Alexander , Rajala Antti
Published: June 2019

How to investigate psychologically relevant phenomena in the most ethical ways possible is an enduring question for researchers not only in psychology but also in adjacent fields that study human subjectivity. Once acknowledging that both researchers and the people whose lives they want to study are human beings acting in a common world, also inhabited by non-human beings, the relationship between researchers and participants touches upon fundamental questions not only about what it means to do research together, but also what it means to conduct life in this world together. This implies that questions regarding what counts as ethical conduct need to be accentuated and also profoundly re-drawn given the encompassing complexity of these relations. In this article, we will shortly review the theoretical foundations and associated problematics of the dominant view of the researcher-researched relationship in current psychological (and other) research ethics. We then present and discuss what we mean by a relational ethical position from within practice and for practice. We will also shortly introduce how the other contributions to this special section advance the theoretical debates on research ethics.
In Pursuit of the Non-Trivial
Authors: Caret Colin R.
Published: June 2019

This paper is about the underlying logical principles of scientific theories. In particular, it concerns ex contradictione quodlibet (ECQ) the principle that anything follows from a contradiction. ECQ is valid according to classical logic, but invalid according to paraconsistent logics. Some advocates of paraconsistency claim that there are ‘real’ inconsistent theories that do not erupt with completely indiscriminate, absurd commitments. They take this as evidence in favor of paraconsistency. Michael (2016) calls this the non-triviality strategy (NTS). He argues that this strategy fails in its purpose. I will show that Michael's criticism significantly over-reaches. The fundamental problem is that he places more of a burden on the advocate of paraconsistency than on the advocate of classical logic. The weaknesses in Michael's argument are symptomatic of this preferential treatment of one viewpoint in the debate over another. He does, however, make important observations that allow us to clarify some of the complexities involved in giving a logical reconstruction of a theory. I will argue that there are abductive arguments deserving of further consideration for the claim that paraconsistent logic offers the best explanation of the practice of inconsistent science. In this sense, the debate is still very much open.
The Yarkon-Taninim Aquifer (Judea Group Israel): What Radiocarbon Can Tell
Authors: Kronfeld Joel , Carmi Israel , Avisar Dror
Published: June 2019

Radiocarbon (14C) conclusively demonstrates that the very important Yarkon-Tanininm aquifer, named after the two springs where the drainage presumably occurs, is in actuality two distinct aquifers—Upper and Lower. The springs have higher 14C activities than the exploitation wells that surround them (all drilled into the Upper aquifer). The springs are situated at faults that allow the Lower aquifer water to rise due to its higher pieziometric head and drain along with the Upper aquifer. The Lower aquifer water flows rapidly along a path that includes a karstic system. The Upper aquifer flows more slowly, primarily through a system of cracks in the carbonate aquifer. The Upper aquifer groundwater in the Beer-Sheba extension flows northwards at approximately ~4–7 m/yr.
The Ambivalence of Freedom: Slaves in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
Authors: Wickramasinghe Nira , Schrikker Alicia
Published: June 2019

This article discusses slavery and the lives of enslaved people in Jaffna, northern Sri Lanka, under Dutch and British rule. It argues that by sanctioning and tapping into a perceived local practice of slavery and legally constituting slaves, Dutch colonial rulers further strengthened the power of the dominant caste Vellalar over their subordinates. This was done through processes of registration, legal codification, and litigation. For some enslaved people, however, bureaucratization provided grounds for negotiation and resistance, as well as the potential to take control over their individual lives. British rule that took over areas controlled by the Dutch East India Company or Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie—first in the guise of the East India Company (1796–1802), then under the Crown (1802–1948)—introduced a number of measures, acts, and incentives to dismantle slavery as it was practiced on the island. This article draws from Dutch and early British period petitions, court records, commission reports, and slave registers to interrogate the discourse of freedom that permeated the British abolition of slavery from 1806 to 1844 and suggests that in Jaffna after abolition there remained bondage in freedom.
Variation in dietary intake and body fatness by socioeconomic status among women in the context of Costa Rican nutrition transitions
Authors: Bekelman Traci A. , Santamaría-Ulloa Carolina , Dufour Darna L.
Published: June 2019

The Nutrition Transition model posits that vegetable oils, animal source foods (ASFs) and caloric sweeteners contribute to increases in adiposity and hence body mass index. Body mass index (BMI) is increasing more rapidly among Latin American populations of low versus high socioeconomic status (SES). The objectives of this study among Costa Rican women were to: (1) compare indicators of adiposity and dietary intake by SES and (2) evaluate the relationship between intake of foods high in vegetable oils, ASFs or caloric sweeteners and body fatness. This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2014–2015, included 128 low-, middle- and high-SES non-pregnant, non-lactating women aged between 25 and 45 years with 1–4 live births. Anthropometry was used to assess BMI, body composition and body fat distribution. Dietary recalls (n= 379) were used to assess dietary intake. Percentage body fat was greater in low- versus high-SES women (31.5 ± 3.9 vs 28.2 ± 4.7%). Skinfold measurements at four sites on the upper and lower body were greater in low- versus high-SES women. Body mass index did not vary in low- versus high-SES women. Intake frequency of foods high in vegetable oils was greater in low- and middle- (1.8 and 1.8 times/day, respectively) versus high- (1.1 times/day) SES women. For individual foods, intake frequency varied significantly by SES for high-fat condiments, fried vegetables, dairy, sweetened coffee/tea and pastries and desserts. Intake frequency of Nutrition Transition food categories was not associated with percentage body fat after adjustment for energy intake. Indicators of body composition provide additional information beyond BMI that are useful in understanding SES–adiposity associations in Latin America. Approaches to understanding diet and adiposity in Latin America that focus on vegetable oils, ASFs and caloric sweeteners should consider within-country variation in the pace of the Nutrition Transition, especially when explaining variation in adiposity by SES.
Lessons from a Quarrel: The Intentionality of Emotion Revisited
Authors: Kronqvist Camilla
Published: June 2019

I argue that a careful consideration of the internal relation between the expression of an emotion, ‘I am angry’, and the description of the object of that emotion, ‘That was wrong’, illuminates the sense in which emotions are intentional, and perhaps also rational, as brought out in cognitive accounts of emotion. It also throws light on the moral and interpersonal aspects of our emotional life, which I instantiate through a discussion of the different perspectives on what has happened between the parties in a quarrel and the kinds of failures of understanding that may take place in such cases.
Leader-gods and pro poleos priests: Leto, Apollo, Zeus and the imperial cult at Oinoanda
Authors: Milner N.P.
Published: June 2019

This article presents three unpublished inscriptions (nos 1–3) illustrating the public cults of Leto and of Apollo at Oinoanda. It discusses the non-participation of the Apolline priests in the city’s Demostheneia festival for Apollo and the reigning emperor, while tracing a relationship between public cults of Apollo and the imperial cult. Finally, it proposes to reinterpret a published inscription (no. 4) as being about Poseidon, rather than Apollo.
Resettling amidst a mood of loneliness: later-life Chinese, Indian and Korean immigrants in New Zealand
Authors: Wright-St Clair Valerie A. , Nayar Shoba
Published: June 2019

This project was a secondary hermeneutic analysis of text expressing loneliness or social isolation, gathered in an original study exploring how Chinese, Indian and Korean late-life immigrants participated in New Zealand society. It utilised the 24 interview recordings, initially transcribed in participants’ first languages from nine focus group and 15 individual interviews, and translated into English for analysis. Hermeneutic methods were used to extract and analyse quotes indicative of loneliness or social isolation. The data cohered into three notions: being unsettled, feeling sidelined and being oriented towards social connectedness. Being unsettled names the experiences of disconcerting loneliness or social isolation when previously familiar things, people and places were not there in the host society context. Feeling sidelined names the feelings of being put aside by others or feeling opaque with local communities. Being oriented towards social connectedness expresses these late-life immigrants’ longing to communicate with and to join with others in the community through culturally familiar engagements. A mood of loneliness coloured these late-life immigrants’ resettlement experiences in New Zealand. Yet they turned away from loneliness and sought out encounters with other older immigrants within co-ethnic communities.
The multistep homology of the simplex and representations of symmetric groups
Authors: WILDON MARK
Published: June 2019

The symmetric group on a set acts transitively on the set of its subsets of a fixed size. We define homomorphisms between the corresponding permutation modules, defined over a field of characteristic two, which generalize the boundary maps from simplicial homology. The main results determine when these chain complexes are exact and when they are split exact. As a corollary we obtain a new explicit construction of the basic spin modules for the symmetric group.
Structural and optical properties of Ba(Co1−xZnx)SiO4 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8)
Authors: Anike J. , Derbeshi R. , Wong-Ng W. , Liu W. , Windover D. , King N. , Wang S. , Kaduk J. A. , Lan Y.
Published: June 2019

Structural characterization and X-ray reference powder pattern determination have been conducted for the Co- and Zn-containing tridymite derivatives Ba(Co1−xZnx)SiO4 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8). The bright blue series of Ba(Co1−xZnx)SiO4 crystallized in the hexagonal P63 space group (No. 173), with Z = 6. While the lattice parameter “a” decreases from 9.126 (2) Å to 9.10374(6) Å from x = 0.2 to 0.8, the lattice parameter “c” increases from 8.69477(12) Å to 8.72200(10) Å, respectively. Apparently, despite the similarity of ionic sizes of Zn2+ and Co2+, these opposing trends are due to the framework tetrahedral tilting of (ZnCo)O4. The lattice volume, V, remains comparable between 626.27 Å3 and 626.017 (7) Å3 from x = 0 to x = 0.8. UV-visible absorption spectrum measurements indicate the band gap of these two materials to be ≈3.3 and ≈3.5 eV, respectively, therefore potential UV photocatalytic materials. Reference powder X-ray diffraction patterns of these compounds have been submitted to be included in the Powder Diffraction File (PDF).
Implementation evaluation of an iron supplementation programme in high-school students: the crosswise model
Authors: Banayejeddi Mortaza , Masudi Sima , Nouri Saeidlou Sakineh , Rezaigoyjeloo Fatemeh , Babaie Fariba , Abdollahi Zahra , Safaralizadeh Fatemeh
Published: June 2019

Objective:

To evaluate the implementation of the national health promotion programme (through nutritional education and Fe supplementation) among female high-school students in Iran and to assess the application of the crosswise model (CM) for evaluating the programme’s implementation.

Design:

Two cross-sectional surveys in female high-school students, one using the direct questioning (DQ) method and the other using the CM, were conducted. Two survey questionnaires used to collect the data contained questions about three aspects of the programme: delivering the Fe supplements, consuming them and holding nutritional training sessions.

Setting:

Female high schools, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran.

Participants:

A sample of 2180 students, of whom 1740 were surveyed by the CM and 440 were interviewed by DQ.

Results:

The CM resulted in estimates that were consistently lower than the estimates of the DQ. The proportion of students in the DQ and CM who reported receiving the pills weekly and on a regular basis was 73·2 and 22·5 %, respectively. About 43 and 31 % of students in the DQ and CM surveys reported consuming all pills delivered to them. In the DQ method, only 12 % of students who reported the number of pills consumed had taken the complete dose (sixteen pills).

Conclusions:

Implementation of the Fe supplementation programme in female high schools was poor and insufficient, so that it seems unsuccessful in reducing Fe-deficiency anaemia in adolescent girls. The CM might be considered for evaluating the health programme’s implementation at high schools.
Attitudes towards deprescribing and the influence of health literacy among older Australians
Authors: Gillespie Robyn , Mullan Judy , Harrison Lindsey
Published: June 2019

Aim

This study aimed to explore attitudes, beliefs and experiences regarding polypharmacy and discontinuing medications, or deprescribing, among community living older adults aged ≥65 years, using ≥5 medications. It also aimed to investigate if health literacy capabilities influenced attitudes and beliefs towards deprescribing.

Background

Polypharmacy use is common among Australian older adults. However, little is known about their attitudes towards polypharmacy use or towards stopping medications. Previous studies indicate that health literacy levels tend to be lower in older adults, resulting in poor knowledge about medications.

Methods

A self-administered survey was conducted using two previously validated tools; the Patients’ Attitude Towards Deprescribing (PATD) tool to measure attitudes towards polypharmacy use and deprescribing and the All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale (AAHLS) to measure functional, communicative and critical health literacy. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted.

Findings

The 137 responses showed that 80% thought all their medications were necessary and were comfortable with the number taken. Wanting to reduce the number of medications taken was associated with concerns about the amount taken (P<0.001), experiencing side effects (P<0.001), or believing that one or more medications were no longer needed (P<0.000). Those who were using ten or more medications were more likely to want to reduce the number taken (P=0.019). Most (88%) respondents would be willing to stop medication/s in the context of receiving this advice from their doctor. Willingness to consider stopping correlated with higher scores on the critical health literacy subscale (P<0.021) and overall AAHLS score (P<0.009). Those with higher scores on the overall AAHLS measure were more likely to report that they understood why their medications were prescribed (P<0.000) and were more likely to participate in decision-making (P=0.027). Opportunities to proactively consider deprescribing may be missed, as one third of the respondents could not recall a recent review of their medications.
Evaluation of a Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) based breath intervention for patients with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety disorders*
Authors: Hamilton-West Kate , Pellatt-Higgins Tracy , Sharief Farnaaz
Published: June 2019

Aim

Research identifies a need for expanded therapeutic options for people with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety disorders treated within the UK National Health Service (NHS). We aimed to examine potential benefits of a Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) based breath intervention delivered in this context.

Background

SKY is a structured programme derived from yoga in which participants are taught relaxation and stress-management techniques including body postures, breathing exercises and cognitive-behavioural procedures. Previous research has demonstrated benefits for patients with clinical and non-clinical depression and anxiety. However, SKY has not yet been evaluated as a therapeutic option for patients accessing NHS primary care mental health services.

Methods

We evaluated an existing programme available to NHS patients in South East England. The intervention is community-based and delivered via four weekly ‘stress buster sessions’ (1-h duration), one weekend intensive workshop (2.5 days) and four weekly (90 min) follow-up sessions. Analyses were conducted on existing data [measures of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and anxiety (generalised anxiety disorder-7)] collected as part of routine care, at the start of the programme and three follow-up assessments.

Findings

Baseline data were available for 991 participants, of which 557 (56.2%) attended at least three weekly workshops, 216 (21.8%) attended the weekend workshop and 169 (17.1%) completed the programme. Statistically significant (P<0.05) improvements in depression and anxiety were observed in all three outcome assessments. Clinically meaningful change was observed for 74.6% of participants completing the programme. Findings indicate that SKY has the potential to benefit patient outcomes and could be offered more widely as a therapeutic option. We recommend further research to explore patients’ experiences of the programme, determine the number of sessions necessary for improvement/ recovery, define the population most likely to respond and examine potential cost savings (e.g., reductions in antidepressant prescribing/referrals to secondary care).
Against Bot Democracy: The Dangers of Epistemic Double-Counting
Authors: Tanasoca Ana
Published: June 2019

The article focuses on the question of how each of us should deliberate internally when forming judgements. That is a matter of political consequence, insofar as those judgements stand behind our votes. I argue that some violations of epistemic independence like message repetition can, if the receivers are not aware of the repetition, lead them to double-count information they have already taken into account, thus distorting their judgments. One upshot is that each of us should ignore or heavily discount certain sorts of inputs (e.g., bot messages or retweets) that are likely just to be repetition of what we have already taken into account in our internal deliberations. I propose various deliberative norms that may protect our internal deliberations from epistemic double-counting, and argue that opinion leaders have special epistemic duties of care to shield their audiences from clone claims.
Procedural Rationality Review afterAnimal Defenders International: A Constructively Critical Approach
Authors: Popelier Patricia
Published: June 2019

Procedural rationality review – Quality of law-making – Fundamental rights – Relation to margin of appreciation – Guidelines to avoid the use of double standards
Criminal justice profiling and EU data
protection law: precarious protection from
predictive policing
Authors: Lynskey Orla
Published: June 2019

This paper examines the application of the latest
iterations of EU data protection law – in the
General Data Protection Regulation, the Law
Enforcement Directive and the jurisprudence of the
Court of Justice of the EU – to the use of
predictive policing technologies. It suggests that
the protection offered by this legal framework to
those impacted by predictive policing technologies
is, at best, precarious. Whether predictive policing
technologies fall within the scope of the data
protection rules is uncertain, even in light of the
expansive interpretation of these rules by the Court
of Justice of the EU. Such a determination would
require a context-specific assessment that
individuals will be ill-placed to conduct. Moreover,
even should the rules apply, the substantive
protection offered by the prohibition against
automated decision-making can be easily sidestepped
and is subject to significant caveats. Again, this
points to the conclusion that the protection offered
by this framework may be more illusory than real.
This being so, there are some fundamental questions
to be answered – including the question of whether
we should be building predictive policing
technologies at all.
Punitive and preventive justice in an era of profiling, smart prediction and practical preclusion: three key questions
Authors: Beyleveld Deryck , Brownsword Roger
Published: June 2019

In the context of a technology-driven algorithmic approach to criminal justice, this paper responds to the following three questions: (1) what reasons are there for treating liberal values and human rights as guiding for punitive justice; (2) is preventive justice comparable to punitive justice (such that the guiding values of the latter should be applied to the former); and (3) what should we make of preventive measures that rely not so much on rules and orders, but on ‘technological management’ (where the preventive strategy is focused on eliminating practical options)? Responding to the first question, a Gewirthian-inspired theory of punishment is sketched – a theory that is, broadly speaking, supportive of liberal values and respect for human rights. What makes this theory apodictic for any human agent is that it demands respect for the very conditions on which any articulation of agency is predicated. With regard to the second question, we indicate how a Gewirthian view of the relationship between punitive and preventive justice supports the logic of referring to the principles that guide the former as a benchmark for the latter; and we suggest some particular principles of preventive justice where the restrictions are targeted at individual agents (whether in their own right or as members of classes). Finally, we suggest that, although technological management of crime changes the complexion of the regulatory environment in ways that might be a challenge to a Gewirthian moral community, it should not be categorically rejected. Crucially, technological management, like other preventive strategies, needs to be integrated into the community's moral narrative and authorised only to the extent that it is compatible with the governing moral principles.
Das Erleben der Isolationszeit mittels Medienwand in der Akutpsychiatrie
Authors: Durrer Michael , Meinhof Johann
Published: June 2019

Zusammenfassung. In der Thematik der Reizabschirmung gewinnt die Reizregulierung zunehmend an Bedeutung. Der Einsatz einer Medienwand bei Isolationen steht für die Reizregulierung und ist ein Anfang des Genesungswegs.
Basement Fault Reactivation by Fluid Injection Into Sedimentary Reservoirs: Poroelastic Effects
Authors: Fan Zhiqiang , Eichhubl Peter , Newell Pania
Published: June 2019

To investigate mechanisms of seismic fault reactivation in crystalline basement in response to fluid injection in overlying sedimentary reservoirs, we conducted three‐dimensional finite element simulations to assess the effects of direct pore pressure communication and indirect poroelastic stress transfer on the change in Coulomb failure stress of favorably oriented faults of varying permeability structure in normal, strike‐slip, and reverse faulting stress regimes. We demonstrate that the direct pore pressure effect transmitted along a hydraulically conductive fault exceeds the indirect poroelastic effect, but alone is insufficient for fault reactivation in the basement. The poroelastic effect on the Coulomb failure stress results from induced normal tractions and, to a lesser extent, from induced shear tractions that relate to the flexing of the fault as the reservoir expands poroelastically with fluid injection. Assuming a higher Biot coefficient for reservoir over basement rock as previously reported, the combined direct pore pressure and indirect poroelastic effects result in reactivation of hydraulically conductive faults in the basement in normal and strike‐slip faulting stress regimes and in the reservoir in reverse faulting regimes. Sealing normal faults that are not preferentially conductive also preferentially reactivate in the reservoir. These findings apply to injection in either hanging or footwall of normal and reverse faults. Reducing the contrast in Biot coefficient between reservoir and basement favors fault reactivation in the reservoir for injection in the footwall in normal faulting stress regimes. These simulations demonstrate that geomechanical models without coupled poroelasticity underestimate the potential of fault reactivation in crystalline basement.
A Spatially Enhanced Data‐Driven Multimodel to Improve Semiseasonal Groundwater Forecasts in the High Plains Aquifer, USA
Authors: Amaranto A. , Munoz‐Arriola F. , Solomatine D. P. , Corzo G.
Published: June 2019

The aim of this paper is to improve semiseasonal forecast of groundwater availability in response to climate variables, surface water availability, groundwater level variations, and human water management using a two‐step data‐driven modeling approach. First, we implement an ensemble of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the 300 wells across the High Plains aquifer (USA). The modeling framework includes a method to choose the most relevant input variables and time lags; an assessment of the effect of exogenous variables on the predictive capabilities of models; and the estimation of the forecast skill based on the Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) index, the normalized root mean square error, and the coefficient of determination (R2). Then, for the ANNs with low‐ accuracy, a MultiModel Combination (MuMoC) based on a hybrid of ANN and an instance‐based learning method is applied. MuMoC uses forecasts from neighboring wells to improve the accuracy of ANNs. An exhaustive‐search optimization algorithm is employed to select the best neighboring wells based on the cross correlation and predictive accuracy criteria. The results show high average ANN forecasting skills across the aquifer (average NSE > 0.9). Spatially distributed metrics of performance showed also higher error in areas of strong interaction between hydrometeorological forcings, irrigation intensity, and the aquifer. In those areas, the integration of the spatial information into MuMoC leads to an improvement of the model accuracy (NSE increased by 0.12), with peaks higher than 0.3 when the optimization objectives for selecting the neighbors were maximized.tT