bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a cognitive audiovisual translatology
Authors: Kruger Jan-Louis , Soto-Sanfiel María T. , Doherty Stephen , Ibrahim Ronny
Published: September 2016

This chapter presents the findings of a study to investigate the impact of subtitles on the processing of audiovisual texts in terms of levels of self-reported engagement with the text. It also presents a methodology for investigating the neural processing of subtitles using electroencephalography (EEG) and psychometrics. By establishing the beta coherence between prefrontal and posterior regions, we can determine whether the effect of subtitles can be captured through EEG, and how this is related to psychological immersion. We therefore use EEG to investigate the cognitive processing of subtitled film in combination with subjective psychometrics. Initial validation of this methodology shows that adding same language subtitles results in statistically significantly higher levels of immersion and enjoyment, lending support to a view that subtitles facilitate (dis)embodied cognition. We propose these as the first steps towards a cognitive audiovisual translatology.
Cognitive aspects of community interpreting. Toward a process model
Authors: Englund Dimitrova Birgitta , Tiselius Elisabet
Published: September 2016

This article discusses cognitive aspects of professional community interpreting. We give an overview of earlier research into community interpreting, arguing that cognitive aspects have largely been neglected. We propose that in building a model of the mental processes of the community interpreter, different kinds of monitoring are a crucial and pervasive component. Monitoring contributes to and enables the double function of the interpreter: translating and managing the interaction of the interpreted encounter. We furthermore stress the importance of the notion of professional self-concept for explaining the interpreter’s decision-making and exemplify this by analyzing turn-taking in two Swedish-Spanish interpreted encounters.
Language rights in danger
Authors: Hales Liz , Filipović Luna
Published: September 2016

This chapter provides a discussion of communication problems that arise in a multilingual legal context. We analyse witness interview reports and interviews from both the UK and the US in order to assess the difficulties that non-English speakers can face in an English-speaking justice system. The problems encountered indicate the need for the provision of adequate language support and improved professional training that will focus on particularly problematic lexical and grammatical contrasts for translation. We argue that people’s language rights can be endangered as a result of the difficulties we discoverd, even for speakers of a major language (such as Spanish). We conclude that for the purpose of equality in access to justice these problems need to be addressed by both scientific and professional communities involved.
Towards language planning for sign languages
Authors: Jones Jill
Published: September 2016

Sign languages are well researched autochthonous, bio-culturally diverse, visio-­spatial languages, both linguistically and neurologically. They confer identity and form new minorities within complex social systems. The continuity of their ethnolinguistic heritages are endangered as replacement levels fall due to the fact that sign languages are not traditionally considered to be mother tongue languages, since most deaf children are born to hearing parents who do not sign, although theoretically they are. A longstanding international discourse since 1880 when sign language was banned in education was due to the supposed effect sign languages have on spoken language acquisition for deaf children.
This ethos continues to modern day, with few parents of deaf children being informed about sign language or offered instruction, or it being used as a teaching medium for their child. This signifies the linguistic imperialism that stems from ignorance of modern research, and surdism (in which deaf people are normalised to be as hearing as possible). All the countries which have implemented sign language legislation fall short of revitalisation since there is no promotion to all parents of deaf children. This study demonstrates that the resulting extremely low number of new learners means British Sign Language (BSL) can be categorised as a severely endangered language. This paper applies spoken language planning theory and methodology to British Sign Language, taking into account the discrete political environments in the UK and history of spoken language revival. It is a rationale view of BSL, and other sign languages, as requiring immediate intervention, against the backdrop of English (and spoken language generally) being the language of oppression.
Metaphors of an endangered forest people, the Yanomae (N. Brazil)
Authors: Gómez Gale Goodwin
Published: September 2016

Among the Yanomae-speakers of Brazilian Amazonia the close relationship between language, culture and the environment is revealed in the use of metaphor, metonymy, and euphemism in a wide range of words and phrases. For example, euphemistic metonymy demonstrates how not speaking of the dead can provide insights into Yanomami culture as the deceased are referred to by specific items of material culture that identify each individual’s role in traditional Yanomami society. This paper provides abundant examples from field data to demonstrate how the traditional culture and rain forest lifestyle are reflected in images created by the Yanomae language. Deeply rooted in rain forest culture, the language will continue to thrive only as long as Yanomami lands remain protected from outside exploitation.
Language shift and endangerment in urban and rural East Africa
Authors: Gibson Maik , Bagamba B. Araali
Published: September 2016

In this paper we present empirical data on three places in East Africa where language shift is occurring, two urban and one rural. In doing so, we hope that both the similarities and the differences will illuminate some of the underlying factors which influence communal choices about language maintenance and shift. All three case studies are drawn from our own work, and one is part of a larger ongoing project concerning urban language shift in East Africa. Bagamba and Gibson (forthcoming) reports on one other context in the same project, that of the Kisii community in Homa Bay, Kenya.
An acoustic analysis of flaps in American English and Japanese
Authors: Aniya Sosei
Published: September 2016

This paper advances a phonetic analysis of the American English flap together with the American English lateral liquid in contrast to the Japanese flap, thereby revealing similarities and differences among the three sounds. After a brief review of previous studies of the American English flap and the Japanese flap, an acoustic experiment involving the three sounds is provided. The results of the experiment produce three findings which have not been recognized in previous studies: (i) the Japanese flap gets devoiced; (ii) the American English flap is similar to the Japanese flap in occlusion duration and devoicing; (iii) the American English flap and the Japanese flap are dissimilar to the American English lateral liquid, which is longer in duration than the first two, and it rarely gets devoiced.
Proposals in meeting minutes
Authors: Rabadán Rosa
Published: September 2016

This paper provides an analysis of the lexico-grammatical features used in English and Spanish in the rhetorical part pertaining to the proposal step of a particular genre, meeting minutes. The results have been used in the construction of a computerized writing aid designed to assist Spanish writers when writing minutes in English. Corpus-based contrast reveals that minutes share a common rhetorical structure but show differences in the lexico-grammatical choices associated with the various rhetorical parts. Proposals are conveyed both in English and Spanish by means of lexical verbs, deverbal constructions and certain clause types. Cross-linguistic differences are in the choice of tense, mood and voice. The analysis also suggests different degrees of conventionalization of these resources in the two languages. Results form part of a linguistic prototype that includes three main components: rhetorical information in Spanish, grammatical strings in English and bilingual genre/move restricted glossaries.
Discourse connectives across languages
Authors: Zufferey Sandrine
Published: September 2016

Coherence relations linking discourse segments can be communicated explicitly by the use of connectives but also implicitly through juxtaposition. Some discourse relations appear, however, to be more coherent than others when conveyed implicitly. This difference is explained in the literature by the existence of default expectations guiding discourse interpretation. In this paper, we assess the factors influencing implicitation by comparing the number of implicit and explicit translations of three polysemous French connectives in translated texts across three target languages: German, English and Spanish. Each connective can convey two discourse relations: one that can easily be conveyed implicitly and one that cannot be easily conveyed implicitly in monolingual data. Results indicate that relations that can easily be conveyed implicitly are also those that are most often left implicit in translation in all target languages. We discuss these results in view of the cognitive factors influencing the explicit or implicit communication of discourse relations.
Smiling together, laughing together
Authors: Lamb Gavin
Published: September 2016

Recent conversation-analytic research has examined the projective aspects of multimodal interaction within and between turn-sequences (Streeck 2009a) as well as affectivity or emotive involvement in conversational storytelling (Selting 2010). Taking a perspective on face-to-face interaction as sequentially organized, multimodal, and embedded in various semiotic systems, this study examines how the projection of particular affective stances emerges in naturally-­occurring interactional storytelling. Through close analysis of video-­recorded data of a conversation between an American man and a Japanese woman, the chapter aims to shed light on this relatively underexplored area of talk between L1 and L2 speakers by elucidating the “crescendo” or build-up of projective linguistic and paralinguistic resources used in the co-construction of intersubjectivity and “humorous” affect within the activity of storytelling.
Like Godzilla
Authors: Burch Alfred Rue , Kasper Gabriele
Published: September 2016

The chapter examines how a second language speaker of Japanese tells a disaster story to an L1 Japanese-speaking recipient in ordinary conversation. Drawing on Goodwin’s (2013) notions of lamination and substrates, the study shows how the teller and recipient orient to the story as a stance object by selecting, assembling, and recycling different types of multisemiotic resources, including language forms, cultural references, prosody, ideophonic vocalizations, and embodied action such as gaze, facial expression, and gesture. By displaying emotions of different quality and intensity, and doing so with different configurations of semiotic practices, at different sequential moments, the participants show what they understand the current activity within the telling to be.
Emotional stances and interactional competence
Authors: Cekaite Asta
Published: September 2016

This chapter describes a 7-year-old child’s development of interactional competence in Swedish as a second language over a course of 1,5 years. The study documents L2 novices’ methods employed for doing disagreements and refusals by tracking lexico-grammatical and embodied features and the emotional stances displayed thereby. It is argued that emotional stances constitute a significant feature of disagreeing responses by indexing the interlocutors’ emotionally valorized evaluation and alignment towards a specific focus of concern (Dubois 2007). The study combines a CA microanalytic approach with ethnographic analyses of socialization within a classroom community, contributing to a broader understanding of interactional competence as comprising both language-­mediated, and embodied affective stances, assembled, configured and deployed to accomplish social actions in interaction.
The construction of emotion in multilingual computer-mediated interaction
Authors: González-Lloret Marta
Published: September 2016

This chapter investigates the construction of emotion in L1-L2 Spanish in computer-mediated (CM) text interaction. Based on a corpus of text-based conversations between L1 Spanish users and intermediate L2 speakers of Spanish, analysis shows that both groups employ a range of multisemiotic resources to communicate emotion. These resources include emoticons, punctuation, capitalization, explicit emotion words, and code-switching. By giving much-needed attention to emotion in synchronous CM L1 and L2 interaction, this chapter addresses an important research gap and demonstrates how even novice L2 speakers interact as competent users of the language, given the affordances and constraints of the medium of engagement.
Openness: Don Lamberton’s model of scholarship
Authors: Court David
Published: September 2016

Don Lamberton’s research interests were broad. They centred on information and innovation, those elusive drivers of growth and change in the economy, as well as life. Information and innovation require some degree of receptiveness – openness – and Don was always open. His openness permitted me to become his student, as a mid-career practitioner in the film industry. It was, in a sense, his principal teaching. Under his tutelage, I began a reading program that led me a long way from my starting point, and taught me to question views that had seemed settled. Openness, of course, is a fundamental issue in information policy. To what extent should information be proprietary? And when should it be free? These questions were central to my research, which was about copyright and its consequences for authors. The policy tensions in copyright turn exactly on this question of degree of openness. As I studied the question, Don’s example came to matter. I mean the way he personally modelled scholarship: his willingness to listen, his constant sifting, his mode of freely sharing books, data and connections. This was scholarship as openness, and it was persuasive.
Don Lamberton – master academic craftsman: providing the necessary contradiction
Authors: Joseph Richard
Published: September 2016

Don Lamberton’s enthusiasm for the study of information economics has played an influential role in many academic careers. This paper searches for those attributes that distinguish Don Lamberton as an influential academic. Lamberton’s influence was not solely grounded in the ideas that he promoted; it was also evident in the way he practiced his scholarly craft. The idea of the academic as a master craftsman is developed to explore this important yet often neglected aspect of Don Lamberton’s working life. He was a master craftsman who invited and encouraged followers to join with him in a quest to appreciate and understand the role of information in the economy.
Economics of Agricultural Supply Chain Design: A Portfolio Selection Approach
Authors: Du Xiaoxue , Lu Liang , Reardon Thomas , Zilberman David
Published: September 2016

Agrifood firms in a globalizing and competitive market, both in developing and developed countries, often undertake innovations in products and technologies. Innovators such as firms and other agents develop supply chains to accommodate the nature of the innovations. In this article we analyze an innovator's supply chain design problem. The design of the supply chain involves three sets of decisions. The first is how much to produce. The second involves how to undertake production, and how many resources to allocate to the production of feedstock (agricultural products that are inputs for processing), processing, and marketing. The third set involves deciding on the amount of feedstock to be obtained through contracts with farmers. We show that the innovator determines its overall level of production by taking advantage of its monopoly power, derived from the innovation in the output market, and behaves as a monopsony in buying feedstock from contractors. These decisions are constrained by the marginal cost of capital and the properties of production and marketing technologies. When the innovator is risk averse, risks in farm production, processing, and marketing will affect both processed output and the share of feedstock bought through contracts.
AKT: ancestry and kinship toolkit
Authors: Arthur Rudy , Schulz-Trieglaff Ole , Cox Anthony J , O’Connell Jared
Published: September 2016

Motivation

Ancestry and Kinship Toolkit (AKT) is a statistical genetics tool for analysing large cohorts of whole-genome sequenced samples. It can rapidly detect related samples, characterize sample ancestry, calculate correlation between variants, check Mendel consistency and perform data clustering. AKT brings together the functionality of many state-of-the-art methods, with a focus on speed and a unified interface. We believe it will be an invaluable tool for the curation of large WGS datasets.

Availability and Implementation

The source code is available at https://illumina.github.io/akt.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
RiboDiff: detecting changes of mRNA translation efficiency from ribosome footprints
Authors: Zhong Yi , Karaletsos Theofanis , Drewe Philipp , Sreedharan Vipin T , Kuo David , Singh Kamini , Wendel Hans-Guido , Rätsch Gunnar
Published: September 2016

Motivation

Deep sequencing based ribosome footprint profiling can provide novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms of protein translation. However, the observed ribosome profile is fundamentally confounded by transcriptional activity. In order to decipher principles of translation regulation, tools that can reliably detect changes in translation efficiency in case–control studies are needed.

Results

We present a statistical framework and an analysis tool, RiboDiff, to detect genes with changes in translation efficiency across experimental treatments. RiboDiff uses generalized linear models to estimate the over-dispersion of RNA-Seq and ribosome profiling measurements separately, and performs a statistical test for differential translation efficiency using both mRNA abundance and ribosome occupancy.

Availability and Implementation

RiboDiff webpage http://bioweb.me/ribodiff. Source code including scripts for preprocessing the FASTQ data are available at http://github.com/ratschlab/ribodiff.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Seeksv: an accurate tool for somatic structural variation and virus integration detection
Authors: Liang Ying , Qiu Kunlong , Liao Bo , Zhu Wen , Huang Xuanlin , Li Lin , Chen Xiangtao , Li Keqin
Published: September 2016

Motivation

Many forms of variations exist in the human genome including single nucleotide polymorphism, small insert/deletion (DEL) (indel) and structural variation (SV). Somatically acquired SV may regulate the expression of tumor-related genes and result in cell proliferation and uncontrolled growth, eventually inducing tumor formation. Virus integration with host genome sequence is a type of SV that causes the related gene instability and normal cells to transform into tumor cells. Cancer SVs and viral integration sites must be discovered in a genome-wide scale for clarifying the mechanism of tumor occurrence and development.

Results

In this paper, we propose a new tool called seeksv to detect somatic SVs and viral integration events. Seeksv simultaneously uses split read signal, discordant paired-end read signal, read depth signal and the fragment with two ends unmapped. Seeksv can detect DEL, insertion, inversion and inter-chromosome transfer at single-nucleotide resolution. Different types of sequencing data, such as single-end sequencing data or paired-end sequencing data can accommodate to detect SV. Seeksv develops a rescue model for SV with breakpoints located in sequence homology regions. Results on simulated and real data from the 1000 Genomes Project and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma samples show that seeksv has higher efficiency and precision compared with other similar software in detecting SVs. For the discovery of hepatitis B virus integration sites from probe capture data, the verified experiments show that more than 90% viral integration sequences detected by seeksv are true.

Availability and Implementation

seeksv is implemented in C ++ and can be downloaded from https://github.com/qkl871118/seeksv.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Time-lapse joint inversion of geophysical data with automatic joint constraints and dynamic attributes
Authors: Rittgers J.B. , Revil A. , Mooney M.A. , Karaoulis M. , Wodajo L. , Hickey C.J.
Published: September 2016

Joint inversion and time-lapse inversion techniques of geophysical data are often implemented in an attempt to improve imaging of complex subsurface structures and dynamic processes by minimizing negative effects of random and uncorrelated spatial and temporal noise in the data. We focus on the structural cross-gradient (SCG) approach (enforcing recovered models to exhibit similar spatial structures) in combination with time-lapse inversion constraints applied to surface-based electrical resistivity and seismic traveltime refraction data. The combination of both techniques is justified by the underlying petrophysical models. We investigate the benefits and trade-offs of SCG and time-lapse constraints. Using a synthetic case study, we show that a combined joint time-lapse inversion approach provides an overall improvement in final recovered models. Additionally, we introduce a new approach to reweighting SCG constraints based on an iteratively updated normalized ratio of model sensitivity distributions at each time-step. We refer to the new technique as the Automatic Joint Constraints (AJC) approach. The relevance of the new joint time-lapse inversion process is demonstrated on the synthetic example. Then, these approaches are applied to real time-lapse monitoring field data collected during a quarter-scale earthen embankment induced-piping failure test. The use of time-lapse joint inversion is justified by the fact that a change of porosity drives concomitant changes in seismic velocities (through its effect on the bulk and shear moduli) and resistivities (through its influence upon the formation factor). Combined with the definition of attributes (i.e. specific characteristics) of the evolving target associated with piping, our approach allows localizing the position of the preferential flow path associated with internal erosion. This is not the case using other approaches.
Identification and validation of seven new loci showing differential DNA
methylation related to serum lipid profile: an epigenome-wide approach. The REGICOR
study
Authors: Sayols-Baixeras S , Subirana I , Lluis-Ganella C , Civeira F , Roquer J , Do AN , Absher D , Cenarro A , Muñoz D , Soriano-Tárraga C , Jiménez-Conde J , Ordovas J M , Senti M , Aslibekyan S , Marrugat J , Arnett D K , Elosua R
Published: September 2016

Lipid traits (total, low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. DNA methylation is not only an inherited but also modifiable epigenetic mark that has been related to cardiovascular risk factors. Our aim was to identify loci showing differential DNA methylation related to serum lipid levels. Blood DNA methylation was assessed using the Illumina Human Methylation 450 BeadChip. A two-stage epigenome-wide association study was performed, with a discovery sample in the REGICOR study (n = 645) and validation in the Framingham Offspring Study (n = 2,542). Fourteen CpG sites located in nine genes (SREBF1, SREBF2, PHOSPHO1, SYNGAP1, ABCG1, CPT1A, MYLIP, TXNIP and SLC7A11) and 2 intergenic regions showed differential methylation in association with lipid traits. Six of these genes and 1 intergenic region were new discoveries showing differential methylation related to total cholesterol (SREBF2), HDL-cholesterol (PHOSPHO1, SYNGAP1 and an intergenic region in chromosome 2) and triglycerides (MYLIP, TXNIP and SLC7A11). These CpGs explained 0.7%, 9.5% and 18.9% of the variability of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the Framingham Offspring Study, respectively. The expression of the genes SREBF2 and SREBF1 was inversely associated with methylation of their corresponding CpGs (P-value = 0.0042 and 0.0045, respectively) in participants of the GOLDN study (n = 98). In turn, SREBF1 expression was directly associated with HDL cholesterol (P-value = 0.0429). Genetic variants in SREBF1, PHOSPHO1, ABCG1 and CPT1A were also associated with lipid profile. Further research is warranted to functionally validate these new loci and assess the causality of new and established associations between these differentially methylated loci and lipid metabolism.
Surrogate-assisted feature extraction for high-throughput phenotyping
Authors: Yu Sheng , Chakrabortty Abhishek , Liao Katherine P , Cai Tianrun , Ananthakrishnan Ashwin N , Gainer Vivian S , Churchill Susanne E , Szolovits Peter , Murphy Shawn N , Kohane Isaac S , Cai Tianxi
Published: September 2016

Objective: Phenotyping algorithms are capable of accurately identifying patients with specific phenotypes from within electronic medical records systems. However, developing phenotyping algorithms in a scalable way remains a challenge due to the extensive human resources required. This paper introduces a high-throughput unsupervised feature selection method, which improves the robustness and scalability of electronic medical record phenotyping without compromising its accuracy.

Methods: The proposed Surrogate-Assisted Feature Extraction (SAFE) method selects candidate features from a pool of comprehensive medical concepts found in publicly available knowledge sources. The target phenotype’s International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision and natural language processing counts, acting as noisy surrogates to the gold-standard labels, are used to create silver-standard labels. Candidate features highly predictive of the silver-standard labels are selected as the final features.

Results: Algorithms were trained to identify patients with coronary artery disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis using various numbers of labels to compare the performance of features selected by SAFE, a previously published automated feature extraction for phenotyping procedure, and domain experts. The out-of-sample area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and F-score from SAFE algorithms were remarkably higher than those from the other two, especially at small label sizes.

Conclusion: SAFE advances high-throughput phenotyping methods by automatically selecting a succinct set of informative features for algorithm training, which in turn reduces overfitting and the needed number of gold-standard labels. SAFE also potentially identifies important features missed by automated feature extraction for phenotyping or experts.
Effect of Inhibition or Deletion of Neutral Endopeptidase on Neuropathic Endpoints in High Fat Fed/Low Dose Streptozotocin-Treated Mice
Authors: Yorek Matthew S. , Obrosov Alexander , Lu Bao , Gerard Craig , Kardon Randy H. , Yorek Mark A.
Published: September 2016

Previously we demonstrated that a vasopeptidase inhibitor of angiotensin converting enzyme and neutral endopeptidase (NEP), a protease that degrades vaso- and neuro-active peptides, improves neural function in diabetic rodent models. The purpose of this study was to determine whether inhibition or deletion of NEP provides protection from neuropathy caused by diabetes with an emphasis on morphology of corneal nerves as a primary endpoint. Diabetes, modeling type 2, was induced in C57Bl/6J and NEP deficient mice through a combination of a high fat diet and streptozotocin. To inhibit NEP activity, diabetic C57Bl/6J mice were treated with candoxatril using a prevention or intervention protocol. Twelve weeks after the induction of diabetes in C57Bl/6J mice, the existence of diabetic neuropathy was determined through multiple endpoints including decrease in corneal nerves in the epithelium and sub-epithelium layer. Treatment of diabetic C57Bl/6J mice with candoxatril improved diabetic peripheral neuropathy and protected corneal nerve morphology with the prevention protocol being more efficacious than intervention. Unlike C57Bl/6J, mice deficient in NEP were protected from the development of neuropathologic alterations and loss of corneal nerves upon induction of diabetes. These studies suggest that NEP contributes to the development of diabetic neuropathy and may be a treatable target.
ALMA observations of the supergiant B[e] star Wd1-9
Authors: Fenech D. M. , Clark J. S. , Prinja R. K. , Morford J. C. , Dougherty S. , Blomme R.
Published: September 2016

Mass-loss in massive stars plays a critical role in their evolution, although the precise mechanism(s) responsible – radiatively driven winds, impulsive ejection and/or binary interaction – remain uncertain. In this Letter, we present Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimeter Array line and continuum observations of the supergiant B[e] star Wd1-9, a massive post-main-sequence object located within the starburst cluster Westerlund 1 (Wd1). We find it to be one of the brightest stellar point sources in the sky at millimetre wavelengths, with (serendipitously identified) emission in the H41α radio recombination line. We attribute these properties to a low velocity (∼100 km s−1 ) ionized wind, with an extreme mass-loss rate ≳6.4 × 10−5(d/5 kpc)1.5 M⊙yr− 1. External to this is an extended aspherical ejection nebula indicative of a prior phase of significant mass-loss. Taken together, the millimetre properties of Wd1-9 show a remarkable similarity to those of the highly luminous stellar source MWC349A. We conclude that these objects are interacting binaries evolving away from the main sequence and undergoing rapid case-A mass transfer. As such they – and by extension the wider class of supergiant B[e] stars – may provide a unique window into the physics of a process that shapes the life-cycle of ∼70 per cent of massive stars found in binary systems.
The origin of the eccentricity of the hot Jupiter in CI Tau
Authors: Rosotti G. P. , Booth R. A. , Clarke C. J. , Teyssandier J. , Facchini S. , Mustill A. J.
Published: September 2016

Following the recent discovery of the first radial velocity planet in a star still possessing a protoplanetary disc (CI Tau), we examine the origin of the planet's eccentricity (e ∼0.3). We show through long time-scale (105 orbits) simulations that the planetary eccentricity can be pumped by the disc, even when its local surface density is well below the threshold previously derived from short time-scale integrations. We show that the disc may be able to excite the planet's orbital eccentricity in <1 Myr for the system parameters of CI Tau. We also perform two-planet scattering experiments and show that alternatively the observed planet may plausibly have acquired its eccentricity through dynamical scattering of a migrating lower mass planet, which has either been ejected from the system or swallowed by the central star. In the latter case the present location and eccentricity of the observed planet can be recovered if it was previously stalled within the disc's magnetospheric cavity.
On the selection of damped Lyman α systems using Mg ii absorption at 2 < zabs < 4
Authors: Berg T. A. M. , Ellison S. L. , Prochaska J. X. , Sánchez-Ramírez R. , Lopez S. , D'Odorico V. , Becker G. , Christensen L. , Cupani G. , Denney K. , Worseck G.
Published: September 2016

The XQ-100 survey provides optical and near-infrared coverage of 36 blindly selected, intervening damped Lyman α systems (DLAs) at 2 < zabs < 4, simultaneously covering the Mg ii doublet at λλ2796, 2803Å, and the Ly α transition. Using the XQ-100 DLA sample, we investigate the completeness of selecting DLA absorbers based on their Mg ii rest-frame equivalent width ($W_{0}^{2796}$) at these redshifts. Of the 29 DLAs with clean Mg ii profiles, we find that six (20 per cent of DLAs) have $W_{0}^{2796}$ < 0.6 Å. The DLA incidence rate of $W_{0}^{2796}$ < 0.6 Å absorbers is a factor of ∼5 higher than what is seen in z ∼ 1 samples, indicating a potential evolution in the Mg ii properties of DLAs with redshift. All of the $W_{0}^{2796}$ < 0.6 Å DLAs have low metallicities (−2.5 < [M/H] < −1.7), small velocity widths (v90 < 50 km s−1), and tend to have relatively low N(H i). We demonstrate that the exclusion of these low $W_{0}^{2796}$ DLAs results in a higher mean N(H i) which in turn leads to an ∼7 per cent increase in the cosmological gas density of H i of DLAs at 2 < zabs < 4; and that this exclusion has a minimal effect on the H i-weighted mean metallicity.
A photoevaporative gap in the closest planet-forming disc
Authors: Ercolano Barbara , Rosotti Giovanni P. , Picogna Giovanni , Testi Leonardo
Published: September 2016

The dispersal of the circum-stellar discs of dust and gas surrounding young low-mass stars has important implications for the formation of planetary systems. Photoevaporation from energetic radiation from the central object is thought to drive the dispersal in the majority of discs, by creating a gap which disconnects the outer from the inner regions of the disc and then disperses the outer disc from the inside-out, while the inner disc keeps draining viscously on to the star. In this Letter, we show that the disc around TW Hya, the closest protoplanetary disc to Earth, may be the first object where a photoevaporative gap has been imaged around the time at which it is being created. Indeed, the detected gap in the Atacama large millimeter/submillimeter array images is consistent with the expectations of X-ray photoevaporation models, thus not requiring the presence of a planet. The photoevaporation model is also consistent with a broad range of properties of the TW Hya system, e.g. accretion rate and the location of the gap at the onset of dispersal. We show that the central, unresolved 870 μm continuum source might be produced by free–free emission from the gas and/or residual dust inside the gap.
Parliament and the War Prerogative in the United Kingdom and Canada: Explaining Variations in Institutional Change and Legislative Control
Authors: Lagassé Philippe
Published: September 2016

The British and Canadian Parliaments have no legal control over military deployment decisions. Recently, however, governments in both countries have held votes in the House of Commons on expeditionary missions involving combat. In the United Kingdom, this has led to a convention of legislative control of the executive’s prerogative to deploy the armed forces. In Canada, the votes have benefited and enabled the executive, rather than strengthening legislative control. Using Mahoney and Thelen’s (2010) theory of gradual institutional change, this article analyses how and why war prerogative reforms in the United Kingdom and Canada have resulted in different outcomes.
Pediatric Injuries at an Annual Motocross Competition: Rates and Severity
Authors: Williams Brendan A. , McFadden James P. , Teurlings Tyler L. , Blakemore Laurel C.
Published: September 2016

Purpose:

Pediatric motocross injuries occur frequently and with significant associated morbidity; however, data are limited regarding injury occurring during competition. North Central Florida hosts an annual motocross competition with numerous pediatric competitors. We sought to evaluate the rate and severity of injuries sustained at this event over a multiyear period. Our primary hypothesis was that motocross injury rates and severity in competition exceed that of other competitive sports in this age group.

Methods:

A retrospective review was performed to identify pediatric patients (17 and younger) presenting to a single Level 1 Trauma Center as a result of injury sustained at an annual motocross competition from 2009 to 2012. Demographic, diagnostic, and treatment data were collected including injuries, procedural interventions, and length of hospital stay. Rate, type, and severity of injury were evaluated and compared with established norms of other competitive sports in a similar age group.

Results:

Over a 4-year period, 51 pediatric motocross competitors sustained 75 injuries. Injured riders were 14.2±2.51 years (range, 8 to 17 y) old and 92% (47/51) male. Forty (78%) patients sustained at least 1 orthopaedic injury and 17 (33%) patients suffered polytrauma. The majority of injuries occurred in the upper extremity (36%). Twenty-four (47%) patients required procedural intervention, 15 of which were operative. Thirty-nine (76%) patients necessitated surgical specialty care. Average injury severity score was 6.5 (1 to 75) and 1 death occurred. The injury rate for pediatric motocross riders in this study was 19.9 injuries per 1000 competitors.

Conclusions:

High rates of injury occur among pediatric patients in competitive motocross, exceeding those seen in other competitive sports in a comparable age group. Significant morbidity and at least 1 fatality were demonstrated in the group studied. The majority of patients suffer at least 1 orthopaedic injury and nearly all patients require pediatric surgical specialist care. Polytrauma is common. Motocross participants and parents should be aware of these risks of competition and event organizers should arrange events near facilities with appropriate pediatric surgical specialty services.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV—case series.
Walking Out of the Curve: Thoracolumbar Kyphosis in Achondroplasia
Authors: Margalit Adam , McKean Greg , Lawing Cheryl , Galey Scott , Ain Michael C.
Published: September 2016

Background:

Thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK) is common in infants with achondroplasia. Our goals were to examine the natural history of TLK and identify factors associated with persistent TLK.

Methods:

We reviewed records of patients with achondroplasia seen by a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon at a tertiary care medical center between 1997 and 2013. Inclusion criteria were minimum 2-year follow-up and radiographs taken at time of presentation, within 6 months of walking age, and within 6 months of the first anniversary of walking age. We defined TLK as kyphosis of ≥20 degrees centered at T12 and L1. We assessed patient demographic characteristics, radiographic parameters (Cobb angle, apical vertebral translation, and apical vertebral wedging for vertebral height and width), and clinical parameters (developmental motor delay, hydrocephalus, presence of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, and foramen magnum decompression). Developmental motor delay was defined as the inability to sit or ambulate independently by age 14 or 30 months, respectively. Associations between these factors and persistent TLK (ie, unresolved at final follow-up) were evaluated using logistic regression and χ2, Fisher exact, and independent t tests. Significance was set at P<0.05.

Results:

A total of 60 patients were included. Mean values were as follows: age at presentation, 10.9±7.0 months; length of follow-up, 5.7±3.6 years; initial curve, 43.8±11.0 degrees; independent sitting age, 12.6±5.5 months; and independent walking age, 21.1±7.8 months. At walking age and 1 year after walking age, 15% and 58% of patients, respectively, had spontaneous TLK resolution. In total, 30% of patients had persistent TLK at final follow-up. Apical vertebral translation (P=0.001), percentage of apical vertebral wedging for vertebral height (P=0.031), and developmental motor delay (P=0.043) were associated with unresolved TLK.

Conclusions:

In patients with achondroplasia, TLK resolved at walking age in 15% of patients and after a year of walking in 58% of patients. Earlier bracing may slow TLK progression in patients with achondroplasia and developmental motor delay. Patients with kyphotic curves between 20 and 40 degrees should be examined intermittently for progressive deformity or worsening symptoms of spinal cord compression.

Level of Evidence:

Level II.
Nonoperative Treatment of Type IIA Supracondylar Humerus Fractures: Comparing 2 Modalities
Authors: Roberts Lauren , Strelzow Jason , Schaeffer Emily K. , Reilly Christopher W. , Mulpuri Kishore
Published: September 2016

Background:

Although the recommended treatment for Gartland types I and III supracondylar humeral fractures is well-established, the optimal treatment for type II fractures without rotational malalignment remains controversial, involving circumferential casting or closed reduction and pinning. Our institution uses pronated flexion-taping for Gartland type IIA fractures. This theoretically removes external pressure secondary to circumferential casting, potentially decreasing risks of compartment syndrome and mitigating loss of reduction with extension while maintaining optimal flexion position for reduction. To our knowledge, these modalities have not yet been compared.

Methods:

A retrospective chart review was performed to compare flexion-taping with cuff-and-collar immobilization versus traditional above-elbow casting at 90 to 100 degrees. It was hypothesized that closed reduction and flexion-taping of type IIA supracondylar fractures under sedation in the emergency department would result in comparable, if not superior, maintenance of reduction measured radiographically using Baumann angle and the lateral humeral capitellar angle (LHCA). Charts from 2010 to 2015 were reviewed for all patients between 2 and 8 years of age with type IIA fractures treated with cast or taping.

Results:

A total of 39 patients were included with 16 in the cast group and 23 in the tape group. Mean age was 4.08±1.72 years across both groups. No significant change in either measure was seen at termination of immobilization (3 to 4 wk postreduction). Final lateral humeral capitellar angle in the taping group was 32.14±5.90 degrees compared with 28.23±7.27 degrees in the casting group (P=0.81). Final Baumann angle was 73.41±4.03 degrees in the taping group compared with 73.75±6.46 degrees (P=0.96). The only complication was a self-limiting rash experienced by 1 patient in the taping group.

Conclusions:

Both techniques were able to achieve and maintain adequate reduction in all cases with no significant difference in outcome measures. There were no major complications or conversions to surgical treatment. In this cohort, taping resulted in adequate reduction and safe immobilization for type IIA fractures comparable to cast immobilization. Further research will investigate clinical/radiographic outcomes on these patients to assess remodeling and function.

Level of Evidence:

Level III—retrospective comparative study.
Effect of RBC Transfusion on Sublingual Microcirculation in Hemorrhagic Shock Patients: A Pilot Study
Authors: Tanaka Sebastien , Escudier Etienne , Hamada Sophie , Harrois Anatole , Leblanc Pierre Etienne , Vicaut Eric , Duranteau Jacques
Published: September 2016

Objectives:

The effects of RBC transfusion on microvascular perfusion are not well documented. We investigated the effect of RBC transfusion on sublingual microcirculation in hemorrhagic shock patients.

Design:

Prospective, preliminary observational study.

Settings:

A 28-bed, surgical ICU in a university hospital.

Patients:

Fifteen hemorrhagic shock patients requiring RBC transfusion.

Intervention:

Transfusion of one unit of RBCs.

Measurements and Main Results:

The sublingual microcirculation was assessed with a Sidestream Dark Field imaging device before and after RBC transfusion. After transfusion of one unit of RBC, hemoglobin concentration increased from 8.5 g/dL (7.6–9.5 g/dL) to 9.6 g/dL (9.1–10.3 g/dL) g/dL (p = 0.02) but no effect on macrocirculatory parameters (arterial pressure, cardiac index, heart rate, and pulse pressure variations) was observed. Transfusion of RBC significantly increased microcirculatory flow index (from 2.3 [1.6–2.5] to 2.7 [2.6–2.9]; p < 0.003), the proportion of perfused vessels (from 79% [57–88%] to 92% [88–97%]; p < 0.004), and the functional capillary density (from 21 [19–22] to 24 [22–26] mm/mm2; p = 0.003). Transfusion of RBC significantly decreased the flow heterogeneity index (from 0.51 [0.34–0.62] to 0.16 [0.04–0.29]; p < 0.001). No correlations were observed between other macrovascular parameters and microvascular changes after transfusion. The change in microvascular perfusion after transfusion correlated negatively with baseline microvascular perfusion.

Conclusions:

RBC transfusion improves sublingual microcirculation independently of macrocirculation and the hemoglobin level in hemorrhagic shock patients. The change in microvascular perfusion after transfusion correlated negatively with baseline microvascular perfusion. Evaluation of microcirculation perfusion is critical for optimization of microvascular perfusion and to define which patients can benefit from RBC transfusion during cardiovascular resuscitation.
Patient-reported Urinary, Bowel, and Sexual Function After Hypofractionated Intensity-modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Authors: Hoffman Karen E. , Skinner Heath , Pugh Thomas J. , Voong Khinh R. , Levy Lawrence B. , Choi Seungtaek , Frank Steven J. , Lee Andrew K. , Mahmood Usama , McGuire Sean E. , Schlembach Pamela J. , Du Weiliang , Johnson Jennifer , Kudchadker Rajat J. , Kuban Deborah A.
Published: September 2016

Objectives:

Hypofractionated prostate radiotherapy may increase biologically effective dose delivered while shortening treatment duration, but information on patient-reported urinary, bowel, and sexual function after dose-escalated hypofractionated radiotherapy is limited. We report patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from a randomized trial comparing hypofractionated and conventional prostate radiotherapy.

Methods:

Men with localized prostate cancer were enrolled in a trial that randomized men to either conventionally fractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (CIMRT, 75.6 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions) or to dose-escalated hypofractionated IMRT (HIMRT, 72 Gy in 2.4 Gy fractions). Questionnaires assessing urinary, bowel, and sexual function were completed pretreatment and at 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after treatment.

Results:

Of 203 eligible patients, 185 were evaluable for PROs. A total of 173 completed the pretreatment questionnaire (82 CIMRT, 91 HIMRT) and 102 completed the 2-year questionnaire (46 CIMRT, 56 HIMRT). Patients who completed PROs were similar to those who did not complete PROs (all P>0.05). Patient characteristics, clinical characteristics, and baseline symptoms were well balanced between the treatment arms (all P>0.05). There was no difference in patient-reported bowel (urgency, control, frequency, or blood per rectum), urinary (dysuria, hematuria, nocturia, leakage), or sexual symptoms (erections firm enough for intercourse) between treatment arms at 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after treatment (all P>0.01). Concordance between physician-assessed toxicity and PROs varied across urinary and bowel domains.

Discussion:

We did not detect an increase in patient-reported urinary, bowel, and sexual symptom burden after dose-escalated intensity-modulated prostate radiation therapy using a moderate hypofractionation regimen (72 Gy in 2.4 Gy fractions) compared with conventionally fractionated radiation.