bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sustaining cerebral perfusion in intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis: The roles of antegrade residual flow and leptomeningeal collateral flow
Authors: Lan Linfang , Leng Xinyi , Ip Vincent , Soo Yannie , Abrigo Jill , Liu Haipeng , Fan Florence , Ma Sze Ho , Ma Karen , Ip Bonaventure YM , Chan Ka Lung , Mok Vincent CT , Liebeskind David S , Wong Ka Sing , Leung Thomas W
Published: October 2018

We aimed to investigate the roles of antegrade residual flow and leptomeningeal collateral flow in sustaining cerebral perfusion distal to an intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS). Patients with apparently normal cerebral perfusion distal to a symptomatic middle cerebral artery (MCA)-M1 stenosis were enrolled. Computational fluid dynamics models were built based on CT angiography to obtain a translesional pressure ratio (PR) to gauge the residual antegrade flow. Leptomeningeal collaterals (LMCs) were scaled on CT angiography. Cerebral perfusion metrics were obtained in CT perfusion maps. Among 83 patients, linear regression analyses revealed that both translesional PR and LMC scale were independently associated with relative ipsilesional mean transit time (rMTT). Subgroup analyses showed that ipsilesional rMTT was significantly associated with translesional PR ( p < 0.001) rather than LMC scale in those with a moderate (50–69%) MCA stenosis, which, however, was only significantly associated with LMC scale ( p = 0.051) in those with a severe (70–99%) stenosis. Antegrade residual flow and leptomeningeal collateral flow have complementary effects in sustaining cerebral perfusion distal to an ICAS, while cerebral perfusion may rely more on the collateral circulation in those with a severe stenosis.
An Investigation of Bullying and Imagined Interactions
Authors: Krawietz Colton E. , Honeycutt James
Published: October 2018

The present study examines the usage of imagined interactions (IIs) among bullying perpetrators and those who are bullied. In reviewing the literature on IIs, an earlier study investigated the motivations by aggressive teasers for using IIs. This study laid the foundation for the present study. We were interested in the similarities and differences between aggressive teasers usage of IIs and the usage of IIs for bullying. Based on a survey of 319 participants, we found that bullying was predicted by the II attributes of retroactivity and positive valence. The regression analysis revealed a positive association between being bullied and the II attribute of retroactivity and the function of conflict-linkage. The findings and implications of these results are discussed in terms of rumination.
Māori Men’s Experiences of Rehabilitation in the Moana House Therapeutic Community in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Qualitative Enquiry
Authors: Ashdown Jacob D. , Treharne Gareth J. , Neha Tia , Dixon Brian , Aitken Claire
Published: October 2018

In Aotearoa/New Zealand, culturally embedded rehabilitation programmes have been developed to reduce criminal offending among the indigenous Māori population. Currently, there is a lack of research investigating the experiences of these programmes from clients’ perspectives. This study aimed to enhance understandings of the lived experiences of Māori men who were participating in a residential therapeutic community (TC) programme in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Semistructured interviews were conducted one-on-one by a psychology master’s student who was a staff member at the TC and also of Māori descent. Seven Māori TC residents aged 22 to 48 were interviewed about life in a TC. Thematic analysis of the interview data yielded three themes: (a) “The importance of healing family relationships”; (b) “The relevance of Māori culture in rehabilitation”; (c) “Increased self-awareness.” The findings highlight the significance of holistic approaches that emphasize culturally relevant approaches and the involvement of family members in the treatment of substance-use disorders and offending behaviour among indigenous populations.
Individual, Community, and Social Network Influences on Beliefs Concerning the Acceptability of Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Senegal
Authors: Sandberg John F. , Delaunay Valerie , Boujija Yacine , Douillot Laetitia , Bignami Simona , Rytina Steven , Sokhna Cheikh
Published: October 2018

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pressing international public health and human rights concern. Recent scholarship concerning causes of IPV has focused on the potentially critical influence of social learning and influence in interpersonal interaction through social norms. Using sociocentric network data from all individuals aged 16 years and above in a rural Senegalese village surveyed as part of the Niakhar Social Networks and Health Project ( n = 1,274), we estimate a series of nested linear probability models to test the association between characteristics of respondents’ social networks and residential compounds (including educational attainment, health ideation, socioeconomic status, and religion) and whether respondents are classified as finding IPV acceptable, controlling for individual characteristics. We also test for direct social learning effects, estimating the association between IPV acceptability among network members and co-residents and respondents’ own, net of these factors. We find individual, social network, and residential compound factors are all associated with IPV acceptability. On the individual level, these include gender, traditional health ideation, and household agricultural investment. Residential compound-level associations are largely explained in the presence of the individual and network characteristics, except for that concerning educational attainment. We find that network alters’ IPV acceptability is strongly positively associated with respondents’ own, net of individual and compound-level characteristics. A 10% point higher probability of IPV acceptability in respondents’ networks is estimated to be associated with a 4.5% point higher likelihood of respondents being classified as finding IPV acceptable. This research provides compelling evidence that social interaction through networks exerts an important, potentially normative, influence on whether individuals in this population perceive IPV as acceptable or not. It also suggests that interventions targeting individuals most likely to perceive IPV as acceptable may have a multiplier effect, influencing the normative context of others they interact with through their social networks.
Impact of social factors and sexual behaviors on the knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among women who have sex with women/women who have sex with women and men
Authors: Kowalczyk Robert , Nowosielski Krzysztof
Published: October 2018

Although heterosexual individuals’ knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has been examined, no studies have been conducted in Poland of the STI knowledge in women who have sex with women (WSW) and women who have sex with women and men (WSWM). We enrolled a group of 146 WSW and 113 WSWM and asked them to complete a study questionnaire that contained items about socioeconomic factors, sexual behaviors, and STI knowledge. The level of STI knowledge among the studied WSW was insufficient. The frequency of correct answers was higher in WSWM. A multivariate regression model revealed that only the higher importance of sex to the respondents ( F(1) = 4.31, p = 0.04) and a higher number of same-sex sexual partners within the last 12 months ( F(1) = 14.86, p = 0.0001) influenced the level of STI knowledge. The results of the study allowed us to conclude that WSW have insufficient STI knowledge, whereas WSWM have better knowledge, and this is influenced by awareness that STI risk is not associated with the partner’s gender, age, importance of sex, sexual behaviors, and openness to discussing STIs with a sexual partner.
Polyphonic Legality: Power of Attorney Through Dialogic Interaction
Authors: Harding Rosie , Peel Elizabeth
Published: October 2018

Building on Bakhtin’s work on discourse, this article uses the concept of polyphony to explore capacity law praxis. Drawing on everyday interaction about power of attorney, we demonstrate how legal, lay and medical understandings of capacity operate dialogically, with each voice offering distinct expressions of legality. Analysing lay and medical interactions about Lasting Power of Attorney – the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of a person who loses the mental capacity to make their own decisions – we argue power of attorney holds a ‘polyphonic legality’. We argue that legal concepts (like power of attorney) are constructed not solely through official law but through dialogic interaction in their discursive fields. We suggest ‘polyphonic legality’ offers an innovative approach to understanding how law works in everyday life, which is attentive to the rich texture of legality created by and through the multiple voices and domains of socio-legal regulation.
Biomarker Profiling of Neurovascular Diseases in Patients with Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Lee Justin , Bontekoe Jack , Trac Brandon , Bansal Vinod , Biller José , Hoppensteadt Debra , Maia Paula , Walborn Amanda , Fareed Jawed
Published: October 2018

Patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD5D) have a higher risk of developing neurocognitive deficits. Stroke, cervical carotid artery disease (CCAD), and intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) are causes of such deficits in CKD5D. Chronic inflammation from renal failure elevates risk for these diseases through oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction. The adverse impact on the carotid and intracranial vasculatures contributes to the multifactorial pathophysiology of stroke. Eleven plasma biomarker levels in patients with CKD5D (n = 97) and healthy controls (n = 17-50) were measured using sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Of the 97 patients with CKD5D, 24 had CCAD, 19 had ICAD, and 23 had acute stroke. Elevations in NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NALP3) levels in patients with CKD5D (+)CCAD (1.80 ± 0.11 ng/mL) compared to patients with (−)CCAD (1.55 ± 0.08 ng/mL) were statistically significant ( P = .0299). Differences in D-dimer levels were also found to be statistically significant ( P = .0258) between CKD5D (+)stroke (1.83 ± 0.42 μg/mL) and (−)stroke (0.89 ± 0.13 μg/mL) groups. The ages of the (+) neurovascular disease groups were found to be significantly elevated compared to the (−) neurovascular disease groups ( P = .0002 carotid AD; P < .0001 ICAD; P = .0157 stroke). D-dimer levels were positively correlated with age in CKD5D ( P = .0375). With the possible exception of NALP3 for CCAD, profiling levels of specific biomarkers for risk stratification of neurovascular diseases in the CKD5D population warrants further investigation.
A 20-year follow-up evaluation of total hip arthroplasty in patients younger than 50 using a custom cementless stem
Authors: Dessyn Edouard , Flecher Xavier , Parratte Sebastien , Ollivier Matthieu , Argenson Jean-Noël
Published: October 2018

Aim:

The purpose of this study is to report the 20-year follow-up of a continuous series of 232 total hip arthroplasties (THAs) performed in patients aged less than 50 at the index surgery.

Patients and methods:

This is a retrospective monocentric study which reports the clinical, radiographical and survival results of 232 THAs performed with a custom cementless femoral stem in 212 patients evaluated at follow-up ranging from 14 to 27 years.

Results:

At the time of follow-up, the mean Harris Hip Score was 94.1 (range 48–100). The Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score was >80 points in all 5 categories for 146 patients (68.9%). 18 hips (8.5%) showed radiographical femoral abnormalities. 23 hips (10.8%) underwent revision of the implants. 13 were isolated cup revisions. 3 more hips had bipolar revisions for aseptic loosening at 15, 20 and 21 years. Taking stem revision for aseptic loosening as an endpoint, survivorship was 96.8% at 20 years (95% confidence interval, 95.1–98.5; patients at risk 76) and 94.5% at 25 years (91.7–97.3; patients at risk 12).

Conclusions:

The results of this study confirm that THA using this custom-designed stem can provide excellent clinical and radiographical outcomes at a mean follow-up of 20 years in patients younger than 50. The individual 3D femoral stem and prosthetic neck has been able to restore extra- and intramedullary functional anatomy in this young and active cohort of patients.
Coming to terms: Race, class and intimacy in Australian public culture
Authors: Kean Jessica
Published: October 2018

In queer theory ‘heteronormativity’ has become a central tool for understanding the social conditions of our sexual and intimate lives. The term is most often used to shed light on how those lives are patterned in a way that shapes and privileges binary genders and heterosexual identities, lifestyles and practices. Frequently, however, ‘heteronormativity’ is stretched beyond its capacity when called upon to explain other normative patterns of intimacy. Drawing on Cathy Cohen’s (1997) ground breaking essay ‘Punks, bulldaggers and welfare queens: The radical potential of queer?’, this article argues that analysing the political landscape of our intimate lives in terms of heteronormativity alone fails to adequately account for the way some familial and sexual cultures are stigmatised along class and race lines. This article gestures towards examples of those whose intimacies are unquestionably marginalised and yet non-queer, or at least not-necessarily-queer, placing Cohen’s ‘welfare queens’ alongside examples from contemporary Australia public culture to argue for the critical efficacy of the concept ‘mononormativity’ for intersectional analysis.
Participation frameworks and socio-discursive competence in young children: The role of multimodal strategies
Authors: Cobelas Cartagena María Ángeles , Prego-Vázquez Gabriela
Published: October 2018

This article explores the socio-discursive competence of young children in Galician pre-schools. In particular, it deals with the way in which children – aged from 2;10 to 4;05 years – combine embodied actions and verbal resources to co-narrate stories with peers and adults. Using an audiovisual corpus of naturally occurring interactions, we have conducted a qualitative and multimodal analysis, observing how children react to diverse footings and negotiate participation frameworks in multiparty interactions. The findings suggest three progressive stages in the development of socio-discursive competence in which children use different strategies: (a) the stage of interactive proto-narrations, (b) the stage of collaborative narrations and (c) the stage of polyphonic monologue narrations. Our detailed examination reveals (a) a progressive increase in the diversity of the participation frameworks represented by children, as well as in the complexity of the multimodal resources they use, and (b) a rise in children’s grammatical repertoire linked to an improvement in children’s (meta)pragmatic skills.
Beyond personal reform: Adolescent drug-law offenders and the desistance process
Authors: Sandøy Thomas Anton
Published: October 2018

While much research on desistance addresses processes of change for repeat offenders during and after imprisonment, this article applies insights from desistance studies to novice offenders outside the traditional justice system. In Norway, increasing numbers of adolescent drug-law offenders have been diverted to alternative justice systems over the last decade. Based on in-depth interviews with youth enrolled in programmes to help them refrain from drug use, the article seeks to identify how the early-stage desistance process is understood by would-be desisters. Rather than ascribing the rehabilitative programmes’ direct impact on their behaviour and thinking, the adolescents emphasised the importance of restoring relationships with parents and overcoming legal barriers. Accordingly, the analysis shows how concerns with personal reform were outweighed by (i) social and (ii) legal concerns. While the precedence of external concerns over personal reform may reflect the participants’ age and level of criminal involvement, it also reflects a particular culture of intervention.
Intact monoclonal antibodies separation and analysis by sheathless capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry
Authors: Giorgetti Jérémie , Lechner Antony , Del Nero Elise , Beck Alain , François Yannis-Nicolas , Leize-Wagner Emmanuelle
Published: October 2018

Capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry coupling is a growing technique in biopharmaceutics characterization. Assessment of monoclonal antibodies is well known at middle-up and bottom-up levels to obtain information about the sequence, post-translational modifications and degradation products. Intact protein analysis is an actual challenge to be closer to the real protein structure. At this level, actual techniques are time consuming or cumbersome processes. In this work, a 20 minutes separation method has been developed to optimize characterization of intact monoclonal antibodies. Thus, separation has been done on a positively charged coated capillary with optimized volatile background electrolyte and sample buffer. Three world-wide health authorities approved monoclonal antibodies have been used to set up a rapid and ease of use method. Intact trastuzumab, rituximab and palivizumab isoforms have been partially separated with this method in less than 20 minutes under denaturing conditions. For each monoclonal antibody, 2X-glycosylated and 1X-glycosylated structures have been identified and separated. Concerning basic and acidic variants, potential aspartic acid isomerization modification and asparagine deamidation have been observed. Accurate mass determination for high-mass molecular species remains a challenge, but the progress in intact monoclonal antibodies separation appears very promising for biopharmaceutics characterization.
The efficacy of league formats in ranking teams
Authors: Lasek Jan , Gagolewski Marek
Published: October 2018

The efficacy of different league formats in ranking teams according to their true latent strength is analysed. To this end, a new approach for estimating attacking and defensive strengths based on the Poisson regression for modelling match outcomes is proposed. Various performance metrics are estimated reflecting the agreement between latent teams’ strength parameters and their final rank in the league table. The tournament designs studied here are used in the majority of European top-tier association football competitions. Based on numerical experiments, it turns out that a two-stage league format comprising of the three round-robin tournament together with an extra single round-robin is the most efficacious setting. In particular, it is the most accurate in selecting the best team as the winner of the league. Its efficacy can be enhanced by setting the number of points allocated for a win to two (instead of three that is currently in effect in association football).
Dynamic constitutive relation of 5083P-O aluminium alloy and its influence on energy-absorbing structure
Authors: Feng Yue , Xiao Shoune , Yang Bing , Zhu Tao , Yang Guangwu , Zhu Zhiwu
Published: October 2018

Dynamic and quasi-static tensile tests of 5083P-O aluminium alloy were carried out using RPL100 electronic creep/fatigue testing machine and the split Hopkinson tension bar, respectively. The dynamic constitutive relation of the material at high strain rates was studied, and the constitutive model in accordance with Cowper–Symonds form was established. At the same time, a method to describe the constitutive relation of material using the strain rate interpolation method which is included in LS-DYNA software was proposed. The advantages and accuracy of this method were verified by comparing the results of the finite element simulation with the fitting results of the Cowper-Symonds model. The influence of material strain rate effect on squeezing force, energy absorption and deformation mode of the squeezing energy-absorbing structure based on the constitutive models of 5083P-O were studied by means of finite element simulation. The results show that when the strain rate of the structure deformation is low, the material strain rate strengthening effect has little influence on the structure. However, with the increase of the strain rate, the strengthening effect of the material will improve the squeezing force and the energy absorption of the structure, and will also influence the deformation mode, that is, the decrease of the deformation with high strain rates while the increase of the deformation with low strain rates.
Seismic analysis method of equipment–high rise structure–nonlinear soil system
Authors: Jiang Nan , Luo Lanfang , Zhang Chongxiang
Published: October 2018

Based on the principle of real-time substructure shaking table test, an interactive numerical computation method which built the calculation model of each substructure in different software programs was proposed for seismic analysis of equipment–high rise structure–soil systems in order to account the effect of nonlinear soil. Considering that the response of soil under strong earthquakes does not totally enter the nonlinear stage, a locally nonlinear soil model was introduced as the numerical substructure, and the equipment–high rise structure subsystem was treated as an experimental substructure in this method. The equation of motion for the equipment–high rise structure–soil system was derived through a combination of the branch modal substructure and linear–nonlinear hybrid constraint modal substructure approaches. A 13-layer steel framework system model is used as an analytical example that the equipment–high rise structure system and local nonlinear soil computing model are built by MATLAB and ANSYS, respectively. The time histories of the system dynamic responses were obtained by interactive numerical computation, to investigate the effects of equipment–high rise structure–soil interaction on the seismic performance of the equipment and structure.
Total finger joint arthroplasty with a costal osteochondral autograft: up to 11 years of follow-up
Authors: Sato Kazuki , Iwamoto Takuji , Matsumura Noboru , Suzuki Taku , Nishiwaki Yuji , Nakamura Toshiyasu
Published: October 2018

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mid- to long-term clinical outcomes of total finger joint arthroplasty using a costal osteochondral autograft for joint ankylosis. Twenty-three joints (three metacarpophalangeal joints, 20 proximal interphalangeal joints) in 23 patients (19 men and four women) were treated with a costal osteochondral autograft and were evaluated after a mean follow-up of 77 months (60–138). Mean age was 33 years (18 to 55). Significant improvement in active finger extension/flexion was seen from a preoperative mean of −24°/26° (arc: 2°) to −13°/75° (arc: 63°) at latest follow-up. Mean preoperative Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand version of the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score was initially 24 and improved significantly to 5 at latest follow-up. Conclusion: total finger arthroplasty using a costal osteochondral autograft gave an anatomical and biological reconstruction and provided stable improvement at a mean follow-up of 77 months.

Level of evidence: IV
Clinical characteristics and unlicensed applications of licensed psychotropic drugs within a regional tertiary service for patients with affective disorders
Authors: Tiwari Nupur , Baldwin David S.
Published: October 2018

Background:

Referral to tertiary services is recommended when patients with mood and anxiety disorders have not responded to multiple treatments in primary or secondary care. Within specialist services, some patients undergo treatment with licensed psychotropic medications outside the narrow terms of their market authorization (‘unlicensed applications’). We examined the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients referred to a regional specialist service to determine the extent of and factors associated with recommendations for unlicensed (‘off label’) prescriptions.

Methods:

Retrospective examination of demographic and clinical characteristics and treatment recommendations in patients seen within a 5-year period. Patients were allocated to three broad diagnostic clusters (unipolar depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders), and two groups (with or without comorbid disorders). We compared patients in whom all treatment recommendations were for licensed applications with patients in whom at least one treatment was for an unlicensed application, across a range of variables reflecting illness ‘burden’ (duration, inpatient treatment, electroconvulsive therapy, nonfatal self-harm, psychosis).

Results:

From 177 new referrals, 148 patients (91 females, 57 males) could be placed within one of the three clusters. Many patients with bipolar disorder had not undergone treatment with lithium or formal psychological interventions in secondary care. Treatment recommendations involving unlicensed applications of medications were common (approximately 50%) in all clusters, but there were no significant differences in measures of illness burden between groups of patients, categorized according to licensed or unlicensed prescriptions.

Limitations:

Retrospective examination of notes recorded for other purposes, within a single service, in which treatment recommendations might reflect idiosyncratic practice is a limitation of our findings. Also, examined variables could not provide a comprehensive indication of illness severity or functional impairment.

Conclusion:

Our findings confirm that ‘off label’ prescribing is common in psychiatric practice. Treatment decisions relating to unlicensed applications appear to be influenced by factors other than overall illness burden.
Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma within abdomen and pelvis in an adult
Authors: Hao Zhimin , Yang Sufen
Published: October 2018

Rhabdomyosarcoma arising in abdomen and pelvis is an uncommon but important type of soft tissue sarcoma, posing a great challenge for clinicians. Sporadic cases of intra-abdominal rhabdomyosarcoma were reported, but mostly in pediatrics. We demonstrated a rare case of primary abdominopelvic rhabdomyosarcoma in an elderly woman who presented with a notable increase in abdominal circumference and constipation. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging showed a huge mass throughout the abdomen and pelvis. Cytoreductive surgery was performed by gynecologists due to the suspicious diagnosis of disseminated leiomyosarcoma. However, the final pathological analysis revealed embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. Although adjuvant chemotherapy was administered, localized recurrence was identified 6 months after the initial operation. Gynecologists and radiologists should be aware of it so it can be listed in the differential diagnosis of masses that primarily arise in the abdomen and pelvis.
The total terpenoids of Celastrus orbiculatus (TTC) inhibit NOX-dependent formation of PMA-induced neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)
Authors: Tao Li , Xu Min , Liu Yanqing
Published: October 2018

Previously, we identified that Celastrus orbiculatus, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, exhibited prominent anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. More recently, the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) or NETosis has been recognized as a critical pathological event in the development of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The present study is aimed to explore the pharmacological effect of the total terpenoids from the stems of C. orbiculatus (TTC) on NETosis and underlying mechanisms, which may provide fundamental knowledge for future utilization of the Chinese medicine. Human neutrophils were isolated by density gradient centrifugation; lactase dehydrogenase (LDH) assay was used to detect cytotoxic effect of TTC on neutrophils. Moreover, we established phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-induced NETosis. Quantitative and qualitative study of PMA-induced NET release was labeled by SYTOX™ Green. ROS production was determined by flow cytometry. The neutrophil NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity was assessed by lucigenin chemiluminescence assay, and the phosphorylation of NOX subunit was analyzed by immunoblot assay. TTC (5–80 μg.mL−1) had no predominant neutrophil cytotoxicity after 4 h exposure. PMA (200 ng.mL−1) significantly induced the formation of NETs after 4 h stimulus, whereas TTC dose-dependently (5–80 μg.mL−1) inhibited the process. TTC (40 μg.mL−1) blocked neutrophil elastase (NE) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) translocation from cytoplasm to nucleus and disrupted the formation of NET-associated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)–MPO and DNA–NE complexes. Moreover, TTC dose-dependently blocked PMA-mediated ROS production, and inhibited the NOX enzymatic activity of neutrophils upon PMA stimulus for 1 h. Finally, TTC suppressed PMA-induced phosphorylation of NOX subunit p40phox on Thr154 residue. TTC inhibited PMA-induced NOX phosphorylation, thereby suppressing NOX enzymatic activity and ROS generation in neutrophils undergoing NETosis. Consequently, TTC disrupted NETosis in the early stage of NOX-dependent NETs formation, which might serve as a promising anti-inflammatory agent by targeting suicidal NETosis.
The Effect of Eviction on Maternal Criminal Justice Involvement
Authors: Gottlieb Aaron , Moose Jessica W.
Published: October 2018

Millions of individuals in the United States experience eviction each year, with low-income women being particularly at risk. As a result, scholarship has increasingly sought to understand what the implications of eviction are for families. In this article, we build on this work by presenting the first estimates of the impact of eviction on criminal justice involvement for mothers in the U.S. context and examining three pathways that may help to explain these associations. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, adjusted estimates suggest that mothers who have been evicted have more than two times higher odds of experiencing criminal justice involvement. When we differentiate by eviction timing, we find that both recent and less recent evictions are associated with criminal justice involvement. Last, we find that eviction indirectly affects criminal justice involvement through future financial hardship and substance use.
Pediatric Central Retinal Vein Occlusion and Macular Edema Secondary to Isolated Retinal Racemose Hemangioma
Authors: Moinuddin Omar , Trese Matthew G. J. , Besirli Cagri G.
Published: October 2018

Isolated retinal racemose hemangioma is a rare disorder that may lead to vision loss due to late complications, most commonly central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). We describe the longitudinal clinical course using multimodal imaging of a 13-year-old girl diagnosed with CRVO and macular edema in the setting of isolated retinal racemose hemangioma treated with intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor.
Molecular pathophysiology of the myelodysplastic syndromes: insights for targeted therapy
Authors: Aleshin Alex , Greenberg Peter L.
Published: October 2018

The clinical heterogeneity of the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) relates to the recently discerned panoply of molecular abnormalities extant within this disease spectrum. Despite increasing recognition of these biologic abnormalities, very limited therapeutic options exist to exploit our increasing understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of MDS, with only 1 therapy (lenalidomide) particularly focused on a specific clinical patient subset (del(5q) cytogenetics) and 2 epigenetic modulators (azacitidine and decitabine) having been approved for treating these patients. This article will review the mutational and biologic landscape of these disorders, as well as the targeted therapeutics currently in clinical trials that are focused on attacking these features. Given the molecular complexity of these disorders and the limited repertoire of effective therapeutic agents, we will also discuss novel approaches attempting to determine potentially effective and personalized treatment options through complementary chemosensitivity and computerized signaling network screening for these disparate MDS patient subsets. Translational use of such resources, combined with the rapidly evolving next-generation molecular technologies, should prove useful in effectuating improved and more selective options for therapy.
A three-phase decision making approach for self-adaptive systems using web services
Authors: AL-Kafaf Dhrgam , Kim Dae-Kyoo , Lu Lunjin
Published: October 2018

A self-adaptive system adapts itself to changes in a dynamic environment. The core in self-adaptive systems is making an adaptation decision. The current practice focuses on a single layer of decision making using either a local knowledge base or a shared knowledge base shared by multiple units through a network. While the use of a local knowledge base is efficient, it suffers from its limited maturity. A shared knowledge base can address the maturity problem, but it is inefficient in adaptation due to communication overheads. In this work, we present a three-phase decision making approach for self-adaptive systems to improve precision while being competitive for efficiency. The approach consists of three phases for making a decision. The first phase uses the local knowledge base of the self-adaptive unit to identify an object. If the object cannot be identified locally, the unit sends a request to shared knowledge bases through web services in the second and third phases. The approach makes use of B-kNN for object identification and web services for accessing shared knowledge bases. We conducted quantitative validation in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, and F-measure using a set of scenarios. The results show that 99.58% of accuracy, 94.01% of recall, 94.04% of precision, and 94.01% of F-measure can be achieved. We also conducted comparative analysis by comparing the presented approach with the traditional approach and the cloud-based approach. The results show that the presented approach improves 45% in object identification with an increase of 0.66 s over the traditional approach and the same performance in object identification with a decrease of 0.95 s over the cloud-based approach.
Multiscale higher-order TV operators for L1 regularization
Authors: Sanders Toby , Platte Rodrigo B.
Published: October 2018

In the realm of signal and image denoising and reconstruction,$$\ell _1$$ℓ1regularization techniques have generated a great deal of attention with a multitude of variants. In this work, we demonstrate that the$$\ell _1$$ℓ1formulation can sometimes result in undesirable artifacts that are inconsistent with desired sparsity promoting$$\ell _0$$ℓ0properties that the$$\ell _1$$ℓ1formulation is intended to approximate. With this as our motivation, we develop a multiscale higher-order total variation (MHOTV) approach, which we show is related to the use of multiscale Daubechies wavelets. The relationship of higher-order regularization methods with wavelets, which we believe has generally gone unrecognized, is shown to hold in several numerical results, although notable improvements are seen with our approach over both wavelets and classical HOTV. These results are presented for 1D signals and 2D images, and we include several examples that highlight the potential of our approach for improving two- and three-dimensional electron microscopy imaging. In the development approach, we construct the tools necessary for MHOTV computations to be performed efficiently, via operator decomposition and alternatively converting the problem into Fourier space.
Flight energetics, caste dimorphism and scaling properties in the bumblebeeBombus impatiens
Authors: Billardon Fannie , Darveau Charles-A.
Published: October 2018

Animal size affects energetics of locomotion. Using female caste dimorphism in bumblebees, we assessed how body mass impacted morphological and physiological traits linked with flight. The allometric relationships obtained for workers wing surface area, wingbeat frequency, flight and resting metabolic rates could predict the trait values of queens that are more than four-fold larger. Flight success of queens decreased over time in part due to a large increase in body mass, and decrease in traits linked with flight, namely wingbeat frequency, metabolic rate, and the activity of metabolic enzymes tended to decrease. After taking into account temporal changes, body mass, flight wingbeat frequency and metabolic rate were repeatable. Finally, we found significant family resemblance for all traits measured, indicating that shared genes and/or environmental effects impact phenotypic variation. Together, we here show that the functional association between body morphology and flight physiology is robust, providing further insights into the mechanistic basis of metabolic rate scaling patterns during locomotion in animals.
Mechanical behavior of shark vertebral centra at biologically relevant strains
Authors: Ingle Danielle N. , Natanson Lisa J. , Porter Marianne E.
Published: October 2018

Cartilaginous shark skeletons experience axial deformation at the intervertebral joints, but also within the mineralized cartilaginous centrum, which can compress to between 3% and 8% of its original length in a free-swimming shark. Previous studies have focused on shark centra mechanical properties when loaded to failure; our goal was to determine properties when compressed to a biologically relevant strain. We selected vertebrae from six shark species and from the anterior and posterior regions of the vertebral column. Centra were X-radiographed to measure double cone proportion and apex angles, and were mechanically tested at three displacement rates to 4% strain. We determined the variation in toughness and stiffness of vertebral centra among shark species and ontogenetic stages, testing strain rates, and compared anterior and posterior regions of the vertebral column. Our results suggest that toughness and stiffness, which are positively correlated, may be operating in concert to support lateral body undulations, while providing efficient energy transmission and return in these swift-swimming apex predators. We analyzed the contribution of double cone proportion and apex angle to centra mechanical behavior. We found that the greatest stiffness and toughness were in the youngest sharks and from the posterior body, and there was significant interspecific variation. Significant inverse correlations were found between mechanical properties and double cone apex angle suggesting that properties can be partially attributed to the angle forming the double cone apex. These comparative data highlight the importance of understanding cartilaginous skeleton mechanics under a wide variety of loading conditions representative of swimming behaviors seen in the wild.
Rafting on floating fruit is effective for oceanic dispersal of flightless weevils
Authors: Yeh Hui-Ying , Tseng Hui-Yun , Lin Chung-Ping , Liao Chen-Pan , Hsu Jung-Ya , Huang Wen-San
Published: October 2018

Terrestrial species, especially non-vagile ones (those unable to fly or swim), cannot cross oceans without exploiting other animals or floating objects. However, the colonisation history of flightless Pachyrhynchus weevils, inferred from genetic data, reveals their ability to travel long distances to colonise remote islands. Here, we used captive-bred P. jitanasaius to analyse (i) the physiological tolerance of weevils (egg, larva and adult stages) to different levels of salinity; (ii) the survival rate of larvae in a simulated ocean environment in the laboratory; and (iii) the survival rate of larvae in a field experiment in the ocean using fruit of the fish poison tree floating on the Kuroshio Current in the Pacific Ocean. We found that the survival rate of larvae in seawater was lower than in fresh water, although if the larvae survived 7 days of immersion in seawater, some emerged as adults in the subsequent rearing process. No adults survived for more than 2 days, regardless of salinity level. After floating separately for 6 days in salt water in the laboratory and in the Kuroshio Current, two of 18 larvae survived in the fruit. This study provides the first empirical evidence that P. jitanasaius larvae can survive ‘rafting’ on ocean currents and that the eggs and larvae of these weevils have the highest probability to cross the oceanic barrier. This ability may facilitate over-the-sea dispersal of these flightless insects and further shape their distribution and speciation pattern in the Western Pacific islands.
Microwave-Induced Plasma-In-Liquid Process for Nanoparticle Production
Authors: Yonezawa Tetsu , Čempel David , Nguyen Mai Thanh
Published: October 2018

In the past decades, various nanomaterials have been intensively developed because of their unique electrical, optical, magnetic as well as catalytic properties. In this review, we discuss the plasma-in-liquid process, especially the microwave-induced plasma-in-liquid process (MWPLP), for metal and metal oxide nanoparticle production. Various types of plasma systems have been employed to produce metal, alloy, and metal oxide nanoparticles. Nanoparticle production by plasma processes usually requires fewer chemical additives compared to other chemical processes. After discussing the bottom-up approach and the plasma-in-liquid process for nanoparticle synthesis, we have focused on MWPLP. Various apparatus systems and detailed mechanisms of MWPLP will be discussed and preparation of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles by MWPLP will be introduced in detail. The surface-coated-electrode system, which is a unique system for MWPLP, is also discussed in this review. This system prevents sample contamination due to the metal components, which are usually ejected into the surrounding liquid after plasma ignition during the production of nanoparticles.
Pricing Wind: A Revenue Adequate, Cost Recovering Uniform Price Auction for Electricity Markets with Intermittent Generation
Authors: Zakeri Golbon , Pritchard Geoffrey , Bjorndal Mette , Bjorndal Endre
Published: October 2018

With greater penetration of renewable generation, the uncertainty faced in electricity markets has increased substantially. Conventionally, generators are assigned a predispatch quantity in advance of real time based on estimates of uncertain quantities. Expensive real-time adjustments then need to be made to ensure demand is met as uncertainty takes on a realization. We propose a new stochastic-programming market-clearing mechanism to optimize predispatch quantities given the uncertainties’ probability distribution and the costs of real-time deviation. This model differs from similar mechanisms previously proposed in that predispatch quantities are not subject to any network or other physical constraints, nor do they have a dedicated financial settlement. We establish revenue adequacy in each scenario (as opposed to “in expectation”), welfare enhancement, and expected (but not with probability one) cost recovery (including deviation costs) for this market-clearing mechanism. We also establish that this market-clearing mechanism is social-welfare optimizing.
Cooperative Search Advertising
Authors: Cao Xinyu , Ke T. Tony
Published: October 2018

The authors build a game-theoretic model to investigate how a manufacturer and its retailers should coordinate in search advertising and prescribe the manufacturer’s optimal cooperative search advertising strategy.
Research Roundup
Authors: Costello John
Published: October 2018

John Costello provides a synopsis and brief review of a selection of recently published research articles of interest to neuroscience nurses, highlighting the key points to keep you up to date. A full reference is provided for those who wish to read the research in more detail.
Design and Fabrication of Temperature Sensor for Weather Monitoring System using MEMS Technology
Authors: P. Veeramani , Juliet A. Vimala , Jebakumar J. Sam , R Jagadish
Published: October 2018

In this paper, Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) based temperature sensor is designed and fabricated for weather monitoring system at troposphere level. In this design we have used meander shape, because it is easy to vary the length. We have optimized the length in this design. Due to certain advantages like low cost, easily available, high melting and boiling point, molybdenum material is used for fabrication of this design. The four meander type temperature sensors are designed with various dimensions of sizes in 6.7mm×4mm, 9.5mm×4mm, 5.2mm×4mm, 6.5mm×4mm. The Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (TCR) values for four various sensors mentioned above are 3.4 ×10-4 C-1, 3.7×10-4 C-1, 7.0×10-4 C-1, 7.5×10-4 C-1. For radiosonde applications the sensor must have high sensitivity, high degree of accuracy, good linearity and with better TCR values. The experimental results are better for dimension 6.7mm ×4mm for all characteristics mentioned above. The practical results are compared with the theoretical values.
Antibacterial Activity of Red Dragon Fruit Leaves Extract and White Dragon Fruit Leaves Extract Against Meningitis Bacterial
Authors: Ritarwan Kiking , Nerdy Nerdy
Published: October 2018

Dragon fruit leaves extract contains various phytochemicals, namely: alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, glycosides, steroids, and terpenoids. Diverse phytochemical content allows the dragon fruit leaves extract to have antibacterial activity. The objectives of this research were to test antibacterial activity of dragon fruit leaves extract against meningitis bacterial (Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Listeria monocytogenes). Dragon fruit leaves extract was obtained by maceration. Antibacterial activity test was done by the paper disc diffusion method with ceftriaxone as the positive control and dimethylsulfoxide as the negative control. Antibacterial activity of red dragon leaves extract with concentration 600 μg/mL and white dragon fruit leaves extract with concentration 800 μg/mL were not show significantly different antibacterial activity from ceftriaxone with concentration 10 μg/mL against meningitis bacterial (Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Listeria monocytogenes). The results prove that the red dragon fruit leaves extract was more potential antibacterial activity than white dragon fruit leaves extracted against meningitis bacterial (Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Listeria monocytogenes).
Utilization of Waste Leaves Biomass of Myrica Esculenta for the Removal of Pb (II), Cd (II) and Zn (II) Ions from Waste Waters
Authors: Chandra Joshi Naveen , Singh Ajay , Rajput Himanshu
Published: October 2018

In the present study, we have used the waste leaves of Myrica esculenta for the removal of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions from the synthetically prepared waste water. The adsorption based removal process has been carried out under the batch system. The batch system was included pH, contact time, dosage, concentration and temperature. The maximum removal efficiency was achieved at optimized conditions i.e. higher contact time, higher pH, lower metal ion concentrations and moderate temperatures. The presence of various organic binding groups was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. The percentage adsorption of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions was found 97.02%, 92.52% and 81.99% at pH 6 after contact time 25 minutes. The data of adsorption were tested with Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The adsorption capacity of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions was evaluated as 8.264, 5.617 and 7.751mgg-1 by Langmuir isotherm model.