bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health-Related Quality of Life and Satisfaction With Health Care: Relation to Clinical Stage in Mexican Patients With Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Balderas-Peña Luz-Ma-Adriana , Miranda-Ruvalcaba Claudia , Robles-Espinoza Andrea Isabel , Sat-Muñoz Daniel , Ruiz Miguel Garcés , García-Luna Eduardo , Nava-Zavala Arnulfo Hernan , Rubio-Jurado Benjamín
Published: February 2019

Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by bone pain, pathologic fractures, bone destruction, and secondary hypercalcemia, all these conditions impact on health-related quality of life of patients. The objective was to evaluate the global health state and health-related quality of life in a group of patients with MM who attended a tertiary health-care center of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico, through the questionnaires designed by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life group. Exploratory cross-sectional study in patients with MM treated in a Department of Hematology in a High-Specialty Medical Unit was conducted. Patients older than 18 years of age, men and women, were selected, and their informed written consent was obtained. We included all consecutive cases treated from January 2012 to December 2014. Questionnaires EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-MY20, and EORTC IN-PATSAT-32 were used. We studied 37 patients, 19 (51%) men and 18 women. The mean age was 61.9 years. Twenty-two (59.46%) patients presented with clinical stage III. The mean time for diagnosis was 33.11 months. The most used first-line treatment schedule was melphalan/prednisone/thalidomide (15; 40%). The global health median was 66.67, and symptoms showed a median score of 22.22. Treatment side effects score was 16.67; for general satisfaction, the median score was 75. In conclusion, the patients showed an advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis but had scores higher than 50 in functional scales and lower than 50 for symptom scales. The scores for symptom scales were related to age, renal failure, and disease-free survival. Identification of quality of life and satisfaction of care markers allow for early therapeutic intervention and efficiency and enable a change in quality of life and perception of care in Health Services.
The role of the pharmacist in improving medication beliefs and adherence in cancer patients
Authors: Birand Nevzat , Boşnak Ahmet Sami , Diker Ömer , Abdikarim Abdi , Başgut Bilgen
Published: February 2019

Background

Multiple factors have been reported to affect adherence to medication, including beliefs about medicines, while specifically tailored pharmaceutical care services for patients may improve adherence. The aim was to assess the impact of counselling by an oncology pharmacist on patients' medication adherence and beliefs.

Methods

An interventional prospective study was performed in the oncology department at a tertiary hospital in Northern Cyprus from November 2017 to April 2018. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire was used to evaluate the balance between beliefs about necessity and concerns and medication beliefs before and after an educational intervention. The Morisky Green Levine Test 2018 was used to evaluate adherence.

Results

In total, 81 patients (65.4% females; mean age: 59.1 ± 11.34 years; 34.6% hypertensive; 19.8% with diabetes) were analysed before and after receiving counselling from an oncology pharmacist. Pharmacist education significantly enhanced the mean patient necessity-concern balance scores by two-fold (MT0(baseline) = −3.1 ± 8.6; MT1(posteducation) =3.0 ± 7.3; p < 0.0001), with patients who received counselling for the first time experiencing the greatest benefit. Multivariate analysis showed that patients who had a negative balance between their beliefs about the necessity of the medication and their concerns were less likely to adhere to the medication (0.138 (0.025–0.772)).

Conclusion

Counselling by an oncology pharmacist was effective in decreasing patient concerns and increasing their understanding of the necessity of the medication, thus enhancing their adherence and consequently improving the care they received.
Efficiency of degradation or desorption methods in antineoplastic drug decontamination: A critical review
Authors: Simon Nicolas , Odou Pascal , Decaudin Bertrand , Bonnabry Pascal , Fleury-Souverain Sandrine
Published: February 2019

Although considerable efforts have been made over the last 40 years, occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs is still a daily concern, since eradicating such contamination from workplaces seems unattainable. Considerable data are currently available on the risks associated with their use at work. Hospital facilities are often cleaned with marketed antimicrobials whose chemical decontamination efficacy certainly differs but remains unknown. To keep compounding facilities sterile, alcohol-based solutions are frequently used but with very limited efficiency. It would be particularly useful if a decontamination method could be added to the means already available so that all conventional antineoplastic drug contamination could be removed. Several degradation methods or desorption methods have previously been experimented, with varying success. They have never been compared or discussed in terms either of efficiency or usability. This review aims to analyse and discuss the results of each degradation or decontamination procedure and to compare them. This should facilitate selection of the method to be implemented in daily practice.
Against boundarylessness: The liminal career of the flexible employee
Authors: Budtz-Jørgensen Jens , Johnsen Christian Garmann , Sørensen Bent Meier
Published: February 2019

This article extends the critique of the boundaryless career concept by focusing on how organizational members may experience boundaries as ambiguous within contemporary career development in organizations. As an alternative to the concept of the boundaryless career, we introduce that of the liminal career. We consider a liminal career as occurring when the normal career path within an organization becomes a state of ‘betwixt and between’, wherein distinctions between social domains and work roles become diffuse, indeterminate and difficult to comprehend. We engage with this concept in relation to three boundaries that remain central within career development: organizational boundaries establishing a distinction between that which is internal and external to the organization, hierarchical boundaries separating employees and managers, and functional boundaries demarcating different work domains. Using a case that illustrates how employees experience ambiguous organizational, hierarchical and functional boundaries, we argue that the concept of the liminal career captures the essence of situations in which there is a lack of clear categories, trajectories and schemes from which to structure career paths in organizations.
Colonization, migration, and right-wing extremism: The constitution of embodied life of a dispossessed undocumented immigrant woman
Authors: Segarra Paulina , Prasad Ajnesh
Published: February 2019

The aim of this essay is to illuminate the lived experiences of Victoria—an undocumented immigrant woman of Mexican origin working and living in the United States. Drawing on an in-depth interview conducted with Victoria following the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, we identify a set of discursive and material conditions that inform her lived reality. By examining three mutually constituting stages of Victoria’s life, we invite readers to consider how the imbricated nexus between global manifestations of colonization, migration, and the political rise of right-wing extremism is embodied and negotiated locally by one particular woman. To aid in theoretically informing the excerpts provided by Victoria, we draw on Judith Butler’s recent works in which she develops, individually and collaboratively, ideas of dispossession and precariousness. We find that dispossession and precariousness foreground the currents of vulnerability that are located palpably in Victoria’s narrative. Finally, by engaging with a genre of feminine writing that collapses the traditional boundaries between theory and practice, we revisit the question of praxis in relation to the researchers’ responsibility toward the participants of their study.
States of emergence, states of knowledge: A comparative sociology of international relations in China and India
Authors: Kristensen Peter Marcus
Published: February 2019

This article examines the relationship between the geopolitical rise of new powers in international relations and knowledge production in International Relations. It draws on the science studies literature on the ‘co-production’ of science and politics to conceptualise and analyse this relationship between the ‘state of emergence’ and ‘state of knowledge’. I argue that the ‘state of emergence’ should be conceptualised not only as a real-world condition external to science that imposes itself on an otherwise pure internal ‘state of knowledge’, but also as a scholarly sensibility, ethos and motivation that operates ‘within’ it. The article illustrates the argument ethnomethodologically by interviewing International Relations scholars in China and India on how they themselves make sense of the emerging condition and justify their own positions and actions within it. Based on the interviews, I identify four co-productive registers connecting the state of emergence to the state of knowledge (the constitutive, civic, infrastructural and psychological) but also find that scholars in China and India differ in their enactment of these registers.
ICT, infrastructure, and tourism development in Africa
Authors: Adeola Ogechi , Evans Olaniyi
Published: February 2019

This study examines the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT), infrastructure, and tourism development in Africa between 1996 and 2016 using a dynamic panel gravity model. Our findings show that ICT and infrastructure have a positive, statistically significant relationship with tourism development; as ICT and infrastructure increase, the level of tourist arrivals also increases. This study also identifies relevant factors including bilateral real exchange rate and gross domestic product per capita of the origin countries, suggesting a major role for the variables measured in the region of origin and for those that serve as a comparison between origin and destination. The effect of distance is statistically significant and negative: countries farthest from the origin countries generate less tourism demand, given the higher transportation costs. Repeat tourism (or habit persistence) and natural resources show a significant and positive effect on tourism development. Overall, the empirical results provide evidence that ICT and infrastructural development have opened huge opportunities for growing and strengthening tourism in Africa.
Atmospheres, landscapes and nature: Off-road runners’ experiences of well-being
Authors: MacBride-Stewart Sara
Published: February 2019

This article reflects on the relations between health and natural landscapes. The study explores how the landscape context – its textual and sensory aesthetics – positively shapes experiences and perceptions of the landscape, for those people who seek out natural environments for health. While health promotion is designated along the lines of encouraging choice or improving access to natural environments, this article wants to show how physical activities are intertwined with atmospheres and affects emanating from the natural and human world. An in-depth case-study of trail running across two sites (New Zealand, United Kingdom) is used to analyse the interconnections between health landscapes. It finds that when participants say that landscape ‘matters’ for health, they are referring to: (1) aesthetics and feelings, (2) flexibility and adaptiveness and (3) exploration and adventure. Avoiding the conclusion that the landscape is merely a resource for health, the analysis confirms that it is the complex of spaces, social practices, along with their physical fleshy selves, minds and emotions, and the particular quality of the earth beneath them, that gives rise to positively perceived health, for both immediate and enduring benefit.
Improving rural public health through ‘best practice’ water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives
Authors: Bowling Tari , Hall Nina
Published: February 2019

An understanding of best practice rural water, sanitation and hygiene (rWASH) and its associated indicators can ensure greater success and reduced failure of future projects. While numerous organisations have actively implemented rWASH projects since the early 1990s with donor reports, funding proposals and reviews frequently claiming best practice, there remains a paucity of information on what constitutes ‘best practice’ rWASH. A scoping review of qualitative and quantitative literature was done with six primary factors identified as key contributors to best practice rWASH: regulatory environment, community ownership, programme methodology, funding, technology and capacity. In the absence of standardisation, a benchmark of proven techniques may be used as an alternative to identify ‘best practice’ within the sector and propose minimum requirements for the development of best practice rWASH. Clearly defining best practice rural water, sanitation and hygiene is useful for governments, donor agencies and implementing organisations and those monitoring outcomes of programmes against national and global targets.
Rethinking conceptual frameworks and models of health and natural environments
Authors: Lawrence Roderick John , Forbat Julien , Zufferey Joris
Published: February 2019

This article considers conceptual frameworks and models applied in research about the multiple relations between human contact with natural environments (specifically green public spaces), diverse kinds of human activities and uses of those spaces, and effects on physical and mental health. Conceptual frameworks are tools for thinking about such complex subjects. Conceptual models represent the multiple relations between key factors and variables. These models can be used to represent the mutual interactions between the core components of environmental conditions of specific green public spaces, the main kinds of human activities in those settings, and various impacts on health. A literature search showed that the authors of various conceptual models used a metaphor of pathways to represent relations between explanatory variables by linear cause–effect relations. Mutual interaction between key variables and feedback loops between different components of the model are rarely included. Hence, it is argued that these models do not represent the complexity of real world situations. The authors propose a systemic conceptual framework founded on core principles of human ecology. The proposed conceptual framework and model have been formulated during and after an EU 7th Framework project about the ‘‘Positive Health Effects of the Natural Outdoor Environment in Typical Populations in Different Regions of Europe.”
D-Methionine Ameliorates Cisplatin-Induced Muscle Atrophy via Inhibition of Muscle Degradation Pathway
Authors: Wu Ching-Te , Liao Jiuan-Miaw , Ko Jiunn-Liang , Lee Yao-Ling , Chang Hui-Yi , Wu Cheng-Hsi , Ou Chu-Chyn
Published: February 2019

Cisplatin induces anorexia, weight loss, loss of adipose tissue, skeletal muscle atrophy, and serious adverse effects that can cause premature termination of chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to use an animal model to assess cisplatin therapy (3 cycles) with and without d-methionine to investigate its protective effects on cisplatin-induced anorexia and skeletal muscle wasting. Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups and treated as follows: saline as control (group 1), intraperitoneal cisplatin once a week for 3 weeks (group 2), and intraperitoneal cisplatin once a week for 3 weeks plus oral administration of d-methionine (group 3). Tissue somatic index (TSI), gastric emptying index (GEI), and feeding efficiency were measured. Both hepatic lipid metabolism and muscle atrophy-related gene expressions and C2C12 myotubes were determined by polymerase chain reaction. Micro–computed tomography (micro-CT) was used to conduct assessment of bone microarchitecture indices. Pathological changes of the gastric mucosa were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining after euthanizing the animals. d-Methionine increased food intake, weight gain, gastric emptying, and feeding efficiency, as well as decrease stomach contents, after cisplatin injections. Cisplatin caused shortening of myofibers. Cisplatin-induced muscle mass wasting was mediated by the elevation of mRNA expressions of MAFbx and MuRF-1 in ubiquitin ligases in muscle tissue homogenate. The mRNA expressions of MyoD and myogenin, markers of muscle differentiation, declined following cisplatin administration. The administration of d-methionine not only led to significant improvements in myofiber diameter and cross-sectional fiber areas but also reversed muscle atrophy-related gene expression. However, there were no significant changes in stomach histology or microarchitecture of trabecular bone among the study groups. The results indicate that d-methionine has an appetite-enhancing effect and ameliorates cisplatin-induced adipose and muscle tissue loss during cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
The effects of N-acetylcysteine on radiotherapy-induced small intestinal damage in rats
Authors: Mercantepe Filiz , Topcu Atilla , Rakici Sema , Tumkaya Levent , Yilmaz Adnan
Published: February 2019

Six million cancer patients worldwide receive radiotherapy, either alone or in combination with other cancer treatments annually. The purpose of this study was to investigate, at the structural and molecular levels, the protective effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a powerful antioxidant, against radiotherapy-induced damage on the intestinal system. Three study groups were constituted: control (group 1: no radiotherapy), radiotherapy (RT; group 2), and RT + NAC (group 3). The NAC group received 300 mg/kg NAC orally for five days before irradiation. At the end of the 5th day, 6 Gy was irradiated once, and 300 mg/kg NAC was administered orally for two days following irradiation. NAC drug administration was maintained for a total of seven days. At the end of the study, the rats were euthanized by the administration of anesthetic agents and sacrificed. The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and caspase-3 expression increased and glutathione (GSH) levels decreased in RT rats compared to the control group ( p < 0.05). NAC reduced MDA levels, and caspase-3 expression, and increased GSH levels in the small intestine caused by RT ( p < 0.05). Therefore, NAC may be useful in the prevention of gastrointestinal syndrome in patients undergoing radiotherapy in the treatment of malignancy.

Impact statement

Some six million cancer patients currently receive radiotherapy. Radiotherapy eliminates cancer cells by accelerating their death. However, radiotherapy is not selective, and it therefore harms healthy tissues around cancerous tissue. The latest studies have shown that the irradiation of biological materials causes a rapid increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the tissue as a result of exposure of the target molecule to direct and indirect ionization. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is an antioxidant that permits the elimination of free oxygen radicals and that contributes to glutathione synthesis. Our study, therefore, examined the effects of radiation resulting from radiotherapy on the small intestine at the molecular level, and prospectively considered the potential protective characteristics of NAC against gastrointestinal syndrome resulting from radiotherapy.
Enrollment Challenges: Recruiting Men to Weight Loss Interventions
Authors: Rounds Tiffany , Harvey Jean
Published: February 2019

Obese men are at an increased risk of chronic disease and are far less likely than women to attempt weight loss. There is a need to successfully recruit men to weight loss clinical trials. Overweight and obese men were recruited to a 6-month, randomized, controlled weight loss trial. Initial recruitment efforts were aimed at men in the workplace with less than or equal to 2 years of college education. After unsatisfactory interest from men and businesses alike, recruitment strategy shifted to enroll men outside the workplace with any educational background. Recruitment methods included word of mouth, email and website advertisements, printed posters in local businesses and doctors’ offices, Facebook ads, and a 1-week newspaper ad campaign. Initial interest and enrollment was negligible with only 35 men enrolled in the first 7 months. The launch of a 1-week newspaper advertisement was the most useful recruitment technique and 102 overweight/obese men were successfully enrolled. Study retention remained high throughout the Gutbusters program, indicating targeted, effective recruitment, and not weight loss interest, may be the largest barrier to trial participation for overweight and obese men.
Examining the size–weight illusion with visuo-haptic conflict in immersive virtual reality
Authors: Buckingham Gavin
Published: February 2019

When we experience our environment, we do so by combining sensory inputs with expectations derived from our prior knowledge, which can lead to surprising perceptual effects such as small objects feeling heavier than equally weighted large objects (the size–weight illusion (SWI)). Interestingly, there is evidence that the way in which the volume of an object is experienced can affect the strength of the illusion, with a SWI induced by exclusively haptic volume cues feeling stronger than a SWI induced with only visual volume cues. Furthermore, visual cues appear to add nothing over and above haptic size cues in terms of the strength of the induced weight illusion–findings which are difficult to reconcile with work using cue-conflict paradigms where visual cues usually dominate haptic cues. Here, virtual reality was used to place these senses in conflict with one another. Participants ( N = 22) judged the heaviness of identically weighted cylinders across three conditions: (1) objects appeared different sizes but were physically the same size, (2) objects were physically different sizes but appeared to be the same size, or (3) objects which looked and felt different sizes from one another. Consistent with prior work, haptic size cues induced a larger SWI than that induced by visual size differences. In contrast to prior work, however, congruent vision and haptic size cues yielded a larger still SWI. These findings not only add to our understanding of how different modalities combine to influence our hedonic perception but also showcase how virtual reality can develop novel cue-conflict paradigms.
Corrective osteotomy for a malunited proximal radius fracture causing radio-capitellar dislocation in a paediatric patient: A case report
Authors: Haines Samuel , Amirfeyz Rouin
Published: February 2019

Background

Malunited proximal radius fractures causing dislocation of the radio-capitellar joint are rare. We present a case of a two-year-old female patient with such an injury who was treated with a proximal radius osteotomy with good long-term outcomes.

Method/results

Case study of a single patient with a malunited proximal radius fracture which was identified as causing radio-capitellar dislocation who underwent corrective osteotomy with a good result.

Conclusion

Our opinion is that a corrective osteotomy for a malunited proximal radius fracture causing radio-capitellar dislocation is a sound treatment option and that no supplementary soft tissue reconstruction such as annular ligament exploration/reconstruction is necessary.
Striking lung cancer response to self-administration of cannabidiol: A case report and literature review
Authors: Sulé-Suso Josep , Watson Nick A , van Pittius Daniel G , Jegannathen Apurna
Published: February 2019

In spite of new drugs, lung cancer is associated with a very poor prognosis. While targeted therapies are improving outcomes, it is not uncommon for many patients to have only a partial response, and relapse during follow-up. Thus, new drugs or re-evaluation of existing therapies used to treat other non-malignant diseases (drug repurposing) are still needed. While this research both in vitro and in vivo is being carried out, it is important to be attentive to patients where the disease responds to treatments not considered standard in clinical practice. We report here a patient with adenocarcinoma of the lung who, after declining chemotherapy and radiotherapy, presented with tumour response following self-administration of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound present in Cannabis sativa. Prior work has shown that cannabidiol may have anti-neoplastic properties and enhance the immune response to cancer. The data presented here indicate that cannabidiol might have led to a striking response in a patient with lung cancer.
Experimental testing of semirigid corrugated baffles for the suppression of tube waves in vertical seismic profile data
Authors: Greenwood Andrew , Christian Dupuis J. , Kepic Anton , Urosevic Milovan
Published: February 2019

Multichannel borehole hydrophone strings are a low-cost, low-risk, alternative to borehole clamping geophones. Vertical seismic profile (VSP) data collected with hydrophones, however, suffer from high-amplitude coherent tube-wave noise. This reduces the usable data to the first arrivals and traveltimes for check-shot surveys. To significantly reduce tube-wave noise from VSP data acquired with hydrophones, we have designed and tested a novel tube-wave attenuation baffle. The effectiveness of the baffle was first verified in a laboratory-scale experiment and then in a borehole drilled into a hardrock environment. The laboratory experiments tested the performance of four different baffle topologies, whereby the best performing topology was the semirigid corrugated pipe baffle. This design reduced the amplitude of the tube wave with more than 40 dB and was logistically easy to deploy. The field experiment investigated the effectiveness of three different semirigid corrugated pipe baffle topologies in a PQ (123 mm) diamond drillhole in Western Australia. Here, we found that the semirigid corrugated pipe baffle was effective in disrupting tube-wave propagation. The 100 mm diameter baffle achieved an impressive 60 dB of tube-wave attenuation, whereas the 50 mm baffle had a modest attenuation of 10–15 dB. This suggests that the performance of this new type of baffle is best when the diameter of the baffle is closely matched to the diameter of the borehole. The results of these experiments have signiﬁcant implications because hydrophone arrays with a large number of receivers are comparatively inexpensive and simpler to deploy than borehole geophone counterparts. The development of hydrophone arrays that are free of interfering borehole modes could allow VSPs to be acquired in situations in which seismic-polarity information is not required and could help VSP gain traction in cases in which the cost of acquisition has precluded its use until now.
Can Health Insurance Regulations Generate Citizen Constituencies?
Authors: Chattopadhyay Jacqueline
Published: February 2019

Context: A political science literature has emerged on the policy feedback effects of alternative health care coverage expansions, focusing on whether programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act can generate robust public constituencies. Yet, scholars have mainly examined direct governmental benefits and rarely studied the feedback effects from the underlying regulatory frameworks that allow health care markets to function, such as regulations that determine eligibility for nongroup and continuation coverage.

Methods: Drawing on literature from multiple disciplines, this article analyzes political and policy factors that promote and undermine such regulations' capacity to stimulate positive feedback and the emergence of citizen constituencies.

Findings: While some factors may help these regulations to cultivate constituencies, there are barriers to this positive feedback generation. The most notable is the failure of these regulatory policies to confer politically useful resources on citizens unless other, mutually supportive policies are also in place, such as policies to control premiums.

Conclusions: Steps in the policy feedback model that are typically left unexplored in the literature deserve greater scrutiny when scholars examine the weak self-reinforcing effects of health insurance regulations. A take-away lesson, relevant to the Affordable Care Act, is that even when policies broaden nongroup coverage and ostensibly assist many people, a robust citizen constituency is unlikely to emerge, leaving key protections of access to health insurance vulnerable to erosion or reversal over time.
Political Participation in the Least Healthy Place in America: Examining the Political Determinants of Health in the Mississippi Delta
Authors: Jones David K.
Published: February 2019

Context: Scholars have called on public health to more commonly and more effectively learn from political science to understand the political determinants of health. They argue that policy decisions affecting health cannot be understood without appreciating the political dynamics shaping key institutions. As the least healthy place in the United States, the Mississippi Delta provides valuable insights on the connections between power, political participation, and health.

Methods: This case study relies on historical analysis, a review of the literature, and descriptive analysis of a unique data set examining every law introduced in the Mississippi legislature during the 2017 legislative session.

Findings: Legislators from the Delta have comparatively little influence in state-level policy making in Mississippi. This lack of power has deep historical roots but persists today.

Conclusions: This examination of power in the Mississippi Delta raises questions about the ability of the political process to achieve health equity. Systemic barriers to power, including structural racism, suggest that policies that would advance health equity cannot happen without the support of white residents, particularly those living in other parts of the state. In other words, health equity is not likely to be achieved without buy-in from leaders outside the area with the greatest need.
Effects of Respiratory Muscle Endurance Training in Hypoxia on Running Performance
Authors: KATAYAMA KEISHO , GOTO KAZUSHIGE , OHYA TOSHIYUKI , IWAMOTO ERIKA , TAKAO KENJI , KASAI NOBUKAZU , SUMI DAICHI , MORI HISASHI , ISHIDA KOJI , SHIMIZU KAORI , SHIOZAWA KANA , SUZUKI YASUHIRO
Published: February 2019

Purpose

We hypothesized that respiratory muscle endurance training (RMET) in hypoxia induces greater improvements in respiratory muscle endurance with attenuated respiratory muscle metaboreflex and consequent whole-body performance. We evaluated respiratory muscle endurance and cardiovascular response during hyperpnoea and whole-body running performance before and after RMET in normoxia and hypoxia.

Methods

Twenty-one collegiate endurance runners were assigned to control (n = 7), normoxic (n = 7), and hypoxic (n = 7) groups. Before and after the 6 wk of RMET, incremental respiratory endurance test and constant exercise tests were performed. The constant exercise test was performed on a treadmill at 95% of the individual’s peak oxygen uptake (V˙O2peak). The RMET was isocapnic hyperpnoea under normoxic and hypoxic conditions (30 min·d−1). The initial target of minute ventilation during RMET was set to 50% of the individual maximal voluntary ventilation, and the target increased progressively during the 6 wk. Target arterial oxygen saturation in the hypoxic group was set to 90% in the first 2 wk, and thereafter it was set to 80%.

Results

Respiratory muscle endurance was increased after RMET in the normoxic and hypoxic groups. The time to exhaustion at 95% V˙O2peak exercise also increased after RMET in the normoxic (10.2 ± 2.4 to 11.2 ± 2.6 min) and hypoxic (11.5 ± 2.6 to 12.6 ± 3.0 min) groups, but not in the control group (9.6 ± 3.2 to 9.4 ± 4.0 min). The magnitude of these changes did not differ between the normoxic and the hypoxic groups (P = 0.84).

Conclusion

These results suggest that the improvement of respiratory muscle endurance and blunted respiratory muscle metaboreflex could, in part, contribute to improved endurance performance in endurance-trained athletes. However, it is also suggested that there are no additional effects when the RMET is performed in hypoxia.
Transit Pattern Detection Using Tensor Factorization
Authors: Du Bowen , Zhou Wenjun , Liu Chuanren , Cui Yifeng , Xiong Hui
Published: February 2019

Understanding citywide transit patterns is important for transportation management, including city planning and route optimization. The wide deployment of automated fare collection (AFC) systems in public transit vehicles has enabled us to collect massive amounts of transit records, which capture passengers’ traveling activities. Based on such transit records, origin–destination associations have been studied extensively in the literature. However, the identification of transit patterns that establish the origin–transfer–destination (OTD) associations, in spite of its importance, is underdeveloped. In this paper, we propose a framework based on transit tensor factorization (TTF) to identify citywide travel patterns. In particular, we create a transit tensor, which summarizes the citywide OTD information of all passenger trips captured in the AFC records. The TTF framework imposes spatial regularization in the formulation to group nearby stations into meaningful regions and uses multitask learning to identify traffic flows among these regions at different times of the day and days of the week. Evaluated with large-scale, real-world data, our results show that the proposed TTF framework can effectively identify meaningful citywide transit patterns.

The online supplement is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2018.0824 .
Dynamic Modulation of Plasmonic Structures
Authors: Dyrnesli Hans , Kl ̈os Gunnar , Miola Matteo , Sutherland Duncan S.
Published: February 2019

A method for active switching of plasmonic structures by surface oxide-stabilized silver deposition is presented. The longitudinal dipole mode in pairsof closely spaced gold nanodisks on ITO was switched by depositing andremoving a connecting layer of silver in solution. Optical properties werestudied using VIS-NIR extinction spectroscopy and confirmed by FDTDsimulations. Uniform dimensional growth by selective silver depositionbrought pairs of gold nanodisks of 73 nm average diameter and 11 nmaverage distance into electrical contact. The growth process was studied byspectroelectrochemical measurements, and uniformity and selectivity wereconfirmed by SEM and XPS analysis, respectively. Uniform deposition wasachieved by introduction of surface oxides on immobilized gold nanodisks,and selectivity by undervoltage deposition. Deposition of silver on disk pairscaused a blue-shift of the transverse dipole mode resonance of roughly 50 nm,and emergence of a new longitudinal mode with resonance around 960 nm.These results demonstrate the possibility for not only tuning of resonancepeak position, but also on-demand switching of an additional mode which canprovide materials with switchable optical properties.
Angola's whites: political behaviour and national identity
Authors: Pimenta Fernando Tavares
Published: February 2019

This is a study of the political behaviour and of the national identity of the white settler community in Angola. Analysis of the political behaviour of Angola's white settlers, the second-largest settler community in Africa in 1970, indicates that they not only developed a form of local economic nationalism, but that they actually created a kind of African identity that added a more political aspect to this nationalism. Settlers organized themselves into political movements and parties that called for Angola's political autonomy and even its independence. However, settler nationalism was repressed by the Portuguese government and rejected by the black nationalist movements. White settlers were unable to impose their political views, and as a result of Angola's violent independence process, a large proportion of them left the country in 1975.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Rumination Syndrome: A Critical Review
Authors: Murray Helen B. , Juarascio Adrienne S. , Di Lorenzo Carlo , Drossman Douglas A. , Thomas Jennifer J.
Published: February 2019

Rumination syndrome (RS) is characterized by the repeated regurgitation of material during or soon after eating with the subsequent rechewing, reswallowing, or spitting out of the regurgitated material. Rumination syndrome is classified as both a “Functional Gastroduodenal Disorder” (by the Rome Foundation's Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction, 4th edition) and a “Feeding and Eating Disorder” (by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition). Rumination syndrome is a disorder that is often inaccurately diagnosed or missed, resulting in patients experiencing protracted symptoms and not receiving treatment for long periods. There is a lack of clear consensus for RS diagnosis, mechanisms that maintain RS, and treatment. Guided by existing research and our clinical expertise, we synthesize available evidence and provide recommendations for clinical use. We present a case example and critically summarize the literature to date to (i) increase clinicians' understanding of heterogeneous clinical presentations, (ii) suggest assessment strategies to facilitate accurate diagnosis, and (iii) provide a schematic for intervention options. Overall, we recommend clinicians recognize the heterogeneous features of RS when considering diagnosis, assess for RS symptoms by clinical history, and treat RS with targeted diaphragmatic breathing while using other methods as augmented intervention or alternative treatment.
Comments On: Nohora Garcia, ‘Understanding Mattessich and Ijiri: A Study of Accounting Thought’
Authors: Sunder Shyam
Published: February 2019

For Nohora Garcia’s monograph, Understanding Mattessich and Ijiri: A Study of Accounting Thought, as well as the practice of Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium (CONVIVIUM) to organize a book-critics’ panels at the SASE annual meetings, are welcome developments for accounting scholarship. Fortunately, interest in exploring the history of accounting remains strong in many parts of the world. Garcia’s analysis of Mattessich and Ijiri’s thought is a unique and deep intellectual contribution to accounting. I hope that it will help bring more scholarly attention to the history of accounting thought.
Umbilical Cord Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Can Differentiate into Skin Cells
Authors: Fatima Qandeel , Choudhry Nakhshab , Choudhery Mahmood S
Published: February 2019

Autologous skin grafts are used to treat severe burn wounds, however, the availability of adequate donor sites makes this option less practical. Recently, stem cells have been used successfully in tissue engineering and in regenerative medicine. The current study aims to differentiate umbilical cord tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (CT-MSCs) into skin cells (fibroblasts and keratinocytes) for use to treat severe burn wounds. After isolation, MSCs were characterized and their growth characteristics were determined. The cells were induced to differentiate into fibroblasts and keratinocytes using respective induction medium. Results indicated that CT-MSCs were spindle shaped, plastic adherent and positive for CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90 markers. CT-MSCs also showed high proliferative potential as indicated by cumulative population doubling, doubling time and plating efficiency. The MSCs were successfully differentiated into fibroblast and keratinocytes as indicated by morphological changes and expression of lineage specific genes. We propose that these differentiated skin cells which are derived from CT-MSCs can thus be used for the development of bioengineered skin; however, further studies are required to evaluate the utility of these substitutes.
Crystal structure of poly-[(μ2(carboxylatomethyl)((3-nitrophenyl)sulfonyl)amido-κ3
N: O:O′)(μ2-4,4′-bipyridine-κ2
N:N′)copper(II)], C18H14CuN4O6S
Authors: Liu Zheng-Jun , Chen Xiao-Miao , Cheng Jing-Song , Deng Tao-Li , Qin Lan
Published: February 2019

C18H14CuN4O6S, trigonal, R3̄ (no. 148), a = 31.125(7) Å, b = 31.125(3) Å, c = 10.133(2) Å, V = 8501(3) Å3, Z = 18, R
gt(F) = 0.0346, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.0900, T = 296(2) K.
Crystal structure of poly-[(μ2-(carboxylatomethyl)((3-nitrophenyl)sulfonyl)amido-κ3
N:O:O′)(μ2-4,4′-bipyridine-κ2
N:N′) nickel(II)], C18H14NiN4O6S
Authors: Liu Zheng-Jun , Chen Xiao-Miao , Cheng Jing-Song , Deng Tao-Li , Qin Lan
Published: February 2019

C18H14NiN4O6S, trigonal, R3̄ (no. 148), a = 31.014(11) Å, b = 31.014(11) Å, c = 10.125(7) Å, V = 8434(8) Å3, Z = 18, R
gt(F) = 0.0380, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.0941, T = 296(2) K.
Crystal structure of catena-poly[diaqua-(μ2-1,2-bis(4-pyridinyl)ethyane-κ2
N:N′)-(μ2–pyridazine-4,5-dicarboxylato-κ2
O:O′)]dizinc(II) dihydrate, C12H12ZnN3O6
Authors: Feng-Yang Ju , Ke-Xin Ding , Fang Liu
Published: February 2019

C12H12ZnN3O6, monoclinic, I2/a (no. 15), a = 17.6153(6) Å, b = 6.6922(2) Å, c = 24.1330(9) Å, β = 107.899(4)°, V = 2707.22(17) Å3, Z = 8, R
gt(F) = 0.0262, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.0691, T = 293(2) K.
A review on the design and development of photocatalyst synthesis and application in microfluidic reactors: challenges and opportunities
Authors: Sohrabi Somayeh , Keshavarz Moraveji Mostafa , Iranshahi Davood
Published: February 2019

Microfluidics is an emerging branch of science that has significant applications in various fields. In this review paper, after a brief introduction to the concept of photocatalysis, nanoparticle preparation methods and film formation techniques have been studied. Nanoparticle synthesis in microfluidic systems and microreactor types for on-chip photocatalyst synthesis and challenges of nanoparticles handling in microsystems have been reviewed. To resolve particle polydispersity and microchannel clogging, a good suggestion can be the use of droplet-based microreactors. The configurative designs for the microfluidic reactor with immobilized photocatalysts, their applications, and their challenges have been comprehensively addressed. The three main challenges ahead the immobilized photocatalytic microfluidic reactors are optimal light distribution, prevention of the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes, and improved mass transfer. Internal light-emitting diodes with a waveguide can resolve the number one challenge of photocatalysis application in optofluidic reactors, that is, light distribution.
A general maximum principle for mean-field forward-backward doubly stochastic differential equations with jumps processes
Authors: Hafayed Dahbia , Chala Adel
Published: February 2019

In this paper, we deal with an optimal control, where the system is driven by a mean-field forward-backward doubly stochastic differential equation with jumps diffusion. We assume that the set of admissible control is convex, and we establish a necessary as well as a sufficient optimality condition for such system.
Outline for a Quantum Theory of Gravity
Authors: Singh Tejinder P.
Published: February 2019

By invoking an asymmetric metric tensor, and borrowing ideas from non-commutative geometry, string theory, and trace dynamics, we propose an action function for quantum gravity. The action is proportional to the four-dimensional non-commutative curvature scalar (which is torsion dependent), which is sourced by the Nambu–Goto world-sheet action for a string plus the Kalb–Ramond string action. This ‘quantum gravity’ is actually a non-commutative classical matrix dynamics, and the only two fundamental constants in the theory are the square of the Planck length and the speed of light. By treating the entity described by this action as a microstate, one constructs the statistical thermodynamics of a large number of such microstates, in the spirit of trace dynamics. Quantum field theory (and ℏ) and quantum general relativity (and G) emerge from the underlying matrix dynamics in the thermodynamic limit. Statistical fluctuations, which are inevitably present about equilibrium, are the source for spontaneous localisation, which drives macroscopic quantum gravitational systems to the classical general relativistic limit. While the mathematical formalism governing these ideas remains to be developed, we hope to highlight here the deep connection between quantum foundations and the sought-for quantum theory of gravity. In the sense described in this article, ongoing experimental tests of spontaneous collapse theories are in fact also tests of string theory!
Effects of Acute Stretching Exercise and Training on Heart Rate Variability: A Review
Authors: Wong Alexei , Figueroa Arturo
Published: February 2019

Wong, A and Figueroa, A. Effects of acute stretching exercise and training on heart rate variability: A review. J Strength Cond Res 35(5): 1459–1466, 2021—Stretching (ST), an exercise modality widely used for flexibility improvement, has been recently proposed as an effective adjunct therapy for declines in cardiovascular health, warranting research into the effects of ST exercise on cardiac autonomic function (CAF). Heart rate (HR) variability (HRV) is a reliable measure of CAF, mainly the sympathetic and parasympathetic modulations of HR. A low HRV has been associated to increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. Exercise interventions that enhance HRV are therefore seen as beneficial to cardiovascular health and are sought after. In this review, we discuss the effect of ST both acute and training on HRV. Stretching training seems to be a useful therapeutic intervention to improve CAF in different populations. Although the mechanisms by which ST training improves CAF are not yet well understood; increases in baroreflex sensitivity, relaxation, and nitric oxide bioavailability seem to play an important role.
The Strength of Alpha–Beta Oscillatory Coupling Predicts Motor Timing Precision
Authors: Grabot Laetitia , Kononowicz Tadeusz W. , Dupré la Tour Tom , Gramfort Alexandre , Doyère Valérie , van Wassenhove Virginie
Published: February 2019

Precise timing makes the difference between harmony and cacophony, but how the brain achieves precision during timing is unknown. In this study, human participants (7 females, 5 males) generated a time interval while being recorded with magnetoencephalography. Building on the proposal that the coupling of neural oscillations provides a temporal code for information processing in the brain, we tested whether the strength of oscillatory coupling was sensitive to self-generated temporal precision. On a per individual basis, we show the presence of alpha–beta phase–amplitude coupling whose strength was associated with the temporal precision of self-generated time intervals, not with their absolute duration. Our results provide evidence that active oscillatory coupling engages α oscillations in maintaining the precision of an endogenous temporal motor goal encoded in β power; thewhenof self-timed actions. We propose that oscillatory coupling indexes the variance of neuronal computations, which translates into the precision of an individual's behavioral performance.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTWhich neural mechanisms enable precise volitional timing in the brain is unknown, yet accurate and precise timing is essential in every realm of life. In this study, we build on the hypothesis that neural oscillations, and their coupling across time scales, are essential for the coding and for the transmission of information in the brain. We show the presence of alpha–beta phase–amplitude coupling (α–β PAC) whose strength was associated with the temporal precision of self-generated time intervals, not with their absolute duration. α–β PAC indexes the temporal precision with which information is represented in an individual's brain. Our results link large-scale neuronal variability on the one hand, and individuals' timing precision, on the other.