bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular mortality in a Western Asian country: results from the Iran Cohort Consortium
Authors: Fahimfar Noushin , Khalili Davood , Sepanlou Sadaf Ghajarieh , Malekzadeh Reza , Azizi Fereidoun , Mansournia Mohammad Ali , Roohafza Hamidreza , Emamian Mohammad Hassan , Hadaegh Farzad , Poustchi Hossein , Mansourian Marjan , Hashemi Hassan , Sharafkhah Maryam , Pourshams Akram , Farzadfar Farshad , Steyerberg Ewout W , Fotouhi Akbar
Published: July 2018

Objectives

Cardiovascular mortality in Western Asia is high and still rising. However, most data documented on risk prediction has been derived from Western countries and few population-based cohort studies have been conducted in this region. The current study aimed to present the process of pooling data and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality incidences for four Iranian cohorts.

Methods

From the Iran Cohort Consortium, the Golestan Cohort Study (GCS), Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) and the Shahroud Eye Cohort Study (ShECS) were eligible for the current study since they had appropriate data and follow-up visits. Age-standardised CVD mortality rates were estimated for ages 40–80 and 40–65 years. Cox regression was used to compare mortalities among cohorts. Adjusted marginal rates were calculated using Poisson regression.

Results

Overall, 61 291 participants (34 880 women) aged 40–80 years, free of CVD at baseline, were included. During 504 606 person-years of follow-up, 1981 CVD deaths (885 women) occurred. Age-standardised/sex-standardised premature CVD mortality rates were estimated from 133 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 81 to 184) in ShECS to 366 (95% CI 342 to 389) in the GCS. Compared with urban women, rural women had higher CVD mortality in the GCS but not in the ICS. The GCS population had a higher risk of CVD mortality, compared with the others, adjusted for conventional CVD risk factors.

Conclusions

The incidence of CVD mortality is high with some differences between urban and rural cohorts in Iran as a Western Asian country. Pooling data facilitates the opportunity to globally evaluate risk prediction models.
Analgesic effects of intravenous flunixin and intrafunicular lidocaine or their combination for castration of lambs
Authors: Straticò Paola , Varasano Vincenzo , Suriano Riccardo , Mariscoli Massimo , Robbe Domenico , Giammarco Melania , Vignola Giorgio , Petrizzi Lucio
Published: July 2018

Objective

To analyse the effectiveness of intrafunicular lidocaine and intravenous flunixin for reducing pain and signs of stress in lambs undergoing surgical castration.

Design

Randomised controlled trial.

Setting

One university teaching hospital in Italy.

Participants

30 healthy male lambs, 9–12 weeks old.

Intervention

Allocation to five groups: a control group (C), undergoing general anaesthesia but not castration; a surgery group (S), undergoing orchiectomy without analgesic treatment; a surgery‐lidocaine group (SL), undergoing orchiectomy and receiving intrafunicular 2 per cent lidocaine solution; a surgery‐flunixin group (SF), undergoing orchiectomy and receiving intravenous flunixin; a surgery‐flunixin‐lidocaine group (SFL), undergoing orchiectomy and receiving both intrafunicular lidocaine and intravenous flunixin.

Main outcome measures

Nociception and stress were assessed through intraoperative indicators, serum cortisol concentration, glycaemia, behaviour, immune response and clinical evaluation of the heart rate (HR), respiratory rate and rectal temperature after surgery.

Results

Groups S and SL showed increased values of intraoperative HR, mean arterial pressure and postoperative cortisol concentration. In group SFL, cortisol values were similar to those of group C. No other difference could be detected.

Conclusions

The combination of intravenous flunixin and intrafunicular lidocaine reduced the pain and discomfort of lambs castrated under general anaesthesia. Intrafunicular lidocaine alone did not prevent pain or discomfort associated with castration.

Trial registration number

30/2012/CEISA/COM.
Contrasting root overwintering strategies of perennial wetland monocots
Authors: Nieman Tim , Hoogzaad Yvonne , Marcotte Susara J.E. , Ryser Peter
Published: July 2018

Root turnover is an important contributor to ecosystem nutrient and carbon cycling, but seasonal aspects of root mortality are not well known. This study tests the hypothesis that in strongly seasonal climates, such as in Northern Ontario, Canada, perennial wetland monocots fall into two distinct categories with respect to their root overwintering strategy: complete senescence or survival over the winter. Root survival in late winter and early spring was tested for a total of 26 species using vitality staining with tetrazolium chloride. Root survival in spring was either over 85% (18 species) or 0% (8 species). Lateral root survival was marginally lower than that of basal roots. In some species, low nutrient supply slightly increased root winter mortality, but did not change the seasonal pattern. We conclude that in a northern temperate climate, the overwintering strategies of roots of herbaceous monocots are binary: either avoidance or tolerance of the long unfavourable season, similar to deciduous and evergreen leaves among woody plants. Roots do not gradually die during the unfavourable season, but either completely senesce in the autumn or survive the winter. The distinct root overwintering strategies presumably affect the species’ resource economics and ecosystem processes.
The value of red light at night for increasing basil yield
Authors: Patel Jaimin S. , Radetsky Leora , Rea Mark S.
Published: July 2018

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is primarily used for culinary purposes, but it is also used in the fragrance and medicinal industries. In the last few years, global sweet basil production has been significantly impacted by downy mildew caused by Peronospora belbahrii Thines. Nighttime exposure to red light has been shown to inhibit sporulation of P. belbahrii. The objective of this study was to determine if nighttime exposure to red light from light-emitting diodes (λmax = 625 nm) could increase plant growth (plant height and leaf size) and yield (number and weight of leaves) in basil plants. In two sets of greenhouse experiments, red light was applied at a photosynthetic photon flux density of 60 μmol m−2 s−1 during the otherwise dark night for 10 h (from 2000 to 0600). The results demonstrate that exposure to red light at night can increase the number of basil leaves per plant, plant height, leaf size (length and width), and leaf fresh and dry weight compared with plants in darkness at night. The addition of incremental red light at night has the potential to be cost-effective for fresh organic basil production in controlled environments.
Analysis and Design of a New 10-Bit High Accuracy and Resolution TDC by Elimination of Offset Voltage and Parasitic Capacitors Effects
Authors: Rezvanyvardom Mahdi , Mirzaei Amin
Published: July 2018

This paper investigates a time-to-digital converter (TDC) that employs interpolation and time stretching techniques for digitizing the time interval between the rising edges of two input signals as well as increasing the resolution. In the proposed TDC, interpolation is performed based on a dual-slope conversion. The proposed converter eliminates the comparator offset voltage error and the comparator parasitic capacitor error compared with the TDCs that have been proposed previously. The features of the converter consist of the high accuracy and high resolution due to elimination of errors and usage of the analog interpolation structure. Moreover, it does not use gated delay lines in its structure and has the advantage of low sensitivity to the temperature, power supply and process (PVT) variations. For validation, the proposed TDC is designed in TSMC 0.18[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m CMOS technology and simulated by Hspice simulator. The comparison between the theoretical and simulation results confirms the benefits of the proposed TDC operation. The results prove that it can be employed for high speed and resolution applications.
Additional gradings on generalizations of Khovanov homology and invariants of embedded surfaces
Authors: Manturov Vassily Olegovich , Rushworth William
Published: July 2018

We define additional gradings on two generalizations of Khovanov homology (one due to the first author, the other due to the second), and use them to define invariants of various kinds of embeddings. These include invariants of links in thickened surfaces and of surfaces embedded in thickened [Formula: see text]-manifolds. In particular, the invariants of embedded surfaces are expressed in terms of certain diagrams related to the thickened [Formula: see text]-manifold, so that we refer to them as picture-valued invariants. This paper contains the first instance of such invariants for [Formula: see text]-dimensional objects. The additional gradings are defined using cohomological and homotopic information of surfaces: using this information we decorate the smoothings of the standard Khovanov cube, before transferring the decorations into algebra.
The SOFIA Focal Plane Imager: A Highly Sensitive and Fast Photometer for the Wavelength Range 0.4 to 1 Micron
Authors: Pfüller Enrico , Wolf Jürgen , Wiedemann Manuel
Published: July 2018

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a heavily modified Boeing 747SP aircraft, accommodating a 2.7[Formula: see text]m infrared telescope. This airborne observation platform operates at flight altitudes of up to 13.7[Formula: see text]km (45,000[Formula: see text]ft) and therefore allows a nearly unobstructed view of the visible and infrared universe at wavelengths between 0.4[Formula: see text]μm and 1600[Formula: see text]μm. The Focal Plane Imager (FPI+) is SOFIA’s main tracking camera. It uses a commercial, off-the-shelf camera with a thermoelectrically cooled EMCCD. The back-illuminated sensor has a peak quantum efficiency greater than 95% at 550[Formula: see text]nm and the dark current is as low as 0.001 e-/pix/sec. Since 2015, the FPI[Formula: see text] has been available to the community as a Facility Science Instrument (FSI), and can be used as a high speed photometer for events in the visual wavelength range.

This paper presents a detailed overview of the design and optical configuration of the FPI+. Different settings and specifications of the camera are explained and the focal plane sensor is described. The camera’s performance in regards to sensitivity and frame rate is shown. The operation of the instrument is described as well as the support for guest observers throughout the process from proposing to data analysis. To date, SOFIA has conducted multiple FPI+ observations of stellar occultations, e.g. occultations by Pluto in 2011 and 2015, the occultation by 2014MU69 in July 2017 and the occultation by Triton in October 2017. Additionally, multiple observations of exo-planet transits have been observed with the FPI+. Throughout these observations, the FPI+ has proven to be an excellent photometer for astronomical events that have challenging requirements for sensitivity and temporal resolution.
Needle Insertion Control Method for Minimizing Both Deflection and Tissue Damage
Authors: Tsumura Ryosuke , Takishita Yusuke , Iwata Hiroyasu
Published: July 2018

Because fine needles can easily be deflected, accurate needle insertion is often difficult. Lower abdominal insertion is particularly difficult because of less imaging feedback; thus, an approach for allowing a straight insertion path by minimizing deflection is beneficial in cases of lower abdominal insertion. Although insertion with axial rotation can minimize deflection, the rotational insertion may cause tissue damage. Therefore, we established a novel insertion method for minimizing both deflection and tissue damage by combining rotation and vibration. Using layered tissues, we evaluated the effect of a combination of rotation and vibration in terms of deflection and tissue damage, which were measured by the insertion force and torque, and the area of the hole created by the needle using histological tissue sections to measure tissue damage. The experimental results demonstrated that insertion with unidirectional rotation is risky in terms of tissue wind-up, while insertion with bidirectional rotation can decrease deflection and avoid wind-up. We also found that insertion with vibration can decrease the insertion force and torque. Therefore, insertion with a combination of bidirectional rotation and vibration can minimize needle deflection and tissue damage, including the insertion force and torque and the hole area.
Sequence-Aware Recommender Systems
Authors: Quadrana Massimo , Cremonesi Paolo , Jannach Dietmar
Published: July 2018

Recommender systems are one of the most successful applications of data mining and machine-learning technology in practice. Academic research in the field is historically often based on the matrix completion problem formulation, where for each user-item-pair only one interaction (e.g., a rating) is considered. In many application domains, however, multiple user-item interactions of different types can be recorded over time. And, a number of recent works have shown that this information can be used to build richer individual user models and to discover additional behavioral patterns that can be leveraged in the recommendation process.

In this work, we review existing works that consider information from such sequentially ordered user-item interaction logs in the recommendation process. Based on this review, we propose a categorization of the corresponding recommendation tasks and goals, summarize existing algorithmic solutions, discuss methodological approaches when benchmarking what we call
sequence-aware recommender systems
, and outline open challenges in the area.
A Survey on Malicious Domains Detection through DNS Data Analysis
Authors: Zhauniarovich Yury , Khalil Issa , Yu Ting , Dacier Marc
Published: July 2018

Malicious domains are one of the major resources required for adversaries to run attacks over the Internet. Due to the important role of the Domain Name System (DNS), extensive research has been conducted to identify malicious domains based on their unique behavior reflected in different phases of the life cycle of DNS queries and responses. Existing approaches differ significantly in terms of intuitions, data analysis methods as well as evaluation methodologies. This warrants a thorough systematization of the approaches and a careful review of the advantages and limitations of every group.

In this article, we perform such an analysis. To achieve this goal, we present the necessary background knowledge on DNS and malicious activities leveraging DNS. We describe a general framework of malicious domain detection techniques using DNS data. Applying this framework, we categorize existing approaches using several orthogonal viewpoints, namely (1) sources of DNS data and their enrichment, (2) data analysis methods, and (3) evaluation strategies and metrics. In each aspect, we discuss the important challenges that the research community should address in order to fully realize the power of DNS data analysis to fight against attacks leveraging malicious domains.
Genetic Factors and Molecular Mechanisms of Vitamin D and Obesity Relationship
Authors: Ruiz-Ojeda Francisco Javier , Anguita-Ruiz Augusto , Leis Rosaura , Aguilera Concepcion M.
Published: July 2018

Vitamin D (vitD) deficiency is associated with a wide range of chronic diseases and conditions, including obesity, and with an increasing severity of metabolic dysregulation, such as insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, liver disease, and hypertension, both in children and adults. However, the nature of the association between low vitD status and obesity remains unclear. This fact has motivated the scientific community to conduct genetic association analyses between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D)-related genes and obesity traits. In this line, the variation in the vitD receptor (VDR) gene represents the bulk of the findings. Specifically, polymorphisms in the VDR gene have been associated with obesity traits in some but not all, studies. Thus, results regarding this matter remain inconclusive. Other genes aside from VDR have also been investigated in relation to obesity-related traits. However, again, findings have been inconsistent. In general, results point to the fact that the DBP/GC gene could be an important protein-linking obesity and vitD status. On the other hand, several studies have attempted to determine the molecular mechanism of the relationship between 25(OH)-D levels and obesity. Some of these studies suggest that vitD, due to its fat-soluble characteristic, is retained by the adipose tissue and has the capacity to metabolize 25(OH)-D locally, and this can be altered during obesity. Additionally, vitD is capable of regulating the gene expression related to adipogenesis process, inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolism in mature adipocytes. Therefore, the aim of the present review was to evaluate the association between obesity and vitD deficiency describing the main molecular mechanism of the relationship and the link with genetic factors. Key Messages: Low serum 25(OH)-D is positively associated with obesity or BMI in adults and children. Circulating vitD concentrations are, at least, partially determined by genetic factors. VitD plays an important role in the adipogenesis process and inflammation status in adipocytes and adipose tissue.
Complete Response of Pulmonary Metastases from Rectal Cancer to Tegafur-Uracil/Leucovorin plus Bevacizumab in an Elderly Patient: A Case Report
Authors: Shibutani Masatsune , Maeda Kiyoshi , Nagahara Hisashi , Fukuoka Tatsunari , Iseki Yasuhito , Matsutani Shinji , Wang En , Hirakawa Kosei , Ohira Masaichi
Published: July 2018

As a result of recent major advances in chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer, the prognosis for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer has improved. However, elderly patients often cannot receive intensive therapy. There are still many problems to solve regarding treatment for elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. We herein report a case of complete response of pulmonary metastases from rectal cancer to tegafur-uracil (UFT)/leucovorin (LV) + bevacizumab (Bmab) in an elderly patient. An 80-year-old woman who had undergone curative surgery for rectal cancer 5 years ago was diagnosed with pulmonary metastases. Taking into account her advanced age and low renal function (creatinine clearance: 41.2 mL/min), UFT/LV + Bmab therapy was selected. The patient received UFT (300 mg/m2/day) and LV (75 mg/day) on days 1–5, 8–12, and 15–19 and Bmab (7.5 mg/kg) on day 1. The treatment cycle was repeated every 21 days. Following 17 courses of treatment without adverse events, a complete response was observed. Furthermore, there was no recurrence within 6 months after the final course of therapy. This case indicates that UFT/LV + Bmab is suitable for the treatment of elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
Beware Occam’s Syntactic Razor: Morphotactic Analysis and Spanish Mesoclisis
Authors: Arregi Karlos , Nevins Andrew
Published: July 2018

Harris and Halle (2005) present a framework (Generalized Reduplication) that unites the treatment of phonological reduplication and metathesis with similar phenomena in morphology, thereby accounting for the apparently spurious placement of the imperative plural - n in mesoclitic Spanish forms such as hága-lo-n ‘Do it!’, in which clitic lo is sandwiched between the verbal stem and the plural suffix. Kayne (2010) has challenged their analysis, arguing that such cases should be treated purely within the syntax. We reassess some of Kayne’s arguments, agreeing with his conclusion that the most important desideratum of any general analysis of such phenomena is restrictiveness. However, we contend that greater restrictiveness can be achieved through morphotactic constraints and repairs in the Generalized Reduplication formalism, triggered by a Noninitiality constraint on the positioning of the plural affix, and we develop constraints on these operations that situate interspeaker variation within the postsyntactic component.
Against the PredP Theory of Small Clauses
Authors: Matushansky Ora
Published: July 2018

Since Bowers 1993 , it has been accepted that nonverbal small clauses are headed by a functional head, Pred0, whose function is to obligatorily mediate all nonverbal predication. I argue against this hypothesis by critically reanalyzing the original syntactic arguments for PredP, examining possible semantic support for mediated predication, and reviewing the putative crosslinguistic evidence for overt equivalence of Pred0. I first demonstrate that the facts originally taken as motivating a functional head in small clauses can now be accounted for by independently needed assumptions. I then show that standard Montagovian semantics treating NPs, APs, and PPs as unsaturated functions requires no mediating projection and that suggested alternative meanings for Pred0either fail or cannot be used as motivation for its existence. Finally, I provide evidence that the syntax of copular particles and other “overt predicators” is different from that expected of Pred0in such ways that they cannot be taken as prima facie evidence for it either. I sketch an alternative theory linking the use of predicative particles to nominal predication and provide evidence for it from crosslinguistic lexicalization patterns of copular particles. In sum, neither theoretical nor empirical considerations require a mediating functional head in small clauses, and therefore the PredP hypothesis should be abandoned.
Overtly Empty but Covertly Complex
Authors: Sakamoto Yuta
Published: July 2018

In this article, I argue for an ellipsis analysis of Japanese null arguments on the basis of a novel observation that covert extraction (i.e., extraction that does not affect word order) is possible out of them. Specifically, assuming that the extraction possibility is a diagnostic for surface anaphora/ellipsis, I claim that the covert extraction possibility indicates that Japanese null arguments can be elliptic: they cannot be uniformly silent deep anaphora/proforms. Furthermore, I show that there is an overt/covert extraction asymmetry in that only covert extraction is allowed out of Japanese null arguments. I argue that the LF copy analysis of argument ellipsis provides a solution for the overt/covert extraction asymmetry. The discussion also has consequences for the proper analysis of several phenomena of Japanese syntax, including wh-in-situ.
‘Dual Use Research of Concern’ and ‘Select Agents’
Authors: Scott-Baumann Alison
Published: July 2018

Creating a suspect community is a time-consuming task and requires persistence. Once achieved, it is difficult to undo. In security terms, inspiring fear of dual use is one of many successful methods used to create suspicion. The concept of dual use research of concern (DURC) is the idea that scientific knowledge can be created by the worthy, stolen by the malevolent and used to make war on the innocent. On campus, ideas about Islam are currently often viewed as if Islam epitomisesDURC. By this means, a Derridean binary opposition springs up between Islam and the rest, whereby that-which-is-Islam is demeaned and the ‘rest’ is privileged. This emanates from political intervention on campus and creates a risk-averse ‘othering’ approach to students’ interaction with Islam and Muslims and the Western world. In order to demonstrate how this political intervention influences the university curriculum and university life on campus, the termdual usewill function here as a heuristic: the ‘metaphor’ ofDURCshows how certain government ideologies are being used on campus to ‘weaponise’ ideas about Islam as if they are malevolent. Using a complementary and mutually enhancing combination of philosophy, empirical research and policy analysis, three positive solutions are proposed that show how important it is that academics be aware of national policy: first, in order to make people cognisant of the urgent need to offer alternatives to the British counter terrorism programme ‘Prevent’ and the work of the Charity Commission with student societies; second, to support the work of academic subject associations; and third, to create a useful debate about free speech.
An emended description of Neofusicoccum brasiliense and characterization of Neoscytalidium and Pseudofusicoccum species associated with tropical fruit plants in northeastern Brazil
Authors: COUTINHO INGRID B.L. , CARDOSO JOSÉ E. , LIMA CRISTIANO S. , LIMA JOILSON S. , GONÇALVES FRANCISCO J.T. , SILVA ABIGAIL. M.S. , FREIRE FRANCISCO C.O.
Published: July 2018

The Botryosphaeriaceae family is one of the most important groups of plant pathogenic fungi associated with tropical woody species such as Anacardium occidentale (cashew) and Mangifera indica (mango), which are fruiting species with broad distributions and high economic importance in north-eastern Brazil. This study was designed to characterize species of this family associated with cashew, mango and Psidium guajava (guava) that cause dieback and stem and branch cankers. Characterization comprised phylogenetic, morphological, physiological and pathogenic features. The phylogenetic study combined sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the rDNA and partial elongation factor 1-α (EF1-α) regions of DNA. Measurements of fungal conidia and colony growth on different culture media and at different temperatures were conducted. Pathogenicity tests were also performed through inoculation of different host species. By combining the sequences of the referenced genes, it was possible to identify the following Botryosphaeriaceae species: Neofusicoccum kwambonambiense, Neoscytalidium hyalinum and Pseudofusicoccum stromaticum as the first report in cashew, Neoscytalidium hyalinum in mango and Neofusicoccum brasiliense as the first report in guava. Examination of N. brasiliense revealed conidia, providing the first morphological description of the species. Neofusicoccum kwambonambiense did not sporulate, but the other isolates produced conidia with dimensions comparable to those described in the literature. All isolates were virulent to mango fruits and young cashew and “caja-umbu” plants, causing necrotic lesions and gum exudation by the hosts. The isolates of Neofusicoccum were the most aggressive in the inoculated hosts.
Two new Stauroneis species (Bacillariophyta, Stauroneidaceae) from midwestern karstic Brazilian formations
Authors: TUSSET EDUARDO A. , TREMARIN PRISCILA I. , LUDWIG THELMA A.V.
Published: July 2018

The morphology of three Stauroneis species from midwestern karstic Brazilian formations was illustrated under light and electron microscopy. Two new Stauroneis are described and compared with similar species in the genus. Stauroneis cavalcantei Tremarin, Tusset & T. Ludwig is characterized by lanceolate valves with subtly protracted apices, and S. karstica Tusset, Tremarin & T. Ludwig by rhombic-lanceolate valves with attenuate to acutely-rounded apices, reduced pseudosepta, bow-tie-shaped stauros, and areolae depressed along prominent longitudinal-oriented apical ribs. Stauroneis alabamae is a scarcely known species and unprecedented scanning electron microscopy illustrations are provided.
A speech communication educational platform with high-capacity information hiding scheme
Authors: Lin Rong-San
Published: July 2018

A novel educational platform for voice over Internet protocol speech communication is proposed in this paper with the aim of further presenting a course of digital speech signal processing. The proposed platform can transmit a speech signal while a secret message is simultaneously embedded in the transmitted encoded bits of this speech signal. Data hiding techniques usually consider two issues, embedding capacity and speech quality. Consequently, in order to achieve high embedding capacity and good speech quality, a data hiding scheme combining discrete cosine transform and voice activity detection algorithms is presented in this paper. This work has two major contributions. First, the embedding capacity of secret speech is increased by 95%, while maintaining good secret speech quality because the secret speech is firstly encoded before embedding into the cover (carrier) speech. Secondly, the characteristics of speech signals can be understood and the proposed information hiding technique for speech signals can be explored. The results of an imperceptibility evaluation indicated that the average perceptual evaluation of the speech quality score degraded slightly by 0.03 relative to that of the cover speech that had no hidden data. The experimental results showed that our proposed hiding scheme not only achieves imperceptibility but also provides a high data-embedding capacity at an average of 8252 bits per second. Objective and subjective evaluations verified that our proposed hiding scheme can achieve a large data-embedding capacity with imperceptible distortion in the stego-speech quality.
Rural and Urban Differences in Nebraskans’ Access to Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Prescription Pills
Authors: Habecker Patrick , Welch-Lazoritz Melissa , Dombrowski Kirk
Published: July 2018

The ability of a user to access a given type of drug is related to the configuration of the market for that drug, and a range of economic and criminal justice concerns. This study focuses on Nebraskan’s “ready access” to four types of drugs (marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, and prescription pills) in 2016, using a statewide survey of housed Nebraskan adults. Ready access is defined as a participant knowing at least one person from whom they could obtain a given type of drug if they wanted to. We found that 35% of adult Nebraskans knew at least one person from whom they could obtain marijuana, 8.9% for methamphetamine, 4.5% for heroin, and 17.8% knew at least one source for prescription pills. Relationships between knowing a source for each type of drug and rurality, sex, race, religious attendance, mental health symptoms, and education are explored.
Is Exposure to Violence a Persistent Risk Factor for Offending across the Life Course? Examining the Contemporaneous, Acute, Enduring, and Long-term Consequences of Exposure to Violence on Property Crime, Violent Offending, and Substance Use
Authors: Farrell Chelsea , Zimmerman Gregory M.
Published: July 2018

Objectives:

To examine the contemporaneous (cross-sectional), acute (1 year), enduring (5–7 years), and long-term (12–13 years) effects of exposure to violence on offending behaviors.

Methods:

We analyze four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health ( N = 7,706). Exposure to violence captures direct (interpersonal victimization and violent threats) and indirect (witnessing violence) experiences with violence. Outcome measures include property crime, violent offending, and substance use. A series of logistic regression models examine the acute, enduring, and long-term effects of exposure to violence on the offending outcomes at each study wave, controlling for exposure to violence, lagged dependent variables, and baseline covariates at all previous waves.

Results:

The effects of exposure to violence on violent offending persist over time, with effects attenuating over time. However, exposure to violence only has contemporaneous and acute effects on property crime and drug use.

Conclusions:

Long-term effects of exposure to violence on violent offending are not an artifact of confounding with more recent experiences with violence. Both distal and proximate effects of exposure to violence should be addressed in order to adequately disrupt the overlap between exposure to violence and violent offending.
What’s the Problem? Exploring the Potential of Problem-Based Learning in an Ensemble Setting
Authors: Laprise Richard
Published: July 2018

Can you think of a research-supported strategy that simultaneously encourages critical and creative thinking; develops knowledge, skills, and affect; promotes meaningful connection with music; and creates lifelong learners? Problem-based learning (PBL) effectively meets and exceeds these criteria by providing an engaging opportunity for students to use higher-order thinking skills and create meaningful connections with the music they are studying through the context of real-life problem scenarios. An authentic problem with multiple solutions allows students to collaborate and develop into independent learners while actively engaging in the music they are studying. This strategy, used effectively for more than fifty years in other education fields, has rarely been used in music education, but PBL’s potential to positively influence student learning is well worth exploring.
Reconciling Beliefs about L2 Learning with SLA Theory and Research
Authors: Phakiti Aek , Plonsky Luke
Published: July 2018

This article aims to discuss ten beliefs that teachers hold about second language (L2) learning and to relate these to relevant theories and approaches in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). It is especially written for L2 teachers who would like to know more about theoretical approaches that seek to explain L2 learning. Preliminary responses to L2 learning beliefs from L2 teachers and some L2 English learner reflections are used to guide the discussion of these beliefs.
Climate justice and human rights
Authors: Schapper Andrea
Published: July 2018

Climate change as well as climate policies can have adverse effects on the human rights of certain population groups – and can exacerbate situations of injustice. As it stands today, the human rights regime is not set to sufficiently address these situations of climate injustice. In this article, I suggest a systematization of the normative climate justice literature that can be used as an analytical framework to evaluate current developments in human rights law and policy, and their potential to diminish inter-national, intra-societal and inter-generational climate injustice. I argue that further advancing procedural and substantive human rights obligations and corresponding enforcement mechanisms constitute one important way of establishing climate justice practices. Moreover, I suggest that the normative climate justice literature can be fruitfully used in International Relations to evaluate policy developments at the intersection between climate change and other policy fields.
Diagnosing Multicollinearity in Exponential Random Graph Models
Authors: Duxbury Scott W.
Published: July 2018

Exponential random graph models (ERGM) have been widely applied in the social sciences in the past 10 years. However, diagnostics for ERGM have lagged behind their use. Collinearity-type problems can emerge without detection when fitting ERGM, yielding inconsistent model estimates and problematizing inference from parameters. This article provides a method to detect multicollinearity in ERGM. It outlines the problem and provides a method to calculate the variance inflation factor (VIF) from ERGM parameters. It then evaluates the method with a Monte Carlo simulation, fitting 216,000 ERGMs and calculating the VIFs for each model. The distribution of VIFs is analyzed using multilevel regression to determine what network characteristics lend themselves to collinearity-type problems. The relationship between VIFs and unstable standard errors (a standard sign of collinearity) is also examined. The method is shown to effectively detect multicollinearity, and guidelines for interpretation are discussed.
Perceived Corruption, Trust, and Interviewer Behavior in 26 European Countries
Authors: Blasius Jörg , Thiessen Victor
Published: July 2018

Identifying illicit behavior in survey research is inherently problematic, since self-reports are untrustworthy. We argue that fraudulent interviewers can, however, be identified through statistical deviance of the distributional parameters of their interviews. We document that a high proportion of the variation in the data is due to the interviewer. In addition, we show that the incidence of interviewer-induced anomalies is strongly associated with the perceived level of corruption across the countries participating in the European Social Survey 2010. The major implication of the findings is that the data from some countries cannot be used fruitfully for cross-national comparative research.
Double Conjunction Fallacies in Physicians’ Probability Judgment
Authors: Crupi Vincenzo , Elia Fabrizio , Aprà Franco , Tentori Katya
Published: July 2018

We report the first empirical data showing a significant amount of double conjunction fallacies in physicians’ probability judgments concerning prognosis and diagnosis. Our results support the hypothesis that physicians’ probability judgments are guided by assessments of evidential impact between diagnostic conditions and clinical signs. Moreover, we show that, contrary to some influential views, double conjunction fallacies represent an experimentally replicable reasoning bias. We discuss how the phenomenon eludes major current accounts of uncertain reasoning in medicine and beyond and how it relates to clinical practice.
Diffusion tensor imaging findings of the median nerve before and after carpal tunnel corticosteroid injection in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome: a preliminary study
Authors: Hsu Yi-Chih , Yang Fu-Chi , Hsu Hsian-He , Huang Guo-Shu
Published: July 2018

Background

Corticosteroid injections are a popular technique for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) treatment and are believed to provide rapid symptom relief.

Purpose

To use magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (MR-DTI) to determine the association between diffusion values of the median nerve (MN) at several anatomic locations and symptom relief in patients with CTS following corticosteroid injection.

Material and Methods

MR-DTI was performed on 15 wrists of 12 patients with CTS before and two weeks after ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injections. We recorded the patients’ clinical data including sex, age, side of injection, satisfaction, and symptom relief. Satisfaction and symptom relief were rated using a Likert scale and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire (BCTQ) scale. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the MN at the levels of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ), pisiform bone, and hamate bone were determined.

Results

All patients had ≥50% satisfaction on the injection side. In comparison with baseline values, post-injection ADC was significantly lower ( P = 0.001) but FA was not significantly higher ( P = 0.11) at the pisiform bone level on the injected wrists. At the DRUJ and hamate bone levels, no obvious inter-scan change in FA and ADC ( P > 0.05) was observed. The decrease in ADC at the pisiform bone level strongly correlated with the decrease in BCTQ scores (r = 0.628; P = 0.012).

Conclusion

Symptom relief in patients with CTS receiving corticosteroid injection is related to the change in ADC of the median nerve at the level of the pisiform bone, as determined using MR-DTI.
Does narrative medicine education improve nursing students’ empathic abilities and academic achievement? A randomised controlled trial
Authors: Yang Ningxi , Xiao Han , Cao Yingnan , Li Shiyue , Yan Hong , Wang Yifang
Published: July 2018

Objective

To determine the effectiveness of a narrative medicine educational intervention on the empathic abilities and academic achievement of Chinese nursing students.

Methods

A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted between January 2015 and July 2017. Six class clusters (two controls, four interventions) comprising 180 nursing students were included in this trial. After pre-tests to obtain baseline measurements, two control classes (Group 1) attended regular medical education courses, two intervention classes (Group 2) received theoretical narrative medicine education for 1 term, and two intervention classes (Group 3) received narrative medicine education that integrated theory with practice for 2 terms. The empathic ability and academic achievement of the groups were compared, and longitudinal changes in empathic ability were measured.

Results

Students in Group 3 showed higher empathic ability and academic achievement than students in Group 1. Empathic ability was measured at six time points and showed between-group differences. The empathy scores of students in Group 3 increased abruptly after the two-term intervention.

Conclusions

Narrative medicine education that combines theory with practice is an effective strategy for improving nursing students’ empathic ability and academic achievement.
Ultrastructural changes in red blood cells in aortic dissection patients under extracorporeal circulation: Atomic force microscopy study
Authors: Deng Li , Yang Hui , Meng Weixin , Chen Yue , Hu Guang , Liu Hongyu
Published: July 2018

Purpose:

During extracorporeal circulation in heart surgery, blood is exposed to non-physiological conditions, such as high shear stress, foreign surfaces, turbulence, and hypothermia. These factors cause damage to the red blood cells, which is manifested by immediate and delayed hemolysis or some changes in the mechanical properties of red blood cells, defined as sublethal trauma. Unfortunately, sublethal trauma is hard to detect, and there is not enough morphological evidence regarding red blood cell sublethal trauma. In this study, red blood cell sublethal trauma was observed after extracorporeal circulation by describing ultrastructural changes in red blood cell membranes using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Methods:

Venous blood (2 mL) was collected into heparin tubes from preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative aortic dissection patients for comparison with blood from healthy patients. The red blood cell morphological study (malformations percentage, diameter, height, concavity, and roughness) was performed with scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.

Results:

Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy imaging analysis revealed that the red blood cell shape changed during extracorporeal circulation and that the red blood cell malformation percentage in the postoperative group was higher than those in the preoperative and intraoperative groups. Most morphological parameters had no obvious changes, except roughness (Ra and Rq) in aortic dissection patients. Atomic force microscopy quantitative analysis indicated that the roughness of red blood cell membranes increased during extracorporeal circulation.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates that ultrastructural morphological damage occurs to red blood cells membranes due to extracorporeal circulation in aortic dissection patients. In addition, we provided a new parameter (Ra and Rq) to evaluate red blood cell sublethal trauma.
Force induced piezoelectric effect of polyvinylidene fluoride and polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene nanofibrous scaffolds
Authors: Al Halabi Fedaa , Gryshkov Oleksandr , Kuhn Antonia I , Kapralova Viktoria M , Glasmacher Birgit
Published: July 2018

Polyvinylidene fluoride and its co-polymer with trifluoroethylene are promising biomaterials for supporting nerve regeneration processes because of their proven biocompatibility and piezoelectric properties that could stimulate cell ingrowth due to electrical activity upon mechanical deformation. This study reports the piezoelectric effect of electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride scaffolds in response to mechanical loading. An impact test machine was used to evaluate the generation of electrical voltage upon application of an impact load. Scaffolds were produced via electrospinning from polyvinylidene fluoride and polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene with concentrations of 10–20 wt% dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and acetone (6:4). The structural and thermal properties of scaffolds were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry, respectively. The piezoelectric response of the scaffolds was induced using a custom-made manual impact press machine. Impact forces between 0.4 and 14 N were applied. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry results demonstrated the piezoelectric effect of the electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride and polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene scaffolds. All the scaffolds exhibited a piezoelectric polar beta-phase formation. Their thermal enthalpies were higher than the value of the initial materials and exhibited a better tendency of crystallization. The electrospun scaffolds exhibited piezoelectric responses in form of voltage by applying impact load. Polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene scaffolds showed higher values in the range of 6–30 V as compared to pure polyvinylidene fluoride. Here, the mechanically induced electrical impulses measured were between 2.5 and 8 V. Increasing the impact forces did not increase the piezoelectric effect. The results demonstrate the possibility of producing electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride and polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene scaffolds as nerve guidance with piezoelectric response. Further experiments must be carried out to analyze the piezoelectricity at dynamic conditions.
A National Examination of Caregiver Use of and Preferences for Support Services: Does Rurality Matter?
Authors: Henning-Smith Carrie , Lahr Megan , Casey Michelle
Published: July 2018

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess rural–urban differences in caregiver use of and preferences for support services. Method: Using the 2015 Caregiving in the U.S. survey data ( n = 1,389), we analyzed rural–urban differences by caregiver residence in use of and preferences for support services. We analyzed bivariate differences in service use and preferences, as well as in sociodemographic and caregiving relationship characteristics. We also assessed the correlates of service use using stratified ordered logistic regression models. Results: Approximately one third of all caregivers had used no supportive services, with few differences in service use and preference by location. For caregivers in both locations, having more financial strain was associated with greater use of services. Discussion: This article identifies broad needs for caregiver support across all geographic locations. Targeted efforts should be made to ensure access to supportive services accounting for unique barriers by geography.
Lithofacies and ichnofacies distribution in offshore sediments of the Langarud–Rudsar region of Iran, southern Caspian Sea
Authors: Abbasian Hedieh , Richards Keith
Published: July 2018

Innovative Computerized co-axial tomography (CAT)-scan methods have been applied to two short cores collected in the southern Caspian Sea, offshore from the Langarud–Rudsar region of Iran, to the east of the Sefidrud delta. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) readings, in association with other lithological criteria, are used to correlate the cores and calibrate to real time. The cores provide a sedimentary record from this largely unstudied region covering the last 200+ years (~1784 to 2008 CE). Three principal lithofacies types were recognized. The more distal locality (T2-3, water depth 117 m) consists entirely of poorly fossiliferous silty muds, whereas the more proximal locality (T2-2, water depth 51 m) contains beds with rich ostracod, gastropod and bivalve assemblages. Peak MS readings occur between ~1872 and 1918 CE and are linked to erosion of sediments deposited during the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) highstands of the Caspian Sea. CAT-scan results reveal the presence of the non-marine Mermia ichnofacies type, which is reported for the first time in the Caspian Sea. Horizontal burrows (feeding structures) by Treptichnus ichnofauna coincide with periods of LIA highstand in Caspian Sea level and suggest low-energy conditions on the marine shelf. Vertical burrows (feeding structures) occur at times of relatively stable, but variable Caspian water levels. Interbedded dark coloured, organic-rich muds and lighter silt-rich layers within the last ~100 years show potential cyclicity which may be linked to climatic and/or river discharge events.