bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cultural and Recreational Values for Environmental Flows in Mexico's Colorado River Delta
Authors: Kerna Ashley , Colby Bonnie , Zamora Francisco
Published: December 2016

Worldwide, aquatic ecosystems subsist on water leftover from agricultural, industrial, and municipal water uses. While bi-national agreements have temporarily provided water for the Colorado River Delta (Delta) in Mexico, dedication of water to support aquatic ecosystems is rare. High-level U.S. – Mexico negotiations are underway to consider whether and how to provide water for the Delta once the current pilot program ends in 2017. Better understanding of the value of aquatic ecosystems can be useful in securing water to sustain them. This paper reports research findings on values held by visitors from nearby Mexican communities for environmental flows in the Delta. Based on surveys conducted at five recreation locations, this contingent valuation methodology (CVM) study assesses visitors' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for an assured source of water to sustain the Delta's ecosystem and the recreational opportunities it provides. Results indicate strong support for Delta restoration, with the majority of respondents indicating positive WTP to ensure adequate amounts of water to sustain a healthy and vibrant Delta ecosystem. Econometric model results indicate a median WTP ranging from $97 to $168 MXN (approximately $7–$13 USD at the time of analysis) per car per entry. These values represent only a subset of recreational users, and recreation values are only one of many components of the ecosystem services provided by the Delta. While only a fraction of recreation value and total economic value, it is important to understand values held by local recreation visitors. These values gauge support for preserving aquatic ecosystems in nearby communities. Furthermore, values held in the local area affect water management and policy decisions regarding restoration of this unique aquatic ecosystem.
Analyzing the Decorative Style of 3D Heritage Collections Based on Shape Saliency
Authors: Echavarria Karina Rodriguez , Song Ran
Published: December 2016

As technologies for 3D acquisition become widely available, it is expected that 3D content documenting heritage artifacts will become increasingly popular. Nevertheless, to provide access to and enable the creative use of this content, it is necessary to address the challenges to its access. These include the automatic enrichment of 3D content with suitable metadata so that content does not get lost. To address these challenges, this article presents research on developing technologies to support the organization and discoverability of 3D content in the Cultural Heritage (CH) domain. This research takes advantage of the fact that heritage artifacts have been designed throughout the centuries with distinctive design styles. Hence, the shape and the decoration of an artifact can provide significant information on the history of the artifact. The main contributions of this article include an ontology for documenting 3D representations of heritage artifacts decorated with ornaments such as architectural mouldings. In addition, the article presents a complementary shape retrieval method based on shape saliency to improve the automatic classification of the artifact’s semantic information based on its 3D shape. This method is tested on a collection of Regency ornament mouldings found in domestic interiors. This content provides a rich dataset on which to base the exploration of issues common to many CH artifacts, such as design styles and decorative ornament.
Accelerating Intercommunication in Highly Parallel Systems
Authors: Tampouratzis Nikolaos , Mattheakis Pavlos M. , Papaefstathiou Ioannis
Published: December 2016

Every HPC system consists of numerous processing nodes interconnect using a number of different inter-process communication protocols such as Messaging Passing Interface (MPI) and Global Arrays (GA). Traditionally, research has focused on optimizing these protocols and identifying the most suitable ones for each system and/or application. Recently, there has been a proposal to unify the primitive operations of the different inter-processor communication protocols through the Portals library. Portals offer a set of low-level communication routines which can be composed in order to implement the functionality of different intercommunication protocols. However, Portals modularity comes at a performance cost, since it adds one more layer in the actual protocol implementation. This work aims at closing the performance gap between a generic and reusable intercommunication layer, such as Portals, and the several monolithic and highly optimized intercommunication protocols. This is achieved through the development of a novel hardware offload engine efficiently implementing the basic Portals’ modules. Our innovative system is up to two2 orders of magnitude faster than the conventional software implementation of Portals’ while the speedup achieved over the conventional monolithic software implementations of MPI and GAs is more than an order of magnitude. The power consumption of our hardware system is less than 1/100th of what a low-power CPU consumes when executing the Portal's software while its silicon cost is less than 1/10th of that of a very simple RISC CPU. Moreover, our design process is also innovative since we have first modeled the hardware within an untimed virtual prototype which allowed for rapid design space exploration; then we applied a novel methodology to transform the untimed description into an efficient timed hardware description, which was then transformed into a hardware netlist through a High-Level Synthesis (HLS) tool.
Bronchodilatory effect of deep inspiration in freshly isolated sheep lungs
Authors: Wong William D. , Wang Lu , Paré Peter D. , Seow Chun Y.
Published: December 2016

Taking a big breath is known to reverse bronchoconstriction induced by bronchochallenge in healthy subjects; this bronchodilatory effect of deep inspiration (DI) is diminished in asthmatics. The mechanism underlying the DI effect is not clear. Observations from experiments using isolated airway smooth muscle (ASM) preparations and airway segments suggest that straining of ASM due to DI could lead to bronchodilation, possibly due to strain-induced reduction in ASM contractility. However, factors external to the lung cannot be excluded as potential causes for the DI effect. Neural reflex initiated by stretch receptors in the lung are known to inhibit the broncho-motor tone and enhance vasodilatation; the former directly reduces airway resistance, and the latter facilitates removal of contractile agonists through the bronchial circulation. If the DI effect is solely mediated by factors extrinsic to the lung, the DI effect would be absent in isolated, nonperfused lungs. Here we examined the DI effect in freshly isolated, nonperfused sheep lungs. We found that imposition of DI on isolated lungs resulted in significant bronchodilation, that this DI effect was present only after the lungs were challenged with a contractile agonist (acetylcholine or histamine), and that the effect was independent of the difference in lung volume observed pre- and post-DI. We conclude that a significant portion of the bronchodilatory DI effect stems from factors internal to the lung related to the activation of ASM.
Recovery of the immune system after exercise
Authors: Peake Jonathan M. , Neubauer Oliver , Walsh Neil P. , Simpson Richard J.
Published: December 2016

The notion that prolonged, intense exercise causes an “open window” of immunodepression during recovery after exercise is well accepted. Repeated exercise bouts or intensified training without sufficient recovery may increase the risk of illness. However, except for salivary IgA, clear and consistent markers of this immunodepression remain elusive. Exercise increases circulating neutrophil and monocyte counts and reduces circulating lymphocyte count during recovery. This lymphopenia results from preferential egress of lymphocyte subtypes with potent effector functions [e.g., natural killer (NK) cells, γδ T cells, and CD8+T cells]. These lymphocytes most likely translocate to peripheral sites of potential antigen encounter (e.g., lungs and gut). This redeployment of effector lymphocytes is an integral part of the physiological stress response to exercise. Current knowledge about changes in immune function during recovery from exercise is derived from assessment at the cell population level of isolated cells ex vivo or in blood. This assessment can be biased by large changes in the distribution of immune cells between blood and peripheral tissues during and after exercise. Some evidence suggests that reduced immune cell function in vitro may coincide with changes in vivo and rates of illness after exercise, but more work is required to substantiate this notion. Among the various nutritional strategies and physical therapies that athletes use to recover from exercise, carbohydrate supplementation is the most effective for minimizing immune disturbances during exercise recovery. Sleep is an important aspect of recovery, but more research is needed to determine how sleep disruption influences the immune system of athletes.
Stomach Cancer Disparity among Korean Americans by Tumor Characteristics: Comparison with Non-Hispanic Whites, Japanese Americans, South Koreans, and Japanese
Authors: Lee Eunjung , Liu Lihua , Zhang Juanjuan , Stern Mariana C. , Barzi Afsaneh , Hwang Amie , Kim Andre E. , Hamilton Ann S. , Wu Anna H. , Deapen Dennis
Published: December 2016

Background: Stomach cancer incidence shows substantial racial-ethnic disparity in the United States, with Korean Americans experiencing by far the highest incidence. We examined stomach cancer incidence trends in Korean Americans by tumor subsite, histology, and stage and compared them with incidence rates in racial-ethnic groups with the second highest rate (Japanese Americans) and the lowest rate (non-Hispanic whites; NHWs) as well as populations in South Korea and Japan.

Methods: We calculated age-adjusted incidence rates by racial-ethnic groups, sex, and tumor characteristics, using the 1988–2012 California Cancer Registry data. Data on South Korea and Japan were obtained from the literature and other resources.

Results: Between 1988 and 2012 in California, Korean Americans had about five times greater incidence than NHWs and twice that of Japanese Americans. Tumor characteristics differed by ethnic group and gender. The incidence in Korean Americans has declined during recent years, for both cardia and noncardia sites and for both intestinal- and diffuse-type histology. Although Korean Americans were diagnosed at an earlier stage than other Californians, the proportion with localized disease (43%) was much smaller than in South Korea (57%), where population-based screening is available.

Conclusions: Stomach cancer incidence declined in the highest risk ethnic groups. However, the persistent disparity between Korean Americans and other racial-ethnic groups warrants additional strategies for prevention and earlier diagnosis.

Impact: Analysis of California Cancer Registry data identified a racial-ethnic subgroup with stomach cancer disparity that may benefit from targeted prevention and screening efforts. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(4); 587–96. ©2016 AACR.
Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant for the Treatment of Postoperative Macular Edema
Authors: Klamann André , Böttcher Katharina , Ackermann Philipp , Geerling Gerd , Schargus Marc , Guthoff Rainer
Published: December 2016

Introduction: Macular edema after cataract surgery (Irvine-Gass syndrome) or pars plana vitrectomy is a postoperative complication which can lead to permanent visual loss. Increased inflammatory substances, such as prostaglandins and cytokines, are discussed to be causative. Currently, there are no evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of postoperative macular edema. Intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX) could be effective by its anti-inflammatory effect. We examined the functional and morphological results of treatment with 0.7 mg intravitreal DEX implant (Ozurdex®). Methods: In an observational study, we analyzed visual acuity (logMAR), intraocular pressure (IOP), clinical findings, and the central macular thickness (CMT, optical coherence tomography [OCT] Spectralis®, Heidelberg Engineering, 30° macular scan, 19 scans) of 12 eyes before and 1 month after the last DEX implantation (off-label use, Ozurdex®, Allergan, Inc., Irvine, CA, USA) for macular edema after cataract surgery or vitrectomy. Re-implantation was performed when OCT showed new intraretinal fluid along with a decrease in the patient's visual acuity. The mean follow-up was 14.4 ± 10.6 months. Results: Twelve eyes of 12 patients (4 female, 8 male) with a mean age of 62.6 ± 11.9 years were treated with a mean of 2.5 ± 1.6 intravitreal DEX implant injections. Prior to injection, the visual acuity was 0.74 ± 0.34 logMAR and the CMT was 608 ± 129 µm. One month after the last injection (after a mean of 437 ± 322 days), the CMT normalized (300 ± 90 µm, p < 0.01) in all cases with a visual acuity of 0.49 ± 0.43 logMAR (p < 0.01). After 8.1 ± 5.3 months, recurring macular edema could be completely reduced by re-injection in 66% (8 patients). Four patients had no recurrence. Postinjection, the mean IOP was 17.4 ± 6.8 mm Hg. Postinjection, 7 patients required topical antiglaucomatous therapy. Conclusions: Treatment with an intravitreal DEX implant is an effective therapy for postoperative macular edema. Each injection leads to a complete resorption of the edema with a significant increase in visual acuity.
Baseline Characteristics and Gender Differences in Prepubertal Children Treated with Growth Hormone in Europe, USA, and Japan: 25 Years' KIGS® Experience (1987-2012) and Review
Authors: Ranke Michael B. , Lindberg Anders , Tanaka Toshiaki , Camacho-Hübner Cecilia , Dunger David B. , Geffner Mitchell E.
Published: December 2016

Background: Information about disease-specific and gender-associated differences over longer time of short children treated with recombinant human growth hormone is missing. Methods: We analyzed data at growth hormone (GH) start in prepubertal children diagnosed with idiopathic GH deficiency (IGHD), congenital GHD, acquired GHD, idiopathic short stature (ISS), and born small for gestational age (SGA) enrolled (1987-2012) in the Pfizer International Growth Study (KIGS®) from Europe, USA, and Japan. Results: The demographic characteristics of patients in the three regions were similar. There was a diagnosis-specific pattern for age and height, and a universal pattern showing that girls were younger and smaller at GH start. There was a predominance of males with IGHD (n = 25,703; 70.1%), congenital GHD (n = 2,860; 63.9%), acquired GHD (n = 3,280; 63.9%), ISS (n = 4,327; 71.4%), and SGA (n = 5,848; 58.0%). Male prevalence in the USA population was more pronounced in IGHD, ISS, and SGA, but less so in congenital and acquired GHD. In IGHD (Europe and Japan) and ISS (Europe), there was a trend toward decreasing male prevalence. Conclusions: The male prevalence in prepubertal children treated with GH varies according to geographical region and is not explained by the underlying diagnoses. A global appreciation of gender biases is required for the proper care of short girls.
Quercetin Assists Fluconazole to Inhibit Biofilm Formations of Fluconazole-Resistant Candida Albicans in In Vitro and In Vivo Antifungal Managements of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis
Authors: Gao Mei , Wang Hui , Zhu LiJuan
Published: December 2016

Background: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common gynecological disease. Candida albicans is believed to be mainly implicated in VVC occurrence, the biofilm of which is one of the virulence factors responsible for resistance to traditional antifungal agents especially to fluconazole (FCZ). Quercetin (QCT) is a dietary flavonoid and has been demonstrated to be antifungal against C. albicans biofilm. Methods: 17 C. albicans isolates including 15 clinical ones isolated from VVC patients were employed to investigate the effects of QCT and/or FCZ on the inhibition of C. albicans biofilm. Results: We observed that 64 µg/mL QCT and/or 128 µg/mL FCZ could (i) be synergistic against 10 FCZ-resistant planktonic and 17 biofilm cells of C. albicans, (ii) inhibit fungal adherence, cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), flocculation, yeast-to-hypha transition, metabolism, thickness and dispersion of biofilms; (iii) down-regulate the expressions of ALS1, ALS3, HWP1, SUN41, UME6 and ECE1 and up-regulate the expressions of PDE2, NRG1 and HSP90, and we also found that (iv) the fungal burden was reduced in vaginal mucosa and the symptoms were alleviated in a murine VVC model after the treatments of 5 mg/kg QCT and/or 20 mg/kg FCZ. Conclusion: Together with these results, it could be demonstrated that QCT could be a favorable antifungal agent and a promising synergist with FCZ in the clinical management of VVC caused by C. albicans biofilm.
Roles of 1,25(OH)2D3 and Vitamin D Receptor in the Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus by Regulating the Activation of CD4+ T Cells and the PKCδ/ERK Signaling Pathway
Authors: He Xiao-Jie , Ding Yan , Xiang Wei , Dang Xi-Qiang
Published: December 2016

Background/Aims: The study aims to elucidate the roles of 1,25(OH)2D3 and vitamin D receptor (VDR) in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by regulating the activation of CD4+ T cells and the PKCδ/ERK signaling pathway. Methods: From January 2013 to December 2015, a total of 130 SLE patients, 137 RA patients and 130 healthy controls were selected in this study. Serum levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 and VDR mRNA expression were detected by ELISA and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Density gradient centrifugation was performed to separate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). CD4+ T cells were separated using magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS). CD4+T cells in logarithmic growth phase were collected and assigned into 9 groups: the normal control group, the normal negative control (NC) group, the VDR siRNA group, the RA control group, the RA NC group, the VDR over-expressed RA group, the SLE control group, the SLE NC group, and the VDR over-expressed SLE group. The mRNA and protein expressions of VDR, PKCδ, ERK1/2, CD11a, CD70 and CD40L were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. Bisulfite genomic sequencing was conducted to monitor the methylation status of CD11a, CD70 and CD40L. Results: Compared with healthy controls, serum 1,25(OH)2D3 level and VDR mRNA expression in peripheral blood were decreased in SLE patients and RA patients. With the increase of concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment, the VDR mRNA expression and DNA methylation levels of CD11a, CD70 and CD40L were declined, while the expressions of PKCδ, ERK1/2, CD11a, CD70 and CD40L were elevated in SLE, RA and normal CD4+T cells. Compared with the SLE contro, RA control, SLE NC and RA NC groups, the expressions of PKCδ, ERK1/2, CD11a, CD70 and CD40L decreased but DNA methylation levels of CD11a, CD70 and CD40L increased in the VDR over-expressed SLE group and VDR over-expressed RA group. However, compared with the normal control and normal NC groups, the expressions of PKCδ, ERK1/2, CD11a, CD70 and CD40L increased, but DNA methylation levels of CD11a, CD70 and CD40L decreased in the VDR siRNA group. Compared with the normal control group, the expressions of PKCδ, ERK1/2, CD11a, CD70 and CD40L increased, but DNA methylation levels of CD11a, CD70 and CD40L decreased in the SLE control and RA control groups. Conclusion: Our study provide evidence that 1,25(OH)2D3 and VDR could inhibit the activation of CD4+ T cells and suppress the immune response of SLE and RA through inhibiting PKCδ/ERK pathway and promoting DNA methylation of CD11a, CD70 and CD40L.
Resting Heart Rate Trajectory Pattern Predicts Arterial Stiffness in a Community-Based Chinese Cohort
Authors: Chen Shuohua , Li Weijuan , Jin Cheng , Vaidya Anand , Gao Jingli , Yang Hui , Wu Shouling , Gao Xiang
Published: December 2016

Objective—

To examine whether the long-term resting heart rate (RHR) pattern can predict the risk of having arterial stiffness in a large ongoing cohort.

Approach and Results—

This community-based cohort included 12 554 participants in the Kailun study, who were free of myocardial infarction, stroke, arrhythmia, and cancer. We used latent mixture modeling to identify RHR trajectories in 2006, 2008, and 2010. We used multivariate linear regression model to examine the association between RHR trajectory patterns and the risk of having arterial stiffness, which was assessed by brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity in 2010 to 2016. We adjusted for possible confounding factors, including socioeconomic status, lifestyle factors, use of medications, comorbidities, and serum concentrations of lipids, glucose, and high-sensitivity C-reactive proteins. We identified 5 distinct RHR trajectory patterns based on their 2006 status and on the pattern of change during 2006 to 2010 (low–stable, moderate–stable, moderate–increasing, elevated–decreasing, and elevated–stable). We found that individuals with elevated–stable RHR trajectory pattern had the highest brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity value and individuals with the low–stable RHR trajectory pattern had the lowest value (adjusted mean difference=157 cm/s;
P
<0.001). Adjusted odds ratio for risk of having arterial stiffness (brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity ≥1400 cm/s) was 4.14 (95% confidence interval, 2.61–6.57) relative to these 2 extreme categories. Consistently, a higher average RHR, a higher annual RHR increase rate, and a higher RHR variability were all associated with a higher risk of having arterial stiffness.

Conclusions—

Long-term RHR pattern is a strong predictor of having arterial stiffness.
The Paraoxonase Gene Cluster Protects Against Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation
Authors: Yan Yun-Fei , Pei Jian-Fei , Zhang Yang , Zhang Ran , Wang Fang , Gao Peng , Zhang Zhu-Qin , Wang Ting-Ting , She Zhi-Gang , Chen Hou-Zao , Liu De-Pei
Published: December 2016

Objective—

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening vascular pathology, the pathogenesis of which is closely related to oxidative stress. However, an effective pharmaceutical treatment is lacking because the exact cause of AAA remains unknown. Here, we aimed at delineating the role of the paraoxonases (PONs) gene cluster (PC), which prevents atherosclerosis through the detoxification of oxidized substrates, in AAA formation.

Approach and Results—

PC transgenic (Tg) mice were crossed to an
Apoe
−/−
background, and an angiotensin II–induced AAA mouse model was used to analyze the effect of the PC on AAA formation. Four weeks after angiotensin II infusion, PC-Tg
Apoe
−/−
mice had a lower AAA incidence, smaller maximal abdominal aortic external diameter, and less medial elastin degradation than
Apoe
−/−
mice. Importantly, PC-Tg
Apoe
−/−
mice exhibited lower aortic reactive oxidative species production and oxidative stress than did the
Apoe
−/−
control mice. As a consequence, the PC transgene alleviated angiotensin II–induced arterial inflammation and suppressed arterial extracellular matrix degradation. Specifically, on angiotensin II stimulation, PC-Tg vascular smooth muscle cells exhibited lower levels of reactive oxidative species production and a decrease in the activities and expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and matrix metalloproteinase-9. Moreover, PC-Tg serum also enhanced vascular smooth muscle cell oxidative stress resistance and further decreased the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and matrix metalloproteinase-9, indicating that circulatory and vascular smooth muscle cell PC members suppress oxidative stress in a synergistic manner.

Conclusions—

Our findings reveal, for the first time, a protective role of the PC in AAA formation and suggest PONs as promising targets for AAA prevention.
Anticoagulation Use and Clinical Outcomes After Major Bleeding on Dabigatran or Warfarin in Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Hernandez Inmaculada , Zhang Yuting , Brooks Maria M. , Chin Paul K.L. , Saba Samir
Published: December 2016

Background and Purpose—

Little is known about the clinical outcomes associated with posthemorrhage anticoagulation resumption for atrial fibrillation. This study had 2 objectives: first, to evaluate anticoagulation use after a first major bleed on warfarin or dabigatran and, second, to compare effectiveness and safety outcomes between patients discontinuing anticoagulation after a major bleed and patients restarting warfarin or dabigatran.

Methods—

Using 2010 to 2012 Medicare Part D data, we identified atrial fibrillation patients who experienced a major bleeding event while using warfarin (n=1135) or dabigatran (n=404) and categorized them by their posthemorrhage use of anticoagulation. We followed them until an ischemic stroke, recurrent hemorrhage, or death through December 31, 2012. We constructed logistic regression models to evaluate factors affecting anticoagulation resumption and Cox proportional hazard models to compare the combined risk of ischemic stroke and all-cause mortality and the risk of recurrent bleeding between treatment groups.

Results—

Resumption of anticoagulation with warfarin (hazard ratio [HR] 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59–0.97) or dabigatran (HR 0.66; 95% CI 0.44–0.99) was associated with lower combined risk of ischemic stroke and all-cause mortality than anticoagulation discontinuation. The incidence of recurrent major bleeding was higher for patients prescribed warfarin after the event than for those prescribed dabigatran (HR 2.31; 95% CI 1.19–4.76) or whose anticoagulation ceased (HR 1.56; 95% CI 1.10–2.22), but did not differ between patients restarting dabigatran and those discontinuing anticoagulation (HR 0.65; 95% CI 0.32–1.33).

Conclusions—

Dabigatran was associated with a superior benefit/risk ratio than warfarin and anticoagulation discontinuation in the treatment of atrial fibrillation patients who have survived a major bleed.
Theology-missiology on the Move: Loving and One Another, Back to Basics
Authors: Nagy Dorottya
Published: December 2016

The present article, with a special attention to migration dynamics, envisions a theology-missiology relevant to both academic and non-academic settings by means of a quest to place theology at the heart of the definition of missiology. The article argues that a theology-missiology defined through ‘love God’ and ‘love your fellow human being’ reboots the agenda for theology’s engagement with migration studies. The article seeks to demonstrate that the ‘hermeneutic of love’ in the Great Commandment leads us to accentuate a theology of ‘creation out of love’ (creatio ex amore), and this hermeneutic further questions the framework of common theological approaches to migration studies, urgently asking for more awareness when building a theological vocabulary of contemporary manifestations of human mobility. The discussion on ‘migrant churches’ points to some problems of the migration terminology used currently. The article ends by spelling out interdisciplinarity in terms of intradisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, pluridisciplinarity, and infradisciplinarity.
Orthodox Theology in Dialogue with Human Rights: Some Considerations on Current Themes, Problems, and Perspectives
Authors: Brüning Alfons
Published: December 2016

The article explores several critical themes in the dialogue between Eastern Christian theology and the concept of Human Dignity and Rights. Despite the publication of a basic document on the issue by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2008 this dialogue currently has reached a dead end. There is some agreement with the Human Rights idea, but a mainstream among Orthodox theologians remains skeptical. Critical issues are to be found in divergent understandings of human dignity, and — more or less derived from that — in emphases on either ‘freedom’ or ‘morality’ as guiding principles structuring the system of law and the public sphere. As it is argued, existing antagonisms are not necessarily unbridgeable. Attempts to overcome existing divergences in recent times have been made both within the discourse about Human Right and from the part of Orthodox theology. To make use of such possibilities would require both interdisciplinary approaches and further reflection on how to translate spiritual terms into socio-political concepts.
Value in Very Long Lives
Authors: Greene Preston
Published: December 2016

As things currently stand, our deaths are unavoidable and our lifespans short. It might be thought that these qualities leave room for improvement. According to a prominent line of argument in philosophy, however, this thought is mistaken. Against the idea that a longer life would be better, it is claimed that negative psychological states, such as boredom, would be unavoidable if our lives were significantly longer. Against the idea that a deathless life would be better, it is claimed that such a life would be lacking in important sources of value, because death is a precondition for many of our valuing attitudes. I argue that these problems are avoided by very long (and potentially infinite) lives that incorporate fading memory, limited ignorance of future events, and temporal scarcity. I conclude that very long lives are, in principle, desirable, and that death does not play an essential role in our valuing attitudes.
A Pragmatist Vision of Realism
Authors: Marsonet Michele
Published: December 2016

The article remarks that, despite what many relativists claim, realism still is an arguable and defendable position. Realism is for sure quite an unpopular stance today, but the standard arguments against it are by no means conclusive. If one asks what difference is made to our knowledge claims if we accept the existence of an extra-conceptual world, the answer is the following: such recognition is likely to undermine the largely diffused anthropocentric stance which identifies reality with our (limited) knowledge of it.
Normative Pluralism
Authors: Salazar Mónica Gómez
Published: December 2016

This article suggests that an epistemological and ontological pluralist perspective may enable human beings to cooperate each other and live with less injustice. Intercultural cooperation may help for a reformulation of the Human rights in order to consider aspects of different ways of life like the variations of moral, political and judicial norms. I expound that Liberal pluralism does not respond adequately to present day multiculturalism. Additionally, I explain that Human rights are not inclusive norms for all ways of life.

I definitely sustain that some communities do not have to agree to live in the same moral world as others, but, that it is indeed necessary to know each other’s differences so as to be able to respect them.
The “Doctrine of Love” in ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī’s Manāzil al-sāʾirīn with Critical Paraphrase of ʿAbd al-Razzāq Kāshānī’s Commentary
Authors: Ali Mukhtar H.
Published: December 2016

This article represents a preliminary inquiry into a little known and understudied commentarial tradition upon ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī’s classic work on the stations of Sufism, the Manāzil al-sāʾirīn (Stations of the Wayfarers). After briefly taking stock of the considerably late commentarial tradition which this important text engendered, we will take as our case study one of the Manāzil ’s key topics, namely its sixty-first chapter on the station of love. This pivotal section on love gives profound insight into early Sufism and into the minds of two of its greatest exponents. Anṣārī discusses the station of love in detail, as he does with every chapter, in three aspects, each pertaining to the three types of wayfarers: the initiates, the elect, and the foremost of the elect. Then, we shall turn our attention to perhaps the most important Sufi commentary upon this work by an important follower of the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq Kāshānī, offering a guided reading of his commentary upon Anṣarī’s chapter on love in the Manāzil. A complete English translation of this chapter will be offered and appropriately contextualized.
A Note on Interior Conversion in Early Sufism and Ibrāhīm b. Adham’s Entry into the Way
Authors: Khalil Atif
Published: December 2016

In the early Sufi tradition tawba was conceived not simply as repentance, or returning to God from a particular sin, but as a broader and much more encompassing process of “interior conversion” in which a nominal allegiance to the religion of one’s birth was replaced by a complete and unwavering commitment to the spiritual life. Ibrāhīm’s b. Adham’s (d. 161/778–9) tawba remains perhaps the most well-known of such accounts. Found in virtually all the major biographical and hagiographical sources which deal with the formative period of Sufism, it contains elements both uncannily similar to that of Buddha’s own conversion intertwined with distinctively Islamic motifs, whether they involve a scrupulous concern for lawful sustenance, hearing a Qur’anic admonishment through the words of an invisible caller (hātif), an over-riding concern for final Judgement and the welfare of the soul after death, or an encounter with Khiḍr through whom certain mysteries of the Way are disclosed.
Criminal Logistics
Authors: Stougaard-Nielsen Jakob
Published: December 2016

This article investigates how globalized crime fiction is entangled in the infrastructural system of containerization and the production of our global age. My main examples are two widely circulated Danish contributions, namely Peter Høeg’s hybrid crime novel, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow (1992), and the TV-crime series, The Killing III (2012). Generally considered as contained by the regional moniker of “Nordic noir” these crime narratives can be seen to explore global “criminal logistics” (e.g. transportation networks, containerization, colonial administration, drugs and human trafficking, global capitalism) and their impact on the smaller local scales of states, families and victimized children. Conversely, with reference to David Simon’s The Wire (2002–8), the article considers how this “scale bending” between the local and the global is reproduced in the “down-sizing” of Ancient Greek myths and tragedies into the briefest but also most visible of citations on the hull of the ships at the centre of these transnational Danish crime narratives.
Mediating the North in Crime Fiction
Authors: Nilsson Louise
Published: December 2016

The multifaceted idea of the north is deeply embedded in literary and visual culture. This culturally forged and globally disseminated idea embraces the narratives of fear, as well elements of the supernatural and fantastic, political dimensions or specific topographies. By departing from the Nordic Noir subgenre, a globally dispersed literary genre, this article investigates how the depiction of local and global place creates an imaginary, which is in turn bound up with a broader notion of the north as an ostensible “elsewhere.” The article argues that the Nordic Noir’s foreign allure and overwhelming success rests upon a culturally forged idea of the north, found worldwide in various cultural expressions such as myths, folklore, fairy tales, literature, and contemporary cinema and trails centuries back in cultural history worldwide.
Precarious Worlds
Authors: Baggesgaard Mads Anders
Published: December 2016

The role played by Denmark in the triangular slave trade and colonial chattel slavery is rarely part of the tale told about Danish literature. This article investigates the reflections of this history in Denmark and discusses how this particular colonial history and its relationship to literature can be understood on the basis of readings of three texts from Denmark and its former colony St. Thomas. The central thesis is that exactly because of the peripheral and precarious nature of the Danish colonial endeavour in relation to larger colonial systems, it may actually be possible to reflect on sides of the colonial history that is often left out of sight.
Butterflies of Guinea-Bissau: VIII. New data, new reports, corrections and biodiversity (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)
Authors: BIVAR-DE-SOUSA ANTÓNIO , VASCONCELOS SASHA , MENDES LUÍS F. , LARSEN TORBEN B. , BAKER JON , GUILHERME JOÃO L.
Published: December 2016

New records are added to the Papilionoidea of Guinea-Bissau, many of which were obtained within the country’s Protected Areas. Examination of the collected material yielded 9 new genera and 47 new species for the country, significantly increasing the knowledge of local butterfly diversity. 99 genera and 244 species are now known to occur in Guinea-Bissau, representing an increase of almost 20 % in the number of species and 7 % in the genera in relation to previous data. For each species, the studied material, probable abundance and proposed conservation status in the country are reported; some corrections relative to a few previous misidentifications are added. A gazetteer of the prospected localities is included, as well as species’ occurrences within the Protected Areas and previous bibliographic references in Guinea-Bissau. The known geographical range, primary habitat and host-plants of each species/subspecies are also provided.
Revision of the genus Odocnemis Allard, 1876 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Helopini) from Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran with observations on feeding habits
Authors: NABOZHENKO MAXIM , KESKIN BEKIR
Published: December 2016

A revision of the genus Odocnemis of Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran is presented. Thirty species and four subspecies are distributed in this territory. The following 20 new species and subspecies are described: O. dichroa sp. n., O. allardi sp. n., O. merkli sp. n., O. seducta sp. n., O. aegaeica sp. n., O. euritopica sp. n., O. subtuberculigera sp. n., O. subtuberculigera thracica subsp. n., O. erseni sp. n., O. molecularica sp. n., O. shokhini sp. n., O. inornata sp. n., O. altimontana sp. n., O. amanosica sp. n., O. cordiformis sp. n., O. kakunini sp. n. O. evestigata sp. n., O. torosica sp. n., O. torosica subangulata subsp. n., Odocnemis hakkariensis sp. n. The name of the genus is feminine, therefore all species names are transformed from masculine to feminine. Almost all new taxa are described from Turkey; O. amanosica sp. n. is additionally recorded from Syria, O. allardi sp. n.—from Armenia, Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan) and Iran, O. kakunini sp. n. from Iran. New synonymies are established: Odocnemis anatolica (Pic, 1899) = Stenomax korbi Reitter 1902: 219, syn.n.; Odocnemis recticollis (Allard, 1877) = Stenomax kurdistanus Reitter, 1902: 221, syn.n.; Odocnemis punctata Allard, 1876 = Cylindronotus (Odocnemis) pseudoclarus Reitter, 1922, syn.n. The following lectotypes are designated: Helops (Odocnemis) anatolicus Pic, 1899, Helops (Stenomax) seriegranatus Seidlitz, 1896, Cylindronotus (Odocnemis) opertus Reitter, 1922, Stenomax recticollis Allard, 1876, Odocnemis punctata Allard, 1876, Helops (Odocnemis) protinus Reitter in Bodemeyer, 1900. Holotypes and paratypes of all other Turkish species of Odocnemis are studied. Two new combinations are established: Odocnemis gloriosa (Faldermann, 1837), comb. n. (from Nalassus Mulsant, 1854) and Odocnemis terminasianae (Nabozhenko, 2011), comb. n. (from Armenohelops Nabozhenko, 2002). Five species O. bosphoranus (Allard, 1876), O. amasiae (Seidlitz, 1896), O. scutellatus (Reitter, 1902), O. fundator (Reitter, 1908), O. strangulatus (Reitter, 1922)) are not revised in this work and will be included in the genus Armenohelops in a future revision. Three species which were previously recorded from Turkey erroneously (O. exarata (Germar, 1817), O. crenatostriata (Allard, 1877), O. caudata Allard, 1876) should be removed from the Turkish list. Eight species-groups are characterized in the paper. The following aspects are considered and discussed: classification of the genus, morphology and main evolutionary tendencies, distribution and bionomics. A key to the Turkish, Caucasian and Iranian species of    Odocnemis is given.
Black carbon emission reduction strategies in healthcare industry for effective global climate change management
Authors: Raila Emilia Mmbando , Anderson David O
Published: December 2016

Climate change remains one of the biggest threats to life on earth to date with black carbon (BC) emissions or smoke being the strongest cause after carbon dioxide (CO2). Surprisingly, scientific evidence about black carbon emissions reduction in healthcare settings is sparse. This paper presents new research findings on the reduction of black carbon emissions from an observational study conducted at the UN Peacekeeping Operations (MINUSTAH) in Haiti in 2014. Researchers observed 20 incineration cycles, 30 minutes for each cycle of plastic and cardboard sharps healthcare waste (HCW) containers ranged from 3 to 14.6 kg. The primary aim was to determine if black carbon emissions from healthcare waste incineration can be lowered by mainstreaming the use of cardboard sharps healthcare waste containers instead of plastic sharps healthcare waste containers. Similarly, the study looks into whether burning temperature was associated with the smoke levels for each case or not. Independent samples t-tests demonstrated significantly lower black carbon emissions during the incineration of cardboard sharps containers (6.81 ± 4.79% smoke) than in plastic containers (17.77 ± 8.38% smoke); a statistically significant increase of 10.96% smoke (95% Confidence Interval ( CI) [4.4 to 17.5% smoke], p = 0.003). Correspondingly, lower bottom burner temperatures occurred during the incineration of cardboard sharps containers than in plastic (95% Cl [16 to 126°C], p = 0.014). Finally, we expect the application of the new quantitative evidence to form the basis for policy formulation, mainstream the use of cardboard sharps containers and opt for non-incineration disposal technologies as urgent steps for going green in healthcare waste management.
Sexual Risk Behaviors of African American Adolescent Females: The Role of Cognitive and Religious Factors
Authors: George Dalmida Safiya , Aduloju-Ajijola Natasha , Clayton-Jones Dora , Thomas Tami L. , Erazo Toscano Ricardo J. , Lewis Rashunda , Fleming Terri , Taylor Shirley , Lunyong Macie
Published: December 2016

Introduction: African American (AA) high school-age girls are more likely to have had sex before age 13 years and have higher rates of all sexually transmitted infections. Cognition and religion/spirituality are associated with adolescent sexuality, therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify cognitive and religious substrates of AA girls’ risky sexual behaviors. Method: A descriptive study was conducted with 65 AA girls aged 15 to 20 years using computerized questionnaires and cognitive function tasks. Results: Average age was 17.8 ± 1.9 years and average sexual initiation age was 15.5 ± 2.6 years. Overall, 57.6% reported a history of vaginal sex. Girls who reported low/moderate religious importance were significantly younger at vaginal sex initiation than girls for whom religion was very/extremely important. Girls who attended church infrequently reported significantly more sexual partners. Implications: Health care providers can use these findings to deliver culturally congruent health care by assessing and addressing these psychosocial factors in this population.
Crack detection in hydraulic concrete structures using bending loss data of optical fiber
Authors: Su Huaizhi , Li Xing , Fang Bin , Wen Zhiping
Published: December 2016

Due to low tensile strength of concrete, seasonal temperature, shrinkage of concrete, and so on, many of hydraulic concrete structures experience cracking. An optical fiber–based approach is introduced to implement the crack detection in hydraulic concrete structures. The experimental and theoretical investigations on bending loss and time-domain reflection behaviors of optical fiber are performed. According to the bending loss mechanism of optical fiber, the monitoring method of hydraulic concrete crack is presented. First, the effect of optical fiber bending radius on optical loss is analyzed. The mathematical model between bending radius and optical loss is established. Then, the identification principle of concrete crack using bending loss data of optical fiber is studied. Considering the crack characteristics of hydraulic concrete structure, the arrangement forms of optical fiber, which are used to monitor the tension crack and hybrid crack in hydraulic concrete structure, are proposed. Finally, the relationship between crack development and optical loss is investigated using laboratory experiments with optical fiber.
“In Principle We Have Agreement, But in Practice It Is a Bit More Difficult”: Obtaining Organizational Buy-In to Patient-Centered Medical Home Transformation
Authors: Applequist Janelle , Miller-Day Michelle , Cronholm Peter F. , Gabbay Robert A. , Bowen Deborah S.
Published: December 2016

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a model of care that emphasizes the coordination of patient treatment among health care providers. Practice transformation to this model, however, presents a number of challenges. One of these challenges is getting the buy-in of all personnel to commit to making organizational changes in the journey to becoming a nationally recognized medical home. This study investigated internal messages of buy-in as communicated by practices transitioning to this type of care. Grounding itself in stakeholder theory, this study analyzed interviews with staff, administration, and practitioners from 20 medical practices in a mid-Atlantic state. The analysis revealed three overarching themes: (a) communication among staff that is open, consistent; (b) implementation of reinforcement techniques; and (c) access to a change implementer who encourages successful evolution. Discussion of these themes provides recommendations for communication approaches to organizational buy-in for medical practices hoping to become a PCMH.
Identity uncertainty and UK–Scottish relations: Different dynamics depending on relative identity centrality
Authors: Jung Jiin , Hogg Michael A. , Lewis Gary J.
Published: December 2016

Drawing on uncertainty-identity theory, we investigated how people respond differently to identity uncertainty at a superordinate (i.e., UK) or subgroup (i.e., Scottish) level depending on the subjective self-conceptual centrality of subgroup relative to superordinate group; altering superordinate and subgroup identification and attitude toward subgroup relations to the superordinate group in the context of Scotland’s bid for independence from the UK ( N = 115). Hierarchical regression analyses confirmed our prediction. Where the subgroup was self-conceptually more central than the superordinate group, subgroup identity uncertainty strengthened superordinate identification (H1) and weakened subgroup identification. Strengthened superordinate identification weakened support for subgroup separation. However, where the superordinate group was self-conceptually more central than the subgroup, superordinate identity uncertainty was not associated with superordinate and subgroup identification (H2).
Advances in urology 2015–2016
Authors: Brewster Simon , Biers Suzanne , Challacombe Ben , Cresswell Jo , Sinclair Andrew , Smith Daron
Published: December 2016

It has become customary that a session is held at the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) annual meeting wherein the most important advances in the major urological sub-specialities are summarised by British opinion leaders for the benefit of the core urologist. It gives us pleasure to present in this paper (to which the six authors contributed equally) the topics covered at the Liverpool BAUS meeting in June 2016.