bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Memory‐efficient SURF architecture for ASIC implementation
Authors: Lee Sang‐Seol , Jang Sung‐Joon , Kim Jungho , Hwang Youngbae , Choi Byeongho
Published: July 2014

Among the image features for object recognition, speeded up robust features (SURF) have been widely implemented due to their hardware‐friendly characteristics and high accuracy. However, because of adopting a fully internal memory‐based architecture and a field programmable gate array having large memories for a high performance, most of them are infeasible to the application specific integrated chip (ASIC). A memory‐efficient architecture for implementing SURF in ASIC by analysing the characteristics of memory accesses of SURF is presented. In addition, a strategy of dividing an entire image into multiple sub‐images, processing them sequentially and overlapping each other to reduce the size of the internal memory while minimising the loss of information is proposed. The proposed architecture was implemented with 767 kb‐sized internal memories and 1.2 M logic gates while processing 60 frames per second.
UWB bandpass filter with sharp rejection and narrow notched band
Authors: Chen Xianhong , Zhang Lijun , Peng Yatao
Published: July 2014

A novel ultra‐wideband (UWB) bandpass ﬁlter with sharp rejection and a narrow notched band is presented. This filter is designed using a multiple‐mode resonator (MMR) which consists of a ring resonator and a stepped‐impedance stub. The MMR has six resonance frequencies and three transmission zeros (TZs). All three TZs are close to the resonance frequencies, thus creating sharp roll‐off and narrow notched bands. Different passband bandwidths and notched bands can be obtained by tuning the stepped‐impedance admittance ratios. The simulated and measured results demonstrate that this simple bandpass filter has 97.3 and 30.6 dB/GHz attenuation slope at the lower and upper transition bands, respectively. The 3 dB notched band is from 5.6 to 5.8 GHz with 10.3 dB insertion loss at 5.7 GHz.
Printed double‐dipole antenna with high directivity using a new feeding structure
Authors: Wu Jiangniu , Zhao Zhiqin , Ellis Mubarak Sani , Nie Zaiping , Liu Qing‐Huo
Published: July 2014

In this study, a planar printed double‐dipole antenna with broadband performance and high directivity is presented. The proposed antenna consists of two dipole elements, two pairs of parallel striplines and a microstrip balun. The main features of the designed antenna are the two dipole elements designed with different lengths and excited in the left and right parts with a pair of antiphase signals. The two dipole elements are designed with different lengths for achieving broadband performance. High directivity is obtained by feeding the two dipole elements with the two antiphase signals. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design, a prototype of the proposed antenna is fabricated and measured. Experimental results of the fabricated antenna have verified the effectiveness of the proposed design. Measured results show that the fabricated antenna provides a 53.7% impedance bandwidth ranging from 4.5 to 7.8 GHz and a measured gain better than 4 dBi. Good unidirectional radiation patterns with a high front‐to‐back ratio greater than 17 dB are achieved.
On the phase and interface behavior along the three-phase line of ternary Lennard-Jones mixtures: A collaborative approach based on square gradient theory and molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Garrido José Matías , Quinteros-Lama Héctor , Piñeiro Manuel M. , Mejía Andrés , Segura Hugo
Published: July 2014

This work focuses on the application of a two-way approach, where Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and the Square Gradient Theory (SGT) have been used for describing the phase and interface behavior of binary and ternary Lennard-Jones (LJ) mixtures, along a condition of three-phase equilibrium. The unequivocal correspondence between MD and SGT has been achieved by using the global phase diagram of binary mixtures composed by equally sized Lennard-Jones molecules, from which representative molecular parameters for Type-I, Type-II, and Type-III systems have been determined. The so selected binaries have been used then to scale the behavior of a ternary mixture characterized by complex phase equilibrium patterns. For the case of the theoretical SGT approach applied to the Lennard-Jones equation of state was used for predicting phase equilibrium and interfacial properties. In addition the corresponding MD simulations of these macroscopic properties have been conducted for the LJ potential by using equivalent molecular parameters and conditions than in the theoretical approach. Excellent agreement has been observed between the predictions obtained from theory and simulations. Particularly, our results concerning the characterization of the three phase line of a binary Type-III mixture indicate that the bulk liquid (α) and the bulk gas (G) regions are sharply separated by a bulk liquid region (β) for all the explored temperature, pressure, and concentration conditions. The structural analysis of these bulk phases reveals that a secondary liquid phase (β) perfectly wets the liquid-gas interface (α-G), as previously found for Type-II mixture [A. Mejía and L. F. Vega, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 244505 (2006)]. The exploration along the three-phase line for the ternary mixture shows good agreement between SGT and MD. Particularly, we observed the specific influence of a third component in the phase and interface behavior. From all the previous results, we conclude that the SGT applied to an EoS with appropriate mixing rules produces reliable predictions of the properties of ternary mixtures.
Deformation mechanisms during nanoindentation of sodium borosilicate glasses of nuclear interest
Authors: Kilymis D. A. , Delaye J.-M.
Published: July 2014

In this paper we analyze results of Molecular Dynamics simulations of Vickers nanoindentation, performed for sodium borosilicate glasses of interest in the nuclear industry. Three glasses have been studied in their pristine form, as well as a disordered one that is analogous to the real irradiated glass. We focused in the behavior of the glass during the nanoindentation in order to reveal the mechanisms of deformation and how they are affected by microstructural characteristics. Results have shown a strong dependence on the SiO2 content of the glass, which promotes densification due to the open structure of SiO4 tetrahedra and also due to the strength of Si-O bonds. Densification for the glasses is primarily expressed by the relative decrease of the Si-O-Si and Si-O-B angles, indicating rotation of the structural units and decrease of free volume. The increase of alkali content on the other hand results to higher plasticity of the matrix and increased shear flow. The most important effect on the deformation mechanism of the disordered glasses is that of the highly depolymerized network that will also induce shear flow and, in combination with the increased free volume, will result in the decreased hardness of these glasses, as has been previously observed.
On effective surface recombination parameters
Authors: McIntosh Keith R. , Black Lachlan E.
Published: July 2014

This paper examines two effective surface recombination parameters: the effective surface recombination velocity Seff and the surface saturation current density J0s. The dependence of Seff and J0s on surface charge Q, surface dopant concentration Ns, and interface parameters is derived. It is shown that for crystalline silicon at 300 K in low-injection, Seff is independent of Ns only when Q2/Ns < 1900 cm in accumulation and Q2/Ns < 1600 cm in depletion; otherwise Seff increases with Ns. These conditions are rarely satisfied in undiffused wafers but sometimes satisfied in heavily diffused wafers when coated with lowly charged films. Under the same conditions, J0s is independent of Ns when Q2/Ns > 1.5 × 107 cm for accumulation and Q1.85/Ns > 1.5 × 106 cm for inversion. These conditions are commonly satisfied in undiffused wafers but rarely in diffused wafers. We conclude that for undiffused silicon, J0s is superior to the conventional Seff as a metric for quantifying the surface passivation, whereas for diffused silicon, the merit in using J0s or Seff (or neither) depends on the sample. Experimental examples are given that illustrate the merits and flaws of J0s and Seff.
{001} Oriented piezoelectric films prepared by chemical solution deposition on Ni foils
Authors: Yeo Hong Goo , Trolier-McKinstry Susan
Published: July 2014

Flexible metal foil substrates are useful in some microelectromechanical systems applications including wearable piezoelectric sensors or energy harvesters based on Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films. Full utilization of the potential of piezoelectrics on metal foils requires control of the film crystallographic texture. In this study, {001} oriented PZT thin films were grown by chemical solution deposition (CSD) on Ni foil and Si substrates. Ni foils were passivated using HfO2 grown by atomic layer deposition in order to suppress substrate oxidation during subsequent thermal treatment. To obtain the desired orientation of PZT film, strongly (100) oriented LaNiO3 films were integrated by CSD on the HfO2 coated substrates. A high level of {001} LaNiO3 and PZT film orientation were confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns. Before poling, the low field dielectric permittivity and loss tangents of (001) oriented PZT films on Ni are near 780 and 0.04 at 1 kHz; the permittivity drops significantly on poling due to in-plane to out-of-plane domain switching. (001) oriented PZT film on Ni displayed a well-saturated hysteresis loop with a large remanent polarization ∼36 μC/cm2, while (100) oriented PZT on Si showed slanted P-E hysteresis loops with much lower remanent polarizations. The |e31,f| piezoelectric coefficient was around 10.6 C/m2 for hot-poled (001) oriented PZT film on Ni.
Ellipsometric characterization and density-functional theory analysis of anisotropic optical properties of single-crystal α-SnS
Authors: Banai R. E. , Burton L. A. , Choi S. G. , Hofherr F. , Sorgenfrei T. , Walsh A. , To B. , Cröll A. , Brownson J. R. S.
Published: July 2014

We report on the anisotropic optical properties of single-crystal tin monosulfide (SnS). The components εa, εb, and εc of the pseudodielectric-function tensor ⟨ε⟩ = ⟨ε1⟩ + i⟨ε2⟩ spectra are taken from 0.73 to 6.45 eV by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The measured ⟨ε⟩ spectra are in a good agreement with the results of the calculated dielectric response from hybrid density functional theory. The ⟨ε⟩ spectra show the direct band-gap onset and a total of eight above-band-gap optical structures that are associated with the interband-transition critical points (CPs). We obtain accurate CP energies by fitting analytic CP expressions to second-energy-derivatives of the ⟨ε⟩ data. Their probable electronic origins and implications for photovoltaic applications are discussed.
Finite size effects in the static structure factor of dusty plasmas
Authors: Davletov A. E. , Yerimbetova L. T. , Mukhametkarimov Ye. S. , Ospanova A. K.
Published: July 2014

Based on the previously developed pseudopotential model of the dust particles interaction, which takes into account both the finite size and screening effects, the equilibrium distribution functions are investigated in a broad range of plasma parameters. The treatment stems entirely from the renormalization theory of plasma particles interactions which leads to the so-called generalized Poisson-Boltzmann equation. In particular, an analytical expression for the static structure factor of the dust particles is proposed and its non-monotonic behavior in the hyper-netted chain approximation is found in a specified domain of plasma parameters to indicate the formation of short- or even long-range order in the system.
Evaluation of a totally smoke-free forensic psychiatry in-patient facility: practice and policy implications
Authors: Lawn Sharon , Hehir Angela , Indig Devon , Prosser Shani , Macleod Shona , Keller Adrian
Published: July 2014

Objective To evaluate the impact of implementing a smoke-free policy in an Australian high-security forensic psychiatry in-patient hospital. Methods Focus groups (n = 21) and surveys with both patients (n = 45) and staff (n = 111; 53.2% nurses) elicited participants’ experience of and attitudes towards an introduced smoke-free policy. A follow-up survey elicited the impact of the policy on 15 patients’ smoking practice after discharge. Results Eighty-five per cent of patients stated it was easier to quit smoking when no one else smoked. Over half the discharged patients surveyed (58%) continued to not smoke after discharge, despite almost half the staff (41%) perceiving that patients were unlikely to quit long-term. Smoking staff were significantly more pessimistic than non-smoking staff. Many patients (69%) perceived that their health had improved as a result of not smoking. Most staff (80%) viewed nicotine dependence treatment as important, but fewer (66%) felt confident to support patients to stop smoking. Increased patient violence and management difficulties expected by staff were not realised. Conclusions A smoke-free policy can be successfully implemented in forensic psychiatry in-patient units. Nursing staff are a large and important group who need particular support to implement a smoke-free policy into practice effectively, particularly those who are smokers. Continuity of care as part of a coordinated policy and service response is needed. What is known about the topic? Healthcare settings are increasingly going totally smoke free, with mental health facilities the slowest to implement these policy changes. This is due, in part, to the fear of possible increases in violence and aggression among a patient population who have a high prevalence of smoking. What does this paper add? This paper adds to the evidence base that implementing a smoke-free policy in mental health in-patient hospitals is not only feasible, but also has substantial benefits for both staff and patients. In particular, it highlights the policy and practice implications that can assist mental health facilities to go smoke free. What are the implications for practitioners? A smoke-free policy can be successfully implemented in forensic psychiatry in-patient units; however, more support and education for staff is needed to increase their confidence and capacity to implement the policy consistently across service domains.
Energy landscape views for interplays among folding, binding, and allostery of calmodulin domains
Authors: Li Wenfei , Wang Wei , Takada Shoji
Published: July 2014

Significance

Protein dynamics can conceptually be classified into three factors: folding, conformational transitions, and chemical events. Although couplings between every two of these factors have been well studied, explicit coupling among the three factors has not been examined due to its difficulty in direct experimental measurements. Toward this direction, calmodulin is a suitable model system. Here, constructing a computational model that integrates folding, ligand binding, and allosteric motions based on the energy landscape theory, we studied interplay among the three factors, in detail, for calmodulin domains. The analysis includes three conformational states and three binding states, resulting into nine states in total. We found multiple routes and their intriguing modulation by ligand concentration.
Phosphoproteomic analysis identifies the tumor suppressor PDCD4 as a RSK substrate negatively regulated by 14-3-3
Authors: Galan Jacob A. , Geraghty Kathryn M. , Lavoie Geneviève , Kanshin Evgeny , Tcherkezian Joseph , Calabrese Viviane , Jeschke Grace R. , Turk Benjamin E. , Ballif Bryan A. , Blenis John , Thibault Pierre , Roux Philippe P.
Published: July 2014

Significance

The RSK family is a group of Ser/Thr kinases that promotes cell growth and proliferation in response to the Ras/MAPK pathway. Deregulated RSK activity has been associated with different disorders and diseases, such as cancer, but relatively little is known regarding the contribution of RSK to tumorigenesis. In this study, we describe, to our knowledge, the first global quantitative phosphoproteomic screen to characterize RSK-dependent signaling events in melanoma. Our results show that RSK negatively regulates the tumor suppressor PDCD4 by promoting its association to 14-3-3 proteins and subsequent proteasomal degradation. These findings further implicate RSK as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of melanoma and suggest that RSK plays widespread biological functions downstream of the Ras/MAPK pathway.
Heterocyst-specific flavodiiron protein Flv3B enables oxic diazotrophic growth of the filamentous cyanobacterium
Anabaena
sp. PCC 7120
Authors: Ermakova Maria , Battchikova Natalia , Richaud Pierre , Leino Hannu , Kosourov Sergey , Isojärvi Janne , Peltier Gilles , Flores Enrique , Cournac Laurent , Allahverdiyeva Yagut , Aro Eva-Mari
Published: July 2014

Significance

Cyanobacterial flavodiiron proteins (FDPs) comprise a protein family with unique modular structure and photoprotective functions in an oxygenic environment. It is conceivable that FDPs have made the development of oxygenic photosynthesis possible in cyanobacteria. Here, we report the ability of specific FDPs to reduce O
2
directly to water in heterocyst-forming filamentous cyanobacteria, not only to support the photosynthetic machinery, but also to prevent oxidative damage of the N
2
-fixing enzyme nitrogenase. Whilst in the ancient environment, N
2
fixation was secured from O
2
inhibition, the later increase of atmospheric O
2
may have initiated an important role for FDP-mediated protection of nitrogenase in maintaining the N
2
-fixing activity of cyanobacteria.
Identification of a two-component fatty acid kinase responsible for host fatty acid incorporation by
Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Parsons Joshua B. , Broussard Tyler C. , Bose Jeffrey L. , Rosch Jason W. , Jackson Pamela , Subramanian Chitra , Rock Charles O.
Published: July 2014

Significance

The enzymes required for the incorporation of host fatty acids into the membrane phospholipids of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens are unknown. Fatty acid kinase (Fak) is a new enzyme in lipid metabolism that requires two proteins to form acyl-phosphate: an ATP binding-domain protein (FakA) that interacts with a fatty acid binding protein (FakB). The analysis of
Staphylococcus aureus
mutants reveals that Fak is essential for phospholipid synthesis from extracellular fatty acids and also impacts the transcription of numerous virulence factors. This study reveals the function for two large bacterial protein families and their essential role in host fatty acid metabolism by pathogens, and connects Fak to the regulation of virulence factor transcription in
S. aureus
.
Mutation of a major CG methylase in rice causes genome-wide hypomethylation, dysregulated genome expression, and seedling lethality
Authors: Hu Lanjuan , Li Ning , Xu Chunming , Zhong Silin , Lin Xiuyun , Yang Jingjing , Zhou Tianqi , Yuliang Anzhi , Wu Ying , Chen Yun-Ru , Cao Xiaofeng , Zemach Assaf , Rustgi Sachin , von Wettstein Diter , Liu Bao
Published: July 2014

Significance

CG cytosine methylation (
m
CG) is an important epigenetic marker present in most eukaryotic genomes that is maintained by an evolutionarily conserved DNA methyltransferase dubbed
DNMT1
in mammals and
MET1
in plants. Null mutation of
DNMT1
or
MET1
results in global loss of
m
CG and leads to embryonic death in mouse, inviability in human cancer cells, and wide-ranging developmental abnormality in
Arabidopsis thaliana
. This study characterizes global effects of null mutation of a
MET1
gene in rice, a model plant for monocotyledons, through methylome, transcriptome, and small RNAome analyses. The findings of this study have implications for improving our understanding of the biological roles of cytosine methylation in monocots and, from an applied point of view, in epigenetic manipulation of cereal crops.
Differential roles of microglia and monocytes in the inflamed central nervous system
Authors: Yamasaki Ryo , Lu Haiyan , Butovsky Oleg , Ohno Nobuhiko , Rietsch Anna M. , Cialic Ron , Wu Pauline M. , Doykan Camille E. , Lin Jessica , Cotleur Anne C. , Kidd Grahame , Zorlu Musab M. , Sun Nathan , Hu Weiwei , Liu LiPing , Lee Jar-Chi , Taylor Sarah E. , Uehlein Lindsey , Dixon Debra , Gu Jinyu , Floruta Crina M. , Zhu Min , Charo Israel F. , Weiner Howard L. , Ransohoff Richard M.
Published: July 2014

In the human disorder multiple sclerosis (MS) and in the model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), macrophages predominate in demyelinated areas and their numbers correlate to tissue damage. Macrophages may be derived from infiltrating monocytes or resident microglia, yet are indistinguishable by light microscopy and surface phenotype. It is axiomatic that T cell–mediated macrophage activation is critical for inflammatory demyelination in EAE, yet the precise details by which tissue injury takes place remain poorly understood. In the present study, we addressed the cellular basis of autoimmune demyelination by discriminating microglial versus monocyte origins of effector macrophages. Using serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM), we show that monocyte-derived macrophages associate with nodes of Ranvier and initiate demyelination, whereas microglia appear to clear debris. Gene expression profiles confirm that monocyte-derived macrophages are highly phagocytic and inflammatory, whereas those arising from microglia demonstrate an unexpected signature of globally suppressed cellular metabolism at disease onset. Distinguishing tissue-resident macrophages from infiltrating monocytes will point toward new strategies to treat disease and promote repair in diverse inflammatory pathologies in varied organs.
A Social Revolution? Rethinking Popular Insurrection in 1789
Authors: McPhee Peter
Published: July 2014

To what extent should the Revolution of 1789 be understood as a crisis of legitimacy expressed widely across society as well as a collapse of arrangements of power among ruling elites? Was it from the outset a social as well as a political revolution? This chapter argues that, while there was no one point at which ‘peasants’ or ‘urban working people’ became politicized or revolutionary, they were inherently and incipiently revolutionary well before the massive revolt of July–August 1789. While some historians have questioned the level of political awareness of the urban and rural masses, even as late as July 1789, from late 1788 their grievances, as expressed in collective protest and the cahiers, could not have been accommodated within the ancien régime.
Reckoning with Terror
Authors: Steinberg Ronen
Published: July 2014

The events of 9 Thermidor marked not only the end of the Reign of Terror but also the beginning of a long process of coming to terms with its legacies. This chapter examines this process. It argues that in the aftermath of the Terror, contemporaries of the revolutionary era grappled with a series of novel dilemmas around retribution, redress, and remembrance, confronting a wide range of issues about responsibility, loss, and individual, familial and social identity as a result. What made these dilemmas new is that they would have been unthinkable under the old regime. They emerged from the democratizing thrust of the Revolution. In this sense, the French Revolution transformed how modern societies face the consequences of massive violence.
Global Conceptual Legacies
Authors: Bell David A.
Published: July 2014

Two hundred and twenty-five years after 1789, the French Revolution is no longer invoked with great frequency in world politics. Few contemporary moments take its events as a script to follow. Nonetheless, many of its conceptual legacies remain strong. This article traces these legacies in six broad conceptual fields: nationalism, republicanism, human rights, war and peace, political ideology and ‘revolution’ itself. In each case, it makes clear that the concepts have not been transmitted down to the present unchanged. For instance, the linkage between human rights and citizenship in a particular polity, which the revolutionaries affirmed in their Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, has given way to a widely shared idea that rights act as a limit on sovereign authority. The article closes by observing that the Revolution’s most powerful legacy may be the concept of ‘revolutionary’ change itself, and its status as a synecdoche for ‘modernity’ in general.
Alternative Ethical Perspectives on the Financial Crisis
Authors: van Staveren Irene
Published: July 2014

This chapter analyzes the financial crisis from three ethical perspectives. It starts from utilitarianism, the ethical theory underlying neoclassical economics, which has partly driven the crisis. The best-known alternative is deontology, a rule-based ethics. This has failed to prevent the crisis because the dominant utilitarianism has undermined professionals’ belief in universal rules. The third approach is the ethics of care, a relational ethics grounded in moral commitments between people in their particular contexts, which emerged from research on families, households, and healthcare. There are two case studies that illustrate that the ethics of care is not necessarily limited to micro practices shaped by women’s traditional roles as caregivers. One case is on “caring finance” in Rabobank, and the other is on gender differences in financial behavior. They illustrate that the ethics of care deserves more attention from economists.
Nonprofessional Resources for Pregnant and Postpartum Women
Authors: Fisher Jane , Holton Sara , Rowe Heather
Published: July 2014

Maternity presents major adaptive challenges for women. It is common for pregnant women and women who have recently given birth to access nonprofessional resources, including those developed by interested individuals, members of community groups, or peer-support initiatives, to understand their emotional experiences and needs. This chapter investigates the nature and content of nonprofessional resources, defined as those developed by people without health-related qualifications, for pregnant and postpartum women experiencing emotional distress or mental health problems and the evidence about them generated in systematic evaluations. Although nonprofessional resources provide information and support in privacy and anonymity without fees and therefore are potentially more accessible than professional care, many are limited to personal narratives and do not refer to scientific evidence, and few have been formally evaluated. Overall, the highest quality nonprofessional resources and approaches are those generated in collaborations between consumers and professionals and for which some evaluation of acceptability, comprehensibility, and effectiveness is available.
Collective Intelligence
Authors: Cappella Joseph N. , Zhang Jingwen , Price Vincent
Published: July 2014

The rise of the Internet and social media reignites interest in collective intelligence. We frame collective intelligence as follows: (1) Simple aggregation of individual opinion is a poor substitute for reasoned opinion by collectives (i.e., deliberation) except in limited circumstances. (2) What constitutes an intelligent decision on complex matters requires approximations to the ideal of what is intelligent. There is no “gold standard” for intelligent decisions. (3) If collective deliberation is to be useful, then its outcomes must be improved decisions—in short, intelligent outcomes. (4) Deliberation can lead to more intelligent outcomes when opinion, knowledge, and judgment within a collective is diverse and this diversity is expressed. (5) The trends within emerging media toward increasingly narrow, partisan sources of information, toward selective exposure and avoidance, and toward balkanization of collectives will depress the possibilities of collective intelligence that emerging media would on their surface seem to enhance.
Framing Inequality in Public Policy Discourse
Authors: Gandy Oscar H.
Published: July 2014

This essay explores a variety of ways that the problem of inequality has been framed in the context of national policy debates in the United States. Following an introduction to the notion of inequality as a social problem, the chapter provides a brief review of how framing has been examined as a communications process and a strategic resource. The framing of inequality as a focus of public policy debates is described in relation to a selection of issues that include health disparities, racial inequality, and the digital divide. An additional assessment is made of the use of comparative risk as a framework for highlighting differences between groups defined by race, ethnicity and social class. The framing of environmental risks is examined in relation to a social justice frame. The author concludes with a discussion of constraints on the use of particular frames within debates about economic social policy.
Unstructured and Semi-Structured Interviewing
Authors: Brinkmann Svend
Published: July 2014

This chapter gives an introduction to qualitative interviewing in its unstructured and semistructured forms. Initially, the human world is depicted as a conversational reality in which interviewing takes a central position as a research method. Interviewing is presented as a social practice that has a cultural history and that today appears in a variety of different formats. A number of distinctions are introduced, which are relevant when mapping the field of qualitative interviewing between different levels of structure, numbers of participants, media of interviewing, and also interviewer styles. A more detailed exposition of semistructured life world interviewing is offered because this is arguably the standard form of qualitative interviewing today.
Wrongful Convictions in the United States
Authors: Gould Jon B.
Published: July 2014

All criminal justice systems grapple with the problem of convicting the innocent. In the case of death penalty cases the error can be irreversible. Over the last century, considerable research has been conducted on wrongful convictions, not only uncovering the most common factors but also recommending remedies for the sources of erroneous convictions. This chapter summarizes the voluminous literature on the sources of wrongful convictions in the United States, exploring the relative importance of a range of factors on which research has been conducted. Arguing that existing research has sometimes confused correlates with causes, the chapter presents findings from a recent large-scale empirical study of wrongful convictions using a control group and employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The chapter concludes by summarizing plausible steps to address the known factors behind wrongful convictions.
Raissa L. Berg's contributions to the study of phenotypic integration, with a professional biographical sketch
Authors: Conner Jeffrey K. , Lande Russell
Published: July 2014

Raissa L. Berg had a remarkable career in many respects and an impact on the study of phenotypic integration that continues to increase over 50 years after the publication of her seminal paper in that area. She was born and lived most of her life in Russia, with most of her research focused on measuring spontaneous mutation rates inDrosophila. She was forced to abandon this work during the height of Lysenko's power in Russia, so she turned temporarily to the study of correlation patterns in plants; ironically, this work has had a more enduring impact than her main body of research. She showed that floral and vegetative traits become decoupled into separate correlation ‘pleiades’ in plants with specialized pollinators, but floral and vegetative traits remain correlated in plants that have less specialized pollination. Unfortunately, her plant work is often mis-cited as providing evidence for increased correlations among floral traits due to selection by pollinators for functional integration, a point she never made and one that is not supported by her data. Still, many studies of correlation pleiades have been conducted in plants, with the results mostly supporting Berg's hypothesis, although more studies on species with generalized pollination are needed.
The role of pollinator diversity in the evolution of corolla-shape integration in a pollination-generalist plant clade
Authors: Gómez José María , Perfectti Francisco , Klingenberg Christian Peter
Published: July 2014

Flowers of animal-pollinated plants are integrated structures shaped by the action of pollinator-mediated selection. It is widely assumed that pollination specialization increases the magnitude of floral integration. However, empirical evidence is still inconclusive. In this study, we explored the role of pollinator diversity in shaping the evolution of corolla-shape integration inErysimum, a plant genus with generalized pollination systems. We quantified floral integration inErysimumusing geometric morphometrics and explored its evolution using phylogenetic comparative methods. Corolla-shape integration was low but significantly different from zero in all study species. Spatial autocorrelation and phylogenetic signal in corolla-shape integration were not detected. In addition, integration inErysimumseems to have evolved in a way that is consistent with Brownian motion, but with frequent convergent evolution. Corolla-shape integration was negatively associated with the number of pollinators visiting the flowers of eachErysimumspecies. That is, it was lower in those species having a more generalized pollination system. This negative association may occur because the co-occurrence of many pollinators imposes conflicting selection and cancels out any consistent selection on specific floral traits, preventing the evolution of highly integrated flowers.
Quantitative genetic variance and multivariate clines in the Ivyleaf morning glory,
Ipomoea hederacea
Authors: Stock Amanda J. , Campitelli Brandon E. , Stinchcombe John R.
Published: July 2014

Clinal variation is commonly interpreted as evidence of adaptive differentiation, although clines can also be produced by stochastic forces. Understanding whether clines are adaptive therefore requires comparing clinal variation to background patterns of genetic differentiation at presumably neutral markers. Although this approach has frequently been applied to single traits at a time, we have comparatively fewer examples of how multiple correlated traits vary clinally. Here, we characterize multivariate clines in the Ivyleaf morning glory, examining how suites of traits vary with latitude, with the goal of testing for divergence in trait means that would indicate past evolutionary responses. We couple this with analysis of genetic variance in clinally varying traits in 20 populations to test whether past evolutionary responses have depleted genetic variance, or whether genetic variance declines approaching the range margin. We find evidence of clinal differentiation in five quantitative traits, with little evidence of isolation by distance at neutral loci that would suggest non-adaptive or stochastic mechanisms. Within and across populations, the traits that contribute most to population differentiation and clinal trends in the multivariate phenotype are genetically variable as well, suggesting that a lack of genetic variance will not cause absolute evolutionary constraints. Our data are broadly consistent theoretical predictions of polygenic clines in response to shallow environmental gradients. Ecologically, our results are consistent with past findings of natural selection on flowering phenology, presumably due to season-length variation across the range.
Clostridium difficile recurrence is characterized by pro-inflammatory peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) phenotype
Authors: Yacyshyn Mary B. , Reddy Tara N. , Plageman Lauren R. , Wu Jiang , Hollar Amy R. , Yacyshyn Bruce R.
Published: July 2014

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a prevalent nosocomial and increasingly community-acquired problem. Little is known about the productive cellular response in patients. We used flow cytometry to define inflammatory (Th1 and Th17) and regulatory [Foxp3+ T-regulatory (Treg)] cells present in circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from CDI patients. We consented 67 inpatients that tested either positive or negative for CDI and 16 healthy controls and compared their PBMC phenotypes. PBMC were collected, isolated, and stained for CD3, CD8 and either IL17 (Th17), IFN-γ (Th1) or Foxp3 (Treg) and analysed using flow cytometry. Twenty thousand events were collected in the lymphocyte gate (gate 1) and T-cell phenotypes were defined. CDI patients who clear the primary initial infection have greater numbers of non-CD3 PBMC. CDI patients who develop recurrence of CDI have a greater percentage of CD3+CD8+, CD3+CD4+Foxp3 and fewer low granular CD3−Foxp3+ PBMC. These patients have greater numbers of IFN-γ-producing lymphocytes, as well as PBMC phenotypes represented by increased IFN-γ- and IL17-co-expressing CD4+CD3+. This initial pro-inflammatory phenotype decreases with repeated recurrence, demonstrating importance of timing of sample collection and history of symptoms. Patients with a history of recurrence had increased Foxp3+CD3+CD4+ and IL17+CD3+CD4+ populations. Hence, CDI recurrence is hallmarked by greater numbers of circulating CD3+ lymphocytes skewed towards a Th1/Th17 inflammatory population as well as possible immune plasticity (Th17/Treg).
Do patients prefer mesh or anterior colporrhaphy for primary correction of anterior vaginal wall prolapse: a labelled discrete choice experiment
Authors: Notten KJB , Essers BA , Weemhoff M , Rutten AGH , Donners JJAE , van Gestel I , Kruitwagen RFPM , Roovers JPWR , Dirksen CD
Published: July 2014

Objective

We investigated patients’ preferences for anterior colporrhaphy or mesh surgery as surgical correction of anterior vaginal wall prolapse.

Design

Labelled discrete choice experiment.

Setting

Three Dutch teaching hospitals.

Population

Women with anterior vaginal wall prolapse Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification stage 2 or more, indicated for anterior colporrhaphy (n = 100).

Methods

Discrete choice experiments are an attribute‐based survey method for measuring preferences. In this experiment, women were asked to choose between two treatment scenarios, mesh surgery or anterior colporrhaphy. These surgical treatments differed in four treatment attributes: (i) recurrence rate, (ii) exposure rate, (iii) infection rate, (iv) dyspareunia. Data were analysed using a multinomial logit model.

Main outcome measures

Women's preferences for anterior colporrhaphy or mesh surgery for the repair of vaginal wall prolapse.

Results

All treatment attributes, i.e. recurrence, exposure, infection and dyspareunia, proved to be significant in the woman's decision to choose mesh surgery (P < 0.001), while only two attributes out of three, recurrence and infection, were significant for anterior colporrhaphy (P < 0.001). The relative importance data showed that with regards to the four statistically significant attributes for mesh, dyspareunia was the most important attribute, and of the two significant attributes for anterior colporrhaphy, the risk of infection. Based on the attributes and levels in our discrete choice experiment, anterior colporrhaphy was preferred in 74% as a primary correction of anterior vaginal wall prolapse, followed by a preference for mesh in 26% of all choices.

Conclusion

This study showed that next to the risk of recurrence, other aspects like risk of infection, dyspareunia and exposure play a role in the woman's preference for a surgical treatment. In addition, our results indicate that anterior colporrhaphy is preferred in the majority of the choices, followed by a preference for mesh surgery in a quarter of all choice sets. However, these results represent the average preference of a sample of women and cannot be taken as the preference of each individual. In the medical decision‐making context, information from the current study should be personalised to fit patient's unique circumstances. For patients to construct their own, individual preferences, they should be well informed about the existence and magnitude of the potential benefits and risks related to either anterior colporrhaphy or mesh surgery.
Ultrasound Competency Assessment in Emergency Medicine Residency Programs
Authors: Amini Richard , Adhikari Srikar , Fiorello Albert
Published: July 2014

Objectives

In the Model of the Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine (EM), bedside ultrasound (US) is listed as one of the essential procedural skills. EM milestones released by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and American Board of Emergency Medicine require residents to demonstrate competency in bedside US. The purpose of this study was to assess the current methods used by EM residency training programs to evaluate resident competency in bedside US.

Methods

This was a cross‐sectional survey study. A questionnaire on US education and competency assessment was electronically sent to all EM residency program directors and emergency US directors. The survey consisted of questions regarding the US rotation, structure of US curriculum, presence of US fellowship, image archiving, quality assurance methods, feedback, competency assessment tools, and frequency of assessment. The survey responses are reported as the percentages of total respondents along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

A total of 124 of 161 EM residency programs participated in this study, representing a 77% response rate. Twenty‐six percent (95% CI = 18% to 34%) of programs assess competency only at the end of the US rotation. Eight percent (95% CI = 3% to 13%) assess competency only every 6 months, and 13% (95% CI = 7% to 19%) assess competency only annually. Eight percent (95% CI = 3% to 13%) assess competency only during the final year of training. Thirty percent (95% CI = 22% to 38%) of programs assess competency with a combination of the above intervals, and 16% (95% CI = 10% to 22%) do not assess US competency. Fourteen percent (95% CI = 8% to 20%) use objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), and 21% (95% CI = 14% to 28%) use standardized direct observation tools (SDOTs) to assess resident competency in US. Approximately one‐third (33%, 95% CI = 24% to 41%) of standardized testing for US competency is conducted with multiple‐choice questions. Thirty percent (95% CI = 21% to 38%) administer practical examinations to assess US skills.

Conclusions

Currently, a majority of EM residency programs assess resident competency in bedside US. However, there is significant variation in the methods of competency assessment.
Do doctors' smoking habits influence their smoking cessation practices? A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Duaso Maria J. , McDermott Máirtín S. , Mujika Agurtzane , Purssell Edward , While Alison
Published: July 2014

Aims

To assess the association between doctors' smoking status and the use of the ‘5As’ of smoking cessation.

Methods

A systematic search of 11 databases covering English and Spanish language publications since 1996 was undertaken. Studies were included if they reported doctors' smoking status (current, former or never smoker) and rates of practising any of the 5As of smoking cessation (Ask; Advise; Assess; Assist; and Arrange). Frequencies and proportions were extracted from individual papers and risk ratios (RR) were calculated. A random‐effects meta‐analysis model was used to assess the effect of the doctor's personal smoking history. Covariate effects were explored using meta‐regression for three pre‐specified study characteristics: doctors' role, smoking prevalence of the sample and study quality.

Results

Twenty studies were included in this systematic review. The RR of always asking patients about their smoking was not associated significantly with doctors' smoking status [RR = 0.98; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.94–1.02; P = 0.378; I2 = 0.00%; 10 studies]. Meta‐analysis suggested that doctors who were current smokers had a 17% increased risk of not advising their patients to quit compared with never‐smokers (RR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.77–0.90; P < 0.000; I2 = 82.14%; 14 studies). However, high levels of heterogeneity were found that were not explained by the meta‐regression. Regarding assisting patients to quit, never smokers were more likely to counsel than current smokers (RR = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.85–0.99; P = 0.036; I2 = 0.00%; three studies) but less likely to make a referral (RR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.09–1.79; P = 0.009; I2 = 0.00%; five studies). No statistically significant differences were found in arranging future contact by smoking status (RR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.52–1.23; P = 0.315; I2 = 47.03%; four studies).

Conclusions

Smoking status of doctors may affect their delivery of smoking cessation treatments to patients, with smokers being less likely than non‐smokers or ex‐smokers to advise and counsel their patients to quit but more likely to refer them to smoking cessation programmes.
Epidemiological link between wheat allergy and exposure to hydrolyzed wheat protein in facial soap
Authors: Fukutomi Y. , Taniguchi M. , Nakamura H. , Akiyama K.
Published: July 2014

Background

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of extra‐intestinal routes of sensitization to food‐related allergens as the cause of epidemics of food allergy. Instances of Japanese women developing food allergy to wheat after exposure to hydrolyzed wheat protein (HWP) present in facial soap have been reported. However, the epidemiologic impact of these ingredients as a cause of food allergy has not been well studied.

Methods

To clarify the epidemiological relationship between food allergy to wheat and contact exposure to HWP, a case–control study of Japanese women aged 20–54 years with self‐reported wheat allergy (WA) (cases, n = 157) and age‐matched control subjects without WA (controls, n = 449) was performed using a large‐scale Web‐based research panel. Subjects answered a Web‐based questionnaire regarding the use of skin and hair care products, as well as other possible risk factors.

Results

Current use of an HWP‐containing facial soap (Cha no Shizuku; Yuka) was significantly associated with an increased risk of WA (adjusted odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–5.7; frequencies of current use in cases and controls; 11% and 6%, respectively). Use of Cha no Shizuku was more common in subjects with more recent‐onset WA, implying that this soap may have contributed to the recent epidemic of WA.

Conclusions

An epidemiological relationship between WA and contact exposure to HWP has been documented. This study implicates a possible role of contact exposure to food‐derived protein hydrolysates as a risk factor for the development of food allergy manifesting itself as anaphylaxis.
Do We Need Heparin Coating for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation? New Concepts and Controversial Positions About Coating Surfaces of Extracorporeal Circuits
Authors: Silvetti Simona , Koster Andreas , Pappalardo Federico
Published: July 2014

Blood contact with surfaces of the extracorporeal circuit provokes the activation of the coagulation system. To improve biocompatibility of the extracorporeal circuit without increasing the risk of bleeding, coatings of artificial surfaces were designed; many of them involve the use of heparin. Data in the literature show that heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia is a major issue in the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation scenario, and no relevant benefits have been shown comparing heparin and no‐heparin coating.