bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wood anatomical and topochemical analyses to characterize juvenile and adult wood of lesser-known species from Central America (Mexico)
Authors: Haag Volker , Koch Gerald , Richter Hans-Georg , Evans Robert , Guzmán José Antonio Silva , Schmitt Uwe
Published: September 2019

Anatomical and subcellular characteristics of juvenile and adult wood of seven species (Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen, Platymiscium yucatanum Standl., Lonchocarpus castilloi Standl., Roseodendron donnell-smithii (Rose) Miranda, Terminalia buceras (L.) Wright, Tabebuia rosea (Bertol.) DC., Lysiloma latisiliquum (L.) Benth. from Mexico, including a histometric evaluation, were investigated by light microscopy with a digitized image analysis system and by X-ray diffractometry using the SilviScan® system. The topochemical distribution of lignin and phenolic deposits in the tissue was studied by means of cellular UV-microspectrophotometry (UMSP). Extractive contents (acetone/water and water) were determined gravimetrically. The results of the structural and topochemical analyses were compared with the interrelations of certain anatomical and subcellular structures as well as the topochemical composition with regard to the physical and mechanical properties of the timbers investigated. The objective was to provide a detailed cellular and subcellular description of the heartwood of seven lesser-known timbers from Central America. All examined tree species show significant differences between juvenile and adult heartwood. For individual species, however, the differences vary greatly and have to be individually assessed in addition to general trends observed for all studied species. It has been shown that vessel size, fibre length, size of fibre lumina, and height and width of rays, as well as the content of extractives and topochemical composition of the cell walls, are suitable indicators for the differentiation of the two heartwood types. The results also contribute to a better understanding of the wood properties of the investigated timbers in relation to their utilization and added value increase.
Decolonial Theology in the North Atlantic World
Authors: Drexler-Dreis Joseph
Published: September 2019

This essay develops a response to the historical situation of the North Atlantic world in general and the United States in particular through theological reflection. It offers an overview of some decolonial perspectives with which theologians can engage, and argues for a general perspective for a decolonial theology as a possible response to modern/colonial structures and relations of power, particularly in the United States. Decolonial theory holds together a set of critical perspectives that seek the end of the modern/colonial world-system and not merely a democratization of its benefits. A decolonial theology, it is argued, critiques how the confinement of knowledge to European traditions has closed possibilities for understanding historical encounters with divinity, and thus possibilities of critical reflection. A decolonial theology reflects critically on a historical situation in light of faith in a divine reality, the understanding of which is liberated from the monopoly of modern/colonial ways of knowing, in order to catalyze social transformation.
Redescriptions of Pugettia quadridens (De Haan, 1837) and P. intermedia Sakai, 1938 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Epialtidae) with description of a new species
Authors: OHTSUCHI NAOYA , KAWAMURA TOMOHIKO
Published: September 2019

Pugettia quadridens (De Haan, 1837) and its closely similar congener, P. intermedia Sakai, 1938, are redescribed and illustrated and their possible infraspecific variations related to sexual, ontogenetic, and environmental differences are discussed. As a result, a new species, Pugettia ferox, which had long been believed to be a local variant of P. quadridens sensu lato in the northeast Japan, is described. Despite moderate sexual dimorphism and considerable variability related to their ontogeny, the three species can be distinguished from each other by the combination of various morphological characters including the structure of the orbital region and male first gonopods. The patterns of ontogenetic morphological and morphometric changes in the chelipeds, gonopods, and pleons are also differentiated among the three species. The updated distribution ranges of three species greatly overlap in the northeast Asian waters, although P. quadridens sensu stricto is distributed more southward than P. ferox n. sp.. Distinguishing characters between P. quadridens s.s. and P. pellucens Rathbun, 1932, and between P. intermedia and P. vulgaris Ohtsuchi, Kawamura & Takeda, 2014, are revised.
Toward a Value-Sensitive Absorptive Capacity Framework: Navigating Intervalue and Intravalue Conflicts to Answer the Societal Call for Health
Authors: Garst Jilde , Blok Vincent , Branzei Oana , Jansen Léon , Omta Onno S. W. F.
Published: September 2019

The majority of studies on absorptive capacity (AC) underscore the importance of absorbing technological knowledge from other firms to create economic value. However, to preserve moral legitimacy and create social value, firms must also discern and adapt to (shifts in) societal values. A comparative case study of eight firms in the food industry reveals how organizations prioritize and operationalize the societal value health in product innovation while navigating inter- and intravalue conflicts. The value-sensitive framework induced in this article extends AC by explaining how technically savvy, economic value–creating firms diverge in their receptivity, articulation, and reflexivity of societal values.
Social Justice Applications and the African American Liberation Tradition
Authors: Cook William S.
Published: September 2019

Social justice is amiable formal, informal interaction and the impartial distribution of resources for a community. Nondiscriminatory social practices and equitable resource distribution may minimize the mistreatment of African Americans who have endured the profuseness of social injustices in this country as exemplified by the Trayvon Martin incident and the numerous police killings of unarmed African Americans. Social justice is also the recognition, preservation of an ethnic group’s cultural identity, and it interrelates with the African American liberation tradition. This tradition began on the West African Coast where inhabitants resisted the European captivity system and its repercussions in the Americas that educators describe as Maafa or disaster. The resilience of Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Molefi Asante’s Afrocentric theory characterizes social justice applications of economic, political, cultural strategies within the context of the African American liberation tradition.
Tooth Bioengineering and Regenerative Dentistry
Authors: Yelick P.C. , Sharpe P.T.
Published: September 2019

Over the past 100 y, tremendous progress has been made in the fields of dental tissue engineering and regenerative dental medicine, collectively known as translational dentistry. Translational dentistry has benefited from the more mature field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM), established on the belief that biocompatible scaffolds, cells, and growth factors could be used to create functional, living replacement tissues and organs. TERM, created and pioneered by an interdisciplinary group of clinicians, biomedical engineers, and basic research scientists, works to create bioengineered replacement tissues that provide at least enough function for patients to survive until donor organs are available and, at best, fully functional replacement organs. Ultimately, the goal of both TERM and regenerative dentistry is to bring new and more effective therapies to the clinic to treat those in need. Very recently, the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research invested $24 million over a 3-y period to create dental oral and craniofacial translational resource centers to facilitate the development of more effective therapies to treat edentulism and other dental-related diseases over the next decade. This exciting era in regenerative dentistry, particularly for whole-tooth tissue engineering, builds on many key successes over the past 100 y that have contributed toward our current knowledge and understanding of signaling pathways directing natural tooth and dental tissue development—the foundation for current strategies to engineer functional, living replacement dental tissues and whole teeth. Here we use a historical perspective to present key findings and pivotal advances made in the field of translational dentistry over the past 100 y. We will first describe how this process has evolved over the past 100 y and then hypothesize on what to expect over the next century.
Novel Nicotine Delivery Systems
Authors: Kumar P.S. , Clark P. , Brinkman M.C. , Saxena D.
Published: September 2019

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are devices that contain a power source, a heating element, and a tank or cartridge containing an “e-liquid,” which is a mixture of nicotine and flavoring in a glycerol–propylene glycol vehicle. Their increasing popularity among adolescents might be attributed to aggressive marketing in physical venues, social media outlets, as well as irreversible changes caused by nicotine in the developing brains of youth and young adults, predisposing them to addictive behaviors. Adolescent ENDS users were 4 times more likely to initiate cigarette smoking, and the odds of quitting smoking were lower and, in many instances, delayed for those using ENDS. ENDS also renormalize cigarette-like behaviors, such as inhaling/exhaling smoke. The oral cavity is the initial point of contact of ENDS and the first affected system in humans. Oral health depends on an intricate balance in the interactions between oral bacteria and the human immune system, and dysbiosis of oral microbial communities underlies the etiology of periodontitis, caries, and oral cancer. Emerging evidence from subjects with periodontitis as well as periodontally healthy subjects demonstrates that e-cigarette use is associated with a compositional and functional shift in the oral microbiome, with an increase in opportunistic pathogens and virulence traits.
How Social Dynamics Influence a Developing Country’s Language Planning and Policy
Authors: Pervin Nasrin , Siraj Nausheen Saba
Published: September 2019

Social dynamics of a developing country undergo constant changes because of the demand of economic growth and people’s cater for social mobility. English has become important in all economic activities globally. Bangladesh was a British colony for almost 200 years. The legacy of English education still continues and it has not formulated any language policy, though the policy is to use mother tongue in all affairs of national/state functioning. Violating government rules, innumerable English education institutions operate taking advantage of the absence of government policy. This empirical study investigates unofficially how elements of social dynamics influence its language planning and policy.
Understanding Body Language Does Not Require Matching the Body's Egocentric Map to Body Posture: A Brain Activation fMRI Study
Authors: Canderan Cinzia , Maieron Marta , Fabbro Franco , Tomasino Barbara
Published: September 2019

Body language (BL) is a type of nonverbal communication in which the body communicates the message. We contrasted participants' cognitive processing of body representations or meanings versus body positions. Participants ( N = 20) were shown pictures depicting body postures and were instructed to focus on their meaning (BL) or on the position of a body part relative to the position of another part (body structural description [BSD]). We examined activation in brain areas related to the two types of body representation—body schema and BSD—as modulated by the two tasks. We presumed that if understanding BL triggers embodiment of body posture, a matching procedure between the egocentric map coding the position of one's body segments in space and time should occur. We found that BL (vs. BSD) differentially activated the angular gyrus bilaterally, the anterior middle temporal gyrus, the temporal pole, and the right superior temporal gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus, the superior medial gyrus, and the left superior frontal gyrus. BSD (vs. BL) differentially activated the superior parietal lobule (Area 7A) bilaterally, the posterior inferior temporal gyrus, the middle frontal gyrus, and the left precentral gyrus. Sensorimotor areas were differentially activated by BSD when compared with BL. Inclusive masking showed significant voxels in the superior colliculus and pulvinar, fusiform gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, the intraparietal sulcus bilaterally, inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally, and precentral gyrus. These results indicate common brain networks for processing BL and BSD, for which some areas show differentially stronger or weaker processing of one task or the other, with the precuneus and the superior parietal lobule, the intraparietal sulcus, and sensorimotor areas most related to the BSD as activated by the BSD task. In contrast, the parietal operculum, an area related to the body schema, a representation crucial during embodiment of body postures, was not activated for implicit masking or for the differential contrasts.
Socialist Republicanism
Authors: O’Shea Tom
Published: September 2019

Socialist republicans advocate public ownership and control of the means of production in order to achieve the republican goal of a society without endemic domination. While civic republicanism is often attacked for its conservatism, the relatively neglected radical history of the tradition shows how a republican form of socialism provides powerful conceptual resources to critique capitalism for leaving workers and citizens dominated. This analysis supports a programme of public ownership and economic democracy intended to reduce domination in the workplace and wider society. I defend this socialist republicanism from both the Marxist objection that it overlooks the impersonal nature of domination under capitalism and the left-liberal objections that property-owning democracy or worker codetermination are sufficient to suppress dominating relationships. The resulting position identifies the need for more ambitious institutional grounds for republican liberty than is often supposed, while offering us a distinctive emancipatory justification for socialism.
The power of collaboration: Reflections on a collaborative approach to teaching research methods in public administration
Authors: Sarter EK
Published: September 2019

The ability to engage with empirical research in a meaningful way is a vital skill for public administration (PA) students and graduates. Yet, while research methods are essential skills for PA students, it is widely acknowledged that teaching research methods in the context of social science programmes and PA in particular faces challenges. To address these challenges, namely negative perceptions of research methods in combination with misconceptions about the value of methodological knowledge and skills and the resulting lack of engagement, different approaches have been put forth. These comprise stronger links between the course content and research methods as well as the integration of hands-on experiences. This article presents a reflective analysis of a collaborative approach, which integrates hands-on experience while highlighting the value of methodological skills and knowledge for public sector organisations and linking research methods to students’ future careers.
Emancipation and Collaboration: A Critical Examination of Human Rights Video Advocacy
Authors: Ginsburg Ruthie
Published: September 2019

This article explores the relationship between political freedom and collaboration in the work of human rights organizations. I focus here on the ethical and political implications involved in the production of evidence once the documenting tool, the camera, is in the hands of an engaged civilian rather than a bystander, such as a photojournalist. By examining cases in the Occupied Palestinian Territories where the Palestinians are the photographers of human rights violations, I outline the relations and tensions between emancipatory acts and collaboration via visual information production. Human rights organizations laud new technology and celebrate the participation of those afflicted by such violations in knowledge production as a form of empowerment, and those afflicted may experience the visual practice as a mode of self-representation. But inevitably such a practice is based on collaborative action. In the Israeli/Palestinian conflict case study below, such collaboration has negative effects, which impinge upon the emancipatory features of this mode of documenting.
Moral injury and the struggle for recognition of women living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia
Authors: Halimatusa’diyah Iim
Published: September 2019

HIV/AIDS is often considered a moral issue. Consequently, it causes a moral injury for people, including women, who live with HIV/AIDS. The feminization of HIV/AIDS over the last few decades has placed women in a group highly vulnerable to the experience of moral injury. Using Axel Honneth’s theory of moral injury and data collected from 33 women living with HIV/AIDS (WLWHA) in three cities in Indonesia, this article aims to analyze how these women deal with and survive moral injury due to their HIV/AIDS status. The study found that for many WLWHA, the experience of moral injury has destroyed self-confidence but at the same time also provided an impetus for struggle and collective action. These women were more likely to survive the negative impacts of moral injury when they received adequate support from three levels of interaction: interpersonal, the state, and society in general. Additionally, the level of participation in HIV/AIDS-related organizations contributed to different forms of recognition.
Decolonizing microfinance: An Indigenous feminist approach to transform macro-debit into micro-credit
Authors: Quinless Jacqueline Marie , Adu-Febiri Francis
Published: September 2019

Nancy Fraser’s theoretical critique of feminism’s unintended facilitation of neoliberal capitalism discusses the reproduction of poverty at the grassroots among Indigenous women. This article situates the discussion in gendered colonialism to show the ways that microfinance is actually a form of structured colonization and gender oppression. The authors argue that neither the emerging literature on microfinance nor Nancy Fraser’s theory provides Indigenous women a practical way out of the existing oppressive structures of microfinance practice. Rather, they suggest that these ideas are better understood through talking circle conversations with local Indigenous women food producers in Ghana. Through conversations, the authors learned about how these women are actively decolonizing and indigenizing microfinance and what Corntassel has described as everyday acts of resurgence and renewal within native communities. The authors reason that racialized, capitalist, gender oppression can be overcome by decolonial feminism.
The oral tradition of Pierre Bourdieu: Classification Struggles, On the State, and Manet
Authors: O’Neill Brian F
Published: September 2019

This essay discusses the three most recent posthumous publications of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. With the 2019 release of Classification Struggles, coming after On the State (2014) and Manet (2017), and covering Bourdieu’s first lectures as the Chair in Sociology at the Collège de France from 1981 to 1982, this emerging oral tradition marks an opportune moment to re-examine Bourdieu’s oeuvre in light of a mode of presentation and knowledge transference that is unprecedented in scope within the sociological canon. Taken together, these series of lectures, but also notes, essays by his collaborators, and even an unfinished book length manuscript, constitute a fascinating process of analysis of the wide range of topics that Bourdieu tackled throughout his career. As such, these works lend important insights that should aid readers in re-evaluating Bourdieu’s more polished works. However, beyond the additional insights that may lead international sociologists to a more thorough understanding of Bourdieu’s best-known theories, one finds, when examined chronologically, the slow march of Bourdieu’s progress towards a fully-fledged theory of the state, a topic that he did not begin to formally analyze until he began lecturing at the Collège de France.
Spiking Neural Networks for early prediction in human–robot collaboration
Authors: Zhou Tian , Wachs Juan P
Published: September 2019

This article introduces the Turn-Taking Spiking Neural Network (TTSNet), which is a cognitive model to perform early turn-taking prediction about a human or agent’s intentions. The TTSNet framework relies on implicit and explicit multimodal communication cues (physical, neurological and physiological) to be able to predict when the turn-taking event will occur in a robust and unambiguous fashion. To test the theories proposed, the TTSNet framework was implemented on an assistant robotic nurse, which predicts surgeon’s turn-taking intentions and delivers surgical instruments accordingly. Experiments were conducted to evaluate TTSNet’s performance in early turn-taking prediction. It was found to reach an [Formula: see text] score of 0.683 given 10% of completed action, and an [Formula: see text] score of 0.852 at 50% and 0.894 at 100% of the completed action. This performance outperformed multiple state-of-the-art algorithms, and surpassed human performance when limited partial observation is given (<40%). Such early turn-taking prediction capability would allow robots to perform collaborative actions proactively, in order to facilitate collaboration and increase team efficiency.
Update on intensive motor training in spinocerebellar ataxia: time to move a step forward?
Authors: Lanza Giuseppe , Casabona Jacopo Antonino , Bellomo Maria , Cantone Mariagiovanna , Fisicaro Francesco , Bella Rita , Pennisi Giovanni , Bramanti Placido , Pennisi Manuela , Bramanti Alessia
Published: September 2019

Some evidence suggests that high-intensity motor training slows down the severity of spinocerebellar ataxia. However, whether all patients might benefit from these activities, and by which activity, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We provide an update on the effect and limitations of different training programmes in patients with spinocerebellar ataxias. Overall, data converge of the finding that intensive training is still based either on conventional rehabilitation protocols or whole-body controlled videogames (“exergames”). Notwithstanding the limitations, short-term improvement is observed, which tends to be lost once the training is stopped. Exergames and virtual reality can ameliorate balance, coordination, and walking abilities, whereas the efficacy of adapted physical activity, gym, and postural exercises depends on the disease duration and severity. In conclusion, although a disease-modifying effect has not been demonstrated, constant, individually tailored, high-intensity motor training might be effective in patients with degenerative ataxia, even in those with severe disease. These approaches may enhance the remaining cerebellar circuitries or plastically induce compensatory networks. Further research is required to identify predictors of training success, such as the type and severity of ataxia and the level of residual functioning.
A flood of models: Mekong ecologies of comparison
Authors: Jensen Casper Bruun
Published: September 2019

In recent decades, scientists have developed a wide array of hydrological, hydrodynamic, and other models to understand the dynamics of the Mekong River Basin. Indeed, the area has been described as ‘flooded’ with models. Drawing on STS and the philosophy of modeling – which has described models as mediating instruments – the first half of this article discusses how and why this proliferation has occurred, focusing on the Cambodian context. Highlighting that models are developed comparatively, with reference to one another, the analysis shows how they have generated a partially connected ecology of comparisons. As each model makes its own image of the Mekong, the ecology as a whole creates a kaleidoscopic effect. In principle, this ecology is important for that of environmental policy-making. In practice, however, it is tremendously difficult for scientists to bridge the ecologies. Examining two cases of NGO-based modeling aiming to influence policy, the second half of the paper offers a comparative analysis of the challenges modeling knowledge faces in Mekong environmental politics.
Risk-Taking Propensity and Sensation Seeking in Survivors of Adverse Childhood Experiences
Authors: Babad Sara , Zwilling Amanda , Carson Kaitlin Walsh , Fairchild Victoria , Razak Shanna , Robinson Gabriella , Nikulina Valentina
Published: September 2019

Risk-taking propensity and sensation seeking are developmentally meaningful traits for emerging adults, individuals ages 18 to 25 years. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) of childhood abuse and neglect, exposure to domestic violence, residing with a substance abusing or mentally ill caregiver, and growing up with an incarcerated family member negatively impact the well-being of emerging adults. However, the specific association between ACEs and risk-taking propensity and sensation seeking has not been previously examined in this age group. This study aims to determine whether ACEs are individually or cumulatively related to risk-taking propensity (assessed by the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale) and sensation seeking (assessed by the Behavior Inhibition System/Behavior Approach System Scales) in a diverse sample of undergraduates, n = 436; Mage = 19.73 years ( SD = 1.83 years); 67% female; 22% Hispanic. Multivariate ordinary least squares regressions were run to examine the association between ACEs and risk-taking propensity and sensation seeking. Individually, emotional abuse predicted greater inhibition ( B = .28, p < .001), growing up with a mentally ill family member ( B = –.12, p < .05) and emotional neglect ( B = –.13, p < .05) predicted reduced motivation to pursue rewarding cues, and emotional neglect ( B = –.12, p < .05) and witnessing domestic violence ( B = –.10, p < .05) predicted less reward responsiveness. No cumulative effects were found. ACEs related to environmental instability may have a unique impact on sensation seeking domains in emerging adults. Clarifying the role of sensation seeking in emerging adults can contribute to better understanding of risk and resilience factors in this vulnerable population.
#SomeoneTellCNN: Cosmopolitan militarism in the East African warscape
Authors: Al-Bulushi Samar
Published: September 2019

In October 2011, the Kenyan military invaded southern Somalia with the stated purpose of addressing the threat posed by the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab. This article illustrates how the Kenyan state invokes the ongoing fight against Al-Shabaab to perform what Merje Kuus refers to as “cosmopolitan militarism,” shifting attention away from the material dimensions of war and geopolitics to more abstract, imaginative domains. Cosmopolitan militarism functions here as a form of nation branding, marking Kenya as exceptional for its commitment to liberal norms of peace and security. At the same time, I draw upon state-produced documents, advertisements, and public speeches and events to analyze how cultural production shapes subjectivities, cultivating new imaginative geographies, militarized masculinities, and religiously inflected attachments to war.
Battey’s operation as a treatment for hysteria: a review of a series of cases in the nineteenth century
Authors: Komagamine Tomoko , Kokubun Norito , Hirata Koichi
Published: September 2019

Ovarian resection as a treatment for hysteria, called ‘Battey’s operation’ or ‘normal ovariotomy’, was performed in the nineteenth century. Battey later reported that the resected ovaries appeared to have ‘cystic degeneration’. Currently, patients with acute neuropsychiatric symptoms are screened for teratomas for the differential diagnosis of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. There is now a hypothesis that ovarian lesions resulting in paraneoplastic encephalitis were among the patients who underwent Battey’s operation. We identified 94 published cases of Battey’s operation for neuropsychiatric symptoms in the late nineteenth century. Among 36 cases with detailed descriptions, we found 3 patients who showed acute onset neuropsychiatric symptoms with macropathological ovarian findings that were compatible with teratoma. They showed favourable prognoses after surgery and might have motivated the surgeons to perform the operation.
Relating dung fungal spore influx rates to animal density in a temperate environment: Implications for palaeoecological studies
Authors: van Asperen Eline N , Kirby Jason R , Shaw Helen E
Published: September 2019

The management of the remainder of Europe’s once extensive forests is hampered by a poor understanding of the character of the vegetation and drivers of change before the onset of clearance for farming. Pollen data indicate a closed-canopy, mixed-deciduous forest, contrasting with the assertion that large herbivores would have maintained a mosaic of open grassland, regenerating scrub and forested groves. Coprophilous fungal spores from sedimentary sequences are increasingly used as a proxy for past herbivore impact on vegetation, but the method faces methodological and taphonomical issues. Using pollen trap data from a long-running experiment in Chillingham Wild Cattle Park, UK, we investigate the first steps in the mechanisms connecting herbivore density to the incorporation of fungal spores in sediments and assess the effects of environmental variables on this relationship. Herbivore utilisation levels correlate with dung fungal spore abundance. Chillingham is densely populated by large herbivores, but dung fungal spore influx is low. Herbivores may thus be present on the landscape but go undetected. The absence of dung fungal spores is therefore less informative than their presence. Dung fungal spores likely enter the sediment record through a different pathway from wind-borne pollen and thus dung fungal abundance is better expressed as influx rates than as percentage of total pollen. Landscape openness, vegetation type and site wetness do not distort the impact of utilisation levels on dung fungal spore representation. However, dung fungal spore influx varies markedly between seasons and years. Spores travel, leading to a background level of spore deposition across the landscape, and at times a depletion of spores, especially under wet weather conditions. Animal behaviour, as well as husbandry practices, can lead to the accumulation of dung, and thus fungal spores, in specific locations on the landscape that do not directly reflect grazing pressure.
Healthy Life Expectancy in 2010 for Native Hawaiian, White, Filipino, Japanese, and Chinese Americans Living in Hawai’i
Authors: Wu Yanyan , Uchima Olivia , Browne Colette , Braun Kathryn
Published: September 2019

Healthy life expectancy (HALE) varies substantially among countries, regions, and race/ethnicities. Utilizing the Sullivan method, this article examines HALE for Native Hawaiian, White, Filipino, Japanese, and Chinese Americans living in Hawai’i, the United States. HALE varies by sex and race/ethnicity. The HALE at birth in 2010 for females was 78.3, 77.8, 74.2, 73.7, and 62.6 years in contrast to life expectancy of 90, 88, 88.1, 83.4, and 79.4 for Chinese, Japanese, Filipino Americans, White, and Native Hawaiians, respectively. In the same order, HALE at birth for males was 73.0, 71.6, 72.3 70.7, and 60.7 years, compared with life expectancy of 85.3, 81.2, 80.8, 78.3, and 73.9. The gaps in HALE between Native Hawaiians and the longest living Chinese Americans were 15.7 years for females and 12.3 years for males. Our results highlight sex and racial/ethnic disparities in HALE, which can inform program and policy development.
Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir: The First 8-Week, Pangenotypic HCV Treatment Regimen for Patients 12 Years of Age and Older
Authors: Huff Jamie , Andersen Rebecca
Published: September 2019

Objective: To review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, dosing, and cost information of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Data Sources: A literature search was conducted between September 2018 and July 2019 using PubMed and Google Scholar with the search terms glecaprevir, pibrentasvir, Mavyret, Maviret, and hepatitis C. Clinicaltrials.gov was searched using the same terms. References of published articles were assessed for additional information. Study Selection and Data Extraction: English-language preclinical and clinical studies on the chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir were evaluated. Data Synthesis: Food and Drug Administration–approved glecaprevir/pibrentasvir is considered both safe and efficacious for the treatment of HCV genotypes 1 to 6 and in several patient populations, such as those with treatment-naïve or treatment-experienced HCV; with or without compensated cirrhosis, HIV-1 coinfection, or renal impairment; post–liver or post–kidney transplant; and ≥12 years of age. Sustained virological response rates ranged from 83% to 100% in clinical trials, and safety outcomes appear similar to other guideline-recommended HCV treatment options. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: This review discusses the pharmacological, efficacy, and safety data found in glecaprevir/pibrentasvir clinical trials and relates this to guideline recommendations and the practical use of this medication for treatment of HCV. Conclusions: With HCV infection rates remaining elevated, it is important to have safe and efficacious treatment options. Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir is a safe and efficacious guideline-recommended, 8-week treatment for HCV in several patient populations, with these populations likely growing in the near future given ongoing and future studies.
Decision Support for Breast Cancer Detection: Classification Improvement Through Feature Selection
Authors: Fogliatto Flavio S. , Anzanello Michel J. , Soares Felipe , Brust-Renck Priscila G.
Published: September 2019

Several statistical-based approaches have been developed to support medical personnel in early breast cancer detection. This article presents a method for feature selection aimed at classifying cases into categories based on patients’ breast tissue measures and protein microarray. The effectiveness of this feature selection strategy was evaluated against the commonly used Wisconsin Breast Cancer Database—WBCD (with several patients and fewer features) and a new protein microarray data set (with several features and fewer patients). Features were ranked according to a feature importance index that combines parameters emerging from the unsupervised method of principal component analysis and the supervised method of Bhattacharyya distance. Observations of a training set were iteratively categorized into malignant and benign cases through 3 classification techniques: k-Nearest Neighbor, linear discriminant analysis, and probabilistic neural network. After each classification, the feature with the smallest importance index was removed, and a new categorization was carried out until there was only one feature left. The subset yielding maximum accuracy was used to classify observations in the testing set. Our method yielded average 99.17% accurate classifications in the testing set while retaining average 4.61 out of 9 features in the WBCD, which is comparable to the best results reported by the literature on that data set, with the advantage of relying on simple and widely available multivariate techniques. When applied to the microarray data, the method yielded average accuracy of 98.30% while retaining average 2.17% of the original features. Our results can aid health-care professionals during early diagnosis of breast cancer.
Production optimization of passion fruit peel flour and its incorporation into dietary food
Authors: Garcia Marcelo V , Milani Mayara S , Ries Edi F
Published: September 2019

This study aimed to obtain passion fruit peel flour and incorporate it as an ingredient in the development of dietary cookies. Drying proceeded by an experimental design with variable temperature and time and storage trial of the obtained flour was conducted in plastic packaging under optimized conditions (90 ℃/11 h) for 90 days. The passion fruit peel flour was incorporated into cookies at three levels (10, 20, and 30%) to replace wheat flour. Chemical composition, microbiological quality, and acceptance of sensory attributes of the cookies were determined. The formulations tested had significantly higher mean contents of ash and crude fiber (p < 0.05) and showed adjusted microbiological standards. Acceptance of the appearance, aroma, and flavor attributes were similar (p > 0.05) in all formulations. The results show the viability of optimized production of alternative flour (30% of passion fruit peel flour) from agro-industrial waste and the potential of the flour as an ingredient for the nutritional enrichment of dietary foods.
The Surfacer® Inside-Out® Access System for right-sided catheter placement in dialysis patients with thoracic venous obstruction
Authors: Hentschel Dirk M , Minarsch Laura , Vega Félix , Ebner Adrian
Published: September 2019

Purpose:

Thoracic central venous obstruction is a common clinical complication in dialysis patients utilizing hemodialysis catheters. Thoracic central venous obstruction can lead to inability to utilize affected veins for catheter placement and sequential use of less preferred alternative venous access sites. The latter can affect the ability to create and/or mature permanent arteriovenous access and contribute to the future loss of thoracic veins for venous access. While alternative procedures exist for gaining venous access in patients who have exhausted routine venous access options, these procedures are complex, time-consuming, and associated with high patient risk. The Surfacer System provides a new approach in patients with right-sided thoracic central venous obstruction, enabling the ability to establish repeated access from the right side of the neck to the right atrium.

Methods:

We describe the use of the Surfacer System to facilitate placement of hemodialysis catheters in a series of nine patients with thoracic central venous obstruction involving one or more central veins. Patient characteristics and procedure-related outcomes were recorded for all patients.

Results:

Central venous access was successfully achieved in eight of nine patients using the Surfacer System. Significant venous tortuosity resulted in the inability to achieve venous access in one patient and prolonged procedural time to achieve access in another patient. The mean time required for Surfacer-related procedural steps and associated fluoroscopy time in the remaining seven patients was 13.3 and 3.7 min, respectively.

Conclusion:

The Surfacer System provides an efficient low-complexity alternative for gaining repeated right-sided central venous access in hemodialysis patients with obstructed thoracic veins.
When push comes to nudge: a Chinese digital civilisation in-the-making
Authors: Keane Michael , Su Guanhua
Published: September 2019

China’s emergence as a technological power is now unquestioned. Since the early 2000s, the Chinese government has invested heavily in information and communication technology. Rather than seeing the internet as a challenge to its hegemony, the government has allowed leading communications companies to offer new digital services, many of which enhance peoples’ lifestyles, while others allow people to express their loyalty to the nation. The Party-state has in the process found a new solution to asserting control. This article investigates the concept of a ‘digital civilisation’, in particular how civilisational discourses associated with the Party-state since the beginning of the economic reforms have found new applications in online technologies. It draws on the ancient metaphor of flood control to show how behaviour is redirected, or nudged, towards digital lifestyle choices. Examples discussed include the multiplicity of QR codes, mobile payments, the social credit system, the Strong Nation ( xuexi qiangguo) app and the Huawei Harmony operating system (OS).
Framing holistic indoor environment: Definitions of comfort, health and well-being
Authors: Rohde Lasse , Larsen Tine Steen , Jensen Rasmus Lund , Larsen Olena Kalyanova
Published: September 2019

In research and assessment of indoor environmental quality (IEQ), the terms ‘Comfort’, ‘Health’ and ‘Well-being’ are often used interchangeably without a clear definition of terms or effects on conditions for occupants. This calls for a systematic restructuring of the ontological approach to IEQ and, based on a meta-analysis of recent IEQ literature, the authors suggest three substantial contributions: 1) A framework consisting of comfort, health and well-being as three equal branches of IEQ to increase focus on previously neglected aspects and make inter-domain relations more transparent. 2) The identification of key IEQ trends and by extension suggestions for formal definitions of three main domains as part of a multidisciplinary conceptual framework for working holistically with IEQ. 3) The introduction of positive stimuli to IEQ assessment as opposed to the predominance of focus on the absence of negative parameters of current practice. Through including this positive stimuli dimension, the field of IEQ shifts from ‘not bad’ to ‘truly good’, encouraging the design of enriched environments to further positive experiences improving occupant well-being.
Politics and Science as a Vocation: Can Academics Save us from Post-Truth Politics?
Authors: Boswell John , Corbett Jack , Havercroft Jonathan
Published: September 2019

In an apparently post-truth era, the social science scholar, by disposition and training committed to rational argumentation and the pursuit of truth, appeals as the ideal bulwark against excessive politicization of facts and expertise. In this article, we look to the experience of four prominent social scientists who have recently left the academy to enter politics with the aim of using their academic expertise to reshape policy. We use these cases to explore fundamental dilemmas derived from a close reading of Max Weber’s seminal vocation essays of a century ago. Weber observed that politicians were driven by a will to power, whereas academics were driven by a will to truth. We argue that these two competing dispositions create four tensions for the academic turned politician: (1) between calling and commitment, (2) between means and ends, (3) between rationalization and professionalization and (4) between facts and values. Analysing memoirs written by four of the most prominent academics-turned-politicians in recent times, we explore how Weber’s tensions manifest in contemporary practice. Our account reveals that these actors face a daunting, but not impossible, task. Their success depends on wedding the relentless pursuit of ends with the prudent application of political means.
A Uniter and a Divider: American Presidential Campaigns and Partisan Perceptions of the National Economy
Authors: D. Smidt Corwin
Published: September 2019

Do American presidential campaigns polarize or unify partisan perceptions? I propose that they do both, where the balance of these countervailing forces varies by context. Campaign messages enable partisan differences, especially in battleground states, but campaigns also promote social contexts that foster accuracy motives and reduce the effects of partisan biases nationwide. After documenting panel data evidence of campaign trends toward unity, further tests compare the national effects of campaign engagement with the local effects of campaign intensity using daily survey data on national economic evaluations. In support of the countervailing forces framework, national engagement in presidential campaigns generally increased levels of cross-partisan agreement by campaign’s end, but local campaign intensity enhanced partisan differences in rate of responsiveness to the campaign. Although targeted campaigns reduced unifying effects in many states, presidential campaigns typically have a net unifying effect on American economic perceptions, thereby strengthening economic voting.
A Method to Determine the Coincidence of MRI-Guided Linac Radiation and Magnetic Isocenters
Authors: Latifi Kujtim , Moros Eduardo G. , Zhang Geoffrey , Harrison Louis , Feygelman Vladimir
Published: September 2019

To assure accurate treatment delivery on any image-guided radiotherapy system, the relative positions and walkout of the imaging and radiation isocenters must be periodically verified and kept within specified tolerances. In this work, we first validated the multiaxis ion chamber array as a tool for finding the radiation isocenter position of a magnetic resonance–guided linear accelerator. The treatment couch with the array on it was shifted in 0.2-mm increments and the reported beam center position was plotted against that shift and fitted to a straight line, in both X and Y directions. From the goodness-of-fit and intercepts of the regression lines, the accuracy and precision were conservatively estimated at 0.2 and 0.1 mm, respectively. This holds true whether the array is irradiated from the front or from the back, which allows efficient collecting the data from the 4 cardinal gantry angles with just 2 array positions. The average isocenter position agreed to within at most 0.4 mm along any cardinal axis with the linac vendor’s film-based procedure, and the maximum walkout radii were 0.32 mm and 0.53 mm, respectively. The magnetic resonance imaging isocenter walkout as a function of gantry angle was studied with 2 different phantoms, one employing a single fiducial at the center and another extracting the rigid displacement values from the distortion map fit of 523 fiducials dispersed over a large volume. The results were close between the 2 phantoms and demonstrated variation in the magnetic resonance imaging isocenter location as high as 1.3 mm along a single axis in the transverse plane. Verification of the magnetic resonance imaging isocenter location versus the gantry angle should be a part of quality assurance for magnetic resonance-guided linear accelerators.
kg_nchs: A command for Korn–Graubard confidence intervals and National Center for Health Statistics’ Data Presentation Standards for Proportions
Authors: Ward Brian W.
Published: September 2019

In August 2017, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, published new standards for determining the reliability of proportions estimated using their data. These standards require one to take the Korn–Graubard confidence interval (CI), CI widths, sample size, and degrees of freedom to assess reliability of a proportion and determine whether it can be presented. The assessment itself involves determining whether several conditions are met. In this article, I present kg_nchs, a postestimation command that is used following svy: proportion. It allows Stata users to a) calculate the Korn–Graubard CI and associated statistics used in applying the NCHS presentation standards for proportions and b) display a series of three dichotomous flags that show whether the standards are met. I provide empirical examples to show how kg_nchs can be used to easily apply the standards and prevent Stata users from needing to perform manual calculations. While developed for NCHS survey data, this command can also be used with data that stem from any survey with a complex sample design.