bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematic Review for the 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines
Authors: Reboussin David M. , Allen Norrina B. , Griswold Michael E. , Guallar Eliseo , Hong Yuling , Lackland Daniel T. , Miller Edgar (Pete) R. , Polonsky Tamar , Thompson-Paul Angela M. , Vupputuri Suma
Published: October 2018

Objective

To review the literature systematically and perform meta-analyses to address these questions: 1) Is there evidence that self-measured blood pressure (BP) without other augmentation is superior to office-based measurement of BP for achieving better BP control or for preventing adverse clinical outcomes that are related to elevated BP? 2) What is the optimal target for BP lowering during antihypertensive therapy in adults? 3) In adults with hypertension, how do various antihypertensive drug classes differ in their benefits and harms compared with each other as first-line therapy?

Methods

Electronic literature searches were performed by Doctor Evidence, a global medical evidence software and services company, across PubMed and EMBASE from 1966 to 2015 using key words and relevant subject headings for randomized controlled trials that met eligibility criteria defined for each question. We performed analyses using traditional frequentist statistical and Bayesian approaches, including random-effects Bayesian network meta-analyses.

Results

Our results suggest that: 1) There is a modest but significant improvement in systolic BP in randomized controlled trials of self-measured BP versus usual care at 6 but not 12 months, and for selected patients and their providers self-measured BP may be a helpful adjunct to routine office care. 2) systolic BP lowering to a target of <130 mm Hg may reduce the risk of several important outcomes including risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and major cardiovascular events. No class of medications (ie, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, or beta blockers) was significantly better than thiazides and thiazide-like diuretics as a first-line therapy for any outcome.
Astronaut Cardiovascular Health and Risk Modification (Astro-CHARM) Coronary Calcium Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Calculator
Authors: Khera Amit , Budoff Matthew J. , O’Donnell Christopher J. , Ayers Colby A. , Locke James , de Lemos James A. , Massaro Joseph M. , McClelland Robyn L. , Taylor Allen , Levine Benjamin D.
Published: October 2018

Background:

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a powerful novel risk indicator for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Currently, there is no available ASCVD risk prediction tool that integrates traditional risk factors and CAC.

Methods:

To develop a CAC ASCVD risk tool for younger individuals in the general population, subjects aged 40 to 65 without prior cardiovascular disease from 3 population-based cohorts were included. Cox proportional hazards models were developed incorporating age, sex, systolic blood pressure, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension treatment, family history of myocardial infarction, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and CAC scores (Astro-CHARM model [Astronaut Cardiovascular Health and Risk Modification]) as dependent variables and ASCVD (nonfatal/fatal myocardial infarction or stroke) as the outcome. Model performance was assessed internally, and validated externally in a fourth cohort.

Results:

The derivation study comprised 7382 individuals with a mean age 51 years, 45% women, and 55% nonwhite. The median CAC was 0 (25th, 75th [0,9]), and 304 ASCVD events occurred in a median 10.9 years of follow-up. The c-statistic was 0.784 for the risk factor model, and 0.817 for Astro-CHARM (
P
<0.0001). In comparison with the risk factor model, the Astro-CHARM model resulted in integrated discrimination improvement (0.0252), and net reclassification improvement (0.121;
P
<0.0001), as well. The Astro-CHARM model demonstrated good discrimination (c=0.78) and calibration (Nam-D’Agostino χ
2
, 13.2;
P
=0.16) in the validation cohort (n=2057; 55 events). A mobile application and web-based tool were developed to facilitate clinical application of this tool (
www.AstroCHARM.org
).

Conclusion:

The Astro-CHARM tool is the first integrated ASCVD risk calculator to incorporate risk factors, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and family history, and CAC data. It improves risk prediction in comparison with traditional risk factor equations and could be useful in risk-based decision making for cardiovascular disease prevention in the middle-aged general population.
The Life Cycle of Anvil Clouds and the Top-of-Atmosphere Radiation Balance over the Tropical West Pacific
Authors: Wall Casey J. , Hartmann Dennis L. , Thieman Mandana M. , Smith William L. , Minnis Patrick
Published: October 2018

Observations from a geostationary satellite are used to study the life cycle of mesoscale convective systems (MCS), their associated anvil clouds, and their effects on the radiation balance over the warm pool of the tropical western Pacific Ocean. In their developing stages, MCS primarily consist of clouds that are optically thick and have a negative net cloud radiative effect (CRE). As MCS age, ice crystals in the anvil become larger, the cloud top lowers somewhat, and cloud radiative effects decrease in magnitude. Shading from anvils causes cool anomalies in the underlying sea surface temperature (SST) of up to −0.6°C. MCS often occur in clusters that are embedded within large westward-propagating disturbances, and therefore shading from anvils can cool SSTs over regions spanning hundreds of kilometers. Triggering of convection is more likely to follow a warm SST anomaly than a cold SST anomaly on a time scale of several days. This information is used to evaluate hypotheses for why, over the warm pool, the average shortwave and longwave CRE are individually large but nearly cancel. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the cancellation in CRE is caused by feedbacks among cloud albedo, large-scale circulation, and SST.
Baroclinic Instability of Nonzonal Flows and Bottom Slope Effects on the Propagation of the Most Unstable Wave
Authors: Leng Hengling , Bai Xuezhi
Published: October 2018

A linear, two-layer potential vorticity (PV) equation model on the β plane is employed to study the baroclinic instability of nonzonal basic currents flowing over a uniform bottom slope. Criteria for the instability, phase speed, and growth rate of unstable waves are all given as functions of the basic shear velocity, β, and bottom slope. The study suggests two kinds of long wave cutoff, one induced by the slope and the other by β; the first one exists in all directions, while the second requires at least a slight deviation of the wave vector from the meridians. Subtle differences between configurations of the PV gradient lead to completely different characteristics of unstable perturbations, such as propagation and scale. In the case of a positive slope (the bottom slope in the same direction as the isopycnal tilt), the fastest-growing wave is capable of propagating across the basic flow streamlines. By contrast, in the case of a negative slope (the bottom slope opposed to the isopycnal tilt), the most unstable wave always propagates along the streamlines. In addition, the spatial scale of the most unstable mode can be heavily reduced by a negative slope.
Determination of Triacetone Triperoxide and Hexamethylene Triperoxide Diamine in Various Matrices Using Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Vodochodský Ondřej , Jalový Zdeněk , Matyáš Robert , Novotná Miroslava
Published: October 2018

The method for quantitative analysis of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) in different matrices is presented. The method is suitable for polymer, plastic, or cellulose matrices. It is based on dissolving, or extraction of, peroxide in the solvent and measurement in cuvettes using the Fourier transform infrared technique. These methods may be useful in analytical techniques of explosive detection and determination.
Single-Cell and Bulk Fluorescence Excitation Signatures of Seven Phytoplankton Species During Nitrogen Depletion and Resupply
Authors: Faulkner Stefan T. , Rekully Cameron M. , Lachenmyer Eric M. , Kara Ergun , Richardson Tammi L. , Shaw Timothy J. , Myrick Michael L.
Published: October 2018

Phytoplankton play a vital role as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. One common approach to classifying phytoplankton is fluorescence excitation spectroscopy, which leverages the variation in types and concentrations of pigments among different phytoplankton taxonomic groups. Here, we used a fluorescence imaging photometer to measure excitation ratios (“signatures”) of single cells and bulk cultures of seven differently pigmented phytoplankton species as they progressed from nitrogen N-replete to N-depleted conditions. Our objective was to determine whether N depletion alters the fluorescence excitation signature of each species and, if so, how quickly they recover when N (as nitrate) was resupplied, because these factors affect our ability to classify the species correctly. Of the seven species studied, only Proteomonas sulcata, a marine cryptophyte, showed measurable changes in single-cell fluorescence excitation ratios and bulk fluorescence excitation spectra. These changes were likely due to decreases in the cellular concentration of phycoerythrin, a N-rich pigment, as N became scarce. Within 3 h of resupply of N, fluorescence signatures began returning to pre-depletion values and were indistinguishable from N-replete cells by 80 h after resupply. These data suggest that our classification approach is robust for non-PE containing phytoplankton. PE-containing phytoplankton might exhibit systematic changes in their signatures depending on their level of N depletion, but this could be detected and the phytoplankton re-classified following a few hours of incubation in N replete conditions.
Efficacy and the Reproduction of Political Activism: Evidence From the Broad Front in Uruguay
Authors: Bentancur Verónica Pérez , Rodríguez Rafael Piñeiro , Rosenblatt Fernando
Published: October 2018

The professionalization of politics and the disappearance of party organizations based on activists seems an inescapable trend. This article shows, by studying the Broad Front of Uruguay as a deviant case, the relevance of organizational rules for explaining the reproduction of party activism. Using data from both an online survey of people differing in their levels of engagement with the Broad Front and in-depth interviews with party activists, we show that those with relatively low levels of engagement—“adherents”—and activists differ in their willingness to cooperate with the party and in the time they devote to party activities. Also, we find that reducing the perceived efficacy of political engagement strongly decreases activists’ self-reported willingness to engage with the party, while this reduction has no effect upon adherents. These findings suggest that the design of organizational rules that grant a political role to grassroots organizers can promote party activism.
Assessing the Impact of Great Recession on India’s Trade in Gravity Model Framework
Authors: Rajesh Raj
Published: October 2018

This study examines the efficacy of trade channel in the transmission of recent Great Recession impulses to the Indian economy. To investigate the impact of Great Recession on India’s trade, gravity model of trade was estimated by regressing trade flows on size of economies, level of economic development, geographical distance and dummies for common border, landlocked country, islands, colonial history, common language, etc. For the same, quarterly data with respect to 11 advanced nations (namely, Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA) and nine emerging market economies (EMEs), including the BRICS nations (namely, Brazil, Russia, Indian, China, South Africa; Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) for the period from 2001q1 to 2013q4 were considered. Estimations suggest that Great Recession had an adverse impact on India’s bilateral import volume and total trade volume after a lag of three quarters. Findings validate that trade channel acted as a conduit for transmission of Great Recession impulses to the Indian economy. This suggests that as the Indian economy becomes progressively more integrated with the global economy, containment of potential adverse shocks emanating from trade sector would call for more pro-active policies. Lessons from the Indian economy could be useful for other similar EMEs.

JEL Classification: F14, G01
Leaders, States, and Reputations
Authors: Wu Cathy Xuanxuan , Wolford Scott
Published: October 2018

Reputational incentives are ubiquitous explanations for war, yet consistent evidence of their effects is elusive for two reasons. First, most work searches for the payment of reputational costs, yet strategic censoring systematically biases observational data against revealing them. Second, the locus of reputation is often ambiguous, yet the choice of leader or state as unit of observation has inferential consequences. Our research design (a) focuses on observable implications of reputational theories in appropriate samples and (b) considers two competing sources of reputational incentives: changes in national leaders and in political institutions. Consistent with our expectations, leadership turnover and regime change are each associated with initially high probabilities that militarized disputes escalate to the use of force before declining over time in the presence of a reasonable expectation of future disputes. Reputations are in evidence, but analysts must look for them in the right place.
Land required for legumes restricts the contribution of organic agriculture to global food security
Authors: Connor David J
Published: October 2018

Commercial extraction of nitrogen (N) from the atmosphere began soon after World War II and has provided N fertilizer that has transformed agriculture to meet, through greater crop areas and yields although with some regional shortfalls, the increasing food demand of a world population that has increased from 2 billion then to 7.6 billion in 2018. N fertilizer now provides more N input to agriculture (113 Mt N/year) than biological N fixation by legumes (33–46 Mt N/year) on which earlier agriculture relied entirely. Persistent claims over the last decade for return to organic methods, which include rejection of fertilizer N, are based on studies that erroneously claim adequate productivity to feed the world. Previous analyses, by contrast, have estimated that organic agriculture (OA) could at best support a world population of three to four billion. The problem is two-fold. First, organic crops grown in sequences with legumes or treated with N manures mostly yield less than crops grown with N fertilizer. Second, substantial areas of legumes are required to provide adequate N for required yields of non-legume crops. Recent analyses have overestimated the yield of organic crops by omitting the effect of weeds, pests and diseases, and by ignoring the land required for legumes. The result is a large overestimation of the relative productivity of OA. The effect of area is critical because, since there is little opportunity to increase cropping area beyond the current 1400 Mha, land for legumes means less land for, and consequently lower total production from, non-legume food crops. To replace 100 Mt N fertilizer/year with legumes at a net fixation of 100 kg N/ha/year would leave just 30% of cropland available for non-legumes producing a similar proportion of current yield. Even with major gains in yield, organic systems cannot feed our populous world and less so as the population increases to an expected 9.8 billion by 2050.
A Look Back
Authors: Preston Teresa
Published: October 2018

This exploration of Phi Delta Kappan’s archives shows how the magazine has covered questions related to the purposes, governance, and funding of the public schools. Articles have discussed the role of schools in a democratic society, how schools should relate to the public, whether public funds should be diverted to private and religious schools, and whether charter schools and other vehicles for school choice are beneficial to families and schools.
Career Confidential: Principal needs to master art of feedback, not resort to bullying
Authors: Fagell Phyllis L.
Published: October 2018

A human resources employee wonders how to respond to multiple complaints about a principal’s bullying behavior. An educator is uncomfortable with a principal’s call to prayer at the start of a staff meeting.
Naturalism
Authors: Rozema David
Published: October 2018

In May of 1947, C. S. Lewis’s book Miracles was published, the third chapter of which was entitled, “The Self-contradiction of Naturalism.” In this chapter, Lewis presented a reductio argument, concluding that the metaphysical theory of Naturalism, if assumed to be true, undermines itself. Lewis’s main aim in giving this argument against naturalism is to leave us with the only alternative to naturalism: supernaturalism. This argument for the existence of the supernatural (i.e., God) has come to be known as “the Argument from Reason.” It has become a staple argument among present-day Christian apologists. Rather than offering either a defense or a refutation of the argument, in this article I wish to do a preliminary examination of what those who argue about naturalism might mean by the term. The aim of such an examination is to determine if the debates over naturalism can even get off the ground. I use the 1948 “debate” between C. S. Lewis and Elizabeth Anscombe, along with a little-known paper (“Naturalism”) by the American philosopher O. K. Bouwsma, to show how the arguments dissolve upon grammatical investigation, and a more sensible understanding of the naturalist “hypothesis” is to take it as a mandate. Finally, I take up a third possible interpretation of naturalism, suggested by Lewis himself, that its appeal is strongest when it is couched in mythical terms.
A Matrix of Ontology, Epistemology, and Mystery in Karl Barth and Karl Rahner on the Immanent–Economic Trinity Relation
Authors: Baik Chung-Hyun
Published: October 2018

One of the major issues animating contemporary discussions of trinitarian theology is the relation between the immanent Trinity and the economic Trinity. This article focuses on Karl Barth and Karl Rahner by explicating each position in terms of ontology and epistemology. Through a critical analysis of each position, this article shows that ontology and epistemology are intricately woven into each discussion on the immanent–economic Trinity relation, and goes further to show that a concept of divine mystery, though not univocally, is also intimately involved in each position, functioning to resolve certain ontological or epistemological tensions.
Insomnolent Anathemas
Authors: Ziegler Philip G.
Published: October 2018

Over several decades during the second half of the last century, the Romanian-born Parisian intellectual E. M. Cioran penned a series of uneasy works whose despondent obsession with God is matched only by their utter disavowal of the reality of the divine. Wrestling pessimistically with nihilism in a world forged by chronic insomnia, illness, nicotine, and despair, Cioran confronts the theologian with a particularly radical articulation of unbelief hard-won at the “verge of existence,” and existence suffered as an “accident of God.” This short article explores the form and substance of Cioran’s biting and aphoristic expression of modern unbelief in an attempt to discern something of its theological significance. Perhaps theology would do well to receive this work as a necessary ascesis of its inapt and faithless contentment and ease with the world. And could it be that theology stands to be schooled in the near impossibility and profundity of hope by the cynicist’s surprising confession that, “Each time the future seems conceivable to me, I have the impression of being visited by Grace”?
Embodied memories of geographical and social mobility: White-collar women in post-communist films about Romania
Authors: Virginás Andrea
Published: October 2018

This article focuses on the ambivalent features of intellectual white-collar female characters in post-1989 films fully or partly produced in Romania ( The Oak, Fox-Hunter, The District, Sieranevada, Graduation and Toni Erdmann). Their ambivalence is examined in the framework of Pierre Bourdieu’s class habitus theory as interpreted by Tony Bennett and his colleagues, suggesting that the simultaneous presence of working-class, petit bourgeois and bourgeois/middle-class cultural capital types contributes to this effect. The performance of iconic actresses (from Maia Morgenstern to Sandra Hüller) is also situated within melodrama genre theory, a filmic template representing social mobility, often accompanied by travel. Finally, within the framework of mediated cultural remembrances the argument is made that these white-collar women may be incorporated into the category of ‘banal commemoration’ as developed by Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi, making it possible for Romanians to process traumatic memories of mobility engineered by the communist and post-communist states.
Using Predictions and Marginal Effects to Compare Groups in Regression Models for Binary Outcomes
Authors: Long J. Scott , Mustillo Sarah A.
Published: October 2018

Methods for group comparisons using predicted probabilities and marginal effects on probabilities are developed for regression models for binary outcomes. Unlike approaches based on the comparison of regression coefficients across groups, the methods we propose are unaffected by the scalar identification of the coefficients and are expressed in the natural metric of the outcome probability. While we develop our approach using binary logit with two groups, we consider how our interpretive framework can be used with a broad class of regression models and can be extended to any number of groups.
Neodevelopmentalism and Dependency in Twenty-first-Century Argentina: Insights from the Work of Ruy Mauro Marini
Authors: Féliz Mariano
Published: October 2018

For Ruy Mauro Marini, writing in the mid-1990s, neodevelopmentalism in Latin America ended with the moratoria on debt repayment in Mexico and Brazil in the early 1980s, which ushered in an era of International Monetary Fund control. For him this demonstrated the inability of the Latin American bourgeoisie to achieve autonomy at the international level. Neodevelopmentalism returned in early-twenty-first-century Argentina in the local context of a new class politics and a wider context marked by the emergence of China in the world economy and the influence of Chavismo. It consisted of an economic policy that consolidated the new hegemonic groups led by transnational capital through the superexploitation of labor and nature and the revival of the myth of development expressed by the notion of “growth with social inclusion.” For a time the project was characterized by high rates of profit and high levels of (albeit precarious) employment, but, as the global crisis of 2008 revealed its limitations and the “fine-tuning” of economic policy produced a decline of real incomes and consumption, it led to fragmentation of the political spectrum and a realignment of its principal actors. Mauricio Macri’s election to the presidency in 2015 represented a counterrevolution that, as Marini predicted decades ago, would involve more violent superexploitation and stronger imperialist influence.

Para Ruy Mauro Marini, escribiendo a mediados de la década de 1990, el neodesarrollismo en América Latina terminó con la moratoria sobre el pago de la deuda en México y Brasil a principios de la década de 1980, lo que marcó el comienzo de una era de control del Fondo Monetario Internacional. Para él, esto demostró la incapacidad de la burguesía latinoamericana para lograr la autonomía a nivel internacional. El neodesarrollismo regresó en la Argentina de principios del siglo XXI en el contexto local de una nueva política de clase y un contexto más amplio marcado por el surgimiento de China en la economía mundial y la influencia del chavismo. Consistió en una política económica que consolidó los nuevos grupos hegemónicos liderados por el capital transnacional a través de la superexplotación del trabajo y la naturaleza y el renacimiento del mito del desarrollo expresado por la noción de “crecimiento con inclusión social.” Durante un tiempo el proyecto fue caracterizado por altas tasas de ganancia y altos niveles de empleo (aunque precario), pero, como la crisis global de 2008 reveló sus limitaciones y el “ajuste” de la política económica produjo una disminución de los ingresos reales y el consumo, condujo a la fragmentación del espectro político y una realineación de sus principales actores. La elección de Mauricio Macri a la presidencia en 2015 representó una contrarrevolución que, como predijo Marini décadas atrás, implicaría una superexplotación más violenta y una influencia imperialista más fuerte.
Governing Death: Organizing End-of-life Situations
Authors: Le Theule Marie-Astrid , Lambert Caroline , Morales Jérémy
Published: October 2018

This paper examines the organization of death. Through an ethnographic study, we examine how a geriatrics department guides the end of life. Drawing on Agamben, we show that organizations that are dedicated to life, but regularly confronted with death, develop dispositifs (mechanisms, technologies, practices and relationships) to turn biopolitics (power over life) into thanatopolitics (a regime of death). We also show how the inherently political meaning of life disrupts such government of death. The inclusion of political life in a regime of death disrupts organizational practices that find themselves facing fundamental questions of what makes a life worth living, who can decide not to prolong life, and based on which criteria.
Effects of Performance Feedback on Treatment Integrity of a Class-Wide Level System for Secondary Students With Emotional Disturbance
Authors: Ginns Diana S. , Begeny John C.
Published: October 2018

Traditional professional development for teachers seldom results in program implementation with high fidelity or improved student outcomes. In this study, we evaluated the effects of performance feedback on the implementation of a class-wide, behavioral level system in four self-contained, secondary classrooms for students identified with emotional disturbance. Using a multiple-baseline across-participants design, we examined the effects of performance feedback on the treatment integrity of the level system, along with changes in student engagement and student disruptive behavior. Results indicated a clear functional relation between performance feedback and teachers’ treatment integrity, with less of a relation observed between performance feedback and students’ academic engagement or disruptive behaviors. Implications of these findings are discussed within the context of effective behavioral interventions for students with significant behavioral challenges.
Theses from OCMS: Funerary Rites in Nepal: Cremation, Burial and Christian Identity
Authors: Sharma Bal Krishna
Published: October 2018

This study explores and analyses funerary rite struggles in a nation where Christianity is a comparatively recent phenomenon, and many families have Christian and Hindu, Buddhist and Traditionalist ( kiranti) members, who go through traumatic experiences at the death of their family members. The context of mixed affiliation raises questions of social, psychological and religious identity for Christian converts, which are particularly acute after a death in their family. Using empirical research, this thesis focuses on the question of adaptation and identity in relation to church life, within the familial and social sphere of individual Christians and within the wider society in which they live, particularly with reference to death and disposal. This research has used an applied theology approach to explore and analyse the findings in order to address the issue of funerary rites with which the Nepalese church is struggling.

For the need of adaptation, this study seeks to understand the funerary rites of the host culture alongside Jewish-Christian characteristics of adaptation, especially in terms of the Nepalese Evangelical Christian context. It also poses the challenge of finding an identity in a wider cultural and societal milieu. The case studies and interviews have portrayed tripartite relationships and tensions between an individual, family and church or community at the death in a ‘split’ family where a Christian convert’s loyalty to the deceased and the family is tested. Participation and non-participation in the last rites create problems for both the church and the family, and some solution needs to be found. The study has discovered that adaptation of the technique of the funerary rites, rather than of their content, could ease this tension in a ‘split’ family, and enhance a family and community’s reconciliation and solidarity. The mode of disposal, whether burial or cremation, could be used and a theology of cremation be developed in order to provide a theological framework.
Mechanisms of glutathione-conjugate efflux from the brain into blood: Involvement of multiple transporters in the course
Authors: Okamura Toshimitsu , Okada Maki , Kikuchi Tatsuya , Wakizaka Hidekatsu , Zhang Ming-Rong
Published: October 2018

Accumulation of detrimental glutathione-conjugated metabolites in the brain potentially causes neurological disorders, and must therefore be exported from the brain. However, in vivo mechanisms of glutathione-conjugates efflux from the brain remain unknown. We investigated the involvement of transporters in glutathione-conjugates efflux using 6-bromo-7-[11C]methylpurine ([11C]1), which enters the brain and is converted into its glutathione conjugate, S-(7-[11C]methylpurin-6-yl)glutathione ([11C]2). In mice of control and knockout of P-glycoprotein/breast cancer resistance protein and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 ([ Mrp2] −/−), [11C]2 formed in the brain was rapidly cleared, with no significant difference in efflux rate. In contrast, [11C]2 formed in the brain of Mrp1 −/− mice was slowly cleared, whereas [11C]2 microinjected into the brain of control and Mrp1 −/− mice was 75% cleared within 60 min, with no significant difference in efflux rate. These suggest that Mrp1 contributes to [11C]2 efflux across cell membranes, but not BBB. Efflux rate of [11C]2 formed in the brain was significantly lower in Mrp4 −/− and organic anion transporter 3 ( Oat3) −/− mice compared with control mice. In conclusion, Mrp1, Oat3, and Mrp4 mediate [11C]2 efflux from the brain. Mrp1 may contribute to [11C]2 efflux from brain parenchymal cells, while extracellular [11C]2 is likely cleared across the BBB, partly by Oat3 and Mrp4.
Clinical features of octogenarian patients with tuberculosis at a tertiary hospital in South Korea
Authors: Min Jinsoo , Mi Shin Yoon , Lee Won Jae , Truong Tung Thanh , Kang Eun Seok , An Jin Young , Choe Kang Hyeon , Man Lee Ki
Published: October 2018

Objective

The growth of the older population is a great challenge for tuberculosis (TB) control in South Korea. This study was performed to investigate the clinical characteristics of and treatment outcomes among octogenarian patients with TB.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 109 patients with TB (age of ≥80 years) from January 2014 to March 2017. Clinical, microbiologic, and radiologic findings were obtained.

Results

Fifty-five patients (50.5%) were male, the mean age of the patients was 83.8 years, and 75 patients (68.8%) had pulmonary TB. All patients with pulmonary TB underwent either chest X-ray or chest computed tomography examination, and the results showed that only one-third (n = 33, 39.3%) had active lesions suggestive of TB. Twenty-nine patients (26.4%) had an unfavorable outcome (21 died and 8 were lost to follow-up). Only two TB-related deaths occurred, and both were caused by respiratory failure. Among the 15 non-TB-related deaths, the progression of malignancy and sepsis were the most frequent causes of death.

Conclusions

A high mortality rate was observed in octogenarian patients with TB, and most of these deaths were non-TB-related. Among all causes of mortality, solid malignancy was a significant risk factor for death.
Predicting Bus Operator Retention Based on Employee Characteristics and Work History
Authors: Lind Eric , Huting Joel
Published: October 2018

Turnover of employed bus operators increases cost of service for transit agencies, meaning interventions to reduce turnover can be a common goal. To be effective, interventions should be based on an understanding of the types, timelines, and underlying reasoning for operators separating from employment. However, to date there has been little quantitative research into bus operator separation dynamics. To better understand these dynamics, a hierarchical survival model was used to quantify monthly probability of separation for individual bus operators, based on a sample of two-year work histories for over 1300 bus operators employed by Metro Transit (Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN). Characteristics of operators at hire, such as age, gender, and driving experience, as well as work history events such as absences, incidents, and accidents, were used to understand what influences separation. Separation rate differed predictably with time, with the highest risk of both voluntary and involuntary separation in the first ten months of operator employment. Of bus operator characteristics at hire, prior commercial driving experience lowered the probability of separation. The number of absences from work, and accidents classified as the responsibility of the operator, increased the separation risk probability per month. The highest probability of separation was in operators hired without a commercial driver’s license, whose work history included multiple accidents. Alterations to hiring and training practices may ameliorate risk of bus operator separation. Additionally, the hierarchical modeling approach utilized here has promise for predicting relative impacts of characteristics of employees and their work history on multiple aspects of employment.
Human rights: Early days or coming to an end?
Authors: Kjaerum Morten
Published: October 2018

The speech addresses how human rights are being challenged and to what extent we are witnessing the end times of human rights. Neo-liberalism and populism coming from different corners converge and contribute to the erosion of human rights as well as rule of law institutions. Attempts to link human rights to one or the other economic theory contribute to lifting human rights away from their status of being universal. Human rights are not there to substitute ideological systems, instead it is a far more limited project. In the latter part of the speech new bottom-up trends pulling in the opposite direction are highlighted. As an outcome of the financial crisis and the growing inequality, a stronger awareness has emerged globally about the negative consequences of corruption and tax evasion on human rights and democratic institutions. Human rights are regaining a momentum and credibility in that space. This is closely linked to the new human rights city movement, where local communities take greater responsibility in realizing human rights for their citizens. Finally, in this part the mainstreaming of human rights in laws and political strategies is addressed together with the concept human rights by design. The speech ends on a forward-looking note recognizing the immense challenges that confronts the liberal democracy and human rights currently, however, also recognizing the depth of human rights in most communities.
Chatter detection based on wavelet coherence functions in micro-end-milling processes
Authors: Yuan Yanjie , Jing Xiubing , Li Huaizhong , Ehmann Kornel F. , Zhang Dawei
Published: October 2018

Micro-end-milling is used for the fabrication of complex geometrical features with high precision on a wide variety of materials. One of the main challenges is related to chatter vibrations, which are detrimental to the productivity and overall quality of the manufactured parts. In this article, a novel chatter-detection method based on wavelet coherence functions is proposed to evaluate the stability of the micro-end-milling process. Then, the method is experimentally tested under different cutting conditions. The results show that the wavelet coherence functions of two orthogonal acceleration signals are sensitive enough and applicable for chatter detection. When chatter occurs, the two orthogonal acceleration signals are highly correlated at the chatter frequency, resulting in a sharp increase in the magnitude of the wavelet coherence functions to values approaching unity.
First prototype of EMG-controlled power hand orthosis for restoring hand extension in stroke patients
Authors: Fardipour Shima , Bahramizadeh Mahmood , Arazpour Mokhtar , Jafarpisheh Amir Salar , Azimian Mojtaba
Published: October 2018

Weakness in finger extensors is a common post-stroke deficit that can disturb hand functioning. Despite introducing several powered hand orthoses in literature, most of these devices focused on providing finger flexion. There is a little consideration for providing active hand extension in stroke patients. Moreover, in many devices, the finger extensions were restored passively by spring component. In this study, a new Electromyography (EMG)-controlled powered hand orthosis was designed to improve hand function by restoring and training hand extension in stroke patients with paretic hand. This orthosis was a glove-like device that was developed from two mechanical and electrical sections. After construction and verifying of the orthosis, its applicability was tested on two patients with Cerebrovascular accident (1 woman and 1 man) with paretic hands in an 18-session therapeutic approach. To evaluate the effectiveness of orthosis, Wolf Motor Function Test and Box and Block test were conducted before and after the training sessions. The primary assessment of the prototype was conducted on a healthy subject and three stroke patients. These evaluations showed that the new powered hand orthosis could be effective for finger extension task and training. Furthermore, after the 18-session training approach, significant improvements were seen in the scores of both Wolf and Box and Block tests. The preliminary findings suggested that the first prototype of orthosis could provide a desirable function for stroke patients with paretic hand. Moreover, it could be used as a training device in the rehabilitation of these patients.
First Impressions of Personality Traits From Body Shapes
Authors: Hu Ying , Parde Connor J. , Hill Matthew Q. , Mahmood Naureen , O’Toole Alice J.
Published: October 2018

People infer the personalities of others from their facial appearance. Whether they do so from body shapes is less studied. We explored personality inferences made from body shapes. Participants rated personality traits for male and female bodies generated with a three-dimensional body model. Multivariate spaces created from these ratings indicated that people evaluate bodies on valence and agency in ways that directly contrast positive and negative traits from the Big Five domains. Body-trait stereotypes based on the trait ratings revealed a myriad of diverse body shapes that typify individual traits. Personality-trait profiles were predicted reliably from a subset of the body-shape features used to specify the three-dimensional bodies. Body features related to extraversion and conscientiousness were predicted with the highest consensus, followed by openness traits. This study provides the first comprehensive look at the range, diversity, and reliability of personality inferences that people make from body shapes.
The Joint Determination of Later Life Health and Educational Outcomes by Early Life Conditions: A Multinomial Logit Analysis
Authors: Dhamija Gaurav
Published: October 2018

Literature documents strong evidence of connections between early life health and later life health and educational outcomes while the outcomes are studied disjointedly. However, the associations between health and educational outcomes in later life warrant those to be studied simultaneously. This article addresses the above concerns by applying the multinomial logit model. Using Young Lives Survey data, results indicate that good health at the average age of 0.5 years increases the probability of good health and poor educational performance by at least 9 per cent and decreases the probability of poor health and good educational performance by at least 6.5 per cent.

JEL: I10, I12, I20
Uterine carcinosarcoma (malignant mixed Müllerian tumor): case report in a goat and literature review
Authors: Cossic Brieuc , Hill Jacqueline A. , Cercone Marta , Southard Teresa
Published: October 2018

Carcinosarcomas are biphasic malignant tumors composed of 2 distinct neoplastic cell populations, epithelial cells and mesenchymal cells. A 13-y-old, female, mixed-breed goat was presented with a 1-wk history of anuria and lethargy. Transabdominal ultrasonography showed an irregular and heterogeneous structure in the region of the bladder and uterus and changes in the echogenicity of both kidneys. Given the poor prognosis, euthanasia was elected. Autopsy revealed a large mass within the uterine cervix and confirmed the changes in the urinary tract. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry revealed a mixed, anti-cytokeratin AE1/AE3–positive epithelial, and vimentin-positive mesenchymal neoplasm consistent with a homologous carcinosarcoma, also called malignant mixed Müllerian tumor, with areas of double-labeling. We highlight the complexity of the diagnosis of uterine neoplasms in domestic animals and in goats in particular.
Proximal Opening Wedge Osteotomy With Distal Chevron Osteotomy of the First Metatarsal for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Hallux Valgus
Authors: Braito Matthias , Dammerer Dietmar , Hofer-Picout Philipp , Kaufmann Gerhard
Published: October 2018

Background:

The aim of this study was to assess radiographic and clinical outcomes after double osteotomy with proximal opening wedge first metatarsal osteotomy and first metatarsal distal chevron osteotomy in the treatment of moderate to severe hallux valgus.

Methods:

33 patients (4 male, 29 female; 36 feet; average age 60.7 years) were included in the study. Radiographic and clinical outcome in terms of intermetatarsal angle (IMA), hallux valgus angle (HVA), distal metatarsal articular angle (DMAA), and the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society metatarsophalangeal-interphalangeal hallux score (AOFAS MTP-IP hallux score) were investigated at 6 weeks, 6 months, and after an average of 28 (range, 7-123) months postoperatively.

Results:

Preoperative IMA, HVA, and DMMA showed statistically significant improvement ( P ≤ .05) from 19.1 ± 3.8 (8.9-27.3) degrees, 45.4 ± 8.7 (25.9-60.9) degrees, and 20.8 ± 8.9 (4.5-38.0) degrees to 6.0 ± 3.3 (0.4-12.2) degrees, 9.1 ± 8.9 (–6.7 to 39.0) degrees, and 6.4 ± 5.6 (–6.8 to 21.0) degrees at last follow-up, respectively. Postoperative AOFAS MTP-IP hallux score averaged 88.1 points. Overall, 10 complications were observed: hallux varus (3 feet), hallux valgus recurrence (3 feet), nonunion (1 foot), loss of fixation (1 foot), and wound infection (2 feet).

Conclusion:

Proximal opening wedge first metatarsal osteotomy with distal chevron osteotomy provided powerful correction of each component of moderate to severe hallux valgus but had a substantial rate of complications in terms of over- and undercorrection, nonunion, loss of fixation, and wound infection.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, case series.
Incidence and types of preceding and subsequent fractures in cats with patellar fracture and dental anomaly syndrome
Authors: Reyes Natalia A , Longley Mark , Bailey Steven , Langley-Hobbs Sorrel J
Published: October 2018

Objectives

The aim of this study was to document the incidence of preceding and subsequent fractures to the patellar fractures in cats with patellar fractures and dental anomaly syndrome.

Methods

Records of cats with patellar fracture and dental anomaly syndrome were retrieved from the combined databases at the University of Bristol, UK, and Exclusively Cats Veterinary Hospital, USA. A request was made to complete a questionnaire to obtain long-term follow-up of these cats with respect to their current status and fractures to other bones; radiographs and histories were requested and were reviewed for treatment of ongoing fractures and outcome.

Results

Of the 191 cases reported with this syndrome, 92 cats (48.2%) had dental anomalies and 78 (40.8%) had fractures to other bones; 21 cats sustained the fractures preceding the patellar fractures and 57 subsequently. In total, there were 175 fractures: acetabulum (25%), tibia (22%), ischium (15.4%), humeral condyle (13.7%), calcaneus (5.1%), ilium (5.1%), pubis (3.4%) and other bones (10.2%). The majority of these fractures were characteristic of insufficiency (stress) fractures with a very similar configuration in each bone.

Conclusions and relevance

A high proportion of cats with patellar fracture and dental anomaly syndrome will have preceding or subsequent fractures to their patellar fractures. In this study, >10% of cats suffered characteristic fractures preceding the patellar fractures. The presence of these fractures should alert the veterinarian to the possibility that the cat is affected by patellar fracture and dental anomaly syndrome.