bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Network topology optimization by turning non-scale-free networks into scale-free networks using nonlinear preferential rewiring method
Authors: Su Feng , Yuan Peijiang , Liu Yuanwei , Cao Shuangqian
Published: November 2018

In practical application, the generation and evolution of many real networks always do not follow rigorous mathematical model, making network topology optimization a great challenge in the field of complex networks. In this research, we optimize the topology of non-scale-free networks by turning it into scale-free networks using a nonlinear preferential rewiring method. For different kinds of original networks generated by Watts and Strogatz model, we systematically demonstrate the optimization process and the modified networks to verify the performance of nonlinear preferential rewiring. We conduct further researches to explore the effect of nonlinear preferential rewiring’s parameters on performance. Simulation results show that various non-scale-free networks with different network topologies generated by WS model, including random networks and various networks between regular and random, are turned into scale-free networks perfectly by nonlinear preferential rewiring method.
Thinking with the uterine
Authors: Fannin Maria
Published: November 2018

This commentary on Sophie Lewis’s essay, ‘Cyborg uterine geography: complicating care and social reproduction’ considers what a ‘uterine geography’ could offer for thinking about the body, sex, reproduction, pregnancy, birth, afterbirth, care, pain and love in new ways. While affirming the efforts in the text to generate a more complex, more-than-human and queer account of reproduction, it also raises several questions. How do narratives of maternal–fetal ‘violence’ or ‘generosity’ or ‘hospitality’ work in a broader social and political field, and more generally, how can scientific or evolutionary accounts of bodies be put to critical use in social theory? How does a ‘cyborg uterine geography’ differ from other feminist accounts of care? What are the possibilities of drawing on the ‘uterine’ as both a new material and symbolic figure, in the light of recent works that emphasize the potential for thinking feminist politics through the brain, the heart or the gut? And finally, what are the limits of a uterine geography?
Treatment dilemmas in asymptomatic children with primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
Authors: Lucchini Giovanna , Marsh Rebecca , Gilmour Kimberly , Worth Austen , Nademi Zohreh , Rao Anupama , Booth Claire , Amrolia Persis , Silva Juliana , Chiesa Robert , Wynn Robert , Lehmberg Kai , Astigarraga Itziar , Güngör Tayfun , Stary Jan , Moshous Despina , Ifversen Marianne , Zinn Daniel , Jordan Michael , Kumar Ashish , Yasumi Takahiro , Veys Paul , Rao Kanchan
Published: November 2018

Key Points

Preemptive allogeneic stem cell transplantation improves prognosis of asymptomatic children genetically predisposed to primary HLH.
Comparative effects of vitamin D and vitamin C supplementations with and without endurance physical activity on metabolic syndrome patients: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Farag Halgord Ali M. , Hosseinzadeh-Attar Mohammad Javad , Muhammad Belal A. , Esmaillzadeh Ahmad , Bilbeisi Abdel Hamid El
Published: November 2018

Objective

Vitamin D and C levels have inverse relation with the metabolic syndrome components and they are used as antioxidant supplements during enduring metabolic activities. In the present study, we hypothesized that the intake of vitamin D and/or C with endurance physical activity might reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Methods

A randomized control study recruited 180 participants of both genders, aged between 30 and 50 years. The participants were assigned into six groups receiving different doses of vitamin D or vitamin C with or without physical activities. Data were collected over a period of 3 months, and the results were analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Results

Variations in the effect of the supplements on various body variables including: Fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood pressure, showed that vitamin D has more influence compared to vitamin C. However, vitamin D and C supplements do not have any effect on weight when consumers are undergoing endurance physical exercise. But vitamin C consumer group has more effect in waist circumference, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein, as compared to vitamin D consumer group.

Conclusion

We conclude that, consumption of vitamin D or vitamin C supplements may improves the life of metabolic syndrome patients. However, the combination of physical activities and vitamin supplements maximize the effect, and this combination should be recommended.

Trial registration WHO-ICTRP IRCT20161110030823N2. Registered 01 February 2018. http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=IRCT20161110030823N2
Camera calibration with coplanar conics: a unified explanation and ambiguity analysis
Authors: Cai Shen , Wu Zhanhao
Published: November 2018

In this paper, we propose a two-step method to give a unified explanation of camera calibration with two coplanar conics. Various kinds of conics-based patterns in which often two parameters are unknown have been studied in previous literatures. The key in such algorithms is to adopt different strategies to compute the world-to-image projective transformation (also called 2D homography). In the first step of our method, we show that two unknown parameters can always be computed in general cases by utilizing the underlying constraints on all parameters through the projective transformation (mathematically called projective invariants). The accompanied ambiguity problem is that the solutions of the unknown parameters are multiple. In the second step, the four intersection points (real or complex) of two totally known conics are utilized to compute the homography. The ambiguity in this step arises from the point correspondence problem. This results in multiple possibilities of correspondences followed by the ambiguous homographies. After analyzing the reasons of the two kinds of ambiguities, we apply the Centre Circle constraint to completely remove them. Finally, the experiments are shown to validate the proposed technique.
Hoarding revisited: there is light at the end of the living room
Authors: Pertusa Alberto , Lopez Gaston Romina , Choudry Abid
Published: November 2018

Since 2013, hoarding disorder has been recognised as a standalone diagnosis in the DSM, affecting an estimated 2–6% of the general population. This article outlines the arguments for and against this separate classification and considers the differentiation of hoarding disorder from normative collecting. It then discusses aetiology, assessment, course and treatment (both psychological and pharmacological interventions). It concludes with a discussion of ethical and legal considerations, in particular the fact that the inclusion of hoarding disorder as a distinct diagnosis in DSM-5 confers specific protections for people with the disorder under the Equality Act 2010.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

•

Be able to define the criteria of hoarding disorder

•

Be able to recognise the difference between hoarding and collecting

•

Understand potential treatment options for patients with hoarding disorder

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

None.
Influence of Epistemic Uncertainty in Shear Wave Velocity on Seismic Ground Response Analyses
Authors: Passeri Federico , Foti Sebastiano , Cox Brady R. , Rodriguez-Marek Adrian
Published: November 2018

This study aims to evaluate the influence of epistemic uncertainties in shear wave velocity ( VS) on seismic ground response analyses (GRAs). A number of alternative VS profiles obtained from both invasive (i.e., borehole) and noninvasive (i.e., surface waves) testing methods are available for two blind study sites. These profiles are used to estimate epistemic uncertainties in VS, which are then propagated through equivalent linear-elastic GRAs, allowing for the quantification of intramethod uncertainty and intermethod variability in terms of spectral accelerations, amplification functions, and damage parameters (i.e., Arias and Housner intensities). This study demonstrates that nonlinearity of soil response plays a fundamental role in increasing the propagated uncertainty in GRA. Additionally, GRAs were also performed by means of VS upper/lower-range profiles developed from assumptions commonly used to account for epistemic uncertainties. These VS profiles were found to yield unrealistic site response estimates for both low strain (i.e., linear-elastic) and high strain (i.e., nonlinear) levels.
Long-Term Survival of Patients With Melanoma With Active Brain Metastases Treated With Pembrolizumab on a Phase II Trial
Authors: Kluger Harriet M. , Chiang Veronica , Mahajan Amit , Zito Christopher R. , Sznol Mario , Tran Thuy , Weiss Sarah A. , Cohen Justine V. , Yu James , Hegde Upendra , Perrotti Elizabeth , Anderson Gail , Ralabate Amanda , Kluger Yuval , Wei Wei , Goldberg Sarah B. , Jilaveanu Lucia B.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Pembrolizumab is active in melanoma, but activity in patients with untreated brain metastasis is less established. We present long-term follow-up of pembrolizumab-treated patients with new or progressing brain metastases treated on a phase II clinical trial ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02085070).

Patients and Methods

We enrolled 23 patients with melanoma with one or more asymptomatic, untreated 5- to 20-mm brain metastasis not requiring corticosteroids; 70% of patients had prior systemic therapy. Pembrolizumab was administered for up to 24 months. Brain metastasis response, the primary end point, was assessed by modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Pretreatment tumors were analyzed for T-cell infiltrate and programmed death ligand 1.

Results

Six patients (26%) had a brain metastasis response. Eight patients (35%) did not reach a protocol evaluation scan and were unevaluable for brain metastasis response as a result of progression or need for radiation. Brain metastasis and systemic responses were concordant, with all ongoing at 24 months. The median progression-free and overall survival times were 2 and 17 months, respectively. Eleven patients (48%) were alive at 24 months. This included three unevaluable patients. One of these three patients had hemorrhaged, and two had symptoms from perilesional edema requiring radiosurgery, but all three patients remained on commercial pembrolizumab more than 24 months later. None of the 24-month survivors received subsequent BRAF inhibitors. Neurologic adverse events occurred in 65% of patients; all adverse events but one were grade 1 or 2. Three patients had seizures, which were treated with anticonvulsants. Most responders had higher pretreatment tumor CD8 cell density and programmed death ligand 1 expression, whereas all nonresponders did not.

Conclusion

Pembrolizumab is active in melanoma brain metastases with acceptable toxicity and durable responses. Multidisciplinary care is required to optimally manage patients with brain metastases, including consideration of radiation to large or symptomatic lesions, which were excluded in this trial. Two-year survival was similar to patients without brain metastasis treated with anti–programmed cell death 1 agents. Concordant brain and extracerebral responses support use of pembrolizumab to treat small, asymptomatic brain metastases.
Factors Associated With Follow-Up Care Among Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Authors: Quyyumi Farah F. , Wright Jason D. , Accordino Melissa K. , Buono Donna , Law Cynthia W. , Hillyer Grace C. , Neugut Alfred I. , Hershman Dawn L.
Published: November 2018

PURPOSE:

Follow-up guidelines vary widely among national organizations for patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with curative intent. We sought to evaluate the patterns and predictors of provider follow-up care within the first 5 years after diagnosis.

METHODS:

Using the SEER-Medicare linked data set, we evaluated patients who were diagnosed with stage I and II breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving surgery from 2002 to 2007 with follow-up until 2012. We defined discontinuation of follow-up as > 12 months from the previous physician visit without a visit claim from either a surgeon, medical oncologist, or radiation oncologist. We performed a multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to determine factors associated with the discontinuation of follow-up care.

RESULTS:

Of the 30,053 patients enrolled in our initial cohort, 25,781 (85.8%) saw a medical oncologist and 21,612 (71.9%) saw a radiation oncologist in the first year in addition to a surgeon. Over the 5 years, 6,302 patients (21.0%) discontinued follow-up visits. Discontinuation of physician visits increased with increasing age. Women with stage II cancer ( v stage I) were less likely to discontinue follow-up visits (odds ratio, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.83). Time to early discontinuation was greater for patients with hormone receptor–negative tumors (hazard ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.24). Women who were diagnosed more recently were less likely to discontinue seeing any physician.

CONCLUSION:

Twenty-one percent of patients with early-stage breast cancer discontinued seeing any oncology provider over the 5 years after diagnosis. Coordination of follow-up care between oncology specialists may reduce discontinuation rates and increase clinical efficiency.
Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Function Predicts Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
Authors: Kong Joseph Cherng Huei , Guerra Glen Robert , Millen Rosemary Magdalena , Roth Sara , Xu Huiling , Neeson Paul Joseph , Darcy Phillip Kevin , Kershaw Michael Henry , Sampurno Shienny , Malaterre Jordane , Liu David Shi Hao , Pham Toan Duc , Narasimhan Vignesh , Wang Minyu , Huang Yu-Kuan , Visvanathan Kumar , McCormick Jacob , Lynch Andrew Craig , Warrier Satish , Michael Michael , Desai Jayesh , Murray William , Mitchell Catherine , Ngan Samuel , Phillips Wayne Allen , Heriot Alexander Graham , Ramsay Robert George
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in tumors is superior to conventional pathologic staging in predicting patient outcome. However, their presence does not define TIL functionality. Here we developed an assay that tests TIL cytotoxicity in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer before definitive treatment, identifying those who will obtain a pathologic complete response (pCR). We also used the assay to demonstrate the rescue of TIL function after checkpoint inhibition blockade (CIB).

Patients and Methods

Thirty-four consecutive patients were identified initially, with successful completion of the assay before surgery in those 17 patients who underwent full treatment. An in vitro cytotoxic assay of rectal cancer tumoroids cocultured with patient-matched TILs was established and validated. Newly diagnosed patients were recruited with pretreatment biopsy specimens processed within 1 month. Evaluation of TIL-mediated tumoroid lysis was performed by measuring the mean fluorescence intensity of cell death marker, propidium iodide. CIB (anti–programmed cell death protein 1 [anti–PD-1] antibody) response was also assessed in a subset of patient specimens.

Results

Six of the 17 patients achieved an objective pCR on final evaluation of the resected specimen after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Cytotoxic killing identified the pCR group with a higher mean fluorescence intensity (27,982 [95% CI, 25,340 to 30,625]) compared with the non-pCR cohort (12,428 [95% CI, 9,434 to 15,423]; p < .001). Assessment of the effectiveness of CIB revealed partial restoration of cytotoxicity in TILs with increased PD-1 expression with anti–PD-1 antibody exposure.

Conclusion

Evaluating TIL function can be undertaken within weeks of the diagnostic biopsy, affording the potential to alter patient management decisions and refine selection for a watch-and-wait protocol. This cytotoxic assay also has the potential to serve as a platform to assist in the additional development of CIB.
Pathogenic Variants in Less Familiar Cancer Susceptibility Genes: What Happens After Genetic Testing?
Authors: Hall Evan T. , Parikh Divya , Caswell-Jin Jennifer L. , Gupta Tanya , Mills Meredith A. , Kingham Kerry E. , Koff Rachel , Ford James M. , Kurian Allison W.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

As genetic testing expands, patients are increasingly found to carry pathogenic variants in cancer susceptibility genes that are less familiar to most clinicians, specifically genes other than those causing hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome ( BRCA1 and BRCA2) and Lynch syndrome. Little is known about the subsequent behaviors of such patients in terms of managing cancer risks and informing relatives.

Methods

All adult patients who were counseled and tested at the Stanford Cancer Genetics Clinic from January 2013 to July 2015 and had a pathogenic variant in a non- BRCA1/2, non–Lynch syndrome gene were invited to participate in a telephone interview about adherence to risk-reducing recommendations, genetic testing by relatives, and new cancer incidence.

Results

Fifty-seven (40%) of 142 eligible patients were successfully contacted, and all 57 patients participated; median follow-up was 677 days (range, 247 to 1,401 days). Most patients (82%; 95% CI, 70% to 90%) recalled that a risk-reducing intervention (screening, medication, or surgery) was recommended, and most patients (85%; 95% CI, 72% to 93%) adhered to the recommendation. Nearly all patients (91%; 95% CI, 81% to 97%) shared results with relatives, and most patients (78%; 95% CI, 64% to 88%) reported that a relative was subsequently tested. During the follow-up period, 9% of patients (95% CI, 3% to 19%) developed second cancers, and in 14% of patients (95% CI, 7% to 26%), a first-degree relative developed cancer, some of which were detected by recommended screening.

Conclusion

Patients with a pathogenic variant in a less familiar cancer susceptibility gene report high adherence to risk-reducing interventions. Furthermore, in the 57 carriers and subsequently tested relatives with two years of follow-up, a total of three cancers (one in a proband and two in relatives) were detected through interventions recommended on the basis of the pathogenic variant. These results suggest a potential benefit of genetic counseling and testing for pathogenic variants in less familiar genes.
Pharmacists' documentation in patients' hospital health records: issues and educational implications
Authors: Pullinger Wendy , Franklin Bryony Dean
Published: November 2018

Objectives

We aimed to identify potential barriers to hospital pharmacists' documentation in patients' hospital health records, and to explore pharmacists' training needs. Our objectives were to identify the methods used by pharmacists to communicate and document patient care issues, to explore pharmacists' attitudes towards documentation of patient care issues in health records, to identify and examine the factors influencing whether or not pharmacists document their care in health records and to make recommendations to inform development of a training programme to educate pharmacists regarding documentation in health records.

Methods

Methods included a questionnaire and focus groups. The study poulation was 40 clinical pharmacists in a 900-bed London teaching hospital.

Key findings

Thirty-nine pharmacists completed the questionnaire and 32 attended a focus group. Questionnaire responses indicated that 29 (74%) pharmacists did not write in patient health records; most preferred temporary notes. However, most respondents agreed that documenting their input in the health record was important. Few pharmacists believed that writing in health records would affect the doctor–pharmacist or patient–doctor relationship, or felt that health-record availability or time were barriers. Most knew when, how and which issues to document; however, most wanted more training. Focus-group discussions revealed that pharmacists feared litigation and criticism from doctors when writing in health records. Pharmacists' written communication in health records was also influenced by the perceived significance and appropriateness of clinical issues, pharmacists' acceptance by doctors, and pharmacists' ‘ownership’ of the health record.

Conclusions

While recognising the importance of documenting relevant issues in health records, pharmacists rarely did so in practice and preferred to use oral communication or temporary adhesive notes instead. Pharmacists need to overcome their fear of criticism and litigation in order to document more appropriately in health records. A trust policy and training may offer pharmacists a sense of protection, enabling more confident documentation in patients' health records.
B≡B Triple Bond of Newly Synthesized Diboryne Can Take a Different Mechanism for the σ Bond Activation of Polar and Nonpolar Molecules. A Quantum Mechanical Study
Authors: Matsubara Toshiaki , Yamasaki Ryouga , Hori Tomonori , Morikubo Mana
Published: November 2018

Diborynes, which have N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, were first synthesized by Braunschweig et al. They reported that CO is easily activated on the B≡B triple bond, which suggests that there exists a charge transfer interaction between the B≡B triple bond and carbon monoxide. If an electron donation and back-donation between the B≡B triple bond and substrates really occur, the breaking of the chemical bond would be possible. In this study, we examine the mechanism of the σ bond cleavage of the polar and the nonpolar molecules, H2, CH4, NH3 and H2O, on the B≡B triple bond of bis(NHC)-stabilized diboryne NHC-B≡B-NHC by the density functional method. Our calculations show that both σ bonds of the nonpolar H2 and CH4 are broken relatively easily through an electron donation and back-donation at one of the B atoms. These are homolytic cleavages, as well-known for transition metals. Meanwhile, the σ bonds of the polar H2O and NH3 are heterolytically broken not on the one site but on the two sites of the B≡B bond, both reactions being also easy. Thus, the B≡B triple bond has high reactivities for both polar and nonpolar molecules, flexibly changing the reaction channels.
24-h Movement and Nonmovement Behaviors in Older Adults. The IMPACT65+ Study
Authors: CABANAS-SÁNCHEZ VERÓNICA , HIGUERAS-FRESNILLO SARA , DE LA CÁMARA MIGUEL ÁNGEL , ESTEBAN-CORNEJO IRENE , MARTÍNEZ-GÓmez DAVID
Published: November 2018

Introduction

The aims of this study were: (i) to provide a detailed description of movement and nonmovement behaviors objectively assessed over the complete 24-h period in a sample of older adults, and (ii) to analyze differences in these behaviors by sex, age, educational level, body mass index, self-rated health, and chronic conditions.

Methods

The sample comprised 607 high-functioning community-dwelling older adults (383 women), 65 to 92 yr, who participated in the IMPACT65+ study. Movement and nonmovement behaviors were assessed by the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity, which provide estimates on both temporal and spatial gait parameters, and identify specific functional activities on the basis of acceleration and position information.

Results

The final sample with valid data was 432 older adults (284 women). Around 30.7% of daily time was engaged in sedentary behavior (SB), whereas 33.5% and 35.8% was represented by physical activity (PA) and sleep, respectively. Sitting passive was the most prevalent SB (vs lying and reclining), whereas most light PA was by standing (vs active sitting and walking at <2.5 mph). Time spent walking at ≥2.5 mph was the major contributor to moderate-to-vigorous PA. No differences were found in sleep time by sociodemographic or health-related characteristics, but there were relevant differences in sedentary and PA behaviors.

Conclusions

This study offers a detailed description of the distribution of SB, PA, and sleep in elderly across the 24-h spectrum. The results could be used to focus the strategies aimed to improve health in the old age.
Life Events and Longitudinal Effects on Physical Activity: Adolescence to Adulthood
Authors: MILLER JONATHAN , NELSON TOBEN , BARR-ANDERSON DAHEIA J. , CHRISTOPH MARY J. , WINKLER MEGAN , NEUMARK-SZTAINER DIANNE
Published: November 2018

Introduction

Common life events, such as getting married or gaining employment, may be opportunities to intervene on health behaviors like physical activity. The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) associated with several common life events from adolescence to young adulthood.

Methods

Participants in Project EAT (ages 11 to 18 yr at baseline and 25 to 36 yr at wave 4) were surveyed at four timepoints from 1998 to 2016. Questions included marital status, employment status, postsecondary education completion and enrollment, and living situation between each wave. Linear regression was used to model the effect of each life event on change in self-reported MVPA.Post hocmediation analysis was conducted to examine whether having a child mediated the effect of getting married on the change in MVPA.

Results

Average MVPA declined from 6.5 h·wk−1at baseline to 4.3 h·wk−1at wave 4. Having a child was associated with a significant decrease in MVPA between waves 2 and 3 and between waves 3 and 4. Getting married and leaving parents’ home were associated with significant decreases in MVPA between waves 3 and 4. Having a child both mediated and moderated the effect of getting married on MVPA.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that MVPA declines both after getting married and after having a child and that these effects are not independent. Interventions to maintain or increase MVPA could profitably target couples planning to get married or have a child.
“End-to-end” stacking of small dsRNA
Authors: Erlenbach Nicole , Grünewald Christian , Krstic Bisera , Heckel Alexander , Prisner Thomas F.
Published: November 2018

PELDOR (pulsed electron–electron double resonance) is an established method to study intramolecular distances and can give evidence for conformational changes and flexibilities. However, it can also be used to study intermolecular interactions as for example oligerimization. Here, we used PELDOR to study the “end-to-end” stacking of small double-stranded (ds) RNAs. For this study, the dsRNA molecules were only singly labeled with the spin label TPA to avoid multispin effects and to measure only the intermolecular stacking interactions. It can be shown that small dsRNAs tend to assemble to rod-like structures due to π–π interactions between the base pairs at the end of the strands. On the one hand, these interactions can influence or complicate measurements aimed at the determining of the structure and dynamics of the dsRNA molecule itself. On the other hand, it can be interesting to study such intermolecular stacking interactions in more detail, as for example their dependence on ion concentration. We quantitatively determined the stacking probability as a function of the monovalent NaCl salt and the dsRNA concentration. From these data, the dissociation constant Kd was deduced and found to depend on the ratio between the NaCl salt and dsRNA concentrations. Additionally, the distances and distance distributions obtained predict a model for the stacking geometry of dsRNAs. Introducing a nucleotide overhangs at one end of the dsRNA molecule restricts the stacking to the other end, leading only to dimer formations. Introducing such an overhang at both ends of the dsRNA molecule fully suppresses stacking, as we demonstrate by PELDOR experiments quantitatively.
Effect of continuous-infusion antibiotic therapy on pulmonary function of patients with cystic fibrosis: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Albhaisi Somaya , Lin Fei-Pi , Chaudary Nauman
Published: November 2018

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is associated with frequent pulmonary exacerbations which increase the mortality risk. Therefore, most CF patients are chronically colonized with respiratory pathogens, the most common being Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Multidrug-resistant organisms are a major problem in CF patients. It’s been hypothesized that continuous-infusion antipseudomonal beta-lactam therapy in CF maintains serum concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentration of susceptible strains and is more likely than intermittent infusion to achieve optimal pharmacodynamic targets for some intermediate and resistant strains of P. aeruginosa. The most extensively studied antibiotic for continuous-infusion protocol in CF is ceftazidime, which has been shown to improve lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity) and to increase pulmonary exacerbation free time. There have been no studies to evaluate the cost effectiveness or impact on quality of life of continuous infusion versus intermittent infusion antibiotic therapy in patients with CF. Our study aims to investigate the effect of continuous-infusion antibiotic therapy on pulmonary function.

Methods: Cross sectional study of CF patients who were admitted to our hospital with acute pulmonary exacerbations between 1/1/2010 and 12/31/2016 and received parenteral antibiotics. We investigated the effect of use of continuous versus intermittent infusion of intravenous antibiotics on the pulmonary function (FEV1% predicted).

Results: Intermittent infusion protocol was found to have a very small advantage over continuous infusion protocol on pulmonary function; however this difference is not statistically significant (p=0.0049). The longer the duration of antibiotics, the slightly better the pulmonary function at the end of the treatment, but the difference was not significant (p=0.2543).

Conclusions: Even though we could not draw meaningful conclusions from our data, we would like bring attention to this subject because it carries an important therapeutic value for CF patients.
xNgn2 induces expression of predominantly sensory neuron markers in Xenopus whole embryo ectoderm but induces mixed subtype expression in isolated ectoderm explants
Authors: Hardwick Laura J.A. , Philpott Anna
Published: November 2018

Proneural basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins, such as Neurogenin2 (Ngn2) and Ascl1, are critical regulators at the onset of neuronal differentiation. Endogenously they have largely complementary expression patterns, and have conserved roles in the specification of distinct neuronal subtypes. InXenopusembryos, xNgn2 is the master regulator of primary neurogenesis forming sensory, inter- and motor neurons within the neural plate, while xAscl1 is the master regulator of autonomic neurogenesis, forming noradrenergic neurons in the antero-ventral region of the embryo. Here we characterise neuronal subtype identity of neurons induced by xNgn2 in the ectoderm of wholeXenopusembryos in comparison with xAscl1, and in ectodermal “animal cap” explants. We find that the transcriptional cascades mediating primary and autonomic neuron formation are distinct, and while xNgn2 and xAscl1 can upregulate genes associated with a non-endogenous cascade, this expression is spatially restricted within the embryo. xNgn2 is more potent than xAscl1 at inducing primary neurogenesis as assayed by neural-β-tubulin. In ectoderm of the intact embryo, these induced primary neurons have sensory characteristics with no upregulation of motor neuron markers. In contrast, xNgn2 is able to up-regulate both sensory and motor neuron markers in naïve ectoderm of animal cap explants, suggesting a non-permissive environment for motor identity in the patterned ectoderm of the whole embryo.
Technology roadmaps: General guidance on the implementation and use of the tool
Authors: Матич Любовь , Matich Lyubov'
Published: November 2018

From the point of view of innovation management, the tool "technological road maps" (TDC) seems to be very promising and worthy of attention, because it allows you to formalize the activities to create innovation, and therefore make it more effective. However, many years of experience in the use of road maps by foreign (more than 40 years) and Russian (about 10 years) organizations, although it shows the great potential of the TDC, but also demonstrates the presence of certain difficulties in their development and use. In particular, the question of how to ensure that roadmaps can effectively meet business needs and achieve business goals remains relevant today. Most publications on this topic introduce readers to a variety of methods, stages and examples of roadmaps, but does not focus on the adaptation of the TDK to the features, capabilities and strategies of companies.
The monograph, on the contrary, is devoted to the formation of readers ' comprehensive understanding of technological road maps and disclosure ≪black box≫ — the organization of work on their creation.
En busca de los pobladores de la Primera Edad del Hierro en el Campo de Cartagena: resultados preliminares en torno a la ocupación del Cabezo Ventura (Sureste ibérico)
Authors: Cutillas Victoria Benjamín
Published: November 2018

En este trabajo se presentan los primeros resultados de las investigaciones que se están desarrollando en el entorno del Cabezo Ventura de Cartagena. Este cabezo se erige desde una posición predominante en el campo de Cartagena, a medio camino entre el Mar Menor, la Sierra Minera Cartagena-La Unión y la península sobre la que se fundaría la ciudad púnica de Qart-Hadasht. En él se han definido distintas áreas arqueológicas en las últimas décadas, si bien durante unos sondeos arqueológicos de tipo mecánico se halló en uno de los sectores una serie de evidencias materiales correspondientes a la Primera Edad del Hierro. Este trabajo presenta por primera vez estos materiales arqueológicos, inéditos hasta la fecha, así como los resultados de la prospección arqueológica que se realizó durante el año 2017 para evaluar el alcance de esta ocupación protohistórica del Cabezo y su importancia dentro de un territorio mal conocido hasta la fecha pero que se encuentra directamente relacionado con la costa y los tráficos comerciales que por ella discurrieron.
Aproximación al poblamiento rural de la llanura de la Selva (Girona) durante la romanización. Nuevas aportaciones al conocimiento de los asentamientos y los silos mediante la fotografía aérea y la prospección superficial
Authors: Guevara Molina Albert
Published: November 2018

Históricamente la llanura de la Selva (Girona) ha jugado un rol importante para comunicar las poblaciones humanas del noreste peninsular. Prueba de ello fue el paso de la Via Heraclea y el Camino Real de Madrid a Francia entre otros muchos caminos y las vías que actualmente comunican el llano. Aún así, hasta hace 30 años, el número de yacimientos que se conocía era escaso y no reflejaba un poblamiento muy denso en la Antigüedad. No fue hasta mediados de los años 90, cuando la construcción de carreteras y otras infraestructuras sacó a la luz distintos yacimientos de todos los periodos, buena parte de ellos silos, que cambiaron la percepción que se tenía de la llanura de la Selva. Sin embargo, a nuestro parecer esta zona geográfica puede albergar muchos más yacimientos de los que se conocen. Es por este motivo que hemos ideado una metodología basada en la fotografía aérea satelital, con el programa Google Earth, para poder detectar el mayor numero de yacimientos de forma rápida y efectiva, en su mayoría silos u fosas, seguido por una prospección superficial no agresiva del lugar. Por un lado, con este sistema hemos hallado 9 yacimientos del siglo II aC sin más precisiones, probablemente silos, situados al noroeste de Girona. No obstante, aún quedan muchas marcas que siguen sin ser comprobadas. Por último, determinaremos la dispersión del poblamiento rural  entre los siglos II y I aC.
La terra sigillata itálica de Carthago Nova y su territorium: sellos, formas y producciones. Algunos ejemplos del Cerro del Molinete y de la Villa Romana de Portmán
Authors: Castillo Alcántara Gonzalo , Fernández Díaz Alicia
Published: November 2018

El presente estudio pretende abordar el análisis de un conjunto de fragmentos de terra sigillata itálica provenientes de diferentes campañas de excavación realizadas en los años 1977-1978, 1995 y 2004 en el Cerro del Molinete de Cartagena y en 2006-2007 en la Villa Romana de Portmán, a fin de determinar las formas y producciones de este tipo presentes en el territorium de Carthago Nova y conocer la articulación del comercio de estas producciones entre la ciudad y el campo.
Reflexiones sobre la última fase de la necrópolis occidental de la ciudad romana de Valentia
Authors: Portillo Sotelo José Luis
Published: November 2018

Con este trabajo se pretende revisar la documentación y el material más tardío (parte de él inédito) de la necrópolis occidental de Valentia. Las investigaciones previas no consiguen ponerse de acuerdo con el momento de abandono de este espacio funerario, ya que hemos de tener en cuenta que los ajuares de las tumbas comienzan a desaparecer paulatinamente a partir del s. II d.C., provocando un vacío de información para esta última fase.De los materiales con los que contamos destacan los de cerámica común, producción que nos va a interesar particularmente ya que la evolución de alguna de sus formas va a ser determinante para fijar una cronología, que en este caso, hemos de situar en el s. III d.C.
La epigrafía romana del País Vasco: una revisión historiográfica
Authors: Ciprés Torres Pilar
Published: November 2018

El estudio de la epigrafía romana del País Vasco ha estado asociado, desde el siglo XVII hasta hoy, al interés por la Antigüedad Clásica en el País Vasco. Este trabajo tienen como objetivo una revisión historiográfica, en la que se analiza la influencia, por un lado, de una historia al servicio de determinados intereses políticos y, por otro, de una historia crítica basada en los restos epigráficos y arqueológicos aparecidos en el territorio del País Vasco.
Hallazgos de moneda provincial hispana procedentes de la ciudad romana de Ercauica (Cañaveruelas, Cuenca)
Authors: Gozalbes García Helena
Published: November 2018

En el presente trabajo realizamos la catalogación y estudio de las monedas provinciales hispanas halladas en el sitio arqueológico de Ercauica (Cañaveruelas, Cuenca); piezas aparecidas en las distintas campañas de excavación que desde el año 1974 y de manera sistemática se vienen efectuando en el yacimiento y que actualmente se encuentran depositadas en el Museo de Cuenca. Pretendemos ampliar sustancialmente la información disponible acerca del monetario hispano-romano procedente de la ciudad. Al mismo tiempo, contando además con las cifras referidas a dicho numerario publicadas en trabajos anteriores, intentaremos precisar algunos datos sobre el abastecimiento de moneda hispana que se constata en Ercávica durante el periodo de tránsito entre la República romana y el inicio del Imperio.
Un conjunto de monedas del siglo IV encontrado en la calle Armiñán de Ronda (Málaga)
Authors: Ortiz Córdoba José
Published: November 2018

Presentamos un conjunto de 245 monedas acuñadas en el siglo IV d.C. procedentes de las excavaciones urbanas realizadas en el casco antiguo de Ronda entre finales de los años 90 y comienzos de la década de los 2000. Las piezas que lo componen permiten encuadrarlo entre los conjuntos teodosianos de estructura corta. Fue abandonado a comienzos del siglo V d.C. tras derrumbarse la vivienda en la que se encontraba depositado como consecuencia de un incendio fortuito.
Marginally speaking
Authors: Milani Tommaso M.
Published: November 2018

This article engages with the semantic ambiguity of the notion of the "margins", together with its heuristic potential. It begins by discussing how the margins can be strategically employed as unsettling vantage points through which to re-read existing sociolinguistic research on "non-normative" linguistic practices in Sweden. Moreover, on the basis of data on same-sex desire in South Africa, the article shows how adopting a perspective "from the margins" runs on a razor-thin edge between reason and irrationality, intelligibility and absurdity, shedding light on the limits of sociolinguistics and (critical) discourse analysis.
English as a Lingua Franca: Lessons for language and mobility
Authors:   National University of Singapore, Park Joseph Sung-Yul , Wee Lionel
Published: November 2018

Greater mobility of people in the globalising world foregrounds the inherent problems of an ideology of language as a bounded entity and the unequal relations of power that shape experiences of mobility. In this paper, we consider how these problems can be interrelated in research on language and mobility through a critical evaluation of current research on English as a lingua franca (ELF), particularly what we refer to as the â€˜ELF research projectâ€™, exemplified by the work of Jenkins and Seidlhofer. The ELF project aims at a non-hegemonic alternative to English language teaching by identifying a core set of linguistic variables that can facilitate communication between speakers of different linguistic backgrounds. We provide a critical examination of the project by problematising its narrow conceptualisation of communication as information transfer and its inability to address the prejudices that speakers may still encounter because they speak the language â€˜differentlyâ€™. In our discussion, we argue that investigation of language in the context of mobility requires serious rethinking on the level of both theory and political stancetaking: a theory of language that does not take account of the fluid, dynamic, and practice-based nature of language will have considerable difficulty in proposing a cogent critique of social inequalities that permeate the lives of people on the move.
The Boer and the Jackal: Satire and resistance in Khoi orature
Authors: Wittenberg Hermann
Published: November 2018

Bushman narratives have been the subject of a large volume of scholarly and popularstudies, particularly publications that have engaged with the Bleek and Lloyd archive.Khoi story-telling has attracted much less attention. This paper looks a number of lesserknown Khoi narratives, collected by Thomas Baines and Leonhard Schultze. Despitecommonalities in the respective oral traditions, Khoi folklore appears more open todiscursive modes of satire, mockery and ridicule, features which are not readily foundin Bushman story telling. A number of Khoi narratives that feature the trickster figureof the jackal are presented and analysed as discursive engagements with historicalrealities and political forces that impinged on indigenous societies. It is argued thatKhoi orature was able to mock and subvert settler dominance by making imaginativeuse of animal proxies such as the jackal. This capacity for satire in Khoi oral cultureallowed it to resist colonial violence on a discursive level, a strategy that was much lesspronounced in Bushman narration.
The importance of unimportant language
Authors: Blommaert Jan , Varis Piia
Published: November 2018

In a recent paper, the Australian historian, Martyn Lyons (2013), reviews his attempts to study ‘history from below’, using what can be called grassroots writing by French and Italian soldiers of the Great War. Lyons remarks that the ‘First World War produced a flood of letter-writing by peasants whose literary capacity has often been underestimated’ (Lyons 2013: 5). In France, no less than 10,000 million postal items were dispatched during the war, huge numbers of those being letters and cards written by soldiers from the frontlines to their loved ones. Lyons comments further:Soldiers’ letters followed standard ritualistic formulas, giving and asking for news about health, discussing letters and postcards sent and received, sending greetings to many relatives and neighbors. As a result, their writing leaves us with an overwhelming sense of banality. (Lyons 2013: 22)
Conviviality and phatic communion?
Authors: Rampton Ben
Published: November 2018

The focus on ‘unimportant’ language in this collection is driven by major contemporary questions. In conditions of superdiversity, the old binaries—minority/majority, migrant/host etc.—can no longer account for the splits and alignments emerging in globalised environments and in response, social scientists have turned their attention to informal processes, seeking new principles for social cohesion in low-key local ‘conviviality’ (Gilroy 2006; Vertovec 2007; Wetherell 2009). Along similar lines, commentators point to the decline of traditional party politics and look instead to social media and digital communication as new resources for grassroots mobilisation. So does the communication of apparently trivial matters really hold the seeds to social renewal, or are such ideas romantically over-inflated?
Editorial
Authors: Stroud Christopher , Williams Quentin
Published: November 2018

This is a collection of linguistic trivia, picked from the mundaneness of everyday speech. However, as each of the papers so well documents, the trivia is far from trivial and the seemingly marginal linguistic phenomena studied here are full of significance, not least from the vantage point of the margins. The papers provide detailed analyses of how ‘small talk’ regularly contributes to the emergence of meaning and interpersonal understanding; items that get repeated across turns and speakers, for example, help interlocutors stake out joint coordinates in relation to the flow of conversation, scaffolding what a speaker may be taken to be referencing—or intending to reference—and allowing them to mutually work towards a shared stance on ‘what a word might mean’.
Linguistic Messianism
Authors: Stroud Christopher , Guissemo Manuel
Published: November 2018

Mozambique, like many nations in the geopolitical South, is a country grappling with issues of equity and justice. One of the more pressing issues pertains to the role of language in ensuring citizenship agency and voice. Much of this debate has been concerned with how to envisage the interrelationships and divisions of labor between local languages and Portuguese, that is, the form and organization of multilingualism. Mozambique since independence in 1975, has given increasing recognition to its many languages and to the diversity of its population, rolling out mother-tongue programs across the country (albeit experimentally) and recognizing the importance of local languages for plurality and cultural heritage. Nevertheless, Portuguese has remained the official and most significant language since colonial times to the present, and has strengthened its status as the language of modernity, national cohesion and global networking.
At the nexus of vulnerability: Multilingualism in development
Authors: Hyltenstam Kenneth , Stroud Christopher
Published: November 2018

This document was written in the early years of this century, about 15 years ago. It emerged out of more than a decade’s engagement in matters of multilingualism, language, politics and education in Mozambique specifically, and Southern Africa more generally, that we had been involved in through the Centre for Research on Bilingualism at Stockholm University. The document itself was written at the request of SIDA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and its research wing, SAREC, that had funded the majority of projects in language and education up until that point. The idea was to craft the outlines in a working document of a more comprehensive and sustained policy, or action plan, on issues of language in developing contexts. This was at a time of a growing awareness in the organization that its key funding areas – democracy, poverty, education, youth – involved language in much more complex ways than hitherto envisaged, and that a specialist document written for the layman might enlighten and provide direction.
Table of Contents
Authors: Stroud Christopher
Published: November 2018

Table of contents