bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
LOOKING BEYOND RECURRENCE; CURRENT METHODS FOR REPORTING MULTIPLE INDIVIDUAL INJURY IN STUDIES OF TEAM BALL SPORTS
Authors: Fortington Lauren , der Worp Henk van , Akker-Scheek Inge van den , Finch Caroline
Published: August 2017

Background

Participants of team ball sports will commonly experience more than one injury over a period of participation. Recording/reporting this can be difficult but it is necessary to provide the most accurate estimates of sports injury incidence.

Objective

To identify the current methods used to report more than one individual injury in studies of injury incidence in team ball sports.

Design

Systematic review of literature.

Setting

Studies of injury incidence in team ball sports.

Patients (or Participants)

Studies were included if they: reported incidence of all injuries (not specific to one injury type) over the whole time period (e.g. not game-injuries only); were conducted with participants of team ball sports; collected data prospectively; had a follow-up time of >1 calendar-year or ≥2 consecutive-seasons; collected data in a defined cohort (e.g. club, school); used an individual identifier in the collection of data.

Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors)

None.

Main Outcome Measurements

Number of included studies, definitions of injury and summary of how multiple individual injuries were reported.

Results

There were 71 studies included, from which the most common presentation of data was pooled injury counts summarised across teams/seasons (n=34). Where multiple injuries were reported (n=37), most studies (n=20) were limited to recurrent injuries only (exact same body part and type.) Eleven studies presented the mean number of injuries per athlete for a specified time (season, study-duration), eight studies reported the range of injuries in athletes. Used infrequently was a measure of risk of injury in subsequent seasons or a statement that some athletes had >1 injury in the season.

Conclusions

Injury prevention relies on accurate incidence estimates. Ongoing development of methodology in this area is encouraged to advance understanding of the causal underpinnings of sports injuries, and their prevention.
INJURIES IN ELITE U18 FIELD HOCKEY PLAYERS AT A MAJOR TOURNAMENT
Authors: Furlong Laura-Anne , Rolle Udo
Published: August 2017

Background

There is little data on injuries in elite U18 field hockey players, which limits development of appropriate evidence-based injury prevention strategies.

Objective

Quantify incidence and characteristics of injuries in elite U18 field hockey players at a major tournament.

Design

Prospective injury surveillance.

Setting

2016 EuroHockey Youth Championships, Ireland.

Participants

Sixteen national representative teams; 8 in each of the boys and girls competitions.

Main Outcome Measurements

Number of, type, mechanism and site of injuries occurring on the pitch where play was stopped for the player to receive attention.

Results

Across the six-day tournament, 39 injuries were reported (20 in boys competition, 19 in girls; average: 0.98 injuries per match). In the boys competition, fifteen contusions were observed primarily due to being hit by the ball/stick, with fractures (2), being winded (2) and sprains (1) also reported. Most injuries (15) occurred in the lower limb or torso, with three in the upper limb and two to the head/face where players collided with each other. Three injuries occurred when struck by the ball defending penalty corners, resulting in two lower limb contusions and one fractured finger. In the girls competition, 10 of 19 injuries were contusions, also primarily due to being hit by the ball/stick. Sprains (3), lacerations (2), being winded (2), strains (1) and cramp (1) were also reported. Ten occurred in the lower limb, five to the head/face (four due to being hit by the stick), one to the upper limb and three to the torso. Two injuries occurred defending penalty corners, resulting in contusions to the thigh and hand.

Conclusions

Injury incidence in elite U18 field hockey is low but the high number of injuries due to being struck by the ball or stick highlights the importance of design and use of appropriate protective equipment for youth athletes.
RECREATIONAL RUNNER' STRATEGIES TO COPE WITH INJURY AND ILLNESS DURING MARATHON RACE PREPARATIONS: CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN SWEDEN
Authors: Gauffin Håkan , Tillander Bo , Dahlström Örjan , Nyman Henrik , Timpka Toomas
Published: August 2017

Background

Running is one of the most popular forms of physical exercise worldwide. It is therefore discomforting that pain and overuse injuries are common among recreational runners. The coping concept is used to denote conscious efforts to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress or conflict.

Objective

To explore coping strategies associated with injury and illness management in runners.

Design

Cross-sectional study based on an online survey.

Setting

Recreational runners preparing for a marathon race.

Patients (or Participants)

Swedish recreational marathon runners.

Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors)

Age, sex, and coping strategies as measured by the Brief Cope instrument.

Main Outcome Measurements

Episodes of injury or illness lasting at least three weeks during the past 12 months.

Results

The response rate was 38% (317/833 runners). One out of five runners reported a pre-race health problem, with overuse injuries with gradual onset being the most frequent problem and the knee the most common localisation. No statistical differences between injured and non-injured runners were observed for any feature of the Brief Cope instrument. Runners having rested from running due to illness reported higher scores for the adaptive coping strategy active coping (p=0.020). They also reported lower scores for emotional support (p=0.020) and higher scores for the maladaptive coping strategy behavioural disengagement (p=0.041) than runners not having rested for illness.

Conclusions

An association between active coping and rest due to illness was found among recreational marathon runners. Illness, usually having a sudden onset, seem to motivate marathon runners to rest more strongly than overuse injuries that normally have a gradual onset. The results indicate that health problems with gradual onset call for different approaches for behavioural interventions and prevention than those with sudden onset. Coping strategies among recreational runners warrant further research based on longitudinal study designs.
X-RAY SCAN EXAMINATION AS A QUALIFICATION TO PRACTICE JUDO–THE CERVICAL SPINE INSTABILITY AMONG CHILDREN
Authors: Gawroński Wojciech , Gawrońska Aleksandra , Kabata Jakub
Published: August 2017

Background

Judo is a martial art focused on the use of grasping the neck with the high risk of the cervical spine injury. Therefore on examination which qualifies to practicing judo, it is mandatory to perform an X-ray scan of the cervical spine segment.

Objective

To evaluate whether radiological diagnosis of cervical spine instability among children is an absolute or relative contraindication to practicing judo. Impact assessment of contact sport on the incidence of cervical spine instability among children – recognition and prevention.

Design

Retrospective descriptive study.

Setting

Judo beginners.

Participant

22 children aged 7 to 12.

Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors)

The young athletes underwent X-ray examination of the cervical spine, using the A-P and lateral views. When instability was diagnosed, additional functional radiographic examinations (flexion-extension view) was ordered.

Main Outcome Measurements

12 cases with instability were followed by consultation with a neurosurgeon, and children orthopedist.

Results

The study assessed 22 young athletes performing judo. In this group, there was only 1 case (4.55%) with no cervical spine lesions found, 9 cases (40.90%) with lesions which did not present a contraindication to practice sport and 12 cases (54.55%) with instability.

Conclusions

In case of finding instability in stationary X-rays and confirming in flexion-extension X-rays (lateral views) resulting only from the laxity of the capsular and ligamentous system, it is possible to allow practicing judo in case of children below 12 years old, on condition of undergoing the systematic and comprehensive examination. It is necessary to introduce general physical training to strengthen the muscles in the cervical segment, before starting technical training.
The Geometry of Speed Limiting Resources in Physical Models of Computation
Authors: Russell Benjamin , Stepney Susan
Published: August 2017

We study the maximum speed of quantum computation and how it is affected by limitations on physical resources. We show how the resulting concepts generalize to a broader class of physical models of computation within dynamical systems and introduce a specific algebraic structure representing these speed limits. We derive a family of quantum speed limit results in resource-constrained quantum systems with pure states and a finite dimensional state space, by using a geometric method based on right invariant action functionals on [Formula: see text]. We show that when the action functional is bi-invariant, the minimum time for implementing any quantum gate using a potentially time-dependent Hamiltonian is equal to the minimum time when using a constant Hamiltonian, thus constant Hamiltonians are time optimal for these constraints. We give an explicit formula for the time in these cases, in terms of the resource constraint. We show how our method produces a rich family of speed limit results, of which the generalized Margolus–Levitin theorem and the Mandelstam–Tamm inequality are special cases. We discuss the broader context of geometric approaches to speed limits in physical computation, including the way geometric approaches to quantum speed limits are a model for physical speed limits to computation arising from a limited resource.
A Stabilizing Algorithm for Finding Two Node-Disjoint Paths in Arbitrary Networks
Authors: Hadid Rachid , Karaata Mehmet Hakan , Villain Vincent
Published: August 2017

The problem of two node-disjoint paths is to identify two paths [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] from source [Formula: see text] to target [Formula: see text] without any common intermediate node in a communication network [Formula: see text], where each node (vertex) in [Formula: see text] denotes a process and each edge [Formula: see text] denotes a communication channel between nodes [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we present the first adaptive stabilizing algorithm for finding a pair of node-disjoint paths in a semi-anonymous arbitrary network in [Formula: see text] rounds and the state-space complexity is [Formula: see text] bits per process, where [Formula: see text] is the diameter of the communication network. The algorithm assumes weakly fair distributed daemon and the knowledge of an upper bound on the number of processes by each process. If two disjoint paths exist between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], two disjoint paths are guaranteed to be constructed. In addition, the algorithm detects if two node-disjoint paths exist or not. Since the proposed algorithm is stabilizing, it does not require initialization and is capable of withstanding transient faults. We view a fault that perturbs the state of the system but not its program as a transient fault. The proposed algorithm has a wide range of applications in ensuring reliability and security of sensor, mobile and fixed communication networks.
Homaloidal nets and ideals of fat points II: Subhomaloidal nets
Authors: Ramos Zaqueu , Simis Aron
Published: August 2017

This work is a natural sequel to a previous paper by the authors in that it tackles problems of the same nature. Here, one aims at the ideal theoretic and homological properties of an ideal of general plane fat points for which the corresponding second symbolic power has virtual multiplicities of a proper homaloidal type. For this purpose, one carries a detailed examination of the underlying linear system at the initial degree, where a good deal of the results depends on the method of the classical arithmetic quadratic transformations of Hudson–Nagata. A subsidiary guide to understand these ideals through their initial linear systems has been supplied by questions of birationality with source [Formula: see text] and target higher dimensional spaces. This leads, in particular, to the retrieval of birational maps studied by Geramita–Gimigliano–Pitteloud, including a few of the celebrated Bordiga–White parameterizations.
Big-Bang nucleosynthesis: Constraints on nuclear reaction rates, neutrino degeneracy, inhomogeneous and Brans–Dicke models
Authors: Nakamura Riou , Hashimoto Masa-Aki , Ichimasa Ryotaro , Arai Kenzo
Published: August 2017

We review the recent progress in the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis which includes the standard and nonstandard theory of cosmology, effects of neutrino degeneracy, and inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis within the framework of a Friedmann model. As for a nonstandard theory of gravitation, we adopt a Brans–Dicke theory which incorporates a cosmological constant. We constrain various parameters associated with each subject.
Random dynamical systems generated by coalescing stochastic flows on ℝ
Authors: Riabov Georgii V.
Published: August 2017

Existence of random dynamical systems for a class of coalescing stochastic flows on [Formula: see text] is proved. A new state space for coalescing flows is built. As particular cases coalescing flows of solutions to stochastic differential equations and coalescing Harris flows are considered.
Multiplicative functions commutable with sums of squares
Authors: Park Poo-Sung
Published: August 2017

Let [Formula: see text] be an integer greater than or equal to [Formula: see text]. We show that if a multiplicative function [Formula: see text] satisfies [Formula: see text] for all positive integers [Formula: see text], then [Formula: see text] is the identity function.
Quadratic sequences of powers and Mohanty’s conjecture
Authors: Garcia-Fritz Natalia
Published: August 2017

We prove under the Bombieri–Lang conjecture for surfaces that there is an absolute bound on the length of sequences of integer squares with constant second differences, for sequences which are not formed by the squares of integers in arithmetic progression. This answers a question proposed in 2010 by Browkin and Brzezinski, and independently by Gonzalez-Jimenez and Xarles. We also show that under the Bombieri–Lang conjecture for surfaces, for every [Formula: see text] there is an absolute bound on the length of sequences formed by [Formula: see text]th powers with constant second differences. This gives a conditional result on one of Mohanty’s conjectures on arithmetic progressions in Mordell’s elliptic curves [Formula: see text]. Moreover, we obtain an unconditional result regarding infinite families of such arithmetic progressions. We also study the case of hyperelliptic curves of the form [Formula: see text]. These results are proved by unconditionally finding all curves of genus zero or one on certain surfaces of general type. Moreover, we prove the unconditional analogues of these arithmetic results for function fields by finding all the curves of low genus on these surfaces.
Operational Energy Saving Potential of Thermal Effluent Source Heat Pump System for Greenhouse Heating in Jeju
Authors: Kim Min-Hwi , Lee Dong-Won , Yun Rin , Heo Jaehyeok
Published: August 2017

Massive thermal effluent energy from power plant is mostly released to the sea, and only a little is used for fishing culture and agriculture in South Korea. The thermal effluent from the power plant can be an efficient heat source of the heat pump system to provide heating energy for the greenhouse, but energy loss and pump power by long distance pipeline installation from a power plant to the greenhouse should be considered. In this paper, an operational energy saving potential of a thermal effluent source heat pump system for the greenhouse heating was investigated. For the estimation of thermal load, three cases of greenhouse were categorized, and the thermal performance and operating energy consumption during the heating season were compared with those of a conventional ground source heat pump (GSHP) system. The model for heat pump system was newly derived to estimate the energy performance of the proposed system, and then detailed simulations for each system under three cases of greenhouse were conducted. The results showed that the operational energy of the proposed system can be saved by 17–20% than that of the conventional GSHP system.
The First Difference Property of the Present Value Operator
Authors: Buser Stephen A. , Jensen Bjarne Astrup
Published: August 2017

This paper identifies a fundamental relationship between the present value of a given cash flow and the present value of the period by period change in that cash flow. The new relationship is shown to be highly useful for the identification of analytic expressions for present value and related measures such as duration and convexity; expressions that continue to play an instructive role by helping to relate the quantitative outcomes of numerical calculations to the driving forces behind those calculations. This new method applies only simple arithmetic operations and avoids the use of differential calculus and advanced series summation in order to derive these analytic results.

We apply the method to a variety of nontraditional cash flows, including cash flows with linear growth or decay, cash flows that are subject to different tax effects for dividends and capital gain, and cash flows that are projected to exhibit cyclical variation over time.
The Karush-Kuhn-Tucker Optimality Conditions for the Fuzzy Optimization Problems in the Quotient Space of Fuzzy Numbers
Authors: Yu Nanxiang , Qiu Dong
Published: August 2017

We propose the solution concepts for the fuzzy optimization problems in the quotient space of fuzzy numbers. The Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions are elicited naturally by introducing the Lagrange function multipliers. The effectiveness is illustrated by examples.
Application and Validation of Simple Isocratic HPLC-UV-DAD Method with Dual Wavelength Detection for Ivabradine Determination and Its Application in the Study of Stress Degradation
Authors: Nowakowska Joanna , Pikul Piotr , Marszałł Marcin , Ciura Krzesimir
Published: August 2017

Ivabradine is a modern drug that selectively lowers the heart rate, improves cardiac energy balance, and reduces heart’s demands for oxygen and energy. Due to the chemical nature of ivabradine, which absorbs light at 207 nm and 286 nm, its detection was performed at two wavelengths. A Knauer C8 column was used to develop the RP-HPLC method for determination of ivabradine. The proposed method was linear from 5 to 100 µg/ml (r>0.999) for both wavelengths and limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) were 0.33 and 1.09 µg/ml for 207 nm and 1.19 and 3.97 µg/ml for 286 nm, respectively. After validation, the investigated method was applied to a stress degradation study. Numerous degradation products were formed from ivabradine solutions through alkaline and acid hydrolysis, oxidation, and photolysis. The largest numbers of degradation products were found in the sample exposed to 24 h radiation and alkaline hydrolysis (eight and six products, resp.). Finally, the simple method using HPLC-UV-DAD was developed and validated. Its usefulness for the monitoring of possible degradation products was demonstrated.
Optimization of Alumina Slurry for Oxide-Oxide Ceramic Composites Manufactured by Injection Molding
Authors: Billotte Catherine , Fotsing Edith Roland , Ruiz Edu
Published: August 2017

This paper focuses on the rheological study of an alumina suspension intended for the manufacturing of oxide-oxide composites by flexible injection. Given the production constraints, it is required to have stable suspension with low viscosity and a Newtonian behavior. This is achieved with a concentration of nitric acid between 0.08 wt% and 0.2 wt% and amount of 3 wt% of PVA binder. The maximum loading of the suspension of 47 vol% suggests that there is no structure development within the suspension with optimized concentration of acid and PVA.
Robustification of Naïve Bayes Classifier and Its Application for Microarray Gene Expression Data Analysis
Authors: Ahmed Md. Shakil , Shahjaman Md. , Rana Md. Masud , Mollah Md. Nurul Haque
Published: August 2017

The naïve Bayes classifier (NBC) is one of the most popular classifiers for class prediction or pattern recognition from microarray gene expression data (MGED). However, it is very much sensitive to outliers with the classical estimates of the location and scale parameters. It is one of the most important drawbacks for gene expression data analysis by the classical NBC. The gene expression dataset is often contaminated by outliers due to several steps involved in the data generating process from hybridization of DNA samples to image analysis. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt is made to robustify the Gaussian NBC by the minimumβ-divergence method. The role of minimumβ-divergence method in this article is to produce the robust estimators for the location and scale parameters based on the training dataset and outlier detection and modification in test dataset. The performance of the proposed method depends on the tuning parameterβ. It reduces to the traditional naïve Bayes classifier whenβ→0. We investigated the performance of the proposed beta naïve Bayes classifier (β-NBC) in a comparison with some popular existing classifiers (NBC, KNN, SVM, and AdaBoost) using both simulated and real gene expression datasets. We observed that the proposed method improved the performance over the others in presence of outliers. Otherwise, it keeps almost equal performance.
A Rare Case of Cutaneous Plasmacytosis in a Korean Male
Authors: Georgesen Corey , Kheterpal Meenal , Pulitzer Melissa
Published: August 2017

Cutaneous and systemic plasmacytosis are reactive disease processes that occur in middle-aged Japanese and Chinese men. Systemic plasmacytosis, defined by plasmacytic infiltration of two organ systems, might rarely progress to lymphoma. Cutaneous plasmacytosis, however, is chronic and benign and is characterized by the development of multiple plasma cell-rich infiltrates in the skin. We present a case of cutaneous plasmacytosis in a 46-year-old Korean male. The patient demonstrated classic features of the disease entity, including disseminated red-brown plaques, differentiated plasmacytoid infiltrates on biopsy, hypergammaglobulinemia, and the absence of systemic disease.
A Critical Analysis of the AvailableIn VitroandEx VivoMethods to Study Retinal Angiogenesis
Authors: Moleiro A. F. , Conceição G. , Leite-Moreira A. F. , Rocha-Sousa A.
Published: August 2017

Angiogenesis is a biological process with a central role in retinal diseases. The choice of the ideal method to study angiogenesis, particularly in the retina, remains a problem. Angiogenesis can be assessed throughin vitroandin vivostudies. In spite of inherent limitations,in vitrostudies are faster, easier to perform and quantify, and typically less expensive and allow the study of isolated angiogenesis steps. We performed a systematic review of PubMed searching for original articles that appliedin vitroor ex vivo angiogenic retinal assays until May 2017, presenting the available assays and discussing their applicability, advantages, and disadvantages. Most of the studies evaluated migration, proliferation, and tube formation of endothelial cells in response to inhibitory or stimulatory compounds. Other aspects of angiogenesis were studied by assessing cell permeability, adhesion, or apoptosis, as well as by implementing organotypic models of the retina. Emphasis is placed on how the methods are applied and how they can contribute to retinal angiogenesis comprehension. We also discuss how to choose the best cell culture to implement these methods. When applied together,in vitroand ex vivo studies constitute a powerful tool to improve retinal angiogenesis knowledge. This review provides support for researchers to better select the most suitable protocols in this field.
Baseline Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Adrenal Incidentaloma from a Single Center in China: A Survey
Authors: Li Lele , Yang Guoqing , Zhao Ling , Dou Jingtao , Gu Weijun , Lv Zhaohui , Lu Juming , Mu Yiming
Published: August 2017

Aim. To investigate the clinical and endocrinological characteristics of patients with adrenal incidentaloma (AI). Materials and Methods. This retrospective study enrolled 1941 AI patients hospitalized at the Department of Endocrinology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China, between January 1997 and December 2016. The patient gender, age at visits, imaging features, functional status, and histological results were analyzed. Results. Of the 1941 patients, 984 (50.70%) were men. The median age was 52 years (interquartile range: 44–69 years). 140 cases had bilateral AI. Endocrine evaluation showed that 1411 (72.69%) patients had nonfunctional tumor, 152 (7.83%) had subclinical Cushing syndrome (SCS), and 82 (4.33%) had primary hyperaldosteronism. A total of 925 patients underwent operation for removal of 496 cortical adenomas (53.62%), 15 adrenal cortical carcinomas (1.62%), and 172 pheochromocytomas (18.59%). The bilateral group had a higher proportion of SCS (18.57% versus 7.10%, P<0.001, P=0.006). A mass size of 46 mm was of great value in distinguishing malignant tumors from the benign tumors, with sensitivity of 88.2% and specificity of 95.5%. Conclusions. We reported the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with AI in a large series from a single center in China.
Prevalence of Prostatitis-Like Symptoms and Outcomes of NIH-CPSI in Outpatients with Lifelong and Acquired PE: Based on a Large Cross-Sectional Study in China
Authors: Zhu Daofang , Dou Xianming , Tang Liang , Tang Dongdong , Liao Guiyi , Fang Weihua , Zhang Xiansheng
Published: August 2017

Premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most common sexual dysfunctions, which were associated with prostatitis-like symptoms (PLS). We intended to explore the prevalence of prostatitis-like symptoms and outcomes of National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) scores in outpatients with lifelong (LPE) and acquired premature ejaculation (APE). From December 2013 to December 2015, a total of 498 consecutive heterosexual men with PE and 322 male healthy subjects without PE were enrolled. Each of them completed a detailed questionnaire on demographics information, sexual and medical histories, and the NIH-CPSI. Assessment of NIH-CPSI and definition of PLS and PE were used to measure the PLS and NIH-CPSI scores and ejaculatory function for all subjects. Finally, a total of 820 subjects (including 498 men in PE group and 322 men in control group) were enrolled in our study. The mean ages were significantly different between PE and no PE groups. Men with PE reported worse PLS and higher NIH-CPSI scores (P < 0.001 for all). Similar findings were also observed between men with LPE and APE. Men with APE also reported higher rates of PLS and scores of NIH-CPSI (P < 0.001 for all). Multivariate analysis showed that PLS and NIH-CPSI scores were significantly associated with PE.
Development of Single-Channel Hybrid BCI System Using Motor Imagery and SSVEP
Authors: Ko Li-Wei , Ranga S. S. K. , Komarov Oleksii , Chen Chung-Chiang
Published: August 2017

Numerous EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) systems that are being developed focus on novel feature extraction algorithms, classification methods and combining existing approaches to create hybrid BCIs. Several recent studies demonstrated various advantages of hybrid BCI systems in terms of an improved accuracy or number of commands available for the user. But still, BCI systems are far from realization for daily use. Having high performance with less number of channels is one of the challenging issues that persists, especially with hybrid BCI systems, where multiple channels are necessary to record information from two or more EEG signal components. Therefore, this work proposes a single-channel (C3 or C4) hybrid BCI system that combines motor imagery (MI) and steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) approaches. This study demonstrates that besides MI features, SSVEP features can also be captured from C3 or C4 channel. The results show that due to rich feature information (MI and SSVEP) at these channels, the proposed hybrid BCI system outperforms both MI- and SSVEP-based systems having an average classification accuracy of 85.6 ± 7.7% in a two-class task.
How Do School Children and Adolescents Perceive the Nature of Talent Development? A Case Study from Finland
Authors: Kuusisto Elina , Laine Sonja , Tirri Kirsi
Published: August 2017

This article examines how school children and adolescents (N = 607) perceive the nature of talent development. More particularly it is investigated whether students perceive intelligence and giftedness as developing or as inherent and how students’ perspectives on talent development are related to their learning outcomes. Participants were students in elementary (n = 200), lower secondary (n = 256), and upper secondary school (n = 151). The results showed that students perceived the nature of intelligence as more malleable than giftedness. Along with this domain‐specific variance, there were also age and gender related differences in students’ perceptions. By examining the relation between implicit beliefs and students’ academic achievements, it was found that growth‐oriented views about intelligence, but fixed ideas about giftedness, indicated higher math grades. The results suggest that the relationship between implicit beliefs and academic outcomes might not be as straightforward as previous studies have suggested.
Anti-Unwinding Attitude Control with Fixed-Time Convergence for a Flexible Spacecraft
Authors: Pukdeboon Chutiphon , Jitpattanakul Anuchit
Published: August 2017

This paper investigates the fixed-time attitude tracking control problem for flexible spacecraft with unknown bounded disturbances. First, with the knowledge of norm upper bounds of external disturbances and the coupling effect of flexible modes, a novel robust fixed-time controller is designed to deal with this problem. Second, the controller is further enhanced by an adaptive law to avoid the knowledge of norm upper bounds of external disturbances and coupling effect of flexible modes. This control law guarantees the convergence of attitude tracking errors in fixed time where the settling time is bounded by a constant independent of initial conditions. Moreover, the proposed controllers can prevent the unwinding phenomenon. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed control scheme.
Kangfuxinye Enema Combined with Mesalamine for Ulcerative Colitis: A Systematic Review and GRADE Approach
Authors: Ren Peng-wei , Yang Wen-jie , Wang Dan-dan , Shan Jing-yan , Kang De-ying , Hong Qi , Wen Shu , Zhang Ru-wen
Published: August 2017

Objectives. To critically appraise the efficacy and safety of Kangfuxinye enema combined with mesalamine for the ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and in addition to grade the quality of evidence by using the GRADE (grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation) approach. Methods. A literature search was performed in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and WanFang Databases. The search restrictions were patients with UC and RCTs. Studies including other treatments except Kangfuxinye with mesalamine were excluded. Results. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. We found significant benefits of Kangfuxinye combined with mesalamine against mesalamine alone in improving response rate as well as reducing the recurrence rate and inflammation rate; meanwhile, the increase of the adverse events rate was not observed. Furthermore, the symptoms remission rate and the cure time were insignificant statistically. Additionally, GRADE results indicated that the quality of evidence regarding the above 6 outcomes was rated from very low to moderate quality. Conclusions. Although Kangfuxinye enema seems effective and safe for treating UC patients in this systematic review, Kangfuxinye enema combined with mesalamine was weakly recommended due to very low to moderate quality of available evidence by the GRADE approach.
Compressed RSS Measurement for Communication and Sensing in the Internet of Things
Authors: Zhao Yanchao , Li Wenzhong , Wu Jie , Lu Sanglu , Chen Bing
Published: August 2017

The receiving signal strength (RSS) is crucial for the Internet of Things (IoT), as it is the key foundation for communication resource allocation, localization, interference management, sensing, and so on. Aside from its significance, the measurement process could be tedious, time consuming, inaccurate, and involving human operations. The state-of-the-art works usually applied the fashion of “measure a few, predict many,” which use measurement calibrated models to generate the RSS for the whole networks. However, this kind of methods still cannot provide accurate results in a short duration with low measurement cost. In addition, they also require careful scheduling of the measurement which is vulnerable to measurement conflict. In this paper, we propose a compressive sensing- (CS-) based RSS measurement solution, which is conflict-tolerant, time-efficient, and accuracy-guaranteed without any model-calibrate operation. The CS-based solution takes advantage of compressive sensing theory to enable simultaneous measurement in the same channel, which reduces the time cost to the level of O(log⁡N) (where N is the network size) and works well for sparse networks. Extensive experiments based on real data trace are conducted to show the efficiency of the proposed solutions.
Factors Predicting the Adherence to the Therapy of Italian IBD Patients
Authors: Bucci Cristina , Zingone Fabiana , Tammaro Stella , Iovino Paola , Santonicola Antonella , Ciacci Carolina
Published: August 2017

Background.Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic gastrointestinal disorders influencing many aspects of the patient’s life and accounting for substantial social costs. They require long-term therapies and regular contact with the clinic of reference. Our aim is to investigate therapy adherence and identify predictors of adherence.Methods. 151 patients were recruited in IBD clinic at the University of Salerno filled in the modified Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, a standardized questionnaire provided during the visit.Results. Overall, 71.5% of the patients report to take all medications regularly. According to the scale, our population showed a 62.5% medium-high adherence to oral 5-ASA, a 72% medium–high adherence to immunomodulators, a 60% medium–high adherence to oral steroids, and 94.9% adherence to biologics. Younger patients tend to be less compliant to the therapy. The main reasons for the low adherence to therapy were the “hassle of sticking to the medication plan” and “their feeling better.”Conclusion. In Italy, where the healthcare system covers most of the expenses for IBD therapy, almost 30% of IBD patients report low compliance to therapy. Healthcare givers should improve the knowledge regarding the disease and favor the development of combined drugs that would simplify the daily medication plan.
Predicting Freeway Work Zone Delays and Costs with a Hybrid Machine-Learning Model
Authors: Du Bo , Chien Steven , Lee Joyoung , Spasovic Lazar
Published: August 2017

A hybrid machine-learning model, integrating an artificial neural network (ANN) and a support vector machine (SVM) model, is developed to predict spatiotemporal delays, subject to road geometry, number of lane closures, and work zone duration in different periods of a day and in the days of a week. The model is very user friendly, allowing the least inputs from the users. With that the delays caused by a work zone on any location of a New Jersey freeway can be predicted. To this end, tremendous amounts of data from different sources were collected to establish the relationship between the model inputs and outputs. A comparative analysis was conducted, and results indicate that the proposed model outperforms others in terms of the least root mean square error (RMSE). The proposed hybrid model can be used to calculate contractor penalty in terms of cost overruns as well as incentive reward schedule in case of early work competition. Additionally, it can assist work zone planners in determining the best start and end times of a work zone for developing and evaluating traffic mitigation and management plans.
Preliminary Results of the Adoption and Application of the Integrated Comprehensive Care Bundle Care Program When Treating Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Guertin Jason R. , Bowen James M. , Gosse Carolyn , Blackhouse Gord , O’Reilly Daria J. , Baltaga Emanuel , Cox Gerard , Johnson Donna , Le Blanc Brandi , Loncke Jane , Pugsley Stewart , Sivakumaran Ravi , Wheatley Laura , Smith Kevin , Tarride Jean-Eric
Published: August 2017

Background. St. Joseph’s Health System has implemented an integrated comprehensive care bundle care (ICC) program with the hopes that it would improve patients’ care while reducing overall costs. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the performance of the ICC program within patients admitted with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD). Methods. We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study comparing ICC patients to non-ICC patients admitted to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton for COPD being discharged with support services between June 2012 and March 2015, using administrative data. Confounding adjustment was achieved through the use of propensity score matching. Medical resource utilizations during the initial hospitalization and within the 60 days following discharge were compared using regression models. Results. All 76 patients who entered the ICC program (100.0%) were matched 1 : 1 to 76 eligible non-ICC patients (28.4%). Length of stay (6.47 [7.29] versus 9.55 [10.21] days) and resource intensity weights (1.16 [0.80] versus 1.64 [1.69]) were lower in the ICC group within the initial hospitalization but, while favoring the ICC program, healthcare resource use tended not to differ statistically following discharge. Interpretation. The ICC program was able to reduce initial medical resource utilization without increasing subsequent medical resource use.
Counselling about the Risk of Preterm Delivery: A Systematic Review
Authors: Pedrini Laura , Prefumo Federico , Frusca Tiziana , Ghilardi Alberto
Published: August 2017

We aimed to describe the outcomes of counselling for preterm delivery. PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo were systematically searched (from 2000 to 2016) using the following terms: counselling, pregnancy complications, high-risk pregnancy, fetal diseases, and prenatal care. A total of nine quantitative studies were identified, five randomized and four nonrandomized. All studies were conducted in the USA, and half of them were based on a simulated counselling session. Two main clinical implications can be drawn from the available studies: firstly, providing written information before or during the consultation seems to have a positive effect, while no effect was detected when written material was provided after the consultation. Secondly, parents’ choices about treatment seemed to be influenced by spiritual-related aspects and/or preexisting preferences, rather than by the level of detail or by the order with which information was provided. Therefore, the exploration of parents’ beliefs is crucial to reduce the risks of misconception and to guarantee choice in line with personal values. More research is necessary to validate these findings in cross-cultural contexts and in real world settings of care. Moreover, the centeredness of conversations and the characteristics of the clinician involved in counselling should be addressed in future studies.
Endoscopic Treatment of Sphenoid Sinus Mucocele: Case Report and Surgical Considerations
Authors: Caballero García Joel , Giol Álvarez Adolfo Michel , Morales Pérez Iosmill , Gonzales Gonzales Nélido , Hidalgo Gonzáles Adolfo , Cruz Perez Peggys Oleidis
Published: August 2017

Introduction. The paranasal sinuses mucoceles are benign expansive cystic lesions that occur rarely in the sphenoid sinus and contain mucous material enclosed by cylindrical pseudostratified epithelium. Objective. To report one case of sphenoid sinus mucocele that occurred with headache and was submitted to surgical treatment through endonasal endoscopy approach. Case Report. 59-year-old male patient with history of increasing frontoorbital, bilateral, fluctuating headache and exophthalmos. There was no other associated clinical abnormality. Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) scans confirmed an expansive mass of sphenoid sinus, suggesting mucocele. The patient was submitted to endonasal endoscopic surgery with posterior ethmoidotomy, large sphenoidotomy, and marsupialization of the lesion. Conclusion. Mucoceles of the sphenoid sinus are a very rare condition with variable clinical and radiological presentation. Surgical treatment is absolutely indicated and early treatment avoids visual damage that can be permanent. Endonasal endoscopic approach with drainage and marsupialization of sphenoid sinus, using a transnasal corridor, is a safe and effective treatment modality.
Comparison of the Short-Term Forecasting Accuracy on Battery Electric Vehicle between Modified Bass and Lotka-Volterra Model: A Case Study of China
Authors: Li Shunxi , Chen Hang , Zhang Guofang
Published: August 2017

The potential demand of battery electric vehicle (BEV) is the base of the decision-making to the government policy formulation, enterprise manufacture capacity expansion, and charging infrastructure construction. How to predict the future amount of BEV accurately is very important to the development of BEV both in practice and in theory. The present paper tries to compare the short-term accuracy of a proposed modified Bass model and Lotka-Volterra (LV) model, by taking China’s BEV development as the case study. Using the statistics data of China’s BEV amount of 21 months from Jan 2015 to Sep 2016, we compare the simulation accuracy based on the value of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and discuss the forecasting capacity of the two models according to China’s government expectation. According to the MAPE value, the two models have good prediction accuracy, but the Bass model is more accurate than LV model. Bass model has only one dimension and focuses on the diffusion trend, while LV model has two dimensions and mainly describes the relationship and competing process between the two populations. In future research, the forecasting advantages of Bass model and LV model should be combined to get more accurate predicting effect.
Transcriptome Analysis of Two Different Developmental Stages of Paeonia lactiflora Seeds
Authors: Ma Yonglei , Cui Jinqiu , Lu Xiujun , Zhang Lijie , Chen Zhijing , Fei Riwen , Sun Xiaomei
Published: August 2017

Paeonia lactiflora is a herbaceous flower in the family Paeoniaceae with both hypocotyl and epicotyl dormant seeds. We used high-throughput transcriptome sequencing on two different developmental stages of P. lactiflora seeds to identify seed dormancy and germination-related genes. We performed de novo assembly and annotated a total of 123,577 unigenes, which encoded 24,688 putative proteins with 47 GO categories. A total of 10,714 unigenes were annotated in the KEGG database, and 258 pathways were involved in the annotations. A total of 1795 genes were differentially expressed in the functional enrichment analysis. The key genes for seed germination and dormancy, such as GAI1 and ARF, were confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. This is the first report of sequencing the P. lactiflora seed transcriptome. Our results provide fundamental frame work and technical support for further selective breeding and cultivation of Paeonia. Our transcriptomic data also serves as the basis for future genetics and genomics research on Paeonia and its closely related species.
Relationship of the Content of Systemic and Endobronchial Soluble Molecules of CD25, CD38, CD8, and HLA-I-CD8 and Lung Function Parameters in COPD Patients
Authors: Kubysheva Nailya , Postnikova Larisa , Soodaeva Svetlana , Novikov Viкtor , Eliseeva Tatyana , Batyrshin Ildar , Li Timur , Klimanov Igor , Chuchalin Alexander
Published: August 2017

The definition of new markers of local and systemic inflammation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the priority directions in the study of pathogenesis and diagnostic methods improvement for this disease. We investigated 91 patients with COPD and 21 healthy nonsmokers. The levels of soluble CD25, CD38, CD8, and HLA-I-CD8 molecules in the blood serum and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in moderate-to-severe COPD patients during exacerbation and stable phase were studied. An unidirectional change in the content of sCD25, sCD38, and sCD8 molecules with increasing severity of COPD was detected. The correlations between the parameters of lung function and sCD8, sCD25, and sHLA-I-CD8 levels in the blood serum and EBC were discovered in patients with severe COPD. The findings suggest a pathogenetic role of the investigated soluble molecules of the COPD development and allow considering the content of sCD8, sCD25, and sHLA-I-CD8 molecules as additional novel systemic and endobronchial markers of the progression of chronic inflammation of this disease.
Aging of Rejuvenated Asphalt Binders
Authors: Mohammadafzali Mojtaba , Ali Hesham , Musselman James A. , Sholar Gregory A. , Rilko Wayne A.
Published: August 2017

An important concern that limits the RAP content in asphalt mixtures is the fact that the aged binder that is present in the RAP can cause premature cracking. Rejuvenators are frequently added to high RAP mixtures to enhance the properties of the binder. There is no existing method to predict the longevity of a rejuvenated asphalt. This study investigated the aging of rejuvenated binders and compared their durability with that of virgin asphalt. Various samples with different types and proportions of RAP, virgin binder, and rejuvenator were aged by RTFO and three cycles of PAV. DSR and BBR tests were conducted to examine the high-temperature and low-temperature rheological properties of binders. Results indicated that the type and dosage of the rejuvenator have a great influence on the aging rate and durability of the binder. Some rejuvenators make the binder age slower, while others accelerate aging. These observations confirm the importance of evaluating the long-term aging of recycled binders. For this purpose, critical PAV time was proposed as a measure of binder’s longevity.