bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Normative beliefs about breaking road safety rules and their relation to risk-taking
Authors: Olejniczak-Serowiec Anna , Rutkowska Dorota
Published: November 2018

Normative beliefs are proved to correlate significantly with behavioural intentions and behaviour [1–3], also driving behaviour [4,5]. This means, that normative beliefs about road safety might be directly related to driving behaviour. On the other hand, many research demonstrate that driving behaviour is well correlated with risk-taking. However, risk-taking and dealing with uncertainty is not a homogenous construct. As Blais and Weber argue, our proneness to take risk depends on the decision domain [6]. According to the authors, vehicle driving falls into the domain of health and safety. If so, normative beliefs about breaking legal road safety rules should correlate with risk-taking in the domain of health and safety. The aim of the study was to verify whether normative beliefs about breaking road safety rules are related to risk-taking, especially in the domain of health and safety. An online study on Polish drivers (N = 180; 114 female and 66 male) aged 19 - 81 (M = 33, SD = 12.25) was conducted. Normative beliefs about breaking road safety rules were measured with the Controversies questionnaire [pol. Kontrowersje] [7] - an originally developed 10 item scale based on Polish traffic regulations. Proneness to take risk was measured with Polish version of the DOSPERT (Domain Specific Risk-taking) questionnaire [6]. The questionnaire consists of 30 items divided into six scales which represent risk-taking behaviour in six domains: social, recreational, financial/investment, financial/gambling, health/safety, and ethical risk. The results of the study confirmed that normative beliefs about breaking traffic safety rules are correlated with risk-taking in general. There is also a statistically significant correlation between the score in Controversies scale and risk-taking in the domain of health and safety. The strength of this correlation, however, is not age-independent. Even more interestingly, age groups differ with regard to the domain in which risk-taking correlates with drivers’ normative beliefs which lead to the acceptance of breaking the traffic rules. While for the oldest subjects the correlation has been observed in the domain of health/safety specifically, in the youngest group it occurred in most of the domains, but the highest coefficients have been obtained for financial risk-taking. The results of the study need further examination due to the limited number of the older participants. However, the results suggest initially that vehicle driving might fall into different domains of risky decision making for various groups of individuals. Consequently, it might be useful to differentiate social communication intended to promote safe driving, so that it could refer to various domains of life.
The impact of the interfaces of the driving automation system on a driver with regard to road traffic safety
Authors: Razin Paula , Matysiak Arkadiusz , Kruszewski Mikołaj , Niezgoda Michał
Published: November 2018

The article presents the results of the road safety-targeted research on the influence of driving automation system interfaces, regarding the highway chauffeur scenario. The verification of multisensory test stand operation was planned through the research targeting transfer of control in a driving simulator. Such examination on one hand allowed to verify its efficiency as a whole (as well as its modules), while on the other hand it helped to answer a significant question regarding the efficient and time-minimizing communication form with driver through the HMI. One of the main analyzed, road safety-targeted parameters was time needed for taking over the control of the vehicle. The results of conducted experiment show that providing the RtI information using all interfaces available in the vehicle may not to be the most effective way. The examinees achieved the best results when informed through visual and auditory interfaces (t=3,84 s). The next stage of the research will cover the analysis of the maneuvers made after the control takeover.
Acoustic Road Monitoring
Authors: Marciniuk Karolina , Blaszke Maciej , Kostek Bożena
Published: November 2018

The subject of this research is showing the performance of an automatic acoustic road monitoring system proposed by the authors. The main goal of the study is describing road traffic by means of an acoustic representation and testing effectiveness of traffic flow sensors. Evaluation metrics of the road conditions such as velocity of the traffic flow, its structure and weather condition are presented along with acoustic descriptors derived from the audio signal analysis. Accuracy of emergency vehicles pass by detection based on acoustic monitoring is also briefly described.
An analysis of the accelerations of a projectile in a gun tube by direct measurements and telemetry of the data
Authors: Liennard Mathilda , Chevalier Ophélie , Langlet André , Guilmard Yann , Mansion Marcel
Published: November 2018

In this study, transverse and longitudinal accelerations of a full caliber-shell shot by a medium-caliber gun were measured directly during the internal ballistic (IB) phase. The data were transmitted outside the tube by modulation of LASER light emission and recoded into acceleration values. The results were analyzed through the numerical simulation of the response of the tube traversed by the projectile and with the internal-ballistic data providing the longitudinal projectile acceleration. The analysis reveals that the in-bore projectile movements are both influenced by the tube geometry (curvature and straightness defects) and by the tube response during the internal ballistic phase. However, in this work, the tube response appeared to be of greater influence on the projectile dynamics than the tube initial static geometry. Results provide basis for further calibration studies.
Effectiveness of the new integrated strategy to control the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Qian Chunyan , Zhang Yuefeng , Zhang Xinyan , Yuan Chao , Gao Zhichao , Yuan Hong , Zhong Jiang
Published: November 2018

Since 2004, the national schistosomiasis control strategy in China has shifted from the morbidity control strategy (conventional strategy) to an integrated strategy (new strategy). We investigated the effectiveness of the new strategy and compared it against the conventional strategy. We retrieved from electronic databases the literature regarding the new strategy published from 2000 to 2017. The effect of the new or conventional strategy on infection by Schistosoma japonicum of humans and snails (Oncomelania hupensis) was evaluated with pooled log relative risk (logRR). A total of only eight eligible publications were included in the final meta-analysis. The results showed that implementation of the new strategy reduced the infection risk by 3–4 times relative to the conventional strategy. More specifically, the conventional strategy caused a reduction in both human (logRR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.12–0.99) and snail infections (logRR = 0.34, 95% CI: −0.69–1.37), while the new strategy also significantly reduced both human (logRR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.33–2.46) and snail infections (logRR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.06–2.15). In contrast to the conventional strategy, the new strategy appeared more effective to control both human (logRR difference = 1.32, 95% CI: 0.78–1.86) and snail infections (logRR difference = 1.53, 95% CI: 0.76–2.31). Our data demonstrate that the new integrated strategy is highly effective to control the transmission of S. japonicum in China, and this strategy is recommended for schistosomiasis elimination in other affected regions across the world, with adaptation to local conditions.
Encourager la marche en ville : revue de littérature
Authors: Collinet Cécile , Schut Pierre-Olaf
Published: November 2018

La marche est une activité ordinaire de lʼhomme qui est au centre de multiples enjeux : en premier lieu, elle constitue lʼactivité physique de base qui permet aux individus dʼêtre actifs, gage de bonne santé. En second lieu, elle permet des mobilités, notamment dans les espaces urbains, qui se caractérisent par leurs caractères économique et écologique. Elle constitue en cela un enjeu majeur pour la ville durable. Lʼobjectif de cet article est de faire une revue de littérature des travaux de sciences sociales appréhendant la marche comme objet dʼétude et de connecter ceux-ci à une réflexion sur son rôle dans lʼamélioration de la santé afin de mettre en évidence lʼintérêt de lʼétudier pour les sociologues de lʼactivité physique.
Density profile measurement with a heavy ion beam probe in a toroidal plasma of the compact helical system
Authors: Shimizu A. , Fujisawa A. , Ohshima S. , Nakano H. , Minami T. , Isobe M. , Okamura S. , Matsuoka K.
Published: November 2018

A possibility of electron density measurements with heavy ion beam probes (HIBPs) has been demonstrated, along with their capability to measure the potential and magnetic field. A method has been proposed to reconstruct the electron density profile [A. Fujisawa et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74, 3335 (2003)]. In the method, the profile of secondary beam currents is converted into a local density profile by taking into account local brightness and so-called path integral effects which mean the effect of beam attenuation along the beam orbit. Here the article presents the HIBP measurement of the electron density profile after the proposed method was first applied on the real experimental data of compact helical system plasmas. In the real application, the hollow density and the peaked profiles are successfully obtained with sufficiently high temporal resolution (a few ms), in accordance with the electron density profile measured with Thomson scattering for electron cyclotron resonance heating and neutral beam injection plasmas.
Utilization of ICE exhaust gas as a heat source for pyrolysis of natural rubber as automobile fuel
Authors: Wasantakorn Aran , Chaiyanboon Tawan
Published: November 2018

This research determined the gain of thermal efficiency of an internal combustion engine when its exhaust gas was utilized as a heat source for natural rubber pyrolysis. A 350-cc motorcycle engine was selected as a testing engine for carrying out the experiments. Its exhaust system was modified to have a pyrolyser fixed inside, and the exhaust heat was transferred through its surface toward the NR samples to cause pyrolysis. The exhaust port was designed to flare in order to reduce the exhaust velocity. Its static temperature was thus increased, which increased driving heat inside the pyrolyser. In case of determination of the NR pyrolysis rate, the NR samples were heated by the exhaust coming up by keeping the gear status at idle and setting an rpm value of 3200. The amount of the obtained NR pyrolysis products was plotted against time. Pyrolysis rates at each interval of time were determined and also plotted against the point of time, whereas the amount of gasoline consumed under the same interval of time was used to calculate the consumption rate. In the case of determination of the amount of heat recovery from the exhaust for the pyrolysis, a diffential scanning calorimeter-thermogravimetric analyser (DSC-TGA) hybrid was used as a pyrolyser instead of the modified engine, and the samples were run at the same temperature and under the same CO2 atmosphere as the engine did. The amount of the NR absorbed heat can be more precisely determined by using the DSC-TGA than by using the engine pyrolyser. Only the liquid fraction of the NR pyrolysis products, not gases, was collected and characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and Fourier transform inflared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. The results show that the distilled NR oil contains plain C-H atoms of 97 wt. % and hydrocarbon with O atoms only 2.94 wt. %. This oil approximately contains 10 wt. % of the aliphatic chain and 87.4 wt. % of aromatic chain hydrocarbons. If the oil were supposed to feed back as the engine fuel, the thermal-efficiency gain of 0.43 percentage point could be obtained by the calculation, and the author believes that this would be the first IC engine that can consume solid fuel, i.e., natural rubber.
The interplay of structure and dynamics at grain boundaries
Authors: Riet Adriaan A. , Van Orman James A. , Lacks Daniel J.
Published: November 2018

Molecular simulations are carried out to address the structure and atomic diffusion at grain boundaries. We use an inherent structure approach, which maps each configuration in a molecular dynamics trajectory to the potential energy minimum (“inherent structure”) it would reach by a steepest descent quench. Dynamics are then decomposed into a combination of displacements within an inherent structure and transitions between inherent structures. The inherent structure approach reveals a simple structural picture of the grain boundary that is normally obscured by the thermal motion. We apply our methodology to polycrystalline MgO. Grain boundary atoms are identified as atoms that are undercoordinated in the inherent structure, relative to those in the perfect crystal. Our method enables the calculation of grain boundary diffusion coefficients without arbitrary assumptions about which atoms or spatial regions belong to the grain boundary, and the results are shown to be consistent with estimates from experiments. The inherent structure approach also enables the elementary steps in the diffusion process to be elucidated. We show that the process in MgO grain boundaries primarily involves vacancy hops, but that there is also significant motion of other nearby atoms during such a hop.
Novel high-temperature materials reveal a new parameter for designing self-propagating multilayers
Authors: Liebendorfer Adam
Published: November 2018

Creating ruthenium/aluminum multilayers with hafnium, nickel and platinum demonstrates the importance of stacking sequence for developing ternary materials that keep generating heat after ignition.
Study takes a comprehensive look at energy distribution and transfers in rotating turbulence
Authors: Johnson-Groh Mara
Published: November 2018

A numerical simulation of energy in rotational turbulence finds a significant difference between forced and decaying systems.
Structure of metallic inclusions in vanadium dioxide influences its insulator-to-metal transition
Authors: Agner Mary Alexandra
Published: November 2018

Asymmetric hysteresis in vanadium dioxide insulator-to-metal transition is a function of ellipsoidal inclusions whose shape is temperature dependent.
Model metabolic strategy for heterotrophic bacteria in the cold ocean based on
Colwellia psychrerythraea
34H
Authors: Czajka Jeffrey J. , Abernathy Mary H. , Benites Veronica T. , Baidoo Edward E. K. , Deming Jody W. , Tang Yinjie J.
Published: November 2018

Significance

Colwellia psychrerythraea
34H is a cold-adapted marine bacterium that represents a genus and species cosmopolitan to the cold ocean. To our knowledge, metabolic flux studies of an obligate psychrophile like 34H are not available. We characterized the physiology and metabolism of 34H, at normal-growth temperature of 4 °C and upper-stress condition of room temperature (23 °C), by integrating metabolic flux studies (tracking
13
C-labeled compounds) and genetic analyses (transcriptomics). Results from these system-level analyses reveal unique metabolic features under cold salty conditions, which broaden our understanding of microbial ecology in the cold ocean, currently vulnerable to global warming. Specific findings have relevance to bioremediation of pollutants from the petroleum industry, increasingly active in polar seas, and to biomanufacturing of cold-adapted enzymes.
Generalizability of heterogeneous treatment effect estimates across samples
Authors: Coppock Alexander , Leeper Thomas J. , Mullinix Kevin J.
Published: November 2018

Significance

In experiments, the degree to which results generalize to other populations depends critically on the degree of treatment effect heterogeneity. We replicated 27 survey experiments (encompassing 101,745 individual survey responses) originally conducted on nationally representative samples using online convenience samples, finding very high correspondence despite obvious differences in sample composition. We contend this pattern is due to low treatment effect heterogeneity in these types of standard social science survey experiments.
Nanomagnetic properties of the meteorite cloudy zone
Authors: Einsle Joshua F. , Eggeman Alexander S. , Martineau Ben H. , Saghi Zineb , Collins Sean M. , Blukis Roberts , Bagot Paul A. J. , Midgley Paul A. , Harrison Richard J.
Published: November 2018

Significance

The cloudy zone is naturally occurring nanocomposite found in Fe–Ni metal-bearing meteorites. It not only is a potent carrier of paleomagnetic information from the early solar system but also shows promise as a sustainable alternative to rare earth-based permanent magnets. Here we explain how the remarkable magnetic properties of the cloudy zone are linked to its 3D chemical, crystallographic, and magnetic architecture, using a state-of-the-art combination of nanometer to subnanometer resolution tomography and micromagnetic simulations. We discover the mechanism by which paleomagnetic information becomes encoded into the cloudy zone and, inspired by our findings, point toward potential pathways to optimize synthetic analogues of the cloudy zone for industrial applications.
Oddballs in the Shaker family: Kv2-related regulatory subunits
Authors: Kobertz William R.
Published: November 2018

Kobertz comments on the family of “silent” Kv2-related regulatory subunits and a new study investigating their assembly idiosyncrasies.
Paley, Grace
Authors: Smith Ellen McGrath
Published: November 2018

This article explores the life and work of writer Grace Paley, whose short stories made their stylistic and thematic marks on the American short fiction genre. Drawing on her multiple identities as an American woman of the World War II generation, a political activist, a lifelong New Yorker, and a Jew born to immigrant parents who had fled oppression in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, Paley’s writing highlights women’s lives and their struggles against established social roles. The article then looks at Paley’s first book, The Little Disturbances of Man: Stories of Women and Men at Love (1959), which established her reputation as a fiction writer. It also considers her subsequent short story collections: Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1974) and Later the Same Day (1985). In addition to short fiction and essays, Paley has published poetry collections, including Leaning Forward (1985), Begin Again: Collected Poems (2000), and Fidelity (2007).
Ashbery, John
Authors: Schultz Susan M.
Published: November 2018

John Ashbery (1927–2017) was a major American poet who synthesized myriad influences of Renaissance poetry, English and American Romanticism, as well as the 20th-century European avant-garde, to create a life’s work of stunning formal and linguistic diversity. He adopted the vatic mode from poets like Andrew Marvell and Thomas Traherne, and demotic American vocabularies from pop culture, journalism, and advertising. He wrote serious meditations on life and mortality, as well as funny poems about Popeye and ordinary life; his tone often wobbled between high and low, serious and frivolous. Ashbery was also a prolific translator of French poetry and prose, as well as an art critic. Critics have praised Ashbery and denounced him, but none doubts that his poetry made a deep mark on American literary history from the late 1950s until his death in 2017.
The International Determinants of Military Coup Behavior
Authors: Arbatli Ekim , Arbatli Cemal Eren
Published: November 2018

Why do coups d’état happen? Although many studies have investigated this question, they pay relatively little attention to the international causes and ramifications of coups. Especially, empirical studies on the external determinants of coup risk and outcomes still remain limited. There are two current lines of research in this direction. The first line studies international linkages and coup risk, looking at the external determinants of coups: regional spillover effects, foreign linkage, and foreign leverage. A promising angle on this front is focusing on the role of post-coup reactions from international actors to illuminate how coup plotters shape their incentives under outside pressure. The second line of research investigates interstate conflict and coup risk, considering diversionary behavior and external threats as potential coup-proofing strategies. In this effort, studying the relationship between external threat environment and coup risk can be fruitful, whereas empirical tests of the classical diversionary war theory will yield relatively marginal contributions.

Currently, three issues stand out in the empirical coup literature that should be further addressed by scholars. First is the need for more extensive and systematic data collection efforts to obtain detailed information about the identities, targets, and motives of coup perpetrators. Second, the external sources of leader insecurity beyond interstate conflicts remain an underexplored area. Third, although many studies have tried to determine when coup attempts happen, scholarly knowledge of when and how they succeed remains very limited. More work is needed to uncover the determinants of coup success across different regimes and leader survival scenarios.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Asia
Authors: Kitamura Yuto
Published: November 2018

A new approach to education has been proposed, called Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), with the goal of developing education in order to foster individuals who will contribute to the realization of a socially, economically, and environmentally more sustainable society. From the beginning of the 21st century, this has given rise to discussions and practices on related themes all over the world, including in Asia. While the environment surrounding education is markedly changing in Asian societies, with educational reforms actively pursued in many Asian countries and regions, their situations greatly differ depending on the context in which they find themselves.

Today, departing from the conventional modes of teaching and learning that focus on the acquisition of an already systematized body of knowledge and skills, the field of education the world over is now shifting its focus to what is called key competencies, adopting and experimenting with new teaching and learning styles to develop abilities referred to as 21st-century skills. Based on these theoretical and conceptual discussions, a number of initiatives have been adopted as policies, school curricula, and educational practices in order to promote ESD in Asian countries.

It is possible to divide Asian countries into three groups based on the place of ESD in their countries, as well as their degree of socioeconomic development and the popularization of school education: (a) countries that have accumulated experience in the practice of environmental education or development education; (b) countries that have been witnessing growing environmental consciousness and its rapid institutionalization in recent years, with varying degrees of implementation of environmental education; and (c) countries in which the elimination of poverty and inequality remains the most pressing issue and ESD is promoted in connection with development issues.

Although the introduction of ESD is greatly affected by each country’s socioeconomic situation, it is important for all countries in Asia to promote equitable and sustainable education in order to realize a sustainable society. Thus, Asian countries need to form a social consensus to promote ESD, which requires the participation and responsibility of the whole of society.
Changing Borders: The Politics of the EU
Authors: Tol Gönül
Published: November 2018

Migration has always been a feature of human affairs, though in recent decades it has become a major phenomenon. In fact, the growing diversity of the European population as well as the inevitable changing of borders within the European Union (EU) reveal that Europe has become an immigration continent. These developments have, however, prompted concerns over the EU’s external borders and control of immigration, as well as the need for further inquiry by international relations scholarship. Although the regulation of immigration has received a European dimension only recently, the EU has taken steps to cooperate on the issue of immigration. The changing nature of immigration had, after all, led to a perception among European electorates that immigration was not only a demographic or an economic issue but had other dimensions. It could have multiple impacts on their societies, including welfare, social services and social cohesion. Furthermore, until recently, theories of international migration have paid little attention to the nation-state as an agent influencing the flow of migration. When the nation-state has been mentioned, attention has focused primarily on immigrant-receiving countries. Little has been written about the regulation of emigration in countries of origin. As a result, the role of the state in limiting or promoting migration is poorly understood. Though there is a growing body of scholarship attempting to address these gaps in understanding the EU’s case for immigration, there are still further avenues of research many have yet to pursue.
Culture, Religion, War, and Peace
Authors: Abramson Yehonatan
Published: November 2018

Religion and culture have historically been neglected in international relations (IR) theories and in political science more generally. It was only recently that IR began to consider the role of culture and religion in war and peace. Several main scholarly trends in the study of culture, religion, conflict, and peace can be identified, starting with the definitional problems that IR scholars had to deal with as they tried to incorporate culture and religion. The first major attempt in the IR field to understand war almost exclusively through the religious prism was that of Samuel Huntington, who in his Clash of Civilization (1993, 1996) identifies two main reasons why religion can cause war: first, religion can be considered as a primordial and immutable identity; and second, religion is a form of ideology rather than identity. The scholarly literature has also addressed themes such as religious fundamentalism and violence, the role of religious actors in international conflict, the practical use of religion and culture to promote peace via diplomacy, and engagement of religion and culture in existing peace theories such as democratic peace theory. Avenues for future research may include the relational and constantly changing aspects of religion; what, when, and how various religious interpretations receive political prominence in promoting conflict or peace; how religion can be used as an independent variable across cases; and the hidden set of assumptions that are embedded in the cultural and religion labels.
International Ethics within the International Social Contract
Authors: Eckert Amy E.
Published: November 2018

The social contract tradition derives its ethical force from the hypothetical agreement that parties would reach in an initial choice situation. This initial choice situation brings together a description of the circumstances of justice, various extra-contractarian moral assumptions, and an instrumental theory of rational choice. The circumstances of justice refer to the conditions that require principles of justice. These conditions include the existence of social cooperation along with moderate scarcity. In the absence of such conditions, principles of justice are either unnecessary or impossible to sustain. Social cooperation generates both benefits and burdens, and it is the allocation of those components of social cooperation that requires principles of justice. The application of the social contract to the domestic context dates back to the ancient Greeks, though their version of the contract was somewhat crude and rather one-sided in favor of state authority. Later versions of the social contract would oblige the state to provide much more to citizens in return for their allegiance. John Rawls is widely credited with resurrecting the social contract tradition in the twentieth century. His thought holds special significance for the international social contract, as he extends the contractual approach ethics into the international system where his predecessors declined to do so.
International Organization and Cybergovernance
Authors: Deibert Ronald , Rohozinski Rafal
Published: November 2018

The internet is commonly defined as “a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange.” A related term is “cyberspace,” which has a broader connotation suggestive of the virtual worlds that emerge from the internet, including chat rooms, three-dimension game environments, and online forums. A primary feature of internet governance is self-regulation. From content to protocols to addressing schemes, numerous networked forms of self-regulation have helped govern the internet. One of the issues of significance to internet governance has to do with the governance processes associated with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the politics associated with the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS). Other questions arising from internet governance include those relating to cybercrime, internet security, surveillance and privacy, and the idea of network neutrality. One problem that needs to be addressed with regard to internet governance is that there is no single regime for internet governance inasmuch as there are several multiple and overlapping governance domains—what W. H. Dutton calls the “mosaic” of internet governance. Future research should focus on whether to consolidate around a single regime with a single global governing body, as well as how to control the “arms race” on the internet.
Nonviolent Struggle
Authors: Zunes Stephen , Merriman Hardy , Stephan Maria J.
Published: November 2018

Recent decades have witnessed a dramatic upsurge in the use of strategic nonviolent action as a method of political struggle worldwide, pressing governments and other institutions to change policies and even successfully ousting autocratic regimes. This has led to a growth in scholarly research on the history and dynamics of such popular civil resistance movements, along with growing empirical evidence indicating that nonviolent means are generally effective than armed resistance. Such nonviolent civil resistance is distinguished from pacifism in that it is not predicated on a principled commitment to nonviolence but out of recognition that it is the most effective means of popular struggle under the particular circumstances. Some theorists of nonviolent action advocate a more pluralistic model of power than found in traditional political science literature, emphasizing the withdrawal of consent, while others emphasize a structural analysis whereby the civil resistance targets pillars of support of a regime or other power holders. There are hundreds of methods of nonviolent resistance, which can be utilized in different circumstances and in varying phases of a struggle, which tend to result in higher levels of popular mobilization and defections by security forces and other regime supporters than armed methods.
Organized Labor and the Civil Rights Movement
Authors: Draper Alan
Published: November 2018

The relationship between organized labor and the civil rights movement proceeded along two tracks. At work, the two groups were adversaries, as civil rights groups criticized employment discrimination by the unions. But in politics, they allied. Unions and civil rights organizations partnered to support liberal legislation and to oppose conservative southern Democrats, who were as militant in opposing unions as they were fervent in supporting white supremacy.

At work, unions dithered in their efforts to root out employment discrimination. Their initial enthusiasm for Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed employment discrimination, waned the more the new law violated foundational union practices by infringing on the principle of seniority, emphasizing the rights of the individual over the group, and inserting the courts into the workplace. The two souls of postwar liberalism— labor solidarity represented by unions and racial justice represented by the civil rights movement—were in conflict at work.

Although the unions and civil rights activists were adversaries over employment discrimination, they united in trying to register southern blacks to vote. Black enfranchisement would end the South’s exceptionalism and the veto it exercised over liberal legislation in Congress. But the two souls of liberalism that were at odds over the meaning of fairness at work would also diverge at the ballot box. As white workers began to defect from the Democratic Party, the political coalition of black and white workers that union leaders had hoped to build was undermined from below. The divergence between the two souls of liberalism in the 1960s—economic justice represented by unions and racial justice represented by civil rights—helps explain the resurgence of conservatism that followed.
Pros and Cons of GMO Crop Farming
Authors: Van Acker Rene , Rahman M. Motior , Cici S. Zahra H.
Published: November 2018

The global area sown to genetically modified (GM) varieties of leading commercial crops (soybean, maize, canola, and cotton) has expanded over 100-fold over two decades. Thirty countries are producing GM crops and just five countries (United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and India) account for almost 90% of the GM production. Only four crops account for 99% of worldwide GM crop area. Almost 100% of GM crops on the market are genetically engineered with herbicide tolerance (HT), and insect resistance (IR) traits. Approximately 70% of cultivated GM crops are HT, and GM HT crops have been credited with facilitating no-tillage and conservation tillage practices that conserve soil moisture and control soil erosion, and that also support carbon sequestration and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Crop production and productivity increased significantly during the era of the adoption of GM crops; some of this increase can be attributed to GM technology and the yield protection traits that it has made possible even if the GM traits implemented to-date are not yield traits per se. GM crops have also been credited with helping to improve farm incomes and reduce pesticide use. Practical concerns around GM crops include the rise of insect pests and weeds that are resistant to pesticides. Other concerns around GM crops include broad seed variety access for farmers and rising seed costs as well as increased dependency on multinational seed companies. Citizens in many countries and especially in European countries are opposed to GM crops and have voiced concerns about possible impacts on human and environmental health. Nonetheless, proponents of GM crops argue that they are needed to enhance worldwide food production. The novelty of the technology and its potential to bring almost any trait into crops mean that there needs to remain dedicated diligence on the part of regulators to ensure that no GM crops are deregulated that may in fact pose risks to human health or the environment. The same will be true for the next wave of new breeding technologies, which include gene editing technologies.
HPV Testing With 16, 18, and 45 Genotyping Stratifies Cancer Risk for Women With Normal Cytology
Authors: Stoler Mark H , Wright Thomas C , Parvu Valentin , Yanson Karen , Eckert Karen , Kodsi Salma , Cooper Charles
Published: November 2018

Objectives

To determine the BD Onclarity human papillomavirus (HPV) assay performance and risk values for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN2) or higher and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) or higher during Papanicolaou/HPV cotesting in a negative for intraepithelial lesions or malignancies (NILM) population.

Methods

In total, 22,383 of the 33,858 enrolled women were 30 years or older with NILM cytology. HPV+ and a subset of HPV– patients (3,219/33,858 combined; 9.5%) were referred to colposcopy/biopsy.

Results

Overall, 7.9% of women were Onclarity positive; HPV 16 had the highest prevalence (1.5%). Verification bias-adjusted (VBA) CIN2 or higher and CIN3 or higher prevalences were 0.9% and 0.3%, respectively. Onclarity had VBA CIN2 or higher (44.1%) and CIN3 or higher (69.5%) sensitivities, as well as CIN2 or higher (92.4%) and CIN3 or higher (92.3%) specificities—all similar to Hybrid Capture 2. HPV 16, 18, 45, and the other 11 genotypes had CIN3 or higher risks of 6.9%, 2.6%, 1.1%, and 2.2%, respectively.

Conclusions

Onclarity is clinically validated for cotesting in NILM women. Genotyping actionably stratifies women at greater CIN3 or higher risk.
The Association between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Functional Activity Questionnaire in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT)
Authors: Still Carolyn H , Pajewski Nicholas M , Chelune Gordon J , Rapp Stephen R , Sink Kaycee M , Wadley Virginia G , Williamson Jeff D , Lerner Alan J
Published: November 2018

Objective

To examine the association of global cognitive function assessed via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and deficiencies in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) on the Functional Activity Questionnaire (FAQ) in hypertensive older adults in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT).

Methods

In cross-sectional analysis, 9,296 SPRINT participants completed the MoCA at baseline. The FAQ was obtained from 2,705 informants for SPRINT participants scoring <21 or <22 on the MoCA, depending on education. FAQ severity ranged from no dysfunction (Score = 0) to moderate/severe dysfunction (Score = 5+).

Results

Participants who triggered FAQ administration were older, less educated, and more likely to be Black or Hispanic (p < 0.001). Sixty-one percent (n = 1,661) of participants’ informants reported no functional difficulties in IADLs. An informant report, however, of any difficulty on the FAQ was associated with lower MoCA scores after controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education (p < 0.05). Partial proportional odds regression indicates that participants scoring lower on the MoCA (in the 10th to <25th, fifth to <10th, and <fifth percentiles) had higher adjusted odds of their informant indicating dysfunction on the FAQ, relative to participants scoring at or above the 25th percentile on the MoCA (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

While lower global cognitive function was strongly associated with IADL deficits on FAQ, informants indicated no functional difficulties for the majority of SPRINT participants, despite low MoCA scores. These findings can help with designing future studies which aim to detect mild cognitive impairment and/or dementia in large, community-dwelling populations.
pyNVR: investigating factors affecting feature selection from scRNA-seq data for lineage reconstruction
Authors: Chen Bob , Herring Charles A , Lau Ken S
Published: November 2018

Motivation

The emergence of single-cell RNA-sequencing has enabled analyses that leverage transitioning cell states to reconstruct pseudotemporal trajectories. Multidimensional data sparsity, zero inflation and technical variation necessitate the selection of high-quality features that feed downstream analyses. Despite the development of numerous algorithms for the unsupervised selection of biologically relevant features, their differential performance remains largely unaddressed.

Results

We implemented the neighborhood variance ratio (NVR) feature selection approach as a Python package with substantial improvements in performance. In comparing NVR with multiple unsupervised algorithms such as dpFeature, we observed striking differences in features selected. We present evidence that quantifiable dataset properties have observable and predictable effects on the performance of these algorithms.

Availability and implementation

pyNVR is freely available at https://github.com/KenLauLab/NVR.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Severe Morbidity and Mortality Associated With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Versus Influenza Infection in Hospitalized Older Adults
Authors: Ackerson Bradley , Tseng Hung Fu , Sy Lina S , Solano Zendi , Slezak Jeff , Luo Yi , Fischetti Christine A , Shinde Vivek
Published: November 2018

Background

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important cause of serious respiratory illness in older adults. Comparison of RSV and influenza infection in hospitalized older adults may increase awareness of adult RSV disease burden.

Methods

Hospitalized adults aged ≥60 years who tested positive for RSV or influenza between 1 January 2011 and 30 June 2015 were identified from Kaiser Permanente Southern California electronic medical records. Baseline characteristics, comorbidities, utilization, and outcomes were compared.

Results

The study included 645 RSV- and 1878 influenza-infected hospitalized adults. Patients with RSV were older than those with influenza (mean, 78.5 vs 77.4 years; P = .035) and more likely to have congestive heart failure (35.3% vs 24.5%; P < .001) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (29.8% vs 24.3%; P = .006) at baseline. In adjusted analyses, RSV infection was associated with greater odds of length of stay ≥7 days (odds ratio [OR] = 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2–1.8; P < .001); pneumonia (OR = 2.7; 95% CI, 2.2–3.2; P < .001); intensive care unit admission (OR = 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0–1.7; P = .023); exacerbation of COPD (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3–2.4; P = .001); and greater mortality within 1 year of admission (OR = 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0–1.6; P = .019).

Conclusions

RSV infection may result in greater morbidity and mortality among older hospitalized adults than influenza. Increased recognition of adult RSV disease burden will be important in the evaluation and use of new RSV vaccines and antivirals.
Homosexuality and Psychoanalysis Meet at a Mental Hospital: An Early Institutional History
Authors: Wake Naoko
Published: November 2018

Psychoanalysis and homosexuality in the United States were both largely in flux between 1910 and 1935. This article sheds light on this unique historical moment by first exploring scholarly discussions of the era’s psychoanalysis and homosexuality, both of which emphasized the transitional nature of therapy and sexuality. By putting two bodies of scholarship into conversation, I also suggest how the historiography might move beyond two oft-cited arguments—that the psychoanalysis of the era had the power to form a person’s sexual identity negatively, and that sexual minorities formed their identities affirmatively by staying away from medical interventions. I argue that, instead, psychoanalysis was part of modern sexual identity-formation in surprisingly open-ended ways. The second half of the article continues to explore the interplay between therapy and sexuality by closely examining clinical practices at one of the leading mental hospitals of the era: Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Towson, Maryland, where an eclectic mode of psychotherapy was actively employed to treat homosexuality. In particular, the work of Harry Stack Sullivan (1892-1949), a gay psychiatrist well-known for his interpersonal theory of mental illness, shows how male patients who experienced same-sex sexual relationships nurtured productive interdependency among men in their articulation of sexual identity. By carefully delineating this process, the article shows how analytic practices could, and sometimes did, offer a crucial space for self-reflection and articulation of male sexuality.
Potential clinical utility of ERC-2 yeast phase lysate antigen for antibody detection in dogs with blastomycosis
Authors: RoyChowdhury Moytri , Muzzall Evan , Baumgardner Dennis J , Kennell Bryn C , Esterbrook Arin C , Shurley Jack F , Scalarone Gene M
Published: November 2018

Four Blastomyces antigens ERC-2 (B. gilchristii, dog, Wisconsin), B5929 (human, Minnesota), 597 (human, Wisconsin), and T-27 (polar bear, Tennessee) were tested against 31 serum specimens from dogs with blastomycosis and 19 from healthy dogs. All antigens detected antibody; efficacy varied. ERC-2 showed the highest ELISA mean absorbance value of 3.00 followed by T-27. Test performance varied by sample geographic origin. Further study is needed to determine if ERC-2 antigens may be clinically useful, and whether the combination of the particular fungal species as antigen source, host animal, and the species and geographic location of the patient being tested is important for optimum test characteristics.
A Medical Student Inquiry Behavior Assessment Tool: Development and Validity Evidence
Authors: Brondfield Sam , Boscardin Christy , Strewler Gordon , Hyland Katherine , Oakes Scott A. , Nishimura Holly , Crawford Jenny , Hauer Karen E.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine’s Bridges curriculum is designed to teach inquiry: the process of approaching problems with curiosity, challenging current concepts, and creating new knowledge. The authors aimed to develop and gather validity evidence for a tool to guide development of medical student inquiry behaviors in small groups.

Method

The authors reviewed the literature to identify inquiry behaviors, verified findings with an expert focus group, and synthesized the results into 40 behaviors. In a modified two-round Delphi survey in 2016, faculty and students rated the behaviors for inclusion in the tool. Feedback from cognitive interviews and a pilot helped refine the tool. In 2016–2017, the authors implemented the final tool for 152 first-year UCSF medical students in inquiry small groups as a faculty assessment and a student self-assessment each quarter.

Results

The two-round response rate was 77% (36/47). Five behaviors were selected for inclusion in the tool: select relevant questions to pursue; justify explanations with evidence; critically evaluate his/her explanation in light of alternative possibilities; allow for the possibility that his/her own knowledge may not be completely correct; and collaborate well with peers. During implementation, faculty and student scores increased on most items, indicating skills development over time. Content, response process, internal structure, and consequential validity evidence is presented.

Conclusions

The tool’s five items are observable, measurable core inquiry behaviors. The tool is ready for use by small-group facilitators within inquiry-based curricula to promote student self-assessment and guide feedback to students.
Assuring Integrity in the Residency Match Process
Authors: Chimienti Sonia N. , DeMarco Deborah M. , Flotte Terence R. , Collins Michael F.
Published: November 2018

Integrity in medicine is essential. One of the most important competencies a medical student can master is to be honest at all times. Indeed, professionalism is a key competency in the identity formation and development of a medical student. At times, this competency becomes challenged during the resident matching process. The behavior of some students, faculty members, and program directors who participate in the residency program selection process (the Match) often falls short of this ideal when it comes to handling the process that will be most dispositive in directing the future careers of graduating medical students. Violations of both National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) rules and ethical norms have been reported in the literature and experienced by students. In this Invited Commentary, the authors recommend a series of reforms. Substantially more robust enforcement of NRMP rules should be considered, including the creation of an avenue for anonymous reporting by applicants who experience inappropriate pre-Match, postinterview communications.