bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Orthopaedic and brain injuries over last 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL): number and effect on missed playing time
Authors: Sheth Suril B , Anandayuvaraj Dharun , Patel Saumil S , Sheth Bhavin R
Published: April 2020

Objective

To examine trends in number and seriousness of major injuries in the National Football League (NFL) over seasons 2010–2019 and the effect of rule changes to injuries to the leg, back, arm and head.

Methods

We calculated, from publicly available weekly injury reports, the number of players that were injured and playing time missed, that is, the number of weeks on average that an injured player had to sit out, as a function of injury to a specific body part. Using classical time series analysis techniques, we fitted injury data with linear and non-linear functions.

Results

The number of major injuries to the leg, back, arm and head has not declined over the last 10 years. During this time period, time missed because of injuries to the head has shown a significantly increasing trend. Rule changes designed specifically to protect arm or head have, respectively, succeeded in shortening the time that the injured player misses, but the impact lasts only over a single season.

Conclusions

Overall, our data support the argument that new, well-intentioned rules adopted every season by the NFL have been proven to be too weak to make the NFL game safer. Broad-based management of brain and orthopaedic injuries and adoption of preventative measures to reduce the number of players injured and the seriousness of their injuries are required in the modern NFL.
Sleep quality, anxiety and depression in advanced lung cancer: patients and caregivers
Authors: He Yuan , Sun Li-Yue , Peng Kun-Wei , Luo Man-Jun , Deng Ling , Tang Tao , You Chang-Xuan
Published: April 2020

Objective

To investigate the clinical implications of sleep quality, anxiety and depression in patients with advanced lung cancer (LC) and their family caregivers (FCs).

Methods

A total of 98 patients with advanced LC and their FCs (n=98) were recruited from the Oncology Department in Nanfang Hospital. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), consisting of seven components that evaluate subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, duration of sleep, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, sleep medication usage and daytime dysfunction, was used to assess sleep quality. Using the tool of Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), we tested the patients’ status of anxiety and depression, respectively.

Results

The prevalences of poor sleep quality, anxiety and depression in patients were 56.1%, 48.9% and 56.1%, respectively, while those in FCs were 16.3%, 32.6% and 25.5%, respectively. Patients had higher PSQI, SAS and SDS scores than did FCs (p<0.05). Significant correlations were found between the patients’ and FCs’ scores of PSQI/SAS/SDS (p<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that sleep disturbances in patients (HR 0.413, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.80, p=0.01) and the global PSQI score of FCs (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.71, p=0.00) were independent risk factors for patients’ first-line progression-free survival (PFS). Moreover, patients’ sleep latency (HR 2.329, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.96, p=0.00) and epidermal growth factor receptor mutations (HR 1.953, 95% CI 1.12 to 3.38, p=0.01) were significant prognostic factors for their overall survival (OS).

Conclusions

We demonstrated that presence of sleep disturbances in patients with advanced LC and the global PSQI Score of their FCs may be risk predictors for patients’ poor first-line PFS. Patients’ sleep latency was a potential risk factor for their OS.
Utility of collagen-derived peptides as markers of organ injury in patients with acute heart failure
Authors: Nagao Kazuya , Tamura Akinori , Sato Yukihito , Hata Reo , Kawase Yuichi , Kadota Kazushige , Horie Takahiro , Sowa Naoya , Nishiga Masataka , Ono Koh , Inada Tsukasa , Tanaka Masaru
Published: April 2020

Objective

This study aims to investigate the time-dependent prognostic utility of two fibrosis markers representing organ fibrogenesis (N-terminal propeptide of procollagen III (PIIINP) and type IV collagen 7S (P4NP 7S)) in patients with acute heart failure (HF).

Methods

390 patients with acute HF were dichotomised based on the median value of fibrosis markers at discharge. The primary outcome measure was a composite of cardiac death and HF hospitalisation.

Results

P4NP 7S significantly declined during hospitalisation, whereas PIIINP did not. The cumulative 90-day and 365-day incidence of the primary outcome measure was 16.6% vs 16.0% (p=0.42) and 33.3% vs 28.4% (p=0.34) in the patients with high versus low PIIINP; 19.9% vs 13.0% (p=0.04) and 32.3% vs 29.0% (p=0.34) in the patients with high and low P4NP 7S, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, high P4NP 7S correlated with significant excess risk relative to low P4NP 7S for both 90-day and 365-day primary outcome measure (adjusted HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.21; p=0.04 and adjusted HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.11 to 3.26; p=0.02, respectively), which was driven by significant association of high P4NP 7S with higher incidence of HF hospitalisation. Furthermore, P4NP 7S exhibited an additive value to conventional prognostic factors for predicting 90-day outcome (p=0.038 for net reclassification improvement; p=0.0068 for integrated discrimination improvement). High PIIINP did not correlate with significant excess risk for both 90-day and 365-day outcome.

Conclusions

This study suggests a possible role of P4NP 7S in the risk stratification of patients with acute HF.
Lifeboat or sinking ship: will the size and shape of Old-Growth Management Areas provide viable future habitat for temperate rainforest lichens?
Authors: Bezzola Aita , Coxson Darwyn
Published: April 2020

The Kispiox Timber Supply Area, a 1.3 million ha region in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, supports a significant assemblage of temperate rainforest (oceanic) lichens that depend on old forests. Given their known sensitivity to edge effects, we ask whether or not the current configuration of Kispiox Old-Growth Management Area (OGMA) reserves will provide viable future habitat for oceanic lichens as surrounding landscapes are progressively logged in coming decades. Landscape indicators were calculated from provincial map data sets. Old Interior Cedar–Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone forests, the primary habitat for Kispiox oceanic lichens, had a landscape shape index of 6.4 in OGMAs, indicative of elongate shapes susceptible to edge effects. Mean patch size in OGMAs was 43 ha, with the largest patch size being 1 378 ha. In contrast, the landscape shape index for pre-industrial old cedar–hemlock forests was 1.3, with a mean patch size of 1 293 ha and largest patch size of 23 357 ha. When modelled edge effects were extended to 120 m, only 25% of cedar–hemlock forests in Kispiox OGMAs remained interior habitat (7 754 ha total). Adoption of silvicultural practices that maintain buffer zones around existing OGMAs, and the designation of additional OGMAs, especially in watersheds with intact old cedar–hemlock forests, is recommended to conserve oceanic lichen communities in the Kispiox region.
Equivalence of the phenomenological Tsallis distribution to the transverse momentum distribution of q-dual statistics
Authors: Parvan A. S.
Published: April 2020

In the present work, we have found that the phenomenological Tsallis distribution (which nowadays is largely used to describe the transverse momentum distributions of hadrons measured in pp collisions at high energies) is consistent with the basis of the statistical mechanics if it belongs to the q-dual nonextensive statistics instead of the Tsallis one. We have defined the q-dual statistics based on the q-dual entropy which was obtained from the Tsallis entropy under the multiplicative transformation of the entropic parameter $$q\rightarrow 1/q$$q→1/q. We have found that the phenomenological Tsallis distribution is equivalent to the transverse momentum distribution of the q-dual statistics in the zeroth term approximation. Since the q-dual statistics is properly defined, it provides a correct link between the phenomenological Tsallis distribution and the second law of thermodynamics.
Final deglaciation of the Malin Sea through meltwater release and calving events
Authors: Tarlati Serena , Benetti S. , Callard S.L. , Cofaigh C. Ó , Dunlop P. , Georgiopoulou A. , Edwards R. , Van Landeghem K. , Saher M. , Chiverrell R. , Fabel D. , Moreton S. , Morgan S. , Clark C.D.
Published: April 2020

During the last glacial maximum, the British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) extended to the shelf edge in the Malin Sea between Ireland and Scotland, delivering sediments to the Donegal Barra Fan (DBF). Analysis of well-preserved, glacially derived sediment in the DBF provides new insights on the character of the BIIS final deglaciation and palaeoenvironmental conditions at the Younger Dryas. Chaotic/laminated muds, ice-rafted debris (IRD)-rich layers and laminated sand–mud couplets are interpreted as respectively mass transport deposits, plumites and turbidites of BIIS-transported sediments. Peaks in IRD, constrained by radiocarbon dating to after 18 cal ka BP, indicate discrete intervals of iceberg calving during the last stages of deglaciation. Glacially derived sedimentation on the slope occurred until
c
. 16.9 cal ka BP. This is interpreted as the last time the ice sheet was present on to the shelf, allowing glacial meltwater to reach the fan. Bioturbated and foraminifera-rich muds above glaciomarine sediments are interpreted as interglacial hemipelagites and contourites, with the presence of
Zoophycos
suggesting restoration of bottom currents at the transition between stadial and interstadial conditions. During the Younger Dryas,
Neogloboquadrina pachyderma
sinistral abundances and an isolated peak in IRD indicate the temporary restoration of cold conditions and the presence of icebergs in the region.

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Early Career Research collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/SJG-early-career-research
Large-Scale Preparation of Polymer Nanofibers for Air Filtration by a New Multineedle Electrospinning Device
Authors: Xu Yuan , Li Xiao , Xiang Hong-Fei , Zhang Qian-Qian , Wang Xiao-Xiong , Yu Miao , Hao Long-Yun , Long Yun-Ze
Published: April 2020

There are still some challenges for mass-scale production via electrospinning (e-spinning). For example, the cost of industrialized equipment is relatively expensive, and the subsequent maintenance costs are high. The reliability and stability of the production process are also one of the important challenges. The recycling of organic solvents and the volatilization of solvents not only affect the quality of nanofibers, but also causes environmental pollution. In this work, a new multineedle e-spinning device has been proposed for large-scale production of polymer nanofibers. The spinning solution is provided through the outside surface of the needle to avoid needle clogging problem, which is different from the traditional multineedle e-spinning. The successful preparation of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofiber membrane with production rate ~50 g h-1 proves the feasibility of the device, which also can be used to prepare other functional nanofibers such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The prepared TPU nanofiber gauze has been characterized. The average fiber diameter was 145.3 nm. The surface of the sample was found to be uniform, and the water contact angle was 138.9°. The sample had gas permeability of 1500 mm s-1, excellent PM2.5 removal efficiency of 99.897%, and optical transparency of ~56%, indicating that the new device has a practical application perspective.
Mandibular Metastasis of Silent Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Rare Case Report with Review of the Literature
Authors: Gholami Shahzad , Bakhshi Mahin , Atarbashi-Moghadam Saede , Mir Mohammad Sadeghi Hassan , Rahimzamani Arezoo
Published: April 2020

Metastasis to the jaws is a rare event; however, it has great importance because it may be the only symptom of an undiagnosed underlying malignancy. Papillary thyroid carcinoma, the commonest histopathologic variant of thyroid cancer, has minimal potential for distant metastasis, and most reported metastatic thyroid carcinomas of the oral cavity have been follicular thyroid carcinoma. The aim of this article is to present a rare case of metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma, which presented itself as a painless expansion in the anterior region of the mandible in a 56-year-old female, and to review previously published cases of this type of cancer. Reporting rare cases such as this one, together with reviewing previous reports of related rare diseases, will expand the body of knowledge about these uncommon lesions.
Phase I Trial of Trametinib with Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Patients with Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
Authors: Wu Christina , Williams Terence M. , Robb Ryan , Webb Amy , Wei Lai , Chen Wei , Mikhail Sameh , Ciombor Kristen K. , Cardin Dana B. , Timmers Cynthia , Krishna Somashekar G. , Arnold Mark , Harzman Alan , Abdel-Misih Sherif , Roychowdhury Sameek , Bekaii-Saab Tanios , Wuthrick Evan
Published: April 2020

Purpose:

The RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway is critical to the development of colorectal cancers, and KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutations foster resistance to radiation. We performed a phase I trial to determine the safety of trametinib, a potent MEK1/2 inhibitor, with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Patients and Methods:

Patients with stage II/III rectal cancer were enrolled on a phase I study with 3+3 study design, with an expansion cohort of 9 patients at the MTD. Following a 5-day trametinib lead-in, with pre- and posttreatment tumor biopsies, patients received trametinib and CRT, surgery, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Trametinib was given orally daily at 3 dose levels: 0.5 mg, 1 mg, and 2 mg. CRT consisted of infusional 5-FU 225 mg/m2/day and radiation dose of 28 daily fractions of 1.8 Gy (total 50.4 Gy). The primary endpoint was to identify the MTD and recommended phase II dose. IHC staining for phosphorylated ERK (pERK) and genomic profiling was performed on the tumor samples.

Results:

Patients were enrolled to all dose levels, and 18 patients were evaluable for toxicities and responses. Treatment was well tolerated, and there was one dose-limiting toxicity of diarrhea, which was attributed to CRT rather than trametinib. At the 2 mg dose level, 25% had pathologic complete response. IHC staining confirmed dose-dependent decrease in pERK with increasing trametinib doses.

Conclusions:

The combination of trametinib with 5-FU CRT is safe and well tolerated, and may warrant additional study in a phase II trial, perhaps in a RAS/RAF-mutant selected population.
Tumor Microenvironment Is Critical for the Maintenance of Cellular States Found in Primary Glioblastomas
Authors: Pine Allison R. , Cirigliano Stefano M. , Nicholson James G. , Hu Yang , Linkous Amanda , Miyaguchi Ken , Edwards Lincoln , Singhania Richa , Schwartz Theodore H. , Ramakrishna Rohan , Pisapia David J. , Snuderl Matija , Elemento Olivier , Fine Howard A.
Published: April 2020

Glioblastoma (GBM), an incurable tumor, remains difficult to model and more importantly to treat due to its genetic/epigenetic heterogeneity and plasticity across cellular states. The ability of current tumor models to recapitulate the cellular states found in primary tumors remains unexplored. To address this issue, we compared single-cell RNA sequencing of tumor cells from 5 patients across four patient-specific glioblastoma stem cell (GSC)–derived model types, including glioma spheres, tumor organoids, glioblastoma cerebral organoids (GLICO), and patient-derived xenografts. We find that GSCs within the GLICO model are enriched for a neural progenitor–like cell subpopulation and recapitulate the cellular states and their plasticity found in the corresponding primary parental tumors. These data demonstrate how the contribution of a neuroanatomically accurate human microenvironment is critical and sufficient for recapitulating the cellular states found in human primary GBMs, a principle that may likely apply to other tumor models.

Significance:

It has been unclear how well different patient-derived GBM models are able to recreate the full heterogeneity of primary tumors. Here, we provide a complete transcriptomic characterization of the major model types. We show that the microenvironment is crucial for recapitulating GSC cellular states, highlighting the importance of tumor–host cell interactions.

See related commentary by Luo and Weiss, p. 907.

This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 890
Thyroid Tubercle of Zuckerkandl May Not Arise from the Ultimobranchial Body: Results from Histological Analysis
Authors: Higuchi Miyoko , Hirokawa Mitsuyoshi , Suzuki Ayana , Masuoka Hiroo , Miyauchi Akira
Published: April 2020

Thyroid tubercle of Zuckerkandl (TZ) is a nodule arising from the posterolateral thyroid, considered to be a remnant of the ultimobranchial body (UB). Considering that C cells and solid cell nests also arise from the UB, we hypothesized that these would be present in the TZ. We examined the presence of C cells and solid cell nests in the TZ using the histological analyses of 21 patients with grade 2 or 3 TZs following Pelizzo’s grading system. Out of 21 TZs, 19 (90.5%) were located in the right lobe of the thyroid. Microscopically, solid cell nests were found within the TZ in 1 case (4.8%), and within the main thyroid tissues in 3 cases (14.3%). Calcitonin-positive C cells were scattered within the TZ in 1 case (4.8%), and within the main thyroid tissue in 15 cases (71.4%). The distribution of C cells within the main thyroid tissue was denser than that within the TZ. The above-mentioned results indicated the lack of C cells and solid cell nests in the TZ. Although the TZ may have an embryological origin different from that of ordinary thyroid tissue, it is unlikely that the remnants of the UB are involved in the formation of the TZ.
Protroca: A Noninterventional Study on Prophylactic Lipegfilgrastim against Chemotherapy-Induced Neutropenia in Nonselected Breast Cancer Patients
Authors: Wuerstlein Rachel , Harbeck Nadia , Grischke Eva-Maria , Forstmeyer Dirk , von Schumann Raquel , Krabisch Petra , Lüdtke-Heckenkamp Kerstin , Stefek Andrea , Stoetzer Oliver , Grafe Andrea , Kaltenecker Gabriele , Forstbauer Helmut , Augustin Doris , Schrader Iris , Tio Joke , Nitz Ulrike , Gluz Oleg , Kates Ronald E. , Graeser Monika Karla
Published: April 2020

Background: Protroca evaluated the efficacy and safety of primary and secondary prophylaxis of neutropenia with lipegfilgrastim (Lonquex®) in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy (CT). Patients and Methods: Of the 255 patients enrolled, 248 patients were evaluable for the intent-to-treat (ITT) and 194 patients for the per-protocol set. Primary and secondary end points after lipegfilgrastim treatment were assessed. Results: Nine patients of the ITT set receiving lipegfilgrastim as primary prophylaxis (n = 222) had febrile neutropenia of grade 3–4 (5 patients) or infection of grade 3–4 (4 patients); 1/26 of those receiving secondary prophylaxis had an event. Dose reductions were performed in 9.5% of the patients. Postponement of cancer CT cycles for >3 days occurred in <15% of patients; 10.8% (92/851 AEs) and 8% (2/25 SAEs) of documented adverse events and serious adverse events, respectively, were related to lipegfilgrastim. Conclusions: Application of lipegfilgrastim was effective as primary and secondary prophylaxis in the prevention of CT-induced neutropenia in breast cancer.
Trastuzumab, Pertuzumab, and Docetaxel as the First Line for HER-2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer among Arabs
Authors: Suleman Kausar , Mushtaq Ali Hassan , Haque Emaan , Badran Ahmed Ali , Ajarim Dahish , Elashwah Ahmed Mohammed , Gad Ahmed Mostafa , Abdelsamad Amgad Shaheen , Omar Ayman , Khan Khurshid Ahmed , Al-Tweigeri Taher , Elshentenawy Ayman , Alsayed Adher
Published: April 2020

Introduction: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) targeted therapy regimens can improve tumor response in HER-2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC), with overall survival benefits. Objective: We evaluated the efficacy of dual HER-2 blockade combined with chemotherapy for HER-2-positive MBC patients as a first-line therapy in our patient population. Patients and Methods: We identified 75 patients at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center that received trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and docetaxel as a first-line therapy in HER-2 positive MBC in 2013–2016. Results: Median age at diagnosis was 45 years; 54.7% were estrogen receptor (ER)-positive. 10% of patients presented with only bone metastasis. The median follow-up time was 36 months with an objective response rate of 74.7% (complete response [CR] 18.7%; partial response [PR] 56%). The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 21% and 71.9% respectively, with a median PFS of 36 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 23.6–48.4). The 5-year OS for ER-negative and ER-positive patients was 93.9% and 59.4% respectively (p = 0.189); 23 patients experienced grade 1/2 toxicity and 2 patients had grade 3/4 toxicity. In terms of OS and PFS, the site of metastasis did not make any significant difference. Conclusions: First line pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel for HER-2-positive MBC patients was found to be an effective and safe therapy in the Saudi population. This finding was consistent with the results seen in the CLEOPATRA trials.
Real-Life Data in the Treatment of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Results from the Imaculaweb Registry Evaluated in a Single Italian Medical Retina Center
Authors: Nicolò Massimo , Morlacchi Alessia , Cappelli Francesca , Ferro Desideri Lorenzo , Colombo Virginia , Musetti Donatella , Musolino Maria , Saccheggiani Michela , Bonetto Monica , Giacomini Mauro , Traverso Carlo Enrico
Published: April 2020

Introduction: The aim of this study is to assess and compare the long-term clinical efficacy of anti-VEGF drugs using the Imaculaweb registry. Methods: In this observational study based on the Imaculaweb registry, outcome measures were the number of injections, the change in mean visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT), and the time between diagnosis and the first injection. Results: In total, 126 eyes of 109 patients were included in the study. The mean VA was 49.4 ± 21.4, 54.1 ± 22.2, 51.6 ± 24.9, and 48.3 ± 25.7 letters at baseline and at the 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow-ups, respectively. Significant VA increases (p = 0.0002 for the first year and p = 0.045 for the second year) were documented at years 1 and 2 but not at year 3 (p = 0.8). The mean number of injections was 5.2, 2.6, and 2.3 at the 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow-ups, respectively. In the first year, 30% of the patients received at least 7 injections, while only 6.4% received <3 injections. CMT decreased significantly during the overall follow-up period, and intra- and subretinal fluid decreased (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Imaculaweb turned out to be an effective tool to collect and share clinical data as well as to monitor patient outcome.
Rebound Phenomenon after Intravitreal Injection of Triamcinolone Acetonide for Macular Edema
Authors: Dikmetas Ozlem , Kuehlewein Laura , Gelisken Faik
Published: April 2020

Introduction: The aim of this article was to report on a rebound phenomenon after intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) injection for macular edema secondary to diabetic retinopathy (DR) and central or branch retinal vein occlusion (CRVO/BRVO). Methods: The data were analyzed retrospectively. Complete ophthalmic examinations, including spectral domain optical coherence tomography, were performed before and 2 months after IVTA injection. The incidence of a rebound phenomenon was defined as an increase in central retinal thickness of >10% from baseline at 2 months after IVTA injection. Results: This retrospective study included 211 consecutive patients (268 eyes). One hundred ninety (71.2%), 39 (14.6%), and 39 (14.6%) eyes had macular edema (ME) due to DR, CRVO, and BRVO. In total, 9.7% of the eyes showed a rebound phenomenon (DR: 9.5%, CRVO: 5.2%, BRVO: 15.4%). The mean number of prior injections of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor or corticosteroid agent was statistically significantly higher in the rebound group (6.8 vs. 5.3) than in the nonrebound group (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Our study shows that 9.7% of the eyes with ME secondary to DR and RVO developed a rebound phenomenon following IVTA injection, limiting its therapeutic effect. We found an increased number of prior intravitreal pharmacotherapy to be a risk factor for a rebound phenomenon.
Animal Models of Preeclampsia
Authors: Gatford Kathryn L. , Andraweera Prabha H. , Roberts Claire T. , Care Alison S.
Published: April 2020

Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy complication, affecting 2% to 8% of pregnancies worldwide, and is an important cause of both maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Importantly, although aspirin and calcium are able to prevent preeclampsia in some women, there is no cure apart from delivery of the placenta and fetus, often necessitating iatrogenic preterm birth. Preclinical models of preeclampsia are widely used to investigate the causes and consequences of preeclampsia and to evaluate safety and efficacy of potential preventative and therapeutic interventions. In this review, we provide a summary of the published preclinical models of preeclampsia that meet human diagnostic criteria, including the development of maternal hypertension, together with new-onset proteinuria, maternal organ dysfunction, and uteroplacental dysfunction. We then discuss evidence from preclinical models for multiple causal factors of preeclampsia, including those implicated in early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia. Next, we discuss the impact of exposure to a preeclampsia-like environment for later maternal and progeny health. The presence of long-term impairment, particularly cardiovascular outcomes, in mothers and progeny after an experimentally induced preeclampsia-like pregnancy, implies that later onset or reduced severity of preeclampsia will improve later maternal and progeny health. Finally, we summarize published intervention studies in preclinical models and identify gaps in knowledge that we consider should be targets for future research.
Embedding Design in Transdisciplinary Research: Perspectives from Urban Africa
Authors: Ambole Amollo
Published: April 2020

Emergence in the African urban context provides unique opportunities to study novel ways of designing within a transdisciplinary set up, yet little has been written in this regard. In this paper, I reflect on how I have engaged in transdisciplinary research as a designer in Africa's urban contexts over the recent years. These reflections offer African perspectives that are enriched by ongoing global conversations around complex urban challenges. Going forward, design research in Africa's emerging urban contexts is well placed to contribute substantially to global discussions on transdisciplinarity.
Notes on Crocus L. Series Flavi Mathew (Iridaceae) and a new species with unique corm structure

Authors: ÇIFTÇI ALMILA , HARPKE DOERTE , MOLLMAN RACHEL , YILDIRIM HASAN , EROL OSMAN
Published: April 2020

Crocus asymmetricus (Iridaceae) is described as a new species endemic to the southern part of the Anatolian diagonal in Turkey. It is phylogenetically related to C. vitellinus and morphologically to C. antalyensis, but differs from these species in showing an asymmetric corm and a single point of root emergence. Both C. antalyensis and C. asymmetricus are illustrated and compared in this paper. A Bayesian phylogenetic tree of the nuclear rDNA ITS region confirms the affiliation of C. asymmetricus to C. ser. Flavi, and its close relationship to C. vitellinus. A new identification key to the species of C. ser. Flavi occurring in Turkey is also presented.
Hedyotis shoolamudianus (Rubiaceae), a new species from Western Ghats, India

Authors: KUMAR VANNARATTA VEETTIL NAVEEN , PRABHUKUMAR KONICKAL MAMBETTA , SUNIL CHANDRASSERIL NARAYANAN , BHAVADAS NARAYANAN , SREEJIT CHITTIYATH MADHAVAN , BALACHANDRAN INDIRA
Published: April 2020

Hedyotis shoolamudianus, a new species of Rubiaceae is described here. The paper provides distribution, phenology and colour photographs of the new species along with comparison chart of its allied taxa.
Nitella singaporensis (Charophyceae, Charales): new species and implications for the taxonomy of the genus Nitella

Authors: ROMANOV ROMAN E. , NIKULIN VYACHESLAV YU. , YEO REGINA S.W. , HO BOON-CHUAN , GONTCHAROV ANDREY A.
Published: April 2020

Nitella singaporensis is described as a new species based on specimens from Singapore. This study provides detailed examination of the fully mature plant. The species is described here using multiple methods including scanning electron microscopy and molecular phylogenetics. Re-examination of the type specimen of N. caespitosa, the most similar species, will be necessary for future studies. The particular oospore surface pattern visible using scanning electron microscopy, which does not equate to previously described features, is recorded here for the first time in the genus Nitella. Nitella singaporensis is placed in section Gioallenia of subgenus Tieffallenia according to its morphological and phylogenetic affinities. The presence of adventitious cells at base of the branchlets and significance of this trait for Nitella taxonomy is discussed.
Description of Diaspidiotus aetnensis sp. n. (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha:
Diaspididae) living on endemic birch in Sicily (Italy), with a key to Diaspidiotus species recorded on Betulaceae
Authors: NUCIFORA SALVATORE , WATSON GILLIAN W. , RUSSO AGATINO , MAZZEO GAETANA
Published: April 2020

The adult female of a new species of armoured scale insect, Diaspidiotus aetnensis Nucifora, Watson and Mazzeo sp. n. (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae), is described and illustrated. It was collected in Sicily on the endemic birch, Betula aetnensis Raf. (Betulaceae). We provide supplementary notes on Diaspidiotus alni (Marchal), D. wuenni (Lindinger) and D. lenticularis (Lindinger), and a key to the Diaspidiotus species recorded on Betulaceae worldwide.
Gargantuan Hail in Argentina
Authors: Kumjian Matthew R. , Gutierrez Rachel , Soderholm Joshua S. , Nesbitt Stephen W. , Maldonado Paula , Luna Lorena Medina , Marquis James , Bowley Kevin A. , Imaz Milagros Alvarez , Salio Paola
Published: April 2020

On 8 February 2018, a supercell storm produced gargantuan (>15 cm or >6 in. in maximum dimension) hail as it moved over the heavily populated city of Villa Carlos Paz in Córdoba Province, Argentina. Observations of gargantuan hail are quite rare, but the large population density here yielded numerous witnesses and social media pictures and videos from this event that document multiple large hailstones. The storm was also sampled by the newly installed operational polarimetric C-band radar in Córdoba. During the RELAMPAGO campaign, the authors interviewed local residents about their accounts of the storm and uncovered additional social media video and photographs revealing extremely large hail at multiple locations in town. This article documents the case, including the meteorological conditions supporting the storm (with the aid of a high-resolution WRF simulation), the storm’s observed radar signatures, and three noteworthy hailstones observed by residents. These hailstones include a freezer-preserved 4.48-in. (11.38 cm) maximum dimension stone that was scanned with a 3D infrared laser scanner, a 7.1-in. (18 cm) maximum dimension stone, and a hailstone photogrammetrically estimated to be between 7.4 and 9.3 in. (18.8–23.7 cm) in maximum dimension, which is close to or exceeds the world record for maximum dimension. Such a well-observed case is an important step forward in understanding environments and storms that produce gargantuan hail, and ultimately how to anticipate and detect such extreme events.
Moving on with saudade: On bordered countries and vague terms
Authors: Magalhães Bruno
Published: April 2020

This article is about how people moving along state borders – I call them wayfarers – refuse the assumption that they ought to live either a sedentary or a nomadic lifestyle inside or outside states, whether as citizens or as Others. In particular, it looks at how the term saudade helps mobile people to manage friction without falling back into such binaries. The Oxford English Dictionary defines saudade as a desire ‘for something’ and describes it as a characteristic of the ‘Portuguese or Brazilian’ people. Here, we shall attend however to the saudade evoked by Venezuelans and Warao (defined by the same dictionary as ‘members of a South American Indian people inhabiting Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela’). This article patterns a contrast between two ways of evoking the term in comments about movement made by my informants: the first, Precise Saudade, asks for precision about that of which people feel saudade. The second way of evoking the term, Vague Saudade, is, as its name suggests, more comfortable with being vague. The argument put forward by this article is that scholarly and policy texts on ‘migrants’, ‘nomads’ and ‘refugees’ need to make more room for Vague Saudade when translating the talk of wayfarers. It may be tempting to dismiss vagueness as showing ambiguity and imprecision. Yet, as the stories that follow are meant to highlight, Vague Saudade can be useful to wayfarers in several ways: to engage in care, to protect others, to protect themselves and to engage in conversations about alternative worlds. To grant monopoly to Precise Saudade, it is argued, risks hindering wayfarers’ ability to do these things. I find this is relevant to how we translate wayfarers, and I suggest it is also germane to how we translate in research.
Búskomor politics: Practising critique in the ruins of liberal democracy
Authors: Dányi Endre
Published: April 2020

How to engage with the recent crisis of liberal democracy in a politically productive manner? Using the example of Hungary, the first part of this article contrasts two empirical strategies. The first takes inspiration from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and explores the conditions of critique within the architecture and infrastructure of liberal democracy. The second empirical strategy turns to a novel by László Krasznahorkai and a film by Béla Tarr, and engages with the problem of critique through búskomorság. This common Hungarian word refers to a sad-sombre sentiment that is both collective and thoroughly political. The second part of the article focuses on an exhibition created by Béla Tarr that combined these two empirical strategies in a generative way. With the help of the exhibition and recent empirical examples, the article outlines what could be called búskomor politics – a set of critical practices that take place not so much within the architecture and the infrastructure of liberal democracy as amid its ruins.
Towards an adventurous institutional politics: The prefigurative ‘as if’ and the reposing of what’s real
Authors: Cooper Davina
Published: April 2020

Discussion of prefigurative politics typically focuses on the revisioning of means to ends within grass-roots activities taking shape against or apart from the state. This article takes a different approach. Addressing prefiguration through the terms of the ‘as if’, it explores the assertion of counterhegemonic meanings, facts, norms and authority both by and about institutions, including state ones. Through four contentious acts: municipal expressions of international solidarity; legislating new gender categories; role-playing micro-states and new money; and acting like a law reform commission, the article considers what prefiguration, and reading for prefiguration, can contribute to a progressive transformative politics. While rehearsing, anticipating and representing alternatives are important, well-recognised prefigurative attributes, this article also addresses less explored dimensions. Specifically, it considers how institutional prefiguration retroactively constitutes its conditions of legitimacy and authority, its depiction as fiction, the performative constraints it faces from diffuse and unequal circuits of power, and the work done by recognition (and non-recognition) of new facts, rules and norms. Together, these dimensions speak to the complicated and plural character of what is real when institutions are enacted as if they were otherwise. This quality of being both real and not real, in conditions of wider opposition, support and torpidity, constitutes the crux of prefiguration’s efforts and promise.
The Impact of Accommodation Taxes on Outbound Travel Demand from the United Kingdom to European Destinations
Authors: Heffer-Flaata Hedvig , Voltes-Dorta Augusto , Suau-Sanchez Pere
Published: April 2020

Despite the progressive introduction of accommodation taxes in many European cities, there is no consensus in the literature as to whether they have positive or negative effects. This may be related to the lack of estimates of the elasticity of visitor demand to accommodation taxes. To fill this gap, we carry out two panel-data regressions using a data set of airline travelers from UK cities to Spanish, French, and Italian destinations between 2012 and 2018. The results from the two-stage least squares regressions indicate that UK international travelers are indeed sensitive to hotel taxes. However, the impact of these taxes differs between peak and off-peak periods and across destination countries, with French destinations showing the most negative effect on visitor flows. The analysis of tax elasticities at a destination level also reveals the lack of a significant negative impact on visitor flows to major cities like Venice or Barcelona.
The main causes of risk in residential real estate projects
Authors: Pereira Leandro , Ferreira Sandra , Santos José
Published: April 2020

In the recent years, the Portuguese Real Estate Market has been increasing exponentially. This growth, has generated, in the real estate companies, the need to implement effective project management tools and frameworks in order to provide important metrics of budget control, deadlines and increase risk management. This study aims to understand the different causes of risks in real estate projects and to measure the risk factors that provoke deviations, in terms of cost, time and quality in the real estate market in Portugal. To measure these risk factors, a new methodology has been implemented, namely a new real estate risk plan model for predicting the risks inherent to new construction projects. This methodology aims to produce new and more accurate strategies and plans so as to effectively respond to potential risks and thus achieve the proposed objectives through the desired success. This methodology allows companies to effectively implement a project in a timely manner in order to reduce and mitigate the probability of risk failure based on risk management tools and techniques. The results of this case study have shown that implementing a risk management project is crucial to highlight and measure the risk of project failures and that Companies must implement risk indicators or triggers that give visibility to potential risks/losses that impact company objectives and, on the other hand, establish metrics that translate the organization’s appetite and tolerance into critical risks.
Mortality of Sepsis in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis and Comparison With a Control Group
Authors: Krasselt Marco , Baerwald Christoph , Petros Sirak , Seifert Olga
Published: April 2020

Introduction/Background:

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a high risk of infections that may require intensive care unit (ICU) admission in case of resulting sepsis. Data regarding the mortality of these patients are very limited. This study investigated clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with RA admitted to the ICU for sepsis and compared the results to a control cohort without RA.

Methods:

All patients with RA as well as sex-, age-, and admission year-matched controls admitted to the ICU of a university hospital for sepsis between 2006 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Mortality was calculated for both the groups, and multivariate logistic regression was used to determine independent risk factors for sepsis mortality. The positive predictive value of common ICU scores was also investigated.

Results:

The study included 49 patients with RA (mean age 67.2 ± 9.0 years, 63.3% females) and 51 matched controls (mean age 67.4 ± 9.5 years, 64.7% females). Among the patients with RA, 42.9% (n = 21) were treated with conventional synthetic (cs) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and 30.6% (n = 15) received glucocorticoids only. Seven (14.3%) patients received biologic (b) DMARDs. The hospital mortality was higher among patients with RA (42.9% vs 15.7%, P = .0016). Rheumatoid arthritis was independently associated with mortality in multivariate logistic regression ( P = .001). In patients with RA, renal replacement therapy ( P = .024), renal failure ( P = .027), and diabetes mellitus ( P = .028) were independently associated with mortality. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II), and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores were good predictors of sepsis mortality in patients with RA (APACHE II area under the curve [AUC]: 0.78, P = .001; SAPS II AUC: 0.78, P < .001; SOFA AUC 0.78, P < .001), but their predictive power was higher among controls.

Conclusions:

Hospital sepsis mortality was higher in patients with RA than in controls. Rheumatoid arthritis itself is independently associated with an increased sepsis mortality. Renal replacement therapy, renal failure, and diabetes were associated with an increased mortality. Common ICU scores were less well predictors of sepsis mortality in patients with RA compared to non-RA controls.
Reliability-based design optimization for vertical vibrations of a modified electric vehicle using fourth-moment polynomial standard transformation method
Authors: Wang Sheng , Hua Lin , Han Xinghui , Su Zhuoyu
Published: April 2020

This article presents a new reliability-based design optimization procedure for the vertical vibration issues raised by a modified electric vehicle using fourth-moment polynomial standard transformation method. First, the fourth-moment polynomial standard transformation method with polynomial chaos expansion is used to obtain the reliability index of uncertain constraints in the reliability-based design optimization which is highly precise and saves computing time compared with other common methods. Next, the half-car model with nonlinear suspension parameters for the modified electric vehicle is investigated, and the response surface methodology is adopted to approximate the complex and time-consuming vertical vibration calculation to the polynomial expressions, and the approximation is validated for reliability-based design optimization results within permissible error level. Then, reliability-based design optimization results under both deterministic and uncertain load parameters are shown and analyzed. Unlike the traditional vertical vibration optimization that only considers one or several sets of load parameters, which lacks versatility, this article presents the reliability-based design optimization with uncertain load parameters which is more suitable for engineering. The results show that the proposed reliability-based design optimization procedure is an effective and efficient way to solve vertical vibration optimization problems for the modified electric vehicle, and the optimization statistics, including the maximum probability interval, can provide references for other suspension dynamical optimization.
Lessons from Healthcare PPP’s in India
Authors: Rajasulochana Subramania Raju , Maurya Dayashankar
Published: April 2020

The NITI Aayog is working to develop and conduct pilot public–private partnership (PPP) projects to improve the delivery of healthcare services. The last two decades saw a rise in discussions and debates on the varied PPP models, as an opportunity to harness the private sector efficiencies and to supplement the public resources. However, the enthusiasm for experimenting with the PPP models fall short of the learnings from it. The limited but growing evidence based on PPPs in healthcare suggests that even the basic tenets of design and implementation of the PPP model have not been met, such as selection of qualified providers\contractors, designing contracts that align incentives, appropriately allocate risks and managing contracts using appropriate performance management tools. In general, the PPP models involve considerable risks and more so in healthcare given its unique characteristics, therefore if not designed and implemented with care, PPP’s in healthcare would prove to be wasteful and burdensome on the public exchequer.
Lit Up or Dimmed Down? Why, When, and How Regret Anticipation Affects Consumers’ Use of the Global Brand Halo
Authors: Davvetas Vasileios , Diamantopoulos Adamantios , Liu Lucy
Published: April 2020

Research has long established the existence of a global brand halo that benefits global brands by triggering “global equals better” inferences by consumers. Nevertheless, little is known about the conditions under which this halo may or may not be used or about whether and, if so, how it can situationally fade. Drawing from regret theory, the authors posit that anticipating regret can conditionally both attenuate and accentuate consumers’ use of the global brand halo and develop a serial conditional process model to explain the mechanism underlying regret’s influence. The results of two experimental studies show that anticipated regret affects global brand halo use—and subsequently relative preference for global or local brands—by increasing consumers’ need to justify their purchase decision. Whether and how consumers will use the global brand halo depends on consumers’ product category schema, while the intensity of the halo’s use depends on consumers’ maximization tendency. The findings offer a decision-theory perspective on the competition between global and local brands and empirically based advice on managerial interventions that can influence global or local brand market shares.
Adaptive acceleration waveform control of two-degree-of-freedom dual electrohydraulic shaking tables
Authors: Guan Guang-feng , Xu Xian-zhuang , Xiong Wei , Wang Hai-tao
Published: April 2020

Multi-degree-of-freedom multiple table systems are developed for seismic testing of large-span structures to spread the loads evenly on the tables. Synchronous control of multiple shaking tables is challenging because of coupling between different shaking tables and complex dynamics of the testing systems. This article presents an adaptive waveform control for a two-degree-of-freedom dual electrohydraulic shaking tables testing system to improve the acceleration tracking performance. Synchronous control of the two electrohydraulic shaking tables is transformed into the motion control of a two-degree-of-freedom overconstrained shaking table driven by 10 actuators. The force control loop based on the null space of the Jacobian matrix is developed to reduce the cross-coupling among the actuators. An adaptive acceleration waveform control method based on the DFP optimization algorithm in a complex domain is presented to improve the convergence and stability of the compensation algorithm in the outer control loop and replicate the acceleration reference waveforms accurately. Experimental results obtained in step responses, acceleration frequency responses measurement, and two-degree-of-freedom waveform replication tests are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.