bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of sustainable methods for atmospheric water harvesting
Authors: Jarimi Hasila , Powell Richard , Riffat Saffa
Published: December 2019

The scope of this paper is to review different types of sustainable water harvesting methods from the atmospheric fogs and dew. In this paper, we report upon the water collection performance of various fog collectors around the world. We also review technical aspects of fog collector feasibility studies and the efficiency improvements. Modern fog harvesting innovations are often bioinspired technology. Fog harvesting technology is obviously limited by global fog occurrence. In contrast, dew water harvester is available everywhere but requires a cooled condensing surface. In this review, the dew water collection systems is divided into three categories: i) dew water harvesting using radiative cooling surface, ii) solar-regenerated desiccant system and iii) active condensation technology. The key target in all these approaches is the development of an atmospheric water collector that can produce water regardless of the humidity level, geographical location, low in cost and can be made using local materials.
Numerical investigation of mixture generation due to different inlet and outlet positions
Authors: Abd Hussain Saad , Abdulmunem Abdulmunem R , Jabal Mohammed Hassan
Published: December 2019

A numerical simulation is a method carried out to study the flow characteristics of compressible fluid through different channels. Two approaches using air as a working substance were used to study the flow characteristics. In the first approach, two inlets and one outlet horizontally in the x direction was depended on to generate different flow characteristics; the flow properties were calculated along the diagonal line inside the channel. In the second approach, one inlet and outlet horizontally with sudden change in the area of the channel was employed. In this research, the flow properties were calculated along the center line inside the channel and the flow fields have been investigated. A non-linear k-Є model is employed to solve the flow characteristics by using the finite difference method with a curvilinear coordinate system near the dead zone and the k-Є and Reynolds stress model area semi-empirical model based on modeling of the equations of transport that contain the dissipation rate (ε) as well as turbulent kinetic energy (k). The derivation of turbulent kinetic energy and its rate of dissipation derived from the Navier–Stokes equation. In this work, the simulation outcomes of the proposed k-ε turbulence model indicated a good compatibility with published correlations. In order to get an accurate solution, the value of 10–8 for the maximal normalized equation residual was considered to be the convergence between computation and steady solution. The model applied for flow velocity 30 m/s and the obtained results presented as curves, surface and contours for velocities turbulent kinetic energy, rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy and vortices. The builder model can be utilized for academic purposes since it is widely used for many physical and engineering applications.
On a multiscalea posteriorierror estimator for the stokes and Brinkman equations
Authors: Araya Rodolfo , Rebolledo Ramiro , Valentin Frédéric
Published: December 2019

This work proposes and analyzes a residual a posteriori error estimator for the multiscale hybrid-mixed (MHM) method for the Stokes and Brinkman equations. The error estimator relies on the multi-level structure of the MHM method and considers two levels of approximation of the method. As a result the error estimator accounts for a first-level global estimator defined on the skeleton of the partition and second-level contributions from element-wise approximations. The analysis establishes local efficiency and reliability of the complete multiscale estimator. Also, it yields a new face-adaptive strategy on the mesh’s skeleton, which avoids changing the topology of the global mesh. Specially designed to work on multiscale problems, the present estimator can leverage parallel computers since local error estimators are independent of each other. Academic and realistic multiscale numerical tests assess the performance of the estimator and validate the adaptive algorithms.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis HN878 Infection Induces Human-Like B-Cell Follicles in Mice
Authors: Choreño-Parra José Alberto , Bobba Suhas , Rangel-Moreno Javier , Ahmed Mushtaq , Mehra Smriti , Rosa Bruce , Martin John , Mitreva Makedonka , Kaushal Deepak , Zúñiga Joaquín , Khader Shabaana A
Published: December 2019

Specific spatial organization of granulomas within the lungs is crucial for protective anti-tuberculosis (TB) immune responses. However, only large animal models such as macaques are thought to reproduce the morphological hallmarks of human TB granulomas. In this study, we show that infection of mice with clinical “hypervirulent” Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) HN878 induces human-like granulomas composed of bacilli-loaded macrophages surrounded by lymphocytes and organized localization of germinal centers and B-cell follicles. Infection with laboratory-adapted Mtb H37Rv resulted in granulomas that are characterized by unorganized clusters of macrophages scattered between lymphocytes. An in-depth exploration of the functions of B cells within these follicles suggested diverse roles and the activation of signaling pathways associated with antigen presentation and immune cell recruitment. These findings support the use of clinical Mtb HN878 strain for infection in mice as an appropriate model to study immune parameters associated with human TB granulomas.
Antibiotics targeting bacterial ribosomal subunit biogenesis
Authors: Champney W Scott
Published: December 2019

This article describes 20 years of research that investigated a second novel target for ribosomal antibiotics, the biogenesis of the two subunits. Over that period, we have examined the effect of 52 different antibiotics on ribosomal subunit formation in six different microorganisms. Most of the antimicrobials we have studied are specific, preventing the formation of only the subunit to which they bind. A few interesting exceptions have also been observed. Forty-one research publications and a book chapter have resulted from this investigation. This review will describe the methodology we used and the fit of our results to a hypothetical model. The model predicts that inhibition of subunit assembly and translation are equivalent targets for most of the antibiotics we have investigated.
Implications for IV posaconazole dosing in the era of obesity
Authors: Wasmann Roeland E , Smit Cornelis , van Donselaar Marieke H , van Dongen Eric P A , Wiezer René M J , Verweij Paul E , Burger David M , Knibbe Catherijne A J , Brüggemann Roger J M
Published: December 2019

Background

The prevalence of obesity has shown a dramatic increase over recent decades. Obesity is associated with underdosing of antimicrobial drugs for prophylaxis and treatment. Posaconazole is a broad-spectrum triazole antifungal drug licensed for prophylaxis and treatment of invasive fungal infections. It is unclear how posaconazole should be dosed in obese patients.

Methods

We performed a prospective study investigating the pharmacokinetics of posaconazole in morbidly obese (n = 16) and normal-weight (n = 8) subjects, with a weight ranging between 61.4 and 190 kg, after a 300 or 400 mg IV dose. Population pharmacokinetic modelling was used to assess the effect of body size on posaconazole pharmacokinetics. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03246386.

Results

Total body weight best predicted changes in CL and V. Model-based simulations demonstrated that, for treatment of fungal infections, a daily IV dose of 300 mg will result in a PTA of ≥90% in individuals up to 140 kg, after which both twice daily loading and the daily maintenance dose should be increased to 400 mg. For prophylaxis, a 300 mg IV dose is adequate in patients up to 190 kg.

Conclusions

Body size has a significant impact on posaconazole CL and V, resulting in a lower exposure in obese subjects compared with normal-weight subjects. For therapeutic use of posaconazole, a dose increase is required in patients above 140 kg. For prophylaxis, a 300 mg IV dose is adequate. For oral treatment, these recommendations can act as a starting point followed by therapeutic drug monitoring.
Visual analogies, not graphs, increase patients' comprehension of changes in their health status
Authors: Reading Turchioe Meghan , Grossman Lisa V , Myers Annie C , Baik Dawon , Goyal Parag , Masterson Creber Ruth M
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Patients increasingly use patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to self-monitor their health status. Visualizing PROs longitudinally (over time) could help patients interpret and contextualize their PROs. The study sought to assess hospitalized patients' objective comprehension (primary outcome) of text-only, non-graph, and graph visualizations that display longitudinal PROs.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a clinical research study in 40 hospitalized patients comparing 4 visualization conditions: (1) text-only, (2) text plus visual analogy, (3) text plus number line, and (4) text plus line graph. Each participant viewed every condition, and we used counterbalancing (systematic randomization) to control for potential order effects. We assessed objective comprehension using the International Organization for Standardization protocol. Secondary outcomes included response times, preferences, risk perceptions, and behavioral intentions.

Results

Overall, 63% correctly comprehended the text-only condition and 60% comprehended the line graph condition, compared with 83% for the visual analogy and 70% for the number line (P = .05) conditions. Participants comprehended the visual analogy significantly better than the text-only (P = .02) and line graph (P = .02) conditions. Of participants who comprehended at least 1 condition, 14% preferred a condition that they did not comprehend. Low comprehension was associated with worse cognition (P < .001), lower education level (P = .02), and fewer financial resources (P = .03).

Conclusions

The results support using visual analogies rather than text to display longitudinal PROs but caution against relying on graphs, which is consistent with the known high prevalence of inadequate graph literacy. The discrepancies between comprehension and preferences suggest factors other than comprehension influence preferences, and that future researchers should assess comprehension rather than preferences to guide presentation decisions.
Justifications, Excuses, and Affirmative Defenses
Authors: Mungan Murat C
Published: December 2019

A defendant who admits to having committed an offense may nevertheless be acquitted if he can provide a legally cognizable justification or excuse for his actions by raising an affirmative defense. This article explains how affirmative defenses generate social benefits in the form of avoided unnecessary punishment. It then asks what kind of evidentiary standards must be used in order to balance these benefits against potential social costs arising from frivolous defense claims. It thereby provides an economic rationale for the uniformity across US jurisdictions in allocating the burden on the prosecution to prove the commission of the offense, as well as the variation across states in the standards of proof they use in determining the validity of affirmative defenses. The analysis also explains why mere assertions of undeterrability should not be considered as affirmative defenses. (JEL K00, K14, K40, K41, K42)
Order of Provisional Measures in Ukraine versus Russia and Mixed Disputes concerning Military Activities
Authors: Shi Xinxiang , Chang Yen-Chiang
Published: December 2019

This article discusses mixed disputes concerning military activities in light of the Order of Provisional Measures in Ukraine v Russia. It is argued that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) decision that Russia’s use of force against the Ukrainian warships was not military in nature would diminish the military activities exception under Article 298(1)(b) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The distinct status of warships means that use of force against them can hardly be taken as merely pertaining to law enforcement activities. Thus, the dispute should be more properly characterized as a mixed dispute, containing both a military element and a law enforcement element. In light of the jurisprudence of UNCLOS tribunals concerning mixed disputes, if the Annex VII Tribunal to be constituted intends to assume jurisdiction over the dispute, it would need to either isolate the law enforcement element from the military element, or define and apply the preponderance test applicable to mixed disputes concerning military activities.
Cicatricial ectropion after wound closure of facial laceration†
Authors: Leow Julian J L
Published: December 2019

Patients presenting to the emergency department with facial lacerations are commonplace and often sutured by a junior trainee. Cicatricial ectropion can occur after trauma, surgery and actinic/other dermatological conditions. It can make the eye dry, irritated and vulnerable to infection and water excessively. A 71-year-old man presented to the emergency department after falling off his bike. He had lacerations on his right forehead and right lower eyelid, amongst other injuries. His lacerations were sutured in the emergency department but 2 months later, he presented with scar contracture and was diagnosed with cicatricial ectropion of lower eyelid. This case highlights the risk of ectropion after closure of lacerations which involve the eyelid. Ectropion and how to reduce the risk involved surgically are discussed in this case report. Both diagnosing and operating clinicians should be aware of these risks and inform the patient appropriately.
Big Data for Finite Population Inference: Applying Quasi-Random Approaches to Naturalistic Driving Data Using Bayesian Additive Regression Trees
Authors: Rafei Ali , Flannagan Carol A C , Elliott Michael R
Published: December 2019

Big Data are a “big challenge” for finite population inference. Lack of control over data-generating processes by researchers in the absence of a known random selection mechanism may lead to biased estimates. Further, larger sample sizes increase the relative contribution of selection bias to squared or absolute error. One approach to mitigate this issue is to treat Big Data as a random sample and estimate the pseudo-inclusion probabilities through a benchmark survey with a set of relevant auxiliary variables common to the Big Data. Since the true propensity model is usually unknown, and Big Data tend to be poor in such variables that fully govern the selection mechanism, the use of flexible non-parametric models seems to be essential. Traditionally, a weighted logistic model is recommended to account for the sampling weights in the benchmark survey when estimating the propensity scores. However, handling weights is a hurdle when seeking a broader range of predictive methods. To further protect against model misspecification, we propose using an alternative pseudo-weighting approach that allows us to fit more flexible modern predictive tools such as Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART), which automatically detect non-linear associations as well as high-order interactions. In addition, the posterior predictive distribution generated by BART makes it easier to quantify the uncertainty due to pseudo-weighting. Our simulation findings reveal further reduction in bias by our approach compared with conventional propensity adjustment method when the true model is unknown. Finally, we apply our method to the naturalistic driving data from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment using the National Household Travel Survey as a benchmark.
The protein kinase complex CBL10–CIPK8–SOS1 functions in Arabidopsis to regulate salt tolerance
Authors: Yin Xiaochang , Xia Youquan , Xie Qing , Cao Yuxin , Wang Zhenyu , Hao Gangping , Song Jie , Zhou Yang , Jiang Xingyu
Published: December 2019

Salt tolerance in plants is mediated by Na+ extrusion from the cytosol by the plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter SOS1. This is activated in Arabidopsis root by the protein kinase complex SOS2–SOS3 and in Arabidopsis shoot by the protein kinase complex CBL10–SOS2, with SOS2 as a key node in the two pathways. The sos1 mutant is more sensitive than the sos2 mutant, suggesting that other partners may positively regulate SOS1 activity. Arabidopsis has 26 CIPK family proteins of which CIPK8 is the closest homolog to SOS2. It is hypothesized that CIPK8 can activate Na+ extrusion by SOS1 similarly to SOS2. The plasma membrane Na+/H+ exchange activity of transgenic yeast co-expressing CBL10, CIPK8, and SOS1 was higher than that of untransformed and SOS1 transgenic yeast, resulting in a lower Na+ accumulation and a better growth phenotype under salinity. However, CIPK8 could not interact with SOS3, and the co-expression of SOS3, CIPK8, and SOS1 in yeast did not confer a significant salt tolerance phenotype relative to SOS1 transgenic yeast. Interestingly, cipk8 displayed a slower Na+ efflux, a higher Na+ level, and a more sensitive phenotype than wild-type Arabidopsis, but grew better than sos2 under salinity stress. As expected, sos2cipk8 exhibited a more severe salt damage phenotype relative to cipk8 or sos2. Overexpression of CIPK8 in both cipk8 and sos2cipk8 attenuated the salt sensitivity phenotype. These results suggest that CIPK8-mediated activation of SOS1 is CBL10-dependent and SOS3-independent, indicating that CIPK8 and SOS2 activity in shoots is sufficient for regulating Arabidopsis salt tolerance.
Shared Care and Child Maintenance Policies in Nordic Countries
Authors: Hakovirta Mia , Eydal Guðný Björk
Published: December 2019

The Nordic welfare model is referred to as the dual earner/dual carer model, where the explicit policy goal is to promote the equal sharing of the responsibility of care for children and paid work among men and women. However, how does the dual earner/dual carer model apply to parents who do not live together but who share care, ie, both parents spending substantial time caring for and living with their child? In this article, we compare child maintenance policies in the five Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden – as a means of interrogating how dual earner/carer ideals and realities play out for parents who share care but do not live together. The article makes a unique contribution to the knowledge of how the ideology and practice of shared care is implemented across Nordic countries. Based on vignette data collected in 2017, we show that despite an emphasis on the dual earner/dual carer model, in most cases, Finland and Iceland still refer to a male breadwinner model in their maintenance policies and do not recognise shared care arrangements as matters needing particular policy consideration. Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, on the other hand, recognise shared care in their laws and substantially reduce child maintenance payments in cases of shared care.
N-acetylcysteine reduces amphotericin B deoxycholate nephrotoxicity and improves the outcome of murine cryptococcosis
Authors: Magalhães Thais Furtado Ferreira , Costa Marliete Carvalho , Holanda Rodrigo Assunção , Ferreira Gabriela Freitas , Carvalho Vanessa Silva Dutra , Freitas Gustavo Jose Cota , Ribeiro Noelly Queiroz , Emídio Elúzia Castro Peres , Carmo Paulo Henrique Fonseca , de Brito Camila Bernardo , de Souza Daniele Glória , Rocha Cláudia Emanuela Viana , Paixão Tatiane Alves , de Resende-Stoianoff Maria Aparecida , Santos Daniel Assis
Published: December 2019

Cryptococcosis is a life-threatening fungal infection, and its current treatment is toxic and subject to resistance. Drug repurposing represents an interesting approach to find drugs to reduce the toxicity of antifungals. In this study, we evaluated the combination of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) with amphotericin B (AMB) for the treatment of cryptococcosis. We examined the effects of NAC on fungal morphophysiology and on the macrophage fungicidal activity 3 and 24 hours post inoculation. The therapeutic effects of NAC combination with AMB were investigated in a murine model with daily treatments regimens. NAC alone reduced the oxidative burst generated by AMB in yeast cells, but did not inhibit fungal growth. The combination NAC + AMB decreased capsule size, zeta potential, superoxide dismutase activity and lipid peroxidation. In macrophage assays, NAC + AMB did not influence the phagocytosis, but induced fungal killing with different levels of oxidative bursts when compared to AMB alone: there was an increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) after 3 hours and reduced levels after 24 hours. By contrast, ROS remained elevated when AMB was tested alone, demonstrating that NAC reduced AMB oxidative effects without influencing its antifungal activity. Uninfected mice treated with NAC + AMB had lower concentrations of serum creatinine and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase in comparison to AMB. The combination of NAC + AMB was far better than AMB alone in increasing survival and reducing morbidity in murine-induced cryptococcosis, leading to reduced fungal burden in lungs and brain and also lower concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the lungs. In conclusion, NAC + AMB may represent an alternative adjuvant for the treatment of cryptococcosis.
Resilient habitability of nearby exoplanet systems
Authors: Kokaia Giorgi , Davies Melvyn B , Mustill Alexander J
Published: December 2019

We investigate the possibility of finding Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of 34 nearby FGK-dwarfs, each known to host one giant planet exterior to their habitable zone detected by RV. First we simulate the dynamics of the planetary systems in their present day configurations and determine the fraction of stable planetary orbits within their habitable zones. Then, we postulate that the eccentricity of the giant planet is a result of an instability in their past during which one or more other planets were ejected from the system. We simulate these scenarios and investigate whether planets orbiting in the habitable zone survive the instability. Explicitly we determine the fraction of test particles, originally found in the habitable zone, which remain in the habitable zone today. We label this fraction the resilient habitability of a system. We find that for most systems the probability of planets existing [or surviving] on stable orbits in the habitable zone becomes significantly smaller when we include a phase of instability in their history. We present a list of candidate systems with high resilient habitability for future observations. These are: HD 95872, HD 154345, HD 102843, HD 25015, GJ 328, HD 6718, and HD 150706. The known planets in the last two systems have large observational uncertainties on their eccentricities, which propagate into large uncertainties on their resilient habitability. Further observational constraints of these two eccentricities will allow us to better constrain the survivability of Earth-like planets in these systems.
H0LiCOW XII. Lens mass model of WFI2033 − 4723 and blind measurement of its time-delay distance and H0
Authors: Rusu Cristian E , Wong Kenneth C , Bonvin Vivien , Sluse Dominique , Suyu Sherry H , Fassnacht Christopher D , Chan James H H , Hilbert Stefan , Auger Matthew W , Sonnenfeld Alessandro , Birrer Simon , Courbin Frederic , Treu Tommaso , Chen Geoff C-F , Halkola Aleksi , Koopmans Léon V E , Marshall Philip J , Shajib Anowar J
Published: December 2019

We present the lens mass model of the quadruply-imaged gravitationally lensed quasar WFI2033 − 4723, and perform a blind cosmographical analysis based on this system. Our analysis combines (1) time-delay measurements from 14 yr of data obtained by the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses (COSMOGRAIL) collaboration, (2) high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging, (3) a measurement of the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxy based on ESO-MUSE data, and (4) multi-band, wide-field imaging and spectroscopy characterizing the lens environment. We account for all known sources of systematics, including the influence of nearby perturbers and complex line-of-sight structure, as well as the parametrization of the light and mass profiles of the lensing galaxy. After unblinding, we determine the effective time-delay distance to be $4784_{-248}^{+399}~\mathrm{Mpc}$, an average precision of $6.6{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. This translates to a Hubble constant $H_{0} = 71.6_{-4.9}^{+3.8}~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, assuming a flat ΛCDM cosmology with a uniform prior on Ωm in the range [0.05, 0.5]. This work is part of the H0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL’s Wellspring (H0LiCOW) collaboration, and the full time-delay cosmography results from a total of six strongly lensed systems are presented in a companion paper (H0LiCOW XIII).
Understanding the coexistence of spin-up and spin-down behaviours in long-period X-ray pulsars
Authors: Wang W , Tong H
Published: December 2019

Assuming wind-fed accretion magnetars in long-period X-ray pulsars, we calculated the rotational evolution of neutron stars. Our calculations considered the effects of magnetic field decay in magnetars. The results show that wind-fed accretion magnetars can evolve to long-period X-ray pulsars with a spin period much longer than 1000 s. The spin-down trend observed in 4U 2206+54-like sources is expected when young X-ray binary systems are on the way to their equilibrium period. Detailed calculations showed that the spin-down may be affected by accretion with outflows or accretion while spinning down. Due to magnetic field decay in magnetars, wind-fed accretion magnetars will have a decreasing equilibrium period for a constant mass accretion rate. For 2S 0114+65, the spin-up rate due to magnetic field decay is one order of magnitude smaller than observations. The spin-up rate of 2S 0114+65 may be attributed to the formation of a transient disc during wind accretion. The slowest X-ray pulsar AX J1910.7+0917 would be a link source between 4U 2206+54 and 2S 0114+65.
Feasibility of Parent Coaching of Music Interventions for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Hernandez-Ruiz Eugenia
Published: December 2019

Parent-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have elicited emerging interest among music therapists. A conceptual framework (reported elsewhere) delineated the incorporation of music to an established parent coaching model (Parent-Early Start Denver Model [P-ESDM];). The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of adapting the P-ESDM to a music-based parent coaching model. An alternating treatments design with a parent–child dyad was implemented, with music and non-music conditions in each treatment session. Behavioral video analysis of parental verbal and non-verbal responsiveness, child joint attention and verbal behaviors, and parent and therapist adherence to treatment provided quantitative data. A semi-structured follow-up interview with a parent addressed concerns, preferences, and suggestions for improvement. Parental verbal responsiveness seemed lower during the music condition, but non-verbal responsiveness increased notably during the music condition. Parent adherence to treatment was achieved in the sixth session. Child receptive joint attention increased in the music condition only, and initiating joint attention was higher in most sessions during the music condition. Parental comfort with the music did not seem ideal with the brief time allotted to training despite familiarity with the music. Music-based parent coaching to enhance social communication of preschoolers with ASD seems feasible. This study provides initial support to a conceptual framework of parent coaching of music interventions. Further research should investigate other methods to teach the music, alternative session schedules, and more precise measures of parental responsiveness.
Native elongation transcript sequencing reveals temperature dependent dynamics of nascent RNAPII transcription in Arabidopsis
Authors: Kindgren Peter , Ivanov Maxim , Marquardt Sebastian
Published: December 2019

Temperature profoundly affects the kinetics of biochemical reactions, yet how large molecular complexes such as the transcription machinery accommodate changing temperatures to maintain cellular function is poorly understood. Here, we developed plant native elongating transcripts sequencing (plaNET-seq) to profile genome-wide nascent RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcription during the cold-response of Arabidopsis thaliana with single-nucleotide resolution. Combined with temporal resolution, these data revealed transient genome-wide reprogramming of nascent RNAPII transcription during cold, including characteristics of RNAPII elongation and thousands of non-coding transcripts connected to gene expression. Our results suggest a role for promoter–proximal RNAPII stalling in predisposing genes for transcriptional activation during plant–environment interactions. At gene 3′-ends, cold initially facilitated transcriptional termination by limiting the distance of read-through transcription. Within gene bodies, cold reduced the kinetics of co-transcriptional splicing leading to increased intragenic stalling. Our data resolved multiple distinct mechanisms by which temperature transiently altered the dynamics of nascent RNAPII transcription and associated RNA processing, illustrating potential biotechnological solutions and future focus areas to promote food security in the context of a changing climate.
Systematic review: measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures evaluated with childhood brain tumor survivors or other acquired brain injury
Authors: Bull Kim S , Hornsey Samantha , Kennedy Colin R , Darlington Anne-Sophie E , Grootenhuis Martha A , Hargrave Darren , Liossi Christina , Shepherd Jonathan P , Walker David A , Morris Christopher
Published: December 2019

Background

Survivors of childhood brain tumors or other acquired brain injury (ABI) are at risk of poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL); its valid and reliable assessment is essential to evaluate the effect of their illness on their lives. The aim of this review was to critically appraise psychometric properties of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) of HRQoL for these children, to be able to make informed decisions about the most suitable PROM for use in clinical practice.

Methods

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO for studies evaluating measurement properties of HRQoL PROMs in children treated for brain tumors or other ABI. Methodological quality of relevant studies was evaluated using the consensus-based standards for the selection of health status measurement instruments checklist.

Results

Eight papers reported measurement properties of 4 questionnaires: Health Utilities Index (HUI), PedsQL Core and Brain Tumor Modules, and Child and Family Follow-up Survey (CFFS). Only the CFFS had evidence of content and structural validity. It also demonstrated good internal consistency, whereas both PedsQL modules had conflicting evidence regarding this. Conflicting evidence regarding test-retest reliability was reported for the HUI and PedsQL Core Module only. Evidence of measurement error/precision was favorable for HUI and CFFS and absent for both PedsQL modules. All 4 PROMs had some evidence of construct validity/hypothesis testing but no evidence of responsiveness to change.

Conclusions

Valid and reliable assessment is essential to evaluate impact of ABI on young lives. However, measurement properties of PROMs evaluating HRQoL appropriate for this population require further evaluation, specifically construct validity, internal consistency, and responsiveness to change.
Searching for “Tolerance” in Islamic Thought
Authors: Iqtidar Humeira
Published: December 2019

This chapter argues that the search for liberal tolerance within Islamic thought will inevitably be a tautological, somewhat barren exercise, given the specific, historical origins of the liberal conception of tolerance. Moreover, through a comparison of the political ideas of two important Islamic thinkers of the twentieth century, Abul Aʻla Maududi (1903–1979), an influential Islamist thinker, and Javed Ahmed Ghamidi (1951–), a prominent contemporary public intellectual, the chapter argues for the value of thinking explicitly about the relationship between the state as an institution, and the political role of difference, rather than of revealing attitudes toward minorities or thinking of tolerance as a virtue.
“Inter-Asia as Method” and Radical Politics
Authors: Goh Beng-Lan
Published: December 2019

This chapter examines two recent attempts at reclaiming inter-Asia regionalism to resist the hegemonic forces of nationalism and global imperialism: Chen Kuan-hsing’s Asia as method and Prasenjit Duara’s circulatory histories. These authors challenge us to see Asian interdependency—namely between East, South, and Southeast Asia— as an imaginary resource for locating alternative political frameworks outside Euro-American precedents in a multi-polar world. They show how practices of Asian religious, philosophical and cultural traditions via regimens of bodily and ethical activity render capacities for radical self-transformation and collective resistance that transcend narrow oppositional frameworks of radical politics. By turning tradition from a conservative into a revolutionary category, they challenge critical norms by presenting a different embodiment of radical politics. The chapter discusses these trends in light of existing decolonial paradigms and offers examples of how activists in Malaysia equally work within local cultural and linguistic traditions, including Islam, to expand possibilities for ethno-religious conviviality and social justice. Keywords
The Plantation’s Colonial Modernity in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Getachew Adom
Published: December 2019

By reconstructing the pioneering work of political economists and social theorists associated with the New World Group at the University of the West Indies and the Dar es Salaam School at the University of Dar es Salaam, this chapter recovers the theorization of the plantation as a modernizing institution that produced a distinctive colonial modernity. Between the 1960s and 1970s, George Beckford and Lloyd Best theorized the Caribbean as a pure plantation society in which the forms of economic exploitation and idioms of sociality that emerged in the context of plantation slavery continued to structure islands states like Jamaica. While primarily associated with slavery in the Americas, Walter Rodney conceptualized the colonial plantation as a form of economic and social organization that traveled to contexts like Tanzania and continued to structure postcolonial legacies. Through south/south comparison, the use of conceptual innovation and lateral extension, this cohort of social theorists offered a distinctive mode of thinking through modernity as a site of convergence and divergence. Their comparative historical, sociological, and economic studies of the plantation highlight the uneven and differentiated ways in which societies in the global south had been radically transformed by imperial imposition. In the jettisoning of north/south, West/non-West axes of comparison and in the effort to attend to the specificity of postcolonial political and economic forms, this episode of comparative theorizing can inform contemporary projects of globalizing political theory.
Mapping Afro-Caribbean Political Thought
Authors: Gordon Jane Anna
Published: December 2019

Drawing on Paget Henry’s field-defining Caliban’s Reason and Lewis R. Gordon’s Introduction to Africana Philosophy, this chapter maps the historical terrain of Caribbean political thought written primarily in English and in French. Beginning with explicitly antislavery writings, it then turns to the range of intellectual efforts to forge an independent, no longer colonial, Caribbean future. It concludes by emphasizing the irony of Caribbean political writings teeming with philosophical insights in a tradition that has not until very recently explicitly cultivated philosophical endeavor and by arguing that, in exemplifying a creolizing orientation, Caribbean thought shares an affinity with some, but not all, models of comparative political theorizing.
The Politics of Time in China and Japan
Authors: Murthy Viren
Published: December 2019

China’s past has been an important issue for both Chinese and Japanese political thought, and Japanese visions of the Chinese past changed as they slowly began to decenter China. This chapter traverses several conceptions of the past in both places: the Confucian ideal of the ancient past as ideal, the past as part of a genealogy of a divine Japanese emperor, and the past as part of an evolutionary process. Specifically, the chapter traces concepts of the past from classical Confucianism through early modern and modern thinkers, including Gu Yanwu, Ogyū Sorai, Motoori Norinaga, Fukuzawa Yukichi, and Zhang Taiyan. These visions of the past are not merely temporal, but also spatial or geographical, and each vision engages with the present political situation by positing an alternative future.
Motho ke motho ka batho, an African Perspective on Popular Sovereignty and Democracy
Authors: Ramose M. B.
Published: December 2019

Motho ke motho ka batho is an ethical maxim to be found in many of the vernaculars of the Bantu-speaking peoples in Africa. It is based on the ontological view that motion is the principle of be-ing. It recognizes being human as a physical fact, but adds that in the ethical sense, a human being proper is one who acknowledges relationality with be-ing as a wholeness. This imposes the obligation to recognize, respect, protect, and promote life in all its manifestations, including the sphere of human relations. To act according to this ethical obligation is to rise above the level of selo, a mere physical entity, and to affirm one’s own humanness. This is the basis for economic, social, and political organization among the Bantu-speaking peoples. It is pithily stated as motho ke motho ka batho; umuntu ngumuntu ngabanye bantu. It is the core meaning of bantucracy. Historically, it predates the contemporary discourses on human rights. Against this background, the thesis to be defended here is that ethics precedes politics. An integral part of this thesis is that the principle of popular sovereignty ought not to be eliminated in politics. Furthermore, the desideratum for democracy—a means to an end—does not, by necessity, require elections and substantial possession of wealth or money. Was democracy in ancient Athens fortified and ameliorated by elections?
Neurobiological Basis of Migraine
Authors: Holland Philip R. , Hoffmann Jan , Goadsby Peter J.
Published: December 2019

Migraine is the most common disabling primary headache globally. Attacks often present with unilateral throbbing headache and an array of associated symptoms, including, nausea, multisensory hypersensitivity, and marked fatigue. The diverse symptomatology highlights the complexity of migraine as a whole nervous system disorder involving somatosensory, autonomic, endocrine, and arousal networks. While attempts to describe the entirety of migraine are complex and daunting, this chapter focuses on recent advances in the understanding of its pathophysiology and treatment. The chapter focuses on the underlying neuroanatomical basis for migraine-related headache and associated symptomatology and discusses key clinical and preclinical findings that indicate that migraine likely results from dysfunctional homeostatic mechanisms. Whereby abnormal central nervous system responses to extrinsic and intrinsic cues may lead to increased attack susceptibility. Finally, the chapter considers the recent translational success of targeted calcitonin gene-related peptide and serotonin 1F receptor (5-HT1F) modulation for migraine.
Bonhoeffer and Political Life
Authors: Plant Stephen J.
Published: December 2019

This chapter begins by describing some of the influences that shaped Bonhoeffer’s political views, narrowly construed, and the central role of Martin Luther’s thought in guiding the direction of those parts of his theology that connect with political life. The chapter continues by exploring how Bonhoeffer attempted to think with and through these sources about the duties and responsibilities of governments and citizens, of the Church, and of the individual Christian in response to the Church struggle and the policies of the Third Reich. What evolved was a reworking of the orders of creation and preservation, a subtle ecology of temporal and spiritual authority under God, and an understanding of reality understood through the incarnation of Christ. This theology funded a steadfast conviction that the Church can and must speak God’s Word to the world, even to the point of standing in the place of the victims of political oppression.
Bonhoeffer and Contemporary Philosophy
Authors: Zimmermann Jens
Published: December 2019

How does Bonhoeffer view the relation between philosophy and theology? To what extent is his own theology shaped by philosophical thought? Moreover, how do the major themes of Bonhoeffer’s theological work relate to concerns of contemporary philosophy? These are the questions addressed in this chapter. Given Bonhoeffer’s training in and proclivity to continental philosophy, we will focus on the phenomenological tradition in general and on personalism and hermeneutics in particular. As it turns out, Bonhoeffer’s Christological starting point in the incarnation offers important insights for contemporary ethical philosophy (Lévinas) and postmodern hermeneutical thinkers (Derrida, Kearney, Caputo, and Vattimo).
Assessment of Attachment in Infancy and Early Childhood
Authors: Boris Neil W. , Chesher Tessa , Wajda-Johnston Valerie A.
Published: December 2019

Attachment is a fundamental developmental domain in infancy and early childhood and no clinical assessment is complete without a comprehensive assessment of the young child’s key attachment relationships. This chapter uses the Circle of Security, a graphic representation of the hundreds of daily dyadic interactions that form the basis of attachment in early childhood, to help frame attachment theory. The importance of recognizing child and parent factors that might lead to disorganization of attachment in infancy and early childhood is emphasized and the history of research on forms of reactive attachment disorder is presented in the context of differential diagnosis. Key principles for attachment assessment are then reviewed and the tools that comprise comprehensive assessment of attachment in early childhood are presented, with an emphasis on tools used for assessment of parent–child interaction and those used to gather data on the parental state of mind regarding attachment. The chapter concludes with a case example that includes a discussion of treatment planning.
The Contribution of Developmentally Sensitive Measurement to Assessment of Disruptive Behavior in Young Children
Authors: Gray Sarah A. O. , Wakschlag Lauren S.
Published: December 2019

This chapter provides a review of developmentally informed assessments of disruptive behavior in young children. First, the definition of a “developmentally sensitive” approach to the assessment of disruptive behavior is presented. The chapter then provides a review of existing validated measures that assess disruptive behavior and clinical impairment in young children, considering specifically the assessments’ developmental specificity, clinical properties, and how they can be used. Finally, the importance of attending to context in the assessment of disruptive behavior in young children, including the interactional context (e.g., parent vs. nonparental, home vs. school), family and cultural contexts, and the context of developmental functioning, is highlighted. The chapter ends with a review of clinical implications and suggestions for future research to address gaps in the current knowledge base.
The Interpersonal Context of Early Childhood Development
Authors: McHale James P. , Dickstein Susan
Published: December 2019

With the 2016 release of Zero to Three’s Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, the eyes of the field are newly trained on assessment of the full family caregiving contexts in which children are raised. This chapter presents a conceptual model for assessing coparenting alliances in families of infants and toddlers intended to provide information to both researchers and practitioners. The chapter defines coparenting in a manner that is relevant for various family systems, identifies important elements of effective coparenting alliances, and presents a schematic for assessing quality of coparenting in the young child’s family. Guidance based on lessons learned from extensive field experience with coparenting in diverse families is provided, and both reported and observed coparenting assessment methods are discussed. Growing points for this relatively new field of infant–family mental health assessment are enumerated.
Assessment in Early Care and Education Environments
Authors: Sosinsky Laura Stout , Gordon Rachel A.
Published: December 2019

Early care and education (ECE) settings are major developmental contexts for the majority of young children. This chapter presents research on the importance of these settings for child development, covering measures of setting quality and child outcomes in ECE research and empirical studies relating setting quality to child outcomes in depth. One important issue is the consistently significant but small developmental effects of ECE quality. Current research on possible factors contributing to these small associations is outlined, highlighting the potential for child characteristics to interact with setting quality in supporting or undermining child outcomes and the importance of acknowledging the nonrandom ways in which different families come to use different ECE settings (including barriers to obtaining ECE arrangements that are a good fit for the child and family). The chapter ends with a discussion of current practice and policy, featuring mental health consultation models.