bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The differences in the incidence of diabetes mellitus and prediabetes according to the type of HMG‐CoA reductase inhibitors prescribed in Korean patients
Authors: Kim Tong Min , Kim Hyunah , Jeong Yoo Jin , Baik Sun Jung , Yang So Jung , Lee Seung‐Hwan , Cho Jae‐Hyoung , Lee Hyunyong , Yim Hyeon Woo , Choi In Young , Yoon Kun‐Ho , Kim Hun‐Sung
Published: May 2017

Background

Very few studies conducted in Korea have investigated the relationship between statins and the incidence of diabetes. Therefore, we analyzed the progression from normal blood glucose to prediabetes and then to diabetes mellitus (DM) according to the type, intensity, and dose of statin prescribed.

Methods

Data of patients who were first prescribed statins between 2009 and 2011 were extracted from electronic medical records. Patients with normal blood glucose or prediabetes were observed for 4 years after initiation of statin therapy.

Results

A total of 2890 patients were included in our study and analyzed on the basis of the first statin they were prescribed. The incidence rate of DM in patients with prediabetes was 1.72 times that of patients with normal glucose levels (odds ratio = 1.72, 95% confidence interval = 1.41‐2.10, P < .001). Regarding progression from normal blood glucose to prediabetes, the incidence rate of prediabetes was significantly lower in patients prescribed pitavastatin (odds ratio = 0.62, 95% confidence interval = 0.40‐0.96, P = .031) compared to that in patients prescribed atorvastatin. Regarding the progression from normal blood glucose or prediabetes to DM, there were no significant differences among all statins.

Conclusions

Lower DM incidence in patients prescribed pitavastatin appears to be primarily because of the lower rate of progression from normal blood glucose to prediabetes. These findings indicate that avoiding statins because of DM risk is unjustified and that clinicians should prescribe statins from the appropriate potency group.
Cryostratigraphy and the Sublimation Unconformity in Permafrost from an Ultraxerous Environment, University Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica
Authors: Lapalme Caitlin M. , Lacelle Denis , Pollard Wayne , Fortier Daniel , Davila Alfonso , McKay Christopher P.
Published: May 2017

The cryostratigraphy of permafrost in ultraxerous environments is poorly known. In this study, icy permafrost cores from University Valley (McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica) were analysed for sediment properties, ground‐ice content, types and distribution of cryostructures, and presence of unconformities. No active layer exists in the valley, but the ice table, a sublimation unconformity, ranges from 0 to 60 cm depth. The sediments are characterised as a medium sand, which classifies them as low to non‐frost susceptible. Computed tomography (CT) scan images of the icy permafrost cores revealed composite cryostructures that included the structureless, porous visible, suspended and crustal types. These cryostructures were observed irrespective of ground‐ice origin (vapour deposited and freezing of snow meltwater), suggesting that the type and distribution of cryostructures could not be used as a proxy to infer the mode of emplacement of ground ice. Volumetric ice content derived from the CT scan images underestimated measured volumetric ice content, but approached measured excess ice content. A palaeo‐sublimation unconformity could not be detected from a change in cryostructures, but could be inferred from an increase in ice content at the maximum predicted ice table depth. This study highlights some of the unique ground‐ice processes and cryostructures in ultraxerous environments. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Zinc Oxide–Porphyrin Hybrid Rhombuses: Catalytically Active Microstructures via Self‐Assembly
Authors: Düring Jasmin , Bernhardt Sarah , Gröhn Franziska
Published: May 2017

A novel self‐assembled organic–inorganic hybrid structure consisting of zinc oxide and two oppositely charged porphyrins, showing significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity, is presented. Electrostatic self‐assembly of the cationic tetra‐(N‐methyl‐4‐pyridyl)porphyrin (TMPyP) with preformed assemblies of ZnO nanorods and the anionic tetra‐(4‐sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS) in ethanol results in porphyrin microrhombuses decorated with ZnO nanorods. The structure formation is followed spectroscopically. The shape of the microrhombuses and the number of attached ZnO nanoparticles can be tuned through the porphyrin ratio TMPyP/TPPS. An enhanced and selective catalytic activity is found, giving insight into the degradation mechanism. Due to the tool‐box principle and its versatility, the concept may have great impact in fields such as solar‐energy conversion and optoelectronics.
Westley score and clinical factors in predicting the outcome of croup in the pediatric emergency department
Authors: Yang Wen‐Chieh , Lee Jung , Chen Chun‐Yu , Chang Yu‐Jun , Wu Han‐Ping
Published: May 2017

Background

Westley croup score has been generally used to assess the severity of croup. This study aimed to identify the individual factors associated with Westley score (WS) and other clinical factors in predicting the outcomes in the pediatric emergency department (PED).

Population and Method

We prospectively recruited patients with croup from the PED. The individual factors of WS, fever, age, and the length of hospital stay were analyzed to predict clinical outcomes. We calculated all the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to determine the cutoff values of initial WS discriminating the need for admission to the wards.

Result

A total of 192 patients with croup were enrolled. Cyanosis and altered consciousness were not clinically significant even in patients with severe croup, whereas retraction and air entry were the major factors in WS for predicting clinical outcomes. The initial WS had a strong correlation with the length of hospital stay (r = 0.617, P < 0.001). ROC analysis showed that patients with an initial WS <2 (sensitivity, 5%; specificity, 100%; LR+, 1.05; LR−, 0; AUC, 0.87) were discharged home while the patients with an initial WS ≥5 (sensitivity, 99%; specificity, 57%; LR+, 41.0; LR−, 0.43) were more likely to require to stay in the PED. Patients with an WS ≥6 were more likely to be admitted to the wards (sensitivity, 97%; specificity, 47%; LR+, 416.35; LR−, 0.54; AUC, 0.90)

Conclusion

Patients with an initial WS of 1‐2 could be safely treated at home and those with initial WS >5 required hospitalization for further treatment.
What families have in the emergency tracheostomy kits: Identifying gaps to improve patient safety
Authors: Amin Reshma , Zabih Weeda , Syed Faiza , Polyviou Joanna , Tran Tuyen , Propst Evan J. , Holler Theresa
Published: May 2017

Objective

To evaluate the contents of parent‐created emergency tracheostomy kits and identify deficiencies.

Methods

This was an observational study. Data on emergency tracheostomy kits were abstracted for 30 consecutive children who had a tracheostomy tube in situ during an outpatient clinic visit with the Division of Respiratory Medicine and/or the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children between February 1 and October 30, 2016. A checklist of 12 essential items based on expert consensus was used to evaluate each tracheostomy kit.

Results

Emergency tracheostomy kits from all children were missing at least one item from the 12‐item checklist. Nineteen (63%) kits had three or more critical items missing. All kits had the same size tracheotomy tube. Twenty‐two (73%) kits did not have a half size smaller tracheostomy tube. Fifteen (50%) were missing a manual resuscitation bag and four (13.3%) were missing a suction machine. Children who had tracheostomy tube in situ for ≥4 years were more likely to have ≥3 missing items in their kit (43.4%) compared to those who had tracheostomy tube for <4 years (20%), (χ2 (1) = 9.85, P = 0.0017).

Conclusion

Maintenance of a fully stocked emergency tracheostomy kit can save a child's life. It is incumbent upon healthcare providers to ensure ongoing reassessment of knowledge and skills required to care for a child with a tracheostomy tube and to regularly review the components of a child's emergency tracheostomy kit.
The need to implement the landscape of fear within rodent pest management strategies
Authors: Krijger Inge M , Belmain Steven R , Singleton Grant R , Groot Koerkamp Peter WG , Meerburg Bastiaan G
Published: May 2017

Current reactive pest management methods have serious drawbacks such as the heavy reliance on chemicals, emerging genetic rodenticide resistance and high secondary exposure risks. Rodent control needs to be based on pest species ecology and ethology to facilitate the development of ecologically based rodent management (EBRM). An important aspect of EBRM is a strong understanding of rodent pest species ecology, behaviour and spatiotemporal factors. Gaining insight into the behaviour of pest species is a key aspect of EBRM. The landscape of fear (LOF) is a mapping of the spatial variation in the foraging cost arising from the risk of predation, and reflects the levels of fear a prey species perceives at different locations within its home range. In practice, the LOF maps habitat use as a result of perceived fear, which shows where bait or traps are most likely to be encountered and used by rodents. Several studies have linked perceived predation risk of foraging animals with quitting‐harvest rates or giving‐up densities (GUDs). GUDs have been used to reflect foraging behaviour strategies of predator avoidance, but to our knowledge very few papers have directly used GUDs in relation to pest management strategies. An opportunity for rodent control strategies lies in the integration of the LOF of rodents in EBRM methodologies. Rodent management could be more efficient and effective by concentrating on those areas where rodents perceive the least levels of predation risk. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Diffusion doping of silicon with magnesium
Authors: Astrov Yuri A. , Shuman Valentina B. , Portsel Leonid М. , Lodygin Аnatoly N. , Pavlov Sergey G. , Abrosimov Nikolay V. , Shastin Valery N. , Hübers Heinz‐Wilhelm
Published: May 2017

Doping of silicon with magnesium is investigated by a sandwich diffusion technique. Temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient in the dislocation‐free silicon in the range of 1000–1200 °C is determined. It obeys the Arrhenius behavior over the range of 600–1200 °C, when the data obtained earlier for the lower temperatures are taken into consideration. Preliminary results on Mg diffusion in the dislocated crystals are also presented. The dislocation‐free Si:Mg samples are investigated with the Hall‐effect measurements and the low‐temperature Fourier spectroscopy. A decrease in concentration of Mg interstitials (about 15%) has been observed after 31 months of the samples storage at room temperature, when a commercially available FZ silicon was used as a starting material. The effect of the samples degradation is proposed to be due to a formation of Mg‐O complexes. When using a special silicon purified from oxygen and carbon with concentrations below or equal to 1.5 × 1014 and 5 × 1014 cm−3, respectively, a decrease in the density of interstitial magnesium has not been noticed during this period. The storage of Si:Mg samples prepared from pure silicon gives rise to the formation of an unknown center, whose ionization energy is between the corresponding values for the interstitial Mg0 centers and (Mg‐O)0 complexes.
The di‐interstitial in silicon: Electronic properties and interactions with oxygen and carbon impurity atoms
Authors: Gusakov Vasilii E. , Lastovskii Stanislau B. , Murin Leonid I. , Tolkacheva Ekaterina A. , Khirunenko Lyudmila I. , Sosnin Mikhail G. , Duvanskii Andrei V. , Markevich Vladimir P. , Halsall Matthew P. , Peaker Anthony R. , Kolevatov Ilia , Ayedh Hussein M. , Monakhov Edouard V. , Svensson Bengt G.
Published: May 2017

New experimental and theoretical results on the silicon di‐interstitial (I2) and its interactions with oxygen and carbon impurity atoms in Si crystals are reported. Electronic structure calculations indicate that I2 has an acceptor and a donor level in the gap, which are close to the conduction and the valence band edges, respectively. Experimental results, which support the theoretically predicted high mobility of I2, are discussed. It is argued that mobile I2 can be trapped by oxygen and carbon impurities. The I2O center has a donor level at Ev +0.09 eV. Two absorption bands at 936 and 929 cm−1 are assigned to the local vibrational modes of the I2O defect in the neutral and positively charged states, respectively. The binding energy of I2O relative to the separated I2 and Oi species is 0.22 eV. The disappearance of the I2O complex upon thermal annealing occurs in the temperature range 50–100 °C and is accompanied by the introduction of another defect, which gives rise to two hole emission signals from energy levels at Ev +0.54 and Ev +0.45 eV. It is argued that these levels are related to a complex consisting of interstitial carbon and interstitial silicon atoms (CiI). The stable configurations of the CiI pair have been found.
Mobile Robot Trajectory Planning Under Kinematic and Dynamic Constraints for Partial and Full Field Coverage
Authors: Cariou Christophe , Gobor Zoltan , Seiferth Benjamin , Berducat Michel
Published: May 2017

The constantly rising food demand of a steadily increasing world population requires improvement in efficiency, competitiveness, and productivity of current meat and dairy production systems. Thus, robotics‐based approaches have an important role to play, especially in dairy cattle farming, because the intensive grazing systems depend on numerous time‐consuming and tedious operations required to be carried out to assure an optimal cattle feeding as well as utilization of forage resources. These operations range from data acquisition considering the amount and quality of available forage within the paddocks, to carrying out maintenance operations in order to safeguard high yield with required quality and availability of the forage throughout the whole grazing season. This issue is addressed within the ICT‐AGRI project i‐LEED, in which one of the main tasks is to build accurate and feasible trajectories for a scouting and a maintenance robot to fully or partially cover the paddocks, as well as to reach only targeted spots previously located. This paper presents an original and fully operational method for trajectory planning by designing segments of clothoids while taking into account additional dynamic constraints, such as the steering rate capacity of the robot, its speed, and the maximally allowed transverse acceleration. In case of specific points to reach within a paddock, this approach is completed by morphological operations to first define regions and next rank them w.r.t. the minimal length of travel by solving the traveling salesman problem. Based on the kinematic and dynamic properties of the scouting and maintenance robots devoted to the i‐LEED project, the performances of the proposed planning approaches are presented.
Predictive inference for best linear combination of biomarkers subject to limits of detection
Authors: Coolen‐Maturi Tahani
Published: May 2017

Measuring the accuracy of diagnostic tests is crucial in many application areas including medicine, machine learning and credit scoring. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is a useful tool to assess the ability of a diagnostic test to discriminate between two classes or groups. In practice, multiple diagnostic tests or biomarkers are combined to improve diagnostic accuracy. Often, biomarker measurements are undetectable either below or above the so‐called limits of detection (LoD). In this paper, nonparametric predictive inference (NPI) for best linear combination of two or more biomarkers subject to limits of detection is presented. NPI is a frequentist statistical method that is explicitly aimed at using few modelling assumptions, enabled through the use of lower and upper probabilities to quantify uncertainty. The NPI lower and upper bounds for the ROC curve subject to limits of detection are derived, where the objective function to maximize is the area under the ROC curve. In addition, the paper discusses the effect of restriction on the linear combination's coefficients on the analysis. Examples are provided to illustrate the proposed method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The circular economy: An opportunity for renewal, growth, and stability
Authors: Esposito Mark , Tse Terence , Soufani Khaled
Published: May 2017

Though governments and research institutions are giving more consideration than ever to the regenerative prospects of the circular economy, efficient solutions are still in need. A perfunctory look at the numbers shows some unsustainable and troubling math. It has been estimated that growing global consumer demands will require the natural resources of two Earths by the year 2030. Creating a circular economy that can meet those demands in the face of resource scarcity requires more than creating products from recycled plastic or building sustainable homes and offices.
Water management in Mesopotamia from the sixth till the first millennium B.C.
Authors: Rost Stephanie
Published: May 2017

The organization of ancient water control and irrigation has been a matter of debate in particular with regard to the role of the state. More often than not a deeply centralized management is assumed, especially for large‐scale water control and irrigation systems, despite the lack of empirical evidence. Such assumptions are frequently based on the perception that irrigation and water control requires a massive (though often unquantified) amount of capital investment, labor, and a level of coordination and cooperation which could only be provided and enforced by a central authority. Given that most early civilizations, in particular of the Old World developed in river valleys, allegedly supported such notions of a close correlation between water management and socio‐political complexity. More recently, claims about heavy state involvement in ancient irrigation and water management has been called into question, often however without being able to provide evidence for alternative explanations. Reason being that for most relevant cases we lack the necessary empirical evidence to measure the level of state involvement in the management of water and irrigation. The major exception is Mesopotamia with its exceptionally rich archeological and textual record on ancient water control which allows for a more nuanced understanding of the actual role of ancient states in the organization of irrigation and water management. This article reviews this evidence from the sixth till the first millennium B.C. and shows that state involvement in the organization of irrigation and water control within the same environmental context varied considerably over the course of several millennia. I argue for a close correlation between the level of state involvement in irrigation and water management and the way arable land was exploited by state institutions. In addition, I argue that environmental changes at times warranted state interventions out of necessity but also to the ideological concept of rulership as the protector and provider of agricultural profusion.WIREs Water2017, 4:e1230. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1230

This article is categorized under:

Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water

Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change

Human Water > Water Governance
Baseline layout and design of a 0.8 GW reference wind farm in the North Sea
Authors: Bak Thomas , Graham Angus , Sapronova Alla , Florian Mihai , Dalsgaard Sørensen John , Knudsen Torben , Hou Peng , Chen Zhe
Published: May 2017

The paper presents a model of a reference wind farm. The model considers the wind and wave climatologies for a specific site from which two different wind farm layouts are derived. These layouts are examined through the effective wake‐enhanced turbulence intensity at the hub height for a given climatology, and a simple model for the influence on capital expenditures is proposed. An electrical design is presented, the cable losses are calculated and the energy yield is determined. An operation and maintenance model is established, and the associated operating expenditure is obtained. All of the models are then summarized in terms of a levelized cost of energy using a numerical simulation tool, which allows the layouts to be compared. The data and models are freely available online for others to use and may serve as a baseline for benchmarking and allow researchers to compare and discuss their results. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance evaluation of a floating lidar buoy in nearshore conditions
Authors: Gutiérrez‐Antuñano Miguel A. , Tiana‐Alsina Jordi , Rocadenbosch Francesc
Published: May 2017

This work provides a signal‐processing and statistical‐error analysis methodology to assess key performance indicators for a floating Doppler wind lidar. The study introduces the raw‐to‐clean data processing chain, error assessment indicators and key performance indicators, as well as two filtering methods at post‐processing level to alleviate the impact of angular motion and spatial variability of the wind flow on the performance indicators. Towards this aim, the study mainly revisits horizontal wind speed (HWS) and turbulence intensity measurements with a floating ZephIR 300 lidar buoy during a 38 day nearshore test campaign in Pont del Petroli (Barcelona). Typical day cases along with overall statistics for the whole campaign are discussed to illustrate the methodology and processing tools developed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Efficacy of travel management areas for reducing disturbance to mule deer during hunting seasons
Authors: Curtis Angelique M. , Du Toit Johan T.
Published: May 2017

For 50 years, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, USA, has designated travel management areas (TMAs) in which certain roads are closed to motorized traffic during hunting seasons with the goal of reducing disturbance to mule deer (Odocoilius hemionus). The efficacy of TMAs has not been tested. We measured the effects of temporary road closures on mule deer locations during the 2015 hunting season in 2 TMAs in eastern Oregon. We used data collected during 1 August–31 October 2015 from female mule deer (n = 90) fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters programmed for a 13‐hr fix interval. Euclidean distance to the nearest “closed” and “open” road was measured for each GPS location. Our results for Murderers Creek–Flagtail and Camp Creek TMAs were mixed but opposite to our predictions. Locations of deer that were nearer to open roads than closed roads were more frequent than expected for both TMAs. Mean distance from a deer location to a closed road was less than to an open road in both TMAs (85% less in Camp Creek and 21% less in Murderers Creek–Flagtail) but then in both cases, mean distance to any road (closed or open) was >2× greater inside the TMA than outside. Our results found no consistent effect of temporary demarcations of road closures in the TMAs. Management recommendations include designating a more even balance of closed and open roads for statistically improved monitoring of TMA efficacy, better enforcement of road closures during hunting seasons, and better demarcation (signage) of both closed and open roads in each TMA. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.
Nutritional recommendations for individuals with Flammer syndrome
Authors: Vahedian Zakieh , Fakhraie Ghasem , Bovet Jerome , Mozaffarieh Maneli
Published: May 2017

The Flammer syndrome (FS) describes the phenotype of people with a predisposition for an altered reaction of the blood vessels to stimuli like coldness or emotional stress. The question whether such people should be treated is often discussed. On the one hand, most of these subjects are healthy; on the other hand, FS seems to predispose to certain eye diseases such as normal tension glaucoma or retinitis pigmentosa or systemic diseases such as multiple sclerosis or tinnitus. A compromise between doing nothing and a drug treatment is the adaption of nutrition. But what do we mean by healthy food consumption for subjects with FS? The adaption of nutrition depends on the health condition. Whereas patients with e.g. a metabolic syndrome should reduce their calorie intake, this can be counterproductive for subjects with FS, as most subjects with FS have already a low body mass index (BMI) and the lower the BMI the stronger the FS symptoms. Accordingly, while fasting is healthy e.g. for subjects with metabolic syndrome, fasting can even dangerously aggravate the vascular dysregulation, as it has been nicely demonstrated by the loss of retinal vascular regulation during fasting. To give another example, while reducing salt intake is recommended for subjects with systemic hypertensions, such a salt restriction can aggravate systemic hypotension and thereby indirectly also the vascular regulation in subjects with FS. This clearly demonstrates that such a preventive adaption of nutrition needs to be personalized.
Optimization of high-yielding protocol for DNA extraction from the forest rhizosphere microbes
Authors: Satyanarayana Sadam D. V. , Krishna M. S. R. , Kumar Pindi Pavan
Published: May 2017

Soil is major reservoir for microbes and harbors a vast microbial diversity. Soil microbiota plays a pivotal role in biogeochemical cycles, bioremediation, and in health and disease states of humans, animals, and plants. It is imperative to understand the microbial signatures which are specific in such an ecosystem to unravel their potential role and impact on environment. During the recent years, exploration of soil microbial communities has been geared up with the advent of advanced sequencing technologies. Introduction of custom-made protocols and optimized procedures have enhanced the accuracy levels along with cost-effectiveness of DNA extraction. Standardization of DNA extraction method from soil microbiota has its own limitations due to different nature of soils and the complexity of ecosystems. Though a few standardized protocols are in usage, huge variations and complexities among the microbial communities frequently suggest the optimization, based on various known and unknown factors. Therefore, a set of four standardized DNA isolation protocols was comparatively analyzed with respect to our custom-made protocol owing to the scientific fact that the same protocol does not hold good for all soil samples. Furthermore, the developed protocol has been successfully applied for the identification of efficient plant-specific Rhizobial stains for five legume plants from the soils of various locations under same geographical region. Out of 40 Badrachalam forest soils, five samples, KPFS36, CHFS17, TPFS33, GVFS06, and GPFS40, one for each of Arachis hypogaea, Vigna radiata, Vigna mungo, Glycine max, and Cicer arietinum plants, were selected, respectively, for the soil DNA extraction. A considerable improvement in the DNA yield was identified using the modified protocol with a yield of 21.08 μg/g providing abundant DNA fragments for further investigation on Rhizobial species.
Resilience in the face of peer victimisation and discrimination: The who, when and why in five patterns of adjustment
Authors: Freitas Daniela Fonseca , Coimbra Susana , Marturano Edna Maria , Marques Susana C. , Oliveira José Egídio , Fontaine Anne Marie
Published: May 2017

Victimisation has a negative effect on psychosocial functioning. Based on the resilience theory, and with a sample of 2975 Portuguese students, the present study aims to: i) identify patterns of adjustment in the face of peer victimisation and perceptions of discrimination; ii) explore the association between the patterns of adjustment and the characteristics of participants (the who) and of the victimisation (the when and why). Cluster analysis revealed five patterns of adjustment: Unchallenged; Externally Maladjusted; Internally Maladjusted; Resilient, and At‐Risk. The results suggest that there is no complete resilience in the face of social victimisation. Group differences were found regarding: i) gender, type of course, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, parental educational level and religious beliefs; ii) the age at which peer victimisation was more frequent, and; iii) the motives underlying discrimination. Globally considered, peer victimisation is representative of the wider cultural environment and interventions should also target social prejudices.
The influence of father involvement in adolescents' overall development in Taiwan
Authors: Su Li Ping , Kubricht Bryan , Miller Richard
Published: May 2017

Western Studies show that father involvement is predictive of adolescent development; however, there are few studies that demonstrate this relationship in Chinese cultures, including Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of father involvement on adolescents' development in areas of academic achievement, self‐esteem, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors in Taiwan. This study utilized dyadic data of 1043 10th graders from wave 5 of a longitudinal study on adolescent development in Taiwan. The study utilized student reports of father involvement, child academic achievement, externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors, and self‐esteem. Structural equation modeling results indicate father involvement significantly predicts child academic achievement, externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors, and self‐esteem. Gender analysis shows that male adolescents exhibited more externalizing behaviors, whereas female adolescents exhibited more internalizing behaviors. The findings of this study provide evidence that father involvement is important for the overall wellbeing of adolescents in Chinese cultures.
The mediating role of social skills and sensation seeking in the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment in adolescents
Authors: Nikooyeh Elika , Zarani Fariba , Fathabadi Jalil
Published: May 2017

Drawing upon a sample of 400 female high school students in Tehran, Iran, the present study examines the mediating role of social skills and sensation seeking in the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment in adolescent girls. Statistical analysis revealed positive correlations between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment; trait emotional intelligence and social skills; and social skills and school adjustment. The study also revealed a negative correlation between trait emotional intelligence and sensation seeking, as well as sensation seeking and school adjustment. In addition, the data provided a good fit to the hypothesized model of the mediating role of social skills and sensation seeking in the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment.
A family of degenerate elliptic operators: Maximum principle and its consequences
Authors: Birindelli Isabeau , Galise Giulio , Ishii Hitoshi
Published: May 2017

In this paper we investigate the validity and the consequences of the maximum principle for degenerate elliptic operators whose higher order term is the sum of
k
eigenvalues of the Hessian. In particular we shed some light on some very unusual phenomena due to the degeneracy of the operator. We prove moreover Lipschitz regularity results and boundary estimates under convexity assumptions on the domain. As a consequence we obtain the existence of solutions of the Dirichlet problem and of principal eigenfunctions.
Using Read-Alouds of Grade-Level Social Studies Text and Systematic Prompting to Promote Comprehension for Students with Severe Disabilities
Authors: Courtade Ginevra R. , Gurney Beth Newberry , Carden Rachel
Published: May 2017

Learning social studies content is important for all students, including those with severe disabilities. However, there is a limited amount of research that specifically examines teaching social studies to this population of students. Therefore, educators must look to research-based practices in other academic areas (e.g., English language arts) to determine new strategies to teach this important content. Using a multiple probe across participants design, three fifth-grade students with severe disabilities were taught to answer comprehension questions during read-alouds of social studies text using a modified system of least prompts and graphic organizer. Findings indicate all students improved on the correct number of comprehension questions answered independently. Implications for practice and ideas for future research to teach social studies to students with severe disabilities are discussed.
Non-thermal laser driven plasma-blocks for proton boron avalanche fusion as direct drive option
Authors: Hora Heinrich , Eliezer Shalom , Nissim Noaz , Lalousis Paraskevas
Published: May 2017

Fusion energy from protons reacting with 11B, HB11, is extremely difficult or impossible when using thermal ignition by laser irradiation. This changes radically when using picosecond laser pulses with powers above petawatts dominated by nonlinear force driven ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks for a non-thermal initiation of igniting solid density HB11 fuel. For a cylindrical trapping of the reaction, laser produced ultrahigh magnetic fields above kiloTesla, have to be combined. The experimentally confirmed highly increased HB11 fusion gains due to avalanche reaction may lead to a scheme of an environmentally clean and economic power reactor.
COULD KNOWLEDGE-TALK BE LARGELY NON-LITERAL?
Authors: Chung Julianne
Published: May 2017

Much work in epistemology, old and new, is devoted to explaining – or explaining away – the appeal of skeptical arguments (that is, arguments designed to impugn most, if not all, of our claims to know), as well as the fact that it also often seems as if we use knowledge-attributing sentences to express truths. More recently, philosophers have sought to explain other kinds of variability in our use of knowledge-attributing sentences besides, such as the kinds of variability that occur as a result of changing what is at stake or the salience of alternative possibilities, as in scenarios such as Keith DeRose's “bank cases.” These cases, and others like them, pose a dilemma very much like that posed by skeptical arguments. For they appear to suggest that we are wrong about something. Either we speak falsely when we attribute knowledge in the situations under consideration, or we speak falsely when we deny it. Or so it would seem. This paper argues that an alternative approach to explaining the relevant variability in our use of knowledge-attributing sentences – namely, a fictionalist one – merits serious consideration.
Convergence of a Time Discretization for a Nonlinear Second-Order Inclusion
Authors: Bartosz Krzysztof , Gasiński Leszek , Liu Zhenhai , Szafraniec Paweł
Published: May 2017

We study an abstract second order inclusion involving two nonlinear single-valued operators and a nonlinear multi-valued term. Our goal is to establish the existence of solutions to the problem by applying numerical scheme based on time discretization. We show that the sequence of approximate solution converges weakly to a solution of the exact problem. We apply our abstract result to a dynamic, second-order-in-time differential inclusion involving a Clarke subdifferential of a locally Lipschitz, possibly non-convex and non-smooth potential. In the two presented examples the Clarke subdifferential appears either in a source term or in a boundary term.
Conserving a globally threatened species in a semi-natural, agrarian landscape
Authors: Ibbett Harriet , Lay Chansetha , Phlai Ponlork , Song Det , Hong Chamnan , Mahood Simon P. , Milner-Gulland E. J.
Published: May 2017

Agriculture threatens biodiversity across the tropics, particularly in semi-natural grassland landscapes, where human populations are high, habitat is easily converted and agriculture is prone to intensification. Over the last 20 years intensive, commercial dry season rice cultivation has emerged as the dominant threat to the Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis, a globally threatened bustard that breeds in the seasonally inundated grasslands of central Cambodia. Although floricans have been extensively monitored for 10 years, no socioeconomic research has been undertaken to examine how local livelihood activities interact with the florican. We conducted household questionnaires and focus groups in 21 villages in the Northern Tonle Sap Conservation Landscape to gather information on household demographics, rice farming and bird hunting in protected and unprotected areas of florican breeding habitat. We identified a significant increase in dry season rice adoption by local communities since 2005. Dry season rice cultivation was strongly associated with agrochemical use and rice fields directly overlapped with florican breeding habitat, reducing habitat availability throughout the breeding season. We identified a low but significant level of bird hunting in grassland households (8%) and revealed a demand for wild bird meat amongst local communities. Our findings suggest an urgent need for conservation interventions in unprotected farmland and emphasize the role of enforcement and community engagement in improving protection within protected areas. We highlight the potential of private sector initiatives such as the Sustainable Rice Platform in reconciling conservation and development for impoverished rural communities.
Co-occurrence of DSM-IV mental disorders and alcohol use disorder among adult Chinese males
Authors: Cheng H. G. , Phillips M. R. , Li X. , Zhang J. , Shi Q. , Xu G. , Song Z. , Ding Z. , Pang S.
Published: May 2017

Background

Studies from high-income countries report moderate-to-strong positive associations between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other mental disorders, but there is little evidence about the comorbidity of AUD from low-and-middle-income countries.

Methods

A sample of 74 752 adults from five provinces that account for >12% of China's adult population was screened using the General Health Questionnaire, and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV was administered by psychiatrists to a subsample of 9619 males. The associations between AUD and other mental disorders at each site and the characteristics of men with AUD with and without comorbid mental disorders were estimated using logistic regression and summarized across sites using meta-analysis. Generalized estimation equations estimated the associations between the clinical features of alcohol dependence and comorbidity.

Results

Robust inverse associations were found between current AUD and any mood disorder (adjusted OR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.4–0.8) and any anxiety disorder (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3–1.0). Compared with men without AUD, men with AUD without comorbid disorders were more likely to be middle-aged, to be currently married, and to have higher family incomes. Men with comorbid AUD and other disorders were more likely to have the clinical features of alcohol dependence than men with AUD without comorbid disorders.

Conclusions

Inverse associations between AUD and other mental disorders and the higher social status of men with AUD than men without AUD found in this large, representative sample of community-dwelling Chinese males highlight the importance of considering the local substance-use culture when designing clinical or preventive interventions for addictive conditions.
Cellular automata over generalized Cayley graphs
Authors: ARRIGHI PABLO , MARTIEL SIMON , NESME VINCENT
Published: May 2017

It is well-known that cellular automata can be characterized as the set of translation-invariant continuous functions over a compact metric space; this point of view makes it easy to extend their definition from grids to Cayley graphs. Cayley graphs have a number of useful features: the ability to graphically represent finitely generated group elements and their relations; to name all vertices relative to an origin; and the fact that they have a well-defined notion of translation. We propose a notion of graphs, which preserves or generalizes these features. Whereas Cayley graphs are very regular, generalized Cayley graphs are arbitrary, although of a bounded degree. We extend cellular automata theory to these arbitrary, bounded degree, time-varying graphs. The obtained notion of cellular automata is stable under composition and under inversion.
Critical Window for Connectivity in the Configuration Model
Authors: FEDERICO LORENZO , VAN DER HOFSTAD REMCO
Published: May 2017

We identify the asymptotic probability of a configuration model CMn(d) producing a connected graph within its critical window for connectivity that is identified by the number of vertices of degree 1 and 2, as well as the expected degree. In this window, the probability that the graph is connected converges to a non-trivial value, and the size of the complement of the giant component weakly converges to a finite random variable. Under a finite second moment condition we also derive the asymptotics of the connectivity probability conditioned on simplicity, from which follows the asymptotic number of simple connected graphs with a prescribed degree sequence.
Clinical epidemiology and centre variation in chylothorax rates after cardiac surgery in children: a report from the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium
Authors: Buckley Jason R. , Graham Eric M. , Gaies Michael , Alten Jeffrey A. , Cooper David S. , Costello John M. , Domnina Yuliya , Klugman Darren , Pasquali Sara K. , Donohue Janet E. , Zhang Wenying , Scheurer Mark A.
Published: May 2017

Introduction

Chylothorax after paediatric cardiac surgery incurs significant morbidity; however, a detailed understanding that does not rely on single-centre or administrative data is lacking. We described the present clinical epidemiology of postoperative chylothorax and evaluated variation in rates among centres with a multicentre cohort of patients treated in cardiac ICU.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study using prospectively collected clinical data from the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium registry. All postoperative paediatric cardiac surgical patients admitted from October, 2013 to September, 2015 were included. Risk factors for chylothorax and association with outcomes were evaluated using multivariable logistic or linear regression models, as appropriate, accounting for within-centre clustering using generalised estimating equations.

Results

A total of 4864 surgical hospitalisations from 15 centres were included. Chylothorax occurred in 3.8% (n=185) of hospitalisations. Case-mix-adjusted chylothorax rates varied from 1.5 to 7.6% and were not associated with centre volume. Independent risk factors for chylothorax included age <1 year, non-Caucasian race, single-ventricle physiology, extracardiac anomalies, longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, and thrombosis associated with an upper-extremity central venous line (all p<0.05). Chylothorax was associated with significantly longer duration of postoperative mechanical ventilation, cardiac ICU and hospital length of stay, and higher in-hospital mortality (all p<0.001).

Conclusions

Chylothorax after cardiac surgery in children is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A five-fold variation in chylothorax rates was observed across centres. Future investigations should identify centres most adept at preventing and managing chylothorax and disseminate best practices.
Comparison of the therapeutic effects and side effects of tadalafil and sildenafil after surgery in young infants with pulmonary arterial hypertension due to systemic-to-pulmonary shunts
Authors: Sabri Mohammad Reza , Bigdelian Hamid , Hosseinzadeh Mohsen , Ahmadi Alireza , Ghaderian Mehdi , Shoja Mohammad
Published: May 2017

Young children with CHD and large systemic-to-pulmonary shunts eventually develop pulmonary hypertension. At present, phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors such as sildenafil have been used to control pulmonary pressure before and after cardiac surgery. Recently, tadalafil has been utilised in older children with similar efficacy, but it has been used to a lesser extent in young infants. From April, 2015 to June, 2016, 42 patients aged 3–24 months with a large septal defect and pulmonary arterial hypertension were randomly divided into two equal groups: one group received oral sildenafil (1–3 mg/kg/day every 8 hours), whereas the other group received oral tadalafil (1 mg/kg once a day) from 7–10 days before surgery to 3–4 weeks after surgery. During the first 48 hours after surgery, pulmonary artery-to-aortic pressure ratio and recorded systolic pulmonary artery pressures were not significantly different between the two groups (p>0.05); moreover, there were no differences in paediatric ICU length of stay, mechanical ventilation time, clinical findings of low cardiac output state, and echocardiographic data between the two groups (p>0.05). Most of the patients had no side effects, and only five patients had a minor with no significant difference in both groups (p=0.371). Tadalafil can be considered as an effective oral therapy for preoperative and postoperative pulmonary hypertension in young infants. It can be administered at a once-daily dose with an appropriate efficacy and safety profile as sildenafil, and therefore it can be considered as an alternative to sildenafil in young children.
Comparative environmental impact assessments of green food certified cucumber and conventional cucumber cultivation in China
Authors: Wang Fang , Liu Yuexian , Ouyang Xihui , Hao Jianqiang , Yang Xiaosong
Published: May 2017

The need to ensure food safety has been recognized in China and the ‘Green Food’ system is used to restrict the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in its certified products. There has been limited study of the environmental impacts associated with the production of green food certified (GFC) products in China. In this study, life cycle assessment was used to evaluate environmental impacts of GFC cucumber cultivated under a greenhouse system in the suburbs of Beijing relative to conventional cultivation (CON), with the aim of identifying the key areas of potential environmental burden in cucumber cultivation. Eight environmental impact categories are considered, including global warming potential, energy depletion (ED), water depletion, acidification potential, aquatic eutrophication (AEU), human toxicity (HT), aquatic eco-toxicity (AET) and soil eco-toxicity (SET). Results showed that the environmental index of the GFC cucumber system was higher than that of the CON cucumber system. SET, EU and ED were identified as the main potential environmental impacts in cucumber systems, largely caused by fertilizer use on the farm. The potentials of HT and AET in GFC cucumber were lower than those in the CON system, mainly due to the reduced use of chemical pesticides. The agricultural input of plastics was the main contributor to energy depletion in both cucumber cultivation systems. Potential approaches to mitigate the environmental impacts of cucumber cultivation include increasing the fertilizer use efficiency, avoiding use of animal manure with high heavy metal content and recycling of plastics under the GFC cultivation system.
Selbstvernachlässigung
Authors: Buneta Thomas
Published: May 2017

Zusammenfassung. Psychiatrisch Pflegende haben die tägliche Aufgabe, ein Gespür für die Selbstvernachlässigung psychisch erkrankter Menschen zu entwickeln. Die Wahrnehmung, in welchem Kontext Selbstvernachlässigung stattfinden kann und welche Erwartungen an psychiatrisch Pflegende gestellt werden, ist zu schärfen. Eine vollumfängliche Beschreibung des alltäglichen Phänomens ist in diesem Rahmen kaum zu bewerkstelligen. Vielmehr geht es um eine offene und aufrichtige Haltung zu diesen anspruchsvollen Anforderungen.