bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonism Ameliorates Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and Myocardial Fibrosis in Mildly Symptomatic Patients With Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Izawa Hideo , Murohara Toyoaki , Nagata Kohzo , Isobe Satoshi , Asano Hiroyuki , Amano Tetsuya , Ichihara Sahoko , Kato Tomoko , Ohshima Satoru , Murase Yosuke , Iino Shigeo , Obata Koji , Noda Akiko , Okumura Kenji , Yokota Mitsuhiro
Published: September 2018

Background—

Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism reduces mortality associated with heart failure by mechanisms that remain unclear. The effects of the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist spironolactone on left ventricular (LV) function and chamber stiffness associated with myocardial fibrosis were investigated in mildly symptomatic patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Methods and Results—

Twenty-five DCM patients with a New York Heart Association functional class of I or II were examined before and after treatment with spironolactone for 12 months. LV pressures and volumes were measured simultaneously, and LV endomyocardial biopsy specimens were obtained. Serum concentrations of the carboxyl-terminal propeptide (PIP) and carboxyl-terminal telopeptide (CITP) of collagen type I were measured. The patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of the serum PIP/CITP ratio (≤35, group A, n=12; >35, group B, n=13), an index of myocardial collagen accumulation. LV diastolic chamber stiffness, the collagen volume fraction, and abundance of collagen type I and III mRNAs in biopsy tissue were greater and the LV early diastolic strain rate (tissue Doppler echocardiography) was smaller in group B than in group A at baseline. These differences and the difference in PIP/CITP were greatly reduced after treatment of patients in group B with spironolactone, with treatment having no effect on these parameters in group A. The collagen volume fraction was significantly correlated with PIP/CITP, LV early diastolic strain rate, and LV diastolic chamber stiffness for all patients before and after treatment with spironolactone.

Conclusions—

Spironolactone ameliorated LV diastolic dysfunction and reduced chamber stiffness in association with regression of myocardial fibrosis in mildly symptomatic patients with DCM. These effects appeared limited, however, to patients with increased myocardial collagen accumulation.
Extracardiac Progenitor Cells Repopulate Most Major Cell Types in the Transplanted Human Heart
Authors: Minami Elina , Laflamme Michael A. , Saffitz Jeffrey E. , Murry Charles E.
Published: September 2018

Background—

Extracardiac progenitor cells are capable of repopulating cardiomyocytes at very low levels in the human heart after injury. Here, we explored the extent of endothelial, smooth muscle, and Schwann cell chimerism in patients with sex-mismatched (female-to-male) heart transplants.

Methods and Results—

Autopsy specimens from 5 patients and endomyocardial biopsies from 7 patients were used for this study. Endothelial, vascular smooth muscle, and Schwann cells were stained with antibodies against CD31 or
Ulex europaeus
lectin, smooth muscle α-actin, and S-100, respectively, and the Y chromosome was identified with in situ hybridization. Biopsy specimens from 1, 4, 6, and 12 months and 5 and 10 years after heart transplantation were evaluated. Y-positive cells were counted by conventional bright-field microscopy and confirmed by confocal microscopy. Endothelial cells showed the highest degree of chimerism, averaging 24.3±8.2% from extracardiac sources. Schwann cells showed the next highest chimerism, averaging 11.2±2.1%; vascular smooth muscle cells averaged 3.4±1.8%. All 3 cell types showed substantially higher chimerism than we previously observed for cardiomyocytes (0.04±0.05%). Endothelial chimerism was much higher in the microcirculation than in larger vessels. Analysis of serial endomyocardial biopsies revealed that high levels of endothelial chimerism occurred as early as 1 month after transplantation (22±6.6%) with no significant increases even up to 10 years after cardiac transplantation.

Conclusions—

Extracardiac progenitor cells are capable of repopulating most major cell types in the heart, but they do so with varying frequency. The signals for endothelial progenitor recruitment occur early and could relate to injury during allograft harvest or transplantation. The high degree of endothelial chimerism may have immune implications such as for myocardial rejection or graft vasculopathy.
Prostaglandin E
2
Receptor 2 Modulates Macrophage Activity for Cardiac Repair
Authors: Wu Jasmine M. F. , Cheng Yuan‐Yuan , Tang Tony W. H. , Shih Crystal , Chen Jyh‐Hong , Hsieh Patrick C. H.
Published: September 2018

Background

Prostaglandin E
2
has long been known to be an immune modulator. It is released after tissue injury and plays a role in modulating macrophage activities, which are essential for tissue regeneration. However, the involvement of prostaglandin E
2
receptor 2 (
EP
2)–dependent regulation of macrophages in postischemic heart is unclear. This study aims to evaluate the role of
EP
2 in damaged heart.

Methods and Results

The effect of
EP
2 in postischemic heart was evaluated using
EP
2‐deficient transgenic mice. We demonstrated that cardiac function was worse after myocardial injury on loss of
EP
2. Furthermore,
EP
2 deficiency also altered proinflammatory response and resulted in a defect in macrophage recruitment to the injured myocardium. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression of erythroid differentiation regulator 1 (
Erdr1
) was significantly induced in
EP
2‐deficient macrophages. Knocking down
Erdr1
expression restored migration ability of
EP
2‐deficient cells both in vitro and in vivo. By using a genetic fate‐mapping approach, we showed that abolishment of

EP
2

expression effectively attenuated cell replenishment.

Conclusions

The EP
2‐dependent signaling pathway plays a critical role in regulating macrophage recruitment to the injured myocardium, thereby exerting a function in modulating the inflammatory microenvironment for cardiac repair.
Female Sex as a Risk Factor for Ischemic Stroke and Systemic Embolism in Chinese Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Report From the China‐AF Study
Authors: Lan Di‐Hui , Jiang Chao , Du Xin , He Liu , Guo Xue‐Yuan , Zuo Song , Xia Shi‐Jun , Chang San‐Shuai , Wen Song‐Nan , Wu Jia‐Hui , Ruan Yan‐Fei , Long De‐Yong , Tang Ri‐Bo , Yu Rong‐Hui , Sang Cai‐Hua , Bai Rong , Liu Nian , Jiang Chen‐Xi , Li Song‐Nan , Dong Jian‐Zeng , Lip Gregory Y. H. , Chen Ai‐Hua , Ma Chang‐Sheng
Published: September 2018

Background

Previous studies have provided conflicting results as to whether women are at higher risk than men for thromboembolism in the setting of atrial fibrillation (
AF
). We investigated whether women with
AF
were at higher risk of ischemic stroke in the China‐AF (China Atrial Fibrillation Registry) Study.

Methods and Results

A total of 19 515 patients were prospectively enrolled between August 2011 and December 2016 in the China‐
AF
Study. After exclusion of patients receiving anticoagulation or ablation therapy, 6239 patients (2574 women) with results from at least 6 months of follow‐up were used for the analysis. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to evaluate whether female sex was an independent risk factor for thromboembolism after multivariate adjustment. The primary outcome was the time to the first occurrence of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism. After a mean follow‐up of 2.81±1.46 years, 152 female patients reached the primary outcome, as compared with 172 male patients. Crude incidence rates of thromboembolism between women and men were of borderline statistical significance (2.08 versus 1.68 per 100 patient‐years,
P
=0.058). After multivariable analysis, female sex was not independently associated with an increased thromboembolism risk (hazard ratio 1.09, 95% confidence interval 0.86‐1.39). There was no significant difference in thromboembolism risk by sex stratified by age and presence or absence of risk factors (
P
for interaction all >0.1).

Conclusions

Although crude incidence rates of thromboembolism were higher in Chinese female patients with
AF
compared with male patients, female sex did not emerge as an independent risk factor for thromboembolism on multivariate analysis.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
http://www.chictr.org.cn/
. Unique identifier: Chi
CTR
‐
OCH
‐13003729.
Die Königsbeurteilungen und die Literargeschichte des Deuteronomistischen Geschichtswerks Anmerkungen zu einer kontroversen Diskussion
Authors: Lee Sang-Won
Published: September 2018

In der gegenwärtigen Forschungsdiskussion um die Literargeschichte des bzw. Existenz eines Deuteronomistischen Geschichtswerks spielen redaktionsgeschichtliche Differenzierungen zwischen den Beurteilungskriterien Kulteinheit und Kultreinheit sowie den Beurteilten Königen und Volk eine große Rolle. Eine Untersuchung der Königsbeurteilungen in 1-2 Könige zeigt jedoch, dass sowohl die Kriterien Kulteinheit und Kultreinheit als auch die Zuweisung der Verantwortlichkeit an Könige und Volk in komplexer aber systematischer Weise aufeinander bezogen sind. Eine literargeschichtliche Differenzierung entlang dieser Linien erweist sich als schwierig. Zudem lässt der Umgang mit den Kriterien Kulteinheit und Kultreinheit in der Darstellung der vorstaatlichen Epochen narrative Strategien erkennen, die darauf zielen, zwischen Idealkonzept und dargestelltem Geschichtsverlauf zu vermitteln. Die These M. Noths zu einem dtr Werkzusammenhang in Dtn-2Kön ist daher (mit kleinerem Modifikationen) keineswegs obsolet.
Invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) affect egg-laying and behaviour of Spanish pygmy newts (Triturus pygmaeus)
Authors: Cabrera-Guzmán Elisa , Díaz-Paniagua Carmen , Gomez-Mestre Ivan
Published: September 2018

Invasive species are one of the main causes of amphibian declines worldwide, often through direct predation. Even species or life stages that may not be prone to predation by invasive animals can be affected through alterations of their reproductive behaviour and/or performance. This aspect is less commonly investigated, and may be important for understanding the full impact of invasive species on local amphibian populations. We used laboratory experiments to measure effects of the invasive Eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) on gravid pygmy newts (Triturus pygmaeus) from southern Spain. Gravid newts altered their position in the water column by moving from the bottom of the aquaria to the surface when in the presence of free-swimming mosquitofish, presumably to reduce physical contact with them. Newts also detected and consumed less prey in presence of free mosquitofish. Newts exposed to caged or free-swimming mosquitofish laid fewer eggs than newts not exposed to the invasive species, suggesting that chemical or visual cues alone were sufficient to alter the behaviour of gravid newts. Our results suggest that mosquitofish can reduce the reproductive success of native pygmy newts in the wild, highlighting the need for management efforts to mitigate this impact.
Beckett et Berio à l’ écoute de voix innommables
Authors: Negrete Fernanda
Published: September 2018

Cet article propose un dialogue intermédial entre L’ innommable de Beckett et la Sinfonia de Luciano Berio, où l’ on entend des fragments de The Unnamable, afin d’ entreprendre une analyse des questions de la voix, de la subjectivité, et de leur irréductible expérience hétérogène face à la parole et au langage. Sinfonia incite à une entente non-narrative du texte beckettien en français, là où la folle multiplication de sens nous heurte, à travers les énoncés musicaux beckettiens, au non-dit et à l’ indicible. Le Purgatoire de Dante fournit la “scène primitive” qui suscite telle disruption essentielle du sens et d’ une lecture linéaire chez Beckett. L’ article conclut par une réflexion autour de la fonction résonnante de l’ eau dans Sinfonia et dans L’ Innommable.
“Torn by Enormous Pauses”
Authors: Hensch Laura
Published: September 2018

Like Beckett’s description of Beethoven’s seventh symphony as a “sound surface, torn by enormous pauses,” the language surface in How It Is is broken by typographic spaces. Drawing on the imagery in the German Letter in conjunction with two similar aesthetic metaphors—Hölderlin’s theory of tragic caesurae as “counter-rhythmic rupture[s]” and Deleuze’s understanding of Beckett’s “pure images” as “holes” in language—I identify two types of caesurae in How It Is. Finally, after establishing the way in which Hölderlin’s caesura and Deleuze’s “pure image” overlap, I locate the work’s most fundamental rupture and propose that, in a reading based purely on form, this rupture has a pivotal function comparable to the turning point of a conventional novel.
Ghosts of Love
Authors: Gontarski Stanley E.
Published: September 2018

This essay focuses on two laboratory performances. First was my staging of Ohio Impromptu, a bi-lingual, imagistic, multi-media performance that I directed in Sopot, Poland in May of 2016 with Polish filmmaker Elvin Flamingo as a laboratory performance. Part of the attraction to such a research exercise was the opportunity to work again with English actor Jon McKenna, and with legendary Polish actor Ryszard Ronchewski, who played Lucky in a Polish production of Waiting for Godot in the 1950s. The following year I returned to what I saw as an incomplete research project, as I was afforded a similar opportunity to explore another work for a laboratory performance, “… but the clouds …,” a treatment of love lost, through abandonment or death, perhaps, as a set of haunting images or images of hauntings. These were attempts to excavate possibilities of the work in intense, two-day laboratory rehearsals and performances. In the case of “… but the clouds …,” I worked with Polish filmmakers Szymon and Martyna Eliasz and their team, with whom we decided to film and record all of the teleplay except the comings and goings, and the patterns of repetitive movement.
L’ écho de la correspondance
Authors: Podvin Virginie
Published: September 2018

Samuel Beckett, dans sa recherche d’ un ailleurs littéraire, engage la création sur les voies poétique et picturale. Mais pas seulement. La lecture du premier volume de la correspondance révèle effectivement l’ importance du modèle musical sur les coulisses de la création. En lutte permanente avec le medium mot, Beckett, après avoir, selon son expression, “démontr[é] verbalement son mépris” à l’ égard de ce dernier, convoque le quatrième art.
On the status of Araripegryllus romualdoi (Insecta: Orthoptera: Grylloidea) from the Cretaceous Santana Formation of Brazil
Authors: HEADS SAM W.
Published: September 2018

The fossil cricket Araripegryllus romualdoi was described by Freitas et al. (2016) based on a single, very poorly preserved specimen from the Romualdo Member of the Lower Cretaceous Santana Formation; a deposit famed for the exceptional preservation of vertebrates in carbonate concretions (Martill, 1996, 2007). While abundant and diverse in the underlying Crato Formation (Martill et al., 2007 and contributions therein), fossil insects had not been reported from the Santana Formation prior to Freitas et al.’s paper. The occurrence of an insect in the Santana Formation is certainly noteworthy, but the description of a new species and its placement in the genus Araripegryllus are problematic, primarily because of the very poor preservation of the specimen. Here, problems associated with the diagnosis and placement of A. romualdoi are outlined, and the species declared a nomen dubium.
Atheism as a Concealable Stigmatized Identity: Outness, Anticipated Stigma, and Well-Being
Authors: Abbott Dena M. , Mollen Debra
Published: September 2018

In a preliminary exploration of atheists using a concealable stigmatized identity framework, we investigated outness, identity magnitude, anticipated stigma, and psychological and physical well-being. Atheists ( N = 1,024) in the United States, completed measures of outness, atheist identity magnitude, anticipated stigma, and psychological and physical well-being online. Consistent with predictions, we found small but significant associations between (a) anticipated stigma and well-being, (b) social components of atheist identity magnitude and outness as well as well-being, and (c) outness and well-being. A significant and moderate association was found between anticipated stigma and outness. There were significant, small indirect effects of ingroup ties, a social component of atheist identity magnitude, on psychological and physical well-being via outness; and of ingroup affect, another social component of magnitude, on psychological well-being via disclosure of atheist identity. Implications for research, practice, and training are offered.
Hardiness, Perseverative Cognition, Anxiety, and Health-Related Outcomes: A Case for and Against Psychological Hardiness
Authors: Kowalski Christopher Marcin , Schermer Julie Aitken
Published: September 2018

The present study investigates the utility of psychological hardiness as well as the differences between rumination and worry. Undergraduate students completed questionnaires assessing hardiness, worry, rumination, mindfulness, neuroticism, anxiety, somatization, coping, and health. Correlations and partial correlations controlling for neuroticism were examined. Hardiness was negatively correlated with neuroticism, rumination, worry, and anxiety and positively correlated with mindfulness, coping, and health. When neuroticism was statistically controlled, the relationships between hardiness and rumination, health, and coping became nonsignificant, and the relationships between hardiness and worry, mindfulness, and anxiety, although attenuated, remained significant. Rumination and worry were positively correlated, but when neuroticism was statistically controlled, this relationship became nonsignificant. The results suggest that hardiness is better conceptualized as a personality style that contributes to psychological well-being. Furthermore, our findings suggest that rumination and worry are distinct cognitive processes.
A multispecialty study of determining the possibility of pregnancy and the documentation of pregnancy status in surgical patients: a cause for concern?
Authors: Ibrahim Ibrahim , Ibrahim Bilal , Yong Guo Liang , Coats Maria , Vujovic Zorica , Wilson Michael SJ
Published: September 2018

Background

Determining the possibility of pregnancy and the documentation of pregnancy status are important considerations in the assessment of females of reproductive age when admitted to hospital.

Objectives

Our aim was to determine the adequacy of the documentation of pregnancy status and possibility of pregnancy across multiple surgical specialties.

Materials and methods

A prospective audit of surgical specialties (general, orthopaedics, urology, vascular, maxillofacial, ENT, gynaecology and neurosurgery) within NHS Tayside, in May 2015.

Results

A total of 129 females of reproductive age were admitted; 69 (53.5%) elective and 60 (46.5%) emergencies. Eighty-four patients (65%) were asked ‘Is there any possibility of pregnancy?’ Pregnancy status was documented in 74% of patients. Eleven (8.5%) patients were not asked about possibility of pregnancy and did not have a documented pregnancy status. Documentation of the use of contraception, sexual activity and date of last menstrual period was noted in 53 (41.1%), 31 (24.0%) and 66 (51.2%) patients, respectively.

Conclusions

There is a wide variation in the documentation of pregnancy status and possibility of pregnancy amongst surgical specialties. This was not an issue in gynaecology but is an issue in ENT, maxillofacial, neurosurgery, vascular and general surgery. The reasons are unclear. Documentation of pregnancy status using ßhCG assays should be the gold standard, and national guidelines are required.
Book review: Richard Falk, Manoranajan Mohanty and Victor Faessel (eds.), Exploring Emergent Global Thresholds: Towards 2030
Authors: Panda Biswambhar
Published: September 2018

Richard Falk, Manoranajan Mohanty and Victor Faessel (eds.), Exploring Emergent Global Thresholds: Towards 2030. Hyderabad: Orient BlackSwan, 2017, 371 pp., ₹1,050 (hardbound). ISBN: 978-93-86392-42-8.
Recovery, Achievement, and Opportunity: A Comparative Analysis of State Takeover Districts in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia
Authors: Welsh Richard O.
Published: September 2018

Although state-run turnaround districts have grown in prominence as a school improvement strategy with significant equity implications for urban education, little is known about the similarities and differences across states. This article provides a comparative analysis of state-run takeover districts in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia. Although there are several similarities such as the centrality of test-based accountability and charter schools as an intervention strategy, no two state takeover districts are the same. The effectiveness of state takeovers is mixed and complicated by equity concerns as well as uncertainty about which aspect of state takeovers may be driving school improvement.
Adverse Childhood Experiences as a Determinant of Public Service Motivation
Authors: Evans Crystal , Evans Gregory R.
Published: September 2018

The wounded healer archetype predicts that people who suffer negative experiences in childhood would be motivated to enter helping fields as a way of self-healing. Developmental traumatology, however, suggests that people who have negative experiences in childhood may have their development stunted, particularly when it comes to caring for others. To test these competing theories, researchers test the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on public service motivation (PSM) and find negative experiences in childhood are associated with a lower willingness to help others. However, some evidence suggests that a curvilinear relationship exists such that extreme levels of ACEs result in more PSM.
The regulation of takeover bids in the UK: An evaluation of provisions for employee involvement
Authors: Gold Michael , Rees Chris
Published: September 2018

This article evaluates the provisions for information disclosure to employees contained in the UK Takeover Code, following the implementation of the Directive on Takeover Bids (2004/25/EC) in 2006 and further amendments resulting from the Kraft/Cadbury takeover in 2010, among other developments. It contrasts information and consultation (I&C) provisions across other EU directives on employment relations and emphasizes that the Takeover Bids Directive restricts itself to information disclosure, allowing employees merely to append their opinion to the offeree board circular. Detailed analysis reveals that very few opinions have actually been given over the past 12 years (2006–2017 inclusive), and of these almost one-third complain about lack of information. These empirical findings highlight the weakness of the UK provisions, and the article concludes by proposing areas where further regulatory reform might strengthen I&C in the takeover process.
Current Practices and Challenges in Method Validation
Authors: Poitout Florence , Colangelo Jennifer L. , Lavallée Simon , Aulbach Adam D , Piché Marie-Soleil , Ennulat Daniela , Ameri Mehrdad , Boone Laura I.
Published: September 2018

Method validation is a cornerstone on which biomarker development and utilization rest. However, given the abundance of biomarker candidates that are being identified and characterized, validation of these entities for the use in nonclinical studies can be complex. The objective of this continuing education course was to review current practices and challenges encountered during the validation of methods for the analysis of novel biomarkers. Additionally, the importance of biological validation and correlation with pathology end points for biomarker candidates was discussed. This article is a summary of the materials presented at the 36th Annual Symposium of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology for a continuing education course titled “Current Practices and Challenges in Method Validation.” The speakers were subject-matter experts in the validation of quantitative mass spectrometry, multiplex binding assays, biological biomarkers, and immunophenotyping and anatomic and clinical pathology considerations in biomarker qualification.
Analysing the Role of Consumer Ethnocentrism and Social Responsibility in the Preference of Ayurvedic Products
Authors: Misra Richa , Singh Sonali , Singh Deepak
Published: September 2018

Ayurvedic indigenous products have grown significantly in the Indian market and seized a large consumer base within a short span of time. There has been a growing sensitivity among consumers in India that the use of Ayurvedic products in routine lifestyle including food products, cosmetics and household activities leads to a healthier life. The present study attempts to understand the perception of consumer for indigenous Ayurvedic products. The study also attempts to identify the underlying factors that influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers. In total, 151 respondents from Delhi-NCR, India, participated in the study. The study reveals that there is a significant influence of brand price, ethnocentrism and social responsibility on the preference of food products. Moderating role of social responsibility and consumer ethnocentrism on brand preference has also been studied. The present article reflects how a pre-launch perception, concern for health and breaking the traditional prototype can influence the perception of consumers. The multi-pronged approach by the government, marketers and other social institutions could break open a huge domestic and global market for Ayurvedic products.
Life as Art, or Art as Life: Robert Filliou and the Eternal Network
Authors: Fredrickson Laurel Jean
Published: September 2018

This essay focuses on the Portraits Not Made (1970) by Robert Filliou, a French artist of the postwar neo-avant-garde and a founding member of the international transdisciplinary art movement Fluxus. Interrogating originality and authorship, these ‘Intermedia’ works ‘depict’ artists: George Brecht, Dieter Rot, Dorothy Iannone, Irmeline Lebeer, Josef Beuys, Andy Warhol, John Cage, Arman, and Toi (you). Though virtually blank, they translate between binaries: visual/textual, material/immaterial, made/not made, artist/viewer. Inherently performative, Filliou’s portraits draw the viewer into a ‘poetic economy’ based on three systems: Permanent Creation, the Eternal Network, and the Principle of Equivalence (well made, badly made, not made). Drawing on economic theory shaped by Fluxian absurdity and a Zen-like understanding of reality as at once empty and full, Filliou’s works undermine hierarchies – artistic and political – that privilege individual genius and art as capital exchange. His works propose alternative systems of value by acknowledging the viewer as co-creator.
Empirical Analysis of the Macroscopic Characteristics of Bicycle Flow during the Queue Discharge Process at a Signalized Intersection
Authors: Goñi-Ros Bernat , Yuan Yufei , Daamen Winnie , Hoogendoorn Serge P.
Published: September 2018

Signalized intersections are one of the most common types of bottleneck in urban cycling networks. Gaining knowledge on the macroscopic characteristics of bicycle flow during the queue discharge process is crucial for developing ways to reduce the delay experienced by cyclists at intersections. This paper aims to determine these characteristics (including jam density, shockwave speed, and discharge flow), and to unveil possible relationships between them, particularly whether and to what extent discharge flow is correlated with jam density and shockwave speed (which is of high relevance from a traffic management viewpoint). To this end, the study analyzes high-resolution bicycle trajectories derived from video footage on a one-direction cycle path leading to an intersection in Amsterdam (the Netherlands). Linear regression analysis is used to investigate the relationships between macroscopic variables. The results indicate that jam density, shockwave speed, and discharge flow vary considerably across traffic-signal cycles, which highlights the stochastic nature of bicycle flow. Furthermore, the results show that discharge flow is strongly positively correlated with jam density and shockwave speed. It is hypothesized that there is a causal relationship between these variables, which would imply that traffic engineers can increase discharge flows (thus reducing delay) at signalized intersections if they find effective ways to increase jam densities and shockwave speeds.
Who Can Lean In? The Intersecting Role of Race and Gender in Negotiations
Authors: Toosi Negin R. , Mor Shira , Semnani-Azad Zhaleh , Phillips Katherine W. , Amanatullah Emily T.
Published: September 2018

Research on gender disparities in negotiation often does not address the intersectional influence of other demographic categories. We tested the hypothesis that race intersects with gender to play a role in constraining assertive behavior in negotiations. In two studies, we examined White non-Latinx and Asian/Asian American women and men’s phrasing of requests for higher salaries (Study 1) and the amounts they requested (Study 2) in hypothetical salary negotiation scenarios. White women reported less confidence and less assertiveness in their salary requests and proposed lower first offers than did White men; Asian and Asian American participants did not show gender differences in these measures. Negotiation backlash, measured by the amount that participants felt they could request without being punished for being too demanding, mediated the relation between demographic factors and first offers. We explored outcomes in light of intersectionality theories and the status incongruity hypothesis of backlash. These results indicate that differences in negotiation are shaped not only by gender but also by racial category membership.
Mechanical and dynamic properties of alternate materials for machine tool structures: A review
Authors: Murugan S , Thyla PR
Published: September 2018

Machine tool structures find large-scale applications in various machining industries due to their necessity to design several kinds of machines. However, the vibration produced on machining is a significant problem which has to be overcome. To suppress the vibration, several researchers have attempted to enhance the machine tool structure’s dynamic characteristics in the recent past. The composite materials have risen up as a new kind of material for the manufacture of machine tool structures with producing lesser vibrations since the past few decades. To increase the production of precision products, machining should be done at high speeds without producing vibration. The dynamic characteristics such as natural frequency as well as damping of machine tool structures are very important parameters. Hence, the improvement of these parameters is nothing but the improvement of dynamic characteristics, as said earlier. Therefore, the present review elaborates various available reports on the improved dynamic characteristics of machine tools. The review focused mainly on mechanical and dynamic properties of alternate materials for machine tools with different composite materials. Furthermore, conflicting conditions of suitable alternate material for the preparation of machine tools are also focused in the present review. To the best of our knowledge, the review on the use of alternate materials for the manufacturing of machine tool structures has not been reported elsewhere and hence the present review will provide useful information for subsequent researchers to enhance the scope of research work in the area of manufacturing machine tool structures.
Numerical simulation and experimental study of novel variable speed and constant frequency wind turbine
Authors: Su Rui
Published: September 2018

The variable speed and constant frequency wind turbine with differential speed regulation consist of wind rotor, speed regulating motor, differential gear train, and synchronous generator. The differential gear train has characteristics of double input and single output. The wind rotor with variable speed work as one input; the output speed of differential gear train is regulated to be stable by speed regulating motor as another input. The constant frequency current is generated by a synchronous generator. The system is simplified into three shafts rigid model for dynamic analysis, and the numerical simulation is made in SIMULINK. The frequency conversion motor is used in the test rig as variable speed input of differential gearbox. Servo motor is adopted to regulate speed. The speed of shaft under different speed input is studied. Modal analysis is carried out to get the resonance frequencies of differential gearbox, and moment inertia of test rig is calculated by software to ensure parameters are consistent with simulation. The principle feasibility of variable speed and constant frequency wind turbine with differential speed regulation is verified by the numerical simulation and experiment.
Benefits of mechatronically guided vehicles on railway track switches
Authors: Farhat Nabilah , Ward Christopher P , Dixon Roger , Goodall Roger M
Published: September 2018

Conventional rail vehicles struggle to optimally satisfy the different suspension requirements for various track profiles, such as on a straight track with stochastic irregularities, curved track or switches and crossings, whereas mechatronically guided railway vehicles promise a large advantage over conventional vehicles in terms of reduced wheel–rail wear, improved guidance and opening new possibilities in vehicle architecture. Previous research in this area has looked into guidance and steering using multi-body simulation models of mechatronic rail vehicles of three different mechanical configurations – secondary yaw control, actuated solid-axle wheelset and driven independently rotating wheelsets (DIRW). The DIRW vehicle showed the best performance in terms of reduced wear and minimal flange contact and is therefore chosen in this paper for studying the behaviour of mechatronically guided rail vehicles on conventional switches and crossings. In the work presented here, a mechatronic vehicle with the DIRW configuration is run on moderate and high-speed track switches. The longer term motivation is to perform the switching function from on-board the vehicle as opposed to from the track as is done conventionally. As a first step towards this, the mechatronic vehicle model is compared against a conventional rail vehicle model on two track scenarios – a moderate speed C type switch and a high-speed H switch. A multi-body simulation software is used to produce a high fidelity model of an active rail vehicle with independently rotating wheelsets where each wheel has an integrated ‘wheelmotor’. This work demonstrates the theory that mechatronic rail vehicles could be used on conventional switches and crossings. The results show that the mechatronic vehicle gives a significant reduction in wear, reduced flange contact and improved ride quality on the through routes of both moderate and high-speed switches. On the diverging routes, the controller can be tuned to achieve minimal flange contact and improved ride quality at the expense of higher creep forces and wear.
Fewer women aged 35 and older choose serum screening for Down’s syndrome: Impact and implications
Authors: Lambert-Messerlian Geralyn , Palomaki Glenn E
Published: September 2018

Objective

To quantify changes in the proportion of women aged 35 and older choosing serum screening for Down’s syndrome over time and the effect on false positive and detection rates.

Methods

From Rhode Island hospital-based laboratory prenatal screening records (2013–2017) we extracted the test performed (Integrated, Combined, Quadruple), maternal age, and Down’s syndrome risk; documented observed changes in maternal age distributions and false positive rates, and modelled the impact of varying proportions of older women choosing screening on each test’s performance using the 2015 United States birth cohort as baseline.

Results

Over five years, observed false positive rates for Integrated testing declined from 1.9 to 1.3% (−32%). The proportion of older women tested declined from 14.9 to 8.5%, from which modelling predicts a 16% decline in the false positive rate. This is lower than our observed change but consistent with a reduction driven by declining participation by older women. Modelling predicted a detection rate reduction from 89 to 87%. Larger detection rate impacts were predicted for Combined and Quadruple testing.

Conclusions

This study documents, for the first time, the declining proportion of older women choosing Down’s syndrome serum screening and subsequent impact on screening performance. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends offering cell-free DNA screening for these ‘high risk’ pregnancies and uptake may increase further. Screening programmes could consider increasing use of Integrated testing over other serum screening tests or lowering risk cut-offs so false positive rates approach those of 2012 to regain lost detection.
Cultural Issues in the Provision of Emergency Care to Irregular Migrants Who Arrive in Spain by Small Boats
Authors: Granero-Molina José , Jiménez-Lasserrrotte María del Mar , Fernández-Sola Cayetano , Hernández-Padilla José Manuel , Sánchez Hernández Francisco , López Domene Esperanza
Published: September 2018

Introduction: The European Union receives one third of the world’s migrant population who cross the Mediterranean Sea in small boats and arrive illegally in Europe. Irregular migrants (IMs) are persons who do not have legal permission, documentation, or refugee status and are not authorized to enter or stay in a given country. More than half a million IMs arrive in the European Union by sea creating serious public health issues in Greece, Italy, and Spain, thereby needing emergency care. The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of IMs who arrive in Spain by small boats in terms of cultural issues surrounding the provision of emergency care. Method: A qualitative study based on Gadamer’s phenomenology was used. Data were collected between 2015 and 2018 using 12 in-depth interviews of IMs. Results: Three main themes arose: “IMs driven by a culture of emigration in countries of origin,” “Facing risk in search of a better life,” and “The need for cultural adaptation in emergency care.” Discussion: Biopsychosocial and cultural needs must be addressed when providing emergency care to IMs who arrive in Europe by small boat. Implications: Nurses can help adapt and restructure cultural practices in the emergency care provided to IMs.
A severe case of bevacizumab-induced thrombotic microangiopathy
Authors: Bektas Mert , Samancı Nilay S , Cokgezer Simay , Keskin Dilek , Demirelli Fuat H
Published: September 2018

Bevacizumab is a human monoclonal antibody against VEGF. Many adverse reactions about bevacizumab are identified including venous and arterial thromboembolism, nausea, fatigue, alopecia, proteinuria, gastrointestinal system (GIS) perforation, exfoliative dermatitis, and peripheral edema and thrombocytopenia. In this paper, we report a case of bevacizumab-induced dose-dependent, toxicity-mediated drug-induced thrombotic microangiopathy.
Comparison of intraocular pressure fluctuation before and after cataract surgeries in normal-tension glaucoma patients
Authors: Tojo Naoki , Otsuka Mitsuya , Hayashi Atsushi
Published: September 2018

Purpose:

Cataract surgeries have been shown to reduce intraocular pressure. We used a Sensimed Triggerfish® contact lens sensor to compare intraocular pressure levels and their fluctuation between before and after cataract surgeries in patients with normal-tension glaucoma.

Methods:

This was a prospective open-label study. Thirteen patients with normal-tension glaucoma were included. All patients underwent a 1-month washout and discontinued glaucoma medications during this study. In each eye, intraocular pressure fluctuations over 24 h were measured with the contact lens sensor before and at 3 months after the cataract surgery. We compared intraocular pressure levels and their fluctuation between before and after cataract surgeries. We used two approaches to evaluate the amplitude of intraocular pressure fluctuations: dual-harmonic regression analysis, and measurement of the difference between the maximum and the minimum value.

Results:

The mean pre-operative intraocular pressure was 14.7 ± 2.2 mm Hg and mean post-operative intraocular pressure was 11.4 ± 2.2 mm Hg. Cataract surgery significantly decreased intraocular pressure (p = 0.0005). In both methods, the post-operative fluctuations in intraocular pressure over 24 h were significantly smaller than their pre-operative counterparts (dual-harmonic regression analysis: p = 0.0171; difference between the maximum and the minimum: p = 0.0398).

Conclusion:

Cataract surgery decreased both intraocular pressure values and intraocular pressure fluctuations in normal-tension glaucoma patients.
Analysis, Nutrition, and Health Benefits of Tryptophan
Authors: Friedman Mendel
Published: September 2018

Tryptophan is an essential plant-derived amino acid that is needed for the in vivo biosynthesis of proteins. After consumption, it is metabolically transformed to bioactive metabolites, including serotonin, melatonin, kynurenine, and the vitamin niacin (nicotinamide). This brief integrated overview surveys and interprets our current knowledge of the reported multiple analytical methods for free and protein-bound tryptophan in pure proteins, protein-containing foods, and in human fluids and tissues, the nutritional significance of l-tryptophan and its isomer d-tryptophan in fortified infant foods and corn tortillas as well the possible function of tryptophan in the diagnosis and mitigation of multiple human diseases. Analytical methods include the use of acid ninhydrin, near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy, colorimetry, basic hydrolysis; acid hydrolysis of S-pyridylethylated proteins, and high-performance liquid and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Also covered are the nutritional values of tryptophan-fortified infant formulas and corn-based tortillas, safety of tryptophan for human consumption and the analysis of maize (corn), rice, and soybean plants that have been successfully genetically engineered to produce increasing tryptophan. Dietary tryptophan and its metabolites seem to have the potential to contribute to the therapy of autism, cardiovascular disease, cognitive function, chronic kidney disease, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, sleep, social function, and microbial infections. Tryptophan can also facilitate the diagnosis of certain conditions such as human cataracts, colon neoplasms, renal cell carcinoma, and the prognosis of diabetic nephropathy. The described findings are not only of fundamental scientific interest but also have practical implications for agriculture, food processing, food safety, nutrition, and animal and human health. The collated information and suggested research need will hopefully facilitate and guide further studies needed to optimize the use of free and protein-bound tryptophan and metabolites to help improve animal and human nutrition and health.
A kind of disassembled and reassembled, postmodern collective and personal self: Agency and the Insulin pump
Authors: Berk Elizabeth
Published: September 2018

This article examines the interaction between the Insulin pump, a biotechnology device used to treat type one diabetes, and the human to whom it is attached. It asks what kinds of selves the pump–human entanglement constitutes, and how these subjectivities shift the lived experience of agency. This article takes an auto-ethnographic approach, whereby the author marshals her own experiences as an Insulin pump–human entanglement to demonstrate her arguments. Ultimately, the article contends that being a pump–human entanglement entails an embodied cyborg subjectivity. This subjectivity produces an agent that, while structured in particular ways by entanglement with this technology, is ultimately more active in the mutual care accorded to her illness.
‘Everything I enjoy doing I just couldn’t do’: Biographical disruption for sport-related injury
Authors: Malcolm Dominic , Pullen Emma
Published: September 2018

This article draws on interview data with a population of non-elite sport/exercise participants (n = 20) to illustrate the interrelationship between biographical disruption and sport-related injury. It argues that contrary to the significance implied by their lack of prominence on current public health agendas, sport-related injuries can have a devastating personal impact, comparable to the more extreme variants of biographical disruption depicted in the literature on chronic illness. It seeks to explain the apparent incongruence between biophysical severity and subjective assessment of impact, by invoking notions of community normalisation and imagined futures, and identifying the unavailability of what subjects evaluate as effective medical support. These factors combine to problematise the attainment of biographical repair. It further highlights how biographical contingencies such as youthfulness, distinction through exhibiting responsible citizenship and the sense of failure to exert bodily self-management through exercise, perpetuate and escalate both biographical disruption and chronic illness. The paper thus illustrates the aetiological interdependence of biographical disruption and chronic illness as exercisers exacerbate relatively minor ailments due to their reluctance to modify habitual routines.
Automated blood pressure self-measurement station compared to office blood pressure measurement for first trimester screening of pre-eclampsia
Authors: Holm Louise , Stucke-Brander Tone , Wagner Stefan , Sandager Puk , Schlütter Jacob , Lindahl Camilla , Uldbjerg Niels
Published: September 2018

Background:

Preeclampsia is a serious medical disorder affecting pregnancy. Screening in early pregnancy can identify women at risk and enable effective prophylactic treatment. Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement is an important element of the screening algorithm. Automated self-screening, while attending the first trimester ultra sound scan, using a BP self-measurement (BPSM) station, could be a low-cost alternative to office BP measurements (OBPM) on both arms performed by clinical staff, if the measurement quality can be ensured.

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to compare automated BPSM using a self-measurement station on one arm, with OBPM performed by clinical staff on both arms. Primary outcome was the difference in mean arterial pressure (MAP) between the two methods and secondary outcomes were safety and practicality issues.

Methods:

Pregnant women attending ultrasound-examination at 12 weeks gestational age were recruited and randomized to start with having two OBPMs taken on both arms by staff, using two standard validated automatic upper arm BP devices, or self-measuring using an automated BPSM station following a crossover study design. The BPSM station consists of a validated blood pressure device, and an add-on sensor system capable of registering blood pressure values, rest-time, back-supported, legs-crossed, and ambient noise-levels respectively, and providing interactive guidance during the measurement process, for supporting the self-measurement process.

Results:

A total of 80 complete BP measurement sets were obtained, for a total of 240 BPSM measurements and 320 OBPM measurements. We found no significant difference between the OBPM and BPSM methods (p=0.86) for mean arterial pressure (MAP). However, erroneous measurements were observed frequently during the experiment, mainly during the first of the 3 BPSM measurements (6%), secondary during the second BPSM measurement (3%). Only one data set (1%) was excluded due to OBPM errors.

Conclusion:

No significant difference in MAP between the two methods was found. Means for detecting and repeating erroneous BP measurements should be implemented. Measurement errors was found in 9 % of the measurement sets which is not acceptable for clinical use. Thus, several measures have been identified in order to properly identify and recover from such measurement errors in the future.