bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bending properties of three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure composites: experiment and Finite Element Method simulation
Authors: Lv Lihua , Huang Yaoli , Cui Jingrui , Qian Yongfang , Ye Fang , Zhao Yuping
Published: April 2017

This paper fabricated three-dimensional (3D) honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics with three different cross-section shapes on an ordinary loom by reasonable design with low cost. The 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites were fabricated by the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process. Then, the bending properties of 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites with different cross-section shapes were tested. The results showed that the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composite with a hexagonal cross-section shape had the maximum load, the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composite with a triquetrous cross-section shape had the minimum load and the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composite with a quadrangular cross-section shape had a load between the two. The bending failure mode showed that the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composite had a typical bending failure mode with compression failure in the front and tensile failure in the back. Finally, the load–displacement curves and failure mode were obtained by FEM (Finite Element Method) simulation with ABAQUS software. The good agreements of comparisons proved the validity of the FEM.
Comparative study of fiber trapping by filaments in conventional and diagonal sirofil systems
Authors: Xia Zhigang , Guo Qinsheng , Ye Wenxiang , Chen Jun , Feng Shengli , Ding Cailing
Published: April 2017

In this study, geometrical and theoretical analyses were conducted comparatively for fiber trappings by filaments in the left diagonal, conventional and right diagonal sirofil with right strand and left filament arrangement (denoted as LDS-RS-LF, CS-RS-LF and RDS-RS-LF, respectively)and left diagonal, conventional and right diagonal sirofil with right filament and left strand arrangement (LDS-RF-LS, CS-RF-LS and RDS-RF-LS, respectively). White filaments and blue rovings were used to produce conventional and diagonal sirofil yarns to validate the analysis. Online and offline fiber trapping capacity comparisons indicated that CS-RS-LF and CS-RF-LS had higher capacities of trapping fibers than LDS-RS-LF and RDS-RF-LS, respectively, and lower capacities than RDS-RS-LF and LDS-RF-LS, respectively. Yarn appearance and tensile properties results revealed that diagonal sirofils with improved fiber trappings increased yarn hairiness and tensile properties, while the ones with deteriorated fiber trappings decreased yarn hairiness and tensile properties. Sirofil yarn unevenness CVm decreased as the fiber trapping enhanced by RDS-RS-LF and LDS-RF-LS and increased as the fiber trapping weakened by LDS-RS -LF and RDS-RF-LS. This corresponded well to our theoretical hypotheses on fiber trappings by filaments in conventional and diagonal sirofil systems.
Participant Photography as a Research Tool: Ethical Issues and Practical Implementation
Authors: O’Hara Leeanne , Higgins Kathryn
Published: April 2017

Participatory methods for engaging children and young people in research are becoming more popular and innovative in social research. One example of this is the inclusion of participant photography. Drawing on an ethnographic study conducted in Northern Ireland, this article explores the application of participant photography to research drug use and antisocial behavior among youth. Findings highlight issues surrounding implementation when in the field, building on the existing knowledge base and focusing on recruitment, continuous engagement, image presentation, and analysis. This is followed by an overview of ethical considerations including specific issues relating to researcher and participant safety.
Conceptualizing the Spectrum of the Bereavement Discourse
Authors: Levy Yagil
Published: April 2017

This article presents the spectrum of the bereavement discourse, namely, how various social groups interpret the loss of their children’s lives or the potential risk to their lives posed by their military service and translate it into public discourse, as a spectrum of attitudes. It is argued that this spectrum ranges from subversive to submissive approaches. Furthermore, within the confines of the declining casualty tolerance, two variables cumulatively determine the actors’ choice of discourse: the level of enforcement of recruitment, ranging from conscription to voluntary recruitment, and the social position of the group to which the agents belong. Given that conscription brings powerful, high-status groups into the ranks who may be unwilling to make sacrifices for war, subversive responses are more likely to occur in conscript militaries than in volunteer forces and vice versa. This article maps this spectrum and hypothesizes about its determinants.
The Environmental Roots of Urban Renewal in Boston
Authors: Brennan Michael J.
Published: April 2017

This essay argues that discourse related to residents of Boston’s South End as environmental agents justified the removal of minority and working-class residents from the neighborhood, and, in particular, the New York Streets section in the 1950s. It combines analytical approaches of urban ecology and traditional elements of social history to examine how the neighborhood orientated to the city in an economic sense, how residents created a mixed-use neighborhood, how social institutions functioned as contested spaces of cultural production, how settlement house workers created a framework of discourse about the South End, how negative perceptions of working-class and minority residents coalesced across American life, and how city officials activated the discourse to create the first steps of urban renewal in Boston. The conclusion examines how minority groups understood environmental factors to be central to urban renewal and how social justice groups took an environmental focus in their activism.
Development of the data acquisition system for terahertz spectrometer
Authors: Hu Pengfei , Shen Li , Han Feng , Yang Fei , Song Maojiang , Zhang Li , Liu Liping
Published: April 2017

In most Terahertz time-domain spectrometer (THz-TDS) experiments, the lock-in amplifier works with trans-impedance pre-amplifier to amplitude the terahertz pulse accepted from detector. This paper discusses the development of data acquisition system for the transmission THz-TDS. In this system, the cross-correlation software algorithm in SR830 lock-in amplifier from Stanford Research Systems, that is usually used in THz-TDS, has been replaced by parallel hardware algorithm of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chip with the parallel processing ability. This chip has a faster processing speed and higher accuracy than others. A 24 bit Delta-Sigma Analog Digital (AD) was used in place of the 16 bit successive approximation ADC of SR830. The new AD convertor can reduce the complexity of trans-impedance pre-amplifier circuit and replace the SR555 current amplifiers that designed to work with SRS lock-in amplifiers. Besides trans-impedance pre-amplifier circuit, all function circuits, such as low-pass digital filter, phase-locked loop, Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) reference source and the core algorithms, are integrated in a FPGA chip, which make the new designed lock-in amplifier with a small volume reduce a dozen times SR830 size.
Robust adaptive fault tolerant attitude control for post-capture non-cooperative targets with actuator nonlinearities
Authors: Wang Zheng , Yuan Jianping , Shi Yong , Che Dejia
Published: April 2017

This paper develops an attitude takeover control structure for post-capture non-cooperative targets with actuator nonlinearities and faults. In this paper, the contingent actuator gain faults, deviation faults and the undesirable non-symmetric dead-zone nonlinearities of the actuator are all under consideration. An effective robust adaptive fault tolerant attitude control method is synthesized such that the actuator nonlinearities and faults can be well handled. As a result, the accurate attitude stabilization and tracking are maintained. Moreover, an extended fault tolerant attitude control scheme that can work well in the presence of inaccurate measurement information is proposed. Based on a quadratic Lyapunov function, the proof of the convergence is completed. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method.
Altered pupillary light response scales with disease severity in migrainous photophobia
Authors: Cortez Melissa M , Rea Natalie A , Hunter Lindsay A , Digre Kathleen B , Brennan KC
Published: April 2017

Background

Autonomic dysfunction and light sensitivity are core features of the migraine attack. Growing evidence also suggests changes in these parameters between attacks. Though sensory and autonomic responses likely interact, they have not been studied together across the spectrum of disease in migraine.

Methods

We performed digital infrared pupillometry while collecting interictal photophobia thresholds (PPT) in 36 migraineurs (14 episodic; 12 chronic; 10 probable) and 24 age and sex-matched non-headache controls. Quantitative pupillary light reflexes (PLR) were assessed in a subset of subjects, allowing distinction of sympathetic vs parasympathetic pupillary function. A structured questionnaire was used to ascertain migraine diagnosis, headache severity, and affective symptoms.

Results

Photophobia thresholds were significantly lower in migraineurs than controls, and were lowest in chronic migraine, consistent with a disease-related gradient. Lower PPT correlated with smaller dark-adapted pupil size and larger end pupil size at PPT, which corresponded to a reduced diameter change. On PLR testing, measures of both parasympathetic constriction and sympathetic re-dilation were reduced in migraineurs with clinically severe migraine.

Conclusions

In summary, we show that severity of photophobia in migraine scales with disease severity, in association with shifts in pupillary light responses. These alterations suggest centrally mediated autonomic adaptations to chronic light sensitivity.
Characteristic symptoms and associated features of exploding head syndrome in undergraduates
Authors: Sharpless Brian A
Published: April 2017

Background

Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is characterized by loud noises or a sense of explosion in the head during sleep transitions. Though relatively common, little is known about its characteristic symptoms or associated features.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of 49 undergraduates with EHS was performed. A clinical interview established diagnosis.

Results

The most common accompanying symptoms were tachycardia, fear, and muscle jerks/twitches with the most severe associated with respiration difficulties. Visual phenomena were more common than expected (27%). EHS episodes were perceived as having a random course, but were most likely to occur during wake-sleep transitions and when sleeping in a supine position. Only 11% reported EHS to a professional, and 8% of those with recurrent EHS attempted to prevent episodes.

Conclusions

EHS episodes are complex (Mean (M) = 4.5 additional symptoms), often multisensorial, and usually associated with clinically-significant fear. They are rarely reported to professionals and treatment approaches are limited.
Effect of gas type and application distance on atmospheric pressure plasma jet-treated flax composites
Authors: Huner Umit , Gulec Haci Ali , Damar Huner Irem
Published: April 2017

This study reports on the effect of atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatment on the flax fiber and flax-reinforced epoxy. The atmospheric pressure plasma jet was carried out by using four different gasses and various application distance in the range of 30–40 mm. The treatments were investigated by means of contact angle, attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical tests. Depending on the application parameters, the rate of increase in water contact angle varied from 49% to 92%. While atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy investigations exhibited changed surface morphology, FTIR presented interactions at the molecular level. Improvement in mechanical properties was obtained for all atmospheric pressure plasma jet applications, while the increase in tensile strength in the composite material reached 180%, and the increase in flexural strength was 140%. The atmospheric pressure plasma jet method, according to similar plasma applications, came to the forefront with the short processing time and the intensity of the effect it created.
Seeing Academically Marginalized Students’ Multimodal Designs From a Position of Strength
Authors: Anderson Kate T. , Stewart Olivia G. , Kachorsky Dani
Published: April 2017

This article examines multimodal texts created by a cohort of academically marginalized secondary school students in Singapore as part of a language arts unit on persuasive composition. Using an interpretivist qualitative approach, we examine students’ multimodal designs to highlight opportunities taken up for expanding literacy practices traditionally not available to lower tracked students. Findings examine the authorial stances and rhetorical force that students enacted in their multimodal designs, despite lack of regular opportunities to author complex texts and a schooling history of low expectations. We extend arguments for the importance of providing all students with opportunities to take positions as designers and creators while acknowledging systematic barriers to such opportunities for academically marginalized students. This study thus counters deficit views of academically marginalized students’ literacy practices by demonstrating their authoritative stance taking and enacting of layered positionalities through multimodal designs in which they renegotiated ways of knowing and doing in their classroom.
The mentorship imperative for health leadership
Authors: Batara Nadia , Woolgar Tony
Published: April 2017

Mentorship plays an important role in supporting the career development of health leaders. An examination of mentorship programs in different organizational settings provides a frame of reference to discuss and explore personal and professional mentorship experiences. Specifically, between October 2015 and April 2016, the Emerging Health Leaders (EHL) National Health Leadership Conference (NHLC) working group collaborated on an environmental scan of mentorship programs and activities to understand innovations in mentorship. In April 2016, EHL Toronto developed a mentor feedback survey using the LEADS in a Caring Environment framework to capture the varied experiences of mentors engaged in EHL Toronto’s past mentorship events. A summary of this data presented at the 2016 NHLC situates a discussion on the highly interconnected and iterative nature of mentorship and leadership development in career progression. Mentorship is seen as a continuous journey of discovery, shared learning, and personal and professional development to achieve leadership excellence.
Association Between Hemogram Parameters and Survival of Critically Ill Patients
Authors: Karagoz Ibrahim , Aktas Gulali , Yoldas Hamit , Yildiz Isa , Ogun Muhammet Nur , Bilgi Murat , Demirhan Abdullah
Published: April 2017

Aim:

Recently, hemogram parameters, such as mean platelet volume (MPV), had been proposed as novel inflammatory and prognostic factors. In present retrospective analysis, we aimed to determine and compare MPV of survived and dead patients whom admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of our institution.

Methods:

We recorded hemogram parameters and other laboratory data and demographic characteristics of patients treated in ICU. Patients are divided into 2 groups—dead patients and survived patients. Laboratory data of survived patients compared to those of dead patients.

Results:

Age, gender, and other laboratory variables were not significantly different between dead and survived patients. On the other hand, MPV of survived patients was significantly higher than that of the dead patients ( P = .001).

Conclusion:

We think that elevated MPV levels in an ICU patient should alert clinicians for worse outcome. Physicians should be more careful in the management of these patients.
Generalization Training in Special Education Teacher Preparation: Does It Exist?
Authors: Markelz Andrew , Riden Benjamin , Scheeler Mary Catherine
Published: April 2017

Enormous resources are committed by universities to prepare special educators to impact student outcomes of our most vulnerable and neediest learners. Generalizing teaching skills from university to K-12 classrooms must be a component of teacher preparation curriculum; otherwise, we continue to merely train our teacher candidates and hope they sustain and generalize their newly acquired skills. Through self-reported surveys and extant data analysis, we identify the extent to which our sample of special education teacher preparation programs are teaching their teacher candidates to generalize newly acquired teaching skills to in-service settings in K-12 classrooms. Results indicate ambiguity with familiarity of generalization techniques and fidelity of implementation. Programming for generalization is absent in reviewed course syllabi, and student teaching supervisors report a disconnect between university and classroom realities. We recommend a systematic approach to programming for generalization by increasing awareness of generalization techniques through professional development, including accountability measures in course syllabi, focusing on high-leverage practices to create more cohesive preparation programs, and improving communication between instructors and student teaching supervisors. Limitations and future research recommendations are discussed.
Commissurotomy
Authors: Ritchie Curt
Published: April 2017

This step-by-step feature provides a pictorial description of the commissurotomy procedure. Commissurotomy can be performed to increase surgical access to the caudal oral cavity for procedures such as total mandibulectomy, caudal mandibulectomy, and surgical access to the mandibular ramus.
The effects of dynamic evolution of microstructure on machining forces
Authors: Pan Zhipeng , Tabei Ali , Shih Donald S , Garmestani Hamid , Liang Steven Y.
Published: April 2017

A material microstructure-mechanics-affected machining scheme is proposed to account for the influence of material microstructural evolution on cutting mechanics. Explicit calculation of material microstructural evolution path is provided. To blend the material microstructure states into the thermo-mechanical coupling process, the material microstructure terms are introduced into the traditional Johnson–Cook model. As an application, the machining forces and average grain size are predicted in the orthogonal turning of titanium alloys. This method provides a more comprehensive way to explore microstructure-thermo-mechanical coupling in the machining process.
Pressure wave characteristics of a high-speed train in a tunnel according to the operating conditions
Authors: Kim Joon-Hyung , Rho Joo-Hyun
Published: April 2017

The pressure waves of a high-speed train in a tunnel exhibit complicated variations in their characteristics because the waves propagate and reflect with superposition. Studies have been consistently carried out on the pressure waves of a single train since changes in the area of pressure is a key element that influences ride comfort. Recently, the frequency of the operation of coupled trains has increased in order to improve the efficiency of running a train. The cross-sectional area of a train entering a tunnel has a rate of change that greatly influences the pressure characteristics; therefore, a coupled train can have different pressure characteristics when compared to a single train. However, adequate research works have not been done to assess these characteristics. To this end, the pressure characteristics of a train according to the operating conditions are investigated in this study. A high-speed train operating in practice and a tunnel located in a service section were chosen for this study, and the pressure characteristics of a single train were assessed via numerical analysis and an experiment. The numerical analysis was carried out with high reliability by comparing and verifying each result. After the pressure wave characteristics caused by running a coupled train had been assessed by the established numerical analysis, an obvious pressure variation was confirmed to occur at the connecting point. In addition, the maximum pressure applied to a tunnel and a passenger car increased. Thus, the aerodynamic effect of a coupled train should be considered as an important parameter in the early design state of a new high-speed train.
Costs of Selective Attention: When Children Notice What Adults Miss
Authors: Plebanek Daniel J. , Sloutsky Vladimir M.
Published: April 2017

One of the lawlike regularities of psychological science is that of developmental progression—an increase in sensorimotor, cognitive, and social functioning from childhood to adulthood. Here, we report a rare violation of this law, a developmental reversal in attention. In Experiment 1, 4- to 5-year-olds ( n = 34) and adults ( n = 35) performed a change-detection task that included externally cued and uncued shapes. Whereas the adults outperformed the children on the cued shapes, the children outperformed the adults on the uncued shapes. In Experiment 2, the same participants completed a visual search task, and their memory for search-relevant and search-irrelevant information was tested. The young children outperformed the adults with respect to search-irrelevant features. This demonstration of a paradoxical property of early attention deepens current understanding of the development of attention. It also has implications for understanding early learning and cognitive development more broadly.
Multicenter study to assess presenteeism in systemic lupus erythematosus and its relationship with clinical and sociodemographic features
Authors: Cosatti M A , Muñoz S , Alba P , Helling C A , Roverano S , Sarano J , Malm-Green S , Danielsen M , Medina Bornachera D , Alvarez A , Eimon A , Pendón G , Mayer M , Marin J , Catoggio C , Pisoni C N
Published: April 2017

Objective

The aim of this study was to measure presenteeism (productivity impairment while the patient is at work) and the related risk factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from Argentina.

Methods

A total of 130 consecutive (1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria) working patients with SLE were assessed using a standardized data collection form. Sociodemographic, disease and work-related variables were collected. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire was performed.

Results

Overall, 130 patients were included in the analysis; 91% were women, and the mean age was 39 years (range 19–77). A total of 43% were White, 43% Mestizo and 13% Amerindian. Overall, 38% were single and 38% were married. A total of 75% had more than 12 years of formal education. The median disease duration was 7 years (interquartile range 25–75 (IQR) 4–13). Median Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score was 0 (IQR 0–2), and median Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/ACR Damage Index (SLICC-SDI) score was 0 (IQR 0–1). Lupus quality of life (LupusQoL) domains scores were: physical health 87 (IQR 70–96), emotional health 78 (IQR 54–91), burden to others 75 (IQR 50–92), intimate relationships 87 (IQR 50–100), and body image 85 (IQR 70–100). Absenteeism was 8%, presenteeism was 19%, and overall work impairment (absenteeism + presenteeism) was 26%. In the multiple regression analysis, considering presenteeism as dependent variable, (adjusting by age, disease duration, >12 years of education, Non-white race, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain, VAS fatigue, SLICC-SDI, LupusQoL, physical and emotional domains), we found that SLICC-SDI (odds ratio (OR) 1.68, confidence interval (CI) 1–2.7) and Non-white race (OR 3.27, CI 1.04–10) were related to presenteeism and >12 years of education (OR 0.30, CI 0.09–0.98) and higher scores of LupusQoL emotional health domain (OR 0.95, CI 0.92–0.98) were protective.

Conclusions

organ damage and Non-white race were significantly associated with presenteeism while >12 years of education and higher scores of LupusQoL emotional health domain were protective.
Institutional rhythms: Combining practice theory and rhythmanalysis to conceptualise processes of institutionalisation
Authors: Blue Stanley
Published: April 2017

The practice turn in social theory has renewed interest in conceptualising the temporal organisation of social life as a way of explaining contemporary patterns of living and consuming. As a result, the interest to develop analyses of time in both practice theories and practice theory-based empirical research is increasing. Practice theorists draw on theories of time and ideas about temporal rhythms to explain how practices are organised in everyday life. To date, they have studied how temporal experiences matter for the coordination of daily life, how temporal landscapes matter for issues of societal synchronisation, and how timespace/s matter for the organisation of human activity. While several studies refer to, draw on, and position themselves in relation to ideas about temporal rhythms, those working with theories of practice have yet to fully utilise the potential of Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis for explaining the constitution of, and more specifically, changes within, social life. I argue that rhythmanalysis can be effectively combined with practice theory to better articulate the ways in which practices become connected through what I describe as processes of institutionalisation. I argue that this combination requires repositioning the role of time in theories of practice as neither experience, nor as landscape, but, building on Schatzki’s work on The Timespace of Human Activity, as practice itself. Drawing on Lefebvre’s concepts of arrhythmia and eurhythmia, and developing Parkes and Thrift’s notion of entrainment, I illustrate how institutional rhythms, as self-organising, open, spatiotemporal practices emerge, endure, and evolve in ways that matter for both socio-temporal landscapes and temporal experiences.
Theories, methods and practices – a longitudinal spatial analysis of the (de)securitization of the insurgency threat in Russia
Authors: Snetkov Aglaya
Published: April 2017

How do securitizing actors go about desecuritizing policy issues that have been securitized across multiple spatially bounded referent objects? Do such desecuritizations develop as a single or manifold process and with what political effect? And critically, how do we methodologically approach the study of such processes? These are pertinent questions that have been left underexamined in the (de)securitization literature. In seeking to fill this gap, this article makes two main points. First, it calls for a greater focus on the study of (de)securitizations that are constructed according to multiple spatially bounded referent objects, and on how these diverging strands of discourse and practice shape the overarching process. Second, it argues for a greater use of longitudinal methods of analysis as a better way to capture the evolutionary dynamics of desecuritization processes, which (re)constitute security policies and agendas. To illustrate these claims, the article considers the empirical case of Russia’s (de)securitization of insurgent threats since 2000 by tracing this process over a longitudinal period and across three spatial-referent objects, namely the local level: Chechnya; the sub-federal level: North Caucasus; and the national level: Russia.
Factors Affecting the “Locus of Responsibility” in Cancer News: Focusing on the Role of Health Journalists’ Medical Expertise in South Korea
Authors: Kim Yong-Chan , Shim Minsun , Kim Jee Hyun , Park Keeho
Published: April 2017

This study is to investigate the ways news articles portray the “locus of responsibility” (LOR) for cancer causes and solutions and to identify factors associated with the different LOR frames in cancer news. This study specifically focused on health journalists’ medical expertise. There were more cancer news with personal LOR frames; professional medical journalists were more likely than general journalists to write cancer stories with personal LOR frames in both cause and solution cancer news; and, however, news organizations without professional medical journalists used more personal LOR frames than those with professional medical journalists, particularly in cause-related cancer news.
Calibrating a large network model describing the transmission dynamics of the human papillomavirus using a particle swarm optimization algorithm in a distributed computing environment
Authors: Acedo Luis , Burgos Clara , Hidalgo José-Ignacio , Sánchez-Alonso Victor , Villanueva Rafael-Jacinto , Villanueva-Oller Javier
Published: April 2017

Working in large networks applied to epidemiological-type models has led us to design a simple but effective computed distributed environment to perform a large amount of model simulations in a reasonable time in order to study the behavior of these models and to calibrate them. Finding the model parameters that best fit the available data in the designed distributed computing environment becomes a challenge and it is necessary to implement reliable algorithms for model calibration. In this article, we have adapted the random particle swarm optimization algorithm to our distributed computing environment to be applied to the calibration of a papillomavirus transmission dynamics model on a lifetime sexual partners network. And we have obtained a good fitting saving time and calculations compared with the exhaustive searching strategy we have been using so far.
Sound transmission loss characteristics of four-side simply supported sandwich panels
Authors: Li Wei , He Yansong , Xu Zhongming , Zhang Zhifei
Published: April 2017

In this study, a theoretical investigation on the sound transmission loss characteristics of four-side simply supported sandwich panels considering the flexural rigidity of the face sheet has been presented. With the flexural rigidity of the face sheet taken into account, the sound transmission problem of the sandwich panels is derived from the governing equation of bending vibration. The sound transmission loss expression is also derived. The validation of the theoretical prediction model is validated by comparing with the high-accuracy finite element and boundary element simulation. Numerical analysis shows that the flexural rigidity of face sheet influences the natural frequencies obviously, and the theoretical prediction model proposed has high accuracy on predicting the natural frequencies and sound transmission loss of four-side simply supported sandwich panels. The effects of the face sheet flexural rigidity, the thickness of face sheets and core layer, as well as the damping coefficient of the core on the sound transmission loss are systematically investigated.
Post Brexit crystal ball gazing: What the future holds for Phase I Clinical Trials in the UK
Authors: Matthews Gene , Williams Nancy
Published: April 2017

EU Regulation 536/2014 (“Regulations”) is due to take practical effect across the Eurozone by the end of 2017 at the earliest and no later than October 2018 following the implementation of procedural requirements. It will replace the EU Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC. The Regulations are designed to reverse what regulators described as a downward trend in the conduct of clinical trials within Europe because of the “lengthy and cumbersome application process and the failure of the pre-existing regime to accommodate the global scope of clinical trials.” The purpose of the Regulations is to simplify and harmonise the administrative provisions governing clinical trials in the EU. With pleasing Pharmaceutical companies high on the political agenda, the pertinent question that arises is whether patient and public interests will be overlooked to cater to industry concerns? This article will outline the changes effected by the Regulation. It will evaluate the impact these changes will have on patient safety in the context of Phase I or First-in-human (FIH) trials by examining the TGN1412 clinical drug trial (also known as the Northwick Park drug trial). The second part of this article will discuss whether there is a place for the Regulations in the post Brexit landscape. The continuing uncertainty surrounding Brexit means that it remains difficult to come to any definitive conclusions but there are significant issues that require closer examination at this time.
A lasting sting: Examining the short-term and long-term effects of real-life group rejection
Authors: Martin Julie L. , Smart Richman Laura , Leary Mark R.
Published: April 2017

Although many studies have examined the short-term effects of rejection in laboratory settings, few have investigated the impact of rejection over time or in real-world contexts. The university sorority recruitment process offers a unique opportunity to address these shortcomings. Women participating in sorority recruitment were surveyed directly before recruitment, directly after recruitment, and 3 months later. Rejected women experienced decreases in all indicators of well-being directly after recruitment and did not return to baseline on depressive symptoms, positive mental health, satisfaction with life, perceived belonging, or perceived social status 3 months later. Accepted women showed no long-term changes in well-being, with the exception that happiness and perceived social status increased from baseline. A comparison group of women who did not participate in sorority recruitment showed no significant long-term changes in well-being. Perceived belonging, but not social status, significantly mediated the long-term emotional effects of rejection. These results document that rejection experiences can have long-lasting effects.
Validation of a questionnaire to measure youth-friendliness of Swedish youth clinics
Authors: Malm Desire , Bishop Linn , Gustafsson Per , Waenerlund Anna-Karin , Goicolea Isabel
Published: April 2017

Aim: This study presents the validation process of a tool to assess the youth-friendliness of Swedish youth clinics, based on the Youth-Friendly Health Services – World Health Organization Plus (YFHS-WHO+) questionnaire but adapted to the specific context of differentiated services catering only for young people in this country. Methods: The validation process followed five steps: (1) translation, (2) revision by professionals, (3) pretests with young people, (4) back-translation and discussion with the developers of the original YFHS-WHO+ questionnaire and (5) internal consistency and test–retest reliability testing. Results: The final Swedish version, titled Youth-Friendly Health Services-Sweden (YFHS-Swe), differs from the original in terms of adjustments in language and in changes to make it better correspond to the reality of the Swedish youth clinics, while maintaining the meaning and intention of the original questionnaire. The YFHS-Swe questionnaire generated reproducible responses (test–retest coefficient of 0.79 for the total score) and can be considered a measure of a cohesive construct (Cronbach alpha of 0.95 for the total score). Conclusions: The study suggests that the YFHS-Swe questionnaire is a reliable instrument that can be an asset for youth clinics to evaluate their work and make regional and national comparisons between clinics. The YFHS-Swe could also serve as a basis for validating instruments to assess youth-friendliness of differentiated services for young people in other countries.
Maternal alcohol and tobacco consumption and the association with their 9 to 14-year-old children’s Body Mass Index
Authors: Figueiredo Rejane Augusta de Oliveira , Roos Eva , Eriksson Johan G. , Simola-Ström Sabina , Weiderpass Elisabete
Published: April 2017

Aims: Little is known about impact of maternal alcohol and tobacco consumption on adolescents’ body size. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether maternal alcohol or tobacco consumption is associated with their children’s body size in adolescence, assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI). Methods: This study was conduct in subjects recruited into the Finnish Health in Teens cohort (Fin-HIT) between 2011 and 2014. A total of 4525 subjects aged between 9 and 14 years and their mothers or female adults responsible for the children were analysed. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Multinomial Logistic Regression. Results: Most children were normal weight (74.5%), 10.6% were underweight and 14.9% were overweight or obese. Among mothers, 50.6% were never smokers, 35.7% were former smokers, and 13.7% were current smokers. Alcohol consumption was classified by Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), 12.7% were abstainers (score=0), 65.0% were low–moderate drinkers (scores 1–4) and 22.3% were harmful drinkers (scores ⩾5). There were statistically significant associations between currently smoking mothers and children’s overweight (RR=1.36; 95% CI: 1.05–1.76). There was an inverse association between maternal former smoking and children’s underweight (RR=0.70; CI: 0.56–0.87) compared with never smoker mothers. Among children in puberty, abstainer mothers were more likely to have underweight children compared with low–moderate mothers (RR=1.57; 95% CI: 1.03–2.41). Conclusions: Current smoker mothers were associated with children’s overweight and former-smoker mothers were inversely associated with the children’s underweight. Being an abstainer mother was associated with the children’s underweight in puberty stage. If other studies confirm these results, public health interventions aiming at healthy weight of adolescents should target the whole family, not only the adolescents themselves.
Predictive validity of the Work Ability Index and its individual items in the general population
Authors: Lundin Andreas , Leijon Ola , Vaez Marjan , Hallgren Mats , Torgén Margareta
Published: April 2017

Aim: This study assesses the predictive ability of the full Work Ability Index (WAI) as well as its individual items in the general population. Methods: The Work, Health and Retirement Study (WHRS) is a stratified random national sample of 25–75-year-olds living in Sweden in 2000 that received a postal questionnaire ( n = 6637, response rate = 53%). Current and subsequent sickness absence was obtained from registers. The ability of the WAI to predict long-term sickness absence (LTSA; ⩾ 90 consecutive days) during a period of four years was analysed by logistic regression, from which the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUC) was computed. Results: There were 313 incident LTSA cases among 1786 employed individuals. The full WAI had acceptable ability to predict LTSA during the 4-year follow-up (AUC = 0.79; 95% CI 0.76 to 0.82). Individual items were less stable in their predictive ability. However, three of the individual items: current work ability compared with lifetime best, estimated work impairment due to diseases, and number of diagnosed current diseases, exceeded AUC > 0.70. Excluding the WAI item on number of days on sickness absence did not result in an inferior predictive ability of the WAI. Conclusions: The full WAI has acceptable predictive validity, and is superior to its individual items. For public health surveys, three items may be suitable proxies of the full WAI; current work ability compared with lifetime best, estimated work impairment due to diseases, and number of current diseases diagnosed by a physician.
Wear and mechanical properties of surface hybrid metal matrix composites on Al–Si aluminum alloys fabricated by friction stir processing
Authors: Akbari Mostafa , Shojaeefard Mohammad Hasan , Asadi Parviz , Khalkhali Abolfazl
Published: April 2017

Aluminum-base surface hybrid composites have been fabricated by mixtures of SiO2 and Al2O3 particles on an Al–Si cast aluminum alloy using friction stir processing with the aim of achieving higher wear properties in the Al piston alloy via surface hybrid composites fabrication. The distribution of particles in the stir zone was evaluated via scanning electron microscope. Microstructures of the composites revealed that the reinforcing particles were uniformly distributed in the stir zone. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of each composite were determined using hardness tests indicating that increase in the relative content of SiO2 resulting in a decrease in the average hardness of the stir zone. Additionally, the wear resistance of the surface hybrid composites was investigated under normal load, sliding speed, and distances of 20 N, 1 m/s, and 4000 m, respectively. It was found that the wear mass loss of the 20% SiO2–80% Al2O3 hybrid composites (which was about 4.2 mg) was improved when compared with that of the A356 base alloy (nearly 19 mg). Moreover, by increasing the relative content of SiO2 particles from 0% to 100% in the hybrid composites, the friction coefficient of the composites rose from 0.55 to 0.73. It can be concluded by adding Al2O3 and SiO2 particles in the Al matrix, wear mass loss can be decreased by about five times compared with that of the base metal, in which the Al2O3 particle increases the hardness and SiO2 particles acts as lubricating agent, and the combination of these leads to better wear properties. The best combination of the hybrid particles in order to achieve the best wear properties for the hybrid composites is 20% Al2O3 and 80% SiO2.
A Community Cultural Wealth Model to Train Promotoras as Data Collectors
Authors: Manzo Rosa D. , Rangel Maria I. , Flores Yvette G. , de la Torre Adela
Published: April 2017

The literature has documented the use of community health workers as an effective strategy to work with underserved communities. However, there is scant research on the strategies community health workers use when working in research studies. This qualitative study examines how promotoras (community health workers) implement their community cultural wealth to participate as data collectors in the control site of the Niños Sanos, Familia Sana (Healthy Children, Healthy Family) study. Our findings indicate that promotoras implement their cultural values, knowledge, and practices to recruit study participants and facilitate the data collection process. This study has implications for the recruitment and development of culturally and relevant linguistic training targeting promotoras in Mexican-origin communities.
Intimate Femicide: The Role of Coercive Control
Authors: Johnson Holly , Eriksson Li , Mazerolle Paul , Wortley Richard
Published: April 2017

Severe and escalating violence is cited as a precursor to intimate partner homicide and figures prominently in risk assessments and domestic violence death reviews. Drawing on interviews from the Australian Homicide Project with a sample of men convicted of killing intimate partners, we examine the backgrounds of perpetrators and the contexts in which the killings occurred and find that fully half report no physical or sexual assaults against their partners in the year prior to the homicide. These results raise important questions about assessments of risk and the typification of the “battered woman” on which many policy responses rely.
Outcomes Following Carpal Tunnel Release in Patients Receiving Workers’ Compensation: A Systematic Review
Authors: Dunn John C. , Kusnezov Nicholas A. , Koehler Logan R. , Vanden Berge Dennis , Genco Ben , Mitchell Justin , Orr Justin D. , Pallis Mark
Published: April 2017

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common occupational pathology, representing a high percentage of workers’ compensation (WC) claims. Methods: The literature was reviewed for all studies evaluating CTS outcomes including WC patients between 1993 and 2016. A total of 348 articles were identified; 25 of which met inclusion and exclusion criteria. A systematic review was generated; patient demographics, outcomes, and complications were recorded. Weighted averages were calculated for the demographic and outcome data. Categorical data such as complications were pooled from the studies and used to determine the overall complication rate. Statistical significance was determined between WC and non-WC cohorts when applicable with the chi-square statistic. Results: The WC cohort included 1586 wrists, and the non-WC cohort included 2781 wrists. The WC cohort was younger and more often involved the dominant extremity. The WC cohort was less likely to have appropriate physical exam findings confirming diagnosis and electrodiagnostic studies. WC patients took almost 5 weeks longer to return to work, were 16% less likely to return to preinjury vocation, and had lower Standard Form (SF)-36 scores. Finally, WC patients had nearly 3 times the number of complications and nearly twice the rate of persistent pain. Conclusions: WC patients undergoing carpal tunnel release (CTR) fare poorly as compared with non-WC patients in nearly every metric. Higher rates of postoperative pain with delayed return to work can be anticipated in a WC cohort. In addition, WC patients receive suboptimal preoperative workup, and it is possible that unnecessary surgery is being completed in these cases. These findings are important to consider when treating the WC patient with CTS.
FareWell and the How of Lifestyle Medicine
Authors: Berman Mark A. , Appelbaum Kevin J. , Edwards Katherine L. , Eisenberg David M. , Katz David L.
Published: April 2017

The what of Lifestyle Medicine, including a whole foods dietary pattern, has been well established, but the how has remained elusive. How do we apply what we know in a cost-effective and widely accessible manner to prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic disease? Over the decade ahead, we believe the field of Lifestyle Medicine and the people who need it most will benefit from addressing the how. This article summarizes the founding and operational principles of FareWell Inc. - a digital therapeutics company targeting lifestyle-related cardiometabolic diseases. We outline our current use of mobile health technology and artificial intelligence and describe our early clinical experience, business model, and key anticipated challenges.
Deforestation Processes in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico
Authors: Ellis Edward A. , Romero Montero José Arturo , Hernández Gómez Irving Uriel
Published: April 2017

In this study, we evaluate deforestation processes and its relationship with different production and conservation land uses in the state of Quintana Roo in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. We also analyzed deforestation in ejidos (common property) with and without community forest management (CFM) that were categorized according to their degree of development and participation in CFM. The results show that the principal land uses for most deforested areas were for livestock and maize production. Mechanized agriculture and urban development related to tourism also represented important deforestation threats with high rates of annual forest conversion from 2001 to 2013. However, fire was also found to be a major threat to forest cover loss in Quintana Roo, with the highest rate. Low deforestation was associated with milpa agriculture, conservation or protected areas, and CFM. Ejidos with more development and participation in CFM tend to have a significantly lower proportion and lower overall rates of deforestation compared with ejidos without CFM. Regional conservation strategies that promote and integrate both land sparing and land sharing approaches are recommended and discussed.