bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mangiferin Attenuates Murine Lupus Nephritis by Inducing CD4+Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells via Suppression of mTOR Signaling
Authors: Liang Chun-Ling , Lu Weihui , Zhou Jiu-Yao , Chen Yuchao , Zhang Qunfang , Liu Huazhen , Qiu Feifei , Dai Zhenhua
Published: October 2018

Background/Aims: Lupus nephritis (LN) is an autoimmune glomerulonephritis that frequently develops secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus. Patients with LN require extensive treatments with global immunosuppressive agents. However, long-term treatment with conventional immunosuppressants may cause various side effects. Therefore, it’s important to seek alternative drugs for treating LN. Here we aimed to investigate the immunoregulatory effects of mangiferin (MG), an ingredient that was originally extracted from natural herbs, including Mangifera Indica Linn. and Rhizoma Anemarrhenae. Methods: FasL-deficient B6/ gld mice were used as a spontaneous LN model. The serum anti-dsDNA Ab and creatinine levels were analyzed via ELISA. Renal histology and immunopathology were determined using H&E and PAS staining, immunofluorescence (IgG and C3), and IHC staining (CD3 and a-SMA). Cytokine gene expression was measured by RT-PCR assays while effector T cells and Tregs were enumerated by flow analysis. Finally, the proliferation and apoptosis of T cells were measured by CFSE staining and flow analysis while their mTOR signaling was detected through Western blotting. Results: We found that administration of MG ameliorated LN in lupus-prone B6/gld mice by reducing the urinary protein and serum creatinine levels, diminishing T cell infiltration in kidneys and improving renal immunopathology. MG also significantly lowered the percentages of CD44highCD62Llow effector T cells in B6/gld mice. Importantly, treatments with MG augmented CD4+FoxP3+ Treg frequencies in spleens, lymph nodes and kidneys of B6/gld mice. It also induced CD4+FoxP3+ Tregs from CD3+ T cells in vitro and promoted Treg proliferation. Furthermore, it inhibited CD3+ T cell proliferation in vitro and suppressed their phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream P70S6K. However, MG did not promote T cell apoptosis, implying that it is not cytotoxic. Depletion of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Tregs in B6/gld mice abrogated its therapeutic effects on LN. Conclusion: MG exerts a novel therapeutic effect on murine LN via upregulating CD4+FoxP3+ Tregs, downregulating mTOR/p70S6K pathway and improving renal immunopathology. It may be useful for treating LN in clinic.
Interaction of CREB and PGC-1α Induces Fibronectin Type III Domain-Containing Protein 5 Expression in C2C12 Myotubes
Authors: Yang Xiu-ying , Tse Margaret C.L. , Hu Xiang , Jia Wei-hua , Du Guan-hua , Chan Chi Bun
Published: October 2018

Background/Aims: Fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5), also known as irisin, is a myokine secreted from muscle in response to exercise. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate FNDC5 expression and the functional significance of irisn in skeletal muscle remain unknown. In this study, we explored the potential pathways that induce FNDC5 expression and delineated the metabolic effects of irisin on skeletal muscle. Methods: C2C12 myotubes were treated with drugs at various concentrations and durations. The expression and activation of genes were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. Oxidative phosphorylation was quantified by measuring the oxygen consumption rate (OCR). Results: We found that the exercise-mimicking treatment (cAMP, forskolin and isoproterenol) increased Fndc5 expression in C2C12 myotubes. CREB over-expressed C2C12 myotubes displayed higher Fndc5 expression. CREB over-expression also promoted peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) expression. PGC-1α-induced Fndc5 expression was blocked when the dominant negative form of CREB (S133A) was present. PGC-1α mutation (S570A) also decreased Fndc5 expression. Immunoprecipitation showed that overexpressed PGC-1α complexed with CREB in HEK293 cells. C2C12 myotubes treated with forskolin also increased endogenous CREB and PGC-1α binding. Functionally, irisin treatment increased mitochondrial respiration, enhanced ATP production, promoted fatty acid oxidation but decreased glycolysis in myotubes. Conclusion: Our observation indicates that cAMP-mediated PGC-1α/CREB interaction triggers Fndc5 expression, which acts as an autocrine/paracrine to shape the metabolic phenotype of myotubes.
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug-Induced Colopathy in a Colorectal Cancer Screening Program
Authors: Borozan Sanja , Vuckovic Ljiljana , Smolovic Brigita
Published: October 2018

Objective: To present a case of colopathy related to the use of diclofenac in a patient with a positive immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT) and to discuss the influence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on iFOBT specificity. Clinical Presentation and Intervention: A colonoscopy in a 56-year-old female presenting with a positive iFOBT revealed diaphragm-like strictures and ulcers in the right colon. While carrying out a detailed retrospective interview, she reported a chronic backache requiring long-term NSAID treatment. Conclusion: No association has been established between chronic use of NSAID and a false-positive iFOBT. There is no need to stop NSAIDs before performing an iFOBT in a colorectal cancer screening program.
Guideline‐Directed Medical Therapy for Patients With Heart Failure With Midrange Ejection Fraction: A Patient‐Pooled Analysis From the KorHF and KorAHF Registries
Authors: Choi Ki Hong , Choi Jin‐Oh , Jeon Eun‐Seok , Lee Ga Yeon , Choi Dong‐Ju , Lee Hae‐Young , Kim Jae‐Joong , Chae Shung Chull , Baek Sang Hong , Kang Seok‐Min , Yoo Byung‐Su , Kim Kye Hun , Cho Myeong‐Chan , Park Hyun‐Young , Oh Byung‐Hee
Published: October 2018

Background

Although current guidelines now define heart failure with midrange ejection fraction (
HF
mr
EF
) as
HF
with a left ventricular EF of 40% to 49%, there are limited data on response to guideline‐directed medical therapy in patients with
HF
mr
EF
. The current study aimed to evaluate the association between β‐blocker, renin‐angiotensin system blocker (
RASB
), or aldosterone antagonist (
AA
) treatment with clinical outcome in patients with
HF
mr
EF
.

Methods and Results

We performed a patient‐level pooled analysis on 1144 patients with
HF
mr
EF
who were hospitalized for acute HF from the Kor
HF
(Korean Heart Failure) and Kor
AHF
(Korean Acute Heart Failure) registries. The study population was divided between use of β‐blocker,
RASB
, or
AA
to evaluate the guideline‐directed medical therapy in patients with
HF
mr
EF
. Sensitivity analyses, including propensity score matching and inverse‐probability‐weighted methods, were performed. The use of β‐blocker in the discharge group showed significantly lower rates of all‐cause mortality compared with those who did not use a β‐blocker (β‐blocker versus no β‐blocker, 30.7% versus 38.2%; hazard ratio, 0.758; 95% confidence interval, 0.615–0.934;
P
=0.009). Similarly, the
RASB
use in the discharge group was associated with the lower risk of mortality compared with no use of
RASB
(
RASB
versus no
RASB
, 31.9% versus 38.1%; hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% confidence interval, 0.618–0.946;
P
=0.013). However, there was no significant difference in all‐cause mortality between
AA
and no
AA
in the discharge group (
AA
versus no
AA
, 34.2% versus 34.0%; hazard ratio, 1.063; 95% confidence interval, 0.858–1.317;
P
=0.578). Multiple sensitivity analyses showed similar trends.

Conclusions

For treatment of acute
HFmrEF
after hospitalization, β‐blocker and
RASB
therapies on discharge were associated with reduced risk of all‐cause mortality.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier:
NCT
01389843.
Transmediality of Protest: Performative Protest Culture and Political Caricature in the British Atlantic, 1760–1780
Authors: Lerg Charlotte A.
Published: October 2018

Using transmediality as an approach to analyse the use of symbols in Anglo-American protest culture during the 1760s and 1770s sheds new light on the process of creating ideological alliances and the making of meaning. In the same way written text created a shared realm of ideas even as they were read and reinterpreted in accordance with different political and social contexts, visual templates, for example in carricature, also featured as points of reference. Relating these images to performances of protest and objects from a material culture of revolution brings together forms of resistance that have previously been examined separately. Arguably, by using a shared arsenal of symbolism protesters identified with an imagined community that in reality was never socially or politically coherent.
“Act with the Cunning of a Fox”: The Political Dimensions of the Struggle for Hegemony over New Netherland, 1647–1653
Authors: Jacobs Jaap
Published: October 2018

This article explores the political dimensions of the power struggle that engulfed the Dutch colony of New Netherland in the 1640s and 1650s. The existing interpretations employ Native American, social, religious, moral and personal perspectives, but leave many questions. This article argues that the composition of the groups involved in the struggle changed over its course and sets it within a Dutch political context. It highlights the political affiliations of the chief protagonists and argues that the outcome was shaped by political developments in the Dutch Republic rather than in New Netherland. By focusing on the role of the New Netherland patroons and their network, this article nuances the standard view of the incorporation of New Amsterdam as a victory for that city’s mercantile elite.
Flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from a white-sand habitat in the Brazilian Amazon, with the description of four new species
Authors: CARVALHO-FILHO FERNANDO DA SILVA , GORAYEB INOCÊNCIO DE SOUSA , SOARES JÉSSICA MARIA MENEZES , DE SOUZA MATHEUS TAVARES
Published: October 2018

The white-sand enclaves in the Amazon Basin are small areas scattered through the tropical forest, with sandy and nutrient-poor soils and an unusual vegetation type. The insect fauna of this ecosystem is poorly known, especially in the eastern Amazon. The flesh fly fauna of an area of open herbaceous white-sand vegetation known as “Campo Redondo” in the municipality of Cametá, state of Pará, was surveyed, resulting in the discovery of 43 species in 11 genera representing the subfamilies Sarcophaginae and Miltogramminae. Four new species are described: Dexosarcophaga (Dexosarcophaga) campina sp. nov., Helicobia cametaensis sp. nov., Helicobia domquixote sp. nov., and Metopia fofo sp. nov. Lepidodexia (Lepidodexia) grisea Lopes and Lepidodexia (Notochaeta) setifrons (Lopes) are newly recorded from Brazil. Dexosarcophaga (Bezzisca) ampullula (Engel), D. (Dexosarcophaga) transita Townsend and Titanogrypa (Cucullomyia) larvicida (Lopes) are newly recorded from the Brazilian Amazon.
The Mechanisms Leading to a Stratospheric Hydration by Overshooting Convection
Authors: Dauhut Thibaut , Chaboureau Jean-Pierre , Haynes Peter H. , Lane Todd P.
Published: October 2018

Overshoots are convective air parcels that rise beyond their level of neutral buoyancy. A giga-large-eddy simulation (100-m cubic resolution) of “Hector the Convector,” a deep convective system that regularly forms in northern Australia, is analyzed to identify overshoots and quantify the effect of hydration of the stratosphere. In the simulation, 1507 individual overshoots were identified, and 46 of them were tracked over more than 10 min. Hydration of the stratosphere occurs through a sequence of mechanisms: overshoot penetration into the stratosphere, followed by entrainment of stratospheric air and then by efficient turbulent mixing between the air in the overshoot and the entrained warmer air, leaving the subsequent mixed air at about the maximum overshooting altitude. The time scale of these mechanisms is about 1 min. Two categories of overshoots are distinguished: those that significantly hydrate the stratosphere and those that have little direct hydration effect. The former reach higher altitudes and hence entrain and mix with air that has higher potential temperatures. The resulting mixed air has higher temperatures and higher saturation mixing ratios. Therefore, a greater amount of the hydrometeors carried by the original overshoot sublimates to form a persistent vapor-enriched layer. This makes the maximum overshooting altitude the key prognostic for the parameterization of deep convection to represent the correct overshoot transport. One common convection parameterization is tested, and the results suggest that the overshoot downward acceleration due to negative buoyancy is too large relative to that predicted by the numerical simulations and needs to be reduced.
Verification of Seasonal Climate Forecast toward Hydroclimatic Information Needs of Rice Farmers in Northern Ghana
Authors: Nyadzi Emmanuel , Werners E. Saskia , Biesbroek Robbert , Long Phi Hoang , Franssen Wietse , Ludwig Fulco
Published: October 2018

Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa face many difficulties when making farming decisions due to unexpected changes in weather and climate. Access to hydroclimatic information can potentially assist farmers to adapt. This study explores the extent to which seasonal climate forecasts can meet hydroclimatic information needs of rice farmers in northern Ghana. First, 62 rice farmers across 12 communities were interviewed about their information needs. Results showed that importance of hydroclimatic information depends on the frequency of use and farming type (rain-fed, irrigated, or both). Generally, farmers perceived rainfall distribution, dam water level, and temperature as very important information, followed by total rainfall amount and onset ranked as important. These findings informed our skills assessment of rainfall (Prcp), minimum temperature (Tmin), and maximum temperature (Tmax) from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF-S4) and at lead times of 0 to 2 months. Forecast bias, correlation, and skills for all variables vary with season and location but are generally unsystematic and relatively constant with forecast lead time. Making it possible to meet farmers’ needs at their most preferred lead time of 1 month before the farming season. ECMWF-S4 exhibited skill in Prcp, Tmin, and Tmax in northern Ghana except for a few grid cells in MAM for Prcp and SON for Tmin and Tmax. Tmin and Tmax forecasts were more skillful than Prcp. We conclude that the participatory coproduction approach used in this study provides better insight for understanding demand-driven climate information services and that the ECMWF-S4 seasonal forecast system has the potential to provide actionable hydroclimatic information that may support farmers’ decisions.
Theological Proofs of the Kinship of Ancient Egypt With South-Saharan Africa Rather Than Eastern and Western Civilizations
Authors: Luyaluka Kiatezua Lubanzadio
Published: October 2018

This article deals with the issue of the kinship of ancient Egyptian civilization with the neighboring ones. To the melanin-level proof offered by Cheikh Anta Diop and Obenga’s evidence of the linguistic relatedness of Kemet to the south-Saharan Africa, this article adds a theological proof. The article shows that the Eastern and Western epistemic paradigms brought by Persians and Greeks was destructive to the scientific nature of the religion ancient Egypt shared with Sumer and primitive Christianity; while, as seen through Kôngo religion which is demonstrated to be the continuation of kemetic religion, the epistemic paradigm of African traditional culture nurtures this religion. Therefore, the natural theological kinship of ancient Egypt is with south-Saharan African rather than with Asia and Europe.
Fabrication and characterization of polymeric cellular foams for low-density computed tomography phantom applications
Authors: Hoy Carlton FO , Naguib Hani E , Paul Narinder
Published: October 2018

Computed tomography imaging phantom devices have proven to be beneficial in improving computed tomography diagnostic techniques. Though commercial phantoms are available with tissue mimicking properties, there is a lack of low-density tissue specificity and variety. This study proposes a method for the fabrication of various low-density tissue mimicking computed tomography imaging phantoms. By illustrating the fabrication technique, material properties can be shown to be controlled and assessed against characteristic computed tomography imaging properties, most particularly, the computed tomography number in Hounsfield Units. A batch cellular foaming technique was utilized on thermoplastic polyurethane with ranging heated water bath foaming times from 0.5 to 10 min to fabricate polymeric computed tomography phantoms of controlled foam material properties. Computed tomography number values were experimentally measured. Additionally, separate experimental measurements were made on the foam characteristic properties of fabricated thermoplastic polyurethane foams. A relative decreasing trend was exhibited between the foam characteristic properties of cell density, average cell size, and material density to computed tomography number.
Affective Reactions of Vietnamese Toward Coworkers With Disabilities and Perceptions of Community Inclusion
Authors: Hsu Tsu-Hsuan , Chao Pei-Ju , Huang Ying-Ting , Bezyak Jill L. , Ososkie Joseph N.
Published: October 2018

Vietnam is in the emerging stage in supporting and protecting people with disabilities (PWDs) in terms of employment rights and opportunities. The main purpose of this study was to explore how Vietnamese perceive their coworkers with disabilities in general workplace settings. In addition, the secondary objective of this study was to explore how Vietnamese perceive community acceptance and inclusive education of PWDs in different environmental contexts. Results indicated participants had generally positive affective reactions toward their coworkers with disabilities in the workplace. However, findings also indicated that Vietnamese people possessed hierarchical attitudes toward people with different types of disabilities in terms of community acceptance and educational rights.
Promoting Students’ Motivation and Use of SRL Strategies in the Web-Based Mathematics Learning Environment
Authors: Gu Peidi , Lee Youngjin
Published: October 2018

Compared with classroom learning, online learning requires students to self-regulate their learning processes and to maintain their motivation to achieve their learning goals. This study investigated whether the interventions based on the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction model and the modified Introducing the new concepts, Metacognitive questioning, Practicing, Reviewing and reducing difficulties, Obtaining mastery, Verification, and Enrichment method can promote students’ motivation and use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in a web-based mathematics learning environment. Two-hundred thirty-six Chinese high school students were randomly divided into four groups: motivational design group, SRL intervention group, motivational design and SRL intervention group, and the control group. Questionnaires and tests were administered to measure the changes in motivation, use of SRL strategies, and academic gains before and after the respective interventions. Findings of this study suggest that the knowledge gain of students learning mathematics online can be maximized when they receive instructional assistance in both motivation and use of SRL strategies.
Split Bregman iteration based reconstruction algorithm for electrical capacitance tomography
Authors: Lu Lian , Tong Guowei , Guo Ge , Liu Shi
Published: October 2018

The electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) technique uses the measured capacitance data to reconstruct the permittivity distribution in a specific measurement area, in which the performances of reconstruction algorithms play a crucial role in the reliability of measurement results. According to the Tikhonov regularization technique, a new cost function with the total least squares technique and the ℓ1-norm based regularizer is presented, in which measurement noises, model deviations and the influence of the outliers in the measurement data are simultaneously considered. The split Bregman technique and the fast-iterative shrinkage-thresholding method are combined into a new iterative scheme to solve the proposed cost function efficiently. Numerical experiment results show that the proposed algorithm achieves the boost in the precision of reconstruction, and under the noise-free condition the image errors for the imaging targets simulated in this paper, that is, 8.4%, 12.4%, 13.5% and 6.4%, are smaller than the linear backprojection (LBP) algorithm, the Tikhonov regularization (TR) algorithm, the truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD) algorithm, the Landweber algorithm and the algebraic reconstruction technique (ART).
A new fracture permeability model of CBM reservoir with high-dip angle in the southern Junggar Basin, NW China
Authors: Yang Shiyu , Cai Yidong , Wei Ren , Zhou Yingfang
Published: October 2018

Predicting the permeability of coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs is significant for coalbed methane exploration and coalbed methane development. In this work, a new fracture permeability model of coalbed methane reservoir with high-dip angle in the southern Junggar Basin, NW China is established based on the Poiseuille and Darcy laws. The fracture porosity in coalbed methane reservoir is calculated by applying 3D finite element method. The formation cementing index m was calculated by combining fractal theory and the data of acoustic logging, compensated neutron logging, and density logging with the space method. Based on Poiseuille and Darcy laws, the curvature τ is introduced to derive this new method for obtaining the permeability of the original fractures in coalbed methane reservoirs. Moreover, this newly established permeability model is compared with the permeability from the well testing, which shows a very good correlation between them. This model comprehensively includes the effects of fracture porosity, reservoir pore structure, and development conditions on fracture permeability. Finally, the permeability prediction of coalbed methane reservoir with high-dip angle in the southern Junggar Basin, NW China is conducted, which correlates very well with the well test permeability ( R2 = 0.83). Therefore, this model can be used to accurately predict the coalbed methane reservoir permeability of low rank coals in the southern Junggar Basin. The permeability of the No.43 coalbed methane reservoir for the coalbed methane wells without well testing data is evaluated, which ranges from 0.000251 to 0.379632 mD. This significant change in permeability may indicate a complex coalbed methane reservoir structure in the southern Junggar Basin, NW China.
Simulation research on the reinjection temperature fields of deep geothermal wells based on real-scale experiment
Authors: Huo Aidi , Wang Xiaofan , Lyu Yan , Cheng Yuxiang , Zheng Chunli , Song Jinxi
Published: October 2018

The utilization of aquifer energy is a new technology closely related to the development of injection and production well technologies. Accurately predicting the effective use of geothermal energy storage in a surrounding aquifer is of great significance. A developed theory of groundwater hydro-geothermal transfer is suggested by analyzing the general features of stored energy in aquifers together with the interactions between flow connections and thermal breakthroughs. Based on the water-heat transfer in an aquifer, a coupled numerical model of groundwater flow and heat transfer is established using FEFLOW software for an injection and production wells system in the city of Xianyang to simulate the flow and temperature field. The results show that the key for the formation of a flow connection is the hydraulic gradient. That is, whether the flow connection will occur can be judged quantitatively according to the hydraulic gradient. Flow connections occur more easily through greater flow quantities and quicker injection and pumping rates, which lead to earlier occurrences of thermal breakthroughs. At an operation time of 120 days, to prevent thermal breakthroughs in the production wells, the reasonable well spacing was between 180 and 200 m, and the optimal well spacing was 180 m. This method is of great significance for the calculation of reasonable distance between injection and production wells of geothermal tail water without thermal breakthroughs and the sustainable development of a groundwater environment.
Visibilizing and Invisibilizing Paradox: A process study of interactions in a hospital executive board
Authors: Tuckermann Harald
Published: October 2018

Studies on organizational paradoxes often explain paradox salience exogenously, as a state of latency awaiting detection. Based on social systems theory, this process study develops an explanation of paradox salience and latency beyond an actor’s cognitive ability to think paradoxically. Such an explanation lies endogenously within the interactions of actors coping with paradox. Analysing the discussions of a hospital executive board during a change initiative reveals how factual, social and temporal references surface and submerge contradictory tensions. The proposed model for visibilizing and invisibilizing paradox explains salience and latency – even if individuals are aware of paradox – as integral to coping with paradox. As a paradox invisibilizes in an interaction it resurfaces somewhere along the line and thereby transforms within an organization.
History as a Source of Organizational Identity Creation
Authors: Oertel Simon , Thommes Kirsten
Published: October 2018

We analysed the self-representation of twelve watchmaking firms located in a cluster in East Germany to understand how they apply rhetorical history to craft their identity. The findings show that there are common elements of rhetorical history that help organizations craft their identity, but there are also differences based on each firm’s historical background. While some firms specifically relate their identity to their own history, others mainly employ cluster-level history, while still others may even self-construct fictional historical roots. By discussing these findings, we contribute to a better understanding of how an organization’s identity is crafted and how history is utilized in such identity creation.
Poverty and Family Troubles: Mothers, Children, and Neoliberal “Antipoverty” Initiatives
Authors: Rosen Rachel
Published: October 2018

Conditions of impoverishment underlie many family “troubles” and the family is often a site of antipoverty interventions. Feminist scholars have provided a series of trenchant critiques of neoliberal initiatives which purport to tackle familial poverty but have the effect of retraditionalizing gendered divisions of labor, as well as sidelining demands for social and economic justice for women. Taking one article as an in-depth case study, this article considers what happens to “the child” in such feminist critiques. I suggest there is a tendency to posit neoliberal antipoverty initiatives as benign for or even of benefit to children. The unintended consequences are to position impoverished women against impoverished children and to naturalize childhood at the same time as contesting motherhood. In troubling the family in this way, I argue for the productivity of complementing feminist critiques with critically oriented childhood scholarship to better understand the operations and impacts of neoliberal antipoverty initiatives.
Immigrants, Place, and Health: Destination Area Health Contexts and Routine Physician and Dental Care for Children of Mexican Immigrants
Authors: Graefe Deborah R. , De Jong Gordon F. , Howe Hasanali Stephanie , Galvan Chris
Published: October 2018

Notable healthcare disparities are shown among the children of Mexican immigrants across different Hispanic immigrant destinations. A hostile local immigrant-receptivity climate and alternative institutional community context indicators are integrated with individual-level data on physician and dental care from the 1996 and 2001 Survey of Income and Program Participation to explain this variation. Mexican immigrants’ children in new Hispanic immigrant destinations are 20 percent less likely to see a doctor, and a negative receptivity climate explains about half of this effect. Community health clinic availability and greater state leniency toward immigrant child public health insurance eligibility facilitate healthcare access.
Desperately seeking the good society
Authors: Hughes Gill
Published: October 2018

Working towards the ‘good society’ is an important aspiration to hold, but equally its subjectivity complicates the realisation for all – each person’s view of what ‘good’ means in relation to society differs. The notion is also open to statutory appropriation and mainstreaming using rhetoric to suggest its centrality to governmental thinking, but the reality reveals policy and practice, which undermines the accomplishment of social justice and thus a good society. This paper seeks to explore this complexity through dissecting the processes of representation of the ‘good society’ in theory and in practice. The paper will argue that the ‘good society’ might be termed a doxic construct. Bourdieu used ‘doxa’ to explain how arbitrariness shapes people’s acceptance of their place in the world, the covert process is ‘internalised’, seemingly objectively, into the ‘social structures and mental structures’, producing a universal and accepted knowledge of something (Bourdieu, 1977 ). The possibility of difference is undermined; thus, the varied needs and contexts of people’s lived realities are consumed within prevailing normative narratives. Foucault (cited in Simon, 1971 : 198) referred to a ‘system of limits’ and Bourdieu (1977: 164) ‘ sense of limits’, both authors will assist in seeking to uncover how such invisible practices limit and constrain the imagining of possibilities beyond the taken-for-granted. The paper argues that community development can be a catalyst to challenge this invisibility by utilising Freire’s ( 1970 ) conscientisation, enabling people to recognise structural oppression to challenge the status quo. This paper will draw on examples offered within a northern city to build on Knight’s, 2015 research, which posed the question ‘[w]hat kind of society do we want?’, identifying, when asked, a hunger for change. The paper explores whether there is a desire to overturn the predominant individualism of the neoliberal era to reignite the notion of the common good.
Evaluation of uncertainty in the measurement of the crack-tip stress field using photoelasticity
Authors: Solaguren-Beascoa Fernández M
Published: October 2018

Photoelasticity has always played an important role in the experimental study of fracture mechanics. It can, with a degree of simplicity, be used to measure the parameters that characterize the crack-tip stress field. The so-called over-deterministic method is the most widely used in that regard. Although that particular method functions correctly, it has some metrological limitations: no measurement uncertainties are provided, observations are assumed to be independent and of equal accuracy, and its results may be skewed due to the misalignment of the coordinate axes in the data collection. In this article, it is shown that these limitations no longer apply when using the generalized least squares by Lagrange multipliers method. It provides not only an estimate of the quantities to be measured, as the over-deterministic method, but also a fitted estimate of the value of each input quantity; the covariance matrix of all these estimates from which both the standard uncertainties and correlation coefficients can be calculated; a chi-square value that can be used to test the consistency of the measurement model; and the normalized deviations between the input estimates and their fitted values, which are tools to identify potential outliers.
Estimating Annual Average Daily Bicycle Traffic without Permanent Counter Stations
Authors: Roll Josh F. , Proulx Frank R.
Published: October 2018

Traffic volumes are a basic unit of measurement for understanding the transportation system. As investments in bicycle infrastructure are made, similar measures are necessary for understanding this non-motorized mode of travel. Methods for estimating annual average daily bicycle traffic (AADBT) are still developing, but generally employ techniques used in the motorized traffic monitoring field whereby data from permanent counters are used to construct expansion factors that are then applied to short-duration counts. This approach requires a network of permanent counters and knowledge about how to group factors into appropriate categories based on patterns observed in both the short-duration and permanent counter data. The methods presented in this paper advance a new approach to estimating AADBT solely using short-duration counts. The Seasonal Adjustment Regression Model uses statistical models that relate the daily bicycle volume to daily conditions and weather variables at a given count location. These models are then used to predict daily volumes for the remaining days of the year. To verify this approach and determine the resulting error, levels of available short-duration counts using varying amounts of permanent count data were simulated. This method was then applied to short-duration bicycle counts from Eugene, Oregon. With sufficient short-duration count data, this method can produce AADBT estimates with minimal error and without requiring a network of permanent counters. This approach also circumvents the need to determine which expansion factors should be applied to different short-term count locations by using statistical models in place of expansion factors.
1889 Oklahoma Land Run: The Settlement of Payne County
Authors: Maguire Karen , Wiederholt Branton
Published: October 2018

In this article, we examine the demographic characteristics of the non-Native American settlers in Payne County, Oklahoma, using the 1890 Territorial Census, which includes information on gender, household size and composition, and birth region. For comparison, we use census data from the 1880 Midwest census region to examine whether the household characteristics of the Payne County settlers were unique or representative of Midwestern families from which they emigrated. We find that US-born individuals were more likely to participate in the land run, but that the number and age of children were not significantly different from the Midwestern region.
Blood damage in Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Pump thrombosis or system thrombosis?
Authors: Selmi Matteo , Chiu Wei-Che , Chivukula Venkat Keshav , Melisurgo Giulio , Beckman Jennifer Ann , Mahr Claudius , Aliseda Alberto , Votta Emiliano , Redaelli Alberto , Slepian Marvin J , Bluestein Danny , Pappalardo Federico , Consolo Filippo
Published: October 2018

Introduction:

Despite significant technical advancements in the design and manufacture of Left Ventricular Assist Devices, post-implant thrombotic and thromboembolic complications continue to affect long-term outcomes. Previous efforts, aimed at optimizing pump design as a means of reducing supraphysiologic shear stresses generated within the pump and associated prothrombotic shear-mediated platelet injury, have only partially altered the device hemocompatibility.

Methods:

We examined hemodynamic mechanisms that synergize with hypershear within the pump to contribute to the thrombogenic potential of the overall Left Ventricular Assist Device system.

Results:

Numerical simulations of blood flow in differing regions of the Left Ventricular Assist Device system, that is the diseased native left ventricle, the pump inflow cannula, the impeller, the outflow graft and the anastomosed downstream aorta, reveal that prothrombotic hemodynamic conditions might occur at these specific sites. Furthermore, we show that beyond hypershear, additional hemodynamic abnormalities exist within the pump, which may elicit platelet activation, such as recirculation zones and stagnant platelet trajectories. We also provide evidences that particular Left Ventricular Assist Device implantation configurations and specific post-implant patient management strategies, such as those allowing aortic valve opening, are more hemodynamically favorable and reduce the thrombotic risk.

Conclusion:

We extend the perspective of pump thrombosis secondary to the supraphysiologic shear stress environment of the pump to one of Left Ventricular Assist Device system thrombosis, raising the importance of comprehensive characterization of the different prothrombotic risk factors of the total system as the target to achieve enhanced hemocompatibility and improved clinical outcomes.
The Myth of Hukou: Re-examining Hukou’s Implications for China’s Development Model
Authors: Chen Ying
Published: October 2018

The hukou system is typically treated as an institutional base for rural-urban chasm in the literature regarding internal migration in China. However, these works rarely separate hukou’s social impacts from those caused by the changes in the economic system itself. With a review of historical policy documents, data on migration from rural to urban sectors, agricultural output and industrial output growth, I argue that hukou is in fact a rather neutral and passive legislation in the sense that it can perform opposite functions depending on the particular economic system it is operating under. This paper calls for bringing the concept of economic system back to the center of the discussion regarding development models.

JEL Classification: O15, D63
Identification of management strategies and generation factors for spent lead acid battery recovery plant wastes in Turkey
Authors: Çelebi Sarp , Yetiş Ülkü , Ünlü Kahraman
Published: October 2018

The recovery of spent or waste lead acid batteries is important both for the management of lead input to the environment and to meet the lead demand of the market in a more energy and cost effective manner than primary production. As an important producer of lead acid batteries for the Middle Eastern and Eastern European market, Turkey seems to meet 22%–52% of its total lead demand by waste lead acid battery recovery. In this study, the wastes from Turkish waste lead acid battery recovery plants are identified and management strategies that are both technically sufficient and economically feasible for each of these wastes are complied. Furthermore, ranges of the amount of each waste generated per mass of final lead produced in these plants are estimated. Some of the most significantly generated wastes are lead containing dusts, wash water treatment sludges and slags from smelting furnaces with generation rates between 5–250, 1–150 and 5–100 kg t−1 of product lead, respectively. Many of these can be fed back to the recovery process inside the plants except a subset of slags that are called ‘final slag’ and have low (5%–6%) lead content. Final slags can either be recovered for the production of cement, road-filling materials or abrasives proven that they are in a non-leachable, stable state or should be stored at hazardous waste landfills. For improved environmental performance, newly emerging techniques that eliminate the generation of such slags are also discussed and suggested.
Islam et idéologie au cinéma : prototypes, stéréotypes et économie politique
Authors: Touzani Mourad , Hirschman Elizabeth C.
Published: October 2018

Résumé

La diffusion, à des fins marketing, d’images controversées représentant l’islam dans les pays occidentaux a récemment eu comme conséquence plusieurs décès. Il serait opportun que les chercheurs en comportement du consommateur s’intéressent à l’impact sociétal de ces représentations qui sont idéologiquement chargées. Notre recherche analyse et interprète les stéréotypes liés aux musulmans dans les films américains, en mobilisant un cadre qui intègre des notions d’économie politique et des perspectives coloniales/postcoloniales occidentales.
The Effects of Gender-Blind Sexism on Rape Myth Acceptance: Results From a Nationally Representative Study
Authors: Stoll Laurie Cooper , Lilley Terry Glenn , Block Ray
Published: October 2018

This study uses a diverse sample that is nationally representative with regards to race and gender ( N = 2,000) in an attempt to replicate and confirm Stoll, Lilley, and Pinter’s previous finding that gender-blind sexism is correlated with rape myth acceptance. As in the original study, we hypothesized that higher scores on the Gender-Blind Sexism Inventory (GBSI) would be predictive of higher scores on Stoll et al.’s Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (RMA). Gender-blind sexism builds on previous models of contemporary sexism such as hostile and benevolent sexism, modern sexism, and neosexism. It also represents an extension of racialized social system theory that explores the ways contemporary sexism operates in an era of post-racial and post-gender politics via four frames: abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural sexism, and minimization of sexism. Unlike in the original study, however, our sample also allowed us to control for scores on the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), the Modern Sexism Scale (MS), and the Neosexism Scale (NS) in testing this relationship. Our analysis confirmed the hypothesis that gender-blind sexism is predictive of higher rape myth acceptance among participants. Moreover, this study indicates that the GBSI offers additional value over the ASI, MS, and NS, as it was the only index of sexism tested that revealed gender-group differences within its relationship to RMA. Compared to men, women’s acceptance of rape myths was more responsive to shifts in the GBSI. We discuss the implications of our findings in terms of rape and sexual assault prevention and policy. We also provide some suggestions for how the GBSI could be used in future studies.
Evaluating a Culturally Tailored HIV Risk Reduction Intervention Among Hispanic Women Delivered in a Real-World Setting by Community Agency Personnel
Authors: Peragallo Montano Nilda , Cianelli Rosina , Villegas Natalia , Gonzalez-Guarda Rosa , Williams Weston O. , de Tantillo Lila
Published: October 2018

Purpose:

To evaluate the effectiveness of Salud, Educación, Prevención, y Autocuidad/Health, Education, Prevention and Self-care (SEPA) to increase human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention behaviors for Hispanic women delivered in a real-world setting.

Design:

Randomized controlled trial.

Setting:

Participants were recruited from the Miami Refugee Center, the Florida Department of Health, and public locations in Miami.

Participants:

Three hundred twenty Hispanic women.

Intervention:

The SEPA is a culturally tailored intervention developed to address HIV/STI risk behaviors among Hispanic women. The SEPA intervention consisted of three 2.5 hour sessions per week conducted with small groups. The SEPA sessions consisted of group discussions, role playing, negotiation skills, partner communication, and skills building as part of the methodology.

Measures:

Acculturation, HIV/STI risk behaviors, HIV knowledge, partner communication, intimate partner violence, drug/alcohol use, condom use.

Analysis:

Differences at baseline by group were assessed using Wilcoxon rank sum test, χ2, and a negative-binomial model. Changes in dependent variables, compared to baseline, were analyzed in separate models. Log-binomial models and negative binomial models were used for dichotomous and count/rate-type dependent variables.

Results:

Significant outcome improvements were observed in the SEPA group at 6 and 12 months follow-up. The adjusted prevalence of any condom use was 30% and 37% higher at each follow-up. The adjusted prevalence of answering 10/12 HIV knowledge questions correctly rose by 57% and 63% at each follow-up. Intimate partner violence was significantly lower at each subsequent time point (62% and 41% of baseline). Moderate depressive symptoms were reduced to 50% and 42%, getting drunk was reduced to 20% and 30%, and condom use self-efficacy was significantly higher (84% and 96%).

Conclusion:

The SEPA intervention reduced HIV/STI risk-related behaviors when delivered in a real-world setting. The results suggest that SEPA can be implemented in various settings to reach Hispanic women, and that SEPA could reach large numbers of women in an efficient, cost-effective way.
Care, Coercion and Dignity at the End of Life
Authors: Russell Cathriona
Published: October 2018

End-of-life debates in medical ethics often centre around several interrelated issues: improving care, avoiding coercion, and recognising the dignity and rights of the terminally ill. Care ethics advocates relational autonomy and non-abandonment. These commitments, however, face system pressures—economic, social and legal—that can be coercive. This article takes up two related aspects in this domain of ethics. Firstly, that competence and communication are core clinical ethics principles that can sidestep the overplayed dichotomies in end-of-life care. And secondly, it questions the assumption that advance directives are universally benevolent—comparing the provisions of the Council of Europe’s 1999 recommendations on protection of human rights and dignity of the dying within the framework of the Irish context. The article also registers the unintended impacts of changing legal frameworks in relation to euthanasia and assisted suicide in Europe, including recent proposals in the Netherlands. A focus on human dignity can provide a theologically and philosophically shared normative orientation that argues for present directives rather than only advance directives, and a presumption in favour of ‘living up to death’. Dignity approaches not only grant rights but secure them by supporting ongoing initiatives that honour, rather than erode, the ‘longevity dividend’.
Parent Communication and Bullying Among Hispanic Adolescent Girls
Authors: Smith Ariel U. , Norris Anne E.
Published: October 2018

In this article, we report findings regarding parent communication and daughter’s experiences of bullying and victimization in a sample of Hispanic families with seventh-grade daughters. About 57% of daughters reported experiencing any form of victimization and 37% reported engaging in some type of bullying behavior. Overall, the most common type of victimization reported was verbal/emotional bullying (36%). Nearly all parents agreed they had spoken with their daughters about the dangers of bullying perpetration (95%) and how to handle being victimized (96%), but there was no association between the frequency with which parents spoke with their daughters about bullying perpetration and their child’s victimization experiences. Additionally, the gap between parent and child acculturation did not appear to moderate this association. The high incidence of self-reported bullying perpetration and victimization experiences underscores the need for school nurses, parents, and school personnel to address bullying behavior.