bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relational Communications Strategies to Support Family-Centered Neonatal Intensive Care
Authors: Benzies Karen M.
Published: July 2016

The philosophy of family-centered care in neonatal intensive care units is intended to facilitate parental involvement, shared decision-making, and improved outcomes for infants and families. To support family-centered care, there are multiple interventions with different components and associated outcomes that have been described in the research literature. This evidence leaves many unanswered questions about how best to implement and evaluate strategies to enhance family-centered care. This article provides a brief overview of interventions designed to support family-centered care in neonatal intensive care units and offers an evidence-informed staff education strategy to enhance family-centered care. The evidence-informed relational communications strategies of circular pattern diagrams, questioning, and commendations are described, along with specific examples of how nurses can use them in in their day-to-day practice in neonatal intensive care units.
High Levels of Residue within Polymeric Hollow Fiber Membranes Used for Blood Oxygenation
Authors: Alexander Joseph V. , Grulke Eric A. , Zwischenberger Joseph B.
Published: July 2016

A number of research teams are developing surface coatings for hollow fiber membrane (HFM) blood oxygenators to improve their biocompatibility and service life. Surface coating techniques can be quite sensitive to the presence of contaminants on the exterior surface of the hollow fibers. We found large amounts of leachable oils associated with several commercial HFMs, i.e., as much as 2.5–7.5 weight percent. Leachable residues were suspected when a surface coating, a surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (s-ATRP) of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate, resulted in areas of 100 µm2 devoid of coatings on the exterior surfaces of HFMs. After leaching residual oils, s-ATRP coatings were uniform and continuous across the hollow fibers. Therefore, removal of residual material should be considered before applying coating technologies to commercial HFMs. The effects of such leachable agents on the performance of blood oxygenators are not known.
Subjective and Objective Outcomes of Robotic and Vaginal High Uterosacral Ligament Suspension
Authors: Vallabh-Patel Vaneesha , Saiz Cristina , Salamon Charbel
Published: July 2016

Objectives

This study was designed to assess the short-term outcomes in patients undergoing robotic or transvaginal high uterosacral ligament suspension for symptomatic apical prolapse at the time of hysterectomy.

Methods

This retrospective study used hospital and office electronic medical records to identify patients with symptomatic stage 2 to 4 prolapse, who had undergone either a robotic or transvaginal high uterosacral ligament suspension from July 2010 to January 2014. The database was searched using procedural codes for uterosacral ligament suspension. Each patient was contacted 1 year postoperatively to answer the pelvic floor distress inventory-20 via telephone, and this was compared to their initial preprocedural baseline questionnaire.

Results

Our primary outcome included the fulfillment of 3 criteria: (1) Prolapse leading edge of 0 or less and apex of ½ total vaginal length or less; (2) the absence of pelvic organ prolapse symptoms as reported on the pelvic floor distress inventory-20 question No. 3; and (3) no prolapse reoperations or pessary use during the study period. Ninety-two percent (24/26) in the robotic group and 85% (36/42) in the vaginal group (P = 0.46) successfully fulfilled these outcome criteria. There was no significant difference in the operative data between the 2 groups. There were no intraoperative complications in either group.

Conclusions

These short-term outcomes are promising and show a high success rate for the uterosacral ligament suspension at the time of a hysterectomy regardless of whether it was performed vaginally or robotically.
A Case of Disulfiram-Induced Psychosis in a Previously Asymptomatic Patient Maintained on Mixed Amphetamine Salts: A Review of the Literature and Possible Pathophysiological Explanations
Authors: Spiegel David R. , McCroskey Aidan , Puaa Kapaakea , Meeker Grant , Hartman Lauren , Hudson Joshua , Hung Yu C.
Published: July 2016

Although perhaps better known as an irreversible aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor causing increased acetaldehyde levels after concomitant intake of ethanol, disulfiram or one of its metabolites (diethyldithiocarbamate) also inhibit dopamine β-hydroxylase, an enzyme that converts dopamine to norepinephrine. This mechanism has been advanced as a possible explanation for the development of psychosis, during disulfiram treatment, either in monotherapy or in combination therapy, when interaction-emergent psychosis could be causal. We present a young woman who was taking mixed amphetamine salts for treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and developed a short-lived psychosis after introduction of disulfiram. The psychotic symptoms resolved after discontinuation of both medications, without the use of antipsychotic drugs. We proceed with a review of the literature of disulfiram-induced psychosis and discuss pathophysiological theories that possibly were involved in our patient's phenomenology.
In vivo mapping of tissue- and subcellular-specific proteomes inCaenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Reinke Aaron W. , Mak Raymond , Troemel Emily R. , Bennett Eric J.
Published: July 2016

Multicellular organisms are composed of tissues that have distinct functions requiring specialized proteomes. To define the proteome of a live animal with tissue and subcellular resolution, we adapted a localized proteomics technology for use in the multicellular model organismCaenorhabditis elegans. This approach couples tissue- and location-specific expression of the enzyme ascorbate peroxidase (APX), which facilitates proximity-based protein labeling in vivo, and quantitative proteomics to identify tissue- and subcellular-restricted proteomes. We identified and localized over 3000 proteins from strains ofC. elegansexpressing APX in either the nucleus or cytoplasm of the intestine, epidermis, body wall muscle, or pharyngeal muscle. We also identified several hundred proteins that were specifically localized to one of the four tissues analyzed or specifically localized to the cytoplasm or the nucleus. This approach resulted in the identification of both previously characterized and unknown nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. Further, we confirmed the tissue- and subcellular-specific localization of a subset of identified proteins using GFP-tagging and fluorescence microscopy, validating our in vivo proximity-based proteomics technique. Together, these results demonstrate a new approach that enables the tissue- and subcellular-specific identification and quantification of proteins within a live animal.
ADRes: a computational pipeline for detecting molecular markers of Anti-malarial Drug Resistance, from Sanger sequencing data
Authors: Amuzu Setor , Ghansah Anita
Published: July 2016

Background

Malaria control efforts are stifled by the emergence and dispersal of parasite strains resistant to available anti-malarials. Amino acid changes in specific positions of proteins encoded byPlasmodium falciparumgenespfcrt, dhps, dhfr, andpfmdr1are used as molecular markers of resistance to antimalarials such as chloroquine, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine, as well as artemisinin derivatives. However, a challenge to the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in codons responsible for these amino acid changes, in several samples, is the scarcity of automated computational pipelines for molecular biologists to; rapidly analyze ABI (Applied Biosystems) Sanger sequencing data spanning the codons of interest in order to characterize these codons and detect these molecular markers of drug resistance. The pipeline described here is an attempt to address this need.

Method

This pipeline is a combination of existing tools, notably SAMtools and Burrows Wheeler Aligner (BWA), as well as custom Python and BASH scripts. It is designed to run on the UNIX shell, a command line interpreter. To characterize the codons associated with anti-malarial drug resistance (ADR) in a particular gene using this pipeline, the following options are required; a path to reference coding sequence of the gene in FASTA format, gene symbol (pfcrt, pfmdr1, dhps or dhfr), and a path to the directory of ABI sequencing trace files for the samples. With these inputs, the pipeline performs base calling and trimming, sequence alignment, and alignment parsing.

Results

The output of the pipeline is a CSV (Comma-separated values) file of sample names, codons and their corresponding encoded amino acids. The data generated can be readily analyzed using widely available statistical or spreadsheet software, to determine the frequency of molecular markers of resistance to anti-malarials such as chloroquine, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and artemisinin derivatives.

Conclusions

ADRes is a quick and effective pipeline for detecting common molecular markers of anti-malarial drug resistance, and could be a useful tool for surveillance. The code, description, and instructions for using this pipeline are publicly available athttp://setfelix.github.io/ADRes.
Humans treat unreliable filled-in percepts as more real than veridical ones
Authors: Ehinger Benedikt V. , Häusser Katja , Ossandón José , König Peter
Published: July 2016

Humans often evaluate sensory signals according to their reliability for optimal decision-making. However, how do we evaluate percepts generated in the absence of direct input that are, therefore, completely unreliable? Here, we utilize the phenomenon of filling-in occurring at the physiological blind-spots to compare partially inferred and veridical percepts. Subjects chose between stimuli that elicit filling-in, and perceptually equivalent ones presented outside the blind-spots, looking for a Gabor stimulus without a small orthogonal inset. In ambiguous conditions, when the stimuli were physically identical and the inset was absent in both, subjects behaved opposite to optimal, preferring the blind-spot stimulus as the better example of a collinear stimulus, even though no relevant veridical information was available. Thus, a percept that is partially inferred is paradoxically considered more reliable than a percept based on external input. In other words: Humans treat filled-in inferred percepts as more real than veridical ones.
Case Report: Aggressive Tibial Pseudarthrosis as Primary Symptom in Infant with Neurofibromatosis
Authors: Reid Mary Alice , Zupan Madeline , Sevison Nicole , Calhoun Barbara , Haldar Kasturi
Published: July 2016

Neurofibromatosis (NF1) is a rare genetic neurological disorder with over 30 distinct clinical manifestations, the top 3 of which include cafe-au-lait spotting, benign tumors and abnormal freckling. Pseudarthrosis (PA), also known as a false joint, is a rare subset of NF1 symptomology, characterized by bone fractures and nonunion caused by severe bowing of long bones. To date, it is invariably reported as secondary to NF1, commonly at 24 months of age. Here we describe a 4-month old infant who presented with PA as primary symptom, and in absence of an NF1 first-degree relative. Initial manifestation was guarding of the leg and increased irritability upon palpation of the knee, subsequent to light playful jostling. Physician examination revealed gross anterolateral bowing of the left leg. Radiography confirmed tibia-fibula bowing and pathologic transverse fracture at tibia diaphysis, characteristic of PA. Cafe-au-lait spots developed at 6 months subsequent to PA, but with number and size well below the National Institutes of Health criteria for NF1 diagnosis. At 14 months, exome sequencing established definitive NF1 diagnosis. Treatment involved PA takedown surgery. Although healing was seen after 2 months, complications emerged by 6 months. This case suggests that for primary PA without clear etiology, first-contact and consulting physicians should pay careful attention and be vigilant to timing of clinical onset and severity. Early, severe primary PA warrants accelerated NF1 exome sequencing, suggesting expansion of existing federal guidelines may be necessary to improve detection and prognosis of this rare, debilitating but readily managed condition.
Structure, interaction and post-translational modification study of arsenic reduction system inBifidobacterium longum
Authors: Basharat Zarrin , Yasmin Azra
Published: July 2016

Microbial metabolism contributes to degradation of organoarsenicals, where arsenic reductases (glutaredoxins) play pivotal role in bacterial resistance to arsenic. Ars operon studies have revealed reduction of arsenate As(V) to arsenite As(III) by respiratory-chain-linked reductase enzyme complexes. Although structure of some bacterial arsenate reductases has been solved but not attempted forBifidobacterium longumDJO10A colonizing the human gastrointestinal tract. Here it has been endeavoured to analyze and understand the structure, properties, interaction, evolution and action mechanism of this enzyme (arsC1) and its accessory interactors (arsB1, arsB2 and arsR). A systematic bioinformatic based analysis was carried out using a battery of tools and web servers for this purpose. Arsenic resistance gene cluster of gram-positiveBifidobacteriumobtained from STRING database illustrated contiguous arsC and arsB genes and absence of arsA gene. ArsC1 was determined to be a cytoplasmic small-molecular-mass protein (~15 kDa) related to a class of tyrosine phosphatases mediating the reduction of As(V) to As(III). ArsC1 was found to be involved in dephosphorylation of arsR, arsB1 and arsB2, indicating its role in post translational modification (PTM) of interacting proteins. 3D structure analysis revealed that it was composed of 1 sheet,1 beta alpha beta unit, 4 strands, 5 helices, 3 helix-helix interacs, 13 beta turns and 1 gamma turn. All proteins in the cluster exhibited hydrophobic interactions. Explicit protein-protein hydrogen, ionic, aromatic and cation-pi interactions in arsenate reducing operon ofBifidobacterium longumDJO10A further aided structural understanding of arsenate reduction process.

Note

This research was carried out in 2015. Availability of new information or changes in the algorithm behind software/database used for text mining interaction analysis in the meantime might impact some of the analyzed values. The preprint version may contain grammatical and proofreading mistakes. Errors and omissions excepted.
Sequence based prediction of novel domains in the cellulosome ofRuminiclostridium thermocellum
Authors: Basharat Zarrin , Yasmin Azra
Published: July 2016

Ruminiclostridium thermocellumstrain ATCC 27405 is valuable with reference to the next generation biofuel production being a degrader of crystalline cellulose. The completion of its genome sequence has revealed that this organism carries 3,376 genes with more than hundred genes encoding for enzymes involved in cellulysis. Novel protein domain discovery in the cellulose degrading enzyme complex of this strain has been attempted to understand this organism at molecular level. Streamlined automated methods were employed to generate possibly unreported or new domains. A set of 12 novel Pfam-B domains was developed after detailed analysis. This finding will enhance our understanding of this bacterium and its molecular processes involved in the degradation of cellulose. This approach ofin silicoanalysis prior to experimentation facilitates in lab study. Previously uncorrelated data has been utilized for rapid generation of new biological information in this study.

Note

This research was conducted in 2014 forClostridium thermocellumATCC 27405. The bacterium was later reannotated asRuminiclostridium thermocellum. See NCBI nonredundant RefSeq protein annotation details athttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/refseq/about/prokaryotes/reannotation/. The study utilizes Pfam-B database, which was discontinued with effect from release 28.0 (5/2015). Availability of new information, reannotation/modification in accession numbers might impact some of the analyzed values although effort has been made to provide latest accession numbers and reference strain parameters. The preprint version may contain grammatical and proofreading mistakes. Errors and omissions excepted.
Public service motivation, prosocial behaviours, and career ambitions
Authors: Piatak Jaclyn Schede
Published: July 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavioural consequences of public service motivation (PSM) and how motivation relates to an individual’s call to serve both inside and outside of the workplace. More specifically, this study examines whether and how PSM relates to prosocial behaviours – volunteering and giving – and career ambitions to work in the government or non-profit sector among public affair graduate students.

Design/methodology/approach

– Logistic regression is used to examine the PSM link using a composite of the 40-item scale, each of the six dimensions – commitment to the public interest, civic duty, social justice, attraction to policymaking, compassion, and self-sacrifice – and the five-item scale from the Merit Principles Survey. The analyses draw upon data from a unique online survey of 122 graduate students in Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy programmes.

Findings

– The results indicate that people with higher levels of PSM are more likely to want to work in public service and volunteer. However, mixed results were found for the relationship between PSM and giving charitable donations and career ambitions to work in government and no link was found for career ambitions to work in the non-profit sector.

Originality/value

– This paper answers calls to examine the dimensions of PSM and examines Perry’s (1996) original conception. The results provide practical implications for human resource managers as well as non-profit and public managers in recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers.
Raising the next generation of public servants? Parental influence on volunteering behavior and public service career aspirations
Authors: Stritch Justin M. , Christensen Robert K
Published: July 2016

Purpose

– While there is a large body of literature examining the effect public service motivation (PSM) has on both an individual’s career and volunteering decisions, the effects of social learning and parental influences on both volunteerism and selection into public service are relatively unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between parental volunteering and career choice, PSM, and the volunteering behaviors and career choices of their adult children.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors examine data collected from first-year undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern USA to examine, the impact of parents in the development of public service behaviors like volunteering and career choice.

Findings

– The authors find that parental influence matters in shaping voluntary behavior and career aspirations, but that this social learning is distinct by gender.

Originality/value

– The authors are unaware of work that directly focusses on parents’ volunteering and career choices, after controlling for PSM, on both the volunteering and public service career decisions of their children.
Stepping in the same river twice: Stability amidst change in Eastern European party competition
Authors: ROVNY JAN , POLK JONATHAN
Published: July 2016

Party competition in Eastern Europe faces a seeming paradox. On the one hand, research finds increased political volatility in these countries, while, on the other, some authors demonstrate inherent ideological stability in the region. This research note presents a new methodological approach to adjudicating between these two findings, and suggests that while political organisations come and go, the ideological structure of party competition in Eastern Europe is strikingly steady. By developing a number of different measures of the dimensional structure of party competition, the consistency of the measures across countries, as well as their relative stability within countries over time, is demonstrated. The findings speak to current developments in Eastern Europe, and have implications beyond the region. The conclusion that even volatile party systems can be underpinned by stable ideological oppositions points to two different types of party system structure: one related to parties as organisations, and the other related to parties as expressions of political divides.
The changing birth suite experience for Australian medical students
Authors: Hogan Emma , Woods Cindy , Buttrose Maryke , Abenthum Linda , Cheng Hon C. , de Costa Caroline
Published: July 2016

Competition with midwifery students, combined with increasing numbers of medical students, has led to declining standards of clinical experience in the birth suite for our senior medical students. In the Australian setting, increased and improved communication and collaboration between the two disciplines is urgently needed to rectify the situation.
De novo bone formation underneath the sinus membrane supported by a bone patch: a pilot experiment in rabbit sinus model
Authors: Yoon So‐Ra , Cha Jae‐Kook , Lim Hyun‐Chang , Lee Jung‐Seok , Choi Seong‐Ho , Jung Ui‐Won
Published: July 2016

Aims

The objectives of this study were to evaluate bone regeneration beneath a newly devised bone substitute combined with collagen membrane (called a bone patch) lying over a concomitantly placed mini‐implant following sinus floor elevation and verify its usefulness as a carrier system for recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein‐2 (rhBMP‐2) in rabbits.

Materials and methods

The sinus floor elevation procedure was performed bilaterally in five rabbits. Either a plain bone patch (control group) or an rhBMP‐2‐loaded patch (experimental group) was randomly placed beneath the elevated sinus membrane (SM) of both sinuses, where the mini‐implants were concomitantly placed. Micro‐computed tomographic and histologic analyses were performed at 4 weeks post‐surgery.

Results

In micro‐computed tomography, the median values of the total augmented volume and the mineralized bone volume were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (161 vs. 122 mm3 [P < 0.01] and 48 vs. 42 mm3 [P < 0.05], respectively). Histometric analysis revealed the same outcomes, with new bone areas of 6.41 and 2.97 mm2 in the experimental and control groups, respectively (P < 0.001), and bone‐to‐implant contact ratios of 22.6% and 5.2%, respectively (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The newly devised bone patch in this study can support the elevated SM and facilitate bone regeneration from the basal bone with a reduced amount of biomaterial. The addition of rhBMP‐2 may shorten the healing time for multidirectional bone regeneration toward the implant.
Effects of near‐infrared LED therapy on experimental tooth replantation in rats
Authors: Pigatto Mitihiro Débora , de Paula Ramos Solange , Corazza Montero Janaína , Alves Campos Aline , de Oliveira Toginho Filho Dari , Dezan Garbelini Cassia Cilene
Published: July 2016

Background/Aim

Dental avulsion damages periodontal tissues and may induce dentoalveolar ankylosis and root resorption after replantation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of light‐emitting diode (LED) therapy after tooth replantation.

Material and methods

The upper right incisors of 36 male Wistar rats were extracted and replanted after 15 min. The control group (Co, n = 18) was submitted to replantation and the LED group (n = 18) was submitted to replantation and LED therapy (940 nm, 4 J cm−2) for three consecutive days (0, 24, and 48 h). Six animals from each group were euthanized at 7, 14, and 21 days for histological analysis. The upper left incisors were used as a negative control. Data were compared using the Fisher exact test, considering P < 0.05.

Results

After 7 days, the Co (73.3%) and LED (72.2%) groups presented areas of periodontal ligament necrosis. However, periodontal ligament necrosis was more frequent in the LED group at 14 (70%, P < 0.05) and 21 days (43.2%, P < 0.05) in relation to the Co group (33 and 21.6%). Inflammatory cell infiltration was more frequent in the Co group at 7 days (100%) than the LED group (24.4%, P < 0.05), but increased in the LED group after 21 days (83.3%, P < 0.05). Bone necrosis was more frequent in the LED group after 14 (79%, P < 0.05) and 21 days (60%, P < 0.005) than in the Co group (45% and 20%). Bone repair was evident in the Co group at 14 days. All of the replanted teeth had pulp necrosis.

Conclusion

The results suggest that the application of LED therapy up to 48 h after tooth replantation may delay periodontal ligament repair.
Qualities of Character That Predict Marital Well‐Being
Authors: Wallace Goddard H. , Olson Jonathan R. , Galovan Adam M. , Schramm David G. , Marshall James P.
Published: July 2016

A growing body of literature has examined relations among qualities of character—or marital virtues—and marital outcomes. Results of past research have suggested positive relations between qualities such as generosity, kindness, and forgiveness, and marital well‐being. We expand on previous research by examining relations between three qualities of character and marital satisfaction with 1,513 respondents randomly selected from three states. Specifically, we examined the effects of participants' perceptions of their partners' humility, compassion, and positivity on their own marital satisfaction. Results indicated statistically significant, positive associations between each of these qualities and marital satisfaction, although results vary by gender. Furthermore, a statistically significant interaction effect suggested that spousal humility may be a protective factor against marital stress among women. Implications for practice and program development are discussed.
CTOD‐R Curve Tests of API 5L X90 By SENT Specimen Using a Modified Normalization Method
Authors: Kong L. Z. , Zhou X. Y. , Chen L. Q. , Huang K. , Peng H. T.
Published: July 2016

A modified normalization method is presented for obtaining crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) resistance curves of single edge‐notched tension specimens. For the applied load mode, the normalization method should be based on force‐crack mouth opening displacement. A formula is proposed for CLL(i), the core parameter used in the normalization calculation. The modified method is validated using the unloading compliance method. The study of specimen geometry shows that side‐groove depth and crack depth have significant impacts on the obtained CTOD resistance curves, and the shape of the crack front affects the determination accuracy of crack length.
Integrative analysis of transcriptome and miRNome unveils the key regulatory connections involved in different stages of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Ramesh Vignesh , Ganesan Kumaresan
Published: July 2016

Dysregulated molecular processes are the major factors that drive and feed the signaling processes involved in carcinogenesis. In recent years, regulation of mRNAs by microRNAs (miRNAs) has been found to play a vital role in many cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, genomewide studies defining molecular regulatory circuits at both mRNA and miRNA levels are just emerging. To uncover the molecular and functional processes involved in liver tumorigenesis at mRNA and miRNA level, a co‐expression‐based network of miRNAs was constructed from multiple miRNA profiles. The applicability of the network approach to microRNA expression profiles was assessed. Although the clustering consistency of miRNAs across the profiles was found moderate, miRNA networking has been found informative. Furthermore, microRNA network modules were integrated with the functionally defined mRNA modules derived from an mRNA co‐expression network of an earlier study. Three highly clustered regulatory circuits of mRNA–miRNA modules have been identified as involved in hepatocyte, inflammatory–stress and proliferative process activated subcategories of HCC. A subset of the proliferative miRNA module was found clustered in the 14q32.31 chromosomal region. The current integrative network analysis of mRNA–miRNA modules shows the intricate miRNA–mRNA functional circuits and signaling interactions involved in liver tumorigenesis.
High‐Energy Storage Performance in (Pb0.98La0.02)(Zr0.45Sn0.55)0.995O3 AFE Thick Films Fabricated via a Rolling Process
Authors: Wang Xiucai , Yang Tongqing , Shen Jie
Published: July 2016

(Pb0.98La0.02)(Zr0.45Sn0.55)0.995O3 antiferroelectric (AFE) thick films with a thickness of about 85 μm were successfully fabricated via a rolling process using an improved sintering method, and all specimens showed high‐energy‐storage performance. The X‐ray diffraction, SEM pictures, and hysteresis loops confirmed that the sintering temperature had an important influence on the microstructures, dielectric properties and energy storage performance of AFE thick films. The grain size and the storage efficiency increased with the increasing sintering temperature, the energy storage performance was enlarged by the rolling process. As a result, a maximum recoverable energy density of 7.09 J/cm3 with an efficiency of 88% was achieved at room temperature, together with stable energy‐storage behavior, which was almost three times higher than that (2.43 J/cm3) of the bulk ceramics counterparts. The results demonstrated that the improved method was an effective way to improve the breakdown strength and energy storage performance of AFE thick films, and (Pb0.98La0.02)(Zr0.45Sn0.55)0.995O3 AFE thick films were a promising material for high‐power energy storage.
Hertzian Testing to Obtain Flaw Distributions in High Strength Glasses and Glass‐Ceramics
Authors: Reimanis Ivar E. , Schaut Robert A.
Published: July 2016

Hertzian testing is applied to obtain flaw distributions in two fusion‐drawn glasses and two glass‐ceramics. A tungsten carbide sphere (diameter either 1.0, 2.5, or 5.0 mm) was used to produce surface cracks (ring cracks and cone cracks). Two theoretical approaches were employed to describe the data. Both approaches are only descriptive for very high strength materials in which the surface flaw sizes are small (e.g., <1 μm). In the first, a Weibull distribution for strength was assumed, and an expression for the probability of fracture was derived based on the stress field around the indent contact area. The unique aspect of this is that the stress field used includes material that has been “probed” at loads below the fracture load. A Weibull plot with this expression shows a slope of m + 2, where m is the conventional Weibull modulus. For the four different materials, the Weibull modulus varied between 8.0 for β‐quartz glass‐ceramic to 14.2 for fusion drawn alumni silicate glass. The second theoretical approach employs a modification of the method of Poloniecki and Wilshaw (the PW Method) to describe the distributions of very small flaws. The modification removes the need to bin the flaw distribution data. The modified PW Method revealed distinct differences in the flaw distributions between the four materials. These differences are consistent with the different Weibull moduli determined by ranking the different materials according to flaw size. However, Hertzian testing only probes relatively small flaw sizes and thus may differ from typical tensile or bending tests; nevertheless, the method should be applicable for extremely high strength materials.
Gingival Retraction Methods: A Systematic Review
Authors: Tabassum Sadia , Adnan Samira , Khan Farhan Raza
Published: July 2016

Purpose

The aim of this systematic review was to assess the gingival retraction methods in terms of the amount of gingival retraction achieved and changes observed in various clinical parameters: gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), and attachment loss (AL).

Methods

Data sources included three major databases, PubMed, CINAHL plus (Ebsco), and Cochrane, along with hand search. Search was made using the key terms in different permutations of gingival retraction* AND displacement method* OR technique* OR agents OR material* OR medicament*.

Results

The initial search results yielded 145 articles which were narrowed down to 10 articles using a strict eligibility criteria of including clinical trials or experimental studies on gingival retraction methods with the amount of tooth structure gained and assessment of clinical parameters as the outcomes conducted on human permanent teeth only. Gingival retraction was measured in 6/10 studies whereas the clinical parameters were assessed in 5/10 studies.

Conclusions

The total number of teeth assessed in the 10 included studies was 400. The most common method used for gingival retraction was chemomechanical. The results were heterogeneous with regards to the outcome variables. No method seemed to be significantly superior to the other in terms of gingival retraction achieved. Clinical parameters were not significantly affected by the gingival retraction method.
The cardioprotective effect of melatonin and exendin‐4 treatment in a rat model of cardiorenal syndrome
Authors: Chua Sarah , Lee Fan‐Yen , Chiang Hsin‐Ju , Chen Kuan‐Hung , Lu Hung‐I , Chen Yen‐Ta , Yang Chih‐Chao , Lin Kun‐Chen , Chen Yi‐Ling , Kao Gour‐Shenq , Chen Chih‐Hung , Chang Hsueh‐Wen , Yip Hon‐Kan
Published: July 2016

We investigated the cardioprotective effect of melatonin (Mel) and exendin‐4 (Ex4) treatment in a rat model of cardiorenal syndrome (CRS). Adult male SD rats (n=48) were randomly and equally divided into sham control (SC), dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) (doxorubicin 7 mg/kg i.p. every five days/4 doses), CRS (defined as DCM+CKD) only, CRS‐Mel (20 mg/kg/d), CRS‐Ex4 (10 μg/kg/d), and CRS‐Mel‐Ex4 groups. In vitro results showed protein expressions of oxidative stress (NOX‐1/NOX‐2/oxidized protein), DNA/mitochondrial damage (γ‐H2AX/cytosolic cytochrome c), apoptosis (cleaved caspase‐3/PARP), and senescence (β‐galactosidase cells) biomarkers were upregulated, whereas mitochondrial ATP level was decreased in doxorubicin/p‐cresol‐treated H9c2 cells that were revised by Mel and Ex4 treatments (all P<.001). By day 60, LVEF was highest in the SC and lowest in the CRS, significantly lower in the DCM than in other treatment groups, lower in the CRS‐Mel and CRS‐Ex4 than in the CRS‐Mel‐Ex4, and lower in the CRS‐Mel than in the CRS‐Ex4, whereas LV chamber size and histopathology score showed a pattern opposite to that of LVEF among all groups (all P<.001). Plasma creatinine level was highest in the CRS and lowest in the SC and progressively decreased from the CRS‐Mel, CRS‐Ex4, CRS‐Mel‐Ex4 to DCM (P<.0001). Protein expressions of inflammation (TNF‐α/NF‐κB/MMP‐2/MMP‐9/IL‐1β), apoptosis/DNA damage (Bax/c‐caspase‐3/c‐PARP/γ‐H2AX), fibrosis (Smad3/TGF‐β), oxidative stress (NOX‐1/NOX‐2/NOX‐4/oxidized protein), cardiac hypertrophy/pressure overload (BNP/β‐MHC), and cardiac integrity (Cx43/α‐MHC) biomarkers in LV myocardium showed an opposite pattern compared to that of LVEF among all groups (all P<.001). Fibrotic area, DNA damage (γ‐H2AX+/53BP1+CD90+/XRCC1+CD90+), and inflammation (CD14+/CD68+) biomarkers in LV myocardium displayed a pattern opposite to that of LVEF among all groups (all P<.001). Combined melatonin and exendin‐4 treatment suppressed CRS‐induced deterioration of LVEF and LV remodeling.
The Lilliputian dreams: preliminary observations of nationalism in Okinawa, Taiwan and Hong Kong
Authors: Wu Rwei‐Ren
Published: July 2016

This paper is a preliminary comparative analysis of three polity‐seeking nationalisms that emerged in the contiguous peripheral areas – the overlapping ‘spheres of influence’ of three contending imperial centres: Taiwan, Okinawa and Hong Kong. Specifically, it examines and compares the pattern of nation‐formation and the form, ideology and politics of nationalism in each case, and in doing so it tries to suggest a possible explanatory framework for the rise of these nationalisms. Its tentative conclusion is that the rise of nationalism in Taiwan, Okinawa and Hong Kong should be understood as a macro‐historical sociological phenomenon caused by both the short‐term penetration from centralizing colonial and geopolitical centre(s) that triggered nationalist mobilization in the periphery and the long‐term process of peripheral nation‐formation that created the social basis for mobilization. The three cases also demonstrate some other traits of anti‐centre peripheral nationalism: they all adopted a similar ideological strategy of indigeneity, and all developed a differentiation between radical and pragmatic lines characteristic of minority or peripheral nationalisms. A final observation is that while the geopolitics of states in the region is powerfully shaping the development of the three nationalisms, interactions on the societal level may over time create a counterforce from below.
Consensus Building for Long‐term Sustainability in the Non‐North American Context: Reflecting on a Stakeholder Process in Japan
Authors: Matsuura Masahiro , Baba Kenshi
Published: July 2016

Practitioners of consensus building are stepping into a relatively new arena of practice: sustainability issues in the non‐North American context. This article explores challenges in such settings, which we illustrate, with a case in Japan regarding the promotion of wood biomass usage through stakeholder dialogue in a small island community. Reflection from the experience reveals two challenges that are likely to occur in similar contexts: drawing the attention of stakeholders to the long‐term risks to sustainability and dealing with personal relationships in a high‐power‐distance culture. We find that in our case and more generally stakeholders’ problem recognition related to risk must be nurtured through learning opportunities and scenario exercises in the early stages of consensus building processes. The hierarchical nature of interpersonal communication in several Asian countries, where senior participants enjoy more power in negotiation, also requires careful design of processes, particularly when long‐term issues are at stake.
Unicorn Atheism
Authors: Sorensen Roy
Published: July 2016

Kripshe treats `god’ as an empty natural kind term such as `unicorn’. She applies Saul Kripke's fresh views about empty natural kinds to `god’. Metaphysically, says Kripshe, there are no possible worlds in which there are gods. Gods could not have existed, given that they do not actually exist and never did. Epistemologically, godlessness is an a posteriori discovery. Kripshe dismisses the gods in the same breath that she dismisses mermaids. Semantically, the perspective Kripshe finds most perspicacious, no counterfactual situation is properly describable as one in which there are gods. Perhaps it is not quite a necessary truth that there are no gods. According to Saul Kripke, failed natural kind terms are ill‐defined. Incorporating ill‐defined terms into declarative sentences yields only mock propositions. Just as the meteorologist has no professional interest in mock thunder, the logician has no professional interest in mock propositions. Kripshe disagrees with agnostics who assign a low probability to `There is at least one god’. The bearers of probabilities must be propositions. Despite this deference to science, Kripshe agrees with the a priori atheist that, necessarily, no future experience could constitute an encounter with a god. Divine revelation is impossible. Kripshe's a posteriori necessary atheism compares favorably to familiar forms of atheism and to non‐cognitivists. It reveals interesting challenges to a coherent formulation of atheism.
Crises, Structures, and Managerial Choice in Economic Policy Making: Presidential Management of Macroeconomic Policy in Argentina and the United States
Authors: Bonvecchi Alejandro
Published: July 2016

What explains presidential choices of management structures for economic policy making? The literature on the organization of the presidency has proposed two main answers: personality traits or institutional constraints. But management structures change less than expected from variation in presidential personalities, more than expected from institutional stability, and not necessarily triggered by crises. This paper offers an alternative, cognitive‐based theory of presidential management choices. When economic crises are rare, presidents usually institutionalize collegial management structures; when crises are more frequent, they generally switch to hierarchical structures. The theory is tested by comparing management structures in Argentina and the United States.
Evaluating appropriate red blood cell transfusions: a quality audit at 10 Ontario hospitals to determine the optimal measure for assessing appropriateness
Authors: Spradbrow Jordan , Cohen Robert , Lin Yulia , Armali Chantal , Collins Allison , Cserti‐Gazdewich Christine , Lieberman Lani , Pavenski Katerina , Pendergrast Jacob , Webert Kathryn , Callum Jeannie
Published: July 2016

BACKGROUND

Evaluating the appropriateness of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion requires labor‐intensive medical chart audits and expert adjudication. We sought to determine the appropriateness of RBC transfusions at 10 hospitals using retrospective chart review and to determine whether simple metrics (proportion of single‐unit transfusions, RBCs/100 acute inpatient days, proportion of transfusions with pretransfusion hemoglobin <80 g/L or posttransfusion hemoglobin <90 g/L) could be used as surrogate markers of appropriateness by comparing their values with the results from the audit.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

An initial block of 30 RBC units was dually adjudicated for appropriateness followed by additional blocks of 10 units until the difference between the cumulative percentage of appropriate RBC units in the preceding block and final block was <3%. Pearson correlation tests were used to evaluate associations between the metrics and percentages of appropriate transfusions per hospital. Two‐by‐two tables were used to assess the utility of the metrics to classify transfusions for appropriateness.

RESULTS

Of the 498 units audited, 78% were adjudicated as appropriate (κ = 0.9603), with significant variability between institutions (p < 0.0001). Fifty audits or less were required at nine of the institutions. The values of the metrics were not found to have significant correlations with appropriateness, and the metric that misclassified the smallest proportion of transfusions for appropriateness was pretransfusion hemoglobin <80 g/L, at 24%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that a chart audit of 50 RBC transfusions with adjudication using robust criteria is the optimal means of evaluating RBC transfusion appropriateness at an institution for benchmarking and quality‐improvement initiatives.
FLOW AND ENERGY DISSIPATION OVER ON FLAT AND POOLED STEPPED SPILLWAY
Authors: Krisnayanti Denik Sri , Soehardjono Soehardjono , Dermawan Very , Sholichin Mohammad
Published: July 2016

The stepped spillway has increasingly become effective energy dissipation. The stepped spillway has been accepted to be the most powerful hydraulic structure to dissipate large flow energy downstream from spillway crest. The steps act as roughness elements significantly increase the dissipation energy rate. The physical study has performed on flat and pooled stepped spillways with a slope spillway    (θ = 45˚) and number of steps (N): 20 and 40. The experiments were conducted for ten Froude number (Fr) run ranging from 1.117 to 9.909 with 0.700<yc/h<3.00. The focus of research to investigate the relationship between relative energy losses in skimming flow performance against Froude number on various stepped. The effect of number of steps is evident when the relative energy loss increases with the number of steps. In addition, the relative energy loss of flow on pooled steps is dissipating more energy than flat steps.
OPTIMIZATION OF NON THERMAL PLASMA REACTOR PERFORMANCE FOR THE DECOMPOSITION OF XYLENE
Authors: Nor Azmi Nor Faraliana Shazwani , Mohammed Evuti Abdullahi , Abu Hassan Mohd Ariffin , Raja Ibrahim R. K.
Published: July 2016

Non Thermal Plasma (NTP) is an emerging method used for the decomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This research focuses on the optimization of NTP reactor performance for decomposition of xylene from wastewater using response surface methodology (RSM) by operating the NTP reactor at applied voltage of 12-15 kV, discharge gap of 2.0-3.0 cm and gas flow rate of 2.0-5.0 L/min. An optimum xylene removal efficiency of 81.98% was obtained at applied voltage 15kV, discharge gap 2.09cm and gas flow rate at 2.36 L/min. The experimental removal efficiencies and model predictions were in close agreement with an error of 0.63%.
VELOCITY CONTROL OF A UNICYCLE TYPE OF MOBILE ROBOT USING OPTIMAL PID CONTROLLER
Authors: A. Majid Norhayati , Mohamed Z. , Mohd Basri Mohd Ariffanan
Published: July 2016

A unicycle model of control a mobile robot is a simplified modeling approach modified from the differential drive mobile robots. Instead of controlling the right speed,  and the left speed,  of the drive systems, the unicycle model is using  and  as the controller parameters. Tracking is much easier in this model. In this paper, the dynamic of the robot parameter is controlled using two blocks of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers. The gains of the PID are firstly determined using particle swarm optimization (PSO) in offline mode. After the optimal gain is determined, the tracking of the robot’s trajectory is performed online with optimal PID controller. The achieved results of the proposed scheme are compared with those of dynamic model optimized with genetic algorithm (GA) and manually tuned PID controller gains. In the algorithm, the control parameters are computed by minimizing the fitness function defined by using the integral absolute error (IAE) performance index. The simulation results obtained reveal advantages of the proposed PSO-PID dynamic controller for trajectory tracking of a unicycle type of mobile robot. A MATLAB-Simulink program is used to simulate the designed system and the results are graphically plotted. In addition, numerical simulations using 8-shape as a reference trajectory with several numbers of iterations are reported to show the validity of the proposed scheme.
ELECTROCHEMICAL IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY FOR PALM COOKING OIL DISCRIMINATOR USING PLANAR ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSOR ARRAY
Authors: Amsyar Azman Ahmad , Abdul Rahim Ruzairi , Ibrahim Sallehuddin , Azmi Aizat , Arsad Agus , Md Yunus Mohd Amri
Published: July 2016

Cooking oil is an important product in the Malaysia food industries. Most of the cooking oil products is based on palm oil. However, there are activities in selling cheaper cooking oil by labelling as high quality in cooking oil product. Traditional methods have been developed to measure the quality of the cooking oil product such as the chromatography technique but the cost for the system setup is expensive and requires a large amount of time to analyse the sample. Thus, a suitable and reliable system with less analysis time is needed for widespread industrial uses. This paper has presented a discriminative technique for palm cooking oil using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) with planar electromagnetic sensor array. The sensor consists of a meander sensor and an interdigital sensors which interact with the test samples. Three types of palm cooking oil such as double refined palm oil, refined and deodorized palm oil with peanut and sesame oil, and filtered palm oil were prepared. The results obtained showed that the presented technique was able to differentiate the samples between 20 kHz to 1 Mhz. The results obtained correlate with the theories on EIS technique and planar electromagnetic sensor which are presented in this paper.