bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reconstruction of Submesoscale Velocity Field from Surface Drifters
Authors: Gonçalves Rafael C. , Iskandarani Mohamed , Özgökmen Tamay , Thacker W. Carlisle
Published: January 2019

The extensive drifter deployment during the Lagrangian Submesoscale Experiment (LASER) provided observations of the surface velocity field in the northern Gulf of Mexico with high resolution in space and time. Here, we estimate the submesoscale velocity field sampled by those drifters using a procedure that statistically interpolates these data both spatially and temporally. Because the spacing of the drifters evolves with the flow, causing the resolution that they provide to vary in space and time, it is important to be able to characterize where and when the estimated velocity field is more or less accurate, which we do by providing fields of interpolation errors. Our interpolation uses a squared-exponential covariance function characterizing correlations in latitude, longitude, and time. Two novelties in our approach are 1) the use of two scales of variation per dimension in the covariance function and 2) allowing the data to determine these scales along with the appropriate amplitude of observational noise at these scales. We present the evolution of the reconstructed velocity field along with maps of relative vorticity, horizontal divergence, and lateral strain rate. The reconstructed velocity field exhibits horizontal length scales of 0.4–3.5 km and time scales of 0.6–3 h, and features with convergence up to 8 times the planetary vorticity f, lateral strain rate up to 10f, and relative vorticity up to 13f. Our results point to the existence of a vigorous and substantial ageostrophic circulation in the submesoscale range.
An Empirical Study of the Relationship between Seasonal Precipitation and Thermodynamic Environment in Puerto Rico
Authors: Miller Paul W. , Mote Thomas L. , Ramseyer Craig A.
Published: January 2019

With limited groundwater reserves and few reservoirs, Caribbean islands such as Puerto Rico are largely dependent on regular rainfall to meet societal and ecological water needs. Thus, the ability to anticipate seasonal rainfall shortages, such as the 2015 drought, is particularly important, yet few reliable tools exist for this purpose. Consequently, interpolated surface precipitation observations from the Daymet archive are summarized on daily, annual, and seasonal time scales and compared to the host thermodynamic environment as characterized by the Gálvez–Davison index (GDI), a convective potential parameter designed specifically for the tropics. Complementing the Daymet precipitation totals, ≥1.1 million WSR-88D volume scans between 2002 and 2016 were analyzed for echo tops ≥ 10 000 ft (~3 km) to establish a radar-inferred precipitation activity database for Puerto Rico. The 15-yr record reveals that the GDI outperforms several midlatitude-centric thermodynamic indices, explaining roughly 25% of daily 3-km echo top (ET) activity during each of Puerto Rico’s primary seasons. In contrast, neither mean-layer CAPE, the K index, nor total totals explain more than 11% during any season. When aggregated to the seasonal level, the GDI strongly relates to 3-km ET (R2 = 0.65) and Daymet precipitation totals (R2 = 0.82) during the early rainfall season (ERS; April–July), with correlations weaker outside of this period. The 4-month ERS explains 51% (41%) of the variability to Puerto Rico’s annual rainfall during exceptionally wet (dry) years. These findings are valuable for climate downscaling studies predicting Puerto Rico’s hydroclimate in future atmospheric states, and they could potentially be adapted for operational seasonal precipitation forecasting.
When do ties bind? Foreign fighters, social embeddedness, and violence against civilians
Authors: Moore Pauline
Published: January 2019

How do foreign fighters affect civilian victimization in the civil wars they join? Scholars of civil war have gone to great lengths to explain why states and insurgent groups victimize civilians, but they have not explicitly examined the impact of foreign combatants. Furthermore, while contemporary conventional wisdom attaches an overwhelmingly negative connotation to foreign fighters, history shows that the behavior of those who travel to fight in wars far from home varies significantly, especially when it comes to interacting with local populations. To address this variation, I demonstrate how differences in the embeddedness of foreign fighter populations combine with incentives that foreign fighters face to remain in the conflict zone over the long term to shape tendencies towards civilian victimization. My findings from an analysis of insurgent groups from 1990 to 2011 suggest that, overall, foreign fighters lead to escalations in violence against civilians. When comparing across groups that recruit foreign fighters, however, levels of violence differ depending on foreign fighter populations’ coethnicity to the rebel groups they join, and the distances they travel to reach a conflict zone. Specifically, the presence of coethnic foreign fighters leads to fewer escalations in violence, relative to the recruitment of non-coethnic individuals from non-neighboring states. The study provides empirical support to the claim that degrees of embeddedness across foreign fighter populations are important indicators of when and where their presence is likely to pose significant dangers to local populations.
State-rescaling and re-designing the material city-region: Tensions of disruption and continuity in articulating the future of Greater Manchester
Authors: Hodson Mike , McMeekin Andrew , Froud Julie , Moran Michael
Published: January 2019

In a context of globalisation, the emergence of city-regions and the politics and dynamics of their constitution has been debated for almost two decades. Recent writings have extended this focus to seeing city-regions as a geopolitical project of late capitalism where the state takes a critical role in the re-design of city-regions to make them amenable to international competition and to secure strategic inward investments in the built environment and infrastructure. We explore this issue in the context of state redesign of sub-national space in England and focus on Greater Manchester, as the de facto exemplar of ‘devolution’ to English city-regions. We argue that though re-scaling in Greater Manchester is a long-term historical process this has been punctuated by the UK state’s process of ‘devolution’ since 2014, this has involved a re-design and formalisation of Greater Manchester’s governing arrangements. It has also involved invoking a long dormant role for city-regional planning in articulating the future design of the material city-region over the next two decades as an attempt to formalise and continue a pre-existing, spatially selective growth trajectory by new means. Yet, the disruption of new hard governing arrangements also provides challenges to that trajectory. This produces tensions between, on the one hand, the pursuit of a continuity politics of growth through agglomeration, material transformation of the city-region and narrow forms of urban governance and, on the other hand, a more disruptive politics of the future of the city-region, its material transformation and how it is governed. These tensions are producing new political possibilities and spaces in the transformation of Greater Manchester. The implications of this are discussed.
“My Hope Is . . . ”: A Hope-Based Typology of Homeless Youth
Authors: Zhang Neil S. , Schonberg Jeffrey , Syme S. Leonard , Auerswald Colette L.
Published: January 2019

Many youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) are surprisingly hopeful. We propose a typology of the hopes for the future (HFTF) of YEH, based on a qualitative study employing grounded theory. YEH fell into four categories: (a) nonmainstream HFTF youth who wished to escape the mainstream, (b) mainstream HFTF youth who wished to integrate into the mainstream, (c) marijuana-economy HFTF youth who aspired to escape homelessness by entering the marijuana economy, and (d) no HFTF youth who did not or could not envision the future. Our finding that some YEH transition between different HFTF suggests a modifiable point of intervention. We share novel findings regarding how the perceived trajectories of some YEH may have been influenced by the evolving legal status of marijuana. Our emic approach to constructing a typology may inform the design of more acceptable/effective interventions. We suggest implications, including ethical quandaries, raised by our findings.
Health Behavior Profiles of Korean Baby Boomers
Authors: Kim Bon , Kim Kyungmin , Burr Jeffrey A. , Han Gyounghae
Published: January 2019

This study identified profiles of health behaviors among Korean baby boomers and examined a set of individual characteristics associated with these latent profiles. We analyzed a sample of 4,047 middle-aged adults (aged 53–61) from the Korean Baby Boomer Panel Study (2014). Latent profile analysis was used to uncover distinct health behavior profiles, and multinomial regression was performed to investigate the associations between health behavior profiles and predisposing, enabling, and need factors—following from the behavioral models of health behaviors and health services use. Five profiles of health behaviors were identified: (a) low-risk and high-preventive behaviors (50%), (b) low-risk and low-preventive behaviors (35%), (c) moderate-risk and moderate-preventive behaviors (7%), (d) moderate-risk and high-preventive behaviors (6%), and (e) high-risk and low-preventive behaviors (2%). Further, individuals with more enabling and need characteristics, indicated by higher socioeconomic status and greater health concerns, were more likely to engage in healthier profiles.
“Order as well as Decency”: The Development of Order Maintenance Policing in Black Atlanta
Authors: Wiggins Danielle
Published: January 2019

In 1971, Ebony magazine named Atlanta the country’s “new Black Mecca,” citing its black political and economic leadership as well as the success of black businesses in the city. At this same time, however, Atlanta, like cities around the country, experienced rising crime rates and economic decline in its urban core. This article examines how Atlanta’s black political leaders, supported by both white and black business owners, responded to the crime crisis by privileging the preservation of order and the protection of capital in their public safety policies. It suggests that this commitment to orderliness, often overlooked in examinations of black political culture, undergirded black political leaders’ advocacy of punitive crime control procedures in the postcivil rights era. Analyzing how black political officials and property owners advocated for intensified foot patrol policing and public decency legislation, this article argues that the city’s black political class were early theorizers and codifiers of order maintenance, or “broken windows,” or still “quality-of-life” policing. Consequently, black business owners and municipal officials sanctioned the expansion of police power in low-income urban neighborhoods in the postcivil rights era.
Decentralized finite-horizon suboptimal control for nonlinear interconnected dynamic systems using SDRE approach
Authors: Feydi Ahmed , Elloumi Salwa , Jammazi Chaker , Benhadj Braiek Naceur
Published: January 2019

This paper introduces a new approach to ensure the decentralized horizon suboptimal control of interconnected nonlinear systems based on the decentralized finite-state-dependent Riccati equation. This approach is, in fact, a new extension of the state-dependent Riccati equation technique with a finite horizon for the case of large-scale nonlinear systems, which are characterized by the interconnection of n subsystems. The main finding in this work is the use of the Lyapunov direct method of stability analysis, associated with a quadratic function, in order to determine a new sufficient condition to guarantee the global asymptotic stability of the studied systems. We conducted advanced simulations of this new control method on three interconnected inverted pendulums. Our results demonstrate its efficiency and the sufficiency of the new stability conditions.
Estimation of passenger route choices for urban rail transit system based on automatic fare collection mined data
Authors: Cheng Gang , Zhao Shuzhi , Xu Shengbo
Published: January 2019

When multiple routes connect the same origin and destination (OD), passenger route choices are related to the operation and management of urban rail transit, including the design of the train plan, fare clearing, and passenger distribution. The passengers’ travel data from an automatic fare collection (AFC) system provides useful data for the analysis of passenger route choices. We propose an estimation method of passenger route choices based on AFC data, which includes passenger’s travel time and OD. In this paper, the AFC data used for analysis were mined to eliminate unreasonable individual travel data. In this study, the components of passenger travel times and their influencing factors are analyzed and the results indicate that the travel times are related to the route choices of passengers. Cluster analysis indicated that passenger travel times follow the logarithmic normal distribution. Based on this and a multi-route distribution sample, an estimation model for passenger route choice proportions is proposed. Furthermore, experimental results show that the data mining method has high accuracy and the result also supported the hypothesis about the travel time distribution. The model was applied to the Chengdu metro, which is one of the largest metro systems in the world, and the obtained results indicate that the model works well. In addition to the initial application, the estimation method provides a new method to calculate the route choice proportion for urban rail transit with maximum dependability and timeliness.
An advanced potential field method proposed for mobile robot path planning
Authors: Azzabi Ameni , Nouri Khaled
Published: January 2019

In this paper, both the local minimum and the goal non-reachable with obstacles nearby (GNRON) problems have been solved on the artificial potential field (APF) for mobile robot path planning in a bounded environment. The GNRON problem occurs when the goal’s position is inside the circle of influence of the obstacle. This phenomenon gives rise to a larger repulsive force with regard to the attractive force. Therefore, a stronger attractive function is proposed to ensure that the robot reaches the target successfully. The local minimum problem occurs when the robot, the goal and the centre of the obstacle are aligned. This situation engenders a total potential force equal to zero before reaching the goal position. To overcome this problem, a novel of repulsive potential function is proposed by activating a virtual escaping force when a local minimum is detected. This force behaves as a rotational force allowing the robot to escape from the deadlock positions and turn smoothly away from obstacles in the direction of the target. The combination of the new attractive force and the novel repulsive force could solve the local minimum and the GNRON problems. Finally, some methodic simulations, based on a comparative study with other methods from the literature, are carried out to validate and demonstrate the effectiveness of the advanced potential field method to handle the local minimum and GNRON problems.
Assessing noise with provisions for ventilation and overheating in dwellings
Authors: Harvie-Clark Jack , Chilton Anthony , Conlan Nick , Trew David
Published: January 2019

In the design of residential developments, it has been common practice for façade sound insulation (to protect against outdoor noise) to be considered separately from the provisions for ventilation and for mitigating overheating. This fragmented approach has led to different designers making different, incompatible assumptions about the internal environmental quality conditions: the acoustic designer assumes that windows are closed to control external noise ingress, while the mechanical designer assumes that windows are open for ventilation or mitigating overheating. This leaves occupants with a choice between reasonable noise levels or thermal comfort, but not both. This problem is exacerbated by increased overheating risk in modern buildings and future climate scenarios. In response to this issue, the Association of Noise Consultants has produced the draft Acoustics Ventilation and Overheating Residential Design Guide – the ‘AVO Guide’. The AVO guide recommends an approach to acoustic assessment that takes regard of the interdependence of provisions for external noise ingress, ventilation and overheating. This paper describes the context, background and content of the AVO Guide. There are references to passive attenuated options for ventilative cooling to help designers avoid simply specifying mechanical cooling.

Practical application: This paper is entirely focused on the practical application of the guidance in the Association of Noise Consultants’ Acoustics, Ventilation and Overheating Residential Design Guide. It describes the current practical problem that designers face, and the mistakes that are the common practice across the industry, of failing to integrate the design for noise with the ventilation strategy and provisions for overheating. It outlines how this can be achieved to enable better internal environmental quality conditions for occupants, supported by the current English Planning regime and professional good practice guidance available.
Design of a Community-Based Lung Cancer Education, Prevention, and Screening Program
Authors: Williams Lovoria B. , McCall Amber , Joshua Thomas V. , Looney Stephen W. , Tingen Martha S.
Published: January 2019

Uptake of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for lung cancer screening is extremely low. Efforts to promote screening are warranted, especially among disparate groups such as racial/ethnic minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status. This article describes the design and implementation strategies of the ongoing cancer-Community Awareness Access Research and Education (c-CARE) program. The purpose of c-CARE is to increase community awareness of lung cancer screening through education. Community health workers were trained to implement the intervention in 12 community sites. The Health Belief Model guided the evaluation and intervention development methods. Aims include changing participants’ knowledge, attitude, and beliefs related to lung cancer and increasing lung cancer early detection and prevention behaviors by identifying and connecting high-risk and/or nicotine-dependent individuals to LDCT screening and/or tobacco cessation services. If effective, these methods could model increased dissemination to other high-risk communities.
Ankle Lateral Ligament Augmentation Versus the Modified Broström-Gould Procedure: A 5-Year Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Porter Mark , Shadbolt Bruce , Ye Xuan , Stuart Robert
Published: January 2019

Background:

“Ankle sprain” is a common injury, and >20% of patients may develop chronic instability for which surgery is indicated. The modified Broström-Gould (MBG) procedure remains the gold standard; however, there are a number of relative contraindications to this procedure, and the longer-term outcomes after the MBG have been questioned. An alternative procedure is augmentation of a primary repair with a ligament augmentation reconstruction system (LARS).

Purpose:

To conduct a randomized controlled trial testing the null-hypothesis that there is no difference in patient scored outcomes and activity levels, between patients undergoing a MBG procedure compared with those undergoing a primary repair with LARS augmentation, for lateral ligament instability of the ankle.

Study Design:

Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.

Methods:

Patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria were invited to take part in the study. Patients were randomly allocated to undergo the LARS or MBG procedure. Both groups followed similar postoperative rehabilitation. Patients completed the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) before surgery and then at 1, 2, and 5 years after surgery. Tegner activity scores were recorded at 5years. The scores in the 2 groups were compared via statistical analysis ( P < .05).

Results:

Of the 50 patients satisfying the inclusion criteria, 47 agreed to take part in the study. Twenty-two were randomized to the LARS group and 25 to the MBG group. At 5 years, follow-up data were complete for 20 patients in the LARS group and 21 in the MBG. There were 2 failures in the MBG group and 0 in the LARS group. The LARS group had significantly better improvement in total FAOS at 1 year (mean ± SD, 92.4 ± 2.5 vs 78.2 ± 3.4, P = .005), 2 years (94.0 ± 3.0 vs 78.0 ± 5.2, P = .003), and 5 years (93.7 ± 6.0 vs 75.1 ± 5.5, P = .002) after surgery. The 5-year Tegner activity scores were higher in the LARS group (8.25 ± 1.1 vs 7.2 ± 0.9, P = .03).

Conclusion:

Among physically active patients with chronic lateral ligament instability, primary repair combined with LARS results in better total FAOS at 5-year follow-up and higher Tegner activity scores as compared with the MBG procedure.

Registration:

ACTRN12618000906257 (Australia New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry).
A mini-review on the metabolic pathways of food waste two-phase anaerobic digestion system
Authors: Luo Liwen , Kaur Guneet , Wong Jonathan W.C.
Published: January 2019

Food waste (FW) disposal has become a global social, environmental, and economic problem. The current practice of landfilling is undesirable due to its potential emission of greenhouse gas, nutrient recycling, and pollution of water resources. Anaerobic digestion (AD), particularly two-phase AD is a promising option to manage FW and recover energy in the form of methane and obtain value-added by-products. However, most current review literature focuses on operating conditions while often placing little emphasis on improving conversion efficiency through regulating intermediate products. The AD process involves complex metabolic reactions carried out by several microbial groups. Therefore, understanding of these metabolic pathways existing in AD is the key to design effective strategies for enrichment of specific microbial groups which can produce desired intermediates for methane production, which can possibly be achieved by an understanding of the influence of critical process parameters on these metabolic pathways. Thus, it is the aim of this review to describe the effect of process conditions on underlying metabolic pathways in order to allow an efficient manipulation of these pathways for enhancing methane production.
Negotiating Communicative Access in Practice: A Study of a Memoir Group for People With Aphasia
Authors: Miller Elisabeth L.
Published: January 2019

Resulting from stroke or brain injury, aphasia affects individuals’ ability to produce and comprehend language, but it also creates profound social changes, limiting individuals’ opportunities to communicate or to be seen as capable of communication. To address these challenges, the field of communicative sciences and disorders (CSD) has sought to ensure “communicative access” by reducing barriers to communication. This article, through an analysis of the communicative practices of participants in a memoir group for people with aphasia, develops a nuanced conception of communicative access as a process of negotiation across individuals and modes and not just as a process of reducing barriers. The study shows, specifically, that rather than the mere presence of multiple semiotic resources enabling communicative access, individuals enact access by flexibly shifting between modes to take advantage of various kinds of affordances that best suit their needs. This willingness to use modes in atypical or nonnormative ways importantly challenges the very idea of “normal” communication. The theory of communicative access developed in this article melds (a) a CSD understanding of communication as social and tied inextricably to identity with (b) a disability studies conception of access as an ongoing, negotiated process and with (c) a writing studies emphasis on literate, communicative activity as complexly layered, distributed, negotiated, and (multi)semiotic.
Characterizing Sexual Health Conversations Among Afro-Caribbean Families: Adolescent and Parent Perspectives
Authors: Gabbidon Kemesha , Shaw-Ridley Mary
Published: January 2019

Black adolescents, including Black immigrants living in the United States, experience a disproportionate burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, which are linked to adolescents’ sexual decision making. Parent-child sex conversation is one effective strategy to aid adolescents in making responsible sexual decisions and reducing their sexual risk. Applying a theoretical framework, this qualitative study sought to characterize the perceptions, enablers, and nurturers of parent-child sex conversations among Afro-Caribbean families and their role in adolescent sexual development. The sample included 14 mother-adolescent dyads/triads ( N = 31), recruited from four community-based organizations in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Utilizing a narrative inquiry approach, researchers collected data on parent-child sex conversations within Haitian and Jamaican families. Thematic content analysis was used to generate themes and allowed for comparisons across groups. Positive perceptions of sex conversations were reported, yet families experienced frequent barriers to sex conversations, including discomfort and limited sexual health knowledge. Extended family and community members were identified as additional and alternate sex educators, often reinforcing common cultural sexual views such as abstinence. To promote healthy adolescent sexual development, Afro-Caribbean adolescents may benefit from parents, extended family, and community members acting as early interventionists, who can provide accurate and culturally appropriate sexual health messages to adolescents.
Women’s Occupational Patterns and Later Life Physical Functioning
Authors: Palumbo Aimee J. , Cannuscio Carolyn , De Roos Anneclaire J. , Robinson Lucy , Mossey Jana , Wallace Robert , Garcia Lorena , Shadyab Aladdin H. , Sealy-Jefferson Shawnita , Michael Yvonne
Published: January 2019

Objective: Timing and accumulation of work-related exposures may influence later life health. This study evaluates the association between women’s work patterns and physical functioning. Method: Work history and physical functioning information was collected at baseline for U.S. women ages 50 to 79 years in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study ( N = 75,507). We estimated life course workforce participation patterns using latent class analysis. Associations between work patterns and physical limitations were explored using modified Poisson regression. Results: Compared with working continuously, women who left the workforce early had 8% increased risk and women who worked intermittently had 5% reduced risk of physical limitations later in life. The negative association with intermittent workforce participation was stronger for women with substantively complex work (9% reduced risk) than for women with nonsubstantively complex work (2% reduced risk). Discussion: Life course work patterns and characteristics may contribute to physical functioning later in life among women.
An oil/water separation nanofibrous membrane with a 3-D structure from the blending of PES and SPEEK
Authors: Du Qiong , Chen Zheng , Jiang Xiangyu , Pang Jinhui , Jiang Zhenhua , Luan Jiashuang
Published: January 2019

A new nanofibrous membrane (NFM) was prepared by blending polyethersulfone (PES) and sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) via electrospinning. The membrane exhibits good thermal stability and high mechanical strength. The hydrophilicity of the membrane could be controlled by adjusting the mass ratio of PES to SPEEK. PES acts as the backbone fiber and provides high mechanical strength, while SPEEK provides hydrophilic functional groups due to the strong hydrophilicity of the sulfonic group. The test results show that the composite NFM integrates the advantages of the two polymers. Simple adjustment of the weight ratios of the two polymers can enable an adjustable flux so that the membrane can be used for different kinds of oil/water separation. The results show that NFMs can not only separate immiscible oil/water systems but also separate oil-in-water emulsions. The immiscible oil/water separation process was driven only by gravity and had a high flux of 1119.63 Lm−2 h−1. This separation process conserves energy, which is beneficial for environmental protection. The separation flux of the oil-in-water emulsion was 758.71 Lm−2 h−1 bar−1 based on measurements under different pressures, and the separation purity total organic carbon was below 50 ppm. This work indicates that a membrane comprised of PES and SPEEK has excellent performance and can be used in different fields.
Small-amplitude hunting diagnosis method for high-speed trains based on the bogie frame’s lateral–longitudinal–vertical data fusion, independent mode function reconstruction and linear local tangent space alignment
Authors: Ye Yunguang , Ning Jing
Published: January 2019

Hunting stability is an important factor that influences the running safety of high-speed trains. Most of the existing hunting monitoring methods monitor only the standard hunting. The small-amplitude hunting, however, not only affects ride comfort but also aggravates the wheel–rail wear. Therefore, to extend the service life of wheels and rails and to improve the ride comfort, it is extremely important to monitor the small-amplitude hunting. Hunting motion is a coupled movement of lateral and yaw displacements of the wheelset. When the bogie is in an unstable state, instability will occur not only in the lateral side but also in the longitudinal and vertical sides of the bogie. To improve the robustness of the small-amplitude hunting monitoring methods, this study proposes an idea of the bogie frame’s lateral–longitudinal–vertical data fusion. In addition, the small-amplitude hunting signals have strong nonlinear characteristics, and their frequency and amplitude are unstable. Using only the amplitude or frequency to detect the small-amplitude hunting has obvious shortcomings. Therefore, a new feature extraction method based on the independent mode function reconstruction and linear local tangent space alignment (IMFR-LLTSA) is proposed. This method has been tested with three simulated signals. Finally, a method of combining the bogie frame’s lateral–longitudinal–vertical data fusion and IMFR-LLTSA is used to identify the small-amplitude hunting of high-speed trains. This method has been validated using the data of the CRH380a high-speed train running on the Shanghai–Hangzhou line, monitored by the authors’ research group. The results show that this method is superior to the single lateral diagnosis method.
Similarity Grouping as Feature-Based Selection
Authors: Yu Dian , Xiao Xiao , Bemis Douglas K. , Franconeri Steven L.
Published: January 2019

Across the natural world as well as the artificial worlds of maps, diagrams, and data visualizations, feature similarity (e.g., color and shape) links spatially separate areas into sets. Despite a century of study, it is yet unclear what mechanism underlies this gestalt similarity grouping. One recent proposal is that similarity grouping—for example, seeing a red, vertical, or square group—is just global selection of those features. Although parsimonious, this account makes the counterintuitive prediction that similarity grouping is strictly serial: A green group cannot be constructed at the same time as a red group. We tested this prediction with a novel measure—a grouping illusion within number-estimation tasks that should work only if participants simultaneously construct groups—and found the strongest evidence yet in favor of serial feature-based attention ( Ns = 14, 12, and 12 for Experiment 1, Experiment 2, and Experiment 3, respectively).
Sex Differences in Human Peer Relationships: A Primate’s-Eye View
Authors: Benenson Joyce F.
Published: January 2019

Bonds formed by nonhuman animals can illuminate the structure of human relationships. In the juvenile period, primates of many species that are genetically similar to humans form sex-differentiated bonds in which females spend more time with female kin, and males spend more time with unrelated same-sex peers. Research with humans suggests a similar sex difference, with one notable addition: Beginning in middle childhood, male peer groups begin engaging in complex activities, including intergroup contests. This additional component of human peer relations resembles that of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes), one of humans’ closest living genetic relatives. Cross-species and developmental evidence can aid in constructing a theory of human peer relations that differs by sex.
Russian–Chinese Cooperation in Central Asia and the Idea of Greater Eurasia
Authors: Lukin Alexander
Published: January 2019

The author argues that Russian–Chinese rapprochement is a fundamental feature of the current changing system of international relations. Apart from its own significance, it has become important because it stimulated and, in some cases, laid the foundation for many broader international processes: the creation of the multipolar world, the emergence of such international groups and organisations as BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the coordination between Eurasian Economic Union and the Chinese initiative of Silk Road Economic Belt and others. Recently, all these processes led to the idea of Greater Eurasia or Eurasian partnership.
Detection of bovine pestiviruses in sera of beef calves by a RT-PCR based on a newly designed set of pan–bovine pestivirus primers
Authors: Monteiro Francielle Liz , Cargnelutti Juliana F. , Martins Bruno , Noll Jessica G. , Weiblen Rudi , Flores Eduardo F.
Published: January 2019

The pestiviruses bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 and 2 (BVDV-1 and -2, respectively) and HoBi-like pestivirus (HoBiPeV) are important pathogens of cattle, and a number of reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR)–based assays have been developed for their detection in clinical specimens. We evaluated a newly designed set of pan–bovine pestivirus primers (BP189-389) in a gel-based RT-PCR screening test for pestiviruses in the sera of beef calves destined for export from southern Brazil. Serum samples positive for BVDV antigens by an antigen ELISA ( n = 135) were submitted to RT-PCR assays using different sets of primers, followed by nucleotide sequencing of the amplicons. RT-PCR with pestivirus primers 324-326 detected 110 positive samples: BVDV-1 ( n = 62), BVDV-2 ( n = 38), and HoBiPeV ( n = 10). A PCR using primers HCV90-368 detected 97 positive samples (64 BVDV-1; 33 BVDV-2). An additional RT-PCR round using BVDV-2–specific primers (2F-2R) detected 45 positive samples (including 38 detected by primers 324-326 and 33 by HCV90-368); whereas a RT-PCR using HoBiPeV-specific primers (N2-R5) detected 26 positive samples (including 10 detected by primers 324-326).The assay using the primers BP189-389 detected all 135 ELISA-positive samples, including the 26 HoBiPeV detected by primers N2-R5. Our results demonstrated that primers BP189-389 compare favorably against other primer sets in the detection of bovine pestiviruses, especially HoBiPeV. This conventional PCR may be useful for efficient detection of pestiviruses in bovine sera and other specimens as well, especially in laboratories without real-time PCR equipment.
Speech Phenotyping in Unaffected Family Members of Individuals With Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip With or Without Palate
Authors: Boyce Jessica O. , Raj Supriya , Sanchez Katherine , Marazita Mary L. , Morgan Angela T. , Kilpatrick Nicky
Published: January 2019

Objective:

Subclinical phenotypes of nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL ± P) may be identified from clinically “unaffected” relatives and could be associated with specific cleft-related gene mutations. It has been hypothesized that velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) may be a subclinical phenotype of interest in this population, but this has not been explored quantitatively with appropriate control cohorts. The aim of this case–control study was to compare VPI in at-risk clinically unaffected relatives of individuals with nonsyndromic CL ± P with a low-risk matched normative Australian cohort.

Participants:

Clinically unaffected (ie, with no overt cleft) first-degree relatives of a proband with nonsyndromic CL ± P (n = 189) and noncleft controls (n = 207).

Main Outcome Measure(s):

Perceptual measures of VPI encompassing resonance, nasal emission, and articulation were evaluated using the Great Ormond Street Speech Assessment. Quantitative measures of VPI were obtained from the Nasometer II using standardized adult and pediatric speech stimuli.

Results:

Both perceptual and instrumental measures showed no significant difference ( P > .01) between the VPI in unaffected relatives and the noncleft comparison group. Mean nasalance scores for both groups were calculated and reported according to speech stimuli, age, and sex.

Conclusions:

Results suggest that VPI, measured through speech, is not a significant subclinical phenotype of nonsyndromic CL ± P. Therefore, further familial genetic investigations exploring VPI may not yield meaningful results. Exploration across multiple subclinical phenotypes in larger cohorts may enable researchers to better understand the multifaceted nature of this complex and heterogeneous anomaly.
A Cultural Immersion Field Experience: Examining Preservice Music Teachers’ Beliefs About Cultural Differences in the Music Classroom
Authors: VanDeusen Andrea J.
Published: January 2019

While the United States is becoming increasingly diverse with regard to race, ethnicity, primary language, religion, and culture, many educators feel unprepared to teach students from socioculturally diverse backgrounds. In this case study, I explored the impact of a cultural immersion field experience on preservice music educators’ beliefs and assumptions about teaching students whose backgrounds differ from their own. Nine undergraduate music education majors were placed with one of two elementary music teachers in a community that has a large proportion of Arab and Muslim Americans and immigrants. Participants did not immediately recognize the ways in which culture affected music teaching and learning. Through firsthand experiences in classrooms and the local community, however, they developed greater empathy for and understanding of Arab and Muslim students, began to recognize their own implicit biases, and developed a deepened understanding of the impact of culturally responsive teaching in the music classroom.
Associations Among Practice Variation, Clinician Characteristics, and Care Algorithm Usage: A Multispecialty Vignette Study
Authors: Cook David A. , Pankratz V. Shane , Pencille Laurie J. , Dupras Denise M. , Linderbaum Jane A. , Wilkinson John M.
Published: January 2019

The objective was to quantitatively evaluate clinician characteristics associated with unwarranted practice variation, and how clinical care algorithms influence this variation. Participants (142 physicians, 53 nurse practitioners, and 9 physician assistants in family medicine, internal medicine, and cardiology) described their management of 4 clinical vignettes, first based on their own practice (unguided), then using care algorithms (guided). The authors quantitatively estimated variation in management. Cardiologists demonstrated 17% lower variation in unguided responses than generalists (fold-change 0.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68, 0.97]), and those who agreed that practice variation can realistically be reduced had 16% lower variation than those who did not (fold-change 0.84 [CI, 0.71, 0.99]). A 17% reduction in variation was observed for guided responses compared with baseline (unguided) responses (fold-change 0.83 [CI, 0.76, 0.90]). Differences were otherwise similar across clinician subgroups and attitudes. Unwarranted practice variation was similar across most clinician subgroups. The authors conclude that care algorithms can reduce variation in management.
Pharmacomechanical Thrombectomy Versus Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Iliofemoral Deep Vein Thrombosis: A Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials
Authors: Tang Tao , Chen Linyi , Chen Jinhui , Mei Tong , Lu Yongming
Published: January 2019

Early catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can reduce postthrombotic morbidity. Pharmacomechanical thrombolysis (PMT) is a new therapy that can be selected for the treatment of iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (IFDVT). We performed a meta-analysis of clinical trials comparing PMT versus CDT for treatment of acute IFDVT. Literature on this topic published between January 1, 1990, and June 1, 2018, was identified using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Six trials were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to CDT, PMT significantly reduced the Villalta score ( P = .007; I2 = 0%), thrombus score ( P = .01; I2 = 0%), the duration in the hospital ( P = .03; I2 = 64%), and thrombolysis time ( P < .00001, I2 = 0%). There was no significant difference in valvular incompetence events ( P = .21; I2 = 0%), minor bleeding events ( P = .59; I2 = 0%), stent events ( P = .09; I2 = 24%), and clot reduction grade I events ( P = .16; I2 = 43%) between PMT and CDT. Subgroup analysis was performed by dividing the clot reduction grade I events group into PMT plus CDT versus CDT group and significant differences were found ( P = .03, I2 = 0%) as well as for PMT alone versus CDT group ( P = .88, I2 = 37%). This meta-analysis shows that PMT reduces the severity of postthrombotic syndrome (PTS), thrombus score, duration in hospital, and thrombolysis time compared to CDT. More specifically, PMT plus CDT reduces clot reduction grade I events. No significant difference in valvular incompetence events, stent events, and minor bleeding events were found when PMT was compared to CDT.
Comparison of the Long-Term Remission of Rituximab and Conventional Treatment for Acquired Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Owattanapanich Weerapat , Wongprasert Chompunut , Rotchanapanya Wannaphorn , Owattanapanich Natthida , Ruchutrakool Theera
Published: January 2019

The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the results of all available studies to compare the efficacies of rituximab and conventional treatment for acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Three investigators independently searched studies in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases published before December 11, 2018. To be included in the meta-analysis, studies needed to be randomized-controlled or cohort studies comparing the efficacies of rituximab and conventional therapy for TTP treatment. The effect estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from each study were collected, and Mantel-Haenszel methods were used to pool the data. A total of 570 patients from 9 eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis (280 patients in the rituximab arm and 290 in the conventional treatment arm). Patients receiving rituximab in an acute phase to induce disease remission had a significantly lower relapse rate than those given conventional treatment (odds ratio [OR]: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.19-0.85, P = .02, I2 = 43%). Similarly, the relapse rate in the rituximab group for preemptive therapy to prevent clinical relapse was also significantly lower than in the control group (OR: 0.09, 95% CI: 0.04-0.24, P < .00001, I2 = 11%). Furthermore, the conventional treatment group had a significantly higher mortality rate than the rituximab group during the follow-up (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.18-0.91, P = .03, I2 = 0%). Rituximab offered high efficacy for the prevention of relapses and lower mortality rate in cases of acquired TTP.
Contact System Activation and Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Markers: Risk Factors for Portal Vein Thrombosis in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Seo Jong Do , Gu Ja-Yoon , Jung Hye Soo , Kim Yoon Jun , Kim Hyun Kyung
Published: January 2019

Although portal vein thrombosis (PVT) commonly occurs in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the hypercoagulability mechanism in patients with HCC is not entirely clear. Recently, tumor-induced formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) has been shown to trigger contact system activation, and contact system activation has been shown to be a new mechanism of thrombosis. Therefore, we investigated whether contact system activation and NET formation occurred in relation to PVT in HCC patients. The circulating levels of NET formation markers (DNA–histone complex, double-stranded DNA, neutrophil elastase) and contact system activation markers (factor XIIa and high-molecular-weight kininogen) were measured in 177 patients who had been diagnosed with HCC and 48 healthy controls. Presence of PVT was confirmed in 77 HCC patients. The levels of NET formation and contact system activation markers were significantly higher in patients than in healthy controls and they increased significantly with the increase in the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores. Of note, these markers were significantly higher in HCC patients with PVT than in those without PVT. These NET formation markers and the contact system activation markers were significant thrombotic risk factors in HCC patients. The well-known liver injury markers (alanine transaminase, prothrombin time) significantly contributed to factor XIIa level. Contact system activation and NET formation are well correlated with liver disease severity and the markers of these can be used as thrombotic risk factors in HCC patients. In addition, therapeutics inhibiting the contact system can be potentially used to manage PVT in HCC patients.
Dynamic modeling and simulation of inter-shaft bearings with localized defects excited by time-varying displacement
Authors: Tian Jing , Ai Yan-Ting , Fei Cheng-Wei , Zhang Feng-Ling , Choy Yat-Sze
Published: January 2019

To accurately describe the dynamic features of inter-shaft bearings with localized defect under operation, the dynamic model of inter-shaft bearing with localized defects was established with respect to time-varying displacement excitation. Based on fault simulations on a birotor experimental rig, the developed dynamic model of inter-shaft bearing is validated to have high accuracy (over 99%) when localized defects happen on inner and outer race with co- and counter-rotation, which indicates that the model can be adopted to simulate the faults of inter-shaft bearing instead of experiment. Through investigation of the square-root (SR) amplitudes of bearing vibration with different defect sizes, radial loads, and rotational directions, we find that the SR amplitudes of bearing vibration increase with increasing defect size and radial load for both co- and counter-rotation. The amplitudes of counter-rotation are larger than those of co-rotation for inner race and outer race, and the amplitude of inner race defect are larger than that of outer race defect for the same defect size or same radial load. This work reveals the SR variation of bearing vibration with localized surface defects under different defect sizes and radial loads, and accurately describes the dynamic characteristics of inter-shaft bearing with localized defects. The efforts of this study open a door to adopt a dynamic model in the future to evaluate and monitor the health condition of inter-shaft bearings in an aeroengine or other rotating machinery.