bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Epithelial Lining Fluid Concentration of Amikacin in Critically Ill Patients With Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
Authors: Najmeddin Farhad , Shahrami Bita , Azadbakht Sayna , Dianatkhah Mehrnoush , Rouini Mohammad Reza , Najafi Atabak , Ahmadi Arezoo , Sharifnia Hamidreza , Mojtahedzadeh Mojtaba
Published: February 2018

Introduction:

Classically, aminoglycosides are known to have low penetration into the lung tissue. So far, no study has been conducted on human adult patients to evaluate amikacin concentration in epithelial lining fluid (ELF) of the alveoli. Therefore, convincing data are not available from the perspective of pharmacokinetics to support the fact that a dosage of 20 mg/kg of amikacin is sufficient to treat patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Method:

This was a pilot study of amikacin concentration measurement in the alveolar site of action in critically ill adult patients with VAP who required aminoglycoside therapy. A dose of 20 mg/kg of amikacin was administered over a 30-minute infusion. The serum concentrations of amikacin were evaluated in the first, second, fourth, and sixth hours. However, the ELF concentration of amikacin was evaluated in the second hour with the help of bronchoalveolar lavage sampling technique.

Results:

A total number of 8 patients was included in the study. The mean (SD) administered dose was 20 (0.9) mg/kg. The mean (SD) peak plasma concentration of amikacin was 59.6 (23) mg/L, with the volume of distribution of 0.36 (0.13)L/kg. The amikacin concentration in ELF was successfully measured in 7 patients (6.3) mg/L. The lung tissue penetration of the drug was described as alveolar percentage, proportional to both the first- and second-hour plasma concentrations, with a mean (SD) of 10.1% (8.4%) and 18% (16.7%), respectively.

Conclusion:

To our knowledge, the current study is the first that investigates whether standard doses of amikacin may lead to sufficient alveolar concentration of the drug. The results show that administration of amikacin in doses of 20 mg/kg in critically ill patients with VAP may not provide sufficient concentrations in ELF.
Development of a hardware-in-the-loop simulation system for power seat and power trunk electronic control unit validation
Authors: Yu Jungkyum , Kim Kwangil , Yi Kyongsu
Published: February 2018

This paper describes a hardware-in-the-loop simulation system for the validation of a vehicle body electronic control unit. The hardware-in-the-loop simulation system consists of three parts: a real-time target machine, an electronic control unit, and a signal conditioning unit, which regulates the voltage levels between the real-time target and the electronic control unit. The real-time target machine generates switch and feedback signals to the electronic control unit. The software model, representing body electronics hardware, such as a power seat and power trunk, runs inside a real-time target machine. The software model is composed of a mechanical part that represents the dynamic behaviors and an electronic part to calculate the motor speeds, current, and electronic loads under various conditions. The hardware-in-the-loop test was carried out for two different large passenger vehicle electronic control units, since the purpose of this research is to validate the various electronic control units by just simply modifying the corresponding vehicle model, the power seat, and the power trunk. Test results indicate that the developed software model can effectively replace the real hardware, and that this virtual model can be used to validate the signal logic between the electronic control unit and the model. In addition, the electrical robustness of the electronic control unit was validated by applying surge currents to the electronic control unit.
A 3D pitch and impact-angle constrained guidance scheme
Authors: Varma S Aditya , Kothari Mangal
Published: February 2018

In this paper, a guidance scheme for achieving all the possible impact angles constraints for 3D engagements is proposed. For a simple and computationally efficient solution, our approach considers proportional navigation based impact-angle constrained guidance. However, the 3D proportional navigation law cannot be directly applied. This paper proposes a guidance strategy in which a 3D problem is divided into two consecutive 2D problems using a temporary target. The missile switches between the two planes using a temporary target. The paper begins with a simple approach and finally proposes a realistic solution. In all the scenarios considered, the guidance scheme achieves the desired impact angles. To further increase its effectiveness, the paper considers pitch constrained impact-angle law that drives the terminal angle of attack to zero. This ensures that the body axis of the missile will be aligned with its velocity vector at the time of impact. The effectiveness of the proposed guidance schemes are systematically verified through numerical simulations considering both kinematic and realistic models with first-order autopilot lag.
Impact of cocaine use on protease inhibitor-associated dyslipidemia in HIV-infected adults
Authors: Li Ji , Lai Hong , Chen Shaoguang , Lai Shenghan
Published: February 2018

Previous studies have demonstrated a link between protease inhibitor (PI)-based therapy and lipid dysregulation. The main objective of this study was to examine whether cocaine use may modify PI-associated dyslipidemia in adults. Between June 2003 and June 2014, 957 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected participants in Baltimore, Maryland were enrolled in a study that investigated HIV/antiretroviral therapy-associated comorbidities. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were fitted to examine the associations between PI therapy and lipid profiles for the pooled sample and cocaine use subgroups, respectively. Total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), TC/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio, and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) levels were positively associated with duration of PI-based therapy in long-term cocaine users (all p < 0.05). However, longer-term PI therapy was significantly associated with increased HDL-C in non-chronic cocaine users (β = 0.109, SE = 0.042, p < 0.05). The participants who received PI therapy ≥12 months and used cocaine ≥15 years were more likely to have hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 2.82, 95% CI = 1.63, 4.88) and abnormal AIP (OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.08, 2.79) as compared to their counterparts. Our findings showed that long-term cocaine use may exacerbate adverse effects of PI therapy on lipid metabolism, suggesting that reduced cocaine use may be considered an alternative approach to managing PI-associated dyslipidemia in chronic cocaine users with HIV infection.
Propagation of Economic Inequality Through Reciprocity and Reputation
Authors: Hackel Leor M. , Zaki Jamil
Published: February 2018

Reciprocity and reputation are powerful tools for encouraging cooperation on a broad scale. Here, we highlight a potential side effect of these social phenomena: exacerbating economic inequality. In two novel economic games, we manipulated the amount of money with which participants were endowed and then gave them the opportunity to share resources with others. We found that people reciprocated more toward higher-wealth givers, compared with lower-wealth givers, even when those givers were equally generous. Wealthier givers also achieved better reputations than less wealthy ones and therefore received more investments in a social marketplace. These discrepancies were well described by a formal model of reinforcement learning: Individuals who weighted monetary outcomes, rather than generosity, when learning about interlocutors also most strongly helped wealthier individuals. This work demonstrates that reciprocity and reputation—although globally increasing prosociality—can widen wealth gaps and provides a precise account of how inequality grows through social processes.
New fuzzy logic approach for the capability assessment of renewable energy technologies: Case of Iran
Authors: Mombeini Hossein , Yazdani-Chamzini Abdolreza , Streimikiene Dalia , Zavadskas Edmundas Kazimieras
Published: February 2018

Firms need to identify their technology capability and change their productions through new reconfigurations and combinations of the existing potential capabilities with newly developed productions. Technology capability is a sophisticated, elusive, and vague concept that can be difficulty assessed. To accurately assess the technology capability, both the tangible and intangible parameters should be taken into account. The merit of employing the fuzzy set theory is to face with the vagueness and complexity imposed by the formulation process. As a result, this mathematical tool is broadly applied in wide-ranging fields. In this paper, a fuzzy-based model is developed for the renewable energy technology capability assessment to achieve clean energy generation. The logical outcomes demonstrated that the proposed model is a powerful technique for technology capability assessment in order to identify the coming opportunities, especially where there is a less or lack of information because of the complexity imposed by the ever-changing energy business world. The results show that the proposed model has a high potential for assessing the renewable energy technology capability of a firm in order to efficiently recognize the challenges related to investment in clean energy technologies.
The development of an electronic control system for diesel–natural gas dual-fuel engine
Authors: Fu Youyao , Xiao Bing
Published: February 2018

To meet the actual application requirements for the diesel–natural gas dual-fuel engine refit, a new electronic control system for the dual-fuel engine is developed in the study. Specifically, an active mode switching board is developed to achieve flexible switching between the pure diesel mode and dual-fuel mode. A diesel nozzle physical simulator is developed to ensure that the original diesel electronic control unit does not trigger fault alarm when engine works in the dual-fuel mode. Moreover, a dual-fuel electronic control unit, which uses the high-speed and multicore TMS320F28M35 as its microcontroller unit, is additionally developed on the basis of the original diesel electronic control unit. The peak and hold current shape for the diesel nozzle is intelligently controlled by the software program in C2000 core. Experiments reveal that the developed electronic control system can select a proper working mode according to the engine operation condition and smoothly switch the working mode without any fault alarms.
4-Methylcatechol stimulates apoptosis and reduces insulin secretion by decreasing betacellulin and inhibin beta-A in INS-1 beta-cells
Authors: Karatug Kacar A , Gezginci-Oktayoglu S , Bolkent S
Published: February 2018

Insulinoma INS-1 cell line is a pancreatic beta cell tumor which is characterized with high insulin content and secretion in response to increasing glucose levels. 4-Methylcatechol (4-MC) is a metabolite of quercetin, which is known as a potential drug for inhibition of tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to determine the applying doses of 4-methylcatechol (4-MC) for triggening cell death and decreasing the cell function of rat insulinoma INS-1 beta cells. The rate of apoptosis and the amount of insulin in the cell and the secretions were determined by the ELISA method. Betacellulin (BTC) and inhibin beta-A amounts in both the cell and the glucose induced secretion were investigated by Western blotting. Furthermore, BTC, Inhibin beta-A, Ins1, Ins2, and GLUT2 gene expression levels were determined by the by the real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method. We noted a significant decrease in cell viability, while an increase in apoptotic cell death by 4-MC treatment. It caused a decrease in the secretion of BTC, expressions of both BTC and inhibin beta-A. We showed a decrease in the expressions of Ins1 and GLUT2, while there is no alteration in the level of insulin protein. Insulin secretion levels increased in INS-1 cells given 4-MC by basal glucose concentration while they did not response to high concentration of glucose, which indicates that 4-MC disrupts the functionality of INS-1 cells. These results revealed that 4-MC induces apoptosis and decreases insulin secretion by reducing BTC and inhibin beta-A in insulinoma INS-1 cells. Thus, 4-MC may be offered as a potential molecule for treatment of insulinoma.
Dignity from the nurses’ and older patients’ perspective: A qualitative literature review
Authors: Šaňáková Šárka , Čáp Juraj
Published: February 2018

Introduction:

Dignity is one of the most important values sensitively perceived by patients in nursing care. Older patients have been identified as having a high risk of losing their dignity in institutional care. To promote optimum nursing care, a deeper insight into the problem of older patients’ dignity is needed.

Aim:

The aim was to identify, analyse and synthesise the qualitative evidence of dignity views and factors affecting it from the nurses’ and older patients’ perspective in the context of nursing care and to compare synthesised finding from the both perspective.

Methods:

A literature review of qualitative evidence was chosen as a study design. The ENTREQ statement was implemented to enhance transparency. The CASP – Qualitative checklist and the thematic synthesis for synthesised findings were used. The electronic databases Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, MEDLINE and PROQUEST were used to gather information for qualitative studies.

Results:

A total of 306 papers were retrieved. Fourteen qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review after methodological quality assessment using CASP. Four main themes of dignity from nurses’ perspective were synthesised: seeing the patient as a unique person, communication and privacy, involving the patient, and working culture and environment. From the patients’ perspective, six main themes were synthesised: autonomy and control, privacy, relationships, care and comfort, communication and identity. The comparison shows that the key difference is that older patients highlighted the theme relationships and nurses underlined the theme working culture and environment.

Conclusion:

The model structures of the older patients’ dignity from both the nurses’ and patients’ perspectives support the idea of a multidimensional structure of human dignity. The resulting model might be used in a nursing self-reflection, in the management of the institutions providing all-day care for the older people and in the education and practice.
Conflicts in a Closely Held Family Business: Durga and Company
Authors: Joshi Manoj , Dixit Shailja , Sinha Amit K. , Shukla Balvinder
Published: February 2018

The purpose of this case is to investigate the nature of conflicts that arise in a closely held family business (CHFB) and to identify variables that ensure successful transition from one generation to the next. This case necessitates that in order to decide on the inheritance, a three-step process, prevention, management and resolution of conflict, is essential. It also highlights the gender bias in succession planning, ignoring the capabilities and competence of women in the family. Unstructured interviews around multiple stakeholders in the family business (FB) were taken identifying the core issues leading to conflicts. Triangulating with multiple sources or incumbents has reduced biases. It is observed that conflicts are inevitable within CHFBs. However, it is widely accepted that conflicts are paramount to forward progression both for the family and for the business, when it is constructive in nature. The case reflects the importance of understanding the critical issues around family and business. The outcome is useful in relaying better understanding on dimensions of conflicts that plague family-controlled business. Family businesses must relay importance of managing conflicts and bringing in earlier resolutions before they become extinct. The aftermath of not resolving such conflicts can be as catastrophic of destroying the FB and its wealth in the longer run.
On the improvement of the dynamic performance of dielectric elastomer actuators for active compression
Authors: Edher Hamza , Salehian Armaghan
Published: February 2018

Dielectric elastomer actuators have been considered for an increasing number of applications due to their desirable characteristics of low weight, high strain outputs and favourable material costs. The present work describes the use of a dielectric elastomer actuator in conjunction with a belt mechanism to apply cyclic active compression. The belt mechanism helps convert the stress relaxation upon the voltage application to the dielectric elastomer actuator to a compressive force. Testing is conducted using multi-layered silicone–based dielectric elastomer actuators. A novel method of dynamically charging dielectric elastomer actuators through manipulating the input signal shape, termed the hold method, is introduced. Using this method, cyclic actuation strain output can be increased by 24% with insignificant change in actuation output curve shape. Furthermore, the effect of pre-stretch ratios on the output force amplitudes is characterized. The optimized hold time parameters obtained through cyclic dielectric elastomer force and strain are utilized for active compression physiological testing and a pressure gradient of 10 mmHg is achieved.
Effect of structural damping on the tuning between piezoelectric wafer active sensors and Lamb waves
Authors: Mei Hanfei , Giurgiutiu Victor
Published: February 2018

Piezoelectric wafer active sensors have been widely used for Lamb-wave generation and acquisition. For selective preferential excitation of a certain Lamb-wave mode and rejection of other modes, the piezoelectric wafer active sensor size and the excitation frequency should be tuned. However, structural damping depends on the structure material and the excitation frequency and it will affect the amplitude response of piezoelectric wafer active sensor–excited Lamb waves in the structure, that is, tuning curves. Its influence on the piezoelectric wafer active sensor tuning reflects the effect of structural health monitoring configuration considered in the excitation. Therefore, it is important to have knowledge about the effect of structural damping on the tuning between piezoelectric wafer active sensor and Lamb waves. In this article, the analytical tuning solution of undamped media is extended to damped materials using the Kelvin–Voigt damping model, in which a complex Young’s modulus is utilized to include the effect of structural damping as an improvement over existing models. This extension is particularly relevant for the structural health monitoring applications on high-loss materials, such as metallic materials with viscoelastic coatings and fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The effects of structural damping on the piezoelectric wafer active sensor tuning are successfully captured by the improved model, with experimental validations on an aluminum plate with adhesive films on both sides and a quasi-isotropic woven composite plate using circular piezoelectric wafer active sensor transducers.
Pesticide Use, Poisoning, and Knowledge and Unsafe Occupational Practices in Thailand
Authors: Sapbamrer Ratana
Published: February 2018

The agricultural system in Thailand has shifted from a traditional to a commercial agricultural system. Pesticides have been imported into Thailand to increase agricultural productivity, resulting in adverse health effects for farmers and consumers. However, the scientific data available in Thailand are limited and inconsistent. Thus, this article reviews research studies regarding pesticide use, poisoning, and knowledge and unsafe occupational practices in Thailand over the last decade. This article also makes recommendations for future policies. Research studies conducted in Thailand during 2006–2017 were reviewed and summarized. Overall, there are several solutions to address the pesticide problem, such as rigorous legislation and regulations, campaigns for reducing pesticide use, education, and training. The Thai government has an important role in making policies and regulations and encouraging all agricultural activities to be sustainable.
Assessment and Treatment Considerations for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at End of Life
Authors: Glick Debra M. , Cook Joan M. , Moye Jennifer , Kaiser Anica Pless
Published: February 2018

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may first emerge, reemerge, or worsen as individuals approach end of life and may complicate the dying process. Unfortunately, lack of awareness of the occurrence and/or manifestation of PTSD at end of life can lead to PTSD going unaddressed. Even if PTSD is properly diagnosed, traditional evidence-based trauma-focused treatments may not be feasible or advisable with this group as many patients at end of life often lack the physical and mental stamina to participate in traditional psychotherapy. This article reviews the clinical and empirical literature on PTSD at end of life, as well as discusses assessment and psychotherapy treatment issues with this neglected population. In addition, it expands on the current reviews of this literature1–3 by extrapolating results from nontraditional treatment approaches with other patient populations. Elements of these approaches with patients sharing similar characteristics and/or comorbidities with patients with PTSD at end of life may provide additional benefits for the latter population. Clinical implications and suggestions for interdisciplinary care providers are provided.
Factors That Influence Blood Pressure in 3- to 5-Year-Old Children: A Pilot Study
Authors: Rice Marti , Turner-Henson Anne , Hage Fadi G. , Azuero Andres , Joiner Cynthia , Affuso Olivia , Ejem Deborah , Davis Sara Laubinger , Soistmann Heather
Published: February 2018

While incident elevations in blood pressure (BP) are apparent in preschool years, factors influencing BP in this population have received little attention. The purposes of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility of collecting data from preschoolers and their mothers and to determine effect sizes of relationships between BP and sex, race, birth status, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), geographic location, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and salivary cortisol (morning, afternoon). A hypothesis-generating correlational design was used; 56 children, aged 3–5 years, were enrolled from six rural and urban Head Start programs in a southeastern state. On Day 1 of data collection, mothers completed demographic questionnaires and children had blood drawn by finger stick. On Day 2, children gave saliva samples for cortisol, were measured for height by stadiometer, weight by digital scales, and WC by tape measure and had their BP measured by Dinamap. Incident elevations in BP were found in 30% of children (17/56), the majority of which were of systolic BP; 65% of those with elevations were of normal weight. Data collection was feasible with few problems. Small-to-medium effect sizes were noted for BP status (normal, prehypertensive, and hypertensive) and cortisol p.m. and birth status (parent-reported prematurity or term); small effect sizes were seen for BP status and BMI, race, sex, and geographic location. CRP and cortisol had medium- and small-to-medium effect sizes, respectively, with diastolic blood pressure. Studies with larger, more diverse samples need to be conducted to test hypotheses posited from these estimated effect sizes.
Age and gender differences in the impact of labour-market transitions on subjective health in Germany
Authors: Unger Stefanie , Tisch Anita , Tophoven Silke
Published: February 2018

Aims: Applying a gender- and age group-sensitive approach, we investigated the effect of labour-market transitions (job loss and re-employment) on subjective physical and mental health. Methods: A combination of the difference-in-differences approach and propensity score matching controls for selectivity and initial health differences. This allowed us to analyse the causal effect of job loss and re-employment on subjective health. We made use of data from the German Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security and combined survey information with administrative records of the Federal Employment Agency for employed and unemployed men and women 31–60 years of age ( n = 2213). We controlled for labour-market experiences before the time period under study and for labour-market transitions between the interviews. Subjective health was assessed using the SF-12 health questionnaire, enabling us to differentiate between subjective mental and physical health functioning. Results: We found that physical health was affected mainly in older persons between 45 and 60 years old. Controlling for covariates using propensity score matching, mental health was affected only when living-wage jobs (i.e. jobs that provide sufficient income to achieve a defined minimum standard of living above the social benefit level) are gained or lost. Younger women showed a significant improvement in mental health after re-employment. In contrast, job loss affected only older individuals’ mental health, with a particularly negative effect observed for men. Conclusions: Our results not only showed that women and men are affected differently by job loss and re-employment, but also that age is an important factor. Older men were affected most severely by job loss, whereas re-employment was found to improve mental health only in women aged 31–44 years. It is therefore important to address the health problems of different socio-demographic groups separately, and to apply active labour-market policies with regard to unemployed men and women with health impairments. Based on our results, we suggest the promotion of employment with income levels above the maximum welfare benefit award.
Reliability and validity of the Alcohol Marketing Assessment Rating Tool (AMART)
Authors: Noel Jonathan K. , Babor Thomas F. , Robaina Katherine
Published: February 2018

Objective:

Current national responses to the monitoring and prevention of alcohol marketing to vulnerable populations, such as youth, typically rely on partial bans, co-regulation and industry self-regulation. Efforts to evaluate compliance with existing regulations are often cumbersome and resource intensive. We sought to develop a short questionnaire to assess compliance of alcohol advertising to existing alcohol industry self-regulated marketing codes.

Methods:

Questions for the Alcohol Marketing Assessment Rating Tool (AMART) were taken from a longer rating instrument that was originally developed to detect violations of a self-regulated alcohol marketing code. Secondary analysis of data from three studies of alcohol advertisements was performed to determine the reliability and validity of AMART at detecting code violations, using the longer form as the criterion. One sample was used as an exploratory set. Two samples were used to validate the questionnaire.

Results:

In the exploratory set, the reliability of AMART was considered near perfect (kappa = 0.92). Sensitivity was 97%, and specificity was 100%. Positive predictive value (PPV) was perfect and negative predictive value (NPV) was approximately 90%. In the validation sets, reliability was considered substantial to near perfect (kappa = 0.71–0.94). Specificity and PPV remained perfect, and NPV was 86%–90%.

Conclusion:

The AMART is a reliable tool to detect violations of a self-regulated marketing code in alcohol advertising. It significantly decreases the amount of resources needed to evaluate a finite number of advertisements.
Is proximity to alcohol outlets associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm in Denmark?
Authors: Seid Abdu K. , Berg-Beckhoff Gabriele , Stock Christiane , Bloomfield Kim
Published: February 2018

Background:

This study examined the associations between distance from residence to the nearest alcohol outlet with alcohol consumption as well as with alcohol-related harm.

Methods:

Data on alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm and sociodemographics were obtained from the 2011 Danish Drug and Alcohol Survey ( n = 5133) with respondents aged 15–79 years. The information on distances from residence to the nearest alcohol outlets was obtained from Statistics Denmark. Multiple logistic and linear regressions were used to examine the association between distances to outlets and alcohol consumption whereas alcohol-related harm was analysed using negative binomial regression.

Results:

Among women it was found that those living closer to alcohol outlets were more likely to report alcohol-related harm ( p < 0.05). This was not true for men. No association was found between distances to outlets and alcohol consumption (volume of drinking and risky single occasion drinking).

Conclusions:

This study found some support for an association between closer distances between place of residence and alcohol outlets and alcohol-related harm for women. Future studies in the Nordic region should continue to examine the association between physical alcohol availability (nearest distance to an outlet and outlet densities) and alcohol consumption as well as alcohol-related problems using different outlet types.
Lessons from 'memorial piety': Capitalising on the connectedness between living and past generations and its implications for social work practice
Authors: Park Hong-Jae
Published: February 2018

Just as ageing is part of life, so is death. Death does not end people’s desire to connect with deceased family members and, arguably, the connection between the dead and the living plays an important role in people’s lives and relationships. This article explores the matter of ancestor worship, as a form of filial piety, and highlights the importance of considering an “expanded” connection between past and current generations, beyond death. Data were collected from two qualitative studies with Korean residents from Australia, New Zealand and Korea, and analysed using an altered mode of thematic analysis in a Korean and English bilingual context. The findings from the studies show that connectedness with ancestors is an important part of the participants’ physical and mental worlds. The discussion in this article includes the meaning of ancestral engagement, ancestral veneration, and mutual connections between ascendants and descendants. The term “memorial piety” is used to define what people practise in relation to remembering and commemorating ancestors or other late loved ones – not necessarily worshipping them in contemporary times. This article addresses a need to broaden the scope and quality of social work for both people who have died and their surviving families, and highlights the potential role of social workers in promoting a meaningful relatedness between past and living generations.
Uso Del Condón en Adolescentes Nahuas, un Modelo Explicativo
Authors: Tirado María de los Ángeles Meneses , Benavides-Torres Raquel A. , Navarro Sergio Meneses , de la Colina Juan Antonio Doncel , Rodríguez Dora Julia Onofre , Hernández Francisco Javier Baéz
Published: February 2018

En México, la población indígena supera los siete millones de habitantes, en Puebla el grupo más representativo es el Náhuatl. Sin embargo, las condiciones de vida, salud, educación y transporte son precarias para esta población. En los adolescentes, las responsabilidades como el matrimonio, la familia y los compromisos ante la comunidad, favorecen conductas de riesgo sexual que dificultan su desarrollo económico, social y reproductivo. El objetivo fue proponer un modelo explicativo del uso del condón en adolescentes nahuas. Método. Bajo el marco de la teoría social cognitiva, el concepto de valores culturales de Leininger y el proceso de la sustracción teórica, se desarrolló este artículo. Se muestran las relaciones del modelo con las proposiciones y los factores que influyen en el uso del condón para este grupo específico. Finalmente, el modelo explica las variables de interés, los niveles de abstracción y las relaciones entre sí en el contexto náhuatl. El siguiente paso será implementar los indicadores empíricos para conocer el grado de influencia de los factores personales y ambientales hacia el uso del condón en adolescentes nahuas. Resultados que aportarán información para el desarrollo del conocimiento en enfermería y la reducción de riesgo sexual de esta población.
Wilhelm Fabricius von Hilden (1560-1634): The Pioneer of German Surgery
Authors: Laios Konstantinos
Published: February 2018

Wilhelm Fabricius von Hilden (1560-1634) or also known with his Latinized name Guilielmus Fabricius Hildanus is considered the founder of scientific German surgery. He introduced new surgical techniques and invented new surgical instruments for the surgical treatment of nasal polyps, stone bladder, breast and ocular cancer, hydrocele, and ascites, while very ingenious were his amputation techniques. His most important surgical treatise was Observationem et curationem chirurgicam centuriae sex ( Six Hundred Surgical Observations and Treatments) first published in 1606.
Weak thruster fault detection for autonomous underwater vehicle based on artificial immune and signal pre-processing
Authors: Yao Feng , Wang Fei , Zhang Mingjun
Published: February 2018

This article investigates weak thruster fault detection problem for autonomous underwater vehicle subject to the external disturbances. A weak thruster fault detection method is developed based on the combination of artificial immune system and single pre-processing. The number of measurable autonomous underwater vehicle’s signals is limited and the weak thruster fault is easy to be compensated by the closed-loop control system. In this developed method, signal pre-processing is first used in the original autonomous underwater vehicle signals, including signal transformation, data fusion based on Dempster–Shafer evidence theory, and feature extraction based on isometric mapping algorithm, to reduce the external disturbance effect and prominently reflect thruster fault. Then artificial immune system is applied to conduct anomaly detection based on the processed autonomous underwater vehicle signals. In the process of fault detection, it includes two stages, training stage and testing stage. In training stage, the detectors are generated at first based on the autonomous underwater vehicle signals in healthy condition based on negative selection and positive selection. And then in testing stage, the generated detectors are used to detect whether fault occurs or not based on the principle of self and non-self discrimination. Finally, to evaluate the performance of the developed fault detection method, Beaver 2 autonomous underwater vehicle is used to conduct experiments. The comparative results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method.
Novel metrics for growth model selection
Authors: Grigsby Matthew R. , Di Junrui , Leroux Andrew , Zipunnikov Vadim , Xiao Luo , Crainiceanu Ciprian , Checkley William
Published: February 2018

Background

Literature surrounding the statistical modeling of childhood growth data involves a diverse set of potential models from which investigators can choose. However, the lack of a comprehensive framework for comparing non-nested models leads to difficulty in assessing model performance. This paper proposes a framework for comparing non-nested growth models using novel metrics of predictive accuracy based on modifications of the mean squared error criteria.

Methods

Three metrics were created: normalized, age-adjusted, and weighted mean squared error (MSE). Predictive performance metrics were used to compare linear mixed effects models and functional regression models. Prediction accuracy was assessed by partitioning the observed data into training and test datasets. This partitioning was constructed to assess prediction accuracy for backward (i.e., early growth), forward (i.e., late growth), in-range, and on new-individuals. Analyses were done with height measurements from 215 Peruvian children with data spanning from near birth to 2 years of age.

Results

Functional models outperformed linear mixed effects models in all scenarios tested. In particular, prediction errors for functional concurrent regression (FCR) and functional principal component analysis models were approximately 6% lower when compared to linear mixed effects models. When we weighted subject-specific MSEs according to subject-specific growth rates during infancy, we found that FCR was the best performer in all scenarios.

Conclusion

With this novel approach, we can quantitatively compare non-nested models and weight subgroups of interest to select the best performing growth model for a particular application or problem at hand.
Responses to mechanically and visually cued water waves in the nervous system of the medicinal leech
Authors: Lehmkuhl Andrew M. , Muthusamy Arunkumar , Wagenaar Daniel A.
Published: February 2018

Sensitivity to water waves is a key modality by which aquatic predators can detect and localize their prey. For one such predator – the medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana – behavioral responses to visual and mechanical cues from water waves are well documented. Here, we quantitatively characterized the response patterns of a multisensory interneuron, the S cell, to mechanically and visually cued water waves. As a function of frequency, the response profile of the S cell replicated key features of the behavioral prey localization profile in both visual and mechanical modalities. In terms of overall firing rate, the S cell response was not direction selective, and although the direction of spike propagation within the S cell system did follow the direction of wave propagation under certain circumstances, it is unlikely that downstream neuronal targets can use this information. Accordingly, we propose a role for the S cell in the detection of waves but not in the localization of their source. We demonstrated that neither the head brain nor the tail brain are required for the S cell to respond to visually cued water waves.
Recent advances in lineage differentiation from stem cells: hurdles and opportunities?
Authors: Terryn Joke , Tricot Tine , Gajjar Madhavsai , Verfaillie Catherine
Published: February 2018

Pluripotent stem cells have the property of long-term self-renewal and the potential to give rise to descendants of the three germ layers and hence all mature cells in the human body. Therefore, they hold the promise of offering insight not only into human development but also for human disease modeling and regenerative medicine. However, the generation of mature differentiated cells that closely resemble their in vivo counterparts remains challenging. Recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics and computational modeling of gene regulatory networks are revealing a better understanding of lineage commitment and are driving modern genome editing approaches. Additional modification of the chemical microenvironment, as well as the use of bioengineering tools to recreate the cellular, extracellular matrix, and physical characteristics of the niche wherein progenitors and mature cells reside, is now being used to further improve the maturation and functionality of stem cell progeny.
Using regulatory genomics data to interpret the function of disease variants and prioritise genes from expression studies
Authors: Ferrero Enrico
Published: February 2018

The identification of therapeutic targets is a critical step in the research and developement of new drugs, with several drug discovery programmes failing because of a weak linkage between target and disease.

Genome-wide association studies and large-scale gene expression experiments are providing insights into the biology of several common diseases, but the complexity of transcriptional regulation mechanisms often limits our understanding of how genetic variation can influence changes in gene expression. Several initiatives in the field of regulatory genomics are aiming to close this gap by systematically identifying and cataloguing regulatory elements such as promoters and enhacers across different tissues and cell types.

In this Bioconductor workflow, we will explore how different types of regulatory genomic data can be used for the functional interpretation of disease-associated variants and for the prioritisation of gene lists from gene expression experiments.
Serological Surveys for complementing assessments of vaccination coverage in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Authors: Wanjiku Hannah W. , Adetifa Ifedayo M.O.
Published: February 2018

Background: Serosurveys of biomarkers of infection/vaccination are widely used for evaluating vaccine-induced immunity and monitoring the effectiveness of immunisation programmes in developed countries. In sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) where vaccination coverage (VC) estimates are often incomplete, inaccurate and overestimate effective population immunity, the use of serosurveys is limited.

Methods: We conducted a review of the use of serosurveys to assess/complement assessments of VC in sSA by searching electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Popline, Ovid and Africa Wide Information) for English language articles published from 1st January 1940 to 31st January 2017. We also searched the references of retrieved articles. SSA was defined as all of Africa excluding the countries in North Africa. We included only articles that measured VC and assessed the quality of these studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

Results: We found 1056 unique records, reviewed 20 eligible studies of which just 12 met our inclusion criteria. These 12 studies were serosurveys of measles, tetanus, polio and yellow fever. Antibodies induced by natural infection confounded serological test results and there was significant discordance between vaccination history and the presence of antibodies in all except for tetanus vaccine. No study looked at Hepatitis B.

Conclusions: Serosurveys for tetanus or tetanus containing vaccines may be directly useful for ascertainment of vaccination exposure or reliably complement current survey methods that measure VC. Given the limited experience in using serosurveys for this purpose in sSA, well-designed serosurveys of tetanus and possibly hepatitis B are required to further validate/evaluate their performance.
Preservation of Structural Properties in Optimization with Decisions Truncated by Random Variables and Its Applications
Authors: Chen Xin , Gao Xiangyu , Pang Zhan
Published: February 2018

A common technical challenge encountered in many operations management models is that decision variables are truncated by some random variables and the decisions are made before the values of these random variables are realized, leading to nonconvex minimization problems. To address this challenge, we develop a powerful transformation technique that converts a nonconvex minimization problem to an equivalent convex minimization problem. We show that such a transformation enables us to prove the preservation of some desired structural properties, such as convexity, submodularity, and L♮-convexity, under optimization operations, that are critical for identifying the structures of optimal policies and developing efficient algorithms. We then demonstrate the applications of our approach to several important models in inventory control and revenue management: dual sourcing with random supply capacity, assemble-to-order systems with random supply capacity, and capacity allocation in network revenue management.
Testing and mental health
Authors: Allingham Sue
Published: February 2018

We are living in a time when a particular viewpoint of teaching and learning is fashionable. Followers of Twitter will be familiar with the ‘debates’ – this month's analysis of the latest news in the early years.
Environmental exposure and building self-esteem
Authors: Webster Chloe
Published: February 2018

Young children need exposure to risk in their early years settings if they are to safely identify danger and to learn how to behave in certain situations. The benefits are huge, but adult support is vital, of course.
Soil Water Content and Crop Water Use in Contrasting Cropping Systems
Authors: Garcia y Garcia Axel , Strock Jeffrey S.
Published: February 2018

Abstract. Practices to improve the efficient use of water are of high relevance in rainfed agriculture. The effect of cropping systems on soil available water and water use of crops grown in a humid and temperate climate was investigated. This study was conducted at the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center near Lamberton, Minnesota, during three growing seasons. The treatments studied included an extended 4-year crop rotation (oat/alfalfa-alfalfa-corn-soybean) using organic inputs or high external (mineral) inputs and the traditional 2-year corn-soybean rotation, with a prairie as the control treatment. Response variables included crop yield, soil moisture monitored at 0.10, 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 1.00, and 2.00 m depths, root length density, and crop water use. We found that alfalfa depleted more water than the other crops, including the prairie. Regardless of the extent of the rotation and the type of input, the soil water depletion and crop water use followed the same pattern: alfalfa > corn > oat/alfalfa > soybean. For conditions in the humid and temperate climate of southwest Minnesota, the average water use of crops was 652 mm for alfalfa, 535 mm for corn, 340 mm for oat/alfalfa, and 484 mm for soybean. The average water use of the prairie was 604 mm. Keywords: Evapotranspiration, Farming systems, Rotation, Water balance, Water use efficiency.