bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors impacting technology adoption in hospital bed logistics
Authors: Feibert Diana Cordes , Jacobsen Peter
Published: September 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to refine and expand technology adoption theory for a healthcare logistics setting by combining the technology–organization–environment framework with a business process management (BPM) perspective. The paper identifies and ranks factors impacting the decision to implement instances of technologies in healthcare logistics processes.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study is carried out at five Danish hospitals to investigate the bed logistics process. A combined technology adoption and BPM lens is applied to gain an understanding of the reasoning behind technology adoption.

Findings

A set of 17 factors impacting the adoption of technologies within healthcare logistics was identified. The impact factors perceived as most important to the adoption of technologies in healthcare logistics processes relate to quality, employee work conditions and employee engagement.

Research limitations/implications

This paper seeks to understand how managers can use knowledge about impact factors to improve processes through technology adoption. The findings of this study provide insights about the factors impacting the adoption of technologies in healthcare logistics processes. Differences in perceived importance of factors enable ranking of impact factors, and prioritization of changes to be implemented. The study is limited to five hospitals, but is expected to be representative of public hospitals in developed countries and applicable to similar processes.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the empirical research within the field of BPM and technology adoption in healthcare. Furthermore, the findings of this study enable managers to make an informed decision about technology adoption within a healthcare logistics setting.
Corporate governance and performance of REITs
Authors: Ramachandran Jayalakshmy , Chen Khoo Kok , Subramanian Ramaiyer , Yeoh Ken Kyid , Khong Kok Wei
Published: September 2018

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and performance of Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) in Singapore and Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

The CG attributes that contribute best toward R-Index scores are tested followed by analysis of whether R-Index scores contribute toward better performance of the REITs when controlled for growth, firm size and leverage. Regression analysis using structured equation modeling (SEM) is instituted.

Findings

All attributes in the R-Index except management ownership are significantly correlated to R-Index. Regression analysis using SEM reveals that all the three measures of performance are significant. When controlled for growth and firm size, CG mechanisms reduce the impact of losses. However, highly levered firms could be risky for investors despite strong CG mechanisms.

Research limitations/implications

All S-REITs and M-REIT sampled were grouped as one regardless of the country differences, which may have limited the results and findings. The R-Index used to score the CG practices for Asia is still very new.

Practical implications

Findings of the study will help REIT policymakers to update scorecards frequently. Loss-making REITs must emphasize on specific CG attributes to enhance their overall CG scores to gain market confidence and procure financial assistance through better disclosure.

Originality/value

Due to research scarcity on CG effectiveness associated with performance of Asian REITs after the global financial crisis, this study comes as a timely contribution in understanding the relationship between CG and performance of REITs.
How employers can better support people with mental health issues
Authors: Dean John
Published: September 2018

Purpose

Mental health is a growing concern amongst UK employers, yet eight in ten employers currently have no mental health policy. This paper aims to highlight why employers should implement such a policy and gives advice on implementing an effective well-being policy.

Design/methodology/approach

Punter Southall Health and Protection recently released “Employee Wellbeing Research 2018”, carried out in association with Reward & Employee Benefits Association. This research report looks at the current trends in workplace well-being.

Findings

The Employee Wellbeing Research 2018 report revealed that 73 per cent of respondents said high pressure working environments are now the biggest threat to well-being and are worried about the negative impact on their employees. But one striking issue the research revealed is that programmes are not being driven by the Board. Less than one in ten (8 per cent) said that their Board actively drives the organisation’s well-being agenda and one in 20 (5 per cent) reported that their Board has little or no interest in employee well-being.

Originality/value

This paper is aimed at HR professionals, senior management, CEOs and board members.
Relative Target Setting and Cooperation
Authors: HOLZHACKER MARTIN , KRAMER STEPHAN , MATĚJKA MICHAL , HOFFMEISTER NICK
Published: September 2018

A large stream of work on relative performance evaluation highlights the benefits of using information about peer performance in contracting. In contrast, the potential costs of discouraging cooperation among peers have received much less attention. The purpose of our study is to examine how the importance of cooperation affects the use of information about peer performance in target setting, also known as relative target setting. Specifically, we use data from an industrial services company where business unit managers need to share specialized equipment and staff with their peers to manage bottlenecks in their capacity. We construct several empirical proxies for the costs and benefits of information about peer performance and examine their effects on target setting. We find robust evidence that the sensitivity of target revisions to past peer performance is higher when peer group performance has greater capacity to filter out noise but lower when the importance of cooperation among peers is greater.
Aligning ambulance dispatch priority to patient acuity: A methodology
Authors: Andrew Emily , Jones Colin , Stephenson Michael , Walker Tony , Bernard Stephen , Cameron Peter , Smith Karen
Published: September 2018

Objective

In Victoria, Australia, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) demand has increased almost 5% per annum over the past 5 years. This may adversely affect response times to time‐critical patients. Additionally, >55% of cases have received Code 1 (lights/sirens) responses. Primary telephone triage occurs using the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS); however, MPDS is reported to be highly sensitive, with common over‐triage. The present study describes the methodology applied to better align the response allocated to MPDS determinant codes with patient acuity.

Methods

Data between October 2013 and August 2014 were extracted from the Ambulance Victoria data warehouse. The decision to allocate MPDS determinant codes to a lower response priority and/or secondary triage was based on epidemiological profiling and, in some cases, expert panel review.

Results

The review identified 105 MPDS codes receiving a Code 1 response as suitable for a Code 2 (urgent) response, and 221 Code 1 or 2 codes as suitable for secondary triage. Data analysis estimated a reduction in Code 1 responses by 28%, and an increase in the secondary triage caseload by 120%. Modelling also predicted a 2.6 percentage point improvement in the proportion of Code 1 cases attended within 15 min.

Conclusion

Analysis of a large EMS dataset supported changes to the EMS response priority for a number of MPDS determinant codes. Such changes should improve the alignment between EMS response and patient acuity, and improve response times to time‐critical patients. Other EMS with electronic data could consider testing this methodology.
Current management of acute aortic syndrome
Authors: Yu Peter S.Y. , Fujikawa Takuya , Underwood Malcolm J. , Wong Randolph H.L.
Published: September 2018

Acute aortic dissection and intramural haematoma are the most common disease entities under the category of ‘acute aortic syndromes’. High mortalities and morbidities remain clinical challenges in their management, even in the international arena. Continuous advancement and new evidence about open, endovascular and hybrid interventions offer new insights towards improvements in treatment outcomes. Careful planning and execution of operative management with attention to specific patient characteristics remain the prerequisites for a reduction in mortality and complications.
Review of grain boundary complexion engineering: Know your boundaries
Authors: Krause Amanda R. , Cantwell Patrick R. , Marvel Christopher J. , Compson Charles , Rickman Jeffrey M. , Harmer Martin P.
Published: September 2018

Grain boundary structure‐property relationships influence bulk performance and, therefore, are an important criterion in materials design. Materials scientists can generate different grain boundary structures by changes in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential because interfaces attain their own equilibrium states, known as complexions. Complexions undergo first‐order transitions by changes in thermodynamic variables, which results in discontinuous changes in properties. Grain boundary complexion engineering is introduced in this paper as a method for controlling complexion transitions to improve material performance. This International Conference on Sintering 2017 lecture describes the tools for grain boundary complexion engineering: complexion equilibrium and time‐temperature‐transformation (TTT) diagrams. These tools can be implemented in processing design to tailor grain boundary properties, including grain boundary mobility. While impactful, these diagrams are often limited in scope because they are currently empirically derived. This article discusses how measurement techniques can be combined with data analytical methods to build mechanistically derived complexion equilibrium and TTT diagrams.
Liberal Intergovernmentalism, Illiberalism and the Potential Superpower of the European Union
Authors: Meunier Sophie , Vachudova Milada Anna
Published: September 2018

Andrew Moravcsik has long argued that the EU is the world's second superpower, albeit a quiet and overlooked one. This article explores how the EU behaves as a global power, and how the illiberal turn may diminish it. We present Moravcsik's four core claims about the EU as the second superpower using the lens of Liberal Intergovernmentalism. We argue that the EU is more a potential than an actual superpower because its considerable hard and soft resources are not always converted into global influence. We focus on two challenges to this power conversion, which we illustrate in the areas of trade and enlargement: first, the uneven transfer of competences to the EU level and, second, the presence of illiberal regimes in the EU, which makes it more difficult to agree on common policies and tools anchored in democratic values.
Thermal physiology of three sympatric small mammals from southern Africa
Authors: Hoole C. , Czenze Z. J. , Bennett N. C. , McKechnie A. E.
Published: September 2018

Small mammals, and particularly shrews and mice, have relatively high mass‐specific metabolic rates and may be constrained to habitats where they can avoid extreme temperatures. Although their phylogeny differs, shrews and rodents often inhabit the same environments and compete for resources due to their similar body masses and dietary overlap. Our aim was to elucidate the variation in thermal parameters of sympatric species. We examined Myosorex varius, Crocidura flavescens and Mus minutoides, by measuring metabolic rate, evaporative water loss (EWL), body temperature (Tb) and thermal conductance over a range of ambient temperatures (Ta). Body temperatures of all three species remained above 32°C across the range of Ta. For all species, there was no relation between Ta <35°C and EWL, although EWL in C. flavescens was considerably lower compared to the other two species. Dry thermal conductance was much higher in Mu. minutoides than in either of the shrews. Resting metabolic rate of all three species declined with Ta <35°C. The thermoneutral zone of My. varius was between Ta = 35°C and Ta = 40°C, whereas that of C. flavescens was between Ta = 30°C and Ta = 33°C. No discernible thermoneutral zone was evident for Mu minutoides. Our data reveal considerable variation in thermal physiology among three sympatric species of small mammal at a single site and generally conform to the plesiomorphic–apomorphic endothermy model. Differences in body size, life‐history traits and evolutionary history may all play a role in the thermoregulatory patterns of these sympatric species.
Resolving the roles of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides HemA and HemT 5‐aminolevulinic acid synthases
Authors: Stoian Natalie , Kaganjo James , Zeilstra‐Ryalls Jill
Published: September 2018

Strains of the phototrophic alpha‐proteobacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides vary in the number of enzymes catalyzing the formation of 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA synthases) that are encoded in their genomes. All have hemA, but not all have hemT. This study compared transcription of these genes, and also properties of their products among three wild‐type strains; 2.4.3 has hemA alone, 2.4.1 and 2.4.9 have both hemA and hemT. Using lacZ reporter plasmids all hemA genes were found to be upregulated under anaerobic conditions, but induction amplitudes differ. hemT is transcriptionally silent in 2.4.1 but actively transcribed in 2.4.9, and strongly upregulated under anaerobic‐dark growth conditions when cells are respiring dimethyl sulfoxide, vs. aerobic‐dark or phototrophic (anaerobic‐light) conditions. Two extracytoplasmic function (ECF)‐type sigma factors present in 2.4.9, but absent from 2.4.1 are directly involved in hemT transcription. Kinetic properties of the ALA synthases of all three strains were similar, but HemT enzymes are far less sensitive to feedback inhibition by hemin than HemA enzymes, and HemT is less active under oxidizing conditions. A model is presented that compares and contrast events in strains 2.4.1 and 2.4.9.
Integrated breeding approaches for improving drought and heat adaptation in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
Authors: Gaur Pooran M. , Samineni Srinivasan , Thudi Mahendar , Tripathi Shailesh , Sajja Sobhan B. , Jayalakshmi Veera , Mannur Durdundappa M. , Vijayakumar Adiveppa G. , Ganga Rao Nadigatla V. P. R. , Ojiewo Chris , Fikre Asnake , Kimurto Paul , Kileo Robert O. , Girma Nigusie , Chaturvedi Sushil K. , Varshney Rajeev K. , Dixit Girish P.
Published: September 2018

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a dry season food legume largely grown on residual soil moisture after the rainy season. The crop often experiences moisture stress towards end of the crop season (terminal drought). The crop may also face heat stress at the reproductive stage if sowing is delayed. The breeding approaches for improving adaptation to these stresses include the development of varieties with early maturity and enhanced abiotic stress tolerance. Several varieties with improved drought tolerance have been developed by selecting for grain yield under moisture stress conditions. Similarly, selection for pod set in the crop subjected to heat stress during reproductive stage has helped in the development of heat‐tolerant varieties. A genomic region, called QTL‐hotspot, controlling several drought tolerance‐related traits has been introgressed into several popular cultivars using marker‐assisted backcrossing (MABC), and introgression lines giving significantly higher yield than the popular cultivars have been identified. Multiparent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) approach has been found promising in enhancing genetic recombination and developing lines with enhanced tolerance to terminal drought and heat stresses.
Molecular evolution of elements controlling HLA‐C expression: Adaptation to a role as a killer‐cell immunoglobulin‐like receptor ligand regulating natural killer cell function
Authors: Anderson Stephen K.
Published: September 2018

The regulatory elements controlling the transcription of the HLA‐A, HLA‐B, and HLA‐C genes have been extensively studied and compared. However, few studies have considered regulatory differences in the HLA genes from the perspective of their role as ligands for the killer‐cell immunoglobulin‐like receptor (KIR) family of HLA receptors expressed by natural killer (NK) cells. HLA‐C is the most recently evolved gene, and there is considerable evidence pointing to its emergence as a specialized KIR ligand playing a major role in the missing‐self recognition system of NK cells. Here I evaluate gene‐specific differences in regulatory elements of the HLA genes, showing alterations that are consistent with the adaptation of HLA‐C to a role in NK cell regulation.
Flexible Tactile Sensor Based On Reduced Graphene Oxide And Polydimethylsiloxane
Authors: Abd Rahman Shaharin Fadzli , Hung Chai Kim
Published: September 2018

This paper presents the design, fabrication technique and characterization of tactile sensor which work based on piezoresistive. There are several journal papers that proposed various kind of tactile sensor design, however tactile sensing technology still have the potential to be improved. Since, there is less amount of study on the dependent of reduced graphene oxide concentration to performance. Therefore, this research is to fabricate tactile sensor which based on different concentration of reduced graphene oxide and polydimethylsiloxane. The concentration of graphene oxide is varying from 1mg/ml to 0.4mg/ml. Firstly, the related works on tactile sensor is collected and a design is proposed. The fabricated tactile sensor has two layers of polydimethylsiloxane, in which reduced graphene oxide will on one layer and the electrode will be on another layer. Different force applied on polydimethylsiloxane, will cause different contact area between reduced graphene oxide and electrode, as a result, the resistance change and force are being translated into resistance value.
Prototype Development of Paper Based Sensor for Ammonia Detection in Water
Authors: Habibullah Muhammad Hambali , Zainal Abidin Mastura Shafinaz , Abd Rahman Shaharin Fadzli
Published: September 2018

The presence of ammonia in water supply can be dangerous to human health. This is because the ammonia not easily detected and the cost of the existing ammonia detector is quite expensive. The existing method of detection and monitoring of ammonia with chemical approach is time consuming, thus, electrical-based is recommended. The sensor device was developed in this project utilizing bio-environmentally friendly material such as paper and graphite. The different type of paper and graphite was used in this project to evaluate the sensitivity and selectivity of sensor. A suitable pattern was defined as the sensing area for detected the presence of ammonia in water. The device was connected with a constant voltage to generate the current flow through electrode that made of graphite and the sample was tested by drop onto the sensing area. As the result, the current changes were detected with presence of ammonia in water. A zinc oxide layer was proposed to be added at the sensing area for sensor enhancement. It is found that the presence of zinc oxide can improve the sensitivity of sensor by faster detecting the sample drop on the sensing area compare to the graphite with shorter time response characteristics.
Analyzing Railguns with Excel: Simple Numerical Integration for the Classroom
Authors: Font Gabriel I. , Dills Anthony N.
Published: September 2018

Any teacher of elementary physics can attest to the waning interest of students when all they are exposed to are boxes sliding down planes. In an effort to motivate interest, it is often useful to borrow examples from the real world. This way the students find it easy to identify the relevance of the subject matter. In addition, high-tech applications can be inspirational and serve to motivate the students to look deeper into the phenomena. One example of a technology that makes students sit up and pay attention are railguns. They are easily demonstrated using YouTube videos, especially now that the U.S. Navy has begun to release publicity videos of their latest designs and associated fact sheet and papers. This paper gives some background and simple models of the relevant physics of railguns.
Calculating Planetary Temperatures from Radiation, Albedo, and Greenhouse Effect in a Descriptive Astronomy or Conceptual Physics Laboratory
Authors: LoPresto Michael
Published: September 2018

Providing exposure to the process and methods of science is a fundamental goal of any general education college science course. This is largely because most students taking such courses are generally not science majors, so they are likely to take few, if any, other science courses. Meeting this goal can be a challenge in courses such as descriptive astronomy or conceptual physics that often have lower level, if any, mathematical prerequisites. Such courses, however, usually still do have a laboratory component, since completion of a laboratory science course is normally a general education requirement for graduation. The difficulty lies largely in the fact that actual science experiments, those that truly employ the scientific method, usually involve quantitative components such as taking numerical data and/or making calculations. Students with limited mathematical skills or backgrounds often find this very difficult. Many are easily overwhelmed by and get lost in calculations that, to them, seem to be a purely mathematical procedure that they will often resort to simply following by rote. As a result, they can lose any physical sense or meaning of what the experiment is meant to teach them and end up learning very little or nothing.
Audiometric Test with a Smartphone
Authors: Thoms Lars-Jochen , Colicchia Giuseppe , Girwidz Raimund
Published: September 2018

Smartphones have evolved into all-purpose computing machines with exceptional capabilities. They are becoming increasingly powerful, with modern audio “codec” (coder/decoder) chips that provide recorded audio of high quality. Smartphone developers now offer many sound applications (apps) using both the devices’ built-in microphone and headphones. This, in principle, enables hearing tests like pure-tone audiometry on a smartphone, where students can measure the frequency-dependent hearing threshold level of their own ears using a smartphone. They may test each ear individually and compare them, or compare their results with others. Experiments on this physiological subject provide an opportunity to understand and deepen many physical concepts in an interdisciplinary approach.
Lombard effect, ambient noise, and willingness to spend time and money in a restaurant
Authors: Bottalico Pasquale
Published: September 2018

The objective of this study is to determine the minimum level of noise in a restaurant that starts the Lombard effect, and how it relates to the perceived communication disturbance and the willingness to spend time and money for a meal. Twenty-eight participants were instructed to read a passage in the presence of restaurant noise from 35 to 85 dB(A). As the noise level increased, participants began to be disturbed by the noise at 52 dB(A) and began to raise their voice at 57 dB(A). The willingness to spend time and money decreased starting at 52 dB(A).
Deadly storms break records, damage facilities
Authors: Schembri Frankie
Published: September 2018

Florence and Mangkhut hold lessons for future disasters, and omens of growing severity.
Evidence-based medicine group expels internal critic
Authors: Enserink Martin
Published: September 2018

Cochrane is in turmoil after ousting co-founder Peter Gøtzsche, who accused it of becoming "industry-friendly."
Journals under the microscope
Authors: Couzin-Frankel Jennifer
Published: September 2018

"Journalologists" use scientific methods to study publishing. Is their work improving science?
A recipe for rigor
Authors: Kupferschmidt Kai
Published: September 2018

A simple strategy to avoid bias—declaring in advance what you will study, and how—is rapidly catching on.
Asteroseismic detection of latitudinal differential rotation in 13 Sun-like stars
Authors: Benomar O. , Bazot M. , Nielsen M. B. , Gizon L. , Sekii T. , Takata M. , Hotta H. , Hanasoge S. , Sreenivasan K. R. , Christensen-Dalsgaard J.
Published: September 2018

Stellar oscillations show differential rotation

The Sun rotates faster at its equator than at its poles. This process is known as differential rotation and is seen in the motion of sunspots. Helioseismology has shown that the effect extends into the Sun's interior. It has not been possible to measure whether other stars also experience equivalent differential rotation. Benomar
et al.
used the Kepler spacecraft to monitor stellar oscillations of a group of Sun-like stars. By decomposing the oscillations into separate frequencies, they searched for signs of differential rotation. Several stars do indeed seem to have equators that spin faster than their poles, and none indicated the opposite pattern.

Science
, this issue p.
1231
Reconfigurable system for automated optimization of diverse chemical reactions
Authors: Bédard Anne-Catherine , Adamo Andrea , Aroh Kosi C. , Russell M. Grace , Bedermann Aaron A. , Torosian Jeremy , Yue Brian , Jensen Klavs F. , Jamison Timothy F.
Published: September 2018

A self-optimizing reactor

Chemists spend a great deal of time tweaking the conditions of known reactions. Small changes to temperature and concentration can have a big influence over product yield. Bédard
et al.
present a flow-based reaction platform that carries out this laborious task automatically. By using feedback from integrated analytics, the system converges on optimal conditions that can then be applied with high precision afterward. A series of modules with heating, cooling, mixing, and photochemical capabilities could be configured for a broad range of reactions. These include homogeneous and heterogeneous palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling, reductive amination, and the generation of sensitive intermediates under an inert atmosphere.

Science
, this issue p.
1220
Comment on “U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art”
Authors: Slimak Ludovic , Fietzke Jan , Geneste Jean-Michel , Ontañón Roberto
Published: September 2018

Hoffmann
et al
. (Reports, 23 February 2018, p. 912) report the discovery of parietal art older than 64,800 years and attributed to Neanderthals, at least 25 millennia before the oldest parietal art ever found. Instead, critical evaluation of their geochronological data seems to provide stronger support for an age of 47,000 years, which is much more consistent with the archaeological background in hand.
A bird's inner stripes
Authors: Prud'homme Benjamin , Gompel Nicolas
Published: September 2018

Patterns of stripes on bird plumage are determined from deep under the skin
Fighting chaos with chaos in lasers
Authors: Yang Lan
Published: September 2018

Complex wave interference suppresses nonlinearities that destabilize beams
Animal trafficking, unveiled
Poached
Rachel Love Nuwer
De Capo Press, 2018. 384 pp.
Authors: Cooney Rosie
Published: September 2018

A nuanced treatise on illegal wildlife trade misses some opportunities to advance the conversation
Chemical clues to the earliest animal fossils
Authors: Summons Roger E. , Erwin Douglas H.
Published: September 2018

Steroid biomarkers show that the Ediacaran fossil
Dickinsonia
was an animal
Listening to a pandemic
Going Viral: The Mother of All Pandemics
Hannah Mawdsley and Mark Honigsbaum
http://goingviralthepod.libsyn.com
Authors: Battles Heather T.
Published: September 2018

Stories from the 1918 flu come alive in a new podcast series
Partners at Care Transitions: exploring healthcare professionals’ perspectives of excellence at care transitions for older people
Authors: Baxter Ruth , O’Hara Jane , Murray Jenni , Sheard Laura , Cracknell Alison , Foy Robbie , Wright John , Lawton Rebecca
Published: September 2018

Introduction

Hospital admissions are shorter than they were 10 years ago. Notwithstanding the benefits of this, patients often leave hospital requiring ongoing care. The transition period can therefore be risky, particularly for older people with complex health and social care needs. Previous research has predominantly focused on the errors and harms that occur during transitions of care. In contrast, this study adopts an asset-based approach to learn from factors that facilitate safe outcomes. It seeks to explore how staff within high-performing (‘positively deviant’) teams successfully support transitions from hospital to home for older people.

Methods and analysis

Six high-performing general practices and six hospital specialties that demonstrate exceptionally low or reducing 30-day emergency hospital readmission rates will be invited to participate in the study. Healthcare staff from these clinical teams will be recruited to take part in focus groups, individual interviews and/or observations of staff meetings. Data collection will explore the ways in which teams successfully deliver exceptionally safe transitional care and how they overcome the challenges faced in their everyday clinical work. Data will be thematically analysed using a pen portrait approach to identify the manifest (explicit) and latent (abstract) factors that facilitate success.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Leeds. The study will help develop our understanding of how multidisciplinary staff within different healthcare settings successfully support care transitions for older people. Findings will be disseminated to academic and clinical audiences through peer-reviewed articles, conferences and workshops. Findings will also inform the development of an intervention to improve the safety and experience of older people during transitions from hospital to home.
The UALE project: a cross-sectional approach for trends in HIV/STI prevalence among key populations attending STI clinics in Guatemala
Authors: García Juan Ignacio , Sabidó Meritxell , Nikiforov Mikhail , Smith Adriana , Hernández Gabriela , Ortiz Rudy , Ardani Luis , Cajas Alba , Camey Elsy , Torrelles Jordi B , Wang Shu-Hua , Campbell Colin N J , Folch Cinta , Casabona Jordi
Published: September 2018

Objective

To describe and compare trends in prevalence, sexual behaviour and HIV transmission knowledge data related to sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV in patients attending three STI clinics over an 8-year period in Escuintla Department, Guatemala.

Methods

STI clinic attendees were classified into transmission groups as follows: female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM) and ‘high-risk heterosexuals’ (HRH). Annual cross-sectional analysis and multivariable Poisson regression adjusted for sociodemographic variables were used for prevalence comparisons and adjusted prevalence trends for HIV/STI outcomes and used for adjusted trends in proportions in sexual behaviour and HIV transmission knowledge outcomes. Endocervical swabs were obtained to detect trichomonas, chlamydia and neisseria infections. Serologies for syphilis and HIV were performed using rapid tests. For reactive HIV samples, positivity was confirmed by an ELISA. All reactive syphilis samples were further confirmed for diagnosis of active syphilis disease.

Results

From a total of 4027 clinic attendees, 3213 (79.78%) were FSW, 229 (5.69%) were MSM and 585 (14.53%) were HRH. The proportion of FSW, MSM and HRH who had a single visit was 56.42%, 57.23% and 91.10%, respectively. Overall, HIV prevalence was 2.10% in FSW, 8.17% in MSM and 4.12% in HRH. Prevalence trends in HIV and syphilis decreased in FSW. Prevalence trends in gonorrhoea did not decrease over time neither in FSW nor in HRH. Chlamydia and trichomonas infections in HRH showed an increase prevalence trend. In FSW, trends in condom use in last sexual intercourse with regular and occasional clients were above 93%.

Conclusions

FSW show a decreasing trend in HIV, syphilis and chlamydia prevalence. Gonorrhoea prevalence in FSW and HRH did not decrease over time. HRH is a hard to engage population with low follow-up rates and high potential to act as a bridge population.
Exercise for posterior tibial tendon dysfunction: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials and clinical guidelines
Authors: Ross Megan H , Smith Michelle D , Mellor Rebecca , Vicenzino Bill
Published: September 2018

Objective

To systematically review all randomised clinical trials to determine the efficacy of local strengthening exercises compared with other forms of conservative management for adults with posterior tibial tendon dysfunction.

Design

Systematic review.

Data sources

Four electronic databases (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane, Embase and PubMed) were searched up to June 2018.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies

The study included randomised clinical trials investigating individuals with posterior tibial tendon dysfunction where local strengthening was compared with other forms of conservative management with respect to pain, function and/or physical impairment outcome measures. Standardised mean differences (SMDs) were used to compare change scores between groups and descriptors of exercise prescription assessed according to the Template for Intervention Description and Replication and the Toigo and Boutellier recommendations.

Results

3 studies (n=93) were eligible for inclusion in the review. Varying strengthening exercises were compared with stretching and foot orthoses (n=2) or no intervention (n=1). Moderate effects (SMD 0.6–1.2) were found for reducing pain and disability with eccentric strengthening in conjunction with stretching and orthoses compared with concentric exercises, stretching and orthoses combined, and stretching and orthoses alone. Evaluation of exercise prescription parameters demonstrated minimal reporting, with the only consistent parameters being the number of sets and repetitions of the exercises, and the duration of the experimental period.

Conclusion

This review demonstrates the paucity of high-quality research for the conservative management of posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, and highlights the lack of exercise prescription parameters reported in clinical trials.

Trial registration number

CRD42017076156.
Dirac quasi-normal frequencies in a noncommutative black hole space–time
Authors: Luo Cuibai , Wu Chen
Published: September 2018

Noncommutative geometry may be an alternative way to quantum gravity. We study the influence of the space–time noncommutative parameter on the Dirac quasi-normal modes in the noncommutative Schwarzschild black hole space–times. In comparison to the commutative Schwarzschild black hole, the numerical results show that the oscillation frequencies and magnitude of the imaginary part of the Dirac quasi-normal modes will increase. However, it is found that the influence of the space–time noncommutative parameter on the Dirac quasi-normal modes is tiny and negligible.
The renormalization group and the effective potential in the Wess–Zumino model
Authors: McKeon D.G.C.
Published: September 2018

We consider the effective potential V in the massless Wess–Zumino model. By using the renormalization group equation, we show that the explicit and implicit dependence of V on the renormalization mass scale μ cancels. If V has an extremum at some non-vanishing value of the background field, then it follows that V is “flat”, independent of the background field. This is consistent with the general requirement that V be convex. The consequences for supersymmetric gauge theories are briefly considered.
Small to large-scale patterns of ground-dwelling spider (Araneae) diversity across northern Canada
Authors: Loboda Sarah , Buddle Christopher M.
Published: September 2018

We examined how Arctic spider (Araneae) biodiversity is distributed at multiple spatial scales in northern Canada using a standardized hierarchical sampling design. We investigated which drivers, environmental or spatial, influence the patterns observed. Spatial patterns of Arctic spider species richness and composition were assessed in 12 sites located in arctic, subarctic, and north boreal ecoclimatic regions, spanning 30 degrees of latitude and 80 degrees of longitude. Variation in diversity was partitioned in relation to multiple environmental and spatial drivers of diversity patterns. Over 23 000 adult spiders, representing 306 species in 14 families, were collected in northern Canada, with 107 species (35% of the total species collected) representing new territorial or provincial records. Spider diversity was structured at the regional scale across ecoclimatic regions but was not structured with latitude. Longitudinal patterns of spider diversity across Canada may be explained by post-glacial dispersal. At local scales, diversity was non-randomly distributed and possibly limited by biotic interactions. We recommend the use of ecoclimatic regions as a framework for conservation of biodiversity in northern Canada and spiders as useful bioindicators that can help us understand the effects of climate change across ecoclimatic regions of northern Canada.
Frölicher–Nijenhuis cohomology on G2- and Spin(7)-manifolds
Authors: Kawai Kotaro , Lê Hông Vân , Schwachhöfer Lorenz
Published: September 2018

In this paper, we show that a parallel differential form [Formula: see text] of even degree on a Riemannian manifold allows to define a natural differential both on [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], defined via the Frölicher–Nijenhuis bracket. For instance, on a Kähler manifold, these operators are the complex differential and the Dolbeault differential, respectively. We investigate this construction when taking the differential with respect to the canonical parallel [Formula: see text]-form on a [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]-manifold, respectively. We calculate the cohomology groups of [Formula: see text] and give a partial description of the cohomology of [Formula: see text].
Modeling the effects of entry restriction on crowd dynamics for dual-exit bottleneck
Authors: Zhuang Yifan , Schadschneider Andreas , Yang Lizhong , Fu Zhijian , Zhao Daoliang
Published: September 2018

It is essential to model the crowd movement considering complex building structures coupling different psychological perceptions. To model the interaction between individual perception and surroundings, a perception floor field cellular automata (PFFCA) is proposed in this paper. Here, the forerunners imitation behavior is introduced into the traditional FFCA to explore the influence of motion similarity (MS) perception of dual-exit bottleneck on passing efficiency. It is found that the MS perception works effectively when pedestrians move toward dual exits. The simulation shows that the entry restriction (i.e. partition fence) shortens the average passing time by forming a “transition area”. The phase transitions of specific outflow and crowd density under different fence lengths are investigated, to examine the effectiveness of partition fences in facilitating the usage efficiency of varying exits. The simulation is in accordance with a recent observation. These conclusions are summarized by a comprehensive assessment, which is applicable for practical improvement of dual-exit bottleneck.
Green’s functions for higher order nonlinear equations
Authors: Frasca Marco , Khurshudyan Asatur Zh.
Published: September 2018

The well-known Green’s function method has been recently generalized to nonlinear second-order differential equations. In this paper, we study possibilities of exact Green’s function solutions of nonlinear differential equations of higher order. We show that, if the nonlinear term satisfies a generalized homogeneity property, then the nonlinear Green’s function can be represented in terms of the homogeneous solution. Specific examples and a numerical analysis support the advantage of the method. We show how, for the Bousinesq and Kortweg–de Vries equations, we are forced to introduce higher order Green’s functions to obtain the solution to the inhomogeneous equation. The method proves to work also in this case supporting our generalization that yields a closed form solution to a large class of nonlinear differential equations, providing also a formula easily amenable to numerical evaluation.
Gene multifunctionality scoring using gene ontology
Authors: Al-Mubaid Hisham
Published: September 2018

Multifunctional genes are important genes because of their essential roles in human cells. Studying and analyzing multifunctional genes can help understand disease mechanisms and drug discovery. We propose a computational method for scoring gene multifunctionality based on functional annotations of the target gene from the Gene Ontology. The method is based on identifying pairs of GO annotations that represent semantically different biological functions and any gene annotated with two annotations from one pair is considered multifunctional. The proposed method can be employed to identify multifunctional genes in the entire human genome using solely the GO annotations. We evaluated the proposed method in scoring multifunctionality of all human genes using four criteria: gene-disease associations; protein–protein interactions; gene studies with PubMed publications; and published known multifunctional gene sets. The evaluation results confirm the validity and reliability of the proposed method for identifying multifunctional human genes. The results across all four evaluation criteria were statistically significant in determining multifunctionality. For example, the method confirmed that multifunctional genes tend to be associated with diseases more than other genes, with significance [Formula: see text]. Moreover, consistent with all previous studies, proteins encoded by multifunctional genes, based on our method, are involved in protein–protein interactions significantly more ([Formula: see text]) than other proteins.
A systematic exploration of ΔΔG cutoff ranges in machine learning models for protein mutation stability prediction
Authors: Olney Richard , Tuor Aaron , Jagodzinski Filip , Hutchinson Brian
Published: September 2018

Discerning how a mutation affects the stability of a protein is central to the study of a wide range of diseases. Mutagenesis experiments on physical proteins provide precise insights about the effects of amino acid substitutions, but such studies are time and cost prohibitive. Computational approaches for informing experimentalists where to allocate wet-lab resources are available, including a variety of machine learning models. Assessing the accuracy of machine learning models for predicting the effects of mutations is dependent on experiments for amino acid substitutions performed in vitro. When similar experiments on physical proteins have been performed by multiple laboratories, the use of the data near the juncture of stabilizing and destabilizing mutations is questionable. In this work, we explore a systematic and principled alternative to discarding experimental data close to the juncture of stabilizing and destabilizing mutations. We model the inconclusive range of experimental [Formula: see text] values via 3- and 5-way classifiers, and systematically explore potential boundaries for the range of inconclusive experimental values. We demonstrate the effectiveness of potential boundaries through confusion matrices and heat map visualizations. We explore two novel metrics for assessing viable cutoff ranges, and find that under these metrics, a lower cutoff near [Formula: see text] and an upper cutoff near [Formula: see text] are optimal across multiple machine learning models.
Motif discovery in biological network using expansion tree
Authors: Patra Sabyasachi , Mohapatra Anjali
Published: September 2018

Networks are powerful representation of topological features in biological systems like protein interaction and gene regulation. In order to understand the design principles of such complex networks, the concept of network motifs emerged. Network motifs are recurrent patterns with statistical significance that can be seen as basic building blocks of complex networks. Identification of network motifs leads to many important applications, such as understanding the modularity and the large-scale structure of biological networks, classification of networks into super-families, protein function annotation, etc. However, identification of network motifs is challenging as it involves graph isomorphism which is computationally hard. Though this problem has been studied extensively in the literature using different computational approaches, we are far from satisfactory results. Motivated by the challenges involved in this field, an efficient and scalable network Motif Discovery algorithm based on Expansion Tree (MODET) is proposed. Pattern growth approach is used in this proposed motif-centric algorithm. Each node of the expansion tree represents a non-isomorphic pattern. The embeddings corresponding to a child node of the expansion tree are obtained from the embeddings of the parent node through vertex addition and edge addition. Further, the proposed algorithm does not involve any graph isomorphism check and the time complexities of these processes are [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively. The proposed algorithm has been tested on Protein–Protein Interaction (PPI) network obtained from the MINT database. The computational efficiency of the proposed algorithm outperforms most of the existing network motif discovery algorithms.
Protolith lithostratigraphy of the Greater Himalayan Series in Langtang, Nepal: implications for the architecture of the northern Indian margin
Authors: Dyck Brendan , St-Onge Marc , Searle Michael P. , Rayner Nicole , Waters David , Weller Owen M.
Published: September 2018

Reconstruction of the protolith lithostratigraphy of amphibolite-facies metasedimentary rocks of the Greater Himalayan Series (GHS) in Nepal documents a single, long-lived passive-margin succession that was deposited along the northern margin of the Indian Craton. In the Langtang area, Paleoproterozoic gneisses are unconformably overlain by a succession of upper Neoproterozoic–Ordovician fluvio-deltaic quartzite, basinal pelite and psammitic beds that grade upsection into micaceous semipelite and pelite. U–Pb zircon geochronology yields maximum depositional ages between
c.
815 and 460 Ma for the GHS in Langtang. Regional variations in the composition and thickness of the GHS along the length of the Himalaya are attributed to siliciclastic depocentres centred on Zanskar in northern India, Langtang and Everest in central to western Nepal, which contrast with coeval marine carbonate shelf deposition in the Annapurna region. The protolith lithostratigraphy documented for Langtang provides a coherent framework for interpreting subsequent Cenozoic Himalayan deformation, specifically the homogeneously distributed layer-normal shortening (i.e. flattening) and layer-parallel stretching (i.e. transport-parallel stretching) that characterizes the GHS. Within the context of a single protracted northern Indian marginal sedimentary succession, the distinction between the Lesser, Greater and Tethyan Himalaya is structural rather than lithostratigraphic in origin.