bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The concept of compassion within UK media‐generated discourse: A corpus‐informed analysis
Authors: Bond Carmel , Stacey Gemma , Field‐Richards Sarah , Callaghan Patrick , Keeley Philip , Lymn Joanne , Redsell Sarah , Spiby Helen
Published: April 2018

Aims and objectives

To examine how the concept of compassion is socially constructed within UK discourse, in response to recommendations that aspiring nurses gain care experience prior to entering nurse education.

Background

Following a report of significant failings in care, the UK government proposed prior care experience for aspiring nurses as a strategy to enhance compassion amongst the profession. Media reporting of this generated substantial online discussion, which formed the data for this research. There is a need to define how compassion is constructed through language as a limited understanding exists, of what compassion means in health care. This is important, for any meaningful evaluation of quality, compassionate practices.

Design

A corpus‐informed discourse analysis.

Methods

A 62,626‐word corpus of data was analysed using Laurence Anthony software “AntCon”, a free corpus analysis toolkit. Frequent words were retrieved and used as a focal point for further analysis. Concordance lines were computed and analysed in the context of which frequent word‐types occurred. Patterns of language were revealed and interpreted through researcher immersion.

Results

Findings identified that compassion was frequently described in various ways as a natural characteristic attribute. A pattern of language also referred to compassion as something that was not able to be taught, but could be developed through the repetition of behaviours observed in practice learning. In the context of compassion, the word‐type “nurse” was used positively.

Conclusion

This study adds to important debates highlighting how compassion is constructed and defined in the context of nursing. Compassion is constructed as both an individual, personal trait and a professional behaviour to be learnt. Educational design could include effective interpersonal skills training, which may help enhance and develop compassion from within the nursing profession. Likewise, ways of thinking, behaving and communicating should also be addressed by established practitioners to maintain compassionate interactions between professionals as well as nurse–patient relationships. Future research should focus on how compassionate practice is defined by both health professionals and patients.

Relevance to clinical practice

To maintain nursing as an attractive profession to join, it is important that nurses are viewed as compassionate. This holds implications for professional morale, associated with the continued retention and recruitment of the future workforce. Existing ideologies within the practice placement, the prior care experience environment, as well as the educational and organisational design, are crucial factors to consider, in terms of their influences on the expression of compassion in practice.
A qualitative approach exploring the experiences of smoking and quitting attempts in type 1 diabetes
Authors: Abu Ghazaleh Haya , Mulnier Henrietta , Duaso Maria
Published: April 2018

Aims and objectives

To explore the experiences of smoking and quitting attempts in people with type 1 diabetes, including their perceptions of existing services for smoking cessation.

Background

In the UK, approximately a fifth of the population with type 1 diabetes smoke and despite the adverse effects of smoking, these individuals continue with their smoking habits. There is limited information on the barriers and facilitators to quitting smoking in people with type 1 diabetes.

Methods: This study adopted a qualitative study design using semi‐structured individual interviews guided by PRIME theory. Participants (n = 12) were purposively sampled and recruited from two diabetes outpatient clinics in London (UK). Audio‐recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the Framework method.

Results

Most smokers with type 1 diabetes reported lack of motivation to stop smoking due to the addictive nature of cigarettes. Further barriers to quitting included self‐image and habits associated with smoking, such as social activities. Generally, most reported limited awareness about the risks associated with smoking and diabetes. Moreover, the perceived negative attitude towards nicotine replacement therapy and pharmacotherapy impeded their willingness to alter their smoking habits. Nonetheless, these patients suggested that informative guidance from medical professionals and strategies to tackle cravings related to nicotine as helpful approaches to improve quitting attempts.

Conclusion

Internal and external factors influence quitting attempts among smokers with type 1 diabetes, with particular emphasis on self‐image and societal norms. It is evident that existing strategies for smoking cessation recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have either not been implemented or not well received by people with type 1 diabetes.

Relevance to clinical practice

Strategies and resources, such as staff training, to increase delivery of smoking cessation support to patients with diabetes are needed.
Turning a Blind Eye? Punishment of Friends and Unfamiliar Peers After Observed Exclusion in Adolescence
Authors: Spaans Jochem Pieter , Will Geert‐Jan , van Hoorn Jorien , Güroğlu Berna
Published: April 2018

In order to decrease the occurrence of social exclusion in adolescence, we need to better understand how adolescents perceive and behave toward peers involved in exclusion. We examined the role of friendships in treatment of perpetrators and victims of social exclusion. Eighty‐nine participants (aged 9–16) observed exclusion of an unfamiliar peer (victim) by their best friend and another unfamiliar peer. Subsequently, participants could give up valuable coins to altruistically punish or help peers. Results showed that participants altruistically compensated victims and punished unfamiliar excluders, but refrained from punishing their friends. Our findings show that friendship with excluders modulates altruistic punishment of peers and provide mechanistic insight into how friendships may influence treatment of peers involved in social exclusion during adolescence.
Does the demand regime matter over the medium run? Revisiting distributional issues in a portfolio framework under different exchange rate regimes
Authors: Razmi Arslan
Published: April 2018

Is demand in capitalist economies wage‐led or profit‐led, and does this matter over time? Empirical studies have found conflicting results for different countries and periods. Possible reasons may include the endogeneity of distributional shares, differences in the monetary policy/exchange rate regimes across countries, and divergence between macro behavior in the short‐ and medium‐runs. I theoretically explore these possibilities using a portfolio balance framework to keep track of asset stocks and wealth effects over time. With fixed exchange rates, the Central Bank's need to intervene in the asset market via official reserve transactions results in assigning a crucial role to the current account in constraining demand and output. The binding nature of this constraint vanishes with flexible exchange rates. Regardless of the exchange rate regime, the most important message that emerges is that, once we impose plausible constraints on dynamic behavior, the demand regime may cease to determine the effect of redistribution on the steady state levels of utilization, profit rates, capital and wealth.
Soil environment is a key driver of adaptation in Medicago truncatula: new insights from landscape genomics
Authors: Guerrero Jimena , Andrello Marco , Burgarella Concetta , Manel Stephanie
Published: April 2018

Spatial differences in environmental selective pressures interact with the genomes of organisms, ultimately leading to local adaptation. Landscape genomics is an emergent research area that uncovers genome–environment associations, thus allowing researchers to identify candidate loci for adaptation to specific environmental variables.

In the present study, we used latent factor mixed models (LFMMs) and Moran spectral outlier detection/randomization (MSOD‐MSR) to identify candidate loci for adaptation to 10 environmental variables (climatic, soil and atmospheric) among 43 515 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 202 accessions of the model legume Medicago truncatula.

Soil variables were associated with a large number of candidate loci identified through both LFMMs and MSOD‐MSR. Genes tagged by candidate loci associated with drought and salinity are involved in the response to biotic and abiotic stresses, while those tagged by candidates associated with soil nitrogen and atmospheric nitrogen, participate in the legume‐rhizobia symbiosis. Candidate SNPs identified through both LFMMs and MSOD‐MSR explained up to 56% of variance in flowering traits.

Our findings highlight the importance of soil in driving adaptation in the system and elucidate the basis of evolutionary potential of M. truncatula to respond to global climate change and anthropogenic disruption of the nitrogen cycle.
An overview of plant division‐plane orientation
Authors: Rasmussen Carolyn G. , Bellinger Marschal
Published: April 2018

Contents

Summary
505

I.
Introduction
505

II.
Models of plant cell division
505

III.
Establishing the division plane
506

IV.
Maintaining the division plane during mitosis and cytokinesis
509

Acknowledgements
510

References
510

Plants, a significant source of planet‐wide biomass, have an unique type of cell division in which a new cell wall is constructed de novo inside the cell and guided towards the cell edge to complete division. The elegant control over positioning this new cell wall is essential for proper patterning and development. Plant cells, lacking migration, tightly coordinate division orientation and directed expansion to generate organized shapes. Several emerging lines of evidence suggest that the proteins required for division‐plane establishment are distinct from those required for division‐plane maintenance. We discuss recent shape‐based computational models and mutant analyses that raise questions about, and identify unexpected connections between, the roles of well‐known proteins and structures during division‐plane orientation.
Four Decades of the Economics of Happiness: Where Next?
Authors: Clark Andrew E.
Published: April 2018

There has been explosive growth in the analysis of subjective well‐being in Economics over the past 40 years. This article reviews some of this growth, and suggests a number of domains in which future research may proceed.
Exiting from Fragility in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The Role of Fiscal Policies and Fiscal Institutions
Authors: Deléchat Corinne , Fuli Ejona , Mulaj Dafina , Ramirez Gustavo , Xu Rui
Published: April 2018

This paper studies the role of fiscal policies and institutions in building resilience in sub‐Saharan African countries, focussing on 26 countries that were deemed fragile in the 1990s. We use a probabilistic framework together with GMM estimation to address endogeneity and reverse causality. We find that fiscal institutions and fiscal space, namely the capacity to raise tax revenue and contain current spending, as well as the quality of public expenditure, are significantly and robustly associated with building resilience. Similar conclusions arise from a qualitative study of 7 sub‐Saharan African countries in the sample that built resilience since the 1990s.
Revisiting mediated activism
Authors: Waisbord Silvio
Published: April 2018

In this paper, my interest is to map out central arguments in recent studies of mediated activism, identify blindspots, and call for a sociological approach to link the study of media activism to a broad conception of social change. On a subject that brings together various disciplines and fields of inquiry, a sociological sensitivity to multiple forms of media activism and social change is necessary to understand not only what activists do with media but also the contributions of mediated activism to collective action and social change.
Post‐conflict police reconstruction:Major trends and developments
Authors: Wozniak Jesse S.G.
Published: April 2018

Scholars have established effective and impartial policing regimes that are central to the development and maintenance of democratic states, especially in post‐conflict scenarios as the international community attempts to rebuild nations in the wake of dictatorial rule. Yet despite how common such efforts are, there remain serious gaps in the academic literature regarding this central aspect of state reconstruction. Recognizing that the model which is most commonly employed in practiced is woefully insufficient, scholars have begun to coalesce around a newer, more reflexive approach toward police reconstruction which more seriously grapples with the many political, economic, and social questions inherent to such efforts. However, despite this growth of the field, there remain significant gaps in the literature, especially around personnel recruitment and resource allocation. This article offers an explanation of these two models of post‐conflict police reconstruction, while explicating the remaining gaps in our collective knowledge.
Gender differences in the fluorescence of human skin in young healthy adults
Authors: Morvová M. , Jeczko P. , Šikurová L.
Published: April 2018

Background

Human skin naturally contains many endogenous fluorophores; therefore, fluorescence techniques can be used for monitoring of the human skin even in in vivo mode. The aim of this work was to study skin autofluorescence in vivo regarding the possible effect of gender.

Materials and Methods

Fluorescence emission spectra of young healthy Caucasian adults in 3 anatomical regions (forehead, hand, and inner upper arm) were taken with excitation at 280, 325, or 400 nm.

Results

Three emission bands were found in the spectra for both men and women: (1) an intensive band peaked at 340/280 nm (peak emission/excitation wavelength), corresponding to aromatic amino acids of proteins in epidermis; (2) a broad band with emission between 360 nm and 480 nm (excitation 325 nm) with a base peak around 390 nm and 2 side peaks at 420 and 450 nm, mainly due to collagen cross‐links in dermis with a possible weak contribution of elastin and mitochondrial NADPH; (3) a weak but distinct peak at 600/400 nm corresponding presumably to skin unmetalled porphyrins.

Conclusion

The intensity of skin autofluorescence showed differences between genders and among anatomical regions. The 340 nm intensity was 1.4 times higher in the male group in all 3 anatomical regions studied. The highest intensity of skin autofluorescence for the peaks at 340/280 nm and 600/400 nm was found on the forehead, whereas the 390/325 nm band was most intensive on the inner upper arm in both genders.
Comparisons of NF3 plasma-cleaned Y2O3, YOF, and YF3 chamber coatings during silicon etching in Cl2 plasmas
Authors: Ma Tianyu , List Tyler , Donnelly Vincent M.
Published: April 2018

Optical emission spectroscopy was used to investigate the effect of Y2O3, YOF, and YF3 chamber wall coatings on the relative number densities of gaseous species during etching of Si in Cl2/Ar inductively coupled plasmas. Etching plasmas were alternated with NF3/Ar plasma chamber-cleaning steps. Small differences were found for the three materials. Si-to-Cl emission ratios were similar for Y2O3 and YOF, and somewhat larger for YF3. SiClx=1–3 emissions were similar for the Y2O3 and YOF-coated liners, but significantly less stable with time for YF3. Compared with Cl2/Ar plasmas, Cl2/O2/Ar plasmas produced nearly time-independent and much more consistent Cl number densities during etching. This takes place despite a consistent upward drift in SiClx=0–3 emissions for all three materials. A conditioning procedure for the YOF coating was shown to reduce drift during Si etching in Cl2 plasmas. Specifically, a Cl2/O2/Ar plasma pretreatment was briefly operated with substrate bias, generating SiClx etching products that rapidly remove F from the liner surface. When the O2 flow was extinguished, etching continued with much less changes in Cl and SiClx relative number densities.
Hydrogel microenvironments for cancer spheroid growth and drug screening
Authors: Li Yunfeng , Kumacheva Eugenia
Published: April 2018

Man-made biomimetic hydrogels with tunable biophysical and biochemical properties can support the growth of microtumors.
Data trove helps pin down the shape of the Milky Way
Authors: Clery Daniel
Published: April 2018

Europe's Gaia satellite reveals motions for 1.3 billion stars.
Is genome-guided cancer treatment hyped?
Authors: Kaiser Jocelyn
Published: April 2018

New tailored therapies can work wonders, but the pace of development is slow.
Peace dividend
Authors: Wade Lizzie
Published: April 2018

Colombian scientists race to study once-forbidden territory before it is lost to development—or new conflict.
Spatially distributed multipartite entanglement enables EPR steering of atomic clouds
Authors: Kunkel Philipp , Prüfer Maximilian , Strobel Helmut , Linnemann Daniel , Frölian Anika , Gasenzer Thomas , Gärttner Martin , Oberthaler Markus K.
Published: April 2018

Splitting the entanglement

When particles in a quantum mechanical system are entangled, a measurement performed on one part of the system can affect the results of the same type of measurement performed on another part—even if these subsystems are physically separated. Kunkel
et al.
, Fadel
et al.
, and Lange
et al.
achieved this so-called distributed entanglement in a particularly challenging setting: an ensemble of many cold atoms (see the Perspective by Cavalcanti). In all three studies, the entanglement was first created within an atomic cloud, which was then allowed to expand. Local measurements on the different, spatially separated parts of the cloud confirmed that the entanglement survived the expansion.

Science
, this issue p.
413
, p.
409
, p.
416
; see also p.
376
Evidence for opportunity
Authors: Feuer Michael J.
Published: April 2018

“Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.” So concluded a 1968 report by the Kerner Commission, established by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the race riots of 1967. Not only did the report shine a spotlight on America's unfulfilled promises, it spurred action by politicians and policy-makers. Fifty years later, it is fair—and necessary—to ask if anything has changed.
Healing Our Divided Society
, the 2018 sequel to the Kerner report, argues sadly that gains of the 1970s and early 1980s are evaporating or reversing. But, noting the role of empirical evidence in bolstering past reforms, the new report suggests hopefully that “the quantity and sophistication of scientific information available today far exceeds what was available [in 1968].”
Correspondence between retinotopic cortical mapping and conventional functional and morphological assessment of retinal disease
Authors: Ritter Markus , Hummer Allan , Ledolter Anna A , Holder Graham E , Windischberger Christian , Schmidt-Erfurth Ursula M
Published: April 2018

Purpose

The present study describes retinotopic mapping of the primary visual cortex using functional MRI (fMRI) in patients with retinal disease. It addresses the relationship between fMRI data and data obtained by conventional assessment including microperimetry (MP) and structural imaging.

Methods

Initial testing involved eight patients with central retinal disease (Stargardt disease, STGD) and eight with peripheral retinal disease (retinitis pigmentosa, RP), who were examined using fMRI and MP (Nidek MP-1). All had a secure clinical diagnosis supported by electrophysiological data. fMRI used population-receptive field (pRF) mapping to provide retinotopic data that were then compared with the results of MP, optical coherence tomography and fundus autofluorescence imaging.

Results

Full analysis, following assessment of fMRI data reliability criteria, was performed in five patients with STGD and seven patients with RP; unstable fixation was responsible for unreliable pRF measurements in three patients excluded from final analysis. The macular regions in patients with STGD with central visual field defects and outer retinal atrophy (ORA) at the macula correlated well with pRF coverage maps showing reduced density of activated voxels at the occipital pole. Patients with RP exhibited peripheral ORA and concentric visual field defects both on MP and pRF mapping. Anterior V1 voxels, corresponding to peripheral regions, showed no significant activation. Correspondence between MP and pRF mapping was quantified by calculating the simple matching coefficient.

Conclusion

Retinotopic maps acquired by fMRI provide a valuable adjunct in the assessment of retinal dysfunction. The addition of microperimetric data to pRF maps allowed better assessment of macular function than MP alone. Unlike MP, pRF mapping provides objective data independent of psychophysical perception from the patient.
Prevalence and determinants of terminated and unintended pregnancies among married women: analysis of pooled cross-sectional surveys in Nigeria
Authors: Yaya Sanni , Amouzou Agbessi , Uthman Olalekan A , Ekholuenetale Michael , Bishwajit Ghose , Udenigwe Ogochukwu , Hudani Alzahra , Shah Vaibhav
Published: April 2018

Background

Induced pregnancy termination and unintended pregnancy are two commonly occurring phenomena in the discipline of women’s reproductive health. In the present study, we explored cross-sectional data pooled from three rounds of Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) to understand the trends of prevalence of pregnancy termination and unintended pregnancy as well as the interplay of various sociodemographic and economic factors whereby these health issues occur.

Methods

Study participants were 79 825 currently married women aged 15–49 years. Data were collected from NDHS conducted in 2003, 2008 and 2013. Outcome variables were self-reported history of pregnancy termination and unintended pregnancy for the last birth. Data were analysed using descriptive and multivariable logistic regression methods.

Results

Mean (±SD) age of the respondents was 28.7 years (±9.6). The overall prevalence of pregnancy termination and unintended pregnancy were about 11%. Older women had increase in the odds of terminated pregnancies, compared with women aged 15–19 years, while the converse was true for unintended pregnancy in the adjusted model. Educated women had significant higher odds of terminated and unintended pregnancies compared with women with no formal education. Women with higher wealth index were more likely to have unintended and terminated pregnancies after adjusting for other covariates. Remarkably, women who had unintended pregnancy were 1.47 times as likely to have terminated pregnancy compared with those who had no unintended pregnancy (OR=1.47; 95% CI 1.30 to 1.65). Experience of intimate partner violence had significant association with terminated and unintended pregnancies.

Conclusion

The findings of this study showed that unintended and terminated pregnancies remain part of the issues to be addressed if the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages must be met. Stakeholders in Nigerian healthcare system should protect the lives of women who are vulnerable to the fatal consequences of unsafe abortion, especially in cases of rape, sexual assault, incest and where continuing a pregnancy would endanger the lives of women.
Are sweet snacks more sensitive to price increases than sugar-sweetened beverages: analysis of British food purchase data
Authors: Smith Richard D , Cornelsen Laura , Quirmbach Diana , Jebb Susan A , Marteau Theresa M
Published: April 2018

Objectives

Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is now advocated, and implemented, in many countries as a measure to reduce the purchase and consumption of sugar to tackle obesity. To date, there has been little consideration of the potential impact that such a measure could have if extended to other sweet foods, such as confectionery, cakes and biscuits that contribute more sugar to the diet than SSBs. The objective of this study is to compare changes in the demand for sweet snacks and SSBs arising from potential price increases.

Setting

Secondary data on household itemised purchases of all foods and beverages from 2012 to 2013.

Participants

Representative sample of 32 249 households in Great Britain.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Change in food and beverage purchases due to changes in their own price and the price of other foods or beverages measured as price elasticity of demand for the full sample and by income groups.

Results

Chocolate and confectionery, cakes and biscuits have similar price sensitivity as SSBs, across all income groups. Unlike the case of SSBs, price increases in these categories are also likely to prompt reductions in the purchase of other sweet snacks and SSBs, which magnify the overall impact. The effects of price increases are greatest in the low-income group.

Conclusions

Policies that lead to increases in the price of chocolate and confectionery, cakes and biscuits may lead to additional and greater health gains than similar increases in the price of SSBs through direct reductions in the purchases of these foods and possible positive multiplier effects that reduce demand for other products. Although some uncertainty remains, the associations found in this analysis are sufficiently robust to suggest that policies—and research—concerning the use of fiscal measures should consider a broader range of products than is currently the case.
Thinking clearly about the FIRST trial: addressing ethical challenges in cluster randomised trials of policy interventions involving health providers
Authors: Horn Austin R , Weijer Charles , Hey Spencer Phillips , Brehaut Jamie , Fergusson Dean A , Goldstein Cory E , Grimshaw Jeremy , Taljaard Monica
Published: April 2018

The ethics of the Flexibility In duty hour Requirements for Surgical Trainees (FIRST) trial have been vehemently debated. Views on the ethics of the FIRST trial range from it being completely unethical to wholly unproblematic. The FIRST trial illustrates the complex ethical challenges posed by cluster randomised trials (CRTs) of policy interventions involving healthcare professionals. In what follows, we have three objectives. First, we critically review the FIRST trial controversy, finding that commentators have failed to sufficiently identify and address many of the relevant ethical issues. The 2012 Ottawa Statement on the Ethical Design and Conduct of Cluster Randomized Trials provides researchers and research ethics committees with specific guidance for the ethical design and conduct of CRTs. Second, we aim to demonstrate how the Ottawa Statement provides much-needed clarity to the ethical issues in the FIRST trial, including: research participant identification; consent requirements; gatekeeper roles; benefit-harm analysis and identification of vulnerable participants. We nonetheless also find that the FIRST trial raises ethical issues not adequately addressed by the Ottawa Statement. Hence, third and finally, we raise important questions requiring further ethical analysis and guidance, including: Does clinical equipoise apply to policy interventions with little or no evidence-base? Do healthcare providers have an obligation to participate in research? Does the power-differential in certain healthcare settings render healthcare providers vulnerable to duress and coercion to participant in research? If so, what safeguards might be implemented to protect providers, while allowing important research to proceed?
Preliminary assessment of cognitive impairments in canine idiopathic epilepsy
Authors: Winter Joshua , Packer Rowena Mary Anne , Volk Holger Andreas
Published: April 2018

In humans, epilepsy can induce or accelerate cognitive impairment (CI). There is emerging evidence of CI in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (IE) from recent epidemiological studies. The aim of our study was to assess CI in dogs with IE using two tests of cognitive dysfunction designed for use in a clinical setting. Dogs with IE (n=17) were compared against controls (n=18) in their performance in two tasks; a spatial working memory task and a problem‐solving task. In addition, owners completed the Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Rating (CCDR) scale for their dog. The groups did not differ statistically with respect to age and breed. Dogs with IE performed significantly worse than controls on the spatial working memory task (P=0.016), but not on the problem solving task (P=0.683). CCDR scores were significantly higher in the IE group (P=0.016); however, no dogs reach the recommended threshold score for CCD diagnosis. Our preliminary data suggest that dogs with IE exhibit impairments in a spatial working memory task. Further research is required to explore the effect of IE on other cognitive abilities in dogs with a larger sample, characterising the age of onset, nature and progression of any impairments and the impact of anti‐epileptic drugs.
Quantification of uncertainty associated with wind assessments of various intervals
Authors: Aldeman Matthew R. , Jo Jin Ho , Loomis David G.
Published: April 2018

Wind resource assessment is critically important to wind energy developers and financiers because it provides a means of predicting the output of a future wind energy project. While wind assessment periods commonly range from one to several years, this is typically based on experience and industry norms. In this investigation, we perform a detailed analysis of the error that can be expected to be present in a wind resource assessment of various lengths of time. The results show the nature of how the error in the wind resource assessment decreases as the length of time increases. As the wind assessment period increases, the error distribution curves converge toward zero. Simultaneously, the standard deviation of the error distributions decreases, and the magnitude of the maximum experimentally-obtained error decreases. By understanding how the wind resource assessment uncertainty decreases with increasing assessment period time interval, the length of the assessment period can be tailored to match a developer’s risk tolerance in a given situation.
Predicting the Severity of Bug Reports Based on Feature Selection
Authors: Liu Wenjie , Wang Shanshan , Chen Xin , Jiang He
Published: April 2018

In software maintenance process, it is a fairly important activity to predict the severity of bug reports. However, manually identifying the severity of bug reports is a tedious and time-consuming task. So developing automatic judgment methods for predicting the severity of bug reports has become an urgent demand. In general, a bug report contains a lot of descriptive natural language texts, thus resulting in a high-dimensional feature set which poses serious challenges to traditionally automatic methods. Therefore, we attempt to use automatic feature selection methods to improve the performance of the severity prediction of bug reports. In this paper, we introduce a ranking-based strategy to improve existing feature selection algorithms and propose an ensemble feature selection algorithm by combining existing ones. In order to verify the performance of our method, we run experiments over the bug reports of Eclipse and Mozilla and conduct comparisons with eight commonly used feature selection methods. The experiment results show that the ranking-based strategy can effectively improve the performance of the severity prediction of bug reports by up to 54.76% on average in terms of [Formula: see text]-measure, and it also can significantly reduce the dimension of the feature set. Meanwhile, the ensemble feature selection method can get better results than a single feature selection algorithm.
NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF FRACTIONAL HIV MODEL USING ELZAKI PROJECTED DIFFERENTIAL TRANSFORM METHOD
Authors: SULEMAN MUHAMMAD , LU DIANCHEN , HE JI HUAN , FAROOQ UMER , HUI YE SHENG , RAHMAN JAMSHAID UL
Published: April 2018

In this paper, Elzaki projected differential transform method (EPDTM) is applied to approximate the solution of fractional-order model of HIV infection of CD4[Formula: see text]T-cells that comprise a system of fractional differential equations (FDEs). By approximating the solution of this system, the unknown parameters of the original fractional HIV model are adjusted. Numerical results demonstrate that this method is simple and precise when applied to a system of FDEs.
A transfer learning approach via procrustes analysis and mean shift for cancer drug sensitivity prediction
Authors: Turki Turki , Wei Zhi , Wang Jason T. L.
Published: April 2018

Transfer learning (TL) algorithms aim to improve the prediction performance in a target task (e.g. the prediction of cisplatin sensitivity in triple-negative breast cancer patients) via transferring knowledge from auxiliary data of a related task (e.g. the prediction of docetaxel sensitivity in breast cancer patients), where the distribution and even the feature space of the data pertaining to the tasks can be different. In real-world applications, we sometimes have a limited training set in a target task while we have auxiliary data from a related task. To obtain a better prediction performance in the target task, supervised learning requires a sufficiently large training set in the target task to perform well in predicting future test examples of the target task. In this paper, we propose a TL approach for cancer drug sensitivity prediction, where our approach combines three techniques. First, we shift the representation of a subset of examples from auxiliary data of a related task to a representation closer to a target training set of a target task. Second, we align the shifted representation of the selected examples of the auxiliary data to the target training set to obtain examples with representation aligned to the target training set. Third, we train machine learning algorithms using both the target training set and the aligned examples. We evaluate the performance of our approach against baseline approaches using the Area Under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) Curve (AUC) on real clinical trial datasets pertaining to multiple myeloma, nonsmall cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and breast cancer. Experimental results show that our approach is better than the baseline approaches in terms of performance and statistical significance.
New Theoretical Perspectives in Behavioral IS Security Research
Authors: Stafford Tom
Published: April 2018

As we come to press with this fifth issue of the year, we have an exciting development. It is a special case, this issue; we normally have issues 1 through 4 for each volume, but we chose this year to issue number "SI" in addition to issues 1,2,3, and 4, in order to accommodate something very special. The grand joy of editing a journal is the ability to do something unusual and innovative occasionally. With Stacie's concurrence, that is what we did this time around. As you may know, I am a member of the Behavioral Information Security society that styles itself through the highly prestigious "IFIP Working Group 8.11/11.13 Dewald Roode Behavioral Information Security Workshop." This special workshop is an event that takes place each year among the most visible and prolific information security scholars in the world. And, having gained admittance to their august company not so long ago, I sought an opportunity for The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems to support and promote behavioral information security research through its presence at the meetings (by virtue of my membership, as an Editor). A couple of meetings ago, when the call for papers went out for the annual research competition that provides the manuscripts for the meeting, I sought permission to issue a joint call for papers on behavior for a special issue of The DATA BASE dedicated to "Theoretical Advances in Behavioral Information Security Research." To my vast delight, the colleagues assented, indicating they thought it was a good idea. (Caveat: what follows will gore several oxen. My apologies in advance, but what needs to be said will inevitably cross lines of mild political sensibility, in the greater service of Theoretical Advancement.)
The Organization Man and the Innovator
Authors: Wall Jeffrey D. , Singh Rahul
Published: April 2018

Behavioral information security research exhibits a preoccupation with security policy, bureaucratic control, and policy compliance and noncompliance. This preoccupation implicitly treats employees as the sociological archetype described by Whyte (1956), the Organization Man. In doing so, the literature has dedicated less time to the study of other archetypes. In this paper, we compare the Organization Man to the Innovator, an amalgam of the Bricoleur and Engineer archetypes identified by Levi-Strauss (1966). We posit that the Innovator archetype may be more prevalent during times of organizational strain and excess. We develop a theoretical framework to explain how situational factors, namely organizational strain and excess, affect individuals' risk perceptions and their willingness to adopt different archetypal personae (i.e., dispositional factors). The framework further suggests that each archetypal persona will behave differently to common security situations. Finally, the framework suggests that the organization's perceptions of employee behavior will provide a feedback loop that further affects the adoption of different archetypes.
The Critical Role of IL‐10 in the Antineuroinflammatory and Antioxidative Effects of Rheum tanguticum on Activated Microglia
Authors: Meng Jie , Ni Junjun , Wu Zhou , Jiang Muzhou , Zhu Aiqin , Qing Hong , Nakanishi Hiroshi
Published: April 2018

Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf. (Rt), a traditional Tibetan medicine, is known to exert various bioactivities, including anti‐inflammatory and antioxidative activities. The present study was conducted to investigate anti‐inflammatory and antioxidative effects of Rt on activated microglia. Rt (10 μg/ml) significantly inhibited the mean protein level of interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) in the organotypic hippocampal slice cultures following treatment with chromogranin A (CGA, 10 nM) and pancreastatin (10 nM), endogenous microglial activators present in senile plaques. Rt also significantly inhibited the expression and production of inflammatory and oxidative molecules, including IL‐1β, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and nitric oxide, by cultured microglia after treatment with CGA. These effects of Rt are considered to be mediated by the secretion of interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) from microglia, because neutralizing antibodies against IL‐10 significantly canceled these effects. To explore the causative components of Rt responsible for inducing the secretion of IL‐10, the effects of seven components of Rt on the IL‐10 expression in microglia were examined. Among them, aloe‐emodin (10 μM) and (+)‐catechin (30 μM) were able to induce the secretion of IL‐10 from cultured microglia. Therefore, aloe‐emodin and (+)‐catechin are deemed responsible for the antineuroinflammatory and antioxidative effects of Rt through the secretion of IL‐10 from microglia. Accordingly, Rt is considered potentially useful for the treatment of AD.
Resveratrol Inhibits ROS‐Promoted Activation and Glycolysis of Pancreatic Stellate Cells via Suppression of miR‐21
Authors: Yan Bin , Cheng Liang , Jiang Zhengdong , Chen Ke , Zhou Cancan , Sun Liankang , Cao Junyu , Qian Weikun , Li Jie , Shan Tao , Lei Jianjun , Ma Qingyong , Ma Jiguang
Published: April 2018

Activation of pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) initiates pancreatic fibrosis in chronic pancreatitis and furnishes a niche that enhances the malignancy of pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Resveratrol (RSV), a natural polyphenol, exhibits potent antioxidant and anticancer effects. However, whether and how RSV influences the biological properties of activated PSCs and the effects of these changes on tumor remain unknown. In the present study, we found that RSV impeded hydrogen peroxide‐driven reactive oxygen species‐ (ROS‐) induced activation, invasion, migration, and glycolysis of PSCs. In addition, miR‐21 expression in activated PSCs was downregulated after RSV treatment, whereas the PTEN protein level increased. miR‐21 silencing attenuated ROS‐induced activation, invasion, migration, and glycolysis of PSCs, whereas the overexpression of miR‐21 rescued the responses of PSCs treated with RSV. Moreover, RSV or N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine (NAC) administration or miR‐21 knockdown in PSCs reduced the invasion and migration of PCCs in coculture, and the effects of RSV were partly reversed by miR‐21 upregulation. Collectively, RSV inhibits PCC invasion and migration through suppression of ROS/miR‐21‐mediated activation and glycolysis in PSCs. Therefore, targeting miR‐21‐mediated glycolysis by RSV in tumor stroma may serve as a new strategy for clinical PDAC prevention or treatment.
Efficacy and Safety of Zhenyuan Capsule for Coronary Heart Disease with Abnormal Glucose and Lipid Metabolism: Study Protocol for a Randomized, Double‐Blind, Parallel‐Controlled, Multicenter Clinical Trial
Authors: Qiao Yu , Zhang Jingchun , Liu Yue , Liang Zhiqi , Wang Yuhua , Zheng Wei , Shi Dazhuo
Published: April 2018

Background. Coronary heart disease (CHD) and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism are closely associated and generally coexist. The Qi and Yin deficiency syndrome is a common disease pattern encountered in traditional Chinese medicine. We designed a protocol to determine the effectiveness and safety of Zhenyuan capsules for CHD with abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. Methods. This multicenter, randomized, double‐blind, parallel‐controlled trial was designed in accordance with the CONSORT. We will recruit 200 eligible male patients aged 45–75 years from three participating centers and randomly assign them to treatment and control groups (1 : 1). The primary indicators are glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, 2‐hour postprandial blood glucose, and triglyceride levels. The secondary indicators are the Seattle Angina Questionnaire, TCM symptom indicators, ultrasonic cardiography finding, coagulation indicator, and P‐selectin level. Measurements will be performed at baseline (T0), the end of the run‐in period (T1), and weeks 4 (T2), 8 (T3), and 12 (T4) of the treatment period. Adverse events will be monitored during the trial. Discussion. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Zhenyuan capsules in patients with CHD and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. The results will provide critical evidence of the usefulness of the Chinese herbal medicine for CHD with abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry, with identifier number ChiCTR-TRC-14004639, May 4, 2014.
Soil Drought and Vegetation Response during 2001–2015 in North China Based on GLDAS and MODIS Data
Authors: Yang Siyao , Meng Dan , Gong Huili , Li Xiaojuan , Wu Xinling
Published: April 2018

Drought is a natural disaster caused by long-term water deficit. Because the growth of crops and vegetation is closely related to soil moisture environment, it is of great significance to study the soil drought and vegetation response. In this paper, the soil moisture availability index (SMAI) was developed for quantifying soil drought conditions. The effectiveness and the ability of SMAI to recognize drought events were analyzed, while the vegetation condition index (VCI) was used to characterize the vegetation status. Temporal and spatial variations of soil drought and vegetation condition as well as the impacts of drought on vegetation in North China during 2001–2015 were comprehensively examined. We firstly concluded that SMAI related well with standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), and drought events can be detected by SMAI. Next, the mean value of SMAI in North China showed a decreasing trend in recent 15 years. Finally, the SMAI positively correlated with VCI in most areas of North China, and the response of four types of vegetation to SMAI differed over time. The results of SMAI on vegetation would assist drought research and application in North China.
Comparison of Radical Nephroureterectomy and Partial Ureterectomy for the Treatment of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma
Authors: Zhang Jianzhong , Yang Feiya , Wang Mingshuai , Niu Yinong , Chen Weicheng , Xing Nianzeng
Published: April 2018

This study aimed to compare the oncological and renal outcomes of partial ureterectomy (PU) versus radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). UTUC patients’ clinical information was reviewed, and progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and kidney function were collected. The mean follow-up period was 59 (6–135) months in the RNU group and 34.5 (5–135) months in the PU group. The mean operation time in the PU group was 141 (64–340) min, which is significantly shorter than the RNU group (P<0.01). Regarding kidney function at one year or two years after operation, the PU group had significantly improved mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) levels and a remarkably decreased constitution of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) III or higher group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in PFS and OS between the RNU group and the PU group (P>0.05). Multifactor Cox regression analysis indicated that age and the preoperative CKD stages were independent risk factors for poor kidney functions of UTUC patients. Compared to patients in RNU group, patients in PU have no significant difference in survival time but have shorter operation time, shorter hospital stay, and improved kidney functions.
Impact of Long-Acting Somatostatin Analogues on Glucose Metabolism in Acromegaly: A Hospital-Based Study
Authors: Shen Ming , Wang Meng , He Wenqiang , He Min , Qiao Nidan , Ma Zengyi , Ye Zhao , Zhang Qilin , Zhang Yichao , Yang Yeping , Cai Yanjiao , ABuDuoReYiMu Yakupujiang , Lu Yun , Lu Bin , Shou Xuefei , Wang Yongfei , Ye Hongying , Li Yiming , Li Shiqi , Zhao Yao , Cao Xiaoyun , Zhang Zhaoyun
Published: April 2018

Purpose. To evaluate the change in glucose tolerance in treatment-naïve patients with acromegaly after administration of SSA and to identify predictive factors of glucose impairment during SSA therapy. Methods. Oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) was performed on 64 newly diagnosed and treatment-naïve patients with acromegaly both at pretreatment and 3 months after initiation of treatment with long-acting SSA. Insulin resistance (IR) was assessed by homeostatic model assessment- (HOMA-) IR and ISOGTT. Insulin secretion was assessed by HOMA-β, INS0/BG0, IGI (insulinogenic index), IGI/IR, ISSI2, and AUCINS/AUCBG. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to determine the optimal cutoffs to predict the impact of SSA on glucose metabolism. Results. Pretreatment, 19, 24, and 21 patients were categorized as having normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and diabetes mellitus (DM), respectively. Posttreatment, IR, represented by ISOGTT, was significantly improved in all 3 groups. Insulin secretion, represented by HOMA-β, declined in the NGT and IGT groups, but was unaltered in the DM group. The glucose tolerance status deteriorated in 18 (28.1%) patients, including 13 patients in the NGT group and 5 patients in the IGT group. Deterioration was associated with lower baseline BG120 (plasma glucose 120 min post-OGTT), less reduction of growth hormone (GH), and greater reduction of insulin secretion after SSA therapy. BG120 greater than 8.1 mmol/l provided the greatest sensitivity and specificity in predicting the stabilization and/or improvement of glucose tolerance status after SSA treatment (PPV 90.7%, NPV 66.7%, p<0.001). Conclusions. The deterioration of glucose metabolism induced by SSA treatment is caused by the less reduction of GH and the more inhibition of insulin secretion, which can be predicted by the baseline BG120 during OGTT.