bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Repeated Bioimpedance Measurements Predict Prognosis of Peritoneal Dialysis Patients
Authors: Kim Jwa-Kyung , Song Young Rim , Lee Hyung Seok , Kim Hyung Jik , Kim Sung Gyun
Published: February 2018

Background: Fluid overload is a major risk factor for mortality in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). However, few studies have investigated the effect of chronic exposure to sustained fluid overload on long-term outcomes. Method: A total of 284 prevalent PD patients were included in this prospective study. Repeated multifrequency body composition analysis was performed 12 months apart, and 1-year cumulative chronic fluid overload were used to predict all-cause mortality and the risk for transfer to hemodialysis (HD) during the ensuing 15.6 ± 9.1 months. Results: The prevalence of fluid overload was approximately 27%. Interestingly, a substantial number of hypervolemic patients at first test were persistently hypervolemic at their second test. With this, chronic fluid overload was observed in 18.3% (n = 52). Notably, most of chronic fluid overload patients had diabetes (86.5%), and it was accompanied by concomitant changes in peritoneal membrane characteristics, a higher progression rate to high transporter. The risk of transfer to HD increased 2.8 times in patients with chronic fluid overload than in those without. Also, it significantly increased the risk of mortality (p = 0.038). Surprisingly, subgroup analysis found that patients with euvolemic status at follow-up experienced no mortality despite being in a fluid overload state at baseline. Conclusions: One-year chronic exposure to fluid overload is a strong independent risk factor for transfer to HD and death in prevalent PD patients. Although the fluid status of most PD patients is not easily changed over time, becoming euvolemic during the entire PD treatment period seems to be very important.
The Effect of Allium cepa Extract on Lung Oxidant, Antioxidant, and Immunological Biomarkers in Ovalbumin-Sensitized Rats
Authors: Marefati N. , Eftekhar N. , Kaveh M. , Boskabadi J. , Beheshti F. , Boskabady M.H.
Published: February 2018

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of Allium cepa (A. cepa) on levels of oxidants, antioxidants, and immunological markers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) of sensitized rats. Materials and Methods: Oxidant/antioxidant markers and cytokines in BALF of control rats treated with saline (group C), ovalbumin-sensitized rats (group S), rats treated with 1.25 μg/mL dexamethasone and 3 doses of A. cepa extract (35, 70, and 140 mg/kg body weight [BW]/day) (S + AC) were investigated. Comparison of the results between groups was performed using analysis of variance with the Tukey-Kramer post hoc test. Results: The oxidant markers nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrate (NO3–), and malondialdehyde (MDA), and immunological markers interleukin (IL)-4 and immunoglobulin E (IgE) were significantly higher, but the antioxidant markers superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), thiol, and interferon (IFN)-γ, and the IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio were lower in sensitized rats compared to control rats (p < 0.001 to p < 0.01). Compared to group S, the levels of the following markers were significantly lower: NO2, NO3–, and IgE in groups treated with the A. cepa extract, MDA and IL-4 levels in groups treated with 70 and 140 mg/kg BW/day of the A. cepa extract, and all these markers as well as IFN-γ in rats treated with dexamethasone (p < 0.001 to p < 0.05). However, there were significantly higher levels of SOD and CAT and an increased IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio (groups treated with 70 and 140 mg/kg BW/day of the A. cepa extract), and levels of thiol and IFN-γ (group treated with 140 mg/kg BW/day of the A. cepa extract) as well as SOD, CAT, and thiol (dexamethasone-treated group) versus group S (p < 0.00 to p < 0.05). Conclusion: A. cepa showed antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties in sensitized rats.
Carotid Artery Remodeling Is Segment Specific
Authors: Watase Hiroko , Sun Jie , Hippe Daniel S. , Balu Niranjan , Li Feiyu , Zhao Xihai , Mani Venkatesh , Fayad Zahi A. , Fuster Valentin , Hatsukami Thomas S. , Yuan Chun
Published: February 2018

Objective—

Early atherosclerosis is often undetected due in part to compensatory enlargement of the outer wall, termed positive remodeling. Variations in hemodynamic conditions and clinical factors influence the patterns of remodeling. The carotid artery provides an opportunity to examine these variations because of the unique geometry of the carotid bulb. This study aimed to determine differences in remodeling of the common, internal, and bifurcation segments of the carotid using magnetic resonance imaging.

Approach and Results—

Carotid arteries of 525 subjects without history of cardiovascular disease were imaged by magnetic resonance imaging. The carotid artery was divided into 3 segments: common carotid artery; bifurcation; and internal carotid artery. Remodeling patterns were characterized using linear regression analysis of lumen and total vessel areas (dependent variables) compared with maximum wall thickness (independent variable) for each segment, adjusted for age, sex, and height. The common carotid artery demonstrated a pattern consistent with positive remodeling, whereas the bifurcation demonstrated negative remodeling. The internal carotid artery demonstrated a mixed pattern of outer wall expansion and lumen constriction. Females and subjects with diabetes mellitus showed more positive remodeling, hypertension was associated with attenuated positive remodeling, and those with hypercholesterolemia showed more negative remodeling.

Conclusions—

In this cohort of 55- to 80-year-old individuals without history of cardiovascular disease, the pattern of early carotid artery remodeling was segment specific and appeared to be associated with sex and clinical characteristics. These findings provide the groundwork for longitudinal studies to define local and systemic factors such as hemodynamic and clinical conditions on carotid artery remodeling.
Realism + Its Discontents: Determinism Noir
Authors: Beech Amanda
Published: February 2018

This short comic based narrative depicts the challenges to and climate of an alternative form of realism in the art-world as a new project for art's politics and construction. Determinism Noir, Realism and Its Discontents calls upon the classic genre of noir narratives to situate themes of agency, mastery, rationalism and metaphysics. These ideas and images are generated in the nihilistic climate of alienation, itself borne out through the machinic, technological and capitalistic forces of the Twentieth Century. The comic presents three parts: first we see the formation of a project base to insinuate a rational determinism: A world of cause that is unpredictable but nevertheless, a pragmatic working environment; second we see a report, based on real life events, showing arguments from politics and the art-world that continue to voice the fear that it is representation itself that has blighted art's real political purchase. The comic criticizes these arguments as having left art with either a naive commitment to an abstract and essential mythology of present-ness or an antirealist self-contortion that dispossesses it of power. The third part of this narrative re-joins the work of the epistemological detective work that is the exercise for this new realist project. Beech's abstract story gels painterly construction, philosophical argument and political diatribe to extend her ongoing work. Here she argues that art must surpass the egotistic self-consciousness that have wrongly subtended claims to realism, whilst condemning those that aspire to exit realism altogether.
The Two-Fold Global Turn
Authors: Lenssen Anneka
Published: February 2018

This essay is a review of art historian Chika Okeke-Agulu's Postcolonial Modernism: Art and Decolonization in Twentieth-Century Nigeria (Duke University Press, 2015). The book offers a chronicle of artistic theories, practices, and institutions during Nigeria's independence years (1957–67) amid the historical frames of Third World liberation, African decolonization, and Cold War realpolitik. The essay explores in particular how Postcolonial Modernism revisits and explores the thematic of “national culture”—the concept presented by Frantz Fanon in 1959, with long-lasting impact on theories of postcolonial arts—in the (decentralized) Nigerian art world, with a focus on the synthetic studio practices of members of the Zaria Art Society. Fanon's “two-fold becoming” model of national culture, which implies catalyzing links to international liberation movements, impacts not only Okeke-Agulu's narrative of a generational opposition to the preceding cultural paradigms of Negritude, but also—the essay argues—the writing of global modernist history at-large.
The Effect of Import Competition on Wages in the Japanese Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Endoh Masahiro
Published: February 2018

This study estimates the effect of import competition in the final goods market on workers’ wages in the Japanese manufacturing sector by constructing a panel of matched worker–firm data for 1998–2013 wages. The baseline results show that import competition does not decrease unskilled workers’ wages and increases the skill premia of workers with college degrees or those in managerial and professional positions. Large firms and firms with low productivity also increased their wage premia through import competition, but the degree of increase due to firm-level factors is much smaller than that due to factors related to workers’ skill.
White Collies, Beauty or Genetic Defect
Authors: Derry Margaret
Published: February 2018

This article explores the relationship between standards of beauty and genetic knowledge in regulations for the breeding of nonhuman animals. Collie breeding and views concerning the coat color white, in North America and Britain between 1870 and the present, illustrate how advances in dog coat genetics did little to alter perceptions concerning beauty and/or quality held in the different countries. Today, North American Collie breeders consider white coats to be desirable. Modern British breeders see these coats as unacceptable. Breed standards that support practices have not changed to reflect a better understanding of genetics. An assessment of how attitudes to white Collies arose, and why these views differed between North America and Britain, illustrates how entrenched cultural perceptions concerning beauty/quality can be in the face of information that undermines their validity. The story introduces a larger topic: how can change be introduced in light of the complicated beauty/science axis?
Factors affecting the milk urea nitrogen concentration in Chinese Holstein cows
Authors: Zhang Huimin , Wang Mengqi , Jiang Hongrui , Cui Yan , Xia Hailei , Ni Wei , Li Mingxun , Karrow Niel A. , Yang Zhangping , Mao Yongjiang
Published: February 2018

In order to investigate the factors affecting milk urea nitrogen in Chinese Holstein cows, a large commercial dairy farm participated in a 30-month study. In this study, the mean milk urea nitrogen concentration was 11.75 mg/dl. The milk urea nitrogen reached its maximum value on day 90 of lactation for the first parity and the third or higher parities, but it peaked at the end of lactation for the second parity. The milk urea nitrogen of the first parity was lower than that of other parities. The milk urea nitrogen showed its minimum level in January, and reached its maximum in July. The milk urea nitrogen at the first month of lactation in cows calving in summer was higher than other seasons, while at the fourth month of lactation, the milk urea nitrogen of cows calving in autumn was significantly lower than in cows calving in other seasons. Positive correlations were observed between daily milk yield, net energy for lactation, crude protein and milk urea nitrogen for the first and third parities, but negative correlations were observed in the second parity. The milk urea nitrogen showed significantly positive correlations with fat content, total solid content and daily matter intake for all parities. A negative correlation was observed between milk urea nitrogen and protein content, with the exception of the second parity. For all data, as milk urea nitrogen concentration increased, milk protein content decreased. It has been recommended that milk urea nitrogen concentration should be evaluated in combination with parity, days in milk, season (or month), daily matter intake and dietary nutritional components, in order to improve the management and economic benefits of dairy farm.
Twelve new species of Priceiella (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from Old World babblers, with keys to species of two subgenera and checklists of species for the genus
Authors: GUSTAFSSON DANIEL R. , CLAYTON DALE H. , BUSH SARAH E.
Published: February 2018

Twelve new species of chewing lice in the genus Priceiella Gustafsson & Bush, 2017, are described from Old World “babblers” (Leiothrichidae, Paradoxornithiidae, Pellorneidae and Timaliidae). Eight species belong to the subgenus Thescelovora Gustafsson & Bush, 2017: Priceiella (Thescelovora) calcicola n. sp. from Turdinus crispifrons crispifrons; Priceiella (Thescelovora) fuscicaena n. sp. from Malacopteron magnum magnum and Malacopteron cinereum cinereum; Priceiella (Thescelovora) orichalca n. sp. from Turdinus brevicaudatus leucostictus and four other host species; Priceiella (Thescelovora) chanthaburiana n. sp. from Megapomatorhinus hypoleucos tickelli and Pomatorhinus schisticeps klossi; Priceiella (Thescelovora) macrocephala n. sp. from Megapomatorhinus hypoleucos wrayi; Priceiella (Thescelovora) coleyae n. sp. ex Stachyris striolata tonkinensis; Priceiella (Thescelovora) austini n. sp. ex Pomatorhinus ruficollis intermedius; and Priceiella (Thescelovora) ornata n. sp. ex Psittiparus gularis fokiensis. The remaining four species belong to the subgenus Camurnirmus Gustafsson & Bush, 2017: Priceiella (Camurnirmus) najeri n. sp. from Garrulax monileger stuarti and three other hosts; Priceiella (Camurnirmus) bohsae n. sp. from Garrulax strepitans; Priceiella (Camurnirmus) lindquistae n. sp. ex Ianthocincla chinensis chinensis; Priceiella (Camurnirmus) sonorae n. sp. ex Garrulax maesi maesi. We redescribe and illustrate Priceiella (Camurnirmus) rhinocichlae (Eichler, 1957). Keys to species of two subgenera, a comprehensive checklist of all the species of Priceiella, and a host-louse list are provided.
Welcome or Not: Comparing #Refugee Posts on Instagram and Pinterest
Authors: Guidry Jeanine P. D. , Austin Lucinda L. , Carlyle Kellie E. , Freberg Karen , Cacciatore Michael , Meganck Shana , Jin Yan , Messner Marcus
Published: February 2018

The Syrian refugee crisis, started in 2011, has resulted in millions of Syrians fleeing their homes: 6.6 million have been internally displaced and more than 4.6 million have fled the country. This flow of refugees has led to both humanitarian efforts to assist refugees and growing views of refugees as a threat to receiving countries’ security and autonomy. Sentiments about the still-growing crisis are increasingly expressed on social media platforms, including visual ones like Instagram and Pinterest. However, little is known about what and how information about refugees is presented on these platforms. The current study addresses this gap by conducting a quantitative content analysis of a random sample of 750 Instagram posts and 750 Pinterest posts to evaluate and compare visual and textual messaging surrounding this crisis. Results show that Pinterest messages more frequently depict security-concern sentiment and include more unique visual components than Instagram. Across platforms, security-concern posts were more likely to be framed thematically; whereas most humanitarian-concern posts were framed episodically. The study concludes with a discussion of implications for communication scholars and practitioners that may inform the development of visual-based social-mediated messaging.
What You Don’t Notice Can Harm You: Age-Related Differences in Detecting Concurrent Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Cues
Authors: Pitts Brandon J. , Sarter Nadine
Published: February 2018

Objective

This research sought to determine whether people can perceive and process three nonredundant (and unrelated) signals in vision, hearing, and touch at the same time and how aging and concurrent task demands affect this ability.

Background

Multimodal displays have been shown to improve multitasking and attention management; however, their potential limitations are not well understood. The majority of studies on multimodal information presentation have focused on the processing of only two concurrent and, most often, redundant cues by younger participants.

Method

Two experiments were conducted in which younger and older adults detected and responded to a series of singles, pairs, and triplets of visual, auditory, and tactile cues in the absence (Experiment 1) and presence (Experiment 2) of an ongoing simulated driving task. Detection rates, response times, and driving task performance were measured.

Results

Compared to younger participants, older adults showed longer response times and higher error rates in response to cues/cue combinations. Older participants often missed the tactile cue when three cues were combined. They sometimes falsely reported the presence of a visual cue when presented with a pair of auditory and tactile signals. Driving performance suffered most in the presence of cue triplets.

Conclusion

People are more likely to miss information if more than two concurrent nonredundant signals are presented to different sensory channels.

Application

The findings from this work help inform the design of multimodal displays and ensure their usefulness across different age groups and in various application domains.
Effects of Task Difficulty and Display Format on Automation Usage Strategy: A Workload Capacity Analysis
Authors: Yamani Yusuke , McCarley Jason S.
Published: February 2018

Objective

An experiment used workload capacity analysis to quantify automation usage strategy across different task difficulty and display format types in a speeded task.

Background

Workload capacity measures the efficiency of concurrent information processing and can serve as a gauge of automation usage strategy in speeded decision tasks. The present study used workload capacity analysis to investigate automation usage strategy while information display format and task difficulty were manipulated.

Method

Subjects performed a speeded judgment task assisted by an automated aid that issued decision cues at varying onset times. Response time distributions were converted to measures of workload capacity.

Results

Two variants of a workload capacity measure, CzOR and CzAND, gave evidence that operators moderated their own decision times both in anticipation of and following the arrival of the aid’s diagnosis under difficult task conditions regardless of display format.

Conclusion

Assistance from an automated decision aid may cause operators to delay their own responses in a speeded decision task, producing joint response time distributions that are slower than optimal.

Application

Even when it renders its own judgments quickly and with high accuracy, an automated decision aid may slow responses from a user. Automation designers should consider the relative costs and benefits of response accuracy and time when choosing whether and how to implement an automated decision aid.
Mechanical behavior of unidirectional composites with hexagonal and uneven distribution of fibers in the transverse cross-section
Authors: Muthukumar M , Prasath J , Desai YM , Naik NK
Published: February 2018

Uneven distribution of fibers can adversely affect the mechanical behavior of unidirectional composites. A micromechanical model based on finite element analysis is presented to evaluate elastic and strength properties of such composites under normal loading. Analysis starts with identification of micro unit cells/micro repetitive unit cells and/or representative volume elements. Because of uneven distribution/random distribution of the fibers, fiber volume fraction can be different for different micro unit cells present at different locations in the transverse cross-section of the unidirectional composite. Configuration of the micro unit cell is worked out at the outset considering the fiber distribution having the hexagonal arrangement, but with different volume fraction at different locations. For such micro unit cells, elastic and strength properties are obtained based on finite element analysis starting with the elastic and strength properties of fiber and matrix. With the properties obtained for different micro unit cells, elastic and strength properties of the unidirectional composite with micro unit cells having hexagonal arrangement of fibers with different volume fraction at different locations in the transverse cross-section are determined. Further, elastic and strength properties are evaluated for micro unit cells with uneven distribution of fibers in the transverse cross-section.
WHOSE ISSUE IS IT ANYWAY… AND DOES IT REALLY MATTER? Issue Ownership and Negative Campaigning
Authors: Craig Stephen C. , Cossette Paulina S.
Published: February 2018

Although academic research has yielded mixed results, candidates and consultants are rational people whose experience persuades them that “going negative” can be an effective campaign strategy under the right circumstances. And they are almost certainly right, even if their evidence is more anecdotal than systematic. This article considers whether the impact of negative ads is moderated by perceptions of issue ownership, a factor that is known to affect the candidate preferences of some voters. Focusing on the attitudes of those who identify with the party of the targeted candidate, we examine the changes in support and favorability induced by four policy‐based attacks against a hypothetical congressional incumbent seeking reelection. Results from an Internet survey experiment suggest that attacks are somewhat more effective among target co‐partisans who do not believe that their party is more competent to handle the issue in question, especially when that issue is salient to the individual.
Gender and Modernity
Authors: Phillips Anne
Published: February 2018

In contemporary renderings of modernity, it is patented to the West and assumed to include gender equality; a commitment to gender equality then risks becoming overlaid with hierarchies of country and culture. One way of contesting this, associated with alternative modernities, takes issue with the presumed Western origins of modernity. Another, associated with feminism, subjects the claim the modern societies deliver gender equality to more critical scrutiny. But the first is vulnerable to the charge of describing different routes to the same ideals, and the second to the response that evidence of shortcomings only shows that modernity has not yet fully arrived. The contribution of the West to the birth of modernity is not, in my argument, the important issue. The problem, rather, is the mistaken attribution of a “logic” to modernity, as if it contains nested within it egalitarian principles that will eventually unfold. Something did indeed happen at a particular moment in history that provided new ways of imagining equality, but the conditions of its birth were associated from the start with the spread of colonial despotisms and the naturalisation of both gender and racial difference. There was no logic driving this towards more radical versions. It is in the politics of equality that new social imaginaries are forged, not in the unfolding of an inherently “modern” ideal.
Heat flux measurement analysis from thin film gauge in convective heat transfer mode
Authors: Alam Tanweer , Kumar Rakesh
Published: February 2018

In many research activities related to the heated environment near the wall or surface, measurement of transient surface temperature and determination of convective heating rate is one of the most important tasks. Since the effective measurement time available for the regime to enumerate is very small, it is essential to use temperature detectors with highly sensitive, precise and instantaneous temperature measurement properties. Thin film gauges with these properties are best suited for such short duration transient surface temperature measurements. This study focuses on the establishment of new calibration technique in convection heat transfer mode. A fabricated calibration set-up is used to supply the heat flux to the thin film gauge, which is in-house built with platinum as sensing element and quartz as an insulating substrate. The heat load applied on the thin film gauge is of impact or step type. The deduction of heat flux value is carried out with recorded transient temperature data. Moreover, the numerical analysis is also carried out to get the heat flux values. The authenticity of the experimental set up and thin film gauge effectiveness is supported by the excellent agreement of the experimental and numerical results.
Goal setting for weight-related behavior change in children: An exploratory study
Authors: Fisher Abigail , Hammersley Megan L , Jones Rachel A , Morgan Philip J , Collins Clare E , Okely Anthony
Published: February 2018

Background:

There is an absence of studies exploring different goal-setting appraches and none which have examined the use of proxy goal-setting by parents for their children.

Aim:

To explore how proficient parents are in setting health behaviour goals for their children according to SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-framed) goal principles. A secondary aim was to examine associations between goal setting and change in health behaviors.

Methods:

Participants were parents and children taking part in one of two trials incorporating goal setting. Study 1 ( Time2bHealthy) was an online program for parents of preschoolers ( n = 36) and Study 2 ( HIKCUPS) was a three-arm face-to-face trial examining a parent-centered dietary intervention, (Study2Diet); a child-centered physical activity intervention, (Study2PA); or combination of both (Study2Combo) ( n = 83). Goals were coded on five ‘SMART’ principles. Goals were scored 1 or 0 for each principle (1 indicated the principle was met and 0, not met). The total maximum score for each goal was 5. Mean total goal-score and means for each SMART principle were calculated.

Results:

Mean (and standard deviation) goal setting scores for Study 1 were 3.84 (0.61), Study2Diet 2.17 (1.33), Study2PA 3.18 (1.45) and Study2Combo 2.24 (1.30). Goal-scores were significantly higher for Study 1 than Study 2 ( p < 0.001). In Study2Diet, goal setting was significantly associated with greater reduction in energy intake ( p = 0.019).

Conclusions:

Goal-scores were highest in Study 1, which used a supported online format for setting goals. Parents were better at setting physical activity goals, but these goals did not translate into improvements in physical activity behavior. Goals set by parents may be useful in energy intake reduction, however further research is required to determine benefits for weight status or physical activity.
Peripheral VA-ECMO with direct biventricular decompression for refractory cardiogenic shock
Authors: Rao Prashant , Mosier Jarrod , Malo Joshua , Dotson Vicky , Mogan Christopher , Smith Richard , Keller Roy , Slepian Marvin , Khalpey Zain
Published: February 2018

Cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest are life-threatening emergencies that result in high mortality rates. Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) via peripheral cannulation is an option for patients who do not respond to conventional therapies. Left ventricular (LV) distention is a major limitation with peripheral VA-ECMO and is thought to contribute to poor recovery and the inability to wean off VA-ECMO. We report on a novel technique that combines peripheral VA-ECMO with off-pump insertion of a trans-apical LV venting cannula and a right ventricular decompression cannula.
Towards a group analytic praxis for working with teams in organizations II
Authors: Thornton Christine
Published: February 2018

In the first part of this article, I argued that several aspects of group analysis render it a useful discipline for consulting to organizations and working with teams in complex post-modern environments: attention to the individual in the group, sophisticated grasp of the nuances of interpersonal communication, attention to context, tolerance and value of multiple perspectives, creative incorporation of difference, and a flexible developmental approach to managing anxiety and leadership projections. I also presented several key factors of contextual difference, important when working with a team: the different purpose of the work to facilitate more effective working together between members; stated outcomes (usually) for the intervention and often a relatively short, or fixed, time frame; that the group is not necessarily small, so that median or large group dynamics come into play; that the analyst arrives as the ‘stranger’, even when an ‘expert’, rather than as the powerful central figure of an analytic therapy group; that the formal hierarchy interacts in complex ways with power dynamics in the group, including the analyst; and that the language and metaphor of the intervention must be specific and meaningful to the team.
Effect of raw material composition of wood plastic composites on surface roughness parameters evaluated with a robust filtering method
Authors: Gurau Lidia , Ayrilmis Nadir
Published: February 2018

This study extensively investigated the surface roughness of injection molded wood plastic composites (WPCs) produced from different amounts of wood flour, polymer matrix, mineral filler, and other additives. A larger range of roughness parameters that used in the previous literature were obtained from nine different WPC compositions by using a robust filtering method (robust Gaussian regression filter) to have a better understanding of the overlaying quality of the WPC samples. Three melt flow index (MFI) of the polymer were tested (MFI 3.6, 12, and 25). It was found that WPCs produced with the polypropylene having a MFI value of 25 were the smoothest. It was noticed that not only the wood flour percentage matters but the combination of wood flour–mineral filler was also important. The WPC compositions with lower polymer amount in favor of more wood flour and mineral filler led to rougher surfaces. A decrease of wood flour in favor of increasing the mineral filler participation percentage had a surface smoothing effect. At the same wood flour content, a decrease in polymer combined with an increase in mineral filler led to rougher WPC surface. Among the tested WPC compositions, the smoothest surface was obtained in the specimens produced from 50% wood flour, 0% mineral filler, and around 40% polymer by weight. The results should be helpful to anticipate the effect on surface roughness of the percentage participation for each amount of the wood or mineral filler, polymer matrix, and additives in further development of WPC combinations.
Transnational Advocacy Without Northern NGO Partners: Vietnamese NGOs in the HIV/AIDS Sector
Authors: Pallas Christopher L. , Nguyen Lan
Published: February 2018

Existing scholarship on transnational advocacy can give the impression that low- and middle-income country (“Southern”) nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) require high-income country (“Northern”) NGO partners to effectively engage actors outside their own state. However, Vietnamese NGOs (VNGOs) have had significant success in their efforts to change the policies and practices of bilateral and multilateral actors toward Vietnam without significant Northern NGO partnership. This article asks how VNGOs have achieved such influence and whether their advocacy effectiveness is likely to be mirrored elsewhere. Drawing on a novel case study of VNGOs in the HIV/AIDS sector, it finds that expertise, credibility, and high organizational capacity have allowed VNGOs to successfully adopt Northern NGOs’ insider lobbying strategies and implement them independently. While the development of VNGO capacity has been accelerated by the unusual legal environment in Vietnam, we predict that as Southern NGO capacity increases elsewhere, reliance on Northern partners will decrease.
Estimating cost-effectiveness from claims and registry data with measured and unmeasured confounders
Authors: Handorf Elizabeth A , Heitjan Daniel F , Bekelman Justin E , Mitra Nandita
Published: February 2018

The analysis of observational data to determine the cost-effectiveness of medical treatments is complicated by the need to account for skewness, censoring, and the effects of measured and unmeasured confounders. We quantify cost-effectiveness as the Net Monetary Benefit (NMB), a linear combination of the treatment effects on cost and effectiveness that denominates utility in monetary terms. We propose a parametric estimation approach that describes cost with a Gamma generalized linear model and survival time (the canonical effectiveness variable) with a Weibull accelerated failure time model. To account for correlation between cost and survival, we propose a bootstrap procedure to compute confidence intervals for NMB. To examine sensitivity to unmeasured confounders, we derive simple approximate relationships between naïve parameters, assuming only measured confounders, and the values those parameters would take if there was further adjustment for a single unmeasured confounder with a specified distribution. A simulation study shows that the method returns accurate estimates for treatment effects on cost, survival, and NMB under the assumed model. We apply our method to compare two treatments for Stage II/III bladder cancer, concluding that the NMB is sensitive to hypothesized unmeasured confounders that represent smoking status and personal income.
Emulsifying conditions and processing parameters optimisation of kenaf seed oil-in-water nanoemulsions stabilised by ternary emulsifier mixtures
Authors: Cheong Ai M , Tan Chin P , Nyam Kar L
Published: February 2018

Kenaf ( Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seed oil has been proven for its multi-pharmacological benefits; however, its poor water solubility and stability have limited its industrial applications. This study was aimed to further improve the stability of pre-developed kenaf seed oil-in-water nanoemulsions by using food-grade ternary emulsifiers. The effects of emulsifier concentration (1, 5, 10, 15% w/w), homogenisation pressure (16,000, 22,000, 28,000 psi), and homogenisation cycles (three, four, five cycles) were studied to produce high stability of kenaf seed oil-in-water nanoemulsions using high pressure homogeniser. Generally, results showed that the emulsifier concentration and homogenisation conditions had great effect ( p < 0.05) on the particle sizes, polydispersity index and hence the physical stability of nanoemulsions. Homogenisation parameters at 28,000 psi for three cycles produced the most stable homogeneous nanoemulsions that were below 130 nm, below 0.16, and above −40 mV of particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy micrograph showed that the optimised nanoemulsions had a good distribution within nano-range. The optimised nanoemulsions were proved to be physically stable for up to six weeks of storage at room temperature. The results from this study also provided valuable information in producing stable kenaf seed oil nanoemulsions for the future application in food and nutraceutical industries.
Modeling tangential contact based on non-Gaussian rough surfaces
Authors: Zhan Wanglong , Huang Ping
Published: February 2018

A stick-slip tangential contact model between rough surfaces was proposed in this paper. The Mindlin partial slip solution for elastic contact and the double linear formulation developed by Fujimoto for plastic contact in conjunction with the Coulomb dry friction law were used to derive tangential contact formulas. Pearson system of frequency curves was used to generate non-Gaussian random surfaces. Effects of skewness and kurtosis on normal and tangential contact responses were studied independently. The results showed that negative skewness predicted lower mean separation for a given normal force and greater tangential stiffness, while for positive skewness, there exist different trends from negative skewness. With the increase of kurtosis, the load capacity and tangential stiffness decreased. The practical significance of these findings is that it can help engineers to design proper surface textures based on their requirements. A comparison of initial tangential stiffness between predicted results and published experimental results was made. The results well agreed with the experimental results when the non-Gaussian surface effects were taken into consideration.
Constituting the ‘sexually violent predator’: Law, forensic psychology, and the adjudication of risk
Authors: Vogler Stefan
Published: February 2018

Considerable socio-legal scholarship demonstrates law’s constitutive power, and much criminological research has considered the effects of actuarial risk assessment. However, these strands have rarely been brought together to consider how legal risk assessment practices constitute sexual subjects. This article argues that law and forensic psychology co-constitute the category of the ‘sexually violent predator’ (SVP) as a distinct type of person through the use of psychiatric diagnosis and actuarial risk assessment. Contrary to dominant views of actuarialism as de-individualizing, this article asserts that SVP proceedings are centrally concerned with individualized intervention, yet such proceedings continue to produce static risk subjects rather than the dynamic subjects identified in recent research on actuarial practices. It is argued that this stems from entrenched cultural views of sexuality as a fixed essence inherent in individuals. The risk assemblage in SVP proceedings therefore presents a unique theoretical case that does not clearly fit prevailing accounts of actuarialism.
Experimental and numerical study on seismic performance of steel reinforced recycled concrete frame structure under low-cyclic reversed loading
Authors: Xue Jianyang , Zhang Xin , Ren Rui , Zhai Lei , Ma Linlin
Published: February 2018

This article mainly focused on the seismic performance of steel reinforced recycled concrete frame structure under low-cyclic reversed loading. To evaluate seismic performance of steel reinforced recycled concrete frame structure, a two-span three-storied steel reinforced recycled concrete frame was conducted at civil engineering laboratory of Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. Experimental and numerical studies were implemented to investigate the crack status, failure modes, hysteresis loops, skeleton curves, energy dissipation capacity, load–displacement curves, P-Δ effect, and the influence of recycled concrete strength under low-cyclic reversed loading. Results indicate that the steel reinforced recycled concrete frame structure has good seismic behavior during test, and the spindle-shaped hysteresis loops illustrate that the frame has relatively high energy dissipation capacities. The design of steel reinforced recycled concrete frame satisfied the requirements of strong column weak beam, strong shear weak bending, and strong joint weak components. Finally, the simulated results obtained by OpenSees software agree well with the test, which verify the rationality and reliability of the proposed model. The conclusions of this article will be helpful for the design of steel reinforced recycled concrete structures in seismic regions.
Research on dynamic characteristics of plate under pedestrian excitation based on Newmark-β
Authors: Ge Xinfang , Wang Weirong , Yuan Wei
Published: February 2018

Development of micro and ultra-precision machining, precision instruments and equipment, precision assembly and testing has put forward more and more high requirements to vibration isolation on environmental elements, especially the pedestrian excitation generated by workers' normal walking. Therefore, it is very important to study the pedestrian excitation's influence on vibration characteristics of precision instruments and equipment. In this study, dynamic model including mathematical model of pedestrian excitation, interaction model between pedestrian and rectangular plate structure, the human–plate coupled dynamic equation in vertical direction of pedestrian–plate structure was established. And then we use the Newmark-β method to solve the time-domain step-by-step integration of the first four order modes' dynamic equations and study the influence of the linear notion trajectory along the central axis direction on the dynamic characteristics of the rectangular plate. By simulation, we discussed plate structure response under different conditions, including plate structure displacement and acceleration response under the single person excitation with different velocities, under normal walking velocity with different number of pedestrians and under this case of different distance between two pedestrians. The results show that the structural vibration induced by pedestrian excitation has great influence on dynamic characteristics of plate.
Co-evolving with self-tracking technologies
Authors: Kristensen Dorthe Brogård , Ruckenstein Minna
Published: February 2018

Seen in a longitudinal perspective, Quantified Self-inspired self-tracking sets up “a laboratory of the self,” where people co-evolve with technologies. By exploring ways in which self-tracking technologies energize everyday aims or are experienced as limiting, we demonstrate how some aspects of the self are amplified while others become reduced and restricted. We suggest that further developing the concept of the laboratory of the self renews the conversation about the role of metrics and technologies by facilitating comparison between different realms of the digital, and demonstrating how services and devices enlarge aspects of the self at the expense of others. The use of self-tracking technologies is inscribed in, but also runs counter to, the larger political-economy landscape. Personal laboratories can aid the exploration of how the techno-mediated selves fit into larger structures of the digital technology market and the role that metrics play in defining them.
Revisiting The Father: Precarity and subversive performativity
Authors: Shams Parisa
Published: February 2018

The ambiguity of August Strindberg’s approach to women has engendered varying interpretations, including accusations of misogyny. Among his allegedly misogynistic plays is the 1887 naturalistic masterpiece, The Father. Chronologically coinciding with the rise of the women’s movement in Sweden, The Father, rather than endorsing a misogynistic culture, allows for an alternative reading that contributes to the destabilisation of gender binaries and an understanding of gender identities as relational and performative. In its portrayal of a fierce struggle between a seemingly diabolic wife and a supposedly tyrannical husband, the play delves deeply into the dynamics of gender and the subversion of normatively established orders. This article analyses Strindberg’s play in relation to Slavoj Žižek’s conception of the ‘femme fatale’ and Judith Butler’s account of gender performativity to illustrate how the play’s central characters performatively subvert the hegemonic norms by which they are constituted.
The Fame Game: Working Your Way Up the Celebrity Ladder in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood
Authors: Harvey Alison
Published: February 2018

This article examines the simultaneously acclaimed and vilified mobile celebrity game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood ( KK: H). Through an analysis of popular discourse about the game in dialogue with its play experience, this article showcases the ways in which this scrutiny is tied to value judgments about celebrity culture, affective labor, and emerging monetization strategies in games. By exploring the game’s content, mechanics, and economics, I argue that KK: H’s mixed reception is a product of how these make visible celebrity labor and the work of self-branding, intimacy, and engagement in the attentional economy of social media. Through its form and functioning, this game reveals the intensities of women’s work in low-status activities, across play and celebrity culture, and, through this, challenges their devaluation. It is via this simulation of invisible labor, I argue, that KK: H represents an exemplar of what new ludic economies can indicate about the future of digital play.
Perceptions of Determinants of Condom Use Behaviors Among Male Clients of Female Sex Workers in Indonesia: A Qualitative Inquiry
Authors: Fauk Nelsensius Klau , Kustanti Christina Yeni , Liana Debora Shinta , Indriyawati Nina , Crutzen Rik , Mwanri Lillian
Published: February 2018

This study aimed to explore perceived determinants of condom use behaviors among male clients of female commercial sex workers (FCSWs) in Belu and Malaka districts, Indonesia. One-on-one in-depth interviews guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM) were used to collect the data from participants ( n = 42). The Framework analysis for qualitative data was employed to analyze the data. Results demonstrated several factors associated with lack of and inconsistent condom use among the participants. They included self-perceived risk of contracting HIV infection, knowledge of the severity of HIV illness and its impacts, and condom use: its benefits and its influencing factors. Additionally, factors including reduced sexual pleasure and the lack of knowledge of how and where to access condoms were important perceived barriers to condom use among participants. Having seen images of HIV-/AIDS-positive people, knowing friends and relatives suffering from HIV, and knowing FCSWs as a high-risk group for HIV infection were the cues to using condoms among several participants. Likewise, self-efficacy was also associated with condom use behaviors among the participants. The findings indicate the needs for HIV/AIDS interventions that include dissemination of HIV/AIDS knowledge, condom promotion, and improvement in the availability of condoms for both FCSWs and their clients.
Aberrant left subclavian artery occlusion in right-sided aortic artery associated with left cerebral infarction: A case report
Authors: Tempaku Akira , Kuroiwa Terumasa , Nishio Akimasa
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Right-sided aortic arch is a rare vessel anomaly with an incidence of 0.1% worldwide. Supra-aortic branches form a mirror image of the left-sided aortic arch or an aberrant left subclavian artery associated with Kommerell diverticulum. Most patients are diagnosed by a difference in blood pressure in each upper extremity or by the presence of left subclavian steal syndrome in their younger age. The diagnosis of onset of ischemic stroke in middle age is rare.

Methods

We present the case of a female patient who presented with an ischemic stroke in the left posterior circulation area. She had no history of congenital heart malformation. We performed head magnetic resonance imaging, cerebral angiography, and enhanced computed tomography of the aortic arch and major branches.

Results

The patient had a right-sided aortic arch and an aberrant left subclavian artery. The left subclavian artery was occluded at the proximal portion with a fibrous string. Collateral flow in the anterior cervical subcutaneous area supported left limb perfusion.

Conclusion

An atheromatous change reduced shunt flow via collateral networks at the anterior cervical region. Congenital subclavian steal supported the ischemic stroke.