bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The sociocybernetics of observation and reflexivity
Authors: Scott Bernard
Published: April 2019

The aim of this article is to show how sociocybernetics can clarify and bring order to two key concepts in the social sciences: ‘observation’ and ‘reflexivity’. The article provides an introduction and conceptual overview of second order cybernetics, placing it in the larger context of cybernetics and systems sciences studies. Since its inception, in cybernetics the role of the observer has been paramount. It is the observer who distinguishes systems of interest. It is the observer who communicates her observations and theoretical interpretations to the wider community of other observers. Critically, as Heinz von Foerster emphasises, with second order cybernetics the observer, since she is herself an observing system, should ‘enter the domain of her own descriptions’. With her second order studies, she is explaining herself to herself. Reflexively, she is obliged to engage in self-observation. The article sets out some of the theoretical and methodological implications of these propositions.
The Influence of Working Conditions on Principal Turnover in K-12 Public Schools
Authors: Yan Rui
Published: April 2019

Purpose: During the past two decades, principal turnover issues have raised nationwide concerns about leadership stability and student performance. With national data from National Center for Education Statistics, this study examines how principal working conditions influence the probability of different types of principal turnover (mover, promoted, demoted, leaver, and retired). Research Method: This study utilizes data from 2011 to 2012 Schools and Staffing Survey and 2012-2013 Principal Follow-up Survey, and performs multinomial logistic regressions with region fixed effects to examine how principal working conditions are associated with principal turnover, while controlling for principal characteristics and school context. Findings: This study finds that principals with beneficial job contracts, tenure system, and higher salary were less likely to transition. Additionally, positive disciplinary environment lowered the odds of principals moving to another school, especially in schools with high concentrations of students of color. Moreover, more influences on determining teacher professional development and budgeting were associated with lower odds of principals leaving education, but more influence on setting performance standards showed the opposite direction. Implications: This study could assist policy makers in providing positive working conditions to support and retain principals for long-term school improvement. Moreover, school districts could facilitate building positive school disciplinary environment to lower principal turnover in underserved schools.
Failure of fiber-reinforced composite laminates under longitudinal compression
Authors: Zhou Yi , Huang Zheng-Ming
Published: April 2019

A micro-mechanics approach is put forward to predict the fiber kink inclination angle and the strength of a unidirectional composite under longitudinal compression. Internal stresses of constituent materials in the kink-band are calculated through Bridging Model; thus, only the constituent fiber and matrix properties of the composite are needed. Considering the non-uniform stress distribution caused by the embedded fiber, the homogenized stresses of the matrix are converted into true values with stress concentration factors before being used for failure analysis. The definition and application of stress concentration factors are introduced. A failure criterion based on Mohr’s theory is established to determine the orientation of potential failure surface and the failure situation of matrix, whereas a maximum normal stress failure criterion is used to detect the fiber breakage. The longitudinal compressive strength of a laminate is defined as the applied load at the moment when a failure of whichever constituent materials occurs first. The practicability and accuracy of the theory have been verified with a comparison between the predictions and the measurements obtained from the worldwide failure exercises and some other literatures.
Climb or Jump: Status-Based Seeding in User-Generated Content Networks
Authors: Lanz Andreas , Goldenberg Jacob , Shapira Daniel , Stahl Florian
Published: April 2019

This article addresses seeding policies in user-generated content networks by challenging the role of influencers in a setting of unpaid endorsements. On such platforms, the content is generated by individuals and firms interested in self-promotion. The authors use data from a worldwide leading music platform to study unknown music creators who aim to increase exposure of their content by expanding their follower base through directing outbound activities to other users. The authors find that the responsiveness of seeding targets strongly declines with status difference; thus, unknown music creators (the majority) do not generally benefit at all from seeding influencers. Instead, they should gradually build their status by targeting low-status users rather than attempt to “jump” by targeting high-status ones. This research extends the seeding literature by introducing the concept of risk to dissemination dynamics in online communications, showing that unknown music creators do not seed specific status levels but rather choose a portfolio of seeding targets while solving a risk versus return trade-off. The authors discuss various managerial implications for optimal seeding in user-generated content networks.
Medicaid Patients Have Greater Difficulty Scheduling Health Care Appointments Compared With Private Insurance Patients: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Hsiang Walter R. , Lukasiewicz Adam , Gentry Mark , Kim Chang-Yeon , Leslie Michael P. , Pelker Richard , Forman Howard P. , Wiznia Daniel H.
Published: April 2019

Medicaid patients are known to have reduced access to care compared with privately insured patients; however, quantifying this disparity with large controlled studies remains a challenge. This meta-analysis evaluates the disparity in health services accessibility of appointments between Medicaid and privately insured patients through audit studies of health care appointments and schedules. Audit studies evaluating different types of outpatient physician practices were selected. Studies were categorized based on the characteristics of the simulated patient scenario. The relative risk of appointment availability was calculated for all different types of audit scenario characteristics. As a secondary analysis, appointment availability was compared pre- versus post-Medicaid expansion. Overall, 34 audit studies were identified, which demonstrated that Medicaid insurance is associated with a 1.6-fold lower likelihood in successfully scheduling a primary care appointment and a 3.3-fold lower likelihood in successfully scheduling a specialty appointment when compared with private insurance. In this first meta-analysis comparing appointment availability between Medicaid and privately insured patients, we demonstrate Medicaid patients have greater difficulty obtaining appointments compared with privately insured patients across a variety of medical scenarios.
Climate Change and Tourism in English-Language Newspaper Publications
Authors: Ma Shihan (David) , Kirilenko Andrei P.
Published: April 2019

Tourism is one of the sectors of the economy that is most dependent on climate, creating multiple vulnerabilities and new opportunities arising with changing climate. Even though the links between tourism and climate have been well researched, this scientific knowledge has not percolated into policies and the ability to act. This disconnect between scientific knowledge and practices is frequently blamed on inadequate climate change communication to the public in mass media. We studied the mass media framing of climate change and tourism by analyzing English newspaper publications worldwide over the past 30 years. The paper presents a Big Data analysis of the content, geographical patterns, and temporal changes in newspapers’ publications on climate change and tourism.
LGBT Older Adults at a Crossroads in Mainland China: The Intersections of Stigma, Cultural Values, and Structural Changes Within a Shifting Context
Authors: Hua Boya , Yang Vickie F. , Goldsen Karen Fredriksen
Published: April 2019

In this article, we explore the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults in mainland China, with an emphasis on the shifting nature of the cultural context. Based on a culturally informed perspective, the intersection of LGBT stigma with cultural values (familial responsibility, filial piety, and loss of face) and larger structural changes (the aftermath of the one-child policy, economic reforms and globalization, LGBT human rights, and HIV policies) are creating dramatic shifts in Chinese society and impacting the lives of LGBT older adults. The increasing prevalence of HIV among gay and bisexual older men, although rarely acknowledged, is also contributing to challenges facing LGBT older adults and their families. These changes render LGBT older adults and those living with HIV and their caregivers at risk of economic insecurity. Resilience and resistance of LGBT older adults in China must be considered in both practice and policy to strengthen LGBT human rights globally.
Cox maze IV versus left atrial reduction for atrial contraction restoration
Authors: Firmansyah Dena K , Soesanto Amiliana M , Hanafy Dicky A , Bono Arinto
Published: April 2019

Background

The Cox maze procedure is the gold-standard concomitant surgical procedure to restore sinus rhythm in rheumatic mitral valve disease with atrial fibrillation. Left atrial reduction surgery was found to be beneficial for rhythm conversion, but no study has investigated its efficacy compared to the Cox maze procedure for atrial contractility restoration. We aimed to compare the early success rate of left atrial contractility restoration with the Cox maze procedure and left atrial reduction in rheumatic subjects.

Methods

Preoperative and within one-month postoperative electrocardiograms and echocardiograms of patients who underwent a Cox maze IV procedure or left atrial reduction with mitral valve surgery were compared. Effective atrial contraction was defined as A wave peak velocity ≥10 cm·s−1 or atrial filling fraction ≥20%.

Results

Ninety patients (mean age 40.6 ± 10.2 years, 66.7% female) were divided equally into group A (Cox maze IV) and group B (left atrial reduction). The early sinus rhythm conversion rate was 64.4% versus 24.4% ( p < 0.001) in groups A and B, respectively. In patients with restored sinus rhythm, contractility was restored in 41.4% and 36.4% ( p = 1.000). Postoperative left atrial volume index ≤76 mL·m−2 was an independent variable associated with early atrial contractility restoration in both groups (prevalence rate 0.97, p = 0.007).

Conclusions

In rheumatic subjects, the early sinus rhythm conversion rate was significantly higher after Cox maze IV compared to left atrial reduction, but for restoring left atrial contractility, left atrial reduction was not inferior to Cox maze IV.
Condorcet and the Viability of Democracy in Modern Republics, 1789–1794
Authors: Kim Minchul
Published: April 2019

Democracy was in the margins both as an idea and as a political force in the eighteenth century. Even in the 1790s, ‘democracy’ was hardly the defining notion of the revolutionaries’ political visions. The small states as much as the large states perceived democracy as an outmoded legacy of antiquity leading to anarchy and despotism, inapplicable not least because it was undesirable in the modern world in which commerce was a rising force. This article tells the story of how this changed, how the understanding of ‘democracy’ was transformed during the French Revolution to represent a viable transition mechanism to a state of widespread and durable liberty. To avoid a teleological approach in the process of this analysis, this article examines the works of Condorcet on modern democracy in the context of the predicaments of the eighteenth century and the French revolutionary decade: how to avert at the same time despotism, military government and popular anarchy; and how to establish a free and stable state on the basis of modern commercial society? The history of the French Revolution is hereby placed in dialogue with that of eighteenth-century political and intellectual history. The effect is that a fresh picture of the entirety of Condorcet’s political vision emerges as his idea of democracy is studied from the viewpoint of his historical sensitivity, political economy, constitutional theory and international thoughts. In the end, Condorcet was the thinker who most significantly and prominently contributed to the post-1789 emergence of the concept of ‘democracy’ – which had thitherto been considered as the political form inevitably leading to destructive anarchy and despotic Caesarism – as a viable pathway to stability and prosperity.
Irregular War, Local Community and Intimate Violence in Spain (1939–1952)
Authors: Marco Jorge , Rodrigo Mercedes Yusta
Published: April 2019

Spain was the first country where the anti-fascist resistance manifested itself through the violence of arms, in response to the military coup of 1936 which triggered a bloody civil war. It was also the last to lay down arms in the 1950s after a long post-war period when groups of armed opponents continued the struggle against dictatorship, especially in the countryside. This contribution analyses the specificities of the violence experienced after the official end of the war, as well as that of the groups of resistance and the repression of a large part of the rural population, suspected by the authorities of helping the armed movement. The notion of ‘intimate violence’ accounts for the way this violence was practised most of the time from within the communities, making the internal fractures opened by the war even deeper. Hence, it can also be shown that the reconstruction of a peaceful national community was never an objective of the dictatorship, which on the contrary sought to crush dissent by violence.
‘The Free Sale of Opium’: The Reaction of Russian Orthodox Churchmen to Freedom of Conscience, 1864–1905
Authors: White James
Published: April 2019

This article examines discussions of freedom of conscience and other religious liberties in the Orthodox ecclesiastical press between the Great Reforms of the 1860s and the first Russian Revolution in 1905. Avoiding highly influential and well-known religious thinkers, this piece instead focuses on forgotten ordained and lay writers who used their positions in the Church's hierarchy and educational establishments to reach a wide audience. At the heart of their views was a paradox: while frequently defining Christ as freedom and rejecting coercion in religious matters, these churchmen assailed freedom of conscience as morally dangerous and socially destructive. To explain this paradox and reveal why freedom of conscience allegedly posed such a threat, the article situates the writers in the institutional, intellectual, and political contexts of both the Church and the Russian Empire. Examining this is useful not only because it provides an example of how Russian Orthodox churchmen theologically justified the status quo of the empire's religious policy but also because it demonstrates how members of a state church perceived the shift of religion away from collective confessional ascription towards the individual, private sphere.
Probabilistic Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of Pavements Based on Simulation Optimization
Authors: Guo Fengdi , Gregory Jeremy , Kirchain Randolph
Published: April 2019

Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a way to evaluate the long-term cost effectiveness of different pavement designs or treatment actions. Owing to the existence of uncertainties, many probabilistic LCCA models have been proposed. They mainly use a prescribed treatment schedule or determine schedules by mechanistic-empirical analysis, potentially leading to the overestimation of life-cycle cost (LCC). In this paper, a new probabilistic simulation-optimization LCCA model is proposed. This new model determines treatment schedules by minimizing total LCC, including agency and user cost, which is different from current probabilistic models. In addition, it also incorporates uncertainties of treatment costs and deterioration processes. Two case studies are presented. The first one shows the influence of treatment schedule uncertainties on LCC distributions. After considering treatment schedule uncertainties, a tighter LCC distribution is estimated. The second case study compares the new model and a conventional prescribed-schedule model from the perspective of pavement design selection. The results show that the simulation-optimization model could lead to different preferred pavement designs than the prescribed-schedule model.
Development of Dust Storm Modeling for Use in Freeway Safety and Operations Management: An Arizona Case Study
Authors: Mohebbi Amin , Green Gabriel T. , Akbariyeh Simin , Yu Fan , Russo Brendan J. , Smaglik Edward J.
Published: April 2019

Extreme weather conditions such as strong winds, hail, heavy rainfall, heavy snowfall, and high air temperature impact roads, traffic, and operational decisions. Strong winds in arid regions may pick up fine dust particles and create massive blowing plumes dramatically reducing the visibility. This reduced visibility severely impairs driving ability causing catastrophic crashes. The purpose of this research was to investigate the impacts of dust storms on freeway safety and operations. Interstates 8, 10, 15, 17, 19, and 40 running through Arizona were studied in relation to dust loading and crash risks. To achieve this, nine severe Arizona dust storms (2009–2016) were modeled using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a chemistry module (WRF-Chem). WRF is a mesoscale numerical weather prediction system with a software architecture allowing for parallel computation. When coupled with a chemistry module (WRF-Chem), it could be used to model the fate and transport of the particulate matter. Dust hot spots were calculated based on Getis-Ord Gi* statistical method and were correlated to dust storm caused crashes. It was shown that a positive Gi* accompanied by dust loading of at least 50 kgm–2 will result in a crash with a 90% confidence level. The outcome of this research could be used by local and federal transportation agencies to communicate warnings to drivers for improved safety.
Vermicomposting process for treating animal slurry in Latin American rural areas
Authors: Nova Pinedo Máximo Lucio , Ferronato Navarro , Ragazzi Marco , Torretta Vincenzo
Published: April 2019

The management of animal slurry is a big issue in low-income rural areas worldwide. Bolivia suffers this issue related to collection, treatment and final disposal since the main solution applied is the open dumping. The aim of this study is to introduce a feasible treatment of animal slurry in the rural area of Carmen Pampa, where about 670 kg of dung are produced per day and disposed of in open areas. The objective is the improvement of the environmental sustainability and human health, providing an alternative solution for encouraging the circular economy. The study is focused on the vermicomposting process, a sustainable solution for low-income regions. The analysis was conducted in function of the earthworm breeds used locally ( Eisenia fetida and Lumbricus terrestris) and the application of activated bacteria (AB) for improving the process. The mass loss, the treatment time, and the growing rate of the earthworms were analyzed. The results suggest that the different breed of the worms allows gaining up to 19 days, while the use of the AB allows saving about 30 days. Moreover, the vermicomposting process reduced the mass of the slurry of about 65% for the swine’s dung and the bovine’s dung, and 90% of the hens’ dung. Finally, experimental evidence shows that the growing rate of the E. fetida is higher than the L. terrestris (F[1,8] = 78, p < 0.05), with an average of about 193%. The data obtained could be of interest for other stakeholders who live in similar environmental, climatic, and economic conditions for improving sustainability.
Managers and clinicians: Perceptions of the impact of regionalization in two regions in Canada
Authors: Uchimura Liza Yurie Teruya , Viana Ana Luiza d´Ávila , Marchildon Gregory P.
Published: April 2019

The aim of this paper is to examine the approach taken to regionalization in Ontario, Canada, and its impact on health system performance as perceived by managers and clinicians. This is a qualitative study, with thematic analysis, based on interviews with 23 managers and clinicians working in primary healthcare and emergency care in two regions of Ontario. Our findings demonstrate that both sets of actors see regional structures as contributing significantly to improving their respective health system although they also identify areas that require improvement. Managers and clinicians agreed on propositions to focus on health determinants, major considerations specific to the local context (population, geography) and support for a three-level system with well-defined functions. However, they also expressed differing propositions about the political power of hospitals.
ERα Gene Promoter Methylation in Cognitive Function and Quality of Life of Patients With Alzheimer Disease
Authors: Li Kai-Xiu , Sun Qin , Wei Ling-Ling , Du Guang-Hui , Huang Xue , Wang Jun-Kang
Published: April 2019

Objective:

Alzheimer disease (AD) has been recognized as a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. This study aims to investigate the effects of estrogen receptor α (ERα) gene promoter methylation on the cognitive function and quality of life (QOL) of patients with AD.

Methods:

A total of 132 patients with AD and 135 healthy individuals were recruited for this study. The DNA in the peripheral blood was extracted and treated with bisulfite; then methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed to determine the methylation status of ERα and ERα messenger RNA (mRNA) expression, respectively. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), activities of daily living (ADL), and Quality of Life–Alzheimer Disease scale were employed to evaluate the cognitive functions, ADL, and QOL of the participants.

Results:

The methylation group showed a decrease in ERα mRNA expression. The MMSE and ADL scores were indicative of a worse cognitive function in the methylation group. The ERα promoter methylated patients showed a higher rate of abnormal ADL score, while patients in the nonmethylation group enjoyed a better QOL.

Conclusions:

The ERα promoter methylation is related to impaired cognitive function and QOL of patients with AD by inhibiting ERα mRNA expression and transcription.
Whose Opinion Matters? Analyzing Relationships Between Bitcoin Prices and User Groups in Online Community
Authors: Kang Kyeongpil , Choo Jaegul , Kim YoungBin
Published: April 2019

Public interest in cryptocurrencies has consistently risen over the past decade. Owing to this rapid growth, cryptocurrency-related information is being increasingly shared online. As considerable portions of such information in online communities are noise, extracting meaningful information is important. Therefore, judging whose opinion should be considered more important or who the opinion leaders in online communities are is critical. This study analyzed the topics that contain meaningful information, in particular, user groups, by investigating the correlation between topic weights and their price change. The proposed analysis method involves (1) effective classification of the user groups using a hypertext-induced topic selection algorithm, (2) textual information analysis through topic modeling, and (3) the identification of user groups that have a high interest in the Bitcoin price by measuring the correlation between the price and the topics and by measuring the topic similarities between each user group and all users to determine the user group that can effectively represent the entire community. By analyzing the information shared by users, we observed that most users are interested in the price information, whereas users having social influence are not only interested in the price but also in other information.
Short-Term Impact of Income on Cognitive Function: Evidence From a Sample of Mexican Older Adults
Authors: Aguila Emma , Casanova Maria
Published: April 2019

Objective: To estimate the short-run (6-9 months) impact and mediating mechanisms of an intervention providing supplemental income to individuals 70 years and above from the Mexican state of Yucatan on markers of cognitive functioning (immediate and delayed word recall). Method: Regression-adjusted difference-in-differences (DID) analysis using baseline and follow-up data collected at treatment and control sites from an experiment. Results: The intervention improved immediate and delayed recall scores for men and women. We found no effects on diagnoses of dementia risk factors, depression, and activities of daily living (ADLs). The intervention increased health care use and decreased anemia for men and women, and improved food availability for men. The effects on cognitive outcomes were mediated by health care use for both men and women, and food availability for men. Discussion: In low- and middle-income countries, supplemental income for elderly may be an effective strategy to improve cognitive function by increasing food security and health care utilization.
Stress fractures in systemic lupus erythematosus after long-term MTX use successfully treated by MTX discontinuation and individualized bone-specific therapy
Authors: Rolvien T , Creutzfeldt A M , Lohse A W , Amling M
Published: April 2019

We report the case of a 64-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and recurrent bilateral stress fractures of the calcaneus due to long-term methotrexate (MTX) use. A detailed skeletal assessment pointed to osteoporomalacia with pronounced trabecular thinning and increased bone resorption. After years of unsuccessful treatment with bisphosphonates, a combined bone-specific denosumab-teriparatide treatment was initiated, and additional belimumab treatment was started to avoid intermittent steroid usage. As these measures did not lead to a significant improvement of the bone situation, MTX was eventually discontinued. This was followed by a rapid clinical improvement. In a follow-up MRI scan after 18 months, the stress fractures had almost disappeared. Furthermore, the bone density and microarchitecture markedly improved. In conclusion, this case demonstrates that MTX discontinuation/replacement in combination with an individualized and state-of-the-art bone-specific therapy is effective in SLE patients with stress fractures after long-term MTX use.
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Logic Models
Authors: Jones Natalie D. , Azzam Tarek , Wanzer Dana Linnell , Skousen Darrel , Knight Ciara , Sabarre Nina
Published: April 2019

One of the most widely used communication tools in evaluation is the logic model. Despite its extensive use, there has been little research into the visualization aspect of the logic model. To assess the impact that design modifications would have on its effectiveness, we applied established visualization principles to revise a program model. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the six conditions to examine the effectiveness (i.e., visual efficiency, comprised of accuracy, response time, and mental effort; credibility; aesthetics) of variations to a logic model. The results demonstrated that the revisions to the model increased accuracy, perceived message credibility, and were considered more aesthetically pleasing; furthermore, revisions decreased mental effort and reduced the amount of time taken to review the model. Together, the findings from the study support the claim that visual efficiency can be improved by modifying a logic model’s formatting and design.
A single-use, size-specific, nylon arthroplasty guide: a preliminary study for hip resurfacing
Authors: Uemura Keisuke , Boughton Oliver R , Logishetty Kartik , Halewood Camilla , Clarke Susannah G , Harris Simon J , Sugano Nobuhiko , Cobb Justin P
Published: April 2019

Introduction:

In arthroplasty surgery, positioning of the components must be accurate and reproducible to avoid complications. Conventional guides are often used to align a component, but they require surgical skill and experience, and are prone to error. To this end, a single-use, size-specific, nylon guide (single-use nylon guide) has been developed for the purpose of increasing the accuracy without adding extra cost to the operation. The effectiveness of this type of guide was evaluated in using a synthetic bone study.

Methods:

A total of 66 synthetic femurs with the same osteoarthritic morphology were prepared. 3 surgeons participated in the experiments, and each surgeon created a drill hole for the femoral component by using the single-use nylon guide or a commercially-available, conventional, metal, neck-based guide (conventional guide). Anteversion, inclination, and insertion point acquired by the guide were compared between the guides, between surgeons, and to the computer-based plan.

Results:

Anteversion acquired by the single-use nylon guide (6.7° [4.9–11.5°]) was significantly closer to the plan (14.6°) than that acquired by the conventional guide (4.3° [2.4–8.6°]) ( p = 0.03). The insertion point was also significantly closer to the plan for the single-use nylon guide (3.8 mm ± 1.6 mm) than the conventional guide (5.7 mm ± 2.4 mm) ( p < 0.001). No significant difference was found for the inclination ( p = 0.76).

Conclusion:

A single-use, size-specific nylon guide was effective in acquiring a higher accuracy and precision in anteversion and insertion point than a conventional guide in this synthetic bone, hip resurfacing arthroplasty study. The use of single-use guides in other orthopaedic procedures should be explored.
Analysis of Weather-Type-Induced Soil Erosion in Cultivated and Poorly Managed Abandoned Sloping Vineyards in the Axarquía Region (Málaga, Spain)
Authors: Rodrigo-Comino Jesús , Senciales José María , Sillero-Medina José Antonio , Gyasi-Agyei Yeboah , Ruiz-Sinoga José Damián , Ries Johannes B
Published: April 2019

New trends related to market incomes, cultural human development, non-sustainable soil management practices, and climate change are affecting land abandonment in Mediterranean sloping vineyards. It is generally accepted that hydrological processes and, subsequently, soil erosion rates are usually different between cultivated and abandoned soils. However, these alterations are still poorly studied in relation to the general weather conditions in vineyards and abandoned vineyards. Thus, the main goals of this research are to (1) estimate the differences in soil properties, (2) quantify water and soil losses due to rainfall and specific soil management practices, and (3) analyze which kind of weather type and rainfall event is able to generate specific surface flows and soil loss rates. To achieve these goals, we focused on the specific case of the sloping vineyards of the Montes de Málaga (South Spain). We used 4 paired-erosion plots with Gerlach troughs to quantify soil loss and surface flow and conducted an analysis of the weather conditions during each rainfall event. The weather types that generated the highest amount of rainfall in the studied area came from the western (32.6%) and southeast (28.2%) types. The low rainfall events came from the south type (5.9%) and at the 500 hPa level, whereas the rainiest ones came from the southwest (47.7%) and south (34.1%). It is confirmed that there is a bimodality in the rainfall patterns. The results of soil erosion showed that there is a mixed mechanism depending on the state of the soil (vegetation cover, compaction, and initial soil moisture), soil management (tillage, trampling effect, and the use of herbicides). It is observed that the intensity of surface flow is highly correlated to the total rainfall amount and intensity. In the poorly managed abandoned plot, it is important to remark that the effect of tillage in the past, the elimination of the vegetation cover to preserve the soil in bare condition, and its use as a grazing area by cultivating barley highly affects the generation of the highest erosive events. Therefore, it is confirmed that these soil management options are not the most sustainable way to conserve the soil after the abandonment of cultivation.
Mitigating Reputational Risk Through Image Repair Strategies
Authors: Nair Ramesh , Sulaiman Shairah Hana , Saad Nor Azyyati Md , Suppiah Puspalata , Lin Maizura
Published: April 2019

This article examines rhetorical strategies as well as the linguistic construction of those strategies in press releases put out by Cadbury Malaysia in response to accusations that it has failed to comply with halal certification standards. Drawing on image repair theory and the concept of the ideological square, six press releases were analysed to identify the rhetorical strategies as well as semantic structures that were used to repair the organization’s image and minimize reputational risk. The analysis reveals how the organization moved beyond denial to also employ the rhetorical strategies of attacking one’s accuser and bolstering. Despite early media reports naming government agencies as the accusers, the press releases put out by Cadbury Malaysia determined the source of accusations as unnamed individuals within the agencies, thereby avoiding confrontations with the relevant authorities. The analysis shows how language is used in press releases to construct the positive self and negative other as Cadbury Malaysia promoted a discourse of renewal to reassert its position within a highly lucrative halal market. This article provides novel insights into understanding how language works within rhetorical strategies of image repair.
Discursive stance as a pedagogical tool: Negotiating literate identities in writing conferences
Authors: Taylor Laura
Published: April 2019

Literacy development involves not only the cultivation of new practices but also of new identities. Drawing on theories of stance and positioning, this study examines the identity negotiations of one first-grade student with his teacher across a semester. Through close analysis of the stance bids and negotiations within a series of writing conferences, it demonstrates how the pair negotiated between four stances (feedback, instruction, management and collaboration) in disrupting the student’s initial institutional positioning as a struggling writer. These findings illustrate how teachers might use stance as a pedagogical tool, highlighting three patterns of negotiation between the pair that supported the development of the student’s literate identities while showing how new discursive patterns and positions emerged as the pair interacted across a semester. This analysis suggests the necessity of negotiation as a pedagogical orientation in (re)positioning students, as well as the need to look across multiple timescales in examinations of identity.
Exploration of coupled-vibration phenomena in multi-disk rotor with blades with multi-cracks
Authors: Yu Guo-Fei , Chiu Yi-Jui , Yang Chia-Hao , Sheng Jing , Li Xiao-Yun
Published: April 2019

Based on previous research results obtained in the authors’ laboratory, in this article, we develop, refine, and summarize the disk-transverse, blade-bending, and shaft-torsion coupled-vibration phenomena of a multi-disk rotor with blades with multiple cracks. Three methods are used to explore these phenomena, namely, the finite element method, experimental method, and assumed mode method. The assumed mode method is primary, and the others play subsidiary roles. Some beneficial and interesting results are presented in this article. First, the authors used the assumed mode method and finite element method (ANSYS) to explore and compare the change rules of the natural frequencies and mode shapes in a rotor. Second, it is pointed out how multi-cracks affect the coupled-vibration phenomena of a single-/multi-disk(s) system. Numerical calculation results also show that the crack depth, number of crack blades, as well as the symmetry of the crack blades, affect the natural frequencies. Finally, the experimental results are discussed and the advantages and limitations of using each of the three methods are given. While the experimental measurement method advanced herein may have some limitations, the results should guide future research.
Indentation rolling resistance based on a three-parameter Kelvin solid model
Authors: Zhao Xiaoxia , Meng Wenjun , Zhou Lidong
Published: April 2019

The indentation rolling resistance of a belt conveyor with stable operation accounts for more than 60% of the total resistance. Thus, the effective reduction of indentation rolling resistance and its energy consumption have attracted considerable attention of engineers. Indentation rolling resistance is due to the viscoelasticity of conveyor belt. A three-parameter Kelvin solid model is used to characterize the viscoelasticity of materials. The parameters of the Kelvin solid model include two elastic moduli [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] and one viscous coefficient [Formula: see text], and their fitting functions are obtained by completing a dynamic tensile test. A mathematical model of indentation rolling resistance is derived, on the basis of theoretical analysis, which is directly expressed by belt speed, idler radius, and cover layer thickness under the conveyor belt, and is indirectly expressed by normal load and temperature. The influence of five factors on indentation rolling resistance and the influence of combined conditions of any two factors on indentation rolling resistance are separately analyzed on the basis of the mathematical model. The theory in this study is accurate based on the consistency between the theoretical calculation and experimental results. In practical engineering, the operating conditions of belt conveyors are any combination of all factors. Various factors should be considered to reduce indentation rolling resistance.
Weak niche partitioning by migrating shorebirds in a single-food-type environment
Authors: Novcic Ivana
Published: April 2019

This study examined foraging niche partitioning among coexisting species of shorebirds on a sandy beach dominated by a single food type, Horseshoe Crab ( Limulus polyphemus) eggs, where use of foraging microhabitats of limited variety is temporarily restricted due to tidal cycle. The major goal of the study was to examine whether co-occurring species differed in selection of foraging microhabitats and use of feeding techniques. Ruddy Turnstone ( Arenaria interpres), Red Knot ( Calidris canutus), and Sanderling ( Calidris alba) foraged significantly more on sand and gravel compared to pools and swash zone, Semipalmated Sandpiper ( Calidris pusilla) foraged significantly more on sand and gravel compared to swash zone, but not significantly more compared to pools, while differences in use of microhabitats by Dunlin ( Calidris alpina), and Short-billed Dowitcher ( Limnodromus griseus) were non-significant. Turnstones used digging and turning stones, and pecking significantly more than probing, Semipalmated Sandpipers used pecking significantly more than probing, while all other species used probing significantly more than pecking. Knots and Sanderlings had the highest level of overlap both in use of microhabitats and foraging techniques, while turnstones and dowitchers had the lowest. Ruddy Turnstones were the only birds that used digging and turning stones to obtain food and these two foraging methods seemed to be the most important variables discriminating turnstones from other co-occurring shorebirds. However, despite the slight differences in use of foraging methods and microhabitats by different species, this study documented weak partitioning among shorebirds, particularly between sandpipers and dowitchers. These results indicate that the short-term absence of clear niche partitioning on a local scale may occur in shorebird communities.
Prognostic value of automated pupillometry: an unselected cohort from a cardiac intensive care unit
Authors: Obling Laust , Hassager Christian , Illum Charlotte , Grand Johannes , Wiberg Sebastian , Lindholm Matias Greve , Winther-Jensen Matilde , Kondziella Daniel , Kjaergaard Jesper
Published: April 2019

Background:

Patients admitted to a cardiac intensive care unit are often unconscious with uncertain prognosis. Automated infrared pupillometry for neurological assessment in the intensive care unit may provide early prognostic information. This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of automated pupillometry in different subgroups of patients in a cardiac intensive care unit with 30-day mortality as the primary endpoint and neurological outcome as the secondary endpoint.

Methods:

A total of 221 comatose patients were divided into three groups: out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, in-hospital cardiac arrest and others (i.e. patients with cardiac diagnoses other than cardiac arrest). Automated pupillometry was serially performed until discharge or death and pupil measurements were analysed using the neurological pupil index algorithm. We applied receiver operating characteristic curves in univariable and multivariable logistic regression models and a calculated Youden index identified neurological pupil index cut-off values at different specificities.

Results:

In out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients higher neurological pupil index values were independently associated with lower 30-day mortality. The univariable model for 30-day mortality had an area under the curve of 0.87 and the multivariable model achieved an area under the curve of 0.94. The Youden index identified a neurological pupil index cut-off in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients of 2.40 for a specificity of 100%. For patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest and other cardiac diagnoses, we found no association between neurological pupil index values and 30-day mortality, and the univariable models showed poor predictive values.

Conclusion:

Automated infrared pupillometry has promising predictive value after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but poor predictive value in patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest or cardiac diagnoses unrelated to cardiac arrest. Our data suggest a possible neurological pupil index cut-off of 2.40 for poor outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.
Do prices vary with purchase volumes in healthcare contracts?
Authors: Handfield Robert B , Venkitaraman Jaikishen , Murthy Shweta
Published: April 2019

Hospitals are facing severe increases in the cost of clinical supplies, and a common strategy is to drive economies of scale achieved by hospital consolidation. The supply strategy of “volume leveraging” involves sourcing through contracts with Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) for commercial distributors and manufacturers of medical products. This study seeks to document the empirical benefits associated with volume leveraging, through analysis of purchasing data from three large hospitals. The dependent variables include a number of factors that are used to justify volume leveraging approaches, yet the study finds no significant explanatory factors that determine price variation related to the volume purchased. Interviews with physicians and clinicians suggest that poor data quality leads to lack of transparency, and an inability to aggregate volumes across inventory SKUs may be preventing volume-based cost savings from materializing. The results also suggest that lack of transparency results in low levels of utilization, which increases costs.
I’m Not Sure This Is Rape, But: An Exposition of the Stealthing Trend
Authors: Ebrahim Sumayya
Published: April 2019

Upholding the sexual and reproductive rights of all women and girls has been flagged as a global priority. However, the hetero-patriarchal actions and systems within which female sexuality and reproduction is situated not only disenfranchises women of these rights, but it sometimes usurps these rights from them, without them knowing. One such act, is the practice of stealthing. This conceptual article argues that the stealthing trend is a relevant construct in the human and social sciences because it has a detrimental impact on female sexuality and gender-based sexual violence. Through both a conceptual scrutiny of the construct and through online narratives of stealthing, this article not only establishes stealthing as a distinctive form of gender-based sexual violence, it also establishes it as a practice that deviously subjugates female sexuality and reproduction under the guise of sexual autonomy and sexual consent.
A Guide to Burnout for the Tough and Gritty
Authors: Locke Amy
Published: April 2019

Essay on the experience of burnout in medicine.
Cryptococcal Meningitis in an Apparent Immunocompetent Patient
Authors: Poley Marian , Koubek Richard , Walsh Leonard , McGillen Brian
Published: April 2019

Cryptococcal meningitis is an uncommon and severe infection that tends to affect immunocompromised hosts worldwide and in the United States. Annually it is estimated that there are 200 000 cases of cryptococcal meningitis, with the most recent estimate of 3400 cases per year in the United States alone. However, despite the low incidence, 1-year mortality is estimated at 20% to 30% even with long-term consolidation antifungal therapy. A 37-year-old man presented to the emergency department with headaches, dysarthria, hallucinations, and acute worsening of altered mental status, and he was found to have increased intracranial pressure, cerebrospinal fluid leukocytosis, and few encapsulated yeasts consistent with Cryptococcus neoformans meningitis in addition to radiologic evidence consistent with a cryptococcoma of the lungs. This report highlights the occurrence of Cryptococcus neoformans meningitis in a presumed immunocompetent host. The clinician should be aware of sources of minor immunosuppression, as they may contribute to development of Cryptococcus neoformans meningitis. Mortality in this condition remains high due to subacute presentations and delayed diagnosis in non-immunocompromised patients.