bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hepatitis C Treatment with Sofosbuvir and Ledipasvir Accompanied by Immediate Improvement in Hemoglobin A1c
Authors: Ikeda Atsuyuki , Ikeda Kaori , Takai Atsushi , Takahashi Ken , Ueda Yoshihide , Marusawa Hiroyuki , Seno Horoshi , Inagaki Nobuya , Kokuryu Hiroyuki
Published: October 2017

Background/Aims: Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have increased the sustained viral response rate with minimal adverse effects and short treatment duration. In addition, recent data suggest the possibility that hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance results in rapid improvement in metabolic pathways. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the DAA treatment without ribavirin lowers hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) at 12 weeks after therapy completion. Methods: We performed an observational study to assess the effect of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir (SOF/LED) treatment on glycemic control. We compared HbA1c levels before and after treatment with SOF/LED, considering that anemia is not a side effect of these drugs. Results: In the 36 patients with HCV eradication, HbA1c levels decreased significantly after treatment (pre-treatment 5.85% vs. post-treatment 5.65%, p < 0.01). Conclusion: This pilot study shows the possibility that HCV eradication by SOF/LED was accompanied by an improvement of glucose metabolism in the population with or without diabetes, and suggests further investigation.
Immediate and Midterm Cardiac Remodeling After Surgical Pulmonary Valve Replacement in Adults With Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot
Authors: Heng Ee Ling , Gatzoulis Michael A. , Uebing Anselm , Sethia Babulal , Uemura Hideki , Smith Gillian C. , Diller Gerhard-Paul , McCarthy Karen P. , Ho Siew Yen , Li Wei , Wright Piers , Spadotto Veronica , Kilner Philip J , Oldershaw Paul , Pennell Dudley J. , Shore Darryl F. , Babu-Narayan Sonya V.
Published: October 2017

Background:

Pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot provides symptomatic benefit and right ventricular (RV) volume reduction. However, data on the rate of ventricular structural and functional adaptation are scarce. We aimed to assess immediate and midterm post-PVR changes and predictors of reverse remoeling.

Methods:

Fifty-seven patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (age ≥16 y; mean age, 35.8±10.1 y; 38 male) undergoing PVR were prospectively recruited for cardiovascular magnetic resonance performed before PVR (pPVR), immediately after PVR (median, 6 d), and midterm after PVR (mPVR; median, 3 y).

Results:

There were immediate and midterm reductions in indexed RV end-diastolic volumes and RV end-systolic volumes (RVESVi) (indexed RV end-diastolic volume pPVR versus immediately after PVR versus mPVR, 156.1±41.9 versus 104.9±28.4 versus 104.2±34.4 mL/m
2
; RVESVi pPVR versus immediately after PVR versus mPVR, 74.9±26.2 versus 57.4±22.7 versus 50.5±21.7 mL/m
2
;
P
<0.01). Normal postoperative diastolic and systolic RV volumes (the primary end point) achieved in 70% of patients were predicted by a preoperative indexed RV end-diastolic volume ≤158 mL/m
2
and RVESVi ≤82 mL/m
2
. RVESVi showed a progressive decrease from baseline to immediate to midterm follow-up, indicating ongoing intrinsic RV functional improvement after PVR. Left ventricular ejection fraction improved (pPVR versus mPVR, 59.4±7.6% versus 61.9±6.8%;
P
<0.01), and right atrial reverse remodeling occurred (pPVR versus mPVR, 15.2±3.4 versus 13.8±3.6 cm
2
/m
2
;
P
<0.01). Larger preoperative RV outflow tract scar was associated with a smaller improvement in post-PVR RV/left ventricular ejection fraction. RV ejection fraction and peak oxygen uptake predicted mortality (
P
=0.03) over a median of 9.5 years of follow-up.

Conclusions:

Significant right heart structural reverse remodeling takes place immediately after PVR, followed by a continuing process of further biological remodeling manifested by further reduction in RVESVi. PVR before RVESVi reaches 82 mL/m
2
confers optimal chances of normalization of RV function.
Pioglitazone Prevents Stroke in Patients With a Recent Transient Ischemic Attack or Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Yaghi Shadi , Furie Karen L. , Viscoli Catherine M. , Kamel Hooman , Gorman Mark , Dearborn Jennifer , Young Lawrence H. , Inzucchi Silvio E. , Lovejoy Anne M. , Kasner Scott E. , Conwit Robin , Kernan Walter N.
Published: October 2017

Background:

The IRIS trial (Insulin Resistance Intervention after Stroke) demonstrated that pioglitazone reduced the risk for a composite outcome of stroke or myocardial infarction among nondiabetic patients with insulin resistance and a recent stroke or transient ischemic attack. The current planned secondary analysis uses updated 2013 consensus criteria for ischemic stroke to examine the effect of pioglitazone on stroke outcomes.

Methods:

Participants were randomly assigned to receive pioglitazone (45 mg/d target dose) or placebo within 180 days of a qualifying ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack and were followed for a maximum of 5 years. An independent committee, blinded to treatment assignments, adjudicated all potential stroke outcomes. Time to first stroke event was compared by treatment group, overall and by type of event (ischemic or hemorrhagic), using survival analyses and Cox proportional hazards models.

Results:

Among 3876 IRIS participants (mean age, 63 years; 65% male), 377 stroke events were observed in 319 participants over a median follow-up of 4.8 years. Pioglitazone was associated with a reduced risk for any stroke at 5 years (8.0% in comparison with 10.7% for the placebo group; hazard ratio [HR], 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60–0.94; log-rank
P
=0.01). Pioglitazone reduced risk for ischemic strokes (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.57–0.91;
P
=0.005) but had no effect on risk for hemorrhagic events (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.50–2.00;
P
=1.00).

Conclusions:

Pioglitazone was effective for secondary prevention of ischemic stroke in nondiabetic patients with insulin resistance.

Clinical Trial Registration:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00091949.
Relationships Between Components of Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease and Hypertension
Authors: Vidal-Petiot Emmanuelle , Greenlaw Nicola , Ford Ian , Ferrari Roberto , Fox Kim M. , Tardif Jean-Claude , Tendera Michal , Parkhomenko Alexander , Bhatt Deepak L. , Steg P. Gabriel ,   for the CLARIFY Investigators*
Published: October 2017

Observational studies have shown a J-shaped relationship between diastolic blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease. We investigated whether the increased risk associated with low diastolic BP reflects elevated pulse pressure (PP). In 22 672 hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease from the CLARIFY registry (Prospective Observational Longitudinal Registry of Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease), followed for a median of 5.0 years, BP was measured annually and averaged. The relationships between PP and diastolic BP, alone or combined, and the primary composite outcome (cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction) were analyzed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. Adjusted hazard ratios for the primary outcome were 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40–1.87), 1.00 (ref), 1.07 (95% CI, 0.94–1.21), 1.54 (95% CI, 1.32–1.79), and 2.34 (95% CI, 1.95–2.81) for PP<45, 45 to 54 (reference), 55 to 64, 65 to 74, and ≥75 mm Hg, respectively, and 1.50 (95% CI, 1.31–1.72), 1.00 (reference), and 1.58 (95% CI, 1.42–1.77) for diastolic BPs of <70, 70 to 79 (ref), and ≥80 mm Hg, respectively. In a cross-classification analysis between diastolic BP and PP, the relationship between diastolic BP and the primary outcome remained J-shaped when the analysis was restricted to patients with the lowest-risk PP (45–64 mm Hg), with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.53 (95% CI, 1.27–1.83), 1.00 (ref), and 1.54 (95% CI, 1.34–1.75) in the <70, 70 to 79 (reference), and ≥80 mm Hg subgroups, respectively. The J-shaped relationship between diastolic BP and cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease persists in patients within the lowest-risk PP range and is therefore unlikely to be solely the consequence of an increased PP reflecting advanced vascular disease.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clarify-registry.com
. Unique identifier: ISRCTN43070564.
Public Religious Pedagogy: Linking Public Theology, Social Theory and Educational Theory
Authors: Pirner Manfred L.
Published: October 2017

This paper addresses the relationship of public theology and education, a field of research that has been neglected in theology as well as in educational theory and religious pedagogy. It does so by firstly analyzing the discourse in the public sphere at the intersection of theology and religious education in Germany, and secondly by drawing on the social theories of John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas to provide a framework for relating public theology and (religious) education. In the German context the rediscovery and revaluing of the political dimension of public religious education has led to the evolving concept of ‘public religious pedagogy’, with obvious analogies to public theology—a concept that may have the potential to become a new paradigm in the academic discipline of religious pedagogy. Systematically, the article advances the hypothesis that philosophical discourse on the question of ‘how citizens who remain deeply divided on religious, philosophical, and moral doctrines, can still maintain a just and stable democratic society’ (John Rawls) corresponds to the discourse in educational philosophy and educational science on the question of how a consensus on major objectives of public education in general and the role of religion in this context in particular can be reached. It will be demonstrated that the academic discourse around religious education can benefit from dialogue and interaction with the social theories of (the later) Rawls and Habermas.
On Extended Rationality
Authors: Millar Alan
Published: October 2017

The discussion highlights the need to distinguish between perceptions and the experiences implicated by perceptions, noting that Coliva’s framework makes perception irrelevant to justified belief, except for being the contingent means by which we are furnished with experiences that are the real source of justified belief. It then addresses two issues concerning the problem of cognitive locality. The problem concerns what enables us rationally to suppose that our perceptual experiences mostly put us in touch with reality. The issues addressed are: (1) whether, assuming that there is a problem of cognitive locality, Coliva’s Moderate position adequately addresses it; and (2) whether Coliva gives us enough to make sense of the claim, central to the Moderate position, that certain background presuppositions are constitutive of empirical rationality.
Reading the Guides, Directories, Manuals, and Anthologies of Liulichang
Authors: Mokros Emily
Published: October 2017

During the Qing dynasty, Liulichang became a prominent bookselling and publishing district in the imperial capital. Yet, most historical and scholarly writing on Liulichang has addressed only the antiquarian and rare book trade, and has neglected the prominence of commercial publishing of informational texts in Beijing. Commercial bookseller-printers formed a significant presence in Liulichang, and their research, publishing, and marketing practices were attuned to the changing dynamics of life in the capital. For clerks, merchants, and aspirant officials, Liulichang publishers offered books such as guidebooks, official directories, examination results, forensic handbooks, and administrative anthologies. Based on an examination of hundreds of books published in Liulichang and focusing on official directories ( jinshen lu) and guidebooks, this paper demonstrates how publishers managed connections with the state, cultivated sources, recycled texts, and crafted printing practices. It argues that publishing practices in Liulichang became more standardized during the dynasty, both in reaction to the state’s loosening of controls on publishing and to the growth in the market for informational texts.
The end of a mystery: transferring Streptostachys robusta to Ichnanthus (Poaceae, Paspaleae) based on DNA sequences, morphology and leaf anatomy
Authors: OLIVEIRA REYJANE PATRICIA DE , JESUS-JUNIOR LUIZ ANTONIO DE , MOTA ALINE COSTA DA , SILVA CHRISTIAN DA
Published: October 2017

Streptostachys robusta was described from a single collection from Southern Bahia, Brazil. Because of the early flowering stage of the type material, with immature spikelets, the taxonomic position of this species remained uncertain for more than three decades. We obtained new collections of the taxon, and using several lines of evidence demonstrate that S. robusta belongs to the genus Ichnanthus and is related to I. bambusiflorus. We transfer this species to Ichnanthus, as I. robustus, and amend its description to reflect a broader range of morphological variation, based on study of all known specimens. Details of fully developed spikelets are presented for the first time. We also propose an epitype for the name S. robusta because the holotype and isotypes do not allow precise application of the name.
Rediscovery of the type series of the Sacred Shrew, Sorex religiosus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826, with additional notes on mummified shrews of ancient Egypt (Mammalia: Soricidae)
Authors: WOODMAN NEAL , KOCH CLAUDIA , HUTTERER RAINER
Published: October 2017

In 1826, Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire described the Sacred Shrew, Sorex religiosus [= Crocidura religiosa] from a series of 22 embalmed individuals that comprised a portion of the Italian archeologist Joseph Passalacqua’s collection of Egyptian antiquities from an ancient necropolis near Thebes, central Egypt. Living members of the species were not discovered until the beginning of the 20th century and are currently restricted to the Nile Delta region, well north of the type locality. In 1968, the type series of S. religiosus was reported lost, and in 1978, a neotype was designated from among a small collection of modern specimens in the Natural History Museum, London. Our investigations have revealed, however, that the type series is still extant. Most of the specimens used by I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to describe S. religiosus still form part of the Passalacqua Collection in the Ägyptisches Museum, Berlin, Germany. We summarize the taxonomic history of S. religiosus, review the history of the Passalacqua collection, and explain why the type series was thought to have been lost. We designate an appropriate lectotype from among the original syntypes of S. religiosus in the Ägyptisches Museum. Our examination of the shrew mummies in the Passalacqua collection also yielded a species previously unrecorded from either ancient or modern Egypt: Crocidura pasha Dollman, 1915. Its presence increases the number of soricid species embalmed in ancient Egypt to seven and provides additional evidence for a more diverse Egyptian shrew fauna in the archeological past. Finally, we provide details that will assist in better understanding the variety of mummification procedures used to preserve animals in ancient Egypt.
1. The Ballad of Taipinggoor
Authors: Dechun Li , Roche Gerald
Published: October 2017

The tale of Taipinggoor (sung in a mixture of Mongghul and Chinese) relates how a virgin-born hero appears in the traditional Mongghul homeland, the Seven Valleys. He travels to Beijing to suppress a rebellion there, acquiring both technical and magical assistance along the way. After successfully quelling the rebellion in Beijing, he returns to the Seven Valleys to live with his mother.
2. The Ballad of Marshal Qi
Authors: Dechun Li , Roche Gerald
Published: October 2017

The Ballad of Marshall Qi describes the exploits of a Mongghul ‘chieftain’ (tusi) who is summoned by imperial edict to battle ‘rebels’ (actually soldiers of the Later Jin) to break the siege of Luoyang. Marshall Qi travels from the Seven Valleys to Luoyang with his Mongghul army, meeting difficulties along the way, but eventually arrives in Luoyang and retakes the city. He and his soldiers then travel home, once again overcoming challenges to reach their destination.
3. Laarimbu and Qiimunso
Authors: Dechun Li , Roche Gerald
Published: October 2017

Laarimbu and Qiimunso (in Mongghul) tells the story of two star-crossed lovers. Laarimbu is a herder from a poor family, whilst Qiimunso cares for the livestock of her wealthy family. They meet while out herding and fall in love, but their plans to unite as a couple are thwarted by Qiimunso’s brother. Finding Qiimunso’s choice of a lover unacceptable, he murders Laarimbu. Qiimunso thereafter commits suicide by throwing herself on Laarimbu’s funeral pyre. Reunited in the afterlife, the two lovers take their revenge on Qiimunso’s brother.
4. The Song of the Dildima Bird
Authors: Dechun Li , Roche Gerald
Published: October 2017

Dildima Xau is a lament, sung by a woman after marrying into her husband’s home. She describes her miserable existence—her decrepit appearance and the poor treatment she is receiving—to a bird, the eponymous dildima, asking the bird to carry her message back to her parents in her natal home.
7. The Song of the Sheep
Authors: Dechun Li , Roche Gerald
Published: October 2017

The Sheep Song is a cultural omnibus depicting various aspects of life on the northeast Tibetan Plateau, and in the same way as the Crop-Planting Song, it spends considerable time mapping space at various levels: the cosmos and its bodies, the earth and its social and political organization, as well as, individual landscapes and their inhabitants.
Preface
Authors: Turin Mark
Published: October 2017

Turin outlines the goals of the World Oral Literature Series, a publishing initiative which has not only made the study of oral literature more accessible, but also enabled the establishment of collaborative publishing partnerships between indigenous intellectuals and outside scholars. Turin points out that this very book is a product of that exact type of relationship. The cooperation between Dr. Li Dechun—a Mongghul surgeon and established scholar—and anthropologist Gerald Roche offers a rich lesson in the lasting value of respectful collaboration.
Introduction: Translanguaging in Song: Orature and Plurilingualism in Northeast Tibet
Authors: Roche Gerald
Published: October 2017

This introduction, in addition to providing background information on the Mongghul people and their oral traditions, examines the significance of the collated materials in their capacity to illuminate traditional patterns of multilingualism on the northeast Tibetan Plateau. Subsequent chapters each present a different Mongghul long narrative song, with texts in three languages: Mongghul, Chinese, and English.
Impacts of Tropical North Atlantic SST on Western North Pacific Landfalling Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Gao Si , Chen Zhifan , Zhang Wei
Published: October 2017

This study examines the impacts of tropical North Atlantic (TNA) sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) on western North Pacific (WNP) landfalling tropical cyclones (TCs). The authors find that TNA SSTA has significant negative correlations with the frequency of TCs making landfall in China, Vietnam, the Korean Peninsula and Japan, and the entirety of East Asia. TNA SSTA influences the frequency of TC landfalls in these regions by regulating TC genesis location and frequency associated with modulated environmental conditions. During cold TNA SST years, larger low-level relative vorticity and weaker vertical wind shear lead to more TC formations over the South China Sea (SCS) and western Philippine Sea (WPS), and larger low-level relative vorticity, higher midlevel relative humidity, and weaker vertical wind shear result in more TC formations over the eastern part of WNP (EWNP). More TCs forming over different regions are important for more TC landfalls in Vietnam (mainly forming over the SCS and WPS), south China (predominantly forming over the SCS), Taiwan (mostly forming over the WPS), and the Korean Peninsula and Japan (forming over the WPS and EWNP). Tracks of these landfalling TCs basically follow the mean steering flow in spite of different directions of steering flow anomalies in the vicinity. The modulation of large-scale environments by TNA SSTA may be through two possible pathways proposed in previous studies: the Indian Ocean relaying effect and the subtropical eastern Pacific relaying effect. The results of this study suggest that TNA SSTA is a potential predictor for the frequency of TCs making landfall in China, Vietnam, the Korean Peninsula and Japan, and the entirety of East Asia.
Impact of Long-Term Dual Antiplatelet Therapy on Immature Platelet Count and Platelet Reactivity
Authors: Verdoia Monica , Pergolini Patrizia , Rolla Roberta , Barbieri Lucia , Schaffer Alon , Marino Paolo , Bellomo Giorgio , Suryapranata Harry , De Luca Giuseppe
Published: October 2017

The immature platelet count (IPC) is a potential marker of platelet reactivity. We assessed the relationship between IPC during chronic dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) and the response to antiplatelet drugs (acetylsalycilic acid + clopidogrel/ticagrelor). We included 286 patients: 167 (58.4%) patients received ticagrelor and 119 (41.6%) received clopidogrel. At a median follow-up of 46.5 days, the variation in IPC displayed an absolute median (interquartile range [IQR]) of −11.9 × 103/µL (−182.7 to 160.8), corresponding to a median percentage change in IPC ([%ΔIPC] IQR) of −0.3% (−21.9% to 35.5%), with an increase in IPC levels in those on ticagrelor and a decrease in IPC levels in those on clopidogrel. We observed an inverse association of lower platelet reactivity at different tests and a higher increase in IPC ( r = −0.14, P = .04 for arachidonic acid test; r = −0.12, P = .05 for collagen test; and r = −0.13, P = .02 for adenosine diphosphate test [ADP]). The rate of poor effectiveness of ADP antagonists was the only independent predictor of a ΔIPC above the third tertile (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 0.55 [0.32-0.99]; P = .048). We showed that in patients treated with chronic DAPT, an increase in IPC is significantly related to lower levels of platelet reactivity.
Educating Parents About Infant Language Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Suskind Dana L. , Leung Christy Y. Y. , Webber Robert J. , Hundertmark Alison C. , Leffel Kristin R. , Fuenmayor Rivas Iara E. , Grobman William A.
Published: October 2017

A total of 427 women (aged 18-45 years) who delivered a singleton neonate without serious medical complications were randomized to watch either an educational intervention (n = 225) or the sudden infant death syndrome (n = 202) video. Linear mixed models showed that the intervention women significantly gained knowledge over time. Knowledge gain was largest among high–socioeconomic status (high-SES) and middle-SES English-speaking, smaller among low-SES Spanish-speaking, and nonsignificant among low-SES English-speaking women. Analysis of deviance revealed that the intervention women of all SES learned strategies fostering secure attachment and language acquisition. Participants considered watching an educational video alongside the universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) conveniently timed. The intervention women were more likely than the control women to recognize the importance of timely UNHS follow-up.
Parliamentarians in government delegations: An old question still not answered
Authors: Onderco Michal
Published: October 2017

Why do governments include parliamentarians in the delegations to international negotiations? Conduct of the diplomatic negotiations is among the most tightly controlled prerogatives of the executive, and executives have been historically dominant in the conduct of foreign policy. This article draws on the participation of members of parliaments in national delegations to the Review Conferences of the Non-Proliferation Treaty over the past 40 years. The emerging patterns show that legitimation through oversight is unlikely to be the reason for participation. Drawing on literature on institutional variation in legislative–executive relations, the data indicate that executives are more interested in co-opting the parliamentarians, in order to make them less opposed to the government’s policy.
Have Standard Formulas Correcting Correlations for Range Restriction Been Adequately Tested?: Minor Sampling Distribution Quirks Distort Them
Authors: Johnson Wendy , Deary Ian J. , Bouchard Thomas J.
Published: October 2017

Most study samples show less variability in key variables than do their source populations due most often to indirect selection into study participation associated with a wide range of personal and circumstantial characteristics. Formulas exist to correct the distortions of population-level correlations created. Formula accuracy has been tested using simulated normally distributed data, but empirical data are rarely available for testing. We did so in a rare data set in which it was possible: the 6-Day Sample, a representative subsample of 1,208 from the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 of cognitive ability in 1936-born Scottish schoolchildren (70,805). 6-Day Sample participants completed a follow-up assessment in childhood and were re-recruited for study at age 77 years. We compared full 6-Day Sample correlations of early-life variables with those of the range-restricted correlations in the later-participating subsample, before and after adjustment for direct and indirect range restriction. Results differed, especially for two highly correlated cognitive tests; neither reproduced full-sample correlations well due to small deviations from normal distribution in skew and kurtosis. Maximum likelihood estimates did little better. To assess these results’ typicality, we simulated sample selection and made similar comparisons using the 42 cognitive ability tests administered to the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, with very similar results. We discuss problems in developing further adjustments to offset range-restriction distortions and possible approaches to solutions.
Widowhood in the Israeli Arab Muslim Society
Authors: Yasien-Esmael Hend , Rubin Simon Shimshon , Eshel Yohanan
Published: October 2017

Adjustment of Israeli Arab Muslim widows to the traumatic loss of their husbands was examined by comparing their reported ways of coping with those of married women of their community by means of the Two-Track-Bereavement Model. Participants included 93 widows and 86 comparable married women who were mostly middle aged and of middle class. We hypothesized that widows will express concurrently greater suffering and higher resilience to adverse life events compared with married women. It was hypothesized further that positive and close relations to a deceased husband will be reported by Arab widows as well as Arab married women. However, positive relationships of married women will correlate with their own coping supporting attributes, whereas positive relations of widows to their deceased husband will not be associated with their individual characteristics. Results indicated a fourfold factor structure of the bereavement and coping scale which differed from those obtained by Israeli Jewish women and generally supported these hypotheses. It appears that traumatic loss of a husband may enhance widows’ resilience.
Equine Exercise in Younger and Older Adults: Simulated Versus Real Horseback Riding
Authors: Kim Min Joo , Kim TaeYeong , Oh Sejun , Yoon BumChul
Published: October 2017

Horseback riding is an effective exercise for improving postural control and balance. To reduce costs and improve accessibility, simulated horseback riding has been developed; but no differential effects of simulated and real horseback riding on muscle activation patterns in older adults have been studied. Thus, we compared muscle activation patterns for older and younger adults engaged in real and simulated horseback riding exercises, using surface electromyography recordings of the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, internal oblique abdominis, and rectus femoris muscles. We recorded muscle activity for three riding patterns: walk, slow trot, and fast trot. Muscle activation was uniformly higher for simulated (vs. real) horseback riding and increased from the walking pattern through slow and fast trot. There was no age effect, but among older participants, muscle activation was higher for simulated (vs. real) horseback riding across all gait types. Simulated and real riding produced a similar pattern of muscle activation of the thigh and trunk. These results demonstrate that simulated horseback riding can be an effective alternative to actual riding for increasing trunk and thigh muscle activation and improving postural control and balance, perhaps especially among older adults.
Maternal Monitoring Knowledge Change and Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors in Low-Income African American and Latino Families
Authors: Chang Tzu-Fen , Qin Desiree Baolian
Published: October 2017

Drawing on a sample of 318 African American and 354 Latino urban, low-income families, we identify maternal monitoring knowledge trajectories and examine which trajectory predicts fewer late-adolescent externalizing problems and which family and neighborhood factors predict trajectories with positive implications for late-adolescent externalizing behaviors. The majority of adolescents in both groups perceived long-term high levels of maternal monitoring knowledge throughout adolescence—stably high for the African American sample and high for the Latino sample. Long-term high levels of knowledge predicted fewer general late-adolescent externalizing problems for both groups and fewer late-adolescent delinquent behaviors for the African American sample. Family routine and mother–adolescent trust predicted long-term high levels of knowledge for both groups. For the African American sample, family routine and neighborhood cohesion predicted stably high levels of knowledge via the mediation of mother–adolescent trust. We discuss implications for improving positive adolescent development and family environments for both groups.
Imperfect Perfection and Wheelchair Bodybuilding: Challenging Ableism or Reproducing Normalcy?
Authors: Sparkes Andrew C , Brighton James , Inckle Kay
Published: October 2017

This article explores the impact of the binary configuration of disabled bodies as opposite and unequal to able bodies, and whether or not contemporary bodybuilding provides a space where this dualism can be overcome. Drawing on life history interviews with Dan, a professional wheelchair bodybuilder, we consider how his hyper-muscular upper body may position him as a supercrip and thereby reinforce bodily and gender norms. Simultaneously, Dan’s powerful, disabled body and a competitive context that applies standard judgement criteria across all bodies potentially subverts this normative configuration. We reflect on the contradictions engendered by Dan’s corporeality by drawing on notions of the bodybuilder as body-garde involved in a process of enfreakment that disrupts and transcends contemporary bodily ideals. Here, variable self-reflexive bodybuilding projects can accommodate contingent conceptualisations of perfection, including disability, with implications for disabled bodies and identities more broadly.
Effect of NaClO dosage on the structure of degummed hemp fibers by 2,2,6, 6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy-laccase degumming
Authors: Liu Liu , Xiang Yeping , Zhang Ruiyun , Li Bei , Yu Jianyong
Published: October 2017

In this study, different dosages of NaClO were used in the 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO)-laccase degumming system to remove non-cellulosic materials, and their effects on the structure of hemp fibers were analyzed and discussed. A scanning electron microscope was used to depict the surface morphology of fibers after oxidative degumming under various dosages of NaClO in the TEMPO-laccase degumming system. Chemical composition analysis was used to determine the content changes of the different components. Meanwhile, the content of functional groups was also discussed. Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction were employed to evaluate the microstructural changes of degummed hemp fibers obtained from the degumming processes with different dosages of NaClO. The results showed that after the TEMPO-laccase system degumming process with a NaClO dosage of 16%, the cleanest and smoothest surface of degummed fibers could be observed and the non-cellulosic materials were significantly removed without any crystalline transformation or damage in the cellulose. This research could shed light on determining favorable operation parameters for hemp oxidation degumming and increasing the degumming efficiency, as well as in the oxidation control and quality assurance of hemp fibers for textile downstream end uses.
Digital Distraction: Shedding Light on the 21st-Century College Classroom
Authors: Aaron Lynn S. , Lipton Talia
Published: October 2017

It is not uncommon to walk into a college classroom and find all heads bowed down to a flashing screen and the room . . . silent. While digital devices can certainly support learning, what about when they are a distraction? This study explored this 21st-century phenomenon from two perspectives: Does the use of a device for nonacademic purposes during a learning activity interfere with learning? Does the classroom policy about digital device use play a role?

A total of 351 college students from 20 classes participated in this study. Short-term retention was checked: A video on educationally relevant material was shown followed by a brief quiz on that material. The results are informative for both factors—multitasking and policy effectiveness.
Feminist Autoethnography, Gender, and Drug Use
Authors: Ettorre Elizabeth
Published: October 2017

This article explores autoethnography as one way of doing feminist research in the drugs field. By telling my story during my 40 years experience as a feminist researcher in the drugs field, I aim to help those practicing critical drug scholarship to become familiar with this methodology as a viable way of employing a gender analysis, an employment that is the focus of this special issue. This paper is divided into five related discussions. First, I explain what feminist autoethnography is. Second, I look at how doing feminist “drugs” autoethnography helps to develop empathy. Third, I describe the methods and use of data employed in this paper. Fourth, I tell my story chronologically from 1972 to the present time. Lastly, as with many autoethnographies, my analysis of my “story as data” is left to last and I discuss the political implications of my experiences, while “feeling about” empathy as resonance with the other.
BILEX: A new tool measuring bilingual children’s lexicons and translational equivalents
Authors: Gampe Anja , Kurthen Ira , Daum Moritz M.
Published: October 2017

The current study describes the development and validation of a novel scale (BILEX) designed to assess young bilingual children’s receptive vocabulary in both languages, their conceptual vocabulary, and translational equivalents. BILEX was developed to facilitate the assessment of vocabulary size for both of the children’s languages within one session without any transfer from one language to the other. One-hundred-and-eighty-two 3-year-old children participated in the studies of reliability and validity. Psychometric properties have very good consistency and reliability, along with good concurrent, construct, and criteria validity.
Software Review of flexMIRT Version 3.5
Authors: Cavanaugh S. Austin , Heiser Ciji A. , Hoeve Karen B. , Ozberk Eren Halil , Patton Elizabeth A. , Sessoms John C. , Stockdale Myrah R. , Unsal-Ozberk Elif Bengi , Wood Claire
Published: October 2017

flexMIRT is a versatile program for unidimensional and multidimensional item response theory (IRT) calibrations, scoring analyses, and model-based simulations. With an adaptable syntax that allows for various combinations of model specifications, estimation constraints, and estimation choices, flexMIRT can handle almost all of the most popular IRT models for dichotomous and polytomous data. The software package also supports diagnostic classification models and multigroup and multilevel analyses. This review evaluates the software from a user’s perspective as well as some of its calibration, scoring, and simulation capabilities. Two simulation studies are included: one demonstrates some basic simulation capabilities and the other provides some direct comparisons with BILOG-MG. The review suggests that flexMIRT is a very good product that is only likely to get better as new features and suggestions for improvement are implemented.
Executive dysfunction and blockage of brain microvessels in a rat model of vascular cognitive impairment
Authors: Langdon Kristopher D , Cordova Chris A , Granter-Button Shirley , Boyd Jamie D , Peeling James , Murphy Timothy H , Corbett Dale
Published: October 2017

Most research focuses on overt stroke caused by blockage of major blood vessels. Less attention has been paid to small vessel disease which gives rise to covert stroke that often leads to vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). One reason for this may be the relative lack of relevant animal models. Herein, we describe, a model of VCI induced in middle-aged Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to a diet high in saturated fats, salt and refined sugar (HFSS). In Experiment 1, rats were fed HFSS and subjected to a small mediodorsal (MD) thalamic stroke with or without concomitant permanent bilateral carotid artery occlusion. MD lesions produce significant executive dysfunction in an attention set-shift task ( p = 0.012). In Experiment 2, rats were exposed to either HFSS or control diet and functional effects assessed. We found significant hypertension ( p = 0.013), blockage of brain microvessels ( p = 0.018) and white matter atrophy ( p = 0.039) in HFSS diet animals. As in Experiment 1, profound, specific set-shifting executive dysfunction was noted ( p = 0.003) following both small MD infarcts (0.332 mm3) and the HFSS diet. In summary, these data describe a middle-aged animal model of VCI that includes clinically relevant metabolic disturbances and small vessel disease and as such may be helpful in developing new cognitive therapies.
Embedding the lateral end of the lag screw within the lateral wall in the repair of reverse obliquity intertrochanteric femur fracture
Authors: Hiragami Ken , Ishii Jyunji
Published: October 2017

Objective

The management of reverse oblique intertrochanteric femoral fractures is difficult because such fractures have unique biomechanical characteristics. This study was performed to review the results of treating reverse oblique intertrochanteric femoral fractures with a long cephalomedullary nail by embedding the lateral end of the lag screw to secure axial compression.

Methods

We herein report the surgical outcomes in seven patients with reverse oblique intertrochanteric fractures treated with our procedure. Patients whose hip screws obviously had no contact with the distal fragment and whose follow-up time was too short were excluded. The lateral end of the lag screw was embedded within the lateral cortex, and the screws were locked to the nail. All nails were long, and a distal locking screw was inserted in the dynamized position.

Results

No reoperation, definite leg length discrepancy, or malunion occurred in this study.

Conclusions

These data suggest that early complications do not seem to increase when the lateral end of the lag screw is embedded and the screw is locked to the nail in the treatment of reverse oblique intertrochanteric fracture at this stage.
Peripheral provocation of cranial autonomic symptoms is not sufficient to trigger cluster headache attacks
Authors: Möller Maike , Haji Ame Abdu , Hoffmann Jan , May Arne
Published: October 2017

Background

Recently it has been suggested that low frequency stimulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) may provoke cluster-like attacks in cluster headache (CH) patients. The question arises whether a robust activation of cranial autonomic symptoms is sufficient to trigger CH attacks.

Methods

Kinetic oscillation stimulation (KOS) of the nasal mucosa generates ipsilateral marked autonomic symptoms, among which lacrimation is quantitatively measurable. KOS was applied to 29 CH-patients, including both episodic and chronic course. We measured lacrimation at rest and during stimulation, and assessed CH attacks within 24 hours after the experiment.

Results

Autonomic symptoms including lacrimation were robust and significantly generated, compared to rest. Six patients were lost to follow-up, but did not develop an attack during their stay in the clinic. Of the remaining 23 patients, none developed an attack in the next 4 hours after stimulation, despite marked cranial autonomic symptoms during stimulation.

Discussion

Peripheral stimulation close to the SPG generated a strong parasympathetic response. However, this stimulation was not sufficient to induce CH attacks, which suggests that a central component is crucial to attack generation.
Migraine with brainstem aura: Why not a cortical origin?
Authors: Demarquay Geneviève , Ducros Anne , Montavont Alexandra , Mauguiere François
Published: October 2017

Background

Migraine with brainstem aura is defined as a migraine with aura including at least two of the following symptoms: dysarthria, vertigo, tinnitus, hypacusis, diplopia, ataxia and/or decreased level of consciousness.

Aim

The aim of this study is to review data coming from clinical observations and functional mapping that support the role of the cerebral cortex in the initiation of brainstem aura symptoms.

Results

Vertigo can result from a vestibular cortex dysfunction, while tinnitus and hypacusis can originate within the auditory cortex. Diplopia can reflect a parieto-occipital involvement. Dysarthria can be caused by dysfunctions located in precentral gyri. Ataxia can reflect abnormal processing of vestibular, sensory, or visual inputs by the parietal lobe. Alteration of consciousness can be caused by abnormal neural activation within specific consciousness networks that include prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices.

Conclusion

Any symptom of so-called brainstem aura can originate within the cortex. Based on these data, we suggest that brainstem aura could have a cortical origin. This hypothesis would explain the co-occurrence of typical and brainstem aura during attacks and would fit with the theory of cortical spreading depression. We propose that migraine with brainstem aura should be classified as a typical migraine aura.
Maternal Mental Health after Custody Loss and Death of a Child: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Linkable Administrative Data
Authors: Wall-Wieler Elizabeth , Roos Leslie L. , Bolton James , Brownell Marni , Nickel Nathan , Chateau Dan
Published: October 2017

Objective:

The objective was to compare mental illness diagnoses and treatment use among mothers who lost custody of their child through involvement with child protection services and those seen in mothers dealing with the death of a child.

Methods:

We studied mental health outcomes of a cohort of women whose first child was born in Manitoba, Canada between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2015. Of these women, 5,792 had a child taken into care, and 1,143 mothers experienced the death of a child (<18 y old) before 31 March 2015. Adjusted relative rates (ARR) of 3 mental health diagnoses and 3 mental health treatment use outcomes between these 2 groups were examined.

Results:

Mothers with a child taken into care had significantly greater ARR of depression (ARR = 1.90; 95% CI, 1.82 to 1.98), anxiety (ARR = 2.51; 95% CI, 2.40 to 2.63), substance use (ARR = 8.54; 95% CI, 7.49 to 9.74), physician visits for mental illness (ARR = 3.01; 95% CI, 2.91 to 3.12), and psychotropic medication use (ARR = 4.95; 95% CI, 4.85 to 5.06) in the years after custody loss compared with mothers who experienced the death of a child.

Conclusion:

Losing custody of a child to child protection services is associated with significantly worse maternal mental health than experiencing the death of a child. Greater acknowledgement and supportive services should be provided to mothers experiencing the loss of a child through the involvement of child protection services.
Liverpool as a trading port: Sailors’ residences, African migrants, occupational change and probated wealth
Authors: Behrendt Stephen D. , Hurley Robert A.
Published: October 2017

This report updates results from www.liverpoolmaritime.org , Liverpool as a Trading Port, 1704–1840. Baptism, marriage and burial records from Liverpool parish church registers, rather than census data or street directory entries, provide information about individuals in Liverpool, including enslaved and free African migrants. Wealth valuations from the Consistory Court of Chester provide data on estate valuations from Lancashire as a whole. Preliminary results demonstrate that many sailors resided on a small number of Liverpool streets as well as along the docks. Liverpool’s important maritime sector declined through the nineteenth century, in part because of the abolition of the British slave trade, as fewer surgeons and carpenters sailed from Liverpool, and because Liverpool’s service sector advanced. A disproportionate number of probates concerned shipboard personnel in the slave trade due to the Guinea trade’s comparatively high mortality. Captains who survived slaving voyages accumulated three times as much wealth as they would have earned in alternative maritime trades. Similarly, merchants who invested in slaving voyages usually accumulated more wealth than other Lancashire merchants, though there were increasing numbers of Lancastrians who profited from cotton trades and manufacturing.
Continuity and breakdown: Taiwan’s customs service during the Japanese occupation, 1895–1945
Authors: Yuju Lin
Published: October 2017

In 1895, following the defeat of Qing forces in the Sino–Japanese War, Taiwan was ceded to Japan, ending more than 200 years of Qing imperial governance of the island. As Taiwan became Japan’s first colony, its economy not only moved out of the orbit of the Qing Empire into that of Imperial Japan, but its customs system underwent significant change. Since the 1860s, a Western-style customs had been used on the island, but now it switched to the model (itself Westernized) adopted by Japan as part of the Meiji Restoration. In December 1943, in response to the unification of the marine transit system under wartime conditions, the Taiwan Governor-General abolished the customs and replaced it with the new Harbour Bureau. Two years later, in the wake of Japan’s defeat in the Second World War, Taiwan returned to Chinese rule. In December 1945, the late Qing customs institution was reinstated in Taiwan, while the Harbour Bureau, which had operated for less than two years during wartime, was also retained. These two systems were merged into a new mechanism to control Taiwan’s window onto the world; it has remained in use until today. In contrast to the liberalization that marked the administration of the Taiwan coast in the late Qing, the customs during the Japanese occupation was a device used to control the people, goods and ships that flowed into and out of Taiwan. The development of Taiwan’s customs system illustrates the ways in which continuity and breakdown characterize administrative mechanisms in line with the rise and fall of regimes. This article explores the formation of the Japanese customs system from the end of the shogunate to the Meiji Restoration, how it was transplanted to Taiwan, and the nature and significance of that shift.