bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Endocrine Regulator rFGF21 (Recombinant Human Fibroblast Growth Factor 21) Improves Neurological Outcomes Following Focal Ischemic Stroke of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Male Mice
Authors: Jiang Yinghua , Liu Ning , Wang Qingzhi , Yu Zhanyang , Lin Li , Yuan Jing , Guo Shuzhen , Ahn Bum Ju , Wang Xiao-Jie , Li Xiaokun , Lo Eng H. , Sun Xiaochuan , Wang Xiaoying
Published: December 2018

Background and Purpose—

The complexity and heterogeneity of stroke, as well as the associated comorbidities, may render neuroprotective drugs less efficacious in clinical practice. Therefore, the development of targeted therapies to specific patient subsets has become a high priority in translational stroke research. Ischemic stroke with type 2 diabetes mellitus has a nearly double mortality rate and worse neurological outcomes. In the present study, we tested our hypothesis that rFGF21 (recombinant human fibroblast growth factor 21) administration is beneficial for improving neurological outcomes of ischemic stroke with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods—

Type 2 diabetes mellitus db/db and nondiabetic genetic control db/+ mice were subjected into permanent focal ischemia of distal middle cerebral artery occlusion, we examined the effects of poststroke administration with rFGF21 in systemic metabolic disorders, inflammatory gatekeeper PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ) activity at 3 days, mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and microglia/macrophage activation at 7 days in the perilesion cortex, and last neurological function deficits, ischemic brain infarction, and white matter integrity up to 14 days after stroke of db/db mice.

Results—

After permanent focal ischemia, diabetic db/db mice presented confounding pathological features, including metabolic dysregulation, more severe brain damage, and neurological impairment, especially aggravated proinflammatory response and white matter integrity loss. However, daily rFGF21 treatment initiated at 6 hours after stroke for 14 days significantly normalized systemic metabolic disorders, rescued PPARγ activity decline, inhibited proinflammatory cytokine mRNA expression, and M1-like microglia/macrophage activation in the brain. Importantly, rFGF21 also significantly reduced white matter integrity loss, ischemic brain infarction, and neurological function deficits up to 14 days after stroke. The potential mechanisms of rFGF21 may in part consist of potent systematic metabolic regulation and PPARγ-activation promotion-associated antiproinflammatory roles in the brain.

Conclusions—

Taken together, these results suggest rFGF21 might be a novel and potent candidate of the disease-modifying strategy for treating ischemic stroke with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The 2CAN Score
Authors: Chang Philip , Ruff Ilana , Mendelson Scott J. , Caprio Fan , Bergman Deborah L. , Prabhakaran Shyam
Published: December 2018

Background and Purpose—

A quarter of acute strokes occur in patients hospitalized for another reason. A stroke recognition instrument may be useful for non-neurologists to discern strokes from mimics such as seizures or delirium. We aimed to derive and validate a clinical score to distinguish stroke from mimics among inhospital suspected strokes.

Methods—

We reviewed consecutive inpatient stroke alerts in a single academic center from January 9, 2014, to December 7, 2016. Data points, including demographics, stroke risk factors, stroke alert reason, postoperative status, neurological examination, vital signs and laboratory values, and final diagnosis, were collected. Using multivariate logistic regression, we derived a weighted scoring system in the first half of patients (derivation cohort) and validated it in the remaining half of patients (validation cohort) using receiver operating characteristics testing.

Results—

Among 330 subjects, 116 (35.2%) had confirmed stroke, 43 (13.0%) had a neurological mimic (eg, seizure), and 171 (51.8%) had a non-neurological mimic (eg, encephalopathy). Four risk factors independently predicted stroke: clinical deficit score (clinical deficit score 1: 1 point; clinical deficit score ≥2: 3 points), recent cardiac procedure (1 point), history of atrial fibrillation (1 point), and being a new patient (<24 hours from admission: 1 point). The score showed excellent discrimination in the first 165 patients (derivation cohort, area under the curve=0.93) and remaining 165 patients (validation cohort, area under the curve=0.88). A score of ≥2 had 92.2% sensitivity, 69.6% specificity, 62.2% positive predictive value, and 94.3% negative predictive value for identifying stroke.

Conclusions—

The 2CAN score for recognizing inpatient stroke performs well in a single-center study. A future prospective multicenter study would help validate this score.
National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Zero Strokes
Authors: Eskioglou Elissavet , Huchmandzadeh Millotte Mitra , Amiguet Michael , Michel Patrik
Published: December 2018

Background and Purpose—

We aimed to characterize acute ischemic stroke patients who have an immeasurable deficit on the admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and to evaluate their long-term outcome.

Methods—

We retrospectively compared all acute ischemic stroke patients with an admission NIHSS of 0 in the Acute Stroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne from 2003 to 2013 with all other acute ischemic stroke patients. We compared demographics, clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings. Outcome was considered favorable at 3 months if the modified Rankin Scale score corrected for prestroke disability was ≤1. Stroke recurrences >12 months were also assessed.

Results—

Comparing 108 NIHSS zero (NIHSS=0) patients with the 2889 other strokes by multivariate analysis, NIHSS=0 had lower prestroke disability, longer onset-to-hospital delays and more lacunar and infratentorial strokes. NIHSS=0 patients were less likely to have early ischemic changes on acute computed tomography, had less arterial pathology and lower creatinine levels. They were more likely to have favorable modified Rankin Scale score after correction for prestroke modified Rankin Scale score (zero versus others: 83.2% versus 44.6%) and less likely to die (3.9% versus 13.3%) at 12 months. Stroke and transient ischemic attack recurrence rates were similar (11% versus 11.4%), however.

Conclusions—

Patients with NIHSS=0 strokes are characterized by lacunar and infrantentorial strokes, normal acute computed tomography, and less arterial pathology. However, a significant proportion face recurrent ischemic events and persistent handicap at 12 months. Therefore, NIHSS=0 stroke patients require aggressive secondary prevention and adequate follow-up.
Infections Increase the Risk of 30-Day Readmissions Among Stroke Survivors
Authors: Boehme Amelia K. , Kulick Erin R. , Canning Michelle , Alvord Trevor , Khaksari Bijan , Omran Setareh , Willey Joshua Z. , Elkind Mitchell S.V.
Published: December 2018

Background and Purpose—

Hospitals are increasingly using 30-day readmission (30dRA) to define the quality of care and reimbursement. We hypothesized that common infections occurring during the stroke stay are associated with 30dRA.

Methods—

We conducted a weighted analysis of the federally managed 2013 National Readmission Database to assess the relationship between infection during a stroke hospitalization and 30dRA among ischemic stroke survivors. Ischemic stroke, common infections (defined as sepsis, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection), and comorbidities were identified using
International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision
(
ICD-9
) diagnosis codes, and intravenous tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) or intra-arterial therapy was identified using
ICD-9
procedure codes. Survey design logistic regression models were fit to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios and 95% CI for the association between infections and 30dRA.

Results—

Among 319 317 ischemic stroke patients, 12.1% were readmitted within 30 days, and 29% had an infection during their index hospitalization. Patients with infection during their stroke admission had a 21% higher odds of being readmitted than patients without any type of infection (adjusted odds ratio, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.16–1.26). The association between infection and unplanned readmission was similar with an increased odds of unplanned readmission (adjusted odds ratio, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.18–1.29). When assessing specific types of infections, only urinary tract infections were associated with 30dRA in adjusted models (odds ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04–1.16).

Conclusions—

In a nationally representative cohort, patients who had a common infection during their stroke hospitalization were at increased odds of being readmitted. Patients with infection may benefit from earlier poststroke follow-up or closer monitoring.
InnerBody: Using Interactive and Multisensory Interfaces to Design Behavioral Change
Authors: Nikolic Predrag K. , Cheok Adrian David
Published: December 2018

The authors propose using interactive and multisensory interfaces to design user behavior change. For this purpose, they used coauthor Nikolic's interactive art installation InnerBody, created to provoke health-care-related behavioral changes by arousing death anxiety. Visitors are invited to undertake a (fake) medical examination by interacting with the installation's human heart-shaped interface. Research outcomes are presented based on visitors' observations and participant responses in interviews after interacting with the installation.
Description of a new species of Tilapia Smith, 1840 (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Ghana
Authors: DUNZ ANDREAS R. , SCHLIEWEN ULRICH K.
Published: December 2018

A new species of the genus Tilapia Smith, 1840 is described from the Pra River drainage in Ghana. Tilapia pra sp. nov. is distinguished from all Tilapia species except T. sparrmanii, T. ruweti, T. guinasana, T. baloni, T. brevimanus, T. mariae, T. cabrae and T. busumana in having bicuspid posterior pharyngeal teeth on the lower pharyngeal jaw. It differs from T. baloni and T. ruweti in having more gill rakers on the first ceratobranchial (lower) gill-arch (10–12 vs. 6–9), from T. guinasana in having a higher number of upper lateral line scales (18–22 vs. 14–17) and from T. sparrmanii in a combination of a higher number of upper lateral line scales (18–22 vs. 14–19), a shorter anal fin base (15.0–18.6% vs. 18.0–23.8% of SL) and a lower number of vertical stripes (6–7 vs. 8–9). It differs from T. mariae, T. cabrae and T. brevimanus in having robust, non-spatulate outer row jaw teeth (vs. gracile spatulate teeth) and from T. busumana in having a longer last dorsal-fin spine (16.2–21.3% vs. 11.6–14.9% of SL), and a smaller lower lip length (8.0–10.7% vs. 9.6–13.9% of SL) and lower jaw length (9.9–13.6% vs. 10.5–15.2% of SL). In addition, T. pra sp. nov. differs from T. busumana in ground coloration. T. pra sp. nov. possesses a light brown to greyish dorsum and a beige to yellow ventral area vs. a bluish-purple to blackish dorsum and darker on underside of head and body of T. busumana.
Description of six new species of Oriental Paduniella (Insecta: Trichoptera: Psychomyiidae)
Authors: JOHANSON KJELL ARNE , OLÁH JÁNOS
Published: December 2018

Six new species of Paduniella (Insecta, Trichoptera, Psychomyiidae) from Asia are described and illustrated: P. burmana (Burma), P. dongdata (Vietnam), P. monga (Vietnam), P. nama (Vietnam), P. sabarmata (India), and P. taya (Vietnam). The male genitalia of P. sampati Malicky & Chantaramongkol and P. semarangensis Ulmer are re-described and illustrated based on new material from Vietnam.
Syllinae (Syllidae: Polychaeta) from Australia. Part 4. The genus Haplosyllis Langerhans, 1879
Authors: LATTIG PATRICIA , MARTIN DANIEL , SAN MARTÍN GUILLERMO
Published: December 2018

Large collections of Syllidae (Polychaeta) from around Australia housed at the Australian Museum (Sydney) have been examined and identified. Among them are seven known species of Haplosyllis Langerhans, 1879, which are here redescribed and figured: H. uncinigera (Grube, 1878), H. basticola Sardá, Paul & Ávila, 2002, H. crassicirrata Aguado, San Martín & Nishi, 2006, H. ingensicola Lattig, Martin & Aguado, 2010, H. tenhovei Lattig, Martin & Aguado, 2010, H. djiboutiensis Gravier, 1900 (the most widely distributed species) and H. cf. spongicola. The latter is morphologically very similar to the type series of H. spongicola (Grube, 1855) from the Mediterranean, so future molecular studies would be necessary to clarify its taxonomic status. In addition, H. imajimai sp. nov., H. sanchoi sp. nov., and H. sandii sp. nov., are newly described. All relevant characters for all species are fully illustrated, most of them using Scanning Electron Microscopy. Finally, a key to the Australian species is given.
Molecular phylogeography of a widespread Malagasy leaf chameleon species, Brookesia superciliaris
Authors: RATSOAVINA FANOMEZANA M. , GEHRING PHILIP-SEBASTIAN , RANAIVOARISOA FREDDY J. , RAFELIARISOA TSILAVO H. , CROTTINI ANGELICA , LOUIS JR. EDWARD E. , VENCES MIGUEL
Published: December 2018

Chameleons of the Madagascan endemic genus Brookesia Gray are small to extremely small reptiles with a mostly terrestrial lifestyle, and due to their low mobility and their camouflage they are nearly invisible in the leaf litter of Madagascar's forests. The genus Brookesia is widely distributed (except in the arid south and south-west) but many Brookesia species are restricted to a relatively small area of the island (Glaw & Vences 2007). Speciation has been most prolific in the northern parts of Madagascar, an area that currently host about two-thirds of the 27 nominal Brookesia species (Raxworthy & Nussbaum 1995; Glaw & Vences 2007; Townsend et al. 2009).
Normalized Hail Particle Size Distributions from the T-28 Storm-Penetrating Aircraft
Authors: Field Paul R. , Heymsfield Andrew J. , Detwiler Andrew G. , Wilkinson Jonathan M.
Published: December 2018

Hail and graupel are linked to lightning production and are important components of cloud evolution. Hail can also cause significant damage when it precipitates to the surface. The accurate prediction of the amount and location of hail and graupel and the effects on the other hydrometeor species depends upon the size distribution assumed. Here, we use ~310 km of in situ observations from flights of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology T-28 storm-penetrating aircraft to constrain the representation of the particle size distribution (PSD) of hail. The maximum ~1-km hail water content encountered was 9 g m−3. Optical probe PSD measurements are normalized using two-moment normalization relations to obtain an underlying exponential shape. By linking the two normalizing moments through a power law, a parameterization of the hail PSD is provided based on the hail water content only. Preliminary numerical weather simulations indicate that the new parameterization produces increased radar reflectivity relative to commonly used PSD representations.
Evaluating the Reliability of the U.S. Cooperative Observer Program Precipitation Observations for Extreme Events Analysis Using the LTAR Network
Authors: Demaria Eleonora M. C. , Goodrich David C. , Kunkel Kenneth E.
Published: December 2018

The detection and attribution of changes in precipitation characteristics relies on dense networks of rain gauges. In the United States, the COOP network is widely used for such studies even though there are reported inconsistencies due to changes in instruments and location, inadequate maintenance, dissimilar observation time, and the fact that measurements are made by a group of dedicated volunteers. Alternately, the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network has been consistently and professionally measuring precipitation since the early 1930s. The purpose of this study is to compare changes in extreme daily precipitation characteristics during the warm season using paired rain gauges from the LTAR and COOP networks. The comparison, done at 12 LTAR sites located across the United States, shows underestimation and overestimation of daily precipitation totals at the COOP sites compared to the reference LTAR observations. However, the magnitude and direction of the differences are not linked to the underlying precipitation climatology of the sites. Precipitation indices that focus on extreme precipitation characteristics match closely between the two networks at most of the sites. Our results show consistency between the COOP and LTAR networks with precipitation extremes. It also indicates that despite the discrepancies at the daily time steps, the extreme precipitation observed by COOP rain gauges can be reliably used to characterize changes in the hydrologic cycle due to natural and human causes.
Qualitative Approaches to Policy Research in Education: Contesting the Evidence-Based, Neoliberal Regime
Authors: Kerrigan Monica Reid , Johnson Ane Turner
Published: December 2018

This issue highlights problems with the neoliberal research regime in education policy—one that marginalizes, homogenizes, and dismisses communities, critical voices, and methodologies that could improve educational practice. We argue for greater methodological diversity in policy studies when engaging in research conceptualization, applying theoretical frameworks, collecting data, undertaking data analysis, and critiquing the researcher’s epistemological standpoint and positionality in order to redress these deficits in understanding and representation. Indeed, we suggest that qualitative research plays an important role in also contesting the positivist regime in that it empowers those affected by policy, particularly voices often placed in the margins of policy, and contests a methodological hegemony that privileges a neoliberal paradigm in education. Each article in this issue situates a methodological approach within the praxis of education research, describes an essential departure from the quantitative “gold standard” in policy analysis and research, and provides pedagogical evidence of its application to a specific policy. The introduction of this special issue underscores the need for diverse methodological approaches to understanding the complexity of education policy, provides overviews of the articles, and ends by considering the significance of the issue to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.
Are They Buying or Selling Again? Estimating the Impact of Neighborhood-Level Contagion on Types of Juvenile Drug Recidivism
Authors: Lockwood Brian , Harris Philip W. , Grunwald Heidi E.
Published: December 2018

We examine how the densities of adult and juvenile drug offenders within neighborhoods might be linked to the odds of juvenile recidivism due to drug sales and drug possession. To do so, we analyze a dataset of 5,528 juvenile offenders adjudicated in Philadelphia’s Family Court between 1996 and 2004 using multilevel models to estimate the effects of both individual- and neighborhood-level indicators on the odds of recidivism. The results indicate that community context is significantly related to the odds of juvenile recidivism due to drug sales, but not due to drug possession. Neighborhood levels of adult and juvenile drug offender densities are also shown to moderate the links between individual-level characteristics and the odds of juvenile drug sales recidivism.
Sublime Communion and the Costs of Evolution
Authors: Edwards Denis
Published: December 2018

Both the crisis of life on our planet and major developments in the sciences demand a rethinking of the theological understanding of the human in relationship to the rest of the natural world. Since Pope Francis’s theology of sublime communion provides an important resource for this work, the first section of the article analyses what is said of this communion in Laudato Si’. In the second section, a critical theological issue is raised, one not dealt with in the encyclical, concerning the costs of evolution: the pain, predation, violence, death, and extinction built into the natural world. In the last two sections, it is proposed that the word sublime that Pope Francis uses is capable of embracing the harsh side of creation, through a brief survey of the distinction between beauty and the sublime in philosophical aesthetics, and then through an exploration of the use of the word sublime in the mystical theology of John of the Cross.
Multi-response optimization of the mechanical properties of PP/talc/CaCO3 ternary nanocomposites by the response surface methodology combined with desirability function approach
Authors: Ayaz Mohsen , Ghasemi Faramarz Ashenai , Rahimloo Valiolah Panahizadeh , Menbari Saman
Published: December 2018

This article was focused on the mechanical properties improvement of polypropylene (PP) by optimizing the talc, nanosized calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and maleic anhydride–grafted polypropylene (MAPP) as a compatibilizer. For this purpose, Box–Behnken design of response surface methodology was used to obtain the best combination of additives. Based on the Box–Behnken experimental design, three levels for each factor were used; talc (0, 15, and 30 wt%), MAPP (0, 2, and 4 wt%), and CaCO3 (0, 15, and 30 wt%). The talc was found as the major factor affecting the tensile strength and modulus of PP nanocomposites, while CaCO3 was the major factor affecting the impact strength. The optimal composition of additives for maximum mechanical properties was detected to be 30 wt% talc, 16.6 wt% CaCO3, and 4 wt% MAPP. Finally, surface morphology was analyzed in detail using scanning electron microscopy to confirm the obtained results.
Religious Ritual in a Scientific Space: Festival Participation and the Integration of Outsiders
Authors: Geraci Robert M.
Published: December 2018

An ethnographic approach to the South Indian festival Ayudha Puja reveals that the celebration plays a role in the construction of scientific communities. Ayudha Puja has the ability to absorb westerners, non-Hindus, and non-Brahmins into Indian science and engineering communities and is thus widely practiced in South Indian industry and academia. The practice of Ayudha Puja thus parallels what M. N. Srinivas labels “Sanskritization.” Within India, the process of Sanskritization refers to the adoption of high-caste habits and diet by upwardly mobile lower-caste communities. While not actually an example of Sanskritization, participation in Ayudha Puja is analogous to that process: by joining a Hindu rite within the scientific and professional workspace, outsiders become part of local laboratory, department, or office culture. Such practices reveal the need for scholars to investigate scientific community building outside the domain of how scientists reveal new facts about the world.
Comparison of the Class Effects of Antisense Oligonucleotides in CByB6F1-Tg(HRAS)2Jic and CD-1 Mice
Authors: Kim Tae-Won , Papagiannis Chris N. , Zwick Laura S. , Engelhardt Jeffery A. , Hoffmaster Christine M. , Post Noah M. , Matson John E. , Hsiao Jill A. , Burel Sebastien A. , Henry Scott P.
Published: December 2018

The 6-month Tg.rasH2 mouse carcinogenicity model provides an acceptable alternative to the 2-year carcinogenicity study in CD-1 mice. However, key questions related to the use of this model for testing antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) include the similarity in the biologic response between mouse strains and the feasibility of using data from the CD-1 mouse to set doses and dose schedules for a Tg.rasH2 carcinogenicity study. To evaluate the potential strain differences, four distinct 2′- O-(2-methoxyethyl) ASOs were administered to CByB6F1 (wild type), Tg.rasH2 (hemizygous), and CD-1 mice. There were no meaningful differences in clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, or serum chemistry and hematology parameters. Histopathology evaluation indicated little to no difference in the spectrum or magnitude of changes present. The cytokine/chemokine response was also not appreciably different between the strains. This was consistent with the similarity in ASO concentration in the liver between the mouse strains tested. As the class effects of the ASOs were not meaningfully different between CD-1, CByB6F1, or Tg.rasH2 mice, data from nonclinical studies in CD-1 mice can be used for dose selection and expectation of effect in the Tg.rasH2 mouse.
Physicochemical characterization of three natural clays used as adsorbent for the humic acid removal from aqueous solution
Authors: Gueu Soumahoro , Finqueneisel Gisèle , Zimny Thierry , Bartier Danièle , Yao Benjamin Kouassi
Published: December 2018

Adsorption behaviours of humic acid on three natural clays from Ivory Coast were studied. In order to investigate the adsorption mechanism, characterization of clays and the humic acid–clay complex was conducted by using various analytical methods (attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), specific surface area analysis (BET) and chemical composition). As a result, adsorption process showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of humic acid was achieved at pH = 3 and was found to be to 115 mg/g obtained for the best sample. For all clays, the adsorption was found to be strongly dependent on pH and well fitted by the Langmuir model. In addition, it was shown that the adsorption capacity was linked to the kaolinite content of each sample. The results showed that humic acid adsorption onto clay was made via electrostatic interactions, ligand exchange and hydrophobic interactions. This study showed that clays are valuable adsorbents for the removal of humic acid.
Design and fabrication of nanocomposite-based polyurethane filter for‏ ‏improving municipal waste water quality and removing organic pollutants
Authors: Mostafavi Somayeh , Rezaverdinejad Vahid , Pirsa Sajad
Published: December 2018

Nanotechnology has been used in different industries for years. In this study, polyurethane filter, modified with nano-sized polypyrrole–ZnO was used for wastewater quality improvement. The effect of coating method and influential parameters on polymer morphology was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed that the uniformly synthesized polymers are seed like. The size of synthesized nanoparticles was observed to be about 50–120 nm. The effect of the number of iterative filtration and the height of the filter on improving the quality of the waste water was investigated using central composite design. After filtration, spectroscopy method, gas chromatography method, and some other devices such as biochemical oxygen demand meter and salt meter were used to evaluate the quality of the waste water. The results indicated that the filter efficiency in optimizing parameters such as total dissolved solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, color, salinity, hardness, pH, and organic compounds removal is desirable. After data modeling, the optimal thickness of the filter was 3.8 cm and the most appropriate iteration for filtration was eight times obtained using a graphical method. Results showed that the designed filter had an excellent ability to improve wastewater quality and can be used in water and wastewater refining instruments.
Energy recovery from municipal solid waste of intermunicipal public consortia identified in São Paulo State
Authors: Dalmo Francisco C , Simao Nathalia , Nebra Silvia , Santana PH de Mello
Published: December 2018

The main reasons, which this research is based on, are evidenced by the need of technical, political, economic and socioenvironmental coordination for the municipal solid waste management in Brazil and in the State of São Paulo. Most of the counties do not have adequate size to promote the management of MSW, so it’s necessary to perform a consortia to do it. Therefore, it was necessary to characterize the current State of Sao Paulo consortial arrangements considering the environment (including sanitation, waste, water resources, among others). The scale of waste generation and the total population involved in these consortia were also considered. The energy potential of municipal solid waste was evaluated considering two possible technologies: The burning of landfill biogas in engines and the incineration in plants with Rankine cycle. It was identified that the sum of consortia energy potential was 1,454,336 MWh y–1 (landfill biogas), and 2,715,925 MWh y–1 (incineration). It is intended that such results provide significant information and encourage interaction between the different agents involved in the intermunicipal arrangements. It is expected that the characterisation and calculation of energy potential will stimulate future studies about new consortia approaches that consider energy recovery in their projects.
Diurnality, Type 2 Diabetes, and Depressive-Like Behavior
Authors: Bilu Carmel , Zimmet Paul , Vishnevskia-Dai Vicktoria , Einat Haim , Agam Galila , Grossman Ehud , Kronfeld-Schor Noga
Published: December 2018

Although type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and depression are associated with disturbances in circadian rhythms, most studies of these diseases use nocturnal mice and rats while modeling diurnal humans. We suggest that the development of T2DM and depression are related to changes that accompany the switch from the mammalian ancestral nocturnal activity to the current diurnal one. We show that diurnal sand rats ( Psammomys obesus) held outdoors in laboratory cages (where they are exposed to natural environmental conditions) and fed a standard rodent diet do not develop T2DM in contrast to animals held indoors (where the only cycling environmental condition is light) fed the same diet. Moreover, keeping sand rats under a short photoperiod dampened behavioral and molecular daily rhythms, resulted in anxiety- and depressive-like behavior, and accelerated the development of T2DM. We suggest that the disturbed rhythms disrupt the internal temporal order and metabolic pathways controlled by feeding and the circadian system, resulting in the development of T2DM and depressive-like behavior. We further suggest that using nocturnal mice and rats as sole model animals may limit research, especially when studying circadian rhythm-related diseases.
Impact of Timing Between Insulin Administration and Meal Consumption on Glycemic Fluctuation and Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Lim Shu Fang , Jong Michelle , Chew Daniel Ek Kwang , Lee Joyce Yu-Chia
Published: December 2018

Background

The effect of time interval from insulin injection to meal consumption (“insulin-meal”) on glycemic fluctuation and outcomes is not well understood.

Objective

This study aims to investigate the impact of coordinated versus mismatched insulin-meal administration on glycemic fluctuation and outcomes among hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods

Hospitalized patients with T2D who received at least 1 dose of insulin as part of sliding scale regimen were included. Data such as capillary blood glucose values and insulin-meal time intervals were collected.

Results

A total of 215 patients with 840 insulin-meal encounters were eligible for the study. Compared to the insulin-meal mismatch group (n = 206), the coordinated insulin-meal administration group (n = 9) had lower mean glycemic fluctuation (6.5 [2.6] mmol/L vs 5.6 [2.5] mmol/L or 117 [47] mg/dL vs 100 [45] mg/dL). Encounters with the insulin-meal time interval of 30 to 45 minutes (n = 172) were associated with the lowest percentage of severe hyperglycemia occurrences (13%) as compared to encounters with time interval of 0 to 29 minutes (n = 280, 15%) and more than 45 minutes (n = 246, 16%).

Conclusion

Coordinated insulin-meal administration was associated with lower glycemic fluctuation among hospitalized patients with T2D.
Measuring Growth of the Nonprofit Sector: The Choice of Indicator Matters
Authors: Pennerstorfer Astrid , Rutherford Alasdair C.
Published: December 2018

Interestingly, although many authors consent that nonprofit organizations and the nonprofit sector have grown in many countries, there is little discussion of how to best measure this growth. Looking at the broad universe of nonprofit organizations, there is no single measure that is relevant for the whole sector and captures changes adequately. This article gives an overview of commonly-used growth measures in the existing nonprofit literature and discusses the informative value of the various measures. Using Austrian and Scottish time-series data, we present an empirical example of how the growth story of the nonprofit sector can change depending on the measures used. The correlations between measures such as the number of organizations, income/expenditures, and assets are particularly small. We recommend that researchers measuring the growth of the nonprofit sector should be clear about the properties of their selected measure, and where possible should present alternative measures in their analysis.
Investigation of adaptive slot control method for starting characteristics of hypersonic inlets
Authors: Zhu Chengxiang , Yang Rijiong , Chen Rongqian , Qiu Ruofan , You Yancheng
Published: December 2018

Starting characteristics restrict the operation limits of a hypersonic inlet. Enhancement of the starting ability thus serves as one of the most serious issues in propulsion system. In the present work, we propose a simple adaptive slot control method, which expands the working range of hypersonic inlets to a lower Mach number and shows very weak losses. Our simulation results applying the five parallel slot geometrical design show a substantial reduction of the starting Mach number. The air flow inside the parallel slot channels is self-driven by the pressure gradient located near the separation shock under unstart mode, whereas it is strongly suppressed when the inlet is restarted. Surprisingly, all the inlet configurations are almost restarted at the same Mach 3.0, regardless of the individual width of the slot and the number of slot. This confirms the self-adapted nature of the pressure gradient inside the channel which shows prospect for the potential engineering applications of the simple slot control method. However, the location of the slots shows a big influence on the control efficiency, indicating that these slots need to be arranged carefully on the compression surface based on the location of the separation bubble.
Choosing Among Options Presented Sequentially or Simultaneously
Authors: Basu Shankha , Savani Krishna
Published: December 2018

When choosing among multiple options, people can view the options either one at a time or all together. In this article, we review an emerging stream of research that examines the ways in which viewing options sequentially as opposed to simultaneously influences people’s decisions. Multiple studies support the idea that viewing options simultaneously encourages people to compare the options and to focus on the ways in which the options differ from each other. In contrast, viewing options sequentially encourages people to process each option holistically by comparing the option with previously encountered options or a subjective reference point. Integrating research from judgment and decision making, consumer behavior, experimental economics, and eyewitness identification, we identify ways in which the different processing styles elicited by sequential- and simultaneous-presentation formats influence people’s judgment and decision making. This issue is particularly important because presenting options either sequentially or simultaneously is a key element of choice architecture.
Correlation-based Diversification and Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation of India
Authors: Nigam Narander Kumar , Gupta C. P.
Published: December 2018

Measurement of diversification has always remained one of the critical issues in diversification literature. During the past half-century, many measures of corporate diversification have been suggested and applied. Traditionally, diversification as a continuous variable has been measured through ‘entropy’ and ‘Herfindahl index’. While both measures are able to capture related and/or unrelated diversification, they fail to capture degree of relatedness of group firms. To address this, a new measure of diversification is proposed, which is based on correlation of firms’ sales. It will not only capture degree of relatedness of group firms but also decompose the components into additive structure and would vary between zero and one. We have found a quadratic relationship between a firm’s profitability and its degree of diversification. Further, it was observed that diversified firms are performing better irrespective of their degree of diversification if performance is measured in terms of accounting variables (return on asset and return on equity); however, market-based variable (Jensen’s alpha) is higher in case of very low and very high degree of diversification.
Stylized Facts of High-frequency Financial Time Series Data
Authors: Shakeel Moonis , Srivastava Bhavana
Published: December 2018

High-frequency financial time series data have an ability to define market microstructure and are helpful in making rational real-time decisions. These data sets carry unique characteristics and properties which are not available in low-frequency data; with that high-frequency data also create more challenges and opportunities for econometric modelling and financial data analysis. So it is essential to know the features and the facts related to the high-frequency time series data. In this article, we provide the characteristics and stylized facts exhibited by the high-frequency financial time series data of the S&P CNX Nifty futures index. Stylized facts are mostly related to the empirical observed behaviours, distributional properties, autocorrelation function and seasonality of the high-frequency data. Also, it illustrates the importance of stationarity in financial time series analysis. The knowledge of such facts and concepts is helpful to establish better empirical models and to produce reliable forecasts.
Outdoor Careers and Motherhood
Authors: Whittington Anja
Published: December 2018

Background: Working in an outdoor career with extensive travel and long hours away from home can pose challenges for practitioners. For women, motherhood can create constraints and impact one’s career trajectory. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of motherhood on the career trajectory of women working in Adventure Education (AE), Outdoor Education (OE), and/or Experiential Education (EE). Methodology/Approach: About 83 women completed an online survey which included both descriptive (closed-ended) and qualitative (open-ended) questions. Findings/Conclusions: An analysis of the findings included: why women leave their chosen career path, how working mothers manage both career and family, challenges women face and strategies to support working mothers. Implications: There are many challenges motherhood poses for women often requiring women to either leave their chosen career path or change their job responsibilities. Despite these challenges many women have found ways to manage both family and work life however, institutional changes could help women to be more successful.
Pilot Study of Visual and Quantitative Image Analysis of Facial Surface Asymmetry in Unilateral Complete Cleft Lip and Palate
Authors: Kimura Namiko , Kim Hyoungseop , Okawachi Takako , Fuchigami Takao , Tezuka Masahiro , Kibe Toshiro , Amir Muhammad Subhan , Inada Emi , Ishihata Kiyohide , Nozoe Etsuro , Nakamura Norifumi
Published: December 2018

Objective:

To visualize and quantitatively analyze facial surface asymmetry following primary cleft lip repair in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and to compare this with noncleft controls.

Design:

Retrospective comparative study.

Patients:

Twenty-two patients with complete UCLP who underwent primary lip repair from 2009 to 2013 were enrolled in this study. The preserved 3-dimensional (3D) data of 23 healthy Japanese participants with the same age were used as controls.

Interventions:

All patients had received primary labioplasty in accordance with Cronin triangular flap method with orbicular oris muscle reconstruction.

Main Outcome Measures:

Shadow and zebra images established from moiré images, which were reconstructed from 3D facial data using stereophotogrammetry, were bisected and reversed by the symmetry axes (the middle line of the face). The discrepancies of the gravity and density between cleft and noncleft sides in 2 regions of interest, facial and lip areas, were then calculated and compared with those of healthy participants.

Results:

In the UCLP group, the mean discrepancies of gravity on shadow and zebra images were 1.76 ± 0.70 and 2.63 ± 1.72 pixels, respectively, in the facial area and 1.31 ± 0.36 and 3.83 ± 2.08 pixels, respectively, in the lip area. There was a significant difference in the mean discrepancies of gravity and density on zebra images in the lip area between the UCLP and control groups.

Conclusions:

Our image analysis of digital facial surface asymmetry in patients with UCLP provides visual and quantitative information, and it may contribute to improvements in muscle reconstruction on cleft lip repair.
Mammary Epithelial-Myoepithelial Carcinoma: Report of a Case With HRAS and PIK3CA Mutations by Next-Generation Sequencing
Authors: Baum Jordan E. , Sung Kap-Jae , Tran Hung , Song Wei , Ginter Paula S.
Published: December 2018

We present the case of a 73-year-old woman with an epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma of the left breast (ie, malignant adenomyoepithelioma). In both the initial needle core biopsy and in the subsequently performed lumpectomy, the tumor consisted of nests of neoplastic epithelium and myoepithelium with cytologic atypia, increased mitoses, and infiltrative growth into the surrounding tissue. Mutational analysis showed oncogenic driver mutations in HRAS and PIK3CA. In this article, we describe an epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast with focal metaplastic differentiation, an extremely rare entity, and report the results of targeted next-generation sequencing. Our patient has not shown any evidence of recurrent or metastatic disease at 29 months follow-up.
Are American’s Attitudes Toward GM Science Really Negative? An Academic Examination of Attitudes and Willingness to Expose Attitudes
Authors: Ruth Taylor K. , Rumble Joy N. , Lamm Alexa J. , Irani Traci , Ellis Jason D.
Published: December 2018

The purpose of this study was to reexamine attitudes toward GM (genetic modification) science and explore whether tenets of the historic spiral of silence theory still exist to explain attitudes and willingness to expose attitudes. A national survey of 1,050 U.S. residents revealed the majority of respondents had positive attitudes toward GM science; however, these respondents were no more willing to express their attitudes compared to those with neutral or negative attitudes. The findings from this study did not fully support the spiral of silence but provided insight into public opinion formation and measurement.
Resistance and Its Potential
Authors: Muth William
Published: December 2018

Resistance—political, physical, or philosophical—emerges in thresholds of contact where the “sides” engage, and sometimes one side gives way to the other. This study works in the thresholds of political resistance and an unsettled philosophical stance to examine a singular event in which the author’s intentional being in the protest “gave way.” It attends to two incompatible notions of subjectivity—an oriented/intentional lived subjectivity that is potentially available to, and claimed by, human experience and post-intentional, posthuman subject assemblages that are not accessible to human experience—to examine the potential of resistance for both civil disobedience and post-phenomenological qualitative inquiry.
Adaptive control in roll-forward recovery for extreme scale multigrid
Authors: Huber Markus , Rüde Ulrich , Wohlmuth Barbara
Published: December 2018

With the increasing number of compute components, failures in future exa-scale computer systems are expected to become more frequent. This motivates the study of novel resilience techniques. Here, we extend a recently proposed algorithm-based recovery method for multigrid iterations by introducing an adaptive control. After a fault, the healthy part of the system continues the iterative solution process, while the solution in the faulty domain is reconstructed by an asynchronous online recovery. The computations in both the faulty and the healthy subdomains must be coordinated in a sensitive way, in particular, both under- and over-solving must be avoided. Both of these waste computational resources and will therefore increase the overall time-to-solution. To control the local recovery and guarantee an optimal recoupling, we introduce a stopping criterion based on a mathematical error estimator. It involves hierarchically weighted sums of residuals within the context of uniformly refined meshes and is well-suited in the context of parallel high-performance computing. The recoupling process is steered by local contributions of the error estimator before the fault. Failure scenarios when solving up to 6.9 × 1011 unknowns on more than 245,766 parallel processes will be reported on a state-of-the-art peta-scale supercomputer demonstrating the robustness of the method.
The Service Recovery Journey: Conceptualization, Integration, and Directions for Future Research
Authors: Van Vaerenbergh Yves , Varga Dorottya , De Keyser Arne , Orsingher Chiara
Published: December 2018

Service failures represent temporary or permanent interruptions of the customer’s regular service experience. Although the literature identifies an extensive set of organizational alternatives for recovering from service failures, researchers have approached these responses as discrete organizational actions that are loosely connected to the dynamic nature of the recovery experience. In this article, we address this shortcoming by introducing the idea of the service recovery journey (SRJ). We first conceptualize the SRJ as the outcome of a service failure that is composed of three phases: prerecovery, recovery, and postrecovery. We then synthesize the organizational responses to service failures reported in 230 journal articles and integrate them with the novel SRJ perspective. Thereafter, we provide an extensive set of questions for future research that will expand our knowledge about the prerecovery, recovery, and postrecovery phases and address the interaction between the customer’s regular journey and the SRJ. Finally, we outline six considerations for recovery research seeking to affect business practice and discuss the managerial implications of adopting an SRJ perspective.
Ocular manifestations of hydroa vacciniforme in a Black child
Authors: Höllhumer Roland
Published: December 2018

Purpose:

To report the clinical presentation (systemic and ocular) of hydroa vacciniforme in a Black South African child.

Methods:

Case report.

Results:

A 14-year-old Black boy was seen at the corneal service with cutaneous erosions, varioliform scarring, corneal scarring, cicatricial conjunctivitis and central crystalline corneal opacity.

Conclusion:

We report the first case in the literature of ocular hydroa vacciniforme in a young Black South Africa boy.