bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematic Review: Frameworks Used in School‐Based Interventions, the Impact on Hispanic Children's Obesity‐Related Outcomes
Authors: Andrade Jeanette , Lotton Jennifer , Andrade Juan
Published: October 2018

BACKGROUND

Childhood obesity among Hispanic children is a public health concern in the United States and Mexico. Although experiences from school‐based intervention programs aimed at influencing obesity‐related behaviors have been positive, the understanding of those framework elements that are associated with successful outcomes is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the frameworks used within school‐based intervention programs in the United States and Mexico that showed improvements in obesity‐related outcomes among Hispanic children.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature was conducted using 4 electronic databases. Inclusion criteria included: incorporating a framework or aspects of frameworks within an intervention, more than 50% of Hispanic children used in the study and obesity‐related outcomes (eg, dietary behaviors and anthropometric measurements). Data extraction and evaluation were completed using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Manual.

RESULTS

Ten articles (United States = 4; Mexico = 6) meeting inclusion criteria were evaluated. Eight studies that included a community‐based framework, intensive nutrition education, and continuous communication among stakeholders resulted in improvements in dietary behaviors and anthropometric measurements among children compared to control groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Incorporating community‐based frameworks may increase the efficacy of school‐based intervention programs to reduce obesity‐related outcomes among Hispanic children.
Babesia gibsoni cytochrome b mutations in canine blood samples submitted to a US veterinary diagnostic laboratory
Authors: Birkenheuer Adam J. , Marr Henry S. , Wilson James M. , Breitschwerdt Edward B. , Qurollo Barbara A.
Published: October 2018

Background: Babesiosis caused by Babesia gibsoni is recognized throughout the world and can be difficult to treat. Resistance to atovaquone is associated with mutations in the B. gibsoni mitochondrial genome, specifically the M128 position of cytochrome b (cytb). The prevalence of cytb mutations in North America has not been reported.

Hypothesis/Objectives: The objective of our study was to describe the prevalence of cytb M128 mutations in B. gibsoni in canine blood samples submitted to a US veterinary diagnostic laboratory. A secondary objective was to determine whether or not some dogs had wild‐type cytb in our initial samples then had M128 mutations detected in follow‐up samples.

Animals: One‐Hundred seventy‐four dogs that tested positive for the presence of B. gibsoni between 2012 and 2017.

Methods: Case series of consecutive samples submitted to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Partial B. gibsoni cytb genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and screened for the presence of mutations at the M128 position.

Results: The overall prevalence of M128 mutants was 3.5% (6/173 dogs) in the initial samples. The incidence of new cytb mutants in dogs that tested positive for B. gibsoni, which then had follow‐up testing, was 12.1% (5/41).

Conclusions and Clinic Importance: Our study reaffirms that B. gibsoni infection is widespread and most commonly detected in American Staffordshire Terrier/American Pit Bull Terrier dogs (128/174, 74% of the infected dogs in our study). The prevalence of cytb mutations does not warrant pretreatment genotyping.
The pharmacokinetics of gabapentin in cats
Authors: Adrian Derek , Papich Mark G. , Baynes Ronald , Stafford Emma , Lascelles B. Duncan X.
Published: October 2018

Background

Gabapentin is the most commonly prescribed medication for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain in cats. Despite this common and chronic usage, clinically relevant pharmacokinetic data is lacking.

Objectives

To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of clinically relevant dosing regimens of gabapentin in cats.

Animals

Eight research‐purpose mixed‐breed cats.

Methods

Cats were enrolled in a serial order, non‐randomized pharmacokinetic study. Gabapentin was administered as an IV bolus (5 mg/kg), orally (10 mg/kg) as a single dose or twice daily for 2 weeks, or as a transdermal gel (10 mg/kg) in serial order. Serial blood samples were collected up to 48 hours. Plasma concentrations were determined using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry. Compartmental analysis was used to generate gabapentin time‐concentration models.

Results

After IV administration CL (median (range)) and terminal half‐life were 160.67 mL/kg*hr (119.63‐199.11) and 3.78 hours (3.12‐4.47), respectively. The oral terminal half‐life was 3.63 hours (2.96‐4.77), and 3.72 hours (3.12‐4.51) for single and repeated dosing. TMAX and CMAX, as predicted by the model were 1.05 hours (0.74‐2.11), and 12.42 μg/mL (8.31‐18.35) after single oral dosing, and 0.77 hours (0.58‐1.64), and 14.78 μg/mL (9.70‐18.41) after repeated oral dosing. Bioavailability after a single oral dose was 94.77% (82.46‐122.83).

Importance

Repeated oral dosing of gabapentin did not alter the drug's pharmacokinetics, making dose adjustments unnecessary with long‐term treatment. As prepared, the transdermal route is an inappropriate choice for drug administration. These relevant data are important for future studies evaluating potential efficacy of the medication for treating chronic pain states in cats.
Scale Matters in Contextual Analysis of Extreme Right Voting and Political Attitudes
Authors: David Quentin , Pilet Jean‐Benoit , Van Hamme Gilles
Published: October 2018

A large body of literature has explored the rise of extreme right parties since the 1980s in Europe. A number of studies have assessed whether the context, particularly the level of unemployment and immigration, impacts support for the extreme right and found contradictory results. We argue in this paper that these contradictions might simply result from differences in the scale used to assess the context. We systematically test the impact of immigration and unemployment, measured at various scales, on extreme right voting and attitudes towards immigrants and immigration, using two alternative approaches with data for Belgium. In the concentric approach, we measure the unemployment and the presence of migrants within various radii around each respondent's residence. In the polarized approach, we consider the actual polarization of space, using the very local scale (statistical district), the living pool (municipality), and the employment pool. We show that the scale choice changes the results and that the most significant impacts are generally found at intermediary scales.
A tetratricopeptide repeat domain protein has profound effects on assembly of periplasmic flagella, morphology and motility of the lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Authors: Moon Ki Hwan , Zhao Xiaowei , Xu Hui , Liu Jun , Motaleb Md A.
Published: October 2018

Spirochetes possess a unique periplasmic flagellar motor component called the collar. However, little is known about the composition or function of the flagellar collar proteins. To identify a collar protein, we have inactivated almost all genes annotated as motility‐related in the Borrelia burgdorferi genome and identified only FlbB, which comprises the base of the collar. Since the major components of the collar complex remained unidentified, we took advantage of a protein–protein interaction map developed in another spirochete, Treponema pallidum to identify proteins of unknown function that could be collar proteins. Subsequently, using various comprehensive approaches, we identified a tetratricopeptide repeat protein BB0236 as a potential candidate for the collar. Biochemical assays indicated that FlbB interacts with BB0236. Furthermore, ∆bb0236 mutant analyses indicated that BB0236 is crucial for collar structure assembly, cellular morphology, motility, orientation of periplasmic flagella and assembly of other flagellar structures. Moreover, using comparative motor analyses, we propose how the collar structure is assembled in B. burgdorferi. Together, our studies provide new insights into the organization and the complex assembly inherent to the unique spirochetal collar structure.
A shifting balance: responses of mixotrophic marine algae to cooling and warming under UVR
Authors: Cabrerizo Marco J. , González‐Olalla Juan Manuel , Hinojosa‐López Víctor J. , Peralta‐Cornejo Francisco J. , Carrillo Presentación
Published: October 2018

Mixotrophy is a dominant metabolic strategy in ecosystems worldwide. Shifts in temperature (T) and light (i.e. the ultraviolet portion of spectrum (UVR)) are key abiotic factors that modulate the conditions under which an organism is able to live. However, whether the interaction between both drivers alters mixotrophy in a global‐change context remains unassessed.

To determine the T × UVR effects on relative electron transport rates, nonphotochemical quenching, bacterivory, and bacterial production, we conducted an experiment with Isochrysis galbana populations grown mixotrophically, which were exposed to 5°C of cooling and warming with respect to the control (19°C) with (or without) UVR over light–dark cycles and different timescales.

At the beginning of the experiment, cooling inhibited the relative electron transport and bacterivory rates, whereas warming depressed only bacterivory regardless of the radiation treatment. By the end of the experiment, warming and UVR conditions stimulated bacterivory. These reduced relative electron transport rates (c. 50% (warming) and > 70% (cooling)) were offset by increased (35%) cumulative bacterivory rates under warming and UVR conditions.

We propose that mixotrophy constitutes an energy‐saving and a compensatory mechanism to gain carbon (C) when photosynthesis is impaired, and highlight the need to consider the natural environmental changes affecting the populations when we test the impacts of interacting global‐change drivers.
Caudal and intravenous dexmedetomidine similarly prolong the duration of caudal analgesia in children: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Yao Yusheng , Yu Chao , Zhang Xiaolan , Guo Yanhua , Zheng Xiaochun
Published: October 2018

Background

Dexmedetomidine can prolong the duration of action of a local anesthetic agent, but the route of administration that is the most beneficial remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical effectiveness of caudal or intravenous dexmedetomidine administration on postoperative analgesia in children undergoing inguinal hernia repair given caudal levobupivacaine.

Methods

This was a prospective, randomized, double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled trial. Ninety ASA I subjects, aged 2‐5 year, undergoing unilateral inguinal hernia repair were enrolled. The children were randomized in a double‐blind fashion to three groups. The L‐Dcau group received 1 mL/kg of caudal 0.25% levobupivacaine plus 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine and IV 20 mL saline. The L‐Div group received 1 mL/kg of caudal 0.25% levobupivacaine and IV 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine in 20 mL saline. The L group received 1 mL/kg of caudal 0.25% levobupivacaine and IV 20 mL saline. The primary outcome was the duration of analgesia, which was defined as the time from the caudal block to a Postoperative Pain Scale (CHIPPS) score ≥4. Secondary outcomes were the number of patients requiring rescue analgesia, pain intensity, the incidence of emergence agitation, intraoperative hemodynamic variations, residual motor block, and adverse effects.

Results

The median duration of analgesia in the L‐Dcau group was 14.2 hour compared to 6 hour in the L group with a median difference of 8.5 hour [95% CI (6.5, 10.5), P < 0.001]. The median duration of analgesia in the L‐Div group was 12.4 hour compared to 6 hour in the L group with a median difference of 6.4 hour [95% CI (4, 8.5), P < 0.001]. Fewer patients in the L‐Dcau and L‐Div groups required rescue analgesia in the first 24 hour postoperatively compared to the L group, although there was no significant difference between the L‐Dcau and L‐Div groups for these outcomes. Both dexmedetomidine routes reduced the pain and the incidence of emergence agitation. No bradycardia, hypotension, or motor block was observed in any of the three groups.

Conclusion

Caudal and IV dexmedetomidine similarly prolong the duration of analgesia produced by caudal levobupivacaine.
Estimating contribution of rare non‐coding variants to neuropsychiatric disorders
Authors: Takata Atsushi
Published: October 2018

Owing to recent advances in DNA sequencing technology, a number of large‐scale comprehensive analyses of genetic variations in protein‐coding regions (i.e., whole‐exome sequencing studies), have been conducted for neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, and schizophrenia. These studies, especially those focusing on de novo (newly arising) mutations and extremely rare variants, have successfully identified previously unrecognized disease genes/mutations with a large effect size and deepen our understanding of the biology of neuropsychiatric diseases. Along with the continuously dropping sequencing cost, now the target of sequencing studies is expanding from the exome to the whole human genome. Several pioneering works have provided important insights into the contribution of rare non‐coding variants to neuropsychiatric diseases. At the same time, these studies highlight need for further larger sample sizes and improvement in annotation of non‐coding regulatory variants. In this review, key findings from recent studies as well as likely future directions are overviewed.
Perceptions of the Rule of Law: Evidence on the Impact of Judicial Insulation*
Authors: Yates Jeff , Whitford Andrew B. , Brown David
Published: October 2018

Objectives

The purpose of this article is to determine whether judicial insulation influences how individuals assess the rule of law.

Methods

We employ panel data models using data collected by the World Bank and other sources to differentiate the influence of two kinds of judicial insulation—designed (de jure) and implemented (de facto)—on individuals’ perceptions of the viability of the rule of law in their country.

Results

We find that while insulation (as designed) has no bearing on how individuals score rule of law strength, insulation (as implemented) increases individual assessments. Notably, we find that disappointment from unmet expectations—where institutional implementation falls short of design—negatively influences rule of law strength scores.

Conclusions

We conclude that the degree to which expectations regarding the insulation and independence of the judiciary are met (or not met) can have important implications for how the viability of the rule of law is perceived.
Another Look at the Acceptability of Bare Singular NPs in Episodic Sentences in Brazilian Portuguese
Authors: Ionin Tania , Grolla Elaine , Santos Hélade
Published: October 2018

Bare (determinerless) singular NPs in Brazilian Portuguese have been variously analyzed as indefinite terms, as kind terms, or as ambiguous between the two. It has furthermore been noted (Schmitt & Munn and subsequent literature) that bare singulars, unlike bare plurals, are degraded in the preverbal subject position of episodic sentences but that their acceptability is improved when they are embedded in a list. We conducted an experimental study examining the effects of NP type, syntactic position, and list context on the acceptability of bare NPs in Brazilian Portuguese. Our results indicate that the low acceptability of bare singulars in the subject position of episodic sentences results from the additive effects of three separate factors, rather than from a constraint against bare singulars in subject position. Implications of these findings for theories of bare‐NP interpretation in Brazilian Portuguese are discussed.
Prices, availability and affordability of insulin products: a cross‐sectional survey in Shaanxi Province, western China
Authors: Li Zongjie , Feng Qinqin , Kabba John Alimamy , Yang Caijun , Chang Jie , Jiang Minghuan , Zhao Mingyue , Yu Jiale , Xu Sen , Li Qian , Zhai Panpan , Fang Yu
Published: October 2018

Objective

To evaluate price, availability and affordability of insulin products in Shaanxi Province, western China.

Methods

We used a simplified and adapted WHO/Health Action International method to obtain the availability and prices of insulin products and five oral anti‐diabetic medicines as comparators in public general hospitals and private retail outlets. In addition, we investigated the price components of eight selected insulin products by tracing the supply chain.

Results

All three kinds of insulin products, prandial, basal and premixed insulin, are 100% available in public hospitals, and have fairly high availability in the private sector (62.5–68.8%). The prices of most insulin products were higher than international reference prices in both sectors (ranging from 0.95 times to 2.33 times). All insulin products were unaffordable as they would cost 3.5–17.1 days' wage of the lowest‐paid government workers in Shaanxi. The manufacturer's markup (selling price), which comprised more than 60% of the final price of all insulin products surveyed, was the largest price component.

Conclusions

Although availability of insulin products was high in public general hospitals and private retail pharmacies, their high price made them unaffordable to diabetes patients, especially low‐income patients. The government should increase insurance compensation for those who need these life‐saving medicines or decrease the cost of insulin products through negotiation with suppliers.
Comparing two blood culture systems for the detection of bacterial contamination in platelet concentrates
Authors: Chetouane Yasmine , Gallian Pierre , Chetouane Kahina , Dubourg Gregory , Chiaroni Jacques , Raoult Didier , Camoin‐Jau Laurence
Published: October 2018

BACKGROUND

The transfusion of platelet concentrates (PCs) contaminated with bacteria may cause serious, and even fatal, septic reactions in patients. The aim of this study was to compare the VersaTREK with the BACTEC FX automated culture systems for screening bacterial contamination, directly after the delay of 24 hours of preparation to obtain the final pooled buffy coat PCs, to prevent transfusion‐transmitted bacterial infections.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Seven bacterial strains were each inoculated into five replicate pooled buffy coat PCs at approximately 100 colony‐forming units/unit, and 5‐ or 10‐mL samples were inoculated into duplicate aerobic culture bottles. The time and detection rates were compared between BACTEC FX, as a reference method, and VersaTREK.

RESULTS

Time to detection was significantly shorter using VersaTREK for most species detected by both systems for the volumes tested. Of 70 VersaTREK cultures, 69 (98.57% detection rate) were positive after 24 hours of incubation with the 5‐mL sample. In contrast, the BACTEC FX system detected all positive samples in PCs for the volume of 10 mL, although seven samples were false negatives for the 5‐mL volume.

CONCLUSION

The VersaTREK system compared favorably to the BACTEC FX system for 5‐mL volumes (p < 0.05) and could be considered a potential method for detecting bacterial contamination in PC samples directly after 24 hours of preparation of the final pooled buffy coat PCs.
A Hand-Held Device to Apply Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization at Targeted Compression Forces and Stroke Frequencies
Authors: Everingham John B. , Martin Peter T. , Lujan Trevor J.
Published: October 2018

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) is a manual therapy technique that is commonly used to treat dysfunctions in ligaments and other musculoskeletal tissues. The objective of this study was to develop a simple hand-held device that helps users accurately apply targeted compressive forces and stroke frequencies during IASTM treatments. This portable device uses a force sensor, tablet computer, and custom software to guide the application of user-specified loading parameters. To measure performance, the device was used to apply a combination of targeted forces and stroke frequencies to foam blocks and silicone pads. Three operators using the device applied targeted forces between 0.3 and 125 N with less than 10% error and applied targeted stroke frequencies between 0.25 and 1.0 Hz with less than 3% error. The mean error in applying targeted forces increased significantly at compressive forces less than 0.2 N and greater than 125 N. For experimental validation, the device was used to apply a series of IASTM treatments over three-weeks to rodents with a ligament injury, and the targeted compressive force and stroke frequency were repeatedly applied with an average error less than 5%. This validated device can be used to investigate the effect of IASTM loading parameters on tissue healing in animal and human studies, and therefore can support the optimization and adoption of IASTM protocols that improve patient outcomes.
A Relationship Between Sweep Angle of Flapping Pectoral Fins and Thrust Generation
Authors: Arastehfar Soheil , Chew Chee-Meng , Jalalian Athena , Gunawan Gunawan , Yeo Khoon Seng
Published: October 2018

Propulsive capability of manta rays' flapping pectoral fins has inspired many to incorporate these fins as propulsive mechanisms for autonomous underwater vehicles. In particular, geometrical factors such as sweep angle have been postulated as being influential to these fins' propulsive capability, specifically their thrust generation. Although effects of sweep angle on static/flapping wings of aircrafts/drones have been widely studied, little has been done for underwater conditions. Furthermore, the findings from air studies may not be relatable to the underwater studies on pectoral fins because of the different Reynolds number (compared to the flapping wings) and force generation mechanism (compared to the static wings). This paper aims to establish a relationship between the sweep angle and thrust generation. An experiment was conducted to measure the thrust generated by 40 fins in a water channel under freestream and still water conditions for chord Reynolds number between 2.2 × 104 and 8.2 × 104. The fins were of five different sweep angles (0 deg, 10 deg, 20 deg, 30 deg, and 40 deg) that were incorporated into eight base designs of different flexibility characteristics. The results showed that the sweep angle (within the range considered) may have no significant influence on these fins' thrust generation, implying no significant effects on thrust under uniform flow condition and on the maximum possible thrust under still water. Overall, it can be concluded that sweep angle may not be a determinant of thrust generation for flapping pectoral fins. This knowledge can ease the decision-making process of design of robots propeled by these fins.
Control of Directed Formations Using Interconnected Systems Stability
Authors: Zhang Pengpeng , de Queiroz Marcio , Khaledyan Milad , Liu Tairan
Published: October 2018

This paper deals with the problem of rigid formation control using directed graphs in both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) spaces. Directed graphs reduce the number of communication, sensing, and/or control channels of the multi-agent system. We show that the directed version of the gradient descent control law asymptotically stabilizes the interagent distance error dynamics of minimally persistent formation graphs. The control analysis begins with a (possibly cyclic) primitive formation that is grown consecutively by Henneberg-type insertions, resulting at each step in two interconnected nonlinear systems, which are recursively analyzed using the stability of interconnected systems. Simulation and experimental results are presented for the directed formation controller in comparison to the standard undirected controller.
Unique Views on Obesity-Related Behaviors and Environments: Research Using Still and Video Images
Authors: Carlson Jordan A. , Hipp J. Aaron , Kerr Jacqueline , Horowitz Todd S. , Berrigan David
Published: October 2018

Objectives: To document challenges to and benefits from research involving the use of images by capturing examples of such research to assess physical activity– or nutrition-related behaviors and/or environments.Methods: Researchers (i.e., key informants) using image capture in their research were identified through knowledge and networks of the authors of this paper and through literature search. Twenty-nine key informants completed a survey covering the type of research, source of images, and challenges and benefits experienced, developed specifically for this study.Results: Most respondents used still images in their research, with only 26.7% using video. Image sources were categorized as participant generated (n = 13; e.g., participants using smartphones for dietary assessment), researcher generated (n = 10; e.g., wearable cameras with automatic image capture), or curated from third parties (n = 7; e.g., Google Street View). Two of the major challenges that emerged included the need for automated processing of large datasets (58.8%) and participant recruitment/compliance (41.2%). Benefit-related themes included greater perspectives on obesity with increased data coverage (34.6%) and improved accuracy of behavior and environment assessment (34.6%).Conclusions: Technological advances will support the increased use of images in the assessment of physical activity, nutrition behaviors, and environments. To advance this area of research, more effective collaborations are needed between health and computer scientists. In particular development of automated data extraction methods for diverse aspects of behavior, environment, and food characteristics are needed. Additionally, progress in standards for addressing ethical issues related to image capture for research purposes is critical.
Entropy-driven stability of chiral single-walled carbon nanotubes
Authors: Magnin Yann , Amara Hakim , Ducastelle François , Loiseau Annick , Bichara Christophe
Published: October 2018

The twisted carbon nanotube story

Despite progress in growing single-walled carbon nanotubes of specific size and chirality, the factors that control their growth are still not fully known. Magnin
et al.
developed a thermodynamic model for the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The model explains the origin of nanotube chirality in terms of the configurational entropy of the nanotube edge. The model should be useful in helping to guide nanotube growth parameters to enhance selectivity.

Science
, this issue p.
212
Insects and the Transmission of Bacterial Agents
Authors: Laroche Maureen , Raoult Didier , Parola Philippe
Published: October 2018

Arthropods are small invertebrate animals, among which some species are hematophagous. It is during their blood meal that they can transmit pathogenic microorganisms that they may be harboring to the vertebrate host that they parasitize, which in turn will potentially develop a vector-borne disease. The transmission may occur directly through their bite, but also through contaminated feces. Zoonotic diseases, diseases that can naturally be transmitted between humans and animals, are a considerable part of emerging diseases worldwide, and a major part of them are vector-borne. Research and public attention has long been focused on malaria and mosquito-borne arboviruses, and bacterial vector-borne diseases remains today a neglected field of medical entomology. Despite the emphasis on Lyme disease in recent decades, and despite the major outbreaks caused by bacteria in the last few centuries, this field has in fact been poorly explored and is therefore relatively poorly known, other than the most famous examples such as the plague and epidemic typhus outbreaks. Here we propose to review the state of knowledge of bacterial agents transmitted by arthropod vectors.
Governing multisectoral action for health in low-income and middle-income countries: an agenda for the way forward
Authors: Rasanathan Kumanan , Atkins Vincent , Mwansambo Charles , Soucat Agnès , Bennett Sara
Published: October 2018

Drawing on experiences reviewed in the accompanying supplement and other literature, we present an agenda for the way forward for policy-makers, managers, civil society and development partners to govern multisectoral action for health in low-income and middle-income countries and consider how such an agenda might be realised. We propose the following key strategies: understand the key actors and political ecosystem, including type of multisectoral action required and mapping incentives, interests and hierarchies; frame the issue in the most strategic manner; define clear roles with specific sets of interventions according to sector; use existing structures unless there is a compelling reason not to do so; pay explicit attention to the roles of non-state sectors; address conflicts of interest and manage tradeoffs; distribute leadership; develop financing and monitoring systems to encourage collaboration; strengthen implementation processes and capacity; and support mutual learning and implementation research. To support countries to strengthen governance for multisectoral action, the global community can assist by further developing technical tools and convening peer learning by policy-makers (particularly from beyond the health sector), supporting knowledge management and sharing of experiences in multisectoral action beyond health, developing an agenda for and execution of implementation research and, finally, driving multilateral and bilateral development partners to transcend their own silos and work in a more multisectoral manner.
Inflammation and psychopathology in children following PICU admission: an exploratory study
Authors: Caspani Giorgia , Corbet Burcher Georgina , Garralda M Elena , Cooper Mehrengise , Pierce Christine M , Als Lorraine C , Nadel Simon
Published: October 2018

Background

Survivors of critical illness in childhood commonly display subsequent psychiatric symptoms including emotional and behavioural difficulties, and manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anomalies in inflammatory profiles are an established finding in these childhood psychiatric conditions.

Objective

This exploratory study aimed to investigate whether abnormal peripheral blood inflammatory markers measured during paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission were associated with psychiatric symptoms after discharge.

Methods

We performed a prospective observational cohort study on 71 children with septic illness, meningoencephalitis and other critical disorders admitted to two PICUs between 2007 and 2010. 3–6 months following discharge, subjects were assessed for global psychiatric risk (ie, presence of emotional and behavioural difficulties on the parental Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)), and for PTSD risk using the child-rated Impact of Events Scale (IES-8). Inflammatory and related biological markers were transcribed from PICU admission notes (white cell count, lymphocytes, neutrophils, C reactive protein (CRP), platelets, fibrinogen and lactate).

Findings

Global psychiatric risk at follow-up was associated with abnormal lymphocyte count during admission (χ2=6.757, p=0.014, n=48). In children with sepsis, partial correlation analyses controlling for age and gender highlighted associations between (i) SDQ scores and low lymphocyte count (r=−0.712; p=0.009, n=14), and (ii) IES-8 score and high CRP levels (r=0.823; p=0.006, n=11). These associations remained after correction for multiple comparisons.

Conclusion

These results support the hypothesis that acute inflammation may play a role in determining the development of psychopathology following PICU admission.

Clinical implications

If the findings are replicated, they may help to better highlight which children are at risk of post-PICU psychopathology and appropriately target follow-up.
Military environmental health on Operation RUMAN
Authors: MacMahon Leah
Published: October 2018

Operation RUMAN was the British government’s combined military and humanitarian operations to provide relief to the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. This paper provides a short summary of the role played by environmental health during the operation and the importance of environmental health considerations at all stages of disaster management.
Multivariate probability distribution for some intact rock properties
Authors: Ching Jianye , Phoon Kok-Kwang , Li Kuang-Hao , Weng Meng-Chia
Published: October 2018

A multivariate probability distribution model for nine parameters of intact rocks, including unit weight (γ), porosity (n), L-type Schmidt hammer hardness (RL), Shore scleroscope hardness (Sh), Brazilian tensile strength (σbt), point load strength index (Is50), uniaxial compressive strength (σc), Young’s modulus (E), and P-wave velocity (Vp), is constructed based on the ROCK/9/4069 database that was compiled by the authors. It is shown that the multivariate probability distribution captures the correlation behaviors in the database among the nine parameters. This multivariate distribution model serves as a prior distribution model in the Bayesian analysis and can be updated into the posterior distribution of the design intact rock parameter when multivariate site-specific information is available. In this paper, the parameters for the posterior distribution of the design intact rock parameter are summarized into user-friendly tables so that engineers do not need to conduct the actual Bayesian analysis. Caution should be taken in extrapolating the results of this paper to cases that are not covered by ROCK/9/4069, because the resulting posterior distribution can be misleading.
The Importance of Applying Security Practices in Wireless Communication: Bluetooth Low Energy and RFID
Authors: Tassone Joseph , Biocchi Mike
Published: October 2018

Security is a concept which people recognize as important, yet regularly ignore for reasons such as cost or design constraints. The world is quickly shifting towards the wireless with phenomena akin to the Internet of Thing (IoT) accelerating this progression. Technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy and Radio Frequency Identification are greatly entwined with this trend, and research has been made into reinforcing protection methods. However, security is a choice made by the designer and more often than not is given decreased priority. With the improved creativity and sophistication of malicious exploits this is becoming far less acceptable. Theft of data is trivial for a user with the correct skillset and will be successful without proper defences. Further research needs to be done in the field, and encouraging consistent security practices is an appropriate start.
Rogue wave solutions, soliton and rogue wave mixed solution for a generalized (3+1)-dimensional Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation in fluids
Authors: Ma Yu-Lan , Li Bang-Qing
Published: October 2018

A generalized (3[Formula: see text]+[Formula: see text]1)-dimensional Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation is investigated, which can be used to describe nonlinear wave propagation in fluids. Through choosing appropriate polynomial functions in bilinear form derived according Hirota bilinear transformation, one and two rogue wave solutions, and soliton and rogue wave mixed solution are constructed. Furthermore, based on the mixed solution, interaction and evolution behavior between the soliton and rogue wave is discussed. The result shows that the soliton will be gradually swallowing up the rogue wave with the increase of time. During the process, the energy carried by the rogue wave is absorbed by the soliton.
Computational prediction of two-dimensional monolayer B6C2P2 by the global optimization method
Authors: Fu Xi , Guo Jiyuan , Li Liming
Published: October 2018

Exploring new two-dimensional (2D) materials is becoming a peculiarly important task due to their potential applications in future nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. In this paper, we propose a stable 2D monolayer B6C2P2 based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) methodology for crystal structure prediction. The monolayer B6C2P2 is an indirect semiconductor with the band gap of about 1.05 eV. We further find that under a biaxial tensile stress with its strain ratio altering from 6% to 9%, B6C2P2 can be transferred from an indirect semiconductor to a quasi-direct semiconductor. Moreover, it can be transferred to metal until the strain ratio goes up to 15%. These properties promote the monolayer B6C2P2 to be a potential 2D material for future applications in optoelectronic devices and nanodevices.
Research on Fault Diagnosis of High-Voltage Circuit Breaker Based on Support Vector Machine
Authors: Miao Di
Published: October 2018

In order to realize the diagnosis of the state of the high-voltage circuit breaker in the smart grid, the wavelet-packet technique is used to extract the characteristic value of the signal of the dynamic contact of the high-voltage circuit breaker. The characteristic value of the obtained signal is processed by fuzzy clustering, which inputs the processed feature values into the Support Vector Machine (SVM) to implement fault diagnosis. The high-voltage circuit breakers that need to be identified have the following faults: contact spring failure, trip spring shaft pinout, and trip spring failure. After the above series of processes, the paper reached the conclusion that it is feasible to use SVM to diagnose the high voltage circuit breaker fault system, which has a good diagnostic effect.
Health professionals’ referral practice and related healthcare utilization for people with low back pain in Singapore: A retrospective study
Authors: Loy Fong-Ling , Yang Su-Yin , Chemat Jamila , Tjan Soon-Yin
Published: October 2018

Background: Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder that can incur high financial burden. A significant proportion of this burden may be incurred from referrals to health services and subsequent healthcare usages. Patients’ overall experience of pain and its related life interferences may also have some relevance to this usage.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the referral practices and subsequent health service utilization of patients with LBP within a tertiary specialist clinic setting. A secondary objective was to explore potential associations between primary independent variables of pain and life interferences with health service utilization.

Methods: Participants were patients with low back pain, who completed a set of self-reported low back pain measures. These included measures for pain intensity, pain interference, disability and quality of life. The participants’ back pain-related referral and health service utilization in the subsequent 12 months were recorded.

Results: A total of 282 patients completed the full measures. Of these, 59.9% were referred for physiotherapy, 26.3% for diagnostic imaging and 9.2% for interventional procedures. Compared to patients who were referred from tertiary care, those from primary care had lower pain intensity ([Formula: see text]), pain interference ([Formula: see text]), disability ([Formula: see text]), but better physical and mental quality of life ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). High pain interference was a common factor among patients who were referred on to other services after first consultation. Levels of medical utilization and physiotherapy utilization were both associated with pain intensity ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), pain interference ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text], 0.01) and disability ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] vs [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). Regression analysis showed that the source of referral contributed to 6% of the variance in medical utilization and 3% of the variance in physiotherapy utilization. After controlling the demographic variables and referral sources, none of the independent variables added any significant variance to medical utilization. Only pain intensity contributed an additional 2% variance to physiotherapy utilization.

Conclusion: Referral patterns and practices appear similar to those reported in other studies. Higher levels of pain intensity, interference, disability and quality of life appear to influence the referral to different health services and subsequent treatment utilization.
Ambiguity Aversion and the Variance Premium
Authors: Miao Jianjun , Wei Bin , Zhou Hao
Published: October 2018

This paper offers an ambiguity-based interpretation of the variance premium — the difference between risk-neutral and objective expectations of market return variance — as a compounding effect of both belief distortion and variance differential regarding the uncertain economic regimes. Our calibrated model can match the variance premium, the equity premium, and the risk-free rate in the data. We find that about 97% of the mean–variance premium can be attributed to ambiguity aversion. A three-way separation among ambiguity aversion, risk aversion, and intertemporal substitution, permitted by the smooth ambiguity preferences, plays a key role in our model’s quantitative performance.
Event Analytics via Discriminant Tensor Factorization
Authors: Wen Xidao , Lin Yu-Ru , Pelechrinis Konstantinos
Published: October 2018

Analyzing the impact of disastrous events has been central to understanding and responding to crises. Traditionally, the assessment of disaster impact has primarily relied on the manual collection and analysis of surveys and questionnaires as well as the review of authority reports. This can be costly and time-consuming, whereas a timely assessment of an event’s impact is critical for crisis management and humanitarian operations. In this work, we formulate the impact discovery as the problem to identify the shared and discriminative subspace via tensor factorization due to the multi-dimensional nature of mobility data. Existing work in mining the shared and discriminative subspaces typically requires the predefined number of either type of them. In the context of event impact discovery, this could be impractical, especially for those unprecedented events. To overcome this, we propose a new framework, called “PairFac,” that jointly factorizes the multi-dimensional data to discover the latent mobility pattern along with its associated discriminative weight. This framework does not require splitting the shared and discriminative subspaces in advance and at the same time automatically captures the persistent and changing patterns from multi-dimensional behavioral data. Our work has important applications in crisis management and urban planning, which provides a timely assessment of impacts of major events in the urban environment.
SelSMaP
Authors: Wang Jiajun , Panda Reena , John Lizy K.
Published: October 2018

Data prefetching, which intelligently loads data closer to the processor before demands, is a popular cache performance optimization technique to address the increasing processor-memory performance gap. Although prefetching concepts have been proposed for decades, sophisticated system architecture and emerging applications introduce new challenges. Large instruction windows coupled with out-of-order execution makes the program data access sequence distorted from a cache perspective. Furthermore, big data applications stress memory subsystems heavily with their large working set sizes and complex data access patterns. To address such challenges, this work proposes a high-performance hardware prefetching scheme, SelSMaP. SelSMaP is able to detect both regular and nonuniform stride patterns by taking the minimum observed address offset (called a reference stride) as a heuristic. A stride masking is generated according to the reference stride and is to filter out history accesses whose pattern can be rephrased as uniform stride accesses. Prefetching decision and prefetch degree are determined based on the masking outcome. As SelSMaP prediction logic does not rely on the chronological order of data accesses or program counter information, it is able to unveil the effect of out-of-order execution and compiler optimization. We evaluated SelSMaP with CloudSuite workloads and SPEC CPU2006 benchmarks. SelSMaP achieves an average CloudSuite performance improvement of 30% over nonprefetching systems. With one to two orders of magnitude less storage and much less functional logic, SelSMaP outperforms the highest-performing prefetcher by 8.6% in CloudSuite workloads.
Connection Scan Algorithm
Authors: Dibbelt Julian , Pajor Thomas , Strasser Ben , Wagner Dorothea
Published: October 2018

We introduce the Connection Scan Algorithm (CSA) to efficiently answer queries to timetable information systems. The input consists, in the simplest setting, of a source position and a desired target position. The output consists of a sequence of vehicles such as trains or buses that a traveler should take to get from the source to the target. We study several problem variations such as the earliest arrival and profile problems. We present algorithm variants that only optimize the arrival time or additionally optimize the number of transfers in the Pareto sense. An advantage of CSA is that it can easily adjust to changes in the timetable, allowing the easy incorporation of known vehicle delays. We additionally introduce the Minimum Expected Arrival Time (MEAT) problem to handle possible, uncertain, future vehicle delays. We present a solution to the MEAT problem that is based on CSA. Finally, we extend CSA using the multilevel overlay paradigm to answer complex queries on nationwide integrated timetables with trains and buses.
Consequences of early postnatal lipopolysaccharide exposure on developing lungs in mice
Authors: Shrestha Amrit Kumar , Bettini Matthew L. , Menon Renuka T. , Gopal Vashisht Y. N. , Huang Shixia , Edwards Dean P. , Pammi Mohan , Barrios Roberto , Shivanna Binoy
Published: October 2018

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease of infants that is characterized by interrupted lung development. Postnatal sepsis causes BPD, yet the contributory mechanisms are unclear. To address this gap, studies have used lipopolysaccharide (LPS) during the alveolar phase of lung development. However, the lungs of infants who develop BPD are still in the saccular phase of development, and the effects of LPS during this phase are poorly characterized. We hypothesized that chronic LPS exposure during the saccular phase disrupts lung development by mechanisms that promote inflammation and prevent optimal lung development and repair. Wild-type C57BL6J mice were intraperitoneally administered 3, 6, or 10 mg/kg of LPS or a vehicle once daily on postnatal days (PNDs) 3–5. The lungs were collected for proteomic and genomic analyses and flow cytometric detection on PND6. The impact of LPS on lung development, cell proliferation, and apoptosis was determined on PND7. Finally, we determined differences in the LPS effects between the saccular and alveolar lungs. LPS decreased the survival and growth rate and lung development in a dose-dependent manner. These effects were associated with a decreased expression of proteins regulating cell proliferation and differentiation and increased expression of those mediating inflammation. While the lung macrophage population of LPS-treated mice increased, the T-regulatory cell population decreased. Furthermore, LPS-induced inflammatory and apoptotic response and interruption of cell proliferation and alveolarization was greater in alveolar than in saccular lungs. Collectively, the data support our hypothesis and reveal several potential therapeutic targets for sepsis-mediated BPD in infants.