bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
L‐moment homogeneity test in trivariate regional frequency analysis of extreme precipitation events
Authors: Šimková Tereza
Published: August 2017

Identification of homogeneous regions is a key task in regional frequency analysis to obtain accurate estimates of a given event. Homogeneity testing based on multivariate L‐moments has recently been proposed and all studies dealing with application of the methodology using real‐world data still focus on the bivariate case. The practical aspects of the trivariate homogeneity tests for maximum annual 1, 3 and 7 day precipitation totals measured at stations in the Czech Republic are investigated. A trivariate model of the precipitation amounts for simulating synthetic homogeneous regions in parametric testing was determined by goodness‐of‐fit tests based on the Cramér–von Mises and Vuong statistics and Akaike and Bayesian information criteria while considering selected trivariate exchangeable Archimedean, fully nested Archimedean and mixed C‐vine copulas in the copula model test space. Each of the regions into which the area of the Czech Republic is divided meets the homogeneity condition when using both the parametric and non‐parametric L‐moment homogeneity tests and considering three mixed C‐vine copula models given by the bivariate Gumbel copula for two unconditional pair‐copulas and normal, Frank or Plackett copula families for the conditional pair‐copula for simulating synthetic homogeneous regions.
Computation of periodic orbits in three‐dimensional Lotka‐Volterra systems
Authors: Navarro Juan F. , Poveda Rubén
Published: August 2017

This paper deals with an adaptation of the Poincaré‐Lindstedt method for the determination of periodic orbits in three‐dimensional nonlinear differential systems. We describe here a general symbolic algorithm to implement the method and apply it to compute periodic solutions in a three‐dimensional Lotka‐Volterra system modeling a chain food interaction. The sufficient conditions to make secular terms disappear from the approximate series solution are given in the paper.
Global well‐posedness and blow‐up criterion for the periodic quasi‐geostrophic equations in Lei‐Lin‐Gevrey spaces
Authors: Benhamed Moez
Published: August 2017

In this paper we consider a periodic 2‐dimensional quasi‐geostrophic equations with subcritical dissipation. We show the global existence and uniqueness of the solution
for small initial data in the Lei‐Lin‐Gevrey spaces
. Moreover, we establish an exponential type explosion in finite time of this solution.
Identification of Characteristic Components and Foodstuffs in Healthy Japanese Diet and the Health Effects of a Diet with Increased Use Frequency of these Foodstuffs
Authors: Iwagaki Yui , Sakamoto Yu , Sugawara Saeko , Mizowaki Yui , Yamamoto Kazushi , Sugawara Tatsuya , Kimura Kazuhiko , Tsuduki Tsuyoshi
Published: August 2017

Scope

Our recent study showed that the 1975 Japanese diet exhibited strong health benefits. In the current study, we aimed to develop a diet with even higher health benefits.

Methods

First, to determine the characteristic components in the 1975 diet, we used mass spectrometry for analysis of Japanese diets from several years and performed principal component analysis. Next, a diet with an increased use frequency of foodstuffs contained characteristic components (the modified diet) was prepared and fed to mice.

Results

Performed principal component analysis revealed that the 1975 diet contained 14 characteristic components that were found in fish, fruits, vegetables, seaweed, soybean foods, soup stock “dashi”, and fermented seasoning. Based on these, the modified diet was prepared and fed to mice. The liver total cholesterol and serum LDL cholesterol decreased significantly in mice fed the modified diet and serum total cholesterol showed a downward trend, compared to mice fed the 1975 diet. There was no difference between the modified diet and the control groups. In addition, serum adiponectin level increased in mice fed the modified diet and serum TBARS and IL‐6 levels decreased.

Conclusion

By modifying the 1975 diet, it was possible to make a diet with more benefit.
A method to detect landmark pairs accurately between intra‐patient volumetric medical images
Authors: Yang Deshan , Zhang Miao , Chang Xiao , Fu Yabo , Liu Shi , Li Harold H. , Mutic Sasa , Duan Ye
Published: August 2017

Purposes

An image processing procedure was developed in this study to detect large quantity of landmark pairs accurately in pairs of volumetric medical images. The detected landmark pairs can be used to evaluate of deformable image registration (DIR) methods quantitatively.

Methods

Landmark detection and pair matching were implemented in a Gaussian pyramid multi‐resolution scheme. A 3D scale‐invariant feature transform (SIFT) feature detection method and a 3D Harris–Laplacian corner detection method were employed to detect feature points, i.e., landmarks. A novel feature matching algorithm, Multi‐Resolution Inverse‐Consistent Guided Matching or MRICGM, was developed to allow accurate feature pairs matching. MRICGM performs feature matching using guidance by the feature pairs detected at the lower resolution stage and the higher confidence feature pairs already detected at the same resolution stage, while enforces inverse consistency.

Results

The proposed feature detection and feature pair matching algorithms were optimized to process 3D CT and MRI images. They were successfully applied between the inter‐phase abdomen 4DCT images of three patients, between the original and the re‐scanned radiation therapy simulation CT images of two head‐neck patients, and between inter‐fractional treatment MRIs of two patients. The proposed procedure was able to successfully detect and match over 6300 feature pairs on average. The automatically detected landmark pairs were manually verified and the mismatched pairs were rejected. The automatic feature matching accuracy before manual error rejection was 99.4%. Performance of MRICGM was also evaluated using seven digital phantom datasets with known ground truth of tissue deformation. On average, 11855 feature pairs were detected per digital phantom dataset with TRE = 0.77 ± 0.72 mm.

Conclusion

A procedure was developed in this study to detect large number of landmark pairs accurately between two volumetric medical images. It allows a semi‐automatic way to generate the ground truth landmark datasets that allow quantitatively evaluation of DIR algorithms for radiation therapy applications.
A combined learning algorithm for prostate segmentation on 3D CT images
Authors: Ma Ling , Guo Rongrong , Zhang Guoyi , Schuster David M. , Fei Baowei
Published: August 2017

Purpose

Segmentation of the prostate on CT images has many applications in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Because of the low soft‐tissue contrast on CT images, prostate segmentation is a challenging task. A learning‐based segmentation method is proposed for the prostate on three‐dimensional (3D) CT images.

Methods

We combine population‐based and patient‐based learning methods for segmenting the prostate on CT images. Population data can provide useful information to guide the segmentation processing. Because of inter‐patient variations, patient‐specific information is particularly useful to improve the segmentation accuracy for an individual patient. In this study, we combine a population learning method and a patient‐specific learning method to improve the robustness of prostate segmentation on CT images. We train a population model based on the data from a group of prostate patients. We also train a patient‐specific model based on the data of the individual patient and incorporate the information as marked by the user interaction into the segmentation processing. We calculate the similarity between the two models to obtain applicable population and patient‐specific knowledge to compute the likelihood of a pixel belonging to the prostate tissue. A new adaptive threshold method is developed to convert the likelihood image into a binary image of the prostate, and thus complete the segmentation of the gland on CT images.

Results

The proposed learning‐based segmentation algorithm was validated using 3D CT volumes of 92 patients. All of the CT image volumes were manually segmented independently three times by two, clinically experienced radiologists and the manual segmentation results served as the gold standard for evaluation. The experimental results show that the segmentation method achieved a Dice similarity coefficient of 87.18 ± 2.99%, compared to the manual segmentation.

Conclusions

By combining the population learning and patient‐specific learning methods, the proposed method is effective for segmenting the prostate on 3D CT images. The prostate CT segmentation method can be used in various applications including volume measurement and treatment planning of the prostate.
From phenologs to silent suppressors: Identifying potential therapeutic targets for human disease
Authors: Golden Andy
Published: August 2017

Orthologous phenotypes, or phenologs, are seemingly unrelated phenotypes generated by mutations in a conserved set of genes. Phenologs have been widely observed and accepted by those who study model organisms, and allow one to study a set of genes in a model organism to learn more about the function of those genes in other organisms, including humans. At the cellular and molecular level, these conserved genes likely function in a very similar mode, but are doing so in different tissues or cell types and can result in different phenotypic effects. For example, the RAS‐RAF‐MEK‐MAPK pathway in animals is a highly conserved signaling pathway that animals adopted for numerous biological processes, such as vulval induction in Caenorhabditis elegans and cell proliferation in mammalian cells; but this same gene set has been co‐opted to function in a variety of cellular contexts. In this review, I give a few examples of how suppressor screens in model organisms (with a emphasis on C. elegans) can identify new genes that function in a conserved pathway in many other organisms. I also demonstrate how the identification of such genes can lead to important insights into mammalian biology. From such screens, an occasional silent suppressor that does not cause a phenotype on its own is found; such suppressors thus make for good candidates as therapeutic targets.
The predictive value of demonstrable stress incontinence during basic office evaluation and urodynamics in women without symptomatic urinary incontinence undergoing vaginal prolapse surgery
Authors: van der Ploeg J. Marinus , Zwolsman Sandra E. , Posthuma Selina , Wiarda Hylco S. , van der Vaart C. Huub , Roovers Jan‐Paul W. R.
Published: August 2017

Aims

Women with pelvic organ prolapse without symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI) might demonstrate stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with or without prolapse reduction. We aimed to determine the value of demonstrable SUI during basic office evaluation or urodynamics in predicting SUI after vaginal prolapse repair in these women.

Methods

Women included in the CUPIDO trials without bothersome UI or UI more than once a week were eligible if they had undergone prolapse repair without incontinence surgery. The diagnostic and predictive value of demonstrable SUI was studied for postoperative SUI (POSUI). POSUI was defined as bothersome SUI at 1‐year follow‐up or treatment for SUI in the first postoperative year.

Results

In 45% (77/173) of the included women urodynamics was performed. In 19% (32/172) SUI was demonstrated with basic office evaluation, against 29% (22/77) with urodynamics. Nine percent (16/172) developed POSUI, six women underwent surgery for de novo SUI. Women with demonstrable SUI were more at risk to face POSUI: twenty‐eight percent versus five percent (Diagnostic Odds Ratio: 7; 95%CI 3‐22). Urodynamics predicted one more woman having POSUI, but all women who underwent treatment for de novo SUI showed SUI during basic office evaluation. Test performance did not improved with the adding of urodynamics.

Conclusions

The predictive value of demonstrable SUI in symptomatically continent women undergoing vaginal prolapse repair is limited. Urodynamics added no value. The twenty‐eight percent POSUI risk must be balanced against the increased complication risk if a prophylactic midurethral sling is considered.
Solving the large‐scale min–max K‐rural postman problem for snow plowing
Authors: Quirion‐Blais Olivier , Langevin André , Lehuédé Fabien , Péton Olivier , Trépanier Martin
Published: August 2017

This article studies the snow plow routing problem, which is a modified version of the min–max problem with k‐vehicles for arc routing on a mixed graph with hierarchy. Each arc or edge is given a priority and instead of minimizing the overall finishing time, we minimize the latest finishing time for each priority class. We consider turn restrictions, route balancing, and variable vehicle speeds in a real large‐scale network. To solve the problem, we present a graph transformation from a directed rural postman problem with turn penalties to an asymmetric traveling salesman problem. We then make the following modifications to the metaheuristics to better handle the constraints: development of new neighborhood operators, several applications of the same destruction operators before repair of the solution, and a dynamic arc‐grouping procedure when links are removed or inserted. We tested our methodology on three real networks with 1,626 to 2,146 street segments and 613 to 723 intersections. The results show that our approach can improve the solution, and the grouping procedure is helpful. The results also show that some operators perform better than others; the network topology seems to explain these variations. Finally, we validated our methodology by comparing to some routes planned in the past and to some routes obtained from a commercial solver. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, Vol. 70(3), 195–215 2017
Combining and projecting flow models for the (precedence constrained) asymmetric traveling salesman problem
Authors: Gouveia Luis , Pesneau Pierre , Ruthmair Mario , Santos Daniel
Published: August 2017

There are many ways of modeling the Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (ATSP) and the related Precedence Constrained ATSP (PCATSP). In this paper we present new formulations for the two problems that result from combining precedence variable based formulations with network flow based formulations. The motivation for this work is a property of the so‐called GDDL inequalities (Gouveia and Pesneau, Networks 48, 77–89, 2006), the “disjoint sub‐paths” property, that is explored to create formulations that combine two (or more) disjoint path network flow based formulations. Several sets of projected inequalities, in the space of the arc and precedence variables, and in the spirit of many inequalities presented in Gouveia and Pesneau (Networks 48, 77–89, 2006), are obtained by projecting these network flow based formulations. Computational results are given for the PCATSP and the ATSP to evaluate the quality of the new inequalities. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, Vol. 71(4), 451–465 2018
The Effects of Tulsa's Pre‐K Program on Middle School Student Performance
Authors: Gormley, William T. , Phillips Deborah , Anderson Sara
Published: August 2017

As states have upgraded their commitment to pre‐K education over the past two decades, questions have arisen. Critics argue that program effects are likely to fade out or disappear over time, while supporters contend that program effects are likely to persist under certain conditions. Using data from Tulsa Public Schools, three neighboring school districts, and the state of Oklahoma, and propensity score weighting, we estimate the effects of Tulsa's universal, school‐based pre‐K program on multiple measures of academic progress for middle school students. We find enduring effects on math achievement test scores, enrollment in honors courses, and grade retention for students as a whole, and similar effects for certain subgroups. We conclude that some positive effects of a high‐quality pre‐K program are discernible as late as middle school.
Important statistical considerations in the evaluation of post‐market studies to assess whether opioids with abuse‐deterrent properties result in reduced abuse in the community
Authors: By Kunthel , McAninch Jana K. , Keeton Stephine L. , Secora Alex , Kornegay Cynthia J. , Hwang Catherine S. , Ly Thomas , Levenson Mark S.
Published: August 2017

Purpose

Abuse, misuse, addiction, overdose, and death associated with non‐medical use of prescription opioids have become a serious public health concern. Reformulation of these products with abuse‐deterrent properties is one approach for addressing this problem. FDA has approved several extended‐release opioid analgesics with abuse‐deterrent labeling, the bases of which come from pre‐market studies. As all opioid analgesics must be capable of delivering the opioid in order to reduce pain, abuse‐deterrent properties do not prevent abuse, nor do pre‐market evaluations ensure that there will be reduced abuse in the community. Utilizing data from various surveillance systems, some recent post‐market studies suggest a decline in abuse of extended‐release oxycodone after reformulation with abuse‐deterrent properties. We discuss challenges stemming from the use of such data.

Methods

We quantify the relationship between the sample, the population, and the underlying sampling mechanism and identify the necessary conditions if valid statements about the population are to be made. The presence of other interventions in the community necessitates the use of comparators. We discuss the principles under which the use of comparators can be meaningful.

Conclusions

Results based on surveillance data need to be interpreted with caution as the underlying sampling mechanisms can bias the results in unpredictable ways. The use of comparators has the potential to disentangle the effect due to the abuse‐deterrence properties from those due to other interventions. However, identifying a comparator that is meaningful can be very difficult.
Judging Personality from A Brief Sample of Behaviour: Detecting Where Others Stand on Trait Continua
Authors: Wu Wenjie , Sheppard Elizabeth , Mitchell Peter
Published: August 2017

Trait inferences occur routinely and rapidly during social interaction, sometimes based on scant or fleeting information. In this research, participants (perceivers) made inferences of targets’ big–five traits after briefly watching or listening to an unfamiliar target (a third party) performing various mundane activities (telling a scripted joke or answering questions about him/herself or reading aloud a paragraph of promotional material). Across three studies, when perceivers judged targets to be either low or high in one or more dimensions of the big–five traits, they tended to be correct, but they did not tend to be correct when they judged targets as average. Such inferences seemed to vary in effectiveness across different trait dimensions and depending on whether the target's behaviour was presented either in a video with audio, a silent video, or just in an audio track—perceivers generally were less often correct when they judged targets as average in each of the big–five traits across various information channels (videos with audio, silent videos, and audios). Study 3 replicated these findings in a different culture. We conclude with discussion of the scope and the adaptive value of this trait inferential ability. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology
Efficacy and residues of permethrin‐incorporated nets used to protect maize grains post‐harvest
Authors: Anaclerio Matteo , Pellizzoni Marco , Todeschini Valeria , Kane David , Hanafi Ahmad , Trevisan Marco , Lucini Luigi
Published: August 2017

BACKGROUND

Pest control in post‐harvest food storage represents a great challenge in the sustainable prevention of food losses, and insecticide‐treated netting may represent a valid alternative to traditional practices such as the direct application of insecticides. In our work, the efficacy of a permethrin‐incorporated net, in combination with polypropylene or jute sacking, was tested for the control of Sitophilus oryzae. Contamination of maize grain by permethrin from the treated netting was also evaluated.

RESULTS

A 98% control of S. oryzae was achieved using permethrin‐treated netting. Both jute and polypropylene acted as additional barriers, increasing efficacy to 100%. The results also showed the contamination of maize kernel by permethrin released from the treated netting. The concentration of residues in maize kernels increased with increasing temperature; however, use of jute or polypropylene significantly reduced (by 87% to 97%) the concentration of residues transferred to maize kernels.

CONCLUSIONS

Permethrin‐treated netting provided a high level of efficacy in the post‐harvest protection of maize. Several factors influenced permethrin residue concentrations in grains when treated nets are used. Therefore, solutions should be found to prevent contamination of food stored in the bags that are treated with insecticides. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Intramolecular cyclization of the antimicrobial peptide Polybia‐MPI with triazole stapling: influence on stability and bioactivity
Authors: Liu Beijun , Zhang Wei , Gou Sanhu , Huang Haifeng , Yao Jia , Yang Zhibin , Liu Hui , Zhong Chao , Liu Beiyin , Ni Jingman , Wang Rui
Published: August 2017

Cationic antimicrobial peptides have attracted increasing attention as a novel class of antibiotics to treat infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria. However, susceptibility to protease is a shortcoming in their development. Cyclization is one approach to increase the proteolytic resistance of peptides. Therefore, to improve the proteolytic resistance of Polybia‐MPI, we have synthesized the MPI cyclic analogs C‐MPI‐1 (i‐to‐i+4) and C‐MPI‐2 (i‐to‐i+6) by copper(I)‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition. Compared with MPI, C‐MPI‐1 displayed sustained antimicrobial activity and had enhanced anti‐trypsin resistance, while C‐MPI‐2 displayed no antimicrobial activity. The relationship between peptide structure and bioactivity was further investigated by probing the secondary structure of the peptides by circular dichroism. This showed that C‐MPI‐1 adopted an α‐helical structure in aqueous solution and, interestingly, had increased α‐helical conformation in 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 50% trifluoroethyl alcohol compared with MPI. C‐MPI‐2 that was not α‐helical in structure, suggesting that the propensity for α‐helix conformation may play an important role in cyclic peptide design. In addition, scanning electron microscopy, propidium iodide uptake, and membrane permeabilization assays indicated that MPI and the optimized analog C‐MPI‐1 had membrane‐active action modes, indicating that the peptides would not be susceptible to conventional resistance mechanisms. Our study provides additional insight into the influence of intramolecular cyclization at various positions on peptide structure and biological activity. In conclusion, the design and synthesis of cyclic analogs via click chemistry offer a new strategy for the development of stable antimicrobial agents. Copyright © 2017 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Giant Thermoelectric Power in Co/Al2O3 Ferromagnetic Nanocomposites Below Percolation Threshold
Authors: Lashkarev G. V. , Radchenko M. V. , Bugaiova M. E. , Baibara O. E. , Dmitriev A. I. , Knoff W. , Story T. , Foltyn M. , Krushynskaya L. A. , Stelmakh Y. A.
Published: August 2017

In nanocomposite layers consisting of Co nanoparticles in Al2O3 matrix the thermoelectric power was studied in a wide range of Co content. These layers revealed the giant thermoelectric power in a magnetic field for Co content below percolation threshold. This unusual phenomenon has been explained by hopping electron transport through the media which consist of both, nonmagnetic and magnetic centers in the conditions of temperature gradient.
Electron Mobility in AlxGa1−xAs Based Square‐Parabolic Double Quantum Well HEMT Structure − Effect of Asymmetric Doping Profile
Authors: Sahoo Narayan , Panda Ajit K. , Sahu Trinath
Published: August 2017

We study the asymmetric doping dependence of electron mobility µ in an AlxGa1−xAs based square‐parabolic double quantum well (SPDQW) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure. We consider the square (parabolic) well and doping concentration Nd1 (Nd2) in the barrier toward the substrate (surface) of the structure. Keeping Nd1 fixed, variation of Nd2 leads to the resonance of subband states of the individual wells at a Nd2 > Nd1. The mobility is calculated as a function of Nd2 by considering ionized impuritiy (ii‐), interface roughness (ir‐) and alloy disorder (al‐) scatterings. We show that near resonance of the subband states, the dip in µ arises due to the substantial change in the ir‐ and al‐intersubband scattering rate matrix elements. The dip in μ is significant in SPDQW because of the sharp variations of subband wave functions between the wells due to the asymmetric potential profiles. Enhancement of the well width and central barrier width increases μ and sharpness of the dip in μ. Keeping Nd2 constant and Nd1 varying, the resonance occurs at Nd1 < Nd2 with similar nonlinearities in μ. Our results of µ can be utilized for the analysis of the performance of the HEMT devices.
Modelling two cause‐specific hazards of competing risks in one cumulative proportional odds model?
Authors: Ohneberg Kristin , Schumacher Martin , Beyersmann Jan
Published: August 2017

Competing risks extend standard survival analysis to considering time‐to‐first‐event and type‐of‐first‐event, where the event types are called competing risks. The competing risks process is completely described by all cause‐specific hazards, ie, the hazard marked by the event type. Separate Cox models for each cause‐specific hazard are the standard approach to regression modelling, but they come with the interpretational challenge that there are as many regression coefficients as there are competing risks. An alternative approach is to directly model the cumulative event probabilities, but again, there will be as many models as there are competing risks. The aim of this paper is to investigate the usefulness of a third alternative. Proportional odds modelling of all cause‐specific hazards summarizes the effect of one covariate on “opposing” competing outcomes in one regression coefficient. For instance, if the competing outcomes are hospital death and alive discharge from hospital, the modelling assumption is that a covariate affects both outcomes in opposing directions, but the effect size is of the same absolute magnitude. We will investigate the interpretational aspects of the approach analysing a data set on intensive care unit patients using parametric methods.
The cause of rapid lake expansion in the Tibetan Plateau: climate wetting or warming?
Authors: Lei Yanbin , Yang Kun
Published: August 2017

Endorheic lake dynamics in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), as reflected in changes in water level and/or surface area, are sensitive indicator of regional hydrology that is closely related to both climate change and cryosphere hydrology. Since the late 1990s, most closed lakes in the interior TP expanded and deepened dramatically, in sharp contrast with lake shrinkage in the southern TP. Although some evidence shows that glacier melting and permafrost thawing within some lakes may influence lake level changes, they cannot explain the overall lake expansion, especially for lakes without glacier supply. More and more evidence from lake water balance modeling indicated that the overall lake expansion across the interior TP may be mainly attributed to a significant increase in precipitation and associated runoff. The positive lake water budget is also consistent with regional climate changes (e.g., increase in water vapor content and air convection in the interior TP), with relevant changes in large‐scale atmospheric circulation to be investigated. Further studies are needed to quantify the contribution of each component to lake water budgets and the associated climate change. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1236. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1236

This article is categorized under:

Science of Water > Hydrological Processes

Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems

Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change
Aeroelastic multidisciplinary design optimization of a swept wind turbine blade
Authors: Pavese Christian , Tibaldi Carlo , Zahle Frederik , Kim Taeseong
Published: August 2017

Mitigating loads on a wind turbine rotor can reduce the cost of energy. Sweeping blades produces a structural coupling between flapwise bending and torsion, which can be used for load alleviation purposes. A multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) problem is formulated including the blade sweep as a design variable. A multifidelity approach is used to confront the crucial effects of structural coupling on the estimation of the loads. During the MDO, ultimate and damage equivalent loads are estimated using steady‐state and frequency‐domain–based models, respectively. The final designs are verified against time‐domain full design load basis aeroelastic simulations to ensure that they comply with the constraints. A 10‐MW wind turbine blade is optimized by minimizing a cost function that includes mass and blade root flapwise fatigue loading. The design space is subjected to constraints that represent all the necessary requirements for standard design of wind turbines. Simultaneous aerodynamic and structural optimization is performed with and without sweep as a design variable. When sweep is included in the MDO process, further minimization of the cost function can be obtained. To show this achievement, a set of optimized straight blade designs is compared to a set of optimized swept blade designs. Relative to the respective optimized straight designs, the blade mass of the swept blades is reduced of an extra 2% to 3% and the blade root flapwise fatigue damage equivalent load by a further 8%.
Patient Perceptions and Current Trends in Internet Use by Orthopedic Outpatients
Authors: Tyrrell Burrus M. , Werner Brian C. , Starman James S. , Kurkis Gregory M. , Pierre Jonathan M. , Diduch David R. , Hart Joseph M.
Published: August 2017

Background

Many studies have highlighted concerns about the completeness and quality of information found online and how this may affect patients’ education about their medical problems. One aspect of internet usage that has received less attention in the literature, however, is patient perception of the information that is gathered online, and how patients use it related to their musculoskeletal care.

Questions/Purposes

The objective of the study is to utilize a cross-sectional study design to describe internet usage and patient perceptions of orthopedic online information and to identify differences in usage patterns.

Methods

One thousand two hundred ninety-six questionnaires were distributed to consecutive patients at orthopedic outpatient clinics which consisted of questions pertaining to patients’ internet use. Basic demographic data were collected, and subgroup analyses were performed to examine the effect of three variables (age, gender, and clinic type) on various outcomes.

Results

84.9% of patients reported access to the internet. Of patients with internet access, 64.7% reported using the internet for obtaining orthopedic information. 43.1% of the respondents who searched for orthopedic information rated it as “very useful,” 56.3% found it “somewhat useful,” and 0.6% found it “not at all useful”. Younger patients were more likely to have used the internet for health and orthopedic information and to have found this information either very or somewhat useful. Males were more likely to have found the internet information very useful. Overall, only 33.7% of patients who researched their current orthopedic complaint accessed the institutional website for information.

Conclusion

A large proportion of patients use the internet to research orthopedic information and most patients, especially younger males, find the information useful.
The Simultaneous Effects of Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Child Health on Children’s Cognitive Development
Authors: Lee Dohoon , Jackson Margot
Published: August 2017

Family socioeconomic status (SES) and child health are so strongly related that scholars have speculated child health to be an important pathway through which a cycle of poverty is reproduced across generations. Despite increasing recognition that SES and health work reciprocally and dynamically over the life course to produce inequality, research has yet to address how these two pathways simultaneously shape children’s development. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and marginal structural models, we ask three questions: (1) how does the reciprocal relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage and child health affect estimates of each circumstance on children’s cognitive development?; (2) how do their respective effects vary with age?; and (3) do family SES and child health have differential effects on cognitive development across population subgroups? The results show that the negative effects of socioeconomic disadvantage and poor health are insensitive to their reciprocal relationships over time. We find divergent effects of socioeconomic disadvantage and poor health on children’s cognitive trajectories, with a widening pattern for family SES effects and a leveling-off pattern for child health effects. Finally, the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage are similar across all racial/ethnic groups, while the effects of child health are largely driven by white children. We discuss theoretical and policy implications of these findings for future research.
Racial Differences in Neighborhood Attainment: The Contributions of Interneighborhood Migration and In Situ Change
Authors: Huang Ying , South Scott J. , Spring Amy
Published: August 2017

Recent research shows that as they age, blacks experience less improvement than whites in the socioeconomic status of their residential neighborhoods. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and U.S. decennial censuses, we assess the relative contribution of residential mobility and in situ neighborhood change (i.e., change surrounding nonmobile neighborhood residents) to the black-white difference in changes in neighborhood socioeconomic status and racial composition. Results from decomposition analyses show that the racial difference in in situ neighborhood change explains virtually all the black-white difference in neighborhood socioeconomic status change. In contrast, racial differences in residential mobility explain the bulk of the black-white difference in neighborhood racial compositional change. Among blacks and whites initially residing in low-income and predominantly minority neighborhoods, whites experience a much greater increase than blacks in the socioeconomic status of their neighborhoods and the percentage of their neighbors who are non-Hispanic white. These differences are driven primarily by racial differences in the economic and racial composition of local (intracounty) movers’ destination neighborhoods and secondarily by black-white differences in the likelihood of moving long distances.
Green Trade and Fair Trade in and with the EU
Authors: Ankersmit Laurens
Published: August 2017

This book explores how EU law constrains the freedom of the EU, the Member States, and private bodies to adopt measures that seek to protect social and environmental interests abroad by placing conditions on production processes in other states. The permissibility of such process-based measures has been examined primarily within the World Trade Organization (WTO) context, but the challenges that they present are equally for the EU internal market system. Ankersmit identifies three core challenges posed by process-based measures from an EU law perspective: extraterritoriality, unilateralism and the competitive and democratic problems created by private rule-making. It examines these issues in the context of free movement, competition, public procurement, and EU tax law. This book will appeal to academics, policy makers and practitioners interested in trade and environment, the social impact of trade law, and European and international market regulation.
The First of the Modern Ottomans
Authors: Menchinger Ethan L.
Published: August 2017

The eighteenth century brought a period of tumultuous change to the Ottoman Empire. While the Empire sought modernization through military and administrative reform, it also lost much of its influence on the European stage through war and revolt. In this book, Ethan L. Menchinger sheds light on intellectual life, politics, and reform in the Empire through the study of one of its leading intellectuals and statesmen, Ahmed Vâsıf. Vâsıf's life reveals new aspects of Ottoman letters - heated debates over moral renewal, war and peace, justice, and free will - but it also forces the reappraisal of Ottoman political reform, showing a vital response that was deeply enmeshed in Islamic philosophy, ethics, and statecraft. Tracing Vâsıf's role through the turn of the nineteenth century, this book opens the debate on modernity and intellectualism for those students and researchers studying the Ottoman Empire, intellectual history, the Enlightenment, and Napoleonic Europe.
Deep-Sea Fishes
Authors: Priede Imants G.
Published: August 2017

The technological advances of the last twenty years have brought huge advances in our understanding of the deep sea and of the species inhabiting this elusive and fascinating environment. Synthesising the very latest research and discoveries, this is a comprehensive and much-needed account of deep-sea fishes. Priede examines all aspects of this incredibly diverse group of animals, reviewing almost 3,500 species and covering deep-sea fish evolution, physiology and ecology as well as charting the history of their discovery from the eighteenth century to the present day. Providing a global account of both pelagic and demersal species, the book ultimately considers the effect of the growing deep-sea fishing industry on sustainability. Copiously illustrated with explanations of the deep-sea environment, drawings of fishes and information on how they adapt to the deep, this is an essential resource for biologists, conservationists, fishery managers and anyone interested in marine evolution and natural history.
Forbearance as Redistribution
Authors: Holland Alisha C.
Published: August 2017

Why do governments tolerate the violation of their own laws and regulations? Conventional wisdom is that governments cannot enforce their laws. Forbearance as Redistribution challenges the standard interpretation by showing that politicians choose not to enforce laws to distribute resources and win elections. Alisha Holland demonstrates that this forbearance towards activities such as squatting and street vending is a powerful strategy for attracting the electoral support of poor voters. In many developing countries, state social programs are small or poorly targeted and thus do not offer politicians an effective means to mobilize the poor. In contrast, forbearance constitutes an informal welfare policy around which Holland argues much of urban politics turns. While forbearance offers social support to those failed by their governments, it also perpetuates the same exclusionary welfare policies from which it grows.
Cognitive Motivation
Authors: Beswick David
Published: August 2017

Motivation and cognition were treated as separate concepts throughout most of twentieth-century psychology. However, in recent years researchers have begun viewing the two as inextricably intertwined: not only does what we want affect how we think, but how we think affects what we want. In this innovative study, Beswick presents a new general theory of cognitive motivation, synthesizing decades of existing research in social, cognitive and personality psychology. New basic concepts are applied to a wide range of purposive behaviour. Part I of the volume reviews different forms of cognitive motivation, such as curiosity, cognitive dissonance, achievement motivation, and the search for purpose and meaning, while Part II examines the basic processes that underlie it, such as working memory, attention and emotion. The central concept is the incomplete gestalt, in which motivation is generated by a universal striving to integrate information and make sense at all levels of cognitive organization.
The Efficacy and Analytical Importance of Manual Feature Extraction Using Lidar Datasets
Authors: Quintus Seth , Day Stephanie S. , Smith Nathan J.
Published: August 2017

The availability of lidar datasets has led to several advances in archaeology, notably in the process of site prospection. Some remote sensing practitioners have aimed to create automated feature extraction (AFE) techniques that increase the efficiency and efficacy of identification and analysis. While these advances have been successful, many archaeological professionals who might have an interest in lidar-derived products do not have the technical experience to modify or create AFE techniques for particular regions or environments. Additionally, some features are not appropriate for AFE. Instead, the most widely used technique is still likely to be visually based manual feature identification. Using authors of different experience levels, we seek to evaluate the use of manual techniques for feature identification and subsequent analysis by implementing a publicly available lidar-derived digital elevation model (DEM). We demonstrate that manual feature extraction (MFE) can be accurate when more than one researcher is involved in a sort of “checks and balances” process. We also show that the use of confidence ratings can be an important part of this process if those ratings have some systematic and clearly defined underpinning. Finally, we argue, using a case study from American Samoa, that manually identified features can be analytically important as part of larger landscape studies.
Numerical modelling of past retreat and future evolution of Chhota Shigri glacier in Western Indian Himalaya
Authors: Gantayat Prateek , Kulkarni Anil V. , Srinivasan J. , Schmeits Maurice J
Published: August 2017

The history of glacier length fluctuations serves as a reliable indicator of the past climate. In this paper, a numerical flowline model has been used to study the relationship between length variations of Chhota Shigri glacier and local climate since 1876. The simulated front positions of Chhota Shigri glacier are in agreement with those observed. After a successful simulation of the past retreat, the model was also used to predict future evolution of the glacier for the next 100 years under different climatic scenarios. These simulations indicate that the Chhota Shigri glacier may lose ~90% of its present volume by 2100 if the local temperature increases by 2.4 K, and for a temperature rise of 5.5 K, the glacier loses almost all its volume.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Children of Kathmandu 1 Year After the 2015 Earthquake in Nepal
Authors: Acharya Shneha , Bhatta Dharma Nanda , Assannangkornchai Sawitri
Published: August 2017

Objective

The 2015 earthquake in Nepal affected the country in terms of economy, and by causing damage and stress reactions. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and determine individual child- and family-level predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Kathmandu district 15 months after the earthquake. Multistage cluster sampling was adopted to collect 800 earthquake-affected children aged 7-16 years and a face-to-face interview was conducted. Trauma exposure questionnaire and Child PTSD Symptoms Scale were used for assessment of the level of exposure and PTSD symptoms. Multilevel generalized linear regression analysis was used to explore individual and family-level predictors.

Results

Among the children, 51% had moderate-to-severe PTSD symptoms. Children of school age (adjusted odds ratio=2.83 [1.45-5.49]), those attending lower-secondary school (2.26 [1.21-4.21]), those having a higher exposure to the severity of the earthquake, and those with low psychosocial acuity [1.70 (1.10-2.60)] were more likely to have more severe PTSD symptoms compared with those who were adolescents and in higher-secondary school, whereas children from a family living in an urban (0.33 [0.19-0.59]) setting and following Hindu religion (0.31 [0.16-0.60]) were less likely to have PTSD symptoms compared with children from suburban areas and those following Buddhist religion.

Conclusion

PTSD symptoms were prevalent among children of Nepal more than a year following the earthquake. Family-level indicators cannot be excluded when studying children’s trauma reactions. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:486–492)
Cultural Taxation: The Experiences of Māori Teachers in the Waitaha (Canterbury) Province of New Zealand and their Relevance for Similar Australian Research
Authors: Torepe Toni K. , Manning Richard F.
Published: August 2017

This article draws on data from a research study (Torepe, 2011) that investigated the lived experiences of six Māori teachers who recently graduated from the Hōaka Pounamu (Graduate Diploma in Immersion and Bilingual Teaching) course at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. The primary objective was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences and various challenges confronting this group of experienced Māori language teachers working in English-medium, state-funded schools. This article describes the qualitative research methodology that was underpinned by a Kaupapa Māori narrative research philosophy. It then explains why the study's findings support and strengthen those of previous studies conducted in Australia. Most notably, they draw attention to the concept of cultural taxation and the Crown's principles for action on the Treaty of Waitangi. Given the large number of Māori children attending Australian schools and similar challenges confronting Indigenous Australian teachers, this research will be of interest to an Australian audience.
Don Peretz 1922–2017
Authors: Esber Rosemarie M. , Hogan Matthew C. , Mattar Philip
Published: August 2017

Dr. Don Peretz, a leading scholar on the Arab-Israel conflict and Palestinian refugees at SUNY-Binghamton, died on April 29 in Mitchellville, Maryland. He was 94.
Effect of acid whey-fortified breads on caecal fermentation processes and blood lipid profile in rats
Authors: Wronkowska Małgorzata , Soral-Śmietana Maria , Zduńczyk Zenon , Juśkiewicz Jerzy , Jadacka Monika , Majkowska Anna , Dajnowiec Fabian J.
Published: August 2017

Two types of diet – standard and atherogenic – were used to study the effect of wheat or wheat–rye breads supplemented with 20 % acid whey concentrate after ultrafiltration on the physiological response of growing rats. The acid whey concentrate after ultrafiltration used in rat diets caused reduced weight gain (for atherogenic diet with wheat bread); growth of caecum tissue and digesta weight; a decrease in the pH of caecum digesta (for atherogenic diet); reduced activity of bacterial glycolytic enzymes; and a significant increase in total SCFA for both types of diet with wheat–rye breads containing acid whey concentrate. For wheat bread with acid whey, in standard diet, a statistically significant increase was found in the population of bifidobacteria. The results showed that the acid whey concentrates could be used as a valuable food ingredient.