bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interventions to improve screening and appropriate referral of patients with cancer for psychosocial distress: systematic review
Authors: McCarter Kristen , Britton Ben , Baker Amanda L , Halpin Sean A , Beck Alison K , Carter Gregory , Wratten Chris , Bauer Judith , Forbes Erin , Booth Debbie , Wolfenden Luke
Published: January 2018

Objectives

The primary aim of the review was to determine the effectiveness of strategies to improve clinician provision of psychosocial distress screening and referral of patients with cancer.

Design

Systematic review.

Data sources

Electronic databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)) were searched until July 2016.

Inclusion criteria

Population: adult patients with cancer and clinical staff members. Intervention: any strategy that aimed to improve the rate of routine screening and referral for detected distress of patients with cancer. Comparison: no intervention controls, ‘usual’ practice or alternative interventions. Outcome: (primary) any measure of provision of screening and/or referral for distress, (secondary) psychosocial distress, unintended adverse effects. Design: trials with or without a temporal comparison group, including randomised and non-randomised trials, and uncontrolled pre–post studies.

Data extraction and analysis

Two review authors independently extracted data. Heterogeneity across studies precluded quantitative assessment via meta-analysis and so a narrative synthesis of the results is presented.

Results

Five studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies were set in oncology clinics or departments and used multiple implementation strategies. Using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation, the overall rating of the certainty of the body of evidence reported in this review was assessed as very low. Three studies received a methodological quality rating of weak and two studies received a rating of moderate. Only one of the five studies reported a significant improvement in referrals.

Conclusions

The review identified five studies of predominantly poor quality examining the effectiveness of strategies to improve the routine implementation of distress screening and referral for patients with cancer. Future research using robust research designs, including randomised assignment, are needed to identify effective support strategies to maximise the potential for successful implementation of distress screening and referral for patients with cancer.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42015017518.
Similarity of chest X-ray and thermal imaging of focal pneumonia: a randomised proof of concept study at a large urban teaching hospital
Authors: Wang Linda T , Cleveland Robert H , Binder William , Zwerdling Robert G , Stamoulis Caterina , Ptak Thomas , Sherman Mindy , Haver Kenan , Sagar Pallavi , Hibberd Patricia
Published: January 2018

Objective

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of thermal imaging (TI) in the setting of focal consolidative pneumonia with chest X-ray (CXR) as the gold standard.

Setting

A large, 973-bed teaching hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Participants

47 patients enrolled, 15 in a training set, 32 in a test set. Age range 10 months to 82 years (median=50 years).

Materials and methods

Subjects received CXR with subsequent TI within 4 hours of each other. CXR and TI were assessed in blinded random order. Presence of focal opacity (pneumonia) on CXR, the outcome parameter, was recorded. For TI, presence of area(s) of increased heat (pneumonia) was recorded. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess the significance of the correlations of positive findings in the same anatomical region.

Results

With TI compared with the CXR (the outcome parameter), sensitivity was 80.0% (95% CIs 29.9% to 98.9%), specificity was 57.7% (95% CI 37.2% to 76.0%). Positive predictive value of TI was 26.7% (95% CI 8.9% to55.2%) and its negative predictive value was 93.8% (95% CI 67.7% to 99.7%).

Conclusions

This feasibility study confirms proof of concept that chest TI is consistent with CXR in suggesting similarly localised focal pneumonia with high sensitivity and negative predictive value. Further investigation of TI as a point-of-care imaging modality is warranted.
Clinical decisions presented to patients in hospital encounters: a cross-sectional study using a novel taxonomy
Authors: Ofstad Eirik Hugaas , Frich Jan C , Schei Edvin , Frankel Richard M , Šaltytė Benth Jūratė , Gulbrandsen Pål
Published: January 2018

Objective

To identify and classify all clinical decisions that emerged in a sample of patient–physician encounters and compare different categories of decisions across clinical settings and personal characteristics.

Design

Cross-sectional descriptive evaluation of hospital encounters videotaped in 2007–2008 using a novel taxonomy to identify and classify clinically relevant decisions (both actions and judgements).

Participants and setting

372 patients and 58 physicians from 17 clinical specialties in ward round (WR), emergency room (ER) and outpatient (OP) encounters in a Norwegian university hospital.

Results

The 372 encounters contained 4976 clinically relevant decisions. The average number of decisions per encounter was 13.4 (min–max 2–40, SD 6.8). The overall distribution of the 10 topical categories in all encounters was: defining problem: 30%, evaluating test result: 17%, drug related: 13%, gathering additional information: 10%, contact related: 10%, advice and precaution: 8%, therapeutic procedure related: 5%, deferment: 4%, legal and insurance related: 2% and treatment goal: 1%. Across three temporal categories, the distribution of decisions was 71% here-and-now, 16% preformed and 13% conditional. On average, there were 15.7 decisions per encounter in internal medicine specialties, 7.1 in ear–nose–throat encounters and 11.0–13.6 in the remaining specialties. WR encounters contained significantly more drug-related decisions than OP encounters (P=0.031) and preformed decisions than ER and OP encounters (P<0.001). ER encounters contained significantly more gathering additional information decisions than OP and WR encounters (P<0.001) and fewer problem defining decisions than WR encounters (P=0.028). There was no significant difference in the average number of decisions related to the physician’s and patient’s age or gender.

Conclusions

Patient–physician encounters contain a larger number of clinically relevant decisions than described in previous studies. Comprehensive descriptions of how decisions, both as judgements and actions, are communicated in medical encounters may serve as a first step in assessing clinical practice with respect to efficiency and quality on a provider or system level.
Visibility of smoking among school­teachers in Spain and associations with student smoking: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Escario José Julián , Wilkinson Anna V
Published: January 2018

Objective

Limited research has examined the association between smoking among schoolteachers and student smoking. This paper seeks to assess whether smoking visibility on school grounds among schoolteachers is associated with student smoking. We examine both smoking behaviour and the number of cigarettes consumed.

Methods

We use a school-based cross-sectional survey carried out by the Spanish Government’s Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs. A total of 27 503 students between 14 and 18 years of age completed an anonymous survey in 2013. Count data regressions were used to assess the association between observed teacher smoking and adolescent smoking behaviour.

Results

High levels of visibility of teacher smoking on school grounds increased the odds of being a smoker among students (OR=2.09 and OR=1.64, for the highest levels of visibility), but the impact on the quantity of cigarettes smoked, although positive, was not significant.

Conclusion

Teacher smoking on school grounds is associated with student smoking behaviour. Consequently, smoking policies designed to prevent adolescent smoking should address this important social environment.
Community pharmacists’ services for women during pregnancy and breast feeding in Kuwait: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Albassam Abdullah , Awad Abdelmoneim
Published: January 2018

Objectives

This study was designed to identify the services provided by community pharmacists in Kuwait and their views regarding self-care in pregnancy and lactation. In addition, it determined the pharmacists’ recommendations for treatment of pregnancy-related and breast feeding-related ailments.

Design

Cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey.

Setting

Community pharmacies in Kuwait.

Participants

207 pharmacies were randomly selected from the Ministry of Health database. One registered pharmacist was approached from each pharmacy. One hundred and ninety-two (92.8%) pharmacists agreed to participate and completed a self-administered questionnaire.

Outcomes

The proportions of pharmacists offering particular advice for health conditions in pregnancy and lactation, pharmacists’ recommendations for common and specific ailments during pregnancy and breast feeding, and pharmacists’ views about self-care in pregnancy and breast feeding.

Results

The top services provided to pregnant and lactating women were recommending vitamins and food supplements (89.8%) and contraception advice (83.4%), respectively. More than half of participants indicated that they would recommend medications for headache, constipation, cough, runny nose, sore throat, nausea/vomiting, indigestion, sore or cracked nipple and insufficient milk. Diarrhoea, haemorrhoids, insomnia, varicose vein, swelling of the feet and legs, vaginal itching, back pain, fever, mastitis and engorgement were frequently referred to the physician. Recommendations on medication use were occasionally inappropriate in terms of unneeded drug therapy, off-label use and safety. In relation to offering advice and solving medication and health problems of pregnant and lactating women, more than half of pharmacists indicated that they have sufficient knowledge (61.5%; 50.5%) and confidence (58.3%; 53.1%), respectively. Most of the respondents (88.5%) agreed that a continuing education programme on this topic would be of value for their practice.

Conclusion

The present findings show that respondents had different recommendations for treatment of pregnancy-related and lactation-related ailments; and also highlight the need for interventions, including continuing professional development and revision of the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum.
Association of body flexibility and carotid atherosclerosis in Japanese middle-aged men: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Suwa Masataka , Imoto Takayuki , Kida Akira , Yokochi Takashi , Iwase Mitsunori , Kozawa Kenji
Published: January 2018

Objective

This study examined the associations of body flexibility with carotid arterial remodelling, including intima–media thickness (IMT) and plaque formation in middle-aged men.

Methods

The subjects of this cross-sectional study included 1354 Japanese men aged 35–59 years without histories of stroke or cardiac diseases. The arm extensibility test, which can estimate flexibility of the upper extremity (composed of shoulder external rotation and forearm supination), and the sit-and-reach test were performed. Common carotid IMT and plaque formation (≥1.1 mm) were estimated by ultrasound.

Results

The proportion of subjects who fully completed the arm extensibility test was 55.0%, and who had plaques in the common carotid artery was 37.8%. IMT was associated with poor arm extensibility (β=–0.073, 95% CI –0.02224 to–0.00041, P=0.004), while plaque formation was associated with poor sit-and-reach (OR 0.98579, 95% CI 0.97257 to 0.99919, P=0.038) after adjustment by all covariates.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that poor upper extremity and trunk flexibility were associated with characteristics of early onset of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, these associations were independent of covariates such as age, blood pressure, blood lipids glucose levels and abdominal fat accumulation, handgrip strength and lifestyle, including sleeping, drinking, exercise and smoking habits. Poor flexibility may reflect subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged men.
Work efficiency improvement of >90% after implementation of an annual inpatient blood products administration consent form
Authors: Lindsay Holly , Bhar Saleh , Bonifant Challice , Sartain Sarah , Whittle Sarah B. , Lee-Kim Youngna , Shah Mona D.
Published: January 2018

Paediatric haematology, oncology and bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients frequently require transfusion of blood products. Our institution required a new transfusion consent be obtained every admission. The objectives of this project were to: revise inpatient blood products consent form to be valid for 1 year, decrease provider time spent consenting from 15 to <5 min per admission, and improve provider frustration with the consent process. Over 6 months, we determined the average number of hospitalisations requiring transfusions in a random sampling of haematology/oncology/BMT inpatients. We surveyed nurses and providers regarding frustration levels and contact required regarding consents. Four and 12 months after implementation of the annual consent, providers and nurses were resurveyed, and new inpatient cohorts were assessed. Comparison of preintervention and postintervention time data allowed calculation of provider time reduction, a surrogate measure of improved work efficiency. Prior to the annual consent, >33 hours were spent over 6 months obtaining consent on 40 patients, with >19 hours spent obtaining consent when no transfusions were administered during admission. Twelve months after annual consent implementation, 97.5% (39/40) of analysed patients had a completed annual blood products transfusion consent and provider work efficiency had improved by 94.6% (>30 hours). Although several surveyed variables improved following annual consent implementation, provider frustration with consent process remained 6 out of a max score of 10, the same level as prior to the intervention. Development of an annual inpatient blood products consent form decreased provider time from 15 to <1 min per admission, decreased consenting numbers and increased work efficiency by >90%.
End-of-life care in the Western world: where are we now and how did we get here?
Authors: Guilbeau Catherine
Published: January 2018

Objectives

Recent movements in end-of-life care emphasise community care for the dying; however, integrating community with medical care continues to be a work in progress. Historically tracing brain hemispheric dominance, Ian McGilchrist believes we are overemphasising functionality, domination and categorisation to the detriment of symbolism, empathy and connectedness with others. The aim of this historical review is to bring McGilchrist’s sociobiological narrative into dialogue with the history and most recent trends in end-of-life care.

Method

This review used widely referenced historical accounts of end-of-life care, recent literature reviews on relevant topics and current trends in end-of-life care.

Results

While contemporary end-of-life care emphasises community care for the dying, implementation of these new approaches must be considered in its historical context. McGilchrist’s arguments call for a critical consideration of what seems a rather simple change in end-of-life care.

Conclusion

We must question whether it is possible to hand death responsibilities back to the community when medical services have largely assumed this responsibility in countries supporting individualism, secularism and materialism.
National quality indicators and policies from 15 countries leading in adult end-of-life care: a systematic environmental scan
Authors: Virdun Claudia , Luckett Tim , Lorenz Karl A , Phillips Jane
Published: January 2018

Background

The importance of measuring the quality of end-of-life care provision is undisputed, but determining how best to achieve this is yet to be confirmed. This study sought to identify and describe national end-of-life care quality indicators and supporting policies used by countries leading in their end-of-life care provision.

Methods

A systematic environmental scan that included a web search to identify relevant national policies and indicators; hand searching for additional materials; information from experts listed for the top 10 (n=15) countries ranked in the ‘quality of care’ category ofthe 2015 Quality of Death Index study;and snowballing from Index experts.

Findings

Ten countries (66%) have national policy support for end-of-life care measurement, five have national indicator sets, with two indicator sets suitable for all service providers. No countries mandate indicator use, and there is limited evidence of consumer engagement in development of indicators. Two thirds of the 128 identified indicators are outcomes measures (62%), and 38% are process measures. Most indicators pertain to symptom management (38%), social care (32%) or care delivery (27%).

Interpretations

Measurement of end-of-life care quality varies globally and rarely covers all care domains or service providers. There is a need to reduce duplication of indicator development, involve consumers, consider all care providers and ensure measurable and relevant indicators to improve end-of-life care experiences for patients and families.
Efficacy of endoscopic screening for esophageal cancer in China (ESECC): design and preliminary results of a population-based randomised controlled trial
Authors: He Zhonghu , Liu Zhen , Liu Mengfei , Guo Chuanhai , Xu Ruiping , Li Fenglei , Liu Anxiang , Yang Haijun , Shen Lin , Wu Qi , Duan Liping , Li Xiang , Zhang Chaoting , Pan Yaqi , Cai Hong , Ke Yang
Published: January 2018

Objective

Description of the design and preliminary results of baseline recruitment and screening in the endoscopic screening for esophageal cancer in China (ESECC), the first randomised controlled trial (RCT) assessing efficacy and cost-effectiveness of endoscopic screening for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Design

ESECC trial is a cluster RCT, and 668 villages in rural Hua County, Henan Province, a high-incidence area of ESCC in China, were randomised into two arms at a ratio of 1:1. Screening arm participants were screened by Lugol chromoendoscopy; no screening was performed in the control arm. ESCC-specific and all-cause mortality, incidence of advanced ESCC and cost-effectiveness of screening will be evaluated in the next 10-year follow-up. Here, we report the performance of baseline recruitment and randomisation, prevalence of upper GI lesions and risk factors for ESCC.

Results

A total of 17 151 and 16 797 participants were enrolled in screening and control arms from January 2012 to September 2016. The truncated prevalence (aged 45–69 years) of oesophageal and overall upper GI high-grade lesions was 744.0/100 000 and 902.0/100 000. 69.9% of the 113 patients with high-grade oesophageal lesions were of early stage. Risk factors for severe oesophageal dysplasia and more severe lesions in this population included higher age, family history of ESCC, lower body mass index, eating rapidly and frequent ingestion of leftovers.

Conclusion

This ESECC trial met the predesigned recruitment and randomisation requirements. Age, family history, undernutrition and unhealthy dietary habits increased the risk for high-grade oesophageal lesions in this high-risk population.

Trail registration number

NCT01688908; Pre-results.
Gender differences in the well-being of patients diagnosed with Chlamydia trachomatis: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Andersson Nirina , Carré Helena , Janlert Urban , Boman Jens , Nylander Elisabet
Published: January 2018

Objectives

We aimed to investigate how an infection with Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) influenced patients’ well-being and whether there were differences due to gender, age or relationship status, in an effort to strengthen preventive measures and provide better healthcare for patients with CT.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with CT in the county of Västerbotten, Sweden, were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their feelings, thoughts and actions after CT diagnosis. The patients were also asked to fill in the validated questionnaires Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Between February 2015 and January 2017, 128 patients (74 women and 54 men) were included in the study.

Results

After being diagnosed with CT, men were generally less worried than women (P<0.001). Women worried more about not being able to have children (P<0.001) and about having other STIs (P=0.001) than men did. Men felt less angry (P=0.001), less bad (P<0.001), less dirty (P<0.001) and less embarrassed (P=0.011) than women did. Nineteen per cent of men and 48% of women reported symptoms of anxiety. The majority of both men (60%) and women (72%) had a risk consumption of alcohol.

Conclusion

Women and men reacted differently when diagnosed with CT. Women worried more about complications and more often blamed themselves for being infected. Being aware of these gender differences may be important when planning preventive measures and during counselling of CT-infected patients. Persons working with patients with CT must also be aware of the high frequency of harmful alcohol consumption among their patients.
How tobacco companies in the United Kingdom prepared for, and responded to, standardised packaging of cigarettes and rolling tobacco
Authors: Moodie Crawford , Angus Kathryn , Mitchell Danielle , Critchlow Nathan
Published: January 2018

Introduction

As a result of the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations and Tobacco Products Directive, all packs of cigarettes (factory-made and hand-rolled) in the UK must be drab brown, display pictorial warnings on the principal display areas and contain no less than 20 cigarettes or 30 g of tobacco. The legislation was phased in between May 2016 and May 2017. Our objective was to monitor pack, brand and product changes preimplementation and postimplementation.

Methods

Our surveillance of the cigarette market involved a review of the trade press, a monthly monitor of online supermarkets and regular visits to stores, from May 2015 to June 2017.

Results

Before standardised packaging there were changes to the pack graphics (eg, redesigned packs and limited editions) and pack structure (eg, resealable inner foil) and the issue of a number of reusable tins. After standardised packaging, changes included newer cigarette pack sizes for some brand variants (eg, 23 and 24 packs). Changes to the branding prestandardised packaging included brand extensions, and poststandardised packaging included brand and/or variant name change, often with the inclusion of colour descriptors and brand migrations. Product changes prestandardised packaging included the introduction of novel filters (eg, filters with two flavour-changing capsules, tube filters, firmer filters and filters with granular additives). There was non-compliance with the legislation, with slim packs, which are not permitted, on sale after standardised packaging was implemented.

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the need to monitor developments in markets introducing standardised packaging and have policy implications for countries considering this measure.
Is thromboelastography (TEG)-based resuscitation better than empirical 1:1 transfusion?
Authors: Howley Isaac W , Haut Elliott R , Jacobs Lenwoth , Morrison Jonathan J , Scalea Thomas M
Published: January 2018

Thomboelastography (TEG) is a whole blood measure of coagulation which was originally described in the 1950s. However, it has only been in the last few decades that assays have become accessible and viable as a point-of-care test. Following the observation that hemorrhagic shock is associated with an intrinsic coagulopathy, TEG has been used as a method of diagnosing specific coagulation defects in order to direct individualized blood products resuscitation. An alternative transfusion strategy is the administration of fixed ratio products, a paradigm borne out of military experience. It is unknown which strategy is superior and this topic was debated at the 36th Annual Point/Counterpoint Acute Care Surgery Conference. The following article summarizes the discussants points of view along with a summary of the evidence.

Level of evidence

Level III.
Calf with congenital lateralised nostrils and maxillary hypoplasia
Authors: Giessen Emmie , van den Brink Lianne , Lourenburg Maxine , Spanjersberg Talitha , Hut Peter
Published: January 2018

This case report describes an 18‐day‐old female Holstein‐Friesian calf with congenital symmetrical lateralised nostrils and maxillary hypoplasia. The calf had problems with the uptake of solid food and had an inspiratory and expiratory stridor. Further investigation showed that there was no palatoschisis, but a 1–2‐mm open duct was found in the rostral part of the hard palate. The cranial part of the hard palate made a 90° angle with the caudal part and was therefore shaped like a T. Since around day 34 of gestation the nose placodes normally fuse, an error most likely occurred in close approximation of this date, causing the facial anomaly of the calf. A congenital defect can have a genetic, infectious and/or an environmental cause. Further research is necessary to examine the anatomic structures involved, functional consequences and possible causes for this congenital abnormality.
Weak photoacoustic signal detection based on the differential duffing oscillator
Authors: Li Chenjing , Xu Xuemei , Ding Yipeng , Yin Linzi , Dou Beibei
Published: January 2018

In view of photoacoustic spectroscopy theory, the relationship between weak photoacoustic signal and gas concentration is described. The studies, on the principle of Duffing oscillator for identifying state transition as well as determining the threshold value, have proven the feasibility of applying the Duffing oscillator in weak signal detection. An improved differential Duffing oscillator is proposed to identify weak signals with any frequency and ameliorate the signal-to-noise ratio. The analytical methods and numerical experiments of the novel model are introduced in detail to confirm its superiority. Then the signal detection system of weak photoacoustic based on differential Duffing oscillator is constructed, it is the first time that the weak signal detection method with differential Duffing oscillator is applied triumphantly in photoacoustic spectroscopy gas monitoring technology.
f(T) gravity and energy distribution in Landau–Lifshitz prescription
Authors: Ganiou M. G. , Houndjo M. J. S. , Tossa J.
Published: January 2018

We investigate in this paper the Landau–Lifshitz energy distribution in the framework of [Formula: see text] theory view as a modified version of Teleparallel theory. From some important Teleparallel theory results on the localization of energy, our investigations generalize the Landau–Lifshitz prescription from the computation of the energy–momentum complex to the framework of [Formula: see text] gravity as it is done in the modified versions of General Relativity. We compute the energy density in the first step for three plane-symmetric metrics in vacuum. We find for the second metric that the energy density vanishes independently of [Formula: see text] models. We find that the Teleparallel Landau–Lifshitz energy–momentum complex formulations for these metrics are different from those obtained in General Relativity for the same metrics. Second, the calculations are performed for the cosmic string spacetime metric. It results that the energy distribution depends on the mass [Formula: see text] and the radius [Formula: see text] of cosmic string and it is strongly affected by the parameter of the considered quadratic and cubic [Formula: see text] models. Our investigation with this metric induces interesting results susceptible to be tested with some astrophysics hypothesis.
SCALING AND MULTIFRACTALITY IN ROAD ACCIDENTAL DISTANCES
Authors: QIU TIAN , WAN CHI , ZOU XIANG-XIANG , WANG XIAO-FAN
Published: January 2018

Accidental distance dynamics is investigated, based on the road accidental data of the Great Britain. The distance distribution of all the districts as an ensemble presents a power law tail, which is different from that of the individual district. A universal distribution is found for different districts, by rescaling the distribution functions of individual districts, which can be well fitted by the Weibull distribution. The male and female drivers behave similarly in the distance distribution. The multifractal characteristic is further studied for the individual district and all the districts as an ensemble, and different behaviors are also revealed between them. The accidental distances of the individual district show a weak multifractality, whereas of all the districts present a strong multifractality when taking them as an ensemble.
B-SPLINE COLLOCATION SIMULATION OF NON-LINEAR TRANSIENT MAGNETIC NANOBIO-TRIBOLOGICAL SQUEEZE-FILM FLOW
Authors: BÉG O. ANWAR , SOHAIL AYESHA , KADIR ALI , BÉG T. A.
Published: January 2018

A mathematical model is presented for magnetized nanofluid bio-tribological squeeze-film flow between two approaching disks. The nanofluid comprises a suspension of metal oxide nanoparticles with an electrically-conducting base fluid, making the nanosuspension responsive to applied magnetic field. The governing viscous momentum, heat and species (nanoparticle) conservation equations are normalized with appropriate transformations which renders the original coupled, non-linear partial differential equation system into a more amenable ordinary differential boundary value problem. The emerging model is shown to be controlled by a number of parameters, viz nanoparticle volume fraction, squeeze number, Hartmann magnetic body force number, disk surface transpiration parameter, Brownian motion parameter, thermophoretic parameter, Prandtl number and Lewis number. Computations are conducted with a B-spline collocation numerical method. Validation with previous homotopy solutions is included. The numerical spline algorithm is shown to achieve excellent convergence and stability in non-linear bio-tribological boundary value problems. The interaction of heat and mass transfer with nanofluid velocity characteristics is explored. In particular, smaller nanoparticle (high Brownian motion parameter) suspensions are studied. The study is relevant to enhanced lubrication performance in novel bio-sensors and intelligent knee joint (orthopaedic) systems.
THE IMPACT OF VALVULAR PATHOLOGIES ON HEART RATE, THE SECOND HEART SOUND SPLIT, AND SYSTOLIC PULMONARY ARTERIAL PRESSURE
Authors: CHERIF L. HAMZA , DEBBAL S. M.
Published: January 2018

The heart rate increases during inspiration and decreases during expiration; the study of this variation and the change of the second heart sound split (a change related to inspiration and expiration) can determine at what time in a cardiac cycle is the inspiration and the expiration. It would also be interesting to study the variation in systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) estimated over several cardiac cycles and to understand its evolution as its variation is related to the pulmonary valve, on the one hand, and inspiration and expiration, on the other hand. The algorithm developed based on the Hilbert transform and the energy of Shannon gives the second heart sound split. The SPAP will be estimated from spectral parameters of the second heart S2. The results show an excellent performance of the algorithm proposed to extract different information on the variation of heart rate. The results of the change in pressure and split are encouraging and promising for the use of the proposed method in a clinical context of hypertension in non-invasive pulmonary pathways, for example.
SENSITIVITY OF MITIGATION TO THE OPTIMAL GLOBAL TEMPERATURE: AN EXPERIMENT WITH DICE
Authors: YOO JONGHYUN , MENDELSOHN ROBERT
Published: January 2018

It is commonly assumed that the temperature which optimizes global production and welfare is the global temperature in 1900. There is an empirical evidence, however, that suggests a slightly warmer, wetter, and CO2 enriched planet which is more productive. This paper explores the sensitivity of mitigation and the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) to different assumptions about the optimal global temperature using DICE 2016R. Each 1[Formula: see text]C increase in optimal global temperature lowers the SCC in 2020 by about half and delays the mitigation path by about a decade, but increases the long run temperature only slightly.
On Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Robotic Systems
Authors: Khalastchi Eliahu , Kalech Meir
Published: January 2018

The use of robots in our daily lives is increasing. Different types of robots perform different tasks that are too dangerous or too dull to be done by humans. These sophisticated machines are susceptible to different types of faults. These faults have to be detected and diagnosed in time to allow recovery and continuous operation. The field of Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) has been studied for many years. This research has given birth to many approaches and techniques that are applicable to different types of physical machines. Yet the domain of robotics poses unique requirements that are very challenging for traditional FDD approaches. The study of FDD for robotics is relatively new, and only few surveys were presented. These surveys have focused on traditional FDD approaches and how these approaches may broadly apply to a generic type of robot. Yet robotic systems can be identified by fundamental characteristics, which pose different constraints and requirements from FDD. In this article, we aim to provide the reader with useful insights regarding the use of FDD approaches that best suit the different characteristics of robotic systems. We elaborate on the advantages these approaches have and the challenges they must face. To meet this aim, we use two perspectives: (1) we elaborate on FDD from the perspective of the different characteristics a robotic system may have and give examples of successful FDD approaches, and (2) we elaborate on FDD from the perspective of the different FDD approaches and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each approach with respect to robotic systems. Finally, we describe research opportunities for robotic systems’ FDD. With these three contributions, readers from the FDD research communities are introduced to FDD for robotic systems, and the robotics research community is introduced to the field of FDD.
SRC
Authors: Lourenço Ricardo Barros
Published: January 2018

We describe an experiment with the modeling of urban verticalization effects on perceived safety scores as obtained with computer vision on
Google Streetview
data for New York City. Preliminary results suggests that for smaller buildings (between one and seven floors), perceived safety increases with building height, but that for high-rise buildings, perceived safety decreases with increased height. We also determined that while height contributing for this relation, other zonal aspects also influences the perceived safety scores, suggesting spatial structuring also influences such scores.
IWCTS 2017: Tenth ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Computational Transportation Science
Authors: Xu Bo , Thakur Gautam S.
Published: January 2018

The 10th International Workshop on Computational Transportation Science (IWCTS 2017) was held in conjunction with the 25th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (SIGSPATIAL 2017) on November 7, Redondo Beach, California, USA. This workshop has built upon the success of previous workshops with a focus on data, computation, and knowledge discovery aspects of transportation systems. There were 17 registrations to the workshop.
IWGS 2017 workshop report: the 8th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Geostreaming
Authors: Zhang Chengyang , Banaei-Kashani Farnoush , Hendawi Abdeltawab
Published: January 2018

The ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Geostreaming (IWGS) was held for the eighth time in conjunction with the 25th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACMGIS 2017). The workshop has been a successful event that attracted participants from both academia and industry. The workshop addressed topics that are at the intersection of data streaming and geospatial systems. The workshop fostered an environment where geospatial researchers can benefit from the advances in geosensing technologies and data streaming systems.
Localrec 2017 workshop report: the First ACM SIGSPATIAL Workshop on Recommendations for Location-Based Services and Social Networks
Authors: Bouros Panagiotis , Renz Matthias , Sacharidis Dimitris
Published: January 2018

Driven by technological advances in hardware (positioning systems, environmental sensors), software (standards, tools, network services), and aided by various open movements (open, linked, government data) and the ever-growing mentality of sharing for the greater good (crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, collaborative and volunteered geographic information), the amount of available geo-referenced data has seen dramatic explosion over the past few years. Human activities generate data and traces that are now often transparently annotated with location and contextual information. At the same time, it has become easier than ever to collect and combine rich and diverse information about locations. Exploiting this torrent of geo-referenced data provides a tremendous potential to materially improve existing and offer novel types of recommendation services, with clear benefits in many domains, including social networks, marketing, and tourism.
1st ACM SIGSPATIAL Workshop on Analytics for Local Events and News (LENS 2017)
Authors: Magdy Amr , Zhou Xun , Huang Yan
Published: January 2018

The 1st ACM SIGSPATIAL Workshop on Analytics for Local Events and News (LENS 2017) was held in conjunction with the 25th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM SIGSPATIAL 2017). The workshop is intended to bring together experts from the research community and industry to exchange ideas on opportunities, challenges and cutting-edge techniques for local events and news analytics. The workshop has attracted 12 submissions, including 11 regular research papers and one vision paper, accepted 6 submissions for publications; 5 regular papers and one vision paper, with 50% acceptance rate. The papers are reviewed by 13 program committee members, where each paper is assigned to three reviewers. Total 11 attendants registered for the workshop. The actual number of attendants along the day fluctuated from 11 to 15, with an average of 11 attendants maintained almost all the time. The workshop has achieved its goal with bringing up together experts from both academia and industry with a set of productive discussions and talks.
Impact of distance education via interactive videoconferencing on students’ course performance and satisfaction
Authors: Klibanov Olga M. , Dolder Christian , Anderson Kevin , Kehr Heather A. , Woods J. Andrew
Published: January 2018

The impact of distance education via interactive videoconferencing on pharmacy students’ performance in a course was assessed after implementation of a distance campus. Students filled out a “Student Demographic Survey” and a “Precourse Knowledge Assessment” at the start of the course and a “Postcourse Knowledge Assessment” and a “Postcourse Student Perceptions Survey” at the end of the course. The primary end point, a comparison of course grades (%) between the main and distance campuses, was examined using the two-sample t-test. We examined the relationships among demographics, campus location, course grades, grade point average, pre- and postcourse knowledge assessments, and postcourse perceptions as our secondary end points with parametric and nonparametric tests. Data from 93 students were included in the analysis [main campus ( n = 81); distance campus ( n = 12)]. Students on the main campus achieved a significantly higher final course grade (87 vs. 81%; P = 0.02). Scores on the Postcourse Knowledge Assessment were also significantly higher compared with those of students on the distance education campus (77 vs. 68%; P = 0.04). Students on both campuses reported self-perceived improvement in their knowledge base regarding various aspects of infectious diseases. Compared with the students on the distance campus, those on the main campus were more likely to subjectively perceive that they had succeeded in the course ( P = 0.04). Our study suggests that students on the main campus achieved a higher final course grade and were more likely to feel that they had succeeded in the course. Students on both campuses reported improvement in knowledge.
Red cell indexes made easy using an interactive animation: do students and their scores concur?
Authors: Kachroo Upasana , Vinod Elizabeth , Balasubramanian Sivakumar , W. Jesi , Prince Neetu
Published: January 2018

A good understanding of red cell indexes can aid medical students in a considerable manner, serving as a basis to unravel both concepts in red cell physiology and abnormalities associated with the same. In this study, we tried to assess whether an interactive animation was helpful in improving student comprehension and understanding of red cell indexes compared with conventional classroom teaching. Eighty-eight first-year MBBS students participated, of which 44 were assigned to group A and 44 were assigned to group B after randomization. After further creation of smaller groups, students were provided with 45 min to revise red cell indexes, after which they were required to complete a multimodal questionnaire. Group A subgroups used written material for revision, whereas group B subgroups had access to an interactive animation. After completion of the questionnaire, group A students also used the animation after which feedback was collected from all students. Efficacy of the animation to improve learning and retention was demonstrated, as group B students scored significantly higher than group A students on the questionnaire ( P = 0.0003). A clear majority of the students agreed/strongly agreed that the animation was easy to operate, conveyed important concepts efficiently, and improved their knowledge of related clinical aspects as well. From the results and feedback, we found that the animation was a simple, well-received model, which, by significantly improving student performance, corroborated our hypothesis that inclusion of interactive animation into student curriculum can advance their academic attainment, compared with didactic teaching alone.
Pharmacological activation of PPARγ inhibits hypoxia-induced proliferation through a caveolin-1-targeted and -dependent mechanism in PASMCs
Authors: Yang Kai , Zhao Mingming , Huang Junyi , Zhang Chenting , Zheng Qiuyu , Chen Yuqin , Jiang Haiyang , Lu Wenju , Wang Jian
Published: January 2018

Previously, we and others have demonstrated that activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) by specific pharmacological agonists inhibits the pathogenesis of chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (CHPH) by suppressing the proliferation and migration in distal pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Moreover, these beneficial effects of PPARγ are mediated by targeting the intracellular calcium homeostasis and store-operated calcium channel (SOCC) proteins, including the main caveolae component caveolin-1. However, other than the caveolin-1 targeted mechanism, in this study, we further uncovered a caveolin-1 dependent mechanism within the activation of PPARγ by the specific agonist GW1929. First, effective knockdown of caveolin-1 by small-interfering RNA (siRNA) markedly abolished the upregulation of GW1929 on PPARγ expression at both mRNA and protein levels; Then, in HEK293T, which has previously been reported with low endogenous caveolin-1 expression, exogenous expression of caveolin-1 significantly enhanced the upregulation of GW1929 on PPARγ expression compared with nontransfection control. In addition, inhibition of PPARγ by either siRNA or pharmacological inhibitor T0070907 led to increased phosphorylation of cellular mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK1/2 and p38. In parallel, GW1929 dramatically decreased the expression of the proliferative regulators (cyclin D1 and PCNA), whereas it increased the apoptotic factors (p21, p53, and mdm2) in hypoxic PASMCs. Furthermore, these effects of GW1929 could be partially reversed by recovery of the drug treatment. In combination, PPARγ activation by GW1929 reversibly drove the cell toward an antiproliferative and proapoptotic phenotype in a caveolin-1-dependent and -targeted mechanism.
Disruption of the lens circulation causes calcium accumulation and precipitates in connexin mutant mice
Authors: Gao Junyuan , Minogue Peter J. , Beyer Eric C. , Mathias Richard T. , Berthoud Viviana M.
Published: January 2018

The lens is an avascular organ whose function and survival depend on an internal circulation system. Cx46fs380 mice model a human autosomal dominant cataract caused by a mutant lens connexin. In these mice, fiber cell connexin levels and gap junction coupling are severely decreased. The present studies were conducted to examine components of the lens circulation system that might be altered and contribute to the pathogenesis of cataracts. Lenses from wild-type mice and Cx46fs380 heterozygotes and homozygotes were studied at 2 months of age. Cx46fs380-expressing lens fiber cells were depolarized. Cx46fs380 lenses had increased intracellular hydrostatic pressure and concentrations of Na+ and Ca2+. The activity of epithelial Na+-K+-ATPase was decreased in Cx46fs380 lenses. All of these changes were more severe in homozygous than in heterozygous Cx46fs380 lenses. Cx46fs380 cataracts were stained by Alizarin red, a dye used to detect insoluble Ca2+. These data suggest that the lens internal circulation was disrupted by expression of Cx46fs380, leading to several consequences including accumulation of Ca2+ to levels so high that precipitates formed. Similar Ca2+-containing precipitates may contribute to cataract formation due to other genetic or acquired etiologies.
Cooperative function of Pdx1 and Oc1 in multipotent pancreatic progenitors impacts postnatal islet maturation and adaptability
Authors: Kropp Peter A. , Dunn Jennifer C. , Carboneau Bethany A. , Stoffers Doris A. , Gannon Maureen
Published: January 2018

The transcription factors pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (Pdx1) and onecut1 (Oc1) are coexpressed in multipotent pancreatic progenitors (MPCs), but their expression patterns diverge in hormone-expressing cells, with Oc1 expression being extinguished in the endocrine lineage and Pdx1 being maintained at high levels in β-cells. We previously demonstrated that cooperative function of these two factors in MPCs is necessary for proper specification and differentiation of pancreatic endocrine cells. In those studies, we observed a persistent decrease in expression of the β-cell maturity factor MafA. We therefore hypothesized that Pdx1 and Oc1 cooperativity in MPCs impacts postnatal β-cell maturation and function. Here our model of Pdx1-Oc1 double heterozygosity was used to investigate the impact of haploinsufficiency for both of these factors on postnatal β-cell maturation, function, and adaptability. Examining mice at postnatal day (P) 14, we observed alterations in pancreatic insulin content in both Pdx1 heterozygotes and double heterozygotes. Gene expression analysis at this age revealed significantly decreased expression of many genes important for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (e.g., Glut2, Pcsk1/2, Abcc8) exclusively in double heterozygotes. Analysis of P14 islets revealed an increase in the number of mixed islets in double heterozygotes. We predicted that double-heterozygous β-cells would have an impaired ability to respond to stress. Indeed, we observed that β-cell proliferation fails to increase in double heterozygotes in response to either high-fat diet or placental lactogen. We thus report here the importance of cooperation between regulatory factors early in development for postnatal islet maturation and adaptability.