bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rates of Atrial Fibrillation in Black Versus White Patients With Pacemakers
Authors: Kamel Hooman , Kleindorfer Dawn O. , Bhave Prashant D. , Cushman Mary , Levitan Emily B. , Howard George , Soliman Elsayed Z.
Published: September 2018

Background

Black
US
residents experience higher rates of ischemic stroke than white residents but have lower rates of clinically apparent atrial fibrillation (
AF
), a strong risk factor for stroke. It is unclear whether black persons truly have less
AF
or simply more undiagnosed
AF
.

Methods and Results

We obtained administrative claims data from state health agencies regarding all emergency department visits and hospitalizations in California, Florida, and New York. We identified a cohort of patients with pacemakers, the regular interrogation of which reduces the likelihood of undiagnosed
AF
. We compared rates of documented
AF
or atrial flutter at follow‐up visits using Kaplan–Meier survival statistics and Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for demographic characteristics and vascular risk factors. We identified 10 393 black and 91 380 white patients without documented
AF
or atrial flutter before or at the index visit for pacemaker implantation. During 3.7 (±1.8) years of follow‐up, black patients had a significantly lower rate of
AF
(21.4%; 95%
CI
19.8–23.2) than white patients (25.5%; 95%
CI
24.9–26.0). After adjustment for demographic characteristics and comorbidities, black patients had a lower hazard of
AF
(hazard ratio 0.91; 95%
CI
0.86–0.96), a higher hazard of atrial flutter (hazard ratio 1.29; 95%
CI
1.11–1.49), and a lower hazard of the composite of
AF
or atrial flutter (hazard ratio 0.94; 95%
CI
0.88–99).

Conclusions

In a population‐based sample of patients with pacemakers, black patients had a lower rate of
AF
compared with white patients. These findings indicate that the persistent racial disparities in rates of ischemic stroke are likely to be related to factors other than undiagnosed
AF
.
Hospital and 4‐Year Mortality Predictors in Patients With Acute Pulmonary Edema With and Without Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Figueras Jaume , Bañeras Jordi , Peña‐Gil Carlos , Barrabés José A. , Rodriguez Palomares Jose , Garcia Dorado David
Published: September 2018

Background

Long‐term prognosis of acute pulmonary edema (
APE
) remains ill defined.

Methods and Results

We evaluated demographic, echocardiographic, and angiographic data of 806 consecutive patients with
APE
with (
CAD
) and without coronary artery disease (non‐
CAD
) admitted from 2000 to 2010. Differences between hospital and long‐term mortality and its predictors were also assessed.
CAD
patients (n=638) were older and had higher incidence of diabetes and peripheral vascular disease than non‐
CAD
(n=168), and lower ejection fraction. Hospital mortality was similar in both groups (26.5% vs 31.5%;
P
=0.169) but
APE
recurrence was higher in
CAD
patients (17.3% vs 6.5%;
P
<0.001). Age, admission systolic blood pressure, recurrence of
APE
, and need for inotropics or endotracheal intubation were the main independent predictors of hospital mortality. In contrast, overall mortality (70.0% vs 57.1%;
P
=0.002) and readmission for nonfatal heart failure after a 45‐month follow‐up (10–140; 17.3% vs 7.6%;
P
=0.009) were higher in
CAD
than in non‐
CAD
patients. Age, peripheral vascular disease, and peak creatine kinase
MB
during index hospitalization, but not ejection fraction, were the main independent predictors of overall mortality, whereas coronary revascularization or valvular surgery were protective. These interventions were mostly performed during hospitalization index (294 of 307; 96%) and not intervened patients showed a higher risk profile.

Conclusions

Long‐term mortality in
APE
is high and higher in
CAD
than in non‐
CAD
patients. Considering the different in‐hospital and long‐term mortality predictors herein described, which do not necessarily involve systolic function, it is conceivable that a more aggressive interventional program might improve survival in high‐risk patients.
Incidence and Costs Related to Lead Damage Occurring Within the First Year After a Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Replacement Procedure
Authors: Nichols Christine I. , Vose Joshua G. , Mittal Suneet
Published: September 2018

Background

Inadvertent damage to leads for transvenous pacemakers, implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators is an important complication associated with generator‐replacement procedures. We sought to estimate the incidence and costs associated with transvenous lead damage following cardiac implantable electronic device replacement.

Methods and Results

Using the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan Commercial Research Database, we identified health care claims between 2009 and 2013 for lead damage following generator replacement. Patients were identified by claims with a procedure code for cardiac implantable electronic device replacement and then evaluated for 1 year. All follow‐up visits for lead damage were identified, and incidence, risk factors, and hospitalization costs were determined. A total of 22 557 patients with pacemakers, 20 632 with implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators, and 2063 with cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators met selection criteria. Incidence of lead damage was 0.46% for pacemaker replacement, 1.27% for implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator replacement, and 1.94% for cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator replacement procedures (
P
<0.001). After adjusting for patient characteristics, patients with implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators demonstrated risk of lead damage that was, respectively, double (hazard ratio 2.00, 95%
CI
1.57–2.55) and >2.5 times (hazard ratio 2.58, 95%
CI
1.73–3.83) that of patients with pacemakers. Lead revision or repair procedures were associated with increased inpatient hospitalization costs (mean $19 959 for pacemaker, $24 885 for implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator, and $46 229 for cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator;
P
=0.048, Kruskal–Wallis test).

Conclusions

These findings establish the first objective assessment of the incidence, risk factors, and economic burden of lead damage following cardiac implantable electronic device replacement in the United States. New care algorithms are warranted to avoid these events, which impose substantial burdens on patients, physicians, and payors.
Coronary CT Angiography Versus Standard Emergency Department Evaluation for Acute Chest Pain and Diabetic Patients: Is There Benefit With Early Coronary CT Angiography?
Authors: Truong Quynh A. , Schulman‐Marcus Joshua , Zakroysky Pearl , Chou Eric T. , Nagurney John T. , Fleg Jerome L. , Schoenfeld David A. , Udelson James E. , Hoffmann Udo , Woodard Pamela K.
Published: September 2018

Background

Cardiac computed tomography angiography (
CCTA
) reduces emergency department length of stay compared with standard evaluation in patients with low‐ and intermediate‐risk acute chest pain. Whether diabetic patients have similar benefits is unknown.

Methods and Results

In this prespecified analysis of the Rule Out Myocardial Ischemia/Infarction by Computer Assisted Tomography (
ROMICAT II)
multicenter trial, we randomized 1000 patients (17% diabetic) with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome to
CCTA
or standard evaluation. The rate of acute coronary syndrome was 8% in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients (
P
=1.0). Length of stay was unaffected by the
CCTA
strategy for diabetic patients (23.9 versus 27.2 hours,
P
=0.86) but was reduced for nondiabetic patients compared with standard evaluation (8.4 versus 26.5 hours,
P
<0.0001;
P
interaction=0.004).
CCTA
resulted in 3‐fold more direct emergency department discharge in both groups (each
P
≤0.0001,
P
interaction=0.27). No difference in hospital admissions was seen between the 2 strategies in diabetic and nondiabetic patients (
P
interaction=0.09). Both groups had more downstream testing and higher radiation doses with
CCTA
, but these were highest in diabetic patients (all
P
interaction≤0.04). Diabetic patients had fewer normal
CCTAs
than nondiabetic patients (32% versus 50%,
P
=0.003) and similar normalcy rates with standard evaluation (
P
=0.70). Notably, 66% of diabetic patients had no or mild stenosis by
CCTA
with short length of stay comparable to that of nondiabetic patients (
P
=0.34), whereas those with >50% stenosis had a high prevalence of acute coronary syndrome, invasive coronary angiography, and revascularization.

Conclusions

Knowledge of coronary anatomy with
CCTA
is beneficial for diabetic patients and can discriminate between lower risk patients with no or little coronary artery disease who can be discharged immediately and higher risk patients with moderate to severe disease who warrant further workup.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/
. Unique identifier:
NCT
01084239.
Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, and Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers at Age 60 to 64 Years
Authors: Elhakeem Ahmed , Cooper Rachel , Whincup Peter , Brage Soren , Kuh Diana , Hardy Rebecca
Published: September 2018

Background

We examined associations of objectively measured physical activity (
PA
) and sedentary time with cardiovascular disease biomarkers at age 60 to 64 years. This included investigation of sex differences and the extent to which associations may be mediated by adiposity.

Methods and Results

Participants were 795 men and 827 women aged 60 to 64 years from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development. Combined heart rate and movement sensors worn for 5 consecutive days were used to derive overall
PA
energy expenditure,
kJ
/kg per day) and time spent sedentary (<1.5 metabolic equivalent of tasks), in light PA (1.5–3 metabolic equivalent of tasks) and moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity
PA
(>3 metabolic equivalent of tasks). Linear regression models were used to relate each
PA
parameter to inflammatory (C‐reactive protein, interleukin‐6), endothelial (tissue‐plasminogen activator, E‐selectin) and adipokine (leptin, adiponectin) markers extracted from fasting blood samples. Greater time in light
PA
and moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity
PA
and less sedentary time were associated with more favorable biomarker levels. For C‐reactive protein, interleukin‐6, and leptin, these differences were greater among women than men. For example, % differences (95% confidence intervals) in leptin for men and women per SD increases in sedentary time: 7.9 (2.7, 13.0) and 20.6 (15.3, 25.8); light intensity
PA
: −3.8 (−8.9, 12.7) and −17.7 (−23.1, −12.4), moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity
PA
: −12.9 (−17.9, −8.0) and −18.3 (−23.4, −13.1). Fat mass mediated a greater proportion of these associations in women than men.

Conclusions

Greater light
PA
and moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity
PA
and less sedentary time in early old age were associated with more favorable cardiovascular biomarker profiles. Fat mass partially mediated these associations but more strongly in women than men, which explained sex differences.
Negative Carotid Artery Remodeling in Early Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Increased Carotid Plaque Vulnerability in Obesity as Assessed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Laugesen Esben , Høyem Pernille , Thrysoe Samuel , Hansen Esben Søvsø Szocska , Mikkelsen Anders F. Stegmann , Kerwin William S. , Poulsen Per L. , Hansen Troels K. , Kim W. Yong
Published: September 2018

Background

Ischemic stroke from carotid plaque embolism remains a major cause of morbidity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2
DM
). However, the effect of early T2
DM
and obesity on carotid remodeling and plaque burden remains elusive. We assessed carotid remodeling and plaque composition by carotid magnetic resonance imaging in patients with short‐duration T2
DM
compared with a sex‐ and age‐matched control group.

Methods and Results

One hundred patients with T2
DM
(duration <5 years) and 100 sex‐ and age‐matched controls underwent bilateral carotid artery magnetic resonance imaging in a 1.5‐T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Plaque burden was quantified by normalized wall index, maximum wall thickness, maximum wall area, and minimum lumen size. Plaque morphology was quantified by calcified plaque volume, necrotic core volume, and loose matrix volume. Magnetic resonance imaging data were available for 149 and 177 carotid arteries from T2
DM
patients and controls, respectively. Adjusted for age and sex, T2
DM
was associated with increased plaque burden indicated by a higher normalized wall index (ratio 1.03 [95% confidence interval, 1.002; 1.06],
P
=0.03), and negative remodeling indicated by a lower minimum lumen area (ratio 0.81 [0.74; 0.89],
P
<0.001), and lower maximum wall area (ratio 0.94 [0.88; 1.00],
P
=0.048) compared with controls. In both T2
DM
and controls, body mass index ≥30.0 kg/m
2
was associated with an 80% increase in total calcified plaque volume, and a 44% increase in necrotic core volume compared with body mass index <25.0 kg/m
2
.

Conclusions

Short‐duration T2
DM
was associated with increased carotid plaque burden and negative remodeling. Obesity was associated with increased carotid artery necrotic core volume and calcification independently of diabetes mellitus status.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier:
NCT
00674271.
Association of Gout With Long‐Term Cardiovascular Outcomes Among Patients With Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Pagidipati Neha J. , Clare Robert M. , Keenan Robert T. , Chiswell Karen , Roe Matthew T. , Hess Connie N.
Published: September 2018

Background

Epidemiological studies demonstrating a relationship between gout and cardiovascular disease are older and predate modern cardiovascular preventive therapy. We assessed the contemporary association between gout and cardiovascular disease in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease.

Methods and Results

Data were from the Duke Databank for Cardiovascular Diseases, which followed up patients undergoing cardiac catheterization with obstructive coronary artery disease at Duke University Medical Center (1998–2013). We assessed the relationship between gout diagnosis at baseline or during follow‐up and the primary composite outcome of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, adjusting for differences in baseline clinical factors. Secondary end points included cardiovascular death and all‐cause mortality. New, postbaseline, gout diagnosis was included as a time‐dependent covariate. Among 17 201 patients, 1406 (8.2%) had baseline gout and a high burden of cardiovascular risk factors, but high rates of optimal medical therapy. Over a median follow‐up of 6.4 years, gout diagnosis at time of catheterization was not associated with the primary outcome (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.05 [0.96–1.15];
P
=0.31) or cardiovascular death (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.10 [0.99–1.22];
P
=0.08), but was associated with increased all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.13 [1.05–1.23];
P
=0.002). After including new, postbaseline, gout diagnosis, the instantaneous risk of the primary outcome was significantly associated with prior gout diagnosis (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.15 [1.07–1.25];
P
=0.0004).

Conclusions

A clinical history of gout is associated with worse outcomes in a contemporary population of patients with obstructive coronary artery disease. This increased risk exists despite high levels of optimal baseline cardiovascular disease medical therapy, suggesting that residual cardiovascular risk is not addressed by standard medical therapy.
Increased Muscle Mass Protects Against Hypertension and Renal Injury in Obesity
Authors: Butcher Joshua T. , Mintz James D. , Larion Sebastian , Qiu Shuiqing , Ruan Ling , Fulton David J. , Stepp David W.
Published: September 2018

Background

Obesity compromises cardiometabolic function and is associated with hypertension and chronic kidney disease. Exercise ameliorates these conditions, even without weight loss. Although the mechanisms of exercise's benefits remain unclear, augmented lean body mass is a suspected mechanism. Myostatin is a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass that is upregulated in obesity and downregulated with exercise. The current study tested the hypothesis that deletion of myostatin would increase muscle mass and reduce blood pressure and kidney injury in obesity.

Methods and Results

Myostatin knockout mice were crossed to
db/db
mice, and metabolic and cardiovascular functions were examined. Deletion of myostatin increased skeletal muscle mass by ≈50% to 60% without concomitant weight loss or reduction in fat mass. Increased blood pressure in obesity was prevented by the deletion of myostatin, but did not confer additional benefit against salt loading. Kidney injury was evident because of increased albuminuria, which was abolished in obese mice lacking myostatin. Glycosuria, total urine volume, and whole kidney NOX‐4 levels were increased in obesity and prevented by myostatin deletion, arguing that increased muscle mass provides a multipronged defense against renal dysfunction in obese mice.

Conclusions

These experimental observations suggest that loss of muscle mass is a novel risk factor in obesity‐derived cardiovascular dysfunction. Interventions that increase muscle mass, either through exercise or pharmacologically, may help limit cardiovascular disease in obese individuals.
Cross-Entropy Pruning for Compressing Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Bao Rongxin , Yuan Xu , Chen Zhikui , Ma Ruixin
Published: September 2018

The success of CNNs is accompanied by deep models and heavy storage costs. For compressing CNNs, we propose an efficient and robust pruning approach, cross-entropy pruning (CEP). Given a trained CNN model, connections were divided into groups in a group-wise way according to their corresponding output neurons. All connections with their cross-entropy errors below a grouping threshold were then removed. A sparse model was obtained and the number of parameters in the baseline model significantly reduced. This letter also presents a highest cross-entropy pruning (HCEP) method that keeps a small portion of weights with the highest CEP. This method further improves the accuracy of CEP. To validate CEP, we conducted the experiments on low redundant networks that are hard to compress. For the MNIST data set, CEP achieves an 0.08% accuracy drop required by LeNet-5 benchmark with only 16% of original parameters. Our proposed CEP also reduces approximately 75% of the storage cost of AlexNet on the ILSVRC 2012 data set, increasing the top-1 errorby only 0.4% and top-5 error by only 0.2%. Compared with three existing methods on LeNet-5, our proposed CEP and HCEP perform significantly better than the existing methods in terms of the accuracy and stability. Some computer vision tasks on CNNs such as object detection and style transfer can be computed in a high-performance way using our CEP and HCEP strategies.
High-resolution data-driven model of the mouse connectome
Authors: Knox Joseph E. , Harris Kameron Decker , Graddis Nile , Whitesell Jennifer D. , Zeng Hongkui , Harris Julie A. , Shea-Brown Eric , Mihalas Stefan
Published: September 2018

Knowledge of mesoscopic brain connectivity is important for understanding inter- and intraregion information processing. Models of structural connectivity are typically constructed and analyzed with the assumption that regions are homogeneous. We instead use the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas to construct a model of whole-brain connectivity at the scale of 100 μm voxels. The data consist of 428 anterograde tracing experiments in wild type C57BL/6J mice, mapping fluorescently labeled neuronal projections brain-wide. Inferring spatial connectivity with this dataset is underdetermined, since the approximately 2 × 105 source voxels outnumber the number of experiments. To address this issue, we assume that connection patterns and strengths vary smoothly across major brain divisions. We model the connectivity at each voxel as a radial basis kernel-weighted average of the projection patterns of nearby injections. The voxel model outperforms a previous regional model in predicting held-out experiments and compared with a human-curated dataset. This voxel-scale model of the mouse connectome permits researchers to extend their previous analyses of structural connectivity to much higher levels of resolution, and it allows for comparison with functional imaging and other datasets.
Functional connectivity-based subtypes of individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Easson Amanda K. , Fatima Zainab , McIntosh Anthony R.
Published: September 2018

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by impairments in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Neuroimaging studies have shown complex patterns and functional connectivity (FC) in ASD, with no clear consensus on brain-behavior relationships or shared patterns of FC with typically developing controls. Here, we used a dimensional approach to characterize two distinct clusters of FC patterns across both ASD participants and controls using k-means clustering. Using multivariate statistical analyses, a categorical approach was taken to characterize differences in FC between subtypes and between diagnostic groups. One subtype was defined by increased FC within resting-state networks and decreased FC across networks compared with the other subtype. A separate FC pattern distinguished ASD from controls, particularly within default mode, cingulo-opercular, sensorimotor, and occipital networks. There was no significant interaction between subtypes and diagnostic groups. Finally, a dimensional analysis of FC patterns with behavioral measures of IQ, social responsiveness, and ASD severity showed unique brain-behavior relations in each subtype and a continuum of brain-behavior relations from ASD to controls within one subtype. These results demonstrate that distinct clusters of FC patterns exist across ASD and controls, and that FC subtypes can reveal unique information about brain-behavior relationships.
High-accuracy individual identification using a “thin slice” of the functional connectome
Authors: Byrge Lisa , Kennedy Daniel P.
Published: September 2018

Connectome fingerprinting—a method that uses many thousands of functional connections in aggregate to identify individuals—holds promise for individualized neuroimaging. A better characterization of the features underlying successful fingerprinting performance—how many and which functional connections are necessary and/or sufficient for high accuracy—will further inform our understanding of uniqueness in brain functioning. Thus, here we examine the limits of high-accuracy individual identification from functional connectomes. Using ∼3,300 scans from the Human Connectome Project in a split-half design and an independent replication sample, we find that a remarkably small “thin slice” of the connectome—as few as 40 out of 64,620 functional connections—was sufficient to uniquely identify individuals. Yet, we find that no specific connections or even specific networks were necessary for identification, as even small random samples of the connectome were sufficient. These results have important conceptual and practical implications for the manifestation and detection of uniqueness in the brain.
Computation is concentrated in rich clubs of local cortical networks
Authors: Faber Samantha P. , Timme Nicholas M. , Beggs John M. , Newman Ehren L.
Published: September 2018

To understand how neural circuits process information, it is essential to identify the relationship between computation and circuit organization. Rich clubs, highly interconnected sets of neurons, are known to propagate a disproportionate amount of information within cortical circuits. Here, we test the hypothesis that rich clubs also perform a disproportionate amount of computation. To do so, we recorded the spiking activity of on average ∼300 well-isolated individual neurons from organotypic cortical cultures. We then constructed weighted, directed networks reflecting the effective connectivity between the neurons. For each neuron, we quantified the amount of computation it performed based on its inputs. We found that rich-club neurons compute ∼160% more information than neurons outside of the rich club. The amount of computation performed in the rich club was proportional to the amount of information propagation by the same neurons. This suggests that in these circuits, information propagation drives computation. In total, our findings indicate that rich-club organization in effective cortical circuits supports not only information propagation but also neural computation.
Repossessing Property in South Asia: Land, Rights, and Law across the Early Modern/Modern Divide-Introduction
Authors: Chaudhry Faisal
Published: September 2018

The introductory essay to this special double issue on “Repossessing Property in South Asia: Land, Rights and Law Across the Early Modern/Modern Divide” reviews existing historical scholarship on land control and proprietary right in the Indian subcontinent in order to contextualize the contribution made by the articles that follow. Dividing earlier writings—by historians and anthropologists since the 1950s—into three phases/thematics, the introduction shows how work on South Asia has long grappled with property both as a material relation and as an alien cultural category. Making the case that we must think about property’s conceptual history as being necessitated by more than just the critique of Eurocentrism, the essay clarifies how the articles that follow both continue and extend past discussion. Overall, it argues that by providing integrated perspectives on property’s materialandideational dimensions, our articles will be illuminating both to scholars of Afro-Asia and those interested in law, political economy and political culture more generally.
Why Was the Color Violet Rarely Used by Artists before the 1860s?
Authors: Tager Allen
Published: September 2018

Although the color violet is now used in a wide variety of everyday products, ranging from toys to clothing to cars, and although it now appears commonly in artistic works, violet was rarely used in fine art before the early 1860s. The color violet only became an integral part of modern culture and life with the rise of the French Impressionists. I investigated the use of violet in over 130,000 artworks prior to 1863 and found that it appeared in about .06 percent of the paintings. Violet was used substantially more frequently in Impressionist works, and remains popular in fine art and in popular culture today. I examine several explanations for the explosion of the use of violet in the art world during the Impressionist era, and conclude that a cognitive-perceptual explanation, based on the heightened sensitivity of the Impressionists to short wavelengths, may account for it. The findings fit with a new understanding about evolutionary changes in planetary light and human adaptation to light.
Systematics and biogeography of Salina MacGillivray (Collembola: Entomobryoidea), with emphasis on the species groups in the New World
Authors: Oliveira Fábio G.L. , Cipola Nikolas G. , Almeida Eduardo A.B.
Published: September 2018

Nine new species of the collembolan genus Salina MacGillivray from South America are described and illustrated. Two Neotropical species were recorded for the first time from Brazil: S. dedoris Mari-Mutt and S. tristani Denis. Salina was previously known to occur in three Brazilian states, and this is now updated to include 19 states with 12 recorded species. A new proposal of morphological character description and illustration, and an identification key for the celebensis group are provided. A hypothesis for the phylogenetic relationships among 34 species of Salina (about 50% of the 72 described species) allowed three main pursuits: (a) a reevaluation of Salina species groups; (b) the first explicit interpretation of how morphological characters of these springtails may have changed during the course of the diversification of the taxon; and (c) an evaluation of the historical biogeographic connections of Salina, with an emphasis on the celebensis group distribution to the New World.
The State and the Village: From a Balanced Relationship to Imbalance and Rebalancing
Authors: Huang Philip C. C.
Published: September 2018

This article takes as its point of departure contrasts between China’s fundamental philosophy of governance and the Anglo-American classical-liberal tradition, to show the differences between a mode of thinking that sees binary opposites as forming interactive unified wholes rather than mutually exclusive either / or opposites. It reviews the Chinese state’s relationship with village communities by looking back at the history of the past century, in North China and in the Yangzi Delta. The article summarizes the traditional mode of governance in the Qing period, undergirded by both state leadership and village self-governance, as well as both moralism and practicality, in the management of village affairs and mediations of disputes. That was followed by the decline and partial breakdown of the system in the Republic, and then excessive state control in the collective era, followed by the opposite of nearly complete state withdrawal in the late Reform period. What is needed is a more balanced relationship between the state and the village, with both top-down leadership and bottom-up participation. Within the party’s own “mass line” tradition, we can separate out the excesses of movement politics from positive practices like the emphasis on investigation and study in public policy-making, on test-point trials before enacting public policies, and on popular participation. Such popular participation should be developed further today to build a better and more balanced relationship between state and society, and prevent recurrences of tendencies toward either too much or too little state involvement in village affairs, in order to implement better the moral ideals of “humane government” and “serve” “the people.” Voluntary popular participation should actually be established as the sine qua non for enacting major public policies affecting the people’s livelihood.
Community Justice and the Appeal to Ancestral Property Rights: An Analysis of Disputes over Development Plans in Xiatang Village of Central Jiangxi
Authors: Huang Yan
Published: September 2018

Past studies have well documented the atrophy of lineage organizations and functions in rural China after 1949 as well as their resurgence in the post-Mao era. To further the research on lineage organizations and changes in their functions, this article reexamines the role of lineage organizations in the resistance against graveyard removal in Xiatang village of central Jiangxi province. Xiatang villagers attempted to revive traditional clan culture by rebuilding ancestral halls and updating clan genealogies; they also succeeded in defending their nominal ownership of Mt. Qingling by appealing to their ancestral property rights in the struggle against graveyard removal. The recent improvements in villagers’ living conditions, changes in the mode of production in agriculture, and the expansion of market forces have all led to changes in power relations in Xiatang village, in which the revived lineage organizations played a role that is both symbolic and instrumental. Yet, the control of community resources by the administrative and business elites, together with the penetration of state power into rural society through various channels, also effectively eroded lineage influences.
The Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar. Part II: Green OAWL (GrOAWL) Airborne Performance and Validation
Authors: Baidar S. , Tucker S. C. , Beaubien M. , Hardesty R. M.
Published: September 2018

A two-look airborne Doppler wind lidar operating at the 532-nm laser wavelength, the Green Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (GrOAWL), was built and flown aboard the NASA WB-57 research aircraft. Flight campaign goals were to validate the instrument wind measurements and to demonstrate the two-look measurement concept proposed for spaceborne mission concepts such as the Atmospheric Transport, Hurricanes, and Extratropical Numerical Weather Prediction with the Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (ATHENA-OAWL) mission. The GrOAWL-measured winds were compared with collocated dropsonde measurements. Line-of-sight velocity (LOSV) measurements for the individual GrOAWL looks showed excellent agreement with dropsondes (R2 > 0.9). The LOSV biases were very small and not statistically different from 0 m s−1 at the 95% confidence interval (−0.07 ± 0.07 m s−1 and 0.01 ± 0.07 m s−1 for look 1 and look 2, respectively). The wind speed and direction profiles retrieved by combining the two GrOAWL looks were also in very good agreement (R2 > 0.85). An instrument performance model indicated the instrument wind measurement precision was likely lowered (uncertainty was increased) by a factor of ~3.3 during the flights relative to predicted “as built” instrument performance. The reduced performance was not observed during ground-based atmospheric testing and thus has been attributed to impacts of the harsh operating conditions of the WB-57 aircraft (high vibration, thermal gradients, and high humidity). The exercise of scaling the GrOAWL instrument performance and grid scale to space showed space-based OAWL wind measurements would yield products with precision at least as good as the GrOAWL instrument.
Major Risks, Uncertain Outcomes: Making Ensemble Forecasts Work for Multiple Audiences
Authors: Carr Rachel Hogan , Montz Burrell , Semmens Kathryn , Maxfield Keri , Connolly Samantha , Ahnert Peter , Shedd Rob , Elliott Jason
Published: September 2018

When extreme river levels are possible in a community, effective communication of weather and hydrologic forecasts is critical to protecting life and property. Residents, emergency personnel, and water resource managers need to make timely decisions about how and when to prepare. Uncertainty in forecasting is a critical component of this decision-making, but often poses a confounding factor for public and professional understanding of forecast products. A new suite of products from the National Weather Service’s Hydrologic Ensemble Forecast System (HEFS) provides short- and long-range forecasts, ranging from 6 h to 1 yr, and shows uncertainty in hydrologic forecasts. To understand how various audiences use and interpret ensemble forecasts showing a range of hydrologic forecast possibilities, a research project was conducted using scenario-based focus groups and surveys with community residents, emergency managers, and water resource managers in West Virginia and Maryland. The research assessed the utility of the HEFS products, identified barriers to proper understanding of the products, and suggested modifications to product design that could improve the understandability and accessibility for a range of users. There was a difference between the residential users’ reactions to the HEFS compared to the emergency managers and water resource managers, with the public reacting less favorably to all versions. The emergency managers preferred the revised HEFS products but had suggestions for additional changes, which were incorporated. Features such as interactive text boxes and forecaster’s notes further enhanced the utility and understandability of the products.
Can Entrepreneurial Initiative Blunt the Economic Inequality–Growth Curse? Evidence From 92 Countries
Authors: Patel Pankaj C. , Doh Jonathan P. , Bagchi Sutirtha
Published: September 2018

Despite the growing interest in understanding the effects of income inequality on economic growth, the influence of entrepreneurship-related institutional constraints on the inequality–growth association remains less understood. Drawing on an institutional constraints perspective in the context of startup entry regulation and credit constraints, we propose that under increasing income inequality, ease of startup or access to credit from the financial sector is positively associated with per capita economic growth. In a sample of 92 countries, robust to alternate specifications, we find support for our hypotheses. Our findings contribute to the debates about the income inequality–growth nexus and imply potential policy interventions in the form of lower startup regulations and domestic credit provision from the financial sector to enhance economic growth under increasing economic inequality.
Examining the Role of Pre-Instruction Academic Performance Within A Text-based Approach to Improving Student Content Knowledge and Understanding
Authors: Wanzek Jeanne , Roberts Greg , Vaughn Sharon , Swanson Elizabeth , Sargent Katherine
Published: September 2018

Students with disabilities are often included in general education social studies classes, but these classes can differ in the achievement level of the overall class, including wide variation in content-related background knowledge, reading achievement, or both. The purpose of this study was to examine how background knowledge and reading achievement moderate the effects of a previously validated intervention, Promoting Adolescents’ Comprehension of Text (PACT). We examined data from a prior randomized control trial of 1,487 eighth-grade students in 85 classes that were randomly assigned at the class level to receive either PACT instructional practices or typical instructional practices using the same social studies content. Results of the current study reveal no moderating effect at the class level of either initial background knowledge or reading achievement on student content knowledge acquisition or content reading comprehension outcomes. Classes with varying levels of background knowledge and reading achievement performed similarly in PACT instruction, with benefits of the PACT instruction found on content knowledge acquisition.
Gender Differences in Energy Expenditure During Walking With Backpack and Double-Pack Loads
Authors: Li Simon S. W. , Chan Otto H. T. , Ng T. Y. , Kam L. H. , Ng C. Y. , Chung W. C. , Chow Daniel H. K.
Published: September 2018

Objective:

To investigate gender differences in energy expenditure during walking with backpack and double-pack loads.

Background:

Studies have reported that energy expenditure during walking with double-pack loads is lower compared with backpack carriage. However, the effect of gender on energy expenditure while walking with these two load distribution systems has not been investigated.

Method:

Thirty healthy young adults (15 female and 15 male participants) walked on a treadmill with backpack and double-pack loads weighing 30% of their body weight at a speed of 0.89 m/s for 10 min. The energy expenditure in terms of oxygen consumption (VO2) and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were continuously monitored using a portable gas analyzer throughout each walking exercise. A mixed-design analysis of variance model was adopted to test the effects of gender, pack, and time on VO2 and RER.

Results:

No time effect was observed on VO2. However, significant gender, pack, and interaction effects were observed. The lowest VO2 was found in female participants under double-pack carriage. No significant gender or pack differences existed in RER. However, RER significantly and incrementally increased in time from the 4th through 6th, 8th, and 10th min.

Conclusion:

This study revealed that heavy double-pack load carriage for healthy young female participants had significantly lower energy expenditure (normalized by the entire system weight, i.e., the participant’s weight plus the weight of the pack) than that of the male participants in a 10-min walking exercise.

Application:

The findings of this study indicated that healthy young female participants carried a heavy double-pack with less energy cost (normalized by the entire system weight, i.e., the participant’s weight plus the weight of the pack) compared with their male counterparts during a 10-min walking exercise.
Effects of community integration on quality of life among Asian Americans
Authors: Choi Sunha , Lee Sungkyu , Kim Jung Ha , Na Jihun
Published: September 2018

This study examined the level of community integration and its effect on quality of life among three groups of Asian Americans (Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese; N = 247). The results of path analysis indicated that social integration was associated with an increased level of quality of life. We also found a significant indirect effect of length of stay in the United States through social integration on quality of life. The findings of the study suggest ways in which community practitioners can promote community integration of Asian Americans, which in turn enhances their quality of life.
The Apocrypha and the Earliest Christian Movement
Authors: deSilva David A.
Published: September 2018

Studying the Apocrypha can help Christians understand writings that were available to Jesus and his earliest generations of followers, including those followers who wrote the texts that constitute the New Testament. Jesus, Paul, James, and other New Testament voices exhibit rich rootedness in their contemporary Jewish ethical and theological discourse. Reading these ancient texts can help interpreters today understand Jesus and his early followers within the context of the Second-Temple Judaism of their time, as these texts significantly had an impact on the emerging theology, ethos, and practice of the Christian church in its most formative centuries. The value of these texts has been affirmed by the majority of the world’s Christians across centuries, not only for their historical value but also as devotional literature. These reasons confirm the Reformers’ own opinion that the Apocrypha “are good and useful to read.”
The Deuterocanonical Books in Contemporary Catholic Liturgy
Authors: Ryan Stephen D.
Published: September 2018

This essay considers the recent reception and use of the deuterocanonical books in contemporary Catholic liturgy, drawing on Tobit 12, Esther 14 (Esther C), and Sirach 3 to illustrate the ways these texts function as Scripture in the teaching of the church and in liturgical contexts.
The Regulatory Road to Reform: Bureaucratic Activism, Agency Advocacy, and Medicaid Expansion within the Delegated Welfare State
Authors: Pacewicz Josh
Published: September 2018

American policymakers delegate the administration of many welfare programs to states, where officials implement them in increasingly diverse ways. Welfare state scholarship has little to say about this subnational policy divergence, and it portrays the complexity of delegated governance as a barrier to nonelite legislative influence. Drawing on an ethnographic study of one state’s Medicaid program, this article shows that delegated governance offers ample opportunity for nonelite influence and policy divergence, but through regulatory governance rather than legislative advocacy. Medicaid is opaque to politicians, whose inability to monitor program details creates conditions of bureaucratic autonomy and even activism: health-care agency personnel sequence regulatory tweaks to protect and expand entitlements. But budget cuts, outsourcing, and fraught provider relations also deprive bureaucrats of street-level know-how, and bureaucrats depend on beneficiaries’ advocates who selectively illuminate a path to reform. A full rendering of subnational divergence in American federalism requires attention to underexamined factors such as bureaucratic activism, agency advocacy, and regulatory governance.
Theoretical and experimental study of color-alternation fancy yarns produced by a double-channel compact spinning machine
Authors: Guo Mingrui , Sun Fengxin , Gao Weidong
Published: September 2018

The aim of this work is to explore a new method for producing color-alternation fancy yarn on a modified compact spinning machine. Color-alternation fancy yarn is a new kind of fancy yarn with varying color effects along the yarn axis. The modified compact spinning machine produces double-channel compact spinning, which has two coaxial back rollers in a drafting unit. In this spinning process, two different colored rovings are alternately fed into each back roller to produce alternant color effects along the yarn axis. The mean length of the connecting piece between of two different solid color pieces of this yarn is the key research subject. Mathematical equations have been derived to describe the relationship between the mean length of the connecting pieces, the mean length of the wedged broken end of roving, the mean overfeeding length of the roving and the total draft ratio. The effect of the total draft ratio and overfeeding length on yarn properties, such as tenacity, elongation and yarn evenness, was studied. The results indicate that a relatively small total draft ratio is beneficial to shorten the mean length of the connecting pieces, enhance the tensile property and improve yarn evenness.
The Aadhaar debate
Authors: Khera Reetika
Published: September 2018

The Aadhaar project which aims to provide all residents in India with a unique identity number requires much more attention from sociologists of India. There are several areas of research where sociologists can help: one, the implications of new technologies of surveillance for (a) privacy and (b) society; two, the repercussions of the desire for social ordering and control and technocratic solutionism for people in their interactions with the state demands fuller sociological study. This brief note attempts to outline some of the issues that call out for enquiry.
Murder with no Apparent Motive
Authors: Stone Alan A.
Published: September 2018

The following article was adapted from the first annual Paul Mendelsohn Memorial Lecture, delivered at Tufts Medical School in Boston. Dr. Mendelsohn, a psychiatric resident, was killed while jogging by a deranged motorist who drove onto the sidewalk and struck him down.

The circumstances of this tragedy provided the theme for this essay. Can psychiatry explain such crimes? Do the experts' answers resolve the question of criminal responsibility? The insanity defense is conceptualized as three domains: society's demand for retribution, psychiatric expertise, and legal rules. Three cases are discussed that indicate why “scientific” psychiatry should not expect to dominate the other domains.
Reviewing the Guilty but Mentally Ill Alternative: A Case of the Blind “Pleading” the Blind
Authors: Bumby Kurt M.
Published: September 2018

In response to criticisms of the traditional insanity defense, the “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI) verdict option was developed and is currently operating in approximately one-fourth of the states. Proponents claim that several goals are achieved with GBMI verdicts: (1) inappropriate insanity findings are reduced; (2) offenders are held criminally responsible; (3) jury deliberations are simplified, as GBMI offers a “compromise” verdict; (4) the public receives greater protection from dangerous offenders; and (5) treatment of mentally ill offenders is provided. However, the present review of the literature suggests that these goals are far from being achieved. Insanity findings are not reduced, offenders are more likely to deny responsibility, and jury deliberations are likely to be more confusing when GBMI is utilized. Further, persons found GBMI are often placed on probation and are not assured of treatment either in or out of prison. It is suggested that numerous misperceptions surround the GBMI option, allowing for its continued use despite clear evidence of its inadequacies.
The Psychotherapist's Duty to Protect: An Annotated Bibliography
Authors: Truscott Derek
Published: September 2018

This compilation of annotated references is intended to provide psychotherapists and, to a lesser extent, lawyers with accurate information about the nature and implications of the Tarasoff decision that psychotherapists have a duty to protect the potential victims of their clients' dangerous behavior. Included are works published in the psychological, psychiatric, and legal literature from 1975 to 1993. References are classified under six topics: (a) reviews and commentaries, (b) legal analyses, (c) therapist surveys, (d) treatment implications, (e) confidentiality, and (f) AIDS.