bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epigenetic Regulation of Aldosterone Synthase Gene by Sodium and Angiotensin II
Authors: Takeda Yoshimichi , Demura Masashi , Wang Fen , Karashima Shigehiro , Yoneda Takashi , Kometani Mitsuhiro , Hashimoto Atsushi , Aono Daisuke , Horike Shin‐ichi , Meguro‐Horike Makiko , Yamagishi Masakazu , Takeda Yoshiyu
Published: May 2018

Background

DNA
methylation is believed to be maintained in adult somatic cells. Recent findings, however, suggest that all methylation patterns are not stable. We demonstrate that stimulatory signals can change the
DNA
methylation status around transcription factor binding sites and a transcription start site and activate expression of the aldosterone synthase gene (

CYP
11B2

).

Methods and Results

DNA
methylation of

CYP
11B2

was analyzed in aldosterone‐producing adenomas, nonfunctioning adrenal adenomas, and adrenal glands and compared with the gene expression levels. CpG dinucleotides in the

CYP
11B2

promoter were found to be hypormethylated in tissues with high expression, but not in those with low expression, of

CYP
11B2

. Methylation of the

CYP
11B2

promoter fused to a reporter gene decreased transcriptional activity. Methylation of recognition sequences of transcription factors, including
CREB
1,
NGFIB
(
NR
4A1), and
NURR
1 (
NR
4A2) diminished their
DNA
‐binding activity. A methylated‐CpG‐binding protein
MECP
2 interacted directly with the methylated
CYP
11B2 promoter. In rats, low salt intake led to upregulation of

CYP
11B2

expression and
DNA
hypomethylation in the adrenal gland. Treatment with angiotensin
II
type 1 receptor antagonist decreased

CYP
11B2

expression and led to
DNA
hypermethylation.

Conclusions

DNA
demethylation may switch the phenotype of

CYP
11B2

expression from an inactive to an active state and regulate aldosterone biosynthesis.
Healthcare Utilization and Statin Re‐Initiation Among Medicare Beneficiaries With a History of Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Booth John N. , Colantonio Lisandro D. , Rosenson Robert S. , Safford Monika M. , Chen Ligong , Kilgore Meredith L. , Brown Todd M. , Taylor Benjamin , Dent Ricardo , Monda Keri L. , Muntner Paul , Levitan Emily B.
Published: May 2018

Background

Contact with the healthcare system represents an opportunity for individuals who discontinue statins to re‐initiate treatment. To help identify opportunities for healthcare providers to emphasize the risk‐lowering benefits accrued through restarting statins, we determined the types of healthcare utilization associated with statin re‐initiation among patients with history of a myocardial infarction.

Methods and Results

Medicare beneficiaries with a statin pharmacy fill claim within 30 days of hospital discharge for a myocardial infarction in 2007 to 2012 (n=158 795) were followed for 182 days postdischarge to identify treatment discontinuation, defined as 60 continuous days without statins (n=24 461). Re‐initiation was defined as a statin fill within 365 days of the discontinuation date (n=13 136). Using a case‐crossover study design and each beneficiary as their own control, healthcare utilization during 0 to 14 days before statin re‐initiation (case period) was compared with healthcare utilization 30 to 44 days before statin re‐initiation (control period). The mean age of beneficiaries was 75.4 years; 52.8% were women and 81.9% were white. For routine healthcare utilization, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for statin re‐initiation associated with lipid panel testing was 2.65 (1.93–3.65), outpatient primary care was 1.31 (1.23–1.40), and outpatient cardiologist care was 1.38 (1.28–1.50). For acute healthcare utilization, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for statin re‐initiation associated with emergency department visits was 1.77 (1.31–2.40), coronary heart disease (
CHD
) hospitalizations was 3.16 (2.41–4.14) and non–coronary heart disease hospitalizations was 1.73 (1.49–2.01).

Conclusions

The weaker association of routine versus acute healthcare utilization with statin re‐initiation suggests missed opportunities to reinforce the importance of statin therapy for secondary prevention.
Statin Use and Adverse Effects Among Adults >75 Years of Age: Insights From the Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management (PALM) Registry
Authors: Nanna Michael G. , Navar Ann Marie , Wang Tracy Y. , Mi Xiaojuan , Virani Salim S. , Louie Michael J. , Lee L. Veronica , Goldberg Anne C. , Roger Veronique L. , Robinson Jennifer , Peterson Eric D.
Published: May 2018

Background

Current statin use and symptoms among older adults in routine community practice have not been well characterized since the release of the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline.

Methods and Results

We compared statin use and dosing between adults >75 and ≤75 years old who were eligible for primary or secondary prevention statin use without considering guideline‐recommended age criteria. The patients were treated at 138 US practices in the Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management (PALM) registry in 2015. Patient surveys also evaluated reported symptoms while taking statins. Multivariable logistic regression models examined the association between older age and statin use and dosing. Among 6717 people enrolled, 1704 (25%) were >75 years old. For primary prevention, use of any statin or high‐dose statin did not vary by age group: any statin, 62.6% in those >75 years old versus 63.1% in those ≤75 years old (
P
=0.83); high‐dose statin, 10.2% versus 12.3% in the same groups (
P
=0.14). For secondary prevention, older patients were slightly less likely to receive any statin (80.1% versus 84.2% [
P
=0.003]; adjusted odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.66–1.01 [
P
=0.06]), but were much less likely to receive a high‐intensity statin (23.5% versus 36.2% [
P
<0.0001]; adjusted odds ratio, 0.54; 95% confidence interval, 0.45–0.65 [
P
=0.0001]). Among current statin users, older patients were slightly less likely to report any symptoms (41.3% versus 46.6%;
P
=0.003) or myalgias (27.3% versus 33.3%;
P
<0.001).

Conclusions

Overall use of statins was similar for primary prevention in those aged >75 years versus younger patients, yet older patients were less likely to receive high‐intensity statins for secondary prevention. Statins appear to be similarly tolerated in older and younger adults.
Children’s Rights in their Oral Health Care
Authors: Smith Lee A. , Tumilty Emma , Page Lyndie Foster , Murray Thomson W. , Gibson Barry
Published: May 2018

Research on children’s rights in oral health care is lacking, and this study aims to partially fill this gap. In 2015, we conducted research in one region of New Zealand using video methods to explore the rights of 22 children during a specific oral health treatment, the placement of stainless steel crowns. Our findings show that many children did not receive a professional standard of care, there were gaps in the delivery and standard of care, and there were numerous examples of children’s rights’ violations. At the same time, however, some of the children’s dental practitioners’ actions may have been acceptable practice within the profession if children’s rights have not yet fully been embedded into the practice of oral health care workers. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings and suggestions for a more rights based standard of oral health care.
Emotions, Power and Popular Opinion about the Administration of Justice: The English Experience, from Coke’s ‘Artificial Reason’ to the Sensibility of ‘True Crime Stories’
Authors: Lemmings David
Published: May 2018

This article discusses emotions and power in the administration and representation of criminal justice in early modern England. In the early seventeenth century, professional lawyers insisted that only they were competent to understand the ‘artificial reason’ of the common law; and lay opinion was associated with unreliable emotional engagement with the protagonists in trials. ‘Popular jurisprudence’ received renewed impetus from the post-Reformation emphasis on conscience and divine providence, however, and this kind of common sense interpretation often featured in popular accounts of law proceedings. Moreover, the ‘low law’ administered at grass roots level by JPs was less professionalised because most magistrates were not lawyers. The development of popular and emotional jurisprudence is demonstrated in the eighteenth century by analysis of judges’ charges, popular novels, and the reportage of ‘true crime’. Ultimately, and despite further ‘lawyerisation’ of trials, this article argues that the rise of the novel and increased press reporting of criminal justice generated more vicarious engagement with the administration of justice. And this was emotional engagement: eighteenth-century popular jurisprudence represented justice as variously awesome, theatrical and unreasonably oppressive.
‘Somewhere in the North of England’: A Recollective Ecology
Authors: Smith Mick
Published: May 2018

The past recedes into strangeness yet memories continue to play constitutive roles in our evolving self-understandings, re-surfacing and reminding us of a world we have shared in so many different ways with others, human and non-human. Memories concern us, that is to say, they concern who we were and are; they can concern (trouble) us quite profoundly; and they also inform our concerns (our interests in and our feelings for) other beings, people, places. Emotionally intense events in specific locales are more likely to stay with us, to be incorporated into our, no doubt partial, autobiographical narratives, as exemplary moments, turning points, or just loci of unresolved issues. In this sense, and many others, a ‘recollective ecology’ of emotional traces thoroughly informs our worldly relations. This article examines such concerns through events and encounters occurring around a wild orchid ‘somewhere in the North of England’ in the summer of 1982.
New Materialism and the New History of Emotions
Authors: Barclay Katie
Published: May 2018

A key question for historians of emotion has been the relationship between the expression of emotion and the corporeal experience of emotion by historical subjects. Recently, work indebted to practice and performance theories has emphasised language’s productive capacities to produce emotion performatively. New Materialism extends this conversation by suggesting an alternative imagining of ‘matter’ – the corporeal – which attributes it greater agency in systems of discursive production. This article explores in particular the work of theorist Karen Barad and the implications of her work for the history of emotions.
A new species of Onnia (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) from Vietnam
Authors: ZHOU MENG , WU FANG
Published: May 2018

A new species, Onnia kesiya, is described from South Vietnam on the basis of morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic evidence. It is characterized by distinct lateral stipe, relatively thin and duplex context, hooked hymenial setae, widest basidiospores among Onnia species, and grows on Pinus kesiya in tropical pine forest. Detailed description with a photo and illustration is provided for the new species, and its relationships with similar species are discussed.
Estimating Maximum Significant Wave Height and Dominant Wave Period inside Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Hwang Paul A. , Walsh Edward J.
Published: May 2018

Making use of the fetch- and duration-limited nature of wind-wave growth inside tropical cyclones, an algorithm is developed to estimate the maximum significant wave height and dominant wave period of surface waves generated by tropical cyclone wind fields. The results of the maximum significant wave height and dominant wave period are further approximated by simple power functions of the maximum wind speed. The exponents of the power functions are almost constant, and the proportionality coefficients can be approximated by second-order polynomial functions of the radius of maximum wind speed (RMW). The predicted maximum values agree well with results derived from simultaneous wind and wave measurements obtained during 11 hurricane reconnaissance and research missions in six hurricanes.
Classroom Management That Works: A Replication Trial of the CW-FIT Program
Authors: Wills Howard , Wehby Joseph , Caldarella Paul , Kamps Debra , Swinburne Romine Rebecca
Published: May 2018

The present study examined the effects of the Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Team (CW-FIT) program, a group contingency intervention addressing the on-task and disruptive behavior of students with or at risk for emotional behavior disorders (EBD). Twenty-one elementary schools, 155 general education teachers, and 324 students participated in the multisite efficacy trial of CW-FIT over 6 months. Procedures included teaching attending skills, setting goals and awarding points for appropriate behavior, and differential reinforcement and rewards. Students not responding to the primary-level intervention received self-management or help cards as Tier 2 supports. Fidelity of intervention implementation was high across 4 years, with fidelity checks across groups and during baseline conditions. The primary outcome variables of engagement, disruptive behavior, and teacher praise and reprimands were assessed with repeated direct observation. Results confirmed that CW-FIT can be used to increase on-task behavior and reduce disruptive behavior of students with or at risk for EBD.
Reading Comprehension and Co-Teaching Practices in Middle School English Language Arts Classrooms
Authors: Wexler Jade , Kearns Devin M. , Lemons Christopher J. , Mitchell Marisa , Clancy Erin , Davidson Kimberly A. , Sinclair Anne C. , Wei Yan
Published: May 2018

This study reports practices implemented in over 2,000 minutes by 16 middle school special education and general education co-teaching pairs in English language arts classes. We report the extent to which teachers integrated literacy activities that support reading comprehension, the co-teaching models used, and the frequency with which each teacher led instruction. We also report the types of grouping structures teachers used and the extent to which teachers interacted with students with disabilities. Finally, we report the types of text used. Observations revealed that more than half of time spent on literacy activities involved reading aloud or silently with no co-occurring literacy instruction that supports reading comprehension. Students with disabilities spent a majority of their time in whole-class instruction or working independently with little teacher interaction. Special education teachers spent most of their time supporting whole-class instruction led by the content-area teacher. Implications and directions for future research are provided.
Public perception and attitudes about social work in Turkey
Authors: Bolgün Cemre , Şahin Fatih
Published: May 2018

The purpose of this study is to examine public perception and attitudes about the social work profession. This research is a cross-sectional study, carried out with 500 individuals over the age of 18 in the city center of Manisa, Turkey. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire based on self-reports of participants via face-to-face interviews in December 2015. Results show that more than half of the participants had never heard of the social work profession before. Traditional fields such as child protection and care of the elderly are the most known working fields. Participants generally demonstrate a positive attitude about the profession.
Fatigue damage model for fibre-reinforced polymers at different temperatures considering stress ratio effects
Authors: Lüders Caroline , Krause Daniel , Kreikemeier Janko
Published: May 2018

Most of the existing fatigue models for fibre-reinforced polymers are limited to a specific use case. The investigation presented in this paper provides a progressive fatigue damage model that can be used for fatigue analysis of composite structures under general loading conditions and at arbitrary ambient temperatures. The model is based on an existing approach that already considers mean stress and degradation effects. This model is extended for predicting fatigue damage at general loading conditions. To incorporate the effect of ambient temperatures, material and model parameters are defined temperature dependent. The new model is validated using two composite materials and different loading conditions as well as under both room and high temperatures. The model achieves a good prediction quality for the analysed materials, loading conditions and temperatures. This demonstrates that the proposed model is not limited to a specific use case but is able to simulate fatigue of laminated composites under general loading conditions.
Self-Limiting versus Conventional Caries Removal: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Ali A.H. , Koller G. , Foschi F. , Andiappan M. , Bruce K.D. , Banerjee A. , Mannocci F.
Published: May 2018

A single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial in patients with deep caries and symptoms of reversible pulpitis compared outcomes from a self-limiting excavation protocol using chemomechanical Carisolv gel/operating microscope (self-limiting) versus selective removal to leathery dentin using rotary burs (control). This was followed by pulp protection with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and restoration with glass ionomer cement and resin composite, all in a single visit. The pulp sensibility and periapical health of teeth were assessed after 12 mo, in addition to the differences in bacterial tissue concentration postexcavation. Apical radiolucencies were assessed using cone beam computed tomography/periapical radiographs (CBCT/PAs) taken at baseline 0 mo (M0) and 12 mo (M12). In total, 101 restorations in 86 patients were placed and paired subsurface, and deep (postexcavation) dentin samples were obtained. DNA was extracted and bacteria-specific 16S ribosomal RNA gene quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed. No significant difference was found in bacterial copy numbers normalized to mass of dentin (“bacterial tissue concentration”) between the self-limiting (96.3% reduction) and control protocols (97.1%, P = 0.33). The probability of 12-mo success was 4 times (odds ratio [OR] = 4.33; confidence interval [CI], 1.2–15.6; P = 0.025) higher in the self-limiting protocol compared to the control (conventional excavation technique), with pulp survival rates of 73.3% and 90%, respectively ( P = 0.049). Molars had a 4 times higher probability of success compared to premolars (OR, 4.17; CI, 1.17–14.9; P = 0.028), and symptom severity did not statistically predict outcome (OR, 0.41; CI, 0.12–13.9, P = 0.153). CBCT detected significantly more periapical (PA) lesions than PA radiographs at the baseline visit ( P < 0.001). In conclusion, the self-limiting caries excavation protocol under magnification increased pulp survival rate compared to rotary bur excavation ( ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03071588).
Religion and Spirituality: Benefits for Latino Adolescents Exposed to Community Violence
Authors: Jocson Rosanne M. , Alers-Rojas Francheska , Ceballo Rosario , Arkin Monica
Published: May 2018

Using data from 223 Latino adolescents residing in poor, urban neighborhoods, we investigate whether spirituality, religious importance at home, and religious involvement moderate the relation between community violence exposure and psychological well-being. Results showed significant interaction effects between community violence exposure and spirituality/religiosity. Specifically, personal victimization and witnessing violence were associated with higher depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms at low and average levels of spirituality, but not at high levels of spirituality. Witnessing violence was associated with higher PTSD symptoms at low and average levels of religious importance at home, but not at high levels of religious importance at home. Finally, witnessing violence was associated with higher depressive symptoms at low and average levels of religious involvement, but not at high levels of religious involvement. We discuss the potential benefits of supporting spiritual and religious development in Latino youth exposed to community violence.
A decentralized sensor fault detection and self-repair method for HVAC systems
Authors: Wang Shiqiang , Xing Jianchun , Jiang Ziyan , Li Juelong
Published: May 2018

This study proposes a novel decentralized sensor fault detection and self-repair method for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. From the perspective of network structure, sensor fault diagnosis in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems is distributed to the updated smart sensors without the monitoring host, which is necessary in the traditional centralized method. A fully distributed flat sensor network is established based on fundamental physical equations. Similar to the structure, mechanism and characteristics of biological communities, a smart sensor needs only to communicate with adjacent nodes and operate collaboratively to complete sensor fault detection and self-repair tasks. These tasks are formulated as a constrained optimization and are solved by a decentralized algorithm with a penalty function executed in all the sensor nodes in parallel. The diagnosis model introduces an exponential function method to determine the precise location and undertake self-repair of a fault node. Simulation results on a chilled water system illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Practical application: The traditional sensor fault detection and diagnosis methods for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems are based on a centralized structure with several deficiencies, such as high maintenance and labor costs, link congestion and operational lag. This study presents a decentralized sensor network structure and exponential-function-based method that possess the advantages of plug-and-play, rapid deployment, high flexibility and convenience for engineering implementation without having to build a central monitor. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated via a case study.
Failing to Be Family-Supportive: Implications for Supervisors
Authors: Walsh Benjamin M. , Matthews Russell A. , Toumbeva Tatiana H. , Kabat-Farr Dana , Philbrick Jenna , Pavisic Ivica
Published: May 2018

Family-supportive supervision benefits employees in many ways. But what are the implications for the supervisors themselves, particularly when this support is not extended? Drawing on social exchange theory, we frame family-supportive supervision as a desirable resource that when withheld may trigger negative social responses from employees. We hypothesize that workplace ostracism is a mechanism through which employees sanction supervisors who fail to be family-supportive, thereby harming supervisor well-being. Study 1 captured the employee perspective and utilized an experimental design to understand whether employees engage in ostracism in response to a lack of family-supportive supervision. In Study 2, we captured the supervisor perspective with multisource data to examine whether supervisors report ostracism and in turn lower subjective well-being when employees report a lack of family-supportive supervision. Consistent findings were observed across studies, suggesting negative outcomes for supervisors who fail to be family-supportive. In Study 2, we also examined moderators of the relationship between failing to be family-supportive and workplace ostracism and potential conditional indirect effects. However, we did not find evidence of such effects. Theoretical implications for the study of family-supportive supervision and workplace ostracism are discussed.
“Interested Methods” and “Versions of Pragmatism”
Authors: Asdal Kristin
Published: May 2018

In this commentary, Kristin Asdal reflects on pragmatism as one of the methodological touchstones of Science, technology and society (STS). In its focus on practices, pragmatist STS can be prone to falling into a problematic presentism, obscuring the historicity of the practices being studied, and to falling into problematic material/semiotic binaries. But what does it take, in practice, to be pragmatic? In her commentary, Asdal points to how this ought to imply being open when it comes to our choice of methods, thus finding creative ways of maintaining a crucial recognition of history as well as relations between the textual and the material. This in turn might instantiate new, distinctive, and inspiring modes of pragmatist methodological insight—such as precisely in these special issue papers devoted to animal care. These papers are also inspiringly pragmatic, in the meaning of careful—in order not to be overtly programmatic, i.e. deciding beforehand your position or standpoint on a given topic, such as human–animal relations. Following on from this she puts forward the notion “interested methods.”
On “Aesthetic Publics”
Authors: Michael Mike
Published: May 2018

This exploratory paper investigates the enactment of a number of “publics” in relation to a recent, ostensibly “technical”, innovation, namely, the nanotechnology Vertically Aligned Nano tube Array-black (VANTAblack®). In particular, we show how various representations of VANTAblack—as technical artifact, as an exclusive artist’s material, as an exciting coating for a mass-produced commercial product, and as an object of science communication—implicate different “aesthetic experiences”. We discuss these aesthetic experiences in terms of the enactment of four distinct “aesthetic publics.” We then consider the possible analytic value of the concept of aesthetic publics, not least in relation to the “opening up” and “closing down” of the potential debates that might attach to emerging technologies.
Populism and social media: a global perspective
Authors: Postill John
Published: May 2018

The link between the spread of social media and the recent surge of populism around the world remains elusive. A global, rather than Western, theory is required to explore this connection. Such a theory would need to pay particular attention to five questions, namely, the roots of populism, ideology and populism, the rise of theocratic populism, social media and non-populist politicians, and the embedding of social media in larger systems of communication. In this essay, I draw from a range of cross-cultural examples to argue that social media are inextricable from a dense web of highly diverse online and offline communicative practices. Like most other forms of political communication, populism is twice hybrid, in that it entails the ceaseless interaction between old and new media as well as between online and offline sites of communication. Populists never operate in a vacuum or indeed in a filter bubble: they share hybridly mediated spaces and arenas with other populists and with non-populists. Over time, these varied political actors have co-evolved media strategies and tactics in full awareness of one another’s existence.
Towards an Articulation of the Material and Visual Turn in Organization Studies
Authors: Boxenbaum Eva , Jones Candace , Meyer Renate E. , Svejenova Silviya
Published: May 2018

Contemporary organizations increasingly rely on images, logos, videos, building materials, graphic and product design, and a range of other material and visual artifacts to compete, communicate, form identity and organize their activities. This Special Issue focuses on materiality and visuality in the course of objectifying and reacting to novel ideas, and, more broadly, contributes to organizational theory by articulating the emergent contours of a material and visual turn in the study of organizations. In this Introduction, we provide an overview of research on materiality and visuality. Drawing on the articles in the special issue, we further explore the affordances and limits of the material and visual dimensions of organizing in relation to novelty. We conclude by pointing out theoretical avenues for advancing multimodal research, and discuss some of the ethical, pragmatic and identity-related challenges that a material and visual turn could pose for organizational research.
Independent Predictors of Prognosis Based on Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma Surgical Margins
Authors: Buchakjian Marisa R. , Ginader Timothy , Tasche Kendall K. , Pagedar Nitin A. , Smith Brian J. , Sperry Steven M.
Published: May 2018

Objective

To conduct a multivariate analysis of a large cohort of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) cases for independent predictors of local recurrence (LR) and overall survival (OS), with emphasis on the relationship between (1) prognosis and (2) main specimen permanent margins and intraoperative tumor bed frozen margins.

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Tertiary academic head and neck cancer program.

Subjects and Methods

This study included 426 patients treated with OCSCC resection between 2005 and 2014 at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Patients underwent excision of OCSCC with intraoperative tumor bed frozen margin sampling and main specimen permanent margin assessment. Multivariate analysis of the data set to predict LR and OS was performed.

Results

Independent predictors of LR included nodal involvement, histologic grade, and main specimen permanent margin status. Specifically, the presence of a positive margin (odds ratio, 6.21; 95% CI, 3.3‐11.9) or <1‐mm/carcinoma in situ margin (odds ratio, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.19‐4.87) on the main specimen was an independent predictor of LR, whereas intraoperative tumor bed margins were not predictive of LR on multivariate analysis. Similarly, independent predictors of OS on multivariate analysis included nodal involvement, extracapsular extension, and a positive main specimen margin. Tumor bed margins did not independently predict OS.

Conclusion

The main specimen margin is a strong independent predictor of LR and OS on multivariate analysis. Intraoperative tumor bed frozen margins do not independently predict prognosis. We conclude that emphasis should be placed on evaluating the main specimen margins when estimating prognosis after OCSCC resection.
Prevalence of Potential Adult Chronic Rhinosinusitis Symptoms in the United States
Authors: Bhattacharyya Neil , Gilani Sapideh
Published: May 2018

Objective

To determine the prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis–related symptoms in the United States.

Study Design

Cross‐sectional analysis of a national database.

Setting

Representative sampling of the US adult population.

Subjects and Methods

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data set, taste and smell supplement 2013‐2014 was analyzed for sinonasal question responses regarding discolored nasal mucus, nasal blockage, sinus pain, and dysosmia. The individual prevalences as well as the prevalence of 2 or more of these symptoms (which would be compatible with a diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis) were determined for the US population.

Results

After excluding adults with an intercurrent head cold, 113.5 million adults (mean age 58.2 years; 52.6% female) were analyzed. Individual symptom prevalences were dysosmia (9.17 million, 8.1%), nasal blockage (6.9 million, 6.0%), sinus pain (2.37 million, 2.1%), and discolored mucous (1.28 million, 1.1%). Overall, 14.8 million (13.0%) adults had exactly 1 sinonasal symptom, and 2.37 million adults (2.1%) responded with 2 or more cardinal symptoms for chronic rhinosinusitis. With respect to sex, 1.9% of males reported 2 or more symptoms compatible with chronic rhinosinusitis vs 2.2% of females (P =. 690), which is not statistically significant.

Conclusion

Of US adults, 2.1% meet symptom criteria for the potential diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis at any given time. Further objective corroboration with a physical exam and determination of duration of symptoms would be required to determine the true prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis, but this point prevalence represents the potential population at risk for chronic rhinosinusitis in the United States.
Removal of Peritnoeo-venous-atrial shunt thrombus without cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Joshi Pragnesh , Thakur Sameer , Tibballs Jonathan
Published: May 2018

Thrombus formation is not uncommon in longstanding intracardiac catheters, but formation of a thrombus at the tip of a Peritnoeo-venous-atrial shunt, causing obstruction of the tricuspid valve, is a rare complication and frequently unrecognized. A large intracardiac thrombus causing valve obstruction requires surgical removal with the support of cardiopulmonary bypass which is associated with significant morbidity. We successfully removed a thrombus attached to the tip of peritoneovenous shunt without cardiopulmonary bypass in a 25-year-old man.
Pulmonary and paradoxical coronary embolism with a patent foramen ovale
Authors: Falcetta Giosuè , Scioti Giovanni , Barzaghi Carlo , Bortolotti Uberto
Published: May 2018

Paradoxical embolism through a patent foramen ovale is a very unusual event considering that this cardiac anomaly may be present in as much as 26% of the general population. We describe the case of a 68-year-old man with a pulmonary and paradoxical coronary embolism in the presence of a patent foramen ovale. The finding of a worm-shaped thrombus though the atrial septum together with the risk of further embolization through the atrial septum prompted surgical treatment.
The assessment of perceived information pollution in banking sector
Authors: Iqbal Qaisar , Hassan Siti Hasnah , Ahmad Noor Hazlina
Published: May 2018

Infollution management is a substantial dilemma in this century. There is lacking empirical evidence about infollution management. Perceived infollution has been explored based on information quality. This study aims to identify the factors of perceived infollution (information pollution) and validate those factors using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Researchers have personally collected data from employees of the banking sector. Factor analysis was performed to explore the factors using Statistical Package for the Social Science, and CFA was conducted to check the reliability, validity, and the model fitness in SmartPLS. The scale developed in this study has exhibited high values of reliability and validity and ensured the presence of both discriminant validity and convergent validity. The newly developed scale of perceived infollution provides a basis for most of the academicians and researchers to empirically investigate the relationship of perceived infollution with individual’s performance and organizational effectiveness, which is considered an important area of interest among the academic researchers in recent years. Extent literature review suggests that it is the first study conducted to develop measurement scale of perceived infollution (information pollution).
Subcutaneous administration of paracetamol—Good local tolerability in palliative care patients: An observational study
Authors: Leheup Benoît F , Ducousso Stéphanie , Picard Stéphane , Alluin Raphaël , Goetz Christophe
Published: May 2018

Background:

The subcutaneous route is widely used in both palliative care and geriatrics. Numerous compounds are administered by this route, including paracetamol. However, there is no recommendation on which to base this latter practice and, in the absence of published evidence, nothing is known regarding its local tolerability in palliative care patients.

Aim:

The main objective of this study was to assess the local tolerability of paracetamol when administered subcutaneously for analgesic or antipyretic purposes in patients hospitalized in the palliative care unit. The secondary objective was to identify the factors favoring the occurrence of local adverse events.

Design:

This is a prospective multicenter observational study (NCT02884609).

Participants:

Study conducted in 160 patients hospitalized in the palliative care units of three hospitals in metropolitan France from 2014 to 2017.

Results:

Of the 160 patients, 44 (28%) presented at least one non-serious local adverse event (edema in 29, erythema in 5, pain in 15, hematoma in 2, pruritus in 1, and local heat in 2). No serious adverse events were observed. Factors associated with the occurrence of local adverse events were younger age, administration in the arm and thorax, and a high number of daily administrations.

Conclusion:

This first ever study carried out on this subject reveals that subcutaneous administration of paracetamol in palliative care patients was well tolerated locally.
The development of specialized palliative care in the community: A qualitative study of the evolution of 15 teams
Authors: Seow Hsien , Bainbridge Daryl
Published: May 2018

Background:

Interprofessional specialized palliative care teams at home improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and support many patients to die at home. However, practical details about how to develop home-based teams in different regions and health systems are scarce.

Aim:

To examine how a variety of home-based specialized palliative care teams created and grew their team over time and to identify critical steps in their evolution.

Design:

A qualitative study was designed based on a grounded theory approach, using semi-structured interviews and other documentation.

Setting/Participants:

In all, 15 specialized palliative care teams from Ontario, Canada, representing rural and urban areas. Data were collected from core members of the teams, including nurses, physicians, personal support workers, spiritual counselors, and administrators.

Results:

In all, 122 individuals where interviewed, ranging from 4 to 10 per team. The analysis revealed four stages in team evolution: Inception, Start-up (n = 4 teams), Growth (n = 5), and Mature (n = 6). In the Inception stage, a champion provider was required to leverage existing resources to form the team. Start-up teams were testing and adjusting care processes to solidify their presence in the community. Growth teams had core expertise, relationships with fellow providers, and 24/7 support. Mature teams were fully integrated in the community, but still engaged in continuous quality improvement.

Conclusion:

Understanding the developmental stages of teams can help to inform the progress of other community-based teams. Appropriate outcome measures at each stage are also critical for team motivation and steady progress.
Blood pressure reduction in hypertensive acute ischemic stroke patients does not affect cerebral blood flow
Authors: Kate Mahesh , Asdaghi Negar , Gioia Laura C , Buck Brian , Majumdar Sumit R , Jeerakathil Thomas , Shuaib Ashfaq , Emery Derek , Beaulieu Christian , Butcher Kenneth
Published: May 2018

The effect of blood pressure (BP) reduction on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in acute ischemic stroke is unknown. We measured regional CBF with perfusion-weighted MRI before and after BP treatment in a three-armed non-randomized prospective controlled trial. Treatment arm assignment was based on acute mean arterial pressure (MAP). Patients with (MAP) >120 mmHg ( n = 14) were treated with intravenous labetalol and sublingual (SL) nitroglycerin (labetalol group). Those with MAP 100–120 mmHg ( n = 17) were treated with SL nitroglycerin (0.3 mg) (‘NTG Group’) and those with baseline MAP<100 mmHg ( n = 18) were not treated with antihypertensive drugs (untreated group). Forty-nine patients (18 female, mean age 65.3 ± 12.9 years) were serially imaged. Labetalol reduced MAP by 12.5 (5.7–17.7) mmHg, p = 0.0002. MAP remained stable in the NTG (6.0 (0.4–16, p = 0.3) mmHg and untreated groups (−0.3 (−2.3–7.0, p = 0.2) mmHg. The volume of total hypoperfused tissue (CBF<18 ml/100 g/min) did not increase after labetalol (−1.1 ((−6.5)–(−0.2)) ml, p = 0.1), NTG (0 ((−1.5)–4.5) ml, p = 0.72), or no treatment 0.25 ((−10.1)–4.5) ml, p = 0.87). Antihypertensive therapy, based on presenting BP, in acute stroke patients was not associated with an increased volume of total hypoperfused tissue.
Wavelet and shearlet-based image representations for visual servoing
Authors: Duflot Lesley-Ann , Reisenhofer Rafael , Tamadazte Brahim , Andreff Nicolas , Krupa Alexandre
Published: May 2018

A visual servoing scheme consists of a closed-loop control approach that uses visual information feedback to control the motion of a robotic system. Probably the most popular visual servoing method is image-based visual servoing (IBVS). This kind of method uses geometric visual features extracted from the image to design the control law. However, extracting, matching, and tracking geometric visual features over time significantly limits the versatility of visual servoing controllers in various industrial and medical applications, in particular for “low-structured” medical images, e.g. ultrasounds and optical coherence tomography modalities. To overcome the limits of conventional IBVS, one can consider novel visual servoing paradigms known as “ direct” or “ featureless” approaches. This paper deals with the development of a new generation of direct visual servoing methods in which the signal control inputs are the coefficients of a multiscale image representation. In particular, we consider the use of multiscale image representations that are based on discrete wavelet and shearlet transforms. Up to now, one of the main obstacles in the investigation of multiscale image representations for visual servoing schemes was the issue of obtaining an analytical formulation of the interaction matrix that links the variation of wavelet and shearlet coefficients to the spatial velocity of the camera and the robot. In this paper, we derive four direct visual servoing controllers: two that are based on subsampled respectively non-subsampled wavelet coefficients and two that are based on the coefficients of subsampled respectively non-subsampled discrete shearlet transforms. All proposed controllers were tested in both simulation and experimental scenarios (using a six-degree-of-freedom Cartesian robot in an eye-in-hand configuration). The objective of this paper is to provide an analysis of the respective strengths and weaknesses of wavelet- and shearlet-based visual servoing controllers.
Biosocial health geography: New ‘exposomic’ geographies of health and place
Authors: Prior Lucy , Manley David , Sabel Clive E.
Published: May 2018

Investigating biologically plausible mechanisms for the embodiment of context is a key thoroughfare for progressing health geographies of place. Expanding knowledge of bio-processes such as epigenetics is providing a platform for appreciating the dynamic embedding of social relations in bodies over the lifecourse, and so to tracing the development of health inequalities. By providing a geographic lens on the biosocial, health geographers have key contributions to make regarding the theorisation of place. We put forward the exposome as a holistic framework in which to situate a biosocial health geography, placing ideas of dynamic exposure, plasticity and temporality as central.
Post-processing of ultrasonic signals for the analysis of defects in wind turbine blade using guided waves
Authors: Tiwari Kumar Anubhav , Raisutis Renaldas
Published: May 2018

In this work, the most promising ultrasonic signal processing methods—discrete wavelet transform, variational mode decomposition and Hilbert transform—are applied for the analysis of disbond-type defects in the segment of wind turbine blade. Two disbond-type artificial defects having diameters of 81 and 25 mm were located on the main spar of wind turbine blade. The low-frequency ultrasonic system developed by Ultrasound Research Institute of the Kaunas University of Technology was used for the experimental investigation of wind turbine blade using guided waves and only one side of the blade segment was accessed. Two contact type ultrasonic transducers separated by 50 mm distance and fixed on a movable mechanical panel were used as a transmitter–receiver pair during the experiment for the ultrasonic signals recording up to the scanning distance of 250 mm with the scanning step of 1 mm. Both types of defects were marginally detected from the conventional experimental B-scan and therefore appropriate signal processing techniques were used to improve the accuracy of the analysis of defects. The discrete wavelet transform was combined with the amplitude detection method for estimating the size and location of defects. Finally, the variational mode decomposition is combined with the Hilbert transform to compare the instantaneous frequencies and amplitudes of the defect-free and defective signals as well as for the measurement of time-delays between the defect-free and defective signals.
Performance Comparison of Bus Travel Time Prediction Models across Indian Cities
Authors: R Jairam , Kumar B. Anil , Arkatkar Shriniwas S. , Vanajakshi Lelitha
Published: May 2018

Road traffic congestion has become a global worry in recent years. In many countries congestion is a major factor, causing noticeable loss to both economy and time. The rapid increase in vehicle ownership accompanied by slow growth of infrastructure has resulted in space constraints in almost all major cities in India. To mitigate this issue, authorities have shifted to more sustainable management solutions like Intelligent Transport System (ITS). Advanced Public Transportation System (APTS) is an important area in ITS which could considerably offset the growing ownership of private vehicles as public transport holds a noticeable mode share in several major cities in India. Getting access to real-time information about public transport would certainly attract more users. In this regard, this work aims at developing a reliable structure for predicting arrival/travel time of various public transport systems under heterogeneous traffic conditions existing in India. The data used for the study is collected from three cities—Surat, Mysore, and Chennai. The data is analyzed across space and time to extract patterns which are further utilized in prediction models. The models examined in this paper are k-NN classifier, Kalman Filter and Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) techniques. The performance of each model is evaluated and compared to understand which methods are suitable for different cities with varying characteristics.