bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Complete Genome Sequence of
Moraxella osloensis
Strain KMC41, a Producer of 4-Methyl-3-Hexenoic Acid, a Major Malodor Compound in Laundry
Authors: Goto Takatsugu , Hirakawa Hideki , Morita Yuji , Tomida Junko , Sato Jun , Matsumura Yuta , Mitani Asako , Niwano Yu , Takeuchi Kohei , Kubota Hiromi , Kawamura Yoshiaki
Published: July 2016

We report the complete genome sequence of
Moraxella osloensis
strain KMC41, isolated from laundry with malodor. The KMC41 genome comprises a 2,445,556-bp chromosome and three plasmids. A fatty acid desaturase and at least four β-oxidation-related genes putatively associated with 4-methyl-3-hexenoic acid generation were detected in the KMC41 chromosome.
Complex systems approach for sports injuries: moving from risk factor identification to injury pattern recognition—narrative review and new concept
Authors: Bittencourt N F N , Meeuwisse W H , Mendonça L D , Nettel-Aguirre A , Ocarino J M , Fonseca S T
Published: July 2016

Injury prediction is one of the most challenging issues in sports and a key component for injury prevention. Sports injuries aetiology investigations have assumed a reductionist view in which a phenomenon has been simplified into units and analysed as the sum of its basic parts and causality has been seen in a linear and unidirectional way. This reductionist approach relies on correlation and regression analyses and, despite the vast effort to predict sports injuries, it has been limited in its ability to successfully identify predictive factors. The majority of human health conditions are complex. In this sense, the multifactorial complex nature of sports injuries arises not from the linear interaction between isolated and predictive factors, but from the complex interaction among a web of determinants. Thus, the aim of this conceptual paper was to propose a complex system model for sports injuries and to demonstrate how the implementation of complex system thinking may allow us to better address the complex nature of the sports injuries aetiology. According to this model, we should identify features that are hallmarks of complex systems, such as the pattern of relationships (interactions) among determinants, the regularities (profiles) that simultaneously characterise and constrain the phenomenon and the emerging pattern that arises from the complex web of determinants. In sports practice, this emerging pattern may be related to injury occurrence or adaptation. This novel view of preventive intervention relies on the identification of regularities or risk profile, moving from risk factors to risk pattern recognition.
Multidisciplinary team decision-making in cancer and the absent patient: a qualitative study
Authors: Hamilton D W , Heaven B , Thomson R G , Wilson J A , Exley C
Published: July 2016

Objective

To critically examine the process of multidisciplinary team (MDT) decision-making with a particular focus on patient involvement.

Design

Ethnographic study using direct non-participant observation of 35 MDT meetings and 37 MDT clinics, informal interviews and formal, semistructured interviews with 20 patients and 9 MDT staff members.

Setting

Three head and neck cancer centres in the north of England.

Participants

Patients with a diagnosis of new or recurrent head and neck cancer and staff members who attend the head and neck cancer MDT.

Results

Individual members of the MDT often have a clear view of which treatment they consider to be ‘best’ in any clinical situation. When disagreement occurs, the MDT has to manage how it presents this difference of opinion to the patient. First, this is because the MDT members recognise that the clinician selected to present the treatment choice to the patient may ‘frame’ their description of the treatment options to fit their own view of best. Second, many MDT members feel that any disagreement and difference of opinion in the MDT meeting should be concealed from the patient. This leads to much of the work of decision-making occurring in the MDT meeting, thus excluding the patient. MDT members seek to counteract this by introducing increasing amounts of information about the patient into the MDT meeting, thus creating an ‘evidential patient’. Often, only highly selected or very limited information of this type can be available or known and it can easily be selectively reported in order to steer the discussion in a particular direction.

Conclusions

The process of MDT decision-making presents significant barriers to effective patient involvement. If patients are to be effectively involved in cancer decision-making, the process of MDT decision-making needs substantial review.
The impact of the introduction of formalised polypectomy assessment on training in the UK
Authors: Patel Kinesh , Faiz Omar , Rutter Matt , Dunckley Paul , Thomas-Gibson Siwan
Published: July 2016

Objective

The aim was to describe the impact on polypectomy experience by the mandatory introduction of the Directly Observed Polypectomy Skills tool (DOPyS) and electronic portfolio as part of the formal colonoscopy certification process.

Design

Applications for colonoscopy certification in the UK in the year prior to the introduction of DOPyS were analysed retrospectively and compared with data collected prospectively for those in the following year.

Setting

UK National Health Service.

Patients

None.

Interventions

None.

Main outcome measures

The outcomes studied included whether evidence of exposure to polypectomy, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and colonoscopy changed over the 2-year period. The nature of the polyps removed by trainees was also studied.

Results

Thirty two per cent of candidates in the first year had evidence of any observed polypectomy with 7% of candidates referring to training in EMR. The median number of formative colonoscopy assessments was 3 (range 0–16). All of these candidates in the second year had evidence of polypectomy assessment, with a median number of DOPyS of 7 (range 3–27). Eighty nine per cent of applicants had evidence of assessed EMR. The median number of formative colonoscopy assessments in this cohort was 32 (range 9–199). There was a significant increase in the number of logged polypectomy assessments (p<0.001), experience of EMR (p<0.001) and formative colonoscopy assessments (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the total number of colonoscopy procedures performed.

Conclusions

Structured polypectomy assessment improves trainees’ documented exposure to therapeutic endoscopy as well as providing formal evidence of skills acquisition. As polypectomy plays an increasing role globally in colorectal cancer prevention, the DOPyS provides an effective means of assessing and certifying polypectomy.
Sentiment Classification of Financial News Using Statistical Features
Authors: Yazdani Sepideh Foroozan , Murad Masrah Azrifah Azmi , Sharef Nurfadhlina Mohd , Singh Yashwant Prasad , Latiff Ahmed Razman Abdul
Published: July 2016

Sentiment classification of financial news deals with the identification of positive and negative news so that they can be applied in decision support systems for stock trend predictions. This paper explores several types of feature spaces as different data spaces for sentiment classification of the news article. Experiments are conducted using [Formula: see text]-gram models unigram, bigram and the combination of unigram and bigram as feature extraction with traditional feature weighting methods (binary, term frequency (TF), and term frequency-document frequency (TF-IDF)), while document frequency (DF) was used in order to generate feature spaces with different dimensions to evaluate [Formula: see text]-gram models and traditional feature weighting methods. We performed some experiments to measure the classification accuracy of support vector machine (SVM) with two kernel methods of Linear and Gaussian radial basis function (RBF). We concluded that feature selection and feature weighting methods can have a substantial role in sentiment classification. Furthermore, the results showed that the proposed work which combined unigram and bigram along with TF-IDF feature weighting method and optimized RBF kernel SVM produced high classification accuracy in financial news classification.
Computer security is broken
Authors: Kocher Paul
Published: July 2016

Computer security problems have far exceeded the limits of the human brain. What can we do about it?
Computational biology in the 21st century
Authors: Berger Bonnie , Daniels Noah M. , Yu Y. William
Published: July 2016

Algorithmic advances take advantage of the structure of massive biological data landscape.
Future Tense: Gut Feelings
Authors: MacLeod Ken
Published: July 2016

From the intersection of computational science and technological speculation, with boundaries limited only by our ability to imagine what could be.

Even a little genetic engineering can render us too comfortable for our own good.
Milk diets influence doxorubicin-induced intestinal toxicity in piglets
Authors: Shen Rene L. , Pontoppidan Peter E. L. , Rathe Mathias , Jiang Pingping , Hansen Carl Frederik , Buddington Randal K. , Heegaard Peter M. H. , Müller Klaus , Sangild Per T.
Published: July 2016

Chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity is a common adverse effect of cancer treatment. We used preweaned piglets as models to test our hypothesis that the immunomodulatory and GI trophic effects of bovine colostrum would reduce the severity of GI complications associated with doxorubicin (DOX) treatment. Five-day-old pigs were administered DOX (1 × 100 mg/m2) or an equivalent volume of saline (SAL) and either fed formula (DOX-Form, n = 9, or SAL-Form, n = 7) or bovine colostrum (DOX-Colos, n = 9, or SAL-Colos, n = 7). Pigs were euthanized 5 days after initiation of chemotherapy to assess markers of small intestinal function and inflammation. All DOX-treated animals developed diarrhea, growth deficits, and leukopenia. However, the intestines of DOX-Colos pigs had lower intestinal permeability, longer intestinal villi with higher activities of brush border enzymes, and lower tissue IL-8 levels compared with DOX-Form (all P < 0.05). DOX-Form pigs, but not DOX-Colos pigs, had significantly higher plasma C-reactive protein, compared with SAL-Form. Plasma citrulline was not affected by DOX treatment or diet. Thus a single dose of DOX induces intestinal toxicity in preweaned pigs and may lead to a systemic inflammatory response. The toxicity is affected by type of enteral nutrition with more pronounced GI toxicity when formula is fed compared with bovine colostrum. The results indicate that bovine colostrum may be a beneficial supplementary diet for children subjected to chemotherapy and subsequent intestinal toxicity.
Cérebro transparente com a histologia CLARITY
Authors: Zanini Fábio , Gonçalves Julia Calixto , Arisi Gabriel Maisonnave
Published: July 2016

A microscopia e as técnicas histológicas avançaram muito nossa compreensão da estrutura celular do tecido nervoso. No entanto, a complexa organização tridimensional dos neurônios, células gliais e da vasculatura é perdida no fatiamento do tecido nervoso para sua observação ao microscópio. Métodos elaborados e demorados são utilizados para reconstruir a organização tridimensional dessas células. A técnica histológica CLARITY preserva a estrutura das proteínas celulares “in situ” e torna o tecido nervoso transparente à luz, removendo a grande quantidade de lipídios presente nesse tecido, permitindo estudos envolvendo grandes volumes de diferentes regiões do cérebro. Esta histologia é feita por perfusão de monômeros que, após a polimerização criam um hidrogel híbrido da proteína com o monômero, permitindo a remoção eletroforética dos lipídios, tornando o tecido transparente à luz. Isso permite a visualização de grandes volumes do tecido em microscópios de fluorescência após marcação das proteínas de interesse por imunohistoquímica.
Impact of Renin‐Angiotensin System Inhibitors on Long‐Term Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Coronary Artery Spasm
Authors: Choi Byoung Geol , Jeon Sung Yeon , Rha Seung‐Woon , Park Sang‐Ho , Shim Min Suk , Choi Se Yeon , Byun Jae Kyeong , Li Hu , Choi Jah Yeon , Park Eun Jin , Park Sung‐Hun , Lee Jae Joong , Lee Sunki , Na Jin Oh , Choi Cheol Ung , Lim Hong Euy , Kim Jin Won , Kim Eung Ju , Park Chang Gyu , Seo Hong Seog , Oh Dong Joo
Published: July 2016

Background

Coronary artery spasm (
CAS
) is a well‐known endothelial dysfunction, and a major cause of vasospastic angina (
VSA
). The renin–angiotensin system (
RAS
) is known to be closely associated with endothelial function. However, there are only a few studies that investigated the impact of
RAS
inhibitor on long‐term clinical outcomes in
VSA
patients.

Methods and Results

A total of 3349 patients with no significant coronary artery disease, diagnosed with
CAS
by acetylcholine provocation test were enrolled for this study. Significant
CAS
was defined as having ≥70% narrowing of the artery after incremental injections of 20, 50, and 100 μg of acetylcholine into the left coronary artery. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to whether the prescription included
RAS
inhibitor or not (
RAS
inhibitor group: n=666, non‐
RAS
inhibitor group; n=2683). To adjust for any potential confounders that could cause bias, propensity score matching (
PSM
) analysis was performed using a logistic regression model. After
PSM
analysis, 2 matched groups (524 pairs, n=1048 patients, C‐statistic=0.845) were generated and their baseline characteristics were balanced. During the 5‐year clinical follow‐up, the
RAS
inhibitor group showed a lower incidence of recurrent angina (8.7% versus 14.1%,
P
=0.027), total death (0.0% versus 1.3%,
P
=0.045), and total major adverse cardiovascular events (1.0% versus 4.1%,
P
=0.026) than the non‐
RAS
inhibitor group.

Conclusions

Chronic
RAS
inhibitor therapy was associated with lower incidence of cardiovascular events in
VSA
patients in the 5‐year clinical follow‐up.
Aphelenchoides iranicus n. sp. (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) from West Azerbaijan province, Iran
Authors: Golhasan Behrouz , Heydari Ramin , Álvarez-Ortega Sergio , Esmaeili Mehrab , Castillo Pablo , Palomares-Rius Juan E.
Published: July 2016

Aphelenchoidesiranicusn. sp. is described and illustrated from bark samples of an oak tree (Quercussp.) in West Azerbaijan province, north-western Iran. The new species is characterised by body length of 350 (330-383) μm in females and 343 (323-370) μm in males, lip region set off from body contour, lateral fields with three lines, stylet 8 (7-9) μm long with small basal swellings, excretory pore 59 (56-62) μm from anterior end, hemizonid invisible, pharyngeal glands overlapping intestine dorsally and extending for 48 (41-54) μm, female tail subcylindrical with many tiny finger-like appendages at the tip, and male with aphelenchoid type spicules 17.6 (17-18) μm long. The new species comes close to nine known species of the genus namely:A. brevicaudatus,A. cibolensis,A. conimucronatus,A. editocaputis,A. montanus,A. pusillus,A. rarus,A. sphaerocephalusandA. vaughani, but differs from them by the number of incisures in the lateral field, shape of tail mucron, stylet length, size of spicules and length of post-vulval uterine sac. Additionally, this species is characterised molecularly and phylogenetically by sequences of the D2-D3 expansion segments of the 28S and partial 18S rRNA genes that are unique in relation to the sequences deposited in GenBank.
Typification of the names associated with Anogramma lorentzii (Pteridaceae: Pteridoideae)
Authors: ARANA MARCELO D. , OGGERO ANTONIA J. , ANGELI JUAN P.
Published: July 2016

The genus Anogramma Link (1841: 137) comprises about six species of tropical and temperate regions of America, Ascension Island, southern Europe and Africa east to New Zealand (Tryon & Tryon 1982). The genus is distinguished especially by the annual habit of the sporophyte and the persistence of the gametophyte by means of tubercles.
Food Insecurity in U.S. Households That Include Children With Disabilities
Authors: Sonik Rajan , Parish Susan L. , Ghosh Subharati , Igdalsky Leah
Published: July 2016

The authors examined food insecurity in households including children with disabilities, analyzing data from the 2004 and 2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, which included 24,729 households with children, 3,948 of which had children with disabilities. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the likelihood of food insecurity after adjusting for adult disability status, income, and other sociodemographic factors. Compared to other households with children, those including children with disabilities were more likely to report household food insecurity of any kind, very low household food security, and child food insecurity. Families raising children with disabilities were also more likely to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. These results suggest that children with disabilities face an increased risk of experiencing food insecurity and that there is a pressing need to improve the safety net system for these children.
Reducing Dwell Time Related to Clearing and Forwarding of Export and Import Goods at Kolkata Sea and Air Ports
Authors: Koley Subhra , Datta Biplab , Mukherjee Srabanti
Published: July 2016

The article traces the opportunities for reducing the dwell time taken during clearing of export and import (EXIM) goods at Kolkata sea and air ports. As observed in the Government of India reports, the dwell time in Indian airports is considerably higher than that of global benchmarks. Drawing from the literature, we figured out that reduction in dwell time can reduce opportunity cost and lead to increased productivity and higher efficiency of the ports and air terminals. In the first phase of the study, using the Ishikawa Fishbone diagram, we have analyzed the reasons behind the higher dwelling time in Kolkata air and sea ports. In the second phase, following the value stream mapping process indicated by Barber and Tietje (2008), the current state map of the EXIM clearing process has been mapped and possible future state maps have been proposed for reduction in dwell time.
Countering globalisation and managerialism: Relationist ethics in social work
Authors: Thompson Lester James , Wadley David Alastair
Published: July 2016

Social work developed from Christian caring and a eudaimonic desire for a worthwhile life. Although ethics continue to underpin the discipline, contemporary complexities of post-modernism, globalism and managerialism are destabilising the universalist moral intentions of practice and subsequently demotivating eudaimonic drives. Cultural and context-specific relativist influences are promoting an ethics of ‘fitting in’ which, without critical analysis, betrays client best interests by favouring formulaic absolutes. Alternative, relationist theory can support a critically reflective and care-ethics-driven practice that is motivating, clearer and focused on ontological consideration of dynamic client, practitioner and environmental needs. It can thus help social workers to situate themselves and achieve personal and professional transformation.
The Effects of Negative Reinforcement on Increasing Patient Adherence to Appointments at King Abdullah University Hospital in Jordan
Authors: Alyahya Mohammad , Hijazi Heba H. , Nusairat Farid T.
Published: July 2016

Appointment nonadherence is a health behavior that represents a burden to health care systems. On March 1, 2015, a new negative reinforcement intervention involving “service fees” for a visit without appointment was implemented at King Abdullah University Hospital in Jordan. To evaluate the effect of this intervention in improving patient adherence to medical appointment, a retrospective preintervention and postintervention analysis was used, including all patients (n = 65 535) who had scheduled appointments at 39 outpatient clinics. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was first performed. Then, a multivariate linear regression model was used to identify factors that might predict individuals who are likely to attend or miss their appointments and those who have a greater tendency to visit the hospital with or without appointments. Although the average percentage of appointments attended was more than missed preintervention and postintervention, the decrease in percentage of missed appointments was more pronounced postintervention. Also, the average percentage of visits without appointments was less than visits with appointments in both times, but the decrease in the percentage of visits without appointments was more prominent after. The regression analysis revealed that younger, married and male patients were more likely to miss their appointment before and after the intervention. Also, younger patients had a tendency to attend without appointments. Conversely, patients with the lower copayment rate had a tendency to adhere to appointment times. In conclusion, negative reinforcement interventions could improve patient appointment adherence rates. Accordingly, interventions designed that consider evidence and are theory-based are needed to change patient behavior.
Beyond Lifestyle
Authors: Mariner Wendy K.
Published: July 2016

Non-communicable and chronic diseases have overtaken infectious diseases as the major causes of death and disability around the world. Despite recognition that reduction in the chronic disease burden will require governance systems to address the social determinants of health, most public health recommendations emphasize individual behavior as the primary cause of illness and the target of intervention. This Article argues that focusing on lifestyle can backfire, by increasing health inequities and inviting human rights violations. If States fail to take meaningful steps to alter the social and economic structures that create health risks and encourage unhealthy behavior, health at the population level is unlikely to improve significantly. Viewing the global health challenge from the perspective of human rights, however, reveals opportunities for positive change in all sectors of governance. Explicit recognition of human rights can help refocus attention on the fundamental causes of health and protect individuals from unnecessary harm.
Law and Politics, an Emerging Epidemic
Authors: Ulrich Michael R.
Published: July 2016

As Jacobson v. Massachusetts recognized in 1905, the basis of public health law, and its ability to limit constitutional rights, is the use of scientific data and empirical evidence. Far too often, this important fact is lost. Fear, misinformation, and politics frequently take center stage and drive the implementation of public health law. In the recent Ebola scare, political leaders passed unnecessary and unconstitutional quarantine measures that defied scientific understanding of the disease and caused many to have their rights needlessly constrained. Looking at HIV criminalization and exemptions to childhood vaccine requirements, it becomes clear that the blame cannot be placed on the hysteria that accompanies emergencies. Indeed, these examples merely illustrate an unfortunate array of examples where empirical evidence is ignored in the hopes of quelling paranoia. These policy approaches are not only constitutionally questionable, they generate their own risk to public health. The ability of the law to jeopardize public health approaches to infectious disease control can, and should, be limited through a renewed emphasis on science as the foundation of public health, coordination through all levels and branches of government, and through a serious commitment by the judiciary to provide oversight. Infectious disease creates public anxiety, but this cannot justify unwarranted dogmatic approaches as a response. If we as a society hope to ensure efficient, constitutional control over the spread of disease, it is imperative that science take its rightful place at the forefront of governmental decision-making and judicial review. Otherwise, the law becomes its own public health threat.
A New Product Development Partnership Model for Antibiotic Resistance
Authors: Billington John K.
Published: July 2016

Antibiotics have prevented countless deaths from common infections and have made possible many modern medical procedures. Over the past few decades, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become a global threat, spreading between healthcare facilities and throughout communities worldwide at an alarming pace. Antibiotic overuse and misuse in humans, animals, and the environment accelerate resistance by selecting for bacteria with antibiotic-resistant traits, which then become predominant and infect others. Meanwhile, few antibiotics remain active against the most resistant bacteria. There is an urgent need for new antibiotics and other antibacterial products to replace second-line and last resort therapies when they no longer work. This Article proposes a new U.S.-based, non-governmental, not-for-profit product development partnership (PDP) model specifically designed for antibacterial development. This new model should both supplement and complement existing government-led efforts and should be built with mechanisms in place to balance the values of innovation, access, and conservation.
Preserving an Incentive for Global Health R&D
Authors: Robertson Andrew S.
Published: July 2016

In December 2014, the United States government expanded the Priority Review Voucher (“PRV” or “voucher”) program to include Ebola and other related Filoviruses. By doing so, lawmakers provided a potentially powerful incentive for drug companies to invest time and money in the development of novel medicines for terrifying diseases. This expansion is one of several additions made to the PRV programs since 2012. Many companies rely on voucher resale to recoup research and development (“R&D”) costs; however, it is unclear whether the PRV program could be overextended, thereby diluting the value of the incentives. In this paper, I use historical approval data from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and United States drug revenue data to better understand the secondary market value of a PRV. The data suggests that that purchase prices of a PRV could continue to climb; despite this, the market size for these vouchers is limited. The implications of these findings are discussed further.
Vaccines and Airline Travel
Authors: Robertson Christopher T.
Published: July 2016

This Article explores two ways in which airline travel is an important vector for the spread of infectious disease, and argues that airlines have market-based and liability-based reasons to require that passengers be vaccinated. Going further, the Article explores whether the federal government has the legal and constitutional authority—especially under the Commerce Clause—to encourage or mandate that airlines implement such a vaccine screen. By disrupting the spread of disease at key network nodes where individuals interact and then connect with other geographic regions, and by creating another incentive for adult vaccination, an airline vaccine screen could be an effective and legally viable tool for the protection of public health.
Measurement of Mitochondrial Respiration and Motility in Acute Care
Authors: Jang David H. , Greenwood John C. , Spyres Meghan B. , Eckmann David M.
Published: July 2016

Metabolic biomarkers have potentially wider use in disease diagnosis and prognosis as well as in monitoring disease response to treatment. While biomarkers such as interleukins, microRNA, and lactate have been proposed for disease surveillance, there are still conflicting results regarding their clinical utility. Treatment of commonly encountered disease of acute care such as sepsis, trauma, and poisoning often relies on clinical diagnosis and therapy guided by use of surrogate markers of illness severity. The measurement of mitochondrial function, including respiration and motility, may offer superior alternatives to such markers. Assessing mitochondrial function in a clinical context has the potential to impact the area of acute care in terms of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The study of mitochondrial bioenergetics has become critical in understanding the pathophysiology and treatment of complex diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.
The Reliability and Validity of the Dating Abuse Perpetration Acts Scale in an Urban, Emergency Department-Based Sample of Male and Female Youth
Authors: Goncy Elizabeth A. , Rothman Emily F.
Published: July 2016

Adolescent dating abuse (ADA) is an important public health problem, but existing measurement instruments have limitations. This study assessed the reliability and validity of the Dating Abuse Perpetration Acts Scale (DAPAS), a medium-length instrument (24 items) designed for use with adolescents aged 16 to 21 years. In Phase 1, 466 adolescent pediatric emergency department patients who reported perpetrating at least one act of physical ADA in the last year completed the DAPAS. In the second phase, 33 patients completed the DAPAS; two previously established dating violence measures, the Safe Dates Perpetration Act Scale and the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2); and a measure of violence, the Self-Report of Offending (SRO). Categorical confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a one-factor model of ADA perpetration best fit the data. Validity analyses showed moderate to high correlations between the DAPAS and both the Safe Dates measure and the CTS2 ( r = .70 and .59) scores, and a small to moderate correlation between the DAPAS and SRO ( r = .43). Sensitivity and specificity analysis of the DAPAS using 10 cut-points revealed an optimal cut-point, which correctly classified 85% of the respondents. The DAPAS showed concurrent validity with the Safe Dates measure and CTS2, as well as discriminant validity in its ability to differentiate perpetrators of violence in general from perpetrators of ADA. The DAPAS scale is a good alternative to the Safe Dates measure and should be considered for use in research studies of ADA.
When Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Authors: McGovern Justine
Published: July 2016

Through the lens of a study exploring dementia care partnering, the purpose of this methods article is to focus on the role of artifacts and embodied data in data collection. In addition, it illustrates how to use a range of data collecting methods. The article identifies benefits of additional data collecting methods to research and care. These include the need to expand data collecting methods beyond spoken word, integrate a range of data collecting approaches into research courses across disciplines, increase support of qualitative research, and advocate for greater inclusivity in research. Data collecting approaches can also have implications for quality of life among persons often excluded from research-building endeavors. They can contribute to the unfolding of new findings, which can influence care practices.
Boosting the discriminatory power of sparse survival models via optimization of the concordance index and stability selection
Authors: Mayr Andreas , Hofner Benjamin , Schmid Matthias
Published: July 2016

Background

When constructing new biomarker or gene signature scores for time-to-event outcomes, the underlying aims are to develop a discrimination model that helps to predict whether patients have a poor or good prognosis and to identify the most influential variables for this task. In practice, this is often done fitting Cox models. Those are, however, not necessarily optimal with respect to the resulting discriminatory power and are based on restrictive assumptions. We present a combined approach to automatically select and fit sparse discrimination models for potentially high-dimensional survival data based on boosting a smooth version of the concordance index (C-index). Due to this objective function, the resulting prediction models are optimal with respect to their ability to discriminate between patients with longer and shorter survival times. The gradient boosting algorithm is combined with the stability selection approach to enhance and control its variable selection properties.

Results

The resulting algorithm fits prediction models based on the rankings of the survival times and automatically selects only the most stable predictors. The performance of the approach, which works best for small numbers of informative predictors, is demonstrated in a large scale simulation study:C-index boosting in combination with stability selection is able to identify a small subset of informative predictors from a much larger set of non-informative ones while controlling the per-family error rate. In an application to discover biomarkers for breast cancer patients based on gene expression data, stability selection yielded sparser models and the resulting discriminatory power was higher than with lasso penalized Cox regression models.

Conclusion

The combination of stability selection andC-index boosting can be used to select small numbers of informative biomarkers and to derive new prediction rules that are optimal with respect to their discriminatory power. Stability selection controls the per-family error rate which makes the new approach also appealing from an inferential point of view, as it provides an alternative to classical hypothesis tests for single predictor effects. Due to the shrinkage and variable selection properties of statistical boosting algorithms, the latter tests are typically unfeasible for prediction models fitted by boosting.
To what extent do mesophotic coral ecosystems and shallow reefs share species of conservation interest?
Authors: Laverick Jack H. , Andradi-Brown Dominic A. , Exton Dan A. , Bongaerts Pim , Bridge Tom C. L. , Lesser Michael P. , Pyle Richard L. , Slattery Marc , Wagner Daniel , Rogers Alex D.
Published: July 2016

Background

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are tropical and sub-tropical reefs between 30 m and potentially >150 m depth, the maximum for photosynthetic hard corals. The definition’s upper boundary is ecologically arbitrary. Recently, research has focused on the deep reef refugia hypothesis suggesting MCEs can be protected from shallow-water threats, potentially acting as a local source for re-colonisation of shallow reefs. This led to recent calls to increase their protection. It remains unclear whether the current MCE definition reflects changing biodiversity with depth, and so whether protecting MCEs based on this definition will protect shallow reef species. We ask where shifts in ecological community structure occur across the shallow-mesophotic depth gradient. We consider to what extent MCEs as currently defined protect shallow reef taxa. Research on coral reef depth gradients has a long history. Research relevant to MCEs has been published under a variety of terms. We will use the systematic review framework to collect older data sources, increasing accessibility by depositing the meta-data in an online library for researchers and managers.

Methods

A systematic review will be conducted, searching online databases, grey literature and personal libraries of experts. The primary question was formulated after consulting an advisory committee. Inclusion criteria discriminate among studies by sampling depths and community data. Critical appraisal of studies will consider key criteria concerning internal validity. We shall identify where more biodiversity and community-level data are required, determined by whether a meta-analysis is possible. Considering how to structure a meta-analysis once community metric and variability data have been collected will help to advise future data collection. Provided enough data are extracted, we shall conduct a meta-analysis examining changes in species richness, abundance and biomass across the depth gradient. If ecological community level data are present, we shall conduct an additional meta-analysis looking at community turnover with depth.
Outperforming hummingbirds’ load-lifting capability with a lightweight hummingbird-like flapping-wing mechanism
Authors: Leys Frederik , Reynaerts Dominiek , Vandepitte Dirk
Published: July 2016

The stroke-cam flapping mechanism presented in this paper closely mimics the wing motion of a hovering Rufous hummingbird. It is the only lightweight hummingbird-sized flapping mechanism which generates a harmonic wing stroke with both a high flapping frequency and a large stroke amplitude. Experiments on a lightweight prototype of this stroke-cam mechanism on a 50 mm-long wing demonstrate that a harmonic stroke motion is generated with a peak-to-peak stroke amplitude of 175° at a flapping frequency of 40 Hz. It generated a mass lifting capability of 5.1 g, which is largely sufficient to lift the prototype's mass of 3.39 g and larger than the mass-lifting capability of a Rufous hummingbird. The motor mass of a hummingbird-like robot which drives the stroke-cam mechanism is considerably larger (about five times) than the muscle mass of a hummingbird with comparable load-lifting capability. This paper presents a flapping wing nano aerial vehicle which is designed to possess the same lift- and thrust-generating principles of the Rufous hummingbird. The application is indoor flight. We give an overview of the wing kinematics and some specifications which should be met to develop an artificial wing, and also describe the applications of these in the mechanism which has been developed in this work.
3D for the people: multi-camera motion capture in the field with consumer-grade cameras and open source software
Authors: Jackson Brandon E. , Evangelista Dennis J. , Ray Dylan D. , Hedrick Tyson L.
Published: July 2016

Ecological, behavioral and biomechanical studies often need to quantify animal movement and behavior in three dimensions. In laboratory studies, a common tool to accomplish these measurements is the use of multiple, calibrated high-speed cameras. Until very recently, the complexity, weight and cost of such cameras have made their deployment in field situations risky; furthermore, such cameras are not affordable to many researchers. Here, we show how inexpensive, consumer-grade cameras can adequately accomplish these measurements both within the laboratory and in the field. Combined with our methods and open source software, the availability of inexpensive, portable and rugged cameras will open up new areas of biological study by providing precise 3D tracking and quantification of animal and human movement to researchers in a wide variety of field and laboratory contexts.
Cortisol-treated zebrafish embryos develop into pro-inflammatory adults with aberrant immune gene regulation
Authors: Hartig Ellen I. , Zhu Shusen , King Benjamin L. , Coffman James A.
Published: July 2016

Chronic early-life stress increases adult susceptibility to numerous health problems linked to chronic inflammation. One way that this may occur is via glucocorticoid-induced developmental programming. To gain insight into such programming we treated zebrafish embryos with cortisol and examined the effects on both larvae and adults. Treated larvae had elevated whole-body cortisol and glucocorticoid signaling, and upregulated genes associated with defense response and immune system processes. In adulthood the treated fish maintained elevated basal cortisol levels in the absence of exogenous cortisol, and constitutively mis-expressed genes involved in defense response and its regulation. Adults derived from cortisol-treated embryos displayed defective tailfin regeneration, heightened basal expression of pro-inflammatory genes, and failure to appropriately regulate those genes following injury or immunological challenge. These results support the hypothesis that chronically elevated glucocorticoid signaling early in life directs development of a pro-inflammatory adult phenotype, at the expense of immunoregulation and somatic regenerative capacity.
Gene copy silencing and DNA methylation in natural and artificially produced allopolyploid fish
Authors: Matos Isa M. N. , Coelho Maria M. , Schartl Manfred
Published: July 2016

Allelic silencing is an important mechanism to cope with gene dosage changes in polyploidy organisms that is well known in allopolyploid plants. Only recently, it was shown in the allotriploid fish Squalius alburnoides that this process also occurs in vertebrates. However, it is still unknown if this silencing mechanism is common to other allopolyploid fish; and which mechanisms might be responsible for allelic silencing (AS). We addressed these questions in a comparative study between Squalius alburnoides and another allopolyploid complex, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa). We examined the allelic expression patterns for three target genes in four somatic tissues of natural allo-anorthoploids and laboratory produced tri-genomic hybrids of S. alburnoides and P. formosa. Also, for both complexes, we evaluated the correlation between total DNA methylation level and the ploidy status and genomic composition of the individuals. We found that AS also occurs in other allopolyploid organisms besides the single one that was previously known. We found and discuss disparities within and between the two considered complexes concerning the pattern of allele specific expression and DNA methylation levels. Disparities might be due to intrinsic characteristics of each genome involved in the hybridization process. Our findings also support that long-term evolutionary processes have an effect onto the allele expression patterns and possibly also on DNA methylation levels.
Tail Risk Dynamics in Stock Returns: Links to the Macroeconomy and Global Markets Connectedness
Authors: Massacci Daniele
Published: July 2016

We propose a new time-varying peaks over threshold model to study tail risk dynamics in equity markets: the laws of motion for the parameters are defined through the score-based approach. We apply the model to daily returns from U.S. size-sorted decile stock portfolios and show that large firms’ tail risk increases during recessions more than small firms’ tail risk. Our results are consistent with the granular hypothesis of aggregate fluctuations, and we quantify the impact of large firms’ tail risk shocks on the economy. A measure of tail connectedness is proposed: evidence from international equity markets shows that tail connectedness increases during periods of turmoil.

This paper was accepted by Lauren Cohen, finance.
Shifting sands: The erosion of higher education provision
Authors: Breen Liz , McIntosh Bryan
Published: July 2016

This commentary considers changes to education in UK mental health nursing
The factors influencing suicide within Chinese culture
Authors: Law Claire
Published: July 2016

This literature review discusses Chinese cultural factors which influence the suicide rate and issues affecting this culture in both China and in the UK. The article relates this to UK policy, study findings, service improvements and recommendations for nurses. The literature concluded a wide variety of factors and beliefs within this culture that influence a person's views on suicide. Suicide is an urgent public health issue within China. To tackle this problem, the importance of recognising and understanding the culture; the way illnesses are expressed psychosomatically; perceived causes and meanings for behaviours; the awareness of psychological problems within Chinese culture; and improved education are significant.
Dissociative identity disorder: Fact, fantasy or invalid?
Authors: Stokoe Nicole , Stopa Lusia , Maguire Tess
Published: July 2016

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a rare, complex and controversial mental health presentation, characterised by two or more distinct personality states and recurrent gaps in memory. Mental health practitioners currently rely on their own assessment of the available literature to conceptualise the presentation of DID as a result of lack of guidelines from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence. This article presents the key findings of a systematic literature search and narrative synthesis of the conceptualisations of DID. This aims to offer an overview of current thought to support practitioners in their understanding, assessment, formulation and approach to working with this population. Three key approaches to the conceptualisation of DID were identified as dominant discourses in the literature: trauma-based models, sociocognitive models and invalid diagnosis theories. This review identified the need for a more collaborative approach to research between the different schools of thought and for more flexibility in approach from those working in the field.
Orthopteroids are just not cricket
Authors: Garner Lynne
Published: July 2016

This is the third in a series that explores the lives of different insects that live in the woods, parks and gardens of the UK. This month we explore the world of grasshoppers.
Making the most of our garden
Authors: Ward Sue
Published: July 2016

In the third of a series of extracts from The Early Years Gardening Handbook by Sue Ward (Practical Pre-School Books) we look at what we want to use a garden for.
Staying connected: the ENFit solution
Authors: Bennell José
Published: July 2016

Before 2007, all syringes in the UK were clear-coloured with a male Luer end. Increasing complexity of medical care and the many possibilities when one connector is used as a fit-all connector resulted in misconnection errors with significant morbidity and mortality. The National Patient Safety Agency (now part of NHS England) produced 2007 guidelines on enteral syringe access and reversed the Luer end on enteral feeding tubes and the syringes. This reduced the incidence of misconnections in the UK, but a global solution was required. In 2009, the Global Enteral Device Supplier Association collaborated with the International Organisation for Standardisation and produced a new standard (ISO 80369) that specified the requirements for several small-bore connectors, including enteral access. The new enteral connectors are called ENFit and are being launched globally in two phases. Phase one saw the introduction of ENFit-compliant administration sets with temporary adapters so that they connected to the old reverse Luer syringes and feeding tubes. In the UK, phase two started in July 2016, and all syringes and enteral feeding tubes will need to be ENFit compliant by December 2016. Implementation plans need to be carefully considered. A good understanding of all the feeding tubes used in each area is required to appreciate how the transition will work. ENFit will greatly reduce the risk of medical device misconnections but does not eliminate all risk. Luer syringes will still be needed for patients with balloon-retained feeding tubes to check balloon integrity.
From development to delivery of a patient-focused constipation service
Authors: Tinkler Linda , Henderson Michelle , Rowley-Conwy Debbie , Pearn Jackie
Published: July 2016

The Durham Constipation Clinic is a specialist service that focuses on the care and management of patients with chronic, severe, refractory constipation and other intractable functional bowel disorders. The service, established in 2001, has grown into one of the largest specialist constipation clinics in Europe. This article describes the evolution of the service, highlighting the importance of a patient-centred, research-active, holistic approach in this challenging area of medicine.
Politics and palliative care: Ethiopia
Authors: Smyth Dion
Published: July 2016

Dion Smyth's review of the internet for palliative nursing
Dealing with abnormal test results in diabetes
Authors: Morris David , Morris Sarah
Published: July 2016

Anomalies are common in diabetes testing. David Morris and Sarah Morris present two typical case studies