bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the magnetorotational instability and elastic buckling
Authors: Vasil Geoffrey M.
Published: April 2015

This paper demonstrates an equivalence between rotating magnetized shear flows and a stressed elastic beam. This results from finding the same form of dynamical equations after an asymptotic reduction of the axis-symmetric magnetorotational instability (MRI) under the assumption of almost-critical driving. The analysis considers the MRI dynamics in a non-dissipative near-equilibrium regime. Both the magnetic and elastic systems reduce to a simple one-dimensional wave equation with a non-local nonlinear feedback. Under transformation, the equation comprises a large number of mean-field interacting Duffing oscillators. This system was the first proven example of a strange attractor in a partial differential equation. Finding the same reduced equation in two natural applications suggests the model might result from other applications and could fall into a universal class based on symmetry.
Roseovarius
antarcticus sp. nov., isolated from a decayed whale bone
Authors: Deng Sangsang , Jiang Fan , Chang Xulu , Qu Zhihao , Ren Lvzhi , Zhang Yumin , Kan Wenjing , Da Xuyang , Qiu Xia , Kim Myongchol , Fang Chengxiang , Peng Fang
Published: April 2015

A pale yellow, ovoid- to rod-shaped and budding bacterium, designated strain M-S13-148T, was isolated from a decayed bone of whale from the eastern coast of King George Island, South Shetlands, Antarctica. Strain M-S13-148T exhibited motility, aerobic growth and was Gram-stain-negative. Strain M-S13-148T was positive for catalase and oxidase. Growth was observed at pH 6.0–9.0, at 4–42 °C and with 0–14 % (w/v) NaCl. The novel strain contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and an unknown phospholipid as the major polar lipids. The dominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c), (58.8 %) and C16 : 0 (11.7 %). The respiratory quinone was Q-10 and the DNA G+C content was 60.9 mol%. Neighbour-joining, maximum-likelihood and minimum-evolution phylogenetic trees, based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, indicated that strain M-S13-148T belonged to the genus Roseovarius and was most closely related to Roseovarius nanhaiticus CCTCC AB 208317T (93.72 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with respect to members of the genus Roseovarius ranged from 91.81 to 93.94 %. On the basis of phenotypic, molecular and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain M-S13-148 is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Roseovarius, for which the name Roseovarius antarcticus sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is M-S13-148T ( = CCTCC AB2014072T = LMG 28420T).
Phycicoccus soli sp. nov., isolated from soil
Authors: Singh Hina , Won KyungHwa , Ngo Hien T. T. , Du Juan , Kook MooChang , Yi Tae-Hoo
Published: April 2015

A Gram-stain-positive, non-motile, coccus-shaped bacterium, strain THG-a14T, was isolated from soil of Gyeyang mountain in Incheon, Republic of Korea. The isolate grew optimally at 28 °C, at pH 6.5–7.5 and with 0–3 % (w/v) NaCl. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons, strain THG-a14T was closely related to Phycicoccus aerophilus 5516T-20T (97.7 %), P. ginsenosidimutans BXN5-13T (97.6 %), ‘P. ochangensis’ L1b-b9 (97.4 %) and P. bigeumensis MSL-03 (97.2 %). The DNA G+C content of strain THG-a14T was 71.6 mol%. In DNA–DNA hybridization, the DNA–DNA relatedness between strain THG-a14T and its closest phylogenetically neighbours was below 50.0 %. Strain THG-a14T was characterized chemotaxonomically as having meso-diaminopimelic acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan. Strain THG-a14T contained glucose and ribose as whole-cell-wall sugars and menaquinone MK-8(H4) as the major isoprenoid quinone. Polar lipids in strain THG-a14T consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphoaminoglycolipids, unidentified phospholipids and unidentified lipids. The major fatty acids were iso-C16:
0, iso-C15:
0 and C17:
1ω8c. On the basis of our polyphasic taxonomy study, strain THG-a14T represents a novel species within the genus Phycicoccus, for which the name Phycicoccus
soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is THG-a14T ( = KACC 17892T = JCM 19837T).
Mutual predators: A descriptive cross-sectional study to identify prevalence and co-relation of Hepatitis C Virus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 coinfection
Authors: Ashraf Fouzia , Aiysha Dalaq , Tajamal Muhammad , Javed Shahzeb , Tahir Saamia , Ali Omar , Shaukat Mahmood
Published: April 2015

Background

Coinfection, bacterial or viral origin, in HIV infected individuals’ remains to be the only leading cause of deaths. This study was designed to analyze received plasma samples and plasma samples of referred patients for HIV testing to detect HIV and HCV mono and co-infection by real time PCR and finding co-relation of viral load of both viruses. Highlight and magnify the hidden coinfection, prior to seroconversion, of HIV type-1 and Hepatitis C Virus in received samples.

Methods

Analyses were based on randomly selected 78 patients’ stored plasmas. Plasma samples were tested for both, HIV-type 1 and HCV viral RNA by real time PCR. Statistical formulas were used to identify men and the inter quartile range of patients age. The data were analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics 21 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Study variables include gender, age and viral loads of HIV type-1 and HCV. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate any correlation in study variables.

Result

Prevalence of HCV was 10.3%, HIV-type 1 was 19.2% and their co-infection was 37.2 percent. Thirty three percent individuals had no infection of both viruses. Gender based distribution showed that 74.4% (58/78) sample population was male. The mono-infection and co-infection was higher in males (39.7%) and highest viral load too. There was a positive correlation (CI= 95%) between the two variables; HIV and HCV viral loads, as r = 0.736, n=29, p= 0.001.

Conclusion

Prevalence of HIV type-1 and HCV mono-infection and co-infection was higher among males as compared to females. Increased viral load was also evident among male co-infected individuals. This study proved the emergence of HCV coinfection in HIV infected individuals, and a need for on time diagnosis and treatment.
Rich structure landscapes in both natural and artificial RNAs revealed by mutate-and-map analysis
Authors: Cordero Pablo , Das Rhiju
Published: April 2015

Landscapes exhibiting multiple secondary structures arise in natural RNA molecules that modulate gene expression, protein synthesis, and viral infection, but it is unclear whether such rich landscapes are special features of biological sequences or whether they can arise without explicit selection. We report herein that high-throughput chemical experiments can isolate an RNA’s multiple alternative secondary structures as they are stabilized by systematic mutagenesis (mutate-and-map, M2) and that a computational algorithm, REEFFIT, enables unbiased reconstruction of these states’ structures and populations. In an in silico benchmark on noncoding RNAs with complex landscapes, M2-REEFFIT recovers 95% of RNA helices present with at least 25% population while maintaining a low false discovery rate (10%) and conservative error estimates. In experimental benchmarks, M2-REEFFIT recovers the structure landscapes of a 35-nt MedLoop hairpin, a 110-nt 16S rRNA fourway junction with an excited state, a 25-nt bistable hairpin, and a 112-nt three-state adenine riboswitch with its expression platform, molecules whose characterization previously required expert mutational analysis and specialized NMR or chemical mapping experiments. With this validation, M2-REEFFIT enabled tests of whether artificial RNA sequences might exhibit complex landscapes in the absence of explicit design. An artificial flavin mononucleotide riboswitch and a randomly generated RNA sequence are found to interconvert between three or more states, including structures for which there was no design, but that could be stabilized through mutations. These results highlight the likely pervasiveness of rich landscapes with multiple secondary structures in both natural and artificial RNAs and demonstrate an automated chemical/computational route for their empirical characterization.
Association of TSH level above 2.1 mlU/L and first trimester pregnancy loss in anti-TPO antibody negative women
Authors: Jahan Yisrat , Raheem Enayetur , Akteruzzaman Mohammad , Hussain M Anwar , Karim Rezaul , Jahan Rifat Ara
Published: April 2015

Although the exact level of TSH that is indicative of risk of pregnancy loss is not known, a number of studies have suggested a range of values for TSH level that are associated with first trimester pregnancy loss. We conducted an unmatched case-control study to test if a TSH level above 2.1 mlU/L is associated with first trimester pregnancy loss in anti-TPO antibody negative women. We found relatively higher number of women in the case group (18) whose TSH level was above 2.1 mlU/L compared to 7 women in control group. When considered patients in Group I (TSH ≤2.1 mlU/L), 45.74% had miscarriage while 54.26% did not have miscarriage within first trimester of pregnancy. Among the Group II patients (TSH >2.1 mlU/L), 78% had miscarriage and 28% did not have miscarriage. Noticeably there is a larger proportion of miscarriage among the women with TSH level above 2.1 mlU/L. The association between TSH level and first trimester pregnancy loss was statistically significant (p=.0196). From the multivariate analysis, odds ratio for TSH level (OR 4.0, 95% CI: 1.44-11.16) indicates that odds of having miscarriage whose TSH level is above 2.1 mlU/L is 4 times compared to those with TSH level below 2.1 mlU/L after adjusting for the effects of age and BMI. At a global level, the findings of this study provide evidence to the existing discussion on redefining the upper limit of TSH level that is related to first trimester pregnancy loss. At the local level, the results will have direct implication in facilitating management of future pregnancies particularly during the first trimester among Bangladeshi thyroid autoantibody negative women.
Extending the method of exponential basis functions to problems with singularities
Authors: Mossaiby Farshid , Bazrpach Majid , Shojaei Arman
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to aim at extending the method of exponential basis functions (EBF) to solve a class of problems with singularities.

Design/methodology/approach

– In the procedure of EBF a summation of EBF satisfying the governing differential equation with unknown constant coefficients is considered for the solution. These coefficients are determined by the satisfaction of prescribed boundary conditions through a collocation approach. The applied basis functions are available in the case of linear partial differential equations (PDEs) with constant coefficients. Moreover, the method contributes to yield highly accurate results with ultra convergence rates for problems with smooth solution. This leads EBF to offer many advantages for a variety of engineering problems. However, owing to the global and smooth nature of the bases, the performance of EBF deteriorates in problems with singularities. In the present study, some exponential-like influence functions are developed, and a few of them are added to original bases.

Findings

– The new bases are capable of forming the constitutive terms of the asymptotic solution near the singularity points and alleviate the aforementioned limitation. The appealing feature of this method is that all the advantages of EBF such as its simplicity and efficiency are completely preserved.

Research limitations/implications

– In its current form, EBF can only solve PDEs with constant coefficients.

Originality/value

– Application of the method to some benchmark problems demonstrates its robustness over some other boundary approximation methods. This research may pave the road for future investigations corresponding to a wide range of practical engineering problems.
On a mixed time integration procedure for non-linear structural dynamics
Authors: Arruda Mário Rui Tiago , Moldovan Dragos Ionut
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report the implementation of an alternative time integration procedure for the dynamic non-linear analysis of structures.

Design/methodology/approach

– The time integration algorithm discussed in this work corresponds to a spectral decomposition technique implemented in the time domain. As in the case of the modal decomposition in space, the numerical efficiency of the resulting integration scheme depends on the possibility of uncoupling the equations of motion. This is achieved by solving an eigenvalue problem in the time domain that only depends on the approximation basis being implemented. Complete sets of orthogonal Legendre polynomials are used to define the time approximation basis required by the model.

Findings

– A classical example with known analytical solution is presented to validate the model, in linear and non-linear analysis. The efficiency of the numerical technique is assessed. Comparisons are made with the classical Newmark method applied to the solution of both linear and non-linear dynamics. The mixed time integration technique presents some interesting features making very attractive its application to the analysis of non-linear dynamic systems. It corresponds in essence to a modal decomposition technique implemented in the time domain. As in the case of the modal decomposition in space, the numerical efficiency of the resulting integration scheme depends on the possibility of uncoupling the equations of motion.

Originality/value

– One of the main advantages of this technique is the possibility of considering relatively large time step increments which enhances the computational efficiency of the numerical procedure. Due to its characteristics, this method is well suited to parallel processing, one of the features that have to be conveniently explored in the near future.
Shaped charge simulation using SPH in cylindrical coordinates
Authors: Baêta-Neves Alessandro Piccaglia , Ferreira Arnaldo
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method in the jet formation process of a cylindrical-shaped charge (CSC). Different SPH formulations, suggested in other works, to other applications, are brought together in order to build a model that represents the phenomenon of detonation of a CSC in a more realistic way.

Design/methodology/approach

– A two-dimensional (2D) SPH formulation using cylindrical coordinates is adopted to simulate CSCs. The problem of fluid-solid interaction between the detonation wave of the explosive and the metal liner, numerically unstable due to the great difference in density between the phases, is resolved adopting the multi-phase strategy. A new proposition of artificial viscosity is incorporated in order to account the convergence effect of the liner particles toward the axis of symmetry of the charge. Two numerical examples are used to validate the formulation. In the first, the velocity and length differences between the jets formed from a CSC and a linear-shaped charge (LSC) using planar detonation on both are compared. In the second example, the effect of the conical cavity angle in the maximum jet velocity is evaluated, comparing the simulated results of CSC with four different cavity angles, with the experimental results.

Findings

– The results show that the 2D SPH method in cylindrical coordinates is able to simulate the detonation process of a CSC. Accordingly with the formulations used, the following conclusions can be made: the multi-phase strategy is able to capture the multi-material interface of the fluid-solid interaction between the detonation wave and the metal liner; and in the cylindrical geometry, a second artificial viscosity is necessary in order to include the convergence effect of the particles toward the axis of symmetry and obtaining more realistic results for the jet velocity.

Originality/value

– The applicability of the SPH method to simulate LSCs has been tested and verified in other works, but there are not references that address the application of the SPH method to simulate CSCs. CSCs are widely used in the defense industry and in the oil industries. In the oil industry, the perforating process may currently be the most common use of such a device. For this reason, it is believed that the proposed formulation in this paper is a good alternative to these specific applications.
Evans Wadongo: bridging the electricity divide in Kenya
Authors: Faheem Hadiya
Published: April 2015

Subject area

Social entrepreneurship, Business Strategy.

Study level/applicability

MBA/MS.

Case overview

The case discusses about Evans Wadongo, a Kenya-born engineer and social entrepreneur, and his efforts of lighting up the rural communities of Kenya through his MwangBora solar lanterns. Wadongo through his social enterprise Sustainable Development for All-Kenya (SDFA-Kenya) economically empowered women, educated children and empowered youth by creating employment opportunities for them. By 2012, SDFA-Kenya had successfully impacted the lives of 1,20,000 people, benefited more than 60 community groups and set up around 30 economic ventures.

Expected learning outcomes

Concept of social entrepreneurship, business model innovation, product innovation, bottom of the pyramid as a market, sustainable development, triple bottom line.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Managing airborne relief during international disasters
Authors: Morales Michael , Sandlin Doral Edward
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need for an entity to manage airborne relief when a nation’s civil aviation authorities are overwhelmed or incapacitated due to a major rapid-onset disaster.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper examines why relief airflow management was so vital during the 2010 Haiti earthquake and how this management was accomplished. The author uses a case study methodology that includes interviews with logistics and aviation experts within the humanitarian and military communities involved in the Haiti relief effort.

Findings

– The research highlighted an airflow management capability gap within the humanitarian community. The author sets forth several possible alternatives for resolving this gap.

Research limitations/implications

– The research is a single case study of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. While performing a multiple case study may have provided more widely applicable conclusions, this case study provides in-depth information applicable to the worst of disasters, where an airflow management capability is most likely to be needed.

Practical implications

– While host nation civil aviation authorities retain responsibility for airspace/airflow management after a disaster, these can oft be overwhelmed by the volume of airborne relief flooding the area. Without an entity to assist the affected nation with airflow management, smooth logistical flow of relief goods to those in need can be catastrophically impeded.

Originality/value

– Little research exists on disaster relief airflow management or the legitimate need for this capability to be developed within the humanitarian community.
Of fish and goddesses: using photo-elicitation with sex workers
Authors: Smith Elizabeth
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– Art-based research is about so much more than producing interesting, confronting, or pretty visuals: it is about the stories beneath, attached to, and elicited through the image. It is also about the experience of thinking about, capturing, and producing that visual. The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of participant-driven photo-elicitation interviews with six women working in sex work in Victoria, Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author does this both through the women’s narratives and through a researcher autoethnography. From her current position, the author (re)writes her experiences of undertaking this research in 2009, in order to highlight the uncertainty and confusion that can accompany visual research methods.

Findings

– The multiple places that photos can take participants, researchers, and readers is explored including empathy and understandings of how a single phenomenon (such as sex work) intersects with all other aspects of people’s lives and cannot be explained through theory that does not take account of intersectionality.

Originality/value

– This paper is a unique exploration of two methods, one layered over the other. It contributes to learnings obtained through participant-driven photo-elicitation while also treating the researcher’s experience of using this interview technique as data as well.
In danger of writing
Authors: Mackinlay Elizabeth
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility of doing more with writing and autoethnography as ethical, response-able and decolonizing practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper is written in a playful, performative and poetic way and engages with the writings and ideas of Helene Cixous and Virginia Woolf as a conversation between them and the author.

Findings

– This paper suggests that an autoethnographic writing practice which is at once affective, critical and performative, holds the possibilities to engage in decoloniality.

Originality/value

– Engagement with the past and present legacy of colonial practice in education and ethnography is crucial if the author want to move beyond social justice and decoloniality as metaphor. The writing practice put forward is new and challenging in its push to do this.
Reappraising Winnicott's The Piggle: A Critical Commentary
Authors: Reeves Christopher
Published: April 2015

The Piggle is one of only two substantial psychoanalytic case histories to be published under Winnicott's name. Winnicott felt that the case and the associated notes and reflections provided important material for discussion. Claire Winnicott – his wife and literary executor – wanted to bring these to an audience, and did so by overseeing the posthumous publication of the work in 1977. The nature and purpose of the work's message is explored in an extended paper published in two parts, in this and the next issue of the Journal. In Part I, published here, the author discusses the work in its historical context alongside other contemporary child analyses (notably Klein's Narrative of a Child Analysis and McDougall's Dialogue with Sammy) and its ambivalent reception by its contemporary audience. The author identifies theoretical issues raised by the material; the use of commotional and conjunctional interpretations; the use of time, and analysis on demand; the place of play in therapy and the role of the parents. He reviews the dialogue between analyst and child as set out in the text, identifying emerging themes. He attempts to understand what the child, Gabrielle, was trying to communicate. He then reviews Winnicott's interpretation of those sessions, identifying areas in which the interpretations may be at odds with what the child was experiencing. At the end the author encourages the reader to re‐read Winnicott's original text before reading the discussion and critical evaluation that forms the basis of the second part of the paper, ‘Discussion and Critique’.
Health, Maintenance, and Recovery of Soft Tissues around Implants
Authors: Wang Yulan , Zhang Yufeng , Miron Richard J.
Published: April 2015

Background

The health of peri‐implant soft tissues is one of the most important aspects of osseointegration necessary for the long‐term survival of dental implants.

Purpose

To review the process of soft tissue healing around osseointegrated implants and discuss the maintenance requirements as well as the possible short‐comings of peri‐implant soft tissue integration.

Materials and Methods

Literature search on the process involved in osseointegration, soft tissue healing and currently available treatment modalities was performed and a brief description of each process was provided.

Results

The peri‐implant interface has been shown to be less effective than natural teeth in resisting bacterial invasion because gingival fiber alignment and reduced vascular supply make it more vulnerable to subsequent peri‐implant disease and future bone loss around implants. And we summarized common procedures which have been shown to be effective in preventing peri‐implantitis disease progression as well as clinical techniques utilized to regenerate soft tissues with bone loss in advanced cases of peri‐implantitis.

Conclusion

Due to the difference between peri‐implant interface and natural teeth, clinicians and patients should pay more attention in the maintenance and recovery of soft tissues around implants.
Young children with a positive reputation to maintain are less likely to cheat
Authors: Fu Genyue , Heyman Gail D. , Qian Miao , Guo Tengfei , Lee Kang
Published: April 2015

The present study examined whether having a positive reputation to maintain makes young children less likely to cheat. Cheating was assessed through a temptation resistance paradigm in which participants were instructed not to cheat in a guessing game. Across three studies (total N = 361), preschool‐aged participants were randomly assigned to either a reputation condition, in which an experimenter told them that she had learned of their positive reputation from classmates, or to a control condition in which they received no such information. By age 5, children in the reputation condition cheated less often than those in the control condition even though nobody was watching and choosing not to cheat conflicted with their personal interest. These findings are the first to show that informing children that they have a positive reputation to maintain can influence their moral behavior.
Geographic Information Systems for Transportation in the 21st Century
Authors: Miller Harvey J. , Shaw Shih‐Lung
Published: April 2015

Geographic Information Systems for Transportation: Principles and Applications (Miller and Shaw) remains the only major authored text on the interdisciplinary field of Geographic Information Systems for Transportation (GIS‐T). However, Miller and Shaw () is a product of the 20th century, and the fields of GIS, transportation and GIS‐T have changed dramatically in the early 21st century. We are witnessing a revolution in transportation and urban sciences, fueled by a stunning advancement in capabilities to capture, store and process data, as well as communicate information and knowledge derived from these data. This paper is a review of GIS‐T in the 20th and 21st centuries. Using Miller and Shaw () as a touchstone, we discuss elements of GIS‐T that have stood the test of time as well as new technologies and ideas that an updated GIS‐T canon should include.
Reduction‐Induced Inward Diffusion and Crystal Growth on the Surfaces of Iron‐Bearing Silicate Glasses
Authors: Liu Shujiang , Tao Haizheng , Zhang Yanfei , Yue Yuanzheng
Published: April 2015

We investigate the sodium inward diffusion (i.e., sodium diffusion from surface toward interior) in iron containing alkaline‐earth silicate glasses under reducing conditions around Tg and the induced surface crystallization. The surface crystallization is caused by formation of a silicate‐gel layer first and then the growth of silica crystals on the glass surface. The type of alkaline‐earth cations has a strong impact on both the glass transition and the surface crystallization. In the Mg‐containing glass, a quartz layer forms on the glass surface. This could be attributed to the fact that Mg2+ ions have stronger bonds to oxygen and lower coordination number (4–5) than Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+ ions. In contrast, a cristobalite layer forms in Ca‐, Sr‐, and Ba‐containing glasses.
Periodontal regeneration employing gingival margin‐derived stem/progenitor cells in conjunction with IL‐1ra‐hydrogel synthetic extracellular matrix
Authors: Fawzy El‐Sayed Karim M. , Mekhemar Mohamed K. , Beck‐Broichsitter Benedicta E. , Bähr Telse , Hegab Marwa , Receveur Jan , Heneweer Carola , Becker Stephan T. , Wiltfang Joerg , Dörfer Christof E.
Published: April 2015

Aim

This study investigated the periodontal regenerative potential of gingival margin‐derived stem/progenitor cells (G‐MSCs) in conjunction with IL‐1ra‐releasing hyaluronic acid synthetic extracellular matrix (HA‐sECM).

Materials and Methods

Periodontal defects were induced at four sites in eight miniature pigs in the premolar/molar area (−4 weeks). Autologus G‐MSCs were isolated from the free gingival margin and magnetically sorted, using anti‐STRO‐1 antibodies. Colony formation and multilineage differentiation potential were tested. The G‐MSCs were expanded and incorporated into IL‐1ra‐loaded/unloaded HA‐sECM. Within every miniature pig, four periodontal defects were randomly treated with IL‐1ra/G‐MSCs/HA‐sECM (test group), G‐MSCs/HA‐sECM (positive‐control), scaling and root planing (SRP; negative control‐1) or left untreated (no‐treatment group; negative control 2). Differences in clinical attachment level (ΔCAL), probing depth (ΔPD), gingival recession (ΔGR), radiographic defect volume (ΔRDV), and changes in bleeding on probing (BOP) between baseline and 16 weeks post‐transplantation, as well as periodontal attachment level (PAL), junctional epithelium length (JE), connective tissue adhesion (CTA), cementum regeneration (CR) and bone regeneration (BR) at 16 weeks post‐transplantation were evaluated.

Results

Isolated G‐MSCs showed stem/progenitor cell characteristics. IL‐1ra loaded and unloaded G‐MSCs/HA‐sECM showed higher ΔCAL, ΔPD, ΔGR, PAL, CR and BR as well as a lower JE compared to their negative controls and improved BOP.

Conclusion

G‐MSCs in conjunction with IL‐1ra‐loaded/unloaded HA‐sECM show a significant periodontal regenerative potential.
Subject‐driven titration of biphasic insulin aspart 30 twice daily is non‐inferior to investigator‐driven titration in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with premixed human insulin: A randomized, open‐label, parallel‐group, multicenter trial
Authors: Yang Wenying , Zhu Lvyun , Meng Bangzhu , Liu Yu , Wang Wenhui , Ye Shandong , Sun Li , Miao Heng , Guo Lian , Wang Zhanjian , Lv Xiaofeng , Li Quanmin , Ji Qiuhe , Zhao Weigang , Yang Gangyi
Published: April 2015

Aims/Introduction

The present study was to compare the efficacy and safety of subject‐driven and investigator‐driven titration of biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30) twice daily (BID).

Materials and Methods

In this 20‐week, randomized, open‐label, two‐group parallel, multicenter trial, Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by premixed/self‐mixed human insulin were randomized 1:1 to subject‐driven or investigator‐driven titration of BIAsp 30 BID, in combination with metformin and/or α‐glucosidase inhibitors. Dose adjustment was decided by patients in the subject‐driven group after training, and by investigators in the investigator‐driven group.

Results

Eligible adults (n = 344) were randomized in the study. The estimated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reduction was 14.5 mmol/mol (1.33%) in the subject‐driven group and 14.3 mmol/mol (1.31%) in the investigator‐driven group. Non‐inferiority of subject‐titration vs investigator‐titration in reducing HbA1c was confirmed, with estimated treatment difference −0.26 mmol/mol (95% confidence interval −2.05, 1.53) (–0.02%, 95% confidence interval –0.19, 0.14). Fasting plasma glucose, postprandial glucose increment and self‐measured plasma glucose were improved in both groups without statistically significant differences. One severe hypoglycemic event was experienced by one subject in each group. A similar rate of nocturnal hypoglycemia (events/patient‐year) was reported in the subject‐driven (1.10) and investigator‐driven (1.32) groups. There were 64.5 and 58.1% patients achieving HbA1c <53.0 mmol/mol (7.0%), and 51.2 and 45.9% patients achieving the HbA1c target without confirmed hypoglycemia throughout the trial in the subject‐driven and investigator‐driven groups, respectively.

Conclusions

Subject‐titration of BIAsp 30 BID was as efficacious and well‐tolerated as investigator‐titration. The present study supported patients to self‐titrate BIAsp 30 BID under physicians’ supervision.
Declining newborn intramuscular vitamin K prophylaxis predicts subsequent immunisation refusal: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Bernhardt Helen , Barker David , Reith David M , Broadbent Roland S , Jackson Pamela M , Wheeler Benjamin J
Published: April 2015

Aim

Low rates of childhood immunisation are linked to outbreaks of infectious disease. Identifying and addressing barriers to immunisation may lead to improved immunisation rates. Immunisation and newborn vitamin K prophylaxis have many similarities. We aimed to investigate whether parents who decline newborn vitamin K are also more likely to decline subsequent childhood immunisations.

Methods

We undertook a retrospective cohort study, examining the relationship between vitamin K administration and immunisation uptake by parents of babies born over a 2‐year period (January 2010–December 2011) in Dunedin, New Zealand (NZ). Both written and electronic data from a single birthing unit and the NZ National Immunisation Register (NIR) were analysed to ascertain the relationship between declining newborn vitamin K prophylaxis and subsequent immunisation uptake.

Results

Records for 3575 babies were examined. Ninety‐two per cent of infants received intramuscular, and 5% received oral vitamin K. An increased risk ratio for non‐immunisation of 14.1 (95% confidence interval 7.8–25.9) for babies whose parents declined vitamin K was identified. Receiving oral vitamin K was also associated with subsequent non‐immunisation, with a risk ratio of 3.5 (95% confidence interval 1.7–7.3).

Conclusions

Parents who decline newborn vitamin K are more likely to decline immunisation for their child. These parents, as well as those that elect for oral vitamin K, are a small but easily identifiable group to whom additional education about the benefits of immunisation could be offered. This is especially pertinent at a time when there is a resurgence of immunisation preventable diseases.
The Relationship Between Metabolic Syndrome, Its Components, and Erectile Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
Authors: Besiroglu Huseyin , Otunctemur Alper , Ozbek Emin
Published: April 2015

Introduction

The studies examining the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS), its components, and erectile dysfunction (ED) should be reevaluated to arrive at comprehensive results in this field.

Aim

Our aim was to gather individual studies in order to achieve a more reliable conclusion regarding the relationship between MetS, its components, and ED.

Methods

Three investigators searched the Pubmed-Medline and Embase databases using the key words “metabolic syndrome” and “erectile dysfunction.” The individual studies were evaluated for selection of suitable studies.

Main Outcome Measures

Eight studies that met all inclusion criteria were chosen, and a pooled analysis of odds ratio (ORs) between MetS and ED was calculated. The components of MetS to ED were also estimated.

Results

Eight observational studies with a total of 12,067 participants were examined. The overall analysis revealed a 2.6-fold increase in patients with MetS having ED (2.67[1.79–3.96]; P < 0.0001). All individual components of MetS except high-density lipoprotein level were also found to correlate with an increased prevalence of ED. Of those, fasting blood sugar was detected highest rate for ED with OR of 2.07 ([1.49–2.87]; P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Metabolic syndrome is associated with a high risk rate of ED, and patients with MetS should be informed about this association and encouraged to make lifestyle modifications to improve their general health and to limit cardiovascular risk as well as ED prevalence. However, manuscripts included in meta-analysis were observational studies that prohibits ascertainment of temporal associations and necessitates further prospective studies.
Hepatitis C seroconversions in HIV infection across Europe: which regions and patient groups are affected?
Authors: Boesecke Christoph , Grint Daniel , Soriano Vincent , Lundgren Jens D. , d'Arminio Monforte Antonella , Mitsura Victor M. , Chentsova Nelly , Hadziosmanovic Vesnadarjan , Kirk Ole , Mocroft Amanda , Peters Lars , Rockstroh Jürgen K. ,   EuroSIDA in EuroCoord
Published: April 2015

Background & Aims

In the last decade, several outbreaks of sexually acquired acute hepatitis C (HCV) infection have been described in HIV‐positive men who have sex with men (MSM). The aims of this study were to determine whether there has been an increase in the number of acute HCV infections in different parts of Europe.

Methods

HCV seroconversion was defined as an HCV‐antibody test change from negative to positive within the observation period in EuroSIDA. Binomial regression was performed to determine factors associated with being tested for HCV and HCV seroconversion.

Results

A total of 223 HCV seroconversions were observed from 16 188 tests [1.38% (95%CI 1.20–1.56)] among 5736 patients between 2002 and 2013. Overall the odds of acquiring HCV infection increased by 4% per year (OR 1.04 [95%CI 0.99–1.09]; P = 0.10). Overall 63.2% (141/223) of all seroconversions were seen among MSM. Similar patterns were observed across all European regions (P = 0.69, test for interaction) and HIV transmission risks groups (P = 0.69, test for interaction). In multivariate analysis, North, South and East Europe had higher odds of HCV seroconversion compared with Western Europe [OR 1.90 (1.28–2.81), 1.55 (0.99–2.45) and 1.86 (1.21–2.84); P = 0.0014, P = 0.058 and P = 0.0044 respectively].

Conclusions

Within EuroSIDA a significant increase in HCV seroconversions can be observed after accounting for increased levels of testing for HCV in recent years. This highlights the need for increased HCV prevention efforts among HIV‐positive persons in Europe.
The Long‐Term Outcomes of the Tension‐free Vaginal Tape Procedure for Treatment of Female Stress Urinary Incontinence: Data from Minimum 13 Years of Follow‐Up
Authors: SONG Phil Hyun , KWON Dae Hyeon , KO Young Hwii , JUNG Hee Chang
Published: April 2015

Objectives

To evaluate the long‐term outcomes from the tension‐free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure, we investigated the data from a minimum 13‐year follow‐up and predictive risk factors affecting efficacy for treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Methods

A total of 206 (mean age, 59.2 ± 8.8 years) women who underwent the TVT procedure for SUI were selected and followed up for at least 13 years (mean, 162.4 months; range, 156–174) after TVT procedure. We analyzed the long‐term results and the predictive parameters for success rates and patients' satisfaction.

Results

At 13 years after surgery, the overall cure rate was 82.5%, with a satisfaction rate of 67.5%. Univariable analysis demonstrated an association of symptom grade of SUI with cure rates, while the presence of frequency, urgency, and urge incontinence showed an association with patients' satisfaction. However, in multivariable logistic regression model, none of those variables were identified as an independent risk factor related to the cure and satisfaction rate. Twenty one patients (10.2%) had postoperative complications at 1‐year follow‐up after surgery. However, at 13 years follow‐up after surgery, only three patients (1.5%) had postoperative complications, including mesh exposure in one patient and de novo urgency in two patients.

Conclusion

Our long‐term data, which illustrate the absence of long‐term adverse events secondary to TVT procedure and the high success rate both in subjective and objective goals regardless of any independent predictive factors, suggest the TVT procedure as a recommendable method for the management of female SUI.
Cholinergic interneurons in the dorsal and ventral striatum: anatomical and functional considerations in normal and diseased conditions
Authors: Gonzales Kalynda K. , Smith Yoland
Published: April 2015

Striatal cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) are central for the processing and reinforcement of reward‐related behaviors that are negatively affected in states of altered dopamine transmission, such as in Parkinson's disease or drug addiction. Nevertheless, the development of therapeutic interventions directed at ChIs has been hampered by our limited knowledge of the diverse anatomical and functional characteristics of these neurons in the dorsal and ventral striatum, combined with the lack of pharmacological tools to modulate specific cholinergic receptor subtypes. This review highlights some of the key morphological, synaptic, and functional differences between ChIs of different striatal regions and across species. It also provides an overview of our current knowledge of the cellular localization and function of cholinergic receptor subtypes. The future use of high‐resolution anatomical and functional tools to study the synaptic microcircuitry of brain networks, along with the development of specific cholinergic receptor drugs, should help further elucidate the role of striatal ChIs and permit efficient targeting of cholinergic systems in various brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease and addiction.
Novel algorithm to identify and differentiate specific digital signature of breath sound in patients with diffuse parenchymal lung disease
Authors: Bhattacharyya Parthasarathi , Mondal Ashok , Dey Rana , Saha Dipanjan , Saha Goutam
Published: April 2015

Background and objective

Auscultation is an important part of the clinical examination of different lung diseases. Objective analysis of lung sounds based on underlying characteristics and its subsequent automatic interpretations may help a clinical practice.

Methods

We collected the breath sounds from 8 normal subjects and 20 diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD) patients using a newly developed instrument and then filtered off the heart sounds using a novel technology. The collected sounds were thereafter analysed digitally on several characteristics as dynamical complexity, texture information and regularity index to find and define their unique digital signatures for differentiating normality and abnormality. For convenience of testing, these characteristic signatures of normal and DPLD lung sounds were transformed into coloured visual representations. The predictive power of these images has been validated by six independent observers that include three physicians.

Results

The proposed method gives a classification accuracy of 100% for composite features for both the normal as well as lung sound signals from DPLD patients. When tested by independent observers on the visually transformed images, the positive predictive value to diagnose the normality and DPLD remained 100%.

Conclusions

The lung sounds from the normal and DPLD subjects could be differentiated and expressed according to their digital signatures. On visual transformation to coloured images, they retain 100% predictive power. This technique may assist physicians to diagnose DPLD from visual images bearing the digital signature of the condition.
Residual Risk Accounting: A Pilot Study
Authors: Farrow Scott
Published: April 2015

Risks such as flooding, oil spills, deaths, and unemployment continue despite numerous policies to prevent and mitigate their effects. Such policies are typically analyzed in their natural units such as jobs making comparison difficult across categories. An approach akin to a satellite national income and product account (NIPA) allows direct comparison of the relative importance and variability of these residual risks. Results are presented for an unusual geographic aggregate associated with coasts. Although this framing adds difficulties for integration into national accounts, precedents exist. The findings synthesize elements that would otherwise be separated or not reported in standard NIPA accounts. Some elements are found to be stable and large, while other elements exhibit high variability and a high level of damages potentially informing individual and policy choices. The pilot case study also suggests the value of using a more standard, national geographic area.
Understanding Policy Reform in Colorado's Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Standards
Authors: Tunstall Ashley M. , Weible Christopher M. , Tomsich Elizabeth A. , Gover Angela R.
Published: April 2015

This study examines the perceived conditions leading to Colorado adopting revised Standards for treating domestic violence offenders from the perspective of Kingdon's multiple streams theory. A within‐case analysis of ten semi‐structured interviews explores the Domestic Violence Offender Management Board in Colorado's process for revising Colorado's 2001 Treatment Standards. Findings suggest a benign political stream, supported by technically feasible and value‐accepted policy ideas, feedback and indicators of the problem, promoted a favourable setting for change. At least two policy entrepreneurs championed the decision‐making process. Agenda setting and policy formulation depended on three elements: feedback from existing programmes, indicators of continued difficulty in effectively treating offenders, and the existence of a suitable policy alternative. This study contributes a rare application of multiple streams theory to a criminal justice context in a sub‐national government. Future research should explore whether the presence of a benign political stream influences the development and revision of domestic violence policy in other policy environments.
Logic, Reasoning and Revision
Authors: Allo Patrick
Published: April 2015

The traditional connection between logic and reasoning has been under pressure ever since Gilbert Harman attacked the received view that logic yields norms for what we should believe. In this article I first place Harman's challenge in the broader context of the dialectic between logical revisionists like Bob Meyer and sceptics about the role of logic in reasoning like Harman. I then develop a formal model based on contemporary epistemic and doxastic logic in which the relation between logic and norms for belief can be captured.
Screening of patients with Diabetes Mellitus for Tuberculosis in Community Health Settings in China
Authors: Lin Yan , Innes Anh , Xu Lin , Li Ling , Chen Jinou , Hou Jinglong , Mi Fengling , Kang Wanli , Harries Anthony D.
Published: April 2015

Objective

To assess the feasibility and results of screening of patients with DM for TB in routine community health services in China.

Method

Agreement on how to screen patients with DM for TB and monitor and record the results was obtained at a stakeholders meeting. Subsequent training was carried out for staff at 10 community health centres, with activities implemented from June 2013 to April 2014. Patients with DM were screened for TB at each clinical visit using a symptom‐based enquiry, and those positive to any symptom were referred to the TB clinic for TB investigation.

Results

A total of 2942 patients with DM visited these ten clinics. All patients received at least one screening for TB. Two patients were identified as already known to have TB. In total, 278 (9.5% of those screened) who had positive TB symptoms were referred for TB investigations and 209 arrived at the TB centre or underwent a chest radiograph for TB investigation. One patient (0.5% of those investigated) was newly diagnosed with active TB and was started on anti‐TB treatment. The TB case notification rate of those screened was 102/100 000.

Conclusion

This pilot project shows it is feasible to carry out TB screening among patients with DM in community settings, but further work is needed to better characterise patients with DM at higher risk of TB. This may require a more targeted approach focused on high‐risk groups such as those with untreated DM or poorly controlled hyperglycaemia.