bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nadezhda Lamanova: Couturier to the Nobility, Tailor to the Masses
Authors: Bartlett Djurdja
Published: November 2016

Nadezhda Lamanova was the only well-established Russian pre-revolutionary fashion designer who declared her loyalty to the new regime following the 1917 Bolshevik insurrection. The juxtaposition of the extraordinary glamour of her pre-1917 designs with her dedicated post-revolutionary service to the Bolsheviks has contributed to Lamanova’s mythical status in Russia. This paper contextualizes Lamanova’s designs within the pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary modernist arts and applied arts movements, and shows that Lamanova’s work and her personal life were embedded in the social, cultural, and artistic avant-garde of her times. In turn, the paper forges a link between Lamanova’s pre-and-post-1917 careers, periods that, previously, had been strictly delineated.
The Russian Orthodox Church in Search of the Cultural Canon
Authors: Suslov Mikhail
Published: November 2016

This paper documents and analyzes the building blocks of the Orthodox cultural canon and cultural policy. The author argues that in spite of the Church’s attempts to renegotiate its status in (post-) secular society, the Orthodox cultural products have restricted access to the nation-wide market, partially due to the lack of theoretical reflection on culture, and partially because of the Church’s unsettled accounts with Russian history of the 20th century. This produces an effect of increased reliance on the state’s restrictive measures in the cultural sphere.
Description of two new species of Coeliccia from Vietnam (Odonata: Platycnemididae)
Authors: PHAN QUOC TOAN , KOMPIER TOM
Published: November 2016

Coeliccia hayashii sp. nov. (holotype male, from Doi waterfall, KaNat, K’Bang district, Gia Lai Province, central Vietnam, deposited in VNMN) and Coeliccia mattii sp. nov. (holotype male and female allotype, from Doi Cao, Loc Tan, Bao Lam district, Lam Dong Province, southern Vietnam, deposited in VNMN) are described. The males of both species are characterized by extensive pruinosity on the thorax.
Niltavinae, a new taxon of Old World flycatchers (Aves: Muscicapidae)
Authors: SANGSTER GEORGE , ALSTRÖM PER , FORSMARK EMMA , OLSSON URBAN
Published: November 2016

The relationships among Old World chats and flycatchers (Muscicapidae) have recently been clarified in two independent molecular phylogenetic studies (Sangster et al. 2010, Zuccon & Ericson 2010). Both studies recovered a well-supported clade of predominantly blue flycatchers of the genera Niltava, Cyornis, Eumyias and Cyanoptila, some species traditionally included in the genus Rhinomyias and one species traditionally included in Ficedula (F. monileger). The family-group name Niltavinae Sangster, Alström, Forsmark & Olsson, 2010, was introduced for this clade (Sangster et al. 2010). Unfortunately, our description of the new taxon Niltavinae did not include a diagnosis (sensu ICZN article 13.1.1) and thus inadvertently made this name unavailable for nomenclatural purposes (Zuccon 2011). The supplementary data associated with our original paper included evidence by which the taxon Niltavinae can be diagnosed: a 1 base pair (bp) deletion in the ornithine decarboxylase gene, as shown in Figure S1 in the online version (doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008), but this was not mentioned in the printed version of our paper. Given that Niltavinae Sangster, Alström, Forsmark & Olsson, 2010 represents a nomen nudum, and the clade for which this name was intended thus remains unnamed, we here provide the following description:
Performance Assessment of a Plate Beam Splitter for Deep-Ultraviolet Raman Measurements with a Spatial Heterodyne Raman Spectrometer
Authors: Lamsal Nirmal , Angel S. Michael
Published: November 2016

In earlier works, we demonstrated a high-resolution spatial heterodyne Raman spectrometer (SHRS) for deep-ultraviolet (UV) Raman measurements, and showed its ability to measure UV light-sensitive compounds using a large laser spot size. We recently modified the SHRS by replacing the cube beam splitter (BS) with a custom plate beam splitter with higher light transmission, an optimized reflectance/transmission ratio, higher surface flatness, and better refractive index homogeneity than the cube beam splitter. Ultraviolet Raman measurements were performed using a SHRS modified to use the plate beam splitter and a matching compensator plate and compared to the previously described cube beam splitter setup. Raman spectra obtained using the modified SHRS exhibit much higher signals and signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and show fewer spectral artifacts. In this paper, we discuss the plate beam splitter SHRS design features, the advantages over previous designs, and discuss some general SHRS issues such as spectral bandwidth, S/N ratio characteristics, and optical efficiency.
Smart growth characteristics and the spatial pattern of multifamily housing in US metropolitan areas
Authors: McMillan Andrew , Lee Sugie
Published: November 2016

This paper examines the relationship between smart growth policies and other social and physical characteristics and the supply of multifamily housing units in 202 core-based metropolitan statistical areas (CBSAs) in the USA. Data for this study were gathered from the GeoLytics Neighborhood Change Database for the 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 US Census. The smart growth characteristics of each CBSA are determined by a smart growth index and a catalogue of urban containment rankings, while other social and physical characteristics are obtained from the US Census. This allows us to examine potential differences in development patterns between CBSAs with varying levels of sprawl and growth containment policies. Two regression models are used to determine statistically significant relationships between multifamily development patterns and growth management policies, as well as other social and physical characteristics. The results indicate that high levels of sprawl are associated with relatively fewer multifamily units, especially in suburban areas. In addition, several population demographics that may potentially benefit from multifamily units, such as senior citizens, the population in poverty and smaller households, are less likely to live in areas with higher rates of multifamily units. These findings indicate that planners and policymakers should consider the needs of more diverse communities when planning for housing, especially in suburban areas, where housing diversity is constricted.
Incentive or Disincentive? A Socioemotional Wealth Explanation of New Industry Entry in Family Business Groups
Authors: Gu Qian , Lu Jane Wenzhen , Chung Chi-Nien
Published: November 2016

We examine how controlling owners’ family considerations affect their new industry entry decisions in family business groups in emerging economies. Drawing on the socioemotional wealth (SEW) approach, we conceive the new industry entry decision as controlling owners’ response to pursue various family interests. In particular, we distinguish two aspects of SEW, focused SEW and broad SEW, and theorize their opposing effects on the new industry entry decision. We propose that controlling owners’ likelihood to pursue new industry entry is negatively influenced by the exercise of family influence (a representative of the focused SEW) but is positively associated with the succession of family dynasty (a typical form of the broad SEW). Furthermore, we argue that the effects of SEW preservation on such decisions are contingent on controlling owners’ generation, with the effects to be stronger when the founder generation is in control. We test these hypotheses with a sample of Taiwanese family business groups and find general support for our predictions.
Tympanoplasty Outcomes for Blast‐Induced Perforations from Iraq and Afghanistan: 2007‐2012
Authors: Song Sungjin A. , Sridhara Shankar K. , Littlefield Philip D.
Published: November 2016

Objective

To describe characteristics of blast‐induced tympanic membrane perforations that do not spontaneously heal, evaluate the outcomes of tympanoplasty techniques, and understand the factors associated with surgical success.

Setting

Two tertiary military health care institutions.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Subjects and Methods

This study reviewed the practice of 1 military neurotologist and included all tympanoplasties for combat blast‐induced perforations from 2007 to 2012, which comprised a total of 55 patients. Surgical outcomes and associated perioperative factors were examined to include size, location, bilateral involvement, timing of surgery, and surgical technique.

Results

Fifty‐five patients (68 ears) met inclusion criteria. Thirty‐six (53%) were total or near‐total perforations, and 51% of patients had bilateral perforations. The overall success rate was 77%. It was 82% for lateral grafts and 70% for medial grafts, but the difference between these was not statistically significant. Age was a significant factor, with a success rate of 56% for ages 25 to 34 years, compared with 90% for 20 to 24 and >34 years. Patients who had bilateral sequential tympanoplasties also had lower success rates than those who had only unilateral surgery (62% vs 87%, P =. 002). Ossicular disruptions were found in 5 ears, and cholesteatoma was discovered in 8. Surgical timing did not predict success, as the average time until repair was 153 days in successful cases and 151 days in failures. The mean conductive hearing improvement was 13.6 dB, and there were no major complications.

Conclusion

Tympanoplasty can be challenging in this population. Age and bilateral surgery were the only independent variables that showed significance.
Book Review: Banu Subramaniam (2014), Ghost Stories for Darwin: The Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity
Authors: Koditschek Theodore
Published: November 2016

Banu Subramaniam (2014), Ghost Stories for Darwin: The Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, xiv + 280 pp., US$ 95, (Cloth), ISBN: 978 0 252 09 6595.
The successful concurrent use of two long-acting depot antipsychotics in a patient with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and history of serious violence: a case report
Authors: Lenardon Anna , Ahmed Mona , Harfield Katie-Lynn , Das Mrigendra
Published: November 2016

Objective:

This case report describes a forensic psychiatric patient presenting with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and serious interpersonal violence complicated by poor adherence to oral medication who was treated successfully with two concurrent long-acting depot antipsychotics.

Method:

Treatment response was measured for a 6-month period at 6-weekly intervals, post-initiation using the Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia with Excited Component score (PANSS-EC), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI).

Results:

At 6 months, the presentation was found to have markedly improved. The overall PANSS-EC score was reduced by 43.9%, with reductions in Positive Symptom and Excited Component subscales most evident. BPRS Score was reduced from 81 at baseline to 47 at 18 weeks. There was improvement in the patient’s level of cooperativeness, aggression and engagement in ward therapeutic activities.

Conclusion:

Although concurrent use of two depot antipsychotics requires further exploration, there is potential benefit for patient groups presenting with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and poor compliance. Due to risk of serious adverse effects which are difficult to reverse with long-acting formulations, we recommend this option be reserved for this complex patient population and exclusively in care settings allowing close physical health monitoring.
Relationship Between Plasma Levels of Soluble CD40 Ligand and the Presence and Severity of Isolated Coronary Artery Ectasia
Authors: Ozde Cem , Korkmaz Ahmet , Kundi Harun , Oflar Ersan , Ungan Ismail , Xankisi Vusal , Nurlu Nilhan
Published: November 2016

Objective:

We aimed to investigate whether soluble CD40 ligand (CD40L) levels are higher in patients with isolated coronary artery ectasia (CAE) compared to patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries and those with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Materials and Methods:

In all, 55 patients with isolated CAE without stenosis, 55 with stable CAD, and 55 control participants with angiographically normal coronary arteries were included. The CAE severity was determined according to the Markis classification. Plasma levels of soluble CD40 ligand were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results:

The baseline characteristics of the 3 groups were similar. Plasma levels of soluble CD40 ligand were significantly higher in patients with CAE and CAD than in controls (2.6 ± 3.1 ng/mL and 2.0 ± 3.1 ng/mL vs 1.8 ± 2.1 ng/mL, P = .004). No difference was found between the CAE and CAD groups. Soluble CD40 ligand level was significantly higher in the type 1 Markis subgroup than that in the type 3 or type 4 subgroups ( P = .01). A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that soluble CD40 ligand level >1.2 ng/mL identified patients with isolated CAE.

Conclusion:

Significantly higher levels of soluble CD40 ligand were detected in patients with CAE than that in control participants with normal coronary arteries, suggesting that soluble CD40 ligand may be involved in the pathogenesis of CAE. The CD40–CD40 ligand system likely plays a role in the pathogenesis of CAE.
Using Predicted Therapy Visits in the Medicare Home Health Prospective Payment System
Authors: Fout Betty , Plotzke Michael , Christian Thomas
Published: November 2016

A criticism of Medicare’s home health prospective payment system is its partial reliance on cost-based reimbursement of therapy services provided by home health agencies (HHAs) to Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries, potentially overincentivizing the provision of therapy services. Using Medicare FFS home health claims and assessment data, we estimated a model to predict therapy use as a proxy for clinical need and replace actual therapy use with the prediction in the home health payment system. We estimated a $1.178 billion (95% confidence interval, $1.171-$1.184) decrease in home health payments relative to levels under the current system. The majority of the decrease was due to the model predicting fewer high therapy episodes than actually occurred. It may therefore be more appropriate to predict both therapy and nontherapy use, requiring an overhaul of the current system.
The Business of “Behaviour Change”: Analysing the Consumer-Oriented Corporate Sustainability Journey of Low-Temperature Laundry
Authors: Mylan Josephine
Published: November 2016

This article contributes to the literature on corporate sustainability management by investigating a corporate-led consumer “behaviour change” initiative designed to promote sustainable consumption. This is done through an in-depth longitudinal case study of Procter & Gamble’s low-temperature laundry initiative as it unfolded over a 10-year period to become an industry-wide campaign with broad societal acceptance and institutional support by 2013. The analysis is guided by insights from three prominent organizational theories used in the study of corporate sustainability (stakeholder theory, institutional theory, and the resource-based view of the firm). The case demonstrates that a successful behaviour change initiative involves far more than providing information or incentive for consumers, entailing changes in regulation, technology, organizational identity, mental models, and legitimacy. Procter & Gamble’s management strategy can be viewed as an emergent and open-ended innovation journey that took time, required resources, and involved adjustments in goals as mental models evolved.
Boundary objects, power, and learning: The matter of developing sustainable practice in organizations
Authors: Hawkins Beverley , Pye Annie , Correia Fernando
Published: November 2016

This article develops an understanding of the agential role of boundary objects in generating and politicizing learning in organizations, as it emerges from the entangled actions of humans and non-humans. We offer two empirical vignettes in which middle managers seek to develop more sustainable ways of working. Informed by Foucault’s writing on power, our work highlights how power relations enable and foreclose the affordances, or possibilities for action, associated with boundary objects. Our data demonstrate how this impacts the learning that emerges as boundary objects are configured and unraveled over time. In so doing, we illustrate how boundary objects are not fixed entities, but are mutable, relational, and politicized in nature. Connecting boundary objects to affordances within a Foucauldian perspective on power offers a more nuanced understanding of how ‘the material’ plays an agential role in consolidating and disrupting understandings in the accomplishment of learning.
Centralized personalization at the expense of decentralized personalization. The decline of preferential voting in Belgium (2003–2014)
Authors: Wauters Bram , Thijssen Peter , Van Aelst Peter , Pilet Jean-Benoit
Published: November 2016

For more than two decades, scholars have been debating the so-called personalization of politics. Some studies confirm such an evolution, while others demonstrate that evidence of personalization is at best mixed, or even absent. This article aims at shedding a new light on this controversy by looking at the evolution of the use of preferential voting in Belgium. Preferential voting has been constantly growing, but since 2007, the trend has been reversed and fewer voters decide to cast a preferential vote. We argue that this decline is not evidence against personalization. Rather, it illustrates the need to distinguish conceptually and empirically between two dimensions of personalization: ‘centralized’ and ‘decentralized’ personalization. The decline in the use of preference votes is not related to a decline in the former (which refers to a handful of political leaders). Instead, it is due to the decline of the latter form of personalization (referring to a large group of individual politicians). Candidates other than party leaders appear to have growing difficulties to attract votes. This negative relationship holds, even when we control for measures of electoral reform and the newness of parties. Our results also show that leadership effects are stronger in new parties.
Respectable promiscuity: Digital cruising in an era of queer liberalism
Authors: Ahlm Jody
Published: November 2016

This article draws on data from a digital ethnography to identify a key paradox of Grindr, a gay hookup app. Despite the potential the app offers to invigorate public sex culture by circumventing increased policing of public spaces, users overwhelmingly use the app to arrange for sex to take place in the privacy of a home. Contemporary respectability politics in LGBTQ communities structures Grindr users’ reputation management practices as well as their perceptions of the purpose and potential uses of the technology. The porous public/private boundaries of the app allow users to navigate the stigma associated with promiscuity. “Respectable promiscuity” captures the negotiations individuals engage in as they enact stigmatized sexual practices, manage sexual reputations, and give meaning to their sexual practices within a specific socio-political context.
Nonlinear dynamic mechanism of rolling element bearings with an internal clearance in a rotor-bearing system
Authors: Nan Guofang , Tang Min , Chen Eryun , Yang Ailing
Published: November 2016

Rolling element bearing is a key component in the rotating machinery, especially in the rotor-bearing system which often shows a complex nonlinear dynamic characteristic due to the presence of the internal clearance between the rolling elements and the races. A nonlinear model of the rotor-bearing is developed and the nonlinear dynamic analysis is carried out in this article. The dynamic equations are derived based on the Hertzian contact theory, considering whether there existed an internal clearance between a rolling element and the races at a moment and how much the contact force of the rolling element is during the interface. With the help of the bifurcation diagrams, Poincare maps and the orbit of center for the axis, the effect of the rotating speed, the clearance, and the stiffness on the dynamic response are investigated. The bearing system exhibits the complicated dynamic behaviors such as the periodic motion, the quasi-periodic motion, the chaos, and the jump phenomenon; the rolling element system is sensitive to the variation of the rotating speed, the clearance, and the stiffness in some ranges. The results are meaningful to the practical prediction of the vibrational response; the work is significant in theoretical understanding of the nonlinear dynamic mechanism. This research offers an analytical method to check the parameters to prevent the bearings from the dangerous working conditions.
Mechanism design and motion ability analysis for wheel/track mobile robot
Authors: Cui Dengqi , Gao Xueshan , Guo Wenzeng
Published: November 2016

A wheel/track mobile robot with a one-way tail rod is studied. First, from the analysis of its performance, the mechanical structure of the wheel/track mobile robot is designed and the hardware composition of its control system is given. Second, based on the analysis of its variable structure movement process, the variable structure model of wheel/track mobile robot is established using the geometry analysis method. Third, two kinds of analysis are proposed. One is analysis of the wheel movement on flat ground. Another is track obstacle-crossing kinematics of the robot, in which the conditions for its stairs-climbing are determined. Then, the dynamical model of stairs-climbing is established either in wheel mode or in track mode using the classical mechanics analysis on the robot during the stairs-climbing process. Through simulation and experiments, the effectiveness of the model and the evaluation method of the wheel/track mobile robot in stairs-climbing are verified, which can provide design and analysis foundations for the wheel/track mobile robot.
Analysis of a multimachine flexible manufacturing cell using stochastic Petri nets
Authors: Al-Ahmari Abdulrahman , Li Zhiwu
Published: November 2016

In this article, a generalized stochastic Petri net model is developed to analyze the performance of a multimachine flexible manufacturing cell. The analyzed flexible manufacturing cell consists of one or more machine(s), a single conveyor, and a single robot. The conveyor transfers similar workpieces to the robot areas. Then, the robot loads parts onto the machines, which perform similar machining processes. The machines are subject to failure after a certain time due to tool wear or resetting. When a machine is in failure, a repair action is taken by the flexible manufacturing cell operator. A generalized stochastic Petri net model is constructed for a single-machine and three-machine flexible manufacturing cells, after which the suggested generalized stochastic Petri net model can be generalized to a flexible manufacturing cell with n machines. The obtained results provide an estimate of machine, robot, and operator utilization and production rates for the considered flexible manufacturing cell. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to illustrate the effect of the input parameters on the selected performance measures. The suggested model is tested using numerical examples and simulated using TimeNet tool.
Energy consumption characteristics evaluation method in turning
Authors: Zhao Guoyong , Hou Chunhong , Qiao Jianfang , Cheng Xiang
Published: November 2016

The accurate energy consumption characteristics evaluation in machining is helpful to optimize processing scheme to realize low carbon manufacturing. The energy consumption characteristics evaluation method in turning is researched, which includes energy efficiency calculation and energy consumption prediction. First, the simple and accurate energy efficiency computational model in turning is put forward. Second, the energy consumption prediction empirical model and the back-propagation neural network prediction model are developed respectively. Finally, the power signal measurement system is built on computer numerical controlled lathe, and the proposed energy efficiency computational model and the energy consumption prediction methods are verified in the 45# steel semi-finish turning with hard alloy cutting tools. The results show that the proposed methods can effectively evaluate the energy consumption characteristics in turning, which can help to select the high energy efficiency processing program on the basis of ensuring processing quality.
Movin’ on Up? How Perceptions of Social Mobility Affect Our Willingness to Defend the System
Authors: Day Martin V. , Fiske Susan T.
Published: November 2016

People’s motivation to rationalize and defend the status quo is a major barrier to societal change. Three studies tested whether perceived social mobility—beliefs about the likelihood to move up and down the socioeconomic ladder—can condition people’s tendency to engage in system justification. Compared to information suggesting moderate social mobility, exposure to low social mobility frames consistently reduced defense of the overarching societal system. Two studies examined how this effect occurs. Compared to moderate or baseline conditions, a low social mobility frame reduced people’s endorsement of (typically strong) meritocratic and just-world beliefs, which in turn explained lower system defense. These effects occurred for political liberals, moderates, and conservatives and could not be explained by other system-legitimizing ideologies or people’s beliefs about their own social mobility. Implications for societal change programs are discussed.
Taking Stock of Happiness and Meaning in Everyday Life
Authors: Choi Jongan , Catapano Rhia , Choi Incheol
Published: November 2016

The present study examines momentary experiences of happiness and meaning, two components of well-being, by using an experience sampling method. Participants included 603 Korean adults, who generated 24,430 responses over the course of 2–4 weeks. Results revealed that reported levels of happiness and meaning fluctuated substantially over the course of a day and that contextual factors, such as daily activities, social interaction partners, day of week, and time of day, along with demographic variables, were significant predictors of momentary happiness and meaning. In addition, we observe that people often experienced happiness and meaning independently of each other during a single daily event. In sum, momentary experiences of happiness and meaning were dynamic, related but distinct, and varied by individuals across daily events and over time.
Practicing, materialising and contesting environmental data
Authors: Gabrys Jennifer
Published: November 2016

While there are now an increasing number of studies that critically and rigorously engage with Big Data discourses and practices, these analyses often focus on social media and other forms of online data typically generated about users. This introduction discusses how environmental Big Data is emerging as a parallel area of investigation within studies of Big Data. New practices, technologies, actors and issues are concretising that are distinct and specific to the operations of environmental data. Situating these developments in relation to the seven contributions to this special collection, the introduction outlines significant characteristics of environmental data practices, data materialisations and data contestations. In these contributions, it becomes evident that processes for validating, distributing and acting on environmental data become key sites of materialisation and contestation, where new engagements with environmental politics and citizenship are worked through and realised.
Sources of Social Capital for Malawi People Living With HIV
Authors: Rankin Sally H. , Jong SoSon , Matovu Schola , Youmans Sharon , Lindgren Teri
Published: November 2016

With one of the highest rates of poverty and HIV in the world, Malawi faith-based organizations (FBOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community-based organizations (CBOs) are expected to provide tangible and emotional support to people living with HIV (PLWH). Using Lin’s social capital theoretical approach, we examine the perspective of PLWH regarding the adequacy of support responses. Forty-six rural Malawi HIV+ adults provided interviews that were recorded digitally, translated, and transcribed by Malawi research assistants. Atlas.ti was used to organize the data and to aid in the analytic process. Participants expressed disappointment in the lack of resources that could be accessed through the FBOs although their expectations may have been unrealistic. Outcomes from accessing and mobilizing the FBO network were negative in terms of stigmatization by FBO leaders and members, whereas outcomes related to CBOs and NGOs were generally positive in terms of empowerment through HIV information and attendance at support groups.
Use of a Wearable Activity Device in Rural Older Obese Adults
Authors: Batsis John A. , Naslund John A. , Gill Lydia E. , Masutani Rebecca K. , Agarwal Nayan , Bartels Stephen J.
Published: November 2016

Objective: Assess the feasibility and acceptability of Fitbit for supporting behavioral change in rural, older adults with obesity. Method: Eight adults aged ≥65 with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30kg/m2 were recruited from a rural practice and provided a Fitbit Zip device for 30 days. Participants completed validated questionnaires/interviews. Results: Mean age was 73.4 ± 4.0 years (50% female) with a mean BMI of 34.5 ± 4.5kg/m2. We observed reductions in exercise confidence (sticking to it: 34.5 ± 3.3 to 30.9 ± 4.3, p = .04; making time: 18.9 ± 1.3 to 17.0 ± 2.6, p = .03) but no changes in patient activation (45.4 ± 4.3 vs. 45.0 ± 3.9). All reported high satisfaction, seven (87.5%) found Fitbit easy to use, and five (62.5%) found the feedback useful. The majority ( n = 6 [75.0%]) were mostly/very satisfied with the intervention. Consistent themes emerged regarding the benefit of self-monitoring and participant motivation. Common concerns included finding time to exercise and lack of a peer group. Conclusion: Use of Fitbit is feasible/acceptable for use among older rural obese adults but may lead to reduced confidence.
Discussing and managing hematologic germ line variants
Authors: Kohlmann Wendy , Schiffman Joshua D.
Published: November 2016

With the introduction of genomic technologies, more hereditary cancer syndromes with hematologic malignancies are being described. Up to 10% of hematologic malignancies in children and adults may be the result of an underlying inherited genetic risk. Managing these patients with hereditary hematologic malignancies, including familial leukemia, remains a clinical challenge because there is little information about these relatively rare disorders. This article covers some of the issues related to the diagnosis and interpretation of variants associated with hereditary hematologic malignancies, including the importance of an accurate family history in interpreting genetic variants associated with disease. The challenges of screening other family members and offering the most appropriate early malignancy detection is also discussed. We now have a good opportunity to better define hereditary cancer syndromes with associated hematologic malignancies and contribute to clinically effective guidelines.
Conflicting cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and progression to dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Alexopoulos Panagiotis , Werle Lukas , Roesler Jennifer , Thierjung Nathalie , Gleixner Lena Sophie , Yakushev Igor , Laskaris Nikolaos , Wagenpfeil Stefan , Gourzis Philippos , Kurz Alexander , Perneczky Robert ,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)
Published: November 2016

Background

According to new diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), biomarkers enable estimation of the individual likelihood of underlying AD pathophysiology and the associated risk of progression to AD dementia for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Nonetheless, how conflicting biomarker constellations affect the progression risk is still elusive. The present study explored the impact of different cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker constellations on the progression risk of MCI patients.

Methods

A multicentre cohort of 469 patients with MCI and available CSF biomarker results and clinical follow-up data was considered. Biomarker values were categorized as positive for AD, negative or borderline. Progression risk differences between patients with different constellations of total Tau (t-Tau), phosphorylated Tau at threonine 181 (p-Tau) and amyloid-beta 1–42 (Aβ42) were studied. Group comparison analyses and Cox regression models were employed.

Results

Patients with all biomarkers positive for AD (N = 145) had the highest hazard for progression to dementia due to AD, whilst patients with no positive biomarkers (N = 111) had the lowest. The risk of patients with only abnormal p-Tau and/or t-Tau (N = 49) or with positive Aβ42 in combination with positive t-Tau or p-Tau (N = 119) is significantly lower than that of patients with all biomarkers positive.

Conclusions

The risk of progression to dementia due to AD differs between patients with different CSF biomarker constellations.
Fracture clustering effect on amplitude variation with offset and azimuth analyses
Authors: Fang Xinding , Zheng Yingcai , Fehler Michael C.
Published: November 2016

Traditional amplitude variation with offset and azimuth (AVOAz) analysis for fracture characterization extracts fracture properties through analysis of reflection AVOAz to determine anisotropic parameters (e.g., Thomsen’s parameters) that are then related to fracture properties. The validity of this method relies on the basic assumption that a fractured unit can be viewed as an equivalent anisotropic medium. As a rule of thumb, this assumption is taken to be valid when the fracture spacing is less than [Formula: see text]. Under the effective medium assumption, diffractions from individual fractures destructively interfere and only specular reflections from boundaries of a fractured layer can be observed in seismic data. The effective medium theory has been widely used in fracture characterization, and its applicability has been validated through many field applications. However, through numerical simulations, we find that diffractions from fracture clusters can significantly distort the AVOAz signatures when a fracture system has irregular spacing even though the average fracture spacing is much smaller than a wavelength (e.g., [Formula: see text]). Contamination by diffractions from irregularly spaced fractures on reflections can substantially bias the fracture properties estimated from AVOAz analysis and may possibly lead to incorrect estimates of fracture properties. Additionally, through Monte Carlo simulations, we find that fracture spacing uncertainty inverted from amplitude variation with offset (AVO) analysis can be up to 10%–20% when fractures are not uniformly distributed, which should be the realistic state of fractures present in the earth. Also, AVOAz and AVO analysis gives more reliable estimates of fracture properties when reflections at the top of the fractured layer are used compared with those from the bottom of the layer.
Multiplying Archives
Authors: Decena Carlos Ulises
Published: November 2016

In this essay, Decena follows Maja Horn's invitation to move historical and literary analysis of Dominican literature away from the masculine ideation mapped in her pioneering Masculinity after Trujillo: The Politics of Gender in Dominican Literature (2014). Through an engagement with the operations of silence in the work of Hilma Contreras and of racialized gender identity formation in the novel Erzulie's Skirt by Ana-Maurine Lara, Decena considers more horizons made possible by the opening in the study of Dominican literature that Horn traces. In addition to registering the contradictory effects of the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship on social and identity formations past and present, Decena echoes Horn in proposing that artistic production by Dominican women during the dictatorship and in the contemporary moment offers alternative and productive theoretical models of sociality and identity formation.
Contemporary Art of the Hispanophone Caribbean Islands in an Archipelagic Framework
Authors: Flores Tatiana , Stephens Michelle
Published: November 2016

This essay argues for an archipelagic approach to the twenty-first-century visual arts of the insular Caribbean. While it is common for scholars to stress the region's heterogeneity, the authors seek out thematic continuities in the art of the Caribbean islands through the trope of the archipelago, challenging the understanding of the Caribbean as discontinuous, isolated, hermetic, and beyond comprehension. Analyzing contemporary art of the hispanophone islands and their diasporas, they reveal shared concerns within the Caribbean archipelago and posit that visual art is uniquely equipped to bridge the region's language and cultural divides to offer a hemispheric discourse inclusive of the experience of the islands and their diasporic communities.
Calibán: Roberto Fernández Retamar's American Intelligence
Authors: Hulme Peter
Published: November 2016

On the forty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Cuban writer Roberto Fernández Retamar's influential polemic Calibán, this essay revisits the circumstances in which Fernández Retamar wrote the piece and assesses its continuing significance for the Caribbean as a region. Attention is paid to how Fernández Retamar inserts his argument into the long-running debate about Latin American identity but then relocates the central figure of Caliban to the Caribbean, where other writers such as Aimé Césaire and George Lamming had already begun to address the nature of colonialism via the relationship between the Shakespearean figures of Prospero and Caliban. Also underlined is the importance to Calibán of Fernández Retamar's quotations from José Martí and Che Guevara.
A Theoretical Guideline for Designing Effective Host Materials Based on 4,4′-Bis(9-carbazolyl)-1,1′-biphenyl Derivatives for Blue Phosphorescent Devices
Authors: Oshiyama Tomohiro , Yasukawa Noriko , Kita Hiroshi , Matsui Toru , Sumita Masato , Morihashi Kenji
Published: November 2016

Development of host materials is crucial for organic electroluminescent devices. In order to generalize the way to molecular design the host materials, we here present a guideline to design effective host materials for blue phosphorescent devices based on 4,4′-bis(9-carbazolyl)-1,1′-biphenyl (CBP) derivatives, comparing some theoretical parameters of seven CBP derivatives with experimental ones in terms of thermal stability, T1 energy level, and band gap. Although our computation at the density functional theory level could not reproduce the absolute values and phenomena that were experimentally obtained, theoretical relative correlations between different molecules agreed with experimental ones. Indeed, both experimental and theoretical approaches predicted that the same molecule (1,1-bis(4-(9-carbazolyl)-phenyl)cyclohexane) was viable as blue host material among the target molecules in terms of thermal stability, the T1 state with the LE character within carbazole moieties and T1 energy 3.00 eV higher than that of blue emitters. The qualitative guideline we proposed would be potentially helpful to save experimental work to design other hole- or electron-transporting materials.
Field-Assisted Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry for the Quantitative Evaluation of Imatinib Levels in Plasma
Authors: D'Aronco Sara , Calandra Eleonora , Crotti Sara , Toffoli Giuseppe , Marangon Elena , Posocco Bianca , Traldi Pietro , Agostini Marco
Published: November 2016

Drug levels in patients' bloodstreams vary among individuals and consequently therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is fundamental to controlling the effective therapeutic range. For TDM purposes, different analytical approaches have been used, mainly based on immunoassay, liquid chromatography-ultraviolet, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods. More recently a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation method has been proposed for the determination of irinotecan levels in the plasma of subjects under therapy and this method has been cross-validated by comparison with data achieved by LC-MS/MS. However, to reach an effective point-of-care monitoring of plasma drug concentrations, a TDM platform technology for fast, accurate, low-cost assays is required. In this frame, recently the use of paper spray mass spectrometry, which is becoming a popular and widely employed MS method, has been proposed. In this paper we report the results obtained by the development of a paper spray-based method for quantitative analysis in plasma samples of imatinib, a new generation of anticancer drug. Preliminary experiments showed that poor sensitivity, reproducibility and linear response were obtained by the “classical” paper spray set-up. In order to achieve better results, it was thought of interest to operate in presence of a higher and more homogeneous electrical field. For this aim, a stainless steel needle connected with the high voltage power supply was mounted below the paper triangle. Furthermore, in order to obtain valid quantitative data, we analysed the role of the different equilibria participating to the phenomena occurring in paper spray experiments, depending either on instrumental parameters or on the chemical nature of analyte and solvents. A calibration curve was obtained by spiking plasma samples containing different amounts of imatinib (1) with known amounts of deuterated imatinib (1d3) as internal standard, with molar ratios [1] / [1d3] in the range 0.00–2.00. A quite good linearity was obtained ( R2 = 0.975) and some experiments performed on spiked plasma samples with known amounts of 1 confirmed the validity of this method.
A CRISPR/Cas9-based method and primer design tool for seamless genome editing in fission yeast
Authors: Rodríguez-López María , Cotobal Cristina , Fernández-Sánchez Oscar , Borbarán Bravo Natalia , Oktriani Risky , Abendroth Heike , Uka Dardan , Hoti Mimoza , Wang Jin , Zaratiegui Mikel , Bähler Jürg
Published: November 2016

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe the prevailing approach for gene manipulations is based on homologous recombination of a PCR product that contains genomic target sequences and a selectable marker. The CRISPR/Cas9 system has recently been implemented in fission yeast, which allows for seamless genome editing without integration of a selection marker or leaving any other genomic ‘scars’. The published method involves manual design of the single guide RNA (sgRNA), and digestion of a large plasmid with a problematic restriction enzyme to clone the sgRNA. To increase the efficiency of this approach, we have established and optimized a PCR-based system to clone the sgRNA without restriction enzymes into a plasmid with a dominant natMX6 (nourseothricin) selection marker. We also provide a web-tool, CRISPR4P, to support the design of the sgRNAs and the primers required for the entire process of seamless DNA deletion. Moreover, we report the preparation of G1-synchronized and cryopreserved S. pombe cells, which greatly increases the efficiency and speed for transformations, and may also facilitate standard gene manipulations. Applying this optimized CRISPR/Cas9-based approach, we have successfully deleted over 80 different non-coding RNA genes, which are generally lowly expressed, and have inserted 7 point mutations in 4 different genomic regions.
An overview of urinary incontinence
Authors: Bardsley Alison
Published: November 2016

Practice nurses need to find out about all the different types of urinary incontinence and how they can be treated, before they can offer help to patients showing symptoms, writes Alison Bardsley

Urinary incontinence is a common problem that is often under-reported due to the embarrassing nature and social stigma attached. Urinary incontinence can have a considerable effect on an individual's quality of life, but can be significantly improved with correct assessment, treatment and management. Conservative treatment options, including pelvic floor exercises, bladder retraining and fluid modification, are recommended before referral to secondary services. This article provides an overview of the main types of urinary incontinence, and summarises recent guidelines for the assessment, diagnosis and effective conservative treatment options for them, and when a referral to specialist care is required.
Strategies for increasing uptake of cervical screening
Authors: Kothari Aine
Published: November 2016

Practice nurses can help get cervical screening back on the rise by understanding the reasons for non-attendance and then tailoring the primary care provision to encourage more women to have the test, writes Aine Kothari

Cervical screening uptake is declining throughout the UK. A knowledge of the reasons for non-attendance can be used to tailor primary care provision of cervical screening to encourage women to respond to their screening invitation. Cervical screening saves lives by early detection and treatment of pre-cancerous abnormalities. The cervical screening procedure takes approximately 15 minutes and the result is generally available within two weeks of the test. This article discusses the barriers to attendance and the strategies that might be adopted to reverse the downward trend in screening uptake.
Evidence-based immunisation for children: Case studies
Authors: Driver Caroylyn
Published: November 2016

Primary care nurses have a vital role to play in encouraging the uptake of immunisation. Here Carolyn Driver uses case studies to discuss the resources at hand to equip healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge they need in this field.

Immunisation is one of the most important public health measures that primary care offers the population. All health professionals, regardless of whether they administer vaccines or not, should be well-informed on this topic and should know where to get the latest information on the UK national schedule, as well as evidence-based guidelines on the use of vaccines. Primary care nurses are in a particularly good position to make the most of opportunistic encounters to ensure that individuals who have missed routine or recommended vaccines are able to catch up without delay.
COPD: new research and fresh insights into a common condition
Authors: Greener Mark
Published: November 2016

COPD kills thousands of patients every year, and burdens thousands more with debilitating physical and mental health issues. But new research may provide the impetus for better management and treatment of this condition, writes Mark Greener