bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Elderly fall risk prediction based on a physiological profile approach using artificial neural networks
Authors: Razmara Jafar , Zaboli Mohammad Hassan , Hassankhani Hadi
Published: November 2016

Falls play a critical role in older people’s life as it is an important source of morbidity and mortality in elders. In this article, elders fall risk is predicted based on a physiological profile approach using a multilayer neural network with back-propagation learning algorithm. The personal physiological profile of 200 elders was collected through a questionnaire and used as the experimental data for learning and testing the neural network. The profile contains a series of simple factors putting elders at risk for falls such as vision abilities, muscle forces, and some other daily activities and grouped into two sets: psychological factors and public factors. The experimental data were investigated to select factors with high impact using principal component analysis. The experimental results show an accuracy of ≈90 percent and ≈87.5 percent for fall prediction among the psychological and public factors, respectively. Furthermore, combining these two datasets yield an accuracy of ≈91 percent that is better than the accuracy of single datasets. The proposed method suggests a set of valid and reliable measurements that can be employed in a range of health care systems and physical therapy to distinguish people who are at risk for falls.
Content-expressive behavior and ideological extremity: An examination of the roles of emotional intelligence and information network heterogeneity
Authors: Barnidge Matthew , Ardèvol-Abreu Alberto , Gil de Zúñiga Homero
Published: November 2016

One thriving area of research on participatory media revolves around political expression and the creation of political content. This study analyzes the connections between these behaviors, heterogeneous information networks, and ideological extremity while accounting for the role of emotional intelligence. Results from a two-wave-panel survey of US adults show that people who engage in content-expressive behavior are embedded in heterogeneous information networks and that emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between content-expressive behavior and ideological extremity.
What’s left of the radical left online? Absence of communication, political vision, and community in autonomist web milieus in Sweden
Authors: Andersson Linus
Published: November 2016

This article presents and discusses results from a study of radical left-wing activism online carried out by the Swedish Media Council, a report that suggested that the Internet (i.e. the web, web 2.0, and social media) is not a prioritized arena for propaganda and recruitment for the radical left in Sweden. The purpose of this article is to re-evaluate some of these findings and add to the discussion on online activity and connectivity in political communication online, as well as to problematize simplified notions of radicalization and recruitment to pro-violent groups. Based on a hermeneutic inquiry regarding modes of communication, representations of political visions, and community, the article shows how the sites and groups studied favor one-way communication before interactivity, that political visions are limited to short-term goals in the immediate future, and that they give very little information about their activist activities to recruit supporters.
Moral economy: Rethinking a radical concept
Authors: Palomera Jaime , Vetta Theodora
Published: November 2016

This article argues that the original thrust of the moral economy concept has been understated and attempts to cast it in a new light by bringing class and capital back into the equation. First, it reviews the seminal works of Thompson and Scott, tracing the origins of the term. It deals with the common conflation of moral economy with Polanyi’s notion of embeddedness, differentiating the two concepts and scrutinizing the ways in which these perspectives have been criticized. Second, it dispels dichotomist conceptions separating economic practice from morality, or embedded configurations from disembedded ones. Against binary views of the market as a boundless realm penetrating previously untainted moral spheres, it posits that social reproduction is characterized by an entanglement of values, which can only be fully grasped by delineating the contours and characteristics of capital accumulation. Third, it contends that moral economy is a dynamic concept because it accounts for class-informed frameworks involving traditions, valuations and expectations. Finally, it argues that moral economy can enrich the concept of hegemony because it pays attention to the often-contradictory values that guide and sustain livelihood practices, through which cultural domination is reproduced or altered.
Gender representations in politics of belonging: An analysis of Swiss immigration regulation from the 19th century until today
Authors: Fischer Carolin , Dahinden Janine
Published: November 2016

The literature increasingly recognises the importance of gender in defining the boundaries between national societies and migrants. But little is still known about the history and changes of mechanisms that shape the role of gender as category of difference. Based on a critical case study of Switzerland, this article examines how gender is implicated in the politics of migrant admission and incorporation and underlying notions of ‘the other’. Drawing on theories of boundary work, we show that gendered representations of migrants are mobilised by different actors to advance their claims and calls for certain forms of immigration control and migrant integration. Since the late 19th century, gendered representations of Swiss nationals and migrant others shift from classical gender ideas to culturalised post-colonial interpretations of gender roles and, most recently, to normative ideas of gender equality. As part of these changes, migrant women moved from the periphery to the core of public and political attention. Concomitantly, categories of difference shift from the intersection of gender and social class to an intersection of gender, culture and ethnicity. Local particularities of Switzerland – the idea of ‘overforeignisation’ and the system of direct democracy – play a significant role in shaping categories. But Switzerland’s embeddedness in transnational fields emerges as equally important. The article expands on recent research and illuminates how changing dynamics of categorisation and othering facilitate the construction of nations and national identities in a transnationalised world.
Reversed Frozen Elephant Trunk Technique to Treat a Type II Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Authors: Debus E. Sebastian , Kölbel Tilo , Wipper Sabine , Diener Holger , Reiter Beate , Detter Christian , Tsilimparis Nikolaos
Published: November 2016

Purpose: To describe a hybrid technique of reversed frozen elephant trunk to treat thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAA) through an abdominal only approach. Technique: The technique is demonstrated in a 29-year-old Marfan patient with a chronic type B aortic dissection previously treated with a thoracic stent-graft who presented with a thoracoabdominal false lumen aneurysm. Through an open distal retroperitoneal approach to the abdominal aorta, a frozen elephant trunk graft was implanted over a super-stiff wire upside down with the stent-graft component in the thoracic aorta. Following deployment of the stent-graft proximally and preservation of renovisceral perfusion in a retrograde manner, the renovisceral vessels were sequentially anastomosed to the elephant trunk graft branches, thus reducing the ischemia time of the end organs. The aortic sac was then opened, and the distal part of the hybrid graft was anastomosed with a further bifurcated graft to the iliac vessels. Conclusion: The reversed frozen elephant trunk technique is feasible for hybrid treatment of TAAAs via an abdominal approach only. This has the benefit of substantially reducing the trauma of thoracic exposure, thus preserving major benefits of open thoracoabdominal surgery, such as the presence of short bypasses to the renovisceral vessels and reimplantation of lumbar arteries to reduce spinal cord ischemia.
Insolvency in French Soccer
Authors: Scelles Nicolas , Szymanski Stefan , Dermit-Richard Nadine
Published: November 2016

This article examines insolvency (payment failure) in the top three divisions of French soccer. Between 1970 and 2014, we observed 79 cases of insolvency arising from participation in the top two or three (since 1993) divisions. We find that demand (attendance) shocks can account for insolvency to a significant degree. We also find that insolvency can be explained by club status and ownership structure, with professional status and the association structure being more likely to lead to insolvency. We also examine the postinsolvency performance of soccer clubs and find that the adverse consequences of insolvency are long lasting.
Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Improves the Target Coverage Over 3-D Planning While Meeting Lung Tolerance Doses for All Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Authors: Ulger Sukran , Cetin Eren , Catli Serap , Sarac Hilal , Kilic Diclehan , Bora Huseyin
Published: November 2016

Purpose:

To investigate high conformality on target coverage and the ability on creating strict lung dose limitation of intensity-modulated radiation therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Patients and Methods:

Twenty-four radiation therapy plannings were evaluated and compared with dosimetric outcomes of conformal radiation therapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Hemithoracal radiation therapy was performed on 12 patients with a fraction of 1.8 Gy to a total dose of 50.4 Gy. All organs at risk were contoured. Radiotherapy plannings were differed according to the technique; conformal radiation therapy was planned with conventionally combined photon–electron fields, and intensity-modulated radiation therapy was planned with 7 to 9 radiation beam angles optimized in inverse planning. Strict dose–volume constraints were applied.

Results:

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy was statistically superior in target coverage and dose homogeneity (intensity-modulated radiation therapy-planning target volume 95 mean 100%; 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy-planning target volume 95 mean 71.29%, P = .0001; intensity-modulated radiation therapy-planning target volume 105 mean 11.14%; 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy-planning target volume 105 mean 35.69%, P = .001). The dosimetric results of the remaining lung was below the limitations on intensity-modulated radiation therapy planning data (intensity-modulated radiation therapy-lung mean dose mean 7.5 [range: 5.6%-8.5%]; intensity-modulated radiation therapy-lung V5 mean 55.55% [range: 47%-59.9%]; intensity-modulated radiation therapy-lung V20 mean 4.5% [range: 0.5%-9.5%]; intensity-modulated radiation therapy-lung V13 mean 13.43% [range: 4.2%-22.9%]).

Conclusion:

With a complex and large target volume of malignant pleural mesothelioma, intensity-modulated radiation therapy has the ability to deliver efficient tumoricidal radiation dose within the safe dose limits of the remaining lung tissue.
Trends in Open and Endoscopic Cubital Tunnel Release in the Medicare Patient Population
Authors: Law Tsun Yee , Hubbard Zachary S. , Chieng Lee Onn , Chim Harvey W.
Published: November 2016

Background: Cubital tunnel syndrome (CUT) is the second most common peripheral neuropathy with an annual incidence of 24.7 per 100 000, affecting nearly twice as many men as women. With increasing focus on cost-effectiveness and cost-containment in medicine, a critical understanding of utilization of health care resources for open and endoscopic approaches for cubital tunnel release is of value. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the costs and utilization trends of open and endoscopic cubital tunnel release. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of a Medicare database within the PearlDiver Supercomputer (Warsaw, Indiana) for procedures performed from 2005 to 2012. Annual utilization, charges, reimbursement, demographic data, and compound annual growth rate were evaluated. Results: Our query returned 262 104 patients with CUT, of which 69 378 (26.5%) and 4636 (1.8%) were surgically managed with open and endoscopic release respectively. Average charges were higher in endoscopic release ($3798) than open release ($3197) while reimbursements were higher in open releases ($1041) than endoscopic release, ($866). Both were performed most commonly in the <65 years age range. Conclusions: Despite the unexpectedly lower reimbursement rate with endoscopic release, endoscopy utilization is growing faster than open releases in the Medicare population. Lower reimbursement is likely related to lack of a dedicated current procedural terminology code for endoscopic cubital tunnel release.
Estimation of vessel collision risk index based on support vector machine
Authors: Gang Longhui , Wang Yonghui , Sun Yao , Zhou Liping , Zhang Mingheng
Published: November 2016

Collision risk index is important for assessing vessel collision risk and is one of the key problems in the research field of vessel collision avoidance. With accurate collision risk index obtained through vessel movement parameters and encounter situation analysis, the pilot can adopt correct avoidance action. In this article, a collision risk index estimation model based on support vector machine is proposed. The proposed method comprises two units, that is, support vector machine–based unit for predicting the collision risk index and the genetic algorithm–based unit for optimizing the parameters of support vector machine. The model and algorithm are illustrated in the empirical analysis phase, and the comparison results show that genetic algorithm-support vector machine model can generally provide a better performance for collision risk index estimation. Meanwhile, the result also indicates that the model may be not so good when we take a higher value of collision risk index. So, the distinguishing threshold of collision risk level should be adjusted according to actual situation when applying this model in practical application.
Design of a redundant wheeled drive system for energy saving and fail safe motion
Authors: Mohamed Shuaiby , Yamada Akinori , Sano Shigenori , Uchiyama Naoki
Published: November 2016

Mobile robots are widely used in many applications, such as transportation, military domain, searching, guidance, rescue, hazard detection, and carpet cleaning. Because mobile robots usually carry limited power sources, such as batteries, energy saving is an important concern. In particular, differential wheeled mobile robots that have two independently movable wheels are popular because of relatively low mechanical complexity to achieve three-dimensional motion on a ground. This article presents a new wheeled device with a redundant drive system which consists of three independently movable actuators and two planetary gears to connect the actuators to two wheels. The proposed system is able to continue its motion safely when one of the motors breaks down for some causes and also able to operate over a longer period of time due to energy saving consumption property. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective in saving energy approximately by 20.45% for linear motion and 13.05% for circular motion compared to a conventional one.
Numerical simulation of condensation in microchannels between spherical particles
Authors: Liu Dongren , Peng Hao , Ling Xiang , Wang Yan , Zhou Lingjun
Published: November 2016

In this article, a numerical investigation of vapor condensation in a two-dimensional ordered microchannel was conducted with computational fluid dynamics software Fluent. A simplified physical model was built up to simulate a rectangular channel filled with particles. A constant wall heat flux was added to the side walls of the rectangular channel. Volume of fluid model was adopted to pursue the interface of the gas and liquid. The results showed that a better heat transfer performance could be obtained with the porous structure. The local heat transfer coefficient obtained from simulation was in good accordance with the former experimental data, which increased with the increase in fluid velocity and decreased along the flow direction. Parametric analyses were conducted concerning the effects of initial vapor velocity u0, initial temperature T0, and wall heat flux qw on local heat transfer coefficient. The velocity u0 played a significant role during the process of condensation. Temperature distributions along the porous channel and side walls were also analyzed. The results showed that the temperature decreased along the flow direction and increased with the increase in fluid velocity.
Effects of distance between impeller and guide vane on losses in a low head pump by entropy production analysis
Authors: Pei Ji , Meng Fan , Li Yanjun , Yuan Shouqi , Chen Jia
Published: November 2016

The low head pump is widely used in many important water conservation projects for drainage and irrigation purposes. A new type of low head pump, the bidirectional shaft tubular pump, consists of an S-shaped impeller, a straight-guide vane, an inlet section, and an outlet section. As known from the practical project, the distance between the impeller and guide vane of the bidirectional shaft tubular pump greatly affects a pump’s performance; however, because of its unique impeller and guide vane structure, the distance between the two cannot be easily determined by general empirical formulas. Therefore, in this research, three-dimensional unsteady numerical simulations were performed for six guide vane positions under positive and negative rotation conditions, and the accuracy of the results was experimentally verified. The entropy production method based on numerical results was used to evaluate the effect of the distance on the internal flow-loss distribution and overall power loss, and as a result, a better understanding of the hydraulic loss mechanisms was obtained. The results show that the distance between the impeller and guide vane of a bidirectional shaft tubular pump can affect the pump’s efficiency under a positive rotation condition, and turbulence dissipation is the dominant loss. This study can provide theoretical guidance to improve the hydraulic efficiency of low head pumps.
Conceptions of responsibility within and beyond neoliberal frames
Authors: Keddie Amanda
Published: November 2016

This paper explores different conceptions of responsibility within and beyond neoliberal frames. Such exploration draws on the experiences and accounts of ‘Ashleigh’, a head teacher at a primary school in outer London that is part of an academy chain. Ashleigh and her school were key participants in a study that explored matters of accountability, performativity and equity. Through the presentation of interview data gathered from Ashleigh and six of her staff, the paper theorises ways of being a head teacher as aligning with the responsible neoliberal subject – a self-determined and rational actor who readily takes up the modes of regulation and measurement expected of them. It also highlights how this subjectivity sits within and alongside relations of care and concern for the welfare of students and teachers. The paper critically examines the implications of these different conceptions of responsibility in their production of different versions of professionalism. It also seeks to broaden current scholarly understandings of the responsible neoliberal subject and provide a counter-story to the tendency within public and political discourse for responsibility to be constructed in largely neoliberal terms.
“A Right Judgment”: Rape Trial Conventions Revisited in Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones
Authors: Bissonette Melissa Bloom
Published: November 2016

This article argues that in both Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749), Henry Fielding, who practiced law and wrote novels when both were undergoing significant transformations, takes what could have been archetypal scenes of rape and rescue and makes them illuminating explorations of how juries determine the truth. In presenting these attempted rape scenes within the implicit format of a contemporary rape trial, Fielding directs the reader to observe the missteps in the process of judicial decision-making, as well as the steps and missteps in his or her own determination of the trustworthiness of characters and their testimony.
Children’s perspectives on the effectiveness of the Playing for Life philosophy in an afterschool sports program
Authors: Ling Fiona CM , Farrow Andrea , Farrow Damian , Berry Jason , Polman Remco CJ
Published: November 2016

The Playing for Life (P4L) philosophy was developed based on the concept of game play. It emphasizes learning through games within the sporting context to promote sports participation. The main aim of the study was to qualitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the P4L philosophy in contributing to enjoyment and in encouraging continued participation in sports. A total of 97 children (aged 5–12 years), who participated in the Active After-school Communities program that adopted the P4L philosophy by the Australian Sports Commission, took part in 56 paired or individual interviews. Transcripts were initially deductively coded based on pre-determined themes, and were inductively coded for additional themes that were indicative of the effectiveness of the afterschool sports program following the P4L philosophy. Main themes identified from the interviews were motor development and knowledge acquisition, psychological and cognitive benefits, social development, and active living awareness. The P4L philosophy appeared to be effective in engaging children in sports participation and in promoting potentially sustainable positive physical activity behavior.
Patterns of schematic structure and strategic features in newspaper editorials: A comparative study of American and Malaysian editorials
Authors: Zarza Sahar , Tan Helen
Published: November 2016

To carry a message through effectively to the public, newspaper editors need to employ the generic pattern of editorials as a rule of thumb. Yet few studies have investigated the schematic structure and persuasive style of editorials. Hence, this study aims to compare the generic characteristics in 240 editorials of The New York Times ( NYT, n = 120) and New Straits Times ( NST, n = 120). To realize the objectives, the corpus was subjected to a content analysis based on a composite framework drawn from the data and previous models. The findings revealed that American and Malaysian editorials share a similar schematic structure at the move level including four obligatory moves. However, at the step level, evidence of disparity of the style of writing was apparent. The data obtained could be used as informed input in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classroom, so that English as a Secondary Language (ESL)/English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ awareness on the conventional structures in editorial writing could be heightened.
Golimumab pharmacokinetics in ulcerative colitis: a literature review
Authors: Harzallah Ines , Rigaill Josselin , Williet Nicolas , Paul Stephane , Roblin Xavier
Published: November 2016

Golimumab (GLM) is the latest anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) that gained its marketing license. Thanks to the PURSUIT induction and maintenance trials, it was approved for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) in 2013. The other anti-TNF drugs available are infliximab and adalimumab. These two drugs have validated algorithms concerning prescription and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) but little is known about GLM.

The available data on GLM’s exposure–response relationship in UC are from the PURSUIT trials and are recently published. The data reveal all the factors that may impact the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters: dosage, body weight (BW), concomitant drugs, the presence of anti-drug antibodies (ADAbs), sex and age. In addition, the GLM trough level at steady-state appears to be correlated with the patient’s improvement which may make it a precious indicator to predict the clinical response.

There is, however, no consensus on a possible therapeutic level or cutoff associated with clinical response, remission, or any other outcome measure such as endoscopic healing in UC. This lack of a threshold value, and its validation with different assay techniques, makes it difficult to use GLM TDM in clinical practice. As with other anti-TNF agents, GLM is associated with development of ADAbs, of which the prevalence and effects are still insufficiently described. The objective of this review is to describe current data and understanding of the PK of GLM including serum concentrations of GLM and ADAbs in UC patients. Better understanding of these parameters could lead to improved patient care with GLM.
Time to commencement of active exercise predicts total active range of motion 6 weeks after proximal phalanx fracture fixation: A retrospective review
Authors: Miller Lauren Gai , Ada Louise , Crosbie Jack , Wajon Anne
Published: November 2016

Introduction

Whether baseline characteristics influence range of motion outcomes following proximal phalanx fracture remains unclear. The aim of this review was to investigate whether fixation type, time to commencement of active finger exercise, location of fracture or which finger is injured predict total active range of motion 6 weeks after surgical fixation.

Methods

A retrospective cohort of 49 patients with finger proximal phalanx fracture was analysed. Putative predictors investigated were fixation type, time to commencement of active exercise, location of fracture and injured finger. The outcome of interest was total active finger range of motion 6 weeks post-operatively.

Results

Multiple regression analysis found that time to commencement of active exercise was the only significant independent predictor of total active range of motion 6 weeks post-operatively. The main influence on time to commencement of active exercise was fixation type, with fractures repaired using Kirschner wire fixation associated with a delay of nearly 2 weeks, compared with fractures repaired using open reduction and internal fixation.

Discussion

Patients who commence active exercise early following surgical fixation of a proximal phalanx fracture may expect greater total active range of motion 6 weeks post-operatively than if exercise is delayed.
Assessing the Security of Connected Diabetes Devices
Authors: Out Dirk-Jan , Tettero Olaf
Published: November 2016

This article discusses the assessment of the (cyber)security of wirelessly connected diabetes devices under the DTSEC standard. We discuss the relation between diabetes devices and hackers, provide an overview of the DTSEC standard, and describe the process of security assessment of diabetes devices.
Informing Healthcare Waiting Area Design Using Transparency Attributes: A Comparative Preference Study
Authors: Jiang Shan , Powers Matthew , Allison David , Vincent Ellen
Published: November 2016

Objective:

This study aimed to explore people’s visual preference for waiting areas in general hospital environments designed with transparency attributes that fully integrate nature.

Background:

Waiting can be a tedious and frustrating experience among people seeking healthcare treatments and negatively affect their perception of the quality of care. Positive distractions and supportive designs have gained increasing attraction to improve people’s waiting experience. Nature, which has shown therapeutic effects according to a growing amount of evidence, could be a distinguished positive distraction in waiting areas. Additionally, the theory of transparency was operationalized to indicate a spatial continuity between the external nature and the built interiors in general healthcare waiting area design.

Method:

A survey method was adopted in the study. Twenty-one images of general healthcare waiting areas depicting three design typologies were preselected following a strict procedure, including designs with (a) no window views, (b) limited window views to nature, and (c) transparent spaces with maximum natural views. Ninety-five student participants rated the images based on their visual preference using a Likert-type scale.

Results and Conclusions:

The results showed that transparent waiting areas were significantly preferred. A significant positive relationship existed between the level of transparency and people’s preference scores. The factor analysis indicated additional supportive features that may affect people’s preferences, including daylight, perceived warmth, noninstitutional furniture arrangement, visual orientation, and the use of natural materials for interior design. However, these tentative results need to be furthered tested with the real patient population as the next step of this study.
Real Men Don’t Say “Cute”
Authors: Carpenter Jordan , Preotiuc-Pietro Daniel , Flekova Lucie , Giorgi Salvatore , Hagan Courtney , Kern Margaret L. , Buffone Anneke E. K. , Ungar Lyle , Seligman Martin E. P.
Published: November 2016

People associate certain behaviors with certain social groups. These stereotypical beliefs consist of both accurate and inaccurate associations. Using large-scale, data-driven methods with social media as a context, we isolate stereotypes by using verbal expression. Across four social categories—gender, age, education level, and political orientation—we identify words and phrases that lead people to incorrectly guess the social category of the writer. Although raters often correctly categorize authors, they overestimate the importance of some stereotype-congruent signal. Findings suggest that data-driven approaches might be a valuable and ecologically valid tool for identifying even subtle aspects of stereotypes and highlighting the facets that are exaggerated or misapplied.
The Madonna’s body: The social construction of a neutralized body
Authors: Fabbrini Marco
Published: November 2016

This paper deals with the statue without female forms of Our Lady of Maidens, kept in the parish church of Civitella Roveto in the Abruzzo region, in Italy. After describing the religious rituals involving the statue of this Virgin in order to shed light on her title, the study goes on to analyze vernacular discourses about her and explore the prohibition regarding the touching of her body. The symbolic aspects of the shapeless body of the statue are then investigated and discussed in the light of Marian, anthropological, sociological, and feminist literature, considering them a specific device for expelling female sexual desire from the domain of fertility. The article, focused on the body of the Madonna, hopes to contribute to studies in religious materiality as well as to studies in the social construction of gender inequality.
Hypersensitivity reaction associated with subcutaneous glargine insulin therapy in a cat
Authors: Murphy Lisa A , Zuendt Greg F , Nakamura Reid K , Gambardella Paul
Published: November 2016

Case summary

A 14-year-old, domestic shorthair cat was treated for transient diabetes mellitus for 3 months with glargine insulin, which was discontinued when the diabetes mellitus resolved. Approximately 36 months later the diabetes mellitus recurred and glargine insulin was restarted. Within 2–3 mins of the first injection the cat collapsed, developed profuse vomiting and diarrhea, as well as facial swelling and diffuse erythema. A hypersensitivity reaction was suspected and the cat was treated with antihistamines, aggressive fluid therapy and gastrointestinal support. The cat made a full recovery and was discharged 3 days later. Six months later the cat re-presented for relapse of its diabetes mellitus and an intradermal skin challenge with 1:20 diluted insulin was performed confirming a hypersensitivity to glargine. The cat continues to be well regulated on porcine zinc insulin without any hypersensitivity reactions noted.

Relevance and novel information

Hypersensitivity reactions to insulin administration are rarely described in human medicine. This is the first reported case of a hypersensitivity reaction secondary to glargine insulin in a cat. Clinicians should be aware of this potential complication, particularly in animals with a previous history of insulin administration and the potential to utilize intradermal testing with insulin.
Cerebral pyogranulomatous encephalitis caused by Cladophialophora bantiana in a 15-week-old domestic shorthair kitten
Authors: Russell Elise B , Gunew Marcus N , Dennis Michelle M , Halliday Catriona L
Published: November 2016

Case summary

A case of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis caused by Cladophialophora bantiana is described in a 15-week-old domestic shorthair kitten.

Relevance and novel information

Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis is a rare condition in cats caused by dematiaceous fungi. This report describes the clinical and histopathological findings in the youngest case documented in a feline, provides a brief review of aetiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis and demonstrates the importance of molecular diagnostics in accurate mycotic species identification.
Women’s Agential Power in the Political Economy of Agricultural Land
Authors: Kelkar Govind , Jha Santosh Kumar
Published: November 2016

This article seeks to understand whether the legal policies and advances of women’s movements have resulted in women’s entitlement to land and whether the land reforms carried out from the 1970s to the 1990s have weakened the grip of patriarchy and increased women’s capability and land-related decision-making power. We examine these questions by looking at (i) women as producers of agricultural goods and participants in the market economy and (ii) women as partial or full owners of land and the impact of this on decision-making. In both cases, there is the role of women as managers of productive assets, which is different from their former and traditional status as dependent family members.
Gender, Land Tenure and Agrarian Production Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Tsikata Dzodzi
Published: November 2016

This article examines in historical perspective how gendered land tenure systems have contributed to shaping, and have in turn been shaped by, agrarian production and reproduction systems and how this has worked to the disadvantage of women in terms of their livelihood choices and outcomes and their position in agrarian societies. It is argued that contemporary challenges to the health of Africa’s agrarian production systems have gender implications which are not sufficiently recognized, either in the literature or in policymaking. This stems from the fact that the complexities of women’s positions and contributions to agrarian production and reproduction, since before the colonial period, are often not recognized and, therefore, their influence on long-term processes, such as capital accumulation and proletarianization of rural life, are not accounted for. The article provides a framing of the linkages between gendered land tenure and changing agrarian production and reproduction systems and examines two contemporary land tenure issues which illustrate the impacts of gender biases in land and agrarian policies.
Teaching Leaders to Lead Themselves
Authors: Chavez Carolyn I. , Gomez Claudia , Valenzuela Marcus , Perera Yasanthi B.
Published: November 2016

This article describes an exercise that allows students to experience and understand the importance of perception in leader emergence. Based on implicit leadership theories, this exercise asks students to provide one another with anonymous feedback about what extent they exhibit various trait-based leader behaviors. This exercise, which can be implemented either over the course of a semester or in two sessions, facilitates students’ understanding of perceptions and from where they stem. It allows students to become aware of how they are perceived by their peers and the implications of these perceptions on leader emergence. Thus, the exercise invites students to move beyond their comfort zones through developing self-awareness, it challenges various perception biases that influence their own views of leadership, and it creates awareness regarding their ability to change behaviors in order to obtain desired responses from others. The exercise is appropriate for use in leadership and organizational behavior courses for students near graduation or graduate-level courses.
Credentials of Professionals Performing Echocardiography
Authors: Parker Matthew W. , Sobieraj Diana M. , Coleman Craig I.
Published: November 2016

We examined the IAC-Echocardiography applications database to describe the board certification of physicians and registration of sonographers and explored how staff credentials affected initial laboratory accreditation decision. Deidentified IAC-Echocardiography applications from January 2012 to December 2013 were reviewed, including size and setting of echocardiography laboratories, National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) testamur status of physicians, and registered credential status of sonographers. Multivariate logistic regression models evaluated associations between echocardiography laboratory characteristics and accreditation and deficiencies in peer-reviewed domains (staff, imaging protocols, image quality, reporting, and quality assurance) of accreditation. During the study period, 1921 echocardiography laboratories representing 10 602 physicians and 6841 sonographers applied for IAC-Echocardiography accreditation; 26.9% of physicians were NBE testamurs and 79.5% of sonographers were registered. NBE status of medical directors did not reach statistical significance for accreditation success (AOR 1.15 [0.93-1.42]), but number of registered sonographers per applicant did (AOR 1.13 [1.04-1.23]). NBE testamur medical directors were associated with fewer deficiencies in image quality (AOR 0.61 [0.48-0.79]) and reports (AOR 0.72 [0.56-0.92]). Applicants whose technical director was a physician rather than a sonographer were more likely to have deficiencies in image quality (AOR 1.84 [1.06-3.21]). Registered sonographers were associated with fewer deficiencies in the domains of staff credentials (AOR 0.84 [0.78-0.92]), reporting (AOR 0.88 [0.81-0.96]), and quality assurance (AOR 0.91 [0.84-0.98]). Registration status of sonographers, but not NBE testamur status of physicians, was positively associated with accreditation decisions. The overall interaction between individual certification and laboratory accreditation suggests a complementary role for both.
Myeloid malignancies and the microenvironment
Authors: Korn Claudia , Méndez-Ferrer Simón
Published: November 2016

Research in the last few years has revealed a sophisticated interaction network between multiple bone marrow cells that regulate different hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) properties such as proliferation, differentiation, localization, and self-renewal during homeostasis. These mechanisms are essential to keep the physiological HSC numbers in check and interfere with malignant progression. In addition to the identification of multiple mutations and chromosomal aberrations driving the progression of myeloid malignancies, alterations in the niche compartment recently gained attention for contributing to disease progression. Leukemic cells can remodel the niche into a permissive environment favoring leukemic stem cell expansion over normal HSC maintenance, and evidence is accumulating that certain niche alterations can even induce leukemic transformation. Relapse after chemotherapy is still a major challenge during treatment of myeloid malignancies, and cure is only rarely achieved. Recent progress in understanding the niche-imposed chemoresistance mechanisms will likely contribute to the improvement of current therapeutic strategies. This article discusses the role of different niche cells and their stage- and disease-specific roles during progression of myeloid malignancies and in response to chemotherapy.
Bioimage classification with subcategory discriminant transform of high dimensional visual descriptors
Authors: Song Yang , Cai Weidong , Huang Heng , Feng Dagan , Wang Yue , Chen Mei
Published: November 2016

Background

Bioimage classification is a fundamental problem for many important biological studies that require accurate cell phenotype recognition, subcellular localization, and histopathological classification. In this paper, we present a new bioimage classification method that can be generally applicable to a wide variety of classification problems. We propose to use a high-dimensional multi-modal descriptor that combines multiple texture features. We also design a novel subcategory discriminant transform (SDT) algorithm to further enhance the discriminative power of descriptors by learning convolution kernels to reduce the within-class variation and increase the between-class difference.

Results

We evaluate our method on eight different bioimage classification tasks using the publicly available IICBU 2008 database. Each task comprises a separate dataset, and the collection represents typical subcellular, cellular, and tissue level classification problems. Our method demonstrates improved classification accuracy (0.9 to 9%) on six tasks when compared to state-of-the-art approaches. We also find that SDT outperforms the well-known dimension reduction techniques, with for example 0.2 to 13% improvement over linear discriminant analysis.

Conclusions

We present a general bioimage classification method, which comprises a highly descriptive visual feature representation and a learning-based discriminative feature transformation algorithm. Our evaluation on the IICBU 2008 database demonstrates improved performance over the state-of-the-art for six different classification tasks.
The effect of foot orthoses with forefoot cushioning or metatarsal pad on forefoot peak plantar pressure in running
Authors: Hähni Michaela , Hirschmüller Anja , Baur Heiner
Published: November 2016

Background

Foot orthoses are frequently used in sports for the treatment of overuse complaints with sufficient evidence available for certain foot‐related overuse pathologies like plantar fasciitis, rheumatoid arthritis and foot pain (e.g., metatarsalgia). One important aim is to reduce plantar pressure under prominent areas like metatarsal heads. For the forefoot region, mainly two common strategies exist: metatarsal pad (MP) and forefoot cushioning (FC). The aim of this study was to evaluate which of these orthosis concepts is superior in reducing plantar pressure in the forefoot during running.

Methods

Twenty‐three (13 female, 10 male) asymptomatic runners participated in this cross‐sectional experimental trial. Participants ran in a randomised order under the two experimental (MP, FC) conditions and a control (C) condition on a treadmill (2.78 ms−1) for 2 min, respectively. Plantar pressure was measured with the in‐shoe plantar pressure measurement device pedar‐x®‐System and mean peak pressure averaged from ten steps in the forefoot (primary outcome) and total foot was analysed. Insole comfort was measured with the Insole Comfort Index (ICI, sum score 0–100) after each running trial. The primary outcome was tested using the Friedman test (α = 0.05). Secondary outcomes were analysed descriptively (mean ± SD, lower & upper 95%‐CI, median and interquartile‐range (IQR)).

Results

Peak pressure [kPa] in the forefoot was significantly lower wearing FC (281 ± 80, 95%‐CI: 246–315) compared to both C (313 ± 69, 95%‐CI: 283–343; p = .003) and MP (315 ± 80, 95%‐CI: 280–350; p = .001). No significant difference was found between C and MP (p = .858). Peak pressures under the total foot were: C: 364 ± 82, 95%‐CI: 328–399; MP: 357 ± 80, 95%‐CI: 326–387; FC: 333 ± 81 95%‐CI: 298–368. Median ICI sum scores were: C 50, MP 49, FC 64.

Conclusions

In contrast to the metatarsal pad orthosis, the forefoot cushioning orthosis achieved a significant reduction of peak pressure in the forefoot of recreational runners. Consequently, the use of a prefabricated forefoot cushioning orthosis should be favoured over a prefabricated orthosis with an incorporated metatarsal pad in recreational runners with normal height arches.
Single-molecule FRET-Rosetta reveals RNA structural rearrangements during human telomerase catalysis
Authors: Parks Joseph W. , Kappel Kalli , Das Rhiju , Stone Michael D.
Published: November 2016

Maintenance of telomeres by telomerase permits continuous proliferation of rapidly dividing cells, including the majority of human cancers. Despite its direct biomedical significance, the architecture of the human telomerase complex remains unknown. Generating homogeneous telomerase samples has presented a significant barrier to developing improved structural models. Here we pair single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) measurements with Rosetta modeling to map the conformations of the essential telomerase RNA core domain within the active ribonucleoprotein. FRET-guided modeling places the essential pseudoknot fold distal to the active site on a protein surface comprising the C-terminal element, a domain that shares structural homology with canonical polymerase thumb domains. An independently solved medium-resolution structure of Tetrahymena telomerase provides a blind test of our modeling methodology and sheds light on the structural homology of this domain across diverse organisms. Our smFRET-Rosetta models reveal nanometer-scale rearrangements within the RNA core domain during catalysis. Taken together, our FRET data and pseudoatomic molecular models permit us to propose a possible mechanism for how RNA core domain rearrangement is coupled to template hybrid elongation.
An ensemble-based Cox proportional hazards regression framework for predicting survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients
Authors: Meier Richard , Graw Stefan , Usset Joseph , Raghavan Rama , Dai Junqiang , Chalise Prabhakar , Ellis Shellie , Fridley Brooke , Koestler Devin
Published: November 2016

From March through August 2015, nearly 60 teams from around the world participated in the Prostate Cancer Dream Challenge (PCDC). Participating teams were faced with the task of developing prediction models for patient survival and treatment discontinuation using baseline clinical variables collected on metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients in the comparator arm of four phase III clinical trials. In total, over 2,000 mCRPC patients treated with first-line docetaxel comprised the training and testing data sets used in this challenge. In this paper we describe: (a) the sub-challenges comprising the PCDC, (b) the statistical metrics used to benchmark prediction performance, (c) our analytical approach, and finally (d) our team’s overall performance in this challenge. Specifically, we discuss our curated, ad-hoc, feature selection (CAFS) strategy for identifying clinically important risk-predictors, the ensemble-based Cox proportional hazards regression framework used in our final submission, and the adaptation of our modeling framework based on the results from the intermittent leaderboard rounds. Strong predictors of patient survival were successfully identified utilizing our model building approach. Several of the identified predictors were new features created by our team via strategically merging collections of weak predictors. In each of the three intermittent leaderboard rounds, our prediction models scored among the top four models across all participating teams and our final submission ranked 9th place overall with an integrated area under the curve (iAUC) of 0.7711 computed in an independent test set. While the prediction performance of teams placing between 2nd- 10th (iAUC: 0.7710-0.7789) was better than the current gold-standard prediction model for prostate cancer survival, the top-performing team, FIMM-UTU significantly outperformed all other contestants with an iAUC of 0.7915.  In summary, our ensemble-based Cox regression framework with CAFS resulted in strong overall performance for predicting prostate cancer survival and represents a promising approach for future prediction problems.