bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regulatory Enforcement, Riskscapes, and Environmental Justice
Authors: Konisky David M. , Reenock Christopher
Published: March 2017

Does environmental regulation vary over poor and minority communities? An uneven governmental response may follow from regulators' varying incentives to negotiate enforcement challenges. We argue that regulators confront two in particular. Regulators can pursue political enforcement, responding to mobilized interests, regardless of environmental risk, or they can pursue instrumental enforcement, responding to at‐risk communities, regardless of political mobilization. To examine these competing strategies, we use an original dataset from the EPA's Risk‐Screening Environmental Indicators model to develop a geographic “riskscape” combined with census tract community data and facility‐level enforcement data. We find that state regulatory agencies pursue a mixture of political and instrumental enforcement, but that these tactics are applied unevenly across traditional environmental justice communities. Specifically, state agencies devote more attention to facilities in communities with relatively higher risk, but less attention in the area of punishment for violations for facilities located in Hispanic communities. Importantly, this lack of attention to Hispanic communities is not mediated by the relative level of risks that they face, but it is to a significant extent in communities in which environmental justice advocacy organizations operate.
Partisan politics, welfare states, and environmental policy outputs in the OECD countries, 1975–2005
Authors: Lim Sijeong , Duit Andreas
Published: March 2017

Building on the burgeoning literature on the association between the welfare state and the environmental state, this study empirically examines how the politics of the former has affected the development of the latter. We suggest that the size of the welfare state shapes the calculus of environmental policy costs by partisan governments. A generous welfare state lowers the costs perceived by the left‐wing government, as large redistributive spending allows the government to mitigate the adverse impact of the new environmental policy on its core supporters, industrial workers. A generous welfare state also implies diminished marginal political returns from additional welfare commitment by the left‐wing government, which lowers the opportunity costs of environmental policy expansion. To the contrary, because of lower overall regulatory and taxation pressure, a small welfare state reduces the costs of environmental policy expansion as perceived by a right‐wing government. Our theoretical narrative is supported in a dynamic panel data analysis of environmental policy outputs in 25 Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development member states during the period 1975–2005.
Family‐based food practices and their intergenerational geographies in contemporary Guangzhou, China
Authors: Liu Chen
Published: March 2017

Social geography research on familial spaces and intimate relations has generated valuable literatures on parenting and grand‐parenting in modern nuclear families. However, the complex intergenerational relations and geographies of multi‐generational households remain under‐researched, limiting geographers’ understanding of familial spatialities. This paper reports on research exploring intergenerational relationships through the lens of family‐based food practices in temporary three‐generational households of Guangzhou, the largest city in south China. It draws on five case studies with Xiaokang (middle‐level) households. It examines how intergenerational relations are performed through everyday food practices, exploring their geographies in terms of both domestic space and wider family geographies. The key arguments suggest that domestic spaces are significant to cultural transmission and transition and emotional communication across generations, and key sites for intergenerational segregation and integration.
Investigating Consistency of Questions in Primary and Middle School Science Textbooks with Objectives in Science Curriculum
Authors: Yaman Süleyman
Published: March 2017

Due to problems related their content and use; textbooks do not achieve the expected effect in learning although they are one of the most important elements of the science curriculum. Questions in textbooks are also important criteria in determining the effect of textbooks. In this study, it was aimed to compare questions in four different science textbooks, both qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of objectives of curriculum. 2677 questions retrieved from primary school 3rd and middle school 5th and 6th grades textbooks were investigated comparatively in terms of their ratio across objectives in the curriculum, cognitive levels and types. According to the analysis, it was determined that there were differences between distributions of questions in the same and different grade level textbooks. It was also found that questions related to the objectives regarding input and processing skills were more than questions related to the objectives of output skills. Besides, it was observed that most of the questions in textbooks were aligned with traditional assessment and evaluation tools, and the ratio of the alternative type tools was found to be lower than the ratio of four different textbooks.
Experiences and impact of mistreatment and obstetric violence on women during childbearing: a systematic review protocol
Authors: McGarry Julie , Hinsliff-Smith Kathryn , Watts Kim , McCloskey Paula , Evans Catrin
Published: March 2017

Review question/objective:

The aim of this review is to synthesize the best available evidence on the experiences of mistreatment and/or obstetric violence in women. Specifically, the objective is to explore, from a woman's point of view, the impacts and consequences of mistreatment and/or obstetric violence during childbearing. The review question is: “What are the experiences and impact of mistreatment and obstetric violence on women during the active period of childbearing?”
First-time fathers’ needs and experiences of transition to fatherhood in relation to their mental health and wellbeing: a qualitative systematic review protocol
Authors: Baldwin Sharin , Bick Debra
Published: March 2017

Review question/objective

This qualitative review seeks to identify first-time fathers’ needs and experiences in relation to their mental health and wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood. This will include resident first-time fathers who are either the biological or non-biological father.

The objectives are to explore first-time fathers’ experiences in relation to:

Their mental health and wellbeing

Their perceived needs around mental health

The ways in which mental health problems are manifested, recognized and acted upon

The contexts and strategies that are perceived to support mental wellbeing

Perceived barriers and facilitators to accessing support for their mental health and wellbeing
Optical Tracking of a Tactile Probe for the Reverse Engineering of Industrial Impellers
Authors: Barone Sandro , Paoli Alessandro , Razionale Armando V.
Published: March 2017

Different sensor technologies are available for dimensional metrology and reverse engineering processes. Tactile systems, optical sensors, and computed tomography (CT) are being used to an increasing extent in various industrial contexts. However, each technique has its own peculiarities, which may limit its usability in demanding applications. The measurement of complex shapes, such as those including hidden and twisted geometries, could be better afforded by multisensor systems combining the advantages of two or more data acquisition technologies. In this paper, a fully automatic multisensor methodology has been developed with the aim at performing accurate and reliable measurements of both external and internal geometries of industrial components. The methodology is based on tracking a customized hand-held tactile probe by a passive stereo vision system. The imaging system automatically tracks the probe by means of photogrammetric measurements of markers distributed over a plate rigidly assembled to the tactile frame. Moreover, the passive stereo system is activated with a structured light projector in order to provide full-field scanning data, which integrate the point-by-point measurements. The use of the same stereo vision system for both tactile probe tracking and structured light scanning allows the two different sensors to express measurement data in the same reference system, thus preventing inaccuracies due to misalignment errors occurring in the registration phase. The tactile methodology has been validated by measuring primitive shapes. Moreover, the effectiveness of the integration between tactile probing and optical scanning has been experienced by reconstructing twisted and internal shapes of industrial impellers.
Engineering Change Management of Product Design Using Model-Based Definition Technology
Authors: Yin Leilei , Tang Dunbing , Wang Qi , Ullah Inayat , Zhang Haitao
Published: March 2017

As engineering change (EC) is an inevitable activity in the industry and uses a lot of engineering design resources, the management of EC has become a crucial discipline. In current researches, most of the data related to the product design change are scattered in different forms and the product data are acquired manually from various files in the EC management, which is time-consuming and error-prone. In this work, design change-oriented model-based definition (DCMBD) model is defined as the sole data source. Based on the proposed DCMBD model, this work presents a method to acquire the product changes automatically and evaluate design change propagation proactively in a uniform way. The objective of the proposed method is to effectively and efficiently manage ECs. In this paper, first, DCMBD model is defined specifically, which records the product data: geometry, material, tolerance and annotations, relations of product items, lifecycle data, etc. Then, based on the defined DCMBD model, algorithms are presented to automatically acquire two types of product change: parameter change and topology face change. Next, relation models for the product items (parameter and topology face) are demonstrated. After that, the change propagation in terms of parameters and topology faces are clarified. Meanwhile, indices of parameter change influence (PCI) and topology face change influence (TFCI) are presented to evaluate the change impact. Finally, a prototype system for product design change is developed and a case study is demonstrated to show how the proposed method can be applied to the product design change.
Interlaminar Toughening of GFRP—Part I: Bonding Improvement Through Diffusion and Precipitation
Authors: Bian Dakai , Beeksma Bradley R. , Shim D. J. , Jones Marshall , Lawrence Yao Y.
Published: March 2017

A low concentrated polystyrene (PS) additive to epoxy is used, since it is able to reduce the curing reaction rate but not at the cost of increasing viscosity and decreasing glass transition temperature of the curing epoxy. The modified epoxy is cocured with a compatible thermoplastic interleaf during the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) to toughen the interlaminar of the composites. Using viscometry, the solubilities of thermoplastics (TPs) polycarbonate (PC), polyetherimide (PEI), and polysulfone (PSU) are determined to predict their compatibility with epoxy. The diffusion and precipitation process between the most compatible polymer PSU and epoxy formed semi-interpenetration networks (semi-IPN). To optimize bonding adhesion, these diffusion and precipitation regions were studied via optical microscopy under curing temperatures from 25 °C to 120 °C and PS additive concentrations to epoxy of 0–5%. Uniaxial tensile tests were performed to quantify the effects of diffusion and precipitation regions on composite delamination resistance and toughness. Crack paths were observed to characterize crack propagation and arrest mechanism. Fracture surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to characterize the toughening mechanism of the thermoplastic interleaf reinforcements. The chemically etched interface between diffusion and precipitation regions showed semi-IPN morphology at different curing temperatures. Results revealed deeper diffusion and precipitation regions increase energy required to break semi-IPN for crack propagation resulting in crack arrests and improved toughness.
Enumeration of Architectures With Perfect Matchings
Authors: Herber Daniel R. , Guo Tinghao , Allison James T.
Published: March 2017

In this article, a class of architecture design problems is explored with perfect matchings (PMs). A perfect matching in a graph is a set of edges such that every vertex is present in exactly one edge. The perfect matching approach has many desirable properties such as complete design space coverage. Improving on the pure perfect matching approach, a tree search algorithm is developed that more efficiently covers the same design space. The effect of specific network structure constraints (NSCs) and colored graph isomorphisms on the desired design space is demonstrated. This is accomplished by determining all unique feasible graphs for a select number of architecture problems, explicitly demonstrating the specific challenges of architecture design. With this methodology, it is possible to enumerate all possible architectures for moderate scale-systems, providing both a viable solution technique for certain problems and a rich data set for the development of more capable generative methods and other design studies.
Characterization and Correction of Errors in Computing Contact Location Between Curved Articular Surfaces: Application to Total Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Roth Joshua D. , Howell Stephen M. , Hull Maury L.
Published: March 2017

In total knee arthroplasty (TKA), one common metric used to evaluate innovations in component designs, methods of component alignment, and surgical techniques aimed at decreasing the high rate of patient-reported dissatisfaction is tibiofemoral contact kinematics. Tibiofemoral contact kinematics are determined based on the movement of the contact locations in the medial and lateral compartments of the tibia during knee flexion. A tibial force sensor is a useful instrument to determine the contact locations, because it can simultaneously determine contact forces and contact locations. Previous reports of tibial force sensors have neither characterized nor corrected errors in the computed contact location (i.e., center of pressure) between the femoral and tibial components in TKA that, based on a static analysis, are caused by the curved articular surface of the tibial component. The objectives were to experimentally characterize these errors and to develop and validate an error correction algorithm. The errors were characterized by calculating the difference between the errors in the computed contact locations when forces were applied normal to the tibial articular surface and those when forces were applied normal to the tibial baseplate. The algorithm generated error correction functions to minimize these errors and was validated by determining how much the error correction functions reduced the errors in the computed contact location caused by the curved articular surface. The curved articular surface primarily caused bias (i.e., average or systematic error) which ranged from 1.0 to 2.7 mm in regions of high curvature. The error correction functions reduced the bias in these regions to negligible levels ranging from 0.0 to 0.6 mm (p < 0.001). Bias in the computed contact locations caused by the curved articular surface of the tibial component as small as 1 mm needs to be accounted for, because it might inflate the computed internal–external rotation and anterior–posterior translation of femur on the tibia leading to false identifications of clinically undesirable contact kinematics (e.g., internal rotation and anterior translation during flexion). Our novel error correction algorithm is an effective method to account for this bias to more accurately compute contact kinematics.
New Understanding of Mode Switching in the Fluidic Precessing Jet Flow
Authors: Chen Xiao , Tian Zhao F. , Kelso Richard M. , Nathan Graham J.
Published: March 2017

We report the first systematic investigation of the phenomenon of “switching” between the two bistable axial jet (AJ) and precessing jet (PJ) flow modes in the fluidic precessing jet (FPJ) nozzle. While geometric configurations have been identified where the fractional time spent in the AJ mode is much less than that in the PJ mode, nevertheless, the phenomenon is undesirable and also remains of fundamental interest. This work was undertaken numerically using the unsteady shear stress transport (SST) model, the validation of which showed a good agreement with the experimental results. Three methods were employed in the current work to trigger the flow to switch from the AJ to the PJ modes. It is found that some asymmetry in either the inlet flow or the initial flow field is necessary to trigger the mode switching, with the time required to switch being dependent on the extent of the asymmetry. The direction and frequency of the precession were found to depend on the direction and intensity of the imposed inlet swirling, which will be conducive to the control of the FPJ flow for related industrial applications and academic research. The process with which the vortex skeleton changes within the chamber is also reported. Furthermore, both the rate of spreading and the maximum axial velocity decay of the jet within the nozzle are found to increase gradually during the switching process from the AJ to the PJ modes, consistent with the increased curvature within the local jet.
Critical bandwidth speech: Arrays of subcritical band speech maintain near-ceiling intelligibility at high amplitudes
Authors: Warren Richard M. , Bashford James A. , Lenz Peter W.
Published: March 2017

Removal of transition bands from narrow speech passbands through very steep filtering has made it possible to isolate and determine (for the first time) intelligibility of critical bandwidth as well as subcritical bandwidth speech. These rectangular bands have unique intelligibilities when heard singly, paired, or in various multiband arrays spanning the speech spectrum. Thus, a particular sparse spectral array of unfamiliar everyday sentences in this study has demonstrated 98% intelligibility up to 100 dB. Some theoretical and practical applications are suggested.
The role of vocal tract and subglottal resonances in producing vocal instabilities
Authors: Wade Laura , Hanna Noel , Smith John , Wolfe Joe
Published: March 2017

During speech and singing, the vibrating vocal folds are acoustically loaded by resonant ducts upstream (the trachea) and downstream (the vocal tract). Some models suggest that the vocal fold vibration (at frequency fo) is more stable at frequencies below that of a vocal tract resonance, so that the downstream load is inertive (mass-like). If so, vocal fold vibration might become unstable when fo and resonance frequencies “cross over” and the load varies rapidly in phase and magnitude. In one experiment, singers produced a slow diphthong at constant pitch, thus shifting the first tract resonance R1 across fixed fo. In another, pitch glides took fo across the tract and subglottal resonances. Few instabilities occurred when singers could change lip geometry and thus alter R1. This suggests that avoiding resonance crossings can aid vibrational stability. In experiments in which R1 was constrained using a mouth ring, instabilities occurred at frequencies above R1. When subjects sang into an acoustically infinite pipe, which provided a purely resistive load at the lips, R1 was eliminated. Here, instabilities were reduced and concentrated near the lower limit of the head voice.
Deterministic entanglement generation from driving through quantum phase transitions
Authors: Luo Xin-Yu , Zou Yi-Quan , Wu Ling-Na , Liu Qi , Han Ming-Fei , Tey Meng Khoon , You Li
Published: March 2017

Transitional approach to entanglement

In an entangled many-particle system, changing the state of one constituent affects the rest of the system. This property can be used as a resource in quantum information processing, but getting many particles to participate in entanglement is tricky. Luo
et al.
used another collective phenomenon, a quantum phase transition, to entangle more than 900 atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate. The size of the entangled ensemble remained stable, making the approach practical for precision measurements.

Science
, this issue p.
620
Flipping nanoscopy on its head
Authors: Xiao Jie , Ha Taekjip
Published: March 2017

Fluorescent imaging with minimal photon flux can achieve single-nanometer resolution
Machine learning for quantum physics
Authors: Hush Michael R.
Published: March 2017

An artificial neural network can discover the ground state of a quantum many-body system
Mobile elements control stem cell potency
Authors: Hasuwa Hidetoshi , Siomi Haruhiko
Published: March 2017

A microRNA suppresses transposons and bars pluripotent stem cells from totipotency
Act for science
Authors: Holt Rush
Published: March 2017

This year's American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, the publisher of
Science
) Annual Meeting in Boston (16 to 20 February) promises again to be one of the world's most recognized forums for communicating the excitement, beauty, power, and relevance of science. Attendees from dozens of countries, from nearly every field of study, and from all sectors will share ideas and build collaborations. Attendees share a cherished understanding that science practiced with diligence and reverence for evidence illuminates the human condition, leads to measurable progress, and provides the best insurance against error and deception. These amazing benefits depend on open communication as a fundamental ingredient of science. This is why President Trump's recent immigration ban has been a jolt across the global scientific enterprise.
Papers of note in
Nature
543
(7643)
Authors: VanHook Annalisa M.
Published: March 2017

This week’s articles describe a cause of chronic inflammation in Gaucher disease, a method for improving the efficacy of T cell–mediated cancer immunotherapy, a type of oncogene amplification that enhances tumor heterogeneity, and a mechanism whereby mechanical stress maintains epithelial homeostasis.
Genetic Diversity and
In Vitro
Antifungal Susceptibility of 200 Clinical and Environmental Aspergillus flavus Isolates
Authors: Taghizadeh-Armaki Mojtaba , Hedayati Mohammad Taghi , Ansari Saham , Omran Saeed Mahdavi , Saber Sasan , Rafati Haleh , Zoll Jan , van der Lee Henrich A. , Melchers Willem J. G. , Verweij Paul E. , Seyedmousavi Seyedmojtaba
Published: March 2017

Aspergillus flavus
has been frequently reported as the leading cause of invasive aspergillosis in certain tropical and subtropical countries. Two hundred
A. flavus
strains originating from clinical and environmental sources and collected between 2008 and 2015 were phylogenetically identified at the species level by analyzing partial β-tubulin and calmodulin genes.
In vitro
antifungal susceptibility testing was performed against antifungals using the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) broth microdilution method. In addition, genotyping was performed using a short-tandem-repeat (STR) assay of a panel of six microsatellite markers (
A. flavus
2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, and 3C), in order to determine the genetic variation and the potential relationship between clinical and environmental isolates. The geometric means of the minimum inhibitory concentrations/minimum effective concentrations (MICs/MECs) of the antifungals across all isolates were (in increasing order): posaconazole, 0.13 mg/liter; anidulafungin, 0.16 mg/liter; itraconazole, 0.29 mg/liter; caspofungin, 0.42 mg/liter; voriconazole, 0.64 mg/liter; isavuconazole, 1.10 mg/liter; amphotericin B, 3.35 mg/liter; and flucytosine, 62.97 mg/liter. All of the clinical isolates were genetically different. However, an identical microsatellite genotype was found between a clinical isolate and two environmental strains. In conclusion, posaconazole and anidulafungin showed the greatest
in vitro
activity among systemic azoles and echinocandins, respectively. However, the majority of the
A. flavus
isolates showed reduced susceptibility to amphotericin B. Antifungal susceptibility of
A. flavus
was not linked with the clinical or environmental source of isolation. Microsatellite genotyping may suggest an association between clinical and environmental strains, although this requires further investigation.
Complete Nucleotide Sequences of Two VIM-1-Encoding Plasmids from Klebsiella pneumoniae and Leclercia adecarboxylata Isolates of Czech Origin
Authors: Papousek Ivo , Papagiannitsis Costas C. , Medvecky Matej , Hrabak Jaroslav , Dolejska Monika
Published: March 2017

Two multidrug resistance (MDR) plasmids, carrying the VIM-1-encoding integron In110, were characterized. Plasmid pLec-476cz (311,758 bp), from a
Leclercia adecarboxylata
isolate, consisted of an IncHI1 backbone, a MDR region, and two accessory elements. Plasmid pKpn-431cz (142,876 bp), from a sequence type 323 (ST323)
Klebsiella pneumoniae
isolate, comprised IncFII
Y
-derived and pKPN3-like sequences and a mosaic region. A 40,400-bp sequence of pKpn-431cz was identical to the MDR region of pLec-476cz, indicating the
en bloc
acquisition of the VIM-1-encoding region from one plasmid by the other.
An Eight-Residue Deletion in Escherichia coli FabG Causes Temperature-Sensitive Growth and Lipid Synthesis Plus Resistance to the Calmodulin Inhibitor Trifluoperazine
Authors: Srinivas Swaminath , Cronan John E.
Published: March 2017

FabG performs the NADPH-dependent reduction of β-keto acyl-acyl carrier protein substrates in the elongation cycle of fatty acid synthesis. We report the characterization of a temperature-sensitive mutation (
fabG
Δ
8
) in
Escherichia coli
fabG
that results from an in-frame 8-amino-acid residue deletion in the α6/α7 subdomain. This region forms part of one of the two dimerization interfaces of this tetrameric enzyme and is reported to undergo significant conformational changes upon cofactor binding, which define the entrance to the active-site cleft. The activity of the mutant enzyme is extremely thermolabile and is deficient in forming homodimers at nonpermissive temperatures with a corresponding decrease in fatty acid synthesis both
in vivo
and
in vitro
. Surprisingly, the
fabG
Δ
8
strain reverts to temperature resistance at a rate reminiscent of that of a point mutant with intragenic pseudorevertants located either on the 2-fold axes of symmetry or at the mouth of the active-site cleft. The
fabG
Δ
8
mutation also confers resistance to the calmodulin inhibitor trifluoperazine and renders the enzyme extremely sensitive to Ca
2+
in vitro
. We also observed a significant alteration in the lipid A fatty acid composition of
fabG
Δ
8
strains but only in an
lpxC
background, probably due to alterations in the permeability of the outer membrane. These observations provide insights into the structural dynamics of FabG and hint at yet another point of regulation between fatty acid and lipid A biosynthesis.

IMPORTANCE
Membrane lipid homeostasis and its plasticity in a variety of environments are essential for bacterial survival. Since lipid biosynthesis in bacteria and plants is fundamentally distinct from that in animals, it is an ideal target for the development of antibacterial therapeutics. FabG, the subject of this study, catalyzes the first cofactor-dependent reduction in this pathway and is active only as a tetramer. This study examines the interactions responsible for tetramerization through the biochemical characterization of a novel temperature-sensitive mutation caused by a short deletion in an important helix-turn-helix motif. The mutant strain has altered phospholipid and lipid A compositions and is resistant to trifluoperazine, an inhibitor of mammalian calmodulin. Understanding its structural dynamics and its influence on lipid A synthesis also allows us to explore lipid homeostasis as a mechanism for antibiotic resistance.
The
dev
Operon Regulates the Timing of Sporulation during Myxococcus xanthus Development
Authors: Rajagopalan Ramya , Kroos Lee
Published: March 2017

Myxococcus xanthus
undergoes multicellular development when starved. Thousands of rod-shaped cells coordinate their movements and aggregate into mounds in which cells differentiate into spores. Mutations in the
dev
operon impair development. The
dev
operon encompasses a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat-associated (CRISPR-Cas) system. Null mutations in
devI
, a small gene at the beginning of the
dev
operon, suppress the developmental defects caused by null mutations in the downstream
devR
and
devS
genes but failed to suppress defects caused by a small in-frame deletion in
devT
. We provide evidence that the original mutant has a second-site mutation. We show that
devT
null mutants exhibit developmental defects indistinguishable from
devR
and
devS
null mutants, and a null mutation in
devI
suppresses the defects of a
devT
null mutation. The similarity of DevTRS proteins to components of the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (Cascade), together with our molecular characterization of
dev
mutants, support a model in which DevTRS form a Cascade-like subcomplex that negatively autoregulates
dev
transcript accumulation and prevents DevI overproduction that would strongly inhibit sporulation. Our results also suggest that DevI transiently inhibits sporulation when regulated normally. The mechanism of transient inhibition may involve MrpC, a key transcription factor, whose translation appears to be weakly inhibited by DevI. Finally, our characterization of a
devI devS
mutant indicates that very little
exo
transcript is required for sporulation, which is surprising since Exo proteins help form the polysaccharide spore coat.

IMPORTANCE
CRISPR-Cas systems typically function as adaptive immune systems in bacteria. The
dev
CRISPR-Cas system of
M. xanthus
has been proposed to prevent bacteriophage infection during development, but how
dev
controls sporulation has been elusive. Recent evidence supported a model in which DevR and DevS prevent overproduction of DevI, a predicted 40-residue inhibitor of sporulation. We provide genetic evidence that DevT functions together with DevR and DevS to prevent DevI overproduction. We also show that spores form about 6 h earlier in mutants lacking
devI
than in the wild type. Only a minority of natural isolates appear to have a functional
dev
promoter and
devI
, suggesting that a functional
dev
CRISPR-Cas system evolved recently in niches where delayed sporulation and/or protection from bacteriophage infection proved advantageous.
Translation of the international outcome inventory for hearing aids into Portuguese from Portugal
Authors: Paiva Sofia M M , Simões João F C P M , Paiva António M Diogo , Sousa Francisco J F Castro e , Bébéar Jean-Pierre
Published: March 2017

Objective

To translate the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) Questionnaire from English to Portuguese (from Portugal) and to validate this instrument of study on the Portuguese population.

Design

In this prospective study, a translation from English into Portuguese of the IOI-HA was performed, and linguistic adaptation and counter translation were also accomplished. The data were analysed for internal consistency testing for correlations between each individual item and the total score of the IOI-HA, assessing the Cronbach α and performing test–retest analysis.

Setting and participants

80 hearing aid users aged 18 years or older were recruited from an ear, nose and throat (ENT) appointment in Coimbra's hospital, Portugal. 84% of the participants were unilateral hearing aid users, whereas 16% were bilateral users.

Interventions

The patients volunteered to answer the questionnaire during an ENT appointment. All of the patients had been using the hearing aids for more than 3 years.

After the first application of the questionnaire, a new appointment was planned for retesting, within at least 7 days to no more than 60 days. 29 participants answered the questionnaire again according to the same procedure.

Results

The mean IOI-HA total score in the study population was 27.33±4.93 (9–35). The mean values obtained for each item of the questionnaire ranged from 3.19 to 4.54. The Cronbach α was 0.838 and the Cronbach α values when the item was removed, were also significantly strong. The test–retest analysis revealed no differences between the paired groups.

Conclusions

In the present study a valid and reliable translation and adaptation of the IOI-HA into Portuguese from Portugal is proposed. This tool will be available for clinical assessment of hearing aid users.
Retrospective review of Surgical Availability and Readiness in 8 African countries
Authors: Spiegel D A , Droti B , Relan P , Hobson S , Cherian M N , O'Neill K
Published: March 2017

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to assess surgical availability and readiness in 8 African countries using the WHO's Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) tool.

Setting

We analysed data for surgical services, including basic and comprehensive surgery, comprehensive obstetric care, blood transfusion, and infection prevention, obtained from the WHO's SARA surveys in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Mauritania, Benin, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Among the facilities that were expected to offer surgical services (N=3492), there were wide disparities between the countries in the number of facilities per 100 000 population that reported offering basic surgery (1.0–12.1), comprehensive surgery (0.1–0.8), comprehensive obstetric care (0.1–0.8) and blood transfusion (0.1–0.8). Only 0.1–0.3 facilities per 100 000 population had all three bellwether procedures available, namely laparotomy, open fracture management and caesarean section. In all the countries, the facilities that reported offering surgical services generally had a shortage of the necessary items for offering the services and this varied greatly between the countries, with the facilities having on average 27–53% of the items necessary for offering basic surgery, 56–83% for comprehensive surgery, 49–72% for comprehensive obstetric care and 54–80% for blood transfusion. Furthermore, few facilities had all the necessary items present. However, facilities that reported offering surgical services had on average most of the necessary items for the prevention of infection.

Conclusions

There are important gaps in the surgical services in the 8 African countries surveyed. Efforts are therefore urgently needed to address deficiencies in the availability and readiness to deliver surgical services in these nations, and this will require commitment from multiple stakeholders. SARA may be used to monitor availability and readiness at regular intervals, which will enable stakeholders to evaluate progress and identify gaps and areas for improvement.
Impact of gender on event rates at 1 year in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation: contemporary perspective from the GARFIELD-AF registry
Authors: Camm A John , Accetta Gabriele , Al Mahmeed Wael , Ambrosio Giuseppe , Goldhaber Samuel Z , Haas Sylvia , Jansky Petr , Kayani Gloria , Misselwitz Frank , Oh Seil , Oto Ali , Raatikainen Pekka , Steffel Jan , van Eickels Martin , Kakkar Ajay K
Published: March 2017

Objectives

Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) explored the impact of gender, risk factors and anticoagulant (AC) treatment on 1-year outcomes in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).

Design

GARFIELD-AF is a prospective non-interventional registry.

Setting

Investigator sites (n=1048) are representative of the care settings/locations in each of the 35 countries.

Participants

Patients ≥18yrs with newly diagnosed (≤6 weeks' duration) NVAF and ≥1 investigator-determined stroke risk factors.

Main outcome measures

Event rates per 100 person-years were estimated from the Poisson model and HRs and 95% CIs calculated.

Results

Of 28 624 patients (women 44.4%; men 55.6%) enrolled, there were more elderly (≥75 years) women (46.9%) than men (30.4%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years (95% CI) for women and men were 4.48 (4.12 to 4.87) and 4.04 (3.74 to 4.38), respectively, stroke/systemic embolism (SE) (1.62 (1.41 to 1.87) and 1.17 (1.01 to 1.36)) and major bleeding (0.93 (0.78 to 1.13) and 0.79 (0.66 to 0.95)). After adjustment for baseline risk factors in treated and untreated patients, HRs (95% CI) for women (relative to men) for stroke/SE rates were 1.3-fold higher in women (HR 1.30 (1.04 to 1.63)), and similar for major bleeding (1.13 (0.85 to 1.50)) and all-cause mortality (1.05 (0.92 to 1.19)). Antithrombotic treatment patterns in men and women were almost identical. 63.8% women and 62.9% men received AC± antiplatelets. Relative to no AC treatment, the reduction in stroke/SE rates with AC treatment was greater (p=0.01) in men (HR 0.45 (0.33 to 0.61)) than women 0.77 (0.57 to 1.03). All-cause mortality reduction with AC treatment was similar (women: 0.65 (0.54 to 0.77); men: 0.57 (0.48 to 0.68)). The risk of major bleeding when treated with AC versus no AC was 2.33 (1.41 to 3.84) in men and 1.86 (1.16 to 2.99) in women (p value=0.53).

Conclusions

Women have a higher risk of stroke/SE and the reduction in stroke/SE events rates with AC treatment is less in women than in men.

Trial registration number

NCT01090362.
Effects of grass roots on soil-water retention curve and permeability function
Authors: Jotisankasa Apiniti , Sirirattanachat Teerapat
Published: March 2017

The effects of Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) roots on the soil-water retention curves (SWRCs), permeability (k) function, and saturated permeability, ksat, have been investigated on clayey sand (SC) and low-plasticity silt (ML). For ML soil, when the root biomass per soil volume was lower than 6.5 kg/m3, the saturated permeability increased, the air-entry suction decreased slightly, and the SWRC became steeper with increasing root contents, probably due to the formation of cracks caused by wetting and drying cycles during the plant growing period. Nevertheless, roots appeared to decrease the saturated permeability and increase the air-entry suction of ML soil, after reaching this threshold with a root content of about 6.5 kg/m3 as roots occupied the macropores and tended to suppress cracks and swelling. For SC soil for all root contents, only a slight variation of the saturated permeability with root content could be observed for the upper bounds on saturated permeability. However, the lower bounds on saturated permeability appeared to decrease as root content increased. It has also been shown that for a suction range beyond 30 kPa, the influence of roots on permeability appeared to be less significant.
Dehydration resistance and tolerance in the brush-legged wolf spider (Schizocosaocreata): a comparison of survivorship, critical body water content, and water-loss rates between sexes
Authors: Herrmann Samantha K. , Roberts J. Andrew
Published: March 2017

Small-bodied terrestrial animals like spiders face challenges maintaining water reserves essential for homeostasis. They may experience dry microclimates and (or) seasonal variation in water availability, so dehydration is a common stressor that may help explain movement, foraging, and other behaviors. This study examines aspects of dehydration resistance and tolerance in the brush-legged wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz, 1844) (Araneae: Lycosidae), commonly found in the leaf litter of eastern deciduous forests of North America. Sexes differ in morphology, physiology, reproductive strategy, and life history, likely resulting in divergent abilities to resist and tolerate dehydration. We used humidity-controlled chambers to examine relative survivorship by sex under varying humidity regimes, water-loss rates, body water content, and critical water mass. Spiders survived significantly longer in higher humidity regimes (≥50% RH). Females had significantly better survivorship overall, lower body-loss rates, and lower critical mass, though males had greater percent body water content, indicating that females have greater dehydration resistance and tolerance than males. Although sex-based differences in survival time and water-loss rates are likely an effect of relative body mass, females should be more successful than males during periods of episodic drought and are likely selected to survive later in the season while caring for offspring.
Discrete orthogonality of the analytic wavelets in the Hardy space of the upper half plane
Authors: Eisner Tímea , Pap Margit
Published: March 2017

We will prove that the analytic orthogonal wavelet-system, which was introduced by Feichtinger and Pap in [Hyperbolic wavelets and multiresolution in the Hardy space of the upper half plane, in Blaschke Products and Their Applications: Fields Institute Communications, Vol. 65 (Springer, New York, 2013), pp. 193–208] is discrete orthogonal too. We will discuss the discrete orthogonality and the properties of the reproducing kernel functions of the introduced wavelet-spaces.
Shared Value Innovation: Linking Competitiveness and Societal Goals in the Context of Digital Transformation
Authors: Lichtenthaler Ulrich
Published: March 2017

The idea of “creating shared value” has become very popular, but shared value creation has also been criticized. This paper may bridge some of the controversies by highlighting the need for innovation to successfully implement shared value programs. The paper develops the new concept of shared value innovation and discusses its building blocks drawing on different innovation types, such as product innovation, process innovation, service innovation, business model innovation, organization innovation, and management innovation. The paper further develops a process model of implementation steps for shared value innovation in the context of digital transformation. Based on an illustrative case study of mobility services, the concept of shared value innovation and its implementation steps are explained. Moreover, implications for academics and managers are discussed, which offer actionable starting points for creating shared value by linking economic performance and societal progress in firms’ core business activities.
Anisotropic cosmological models in f(R,T) gravity with variable deceleration parameter
Authors: Sahoo Pradyumn Kumar , Sahoo Parbati , Bishi Binaya Kumar
Published: March 2017

The objective of this work enclosed with the study of spatially homogeneous anisotropic Bianchi type-I universe in [Formula: see text] gravity (where [Formula: see text] is the Ricci scalar and [Formula: see text] is the trace of stress energy momentum tensor) in two different cases viz. [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] with bulk viscosity matter content. In this study, we consider a time varying deceleration parameter (DP), which generates an accelerating universe to obtain the exact solution of the field equations. The physical and kinematical properties of both the models are discussed in detail for the future evolution of the universe. We have explored the nature of WEC, DEC, SEC and energy density for both the cases. We have found that both the models, with bulk viscosity matter component, show an acceleration of the universe. We have also shown that the cosmic jerk parameter is compatible with the three kinematical data sets.
Some results on harmonic and bi-harmonic maps
Authors: Cherif Ahmed Mohammed
Published: March 2017

In this paper, we prove that any bi-harmonic map from a compact orientable Riemannian manifold without boundary [Formula: see text] to Riemannian manifold [Formula: see text] is necessarily constant with [Formula: see text] admitting a strongly convex function [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is a Jacobi-type vector field (or [Formula: see text] admitting a proper homothetic vector field). We also prove that every harmonic map from a complete Riemannian manifold into a Riemannian manifold admitting a proper homothetic vector field, satisfying some condition, is constant. We present an open problem.
Interstitial photoacoustic technique and computational simulation for temperature distribution and tissue optical properties in interstitial laser photothermal interaction
Authors: Li Zhifang , Chen Haiyu , Zhou Feifan , Li Hui , Chen Wei R.
Published: March 2017

Interstitial laser immunotherapy (ILIT) is designed to use photothermal and immunological interactions for treatment of metastatic cancers. The photothermal effect is crucial in inducing anti-tumor immune responses in the host. Tissue temperature and tissue optical properties are important factors in this process. In this study, a device combining interstitial photoacoustic (PA) technique and interstitial laser photothermal interaction is proposed. Together with computational simulation, this device was designed to determine temperature distributions and tissue optical properties during laser treatment. Experiments were performed using ex-vivo porcine liver tissue. Our results demonstrated that interstitial PA signal amplitude was linearly dependent on tissue temperature in the temperature ranges of 20–60[Formula: see text]C, as well as 65–80[Formula: see text]C, with a different slope, due to the change of tissue optical properties. Using the directly measured temperature in the tissue around the interstitial optical fiber diffusion tip for calibration, the theoretical temperature distribution predicted by the bioheat equation was used to extract optical properties of tissue. Finally, the three-dimensional temperature distribution was simulated to guide tumor destruction and immunological stimulation. Thus, this novel device and method could be used for monitoring and controlling ILIT for cancer treatment.
Measurement, Modeling, and Analysis of the Mobile App Ecosystem
Authors: Petsas Thanasis , Papadogiannakis Antonis , Polychronakis Michalis , Markatos Evangelos P. , Karagiannis Thomas
Published: March 2017

Mobile applications (apps) have been gaining popularity due to the advances in mobile technologies and the large increase in the number of mobile users. Consequently, several app distribution platforms, which provide a new way for developing, downloading, and updating software applications in modern mobile devices, have recently emerged. To better understand the download patterns, popularity trends, and development strategies in this rapidly evolving mobile app ecosystem, we systematically monitored and analyzed four popular third-party Android app marketplaces. Our study focuses on measuring, analyzing, and modeling the app popularity distribution and explores how pricing and revenue strategies affect app popularity and developers’ income.

Our results indicate that unlike web and peer-to-peer file sharing workloads, the app popularity distribution deviates from commonly observed Zipf-like models. We verify that these deviations can be mainly attributed to a new download pattern, which we refer to as the
clustering effect
. We validate the existence of this effect by revealing a strong temporal affinity of user downloads to app categories. Based on these observations, we propose a new formal clustering model for the distribution of app downloads and demonstrate that it closely fits measured data. Moreover, we observe that paid apps follow a different popularity distribution than free apps and show how free apps with an ad-based revenue strategy may result in higher financial benefits than paid apps. We believe that this study can be useful to appstore designers for improving content delivery and recommendation systems, as well as to app developers for selecting proper pricing policies to increase their income.