bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A neutron scattering and electron microscopy study of the structure, wetting, and freezing behavior of water near hydrophilic CuO-nanostructured surfaces
Authors: Torres J. , Buck Z. N. , Kaiser H. , He X. , White T. , Tyagi M. , Winholtz R. A. , Hansen F. Y. , Herwig K. W. , Taub H.
Published: January 2019

Oscillating heat pipes (OHPs) provide a promising heat transfer device for a variety of applications, including the cooling of electronic devices. Recently, it has been shown that a hydrophilic, nanostructured cupric oxide (CuO) coating can significantly enhance the thermal performance of copper OHPs that use water as the working fluid. Motivated by these results, we report neutron scattering and electron microscopy (EM) measurements to investigate the interaction of water with copper-oxide surfaces on the nanoscale. Our measurements confirm earlier observations of a thin cuprous oxide (Cu2O) layer growing on a bare copper substrate followed by “grass-like” CuO nanostructures. New evidence of the nanostructure hydrophilicity is provided by EM measurements of wetting and by our high-energy-resolution elastic neutron scattering measurements, showing a continuous freezing and melting of the water in our samples over a temperature range of ∼80 K. In addition, our neutron diffraction measurements are consistent with water closest to the CuO nanostructures freezing into an amorphous solid at low levels of hydration and hexagonal ice at higher hydration. In short, our findings support a strong interaction of water with the CuO nanostructures, which could significantly affect the operation of an OHP.
Laser-actuated optofluidic diaphragm capable of optical signal tracking
Authors: Klyuev D. S. , Fliagin V. M. , Al-Muzaiqer M. , Ivanova N. A.
Published: January 2019

We present a laser-actuated adaptive optical diaphragm that is capable of aligning the disturbance of the coaxiality of the optical signal and the plane of aperture. The diaphragm consists of two layers of immiscible liquids, where the bottom layer absorbs a pumping laser beam and transmits an optical signal, while the upper layer transmits the pumping laser beam and stops the optical signal. The operating principle is based on creating the circular thermocapillary rupture of the upper layer by Marangoni forces induced by heating with the pumping laser beam. The thermocapillary rupture serves as an aperture of the diaphragm. The aperture diameter at a fixed power of the laser beam depends on the upper layer thickness and reaches diameters up to two times larger in comparison with diaphragms operating on electrowetting and dielectrophoresis. The aperture tuning ratio is 100%. By shifting the pumping laser beam in the plane of the diaphragm, the aperture can be displaced for a distance up to a few of its radii.
Nonlinear ohmic dissipation in axisymmetric DC and RF driven rotating plasmas
Authors: Rax J. M. , Kolmes E. J. , Ochs I. E. , Fisch N. J. , Gueroult R.
Published: January 2019

An axisymmetric fully ionized plasma rotates around its axis when a charge separation between magnetic surfaces is produced from DC fields or RF waves. On each magnetic surface, both electrons and ions obey the isorotation law and perform an azimuthal E cross B rotation at the same angular velocity. When Coulomb collisions are taken into account, such a flow displays no Ohmic current short circuiting of the charge separation and thus no linear dissipation. A nonlinear Ohmic response appears when inertial effects are considered, providing a dissipative relaxation of the charge separation between the magnetic surfaces. This nonlinear conductivity results from an interplay between Coriolis, centrifugal, and electron-ion collisional friction forces. This phenomenon is identified, described, and analyzed. In addition, both the quality factor of angular momentum storage and the efficiency of wave driven angular momentum generation are calculated and shown to be independent of the details of the charge separation processes.
Similarity of the coupled equations for RF waves in a tokamak
Authors: Lee Jungpyo , Smithe David , Jaeger Erwin F. , Harvey Robert W. , Bonoli Paul T.
Published: January 2019

In this paper, a similarity relation between RF wave systems in tokamaks is found theoretically by investigating scaling conditions of plasma density and temperature, tokamak size and background magnetic fields, and RF wave frequency and power. The scaling conditions simultaneously satisfy Maxwell's equations, the Grad-Shafranov equation, and the Fokker-Planck equation. The consistency of the scaling with transport equations is examined by several empirical and theoretical scalings for confinement time. The similarity found in this paper is useful to investigate the possibility of the test system for RF wave experiments and verify the coupled numerical codes for the wave modeling.
The analytic description of hydraulic jump in the linear theory of the shear shallow-water flows
Authors: Semenko Evgeny V.
Published: January 2019

This article is devoted to the analytic description of the hydraulic jump in frames of the linear theory of the shear shallow-water flows. Linearization on the piecewise-constant solution is used, and the solution of linear problem is constructed using the Fourier transform, such as in the classical shock wave theory. It allows the solution to be analyzed analytically, in particular, to predict the absence or presence of the hydraulic jump toe oscillations (in terms of shock wave theory—to separate the cases of stability and neutral stability). The simplified example of flows is analyzed, and the formulas for the mentioned separation are obtained.
Humidity-induced significant microstructural reordering in partially reduced graphene oxide: Insights on water permeation mechanism
Authors: Pranav T. M. , Sakorikar Tushar , Vayalamkuzhi Pramitha , Jaiswal Manu
Published: January 2019

Interaction of water and water-based solvents with graphene oxide (GO) has attracted much attention, due to the ability of GO to serve as a highly effective water filtration membrane. In this work, we study the evolution of the structure of GO in a partially reduced form, before and after being hydrated in high humidity conditions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies reveal that progressive thermal reduction leads to the increase in the microstructural disorder in the stacking of GO flakes. However, upon hydration of partially reduced GO, microstructural ordering is revealed. This ordered state is characterized by two XRD peaks with substantially smaller full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM), when compared to the pre-hydration state. The peak corresponding to the sp3 regions has larger d-spacing of ∼9.7 Å and an FWHM ∼6 times smaller compared to pre-hydration state, while the other peak corresponds to the ordered sp2 regions with a d-spacing of ∼3.3 Å, observed at the characteristic graphitic peak position. Gravimetry studies on suspended films reveal both accelerated and diminished water permeation rates upon annealing when compared to unreduced GO films, which can be attributed to void-assisted permeation in the microstructurally disordered films. The hydrated films in a similar way show a permeation behavior that involves either the increase or decrease in water permeation rates in comparison with pre-hydrated samples. We reconcile to the gravimetry outcomes by suggesting the possibilities of both super-permeating channels and void assisted permeation, and the contribution of each of the mechanisms to the permeation flux.
Feasibility of innovative sharemilking arrangements
Authors: Schröer-Merker Eva , Tozer Peter
Published: January 2019

Sharemilking is an entry point for new dairy producers in the New Zealand industry, and, traditionally, most sharemilking arrangements have been a 50:50 arrangement. These structures are rigid in the share of milk income and apportionment of operating costs between the land owner and sharemilker. With milk-price volatility rising, these types of arrangements increase the financial and business risks, particularly for sharemilkers. These risks are further compounded because the value of the primary asset owned by sharemilkers, i.e. cows, declines to a much greater extent than does the value of land with a fall in milk price, reducing total wealth. We tested the hypothesis that flexible sharemilking arrangements will reduce the variability of income of sharemilkers, making for a sustainable income pattern. A synthesised dairy farm system was used to compare an innovative arrangement where milk revenue was divided on the basis of milk payout price, rather than simply on the basis of contribution. Stochasticity was incorporated into the model to capture milk-price volatility through the use of a stochastic price simulator. This approach allowed decision rules to be built into the model on the basis of revenue sharing, so as to reduce income variability. The identified innovative structures could be used by new entrants, sharemilkers and land owners to encourage alternative forms of sharemilking revenue sharing, and to provide information and education to the dairy industry. These alternative structures could be beneficial to industry sustainability, given that the dairy industry contributes a significant amount to New Zealand’s economy and export earnings, and price volatility is expected to continue to increase.
Raman spectroscopic analysis of testicular lamina propria predicts spermatogenesis in a mouse infertility model
Authors: Liu Yufei , Wu Xiaobo , Jiang Haowen
Published: January 2019

The status of the testicular lamina propria (LP) is associated with spermatogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine whether Raman spectroscopy (RS) could detect material components within the LP and predict spermatogenesis. Twenty adult male mice were divided into a busulfan-treated group (n=16 mice receiving a single injection of 50mgkg−1, i.p., busulfan) and a control group (n=4 mice receiving an equivalent volume of 0.9% saline solution injected i.p.). Mice were killed 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks after injection of busulfan or saline solution (n=1 control and 4 busulfan-treated mice at each time point). The testicular tubules were assessed by RS and compared with histopathological observations. Control tubules had raw spectral intensities below 2000 arbitrary units, whereas busulfan tubules had strengthened intensities that peaked at Week 4 (absent spermatogenesis) and returned to normal levels at Week 8 (restored spermatogenesis). The change in the LP revealed by RS occurred before the change in spermatogenesis detected by histopathology. Correspondingly, the sensitivity/specificity of RS for distinguishing busulfan-treated and control tubules at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks were 65.00%/70.00%, 95.00%/100.00%, 40.00%/100.00% and 25.00%/95.00% respectively. Collectively, RS could be used to evaluate the status of the LP and as a complement to histopathological evaluation to predict tubules with the potential to develop spermatogenesis for infertile patients.
Screening and development of enzymes for determination and transformation of amino acids
Authors: Asano Yasuhisa
Published: January 2019

The high stereo- and substrate specificities of enzymes have been utilized for micro-determination of amino acids. Here, I review the discovery of l-Phe dehydrogenase and its practical use in the diagnosis of phenylketonuria in more than 5,400,000 neonates over two decades in Japan. Screening and uses of other selective enzymes for micro-determination of amino acids have also been discussed. In addition, novel enzymatic assays with the systematic use of known enzymes, including assays based on a pyrophosphate detection system using pyrophosphate dikinase for a variety of l-amino acids with amino-acyl-tRNA synthetase have been reviewed. Finally, I review the substrate specificities of a few amino acid-metabolizing enzymes that have been altered, using protein engineering techniques, mainly for production of useful chemicals, thus enabling the wider use of natural enzymes.
Elucidation of an α-glucosidase inhibitor from the peel of Allium cepa by principal component analysis
Authors: Ogi Kayako , Sumitani Hidenobu
Published: January 2019

We conducted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry measurements on hot-water extracts of peel from different varieties of Allium cepa. Some quercetin glycosides were identified as potential α-glucosidase inhibitors by principal component analysis of the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry data. α-Glucosidase inhibitory activity assays identified quercetin-4ʹ-O-glucoside as an α-glucosidase inhibitor.
Bone quality in young adults with intellectual disability involved in adapted competitive football
Authors: Lizondo Vicente , Caplliure‐Llopis Jordi , Escrivá Dolores , De La Rubia Jose Enrique , Barrios Carlos
Published: January 2019

The objective of this study was to analyse bone quality parameters of football players with intellectual disability (ID) participating in adapted competitive football. Sixty‐seven male football players with ID were studied: 22 with Down syndrome (DS) and 45 without DS. The average age was 26 years (range: 16 ̶ 50 years). A group of 25 age‐matched sedentary individuals with ID (11 DS and 14 non‐DS) and another group of 20 healthy participants of the same age group not involved in competitive football were comparatively analysed. There were no differences in the bone quality parameters when the healthy sedentary individuals were compared with both the sedentary and the football players with ID. However, the speed of sound (SOS), T‐score, and estimated bone mineral density (BMD) were of higher values in the football players with ID than in the sedentary ID group (p < 0.05). On comparing the football players with non‐DS ID with the sedentary non‐DS individuals, significant differences were noted in SOS (p < 0.01), T‐scores (p < 0.01), and estimated BMD (p < 0.01). Four of the 45 non‐DS (8.9%) and none of the football players with DS had T‐scores less than −1.5. Two of the 14 sedentary non‐DS participants (14.3%) had T‐scores indicating osteoporosis. In summary, the ID population actively involved in football showed higher values of bone mass parameters than their sedentary ID and healthy peers. The participants with non‐DS ID showed a higher prevalence of osteoporosis than the football players with DS. Participation in sports seems to prevent bone loss in individuals with ID.
Introduction of video head impulse testing to an ENT outpatient clinic
Authors: Sandhu J. S. , Ray J. , Yardley M. P. , Watson G.
Published: January 2019

Objective:

Monitor the impact of Video Head Impulse Testing (vHIT) conducted during initial ENT consultations on diagnosis rates and requirement for onward referral for further laboratory-based vestibular testing.

Design:

Prospective service evaluation audit.

Setting:

ENT outpatients department of a tertiary balance service within a University Teaching Hospital.

Main outcome measures:

The capability of vHIT to identify vestibular pathology was recorded in 100 consecutive dizzy patients prospectively enrolled into the study. Diagnosis rates at first appointment, as well as the need to onward refer for further vestibular testing, were noted.

Results:

Of the 100 new patients seen with dizziness, 85% were diagnosed and managed by the end of the first appointment. VHIT was conducted in 83% of cases and provided clinically useful information that aided diagnosis in over 90% of these cases.

Conclusions:

vHIT is a safe, quick and noninvasive way of obtaining clinically useful information relating to the function of all three semicircular canal pairs within an ENT outpatient clinic. It does not replace advanced vestibular testing but acts as a useful adjunct that can be used to reach a diagnosis more quickly and thereby provide a more efficient patient centred model of care.
The saccadic training for driving safety
Authors: Guidetti Giorgio , Guidetti Riccardo , Sgalla Roberto Antonio
Published: January 2019

Driving is not only a physical but also a mental task. Human errors such as misperception, information processing errors, and poor decision making are frequently identified as causes of accidents.

Objective:

to reduce numbers of saccadic movements (SM) and antisaccadic movements (ASM) while driving because they involve a problem of visual perception. During each one of them, the visual scene sweeps across the retina with high-speed motion with an inevitable blurring of the image, as the retina is sweeping the visual field. Object positions in retinal coordinates change, the entire visual image is not updated and humans become effectively blind but usually we are not aware of this blur during the eye movement. Therefore, reducing the number of SM allows greater precision in visual information and thus increases safety.

Study Design:

in collaboration with the Directorate of Specialties of the State Police of Italian Ministry of the Interior and the Autodrome of Modena we have submitted to saccadic training 23 policemen of Italian traffic police. We used Visual Exploration Training System (VET by SVEP®) which consists in: personal computer, eyetracking system (120 Hz of frequency analisys) and new specific application software. Subjects were evaluated before and after 15 days of home training.

Results:

In the overall 23 cases the training significantly reduced the number of SM in driving simulation.

Conclusions:

our fast and easy-to-use method of saccadic training seems to be able to improve significantly both the function of visual exploration and the safety in driving.

Abbreviations

ADI: Number of saccades not directed towards the target point or rather attention deficit index; ASMs: anti-saccadic movements; AT: attentional test: the subject had to maintain fixation on a target point that appeared randomly on the monitor in 50 different positions in 50 s even during the recurrent appearance of new distracting images; CORSI: score of eCorsi Span Test; GROUP A and GROUP B: groups of policemen; ORD: ordinary road drivers; RD: racing drivers; RT: average start time of ocular movements; ST: saccade test: the subject had to fix a target point that appeared randomly on the monitor in 31 different positions in 23 s; SM: saccadic movements; ST: saccade test; TIME: the time on the lap during real driving; TRT: target reaching time; VET: visual exploration training system; VETT 1: visual exploration test for evaluate SM and ASM; VETT 2: visual exploration test for evaluate the number of SM during simulated driving
Effect of number of talkers and language of babble on acceptable noise level in Kannada listeners
Authors: M. Nayana , Sringari Parmeshwara Keerthi , Geetha Chinnaraj
Published: January 2019

Objective:

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of number of talkers (2-talker, 4-talker, 8-talker, 10-talker and 12-talker) in native (Kannada) and non-native (English) speech babble on acceptable noise level (ANL) in individuals with normal hearing; and to compare ANL obtained in the presence of Kannada speech babble with that of English speech babble across different number of talker babbles.

Study sample:

Thirty participants between in the age range of 18-24 years with normal hearing sensitivity participated in the study. ANL was obtained in the presence of different number of talkers in English and Kannada languages.

Results:

The results revealed that Kannada talker babble had lower ANL for 8-talker babble whereas in English, 2-talker babble had the lowest ANL. The results also showed that ANL was lower when Kannada babble was used when compared to English babble. The reason for this result could be due to familiarity with the languages and the similarity between the two languages of interest.
ENSA and ARPP19 differentially control cell cycle progression and development
Authors: Hached Khaled , Goguet Perrine , Charrasse Sophie , Vigneron Suzanne , Sacristan Maria P. , Lorca Thierry , Castro Anna
Published: January 2019

Greatwall (GWL) is an essential kinase that indirectly controls PP2A-B55, the phosphatase counterbalancing cyclin B/CDK1 activity during mitosis. In Xenopus laevis egg extracts, GWL-mediated phosphorylation of overexpressed ARPP19 and ENSA turns them into potent PP2A-B55 inhibitors. It has been shown that the GWL/ENSA/PP2A-B55 axis contributes to the control of DNA replication, but little is known about the role of ARPP19 in cell division. By using conditional knockout mouse models, we investigated the specific roles of ARPP19 and ENSA in cell division. We found that Arpp19, but not Ensa, is essential for mouse embryogenesis. Moreover, Arpp19 ablation dramatically decreased mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) viability by perturbing the temporal pattern of protein dephosphorylation during mitotic progression, possibly by a drop of PP2A-B55 activity inhibition. We show that these alterations are not prevented by ENSA, which is still expressed in Arpp19Δ/Δ MEFs, suggesting that ARPP19 is essential for mitotic division. Strikingly, we demonstrate that unlike ARPP19, ENSA is not required for early embryonic development. Arpp19 knockout did not perturb the S phase, unlike Ensa gene ablation. We conclude that, during mouse embryogenesis, the Arpp19 and Ensa paralog genes display specific functions by differentially controlling cell cycle progression.
Cocaine-induced release of CXCL10 from pericytes regulates monocyte transmigration into the CNS
Authors: Niu Fang , Liao Ke , Hu Guoku , Sil Susmita , Callen Shannon , Guo Ming-lei , Yang Lu , Buch Shilpa
Published: January 2019

Cocaine is known to facilitate the transmigration of inflammatory leukocytes into the brain, an important mechanism underlying neuroinflammation. Pericytes are well-recognized as important constituents of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), playing a key role in maintaining barrier integrity. In the present study, we demonstrate for the first time that exposure of human brain vascular pericytes to cocaine results in enhanced secretion of CXCL10, leading, in turn, to increased monocyte transmigration across the BBB both in vitro and in vivo. This process involved translocation of σ-1 receptor (σ-1R) and interaction of σ-1R with c-Src kinase, leading to activation of the Src–PDGFR-β–NF-κB pathway. These findings imply a novel role for pericytes as a source of CXCL10 in the pericyte–monocyte cross talk in cocaine-mediated neuroinflammation, underpinning their role as active components of the innate immune responses.
Organization of ATP-gated P2X1 receptor intracellular termini in apo and desensitized states
Authors: Fryatt Alistair G. , Dayl Sudad , Stavrou Anastasios , Schmid Ralf , Evans Richard J.
Published: January 2019

The human P2X1 receptor (hP2X1R) is a trimeric ligand-gated ion channel opened by extracellular ATP. The intracellular amino and carboxyl termini play significant roles in determining the time-course and regulation of channel gating—for example, the C terminus regulates recovery from the desensitized state following agonist washout. This suggests that the intracellular regions of the channel have distinct structural features. Studies on the hP2X3R have shown that the intracellular regions associate to form a cytoplasmic cap in the open state of the channel. However, intracellular features could not be resolved in the agonist-free apo and ATP-bound desensitized structures. Here we investigate the organization of the intracellular regions of hP2X1R in the apo and ATP-bound desensitized states following expression in HEK293 cells. We couple cysteine scanning mutagenesis of residues R25-G30 and H355-R360 with the use of bi-functional cysteine reactive cross-linking compounds of different lengths (MTS-2-MTS, BMB, and BM(PEG)2), which we use as molecular calipers. If two cysteine residues come into close proximity, we predict they will be cross-linked and result in ∼66% of the receptor subunits running on a Western blot as dimers. In the control construct (C349A) that removed the free cysteine C349, and some cysteine-containing mutants, cross-linker treatment does not result in dimerization. However, we detect efficient dimerization for R25C, G30C, P358C, K359C, and R360C. This selective pattern indicates that there is structural organization to these regions in the apo and desensitized states in a native membrane environment. The existence of such precap (apo) and postcap (desensitized) organization of the intracellular domains would facilitate efficient gating of the channel.
Homomorphisms to acylindrically hyperbolic groups I: Equationally noetherian groups and families
Authors: Groves D. , Hull M.
Published: January 2019

We study the set of homomorphisms from a fixed finitely generated group

G
G

into a family of groups

G

\mathcal {G}

which are ‘uniformly acylindrically hyperbolic’. Our main results reduce this study to sets of homomorphisms which do not diverge in an appropriate sense. As an application, we prove that any relatively hyperbolic group with equationally noetherian peripheral subgroups is itself equationally noetherian.
Deuteros: software for rapid analysis and visualization of data from differential hydrogen deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry
Authors: Lau Andy M C , Ahdash Zainab , Martens Chloe , Politis Argyris
Published: January 2019

Hydrogen deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) has emerged as a powerful technique for interrogating the conformational dynamics of proteins and their complexes. Currently, analysis of HDX-MS data remains a laborious procedure, mainly due to the lack of streamlined software to process the large datasets. We present Deuteros which is a standalone software designed to be coupled with Waters DynamX HDX data analysis software, allowing the rapid analysis and visualization of data from differential HDX-MS.

Availability and implementation

Deuteros is open-source and can be downloaded from https://github.com/andymlau/Deuteros, under the Apache 2.0 license. Written in MATLAB and supported on both Windows and MacOS. Requires the MATLAB runtime library. According to the Wellcome Trust and UK research councils' Common Principles on Data Policy on data, software and materials management and sharing, all data supporting this study will be openly available from the software repository.
The Subplate: A Potential Driver of Cortical Folding?
Authors: Rana Shreya , Shishegar Rosita , Quezada Sebastian , Johnston Leigh , Walker David W , Tolcos Mary
Published: January 2019

In many species of Mammalia, the surface of the brain develops from a smooth structure to one with many fissures and folds, allowing for vast expansion of the surface area of the cortex. The importance of understanding what drives cortical folding extends beyond mere curiosity, as conditions such as preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, and fetal alcohol syndrome are associated with impaired folding in the infant and child. Despite being a key feature of brain development, the mechanisms driving cortical folding remain largely unknown. In this review we discuss the possible role of the subplate, a developmentally transient compartment, in directing region-dependent development leading to sulcal and gyral formation. We discuss the development of the subplate in species with lissencephalic and gyrencephalic cortices, the characteristics of the cells found in the subplate, and the possible presence of molecular cues that guide axons into, and out of, the overlying and multilayered cortex before the appearance of definitive cortical folds. An understanding of what drives cortical folding is likely to help in understanding the origins of abnormal folding patterns in clinical pathologies.
Distinctive Interaction Between Cognitive Networks and the Visual Cortex in Early Blind Individuals
Authors: Abboud Sami , Cohen Laurent
Published: January 2019

In early blind individuals, brain activation by a variety of nonperceptual cognitive tasks extends to the visual cortex, while in the sighted it is restricted to supramodal association areas. We hypothesized that such activation results from the integration of different sectors of the visual cortex into typical task-dependent networks. We tested this hypothesis with fMRI in blind and sighted subjects using tasks assessing speech comprehension, incidental long-term memory and both verbal and nonverbal executive control, in addition to collecting resting-state data. All tasks activated the visual cortex in blind relative to sighted subjects, which enabled its segmentation according to task sensitivity. We then assessed the unique brain-scale functional connectivity of the segmented areas during resting state. Language-related seeds were preferentially connected to frontal and temporal language areas; the seed derived from the executive task was connected to the right dorsal frontoparietal executive network; and the memory-related seed was uniquely connected to mesial frontoparietal areas involved in episodic memory retrieval. Thus, using a broad set of language, executive, and memory tasks in the same subjects, combined with resting state connectivity, we demonstrate the selective integration of different patches of the visual cortex into brain-scale networks with distinct localization, lateralization, and functional roles.
The Design and Analysis of Seroefficacy Studies for Typhoid Conjugate Vaccines
Authors: Liu Xinxue , Pitzer Virginia E , Pollard Andrew J , Voysey Merryn
Published: January 2019

Background

Demonstrating the efficacy of new Vi-conjugate typhoid vaccines is challenging, due to the cost of field trials requiring tens of thousands of participants. New trial designs that use serologically defined typhoid infections (seroefficacy trials) rather than blood culture positivity as a study endpoint may be useful to assess efficacy using small trials.

Methods

We developed a model for Vi–immunoglobin G antibody responses to a Vi-vaccine, incorporating decay over time and natural boosting due to endemic exposures. From this, we simulated clinical trials in which 2 blood samples were taken during follow-up and the relative risk of a serologically defined typhoid infection (seroefficacy) was computed. We aimed to determine (1) whether seroefficacy trial designs could substantially reduce sample sizes, compared with trials using blood culture–confirmed cases; (3) whether the rate of case detection was higher in seroefficacy trials; and (3) the optimal timing of sample collection.

Results

The majority (>90%) of blood culture–positive typhoid cases remain unobserved in surveillance studies. In contrast, under-detection in simulated seroefficacy trials of equivalent vaccines was as little as 26%, and estimates of the relative risk of typhoid infection were unbiased. For simulated trials of non-equivalent vaccines, relative risks were slightly inflated by at least 5%, depending on the sample collection times. Seroefficacy trials required as few as 460 participants per arm, compared with 10 000 per arm for trials using blood culture–confirmed cases.

Conclusions

Seroefficacy trials can establish the efficacy of new conjugate vaccines using small trials that enroll hundreds rather than thousands of participants, and without the need for resource-intensive typhoid fever surveillance programs.
Inflammatory bowel disease in patients undergoing renal biopsies
Authors: Pohjonen Jussi , Nurmi Rakel , Metso Martti , Oksanen Pia , Huhtala Heini , Pörsti Ilkka , Mustonen Jukka , Kaukinen Katri , Mäkelä Satu
Published: January 2019

Background

There are no good data in the literature on the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in patients with kidney disease and we do not know whether IBD affects the course of kidney disease or if the type of IBD is an influential factor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of IBD among patients who have undergone renal biopsies due to clinical indications and to elucidate whether the presence of IBD influences renal and patient outcomes.

Methods

We collected retrospective data on concomitant diseases, especially IBD, from adult patients undergoing renal biopsy for any clinical indication between 2000 and 2012 at Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland. Information was systematically collected on the activity of IBD, medication for IBD, surgery performed for IBD and markers of kidney function.

Results

Of the 819 patients biopsied, 35 (4.3%) had IBD. The prevalence of IBD was 13.3 and 4.6% in patients with tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) and immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), respectively. In comparison, the prevalence of IBD in the Finnish population is 0.6%. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease were equally represented. The presence of IBD showed no impact on renal and patient outcomes.

Conclusions

IBD should not be overlooked in patients undergoing renal biopsies, especially those diagnosed with TIN or IgAN. The renal findings did not associate with the activity of intestinal inflammation. Whether a concomitant IBD truly affects the course of chronic kidney disease should be examined in further studies.
Sensorineural Impairments, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and 10-Year Incidence of Cognitive Impairment and Decline in Midlife: The Beaver Dam Offspring Study
Authors: Schubert Carla R , Cruickshanks Karen J , Fischer Mary E , Pinto A Alex , Chen Yanjun , Huang Guan-Hua , Klein Barbara E K , Klein Ronald , Pankow James S , Paulsen Adam J , Dalton Dayna S , Tweed Ted S
Published: January 2019

Background

Sensorineural impairments and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and disease (CVD) in midlife may be important predictors of future cognitive health, but longitudinal studies that include multiple sensorineural measures in middle-aged adults are lacking.

Methods

Hearing, vision, and olfaction, and CVRF and CVD were measured at the Beaver Dam Offspring Study baseline (2005–2008) examination. The Mini-Mental State Examination and Trail Making Tests A and B were administered at all phases and additional cognitive function measures were obtained at 5 (2010–2013) and 10 years (2015–2017). Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate associations between baseline sensorineural impairments, CVRF, CVD, and 10-year cumulative incidence of cognitive impairment and decline.

Results

There were 2,556 participants (22–84 years) without cognitive impairment at baseline and data from at least one follow-up. In a multivariable model including age, sex, education, and head injury, visual impairment (hazard ratio = 2.59, 95% confidence interval = 1.34, 5.02), olfactory impairment (hazard ratio = 3.18, 95% confidence interval = 1.53, 6.59), CVD (hazard ratio = 2.37, 95% confidence interval = 1.24, 4.52), and not consuming alcohol in the past year (hazard ratio = 2.21, 95% confidence interval = 1.16, 4.19) were associated with the 10-year cumulative incidence of cognitive impairment. Current smoking and diabetes were associated with increased risk, and exercise with decreased risk, of 10-year decline in cognitive function.

Conclusions

Visual and olfactory impairments, CVRF, and CVD were associated with the 10-year cumulative incidence of cognitive impairment and decline in middle-aged adults. Identifying modifiable factors associated with cognitive decline and impairment in midlife may provide opportunities for prevention or treatment and improve cognitive health later in life.
Implied Terms and Human Rights in the Contract of Employment
Authors: Atkinson Joe
Published: January 2019

This article considers the potential for implied terms in the contract of employment to protect employees’ human rights. The slim prospects of legislative action in this area make it important to consider common law means of protecting human rights at work. Part 2 begins by setting out the function of implied terms in the contract of employment and the various ways human rights can affect the legal regulation of the employment relationship. Part 3 considers the extent to which the implied term of trust and confidence can protect employees’ human rights. While there are numerous points of overlap between trust and confidence and human rights, both the scope of the implied term and the level of protection it provides mean that it is currently an inadequate mechanism for protecting human rights at work. Part 4 then assesses the prospects of a new human rights term being implied into the contract of employment using the existing tests for terms implied ‘in fact’ and ‘in law’, and develops a prima facie case in favour of implying a human rights protective term into all employment contracts as a default rule.
The Cloacal Microbiome Changes with the Breeding Season in a Wild Bird
Authors: Escallón C , Belden L K , Moore I T
Published: January 2019

The symbiotic microbial communities, or “microbiomes,” that reside on animals are dynamic, and can be affected by the behavior and physiology of the host. These communities provide many critical beneficial functions for their hosts, but they can also include potential pathogens. In birds, bacteria residing in the cloaca form a complex community, including both gut and sexually-transmitted bacteria. Transmission of cloacal bacteria among individuals is likely during the breeding season, when there is direct cloacal contact between individuals. In addition, the major energetic investment in reproduction can draw resources away from immune responses that might otherwise prevent the successful establishment of microbes. We assessed dynamic variation in the cloacal microbiome of free-living rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) through sequential breeding and non-breeding seasons. We found that the cloacal bacterial communities differed between the sexes when they were in breeding condition. Further, in males, but not in females, the bacterial community became more diverse with the onset of reproduction, and then decreased in diversity as males transitioned to non-breeding condition. Individuals sampled across sequential breeding seasons did not accumulate more bacterial taxa over seasons, but bacterial community composition did change. Our results suggest that the cloacal microbiome in birds is dynamic and, especially in males, responsive to breeding condition.
The Long and Short Arms of the State: Swedish Multidirectional Controls of Afghan Asylum Seekers During the Cold War
Authors: Skodo Admir
Published: January 2019

Drawing on unique sources from the Swedish Migration Agency Archive, this article examines how Afghan asylum seekers and refugees fared in their encounter with Swedish internal and external controls of people seeking protection from persecution during the Cold War. Within a theoretical framework that draws on the concept of statist logic, the history of refugeehood, interactionist sociology and critical legal studies, two key findings are presented and discussed. First, Afghan refugees and asylum seekers encountered multidirectional restrictive control measures despite Sweden’s strong support of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and despite the low numbers of Afghan asylum applicants in Sweden. Second, a focus on how immigration controls affected one specific national group reveals a broader pattern of how internal and external controls of asylum seekers in the 1980s, under the aegis of the Swedish state, were distributed between state, non-state and international organizations. The article provides a critical history that sheds new light on the situation following the ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015–16, when over 40,000 Afghan asylum seekers entered Sweden. In doing so, the article ties in to a burgeoning development within refugee studies that seeks to include a historical perspective, since such an inclusion is necessary to identify continuities and changes that remain highly relevant for understanding, assessing and offering real alternatives to today’s dominant approaches to refugee governance, policy, experiences, social and political practices and discourses.
False Passports, Undocumented Workers, and Public (Dis)Order in Late-Eighteenth-Century Russia
Authors: Smith Alison K
Published: January 2019

In 1798, a case of suspected passport forgery in the new town of Gatchina brought to light an array of legal, semilegal, and totally illegal behavior when it came to tsarist Russia’s documentary requirements that governed mobility. Although there had been earlier kinds of documents required for travel, in the early eighteenth century, decrees established a system of short-term passports to allow a degree of mobility within a social structure based in binding legal statuses (soslovie) that tied nearly all subjects of the tsar to their localities or their owners. This specific case demonstrates that although the tsarist state clearly viewed this passport system as a method of social control, there were several significant limits to that control. First, documents were only reliable as long as they could be taken as truthful; cases of passport forgery like this showed how difficult it was for authorities to ascertain that truth. Second, the investigation uncovered many individuals who were negotiating (or sometimes ignoring) the passport system in ways that show the real limits of tsarist control. And third, the passport system took significant effort to maintain, effort that did not necessarily always seem worthwhile to some local authorities.
Public Health Programs and Policies: Ethical Justifications
Authors: Faden Ruth R. , Shebaya Sirine
Published: January 2019

Public health policies sometimes make demands on individuals who do not stand to benefit from the policies, and they sometimes interfere with liberty even when they do benefit the individuals in question. In such instances, a moral justification for a public health intervention is required. This chapter sets forth five justifications for public health interventions: (1) overall benefit, (2) collective action and efficiency, (3) fairness in the distribution of burdens, (4) prevention of harm (the harm principle), and (5) paternalism. The chapter discusses each justification in turn, posits that often more than one justification applies to a given policy, and argues against frameworks that place disproportionate attention on conflicts between liberty and health.
Assessment of Music Learning in the Italian Education System
Authors: DeCicco Dario
Published: January 2019

The topic of assessment in the Italian educational system has gained a more and more central role in the national scientific and institutional debate. The recent reforms of the Italian school system have focused on the integration of the assessment procedures within the European framework and the changes to the Italian school system. The chapter focus is on the analysis of the assessment of music learning in several kinds of schools with music teaching, both as general music education and as the training in the performance of a musical instrument. It will offer a comparison between the normative prescriptions and the evolution of the pedagogical, psychological, and didactical approaches in the different aspects of music teaching/learning. Attention is also given to assessment in high artistic and musical education (conservatories) and universities, where the need of a “professionalizing” curriculum perfectly combines with the principles of specialized teachings.
Psychometric Considerations for Music Performance Assessments
Authors: Lane Suzanne , Zhang Ya
Published: January 2019

This chapter discusses how psychometrics can inform music performance assessment design decisions so as to help ensure valid and fair score interpretations and uses. An overview of music assessments at the national and state level is first presented. It is then argued that an argument-based approach to validity and a principled approach to assessment design is needed. Design and scoring features that impact the psychometric properties of performance assessments as well as psychometric considerations in the design of performance assessments such as comparability, generalizability, rater effects, and decision accuracy are addressed.
The Philosophy of Assessment in Music Education
Authors: Mantie Roger
Published: January 2019

Philosophies of assessment are rare, perhaps even more so in music education. This chapter, arranged in five “movements” intended to reflect various ways of examining assessment issues, considers prominent themes emerging from the music education assessment literature, such as accountability, authentic assessment, consequential validity, legitimacy, mandated testing, metaphor, power-knowledge, and self-determination. The author asks questions such as, To what extent should philosophical commitments be voluntary versus compelled? To what extent should music educators be able to collectively determine educative values and to what extent should others (policymakers, local communities) have a say in what should constitute valuable learning in music? A common theme throughout the chapter is the urge for caution and reflection so that well-intended assessment efforts do not undermine cherished goals for music education.
Music Assessment in Australian Higher Education
Authors: Lebler Don
Published: January 2019

This chapter provides a description of assessment practices in Australian higher music education along with its regulatory context. The work of Australian scholars in this field is included as part of the broader assessment literature, using Australian examples of practice. The development of a shared understanding of the standards that are applied to student work in the Australian context is discussed, not just in higher music education but also in pretertiary and extracurricular music. Australian examples of summative and formative assessment practices are described in formal and informal contexts, leading to the assessment musical performance, the characteristic assessment for higher music education institutions that are focused on developing high levels of musical performance in their students.
The Nuclei of the Lateral Lemniscus
Authors: Felmy Felix
Published: January 2019

Parallel processing streams guide ascending auditory information through the processing hierarchy of the auditory brainstem. Many of these processing streams converge in the lateral lemnisucus, the fiber bundle that connects the cochlear nuclei and superior olivary complex with the inferior colliculus. The neuronal populations within the lateral lemniscus can be segregated according to their gross structure-function relationships into three distinct nuclei. These nuclei are termed ventral, intermedial, and dorsal nucleus, according to their position within the lemniscal fiber bundle. The complexity of their input pattern increases in an ascending fashion. The three nuclei employ different neurotransmitters and exhibit distinct synaptic and biophysical features. Yet they all share a large heterogeneity. Functionally, the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus has been hypothesized to reduce spectral splatter by generating a rapid, temporally precise feedforward onset inhibition in the inferior colliculus. In the intermedial nucleus of the lateral lemniscus a cross-frequency integration has been observed. The hallmark of the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus is the generation of a long-lasting inhibition in its contralateral counterpart and the inferior colliculus. This inhibition is proposed to generate a suppression of sound sources during reverberations and could act as a temporal filter capable of removing spurious interaural time differences. While great advances have been made in understanding the role that these nuclei play in auditory processing, the functional diversity of the individual neuronal responsiveness within each nucleus remains largely unsolved.
Diplomacy
Authors: Hunt Peter
Published: January 2019

Demosthenes’ life and works provide invaluable evidence both about the process by which the Athenians made diplomatic decisions and about how their ambassadors were expected to carry out these decisions. His foreign-policy speeches showed the wide variety of arguments that carried weight in the Athenian assembly: everything from cold calculation to appeals to manliness, from reciprocity to the noble Athenian mission to succour the unjustly oppressed. Although the practice of diplomacy was aristocratic in several ways, Demosthenes emphasized only the most democratic and public aspects of his own diplomatic service in contrast with Aischines’ supposed corruption, which Demosthenes links with an elitist preference for personal ties over loyalty to the city. Demosthenes’ self-representation was probably a distortion of his actual role; for example, he may have been a proxenos for Thebes.