bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Markers of Hereditary Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy at 7 Tesla
Authors: Koemans Emma A. , van Etten Ellis S. , van Opstal Anna M. , Labadie Gerda , Terwindt Gisela M. , Wermer Marieke J.H. , Webb Andrew G. , Gurol Edip M. , Greenberg Steven M. , van Buchem Mark A. , van der Grond Jeroen , van Rooden Sanneke
Published: April 2018

Background and Purpose—

The aim of the present study is to explore whether using 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging, additional brain changes can be observed in hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type (HCHWA-D) patients as compared with the established magnetic resonance imaging features of sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Methods—

The local institutional review board approved this prospective cohort study. In all cases, informed consent was obtained. This prospective parallel cohort study was conducted between 2012 and 2014. We performed T
2
*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging performed at 7 Tesla in presymptomatic mutation carriers (n=11, mean age 35±12 years), symptomatic HCHWA-D patients (n=15, mean age 45±14 years), and in control subjects (n=29, mean age 45±14 years). Images were analyzed for the presence of changes that have not been reported before in sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy and HCHWA-D. Innovative observations comprised intragyral hemorrhaging and cortical changes. The presence of these changes was systematically assessed in all participants of the study.

Results—

Symptomatic HCHWA-D-patients had a higher incidence of intragyral hemorrhage (47% [7/15], controls 0% [0/29],
P
<0.001), and a higher incidence of specific cortical changes (40% [6/15] versus 0% [0/29],
P
<0.005). In presymptomatic HCHWA-D-mutation carriers, the prevalence of none of these markers was increased compared with control subjects.

Conclusions—

The presence of cortical changes and intragyral hemorrhage are imaging features of HCHWA-D that may help recognizing sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy in living patients.
IMPACT OF CAPITAL INTENSITY AND R&D SPENDING ON MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY VALUE ADDED IN INDUSTRY 4.0 PROCESS: PANEL DATA ANALYSIS
Authors: AYDIN Erdal
Published: April 2018

Industry 4.0 or 4th Industrial Revolution is a
phenomenon, which is being discussed more day by day all around the world, and
it is undoubtedly a fact to be taken into consideration with all aspects of the
situation because it is the latest generation of the revolutions. From this
perspective, in this paper, the relationship between drivers of production of
industry 4.0 and manufacturing value added that is the core of economic
development/growth is determined using panel data covering the nine leading countries
in the industry 4.0 process over the period 1996-2015. Empirical results of this
study was applied by the Dumitrescu-Hurlin (2012) panel Granger causality test,
which takes into account cross-sectional dependence indicate one-way causality
from capital intensity to manufacturing value added, two-way causality between
R&D expenditures as a share of GDP and manufacturing value added in the
selected country group. In addition, empirical findings showed that greater
capital intensity and R&D expenditures of GDP, which are the input
variables of industry 4.0 process significantly increase manufacturing value
added, which is the one of the output variables of the process.
The Generational Locus of Multiraciality and Its Implications for Racial Self-Identification
Authors: Morning Ann , Saperstein Aliya
Published: April 2018

Estimates of the size of the multiracial population in the United States depend on what prompts people to report multiple races on censuses and surveys. We use data from the 2015 Pew Survey of Multiracial Adults to explore how racial self-identification is shaped by the generational locus of an individual’s multiracial ancestry—that is, the place in one’s family tree where the earliest interracial union appears. We develop the theoretical rationale for considering generational heterogeneity and provide its first empirical demonstration for U.S. adults, by estimating what shares of the population identify multiracial ancestry in their parents’ or grandparents’ generation, or further back in their family tree. We find that multiracial generation is related to—and likely confounded with—the ancestry combinations that individuals report (e.g., white-Asian, black–American Indian). Finally, we show that later generations are less likely than their first-generation counterparts to select multiple races when they self-identify. Consequently, we argue that generational locus of multiracial ancestry should be taken into account by demographers and researchers who study outcomes for multiracial Americans.
Boundary Blurring? Racial Identification among the Children of Interracial Couples
Authors: Lichter Daniel T. , Qian Zhenchao
Published: April 2018

This article uses data, pooled annually, from the 2008 to 2014 American Community Survey (ACS) to document (1) recent fertility patterns among interracially married couples and (2) the racial or ethnic identification of the children from interracial marriages. We find that a sizable minority of America’s children from mixed-race marriages are identified by their parents as monoracial, which suggests that mixed-race children are seriously underreported. Moreover, the assignment of race is highly uneven across interracial marriages comprising husbands and wives with different racial backgrounds. For America’s children, their reported racial identities in the ACS reflect a kind of racial “tug-of-war” between fathers and mothers, who bring their own racial and cultural identities to marriages. The status or power of parents is often unequal, and this is played out in children’s racial identification. For example, parents from minority populations in interracial marriages often have fewer claims on the race of their children. The racial and ethnic identities of children from these marriages, at a minimum, are highly subjective and complex.
Racial Population Projections and Reactions to Alternative News Accounts of Growing Diversity
Authors: Myers Dowell , Levy Morris
Published: April 2018

Projections of changes in racial demographics depend on how race is classified. The U.S. Census Bureau makes several different projections of the nation’s racial demographic future, but the most publicized version projects our racial future in a way that narrows the definition of race groups to exclude people who are of mixed race or Hispanic. This definition results in projections of many fewer “whites,” accelerating the impending decline of the country’s white majority and perhaps heightening white audiences’ anxiety about demographic change. We conducted an experiment that randomly assigned whites to read alternative news stories based on 2014 Census Bureau projections. One story emphasized growing diversity, a second emphasized the decline of the white population to minority status, and a third described an enduring white majority based on intermarriage and inclusive white identity. Much higher levels of anxiety or anger, especially among Republicans, were recorded after reading the white minority story than the alternative stories of diversity or an enduring white majority.
Latinos, Race, and the U.S. Census
Authors: Telles Edward
Published: April 2018

We identify two dimensions of race for the Latino/Hispanic population in the United States—Latinos as one category among the various categories of the U.S. “ethno-racial pentagon” and racial or color differences among Latinos. In a major change from the previous (two-question) format, the Census Bureau recommends a one-question format for capturing ethno-racial distinctions in the 2020 census, which efficiently captures the Latino population on the first dimension and is consistent with racial classification and identification in the real world. At the same time, it nearly eliminates the problem that the two-question format fostered of classifying many Hispanics as “some other race” while maintaining a similar number of Americans classified as Hispanic or Latino. Whether the Census Bureau adopts the one- or two-question format is yet to be decided as of this writing. However, neither format is sufficient for capturing racial distinctions among the fast-growing Latino population, thus precluding effective monitoring of racial disparities in the United States.
Measuring Hispanic Origin: Reflections on Hispanic Race Reporting
Authors: Porter Sonya R. , Snipp C. Matthew
Published: April 2018

There are more than 50 million Hispanics in the United States, composing 16 percent of the population. Hispanics are also one of the fastest-growing race and ethnic groups. The American public often views and treats Hispanics as a racial group; yet 47 years after a Hispanic origin measure was added to the 1970 U.S. decennial census, and after numerous tests aimed at ameliorating racial measurement issues related to Hispanics, we continue to struggle with defining and measuring this population. In this article, we review literature about conceptual and measurement issues regarding Hispanic race reporting, evaluate public tabulations from one of the largest Census Bureau studies conducted in the 2010 Census to test strategies to improve race reporting for Hispanics, and discuss the opportunities and challenges of changing the race question on the decennial census to incorporate Hispanics.
Graded Ultra-Translucent Zirconia (5Y-PSZ) for Strength and Functionalities
Authors: Mao L. , Kaizer M.R. , Zhao M. , Guo B. , Song Y.F. , Zhang Y.
Published: April 2018

Ultra-translucent zirconias are drawing immense attention due to their fascinating esthetic appearance. However, the high translucency came at the expense of diminishing strength along with the reduced ability of transformation toughening due to the increased cubic zirconia content. We aim to address these issues by infiltrating glass on the surface of an ultra-translucent zirconia (5Y-PSZ). Glasses of different shades can be used and the resulting graded glass/zirconia layer is expected to improve the material’s flexural strength without compromising its esthetics. We also aim to elucidate how clinically relevant surface treatments—namely, air abrasion, glazing, or polishing—affect the fracture resistance of these zirconias with a high cubic content. All surface treatments were performed on bar-shaped (2 × 3 × 25 mm3) and plate-shaped (12 × 12 × 1 mm3) specimens, which were then subjected to a 4-point bending test and translucency measurements, respectively. 5Y-PSZ proved to be significantly more translucent than 3Y-TZP but also much weaker. Our hypothesis was accepted, as the strength of the glass-infiltrated ultra-translucent 5Y-PSZ (582 ± 20 MPa) is over 70% higher than its uninfiltrated counterpart (324 ± 57 MPa). Its strength is also over 25% higher than the highly polished 5Y-PSZ (467 ± 38 MPa). In addition, the translucency of 5Y-PSZ (translucency parameter [ TP] = 34, contrast ratio [ CR] = 0.31) is not affected by glass infiltration ( TP = 34, CR = 0.32) when the residual surface glass is removed by gentle polishing using 6- and then 3-µm diamond grits. Finally, both air abrasion and the presence of a glaze layer on the tensile surface decreased flexural strength significantly, being 274 ± 55 and 211 ± 21 MPa, respectively. With a combined high strength and translucency, the newly developed glass-infiltrated 5Y-PSZ may be considered a suitable material for next-generation, damage-resistant, and esthetic dental restorations.
IDP resettlement and collective targeting during civil wars
Authors: Steele Abbey
Published: April 2018

Refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) are not always safe where they resettle in ethnic civil wars, in which civilians’ identities overlap with the ethnic profile of armed combatants. This article argues that IDPs are also vulnerable in non-ethnic civil wars, through two related mechanisms that indicate civilians’ loyalties: (1) where the displaced are from and when they left; and (2) resettlement patterns. The first can suggest loyalties when the displacement is associated with territorial conquest and expulsion of suspected sympathizers. In turn, the displaced would be considered disloyal by the armed group responsible for the expulsion, and could be subject to further violence where they resettle. The second mechanism relates to the first: if displaced civilians are considered disloyal, then resettling with other, similarly stigmatized civilians can improve their security by reducing the household’s risk of discovery. However, clustering together with other IDPs can have a perverse effect: even though living in an enclave may reduce a particular household’s likelihood of suffering violence, the group itself is endangered because it is more easily detected. Armed groups can collectively target IDPs who resettle in clusters, either for strategic or retributive reasons. Implications of the argument are tested with detailed subnational panel data on IDP arrivals and massacres in Colombia, and the analyses provide support for the argument. The findings indicate that collective targeting of IDPs occurs even in civil wars without an ethnic cleavage, following voluntary resettlement patterns, and reinforces IDP security as a policy priority.
Re-assembling sustainable food cities: An exploration of translocal governance and its multiple agencies
Authors: Moragues-Faus Ana , Sonnino Roberta
Published: April 2018

Cities have begun to develop a more ‘place-based approach’ to food policy that emphasises translocal alliances. To understand how such alliances develop distinct capacities to act, in this paper we integrate key theoretical contributions from governance networks, social movements and translocal assemblages. Our analysis focuses on the activities and tools used by the UK’s Sustainable Food Cities Network to assemble local experiences, create common imaginaries and perform collective action. Through these processes, we argue, the network creates cross-scalar, collective and distributive agencies that are modifying incumbent governance dynamics. As we conclude, this raises the need to further explore how translocal configurations can develop forms of power that contest, break or reassemble the relations in the food system that are actively preventing the emergence of more sustainable foodscapes.
The hidden side of the entropy-based land-use mix index: Clarifying the relationship between pedestrian volume and land-use mix
Authors: Im Ha Na , Choi Chang Gyu
Published: April 2018

This study clarifies the previously unknown limitations of the entropy-based land-use mix index and suggests conditions under which the index is valid. The land-use mix index has an n-shaped relationship to dependent variables, which was evidenced by this study, but previous studies have ignored the problem. This study identified a non-linear relationship between the land-use mix index and a common dependent variable of interest, pedestrian volume. Pedestrian volume is a common measure of the vitality of a district and/or a city and a major goal of urban design and regeneration. Using mathematical analysis, simulation, and empirical analysis, this study found that the land-use mix index had an inconsistent quadratic relationship to pedestrian volume. It was confirmed that an analytical model using the land-use mix index, and that index squared, should be used together when samples representative of entire cities are tested. Otherwise, in samples from predominantly residential areas, the land-use mix index positively relates to pedestrian volume, whereas, in predominantly commercial areas, it will be negative. Previous studies failed to observe the hidden side of the entropy-based land-use mix index in commercial areas because their focus was mainly on residential areas or residents. Future studies should clarify the logical and theoretical relationships between the index and the outcome variable of interest, review the characteristics of the data and, then, implement appropriate statistical analyses by being aware of the hidden side.
Study on the losing control problem of direct torque control in permanent magnet synchronous motor drive
Authors: Feng Chen , Chaoying Xia , Xiaoxin Hou
Published: April 2018

In direct torque controlled permanent magnet synchronous motor drives, when the rotor speed or the load torque changes, the effect of a certain voltage vector on the torque also changes. In heavy-load or high-speed operating conditions, the torque may lose control. This paper presents an intensive investigation into this issue. With the help of relevant derivative curves, the primary cause for the losing control problem is analysed. Further study reveals that the effect of a certain voltage vector on the load angle is no relevant for the load conditions. Based on this property, by replacing the torque hysteresis comparator with a load angle hysteresis comparator, a modified direct torque control called the load-angle-feedback direct torque control is proposed and the original superiorities of the direct torque control are well preserved. Comparison between the direct torque control and the proposed method shows that the load capacity and speed operation range may be obviously extended by utilizing the proposed method.
Adsorptive hydrogen chloride and combined hydrogen chloride–hydrogen sulphide removal from biogas for solid oxide fuel cell application
Authors: Weinlaender Christof , Neubauer Raphael , Hauth Martin , Hochenauer Christoph
Published: April 2018

In order to reduce the toxic effect on solid oxide fuel cells performance caused by biogas contaminated with hydrogen chloride and hydrogen sulphide, the purification of biogas is essential. Adsorptive gas purification is a highly auspicious technology to provide pollution-free biogas for solid oxide fuel cell-based power units. In this work the authors examined the influence of different parameters onto the adsorption capacity of three commercially available sorbents. Experimental runs in a laboratory glass downflow fixed-bed reactor were carried out to analyse the adsorption capacity of a potassium carbonate impregnated activated carbon and two sorbents based on a mixture of aluminium oxide and silicon dioxide. Hydrogen chloride removal was accomplished with the impregnated activated carbon and metal oxide-based sorbents. Hydrogen chloride adsorption capacity was analysed under space velocities 8000 and 16,000 h−1. In addition, the effect of a hydrogen chloride inlet concentration of 100 and 1000 ppmv was investigated. Furthermore, pellets in the size of 3–4 mm in diameter were crushed into a fraction between 500 and 1000 µm to investigate the influence of particle size on hydrogen chloride adsorption capacity. Additionally, the combined adsorption of hydrogen chloride and hydrogen sulphide was realized using the impregnated activated carbon. The experimental runs and the results obtained in this work provide useful data for designing an adsorption reactor to clean up biogas and optimizing the process.
Pilot investigation of the effect of carvedilol on stress-precipitated smoking-lapse behavior
Authors: Verplaetse Terril L , Weinberger Andrea H , Ashare Rebecca L , Pittman Brian P , Shi Julia M , Tetrault Jeanette M , Lavery Meaghan , McKee Sherry A
Published: April 2018

Introduction:

Separate α1- and β-adrenergic antagonists have shown efficacy in reducing nicotine-motivated behaviors in rodents and humans, supporting a role for the noradrenergic system in mediating the reinforcing properties of drugs of abuse. However, the effect of the combined α1- and β-adrenergic antagonist, carvedilol, on stress-related smoking is unknown.

Methods:

Using a well-established human laboratory model of stress-precipitated smoking-lapse behavior, we examined whether carvedilol (0 or 50 mg/day; between subject, n=17 per group), administered to steady-state, would attenuate the ability to resist smoking following stress imagery (vs. neutral imagery) and reduce subsequent smoking self-administration in nicotine-deprived smokers ( n = 34 total). Tobacco craving, withdrawal, and physiologic reactivity were also assessed.

Results:

Latency to start smoking and number of cigarettes smoked during the self-administration period did not differ by medication condition. Counter to our hypothesis, tobacco craving demonstrated a medication × time effect, with greater craving in the carvedilol condition. Systolic blood pressure and heart rate demonstrated lower values in the carvedilol versus placebo group, consistent with known effects of carvedilol.

Conclusion:

While carvedilol attenuated physiologic reactivity consistent with its clinical indication, beneficial effects on smoking outcomes were absent in this preliminary investigation and may suggest possible worsening. Future work may benefit from discerning the single versus combined effects of α1- and β-adrenergic antagonism on smoking outcomes.
A capability maturity framework for knowledge transfer
Authors: Scanlan John
Published: April 2018

Knowledge transfer (KT) activity at a research performing organization (RPO) is usually reported as a set of metrics arising from the RPO’s research and engagement, such as links to industry, intellectual property creation, licensing of new technology and new start-up company creation. However, these basic metric sets are not very effective, either from the point of view of benchmarking or as measures of quality. To address this inadequacy, the author has developed and implemented a ‘knowledge transfer capability maturity framework’, which attempts to capture the essentials of good-quality management across key KT processes, providing for the identification of deficiencies and subsequent improvements. This article also presents the use of the ratios of currently reported metrics as an additional and helpful benchmarking tool, and the possible use of these ratios as a means of quantifying the quality measurement of the capability maturity framework presented.
Experimental and analytical analysis of aerodynamic lift of an ornithopter at low and high angles of attack
Authors: Bakhtiari Abdolbaghi , Etemadi Haghighi Shahram , Maghsoudpour Adel
Published: April 2018

In this study, a model based on potential flow theory is developed to analyze the unsteady nonlinear aerodynamics of a flexible flapping wing at low and high angles of attack. It is assumed that the wing motion is composed of twisting and flapping. The developed unsteady two-dimensional model is applied to the flapping wing using a blade-element-type method. The computational model presented in this study shows better agreement with experimental data especially at a high angle of attack. Analytical results also show that the wings section does not necessarily twist linearly along the wingspan.
A service evaluation comparing home-based testing to clinic-based testing for Chlamydia and gonorrhoea in Birmingham and Solihull
Authors: Banerjee Prita , Thorley Nicola , Radcliffe Keith
Published: April 2018

Home-based testing is an alternative, convenient and cost-effective method of testing for sexually transmitted infections compared to traditional clinic-based testing, in patients who are asymptomatic and, or, would otherwise feel stigmatised about attending sexual health clinics. The sexual health service in Birmingham and Solihull, called Umbrella, provides an online home-based testing service, which has been in operation since August 2015. The aim of this study was to evaluate the uptake and return rate of home-based testing kits and compare home-based testing to clinic-based testing in terms of diagnosis and treatment rates of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC). Our study showed that home-based testing is a popular method of testing and relatively more popular amongst asymptomatic, young, heterosexual female and White patients than clinic-based testing, with a return rate of 48%. The diagnosis rates for CT/GC are comparable to patients who attend clinic for testing (8% vs. 10% in home-based and clinic-based groups, respectively, p < 0.001). The overall treatment rate was lower in the home-based compared to the clinic-based group (82% vs. 88%, p < 0.001). Umbrella will continue to provide this service within Birmingham and Solihull and aim to provide patients with alternative pathways for more convenient access to treatment.
Changing restructuring regimes in 11 European countries during and after the financial crisis
Authors: Bergström Ola
Published: April 2018

This article draws on longitudinal data to analyse restructuring in 11 EU member states in response to the 2008–2009 financial crisis. It finds that despite the dramatic crisis, restructuring regimes remained rather stable. New policies were adopted and existing policies were reformed, but changes were primarily within the existing regimes, though collectively agreed measures are important. However, in three countries, changes were more radical, indicating a shift in the dominant adjustment and governance mechanisms. These findings have implications for the understanding of how restructuring regimes change and how such changes may be studied, implying that restructuring policies cannot be evaluated in isolation. Any attempt to analyse the impact of restructuring policies on labour market outcomes must take account of the interplay of different policies and how their emphasis and character change over time.
Inflammatory Responses are Sex Specific in Chronic Hypoxic–Ischemic Encephalopathy
Authors: Al Mamun Abdullah , Yu Haifu , Romana Sharmeen , Liu Fudong
Published: April 2018

Neonatal hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is increasingly recognized as a sexually dimorphic disease. Male infants are not only more vulnerable to ischemic insult; they also suffer more long-term cognitive deficits compared with females with comparable brain damage. The innate immune response plays a fundamental role in mediating acute neonatal HIE injury. However, the mechanism underlying the sex difference in chronic HIE is still elusive. The present study investigated the sex difference in HIE outcomes and inflammatory response in the chronic stage (30 days after HIE). Postnatal day 10 (P10) male and female C57BL/6 pups were subjected to 60-min Rice–Vanucci model (RVM) to induce HIE. Brain atrophy and behavioral deficits were analyzed to measure stroke outcomes at 30 days of HIE. Flow cytometry (FC) was performed to examine central (microglial activation) and peripheral immune responses. Serum levels of cytokines and sex hormones were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Neurogenesis was quantified by 5-Bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation with neurons. Results showed males had worse HIE outcomes than females at the endpoint. Female microglia exhibited a more robust anti-inflammatory response that was corresponding to an enhanced expression of CX3C chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1) than males. More infiltration of peripheral lymphocytes was seen in male vs. female HIE brains. Cytokine levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10 were more upregulated in males and females respectively than their counterparts. Neurogenesis was more highly induced in females vs. males. No significant difference in circulating hormonal level was found between males and females after HIE. We conclude that a sex dichotomy in pro- and anti-inflammatory response underlies the sex-specific chronic HIE outcomes, and an enhanced neurogenesis in females also contribute to the sex difference.
Love-type wave propagation in a hydrostatic stressed magneto-elastic transversely isotropic strip over an inhomogeneous substrate caused by a disturbance point source
Authors: Alam Parvez , Kundu Santimoy , Gupta Shishir
Published: April 2018

Propagation of Love-type waves emanating due to a disturbance point source in a transversely isotropic layer of finite thickness laid over a semi-infinite half-space is investigated. The layer is assumed under the influence of magnetic field and hydrostatic state of stress, while the half-space is inhomogeneous. The source point is situated at the common interface of the layer and half-space. Maxwell’s equation and generalized Ohm’s law have been taken into account to calculate the Laurent force induced in the layer. Green’s function technique and Fourier transform are used as a powerful tool to calculate the interior deformations of the model; consequently, we obtain a closed-form dispersion relation for the wave. Six numerical examples for the transversely isotropic layer, namely, beryl, magnesium, cadmium, zinc, cobalt, and simply isotropic, have been considered. The role of magneto-elastic coupling parameter, hydrostatic stress, inhomogeneity, the order of the depth variation in inhomogeneity function, and different examples of the layer on the propagation of Love-type wave has been observed by numerical examples and graphical demonstrations.
Multicentered Study Evaluating Pharmacy Students’ Perception of Palliative Care and Clinical Reasoning Using Script Concordance Testing
Authors: Atayee Rabia S. , Lockman Kashelle , Brock Cara , Abazia Daniel T. , Brooks Tracy L. , Pawasauskas Jayne , Edmonds Kyle P. , Herndon Christopher M.
Published: April 2018

Introduction:

As the role of the pharmacist on the transdisciplinary palliative care team grows, the need for adequate instruction on palliative care and clinical reasoning skills in schools of pharmacy grows accordingly.

Methods:

This study evaluates second- and third-year pharmacy students from 6 accredited schools of pharmacy that participated in surveys before and after the delivery of a didactic palliative care elective. The survey collected student demographics, perceptions of the importance of and student skill level in palliative care topics. The script concordance test (SCT) was used to assess clinical decision-making skills on patient cases. Student scores on the SCT were compared to those of a reference panel of experts.

Results:

A total of 89 students completed the pre-/postsurveys and were included in data analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in student perceived importance of palliative care skills before and after the elective. Students from all 6 institutions showed significant increase in confidence in their palliative care skills at the end of the course. There was also a significant improvement across all institutions in clinical reasoning skills in most of the SCT questions used to assess these skills.

Conclusions:

Students choosing an elective in palliative care likely do so because they already have an understanding of the importance of these topics in their future practice settings. Delivery of a palliative care elective in the pharmacy curriculum significantly increases both student confidence in their palliative care skills and their clinical reasoning skills in these areas.
“Risk It Out, Risk It Out”: Occupational and Organizational Stresses in Rural Policing
Authors: Ricciardelli Rosemary
Published: April 2018

In rural areas, police experience unique work-related health and safety risks attributable to a multitude of factors, ranging from inaccessible backup to navigating inclement weather alongside geographic obstacles. Although the result of institutional and organizational structures, operational (job content) and organizational (job context) risk must be recontextualized in the rural context. In the current study, I contextualize understandings of risk, referring to a lack of safety shaped by either a physical, administrative, legal, or emotional feeling of vulnerability—or a combination of such—for rural officers that results from occupational experiences of understaffing and insufficient material resources. Drawing on transcripts from 14 focus groups with 49 officers across rank, I extrapolate the effects of understaffing on officer experiences of work-role overload and the resulting stress. Findings reveal how officers’ perceptions of risk are impacted by such factors, and how risk is interpreted as either preventable (i.e., organizational) or unavoidable (i.e., operational). In this context, risk knowledges of occupational realities shape the occupational role and well-being of officers working in rural and remote detachments. Preliminary policy implications are presented.
Roles of Extracellular Vesicles in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Authors: Peng Junya , Wang Wenqian , Hua Surong , Liu Lulu
Published: April 2018

Cells can secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) to communicate with neighboring or distant cells by EVs which are composed of a lipid bilayer containing transmembrane proteins and enclosing cytosolic proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. Breast Cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy with more than 1 million new cases each year and ranks the leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide. In this review, we will discuss recent progresses of the roles and mechanisms of cancer-derived EVs in metastatic breast cancer, with a special attention on tumor microenvironment construction, progression, and chemo/radiotherapy responses. This review also covers EV roles as biomarker and therapeutic target in clinical application.
A community of practice or a working psychological group? Group dynamics in core and peripheral community participation
Authors: Gray David E , Gabriel Yiannis
Published: April 2018

The concept of communities of practice has become increasingly influential in management literature. Yet, many scholars regard the term as too homogeneous and lacking in empirical support. Our study explores the Silver Academy, a project involving over 100 unemployed and self-employed managers over the age of 50, who came together with the purpose of sharing knowledge and experience in starting up their own businesses. The study shows how the Academy matches the notion of community of practice, including mutual relationships, shared engagement and a common consensus of membership. However, applying Bion’s theory of groups, we challenge the homogeneous and consensual notion of a community of practice, illustrating how, through unconscious group processes, some group members exhibit work-group mentality and the capacity for realistic hard work (and leadership), while others are caught in a basic-assumption mentality, prone to feelings of anxiety, guilt and depression. This is particularly so for a group that has gone through the recent trauma of unemployment.
Lessons learned from Paralympic School Day: Reflections from the students
Authors: McKay Cathy , Haegele Justin , Block Martin
Published: April 2018

The purpose of this study was to seek to understand and describe the experiences of sixth grade students, ages 11 and 12, taking part in the published Paralympic School Day (PSD) programme in relation to shaping attitudes and perceptions of disability and disability sport. This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach. Fifty-two students were purposively sampled, after taking part in a PSD event. Data from reflective writing responses were collected and analysed inductively using a three-step approach. The analysis revealed three interrelated themes: (a) ‘just like the rest of us’: participants’ new relatedness to those with disabilities; (b) ‘what it means to be normal’: challenging the idealized notion of normal; and (c) ‘PSD changed my view of disabled people’: a shift in paradigm. As the participants interacted with and learned from athletes with disabilities in a purposeful manner, they came to understand that disability was not synonymous with other-ness. This study provided new depth to our understanding of how participants experience PSD programmes, including profundities related to paradigm shifts, aha moments, and the meaning of normal.
The decline in orally negotiated news: Revisiting (again) the role of technology in reporting
Authors: Reich Zvi
Published: April 2018

This article summarizes a longitudinal study on the role of technology in obtaining the information behind print and online news in Israel, across 15 years. Rather than taking the benefits of innovation for granted, knowledge acquisition technologies should be evaluated according to their ‘epistemic bandwidth’, involving the scope of knowledge-seeking opportunities they afford, the convenience of challenging this information, and its verifiability via the same channel. Hence, innovative technologies are very likely to have broader bandwidth when bypassing human agents. However, when human sources are concerned, traditional channels, like face-to-face and telephone, have broader bandwidth. Findings show that telephone is losing its historical dominance and face-to-face is declining in favour of emails and messaging. Even though textualization may afford greater accuracy and less deniability, and emancipate journalists from functioning as ‘oral relays’ of sources, it provides them with less space to interrogate their sources and confront them with interview techniques.
The Exhibition as an Experiment: An Analogy and Its Implications
Authors: Albano Caterina
Published: April 2018

The analogy of the exhibition as an experiment suggests innovative curatorial approaches that challenge institutional practices. This analogy has however a historical precedence in modernism when it became paradigmatic of the exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the 1940s, defining the curatorial approach of its founding director Alfred J Barr. This article considers this early use of the analogy of the exhibition as an experiment and further reflects on its redefinition at the turn of the 20th century by examining how both the notions of the exhibition and of the experiment have changed over time. In particular, the article examines the different meanings and practices inferred by the concepts of the exhibition and the experiment in the first decades of the 20th century and in the present. It outlines how correspondences between cultural and scientific paradigms can be deployed to tease unacknowledged synergies between two modes of knowledge production (i.e. the art exhibition and the experiment) and address questions of presentness, authority and legitimacy that they imply.
Liquid Crystals: A Roundtable
Authors: Candela Emily , Cubitt Sean , Dicker Barnaby , Drew Benedict , Leslie Esther
Published: April 2018

This Roundtable began life as a public event on the subject of liquid crystals in our visual, material, media, scientific and artistic cultures. The event’s premise was that liquid crystals are the ur-form that constitute and govern Modernity and its after-shocks. For sure this is because the dialectic of liquidity and crystallization, of flow and refraction, is key to the advent of screen-based media (LCD TVs, computers and mobile devices) and thus how we perceive, image and imagine the world. As such, liquid crystals as a ‘phase of matter’ are epochal. But more than this because, while the emergence of such a brave new world is manifestly contemporary and their ‘discovery’ is comparatively recent (1888), the very fact of liquid crystals goes back at least 4.5 billion years: water, for instance, is crystalline and thus our planet, our ecology and we ourselves are always already liquid crystal. Such a self-evident but under-acknowledged fact, discerned and foregrounded superbly by Esther Leslie in her recent book Liquid Crystals: The Science and Art of a Fluid Form (2016), becomes an occasion to bring together historians, theorists and practitioners of the convergences of design-science, media-ecology, political-aesthetics, and graphic-technologies. Using Leslie’s book as a springboard, each of the five contributors, including Leslie herself, were invited to deliver a 10-minute presentation, an opening statement to set the scene, and raise fundamental questions to be considered further in the ensuing discussion. This structure is retained here, along with some of the informality that live conversation affords.
Participatory design of a thematic questionnaire in the field of victimization studies
Authors: Valente Riccardo , Crescenzi Lanna Lucrezia , Chainey Spencer
Published: April 2018

The paper introduces the results of a two-step process that led to the design of a new questionnaire in the field of victimization studies. A desk-based review of national Crime and Victimization Surveys from five EU countries was performed and resulted in identifying opportunities to improve the consistency among these surveys as well as the need to include more independent variables in order to measure fear of crime and its correlation with sociological variables. Then 12 experts in survey-based measures of crime-related issues were involved in a Delphi panel with the objective of enhancing a participatory design of a new questionnaire addressing individual and space-based determinants of the perception of insecurity, which has been poorly explored to date.
Saliency of Vowel Features in Neural Responses of Cochlear Implant Users
Authors: Prévost François , Lehmann Alexandre
Published: April 2018

Cochlear implants restore hearing in deaf individuals, but speech perception remains challenging. Poor discrimination of spectral components is thought to account for limitations of speech recognition in cochlear implant users. We investigated how combined variations of spectral components along two orthogonal dimensions can maximize neural discrimination between two vowels, as measured by mismatch negativity. Adult cochlear implant users and matched normal-hearing listeners underwent electroencephalographic event-related potentials recordings in an optimum-1 oddball paradigm. A standard /a/ vowel was delivered in an acoustic free field along with stimuli having a deviant fundamental frequency (+3 and +6 semitones), a deviant first formant making it a /i/ vowel or combined deviant fundamental frequency and first formant (+3 and +6 semitones /i/ vowels). Speech recognition was assessed with a word repetition task. An analysis of variance between both amplitude and latency of mismatch negativity elicited by each deviant vowel was performed. The strength of correlations between these parameters of mismatch negativity and speech recognition as well as participants’ age was assessed. Amplitude of mismatch negativity was weaker in cochlear implant users but was maximized by variations of vowels’ first formant. Latency of mismatch negativity was later in cochlear implant users and was particularly extended by variations of the fundamental frequency. Speech recognition correlated with parameters of mismatch negativity elicited by the specific variation of the first formant. This nonlinear effect of acoustic parameters on neural discrimination of vowels has implications for implant processor programming and aural rehabilitation.
Building New Approaches to Risk Reduction With Social Networks and People Who Smoke Illegal Drugs From Participatory Community-Based Research
Authors: Jozaghi Ehsan , Buxton Jane A. , Thomson Erica , Marsh Samona , Gregg Delilah , Bouchard Martin
Published: April 2018

Background:

Global cases of overdose-related deaths attributed to synthetic opioids are reaching epidemic proportion in many jurisdictions. While the main focus of health agencies and the different levels of government has been to combat the cases linked to injection drug use, the deaths attributed to smoking illegal drugs have not gained the same attention. Moreover, little attention has been given to the role of people with past or current experiences of illegal drug use and how their social networks can mitigate the risk of a highly stigmatized behavior such as smoking illegal drugs.

Methods:

The study concerns the first social network research conducted via a community-based participatory action methodology in two distinct urban (Vancouver) and rural (Abbotsford) centers in British Columbia, Canada. The study will identify the influence of social networks on people who smoke illegal drugs (PWSID) and their adherence to interventions aimed at reducing harm. Through community consultations, members of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the British Columbia/Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors not only assisted with the design of this research project but also assisted with the data collection, management, protection and entry of demographic, and network information.

Discussion:

Many traditional qualitative and quantitative methods have not effectively engaged people who use drugs as researchers or collaborators due to stigma related to illegal drug use. The aim of this study is to recognize that everyone within the network of PWSID is a few steps away from harm. Therefore, we aim to reduce the harm associated with smoking of illegal drugs, especially for PWSID that are at the highest risk. At the same time, we hope that the social network research via a participatory community-based approach will mobilize PWSID in the process and offer a different method of knowledge construction from the traditional positivist approaches.
Theoretical study and simulation analysis on re-entrant square cellular material’s mechanical properties
Authors: Ma Fangwu , Zhao Ying , Yang Longfan , Liang Hongyu
Published: April 2018

With the development of three-dimensional printing technologies, so-called “designer materials” including re-entrant, chiral, and rotating rigid structures have attracted much attention due to unusual properties. However, most studies ignore theoretical analysis and pay much attention to numerical simulation. In this article, a novel re-entrant cellular material is proposed and taken as an example to introduce the methods of theoretical study on relations between mechanical properties and geometric parameters of this “designer material.” This work starts from developing theoretical models of relative density using two-dimensional unit cell in terms of three geometric parameters: edge length, re-entrant distance, and cellular thickness. Then, linear-elastic mechanical properties including elastic modulus and shear modulus, and nonlinear mechanical properties are explored. Based on theoretical models, predominant compression failure mode of this material is plastic collapse. Finite element method is adopted to identify accuracy of static mechanical models. On this basis, dynamic mechanical model is put forward, the relationship of dynamic plateau stress and impact velocity, and structural parameters are established by empirical formula. Moreover, the relationship of unit volume energy absorption and geometric features, impact velocity are also established. Eventually, finite element method is utilized to prove that simulation results show a well coincidence to theoretical results.
Development of fast electronic over-current protection circuit using current-adjustable sensing method
Authors: Lin Hsiung-Cheng , He Bo-Rong , Zo Heng-Chuan , Hsiao Kai-Chun
Published: April 2018

Traditional methods to protect the electric-driven facilities from overload or short circuit usually use electronic breaker or fuse. However, the reaction time for these devices normally require more than 0.1 s that may be not sufficiently fast to disconnect the power supply for protection. For this reason, this article develops a fast and simple electronic over-current protection circuit based on the current-adjustable sensing method. First, the load current is sensed and converted to a voltage signal using Hall sensor. Then, the signal is amplified and compared with the predefined threshold value, that is, the maximum tolerance current, using amplifier and comparator, respectively. The timer will generate a pulse signal input to the trigger circuit for rapidly switching off alternating current power once the load current exceeds the tolerance value. The alternating current power disconnection can continue for a period of time set by the timer in advance. The experimental results prove that the proposed circuit takes less than 10 ms and it is significantly fast to react for facility protection in time.