bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: review of surgical treatment
Authors: Price Jonathan , Clarke Nicholas , Turer Aslan , Quintana Eduard , Mestres Carlos , Huffman Lynn , Peltz Matthias , Wait Michael , Ring W Steves , Jessen Michael , Bajona Pietro
Published: September 2017

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy ranks among the most common congenital cardiac diseases, affecting up to 1 in 200 of the general population. When it causes left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, treatment is guided to reduce symptoms and the risk of sudden cardiac death. Pharmacologic therapy is the first-line treatment, but when it fails, surgical myectomy or percutaneous ablation of the hypertrophic myocardium are the standard therapies to eliminate subaortic obstruction. Both surgical myectomy and percutaneous ablation are proven safe and effective treatments; however, myectomy is the gold standard with a significantly lower complication rate and more complete and lasting reduction of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.
Information Technology and Organizational Change: Review of Theories and Application to a Case of Indian Railways
Authors: Dhurkari Ram Kumar
Published: September 2017

The communication and information technologies developed during last 50–60 years are creating a new era, enabling people to access and share information with virtually anyone, anywhere, anytime about anything in a continuous, interactive and unrestricted manner. However, organizations adopting this state of the art technologies face several challenges in terms of devising new strategies, aligning the organization with new strategies, managing change process and organizational response to change. This article reviews various theories explaining the organizational change, and in particular change due to the introduction of information technology (IT). This article also attempts to apply these theories to understand organizational change management process due to introduction of paging technology in a case of Indian Railways.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained: People anticipate more regret from missed romantic opportunities than from rejection
Authors: Joel Samantha , Plaks Jason E. , MacDonald Geoff
Published: September 2017

Romantic pursuit decisions often require a person to risk one of the two errors: pursuing a romantic target when interest is not reciprocated (resulting in rejection) or failing to pursue a romantic target when interest is reciprocated (resulting in a missed romantic opportunity). In the present research, we examined how strongly people wish to avoid these two competing negative outcomes. When asked to recall a regrettable dating experience, participants were more than three times as likely to recall a missed opportunity rather than a rejection (Study 1). When presented with romantic pursuit dilemmas, participants perceived missed opportunities to be more regrettable than rejection (Studies 2–4), partially because they perceived missed opportunities to be more consequential to their lives (Studies 3 and 4). Participants were also more willing to risk rejection rather than missed romantic opportunities in the context of imagined (Study 4) and actual (Study 5) pursuit decisions. These effects generally extended even to less secure individuals (low self-esteem, high attachment anxiety). Overall, these studies suggest that motivation to avoid missed romantic opportunities may help to explain how people overcome fears of rejection in the pursuit of potential romantic partners.
Traditional manual acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy for shoulder hand syndrome after stroke within the Chinese healthcare system: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Peng Le , Zhang Chao , Zhou Lan , Zuo Hong-Xia , He Xiao-Kuo , Niu Yu-Ming
Published: September 2017

Objective:

To investigate the effectiveness of traditional manual acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy versus rehabilitation therapy alone for shoulder hand syndrome after stroke.

Data sources:

PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedicine Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Information Database, Wan Fang Database and reference lists of the eligible studies were searched up to July 2017 for relevant studies.

Methods:

Randomized controlled trials that compared the combined effects of traditional manual acupuncture and rehabilitation therapy to rehabilitation therapy alone for shoulder hand syndrome after stroke were included. Two reviewers independently screened the searched records, extracted the data and assessed risk of bias of the included studies. The treatment effect sizes were pooled in a meta-analysis using RevMan 5.3 software.

Results:

A total of 20 studies involving 1918 participants were included in this study. Compared to rehabilitation therapy alone, the combined therapy significantly reduced pain on the visual analogue scale and improved limb movement on the Fugl–Meyer Assessment scale and the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) on the Barthel Index scale or Modified Barthel Index scale. Of these, the visual analogue scale score changes were significantly higher (mean difference = 1.49, 95% confidence interval = 1.15–1.82, P < 0.00001) favoring the combined therapy after treatment, with severe heterogeneity ( I2 = 71%, P = 0.0005).

Conclusion:

Current evidence suggests that traditional manual acupuncture integrated with rehabilitation therapy is more effective in alleviating pain, improving limb movement and ADL. However, considering the relatively low quality of available evidence, further rigorously designed and large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the results.
Falls in people with multiple sclerosis: experiences of 115 fall situations
Authors: Carling Anna , Forsberg Anette , Nilsagård Ylva
Published: September 2017

Objectives:

The aim was to describe falls and the perceived causes, experienced by people with multiple sclerosis shortly after falling.

Design:

A qualitative study using content analysis and quantitative data to illustrate where and why people report falls most commonly. Semi-structured telephone interviews were performed. Interviews were conducted shortly (0–10 days) after a fall.

Subjects:

In all, 67 informants who had reported at least one fall during the previous three-month period and who used a walking aid participated.

Results:

A total of 57 (85%) informants fell at least once during eight months resulting in 115 falls; 90 (78%) falls happened indoors, most commonly in the kitchen ( n = 20; 17%) or bathroom ( n = 16; 14%). Informants fell during everyday activities and walking aids had been used in more than a third of the reported falls. The falls were influenced of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Two categories emerged from the analysis: ‘activities when falling’ and ‘influencing factors’. The category contained three (basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and leisure and work) and six (multiple sclerosis–related symptoms, fluctuating body symptoms, being distracted, losing body control, challenging surrounding and involvement of walking aid) subcategories, respectively.

Conclusion:

The majority of falls occurs indoors and in daily activities. Several factors interacted in fall situations and should be monitored and considered to reduce the gap between the person’s capacity and the environmental demands that cause fall risk. Fluctuation of bodily symptoms between and within a day is a variable not earlier targeted in multiple sclerosis fall risk research.
Semi-quantitative cerebral blood flow parameters derived from non-invasive [15O]H2O PET studies
Authors: Koopman Thomas , Yaqub Maqsood , Heijtel Dennis FR , Nederveen Aart J , van Berckel Bart NM , Lammertsma Adriaan A , Boellaard Ronald
Published: September 2017

Quantification of regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) using [15O]H2O positron emission tomography (PET) requires the use of an arterial input function. Arterial sampling, however, is not always possible, for example in ill-conditioned or paediatric patients. Therefore, it is of interest to explore the use of non-invasive methods for the quantification of CBF. For validation of non-invasive methods, test–retest normal and hypercapnia data from 15 healthy volunteers were used. For each subject, the data consisted of up to five dynamic [15O]H2O brain PET studies of 10 min and including arterial sampling. A measure of CBF was estimated using several non-invasive methods earlier reported in literature. In addition, various parameters were derived from the time-activity curve (TAC). Performance of these methods was assessed by comparison with full kinetic analysis using correlation and agreement analysis. The analysis was repeated with normalization to the whole brain grey matter value, providing relative CBF distributions. A reliable, absolute quantitative estimate of CBF could not be obtained with the reported non-invasive methods. Relative (normalized) CBF was best estimated using the double integration method.
Subchondral bone microarchitecture analysis in the proximal tibia at 7-T MRI
Authors: Agten Christoph A , Honig Stephen , Saha Punam K , Regatte Ravinder , Chang Gregory
Published: September 2017

Background

Bone remodels in response to mechanical loads and osteoporosis results from impaired ability of bone to remodel. Bone microarchitecture analysis provides information on bone quality beyond bone mineral density (BMD).

Purpose

To compare subchondral bone microarchitecture parameters in the medial and lateral tibia plateau in individuals with and without fragility fractures.

Material and Methods

Twelve female patients (mean age = 58 ± 15 years; six with and six without previous fragility fractures) were examined with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and 7-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the proximal tibia. A transverse high-resolution three-dimensional fast low-angle shot sequence was acquired (0.234 × 0.234 × 1 mm). Digital topological analysis (DTA) was applied to the medial and lateral subchondral bone of the proximal tibia. The following DTA-based bone microarchitecture parameters were assessed: apparent bone volume; trabecular thickness; profile-edge-density (trabecular bone erosion parameter); profile-interior-density (intact trabecular rods parameter); plate-to-rod ratio; and erosion index. We compared femoral neck T-scores and bone microarchitecture parameters between patients with and without fragility fracture.

Results

There was no statistical significant difference in femoral neck T-scores between individuals with and without fracture (–2.4 ± 0.9 vs. −1.8 ± 0.7, P = 0.282). Apparent bone volume in the medial compartment was lower in patients with previous fragility fracture (0.295 ± 0.022 vs. 0.317 ± 0.009; P = 0.016). Profile-edge-density, a trabecular bone erosion parameter, was higher in patients with previous fragility fracture in the medial (0.008 ± 0.003 vs. 0.005 ± 0.001) and lateral compartment (0.008 ± 0.002 vs. 0.005 ± 0.001); both P = 0.025. Other DTA parameters did not differ between groups.

Conclusion

7-T MRI and DTA permit detection of subtle changes in subchondral bone quality when differences in BMD are not evident.
Between perfection and damnation: The emerging geography of markets
Authors: Cohen Dan
Published: September 2017

Economic geographers have recently taken up the study of markets after a long period of inattention. This growing literature has highlighted the diverse spaces, scales, and fields where markets are present, as well as the ways in which markets vary in form. However, the study of markets in economic geography still exists in tension between neoclassical and Marxist conceptions of markets as predictable and approaches like the social studies of economization/marketization which emphasize their contingency. This paper argues that work of Polyani and Gramsci can provide a way forward for the subfield through conceptualizing markets as sites of social struggle.
History and philosophy of geography II
Authors: Keighren Innes M.
Published: September 2017

Prompted by recent scholarship on geographers’ role in advancing the divergent political ends of anarchism and Nazism, this report considers how disciplinary histories make space for the admirable as well as for the abominable episodes of our shared past. In addressing some of the ideological ends to which geography has been put, the report reflects on the historiographical challenge of dealing appropriately with the discipline’s stain of Nazi collusion and explores the potential that geography’s anarchist traditions have to inspire activist and critical scholarship today. In thinking more generally about practices of exclusion and marginalization in geography, the report argues for the value, and the necessity, of diversity and inclusivity in writing on the history of the discipline.
Predictors of response to occipital nerve stimulation in refractory chronic headache
Authors: Miller Sarah , Watkins Laurence , Matharu Manjit
Published: September 2017

Background

Occipital nerve stimulation is a promising treatment for refractory chronic headache disorders, but is invasive and costly. Identifying predictors of response would be useful in selecting patients. We present the results of an open-label prospective cohort study of 100 patients (35 chronic migraine, 33 chronic cluster headache, 20 short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks and 12 hemicrania continua) undergoing occipital nerve stimulation, using a multivariate binary regression analysis to identify predictors of response.

Results

Response rate of the cohort was 48%. Multivariate analysis showed short lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks (OR 6.71; 95% CI 1.49–30.05; p = 0.013) and prior response to greater occipital nerve block (OR 4.22; 95% CI 1.35–13.21; p = 0.013) were associated with increased likelihood of response. Presence of occipital pain (OR 0.27; 95% CI 0.09–0.76; p = 0.014) and the presence of severe anxiety and/or depression (as measured on hospital anxiety and depression score) at time of implantation (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.11–0.91; p = 0.032) were associated with reduced likelihood of response.

Conclusion

Possible clinical predictors of response to occipital nerve stimulation for refractory chronic headaches have been identified. Our data shows that those with short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks respond better than those with chronic migraine, and that a prior response to greater occipital nerve block is associated with positive outcomes. This study suggests that the presence of occipital pain and severe mood disorder at time of implant are both associated with poor outcomes to occipital nerve stimulation.
An exploration into municipal waste charges for environmental management at local level: The case of Spain
Authors: Puig-Ventosa Ignasi , Sastre Sanz Sergio
Published: September 2017

Municipal waste charges have been widely acknowledged as a crucial tool for waste management at the local level. This is because they contribute to financing the costly provision of waste collection and treatment services and they can be designed to provide an economic stimulus to encourage citizens and local businesses to improve separate collection and recycling. This work presents a methodology to evaluate a sample of 125 municipal waste charges in Spain for the year 2015, covering 33.91% of the Spanish population. The qualitative benchmarking of municipal waste charges shows that flat fees are frequent, whereas variable fees are set according to criteria that are weakly related to waste generation. The average fee per household is €82.2 per year, which does not provide full cost recovery. The current configuration of municipal waste charges penalises taxpayers contributing to source separation of waste, while subsidising less environmentally friendly behaviours. In this sense, municipal waste charges in Spain are far from applying the polluter pays principle. Furthermore, it is argued that municipal waste charges are ineffective for promoting the proper application of the so-called ‘waste hierarchy’.
Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients Who Have Serotype 5 Invasive Pneumococcal Disease
Authors: Zurawska Joanna H. , Romney Marc G. , Wong Hubert , Wang Hong , Ayas Najib T. , Hoang Linda M. N. , Stefanovic Aleksandra , Doyle Patrick , Dhingra Vinay , Dodek Peter M.
Published: September 2017

Purpose:

To determine whether invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) due to serotype 5, which occurred as a local outbreak in 2006 to 2007, is associated with intensive care unit (ICU) admission, hospital mortality, or organ supports in those who are critically ill.

Materials and Methods:

Retrospective review of patients who presented with IPD to 2 tertiary hospitals in Vancouver, Canada, from July 2004 to June 2007. We compared patient characteristics, interventions, and outcomes between patients who had serotype 5 and other serotypes using bivariate and multivariate analyses.

Results:

A total of 149 patients had serotype 5 and 106 had nonserotype 5. Patients with serotype 5 were younger, had lower prevalence of comorbid diseases, and had higher rates of substance use than patients with nonserotype 5. There were no differences in chest tube placement for complications of pneumonia or in ICU admission. Frequency of necrotizing pneumonia and hospital mortality were lower in the serotype 5 group. For the 71 patients with IPD who were admitted to ICU, there was no difference in severity of illness, ICU length of stay, or ICU mortality between the groups. There was also no difference in organ supports except that the serotype 5 group was more likely to receive vasopressors.

Conclusion:

Serotype 5 in patients who have IPD is associated with no difference in ICU admission but with increased use of vasopressors and lower hospital mortality.
Bidirectional Relations Between Dating Violence Victimization and Substance Use in a Diverse Sample of Early Adolescents
Authors: Taylor Katherine A. , Sullivan Terri N.
Published: September 2017

Substance use and dating violence victimization are common in adolescence and represent significant public health concerns. Although theoretical accounts suggest a bidirectional association between substance use and victimization within dating relationships, this has not been tested during early adolescence. Thus, the current study examined bidirectional associations between physical and psychological dating violence victimization and substance use across 6 months among an ethnically diverse sample of early adolescents. Sex was also examined as a moderator. Participants included two cohorts of sixth graders from 37 schools who were in dating relationships in the last 3 months at Wave 1, in the fall of sixth grade, and 6 months later at Wave 2, in the spring of sixth grade ( n = 2,022; 43% female; 55% Black, 17% Latino/a, 16% White, 9% as multiracial, and 3% as another race/ethnicity). Students reported on the frequency of dating violence in the past 3 months and substance use in the past 30 days. Multilevel models, with students at Level 1 and classes (i.e., clusters of students in the same cohort at the same school; n = 74) at Level 2, tested hypotheses that positive reciprocal relations between physical and psychological dating violence victimization and substance use would be found over time, and that relations would be stronger for girls than boys. Sex, race/ethnicity, and family structure variables were included as Level 1 covariates; intervention condition and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage were included as Level 2 covariates. Results showed that higher levels of physical dating violence victimization at Wave 1 predicted increased substance use at Wave 2. Higher levels of substance use at Wave 1 predicted increased physical and psychological dating violence victimization at Wave 2. Findings highlight the importance of prevention efforts for dating violence and substance use early in adolescence.
Prevalence of Exposure to Complex Trauma and Community Violence and Their Associations With Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms
Authors: Yearwood Karen , Vliegen Nicole , Chau Cecilia , Corveleyn Jozef , Luyten Patrick
Published: September 2017

Studies about trauma often tend to focus on abuse and neglect. However important, these studies may neglect the importance of the broader community context that is often associated with trauma, and complex trauma (CT) in particular. This study aimed to investigate the effects of CT (defined in terms of experiencing abuse and/or neglect occurring in the context of relationships with caregivers), and of broader environmental adversity (i.e., exposure to community violence), in a sample of adolescents ( N = 218) from a severely disadvantaged district of Lima, Peru. The study had two aims: (a) to assess the prevalence of CT and its associations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in these adolescents and (b) to investigate the associations between community violence and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms over and above the effects of CT. In total, 39.4% of the adolescents reported at least one type of moderate to severe trauma. There was a clear association between CT and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Ordinal logistic regressions showed that children who were exposed to one or more traumatic experiences were more likely to score within a higher range of internalizing and externalizing symptoms than children with no history of trauma. Finally, exposure to community violence was an important predictor of symptomatology beyond the effects of CT.
“From Fizzle to Sizzle!” Televised Sports News and the Production of Gender-Bland Sexism
Authors: Musto Michela , Cooky Cheryl , Messner Michael A.
Published: September 2017

This article draws upon data collected as part of a 25-year longitudinal analysis of televised coverage of women’s sports to provide a window into how sexism operates during a postfeminist sociohistorical moment. As the gender order has shifted to incorporate girls’ and women’s movement into the masculine realm of sports, coverage of women’s sports has shifted away from overtly denigrating coverage in 1989 to ostensibly respectful but lackluster coverage in 2014. To theorize this shift, we introduce the concept of “gender-bland sexism,” a contemporary gender framework that superficially extends the principles of merit to women in sports. Televised news and highlight shows frame women in uninspired ways, making women’s athletic accomplishments appear lackluster compared to those of men’s. Because this “bland” language normalizes a hierarchy between men’s and women’s sports while simultaneously avoiding charges of overt sexism, this article contributes to gender theory by illuminating how women can be marginalized in male-dominated, male-controlled settings via individualized merit-based assessments of talent.
Perceiving Reconciliation: Child Care Policies and Gendered Time Conflicts
Authors: Stadelmann-Steffen Isabelle , Oehrli Dominique
Published: September 2017

In recent decades, many studies have examined gender-related differences in paid employment and the reconciliation of family and employment. Considering perceptions of time conflicts with regards to work at home and leisure activities, this article contributes to a more encompassing understanding of attitudes toward reconciliation problems. Special attention is given to the role of external child care services. The use of an original data set from 60 Swiss municipalities and hierarchical multiresponse regression models enable an analysis of the various aspects of time conflicts simultaneously, and a consideration of how different policy contexts shape these attitudes. This study provides evidence that the communal provision of external child care is related to gender-specific perceptions of time conflicts. Most interestingly, men seem to be affected most strongly by communal policy conditions, whereby the provision of external child care is related to systematically higher levels of time conflicts.
Female and child ‘husbands’: Rituals as HIV escape routes
Authors: Museka Godfrey
Published: September 2017

Discourses on the struggle against HIV and AIDS tend to portray African traditional religio-cultural rituals as ‘harmful’ and African people as passive and clueless victims. By focusing on middle-aged widows, this study explores the utilisation of traditional rituals as HIV and AIDS escape routes in outlying areas such as the rural Manyika-Gandanzara area. Informed by the phenomenological approach, the study seeks to answer questions: Are African rural communities passive beneficiaries of the top-down HIV and AIDS intervention strategies? What localised responses have the communities developed in order to ‘escape’ from HIV? Data used to answer these questions were inductively gathered through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observations in the Manyika-Gandanzara community. The findings of the study suggest that instead of relying solely on official government and donor-funded HIV and AIDS interventions, the Manyika-Gandanzara community has renegotiated sex-oriented widow inheritance rituals into asexual female-to-female and mother–son symbolic unions in its attempt to escape the disease.
The effect of wear ring clearance on flow field in the impeller sidewall gap and efficiency of a low specific speed centrifugal pump
Authors: DaqiqShirazi M , Torabi R , Riasi A , Nourbakhsh SA
Published: September 2017

In this paper, the flow in the impeller sidewall gap of a low specific speed centrifugal pump is analyzed to study the effect of wear ring clearance and the resultant through-flow on flow field in this cavity and investigate the overall efficiency of the pump. Centrifugal pumps are commonly subject to a reduction in the flow rate and volumetric efficiency due to abrasive liquids or working conditions, since the wear rings are progressively worn, the internal leakage flow is increased. In the new operating point, the overall efficiency of the pump cannot be predicted simply by using the pump characteristic curves. The flow field is simulated with the use of computational fluid dynamics and the three-dimensional full Navier–Stokes equations are solved using CFX software. In order to verify the numerical simulations, static pressure field in volute casing and pump performance curves are compared with the experimental measurements. The results show that, for the pump with minimum wear ring clearance, the disk friction efficiency is the strongest factor that impairs the overall efficiency. Therefore, when the ring clearance is enlarged more than three times, although volumetric efficiency decreases effectively but the reduction in overall efficiency is remarkably smaller due to improvement in the disk friction losses.
Improving the reliability and availability of railway track switching by analysing historical failure data and introducing functionally redundant subsystems
Authors: Bemment Samuel D , Goodall Roger M , Dixon Roger , Ward Christopher P
Published: September 2017

Track switches are safety critical assets that not only provide flexibility to rail networks but also present single points of failure. Switch failures within dense-traffic passenger rail systems cause a disproportionate level of delay. Subsystem redundancy is one of a number of approaches, which can be used to ensure an appropriate safety integrity and/or operational reliability level, successfully adopted by, for example, the aeronautical and nuclear industries. This paper models the adoption of a functional redundancy approach to the functional subsystems of traditional railway track switching arrangements in order to evaluate the potential increase in the reliability and availability of switches. The paper makes three main contributions. First, 2P-Weibull failure distributions for each functional subsystem of each common category of points operating equipment are established using a timeline and iterative maximum likelihood estimation approach, based on almost 40,000 sampled failure events over 74,800 years of continuous operation. Second, these results are used as baselines in a reliability block diagram approach to model engineering fault tolerance, through subsystem redundancy, into existing switching systems. Third, the reliability block diagrams are used with a Monte-Carlo simulation approach in order to model the availability of redundantly engineered track switches over expected asset lifetimes. Results show a significant improvement in the reliability and availability of switches; unscheduled downtime reduces by an order of magnitude across all powered switch types, whilst significant increases in the whole-system reliability are demonstrated. Hence, switch designs utilising a functional redundancy approach are well worth further investigation. However, it is also established that as equipment failures are engineered out, switch reliability/availability can be seen to plateau as the dominant contributor to unreliability becomes human error.
Locally-optimal electric sail transfer
Authors: Bassetto Marco , Quarta Alessandro A , Mengali Giovanni
Published: September 2017

This paper analyzes the locally-optimal heliocentric transfer of a spacecraft propelled by an electric solar wind sail, an innovative propellantless propulsion system that generates a propulsive acceleration exploiting the momentum of solar wind particles. The potentialities of such an advanced thruster are investigated in terms of flight times required to achieve a given heliocentric orbit. The problem is addressed using a locally-optimal formulation, by minimizing a scalar performance index that depends on the time derivatives of the osculating orbital elements. The proposed algorithm gives an estimate of the globally-optimal flight time with reduced computational efforts compared to a traditional optimization approach. Also, when the performance index involves a single orbital parameter and the transfer trajectory is two-dimensional, the proposed approach provides an analytical solution to the locally-optimal control problem. The procedure discussed in the paper is used to quantify the near-optimal performance of an electric solar wind sail in some advanced mission scenarios, such as the design of a heliocentric non-Keplerian orbit for solar activity monitoring, the exploration of the Solar System boundaries, and the rendezvous with comets 1P Halley and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
A new direct statistical analysis of nonlinear systems: CAUTDET
Authors: Li Hong-Xia , Li Hui-Jie , Cai Yuan-Li
Published: September 2017

This paper investigates the nonlinear system analysis problem for achieving higher computational efficiency and accuracy. A novel and efficient technique, covariance analysis unscented transform describing function technique (CAUTDET), is proposed. This method combines linear system covariance analysis algorithm with describing function method based on unscented transform. Furthermore, the quasi-linearization of the nonlinear system are derived to approximate the nonlinearity, while there is no requirement of the probability density function of the nonlinear system input and needs only one time calculation. Moreover, the proposed technique can be viewed as a generalization method of the nonlinear system design and analysis. Finally, simulations are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the presented analysis method.
Aerodynamic optimization of through-flow design model of a high by-pass transonic aero-engine fan using genetic algorithm
Authors: Kor Orçun , Acarer Sercan , Özkol Ünver
Published: September 2017

This study deals with aerodynamic optimization of a high by-pass transonic aero-engine fan module in a through-flow inverse design model at cruise condition. To the authors’ best knowledge, although the literature contains through-flow optimization of the simplified cases of compressors and turbines, an optimization study targeting the more elaborate case of combined transonic fan and splitter through-flow model is not considered in the literature. Such a through-flow optimization of a transonic fan, combined with bypass and core streams separated by an aerodynamically shaped flow splitter, possesses significant challenges to any optimizer, due to highly non-linear nature of the problem and the high number of constraints, including the fulfillment of the targeted bypass ratio. It is the aim of this study to consider this previously untouched area in detail and therefore present a more sophisticated and accurate optimization environment for actual bypass fan systems. An in-house optimization code using genetic algorithm is coupled with a previously developed in-house through-flow solver which is using a streamline curvature technique and a set of in-house calibrated empirical models for incidence, deviation, loss and blockage. As the through-flow models are the backbone of turbomachinery design, and great majority of design decisions are taken in this phase, such a study is assessed to result in significant guidelines to the gas turbine community.
Explaining different trajectories of minimum income schemes: Groups, parties and political exchange in Italy and Spain
Authors: Natili Marcello
Published: September 2017

The absence of a minimum income scheme was a key feature of the Southern European Model. In the past 20 years, countries in this cluster have witnessed major changes in this policy field. In particular, in Spain, regional safety nets have been introduced which cover the entire country and consolidated over time. Also in Italy, regional programmes were introduced, but they do not diffuse throughout the country and were often subsequently discontinued. How can we explain path departure and divergence in the policy trajectories, in those two otherwise similar countries? To solve those puzzles, this article departs from previous claims about the limited relevance of political competition in this policy field, underlying the crucial role of specific political exchange between social actors and political parties.
Attitude control design for flying boom during air-to-air refuelling
Authors: Wang Lixin , Cao Huazi , Yue Ting
Published: September 2017

Compared with hose-and-drogue refuelling, flying boom refuelling has attracted increasing interest due to its high flow rates and easy contact operation. Aided by a flying boom attitude controller, the boom operator navigates the flying boom into contact with the receptacle of the receiver aircraft. However, disturbances, including tanker wake and atmospheric turbulence, can disturb the motion of the flying boom. In addition, the boom operator requires that the flying boom has good handling qualities to accomplish aerial boom refuelling. To solve the first challenge, a novel back-stepping control approach – back-stepping control driven by a sliding mode disturbance observer – was adopted for attitude control to improve robustness and performance. To address the second challenge, the command filter, which affects the handling qualities, was designed in the attitude control to protect the flying boom from damage. To achieve the desired handling qualities, a mission-oriented method was implemented to determine the filter parameters. Finally, three manoeuvres – yaw tracking, pitch tracking and attitude hold – were calculated to simulate real aerial boom refuelling. The results demonstrate the proposed attitude controller’s effectiveness and robustness.
Correlation between faunal transitions of benthic foraminifera and ballasting of particulate organic carbon by siliceous plankton during the Holocene off San-in district, southwestern Japan
Authors: Takata Hiroyuki , Itaki Takuya , Ikehara Ken , Khim Boo-Keun
Published: September 2017

We investigated the biotic response of benthic foraminifera (Rhizaria) to Holocene paleoceanographic changes in a upper bathyal environment by examining fossil benthic foraminifera younger than ~13 ka from core GH87-2-308 (316-m water depth) off San-in district, southwestern Japan. A non-metric multidimensional scaling (nm-MDS) analysis enabled the distinction of three main benthic foraminiferal assemblages and two faunal transitions. The phase 1 to 2 transition at 11.3 ka was characterized by a rapid decrease in species diversity followed by its gradual recovery and a shift toward present-day fauna. The phase 2 to 3 transition at ~7 ka was characterized by continuation of the shift toward present-day fauna as the Tsushima Warm Current developed and approached its present-day form. The nm-MDS axis 1 was negatively correlated with the radiolarian accumulation rate at this site and with the radiolarian and diatom accumulation rates of neighbor core D-GC-6, suggesting that benthic foraminifera responded to ballasting of particulate organic carbon (POC) with siliceous plankton skeletons. Furthermore, a decrease in the benthic foraminiferal accumulation rate during late phase 2 (~9–7 ka), when warm-water planktonic foraminifera were common, can be attributed to a decreased food supply from the surface ocean because of reduced paleoproductivity beneath a warmer, more stratified surface ocean, possibly accompanied by enhanced remineralization of POC, in response to strengthening of the Tsushima Warm Current. Thus, the benthic foraminifera at upper bathyal depth off San-in district appear to have responded to surface oceanographic changes, suggesting coupling of surface and bottom biota.
Site-specific sediment responses to climate change during the last 140 years in three varved lakes in Northern Poland
Authors: Ott Florian , Kramkowski Mateusz , Wulf Sabine , Plessen Birgit , Serb Johanna , Tjallingii Rik , Schwab Markus , Słowiński Michał , Brykała Dariusz , Tyszkowski Sebastian , Putyrskaya Victoria , Appelt Oona , Błaszkiewicz Miroslaw , Brauer Achim
Published: September 2017

Accurate dating and unambiguous chronological correlation using cryptotephras provide a powerful tool to compare the varved sediment records of the lakes Głęboczek (JG), Czechowskie (JC) and Jelonek (JEL) (north-central Poland). For the last 140 years, micro-facies analyses and µ-XRF element scanning at seasonal resolution, as well as bulk elemental analyses (organic matter, carbonate) at sub-decadal to decadal resolution, were conducted for all three lakes records. All lakes are located in a region with low population density, and therefore, anthropogenic influences are negligible or only minor. The varve chronologies have been established independently for each record and were synchronized with the Askja AD 1875 cryptotephra. Comparison with monthly temperature data since 1870 and daily temperature data since 1951 revealed different responses of lake deposition to recent climate change. Varves are well preserved over the entire 140 years only at JG, while in the JC record two faintly varved intervals are intercalated and in the JEL record two non-varved intervals occur at the base and top of the profiles. These differences likely are due to variations in lake characteristics and their influence on lake-internal responses. JG is the smallest and best wind-sheltered lake, which favours varve preservation. JC’s attenuated sediment responses can likely be linked to lake productivity changes with respect to climate warming. JEL is lacking a direct sedimentological response to the observed temperature increase, which can be linked to lake size and water depth superimposing regional climate changes. Climate changes at the demise of the ‘Little Ice Age’ around 1900 and the recent warming since the 1980s are expressed in sediment proxies in the lakes with different response times and amplitudes. This detailed comparison study on three nearby lakes demonstrates the influence of local parameters such as lake and catchment size and water depth superimposed on more regional climate-driven changes.
Regression standardization and attributable fraction estimation with between-within frailty models for clustered survival data
Authors: Dahlqwist Elisabeth , Pawitan Yudi , Sjölander Arvid
Published: September 2017

The between-within frailty model has been proposed as a viable analysis tool for clustered survival time outcomes. Previous research has shown that this model gives consistent estimates of the exposure–outcome hazard ratio in the presence of unmeasured cluster-constant confounding, which the ordinary frailty model does not, and that estimates obtained from the between-within frailty model are often more efficient than estimates obtained from the stratified Cox proportional hazards model. In this paper, we derive novel estimation techniques for regression standardization with between-within frailty models. We also show how between-within frailty models can be used to estimate the attributable fraction function, which is a generalization of the attributable fraction for survival time outcomes. We illustrate the proposed methods by analyzing a large cohort on preterm birth and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. To facilitate use of the proposed methods, we provide R code for all analyses.
Neuronal Cell Sheets of Cortical Motor Neuron Phenotype Derived from Human iPSCs
Authors: Suzuki Noboru , Arimitsu Nagisa , Shimizu Jun , Takai Kenji , Hirotsu Chieko , Ueda Yuji , Wakisaka Sueshige , Fujiwara Naruyoshi , Suzuki Tomoko
Published: September 2017

Transplantation of stem cells that differentiate into more mature neural cells brings about functional improvement in preclinical studies of stroke. Previous transplant approaches in the diseased brain utilized injection of the cells in a cell suspension. In addition, neural stem cells were preferentially used for grafting. However, these cells had no specific relationship to the damaged tissue of stroke and brain injury patients. The injection of cells in a suspension destroyed the cell–cell interactions that are suggested to be important for promoting functional integrity of cortical motor neurons. In order to obtain suitable cell types for grafting in patients with stroke and brain damage, a protocol was modified for differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells from cells phenotypically related to cortical motor neurons. Moreover, cell sheet technology was applied to neural cell transplantation, as maintaining the cell–cell communications is regarded important for the repair of host brain architecture. Accordingly, neuronal cell sheets that were positive Forebrain Embryonic Zinc Finger (Fez) family zinc finger 2 (FEZF2), COUP-TF-interacting protein 2, insulin-like growth factor–binding protein 4 (IGFBP4), cysteine-rich motor neuron 1 protein precursor (CRIM1), and forkhead box p2 (FOXP2) were developed. These markers are associated with cortical motoneurons that are appropriate for the transplant location in the lesions. The sheets allowed preservation of cell–cell interactions shown by synapsin1 staining after transplantation to damaged mouse brains. The sheet transplantation brought about partial structural restoration and the improvement of motor functions in hemiplegic mice. Collectively, the novel neuronal cell sheets were transplanted into damaged motor cortices; the cell sheets maintained cell–cell interactions and improved the motor functions in the hemiplegic model mice. The motoneuron cell sheets are possibly applicable for stroke patients and patients with brain damage by using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells.
Acute Renal Graft-Versus-Host Disease in a Murine Model of Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation
Authors: Schmid Peter M. , Bouazzaoui Abdellatif , Schmid Karin , Birner Christoph , Schach Christian , Maier Lars S. , Holler Ernst , Endemann Dierk H.
Published: September 2017

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a very common complication after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and is associated with a poor prognosis. Generally, the kidneys are assumed to not be no direct targets of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), and renal impairment is often attributed to several other factors occurring in the early phase after BMT. Our study aimed to prove the existence of renal GvHD in a fully major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-mismatched model of BALB/c mice conditioned and transplanted according to 2 different intensity protocols. Syngeneically transplanted and untreated animals served as controls. Four weeks after transplantation, allogeneic animals developed acute GvHD that was more pronounced in the high-intensity protocol (HIP) group than in the low-intensity protocol (LIP) group. Urea and creatinine as classic serum markers of renal function could not verify renal impairment 4 weeks after BMT. Creatinine levels were even reduced as a result of catabolic metabolism and loss of muscle mass due to acute GvHD. Proteinuria, albuminuria, and urinary N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) levels were measured as additional renal markers before and after transplantation. Albuminuria and NAG were only significantly increased after allogeneic transplantation, correlating with disease severity between HIP and LIP animals. Histological investigations of the kidneys showed renal infiltration of T cells and macrophages with endarteriitis, interstitial nephritis, tubulitis, and glomerulitis. T cells consisted of CD4+, CD8+, and FoxP3+ cells. Renal expression analysis of allogeneic animals showed increases in indoleamine-2,3 dioxygenase (IDO), different cytokines (tumor necrosis factor α, interferon-γ, interleukin 1 α [IL-1α], IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10), and adhesion molecules (intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1), resembling findings from other tissues in acute GvHD. In summary, our study supports the entity of renal GvHD with histological features suggestive of cell-mediated renal injury. Albuminuria and urinary NAG levels may serve as early markers of renal impairment.
ERK and p38 Upregulation versus Bcl-6 Downregulation in Rat Kidney Epithelial Cells Exposed to Prolonged Hypoxia
Authors: Luo Fengbao , Shi Jian , Shi Qianqian , He Xiaozhou , Xia Ying
Published: September 2017

Hypoxia is a common cause of kidney injury and a major issue in kidney transplantation. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in the cellular response to hypoxia, but the precise roles of MAPKs in renal cell reactions to hypoxic stress are not well known yet. This work was conducted to investigate the regulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 and -2 (ERK1/2) and p38 and their signaling-relevant molecules in kidney epithelial cells exposed to prolonged hypoxia. Rat kidney epithelial cells Normal Rat Kidney (NRK)-52E were exposed to hypoxic conditions (1% O2) for 24 to 72 h. Cell morphology was examined by light microscopy, and cell viability was checked by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-5-[3-carboxymethoxypheny]-2-[4-sulfophenyl]-2H-tetrazolium (MTS). The expression of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK, as well as their signaling-related molecules, was measured by Western blot and real-time polymerase chain (RT-PCR) reaction. At the 1% oxygen level, cell morphology had no appreciable changes compared to the control up to 72 h of exposure under light microscopy, whereas the results of MTS showed a slight but significant reduction in cell viability after 72 h of hypoxia. On the other hand, ERK1/2 and p38 phosphorylation remarkably increased in these cells after 24 to 72 h of hypoxia. In sharp contrast, the expression of transcription factor B-cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6) was significantly downregulated in response to hypoxic stress. Other intracellular molecules relevant to the ERK1/2 and p38 signaling pathway, such as protein kinase A, protein kinase C, Bcl-2, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, tristetraprolin, and interleukin-10(IL-10), had no significant alterations after 24 to 72 h of hypoxic exposure. We conclude that hypoxic stress increases the phosphorylation of both ERK1/2 and p38 but decreases the level of Bcl-6 in rat kidney epithelial cells.