bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pantries and Policy Implementation: Using Nonprofit Priorities to Understand Variation in Emergency Food Assistance
Authors: Fyall Rachel , Levine Daniel Jamie
Published: January 2018

Public and nonprofit actors have long partnered to carry out emergency food assistance, particularly through the use of nonprofit food pantries. Although nonprofit pantries fulfill an important function in policy implementation, they differ with respect to specific mission and organizational priorities. To what extent do organizational priorities explain variation in emergency food? Our analyses examine this question using survey data from 95 nonprofit food pantries associated with a Midwestern Foodbank, administrative records, and census tract-level data. Findings indicate that the priorities of nonprofit pantries help explain variation in food assistance provided by pantries, even after taking into consideration measures of need, accessibility, capacity, and processes. Our results imply that policymakers may be better equipped to meet community food needs by knowing more about the organizational priorities of nonprofit service providers.
Dynamics of a rotor system coupled with water-lubricated rubber bearings
Authors: Shi YF , Li M , Zhu GH , Yu Y
Published: January 2018

Dynamic behaviour is significantly important in the design of large rotor systems supported on water-lubricated rubber bearings. In this study, the mathematical model of elastohydrodynamic lubrication of the bearing is established based on the theory of hydrodynamic lubrication after considering the elastic deformation of rubber, and the dynamic characteristics of water-lubricated rubber bearings are analysed under small perturbation conditions according to the load increment method and the finite difference method. Next, the differential equation of rotor systems coupled with the water-lubricated rubber bearing is deduced using Lagrange’s approach, and its critical speeds, stability, and unbalanced responses are analysed in detail. The numerical results show that several parameters, such as the eccentricity, length–diameter ratio, and clearance of bearing and the rotating speed of the rotor, have a great impact on the dynamic performance of water-lubricated rubber bearings, and this influence cannot be ignored, especially in the case of large eccentricity ratios. The dynamic characteristics of rotor systems guided by water-lubricated rubber bearings reveal that the critical speeds are much lower than the ones under the rigid supports because of the elastic deformation, and they also indicate that the rotor system supported on water-lubricated rubber bearings has a weaker stability. In addition, the steady-state responses of the rotor system are analysed when the mass unbalance of the propeller exists, and the effect of the thickness of the rubber liner is also considered.
Soft landing control of unmanned powered parafoils in unknown wind environments
Authors: Luo Shuzhen , Sun Qinglin , Tan Panlong , Sun Mingwei , Chen Zengqiang , He Yingping
Published: January 2018

For autonomous landing powered parafoils, the ability to perform a final flare maneuver against the wind direction can generate a considerable reduction of lateral and longitudinal velocities at impact, enabling a soft landing for a safe delivery of sensible loads. To realize accurate, soft landing in the unknown wind environment, an in-flight wind identification algorithm is first proposed. The wind direction and speed can be obtained online by only using the GPS sampling data based on the recursive least square method. Moreover, the 3D trajectory tracking strategy for the powered parafoil is also established, which is globally asymptotically stable. Furthermore, the lateral trajectory tracking controller and longitudinal altitude controller based on active disturbance rejection control are presented, respectively. Eventually, results from simulations demonstrate that the proposed landing control method can effectively realize accurate soft landing in unknown wind environments with the in-flight wind identification algorithm applied in the trajectory tracking process.
Mid- to late-Holocene marine inundations inferred from coastal deposits facing the Nankai Trough in Nankoku, Kochi Prefecture, southern Japan
Authors: Tanigawa Koichiro , Shishikura Masanobu , Fujiwara Osamu , Namegaya Yuichi , Matsumoto Dan
Published: January 2018

This study investigates the Holocene sedimentary history of a small coastal lowland in Nankoku, Kochi Prefecture, on the coast of southern Japan facing the Nankai Trough. The sedimentary fill of the lowland area consists mainly of marine-brackish clay overlain by beds of freshwater clay and peat. We found four laterally extensive sand sheets, one directly underlying the freshwater deposits and the other three interbedded with them. Radiocarbon dates show that these sand sheets were deposited between 5970 and 2440 cal. BP. Although the sand sheets contained few marine-brackish diatoms, they were concentrated in the seaward part of the study site, suggesting that they were deposited by marine inundations. These sand sheets were formed as a result of tsunamis or unusually large storm surges. The apparent frequency of marine inundations during 5970–2440 cal. BP was much lower than that of megathrust earthquakes along the Nankai Trough recorded during the last 1300 years. Event deposits were absent between 2440 and 960 cal. BP, a gap that we attribute to the development of beach ridges. The new marine inundation records reported here will aid efforts to reconstruct the timing and recurrence intervals of megathrust earthquakes in the western Nankai Trough.
Northeast monsoon variations during the Holocene inferred from palaeochannels and active channels of the Palar River basin, Southern Peninsular India
Authors: Resmi M R , Achyuthan Hema
Published: January 2018

The present-day Palar River and its palaeochannel located in the Southern Peninsular India were investigated with a multidisciplinary approach. The main aim of the study was to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment history of the Palar River basin and to delineate the role of Holocene fluctuations that played a major role in the geomorphological evolution of the region since the Holocene period. The results obtained based on sedimentary facies analysis supported by elemental concentrations and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates reveal distinct seven climatic phases since the past ~10 ka. Phase 1 signifies a very high precipitation as attested by the low CWI with high Rb/Sr ratio. Subsequent to Phase 1, a decreasing trend in the northeast monsoon rainfall (NEMR) is observed (Phase 2). Phase 3 (~4.83–3.59 ka) reflects a decrease in NEMR further supported by low Mn/Al, Mg/Al and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) values. Phase 4 (~3.59 ka) is marked by high sand flux, higher K/Al, Ti/Al, Rb/Sr and Ba/Sr ratios coupled with lower values of CaO/MgO, Mn/Al and Fe/Al indicating wetter conditions in the catchment area resulting in the intense weathering of the bedrocks caused owing to the increase in NEMR precipitation. Phase 5 (3.26–2.42 ka) reveals a decline in NEMR precipitation coupled with rapid upstream avulsion because of neotectonic activity that occurred in an intense dry phase. Phase 6 (~1.88–1.44 ka) is marked by an augment NEMR causing higher K/Al, Mg/Al, Ti/Al ratios, CIA and CWI values. Finally, Phase 7 (~1.44 ka–present) is marked by lowered elemental solubility and mobility reflecting short periods of weaker or deteriorated NEMR. The documented record of the Palar River and palaeochannels suggests Holocene NEMR variability in the study region and is synchronous with the various proxy records of NEMR-dominated regions, however, revealing an inverse coupling with southwest monsoon rainfall (SWMR) during the Holocene period.
Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq
Authors: Marsh Anke , Fleitmann Dominik , Al-Manmi Diary Ali Mohammed , Altaweel Mark , Wengrow David , Carter Robert
Published: January 2018

This work presents new data from phytolith and speleothem analyses that cover the middle to late Holocene from northeastern Iraq in the Kurdistan region. Coupling these data with previous work, we demonstrate how the region’s environment and climate developed during a time when agriculture became not only established but settlements started to transform into larger urban areas. Results demonstrate a wetter phase during the middle Holocene relative to the present period; a highly seasonal climate with one rainy season is also suggested between 8025 ± 38 and 6977 ± 219 BP. Phytoliths not only suggest a relatively wet environment but they also indicate a diversity of plants used for settlement activity. Sedimentary results complement the indication of a relatively wetter middle Holocene. Archaeologically, terraced construction found in Gurga Chiya and the presence of drought tolerant crops suggest adaptation to stronger, seasonal rains and seasonal droughts in the middle Holocene. Sedimentary, phytolith, and speleothem results suggest relatively drier late-Holocene conditions, although the region continued to be conducive for rainfed agriculture.
Multiple dating approaches applied to the recent sediments in the Yangtze River (Changjiang) subaqueous delta
Authors: Wang Feng , Nian Xiaomei , Wang Jinlong , Zhang Weiguo , Peng Guyu , Ge Can , Dong Chenyin , Qu Jianguo , Li Daoji
Published: January 2018

The accumulation rate of recent deposits in a delta environment is critical to the study of delta dynamics and their sustainable management. The most commonly used dating approach for recent (<100 years) deposits is based on radionuclide analyses (e.g. 210Pb, 137Cs and 239 + 240Pu), while alternative techniques, such as microplastics dating, are emerging. In this study, a 180-cm sediment core from the Yangtze River (Changjiang) subaqueous delta was dated using multiple techniques, including 210Pb, 137Cs, 239 + 240Pu geochronology, microplastics content, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The radionuclide profiles show an irregular profile of 210Pb, while 239 + 240Pu exhibit a clear peak of activity at 74 ± 2 cm, which is linked to the maximum global fallout in 1963. Microplastics were not detected below a depth of 90 cm with maximum counts occurring in the top 16 cm. OSL analysis was conducted on the dominant grain size of the quartz (around 4–11 µm) and the ages were ~60 years older than those derived from 210Pb, 137Cs, 239 + 240Pu, and microplastics analyses. We infer that the relatively old quartz OSL ages are most likely caused by residual OSL signals arising from poorly bleached grains at the time of deposition. The profiles of 210Pb, 137Cs and 239 + 240Pu activities, microplastics content, and OSL ages indicate a variable sedimentation rate over the last ~200 years reflecting the dynamic nature of delta deposits. This study shows that both OSL and microplastics particles are promising dating tools for recent young deltaic sediments, and their combined use, alongside radionuclide methods, increases the reliability of age determination.
Assessing the impact and legacy of swidden farming in neotropical interfluvial environments through exploratory modelling of post-contact Piaroa land use (Upper Orinoco, Venezuela)
Authors: Riris Philip
Published: January 2018

Humans are increasingly viewed as active agents of environmental and land-cover change in the moist Neotropics. While the scale and extent of pre-Columbian anthropic impacts are actively debated, the effects of post-Contact patterns of land use are rarely examined over the long term, defined here as centennial timescales. This article examines a putative area of historical low human impact located in the western Guiana Shield, the upper Cuao River, using an exploratory agent-based modelling approach. Based on an extensive ethnographic literature on the Piaroa, who have inhabited the region for at least four centuries, the model investigates the legacy effects of ethnographic patterns of land use in the interval between European Contact and the present. Model outcomes indicate that the potential range of anthropic changes to the environment of the study area is significantly greater in scale than previously assumed. Interpretative discrepancies between present vegetation conditions and the model are likely the product of sparse palaeoecological and archaeological research in the upper Cuao. More broadly, the results imply that small-scale agriculture and agroforestry can lead to extensive and persistent structural changes to ecosystems in relatively short timescales. The experiment bolsters existing cautions against assuming the ‘natural’ baseline of Neotropic forests based on present appearance. As a form of middle-range theory, the model demonstrates how computational approaches can promote closer integrations between ecological, archaeological, and ethnohistorical data, as well as frame the expectations of future research.
Parental Education Level and Dental Caries in School Children Living in Dili, Timor-Leste
Authors: Crocombe Leonard A. , Allen Penny , Bettiol Silvana , Babo Soares Lucio Frederico
Published: January 2018

Timor-Leste struggles with problems of poverty and inequalities that underlie many health disparities, including oral health. This study aimed to determine the association between parental education and dental caries in school children aged 6 to 17 years from 40 randomly selected schools in 4 Dili subdistricts. A questionnaire and oral examination collected data and multivariable log binomial models were used for data analysis. Results indicate no association between parental education level and the prevalence of untreated decay in deciduous teeth ( P = .96). There was an association between parental education level and untreated decay in permanent teeth ( P = .03) and untreated decay overall ( P = .01). Children whose parents had higher education levels have approximately half the relative risk (aRR 0.47, 95% CI 0.25-0.89) of decay compared with children whose parents had low levels of education.
Violence and death in Argentinean soccer in the new Millennium: Who is involved and what is at stake?
Authors: Segura M Trejo Fernando , Murzi Diego , Nassar Belen
Published: January 2018

This article analyzes episodes of violence and disorder, including deaths, related to soccer in Argentina, as identified in the online written press between 2006 and 2017. The aim is to present a sample of cases in order to reflect the domestic atmosphere of violence around the Argentinean game. Just as Eduardo Archetti and Amílcar Romero presented figures on violence between the 1950s and the 1980s, so our analysis explores a new type of violence, including killings by peers of the same supporter squad. Although the mass media, and public responses, tend to blame groups known as barras-bravas, we try to unpack different scenarios and assess the variety of interests and actors involved, which include “arrangements” with police and other authorities, as well as the aggression amongst the protagonists of the game itself. Consequently, we hope to update recent debates by revealing new trends and suggesting hypotheses for new research and public policies.
Transforming an idea into a scholarly project
Authors: Ng Lillian , Cullum Sarah , Cheung Gary , Friedman Susan Hatters
Published: January 2018

Objectives:

This article describes components of a workshop designed to orientate psychiatric trainees to the task of conducting a scholarly project. The aims are: to promote an approach that incorporates principles of adult learning to guide trainees who are undertaking research; to allow trainees to transform their ideas into more tangible research questions; and to enable supervisors to reflect on delivering similar content in scholarly project workshops.

Methods:

The workshop comprised: creating a safe space to explore ideas; discussing the process of posing a question or hypothesis; using group interactions to generate concepts; and considering personal values that influence the choice of research methodology to answer a question.

Results:

Examples are provided from the workshop. The process enabled trainees to generate and distil ideas into more concrete questions and methods in three phases: introductory, exploratory and tangible.

Conclusions:

Adult learning principles may assist trainees to develop their ideas for a scholarly project into research questions that are relevant to clinical practice. Harnessing the creative potential of a peer collective may encourage deeper inquiry, shifts to a tangible output and a sustained interest in research.
Paliperidone palmitate three-month depot formulation: a helpful innovation with practical pitfalls
Authors: Hope Judith D , Keks Nicholas A
Published: January 2018

Objective:

Paliperidone palmitate is now available as a three-month depot injection. This paper will review the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, efficacy and tolerability, as well as practical issues and pitfalls for clinicians with this innovative treatment for schizophrenia.

Conclusion:

The three-month depot formulation of paliperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia is not a new compound. The nanocrystalline structure of the three-month formulation is larger and takes longer to disperse than the one-month formulation, hence its extended depot action. As expected, it is non-inferior to one-month depot paliperidone, and superior to placebo, for the treatment of schizophrenia. The side effect profile of three-month paliperidone is identical to the one-month formulation. The relapse rate on treatment is low, and the median time to relapse after ceasing the drug is 395 days. An understanding of half-life and kinetics is crucial for clinicians using this compound, and the loading strategy is important to ensure effectiveness. There are significant challenges: ensuring timely administration and switching a three-month depot treatment to another antipsychotic may be problematic. Paliperidone palmitate three-month depot injection represents an advance for both convenience and effectiveness in the long term psychopharmacological treatment of schizophrenia.
Cultural Aspects of End-of-Life Care Planning for African Americans: An Integrative Review of Literature
Authors: Collins John W. , Zoucha Rick , Lockhart Joan Such , Mixer Sandra J.
Published: January 2018

Advance directive completion rates among the general population are low. Studies report even lower completion rates among African Americans are affected by demographic variables, cultural distinctives related to patient autonomy, mistrust of the health care system, low health literacy, strong spiritual beliefs, desire for aggressive interventions, importance of family–communal decision making, and presence of comorbidities. An integrative review was conducted to synthesize nursing knowledge regarding cultural perspectives of end-of-life and advance care planning among African Americans. Twenty-four articles were reviewed. Nurses educate patients and families about end-of-life planning as mandated by the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991. Implementation of advance directives promote patient and family centered care, and should be encouraged. Clinicians must be sensitive and respectful of values and practices of patients of diverse cultures, and initiate conversations with open-ended questions facilitating patient trust and sharing within the context of complex beliefs, traditions, and lifeways.
Area Deprivation Index Predicts Readmission Risk at an Urban Teaching Hospital
Authors: Hu Jianhui , Kind Amy J. H. , Nerenz David
Published: January 2018

A growing body of evidence has shown that neighborhood characteristics have significant effects on quality metrics that evaluate health plans or health care providers. Using a data set of an urban teaching hospital patient discharges, this study aimed to determine whether a significant effect of neighborhood characteristics, measured by the Area Deprivation Index, could be observed on patients’ readmission risk, independent of patient-level clinical and demographic factors. This study found that patients residing in more disadvantaged neighborhoods had significantly higher 30-day readmission risks compared to those living in less disadvantaged neighborhoods, even after accounting for individual-level factors. Those who lived in the most extremely socioeconomically challenged neighborhoods were 70% more likely to be readmitted than their counterparts who lived in less disadvantaged neighborhoods. These findings suggest that neighborhood-level factors should be considered along with individual-level factors in future work on adjustment of quality metrics for social risk factors.
Detecting and Understanding Donor Strategies in Midterm Elections
Authors: Rhodes Jesse H. , Schaffner Brian F. , La Raja Raymond J.
Published: January 2018

What explains how political donors decide where to give? Existing research indicates that people donate money to express support for a preferred political “team” and enjoy the emotional benefits of participating in politics. While this explains why people donate, it does little to help understand the different strategies that donors may pursue. In this paper, we use data on individual decisions as to where to allocate contributions to provide fresh insight into the strategies donors are pursuing. Our approach yields a much more nuanced view of campaign finance by showing how differently situated donors pursue divergent contribution strategies. Of particular note, we identify an influential class of engaged and wealthy political donors that spreads their dollars widely, especially focusing on giving to out-of-jurisdiction candidates. This illustrates just how influential the recent elimination of aggregate contribution limits may be in allowing a small share of donors to be broadly influential.
Aplastic anemia secondary to propylthiouracil: A rare and life-threatening adverse effect
Authors: Shaikh Hira , Kamran Amir , Shaikh Soorih , Mewawalla Prerna
Published: January 2018

Background

Propylthiouracil has been in use for more than half a century for the treatment of hyperthyroidism. While it is largely known to cause agranulocytosis, its association with aplastic anemia is rarely heard of. Our case will be the third in literature to suggest aplastic anemia as a manifestation of propylthiouracil, which unfortunately culminated in the death of the patient.

Case

A 67-year-old female, with recently diagnosed metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung, developed hyperthyroidism after being started on Nivolumab and Iplimumab. After she developed atrial fibrillation, she was started on propylthiouracil to control the thyroid activity. Soon after that, she was admitted with severe neutropenia, which progressed to pancytopenia confirmed as aplastic anemia on a bone marrow biopsy. Despite discontinuation of propylthiouracil and aggressive treatment, she developed septic shock and multi-organ failure, leading to her death.

Conclusion

Aplastic anemia has been sparingly reported as an extremely rare complication of propylthiouracil. Further adding to the ambiguity is the unknown etiology and lack of specific therapy for the complication when attributed to propylthiouracil. The disease can carry an extremely poor prognosis if untreated, as proven by our case. Due to the same reasons, we recommend that further investigations be done to elucidate the pathogenesis and assist with treatment of the disease when caused by propylthiouracil.
Effect of application of edible coating and packaging on the quality of pansies (Viola × wittrockiana) of different colors and sizes
Authors: Fernandes Luana , Pereira José A , Baptista Paula , Saraiva Jorge A , Ramalhosa Elsa , Casal Susana
Published: January 2018

The effects of alginate edible coating on the quality of pansies (visual appearance, weight loss, water activity, color, and dimensions change) were studied during refrigerated storage (4 ℃). The role of pansies’ color and size, as well as packaging, was also studied. Alginate treatments resulted in a beneficial effect on the visual appearance of pansies under refrigerated storage when compared to the uncoated, delaying their degradation from 3–4 days up to 14 days, depending on the pansies’ color, probably derived from their different petal thicknesses (83 to 183 µm for yellow and red pansies). The unpackaged coated pansies had different behaviors during storage, associated with their dimensions (the larger coated pansies maintained good visual appearance during longer storage times than the smaller ones). However, the packaged pansies treated with edible coating showed to have lower weight loss and shrinkage than the unpackaged, irrespective of the color and size, with physical stability up to 14 days. In summary, the cumulative use of alginate coating with packaging under refrigerated storage may contribute to extend pansies’ shelf life.
Clinical Validation of Eye Vergence as an Objective Marker for Diagnosis of ADHD in Children
Authors: Varela Casal Paloma , Lorena Esposito Flavia , Morata Martínez Imanol , Capdevila Alba , Solé Puig Maria , de la Osa Núria , Ezpeleta Lourdes , Perera i Lluna Alexandre , Faraone Stephen V. , Ramos-Quiroga Josep Antoni , Supèr Hans , Cañete Jose
Published: January 2018

Objective: ADHD youth show poor oculomotor control. Recent research shows that attention-related eye vergence is weak in ADHD children. Method: To validate vergence as a marker to classify ADHD, we assessed the modulation in the angle of vergence of children ( n = 43) previously diagnosed with ADHD while performing an attention task and compared the results with age-matched clinical controls ( n = 19) and healthy peers ( n = 30). Results: We observed strong vergence responses in healthy participants and weak vergence in the clinical controls. ADHD children showed no significant vergence responses. Machine-learning models classified ADHD patients ( n = 21) from healthy controls ( n = 21) with an accuracy of 96.3% (false positive [FP]: 5.12%; false negative [FN]: 0%; area under the curve [AUC]: 0.99) and ADHD children ( n = 11) from clinical controls ( n = 14) with an accuracy of 85.7% (FP: 4.5%; FN: 19.2%, AUC: 0.90). Conclusion: In combination with an attention task, vergence responses can be used as an objective marker to detect ADHD in children.
Tianguis as a Possibility of Autogestion: Street Vendors Claim Rights to the City in Cancún, Mexico
Authors: Muñoz Lorena
Published: January 2018

During the past 20 years, street vendors in various cities in the Global South have resisted aggressive state sanctioned removals and relocation strategies by organizing for vendors’ rights, protesting, and creating street vending member organizations with flexible relationships to the local state. Through these means, street vendors claim “rights in the city,” even as the bodies they inhabit and the spaces they produce are devalued by state legitimizing systems. In this article, I present a case study of the Union de Tianguistas y Comerciantes Ambulantes del Estado de Quintana Roo, a “bottom-up” driven, flexible street vending membership organization not formalized by the state in Cancún. I argue that the Union becomes a platform for street vendors to claim rights to the city, and exemplifies vending systems that combine economic activities with leisure spaces in marginalized urban areas, and circumvent strict vending regulations without being absorbed into or directly monitored by the state. Highlighting the Union’s sustainable practices of spatial transformation, and vision of self-managed spaces of socioeconomic urban life in Cancún, illuminates how the members of the Union claim rights to the city as an example of a process of awakening toward imagining possibilities for urban futures that moves away from the state and capitalists systems, and akin to what Lefebvre termed autogestion toward resisting neoliberal ideologies that currently dominate urban planning projects in the Global South.
What Brand Is This Place? Place-Making and the Cultural Politics of Downtown Revitalization
Authors: Farhat Ramzi R.
Published: January 2018

This article investigates place-branding as a contested “cultural politics.” Through a case study of the creation of a “Downtown” Pomona (California) from the “Antiques Row” and “Arts Colony” that preceded it, the framework furthers our understanding of place-branding by highlighting how communities of interest contest competing cultural outlooks and further outlines the consequences of inadequate attention to the cultural economies that are supported by the meaning-making and place-making strategies of this cultural politics. In discussing how coalitions that cut across business and community interests contest cultural outlooks in an intralocal politics, the analysis offers an alternative to both elite/local and use/exchange approaches to the study of place-branding.
“We’re looking out through a window to a field of weeds and sand and stones”: The Stadium Broadcast, a Radio Memorial
Authors: Joyce Zita
Published: January 2018

This article explores the scope of small-scale radio to create an auditory geography of place. It focuses on the short-term art radio project The Stadium Broadcast, which was staged in November 2014 in an earthquake-damaged sports stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. Thousands of buildings and homes in Christchurch have been demolished since the February 22, 2011, earthquake, and by the time of the broadcast the stadium at Lancaster Park had been unused for three years and nine months, and its future was uncertain. The Stadium Broadcast constructed a radio memorial to the Park’s 130-year history through archival recordings, the memories of local people, observation of its current state, and a performed site-specificity. The Stadium Broadcast reflected on the spatiality of radio sounds and transmissions, memory, postdisaster transitionality, and the impermanence of place.
Simultaneous early-onset severe autoimmune hemolytic anemia and albuminuria during alemtuzumab treatment for multiple sclerosis
Authors: di Ioia Maria , Farina Deborah , di Tommaso Valeria , Travaglini Daniela , Pietrolongo Erika , Onofrj Marco , de Luca Giovanna
Published: January 2018

Background:

Alemtuzumab, approved for multiple sclerosis (MS), can cause secondary autoimmune adverse events including thyroid disorders, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), and glomerular nephropathies. Non-ITP autoimmune cytopenias are rarely reported.

Objective:

To report a case of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and nephropathy in a MS patient treated with alemtuzumab.

Case report:

A 34-year-old man with MS developed albuminuria and AIHA after the first and only alemtuzumab treatment, with positive Coombs’ direct and indirect tests and IgG autoantibodies. Both AIHA and nephropathy resolved 1 month after treatment with steroids and intravenous immunoglobulins.

Conclusion:

Our report adds to literature on AIHA and nephropathy after alemtuzumab treatment and suggests to add Coombs’ tests to the screening panel required for alemtuzumab treatment.
Grammatical meaning and the second language classroom: Introduction
Authors: Marsden Heather , Slabakova Roumyana
Published: January 2018

This special issue assembles empirical work on second language teaching and learning from a generative linguistic perspective. The focus is on properties that constitute grammar–meaning interaction that differ in the native and target language grammars, and that have not been highlighted in the pedagogical literature so far. Common topics address whether and how learners acquire grammatical meanings in the second language, including difficult misalignments between native and target-language constructions and functional morphemes. We propose that teaching and learning a second language can be enhanced by focusing on the relationship between grammatical forms and their meanings, as elucidated by contemporary linguistic theory.
The impact of CLIL on pluriliteracy development and content learning in a rural multilingual setting: A longitudinal study
Authors: San Isidro Xabier , Lasagabaster David
Published: January 2018

Although CLIL (content and language integrated learning) programmes are now globally expanding, the number of studies that have examined their impact on both multiple language learning (students’ L1, L2 and English as a foreign language) and content learning are scarce. This study investigates the effects of a CLIL programme implemented in a rural multilingual school context in Galicia, Spain. Bearing in mind the deficiencies identified in previous CLIL research, this two-year longitudinal study secured the homogeneity of the CLIL and non-CLIL samples ( n = 44) before the actual implementation of the CLIL approach. Although both groups improved their competence in English after two years, the CLIL cohort made significantly greater progress. Interestingly, the CLIL students also outperformed their non-CLIL counterparts in both Spanish and Galician over the two school years, whereas content learning was not negatively affected. In the conclusions the importance of paying heed to the pedagogical features and the methodology employed in CLIL settings is underscored.
Adverse Event extraction from Structured Product Labels using the Event-based Text-mining of Health Electronic Records (ETHER) system
Authors: Pandey Abhishek , Kreimeyer Kory , Foster Matthew , Dang Oanh , Ly Thomas , Wang Wei , Forshee Richard , Botsis Taxiarchis
Published: January 2018

Structured Product Labels follow an XML-based document markup standard approved by the Health Level Seven organization and adopted by the US Food and Drug Administration as a mechanism for exchanging medical products information. Their current organization makes their secondary use rather challenging. We used the Side Effect Resource database and DailyMed to generate a comparison dataset of 1159 Structured Product Labels. We processed the Adverse Reaction section of these Structured Product Labels with the Event-based Text-mining of Health Electronic Records system and evaluated its ability to extract and encode Adverse Event terms to Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities Preferred Terms. A small sample of 100 labels was then selected for further analysis. Of the 100 labels, Event-based Text-mining of Health Electronic Records achieved a precision and recall of 81 percent and 92 percent, respectively. This study demonstrated Event-based Text-mining of Health Electronic Record’s ability to extract and encode Adverse Event terms from Structured Product Labels which may potentially support multiple pharmacoepidemiological tasks.
Smoking cessation: Exploration of perceived technology-related information value
Authors: Reychav Iris , McHaney Roger , Hirak Eyal , Merker Ben
Published: January 2018

This study describes a unique approach to information transfer affecting the perceived value of this information and related impact on smoker behavior. Data were collected via survey, sampling approximately 120 participants. An online survey tool was used for the survey creation, data collection and monitoring. Another online tool was used by participants to create short animation videos as a means of increasing their engagement with information in an experiential fashion. Study findings included that the process experienced by the test group was influential and facilitated participants’ change of mind regarding enrollment in a smoking cessation workshop. This was partly attributable to the IKEA effect. The study provides evidence that a change in habits crucial to improve health and enhance positive lifestyle choices can be stimulated through active engagement with artifact creation in a technology-mediated environment.
Using parallel content analysis to measure mediatization of politics: The televised leaders’ debates in Canada, 1968–2008
Authors: Bastien Frédérick
Published: January 2018

Owing to their focus solely on media content, most empirical studies on mediatization of politics fail to consider the dynamic relationship between politics and journalism, even though this relationship would provide ideal data for assessing the mediatization hypothesis. This study aims to measure the mediatization of politics using a research design that tracks parallel trends in political and media content over several decades, with televised Canadian leaders’ debates and their coverage by newspapers as a case study. Our specific hypotheses target the discursive style of journalists (factual, analytical, judgmental), agenda building (the range of areas of activity), and framing (strategic or governing). Our findings support the hypothesis which states that reports on leaders’ debates have become less factual as journalists have increased the share of analytical and judgmental styles in their stories. Also, use of the strategic frame in news stories has grown, and it has been incorporated by party leaders into their own discourse during debates. Evidence is mixed regarding the impact of mediatization on agenda building.
Uncovering alternative ‘journalism crisis’ narratives in Singapore and Hong Kong: When state influences interact with Western liberal ideals in a changing media landscape
Authors: Wu Shangyuan
Published: January 2018

The topic of journalism crisis has become increasingly pertinent as criticisms mount against news media systems that have prioritized private over public interests and/or failed to meet the challenges brought on by the Internet. Much research on journalism crisis, however, is set in the Anglo-American context and couched within a liberal-democratic ideological framework; little is known about how journalism crisis is experienced in societies that may be heavily exposed to Western liberal ideals but whose media systems continue to experience some form of authoritarian influence or control. Evaluating all journalism realities through the Western lens may create erroneous perceptions that alternative systems are lacking or deficient. This study uses a framework of crisis narratives to shed light on the web of structural-causal factors that might be influencing fears of journalism crisis in such hybrid societies. Establishing first the crisis narratives most commonly discussed in dominant journalism crisis literature, this study then notes the selective adoption of liberal ideologies by countries outside the Western world, as imperial influences interact with local histories and cultures. Of interest are two Asian ‘global cities’ in transition, Singapore and Hong Kong. Through surveys and in-depth interviews, this study uncovers stark differences in the journalism crisis perceptions of news-workers in Singapore and Hong Kong and argues the existence of a ‘crisis of legitimacy’ narrative, pertaining to the system of governance, that must be accounted for when studying journalism’s decline outside of the Western context.
Theory of marketplace morality and impoverished consumers
Authors: Hill Ronald Paul
Published: January 2018

Morality related to the marketplace has been studied in interdisciplinary contexts as well as the marketing and consumer behavior domains. This research has resulted in prescriptions and proscriptions that seek to right what is perceived as wrongful marketer actions. Yet this work has had little influence on marketing theory. Thus, we seek to advance a marketplace morality theory within a consumer behavior frame, emphasizing treatment of the poor by actors who may or may not supply the goods and services necessary so that they can meet “consumption adequacy.” The article opens with a look at how this discussion has moved along a theoretical path. Implications for morality related to consumers in poverty come next, followed by blending of philosophical and consumer literatures to reveal a novel theoretical framework.
Incorporating ecotourism into social education (shakai kyouiku 社会教育) and lifelong learning (shougai gakushuu 生涯学習) in Japan
Authors: Uzama Austin , Walter Pierre
Published: January 2018

This paper examines the benefits of incorporating ecotourism programs into the adult education curriculum. Social education and lifelong learning ( shougai gakushuu) are terms used to refer to adult education and related activities in Japan. Adult education originated immediately after Second World War with the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education (1947; revised in the 1980s). Since the mid-1980s lifelong learning has been the more commonly used term. Lifelong learning involves not only going to school to learn how to read and write, it can also involve the learning that takes place outside the classroom—through volunteering, outdoor activities, sporting events, and so on. A literature review was conducted as the means to pursue the aim of introducing ecotourism into adult education. Education for Sustainable Development was examined to see how its contexts can be applied to Japan’s adult education. This paper is aimed specifically at how the host community can learn, from adult education centers in their communities, to practice a sustainable ecotourism. Although there have been researchers and communities who are against ecotourism practices, this paper maintains that, with proper education in night schools and adult and community centers, of the benefits of ecotourism these communities will accept and welcome ecotourism. However, the government first needs shakai kyouiku to re-examine and re-write the adult education curriculum so as to include ecotourism.
Investigation of the tearing properties of a new airship envelope fabric based on experimental and theoretical methods
Authors: Wang Fengxin , Chen Yonglin , Liu Guangzhong , Gao Haijian , Fu Gongyi
Published: January 2018

In the present work, a new phenomenal model is proposed for modeling and simulating tearing mechanical properties on an airship envelope fabric. The greatest advantage of the phenomenal model is that such model is capable of calculating the tearing strength of a plain weave fabric by simply uniaxial tearing tests rather than the expensive and complex pressurized cylinder tests. The geometric progression technique is employed to calculate the stress distribution on the crack tip. The stress transfer coefficient Q is derived to be 0.9656. Three types of SEN (single-edge-notched) specimens were researched by the uniaxial tearing tensile tests. The effects of specimen width and the crack length ratio on the tearing strength of the airship envelope fabric are studied thoroughly. A good agreement between such model and experimental data is obtained, and the deviation is lower than 5%. Meanwhile, compared with the new phenomenal model and the Thiele’s formula, this new phenomenal model is verified to be more accurate while calculating the tearing strength of a plain weaving airship envelope fabric in the uniaxial tearing tensile load.
Knockdown of Annexin A1 Enhances Radioresistance and Inhibits Apoptosis in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Authors: Liao Li , Yan Wen-Jing , Tian Chun-Mei , Li Mao-Yu , Tian Yong-Quan , Zeng Gu-Qing
Published: January 2018

Radiotherapy is the primary treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma while radioresistance can hinder efficient treatment. To explore the role of annexin A1 and its potential mechanisms in radioresistance of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE2-sh annexin A1 (knockdown of annexin A1) and the control cell line CNE2-pLKO.1 were constituted and CNE2-sh annexin A1 xenograft mouse model was generated. The effect of annexin A1 knockdown on the growth of xenograft tumor after irradiation and radiation-induced DNA damage and repair was analyzed. The results of immunohistochemistry assays and Western blotting showed that the level of annexin A1 was significantly downregulated in the radioresistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues or cell line compared to the radiosensitive nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues or cell line. Knockdown of annexin A1 significantly promoted CNE2-sh annexin A1 xenograft tumor growth compared to the control groups after irradiation. Moreover, the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assays revealed that knockdown of annexin A1 significantly inhibited apoptosis in vivo compared to the control groups. We assessed the intracellular reactive oxygen species levels and the extent of radiation-induced DNA damage and repair using reactive oxygen species assay, comet assays, and immunohistochemistry assay. The results showed that knockdown of annexin A1 remarkedly reduced the intracellular reactive oxygen species levels, level of DNA double-strand breaks, and the phosphorylation level of H2AX and increased the accumulation of DNA-dependent protein kinase in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells after irradiation. The findings suggest that knockdown of annexin A1 inhibits DNA damage via decreasing the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and the formation of γ-H2AX and promotes DNA repair via increasing DNA-dependent protein kinase activity and therefore improves the radioresistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Together, our findings suggest that knockdown of annexin A1 promotes radioresistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and provides insights into therapeutic targets for nasopharyngeal carcinoma radiotherapy.
Understanding PhD Latinx Career Outcomes: A Case Study
Authors: Kamimura-Jimenez Mark , Gonzalez John
Published: January 2018

This study explored the career outcomes for Latinx doctoral students and the contextual factors of their educational experience influencing these outcomes. A case-study approach is taken to examine the cases of doctoral students at the University of Michigan. These students were tracked each year, for 10 years post-graduation. Furthermore, an analysis of programmatic efforts to develop doctoral students and prepare them for the marketplace is also described as institutional structures that support career success.
Coil Embolization of a Renal Aneurysm Using a Minimally Invasive Endovascular Robotic System
Authors: Aziz Antony , Ham Sung
Published: January 2018

We present a case demonstrating the use of an endovascular robotic system in the treatment of a saccular renal artery aneurysm located at the renal hilum in a young patient.
Ecological Virtual Reality Evaluation of Neglect Symptoms (EVENS): Effects of Virtual Scene Complexity in the Assessment of Poststroke Unilateral Spatial Neglect
Authors: Ogourtsova Tatiana , Archambault Philippe , Sangani Samir , Lamontagne Anouk
Published: January 2018

Background. Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is a highly prevalent and disabling poststroke impairment. USN is traditionally assessed with paper-and-pencil tests that lack ecological validity, generalization to real-life situations and are easily compensated for in chronic stages. Virtual reality (VR) can, however, counteract these limitations. Objective. We aimed to examine the feasibility of a novel assessment of USN symptoms in a functional shopping activity, the Ecological VR-based Evaluation of Neglect Symptoms (EVENS). Methods. EVENS is immersive and consists of simple and complex 3-dimensional scenes depicting grocery shopping shelves, where joystick-based object detection and navigation tasks are performed while seated. Effects of virtual scene complexity on navigational and detection abilities in patients with (USN+, n = 12) and without (USN−, n = 15) USN following a right hemisphere stroke and in age-matched healthy controls (HC, n = 9) were determined. Results. Longer detection times, larger mediolateral deviations from ideal paths and longer navigation times were found in USN+ versus USN− and HC groups, particularly in the complex scene. EVENS detected lateralized and nonlateralized USN-related deficits, performance alterations that were dependent or independent of USN severity, and performance alterations in 3 USN− subjects versus HC. Conclusion. EVENS’ environmental changing complexity, along with the functional tasks of far space detection and navigation can potentially be clinically relevant and warrant further empirical investigation. Findings are discussed in terms of attentional models, lateralized versus nonlateralized deficits in USN, and tasks-specific mechanisms.