bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exact solutions for elastic response in micro- and nano-beams considering strain gradient elasticity
Authors: Sidhardh Sai , Ray Manas C
Published: March 2018

This paper presents the exact solutions derived for the static bending response of simply supported isotropic micro- and nano-beams. The governing differential equations of equilibrium and the associated boundary conditions for the beam are derived by applying the variational principle over the internal energy functional involving strain and strain gradient terms. The Mindlin’s Form II model for higher order metrics of energy involving strain gradient terms and three additional material length constants has been used for the current formulation. Constitutive relations for stress and the higher order stress in an isotropic solid, which are the conjugates of strain and strain gradient, respectively, are provided in this paper. The exact solutions for the displacement vector are obtained by solving the governing differential equations. The significance of the gradients and the corresponding conjugates are studied using numerical examples of micro- and nano-beams. These results are compared with those obtained from the classical model of elasticity for structures which does not involve strain gradients. Due to the consideration of strain gradients, the structures exhibit a significant increase in stiffness as the beam dimensions are reduced. The profiles for stress developed across the thickness are presented to study the change in the behavior of the structures at a micro- and nano-level. The importance of considering strain gradients for the design of low-dimensional structures in sensitive applications is noted. The exact solutions developed in this paper can be used as benchmark solutions for validating further research on the behavior of low-dimensional bodies using computational models and experiments. The present study calls for the development of new failure theory of isotropic materials possessing strain gradients.
The boundary value contact problem of electroelasticity for piecewise-homogeneous piezo-electric plate with elastic inclusion and cut
Authors: Shavlakadze Nugzar , Odishelidze Nana , Criado-Aldeanueva Francisco
Published: March 2018

In this paper a contact problem of the theory of electroelasticity for piecewise-homogeneous plate of piezo-electric material with infinite cut and elastic finite inclusion of variable bending rigidity is considered. By using methods of the theory of analytic function, the problem is reduced to a system of singular integro-differential equations with fixed singularity. Using an integral transformation, a Riemann problem is obtained, the solution of which is presented in explicit form.
From Local Integration Toward Ghettoized Community With Transnational Connections: The Case of Vietnamese Pagodas in Poland
Authors: Szymanska-Matusiewicz Grazyna , Bossak-Herbst Barbara
Published: March 2018

A case study of Vietnamese pagodas operating in Warsaw and its surroundings in the past 25 years shows the strength with which local social and spatial conditions affect adaptation strategies of migrant institutions. Taking into account, the ecological perspective and the discourse of Vietnamese community concerning the role of temples enabled us to answer the question about the role of pagodas in maintaining local and transnational intragroup bonds and interactions with the majority society. This article shows how a process of local social and cultural integration that was beginning to emerge was significantly slowed down by spatial separation of the Vietnamese community and by this community’s transnational connections getting on intensity.
Co-occurring patterns of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among flood victims: A latent profile analysis
Authors: Zhen Rui , Quan Lijuan , Zhou Xiao
Published: March 2018

This study examined the co-occurring patterns of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. A sample of 187 victims completed self-report questionnaires after a major flood disaster. Results indicated four classes: low symptoms group (49.7%), mild comorbid symptoms group (24.1%), serious comorbid symptoms group (3.2%), and medium comorbid symptoms group (23.0%). Male victims were less likely and older victims were more likely to belong to the medium comorbid symptoms group; victims with more serious trauma exposure and those using more maladaptive cognition emotional regulation strategies were more likely to belong to both the mild and medium comorbid symptoms groups.
Moving forward together, stronger, and closer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of marital benefits in infertile couples
Authors: Sauvé Marie-Soleil , Péloquin Katherine , Brassard Audrey
Published: March 2018

Some couples find in infertility the bonding opportunities that reinforce their relationship. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis, this study examined marital benefits in three couples seeking fertility treatment. Interviews revealed five types of benefits: being engaged in a shared hardship, feeling closer to one another, feeling reassured in the relationship, developing a satisfying communication and support behaviors, and having faith in the couple’s capacity to face adversity. A dyadic analysis also illustrated how marital benefits developed in each couple. Marital benefits nourished marital satisfaction, thus underscoring their importance to help couples cope through fertility treatment.
Four transversal principles for putting Bourdieu to work
Authors: Wacquant Loïc
Published: March 2018

This article spotlights four transversal principles that animate Pierre Bourdieu’s research practice and can fruitfully guide inquiry on any empirical front: the Bachelardian imperative of epistemological rupture and vigilance; the Weberian command to effect the triple historicization of the agent (habitus), the world (social space, of which field is but a subtype), and the categories of the analyst (epistemic reflexivity); the Leibnizian–Durkheimian invitation to deploy the topological mode of reasoning to track the mutual correspondences between symbolic space, social space, and physical space; and the Cassirer moment urging us to recognize the constitutive efficacy of symbolic structures. I also flag three traps that Bourdieusian explorers of the social world should exercise special care to avoid: the fetishization of concepts, the seductions of “speaking Bourdieuse” while failing to carry out the research operations Bourdieu’s notions stipulate, and the forced imposition of his theoretical framework en bloc when it is more productively used in kit through transposition. These principles guiding the construction of the object are not theoretical slogans but practical blueprints for anthropological inquiry. This implies that mimesis and not exegesis should guide those social scientists who wish to build on, revise, or challenge the scientific machinery and legacy of Pierre Bourdieu.
cultural geographies of precarity
Authors: Harris Ella , Nowicki Mel
Published: March 2018

This article introduces a Special Issue on ‘cultural geographies of Precarity’. In recent years, the term precarity has become increasingly prevalent in geographical literature. And yet, to date, there remains limited discussion regarding how precarity is being culturally, as well as socially and economically, entrenched. To that end, this Special Issue provides timely perspectives on the cultural geographies of precarity in two key ways. First, it highlights how precarity is mediated and reproduced through a set of collective affects and imaginaries that not only normalize but often actively celebrate precarious modes of living in contemporary society, by branding them, for example, as innovative, flexible and entrepreneurial. Second, it focuses attention on how precarity is lived and resisted through the materialities and micro-space-times of everyday routines and places. Together, the four papers that constitute this Special Issue highlight the importance of a cultural geographies perspective on precarity in examining and challenging precarity as a new normal, which, in an increasingly precarious world, is a key concern for future geographical scholarship.
Diabetes mellitus secondary to pancreatic diseases (type 3c): The effect of smoking on the exocrine–endocrine interactions of the pancreas
Authors: Śliwińska-Mossoń Mariola , Milnerowicz Stanisław , Milnerowicz Halina
Published: March 2018

The present study was conducted to ascertain how cigarette smoke affects the exocrine–endocrine interactions of the human pancreas with diabetes mellitus secondary to pancreatic diseases (type 3c). Blood has been collected from smoking and non-smoking healthy individuals as well as from patients with diagnosed chronic pancreatitis and diabetes type 3c. The concentrations of interleukin-6, endothelin-1 and insulin in the plasma were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests. The activities of amylase and lipase in the serum, as well as the lipid profile, creatinine, uric acid and urea concentrations, were measured using colorimetric methods. Samples of normal pancreatic tissue and chronic pancreatitis were verified histopathologically and then interleukin-6, endothelin-1, insulin and glucagon were localized by immunohistochemical staining using a monoclonal anti-human antibody. The highest levels of interleukin-6 and endothelin-1 and the lowest levels of insulin and glucagon intensity from the immunostaining were observed in smoking patients with diabetes. In all smoking patients with pancreatitis and diabetes, there was a significant elevation in interleukin-6 and endothelin-1 concentration and amylase and lipase activities, hyperlipidaemia and a lower value of estimated glomerular filtration rate and blood urea nitrogen when compared to non-smokers. Our study confirmed that smoking exerts a pro-inflammatory effect and disturbs the exocrine–endocrine interactions of the pancreas.
Measuring Critical Care Providers’ Attitudes About Controlled Donation After Circulatory Death
Authors: Rodrigue James R. , Luskin Richard , Nelson Helen , Glazier Alexandra , Henderson Galen V. , Delmonico Francis L.
Published: March 2018

Introduction:

Unfavorable attitudes and insufficient knowledge about donation after cardiac death among critical care providers can have important consequences for the appropriate identification of potential donors, consistent implementation of donation after cardiac death policies, and relative strength of support for this type of donation. The lack of reliable and valid assessment measures has hampered research to capture providers’ attitudes.

Design and Research Aims:

Using stakeholder engagement and an iterative process, we developed a questionnaire to measure attitudes of donation after cardiac death in critical care providers (n = 112) and examined its psychometric properties. Exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency, and validity analyses were conducted to examine the measure.

Results:

A 34-item questionnaire consisting of 4 factors (Personal Comfort, Process Satisfaction, Family Comfort, and System Trust) provided the most parsimonious fit. Internal consistency was acceptable for each of the subscales and the total questionnaire (Cronbach α > .70). A strong association between more favorable attitudes overall and knowledge ( r = .43, P < .001) provides evidence of convergent validity. Multivariable regression analyses showed that white race ( P = .002) and more experience with donation after cardiac death ( P < .001) were significant predictors of more favorable attitudes.

Conclusion:

Study findings support the utility, reliability, and validity of a questionnaire for measuring attitudes in critical care providers and for isolating targets for additional education on donation after cardiac death.
Longitudinal Recovery of Executive Control Functions After Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Examining Trajectories of Variability and Ex-Gaussian Parameters
Authors: Vasquez Brandon P. , Tomaszczyk Jennifer C. , Sharma Bhanu , Colella Brenda , Green Robin E. A.
Published: March 2018

Background. Executive control deficits are deleterious and enduring consequences of moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) that disrupt everyday functioning. Clinically, such impairments can manifest as behavioural inconsistency, measurable experimentally by the degree of variability across trials of a reaction time (RT) task (also known as intraindividual variability [IIV]). Growing research on cognition after TBI points to cognitive deterioration in the chronic stages postinjury. Objective. To examine the longitudinal recovery of RT characteristics (IIV and more detailed ex-Gaussian components, as well as the number of impulsively quick responses) following moderate-severe TBI. Methods. Seventy moderate-severe TBI patients were assessed at 2, 5, 12, and 24+ months postinjury on a go/no-go RT task. RT indices (ex-Gaussian parameters mu and sigma [mean and variability of the normal distribution component], and tau [extremely slow responses]; mean, intraindividual coefficient of variation [ICV], and intraindividual standard deviation [ISD]) were analyzed with repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance. Results. ICV, ISD, and ex-Gaussian tau significantly decreased (ie, improved) over time in the first year of injury, but worsened from 1 to 2+ years, as did the frequency of extremely fast responses. These quadratic patterns were accentuated by age and shown primarily in tau (extremely slow) and extremely fast (impulsive) responses. Conclusions. The pattern of early recovery followed by decline in executive control function is consistent with growing evidence that moderate-severe TBI is a progressive and degenerative disorder. Given the responsiveness to treatment of executive control deficits, elucidating the trajectory and underpinnings of inconsistent behavioral responding may reveal novel prognostic and clinical management opportunities.
Energy-efficient selection of cluster headers in wireless sensor networks
Authors: Jemal Adem Fanos , Hussen Redwan Hassen , Kim Do-Yun , Li Zhetao , Pei Tingrui , Choi Young-June
Published: March 2018

Clustering is vital for lengthening the lives of resource-constrained wireless sensor nodes. In this work, we propose a cluster-based energy-efficient router placement scheme for wireless sensor networks, where the K-means algorithm is used to select the initial cluster headers and then a cluster header with sufficient battery energy is selected within each cluster. The performance of the proposed scheme was evaluated in terms of the energy consumption, end-to-end delay, and packet loss. Our simulation results using the OPNET simulator revealed that the energy consumption of our proposed scheme was better than that of the low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy, which is known to be an energy-efficient clustering mechanism. Furthermore, our scheme outperformed low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy in terms of the end-to-end delay, throughput, and packet loss rate.
Policing Women’s Bodies: Pregnancy, Embodiment, and Gender Relations in Canadian Police Work
Authors: Langan Debra , Sanders Carrie B. , Gouweloos Julie
Published: March 2018

Despite the influx of women in policing, women continue to face barriers to their full inclusion. In this article, we put women’s bodies at the center of our analysis by theorizing how pregnancy shapes the gendered interactions and experiences of women police at work. Through in-depth, qualitative interviews with 52 Canadian officers, we find that pregnancy frames women’s bodies “out of order” for “police work” and positions women even further from the ideal police body, which is ostensibly male. In response, women engage in myriad strategies to reassert their value as officers, strategies that require women to do additional labor.
Critical perspectives of technology-enhanced learning in relation to specialist Communication Design studio education within the UK and Australia
Authors: Marshalsey Lorraine , Sclater Madeleine
Published: March 2018

This paper investigates the widespread integration of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) within specialist Communication Design studio education in the UK and Australia. The impetus for this paper has grown from the challenges facing day-to-day design studio education and the recognition that the use of technology in higher education today has increased dramatically. Conventional design studio facilities are being reconfigured into blended studio-based classroom learning spaces (often generically termed as ‘studio’). This study compares the lived experiences of students interacting with technology within two differing international studio settings. The two case studies used a Participatory Action Research approach and employed sensory affect as a lens through which learning within studio education was investigated using Participatory Design practice-led methods. The study finds that the Australian participants working within a TEL classroom-based environment faced significant obstacles to engagement and that their UK counterparts, who were situated within a conventional studio environment, much less so. This paper aims to support Communication Design students as they engage with studio education via the proposed transferable methodological framework – the Methods Process Model.
The network of Shanghai Stroke Service System (4S): A public health-care web-based database using automatic extraction of electronic medical records
Authors: Dong Yi , Fang Kun , Wang Xin , Chen Shengdi , Liu Xueyuan , Zhao Yuwu , Guan Yangtai , Cai Dingfang , Li Gang , Liu Jianmin , Liu Jianren , Zhuang Jianhua , Wang Panshi , Chen Xin , Shen Haipeng , Wang David Z , Xian Ying , Feng Wuwei , Campbell Bruce CV , Parsons Mark , Dong Qiang
Published: March 2018

Background

Several stroke outcome and quality control projects have demonstrated the success in stroke care quality improvement through structured process. However, Chinese health-care systems are challenged with its overwhelming numbers of patients, limited resources, and large regional disparities.

Aim

To improve quality of stroke care to address regional disparities through process improvement.

Method and design

The Shanghai Stroke Service System (4S) is established as a regional network for stroke care quality improvement in the Shanghai metropolitan area. The 4S registry uses a web-based database that automatically extracts data from structured electronic medical records. Site-specific education and training program will be designed and administrated according to their baseline characteristics. Both acute reperfusion therapies including thrombectomy and thrombolysis in the acute phase and subsequent care were measured and monitored with feedback. Primary outcome is to evaluate the differences in quality metrics between baseline characteristics (including rate of thrombolysis in acute stroke and key performance indicators in secondary prevention) and post-intervention.

Conclusions

The 4S system is a regional stroke network that monitors the ongoing stroke care quality in Shanghai. This project will provide the opportunity to evaluate the spectrum of acute stroke care and design quality improvement processes for better stroke care. A regional stroke network model for quality improvement will be explored and might be expanded to other large cities in China.

Clinical Trial Registration-URL

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT02735226.
Variations in the origins and absence of the common digital arteries of the hand: a cadaveric study
Authors: Hashem Ahmed M. , Knackstedt Rebecca W. , Bernard Steven , Hendrickson Mark , McBride Jennifer M. , Djohan Risal
Published: March 2018

We studied anomalies of the common digital arteries by dissecting 33 fresh cadaver hands under magnification. In the majority of the dissected hands (25 hands), common digital arteries took off from the superficial palmar arch and ran superficial and parallel to the flexor tendons. Variations were found in eight out of 33 hands. In four hands the common digital artery to the second web space was replaced by an atypical vessel, originating from the deep palmar arch, that crossed posterior to the index flexor tendons proximal to the A1 pulley. In eight hands, the common digital artery to the fourth web space was replaced by an atypical deeper vessel, originating from the superficial palmar arch and crossing posterior to the little finger flexors. No nerve anomalies were identified. Unrecognized, these atypical arteries to the second and/or fourth web spaces could lead to vascular complications during surgery, especially pollicization.
Hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome and pregnancy
Authors: Karthikeyan Akilandeswari , Venkat-Raman Narayanaswamy
Published: March 2018

Ehlers–Danlos syndromes are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of rare inherited connective tissue disorders. Hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome is one of the common types and not infrequently encountered in pregnancy. While, in the majority of women with hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, the pregnancy is uncomplicated, it is important to be aware of the condition in view of potential complications such as recurrent joint dislocations and history of surgical joint stabilization procedures, secondary autonomic pain and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Increased awareness of the condition and a multi-disciplinary approach to the management of these women in pregnancy result in good outcome for the mother and the baby. We report the clinical characteristics and outcome of pregnancies in eight women with hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome and present a review of the literature with particular reference to management in a pregnant woman with joint hypermobility syndrome.
B cell-based therapies in CNS autoimmunity: differentiating CD19 and CD20 as therapeutic targets
Authors: Forsthuber Thomas G. , Cimbora Daniel M. , Ratchford John Nolan , Katz Eliezer , Stüve Olaf
Published: March 2018

Increasing recognition of the role of B cells in the adaptive immune response makes B cells an important therapeutic target in autoimmunity. Numerous current and developmental immunotherapies target B cells for elimination through recognition of cell-surface proteins expressed specifically on B cells, in particular CD19 and CD20. Similarities and differences in the function and expression of these two molecules predict some shared, and some distinct, pharmacological effects of agents targeting CD19 versus CD20, potentially leading to differences in the clinical safety and efficacy of such agents. Here, we review current knowledge of CD19 and CD20 function and biology, survey current and developmental therapies that target these molecules, and discuss potential differences in elimination of B cells by drugs that target CD19 versus CD20, with particular focus on the central nervous system autoimmune diseases multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica. The principles and mechanisms herein discussed might also be relevant to a variety of other nervous system autoimmune disorders, including NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor encephalitis, transverse myelitis and myasthenia gravis.
Diet Selection of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in a Human-Use Landscape in North-Eastern India
Authors: Kshettry Aritra , Vaidyanathan Srinivas , Athreya Vidya
Published: March 2018

There is increasing evidence of large carnivores using human-use areas, but our understanding of their ecology in such landscapes is limited. The role of wild and domestic prey in sustaining populations of carnivores in human-use landscapes could be significant but is currently poorly documented. We studied the prey composition and diet selection of leopards ( Panthera pardus) in a forest and tea-garden landscape in north-eastern India where the population density is greater than 700 people per km2 and average domestic animal density is 340 animals per km2. Wild prey density in the landscape was 56 animals per km2. Both wild and domestic prey were used by leopards in proportion to their availability with no selectivity toward either (χ2 = 87.17, p = .99, SE = 0.001). Among wild prey, Rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta) was found in high densities (24 animals per km2) and was preyed by leopards more frequently that the proportional availability. High use of domestic prey by leopard, with 60% of the prey biomass comprising cattle and goats has the potential for negative impact on conservation support for the species. While on one hand, there is great scope for the persistence of large cats in dense human-use landscapes due to the availability of domestic prey, on the other hand, the study highlights the problems of livestock loss especially to poorer sections of the society which need to be reconciled for achieving long-term and sustainable conservation goals.
Inferring the ballistic resistance of thick targets from static deep indentation tests
Authors: Rosenberg Zvi , Malka-Markovitz Alon , Kositski Roman
Published: March 2018

The aim of this work is to demonstrate that one can derive the value of the dynamic resistive stress, which a given target exerts on a rigid projectile, by following the force needed to push a rigid indenter into the target in a static deep indentation test. In this study, we used a relatively soft target made of a lead-antimony alloy and a concrete target, representing ductile metals and brittle solids, respectively. For both targets, we followed the force–distance curves obtained by the deep indentations of hard punches, as they were slowly pushed in the targets by a loading frame. The effect of friction during these tests was taken into account in order to obtain the net axial resisting stresses, which were applied by the targets on these indenters. These static resisting stresses, at deep penetrations, were compared with the dynamic resisting stresses, which were inferred from the impacts of armor-piercing projectiles on these targets. The good agreement between the two sets of values strongly enhances the claim that one can use static indentation tests in order to estimate the ballistic resistance of various targets to rigid projectile penetration. The effect of strain rate sensitivity is highlighted by the test results for both the metallic and concrete targets. In addition, important insights concerning the cavitation phenomenon in the penetration of rigid projectiles are also highlighted in this work.
Connected Routes: Migration Studies with Digital Devices and Platforms
Authors: Sánchez-Querubín Natalia , Rogers Richard
Published: March 2018

The article builds upon critical border studies for the study of the European migration crisis that take into account the digital, both in terms of telecommunications infrastructure and media platforms. In putting forward an approach to migration studies with digital devices, here the emphasis is shifted from “bordering” to “routing.” First, the current analytical situation is sketched as one where the “connective” route is contrasted to the “securitised” one, made by European policy and monitoring software. Subsequently, we ask, how are connective migrant routes being made into accounts and issues in social media? Two case studies are presented, each describing routing in terms of the distinctive accounts made of migrant journeying. In the first, routes are seen from the point of view of its curation in Getty Images, and in particular of the images privileged by its social layer. In the image collection, the “sanitised route” (as we call it) gradually leads to a soft landing in Europe, cleansed of anti-refugee sentiment. In the second, we ask how camps and borders are problematized from the point of view of the traveler using TripAdvisor. In the “interrupted tourist route,” would-be visitors are concerned with a Europe made unsafe, thereby rerouting their own journeys on the basis of social media commenting. We conclude with reflection about the advantages of employing social media in migration and border studies for the study of “media journeys” as routes from multiple vantage points, developing the idea that route-work also can be understood as platform-work.
Syrian Refugees and the Digital Passage to Europe: Smartphone Infrastructures and Affordances
Authors: Gillespie Marie , Osseiran Souad , Cheesman Margie
Published: March 2018

This research examines the role of smartphones in refugees’ journeys. It traces the risks and possibilities afforded by smartphones for facilitating information, communication, and migration flows in the digital passage to Europe. For the Syrian and Iraqi refugee respondents in this France-based qualitative study, smartphones are lifelines, as important as water and food. They afford the planning, navigation, and documentation of journeys, enabling regular contact with family, friends, smugglers, and those who help them. However, refugees are simultaneously exposed to new forms of exploitation and surveillance with smartphones as migrations are financialised by smugglers and criminalized by European policies, and the digital passage is dependent on a contingent range of sociotechnical and material assemblages. Through an infrastructural lens, we capture the dialectical dynamics of opportunity and vulnerability, and the forms of resilience and solidarity, that arise as forced migration and digital connectivity coincide.
Biomechanics of L5/S1 in Long Thoracolumbosacral Constructs: A Cadaveric Study
Authors: Lee Bryan S. , Walsh Kevin M. , Healy Andrew T. , Colbrunn Robb , Butler Robert S. , Goodwin Ryan C. , Steinmetz Michael P. , Mroz Thomas E.
Published: March 2018

Study Design:

In vitro cadaveric biomechanical study.

Objectives:

Despite numerous techniques employed to establish solid lumbosacral fixation, there are little biomechanical data correlating fixation methods at L5/S1 to thoracolumbosacral (TLS) construct length. We aimed to determine the optimal construct with the hypothesis that under physiological loads, lumbosacral constructs can be stabilized by L5/S1 anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) alone, without iliac screw fixation (ISF), and that TLS constructs would require ISF, with or without ALIF.

Methods:

By using a robot capable of motion in 6 axes, force-moment sensor, motion-tracking camera system and software, we simulated the spinal loading effects in flexion-extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending, and compared torques in different construct groups of T4-S1, T10-S1, and L2-S1. By conducting multidirectional flexibility testing we assessed the effects of constructs of various lengths on the L5/S1 segment.

Results:

L2-S1 constructs may be equivalently stabilized by L5/S1 ALIF alone without ISF. Longer TLS constructs exerted increasing motion at L5/S1, exhibiting trends in favor of ISF when extending to T10 and statistically improved fixation when extending to T4. Lastly, TLS constructs with ISF exhibited a statistically significant reduction in L5-S1 range of motion from the addition of ALIF when extending to T4-pelvis but not T10-pelvis.

Conclusions:

We found that ALIF alone may sufficiently support the L2-S1 construct, reducing L5/S1 range of motion and transmitting loads instead to the sacropelvis. Furthermore, ALIF was found to add significant stability to the T4-pelvis construct when added to ISF. This difference was not significant for the T10-pelvis construct.
Organizational Structure, Policy Learning, and Economic Performance: Evidence from the Chinese Commune
Authors: Eisenman Joshua , Yang Feng
Published: March 2018

Using original county-level panel data on Chinese communes over two decades, 1958 to 1979, this article builds upon existing theories about the influence of organizational size and structure on institutional performance. We found a consistent and robust interaction effect among the size of the commune (i.e., the coordination level) and its subunits, the brigade (i.e., the supervisory level) and production teams (i.e., the working level), on agricultural productivity. Future work on the relationship between organizational performance and size would likely benefit from including such interaction variables. We also provide evidence that to create a more productive institution, county-level officials learned from their most productive neighbors and adjusted the size of their communes accordingly. This work explains the role of organizational structure as a driver of economic performance and how policy diffusion occurred during China’s Maoist era—a period generally treated as a monolith rather than a period of institutional change.
Nutrition Education in Internal Medicine Residency Programs and Predictors of Residents’ Dietary Counseling Practices
Authors: Khandelwal Stutee , Zemore Sarah E , Hemmerling Anke
Published: March 2018

Background:

Although physicians are expected to provide dietary counseling for patients with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and obesity, nutrition education in graduate medical education remains limited. Few studies have recently examined nutrition education and dietary counseling practices in Internal Medicine (IM) residency training.

Objectives:

To conduct a contemporary assessment of outpatient nutrition education in IM residency programs in the United States, identify predictors of residents’ dietary counseling practices for CV risk factors, and identify barriers for educators in providing nutrition education and barriers for residents in counseling patients.

Design:

Cross-sectional anonymous surveys were completed by IM program directors (PDs) and residents throughout the United States. Linear regression was used to examine the association between the amount of nutrition education received and the number of instruction methods used by the residents and frequency of residents’ dietary counseling for patients with CV risk factors.

Key Results:

A total of 40 educators (PDs and ambulatory/primary care PDs) and 133 residents across the United States responded to the survey. About 61% of residents reported having very little or no training in nutrition. Nutrition education in residency, both the amount of education (β = 0.20, P = .05) and the number of instruction methods used (β = 0.26, P = .02), predicted frequency of residents’ dietary counseling practices independent of nutrition education in medical school, which was also significantly associated with counseling (β = 0.20, P = .03). Residents’ total fruit and vegetable intake likewise predicted frequency of counseling (β = 0.24, P < .001). Low perceived faculty expertise was a major barrier for educators and was associated with lower level of provided nutrition education ( r = −.33, P = .04). Low resident and low perceived clinic preceptors’ interests in nutrition were also associated with lower frequency of residents’ dietary counseling ( r = −.19, P = .04; r = −.18, P = .05).

Conclusions:

The provision of nutrition education in IM residency programs and IM residents’ dietary counseling for patients need to be systematically assessed nationally. This study’s preliminary findings suggest that multimodal nutrition education in IM residency and better resident dietary habits are associated with higher frequency of dietary counseling for patients. Lack of faculty expertise and low faculty and resident interests in patient counseling need to be addressed perhaps by mandating nutrition education in graduate and continuing medical education.
Epigenetic programming of T cells impacts immune reconstitution in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients
Authors: Hardy Kristine , Smith Corey , Tu Wen Juan , McCuaig Robert , Panikkar Archana , Dasari Vijayendra , Wu Fan , Tey Siok-Keen , Hill Geoffrey R. , Khanna Rajiv , Rao Sudha
Published: March 2018

Key Points

Identification of molecular signatures in CMV-specific T cells from HSCT recipients with stable vs unstable immune reconstitution. Inhibiting epigenetic regulators, like JARID2 or HDAC6, may be a promising strategy for modifying immune reconstitution in HSCT recipients.
Disintegrating Particles, Non-Local Causation and Category Mistakes: What do Conservation Laws have to do with Dualism?
Authors: Rehman Rashad
Published: March 2018

The single most influential and widely accepted objection against any form of dualism, the belief that human beings are both body and soul, is the objection that dualism violates conservation laws in physics. The conservation laws objection against dualism posits that body and soul interaction is at best mysterious, and at worst impossible. While this objection has been both influential from the time of its initial formulation until present, this paper occupies itself with arguing that this objection is a fleeting one, and has successful answers from both scientific and philosophical perspectives. It is to this end that I provide three groups of responses to the conservation laws objection. First, I outline responses which take the ‘laws of nature’ as the proper entry point into the discussion. Secondly, I provide an analysis of those who argue that contemporary quantum physical data requires that the objection itself involves scientifically unjustified premises. Finally, I layout a philosophically oriented answer which argues that the objection is linguistically problematic since its demands on the dualist are categorically fallacious. From these groups of answers, I conclude that while the conservation laws objection has been arguably the most widely accepted objection against dualism, the objection is without philosophical justification.
CONTEMPORARY TRENDS OF THE KR EXTERNAL MIGRATION
Authors: Мукамбаев Нурбек , Mukambaev Nurbek
Published: March 2018

This article purpose is analysis of quantity features and regularities for Kyrgyzstani population migration in recent times. Migration factors, motives, and consequences are variable quantities and determined by social and economic conditions of country donor and country recipient for migration flows. Currently principal structural element of the KR migration is labor one
What Are We Really Good At? Product Strategy with Uncertain Capabilities
Authors: Miklós-Thal Jeanine , Raith Michael , Selove Matthew
Published: March 2018

Firms often learn about their own capabilities through their products’ successes and failures. This paper explores the interaction between learning about capabilities and product strategy in a formal model. We consider a firm that can launch a sequence of products, where each product’s success probability depends on the fit between the firm’s capabilities and the product. A successful new product always causes the firm to become more optimistic about the capability most relevant for that product; however, it can also cause the firm to become less optimistic about some of its other capabilities, including capabilities the new product does not use. The firm’s optimal forward-looking product strategy accounts for short-run expected profits as well as for the information value of learning for future decisions. We find that a product sharing few or even no capabilities with potential future products can have a greater information value than a product that shares more capabilities with future products and that learning about capabilities can affect the optimal sequence of product launch decisions.

Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2017.1068 .
Effects of thickness of muscle and subcutaneous fat on efficacy of gluteal intramuscular injection sites
Authors: Elgellaie Asmahan , Ashcroft Elfriede , Larkin Theresa A
Published: March 2018

Intramuscular injections given at the dorsogluteal and ventrogluteal sites are intended for the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles, respectively. However, little research has confirmed the reliability of these sites for the presence and thickness of the target and other muscles, and subcutaneous fat. This study characterised and compared these at the V-method and G-method ventrogluteal sites and dorsogluteal site (n=60). Gluteus maximus, medius and minimus were identified at each site, plus tensor fascia latae at ventrogluteal sites. Gluteus maximus and subcutaneous fat were significantly thicker and gluteus minimus significantly thinner at the dorsogluteal site than both ventrogluteal sites. Gluteus medius was the thickest muscle at each injection site, and thicker at the G-method than the V-method ventrogluteal site. Therefore, the dorsogluteal site reliably targets gluteus maximus, and the G-method ventrogluteal site was more reliable than the V-method ventrogluteal site to target gluteus medius in terms of presence and thickness.
From staff nurse to nurse consultant
Authors: Fowler John
Published: March 2018

John Fowler, Educational Consultant, explores spiritual care for clinically based nurses
Support not stigma needed
Authors: Foster Sam
Published: March 2018

Sam Foster, Chief Nurse, Oxford University Hospitals, reflects on how nurses' mental health problems are viewed by colleagues and responded to by the NHS and nursing's regulatory body
The impact of smoking on wound healing: the role of the nurse
Authors: Ellis Peter
Published: March 2018

Smoking is known to have a deleterious effect on health in general and on wound healing in particular. Poor oxygenation and the impact of the impurities contained in cigarette smoke interfere with wound healing. It is the role of the nurse when caring for a person with a wound to treat them in a holistic manner, which includes encouraging and supporting patients who smoke to stop doing so. This paper looks at the evidence surrounding disrupted wound healing in patients who smoke and identifies why nurses should help them quit. It also identifies some of the strategies nurses might employ to aid smoking cessation.
Winding down
Authors: Rawstrone Annette
Published: March 2018

In the first of a series focusing on how parents can support children's speech and language development, Annette Rawstrone looks at the opportunities for interaction at bedtime.
Explore the earth
Authors: Hart Karen
Published: March 2018

Spring is well and truly here and it's time for children to get their hands dirty outside. From planting flowers to building a bug house and a wormery, you will find there is a lot to talk about.
LOW-TECH INNOVATION AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: CASE STUDY THE TRADITIONAL BATIK INDUSTRY IN PEKALONGAN MUNICIPALITY
Authors: Maninggar Nimas , Hudalah Delik
Published: March 2018

Innovation is no longer purely a project of high-tech industries. The decade has seen a paradigm shift of the meaning and the process of innovation creation from a linear model that largely focuses on R&D, toward a non-linear model through informal and interactive processes. As a result, low-tech industries with a low level of R&D can also make innovations and benefit the regional economy. In Indonesia, such innovation may be linked to the development and survival of cultural industrial clusters. One of Indonesia’s unique cultural industries is batik. Using a qualitative analysis, this paper explores the impact of process and product innovations in the batik industry on the local economic development of Pekalongan Municipality, Indonesia’s largest batik-producing city. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with batik entrepreneurs, which show that innovations have contributed to the cutting of production costs and, thus, increasing the industrial units’ income; the emergence of new batik entrepreneurs; and an increase in tourist visits, supporting businesses and facilities.
BENTUK KELEMBAGAAN DAN POLA PEMBIAYAAN LAND BANKING PUBLIK DI INDONESIA
Authors: Pamungkas Azhari , Winarso Haryo
Published: March 2018

The application of land banking is likely to be conducted in Indonesia as well as its success in various countries in solving various land-related problems. This study aims to formulate an institutional set up and funding scheme for land banking in Indonesia. This study utilized an adoption of Delphi method to compile and interprete expert opinions, in addition extensive review of literature and legislations were also conducted. This study recommends the set up of public owned land banking company that consist of main company and subsidiary company. The main company is 100% owned by the government. The subsidiary company is jointly developed with private sector and community. The main company is assigned to bank land for public purposes (eg. infrastructures, public housing, facilities) and not for profit. The subsidiary company is assigned to bank land for development and giving opportunity the land owners to get share and profit. The set up land bank company is funded by local budget. Profit from the subsidiary company can be reinvented to the main company.
Political Management, Research and Development, and Advertising Capital in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Good Prognosis?
Authors: Martin Kelly D. , Josephson Brett W. , Vadakkepatt Gautham G. , Johnson Jean L.
Published: March 2018

Regulatory oversight that affects the firm's product-market environment continues to increase. Political management capital (PMC) describes firm expenditure committed to address the political and regulatory context. Neoinstitutional theory casts PMC as an institutionally expected normative response investors use when evaluating firm performance. Although limited evidence has suggested that firms benefit from PMC, the authors demonstrate its effects across financial outcomes including firm value, systematic risk, and idiosyncratic risk. Likewise, they examine how PMC interacts with a firm's product market through research-and-development (R&D) capital and advertising capital. Regression analysis of an unbalanced data set of 212 firms in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, tracked from 2003 to 2014, reveals that while PMC improves investor expectations through firm value and systematic risk, it increases idiosyncratic risk. The authors find that PMC plays both substitutive and complementary roles with R&D such that increasing levels of both PMC and R&D weakens main effects. Political management capital has limited, but substitutive, effects with advertising likely because there is less regulatory oversight on advertising versus R&D in this industry. The authors explore these asymmetric effects, provide implications for neoinstitutional theory, and offer managerial insights.
Marketing Channel Management by Multinational Corporations in Foreign Markets
Authors: Grewal Rajdeep , Saini Amit , Kumar Alok , Dwyer F. Robert , Dahlstrom Robert
Published: March 2018

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are adopting increasingly diverse and complex marketing channels to sell their products worldwide. They strive to manage channels that confront diverse demands from headquarters, foreign subsidiaries, and local partners as well as complex market environments. Because extant research on MNCs’ marketing channels is sparse, the authors propose an organizing framework to spur and guide research on MNC channel management. As a meta-theory that integrates economic and social elements of MNC channel management, the political economy perspective is used to propose two testable frameworks pertaining to determinants of (1) MNC marketing channel structures and processes and (2) MNC marketing channel outcomes. Building on these frameworks, the authors advance a research agenda to test substantive relationships, elaborate new constructs, and illustrate new contexts pertaining to MNC marketing channels. A set of propositions illustrates the applicability of these conceptual frameworks.