bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Proteomics and Network Analyses Reveal Inhibition of Akt‐mTOR Signaling in CD4+ T Cells by Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mannose‐Capped Lipoarabinomannan
Authors: Karim Ahmad F. , Sande Obondo J. , Tomechko Sara E. , Ding Xuedong , Li Ming , Maxwell Sean , Ewing Rob M. , Harding Clifford V. , Rojas Roxana E. , Chance Mark R. , Boom W. Henry
Published: October 2017

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) cell wall glycolipid mannose‐capped lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) inhibits CD4+ T‐cell activation by inhibiting proximal T‐cell receptor (TCR) signaling when activated by anti‐CD3. To understand the impact of ManLAM on CD4+ T‐cell function when both the TCR–CD3 complex and major costimulator CD28 are engaged, we performed label‐free quantitative MS and network analysis. Mixed‐effect model analysis of peptide intensity identified 149 unique peptides representing 131 proteins that were differentially regulated by ManLAM in anti‐CD3‐ and anti‐CD28‐activated CD4+ T cells. Crosstalker, a novel network analysis tool identified dysregulated translation, TCA cycle, and RNA metabolism network modules. PCNA, Akt, mTOR, and UBC were found to be bridge node proteins connecting these modules of dysregulated proteins. Altered PCNA expression and cell cycle analysis showed arrest at the G2M phase. Western blot confirmed that ManLAM inhibited Akt and mTOR phosphorylation, and decreased expression of deubiquitinating enzymes Usp9x and Otub1. Decreased NF‐κB phosphorylation suggested interference with CD28 signaling through inhibition of the Usp9x‐Akt‐mTOR pathway. Thus, ManLAM induced global changes in the CD4+ T‐cell proteome by affecting Akt‐mTOR signaling, resulting in broad functional impairment of CD4+ T‐cell activation beyond inhibition of proximal TCR–CD3 signaling.
In Vino Veritas: An Invitation for Ambitious, Collaborative Proteogenomics Campaigns on Plant and Animal Models
Authors: Armengaud Jean
Published: October 2017

Vitis vinifera has been an emblematic plant for humans since the Neolithic period. Human civilization has been shaped by its domestication as both its medicinal and nutritional values were exploited. It is now cultivated on all habitable continents, and more than 5000 varieties have been developed. A global passion for the art of wine fuels innovation and a profound desire for knowledge on this plant. The genome sequence of a homozygotic cultivar and several RNA‐seq datasets on other varieties have been released paving the way to gaining further insight into its biology and tailoring improvements to varieties. However, its genome annotation remains unpolished. In this issue of Proteomics, Chapman and Bellgard (Proteomics 2017, 17, 1700197) discuss how proteogenomics can help improve genome annotation. By mining shotgun proteomics data, they defined new protein‐coding genes, refined gene structures, and corrected numerous mRNA splicing events. This stimulating study shows how large international consortia could work together to improve plant and animal genome annotation on a large scale. To achieve this aim, time should be invested to generate comprehensive, high‐quality experimental datasets for a wide range of well‐defined lineages and exploit them with pipelines capable of handling giant datasets.
General method for uncertainty evaluation of safety integrity level calculations – part 2 analytical methods
Authors: Freeman Raymond “Randy”
Published: October 2017

The IEC 61511 standard requires a verification calculation that a proposed design for a safety instrumented function (SIF) achieves the desired safety integrity level (SIL). The evaluation of the SIL of a new or existing safety instrumented system requires detailed calculations based on the failure rates of the device and the planned maintenance/testing cycle for the system. The failure rates of the devices are often taken from standard failure rate tabulations of equipment. The maintenance and testing plans are developed based on plant experience. All of the data used in the SIL calculations are uncertain. This article develops a general method for uncertainty analysis of the SIL calculations. The general method is based on the application of probability theory—variance contribution analysis—to the equations presented in ISA TR 84.00.02‐2115. An example is worked to demonstrate the methodology. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 37: 153–160, 2018
Overview of glyphosate‐resistant weeds worldwide
Authors: Heap Ian , Duke Stephen O
Published: October 2017

Glyphosate is the most widely used and successful herbicide discovered to date, but its utility is now threatened by the occurrence of several glyphosate‐resistant weed species. Glyphosate resistance first appeared in Lolium rigidum in an apple orchard in Australia in 1996, ironically the year that the first glyphosate‐resistant crop (soybean) was introduced in the USA. Thirty‐eight weed species have now evolved resistance to glyphosate, distributed across 37 countries and in 34 different crops and six non‐crop situations. Although glyphosate‐resistant weeds have been identified in orchards, vineyards, plantations, cereals, fallow and non‐crop situations, it is the glyphosate‐resistant weeds in glyphosate‐resistant crop systems that dominate the area infested and growing economic impact. Glyphosate‐resistant weeds present the greatest threat to sustained weed control in major agronomic crops because this herbicide is used to control weeds with resistance to herbicides with other sites of action, and no new herbicide sites of action have been introduced for over 30 years. Industry has responded by developing herbicide resistance traits in major crops that allow existing herbicides to be used in a new way. However, over reliance on these traits will result in multiple‐resistance in weeds. Weed control in major crops is at a precarious point, where we must maintain the utility of the herbicides we have until we can transition to new weed management technologies. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Cathodoluminescence Study on Thermal Recovery Process of Mg‐Ion Implanted N‐Polar GaN
Authors: Kataoka Keita , Narita Tetsuo , Iguchi Hiroko , Uesugi Tsutomu , Kachi Tetsu
Published: October 2017

Thermal recovery of N‐polar GaN(000) samples implanted with magnesium and hydrogen ions was investigated by cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy. The high thermal stability of N‐polar GaN allowed annealing process over 1200 °C without protective overlayer. The CL emissions from acceptor‐bound excitons and donor‐bound excitons were observed in the near‐band‐edge (NBE) after annealing over 1000 °C of the ion implanted samples, which indicates the formation of Mg acceptors. The emission intensities both in the NBE and in the green luminescence (GL) band increased with the annealing temperature, resulting from reducing the non‐radiative recombination centers. On the other hand, the enhancement of the GL band (nitrogen vacancy complexes) by prolonging the annealing duration above 1200 °C was not significant as compared to the band‐edge emission, probably resulting from the enhancement of activating the implanted Mg ions. These results give clear directions to improve the quality of Mg‐ion implanted GaN.
Temporary Surface Passivation for Characterisation of Bulk Defects in Silicon: A Review
Authors: Grant Nicholas E. , Murphy John D.
Published: October 2017

Accurate measurements of the bulk minority carrier lifetime in high‐quality silicon materials is challenging due to the influence of surface recombination. Conventional surface passivation processes such as thermal oxidation or dielectric deposition often modify the bulk lifetime significantly before measurement. Temporary surface passivation processes at room or very low temperatures enable a more accurate measurement of the true bulk lifetime, as they limit thermal reconfiguration of bulk defects and minimize bulk hydrogenation. In this article we review the state‐of‐the‐art for temporary passivation schemes, including liquid immersion passivation based upon acids, halogen‐alcohols and benzyl‐alcohols, and thin film passivation usually based on organic substances. We highlight how exceptional surface passivation (surface recombination velocity below 1 cm s−1) can be achieved by some types of temporary passivation. From an extensive review of available data in the literature, we find p‐type silicon can be best passivated by hydrofluoric acid containing solutions, with superacid‐based thin films showing a slight superiority in the n‐type case. We review the practical considerations associated with temporary passivation, including sample cleaning, passivation activation, and stability. We highlight examples of how temporary passivation can assist in the development of improved silicon materials for photovoltaic applications, and provide an outlook for the future of the field.
Evolutionary algorithm based configuration interaction approach
Authors: Chakraborty Rahul , Ghosh Paulami , Ghosh Debashree
Published: October 2017

A new evolutionary algorithm for stochastic configuration interaction (CI) method designed as an affordable approximation to full configuration interaction (FCI) has been described here. The key components of the algorithm are initiation, propagation, and termination steps taking inspiration from the genetic algorithm. The propagation step is performed with cloning (retention of a Slater determinant without change), mutation (single excitation/de‐excitation), and crossover (exchange of α and β strings between two Slater determinants) and termination is selection of few Slater determinants based on certain fitness function (measure of importance of a determinant in the CI space) and rejection of the rest. We find that the absolute value of the CI coefficients is a suitable fitness function when combined with a fixed selection scheme. We have tested its accuracy in 1D Hubbard problem and ground state potential energy surface (PES) has also been constructed for symmetric bond breaking of water molecule, where the errors are found to be around 10 mEh with low non‐parallelity error, when retaining only a small fraction of the total number of Slater determinants in the final population. This shows that this method has the ability to capture both static and dynamic correlation. Performance and convergence properties of the algorithm are also tested for N2 triple bond breaking problem. The algorithm opens up a promising way for stochastic sampling of the important determinants in the full Hilbert space.
Halogen bonding between substituted chlorobenzene and trimethylamine: Decisive role of σ–hole and CCl bond breaking energy
Authors: Sutradhar Dipankar , Chandra Asit. K.
Published: October 2017

Theoretical studies have been carried out on the halogen bonding interaction between para substituted chlorobenzene (YC6H4Cl, Y = H, NH2, CH3, F, CN, NO2) and N(CH3)3 using ab initio MP2/aug‐cc‐pVDZ and DFT based wB97XD/6‐311++G(d,p) methods. The positive electrostatic potential (VS,max) on the Cl atom and the heterolytic bond breaking enthalpy of the CCl bond have been calculated and their role on halogen bonding is discussed. The heterolytic bond breaking enthalpy of the CCl bond is proposed as a measure of the strength of the σ‐hole on Cl atom. The binding strength of the complexes ranging between −6.13 kJ mol−1 and −9.29 kJ mol−1 are linearly related to the VS,max of the Cl atom and the bond breaking enthalpy of the CCl bond. In addition, energy decomposition analysis was performed on the halogen bonded complexes via symmetry adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) to predict the dominant energy component and the nature of the N···Cl interaction.
Influence of multinerve‐sparing, robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy on the recovery of erection in Japanese patients
Authors: Yumioka Tetsuya , Honda Masashi , Kimura Yusuke , Yamaguchi Noriya , Iwamoto Hideto , Morizane Shuichi , Hikita Katsuya , Takenaka Atsushi
Published: October 2017

Purpose

To evaluate in Japanese patients their sexual function after robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and to investigate the influence of the multinerve‐sparing (NS) grade on their sexual function.

Methods

In total, 225 patients were reviewed with localized prostate cancer who underwent RARP at the authors' institution. They underwent RARP >3 months ago, without pre‐ and posthormone therapy and salvage radiation. Self‐administered International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaires were used for assessment preoperatively and 1–48 months postoperatively. In all, 129 patients were evaluated with the preoperative IIEF‐Question 1 and who achieved a score of ≥2 by being divided into five NS groups. The recovery rates of erection (postoperative IIEF‐Question 1 score of ≥2) were calculated by using the Kaplan–Meier analysis.

Results

Seventy‐four percent of all the patients had not attempted sexual intercourse, but 60% had felt sexual desire at 24 months postoperatively. In those patients with a preoperative erection, the recovery rate of erection was 58% at 24 months after the RARP. Across the five NS groups, as the procedure was more nerve‐sparing, the recovery rate of erection became significantly higher. The postoperative effects on erection in the bilateral and unilateral NS groups were significantly superior to those in the other NS groups.

Conclusion

In Japanese patients, erection after a RARP is improved with multiNS grade procedures.
Framing negotiation: Dynamics of epistemological and positional framing in small groups during scientific modeling
Authors: Shim Soo‐Yean , Kim Heui‐Baik
Published: October 2017

In this study, we examined students’ epistemological and positional framing during small group scientific modeling to explore their context‐dependent perceptions about knowledge, themselves, and others. We focused on two small groups of Korean eighth‐grade students who participated in six modeling activities about excretion. The two groups were purposefully selected because the students showed contrasting patterns of collaboration in modeling activities and sometimes showed significant shifts in their participation. We qualitatively analyzed the students' epistemological framing, positional framing, and modeling processes in each episode, based on their discourse and behaviors in the modeling practices. We found that the students’ epistemological and positional framing were dynamically intertwined with each other and worked together to guide the students’ participation in the group modeling. The students actively constructed and negotiated their perceptions about how to participate in the modeling practices, and those epistemological perceptions were closely related to how they positioned themselves and other participants in each context. This study suggests that it is important to attend to the dynamics of students’ epistemological and positional framing in order to understand and facilitate the students’ participation in science practice communities.
Enhanced Stem Cell Differentiation and Immunopurification of Genome Engineered Human Retinal Ganglion Cells
Authors: Sluch Valentin M. , Chamling Xitiz , Liu Melissa M. , Berlinicke Cynthia A. , Cheng Jie , Mitchell Katherine L. , Welsbie Derek S. , Zack Donald J.
Published: October 2017

Human pluripotent stem cells have the potential to promote biological studies and accelerate drug discovery efforts by making possible direct experimentation on a variety of human cell types of interest. However, stem cell cultures are generally heterogeneous and efficient differentiation and purification protocols are often lacking. Here, we describe the generation of clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)-Cas9 engineered reporter knock-in embryonic stem cell lines in which tdTomato and a unique cell-surface protein, THY1.2, are expressed under the control of the retinal ganglion cell (RGC)-enriched gene BRN3B. Using these reporter cell lines, we greatly improved adherent stem cell differentiation to the RGC lineage by optimizing a novel combination of small molecules and established an anti-THY1.2-based protocol that allows for large-scale RGC immunopurification. RNA-sequencing confirmed the similarity of the stem cell-derived RGCs to their endogenous human counterparts. Additionally, we developed an in vitro axonal injury model suitable for studying signaling pathways and mechanisms of human RGC cell death and for high-throughput screening for neuroprotective compounds. Using this system in combination with RNAi-based knockdown, we show that knockdown of dual leucine kinase (DLK) promotes survival of human RGCs, expanding to the human system prior reports that DLK inhibition is neuroprotective for murine RGCs. These improvements will facilitate the development and use of large-scale experimental paradigms that require numbers of pure RGCs that were not previously obtainable.
Concise Review: Tissue Engineering of Urinary Bladder; We Still Have a Long Way to Go?
Authors: Adamowicz Jan , Pokrywczynska Marta , Van Breda Shane Vontelin , Kloskowski Tomasz , Drewa Tomasz
Published: October 2017

Regenerative medicine is a new branch of medicine based on tissue engineering technology. This rapidly developing field of science offers revolutionary treatment strategy aimed at urinary bladder regeneration. Despite many promising announcements of experimental urinary bladder reconstruction, there has been a lack in commercialization of therapies based on current investigations. This is due to numerous obstacles that are slowly being identified and precisely overcome. The goal of this review is to present the current status of research on urinary bladder regeneration and highlight further challenges that need to be gradually addressed. We put an emphasis on expectations of urologists that are awaiting tissue engineering based solutions in clinical practice. This review also presents a detailed characteristic of obstacles on the road to successful urinary bladder regeneration from urological clinician perspective. A defined interdisciplinary approach might help to accelerate planning transitional research tissue engineering focused on urinary tracts.
Group IVA Element (Si, Ge, Sn)‐Based Alloying/Dealloying Anodes as Negative Electrodes for Full‐Cell Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Liu Dequan , Liu Zheng jiao , Li Xiuwan , Xie Wenhe , Wang Qi , Liu Qiming , Fu Yujun , He Deyan
Published: October 2017

To satisfy the increasing energy demands of portable electronics, electric vehicles, and miniaturized energy storage devices, improvements to lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are required to provide higher energy/power densities and longer cycle lives. Group IVA element (Si, Ge, Sn)‐based alloying/dealloying anodes are promising candidates for use as electrodes in next‐generation LIBs owing to their extremely high gravimetric and volumetric capacities, low working voltages, and natural abundances. However, due to the violent volume changes that occur during lithium‐ion insertion/extraction and the formation of an unstable solid electrolyte interface, the use of Group IVA element‐based anodes in commercial LIBs is still a great challenge. Evaluating the electrochemical performance of an anode in a full‐cell configuration is a key step in investigating the possible application of the active material in LIBs. In this regard, the recent progress and important approaches to overcoming and alleviating the drawbacks of Group IVA element‐based anode materials are reviewed, such as the severe volume variations during cycling and the relatively brittle electrode/electrolyte interface in full‐cell LIBs. Finally, perspectives and future challenges in achieving the practical application of Group IVA element‐based anodes in high‐energy and high‐power‐density LIB systems are proposed.
Polyhedral‐Like NiMn‐Layered Double Hydroxide/Porous Carbon as Electrode for Enhanced Electrochemical Performance Supercapacitors
Authors: Yu Mei , Liu Ruili , Liu Jianhua , Li Songmei , Ma Yuxiao
Published: October 2017

Polyhedral‐like NiMn‐layered double hydroxide/porous carbon (NiMn‐LDH/PC‐x) composites are successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method (x = 1, 2 means different mass percent of porous carbon (PC) in composites). The NiMn‐LDH/PC‐1 composites possess specific capacitance 1634 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1, and it is much better than that of pure LDH (1095 F g−1 at 1 A g−1). Besides, the sample can retain 84.58% of original capacitance after 3000 cycles at 15 A g−1. An asymmetric supercapacitor with NiMn‐LDH/PC‐1 as anode and activated carbon as cathode is fabricated, and the supercapacitor can achieve an energy density of 18.60 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 225.03 W kg−1. The enhanced electrochemical performance attributes to the high faradaic pseudocapacitance of NiMn‐LDH, the introduction of PC, and the 3D porous structure of LDH/PC‐1 composites. The introduction of PC hinders serious agglomeration of LDH and further accelerates ions transport. The encouraging results indicate that these materials are one of the most potential candidates for energy storage devices.
Automated conflict detection between medical care pathways
Authors: Weber Philip , Filho João Bosco Ferreira , Bordbar Behzad , Lee Mark , Litchfield Ian , Backman Ruth
Published: October 2017

Clinical guidelines specify sequences of steps (care pathways) to treat patients with single conditions. Increasingly, many patients exhibit “multimorbidity,” several chronic conditions needing concurrent treatment. However, applying multiple guidelines in parallel can lead to conflicts, eg, between prescribed drugs, lifestyle intervention recommendations, or treatment schedules. In computer science, process languages used to design and reason about software development and business process management are similar to clinical pathways. Using formal model transformation, composition and analysis methods, models can be combined and conflicts detected and resolved. We propose BPMN+V, a data‐driven formal model for clinical care pathways, as an extension of Business Process Model and Notation. We describe a method for conflict detection using a transformation of BPMN+V to Coloured Petri Nets and a state‐space method for detection of conflict in composed models. We present results from a case study, showing that common conflicts are successfully detected, and propose extension to a complete framework for efficiently recommending resolutions to medical conflicts in composed care pathway models.
An experimental investigation on the wake interferences among wind turbines sited in aligned and staggered wind farms
Authors: Tian Wei , Ozbay Ahmet , Hu Hui
Published: October 2017

An experimental investigation was conducted for a better understanding of the wake interferences among wind turbines sited in wind farms with different turbine layout designs. Two different types of inflows were generated in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel to simulate the different incoming surface winds over typical onshore and offshore wind farms. In addition to quantifying the power outputs and dynamic wind loads acting on the model turbines, the characteristics of the wake flows inside the wind farms were also examined quantitatively. After adding turbines staggered between the first 2 rows of an aligned wind farm to increase the turbine number density in the wind farm, the added staggered turbines did not show a significant effect on the aeromechanical performance of the downstream turbines for the offshore case. However, for the onshore case, while the upstream staggered turbines have a beneficial effect on the power outputs of the downstream turbines, the fatigue loads acting on the downstream turbines were also found to increase considerably due to the wake effects induced by the upstream turbines. With the same turbine number density and same inflow characteristics, the wind turbines were found to be able to generate much more power when they are arranged in a staggered layout than those in an aligned layout. In addition, the characteristics of the dynamic wind loads acting on the wind turbines sited in the aligned layout, including the fluctuation amplitudes and power spectrum, were found to be significantly different from those with staggered layout.
Modern and classical k‐sample omnibus tests
Authors: Chen Su , Pokojovy Michael
Published: October 2017

The ‘k‐sample problem’ aims to detect statistical differences among multiple populations. A statistical test, capable of detecting any departure from the null hypothesis of ‘statistical equality’ such as the equality in distribution, is typically referred to as an ‘omnibus test.’ A short overview of historic developments and a detailed discussion of the more prominent state‐of‐the‐art techniques are presented with references to numerous sources and studies. Both classical and modern omnibus tests are systematically categorized in terms of seminal probabilistic and statistical concepts into tests that are based upon the empirical distribution, characteristic or kernel density function, etc. To demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of each particular approach with regard to its statistical performance, applicability, computational complexity, and parameter tuning, eight representatively selected omnibus tests (along with the Kruskal–Wallis test) are numerically implemented and compared under various ‘archetypal’ scenarios. Recommendations are made accordingly along with a discussion of challenges and potential future research directions for this problem. WIREs Comput Stat 2018, 10:e1418. doi: 10.1002/wics.1418

This article is categorized under:

Statistical Models > Linear Models

Statistical and Graphical Methods of Data Analysis > Nonparametric Methods
A Nationwide Population‐Based Study on the Survival of Patients with Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors in The Netherlands
Authors: Genc C. G. , Klümpen H. J. , van Oijen M. G. H. , van Eijck C. H. J. , Nieveen van Dijkum E. J. M.
Published: October 2017

Background

Large population‐based studies give insight into the prognosis and treatment outcomes of patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs). Therefore, we provide an overview of the treatment and related survival of pNET in the Netherlands.

Methods

Patients diagnosed with pNET between 2008 and 2013 from the Netherlands Cancer Registry were included. Patient, tumors and treatment characteristics were reported. Survival analyses with log‐rank testing were performed to compare survival.

Results

In total, 611 patients were included. Median follow‐up was 25.7 months, and all‐cause mortality was 42%. Higher tumor grade and TNM stage were significantly associated with worse survival in both the overall and metastasized population. The effect of distant metastases on survival was more significant in lower tumor stages (T1–3 p < 0.05, T4 p = 0.074). Resection of the primary tumor was performed in 255 (42%) patients. Patients who underwent surgery had the highest 5‐year survival (86%) compared to PRRT (33%), chemotherapy (21%), targeted therapy and somatostatin analogs (24%) (all p < 0.001). Patients with T1M0 tumors (n = 115) showed favorable survival after surgical resection (N = 95) compared to no therapy (N = 20, p = 0.008). Resection also improved survival significantly in patients with metastases compared to other treatments (all p > 0.05). Without surgery, PRRT showed the best survival curves in patients with distant metastases. Grade 3 tumors and surgical resection were independently associated with survival (HR 7.23 and 0.12, respectively).

Conclusion

Surgical resection shows favorable outcome for all pNET tumors, including indolent tumors and tumors with distant metastases. Prospective trials should be initiated to confirm these results.
The Depth from the Skin to the Celiac Artery Measured Using Computed Tomography is a Simple Predictive Index for Longer Operation Time During Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy
Authors: Goto Hironobu , Kanaji Shingo , Yasuda Takashi , Oshikiri Taro , Yamamoto Masashi , Matsuda Takeru , Nakamura Tetsu , Suzuki Satoshi , Fujino Yasuhiro , Tominaga Masahiro , Kakeji Yoshihiro
Published: October 2017

Background

Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used to classify obesity. However, BMI does not always reflect the degree of visceral fat. This study aimed to clarify the usefulness of measuring the depth from the skin to the celiac artery using computed tomography, as a simple predictive index for longer operation time during laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG).

Methods

From September 2012 to March 2016, 66 patients who underwent LDG with D1+ lymph node dissection were included. The depth from the skin to the bifurcation of the celiac artery was defined as ‘skin‐to‐celiac artery distance (SCD).’ The patients were divided into two groups based on the median operation time. [Time scenarios from omentum incision to specimen extirpation and infrapyloric and suprapancreatic lymph node dissections (I‐LND, S‐LND) were assessed.] The factors eliciting a longer operation time than the median operation time were investigated.

Results

From omentum incision to specimen extirpation, BMI, thickness of subcutaneous fat (TSF), and SCD (P = 0.002, P = 0.039, P < 0.001) were the factors associated with longer operation time. Furthermore, BMI, TSF, and SCD in I‐LND (P = 0.008, P = 0.022, P < 0.001) and BMI and SCD in S‐LND (P < 0.001, P < 0.001) were associated with longer operation time. The multivariate analysis showed that a long SCD was the only significant independent factor to predict an operation time longer than the median operation time (P = 0.001). The best cutoff level of SCD calculated using the receiver operating characteristic curve was 88 mm.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that SCD is a simple predictive index for longer operation time during LDG.
Basin‐wide impacts of climate change on ecosystem services in the Lower Mekong Basin
Authors: Trisurat Yongyut , Aekakkararungroj Aekkapol , Ma Hwan‐ok , Johnston John M.
Published: October 2017

Water resources support more than 60 million people in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) and are important for food security—especially rice production—and economic security. This study aims to quantify water yield under near‐ and long‐term climate scenarios and assess the potential impacts on rice cultivation. The InVEST model (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) forecasted water yield, and land evaluation was used to delineate suitability classes. Pattern‐downscaled climate data were specially generated for the LMB. Predicted annual water yields for 2030 and 2060, derived from a drier overall scenario in combination with medium and high greenhouse gas emissions, indicated a reduction of 9–24% from baseline (average 1986–2005) runoff. In contrast, increased seasonality and wetter rainfall scenarios increased annual runoff by 6–26%. Extreme drought decreased suitability of transplanted rice cultivation by 3%, and rice production would be reduced by 4.2 and 4%, with and without irrigation projects, relative to baseline. Greatest rice reduction was predicted for Thailand, followed by Lao PDR and Cambodia, and was stable for Vietnam. Rice production in the LMB appears sufficient to feed the LMB population in 2030, while rice production in Lao PDR and Cambodia are not expected to be sufficient for domestic consumption, largely due to steep topography and sandy soils as well as drought. Four adaptation measures to minimize climate impacts (i.e., irrigation, changing the planting calendar, new rice varieties, and alternative crops) are discussed.
The Influence of Grain Structure on Intermetallic Compound Layer Growth Rates in Fe-Al Dissimilar Welds
Authors: Xu Lei , Robson Joseph D. , Wang Li , Prangnell Philip B.
Published: October 2017

The thickness of the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer that forms when aluminum is welded to steel is critical in determining the properties of the dissimilar joints. The IMC reaction layer typically consists of two phases (η and θ) and many attempts have been made to determine the apparent activation energy for its growth, an essential parameter in developing any predictive model for layer thickness. However, even with alloys of similar composition, there is no agreement of the correct value of this activation energy. In the present work, the IMC layer growth has been characterized in detail for AA6111 aluminum to DC04 steel couples under isothermal annealing conditions. The samples were initially lightly ultrasonically welded to produce a metallic bond, and the structure and thickness of the layer were then characterized in detail, including tracking the evolution of composition and grain size in the IMC phases. A model developed previously for Al-Mg dissimilar welds was adapted to predict the coupled growth of the two phases in the layer, whilst accounting explicitly for grain boundary and lattice diffusion, and considering the influence of grain growth. It has been shown that the intermetallic layer has a submicron grain size, and grain boundary diffusion as well as grain growth plays a critical role in determining the thickening rate for both phases. The model was used to demonstrate how this explains the wide scatter in the apparent activation energies previously reported. From this, process maps were developed that show the relative importance of each diffusion path to layer growth as a function of temperature and time.
Thermodynamic Characterization of Temperature‐ and Composition‐Dependent Mixed Micelle Formation in Aqueous Medium
Authors: Juhász Ádám , Tabajdi Réka , Dékány Imre , Csapó Edit
Published: October 2017

This article provides a detailed description of micellization of a binary nonionic surfactant system (Lutensol AP9 and AP20) at different compositions and temperatures in an aqueous medium. Critical micelle concentrations of the individual components (CMCi) and the mixed surfactants (CMCm) were determined via surface tension measurements in the temperature range of 288.15–318.15 K. On the basis of the magnitude and temperature dependence of CMC values, changes in the Gibbs energy (ΔmicG), enthalpy (ΔmicH), and entropy (ΔmicS) of micellization were evaluated. At 288.15 K the thermodynamic parameters were confirmed by isotherm titration calorimetry (ITC). Regular solution theory (RST) was used to estimate the compositions of the mixed micelles (XM) and molecular interaction parameters (βM) for all molar ratios and temperatures. The results of evaluations based on the closed association model and RST were compared.
Black Progress through Business Improvement: Two Articles by Joseph R. Houchins, 1900–1989
Authors: Green Rodney D. , Houchins Sue E.
Published: October 2017

In the spirit of further expanding the heretofore unsung contributions of African American economists, we present two unpublished works from the 1930s of Joseph Roosevelt Houchins. They focus on Black business development and strategy. Biographical information and historical context for Houchins's life experiences during the twentieth century are included in an introduction. Houchins was a member of President Franklin Roosevelt's Black Cabinet, a leader of the Division of Negro Affairs in the U.S. Department of Commerce, and a chair and professor of economics at Howard University. These two writings reflect a strategic effort to strengthen the efficiency and impact of Black business as an engine of Black progress. The first document presented here analyzes the high failure rate of Black-owned insurance companies, a mainstay of Black business especially in the 1920s and 30s. Houchins determined that their failure was due to several factors: lack of business knowledge; lack of access to capital; a tendency towards over-expenditure on office furnishings; and an over-identification with the clients, paying unjustified claims and failing to collect premiums on policies. The second document reports the results of a national survey that Houchins conducted to create a complete listing of Black chambers of commerce that could be used for intra-racial communication and mutual support. Both documents resonate today as the struggle for Black progress continues.
Benefit-Cost Analysis in Policing Research: Assessing Crime-Control Benefits of Proactive Enforcement Practices
Authors: Geller Amanda
Published: October 2017

The police are widely recognized as an important deterrent of crime, with investments in policing broadly associated with lower crime rates. Much less is known about how investments in policing contribute to crime reductions, or the relative merits and risks of specific activities in which officers engage, leaving policing as an area in which benefit-cost analysis methods stand to make a significant substantive contribution. However, the implementation of these methods involves challenges related to measuring both the quantity and quality of policing involved in a given dosage of policing, as well as the causal effects of police practices on crime. This essay lays out several of the challenges inherent in understanding the benefits and costs of policing practices, with a specific eye toward practices commonly known as “proactive policing” practices, and their effects on crime rates. I lay out potential strategies for resolving these challenges, which focus largely on identifying exogenous discontinuities in policing practices that can be used to assess outcome differences. Thorough assessment of policing practices should apply as many of these strategies as possible, in order to understand how robust or sensitive substantive conclusions may be to strategies used.
Effective governance of food safety regulation across EU Member States: Towards operationalization
Authors: BAZZAN Giulia
Published: October 2017

This article seeks to make a contribution to the food safety regulation literature, and to the broader framework of risk regulation, in the attempt to establish both theoretically and empirically what can be intended as effective governance of food safety regulation. The aim is to review existing measures of effectiveness of food safety governance, and to give a preliminary definition of effectiveness, together with a theoretical perspective on how to operationalise it, eventually proposing an empirical measurement. Effectiveness of food safety governance can be measured – on the one hand – as the capacity of consumers’ protection, and thus, as the minimisation of risk related to food, and – on the other hand – as the capacity of protection of producers’ interests, in order to ensure competitiveness within the market. Distinguishing food safety delivered from food safety perceived, the article seeks to analyse dimensions of effectiveness related to both the protection of consumers and producers, and to the minimisation of risk, drawing upon Elinor Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD) and, particularly, her conceptualisation of opportunistic behaviour.
Changing Clays: Raw Material Preferences in the ‘Neolithic’ Ceramic Assemblages of the Upper Vitim Basin
Authors: Hommel Peter N. , Day Peter M. , Jordan Peter , Müller Noémi S. , Vetrov Viktor M.
Published: October 2017

This paper provides a contextual summary of a diachronic analysis of ceramic vessels and hunter-gatherer societies from the final Pleistocene to the later Holocene in a remote corner of the Vitim Basin in Eastern Siberia. An integrated programme of ceramic analysis, raw materials survey, and archaeological investigation is drawn into new models of group mobility and social behaviour. The results challenge widespread assumptions about the relationship between ceramics, sedentarisation, and social complexity. Evidence of these transformations, though potentially identifiable in the archaeological record, could not be associated with the adoption of pottery.
Popular Media and the Global Expansion of American Evangelicalism in an Imperial Age
Authors: CURTIS HEATHER D.
Published: October 2017

This article examines the crucial role that print media played in the global expansion of American evangelicalism during the late 1890s: a moment when the United States was exercising new forms of military, economic, and cultural power to extend its influence in world affairs. Analyzing the strategies that publicists employed to make the popular press an effective medium of spreading American evangelicalism sheds light on the theological and social factors that influenced – and circumscribed – the ways in which evangelicals imagined, fostered, and undermined the creation of a global Christian community in this increasingly imperial era.
Special Issue: Exploring the Global History of American Evangelicalism Introduction
Authors: OLIVER KENDRICK , BALBIER UTA A. , KRABBENDAM HANS , SCHÄFER AXEL R.
Published: October 2017

This introduction embeds theExploring the Global History of American Evangelicalismspecial issue into current historiographical debates in the field of US evangelicalism and globalization. It lays out the methodological framework and thematic scope of the special issue.
Institutional Reform and Violence Reduction in Pernambuco, Brazil
Authors: HOELSCHER KRISTIAN
Published: October 2017

If institutions are important for regulating violence, can institutional reforms make societies less violent? This article examines the north-east Brazilian state of Pernambuco primarily between 2007 and 2013, proposing that patterns of declining lethal violence can be explained by changes in both the accountability and effectiveness of formal state institutions and informal social norms. Drawing on two months of qualitative fieldwork, findings suggest that social and political mobilisation enabled a political coalition to initiate substantial changes under the Pacto pela Vida (Pact for Life) public-security programme, which improved the legitimacy and operational effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and coincided with a marked reduction in homicide rates. While showing that these reforms were central in reducing lethal violence in Pernambuco between 2007 and 2013, the article concludes by discussing the challenges of policy continuity in light of increasing rates of lethal violence since 2014.
Treating depression with physical activity in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Bailey A. P. , Hetrick S. E. , Rosenbaum S. , Purcell R. , Parker A. G.
Published: October 2017

We aimed to establish the treatment effect of physical activity for depression in young people through meta-analysis. Four databases were searched to September 2016 for randomised controlled trials of physical activity interventions for adolescents and young adults, 12–25 years, experiencing a diagnosis or threshold symptoms of depression. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the standardised mean difference (SMD) between physical activity and control conditions. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression investigated potential treatment effect modifiers. Acceptability was estimated using dropout. Trials were assessed against risk of bias domains and overall quality of evidence was assessed using GRADE criteria. Seventeen trials were eligible and 16 provided data from 771 participants showing a large effect of physical activity on depression symptoms compared to controls (SMD = −0.82, 95% CI = −1.02 to −0.61,p< 0.05,I2= 38%). The effect remained robust in trials with clinical samples (k= 5, SMD = −0.72, 95% CI = −1.15 to −0.30), and in trials using attention/activity placebo controls (k= 7, SMD = −0.82, 95% CI = −1.05 to −0.59). Dropout was 11% across physical activity arms and equivalent in controls (k= 12, RD = −0.01, 95% CI = −0.04 to 0.03,p= 0.70). However, the quality of RCT-level evidence contributing to the primary analysis was downgraded two levels to LOW (trial-level risk of bias, suspected publication bias), suggesting uncertainty in the size of effect and caution in its interpretation. While physical activity appears to be a promising and acceptable intervention for adolescents and young adults experiencing depression, robust clinical effectiveness trials that minimise risk of bias are required to increase confidence in the current finding. The specific intervention characteristics required to improve depression remain unclear, however best candidates given current evidence may include, but are not limited to, supervised, aerobic-based activity of moderate-to-vigorous intensity, engaged in multiple times per week over eight or more weeks. Further research is needed. (Registration: PROSPERO-CRD 42015024388).
Effects of childhood trauma on left inferior frontal gyrus function during response inhibition across psychotic disorders
Authors: Quidé Y. , O'Reilly N. , Watkeys O. J. , Carr V. J. , Green M. J.
Published: October 2017

Background

Childhood trauma is a risk factor for psychosis. Deficits in response inhibition are common to psychosis and trauma-exposed populations, and associated brain functions may be affected by trauma exposure in psychotic disorders. We aimed to identify the influence of trauma-exposure on brain activation and functional connectivity during a response inhibition task.

Methods

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain function within regions-of-interest [left and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right supplementary motor area, right inferior parietal lobule and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex], during the performance of a Go/No-Go Flanker task, in 112 clinical cases with psychotic disorders and 53 healthy controls (HCs). Among the participants, 71 clinical cases and 21 HCs reported significant levels of childhood trauma exposure, while 41 clinical cases and 32 HCs did not.

Results

In the absence of effects on response inhibition performance, childhood trauma exposure was associated with increased activation in the left IFG, and increased connectivity between the left IFG seed region and the cerebellum and calcarine sulcus, in both cases and healthy individuals. There was no main effect of psychosis, and no trauma-by-psychosis interaction for any other region-of-interest. Within the clinical sample, the effects of trauma-exposure on the left IFG activation were mediated by symptom severity.

Conclusions

Trauma-related increases in activation of the left IFG were not associated with performance differences, or dependent on clinical diagnostic status; increased IFG functionality may represent a compensatory (overactivation) mechanism required to exert adequate inhibitory control of the motor response.
PRODUCTION AND TRADE IN CENTRAL ITALY IN THE ROMAN PERIOD: THE AMPHORA WORKSHOP OF MONTELABATE IN UMBRIA
Authors: Ceccarelli Letizia
Published: October 2017

The object of study in this paper is four unpublished kilns excavated in 2012 at Montelabate (Perugia, Italy), in the framework of the Montelabate Project. The workshop, in use from the mid-first to the fifth century AD, which produced amphorae, coarseware and tile, offers an interesting model for the study of the economy of production in Regio VI (Umbria). The location of the workshop allows the exploration of wider issues such as connectivity, changes in local and regional markets, and continuity in the exploitation of natural resources: the site had a rich clay deposit and was surrounded by densely forested hills, whilst the flat fertile fields were suitable for agriculture and wine production; connectivity was ensured by the river Ventia, a tributary of the Tiber, and by an internal road that joined the Via Flaminia. The paper discusses the substantial number of failed flat-bottomed wine amphorae of the Spello type, discovered at Montelabate, that revealed a large-scale production with little standardization, as eight different local types were identified. The manufacturing complex provides new evidence for a production system that played an important role on a larger regional scale as well as in the local economic network, which continued until the fifth century AD.