bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communication performance of children with Down Syndrome: An ICF-CY based multiple case study
Authors: Deckers Stijn RJM , Van Zaalen Yvonne , Stoep Judith , Van Balkom Hans , Verhoeven Ludo
Published: February 2016

Enhancing communication performance skills may help children with Down Syndrome (DS) to expand their opportunities for participation in daily life. It is a clinical challenge for speech-language pathologists (SLP) to disentangle various mechanisms that contribute to the language and communication problems that children with DS encounter. Without clarity of different levels of functioning, appropriate interventions may be poorly conceived or improperly implemented. In the present study, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health – Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY) framework was used to classify contributing factors to communication performance in a multiple case study of six young children with DS. Within a comprehensive assessment, we identified individual and environmental facilitators and barriers, leading to an integrative profile of communication performance (IPCP) for each child. Whereas these six children shared a developmental, and/or expressive vocabulary age and/or level of communicative intent, the children faced similar but also unique personal and environmental factors that play an important role in their communication performance. Our data reveal that a combination of different factors may lead to the same language outcomes and vice versa, based on a unique pattern of interdependency of ICF-CY domains. Planning SLP interventions for enhancing communication performance in children with DS should therefore be based on a comprehensive view on the competences and limitations of every individual child and its significant communication partners. This evaluation should address facilitators and barriers in body functions, structures, activities, participation and environment, with a specific focus on individual strengths. The ICF-CY provides a useful framework for constructing an IPCP that serves this purpose.
Integrating palliative care across settings: A retrospective cohort study of a hospice home care programme for cancer patients
Authors: Tan Woan Shin , Lee Angel , Yang Sze Yee , Chan Susan , Wu Huei Yaw , Ng Charis Wei Ling , Heng Bee Hoon
Published: February 2016

Background:

Terminally ill patients at the end-of-life do transit between care settings due to their complex care needs. Problems of care fragmentation could result in poor quality of care.

Aim:

We aimed to evaluate the impact of an integrated hospice home care programme on acute care service usage and on the share of home deaths.

Settings/participants:

The retrospective study cohort comprised patients who were diagnosed with cancer, had an expected prognosis of 1 year or less, and were referred to a home hospice. The intervention group comprised deceased patients enrolled in the integrated hospice home care programme between September 2012 and June 2014. The historical comparison group comprised deceased patients who were referred to other home hospices between January 2007 and January 2011.

Results:

There were 321 cases and 593 comparator subjects. Relative to the comparator group, the share of hospital deaths was significantly lower for programme participants (12.1% versus 42.7%). After adjusting for differences at baseline, the intervention group had statistically significantly lower emergency department visits at 30 days (incidence rate ratio: 0.38; 95% confidence interval: 0.31–0.47), 60 days (incidence rate ratio: 0.61; 95% confidence interval: 0.54–0.69) and 90 days (incidence rate ratio: 0.69; 95% confidence interval: 0.62–0.77) prior to death. Similar results held for the number of hospitalisations at 30 days (incidence rate ratio: 0.48; 95% confidence interval: 0.40–0.58), 60 days (incidence rate ratio: 0.71; 95% confidence interval: 0.62–0.82) and 90 days (incidence rate ratio: 0.77; 95% confidence interval: 0.68–0.88) prior to death.

Conclusion:

Our results demonstrated that by integrating services between acute care and home hospice care, a reduction in acute care service usage could occur.
Effects of short-term quetiapine treatment on emotional processing, sleep and circadian rhythms
Authors: Rock Philippa L , Goodwin Guy M , Wulff Katharina , McTavish Sarah FB , Harmer Catherine J
Published: February 2016

Background:

Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic that can stabilise mood from any index episode of bipolar disorder. This study investigated the effects of seven-day quetiapine administration on sleep, circadian rhythms and emotional processing in healthy volunteers.

Methods:

Twenty healthy volunteers received 150 mg quetiapine XL for seven nights and 20 matched controls received placebo. Sleep-wake actigraphy was completed for one week both pre-dose and during drug treatment. On Day 8, participants completed emotional processing tasks.

Results:

Actigraphy revealed that quetiapine treatment increased sleep duration and efficiency, delayed final wake time and had a tendency to reduce within-day variability. There were no effects of quetiapine on subjective ratings of mood or energy. Quetiapine-treated participants showed diminished bias towards positive words and away from negative words during recognition memory. Quetiapine did not significantly affect facial expression recognition, emotional word categorisation, emotion-potentiated startle or emotional word/faces dot-probe vigilance reaction times.

Conclusions:

These changes in sleep timing and circadian rhythmicity in healthy volunteers may be relevant to quetiapine’s therapeutic actions. Effects on emotional processing did not emulate the effects of antidepressants. The effects of quetiapine on sleep and circadian rhythms in patients with bipolar disorder merit further investigation to elucidate its mechanisms of action.
Cerebral functional connectivity and Mayer waves in mice: Phenomena and separability
Authors: Bumstead Jonathan R , Bauer Adam Q , Wright Patrick W , Culver Joseph P
Published: February 2016

Resting-state functional connectivity is a growing neuroimaging approach that analyses the spatiotemporal structure of spontaneous brain activity, often using low-frequency (<0.08 Hz) hemodynamics. In addition to these fluctuations, there are two other low-frequency hemodynamic oscillations in a nearby spectral region (0.1–0.4 Hz) that have been reported in the brain: vasomotion and Mayer waves. Despite how close in frequency these phenomena exist, there is little research on how vasomotion and Mayer waves are related to or affect resting-state functional connectivity. In this study, we analyze spontaneous hemodynamic fluctuations over the mouse cortex using optical intrinsic signal imaging. We found spontaneous occurrence of oscillatory hemodynamics ∼0.2 Hz consistent with the properties of Mayer waves reported in the literature. Across a group of mice (n = 19), there was a large variability in the magnitude of Mayer waves. However, regardless of the magnitude of Mayer waves, functional connectivity patterns could be recovered from hemodynamic signals when filtered to the lower frequency band, 0.01–0.08 Hz. Our results demonstrate that both Mayer waves and resting-state functional connectivity patterns can co-exist simultaneously, and that they can be separated by applying bandpass filters.
Mesenteric panniculitis: review of consecutive abdominal MDCT examinations with a matched-pair analysis
Authors: Protin-Catteau Laure , Thiéfin Gérard , Barbe Coralie , Jolly Damien , Soyer Philippe , Hoeffel Christine
Published: February 2016

Background

The relationship between mesenteric panniculitis (MP), a benign condition involving adipose mesenteric tissue, and malignancy is still being questioned.

Purpose

To investigate the prevalence of MP and study its relationship with malignancy. To investigate the 5-year outcome of MP patients for the development of malignancy.

Material and Methods

Retrospective search for MP reviewing 3054 consecutive multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) scans. Two radiologists in consensus selected the final MP population. For each MP, two subsequent MDCT scans of patients matched by gender and age. Five-year follow-up data regarding cancer occurrence after index MDCT scans were obtained for the MP and control groups. Comparisons between groups were performed using univariate conditional logistic regression.

Results

A total of 160 patients had at least three of the five MDCT features defining MP. Sixty-four were excluded owing to disease causing mesenteric infiltration or contiguous neoplastic involvement. The final population included 96 MP and 192 control patients. The prevalence of MP was 3.14%. Most cases of MP were discrete (66.7%), 2.1% were marked. In total, 60.4% and 59.4% of MP and control patients, respectively, had cancer ( P = 0.86). There was no significant association between MP score and presence of cancer ( P = 0.06) nor any relationship between the course of associated cancer and MP evolution. In total, 80/96 MP patients and 50/78 control patients without associated cancer had a 5-year follow-up at least. No significant difference between both groups for new tumor occurrence during follow-up was found ( P = 0.15).

Conclusion

Our results do not suggest that patients with incidentally found MP should be followed up for early detection of a cancer.
Contributions of Nonhuman Primates to Research on Aging
Authors: Didier E. S. , MacLean A. G. , Mohan M. , Didier P. J. , Lackner A. A. , Kuroda M. J.
Published: February 2016

Aging is the biological process of declining physiologic function associated with increasing mortality rate during advancing age. Humans and higher nonhuman primates exhibit unusually longer average life spans as compared with mammals of similar body mass. Furthermore, the population of humans worldwide is growing older as a result of improvements in public health, social services, and health care systems. Comparative studies among a wide range of organisms that include nonhuman primates contribute greatly to our understanding about the basic mechanisms of aging. Based on their genetic and physiologic relatedness to humans, nonhuman primates are especially important for better understanding processes of aging unique to primates, as well as for testing intervention strategies to improve healthy aging and to treat diseases and disabilities in older people. Rhesus and cynomolgus macaques are the predominant monkeys used in studies on aging, but research with lower nonhuman primate species is increasing. One of the priority topics of research about aging in nonhuman primates involves neurologic changes associated with cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. Additional areas of research include osteoporosis, reproductive decline, caloric restriction, and their mimetics, as well as immune senescence and chronic inflammation that affect vaccine efficacy and resistance to infections and cancer. The purpose of this review is to highlight the findings from nonhuman primate research that contribute to our understanding about aging and health span in humans.
Well connected compared to what? Rethinking frames of reference in world city network research
Authors: Neal Zachary P
Published: February 2016

Claims about the strength of cities’ global connections have become commonplace in the world cities literature. Although such claims are inherently comparative, authors often do not specify the reference. London is well connected compared to what? In this paper, I adapt the stochastic degree sequence model from network analysis as a tool to derive a frame of reference that can be used to inform and substantiate such claims. Beyond providing a formal statistical method for deciding when the claim that “X is well connected” is justified, it also addresses a number of other challenges in this literature, including more explicitly casting firms as key agents in world city formation, providing insight into when and where global firms might be expected to locate their branch offices, and helping identify cases that warrant more detailed investigation. To illustrate, I apply the method to data on cities and firms from 2013, examining the results at five different scales, from the individual city and firm to the entire world city network. I conclude by considering how this approach allows researchers to ask different kinds of questions about the nature of world city status.
Migraine and endothelial function: The HUNT3 Study
Authors: Larsen Joakim Schjølberg , Skaug Eli-Anne , Wisløff Ulrik , Ellingsen Øyvind , Stovner Lars Jacob , Linde Mattias , Hagen Knut
Published: February 2016

Background

Reduced endothelial function is associated with elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, but evidence on the association between migraine and endothelial function is conflicting. The aim of this population-based study was to examine the relationship between flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and migraine with aura, migraine without aura and tension-type headache.

Methods

In the third Nord-Trøndelag Healthy Study (HUNT3) FMD was measured by ultrasound during reactive hyperaemia of the brachial artery in a sample of 4739 healthy adult participants, 3929 of whom answered headache questions. The cross-sectional association between different headache diagnoses and FMD was evaluated by logistic regression, using a categorical approach.

Results

Mean FMD did not differ between the headache groups and headache-free controls. In multi-adjusted analyses, no consistent association was found between FMD quintiles and headache groups.

Conclusions

There was no relationship between FMD and migraine or other headache diagnoses in this large cross-sectional study of otherwise healthy respondents including freedom from pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.
Headache of neurally mediated syncope
Authors: Khurana Ramesh K , Van Meerbeke Sara
Published: February 2016

Background

Neurally mediated syncope and migraine have a complex relationship.

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate whether patients developing syncope in the laboratory would experience migraine.

Methods

Thirty-one consecutive patients were evaluated for precipitation of headache during head-up tilt (HUT)-induced syncope (reduction of systolic blood pressure [SBP] >20 mmHg and prodromal symptoms with or without loss of consciousness). Autonomic functions were assessed using heart rate response to deep breathing (HRDB), Valsalva maneuver and HUT. Blood pressure and heart rate (via electrocardiography) were continuously monitored. Headache diagnosis was based on ICHD-3 criteria.

Results

Eighteen patients (58%) experienced syncope without headache and 13 (42%) had syncope and headache (SH). No difference was observed in time of syncope onset, reduction in SBP, Valsalva ratio, HRDB or tachycardia during initial 10 minutes of HUT. Of the 13 SH patients, 11 (85%) had a past history of migraine. Two reported headache just before tilt, eight developed headache during tilt and three developed headache only after tilt. Headache resolved within 1–15 minutes in 10 out of 13 patients. No patient experienced migraine.

Conclusions

Syncope did not precipitate migraine. Headache during syncope may be due to cerebral hypoperfusion, and cerebral hyperperfusion may cause post-syncopal headache.
Cardiac monitoring of high-dose verapamil in cluster headache: An international Delphi study
Authors: Koppen H , Stolwijk J , Wilms EB , van Driel V , Ferrari MD , Haan J
Published: February 2016

Background

In many patients, high-dose verapamil (HDV) is the only effective prophylactic treatment for cluster headache. Although cardiac adverse events and EKG abnormalities are relatively common, evidence-based guidelines for screening and monitoring patients on HDV are lacking.

Goal and methods

Using the Delphi approach, we interviewed 22 international clinical experts in cardiac rhythm disorders to formulate EKG guidelines for the pretreatment screening and monitoring of cluster headache patients using HDV.

Results

The panel agreed only on performing pretreatment EKG to screen for pre-existing cardiac arrhythmia. Pretreatment EKG was deemed not necessary by most panel members for patients who did not have cardiac adverse events during a previous period of cluster headache attacks treated with HDV. Half the panel advised Holter EKG for patients on verapamil ≥ 480 mg/day. The highest recommended daily doses varied between 240 and 960 mg. Contraindications for use of verapamil largely followed FDA guidelines.

Discussion

Experts in cardiac rhythm disorders agreed on pretreatment EKG monitoring, but no consensus was reached on EKG monitoring during HDV treatment and around dose adjustments.
The Vertical Drop Jump Is a Poor Screening Test for ACL Injuries in Female Elite Soccer and Handball Players
Authors: Krosshaug Tron , Steffen Kathrin , Kristianslund Eirik , Nilstad Agnethe , Mok Kam-Ming , Myklebust Grethe , Andersen Thor Einar , Holme Ingar , Engebretsen Lars , Bahr Roald
Published: February 2016

Background:

The evidence linking knee kinematics and kinetics during a vertical drop jump (VDJ) to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk is restricted to a single small sample. Still, the VDJ test continues to be advocated for clinical screening purposes.

Purpose:

To test whether 5 selected kinematic and kinetic variables were associated with future ACL injuries in a large cohort of Norwegian female elite soccer and handball players. Furthermore, we wanted to assess whether the VDJ test can be recommended as a screening test to identify players with increased risk.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

Elite female soccer and handball players participated in preseason screening tests from 2007 through 2014. The tests included marker-based 3-dimensional motion analysis of a drop-jump landing. We followed a predefined statistical protocol in which we included the following candidate risk factors in 5 separate logistic regression analyses, with new ACL injury as the outcome: (1) knee valgus angle at initial contact, (2) peak knee abduction moment, (3) peak knee flexion angle, (4) peak vertical ground-reaction force, and (5) medial knee displacement.

Results:

A total of 782 players were tested (age, 21 ± 4 years; height, 170 ± 7 cm; body mass, 67 ± 8 kg), of which 710 were included in the analyses. We registered 42 new noncontact ACL injuries, including 12 in previously ACL-injured players. Previous ACL injury (relative risk, 3.8; 95% CI, 2.1-7.1) and medial knee displacement (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.12-1.74 per 1-SD change) were associated with increased risk for injury. However, among the 643 players without previous injury, we found no association with medial knee displacement. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of medial knee displacement showed an area under the curve of 0.6, indicating a poor-to-failed combined sensitivity and specificity of the test, even when including previously injured players.

Conclusion:

Of the 5 risk factors considered, medial knee displacement was the only factor associated with increased risk for ACL. However, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated a poor combined sensitivity and specificity when medial knee displacement was used as a screening test for predicting ACL injury. For players with no previous injury, none of the VDJ variables were associated with increased injury risk.

Clinical Relevance:

VDJ tests cannot predict ACL injuries in female elite soccer and handball players.
Social-Emotional Learning Program to Promote Prosocial and Academic Skills Among Middle School Students With Disabilities
Authors: Espelage Dorothy L. , Rose Chad A. , Polanin Joshua R.
Published: February 2016

This 3-year study evaluated the effectiveness of the Second Step–Student Success Through Prevention (SS-SSTP) social-emotional learning program on increasing prosocial behaviors that could serve as protective factors against peer conflict and bullying among students with disabilities. Participants included 123 students with disabilities across 12 schools in Midwest United States. Students labelled with a disability were selected for inclusion. Students completed self-report measures of school belonging, empathy, caring, and willingness to intervene in bullying situations. Report card grades and standardized test scores were collected from school records. Students with disabilities in the intervention schools reported a statistical and clinical significant increase in willingness to intervene in bullying incidents in comparison with students with disabilities in control schools and an increase of half a grade on their report cards in comparison with the control sample. The current study demonstrates the promise of social-emotional learning programming for students with disabilities.
dTRPA1 in Non-circadian Neurons Modulates Temperature-dependent Rhythmic Activity in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Das Antara , Holmes Todd C. , Sheeba Vasu
Published: February 2016

In fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster, environmental cycles of light and temperature are known to influence behavioral rhythms through dedicated sensory receptors. But the thermosensory pathways and molecular receptors by which thermal cycles modulate locomotor activity rhythms remain unclear. Here, we report that neurons expressing warmth-activated ion channel Drosophila Transient Receptor Potential-A1 (dTRPA1) modulate distinct aspects of the rhythmic activity/rest rhythm in a light-dependent manner. Under light/dark (LD) cycles paired with constantly warm ambient conditions, flies deficient in dTRPA1 expression are unable to phase morning and evening activity bouts appropriately. Correspondingly, we show that electrical activity of a few neurons targeted by the dTRPA1SH-GAL4 driver modulates temperature-dependent phasing of activity/rest rhythm under LD cycles. The expression of dTRPA1 also affects behavior responses to temperature cycles combined with constant dark (DD) or light (LL) conditions. We demonstrate that the mid-day “siesta” exhibited by flies under temperature cycles in DD is dependent on dTRPA1 expression in a small number of neurons that include thermosensory anterior cell neurons. Although a small subset of circadian pacemaker neurons may express dTRPA1, we show that CRY-negative dTRPA1SH-GAL4 driven neurons are critical for the suppression of mid-thermophase activity, thus enabling flies to exhibit siesta. In contrast to temperature cycles in DD, under LL, dTRPA1 is not required for exhibiting siesta but is important for phasing of evening peak. Our studies show that activity/rest rhythms are modulated in a temperature-dependent manner via signals from dTRPA1SH-GAL4 driven neurons. Taken together, these results emphasize the differential influence of thermoreceptors on rhythmic behavior in fruit flies in coordination with light inputs.
The Royal Navy’s employment of black mariners and maritime workers, 1754–1783
Authors: Foy Charles R
Published: February 2016

The Royal Navy has been portrayed as an institution that embodied liberty, regularly employing and relying upon blacks to keep its vessels afloat and to implement Britain’s blue water policy. Despite the critical role black naval seamen played, their employment was shaped more by regional practices than by Admiralty edicts. The result was that blacks were often treated inequitably. Black seamen had less access to pension benefits and were not promoted in the same numbers as working-class white seamen. In England and New York, blacks were largely kept out of royal dockyards and received less favourable compensation than whites. In contrast, while blacks were employed in great numbers in the slave-based economies of Antigua and Senegambia, they were largely barred from highly skilled maritime artisan work. In sum, blacks’ experiences in the Royal Navy were varied and were more influenced by local conditions than by edicts from London.
Late eighteenth-century merchant ships in war and peace
Authors: Solar Peter M
Published: February 2016

This article assesses Lloyd’s Register as a source for late eighteenth-century maritime history by analysing the ships listed in the 1779 and 1790 volumes. The Registers turn out to a reasonably complete enumeration of the ships involved in the foreign trade of Britain and Ireland, but contain only a small share of ships in the coasting trade. The article analyses the names given to ships, their size and rigging, where they were constructed and how they were used. It also investigates the ships used as privateers and transports during the American Revolutionary War and the technical practices of sheathing and doubling. The distribution of ships by owner is discussed, as is the way in which the Registers classified ships.
British financial, managerial and technical assistance in establishing the global shipbuilding giant, Hyundai Heavy Industries
Authors: Kang J Y , Kim Song , Murphy Hugh , Tenold Stig
Published: February 2016

The aim of this article is to present the early history of Hyundai Heavy Industries, currently the world’s largest shipbuilder. The company was established by the prolific South Korean entrepreneur Chung Ju-Yung in the early 1970s. Due to limited experience in shipbuilding, the establishment relied heavily on foreign assistance. This article sheds new light on the crucial relationship between Chung and two British companies: the Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based consulting firm A&P Appledore International Limited, and the Lower Clyde shipbuilders Scott Lithgow Limited, during the beginnings of large-scale South Korean shipbuilding. The article is based on a combination of British and South Korean archival sources, as well as secondary literature and the oral and written testimony of consultants and workers involved in the project.
Richard Newall’s voyage to Newfoundland in 1623: New insights into Sir William Alexander’s attempts to establish a Scottish colony in Nova Scotia
Authors: Newell John P
Published: February 2016

In 1623, Sir William Alexander dispatched a ship from London to establish a Scottish colony in present day Nova Scotia. This was his second attempt after a ship dispatched in the previous year turned back before reaching Nova Scotia. The 1623 voyage stopped in St. John’s, Newfoundland to pick up the colonists from the earlier voyage, then sailed to Nova Scotia where it surveyed the coast then returned to St. John’s without establishing a colony. The only record of this voyage was in a pamphlet published by Sir William in 1624. Analysis of an unpublished handwritten journal kept by a Richard Newall on a voyage to Newfoundland in 1623 demonstrates that Richard was on the ship chartered by Sir William on its voyage from London to St. John’s. This journal provides new information on the ship, its crew, the colonists and the merchants involved in the voyage.
‘However illegal, extraordinary or almost incredible such conduct might be’: Americans and neutrality issues in the Mediterranean during the French Wars
Authors: Marzagalli Silvia
Published: February 2016

This article examines the conditions under which American ships sailed into the Mediterranean during the French Wars (1793–1815), particularly in the late 1790s after the signature of peace treaties with the Barbary States. Theoretically, such treaties should have enabled Americans to take advantage of two factors: the increasing demand for neutral transport in this area, and the reorganization of international trade flows precipitated by European warfare. In fact, American ships in the Mediterranean still faced major difficulties, especially with French and Spanish privateering, against which United States’ agents and consuls tried to protect them. They not only struggled with the contradictory principles of neutrality applied by different states, but also with the private interests of belligerent privateers, consuls and judges. At the same time, American merchants and captains were tempted to cover trades which belligerents might consider illegal. Commercial realities blurred traditional concepts of national allegiance and affiliation. Based on primary sources, this article argues that neutrality should be conceived within an evolving system of relations in a given region, rather than as a clear-cut, objective legal determination of the status of neutral shipping and the maritime trading rights of a given flag.
Danish shipping in the Mediterranean during the Revolutionary wars (1793–1795)
Authors: Pourchasse Pierrick
Published: February 2016

During the French Revolutionary Wars, Denmark benefited from neutrality to develop its navigation across the globe. In Europe, the Danish shipowners developed their tramping activities, taking freight from port to port. The Mediterranean, where demand in freight was high, was part of the traditional circuit of Danish ships. Despite pressure from the British government, the authorities of Copenhagen maintained their neutrality during the conflict. Shipowners used various techniques to neutralize their business and transport goods between all European ports. For neutral merchants, wartime was a period of great prosperity because of the increased demand and the high prices and freight. This article focuses on the operations of the Danish merchant fleet in the Mediterranean, and highlights the great prosperity of the Danish mercantile marine during this period.
‘No law ever prohibited neutral caravans in time of war’: The fragility of neutral shipping in the late eighteenth-century Mediterranean
Authors: Beaurepaire Pierre-Yves
Published: February 2016

This article examines the case of the Quintus, a Swedish brigantine engaged in caravan trade to Southern Europe, which was captured in 1797 by a French privateer in the Mediterranean and carried to Spain. The ship was condemned in first instance by the French consul, released in appeal by the civil court of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in Aix-en-Provence, and finally judged anew by the Prize Court in Paris. The analysis of the documents produced by the courts, of the correspondence of the Swedish consul at Marseille, and of a lawyers’ treaty discussing the case clearly points to the fragile status of neutral shipping in a context in which there was a wide range of interpretations of the right to take prize. In examining the discourses that developed during seizures and judgments, the article suggests that the blurred border between neutral and enemy shipping gave birth to a large ‘grey zone’ which can be conceived as a legal, geographical, political and strategic space in which individuals deploy complex strategies and negotiate norms that ultimately make neutral trade possible.
The Role of Probiotics on the Microbiota
Authors: Nova Esther , Pérez de Heredia Fátima , Gómez‐Martínez Sonia , Marcos Ascensión
Published: February 2016

The microbiota and the human host maintain a symbiotic association. Nowadays, metagenomic analyses are providing valuable knowledge on the diversity and functionality of the gut microbiota. However, with regard to the definition of a “healthy microbiota” and the characterization of the dysbiosis linked to obesity, there is still not a clear answer. Despite this fact, attempts have been made to counteract obesity through probiotic supplementation. A literature search of experimental studies relevant to the topic was performed in PubMed database with the keywords “probiotic” and “obesity” and restricted to those with “Lactobacillus” or “Bifidobacterium” in the title. So far, evidence of an antiobesity effect of different lactobacilli and bifidobacteria has been mainly obtained from animal models of dietary‐induced obesity. Using these experimental models, a substantial number of studies have reported reductions in weight gain and, in particular, fat tissue mass at different locations following administration of bacteria, as compared with controls. Antiatherogenic and anti‐inflammatory effects—including regulation of expression of lipogenic and lipolytic genes in the liver, reduction in liver steatosis, improvement of blood lipid profile and glucose tolerance, decreased endotoxemia, and regulation of inflammatory pathways—are also reported in many of them. The number of human studies focused on probiotic administration for obesity management is still very scarce, and it is too soon to judge their potential efficacy, especially when considering the fact that the actions of probiotics are always strain specific and the individual response varies according to intrinsic factors, the overall composition of diet, and their interactions.
Exploring Wage Determination by Education Level
Authors: Prime Penelope B. , Grimes Donald , Walker Mary Beth
Published: February 2016

The purpose of this study is to explain urban wage differentials with a special focus on educational levels. The authors explore whether the share of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher in the community matters to the wages of those within specific educational cohorts, accounting for cost of living, human capital externalities, consumer externalities, policy factors, and local labor market conditions. Using data for all U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas between 2005 and 2012, the authors find that the presence of more highly educated people will result in a higher median wage in the community overall, as do many studies, but that this factor does not significantly increase the wage for any individual education cohort. These results are hidden if we only look at the entire workforce in the aggregate.
Ideology signaling in electoral politics
Authors: Sawaki Hisashi
Published: February 2016

This paper considers an electoral model in which an incumbent and a challenger have ideological policy preferences that are private information. The incumbent may bias pre-electoral policies to signal preferences to the electorate with the aim of affecting the outcome of the election. When the two candidates are of completely different types, such a policy bias can occur only in a moderate direction. However, when their possible types overlap, a policy bias can be created in either a moderate or an extreme direction.
Preparation and flame retardancy of DOPO–based epoxy resin containing bismaleimide
Authors: Wang Tao , Wang Jun , Huo Siqi , Zhang Bin , Yang Shuang
Published: February 2016

Epoxy resins were modified with 10-(2,5-dihydroxyl phenyl)-9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide and 1,1′-(methylenedi-4,1-phenylene) bismaleimide (BDM). The resulting blends were then cured with 4, 4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone. Thermal properties of the cured epoxy resins were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Flame retardancy of the cured epoxy resins was checked by limiting oxygen index test, UL-94 vertical burning test, and cone calorimeter test. The char residue after cone calorimeter test was investigated by scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. The results indicated that the cured resins exhibited high glass transition temperature and excellent flame-retardant properties. BDM promoted the carbonization property of phosphorus-containing epoxy resin and facilitated the formation of cross-linked char layer with compact and continuous structure, thus enhancing the flame-retardant properties.
Tough and porous piezoelectric P(VDF-TrFE)/organosilicate composite membrane
Authors: He Fu-An , Kim Min-Ji , Chen Shui-Mei , Wu Yuen-Shing , Lam Kwok-Ho , Chan Helen Lai-Wa , Fan Jin-Tu
Published: February 2016

Novel P(VDF-TrFE)/organosilicate composite membrane was fabricated by electrospinning. The electrospun composite membrane containing as little as 2 wt% of organosilicate demonstrated significant improvements in strength, modulus, and toughness by about 103%, 45%, and 97%, respectively, when compared with those of electrospun pure P(VDF-TrFE) membrane, while maintaining high porosity and good breathability and piezoelectricity. We believe that such an organosilicate-reinforced durable, porous, and piezoelectric P(VDF-TrFE) membrane has huge advantages in various applications such as flexible sensors, wearable electronics, filter membrane, tissue engineering, battery separator, and polymer electrolyte.
Compliant dynamics of a rectilinear rear-independent system
Authors: Liu Xiang , Zhao Jing-Shan , Feng Zhi-Jing
Published: February 2016

The rectilinear rear-independent suspension investigated in this paper could remain the wheel alignment parameters invariable in theory. However, its dynamics is much more complex than that of the existing suspensions because of its redundant constraints in structure. Considering the elasticity of the rectilinear rear-independent suspension, a rigid-flexible half-car dynamic model is established for the first time based on the discrete time transfer matrix method. At the same time, a rigid half-car dynamic model is established as a comparison. The natural frequency characteristics and dynamic response of the rectilinear rear-independent suspension under random road excitations are analyzed and compared with those of rigid half-car dynamic model. The results reveal that the suspension system has apparent influence to the dynamics of vehicle. The wheel alignment parameters will fluctuate within a narrow range which is mainly determined by the rolling vibration of vehicle. And the suspension system could reduce and filter the road excitations with high frequency and small amplitude. This provides a good effect on the ride comfort of vehicle. Dynamics analysis of the rectilinear rear independent suspension reveals that the proposed modeling approach could deal with the dynamics of rigid-flexible multibody systems with redundant constraints effectively.
A reduced-order model-based study on the effect of intermittent pneumatic compression of limbs on the cardiovascular system
Authors: Maffiodo Daniela , De Nisco Giuseppe , Gallo Diego , Audenino Alberto , Morbiducci Umberto , Ferraresi Carlo
Published: February 2016

This work investigates the effect that the application of intermittent pneumatic compression to lower limbs has on the cardiovascular system. Intermittent pneumatic compression can be applied to subjects with reduced or null mobility and can be useful for therapeutic purposes in sports recovery, deep vein thrombosis prevention and lymphedema drainage. However, intermittent pneumatic compression performance and the effectiveness are often difficult to predict. This study presents a reduced-order numerical model of the interaction between the cardiovascular system and the intermittent pneumatic compression device. The effect that different intermittent pneumatic compression operating conditions have on the overall circulation is investigated. Our findings confirm (1) that an overall positive effect on hemodynamics can be obtained by properly applying the intermittent pneumatic compression device and (2) that using intermittent pneumatic compression for cardiocirculatory recovery is feasible in subjects affected by lower limb disease.
Establishing the biomechanical properties of the pelvic soft tissues through an inverse finite element analysis using magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Silva MET , Brandão S , Parente MPL , Mascarenhas T , Natal Jorge RM
Published: February 2016

The mechanical characteristics of the female pelvic floor are relevant when explaining pelvic dysfunction. The decreased elasticity of the tissue often causes inability to maintain urethral position, also leading to vaginal and rectal descend when coughing or defecating as a response to an increase in the internal abdominal pressure. These conditions can be associated with changes in the mechanical properties of the supportive structures—namely, the pelvic floor muscles—including impairment. In this work, we used an inverse finite element analysis to calculate the material constants for the passive mechanical behavior of the pelvic floor muscles. The numerical model of the pelvic floor muscles and bones was built from magnetic resonance axial images acquired at rest. Muscle deformation, simulating the Valsalva maneuver with a pressure of 4 KPa, was compared with the muscle displacement obtained through additional dynamic magnetic resonance imaging. The difference in displacement was of 0.15 mm in the antero-posterior direction and 3.69 mm in the supero-inferior direction, equating to a percentage error of 7.0% and 16.9%, respectively. We obtained the shortest difference in the displacements using an iterative process that reached the material constants for the Mooney–Rivlin constitutive model ( c10=11.8 KPa and c20=5.53  E−02 KPa). For each iteration, the orthogonal distance between each node from the group of nodes which defined the puborectal muscle in the numerical model versus dynamic magnetic resonance imaging was computed. With the methodology used in this work, it was possible to obtain in vivo biomechanical properties of the pelvic floor muscles for a specific subject using input information acquired non-invasively.
Psychiatric governance, völkisch corporatism, and the German Research Institute of Psychiatry in Munich (1912–26). Part 2
Authors: Engstrom Eric J , Burgmair Wolfgang , Weber Matthias M
Published: February 2016

This is the second of two articles exploring in depth some of the early organizational strategies that were marshalled in efforts to found and develop the German Research Institute of Psychiatry ( Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie). The first article analysed the strategies of psychiatric governance – best understood as a form of völkisch corporatism – that mobilized a group of stakeholders in the service of higher bio-political and hygienic ends. This second article examines how post-war imperatives and biopolitical agendas shaped the institute’s organization and research. It also explores the financial challenges the institute faced amidst the collapse of the German financial system in the early Weimar Republic, including efforts to recruit financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation and other philanthropists in the USA.
Combined effects of the inlet temperature and species distortion on hydrogen turbines aero-thermal performance
Authors: Wang Zhong-Nan , Yuan Xin
Published: February 2016

The composition of combusted gases in hydrogen turbines is different from that of the combustor cooling/dilution air, which introduces the non-uniformities in both the temperature and gas species at the turbine inlet. The concurrent effects of these two non-uniformities on the aero-thermal performance are investigated in this paper on hydrogen turbines. First knowledge is obtained that the species inlet distortion, on top of the hot streak, has an essential role in changing the blade thermal loading and increasing aerodynamic loss. The species concentrations promote the hot fluid to move towards the rotor pressure side and enhance the hot streak radial migration. Based on the numerical simulation, the maximum blade temperature is increased by 5% of inlet temperature variation (25K), on the pressure surface. Finally, the understandings of species distortion effects on hydrogen turbines are extended to a range of gas species concentrations with practical guidelines provided for hydrogen turbines cooling design.
Multi-fault identification of a hydraulic lifting system via partitioning of unstructured residuals
Authors: Tripathi Jay Prakash , Ghoshal Sanjoy K
Published: February 2016

The structured residual monitoring approach attributed to binary fault signatures is most common for fault isolation in model-based fault detection and isolation. When residuals are unstructured due to lesser number of sensors, their corresponding parameters values are estimated numerically through optimization. Thereafter, the estimated values of the parameters are compared with their corresponding nominal values for fault isolation. This article presents a state of the art fault localization scheme by partitioning of a typical array of unstructured residuals where a number of parameters commonly affected the unstructured as well as structured residuals. A reduced set of parameters that are necessary to be estimated by optimization are found and are estimated through least-square optimization for fault isolation. The problem space (dimension of the objective function) in optimization thus gets reduced and optimization performance shows improvement. A high-pressure hydraulic circuit used in the dumper and several other lifting systems is used as a simulation example for the proposed approach.
A modified robust self-tuning controller for Hammerstein nonlinear systems with asymmetric deadzone input nonlinearity
Authors: Zhang Bi , Mao Zhizhong
Published: February 2016

This article presents a novel adaptive control method for a class of uncertain discrete-time Hammerstein nonlinear systems with asymmetric deadzone input nonlinearity and bounded external disturbance. Based on the parameterization model of Hammerstein systems, the unknown parameters are updated by a robust recursive least squares algorithm with a deadzone weighted factor. Then, by introducing an estimate of the unmodeled dynamics as a feedback, the deadzone compensating control law is derived without an adaptive deadzone inverse. Theoretical results show that all the signals in the closed-loop system are bounded and the output tracking error is convergent with a relatively small residue. To show the usefulness of the developed results, simulation examples including an electro-hydraulic servo system and a DC motor subjected to a nonlinear friction are studied.
Fatigue, patient reported outcomes, and objective measurement of physical activity in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Mahieu M A , Ahn G E , Chmiel J S , Dunlop D D , Helenowski I B , Semanik P , Song J , Yount S , Chang R W , Ramsey-Goldman R
Published: February 2016

Objective

Fatigue is a common symptom in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and engaging in physical activity may reduce fatigue. We aimed to characterize relationships between fatigue, other health status measures assessed with the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) instruments, and accelerometer-based physical activity measurements in patients with SLE. The internal consistency of each PROMIS measure in our SLE sample was also evaluated.

Methods

This cross-sectional study analyzed 123 adults with SLE. The primary fatigue outcome was Fatigue Severity Scale score. Secondary outcomes were PROMIS standardized T-scores in seven health status domains. Accelerometers were worn for seven days, and mean daily minutes of light, moderate/vigorous, and bouted (10 minutes) moderate/vigorous physical activity were estimated. Cronbach’s alpha was determined for each PROMIS measure to assess internal consistency. Relationships between Fatigue Severity Scale, PROMIS, and physical activity were summarized with Spearman partial correlation coefficients ( r), adjusted for average daily accelerometer wear time.

Results

Mean Fatigue Severity Scale score (4.3, SD 1.6) was consistent with clinically relevant levels of fatigue. Greater daily and bouted moderate/vigorous physical activity minutes correlated with lower Mean Fatigue Severity Scale score ( r = −0.20, p = 0.03 and r = −0.30, p = 0.0007, respectively). For PROMIS, bouted moderate/vigorous physical activity minutes correlated with less fatigue ( r = −0.20, p = 0.03). PROMIS internal consistency was excellent, with Cronbach’s alpha > 0.90 for each domain. Mean PROMIS T-scores for fatigue, pain interference, anxiety, sleep disturbance, sleep-related impairment, and physical function were worse than reported for the general US population. More moderate/vigorous physical activity minutes were associated with less pain interference ( r = −0.22, p = 0.01). Both light physical activity and moderate/vigorous physical activity minutes correlated with better physical function ( r = 0.19, p = 0.04 and r = 0.25, p = 0.006, respectively).

Conclusion

More time spent in moderate/vigorous physical activity was associated with less fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale and PROMIS), less pain interference, and better physical function (PROMIS). PROMIS had excellent internal consistency in our SLE sample, and six of seven PROMIS measures indicated poorer average health status in SLE patients compared with the general US population.