bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guillain–Barre syndrome: a rare complication of leptospirosis and scrub typhus co-infection
Authors: Dev Nishant , Kumar Rahul , Kumar Dilip
Published: March 2019

Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a potentially life-threatening immune-mediated acute inflammatory polyneuropathy associated with several antecedent infections. We report a 20-year-old man with GBS associated with concurrent leptospirosis and scrub typhus infection. GBS was confirmed with clinical examination and nerve conduction studies. There have been case reports of GBS in association with Leptospira and Orienta tsusugamushi separately. However, this may be the first case report of GBS associated with concurrent diseases.
Brucellosis after dengue
Authors: Pannu Ashok Kumar , Pannu Sanju
Published: March 2019

Zoonoses such as Brucella, Mycobacterium bovis, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Listeria, etc. are spread by ingestion of contaminated unpasteurised milk products (from infected cattle) and result in infectious outbreaks, hospitalisations and mortality. In Southeast Asian countries, raw goat's milk is sometimes used for dengue infection-associated thrombocytopenia; however, evidence to support this sociocultural practice is lacking. A peak incidence of brucellosis cases may occur after a dengue season in communities where this practice is prevalent.
How worker health and safety representatives are captured and outdone by production on South African mines
Authors: Coulson Nancy , Christofides Nicola
Published: March 2019

In South Africa, post-apartheid, under the Mine Health and Safety Act No. 29 of 1996, workers elect health and safety representatives (HSRs). Descriptive case studies were conducted at four underground mine sites (gold, platinum and diamond) to explore the relationship between employer safety management and HSRs. A systems approach (socio-autopoiesis) is used as a metaphor for the circular/closed communication that ensured HSRs were dominated by employer interests and let down by the regulator. The stance of the employer to worker representation has not significantly changed since the managerial self-regulation prevalent in the demise of apartheid years. Given union membership is high, the capacity of HSRs to act without reference to management is uniquely compromised and presents as an anomaly in studies of worker representatives worldwide.
Are Black Women and Girls Associated With Danger? Implicit Racial Bias at the Intersection of Target Age and Gender
Authors: Thiem Kelsey C. , Neel Rebecca , Simpson Austin J. , Todd Andrew R.
Published: March 2019

We investigated whether stereotypes linking Black men and Black boys with violence and criminality generalize to Black women and Black girls. In Experiments 1 and 2, non-Black participants completed sequential-priming tasks wherein they saw faces varying in race, age, and gender before categorizing danger-related objects or words. Experiment 3 compared task performance across non-Black and Black participants. Results revealed that (a) implicit stereotyping of Blacks as more dangerous than Whites emerged across target age, target gender, and perceiver race, with (b) a similar magnitude of racial bias across adult and child targets and (c) a smaller magnitude for female than male targets. Evidence for age bias and gender bias also emerged whereby (d) across race, adult targets were more strongly associated with danger than were child targets, and (e) within Black (but not White) targets, male targets were more strongly associated with danger than were female targets.
Who Is Prejudiced, and Toward Whom? The Big Five Traits and Generalized Prejudice
Authors: Crawford Jarret T. , Brandt Mark J.
Published: March 2019

Meta-analyses show that low levels of Openness and Agreeableness correlate with generalized prejudice. However, previous studies narrowly assessed prejudice toward low-status, disadvantaged groups. Using a broad operationalization of generalized prejudice toward a heterogeneous array of targets, we sought to answer two questions: (a) Are some types of people prejudiced against most types of groups? and (b) Are some types of people prejudiced against certain types of groups? Across four samples ( N = 7,543), Openness was very weakly related to broad generalized prejudice, r = −.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) [−.07, −.001], whereas low Agreeableness was reliably associated with broad generalized prejudice, r = −.23, 95% CI [−.31, −.16]. When target characteristics moderated relationships between Big Five traits and prejudice, they implied that perceiver–target dissimilarity on personality traits explains prejudice. Importantly, the relationship between Agreeableness and prejudice remained robust across target groups, suggesting it is the personality trait orienting people toward (dis)liking of others.
Reliability for Tests With Items Having Different Numbers of Ordered Categories
Authors: Kim Seohyun , Lu Zhenqiu , Cohen Allan S.
Published: March 2019

This study describes a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to reliability for tests with items having different numbers of ordered categories. A simulation study is provided to compare the performance of this reliability coefficient, coefficient alpha and population reliability for tests having items with different numbers of ordered categories, a one-factor and a bifactor structures, and different skewness distributions of test scores. Results indicated that the proposed reliability coefficient was close to the population reliability in most conditions. An empirical example was used to illustrate the performance of the different coefficients for a test of items with two or three ordered categories.
Framework for Developing Multistage Testing With Intersectional Routing for Short-Length Tests
Authors: Han Kyung (Chris) T.
Published: March 2019

Multistage testing (MST) has many practical advantages over typical item-level computerized adaptive testing (CAT), but there is a substantial tradeoff when using MST because of its reduced level of adaptability. In typical MST, the first stage almost always performs as a routing stage in which all test takers see a linear test form. If multiple test sections measure different but moderately or highly correlated traits, then a score estimate for one section might be capable of adaptively selecting item modules for following sections without having to administer routing stages repeatedly for each section. In this article, a new framework for developing MST with intersectional routing (ISR) was proposed and evaluated under several research conditions with different MST structures, section score distributions and relationships, and types of regression models for ISR. The overall findings of the study suggested that MST with ISR approach could improve measurement efficiency and test optimality especially with tests with short lengths.
Silymarin and silymarin nanoparticles guard against chronic unpredictable mild stress induced depressive-like behavior in mice: involvement of neurogenesis and NLRP3 inflammasome
Authors: Ashraf Aya , Mahmoud Passant A , Reda Haidy , Mansour Salma , Helal Mehad H , Michel Haidy E , Nasr Maha
Published: March 2019

Background:

The neuropathology of depression is quite complex. Thus, treatment failures are frequent with current antidepressants, raising the need for more effective ones.

Aims:

This study aimed to investigate the influence of silymarin on depressive-like behavior induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and explore the underlying mechanisms.

Methods:

Silymarin was formulated as nanostructured lipid carriers (a lipid-based type of nanoparticle with the advantages of physical stability, good release profile, and targeted delivery). Mice were subjected to CUMS paradigm during 14 days. During this period, mice received silymarin (200 mg/kg, p.o.) per se or in its nanoparticle form or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, p.o.). On the 15th day behavioral and biochemical parameters were analyzed.

Results:

Oral administration of silymarin (200 mg/kg), particularly in its nanoparticulate form, exerted an antidepressant-like effect, comparable with fluoxetine in mice, as demonstrated in the behavioral despair tests. Silymarin also reversed prefrontal cortical and hippocampal CUMS-induced oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Furthermore, silymarin augmented neurotransmitter levels, enhanced neurogenesis and inhibited nod-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome activation. Silymarin nanoparticles were superior to silymarin in certain parameters probably due to significantly higher brain silybinin (the major active component of silymarin) concentration by 12.46 fold in the group administered silymarin nanoparticles compared with the mice which were administered silymarin per se.

Conclusions:

The antidepressant-like effect of silymarin can be attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects as well as increased neurogenesis in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, which delineates silymarin, especially in nanoparticle form, as a promising strategy for treatment of depression.
Investigating the Suitability of a Laboratory Mouse Model to Study the Pathogenesis of Abortifacient Campylobacter jejuni
Authors: Lashley Victoria D. , Yaeger Michael J. , Ji Ju , Sahin Orhan , Wu Zuowei
Published: March 2019

The aim of this study was to assess whether pregnant mice represent a useful model to study the reproductive pathology of Campylobacter jejuni IA3902 using the end point of positive microbial culture of the organism from the fetoplacental unit. Pregnant BALB/c and CD-1 mice (14 days’ gestation) were inoculated orally and intraperitoneally (IP) with 1 × 109 colony-forming units/ml of C. jejuni IA3902. The organism was recovered by microbial culture from the fetoplacental unit in 10 of 10 BALB/c and 10 of 10 CD-1 IP-inoculated pregnant mice and in 29% (2/7) BALB/c and 38% (3/8) CD-1 orally inoculated pregnant mice. Gross reproductive lesions included necrosuppurative placentitis, fetal resorption, intrauterine fetal death, stillborn pups (dead neonates), and multifocal hepatitis. Histological changes consisted of locally extensive neutrophilic and necrotizing placentitis with intralesional bacterial colonies of C. jejuni, ulcerative endometritis, random multifocal hepatitis, and rare cholecystitis. Immunohistochemistry for the major outer membrane protein of C. jejuni revealed moderate to large numbers of the organism at the periphery of the placental discs, within trophoblasts and extracellularly, with invasion into the placental disc largely via the vascular network. The organism is trophic for neutral mucin, iron, and L-fucose within the murine placenta. C. jejuni IA3902 has affinity for the murine reproductive tract, specifically the fetoplacental unit, where it results in a necrotizing placentitis with positive microbial recovery after both IP and oral challenge in BALB/c and CD-1 pregnant mice.
Chronic Renal Changes After a Single Ischemic Event in an Experimental Model of Feline Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Brown Cathy A. , Rissi Daniel R. , Dickerson Vanna M. , Davis Anastacia M. , Brown Scott A. , Schmiedt Chad W.
Published: March 2019

Previous work demonstrated renal fibrosis 70 days after a single unilateral in vivo renal ischemic event, but changes associated with a single episode of renal ischemia past this time are unknown. In this study, we evaluated renal function and structural changes 6 months after a 90-minute in vivo unilateral renal ischemic event. Six adult female cats underwent unilateral renal ischemia and renal function was followed for 6 months, at which time the kidneys were evaluated by histology and histomorphometry. Over time, there was a significant reduction in the glomerular filtration rate and an elevation of serum creatinine of 31% and 42%, respectively. All cats had tubulointerstitial lesions characterized by segmental interstitial inflammation, tubular atrophy, and interstitial fibrosis. Unlike short-term studies, ischemic kidneys had variable numbers of obsolescent glomeruli, consistent with the development of atubular glomeruli and subsequent ischemic glomerulosclerosis. Chronic changes associated with acute renal ischemia may include loss of function and glomerulosclerosis.
Falling for a Fake: The Role of Kinematic and Non-kinematic Information in Deception Detection
Authors: Park So Hyun , Ryu Donghyun , Uiga Liis , Masters Rich , Abernethy Bruce , Mann David L.
Published: March 2019

Kinematic and non-kinematic visual information have been examined in the context of movement anticipation by athletes, although less so in deception detection. This study examined the role of kinematic and non-kinematic visual information in the anticipation of deceptive and non-deceptive badminton shots. Skilled ( n = 12) and less skilled ( n = 12) badminton players anticipated the direction of deceptive and non-deceptive shots presented via video footage displayed in normal (kinematic and non-kinematic information), low (kinematic information emphasized), and high (non-kinematic information emphasized) spatial frequency conditions. Each shot was occluded one frame before shuttle-racquet contact or at contact. In deceptive trials, skilled players showed decreased anticipation accuracy in the high spatial frequency condition ( p = .050) compared to normal and low spatial frequency conditions, which did not differ. The study suggests that an emphasis on kinematic information results in accurate anticipation in response to deceptive movements and that an emphasis on non-kinematic information results in less accurate anticipation by experts.
Effect of different helmet shell configurations on the protection against head trauma
Authors: Palomar Marta , Belda Ricardo , Giner Eugenio
Published: March 2019

Head trauma following a ballistic impact in a helmeted head is assessed in this work by means of finite element models. Both the helmet and the head models employed were validated against experimental high-rate impact tests in a previous work. Four different composite ply configurations were tested on the helmet shell, and the energy absorption and the injury outcome resulting from a high-speed impact with full metal jacket bullets were computed. Results reveal that hybrid aramid–polyethylene configurations do not prevent bullet penetration at high velocities, while 16-layer aramid configurations are superior in dissipating the energy absorbed from the impact. The fabric orientation of these laminates proved to be determinant for the injury outcome, as maintaining the same orientations for all the layers led to basilar skull fractures (dangerous), while alternating orientation of the adjacent plies resulted in an undamaged skull. To the authors knowledge, no previous work in the literature has analysed numerically the influence of different stack configurations on a single combat helmet composite shell on human head trauma.
Reduction in the torque ripple of a vertical axis wind turbine through foil pitching optimization
Authors: Erfort Gareth , von Backström Theodor W. , Venter Gerhard
Published: March 2019

Vertical axis wind turbines have a place in the small scale renewable energy market. They are not currently implemented on a commercial scale but have found a niche space in urban areas. Here, the turbulent wind conditions and limited space are more easily tapped into with a vertical axis wind turbine. However, the challenges facing these types of turbines have hampered deployment. One of these issues is the fluctuating torque experienced during operation, which can lead to over-designed power trains. Genetic- and gradient-based optimization is applied to an analytical model of a vertical axis wind turbine, in order to reduce the torque fluctuation while attempting to maintain a high power coefficient. The reduction in torque ripple is achieved through a sinusoidal pitching motion of the blades. The torque ripple can be reduced by 10% with a similar reduction in power coefficient.
Epicrania Fugax as the presenting symptom of a cerebellar abscess
Authors: García-Azorín David , Dotor García-Soto Julio , Martínez-Pías Enrique , Guerrero-Peral Angel L
Published: March 2019

Background

Epicrania fugax is included in the appendix of the International Classification of Headache Disorders and is characterized as recurrent brief attacks of linear or zigzag pain moving across the cranial surface, commencing and terminating in the distribution of different nerves. We present a new case of epicrania fugax in which the headache was the presenting symptom of a cerebellar abscess.

Case report

We present a 58-year-old woman with prior history of Chiari I malformation who underwent suboccipital craniectomy. Two weeks after surgery, she experienced paroxysmal pain episodes of 1–3 seconds, with constant linear trajectory from the right occipital surface to the right orbital region, remaining pain free between episodes. Cranial tomography showed a hypodense intraaxial lesion in the right cerebellar hemisphere. Magnetic Resonance Imaging exhibited intralesional bleeding and peripheral enhancement after gadolinium administration. Post-surgical cerebellar abscess was diagnosed and antibiotic therapy was started; the patient underwent urgent surgical drainage. Pain disappeared after the surgery and the patient remains pain free with 12 months of follow-up.

Conclusion

Posterior fossa abnormalities have been described as a possible cause of secondary epicrania fugax. The presence of red flags should encourage conducting of paraclinical tests to rule out a symptomatic form.
Bicycle Safety Analysis at Intersections from Crowdsourced Data
Authors: Saad Moatz , Abdel-Aty Mohamed , Lee Jaeyoung , Cai Qing
Published: March 2019

Cycling is encouraged in countries around the world as an economic, energy efficient, and sustainable mode of transportation. Although there are many studies focusing on analyzing bicycle safety, they have limitations because of the shortage of bicycle exposure data. This study represents a major step forward in estimating safety performance functions for bicycle crashes at intersections by using crowdsourced data from STRAVA. Several adjustments in respect of the population distribution and field observations were made to overcome the disproportionate representation of the STRAVA data. The adjusted STRAVA data which include bicycle exposure information were used as input to develop safety performance functions. The functions are negative binomial models aimed at predicting frequencies of bicycle crashes at intersections. The developed model was compared with three counterparts: the model using the unadjusted STRAVA data, the model using the STRAVA data with field observation data adjustments only, and the model using the STRAVA data with adjusted population. The results revealed that the case of STRAVA data with both population and field observation data adjustments had the best performance in bicycle crash modeling. The results also addressed several key factors (e.g., signal control system, intersection size, bike lanes) which are associated with bicycle safety at intersections. Additionally, the safety-in-numbers effect was acknowledged when bicycle crash rates decreased as bicycle activities increased. The study concluded that crowdsourced data are a reliable source for exploring bicycle safety after the appropriate adjustments.
Evaluating the Environmental Benefits of Median Bus Lanes: Microscopic Simulation Approach
Authors: Kim Daejin , Ko Joonho , Xu Xiaodan , Liu Haobing , Rodgers Michael O. , Guensler Randall
Published: March 2019

Median bus lanes are an important element of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, and can improve traffic operations by separating bus traffic from the traffic in general-purpose lanes. Thus, the operation of BRT systems with dedicated bus lanes is expected to reduce energy consumption and produce positive environmental impacts to a substantial degree. This study attempts to quantify the impacts for a corridor in Seoul, South Korea where frequent bus services are provided, using an integrated simulation tool composed of a microscopic traffic model and a vehicle emissions simulator. This approach has rarely been applied for evaluating the environmental benefits of BRT systems. Given a high volume of bus traffic, the simulation results reveal that corridor energy consumption can be reduced by 18.5% and emissions can be reduced by 19.3–31.4%, depending on the pollutant (CO, CO2, PM10, PM2.5, NOx). Vehicles in general-purpose lanes contribute 99.0% of the emissions reductions, with the remaining 1.0% contributed by transit buses. Considering that vehicles in general-purpose lanes represent 94% of corridor traffic, and provide 99.0% of the emission reduction contribution, the simulations suggest that median bus lanes benefit not only the bus operations, but also significantly improve the traffic flow in the general-purpose lanes, contributing to the overall corridor emissions reductions.
Analysis of Crash Rates at Freeway Diverge Areas using Bayesian Tobit Modeling Framework
Authors: Guo Yanyong , Li Zhibin , Sayed Tarek
Published: March 2019

The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of various risk factors on crash rates at freeway diverge areas. Crash rates data for a three-year period from 367 freeway diverge areas were used for analysis. Four candidate Tobit models were developed and compared under the Bayesian framework: a traditional Tobit model; a random parameters Tobit (RP-Tobit) model; a grouped random parameters Tobit (GRP-Tobit) model; and a random intercept Tobit (RI-Tobit). The results showed that the RP-Tobit model performs best with highest value of Rd2 as well as lowest Mean Absolute Deviance (MAD) and Deviance Information Criteria (DIC), indicating the importance of accounting for unobserved heterogeneity to improve the model fit. Both the GRP-Tobit and the RI-Tobit models provide better performance than the traditional Tobit model. The model results showed that crash rates at freeway diverge areas were positively associated with mainline annual average daily traffic (AADT) and negatively associated with ramp AADT, indicating the different mechanisms of the impact of traffic volume on crash rates at freeway diverge areas. Lane-balanced design and high speed limits at freeway diverge areas have a negative effect on crash rates. The number of lanes on mainline and ramp length have significant heterogeneous effects on crash rates across observations. The RP-Tobit model provides a more comprehensive understanding of the heterogeneous effects of risk factors on crash rates across observations.
Performance and Return to Sport After Latissimus Dorsi and Teres Major Tears Among Professional Baseball Pitchers
Authors: Erickson Brandon J. , Chalmers Peter N. , D’Angelo John , Ma Kevin , Romeo Anthony A.
Published: March 2019

Background:

Latissimus dorsi and teres major (LD/TM) tears are becoming an increasingly common cause of injury and disability among professional baseball pitchers.

Purpose/Hypothesis:

To determine performance and return to sport (RTS) among professional baseball pitchers after LD/TM tears treated operatively and nonoperatively and to compare the RTS rate and performance between pitchers who sustained an LD/TM tear and matched controls. The authors hypothesized a high RTS rate among professional baseball pitchers after LD/TM tears, with no significant difference in RTS rate or performance between cases and controls for operative and nonoperative treatment—specifically, in the primary performance outcome variables of WHIP ([walks + hits] / innings pitched), fielding independent pitching, and wins above replacement.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

All professional baseball pitchers who sustained an LD/TM tear between 2011 and 2016 were identified with the Health and Injury Tracking System database of Major League Baseball. Demographic and performance data (before and after injury) were recorded for each player. Performance metrics were then compared between cases and matched controls by operative and nonoperative treatment.

Results:

Overall, 120 pitchers had a documented LD/TM tear; 42 (35%) were major league players. Most players (n = 107, 89.2%) were treated nonoperatively. Time to return to the same level of competition was 170 ± 169 days (mean ± SD) for pitchers treated nonoperatively and 406 ± 146 days for those treated operatively. The RTS rate among players treated nonoperatively and operatively was identical at 75%. Players treated nonoperatively had no change in fielding independent pitching or wins above replacement after injury but had a higher (ie, worse) WHIP after injury ( P = .039); they also performed significantly worse in several secondary performance metrics, including number of games played per year ( P < .001). Players treated operatively had no change in any measured performance metrics after surgery. No difference existed between cases and controls in the primary performance variables.

Conclusion:

The majority of LD/TM tears are treated nonoperatively. The RTS rate is 75% for professional baseball pitchers after LD/TM tears treated operatively or nonoperatively. Players treated nonoperatively saw a decline in several performance metrics, while players treated operatively had no significant difference in performance after surgery.
“Cheap Energy” in Raj Patel and Jason W Moore’s A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things
Authors: Anders Benjamin
Published: March 2019

This debates essay offers a summary and critique of the chapter “Cheap Energy” in A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things by Jason W Moore and Raj Patel. In the text of my comment, I suggest that this work—while intellectually generative—pays insufficient attention to broader analytical and theoretical debates within Global Political Economy and the study of science and technology that its analysis addresses. Additionally, the authors do not address the failure of the only major attempt to jettison the price mechanism as a system for allocating resources under conditions of industrialization—the Marxist-Leninist command economies—to generate anything approaching a sustainable society.
“Back Home You Just Go Talk to the Family”: The Role of Family Among Women Who Seek Help for Intimate Partner Violence Pre- and Postresettlement to the United States
Authors: Wachter Karin , Cook Heffron Laurie , Dalpe Jessica
Published: March 2019

Gaps in knowledge remain regarding how and from whom women resettling to the United States as refugees seek help for intimate partner violence (IPV), and what happens when they do. This study examined ways in which women seek help for IPV across varied contexts and at different times both pre- and postresettlement. Researchers used a purposive sampling approach to recruit women who resettled to the United States as refugees ( n = 35). An inductive approach to thematic analysis led to an examination of the role of family in seeking help for IPV and seeking help in the absence of family. The findings speak to the importance of applying a social support lens to theory, practice, and research concerned with women’s help-seeking for IPV in the resettlement context.
My Colleagues Are My Friends: The Role of Facebook Contacts in Employee Identification
Authors: Bartels Jos , van Vuuren Mark , Ouwerkerk Jaap W.
Published: March 2019

This study examined the extent to which having colleagues as friends on Facebook influences departmental and organizational identification by blurring the boundaries between work and private life. Based on social identity theory and proxy efficacy, we argue that work-related friends on Facebook may affect employee identification with different levels of the organization. The results of an online panel study among Dutch employees (N = 1,002) show that the perceived quality of online relationships with work-related Facebook contacts increases departmental identification, whereas the perceived authority of such contacts strengthens identification with the organization. Therefore, we suggest that blurring boundaries between work and private life through social media can have positive effects on organizational functioning.
Combating Burnout by Increasing Job Relational Characteristics
Authors: Gonçalves Catarina , Chambel Maria José , Carvalho Vânia Sofia
Published: March 2019

The current study developed and tested the indirect effect of the relational job characteristics (i.e., perceived prosocial impact and perceived social value) on the burnout syndrome through the autonomous motivation. The cross-sectional survey data analysis of 1,538 Portuguese contact center workers was analyzed using the software package Mplus to conduct structural equation models. Autonomous motivation partially explains the negative relation between the relational job characteristics and burnout. However, the direct relationship between perceived prosocial impact and burnout was not significant. To promote awareness about the perceived value and impact of work and to invest in the interactions between workers and customers are the major practical implications of this study.
Riding the Regulatory Wave: Reflections on Recent Explorations of the Statutory and Nonstatutory Nonprofit Regulatory Cycles in 16 Jurisdictions
Authors: Breen Oonagh B. , Dunn Alison , Sidel Mark
Published: March 2019

This article explores both state-based regulation and self-regulation, shared narratives, and lessons to better understand the interaction of these two forms of regulation in the nonprofit space. “The Context” section outlines six preliminary research questions that inform the work. “The Framework” section then outlines the regulatory framework, focusing on various regulatory motivations, before “The Findings” section turns to country findings. In unpacking some of the major findings, we look first at state perspectives on the role of regulation before considering the sector’s perspective. Taking both on board enables us to configure the relationship spectrum between state and sector when it comes to regulation and to begin to identify, based on the 16 case studies undertaken, the most common triggers for regulatory change identified therein and to reframe them through the development of a series of five regulatory propositions and seven environmental variables to help understand how different forms of regulation are triggered and interact.
Production cost model of the multi-jet-fusion technology
Authors: Šoškić Zlatan , Monti Gian Luca , Montanari Simona , Monti Michele , Cardu Marco
Published: March 2019

The paper presents a model of the production costs of the multi-jet-fusion technology that is based on a model of production costs of the selective laser sintering technology. The model is developed using the methodology of analysis of the event-driven process chain, which consists of modeling, batch assembly, setup, building, removal, and blasting activities. Production costs of each of the activities are separated to direct (labor, material, and energy) costs and indirect (equipment, overheads, and other indirect) costs. The developed model represents a basis for the development of algorithms and software tools for the calculation of the production costs of the multi-jet-fusion technology, since it defines all the necessary inputs and calculation procedures that enable the calculation of the total costs of a batch of products. Besides, the paper presents a procedure for the estimation of production costs that are attributed to a single product or product type.
Proposed percutaneous aortic valve prosthesis made of cryogel
Authors: Mohammadi Hadi , Goode Dylan , Fradet Guy , Mequanint Kibret
Published: March 2019

Transcatheter heart valves are promising for high-risk patients. Generally, their leaflets are made of pericardium stented in a Nitinol basket. Despite their relative success, they are associated with significant complications such as valve migration, implantation risks, stroke, coronary obstruction, myocardial infraction, acute kidney injury (which all are due to the release of detached solid calcific pieces in to the blood stream) and expected issues existing with tissue valves such as leaflet calcification. This study is an attempt to fabricate the first ever polymeric percutaneous valves made of cryogel following the geometry and mechanical properties of porcine aortic valve to address some of the above-mentioned shortcomings. A novel, one-piece, tricuspid percutaneous valve, consisting of leaflets made entirely from the hydrogel, polyvinyl alcohol cryogel reinforced by bacterial cellulose natural nanocomposite, attached to a Nitinol basket was developed and demonstrated. Following the natural geometry of the valve, a novel approach was applied based on the revolution about an axis of a hyperboloid shape. The geometry was modified based on avoiding sharp warpage of leaflets and removal of the central opening orifice area of the valve when valve is fully closed using the finite element analysis. The modified geometry was replaced by a cloud of (control) points and was essentially converted to Bezier surfaces for further adjustment. A cavity mold was then designed and fabricated to form the valve. The fabricated valve was sewn into the Nitinol basket which is covered by Dacron cloth. The models presented in this study merit further development and revisions for both aortic and mitral positions.
Measuring real-time blood viscosity with a ventricular assist device
Authors: Hijikata Wataru , Maruyama Takuro , Suzumori Yuki , Shinshi Tadahiko
Published: March 2019

Ventricular assist devices assist in blood circulation and form a crucial component of artificial hearts. While it is important to measure parameters such as the flow rate, pressure head and viscosity of the blood, implanting additional devices to do such measurements is inadvisable. To this end, we demonstrate the adaptation of a ventricular assist device for the purpose of measuring blood viscosity. Such an approach eliminates the need for additional dedicated viscometers in artificial hearts. In the proposed method, the blood viscosity is measured by applying radial vibrational excitation to the impeller in a ventricular assist device using its magnetic levitation system. During the measurement, blood is exposed to a combination of a low shear rate (≈100/s) generated by the radial vibration of the impeller and a high shear rate (>10,000/s) generated by the impeller’s rotation. The apparent viscosity of blood depends on the shear rate, so we determined which shear rate was the dominant one in the proposed method. The measurement results showed that the viscosity measured by the proposed method was in good agreement with the reference viscosity measured with a high shear rate. The mean absolute deviation in the measurements using the proposed method and those obtained using a concentric cylindrical viscometer at a high shear rate was 0.12 mPa s for four samples of porcine blood, with viscosities ranging from 2.32 to 2.75 mPa s.
Memories Fade: The Relationship Between Memory Vividness and Remembered Visual Salience
Authors: Cooper Rose A. , Kensinger Elizabeth A. , Ritchey Maureen
Published: March 2019

Past events, particularly emotional experiences, are often vividly recollected. However, it remains unclear how qualitative information, such as low-level visual salience, is reconstructed and how the precision and bias of this information relate to subjective memory vividness. Here, we tested whether remembered visual salience contributes to vivid recollection. In three experiments, participants studied emotionally negative and neutral images that varied in luminance and color saturation, and they reconstructed the visual salience of each image in a subsequent test. Results revealed, unexpectedly, that memories were recollected as less visually salient than they were encoded, demonstrating a novel memory-fading effect, whereas negative emotion increased subjective memory vividness and the precision with which visual features were encoded. Finally, memory vividness tracked both the precision and remembered salience (bias) of visual information. These findings provide evidence that low-level visual information fades in memory and contributes to the experience of vivid recollection.
Acupuncture for symptoms management in Korean breast cancer survivors: a prospective pilot study
Authors: Kim Tae-Hun , Kang Jung Won
Published: March 2019

Background:

There is an unmet need for effective treatment of the various treatment-related symptoms experienced by breast cancer survivors. These symptoms could be alleviated by acupuncture. Although several lines of evidence in Western countries suggest that acupuncture has a beneficial effect on symptoms in breast cancer survivors, few relevant studies have been conducted in Korean patients. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of acupuncture for a variety of treatment-related symptoms in Korean breast cancer survivors.

Method:

From October 2015 to March 2016, we recruited patients who had undergone treatment for breast cancer and subsequently reported symptoms, including aromatase inhibitor-related knee pain, vasomotor symptoms, insomnia, sexual dysfunction and post-mastectomy pain in the chest wall or shoulder. The women received 4 weeks of symptom-specific acupuncture followed by a further 4 weeks of follow-up to evaluate the feasibility of acupuncture for this indication, and its impact on common and symptom-specific outcome variables.

Results:

Eight study participants were recruited over a period of 6 months, six of whom completed the planned acupuncture treatment and follow-up assessments. A total of 78 acupuncture sessions were performed. We found that acupuncture was feasible, with only six minor self-limiting acupuncture-related adverse events. Most of the women felt that they had benefitted from participation in the study. The preliminary analysis indicated improvement in common symptom-specific outcomes.

Conclusion:

Our findings suggest that acupuncture is feasible, but low recruitment rates should be considered when considering future acupuncture research in Korean breast cancer survivors. Rigorous evaluation of this symptomatic treatment strategy is now needed in the Korean population.
Asylum-seekers and refugees within Europe and labour market integration
Authors: Schenner Johanna K , Neergaard Anders
Published: March 2019

This special issue seeks to investigate and understand the various experiences of asylum-seekers, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and refugees in accessing labour markets across the EU and EEA countries. The first section of this introduction provides an overview of the three groups of people who are the focus of this special issue and their relationship to the labour markets in the EU Member States and EEA countries. The second section provides insights into how the essential features of their labour market integration may be understood by using Levitas’ discourse analysis. The third section explores a range of different labour market access dimensions by focusing not only on the human capital aspects of migration in general but also on the contextual factors of civic stratification; the broader societal context, including public opinion and civil society; the background and situation of earlier migrants, especially asylum-seekers and refugees with respect to national/federal laws; and the countries of origin of migrants as well as demographic trends across the EU. The fourth and final section explains and justifies the focus of this special issue and emphasises the relevance of this topic.
“Too much too soon, let me out of here!” Psychiatric and obstetric implications of a child’s pregnancy
Authors: Ghosh Sunanda , Bruxner George , Kothari Alka
Published: March 2019

Objective:

Psychiatrists may become involved in circumstances where a child is seeking termination of pregnancy. Potential roles include capacity advice and advocacy, but ethical and legal uncertainties abound. This paper uses illustrative cases, in an Australian jurisdiction, to exemplify the issues.

Conclusion:

Termination of pregnancy at the youthful extreme raises unique challenges for all involved.
Study of crosslink structure and dynamic mechanical properties of magnetorheological elastomer: Effect of vulcanization system
Authors: Shi Guanxin , Wang Wenju , Lu Huanglei , Wang Guoping , Yang Fufeng , Rui Xiaoting
Published: March 2019

Magnetorheological elastomers are a kind of intelligent and smart materials which are mainly composed of rubbery polymers and soft magnetic particles. The role of various vulcanization systems on the crosslink structures, curing properties, and dynamic mechanical properties of natural rubber–based magnetorheological elastomer was investigated. Conventional, semi-efficient, and efficient vulcanization systems were used and compared. It was found that the content of polysulfide linkages decreased and the monosulfide linkages increased when the vulcanization system was changed from conventional to semi-efficient and efficient vulcanization systems, respectively. The crosslink density has the same tendency with the content of polysulfide linkages. In all vulcanization systems, the zero-field modulus, magnetic-induced modulus, controllability of damping, and the degree of the influence of Payne effect of the samples had an increasing trend when the crosslink density decreased. Evidence from micrographs of scanning electron microscope showed that this was because the particle chains in the low crosslink density composites were longer and more aligned. As the proportion of monosulfide linkages increased, the value of the loss factor increased and the modulus of the composites was more affected by the increasing frequency.
Pattern recognition framework using asynchronous discrete binary data for condition and damage assessment in plate-like structures
Authors: Salehi Hadi , Burgueño Rigoberto
Published: March 2019

Recent advances in energy harvesting technologies have led to the evolution of self-powered structural health monitoring techniques that are energy-efficient. Concurrent to the emergence of self-powered sensing has been the development of power-efficient data communication protocols. One such technology is an energy-aware pulse communication architecture that employs ultrasonic pulses through the material substrate for information forwarding. This results in limited discrete binary data that raises the need for new data analysis methods for structural health monitoring purposes. A pattern recognition framework that allows interpretation of the resulting asynchronous discrete binary data for condition and damage assessment in plate-like structures is presented in this article. The proposed pattern recognition framework is based on integration of image-based pattern recognition using anomaly detection, a pattern anomaly measure, a focal density concept, and the k-nearest neighbor algorithm. Using numerical simulations, damage indication parameters were determined from the strain response of dynamically loaded plates. Simulated test cases considering different levels of damage severity, single and multiple damage regions, loading conditions, and measurement noise were studied to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the strategy. Furthermore, the effect of sensor density on the proposed strategy was explored. Results demonstrate satisfactory performance and robustness of the proposed pattern recognition framework for localized damage detection in plate-like structures using limited and low-resolution discrete binary data.
Reimagining Service-Learning: Deepening the Impact of This High-Impact Practice
Authors: Anderson Karen L. , Boyd Margaret , Ariemma Marin Katherine , McNamara Kathleen
Published: March 2019

Background: Service-learning has historically been seen as a high-impact practice that empowers undergraduates to develop essential learning outcomes. Most service-learning discussed within the literature occurs as a required element of a credit-bearing academic course. Purpose: This study explored what happens when service-learning is reimagined to be disconnected from a specific course and credit hours, and available via application to all undergraduates regardless of the liberal arts/science major or year in the college. Methodology/Approach: HyperRESEARCH was used to identify themes and categories from 45 sets of weekly reflections submitted by 36 participants engaged in reimagined service-learning projects across five semesters. Findings/Conclusions: Key findings reveal that not only do undergraduates develop essential learning outcomes as delineated in the existing literature, but in many cases, their understandings, and abilities to execute these skills, are deepened when service-learning is reimagined. Findings also reveal that undergraduates may experience service-learning differently depending upon year in college. Implications: Results from this study suggest that practitioners should investigate ways to reimagine service-learning, with specific emphasis placed on the differential ways college students at various stages in their undergraduate career experience, and learn from, service-learning.
Payers’ Perspectives on Pharmacist-Directed Care in a Community Pharmacy Setting
Authors: Merrill Bradley S. , Tak Casey R. , Feehan Michael , Munger Mark A.
Published: March 2019

Background: The United States is spending an increasing share of its national income on health care while American citizens are not receiving the commensurate benefit of longer, healthier lives. Pharmacists are in a position to provide high-quality care; however, a paucity of data exists on payers’ perspectives on insurance reimbursement for pharmacist-provided, community-delivered clinical services. Objective: To understand payers’ perspectives toward pharmacist-provided community-delivered advanced clinical services. Methods: A 15-minute online survey was administered to determine payers’ preferences and attitudes of impact about care being provided in a community pharmacy setting by a pharmacist. Results: The study recruited 50 payers from a diverse set of US organizations. The likelihood for reimbursement for a suite of pharmacist-provided, community-delivered clinical services was likely/very likely (66%), neutral (22%), and unlikely/very unlikely (12%). Pharmacists were viewed positively by payers for the provision of these services. Payers think that more clinical services should be offered in the community pharmacy. Trust in pharmacist-provided information services on general health and medications, and pharmacist competency were strongly positive. Conclusions and Relevance: A quantitative assessment of payer attitudes for pharmacist-provided, community-delivered advanced clinical practice was positive. Payers were positive about pharmacist contributions to the provision of heath and medication information. Continued development and deployment of advanced clinical services at the community pharmacy appears to be a financially viable model.
Quantitative and qualitative control of antineoplastic preparations: Gravimetry versus HPLC
Authors: Sendra-García Ana , Martínez-Gómez M Amparo , Albert-Marí Asunción , Jiménez-Torres N Victor , Climente-Martí Mónica
Published: March 2019

This article compares gravimetry vs. high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as quality control (QC) methods for paclitaxel, docetaxel and oxaliplatin preparations. We aimed at assessing the preparation method reliability in our hospital, evaluating compounding accuracy and estimating the influence of personnel training and standardized homogenization on compounding accuracy. Agreement, correlation, concordance, accuracy and precision between methods were evaluated for each drug. Conforming preparation percentages (CPs) at different tolerance limits (TLs) and compounding accuracy were calculated for each method and drug. Compounding accuracy was compared before and after personnel training and standardized homogenization implantation. SPSS v 20.0 and Ene v 2.0 were used. A total of 222 samples (58 docetaxel, 95 paclitaxel and 69 oxaliplatin) were analyzed. Gravimetry and HPLC are comparable methods. Overall CP was 81% for gravimetry at 10% TL and 85% for HPLC at 15% TL. Compounding accuracy is shown to be good for all methods and drugs. Homogenization optimization and personnel training make measurements more accurate for docetaxel and paclitaxel HPLC, but seem to worsen accuracy for docetaxel gravimetry. Gravimetry has shown to be a good alternative to HPLC for routine QC. Coupling with electronic methods should be considered in the future.