bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Micromorphic prism element
Authors: Ansari R , Bazdid-Vahdati M , Shakouri AH , Norouzzadeh A , Rouhi H
Published: March 2016

Within the framework of micromorphic elasticity theory, a finite element approach capable of capturing the microstructure effect is developed to describe the bending behavior of microplates. To this end, the micromorphic theory is generally formulated first. The matrix representation of this formulation is then given from which a prism micromorphic element, including the effects of micro-deformation degrees of freedom of material particles, is proposed. The element is applied to the bending problem of micromorphic rectangular and circular plates subject to different boundary conditions. Selected numerical results are presented to show the microstructure influence on the bending of plates with various geometrical parameters. It is revealed that the element is capable of predicting the mechanical behavior of micromorphic continua in an efficient way.
Development and optimisation of an in-service teacher training programme on motivational assessment in physical education
Authors: Slingerland Menno , Borghouts Lars , Jans Liesbeth , Weeldenburg Gwen , van Dokkum Gertjan , Vos Steven , Haerens Leen
Published: March 2016

Although assessment practices are commonly part of the physical education (PE) curriculum they may often frustrate rather than support students’ basic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Nevertheless, assessment also provides various promising opportunities to support these basic needs and enhance learning in students. In order to address this issue, we developed an in-service teacher training programme that was grounded within contemporary theories on assessment and motivation, and aimed at improving PE teachers’ expertise on motivational assessment practices. In close collaboration with PE teachers and other experts in the field an in-service teacher training programme was developed that covered important topics such as quality assessment, motivation and assessment for learning. Specific attention was directed to the translation of theoretical concepts into practical and applicable tools. The in-service training programme was then provided on-site three times to a total of 33 PE teachers (of whom 20 were male (60%) and 12 were female (40%), teaching experience 3–32 years) representing different PE departments. Through an iterative cycle of development, provision, evaluation and adjustment the programme was gradually optimised. Focus group sessions and questionnaires were employed to evaluate various aspects, and identify barriers and success factors. The in-service teacher training programme is a successful first step in improving the expertise of PE teachers to start and develop higher quality and more motivating assessment practices. Nevertheless, in order to generate durable change within daily PE practice, follow-up training sessions or counselling methods (e.g. through communities of practice) are essential to overcome implementation barriers. Development, adjustment and future directions for assessment are discussed.
International students’ critical thinking–related problem areas: UK university teachers’ perspectives
Authors: Shaheen Nisbah
Published: March 2016

This qualitative study aims to understand the areas of international students’ critical thinking–related initial difficulties, in order to facilitate their academic experiences in UK universities. Using a sample of 14 British teachers, the findings reveal that students from culturally and linguistically diverse traditions are very different in approaching critical thinking tasks, which seems to affect their academic performance adversely. It is recommended that explicit efforts should be made to raise awareness of the need to enable overseas students to acclimatise to the new academic environment.
Why offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme? A comparison between schools in Asia-Pacific and other regions
Authors: Wright Ewan , Lee Moosung , Tang Hayes , Chak Pong Tsui Gordon
Published: March 2016

The International Baccalaureate (IB) has become a powerful educational brand by developing a reputation for combining progressive approaches with academic rigour. This can be identified by the growing number of schools adopting IB programmes globally and especially in the IB Asia-Pacific region. As part of this trend, the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), aimed at students between 11 and 16 years old, has expanded significantly in recent years. However, in Asia-Pacific, the MYP remains less popular relative to the IB’s Primary Years Programme and pre-university Diploma Programme (DP). This article compares the motivations of IB MYP and DP Coordinators for choosing the MYP in Asia-Pacific with their counterparts in other parts of the world. To achieve this, 175 IB Coordinators across 54 countries were surveyed. Findings revealed that IB pedagogy, holistic approach, philosophy and global citizenship were the most popular reasons to offer the MYP. Yet, IB Coordinators in Asia-Pacific put relatively greater weight on marketing, the MYP Certificate and external validation of school-based assessments. This article argues that this emphasis may stem from a high concentration of schools operating in the private international schooling sector and discusses the potential for the MYP to continue to expand across the Asia-Pacific region.
Domestic abuse, crime surveys and the fallacy of risk: Exploring partner and domestic abuse using the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey
Authors: MacQueen Sarah
Published: March 2016

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) consistently suggests similar prevalence of domestic abuse among men and women, a finding used variously to indicate men and women’s equal risk of abuse and to dismiss the survey as a means to explore such experiences. However, assertions of equal risk are based on limited analyses of data reduced to ‘key’ figures for public dissemination, and subsequent criticisms fail to meaningfully engage with the broader data offered by the survey. Theoretically informed multivariate analyses demonstrate that risk of abuse is inadequately captured by such figures, supporting that women and men are not at equal risk, and that gender is but one of a number of influential risk factors. This article proposes the SCJS data could be put to greater use, offering rich information for developing theory and responses to violence, and that critical engagement with the survey is necessary to facilitate methodological improvement.
Texting Adolescents in Repeat DKA and Their Caregivers
Authors: Wagner David V. , Barry Samantha , Teplitsky Lena , Sheffield Annan , Stoeckel Maggie , Ogden Jimmie D. , Karkula Elizabeth , Hartman Alexandra , Duke Danny C. , Spiro Kim , Harris Michael A.
Published: March 2016

Background:

Text message interventions are feasible, preferable, and sometimes effective for youth with diabetes. However, few, if any studies, have examined the personalized use of text messages with youth repeatedly hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and their caregivers. This study characterizes the use of personalized text messages in Novel Interventions in Children’s Healthcare (NICH).

Methods:

Approximately 2 months of text messages sent to youth with repeat DKA and their caregivers were logged regarding the following text characteristics: (1) content, (2) intervention type, (3) timing, and (4) recipient characteristics.

Results:

NICH interventionists sent 2.3 and 1.5 texts per day to patients and caregivers, respectively. Approximately 59% of outgoing texts occurred outside of typical business hours, and roughly 68% of texts contained some form of support and/or encouragement. The relation between type of intended intervention and day/time of text was significant, χ2(2, N = 5,808) = 266.93, P < .001. Interventionists were more likely to send behavioral intervention text messages outside of business hours, whereas they were more likely to send care coordination and case management text messages during business hours.

Conclusions:

To our knowledge, this is the first study to specifically categorize and describe the personalized use of text messages with youth repeatedly hospitalized for DKA and their caregivers. Findings indicate that a promising treatment program for these youth frequently used text interventions to deliver praise and encouragement to patients and caregivers alike, often outside of typical business hours, and tailored text content based on patient and caregiver characteristics.
On God-Belief and Feeling Clean
Authors: Fetterman Adam K.
Published: March 2016

Recent work has shown robust associations between morality and cleanliness. However, it is not known whether this association is equally consequential for everyone. I predicted that individuals high (vs. low) in God-belief would be more likely to draw upon feelings of cleanliness to represent their moral concerns. To test this hypothesis, I used a 2-week daily sampling protocol. In an initial session, I measured participants’ ( N = 135) level of God-belief. I then measured participants’ levels of daily cleanliness, neuroticism, impulsivity, and prosocial behaviors every evening. Daily feelings of cleanliness predicted lower levels of neuroticism but only for those high in God-belief. Daily impulsive behaviors predicted lower feelings of cleanliness, and daily prosocial behaviors predicted higher feelings of cleanliness. God-belief moderated these effects such that they were stronger for those higher, than lower, in God-belief. In closing, I discuss potential reasons for these moderation effects and other theoretical considerations.
Clinically and pharmacologically relevant interactions of antidiabetic drugs
Authors: May Marcus , Schindler Christoph
Published: March 2016

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus often require multifactorial pharmacological treatment due to different comorbidities. An increasing number of concomitantly taken medications elevate the risk of the patient experiencing adverse drug effects or drug interactions. Drug interactions can be divided into pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions affecting cytochrome (CYP) enzymes, absorption properties, transporter activities and receptor affinities. Furthermore, nutrition, herbal supplements, patient’s age and gender are of clinical importance. Relevant drug interactions are predominantly related to sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones and glinides. Although metformin has a very low interaction potential, caution is advised when drugs that impair renal function are used concomitantly. With the exception of saxagliptin, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors also show a low interaction potential, but all drugs affecting the drug transporter P-glycoprotein should be used with caution. Incretin mimetics and sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors comprise a very low interaction potential and are therefore recommended as an ideal combination partner from the clinical–pharmacologic point of view.
Erasmus and the Johannine Comma (1 John 5.7-8)
Authors: McDonald Grantley
Published: March 2016

Erasmus’s 1516 Latin–Greek New Testament edition differed from the Latin Vulgate in several ways. A small number of textual variants with doctrinal implications involved Erasmus in considerable controversy. Medieval Western theologians had often relied on the “Johannine Comma” (the long reading of 1 John 5.7-8), established in the Latin Vulgate during the late Middle Ages, as an important scriptural foundation for the doctrine of the Trinity. However, when Erasmus showed that this variant was not present in the Greek manuscript tradition, he was accused of promoting Arianism. Erasmus’s debates with the cleric Edward Lee and the textual critic Jacobus Stunica exposed tensions between theologians, jealous of their authority in scriptural interpretation, and humanists, who claimed to understand the Bible better than theologians by virtue of their philological skills. This article concludes by exploring the Inquisition’s failed attempt to find a consensus on this issue in 1527.
On the Reception of Erasmus’s Latin Version of the New Testament in Sixteenth-Century Spain
Authors: Coroleu Alejandro
Published: March 2016

As with other parts of Europe, in Spain the publication in 1516 of Erasmus’s edition of the New Testament together with his Latin version of the text soon ignited a series of scholarly controversies on his interpretation and translation of the Gospels. Yet what began as a discussion on the validity of Erasmus’s historical and philological approach to the study of Scripture became a heated polemic on issues of doctrine that escalated in the early 1520s and culminated in the severe examination of Erasmus’s works at Valladolid in 1527. This article aims at providing an overview of the reception of Erasmus’s Novum Instrumentum in Spain in the years immediately after the text was published in Basle.
Personality, negative social exchanges, and physical health among bereaved adults
Authors: Silva Nicole M , Henrie James A , Patrick Julie Hicks
Published: March 2016

While much research has investigated the association between personality and health, little research has done so using a bereaved sample. Additionally, little research has investigated how personality influences the frequency of negative social exchanges bereaved individuals receive. This study utilized a structural equation model to investigate the associations among age, gender, personality, negative social exchanges, length of bereavement, and self-reported physical health in a sample of bereaved adults. Results indicated that personality was associated with negative social exchanges and physical health. Therefore, these variables are important and should be studied further in this context.
Pinterest or Thinterest?: Social Comparison and Body Image on Social Media
Authors: Lewallen Jennifer , Behm-Morawitz Elizabeth
Published: March 2016

Social media have become increasingly popular mechanisms for communication. Past research suggests a link between using social media, upward social comparison, and negative affect. This online experiment of US women ( N = 118) takes a media psychology approach to understanding how fitness images on the social networking website Pinterest contribute to social comparison as well as intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors. Findings suggest that individuals who follow more fitness boards on Pinterest are more likely to report intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors. Additionally, endorsement of an ideal female body type was positively related to both social comparison and intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors. Findings are discussed in light of social comparison theory, and suggestions are made are made for future experimental work.
Selfies of Ill Health: Online Autopathographic Photography and the Dramaturgy of the Everyday
Authors: Tembeck Tamar
Published: March 2016

This article offers a preliminary investigation into what I term “selfies of ill health” and traces the expansion of the autopathographic genre in visual media from professional art photography to the vernacular selfie in recent years. In this context, the word autopathography is used to describe self-representational practices that offer a first-person perspective on experiences of illness or hospitalization. I first situate the genre by identifying several typologies of selfies of ill health, including diagnostic selfies, cautionary selfies, and treatment impact selfies. I then focus on the forms of identity performance that selfies, and selfies of ill health in particular, deploy. I argue that the performative qualities of certain selfies of ill health overlap with salient characteristics of autopathographic practice in the arts. Using Karolyn Gehrig’s #HospitalGlam series as a case study, I examine how autopathographic selfies can also construct a politicized dramaturgy of the lived body, notably by enabling individuals like Gehrig to “come out” as being invisibly ill. I conclude that the dramaturgical thrust of such autopathographic imagery is to convey both the centrality of medical experiences in subjects’ lives and their specific desire to be publicly identified as persons living with illness. In light of this, although selfies of ill health may have opened up new avenues for autopathographic practice thanks to the affordances of social media, their communicative intents remain consistent with those of earlier forms of autopathographic photography.
Peri- and intraarticular analgesia (PIA) superior to other procedures in TKA – review of literature and results of own RCT
Authors: Beckmann J. , Stathellis A. , Fitz W. , Köck F. , Bauer G. , Gebauer M. , Schnurr C.
Published: March 2016

Background:

TKA is a worldwide established surgery with periarticular infiltrations being scientifically funded is the superiority of in the perioperative setup of TKA nowadays. However, nerve blocks are still widely used as perioperative standard meaning possible analgesia beyond surger, but simultaneously with sensomotoric deficiency and resulting risk of fall as well as increased pain after removal of nerval catheters. Also a standard procedure is intubation which means immediate pain after awakening of patients with resulting need for sufficient oral, intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous analgesia. We present an actual review of the literature and an own RCT comparing infiltrations with nerve blocks, which to our best knowledge presents the first RCT combined with an additional continous part.

Methods:

Literature review (PubMed) Own RCT: 50 TKA were randomized and prospectively included. 25 patients received nerve blocks with a single ischiadicus block and a femoralis block with additional perineural catheter. 25 patients received periarticular infiltrations together with an intraarticular catheter (PIA). All catheters stayed for 4 days. Both groups received a laryngeal masc. Postoperative mobilisation, surgeon and type of prosthesis were the same in all patients. The following was evaluated pre- and postoperatively (first, third and sixth hour, first until sixth day): VAS, additional analgetics/ opioids, KSS score, knee function and ability to raise the straightened leg. Complications as infection, falls, DVT etc. were recorded.

Results:

Periarticular infiltrations are superior to other options in the perioperative setup of TKA which is clearly shown by literature (several studies including reviews) as well as the results of our own RCT: Pain occured in both groups, however, VAS, additional analgetics/ opioids and KSS score as well as the ability to raise the straightened leg were significantly better following PIA (p<0,01), with comparable knee function in both groups. There were two falls and one superficial infection of catheter site following nerve blocks, however, without sequelae.

Conclusion:

All analgesic/ anaesthetic options can be done perioperatively in TKA with success with, however, clear superiority of PIA. Compared to nerve blocks PIA reduces the risk for falls, prevents a pain-„rebound“ with removal of perineural catheters and is beneficial for patients throughout the whole hospitalisation.
In vivo Investigation of Patellofemoral Cartilage Contact Mechanisms- Impact of Mechanical Loading and Patellofemoral Geometry
Authors: Izadpanah Kaywan , Niemeyer Philip , Meine Hans , Südkamp Norbert P. , Lang Thomas
Published: March 2016

Aims and Objectives:

Today the selection of the procedures for treatment of focal cartilage lesions is standardized to the defect size. Subject specific parameters like individual cartilage contact mechanisms are not taken into account. Aim of the present study therefore was to investigate inter-individual differences in the patellofemoral cartilage contact mechanisms of healthy subjects and to correlate them to the individual patellar joint surface area and patellar and femoral dimensions.

Materials and Methods:

10 knees of 10 healthy subjects with regular shaped patella and trochlea underwent magnetic resonance imaging at rest and during mechanical loading for simulated weight bearing. Imaging was performed at 30° knee flexion. A custom made pneumatic loading device was used to apply 0 and 200 N axial loading to the leg. Manual segmentation of the patella, the trochlear and the patellofemoral cartilage was performed. Patellar volume, joint surface area and cartilage contact areas were calculated for each loading condition. Moreover patellar height, diameter and femoral epicondylar width were determined. Prospective motion correction was performed to reduce motion artifacts during load application.

Results:

Mean size of the patellar surface area was 16,08 cm2 (range 13,11-18,07 cm2). Mean patellofemoral contact area (PCA) without loading was 6,15 cm2 (range 5,12-7,33 cm2). During axial loading of the leg with 200N PCA significantly increased to 6,77 cm2 (range 6,05-7,55 cm2) (p<0,05). Patellar surface area and PCA were not correlated (r=0,01; p<0,05). Mean Patella width was 5,4 cm (Range 4,8-6,2 cm) and mean femoral width at the epicondyles was 8,5 cm (Range 7,9-9 cm). The mean patellofemoral cartilage contact area showed poor correlation to patellar geometry (patellar width (r=0,48, p<0,05; patellar cartilage surface r=0,06, p<0,05) but moderate correlation to the femoral width (r=0,75, p<0,05).

Conclusion:

Main finding of the presented study is that patellofemoral cartilage contact mechanisms are responsive to loading and show relevant inter individual differences. A second important finding is that cartilage contact mechanisms cannot be concluded directly by geometric parameters such as joint surface area or patellofemoral dimensions. Further investigation is needed to identify parameters influencing size of patellofemoral contact area at rest and during loading in order to include them into diagnostics and treatment of the cartilage defects in clinical routine.
Septic Arthritis Following Arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Schuster Philipp
Published: March 2016

Aims and Objectives:

To determine the incidence of postoperative septic arthritis following primary and revision ACL-reconstruction, to identify the microbiological spectrum, and to evaluate a graft-retaining treatment protocol consisting of sequential arthroscopic revisions.

Materials and Methods:

From January 2004 to June 2014 a total of 7,096 consecutive arthroscopic ACL reconstructions were performed at our institution (5,907 primary and 1,189 revision reconstructions). Thereof, cases with postoperative septic arthritis were identified and retrospectively analyzed with regard to incidence, clinical presentation, time to and number of arthroscopic revisions, clinical course and microbiological findings. Follow-up examination consisted of clinical examination, instrumental measurement (KT-1000), classification according to objective IKDC (International Knee Documentation Committee) score, subjective IKDC score and radiologic evaluation.

Results:

The incidence of septic arthritis was 0.51%, with 0.41% in primary and 1.01% in revision reconstructions, respectively (p = 0.008; odds ratio 2.5). First revision was performed 19.6 ? 10.6 days after index procedure. Eradication was achieved in all cases after an average of 2.25 ? 1.22 arthroscopic revisions, with graft retainment in all but one case (97.2%). Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (62.5%) and Staphylococcus aureus (21.9%) were the most frequent pathogens. Twenty-nine patients were available for follow-up (80.6%) after 4.7 ? 3.2 years (range 0.7 to 11.2). No reinfection was seen. Two patients suffered recurrent non-traumatic ACL insufficiency (6.9%), all others (93.1%) had an intact ACL graft with a KT-1000 side-to-side difference of 1.4 ? 0.9mm. Subjective IKDC score was 80.4 ? 11 points. No emerging or deterioration of osteoarthritis related to the infection was seen.

Conclusion:

Postoperative septic arthritis is a rare but serious complication after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. Retention of the graft and good to excellent clinical results can be obtained with an arthroscopic treatment protocol.
Arthrofibrotic remodeling after knee replacement surgery, a stress-related disease? - Clinic, biochemical model, therapy, research -
Authors: Traut Philip , Faust Isabel
Published: March 2016

Aims and Objectives:

The predicted incidence of arthrofibrosis after knee replacement surgery is 5 - 10%. Arthrofibrosis is defined as painful impairment of joint flexibility occurring postoperatively. To counteract symptoms and to accomplish quality standards (E/F 0-0-90) several therapeutic strategies as for instance physiotherapy or mobilization under anaesthesia are applied. Although it is known that mechanical and emotional stress induce myofibroblast differentiation, extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and xylosyltransferase (XT) activity, biochemical processes of fibrotic diseases receive little attention in orthopaedics. Until today, neither an adequate disease model nor a diagnostic marker for arthrofibrosis has been described.

Materials and Methods:

Surgical procedures (e.g. endoprosthesis, cruciate ligament replacement) initiate physiological wound healing and the release of inflammatory mediators from platelets, damaged tissue and other cells of the immune system. Secreted cytokines such as transforming growth factor (TGF-beta 1) or platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) promote myofibroblast proliferation and differentiation. Mechanical strain (stretching exercises with pain inhibition) leads to activation of latent TGF-beta 1, which triggers scarring via ECM/XT synthesis and prevents myofibroblast apoptosis. Our recent study carried out a decreased platelet count in arthrofibrosis patients compared to healthy controls. Thus, an elevated platelet consumption might take place. Analogous to TGF-beta 1, PDGF also inhibits myofibroblast apoptosis and expression of matrix metalloproteinase expression, which degrade ECM. Emotional stress might not only matter in other fibrotic diseases e.g. tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) but also in arthrofibrosis. Sympathicotonic destabilization (due to pain, frustration or social burden) results in increased catecholamine synthesis and sympathetic activity. These effects are recognizable by vegetative symptoms (e.g. insomnia, sweating, muscle tension). Catecholamines directly activate fibroblasts and increase ECM synthesis by binding to Beta 2-adrenergic receptors. In TTC, a decrease in catecholamines and profibrotic cytokines restores organ functionality.

Results:

Causal therapy Several therapeutic approaches might exert a positive influence on degradation of fibrotic tissue: less of postisometric stretching, avoidance of emotional workload, positive expectations due to medical consultation about reversibility of fibrotic mechanisms, appropriate medication as well as osteopathy.

Conclusion:

Research Operating surgeons are able to detect an unfavorable development of arthrofibrosis relatively early. Nevertheless, they are afraid to name the possible complication. Therefore, quantification of a reliable biomarker would bring great advantages for diagnostics of pre- and after-treatment. Our current studies examine whether increased XT activity might display a biomarker in synovial fluid.
Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction; the Rush Experience
Authors: Erickson Brandon J. , Bach Bernard R. , Cohen Mark S. , Bush-Joseph Charles A. , Cole Brian J. , Verma Nikhil N. , Nicholson Gregory P. , Romeo Anthony A.
Published: March 2016

Objectives:

Background: Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR) is now a common surgery performed in both professional, as well as high level athletes Purpose: To report the patient demographics, surgical techniques, and outcomes of all UCLR performed at a single institution from 2004-2014 Hypothesis: UCLR will be performed mostly in male pitchers and will have a complication rate of less than 5%.

Methods:

Methods: The surgical database of one institution was searched from January 1st 2004-December 31st 2014 for the current procedural terminology (CPT) code 24346 “Reconstruction medial collateral ligament, elbow, with tendon graft (includes harvesting of graft)”. Charts were reviewed to determine patient age, gender, date of surgery, sport played, athletic level, surgical technique, graft type, and complications were recorded. Patients were contacted via phone calls to obtain the return to sport rate, Conway-Jobe score, Timmerman & Andrews score, and Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (KJOC) Shoulder and Elbow score.

Results:

Results: One hundred eighty-nine patients underwent UCLR during the study period (92% male, average age 19.6 +/- 4.9 years, 77.8% were right elbows). There were 166 baseball players (87.8% of all patients), 156 of which were pitchers (82.5% of all patients). Ninety-eight (51.6%) were college athletes, 62 (36%) were high school athletes, and 25 (13.2%) were professional athletes at the time of surgery. The docking technique was used in 111 (58.7%) patients while the double docking technique was used in 78 (41.3%). An ipsilateral palmaris longus graft was used in 111 (58.7%) of patients while a hamstring autograft was used in 48 (25.4%) patients. The ulnar nerve was subcutaneously transposed in 79 (41.8%) patients. Overall 95.7% of patients were able to return to sport and had a Conway-Jobe score of good/excellent while 4.3% had a score of fair. The average KJOC score was 94.7 +/- 5.7 and average Timmerman-Andrews score was 93.7 +/- 7.7. Subsequent surgeries were performed in 5.8% of patients.

Conclusion:

Conclusion: Overall 95.7% of patients who underwent UCLR were able to return to sport with an average KJOC score of 94.7 and Timmerman Andrews Score of 93.7.
Lifelong aspect extraction from big data: knowledge engineering
Authors: Khan M. Taimoor , Durrani Mehr , Khalid Shehzad , Aziz Furqan
Published: March 2016

Traditional machine learning techniques follow a single shot learning approach. It includes all supervised, semi-supervised, transfer learning, hybrid and unsupervised techniques having a single target domain known prior to analysis. Learning from one task is not carried to the next task, therefore, they cannot scale up to big data having many unknown domains. Lifelong learning models are tailored for big data having a knowledge module that is maintained automatically. The knowledge-base grows with experience where knowledge from previous tasks helps in current task. This paper surveys topic models leading the discussion to knowledge-based topic models and lifelong learning models. The issues and challenges in learning knowledge, its abstraction, retention and transfer are elaborated. The state-of-the art models store word pairs as knowledge having positive or negative co-relations called must-links and cannot-links. The need for innovative ideas from other research fields is stressed to learn more varieties of knowledge to improve accuracy and reveal more semantic structures from within the data.
Satisfaction with in vitro fertilization treatment: patients’ experiences and professionals’ perceptions
Authors: Gonen Limor Dina
Published: March 2016

Background

This paper investigates patients’ satisfaction with various aspects of fertility care and seeks to determine to what extent fertility specialists are able to assess patient satisfaction. Patients’ experiences with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) services and facilities have been compiled and examined in order to discover whether patients’ satisfaction is correlated to psychological factors and demographic, socio-economic, and health characteristics, and whether patients’ satisfaction has an influence on the willingness to pay (WTP) for IVF treatment.

Methods

The study was carried out on 204 patients and 19 fertility professionals from 8 public IVF units in Israel.

Results

The study found that, overall, infertile patients are satisfied with the care they received. Several demographic variables (age; education; income; number of fertility treatments) and psychological factors (‘Pessimism’ and ‘Activeness’), were found to be significantly correlated with patient satisfaction with IVF.

The results yielded a negative correlation between the WTP for IVF treatment and the satisfaction with access to care and physical conditions.

Conclusions

Patient satisfaction is an important component in the evaluation of fertility treatments as well as other medical interventions. Insights into the quality of care as seen from the patients’ perspective may help healthcare staff better meet patients’ needs, wishes, and priorities.
Editorial: Vγ9Vδ2 T cells: triple costimulation goes the distance
Authors: Sheridan Brian S , Obar Joshua J
Published: March 2016

Discussion on the ex vivo generation of highly functional Vγ9Vδ2 T cells for adoptive immunotherapy.
A hiccup, but offshore technology continues moving forward at OTC 2016
Authors: Kreamer James
Published: March 2016

The current oil and gas business environment has impacted and created challenges in all facets of the industry. Offshore development may be slowed or even delayed, but technology development continues to move forward, with the determination to solve difficult problems with cost-efficient solutions. The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is the preeminent technology-oriented, offshore conference, the technical strength of which stems from volunteer efforts represented by its 13 professional societies within the OTC partnership.
Broadband acquisition, deblending, and imaging employing dispersed source arrays
Authors: Tsingas Constantine , Kim Young Seo , Yoo Jewoo
Published: March 2016

With the latest advancements and improvements in recording equipment, field management systems, and vibrator mechanical and hydraulic systems, along with lighter detector/channel receiver station distributions, the quest for broadband acquisition, processing, and interpretation is more intense than ever. In an effort to reduce the acquisition cycle time and improve seismic imaging and resolution while optimizing costs, a number of unique land acquisition experiments were conducted, employing aggressive and nonaggressive blended source effort rules. The acquired data were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of source deblending technologies and full-waveform inversion (FWI) capabilities in such a unique data set. These experiments were unique in that the key field parameters needed for FWI, such as low frequencies (1.5–6 Hz), were recorded in combination with mid- and high-sweep frequency bandwidths and variable sweep lengths. This concept is described in the industry as a dispersed source array field acquisition configuration. This fit-for-purpose seismic land acquisition scheme can significantly increase field productivity and produce data that can be employed for near-surface characterization (high frequencies), accurate subsurface velocity estimation (low frequencies), and, thus, broadband high-resolution subsurface images.
An Investigation of Soil-Structure Interaction Effects Observed at the MIT Green Building
Authors: Taciroglu Ertugrul , Çelebi Mehmet , Ghahari S. Farid , Abazarsa Fariba
Published: March 2016

The soil-foundation impedance function of the MIT Green Building is identified from its response signals recorded during an earthquake. Estimation of foundation impedance functions from seismic response signals is a challenging task, because: (1) the foundation input motions (FIMs) are not directly measurable, (2) the as-built properties of the super-structure are only approximately known, and (3) the soil-foundation impedance functions are inherently frequency-dependent. In the present study, aforementioned difficulties are circumvented by using, in succession, a blind modal identification (BMID) method, a simplified Timoshenko beam model (TBM), and a parametric updating of transfer functions (TFs). First, the flexible-base modal properties of the building are identified from response signals using the BMID method. Then, a flexible-base TBM is updated using the identified modal data. Finally, the frequency-dependent soil-foundation impedance function is estimated by minimizing the discrepancy between TFs (of pairs instrumented floors) that are (1) obtained experimentally from earthquake data and (2) analytically from the updated TBM. Using the fully identified flexible-base TBM, the FIMs as well as building responses at locations without instruments can be predicted, as demonstrated in the present study.
Death Drives in the City
Authors: Seremetakis C. Nadia
Published: March 2016

The story at hand is the spread of little street memorials for the dead in the Greek urbanscape during the current socioeconomic crisis. These memorials point to a third-stream anamnesis: memory focused on the historicity of the everyday that the dominant public culture, split between European cosmopolitanism and the Greek archaic, marginalizes. I am interested in the ethnography of the every day that lacks the securities, facilities, and utilities of a homogenizing and synchronizing context. In the agonistic interplay between the macrological and the everyday, time and space are intrinsically disjointed, and this is refracted in language, vision, and the senses. This experimental ethnography attempts to account for some of these effects as they continue to multiply within the present.
Response of garlic (Allium sativum L.) bolting and bulbing to temperature and photoperiod treatments
Authors: Wu Cuinan , Wang Mengyi , Cheng Zhihui , Meng Huanwen
Published: March 2016

This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of temperature and photoperiod treatments on the bolting and bulb formation of three local garlic cultivars (cvs) in two consecutive years. Naturally vernalized plants of cvs G107, G025 and G064 were transplanted into growth chambers and subjected to various combinations of temperature [T15/10, 15°C/10°C; T20/15, 20°C/15°C and T25/18, 25°C/18°C (day/night)] and photoperiod (L8, 8 h and L14,14 h) treatments. Plant growth, endogenous phytohormone and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) levels, along with the bolting and yield of garlic were evaluated. The experimental results from two consecutive years indicated that higher temperature (20°C or 25°C) and longer photoperiod (14 h) treatments significantly enhanced the garlic bolting, bulbing and cloving with a shorter growth period and a higher bulb weight. Moreover, the endogenous phytohormone and MeJA levels in the test plants were significantly increased by the higher temperature (25°C for the phytohormone level; 20°C for the MeJA level) and longer photoperiod [14 h, except for abscisic acid (ABA), which had the highest level at 8 h] conditions and were decreased by the lowest test temperature (15°C) and shorter photoperiod (8 h, except for ABA) conditions. This response coincided with that of the bulbing index, bolting rate, growth period and bulb weight. In addition, plants treated under the conditions of 20°C/15°C–14 h and 25°C/18°C–14 h produced the highest phytohormone levels (except for ABA) for cvs G025 and G064, respectively, and showed the best bolting and bulbing behavior. It is reasonable to assume that endogenous phytohormone (especially gibberellic acid) and MeJA levels are highly related to garlic bolting and bulbing, which might lead to the different responses of the three studied cultivars to the combination of temperature and photoperiod treatments. Furthermore, cvs G107 and G025 bolt well and have better bulb formation under 20°C–14 h conditions, while the conditions of 25°C–14 h are critical for the bolting and bulbing of cv. G064.
Getting membrane proteins on and off the shuttle bus between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex
Authors: Borgese Nica
Published: March 2016

Secretory proteins exit the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in coat protein complex II (COPII)-coated vesicles and then progress through the Golgi complex before delivery to their final destination. Soluble cargo can be recruited to ER exit sites by signal-mediated processes (cargo capture) or by bulk flow. For membrane proteins, a third mechanism, based on the interaction of their transmembrane domain (TMD) with lipid microdomains, must also be considered. In this Commentary, I review evidence in favor of the idea that partitioning of TMDs into bilayer domains that are endowed with distinct physico-chemical properties plays a pivotal role in the transport of membrane proteins within the early secretory pathway. The combination of such self-organizational phenomena with canonical intermolecular interactions is most likely to control the release of membrane proteins from the ER into the secretory pathway.
Stuck in gear: age-related loss of variable gearing in skeletal muscle
Authors: Holt Natalie C. , Danos Nicole , Roberts Thomas J. , Azizi Emanuel
Published: March 2016

Skeletal muscles power a broad diversity of animal movements, despite only being able to produce high forces over a limited range of velocities. Pennate muscles use a range of gear ratios, the ratio of muscle shortening velocity to fiber shortening velocity, to partially circumvent these force–velocity constraints. Muscles operate with a high gear ratio at low forces; fibers rotate to greater angles of pennation, enhancing velocity but compromising force. At higher forces, muscles operate with a lower gear ratio; fibers rotate little so limiting muscle shortening velocity, but helping to preserve force. This ability to shift gears is thought to be due to the interplay of contractile force and connective tissue constraints. In order to test this hypothesis, gear ratios were determined in the medial gastrocnemius muscles of both healthy young rats, and old rats where the interaction between contractile and connective tissue properties was assumed to be disrupted. Muscle fiber and aponeurosis stiffness increased with age (P<0.05) from 19.1±5.0 kPa and 188.5±24.2 MPa, respectively, in young rats to 39.1±4.2 kPa and 328.0±48.3 MPa in old rats, indicating a mechanical change in the interaction between contractile and connective tissues. Gear ratio decreased with increasing force in young (P<0.001) but not old (P=0.72) muscles, indicating that variable gearing is lost in old muscle. These findings support the hypothesis that variable gearing results from the interaction between contractile and connective tissues and suggest novel explanations for the decline in muscle performance with age.
Plastic chronic wound management with Cellutome
Authors: Seip G. U.
Published: March 2016

Chronic wounds continue to present a significant challenge to health-care providers around the globe. Unlike acute wounds, chronic wounds do not proceed through an orderly process of repair. In recent years many new modalities of modern wound treatment systems have been promoted. However, until recently there were few modalities designed to promote epithelialisation of a fully granulated wound. Mesh graft procedures have long been the gold standard for the management of acute wounds and chronic wounds but have also many disadvantages like discomfort associated with the donor site and the creation of a second painful wound (donor site).

The increase of chronical wounds in Germany due to the average age of patients, the aggressiveness of medical treatment and increase of numbers of patients with diabetes and severe polymorbidity requires specialized wound treatment and plastic surgery. Since 2014 there was a new innovative system introduced in the market called Cellutome epidermal harvesting system. The Cellutome system is a epidermal harvesting system for skin grafting and can replace in many cases the traditional meshgraft procedure with a classic dermatoma. The skin donor section on the patient`s thigh heals within days without scarring. The system offers a precise, simplified and minimal invasive option for skin grafting in the treatment of especially chronic wounds.
Recent advances in central cardiovascular control: sex, ROS, gas and inflammation
Authors: Smith Pauline M. , Ferguson Alastair V.
Published: March 2016

The central nervous system (CNS) in concert with the heart and vasculature is essential to maintaining cardiovascular (CV) homeostasis. In recent years, our understanding of CNS control of blood pressure regulation (and dysregulation leading to hypertension) has evolved substantially to include (i) the actions of signaling molecules that are not classically viewed as CV signaling molecules, some of which exert effects at CNS targets in a non-traditional manner, and (ii) CNS locations not traditionally viewed as central autonomic cardiovascular centers. This review summarizes recent work implicating immune signals and reproductive hormones, as well as gasotransmitters and reactive oxygen species in the pathogenesis of hypertension at traditional CV control centers. Additionally, recent work implicating non-conventional CNS structures in CV regulation is discussed.
CURRENT STATE OF THE INSURANCE MARKET IN RUSSIA
Authors: Сухорукова  , Sukhorukova Natalya , Иващенко  , Ivashchenko Tatyana , Цвырко  , Tsvyrko Aleksandr
Published: March 2016

In the article the current state of the insurance market in Russia is shown. The key problems of the insurance market are identified: fictitious nature of assets of insurance companies, reducing of profitability of insurance companies. According to the results of the study authors suggested the main ways out of this situation: increasing stability and reliability of the insurers, direct insurance development.
Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing
Authors: Marquis Christopher , Toffel Michael W. , Zhou Yanhua
Published: March 2016

Under increased pressure to report environmental impacts, some firms selectively disclose relatively benign impacts, creating an impression of transparency while masking their true performance. We theorize circumstances under which firms are less likely to engage in such selective disclosure, focusing on organizational and institutional factors that intensify scrutiny and expectations of transparency and that foster civil society mobilization. We test our hypotheses using a novel panel data set of 4,750 public companies across many industries that are headquartered in 45 countries during 2004–2007. Results show that firms that are more environmentally damaging, particularly those in countries where they are more exposed to scrutiny and global norms, are less likely to engage in selective disclosure. We discuss contributions to research on institutional theory, strategic management, and information disclosure.
Characterization of Merbau Wood Extract Used as an Adhesive in Glued Laminated Lumber
Authors: Santoso Adi , Hadi Yusuf Sudo , Pizzi Antonio , Lagel Marie-Christine
Published: March 2016

Polyphenolic chemical compounds were extracted from merbau (Intsia spp.) wood with an aqueous medium at a 1:4 ratio (wt/wt) heated to 80°C for 3 hours. The extracted compounds were characterized by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight spectrometry and included oligomers with up to six repeating flavonoid units, with resorcinol being the dominant compound paired with a minor amount of catechin units. The extract had a Stiasny number of 92.4 percent. The extract was combined with formaldehyde to produce a resin that was used to manufacture five-layer glued laminated lumber using four wood species, namely, pangsor (Ficus callosa), mindi (Melia azedarach), pine (Pinus merkusii), and mangium (Acacia mangium). The modulus of rupture and shear strength of mangium glued laminated lumber met the requirements of the Japanese standard (“Japanese Agricultural Standard for Structural Glued Laminated Timber,” 2003), and all products had a low formaldehyde emission.