bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transforming skin, changing caste: Technical education in leather production in India, 1900–1950
Authors: Bhattacharya Shahana
Published: July 2018

State-organised technical education focusing on leather production was introduced in India in the early 1900s. One of its key objectives was to change the entrenched notions about the leather industry—as a ‘traditional’ industry associated with low caste and social status. This article traces the history of this endeavour, locating it within a wider account of the history of technical education in leather production. While some common concerns affected the project in both Europe and India, there were important points of difference, as technical education in leather production in India had to negotiate factors such as the extreme stigma of hides and skins mandated by caste on the one hand, and on the other, their integration within the capitalist colonial economy and their concomitant high profitability. Decisions of who or what were to be taught, and by which pedagogical methods, were produced through these negotiations. The article explores this history through a study of two leading institutions that provided technical education in this field. It highlights how official initiatives of skilling and technical education were, in complex ways, closely mediated by, and in turn mediated their historical context, its social and economic structures, prevailing ideologies and notions of skill.
Activity of Streptococcus mutans VicR Is Modulated by Antisense RNA
Authors: Lei L. , Stipp R.N. , Chen T. , Wu S.Z. , Hu T. , Duncan M.J.
Published: July 2018

The VicRK 2-component system of Streptococcus mutans regulates genes associated with cell wall biogenesis and biofilm formation. A putative RNase III–encoding gene ( rnc) is located downstream from the vicRKX operon. The goals of this study were to investigate the potential role of VicR in the regulation of adjacent downstream genes and evaluate transcription levels of vicR during planktonic and biofilm growth. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to investigate whether vicRKX and adjacent downstream genes were cotranscribed. Binding of purified recombinant VicR protein to promoter regions of vicR, rnc, and syfA genes was confirmed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and by chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses. VicR antisense (AS vicR) RNA was detected by Northern blotting and qRT-PCR assays. AS vicR overexpression mutants were constructed, and the biofilm biomass was determined by crystal violet microtiter assay. Adjacent downstream genes rnc, smc, syfA, smu.1511, and syfB were cotranscribed with vicRKX. The predicted promoter regions of vicR, rnc, and syfA genes were directly regulated by VicR. An AS vicR RNA transcript was detected upstream of the rnc gene. Expression of the AS vicR RNA transcript was elevated in planktonic cultures and repressed during biofilm growth. In addition, Western blot data showed that expression of the VicR protein decreased by 35% in planktonic as compared with biofilm cultures. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of AS vicR led to a reduction in biofilm formation. The downstream genes rnc, smc, syfA, smu.1511, and syfB are cotranscribed with vicRKX. VicR is autophosphorylated, and rnc and syfA are directly regulated by VicR. Expression of VicR protein correlated inversely with different levels of AS vicR RNA transcript and growth conditions. The biofilm biomass decreased in the AS vicR overexpression mutant. These data suggest a role for the AS vicR RNA transcript in posttranscriptional regulation of VicR protein production in S. mutans.
Examination of the Interproximal Wear Mechanism: Facet Morphology and Surface Texture Analysis
Authors: Pokhojaev A. , Habashi W. , May H. , Schulz-Kornas E. , Shvalb N. , Sarig R.
Published: July 2018

Dentition is considered a dynamic system with forces that directly affect dental treatment stability and success. Understanding the biomechanical forces that influence tooth alignment is essential for both planning and performing dental treatments, as well as for anthropological and evolutionary studies. While there is currently an abundance of research on the mechanics of dental wear at the occlusal surface, the mechanics of interproximal dental wear is largely unexplored. The fretting mechanism, a wear process resulting from small-amplitude cyclic motion of 2 solid contacting surfaces, was refuted as a possible mechanism for occlusal wear but has never been considered for interproximal wear. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to reveal the biomechanical process of the interproximal wear and to explore whether the fretting mechanism could be associated with this process. Premolar teeth with interproximal wear facets were examined by 3-dimensional surface texture analysis using a high-resolution confocal disc-scanning measuring system. The unique texture topography of 3 areas in the proximal surface of each tooth was analyzed by applying 3D dental surface texture analysis. Each area showed unique texture characteristics, presenting statistically significant differences between the inner area of the facet and its margins or the surface outside the facets borders. Based on these results, we concluded that fretting is a key mechanism involved in interproximal wear.
Sudden death due to an invasive mole in a young primigravida: Precipitous presentation masquerading the natural manner
Authors: Chauhan Mohit , Behera Chittaranjan , Madireddi Sreenivas , Mandal Shramana , Khanna Sunil Kumar
Published: July 2018

Pulmonary metastasis is a well-known complication of an invasive mole. However, sudden death due to haemoptysis resulting from a metastatic invasive mole is extremely rare. We report the sudden unexpected death of an 18-year-old primigravida following a molar pregnancy. The death event was complicated within a few days of presentation by a clinically unsuspected mole invading the lung vasculature with associated widespread metastatic calcifications in the liver and brain. Death was due to haemorrhagic shock as a result of massive haemoptysis resulting from the invasive mole metastasising to the pulmonary vasculature. This was substantiated with a post-mortem computed tomography and gross and histopathological findings at autopsy. This case highlights the need for a high index of suspicion about potentially life-threatening pulmonary metastasis in women with trophoblastic diseases.
Drag reduction and wear resistance mechanisms of a bionic shovel by discrete element method simulation
Authors: Zhang Rui , Han Dianlei , He Yuan , Wan Haijin , Ma Songsong , Li Jianqiao
Published: July 2018

The ostrich has a steady and enduring high-speed running ability. Toenails are one key part of ostrich feet and their unique morphology is crucial in insertion into sand and for traction provision. In this study, information of bionic curves was extracted through studying the toenail structure and morphology, and three-dimensional reconstruction of toenails by reverse engineering. Based on the principle of bionic engineering, a bionic shovel was designed by optimizing the traditional shovel. A shovel–soil interaction mechanical model was established via the discrete element method. The insertion into soil processes of the bionic shovel and the common plate were simulated. The dynamic mesoscopic mechanical behaviors of soil particles around the shovel surface, the contact force field, and the velocity field, as well as the forces acting on the shovel surface were analyzed. The bionic shovel outperformed the common plate in insertion. The main reason for drag reduction in the bionic shovel was the inner concave bending surface, along which the soil particles climbed, and the particle movement trend was consistent. Simulations showed stress concentrated at the tip of the shovel, which facilitated the production of fatigue wear. Therefore, the tip needs to be considered firstly during bionic shovel design in the future.
Book review: D. N. Dhanagare, Populism and Power: Farmers’ Movement in Western India, 1980–2014
Authors: Sahay Gaurang R.
Published: July 2018

D. N. Dhanagare, Populism and Power: Farmers’ Movement in Western India, 1980–2014. London: Routledge, 2016, xvii + 264 pp. Figures, tables, abbreviations, glossary, notes, references, index, ₹895 (hardback). ISBN 978-1-138-66858-4
Book review: C. Ashokvardhan and Varunendra Vikram Singh (eds), Socio-Economic Profile of Rural India: Volume 1 (Haryana, Punjab, J&K, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh)
Authors: Jayachandran Jesna
Published: July 2018

C. Ashokvardhan and Varunendra Vikram Singh (eds), Socio-Economic Profile of Rural India: Volume 1 (Haryana, Punjab, J&K, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh), Series III. New Delhi: Concept Publishing, 2017, 456 pp., ₹1,600 (hardback). ISBN-13: 978-93-5125-250-4.
Book review: Mark David Chong and Abraham P. Francis (eds), Demystifying Criminal Justice Social Work in India
Authors: Bhandari Asha
Published: July 2018

Mark David Chong and Abraham P. Francis (eds), Demystifying Criminal Justice Social Work in India. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2017, xlix + 297 pp., ₹950 (hardback). ISBN: 978-93-860-6247-5.
The New Missionaries: Spiritual Striving and Political Engagement in India
Authors: Thapan Meenakshi
Published: July 2018

In its search for a meaningful disciplinary enterprise, anthropology focuses on those ‘others’ who live at the edge of civilisational chaos, the marginalised, underprivileged, those cast aside or abandoned, as well as the middle classes and the elite, as they construct their social worlds. In Asia, or at least in India, our anthropological gaze is not focused on those Westerners (in the twentieth century) who aspire to fulfil their goals through an imagining of a social and ‘spiritual’ landscape in India. In this article, I argue that Western imaginings of spiritual India rest not merely on their efforts to embed themselves in a local spiritual enterprise. More importantly, it rests on their understanding of their active role, as they envisage it, in the context of a changing India. I refer to these Western, single women protagonists as the ‘new missionaries’ who seek responsibility, and simultaneously fulfilment, through their participation in spiritual living. In this manner, the colonial gaze and the ensuing privilege are reproduced and enable them to act in particular ways. No doubt, gender, sexuality, rejection, and fulfilment and the inevitable place of charismatic others are all part of this significant process of becoming in India.
Generalized Inflated Discrete Models: A Strategy to Work with Multimodal Discrete Distributions
Authors: Cai Tianji , Xia Yiwei , Zhou Yisu
Published: July 2018

Analysts of discrete data often face the challenge of managing the tendency of inflation on certain values. When treated improperly, such phenomenon may lead to biased estimates and incorrect inferences. This study extends the existing literature on single-value inflated models and develops a general framework to handle variables with more than one inflated value. To assess the performance of the proposed maximum likelihood estimator, we conducted Monte Carlo experiments under several scenarios for different levels of inflated probabilities under multinomial, ordinal, Poisson, and zero-truncated Poisson outcomes with covariates. We found that ignoring the inflations leads to substantial bias and poor inference of the inflations—not only for the intercept(s) of the inflated categories but other coefficients as well. Specifically, higher values of inflated probabilities are associated with larger biases. By contrast, the generalized inflated discrete models (GIDMs) perform well with unbiased estimates and satisfactory coverages even when the number of parameters that need to be estimated is quite large. We showed that model fit criteria, such as Akaike information criterion, could be used in selecting the appropriate specifications of inflated models. Lastly, the GIDM was implemented using large-scale health survey data as a comparison to conventional modeling approaches such as various Poisson and Ordered Logit models. We showed that the GIDM fits the data better in general. The current work provides a practical approach to analyze multimodal data that exists in many fields, such as heaping in self-reported behavioral outcomes, inflated categories of indifference and neutral in attitude surveys, large amounts of zero, and low occurrences of delinquent behaviors.
The Moving Missions of Community Colleges: An Examination of Degree-Granting Profiles Over Time
Authors: Barringer Sondra N. , Jaquette Ozan
Published: July 2018

Objective: Despite extensive debate about the curricular mission of community colleges, prior research has not sufficiently analyzed differences in the kinds of degrees (i.e., the field of study and award level) community colleges produce. Therefore, we explore both the fields of study and the levels at which public community colleges grant degrees and analyze how this has changed over time. Method: Multilevel latent class analysis is used here to estimate latent degree-granting profiles, and colleges are allocated into the profiles based on their observed degree-granting behaviors from 1987 to 2012. Results: The analysis shows that public community colleges can be allocated into five distinct degree-granting profiles over the period of study. A small minority of colleges have and continue to engage almost exclusively in a vocational mission. The two degree profiles that increased in prominence over time suggest an overall shift toward the simultaneous pursuit of transfer and vocational missions. However, a majority of colleges (68%) exhibited stable degree-granting behaviors between 1987 and 2012, indicating a relatively high level of stability in degree-granting patterns across community colleges during this period. Contribution: These patterns highlight variation across colleges and both stability and change within institutions over time. This suggests that public community colleges are simultaneously situated in strong institutional and technical environments and, thus, are subject to constraints and incentives that shape not only their stated policies but also their actual degree-granting behaviors.
Unpacking the Effects of Alleged Gender Discrimination in the Corporate Workplace on Consumers’ Affective Responses and Relational Perceptions
Authors: Krishna Arunima , Kim Soojin , Shim KyuJin
Published: July 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) how allegations of gender discrimination affect consumers’ relationship with the brand in question, and (b) individual-level factors that affect consumers’ negative affective response to the allegations and eventually, consumer-brand relationships. Findings from a survey conducted among 473 Americans indicate that individuals’ relational perceptions with a corporate brand whose products/services they consume are negatively affected by allegations of misconduct, in this case, gender discrimination. Results revealed that individuals’ moral orientation and anticorporate sentiment predicted their perceptions of moral inequity of corporate behavior, which in turn affected their negative affective response to the allegations. Such negative affective response then affected individuals’ consumer–corporate brand relationships.
Do Independent Directors Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth When They Resign?
Authors: Bar-Hava Keren , Huang Sterling , Segal Benjamin , Segal Dan
Published: July 2018

We examine the informativeness and credibility of independent directors’ stated resignation reasons. We posit that having access to private information, directors may resign in anticipation of weak future underperformance to limit damage to their reputation and further have an incentive to mask the reason for the resignation. Results show likelihood of resignation increases with director’s reputation and weak future firm performance. In addition, the evidence is consistent with directors obfuscating the reason for departure by providing benign and unverifiable resignation reasons. Investors seem aware of the disclosure incentives of departing directors and react negatively to such resignations. However, investors, by and large, underreact to the resignation announcement, likely because of the benign reason given for the resignation. Our results suggest that notwithstanding the perception of outside directors’ impartiality and assumed interest alignment with shareholders, independent directors’ personal reputation concerns may conflict with the interests of shareholders to whom they owe fiduciary duties.
Neoliberal governmentality and the (de)politicisation of LGBT rights: The case of the European Union in Turkey
Authors: Muehlenhoff Hanna L
Published: July 2018

The European Union (EU) praises itself for being a promoter of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the world. It supports LGBT organisations abroad with the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). Yet, the EIDHR has come under scrutiny by scholars arguing that it is based on neoliberal rationalities and depoliticises civil society. The literature analyses the EU’s documents but does not study funding in practice. Moreover, it has a narrow understanding of politicisation failing to include insights from feminist and queer literature. To problematize the EU’s policy, we need to analyse it in the sites it intervenes in. It is unclear whether and how the EIDHR depoliticises LGBT organisations and issues. Studying the case of Turkey, I argue that the EU’s support of LGBT organisations had ambiguous effects which are not necessarily the ones intended by the EU nor the ones expected by the governmentality literature. The EU’s funding depoliticised the organisations in the sense that they looked less political and more transparent. Yet, this helped making LGBT rights’ claims more legitimate within Turkey’s political struggles. At the same time, EU funding created conflicts within the LGBT movement about the question of Western external funding and neoliberal co-optation.
Preconditioning with partial caloric restriction confers long-term protection against grey and white matter injury after transient focal ischemia
Authors: Zhang Jia , Zhang Wenting , Gao Xuguang , Zhao Yongfang , Chen Di , Xu Na , Pu Hongjian , Stetler R Anne , Gao Yanqin
Published: July 2018

Caloric restriction (CR) has been extensively examined as a preventative strategy against aging and various diseases, but CR effects on cerebral ischemia are largely unknown. We subjected C57BL6/J mice to ad libitum food access (LF) or a diet restricted to 70% of ad libitum food access (RF) for two to four weeks followed by 60 min of transient focal ischemia (tFCI). RF for four weeks protected against subsequent tFCI-induced infarct. RF improved sensorimotor function after stroke in the foot fault and corner tests, as well as performance in the Morris water maze test. In addition, RF preserved ischemic white matter tract integrity assessed by histology and compound action potential. Sirt1 and Sirt3 were both upregulated in RF ischemic brain, but heterozygous deletion of Sirt1 or knockout of Sirt3 did not alter the protection induced by RF against ischemic injury. RF induced significant release of adiponectin, a hormone related to glucose metabolism. Knockout of adiponectin decreased RF-induced protection after tFCI. These data demonstrate the novel finding that white matter, as well as neurons, benefit from CR prior to cerebral ischemic injury, and that adiponectin may contribute to these protective effects.
Planning and Implementing a Graduate Online Team-Taught Marketing Course
Authors: Rajamma Rajasree K. , Sciandra Michael R.
Published: July 2018

Online courses have become an important educational delivery tool for institutions of higher learning throughout the world. While popular among students and administrators, many faculty members have expressed concerns with online courses. Therefore, this article highlights online team teaching as a potential solution to many of the concerns harbored by faculty members. In particular, we discuss the potential challenges that can be faced by an online teaching team during the various stages from conceptualization to implementation, and offer prescriptive guidelines that would help future teams in navigating those challenges. Importantly, this article explores online team teaching from the perspective of marketing faculty and outlines positive educator outcomes associated with the development of a team-taught marketing course.
Massive movie waves and the anthropic ocean
Authors: Helmreich Stefan
Published: July 2018

This article examines representations of ocean waves in disaster and science fiction movies, reading these for what they can indicate about shifting ideological accounts of human–ocean relations. I track the technical conjuring of such on-screen waves – made using everything from scale model wave tanks to computer-generated imagery (CGI) – and explicate how these enable waves’ narrative purposes and effects. I argue that towering waves in film have operated as emblems of (a) the elemental power of cosmic, inhuman, arbitrary forces, (b) the return of the social-environmental repressed, and (c) the power and limits of cinematic media themselves. The most recent fantastical waves, rendered digitally, I suggest, now generate reflexive usages that underwrite either optimistic aesthetics of a nature crafted in partnership with humanity or ironic pessimism about human enterprise in the face of looming ecological disaster.
Time Really Matters: Understanding the Temporal Dimension of Online Learning Using Educational Data Mining
Authors: Tang Hengtao , Xing Wanli , Pei Bo
Published: July 2018

Learning and participation are inseparable in online environments. To improve online learning, much effort has been devoted to encouraging online participation. However, previous research has investigated participation from a variable-based perspective, looking only for relationships between participation and other variables. Time can change and even reverse this relationship, however. Online learning is a cumulative process, but participation at several critical moments is more significant for learning than is participation at other points. To fully understand how learning unfolds over time, it is necessary to shift to a new perspective on learning. Adopting an event-based view on which the units of analysis are separate but interrelated learning events, this study investigates longitudinal patterns in online participation. Using data mining techniques for education, the study validated longitudinal patterns of participation as an accurate measure for differentiating learner performance. In addition, the first segment of this online learning experience was identified as the most critical moment in which educators should provide efficient interventions to help their learners maintain active participation. Additional design, pedagogical, and methodological implications for online teaching and facilitation practices are discussed at the end.
Nutrition Research Special Issue and an Interview With Marion Nestle by Paul Terry
Authors: Terry Paul E.
Published: July 2018

As much as the field of health promotion has benefited mightily in the past decades from Internet abetted access to unlimited health content, our field is also experiencing the best of times and the worst of times. When it comes to our core work of supporting healthy decision-making for individuals, organizations, and communities, the unfettered, voluminous material available has, unimaginably, made facts seem fickle. I am delighted to have Dr Marion Nestle’s insights as a preamble to this special issue of the journal. Educating about nutrition and food choices, in particular, has become as much a contest between competing interests and commercial forces, as it has been a discipline guided by credible professionals. I am all in on our Constitution’s First Amendment, and having live abroad, I am endlessly smitten with America’s robust expression and freedom of speech. But I wonder if our forefathers had seen the Internet coming whether they might have added more stipulations about telling the truth. This special issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion is dedicated to nutrition research where new discoveries, and impassioned scientists like Dr Nestle, provide the light needed to grow fresh knowledge. Exposing both academics and the public to well-done studies about how food choices are influenced is ever more crucial in an era of alternative facts about what constitutes healthy eating.
Reconstruction of an informative railway wheel defect signal from wheel–rail contact signals measured by multiple wayside sensors
Authors: Alemi Alireza , Corman Francesco , Pang Yusong , Lodewijks Gabriel
Published: July 2018

Wheel impact load detectors are widespread railway systems used for measuring the wheel–rail contact force. They usually measure the rail strain and convert it to force in order to detect high impact forces and corresponding detrimental wheels. The measured strain signal can also be used to identify the defect type and its severity. The strain sensors have a limited effective zone that leads to partial observation from the wheels. Therefore, wheel impact load detectors exploit multiple sensors to collect samples from different portions of the wheels. The discrete measurement by multiple sensors provides the magnitude of the force; however, it does not provide the much richer variation pattern of the contact force signal. Therefore, this paper proposes a fusion method to associate the collected samples to their positions over the wheel circumferential coordinate. This process reconstructs an informative signal from the discrete samples collected by multiple sensors. To validate the proposed method, the multiple sensors have been simulated by an ad hoc multibody dynamic software (VI-Rail), and the outputs have been fed to the fusion model. The reconstructed signal represents the contact force and consequently the wheel defect. The obtained results demonstrate considerable similarity between the contact force and the reconstructed defect signal that can be used for further defect identification.
Adaptive neural network disturbance observer based nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control for a constrained flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle
Authors: Ma Yu , Cai Yuanli , Yu Zhenhua
Published: July 2018

In this paper, a novel constrained nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control scheme based on adaptive neural network disturbance observer is proposed for a flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle in the presence of diverse disturbances and actuator constraints. Firstly, velocity and altitude subsystems in the strict feedback formulations are obtained by decomposing the longitudinal dynamics of flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle, while uncertainties with regard to flexible effects, aerodynamic parameter uncertainties, modeling errors, and external disturbances are formed as the lumped disturbances which are excellently estimated by the proposed adaptive neural network disturbance observer with the adaptive regulation laws of weight matrices. Then based on the nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control, the proposed scheme integrated with adaptive neural network disturbance observer is developed to design the controllers with nonsingularity and fast convergent rate in order to provide robust and fast tracking performance of velocity and altitude. Furthermore, to tackle the saturation effects caused by the constraints of actuators, the auxiliary systems constructed in the proposed scheme are conducted to compensate the desired controllers timely. Lyapunov stability analyses prove that the stable tracking errors of velocity and altitude are bounded with the sufficiently small regions around zero even when flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle is subject to lumped disturbances and actuator constraints. Finally, the contrastive simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme provides the superior tracking performance and the effectiveness in tackling actuator constraints and counteracting lumped disturbances.
Self-attribution, Overconfidence and Dynamic Market Volatility in Indian Stock Market
Authors: Mushinada Venkata Narasimha Chary , Veluri Venkata Subrahmanya Sarma
Published: July 2018

The article provides an empirical evaluation of self-attribution, overconfidence bias and dynamic market volatility at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) across various market capitalizations. First, the investors’ reaction to market gain when they make right and wrong forecasts is studied to understand whether self-attribution bias causes investors’ overconfidence. It is found that when investors make right forecasts of future returns, they become overconfident and trade more in subsequent time periods. Next, the relation between excessive trading volume of overconfident investors and excessive prices volatility is studied. The trading volume is decomposed into a first variable related to overconfidence and a second variable unrelated to investors’ overconfidence. During pre-crisis period, the analysis of small stocks shows that conditional volatility is positively related to trading volume caused by overconfidence. During post-crisis period, the analysis shows that the under-confident investors became very pessimistic in small stocks and tend to overweight the future volatility. Whereas, the analysis of large stocks indicates that the overconfidence component of trading volume is positively correlated with the market volatility. Collectively, the empirical results provide strong statistical support to the presence of self-attribution and overconfidence bias explaining a large part of excessive and asymmetric volatility in Indian stock market.
A Tale of Two Moralities
Authors: Zahid Adnan , Lone Razi Allah
Published: July 2018

This case describes an ethical problem faced by the owners of a reasonably successful business. It gives students an opportunity to analyze the contrasting approaches of the two owners of this business towards an ethical dilemma commonly faced by those businesses in Pakistan that have to pay heavy duties on imported goods.

The case highlights the fact that morally upright individuals can be pushed into very difficult situations wherein they, despite their good intentions, at times choose not to uphold duties imposed by law and morality. The difficulty felt in remaining within the confines of law, and upholding moral principles is amplified by the cumulative effects of moral failures that become endemic to a society. The pressure created by the policies of a government deemed corrupt, inefficient and, in the final analysis, illegitimate on the one hand, and unscrupulous competitors on the other, can become, at times, important contributors to morally questionable behaviour. This brings to the fore the dilemma of an individual trying to make an honest living in a very unfavourable context. The moral conundrum may be resolved either by making the difficult choice of following the law to the hilt, or through constructing an argument that legitimizes an illegal and seemingly unethical course of action.
Awais Model Farms: Crop Decision
Authors: Chatha Kamran A. , Talat Zunair , Naeem Abdullah , Shaikh Shazib E.
Published: July 2018

Saeed Anwar, the sole proprietor of Awais Model Farms (AMF), had to make a decision regarding whether to grow corn or cotton in the fall season. Although he knew the key parameters affecting the decision, he was not able to reach any conclusion because of the numerous uncertainties involved in the decision-making process. His son, Awais Saeed, tried to come up with an Excel model to help his father make the decision. Awais discussed the key uncertainties with experts (farmers) and gathered all the cost and revenue data. The decision maker, Saeed Anwar, wanted to ascertain which crop he should grow on the basis of greater expected profit.
Understanding Risk Environments in Permanent Supportive Housing for Formerly Homeless Adults
Authors: Henwood Benjamin F. , Lahey John , Harris Taylor , Rhoades Harmony , Wenzel Suzanne L.
Published: July 2018

In this study, we used ethnographic methods and a risk environment framework to consider how contextual factors produce or reduce risk for substance use with a sample of 27 adults who recently moved into permanent supportive housing (PSH). Most apparent was how the social and physical environments interacted, because most participants focused on how having an apartment had dramatically changed their lives and how they interact with others. Specific themes that emerged that also involved economic and policy environments included the following: isolation versus social engagement; becoming one’s own caseworker; and engaging in identity work. This study underscores the scarcity yet importance of research that examines the multiple types of environment in which PSH is situated, and suggests that a better understanding of how these environments interact to produce or reduce risk is needed to develop optimal interventions and support services.
Standing and Supine Blood Pressure Outcomes Associated With Droxidopa and Midodrine in Patients With Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension: A Bayesian Meta-analysis and Mixed Treatment Comparison of Randomized Trials
Authors: Chen Jack J. , Han Yi , Tang Jonathan , Portillo Ivan , Hauser Robert A. , Dashtipour Khashayar
Published: July 2018

Background: The comparative effects of droxidopa and midodrine on standing systolic blood pressure (sSBP) and risk of supine hypertension in patients with neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (NOH) are unknown. Objective: To perform a Bayesian mixed-treatment comparison meta-analysis of droxidopa and midodrine in the treatment of NOH. Methods: The PubMed, CENTRAL, and EMBASE databases were searched up to November 16, 2016. Study selection consisted of randomized trials comparing droxidopa or midodrine with placebo and reporting on changes in sSBP and supine hypertension events. Data were pooled to perform a comparison among interventions in a Bayesian fixed-effects model using vague priors and Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation with Gibbs sampling, calculating pooled mean changes in sSBP and risk ratios (RRs) for supine hypertension with associated 95% credible intervals (CrIs). Results: Six studies (4 administering droxidopa and 2 administering midodrine) enrolling a total of 783 patients were included for analysis. The mean change from baseline in sSBP was significantly greater for both drugs when compared with placebo (droxidopa 6.2 mm Hg [95% CrI = 2.4-10] and midodrine 17 mm Hg [95% CrI = 11.4-23]). Comparative analysis revealed a significant credible difference between droxidopa and midodrine. The RR for supine hypertension was significantly greater for midodrine, but not droxidopa, when compared with placebo (droxidopa RR = 1.4 [95% CrI = 0.7-2.7] and midodrine RR = 5.1 [95% CrI = 1.6-24]). Conclusion and Relevance: In patients with NOH, both droxidopa and midodrine significantly increase sSBP, the latter to a greater extent. However, midodrine, but not droxidopa, significantly increases risk of supine hypertension.
Immunohistochemical Reappraisal Regarding the Frequency of Primary Salivary Gland Follicular Lymphoma
Authors: Itami Hiroe , Nakamine Hirokazu , Takeda Maiko , Nakai Tokiko , Myojin Tomoya , Matsuoka Minami , Sasaki Shoh , Uchiyama Tomoko , Morita Kohei , Fujii Tomomi , Hatakeyama Kinta , Ohbayashi Chiho
Published: July 2018

Although it has been described that extranodal marginal zone lymphomas of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphomas) are the most common type among primary salivary gland lymphomas (SGLs), some studies revealed that the frequency of follicular lymphomas (FLs) was as high as that of MALT lymphomas. However, it has been reported that many of these FLs may have developed in lymph nodes attached to the capsule of the glands or intraglandular lymph nodes. Clinical, histological, immunohistochemical, and cytogenetic features of 11 SGL cases, which were extracted from our surgical pathology file consisting of consecutive pathology cases, were reevaluated to further characterize whether they were actually primary SGLs. There were 3 (27%) cases of FLs, 5 (46%) cases of MALT lymphomas, and 3 (27%) cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Although all of our FL cases fulfilled the criteria of primary SGL, tumors of several FL cases were surrounded by podoplanin (by D2-40)–positive elongated vessels or linear structures indicative of nodal subcapsular sinuses (open or remnant). This finding would support the aforementioned possibility, and podoplanin staining is necessary before concluding that a FL is a primary SGL.
Computerized Adaptive Testing for Patient Reported Outcomes in Ankle Fracture Surgery
Authors: Gausden Elizabeth B. , Levack Ashley , Nwachukwu Benedict U. , Sin Danielle , Wellman David S. , Lorich Dean G.
Published: July 2018

Background:

Advantages of using computerized adaptive testing (CAT) include decreased survey-burden, diminished floor and ceiling effect, and improved ability to detect the minimal clinical significant difference (MCID) among patients. The goal of this study was to compare the legacy patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scores in terms of ability to detect clinically significant changes in patients who have undergone surgery for ankle fractures.

Methods:

Patients who underwent osteosynthesis for an unstable ankle fracture between 2013-2016 and completed legacy outcome scores (Foot and Ankle Outcome Score [FAOS], Olerud and Molander Ankle Score [OMAS], and Weber Score) along with the PROMIS Physical Function (PF) and PROMIS Lower Extremity (LE) CATs postoperatively were included. Correlation between the scores at 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year intervals, as well as floor and ceiling effects, in addition to MCIDs were calculated for each instrument. A total of 132 patients were included in the study.

Results:

There was no observed floor or ceiling effect in either the PROMIS PF or the PROMIS LE scores. Clinically significant changes in the PROMIS LE score were detected in patients between 6-month and 12-month postoperative visits ( P = .0006), whereas the reported OMAS score and Weber scores did not identify a clinically significant difference between patients at their 6-month and 12-month visit.

Conclusion:

The results of this study indicate that the PROMIS LE was superior for evaluating patients following ankle fracture surgery in terms of lower floor and ceiling effects and greater ability to distinguish clinically significant changes in patients between time points following surgery.

Level of Evidence:

Level III, comparative study.
Process Evaluation and Lessons Learned From Engaging Local Policymakers in the B’More Healthy Communities for Kids Trial
Authors: Nam Cyd S. , Ross Alexandra , Ruggiero Cara , Ferguson Marie , Mui Yeeli , Lee Bruce Y. , Gittelsohn Joel
Published: July 2018

Partnerships linking researchers to the policymaking process can be effective in increasing communication and supporting health policy. However, these policy partnerships rarely conduct process evaluation. The Policy Working Group (Policy WG) was the policy-level intervention of the multilevel B’More Healthy Communities for Kids (BHCK) trial. The group sought to align interests of local policymakers, inform local food and nutrition policy, introduce policymakers to a new simulation modeling, and sustain intervention levels of BHCK. We conducted an evaluation on the Policy WG between July 2013 and May 2016. We evaluated process indicators for reach, dose-delivered, and fidelity and developed a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. The policy intervention was implemented with high reach and dose-delivered. Fidelity measures improved from moderate to nearly high over time. The number of health-related issues on policymakers’ agenda increased from 50% in the first 2 years to 150% of the high standard in Year 3. SWOT analysis integrated a stakeholder feedback survey to consider areas of strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats. Although the fidelity of the modeling was low at 37% of the high standard, stakeholders indicated that the simulation modeling should be a primary purpose for policy intervention. Results demonstrate that process evaluation and SWOT analysis is useful for tracking the progress of policy interventions in multilevel trials and can be used to monitor the progress of building partnerships with policymakers.
Clinical presentation of optic neuritis with autoantibodies anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein
Authors: Ducloyer Jean-Baptiste , Michel Laure , Wiertlewski Sandrine , Lebranchu Pierre
Published: July 2018

Purpose:

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein autoantibodies are associated with certain optic neuritis. Little data are known about the specificity of the initial ophthalmologic presentation.

Methods:

A monocentric retrospective study (2013–2017) of all patients diagnosed with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein+ optic neuritis in a tertiary ophthalmologic unit was conducted. The primary objective was to define the clinical ophthalmologic description of the first episode. The secondary objective was to evaluate the evolution and final diagnosis.

Results:

A total of nine patients were included. There was no female predominance (sex ratio f/m = 0.8). At the first optic neuritis episode, the average age was 39.3 years (17–67 years, standard deviation: 18.4). Initial visual acuity was low (+1.07logMAR, standard deviation: 0.77); 5 eyes out of 15 had visual acuity +2logMAR or worse. Optic neuritis was mostly painful (8/9) and bilateral (6/9) but asymmetric. Optic disk swelling was reported in 9/15 eyes and 7/9 patients and was significantly associated with lower visual acuity in the acute phase (+1.46logMAR, standard deviation: 0.67 vs +0.5, standard deviation: 0.55; p = 0.03). After a mean observation period of 3.3 years (0.6–9.4 years, standard deviation: 3.4), median visual acuity was 0.05logMAR. All five patients were followed up for more than 1 year (5.4 years, standard deviation: 3.2) had 3–8 relapses (mean: 4.4, standard deviation: 2.1; annualized relapse rate: 1.2, standard deviation: 0.9). Final diagnosis was chronic relapsing idiopathic optic neuritis (n = 4), clinically isolated optic neuritis (n = 3), and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder aquaporin 4– (n = 2).

Conclusion:

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein+ optic neuritis has an atypical clinical presentation compared with multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder aquaporin 4+. Its evolution is closer to neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder aquaporin 4+, with a better visual outcome.
Soloist performance of vitrectomy probe in proliferative diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Elwan Mohammed M , Hagras Sherein M , Kasem Manal A
Published: July 2018

Purpose:

To evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of the sole use of 23g pars plana vitrectomy in cases with diabetic vitreous hemorrhage with vitreoretinal traction.

Methods:

Prospective interventional case series involving patients between January 2013 and January 2018. All eyes underwent 23g pars plana vitrectomy with internal tamponade. Intraoperative parameters including ancillary instruments, the methods used for hemostasis and complications were all recorded. Postoperative parameters including anatomic success rate, functional success, and postoperative complications were recorded and analyzed. Patients were followed up for at least 12 months.

Results:

A total of 68 eyes of 66 patients were included. Intraoperative ancillary instruments were required in 5 (7.4%) eyes. None of the cases required the use of chandelier illumination, endodiathermy, or scissors. Mean best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly from LogMAR 1.67 ± 0.63 preoperative to 1.22 ± 0.38 at 1-year follow-up (P = 0.005). Functional success was achieved in 37 (54.4%) eyes at 1-year follow-up. Iatrogenic breaks occurred in 3 (4.4%) eyes, vitreous hemorrhage in 4 (5.9%) eyes, and epiretinal membranes in 3 (4.4%) eyes. Repeated vitrectomy was done in 3 (4.4%) eyes.

Conclusion:

The 23g vitrectomy probe proved to be a safe, effective, and beneficial single tool that could accomplish the diabetic vitrectomy mission exclusively with minimal aid from other instruments in cases with vitreous hemorrhage associated with vitreoretinal traction.
Oncoprotein Stathmin Modulates Sensitivity to Apoptosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells During Hepatitis C Viral Replication
Authors: Lu Nu T , Liu Natalie M , Patel Darshil , Vu James Q , Liu Lisa , Kim Chae Yeon , Cho Peter , Khachatoorian Ronik , Patel Nikita , Magyar Clara E , Ganapathy Ekambaram , Arumugaswami Vaithilingaraja , Dasgupta Asim , French Samuel Wheeler
Published: July 2018

Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection risk complications of cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Previously, our proteomic examination of hepatocytes carrying a HCV-replicon revealed that deregulation of cytoskeletal dynamics may be a potential mechanism of viral-induced HCC growth. Here, we demonstrate the effect of HCV replication on the microtubule regulator stathmin (STMN1) in HCC cells. We further explore how the altered activity or synthesis of stathmin affects cellular proliferation and sensitivity to apoptosis in control HCC cells (Huh7.5) and experimental HCV-replicon harboring HCC cells (R-Huh7.5). The HCV-replicon harboring HCC cells (R-Huh 7.5) lack viral structural genes/proteins for acute infectivity and thus is the standard model for in vitro chronic infection study. Knockdown of endogenous stathmin reduced sensitivity to apoptosis in replicon cells. Meanwhile, constitutively active stathmin increased sensitivity to apoptosis in replicon cells. In addition, overexpression of constitutively active stathmin reduced cell proliferation in both control and replicon cells. These findings implicate, for the first time, a novel role for stathmin in viral replication–related apoptosis. Stathmin’s potential role in HCV replication and HCC make it a candidate for the future study of viral-induced malignancies.
The equivalence of books
Authors: O’Sullivan James
Published: July 2018

The digital has shifted the forms through which we present scholarship, and as academic projects become increasingly disconnected with the codex form, our conceptions of what constitutes an academic book warrants problematization. This is particularly so with ‘edge cases’, projects which look to collate, curate, and create thematically consistent critical insights on topics of relevance to the Arts and Humanities, using unfamiliar forms. This brief essay explores a selection of digital projects that might be classified as edge cases, interacting with relevant stakeholders through short surveys designed to determine why digital apparatus were favored. The purpose of this essay is to query whether such outliers can be considered, as exemplifiers of what is meant by an edge case, to be the equivalent of the academic book.
Romancing the rural: Reconceptualizing rural entrepreneurship as engagement with context(s)
Authors: Gaddefors Johan , Anderson Alistair R
Published: July 2018

This article considers how we conceive and research rural entrepreneurship. While we argue for the importance of context for understanding entrepreneuring, we also acknowledge that some perceptions of the rural context may be misleading. We critically review how the rural in rural entrepreneurship has been applied. We find how some romancing of the rural has had detrimental effects in theorizing about rural. However, we also find and discuss the interesting range of relationships between the rural and the entrepreneurship presented in the literature. We conclude that a conceptually robust approach can be achieved by examining the nature and extent of entrepreneurial engagement with the contexts that characterize the rural. Finally, we propose methods that will enable us to achieve better understanding of the processes of rural.