bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Projected declines in global DHA availability for human consumption as a result of global warming
Authors: Colombo Stefanie M. , Rodgers Timothy F. M. , Diamond Miriam L. , Bazinet Richard P. , Arts Michael T.
Published: September 2019

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential, omega-3, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid that is a key component of cell membranes and plays a vital role in vertebrate brain function. The capacity to synthesize DHA is limited in mammals, despite its critical role in neurological development and health. For humans, DHA is most commonly obtained by eating fish. Global warming is predicted to reduce the de novo synthesis of DHA by algae, at the base of aquatic food chains, and which is expected to reduce DHA transferred to fish. We estimated the global quantity of DHA (total and per capita) currently available from commercial (wild caught and aquaculture) and recreational fisheries. The potential decrease in the amount of DHA available from fish for human consumption was modeled using the predicted effect of established global warming scenarios on algal DHA production and ensuing transfer to fish. We conclude that an increase in water temperature could result, depending on the climate scenario and location, in a ~ 10 to 58% loss of globally available DHA by 2100, potentially limiting the availability of this critical nutrient to humans. Inland waters show the greatest potential for climate-warming-induced decreases in DHA available for human consumption. The projected decrease in DHA availability as a result of global warming would disproportionately affect vulnerable populations (e.g., fetuses, infants), especially in inland Africa (due to low reported per capita DHA availability). We estimated, in the worst-case scenario, that DHA availability could decline to levels where 96% of the global population may not have access to sufficient DHA.
Factors affecting the reproductive health of honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones—a review
Authors: Rangel Juliana , Fisher Adrian
Published: September 2019

In the honey bee,Apis mellifera, colonies are composed of one queen, thousands of female workers, and a few thousand seasonal males (drones) that are reared only during the reproductive season when colony resources are plentiful. Despite their transient presence in the hive, drones have the important function of mating with virgin queens, transferring their colony’s genes to their mates for the production of fertilized, worker-destined eggs. Therefore, factors affecting drone health and reproductive competency may directly affect queen fitness and longevity, having great implications at the colony level. Several environmental and in-hive conditions can affect the quality and viability of drones in general and their sperm in particular. Here we review the extant studies that describe how environmental factors including nutrition, temperature, season, and age may influence drone reproductive health. We also review studies that describe other factors, such as pesticide exposure during and after development, that may also influence drone reproductive quality. Given that sperm development in drones is completed during pupation prior to adult emergence, particular attention needs to be paid to these factors during drone development, not just during adulthood. The present review showcases a growing body of evidence indicating that drones are very sensitive to environmental fluctuations and that these factors cause drones to underperform, potentially compromising the reproductive health of their queen mates, as well as the overall fitness of their colony.
The efficiency of using CFRP as a strengthening technique for reinforced concrete beams subjected to blast loading
Authors: Jahami Ali , Temsah Yehya , Khatib Jamal
Published: September 2019

Some structures may be subjected to blast loading while in service. This may cause damage or failure to the structural elements. This paper examines the performance of reinforced concrete beams using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) when subjected to blast loading. The experimental data including damage and deflection were collected from a previous investigation and numerical analysis was then performed using ABAQUS software. Furthermore, the single degree of freedom (SDOF) model was used to complement the findings from numerical analysis. Following the good correlation between the experimental and numerical data, further analysis was performed on reinforced concrete beams strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). Using CFRP was found to enhance the load capacity and energy absorption and to reduce the central deflection. In addition, Iso-Damage curves were produced for each beam, thus allowing the assessment of damage to be predicted.
Erratum to: Electromechanical properties of Ce-doped (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 lead-free piezoceramics
Authors: Hayati Raziye , Bahrevar Mohammad Ali , Ganjkhanlou Yadolah , Rojas Virginia , Koruza Jurij
Published: September 2019

The affiliation of author “Raziye HAYATI” in the original version of this article was unfortunately wrongly written on page 186, instead of Semiconductor Division, Materials and Energy Research Center, Karaj 31787/316, Iran

It should read Department of Materials Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj, 75918-74934, Iran
Correction to: Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Type 2 Diabetes: Their Use and Differential Features
Authors: Lyseng-Williamson Katherine A.
Published: September 2019

The article Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Type 2 Diabetes: Their Use and Differential Features, written by KA Lyseng-Williamson, was originally published Online First without open access. After publication in volume 39, issue 8, pages 805-819, Springer Healthcare IME requested that the article be Open Choice to make the article an open access publication. Post-publication open access was funded by an independent educational grant from Novo Nordisk A/S . The article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
Applications of single‐cell technology on bacterial analysis
Authors: Ma Zhixin , Chu Pan M. , Su Yingtong , Yu Yue , Wen Hui , Fu Xiongfei , Huang Shuqiang
Published: September 2019

Background

Traditionally, scientists studied microbiology through the manner of batch cultures, to conclude the dynamics or outputs by averaging all individuals. However, as the researches go further, the heterogeneities among the individuals have been proven to be crucial for the population dynamics and fates.

Results

Due to the limit of technology, single‐cell analysis methods were not widely used to decipher the inherent connections between individual cells and populations. Since the early decades of this century, the rapid development of microfluidics, fluorescent labelling, next‐generation sequencing, and high‐resolution microscopy have speeded up the development of single‐cell technologies and further facilitated the applications of these technologies on bacterial analysis.

Conclusions

In this review, we summarized the recent processes of single‐cell technologies applied in bacterial analysis in terms of intracellular characteristics, cell physiology dynamics, and group behaviors, and discussed how single‐cell technologies could be more applicable for future bacterial researches.
AI-Assisted Decision-making in Healthcare
Authors: Lysaght Tamra , Lim Hannah Yeefen , Xafis Vicki , Ngiam Kee Yuan
Published: September 2019

Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform healthcare. Key ethical issues to emerge with this transformation encompass the accountability and transparency of the decisions made by AI-based systems, the potential for group harms arising from algorithmic bias and the professional roles and integrity of clinicians. These concerns must be balanced against the imperatives of generating public benefit with more efficient healthcare systems from the vastly higher and accurate computational power of AI. In weighing up these issues, this paper applies the deliberative balancing approach of the Ethics Framework for Big Data in Health and Research (Xafis et al. 2019). The analysis applies relevant values identified from the framework to demonstrate how decision-makers can draw on them to develop and implement AI-assisted support systems into healthcare and clinical practice ethically and responsibly. Please refer to Xafis et al. (2019) in this special issue of the Asian Bioethics Review for more information on how this framework is to be used, including a full explanation of the key values involved and the balancing approach used in the case study at the end of this paper.
Sample-Size Determination Methodologies for Machine Learning in Medical Imaging Research: A Systematic Review
Authors: Balki Indranil , Amirabadi Afsaneh , Levman Jacob , Martel Anne L. , Emersic Ziga , Meden Blaz , Garcia-Pedrero Angel , Ramirez Saul C. , Kong Dehan , Moody Alan R. , Tyrrell Pascal N.
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The required training sample size for a particular machine learning (ML) model applied to medical imaging data is often unknown. The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive review of current sample-size determination methodologies in ML applied to medical imaging and to propose recommendations for future work in the field.

Methods

We conducted a systematic literature search of articles using Medline and Embase with keywords including “machine learning,” “image,” and “sample size.” The search included articles published between 1946 and 2018. Data regarding the ML task, sample size, and train-test pipeline were collected.

Results

A total of 167 articles were identified, of which 22 were included for qualitative analysis. There were only 4 studies that discussed sample-size determination methodologies, and 18 that tested the effect of sample size on model performance as part of an exploratory analysis. The observed methods could be categorized as pre hoc model-based approaches, which relied on features of the algorithm, or post hoc curve-fitting approaches requiring empirical testing to model and extrapolate algorithm performance as a function of sample size. Between studies, we observed great variability in performance testing procedures used for curve-fitting, model assessment methods, and reporting of confidence in sample sizes.

Conclusions

Our study highlights the scarcity of research in training set size determination methodologies applied to ML in medical imaging, emphasizes the need to standardize current reporting practices, and guides future work in development and streamlining of pre hoc and post hoc sample size approaches.
Clinical significance of IgM deposition in pediatric minimal change disease
Authors: Al Romaili Duaa M. , Al-Hussain Turki O. , Awad Hazem S. , Saadeh Sermin A. , Al-Hassoun Ibrahim A. , Al-Shareef Turki A.
Published: September 2019

Background

Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) is a common pediatric disease. Minimal change disease (MCD) is the most common histopathological subtype and usually has good prognosis. However, in less common presentations, INS may have an unusual course that makes renal biopsy a necessity to identify its etiology. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) occasionally deposits in the mesangium and can be seen under immunofluorescence (IF). The role of IgM is controversial in MCD. It is likely associated with less favorable outcomes for MCD. This study aims to investigate the clinical significance of mesangial IgM deposits on the outcome of MCD in a pediatric population.

Methods

In this retrospective cohort study, we obtained native kidney biopsy samples from 192 children who were diagnosed with MCD from 2003 to 2014. The samples were divided into groups according to the histopathological deposition of IgM in biopsies under IF. The group for which biopsies showed IgM was labeled as IgM + IF (n = 77), and the group for which biopsies were without IgM was labeled as IgM-IF (n = 115). We reviewed hypertension, hematuria, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at the time of presentation to our institute; response to steroid therapy (remission, dependence, frequent relapses, and resistance) and response after adjuvant immunosuppressive therapy (complete remission, partial remission, frequent relapses, and no response) when indicated; development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease during the course of the disease (ESRD).

Results

Our results showed that mesangial IgM deposition in MCD showed significant statistical association with hypertension at the time of presentation (P = .05). There was statistically significant association between the presence of IgM deposition and the development of steroid dependence (P = .05) and CKD during the course of the disease (P = .05).

Conclusions

Our study showed that IgM deposition in MCD showed statistical association with hypertension by the time the patient presented to our institute, development of steroid dependence, and CKD. IgM may play a role in MCD. However, we recommend a prospective study to verify the role of IgM in MCD outcomes.
The prevalence of viral infections in children with cystic fibrosis in a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Banjar Hanaa , Chaballout Mohammad , Karkour Kawthar , Al-Ghamdi Hadeel , Al-Mogarri Ibrahim , Al-Haider Sami , Nizami Imran , Raja Rawia , AlNakhli Ali
Published: September 2019

Introduction:

Studies have shown that pulmonary exacerbations in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are associated with respiratory viruses. The most common agent causing viral infections in patients with CF before the age of 3 years is respiratory syncytial virus.

Objectives:

To obtain the prevalence of the different types of viral infection in CF patients and to identify its relation with the type of bacterial infection, (CFTR) mutations and pulmonary function test (PFT).

Methodology:

A retrospective charts review of 387 patients with CF of all age groups who were screened for the detection of viruses during respiratory exacerbation from the period of January 1,1984 to June 1, 2016.

Results:

A total of 159 CF patients had pulmonary exacerbation and had viral PCR obtained. Fifty-eight patients (36%) had positive viral PCR. Males were more commonly infected in 30/58 patients (52%) compared to females in 28 patients (48%). Forty-five of 58 patients (78%) were alive and 13 patients (22%) died. Rhinovirus was the most frequently reported viral PCR in 33/74 sample (45%). Out of 74 viral PCR, 41 (55.4%) were during the colder seasons (October–February) and 33 (44.5%) during the warmer seasons (March–September). During viral infection and viral recurrence, there was an increase in bacterial colonization specifically of H. influenza and staphylococcus aureus. The most common CFTR mutation for the CF viral infection is: 3120+1G>A in Intron 16 in 11/57 patients (19%). The Eastern Province had the highest viral infection of 24 out of 57 patients (42%). Follow-up PFT post viral infection showed no significant difference in the type and the severity of PFT compared to the initial PFT during the viral illness.

Conclusion:

Viral infections contributed to the increase in morbidity and mortality of CF patients in our population, and rhinovirus was the most common causative agent. Viral infections and viral recurrence increased the prevalence of bacterial infection of specific pathogens such as H. in fluenza and S. aureus. Physicians should be aware to prevent progressive lung damage in CF patients by treating the concomitant viral and bacterial infections. Viral infection may be associated with some common CFTR mutations.
Interrelation Between Appearance Anxiety and Sexual Functions in Women: The Role of Surgical Scars, Morphologic Features, and Accompanying Depression
Authors: Cihan Ahmet , Cihan Esra
Published: September 2019

Introduction

The findings regarding the association between body mass index (BMI) and sexuality outcomes are mixed. Subjective body image has been found to be more salient in predicting sexual function than actual body size. Previous studies have demonstrated appearance anxiety to be particularly significant.

Aim

To evaluate the association between appearance anxiety and female sexual functions. Specific aims included the evaluation of body morphologic measurements with indicators other than BMI and determining the predictive role of surgical scars for appearance anxiety and female sexual function.

Methods

Sexually active women who had been in a stable heterosexual relationship for ≥6 months participated in this study. Demographic features, anthropometric measurements including BMI, skin-fold thickness (SFT) measurements from 3 regions of the body (triceps, scapula, and abdomen) and waist circumference (WC) were assessed. Finally, participants were asked to complete the Appearance Anxiety Inventory, Female Sexual Function Index, and Beck Depression Inventory. Multivariate path analyses and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed.

Main Outcome Measures

The correlations of age, BMI, presence of surgical scars, and measurements of BMI, WC, and SFT as independent variables with Beck Depression Inventory, Appearance Anxiety Inventory, and Female Sexual Function Index scores were the main outcomes of the study.

Results

The data of 329 women were analyzed. The median age of the participants was 33 (19–52) years. The mean BMI was 24.5 (SD 3.5) kg/m2. The prevalence of female sexual dysfunction was 22.8%. Multivariate analyses revealed that increased appearance anxiety (−0.45), presence of surgical scars (−0.28), accompanying depression (−0.15), SFT abdomen measurement (−0.16), and age (−0.13) were significantly associated with sexual function. Appearance anxiety was found to be associated with accompanying depression (0.56), presence of surgical scar (0.38), and measurements of the WC (0.22), BMI (0.14), SFT-abdomen (0.12), and SFT-triceps (−0.31).

Clinical Implications

Clinicians should take the strong relationship between appearance anxiety and female sexual function into consideration. Body morphologic evaluation should not be limited to BMI; surgical scars and WC and SFT measurements may play a considerable role.

Strengths & Limitations

A major limitation of this study was the lack of personal distress evaluation in the participants.

Conclusion

Sexual complaints in middle-aged women revealed the strongest correlation with appearance anxiety. Further longitudinal studies are needed to reveal its underlying factors and implications for sexuality.
YouTube as a Source of Information About Premature Ejaculation Treatment
Authors: Gul Murat , Diri Mehmet Akif
Published: September 2019

Introduction

An increasing number of patients are seeking premature ejaculation (PE) therapy online. Although health care information on the Internet about PE is abundant, the quality of information about its treatment on YouTube, the most visited online video streaming service, is unknown.

Aim

The aim of this study was to assess the role of videos pertaining to the treatment of PE through YouTube.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed through YouTube using the keywords “cure premature ejaculation,” “end premature ejaculation,” “stop premature ejaculation,” or “premature ejaculation treatment.” The videos were sorted as reliable or nonreliable by 2 urologists as they may contain scientifically proven information or not. Nonrelevant, non-English, and silent videos were excluded. Video demographics were analyzed by the quality and source of the video.

Main Outcome Measures

A 5-point global quality scale, a 5-point modified reliability (DISCERN) tool, kappa statistic, the intraclass correlation coefficient, and descriptive statistics in the form of proportions and percentages were used.

Results

Of the 800 videos, 668 were excluded because they were duplicates (n = 389), irrelevant (n = 49), not in English (n = 284), or had no audio (n = 51). Of the 132 videos, 93 (70%) were described as reliable and 39 (30%) as nonreliable. The kappa statistic for interobserver agreement was 0.832. In the reliable information group, the reliability (2.55 ± 1.03) and quality scores of the contents (2.74 ± 1.06) were statistically higher than those in the nonreliable information group (0.23 ± 0.53 and 1.15 ± 0.48, respectively; P < .05). The majority of the nonreliable information group comprised medical advertisement/for-profit companies (51%) and individuals (41%). There was no significant difference between the reliable and nonreliable information groups in terms of average views (P = .873) and viewed videos per day (P = .538).

Clinical Implications

Evaluating videos about the management of PE holds promise for understanding what men are exposed to.

Strength & Limitations

The study simultaneously investigated the quality and accuracy of YouTube videos by several aspects using validated instruments. As for limitations, there is no consensus in the literature regarding how to assess health care-related online videos, and the results were not derived from patients’ perceptions.

Conclusion

The study highlights data about the treatment of PE on YouTube. Videos with reliable information outnumbered those with nonreliable information. This is the first study to demonstrate that YouTube is an important source of data on PE management. Physicians and health care providers should contribute reliable content, and YouTube should remove deceptive videos before patients watch them
The Relationship Between Gait Function and Erectile Dysfunction: Results from a Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Japan
Authors: Okamoto Teppei , Hatakeyama Shingo , Imai Atsushi , Konishi Sakae , Okita Kazutaka , Yamamoto Hayato , Tobisawa Yuki , Yoneyama Tohru , Mori Kazuyuki , Yoneyama Takahiro , Hashimoto Yasuhiro , Nakaji Shigeyuki , Ohyama Chikara
Published: September 2019

Introduction

Although physical activity is associated with a decreased risk of erectile dysfunction (ED), the association of ED with physical function remains unclear.

Aim

To investigate the relationship between gait function and ED in a community-dwelling population.

Methods

This cross-sectional study analyzed 324 men who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project in 2015 in Hirosaki, Japan. ED was assessed with the 5-Item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). The participants were divided into 2 groups: low IIEF-5 score (≤16) and high IIEF-5 score (>16). We evaluated physical function, including gait function and grip strength. Gait function was evaluated by 10-meter gait speed and 2-step score (the ratio of the maximum length of 2 strides to height). We assessed daily physical activity, comorbidities, mental status, and laboratory data. The association between physical function and a low IIEF-5 score was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Main Outcome Measure

The main outcome measure was to assess whether gait function was an independent indicator for erectile dysfunction.

Results

Of 324 men, 154 (48%) had a low IIEF-5 score. Grip strength, 2-step score, and 10-meter gait speed in the low IIEF-5 group were significantly inferior to those in the high IIEF-5 group. Multivariate analysis showed that the 2-step score (odds ratio = 0.08), age, and total testosterone were independently associated with a low IIEF-5.

Clinical Implications

This study may motivate clinicians to investigate predictive values of physical function for ED.

Strengths & Limitations

The strength of this study was the use of simple, objective, and feasible tests for gait function to assess its association with ED. The limitations of this study were selection bias, regional bias, and nature of the cross-sectional study.

Conclusions

Of the gait functional tests, not the 10-meter gait speed but 2-step score was an independent indicator for the presence of ED.
The Legality of US Investment Sanctions against Iran before the ICJ: A Watershed Moment for the Essential Security and Necessity Exceptions
Authors: MENKES MARCIN J.
Published: September 2019

International courts and tribunals so far have shown reluctance to delimit the normative scope of the essential security and necessity exceptions in international economic law. Legal scholars have also refrained from identifying the point of equilibrium between maintaining the core protections of international law and allowing for necessary flexibility in its application. This article argues that such stances are now untenable. The unilateral US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and the reintroduction of sanctions, has challenged the multilateral order. Although the sanctions resemble earlier measures, violation of the deal and of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231(2015) has altered the normative context. The threat to the stability of the post-war multilateral order by a permanent member of the Security Council is unique. The author shows why Iran’s recourse to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in this context should become a landmark case for international economic law and how it traps the ICJ in a gilded cage.
José Isabel Salas Galindo and Others: United States (Inter-Am. Comm'n H.R.)
Authors: Celorio Rosa
Published: September 2019

On October 5, 2018, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR or Commission) issued its long-awaited decision in the case of José Isabel Salas Galindo and Others concerning the United States. The case is related to the U.S. military intervention in Panama on December 20, 1989, which resulted in the ouster of General Manuel Noriega Moreno, the country's ruler at the time. This U.S. military operation—better known as “Operation Just Cause”—has been the subject of extensive commentary historically and wide reflection on the number of casualties, effects, legality, and scope.
The association between family dysfunction and admission to an acute mental health inpatient unit: a prospective study
Authors: Tan J. H. P. , Conlon C. , Tsamparli A. , O’Neill D. , Adamis D.
Published: September 2019

Objectives:

With the shift from deinstitutionalization to community care in mental health services, relatives of persons with severe and enduring mental illnesses have had to take over the role as primary caregivers. Disturbed family dynamics have been observed within families with an ‘ill’ member. Although schizophrenia and related mental illnesses are biologically based disorders, environmental stress (including stress within family relationships) plays a major role in the onset and maintenance of symptoms. With this study, we assume that family dynamics play a central role in the course of severe psychiatric illness and hypothesized that dysfunction within family systems is a prognostic indicator of hospitalization in the course of schizophrenia/bipolar and schizoaffective disorders.

Methods:

Prospective, observational cohort study evaluating family functioning of 121 patients (schizophrenia/bipolar and schizoaffective disorder) from community at baseline and followed-up over 12-month period after recruitment. Measurements included demographics, diagnosis, Family Assessment Device – General Functioning, Perceived Criticism Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Global Assessment of Functioning and Social Support Questionnaire-6.

Results:

Significant differences found between patients admitted and not admitted during the 12-month time period for age (p= 0.003), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS;p= 0.026), Family Assessment Device – General Functioning (FAD-GF;p= 0.007) and Social Support Questionnaire total satisfaction level (p= 0.042) at baseline. Bivariate analysis showed that those admitted into hospital were younger with a higher BPRS score, less social satisfaction and disturbed family dynamics. FAD-GF (p= 0.006) and age (p= 0.022) were significant independent predictors for admission.

Conclusion:

This provides further evidence supporting importance of promoting better family functioning through modified family dynamics, integrating and involving family into the care of such patients.
Mills made of grist, and other interesting ideas in need of clarification
Authors: Smaldino Paul E. , Spivey Michael J.
Published: September 2019

Heyes’ book is an important contribution that rightly integrates cognitive development and cultural evolution. However, understanding the cultural evolution of cognitive gadgets requires a deeper appreciation of complexity, feedback, and self-organization than her book exhibits.
Keepingculturalin cultural evolutionary psychology: Culture shapes indigenous psychologies in specific ecologies
Authors: McNamara Rita Anne , Neha Tia
Published: September 2019

InCognitive Gadgets, Heyes seeks to unite evolutionary psychology with cultural evolutionary theory. Although we applaud this unifying effort, we find it falls short of considering how culture itself evolves to produce indigenous psychologies fitted to particular environments. We focus on mentalizing and autobiographical memory as examples of how socialization practices embedded within culture build cognitive adaptations.
Instincts or gadgets? Not the debate we should be having
Authors: Sperber Dan
Published: September 2019

I argue, with examples, that most human cognitive skills are neither instincts nor gadgets but mechanisms shaped both by evolved dispositions and by cultural inputs. This shaping can work either through evolved skills fulfilling their function with the help of cultural skills that they contribute to shape, or through cultural skills recruiting evolved skills and adjusting to them.
SMALL-WORLD EFFECT IN GEOGRAPHICAL ATTACHMENT NETWORKS
Authors: Feng Qunqiang , Wang Yongkang , Hu Zhishui
Published: September 2019

In this work, we use rigorous probabilistic methods to study the asymptotic degree distribution, clustering coefficient, and diameter of geographical attachment networks. As a type of small-world network model, these networks were first proposed in the physical literature, where they were analyzed only with heuristic arguments and computational simulations.
Investigating vehicle interior designs using models that evaluate user sensory experience and perceived value
Authors: Liang Ching-Chien , Lee Ya-Hsueh , Ho Chun-Heng , Chen Kuo-Hsiang
Published: September 2019

This study adopted a Kansei engineering methodology to examine users’ Kansei values toward automotive interior designs by conducting experiments under two models: sensory experience and perceived value evaluation models. In the sensory experience model, 60 participants were recruited to experience using 27 vehicle samples and to assign scores to eight Kansei keywords. Hayashi's quantification theory type 1 was used to calculate the weight of 12 interior space items and 40 interior design categories. In the perceived value evaluation model, 60 participants completed a questionnaire on the influence levels of the Kansei keywords on their Kansei values from the perspectives of four consumer perceived value dimensions. The questionnaire scores were then evaluated using factor analysis to extract nine primary factors affecting participants’ perceptions. This study determined that the interesting and dynamic perceptions corresponded to five design items under the Excitement Quality factors, vigorous and recreational perceptions corresponded to four items under the Relaxation and Comfort factor, and technological and luxurious perceptions corresponded to six items under the Luxury and Splendor factor and the Esteemed Image factor. These findings can help designers and researchers in the relevant sectors create automotive interior designs that fulfill the expectations of users.
On being companions and strangers: Lawyers and the production of international climate law
Authors: Mason-Case Sarah
Published: September 2019

International climate law is often represented as a set of rules and institutions that scholars have tracked for nearly 30 years, whether to document them, assess their effectiveness, or prescribe reforms. This article, in contrast, adopts a critical perspective to uncover the everyday life of international climate law. From this viewpoint, international climate law is a purposive endeavour that is grounded in the small places where people create and live out the law. ‘International climate lawyers’ are among those who produce the law within these sites, and they propagate international climate law across multiple institutions. Using legal-ethnographic description, the article shows how lawyers operationalize the law in the United Nations climate regime, World Bank, and international human rights system. In each case, lawyers effect some overlapping aspirations for the law as well as legal techniques, but they also adapt their practices to the places where they work. In the process, they simultaneously build and diversify their professional community. Both in their field and community then, lawyers generate heterogeneity and homogeneity through the proliferation of international climate law. They do so on multiple registers, in terms of diverging ethical commitments, multivalent legal forms, and relative authority to speak the law, notably between institutions and the Global North and Global South. If lawyers reproduce sameness and difference in international climate law, moreover, this article suggests they may reify analogous traits in the broader field of international law, including persisting power relations.
The oil palm wine economy of rural farmers in Nigeria: evidence from Enugu Ezike, south-eastern Nigeria
Authors: Apeh Apex A. , Opata Christian C.
Published: September 2019

The study considers the economics of the oil palm (Elaeis guinensis) to rural farmers in a rural community in south-eastern Nigeria. It compares the economic benefits of all products of the oil palm industry – palm oil, palm kernel, timber, palm wine and brooms. It posits that the most important product of the oil palm to the Enugu Ezike farmer is oil palm wine. This contrasts with the view that holds palm oil and palm kernel as the chief products of the oil palm. In a study conducted in Enugu Ezike, findings reveal that annual revenue from palm wine surpasses the six-yearly income from palm oil, palm kernel and brooms together. The study employs an eclectic framework of data collection, involving oral interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, and the use of secondary sources. The oil palm is by every standard the most economically important tree crop and proceeds from it have positively influenced the socio-economic life of the rural communities, and as a result it has improved their living conditions.
Checking the sea: geographies of authority on the East Norfolk Coast (1790–1932)
Authors: Matless David
Published: September 2019

This article examines coastal defence in East Norfolk between the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries. From 1802 until 1932 sea defence between Happisburgh and Winterton was the responsibility of the Commissioners of Sewers for the Eastern Hundreds of Norfolk, more commonly known as the Sea Breach Commission (SBC). This article explores the geographies of authority shaping sea defence, with the SBC a body whose relationship to the local and national state could be uneasy. The article outlines the SBC’s nineteenth-century roles and routines, and examines its relationship to outside expertise, including its early hiring of geologist William Smith. The article reviews challenges to the SBC’s authority following late nineteenth-century flood events, details its early twentieth-century routines, and examines disputes over development on the sandhills. The article details the SBC’s dealings with an emerging national ‘nature state’, around issues such as coastal erosion and land drainage, matters which led to the SBC’s demise following the 1930 Land Drainage Act. The article concludes by considering the SBC’s contemporary resonance in a time of challenges to the role of the nature state, and anxieties over coastal defence.
Informal digital learning of English and strategic competence for cross-cultural communication: Perception of varieties of English as a mediator
Authors: Lee Ju Seong
Published: September 2019

This exploratory study examined the potential connections between informal digital learning of English (IDLE), strategic competence for cross-cultural communication and perception of varieties of English. A total of 266 Korean EFL university students, who had no overseas experience, filled in a questionnaire survey. Follow-up semi-structured interviews were also carried out to complement the quantitative data. Results of structural equation modelling showed that perception of varieties of English mediated the relationship between IDLE and strategic competence for cross-cultural communication. The qualitative data also confirmed that EFL students without overseas experience tended to adopt more effective cross-cultural communication strategies when their perception of different varieties of English became more positive through their engagement in IDLE activities. These results can offer pedagogical insights into how ELT researchers and teachers can better prepare contemporary English learners for cross-cultural interactions in multicultural environments, whether in digital or face-to-face milieus.
The politics of food in the Pacific: coherence and tension in regional policies on nutrition, the food environment and non-communicable diseases
Authors: Dodd Rebecca , Reeve Erica , Sparks Emalie , George Anita , Vivili Paula , Win Tin Si Thu , Buresova Dai , Webster Jacqui , Thow Anne-Marie
Published: September 2019

Objective:

Our study analysed evolving regional commitments on food policy in the Pacific. Our aim was to understand regional priorities and the context of policy development, to identify opportunities for progress.

Design:

We analysed documentation from a decade of regional meetings in order to map regional policy commitments relevant to healthy diets. We focused on agriculture, education, finance, health, and trade sectors, and Heads of State forums. Drawing on relevant political science methodologies, we looked at how these sectors ‘frame’ the drivers of and solutions to non-communicable diseases (NCD), their policy priorities, and identified areas of coherence and tension.

Setting:

The Pacific has among the highest rates of non-communicable diseases in the world, but also boasts an innovative and proactive response. Heads of State have declared NCD a ‘crisis’ and countries have committed to specific prevention activities set out in a regional ‘Roadmap’. Yet, diet-related NCD risk-factors remain stubbornly high and many countries face challenges in establishing a healthy food environment.

Results:

Policies to improve food environments and prevent NCD are a stated priority across regional policy forums, with clear agreement on the need for a multi-sectoral response. However, we identified challenges in sustaining these priorities as political attention fluctuated. We found examples of inconsistencies and tension in sectoral responses to the NCD epidemic that may restrict implementation of the multi-sectoral action.

Conclusion:

Understanding the priorities and positions underpinning sectoral responses can help drive a more coherent NCD response, and lessons from the Pacific are relevant to public health nutrition policy and practice globally.
Diet quality, change in diet quality and risk of incident CVD and diabetes
Authors: Xu Zhe , Steffen Lyn M , Selvin Elizabeth , Rebholz Casey M
Published: September 2019

Objective:

The objective of this study was to assess the prospective association between diet quality, as well as a 6-year change in diet quality, and risk of incident CVD and diabetes in a community-based population.

Design:

We used Cox regression models to estimate the prospective association between diet quality, assessed using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 and the Alternative HEI (AHEI)-2010 scores, as well as change in diet quality, and incident CVD and diabetes.

Setting:

The ARIC Study recruited 15 792 black and white men and women (45–64 years) from four US communities.

Participants:

We included 10 808 study participants who reported usual dietary intake via FFQ at visit 1 (1987–1989) and who had not developed CVD, diabetes, or cancer at baseline.

Results:

Overall, 3070 participants developed CVD (median follow-up of 26 years) and 3452 developed diabetes (median follow-up of 22 years) after visit 1. Higher diet score at the initial visit was associated with a significantly lower risk of CVD (HR per 10 % higher HEI-2015 diet quality score: 0·90 (95 % CI: 0·86, 0·95) and HR per 10 % higher AHEI-2010 diet quality score: 0·96 (95 % CI: 0·93, 0·99)). We did not observe a significant association between initial diet score and incident diabetes. There were no significant associations between change in diet score and CVD or diabetes risk in the overall study population.

Conclusions:

Higher diet quality assessed using HEI-2015 and AHEI-2010 was strongly associated with lower CVD risk but not diabetes risk within a middle-aged, community-based US population.
The Avant-Garde is in the Audience: On the Popular Avant-Gardism of Linton Kwesi Johnson's Dub Poetry
Authors: MUSSER JORDAN
Published: September 2019

This article presents a historical study of black British poet and recording artist Linton Kwesi Johnson. Drawing on archival research, I argue that Johnson's hybrid literary and reggae-based practice, known as ‘dub poetry’, offers fresh insight into the status of ‘the popular’ in histories and theories of the avant-garde, and of black avant-gardism specifically. I begin by discussing Johnson's participation in the Caribbean Artists Movement, a hub for diasporic arts in 1960–70s London, whereupon I show how dub poetry transposed the ideas of Johnson's colleague, pan-African Marxist C. L. R. James, in simultaneously documenting and instigating grassroots efforts at community centres where Johnson worked, notably the Race Today Collective. I contend that Johnson forged a cultural programme that paralleled James's well-known rejection of the elitist model of the political vanguard: Johnson furnished a ‘popular avant-garde’, as I call it, whose community-oriented ethos was realized via popular media like the LP and mass-democratic – populist – action campaigns.
The political economy of property rights in monarchical Iraq: the quest for land reform 1944–1958
Authors: El-Joumayle Omar A. M. , Yousif Bassam
Published: September 2019

This article explores the challenges of redefining property rights for land, with application to monarchical Iraq from 1944 to 1958. We apply two processes in the analysis of economic institutions to study history: a puzzle-solving method at the micro level, with broader interest in the role of institutions in development and economic growth at the macro level. Thus, we explore the interaction between demanders and suppliers of land reform in the political market, focusing on the parliamentary influence of big landholders as an interest group. We conclude that despite increasing demand for land reform, politicians were able to supply quantitative change only, consisting of the allocation of newly arable land to landless cultivators, rather than the redistribution of existing assets or qualitative change. We analyse these findings in relation to our concern for the role of institutions in development. Our discussion uncovers key insights into Iraq's political economy and its institutions.
Obesity is associated with folate metabolism
Authors: Köse Süleyman , Sözlü Saniye , Bölükbaşi Hatice , Ünsal Nüket , Gezmen-Karadağ Makbule
Published: September 2019

Abstract. Objective: The aim of the present study is to perform a systemic review of the previous studies executed on the association between obesity and folate.

Method: In the present research, the selected keywords were scanned on the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane and Lilac databases between May and June, 2017 through Gazi University’s network. In total, 4236 clinical, randomized controlled, cross-sectional and prospective studies were determined and 17 of these that specifically fit the aims of the present research were reviewed. This study involved an electronic literature search of databases on folic acid and obesity published in the English language between 2000 and 2016.

Results: Of the 17 studies, 5 were based on folic acid supplementation and 12 were related with participants’ folate status. As a general consequence of both intake and serum/status measurements of folic acid supplementation: It was found that obesity-associated metabolic changes might affect individual folate use and obese individuals had lower serum folate levels, although there was no change in folate intake.

Conclusion: Overweight and obese individuals have lower serum folate concentrations when compared with individuals with normal weight. It is explained by increased use of folic acid, urinary excretion, dilution of blood volume, different levels in different tissues and changes in the endocrine functions of folate. Individuals with higher Body Mass Indexes have less supplement use, unhealthier diets and donot consume sufficient vegetables and fruits, all of which can affect decrease in folate levels. Furthermore, adiposity may affect folate absorption by intestinal epithelium.
Technikweiterbildungen für pflegende Angehörige – Bildungs- und Beratungskonzepte zu assistiven Technologien für pflegende Angehörige von Menschen mit Demenz
Authors: Paulicke Denny , Buhtz Christian , Meyer Gabriele , Schwarz Karsten , Stoevesandt Dietrich , Jahn Patrick
Published: September 2019

Zusammenfassung. Die Angehörigen übernehmen den größten Teil der häuslichen Pflege von Menschen mit Demenz. In Anbetracht der wachsenden Zahl der pflegebedürftigen Menschen mit Demenz werden auch assistive Technologien als Unterstützung zunehmend diskutiert. Der Erwerb von Wissen über bestehende technische Systeme sowie von Kompetenzen für die pflegenden Angehörigen bilden dafür die Vorrausetzung.