bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of dexmedetomidine on perioperative morbidity during nasal surgery: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Hwang Se Hwan , Lee Ho Seok , Joo Young Hoon , Seo Jae Hyun , Kang Jun Myung
Published: September 2017

Objectives

The goal of this meta‐analysis was to perform a systematic review of the literature on the effect of dexmedetomidine on perioperative morbidity following nasal surgery and on the adverse effects of dexmedetomidine.

Data Sources

MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Review Methods

Two authors independently searched scientific and medical databases from their inception of article collection to March 2017. Studies that compared perioperative dexmedetomidine administration (dexmedetomidine group) with another agent under monitored anesthesia care (MAC) or general anesthesia (control group) with outcomes of interest that were perioperative pain intensity; rescue analgesic consumption; or adverse effects such as hemodynamic instability, nausea, and vomiting (PONV), and operative bleeding were included in the analysis.

Results

Perioperative pain scores and postoperative need for analgesics were significantly decreased in the dexmedetomidine group versus control group (other agent or general anesthesia). In subgroup analysis according to anesthesia type (general anesthesia and other sedatives in MAC), dexmedetomidine showed a similar effect on bradycardia, hypotension, and desaturation with general anesthesia, but it reduced PONV effectively compared with general anesthesia. Additionally, dexmedetomidine satisfied patient significantly. By contrast, compared with other sedative under MAC, it provoked bradycardia significantly.

Conclusion

This meta‐analysis showed that systemic administration of dexmedetomidine efficiently can decrease intraoperative and postoperative pain without adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, and respiratory depression. Dexmedetomidine also can decrease analgesic consumption. However, clinicians should be aware of the potential for intraoperative bradycardia; patients also should be educated regarding these possibilities.

Level of Evidence

NA. Laryngoscope, 128:573–580, 2018
Long‐term impact of endoscopic orbital decompression on sinonasal‐specific quality of life
Authors: Mueller Sarina K. , Miyake Marcel M. , Lefebvre Daniel R. , Freitag Suzanne K. , Bleier Benjamin S.
Published: September 2017

Objective

Endoscopic orbital decompression (EOD) is the workhorse surgical intervention for severe thyroid eye disease in Graves disease. Although EOD is a safe and effective procedure, the objective of this study is to determine the impact of orbital decompression on long‐term sinonasal‐pecific quality of life.

Methods

Retrospective study of 27 patients who underwent EOD by a single surgeon. The primary endpoint was change in preoperative 22‐item Sinonasal Outcomes Test (SNOT‐22) score at a minimum of 1 year. The secondary endpoint was to determine whether the performance of septoplasty for surgical access in patients without nasal obstruction impacted domain 1 (i.e., rhinologic domain) and total SNOT‐22 scores.

Results

The mean follow‐up was 25.7 ± 11.4 months. Domain 1 scores significantly increased at the first postoperative visit (P ≤ 0.01) and returned to baseline values between 1 and 3 months. At 1 year, significant improvements in both total score and domain 4 and 5 (psychological and sleep dysfunction, respectively) scores were seen (P < 0.01 for all scores). Septoplasty was not associated with a significant change in SNOT‐22 score at 1 year (P = 0.48).

Conclusion

Endoscopic orbital decompression is associated at 1 year with a significant improvement in sinonasal‐specific quality of life, which is driven by the psychological and sleep dysfunction domains. Adjunctive septoplasty has no significant impact on SNOT‐22 scores.

Level of Evidence

4. Laryngoscope, 128:785–788, 2018
Pharmacologic management of voice disorders by general medicine providers and otolaryngologists
Authors: Cohen Seth M. , Lee Hui‐Jie , Roy Nelson , Misono Stephanie
Published: September 2017

Objectives

1) To compare laryngeal diagnoses from general medical providers (GMP) to otolaryngologists following GMP‐based medication trial, and 2) to evaluate associations between GMP medication trials and pharmacologic treatment by otolaryngologists.

Methods

Retrospective cohort analysis using large, national administrative U.S. claims database. Patients with laryngeal/voice disorders as per the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2012, seen by a GMP and then an otolaryngologist between 2 weeks to 3 months after the GMP visit, were included. Patient demographics, comorbid conditions, medication use, and initial GMP and otolaryngology laryngeal diagnoses were collected. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between GMP and otolaryngologist medication trials.

Results

A total of 12,475 unique laryngeal/voice‐disordered patients met inclusion criteria. At the initial GMP visit, 15.3% received an antibiotic, 14.0% a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), and 7.7% an oral steroid. After the otolaryngology visit, increased diagnoses of vocal fold paralysis/paresis, benign vocal fold/laryngeal pathology, chronic laryngitis, and multiple diagnoses occurred. The adjusted odds for an otolaryngologist prescribing an antibiotic, PPI, or oral steroid, respectively, given that a GMP prescribed an antibiotic, PPI, or oral steroid, was roughly two to three times higher that of a GMP not prescribing the given medication.

Conclusion

Patients with structural and neuromuscular laryngeal disorders were treated with medications by GMPs, and similar mediations often were repeated after otolaryngology evaluation. These findings suggest potential areas of unnecessary pharmacologic treatment of laryngeal/voice‐disordered patients.

Level of Evidence

2b. Laryngoscope, 128:682–689, 2018
A cadaver study of mastoidectomy using an image‐guided human–robot collaborative control system
Authors: Yoo Myung Hoon , Lee Hwan Seo , Yang Chan Joo , Lee Seung Hwan , Lim Hoon , Lee Seongpung , Yi Byung‐Ju , Chung Jong Woo
Published: September 2017

Objective

Surgical precision would be better achieved with the development of an anatomical monitoring and controlling robot system than by traditional surgery techniques alone. We evaluated the feasibility of robot‐assisted mastoidectomy in terms of duration, precision, and safety.

Study Design

Human cadaveric study.

Materials and Methods

We developed a multi‐degree‐of‐freedom robot system for a surgical drill with a balancing arm. The drill system is manipulated by the surgeon, the motion of the drill burr is monitored by the image‐guided system, and the brake is controlled by the robotic system. The system also includes an alarm as well as the brake to help avoid unexpected damage to vital structures. Experimental mastoidectomy was performed in 11 temporal bones of six cadavers. Parameters including duration and safety were assessed, as well as intraoperative damage, which was judged via pre‐ and post‐operative computed tomography.

Results

The duration of mastoidectomy in our study was comparable with that required for chronic otitis media patients. Although minor damage, such as dura exposure without tearing, was noted, no critical damage to the facial nerve or other important structures was observed. When the brake system was set to 1 mm from the facial nerve, the postoperative average bone thicknesses of the facial nerve was 1.39, 1.41, 1.22, 1.41, and 1.55 mm in the lateral, posterior pyramidal and anterior, lateral, and posterior mastoid portions, respectively.

Conclusion

Mastoidectomy can be successfully performed using our robot‐assisted system while maintaining a pre‐set limit of 1 mm in most cases. This system may thus be useful for more inexperienced surgeons.

Level of Evidence

NA.
A parallel MR imaging method using multilayer perceptron
Authors: Kwon Kinam , Kim Dongchan , Park HyunWook
Published: September 2017

Purpose

To reconstruct MR images from subsampled data, we propose a fast reconstruction method using the multilayer perceptron (MLP) algorithm.

Methods and materials

We applied MLP to reduce aliasing artifacts generated by subsampling in k‐space. The MLP is learned from training data to map aliased input images into desired alias‐free images. The input of the MLP is all voxels in the aliased lines of multichannel real and imaginary images from the subsampled k‐space data, and the desired output is all voxels in the corresponding alias‐free line of the root‐sum‐of‐squares of multichannel images from fully sampled k‐space data. Aliasing artifacts in an image reconstructed from subsampled data were reduced by line‐by‐line processing of the learned MLP architecture.

Results

Reconstructed images from the proposed method are better than those from compared methods in terms of normalized root‐mean‐square error. The proposed method can be applied to image reconstruction for any k‐space subsampling patterns in a phase encoding direction. Moreover, to further reduce the reconstruction time, it is easily implemented by parallel processing.

Conclusion

We have proposed a reconstruction method using machine learning to accelerate imaging time, which reconstructs high‐quality images from subsampled k‐space data. It shows flexibility in the use of k‐space sampling patterns, and can reconstruct images in real time.
Hybrid ultrasound‐MR guided HIFU treatment method with 3D motion compensation
Authors: Celicanin Zarko , Manasseh Gibran , Petrusca Lorena , Scheffler Klaus , Auboiroux Vincent , Crowe Lindsey A. , Hyacinthe Jean‐Noel , Natsuaki Yutaka , Santini Francesco , Becker Christoph D. , Terraz Sylvain , Bieri Oliver , Salomir Rares
Published: September 2017

Purpose

Treatments using high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the abdominal region remain challenging as a result of respiratory organ motion. A novel method is described here to achieve 3D motion‐compensated ultrasound (US) MR‐guided HIFU therapy using simultaneous ultrasound and MRI.

Methods

A truly hybrid US‐MR‐guided HIFU method was used to plan and control the treatment. Two‐dimensional ultrasound was used in real time to enable tracking of the motion in the coronal plane, whereas an MR pencil‐beam navigator was used to detect anterior–posterior motion. Prospective motion compensation of proton resonance frequency shift (PRFS) thermometry and HIFU electronic beam steering were achieved.

Results

The 3D prospective motion‐corrected PRFS temperature maps showed reduced intrascan ghosting artifacts, a high signal‐to‐noise ratio, and low geometric distortion. The k‐space data yielded a consistent temperature‐dependent PRFS effect, matching the gold standard thermometry within approximately 1°C. The maximum in‐plane temperature elevation ex vivo was improved by a factor of 2. Baseline thermometry acquired in volunteers indicated reduction of residual motion, together with an accuracy/precision of near‐harmonic referenceless PRFS thermometry on the order of 0.5/1.0°C.

Conclusions

Hybrid US‐MR‐guided HIFU ablation with 3D motion compensation was demonstrated ex vivo together with a stable referenceless PRFS thermometry baseline in healthy volunteer liver acquisitions. Magn Reson Med 79:2511–2523, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Practices and rationales of embodied philanthropy
Authors: Robert Julie
Published: September 2017

In the past decades, philanthropy, like many aspects of contemporary culture, has taken a bodily turn. This paper argues that embodied philanthropy, the temporarily alteration of one's physical appearance or routine behaviors in support of a cause, is flourishing because the body simultaneously and with relatively little effort serves the various needs of both participants and campaign organizers. The body's multivalent semiotic potential allows it to be, when philanthropically tasked, an income generator, billboard, martyred example, producer of emotion, pedagogical space, exemplar of good health, and style project and to cohere these functions despite potential tensions.

A series of micro‐case studies of various Australian appearance, activity, and abstention‐based initiatives draws on cultural theories of the body to explicate these 7 core functions of the philanthropic body and highlight key concerns for campaign design and evaluation. This study contends that a holistic view of embodied philanthropy initiatives is needed to better understand their impact and provides practitioners and scholars with a framework for understanding an area of philanthropy where practice outstrips research.
Desire for parenthood and reproductive health knowledge in adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease and their caregivers
Authors: Nahata Leena , Caltabellotta Nicole M. , Ball Kyle , O'Brien Sarah H. , Creary Susan E.
Published: September 2017

Background/objective

Sickle cell disease (SCD) and hydroxyurea have implications for fertility and reproductive health. The goal of this study was to examine desire for parenthood and reproductive health knowledge among a cohort of adolescent and young adult (AYA) with SCD receiving hydroxyurea and their caregivers at a large pediatric academic center.

Methods

Patients with SCD were approached from September 2016 to July 2017 if they were: (1) 12–20 years old, (2) prescribed hydroxyurea for at least 6 months, (3) proficient in English, and (4) accompanied by a caregiver who was proficient in English and willing to participate.  Participants self‐reported sociodemographic characteristics and completed surveys to assess their/their child's desire for parenthood and other life goals, and reproductive health knowledge.

Results

Eighteen patient–caregiver dyads completed the study (78.3% of those eligible); 61.1% indicated that they wanted to have future biological children.  Few participants reported receiving information about fertility (16.7% of AYA and 27.8% of caregivers) or birth control (11.1% of AYA and 22.2% of caregivers) from their/their child's health care provider, and the majority had received no information on these topics. Less than half of participants reported that SCD (22.2% of AYA and 50.0% of caregivers) or hydroxyurea (11.1% of AYA and 27.8% of parents) could potentially impair fertility.

Conclusions

Biological parenthood was important to this cohort yet fertility and reproductive health knowledge was low, suggesting that clinicians should prioritize conversations about infertility risk and birth control options with AYA with SCD on hydroxyurea and their caregivers.  More research is needed to identify optimal approaches to these discussions.
Comparing Job Applicants to Non–Applicants Using An Item–Level Bifactor Model on the Hexaco Personality Inventory
Authors: Anglim Jeromy , Morse Gavin , De Vries Reinout E. , MacCann Carolyn , Marty Andrew
Published: September 2017

The present study evaluated the ability of item–level bifactor models (a) to provide an alternative explanation to current theories of higher order factors of personality and (b) to explain socially desirable responding in both job applicant and non–applicant contexts. Participants (46% male; mean age = 42 years, SD = 11) completed the 200–item HEXACO Personality Inventory–Revised either as part of a job application ( n = 1613) or as part of low–stakes research ( n = 1613). A comprehensive set of invariance tests were performed. Applicants scored higher than non–applicants on honesty–humility ( d = 0.86), extraversion ( d = 0.73), agreeableness ( d = 1.06), and conscientiousness ( d = 0.77). The bifactor model provided improved model fit relative to a standard correlated factor model, and loadings on the evaluative factor of the bifactor model were highly correlated with other indicators of item social desirability. The bifactor model explained approximately two–thirds of the differences between applicants and non–applicants. Results suggest that rather than being a higher order construct, the general factor of personality may be caused by an item–level evaluative process. Results highlight the importance of modelling data at the item–level. Implications for conceptualizing social desirability, higher order structures in personality, test development, and job applicant faking are discussed. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology
Estimating the prevalence of borderline personality disorder in mothers involved in youth protection services
Authors: Laporte Lise , Paris Joel , Zelkowitz Phyllis
Published: September 2017

Characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD) can undermine maternal capacity and in some cases lead to involvement with youth protection services (YPS). Yet, few studies exist on the prevalence of maternal BPD in this context and on the comparison of these families with families with other maternal psychiatric disorders or families with no mental illness within YPS. The current study surveyed 291 caseworkers working with mothers whose children and adolescents are followed by YPS. After reported prevalence was adjusted with validation procedures, the prevalence of maternal BPD in a sample of 1875 mothers was 34.3%. Comparison of three groups of families suggest that some risk factors, including substance abuse and severe conjugal conflicts, were more frequent in mothers with BPD than in mothers with other psychiatric illness or none. Furthermore, results revealed that 48.9% of mothers with BPD had a history of being followed by YPS in their childhood. Finally, children of mothers with BPD were placed at a younger age than the other children and were less often reported for conduct disorder. These results call for more attention to these highly vulnerable parents and children in both research and in adult and child mental health services. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High‐Efficiency Separation of (6,5) Carbon Nanotubes by Stepwise Elution Gel Chromatography
Authors: Wei Xiaojun , Tanaka Takeshi , Hirakawa Takuya , Wang Guowei , Kataura Hiromichi
Published: September 2017

We adopted stepwise elution gel chromatography method for CoMoCAT single‐walled carbon nanotubes that is well known as narrow chirality distribution. High‐efficiency separation of (6,5) single‐chirality is realized. Because of high throughput of this method, even a lab scale apparatus can separate 0.43 milligram of (6,5) per one‐round separation procedure (4.5  h) with a separation yield of 24% with respect to the loaded (6,5) nanotubes. This method can also separate high‐purity metallic and rest of semiconducting carbon nanotubes simultaneously. Because of the high‐scalability of column chromatography, this high‐efficiency method is suitable for the large scale production of single chirality single‐walled carbon nanotubes in an industrial scale.
High Temperature Stability of BaZrO3: An Ab Initio Thermodynamic Study
Authors: Raja Nadarajan , Murali Deveraj , Posselt Matthias , Satyanarayana Satyavolu Venkata Maruthi
Published: September 2017

BaZrO3 exhibits excellent proton conductivity and good high‐temperature stability. It is therefore a promising electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cells. The stability of BaZrO3 at high temperatures is generally explained by the low diffusivity of O vacancy. Present first principle density functional theory calculations show that the slow migration of the doubly charged O vacancy at high temperature cannot be solely caused by the ground‐state migration energy but by the contribution of phonon excitations to the free migration energy. With increasing temperature, the effective barrier for oxygen vacancy migration increases. At about 1000 K, which is the operating temperature of fuel cells, the calculated O vacancy diffusivity is more than one order of magnitude lower than that determined using ground‐state migration barrier. The calculated diffusivity data agree well with experimental results from literature. The present work reveals that the high‐temperature stability of BaZrO3 is mainly due to the phonon contribution to the free migration energy of the O vacancy.
A novel approach for intra‐operative shape acquisition of the tibio‐femoral joints using 3D laser scanning in computer assisted orthopaedic surgery
Authors: Joshi Shailesh V. , Rowe Philip J.
Published: September 2017

Background

Image registration (IR) is an important process of developing a spatial relationship between pre‐operative data and the physical patient in the operation theatre. Current IR techniques for Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery (CAOS) are time consuming and costly. There is a need to automate and accelerate this process.

Methods

Bespoke quick, cost effective, contactless and automated 3D laser scanning techniques based on the DAVID Laserscanner method were designed. 10 cadaveric knee joints were intra‐operatively laser scanned and were registered with the pre‐operative MRI scans. The results are supported with a concurrent validity study.

Results

The average absolute errors between scan models were systematically less than 1 mm. Errors on femoral surfaces were higher than tibial surfaces (P<0.05). Additionally, scans acquired through the large exposure produced higher errors than the smaller exposure (P<0.05).

Conclusion

This study has provided proof of concept for a novel automated shape acquisition and registration technique for CAOS.
Suspended Silicon Microphotodiodes for Electrochemical and Biological Applications
Authors: Vargas‐Estevez Carolina , Duch Marta , Duque Marcos , del Campo Francisco Javier , Enriquez‐Barreto Lilian , Murillo Gonzalo , Torras Núria , Plaza José A. , Saura Carlos A. , Esteve Jaume
Published: September 2017

Local electric stimulation of tissues and cells has gained importance as therapeutic alternative in the treatment of many diseases. These alternatives aim to deliver a less invasively stimuli in liquid media, making imperative the development of versatile micro‐ and nanoscale solutions for wireless actuation. Here, a simple microfabrication process to produce suspended silicon microphotodiodes that can be activated by visible light to generate local photocurrents in their surrounding medium is presented. Electrical characterization using electrical probes confirms their diode behavior. To demonstrate their electrochemical performance, an indirect test is implemented in solution through photoelectrochemical reactions controlled by a white‐LED lamp. Furthermore, their effects on biological systems are observed in vitro using mouse primary neurons in which the suspended microphotodiodes are activated periodically with white‐LED lamp, bringing out observable morphological changes in neuronal processes. The results demonstrate a simplified and cost‐effective wireless tool for photovoltaic current generation in liquid media at the microscale.
Nickel oxide nanoparticles induce hepatocyte apoptosis via activating endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways in rats
Authors: Chang Xuhong , Liu Fangfang , Tian Minmin , Zhao Hongjun , Han Aijie , Sun Yingbiao
Published: September 2017

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (nano NiO) could induce hepatocyte apoptosis, while its potential mechanisms are unclear. This study aimed to explore the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways in hepatocyte apoptosis induced by nano NiO. Male Wistar rats were administrated with nano NiO (0.015, 0.06, and 0.24 mg/kg b.w.) and micro NiO (0.24 mg/kg b.w.) by intratracheal instillation twice a week for 6 weeks. We measured the hepatocyte apoptosis levels by TdT‐mediated dUTP nick‐end labeling (TUNEL) staining, ER stress related gene and protein expression levels in rat liver. The results showed that the TUNEL positive cells increased after exposure nano NiO, hinting hepatocyte apoptosis. The up‐regulated gene and protein levels of 78 kD glucose regulated protein and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein suggested that nano NiO triggered ER stress. Nano NiO exposure contributed to the increased protein contents of inositol‐requiring enzyme 1 (IRE‐1)α, p‐IRE‐1α, X box protein‐1S, pancreatic ER kinase (PERK), p‐PERK, eukaryotic initiation factor‐2 alpha (eIF‐2α), p‐eIF‐2α, caspase‐12, −9, and −3, implicating that nano NiO can activate the pathways of ER stress‐mediated apoptosis. These findings indicate that the ER stress pathways may play an important role in hepatocyte apoptosis induced by nano NiO.
A Closer Look at Close Reading: Three Under‐the‐Radar Skills Needed to Comprehend Sentences
Authors: Mesmer Heidi Anne , Rose‐McCully M.M.
Published: September 2017

Close reading requires students to unpack the implicit relationships within and across sentences. The authors discuss three potential barriers to comprehension embedded within text that they have seen with their own students and with the teachers they have worked with: anaphoric relationships, connectives, and appositives. The authors begin each section with a vignette that provides an example of the problem area and a definition of each, with supporting research. The authors then conclude each section with strategies for teaching anaphora, connectives, and appositives.
Short note: Method of Dimensionality Reduction for compressible viscoelastic media. I. Frictionless normal contact of a Kelvin‐Voigt solid
Authors: Willert E. , Popov V. L.
Published: September 2017

Based on the Method of Functional Equations by Lee and Radok we present the application of the Method of Dimensionality Reduction to frictionless axisymmetric normal contacts with a compressible Kelvin‐Voigt material. Both the contact between a rigid indenter and a viscoelastic medium and contacts between two viscoelastic bodies are studied. All mapping rules are given, strictly proven and illustrated by examples.
Open Fracture Management in Low‐Resource Settings: A Medical Training Experience in Cambodian Hospitals
Authors: Tajsic Nenad B. , Sambath Puon , Nguon Sophy , Sokh Vannara , Chheang Virak , Landsem Gaute , Zaletel Ivan , Husum Hans
Published: September 2017

Introduction

A prospective interventional study has been carried out on the teaching effect and sustainability of low‐cost trauma training program in open tibia fracture management for health workers.

Materials and methods

In 2007, an external fixator and a patella‐bearing orthosis were developed at a rural workshop in Cambodia. From 2010 to 2016, a core group of nine Cambodian health workers was trained in open fracture management by Norwegian senior surgeons, using the locally made fixator and brace. The training outcome was also assessed by a questionnaire comprising of assertions regarding theoretical understanding, technical skills and self‐confidence in understanding the biomechanical properties of locally made external fixator and its application; the use of handmade orthosis and principle in covering of soft‐tissue defects.

Results

The students managed 23 cases with the new technique with a primary healing rate of 70% (95% CI 48.1–85.5). A significant increase in self‐reported technical skills, understanding, and self‐confidence was reported.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that the capacity building of reconstructive surgery in low‐resource settings by local doctors and paramedics is clearly a reasonable option that may substantially reduce amputation of the limbs.
Blood free Radicals Concentration Determined by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Delayed Cerebral Ischemia Occurrence in Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Ewelina Grzywna , Krzysztof Stachura , Marek Moskala , Krzysztof Kruczala
Published: September 2017

Pathophysiology of delayed cerebral ischemia and cerebral vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is still poorly recognized, however free radicals are postulated as one of the crucial players. This study was designed to scrutinize whether the concentration of free radicals in the peripheral venous blood is related to the occurrence of delayed cerebral ischemia associated with cerebral vasospasm. Twenty-four aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients and seven patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysm (control group) have been studied. Free radicals in patients’ blood have been detected by the electron paramagnetic resonance (CMH.HCl spin probe, 150 K, ELEXSYS E500 spectrometer) on admission and at least 72 h from disease onset. Delayed cerebral ischemia monitoring was performed by daily neurological follow-up and transcranial color coded Doppler. Delayed cerebral ischemia observed in six aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients was accompanied by cerebral vasospasm in all six cases. No statistically significant difference in average free radicals concentration between controls and study subgroups was noticed on admission (p = .3; Kruskal–Wallis test). After 72 h free radicals concentration in delayed cerebral ischemia patients (3.19 ± 1.52 mmol/l) differed significantly from the concentration in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients without delayed cerebral ischemia (0.65 ± 0.37 mmol/l) (p = .012; Mann–Whitney test). These findings are consistent with our assumptions and seem to confirm the role of free radicals in delayed cerebral ischemia development. Preliminary results presented above are promising and we need perform further investigation to establish whether blood free radicals concentration may serve as the biomarker of delayed cerebral ischemia associated with cerebral vasospasm.
BANKERS’ FORECASTS OF FARMLAND VALUES: A QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION
Authors: KUETHE TODD H. , HUBBS TODD
Published: September 2017

This study evaluates the farmland price forecasts provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Land Values and Credit Conditions Survey from 1991: quarter 1 (Q1) through 2016: Q1. Prior studies have demonstrated that similar surveys of agricultural bankers provide accurate predictions of the direction of future farm real estate values through qualitative forecast evaluation. This study extends the existing knowledge base by converting the qualitative responses to quantitative expectations. The quantified expectations are then subjected to additional forecast optimality tests, which suggest that the forecasts are unbiased but inefficient.
Keeping Communications Flowing During Large-scale Disasters: Leveraging Amateur Radio Innovations for Disaster Medicine
Authors: Cid Victor H. , Mitz Andrew R. , Arnesen Stacey J.
Published: September 2017

Medical facilities may struggle to maintain effective communications during a major disaster. Natural and man-made disasters threaten connectivity by degrading or crippling Internet, cellular/mobile, and landline telephone services across wide areas. Communications among staff, between facilities, and to resources outside the disaster area may be lost for an extended time. A prototype communications system created by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides basic communication services that ensure essential connectivity in the face of widespread infrastructure loss. It leverages amateur radio to provide resilient email service to local users, enabling them to reach intact communications networks outside the disaster zone. Because amateur radio is inexpensive, always available, and sufficiently independent of terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure, it has often augmented telecommunications capabilities of medical facilities. NLM’s solution is unique in that it provides end-user to end-user direct email communications, without requiring the intervention of a radio operator in the handling of the messages. Medical staff can exchange email among themselves and with others outside the communications blackout zone. The technology is portable, is deployable on short notice, and can be powered in a variety of ways to adapt to the circumstances of each crisis. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:257–264)
Pattern generation problems arising in multiplicative integer systems
Authors: BAN JUNG-CHAO , HU WEN-GUEI , LIN SONG-SUN
Published: September 2017

This study investigates a multiplicative integer system, an invariant subset of the full shift under the action of the semigroup of multiplicative integers, by using a method that was developed for studying pattern generation problems. The spatial entropy and the Minkowski dimensions of general multiplicative systems can thus be computed. A coupled system is the intersection of a multiplicative integer system and the golden mean shift, which can be decoupled by removing the multiplicative relation set and then performing procedures similar to those applied to a decoupled system. The spatial entropy can be obtained after the remaining error term is shown to approach zero.
Escape rates for special flows and their higher order asymptotics
Authors: DREHER FABIAN , KESSEBÖHMER MARC
Published: September 2017

In this paper escape rates and local escape rates for special flows are studied. In a general context the first result is that the escape rate depends monotonically on the ceiling function and fulfils certain scaling, invariance and continuity properties. In the context of metric spaces local escape rates are considered. If the base transformation is ergodic and exhibits an exponential convergence in probability of ergodic sums, then the local escape rate with respect to the flow is just the local escape rate with respect to the base transformation, divided by the integral of the ceiling function. Also, a reformulation with respect to induced pressure is presented. Finally, under additional regularity conditions higher order asymptotics for the local escape rate are established.
CHURCH CORPORATIONS AND THE CONFLICT OF LAWS IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA
Authors: Funk Kellen
Published: September 2017

Scholars frequently describe American religious disestablishment using commercial analogies, reckoning that states “privatized” religion or subjected churches to “free-market competition” by making them more like commercial businesses, yet this article demonstrates in part how churches pioneered many of the corporate devices that came to define American enterprise after the Civil War. Such descriptions are thus anachronistic. Antebellum jurists were not concerned about the similarity of churches to businesses, but rather their similarity to states, and the republican fear that churches could be rival sovereign states at first structured the law of disestablishment and incorporation. In most states, churches gained rights of general incorporation but faced significant limitations on their corporate governance and property holdings. InDartmouth College, the Marshall Court reimagined religious societies as private owners who, instead of governing as rival sovereignties, administered property in trust under their charters. But with the vague charters of general incorporation, state judges were left without a definite source of law to adjudicate church disputes. This article argues that courts thus allowed trust law to function as a conflict of laws analysis: Judges treated religious doctrine as a foreign legal system with rules that could be ascertained and accorded respect in American courts. Such a move created a positive, corporate right of religious liberty that becomes obscured if one conceives of religious freedom only as an individual right to be asserted against the state.
Thermo-Electro-Mechanical Vibration Characteristics of Graphene/Piezoelectric/Graphene Sandwich Nanobeams
Authors: Kammoun N. , Jrad H. , Bouaziz S. , Amar M. B. , Soula M. , Haddar M.
Published: September 2017

This paper reports an investigation on thermo-electro-mechanical vibration of graphene/piezoelectric graphene/piezoelectric/graphene sandwich nanobeams. Based on the nonlocal elasticity theory, Timoshenko beam theory and Hamilton's principles, the governing equations are developed and solved using generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method. The effects of the nonlocal parameter, external electrical voltage, temperature change and axial force on vibration of graphene/piezoelectric/graphene sandwich nanobeams are examined. The performance and the accuracy of the presented model are highlighted through numerical examples with different boundary conditions. This study reports that the nonlocal parameter and thermo-electro-mechanical loadings have important effect on the natural frequencies and the deflection mode shapes of the graphene/piezoelectric/graphene sandwich nanobeam. The present work can serve as guideline for the design of a nanoscale graphene/piezoelectric/graphene beams based electromechanical resonator sensors.
USING MULTIPLE LINES OF EVIDENCE TO IDENTIFY PREHISPANIC MAYA BURNT-LIME KILNS IN THE NORTHERN YUCATÁN PENINSULA
Authors: Seligson Kenneth E. , Gallareta Negrón Tomás , Ciau Rossana May , Bey George J.
Published: September 2017

This study discusses the investigation of a series of pit-kilns in and around the prehispanic site of Kiuic in the Puuc region of the northern Maya lowlands and presents the multiple lines of evidence that identify these structures as lime production features. The study reports the results of systematic excavations, archaeometric analyses, archaeological experiments, ethnographic inquiries, and spatial analyses. Burnt lime has been used for architectural, dietary, hygienic, and other purposes by the Maya for at least three millennia and yet its importance in prehispanic Maya society is belied by the lack of lime production features identified in the archaeological record. The identification of these structures as lime production features has implications for understanding subregional differences in socioeconomic organization and resource management practices among the prehispanic Maya. This report provides a model for using multiple methods and analyses to investigate and identify lime production kilns that can be applied to societies and landscapes throughout the Maya area and the broader premodern world.
Libyan cultural heritage in danger: the museums of Tripolitania
Authors: Musso Luisa
Published: September 2017

This paper looks at the current state of museums in Tripolitania and what can be done to protect their contents, focusing on the case study of Bani Walid. It also examines the importance of the digitisation of records to help preserve them, as well as to enable easy dissemination.
Using two-sex life tables to determine fitness parameters of fourBactroceraspecies (Diptera: Tephritidae) reared on a semi-artificial diet
Authors: Jaleel W. , Yin J. , Wang D. , He Y. , Lu L. , Shi H.
Published: September 2017

Fruit flies in the genusBactroceraare global, economically important pests of agricultural food crops. However, basic life history information about these pests, which is vital for designing more effective control methods, is currently lacking. Artificial diets can be used as a suitable replacement for natural host plants for rearing fruit flies under laboratory conditions, and this study reports on the two-sex life-table parameters of fourBactroceraspecies (Bactrocera correcta, Bactrocera dorsalis, Bactrocera cucurbitae,andBactrocera tau) reared on a semi-artificial diet comprising corn flour, banana, sodium benzoate, yeast, sucrose, winding paper, hydrochloric acid and water. The results indicated that the larval development period ofB. correcta(6.81 ± 0.65 days) was significantly longer than those of the other species. The fecundity ofB. dorsalis(593.60 eggs female−1) was highest among the four species. There were no differences in intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) among the four species. The gross reproductive rate (GRR) and net reproductive rate (R0) ofB. dorsaliswere higher than those of the other species, and the mean generation time (T) ofB. cucurbitae(42.08 ± 1.21 h) was longer than that of the other species. We conclude that the semi-artificial diet was most suitable for rearingB. dorsalis,due to its shorter development time and higher fecundity. These results will be useful for future studies of fruit fly management.
The Occult of Personality: Korea's Candlelight Protests and the Impeachment of Park Geun-hye
Authors: Doucette Jamie
Published: September 2017

The phrase “cult of personality” is used more often to describe North Korea's Kim dynasty than the legacy of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, father of the recently impeached President Park Geun-hye. And yet Park's legacy has long been mythologized by conservative forces in both Korea and abroad as that of a virtuous and wise political leader. The praise of Park's virtues (especially his “economization of politics,” as one prominent conservative economist puts it) has many uses. During the Cold War, it was used to secure legitimacy for a president who had come to power through a military coup and whose vision of “administrative democracy” invested enormous power into the institution of the presidency itself. More recently, it has been deployed to help rewrite Korea's highly contentious development experience in a manner that praises both the state and oligarchic interests for past achievements. The myth of Park has been circulated through Korea's Official Development Assistance policies to help satisfy the demand for knowledge of Korea's development experience and to secure international prestige for the Korean development “model.” Meanwhile, intellectuals associated with Korea's New Right movement have praised Park's much-vaunted legacy of economic planning and the establishment of a Korean middle class as prefiguring democracy, a narrative that is used to denigrate a history of democratic mobilization deemed dear to the liberal and progressive opposition and their supporters.
How We Know What We Know about Pakistan: New York Times news production, 1954–71
Authors: BIBERMAN YELENA
Published: September 2017

This article explores public knowledge creation by examining how theNew York Timesproduced Pakistan news between 1954 and 1971, the formative period of United States of America (USA)–Pakistan relations. These years encapsulate not only the heyday of cooperation between the two governments, but also the American public's first major introduction to the South Asian country by the increasingly intrepid news media. A leader in shaping that introduction was theNew York Times. While most studies of the American media focus on measuring the effect of news exposure and content on public opinion, this article focuses on the theoretically underexplored aspect of news production: foreign news gathering. With a lens on South Asia, it shows that foreign news gathering involves the straddling of on-the-ground political and logistical constraints that generate an atmosphere of high uncertainty. By exploring the limitations on news gathering faced by America's leading newspaper's foreign correspondents in Pakistan in the 1950s and 1960s, this article identifies an important historical source of the ambiguity characterizing USA–Pakistan relations. The findings are based on recently released archival material that offers rare insight into the news-production process.
A review of the Acanthocephala parasitising freshwater fishes in Australia
Authors: SMALES L. R. , ADLARD R. D. , ELLIOT A. , KELLY E. , LYMBERY A. J. , MILLER T. L. , SHAMSI S.
Published: September 2017

The acanthocephalan fauna of Australian freshwater fishes was documented from field surveys, a literature survey and examination of specimens registered in Australian museums. From the 4030 fishes, representing 78 of the 354 Australian freshwater fish species (22%), examined for infection seven species of acanthocephalan were recovered. These species comprised five endemic species, three in endemic genera, two species in cosmopolitan genera, one species not fully identified and 1 putative exotic species recovered from eight species of fish. Of theseEdmonsacanthus blairifromMelanotaenia splendida,was the only acanthocephalan found at a relatively high prevalence of 38·6%. These findings are indicative of a highly endemic and possibly depauperate acanthocephalan fauna. Species richness was higher in the tropical regions than the temperate regions of the country. Exotic acanthocephalan species have either not been introduced with their exotic hosts or have been unable to establish their life cycles in Australian conditions. Consequently, acanthocephalans have not yet invaded endemic Australian fish hosts.
Childhood stress, grown-up brain networks: corticolimbic correlates of threat-related early life stress and adult stress response
Authors: Kaiser R. H. , Clegg R. , Goer F. , Pechtel P. , Beltzer M. , Vitaliano G. , Olson D. P. , Teicher M. H. , Pizzagalli D. A.
Published: September 2017

Background

Exposure to threat-related early life stress (ELS) has been related to vulnerability for stress-related disorders in adulthood, putatively via disrupted corticolimbic circuits involved in stress response and regulation. However, previous research on ELS has not examined both the intrinsic strength and flexibility of corticolimbic circuits, which may be particularly important for adaptive stress responding, or associations between these dimensions of corticolimbic dysfunction and acute stress response in adulthood.

Methods

Seventy unmedicated women varying in history of threat-related ELS completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan to evaluate voxelwise static (overall) and dynamic (variability over a series of sliding windows) resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of bilateral amygdala. In a separate session and subset of participants (n = 42), measures of salivary cortisol and affect were collected during a social-evaluative stress challenge.

Results

Higher severity of threat-related ELS was related to more strongly negative static RSFC between amygdala and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and elevated dynamic RSFC between amygdala and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). Static amygdala-DLPFC antagonism mediated the relationship between higher severity of threat-related ELS and blunted cortisol response to stress, but increased dynamic amygdala-rACC connectivity weakened this mediated effect and was related to more positive post-stress mood.

Conclusions

Threat-related ELS was associated with RSFC within lateral corticolimbic circuits, which in turn was related to blunted physiological response to acute stress. Notably, increased flexibility between the amygdala and rACC compensated for this static disruption, suggesting that more dynamic medial corticolimbic circuits might be key to restoring healthy stress response.
Genetic risk scores and family history as predictors of schizophrenia in Nordic registers
Authors: Lu Y. , Pouget J. G. , Andreassen O. A. , Djurovic S. , Esko T. , Hultman C. M. , Metspalu A. , Milani L. , Werge T. , Sullivan P. F.
Published: September 2017

Background

Family history is a long-standing and readily obtainable risk factor for schizophrenia (SCZ). Low-cost genotyping technologies have enabled large genetic studies of SCZ, and the results suggest the utility of genetic risk scores (GRS, direct assessments of inherited common variant risk). Few studies have evaluated family history and GRS simultaneously to ask whether one can explain away the other.

Methods

We studied 5959 SCZ cases and 8717 controls from four Nordic countries. All subjects had family history data from national registers and genome-wide genotypes that were processed through the quality control procedures used by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Using external training data, GRS were estimated for SCZ, bipolar disorder (BIP), major depression, autism, educational attainment, and body mass index. Multivariable modeling was used to estimate effect sizes.

Results

Using harmonized genomic and national register data from Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Sweden, we confirmed that family history of SCZ and GRS for SCZ and BIP were risk factors for SCZ. In a joint model, the effects of GRS for SCZ and BIP were essentially unchanged, and the effect of family history was attenuated but remained significant. The predictive capacity of a model including GRS and family history neared the minimum for clinical utility.

Conclusions

Combining national register data with measured genetic risk factors represents an important investigative approach for psychotic disorders. Our findings suggest the potential clinical utility of combining GRS and family history for early prediction and diagnostic improvements.