bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Additional Use of Synovial Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Following Surgical Repair of a Complex Degenerative Tear of the Medial Meniscus of the Knee: A Case Report
Authors: Sekiya Ichiro , Koga Hideyuki , Otabe Koji , Nakagawa Yusuke , Katano Hisako , Ozeki Nobutake , Mizuno Mitsuru , Horie Masafumi , Kohno Yuji , Katagiri Kenta , Watanabe Naoto , Muneta Takeshi
Published: July 2019

Complex degenerative tears of the medial meniscus in the knee are usually treated using meniscectomy. However, this procedure increases the risk of osteoarthritis, while other treatments aimed at meniscal repair remain challenging due to the high possibility of failure. The use of synovial mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is an attractive additional approach for meniscal repair, as these cells have high proliferative and chondrogenic potential. In this case report, we surgically repaired a complex degenerative tear of the medial meniscus and then transplanted autologous synovial MSCs. We evaluated clinical outcomes at 2 years and assessed adverse events. We enrolled patients with clinical symptoms that included a feeling of instability in addition to pain caused by their complex degenerative tears of the medial meniscus. Two weeks after surgical repair of the torn meniscus, autologous synovial MSCs were transplanted onto the menisci of five patients. The total Lysholm knee score, the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale scores for “pain,” “daily living,” “sports activities,” and the Numerical Rating Scale were significantly increased after 2 years. Three adverse events, an increase in c-reactive protein, joint effusion, and localized warmth of the knee were recorded, although these could have been due to the meniscal repair surgery. This first-in-human study confirmed that the combination of surgical repair and synovial MSC transplantation improved the clinical symptoms in patients with a complex degenerative tear of the medial meniscus. No adverse events occurred that necessitated treatment discontinuation. These findings will serve as pilot data for a future prospective study.
International organisations and the role of collective bargaining
Authors: Pedersini Roberto
Published: July 2019

This article analyses the positions on the role of collective bargaining of international organisations dealing with economic and employment issues. A stylised framework is developed that looks at each international organisation’s mission, expert knowledge and structure (at political and technical levels). The analysis concludes that most of the international organisations under review remain anchored to their missions and mainstream economic analyses, with the exception of the OECD (partially) and the ILO. In contrast, the European Commission has a quite different nature, being part of a fully-fledged polity. The article concludes that the more nuanced position on the role of collective bargaining emerging from international organisations includes some important elements. In particular, the recognition of its potential for social inclusion and cohesion may support national measures that promote collective bargaining.
Cultural Politics, Ideology, and Methodology in Disproportionality Research: A Rejoinder
Authors: Anastasiou Dimitris , Kauffman James M.
Published: July 2019

We summarize the role of cultural politics in special education. We analyze the 2019 discourse of Whitford and Carrero, our respondents, about the role of ideology and models of disability. Our comments further explain how we see the relationship between theorizing and reality. We contrast the deficit thinking rhetoric with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act’s legal model in the disability identification. We review the recent evidence in the disproportionality research and discuss methodological issues raised by our respondents. Our focus is the phantom menace variable that characterizes part of disproportionality research, that is, the confound of individual-level academic achievement, which switches the direction of the estimates from over- to under-representation. Conceptual issues concerning risk factors, and the relationship between cultural politics and social justice are discussed. We argue that free inquiry is a precondition for open-science practices.
The Persuasiveness of a Humorous Environmental Narrative Combined With an Explicit Persuasive Appeal
Authors: Moyer-Gusé Emily , Tchernev John M. , Walther-Martin Whitney
Published: July 2019

Entertainment narratives commonly feature explicit appeals to underscore important content therein. This strategy may also undermine the subtle approach that characterizes narrative persuasion. This experiment examined the effects of a pro-environmental public service announcement (PSA) combined with an entertainment narrative on environmental intentions and behaviors. Results revealed that the combination of an environmental narrative and PSA led to fewer intentions to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors than exposure to the environmental narrative alone. The PSA combined with the environmental narrative also led to greater perceived persuasive intent and, among those who held negative views about the environment, greater reactance and less environmentally friendly behavior.
Diversified Variants of Astrovirus MLB2 in Patients Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and the Evolutionary Rates and Patterns of the Virus
Authors: Guo Ke , Li Li-Li , Zhang Qing , Yu Jie-Mei , Ye Yan
Published: July 2019

We assessed the quasispecies heterogeneity of a human astrovirus MLB2 (HAstV-MLB2-YJMGK) in immunocompromised patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and performed genetic and evolutionary analyses of HAstV isolates circulating worldwide. The result showed that the virus had diversified variants and a strong positive selection in the patient, indicating that such patients may be a reservoir for astrovirus. The time to the most recent common ancestor of MLB2 and classic HAstVs was around 1800 years, and it has a decline in effective population size of HAstVs in the late 100 years.
Study on tribo-chemical and fatigue behavior of 316L austenitic stainless steel in torsional fretting fatigue
Authors: Xu Zhibiao , Peng Jinfang , Liu Jianhua , Liu Xiyang , Zhang Wulin , Zhu Minhao
Published: July 2019

Fretting fatigue is a complex tribological phenomenon that can cause premature failure of connected components. Combining with the effects of tribological and fatigue, the components have premature fracture, which ultimately leads to disastrous consequences. In this work, the fretting fatigue tests of 316L austenitic stainless steel have been carried out with same normal load and varied torsional torques. The results indicate that the fretting fatigue life significantly depends on the torque amplitude, wear degree of the fretting damage zone, hysteresis loops and energy dissipation. A physical model for fretting crack initiation and propagation is created to explain the failure process of torsional fretting fatigue. The results from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis show that the extent of oxidation in the fretting damage zone is affected by the amplitude of relative displacement. The tribo-chemical reaction in the slip regime is more activated than that in partial slip regime. It can lead to more severe wear in the slip regime. The wear debris of the fretting damage zone is composed of metallic Fe, Fe2+ and Fe3+.
Psychosis or spiritual emergency? A Foucauldian discourse analysis of case reports of extreme mental states in the context of meditation
Authors: Kaselionyte Justina , Gumley Andrew
Published: July 2019

Meditation is becoming increasingly popular in the West and research on its effects is growing. While studies point to various benefits of meditation on mental and physical health, reports of extreme mental states in the context of meditation have also been published. This study employed Foucauldian discourse analysis to examine how the experience of extreme mental states has been constructed in case reports and what kind of practices were employed to address them. The study analyses how extreme mental states associated with meditation are framed within the scientific literature and how such differential framings may affect the meaning making and help-seeking of persons experiencing these states. A systematic scientific literature search identified 22 case studies of extreme mental states experienced by practitioners of various types of meditation. The analysis suggests a discursive divide between two dominant framings: a biomedical discourse which constructs such experiences as psychiatric symptoms and an alternative discursive, which understands them as spiritual emergencies. Both approaches offered distinct therapeutic avenues. This divide maps onto the disciplinary divides within the mental health field more generally, which may obscure a better understanding of these experiences. However, the two discourses are not necessarily mutually exclusive and authors of three articles chose to blend them for their case reports. A supportive environment could help those experiencing extreme state integrate them into their lives. Our findings encourage collaboration between clinicians, therapists and spiritual teachers in order to make a range of approaches available.
To Computerised Provider Order Entry system: A comparison of ECF, HFACS, STAMP and AcciMap approaches
Authors: Igene Oseghale Osezua , Johnson Christopher
Published: July 2019

Different accident analytical approaches have been utilised in safety-critical industries for analysing accidents and formulating safety recommendations. This study presents a ‘health informatics’ case incident of a patient adversely affected due to a medication dosing error resulting from a combination of contributing factors including those relating to the Computerised Order Provider Entry System. A comparative study was carried out using selected accident analytical approaches: Human Factors and Classification System, System-Theoretic Accident Modelling and Processes and Accident Modelling. Each resulting output was compared using the model characteristic criteria developed by Underwood and Waterson. Safety recommendations developed based on the outputs from the models/methods were also compared for any similar findings. It was acknowledged that while accident models incorporating ‘systems thinking’ can prove to be beneficial for healthcare in providing insight on systemic factors, there is a need for improving the reliability and validity of these models. This particularly applies to Rasmussen’s Accident Modelling approach to be considered useful in the healthcare domain.
“Authorized to work in the US”: Examining the myth of porous borders in the era of populism for practicing linguists
Authors: Pandey Anjali
Published: July 2019

This paper explores top-down, enacted, institutional pushbacks to supermobility and superdiversity in the under-examined arena of academia using emerging frameworks in political economy and the geography of mobility. Zooming in on the discoursal framings of a recent year of job advertisements on a popular, open-source forum for linguists supplemented with qualitatively and quantitatively sourced data from international, national, and local institutional contexts, the paper examines how macrocontextual pushes toward political populism combined with a synchronous tightening of job markets in academia have enacted a plethora of labels for temporary work in lieu of permanent academic positions—now, increasingly the only option for job seekers in a hypercompetitive academic market. In this manufacturing of euphemization discourse, we witness the invention of novel, microlinguistically rendered lexicalizations of semiotic redundancy in academic capitalism’s own obfuscation of profit margins, and a concomitant manufacturing of a new discourse of rationality in which floating semiotic signifiers at multiple scales deploy nationality-criteria to justify ethnic exclusion and/or entry into academic space. More crucially, in these commonsensical framings, we encounter both causation and consequence of newly enacted barriers to transnational mobility. In challenging the myth of porous borders for mobile professionals in the post-global moment, these emerging linguistic signifiers point to the ascendancy of a new public affectivity on display in intellectual spheres and a saturation of sentiment toward illiberality.
Presidential Power and Party Strength: The “Inverse Relationship” Reconsidered
Authors: Doyle David , Power Timothy J
Published: July 2019

This article revisits theoretical claims that separation of power systems will display an inverse relationship between presidential power and party strength. Shugart and Carey posited this as a general equilibrium within presidential democracies; later, Shugart proposed that the inverse relationship resulted from founding institutional choices shaped in turn by modes of democratic transition. We test both the equilibrium and the genetic versions of the inverse relationship on a large- N dataset of presidential systems from 1900 to 2016. We find strong significant empirical support for an inverse relationship between executive power and party system institutionalization. However, the relationship is more dynamic than would be predicted by theories based on institutional foundings alone. Through analysis of decree reform in Argentina and Brazil, we observe changes in the expected inverse relationship despite the absence of a constitutional assembly and the lack of any change in electoral rules or party authority.
Action Learning Cohort Series: An Innovative Community-Engaged Approach for Translating Research Into Practice
Authors: Young Tiffany L. , Carter-Edwards Lori , Frerichs Leah , Green Melissa A. , Hassmiller-Lich Kristen , Quarles Elisa , Dave Gaurav , Corbie-Smith Giselle
Published: July 2019

Cultivating strong partnerships among community and academic stakeholders expedites the translation of research findings into practice and communities by enhancing opportunities for research dissemination and implementation. However, the lack of systematic methods for community stakeholder engagement may decelerate the translational research process. The North Carolina Translational Research and Clinical Sciences Institute implemented an innovative approach to community engagement called the Action Learning Cohort (ALC) Series. The ALC Series, a workgroup extension of a professional conference, used action learning and systems thinking strategies to conceptualize and develop a product aimed at preventing, treating, and controlling hypertension in eastern North Carolina. We evaluated the acceptability and practicality of the ALC Series using survey, focus group, and interview pilot data. Action learning and systems thinking strategies led ALC stakeholders to develop and disseminate The Empathy Building Resource Guide: A Toolkit for Enhancing Patient–Provider Relationships in the Treatment, Management, and Prevention of Hypertension. Stakeholders rated the Series as satisfactory and acknowledged gains in knowledge and desire for engagement with fellow ALC stakeholders beyond the Series. The ALC Series approach is a potentially practical and acceptable model for systematically engaging community stakeholders in translating knowledge into a product that addresses health topics like hypertension.
Appalachian Affects: Fieldwork as Material Ecology
Authors: Gleason Sean
Published: July 2019

This essay—based on fieldwork with off-grid homebuilders in the Mid-Ohio River Valley—recognizes ethnography as a more-than-human ecology of habit, rhythm, and affect. I begin by describing some of the materials, species, and affects I encountered during this fieldwork to show how Appalachian history, geography, and habit influenced my performance of sensory ethnography. From these anecdotes, field notes, and vignettes, I theorize ethnographic fieldwork as, first and foremost, a rhythmic attunement to place and bodies, especially nonhuman ones. In turn, I argue for a practice of fieldwork that roots human experience within a vibrant material ecology of more-than-human forces.
Smartphone Use Predicts Being an “Active Couch Potato” in Sufficiently Active Adults
Authors: Fennell Curtis , Lepp Andrew , Barkley Jacob
Published: July 2019

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between smartphone use, television viewing, and the “active couch potato” in sufficiently active adults. Methods: A sample of 328 sufficiently active adults aged 18 to 80 years (mean ± SD = 38 ± 15 years) completed surveys assessing smartphone use, television viewing, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. Active couch potatoes were defined as individuals who met physical activity guidelines and engaged in 8 or more hours per day of sedentary behavior. Results: Mean smartphone use was 4.04 ± 3.74 hours per day. There were 128/328 (39%) participants coded as active couch potatoes. Active couch potato was significantly positively (Wald = 7.326, P = .007) associated with smartphone use. Being an active couch potato was not (Wald = 0.658, P = .417) associated with television viewing. Sedentary behavior and smartphone use were significantly greater ( t ≥ 3.55, P < .001) among active couch potatoes (11.35 ± 3.25 hours sitting per day, 4.95 ± 4.5 hours smartphone use per day) than sufficiently active, nonsedentary individuals (5.06 ± 1.64 hours sitting per day, 3.45 ± 3.04 hours smartphone use per day). Conclusion: In sufficiently active adults, smartphone use predicted being an active couch potato and television viewing did not.
Negotiations Between Chinese Gay Men and Lesbians and Their Parents About Marriage
Authors: Xuan Ning , Kiu Cheung Chau , Sijia Guo
Published: July 2019

This article aims to demonstrate how critical discourse analysis (CDA) can be used for studying and analyzing self-identified gay men’s and lesbians’ (simplified as gays and lesbians in the following) marriage challenges. Chinese gay men and lesbians face many challenges, among which marriage is conceivably their top concern. The majority of these individuals must negotiate this issue with their parents. Discourses woven by gays and lesbians to influence their parents are crucial for understanding how they negotiate this issue. Such an understanding is the focus of the present study of 20 participants including 10 lesbians and 10 gay men in China. This study applies CDA to unveil the functions, linguistic techniques, and ideological bases of gay men’s and lesbians’ discourses in negotiation. The application demonstrates the strength of CDA in analyzing how people use language to produce and construct identities and activities. The current research advances the use of CDA not only by taking the initiative of using it to study this emerging issue but also by incorporating the analysis of inherent discursive ideologies.
Robust adaptive formation control of quadcopters based on a leader–follower approach
Authors: Xuan-Mung Nguyen , Hong Sung Kyung
Published: July 2019

The formation control problem for multi-agent systems has been explored in recent years. However, controlling a formation of multiple aerial vehicles in the presence of disturbances has been a challenge for control researchers. To deal with this issue, a robust adaptive formation control algorithm for a group of multiple quadcopters is proposed. A nonlinear model of the dynamics of the formation error is obtained based on a leader–follower scheme. This model considers both the relative position in the x– y plane and the relative heading angle between vehicles in the presence of uncertainties. In addition, by means of a model reference control approach, a robust adaptive formation controller is used to steer the vehicles into a formation pattern and have them maintain the formation shape. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Diagnostic thoracic ultrasound imaging – An exploration of respiratory physiotherapists' interest and use in clinical practice: A national survey
Authors: Hayward Simon , Smith Mike , Innes Sue
Published: July 2019

Introduction

Physiotherapists are learning to perform diagnostic thoracic ultrasound but it is currently unknown how they are learning, how they are using thoracic ultrasound in their practice, or any factors affecting the implementation of thoracic ultrasound into practice. The aim of this survey was to explore the use of thoracic ultrasound by physiotherapists. This information could be used to aid training and implementation strategies to assist physiotherapists to integrate thoracic ultrasound safely into their practice.

Methods

A questionnaire comprising of open/closed questions was distributed to respiratory physiotherapist. Distribution was at three national study days and via a specialist newsletter containing a link to a SurveyMonkey™ questionnaire.

Results

A total of 133 questionnaires were returned with 31 reported that they used thoracic ultrasound imaging and 101 reporting they did not. The most common roles of thoracic ultrasound in practice were to: enhance the ability to differentially diagnose respiratory pathologies, aid respiratory assessment and support clinical reasoning. Of the 133 respondents, 58 reported that they had undertaken training in thoracic ultrasound imaging and 75 had not. The most common factors identified regarding thoracic ultrasound implementation were team support, ultrasound machine availability/cost, time pressures and mentor availability.

Discussion

This survey has provided an understanding of thoracic ultrasound practice amongst respiratory physiotherapists in the UK. The survey results demonstrated the barriers that inhibit current practice and highlighted the importance of mentor support. There was a good understanding by all respondents regarding the clinical application of thoracic ultrasound. These findings are being used to develop professional guidance and ensure safe practice of thoracic ultrasound.
Electronic structure, reactivity, and Hirshfeld surface analysis of carvone
Authors: Yankova Rumyana , Dimov Milen , Dobreva Krasimira , Stoyanova Albena
Published: July 2019

The density functional theory (at the B3LYP level using 6-311++G(2d,2p) basis set) was used for the investigation of the geometry and electronic properties of the carvone. The electronic properties and chemical activity of the titled compound were investigated by means of several theoretical approaches, molecular electrostatic potential surface, natural bond orbital, and frontier molecular orbital analyses. It was established that the oxygen atom in the structure characterized the electrophilic reactivity; the positive regions are localized on the hydrogen atoms, which can be considered as possible sites for nucleophilic attack. A detailed analysis of the intermolecular interactions via Hirshfeld surface analysis and fingerprint plots revealed that the carvone structure is stabilized mainly by the formation of O. . .H/H. . .O hydrogen bonds. However, close contacts were established between C. . .H/H. . .C and H. . .H contacts.
Helpful, albeit hazardous! Esophageal stem-cell injection in systemic sclerosis
Authors: Durchschein Franziska , Moazedi-Fuerst Florentine , Kielhauser Sonja , Lackner Angelika , Wiedner Maria , Koch Horst , Justich Ivo , Eherer Andreas
Published: July 2019

Background:

Over 90% of patients with systemic sclerosis suffer from gastroesophageal reflux. Esophageal motility disturbances are associated with a reduced life quality and may force interstitial lung disease progression. We wanted to determine whether we can improve gastroesophageal reflux in these patients by esophageal stem-cell injection.

Methods:

We performed a pilot study including eights patients with systemic sclerosis and symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux. Sampling of adipose tissue was performed by an experienced plastic surgeon under local anesthesia. The collected fat was injected into the submucosa of the distal esophagus, each time 1 ml in all four quadrants starting 2, 4 and 6 cm proximal to the Z line (ending up to a total volume of 12 ml). Before the intervention, 3, 6 and finally 12 months after the procedure, patients answered the Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (GERD HRQL) and a high-resolution manometry was performed to quantify changes in motility function.

Results:

All patients showed an improvement in the GERD HRQL score after the stem-cell injection and a lower dosage of proton-pump inhibitors. The manometric findings showed no change throughout the time. A serious adverse event occurred, as one patient developed multiple cerebellar embolic infarcts.

Conclusion:

Because of the favorable effect in all patients, a safe route for esophageal fat injection needs to be developed.
Clinical Evaluation of a New, Lower Pain, One Touch Lancing Device for People With Diabetes: Virtually Pain-Free Testing and Improved Comfort Compared to Current Lancing Systems
Authors: Grady Mike , Lamps Greg , Shemain Ashley , Cameron Hilary , Murray Linda
Published: July 2019

Background:

Patients worldwide use lancing devices to perform self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). Continued innovation remains important to minimize pain associated with finger sticking to facilitate patient adherence to SMBG regimens. The original One Touch Delica lancer (OTD) reduced the pain of testing. This study investigated a completely re-engineered lancing system, called One Touch Delica Plus (OTDP), intended to further minimize pain while improving the patient experience.

Methods:

One hundred and three subjects (type 1 or 2 diabetes) experienced finger sticks with both lancing systems. Device depth and blood volume (BV) generation were determined during visit 1. These parameters were used during pain assessments in visit 2. Patient feedback was also recorded using surveys.

Results:

Finger-stick testing was less painful using OTDP compared to original OTD irrespective of whether 30 (−48.2 mm, −30.4 mm, P < 0.0001) or 33 gauge (−42.6 mm, 30.5 mm, P = 0.0004) lancets were used. All 103 subjects generated the required BV (≥0.4 µL) per protocol. At equivalent depth penetration, OTDP generated higher average BVs than OTD using 30 (1.58 µL, 1.10 µL) or 33 gauge lancets (1.39 µL, 0.98 µL). Subjects responded that testing with OTDP was virtually pain free (78%) and that testing with OTDP was less painful than using their current lancing systems (79%) or original OTD (67%).

Conclusion:

OTDP demonstrated lower pain than the original OTD lancing system and participants agreed that testing with OTDP was virtually pain free and less painful than using their current lancing systems.
Learner support services for postgraduate students: A qualitative approach
Authors: Asamoah Moses Kumi
Published: July 2019

Hybrid learning, which integrates the face-to-face classroom-based teaching with an online mode, is at its incipient stage in Africa. A study exploring institutional support services provided for students and informal peer support among peers of hybrid learning is a very significant academic exercise since it has implications for sustainability of hybrid teaching and learning in Africa and Ghanaian universities in particular. This study empirically examined 21 postgraduate students’ views of an institutional support system and peer support they received and the challenges associated with blended learning at University of Ghana (Legon) in the 2013/2014 and 2015/2016 academic years. First-year PhD students ( n = 7) were all interviewed. Besides, all the 14 Master of Arts (MA) students were available for an in-depth interview. A case study design was used. Judgmental sampling was employed because it was found to be suitable for the research context. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that learner support had made a positive impact on the postgraduate blended learning students, although students also lamented over unpleasant challenges. Appropriate learner-support elements such as power supply, fast Internet connectivity, expert advice on the use of a particular Learning Management System, accessible e-library materials and workshops that address students’ needs were recommended for students on blended learning engagement.
Endogenous Price Leadership with Asymmetric Costs: Experimental Evidence
Authors: Fonseca Miguel A.
Published: July 2019

This paper presents experimental evidence on the action commitment game with cost-asymmetric firms in a differentiated-products Bertrand duopoly. Unlike its quantity-setting counterpart, the risk-dominant leader–follower equilibrium Pareto dominates the simultaneous-move equilibrium. This equilibrium also minimizes payoff differences between firms. Hence, one would expect the model to accurately capture behavior. The evidence partially supports the theory: low-cost firms price in the first period more often than high-cost firms, and depending on the treatment, between 40 and 57 per cent of all observations conform to equilibrium play. However, the modal timing outcome involved both firms delaying their pricing decision. This timing outcome is characterized by Nash play and some collusion. The high frequency of delaying decisions could be due to a desire to reduce strategic uncertainty.
Appraisal of the Role of Law Clinics in Internally Displaced Persons and Refugee Camps in Nigeria
Authors: Abdulkadir Maryam Idris
Published: July 2019

The crises from the northeastern part of Nigeria and neighbouring countries especially around the Lake Chad region (Cameroun and Chad) have created a lot of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in the country. This has led to creation of such camps that are scattered all over the country, that is, in the North East, South, South East and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. A lot of humanitarian crises occur in such camps, the most disturbing of which is a violation of certain fundamental human rights, like right to liberty and right to dignity, exploitation and sexual assault. This has led to the creation of Refugee and IDP camps. This article examined the role that law clinics can play in addressing the legal issues highlighted. The history and development of legal education in Nigeria and how it gave birth to law clinics was traced. Moreover, the causes of creation of refugee and IDP camps were discussed. The article recommends that law clinics, through social justice, access to justice and client interview, can play a tremendous role in addressing the legal problems faced by the inhabitants of the camps, and this will also help achieve one of the learning outcomes of the course which deals with humanitarian law. The article further states that the presence/role of law clinics will not only benefit the students of the law clinic and the inhabitants of the camps but also benefit the Federal Government of Nigeria through data collection and statistics from these camps, and it will be a means for the government to curtail human rights violation in such areas.
Impacts of Vermi­compost Manure on MV Paddy Production in Bangladesh: A Case Study of Jessore District
Authors: Barmon Basanta Kumar , Tarafder Sushanta Kumar
Published: July 2019

The study estimates impacts of vermicompost manure on modern varieties (MV) of paddy produced in Bangladesh. Primary data were used in this study. The findings of the study indicated that on an average, the sampled farmers who used vermicompost comparatively used less proportion of chemical fertilizers such as urea, triple super phosphate, zypsum, zinc and manure except muriate of potash. The yield of MV boro and the net profit of per hectare was significantly much higher (about 1.91 times) in the farms that used vermicompost compared to those farmers who did not use it. The household income of the farmers who used vermicompost with irrigation has risen significantly (about 1.19 times). The farmers had experienced constant return to scale in MV boro paddy farms in both techniques. The farm area, seed, pesticide, irrigation, urea cost and vermicompost cost were the main factors that significantly affected the MV boro paddy production in farms that used vermicompost. On the other hand, the farm size, urea, chemical fertilizers, manure and labour had significant impact on MV boro paddy production under the farms that did not use vermicompost. Vermicompost normally retains the moisture as well as organic matter in topsoil. As a result, comparatively lesser amount of chemical fertilizers and irrigations are required for per hectare MV boro paddy production. There was inefficient and non-optimal use of resources in both the farms which hindered production of maximum level of output in the study area.
The Western Australia Modeling project — Part 2: Seismic validation
Authors: Shragge Jeffrey , Lumley David , Bourget Julien , Potter Toby , Miyoshi Taka , Witten Ben , Giraud Jeremie , Wilson Thomas , Iqbal Afzal , Emami Niri Mohammad , Whitney Beau
Published: July 2019

Large-scale 3D modeling of realistic earth models is being increasingly undertaken in industry and academia. These models have proven useful for various activities such as geologic scenario testing through seismic finite-difference (FD) modeling, investigating new acquisition geometries, and validating novel seismic imaging, inversion, and interpretation methods. We have evaluated the results of the Western Australia (WA) Modeling (WAMo) project, involving the development of a large-scale 3D geomodel representative of geology of the Carnarvon Basin, located offshore of WA’s North West Shelf (NWS). Constrained by a variety of geologic, petrophysical, and field seismic data sets, the viscoelastic WAMo 3D geomodel was used in seismic FD modeling and imaging tests to “validate” model realizations. Calibrating the near-surface model proved to be challenging due to the limited amount of well data available for the top 500 m below the mudline. We addressed this issue by incorporating additional information (e.g., geotechnical data, analog studies) as well as by using soft constraints to match the overall character of nearby NWS seismic data with the modeled shot gathers. This process required undertaking several “linear” iterations to apply near-surface model conditioning, as well as “nonlinear” iterations to update the underlying petrophysical relationships. Overall, the resulting final WAMo 3D geomodel and accompanying modeled shot gathers and imaging results are able to reproduce the complex full-wavefield character of NWS marine seismic data. Thus, the WAMo model is well-calibrated for use in geologic and geophysical scenario testing to address common NWS seismic imaging, inversion, and interpretation challenges.
Automating the Capture of Structured Pathology Data for Prostate Cancer Clinical Care and Research
Authors: Odisho Anobel Y. , Bridge Mark , Webb Mitchell , Ameli Niloufar , Eapen Renu S. , Stauf Frank , Cowan Janet E. , Washington Samuel L. , Herlemann Annika , Carroll Peter R. , Cooperberg Matthew R.
Published: July 2019

Purpose

Cancer pathology findings are critical for many aspects of care but are often locked away as unstructured free text. Our objective was to develop a natural language processing (NLP) system to extract prostate pathology details from postoperative pathology reports and a parallel structured data entry process for use by urologists during routine documentation care and compare accuracy when compared with manual abstraction and concordance between NLP and clinician-entered approaches.

Materials and Methods

From February 2016, clinicians used note templates with custom structured data elements (SDEs) during routine clinical care for men with prostate cancer. We also developed an NLP algorithm to parse radical prostatectomy pathology reports and extract structured data. We compared accuracy of clinician-entered SDEs and NLP-parsed data to manual abstraction as a gold standard and compared concordance (Cohen’s κ) between approaches assuming no gold standard.

Results

There were 523 patients with NLP-extracted data, 319 with SDE data, and 555 with manually abstracted data. For Gleason scores, NLP and clinician SDE accuracy was 95.6% and 95.8%, respectively, compared with manual abstraction, with concordance of 0.93 (95% CI, 0.89 to 0.98). For margin status, extracapsular extension, and seminal vesicle invasion, stage, and lymph node status, NLP accuracy was 94.8% to 100%, SDE accuracy was 87.7% to 100%, and concordance between NLP and SDE ranged from 0.92 to 1.0.

Conclusion

We show that a real-world deployment of an NLP algorithm to extract pathology data and structured data entry by clinicians during routine clinical care in a busy clinical practice can generate accurate data when compared with manual abstraction for some, but not all, components of a prostate pathology report.
Comorbidities and Survival in Patients With Lipodystrophy: An International Chart Review Study
Authors: Akinci Baris , Oral Elif A , Neidert Adam , Rus Diana , Cheng Wendy Y , Thompson-Leduc Philippe , Cheung Hoi Ching , Bradt Pamela , Foss de Freitas Maria Cristina , Montenegro Renan Magalhães , Fernandes Virgínia Oliveira , Cochran Elaine , Brown Rebecca J
Published: July 2019

Context

Limited natural history data are available in patients with non-HIV–related lipodystrophy syndromes who never received disease-specific therapies, making interpretation of benefits of therapies in lipodystrophy syndromes challenging.

Objective

We assessed the natural history of non-HIV–related generalized lipodystrophy (GL) and partial lipodystrophy (PL) in patients who have never received leptin or other lipodystrophy-specific therapies.

Design/Setting/Patients

We conducted an international chart review of 230 patients with confirmed GL or PL at five treatment centers who never received leptin or other lipodystrophy-specific therapies. Patients were observed from birth to loss to follow-up, death, or date of chart abstraction.

Outcome Measures

Lifetime prevalence of diabetes/insulin resistance and select organ abnormalities, time to diabetes/insulin resistance, first organ abnormality, disease progression, and mortality were described.

Results

Diabetes/insulin resistance was identified in 58.3% of patients. Liver abnormalities were the most common organ abnormality (71.7%), followed by kidney (40.4%), heart (30.4%), and pancreatitis (13.0%). Kaplan-Meier estimates of mean (SE) time to first organ abnormality were 7.7 years (0.9) in GL and 16.1 years (1.5) in PL (P < 0.001). Mean time to diabetes/insulin resistance was 12.7 years (1.2) in GL and 19.1 years (1.7) in PL (P = 0.131). Mean time to disease progression was 7.6 years (0.8) and comparable between GL and PL subgroups (P = 0.393). Mean time to death was 51.2 years (3.5) in GL and 66.6 years (1.0) in PL (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

This large-scale study provides comprehensive, long-term data across multiple countries on the natural history of non-HIV–related lipodystrophy.
Characteristics of Slow Progression to Type 1 Diabetes in Children With Increased HLA-Conferred Disease Risk
Authors: Pöllänen Petra M , Lempainen Johanna , Laine Antti-Pekka , Toppari Jorma , Veijola Riitta , Ilonen Jorma , Siljander Heli , Knip Mikael
Published: July 2019

Context

Characterization of slow progression to type 1 diabetes (T1D) may reveal novel means for prevention of T1D. Slow progressors might carry natural immunomodulators that delay β-cell destruction and mediate preservation of β-cell function.

Objective

To identify demographic, genetic, and immunological characteristics of slow progression from seroconversion to clinical T1D.

Design

HLA-susceptible children (n = 7410) were observed from birth for islet cell antibody (ICA), insulin autoantibody (IAA), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA), and islet antigen-2 autoantibodies (IA-2A), and for clinical T1D. Disease progression that lasted ≥7.26 years (slowest) quartile from initial seroconversion to diagnosis was considered slow. Autoantibody and genetic characteristics including 45 non-HLA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) predisposing to T1D were analyzed.

Results

By the end of 2015, 1528 children (21%) had tested autoantibody positive and 247 (16%) had progressed to T1D. The median delay from seroconversion to diagnosis was 8.7 years in slow (n = 62, 25%) and 3.0 years in other progressors. Compared with other progressors, slow progressors were less often multipositive, had lower ICA and IAA titers, and lower frequency of IA-2A at seroconversion. Slow progressors were born more frequently in the fall, whereas other progressors were born more often in the spring. Compared with multipositive nonprogressors, slow progressors were younger, had higher ICA titers, and higher frequency of IAA and multiple autoantibodies at seroconversion. We found no differences in the distributions of non-HLA SNPs between progressors.

Conclusions

We observed differences in autoantibody characteristics and the season of birth among progressors, but no characteristics present at seroconversion that were specifically predictive for slow progression.
Wide Sargasso Sea’s Archipelagic Provincialism
Authors: DeGuzman Kathleen
Published: July 2019

This essay argues for an archipelagic rethinking of Jean Rhys’s novel Wide Sargasso Sea, which has long had an uneasy fit into the category of Caribbean literature. It does so by drawing from archipelagic studies and its distinction between islands as discrete, closed-off landmasses and archipelagoes as interconnected, terraqueous topographies. Through close readings, the essay demonstrates how the Caribbean characters in the novel envision localness as an overlap between earthly materialities and contested epistemologies—an attitude the essay defines as “archipelagic provincialism.” The essay ultimately foregrounds archipelagic thinking as a way to recast the often pejorative idea of provincialism as well as offer a methodology for troubling the very idea of canonicity within Caribbean literature.
What Did the Ghosts Whisper? The Fact of Blackness in Dixa Ramírez’s Colonial Phantoms
Authors: Dinzey-Flores Zaire Zenit
Published: July 2019

In Colonial Phantoms: Belonging and Refusal in the Dominican Americas, from the 19th Century to the Present (2018), Dixa Ramírez astutely and compellingly displays the opacity of the Dominican Republic’s history in the context of the Americas. She complicates trite representations of the Dominican Republic as a space that is racially unconscious and reminds us of the overlooked history of free black experience in the eastern side of the island, pressing the reader to face the ghosted racialized realities that these facts highlight. This review considers the epistemological racial contestations formulated in Colonial Phantoms and probes the work’s own silences. Effectively casting doubts on caricaturist representations of Dominican racial negotiations, Colonial Phantoms circumvents structural dimensions of blackness. A cultural framing of racial representation, thus, walks the line of an essentializing biological racial miscegenation frame and collapses the distance between racial positions of nonwhiteness and blackness. This critical review centers the socially constructed experience of black subjects and what Frantz Fanon refers to as the “fact of blackness.” It asks what the ghosts whisper about the racialized structures that distinctly shape the experience of black (not nonwhite) subjects.
Mushrooms and Mischief: On Questions of Blackness
Authors: D’Oleo Dixa Ramírez
Published: July 2019

This response essay argues that the hyperfocus on what defines appropriate behavior among Afro-descended populations issues from structural white supremacy. One of the messages in the author’s Colonial Phantoms: Belonging and Refusal in the Dominican Americas, from the 19th Century to the Present (2018) is that efforts against antiblackness (and a concomitant anti-Haitianness) in the Dominican Republic cannot be accompanied by the tired chastisement that Dominicans do not perform their African descent in ways appealing to the US gaze. In other words, the faster we can accept that subjects of the African diaspora have been damaged by white supremacy and colonialism differently, the faster we can figure out how to sprout out of the rotting episteme created by Man. Plants can and do grow from rot.
The Power of a Line
Authors: Abel Jessamyn R.
Published: July 2019

Japan’s first bullet train played a central role in the reshaping of both the urban geographies and metropolitan identities of Tokyo, Osaka, and the region as a whole. This article considers the 1964 opening of the “New Tōkaidō Line” in terms of the social construction of space in order to highlight the interaction between ideas and physical infrastructure, and to consider the dynamics of power over space. The discourse surrounding the bullet train’s debut—including planning materials, passengers’ impressions, and representations in popular culture—shows the mutual influence among transportation infrastructure, the physical contours of cities, and how people not only lived in them but also envisioned and understood them.
Music in the Work of Social Reproduction
Authors: Drott Eric
Published: July 2019

This article interrogates music’s role in the work of social reproduction by bringing into dialogue two seemingly antithetical approaches to thinking music’s relation to the social. One is historical materialism; the other is work informed by the “practice turn” in music sociology, exemplified by Tia DeNora’s studies of music as a “technology of the self.” By taking seriously the proposition that under certain conditions music may itself function as a technology, and by reframing this proposition along materialist lines, this article aims to shed light on the changing functions music has come to assume in late neoliberalism. In particular, new modalities of digital distribution like streaming, by simultaneously driving down the cost of music and normalizing its therapeutic, prosthetic, and self-regulatory uses, increasingly cast it as a cheap resource that can be harnessed to replenish the cognitive, affective, and/or communicative energies strained by the current crisis of social reproduction.
The Despotic Imperative
Authors: Diken Bülent
Published: July 2019

The article thematizes the actuality of despotism through a double reading of Xenophon’s Hiero and Dave Eggers’s Circle. A key text on despotism, Hiero is interesting to reconsider in a contemporary context because of its explicit focus on the economic element in the nexus of despotism, economy, and voluntary servitude. Discussing this nexus in an ancient context, the article turns to The Circle, a dystopic novel from 2013, which elaborates on how the attempt at creating a transparent society results in the perversion of democracy to the point where a despotism fueled by economization and voluntary servitude becomes immediately evident. Notwithstanding the significant differences between the two perceptions of despotism that proliferate in Hiero and The Circle, their shared focus on the nexus of despotism, economy, and voluntary servitude testifies to an interesting case of convergence in divergence. Offering an account of this continuity, the article ends with reflecting on this nexus itself, arguing that it should be rethought in a new way today. The concept of use is suggested as a key concept for such reconsideration.