bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lawyers at the Peak of Their Careers: A 30‐Year Longitudinal Study of Job and Life Satisfaction
Authors: Monahan John , Swanson Jeffrey
Published: January 2019

A decade ago, we conducted a 20‐year longitudinal study of career and life satisfaction among the class matriculating at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987. Here, we extend our repeated measures follow‐up from 20 to 30 years—from the time when respondents were a mean of 43 to the time they were a mean of 53 years old. The 2017 survey employed substantially the same instrument used in 2007, with the addition of a new section assessing potential period effects occurring over the past decade that might have influenced respondents' working conditions, including a stronger stress on economic sustainability. The 2017 response rate was 81 percent of those who had responded to the 2007 survey (constituting 58 percent of the class matriculating in 1987). We found respondents to have taken diverse career paths, with no single work setting accounting for more than one‐quarter of the respondents and with fully one‐third of the respondents changing jobs in the past decade. Marked gender differences in the professional lives of respondents persisted (e.g., women continued to be much more likely than men to forego full‐time employment “in order to care for children” (30 percent vs. 4 percent)). Working conditions at large private law firms stayed problematic, with the portion of respondents negatively affected by a stronger stress on economic sustainability being twice as high among those working in large firms (77 percent) than among those working in other settings (38 percent). Finally, both career satisfaction and life satisfaction again were found to be high, with 77 percent of respondents satisfied with the decision to become a lawyer, and 91 percent satisfied with their lives more broadly.
Damage Caps and Defensive Medicine: Reexamination with Patient‐Level Data
Authors: Moghtaderi Ali , Farmer Steven , Black Bernard
Published: January 2019

Physicians often claim that they practice “defensive medicine,” including ordering extra imaging and laboratory tests, due to fear of malpractice liability. Caps on noneconomic damages are the principal proposed remedy. Do these caps in fact reduce testing, overall health‐care spending, or both? We study the effects of “third‐wave” damage caps, adopted in the 2000s, on specific areas that are expected to be sensitive to med mal risk: imaging rates, cardiac interventions, and lab and radiology spending, using patient‐level data, with extensive fixed effects and patient‐level covariates. We find heterogeneous effects. Rates for the principal imaging tests rise, as does Medicare Part B spending on laboratory and radiology tests. In contrast, cardiac intervention rates (left‐heart catheterization, stenting, and bypass surgery) do not rise (and likely fall). We find some evidence that overall Medicare Part B rises, but variable results for Part A spending. We find no evidence that caps affect mortality.
Preliminary survey on putative insect vectors for Rubus stunt phytoplasmas
Authors: Linck Holger , Reineke Annette
Published: January 2019

Phytoplasmas are cell wall‐less phytopathogenic bacteria which are associated with a disease in Rubus species known as Rubus stunt. Symptoms range from stunting, witches’ broom, small leaves, short internodes, enlarged sepals, phyllody and flower proliferation to fruit malformations. Phytoplasmas can be spread by vegetative propagation and by phloem‐feeding insect vectors. However, little is known about the spectrum and distribution of putative Rubus stunt insect vectors. In this study, a screening of putative insect vectors of Rubus stunt in raspberry plantations in southern and northern Germany was carried out during two successive years (2014 and 2015) with multiple sampling dates throughout the growing seasons. A total of 2,891 hemipteran insects were sorted, identified to family, genus or species level when possible, and a subset of 319 DNA samples containing a sum of 932 selected individuals representing all identified species, sampling locations and sampling dates were tested for phytoplasma DNA using qPCR. Altogether, eight DNA samples were positive for phytoplasma DNA, among them species from the genera Euscelidius, Macrosteles, Euscelis, Anaceratagalliaand Psammotettix. These data will form the basis for choosing and timing appropriate control measures against Rubus stunt and also for potential insect vector transmission experiments.
Biogenesis of Autophagosome in Trichomonas vaginalis during Macroautophagy Induced by Rapamycin‐treatment and Iron or Glucose Starvation Conditions
Authors: Hernández‐García Mar S. , Miranda‐Ozuna Jesús F. T. , Salazar‐Villatoro Lizbeth , Vázquez‐Calzada Carlos , Ávila‐González Leticia , González‐Robles Arturo , Ortega‐López Jaime , Arroyo Rossana
Published: January 2019

Autophagy is an adaptive response for cell survival in which cytoplasmic components and organelles are degraded in bulk under normal and stress conditions. Trichomonas vaginalis is a parasite highly adaptable to stress conditions such as iron (IR) and glucose restriction (GR). Autophagy can be traced by detecting a key autophagy protein (Atg8) anchored to the autophagosome membrane by a lipid moiety. Our goal was to perform a morphological and cellular study of autophagy in T. vaginalis under GR, IR, and Rapamycin (Rapa) treatment using TvAtg8 as a putative autophagy marker. We cloned tvatg8a and tvatg8b and expressed and purified rTvAtg8a and rTvAtg8b to produce specific polyclonal antibodies. Autophagy vesicles were detected by indirect immunofluorescence assays and confirmed by ultrastructural analysis. The biogenesis of autophagosomes was detected, showing intact cytosolic cargo. TvAtg8 was detected as puncta signal with the anti‐rTvAtg8b antibody that recognized soluble and lipid‐associated TvAtg8b by Western blot assays in lysates from stress‐inducing conditions. The TvAtg8b signal co‐localized with the CytoID and lysotracker labeling (autolysosomes) that accumulated after E‐64d treatment in GR parasites. Our data suggest that autophagy induced by starvation in T. vaginalis results in the formation of autophagosomes for which TvAtg8b could be a putative autophagy marker.
An Examination of Participation in Homebuyer Education and Counseling Services
Authors: Moulton Shawn R. , Peck Laura R. , Fiore Nichole , Gruenstein Bocian Debbie , DeMarco Donna
Published: January 2019

Homebuyer education and counseling aims to help potential homebuyers understand benefits and risks of homeownership, choose a home and an appropriate mortgage, and build the financial know‐how needed for sustainable homeownership and financial health. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) First‐Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration found that women and individuals with greater education were generally more likely to participate in services. Enrollees referred to in‐person services are more likely to participate if they are early in the homebuying process or if they planned to purchase a home without a coborrower. They may perceive benefits of services to outweigh the costs of scheduling, traveling to, and attending in‐person services. Enrollees offered remote services (phone, online) are more likely to participate if they are “better off,” having higher mortgage literacy and credit scores. Results may inform agencies' messaging, outreach, and approach to providing services and meeting consumers' needs, federal policy, and interpretation of future impact estimates.
Competence and confidence in rural and remote nursing practice: A structural equation modelling analysis of national data
Authors: Penz Kelly L. , Stewart Norma J. , Karunanayake Chandima P. , Kosteniuk Julie G. , MacLeod Martha L. P.
Published: January 2019

Aims and objectives

To empirically test a conceptual model of confidence and competence in rural and remote nursing practice.

Background

The levels of competence and confidence of nurses practising in rural settings have been highlighted as essential to the quality of health outcomes for rural peoples. However, there is limited research exploring these constructs in the context of rural/remote nursing practice.

Design

Structural equation modelling was used to verify the conceptual model with data from the cross‐sectional pan‐Canadian Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada II Survey. The STROBE guidelines for cross‐sectional research were followed in the design/reporting of this analysis. The sample consisted of 2,065 registered nurses and nurse practitioners who were working in direct rural/remote nursing practice.

Results

The maximum likelihood ratioχ2 = 0.0822,df = 2,p = 0.959 indicated model fit, with final model estimates explaining 53% of the variance in work confidence and 17% of the variance in work competence. The model also accounted for 40% of the variance in work engagement, 39% of the variance in burnout and 15% of the variance in perceived stress. The complexity of competence and confidence in rural nursing practice was evident, being influenced by nursing experience in rural settings, rural work environment characteristics, community factors and indicators of professional well‐being.

Conclusions

The factors influencing nurses’ competence and confidence in rural/remote nursing practice are more complex than previously understood. Our model, created and tested using structural equation modelling, merits further research, to extend our understanding of how nurses can be prepared and supported for practice in rural and remote settings.

Relevance to clinical practice

This study highlights the importance of supporting new nurses’ exposure to rural nursing experiences, reducing professional isolation and improving decision‐making support for those who are working at a greater distance from colleagues and/or those with fewer opportunities for interprofessional collaboration.
Evaluation of second trimester amniotic fluid ADAMTS4, ADAMTS5, interleukin‐6 and tumor necrosis factor‐α levels in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Melekoglu Rauf , Ciftci Osman , Celik Ebru , Yilmaz Ercan , Bastemur Ayse G.
Published: January 2019

Aim

To test the hypothesis that altered A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase Domains with Thrombospondins motifs (ADAMTS) is implicated in the etiopathogenesis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods

All pregnant women who underwent elective amniocentesis for karyotype analysis between January 1, 2016, and January 1, 2018, were included in this study. From this cohort, the study group consisting of 20 patients diagnosed with GDM was selected and compared against a control group consisting of 20 age‐ and body mass index (BMI)‐matched patients without GDM. ADAMTS4, ADAMTS5, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) levels were compared in the second trimester amniotic fluid of patients with GDM and normoglycemic pregnant women.

Results

No significant differences were observed between GDM and control groups regarding age, BMI, gestational age at amniocentesis and indication for amniocentesis. Mean amniotic fluid ADAMTS4 and ADAMTS5 levels were significantly increased in the GDM group compared with the control group (253.5 ± 18.7 pg/mL and 188.5 ± 21.3 pg/mL, P < 0.001; 192.9 ± 16.4 pg/mL and 154.8 ± 19.9 pg/mL, P = 0.021, respectively). Significant increases in IL‐6 and TNF‐α levels were also detected in the amniotic fluid of GDM patients relative to controls (136.2 ± 17.3 pg/mL and 98.3 ± 11.5 pg/mL, P < 0.001; 154.2 ± 12.5 pg/mL and 86.2 ± 10.8 pg/mL, P < 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion

The data presented here suggest that increased levels of ADAMTS4, ADAMTS5, IL‐6 and TNF‐α may play an important role in the progression of GDM.
Comparison of the value of superficial mark guided localization and hook‐wire guided localization techniques for non‐palpable breast microcalcifications: A retrospective clinical research
Authors: Qiu Yi‐Ran , Qian Zhao‐Xia , Hu Guo‐Hua , Lian Shi‐Xian , Cao Ye , Xu Jing , Zhang Yong , Sun Tao‐Tao , Jiang Ying , Lu Wei‐Qi
Published: January 2019

Aim

The present study compares the effect and accuracy of the superficial mark guided localization (SGL) and hook‐wire guided localization (WGL) techniques for non‐palpable breast microcalcifications.

Methods

This retrospective study was conducted to compare SGL and WGL techniques. These techniques were performed on 51 patients with non‐palpable breast microcalcifications from January 2015 to May 2016.

Results

Among these 51 patients, 25 (49.01%) patients were subjected to WGL and 26 patients (50.99%) were subjected to SGL. The SGL technique had a higher rate of malignant cancer detection (WGL = 12.0% and SGL = 23.0%). Furthermore, no significant differences were found with regard to average age, the rate of a second excision and the diameter of the excised tissue. Moreover, no complications were observed in the SGL group, while four (16.0%) patients in the WGL group experienced problems.

Conclusion

The SGL technique is as accurate as the WGL technique. Furthermore, the procedure has advantages of being less expensive and causing less complications.
Zirconia Primers Improve the Shear Bond Strength of Dental Zirconia
Authors: Steiner René , Heiss‐Kisielewsky Irene , Schwarz Vincent , Schnabl Dagmar , Dumfahrt Herbert , Laimer Johannes , Steinmassl Otto , Steinmassl Patricia‐Anca
Published: January 2019

Purpose

Various resin cements and priming agents are available for adhesive luting of zirconia restorations. The purpose of this study was to investigate how cement type and priming protocol affect the shear bond strength on zirconia ceramics.

Materials and Methods

Yttria‐stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline ceramic cylinders were bonded to flat zirconia ceramic surfaces using 7 commercially available resin cements. Ten specimens of each cement group were pretreated with a universal primer, and 10 specimens per group were bonded without pretreatment. In addition, 10 specimens per group were pretreated with system‐specific zirconia primers, which were available for 3 cements. Altogether, 170 bonded specimens were water‐stored, thermal‐cycled, and then submitted to shear bond strength tests. The shear bond strength and the fracture types were documented. Differences in shear bond strengths were assessed using 2‐way ANOVA with post‐hoc test (α = 0.05). A point‐biserial correlation was run between the fracture patterns and the shear bond strengths.

Results

The mean shear bond strengths of cements in the unprimed group showed large variations between 2.52 ± 3.01 (mean ± SD) MPa and 33.15 ± 7.35 MPa. Pretreating the specimens with a universal primer improved the shear bond strengths significantly in all groups (p < 0.05) with a range of 21.80 ± 12.51 to 57.20 ± 11.40 MPa. The system‐specific primers also improved the shear bond strength significantly, compared to the unprimed group (p < 0.01); however, only one system‐specific primer achieved a shear bond strength superior to the universal primer (p < 0.01). There was also a statistical correlation between the fracture type and the shear bond strength (p < 0.0005), with cohesively fractured specimens showing higher shear bond strengths (37.24 ± 19.87 MPa) than adhesively fractured specimens (23.10 ± 17.65 MPa) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Using universal primer can enhance the maximal shear bond strength of zirconia.
MicroRNA‐7 inhibits melatonin synthesis by acting as a linking molecule between leptin and norepinephrine signaling pathways in pig pineal gland
Authors: Qiu Jingtao , Zhang Jinglin , Zhou Yewen , Li Xin , Li Hongjiao , Liu Jiali , Gou Kemian , Zhao Jianguo , Cui Sheng
Published: January 2019

MicroRNAs, including microRNA‐7 (miR‐7), are important modulators of numerous gene expressions and the related biological processes. Melatonin is a key hormone regulating daily and seasonal rhythms, in which a variety of positive and negative regulatory factors, such as norepinephrine (NE) and leptin, are involved. However, the interactions among these factors and the mechanisms remain to be elucidated. The aims of the present study were to identify the functions and the related mechanisms of miR‐7 in regulating melatonin synthesis and secretion through in vitro and in vivo experiments in pineal gland of pigs, which is an important animal model for agricultural and biomedical studies. Our results firstly show that miR‐7 is specifically expressed in porcine pinealocytes and negatively regulates melatonin synthesis. The further functional studies show that the dynamic expression levels of miR‐7 are contrary to the melatonin levels throughout the day, and the forced inhibition of endogenous miR‐7 in porcine pinealocytes sharply increases arylalkylamine N‐acetyltransferase (AANAT) expression by 80.0% (P = 0.0031) and melatonin levels by 81.0% (P = 0.0421), whereas miR‐7 over‐expression down‐regulates AANAT expression by 38.6% (P = 0.0004) and melatonin levels by 37.6% (P = 0.0212). In addition, the miR‐7 expression is up‐regulated by leptin through the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway, and the in vivo intracerebroventricular injection of leptin increases miR‐7 expression by 80.0% (P = 0.0044) in porcine pineal glands and reduces melatonin levels by 57.1% (P = 0.0060) compared with the controls. This functional inhibition of melatonin synthesis by miR‐7 is accomplished by its binding to the 3′‐UTR of Raf1. Further, our results demonstrate that the RAF1/MEK/ERK signaling pathway mediates NE‐induced AANAT expression, whereas leptin attenuates NE's function through miR‐7. Taken together, the results demonstrated that leptin activates the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway to increase the expression of miR‐7, which acts as a negative regulatory molecule inhibiting NE‐activated RAF1/MEK/ERK signaling pathway by targeting Raf1, resulting in decreased AANAT expression and melatonin synthesis. These findings suggest that miR‐7 is a novel negative regulator of melatonin synthesis and links leptin‐ and NE‐mediated signaling pathways in porcine pineal glands, which will contribute to our understanding in the establishment of the biological rhythms resulting from melatonin.
Ecological stasis in Spinicaudata (Crustacea, Branchiopoda)? Early Cretaceous clam shrimp of the Yixian Formation of north‐east China occupied a broader realized ecological niche than extant members of the group
Authors: Hethke Manja , Fürsich Franz T. , Jiang Baoyu , Wang Bo , Chellouche Patrick , Weeks Stephen C.
Published: January 2019

The palaeoecology of Spinicaudata, the dominant group of benthic invertebrates in many pre‐Cenozoic freshwater environments, remains poorly understood. In analogy with extant taxa, it has been oversimplified and often reduced to shallow, temporary environments characterized by few trophic levels, implying ecological stasis from the Devonian to the Recent. We excavated 43 horizons of the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (Anjiagou and Hengdaozi beds) to evaluate whether spinicaudatan ecology can be simplified to such an extent. Sedimentological evidence suggests general perennial conditions during the excavated lake interval. Based on 33 226 specimen counts, we identified three arthropod‐dominated macrobenthic associations and two assemblages. Response curves indicate that the spinicaudatanEosestheria middendorfiiwas exceptionally tolerant to environmental gradients, followed, in decreasing order, by mayfly larvae, water boatmen and oligochaetes. Many spinicaudatan‐yielding layers represent death after reproductive senescence rather than mass‐mortality events. Spinicaudatan size varies significantly according to faunal association. A forward stepwise regression model suggests that growth responded to population density and diversity: lower densities and higher diversities triggered fast growth, and vice versa. The proposed strong density effect on carapace size has been corroborated by rearing experiments: as forE. middendorfii, natural log regression provided the best fit for the two extant speciesEulimnadia texanaandEocyzicus argillaquus. Hence,E. middendorfiiwas a tolerant and morphologically variable species adapted to perennial waters and the frequent presence of higher trophic levels. Although there are rare records of extant taxa co‐occurring with fish, the described Early Cretaceous environment is commonly not inhabited by extant Spinicaudata.
Pediatric heart transplantation from an influenza B–positive donor
Authors: Smith Clyde J. , McCulloch Michael A. , Shirley Debbie‐Ann , L’Ecuyer Thomas J.
Published: January 2019

As heart transplantation demand is increasing without subsequent growth of the donor pool, need for expansion of acceptance criteria is paramount, particularly when considering critically ill, highly sensitized patients. We present a case report of a pediatric heart transplant recipient of an organ refused by 197 prior potential recipients due to the donor being infected with influenza virus. We perform a literature review of recent solid organ transplant cases from influenza‐positive donors and conclude that the donor pool may be expandable by allowing donors with treatable infections to be included.
Mexican Foreign Policy and Diplomacy: From Defensive Tradition to Incomplete Modernity
Authors: Villanueva César , Tadeo Hernández Eduardo Luciano
Published: January 2019

Two characteristic aspects of Mexican foreign policy and its operative arm, diplomacy, define the challenges the country must face in the twenty‐first century: one is a doctrinarian diplomatic tradition of goodwill and defensiveness (principles of nonintervention, self‐determination, and peaceful conflict resolution), which is clearly inadequate for facing current global challenges. The other is a fragmented push for modernity whose scope is limited to certain areas of the diplomatic agenda (human rights, democracy, multilateral activism), with a strong focus on specific contemporary issues (gender equality, the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the inclusion of civil society) which, at least in the short term, lacks the necessary strength and tools to define the course of Mexico’s foreign policy.
Persistent Exclusion in Mexico: Regulatory Governance as an Imperfect Project of Political Modernization
Authors: Montes de Oca Barrera Laura Beatriz
Published: January 2019

The aim of this article is to show the scope and limitations of regulatory governance as a project of political modernization in Mexico—a project formally designed to foster greater inclusion in decision‐making processes. To do so, I present empirical evidence from case studies of consultative bodies in four regulatory domains: the use of transgenic seeds; the regulation of telecommunications; the restriction of junk food in schools; and the control of carbon emissions from automobiles. Influencing the economic, social, and political interests of a wide variety of stakeholders (from consumers to big business and government), these decision‐making processes constituted a “living laboratory” through which to assess the effectiveness of institutional innovations designed to put regulatory governance into practice. Ultimately, this article contributes to understanding the challenges of a project of political modernization in Mexico, a project launched in the 1980s that still has not achieved its institutional strengthening mission of improving mechanisms of participatory democracy.
Exploring the Conceptual Foundation of Continuity Management in the Context of Societal Safety
Authors: Hassel Henrik , Cedergren Alexander
Published: January 2019

Public and private actors with critical roles for ensuring societal safety need to work proactively to reduce risks and vulnerabilities. Traditionally, risk management activities have often been performed in order to ensure continuous functioning of key societal services. Recently, however, business continuity management (BCM), and its analytical subcomponent business impact assessment (BIA), has been introduced and used more extensively by both the private and public sector in order to increase the robustness and resilience of critical infrastructures and societal functions and services. BCM was originally developed in the business sector but has received a broader use during the last decade. Yet, BCM/BIA has gained limited attention in the scientific literature—especially when it comes to clarifying and developing its conceptual basis. First, this article examines and discusses the conceptual foundation of BCM concepts, including practical challenges of applying the concepts. Based on recent conceptual developments from the field of risk management, a developed conceptualization is suggested. Second, the article discusses challenges that arise when applying BCM in the societal safety area and provides some recommendations aiming to improve the clarity and quality of applications. Third, the article provides suggestions of how to integrate the overlapping approaches of BIA and risk assessment in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness of proactive, analytic processes. We hope that the article can stimulate a critical discussion about the key concepts of BCM, their wider use in societal safety, and their connection to other concepts and activities such as risk assessment.
A comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk profile in patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Brobakken Mathias Forsberg , Nygård Mona , Taylor Joshua Landen , Güzey Ismail Cüneyt , Morken Gunnar , Reitan Solveig Klæbo , Heggelund Jørn , Vedul‐Kjelsaas Einar , Wang Eivind
Published: January 2019

Patients with schizophrenia are physically inactive and have high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak) is one of the strongest predictors for CVD, yet is rarely investigated in this patient population, and how V̇O2peak relates to other conventional CVD risk measures in this population is unclear. We measured treadmill V̇O2peak along with daily physical activity assessed by triaxial accelerometry, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid profiles, and glucose in 48 outpatients (28 men, 35 ± 10 (SD) years; 20 women, 35 ± 12 years), diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizotypal, or delusional disorders (ICD‐10; F20‐29). The patients were compared with 48 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy references (±2 years) and normative data from the population. V̇O2peak was 34.5 ± 8.7 mL/kg/min (men) and 26.4 ± 7.0 mL/kg/min (women), which was 27% and 30% lower than healthy references, respectively (both P < 0.01). V̇O2peak was not associated with daily physical activity in men while a weak association was seen in women (steps per day: r2 = 0.26; counts per minute: r2 = 0.25; P < 0.05). BMI (26.0 ± 6.1 kg/m2) revealed that patients were moderately overweight with a waist circumference of 103 ± 17 cm. Lipid‐ and glucose levels, and blood pressure were all within normative range. Our data advocate the utilization of V̇O2peak assessment for CVD risk profile determination in patients with schizophrenia. Daily physical activity was poorly and inconsistently related to V̇O2peak, suggesting increased daily physical activity might not translate into improved V̇O2peak and CVD risk reduction.
Learning to play chess: How to make sense of a politics of representation with people in poverty
Authors: Boone Katrien , Roets Griet , Roose Rudi
Published: January 2019

Despite the growing involvement of people in poverty in social policy, their participation does not necessarily take place on a par with policymakers, as the latter often do not really embrace their demands for social justice. It is, therefore, argued that social work has a role to play in the process of merging knowledge of people in poverty with that of policymakers and other stakeholders by representing their perspectives in public debate.

By drawing on an in‐depth qualitative research of five “Associations where People in Poverty Raise their Voice” (Belgium), the complexity of the direct participation of people in poverty in such a politics of representation is analyzed, as well as the different roles social work practitioners can take on in dealing with this complexity. Here, two roles are distinguished: “a guardian of collective and transformative elements”; and “a strategical chess player.” We conclude that practitioners need to reflect critically on participatory premises and practices and consider whether these strategies actually contribute to societal change. However, the ideal of parity of participation entails that such strategic considerations should always be collaboratively discussed with people in poverty.
Accurate depth estimation of skin surface using a light‐field camera toward dynamic haptic palpation
Authors: Ko Myeongseob , Kim Donghyun , Kim Kwangtaek
Published: January 2019

Background

Haptic skin palpation with three‐dimensional skin surface reconstruction from in vivo skin images in order to acquire both tactile and visual information has been receiving much attention. However, the depth estimation of skin surface, using a light field camera that creates multiple images with a micro‐lens array, is a difficult problem due to low‐resolution images resulting in erroneous disparity matching.

Methods

Multiple low‐resolution images decoded from a light field camera have limitations to accurate 3D surface reconstruction needed for haptic palpation. To overcome this, a deep learning method, Generative Adversarial Networks, was employed to generate super‐resolved skin images that preserve surface detail without blurring, and then, accurate skin depth was estimated by taking multiple subsequent steps including lens distortion correction, sub‐pixel shifted image generation using phase shift theorem, cost‐volume building, multi‐label optimization, and hole filling and refinement, which is a new approach for 3D skin surface reconstruction.

Results

Experimental results of the deep‐learning‐based super‐resolution method demonstrated that the textural detail (wrinkles) of super‐resolved skin images is well preserved, unlike other super‐resolution methods. In addition, the depth maps computed with our proposed algorithm verify that our method can produce more accurate and robust results compared to other state‐of‐the‐art depth map computation methods.

Conclusion

Herein, we first proposed depth map estimation of skin surfaces using a light field camera and subsequently tested it with several skin images. The experimental results established the superiority of the proposed scheme.
Attitudes of Pre-service Music Teachers Studying in Undergraduate Programs in Turkey Towards Piano Courses
Authors: Halvaşi Bülent
Published: January 2019

Attitude, which is one of the important topics of social psychology, is defined in the literature as a psychological element that can direct the behavior of individuals (Özmenteş and Özmenteş, 2009). According to Tolan, the attitude “in its broadest sense is the way in which the individual is standing up against the objects or subjects that contain a psychological value” (Gömleksiz, 2003). It has been proved by many research findings that attitudes developed as a natural result of interaction, greatly affect the success of the individual (Canakay, 2006). The effects starting from childhood, the experiences gained in later years and the fields related to the interests, desires and aims of the personality play the most decisive and effective role in the formation of attitudes. These features, which are valid in music education, are also very important in the piano education of the student. From all these definitions, it can be concluded that students' attitudes to the piano have important effects on their education and their use of the piano in the future (Bakıoğlu, 2012).The main purpose of this research is to reveal the attitudes of pre-service teachers who take Piano courses in Music Education Departments of Faculty of Education. In this study, whether the scores obtained from the Piano lesson attitude scale showed significant difference according to some variables is also examined. The research was conducted on the students of Marmara University, Ataturk Faculty of Education, Music Education Department (N = 30) in 2017-2018 academic year. The data of the study was collected by using the “Personal Information Form” prepared by the researcher and “Piano Lesson Attitude Scale” which was prepared to learn the pre-service teachers' thoughts about Piano Lesson. As a result of the study, it was found that there were statistically significant differences between the attitude levels of students and some variables (p <.05).
Interventions to reduce patient identification errors in the hospital setting: a systematic review protocol
Authors: De Rezende Helena Aparecida , Melleiro Marta Maria , Shimoda Gilceria Tochika
Published: January 2019

Review question:

The question of this review is: how effective are the interventions that may prevent or reduce patient identification errors in the hospital setting?
Effectiveness of financial incentives for long-acting injectable antipsychotic adherence in patients with psychotic and bipolar disorders: a systematic review protocol
Authors: Dennis Raghib , Christian Robin , Palokas Michelle
Published: January 2019

Review question:

The question of this review is: what is the effectiveness of financial compensation for receiving a dose of long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication on the rate of medication adherence in adult patients with psychotic and bipolar disorders in an outpatient/community setting?
Modelling sarcomeric cardiomyopathies with human cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Sewanan Lorenzo R. , Campbell Stuart G.
Published: January 2019

Cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a unique opportunity to understand the pathophysiological effects of genetic cardiomyopathy mutations. In particular, these cells hold the potential to unmask the effects of mutations on contractile behaviour in vitro, providing new insights into genotype–phenotype relationships. With this goal in mind, several groups have established iPSC lines that contain sarcomeric gene mutations linked to cardiomyopathy in patient populations. Their studies have employed diverse systems and methods for performing mechanical measurements of contractility, ranging from single cell techniques to multicellular tissue‐like constructs. Here, we review published results to date within the growing field of iPSC‐based sarcomeric cardiomyopathy disease models. We devote special attention to the methods of mechanical characterization selected in each case, and how these relate to the paradigms of classical muscle mechanics. An appreciation of these somewhat subtle paradigms can inform efforts to compare the results of different studies and possibly reconcile discrepancies. Although more work remains to be done to improve and possibly standardize methods for producing, maturing, and mechanically interrogating iPSC‐derived cardiomyocytes, the initial results indicate that this approach to modelling cardiomyopathies will continue to provide critical insights into these devastating diseases.

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A Fully Coupled Chemomechanical Formulation With Chemical Reaction Implemented by Finite Element Method
Authors: Chen Jianyong , Wang Hailong , Liew K. M. , Shen Shengping
Published: January 2019

Based on the irreversible thermodynamics, a fully coupled chemomechanical model, i.e., the reaction–diffusion–stress model, is proposed and implemented numerically into the finite element method (FEM) with user-defined element (UEL) subroutines in abaqus. Compositional stress and growth stress are induced by the diffusion and chemical reactions in the solid, and in turn, both the diffusion and chemical reactions are stress-dependent. By providing specialization of the chemical reaction and free energy function, the specialized constitutive equations are introduced, which are highly coupled and nonlinear. The FE formulations are derived from the standard Galerkin approach and implemented via UEL subroutines in abaqus. Several illustrative numerical simulation examples are shown. The results demonstrate the validity and capability of the UEL subroutines, and show the interactions among mechanical deformation, diffusion, and chemical reaction.
Hamilton's Principle for Material and Nonmaterial Control Volumes Using Lagrangian and Eulerian Description of Motion
Authors: Steinboeck Andreas , Saxinger Martin , Kugi Andreas
Published: January 2019

The standard form of Hamilton's principle is only applicable to material control volumes. There exist specialized formulations of Hamilton's principle that are tailored to nonmaterial (open) control volumes. In case of continuous mechanical systems, these formulations contain extra terms for the virtual shift of kinetic energy and the net transport of a product of the virtual displacement and the momentum across the system boundaries. This raises the theoretically and practically relevant question whether there is also a virtual shift of potential energy across the boundary of open systems. To answer this question from a theoretical perspective, we derive various formulations of Hamilton's principle applicable to material and nonmaterial control volumes. We explore the roots and consequences of (virtual) transport terms if nonmaterial control volumes are considered and show that these transport terms can be derived by Reynolds transport theorem. The equations are deduced for both the Lagrangian and the Eulerian description of the particle motion. This reveals that the (virtual) transport terms have a different form depending on the respective description of the particle motion. To demonstrate the practical relevance of these results, we solve an example problem where the obtained formulations of Hamilton's principle are used to deduce the equations of motion of an axially moving elastic tension bar.
Monte Carlo Type Simulations of Mineralized Collagen Fibril Based on Two Scale Asymptotic Homogenization
Authors: Awasthi Abhilash , Sharma Rajneesh , Ghosh Rajesh
Published: January 2019

A multiscale model for mineralized collagen fibril (MCF) is proposed by taking into account the uncertainties associated with the geometrical properties of the mineral phase and its distribution in the organic matrix. The asymptotic homogenization approach along with periodic boundary conditions has been used to derive the effective elastic moduli of bone's nanostructure at two hierarchical length scales, namely: microfibril (MF) and MCF. The uncertainties associated with the mineral plates have been directly included in the finite element mesh by randomly varying their sizes and structural arrangements. A total of 100 realizations for the MCF model with random distribution have been generated using an in-house MATLAB code, and Monte Carlo type of simulations have been performed under tension load to obtain the statistical equivalent modulus. The deformation response has been studied in both small (≤10%) and large (≥10%) strain regimes. The stress transformation mechanism has also been explored in MF which showed stress relaxation in the organic phase upon different stages of mineralization. The elastic moduli for MF under small and large strains have been obtained as 1.88 and 6.102 GPa, respectively, and have been used as an input for the upper scale homogenization procedure. Finally, the characteristic longitudinal moduli of the MCF in the small and large strain regimes are obtained as 4.08 ± 0.062 and 12.93 ± 0.148 GPa, respectively. All the results are in good agreement to those obtained from previous experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in the literature with a significant reduction in the computational cost.
Numerical Treatment of Nonlinear Stochastic Itô–Volterra Integral Equations by Piecewise Spectral-Collocation Method
Authors: Mohammadi Fakhrodin
Published: January 2019

This paper deals with the approximate solution of nonlinear stochastic Itô–Volterra integral equations (NSIVIE). First, the solution domain of these nonlinear integral equations is divided into a finite number of subintervals. Then, the Chebyshev–Gauss–Radau points along with the Lagrange interpolation method are employed to get approximate solution of NSIVIE in each subinterval. The method enjoys the advantage of providing the approximate solutions in the entire domain accurately. The convergence analysis of the numerical method is also provided. Some illustrative examples are given to elucidate the efficiency and applicability of the proposed method.
Control of Net Radiative Heat Transfer With a Variable-Emissivity Accordion Tessellation
Authors: Mulford Rydge B. , Dwivedi Vivek H. , Jones Matthew R. , Iverson Brian D.
Published: January 2019

Origami tessellations have been proposed as a mechanism for control of radiative heat transfer through the use of the cavity effect. This work explores the impact of a changing projected surface area and varying apparent radiative properties on the net radiative heat transfer of an accordion fold comprised of V-grooves. The net radiative heat transfer of an accordion tessellation is obtained by a thermal energy balance at the cavity openings with radiative properties of the cavities given as a function of various cavity parameters. Results of the analytical model are experimentally confirmed. An accordion tessellation, constructed of stainless-steel shim stock, is positioned to achieve a specified fold angle and placed in a vacuum environment while heated by Joule heating. A thermal camera records the apparent temperature of the cavity openings for various fold angles. Results are compared to apparent temperatures predicted with the analytical model. Analytically and experimentally obtained temperatures agree within 5% and all measurements fall within experimental uncertainty. For diffusely irradiated surfaces, the decrease in projected surface area dominates, causing a continuous decrease in net radiative heat transfer for a collapsing accordion fold. Highly reflective specular surfaces exposed to diffuse irradiation experience large turn-down ratios (7.5× reduction in heat transfer) in the small angle ranges. Specular surfaces exposed to collimated irradiation achieve a turn down ratio of 3.35 between V-groove angles of 120 deg and 150 deg. The approach outlined here may be extended to modeling the net radiative heat transfer for other origami tessellations.
A Review on Fluid-Induced Flag Vibrations
Authors: Yu Yuelong , Liu Yingzheng , Amandolese Xavier
Published: January 2019

Fluid-induced flag vibrations provide unattended, efficient, low-cost, and scalable solutions for energy harvesting to power distributed wireless sensor nodes, heat transfer enhancement in channel flow, and mixing enhancement in process industries. This review surveys three generic configurations, the inverted flag, the standard flag, and the forced flag, i.e., an inverted or standard flag located downstream of a bluff body. Their instability boundaries, vibration dynamics, and vortex dynamics are compared in a unified framework to elucidate their common and distinct features and provide insights into the design of vibrating flags for various applications. Some common features are also identified and analyzed for describing the interaction between multiple flags, three-dimensional (3D) effects, and Reynolds number effects. The suggestions are intended to guide future research directions.
Demographical Energy Usage Analysis of Residential Buildings
Authors: Sokolova Alice , Aksanli Baris
Published: January 2019

Residential energy consumption constitutes a significant portion of the overall energy consumption. There are significant amount of studies that target to reduce this consumption, and these studies mainly create mathematical models to represent and regenerate the energy consumption of individual houses. Most of these models assume that the residential energy consumption can be classified and then predicted based on the household size. As a result, most of the previous studies suggest that the household size can be treated as an independent variable which can be used to predict energy consumption. In this work, we test this hypothesis on a large residential energy consumption dataset that also includes demographic information. Our results show that other variables such as income, geographic location, house type, and personal preferences strongly impact energy consumption and decrease the importance of the household size because the household size can explain only 26.55% of the electricity consumption variation across the houses.
Design, Modeling, and Experimentation of a Bio-Inspired Miniature Climbing Robot With Bilayer Dry Adhesives
Authors: Dharmawan Audelia G. , Xavier Priti , Hariri Hassan H. , Soh Gim Song , Baji Avinash , Bouffanais Roland , Foong Shaohui , Low Hong Yee , Wood Kristin L.
Published: January 2019

This paper presents the design, modeling, and analysis of the force behavior acting on a wheel-legs (whegs) type robot which utilizes bilayer dry adhesives for wall-climbing. The motion of the robot is modeled as a slider-crank mechanism to obtain the dynamic parameters of the robot during movement. The required forces and moment to maintain equilibrium as the robot is in motion is then extensively analyzed and discussed. Following the analysis, fundamental measures to attain an operative climbing robot, such as adhesive requirement and torque specification, are then identified. The outcomes of the analysis are verified through experiments and working prototypes that are in good agreement with the design guidelines.
A Novel Method for Constructing Multimode Deployable Polyhedron Mechanisms Using Symmetric Spatial Compositional Units
Authors: Wang Jieyu , Kong Xianwen
Published: January 2019

A novel construction method is proposed to construct multimode deployable polyhedron mechanisms (DPMs) using symmetric spatial RRR compositional units, a serial kinematic chain in which the axes of the first and the third revolute (R) joints are perpendicular to the axis of the second R joint. Single-loop deployable linkages are first constructed using RRR units and are then assembled into polyhedron mechanisms by connecting the single-loop linkages using RRR units. The proposed mechanisms are over-constrained and can be deployed. The prism mechanism constructed using two Bricard linkages and six RRR chains has one degree-of-freedom (DOF). When removing three of the RRR chains, the mechanism will have one additional 1-DOF motion mode. The DPMs based on 8R and 10R linkages also have multiple modes, and several mechanisms have variable-DOF. The DPMs can switch among different motion modes through transition positions. Prototypes are 3D-printed to verify the feasibility of the mechanisms.
Large and Infinite Mass–Spring–Damper Networks
Authors: Leyden Kevin , Sen Mihir , Goodwine Bill
Published: January 2019

This paper introduces mechanical networks as a tool for modeling complex unidirectional vibrations. Networks of this type have branches containing massless linear springs and dampers, with masses at the nodes. Tree and ladder configurations are examples demonstrating that the overall dynamics of infinite systems can be represented using implicitly defined integro-differential operators. Results from the proposed models compare well to numerical results from finite systems, so this approach may have advantages over high-order differential equations.